CHAPTER VII

AFTER RELAXING IN THE PARK AT THE HEART OF TOWN, I decide it's better to get going and do something somewhat productive. I decide that since I haven't told my dad yet about Kima, and Horsea, which I now call Azul, because of his great shade of blue, now would be a good time to call him. Sinnoh is what, a 6 hour time difference? That means it must be about 7 pm over there. Actually, 8pm because of the whole Sunnyshore city being further east and in a different time zone. I pull out my Xtransceiver and pull up my dad. His contact picture is him with his Luxray in front of our house, which I took about 3 months ago on his last visit. It rings for a couple of seconds before he pick up.

"Hello? Volkner here! Who is it?" I can barely hear him over the background noise. I can hear waves breaking and Wingull cawing. Behind him, I see tons of ships, from catamarans to container ships. This can only be Sunnyshore Harbour.

"It's Michael! How's the gym?"

"Good, actually, I just came back from the Battle Frontier with Flint" Flint is an incredibly strong Fire type trainer, a member of the Sinnoh Elite Four. My dad is good friends with him, as he is the strongest Gym Leader. Flint is usually the one who takes him places, seeing as my dad gets kind of bored waiting for strong trainers. It's great to see him out and about. "We battled these two kids, a bit older than you, who were really strong. They both beat me before, and one of them is the new Sinnoh champion. He practically saved the world on Mt. Coronet, and defeated three legendary Pokémon, not to mention thwarted an entire criminal organization with his friends. He's really quite something. It makes me want you to do things greater than that!"

"Umm... thanks dad? Look, if you just want to lecture me, I'll put you on hold until you calm down, like you do to mom" Despite wanting to talk to him more often, he can be infuriating.

"Okay, fine!" He says with a laugh. "Now what do you want to tell me. I need to get back to training, to crush all the other trainers who'll come by now that the rolling blackouts are over."

"Well, yesterday was kind of important. I meant to call you earlier, but we were busy."

"Your mother and I talked yesterday, and Clary was at school… so what happened? Who do you mean by 'we'?" He sounds genuinely confused by now, and even wary.

"Well, Simon and I went to Cypress Labs, you know, the professor? Well, I'll make this quick. Kima, Azul, come into the picture!" I lift Azul up as Kima comes trotting up to me. My dad's eyes light up as soon as he sees them. "So here's my Eevee, Kima, given to me by Cypress, and here's Azul, my Horsea, who I actually met before Kima."

"They're amazing!" He looks so keen on them, his eyes are completely lit up. "But they're not electric types…" He pauses for my reaction. "I'm just kidding! Well, Kima could change that anyway… I'll tell you what. I'll send a Thunderstone to you right now, and you'll get it about two days, and then we'll have matching Pokémon!"

"Actually dad, that's what I need to ask you. Do you know the two Sinnoh Eeveelutions? Leafeon and Glaceon?"

"Of course! So I'm guessing you want me to send you a chip to you?" Well, there goes the surprise for Kima. Kima looks up at me with wide eyes, interested in the new information about her evolution.

"Yeah, could you get Candice to chip a little piece off for me? It doesn't need to be much, just enough to evolve her. Please dad? It'll mean the world to me."

"She does owe me for the little incident at the last inter-gym tourney." Candice is the Ice type Gym Leader of Sinnoh, and she's the second strongest leader. Near Snowpoint City, where she lives, is a large ice rock. "But you need to promise me this, Michael: Get me an Electric type! There's tons in Takita! I'll help you." He starts to get really excited. Oh, brother. He's going to prattle on for hours, I think. "There's Electabuzz, Pikachu, Blitzle, Mareep, Electrike, Magnemite, Dedenne, Emolga, Chinchou, Joltik… The list goes on forever!" He's not even out of breath. "Speaking of Pokémon, any ideas for the rest of your team? Remember, balance is key. Make sure to cover all the types, and play to your advantage! Now, you have a Water type, and a Normal, make that Ice type… So what does that make you weak to? Let's go Michael, think it through."

Well, they cover a lot of each other's weaknesses. "Kima is going to be weak to Fighting, Rock, Steel and Fire, but Horsea covers the Rock and Fire. Kima then covers the Grass with her Ice type attacks, leaving only Electric, Fighting, and Steel." Time to take this one step further. "So I should look into a Ground or Flying type, to counter those."

"Very good, Michael! I'm impressed! And only your second day? Kima and Azul are in great hands!"
"Thanks, Dad!" I beam with the praise. I've never actually been able to show off much to him, considering that everything. I do is pretty lost through a camera. I don't mind; all of his visits are filled with my accomplishments, whether I like it or not. "Hey dad, when's your next visit?" He can plainly see the mischievous grin on my face.

"Already looking for a battle, huh? Well, normally, I'd make you wait until you have seven badges, but I'll make an exception. Call me about a week before you're battling your third gym leader, and we'll meet up. Make sure you're ready!"

"Okay Dad! See you then! And for the Ice rock, I'm leaving tomorrow from Marsillian, so can you have it delivered to Desmos Town?"

"Sure thing! Bye Michael! Talk soon!" He hangs up, and then image fades. Kima climbs over me on her way to go back to playing in the grass. I scratch her belly as she purrs quietly on her back. I hold Azul in my arms as he sprays Kima with little jets of water. Kima doesn't mind. Its hot outside, and we need to cool down.

"You know what Azul? I haven't actually healed you yet. Let's get on that" I start to pack up my stuff. I'm not worried about his health, considering he never got a direct hit in the battle, besides being flopped onto the ground pretty hard. He's in ridiculously good condition considering his recent trauma. I decide using any of my new medicine from the lab so I don't run out when I need them.

We make our way towards the Pokemart, where a crowd of people are gathering. They seem to discussing a new poster. There's never been any posters on our Pokemart before, so I figure this must be important. From here, all I can see are the colours: bright blue and red dominate the poster. As I approach, the lettering comes more clearly:

"AMMOS TOWN POKEMON TOURNAMENT: RENTAL EDITION!"

This is enough to lock my attention. A tournament? Why would they advertise it here in Marsillian? That's highly unusual. There's not enough trainers in Marsillian to make it worth it. Most of the time, we find out about events in other towns through the internet or phone calls. This tournament must be important, then. I don't like the whole "rental" concept. I barely got introduced to Pokémon, and I won't even be able to use them? Sounds strange. As I approach, I see Nancy sitting apart, and she waves me over.

"So you finally showed up to show me your Pokémon, eh?" She says with a grin. She's sitting on one of her small wicker chairs on the deck, leisurely observing the throng of people around the poster.

"Well, after everything you've done for me over the years, I owe you this."

"At least!" She chuckles. She reaches down to pick up Kima as she trots over. "Now, who's this little love-muffin? An Eevee? Great choice, Michael, you'll do great with him."

"Well, um, she's a she, and her name is Kima. We're going to evolve her into a Glaceon soon, and she'll be super strong." I hold Azul out in my arms. "This Horsea here is Azul." Azul squints happily.

"Oh, believe me, I know. You think an old lady like me doesn't gossip?" She chuckles again. "The moment I opened my shop I heard all about him. Some fishing accident? Sounds suspicious if you ask me. I'm glad to see the little guy is fine, and in great hands." She smiles as she leads me into the store.

"So, what do you want?" She gestures to the wide rows of merchandise in the store. "Pick whatever you want, and I'll get your mom to pay later. We also got new stock in this morning, so you have first pick. Go on!"

I immediately go towards the section titled "BATTLING". Here I hope to find useful items to help Kima and Azul get stronger. Considering how small our town is, I'm amazed we have a department for this at all. I scan the shelves, looking for the shelf of TMs, or Technical Machines. Technical machines are the special training kits that are used by trainers to teach their Pokémon new moves. I remember the TM Samantha gave to Simon, and I wonder if he managed to teach Shadow Ball to his Abra. He might have taught it to Pix as well, for all I know. The kits are colour-coded by the type of the move: red means Fighting, orange is Fire, yellow is Electric, Grass is green and so on so on… Underneath the types, there are one of two symbols: Two rings on a dark purple background indicates a Special type move, which means the user doesn't necessarily need to make contact with the target. The opposite is a yellow eight-pointed star on red.

Both my Pokémon are more Special oriented, so I look for pale blue and navy blue to indicate Ice and Water types. I scan the names on the back of the kits, searching for a familiar name. The moves are relatively weak and aren't all that powerful, but for a beginner trainer, they're perfect. Even if I were to buy the most powerful move in existence, my Pokémon are too weak to use them to their potential. I want some medium powered moves, preferably with added effects. I scan the shelves more and more, looking and looking, until I finally see a Water type kit that interests me. The label says it's the move Scald. It also says medium-power, which might be perfect for Azul. I grab it and continue browsing the shelves. After row on row of endless kits, I finally find the Ice type area. I scan the shelves, looking for the perfect one. Eventually I stumble on an older kit, slightly dusty. It's the last one in its row. I pick it up and brush off the dust. It says the move is Ice Beam. Ice beam is a powerful Ice move, and is apparently difficult to master, even for a powerful Pokémon. I should try to teach it to Kima once she evolves, and then she'll be able to dominate any battle we get into.

I head back to the counter where Nancy is waiting. "Do you want any pokeballs? I have them on sale!" She says from across the counter. She begins to examine the kits. I take a look at the pokeballs. "Ice beam, eh? Haven't seen that move in a while, but it might be even longer before it can be used. And then, when Kima evolves, she might not even master it…" She trails off as she sees that I'm absorbed in the selection of pokeballs contained within the cabinet in the counter. I see regular Pokeballs, Great Balls, Premier Balls, Luxury Balls and many other different types… I might as well pick some up to make my Pokémon more comfortable. I decide on a Dive Ball for Azul and a Luxury Ball for Kima. Dive Balls are great for Water types, and Luxury Balls are sure to keep Pokémon cozy.

"Is that it, Michael?"

"Just a few more things: a Luxury Ball and three pokeballs. Then that's it, I promise" I say with a smile. She rings me up, and the total comes to $150. I clearly don't have that on me, so my mom will settle up later. As I turn to leave, Nancy calls from over the counter.

"Michael? Take a flyer for the tournament on your way out. You'll need it!" I look for the flyer stack on the counter. I take one and head out, Kima shortly behind. I pick up my bike from the park where I left it earlier, and start my way home.

Once home, I help my family cook dinner. We eat together with just some small talk, nothing important. My Pokémon eat near me, one in a tub and one out of a bowl. After dinner, I head up to my room, where Archie is waiting for me. He's dozing next to the bed until Kima tackles him, and they both start wrestling playfully. I take Azul up to my bed, and take out my backpack. I grab the two new Pokeballs that I bought, and then the TM kit for Scald. I put it aside as I take up the Luxury Ball.

"Kima, come over here." She jumps up onto the bed, as Archie lies back down, calm without the little bugger. I tap the Ball gently onto her head, and they both glow red. The glow fades, and it's done: Kima has transferred pokeballs. As soon as she's done the transfer, she jumps off the bed, and right onto Archie. He isn't as into it anymore, so Kima eventually settles down and lies next to him. I open up the kit.

The TM for Scald is made up of an instruction booklet and a CD, presumably an instructional video. It's too late to do any of the practical training that's in the booklet, so I decide that we'll watch the video tonight, and then continue the training on the road tomorrow. I take out the disc and load it up into my TV on the dresser across from the bed. It starts playing, and goes straight into clips of Pokémon and trainers using the move Scald.

"Wartortle, use Scald!"

"Buizel, finish them with Scald"

"Use Scald now, Dragalge!"

Echoes all the trainers shown on the screen. All the Pokémon shoot a torrent of water toward their opponents. They aren't so lucky: in every single clip, Scald is a direct hit. The Pokémon are blown away, and some are even left immobile, glowing red and writhing. This gets my attention, despite my exhaustion. Scald must leave the target burned, I think to myself, Perfect for Azul. Scald looks great, and it should be great with Azul.

The narrator and the movie continue on, giving instructions on how to use it, how to prepare yourself, and even how to counter it. I can't pay attention any more after half an hour. I keep forcing my eyes open, trying to hold on, to learn from the video. Kima has long since crept onto the bed, and has curled up beside me, fast asleep. After a while, I can't help myself anymore. I slowly drift off to sleep, and the last things I see are my clock on my nightstand, displaying 3:37 am, and Azul, gazing intently at the screen, unmoving and alert. He'll fall asleep as soon as he realizes how tired he is. His only fuel is adrenaline. And then I'm floating.