"Starmie, Water Pulse!" The Mysterious Pokémon shot a blast of pulsating water at Brayden's Butterfree, causing the Butterfly Pokémon to faint.
"Butterfree is unable to battle! So the Gym Leader wins!" The Judge ruled.
"No!" Brayden cried in dismay. He had challenged Cerulean City's Gym Leader, Water type expert Misty, in hopes of obtaining his second Gym Badge. But though he had brought Misty down to her last Pokémon, his Squirtle, Pidgey and Butterfree were unable to defeat the powerful Water and Psychic type Starmie. Brayden grit his teeth and lowered his head as he recalled Butterfree.
"You're not half bad, kid," Misty said cheerfully. "I look forward to battling you again sometime."
"Sure…" Brayden said without looking at her. He exited the Gym and made his way back to the Pokémon Center.
Once his Pokémon were healed, Brayden sat down on a bench outside the Center and thought about what to do.
"I thought we would do okay if we just fought without fear, but it seems that won't work this time," he said to himself.
"Misty's Pokémon are all Water type. But Staryu and Starmie are also Psychic. Squirtle can use Bite, a Dark type move that's super effective against Psychic, so that's covered." Squirtle folded his arms and nodded.
"Water types are weak to Grass and Electric types, but I don't have one of those." Brayden sighed. If he had caught that Paras back in Mt Moon, it could've come in handy.
"Guess we better go look for one, guys. Let's try Route 24!" As he stood up, Pidgey shrieked. It didn't take long for Brayden to spot the cause.
"Well, well, well, what have we here? A baby and his loser Pokémon off to find some grass to roll in?" Blue jeered as he walked over.
"BLUE," Brayden growled.
Blue snickered. "So the wimp remembers me, eh? After we've been apart for over a week? Tell me, kid, was Mt Moon too scary for ya? Can't handle a few measly Zubat?" Brayden was furious. Blue had no idea what he had gone through. But he wasn't going to tell Blue anything.
"Actually, I was training my Pokémon," Brayden said pretentiously. "You don't REALLY think some Bat Pokémon would stop me, do you?" This wasn't entirely untrue. All of his Pokémon had gained a few levels during each unsuccessful attempt to pass through the cave, and Metapod had even evolved. And he was more fed up with Zubat than afraid of them. But this didn't matter to Blue.
"Yeah, whatever you say, kid," he said sarcastically, before turning to walk away. This caused Brayden to finally snap. "Oh, that is IT! I'm sick of your petty attitude! We're battling right now! And if you don't accept my challenge, I'll tell the whole world that the great ex-Champion Blue is a coward!" "Squirtle Squirt Squirtle!" Squirtle added, pointing at Blue.
Mankey stomped his feet and screamed at Blue. "MAN MAN MANKEY!"
Butterfree chimed in, flapping his wings furiously. "Free! Butterfree!"
Pidgey looked unsure at first, but seeing all his friends ready to fight, he built up the courage to join in. "Pidgey! Pidgey!"
Blue stopped. Hearing all of them daring him to fight hurt his ego and made him shake with anger. "ALL RIGHT!" He screamed in exasperation. He faced the five friends and walked back, eager to put them in their place. "I'll take your stupid challenge, kid. But don't expect any mercy for wasting my time! GO, FEAROW!" He threw a blue Poké Ball, and out of it came a big bird Pokémon with impressive wings and a long and sharp beak. "FEAROW!" It screeched.
Brayden pulled out the Pokédex to get its data. "Fearow. The Beak Pokémon. A Normal and Flying type. It shoots itself suddenly high in the sky, then plummets down in one fell swoop to strike its prey."
"That doesn't sound good," Brayden thought. "Well, let's fight an aerial battle, then! Go, Pidgey!" Pidgey flew in front of Brayden to await his battle commands.
Blue didn't hesitate to attack. "Fearow, use Drill Peck!" The Beak Pokémon charged at Pidgey beak first, spinning at high speed.
"Pidgey, Quick Attack!" Brayden shouted. Pidgey shot towards Fearow, and the two birds collided. "Piiidge!" Pidgey screeched as he hurtled to the ground. "Pidgey!" Brayden shouted. Pidgey had taken massive damage, but he managed to get back on his feet.
"HA HA! Only an idiot would fly right into Fearow's beak!" Blue teased.
Pidgey hung his head in shame. "Don't give up, Pidgey! You can do it! Use Gust!" Brayden commanded. The Tiny Bird Pokémon unleashed the mini tornado, and to his and Brayden's surprise, Blue didn't give Fearow a counter command. The winds struck Fearow, but the Beak Pokémon was unfazed.
"Alright, Fearow, punish that wimpy little bird Pokémon! Use Wing Attack!" Fearow screeched loudly again and smacked Pidgey with its wing. Pidgey collapsed onto the road, knocked out.
"No," Brayden whispered in dismay. Squirtle, Mankey and Butterfree were saddened at the sight of their little friend completely humiliated by Blue and his Fearow. As Brayden recalled Pidgey, he thought he could make out tears running down the Tiny Bird's face.
Blue chuckled to himself again. "You should've evolved that weakling. Maybe then it would've had a small chance." Brayden glared at him. "Mankey, it's your turn!"
"Mankey!" The Pig Monkey Pokémon cried as it leaped into position. On paper, this was a bad type matchup. Flying types have the advantage over Fighting types. But Brayden had a surprise for Blue.
Pewter City Pokémon Center, a week ago…
"Alright, let's head to Cerulean City next!" Brayden said to himself. But as soon as he had taken his first steps out of the Center, he heard someone call out to him. It was Brock! The Gym Leader ran up to Brayden, then took a moment to catch his breath.
"I…made it just in time. Phew!" Brock said.
"What's up, Brock? Do you have more words of advice for me?" Brayden asked him. Brock shook his head. "Actually, I have something I need to give you. Something I was supposed to give you with your Boulder Badge."
He held out what looked to be a CD. "It's called a TM, or Technical Machine. These are used to teach your Pokémon moves on the fly!"
Brayden was amazed. "Wow! That's awesome!"
Brock nodded. "Uh-huh. But they're still in an early prototype stage, so after you use one, it breaks. You can buy them at select Poké Marts or find them hidden on routes or in caves. And of course, each Gym Leader will give you one along with their badge when you defeat them."
Brayden took the TM and put it in a case in his backpack. "Thanks a lot, Brock! I promise I'll make good use of it."
Present Day…
Fearow, Drill Peck!" Blue commanded. Fearow charged towards Mankey with its beak.
Brayden grinned. "Mankey, Rock Tomb!"
"Man! Mankey!" Boulders appeared out of nowhere, and Mankey threw them at Fearow. The Rock Tomb smashed into the Flying type, causing it to screech in confusion. "Weren't expecting that, were you, Mr. Know-It-All?" Brayden taunted.
Blue's smirk had momentarily disappeared, but whatever Blue was feeling didn't last long. "So you taught Mankey a Rock move. That's something anyone with a brain would do! Besides, if you beat Brock, he would've given you that TM anyway."
Brayden grimaced. Of course! Blue beat Brock before, so he must've received a Rock Tomb TM as well! "Well, it doesn't matter if you know how Mankey learned it. We've got a super-effective move on our side, and one that lowers speed! Mankey, use Rock Tomb again!" Brayden exclaimed. "Man! Key!" Mankey cried.More boulders flew towards Fearow, but this time Blue was ready. "Fearow, Mirror Move!" The Beak Pokémon danced in the air, then more boulders appeared and intercepted Mankey's boulders.
"WHAT?!" Brayden screamed in disbelief. "Mankey, use Body Slam!" Mankey leaped high into the air and dropped towards Fearow. Blue gave his next command to Fearow: "Wing Attack!"
At the last moment, Fearow evaded the Body Slam and knocked Mankey away with its impressive wing. "MAAAAAAAANNN!" The Pig Monkey screamed in frustration as he fell back to the ground. "Now, Fearow, finish it with Assurance!" Blue shouted with relish.
Fearow dove after Mankey, screeching loudly as dark energy surrounded its beak. The second Mankey hit the ground, he was struck by Fearow's sharp beak.
"NO! MANKEY!" Brayden shouted. Squirtle and Butterfree were stunned into silence as Fearow flew back to Blue, leaving Mankey sprawled on the ground, moaning in pain, unable to continue battling. "But…how…? We had a super-effective move! We should've been able to win!" Brayden protested.
The older boy scoffed. "That's not all it takes to win battles, stupid. In fact, that last move was Dark type, which Fighting types like Mankey resist. Assurance deals double the damage if the victim was just hurt by the user." He chuckled once again. "Ready to give up now?" He said mockingly.
Brayden beginning to feel hopelessness. But Squirtle and Butterfree both stared at him with fire in their eyes. They were both ready and willing to take on Blue's fearsome Fearow, despite the odds. "Okay then," Brayden gathered his emotions, then straightened his cap. "Butterfree, I choose you!" The Butterfly Pokémon flew into position, looking absolutely fearless.
Blue shrugged and smirked. "Alright, then. Guess I need to go all out to make you understand how weak you are. Fearow, Drill Peck!" Another screech, and Fearow was zooming towards Butterfree.
"Let's try THIS! Use Double Team!" Brayden exclaimed. All of a sudden, Butterfree began moving back and forth at speed, and then he appeared to have duplicates. In actuality, these were just illusory copies created by Butterfree moving so quickly, effectively boosting the Butterfly Pokémon's evasion. Fearow crashed through one of them, dealing no damage to Butterfree.
"Now use Confusion!" Brayden commanded. Butterfree's eyes glowed, and the psychic waves bombarded the Beak Pokémon, causing significant damage. Blue was beginning to get annoyed. "What are you doing, Fearow?!" He yelled at the Flying type. "You don't want to lose to a little bug, do you?!"
Fearow screeched angrily in response, then soared high into the air. Brayden watched this and felt uneasy. "Butterfree, follow it! Then use Gust!" As Butterfree flew up after Fearow and prepared to use Gust, Fearow began to move very quickly around Butterfree. "Free? Free?" Butterfree said, confused.
Blue grinned. "Yes. Finally, it's mastered it!"
"Mastered what?" Brayden asked him.
"I'll show you! Fearow! AERIAL ACE!" Blue commanded. Fearow gave another loud screech as it moved even faster, then slashed Butterfree with its wing. "Freeeeee!" Butterfree screamed in pain as he fell back towards the ground.
"No! Not yet! Butterfree, Gust!" Brayden cried in panic. Butterfree managed to catch itself and send the tornado flying towards Fearow. But even though Butterfree's attack landed, Fearow was still flying. "Aerial Ace!" Blue ordered it.
"FEAR-OW!" Fearow screeched as it once again slashed Butterfree. "NOOOO!" "SQUIRTLE!" Brayden and Squirtle cried together. This time, Butterfree fell to the ground. He was knocked out, just the same as Pidgey and Mankey.
Brayden returned Butterfree to his Poké Ball. Three of his Pokémon had been defeated by Blue's lone Fearow. Brayden couldn't believe this was happening. Rage and sadness consumed him. He wanted to quit in frustration, but he just couldn't. If he ran away, Blue would never accept him as a good Trainer. Brayden owed it to his Pokémon to at least defeat that Fearow. Squirtle seemed to know that these were Brayden's thoughts, because he was acting differently. Instead of being angry, or sad, or afraid, Squirtle was seriously determined.
"Squirtle Squirtle. Squirt, Squirtle." He said to Brayden. This meant: "We'll beat this bird, together. I know we will." Brayden nodded. "Time to go all out!" Brayden exclaimed.
Nearby, something was watching this uphill battle. It had been drawn over from Route 24 by the sounds of human and Pokémon screaming, and was now watching Brayden with curiosity. "Odd?" It said.
Cliffhanger! Will Brayden and Squirtle work out a miracle and defeat Blue? Who or what is watching Brayden? And will Brayden ever get his second Gym Badge? The answers to come, as Brayden's journey continues!