Part 2 – The Boulder Badge
I was awake at 10:30 AM. I'd only slept for five and a half-hours. I lay in my bed, squeezing my eyes closed, hoping I'd fall back to sleep. I didn't. I was wide-awake, and my eyes refused to stay closed. It was time to get up. I stretched and rose slowly. All of my Pokémon were still sound asleep. Growlithe was snoring, and Scyther was mumbling "Scyth Scyther Scy…" in his sleep. He was dreaming. I smiled, and was considering entering his dream, when I decided to just let him be. He was exhausted after last night's flight, and it would be better to let him sleep.
I went into to the bathroom to take a shower. The shower was much bigger than it needed to be, and I was uncomfortable. I felt very watched. I showered hurriedly, brushed my hair, and got dressed. Growlithe was awake when I came out of the bathroom, so I put him on a leash and walked to the lobby with him. Certain types of Pokémon were allowed out of Pokeballs in public places, and Growlithe was one of those types. I went to the small bakery in the hotel lobby and bought myself a muffin and some juice for breakfast. I could only nibble at the muffin. I just wasn't hungry. I was thinking about which Pokemon I should use to battle the Pewter City Gym Leader. I knew that whoever it was would be using Rock type Pokémon, so who should I use against them? Seel was my first thought, naturally, since water was good against rock. But I needed more than just one Pokémon. Scyther's razors would be almost useless against rock, and I doubted that rock Pokémon had much of a mind, so Kadabra's psychic attacks wouldn't be very effective. I didn't want to use my Onix against other rock Pokémon, and I wasn't sure how effective Growlithe's or Ponyta's fire would be. And, of course, I couldn't use my little Eevee. I sighed.
"Aurora Aston…I knew I'd run into you someday."
My breath caught. I knew that voice! I hadn't heard it for more than a year; it was a little bit deeper than I remembered, but there was no mistaking it. I turned around slowly.
"Hello Gary."
Gary jumped over the chair next to me and then sat down in it. A group of about 6 girls came up behind him. "Gary, Gary, he's the best!" They chanted, all in unison. I glared at them disdainfully and they silenced and backed up a few steps.
"What's wrong with them?" I asked, motioning to the group of cheerleader girls.
"Nothing is wrong with them," Gary said, "They've just recognized and respect my true greatness." He paused. "Something that you never did."
I narrowed my eyes at him. "That's 'cause there isn't any greatness to recognize. All I see in you is selfishness, greed, ignorance, foolishness, absolutely no compassion, and a big fat ego."
Gary was taken aback, but then he narrowed his eyes back at me. "Well you know what I see in you?" He paused, and his voice softened. He stared into my eyes. "I see selflessness, generosity, intelligence, wisdom, loads of compassion, and a good sense of self-esteem."
Now it was my turn to be taken aback. No one had ever spoken like that to me before, and I nearly melted at his feet. He was still staring into my eyes. I used that to gain access to his mind with my psychic powers.
-She's so beautiful. I wonder if she still hates me. It's been a year. She can't be mad anymore. She's beautiful. Will she think I'm serious about what I just said? I am! Will she believe me? She's beautiful. I don't want her to hate me. She's the only person I've ever felt the need to be nice to. What if she still doesn't like me? She's beautiful. -
I disconnected my psychic link, amazed at the thoughts I had just received. Gary felt that way? About me? I couldn't decide whether to fall into his arms, or be angry at him. I chose angry.
"Flattery will get you nowhere." I said, breaking the eye contact. I saw his face fall out of the corner of my eye. "Did you think I would just fall into your arms after you said a few nice things? How could I ever even get near you again? After what you did!"
"But Aurora," he said, desperately, "That was more than a year ago! I was young and stupid then! I've matured a lot since I left on my Pokemon journey!"
I softened, seeing his desperation. "Gary," I said softly, "I do want to be friends with you. But that's all. Just friends." I noticed his cheerleader group staring at me as if I was crazy; as if I had just turned down a million dollars. How could anyone like Gary so much?
I tapped back into Gary's mind, knowing his real reaction would be different from what he would say. –Well, friends. That's a start, if nothing else. - That was what he thought. He said, "Well, that's all I really wanna be to, just friends."
I rolled my eyes. Boys. They just never said what they were really thinking.
The moment turned awkward, and I faked a cough. "Well, this is kinda awkward." I said slowly.
He nodded, "Yeah…well, anyway, what are you doing here? Did your mom change her mind and let you leave on your Pokémon Quest early? If I recall, she wasn't going to let you leave until you were 16."
I stared at him, wondering if I could trust him enough to tell him the truth. Well, he was obviously crazy about me. I felt vain in thinking that, but it must be the truth. I could tell him. I could probably tell him anything and he'd keep it a secret.
"No, Gary, she didn't change her mind. I did." Gary looked at me questioningly. I continued. "I ran away. I took my Pokémon and left in the middle of the night, just last night, to be precise. I couldn't wait around Pallet anymore. I had to get out."
Gary blinked. "Wow. Really? Well, I can't say that I blame you. I was anxious to get out of Pallet Town, too. But, running away? That's harsh."
"You're not gonna tell anyone, are you?" I glared at him severely. He shook his head vigorously, but I noticed that his spiky, too spiky if you ask me, hair did not move. I laughed under my breath. He looked offended. "What are you laughing at?" I smiled coyly.
"Gary, how much…um, gel or spray do you put in your hair?"
He looked flustered, a bit surprised at my question. "Uh, not much," he stuttered. I shook my head. Not much. Whatever. He must have about a can of hairspray in that mop on his head. I busted up laughing. "Not much? Ha! Your hair doesn't move! There must be a can of super-stiff spray in that spiky mess! You could kill someone with those!" And I cracked up, laughing. I hadn't laughed like this in a long time. It felt good. All my stress, sadness, anger, and frustration bubbled out with my laughter. And I couldn't stop laughing. Then, Gary was laughing with me, and we were almost in tears with laughter. We laughed until we stopped. (Author's Note: Little joke there!)
I was able to quiet down when I noticed that people were starting to stare at us, and the man behind the counter of the bakery was glaring with great disdain. I kicked Gary in the shins. "Shut up, stupid. People are staring. Let's get out of here."
Gary nodded. "Let's go to your room."
I glared at him. "I don't think so. I'm gonna go up to my room, get my stuff and my Pokemon, you'll wait right here, and then we can go somewhere for lunch."
And I turned away and went up the stairs.
* * *
"So, you're going on to Pewter City to get a Boulder Badge?" Gary asked, picking at the food he had ordered. I stirred my drink with my straw and stared out the window and the light gray cloud layer high in the sky.
"Yeah, I'm gonna try."
"Well, you of course know that the Pewter City Gym Leader will be using rock-type Pokémon. What Pokémon are you going to use?"
I paused, sighing. "Well, that's kind of the problem. The only Pokémon I have who would be effective against rock is Seel. But, I need more than just the one Pokémon."
"Well," Gary said slowly, "I could let you use one of my Pokémon."
I stared at him. Use one of his Pokémon? Did I want to be that dependent on him? If I used one of his Pokémon, could I still consider that I earned the badge myself?
"How about you lend me one of your Pokémon and I'll save it for last. I probably won't even need to use it at all."
He nodded. "Sounds like a good idea."
We finished our meal, Gary paid for both of us, and then we left. We walked to the outskirts of the city together, Gary's cheerleaders following far behind because of theirs and mine mutual dislike.
When we reached Route 2 to Pewter City, I started to call out Ponyta, so I could ride her to the city. Gary stopped me.
"Ponyta will have a hard time getting through Viridian Forest, so flying will be faster and easier."
"Then I'll ride Scyther," I said.
"No, ride with me," He answered. He got out one of his Pokéballs and opened it. I gasped. It was a Pidgeot! "You have a Pidgeot?" I asked, feeling a little jealous. None of my Pokémon were fully evolved. All of them were still in their first evolutionary stage, except Kadabra and of course Scyther, who didn't evolve at all.
Gary climbed onto Pidgeot's back, and then held out his hand to help me up. I paused. "What about your cheering squad?" I asked. He shrugged. "They'll take the car."
Car? I turned around. All of the girls were loading themselves into a shiny, new-looking red convertible. My mouth fell open and another pang of jealousy went through me. How was he getting this stuff?
I turned back to him. "Where do you get all this stuff? The money to pay for it all?" I demanded, incredulous that he could have earned this much money himself. Surely his parents or his grandfather were helping him, both with money and raising his Pokémon. But he shrugged.
"I battle a lot," He said. I glared at him. No way he battled enough to have enough money to buy a car. And these girls, why would they follow him around? Was he very rich, or did they actually admire his skill or his looks? And what about—
My reverie was interrupted when Gary grabbed my hand and pulled me up behind him on Pidgeot's back. He put my arms around his waist. "Hang on," He said with a smile. I made a face at him, but tightened my arms around his waist. "Let's go, Pidgeot," He said, and Pidgeot launched itself straight into the air with it powerful legs and wings. I gasped, and held tight to Gary. I'd never ridden on a bird before, and it was quite a bit different from riding on Scyther.
Pidgeot was a smooth and very fast flyer. We kept getting higher and higher. "Um, Gary, aren't we a little high?" I asked, apprehension creeping in my voice, as I looked down at the incredible distance to the ground. I never flew this high on Scyther. But Gary just laughed, "We're barely halfway to how high Pidgeot can fly! Higher Pidgeot!"
"Higher? No, Gary, no higher!" I called, but I actually did want to go higher. I'd never been this high. The wind in my hair, the view, it was so exhilarating. Without even realizing what I was doing, I put my chin on Gary's shoulder and leaned my head against his. I smiled as we broke through the cloud layer, the fog curling around our bodies. We burst through the clouds, and the sun was shining brightly.
Gary grinned, looking at me out of the corner of his eyes. "Now it's gets exciting, so hold on very tightly," he said. I looked at him quizzically. "Pidgeot, dive!" He called. I gasped. "Are you crazy, Gary? Dive? From way up hereeee!" My question turned into a scream as Pidgeot folded its wings and we dropped like a rock. We fell right through the cloud layer, plummeting toward the ground. I was screaming, but not with fear any more. Now it was pure excitement. We were free falling, the wind was whipping my hair around my face, and adrenaline was pumping in my veins. It was better than a roller coaster. The ground was getting closer and closer, and I could see the red convertible, full of Gary's cheerleaders, driving along the road. The ground was rushing up on us, and a slight prick of fear stuck into me. Closer. Closer. I let out a cry. And then, with the ground less than ten feet away, Pidgeot opened its wings and we went flying back into the air.
"Wasn't that great?" Gary called. "That was awesome!" I said, right into his ear.
We flew the rest of the way at a good speed and a reasonable height. Pidgeot landed perfectly right outside the entrance to Pewter City. Gary jumped off Pidgeot's back and then put his arms around my waist and helped me to get down.
"You know, I could have gotten off myself," I said. Gary smiled. "Yeah, I know."
I stood in front of the Pewter Gym, staring at its stone gray walls. My heart beat hard in my chest. Gary put one if his arms around my waist. "Hey, don't worry about it. I'm sure you'll do great. And, just in case you need some help," He put one of his Pokéballs into my hand, "Use this." I stared at the Pokéball in my hand, tapping into it with my mind. "It's a Nidoking." I said. Gary started. "How did you know that?" I grinned at him. "Because I asked it." I walked away before he could ask. I rang the bell on the door of the gym. A panel slid open.
"I'm Aurora Aston from Pallet Town and I hereby request an official match with the leader of this gym." I said, just like the book said I should. The panel slid shut, and the door opened slowly. Gary came up behind me, took my hand and walked with me inside.
The door shut behind us much more quickly than it had opened. I turned around, breathed through gritted teeth. I felt myself shaking. Gary squeezed my hand and turned to face me. He put his other hand on my cheek and looked into my eyes. "Don't be scared Aurora. You're a great trainer, and I know this battle will be easy for you. Just believe in yourself and don't let them see you sweat." He leaned forward and kissed me softly on the forehead, then on the cheek, and then he would have kissed me on the lips, but I turned away and stepped out of his embrace. His kisses on my forehead and cheek had thrilled me, but I just wasn't ready for anything more than that. Plus, this was hardly the time or the place for a warm fuzzy love-moment.
"So, you want to battle for a Boulder Badge?" A man said, stepping forward. "Well, I hate to disappoint you, but our gym leader Brock is, well, gone."
I gasped. "Gone? What do you mean, gone? I need to battle for a badge!"
"Well," the man said, "I'm sorry. He left a while back to fulfill his dreams of being a Pokémon breeder. He left with a boy, I believe his name was Ash."
"Ash! Ash Ketchum? Brock left with him!" I sighed.
"I'm sorry young lady, I really am, but—"
"Wait, father! She can battle for a badge! I will battle her!"
I turned to face this new voice. It was a girl of about 15. She stepped into the light, tossing her short brown hair. "I'm Suzy, Brock's younger sister! With Brock gone, I'm now the oldest, so I will give you your battle."
I smiled. "Okay! Let's go!"
We stepped onto the battle field of the gym. "We will use two Pokémon each," Suzy said. "Works for me!" I called, choosing my two Pokéballs. I chose Seel and, of course, the Nidoking Gary had lent me.
Suzy called her first Pokémon. "Graveler, go!"
"Seel!"
The battle began. "Seel, use your Aurora Beam attack!" That was one of my favorite attacks, since it was, after all, my namesake. The Aurora Beam attack was super effective, but it didn't quite knock out Graveler.
"Graveler, use your Rock Throw attack!" Suzy called. Seel dodged two of the rocks thrown, but two others truck him squarely. He wasn't too badly hurt. "Seel, use another Aurora Beam! That should take Graveler out!" Seel used Aurora Beam, and Graveler fell. "Graveler! Come on, get up, you can do it!" Suzy called. Graveler struggled to its feet. I gasped. Graveler could only have about 1 hit point left. What attack would Suzy use?
Suzy was staring at my Seel with contempt. "Graveler, use Self Destruct!" Self-Destruct! That was a very powerful attack, no way Seel stood a chance. Graveler curled itself into a ball. "Seel, be careful, go to the edge of the battlefield and protect your head!" I called. Seel did as I told him. An explosion came from Graveler's body, rocking the whole gym. I covered my eyes, dust and rock flying everywhere.
When the dust cleared, Suzy had already called Graveler back, and Seel was lying at my feet, totally unconscious. I bent down and cradled his head. "Oh Seel!" I put him back into his Pokéball. A tear fell slowly from my eye. Suzy laughed.
"Cry it up little girl! You can't beat me!"
Hate bubbled up in me and I reached for my other Pokéball. "Nidoking, go!" Suzy regarded my Nidoking. She looked very sure that she would win. "Onix, go!" I stared. She had an Onix as well, but it was slightly larger than mine was.
"Onix, use your slam attack!" Onix slammed Nidoking, who went flying. I gasped. But Nidoking rose, ready to battle. Gary called from the sidelines of the battle, "Use –" But I cut him off, knowing the best attack to use. "Nidoking, use your double kick attack!" Nidoking jumped high into the air, double kicking Onix in the face. Nidoking landed smoothly. Onix stared down at him. A few heart-pounding seconds passed. And then Onix's eyes rolled up into his head and he fainted, crashing to the ground with a thunderous roar.
I let out a cry and jumped into the air! "I won!! YES!!"
Now it was Suzy who looked like she might cry. She called Onix back and hung her head. I ran out onto the field, and threw my arms around Nidoking. His eyes opened wide, as if he were surprised at a trainer showing him affection. I didn't really pay it much heed at the time, though. "You were great Nidoking! I couldn't have won without you!" Nidoking smiled and put its arms around me slowly, as if it wasn't sure if I would let it. I tapped into its mind, to hear its thoughts.
Tell me what you want to say.
I was happy to battle for you. You are a good trainer. But why do you hug me? Why do you ask what I am thinking?
Doesn't Gary hug you? Or show you affection? Doesn't he ask what you want or are thinking?
No, he does not.
I disconnected my link, and asked Nidoking to get back into his Pokéball. He did so. Gary ran up to me, nearly knocking me down with the force of his hug. "Haha!' He exclaimed, "What'd I tell you! No problem! You did great!"
Suzy approached me slowly. "I'm sorry about the way I acted," She said shyly. "I've just never been in an official match before. Here's your Boulder Badge."
"Thank you, Suzy. You battled very well."
She smiled at me. "You did too."
* * *
"Well, Gary, I'm going on to Cerulean City." I said, as Gary and I stood on the edge of Pewter City, looking out at Route 3.
"And I'm heading back to Pallet Town." He said slowly.
"Well, I'll see you around then. Goodbye Gary."
We hugged, kissed each other on the cheek, and then Gary got on Pidgeot and flew away. I watched until Pidgeot was a dot on the horizon.
I turned to Scyther. "Gary can be such a dirtball, and yet, he's totally different when he's with me. I don't know. There's something about him that I like, but, I'm just not totally sure of exactly how I'm feeling about him."
Scyther shrugged, not really understanding my human emotions. I reached for my backpack, planning on using my medicine to revive Seel. I unzipped my backpack and- there was something inside it. A little bundle wrapped in tissue paper. I took it out, staring at it quizzically. I unwrapped it slowly. It was a medallion. A green and yellow medallion. Gary's medallion. With it was a rather large sum of money and a note. It read:
"Dear Aurora, I know you need this, but I knew you'd turn it down if I offered it to you directly. Don't get all weird on me. Just use it, and you might wear that medallion too. Love, Gary."
He must have slipped this into my backpack during my battle. I stared at the medallion, and then slipped the cord attached to it over my head. I put the money slowly in my wallet. I put one hand on Scyther's back and the other around the medallion now hanging around my neck. I stared into the sky, in the spot where Gary and Pidgeot had disappeared.
To Be Continued…