Zack ran and ran and ran. He finally stopped running after what had to have been fifteen long minutes. He was exhausted. He sat down on a bench and continued to cry.
He had lost the battle. But it wasn't even a close loss. It was a blowout. Brock and his Geodude had punished Pikachu and Charmander, who in turn were barely able to damage their opponent.
"I'm hopeless," Zack said to himself. "I'm never going to be able to be a Pokemon Master. I'm never going to be able to make their deaths mean something."
Zack just sat on the bench, feeling numb. Tears ran down his face. A couple of people gave him sympathetic stares and glances but he didn't care. He just sat there and thought long and hard about what he was going to do now.
He thought and thought about what to do. He could keep training, but what good would that do against Brock. Brock was a great battler with brutal strategies and tactics. He completely overpowers his opponents and leaves them feeling hopeless. To Zack, Brock was the big obstacle in the way of his dreams. To Brock, Zack was just another day's work.
Zack continued to sit there. He needed to relax. Think things over. He shouldn't make any rash decisions. But the whole journey was a rash decision. He needed time to breathe. He didn't need anything or anyone to provoke him.
"Wow, crying now. You really are a loser, aren't you Zack," Gary sneered.
Zack sighed. "Of course. When I am sad and vulnerable and I don't need any negativity in my mind, you show up. Did you know your timing is always the best Gary?"
"I have been told that before," Gary quipped. "What happened, your friends ditch on you."
"Why do you want to know?"
"What, I can't be curious on how my friend is doing?"
"You think we are friends?"
"No, not really. But I don't consider us enemies. Palmer is an enemy to me. But for me and you, rivals is a more appropriate term."
Zack smiled. The nice side of Gary shined every now and again. The side that was there when they were friends. "What do rivals do for each other?" Zack asked.
"Oh, they battle, check to see how the other is doing. But they don't like each other. They still hate each other. It's just a...friendly hate."
Zack laughed. "You hate me... in a friendly way. I'm not sure if I should be offended or if I should start singing the Golden Girls theme song."
"Definitely the latter," Gary replied as the two old friends laughed.
"Why can't we always be like this?" Zack asked. "You know, be good friends?"
Gary laughed. "We aren't friends Zack. I came over here to make fun of you, but then I saw you were crying. And I will always help someone who is crying."
"Why?"
"Because I've been there. I know how they feel," Gary said with a wistful tone, as if he was reminiscing about something. "So I decided to cheer you up. Next time we meet though it's back to business as usual. You won't be the Zack you are right now. You are going to be a stubborn and confident person, not this sniveling mess in front of me."
"If we meet again," Zack sarcastically said. "It's probably not going to happen."
"And why not?"
"Have you visited the Pewter City Gym?"
"Yeah, and I got the badge to prove it," Gary said as he rummaged around in his bag and pulled out a case. He opened the case to show off his badge. It was a gray octagon and it looked like a boulder.
"How did you beat him?" Zack asked incredulously.
"Oh, so you lost against him. That explains the crying and being a wimp."
"Can you just answer my question?" Zack asked.
"Well, he was the hardest battle I have ever had. He knocked out my first Pokemon very easily. That Geodude of his was a monster. But it actually went down very easily once it met a Pokemon that had a type advantage over it. My Pokemon mowed through it. It was his main Pokemon, the stronger one, that was the tough battle. It was back and forth, but eventually I won out."
Zack slumped down in the bench. "I didn't even get to see his second Pokemon. His Geodude plowed through my Pikachu and Charmander like they were nothing."
"Well duh," Gary rudely said. "Those two have a type disadvantage against Rock-type Pokemon. Both of his Pokemon are dual typed. Rock and Ground. Electric type attacks do nothing against them and Fire type attacks don't do a lot either. Normal type attacks don't do much either, so if you were thinking of using Tackle and Scratch, and attacks like that, think again."
"How do you know all this stuff?" Zack asked. He didn't know almost any of this stuff. It explained a lot about what happened in the battle. Why Pikachu's Thunder Wave and Thundershock did nothing. Why Geodude shrugged off Pikachu's Quick Attack. Why Flamethrower didn't do much.
Gary looked at Zack with a strange look in his eye. "Why wouldn't you know this. You need to study up on everything about Pokemon. All the different species, all the possible moves, all the typing combinations. What works and what doesn't work. Your opponents specialty and how they battle. For example, Brock is all about power. He overpowers you because his Pokemon can take most hits pretty easily and deal out massive damage in return. You need to find his weakness before you meet him."
Zack felt like a revelation had just descended upon him. He had never thought about this. His father and Red had both made battling seem so natural, so easy. Like all you had to do was call out moves and victory was yours. But the way Gary talked about it seemed the opposite. Battling was intense and that you had to work hard at it. Was that what Palmer had been trying to hammer into his brain this time. Work at things.
"Hey, you still paying there," Gary said as he snapped fingers in front of Zack's eyes. "What's the point of me giving you advice if you space out when I'm giving it?"
"Sorry," Zack said as he came back to reality. He was starting to think that Gary had the right idea. Zack's "natural" talent had been failing him so far. He needed something more. He needed to try, to work harder.
"Gary, thanks for telling me this. It is very useful information. I'm going to study and..."
"NERD! I gave you advice, I don't want you to give me your life story. Do what you want with the info. I gave it to you so that when we do battle it will be so much sweeter when I beat you."
Gary walked away and flipped his hand up in a gesture that Zack hoped meant goodbye, but wasn't too sure. Zack continued sitting on his bench as he watched his "new" rival walk away. He continued to think quietly to himself. Gary was right. Battling was more than beating your opponent. It was knowing what you are doing. It is studying what worked and what didn't. Zack jumped up out of the bench. He needed to find Palmer. He needed Palmer to teach him, everything he needed to know. He ran towards the gym but ran right into a person.
"Ow," Leaf said as she got up. Zack wasn't looking where he was going and had plowed right into her. "We really need to stop doing this to each other."
"Sorry," Zack uttered as he helped Leaf to her feet. "Are you okay?"
"Fine, fine. The real question is are you okay. You seemed pretty hurt after what had happened at the Gym."
"I was," Zack uttered. "But I'm feeling a little better now. Do you know where Palmer is?"
"He is still at the Gym, talking to Brock. He asked me to go look for you."
"Do you know why?"
Leaf shrugged her shoulders. "I have no idea."
"OK, let's head back to the Gym."
"I don't think I want to," Leaf said.
"Why not?"
"I don't like it in there."
Zack and Leaf sat down on the bench. The two of them looked into each others eyes. Leaf looked scared but Zack looked strangely calm.
"I'm having doubts that I want to be a Trainer," Leaf said with a quiver in her voice. "I saw what Brock did to you. Zack you seem like a better Trainer than me and, no offense, he bulldozed you. I don't want to put my Pokemon through that. I'm not...good enough to handle that."
"Leaf, don't say that. You are a great Trainer. But neither of us can be rushing into these battles. We need to try harder. We need to give it our all."
"I don't think I can. I can't deal with the pain and discouragement of losing. I'm not strong like you. I don't have that drive to keep going. I'm scared."
Tears started flowing down Leaf's eyes. She was terrified. Zack had the feeling that there was more that she was scared about. There were more things that were bothering her. But he didn't push it or question her. But he did want to comfort her. He grabbed her by both of her hands.
"Leaf, I don't want you to be scared. You are a strong person. You can do anything you want. You just have to try."
Leaf felt Zack's hands. They felt warm and comforting. For a second, all of her fear melted away and determination replaced it. He had an energy, a confidence that she had never seen in anyone else. He had something...unique. Leaf's confidence grew and she stopped crying and nodded her head. The two looked in each others eyes and mutually agreed they were going to never stop pursuing their dreams. Never.