In this chapter I'm adding the only reader created character I recieved, Jackson Armaya, created by XtremeBlaze. Hope you guys all like it!
I don't own Pokemon.
Chapter 4: A New Face
Wednesday, June 13th
"Alright Charmander, take in a deep breath, focus, and then try blowing again." Charmander sucked in as much air as he could, then closed his eyes in concentration. I crossed my fingers, hoping for the best. Then, his unusual green and blue eyes snapped open, and the small fire type released his breath harshly.
It wasn't exactly the column of fire I'd been hoping for, but Charmander's Ember attack was getting better every time we practiced it. There were a lot more fiery sparks now, and they were getting bigger. Plus, the plain air Charmander was exhaling was really hot as well.
"Good job Charmander, you're getting better at that every time!" I walked over to pat the starters head, causing Charmander to squeal in contentment and happiness. I stood fully erect, surveying our surroundings. We were still trapped somewhere in Viridian Forest, but I wasn't acting so impatient as I had been to get out. The forest was really pretty and calming. Last night we'd stumbled into a clearing full of dandelions, along with the little white flowers that I always referred to as wish flowers that they turned into. Once July hit though, they'd probably all wither with the heat.
There were no Pokemon around that I could see, but probably many hiding in the surrounding trees and in the tall grass. Looking down I saw that Charmander had sat himself down, the plants almost taller than he was hiding the fire type. Charmander was sniffing a wish flower, and one of the seeds got sucked up his nose. I laughed as he sneezed.
I whirled around upon hearing a second sneeze, one not coming from Charmander. I signaled for Charmander, still sat on the ground, to be quiet. He cocked his head at me in curiosity, then wobbled over to me, hiding behind my leg, covered by a pair of dark green capris. I carefully stood up on my tiptoes, trying to see through the dense weeds, grass, and flowers. A yellow zig zag tail caught my attention. I wouldn't have seen it amongst all the the yellow dandelions if it hadn't wiggled like it did.
I grinned, knowing that only Pikachu had a tail like that. I got a Pokeball ready, gently pushing Charmander forward in case we needed to battle. Then I tossed the capsule, which hit the Pikachu's tail! I jumped up and down, extremely excited to catch my first Pokemon. But, the Pokeball didn't suck in the Pikachu like it should've. Instead, it tapped the electric mouse Pokemon's tail, then fell back to the ground. Pikachu sat up looking bored and slightly irritated. It was the same one from before.
"What?!" Pikachu's tail twitched with the realization that I was the trainer that had been trying to battle and catch him a few days before. "Why didn't it work?!"
"Probably because that Pikachu belongs to someone else." The voice was soft, toneless, and gentle, but with enough confidence in it that it didn't make whoever the owner was sound weak. The voice also wasn't intimidating, not at all, so instead of whirling around like I would've if the answer had been loud and sarcastic, I turned with the wind at a normal pace, my jet black hair blowing over my shoulder.
The light brown haired boy standing there looked just a little older than I did, and was only an inch or two taller. A long fringe of hair flicked to the left side of his face, partially covering one of his really cool, oceanic eyes, blue and green. A small yellow thing darting by caught my attention, and I looked down just in time to see Pikachu run by and jump up onto the boy's held out arm. The boy was smiling fondly of the Pokemon I now assumed was his, as Pikachu rubbed his face against his trainer's.
"Maaan, I really wanted to catch a Pikachu." I crossed my arms and pouted, Charmander nervously waving from behind my leg.
"Sorry about that. Thunder and I got separated a few days ago after he accidentally destroyed a Beedrill nest, and I've been looking for him ever since."
"That's cool. But I have got to catch another Pokemon before I get to Pewter City!"
"Are you going to challenge the Gym there?"
"Heck yeah! How am I going to beat Red and Blue if I don't?"
"That's your goal as a trainer?"
"My goal?" I peered at the other trainer curiously.
"Many trainers have a personal goal that they want to accomplish during their journey, is being victorious over Red and Blue your goal?" I shrugged my shoulders, looking down at Charmander.
"I guess so." Then the guy was holding out his hand in a friendly gesture.
"My name is Jackson. Jackson Armaya." I took his hand and shook it, a bit surprised by his firm grip.
"I'm Violet Marzaroli. This little powerhouse is Charmander!" I proudly and arrogantly motioned to the shy fire type still partially hidden by my leg.
"Powerhouse eh?" Jackson crouched down, smiling gently at Charmander who was now nervously fiddling with his red bandana. "What kind of berries do you like?" That definitely got the starter's attention, who curiously cocked his head at Jackson. "You look like a Leppa Berry fan." The brunette dug through his messenger bag and pulled out a large bunch of the red and yellow berries. Charmander cautiously took them, setting a particularly small one on his tongue. The fire type closed and opened his mouth, carefully testing the flavors. Then, he jumped up excitedly and ran in a quick and clumsy circle before popping more of the obviously tasty things into his mouth.
"Pika pi!" The moody electric type who had adjusted his position onto the back of Jackson's neck was angrily sparking, jealous of Charmander's treat.
"Calm down Thunder, you can have something to." Jackson stood again, Thunder scampering back onto his shoulder. Then the older trainer took an Aspear Berry out of his bag, giving it to Thunder, who greedily took it and began chomping it down.
"So are you going to challenge the Pewter Gym too Jackson?"
"No, I've already received the Boulder Badge. Actually, I've won the first two Badges in the League." Jackson obviously kept his bag very clean and organized, because he easily and quickly pulled out a green Badge case, clicking it open and showing me an octogonal gray Badge and a water drop shaped Badge.
"That's great! So will you battle me!" It was less of a question and much more of an expectation. Jackson looked a bit surprised at my wanting to battle him.
"Are you sure? You haven't won a single Badge yet, and Charmander is your only Pokemon so far."
"So." I replied, bored already with this conversation.
"Um," Jackson appeared doubtful, biting his lip and looking to the side. "I suppose it won't do any harm..."
"Awesome! Charmander, you ready?" Charmander, who was now much more comfortable around Jackson cried out excitedly and jumped out in front of me. Thunder, without any gestures from Jackson jumped down, looking very ready to beat us.
"Not so fast Thunder," Everyone looked up at Jackson. "I think you should sit this one out." Thunder looked truly shocked, excuse the pun, and electricity shot angrily from his little red cheeks. "Thunder," Jackson used a parental tone while talking to his Pikachu. "Remember our little talk about controlling yourself?" Pikachu's nose twitched, and like a defiant child he turned away. Jackson sighed, and with a small, kind of sad smile on his face, returned Thunder to his Pokeball.
"Leaf, you're up!" With a graceful movement of the arm, Jackson threw up a Pokeball that released a Bulbasaur, apparently named Leaf. I smirked, loving the fact that we had a type disadvantage, despite the fact that Charmander still did not know any fire type moves. "Would you like to make the first move Violet?"
"Sure! Start off with Scratch Charmander!"
"Razor Leaf,"
"Quick, destroy the leaves with Scratch!" Only a few leaves were able to get at Charmander with my quick thinking, but we couldn't land a hit at all.
"Now use Take Down Leaf!" A light golden aura surrounded the grass type, who charged and tackled Charmander forcefully.
"Charmander!" Already my Pokemon was struggling to stay standing. "Hang in there! Try to use Ember!" Charmander sucked in an enormous breath, then turned red trying to hold it in and concentrate.
"Prepare yourself Leaf." Leaf contracted slightly into himself, ready to endure a powerful attack. I held my own breath. He's going to do it, he's finally going to do it! Charmander let out two actual little fireballs that hit Leaf right on. I pumped my fist and cheered. It may have been a pretty weak attack, and only two little fireballs came from Charmander, but he did it!
"Charmander, you finally used Ember!" The fire type jumped up and in mid-air turned around to face me, crying out gleefully. We both grinned, and though I didn't notice it, Jackson smiled and patiently waited for us to finish with our little congratulations. "Okay, now we're gonna win this for sure!"
"Char!"
"Use Scratch!"
"Vine Whip."
"Dodge it and keep going!" Charmander ducked and rolled under Leaf's vines, getting in a good Scratch attack before the fire type was suddenly grabbed and held up in the air by Vine Whip. "Ember Charmander!" We'd gotten to confident. Only a small spit ball of fire came this time, Charmander not having concentrated. The Bulbasaur barely flinched.
"Use Sleep Powder Leaf." The bulb on Bulbasaur's back opened up, releasing a sparkling blue powder which drifted around in swirls on the wind before settling on Charmander. He'd been struggling, but now, became drowsy, sneezed, then fell into a forced sleep.
"Charmander!"
"Leaf," Leaf threw Charmander into the ground, stirring up the seeds of the white dandelions as he rolled threw them ending up on his stomach.
"Charmander! Come on Charmander, you can do this, wake up!" Nothing happened. The fire on Charmander's tail was tiny and flickering. The silence and waiting of this was killing me. Jackson wouldn't make a move and Charmander wouldn't wake up. My hands were entangled in my hair, pulling just enough for me to stand this anxiety.
"Charmander buddy, get up!" Another few minutes went by with nothing still happening. "Just make a move already Jackson! I don't like to be gone easy on!" Jackson shrugged, something that seemed out of character for his collected, calm, seriousness, and intelligence.
"If that's what you want. Leaf, finish up with a Razor Leaf and then a Take Down combo." A flurry of razor sharp leaves came from Leaf's bulb, hammering into the still sleeping Charmander. Then, my own starter was thrown across the field, right next to where I was after Leaf used Take Down.
"Charmander!" The battle was definitely over. I carefully picked Charmander up in my arms, cradling him. The fire type was out cold, but not only that, it would take time for the effects of Sleep Powder to wear off on Charmander. I sighed, returning him to his Pokeball in the form of a red energy. "You did a really great job today. Rest easy little guy."
"Great battle Violet. You did well for someone without a single Badge."
"Thanks Jackson. You were better though." The brunette smiled sadly at me, then proceeded to dig through his bag. Jackson then gave me a plastic baggy filled with Sitrus Berries, Leppa Berries, and Chesto Berries.
"Here. If you mix the Chesto and Sitrus Berries together with a little bit of sugar they'll make a great healthy treat that'll heal Charmander right up."
"What about the Leppa Berries?"
"Didn't you see how much Charmander enjoyed them before?"
"You're going to just give all of these to me?"
"Of course! You're a great trainer Violet, you still have a lot to learn, but you'll be very strong someday, and I'd like to be there to see it happen."
"So basically you just want to be friends with me?"
"If that's how you'd like to put it, sure." I grinned, holding my fist out. Jackson peered at it, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh come on, don't tell me you've never done a fist bump!"
"Fist bump?" I tried to hide my laughter while slapping my hand to my face.
"It's like a handshake or a high five, but it's cooler, you know?" Jackson looked as if he was excited to be learning something new, even something as simple as this. "All you do is make a fist," Jackson copied my actions, making a fist out in front of himself. "Then bump them with a friend!" Jackson grinned with the motion. "And, if you're feeling extra awesome, you can do this!" I made an explosion noise, bringing my hand back as if to make an actual explosion. To this Jackson laughed out loud.
"You're headed to Pewter City, correct?"
"Yeah, as soon as I can get out of this forest." I replied.
"Well, how about I go with you? I know my way around Viridian Forest, and I'm headed that way myself, it would be convenient for the both of us." I looked down, contemplating Jackson's idea. It'd probably get me out of the forest much faster, and I could probably get Jackson to train Charmander and I, give us some tips and all.
"Sure, sounds like fun."
"Wonderful! How about we eat some lunch before we get going?"
"Sounds good to me! I'm starving!" Jackson offered to make lunch for the both of us, and it took forever, but it ended up being worth the wait. Jackson was an insanely good cook, and made the best BLTs I'd ever tasted. They were so good, it was almost like they weren't even BLTs!
After checking up on Charmander who was still asleep and unable to eat anything, Jackson let out his Pikachu, Thunder, and led us back into the forest. Thunder was still annoyed about not having battled earlier, and instead of riding on Jackson's shoulder, he jumped alongside us in the branches of the trees. I was kind of doubtful of the way Jackson was taking us at first, but he seemed to know where he was going so I didn't say anything. After only a few hours Jackson had led us out of the forest and back onto Route 2.
"We should probably set up camp for the night, it's getting late."
"But we're so close to Pewter City!" I whined.
"We'll get there nice and early Violet, you could probably even challenge the Gym after we get there. Besides, if you're going to challenge the Gym tomorrow, you need a lot of rest."
"I guess. Hey, speaking of Gym battles, what do ya say to giving me a bit of training?"
"Train you? I don't know if I'm that good Violet,"
"Oh come on, you have two Badges, you've got to know something." Jackson took a minute to think about it while we set up camp. After I set up my stuff, I set up a little blanket nest for Charmander, releasing him and setting him in it. While the fire type continued to sleep, I began to make the berry sauce with the sugar in it Jackson had mentioned earlier.
"I suppose we could try that. It wouldn't do any harm."
"Great! So, any advice?"
"Advice?"
"Yeah, for my Gym Battle!"
"Well, as of right now, I'd suggest catching a second Pokemon to take part in your Gym Battle. Not only does Charmander have a huge type disadvantage, but he only knows three moves as of right now. If you're going to win that battle, you need some help."
"Awesome, so tomorrow we'll look for another Pokemon to add to my team! How does that sound Charmander!" The fire type whimpered in discomfort, only just beginning to wake up. I took a spoonful of the Sitrus berry Chesto berry concoction and tried to feed it to Charmander, who refused it. "Come on buddy, it'll make you feel better."
"Here," Jackson took the spoon and bowl, adding a rather large amount of Leppa berries and sugar to the mixture.
"Is that healthy?" I asked suspiciously, not wanting to do more harm than good to my partner.
"It does have quite a bit of sugar, but that and the Leppa berries will make it taste a whole lot better to Charmander. The effect of the Sitrus and Chesto berries will remain the same, the other stuff will just cover up the taste." I nodded, having zoned out halfway through that conversation. Jackson took a spoonful and held it just in front of Charmander, who still refused to open up his eyes. The fire type sniffed, then cracked open his eyes, hungrily gobbling down the berry mixture. The thinly framed brunette allowed me to take over feeding the starter Pokemon. Shortly afterwards Charmander was finished, and fell back asleep.
"Wasn't that supposed to wake him up?" Jackson smiled kindly.
"It'll take a while before it's effects fully kick in. Besides, Charmander still needs to rest. As do you Violet." Jackson made stew for dinner, then ushered me off to bed like my mom. He was right though, both Charmander and I needed to be at our best for tomorrow. Tomorrow, we were going to expand both our team, and our collection of Gym Badges.
Wednesday, June 13th
Pretty good chapter. Let me know what you guys all think of it!
