Chapter 21

Vermillion Pride

Akira was sitting at the pokémon center, waiting for her pokeballs to be returned. Torren, Erin and Harlan were discussing Akira's pervious battle. She wasn't particularly interested in their conversation, as her body language told the tale. She was sitting upside down, her legs hanging over the back of the couch. She was lightly tossing totodile's pokeball in the air, as she watched the red and white swirl together. Something angrily tugged on Akira's leg, causing her to drop totodile's pokeball. It smashed into the floor, exploding in a bright red light. Totodile sat on the floor, giving Akira a confused stare.

"Who…?" Akira rolled herself over and planted her hands on the cushy backs of the couch. A boy with dark brown hair and light eyes stared Akira straight in the face. "Logan?" Akira grunted, as Totodile jumped next to her. "You better believe it!" He smirked. "Akira, who's that?" Harlan, as well as the others turned around. "I'm Logan!" He pushed Akira over and jammed his thumb into his chest. "And I'm going to be the best trainer ever!" Akira pushed him back a sneered. "What do you want anyways?" Akira and Logan gave each other a quick death stare, before Logan backed off and growled. "I was about to get my third badge, but I think that stomping all over you in a battle would be fun too." He tossed a pokeball up and down, ready to battle.

Akira grabbed Totodile to her chest and shoved her head to the left. "No thanks. Besides, I already have 3 badges." She kept her giggle to herself, as Logan grunted angrily. "Then this gym leader must be a real push over." He retorted, as Torren stood up and placed a tense hand on Logan's shoulder. "You should really take your comments to your source." He warningly smiled at Logan. "What does that even mean?" Logan questioned as he yanked his shoulder out from Torren's grip. Torren grinned. "I mean to say that I am one of the gym leaders in this town. How about a battle kid?"

Torren and Logan stood a few yards away from each other in a grassy area near the pokémon center. "Don't you think you should battle him at the gym?" Erin remarked, as Torren pulled out a shiny pokeball, but the top cover was black and yellow. "It's cool Erin." He smiled lightly, but Erin retained her distraught emotion. "Okay kid. This will be a one-on-one battle. If you beat me, I'll give you the thunder badge right now." Logan jumped at the idea, but Torren seemed completely calm.

"Raichu, you're up." Torren tossed his pokeball on to the field, a short orangey-yellow pokémon with a white stomach spun around. It had markings on its feet and paws, which looked like the pokémon, had dipped itself in chocolate. A long tail swerved out from behind, a large lightning bolt decorating the end. "Ha!" Logan pulled out his own pokeball. "Finn, we can beat this guy easy!" He released the pokémon inside, which turned out to be a pokémon that was the color of a raincloud. It had a reed underside with a mouth full of tiny sharp teeth. A large fin jutted out from its forehead and it moved its pudgy body around. "I've never seen a pokémon like that." Erin frowned, as she motioned for Akira to check her pokedex. "Gible. The land shark pokémon. This pokémon once used to live in the tropics, but it moved to more rugged terrain, where it lives inside of small caves." Akira pressed a few of the button on the pokedex and sighed. "It's says here gible is a dragon and ground pokémon."

Though the odds were against him, Torren seemed utterly unruffled. "Even if your enemy has the upper hand, you need to be strong." He said to no one in particular. "Raichu, use double team." Raichu begun to run around and duplicate itself. It had made a ring of raichus around Logan's gible. The little dragon pokémon tried to keep up with the raichus, who were now running around at unapproachable speeds. "Finn, use sandstorm!" Logan called, as gible spin around, whipping sand into a tornado that engulfed the grassy area. "Hmm…" Torren pulled his hand over his hair, as Raichu was forced back to one entity. "Raichu, use focus punch." It was amazing how Torren kept such a calm demeanor all the 

time. Raichu launched itself at gible with its large legs. It was pelted with sand, but its paws begun to glow furiously as it approached gible. "Use slash Finn!" Logan's command was too little too late. Raichu's paw smashed into gible's plump little body, sending it sliding through the dirt.

"Finn…" Logan growled, as gible pulled itself up from the ground. "Wow." Harlan pulled his hands over each other. "What?" Akira titled her head, trying to see the battle and listen to Harlan. Gible was running at Raichu who did a flying kick, sending it flying back again. "Torren hasn't used a single electric attack. His Raichu is very versatile." He explained as gible finally was able to succeed with a takedown attack. "Oh." Akira sweated. "I'm happy I got to go against Zane. Torren seems like he's really hard to beat." Raichu pulled its glowing fist trick again and knocked out gible.

Logan recalled gible without a word. Torren had trounced him in battle, but he headed over anyways. "When you try for this badge again…" Torren pulled out a golden piece of metal as Logan looked up, his eyes narrowed. "Use a pokémon of more experience. Your gible is still too young for this battle. A great pokémon trainer would know his limits, not just his advantages." His voice was slightly degrading, as he recalled Raichu. "Erin, Akira, Harlan. Let's go." Torren had already started walking forward, leaving the kids to jog after him. Akira turned back around and stopped in front of Logan, who looked up at her in confusion. She grabbed his arm and pulled him forward. "What do you think you're doing?!" He cried, Akira was stronger than expected, pulling him quickly. "You need to go to the pokémon center too." She said sternly without look back.

Erin and Harlan were going over the checklist of supplies, because the group would leaving that afternoon. Though she should have been helping, Akira was sitting on the couch playing with her eevee and Torren's Raichu. Logan had ran out of the pokémon center as soon as his pokémon where healed. Akira guessed he wanted to train. Or sulk. Raichu flipped over on its stomach and whipped its tail around as eevee chased the lightning bolt around. Eevee finally caught the tail, but Raichu flipped the little evolutionary pokémon off, sending eevee flying into a flower pot. The pot cracked as dirt, leaves and roots spilled everywhere. "Excuse me!" Nurse Joy leaned over the counter, her face wretched into a frown. "Sorry Joy." Torren has been helping Erin, but stopped when eevee had hit the pot. He tenderly picked eevee up, who was in a daze. Nurse Joy rolled her eyes as she stepped out from behind the counter with a broom in hand.

After the mess was cleaned up and all pokémon were returned to their respective pokeballs, Akira and the others were ready to be on their way. "You sure you don't want to hang a bit longer?" Zane had closed the gym and came to say goodbye. "Mom and dad would be ecstatic if you stayed." He chortled but Erin shook her head. "Yeah, right. And let dad have the last laugh? Never!" She shoved a fist in the air, causing round of laughter. "Well just be careful." Torren warned. Just as they started to head out, Akira smacked her forehead. "We can't leave now!" She dug threw her white bag and pulled out a plainly wrapped package. "Oh right!" Erin picked up the box and started at it. "We have to bring this to the port right?" Akira nodded her head. Harlan looked over the box. "What's that for?" He questioned. "Well a girl from the Pewter City gym asked us to deliver it." She explained, as they started to head back.

The port was exceedingly large, boats of many different sizes, colors and shapes flocked around the area. "How do we know where to go?" Akira wondered out loud. "I'm not really familiar with the port area." Erin said in an apologetic tone. They wandered around for bit, asking people where the ship company owner would be. Many of the people were no help at all, but one man told them too check at the Vermillion City Harbor Building. He said that most people of influence would be found there.

The Vermillion City Harbor building was at least 5 stories tall, so that it had a clear view of the port. It was mostly a silver black color because of the large amount of windows, but if it wasn't windows, the building was a deep golden color. The large glass plated doors slid open as Akira, Erin and Harlan 

walked in. The lobby was as mix of contemporary art and antiques, most of the furniture a soft chestnut color. "Can I help you?" A woman sitting a silvery white marble topped desk questions, as the group makes its way inside. She has thin framed glasses and her hair tied up in a neat pony tail. "Yes. Can you tell us where to find the ship company owner?" Akira leaned over the desk, but she had to stand on her toes. "You mean Mr. Morrison?" The woman flipped through a note book, but Akira shrugged. "I don't know ma'am. A girl named Ashlar from the Pewter City gym asked me to deliver this…" Akira put the package on the counter top, as the woman smiled. "Yes. Ashlar called a few days ago. I'll call Mr. Morrison down t get it." She picked up a black phone and pressed a small button. "Hello Mr. Morrison…There are children here with your package…pokémon trainers I believe…yes…okay. I'll tell them." The phone call was ended with click as the woman placed the phone back on the frame. "He says thank you for your time and he has something for you when he gets down."

Mr. Morrison was a larger man with dark colored skin and light gray hair rounding the sides of his head. His face was slightly squished together but he had a big, happy grin. He wore a dark blue pin striped suit with a salmon colored tie. A plump light pink pokémon walked at his side on all fours. It had a sand colored muzzle and eyes that seemed to be too far apart. Its long tail was finished with a white end and its claw clacked along the titled floor. "Hello children!" The man bellowed, his pokémon letting out a dreary noise. Akira felt like she was standing in front of a very corporate Santa Claus, and his happy little pokémon. "Thank you for the package. I've been needed this ship part for a while now. I'll have the thank Ashlar as well." He grinned and handed the box over to the blond woman who headed into an elevator with black doors. "To thank you kids properly…" Mr. Morrison pulled out three white and blue tickets and put them in the palm of Akira's hand. "You can take this ship to Porta Vista!" He gave a hardy stomach laugh, and Akira and Erin silently squealed over the tickets, and Harlan hand to put his hand over his mouth to hide his over excited smile. "Thank you very much Mr. Morrison!" Akira and Erin chanted in unison.

"Before you head out to the ship," Mr. Morrison, patting his pink pokémon on the head. "I have a favor to ask." He smiled, and Akira felt like there was no way she could say no. "I will be in Porta Vista on business for the weekend, but I feel like my friend slowpoke is ready to evolve." The slowpoke gave a large yawn that filled the room. "But I'm too busy to catch a shellder to have my friend evolve. If you could do me the favor of catching one for me, I would be glad to make it worth your while." Akira smiled and replied. "Sure Mr. Morrison!" Slowpoke yawned again.

To be Continued

Author's Note

What's up everyone? This chapter really showed off Torren and his Raichu. Logan isn't that unskilled of a trainer, but his gible was very young and newly caught, so it didn't have a chance against Torren's well trained Raichu. I also found out that Akira is big on skipping out when it's time to help out. I guess it's the kid in her, but it's all good. Mr. Morrison also become an important character later, but he's really just a minor character. Thanks for reading and keep it up!