Chapter 7: Getting Schooled
Gold was sleeping in a bed at the Pokémon Center. Sally gets out of her pokéball and stretches. She looks up at her trainer who was sleeping in, again. Aggravated, Sally walks to his belt and pulls out a pokéball. She releases Poliwag, speaks to it, and points at Gold. Poliwag tilts its head (or body), then squirts Gold with a Water Gun.
"Ack! Hey! Knock it off!"
Gold rolls around in bed in confusion. Poliwag finally stops when his owner falls out of bed. Gold moans then returns Poliwag. Gold got into some dry clothes though he was still a little sleepy. He looks at a map placed nearby his bed. He, then, gets out of his sleepy state.
"Oh man, I forgot! We're in Violet City! My first badge is here!"
Sally bounces up and down glad that Gold figured it out. Gold returns Sally and runs out of the Pokémon Center. He looks around hoping to find the gym. He walks around for a while until he saw an unusual man. He twirled after every few steps. The man soon notices Gold staring at him and goes up to him (twirling a bit of course).
"Hello! Hello! Earl, I am. Name, you go by?"
Although it was easy to understand him, Gold was quite confused with his speech. "Um, my name is Gold. I'm a Pokémon trainer from New Bark Town."
"Ah, trainer you are!" He says. "Happy to meet. Good trainer are you, but still beginner."
"Thanks for pointing that out." Gold says irritated.
"Teach you to become better, I can. You wish to know more about Pokémon?" Earl asks.
Gold thinks for a moment. He has learned about battling just by observing other trainers. Then again, it wouldn't hurt to learn a bit about battling from someone else.
"Okay. Why not?" Gold responds.
"Very well. Teach you, I will. Follow me."
Earl leads Gold down the street. It was kind of annoying to stop every once and a while so that Earl can do a spin. Gold felt the day was going to end before they got to their destination. Fortunately, there was a school nearby.
"A school?"
Gold begin to realize that Earl was a teacher, not just a friendly stranger.
"Oh, boy."
"Come now, students are waiting."
Students? When they enter the school, there was a classroom filled with students. The students appear to be seven or eight years old. The students were talking loudly with each other. There were four rows of desks with a chalkboard and a large desk in front of the classroom. Books and papers were scattered on the student's desks. Earl brought Gold to the front of the class.
"Settle down class. Special guest, we have."
The students settle down, all eyes looking forward at Gold and Earl.
"Class, this real Trainer here. Please explain yourself."
Gold was able to understand Earl's odd speaking style by now and took a deep breath. "I'm Gold. I'm from New Bark Town. I've come to Violet City to claim my first badge."
"If you haven't gotten your first badge then how can you call yourself a trainer?" One boy says. He was sitting in the front of the class. He had on a blue long sleeve shirt, white shorts, and white and blue sneakers. His black hair was curvy in front of his head and spiky on the back.
"Gold beginner." Earl says. "All trainers must begin. Gold attends with us today. Maybe trainer will learn something new with us. Maybe students learn something from Gold."
"Not me. I'm the smartest in this class." The boy says proudly.
"Now, now Alan. No rude comment." Earl says waving his finger.
Great. I'm already seeing how this day goes. Gold thought to himself. He sits down on an empty seat that Earl put out for him. Earl immediately started the lesson.
"Today we talk about problems you may face in battle. Strength and defense very important in battle. Must be careful. Attacks, there are, that can lower strength and defense. Name a few?"
A girl raised her hand. "Tail whip is one. The Pokémon can wag its tail to make themselves look cute. That lower the opponents guard."
One boy in the back cuts in. "Cuteness won't get you anywhere. I take down anything that looks cute. Leer and Glare are better attacks because they are much more effective when it comes to lowering defense."
The boy, which Earl called Alan, rolled his eyes. "Glare doesn't lower defense. It paralyzes the Pokémon. Paralyzes prevents Pokémon from attack, at least 50% of the time, and lowers Speed."
"Ah, yes, very good Alan." Earl wrote 'Paralyze' on the board. "Paralyze is a status problem that can reduce Speed. Is there another status problem that can reduce a Pokémon's stats?"
"Burn! It reduces the Pokémon's strength making it hard to land a good hit." Alan says proudly.
Gold was silent for a while. He was thinking of how these attacks and status problems would be used in a real battle. Because of the burning fire, it would feel painful to use a physical attack. "There's always Special Attack?"
Everyone looked at Gold.
"If a Pokémon has a Special Attack, then it wouldn't matter if the Pokémon's attack was reduced. All that would matter was the damage it takes from the burn."
Alan humped. "Well, what about Sleep. A sleeping Pokémon can't attack."
"Not true." Gold says. "There are a couple of attacks that can come into play when the Pokémon is sleeping. If it doesn't know any of the attacks, it can still use a berry as its ace card."
"Well, there are no attacks to help a Pokémon when it's Frozen." Alan says angrily.
"True. Well, except fire attacks. You can't freeze people without ice; and fire melts ice. With that said, Fire Pokémon can't be frozen."
"What about confusion?"
"Switch the Pokémon with another that has an advantage with the opponent."
"Flinch?"
"The only way to prevent that is to have you Pokémon faster than its opponents."
Gold may have not done well at school, but he was able to point out a few techniques to use in battle. The students were quite amazed. They were still learning the about Pokémon battling and Gold could throw out some information as if it were basic to him. One student raises her hand.
"Could you say all that, again? I wasn't able to get all of it on my notebook."
Lunch time. The classroom was empty with just Earl and Gold in the room. Earl was preparing for the next lesson while Gold was scratching the back of his head embarrassed.
"Sorry about what happened a few hours ago." Gold apologizes.
"No problem." Earl says happily. "Everyone learns, whether young or old."
Gold nods understanding his words. Two boys and a girl came into the classroom looking for Gold. "Hey, Gold!" One boy yells. "Since you're a Pokémon trainer, you have to at least one or two Pokémon. Can we see them?"
Gold thought for a while then shrugs. "Sure, why not?"
The kids cheer and drag Gold out. Once they got outside the school, Gold pulls out three pokéballs. Sally, Spinny, and Poliwag came out. Seeing a bunch of kids, Poliwag thought they had to do a performance or something. It jumped, spun around, and blew bubbles. Spinny shoots String Shot at the bubbles to show off its aim. Didn't want to be left out, Sally shoots fireballs at the sticky string to show off its accuracy. The kids laugh as they enjoy the performance. Gold, however, was amazed.
"Sally, you learned Ember?"
Sally responds to Gold's question with a simple nod.
"That's great! We are definitely going to win our first badge!"
"Hold on a second!" Gold turns around to see Alan behind him crossing his arms. "You can't battle the gym leader. He has flying Pokémon."
"Flying Pokémon?" Gold responds to his statement.
"That's right! There are some Pokemon I know that can win against flying-type Pokémon." He turns around still crossing his arms and gives off an evil smirk. "But I won't tell how to win against him."
"That's mean, Alan." One girl says angrily.
One boy steps up front. "Yeah! You're just angry because someone was better than you."
"It's okay, really. I learned everything I need to know from Alan." Gold says confidently.
The kids turn to Gold with confused looks on their faces. "But I didn't tell you anything!" Alan yells.
"On the contrary, you told me enough." Gold says and begins to explain. "You said the gym leader had flying-type Pokémon. It's pretty obvious that Spinny here won't be able to much damage since he's a bug-type. Sally and Poliwag, however, will be able to do plenty of damage and are not weak against flying attacks. You pretty much help me choose the right Pokémon to battle with."
"But those two don't have any attacks that are super effective!" Alan points out.
"It doesn't matter. As long as they're not weak against flying-type attacks we'll be okay." Gold says back to Alan.
Alan growls. "You don't know anything about battling, do you?"
"You want to try to prove you're point." Gold says challenging the student.
"You're on!"
A bell rings. The students turn to see Earl with a small hammer standing next to a medium-size bell. There was a table in front of him with six pokéballs on it. He clears his throat.
"An idea I have come up with. Gold, Alan, use Pokémon trained at the school." Earl says.
"All right." Alan says and he runs up to the table. He takes three pokéballs. "You can have the rest."
Gold gives off an angry look and takes the other three pokéballs. His Pokémon returned to their pokéballs. He notices that playground had a battlefield already prepared. Alan was ready left side of the field. Gold gets into his position. I might be doing Violet a favor. She's twice as smart and this kid is already upset with me around.
"Begin!" Earl says and he rings the bell.
Gold and Alan both threw out one Pokémon. A Spearow came out of Gold's pokéball and a Pidgey came out of Alan's.
"I'm at an advantage here. I've battled with the school's Pokémon so I know all of their attacks." Alan says proudly.
Gold growls. How am I supposed to know the Pokémon's when I just got them?
"Use the Pokédex." Earl says. Gold pulls out the Pokédex and points it at the Spearow. He looks on the screen to see what the Spearow knows. Peck, Fly, Leer, and Return.
"Get your head in gear! I'm not going to wait for you to memorize those attacks." Alan yells. He points at Spearow and yells, " Pidgey, use Gust!"
The Pidgey flaps its wings at a fast pace creating a whirl of winds that blew Spearow backwards. Spearow tumbles on the ground. Gold had to act fast.
"Spearow, Peck."
Spearow gets up and charges at Pidgey with its sharp beak ready.
"Sand-attack!"
Pidgey flaps its wings towards the ground blowing sand into the air. The sand blew into Spearow's eyes blinding him. The sudden sting stopped Spearow from charging.
"Now use Swift!" Alan commands.
Pidgey swings it wings as stars appear hitting Spearow. Gold didn't know what to do. The attack went everywhere. Spearow couldn't dodge even if I command it.
"Now fly to the sky!"
Pidgey flew up to the sky. It flies in a circle ready for to attack.
"Now use Fly!"
The Pidgey charges downward at Spearow who was still feeling effects from the Sand-attack. Wait a minute. That's it! Pidgey was about to land a hit when Gold yells something.
"Spearow, use Fly!"
Spearow immediately takes to the sky, dodging Pidgey's attack. Alan and Pidgey are stunned while Spearow gains speed in the air and flies towards Pidgey. The sand in its his eyes still blinded him so he ended up missing Pidgey. Alan sighs with relief. Gold snaps his fingers. So close. The Sand-attack is causing Spearow trouble. His lost his sight…but not his hearing.
"Pidgey, use Fly!"
Pidgey flaps its wings and flies towards Spearow.
"Dodge it Spearow."
Spearow hears Gold's command and flies upwards.
"Now, Fly!"
Spearow takes aim and charges at Pidgey.
"Dodge it!"
Pidgey moves to the left. Just as Spearow was about to past Pidgey, Gold yells another command.
"Take a sharp right turn and use Return!"
Spearow turns sharply and tackles Pidgey with a powerful force. Pidgey falls to the ground. Alan was shocked and so were the students. Earl rings the bell.
"Pidgey is unable to battle. The winner is Spearow!"
"What…I thought…how did Pidgey get knocked out by Return?! Return works better when the Pokémon is really compatible with you." Alan exclaims.
"A lot of trust Spearow may have." Earl points out. "Anyway, next match will start."
Alan pulls out another pokéball and releases his next Pokémon. A ball of fluff with big blue eyes and pointy ears appears before Gold.
"All right Jigglypuff!" Alan cheers.
Gold felt uneasy. Alan seems a little too excited to have such a cute Pokémon. Earl rings the bell.
"Begin."
Alan immediately gives out his command. "Thunder!"
Jigglypuff blows up like a balloon and lets out electricity from its stubby arms. Spearow was still in the air when the electric strikes it. Spearow falls to the ground after getting hit from a powerful hit. It lifts itself up despite it's injuries.
"Spearow, return to the pokéball!"
Gold returns Spearow still bewildered. That's probably why he was excited about Jigglypuff.
Alan nods. "It was not just the attack that took down Spearow. Pokémon who station themselves in the sky are much more vulnerable to attacks like Thunder."
Gold sighs as he pulls out his next pokéball. He releases his Pokémon which was a Zubat. Gold looks at the Pokédex to see Zubat's attacks. Leech Life, Supersonic, Bite, and Confuse Ray.
Alan smirks. "Well, this won't take long."
Earl rings the bell. "Begin."
"Jigglypuff, use Thu-"
"Supersonic!" Gold interrupts Alan.
Zubat makes a high-pitch screech creating sound waves. The sound waves hit Jigglypuff, confusing it. Alan was a little worried at first until Jigglypuff pulls out a berry and eats it. Her confusion went away.
"Good work, Jigglypuff!" Alan says.
"Confuse ray."
Zubat blasts a ray at Jigglypuff confusing it, again.
"What the…why did you use two attacks with the same effects."
"I saw some trainers do it." Gold explains. "I think the point is to annoy the trainer."
Alan was getting irritated by Gold's moves, which probably meant the strategy worked.
"Headbutt!"
Despite its confusion, Jigglypuff runs towards Zubat with its head lowered.
"Dodge it!"
Zubat flies upwards just above Jigglypuffs reach.
"Now, Bite!"
Zubat flies towards Jigglypuff and grabs a hold of its ear. Jigglypuff swings her head trying to swing Zubat off.
"Use Pound to knock it off."
Jigglypuff swings its arm and smacks Zubat off its ear.
"Now Sing! Sing your heart out!"
Jigglypuff uses its signature move putting Zubat (and half the students) to sleep. Gold was plugging his ears. Great. Zubat is put to sleep. Its now vulnerable to any attack.
"Good, now let's finish the battle with Thunder!"
Jigglypuff, once again, blasts a bolt of electricity into the sky and waking up the students. The bolt comes crashing down on… Jigglypuff?!
"What! What happened?!"
"Jigglypuff is still confused." Gold points out.
Jigglypuff falls down burnt to a crisp. Earl rings the bell.
"Jigglypuff is unable to battle. Zubat is the winner."
Zubat gets up wiping the sleep from its eyes. Alan releases his final Pokémon: a Machop.
"All right! We're going to win this time."
Gold prepared himself. Alan knows Pokémon's attacks from this school. He knows an attack from this Machop that will give him the upper hand.
Earl rings the bell. "Begin!"
Alan gives out his first command. "Ice punch."
Machop thrusts an uppercut that had an icy chill. Zubat took great damage from it.
"Zubat, Supersonic!"
"Not this time!" Alan yells out. "Dig!"
Machop digs into the ground and avoids the sound waves. Zubat looks around confused as to where its opponent went. Machop bursts out of the ground right behind Zubat.
"Ice punch."
Machop punches Zubat to the ground. Feeling the chill, Zubat was down for the count. Earl rings the bell.
"Zubat is unable to battle. Machop is the winner!"
Gold returns Zubat and releases his final Pokémon: a Geodude. Its attacks were Earthquake, Selfdestruct, Defense Curl and Mud-Slap.
"Now I know we have an advantage." Alan says confidently. "Now, use Ice Punch!"
Machop runs towards Geodude at such incredible speed with its frosty fist ready.
"Geodude, Defense Curl."
Geodude hugs itself, curling up like a ball. Machop punches Geodude's rock hard surface. Although the move was super effective, Geodude was able to prevent the attack from doing too much damage.
"Machop, Karate Chop!"
"Mud-Slap!"
Machop swings hands it downward on Geodude. Before it made contact, Geodude spins smacking wet sand onto Machop. Machop eyes begin to water as it moves itself away from its opponent. Looks like Machop will have trouble seeing now.
"Machop, Dig!"
Machop digs into the ground. Great. Machop will be able to sense Geodude's movements from underground enabling him to get a good shot. Wait a minute. Gold looks at Geodude who is waiting patiently. Thunder was worked very well on those in the sky. Natural earthquakes shake the earth. Maybe…
"Geodude, use Earthquake."
Geodude slams its fist on the ground a couple times and then lets out a roar. The ground begins to shake violently as part of the field cracks ups. Machop comes bursting out of the cracks in pain.
"What…How…" Alan was speechless.
Gold looked confused. "Why are you amazed? You said you knew all of the school Pokémon's attacks; or you are you not as smart as you claim to be."
Gold's words angered Alan. "I am, too, smart! I'll show you! Focus Energy!"
Panting, Machop gets up, takes a deep breath, and focuses on its opponent. Machop prepares itself to create a stronger attack.
"We may not be able to use Dig but we still have two other moves that will super effective. Now that it's most likely to get a critical hit I will be victorious. Machop, Karate Chop."
Machop charges at Geodude preparing to attack. Although Geodude is strong, it can't take another hit from Machop. With little time to spare, Gold thinks about his only other option. It maybe the stupidest thing I ever do but…
"Geodude, Selfdestruct!"
With Machop close enough, Geodude curls up and begins to glow. Machop stops realizing what was going on.
"Get away from him Machop!"
Too late. Geodude explodes with Machop close by. Resident can hear a loud boom and some saw smoke coming from the school. Everyone waited to see who was left standing. When the smoke finally clears, both Geodude and Machop were unconscious.
"So, who wins?" One boy asks.
"I do!" Alan claims. "You can't use Selfdestruct or Explosion when it comes down to the last Pokémon. It ensures that you opponent will win the battle."
"Interesting, except that wasn't my last Pokémon." Gold points out.
"What are you talking about?" Alan says.
Gold pulls out a pokéball and releases Spearow. Spearow was hurt, paralyzed, and panting hard, but other than that it was still standing.
"Earl never said that Spearow was unable to battle and there were no rules saying that I can't switch out the Pokémon." Gold points out.
"True, making Gold the winner." Earl says happily as he rings the bell.
Alan was upset that he lost the battle. The kids cheer for Gold while he returned Spearow for well deserved rest.
Gold grabs his bag ready to leave the school. The kids were quite upset to see him leave.
"Do you really have to go?" One girl asks.
"Of course! I am a Pokémon trainer so I must continue on my journey." Gold says happily. "Besides, I think I caused enough chaos here."
"We'll miss you."
"Yeah, you taught us a lot about Pokémon!"
Earl put his hand on Gold's shoulder. "Learning anything did Gold?"
Gold thought for a moment then responds. "As a matter of fact, I think I did learn something new from this school."
Earl nods proudly. "No matter how young or how old, people are always learning."
(A/N: Corny, I know.)
Gold nods. "Well, I better get going. See ya!"
Gold runs out of the school waving good-bye to the school. The kids shout out their good-byes hoping that Gold will come back again. As Gold runs down the street, something was bugging him. I wonder if Alan will get over the lost. Was I too hard him? Shaking the guilt from his head, he continues to run until he sees a large building. Gold looks curiously at the building until he sees a sign.
"Violet City Pokémon Gym. Leader: Falkner, The Elegant Master of Flying Pokémon."
Gold looked up at the building in shock. This was the Pokémon Gym. Gold stood tall and straightens his jacket.
"Might as well end this day with a gym battle." His says and matches into the gym.
