Chapter 10
Cerulean City! The Rivals Rumble!
Ron took in that first breath of city air. He was back in civilization again, away from the dangers of evil forces such as Team Rocket. He knew that wouldn't be the last time he ran into them, and he knew he wasn't going to get as lucky next time.
"I really have to take care of myself better. If I continue to let my Pokemon protect me so much, I'll just get weaker."
This thought stayed on his mind until he reached the sliding doors of the Pokemon Center. The relaxed setting of this haven for Pokemon and their trainers alike eased Ron's mind. He needed this kind of break before he had this gym battle here in Cerulean City.
Nurse Joy kindly took the Pokeballs containing Elekid, Pidgey, Bulbasaur, and Geodude and took them to the back room. Ron hung around the lobby for some time, waiting for his Pokemon to return. Gradually he made his way to the cafeteria, where he was set to order food when he spotted a familiar face.
Despite all the journeying he had to have taken place in over the last few days to get ahead of Ron, Seth's hair was still as neat as ever. He still wore a polo shirt, but this one was blue with white stripes going horizontally across the shirt. He was sitting at a table all alone, eating his meal quietly.
Ron approached the table, waving at Seth. Seth returned the gesture with a slight nod, acknowledging that he knew Ron. Ron sat down across from Seth and began to speak.
"Hey Seth, long time no see. I hope you've been well since we last met."
He pulled out a badge case the confines of his pocket. He opened it to reveal not only the Boulder Badge, but another badge that looked like a drop of water. He saw the look of confusion of Ron's face, so Seth began to explain.
"Well Ron, as you can see I've been fine. Not only did I manage to beat the Pewter City gym leader Brock, but I also managed to beat Cerulean City's very own Misty, the gym leader who gives victorious trainers the Cascade Badge."
Ron smiled at Seth, "Wow, you've really pushed yourself so far haven't you? I've only earned one badge, but the reason I came to Cerulean City was to challenge their gym leader."
Seth replied, "I figured that much. You shouldn't have too hard of a time at this gym. Your Elekid has an advantage against Water-type Pokemon, much like my Squirtle."
Ron had never thought of this, but suddenly it made sense that he wouldn't have much of a hard time at this gym. Either way, Misty was a gym leader, which made her one of the best. This would be a challenge no matter what.
Just then, Seth looked up at Ron from his food.
"You know what Ron? We should have a rematch. This time we can use more Pokemon…what do you say?"
Ron was expecting this. After all, Seth originally greeted Ron with a challenge. This time though, Ron would be forced to use more than one of his Pokemon…although he didn't have more than one last time.
They waited until Nurse Joy called Ron on the intercom to pick up his Pokemon. Seth took notice of the four Pokeballs that were returned to Ron. He would get the longer fight he wanted.
They went outside, and then walked to the city limits, where there would be more room to battle. Seth announced the rules of the match.
"We'll each use three Pokemon. It'll be a best two out of three."
Ron shrugged his shoulders and grabbed a Pokeball from his belt. Seth did the same. They both threw their Pokeballs out. Ron decided he would start with Pidgey, while Seth decided to send out his Pokemon of the sky.
It was a small Pokemon, about the size of Pidgey. The Pokemon was a blue bat-like creature with small, narrow leg-like apparatuses. It had wings that were a bright purple on the interior. Ron scanned it with his Pokedex.
"Zubat: the small bat Pokemon. Commonly found in caves, this Pokemon is a risk to humans and Pokemon alike, as it likes to bite and drink the blood of other creatures."
Ron decided he would have to be careful fighting this Pokemon because, according to the Pokedex, it was a Poison-type Pokemon as well as a Flying-Type. He decided Pidgey would start off keeping its distance.
"Pidgey, start up a gust of wind and send it right at Zubat!"
Pidgey obeyed its trainer's command, sending forth a strong gust of wind that stormed in the direction of Zubat. The bat couldn't evade the attack and got caught up in the strong wind.
This worried Seth, as he hesitantly yelled out a command to his Pokemon.
"Zubat, fight the currents…try to escape them somehow and let loose a stream of Supersonic!"
The bat let out a screech, letting loose a stream of visible sound waves. This baffled Ron, as he thought that you couldn't see sound. Well anything is possible in this crazy world.
Pidgey took note of the stream of sound coming at it and swiftly dived toward the ground. Zubat quickly followed it, mouth wide open and baring its fangs.
Seth cried out, "Zubat, bite Pidgey quickly!"
Ron wouldn't let this happen. "Pidgey, you have to fight back! Hit it with your lightning fast speed, use Quick Attack!"
Pidgey began to head straight for Zubat at full speed, leaving a trail of white light in its path. The two Pokemon collided in the air, but because of Pidgey's slightly higher altitude, it was able to push Zubat downward with considerable force. It feel back, hitting the ground hard. It slid across the ground for a few feet before its body came to a halt.
Seth looked a little surprised as he gazed upon his defeated Pokemon, but he wouldn't take this setback lying down. He recalled the bat to its Pokeball before grabbing another from his belt.
At the same time, Ron recalled Pidgey to its Pokeball. He congratulated his Pokemon on its victory.
He then looked up at Seth, "Well, I guess the score is one to nothing now."
Seth nodded as he watched Ron grab another Pokeball from his belt. Again, they both sent out their Pokemon at the same time. This round, Ron decided to use his Bulbasaur, while Seth decided to use his Squirtle.
This time, Seth got the first attack in. "Squirtle, give Bulbasaur a taste of your Water Gun attack!"
Squirtle reared back, and then let loose a burst of water. The high pressure attack nailed Bulbasaur head on. Although the attack didn't seem to do too much damage to Bulbasaur, it shocked the grass Pokemon.
Seth saw this as an opportunity to attack again, "Nice job Squirtle, use your Ice Beam attack on Bulbasaur."
Ron was shocked by this command. Seth must have found a way to teach his Squirtle Ice Beam. With that kind of attack, it could easily take out Bulbasaur.
"Bulbasaur, you have to evade that attack at all costs!"
Bulbasaur, sensing the urgency in its trainer's voice, did the best it could to evade the attack. The beam of icy energy shot right at Bulbasaur, but the grass Pokemon's efforts made the attack less effective. Instead of hitting its body directly, the attack only hit one of Bulbasaur's rear legs.
Ron thought that would save his Pokemon from a defeat, and so he gave his next command. "Tackle right into Squirtle! Give it all you've got!"
Bulbasaur tried with all its might to run towards Squirtle, but it couldn't. The Ice Beam attack had frozen its right rear leg, preventing it from moving at all.
Seth again saw a chance to attack, this time for the win. "Tackle into Bulbasaur just like it planned to tackle into you!"
Squirtle rammed at Bulbasaur, head first. Bulbasaur managed to move, but not in the way that it had wanted to. It moved backwards, into a nearby tree. Bulbasaur was knocked out on impact, ending the battle.
Ron cursed at nature, and then recalled his Pokemon.
"You did good Bulbasaur, but I know even a Pokemon like you can't win 'em all."
Seth said, "Well, now the score is one to one eh? It looks like we'll have to settle this with one last battle then!"
He recalled his victorious Pokemon, then grabbed a third Pokeball from his belt. Ron did the same, choosing to use his new Geodude in the first. He figured if he was able to pull off that attack it had done before, then he could beat any Pokemon Seth threw out at him next.
Geodude burst forth in a glow of red light. As did Seth's Pokemon…which was a Pokemon Ron had never seen before. This Pokemon looked like a little monkey with tan fur. It held its arms above its head, perhaps to threaten the Geodude that was staring it down. Ron was going to scan the Pokemon to find out information on it, but Seth didn't give him a chance this time.
"Mankey, start things off with a barrage of Fury Swipe attacks! Show no mercy."
The crazed Pokemon scampered towards Geodude, waving its arms around like a madman. Ron knew that the best offense was a good defense, so he ordered Geodude to harden its body in order to prepare itself for the attacks.
The attack seemed to not faze Geodude, which would pay into Ron's favor. He saw this as a chance to get back at Seth for the few times in the battle he had taken advantage of a disadvantage one of Ron's Pokemon had.
"Geodude, slam your body into Mankey! Let it have it!"
Geodude lunged at Mankey; the blow sent the monkey flying backwards and onto its rear. This just made the Pokemon even madder, and so it ignored its trainer's commands, wanting to fight the way it pleased.
It ran at Geodude. As it got closer, it began to prepare for an attack Ron knew as Low Kick. This attack would do massive damage to Geodude if the attack couldn't be avoided.
Because Ron didn't know the name of the strange technique Geodude had done before, he decided for Geodude to instead brace itself for the attack. This didn't make much of a difference, and the impact of the Low Kick attack sent Geodude flying back. One more attack like that and it was over.
"Geodude, we have to think of something fast or this fight is over! Do you remember that attack you used on that scientist's Rhyhorn?"
Geodude nodded, knowing what had to be done if it wanted to win this fight. Mankey began to rush at Geodude, who braced itself as usual.
As Mankey got close, Geodude began to glow again in the same fashion that it had when it was fighting Rhyhorn. The damage from the attack was not inflicted upon Geodude, but instead on Mankey. The agile creature fell backwards again, but was not defeated. It began to attack again, and this time Geodude began to glow completely.
Without waiting for its trainer's command, Geodude initiated a Self-Destruct attack. The fiery explosion engulfed Mankey, inflicting major damage. When the smoke cleared, both Pokemon were knocked out and lying on the ground.
Seth looked at his Pokemon, then back up at Ron. "Well, it looks like this match ended in a draw. I learned something today too. Mankey needs to learn to listen to me more. First these antics almost cost me my gym battle in Cerulean City, now it cost me a chance of winning this fight here."
Ron shrugged, "Well, it's not your fault. I mean, look what Geodude did right there. Granted, it showed me its true power…and it saved me from maybe losing this fight."
The two young trainers then laughed. It seemed as though Ron had gained Seth's respect. The two of them shook hands, and then went their separate ways.
Seth explained before leaving, "I'm going north to the famous Pokemaniac Bill's house. I hear he knows a ton about Pokemon, so maybe he could help me on my journey."
Ron thought that would be a grand idea, but he had to accomplish something a bit more important first. He would go to the Cerulean City gym and challenge their gym leader Misty for the Cascade Badge.
Will you come out victorious in his gym battle? Find out next time!