Chapter 14 - Tsukemen
The trip to Saffron City was set to be a short one. The cities were right next to each other, and they were big enough to where they almost connected. In a bus or by train, it would have taken the trainers maybe thirty minutes to get there, but Logan, insisting on training, chose to walk.
"I guess this will be good after all of that pizza," Yurie thought out loud. "But I kind of wanted to ride the train…"
"We'll have a lot more opportunities to ride the train," Seshiru said. "When we get to Saffron, we're not going to walk the whole time."
"It's that big?" Logan wondered. Thoughts of Castelia City came rushing back. During his travels, he and Luna rode the subway multiple times to get around.
"Yeah. It's so big, it has two gyms."
"Two gyms?!" Logan yelled. "I'm so pumped to take them on!"
Seshiru laughed. "Well, you'll be able to take one one of them, unfortunately. The rules state that you're only allowed to challenge one of the gyms in Saffron."
"Oh," Logan said. His arms slumped. "Well then."
The three continued on their path. Even though they could see both cities in the distance, the route that they were taking to Saffron eventually became what people from Kanto considered countryside, and they would see the train zip past them every five minutes or so. Other trainers and tourists were walking along the same path, and they were now at a point where they were finding wild Pokémon running through the grass.
A group of small feline Pokémon approached the group casually, and Logan stopped to watch them. He looked at them closely, and one glanced back up at him before shrugging and then walking forward.
"What's up?" Yurie asked.
"I feel like I've seen that Pokémon before," Logan said as he pulled out his Pokédex.
"Meowth, the Scratch Cat Pokémon. It is fascinated with round objects. It can't stop playing with them until it tires and falls asleep," the Pokédex chimed.
"A Meowth?" Logan wondered. "But it's…"
"What?"
"It's different from the ones that I saw in Alola."
"There's also a different breed in Galar," a voice called from behind. The group turned to find a girl with tan skin. She had a backpack on, appearing to be a Pokémon trainer about the same age as Logan. "The name is Maleah. I'm from Alola."
"It's nice to meet you," Yurie said. She looked at the girl up and down, observing her loose Alolan print beach dress closely. It was shoulderless, and hung midway down her thigh. "My name is Yurie."
"I'm Seshiru."
Before Logan could give out his name, the girl pointed at him and said, "Logan Stephenson."
Logan's eyes widened. "Have-have we met?" He was always afraid of a situation like this. He knew that one day he'd forget another trainer's name and face, and he wasn't ready for that kind of confrontation.
Maleah shook her head. "Not really, but I know about you. We competed in the Manalo Conference together. It was my first year as a trainer, and I only made it to the Top 16."
Logan scratched the back of his head. "I'm sorry. I don't recognize you. I feel bad."
Maleah smiled and then cocked her head. "It's okay! I didn't expect you to!"
"I take it that you're traveling in Kanto now?" Seshiru asked, trying to steer the conversation away on Logan's behalf.
"Yeah. I competed in Galar last year, but someone recommended that I come to Kanto to try my hand. I figured it couldn't hurt. I've already earned three badges. I'm planning on going to Saffron for my next one."
"That's where we're going!" Yurie exclaimed. She was fixated on Maleah's Alolan dress. "Should we go together?"
Maleah looked at the three. "If that'd be okay, I'd love to go with you."
Logan shrugged. "The more the merrier. It can't hurt."
"But, first," Maleah said while she reached around to her bag. "I want a battle."
"A battle?" Logan wondered. "Right now?"
Seshiru looked around and observed the area. "Out of all the places to have a battle, this would probably be the best place for awhile. Battles in the cities can get messy."
"Yeah, we never got to battle at the conference, and honestly, I was disappointed," Maleah explained. "What do you say?"
Logan grinned. "I never back down from a challenge!"
The two trainers looked at one another, backed up a few feet, and drew out their Poké Balls. Without a word, they tossed them into the air, and two Pokémon materialized on the field.
"Nido!" Logan's Pokémon cried out before he huffed and ran his feet against the ground.
On Maleah's side of the field appeared a dark grey feline Pokémon with a round face. It gave Logan a cocksure look before lowering its head and rotating its shoulders.
"A Persian," Logan commented.
Seshiru shook her head, looking at the Pokémon with a confused look on her face. "But… is it?"
"Nidorino, use Focus Energy!"
"Persian, don't give him the chance! Use Thunderbolt!"
As Nidorino started to charge energy within his body, Persian unleashed sparks onto the field. They zapped Nidorino, putting a stop to his attack. He then winced as he absorbed the electricity, and his body froze up.
"Night Slash!" Maleah commanded.
With a quick movement, Persian darted across the small field and then leapt into the air. She raised her claw and swiped with a claw surrounded in darkness.
"Double Kick!"
Nidorino quickly span his body around and kicked out with his back legs. One of the legs connected with Persian's claw directly, stopping the attack, and then the other leg got Persian in the face. Persian didn't fly back though. Instead, she landed on the ground and appeared irritated by the strike.
"Fury Attack!" Logan ordered.
Nidorino turned his body once again and then jabbed with his horn. He struck Persian once in the face before starting to strike rapidly, forcing Persian to take a few steps back. But ultimately, the Dark-type appeared more irritated than damaged.
"Power Gem!"
The small orb on Persian's forehead started to glow, and she jumped backwards as energy exploded from it. The energy pelted into the ground below Nidorino, sending him soaring through the air. He landed with a hard thud, but he forced himself back up, his legs shaking violently.
"Use Double Kick!" Logan ordered.
Nidorino howled once more before he bounded forward and leapt into the air. With a quick twist of his body, he kicked out, prepared to attack.
"Another Thunderbolt!"
Before Nidorino could attack, Persian unleashed the sparks from her body yet again. They zapped Nidorino, stopping his attack and making him collapse to the ground completely. His body slumped and went still, indicating that the match was over.
Logan sighed and returned Nidorino with his Level Ball. "Well then…"
"I thought you'd be able to do more than that," Maleah said. "What's up, dude?"
Logan shrugged. "I don't like making excuses, but my current team is nowhere near the team that you saw in Alola. A lot of them are relatively new to battling. My strongest Pokémon is my Mightyena, but I've been overworking him lately."
"I see," Maleah said with a disappointing look on her face. "I was hoping you'd have high level Pokémon right now. I've been traveling with my Persian since Alola, so I guess it wasn't a fair fight."
"Well," Logan said. "Since we are out in an open field, mind if I get another shot? I do have a strong Pokémon, but I've been worried about training in a safe area."
A smile came across Maleah's face. "Alright! Bring it!"
Logan gripped the dark colored Heavy Ball before expanding it and throwing it forward. Snorlax appeared, and she yawned before glancing around their small battlefield. She glared at Logan and then Persian before letting out an angry grumble.
Seshiru and Yurie both took a couple of steps back. They looked at each other as though Logan was insane.
"This is exciting!" Maleah said. "The big bad Snorlax has come to play!"
"Snorlax, use Headbutt!" Logan ordered.
But Snorlax did not use Headbutt. Instead, she used her powerful legs to jump into the air, and her body started to glow with a white energy as she descended.
"We can't fight back against that! Dodge!" Maleah yelled.
Persian obliged, and she jumped out of the way, escaping from Snorlax's shadow. But once Snorlax connected with the ground, the impact from her weight shook the battlefield, and Persian was flung backwards.
"Night Slash!"
Persian landed on her feet before she jumped forward while Snorlax tried to get back to a standing position. The Dark-type connected directly with Snorlax's face, but the larger Pokémon was not phased, only angered.
"Snorlax, use Headbutt!" Logan repeated.
This time, Snorlax lowered her head, and she bounded forward, shaking the entirety of the field with every step.
"Power Gem!"
Persian, with only seconds to use her attack, shot energy from the gem on her head. It blasted against Snorlax's large body, but the Normal-type pressed on, colliding with Persian directly. The feline Pokémon flew backwards, but before she could get far, Snorlax reached out, grabbed her tail, and then tossed her downwards. Persian's body crashed into the earth, and then Snorlax towered over her with a look of nothing but hate plastered on her face.
"That wasn't a move," Seshiru said. "That was simply an assault."
"Snorlax, listen to me!" Logan ordered. "Use Heavy Slam!"
Snorlax didn't listen. Instead she stepped forward and held out her foot, preparing to crush the Dark-type under her weight.
Logan quickly raised his Heavy Ball, sensing the honest danger that Snorlax currently was, but Maleah had other plans.
"Thunderbolt!"
From the smoke of Persian's crater, electricity cackled. It zapped into Snorlax's body, freezing her in place. Sparks emitted from her body as a paralysis condition set in, and she struggled as she tried to get back to a standing position.
"Persian, Play Rough!"
Persian jumped forward, her body glowing with a salmon colored energy. She swiftly struck Snorlax directly in the face, and then she landed back to the ground. Before Snorlax could counter-attack, Persian lunged forward once more, tackling the larger Pokémon in the gut. This time, Snorlax was injured by the strike, and to everyone's surprise, she fell backwards, landing in an unconscious slump.
Logan stared wide-eyed at his Pokémon. Snorlax wasn't sleeping but was instead knocked out. He slowly walked out on the field and examined her, and then, he let the red light withdraw Snorlax back into the Heavy Ball.
"That was a close one," Maleah said as she pet Persian on the head. "But I guess a well trained Pokémon can outclass one that is essentially still wild."
"Yeah," Logan muttered. He held the Heavy Ball tightly in his hand, still in disbelief that Persian was able to pick up the win so handily. "I guess I still have a lot of work to do."
Seshiru and Yurie both ran onto the field, and Yurie patted Logan the back, giving him a reassuring smile.
"I think that Snorlax actually needed this loss," Logan said. "It's sometimes best to be humbled, I think."
"And I've seen what you can do," Maleah said. "You'll have no problem getting Snorlax to come over, I think."
Yurie looked onto the battlefield, observing the destruction that Snorlax had done with only three attacks. Had the battle took place in the city, the damage would have been considerably more costly.
"How about we get to Saffron?" Seshiru suggested. "I'm hungry."
"Today's dish is tsukemen!" Yurie explained as the four all received their food. The server set down four plates with light brown noodles and one egg sliced down the middle. The server then followed those dishes with four small bowls filled with a dark brown soup. It had a thin piece of meat and small diced onions floating within.
Logan picked up the soup and took in a big whiff of it, smelling a concentrated soy scent. He grinned, knowing that he was in for something delicious.
"Don't drink the broth," Seshiru said. "It's too strong by itself."
Yurie nodded. "Take the noodles, dip them, and then slurp away!"
Maleah laughed as she put some of the noodles in her small broth bowl. "I think it's really cute how slurping your noodles shows respect in this part of the world." She looked at Logan. "I still don't have the hang of it though."
"Neither do I. It's a hard habit to get into," he replied.
The four then slurped away.
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
I think, since I live in Japan, this is the kind of chapter where I feel like I can offer something more than maybe other writers can with Pokémon fanfics. I imagine, since Celadon and Saffron are based off of the Tokyo area, that they'd pretty much merge into one another like Tokyo and its surrounding cities. You don't know when one city ends and the other begins.
So, Maleah. She'll be with the group for awhile (not permanently). I've been trying to think of effective ways to write the rivals this time around. I think I failed with writing Camille as an effective rival in Hoenn, so I'm gonna try to do better with Maleah and Sora in Kanto.
REVIEWS:
pokemonking0924 - "Another victory for Logan but it was a close call. Erika was calm and focused, I especially liked the strategies she used with Bellossom. I guess battling in front of a large crowd was too much for Charmanders first battle, guess Logan has help his newest fire type get over its stage fright and boost its confidence. Speaking of hard work Nidorans finally paid off with this gym victory and evolving into a Nidorino, although I do wonder what is up with his rivalry with Mightyena. Meanwhile it sounds like Logan has made zero progress with Snorlax, hopefully that will change in the next few weeks after this close battle." - One thing I'm really trying to do with Logan's team this time around is emphasize how difficult it can be to be a trainer. Nidorino is willing to fight, but he doesn't get along with Mightyena. Mightyena is exhausted. Snorlax is impossible to raise. And Charmander is too afraid to fight.
CrescentApple - "I saw the title and I thought "eek." Logan is a true American in my head. Cold pizza is good XD. Hmm, I confused Celadon City with Cerulean city. Ah well. Nidoran is impressive. Weak, but reliable. In this battle, when Logan sent out Nidoran I thought the only way the pokemon could pull a win was if he evolved. He is one step away from becoming Nidoking :) That's quite a loss for Charmander. Poor guy." - Cold pizza is the best. Logan doesn't know how to evolve Nidorino, so we might be awhile away from him evolving.
wisdom-jewel - "At least Yurie wants Logan to be healthy. She could have given him something like La Croix which is like drinking static. I do think it is too soon for him to call out Charmander. Both need to bond with each other. I do think Charmander is too shy and unsure of Logan. Like there is nothing for him to go on." - Their next battle together will be more easier on the Fire-type. And I've never had La Croix.
