Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.
AU: I've decided to go to a once a month update instead of updating every time I finish a chapter. I always updated as soon as I finished a chapter so the readers could continue reading and tell me what they think, but since nobody cares to tell me what they think of the story anymore, I'm guessing nobody will care that I change to a once a month update. To further prove my point I am at this moment working on chapter 28 (I'm past halfway), so at the new rate of updates you'll get that chapter in a couple of months instead of next week or sooner. Anyway, enjoy.
Chapter 25
We had called professor Oak to make some changes to our teams. Leila sent back Spearbeak to accommodate Mimey while I sent back Pups and Electron to accommodate Eevolver and Draco. I had also used several TMs on them, but training would have to wait until later, because after lunch we went back to the Gym.
"Welcome, Leila." Erika bowed as we entered.
"Thank you, Erika." Leila bowed back.
"Shall we get started?" Erika asked.
"If it would be possible." Leila smiled. In the meantime, Eevolver and me went to the bleachers.
"Go, Monjara." Erika called out her Tangela.
"Foxy, show time." Leila released her shiny Vulpix.
"Monjara, Stun Spore." Erika started the match.
"Foxy, Heat Wave." Leila commanded. Monjara started shaking and releasing waves of orange powder. Foxy formed a reddish-orange ball in its mouth, but wasn't able to release the wind of flames before the spores hit her.
"Okay, Monjara, Leaf Storm." Erika ordered.
"Foxy, let's go all out, Overheat." Leila growled. Monjara unleashed a flurry of glowing green leaves at Foxy while foxy released a white fire with a red-orange flame spiraling around it. The attacks clashed but Leaf Storm and Monjara never stood a chance as both got quickly engulfed by the attack, knocking Monjara out.
"Monjara, return. Go, Utsubot." Erika switched to her Victreebel.
"Foxy, you did good, return. Batter, you're up." Leila called out her Golbat.
"Utsubot, Magical Leaf." Erika growled as she saw the Golbat.
"Batter, let's make our first hit count, Acrobatics." Leila ordered. Utsubot released several glowing green leaves at Batter which homed in on him. But Batter flew up, dove down, hit the leaves pulled up into a looping again and the hit Utsubot knocking it back a fair bit.
"Utsubot, Power Whip." Erika commanded.
"Batter, let's show them your Brave Bird." Leila grinned. Utsubot was able to quickly extend his glowing purple vine to hit Batter, but that didn't stop him from flying up to the roof and diving down in a fiery blaze before spreading out its wings and revealing a blue aura before smashing into Utsubot, effectively knocking out the Flycatcher Pokemon. Batter flew back to Leila's side and started glowing white and growing.
"All right, Batter, you're a Crobat now. Good job, take a rest. We both know what your next Pokemon is Erika, so let's just get on with it. Go, Kissy." Leila smiled, calling out her Jynx.
"Fine then. Go, Rafflesia." Erika said, having already recalled Utsubot and now calling out her Vileplume.
"Rafflesia, Stun Spore." Erika ordered.
"Kissy, Nasty Plot and follow up with Ice Beam." Leila grinned. Rafflesia unleashed a cloud of orange powder towards Kissy, who was surrounded by a dark aura as her power went up. The powder hit Kissy and she became more sluggish in her movements, but that didn't stop her from forming a light-blue ball of energy before her mouth and firing several small beams from it, freezing over Rafflesia. However, the ice didn't hold very well and shattered almost immediately, but Rafflesia definitely had felt the hit.
"Rafflesia, Giga Drain." Erika commanded.
"Kissy, let's finish this, Confusion." Leila smiled. Rafflesia shot several glowing green vines at Kissy, but Kissy's eyes glowed purple and the vines froze in mid-attack as Rafflesia got a purple glow as well. Then Rafflesia started screaming in pain as it got crushed by the psychic force and its own attack hit it, draining even more power. When Kissy stopped her attack, Rafflesia fell down unconscious.
"Erika is out of usable Pokemon. Leila wins." The referee announced.
"A very good battle. You have deserved this." Erika said after she recalled Rafflesia and pulled a badge and a TM out of her sleeve again.
"Thank you." Leila smiled, taking the items.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to take care of my Pokemon." Erika bowed before walking away.
"That was a good battle." I congratulated Leila.
"I know." Leila looked smug.
"I'm still better though." I smiled at her before walking towards the door.
"In your dreams!" Leila yelled back.
On our way back to the Pokemon Centre we suddenly saw a small bluish-black Pokemon being chased by a man with a broom, so we decided to check it out.
"What's going on?" I asked as we caught up with the man, who was wearing an apron.
"This Pokemon keeps breaking into my kitchen and stealing my ingredients." The man replied.
"Hey, isn't that a Munchlax?" I asked as I got a better look at the Pokemon.
"Yes, and it's ruining my business." The man growled.
"Allow us to help you. Draco, Thunder Wave." I called out my Dratini. Eevolver whined a bit on my shoulder as Draco shot a weak blue electric charge from the dot on his forehead.
"You want in on this too, Eevolver? Use Quick Attack. Draco, Extreme Speed." I commanded my two Pokemon as they used their high speed attacks on the now very sluggish Munchlax. Eevolver charged at Munchlax, leaving behind a white trail while Draco shot forward surrounded in a clear and white aura. Both Pokemon hit Munchlax at the same time, sending him airborne. I quickly took the Heavy Ball I won earlier and lobbed it at the Munchlax. The Pokemon was sucked in and wobbled for a bit once it hit the ground but soon clicked shut and disappeared to professor Oak's lab.
"Thank you, now I can run my restaurant without problems." The man cheered as he saw the Heavy Ball disappear.
"Don't thank me, thank these two." I indicated my Pokemon. I then noticed that Draco was glowing white and was growing longer.
"Well, congratulations, Draco, you evolved into a Dragonair." I gave him a thumbs up. After the man left, I recalled Draco and picked up Eevolver and we continued on our way to the Pokemon Centre, where we spent the rest of the day, training our Pokemon as well as Leila making some changes to her team again.
The next morning we left for Saffron City soon after breakfast. Saffron City was only about a day's walk from Celadon City. We made great progress and by the time we had stopped for lunch, we were already past half-way. After lunch we continued on, minding our own business when suddenly …
Prepare for trouble!
And make it double!
To protect all cities from devastation!
To unite all people within every nation!
To announce the evils of truth and love!
To extend our reach to the skies above!
Julie!
Cesar!
Team Rocket flies off at the speed of light!
Give up now or you're in for a fight!
"You again?" Leila sighed.
"Yes, we want your Pokemon, and we won't stop until we have them." Julie laughed.
"I told you already: we won't hand them over and you aren't strong enough to take them from us." I sighed as well.
"We'll see about that. Go, Farfy, Sandslash." Cesar called out his Pokemon. Farfy flew past us and kept guard on the rear.
"Let's do this, Electrode, Slowpoke." Julie called out her Pokemon as well, Electrode quickly rolling past us to join Farfy.
"Hey, Leila, back to back." I grinned. Leila nodded, understanding what I meant and we went to stand with our backs against each other. Leila facing Sandslash and Slowpoke and I facing Farfy and Electrode.
"Shocker, Saury, let's go." Leila called out her Ivysaur as her Pikachu jumped of her shoulder.
"Eevolver, Jolteon. Flametail, Go-time." I called out my Charizard while my Eevee jumped of my shoulder and evolved into a Jolteon.
"Well, then, let's see how you'll defend yourselves. Farfy, Night Slash. Sandslash, Crush Claw." Cesar commanded.
"Slowpoke, Zen Headbutt. Electrode, Electro Ball." Julie ordered.
"Shocker, Electro Ball. Saury, Energy Ball." Leila called out.
"Eevolver, take Electrode's attack and hit Farfy with Charge Beam. Flametail, Protect against Farfy's attack and hit Electrode with Fire Blast." I finished the circle. Then everything happened at once. Sandslash jumped forward with his claws glowing bluish-white while Saury's flower started glowing light-green as she formed an orb of energy which she launched at Sandslash, the explosion sending him flying the other way.
Slowpoke charged forward with the top of its head glowing blue, but Shocker was quicker in forming a ball of yellow electricity and slamming it towards Slowpoke. The colliding attacks causing a nice explosion as well.
Electrode meanwhile fired a similar orb of electricity at Flametail, but Eevolver caught it while Flametail intercepted Farfy's glowing purple wing. Flametail then turned around and shot a fireball at Electrode which expanded into a stick-figure like shape while Eevolver formed a yellow ball of electricity in front of its mouth and fired a massive beam at Farfy.
"Sandslash, Rock Climb. Farfy, Aerial Ace." Cesar yelled.
"Electrode, Selfdestruct. Slowpoke, Water Pulse." Julie barked angrily.
"Saury, Leaf Storm. Shocker, Thunder." Leila commanded.
"Flametail, up high and shoot downwards with a Blast Burn. Eevolver, Dig deep." I panicked at Julie's remark. Electrode started glowing white as Eevolver dug underground and Flametail started climbing. Farfy followed Flametail engulfed in streaks of light, but once Flametail reached the desired altitude, he unleashed a powerful stream of fire from his mouth right into Farfy who got knocked down right onto Electrode as it exploded. In the meantime, Saury had started glowing and growing.
"Saury's evolving? Awesome. Switch that attack to Frenzy Plant, Saury." Leila cheered as the evolution ended and her new Venusaur became visible. Sandslash's claws had started glowing white and extended as he dashed forward, but Venusaur started glowing green and stomped the ground, summoning thorny roots to smack down Sandslash.
Slowpoke shot a blue ball at Shocker on top of a small wave while Shocker fired a massive beam of electricity at Slowpoke, which caused it to cry out in pain. When all the smoke and dust settled, Team Rocket's Pokemon were all knocked out while our Pokemon were still ready for more.
"You haven't seen the last of us!" Julie yelled as they recalled their Pokemon and dashed off.
"Of course we haven't." I sighed before recalling Flametail.
Saffron City is a city with a lot of skyscrapers, so finding the Pokemon Centre wasn't as easy this time. And when we arrived we were surprised. Except for the one at the Rock Tunnel, we had never been alone in a Pokemon Centre, but we had never been to one where it was this busy. There were people everywhere.
"Hello, nurse Joy. I so hope you have a room left." I said as I reached the counter.
"As a matter of fact, yes, we have one last room left." Nurse Joy smiled back.
"Awesome, we'll take it. It's awfully crowded here though." I remarked.
"Yes, well, there's a demonstration of Pokemon Contests tomorrow, last week the Magnet Train took its first run and then there's off course the Fighting Dojo and the Saffron Gym." Nurse Joy explained as she handed us the room key.
"Okay, sounds logical then that this place is packed. Could you do us a favor and check out our Pokemon?" I said before taking Flametail's Pokeball and handing it to her together with Eevolver as Leila did the same with Saury's Pokeball and Shocker. We decided to put our stuff in the room before doing anything else. Then we went to the Trainer Garden. Most Pokemon Centres have two gardens: a Pokemon Garden and a Trainer Garden. The Pokemon Garden is only accessible by Pokemon Centre staff (like the garden where me and Leila were invited too in Celadon City). The Trainer Garden has always at least one battlefield and most even have a pool. The one in Vermillion City is one of the few Centres without a Trainer Garden while the one in Cerulean City is one of the few with a water battlefield. When we exited the building a Gyarados came flying by, soon followed by a trainer running after it.
"Is there really nobody who can go up against the strongest trainer of Johto?" a guy at one of the battlefields declared. In front of him stood a Feraligatr.
"I'll take you on. People call me Big B." I challenged him as I walked up to the field.
"Very well. They call me Gator. We each use one Pokemon. I'll be using my Feraligatr." The guy accepted.
"Okay, then I'll use Brutasaur." I called out my Bulbasaur.
"You think you can beat me with that thing? Bring it. Feraligatr, Ice Fang." Gator laughed.
"Brutasaur, Leech Seed and follow up with an Energy Ball." I commanded. Feraligatr's teeth started glowing blue and as he closed in on Brutasaur a sort of energy beam shot out of them and hit Brutasaur, who just launched one of his seeds at Feraligatr, which landed on his back and sprouted vines which wrapped around his chest, steadily draining energy. In the meantime, Brutasaur had formed an orb of energy which he launched at Feraligatr.
"No more mister nice guy. Feraligatr, Ice Punch." Gator growled.
"Brutasaur, Endure." I ordered. Feraligatr's fist got surround in an icy blue glow as he sprang forward to punch Brutasaur, who braced himself for the impact. However, the Ice Punch ended up trapping Brutasaur in a block of ice.
"And that's the end of that. With your Pokemon frozen in an ice-cube, he can't fight, so I win by default." Gator started laughing again.
"Don't be so sure." I smirked. Brutasaur had started glowing white and started expanding, breaking the block of ice as he evolved into an Ivysaur, however, due to the hits he had taken his Overgrow ability was activated, as could be seen by the green aura surrounding him and the enlarged state of his flower.
"Good job, buddy. Now, let's finish this quickly. Leaf Storm." I smiled. Brutasaur nodded before hurling a flurry of glowing green leaves at Feraligatr, knocking him over and out.
"Oh man, Feraligatr, return." Gator sighed.
"Does this give me the right to call myself the strongest trainer of Johto now?" I mocked.
"Yeah, I think that cat's out of the bag now too, huh?" Gator scratched his cheek.
"Pretty much, yeah. Anyway, let's go, Brutasaur. Nurse Joy can give you a check-up." I smiled before walking back towards the building, followed by my new Ivysaur.
"You sure showed him. But I was actually wanting to talk to you about something." Leila said as she caught up to us.
"What about?" I asked.
"Well, I was thinking about competing in that Contest tomorrow." Leila explained.
"Say no more, I was thinking the same thing. But I'll have to call professor Oak first, because the Pokemon I have with me now won't do me any good in the Gym Battle I'll take part in before that." I grinned. In the meantime we had reached the counter and nurse Joy had overheard our conversation.
"Maybe it's best that I inform you that the Contest requires different Pokemon for each part, although it is allowed to only use one." nurse Joy said.
"Interesting, better figure out who to use. By the way, could you check over Brutasaur? He just had a rough battle." I asked.
"Sure, but can I talk to you about something first? It's about your Charizard." Nurse Joy asked in return.
"Is something wrong with him?" I panicked.
"No, no, not really, it's just, there are a couple of Scyther in the Pokemon Garden and when I let your Charizard into the garden to relax a bit after his check-up he just charged right at them." Nurse Joy fidgeted.
"I was afraid of this. We were attacked by a Pokemon Poacher with a Scyther about a month ago, when Flametail was still a Charmander and … well, long story short, that's how he got that scar over his eye. It's the only Scyther he ever met, so I'm guessing he sees every Scyther as an enemy now. I hope he didn't hurt them too much." I sighed.
"The Scyther are fine, I was able to recall your Charizard before he could actually attack." Nurse Joy smiled at me, now knowing what caused Flametail's outburst.
"That's good." I smiled back.
"Now, let's take a look at your Ivysaur." She said as she opened a gate so Brutasaur could walk behind the counter.
"Okay, I think I've decided." I said after I got my Pokemon back.
"Decided what?" Leila asked.
"Well, I need four Pokemon for my Gym Battle tomorrow so I'll need to send one of the starters back." I explained.
"And who are you sending back?" Leila questioned.
"Brutasaur, if he agrees. I don't want to hurt his feelings of course." I answered as I took Brutasaur's Pokeball and called him out.
"Hey, Brutasaur, I know this might sound weird, but I'm going up against Sabrina tomorrow, and you would be at a huge disadvantage, would you mind sitting this one out at professor Oak's lab?" I suggested to the Ivysaur. Brutasaur nodded, indicating he didn't mind taking a break at professor Oak's, so I decided to call professor Oak right then.
"Well, look who it is. How you doing?" Oak asked as he saw us on the vidphone.
"We're good, but we want to make some trades." I smiled at the old man.
"Okay, just tell me what you need." Oak smiled back.
Saffron City at last. What Pokemon will Big B use in his next Gym Battle? How will our heroes fare in the contest? To find out, keep reading "Big B's Kanto Journey".
End Note: So yeah, new update schedule. A lot of action in this chapter. A lot of evolving as well: Batter, Draco, Saury and Brutasaur. Leila wins her Rainbow Badge. Also an event that will be important later on in the story but I think that that's all there is to say about this chapter. I'll see you guys next month, on the first.