Episode 9: Zap! The Lightning Battle!
"Well, I think I'm ready for Lt. Surge!" I announced. Michael, Sabrina, and I were all in Michael's living room. It was the day after we had gotten back from the island and the forest. I had trained all day for the rest of that day, and here is an update of my team:
Nidoking L. 26
Thrash
Horn Attack
Poison Sting
Double Kick
Pikachu L. 23
Slam
Thundershock
Thunder Wave
Quick Attack
Pidgeotto L. 24
Gust
Quick Attack
Sand Attack
Whirlwind
Parasect L. 24
Scratch
Stun Spore
Leech Life
Cut
They both face-faulted, and I gave them dirty looks.
"Think you're ready so soon?" my aunt asked, coming to sit down in the recliner.
"I'm positive!" I exclaimed.
Michael rolled his eyes and got up.
"Where're you going, Michael?" I asked him.
"To train, of course…" he said, barely turning to look at me.
"Oh, that's right… You don't have a Thunder Badge yet, do you?"
"So what if I don't!"
I snickered and he stomped on out of the house. I reclined on the couch, stretching and then lying back.
"Aren't you going to go beat Lt. Surge?" Sabrina asked me quietly and calmly.
"Later, of course! I need to kick back and relax first!" I exclaimed. She gave me a look, and I just rolled my eyes and looked away. I sat there for about 17½ minutes, and then stood up.
"Well! I'm ready to go!" I announced, trouncing out of the house proudly. I walked out into the morning sun and sniffed the salty air deeply. I ran off towards the Vermilion City gym. A bush was blocking the entrance, so I had Parasect cut it down. I walked towards the gym door and opened it. I stepped inside the yellow building and looked around. There were three trainers standing around. Other than the trainers, there was hardly anything else around except for some doors and a lot of trashcans. Very odd. I walked up to one of the trainers.
"If you beat me, I'll tell you the secret of the gym!" he said, pulling out a Pokéball.
"You're on!" I exclaimed, pulling out one of my Pokéballs.
"Magnemite, go!"
"Parasect, go!"
"Thunder Wave!"
"Stun Spore!"
Now that we were both paralyzed, I figured I had better start attacking with my best move.
"Supersonic!" the trainer yelled. His Magnemite used Supersonic, but it failed.
"Cut!" Parasect reared back and raked his claw across Magnemite, cutting him.
"Thundershock!" It wasn't very effective…
"Cut!"
"Supersonic!" Parasect became confused!
"Cut!" In its confusion, Parasect attacked himself. "Parasect, you moron!"
"Hahaha! Now that you're confused, I believe I will claim my victory!" the trainer stated proudly.
I grimaced. What was he going to do!
"Thundershock!"
I almost face-faulted for being so stupid. What was I thinking, that he could beat me?
"Parasect, focus on your enemy! Cut!" This time, Parasect actually hit the Magnemite. I grinned.
"Thundershock!" But, Magnemite became fully paralyzed.
"Cut!" Another gash across Magnemite! Yes!
"Tackle!" So, he was deciding to change his move.
"Cut!" One more hit and he was gonna' be K.O.'d.
"Tackle!" Darn it! Parasect was almost knocked out!
"Cut!" But, Parasect was fully paralyzed.
"Tackle!" I grimaced and hoped he would be paralyzed. Magnemite started to move towards Parasect. Well, I figured Parasect would be K.O.'d, so I started to get out my Pokéball. Before Magnemite made contact, Parasect quickly stepped out of the way. Magnemite missed!
"Parasect! Cut!" I hollered. Parasect reared back and cut Magnemite once more. Magnemite's eyes swirled and he fell down, knocked out. "Yes! You did it, Parasect!" I exclaimed, running over and hugging Parasect. He gave a friendly cry of glee.
"You think I'm done!" the trainer exclaimed, getting out another Pokéball.
"Bring it on!" I exclaimed, grabbing Nidoking's Pokéball.
"Voltorb, go!" he commanded, tossing his Pokéball.
"Nidoking, go!" I said, throwing my Pokéball.
"Voltorb, Tackle!"
"Nidoking, Thrash!"
The battle lasted a little longer, and I won.
Crossing his arms, he exclaimed, "Fine! I'll tell you."
"What is it!" I blared.
"Beneath two of these trashcans there is a button. If you find both of them consecutively, than the doors guarding Lt. Surge will open. If you get one and then miss the next, than the switches will move places. Do you think you have what it takes?"
"Hm! You'll see!" I retorted. I walked away and started looking under the trashcans. Finally, I found the first switch. Now where would the second switch be? I started to look up after setting down the trashcan with a switch under it when I found myself staring a trainer in the face.
"If you beat me, than I will tell you a secret!" he said.
"You're on!" I replied, accepting the challenge.
We both pulled out a Pokéball.
"Nidoking, go!"
"Pikachu, go!"
The battle lasted a few minutes, and I won!
"So, about that secret?" I asked the trainer.
"The second switch is under a trashcan adjacent from the first one, but it could be in any direction, so you will have to guess," he said. I pursed my lips. I looked at the trashcan that had the first switch under it. Where could the second switch be? Hoping Jesus would bless me, I grabbed one of the
trashcans. The switch was there! I reached down and pressed it. A tone sounded and two doors opened at the front of the gym. Yes! Hahaha! I ran outside, Cut down the tree, and went to heal my Pokémon. I came back to the gym and went up to Lt. Surge.
"Ha! You dare challenge me! Back when I was in the military, my super-strong electric Pokémon could help me out of any bond! You don't stand a chance!" he exclaimed.
"Bring it on, Surge!" I challenged, grabbing a Pokéball.
"Raichu, go!"
"Nidoking, go!" We both threw our Pokéballs on the floor.
"Raichu, Body Slam!"
"Nidoking, Thrash!"
Body Slam didn't paralyze to my fortune, and Thrash did a little damage. The battle wouldn't be incredibly difficult because Surge only had 1 Pokémon, a level 28 Raichu. Fortunately, Nidoking was level
26, so that wouldn't be a problem. Body Slam again, then Thrash. This happened 2 more times and then
Nidoking became confused. Raichu used Body Slam again. I commanded Nidoking to use Thrash, but he hit himself in his confusion. Nidoking was almost knocked out. I recalled him and sent out Parasect. I instantly had Parasect use Stun Spore. Raichu was faster and used Body Slam. It paralyzed Parasect, but Stun Spore also worked. Thus meaning both our Pokémon were paralyzed. Body Slam, then Cut. Body Slam, then Cut. Raichu was almost knocked out, but Parasect was close also. I figured he could make it, so I commanded him to use Cut. Raichu used Body Slam as usual. Parasect almost fainted but hung in there for a finalizing Cut. Raichu fainted.
"Yes! I won!" I shouted, raising fists in the air.
"Yeah, heh, whatever kid…" Surge mumbled. "You won fair and square. Here's the Thunder Badge, and the TM for Thunderbolt."
"Heh, cool. Looks like I am one step closer to the Elite Four, right guys?" I asked my Pokémon. They all made noises in agreement.I marched proudly out of the gym and had Parasect Cut down the bush. I went back to the Pokémon Center, had my Pokémon healed, and went back to Aunt Terry's house. I walked in to see things serene as usual. Michael was relaxing, watching TV, while Sabrina was drinking tea with Aunt Terry. "Hey guys, I got the Thunder Badge!" I proclaimed, revealing my badges inside my vest. Sabrina didn't even acknowledge it and Michael momentarily turned away from the TV to give me a nod. I blinked a few times. "Ok… see if I congratulate you guys next time you win a badge…" I trailed off. Still no response. Whatever. I sighed and plopped on the couch. Michael was watching a horror movie on the science fiction channel. Cool. Just as I leaned back and started getting into the movie, Michael promptly turned off the TV and got up.
"Well, time to go whoop up Lt. Surge," he said, running out of the house.
"Don't run in the house, Michael," Aunt Terry calmly noted after Michael already slammed the door. I sweat-dropped and sat back on the couch. I turned the TV back on and continued watching the movie. About 30 minutes later, Michael returned. He slammed the door behind himself, walked into the kitchen proudly, placed his hands on his hips, and announced, "Hey guys! I got the Thunder Badge!" He opened his small wallet of badges so we could all see. Aunt Terry and Sabrina instantly got up and started congratulating him, patting him on the back and saying things like "Good job, Michael" and "Great!". I watched in shock with my left eye twitching. I then proceeded to face-fault onto the floor, with my feet up and twitching. I saw Aunt Terry, Sabrina, and Michael look at me with wonder, completely clueless as to what had happened. Ugh. I guess some things never change. After recovering from my face-fault, Michael came and plopped on the other couch, grabbed the remote, looked at what was on TV, and instantly remarked, "What is this garbage! Let's find something better to watch!" He then started flipping through channels rapidly. I gave him a look and trudged outside to go train. Michael, Michael…
►To Be Continued…
