Disclaimer: I do not own nor am I affiliated with Pokémon or any of its parent companies. I am merely a humble storyteller. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy this journey with me.
Note: I am English, so some of the wording, spellings, and expressions will be those commonly used in England.
Chapter Eleven: Getting Stronger!
"Let's go, guys!" Red roared. "Let's give it our all!"
Red was sweating, his arm aching and rewrapped in clean bandages, adrenaline spiking through his body. And if he felt like that, he could only imagine how his Pokémon were feeling: Charmander slashed his claws, his swipes tearing through the air, an occasional sheen flashing here and there; Pikachu slammed his tail repeatedly into a rock, chipping away at it; Weedle launched ropes of String Shot at Kingler's bigger claw, wrapping it in a white cocoon, and shooting more off when Kinger snapped through it. They had been at it a few days now.
Mint watched on, analysing everyone, her face stoic.
"Charmander keeps reverting back to Scratch," Mint told Red. "It's almost there, but it keeps losing its concentration. Do you want Kingler to demonstrate it again?"
"That would be helpful," Red said, running over to Charmander.
"Right," Mint said. "Let's go, Kingler."
Kingler scuttled over to Mint, once again breaking free of Weedle's String Shot. Weedle paid no heed, shivering, curling into a ball.
"Watch carefully," Mint told Red and Charmander. "Okay, Kingler, Use Metal Claw."
Kingler raised his claw, and its orange colour transformed into the shiny grey of metal. He slammed it into the ground, bringing up stones and dust, causing Flying-types roosting in the nearby trees to fly away in alarm, creating a crater.
"Whoa," Red said, his voice hushed.
"Just like that," Mint said. She knelt beside Charmander. "Did you see that? It's not a matter of simply stiffening your hand. You've got to bring forth that Steel-type energy. Just like when you use Ember, you know it's a Fire-type attack. With Metal Claw, you have to know it's a Steel-type move. Did you see Kingler's eyes? Even though he can use it flawlessly, you can see the amount of concentration he puts into it."
Charmander flexed his claws, staring hard at them.
"You can do it, buddy," Red said, squatting behind him. "Like Mint said, it's a Steel-type move. It's not Scratch. Your claws won't ache after slashing a few Rock-types."
Charmander nodded. The two humans got to their feet and stepped back; Kingler clicked his claws in support for the little lizard; Pikachu stopped swinging his tail at the rock and watched; Weedle shook more violently than before.
Before Charmander stood a post, old and rusted, the sign perched on top illegible and forgotten. This would be its final use. Charmander scrunched up his face, lowered his head, and raised his hand. His claws shone with a metallic gleam, and he flew forward. With a swipe, the sign was gone, felled, never to be remembered. But above its corpse stood a Pokémon that had made its best attempt at a new technique.
"That was awesome, Charmander!" Red exclaimed, jumping up and down, whooping.
"Try it again, Charmander," Mint said immediately.
And once more Charmander raked his metallic claws through the remains of the sign, leaving nothing but sliced metal.
"Again!" Mint ordered.
Charmander swiped his claws through the air, as metallic and sharp as a sword.
Mint gave a low whistle. "Three times in a row, huh? That's nothing to sneeze at."
Red sneezed.
"Bless you," she said. "I'm kind of happy with Charmander's Metal Claw. What about you, Red?"
"I'm happy with it too," Red said, nodding. "Just keep practicing it, buddy, and maybe later we'll work on that other attack."
Charmander grinned as he set to work, proceeding to use multiple Metal Claws in a row.
"Pikachu looks like he's got it down," Red said, jerking his head in the Electric-types direction, where he had gone back to smashing the rock with his lightning bolt-shaped tail.
"Totally," Mint concurred. "And maybe one day Rock Smash can become Brick Break or even Iron Tail."
"Yeah," Red said. He called out to Pikachu: "You hear that, Pikachu? We're going to get even more moves after this."
Pikachu ignored him and continued slamming his tail into the rock.
"Got a bit of an attitude, hasn't he?" Mint said.
"No, he's good," Red said, choosing his words with great care. "He's just, er… intensely concentrating on making Rock Smash perfect. Keep going, buddy!"
"Sure," Mint said, her voice laced with disbelief.
And now it was Weedle's turn. And… oh dear! What was happening? Red called out her name and rushed to her side. She was no longer silent, instead squealing, and she was vibrating so much Red could not lift her from the ground.
"Mint!" he screamed. "Mint! Something's wrong with Weedle! We need to take her to the Pokémon Centre!"
However, instead of getting caught up in Red's anxiety, Mint placed a hand on Red's shoulder and shushed him. "It's nothing to worry about," she said. "You've evidently never seen an evolution before."
"Evolution?" Red breathed. "This is an evolution?"
Weedle let out a final shriek and became cloaked in a white light, so blinding Red had to look away. It lasted no more than a few seconds, but it felt much longer, and when Red looked back, his Weedle was gone. In her place was a Kakuna.
The majesty of Evolution was replaced by the cold dread that Kakuna was one stage off a Beedrill. Red's wrist throbbed, and he forced himself to pick Kakuna up, remembering the promise he made to himself, that fear would not bind him.
"This is awesome, Kakuna," Red murmured. "You're our first evolved Pokémon."
Kakuna simply stared at him, its black eyes filled with all the love it could muster in its new semi-immobile body.
"It must have gained a lot of experience just from the training," Mint observed. "Not surprising since it doesn't take much for a Weedle to evolve."
"Why's it called evolution?" Red asked, suddenly struck by a random thought. "I thought that meant –"
"Change over millions of years? Yeah, I know. In reality, Pokémon Evolution is more of a metamorphosis, you know, an instant change. But I personally think that's a tedious and hard word to say, so maybe that's why it's not used. I don't actually know."
"I kind of think metamorphosis sounds cooler," Red said.
Mint patted Kingler on his crowned head. "I remember when Kingler here evolved. What a day. Do you remember?" she asked her Pokémon. "Remember that Scyther we beat?"
Kingler clicked his claws happily, and Mint gave him a big hug.
"So, Charmander and Pikachu will have to battle and train all the time and then they'll evolve too?" Red asked.
"Charmander will," Mint said, tearing herself from her Kingler. "But Pikachu needs an item called a Thunder Stone to evolve. There are lots of Pokémon that don't evolve just by gaining battle experience."
"Whoa," Red said. He faced Pikachu. "We'd better be on the lookout for a Thunder Stone, right buddy?"
The glare Pikachu shot him sent a chill down his spine. He chalked it up to nothing but this little Electric-type being exhausted, and turned his attention back to Kakuna. "Can Kakuna battle?" he asked.
"Totally," Mint said. "And it's learned Harden too, that I know for sure. Just remember: it's a lot more defensive now, not as agile as a Weedle and definitely nowhere near the speed of a Beedrill."
"Right." For one wild moment, Red considered if Kakuna could endure the super-effective attacks from Brock's Rock-types while she chipped away at their heath with poison. No, it was a silly idea. Someone like Brock would have contingency plans for that sort of thing.
"Well, then," Mint said, cracking her fingers. "You ready to get some more training done?"
Red, roused from his thoughts, nodded. "Yeah. I want to test out Kakuna's Harden. And maybe work on that other move for Charmander."
"We can test it out," Mint said. "But Metal Claw is still the main focus."
"Right," Red said again, and the training commenced once more.
o~o~o~o~o
One ring. Two rings. Three rings.
She answered on the fourth. "Hi, Brock," the red-headed girl on screen said. "Bit late to be calling, isn't it?"
"Sorry about that, Misty," Brock said. "I just wanted to ask if you got that memo from the Pokémon League."
The girl called Misty sighed, a long, drawn-out sigh. "Yep. I don't understand why they don't just replace him. There's plenty of powerful Trainers who would make for a great Gym Leader."
"I agree," Brock said. "But at least they've got a temporary Gym Leader replacement now set up at the Viridian Trainer School; it's still in Viridian so that's a plus."
"I still think Johto Badges should count to our Pokémon League," Misty said. "I mean, we share our Elite Four, so why shouldn't at least one Badge from there count?"
"I get where you're coming from," Brock said. "But I think they're not doing it because it would bring into question whether or not Badges from other regions should count."
"But we share an Elite Four with Johto," Misty repeated, her voice rising. "We don't share an Elite Four with the other regions." She groaned and leaned back in her chair. "Why is the Pokémon League so incompetent? Seriously, just get rid of Viridian's Gym Leader, create a new Elite Four for Johto, and everyone will be happy. Or am I being dumb? Is there something I'm not seeing here?"
"I don't get it either," Brock said. "I don't personally think the Elite Four lark is a problem, but that Gym Leader is. I bet he's going to receive sanctions in the near future."
Misty smiled. It was forced, but still a smile. "We can only hope." She tugged at her ponytail, and this time her smile was sweeter. "Can I expect any strong challengers coming my way, Brock? I've had a few come from Saffron, but no one from your way yet."
The atmosphere lightened at once. "There's this one guy who should hit Cerulean soon. Professor Oak's grandson would you believe. Incredible Trainer. Really cocky, though."
"I look forward to beating him already," Misty laughed. "Anyone else?"
"I haven't lost to anyone else yet apart from this girl who's not actually headed for the Pokémon League. Although, there was this boy I beat recently. The battle was surprisingly short and anticlimactic, but his Pokémon were weak, and both had type disadvantages against my guys. Still…"
"He has potential?" Misty surmised.
"Yeah," Brock said. "You wouldn't think so from how the battle went, but he has this, I don't know, this sort of spark, this fire in his belly. Considering he survived a Beedrill onslaught, it's not startling."
"He what!"
"Yeah," Brock said, flashing a grin despite the horrors the of aftermath the attack provided, namely Red's wrist. "This boy – Red's his name – has got drive. I want to battle him again."
"He sounds…" Misty began, thinking of a word suitable enough to use. "… nice," she finished lamely.
"He is," Brock said. "Now, Misty, tell me about your challengers. Are you on a winning streak? Or have you given out any Cascade Badges yet?"
Misty playfully insulted him, and the duo spoke for another half an hour until it was time for them to head off to bed, ready and rearing for the next day's new challengers.
