The More, The Better
Chapter 2
By Arina Ketchum
By the time I'd woken up the next morning at 9 o'clock, everyone in the Stone household was gone. Brock and Electra had left me a note on the kitchen counter, which I found after I got dressed and ran downstairs.
"Hope you're hungry! Breakfast is in the oven, to contain the heat. Lots of love, Brock and Electra"
I ate my breakfast of eggs and pancakes quickly, then headed upstairs to get my Pokemon. Today I was going to win my first badge, at the Pewter City Gym!
"I don't wanna go! I don't wanna go!" Rattata cried as it raced around the room, as I tried to put it in a Pokeball. Finally, seeing this as a futile attempt, I gave up, leaving Rattata crouched in the corner, chattering angrily. I'd have to find out later what exactly its problem was.
I stood in front of the Pewter City Gym once more, butterflies upsetting my stomach. I tried to encourage myself, but all I could think about was how I could be better prepared with some battles behind me. Slowly, I pushed open the heavy wooden doors. The Gym was completely dark, lit by only a few floor lamps encased in cement at the sides.
"Who goes there?" a voice called out from the dark.
"Um, it's Arina Ketchum, I've come to challenge the Gym leader for a match to win a Boulder Badge."
From out of nowhere, a girl with black hair jumped in front of me, wearing jeans and a black leather jacket. "I'm Kate, you're first challenge. Two Pokemon each. Let the match begin. Go Ninetales!"
She threw out her Pokeball so fast I didn't have a chance to react, except to jump back in surprise.
"Well, come on, I want to beat you sometime this century!"
"Um, um," I fumbled for my Pokeballs at my waist. "Pidgey, I choose you!"
Kate nearly fell over laughing, and when I demanded to know what was so funny, she choked out, "Pidgey hasn't a chance against a Ninetales! You're wasting my time!"
"We'll see about that." I muttered.
"Well, a win is a win, no matter how pathetic the opponent." Kate shrugged. "Ninetales, fire spin!"
"Pidgey, gust attack! Blow the fire back!"
"Pidgey!" Pidgey began fanning the flames; however, that only strengthened them.
"Pidgey, dodge!" I cried as the flames came by it.
Kate laughed. "I told you so!"
I gritted my teeth. "Pidgey, return." I held out its Pokeball.
"Choose your last Pokemon carefully, although it won't do you much good."
I closed my eyes. If Pidgey couldn't fight Ninetales, neither could Spearow. Weedle and Pika-baby weren't going to have much luck either if I let them battle; and Rattata didn't come, so that left...
"Bulbasaur, I choose you!"
"A Bulbasaur? Oh you are rich, Arina!"
"Stop talking and fight!"
"Oh, touchy. I guess I would be too if I were going to lose."
"Bulbasaur, tackle attack!"
"Bulbasaur!" Bulbasaur ran towards the Ninetales and crashed into its chest head on. The Ninetales stumbled backwards, but wasn't finished by any means.
"Ninetales, Choice attack!"
"Choice attack?" I pulled out Dextra for an explanation.
"Choice attack. A move where the Pokemon is left to decide what move to make next. This move is used only when trainer and Pokemon trust each other and know each will make the right decision."
"Uh oh," I whispered.
The Ninetales opened its mouth and a tunnel of flames came out. Flamethrower attack!
"Bulbasaur! Get out of there!" I cried, fearing my plant Pokemon would be fried to a crisp. Bulbasaur managed to get out the way just in time. Was Bulbasaur up to the level of vinewhip attack? I wasn't sure, but it was worth a shot. "Bulbasaur," I choked out, "Vine whip attack!"
"Bulba!" Bulbasaur answered. The Ninetales was now heading toward Bulbasaur in a full run.
I put my hand together and once again closed my eyes. "Please," I begged silently, "please..." I heard body meet body and I knew Bulbasaur had been hit. I looked up and saw Bulbasaur flying through the air, but I saw something else as well.
"Bulba -SAUR!" Bulbasaur cried angrily and as it flew through the air, two whips came out from behind it. They wrapped around Ninetale's body, and as Bulbasaur landed (on its feet, no less!), it snapped the whips, causing the Ninetales to lose its balance and fall.
"What?!" Kate cried. "Ninetales, get up and use Flamethrower again!"
"Bulbasaur, Vinewhip! Stop it from using Flamethrower!"
Bulbasaur's vines unwrapped from the Ninetales mid-section and encased its muzzle. There was a minute's worth of struggling, before Ninetales looked back at Kate and whimpered.
"Ninetales is unable to battle!" I cried. "I win this round!"
Kate looked upset, but conceded. "Ninetales, return!" She held out her Pokeball.
"Call out your second Pokemon, Kate."
Kate looked away. "I don't have one. I figured both your Pokemon would lose to Ninetales. I congratulate you, Arina. You did a nice job," she said as she reverted the Pokeball to its smaller size. "Was this your first trainer battle?"
"Yes." I nodded as Bulbasaur returned to my side.
Kate smiled. "Then I suggest you get your Pokemon healed before you battle against the Pewter Gym Leader."
I picked up Bulbasaur. "Thank you, Kate."
The Pokemon Center wasn't far, only one block over and down. There was a short line to get Pokemon revitalized, but I didn't mind, I was thrilled we'd won our first match.
"I am so proud of you! Both of you!" I said happily to Pidgey and Bulbasaur, who were sitting next to me.
"Bulb-Bulbasaur!" Bulbasaur cooed.
"Pidgey-Pidge?" (Who will you use against the Gym Leader?)
"I don't know. The information about Gym Leaders is kept pretty much a secret until the trainer gets to the Gym and once they've battled, there's sort of a silent agreement that the trainer who battled for the badge doesn't tell anyone else what kind of Pokemon the leader has, so there's not some advantage for the next trainer."
"Pidge-Pidgey-Pidge?" (Because the Leader doesn't know what kind of Pokemon the trainer has beforehand?)
"Exactly." I nodded.
"Bulb-Bulbasaur." (Makes sense.)
"Miss, we can heal your Pokemon now." Nurse Joy waved me over.
"Ok, guys, back in your Pokeballs for a minute and then back to the Gym." I said and held out their Pokeballs. After a few minutes, Nurse Joy had healed them and we were on our way back to the Gym. Kate met me at the Gym door inside. She wished me luck and I nervously walked forward.
Less than a minute later, a voice called out to me, "Who goes there?"
"Arina Ketchum, from the town of Pallet."
There was silence, and then, "So you finally got the nerve to challenge me." Karen stepped into the light.
"KAREN?" I shrieked. "You're the Gym Leader?"
"Yes. Surprised, I see."
"B-but I thought Uncle Brock -"
"- ran the Gym so you'd get an easy break for the Boulder Badge?" Karen smirked. "I wouldn't allow it."
I gritted my teeth and tried to keep my cool.
"So you're going to fight after all. How brave." Karen clucked her tongue. "I'm sure Daddy would be so proud of his little girl for not running home scared."
I was angry now, but unable to resist, I said, "I'm sure that exactly how your Daddy feels, after all, facing a Ketchum in battle is a very life- threatening experience." I smirked right back at her and saw Karen's grin fall flat. "Now are you going to defend your badge or are you just going to stand there?"
"As much as I love talking, I love battling even more. We will use two Pokemon each, no time limit."
"Let's go. Pika-baby, I choose you." I threw out a Pokeball and my baby Pikachu appeared.
Karen laughed. "So much like your father and yet you learn nothing. History *does* repeat itself. Go Digger!" She threw out her own Pokemon, and a Diglett appeared.
"D-Diglett?" I mentally smacked myself. Diglett weren't affected by electric attacks...but that didn't mean Pika-baby was finished yet! "Pika- baby, Tackle attack!"
"Digger, dig." Karen said calmly.
Digger popped underground as Baby dove on top of it. Pika-baby looked around, confused. "Pika-Pi-Pika?" (Where'd it go?)
"Pika-baby get out of there now!" I cried.
Pika-baby just stared at me. "Pikachu-Pika-kachu?"
"Yes, I want you to fight, but get out of Digger's range -" Too late, Diglett drove up through the ground beneath Pika-baby, sending my Pokemon flying through the air.
"Baby!" I cried as it hit the hard floor.
"Pika -" it answered me as it struggled to get up. Without me ordering it to do anything, it half-ran on three feet back to Digger. Digger pulled its head into the ground again for another attack.
"Pika-baby, return now!" I ordered.
The baby Pikachu shook its head defiantly. "Pi-ka-Pi-Pi-Pi!" (The only way I can be big and strong is to fight!)
"You've got an unruly Pokemon, Arina. Why am I not surprised? Digger, Fissure now!"
The Earth shook just like yesterday at the pond, but more violently this time. In fact, Digger was using the attack so long that the ground started to split. A vein formed in the ground between Pika-baby's legs and the two halves of the ground moved apart so fast that Baby didn't have a chance to jump away in time. It clung to one side, wailing pitifully.
That was the straw that broke the camel's back. "STOP THE MATCH!" I yelled at Karen. "I FORFEIT!"
The bell sounded and I raced to Pika-baby, sobbing as I lifted it from the edge of the crevice. I hugged it tightly, scolding it gently for not obeying, and promising that this would never happen again.
"We'll try again." I promised as Digger returned to its Pokeball.
Karen sniffed. "Who said I'd give you another chance?"
I looked up. "You have to! You must!"
Karen turned away. "I don't have to do anything. Go get your Pokemon healed."
I gave Karen's back a death glare; so angry I could have slugged her right then. After what she did to my Pokemon, and she wasn't going to give me another chance?"
"Let's go, Baby." I muttered angrily, cradling it in my arms, and walked out of the Gym to the Pokemon Center.
"Broken leg, I'm afraid." Nurse Joy told me after I rushed to the Pokemon Center again, pushing past the new line of trainers that had formed again, yelling it was an emergency. "It was in a Gym battle?"
I groaned. Revitalizing Pokemon didn't cost anything; broken limbs were another matter. "Yes, Karen's Diglett used Dig on Pikachu, sending it flying through the air and it landed halfway across the Gym."
Joy gasped. "You're lucky it didn't land on its head!"
"Yeah, I guess." I said unenthusiastically. After a moment, I commented, "I didn't know the Dig technique was supposed to be used like that."
"Neither did I." Joy said grimly. "I'll have to put Pika-Baby under anesthetic for a little while, so I can put the cast on it and let it dry. Why don't you get some lunch while you're waiting?"
"Pika-Pika-Pika!" (Don't leave me!) Pika-Baby wailed.
I nodded to Nurse Joy and picked Baby up. "It's all right." I cooed, making sure Pika-Baby didn't see Joy loading the needle. "You'll be fine." She put the needle into its arm, the agent working almost instantaneously as Baby went limp in my arms. "Goodnight, Pika-Baby." I handed it to Nurse Joy and went to lunch, a knot slowly forming in my stomach...
As I sat down to eat at a diner nearby the Pokemon Center, I only picked at my turkey sandwich I'd ordered, not feeling very hungry at all.
"Someone's not happy."
I looked up to see a tall man in a coat and hat standing at my table. "I'll bet your boyfriend just broke up with you." He continued.
I shook my head and looked down at my sandwich. "Heartbreak hurts less than this."
"Aha, that pain." he said as he sat down across from me. "The pain of losing your first Gym battle."
Tears came to my eyes. "It was so easy!" My voice broke as I looked at him. "I knew how to beat her, and she whipped me badly."
"Aw, no tears now." he handed me a tissue. "Remember, tomorrow is another day."
I nodded as I took the tissue, not feeling much better.
"I remember losing my first Gym battle," he said. "I felt as torn up as you do now, but I went on and won in different ways."
"Different...ways?" I asked.
"Sure, I wasn't very good at battling Pokemon, but I could pick some great names for them."
I realized now who I was talking to. "You're Mr. Nameth from Lavender Town."
He smiled and extended his hand to me. "And may I ask with whom I have the pleasure of speaking with?"
"Arina Ketchum." I extended my own hand.
"The Arina Ketchum?" he asked.
I nodded, afraid he was going to flip out like most people did when they met me. Instead he shook my hand and smiled. "A pleasure. I met your father when he was about your age. Very nice young man."
I nodded. "What brings you to Pewter? Pokemon desperately need naming?"
Mr. Nameth chuckled. "No, just visiting my son and his family of four."
"That's nice."
"But I'm sure I could turn this into a business trip. How about it?"
I stared at him. "You mean, name my Pokemon?"
"Sure, why not?"
"I can't afford it."
Mr. Nameth shook his head. "All my services are free. I get paid by the League."
"Oh," I reached for my belt. "Well, in that case, Pidgey, Spearow, Weedle, and Bulbasaur need names."
"Hm." Mr. Nameth sat back in his seat. "How about 'Pidge' for Pidgey, 'Highdive' for Spearow, 'Poke' for Weedle."
"Ok guys, come out and tell us what you think."
The Pokemon popped out of their Pokeballs. "Pidgey-Pidge." Pidgey said. (It's a nice name.)
"Spear-Spearow!" (I love my name!)
"Weedle-Weedle-Weed?" (Why the name 'Poke'?)
"Well, you poke your enemies with your horn and when you become a Beedrill, you'll attack with the spears on your hands."
"And I'll bet you'll make one mean Kakuna too." Mr. Nameth said.
"Weed-Weedle!" (You bet!)
"Now, for Bulbasaur..."
"Bulb-Bulbasaur." (I don't want a name.)
"You don't?" Mr. Nameth and I said together.
"Bulba-Bulba-saur-Bulbasaur!" (I prefer just 'Bulbasaur'.)
I shrugged. "If that's the way you want it."
"Then it's settled. Congratulations, Pidge, Highdive and Poke."
"Now I'm hungry." I smiled and lifted my sandwich.
"Glad to hear it." Mr. Nameth stood up. "Well, I must be off. I'll register your Pokemon names with my office and make sure to notify Professor Oak back in Pallet. It was nice meeting you, Arina." He held out his hand and we shook. "Please come to Lavender Town to visit me."
"Sure thing."
"And I'll come see you at the Pokemon Tournaments." he called as he left.
"Hey." someone immediately tapped me on the shoulder. I looked up to see Uncle Brock standing next to me.
"Who was that?"
"Only Mr. Nameth."
"The guy that names trainers' Pokemon?"
"Yeah."
"Did you name yours?"
"Yup! Meet 'High Dive,' I pointed to Spearow, 'Poke'," I waved at Weedle,
and 'Pidge'."
"That's great, and I've got some good news, too." Brock slid into Mr. Nameth's seat and held out three pieces of paper toward me.
"What are these?" I picked out one and read it. "THE PEWTER GRAND PRIX?!" I shrieked.
Brock motioned me to keep my voice down. "I managed to get three tickets and the races start in an hour."
I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Since I was a little girl, I'd wanted to see the Grand Prix up close, instead of on T.V.
"Look where the seats are." Brock smiled.
I looked at the tickets again, this time more closely, then my eyes widened. "The third row?" I gasped.
Brock nodded. "If you're going to see the Prix, you need to see it up close."
"Thank you, Brock, I don't know how I can repay you!"
"Repay me?" Brock asked, looking at me, puzzled. "Arina, don't worry about it. Now let's home and get ready for the Prix."
I found out who the third ticket went to: Karen. Of all the rotten luck! She must have closed the Gym early because she met us at our seats several minutes after we arrived.
"Sorry, I'm late Dad." Karen said as she sat down next to him. "I had to make a phone call."
"No problem, the race hasn't started yet." Brock said.
"Who's running?" I asked.
"You mean you don't know?" Karen asked, sounding snooty, earning a glare from Brock. Sounding a little friendlier, she answered, "Well, the favored Ponyta is Chance."
"But I thought Chance wasn't running this year because the rider quit suddenly." I proffered.
Karen shook her head. "They found a new rider two weeks ago."
"That's good."
"Maybe." Brock said, looking doubtful.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Pewter City Annual Grand Prix Ponyta race. Our Ponyta racers today are: Chance, winner of the Grand Prix 3 years straight." The announcer said as the crowd roared with enthusiasm. "'She Loves You', who came in third in last year's race. The rest are all newcomers. 'Hero', a five-year-old stallion, 'Red', Hero's younger brother, and 'Juggler, a three-year-old. Ladies and Gentlemen, the mounts and riders have positioned themselves at the gate. Let the race begin!"
The starting lights went from red to green, and the Ponytas shot out of their starting positions. Brock, Karen and I stood and cheered with the rest of the crowd as the steeds raced around once, then twice, each trying to gain ground against one another. On the third round, something happened and in two seconds, Chance, who was ahead by two lengths, suddenly tripped and fell and the other riders passed by. The race ended and 'She Loves You' won.
I was more interested in what happened to Chance. A little crowd of officials was gathering around the fallen Ponyta now, and as a group they all nodded in agreement. Brock saw this and pulled out his wallet. "Karen," he started, watching the field as an Officer Jenny came out, and talked to the officials. "Go get ice cream for me and take Arina with you."
"Ok, what kind?"
"I don't care, just go." Brock said in a hard tone, still watching the field.
"C'mon Arina." Karen huffed, dragging me out to the aisle.
"What's going to -"
"Nothing." Karen said, pulling on my arm a bit harder.
"But that Ponyta -" I turned in time to see one of the officials come out with a rifle and hand it to Jenny. I realized what they were going to do now! I ripped Karen's grasp from my arm and ran down the steps and jumped over the barrier that separated the track from the stands. Screaming my lungs out as I ran, I pushed Jenny out of the way. The rifle went off, scaring everyone, including the officials. I threw myself down on Chance's flank, breathing heavily, then looked up at the all-male group of tailor- suited officials and Jenny. "I will NOT let you kill this Ponyta." I said angrily.
"Get out of the way, child, this matter doesn't concern you." one of the officials, a stout man wearing a top hat was just as angry.
"Yes it does. It concerns every Pokemon trainer, every researcher, anyone who has anything to do with Pokemon. This Ponyta has done nothing except faithfully race for people's enjoyment. It doesn't deserve to die! A life is a life. You have no right to play God! If this Ponyta were your Pokemon, would you shoot it because it had a broken leg? You wouldn't! You'd take it to Nurse Joy to have it healed!"
"Stop being stupid, child." Another official grabbed my arm but I pulled away violently and threw my arms around Chance's neck.
"If you want to kill Chance so badly, you'll have to kill me first." I ground out, and closed my eyes.
There was a minute of silence and besides the murmurs of the crowd, you could have heard a pin drop. "Get up, child." A third official finally said. "You've made your point."
I opened my eyes and looked up.
"Look at your arms. Chance's mane hasn't burned you at all."
I looked down in surprise and saw he was right. Chance was looking up at me, still very fearful of its predicament.
"I promise you no harm will come to Chance now. Come with me." He extended his arm to me and I stood up as a flat bed truck arrived. "The truck will take Chance to the Pokemon Center."
"ARINA!" Brock yelled as he and Karen ran up to them. I ran to hug Brock; happy now everything was all right.
"Thank God you're safe." Brock sighed in relief while trying to catch his breath. He turned to the official. "I'm sorry, sir, for whatever trouble she caused."
"Are you her father?"
Brock shook his head. "Guardian, while she's staying in Pewter City. Brock Stone." he put out his hand.
"Lot O. Monet. And your name?" Lot turned to me.
"Sandy." Brock said first.
I shook her head. "It's time for me to stop hiding, Brock. I'm Arina Ketchum."
Monet stared. "The girl everyone's looking for?"
I nodded. "I think it's time for the rest of the world to know I'm here as well."
Rob was sitting in his room at the Celadon City Gym, staring hard at the television. For some reason, the girl on the screen looked familiar, but he couldn't tell why.
"Who are you?" he asked the blue-haired girl on the screen. "If only I could remember..."
Rob couldn't remember much. He'd woken up one morning to discover himself lying in the middle of a forest, without a clue as to who he was or where he'd come from or even where he was supposed to be going. He wandered into Celadon City, then straight into the Pokemon Gym. Erica, the woman who ran the Gym, took him in, and did everything to help find out who he was, but his Pokedex, whatever that was, was missing. Then there was the issue of his "Pokemon". They were several types of animals Rob kept on his belt in these weird white and red balls; apparently they could speak, but Rob couldn't figure out what they were saying. Sadly, they went back into their Pokeballs and hadn't come out since. The only clue to his identity was a notebook in his backpack with the label, "Rob's Notebook", and which convieniently contained only blank pages - another dead end.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm sorry for the scare I just gave you," the blue- haired girl on T.V. was now speaking to the crowd! "But I couldn't leave without at least trying to save Chance's life. A winner of the Grand Prix three years in a row deserves better than to be killed for having a hurt leg."
"That takes guts," Rob thought silently, pushing away some of his brown hair out his face, "to get up there and say that."
"My name is Arina Ketchum, and as you can see, I haven't been eaten by wild Pokemon, I'm only the victim of vicious rumors. Two weeks ago, my mother and I had a fight, and I ran away from home in the middle of the night, starting my Pokemon journey against my parents wishes. Less than two days later, I hurt my leg in Viridian Forest and was found by a fellow trainer. I gave up myself to get my foot fixed and to talk to my parents and we agreed that I could go on my Pokemon journey, but I had to keep in touch with them. However, they didn't tell me that they would lie to the press to throw them off my scent. I'm sorry for any confusion this may have caused anyone. Thank you."
Rob's jaw dropped. He hadn't expected that! He looked up when three trainers, all girls, passed his room. "Erica! Erica!" they all squealed excitedly as they ran into the Gym Leader's office, down the hall from Rob's room. "Arina's been found!"
Rob wondered what the heck was going on. Who was Arina Ketchum anyway? Rob looked back at the television, but a special report had interrupted further broadcast of the race.
"That's good news, girls." Erica's voice floated down the hallway. "I'll telephone Ash and Misty right now. Why don't you go tell the rest of the trainers?"
The girls ran off and Rob wandered down the hall to Erica's office. He knocked on the door and peeked in.
"Hi Rob!" Erica waved to him. She was on the videophone. "I'll be with you in a minute." she turned to the screen that pictured the Ketchum's videophone answering machine. "Ash and Misty, I'm glad you found Arina, just don't pull a stunt like this again or I might send Gloom to your home. Bye!"
"Now," Erica said as she hung up the receiver, "What's up?"
"Well, I want to know who Arina Ketchum is. I feel like I've seen her before."
"Oh, well, have a seat." Rob sat. "Remember how I told you that most people that train Pokemon also battle them against other trainers Pokemon? These people go onto tournaments with all the other trainers and Ash Ketchum became the number one Pokemon Master when he was twenty, and has been undefeated since. Then he got married to Misty Waterflower and they had a daughter -"
"- named Arina."
"Exactly."
"So the reason there's been all this fuss over her is because she's the Pokemon Master's daughter?"
"Yes."
Rob paused for a minute. "That doesn't seem very fair, does it? I mean, she gets all the attention because of her father, and there are thousands of missing kids out there who don't hold her status."
"No, it's not very fair." Erica answered, suddenly just a little distant.
"Well, I'll let you get back to work. Thanks, Erica."
After Rob left, Erica grabbed the silver picture frame sitting on her desk facing her and hugged it. "It's not very fair at all." she whispered.
End Chapter 2
