Disclaimer: I knew something was missing… I don't own Pokémon… Love the games; love the show, but love can't buy the franchise.
Chapter 2
Somewhere on the outskirts of Cerulean City, a young man and his film crew were trying to discern the exact location of the Cerulean Gym from a very strange map sold to them by a weird man. The rather dashing young man pulled at the ruffles on the front of his shirt and rotated the map 90 degrees again.
"Charlotte?" he muttered despondently, "I think we've been conned."
Charlotte the producer rolled her eyes at one of the other crew members. "It seems so. Why don't we just ask someone for directions?"
Green hair flashed past her as the boy shot her a grin and ran towards a young trainer making his way along the road. The trainer's eyes widened as he was suddenly surrounded by people with cameras and microphones. "Hello there," begun the teen idol. "Would you mind giving us directions to the Cerulean Gym?"
The poor youngster began to sweat nervously as the older boy smiled radiantly at him while his camera crew began to motion for an answer and abruptly said, "I…I like shorts! They're comfy and easy to wear!"
The sounds of wild Pokémon deep in the forest could be heard over the awkward silence that surrounded the foreign crew. One of the cameramen sighed.
"I knew we should have gone with Yancy."
Back at the Cerulean Gym, Misty was sitting at the water's edge after a busy morning of training with a few of her Pokémon. 'Ah there's nothing like relaxing in the pool. Having no more gym battles for a while will be a good break" she thought as she watched Politoed swim by her feet.
"Cerulean Gym Leader? I challenge you!"
"Spoke too soon," she sighed as she stood to greet her challenger.
"I accept your challenge. My name is Misty Waterflower. What's your name?"
"I'm Andrew from Solaceon Town in the Sinnoh Region. I'm aiming for the Indigo Plateau." Misty scrutinised the trainer who looked no older than twelve.
"That's quite far away," she remarked. "I hope you've come prepared. Earning this badge isn't easy."
Andrew grinned with confidence. "I sure am! That badge is mine!"
Tracey, who had walked in shortly after Andrew, stood between them. "I'll officiate over this match." Misty nodded and hopped onto her platform on the water as Andrew stumbled onto his before quickly recovering. She smirked at his overconfidence and shook her head.
"Alright! This battle for the Cascade Badge will be a 3-on-3 match with only the challenger allowed to switch Pokémon! " Tracey declared. "The winner will be determined when all three of either side's Pokémon are unable to battle!"
Andrew grinned and pulled out a Pokeball while Misty folded her arms. "Begin!"
"Ok Torterra I choose you!" Misty watched as the large turtle Pokémon materialised on one of the larger platforms. "Torterra!" it said proudly.
"Ah a Grass-type, you've done some research," said Misty, appraising the large Pokémon. "Let's see how well you've applied it, go Politoed!" she called and watched as Politoed sprang out of the water and onto a platform of his own.
"Go Torterra, Razor-leaf!" commanded Andrew. Torterra grunted as a flurry of leaves hurled towards Politoed.
"Dodge," was Misty's simple command. Politoed effortlessly dove back into the water.
"Keep an eye out for it Torterra and use Razor-leaf again!"
"Use Headbutt now Politoed!"
Politoed jumped up to the right of the surprised Torterra and surged forward dealing a powerful blow to Torterra's side. "Terra!" it cried.
"Oh no! Come on Torterra! Use Leaf Storm!"
"Counter with Water Gun!"
The two attacks met halfway and managed to cancel each other out. "Now jump and use Water Gun again!"
Politoed leaped high above Torterra and released another powerful torrent of water as Andrew watched his Pokémon received a powerful shower. "You weren't wrong to bring a Pokémon with Grass moves Andrew," said Misty. "But Torterra is basically a sitting Psyduck for any attacks because it can't dodge or even manoeuvre itself on that platform. Finish it with Body Slam!"
Politoed plummeted towards Torterra with tremendous force and made a direct hit. "Torterra!" it cried before collapsing on its platform.
"Torterra is unable to battle, Politoed wins!" The frog Pokémon hopped up onto a platform and clapped happily. "Politoed!"
Misty placed her hands on her hips and patiently waited for Andrew as he recalled Torterra. "Ugh I didn't think that through. But anyway, my next Pokémon is all I need! Go Manectric!"
Manectric growled as it faced its opponent. "Ok Manectric use Quick Attack!" Andrew commanded and Manectric leaped skilfully forward across the floating platforms.
"Dodge it Politoed!"
The two Pokémon began the dodging dance across the platforms before Manectric collided with Politoed. "Politoed!" he cried at the impact. "Yes!" cheered Andrew. "Now use Bite!" Politoed wasn't able to dodge as Manectric's jaws clamped onto him.
"Politoed get out of there!" cried Misty, worriedly watching Politoed struggle. Suddenly electricity crackled around him and he was frozen in place. "Oh no!" exclaimed Misty, "Static!"
"Yeah! Finish it with Thunder Fang!" Manectric released Politoed and chomped down on him again, this time with a surge of electricity in his teeth. It was a very powerful attack and so Politoed fainted.
"Politoed is unable to battle, Manectric wins!" said Tracey.
"Return Politoed!" called Misty. "You deserve a long rest." She said as she tucked the Pokeball into her jacket pocket. She looked back at her challenger who was singing the praises of his victory.
"Oh yeah! I'm gonna win! Bring it on!"
Misty raised an eyebrow. "Don't get too cocky kid. Let's see how you deal with this! Come on out Quagsire!"
Quagsire lazily floated to the surface and jumped onto the platform. "Quagsire," he greeted.
"What's with that face? Alright Manectric, use Thunder Wave!"
Manectric barked and let of the paralysing wave of electricity that Quagsire didn't' bother to dodge. "Quag?" he tilted his head at Manectric and questioned. Andrew smacked his forehead. "Gah! I forgot! Quagsire is part Ground!"
Misty grinned, "Use Mud Shot!" Quagsire began to hurl mud at Manectric while Manectric tried to dodge without falling into the water. It began to get harder for Manectric to dodge as its speed considerably slowed.
"Now use Slam!" Misty yelled. Quagsire hurled itself at Manectric. Manectric cried out as it took the powerful hit and stumbled as it tried to regain balance. "No Manectric! Use Tackle!"
Manectric surged forward and rammed into Quagsire however, Quagsire did not look affected at all by the hit. "Muddy Water Quagsire!"
Manectric yelped as it was doused in the muddy water with great force, concealing it completely. Misty, Andrew and Tracey waited for the water to clear before revealing the fainted Manectric slumped on the platform. "Manectric is unable to battle," declared Tracey, "Challenger, please send out your final Pokémon."
Andrew sighed as he realised he had one last chance to win. "I'm counting on you, go Bibarel!"
The Beaver Pokémon landed onto the platform and Misty observed the final contender. "Hmm, alright Quagsire use Water Gun!"
"You use Water Gun too Bibarel!" retorted Andrew. The two water guns met midway and collapsed.
"Go Bibarel! Use Take Down!" cried Andrew as Bibarel charged. "Stand your ground Quagsire!" commanded Misty and as Bibarel leaped forward yelled, "Jump!"
"Oh no!" exclaimed Andrew as Quagsire leaped over Bibarel sending it crashing into the platform. "Bibarel! Are you alright girl?"
The beaver Pokémon shook herself off and nodded to her trainer. "Bibarel!"
"Ok let's try Hyper Fang!" Bibarel jumped forward and sunk her teeth into Quagsire's tail. "Quag!" he cried and began to thrash about to get her off.
"Shake her off Quagsire! You can do it!" yelled Misty encouragingly. A few shakes later and Quagsire twisted his body and successfully dislodged Bibarel from his tail.
"Good now use Slam!" called Misty. "Dodge Bibarel!" yelled Andrew but Quagsire was faster than her and collided with her, "Bii!" she cried.
"Oh no! Come on Bibarel! Try Defense Curl! " yelled the frantic trainer. Bibarel rolled herself into a ball and tried to brace herself for further attacks.
"Looks like this match is over," said Misty. "Quagsire! Finish her with a Water Gun!"
"Quag!" he cried and unleashed a powerful Water Gun attack that sent Bibarel slamming into wall behind Andrew. Bibarel unrolled herself and muttered, "Bii Bibarel…" before succumbing to her damage.
Tracey raised his arms and declared, "All three of the challengers Pokémon are unable to battle. The winner is Misty the Gym Leader and Quagsire!"
Andrew's shoulders slumped. "You did great Bibarel, return!"
Misty bent down to pet her Quagsire before returning him to his Pokeball. "You fought very well today. You've definitely gotten stronger."
She placed his Pokeball in her pocket along with Politoed's and hopped onto the pool's edge. She walked over to Andrew and placed her hand on his shoulder to get his attention. "Don't look so down Andrew," she began gently, "You and your Pokémon did well. With a bit more training and some strategy adjustments, you could win next time."
The young trainer brightened and looked up at her. "You think so?"
Misty nodded. "Definitely. But remember, there's only so far you can go with passion. Using your head when you battle is important too."
"I guess getting Kanto Gym badges isn't going to be as easy as I thought it would be," murmured Andrew as he looked at the Pokeballs in his hands.
Misty laughed and ruffled his hair. "Got that right kid, we're no pushovers. Now why don't you head over to the Pokémon Centre and recover."
Andrew nodded and headed out of the Gym. "Thanks for the battle. Bye!"
Misty and Tracey waved off the before heading back inside. "That was a good battle Misty," remarked Tracey.
"Gee, you don't have to sound surprised," she replied with a roll of her eyes.
"Ah ha ha! I didn't mean it like that!" he nervously laughed. "I just meant it was good that you didn't totally obliterate the poor kid."
Misty laughed at her friend. "I'm not evil you know! I just know how to judge a challengers level and pick appropriate Pokémon. It would have been cruel to sic Gyarados on him."
Tracey nodded and then grinned at her. "Wow! Who knew you were so mature!" He ducked as another of Misty's sandals flew at his head.
"Hmph! Don't you have research or something to finish?" she snapped. As Tracey opened his mouth to respond, a beeping noise interrupted him. He looked around and located the source of the sound.
"Hey Misty, looks like you're getting a call," he said as he tossed a device at her. She caught her Xtransceiver and hit the answer button.
"Greetings Misty Waterflower. This is just a call to let you know of the Leagues approval of your temporary leave of absence. We will broadcast that the Cerulean Gym will be closed to challengers from this point onwards."
Misty smiled at the screen and nodded. "Thank you very much Ma'am. I hope to return to the circuit soon." The woman on screen nodded once before disappearing, ending the transmission.
Misty stretched and let out a sigh of relief. "And now I'm officially on vacation."
Tracey laughed at that. "Well for now at least. Who knows where Professor Oak is sending us!"
Misty glared at him. "Quit killing my buzz. Which route do you want to take to Pallet Town anyway?"
"What are you talking about?" Tracey frowned at her. "We'll take the main road of course! I brought the Jeep, did you forget?"
Misty smacked her forehead. "Of course! Sorry! I don't get out much you know."
Tracey laughed before heading upstairs. "Well I'll carry on packing then. See you later."
A little while later, Misty headed downstairs to go take Politoed and Quagsire to the Pokémon Centre after changing out of her swimsuit. She was almost out the door when the vid phone suddenly began to ring. Luckily, Violet had wandered in and picked up the call. "This is the Cerulean City Gym, Sensational Sister Violet speaking, how may I help you?" she answered professionally. A man around her age appeared on screen. His purple hair was tied back and he looked like he was wearing a breeders' apron.
"Um, hi," he said nervously. Violet giggled and thought how lucky she was to have answered a good looking guy's call.
"Hi cutie! What can I do for you?" she smiled charmingly.
A slight blush appeared on his cheeks and he stuttered slightly before saying, "Uh, Hi! I'm Reggie, a Pokémon Breeder from Sinnoh. I'm interested in acquiring a Shellder."
Violet giggled again. "I hope that's not all you're interested in acquiring…" she trailed off with a wink.
Misty rolled her eyes at her second eldest sister's antics and nudged her out of the way before she made the poor guy anymore flustered. "Hi, I'm Misty the Gym Leader. You're looking for a Shellder?"
Reggie composed himself and nodded. "Yes. I've got a Slowpoke and am interested in evolving him into a Slowbro, but I haven' been able to track down someone with a Shellder. An old friend suggested I give you a call."
Misty nodded with consideration. "Yeah we've got a few Shellder here. Are you a Breeder?" she asked.
"Yeah I am," replied Reggie. "Actually, since you're a Water Pokémon Gym, I was thinking of trading one of my Finneon for the Shellder."
"Ooh!" exclaimed Violet suddenly. "Finneon are so pretty! I'm sure one of them would be an awesome addition to our water shows!"
Misty looked at her sister. "You're willing to trade one of the Shellder then?"
Violet nodded. "Sure! Besides," she paused and flashed Reggie a bright smile, "I think this hunk will take good care of it."
Misty shrugged as Reggie laughed nervously. "Alright then Reggie it's a deal. I'm heading over to the Pokémon Centre now so you can connect to us there."
"Thank you very much," said Reggie gratefully.
"Call me!" yelled Violet before he disconnected.
"Violet, you go pick one of the Shellder to send. I'll meet you in the Pokémon Centre!" Misty called as she walked out the door.
Violet nodded and went to see which of the Shellder wanted to retire from water ballets. As she did, she wondered about all the new dances they could create with a Finneon as inspiration. And he really was cute, she mused to herself. Maybe I'll call him…
AN:
Battles… too wordy? Not descriptive enough? Any comments? Yes I know this is progressing very slowly, not to worry, Ash will appear soon… Happy Holidays!
~DQ
