Pokemon 101

Season 1-Kanto

Chapter 14-Making Prehistory

"Here we are...Pewter City Gym." Anne looked up at the rather earthy-looking building, which had several boulders protruding from the walls and a few more scattered around the entrance. The girl pushed open the double doors, entering what looked to be an uncharacteristically clean hallway with a receptionist's desk on the other side. Another pair of double doors was next to said desk.

Anne approached the desk, where a brown clothed man was sitting. He looked down at Anne, murmuring, "Can I help you?"

"I'm here to challenge the Gym," Anne responded, the receptionist looking her over.

"...huh. You seem a little young to be challenging Gyms!"

"WHAT WAS THAT?" she shouted angrily, grabbing the scruff of his neck and pulling him down to her eye level, growling.

"N-nothing, nothing!" the receptionist stammered, lifting both hands as Anne let go of him. He panted slightly, then motioned to the other pair of double doors. "The Gym Leader is waiting for you past there."

Anne's enraged expression turned back into one of childish innocence. "Thank you!" She skipped through the double doors, pushing them open and peeking inside.

The ceilings were very tall, featuring several lamps hanging above amongst rafters and shining light down onto the dirt field. Several boulders were strewn in places all over the field. Anne looked around slightly, a voice calling, "Welcome to the Pewter Gym!"

The little girl's attention went to the other side of the Gym, where a man was standing at the edge of the battlefield; he had tanned skin with spiky, dark brown hair, and an orange long-sleeved shirt and dark green jeans. Anne glanced at the man, calling, "Hey! Are you the Gym Leader?"

"That's correct," he responded with a nod. "My name's Brock, and I'm the leader of the Pewter Gym. You're here for a challenge?"

Anne nodded. "My name is Anne! I've come from Goldenrod City to participate in the Indigo League!"

Brock tilted his head to one side in curiosity. "Oh, you're all the way from Johto...? This ought to be fun."

Both combatants gave off a confident smirk as the receptionist stepped in between the two, clearing his throat. "This is an official Gym battle between Anne, from Goldenrod City, versus Brock, the Pewter City Gym Leader! Both combatants will use two Pokemon; the first to knock out both of their opponent's Pokemon will be declared the winner! Are both Trainers, ready?"

Anne lifted up a Poke Ball, smirking widely. "Ready as I'll ever be!"

"Likewise," Brock responded.

The receptionist stepped back so as not to be in the way on the field, and shouted, "Begin!"

Battle Situation
Pkmn Trainer Anne vs. Gym Leader Brock
Location: Pewter Gym
Single Battle

"Alright!" Anne shouted, hurling her Poke Ball forward. "Let's get started!" The Ball burst open, abruptly revealing some sort of flower-like Pokemon; its body seemed to be comprised completely of rather skinny roots, with the exception of the leaves on its sides which seemed to act as hands, and its yellow, bell-shaped head. A pair of beady, black eyes were positioned on its head.

Bellsprout, the Flower Pokemon. Prefers hot and humid places. It ensnares tiny insects with its vines and devours them.

Brock furrowed his brow slightly. "Hm, looks like you've done your homework." He hurled his own Poke Ball forth, shouting, "But you'll need more than a type advantage to win against me!" His own Ball burst open, abruptly revealing an orb-like Pokemon seemingly composed of gray rocks, with a pair of arms and hands extending from its sides. The rock-like Pokemon opened its eyes and let out a gutteral shout.

Geodude, the Rock Pokemon. Found in fields and mountains. Mistaking them for boulders, people often step or trip on them.

Both Pokemon stared off for a few seconds before Anne pointed forward, shouting, "Now, Bellsprout! Hit it with a Vine Whip!"

Bellsprout lifted its leaves up; suddenly, two vines were flung out from underneath, lashing out towards Geodude. Brock continued to smile back, and called, "Geodude, block it with a Defense Curl!"

With this command, the Rock Pokemon abruptly curled itself up tightly, putting its arms over its face and taking on a more round form. The vines impacted directly, sending Geodude rolling backwards given its new shape, and causing it to land with a thud against one of the boulders. "Now, unleash a Tackle!" Brock commanded, pointing forward.

Geodude was quick to respond, quickly pushing off of the rock behind it and beginning to bound towards Bellsprout, its shape causing it to begin rolling like a ball and bouncing slightly. Anne blinked in shock, quickly shouting, "Bellsprout, avoid, quick!"

The Flower Pokemon retracted the vines it had used to whack Geodude, planting them on the ground and abruptly using them to catapult itself into the air, flying right over Geodude. The Rock-type quickly planted its fingers into the ground to anchor it to a halt, kicking up a slight dust cloud in the process and allowing it to notice the still airborne Bellsprout. Anne managed a slight smirk and shouted, "Now, spray some Stun Spore!"

Bellsprout tilted its head back, seemingly taking a breath before abruptly spewing a rather sizable cloud of yellow dust. Geodude was unable to move out of the way before being impacted, causing it to cough for a moment before shaking itself off, the cloud dissipating. Brock furrowed his brow in thought. "Hm...Geodude, Rock Tomb!"

With this command, Geodude slowly lifted up its hands, clenching them into fists before slamming them into the ground; several boulders shot out of the ground around Bellsprout, who finally landed on the ground, looking around at the rocks surrounding it. A slight smirk from Geodude before Bellsprout extended its vine again, quickly planting them on the top of the rocks before using them to catapult itself into the air. The rocks had, however, immediately fallen inwards where Bellsprout was previously; the shift of position momentarily knocked Bellsprout off balance, enabling for Geodude to propel itself forward with its hands on the ground, ramming into Bellsprout and knocking both to the ground. "Gotcha!"

Bellsprout slowly staggered back to its feet, visibly shaken as Geodude steadied itself as well, giving a slight shudder. Anne grunted slightly, pointing forward and calling, "Wrap it!"

The vines extended from behind Bellsprout and lashed out at Geodude again, though this time they wrapped around its forearms and began dragging it towards the Flower Pokemon. Within an instant, however, Geodude had grabbed a hold of the vines around its arms and yanked Bellsprout towards it, sending the Grass-type flying towards it. Brock smiled, calling, "One more Tackle ought to do it!"

Geodude planted its hands in the ground in preparation to ram forward; however, it seemed to lock up, its eyes widening. Brock blinked slightly, noticing the Rock Pokemon shudder. "What's wrong?"

Anne herself managed a smirk. "Heh...that Stun Spore wasn't just for nothing!" She pointed forward, calling, "One more Vine Whip, Bellsprout! Let's make it count!"

The vines wrapped around Geodude's arms loosened up, retracting slightly as Bellsprout continued to fly forth from the earlier momentum. The vines coiled up in front of Geodude's face, the Rock-type's eyes widening as it noticed the attack being prepared in front of it. Once Bellsprout had gotten close enough, it abruptly smashed the coiled up vines into Geodude, the built up force sending it rocketing backwards, abruptly slamming into one of the boulders and smashing it to pieces. Brock's eyes widened as Anne pumped a fist forward, shouting, "Yes! Gotcha!"

The dust cloud dissipated, revealing a now unconscious Geodude, mumbling lowly to itself. "Geodude is unable to battle!" the referee called.

Brock proceeded to return Geodude to its Ball, smiling slightly as he put it away. "Well, you're pretty talented, aren't ya? Especially for one your age."

"Thaaaaaanks," Anne responded with a chuckle and wide smile. "I have lots of expert training."

The Gym Leader chuckled, pulling out one more Poke Ball. "I'm glad...but just so you're aware...I won't be letting you win that easily, especially with this last Pokemon."

Anne and Bellsprout both retained an offensive position, the little girl's smile remaining broad. "I'm prepared! You're going down!"

-Later-

The sky had by this point turned a brilliant orange, the sun beginning to disappear over the horizon in Pewter. At this time, the shadow of Salamence appeared in the sky above the Pokemon Center, the dragon landing with a thud in front of the doors. A few of the passerby looked around with a curious expression as Ranoku slid off of the dragon's back, stretching slightly. "Aaahhh, that took a little longer than I expected...we'll need to work on speed runs later."

Salamence let out a slight huff and exhaled some smoke from its nostrils before being returned. Ranoku began wandering towards the back of the Pokemon Center, murmuring lowly, "Hm...better check on Demitri. Hopefully Golem didn't rough him up too badly."

The training grounds looked rather beaten up, various parts of the ground cracked and some bits of equipment smashed. Ranoku blinked slightly. "...I knew I should've picked someone less rowdy..."

The teen's attention went to a nearby bench, where Demitri was sitting down with a slight pant. His somewhat injured Porygon was laying in his lap, resting. "Hey!" Demitri looked up slightly as Ranoku approached. "What happened here?"

"Your Golem went on a rampage," Demitri mumbled flatly, reaching into his jacket pocket. "Oh yeah, the Pokemon Center is fining us for property damage. Not my fault."

Demitri handed an envelope to Ranoku, the teen snatching it up and mumbling, "I'll deal with that later. Right now, I need to show you guys something."

The teen reached into his pocket and pulled out a Poke Ball, proceeding to return the nearby Golem that had also been leisurely resting. Demitri blinked slightly. "You have something to show us...?"

Ranoku nodded. "Yeah, but I gotta wait until Anne gets ba-"

"HERE I AM!" The duo turned around slightly to find Anne running towards them, pausing for a moment to pant and keep her head bowed down. "I'm...I'm back!"

Demitri slowly got to his feet, his Porygon opening its eyes somewhat groggily and shaking slightly. "How'd it go...?"

"See for yourself!" Anne respodned, reaching into her pack and pulling out a pink case. She opened it up, allowing for a look inside; at one corner of the case was a small gray, hexagon-shaped object. "The Boulder Badge!"

"Nice job," Ranoku remarked with a smile, patting her head. "Wish I had been there."

"Which reminds me," Anne mused, putting the case away and folding her arms expectantly. "Where WERE you all day?"

The teen waved a hand about. "I'm getting to that, don't worry." He cleared his throat slightly, then folded his arms with a smirk. "I went to the Pewter Museum of Science."

Demitri blinked slightly, his tone taking on an unusually disappointed sound. "Wait, you went to the museum? Without me?"

"Don't get your pocket protector in a knot, you can go later," Anne mused flatly, Demitri glancing at her with an eye roll. "So what was so interesting that was there?"

Ranoku's smirk widened as he reached into his pack, pulling out a Poke Ball. "They gave me a little something that I took down to Cinnibar in the south...and I got this in return."

"An ordinary Poke Ball?" Demitri mumbled bluntly, furrowing his brow.

"It's what's IN the Poke Ball that's special," Ranoku responded, waggling a finger in Demitri's face. "It is...a prehistoric Pokemon!"

Demitri and Anne both blinked in surprise. "Prehistoric...like a dinosaur?" the little girl mumbled with a slightly anxious expression.

"Indeed!" Ranoku remarked, pointing to the sky. "Inside of this Poke Ball is a Pokemon that hasn't been seen since ancient times! Truly a momentous event!"

The other two exchanged another glance as Ranoku leaned forward slightly. "Wanna see it?"

"I'm not so sure that's a very good idea," Demitri responded somewhat hastily. "Bringing a dinosaur Pokemon into the modern world so quickly won't yield very good results..."

"Nonsense!" Ranoku responded, waving a hand around. "What's the worst that can happen?"

"We get eaten," Anne responded plainly, now hiding behind Demitri. "And many other things."

The older teen glanced at her with a glazed expression. "You worry too much." With this comment, he tossed the Poke Ball into the air, calling, "Let's see what we've got here!"

The Ball burst open, abruptly revealing a rather large Pokemon; it seemed to be some sort of pterodactyl, covered in gray skin with purple skin flaps in between its reptilian wings. It had a somewhat sizable jaw and two horns sticking from its head, a forked tail, and rather sharp talons.

Aerodactyl, the Fossil Pokemon. A ferocious, prehistoric Pokemon that goes for the enemy's throat with its serrated saw-like fangs.

Demitri and Anne stared up at the winged dinosaur as Ranoku turned to them with a smile. "Eh? Eh? What do ya think?"

"Put it back!" Anne squeaked, hiding behind Demitri again.

Ranoku frowned slightly as the Aerodactyl looked around slightly. "Why?"

"Didn't you hear the writer's description? That thing's deadly!" Anne squeaked.

"Not to mention having it around all of these unfamiliar settings is probably gonna spook it big time," Demitri added, though he seemed noticeably more composed than Anne.

Ranoku rolled his eyes slightly. "Oh come on, just because it sounds deadly doesn't make it a threat to u-"

Ranoku's comment was cut off when Aerodactyl let out a rather loud shriek, causing all three to cover their ears with a wince. "What's it doing?" Anne shouted, though it was drowned out amidst the Fossil Pokemon's shriek.

Before any response could be given, Aerodactyl flapped its wings about and abruptly took off into the air, shooting into the city. The trio looked after it with a blink, Ranoku mumbling, "That could've gone better."

This comment was met with a sharp nudge to the side from Anne in irritation, Demitri rushing after where it flew off and glancing at the duo. "Come on, we have to go after it!"

Anne and Ranoku exchanged a glance, the little girl sighing. "Alright, but if it comes down to it I'm not going to fight against it!"

"Fair enough," Ranoku responded, grabbing Anne by her forearm and beginning to follow Demitri through the city, dragging Anne along while listening to the shrieks of Aerodactyle echoing through the streets.