Chapter Four
Great Times
As Gold, Crys, and Falkner walked through the short stretch of forest between Azalea Town and Union Cave, they began to discuss Silver. They knew he had stolen Totodile, but they were unsure if that was his only Pokemon.
"I think so," Gold said. "If it wasn't, why didn't he fight back after his Totodile got knocked out?"
"He could have a strategy, unlike you," Falkner replied.
"Hey!" Gold and Flare yelled in unison.
"Calm down, you two," Crys said, breaking up their quarrel. "Gold's right, he would have fought back. That kid... it doesn't seem like he would hold back."
Falkner was about to argue, but then he remembered that Crys was upset about Silver killing the Lapras. "Yeah..." he agreed.
They continued walking until a man in a black cloak stopped them. "Hey!" he yelled. "You kids can't come through here!"
"Why not?" Gold said. "You don't own the forest."
"'Cause I said so!" the cloaked man answered as he threw out a Pokeball. As it hit the ground, a Snorlax came out. "Snooooooooor-laaaaxxx" it yawned.
"Oh, so that's the way it's gonna be!" Flare said as he jumped off of Gold's head. "You're gonna eat those words!"
"Huh?" Gold said. "What did he say?"
As Flare was answering, the Snorlax jumped at him, and Flare barely got out of the way in time.
"I'll tell you later," Flare said. Then he used Flamethrower, but the Snorlax just brushed it of like it was nothing. Then Snorlax began to glow, and as it lumbered towards Flare, it gained momentum. Finally, it jumped up and used Giga Impact. Flare used Quick Attack to get away, but he was hit by the shockwave of the landing. The Snorlax then sent out a pool of purple liquid that was surely dangerous, but Flare jumped over it and set it on fire with his back, clearing it out.
"Did Snorlax just...?" Falkner asked.
Flare then turned around and used Smokescreen to blind Snorlax, then began to charge up his inner heat. He focused it, and, with a massive blaze on his back, used Flamethrower to set the smoke on fire. In the massive explosion, Flare was knocked back, but the Snorlax was out cold.
"Yeah!" yelled Gold. "That's showin' them how it's done!"
But then the Snorlax began to get up and glow again. As it ran towards Flare, who was too weak to dodge, it was hit by a massive pillar of shimmering air.
"Good Sky Attack, Murkrow!" Falkner said. "Gold, you think Flare and Murkrow could do a little combo? Air Slash, Murkrow!"
Seeing what Falkner meant, Gold had Flare use Flamethrower... at Murkrow's attack. As they collided, the oxygen in the Air Slash caught on fire, but it continued to move towards Snorlax! The sleepy giant couldn't move fast enough with the energy drain from Giga Impact, so it was hit. But Falkner had another plan-he had Murkrow use Whirlwind as soon as the flaming Air Slash hit, and the air and leaves around Snorlax were kicked up and set on fire, finally knocking out the giant Pokemon.
"You think that's all I have?" said the cloaked man as he withdrew Snorlax. "Go, Zubat!"
As soon as the Zubat came out, Flare used Swift and Quick Attack at the same time, surrounding himself with the whirling stars, then smashing into the Zubat, who fell instantly.
"Crap! Zubat, return!" yelled the cloaked man. "Go, Koffing! Use Smog so we can get out of here!"
The purple, balloon-like Pokemon came out, and he let out an especially large amount of purple gas. Flare and Murkrow tried to get in closer, but the gas was too noxious. Flare tried to set it on fire, but this didn't work either. When Murkrow finally cleared out the Smog with Whirlwind, the cloaked man was gone.
"I wonder who that was," Falkner said.
"I-I d-don't kn-now..." Crys replied, stammering. "B-bu... b-bu... h-he didn't s-seem like a v-very good p-person..." It was obvious that she was scared out of her wits.
"What's wrong, Crys?" Falkner asked.
"Maybe it's the poison," Gold guessed. "She has chemophobia, the irrational fear of anything chemical. Her dad was nearly killed by a Muk's Toxic attack."
"She's afraid of poison?" Falkner asked. "Didn't she fight Bellsprout in Sprout Tower..." he slowed down. "Grandpa talked with you, didn't he?"
"Yeah, so?"
"So that's why you've been talking to Flare. You can actually hear him, can't you?"
"How'd you figure that out?"
"My grandfather, the caretaker of Sprout Tower, doesn't let anyone do practically anything in Sprout Tower unless they're worthy, and that basically means the Bellsprout Pillar grants them a gift, generally speech to a Pokemon close to them. He's always complaining about how nobody is worthy these days."
"G-guys?" Crys cried. "H-help... p-please... I'm s-scared..." She was rocking back and forth in the fetal position while Gold and Falkner had their conversation.
"Oh, uh... don't worry, Crys," Falkner said as he walked over to her. "We beat the poison Pokemon, okay?"
"I-if y-you say s-so," she replied. She stood up, still holding herself, while Chicorita and Falkner assured her as they walked toward Azalea Town.
---
When they reached Azalea Town it was already dark outside, so they went to the Pokemon Center for a room. Gold and Falkner shared a bunk while Crys lie down on her own bed. She sobbed quietly throughout the night, but she didn't disturb Gold, who was snoring loudly, or Falkner, who seemed on edge, even while he was asleep.
In the morning, Gold woke up to see that Crys was sound asleep and Falkner was gone. He carefully got up and changed into a black T-shirt, hat, and cargo shorts, forgoing his usual hoodie because of the humidity in Azalea Town. He went to the lobby, and found that Falkner was in the kitchen.
"I hope that you're not cooking for the whole Center," Gold said sarcastically. "Because, you see, this is where people and Pokemon come to get better, not worse."
"Ha-ha," Falkner replied. "I'm not cooking, I'm taking lessons on how to. I'm also gathering supplies to cook with. We don't want anymore of those burnt hamburgers, do we? Hey, where's Flare?"
"Still asleep. I've never seen a Pokemon so lazy yet so fast."
"Hey!" Flare said as he crawled into the kitchen. "I'm not lazy. I just want to store up my energy for evolution. Besides, when I do evolve, I won't ever fit on your head again."
"Yeah, when you're a Typhlosion, I get to ride you."
"Screw you. Now bow down, human, so I can ride you and sleep."
"Hey, Gold, Falkner," Crys said sleepily as she walked in, dressed in a pink nightshirt and -pants with Psyduck on them. "Falkner, are you seriously cooking for the whole Center? Just remember, this is where people and Pokemon come to get better, not worse."
"Not you, too," Falkner said. "Hey, Gold, are you going up against the Gym here? Bugsy just took over for his brother, Aaron, a year ago. He uses Bug-type, and is even more greenhorn at battling than wild Pokemon!"
"He's been a Leader for longer than you and you're calling him 'greenhorn'?" Crys asked. She still seemed a little shaken from the day before.
"Actually, I've been running the Gym, using my dad's Pokemon, for about five years. That's the great thing about being a Leader-if your family owns the Gym, you can battle in the Gym at any age. Bugsy's only ten!"
"Yeah, sounds like I'll check it out," Gold said.
An hour and good meal made by the Nurse later, Gold was outside the Azalea Gym. As the doors slid open, a young man with green hair and a black shirt stood there.
"Who're you?" he asked coldly.
"I'm Gold. I'm challenging the Azalea Gym. Who are you?"
"I'm Aaron, previous leader of the Azalea Gym. Bugsy's out training for the week, so I'm taking the challenges for now." They walked inside, and Aaron explained the rules - one-on-one, the first one knocked out loses- and accepted his challenge.
"Go, Flare!" Gold said as Flare jumped off of his head and lit his back.
"A Fire-type? So, you're so weak you rely on type advantages to win? I'll show you type advantages aren't everything! Go, Scizor!"
"He says 'type advantages aren't everything' to the kid who beat the Violet Gym with a Bug-Type," Gold said under his breath.
Scizor started out with Bullet Punch, instantly outspeeding Flare and smashing into him with a shining claw. Flare rolled as he hit the ground, and set the grass around him on fire to hide. Scizor drew back from the fire, obviously knowing his biggest-and only- weakness.
Flare shot out using Quick Attack to get behind Scizor, and used Smokescreen to cover himself again. He didn't dare set this on fire, though, because he would take too much damage. He began to search for Scizor, and found him, but only because Scizor used Silver Wind to clear all the smoke. It then came in with another Bullet Punch, sending Flare flying again. However, Flare used Swift and landed on one of the stars, then used Flamethrower on the star, setting him and the star on fire. But because it was only his inner fire, and not an explosion, the fire didn't hurt him. He than spun towards Scizor, knocking out the red mantis.
"But... how?" Aaron said. "How could someone beat my Scizor? It's impossible! Nobody could do it! It couldn't happen-"
"Scizor is unable to battle!" announced the judge. "Cyndaquil and Gold win the match!"
"I know type advantages aren't everything, Aaron," Gold said. "I had to fight Falkner with a Ledian."
"But. Scizor. Can't. Lose." Aaron said, clenching his fists.
Gold was about to leave Aaron to his disbelief, but Scizor got up and ran at Flare, his claws glowing and his eyes showing hatred.
"Scizor! No!" the judge yelled. "The match is over!"
That didn't stop Scizor. It used X-Scissor, and all Flare could do was light the fire on its back to try and get a Flamethrower off- but the fire on his back made Scizor hesitate, just for a fraction of a second, before it got hit by a full-power Flamethrower at point-blank range. Scizor was blown across the room and slammed into the far wall, obviously out cold. Aaron withdrew it and rushed to the Pokemon Center right away.
But Flare began to glow white. He got brighter and brighter, then he grew longer and more muscular. He stopped glowing, and was a Quilava!
"Crap, now I can't ride on your head anymore," he said. "But that doesn't mean I'm going back in that ball. That got old five months ago, when I was caught."
Gold just stood there, gawking.
---
Falkner took Crys out so she could loosen up from her shock while Gold challenged the Gym. They went to a hill at the edge of town, where the closest house belonged to an old man. Falkner brought some food from the Center so he didn't have to cook, and packed it like a picnic. As they stood on the hill, Crys explained about her father. She told Falkner everything, from his poisoning to the doctors saying they had to induce a coma to her fear of him dying. As she sat there, crying, Falkner had a suggestion.
"Do you want to ride on Staravia?" he asked. "He loves to carry people, and he wouldn't mind. It always cheers me up."
"S-sure," Crys said, wiping a tear from her eye as Falkner sent out Staravia. She sat on his back, and Staravia took off. At first she was frightened, but then she realized that Staravia was being very steady. All of a sudden, Falkner came up, riding Pidgeotto like a skateboard.
"See?" he yelled over the wind. "It feels amazing in the sky! The freedom, the fresh air, and the wind rushing through you... this is why the birds sing!"
Crys felt elated. She had never flown before, and she thought it was amazing. They flew around for a few hours with a few breaks and switching Pokemon, but after a while Staravia and Pidgeotto got tired and landed for the day. By this time it was already dusk, and Falkner sent out Murkrow.
"He loves flying blind," he explained. "I found him flying in a pitch-black forest with his eyes closed, and he was flying perfectly. I've trained him to use it, and I'll always let him fly at night, if I can."
He withdrew Pidgeotto and Staravia, and sat down with Crys. Then, Volbeat and Illumise began to come out and glow, creating an amazing scene.
"It looks... beautiful," Crys said, amazed.
"I know," was all Falkner could say. They sat there for a few minutes. Then, without knowing why, Falkner began to lean over to kiss Crys. As he leaned in, Murkrow came in low, and Falkner had to push Crys down so she didn't get hit. When Murkrow hit the ground and rolled, Falkner knew something was wrong. He turned around, and the cloaked man was there, holding Murkrow like a hostage.
"Kid, I'm gonna kill you and this bird of yours."
The Snorlax from the day before came up and ran into Falkner. The last thing he heard before he blacked out was "Just have to kill the other kid, too."