A/N: Writing this story is helping me feel calm... so if you're wondering why I'm suddenly so gung-ho about working on it, that's why. I've always had a soft spot for Pokemon, and Second Gen has always been my favorite. Cyndaquil and its' evolutions are my all-time favorite, and I genuinely like most of the Pokemon introduced in Gen 2. except Qwilfish. Fuck that thing as anything except a pokedex entry. Plus, Gen 2 introduced my favorite Eeveelution, who has the best shiny sprite of them all, fuck you, fight me. Umbreon is kick-ass and you can all go to hell if you think otherwise.
Chapter 11: Critical Hit!
Weedle ranted on and on about rude invaders, but honestly, I was ignoring it. I was too focused on trying to pull out the poison barb from Watchers' paw. It took me a minute, but I finally managed to pinch it and pull, removing it. I quickly fished one of my two antidotes out and cured Watcher. He squeaked his thanks, but still looked totally wiped, near fainting. I stroked his back soothingly.
"It's alright, buddy, you rest up. Ferno will take care of this."
"Sen..." I lifted him gently from my shoulder and handed him to Jasmine.
"Watch him please." she nodded and hugged him close, but not tight. I turned to the Weedle, my eyes flashing. "Ferno, let's do this."
A flash of light, and my Partner stood there, flaring his back.
"Quil!" I blinked at him in shock.
"Where did you learn such foul words?!"
"Cynda?"
"Damn straight I don't want you saying those things! Ferno, I should wash your mouth out with soap!"
"Quil!"
"I don't care if Totodile taught you! Since when was Totodile a good influence?! Anyway, focus!" Ferno snapped back to battle mode. He lowered his shoulder, but I had other plans. "No, don't hit him yet! Use smokescreen!" Ferno looked at me in question, but did as he was told, blowing smoke (literally, not figuratively) out of his mouth. The Weedle cried out in alarm as it vanished into the cloud of soot, and a poison barb came flying out of the cloud, missing Ferno by half an inch.
"Keep using smokescreen!" more smoke poured from my partners' mouth, and another barb flew out, missing Ferno by quite a large margin this time. "Now, tackle!"
With a fierce(ish) battle cry, Ferno charged headlong into his own smokescreen, and I heard a thud, before he came barreling out the other side, Weedle clinging to his head, looking dazed. Ferno stopped and shook it off, then started running again, before circling back and hitting it again, knocking it back into the now dissipating cloud of soot. Ferno and I stood tense, waiting for something to happen. It didn't take long for the Weedle to wobble out of the near-gone cloud, looking very dazed, and like it wanted to just leave at this point.
I threw a Pokeball at it. It wobbled. Once. Twice. Thrice. And went still.
Ferno relaxed with a sigh, while I turned to Jasmine. She held up Watcher, who looked better.
"I gave him some berries while you were battling." I sighed in relief and nodded my thanks, as my Pokedex beeped. I'd have to remember to turn the volume down...
"New Entry for Trainer 63487- Weedle. Query of special identifier?"
"Thorn."
"Confirmed- Thorn. Please log entry for species Weedle."
"New Log, species Weedle," wait for the beep. "It attacks using a two-inch poison barb on its head. It can usually be found under the leaves it eats." My Pokedex once more went silent as Thorn's Pokeball vanished much the same as Dots' had. "What are the stats on Thorn, by the way?"
"Female, Level Three. Knows moves Poison Sting and String Shot. Nature- Calm."
"Why name her Thorn?" Jamsine asked quietly.
"Because hopefully she'll be as much of a thorn in our opponents' side as she was in ours."
"That seems like an incredibly vindictive way to name your Pokemon."
"Does it? I just name them. Sometimes its based on their appearance, like with Dot. Other times, their Nature of what they do as a species, like Watcher or Chomps."
"And what about Ferno and Thorn?" I chuckled in response.
"Sometimes I name Pokemon based on what I hope for them to do in the future." Jasmine quirked her eyebrow at me.
"Ferno is named based on what you hope for him to do?" I nodded with a small smile.
"One day I hope for Ferno to blaze brighter and hotter than any fire in existence. I want his flames to be the stuff of legend. People will take one look at him and run, because they'll know if they try to stand in his way, they'll be swept away in the Inferno." Here, I paused, looking down at my partner, before continuing softly. "He may be little more than a spark right now, but some day... some day Ferno will burn his name into the annals of history. I just hope I'm there to see it when he does." I looked back up to see Jasmine staring at me with something akin to both awe and fear. It was a few minutes before she said anything. In that time, I picked Ferno up and pet him a few times, before returning him to his Pokeball, and placing Watcher back on my shoulder.
"That's very ambitious for someone who never wanted to do this in the first place." I shrugged.
"Originally, I planned it as a pipe-dream. Something we could wish for, but never attain. But now? I might not have wanted to go on a journey... but that doesn't mean I'm not going to make the most of it. Ferno and I will shoot for the moon. Even if we miss... we'll end up amongst the stars..." I said no more and turned north once again, continuing on. I heard Jasmine follow after me. We walked in silence until we reached the place I'd fought Joey and the other kid yesterday. Unsurprisingly, they were still there, battling each other once again.
"So what Pokemon do you have?" I asked as we passed, watching Joey's 'top-percentage' Rattata get bowled over by the other kids' Pidgey.
"Well... I mostly specialize in Steel types, if I'm entirely honest. I've been known to dabble with Electric, but Steel are my go-to. Right now, I have a couple of Magnemites with me. They don't like being out of their Pokeballs unless they're battling, so I leave them be for the most part." I nodded absently.
"Why do you specialize?"
"I'm...sorry?"
"Why do you specialize? If someone battles you with a type that you're weak against, you'll be hard-pressed to eke out a win. Having a diverse team and generalizing is a much better option, in my opinion."
Jasmine just gave me an enigmatic smile.
"I'm sure you'll find out. In time."
"Nice avoiding the question."
"I must have some secrets for the time being," she giggled. I shrugged.
"Suit yourself." e walked in silence for another few minutes, before some squirt with a bug net ran up to me and pointed a finger accusingly.
"BOW BEFORE MY BUG POKEMON!"
"Uh... no." Watcher hopped off my shoulder as the kid threw out a Caterpie. I blinked and pointed my Pokedex at it. "Analyze."
"Caterpie, Male, Level Three." I scowled at it. Useless thing.
"Watcher, scratch!" Watcher ran forward and swiped the little green bug. It's trainer looked miffed.
"Caterpie, String shot!" the thing spit out white silk-like fluid, that landed on Watcher, wrapping his feet up, and weighing him down. I growled in annoyance.
"Foresight is basically useless, and he doesn't know anything else," I muttered to myself, thinking quickly. I snarled in frustration. "Scratch it again, Watcher!"
"Sen!" Watcher once more sprinted forward and swiped the Caterpie as he passed.
"Caterpie, String Shot one more time!" another round of silk, and Watcher slowed down even more. "Now Tackle it!" and Caterpie did just that, barreling forward and slamming into Watcher, who gave a shout that sounded more like alarm than pain.
"Watcher, keep Scratching!" Watcher did just that, swiping at the Caterpie again and again, as the Caterpie tackled him again and again. We were just trading blows at this point, and Watcher looked pretty beat up, but Caterpie looked more so. I had a sudden idea.
"Watcher, come here!" Watcher dutifully retreated, expecting me to switch him out. Instead, I squirted him quickly with one of my Potions. He looked at me in surprise, and I gave him a crooked grin. "You're not done fighting so quick are you? Seems to me you have this in the bag, buddy."
After a moment of shock, Watcher squeaked and charged once more, raking his claws along the Caterpie's side, causing it to cry out and fall over, panting tiredly. The Bug Catcher returned it and pulled out another Pokeball.
"Go, Caterpie!" Watcher, Jasmine, and I all sweatdropped. Seriously... who needed two Caterpie? "It's slow! Tackle it!" the Caterpie began charging. Watcher looked at it for a moment, and I was afraid he was about to give up.
But he instead curled up, hugging his tail between his paws adorably I might add, and braced himself for the hit. I whooped in victory and threw my hands in the air. Watcher had figured out how to use Defense Curl! It wasn't much, but it was a damn sight more useful than Foresight. Watcher bounced slightly after the Caterpie hit him, but otherwise seemed unaffected. He remained curled up as Caterpie ran into him two more times. On the third, as Caterpie approached, I struck.
"SCRATCH, NOW!" without hesitation, Watcher uncurled and swiped at Caterpie as it passed. His claws raked right over its' eye, causing it to cry out in pain and flail around, trying to hold its' eye, but without the appendages to do so, it just wriggled around in agony. I actually felt bad for it, if I was entirely honest.
"Caterpie, no!"
"Dude, I am so, so sorry. I did NOT mean for that to happen," I said as I frantically searched for another potion. It was apparent this fight was over. I finally found one, and passed it to the kid, who nodded gratefully, and held the bottle up to Caterpie's eye.
"This is going to sting, Caterpie, but it will help."
"Pie!" biting his lip, he depressed the trigger, squirting the healing liquid over the injured eye, which honestly still looked like it might scar. Caterpie basically screamed in agony and squirmed in pain again, before falling over in an exhausted heap.
"Caterpie..." the kid returned his Pokemon mournfully, then turned to me. "I guess you won..." he reached for his Pokegear, but I held up my hand.
"Keep your money. You're going to need it more than I will."
"But league rules state..."
"Screw the League rules. I wouldn't feel right taking money from you after possibly crippling your Pokemon. See if you can find some way to help it heal." the kid nodded his appreciation and bolted off in the direction of Cherrygrove.
"Will his Caterpie be alright?" Jamsine asked in a worried voice.
"With any luck... yeah. But the way that eye looked... it might be blind forever on that side."
