I'm alive, Giovanni grumbled, I can't believe I'm alive! Opening my eyes
slowly, I realized it was morning and Deliah was lying asleep on the ground
next to me. I barely remembered what had happened last night. I did
remember adding Girurudan's Pokemon to my own, thanks to Deliah, and
hanging on for dear life at the end of that cliff. I also remember feeling
the heat from Moltres flaming body behind me, it calling out loudly before
it overwhelmed me with some kind of attack.
Moltres saved me. It saved me somehow from falling,because I have scorch marks on my clothes from where I must have fallen on it's back when I fell. Knowing this now, I wish I had captured it so I could keep the rare treasure to myself. I sighed as I realized I had lost my chance, but had gained three new Pokemon in the process.
I moved close to Deliah and nudged her awake. Seeing me, she shrieked with happiness and embraced me.
"Giovanni, you're alive! Oh, I'm so happy! I was so worried, are you okay?" she asked him.
He smiled. "I am now, now that you're with me." he told her.
They began to share their affection, oblivious to their company nearby. Samuel and Blaine had woken up as well, and were trying not to pay attention to the couple. Blaine was eating breakfast, and Samuel was writing in a purple journal.
"I'm surprised my Charmeleon evolved so quickly, being injured and all." Samuel said.
That snapped Giovanni back to reality. "Your stupid Charizard nearly killed me." he shouted.
"He was defending Moltres, who saved all of us despite your cowardice. Your Pokemon are very strong despite having you as their trainer. I feel sorry for them." Samuel said.
"It's you who's going to be the sorry one when I show you what they can really do in a Pokemon battle. You're lucky Moltres and Team Rocket interrupted our battle." Giovanni said.
"I'm ready to battle when you are." Samuel said.
Deliah jumped up between them. "Please, not this morning. Haven't we been through enough? Why don't we go back to Celadon, Giovanni, and finish what you started?" she offered.
Giovanni snorted but agreed. "you're just lucky i'm in a good mood." he said.
The pair left, leaving Samuel and Blaine to say their goodbyes.
"Here. This is for you." Blaine told him.
"What is it?" Samuel asked.
"It's the key to entering my gym, you've earned it. I have met few trainers with your honor, Samuel Oak, and I can appreciate that. I look forward to battling you soon." Blaine said.
There were no riddles this time, Blaine was serious in extending his hand in friendship. He and Samuel shook hands as they parted ways.
June 14 It has been almost a week now since I have been able to record in my journal, and oddly enough, this will be the last time I do so, as I am on my way back to Viridian City. I have had a very exciting week in the time that I haven't been writing.
The first stop after capturing Charizard in the Safari Zone was to go back to Celadon. I decided to make a pit stop at the Pokemon Shopping Center after I registered to battle Celesta, anxious to see what all the fuss was about.
It seemed like every floor sold different items for you or your Pokemon, including status enhancers, technical machines evolution stones, you name it. I also met a breeder on the top floor who gave me a few technical machines in trade for the trainer's manuel I had gotten from the folks at the daycare center. It included TM10, Double Edge and TM13, Ice Beam. I taught Double Edge to my Pidgeot, and Ice Beam to my Kangashkan.
Our next stop was Celadon Gym, where we were stopped at the door by a young girl with a sword. She explained that she was a junior trainer named Erika, and I had to beat her to get to Celesta.
She called for one Pokemon each, her using Parasect, me using Arbok. She started the battle by calling on a spore attack, which left my Arbok struggling to stay awake. It used it's Acid attack in an effort to inflict damage, but got hammered by Parasect's Slash attack.
I had to admire my Arbok's courage as he wouldn't allow himself to fall asleep and he won the battle with a swiftly aimed and executed Skull Bash. Celesta herself came out to greet me and bowed as she too initiated a battle between us for the Rainbowbadge.
She called upon a doubles match, where we would send out two Pokemon at a time to battle. I sent out Pidgeot and Charizard to battle against her Gloom and Victreebell.
Complimenting me on capturing such a magnificent fire Pokemon, she called upon both of her grass types to use Sleep Powder. I knew this attack was less powerful than Spore, but more accurate, so I commanded my Pidgeot to use it's Gust attack to sweep the powder out of harm's way.
I was having a hard time commanding my Charizard due to not knowing all it's attacks. She was no longer injured and seemed like a very feisty Pokemon, so I took a chance and taught it Fly very quickly. I commanded both of them into the air to avoid Celesta's attacks as I took a moment to think. Surely my Charizard had to have at least one or more fire attacks, so I commanded her to use Flamethrower. She roared, shaking her head at me.
"You must not have had her very long if you don't even know her attacks." Celesta said.
"I just caught her yesterday. Don't worry about me." I told her.
She smiled. "I'm not. Even with such high level Pokemon, it doesn't look like you're going to win." she said.
I had to agree with her; I needed to figure out what to do if I wanted to win. I told Charizard to use it's Ember attack, and both Gloom and Victreebell shrieked as they were set ablaze. Now it was my chance, as it finally came to me.
"Pidgeot, use Double Edge!" I told her.
I knew Ember was a weak fire attack, but if I spread the fire with my fire- type's attack, I knew Ember would consume them and win me the match. Both of her Pokemon tried to use Solarbeam in order to stop Pidgeot, but it was too late. Celesta recalled them both before they could be burnt to a crisp.
"I surrender, the badge is yours." she said.
We bowed to each other respectfully as I showed my badge to the ones who had really earned it.
"You did a great job, Pidgeot, Charizard. Congratulations on winning your first battle, Charizard." I told her.
She roared happily, as Celesta laughed from me having to recall my Charizard mid-celebration in the fear that it would burn down the gym.
I decided to spend the next couple days training my Pokemon in this huge open field right outside Fuchsia City. It was kinda nice to stay in one place for a couple days and I got all my Pokemon up to level forty.
I considered myself lucky for beating all the gym leaders I had already, but I knew that if I didn't get them up in level, I would never beat the next three gym leaders. I had gone to Fuchsia City gym so I could watch their battles with other trainers, but whoever they were, they had left a note on the door saying that they would not be there for several days.
This was a minor setback, but a setback nonetheless. I can recall on about the third day of training, my Pokemon and I were drawn by the most wonderful smell coming from Fuchsia City beach.
What we found was a young man on the shoreline grilling up some soyburgers and vegetables for all to smell. He looked about the same age as me, maybe older, with long blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail behind his back. He wore a wide brimmed straw hat to keep the sun out of his eyes, a Hawaiian shirt open to the waist, khaki shorts and sandals.
"Good afternoon." he greeted me.
"Good afternoon. My Pokemon and I couldn't help but smell the wonderful food you were cooking." I told him.
"Oh this? I was just making lunch; you can join me if you like." he said.
"I wouldn't want to interfere." I said.
"No problem, I made plenty. I came down to feed my Pokemon and decided to make some food for myself too." he said.
My Pokemon cheered happily as I prepared plates for them and offered to let him use my Charizard to keep the grill going. I looked over at my seven Pokemon as they ate, enjoying their meal immensely. I made myself a soyburger with grilled green pepper and cold cucumber.
"Hey, you eat your sandwiches the same way I do. My name's Reyn. What's yours?" he asked.
"Samuel Oak. Thank you so much for the food. My Pokemon and I are very grateful." I said.
He smiled. "I can see that. I try to specially formulate my food so it can be enjoyed by trainer and Pokemon alike. I plan to own a restaurant someday, so this is one way for me to see if I have the right idea." he said.
"Well, if these sandwiches are any indication of how well you cook, I'll probably be one of your first customers." I said.
He smiled as my pokemon did too. He began to prepare a small bowl of vegetables for his Pokemon.
"Food's ready, come and get it." Reyn called to his Pokemon in the water.
I smiled as i saw a Seaking surface and then a big splash as his Cloyster jumped out of the water, impressing us with a colorful ice display.
"Seaking, Cloyster, this is my friend Samuel and his Pokemon. Samuel, these are my Pokemon." he said.
I watched him feed them as I noticed my Kangashkan eying the Cloyster in a strange way.
"Kangashkan, what is it, girl?" I asked.
"Kangash!" she cried to me, motioning to Reyn's Cloyster.
Reyn noticed this and realized that my Pokemon was taunting him.
"I think your Kangashkan wants to battle my Cloyster. Do you want to battle her, Cloyster?" Reyn said.
Cloyster grinned, accepting her challenge.
"We accept too then. Kangashkan, dive into the water." I told her.
"Remarkable! I've seen very few ground types that can stand the water. This should be an engaging battle." Reyn said.
Both Reyn and I started off the battle by commanding our Pokemon to use their Tackle attacks. Considering that Cloyster was much more agile in the water than my Kangashkan, it had a little bit more of an advantage.
"Don't let that Cloyster get the best of you, Kangashkan. Use your Mega Punch." I told her.
"Cloyster, use your Aurora Beam." Reyn shouted.
My Kangashkan roared as she was hit by the ice type's ice attack, causing icicles to form on her face, body and paws. He had not been completely successful in freezing my Pokemon, but it had decreased the impact of her fighting attack. He grinned and launched his Supersonic attack, causing her to hit herself instead of him.
"Kangashkan, submerge yourself underwater." I told her.
Looking back at me, she completely understood my intention. Still confused, she took a nosedive underwater. The Cloyster's eyes widened as he was suddenly swept underneath the water by my Pokemon and then promptly launched her Comet Punch on him, making him land a few feet away against a heavy rock.
"What an enjoyable battle, congratulations on winning and now I have something for you." Reyn said.
"Oh no, you've done so much already..." I began.
Reyn smiled. "Well, I think that you deserve something for beating me, considering that you usually win a badge when you defeat a gym leader." he said.
"You're the...gym leader here?" I asked, shocked.
He smiled. "And you rightfully beaten me, Samuel Oak. This Soulbadge is yours." he said, holding out my prize to me.
I couldn't believe it as I took my badge in hand, as Reyn explained to me that he used his talent for cooking to lure trainers to the beach so that they would be more relaxed in battle. That was a good idea, I thought, because it took a lot of inner strength to battle in the first place. I smiled as I showed the Soulbadge to my Kangashkan to her delight.
"Thank you, Reyn." I said.
Moltres saved me. It saved me somehow from falling,because I have scorch marks on my clothes from where I must have fallen on it's back when I fell. Knowing this now, I wish I had captured it so I could keep the rare treasure to myself. I sighed as I realized I had lost my chance, but had gained three new Pokemon in the process.
I moved close to Deliah and nudged her awake. Seeing me, she shrieked with happiness and embraced me.
"Giovanni, you're alive! Oh, I'm so happy! I was so worried, are you okay?" she asked him.
He smiled. "I am now, now that you're with me." he told her.
They began to share their affection, oblivious to their company nearby. Samuel and Blaine had woken up as well, and were trying not to pay attention to the couple. Blaine was eating breakfast, and Samuel was writing in a purple journal.
"I'm surprised my Charmeleon evolved so quickly, being injured and all." Samuel said.
That snapped Giovanni back to reality. "Your stupid Charizard nearly killed me." he shouted.
"He was defending Moltres, who saved all of us despite your cowardice. Your Pokemon are very strong despite having you as their trainer. I feel sorry for them." Samuel said.
"It's you who's going to be the sorry one when I show you what they can really do in a Pokemon battle. You're lucky Moltres and Team Rocket interrupted our battle." Giovanni said.
"I'm ready to battle when you are." Samuel said.
Deliah jumped up between them. "Please, not this morning. Haven't we been through enough? Why don't we go back to Celadon, Giovanni, and finish what you started?" she offered.
Giovanni snorted but agreed. "you're just lucky i'm in a good mood." he said.
The pair left, leaving Samuel and Blaine to say their goodbyes.
"Here. This is for you." Blaine told him.
"What is it?" Samuel asked.
"It's the key to entering my gym, you've earned it. I have met few trainers with your honor, Samuel Oak, and I can appreciate that. I look forward to battling you soon." Blaine said.
There were no riddles this time, Blaine was serious in extending his hand in friendship. He and Samuel shook hands as they parted ways.
June 14 It has been almost a week now since I have been able to record in my journal, and oddly enough, this will be the last time I do so, as I am on my way back to Viridian City. I have had a very exciting week in the time that I haven't been writing.
The first stop after capturing Charizard in the Safari Zone was to go back to Celadon. I decided to make a pit stop at the Pokemon Shopping Center after I registered to battle Celesta, anxious to see what all the fuss was about.
It seemed like every floor sold different items for you or your Pokemon, including status enhancers, technical machines evolution stones, you name it. I also met a breeder on the top floor who gave me a few technical machines in trade for the trainer's manuel I had gotten from the folks at the daycare center. It included TM10, Double Edge and TM13, Ice Beam. I taught Double Edge to my Pidgeot, and Ice Beam to my Kangashkan.
Our next stop was Celadon Gym, where we were stopped at the door by a young girl with a sword. She explained that she was a junior trainer named Erika, and I had to beat her to get to Celesta.
She called for one Pokemon each, her using Parasect, me using Arbok. She started the battle by calling on a spore attack, which left my Arbok struggling to stay awake. It used it's Acid attack in an effort to inflict damage, but got hammered by Parasect's Slash attack.
I had to admire my Arbok's courage as he wouldn't allow himself to fall asleep and he won the battle with a swiftly aimed and executed Skull Bash. Celesta herself came out to greet me and bowed as she too initiated a battle between us for the Rainbowbadge.
She called upon a doubles match, where we would send out two Pokemon at a time to battle. I sent out Pidgeot and Charizard to battle against her Gloom and Victreebell.
Complimenting me on capturing such a magnificent fire Pokemon, she called upon both of her grass types to use Sleep Powder. I knew this attack was less powerful than Spore, but more accurate, so I commanded my Pidgeot to use it's Gust attack to sweep the powder out of harm's way.
I was having a hard time commanding my Charizard due to not knowing all it's attacks. She was no longer injured and seemed like a very feisty Pokemon, so I took a chance and taught it Fly very quickly. I commanded both of them into the air to avoid Celesta's attacks as I took a moment to think. Surely my Charizard had to have at least one or more fire attacks, so I commanded her to use Flamethrower. She roared, shaking her head at me.
"You must not have had her very long if you don't even know her attacks." Celesta said.
"I just caught her yesterday. Don't worry about me." I told her.
She smiled. "I'm not. Even with such high level Pokemon, it doesn't look like you're going to win." she said.
I had to agree with her; I needed to figure out what to do if I wanted to win. I told Charizard to use it's Ember attack, and both Gloom and Victreebell shrieked as they were set ablaze. Now it was my chance, as it finally came to me.
"Pidgeot, use Double Edge!" I told her.
I knew Ember was a weak fire attack, but if I spread the fire with my fire- type's attack, I knew Ember would consume them and win me the match. Both of her Pokemon tried to use Solarbeam in order to stop Pidgeot, but it was too late. Celesta recalled them both before they could be burnt to a crisp.
"I surrender, the badge is yours." she said.
We bowed to each other respectfully as I showed my badge to the ones who had really earned it.
"You did a great job, Pidgeot, Charizard. Congratulations on winning your first battle, Charizard." I told her.
She roared happily, as Celesta laughed from me having to recall my Charizard mid-celebration in the fear that it would burn down the gym.
I decided to spend the next couple days training my Pokemon in this huge open field right outside Fuchsia City. It was kinda nice to stay in one place for a couple days and I got all my Pokemon up to level forty.
I considered myself lucky for beating all the gym leaders I had already, but I knew that if I didn't get them up in level, I would never beat the next three gym leaders. I had gone to Fuchsia City gym so I could watch their battles with other trainers, but whoever they were, they had left a note on the door saying that they would not be there for several days.
This was a minor setback, but a setback nonetheless. I can recall on about the third day of training, my Pokemon and I were drawn by the most wonderful smell coming from Fuchsia City beach.
What we found was a young man on the shoreline grilling up some soyburgers and vegetables for all to smell. He looked about the same age as me, maybe older, with long blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail behind his back. He wore a wide brimmed straw hat to keep the sun out of his eyes, a Hawaiian shirt open to the waist, khaki shorts and sandals.
"Good afternoon." he greeted me.
"Good afternoon. My Pokemon and I couldn't help but smell the wonderful food you were cooking." I told him.
"Oh this? I was just making lunch; you can join me if you like." he said.
"I wouldn't want to interfere." I said.
"No problem, I made plenty. I came down to feed my Pokemon and decided to make some food for myself too." he said.
My Pokemon cheered happily as I prepared plates for them and offered to let him use my Charizard to keep the grill going. I looked over at my seven Pokemon as they ate, enjoying their meal immensely. I made myself a soyburger with grilled green pepper and cold cucumber.
"Hey, you eat your sandwiches the same way I do. My name's Reyn. What's yours?" he asked.
"Samuel Oak. Thank you so much for the food. My Pokemon and I are very grateful." I said.
He smiled. "I can see that. I try to specially formulate my food so it can be enjoyed by trainer and Pokemon alike. I plan to own a restaurant someday, so this is one way for me to see if I have the right idea." he said.
"Well, if these sandwiches are any indication of how well you cook, I'll probably be one of your first customers." I said.
He smiled as my pokemon did too. He began to prepare a small bowl of vegetables for his Pokemon.
"Food's ready, come and get it." Reyn called to his Pokemon in the water.
I smiled as i saw a Seaking surface and then a big splash as his Cloyster jumped out of the water, impressing us with a colorful ice display.
"Seaking, Cloyster, this is my friend Samuel and his Pokemon. Samuel, these are my Pokemon." he said.
I watched him feed them as I noticed my Kangashkan eying the Cloyster in a strange way.
"Kangashkan, what is it, girl?" I asked.
"Kangash!" she cried to me, motioning to Reyn's Cloyster.
Reyn noticed this and realized that my Pokemon was taunting him.
"I think your Kangashkan wants to battle my Cloyster. Do you want to battle her, Cloyster?" Reyn said.
Cloyster grinned, accepting her challenge.
"We accept too then. Kangashkan, dive into the water." I told her.
"Remarkable! I've seen very few ground types that can stand the water. This should be an engaging battle." Reyn said.
Both Reyn and I started off the battle by commanding our Pokemon to use their Tackle attacks. Considering that Cloyster was much more agile in the water than my Kangashkan, it had a little bit more of an advantage.
"Don't let that Cloyster get the best of you, Kangashkan. Use your Mega Punch." I told her.
"Cloyster, use your Aurora Beam." Reyn shouted.
My Kangashkan roared as she was hit by the ice type's ice attack, causing icicles to form on her face, body and paws. He had not been completely successful in freezing my Pokemon, but it had decreased the impact of her fighting attack. He grinned and launched his Supersonic attack, causing her to hit herself instead of him.
"Kangashkan, submerge yourself underwater." I told her.
Looking back at me, she completely understood my intention. Still confused, she took a nosedive underwater. The Cloyster's eyes widened as he was suddenly swept underneath the water by my Pokemon and then promptly launched her Comet Punch on him, making him land a few feet away against a heavy rock.
"What an enjoyable battle, congratulations on winning and now I have something for you." Reyn said.
"Oh no, you've done so much already..." I began.
Reyn smiled. "Well, I think that you deserve something for beating me, considering that you usually win a badge when you defeat a gym leader." he said.
"You're the...gym leader here?" I asked, shocked.
He smiled. "And you rightfully beaten me, Samuel Oak. This Soulbadge is yours." he said, holding out my prize to me.
I couldn't believe it as I took my badge in hand, as Reyn explained to me that he used his talent for cooking to lure trainers to the beach so that they would be more relaxed in battle. That was a good idea, I thought, because it took a lot of inner strength to battle in the first place. I smiled as I showed the Soulbadge to my Kangashkan to her delight.
"Thank you, Reyn." I said.