A Typical Pokemon Journey
In this chapter, Lucy and Jake are going to meet the latter's father...meanwhile, Chris is going to battle Giovanni...but it's not going to end well. I'm afraid things are going to start getting more intense from here...
We'll also get to see more about Jake's past...it's rather depressing, mind you. You might want to bring a tissue.
Chapter 26: Break The Haughty
Deciding to be polite, Jake knocked on the door.
"Mr. Kurosawa? We're here to visit you!" exclaimed Lucy.
"Er, how did you know my last name?" asked the Team Rocket Grunt curiously.
"It said so in your ID." answered the female Pokemon trainer.
"Oh..." remembered the boy. Personally he began to wonder if he should leave it out...the other Team Rocket Grunts might recognize him.
The duo were answered with a very sad sigh.
"Come in..." answered Jake's father sadly.
"Your father seems rather depressed..." noted Lucy.
"He's been like that ever since my mother died..." explained the Team Rocket Grunt.
"What?!" exclaimed the girl as the two came in.
"Yes I know." spoke Jake.
Suffice to say, Jake's house appeared to be rather...rundown. Apparently Jake and his father weren't well-off like Lucy was.
"I'm sorry that your wife passed away." sympathized Lucy.
"It was inevitable, anyway...why delay it?" inquired Jake's father.
Lucy frowned. It appeared that losing his wife had made Jake's father rather pessimistic. How had she died anyway? Was it a horrible illness?
"It was nice of you to meet a friend...but guess what? She's probably going to leave you...just like Susan did..." answered Jake's father.
"Wow...I'm really starting to feel sorry for him." noted the wealthy Pokemon trainer.
"Yeah...he keeps telling me that the world is a dark, cruel place...I'm personally starting to wonder if that's true." answered Jake.
"Well, you met your Grimer one day, didn't you?" inquired Lucy.
"Yes, I did..." spoke the Team Rocket Grunt.
After having heard how horrible the world of Pokemon was, Jake had decided to work for Team Rocket. After all, it was every man for himself in this world, right?
Then again, after meeting Lucy, he wasn't quite sure that his father's claims were so true.
"I'm sorry that your mother passed away..." spoke the female Pokemon trainer.
"Clefairy..." murmured Lucy's Clefairy. Personally she began to wonder if she should get a box of tissues.
"It's fine...I've actually come to terms with it...though personally I don't think my dad ever has." answered Jake.
Sure enough, his father seemed to be crying.
"I hope that he's going to be OK." noted Lucy.
"That's something I've been asking myself for years." spoke the Team Rocket Grunt.
"Why did you have to leave me? Why?!" exclaimed Jake's father, who was bawling.
"I think we should probably leave him alone now." answered Jake.
"Clefairy!" exclaimed Lucy's Clefairy in agreement.
And so the two of them left the Kurosawa household. As they did so, Lucy began to blow on a tissue.
"I'm sorry that my father is making you cry...he really tends to do that people." answered Jake.
"I can see why..." answered Lucy.
Now that he thought of it, nobody really seemed to visit his father these days. Apparently they thought that he needed more time to recover. Personally Jake wondered if he should visit his mother's grave sometime.
"Should we postpone our Pokemon journey for a while? This is making me really upset...I didn't know that you were motherless..." noted Lucy.
"It's kind of a surprise for everyone." answerered Jake.
"I don't know what I would do if I ever lost my mother..." noted the girl.
"Yeah...I sure hope that you don't have to go what I went through. Anyways, I think we should keep going." nodded the Team Rocket Grunt.
"If you say so..." agreed Lucy.
"Clefairy..." murmured Lucy's Clefairy. Apparently it was for the best. Jake's mother would have wanted him to continue to do so, after all.
Meanwhile below the Rocket Hideout...
"Onix, smite this pest!" bellowed Giovanni.
"Onix!" bellowed the rock snake Pokemon.
Ned had to admit, the Rocket Hideout had to be rather spacious considering how large that particular rock Pokemon was...then again, Onixs tended to slither most of the time.
"You think your rock snake Pokemon is tough? My Fearow will make short work of him!" bellowed Chris.
"Um, Chris...you do realize that your Fearow has a type disadvantage, right?" inquired Ned.
"He does? Big deal! We all know how weak Team Rocket is..." answered the tomboy.
"But he's their leader! He can't have gotten the title for nothing!" bellowed the nerd.
"For being the king of wimps? Don't make me laugh." spoke Chris.
Giovanni smiled to himself. Clearly his opponent thought he was weak...and he was about to prove her wrong.
Despite Ned's protests, Chris sent out her Fearow anyway.
"Fearow, use Aerial Ace!" demanded Chris.
Chris's Fearow nodded as he struck into Onix...but that didn't hurt him very much. Giovanni smirked.
"You think your Fearow is powerful, do you? Let's put that to the test then. Onix, use Rock Throw!" commanded the leader of Team Rocket.
Onix did so...and all of a sudden, Fearow found himself being pelted with rocks.
"Fearow!" bellowed the bird Pokemon. Already he was taking a beating.
"Um, Chris...I really think you should switch..." warned Ned.
"Don't tell me what to do! I've got this battle in the bag!" exclaimed Chris.
"Um, OK..." answered Ned, though personally he wondered if that was so true.
"Use Fury Attack!" ordered Chris.
Chris's Fearow did so...but even though he hit the Onix five different times in a row, this still did not do much damage. He was not liking his chances.
"Er, keep doing that?" inquired the female Pokemon trainer.
Meanwhile...
"Well, here's the Celadon City Gym...it's essentially one giant garden so I bet you're going to enjoy it." answered Jake.
"Yeah..." nodded Lucy, though personally she wondered if Jake's mother happened to have enjoyed flowers.
"The Gym Leader's a grass-type specialist...is your Vulpix ready?" inquired the Team Rocket Grunt.
"Yeah, I think so." nodded Lucy.
"Then walk right in then..." answered Jake.
The female Pokemon trainer nodded, eager to gain her fourth gym badge.
Immediately, she was welcomed by three different girls much like herself.
"Hey there! Welcome to the Celadon City Pokemon Gym!" bellowed the redhead.
"Erika is right this way." explained the brunette.
"We hope that you enjoy your Gym Battle." spoke the blonde.
"I will." nodded Lucy.
Sure enough Erika was in the garden...however, Lucy immediately realized that she had a problem.
She was sound asleep.
"Hmm...what am I going to do? I can't just yell at the top of her lungs to wake her up...she'll flip." murmured the girl.
"Clefairy..." whispered the fairy Pokemon. How were they going to do so?
"Maybe If I shake her gently...then maybe she'll wake up." noted Lucy.
Clefairy nodded in agreement. That seemed like the best course of action.
"Er, excuse me...could you please wake up? I would really appreciate if you did." asked the female Pokemon trainer as she gently shook Erika awake.
Sure enough, she woke up...but with a start.
"What? What happened?! Is there a fire?! Where is it! Are any of my Pokemon in danger?!" exclaimed the grass-type specialist.
"What? No no no. I just needed you to wake up so that I could challenge you to a gym battle, that's all." explained the female Pokemon trainer.
"Oh...alright then. Sorry about that. I just tend to doze off sometimes...well OK...maybe a lot. I usually dream about flowers." noted Erika.
"I see." nodded Lucy.
"Anyways, you want a Gym battle, am I right? Well alright then. Please send out a Pokemon for me." answered the female Gym Leader.
"Sure!" nodded Lucy. "Go, Pidgeotto!"
"Pidgeotto!" bellowed the flying Pokemon.
"I'm starting to wonder if I should start training a type that has less weaknesses...but since grass Pokemon are my pride and joy...go Tangela!" bellowed Erika.
"Tangela!" bellowed the vine Pokemon.
As soon as she saw Pidgeotto...she began to whimper.
"Yes, I know...we've encountered a lot of flying and fire types lately...but try to stay calm, will you? You might still have a chance of winning this." suggested Erika.
Personally, Tangela wasn't so sure that was true...but she decided to listen to her Pokemon trainer anyway. She knew what to do, right?
"Pidgeotto, use Gust!" exclaimed Lucy.
Immediately, Tangela began to feel very, very dizzy. She was being spun around like fruit in a blender!
When the wind finally settled, the vine Pokemon was having a hard time staying on her feet, and her eyes were swirling around.
"Pull yourself together, Tangela!" ordered Erika.
Fortunately for Erika, her Tangela was able to do so.
"Use Mega Drain...try to heal some of your injuries..." demanded the grass-type specialist.
Tangela did so...but unfortunately, due to Pidgeotto being a flying-type, this didn't do much good.
"If only there was a Grass/Electric type...or something like that..." noted Erika.
Back at the Team Rocket Hideout...
"Onix, use Rock Throw! Again!" bellowed Giovanni.
Onix once again listened to the commands of his master, pummeling Fearow with rocks. It quickly became apparent that he couldn't take much more of this.
Once again, Fearow hit Onix with a fury attack...this time, it only hit three times. The rock snake Pokemon didn't seem very injured.
"Finish him off!" ordered the Team Rocket head.
Immediately, Fearow was buried underneath even more rocks...it quickly became pretty clear that he had fainted.
Chris recalled her Fearow into his Pokeball.
"You may be a bit stronger than I thought...but I'm still going to beat you! Go Charmeleon!" bellowed the female Pokemon trainer.
"Doesn't that have a type disadvantage too?" inquired Ned.
"Whatever!" answered Chris.
"Charmeleon!" bellowed Chris's Charmeleon as he was released from his Pokeball.
Suddenly, he noticed that he was facing an Onix...much like the one that his former Pokemon trainer had forced him to face earlier.
"Charmeleon..." murmured the fire Pokemon. Was Chris sure about this?
"Use Metal Claw!" demanded the female Pokemon trainer.
Charmelon shrugged and started clawing into Onix...this proved to be surprisingly effective.
"Onix!" bellowed Giovanni's Onix.
"Pull yourself together! Use Rock Throw!" demanded Giovanni.
The rock snake Pokemon did so...but Charmeleon was smart enough to know to try to avoid them...which he did.
"Heh heh...isn't that a nifty little move..." noted Chris.
Charmeleon nodded...though personally he wondered if he was going to win against his opponent with that move alone.
"Use it again!" demanded the female Pokemon trainer.
Charmeleon did so again, and this time he scored a critical hit...which allowed him to bypass Onix's defenses and knock him down for the count.
"Yes!" cheered Chris.
"One down, two to go...let's see how you fare against my Rhyhorn!" exclaimed Giovanni.
"Rhyhorn? That can't be good." thought Ned.
"Rhyhorn!" bellowed the rhino Pokemon as it was released from its Pokeball.
Curious, Ned decided to scan the Rhyhorn with his Pokedex.
"Rhyhorn, the Spikes Pokemon. It runs in a straight line destroying everything in his path, and can crash through steel." explained Ned's Pokedex.
"Oh man! We're in trouble! We're in trouble!" bellowed Ned.
Meanwhile...
"I'm in trouble...I'm in trouble." thought Erika.
Sure enough, Tangela was receiving quite a beating from Lucy's Pidgeotto. It looked that he was about to faint.
"Well, there's got to be at least one thing we can do before you collapse on the spot..." noted Erika.
"Tangela?" inquired the vine Pokemon.
"I know! Use Poison Powder!" ordered the female Gym Leader.
Tangela nodded...and all of a sudden, Pidgeotto started to feel rather...woozy.
"Pidgeotto..." murmured the bird Pokemon.
"Uh-oh! Quickly, use Gust!" demanded Lucy.
Lucy's Pidgeotto did so...and unsurprisingly, Tangela fainted.
"Well, now to send out my Victreebell." answered Erika as she recalled her vine Pokemon and pulled out another Pokeball.
"Victreebel!" bellowed the venus fly trap Pokemon as it was released from its Pokeball.
"I don't think you want to climb in there..." noted Lucy.
Pidgeotto nodded...those digestive juices would surely burn her.
Sure enough, Erika instructed Victreebel to fire some of those said digestive juices at Erika...or as she referred to it as...Acid.
"Pidgeotto!" bellowed the flying Pokemon. That acid really hurt. In fact, she got the feeling that it had lowered her defense.
And to make matters worse, the poison that had been inflicted on Pidgeotto earlier was beginning to take its toll.
"Use Whirlwind!" commanded Lucy.
Lucy's Pidgeotto did so...causing Erika's Victreebel to begin to feel very dizzy.
"Victreebel..." murmured the plant Pokemon.
"Now use Gust!" demanded Lucy.
Lucy's Pidgeotto as usual obeyed her trainer...immediately, Victreebel found herself being buffeted by harsh winds...unfortunately, since she was stronger than Tangela was, she wasn't as heavily affected.
"Give her another round of Acid!" demanded Erika's Victreebel.
Erika's Victreebel did so...once again pelting Lucy's Pidgeotto with acid. Immediately, she began to feel very weak.
"Oh man..." thought Lucy.
But on the plus side, she seemed to have learned a new technique. Immediately, she trapped Victreebel inside a tornado...though it didn't seem to be a wind-based attack, as she wasn't taking a particular amount of damage from him.
"Oh! Looks like you learned Twister!" exclaimed Lucy.
Pidgeotto nodded. Oddly enough, she seemed to have forgotten a particular move when she did so...though she couldn't quite remember which one, ironically enough. Hopefully it wasn't too important.
However, at that particular moment, Pidgeotto fainted. Lucy sighed as she recalled the bird Pokemon.
"I had to admit, you did pretty well." noted the girl. Hopefully Victreebel was weakened enough for her new Vulpix to finish her off. Then again, she wasn't very experienced at the moment...Lucy had only caught her recently at all.
Nonetheless, she figured that in the worst case scenario, Vulpix would at least gain some experience from battling...right?
"Go, Vulpix!" exclaimed Lucy.
"Vulpix." murmured the fox Pokemon. It was nice getting to participate in a Pokemon battle...but she was feeling a little nervous.
Then again, she was up against a grass-type...she knew for a fact that grass-type Pokemon were typically frightened of fire-types...she wondered why?
Meanwhile...
"Use Metal Claw!" commanded Chris.
Chris's Charmeleon did so, clawing into the Rhyhorn and doing super-effective damage...however, due to Rhyhorn's high defense, this didn't hurt him too much.
"Still resisting? Rhyhorn, use Stomp!" ordered Giovanni.
Rhyhorn nodded, crushing Charmeleon underneath his foot. Thankfully, he was able to help himself up to his feet.
"Keep using Metal Claw...that's what's working best so far..." noted Chris.
Charmeleon nodded...though eventually he got the feeling that he was going to lose all the PP for the move before long.
"Rhyhorn!" bellowed the rhino Pokemon. Unfortunately, it appeared that he now getting angry.
Once again, he stomped on top of Charmeleon...but this time he hit him very hard. Apparently he had fallen victim to a critical hit.
"Charmeleon!" bellowed the flame Pokemon. Apparently that attack had taken the breath right out of him...which was fairly unfortunate considering he typically attacked by breathing fire.
Curious, he decided to try out a new technique.
Immediately, he attacked Rhyhorn with the ferocious rage of a dragon.
"Rhyhorn!" bellowed the spikes Pokemon, who was suddenly feeling rather exhausted.
"Ah...good to see that you've been learning new techniques." noted Chris.
Charmeleon nodded, though he still began to doubt that he was going to win this fight...and his trainer for that matter.
"Use Scary Face!" ordered Giovanni.
Giovanni's Rhyhorn once again obeyed the commands of its master...and Chris's Charmeleon found himself being paralyzed with fear.
"Charmeleon!" bellowed the fire Pokemon.
This gave Giovanni the opportunity to stomp on Charmeleon's head, knocking him out cold.
"Well, I guess it's time to send out my Jigglypuff." said Chris as she recalled her fire Pokemon. Surely she would be able to defeat the leader of Team Rocket...right?
Meanwhile...
"Vulpix, use Roar!" commanded Lucy.
Lucy's Vulpix did so, scaring Victreebel out of her wits.
"Victreebel!" bellowed the grass Pokemon. Who would have thought that such a young fox could be so terrifying?
"Pull yourself together!" ordered Erika.
Erika's Victreebel tried to do so...but unfortunately, she was still paralyzed with fear.
Taking advantage of the situation, Lucy instructed Vulpix to roast Victreebel with Ember...which she did, causing Victreebel to end up getting burned in the process.
All of a sudden, Vulpix knew why grass-types didn't like fire-types much...because they always seemed to have the upper hand against them in combat.
"Good job, Vulpix!" cheered Lucy.
"Vulpix!" exclaimed the fox Pokemon.
"Victreebel, use Stun Spore!" ordered Erika.
Erika's Victreebel did as her trainer commanded...but Vulpix moved out of the way. Apparently she knew that strange spores should be avoided.
"Vulpix, try using Confuse Ray!" commanded Lucy.
Vulpix nodded...and all of a sudden, Victreebel began to feel very dizzy.
"Victreebel, use Mega Drain!" ordered Erika.
Victreebel nodded...but unfortunately, she ended up striking herself instead, and she was down for the count.
"I guess it's up to my Vileplume now." noted the grass-type specialist as she recalled her Victreebel.
Throwing another Pokeball, out came her Vileplume.
"Vileplume!" bellowed the pedal Pokemon.
"Funny, I happen to have a Bulbasaur..." noted Lucy.
"You do? I've always wanted to get my hands on one..." spoke Erika.
"Maybe you should ask Professor Oak?" inquired the girl.
"Maybe I should...hmm." thought the grass-type Gym Leader.
Back to Chris and Giovanni...
"Jigglypuff, use Sing!" ordered Chris.
Jigglypuff did so, causing Rhyhorn to fall asleep, much to Giovanni's frustration. He was starting to see why that teenage girl was toppling her Rocket Grunts like dominoes. But no matter, he had just the thing to get rid of her once and for all.
"Right then...I guess it's time to send in my trump card." said the leader of Team Rocket.
Recalling his Rhyhorn, Giovanni sent out his strongest Pokemon...a Kangaskhan.
"Kangaskhan!" roared the pouched Pokemon.
"Kanga!" exclaimed the baby inside its pouch.
Ned screamed in horror. It was now very clear what a bad situation the duo were in. Trembling, he decided to scan Kangaskhan's entry in the Pokedex.
"Kangaskhan, the Parent Pokemon. It will not run for any fight if it means keeping its child protected." read the Pokedex.
"I guess this Pokemon is a mother...wait, it's going to do everything in its power to protect its child? Chris, you're in really deep trouble!" bellowed Ned.
"I'll just put it to sleep with Sing. No biggie." answered Chris.
Immediately, Chris's Jigglypuff began to sing towards Kangaskhan hoping to make it fall asleep.
She succeeded...but unfortunately, the child Kangaskhan did not...and immediately, she woke up her mother with her loud crying.
"Kanga?" inquired the Kangaskhan.
Chris dropped her jaw in shock. Apparently trying to put Kangaskhan to sleep wasn't going to do her any good at all...not with that child Kangaskhan to keep her awake.
"Kangaskhan, use Bite!" exclaimed Giovanni.
Giovanni immediately sank her teeth into Jigglypuff...they were very sharp.
"Jigglypuff!" bellowed the balloon Pokemon.
"Jigglypuff!" screamed Chris.
Unfortunately for Jigglypuff, she was too petrified of her new opponent in order to attack.
"Perfect! Finish her off! Mega Punch!" ordered Giovanni.
Giovanni then finished off Chris's Jigglypuff with her Mega Punch...hitting her as hard as she could.
"Jiggly..." murmured the balloon Pokemon as she fainted.
"Jigglypuff..." whispered Chris. She couldn't believe what had just happened as she reluctantly handed Giovanni some prize money.
Giovanni happily recalled his Kangaskhan back into his Pokeball. Personally he wondered why he hadn't gone after the meddling teenager before.
"You've lost. You're weak. And you thought that you were actually going to stop Team Rocket...your overconfidence amuses me." taunted the crime lord.
Chris had been stunned into silence, while Ned's jaw dropped in shock.
"Right then...why don't you leave my hideout and show everyone in Celadon City what a weak Pokemon trainer you are? You're not worth my time, and quite frankly, neither are my grunts." said the Gym Leader.
Chris immediately ran out of the Rocket Hideout...with Ned following her.
"Chris, wait up!" exclaimed Ned.
"Shouldn't we have stolen her Pokemon, sir?" inquired a Team Rocket Grunt.
"It's not like we have to steal Pokemon from every single Pokemon Trainer we come across...besides, it was so satisfying to crush her spirit, wouldn't you say?" asked the head of Team Rocket.
"If you say so." answered the Team Rocket Grunt.
Meanwhile...
"Alright then...Vileplume, use Sleep Powder!" commanded Erika.
Erika's Vileplume immediately put Vulpix to sleep...unfortunately, it appeared that a nap didn't seem a bad idea for her at the moment.
"Vulpix, wake up!" demanded Lucy.
Unfortunately, it appeared that Vulpix was going to remain in Slumberland for a while.
"Very good. Use Acid!" commanded Erika.
Immediately, Vileplume shot Vulpix with acid from the same hole she used to gather pollen, curiously enough.
Surprisingly, the fox Pokemon was still asleep.
"Vulpix, you're being clobbered out here! Now isn't the time to be sleeping!" warned Lucy.
One of Vulpix's eyes opened for a moment...but unfortunately she went back to sleep.
Lucy sighed. It looked like her fire Pokemon was in for a world of hurt...and possibly a world of fainting.
"Vileplume, use Acid again!" demanded Erika.
Vileplume once again pelted Vulpix with acid causing to wake up...but she was now feeling very exhausted.
"You can still do this! Use Ember!" ordered Lucy.
Lucy's Vulpix immediately burned the grass Pokemon with her fire breath...but shortly afterwards she began to pant in exhaustion.
Vileplume then finished Vulpix off with Mega Drain...healing some of her injuries in the process.
"Vulpix..." murmured the fox Pokemon as she fainted.
Lucy immediately recalled her Vulpix into her Pokeball. At least she managed to take down one Pokemon before she went.
"Good job, Vulpix...it's time for you to shine, Clefairy!" exclaimed the female Pokemon trainer.
"Clefairy!" bellowed the fairy Pokemon.
"Have you ever been to Mt. Moon?" asked Erika curiously.
"Actually I have, why?" inquired Lucy.
"Well, that's where Clefairy typically hang out..." noted the female Gym Leader.
"Oh yeah...my Clefairy seemed rather excited about traveling there." spoke the female Pokemon trainer.
"Clefairy!" exclaimed the fairy Pokemon.
"Anyways...Clefairy, use Metronome!" commanded Lucy.
Clefairy immediately moved her hands back and forth, which both began to glow white. Shortly afterwards, Vileplume found herself being roasted by fire.
"Vileplume!" bellowed the grass Pokemon.
"Whoa! That was spicy!" noted Lucy.
"Clefairy!" cheered the fairy Pokemon.
"It's not over yet! Vileplume, use Mega Drain!" commanded Erika.
VIleplume did so, draining Clefairy out of energy and making her feel woozy.
However, this was ultimately prove not to be enough.
"Clefairy, use Metronome! Again!" exclaimed Lucy.
Lucy's Clefairy did so...and immediately, she froze Vileplume solid with ice.
"Vileplume!" bellowed the grass-type specialist.
"One more time?" inquired Lucy.
Lucy's Clefairy nodded...and immediately, she hit Vileplume with a powerful psychic attack...since Vileplume happened to be part poison type, this was very effective, and she fainted on the spot.
"Congratulations. You've certainly earned your Rainbow Badge." noted Erika as she recalled her Vileplume and handed Lucy her prize money.
"Yes! I love rainbows!" cheered the wealthy girl.
"So do I. Now have fun!" exclaimed Erika.
Suddenly, she noticed that her Clefairy was trying to take a flower pot from Erika's garden.
"We need to ask her for one of them first, Clefairy." answered Lucy.
"Clefairy..." murmured the alien Pokemon sadly.
"By the way, you should really watch out for Team Rocket." warned the grass-type specialist.
"Team Rocket?" inquired Lucy.
"Yeah...for some strange reason, they like hanging out in Celadon City...I'm not quite sure why...then again, I've seen them hanging out in Saffron City too..." noted the Gym Leader.
"OK, I'll be careful!" nodded the female Pokemon trainer as she left the gym.
"Gee, I hope they don't barge in my gym...that would be a disaster...what if they lit my gym on fire?!" thought Erika.
"Did you win?" inquired Jake.
"Uh-huh!" bellowed Lucy.
"Alright then...it's my turn now I guess." nodded the Team Rocket Grunt.
"Have fun! I'll be at the Rocket Game Corner!" exclaimed the girl.
"The Rocket Game Corner?!" bellowed Jake.
"Yeah...I heard that you can get prizes there...even Pokemon!" squealed Lucy.
"Er OK then...have fun!" answered the Team Rocket Grunt, who was now feeling very worried about his partner's safety. Surely she would be fine...right?
Meanwhile outside the Rocket Game Corner...
"Chris, are you OK?" asked Ned curiously.
As it turned out, Chris was sitting down with her face on her knees and was on the verge of tears. She couldn't believe that Giovanni had managed to crush her Pokemon like a bug-type.
"Am I really weak? Have I really not been training my Pokemon enough?" inquired the female Pokemon trainer.
"Don't be silly! He was just messing with your head...I've never been able to beat you in a Pokemon battle..." noted the nerd.
"He even managed to defeat...my Jigglypuff..." murmured Chris.
"Winning isn't everything in a Pokemon battle...besides, there's nothing shameful about losing to the leader of Team Rocket!" exclaimed Ned.
At that very moment, Chris stopped sniffling.
"I heard that Giovanni is an exceptional Pokemon trainer...and you still managed to hold your own against him even with a type disadvantage..." explained Ned. Personally he hoped that he would able to cheer her up before long.
"Maybe you're right. But what if I have to face him again? Am I going to lose horribly? All I ever wanted was to be a strong Pokemon trainer..." murmured the female Pokemon trainer.
"You are a strong Pokemon trainer! Just don't underestimate Giovanni like you did before and I'm sure you'll be ready when you next face him...you wanted to save the world from Team Rocket, right?" inquired the boy.
"Yeah...but I think that's just a dream now." answered Chris.
"What makes you think that dreams can't be true? I'm sure we've all had them at one point..." noted Ned.
"Maybe you're right...thanks for helping me out. I really needed that..." spoke the female Pokemon trainer, rising to her feet.
"I know! What if we have another Pokemon battle? I'm sure that will cheer you up!" exclaimed Ned.
"OK then...here it goes." answered Chris as she pulled out a Pokeball. Was she going to win?
Hopefully she would be feeling better after having a Pokemon battle with her partner...then again it usually did before.
"Maybe Ned is right...maybe I will be able to get my revenge on Giovanni one day..." thought Chris.
Oh dear...it looks like Chris got too cocky and lost horribly against Giovanni...hopefully she'll be able to boost her confidence back up...it'd be a shame if she decided to cut her Pokemon adventure short, wouldn't it? There are still so many Pokemon out there to capture...
Anyways, in the next chapter...Lucy is going to enter the Rocket Game Corner...and well, things are going to start going downhill for her.
Meanwhile, Jake is going to battle Erika...how is that going to go for him? We'll find out. So until next time! Peace!