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The Road to the League
by Sailor Chronos

Chapter Three: Learning Experiences

The following morning she was fine. Nurse Joy advised her not to push herself too hard during her travels, to get proper sleep and be careful to not get chilled again. The boy, Kris, wanted to watch her battle with Lt. Surge, but his Bulbasaur still wasn't in good enough shape to leave the Centre, so she promised him she would return afterwards and tell him how it went.

With Loki strutting beside her, she felt on top of the world. The weather had cleared and the warm sunshine on her back was welcome. She had indeed come a long way in only a month; many trainers went months or more before earning four badges. Then again, it was likely they spent much more time training their Pokemon or going on side trips than focusing on battling the Gym Leaders for badges.

Perhaps she ought to take some time out to do the same. The official League Games weren't until next spring, so a lot could be accomplished before then. She would think more about it after she earned her Thunder badge.

The Gym was imposing with stark grey columns on the front, and she hesitated briefly before entering. Inside it was pitch black until a single spotlight shone down on her. "Welcome to the Vermillion City Gym," boomed a voice. Lights gradually came up until she could see four trainers standing at the other end of the spartan arena.

"I am Heather Drake from Twilight Village, and I'm here to challenge Lt. Surge," she announced.

One of the trainers laughed. "Another one? When will people learn?" Heather found his attitude annoying. "Hey boss, there's another victim for you. And she has a Pikachu!"

Another man stepped forward: Lt. Surge himself. He was tall, taller than Koga, dressed in military fatigues and a leather jacket, with bright blond hair. "You're in for a treat, pretty baby," he said, giving her a cheeky wink.

"I'm not a baby!" she countered.

"I call everybody that unless they beat me. Do you think you can?"

She refused to rise to the bait. "Let's have a match, then we'll see. If I'm good enough to defeat Koga then I should be good enough to defeat you."

Lt. Surge took a PokeBall from his belt and began to toss it in his hand. "That doesn't prove anything. You'll have to show me." He threw the PokeBall into the ring and a Raichu emerged. "Every trainer that comes in here with a Pikachu gets to meet my Raichu. Are you sure you want to get trashed?"

Time for the Pokedex. "Raichu: the electric mouse Pokemon. The evolved form of Pikachu, it is capable of attacks of more than ten thousand volts." Loki glared at the Raichu, sparks jumping from the electric sacs on his cheeks. He showed no sign of backing down. "Pika!"

"Have it your way, then." The overhead lights came on, illuminating the ring brightly. One of the junior trainers picked up a microphone. "This match is one on one, no time limit. Lt. Surge will use Raichu. The challenger Heather has chosen a Pikachu. Good luck."

After her match, Heather returned to the Pokemon Centre as promised, to tell Kris about the battle and to have Loki treated. Kris and his friend Kevin, a stocky boy with flame-red hair, were most impressed with her five badges. When asked how she had beaten Lt. Surge, she modestly explained that Lt. Surge himself had revealed his secret during the battle.

"If a Pikachu evolves before it learns its higher level skills and attacks, it won't be able to learn them afterwards. He said something which implied that he had evolved a Pikachu quickly to get his Raichu, so I hoped that it wouldn't be able to keep up with Loki's Agility."

There was another round of congratulations. Nurse Joy walked up, carrying Loki and a Charmander. "Where are you headed now?" she asked, handing the Charmander over to Kevin.

"I was thinking about taking a break from the Gym circuit and training my Pokemon," she replied as Loki leaped up to her shoulders. "I understand that the Indigo League tournament isn't until next spring, and I'm not ready to go home yet."

"Why don't you get some advice from Professor Linden?" Joy suggested. "He works with many kinds of Pokemon and I'm sure he'd be able to get you started. I'll give you his address."

Heather followed Joy's directions and eventually came to a large two-story house on the eastern edge of town. The spacious grassy yard was fenced and the house itself was painted white with blue trim, and had gabled windows on the second floor. There was no response to either her knocks or ringing the doorbell, but she could hear some sort of commotion from within so decided to try the door. It was unlocked, so she opened it and slipped inside.

"Watch out!" a light tenor voice yelled. Heather flattened herself against the wall as a fiery-maned horse clattered past. "Sorry I didn't answer the door; the Ponyta got in the house again! Come back here, you!" She caught a glimpse of a man in a lab coat who held a squirming Rattata under his arm while chasing after the errant Pokemon.

Joining in the pursuit, Heather managed to grab onto the Ponyta's halter and calm it down, giving Professor Linden the chance to capture it in a PokeBall. "I hope this sort of thing doesn't happen every day."

The Professor laughed. He was young, slim and dark-haired with a kind face. "Not always. Thanks for the assist." He put the Rattata down and it scampered underneath a bench. "What can I do for you?"

Heather introduced herself and briefly explained her situation. "Nurse Joy said that you could advise me on what to do next."

"Certainly," Prof. Linden said. "First, may I see your Pokedex?"

When Heather handed it over, he inserted it into a computer and skimmed through the readout. "You've seen a lot of Pokemon in a very short time," he complimented. "Have you had this since you started?"

"No, I got it in Fuchsia City a few weeks ago. A trainer told me that it was my ID as well but I haven't needed to use it as such yet."

"You've been lucky that you haven't. This Pokedex isn't programmed correctly, which makes me think that the person who gave it to you was too rushed to do it properly." The professor typed some commands. "I'll do it now, so you won't have to worry about it any more."

Heather was surprised. "Why is it so important for it to be programmed? I thought it just recorded which Pokemon I've seen."

"Actually it does much more than that. It tells who you are, where you're from, and your status in the Pokemon League. As well it contains information about all the Pokemon, records the ones you have seen, and transports any extra Pokemon you capture to its point of origin. I see that you only have five with you, so that didn't become a problem." He swivelled in his chair. "I'll tell you what," he offered, "if you want, I'll have it send your extra Pokemon here."

"That'll be great, although I don't want to impose..."

Linden smiled. "It's no imposition. I love to take care of Pokemon as you've seen, and a few more won't matter." After tapping a few more keys, he withdrew the Pokedex from the computer and gave it back. "As for your other concerns, there are several things you could do. You could work with me as a lab assistant, or at the Pokemon Centre with Nurse Joy, since we always need help."

"Funny, Nurse Joy never said anything," Heather mused.

"It's not like her to come right out and ask sometimes," the professor said. "Perhaps she thinks she can solve all the Pokemon problems by herself." He paused to snatch a book out of the reach of a curious Squirtle that had wandered into the room. "Or if you're interested, there's a school up the road from the city that teaches all about training Pokemon. Kids who graduate from Pokemon Tech can enter the League without having to go around to the Gyms. There's a huge fee to get in, but I think they give scholarships for exceptional trainers."

She considered for a moment. "Won't hurt to go and ask. Okay, I'll check it out. Maybe I'll even learn something!"

"Good luck then. My phone number is in your Pokedex if you need to contact me. I'm really glad to have been able to help you out." Professor Linden smiled and waved Heather on her way.

This afternoon Heather stayed on the ground and walked along the road. On the way to Pokemon Tech she battled with two trainers, one with a Dugtrio (Fletch won) and the other with a Nidorino (Loki lost).

It was evening before she reached the school, but fortunately there were a few students lounging around the school grounds who answered her questions. Yes, there was a scholarship for serious Pokemon trainers, but she had to have six badges to qualify.

"Since you have the Rainbow badge already, your next one should be the Marsh badge. You have to go to Saffron City and defeat Sabrina and her psychic Pokemon," a pretty girl named Giselle informed her. "It's amazing that you've won five badges in only a month. A few weeks ago a boy came through here who acted like he knew everything even though he only had two." She and her friends giggled.

Heather was uncertain; Saffron City was where the Team Rocket headquarters was. "I had some trouble in Saffron City and I'd rather not go there again for a while."

"Then you might have a problem," said a boy. "The gym where trainers get the Volcano badge is closed, and you can't get into the Viridian Gym without at least seven badges."

"Pardon me." A well-dressed man walked up, obviously an instructor. "I overheard your conversation. There are other Gyms that aren't on the standard circuit but the badges they offer are just as valid in the Pokemon League."

"Really?" She pulled out her map and scrutinised it. "There's nothing marked on this. Where can I find them?"

He guided her to an office where he gave her another map. This one not only showed the eight regular Gyms, but at least four others plus a few special places. "This should help you. If you want to attend classes here, come back before the fall semester starts at the beginning of September and register. To qualify for the scholarship you'll need to show your badges and have a letter from a sponsor."

Heather was pleased. "Would Professor Linden count as a sponsor?"

"He would indeed, he's well known around here for his Pokemon research. I'd say that all you need to do now is find one of those other Gyms and get a badge." He kindly showed her the way out. "Good luck, and I'm looking forward to seeing you again. Perhaps you'll be in one of my classes!"

Now with a new sense of direction, she studied her map and decided to make a trip to the Rock Tunnel via Lavender Town. Maybe she could catch a glimpse of Zapdos near the Power Plant if she was lucky. Before she left, Giselle challenged her to a battle, but a Cubone was no match for her Farfetch'd.