Chapter Nine: Two's Company, Three's a Fight
With a new Pokemon, Pikachu, and Kanna at my side, I had a funny feeling that I just couldn't lose. Allie and I were brainstorming nicknames for Pikachu while on the way to Falkner's Gym (we had to stop and ask for directions twice). By the time we'd reached the building, Pikachu's new name was Spike, for the unusual markings on his ears. Instead of tapering down to the side like normal, his ears black markings came down to a point in the middle of his ears, front and back. So Spike, Kanna, and myself entered the building to challenge Falkner.
~*~*~*~*~
"What do you mean he's sick?" The receptionist shook her head. "I'm sorry. Falkner's down with the flu, and he hasn't asked any of his trainees to take over in his place." "Well, can't you call him and ask him? Please? I just gotta get my badge!" I used my infamous "Vulpix Eyes" on the receptionist, and could see her waiver. After another minute of begging and cuteness (yuck!), she gave in. "Well, ok, I'll call him." She picked up the phone and dialed Falkner's number. While she was on the phone with him, Allie and I got a snack from the local vending machine. She wasn't done when we were, so we sat down to wait. And who should walk in he door but Ash and company! "Hi, Ash, Misty, Brock!" I jumped up to greet them. "How's it going?" "Just fine! Have you gotten your first badge yet?" "Not yet, Falkner's sick. But I did get a new Pokemon. A Pikachu, who I named Spike," I called to the yellow and black bundle, "Come meet a friend of mine, Ash Ketchem." Spike's ears pricked up as he turned around. Ash's Pikachu and he met like they were old friends, shaking tails. Ash, Misty and Brock looked shocked at the sight. "What?" I asked, confused. "Have you met before?" "Yeah, we have!" Ash smiled and picked Spike up. Then he looked at me. "You've got a good friend here, Nicole. Take great care of him!" I nodded. "Of course! Why wouldn't I?" The receptionist got our attention, mainly by Brock's serenading. As Misty pulled him away from the receptionist, she recovered and told us, "Falkner's agreed to let you fight for a badge. You'll fight one of his top students, Jori." "Fine with me!" I said excitedly. "Kanaun!"
~*~*~*~*~
Jori was a scrawny little thing, but looked very confident. I wasn't too worried, not with Kanna and Spike to back me up! Then I found out something awful. "Three on three match, no time limit!" called Jori from his end of the field. Wait a minute! "Um, I don't HAVE three Pokemon," I said a little unsure of what to do. Jori laughed. "You mean you have a Pikachu and a, uh, what is it, anyway?" He shook his head before I could answer. "Never mind, it's obviously a Water type, but that's ALL you have?" He looked at me, then a look of realization dawned on him. "Your serious, aren't you?" Ash stepped forward. He had asked on behalf of everyone if they could watch my first Gym match, and I eagerly said yes. I thought that maybe, just maybe, my Dad would let me call him every other day if Ash thought I was doing fine. Then I could call Dad after the match and have Ash vouch for me. "Nicole, why didn't you catch another Pokemon along the way? There are plenty of Rattata and Pidgey out there." "I don't know, I was sure it wouldn't matter. Kanna counts as two Pokemon to me, and Spike's got plenty of power. I know I can beat him, even without a third Pokemon!" Ash shook his head. "Nicole, you have to have at least three Pokemon to battle a gym in Johto. It's different in Kanto, you only need one, but." He trailed off as I fingered my Pokeball. I think, after being a Pokemon trainer for three and a half years, he knew what was going through my mind. "Fine. If I need three Pokemon to battle, I'll get a third." I looked up at Jori. "Can you wait a few days?" He shook his head. "I can only wait two days, because my father's birthday is coming up. He lives in Goldenrod, so I need to get home before Saturday." It was Wednesday today! That gave me only two and a half days to find, catch and train a new Pokemon. I was sure I wouldn't need it, but I was also used to preparing as best I could. "I think I can make that deadline," I said quietly, and walked to the elevator to go to the ground floor. Allie followed close after, and Ash, Misty and Brock came after her. I had to do it. My first badge was on the line.
~*~*~*~*~
As I left the gym, Allie, Ash and co. caught up to me. "Nicole! Wait up!" Allie came jogging up and fell into step beside me. "You can use my Furret if you'd like," Allie offered, holding out the Pokeball. "No," I replied, pushing her hand away. "Thanks, but no." "Why not?" Ash asked, also beside me. "Because it has to be mine. A Furret with Fire Punch is really cheating if its not mine." I looked up to see a building. People were walking around, holding Pokeballs. They were strange, though, and had the form of Bellsprout on them. "What in the.?" I murmured. I walked over to a man holding a ball and asked, "What's with the odd Pokeballs?" The man turned around and replied, "It's a Bellsprout competition. You're given a Bellsprout and have to fight other trainers with their supplied Bellsprout. The winner gets a Leaf Stone, 2nd place a Miracle Seed, and 3rd a Gold Berry. The top five get to keep their Bellsprouts, too." "Hmm. They get to keep their Bellsprout." I was thinking hard. If I won, that'd be a third Pokemon.and it'd go up at least two levels during the competition. And with some hard work and single-minded training, it should be able to hold its own, even against a Flying type. "I'm going to sign up!" I declared.
~*~*~*~*~
Ash, Allie and I signed up. We each got a Bellsprout to use, and the starting ceremonies began. I was up in the 3rd fight, so I took the time to get to know my Bellsprout. Kanna and Spike came close as the Bellsprout popped out. It looked around and then looked at me expectantly. I smiled. "Hiya! I'm Nicole, and this is Kanna and Spike. If we win this, you'll become part of the team." "Bell?" It seemed to like that idea. So the four of us decided to go scope out the competition. Ash was in the second match, so we watched him. His Bellsprout was very accurate with its Vine Whips, and Growth helped tremendously. Every Bellsprout started out at level ten, so no one had the advantage. But I knew almost instinctively that he would be hard to beat. I also knew I wasn't going to give up. Then it was our turn. Kanna and Spike stayed with Allie, Misty and Brock, while Bello (the nickname I had decided on for Bellsprout) and I went to the field. I heard a loud noise from behind me somewhere, and looked behind to find Paul sitting on the bench provided for competitors. "You actually entered!? HAH! You'll never win this one, cause I am!" I stuck my tongue out at him and turned back to the fight. "Both competitors are ready!" called the Ref. "Begin!"
~*~*~*~*~
"Bellsprout, use Vine Whip!" The other Bellsprout approached mine and sent out a vine. "Counter it and Growth!" I called. Bello did just that, and seemed to go into a trace like state. The Bellsprout Vine Whipped again, and Bello didn't respond. "Nicole! As long as your Bellsprout is using Growth, it can't attack! You have to tell it to, or it'll just stand there!" This bit came from Ash, who got a glare from Paul in return, but my thanks as well. I turned to Bello. "You heard him! Attack with your Vine Whip!" Bello came out of the trance to KO the Bellsprout with one hit. We'd won! The rest of the matches went on like that, and Bello grew to level twelve and learned Wrap. This was good, because we could now Wrap and Growth at the same time. This I knew, but I never used it, because that combo was my secret weapon against Ash. I doubted I'd need to use it before then. But I had forgotten about Paul. After his first match, I watched him closely. It turned out that Ash knocked him out of the running while he was in round five. He placed a solid seventh place, making sure he couldn't keep the Bellsprout given to him. It served him right. Allie's Bellsprout got KO'd in round six by a young trainer from Violet. I was fairly sure he'd raised a Bellsprout before. Ash went up against his final and won, assuring him of his Bellsprout and the finals. It was up to me to get there.
~*~*~*~*~
It was actually easy to defeat the Bellsprout trainer. I'd asked him if my hunch was right, and he said, yes, he was going to be a Bellsprout Breeder if he got lucky. So he participated in the competition every other month, when it was on, to collect as many Bellsprout as he could. Then we fought, but Bello was a level higher, and all those Growths seemed to have pumped up his Special Attacks permanently. I got a glimpse of Ash's face after my match, and he looked determined, and maybe even a little concerned. I knew that neither of us would give up or give in, but one of ours Bellsprouts would have to give out, sooner or later. And I had my secret weapon just waiting to be used. The referees checked our Pokemon to be sure that they were the same level, which they were. Level fifteen, and both could use Sleep Powder now. But I was almost sure I wouldn't need it. With a combo like Wrap and Growth, I knew Bello and I could take home the prize! (Well, maybe not all the way to home, but you get the meaning.) Ash and I faced each other as the match began. His Bellsprout looked tough and so did the expression on Ash's face, but I knew, somehow I KNEW, deep down inside, that Bello and I were tougher. "Begin!" "Ok, you know what to do! Vine Whip!" Ash sent his Bellsprout out with a barrage of vicious Vine Whips, but Bello dodged them. I knew that Ash would do that, because he had basically ignored Wrap the whole time. But Bello knew my strategy, had in fact given it his ok, and dodged them all without a word from me. This would go well, indeed. "Wrap attack!" Ash was caught by surprise, and so was his Bellsprout. "Look out!" But it was too late. Bello had a death grip on Ash's Bellsprout, and wasn't about to let go. He wanted to win this as much as I did. "Great job, Bello! Now use Growth, just like we planned!" "You planned this?" Ash asked in surprise. "Yup. I even guessed that you would start off with a Vine Whip, and I was right." I glanced up at Ash and into his eyes. I saw only determination there, and immediately remembered whom I was fighting. This guy had defeated Falkner in a come-from-behind win, and found a winning strategy against Whitney's Miltank. He was used to losing until the last second, and knew what to do in situations like this. I had to be very careful. Bello seemed to be as pumped up as he ever would be, so I decided to end Growth while he still had a hold on Bellsprout. "Enough! Send it spinning, Bello!" Bello immediately whipped its vines from around Bellsprout and it went spinning out of control. In its momentary confusion, it paused. That was its undoing. "Vine Whip!" Bello released two massive vines at the Bellsprout and caught it across the side. The Bellsprout went tumbling toward Ash, and was KO'd by the time it'd stopped. We had won! ~*~*~*~*~
"Wow! Great job, Nicole!" "That was awesome, great strategy!" "That was superb! Can I fight you with my Hoppip?" "Intense fight!" When I left the field to join the other trainers, this was what I was greeted with. Everyone wanted to shake my hand, or pat me on the back, or battle Bello with one of their Pokemon. It was kind of embarrassing. Ash saw this, and saved me in a show of good sportsmanship. I thanked him as we left the crowd behind and joined the others. "Hey! Wait up!" I turned to see the Bellsprout trainer come up behind me. "Hi, what's up?" He stopped in front of me. "Nicole, I know you'll probably say no, but could I trade for your Bellsprout? It's the toughest I've ever seen, and besides Ash's the biggest!" I looked at Ash. "Well. Let's see what Bello thinks." I brought out Bello to ask him. He was flattered, to say the least, so we decided to check it out. Behind the Bellsprout trainer's, who we found out to be Jerry, house was a large Bellsprout sanctuary, and about 20 other Bellsprout to top it off. As we arrived, a sea of Bellsprout, whom Bello became buds with immediately, greeted us. As we talked about Jerry's ambition to be a Bellsprout Breeder, Bello got to look around. When it was time to leave, Bello had made up his mind. "Ok, I guess we're trading!" Jerry's face broke into a wide grin. "Great! I'll trade you my Bulbasaur. He used to be my brother's, but when he decided to join the military, he had to leave his Bulbasaur here." I nodded. "My grandpa used to be in the army. He almost got to be a Seal, but then his wife died and he decided to come home and take care of my mom and her sisters instead." I walked up to the machine that would exchange the Pokemon. "Um, does the Bulbasaur have a nickname?" Jerry shook his head. "Nope, my brother never named it, so it's all yours." I smiled as the images on the screen switched places. My Dad had started with a Bulbasaur, and now I would get one too!
Wow, a long one! Sry, I must have gotten carried away. oh well. This is like five pages long on word! The next one should be shorter tho, no worries!
With a new Pokemon, Pikachu, and Kanna at my side, I had a funny feeling that I just couldn't lose. Allie and I were brainstorming nicknames for Pikachu while on the way to Falkner's Gym (we had to stop and ask for directions twice). By the time we'd reached the building, Pikachu's new name was Spike, for the unusual markings on his ears. Instead of tapering down to the side like normal, his ears black markings came down to a point in the middle of his ears, front and back. So Spike, Kanna, and myself entered the building to challenge Falkner.
~*~*~*~*~
"What do you mean he's sick?" The receptionist shook her head. "I'm sorry. Falkner's down with the flu, and he hasn't asked any of his trainees to take over in his place." "Well, can't you call him and ask him? Please? I just gotta get my badge!" I used my infamous "Vulpix Eyes" on the receptionist, and could see her waiver. After another minute of begging and cuteness (yuck!), she gave in. "Well, ok, I'll call him." She picked up the phone and dialed Falkner's number. While she was on the phone with him, Allie and I got a snack from the local vending machine. She wasn't done when we were, so we sat down to wait. And who should walk in he door but Ash and company! "Hi, Ash, Misty, Brock!" I jumped up to greet them. "How's it going?" "Just fine! Have you gotten your first badge yet?" "Not yet, Falkner's sick. But I did get a new Pokemon. A Pikachu, who I named Spike," I called to the yellow and black bundle, "Come meet a friend of mine, Ash Ketchem." Spike's ears pricked up as he turned around. Ash's Pikachu and he met like they were old friends, shaking tails. Ash, Misty and Brock looked shocked at the sight. "What?" I asked, confused. "Have you met before?" "Yeah, we have!" Ash smiled and picked Spike up. Then he looked at me. "You've got a good friend here, Nicole. Take great care of him!" I nodded. "Of course! Why wouldn't I?" The receptionist got our attention, mainly by Brock's serenading. As Misty pulled him away from the receptionist, she recovered and told us, "Falkner's agreed to let you fight for a badge. You'll fight one of his top students, Jori." "Fine with me!" I said excitedly. "Kanaun!"
~*~*~*~*~
Jori was a scrawny little thing, but looked very confident. I wasn't too worried, not with Kanna and Spike to back me up! Then I found out something awful. "Three on three match, no time limit!" called Jori from his end of the field. Wait a minute! "Um, I don't HAVE three Pokemon," I said a little unsure of what to do. Jori laughed. "You mean you have a Pikachu and a, uh, what is it, anyway?" He shook his head before I could answer. "Never mind, it's obviously a Water type, but that's ALL you have?" He looked at me, then a look of realization dawned on him. "Your serious, aren't you?" Ash stepped forward. He had asked on behalf of everyone if they could watch my first Gym match, and I eagerly said yes. I thought that maybe, just maybe, my Dad would let me call him every other day if Ash thought I was doing fine. Then I could call Dad after the match and have Ash vouch for me. "Nicole, why didn't you catch another Pokemon along the way? There are plenty of Rattata and Pidgey out there." "I don't know, I was sure it wouldn't matter. Kanna counts as two Pokemon to me, and Spike's got plenty of power. I know I can beat him, even without a third Pokemon!" Ash shook his head. "Nicole, you have to have at least three Pokemon to battle a gym in Johto. It's different in Kanto, you only need one, but." He trailed off as I fingered my Pokeball. I think, after being a Pokemon trainer for three and a half years, he knew what was going through my mind. "Fine. If I need three Pokemon to battle, I'll get a third." I looked up at Jori. "Can you wait a few days?" He shook his head. "I can only wait two days, because my father's birthday is coming up. He lives in Goldenrod, so I need to get home before Saturday." It was Wednesday today! That gave me only two and a half days to find, catch and train a new Pokemon. I was sure I wouldn't need it, but I was also used to preparing as best I could. "I think I can make that deadline," I said quietly, and walked to the elevator to go to the ground floor. Allie followed close after, and Ash, Misty and Brock came after her. I had to do it. My first badge was on the line.
~*~*~*~*~
As I left the gym, Allie, Ash and co. caught up to me. "Nicole! Wait up!" Allie came jogging up and fell into step beside me. "You can use my Furret if you'd like," Allie offered, holding out the Pokeball. "No," I replied, pushing her hand away. "Thanks, but no." "Why not?" Ash asked, also beside me. "Because it has to be mine. A Furret with Fire Punch is really cheating if its not mine." I looked up to see a building. People were walking around, holding Pokeballs. They were strange, though, and had the form of Bellsprout on them. "What in the.?" I murmured. I walked over to a man holding a ball and asked, "What's with the odd Pokeballs?" The man turned around and replied, "It's a Bellsprout competition. You're given a Bellsprout and have to fight other trainers with their supplied Bellsprout. The winner gets a Leaf Stone, 2nd place a Miracle Seed, and 3rd a Gold Berry. The top five get to keep their Bellsprouts, too." "Hmm. They get to keep their Bellsprout." I was thinking hard. If I won, that'd be a third Pokemon.and it'd go up at least two levels during the competition. And with some hard work and single-minded training, it should be able to hold its own, even against a Flying type. "I'm going to sign up!" I declared.
~*~*~*~*~
Ash, Allie and I signed up. We each got a Bellsprout to use, and the starting ceremonies began. I was up in the 3rd fight, so I took the time to get to know my Bellsprout. Kanna and Spike came close as the Bellsprout popped out. It looked around and then looked at me expectantly. I smiled. "Hiya! I'm Nicole, and this is Kanna and Spike. If we win this, you'll become part of the team." "Bell?" It seemed to like that idea. So the four of us decided to go scope out the competition. Ash was in the second match, so we watched him. His Bellsprout was very accurate with its Vine Whips, and Growth helped tremendously. Every Bellsprout started out at level ten, so no one had the advantage. But I knew almost instinctively that he would be hard to beat. I also knew I wasn't going to give up. Then it was our turn. Kanna and Spike stayed with Allie, Misty and Brock, while Bello (the nickname I had decided on for Bellsprout) and I went to the field. I heard a loud noise from behind me somewhere, and looked behind to find Paul sitting on the bench provided for competitors. "You actually entered!? HAH! You'll never win this one, cause I am!" I stuck my tongue out at him and turned back to the fight. "Both competitors are ready!" called the Ref. "Begin!"
~*~*~*~*~
"Bellsprout, use Vine Whip!" The other Bellsprout approached mine and sent out a vine. "Counter it and Growth!" I called. Bello did just that, and seemed to go into a trace like state. The Bellsprout Vine Whipped again, and Bello didn't respond. "Nicole! As long as your Bellsprout is using Growth, it can't attack! You have to tell it to, or it'll just stand there!" This bit came from Ash, who got a glare from Paul in return, but my thanks as well. I turned to Bello. "You heard him! Attack with your Vine Whip!" Bello came out of the trance to KO the Bellsprout with one hit. We'd won! The rest of the matches went on like that, and Bello grew to level twelve and learned Wrap. This was good, because we could now Wrap and Growth at the same time. This I knew, but I never used it, because that combo was my secret weapon against Ash. I doubted I'd need to use it before then. But I had forgotten about Paul. After his first match, I watched him closely. It turned out that Ash knocked him out of the running while he was in round five. He placed a solid seventh place, making sure he couldn't keep the Bellsprout given to him. It served him right. Allie's Bellsprout got KO'd in round six by a young trainer from Violet. I was fairly sure he'd raised a Bellsprout before. Ash went up against his final and won, assuring him of his Bellsprout and the finals. It was up to me to get there.
~*~*~*~*~
It was actually easy to defeat the Bellsprout trainer. I'd asked him if my hunch was right, and he said, yes, he was going to be a Bellsprout Breeder if he got lucky. So he participated in the competition every other month, when it was on, to collect as many Bellsprout as he could. Then we fought, but Bello was a level higher, and all those Growths seemed to have pumped up his Special Attacks permanently. I got a glimpse of Ash's face after my match, and he looked determined, and maybe even a little concerned. I knew that neither of us would give up or give in, but one of ours Bellsprouts would have to give out, sooner or later. And I had my secret weapon just waiting to be used. The referees checked our Pokemon to be sure that they were the same level, which they were. Level fifteen, and both could use Sleep Powder now. But I was almost sure I wouldn't need it. With a combo like Wrap and Growth, I knew Bello and I could take home the prize! (Well, maybe not all the way to home, but you get the meaning.) Ash and I faced each other as the match began. His Bellsprout looked tough and so did the expression on Ash's face, but I knew, somehow I KNEW, deep down inside, that Bello and I were tougher. "Begin!" "Ok, you know what to do! Vine Whip!" Ash sent his Bellsprout out with a barrage of vicious Vine Whips, but Bello dodged them. I knew that Ash would do that, because he had basically ignored Wrap the whole time. But Bello knew my strategy, had in fact given it his ok, and dodged them all without a word from me. This would go well, indeed. "Wrap attack!" Ash was caught by surprise, and so was his Bellsprout. "Look out!" But it was too late. Bello had a death grip on Ash's Bellsprout, and wasn't about to let go. He wanted to win this as much as I did. "Great job, Bello! Now use Growth, just like we planned!" "You planned this?" Ash asked in surprise. "Yup. I even guessed that you would start off with a Vine Whip, and I was right." I glanced up at Ash and into his eyes. I saw only determination there, and immediately remembered whom I was fighting. This guy had defeated Falkner in a come-from-behind win, and found a winning strategy against Whitney's Miltank. He was used to losing until the last second, and knew what to do in situations like this. I had to be very careful. Bello seemed to be as pumped up as he ever would be, so I decided to end Growth while he still had a hold on Bellsprout. "Enough! Send it spinning, Bello!" Bello immediately whipped its vines from around Bellsprout and it went spinning out of control. In its momentary confusion, it paused. That was its undoing. "Vine Whip!" Bello released two massive vines at the Bellsprout and caught it across the side. The Bellsprout went tumbling toward Ash, and was KO'd by the time it'd stopped. We had won! ~*~*~*~*~
"Wow! Great job, Nicole!" "That was awesome, great strategy!" "That was superb! Can I fight you with my Hoppip?" "Intense fight!" When I left the field to join the other trainers, this was what I was greeted with. Everyone wanted to shake my hand, or pat me on the back, or battle Bello with one of their Pokemon. It was kind of embarrassing. Ash saw this, and saved me in a show of good sportsmanship. I thanked him as we left the crowd behind and joined the others. "Hey! Wait up!" I turned to see the Bellsprout trainer come up behind me. "Hi, what's up?" He stopped in front of me. "Nicole, I know you'll probably say no, but could I trade for your Bellsprout? It's the toughest I've ever seen, and besides Ash's the biggest!" I looked at Ash. "Well. Let's see what Bello thinks." I brought out Bello to ask him. He was flattered, to say the least, so we decided to check it out. Behind the Bellsprout trainer's, who we found out to be Jerry, house was a large Bellsprout sanctuary, and about 20 other Bellsprout to top it off. As we arrived, a sea of Bellsprout, whom Bello became buds with immediately, greeted us. As we talked about Jerry's ambition to be a Bellsprout Breeder, Bello got to look around. When it was time to leave, Bello had made up his mind. "Ok, I guess we're trading!" Jerry's face broke into a wide grin. "Great! I'll trade you my Bulbasaur. He used to be my brother's, but when he decided to join the military, he had to leave his Bulbasaur here." I nodded. "My grandpa used to be in the army. He almost got to be a Seal, but then his wife died and he decided to come home and take care of my mom and her sisters instead." I walked up to the machine that would exchange the Pokemon. "Um, does the Bulbasaur have a nickname?" Jerry shook his head. "Nope, my brother never named it, so it's all yours." I smiled as the images on the screen switched places. My Dad had started with a Bulbasaur, and now I would get one too!
Wow, a long one! Sry, I must have gotten carried away. oh well. This is like five pages long on word! The next one should be shorter tho, no worries!