I woke up around 7 the next morning. I wanted to try and work on my list some more. Looking at it, I knew I would have to take care of Daisy and Nurse Joy at some point when I went home to visit. That only left Misty, Shannon, and Kelly. I figured if Misty was still in town, I might be able to find her, so I got dressed and headed out for an early morning walk around town.
As I wandered around Vermillion, all was quiet. It was actually very calm and beautiful. The way the fog rolled in from the sea was breathtaking, and the soft lapping of the waves against the shore was peaceful. In the distance, I could hear the rhythmic ringing of a bouy bell somewhere far out in the water. I knew if anyone else was out to witness this, it would be Misty.
As I passed the docks, I noticed a female figure looking out to the sea. It had to be her.
As I approached, my hunch was confirmed. She stood there quietly. I was afraid I would startle her, so when I was about 30 feet away I called out to her.
"Hey, Misty."
She turned around, her face a little red and her eyes puffy. She had been crying.
"Oh, Clyff," she said, quickly wiping her face. "Didn't expect to see you so early."
"Are you okay?" I wanted to immediately get to the point, but I knew I would feel insensitive if I didn't at least ask.
"Oh I'm fine. It's just so beautiful is all…"
I didn't believe her, but I just nodded.
"So, I was actually looking for you," I said, walking up closer. I stood next to her, looking out to the ocean. She turned to do the same again.
"What for?"
"Well, I needed to talk to you. About what happened between us."
She was quiet. I had honestly expected her to mock me or laugh or something. But, alas, nothing.
I was about to start speaking again when she blurted something out.
"I'm sorry! I shouldn't have done that. Its just… Its just that…"
She stopped just as soon as she started. She couldn't seem to find the words. She sat down, defeated. Her legs dangled off the dock, just barely above the water. I sat down next to her.
"Thanks. Honestly, I didn't mind it all that much," I joked. I awkwardly laughed a little. She stayed silent. "I just came to say I think we should move on from that and not let it hinder us as friends... I mean, if I can call you my friend."
She was still quiet, looking down into the water and slowly swinging her legs back and forth.
"I would like that. To be your friend," she whispered. "I really am sorry about what happened. As you can probably tell, I am a bit self-conscious."
I turned to her in disbelief.
"About what? You are one of the most confident, albeit hot-headed, people I have ever met."
"I'm a tomboy. That doesn't sit well with most guys. They think I'm lesbian or a bully or a threat to their masculinity or whatever. But I just want to be treated like other girls are," she was on the verge of crying again, but she was very much trying to fight it. "I just want someone to tell me I'm beautiful."
I knew I had to choose my next words very carefully.
"You are beautiful. Any guy would be lucky to have you. I just think both of us know I'm not the guy for you."
She turned to look at me, glassy eyed. She was smiling.
"Thanks for letting me down easy, asshole," she giggled. "I genuinely appreciate it."
She lightly punched my shoulder. It felt like another weight was lifted off my shoulders.
"You know," I said, "I think I know someone who could be the guy for you."
"Who's that?"
"Brock."
"Brock?! No way! He's such a pansy! He gets all mushy with people. Plus he cooks. What guy cooks?!"
"He is also into strong women," I said suggestively. "And I know how much you like to be in control."
She began to piece it all together. Her eyes lit up.
"Oh my Arceus! Clyff thanks so much! I have to go find him! See you around," she practically yelled as she bolted from the docks.
When she was gone, I took out my list.
"One more down," I said to myself.
For the next half hour, I just sat there watching the waves.
After watching the waves, I headed back to the center. I wanted to do some training to prepare for my gym battle with Surge. I wasn't sure when I would be ready.
When I got back, I made sure I was ready for the day and got my team together. Knowing that Surge used Electric Types, I figured Spunk was my best bet to beat him. I also thought that Woodstock would make a decent backup option.
As I left to go train, I saw Rachel coming out of her room.
"Morning," I said to her.
"Good morning," she replied. She was a bit less warm than usual. Probably because I had rejected her the previous night.
"I'm going to train. Wanna come?"
She thought about it for a moment.
"Sure," she said, half smiling. I could tell she was not just going to 'get over it,' but I figured she wasn't the type of person to hold a grudge too long.
Once we were both ready, we decided to head east of Vermillion to train on Route 11.
On the way there, I noticed a cave. The sign outside it read, "Diglett's Cave." Rachel also seemed intrigued by it, but we kept walking.
Once we got to Route 11, we split up. I went a little south, she went north. I figured it was better that way anyhow.
I began to train Spunk against some trainers on the route, including some youngsters, engineers, and some old gamblers. Spunk made quick work of all of them. She used Double Kick to deal with a couple Raticates, and she used Dig to destroy some Magnemites and Growlithes. She got quite a bit stronger, so I felt fairly confident I could move onto training Woodstock.
Woodstock ended up facing a couple more gamblers, but thankfully they had Poliwags and Horseas. Woodstock quickly got stronger and seemed to be very happy to be out stretching.
After I trained for a bit, I felt very prepared. I decided I would make my way back to the center and rest up for a bit. First, I was going to let Rachel know, so I headed north.
When I found her, two familiar Gym Leaders were talking to her. As I approached, Rachel called out to me.
"Hey Clyff! Misty and Brock want to battle me," she shouted excitedly.
"Awesome," I said, sauntering up.
Misty smiled at me and Brock turned his attention to me.
"Actually, if you're here too how about a double battle? Misty and I versus you and Rachel," Brock said. "I've been eager to actually battle you, Clyff. I wanted to repay you for what you did, so I wanted to help your friend out. Misty decided to join me. But if I can actually see how strong you are, that would also be a bonus."
Misty, who was making goo-goo eyes at Brock simply said, "I love that idea. I've always wanted to team up with you, Brock."
I couldn't help but notice Brock had no clue Misty was into him. At least he hasn't noticed yet. But I had faith Misty could crack his dense Rock Head.
I turned to Rachel, and said, "It's up to you. They are your Gym Challenges."
Rachel thought for a moment. I watched her face carefully, as she was clearly plotting something.
"On one condition. We use my Pokemon only. Brock can see what kind of a trainer you are no matter what Pokemon you are using, and I want these badges to be earned on the merit of my team."
I was happily surprised. I liked her idea very much. I turned to Brock and Misty, nodding and saying, "Sounds fair to me."
"Great idea," Brock said. Turning to Misty, he said, "You ready, partner?"
"Oh yeah totally," she said, blushing a bit when he called her 'partner.'
"Alright! Here, Clyff. You use Boingo!" Rachel was ecstatic as she handed me her Pokeball. I was a little less happy, realizing the only Pokemon I was going to be commanding was a Magikarp.
"I will do my best to be an unbiased Judge this battle," Brock said. "Go Geodude!"
"C'mon Goldeen!" Misty said, throwing out the fish.
"Coconut! You got this!" Rachel threw the pig monkey out, and he was ready for a fight.
"Boingo, let's do it!" I tossed out a flopping, sad excuse for a fish. Misty giggled.
"3… 2… 1… Begin," Brock yelled.
Rachel was the quickest on the trigger, saying, "Coconut, Karate Chop that Geodude!"
Without hesitation, he dashed over to the rock and landed a precision chop between its eyes. It fainted immediately.
Misty, seeing her partner getting hurt, was next to call out. She said, "Goldeen, Peck that Mankey!"
The fish charged a wisp of wind on its horn and jabbed at Coconut. He went reeling backwards, but he still stood.
"Boingo, Tackle that Goldeen!"
Nothing happened. I looked over to Rachel.
"He only knows Splash. I was hoping you would know how to use him better than I could," she said, smirking devilishly. This had been her nasty plot. Not only would she humiliate me, but she would get revenge for me rejecting her. It was clever. But I wasn't having it.
"Boingo, start Splashing! Try to keep Goldeen distracted!"
Now the fish seemed shocked. Someone was actually giving it direction and purpose. It began to flop around violently. Everyone looked at me oddly. If only Sera and Kelly had been there. They would have realized that I had a plan.
"Onix! Let's do it." Brock sent out a massive rock snake that shook the ground. To be honest, it did kind of scare me. Misty's eyes lit up. She was clearly relating Onix to another rock hard snake Brock could have.
"Coconut, shake it off! Hit that Onix with a Low Kick!"
The fluff ball charged at the snake, sweeping his leg across its long tail. Onix collapsed, but did get back up.
"Onix! Use Rock Tomb on that Mankey!"
The snake, enraged, smashed the ground around him. It launched rocks towards Coconut, who became encased in them.
"Quick! Goldeen Water Pulse Mankey while he's trapped!"
The goldfish loosed a blast of water, knocking out Coconut.
"Boingo! Keep Splashing, but move towards the grass!"
Everyone was confused, even the fish. All I needed was for one of them to fall for it.
"Houdini! Show 'em some magic!"
The spoon wielding psychic type just kinda looked at Boingo for a second, then looked at his opponents.
"Hit that Goldeen with a Confusion!"
With the bend of a spoon, a blast of psychic energy hit the goldfish. With one powerful hit, she went down.
"Onix, Rock Tomb again! This time on the Kadabra!"
The snake smashed the ground, sending more rocks. Houdini didn't stand a chance. He went down.
"Keep it up, Boingo! You've got him on the ropes! I believe in you."
It was literally just down to him. And he knew it. But he looked at me funny. When I said I believed in him, I truly did. And he could tell.
Rachel stood there looking defeated.
"Do you only have 3 Pokemon?" Brock was surprised.
Rachel nodded.
"Well then, I guess it's only fair the two of us use 3 Pokemon."
Misty agreed and did not send out her next Pokemon.
Brock chuckled, saying, "You just want to forfeit now, Clyff?"
"No. Bring it on," I replied. This was it. All Boingo had to do was beat this Onix.
"Onix! Rock Tomb!"
"BOINGO! SPLASH LIKE YOU'VE NEVER SPLASHED BEFORE!"
The fish went mental, flopping around like a madman. Onix sent rocks at Boingo, but the fish somehow dodged them all.
"WHAT?!" Brock was shocked, confused, and he even looked a bit angry. "Try again, Onix!"
"Boingo! You can do it! Splash!"
Onix sent more rocks, but Boingo kept masterfully dodging them. I began to smirk. This was it. This was his chance.
"For saltpeter's sake, just Tackle it Onix!"
"BOINGO, NOW! SPLASH HIGH AS THE SKY!"
With a Splash of destiny, Boingo launched himself into the air as Onix passed underneath him.
The missing Onix went flying into the tall grass. The razor sharp tall grass. With a final cry, Onix fainted.
"Great job, Boingo! I knew you could do it," I said, recalling him. Everyone else was speechless.
"How…" Brock was dumbfounded.
"The Rock and Ground Type combination is incredibly weak to Grass is all Brock," I said, grinning ear to ear. "That was Rachel's plan all along."
"You just took out an Onix without even hitting it," Misty said in shock.
Rachel blushed. She looked at me, flustered. I just winked.
"I think Rachel deserves those badges," I said. I handed Rachel Boingo's ball, and gave her a smile. "It was really fun to fight next to you," I said. She blushed a bit. She was embarrassed I had bested her revenge plan. "Great plan with the Magikarp by the way."
Brock recalled his Onix. And walked over to us.
"I must admit, you are both even better than I expected," he said, chuckling. "I am truly impressed by the both of you. And seriously clever plan with the grass trap there, Rachel."
He handed her the Boulder Badge and the TM for Rock Tomb.
Misty made her way over next.
"I don't want this to sound mean, but I didn't think you'd be so clever, Rachel! Seriously though, good job," she said, handing Rachel the Cascade Badge and the TM for Water Pulse.
"T-thanks," Rachel muttered. She didn't seem to know what to say.
"Welp, see you guys around! Misty promised she would take me to get some grub," Brock said, rubbing his stomach. "You know, Misty, I should cook for you sometime! Going out for food is great, but nothing beats a home cooked meal."
"I would love that," Misty said, walking over to him. "C'mon! I'm starved!"
As they walked away, I kept an eye on them. As they were walking, Misty crept closer and closer to him, until they bumped hands. Brock seemed to apologize, but Misty just tackled him into a hug. The two went barreling into Diglett's Cave.
"Well, something is surely going to be buried in that cave," I joked, turning to Rachel.
She didn't laugh she just looked at me blankly.
"Too pervy?"
"No."
"Oh. Uh. What's up then?"
"Why did you do that?"
"What, the joke?"
"No. Tell them the grass trap was my idea."
"Oh, I just think you deserved the credit. That's why you gave me Boingo, right," I said.
"I gave you Boingo because… I wanted you to fail."
"Oh," I played dumb.
"Worse than that, you didn't even come close to failing. You won the battle for me. I didn't even earn these badges on my own merit!"
Then it hit me. Yeah she was trying to mess with me and embarrass me, but by defying that I won her the battle. I started to feel kind of odd, and I went red. I wasn't sure what to feel. I felt kind of bad, but also kind of good. Yeah she didn't win the battle the way she wanted, but she also didn't have the right to treat me like she because I didn't want to fuck her. Then that odd feeling became anger.
"Wait. I get it. You were mad that we didn't hook up last night."
"Finally! I knew you would figure it out Mr. Battle Genius!"
"What makes you think its okay to try and embarrass me just because I said no to you? No means no. End of story."
Rachel went red. She realized where she went wrong.
"I... I," She began to tear up. "Do you know how it feels to not be able to make your own decision?"
"What do you mean," I asked, letting down my guard.
"When I was in Team Rocket, I was just told what to do. I didn't have much choice. Until I met you. You showed me that I could make a choice. I could chose to be free."
"And you did," I said, somewhat confused.
"I wanted to do this on my own. I wanted to be in control. Part of the reason I gave you Boingo was to mess with you. I won't deny that. But I also wanted to be in control of my destiny, something I am stilling trying to learn how to do. When you turned me down, I realized I was not in control as much as I wanted to be. But now I realize that I was being a hypocrite. By trying to control you, I was being just like the Team Rocket I hate. I'm sorry."
I was shocked. It all made sense. I didn't realize what she had been through. I couldn't even fathom it.
"Are you gonna respond," she sobbed. "Say something!"
I walked closer to her. I looked into her beautiful pink eyes. Then I hugged her. We stood there for a bit, holding each other. She continued to cry into my shoulder, but began to let up.
"I'm sorry too," I finally said, breaking the silence. "I should hav-"
"SHHHH!" She lifted her face off my shoulder, shushing me violently. "You shouldn't have done anything. I made my bed, now I'm going to lie in it."
"I was just going to say I should have trained with you earlier. Maybe then you wouldn't have needed my help in the actual fight."
"Oh please. I doubt your advice is that good," she laughed.
"Fair," I chuckled. "I'd love to sit her letting you cry on me all day, but would you rather go back into town and get some lunch?"
"Yeah. I'd like that."
With that, the two of us headed back into Vermillion.