Hey everybody, and welcome to another chapter of Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen Quest!
Before we jump in here, I'd like to say thank you to my four reviewers (or three, with Guests ya never know). Even that many reviews gives me a reason to continue this story. Thanks!
Anyway, let's get right into Chapter Seven, shall we?
(-o-)
POKEMON FIRERED AND LEAFGREEN
QUEST
Chapter Seven
Man, it was good to be out of that forest! When I walked out of Viridian Forest with a newly-evolved Pokemon under my belt, I felt on top of the world. And that was even before I saw the city.
I moved past the patch of tall grass on the route (which I later learned was part of Route 2) and moved to the right of the path, looking in the gap.
There I saw Pewter City.
I sped up my walking speed, smiling. I had done it! I'd gotten through the creepy forest and gotten to the town with my first Gym Leader in it! I had-
"Why, hello," said Blue, stepping out from behind a tree.
I groaned. "What do you want?" I said, a bit harshly. He gave me that cocky smirk.
"Nothing, dear neighbor," said Blue. "And don't worry, I don't want to battle you," he said as my hand went to my Charmander's Poke Ball. "I merely wanted to check up on you."
I looked at him sceptically. "Right, Blue, now what is it you really want?"
"To show you this," he said, and held up a gleaming, new Boulder Badge.
"H-how..?" My mouth was dry. I mean, seriously? This was the guy I'd just beaten a forest and a route ago. This guy just had to show me up. As usual.
Now, to be quite honest, I'd never quite gotten over how Blue had ditched me for cooler guys. I get it; I'm not exactly Joe Popular, but I was loyal. And then Blue went and dumped me in the gutter, and then he decided he had to show me up. At everything. I tried basketball once. Blue challenged me to a one-on-one and he smoked me; he was much taller so he could get over my guard and avoid my steals. I tried drawing once, and Blue came to school with a perfectly-drawn, homemade manga. I tried out a new hobby, like video games, giving ol' Mario some exercise. Blue picked up Super Mario Sunshine and beat it in a day.
I was sick of getting one-upped by this guy. This journey wasn't just to pick up a few shiny little badges and be on my way; it was to finally have something to shove in Blue's face. It was snobbish and a bit cruel of me, but isn't that what he'd done to me every day of his life?
Anyway, back to the story. Sorry.
Where was I? Blue rubbing his badge in my face, me getting steamed... oh, right. Then the jerk up and left with one more smirk over his shoulder. My face burned, and I vowed that I would get that stupid Boulder Badge if it was the last thing I did (then again, Blue would've showed me up by living longer. But, whatever)!
I made a stop at the Pokemon Center, forgetting all about my triumph at Weedle's evolution. It was still awesome and all, but Blue had killed the fun. I handed my Poke Balls over to the nurse and noticed something.
A teenager with chocolate brown hair, all up in spikes, was consulting someone on the video-call app of the PC.
"...Rocket thugs think they know what they're doing. Left a trail a mile long at the museum yesterday... stole a couple fossils," the teenager was saying seriously. His vest seemed to itch, because he kept scratching at his arm.
"I know..." said a female voice on the PC. "I'll keep a watch on Mount Moon. I have to go."
"Alright, thanks Misty," said the guy, and then he shut off the PC. He noticed me watching and his eyebrow furrowed, but the nurse announced my Pokemon were fully healed. I took them with a thanks and then took my leave.
...Or, I tried, anyway.
"Nobody move!" said a gruff voice. A few men in odd, mafia-like attire were standing in the doorway with Voltorbs in their hands. The Voltorbs were giving off a ton of electricity, and their eyes were closed like they were about to implode. "Nobody move or the place goes down," said the one on the left.
I realized the Voltorbs were literal living bombs. But if the thugs ordered an Explode attack with all that electricity circulating in the Voltorbs, it would kill the Pokemon themselves and the people in the Center.
"Why in the world are you doing this?" the teenager I'd been watching said, his eyebrows furrowed now into a glare. "Why in the world would you attack a Pokemon Center, where the services are free and there is no money to be stolen?"
"Because," the thug who had not spoken before answered, "we in Team Rocket want to destroy Kanto as you know it. And we'll start with the places that the common people heal their Pokemon! That way, no one's Pokemon will have energy, and Team Rocket will rule."
"Yeah, right!" I blurted out. All eyes turned to me. "I'm not going to let you mistreat Pokemon like that! I'll destroy you!" I was glaring at them, harder than I'd ever glared. My father, who had been kicked out by my mom when I was five, had mistreated Pokemon. He had despised that people spent so much time and attention on mere animals. I hated anyone who was like that ever since.
Blue was like that. He didn't love his Pokemon. They were tools. I envisioned the thugs as both having Blue's face. I was ready.
I sent out all three of my Pokemon, and the goons burst out laughing. To be honest, my little lizard, pig-monkey, and cocoon didn't look like much, but I knew they could pack a punch.
But not against these guys.
A sudden attack from the right. Charmander slammed to the ground with purple toxins covering its body.
A sudden attack in the center. Kakuna was felled, teeth marks all over its shell, which I thought was impenetrable.
A sudden attack from the left. Mankey went flying, a gust of wind lifting it off its feet and sending it into the PC.
A Golbat settled on the left thug's shoulder. It hissed at me, showing me its sharp teeth. It had sent the gust. A Rattata scampered up to the right thug's feet. A Grimer sat in between the two, glaring at me.
A sudden attack straight at me. I fell to the ground, struck by a lightning-quick Wing Attack. The last thing I saw was the dark-skinned teenager, releasing an Onix, Geodude, and Kabuto, and tearing the opponent's Pokemon apart.
Team Rocket.
They said they were Team Rocket.
(-o-)
I woke up in a strange, vast stone cavern. Bandages covered my stomach, the area where the wing had struck. I touched it and winced; it still hurt. My Pokemon were staring up at me—well, Charmander and Mankey were, anyway. Kakuna dropped down on a thread from the ceiling, kind of freaking me out.
"Ah. Sleeping beauty awakens," said a deep voice to my left. I turned my head to see that same teenager with the spiky brown hair polishing his Geodude.
"Who are- who are you?" I said. My voice sounded husky and cracked. How long had I been there?
"Name's Brock," he said, continuing his work.
That took a minute to register. "As in... the Gym Leader?"
"As in the Gym Leader," he confirmed. "They call me the 'Master of Rocks,' in fact. But that's quite enough about me. Tell me about you," he said.
And suddenly, I was spilling my guts. I told him about how mom kicked out dad, who I vaguely remember, and how he went off to some other region to become a Gym Leader, or that's what my mom told me, anyway. And how Blue was my friend turned bully, and how he always one-upped me. And how I took my dad's cap when I was a little kid, four or so, and he told me I could keep it. But he mistreated Pokemon, and I hated that; he treated them like animals or tools when they're so much more. And then I was saying how I wanted to become Champion, but it wasn't going to happen if I can't even beat a few evil thugs.
He listened intently. Even though he was polishing away at his boulder Pokemon, I could tell he was hearing and considering every word I said.
"Champion, huh?" he said finally, after putting away the sand-paper and patted his Geodude on the... head?
"Yeah, you heard right. Champion." But that wasn't my only goal anymore. More than even showing up Blue for once, I wanted to destroy this Team Rocket. They were unhealthy, or maniacs, or something, and I'd only met two of them. From the sound of it, there were a heck of a lot more. And I wanted to defeat them all.
"So you're taking the Kanto Pokemon League Challenge?" he inquired.
"Yeah, the Gym Challenge, KPLD, whatever you want to call it," I said. He smiled.
"Then how about a battle with me?" he said, opening his arms in a welcoming gesture. "And, just so you know, I'll give you this," he pulled a disc out of his pocket and dropped it on my bed, "along with the badge and the traditional prize if you beat me."
I picked up the disc and stared at it. It had the number '39' on the surface and had bronze-colored gleam to it.
"That contains Rock Tomb," explained Brock. "It does damage and can then lower a Pokemon's speed. It's quite handy."
"Alright, let's get started," I said, ignoring the small, dull pain from my midsection and sitting up.
Brock smiled. "Let's."
(-o-)
Not much exploring in that chapter, but honestly, there's not much to do in Pewter City. I mean, c'mon (actually, there's plenty, I'll show the Pewter Museum later because of something kinda big that happens there- in two or three chapters, depending on how long I decide to make the battle with Brock).
Anyway, let's get on to:
REVIEWS:
Kojakk: Thanks for another review! I'm glad you like the team, I thought I was the only one who liked Beedrill, ha ha. And thank you for your compliments. I try :)
And, speaking of reviews, I'm only going to acknowledge two from the same person, because I hope you all know I appreciate every review and we don't need to be thanking everyone three million times, UNLESS the user is directly asking a question. I do realize there's a loophole with the whole 'Guest' review thing, but I don't think you want to sit through all my rambling only to read responses to reviews over and over from the same user. It's nothing personal, you're all awesome, and I'll change the system if I'm told by enough people that they don't mind. Thxx ya :)
Also! Random Tidbit time. About the Voltorbs actually dying thing; yes, it seems a little cruel, but thankfully it didn't happen. However, I wanted to add a sense of realism to the situation and Red's spontaneous hatred for T. Rocket. I don't want to go, "oh, the Voltorbs are going to use Explode, but they'll be perfectly okay." Obviously, terrorism is a good enough reason for a character to hate another, but it seems more important to me that Red hates people who mistreats not only humans, but Pokemon too; because his father left such a mark on him and is actually an important plot point (spoiler) I felt it important to do that. I don't know why, just my sick mind coming up with reasons. :)
Thanks a bunch for reading, please drop a review if you liked. Be here for Chapter Eight!
-Shinigami out.
