Chapter 6-Two Badges and a Gym

Chapter 6-Two Badges and a Gym

The group walked for what seemed like hours. Vincent led them through the thick wood with ease. He appeared to be following some path, which only he could see. Even when it began to get dark, he still kept walking. And the rest of the group followed his lead, tripping over tree roots and trying to avoid holes in their path. Finally, Vincent noticed that Gary and Misty were struggling to keep up with him and he slowed down. "Sorry guys" he said, turning to face them. "I forgot that your eyesight isn't as good as mine in the dark. I think I can hear a river ahead of us. We'll camp there, okay?"

"Yeah, okay. We can manage a little farther," Ash said. "I'll help Misty"

"Thanks Ash. Gary, you need any help?"

"No" Gary said slowly. "I'll be fine"

A few minutes later, Vincent found a small area surrounded by trees. "Here guys," he said. "Let's camp here. Looks like you could all use some sleep"

"Isn't it dangerous?" Jessie asked, glancing around her. "What about wild pokemon?"

"No problem. We'll light a campfire to keep the pokemon at a distance and we can take it in turns to sit up and watch. Me and Sol-leks will go first"

"I'll go second," Brock volunteered. "I'll take a turn too," James said at once. "We should all do our bit and you'll need to sleep as well Vincent. If you get sick, we'll all be in trouble"

"Don't worry" Vincent looked at them all, his green eyes filled with amusement. "It's nice of you to worry and it's good of you to offer. But I'll go first and when I get tired, one of you can take my place"

Ash and Vincent built a small campfire and gathered a spare pile of wood in case the fire died down during the night. Misty, Brock, Jessie and James were sitting in a circle having something to eat and drink. After the campfire had been built, Ash went over to join them. Vincent looked around and noticed that Gary was already asleep, with Sol-leks sitting by his side. Vincent smiled as he unfastened his cloak and placed it over the younger boy. "Come on Sol-leks" he called as he headed over to the others. "Lets have something to eat before these pigs eat everything," He laughed as they glared at him in mock anger.

They were all too tired to stay up that night. Misty dropped off to sleep immediately, Ash and Brock just a few minutes after. Jessie was already half asleep, her head on James' lap. When James finally drifted off, Vincent was alone with his own thoughts.

He sat next to Gary, protecting the younger boy from the cold night air. As he watched over him, almost without thinking, he reached out and gently touched Gary's cheek. Gary turned his head slightly and Vincent quickly pulled his hand back, troubled by the feelings rising within him. "He seems so much like me," he whispered to himself. "Yet surely I can't be attracted to him. It can't be possible" Yet deep down, the boy knew that trying to hide his feelings wouldn't make them go away. But for Gary's sake, he knew that he had to try.

Gary was the first awake the next morning. As he slowly sat up trying to clear his head, he felt hungry. As he quietly got up, his movements awoke Vincent, who was lying right next to him. He moved his head and smiled when he saw Gary. "Morning" he said quietly. "You're up early"

"Sorry Vince. I didn't mean to wake you up"

"It's alright. I wanted to get an early start anyway" Vincent picked his cloak up from the ground and put it on. "The others will be awake soon. I'm going for a walk, okay. I'll be back in a while"

By the time Vincent got back, everyone was up and almost ready to leave. While everyone was packing up, he pulled Brock and Misty to one side. "Listen guys" he said. "I want to ask you something"

"Sure, go ahead" Brock said. "We're listening"

"You two are gym leaders, right? Well can I battle you for your badges? Now, while my pokemon are still fresh?"

"Well" Misty began, looking at Brock. "I don't see why not. But I have to be by the water so I can use my water pokemon"

"There's the river over there. I'll fight Brock first though. How many pokemon, Brock?"

"Three on three?"

"Done. Go Vaporeon!"

"Go Onix"

"Vaporeon hit that Onix with Water Gun"

Onix was knocked back by Water Gun, but countered with Body Slam. Vaporeon used Bubble and Onix went down. As the others gathered around to watch, Brock sent out Zubat. Vincent thought for a moment, then withdrew Vaporeon and sent out Sandshrew. Zubat used Confusion, which Sandshrew avoided. Sandshrew used Slash and Zubat retaliated with Bite. Sandshrew stayed up and delivered a Tackle, which sent Zubat to the ground. Brock then sent out Geodude and Vincent called out his Poliwhirl. Poliwhirl hit Geodude with Hydro Pump, which took it down in one.

Vincent called back Poliwhirl and smiled at Brock. "Good job" Brock said, returning his smile. "Here's the Boulder Badge. You've certainly earned it"

"Thanks Brock" Vincent took the badge and showed it to Sol-leks. "Look Sol-leks" he said. "It's my first badge. You can help me win the second"

"You sound sure you're going to win" Misty said. "You haven't seen my water pokemon battle yet"

"Come on then, if we're all ready to go, I'll show you just how powerful Sol-leks is in battle. You won't be disappointed, I promise you"

Slowly, talking excitedly about the battle they had just witnessed, the group followed Vincent to the stream. Vincent walked quietly in front, thinking about the next battle. Suddenly he felt someone touch his shoulder. As he turned his head, Gary started walking next to him. "You're a good pokemon trainer," he said slowly. "When we fought on the boat, you told me that you hadn't battled for a year. Is that really true?"

"I've never fought a gym leader before Brock" Vincent admitted. "And I haven't really fought many trainer battles either. Some here and there, but not regular ones. I got my pokemon so high by battling wild pokemon, or sometimes by fighting against my brother, Jack"

"Well I thought that you were brilliant" Gary said quietly. As Vincent looked sharply at him, he blushed and hung his head. "Thanks Gary" Vincent said slowly. "It's a nice thing to hear. I try my best"

A few minutes later, they came to the river. It was a very narrow one with a small bridge. Ash and Brock stayed with Misty, while Team Rocket and Gary followed Vincent over the bridge. "Two on two" Misty called over. "That okay, Vince?"

"Sure" he called back. "Let's begin. I choose Pidgetto"

"Fine. Go Staru"

"This will be easy. Pidgetto, use Gust"

As commanded, Pidgetto flapped his wings to create a strong wind. Staru was thrown back violently. It retaliated with a Tackle and Pidgetto countered that with Swift. He then used a Quick Attack. Staru was knocked out. Vincent praised Pidgetto, and then called him back. Misty sent out Starmie and Sol-leks stepped forward. Vincent nodded and patted his pokemon's head gently. "Go on then" he said. "Warm up with a Headbutt attack"

"Wolfang" Sol-leks ran at Starmie and hit it hard. However, Starmie was barely affected and it tackled Sol-leks, sending the pokemon flying backwards. Sol-leks, without waiting for orders, attempted a Take Down attack, which hit Starmie hard. Before Starmie could counter, Sol-leks used a Quick Attack. Starmie used Water Gun, which barely even affected Sol-leks and the dog pokemon took it down with a final Quick Attack. "Yes!" Gary yelled. "He did it"

"Yeah, he sure did" Misty answered, coming across the bridge with Ash and Brock behind her. "That was a brilliant battle, Vincent. Is Sol-leks okay?"

"Wolfang" Sol-leks licked her hand. Vincent laughed. "He says, 'Sorry about Starmie,'" he told them. "It's alright," Misty told Sol-leks. "He'll be fine, don't worry. Now" she said turning to Vincent. "Congratulations. You've earned the Cascade Badge"

"Thanks Misty. That was a good battle there. It's great to see that my pokemon are still in good shape. Now, we made very good progress yesterday and if we continue like that today, we should reach a town by this evening. This town is supposed to have a gym and a pokemon centre. I think we should make for there. Sleeping in the open is okay sometimes, but it's annoying having to take it in turns to keep watch. I want to see if we can sleep in the pokemon centre tonight. So, lets get moving"

They travelled onwards for most of the day, stopping only once to have a break and something to eat. Pikachu amused them all, by jumping from Ash's hat onto Sol-leks. He sat on his back, while Sol-leks walked around, looking puzzled. When he finally lay down, with his head on Gary's knee, Pikachu got bored and jumped back onto Ash. When they began to walk again, Pikachu occasionally jumped back on Sol-leks and rode on his back. "Won't Sol-leks get annoyed with Pikachu?" Jessie asked finally. Meowth shook his head. "I don't think so," he said. "He's a pretty reasonably pokemon"

"He sure is" Vincent agreed. "He'd only hurt Pikachu if he thought that Pikachu was going to hurt me. I think Sol-leks finds it quite amusing himself. He's never had the honour of carrying a Pikachu before. I guess yours is the first" he said to Ash. Ash grinned. "It's a first for Pikachu too" he replied. "He's never found another pokemon who would let him do something like that"

Gary and Misty were both very silent. Gary walked along beside Vincent, taking little notice of anything around him. Occasionally Vincent could feel Gary's eyes on him, but he pretended not to notice. Misty walked along next to Ash and Brock, making no effort to join in their conversation. She seemed to be in a world of her own.

It was early evening when the gang arrived at the small town. They immediately headed to the pokemon centre and gave their pokemon to Nurse Joy. She told them that the town had been very quiet lately and she had four spare rooms. Ash and Brock decided to share, Jessie, James and Meowth decided to share, Misty wanted to go on her own in a small room, and Vincent and Sol-leks were sharing with Gary. As they were waiting around in the lobby talking to Nurse Joy, Brock mentioned the pokemon gym. Nurse Joy suddenly went very quiet. "I wouldn't go into that gym if I were you" she warned them. "Why not?" Ash demanded. "Well…" Joy said slowly. "It's been open for a year and during that time, about eight trainers have gone in to fight the gym leader. None of them have come out. Not one"

"Couldn't it be possible that they just came out and left the area?" Vincent asked. "Were any of them from this town?"

"Well, no" Joy admitted. "They were all just passing through. But something about that gym gives me and the other town people the creeps. It's at the back of the town and we just try and avoid it if we can"

"Well, we'll consider your advice" Vincent said politely. "Thank you. Now if you will excuse me, I think I'll go to my room. Later guys"

They all said goodnight to Nurse Joy, collected their pokemon and went up to their rooms. All except Vincent, who had slipped out with Sol-leks. Only Misty had noticed him leave and she had gone out after him, meaning to see what he was up too. As the gang went into their separate rooms, none of them realised the events that the night would soon bring, the relationships which would soon be formed and broken and the real danger that they were in, which would unite them all.