Chapter 10 – On to…Saffron?
"What happened here?" David asked confusing looking at the massive amount of destruction that lay before him and Brad. The building that separated Cerulean City from Saffron had been blow to a million pieces, and everywhere men and Machops/Machokes where working hard to restore the building.
"I'll tell you what happened here." One of the construction men said walking over to the four of them. He lifted up his yellow construction hat with his thumb, his forehead obviously covered in sweat from the hot sun and the work. "Some idiots started a Pokemon battle near this station. It was an Electrode versus a Larvitar mind you. The Electrode moved up the Larvitar and was self-destructing, when the Larvitar shot a Hyper Beam, smashing it into the station, destroying it with the hyper beam and the Electrode making it explode. It left a huge mess."
David glanced over at David with a look saying he was guilty.
"Hey, it wasn't me ok? I had nothing to do with it!" David said waving his arms.
"Riiiiiight." David said looking at him, then turning to the construction guy.
"So, right now people are unable to enter and leave Saffron City. If that's where your heading, sorry. You can take the underground pass and arrive in Vermillion City. The S.S. Anne is getting ready for another departure, so I'm sure you can catch it for a relaxing cruise, or you can battle Lieutenant Surge, though he's still as fierce as ever." The man explained.
"Thank you." David said nodding and headed towards the underground pathway with David, Ghastly and Jirachi.
"Are you SURE you didn't do that?" David said eyeing Brad cautiously.
"I'm sure. I wouldn't of broken the path into Saffron since we need to go there. Specially if you're collecting badges." Brad said shaking his head.
"Ghastly." Brad's Ghastly responded.
"But you didn't meat David till who knows when. You could've done it before you met him." Jirachi explained looking at David.
"Yea. What my pal said." David said look at David as they descended the stairs into the underground path.
"Fine. Don't believe me, maybe I'll just stop being your cheerleader in your Gym Battles." Brad said.
"Well, if you say you didn't do it…"David said.
"I'm telling you I didn't." Brad responded.
"Ghas-tly." Said Ghastly.
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"Wow, this place is busier than I thought." David said walking down the main Vermillion street plaza, looking at the crows of people massing over the shops, the Gym highlighted in the background and over to the side the S.S. Anne looming in all its magnificent on the docks.
"Vermillion city has always been a rather popular location cause of its shops and its gym." Brad said pointing to the gym. "Lieutenant Surge was a harsh and ruthless Gym Leader, till Ash came and righted a few of his wrongs. He's still a hard Gym leader to beat, extremely powerful, but he doesn't make as many emergency trips to the Pokemon Center as he used to." Brad explained.
"Sounds like an interesting challenge." David said thinking it over. "What type of Pokemon does he use?" He asked curiously.
"Electric." Brad said. David looked up at Jirachi, and then thought back to Vulpix and Magnemite.
"Wow, none of my Pokemon are super effective against him, and none of his are supper effect against mine." David said giving it a curious thought.
"Well, Lt. Surge usually only uses an overpowered Raichu. As a lot of trainers have learned is that Surge's Raichu lacks in speed, but Surge has been training his Raichu recently to get faster and faster and have more energy. So tiring it out from its lack of speed is slowly getting harder and harder." Brad explained.
"Ghastly." Ghastly said.
"So a Raichu I see…" David said thinking it over.
"What're you thinking about?" Jirachi asked curiously, still floating by David's shoulder, listening to all the conversation.
"Raichu is a stone evolution of Pikachu." He said reaching into his vest a pulling out the pokeball that held Vulpix inside. "Vulpix also needs a stone in order to evolve into Vulpix." He explained. "It wouldn't be smart to evolve Vulpix now, as she's not fast enough to carry the speed into her evolution and she doesn't know that many moves." He explained and then stopped walking and stood in front of a store. David stopped and looked at the store, and Jirachi turned his head to look at it. "But buying some stones now won't hurt." David explained smiling looking at the stones store.
"Sounds logical." Brad said as David walked towards the store followed by Jirachi.
"Ah, welcome to the stones shack. I have stones from Fire to the new Dusk and Dawn stones. What'll be your preference?" The shop owner said rubbing his hands together happily.
"Alright…" David said looking threw the stones. "I'll take a firestone…and…" David said thinking about it and looking up at Jirachi. "Any stones you'd prefer to have?"
"Actually…now that you mention it…" Jirachi said, handing lifting up to his chin, the two strips on his back flapping in what seemed to be windless air. "That Thunderstone seems to be giving me a weird feeling…" Jirachi said looking at the curious yellow stone with the lightning bolt down it.
"You heard the Pokemon. I'll get one Thunderstone and one Firestone." David said pulling out his wad of cash, counting threw it.
"Very well. That'll be 20,000 then." The man said picking up the two stones and handing them over as David paid the money. "Alright, you'll get the stone soon enough." David said smiling looking at Jirachi.
-----
"Gym ho!" David said pointing happily in front of the Gym.
"That's defiantly the Gym. You win the pointing out the obvious award." Brad said sarcastically.
"Ghastly." Ghastly said.
"You have a plan of action?" Jirachi asked curiously looking at David.
"Well, if he uses just Raichu its probably a one on one battle. So I'm going to use Vulpix's speed to tire out the Raichu as best as I can while giving counter attack or using the attacks to make a distraction." David explained. "With using that strategy, I should be able to-" David was interrupted by the sudden slamming open of the Gym doors.
"Wow, that was barely a challenge." A male trainer laughed walking out of the gym with his hands in his pockets.
"What?" David asked blinking confused. The trainer stopped in front of Brad and David grinning.
The guy had blonde hair, flat along the top with a few strands of bangs hanging in front of his face, some of it tied on the back of his head in a small ponytail that reached the small of his back. His jacket was black and reached just below his ribs, his undershirt being red with designs of black. He wore dark jeans with a belt hanging loosely around his waist with a chain connected to his pants on each side with a side where he held 4 pokeballs, and what looked like a deck box on the other side, a small backpack hanging from straps around his shoulder on his back.
"That guy was a push over. A lot of people find him a challenge. Those people are just pathetic." The guy chuckled, grinning in a weird manner.
"Well, that's a bit rude isn't it?" David asked curiously.
"So what if it's rude? People who aren't strong don't deserve to win and fight. They deserve to go back to pre-school till they can manage to fight." The guy said smirking still.
"What's your problem?" Brad asked curious about the trainer.
"My problem is pathetic trainers in the world." He said looking at David and Brad. "You guys don't even look like you've got an ounce of challenge in you. Just what exactly are you trying to accomplish huh?" The guy said cockily.
"I'm on an important quest-" David began.
"Oh save me. If you're not a trainer to become stronger, then you're not worth my time. Both of you are just a waste as trainers." He said beginning to walk away.
"That's it." Brad said stepping forward getting in his way. "You can say all you want about David-" Brad began.
"Hey!" David responded.
"But when you go and insult me, oh it's on!" Brad said gripping his fist.
"Ghastly!" His Ghastly said angrily.
"Ok, fine. If you think you can beat me, then we can battle." The guy said grinning.
"Fine!" Brad said quickly raising a pokeball.
"The rule is its 3 on 3. First one out of Pokemon looses." The guy said jumping back some bit to put some space between him and Brad, swiping a pokeball from his belt. "And I'll choose to send out my Eevee!" The guy said throwing out the pokeball, the gray furred fox-like creature emerging.
"Eevee!" Eevee cried with a bit of a grin on its face as it stood, almost triumphantly in front of the gym.
"An Eevee? This'll be too easy. Go Duskull!" Brad said throwing out the pokeball, the ghost-like Pokemon emerging from the ball.
"Duskull." It cried floating there.
"Don't know what you're going to do, seeing as Normal type moves don't effect Duskull at all." Brad said grinning.
"I'm sure you'd love to think that." The guy said grinning.
"We'll see about that…" Brad said pointing at the Eevee now. "Go Duskull! Use Ice Beam now!"
"Dus-kull!" Duskull cried raising its head as the ice energy formed at its mouth before shooting down rapidly at the gray Eevee.
"You know the drill Eevee." The guy grinned.
"Eevee!" Eevee replied as his body shined purple and the beam smacked directly into it, causing a small cloud to arise from its body before disappearing.
"What just happened?" Brad asked confused.
"Let me put it simply." The guy said chuckling. "Eevee just used Endure. So now, Eevee only has 1 hit left before he's knocked out."
"But…why? That doesn't make any sense." Brad asked a little confused by this knowledge. "You just put yourself at a huge disadvantage. Your Pokemon is a normal type, and I have a ghost…" Brad explained.
"Exactly." The guy grinned.
"Fine, your funeral then. Shadow ball again Duskull!" Brad cried.
"Duskull!" It cried in return, lugging another huge purple orb at the Eevee.
"Eevee…" The guy grinned.
"Eevee!" Eevee cried in response and as if in a blur, the Eevee was gone as the orb impacted the ground where it had stood.
"What!?" Brad asked confused.
"Now!" The guy cried out, as the Eevee seemed to just appear directly behind Duskull.
"Eevee!" It cried, its mouth opening up as the dark energy quickly formed into a ball in its mouth and it shooting out a Shadow ball as it smacked directly into Duskull.
"Duskull!" It cried flying backwards before righting itself closer to the ground, looking up to see the Eevee was already gone.
"Duskull! Look out!" Brad cried as the Eevee re-appeared directly behind Duskull once more before another Shadow Ball smacked directly into Duskull at point blank range, causing a small explosion to rise up.
"Duskull!" It cried spinning almost out of control towards Brad, Eevee once more appearing in its path before opening its mouth, teeth glowing as it bite down into Duskull, shaking his head rabidly before throwing him out to the middle of the arena, Duskull hitting the ground.
"Duskull…" Duskull said, its eyes spinning in place.
"Guh…Return!" Brad said raising the pokeball and Duskull returning to his pokeball.
"I reduced my Eevee's life to just one hit so it'd be more fair on you. Though as I can see, it was just a big waste of time." The guy said smugly. Brad growled.
"Just what exactly did your Eevee use?" Brad demanded.
"Agility of course. Agility in rapid succession makes for a deadly combination you know. My Eevee goes so fast he's just a blur and my opponent never sees his attacks coming." He grinned.
"Eevee!" The Eevee said grinning with the same attitude as its trainer. Brad let out a low growl as he moved on to the next pokeball.
"Alright then, I'll send out Larvitar!" Brad explained throwing out his next pokeball, Larvitar emerging from it.
"Larvitar!" It cried emerging from its ball.
"Very well then." The guy said smirking.
"Earthquake!" Brad cried out.
"Larvi!" Larvitar cried raising its foot and stomping on the ground, tremors suddenly shaking the entire area, rocks quickly jutting out of the ground from underneath Eevee, knocking him into the air before hitting the ground, eyes spinning in place.
"Not bad." The guy said raising Eevee's pokeball and Eevee retreating back into it. "It would've been a real shame if I had to beat you down with just one Pokemon." He smirked.
"Stop being cocky now dammit!" Brad yelled at him.
"I don't have to stop. When I'm going up against weak trainers like you, I know I'm going to win." He explained picking up another pokeball. "Your up Larvitar!" The guy said throwing out the pokeball, a Larvitar a bit bigger and lighter green than Brad's came out.
"Larvitar!" It cried landing.
"Looks like my Larvitar is bigger than yours." He grinned.
"Size isn't everything, and I'll prove it! Hyper beam!" Brad yelled.
"Larvitar!" Larvitar cried raising its head back.
"Do the same!" The guy yelled as his Larvitar raised its head back as well.
"LARVITAR!" His yelled as it unleashed the powerful energy beam the same time as Brad's Larvitar did, the two beams colliding mid-air creating a bulge in the middle that continued increasing in size till it was a huge ball directly in front of the two Pokemon, being pushed back and the ball digging into the earth creating a large crater before the massive mound of energy finally exploded, erupting with a loud deafening boom and a large flash of white that pushed everything back with a tremendous pressure of wind. David tumbled backwards and caught Jirachi in his arms as Jirachi was nearly carried away by the wind, Brad and the guy covering there faces still managing to hold there own, Ghastly just floating by Brad as if nothing was happening.
A huge smoke cloud towered over the Gym once the explosion had finally finished. David looked up at the massive amount of smoke that was beginning to slowly clear away from the field. He could clearly see the large crater that had been put into place and the two Larvitar's knocked out on either side of the hole.
"God damn…" David said examining the scene.
"Not a bad performance kid." The guy said raising the pokeball and Larvitar returning to his pokeball.
"DON'T call me kid." Brad said with emphasis as he returned Larvitar to his ball.
"Well, I do believe where down to1 Pokemon each." He grinned choosing another ball from his side.
"We are." Brad said crossing his arms.
"And your choice is?" He asked curiously.
"Its Ghastly of course." Brad said very angry now, it showing in his voice.
"Ghastly." The Ghastly said moving forward.
"Fine. Then I'll go ahead and send him out!" The guy said throwing the pokeball out, it opening up and shooting out the white beam, the light soon forming into the shape of a weird Pokemon.
"Darkrai!" Cried the Dark Purple mass of darkness that floated before them now, his sleeves and lower body seeming to wave in the wind with the torn edges of his body. His white hair flowing back behind his body into the windless air, his eyes glowed a pure blue, as if seeing past your physical form and seeming to reach into something deeper.
"What the hell is that!?" Brad cried out seeing the Pokemon staring straight at his Ghastly.
"This, my friend, is Darkrai. He's quite a fearsome opponent." The guy grinned.
"Darkrai." The Pokemon growled in a low fearsome voice, as if growling from its very essence. Brad gritted his teeth as a bead of sweat formed on his forehead.
"Well, your Pokemon doesn't scare me! My Ghastly is going to kick its ass!" He cried out. Ghastly turned his head curiously and looked at Brad.
"Ghastly?" It said confused.
"Yes you!" Brad said snapping at the Ghastly.
Ghastly stared blankly at Brad before looking over at Darkrai again, then back at Brad.
"Ghastly." Ghastly said sticking out its tongue at Brad and closing its eyes.
"HEY!" Brad yelled. "Whose side are you on!? He called you weak! Are you just going to stand for that!?"
"Ghastly." Ghastly said in response.
"If you have any shred of dignity in your body you are going to get out there and kick that Pokemon's ass right now!" Brad yelled pointing straight at the Darkrai.
"Ghastly…" Ghastly said slightly annoyed turning towards the Darkrai.
"That's better." Brad said with a bit of a sigh in his voice. He looked up and saw the guy just shaking his head.
"Talking to your Pokemon in such a manner will make people think your crazy, you know." The guy chuckled.
"Right now, I don't care! I only care about kicking your ass!" Brad clenched his fist.
"Fine have it your way." The guy said lifting his head and grinning.
"Ghastly! Use Shadow Ball!" Brad yelled.
"Ghastly!" Ghastly cried raising its head, before shooting a blob of energy straight at Darkrai.
"Double Team now!" The guy said.
"Darkrai." Roared Darkrai's echoing demonic voice, as its body soon created multiple images moving rapid pace around Ghastly in a circle, the Shadow Ball flying threw the images.
"Ghastly?" Ghastly said looking around at the many images of Darkrai that surrounded him, the glowing red eyes seeming to glare right at him from every image.
"Use Psychic to determine which one it is!" Brad yelled.
"Ghastly!" Ghastly said, his eyes glowing trying to get to the Darkrai, but nothing happened.
"Idiot, are you new? Psychic moves don't affect Dark Pokemon!" He laughed.
"Shut it!" Brad yelled at him. "Dark Pulse now!" Brad yelled.
"Ghas-tly!" Ghastly cried, raising its body then slamming down onto the air, a pulse of dark wave spreading out across the circle of Darkrai's, hitting the real one and ending the illusion, but the real one just backing up slightly, as if it was pretty much un-phased.
"Shadow Ball now!" The guy yelled.
"Darkrai!" Darkrai yelled, holding out its hands forming the ball before pulling back and firing it at Ghastly.
"Dodge now Ghastly!" Brad yelled, Ghastly quickly dodging to the side avoiding the energy ball.
"Hypnosis!" The guy yelled as Darkrai moved directly in front of Ghastly, his eyes flashing with evil intent in them.
"Ghas…tly…" Ghastly said his eyes drooping heavily before he closed them asleep.
"No! Ghastly wake up!" Brad yelled to his sleeping Ghastly.
Ghastly begin to move about in his sleep, chanting his name in an almost panicked manner, as if he was having a nightmare.
"What's going on!?" Brad yelled at the guy. The guy grinned at Brad.
"Darkrai's special ability. Whenever a Pokemon is asleep near him, he inflicts upon them bad dreams and zaps their health slowly." He laughed.
"That's not fair!" Brad yelled.
"Who cares if it fair? Its all perfectly legitimate strategy!" He grinned pointing to his Darkrai. "Dream Eater now!" He yelled.
"Darkrai!" Darkrai cried, his voice echoing around him, his eyes flashing red as an image of his body seemed to grow out of his body, the air turning black all around them, dark haze of clouds filling the area around the turbulent Ghastly. A loud, painful cry emitted throughout the void, as if a girl of innocent nature was being tortured. The image of Darkrai rose over the Ghastly, as it turned and tossed in its sleep, a jaw of jagged aligned teeth appearing across the large image, before the image crashed down on the Ghastly, Ghastly entering the giant image's mouth.
Ghastly crashed down against the edge of the crater that had been left behind, the image passing the rest of the way threw him, and into the ground as the void seemed to disappear all in one instance.
"Ghastly…" Ghastly said as he woke up from his sleep, his eyes squiggled, unable to continue fighting.
"No…Ghastly…"Brad said looking down at shock to his fallen companion.
"Well. Seems I've won this match." The guy said raising a pokeball, the red beam shooting out and returning Darkrai into the dusk ball from where it had come from. Brad walked slowly over to Ghastly and picked him up into his arms, looking down at the battered Ghastly.
"Next time you battle me, you might want to have a bit more of a well arranged Team. If you focus on a group, you're not going to be a great trainer." The guy smirked.
Brad turned his head and glared at his opponent, his teeth obviously gritting together. The guy, as if nothing had just happened, place the pokeballs back on his belt, and walked around the crater to head back to town. As he passed by David, David turned his head to him.
"Hey…" David said, the guy stopping. "What's your name anyways?" David asked with a bit of curiosity. The guy turned his head and grinned at David.
"You can call me Jake." He chuckled, before turning his head back to town and walking off. Brad stood in the same spot next to the crater, not saying a word.
David and Jirachi looked at Brad, and Jirachi began to fly over to Brad, but David caught Jirachi's foot. Jirachi looked down at him, and David shook his head no. Jirachi looked up at Brad's back, as Brad still held the Ghastly in his arms. Jirachi gave a small nod, then turned with David and walked back into Town.
-End Chapter 10-