Hey friends! Are you ready for some drama to unfold!? 'Cause I sure am! We're finally getting into some deep shit with this story. And I decided to write a new chapter ASAP this time because the last one was so late! Please enjoy! :)
This chapter was updated on October 14th, 2015 due to the misspelling of "Vermilion".
Chapter 11
People never understood why I was so attached to my Raticate as a kid. If you knew me and Raticate both at the same time you would see that we were both two halves of the same whole.
Raticate was a rash, misunderstood Pokémon.
Young Green was (and still kinda is) a rash, misunderstood human.
When people ask me why I was so attached to Raticate, I tell them that it's the same thing as Red's attachment to me. I'm a rash, rotten brat, but Red always loved me for it nonetheless and I always felt the same way about Raticate.
It just sucks that it took me so long to understand that myself. I spent so much time thinking I wasn't worth the time of my best friend.
I spent too much time thinking that I was…the reason Red left…
I walked into Vermilion City with confidence. I hadn't felt this great since the moment I left Pallet Town to begin my journey. This time was different, however. My favorite Pokémon evolved, I learned how to properly respect my teammates, and I just knew that I had the next battle with Red in the bag.
I looked to the South and could see the S.S. Anne in the distance. I checked my watch. It was 2:00pm.
"Great timing!", I thought. The ship wouldn't leave until 6:00pm, so I had plenty of time to prepare before I boarded.
The first thing I did was go to the Pokémon Center. I healed up my Pokémon and got a room for the night. I would be there for a while, considering that I had the S.S. Anne to take on along with the next Pokémon gym.
I then left the Pokémon Center, bought some supplies at the Pokémart, and progressed towards the S.S. Anne.
As I neared the docks, I began to smell the salty scent of the sea and felt the calm breeze coming in from the South. It was refreshing.
I began to walk on the wooden dock that lead to the S.S. Anne. The path took a couple of turns before I reached a sailor who was in charge of checking everyone's tickets.
"Hey, can I see your ticket, please?", he asked. I handed him my ticket and he punched a hole in it before giving it back.
"Thanks, have a great trip!", he replied.
"Thanks, I will.", I said, even though I was just here for the trainers.
I walked forward and up to the large cruise ship. There was a ramp that lead onto the ship. I walked up it and entered.
The first level of the ship was filled with cabins for people to sleep in. I figured that I might as well check them out even though I wouldn't be staying the night.
I walked into the cabin directly ahead. I was startled when I got to the other side of the door and realized that some old dude was standing in the room.
"Ah! I'm sorry, I'll just leave now!", I panicked. I completely forgot that people would be in their rooms.
The man looked at me for a sec then grinned, "You're a Pokémon trainer, aren't you?"
I nodded my head in response.
His grin deepened, "Then I'll forgive you…if you defeat me in battle!"
I began to get nervous. I was no match for someone his age. He was probably an expert.
"Go Growlithe!", he shouted, sending out a Pokémon I hadn't seen before. I was a small, dog-like Pokémon. It was orange with black stripes and had a lot of fur.
"He's so cute!", I thought. I almost never gape over Pokémon for their cuteness, but Growlithe was an exception.
"Do you accept my challenge, son?", the man asked, pulling me back to my senses.
I smirked, "I never back down from a challenge to battle! Go Squirtle!"
Squirtle came out of his Pokéball, ready to battle. He hadn't gotten a lot of chances to battle since I last battled Red, so I figured that taking out a fire-type Pokémon was just what he needed to catch up.
"Squirtle, use water pulse!", I commanded. A heavy stream of pulsating water gushed at the Growlithe, who was heavily damaged.
"Perfect!", I thought. I knew he had to be a fire-type Pokémon.
"Growlithe, use fire wheel!", the man shouted. A wheel of flames hit Squirtle dead-on. He was hurt, but not very much.
"Why would an experienced trainer use that move on a water-type Pokémon?", I thought, confused.
"Squirtle, use bubblebeam and make this the finishing blow!", I yelled. Squirtle sent a heavy stream of bubbles at the opposing Pokémon. They hit Growlithe and caused steam to fill the room.
After a few seconds the steam cleared and Growlithe was on the ground, passed out.
"Yes!", I cheered, "Good job Squirtle!"
Squirtle then began to glow. It was his turn to evolve, finally.
The glow began to gain intensity before fading out. Out of the light emerged a beautiful Wartortle.
The two of us, trainer and Pokémon, stood with determination, ready to take on the man's other Pokémon.
The man smiled, "I forfeit."
"You…what!?", I was startled, "Why? An experienced trainer like you should be able to take me on!"
"I battle for pleasure, son.", the man replied, the smile remaining on his face, "You and your Pokémon share a very special bond. Go forth and share that bond with the world."
I was still confused why he wouldn't just finish battling me.
"Look, my other Pokémon was another Growlithe. He would've been toast.", he laughed, "Just go ahead and continue on your journey. I can tell that you'll be a very talented trainer someday."
I returned Wartortle to his Pokéball, thanked the man, and left the room.
I continued exploring the ship, battling many strong trainers along the way. The amount of trainers on the ship was insane. They were in the rooms, the halls, the ship deck, and even in the kitchen.
After what seemed like hours of battling, I had defeated every trainer on the S.S. Anne. I reached a final stairwell on the second floor of the ship that apparently led to the captain's quarters. Many people in the areas below told me that I would receive a hidden move from him if I proved my worth.
Without further delay, I went up the stairs and into the captain's quarters.
I walked in and saw a man sitting at his desk. His face was pale and flushed.
"Woah, you don't look so hot.", I said.
"Ah, it's just a bit of seasickness.", he replied, "Nothin' to be concerned with. You look like a trainer. Did you come to receive an HM from me?"
"Yeah…", I replied.
"How can you be a ship captain if you get seasick before you even disembark?", I thought.
"Alright, here you are.", he said, getting up and handing me a disk, "This 'ere is cut. You can use it to cut down trees that are in your way outside of battle. It ain't that great a move though, in all honestly…"
"Thanks, sir!", I beamed.
The captain's stomach then began to lurch and he covered his mouth.
"Shit, he's gonna barf!", I thought. I quickly walked out of the room as he hung his head over the nearby trash can. I didn't wanna stay to see what happened next…
I walked down the stairs and into the hall below. It was about time I left the S.S. Anne and took on the next Pokémon gym.
I took two steps forward and was suddenly met by a red streak that rounded the corner. I smirked.
"Bonjour, Red!", I said gracefully.
"…?", Red looked at me in confusion.
"Come on, Green! Bonjour!?", I cursed at myself, "Are you trying to impress him with your French or something?"
"A-anyways…", I cringed, "There's some old dude upstairs who will give you the hidden move cut if you talk to him, but he's kinda…barfing right now…so…"
I was distracted by Red's gaze. Something about the way he was looking at me was odd. Every time we made eye contact he would quickly dart his eyes in the other direction and…blush?
I was having way too good of a day to let this distract me, "Anyways, I'm not gonna let you win this time!", I stated, "My team is way to good to lose to the likes of you again!"
I then sent out my first Pokémon, Pidgeotto. A classic start to my battles with Red.
Red quietly sent out his Pikachu.
"Come on.", I thought, "You can do this, Pidgeotto."
"Pidgeotto, use quick attack!", I shouted quickly, knowing that Red's Pikachu could be a death-sentence to my Pidgeotto. My Pokémon quickly charged at Pikachu and hit it right in the stomach, a pretty hard hit.
Red and his Pikachu exchanged looks. Red nodded and his Pikachu quickly turned towards my Pidgeotto and sent a thunderbolt his way.
Pidgeotto was hit very hard, but he held on.
"Okay, use gust! Don't let a hard hit like that make you lose focus!", I encouraged him. My Pokémon then flapped his wings, sending a gust at the foe Pikachu, sending it flying towards the nearby wall.
Both Pokémon were now significantly weakened. Red's Pikachu regained his bearings and planted both feet firmly on the ground.
"He's gonna go in for a quick attack.", I thought.
"Pidgeotto, hurry and use quick attack!", I yelled. Both Pokémon darted towards each other and ran right into one another.
Both Pokémon ended up fainting.
"Good job, Pidgeotto.", I said, returning him to his Pokéball.
I then sent out Raticate, my trusty ally, and Red sent out his Charmeleon.
"Raticate, use hyper fang!", I shouted. He lunged at Red's Charmeleon. Charmeleon attempted to dodge, but Raticate was one step ahead of him, countering the dodge and lunging at him once more, this time successfully digging his teeth into the Charmeleon's skin.
Charmeleon began to get very agitated. He grabbed Raticate and threw him at the ground before sending out a fury of blue flames. He was using dragon rage.
"Raticate!", I yelled, "Get your bearings and get the hell out of there!"
Raticate tried once to get up but ended up falling on the ground again. Charmeleon was not holding back at all.
"Stop!", I yelled, "You're gonna kill him!"
I looked at Red, who looked just as afraid as I did.
"Raticate, return!", I yelled, commanding Raticate to return to his Pokéball. The red stream of light from my Pokéball enveloped Raticate and he was returned to his ball.
"What the hell is wrong with that thing!?", I exclaimed.
Charmeleon turned around and looked at Red, who gave him a look of disapproval.
"Are his Pokémon really so powerful that he has to train them by teaching them how to properly hone their powers?", I thought.
"Well, either way, he doesn't stand a chance against Wartortle!", I yelled before sending out the water Pokémon, "Wartortle, use water pulse!"
Wartortle entered the field and immediately sent a heavy stream of water at Charmeleon.
"Keep it going until he's done!", I shouted, "Show him how Raticate feels right now!"
Wartortle kept the water coming. I had no intention of having him stop. I was so pissed off that Red would let his Pokémon do something like that to mine.
Eventually Charmeleon collapsed to the ground, but I didn't have my Pokémon let up. I wanted him to feel the full wrath of what he had done.
I looked up at Red and saw a look of pure terror. He was terrified at what I was doing. My stomach dropped and I felt my entire being completely ripped to shreds.
"W-wartortle, that's enough.", I said, "You can stop now."
Wartortle stopped and Red returned his Pokémon to its ball.
"Gee…", I thought, "Only halfway through the battle too…"
Red looked at me. His eyes were hard and cold. He wasn't angry, but instead determined. He chose right then to take things seriously. He threw a Pokéball out on the field and out came the most terrifying Pokémon I had yet to see, a massive, menacing Gyarados.
Even Wartortle looked like he was gonna shit himself. This Pokémon was completely terrifying.
"Wartortle, don't let his appearance get to you!", I shouted, "Use rapid spin and give him a piece of you!"
Even though he was scared, Wartortle pulled through and gave the foe a fairly decent rapid spin. However, it didn't do much to the dragon that stood before him.
Red looked at Gyarados and gave him a nod. The dragon then began to thrash around. It went into a state of rage and started slamming Wartortle around, significantly damaging him in the process. Eventually the foe calmed down a bit to rest.
Wartortle wasn't looking so hot, but I attempted to get him to fight anyways, "Use bubbleb-!", I commanded, but Wartortle fell to the ground before I got a chance to finish.
Now I was in a bit of a tight spot. I didn't know if I should send in Abra or Raticate. Raticate was significantly damaged and wouldn't be able to do anything to Red's Gyarados, however, Abra wouldn't stand a chance either.
"Well, Raticate has had a chance to rest a bit.", I reasoned, "And Red is pretty pissed, so he'll probably destroy my Abra without a second thought this time around."
"Go…Raticate!", I shouted. Raticate came out of his ball barely able to stand.
"Uh-oh… This isn't looking too good.", I thought.
Red's Gyarados didn't look back at Red for permission to attack. He was so enraged that he started to thrash Raticate around without mercy.
I looked at Red who looked completely shocked. It was as if he hadn't realized how powerful Gyarados could be. He quickly took out a Pokéball and returned it. In the middle of the battlefield was Raticate, covered in blood, unconscious. He was a complete mess, barely clinging on. I returned him to his Pokéball and sent out Abra without a second thought.
Red was completely shocked that I still wanted to battle.
"Come on, send it back out!", I shouted, enraged, "This battle isn't over until I say it is!"
Red paused before sending Gyarados back out. He scolded the dragon, who actually looked apologetic.
Everything was silent for a moment.
"Come on, Abra.", I said, "You must've learned something new with all the experience you've gained."
Abra looked back at me, confused.
I looked up at Red, "…I…believe in you…"
Abra suddenly had a shallow purple glow around himself. The glow then surrounded Gyarados who started to shout in pain.
"Abra learned confusion…", I thought.
Abra was then surrounded by the classic bright light that surrounds Pokémon when they evolve. He came out of the light as a Kadabra.
"Yes!", I shouted, forgetting momentarily about the events that had just transpired moments ago.
Gyarados then lunged forward and slammed its jaws around Kadabra, who passed out on impact.
"I guess that's the price I have to pay for using an experience share…", I thought.
My thoughts were instantly brought back to Raticate.
"Oh no…", I said out loud, "I need to go to a Pokémon Center now!"
I started to cry uncontrollably out of nowhere. I knew deep down that Raticate was not okay.
Red walked up to me and tried to apologize. He put his hand on my shoulder and looked me in the eyes.
"I'm…sorry…", he said, a single tear running down his face.
"Get away from me!", I snapped, "Your Pokémon are completely insane! I knew I shouldn't be friends with you anymore!"
I tore myself away from his grip and ran away to get Raticate to the Pokémon Center.
"Please…don't die…"
Thanks for reading! Follow/favorite for more! :))) -Jack
