Chapter Three
It rained all night. I mean, it rained. Rain pelted the windows like bullets as they fell from the murky sky in thick sheets. Lightening streaked through the clouds and lit the sky up in dazzling flashes of white and orange, with thunder crashing with the sound and explosive force of a sonic boom. From miles away, the faint howl of wild Growlithes could be heard as they dashed for cover from the torrential downpour. However, when I awoke the next morning, none of this storm was to be seen. The sky was a clean, pale blue with a beautifully shining sun peeking over the mountain range in the east. Fluffy, cumulus clouds floated above the Center like huge canopies of white snow. Looking out my window, I saw a large, multicolored bird flying lazily overhead.
"What the heck is that?" I asked my pokédex, aiming it at the bird.
"No entry found." it beeped. "There are some pokémon yet to be identified."
I watched the mysterious bird fly into the distance and got ready for the day. I headed down to the cafeteria and was happy to find that pancakes had been made for breakfast. My pokémon and I ate our fill and headed out into the lobby. I looked at a large map of the city, trying to find where the Gym was when a Chansey wheeling a huge cart full of pokéballs tripped and sent the cart careening into a wall. The pokéballs fell from the cart and rolled across the floor.
I quickly helped the Chansey gather up the pokéballs, wondering where they all came from.
"What's with all the pokémon coming in today?" I asked.
"They're all from Viridian City." Nurse Joy said as she helped get all of the pokéballs. "They were sent here because the Pokémon Center there was destroyed during a fight between some trainers and Team Rocket. These are the last pokémon to arrive from there."
"That's awful." I said as I watched the Chansey wheel the cart away.
I headed out of the pokémon center and rode off to the Gym. I arrived there in a few minuets, thanks to the directions from the Center's map. I walked inside and saw a guy about my age sitting Indian style on top of one of the many boulders that dotted the Gym.
"Do you know where the Gym Leader is?" I asked him.
"I'm the Gym Leader here." he said as he jumped down from the boulder.
"You're Brock?" I asked.
"You think I'm not?"
"Well, no. It's just that I thought all Gym Leaders were adults."
"Looks like you thought wrong. Are you here for a badge?"
"Of course."
"Then let's go. One pokémon each."
Brock pulled out a pokéball and threw it into the center of the room.
"Go Geodude!" he cried as a little boulder with a face and arms came out of the pokéball.
"A rock type huh?" I said, looking at the pokémon. "Okay then, go Squirtle!"
I sent in my Squirtle and saw Brock grimace. He knew that Geodude wouldn't stand a chance against a water type pokémon.
"Geodude, tackle!"
"Let's have a water gun Squirtle!"
Geodude launched itself at Squirtle, but was shot, rolling backwards by the force of the water. It crashed into the far wall and fell unconscious.
"That was fast." Brock said, returning his Geodude. "Here. Take this and leave."
Brock tossed me a Boulder Badge and walked out of the Gym towards the pokémon center. I had finally gotten my first badge! I pinned it inside of my shirt and rode happily away. After that, I spent the rest of the day looking around town, buying a few remedies for my pokémon and basically having a good time. I slept at the Pokémon Center that night and started of towards Cerulean City the next day.
Okay, long story short, I arrived in Cerulean in a week or so and beat one of the three Gym Leaders there without a sweat. They were the most stuck up girls I ever met. They reminded me a lot of Gary, who they said had beaten them just a few hours prior to our battle. I guess Gary had been so sure of himself that he was taking his own sweet time getting to each of the cities. Walking around Cerulean City the next day , I saw a newspaper stand with the headline "Cerulean City Gym Leaders Defeated Three Tines In A Row" written on one of the papers. I guess that Kyle, the third trainer from Pallet, had gotten here yesterday. I bought the paper and was angered by the fact that the paper said that Gary Oak, and two other trainers defeated the Cerulean Sisters.
"I don't believe it!" I cried as I read the article. "Two other trainers? We have names you know!"
"You were one of the other trainers?" the man running the newsstand asked me.
"Yes."
"You're right, they should've mentioned your's and the other one's names"
"I'm glad to hear that someone agrees with me."
"By the way, do you know Gary Oak? He's such a big star, and I'd love to meet him..."
Groaning, I handed the paper to a man who was digging around in his pockets for change to buy one and walked away. Gary this, Gary that. If those people knew what he was really like, I bet they wouldn't want to meet him so badly.
My next stop was Vermilion City, which I reached in a few days, vis transit bus. Now that was the way to travel. No pedaling, just sitting back and relaxing while watching telephone poles go whizzing by. Making a brief stopover at a truck stop/all night diner, I was able to capture a Koffing, which was hovering around a dumpster behind the diner. That made five pokémon captured. Soon, I would have to start having to send my pokémon to Prof. Oak back in Pallet Town. After arriving in Vermilion, I was able to get in some battles with some other trainers and my Pidgey evolved into Pidgeotto during a battle with a Sandshrew. I dropped by the Vermilion City Gym and defeated the huge Lt. Surge's Raichu using my Pidgeotto, Oddish, and Koffing. The battle finally ended when Raichu's thunder shock attack ignited some of Koffing's poisonous gasses, causing a backdraft and burning Raichu pretty badly.
After receiving my third badge, I dropped by the pokémon center to get my pokémon healed. I stayed up in a room for the rest of the day, watching pokémon matches on the T.V.
I stayed in Vermilion for a few days and kept on training my pokémon. My Oddish evolved into Gloom on my third day there and my Beedrill learned Pin Missile. On my fourth day there, I was walking around the docks, looking at all of the huge cruise ships when two blonde girls came up to me and gave me a free ticket to go on a cruise on the St.. Anne cruise liner. They said that they had forgotten that they had dates with their boyfriends and needed to get rid of a ticket. Well, one of them said that. The other just stood their saying "Coooool!"
Anyway, I was given a free ticket for the St. Anne ocean liner. I checked my bike in at the pokémon center and headed back to the shipyard. I hurried down to the southern area of the docks to find a huge ship with the name St.. Anne painted on the hull in gold lettering. I strolled in and was amazed by what I saw.
Pokémon trainers! Everywhere. Everyone. They were all pokémon trainers! There were people at small stands selling pokémon merchandise. There were trainers showing off their pokémon. I walked around, trying to take in everything. There were so many people there!
I passed by lots of trainers, all of them showing there pokémon to other trainers. There were lots of common pokémon like Rattatas and Oddishes. But every once in awhile, I saw someone with a rare pokémon like Hitmonlee or Farfetch'd. I could hear many of them bragging about their pokémon.
"Look at the flame on my Charmander's tail!" a boy holding a Charmander bragged. "There's orange mixed in with red. Pretty cool huh?"
I decided to join in and I brought out my Pidgeotto, showing off it's impressive wingspan and long, elegant feathers. I walked around with Pidgeotto perched on my arm like a falconer when I saw a man with a Raticate battling some kid.
"Raticate! Finish it with Hyper Fang attack!" the man commanded.
"Butterfree, stun spore now!" The boy cried as his Butterfree covered the Raticate in paralyzing powder. The boy was just about to finish it off with whirlwind when the Raticate's trainer picked it up and walked away.
"What a jerk." I thought to myself as I walked by. "He just didn't want to lose, so he took his Raticate away before the battle was over."
I walked around for a little while and was greeted by a wonderful smell when I passed by the center of the main hall. Pushing past the crowd, I saw...food! Tables and tables full of some of the most delicious looking foods I'd ever saw. Turkey, chicken, beef, lamb, pork, fish, pasta, soups, just about everything you could think of was there.
I dashed up to one of the tables and dug into a chicken leg like a hungry Growlithe. I hadn't eaten anything all day and I was starved. I received several looks from the people around me, some of them humorous, some of them disgusted by the fact that I had eaten the chicken leg in about five seconds. I let out the rest of my pokémon and we all ate our fill, even Pidgeotto, who usually ate like a bird. My Koffing had gulped down some turkey and was so sleepy that he could barely keep aloft.
After we finished, I returned all of my pokémon except for Pidgeotto, who liked getting the attention from all the passerby. I found a small stand that engraved pokéballs. I didn't have enough money, so the man running it bartered with me. I gave him two of Pidgeotto's feathers, and he engraved my name on the bottom of all of my pokéballs. I walked around enjoying myself when all of a sudden, all of the exits and windows of the main hall were closed by steel bars and doors. People all around me tore off their street clothes to reveal black uniforms.
"What the?" I asked, confused.
The lights all went out and a spotlight focused two people standing on a table. One was a young woman around seventeen. She had long red hair that curled down to her waist. Standing next to her was a dejected looking man around the same age with short blue hair. They both wore white uniforms with big red "R"s on them. All of the people had large machines strapped to their backs.
"Prepare for trouble." the red headed woman said.
"And make it double." the young man said.
"To protect the world from devastation,"
"To unite all people within our nation."
"To denounce the evils of truth and love."
"To extend our reach to the stars above."
"Jessie."
"James."
"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now or prepare to fight."
A Meowth dropped down from the ceiling and landed between the two.
"Meowth, that's right!" it said as the lights came back on.
"Team Rocket will now take possession of your pokémon!" Jessie announced.
All of the Rockets turned on the machines strapped and there was a huge suction towards them! Why the heck are they using vacuums? Suddenly, pokéballs began to fly from the crowd and into the vacuums. I reached down to my belt to make sure all of mine were still there when the ball holding my Squirtle shot off of my belt and into a Rocket's vacuum.
"Squirtle!" I cried. I ran up to the Rocket and punched him hard in the gut. He clutched his stomach and fell to his knees as he tried to suck air.
"That was so therapeutic." I said as I ripped the machine off of his back and dumped out the pokéballs. I desperately searched through them and finally found one with my name on it. Thank goodness for that engraver. I reattached my pokéball and held out my arm to Pidgeotto, who was flying around in a panic. He quickly landed and I held him close to me so he couldn't be stolen.
Suddenly, I saw a flash of light to my right as a Pikachu blasted a Rocket who was trying to take his trainer's pokémon.
"If they're gonna try to rob our pokémon, we might as well make it a battle." he said, looking at the fallen Rocket.
"Yeah, we can't just surrender!" another person agreed.
"Let's fight back!" a boy wearing a Squirtle shirt said.
The crowd cheered and started throwing pokéballs. Pokémon appeared everywhere! Staryus, Geodudes, Weepinbells, Butterfrees!
"Gloom, go!" I yelled as I chucked a pokéball. Gloom popped out, ready for battle. "Stun spore now!" I commanded as it blasted a large cloud of dust at a group of Rockets. They all ran from the cloud, only to be intercepted by a group of Butterfree doing the same attack.
"Gloom return! Go Beedrill!" I said as I switched one pokémon for another. Beedrill zoomed out of it's ball and began to fly around, shooting Pin Missiles at the Rockets. After a few successful shots, I returned it and threw up my arm, launching Pidgeotto into the air. It quickly joined a large group of Pidgeottos and did a group gust attack at the command of the boy with the Pikachu, launching several Rockets out of the ship. The boy then commanded several Pikachu to do a Thunderbolt attack at once, causing the last of the Rockets to be flung out of the ship.
The crowd cheered as the last of the Rockets went flying and the boy congratulated everyone on a job well done. I quickly returned my Pidgeotto, but not before giving it a big hug for helping out. Suddenly, the ship rocked to the left and I was thrown off my feet. A person helped me to my feet just as another wave hit. I dashed to a window and saw a huge storm all around us. Many passengers were surrounding the captain, asking him if they were going to be all right. Then I heard him say the four words that made me remember the Titanic.
"This ship is unsinkable!" he explained.
"I've got a really bad feeling about this." I moaned.
I looked back at the crowd and the captain wasn't there anymore. I looked around and saw him lowering himself off of the ship in a huge lifeboat that could have held dozens of people.
"I knew this was going to happen!" I cried as I raced to the lifeboats with several other trainers. I jumped over the railing and into a lifeboat just as it was beginning to lower. The lifeboats drifted away from the ship just as a huge wave hit it, causing it to capsize.
"Holy...." I gasped as the ship began to disappear beneath the waves.
"May I have your attention!" The captain yelled from a lifeboat. "Anyone who didn't leave the ship safely, please say aye....good. Well done. Everyone's safe then."
"You moron!" I shouted at him.
Chapter Four
After a few hours, a rescue ship picked everyone up and I headed out of Vermilion once I got finished kissing the ground. In the next few days, I had arrived in Lavender town and had captured a Butterfree and a Mankey on the way there. I arrived very late in the night so the first thing I did was stagger into the Pokémon Center and fall asleep in the waiting room. The next morning, I looked around the city and heard two boys talking about a haunted tower on the outskirts of the city. Figuring it might be a good spot to find some pokémon, I headed out that very day and was there in a matter of hours.
The tower was very dark and sinister looking. Still, I mustered up my courage and walked into the creepy tower. The doors slammed shut behind me, making me jump about four feet off the ground.
"Hellooo!" I called into the darkness. "Is anyone here?"
Suddenly, the room filled with a brilliant flash of light and a small purple pokémon with disembodied hands appeared in front of me.
"Wow! A Haunter!" I gasped as I whipped out my pokédex.
"Haunter." it beeped. "A ghost pokémon. There is no other information about this pokémon."
"Well that's helpful." I said sarcastically as I pocketed my pokédex. I pulled a pokéball off of my belt and threw it to the floor. "Butterfree, go!"
Butterfree flew out of it's ball and circled around the ghost.
"Haunt?" Haunter asked as it stared at Butterfree.
"Butterfree! Stun spore now!" I commanded.
Butterfree flapped it's wings furiously and long wisps of multicolored spores flew from it's wings and landed on the Haunter, which began to shake from paralysis.
"Now, do Psybeam!" I shouted.
Butterfree's eyes lit up and it shot a large multicolored beam into Haunter, causing it to whirl around helplessly in the air.
"Haunter, you're mine!" I shouted as I hurled a pokéball at the weakened pokémon.
The ball flew through the air and connected with Haunter. Wait, no! It didn't hit it. It went right through it!
"Well how am I supposed to catch it if the pokéball can't touch it?" I asked nobody.
Thinking fast, I picked up the all and walked up to the dizzy Haunter. I opened the ball and a red beam enveloped the Haunter, pulling it into the ball. It shook in my hand for a few seconds and then stopped moving.
"Yes!" I cried, holding the ball up above my head. "I caught Haunter!"
I tried to lower my arm, but it wouldn't go down. Looking up, I saw a Gastly holding onto the pokéball with vaporous hands. Looking down, I saw that I was standing on a Gengar about twenty feet above the floor.
"Yaah!" I cried. "Put me down!"
The Gengar nodded and I found myself falling through the air, the Gastly and Gengar laughing as they let my new Haunter out of the pokéball. I was about to hit when Gengar flew down and caught me, setting me down on the floor. Gastly dropped the pokéball onto my head.
"Ow! Why you...." I said angrily as the three ghosts laughed at me. I threw out Butterfree's pokéball, but Haunter caught it and tossed it back to me before my pokémon could get out to attack. I picked my pokéball off the floor and aimed it at Haunter.
"Haunter, return!" I said as a red beam lanced out at Haunter. Before the beam hit it, Haunter pulled out a small mirror from somewhere behind it and deflected the beam away.
"But I caught you! You're my pokémon now!" I whined. Haunter just laughed and mimicked me throwing a pokéball. Gastly and Gengar both laughed and they all flew up through the ceiling.
"Oh no you don't." I said as I raced up some stairs. "I caught you fair and square."
I made my way up the tower, seeing flashes of the three ghosts from time to time. Finally, I reached the top of the tower where the three ghosts hovered. I pulled out a pokéball and was just about to throw it when Gastly flew up to me and rammed me in the stomach, knocking me out of an open window. I fell for about forty feet and landed softly on a bowl shaped surface. Looking over the rim, I saw that I landed in the launching area of a large catapult. Gengar and Haunter laughed as they pulled the firing mechanism, launching me through the air away from the tower. As I hurtled away, I saw the catapult turn into Gastly and all three of the ghosts waving at me and laughing their heads off. I landed about a mile away in a huge lake, terrorizing a school of Magikarp under the surface. I swam to shore and dragged myself away from the water, yelling at the top of my lungs in frustration and causing several Pidgeys to fly from their nests form the noise.
"Those stupid ghosts!" I practically screamed. "I caught that Haunter! It's mine! It's not fair!!"
I calmed down after five minutes of ranting and decided to forget about the ghosts. They weren't worth the trouble. I set up camp and changed into some dry clothes. I stayed there for the night and started towards Fuchia City the next morning.
I made it to Fuchia in a few days, not capturing any pokémon along the way, but I did find a leaf stone and evolved my Gloom into a Vileplume. Riding around the city, I couldn't find the Gym anywhere. I dropped by the pokémon center and was informed that the gym was in the Fuchia forest, just south of the Safari Zone. I biked along the southern route and eventually found an old Japanese mansion in the middle of the forest. However, the mansion was on the other side of a huge canyon.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me." I said as I wondered how to get across. I noticed a large tree a little ways to my left and sent out Vileplume.
"Vileplume, use your cut attack on that tree." I said as I pointed to the tree.
Vileplume nodded and began to whirl around like a top. It moved closer to the tree and the flower on top of it's head blazed through the tree trunk like a buzz saw. Vileplume stopped spinning and dizzily made it's way back into it's pokéball. I tried to push the tree over, but it was to heavy for me, even though it was cut away from it's roots. I sent out Squirtle and had it perform it's water gun attack on the tree. Just as the tree started to lean, I ran up and shoulder rammed the tree, causing it to fall over and bridge the gap between the mansion and me. Rubbing my shoulder, I turned to recall Squirtle when he started to glow.
"Squirtle! You're evolving!" I cried as Squirtle began to get bigger. Long ears formed on it's head and it's tail split into several parts. The glowing stopped to reveal a newly evolved Wartortle.
"I'm so happy for you!" I said as I gave him a big hug. "All the effort from pushing that tree down must have given you the boost you needed to evolve!"
"War! Tor, war." Wartortle said happily. I beamed him back into his pokéball and rode my bike across the bridge towards the mansion.
I left my bike out front and walked into the building. Looking around, I saw a small Venonat at the end of a long hallway.
"Hey, a Venonat!" I said as I pulled out a pokéball. "That'd be a great addition to my team."
I lobbed the pokéball at the Venonat, but it just caught it and kicked back to me, hitting me in the head with it.
"Why you little...!" I grumbled as I ran at the Venonat. It just sat there with a wry look on it's face as I suddenly slammed into something.
"Yeeow!" I cried as I fell over. Looking up, I saw the sunlight glimmer off a glass wall in front of me.
"You're kidding right?" I asked as I stood up. I backed up and tried to shoulder ram the wall, but it was so solid that I ended up bouncing right off of it. I decided to try and find another way out, so I turned around to walk back to the front, but was stopped by another glass wall.
"Hey? What's the deal?" I asked as I pounded on the glass. Trying to think of a way out, I leaned against a wall and it suddenly swung away, causing me to fall into another room where a man dressed in a purple ninja outfit stood with the Venonat at his side.
"Uh, are you the Gym leader?" I asked the man, quickly standing up.
"Yes, I am Koga, the master trainer here." he replied.
"Good, then I challenge you to an official pokémon battle for a Soul Badge!"
"Fine then. Go Golbat!"
Koga tossed out a pokéball and a big purple bat zoomed out of it and fluttered above the center of the room.
"Golbat huh?" I said as I pulled out a pokéball. "Then I choose Koffing!"
I threw out my pokéball and Koffing emerged, ready for battle. Koga started off the match.
"Golbat, use your wing attack!"
"Koffing, give it the special sludge move I taught you!"
Golbat flew at Koffing, ready to strike it with it's wings when Koffing began to whirl around, shooting sludge from all of the little craters on it's body. Sludge coated the Golbat's wings and it went crashing to the ground. Though it was grounded, it still had the will to fight.
"Now Koffing, finish it off with your Tackle!"
Koffing zoomed down and slammed Golbat through the floorboards, instantly knocking it out. Koga grimaced and sent in his Venonat.
"Okay Koffing, block it's vision with a smoke screen!"
Koffing shot out a dark cloud of gas into the room, making it nearly impossible to see.
"Venonat, fight back with your stun spore!"
Venonat started to vibrate, shooting a cloud of spores into the gas. A few seconds later, Koffing fell to the ground, paralyzed.
"Oh-no! Koffing return. Go Pidgeotto!" I cried as I threw out another pokéball.
Pidgeotto burst from it's ball and began to dive at Venonat, who started to run around in circles, trying to avoid the bird.
"Venonat, use your Psybeam!"
"Pidgeotto, blast it with your mirror move!"
Venonat shot out a multicolored beam at Pidgeotto from it's eyes, but Pidgeotto dodged and blasted it with a beam of it's own, sending it careening into the far wall. Koga looked very downtrodden as we both returned our pokémon. He walked up to me and handed me a heart shaped badge.
"You have earned this young man. Go in peace." He said as he walked out of the room.
I nodded and walked out of the mansion without walking into any invisible walls. I hopped on my bike, rode back across the bridge and back into Fuchia city. I stayed at the pokèmon center that night and planned on which Gym to go to next.
Tune in next time for Chapters Five and Six.