Welcome to the (new) Chapter 3 of Pokémon Journey: Kanto.
Last chapter, an unfortunate encounter with an angry swarm of beedrill led to James and Livvi getting lost in Viridian Forest. Luckily, James was able to catch a wild pikachu, who he named 'Kacha', whose local knowledge will be essential in helping the two new trainers escape the forest.
Original Upload Date: 31st December 2012
New Version Uploaded: 15th March 2015
Chapter 3: The City of Stone
Route 2 (Pewter City Side), Kanto
11:33am, 4th April 2005
The dense trees of the Viridian Forest had thinned out as James and Livvi had continued walking, led by Kacha, earlier that morning.
"It's such a beautiful day!" Livvi remarked as the bright sunshine pierced the increasing number of gaps in the canopy.
"Yeah." James nodded. "It's perfect weather for walking!"
"Do you have any idea where Dean is?" Livvi asked.
"No clue." James shrugged. "For all we know, he could still be wandering around in the forest completely lost."
"Should we look for him?" Livvi asked, a concerned look crossing her face.
"Then we'd end up getting lost again," James replied as the trees thinned out even more and they found themselves walking along a well-trodden road through fields and patchy woodland.
"What should we do then?" Livvi asked.
"I reckon we should head on to Pewter City as quickly as we can," James replied. "Thanks, Kacha," he added as he recalled the pikachu to his poké ball. "That way, we'll either catch up with him or we can wait until he catches up."
"But what if we end up waiting for days?" Livvi cried.
"I don't mind," James replied. "I don't have anything else to do anyway."
"But we could be travelling in that time!" Livvi protested.
"You can go on if you want," James sighed. "I'm the only one who needs to wait."
"But..." Livvi began.
"Look!" James said, suddenly pointing at the road ahead. "I think that's him!"
Dean was stood by the side of the road, leaning against a large tree.
"That's Dean?" Livvi murmured as James tore off towards him.
"Hey, Dean!"
Dean looked over at him.
"What are you doing here?" he asked. "I thought you were only a casual trainer."
"Professor Oak forgot to give this to you," James replied, handing over Dean's Pokédex. "I set out to deliver it to you out of the kindness in my heart."
"Well, whatever." Dean shrugged, pocketing the Pokédex as Livvi caught up with them. "Who's this?"
"I'm Livvi Weston." Livvi introduced herself cheerfully. "James delivered my bulbasaur to me on the way here, so we've been travelling together."
"That so?" Dean frowned. "If I were you, I'd do myself a favour and stop hanging out with a loser like him." He jerked his finger in James's direction.
"It's my business who I hang out with, not yours," Livvi replied darkly, folding her arms and turning her face away from Dean. "Besides, he saved me when we ran into some bug pokémon in the Viridian Forest."
"So, you're pretending to be a hero as well as pretending to be a trainer then?" Dean laughed.
"Better than being an actual trainer and still losing!" James taunted him in response.
"You sound awfully confident for a casual trainer!" Dean pulled out a poké ball. "I challenge you to a battle!"
"You're on!" James grinned, pulling out Kacha's poké ball. "Referee for us, Livvi!"
"Umm, okay," Livvi replied, following them as they rushed over to the field on the other side of the road.
"Go, Pidgey!" Dean called, throwing out his poké ball.
A pidgey burst out of the poké ball and dropped gently down to the ground. He shot a determined look across at James.
"Go, Kacha!" James threw Kacha's poké ball.
Kacha cried out as he burst out of the ball.
"A pikachu!" Dean gasped, realising that James had the type advantage.
"What's wrong?" James asked. "Are you scared?"
"You wish!" Dean laughed. "Use Tackle!" he called to Pidgey.
Pidgey took off and charged towards Kacha.
"Dodge it!" James called to Kacha.
Kacha gave a quick nod before rolling quickly to the side as Pidgey approached.
"Now use Growl!" James called as Pidgey gained height to make another attack.
Kacha started growling as Pidgey turned and swooped down again. He slammed into Kacha and knocked him back.
"Are you alright, Kacha?" James called as the electric rodent pulled himself back to his feet, clutching his stomach.
Kacha gave James a reassuring nod before moving his hands away from his stomach.
"Alright, use Thundershock!" James ordered.
Kacha fired a jolt of electricity towards Pidgey.
"Dodge it!" Dean shouted urgently.
Pidgey quickly gained height, causing Kacha's Thundershock to harmlessly strike the ground.
"Now use Tackle!" Dean called.
Pidgey fired himself down towards Kacha, gaining speed as he did.
"Intercept it with Thundershock!" James ordered.
Kacha fired another jolt of electricity towards Pidgey, striking as he became too close to dodge. Pidgey screeched in pain before crashing to the ground with a loud thud.
"Are you alright, Pidgey?" Dean called.
Pidgey let out a weak cry in response. He made no effort to get up again.
"I don't think Pidgey can keep going!" Livvi called nervously from the sidelines.
"Great work, Kacha!" James grinned.
Kacha rubbed the back of his head, slightly embarrassed by the praise.
"I'll definitely beat you with Squirtle!" Dean called as he withdrew Pidgey.
"We'll see!" James replied with a shrug.
"Go, Squirtle!" Dean called, throwing Squirtle's poké ball.
Squirtle called out defiantly as he burst out of the poké ball.
"Use Water Gun!" Dean ordered immediately. He recognised that he needed to move fast in order to overcome the type disadvantage.
Squirtle fired a blast of water from his mouth.
"Dodge it and use Thundershock!" James called to Kacha.
Kacha nodded. He dove to the left and to avoid the water and fired a jolt of electricity towards Squirtle. He cried in pain as he was hit, dropping to one knee.
"Are you alright, Squirtle?" Dean called.
Squirtle pulled himself back up and nodded.
"Use Thundershock again!" James called.
Kacha fired another jolt of electricity towards Squirtle.
"Dodge it!" Dean ordered.
Squirtle nodded and dove to the right. Kacha's Thundershock struck the ground, leaving a blackened mark on the grass.
"Now use Water Gun!" Dean called as Squirtle landed on his feet and re-adopted a battle stance.
Squirtle fired a blast of water back towards Kacha. The pikachu cried out as, caught unaware, he was struck and blasted back.
"Are you alright, Kacha?" James called.
Kacha pulled himself back to his feet and nodded.
"Alright, use Thundershock towards Squirtle.
"Dodge it and use Tackle!" Dean called.
Squirtle nodded. He made to dodge, but his foot slipped on a patch of wet grass and he fell backwards.
"Squirtle!" Dean shouted in alarm.
Squirtle cried in pain as he was hit by the Thundershock.
"Great job, Kacha!" James grinned as Squirtle fell limp.
"It doesn't look like Squirtle can go on!" Livvi called from the sidelines.
"Squirtle, return." Dean recalled him to his poké ball. "Enjoy this victory while it lasts, James!" he called over to James. "One day, I'll beat you!"
"By then it won't be as impressive since I'm only a casual trainer!" James grinned.
"Whatever." Dean turned and started walking north towards Pewter City.
"Well done, James," Livvi said as she walked over to him.
"Thanks!" James replied, patting Kacha on the head before recalling him to his poké ball.
"So, what are we going to do now?" Livvi asked. "You managed to deliver the Pokédex, so are you going to head back home?"
"I can't really face going back through Viridian Forest yet," James replied, making a face as he glanced back over his shoulder at the imposing woods. "And Kacha needs a chance to rest as well, so I was going to keep going to Pewter City. Sound okay?"
"Fine by me!" Livvi grinned back.
Pewter City, Kanto
12:03pm, 5th April 2005
Pewter City sat in a valley, built into the rocky foothills of the mountains of northern Kanto. The southern section was relatively rural, with flower gardens and sparser houses. There were even some farms in the extreme south. The buildings in the north were far more densely packed - this was where the vast bulk of the city's attractions were. There was a large museum in the far north, while the shopping centre was located towards the middle of the city.
This was also where Pewter City's pokémon centre was located. Unlike the one in Viridian City, this one had a far bigger trainer lounge and restaurant, and had a total of three floors instead of just two. The reception desk was also located on the right side of the lobby rather than opposite the main entrance, while the main stair case to the bedrooms was closer to the back and was more central.
"It's really different to the one in Viridian City, isn't it?" Livvi said as she and James left the reception desk, having handed over their Pokémon for healing, and walked towards the trainers' lounge.
"Yeah." James nodded. "But then again, I guess it makes sense - different cities would have different needs."
"Uh-huh." Livvi agreed. "Pewter City is bigger than Viridian City, so it makes sense that it'd be a bigger pokémon centre." She continued walking towards the trainers' lounge, only to realise that James had stopped to look at a poster on the wall of the lobby. It had the image of a poké ball in the background, with a light purple quadruped pokémon with large ears and an equally large horn on its forehead facing off against a dark purple biped pokémon with a spikey back, red eyes and a sinister grin. 'Calling all trainers!' the title proclaimed. 'Become the very best - register for the Kanto Pokémon League now!'
"What's this about?" Livvi asked.
"The Kanto League," James replied. "It's a regional competition between the best trainers in Kanto."
"I know about the Kanto League!" Livvi exclaimed. "Do you just register and then go compete?"
"You need to earn at least eight gym badges at the pokémon gyms in Kanto," James replied.
"What's a 'pokémon gym'?" Livvi asked, tilting her head to one side in curiosity.
"How much studying did you do before becoming a trainer?" James asked incredulously, giving her a stunned look.
"I was supposed to study?!" Livvi cried, her eyes wide with surprise.
James let out a sigh.
"Pokémon gyms are places for local trainers to gather and train their pokémon," he explained. "Each one of them has a gym leader who specialises in a certain type of pokémon - you know about pokémon types, right?"
"Of course!" Livvi replied huffily. "So how do you get the gym badge?"
"I always assumed that you got it for training there," James replied. "Guess I was wrong about that."
"Does it say how to earn them?" Livvi started scanning the poster.
"Hmmm." James studied the poster as well. "Apparently you need to defeat the gym leader in a battle. You don't need to be a member of the gym in order to get a gym badge."
"Are you going to try and beat the gym leader here in Pewter City?" Livvi asked, turning back to him.
"I wasn't planning to," James replied.
"Why not?"
"I'm just a casual trainer. I'm not out to become the best trainer in Kanto," James replied.
"But don't you think it's a shame to come all the way out here and not give it a shot?" Livvi asked.
James frowned.
"I guess giving it a try won't hurt," he said thoughtfully. "We'll have to wait until Charka and Kacha have been healed though."
"We've got plenty of time, haven't we?" Livvi grinned, pleased with herself for having successfully convinced James.
"Yeah." James nodded. He paused for a couple of seconds to think. "I should try and think up some basic strategies at least."
"And we still need to have lunch," Livvi reminded him.
"That too!" James laughed.
1:41pm, 5th April 2005
Having had lunch and retrieved their pokémon, James and Livvi had set off for the Pewter City gym. As with most of the other important buildings, it was located within the northern section of the city. As they quickly learnt, however, it was out in the western outskirts. The gym building itself stood atop an imposing cliff overlooking the rest of the city. The climb up the steps almost exhausted James and Livvi.
"I hope other gyms aren't like this!" Livvi gasped as they reached the top.
"I already told you - just because I'm challenging the Pewter gym doesn't mean that I'm going to challenge the Kanto League," James pointed out to her.
"I know, I know," Livvi replied. They both looked up at the building in front of them. It was domed and a mid-gray colour, making it resemble a boulder somewhat. A wide pair of glass automatic doors marked the main entrance. A symbol of a poké ball with what appeared to be a downwards pointing triangle in the bottom right stood above the door. 'Pewter City Pokémon Gym' was written clearly just below it in large white letters.
"So, what do we do?" James looked at Livvi as they approached the doors.
"No idea," Livvi replied as the doors slid smoothly open to welcome them. They cautiously walked into the gym. Like the outside, the lobby was also mostly a gray colour. To the right, there were a couple of sleek leather sofas positioned around a small table. On their left, there was a reception desk with a young man sat behind it. A large door was stood opposite them, with another one further along to the right. The entire lobby was decorated with sculptures carved out of stone and large, framed photos which hung on the walls.
"Can I help you?" the receptionist asked, noticing them.
"Umm, I'm here to challenge the gym leader!" James replied nervously.
"Is this your first time challenging a gym?" the receptionist asked with a knowing smile.
"Yeah." James nodded.
"Alright, I'll quickly talk you through the routine," the receptionist began. "When you challenge the gym leader, you usually need to choose a time slot for your battle. There haven't been many challengers recently, so you'll be able to go straight in this time. The receptionist at pokémon gyms, i.e. me, will scan your trainer card to register you for the challenge. May I?" He held out his hand.
James quickly fished out his trainer card and handed it over.
The receptionist swiped it in a machine on his desk before quickly typing something on his computer. "The gym leader's arena is through that door there," he said as he handed the trainer card back to James. "You can go in as soon as you're ready." He turned to Livvi. "Are you also here for a gym battle?"
"N-No!" Livvi cried, shaking her head. "I'm here to watch!"
"That's fine." The receptionist nodded. "The door on the left of here..." He pointed along the wall that ran from the reception desk to the door to the arena. "... leads to the spectator seats."
"Thanks," Livvi replied.
"You're welcome," the receptionist replied. He turned back to James. "You can head to the arena now. I'll call the gym leader and let him know you're coming."
"Thanks," James replied nervously. He felt his heart hammering painfully against his chest as he and Livvi walked over to the two doors.
"Good luck!" Livvi grinned, patting him on the shoulder. "I'll be cheering for you!"
"Thanks!" James tried to smile to disguise his nerves, but he doubted that it had worked. "See you in a bit!"
1:48pm, 5th April 2005
The gym leader's arena was made up of gravel and boulders. It lay in the middle of a large room with two levels. The lower level contained the arena and was the one James had entered on. Stretching around the whole room and overlooking the battlefield was the upper level, which consisted of rows of seats for spectators. Livvi had already found a seat to James's left. She waved at him as she noticed him looking at her. Behind the seats to the left, right and back of the room were huge windows that stretched up to the ceiling, making the room very brightly lit. James jumped as a door at the other end of the room opened and a pair of young men entered. One of them took position at the side of the battlefield, halfway between James and the other man, who stood opposite him and called over.
"Welcome to the Pewter City gym! I'm Brock, the gym leader!"
"I'm James Burton from Pallet Town!" James called back.
"Nice to meet you!" Brock grinned. "Ralph on reception tells me that this is your first gym battle! Is that right?"
"That's right!" James replied.
"Alright! I'll give you a quick rundown!" Brock began. "Each gym will have its own battle rules. Here, we fight a two-on-two pokémon battle. This means that we both use two pokémon each and the battle ends when one of us has lost the two pokémon we chose for the battle. Once you've sent a pokémon out, it is considered to be one of your choices, so you are free to chose any pokémon from your party up to the point that you've sent out two pokémon."
"Does this mean that we're fighting with both pokémon at the same time?" James asked in confusion.
"No!" Brock replied. "We'll send them out one at a time. One other rule is that I'm not allowed to substitute my pokémon, while you're free to switch out between your two battling pokémon at any time! Clear?"
"Got it!" James called back. He gripped Kacha's poké ball tightly.
"You may begin!" the man at the sidelines, who appeared to be the referee, shouted.
"Go, Geodude!" Brock threw out his first poké ball.
A small rock with powerful-looking arms and a face emerged from the ball.
"Go, Kacha!" James called.
Kacha cried out as he burst out of his poké ball.
"A pikachu?" Brock looked confused. "Are you sure you want to lead with an electric type?"
"I only have two pokémon!" James called back.
"Then I guess that's a pretty unlucky line up for you!" Brock called.
"We'll see," James murmured. "Kacha, use Thundershock!"
Kacha fired a jolt of electricity towards Geodude.
"Yes!" James grinned as it struck the rocky pokémon. However, as the smoke cleared it became obvious that the attack hadn't done anything to Geodude at all. "Why didn't Thundershock hurt it?"
"Geodude is a rock-ground type pokémon!" Brock called back. "Electric moves have no effect against ground types since they can immediately earth themselves!"
"I guess we'll have to try a different tactic," James said to Kacha.
Kacha nodded in response.
It was easier said than done though - Thundershock was Kacha's only offensive move. If he couldn't use that, then it was only a matter of time before he was defeated.
"Use Growl!" James ordered.
Kacha growled at Geodude.
"Use Defence Curl!" Brock called to Geodude.
Geodude tucked himself into a ball (well, more of a ball) to conceal his weak spots.
"Use Growl again!" James ordered.
"Keep using Defence Curl!" Brock shouted. Both Kacha and Geodude continued their actions.
Up in the stands, Livvi let out a yawn.
"This is starting to get really boring," she sighed.
Barru, sat on a seat next to her, nodded as the exchange of status attacks continued.
"Alright, that's enough, Geodude!" Brock called. "Use Tackle!"
Geodude bounced towards Kacha, making a loud thud every time he landed. He slammed into Kacha, but only succeeded in pushing him back slightly with minor damage.
"Alright!" James grinned. "My plan worked - Growl has reduced Geodude's attack power so much that he's doing next to no damage!"
"Well, if power won't work, then we'll try precision!" Brock shouted. "Geodude, use Tackle again and focus all of your power into a single point of contact!"
"A what?" A confused look appeared on James's face as he watched Geodude bounce back for a second attack.
Geodude cried out as he started to attack. Whereas the previous attack had involved slamming into Kacha's whole front, this time he focused all of the force of his attack onto a single area of Kacha's chest.
Kacha wheezed as he was hurled back, the wind knocked out of him by the force of the impact. He flew back and smashed into one of the rocks that dotted the battlefield before slumping to the ground.
"Kacha! Are you alright?" James called, shocked by the strength of the attack.
"Pikachu is unable to battle!" the referee announced. "Geodude is the winner!"
"Oh no!" Livvi cried, having snapped back to attention when the physical attacks started flying again.
"How did it deal so much damage?" James cried in disbelief as he scooped Kacha up into his arms.
"Geodude focused all of his reduced power into a single one of your pikachu's weak points!" Brock explained. "That meant that he took a lot more damage than he would if he were hit by a regular attack. We normally call these precision attacks 'critical hits'."
"So, Geodude was still able to defeat Kacha even though his attack power had been reduced," Livvi murmured, watching closely as James recalled Kacha to his poké ball.
"Go, Charka!" he called as he threw out his next pokémon.
Charka cried out as he burst out of the poké ball and landed with a soft thud on the ground.
"A fire type?" Brock gave James a pitying look. "This isn't your day, is it?"
"The effects of Kacha's Growl should still be active!" James replied. "As long as we can avoid your critical hits, then we'll be able to win!"
Charka gave Geodude a confident grin.
"Use Ember!" James ordered.
Charka fired a burst of embers towards Geodude, striking him directly. Geodude grunted as the embers engulfed him, leaving little scorch marks across his body.
"Fire type moves aren't very effective against rock types!" Brock called over.
"Since you used Defence Curl to increase your defence, a long-range attack like Ember will be more effective!" James called back.
"Let's see if you can hold out then!" Brock grinned. "Geodude, use Tackle!"
Geodude nodded and charged forwards.
"Intercept it with Ember!" James ordered as Geodude leapt into the air to begin a final dive towards Charka.
Charka fired a burst of embers towards Geodude, hitting him as he descended towards him. Geodude cried in pain. He continued his descent and struck Charka in the chest, though he only succeeded in forcing him to take a step back.
"Use Tackle again!" Brock called, noticing that the scorch marks from the Ember were larger than those of the previous attack.
Geodude charged forwards again.
"Dodge it and use Ember!" James ordered.
Charka waited for Geodude to get close before leaping backwards. He fired another powerful burst of embers as he landed. Geodude cried in pain as he was hit.
"Keep it up!" James called to Charka.
Charka continued firing off Embers until he ran out of breath, but it was enough. Geodude, covered with countless black scorch marks and smoke rising from his overheated body, slumped to the ground.
"Geodude is unable to battle!" the referee announced. "Charmander is the winner!"
"Great work, Charka!" James grinned, giving the charmander a high five.
"You did well, Geodude." Brock smiled as he recalled him to his poké ball. "Take a good rest."
"Now it's one pokémon each!" Livvi grinned. "You can do it, James!"
"Thanks!" James called back, giving her a thumbs-up. Across the battlefield, Brock had pulled out his next poké ball.
"Go, Onix!" he called.
The burst of energy from the ball reshaped itself into a massive rock snake with a large horn on its head. It towered over James and Charka, who both stared at it with a mixture of awe and horror on their faces.
"Impressive, isn't he?" Brock grinned. "Onix here was my very first pokémon."
"So, this is a battle between both our first pokémon!" James called back, stilling looking at Onix. He looked down at Charka, who gave him a nod. "Alright, use Ember!"
Charka immediately fired a burst of embers towards Onix, striking one of rocks which made up his long body. However, it didn't seem to bother him that much.
"Use Bind!" Brock ordered.
Onix sprang into action, firing himself at Charka and encircling him before coiling up to trap him in his grip. Charka cried out as Onix squeezed him painfully.
"Charka!" James cried in alarm.
"Oh no!" Livvi gasped in the stands. At this rate, Charka was going to be defeated easily. James quickly thought through his options. An idea suddenly came to him.
"Use Ember and aim for Onix's face!" he shouted.
Charka took as deep a breath as he could before firing a burst of embers directly at Onix's face. Onix cried out in surprise and pain. His grip slackened, allowing Charka to get free and jump clear.
"Now use Ember again!" James called.
Charka fired a burst of embers towards Onix, who was still reeling from his previous attack. The rock type cried in pain as the attack hit.
"Snap out of it, Onix!" Brock called. "Use Rock Tomb!"
Onix nodded. He fired a large pile of boulders towards Charka, aiming to trap him beneath the debris.
"Dodge it!" James yelled to Charka.
Charka nodded. He jumped back and then immediately dove to the left. As he landed, however, he was hit by one of the rocks, knocking him to the ground.
"Finish this up!" Brock shouted. "Use Rock Tomb again!"
Onix fired another cluster of rocks towards Charka as he struggled to pull himself back to his feet. His cry of pain as he was hit was drowned out by a loud crash as the rocks hit, burying him under the rubble.
"Charka!" James shouted in alarm.
"Charmander is unable to battle! Onix is the winner!" the referee announced as James ran over to the rock pile and started digging Charka out. "Both of the challenger's pokémon are unable to battle, so the winner of this battle is Brock!"
"Great work, Onix, thanks!" Brock smiled as he recalled him.
"Are you alright, Charka?" James cried as he pulled the charmander out of the rubble.
Charka gave him an apologetic look.
"It's not your fault." James smiled sadly.
"That was a pretty good battle, given that it was your first time challenging a gym," Brock said as he walked over to James and offered him his hand.
"Thanks," James replied in a slightly dejected tone as he shook Brock's hand.
"I think you've got a lot of potential," Brock continued. "I hope to see you here again soon for a rematch."
There's not as much to discuss regarding new content this time. For the most part, I just tidied up the chapter and added more description. Nonetheless, I hope that the gym battle is a bit better now than it was in its original form.
Until next time! :)
James's Team:
Active:
Charka (Charmander): male, naïve, often scatters things, likes sweet food, fire type, Blaze ability, known moves are Scratch, Growl and Ember.
Kacha (Pikachu): male, modest, sturdy body, likes dry food, electric type, Static ability, known moves are Thundershock, Growl and Tail Whip.
Livvi's Team:
Active:
Barru (Bulbasaur): male, timid, highly persistent, likes sweet food, grass-poison type, Overgrow ability, known moves are Tackle, Growl and Vine Whip.