I own no Pokemon characters. Credits to Game Freak.
-Chapter 13: Igniting A Fire And Making A Splash-
With Team Rocket executive Petrel defeated, Red and Leaf got to work on freeing Bill's Pokemon from their cages. Though Bulbasaur and Leo were tuckered out after the battle, both of them were still willing to pitch in and pull on the bars. Everyone else was called upon to lend a hand, too, and thanks to their combined efforts, it didn't take long for all of Bill's Pokemon to be free. Relieved that they could live their lives again, they all gave thankful cries before mingling among themselves, all except a certain fire lizard.
Bill whistled. "That was some great work you put in!" he then told Red and Leaf. "Thanks for saving me, guys. I really owe you, uh..."
"Leaf and Red," the former said with a giggle, rubbing the back of her head. "Either way, you don't need to thank us. We were just in the neighborhood."
"I'm just glad that the Pokemon are safe," Red added, Pikachu yipping his own response afterwards. "We didn't help you just so we could be rewarded for it."
"But I have to make it up to you somehow," Bill told him earnestly. "Let me see... Oh, I know! Hold on!"
Excited, he headed back inside his house.
"Sorry for the wait!" came his voice a short time later. Red and Leaf turned to Bill, who was holding what appeared to be two tickets. "I was invited to a party at the SS Anne in Vermilion City and I could bring a friend with me. Problem is, I'm heading for a conference at that time, so I can't make it. You two should go instead of me." Both were excited to be given the opportunity to go to this party, but Leaf definitely made it apparent on her end.
Meanwhile, Pikachu noticed Charmander holding its claws in front of its eyes in deep thought. He went up to the Lizard Pokemon and asked what was up. The humans noticed this, but neither of them could understand the Pokemon's exact words, but the gestures they made to each other gave signals. It didn't take too long for Red for figure out what was up.
"Charmander must be thinking about what Petrel said to it," he told the others before offering a hand to the Fire type Pokemon. "Hey, it's not true what that guy said. Any Pokemon has the potential to become strong and you're no exception. In fact, why don't you prove it to us?"
"Char...?"
"Yeah, why don't we have a battle? Then you can show everyone how strong you really are!"
It took the Lizard Pokemon a while to think of its answer. What did it really have to prove to the humans who saved it? It didn't want to disappoint them, so why bother? Then again, all those times it was picked on for being weak... Charmander could disprove those people, even if they weren't around to see it! Charmander answered with an excited cry and ran to the other side of the hypothetical battlefield, before calling for everyone else to back away for a moment. Red stepped forward, too, deciding who to send out. He still wanted to heed Nurse Joy's words, so Pikachu was out. Bulbasaur was exhausted after battling Petrel, so that only left...
"Butterfree, you're up!"
Charmander already put its guard up. A first stage Pokemon going up against a fully evolved one didn't do much for the confidence it showed, despite the type advantage. Red thought otherwise. Butterfree was his most battle-ready Pokemon at this point. If Charmander could go toe-to-toe with him, that would prove how capable it was!
"Let's start simple. Use Tackle!"
Charmander's natural instincts told it to jump out of the way, but it instead charged forward, claws glowing like metal. The two Pokemon crashed into each other with Tackle and Metal Claw, and the attacks sent them reeling away. Butterfree flapped his wings rapidly to slow himself down, but he was forced to get moving after Charmander shot bolts of fire out of its mouth. Being up in the sky, the Butterfly Pokemon was able to avoid his opponent's Ember with little issues, though a couple of flames grazed his little purple body, throwing him ever so slightly off balance. Nevertheless, his next command was to use String Shot.
His aim was as good as it was as a Metapod, having gotten the Fire type all tied up, and he turned to Red for his next move. Upon orders, he used telekinesis to lift up his opponent, who squirmed around in an attempt to free itself of both the string and the psychic hold. However, with one lift of its claws, the string broke! Butterfree wasted no time throwing his opponent back.
Charmander propelled itself even further with another barrage of fire bolts. The angle and speed at which the attack was released put Charmander in a good position to land safely and nail Butterfree simultaneously. As much as he tried, Butterfree just ended up being pelted by more bolts of fire than last time and sustained a lot more damage. His wing flapping became considerably slower thanks to the power of Charmander's super effective move.
"I just knew that that mean Team Rocket executive was talking nonsense," Leaf said to Bill from the sidelines. "Look at those two go!"
"That was one part of your not so friendly conversation with him that I overheard," Bill replied, watching as Butterfree and Charmander continued to duke it out. "Petrel wasn't wrong about when I began taking care of Charmander. What he left out was that I haven't officially caught it yet."
"You mean, in a Poke Ball? How come?"
"I've actually been waiting for someone to raise it as their own. It's always wanted to go out there and face strong trainers, but it's also wanted a trainer of its own, someone to take care of it. Its previous trainer didn't do that at all... Perhaps Red here is the right person for the job!"
"You know what, Bill? I think so, too."
Meanwhile, Butterfree had just immobilized Charmander with Confusion once again. Like before, the response was a wide range Ember, but Red anticipated this and told him to dodge while keeping hold of his opponent. Butterfree was about to follow up, but he lost his grip and fell down. Charmander was free from the telekinetic attack, but not from gravity, which pulled it down faster. When both Pokemon were on the ground, they panted and tried to push themselves back up. Butterfree couldn't believe that he was holding up so well against a Fire type Pokemon, but he still didn't want to disappoint Red and collapse completely. On the other hand, Charmander felt an exhilarating feeling inside, one that had not been felt ever since Bill began taking care of it, and a sense of pride.
"See, Charmander? I told you that you were strong!" Red called out to the Lizard Pokemon, adding to the swell of positive emotions within it. That was the first time a person complimented its strength! After he returned Butterfree, he walked up to Charmander and held it up. "Bill, well, Petrel, said you don't have a trainer anymore. Is that true?" The Lizard Pokemon didn't know whether to feel sad or angry, but it nodded regardless. "Well, how about I be your new trainer?"
This shocked Charmander. It was worthy? Someone wanted to take it in? What fantastic news! The thing was, though, that it wanted to make sure Red's other Pokemon were okay with it. Pikachu chimed in, telling his new new friend that Butterfree and Bulbasaur would gladly welcome the new addition to the team. Leaf and Bill walked up to it and gave their approval.
"You've wanted this opportunity for so long," the Pokemaniac said. "You should take it."
It didn't take much longer for the lizard to give an eager cry. With that said and done, Red was more than happy to tap an empty Poke Ball on its head. Charmander knew the feeling of being inside one, but it hadn't looked forward to it in such a long time. Red, too, was looking forward to raising it as his own. With one shake, two shakes, three shakes and a brief glow, Charmander had been caught.
Leaf ran over to Red and wrapped an arm over his shoulder. "Wait until Yellow sees this, Red. You have both Bulbasaur and Charmander! Hands off my Squirtle, though."
"Ha ha, you know I would never ask such a thing, Leaf!" Red replied, pointing his Pokedex at his newly caught Pokemon.
"Charmander, Male
Type: Fire
Ability: Blaze
Known Moves: Scratch, Growl, Ember, Smokescreen, Metal Claw"
"We'll get stronger together, Charmander," he promised.
Bill walked up to the two with a smile on his face. He had a feeling that he made the right decision by giving Charmander to Red. Of course, what better way for him to start building a bond than to get to know his new Pokemon? To his and Leaf's great surprise, Bill offered to let them hang out in the garden and do just that, and he even offered them his guest room to stay the night if they wanted! It was a great way to end the day on a high note, especially after the stress they'd been through over the last two days. What was especially great for Red was that Bill knew quite a few things about the Gym Leader of Cerulean City and what type of Pokemon she specialized in.
But, would this knowledge give him a significant advantage in the battle? The next day, after he and Leaf returned to Cerulean City, they were about to find out.
Apart from size, the scoreboard to the right and the rows of seats to the left, Cerulean City's Gym didn't resemble Pewter City's in the slightest. Inside, Red and Leaf couldn't help but feel the hairs on their bodies stick up. They would have believed that they stumbled upon an Ice type Gym, were it not for the giant swimming pool in front of them. Pikachu's teeth chattered and he clung onto Red's jean leg for warmth. Everywhere he looked, the pale green walls were painted with various Water type Pokemon. For a Gym, this place sure looked like a public pool for humans, particularly young children. Then again, being that this was a Gym, the pool was probably a bit too deep for young children to swim in! There was a low diving board and a high diving board, sure, but what kind of public pool had small platforms scattered around it?
"Surprised by what you see?" a voice from the other end called out. Just like in Pewter City, a teenager was the Gym Leader of Cerulean City. She wore a yellow tank top with jean shorts and sneakers. As she stood between the two diving boards, she rubbed her hand across her orange hair and introduced herself. "I'm Misty, your host for this battle! Uh... So, is this going to be a double battle, or..."
"Oh, I'm the only one here taking the Gym challenge," the boy with the red cap said to her. "My name's Red."
"And I'm Leaf, his traveling partner," Leaf introduced herself as she took Pikachu over to the seats.
"Red and Leaf..." Misty placed a finger on her chin and thought. She'd heard of those names before, but where? "Ah, now I remember! A guy called Blue told me that you two would show up."
"Blue's been here?" Red asked. "How did he do?"
"Urgh, let me tell you, that guy was a real smart aleck! How do you two put up with it!?"
Red and Leaf couldn't help but laugh.
"That's what we're told all the time," they said together.
"Even though he seemed all talk, he did have the skill to back it up. He was able to find my Pokemon's weak spots and nail them so easily." The Gym Leader took a deep breath before continuing. "That seems to be a common strategy people try to go for, but few are able to actually pull it off... At least they have the right mindset. Every trainer who wants to turn pro needs to have a policy on what Pokemon they train and how they battle! If you go in all willy-nilly, you're done for!"
Red and Leaf were able to understand where Misty was coming from. They knew that some trainers focused on raising Pokemon of one certain type, Gym Leaders and Elite Four members especially, one reason being that the type would reflect that person's personality to other people. However, despite being the aspiring battler of the two, Red wasn't too sure about his 'policy'. He did decide not to use strictly one type of Pokemon, since that would mean sharing common weaknesses to other types, but in truth, he didn't think that far ahead. Naturally, Misty's following question caught him off guard.
"So, what's your approach?"
Up until this point, the only Pokemon that Red sought out were Pikachu and Butterfree. Bulbasaur and Charmander warmed up to him and were allowed to join him, but he didn't go out looking for the starter Pokemon, or any other Pokemon. Red tried to hide any uncertainty as he spoke.
"Well... so far, I haven't been searching for particular Pokemon to train. You could say I've been going with the flow, using whatever life throws at me. If I were to give an answer, though, it would be... to raise a balanced team, with Pokemon that can rely on each other to back them up!"
Misty gave a slow nod. She remembered Blue saying a similar thing, except he focused more on the power his team possessed. Sure, he would pick up weak Pokemon if he wanted to, but training them to be strong was his first priority.
"I see... I personally believe that a good offense can break down any form of defense, especially certain 'rock hard' Pokemon's defenses. I like to be able to control the flow of battle, so my opponents don't have an edge against me, and the best way for me to do that is to go all out with Water type Pokemon! I'm correct in assuming that you already have one Gym Badge, am I?"
"Yeah, that's right."
"Well then, the League rules state that we have to have a two on two battle, but don't think that my Pokemon and I will hold back!"
With a click of Misty's fingers, the scoreboard lit up. Unlike Pewter City's, this one's display was in front of an aqua blue background. From the side, Leaf leaned forward, her heart pumping in anticipation. Pikachu frowned slightly. Since Misty used Water type Pokemon, he would have been the perfect choice! But, no, he couldn't be upset now that the Gym battle was about to begin.
"Piiikaaa!" he called out encouragingly.
"Hey, thanks! I'll make you proud," Red responded. Turning back to Misty, he sent out his first Pokemon. "Here we go again, Butterfree. Let's do this!"
A Bug type was certainly an interesting choice from the challenger's part, Misty mused. She shook slightly at the sight of this one. In general, something about Bug type Pokemon rubbed her the wrong way, but Butterfree didn't look too disgusting. In fact, it was really dainty. However, she wouldn't let that cloud her judgement of Red as a battler.
"I choose you, Staryu!"
From that ever familiar red light came a Pokemon that Red and Leaf hadn't seen before. What struck them as odd about the brown starfish was the red core in the middle, kept in place by a gold ring that looped around its lower left appendage. They turned to their Pokedexes for information.
"Staryu: the Star Shape Pokemon.
This enigmatic Pokemon appears in large numbers by seashores. At night, its core flashes a red light. Staryu can effortlessly regenerate any appendage it loses in battle."
"So if you're thinking about crippling Staryu with physical moves, think again," Misty said, Staryu adding to her words with a strange 'kyah!'. "But the first move is yours, so I guess I can't stop you from trying."
"I have other plans. Butterfree, use String Shot!"
Butterfree flew higher into the air, took aim at Staryu and fired a sticky string. Staryu just stood there. Misty had to admit. Beginning the match with a status move was original, but not unaccounted for!
"Staryu, use Rapid Spin!"
At once, the starfish jumped towards the string, spinning like a super fast saw blade as it rose higher and higher. It cut the String Shot into tiny pieces and collided straight into Butterfree. Butterfree reeled back as Staryu, still spinning, lined itself up with unobstructed water and dived in. By the time Butterfree shook it off and took flight again, he lost sight of his opponent! He turned back and forth frantically. Oh, not even one minute in and he was already about to lose because he couldn't find where his opponent had run off to!
"It's alright, Butterfree. We just have to wait," Red assured him. Little did he know it, he would be waiting for quite a while...
Butterfree calmed himself down and made multiple laps above the pool. Red, Leaf and Pikachu also kept their eyes open for Staryu, though no one except Misty knew when it would appear again. Time seemed to slow down as the anticipation was killing everyone. Eventually, Red devised another plan. He was about to make a substitution, but before he could utter a word, Staryu whirled in at sonic speed, landing another direct hit at the butterfly. It landed in the water once again, but it wasted no time yo-yoing in for a third hit. In the short moment Red had, he decided to keep Butterfree in and land some hits of his own.
"Confusion! Throw it into a wall!"
Butterfree's eyes glowed blue and he held his opponent in midair. The attack seemed to come more naturally to him than before, since he had no problems keeping the starfish in place. Misty was about to make a move of her own, but Butterfree threw Staryu right where Red wanted him to. The collision with the hard surface really did a number on it, resulting in stumbling as it tried to get up.
"Staryu, you can get up from that, can't you?" Misty asked in a concerned tone.
"Kyah!" Staryu sounded, its core blinking with excitement.
"That's the spirit. Now use Bubble Beam!"
"Let's turn that attack around, Butterfree. Use Confusion again!"
A strange feeling came over the butterfly. As he prepared his attack, his eyes glowed not blue, but a bright purple. Everyone gasped. No one knew what was coming next, but it certainly wasn't Confusion. The stream of blue bubbles drew closer and closer, but suddenly, they were ripped right through by a multicolored beam! Before Staryu could react, this new attack smashed into it, causing an explosion upon impact.
Leaf and Pikachu were stunned, while Red gawked in amazement. "That... was awesome! You learned 'Psybeam'!" The Butterfly Pokemon couldn't help but 'freeee' with glee. He really was getting stronger!
However, the sight of the explosion subsiding put a halt to any celebrations. Red and Butterfree got on their toes, for they didn't know what their opponents were going to do next. As impressive as the newly learned Psybeam was, Staryu still held on, and it had another trick in its disposal.
"Butterfree's tougher than it looks, but we still won't lose!" Misty declared. "Staryu, use Power Gem!"
Staryu's core blinked twice. Then, a bright red beam was shot forward, sparkling like gemstones. As beautiful as the attack looked, though, there was no time to admire it. Butterfree jutted forward and narrowly avoided the beam, which collided with the wall behind him. Before he could hold his opponent with Confusion, the Star Shape Pokemon dived back into the water. Butterfree grew worried again. Playing the waiting game didn't do him any favors last time, so he wasn't sure what good it would do this time.
"We'll bait it out with your new attack," Red told him. "Use Psybeam in the water!"
Butterfree fired a multicolored beam of psychic energy as directed, causing the water to become slightly choppy. Red knew that just one attack wouldn't be enough to force Staryu to show itself, so he told his Pokemon to use Psybeam back to back. Each one caused the water to churn more vigorously and even made some of it splash out of the pool, threatening to soak poor Leaf and Pikachu (luckily, before things got worse, they retreated to the back row!). Despite the pool looking like a raging storm at the Seafoam Islands, Red and Misty stood their ground. The former was hoping that the waves were violent enough to force Staryu out, while the latter had faith that Staryu would hold on. In time, the barrage of Psybeams slowed to a stop. Then, Butterfree was panting.
It was Red's turn to worry, while Misty grinned.
"Power Gem!"
Butterfree lowered himself and tried to catch his breath, not noticing a dim light from beneath the surface of the pool.
"Butterfree, get out of there!"
Despite Red's scream, it was too late. Staryu's Power Gem blasted the shrieking Butterfree into the wall behind him. Leaf and Pikachu had to force themselves to look away from the pained state the butterfly was left in, while Red could only pray that he was alright...
"Butterfree... Can you... Can you get up?"
After using Power Gem from underwater, Staryu finally decided to show itself. It needed to see what would happen next, so it could respond accordingly. Misty had a feeling that this was the end of the line for Butterfree, but she kept her options open. Despite all odds, despite the massive amount of damage that had been done to him... Butterfree managed to take off from the floor, ever so slightly. Red was greatly relieved.
"Thank goodness you're okay! Alright, Butterfree, constrict Staryu with String Shot!"
"If it didn't work the first time, it definitely won't work the second!" Misty reprimanded him. "In this state, Butterfree's toast, Staryu. Finish it with Rapid Spin!"
Just like last time, Staryu jumped forward while spinning, shredding Butterfree's string and heading straight for him. Red noticed that it still had quite a ways to go, so he quickly gave his next command.
"Use Psybeam!"
"Aaah! Never mind, Staryu! Power Gem!"
While spinning, Staryu charged its attack in the same time Butterfree charged his. Right when the two were near each other, a mighty explosion boomed between them, forcing everyone else to shield their eyes. As it began to clear away, a tense atmosphere loomed around the Gym. The two battlers called out their Pokemon's names, hoping to get some sort of response. Leaf clasped her hands and Pikachu made a worried noise. Neither Butterfree nor Staryu were listening. That could only mean one thing, and that was confirmed when they were completely visible again.
Both of them lied on the side of the pool. Both of them were unconscious.
"A double knockout!" Leaf gasped.
"Pika...!"
"Butterfree... come back," Red said, recalling his Pokemon. "You were great out there."
"Thanks to you, too, Staryu. Return," Misty said also, following suit. She then faced her challenger with fierce eyes. "Don't think that it's over yet, Red! Poliwhirl, I choose you!"
The bipedal Pokemon that appeared in front of the Gym Leader looked similar to a Poliwag, only it didn't have a tail. Instead, it had arms and gloved hands (wait, were they gloves?). Upon closer inspection, Red and Leaf noticed that the spiral pattern on its belly swirled in the opposite direction to Poliwag's. Nevertheless, it was clear that the two Pokemon had a close relation to each other.
"The evolved form of Poliwag, huh?" Leaf mused, taking out her Pokedex.
"Poliwhirl: the Tadpole Pokemon.
Its legs are much more developed than they were as a Poliwag. Although Poliwhirl can live in or out of water, it prefers the former. In the latter case, it sweats to keep its body slimy."
The situation Red was in looked to be similar to when he was facing Brock. Both he and Misty were one Pokemon down and had one more to go. Although Poliwhirl didn't look nearly as threatening as Onix did back in Pewter City, there was no doubt that it was just as strong, if not stronger. Still, he wasn't planning to back down anytime soon. He looked at the Poke Ball that contained his next Pokemon, whose typing beat Water. He had been saving this one all along.
"Bulbasaur, I'm counting on you!"
Out came the Seed Pokemon himself, who turned to Red and gave him a nod. Meanwhile, Misty really wanted to know what was going through Red's head as he thought about his lineup. Usually, trainers of his level of experience sent out Pokemon with the type advantage right away. Why didn't Red make use of it from the beginning? Then, it occurred to her. If Bulbasaur went down earlier on, so did Red's chance of victory.
"So you saved your Grass type Pokemon until now to snag the win. Let me remind you that type matchups are important, but not everything. Poliwhirl, let's show 'em! Use Bubble Beam!"
"Poli! Whirl!" the Tadpole Pokemon called, making a battle-ready pose. It brought its hands forward and shot a huge barrage of bubbles out of them.
"Pop the bubbles with Razor Leaf, Bulbasaur!"
The amount that were headed Bulbasaur's way intimidated him at first, but he was able to slice through them all with a volley of leaves. They soared across the pool, cutting through each and every bubble that Poliwhirl produced, until they started to damage the Tadpole Pokemon itself. Poliwhirl crossed its left arm over its right arm and blocked, but the pain added up. Despite this, it just had to win the fight for Misty. It mustered enough strength to roll away from the ongoing attack and drop into the pool, where it truly shined.
"Misty's using the pool to her advantage again," Leaf murmured. "But Bulbasaur can still attack Poliwhirl." Next to her, Pikachu leaned forward and looked left and right, trying to guess where the Water type would pop out from this time.
Just as Leaf predicted, Red gave the command for Bulbasaur to send a flurry of sharp leaves down into the water. This time, the attack didn't cause as much of it to splash out of the pool. After one wave of projectiles, there were no signs of the tactic paying off, so Bulbasaur tried again and again from one platform to another. Concerned that there still seemed to be no effect, Red began thinking of another way around this situation.
However, falling into that state of mind was what Misty planned for.
"This is your chance, Poliwhirl. Give Bulbasaur a good Power-Up Punch!" she commanded.
The Seed Pokemon heard a loud splash, which came from possibly the least expected direction: behind him! Upon hearing Red's voice, Bulbasaur turned around and was about to bring out two vines, but he was just too slow. He was slugged by a fist that glowed a fiery orange and was sent crashing into the water with a splash. Water flew out in all directions, but when the area was visible again, Red could no longer see his Pokemon. His heart raced. Where was Bulbasaur? Could Bulbasaur even swim!? He called out his name, just hoping that he could hear him, but Misty kept up the pressure.
"Get in there and use Mega Punch!"
The strange thing about Poliwhirl was that, after using Power-Up Punch, there was a faint orange glow around its hands. It remained as Poliwhirl dived headfirst into the pool. Red clenched his fists in anxiety. He deduced that Power-Up Punch did exactly as the name suggested, which spelled 'danger' for him and Bulbasaur.
"Bulbasaur, if you can hear me, use Vine Whip to stop Poliwhirl's attack!" Red's voice was drowned out by the splashing sound that came from the Tadpole Pokemon. Then, all that he and everyone else could hear were the sounds of attacks colliding underwater.
What followed were two gurgling sounds, one higher pitched and more frantic than the other. Then, a big splash came from the pool. The two battlers looked up and saw the Pokemon that emerged. Red would have been relieved to see Bulbasaur again, had it not been for the pain-filled cry that rang in the Gym. Darn it, why was he letting his Pokemon get beat up like that!? But there was no time to scold himself, for there was no doubt that Misty would have Poliwhirl follow up again.
"Now's your chance, Bulbasaur! Use Razor Leaf!" Red shouted, pointing directly below his Pokemon.
"You really think that'll work? Poliwhirl, block it and use Mega Punch!" Misty hollered.
Bulbasaur descended and fired leaves down at his opponent, but the ascending Poliwhirl brought out its left arm to block his Razor Leaf. Once it was slightly higher in the air than the Seed Pokemon, it thrust its right fist at him, sending him hurtling towards the center platform. Poliwhirl made a much smoother landing than he did, but it couldn't deny the stinging pain along its left arm. Poliwhirl clutched it as it watched Bulbasaur struggle to get up.
"You know, I'm actually impressed. Not many Pokemon who face my Poliwhirl can take two powered up Mega Punches," Misty said. "But Bulbasaur can only tank so many hits. I doubt that it has a way to recover the damage, so you'd better think of a comeback fast!"
She wasn't in the wrong. Bulbasaur had taken a lot more damage than Poliwhirl and he felt pain in his entire body, as opposed to one limb at most. Red pinched the bill of his cap, fearful for his Pokemon and the end result of this battle. It was clear that Poliwhirl had a lot more experience in battle, which gave it an edge. It also didn't help that Misty made full use of the pool, so Bulbasaur couldn't even see where his opponent would jump out from until it was too late. It was like she purposely designed the battlefield in such a way that she had a field advantage over her challengers!
Wait a minute... A field advantage...
Leaf and Pikachu noticed Red's eyes sway from side to side for some reason. Then, they turned to what he was looking back and forth between. The diving boards!
Misty eyed him questioningly. "What are you looking at?"
"The way I'm going to make my comeback." Red smiled a confident smile. "Bulbasaur! We can still do this!"
This feeling inside Bulbasaur... It was just like when he battled Petrel's Drowzee and Grimer. The fact that his trainer was still rooting for him, even when things were looking down... He stood strong and faced Poliwhirl. Yes. Red was right. They could still do this!
"That's the way. Use Growl!"
After taking a deep breath, Bulbasaur gave a loud cry, releasing shockwaves from his mouth. The volume at which he cried made Poliwhirl place its hands where its ears would be if it had them. From the corner of its eye, it saw that the orange glow surrounding one hand disappeared, and the same must have applied to the other hand. Bulbasaur's Growl ended, leaving Poliwhirl feeling... weaker. Back to its normal state, to be exact. As much as it wanted to get the attack boost back with Power-Up Punch, Misty decided that the best course of action was to go back into the water. The frog-like Pokemon did as told, dodging two vines in the process.
Bulbasaur was about to reach in, but Red stopped him. An odd move at first, but the Pokemon gave his trainer a nod to let him know that he trusted him.
"Use your vines to reach over to that diving board," Red told him, pointing to the lower one. If Bulbasaur needed the extra height, Red knew that he could reach from it to the higher one.
"Chase after it, Poliwhirl, and use Mega Punch!" Misty ordered. She was not going to let her opponent escape!
Bulbasaur slammed the platform with his vines, propelling himself forward and onto another platform, one that was fairly close to the low diving board. Afterwards, he took aim. He was a little shaky, given that he'd never done this before, but he actually managed to grab the edge of the diving board with his vines and pull himself up to it. It was amazing how much more Bulbasaur could see from the higher ground... but all admiration for the view was thrown aside as he saw a figure from the surface of the pool.
"Now, Poliwhirl!"
There was another big splash, but Red was quick on the draw.
"Grab its right arm!" he called out, although he didn't need to tell Bulbasaur twice. From the higher ground, the Seed Pokemon was easily able to see where Poliwhirl came from and react accordingly. With ease, he reached down with his vines and took hold of Poliwhirl's right arm, as told to.
"Poliwhirl!" Misty yelled. "Use Bubble Beam!"
"You've got this, Bulbasaur," Red encouraged him. "Slam it down!"
First, Bulbasaur swung Poliwhirl up, throwing off its already unsteady aim with a left-handed Bubble Beam. Then, he threw the Water type down to the floor, a loud thud echoing in the Gym. Misty gritted her teeth upon hearing her Pokemon's impact with the hard surface.
"Jump down and use Razor Leaf!" Red continued.
"Move it, Poliwhirl! Get outta there!" the Gym Leader screamed fearfully.
Bulbasaur leaped off the diving board and sent a storm of sharp leaves raining down onto Poliwhirl, who, tried as it might, just couldn't muster enough energy to roll away from the attack. It tensed its body, hoping that it would be able to handle the buffeting of the leaves and respond with a counterattack. After Bulbasaur's Razor Leaf ended and after he landed on the floor, Poliwhirl tried to push itself up. Unfortunately, the pain became too much for it, causing it to collapse one last time.
"Oh, Poliwhirl..." was all that Misty could utter before returning it to its Poke Ball. "Amazing job, Poliwhirl. Now you can take it nice and easy."
Words couldn't describe how happy Red was feeling at this point. He defeated another Gym Leader, and it only took one try this time! He ran over to Bulbasaur, while Leaf and Pikachu followed closely behind, and held him high. He also sent Butterfree back out, allowing him to rest on his shoulder. He took part in the battle, so he deserved some praise, too!
"You guys are the best," he said with a huge grin.
"Pika pi!" Pikachu agreed excitedly.
"But they couldn't have done it without a great trainer, am I right?" Leaf said, winking.
Red chuckled. "What did I do? My Pokemon were the real winners."
"Don't be so modest, Red," Misty teased, walking up to him. She took out something that resembled a water droplet. "Go on. Indulge yourself a little. Take the 'Cascade Badge' with you."
Slowly, but without hesitation, Red took the Gym Badge. He smiled as he pinned it next to the Boulder Badge. Two out of eight... One quarter of the way there... But he didn't need basic math to know how well he and his Pokemon were progressing.
"So, where are you headed next?" Misty asked Red and Leaf, the latter of whom took out a map.
"Well, this says that the nearest Gym is in Saffron City," Leaf said, tracing her finger from Cerulean to the aforementioned city.
"Sounds like we should be headed there next," Red added.
"Uh, about that, guys..." The two turned to Misty after her voice trailed off. "Saffron City's been on high alert lately, so no one from outside has been allowed through for quite a while. Those who have official permission need proof of it, and it's not easy to fake such a letter! You seem serious about Pokemon battling, Red, so I'd say take the Underground Path south of here to get to Vermilion City. Make the Gym there your next challenge."
"Alright, then. Thanks for the heads up, Misty."
"Thank you for that battle!"
After Red and Misty shook hands, he and Leaf took off. With the second Gym Badge in hand, his hopes for the future were high. However, he had to remember that his victory was not thanks to his efforts alone. His Pokemon were there with him every step of the way, and he also had Leaf by his side, too. Together, perhaps they could overcome anything.
Author's Notes
I'd like to make a huge apology to you all. I said that I'd try to get this chapter up by the end of February, but time flew past me, and we're already partway into March! Changes kept being made because the battle with Misty was a difficult one to write, considering that I wanted both her and Red to actually make use of their surroundings. That was kinda there back when Red fought Brock (Pikachu hiding behind the stalagmites), but I think the pool was a key component of this battle.
Given that Misty's most popular for her anime incarnation, I decided to throw in her 'I choose you' line as a reference (although a lot of you may have guessed that already!). Even though I didn't grow up during the first five seasons of the anime, I did catch a good amount of the rerun episodes. Back then, she had an interesting dynamic with Ash, and I remember being fond of her relationship with her sisters. However, when Togepi hatched out of that egg, I feel that Misty's character revolved more around her bond with the baby Pokemon, which wasn't as interesting in my opinion.
As for Ash's other female partners, I didn't like May too much at first, but she definitely matured over the course of her stay in the anime. Now, whenever I think of Pokemon Contests, I think of May and her Pokemon's dazzling performances! Despite this, she had a tendency to rely on luck during some of her battles, so I felt that those victories weren't nearly as satisfying as they could have been.
My favorite of Ash's female companions has to be Dawn. She started off very confident, while May wasn't so sure of what she wanted to do at the beginning of her journey. They both grew and changed for the better, but why do I prefer Dawn? She got more episodes focused around her, so we saw more of her character development. She also got along with Ash the most. I loved how supportive they were of each other and how Dawn was like Ash, but had her own differences. She trained with her Pokemon really hard to prepare for the next Contest, which shows just how determined she was to achieve her dream. But I'll admit that there was a lot more emphasis on Piplup and maybe Mamoswine outside Contests, so her other Pokemon were considerably less developed. A shame, considering that they could have complemented Dawn's personality very well!
Unfortunately, I didn't like Iris too much. She came off as hypocritical when she scolded Ash for his mistakes early on, before making similar mistakes herself, and she was rather cocky. Not that other characters in the anime weren't cocky at any point, but I don't remember Iris learning from it or getting as much character development. However, I do like that she's more athletic than the others. She also has an Excadrill and a Dragonite. Bonus points for using those awesome Pokemon!
Finally, there's Serena. She's sweet, she can bake and she has a crush on Ash. Oh, the writers won't let you forget that last one! It was her defining character trait for the longest time, before she became more serious about Pokemon Performing. Outside that, she doesn't have too much going for her. Even though she got some development when she took part in her first Showcase, it took so long to get there, some might see it as forced. Overall, I don't have much to dislike about Serena, but at the same time, she doesn't really stand out to me.
So, that's my stance on all of Ash's female partners so far. I wrote a lot more about them than I did with the male companions back in Chapter 6, simply because I had more to say. Perhaps in the future, I'll go into more detail about my views on Brock, Cilan and Clemont. With that done, let's go on one more tangent before closing off. Fitting for a chapter featuring the Water type Gym Leader, I'd like to talk about my favorite Water type Pokemon: Lapras!
Its design is so serene and lovable, evident in Ken Sugimori's FR/LG artwork. It itself is such a sweet Pokemon, since it enjoys carrying people across bodies of water. It helps that it looks like a comfortable ride. I don't know about you, but if Pokemon were real, my dream would definitely be to ride a Lapras! Its typing, movepool and balanced stats (not to mention its amazing HP) make it a dream to use ingame, although it suffers competitively because other Pokemon perform certain roles a lot better.
But what about you guys? What's your favorite Water type Pokemon and why?
-Have a great day, week, month, whatever, and stay upbeat, y'all!-