Cael started crying the moment we were out of the gym. Well, not really
crying, more sobbing. Okay, he wasn't exactly sobbing, either, but tears
were streaming down his cheeks, without making any noise, you know what I
mean. Yeah, well, I put my arm around his shoulders, trying to comfort him,
like.
"Don't worry; it'll be okay," I said, trying to reassure him.
"I can't believe I lost!" He wailed, as we were walking toward the pokémon centre. He sniffed loudly. "I've never lost anything before. The breeder who sold Saliba is a crook,"
"Err, no offence, Cael, but blaming a pokémon breeder who sold you a Persian almost seven years ago is not going to help anything. I think you should catch a new pokémon!"
"I would never ever catch a weak, common pokémon! I want one that has been bred properly, that -" He was ready to launch into a long speech, I knew it was coming.
"Cael, you can be a pain sometimes. Why don't we go find a snobby breeder for you, then?" "Okay," He said, having stopped his crying. He didn't look too happy, though. I don't think I even cried the first time I lost to Brock's sidekick! And here he was, bawling because his pokémon lost to a gym leader they were weak against! Of course, I wasn't thinking that at the time.
"So, do you know where a breeder is?" I asked, feeling dumb that I put forward that idea without even knowing WHERE the nearest breeder was. Cael, however, came to my rescue.
"I've got a good map!" He said, pulling out a Pokégear Map-Card. His Map- Card was much better than mine. He said "Fire Pokémon Breeder, Celadon City" - it was voice-activated! - And the map showed him a house not far from the city - good thing, I was tired from walking for the past week or so!
So we set off toward the breeding place, forgetting to heal our pokémon. Looking back, I can't help wondering how differently everything would've turned out if we had gone to the pokémon centre.
***
The breeder's place was, well, quite boring. But then again, all we saw were a few weird puddles of steaming red goo in the front yard - Slugma. Cael seemed in his element, knocking on the door, and talking about who- knows-what with the breeder guy - I must admit I wasn't paying attention! Eventually, Cael elbowed me.
"Come on, he says he's got the perfect pokémon for me!" Cael said, with a grin. Right then he looked like something from one of those postcards they have - you know, a kid, with freckles, and dimples, the whole bit. I know it sounds strange, but I felt like I was, I dunno, the photographer, no, something worse, the person who brings models cups of coffee and stuff. I felt like Cael was the centre of attention - okay, he was, I mean, he DID have more money than my entire family! We went into the guy's backyard - with even MORE fire pokémon. But he led us to a paddock that seemed larger than all the others. I couldn't see anything in it, until the breeder whistled - one of those whistles where you put your fingers in your mouth, I've always wanted to be able to whistle like that, but I can't. Heck, I can't even click my fingers! Once the guy whistled, a HUGE horse-like pokémon appeared. Instead of a mane and tail it had flames. It also had a horn. Its ivory coat glistened in the sunlight, it looked perfect, like something out of Pokémon Breeder's Monthly. "Kiddo, you can have him if you've got enough money"
"How much?" Cael asked, pulling out his incredibly thick wallet.
"Hmm. He's my breeding stallion, so I won't let him go for less than 2 mill."
I almost fainted. 2 million yen! That's more than my mother made in a year! "Hmm." Cael said, thoughtfully. "I'll give you 1.5"
The breeder seemed to have yen signs in his eyes. "You've got yourself a deal!" He said. "Give me the money and he's yours."
Cael handed over the money as if it was no more than the 40-yen entry fee into the underground path. My eyes must've been the size of dinner plates. The breeder grinned slyly. "Okay, Kiddo, he's yours. Once you capture him!"
Cael looked confused, before it dawned on him - he would have to catch the Rapidash HIMSELF - and he didn't have any battle-fit pokémon!
"Uh. Sir, can't you just give me his pokéball?"
"You catch him, you keep him. That's the rules!" Replied the breeder, who then moved to sit on a nearby rock, counting the money.
"Uh. Vera, I don't have any pokémon that are fit to battle. Would you mind weakening it for me?"
"Okay, I guess so," I said, not really wanting to weaken a pokémon I wasn't even going to capture, but, being a friend, it was hard to say no. With a sigh, I released my pokémon
"Faith, go!"
"Char! Char!!"
"Err, weaken the Rapidash! We want to capture it!"
"Char!!"
Faith started setting flames onto the Rapidash, which really didn't seem to mind. It just set flames onto Faith, and on and on it went, until Faith decided to try a Bite attack. He bit the Rapidash's leg, and that set the horse-like pokémon off! It ran and ran, jumping over the fence of its paddock. Cael looked as panicked as I felt.
"Err, Faith, run after it!" I yelled, knowing it was probably not going to work. Suddenly, Faith was surrounded in flames. I thought he was using Flame Wheel or something. The flames grew taller, and wider, and my pokémon was invisible, engulfed in fire. I wondered why he wasn't running after the Rapidash. Suddenly, the fire disappeared, and where my Charmeleon was standing, there was now a HUGE Charizard - it looked bigger than any I'd ever seen before. It walked in front of me, stepping over the fence like it wasn't there, and stooped slightly. I got the idea - he wanted me to ride on his back. I climbed on, nervously, being careful to avoid his flamed tail. He grabbed a stunned looking Cael, scratching him with his claws. He started flying at what seemed to be supersonic speed. Cael looked totally freaked out, but I managed to haul him onto the back of my newly evolved fire pokémon. We were next to each other, and he had his arm tightly around my shoulders - I guess he was afraid of falling off. I wasn't scared because I knew Faith would never let me fall. Perhaps the tail flame was what made Cael nervous.
All this happened surprisingly quickly - within about 5 minutes Faith had landed in front of the Rapidash, and Cael jumped off - I guess he wanted to be ready to catch the pokémon once Faith weakened it. I, myself, was far too exited to want to get off my pokémon - who wouldn't be? Faith roared, and lifted the Rapidash high into the air, dropping it roughly onto the floor. He did this about ten times, or more. Without a trainer to help it, the horse-like pokémon seemed too confused to fight back. When it couldn't stand up for weakness, Cael threw a gold-and-silver pokéball at the Rapidash, catching it. I thought that Cael's pokéballs would probably be incredibly effective on their own, but I didn't say so. Cael grinned, looking incredibly pleased with himself "Ha! I caught the Rapidash! I'll call it Haaj!"
I had no idea what the name was for. I didn't really care, either. "But I was the one who weakened it, Cael!"
"Well, I payed for it!" He countered. I wasn't in a mood to argue, so I nodded in agreement.
"So, I guess we can Fly back to Celadon, can't we?" "Yeah, I guess," Cael agreed. I grinned, and petted Faith
"Good work. Can you Fly to Celadon?"
"Char! Char!" He said, confidently. I jumped onto his back, and pulled Cael on also. My friend seemed reluctant to let go of my hand - I suppose it was because of the tail flame, again, because he put his arms around Faith's neck really tightly. I held onto Faith's wings, where they met the body. My pokémon flew to Celadon, at incredible speed.
"Don't worry; it'll be okay," I said, trying to reassure him.
"I can't believe I lost!" He wailed, as we were walking toward the pokémon centre. He sniffed loudly. "I've never lost anything before. The breeder who sold Saliba is a crook,"
"Err, no offence, Cael, but blaming a pokémon breeder who sold you a Persian almost seven years ago is not going to help anything. I think you should catch a new pokémon!"
"I would never ever catch a weak, common pokémon! I want one that has been bred properly, that -" He was ready to launch into a long speech, I knew it was coming.
"Cael, you can be a pain sometimes. Why don't we go find a snobby breeder for you, then?" "Okay," He said, having stopped his crying. He didn't look too happy, though. I don't think I even cried the first time I lost to Brock's sidekick! And here he was, bawling because his pokémon lost to a gym leader they were weak against! Of course, I wasn't thinking that at the time.
"So, do you know where a breeder is?" I asked, feeling dumb that I put forward that idea without even knowing WHERE the nearest breeder was. Cael, however, came to my rescue.
"I've got a good map!" He said, pulling out a Pokégear Map-Card. His Map- Card was much better than mine. He said "Fire Pokémon Breeder, Celadon City" - it was voice-activated! - And the map showed him a house not far from the city - good thing, I was tired from walking for the past week or so!
So we set off toward the breeding place, forgetting to heal our pokémon. Looking back, I can't help wondering how differently everything would've turned out if we had gone to the pokémon centre.
***
The breeder's place was, well, quite boring. But then again, all we saw were a few weird puddles of steaming red goo in the front yard - Slugma. Cael seemed in his element, knocking on the door, and talking about who- knows-what with the breeder guy - I must admit I wasn't paying attention! Eventually, Cael elbowed me.
"Come on, he says he's got the perfect pokémon for me!" Cael said, with a grin. Right then he looked like something from one of those postcards they have - you know, a kid, with freckles, and dimples, the whole bit. I know it sounds strange, but I felt like I was, I dunno, the photographer, no, something worse, the person who brings models cups of coffee and stuff. I felt like Cael was the centre of attention - okay, he was, I mean, he DID have more money than my entire family! We went into the guy's backyard - with even MORE fire pokémon. But he led us to a paddock that seemed larger than all the others. I couldn't see anything in it, until the breeder whistled - one of those whistles where you put your fingers in your mouth, I've always wanted to be able to whistle like that, but I can't. Heck, I can't even click my fingers! Once the guy whistled, a HUGE horse-like pokémon appeared. Instead of a mane and tail it had flames. It also had a horn. Its ivory coat glistened in the sunlight, it looked perfect, like something out of Pokémon Breeder's Monthly. "Kiddo, you can have him if you've got enough money"
"How much?" Cael asked, pulling out his incredibly thick wallet.
"Hmm. He's my breeding stallion, so I won't let him go for less than 2 mill."
I almost fainted. 2 million yen! That's more than my mother made in a year! "Hmm." Cael said, thoughtfully. "I'll give you 1.5"
The breeder seemed to have yen signs in his eyes. "You've got yourself a deal!" He said. "Give me the money and he's yours."
Cael handed over the money as if it was no more than the 40-yen entry fee into the underground path. My eyes must've been the size of dinner plates. The breeder grinned slyly. "Okay, Kiddo, he's yours. Once you capture him!"
Cael looked confused, before it dawned on him - he would have to catch the Rapidash HIMSELF - and he didn't have any battle-fit pokémon!
"Uh. Sir, can't you just give me his pokéball?"
"You catch him, you keep him. That's the rules!" Replied the breeder, who then moved to sit on a nearby rock, counting the money.
"Uh. Vera, I don't have any pokémon that are fit to battle. Would you mind weakening it for me?"
"Okay, I guess so," I said, not really wanting to weaken a pokémon I wasn't even going to capture, but, being a friend, it was hard to say no. With a sigh, I released my pokémon
"Faith, go!"
"Char! Char!!"
"Err, weaken the Rapidash! We want to capture it!"
"Char!!"
Faith started setting flames onto the Rapidash, which really didn't seem to mind. It just set flames onto Faith, and on and on it went, until Faith decided to try a Bite attack. He bit the Rapidash's leg, and that set the horse-like pokémon off! It ran and ran, jumping over the fence of its paddock. Cael looked as panicked as I felt.
"Err, Faith, run after it!" I yelled, knowing it was probably not going to work. Suddenly, Faith was surrounded in flames. I thought he was using Flame Wheel or something. The flames grew taller, and wider, and my pokémon was invisible, engulfed in fire. I wondered why he wasn't running after the Rapidash. Suddenly, the fire disappeared, and where my Charmeleon was standing, there was now a HUGE Charizard - it looked bigger than any I'd ever seen before. It walked in front of me, stepping over the fence like it wasn't there, and stooped slightly. I got the idea - he wanted me to ride on his back. I climbed on, nervously, being careful to avoid his flamed tail. He grabbed a stunned looking Cael, scratching him with his claws. He started flying at what seemed to be supersonic speed. Cael looked totally freaked out, but I managed to haul him onto the back of my newly evolved fire pokémon. We were next to each other, and he had his arm tightly around my shoulders - I guess he was afraid of falling off. I wasn't scared because I knew Faith would never let me fall. Perhaps the tail flame was what made Cael nervous.
All this happened surprisingly quickly - within about 5 minutes Faith had landed in front of the Rapidash, and Cael jumped off - I guess he wanted to be ready to catch the pokémon once Faith weakened it. I, myself, was far too exited to want to get off my pokémon - who wouldn't be? Faith roared, and lifted the Rapidash high into the air, dropping it roughly onto the floor. He did this about ten times, or more. Without a trainer to help it, the horse-like pokémon seemed too confused to fight back. When it couldn't stand up for weakness, Cael threw a gold-and-silver pokéball at the Rapidash, catching it. I thought that Cael's pokéballs would probably be incredibly effective on their own, but I didn't say so. Cael grinned, looking incredibly pleased with himself "Ha! I caught the Rapidash! I'll call it Haaj!"
I had no idea what the name was for. I didn't really care, either. "But I was the one who weakened it, Cael!"
"Well, I payed for it!" He countered. I wasn't in a mood to argue, so I nodded in agreement.
"So, I guess we can Fly back to Celadon, can't we?" "Yeah, I guess," Cael agreed. I grinned, and petted Faith
"Good work. Can you Fly to Celadon?"
"Char! Char!" He said, confidently. I jumped onto his back, and pulled Cael on also. My friend seemed reluctant to let go of my hand - I suppose it was because of the tail flame, again, because he put his arms around Faith's neck really tightly. I held onto Faith's wings, where they met the body. My pokémon flew to Celadon, at incredible speed.