Disclaimer: You know the drill, lawyer, come back with something better.

Chapter 4: Journey Start! Wake-Up Call!

As the yellow sun rose up in the sky, Carl slept like a rock. However he was in for an unexpected awakening…

"The champion, Carl Zorbo!"

Carl stood in amazement when he finally defeated his last opponent. He jumped in joy. "I won! Oh my God I won! And is something burning? Cause I smell smoke!"

Carl actually did smell smoke. He sprang from his slumber, screaming. The tips of his hairs were on fire. The source of the fire came from his Charmander, as it turned out, that it used the flame on its tail and set his hair on fire to wake him up. Carl hurriedly put out the flames on his head and looked at Charmander. He chuckled. "Well, I guess that's one way to wake up!" Charmander beamed at him. Carl picked him up and headed downstairs.

As soon as he arrived in the kitchen, his mother looked at him and asked, "Did you get a haircut?"

Carl cringed and looked for a mirror. He passed Charmander to his mother. From the hallway, he heard his mother crooning to his Pokemon.

"You are just so cute!"

Carl found a mirror and gingerly touched one of his burnt hairs and crumbled away. "Yeah, that cuteness cost me a couple of hairs too." Carl muttered to himself. He walked back to the kitchen. His baby sister, Coco, gurgled at him and threw her rattle on the floor. Meanwhile his father had buried his face in the newspaper, ignoring him. Carl picked Coco's rattle and set it on the table.

He cooed to her, "Does Coco want Choco Puffs?" Coco laughed and hit Carl with her rattle.

"Carl, stop bothering your sister." Carl turned around to look at his father, who as still behind the newspaper. He was about to angrily retort but thought better of it. This was his last day with his family for who knows how long. He might as well as grin and bear it…

After a large breakfast, Carl went up to his room to pack. Yesterday, he bought all the Potions, Antidotes, Heals, and Revives he could buy. Then he returned Charmander to his Poke Ball. He was now wearing a white shirt, jeans, and a red hoodie. He also took a better look at his Pokedex. He checked Charmander's information in the Pokedex. It read: "The fire on the tip of its tail is a measure of its life. If healthy, its tail burns intensely." He also checked Charmander's techniques: Scratch, Growl, Ember, and Rage.

"Carl! Could you come down here?" His mother called him.

"'Kay, mom!" He shouted back. He traveled downstairs and was showered by confetti. His house was filled with people wanting to see him off so they threw a short surprise farewell party. He was given gifts meant to help him on the way. He received extra clothes, food and cooking supplies, a fishing rod and lucky charms. Thanking everyone as they left, he retrieved his backpack and Charmander's Poke Ball and stuffed some of the extras in his bag. After everyone left, Carl and his family said their goodbyes.

His mother's tears ran down rapidly down her cheeks. "Be careful," she said and gave him a strangling hug and ran back inside. Coco was crying so loudly that she couldn't hear a word so Carl planted a kiss on her forehead instead. She too toddled back inside the house. When Carl reached his dad, they did not speak. His dad was about to say something, but Carl cut him off. "Dad, I just want you to know that this my choice and I will go through with it until the end."

His father stared at him stone-faced. His dad finally said, "You'd better, because your luck won't save you all the time. Just make sure you don't waste your time. And instead of wishing the best of luck to you, I hope you fail."

Carl gritted his teeth and didn't say anything. His father smirked. "You might want to leave now, it's high noon right now." His father finally went back inside, leaving Carl alone outside.

It wasn't exactly easy leaving his hometown behind for his journey. Carl felt torn between living home and doing nothing or gaining a renowned title of his generation. The fame and glory side won. With a not exactly heavy heart, he set off.

He never was very fond of his family. His mother would pretty much nag at him for everything and giving him multiple demands; Carl hated to multi-task. His father would often criticize him for anything even if the deed was to make him proud of his son. Coco was just fine even though she was a bit of a brat. Carl shook his head vigorously. He had to get these depressing memories out of his head.

"Look on the bright side, Carl. You're finally on your way for your journey." Carl said to himself. He started to fantasize about when his Charmander would evolve a powerful Charizard. He could see the fire-breathing Pokemon defeating its enemies with its flame and strength all the while flying majestically.

Carl then stumbled on a rock. He sighed irritably. He was going to have to watch where he's going from now on. He decided to take a break so he set his bag down on the ground and sat down. After brooding from his father's verbal attack on his pride, Carl heard chattering in his bag. Sitting up, he zipped open his bag and found a pair of Rattatas chewing on his clothes and food. Upon seeing Carl, who was about to yell at them, they scampered away for a short distance then turned to face him. They waved their tails and gnashed their teeth in anger. He noticed that one of the Rattatas had shorter whiskers than the other. Carl knew that the one with the shorter whiskers was female.

Instinctively, Carl released Charmander. Charmander Growled menacingly. The Rattata couple was frightened for a short time but recovered. One of the Rattata charged forward with a Tackle while the female leaped over the male Rattata and attacked first with a Tail Whip. Charmander was stunned and couldn't block the Tackle attack from the male. Charmander was shoved back, taken aback.

Carl shouted a command. "Charmander! Use Ember!"

Charmander shot a fireball at one of the Rattatas. It hit the female and Burned her. The female lay down, struggling to get up. Miraculously, the female stood up. Carl's mouth dropped open in astonishment. The Rattata couple charged again but this time with Quick Attacks. The male hit Charmander first which did some damage but then the female Rattata's Quick Attack made Charmander fall over.

Scared, Carl recalled Charmander and started to run. But after he went about ten steps, he turned back. The male Rattata was now helping its mate up which collapsed. Carl couldn't help but feel sorry for them so he fished into his bag and pulled out some nuts and a Burn Heal. He cautiously went back to the pair and laid down the nuts.

The Rattata couple stared at Carl suspiciously. Both of the purple rodents limped towards Carl. Carl swallowed, afraid since he had no protection. The female then placed herself in front of Carl. Carl took this as permission to spray the rat Pokemon with the Heal. The singed fur on the Rattata began to disappear. Meanwhile, the male gathered up the nuts. When Carl was done, both human and Pokemon stared at each other. Suddenly, they dashed away.

Carl watched them scurry away, feeling floaty. While doing this act of kindness, he accidentally forgot about his own Pokemon. "Oh crap! I forgot to heal Charmander! Sorry, man!" He opened the Poke Ball and Charmander appeared in a flash. He was in a bad condition. Carl quickly brought out a Potion and sprayed it on Charmander. When the bruises on the lizard Pokemon began to fade, Carl sighed in relief.

"We better get to a Pokemon Center fast, huh?" Carl said to his Pokemon. Charmander responded with a cheerful but weary call. Carl returned Charmander to his Poke Ball and walked to Viridian City.

Thankfully, the Pokemon Center was the outermost building in Viridian City and Carl went inside. He went up to the receptionist and asked for a room. The redheaded nurse smiled. "Why sure. All trainers are welcome to stay in any Pokemon Center." Carl brought out his wallet but the nurse shook her head.

"Sorry, we don't take payment. Almost everything here is free."

Carl put back his wallet in his pocket. "Well, that's good."

The nurse typed on a computer next to her. "Well, we're almost finished. I just need your Pokedex for identification."

Carl obliged and passed his Pokedex to the nurse. "Here you go, Miss…?"

"Oh, just call me Nurse Joy, it's easy to remember. And you can find all of my relatives in other centers in other towns as well!" She slid the Pokedex on a scanner and a tiny beep sounded. She gave back the Pokedex and also gave Carl a key. She said to him, "Your room is 104. Breakfast is served at 8 o' clock."

"Got it. Thanks, Nurse Joy."

"Anytime."

Carl opened the door to his room and fell on his bed as soon as he walked in. The room wasn't five star material, but at least the bed was comfy. Right next to the bed was a small table with a clock and a lamp on top. Another larger table was in front of the bed, also accompanied by another lamp. Perched on top of the desk was a laptop. A TV was located to the left of the desk.

Like most bathrooms at hotels, the bathroom was small but not to the point of being cramped. It even had toiletry samples and towels of multiple sizes. Carl undressed and stepped into the shower, washing away dirt and grime.

After the refreshing shower, Carl changed back into his clothes and sat on the bed, pondering about the future. There's no turning back now. To go back would be considered weak. But still, is he ready for the hardships that may come? No doubt he would come to a dead end at some points, but will he be able to regain his strength, and continue forward?

Troubled, Carl laid back on his bed, where sleep overtook him.

I have mixed feelings about this chapter. I don't think I wrote the battle well enough. Want to give me your opinion? All you have to do is just review!