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 Sixty-Three: Red and the Item Finder
With a new Pokémon, it only made sense to train it, test out its synergy with its Trainer, work on building a rapport, a friendship with one another. Which is why Red chose to delay his Gym Battle by a few days, to get used to working with Gyarados, since she now completely changed the game when it came to dealing with Cinnabar Gym's Fire-types.
Most of the training came on the beach, where they tested out new strategies he wanted her to learn and where they were inundated with alerts on the Vs. Seeker; a lot of Trainers with their own Vs. Seekers came forward with challenges, which Gyarados saw off with ease, Hydro Pumping a few and Biting more. And even the others joined in on the battles too, with Fire Spins and Zippy Zaps and Twineedles and Body Slams and Bonemerangs running riot. A lot of experience for his team (not to mention the tidy sum he received from these victories).
Yet, there had to be more places to train, didn't there?
There was a volcano, Cinnabar was famous for it, and there would be a lot of Fire-types to practice against, but only Charmeleon and Snorlax would truly be comfortable training there.
Wait a second! What about that mansion Leaf told him about? He could sneak in and battle some of the wild Fire-types there, maybe a Trainer or two who had the same idea as he did. Besides, he was rewarded for exploring the Seafoam Islands. He could afford to go to Cinnabar Mansion as well.
And that is exactly what he did, climbing through a shattered window.
Cinnabar Mansion was as creepy as Leaf said, decrepit, ruined, evidence of a raging fire everywhere, so visceral, so haunting Red could smell the smoke. He thought he could also hear screams.
He and Pikachu crept through the mansion, the floorboards creaking, stair bannisters covered in a coat of dust, chairs and tables rotten and burnt.
There were wild Pokémon too, the likes of Raticate, Vulpix, and Koffing, all what Leaf told him she found here, but they left him alone and he did not have the heart to challenge them to a battle. He would wait for one to come to him.
And one did. A Grimer that burped poison at him and Pikachu, which was immediately defeated by a single Zippy Zap. Not very impressive. The next one was, though.
It was a Fire-type, that much was obvious; the flames atop two lumps on its forehead gave Red a vague hint that was the case. Below the lumps were its eyes and below its eyes was a yellow beak. Its body was a mix of red and yellow, its tail was yellow too with a flame at the end of it, like Charmeleon's, red spikes ran down its back, its arms were covered in jagged red scales, it had two clawed toes and five clawed fingers, and around its neck and ankles were metal shackles, blackened by the heat it exuded.
Magmar, a Fire-type Pokémon, and the evolved form of Magby. Its body always burns with a fiery glow that enables it to hide perfectly among flames.
The Magmar thumped its fist into its palm.
"You want to battle, huh?" Red said. "Fine by me. How about we fight fire with fire? I'll use Gyarados a bit later. Charmeleon, I choose you."
Charmeleon whacked his tail against the floor, bringing up dust that circled around his flame. The Magmar breathed embers from its beak and flexed its arms. It ran forward, arm pulled back and went for a Mega Punch at Charmeleon's head.
Charmeleon simply caught it.
Magmar's other fist was free. It rammed it into the side of Charmeleon's face.
If it hurt or not, Charmeleon did not reveal it. Instead, at Red's command, he dished out a Dragon Breath that caught Magmar point-blank. A Metal Claw knocked it away and a Flame Charge left it unconscious on the floor.
Charmeleon puffed out his chest, gladly accepting a hug from his Trainer, and shared a high-five with Pikachu.
More battles would do them the world of good, wouldn't it? Perhaps he could use the Vs. Seeker to locate a few Trainers who possessed one, too, in the vicinity? He activated it, and it immediately began beeping.
"There's already someone nearby," Red said to Charmeleon and Pikachu.
Indeed, there was, and someone came skidding around the corner, a familiar face Red had not expected to see in such a place.
"Fancy seeing you here, Red," Kiiroshi said, getting over the shock of seeing him rather quickly and gliding up to him and giving him a hug. William the Golduck followed, looking a little worse for wear, but able to march confidently. "How have you all been?"
"We've been well," Red said, returning the hug. "We got the Soul Badge, and now we're training to get Cinnabar's. How are things with you?"
"Things have been amazing," Kiiroshi said. "I'm close to getting all the Badges, so I decided to come back to Cinnabar for a bit of light training. But maybe we've been going in a bit too hard, eh, William?"
William shrugged, as if to say it was nothing, although the wincing would beg to differ.
"But that's not all," Kiiroshi said. She put her lips close to Red's ear and whispered, "I've been searching for rare items too and thought a place like this would have lots of hidden goodies, wouldn't you say?"
"Probably," Red said. "Have you had any luck?"
"I've found a few things," Kiiroshi said with a shrug. "A couple Revives, a Lure or two, maybe a couple of Dire Hits. I think the best item I found was a Hyper Potion though. Just items you can buy. Nothing rare. But I'm hoping this Item Finder will come good soon."
"What's an Item Finder?" Red asked.
"It's just as the name says," Kiiroshi explained. "It's a device that helps you find hidden items. Here, let me show you."
From her backpack she pulled out two black metal sticks and attached to each were a yellow ball at one end and handles with numerous buttons at the other end. One of the metal sticks had a white device wrapped around it. Pikachu sniffed it.
"It doesn't look like much," Kiiroshi admitted. "And that's because it's…" Her eyebrows knitted together as she tried to think of the right word to use. "It's because it's archaic. This one's pretty old, I don't even think they make it anymore. What everyone else is using now is the Dowsing Machine."
"Is a Dowsing Machine much better than an Item Finder?" Red asked.
"In my opinion, yes," Kiiroshi said, tapping the two parts of the Item Finder together. "This is pretty awkward because it's a hassle to keep taking it out every time you want to use it, you know, it's clunky and awkward. It's not even that accurate; it gives you the vague, general idea of where an item is, but you have to do the searching yourself. I mean, look at this, Red."
She pressed a button on one of the handles and the yellow spheres lit up. A thin stream of electricity ran from one to the other, like a thread. The Item Finder hummed.
"You have to keep it steady and not break the connection," Kiiroshi said, turning slowly on the spot, arms shaking. "I'm not good at it. But the Dowsing Machine is a lot more usable. It's like a set of headphones with these weird antennas on top, easy to wear and easy to use."
"How come you've got that instead of a Dowsing Machine, then?" Red asked.
"It was a gift," Kiiroshi said. "I helped a scientist out, and he rewarded me with it. I think he said he was one of Professor Oak's aides. Maybe you know him?"
"Probably," Red said. "I went to the professor's lab loads of times as a kid, and I used to speak to all his aides. Actually, they used to speak to me. Actually, they used to tell me off. Me and Blue, that is. Leaf was always the good one."
The Item Finder's humming grew louder, the yellow lights' luminosity increased, and the thread of electricity thickened. "Oh," Kiiroshi said, "we've got an item somewhere over here. Want to help me search, Red?"
"Sure," Red said, and he, Pikachu, and William scoured the surrounding area with Kiiroshi, hoping to discover a super rare item.
Kiiroshi found it. Her face fell. "It's just a Guard Spec. I guess I like the idea of an enemy now lowering my team's stats, but that's why you teach a Pokémon Mist." She sighed. "I should save up my money for a Dowsing Machine when they're finally available here."
"I mean, it's still better than nothing," Red said. "At least it tells you there's an item about, instead of you just walking past it. Maybe one of these days you'll get something rare."
"You have a point," Kiiroshi said. She pursed her lips, and then, as if hit by a bolt of inspiration, handed Red the metal rods. "Here, you use them. Let's see if you'll have better luck than me."
Red's face lit up. "Whoa, really, Kiiroshi? Gee, thanks." He swished them through the air, liking the weight and the way they felt. "All right, let's go and find some rare items."
A Potion is not rare.
Neither is a Burn Heal.
Nor an Ice Heal.
A Full Heal was much better than the previous three, however still not rare.
They did find a couple of Trainers as well, but Red and Kiiroshi put them to the sword rather quickly.
"Not a lot," Kiiroshi said, looking at Red's spoils. "I would've thought there'd be something valuable in an old place like this."
"People seem to come in and out of this place," Red said, standing over the edge of a set of stairs. "They've probably taken all the stuff that wasn't destroyed by the fire over the years. Even Leaf has explored here."
Kiiroshi pouted. "Bummer. Maybe we should just call it a day. How about we have a battle instead?"
"That sounds awesome," Red said, still holding the Item Finder aloft. "I can get my revenge for Cyan…"
Oh, you rude Item Finder. The two Trainers were perfectly ready to end their treasure hunt, but you just had to alert them to another item you detected. Red and Kiiroshi had no intention of heading down the stairs to where the alert was coming from, but they were young and curious and who knew what the Item Finder had discovered. They and their Pokémon rushed down the stairs.
"This place is creepy," Kiiroshi said, flinching at the sight of so much broken glass and dark stains on the floor.
"Yeah," Red said, the hair on the back of his neck standing up. "We'll just get what the Item Finder found and be on our way."
Red tried to keep his focus on the Item Finder, which hummed louder and louder, yellow light almost blinding him as he neared whatever it was it had found. And there they were, disguised amongst rubble, four greyish-silvery stones that emitted an energy he could sense.
"Hey, Kiiroshi," he said, setting the Item Finder down and picking up the stones. "Evolution Stones?"
Kiiroshi's face brightened. "Yeah, they are. They're Moon Stones, but you'd only get them in Mt. Moon here in Kanto. What are they doing here?" She stared around at her surroundings. "This looks like a science sort of place. Maybe they got them from Mt. Moon for experiments or something?"
"Oh, yeah," Red said, snapping his fingers as a memory came back to him. "Leaf explored here too. This was a science sort of place."
"Did Leaf say what they were doing here?"
"She mentioned it in passing, but I don't think she was too sure."
Kiiroshi eyed what was once a giant tube, filled with dangling and broken wires. "Well, we actually found some cool items. Maybe we should go."
"Yeah," Red said, a clammy, cold feeling taking hold of his chest, the air seeming to solidify around him, silent screams of another era ringing in his ears. He deposited the Moon Stones into his rucksack and grabbed the Item Finder.
Red, Pikachu, Kiiroshi, and William hurried up the stairs, all the way to the main floor, and Red suddenly realised he was holding his breath. He took a grateful gulp of fresh air (well, as fresh as the air of a long-abandoned building could be).
"Well, today was fun, wasn't it, Red?" Kiiroshi said. "Lots of items we could just buy cheap from the PokéMart, but the Moon Stones were worth it, weren't they?"
"Totally," Red said, casting a guarded eye towards the stairs. "You can't buy them at the Celadon Department Store. I can evolve Clefairy now if she wants to."
"That's awesome," Kiiroshi said, giving Red a warm smile. "A tougher rival for me to beat. And you can use the rest of them if you ever get other Pokémon that evolve with them."
Red pursed his lips. "That's true. Except…" He reached into his rucksack and pulled out one of the Moon Stones. "Here, Kiiroshi."
"What?" Kiiroshi said, catching the Moon Stone and giving Red a funny look.
"I wouldn't have gotten the Moon Stones without your Item Finder." He chuckled. "I wouldn't have even known they were here if it wasn't for you. I mean, I might've still found the Potion and all that, but not the Moon Stones. I owe you at least that."
"Red, I can't…"
"Just take it," Red said earnestly. "Evolve a Pokémon if you have it, turn it into a necklace, keep it by your bedside, but just take it as thanks."
Kiiroshi playfully rolled her eyes and stowed the Moon Stone away. "If you insist. Who knows, maybe when we meet at the Pokémon League, I'll have a Nidoking that'll sweep you. You've doomed yourself."
"That'll just make it a lot more fun," Red said, wiggling his eyebrows in a cocky fashion. "The tougher our opponent, the stronger we fight, right?"
"Exactly," Kiiroshi said, giggling. "Speaking of which, how about we have that battle? Just a quick one though. I didn't realise what the time was."
"Let's do it," Red said, handing Kiiroshi back her Item Finder.
She refused to take it back. "You're better at using it than me," she said, shoving it back to Red. "Besides, I'm going to get a proper Dowsing Machine, so I won't need it. I'd rather it not go to waste if it can still be useful to someone." She wrapped both arms around Red and pulled him close until they were almost nose to nose. "A gift exchange between friends. Doesn't that sound super cool?"
"It does," Red said, staring back into her buttercup yellow eyes. "So, how about we get this battle started?"
Kiiroshi returned William and called out Sergio the Tauros, who mooed ferociously. Red's warrior was Gyarados, whose shriek caused the flimsy windowpanes to clatter.
The opponents gave each other intimidating stares.
"You caught a Gyarados?" Kiiroshi asked. "I would've thought the one trying to kill you would've put you off the species."
"Uh," Red said, rubbing the back of his head. "This Gyarados is the one that was trying to kill us. We're buddies now, right, Gyarados?"
Gyarados gave him a quick nod before focusing her attention back on Sergio.
"No kidding," Kiiroshi said, voice laced with amusement. "Well, I can't wait to see how you and Gyarados work together."
The battle commenced with a Bite from Gyarados.
"Strength!" Kiiroshi commanded.
Sergio saved himself from having Gyarados' fangs sink into him by ramming his horns into her jaw with the strength a tank.
Kiiroshi pressed her advantage. "Double-Edge."
As Gyarados reeled from Strength, Sergio rammed into her with the force of a small bomb, a devastating attack that knocked her into a wall, sending part of it crumbling under her weight.
But Sergio was not left unscathed from it. He put as much energy as he could into the blow, yet it was not a sophisticated technique, an explosion of power that made him moan in discomfort as he suffered the physical consequences of using Double-Edge, his body raw and bruised from using such a risky tackle.
Taking advantage of Sergio's discomposure, Gyarados gave him a face full of a Dragon Rage and followed up by a Hydro Pump that almost took his head off.
The battle was ferocious.
The battle was tough.
However, the battle ended without a winner as the two Trainers decided a draw would be a fair result considering the day was growing ever shorter and they had made a right mess of what remained of Cinnabar Mansion.
"Today was great," Kiiroshi said once they got back to the Pokémon Centre. "I'm glad I got to meet you again, Red."
"Yeah," Red said. "Today was a whole lot better than I thought it was going to be. And thanks for the Item Finder."
"No problem," Kiiroshi said, cheeks flushed with apparent happiness. "Thank you for the Moon Stone."
Red smiled. "How about we get something to eat? And then we can just sort of relax and hang out until bedtime."
"Sounds great. So, are you taking on the Cinnabar Gym tomorrow?"
"Yep," Red said. "Do you want to come and watch?"
Kiiroshi grimaced apologetically. "Sorry. I'm heading out early tomorrow. Which sucks because I want to watch you battle against a tough opponent, I mean I'm not counting those ones you battled in Cyan." She winked at him. "You're still my rival after all. I want to learn everything about your battling style so I can beat you."
"Oh well," Red said, deflating a tad. "At least we can still have fun for the rest of today."
"Totally."
And they did, and it made Red be glad for the hundredth time he had gone on this journey, that, despite all the bad things he had come across, there was also a lot of good.
Like all the new friends he had made, human and Pokémon.
o~o~o~o~o
"Are we in the right place, Pikachu?" Red asked, gazing at everything.
Red was certain he had entered the Cinnabar Gym – it had said so on a sign outside and even on the building itself – but it was unlike any Gym he had been in before. There were tonnes of seats filled with many people and their Pokémon, a murmur of excitement rising from them as they looked to the stage, which was in the form of a battlefield. There were cameras everywhere, as though a television show was about to be shot. Everything was bright and colourful and decorated with flame motifs and question marks.
"Um, excuse me," Red said to a lady holding a clipboard whose blazer was emblazoned with a blazing flame. "Is this really the Cinnabar Gym?"
"Yes, it is," she said, her nametag telling Red she was called Erif. "Are you here to take part in the show?"
"Er, no. I'm here for a Gym Battle."
"Ah, another League challenger." She analysed her clipboard. "Well, that changes the schedule for today."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, Blaine is not just a Gym Leader, but also the host of the popular gameshow, Blaine's Fiery Hot Quizzes ("Oh yeah," Red said.). Usually, people who want to take part book in and come on the show. However, since Blaine is a Gym Leader, that takes priority, so we move everything back so we can show our viewers an amazing battle."
"Ah, I get it, so… wait a minute. What do you mean 'show our viewers an amazing battle'?" Red asked.
"We showcase all Blaine's Gym battles on TV," Erif said. "Didn't you know that?"
"I didn't."
"Does it bother you?"
Red pondered it for a moment. "Nope. If I'm going to be in the Pokémon League, then I'm going to be on TV anyway."
Erif grinned. "I like that attitude. Now, to face Blaine, you must –"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Red said, waving his hands. "I have to do something to take on Blaine? How come?"
"Most Gyms tend to do it," Erif said with a casual shrug. "The Vermilion Gym has those switches, I think, and Celadon has that maze you've got to get through if I remember correctly. Besides, the viewers like it. The ratings have been through the roof since we incorporated it. Now, if you want to take on Blaine, you must answer his trivia questions – riddles are just for the show – and if you get one right, you receive a Blaine doll and can move on. If you get one wrong, you have to battle a Gym Trainer and defeat them before you can move on.
"Are you still in for it?"
It sounded tricky, but it was not like the previous Gyms were easy pickings. Even his most recent one in the form of Koga had the invisible walls and those ninjas popping in and out of nowhere. He could and would do it, and he told Erif as such.
"Excellent!" she said. "Could you please give me your name, hometown, and number of current Badges?"
Red did so.
"Thank you. Now, if you please, would you like to head onto the stage. We will begin shortly."
Red marched past the seats, Pikachu riding on his shoulder, and stood before the stage, a little unsure if he should actually step onto it. But Erif nodded encouragingly at him from the side, and he climbed up and took his place at the challenger's side. No sooner did he do that did a bald man wearing sunglasses step from behind a curtain.
"Welcome, everybody!" he proclaimed. "I hope you are all doing well! I am your host and the Gym Leader, Blaine! Are we ready for some more fun with Blaine's Fiery Hot Quizzes?"
A roar went up from the crowd.
"Great!" Blaine said. "But before we get on with the show, we've got a Gym challenger who wishes to face me! Are we ready for that?"
Another roar from the crowd.
"The challenger we have today is a young man called…" Blaine stared at a card he had pulled from his pocket. His eyebrows rose above his sunglasses and the hint of a smile rose on his lips. "Red from Pallet Town. Well, everyone, I think we're all in for a treat." Blaine grinned at Red. "Are you ready to get this started, Red? I know I am. I've been waiting for this."
"I'm ready," Red said, wondering if his reputation had preceded him once again. Either way, he was going into this match full throttle.
He was going to blow Blaine away.
