Chapter 38
It was around noon the next day, and Chase and Jason were just now arriving in Cinnabar Harbor. They disembarked from the ship onto the dock. Chase had kept his usual attire on; his blue jacket, light blue jeans, and a black shirt underneath the jacket. Jason had changed out of his tropical-looking clothes and had put his army-oriented ones back on, consisting of his cowboy hat, worn camouflage pants, thick black boots, and a gray sleeveless shirt that shaped itself to his muscular physique.
Chase's Pokémon were fully rested, so the first thing he did was look for the Cinnabar Gym. But what they found looked like the charred remains of a building. The windows were boarded up, and grass and weeds had grown high around the outside walls.
"What happened?" Chase asked in surprise.
"I don't know," replied Jason.
The two Trainers stood with their gazes fixed on the burnt Gym. All the while, a man scanned them through his round-rimmed sunglasses as he brushed his white mustache in intrigue. The white hat he wore to hide his bare head had a red stripe around it. He also had on a white shirt with red sleeves and brown pants.
He walked up behind Chase and Jason and said, "It's a shame, isn't it?"
"Whoa!" Chase and Jason chorused in surprise. The man laughed.
"Hey! I'm not that scary, am I?"
"No, you just surprised us," Chase replied.
"I take it you want to challenge the Gym?"
"Yes, I do."
"Well, you're not going to be challenging that one anytime soon. It caught fire years ago." Chase looked discouraged. "Instead, you can go to the new one on the end of the block."
"What?" Jason shot a confused look at the man.
"Look, right down there." He pointed and said, "Just make a right and you're there."
"Oh, okay!" Chase exclaimed. "Thank you very much!"
They started down the block, but a few moments later, they noticed that the funny man in the hat was tailing them.
Jason stopped and approached him, saying, "Hey, are you following us?"
"Hardly," he replied. "I'm on my way back to my Gym."
"Your Gym?" asked Chase. "Then, you must be the Cinnabar Gym Leader!"
"The one and only! Blaine's the name—fire's my game. Nice to meet you."
"Oh, the pleasure's all ours," Jason insisted.
"So, how about we get to that battle you're wanting?"
The new building was on the corner, separated from all the other buildings by a nice lawn. Cinnabar's volcano loomed off in the distance, looking menacingly like it could erupt any minute, despite it being dormant.
Once inside, Chase saw that the Gym was just a large room with a battlefield in it. There were two statues of a Pokémon near the door. Standing by them was a man with brown hair who wore a purple shirt and navy blue-colored pants. He had the exact same style of sunglasses as Blaine.
"Oh, hey! A challenger!" the man exclaimed. "One of the first to actually get to battle in the new Gym! It's much better than that cave we were using!"
"I concur!" Blaine exclaimed. "Okay, Trainer. What is your name?"
He answered, "Chase."
"Okay! Now, let's get to it!"
Blaine and his challenger took their positions on the field, Jason walked to the sidelines to sit on the small bleachers, and the man wearing sunglasses would act as the referee.
Chase was just about to throw a Poké Ball when Blaine shouted, "Wait!" He removed his hat, revealing his hairless head that glistened in the light. Blaine tossed it as if it were a Frisbee to the other side of the field, where it landed on the head of one of the statues. "First, it's time for a pop quiz!"
"Uh oh, here we go," Jason muttered.
"What level does Horsea evolve into Seadra?" asked Blaine.
"Uh, level twenty-eight?" Chase answered nervously. The referee made a buzzer noise, signifying the answer was incorrect.
"Where did the popular bike store in Cerulean City move to?"
"Um, Viridian City?"
The referee buzzed again.
"If the Magnet Train leaves Saffron City at two o'clock in the afternoon, and has to arrive in Goldenrod City in the same length of time as a cutscene in a popular video game, how fast does it have to go?"
"Uh…"
"Time's up," Blaine said quickly. "What does Poliwag evolve into?"
"Poliwhirl!" Chase answered confidently.
"Correct! We shall now commence with the battle!"
Blaine released his Rapidash. From out of Chase's Poké Ball came a bouncing, happy-go-lucky Politoed.
"Ah, starting out with a Water-type, huh?"
"Yep! Politoed, use Water Gun!" It obeyed and prepared itself to attack. But, something different happened. Instead of gathering water into its mouth, it began making a ball of water in its hands. Politoed reeled back both of its arms and thrust forward, sending the ball pulsing towards Rapidash. The Fire-type was struck by the super effective attack, and sadly for Blaine, it was knocked out.
Chase blinked in amazement. What could that move have been? Politoed hadn't used it before. The Frog Pokémon turned and looked happily back at its Trainer. After some thought, Chase asked, "Was that a Water Pulse?"
"Sure looked like it," Blaine commented as he picked another Poké Ball off of his belt. "I better not go easy on you."
Blaine released his next Pokémon. When it took form, the room was filled with an unbearable heat. Even Politoed felt the warmth coming off of its opponent.
"Magmar," the Fire-type said slowly as it stretched its muscles.
"Politoed, use Water Pulse again!"
It repeated what it had done before, and the attack hurtled toward Blaine's Pokémon. It looked as if it were going to hit, but Blaine called out, "Flamethrower!" Magmar shot a stream of incredibly hot flames out of its mouth. The attack easily evaporated all of the water in Politoed's Water Pulse, leaving the Spitfire Pokémon unharmed. "Now, use ThunderPunch!"
Magmar ran up to the Water-type with its fist crackling with electricity, giving its opponent no time to dodge. The super effective hit left Politoed sprawled out on the ground, unconscious.
Chase returned Politoed, thanked it, and thought over whom to send out next. Haunter would probably suffer the same fate as Politoed, and he didn't want to risk sending out Charmeleon just yet. So, the only choice left was Pidgeotto, despite the fact that Magmar's ThunderPunch was super effective against it, as well. With a toss, Pidgeotto appeared from its Poké Ball.
"Your move, Chase!"
"Thanks! Okay, Pidgeotto! Use Wing Attack!" The bird's wings glowed a bright white, and it flew towards Magmar.
"ThunderPunch!" Blaine commanded.
"Stop and use Gust!" Pidgeotto halted and started flapping its wings rapidly. Magmar was buffeted by the strong wind, making it impossible for it to move forward. The ThunderPunch on its right hand slowly dwindled, and the sound of crackling faded with it. "Now, change to your Twister attack!"
The Normal-, Flying-type made a twister. Magmar was still suffering from the intense blowback of Gust, and was not prepared. The Spitfire Pokémon was engulfed in the even greater winds and could not find a way out. It was lifted off its feet inside the tornado and spun around.
"That was great!" Chase cheered. "Use Quick Attack and fly behind Magmar!" Pidgeotto nodded and prepared itself.
The winds around Magmar let up, and so Chase's Pokémon executed Quick Attack. While the Fire-type was still incapacitated, the Bird Pokémon rammed Magmar in its back, knocking it to the ground.
"Flamethrower!" Blaine called desperately.
The Fire-type flipped over and shot at its foe. Unable to dodge, the flames completely engulfed Pidgeotto, and it slowly floated to the ground.
To everyone's surprise, a light started to shine forth through the fire, and the bird grew much larger. After a few seconds of waiting and Jason humming the evolution theme from the Pokémon video games, the flames were blown out by a huge gust of wind from the newly evolved Pidgeot.
"Yes!" Chase exclaimed. "All right, Pidgeot! Use Gust!"
It started to flap its enormous wings and created a gale that was much more powerful than before. Magmar was blown back as it tried to face the wind head-on.
"Quick Attack!" It flew straight into Blaine's Pokémon, knocking it to the ground, and then the bird flew back around to its side of the field. "Use another one!"
"ThunderPunch!" Blaine ordered coolly.
Pidgeot turned around and headed back towards Magmar, only to be met with a ThunderPunch right in the stomach. The Bird Pokémon let out a weak chirp before falling to the ground, unconscious.
Chase returned his new Pidgeot to its Poké Ball, telling it how great it did.
Charmeleon took form on the battlefield shortly after. It was about to blow a Flamethrower in the air like always, but was caught off guard by Magmar. Something in the way it looked set a fire ablaze inside Charmeleon. The same went for Magmar. The two stared at each other while their Trainers looked on in confusion.
"Uh… Charmeleon? Use a Metal Claw, please!"
The Flame Pokémon snapped to attention and bounded up to its opponent. Magmar bent down and dodged, then hit Charmeleon right in the stomach with a ThunderPunch.
Charmeleon looked at it with disdain, and then whipped Magmar with its tail. The enemy simply caught it in its hand.
"Use Flamethrower!" instructed Chase.
An inferno was shot at Magmar, completely smothering it. However, the attack did little damage. Blaine commanded his partner to throw Charmeleon to the floor.
Chase's Pokémon skidded across the ground and came to rest on its back. Magmar suddenly jumped on top of it and grabbed Charmeleon's neck, pinning it to the ground. Charmeleon snarled as it stared into Magmar's eyes, them filled with determination to win.
The Flame Pokémon knew that the only way for Chase to obtain his seventh Gym Badge was for it to win this match. It remembered all the times Chase had helped it out, like when it was trying to learn a new move, or even something as small as comforting it when it was scared as a Charmander. The Fire-type realized what it had to do.
Charmeleon began to glow; the evolving Pokémon grew larger and larger, and eventually, it held Magmar in its hands, the Spitfire Pokémon's feet dangling above the ground. It grew wings, a longer neck, and another spike on the back of its head. Charmeleon had evolved into a Charizard!
With its newfound strength, Charizard lobbed Magmar into the air. Blaine watched in horror as Chase's Pokémon spun around and whacked the falling Fire-type with its powerful tail. Magmar skidded across the floor and came to rest on its side. It stood up, looking at the opponent mockingly. Charizard's tail began to change color to light blue.
Confused, Chase turned to good old Dexter. He switched on his Pokédex and pointed it at Charizard, it saying, "CHARIZARD, THE FLAME POKéMON. IF CHARIZARD BECOMES FURIOUS, THE FLAME AT THE TIP OF ITS TAIL FLARES UP IN A LIGHT BLUE SHADE." Next, Charizard's flame suddenly erupted and grew extraordinarily larger. "That must be Blaze kicking in," Chase thought out loud. "Okay, Charizard! Use Flamethrower!"
It grinned confidently, letting loose a stream of blue fire upon Magmar. The attack was so powerful that it was able to knock Blaine's strongest Pokémon out. Charizard beamed with pleasure. Its flame changed back to its normal red and yellow coloring, but it remained enormous due to Blaze.
Blaine returned Magmar and took another Poké Ball from off his belt. He chucked it into the air and released his last Pokémon. An Arcanine took the field, its fur shimmering majestically.
"All right! One more to go!" Charizard turned to face its Trainer and pointed at its wings. "What's that? I don't understand."
It motioned in a way that seemed to say, "Okay, let me show you." Charizard started flying towards Arcanine with its wings glowing. The Flame Pokémon rammed right into Arcanine's side before it could evade.
"You learned Wing Attack! Awesome!"
"Pop quiz!" Blaine shouted. "Why does Charizard learn Wing Attack right after it evolves?"
"Because it becomes a part Flying-type and has wings!"
"Correct!"
"Charizard! I want you to use another Wing Attack!"
The Fire-, Flying-type rushed toward Arcanine once again with its wings glowing.
"Use Extreme Speed!" Blaine cried. The Legendary Pokémon vanished instantly. Charizard stopped and looked around, bewildered.
"Look out! Behind you!" Chase shouted desperately.
It turned just in time to see Arcanine bounding up towards it. The Flame Pokémon braced itself and caught the Arcanine in its arms. Charizard subdued it, pushing it to the floor. It let another Flamethrower fly; Arcanine wailed in pain, but was able to shake itself free.
"Extreme Speed again!" The Fire-type vanished and reappeared behind its opponent.
Charizard swung its tail, hitting Arcanine square in the head. The sheer power behind the hit was enough to knock Arcanine out cold.
As Blaine returned his fallen teammate, Chase ran out to give Charizard a hug. "Come here, you big lug!" he exclaimed as he threw his arms around his buddy. The Fire-type sighed happily in its deep new voice while it hugged back.
"Chase, I have to say, that was one of the best battles I've had in awhile. Here, I want you to have the Volcano Badge." Blaine took a red-colored pin from out of his pocket and handed it to the victor. It was in the shape of a red flame with a yellow center.
"Thank you," said Chase. He opened his jacket and pinned the Badge inside with his collection.
Blaine examined the Trainer as he stood with his Charizard. Something about them was very familiar. "You know, you remind me of someone I battled once."
"Interesting," Chase laughed. "I get that a lot."
"You all did a great job. I hope you and your Pokémon make it to the Pokémon League. And, by the way, your Charizard is amazing. Like I always say, nothing beats the Fire-type!"
Chase chuckled and thanked Blaine again. Jason rejoined him, and they left for the Pokémon Center. Once they were there, the team was healed, and he and Jason decided to take a breather.
It had been a couple of hours, and they had been talking about all sorts of different things.
"Say, Jason. Why do you think all the Gym Leaders in the video games are different from the ones in real life?"
"Well, maybe because the designers knew it would be too tedious to come out with new games every time a new Gym Leader took the place of the last. That way, they could just make their own fictional characters and story. The games are based off of the real world, nonetheless."
"Okay. And, how about the Pokémon anime?"
"That is actually based more on a real person's adventures, I think. Except, the fictional characters from the games are added. I think the main character is named 'Will Catchem.' I can't remember who exactly he's based off of, though."
"Interesting. Are you sure you can't remember who it is?"
"No… I can't remember. Oh well." There was silence for a minute, but then Jason said, "All right, I think I'm going to head out and shop for some supplies. Want to come with?"
"No, thank you. I've had my mind set on doing something that I just haven't been able to get around to lately."
"Okay, that's fine. I'll see you later, then."
Chase and Jason both headed out of the Pokémon Center and went in opposite directions. Jason went to the market while Chase walked off towards the park that rested near the base of Cinnabar's volcano. Woodland was scattered about the area, so it made a perfect spot to do some special training.
It was around eight o'clock at night, and the street lamps that lit the sidewalks were the only lights other than the full moon keeping the park illuminated.
Chase found a nice wooded area where no one would be able to see him. There was a wide clearing in the middle; the grass was short, and the ground was clean of any debris. After checking over his shoulder a second time, Chase began his training. He took out the Green Stone from his backpack and held it firmly in his left hand.
"Okay," he thought. "I pretty much know how to use Charizard's Flamethrower. Maybe I should practice using the others' moves and abilities."
Chase mentally shuffled through his different Pokémon's capabilities, looking for a good one to start out with. He decided on Haunter's Levitate ability.
He concentrated his powers and within his mind tried to bring forth an image of Haunter floating. Chase instead got a picture of Haunter making an irritating face. Discarding that thought, he tried using Haunter's Levitate through the same method as he did Charizard's Flamethrower.
The boy closed his eyes tight and felt the Green Stone's power course through his body. Soon, he had a strange sensation waft over him. Chase opened his eyes to see that he was levitating slightly off the ground. Excited, he rose higher and higher as he continued to focus.
Unfortunately, he raised himself a little too high and bonked his head on a tree branch. Chase fell back to earth and rubbed the top his head. He got back up and tried again and again until he was proficient at it.
Chase continued to train with his other Pokémon's moves and abilities, returning later that night to the Pokémon Center to meet up with Jason and go to bed.
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