Pokémon - The Journey Begins

Chapter 5: The First Badge Battle



As Matt continued walking down the dirt path of Viridian Forest, he noticed how quickly the amount of trees gradually reduced. This could only mean one thing to him: the forest was coming to an end, and Pewter City was on the other side.

His instincts would not betray him; for after passing the final tree of the Viridian Forest, there it was. A large sign with a pleasant greeting, stating, 'Welcome to Pewter City!' followed with a small chart of specific information. Matt took a look at it, and realized it was nothing important. Population, places to visit, and basic tourist information.

Behind Matt was Squirtle, who was not as far behind as when he was first released from his Pokéball. Resting in the Pokéball for a long period of time did not seem to be pleasing to Squirtle, hence he refuses re-entry. Matt understood this, and without hesitation or respite allowed Squirtle to follow him around freely.

Upon entering Pewter City, Matt noticed a short man with a touque completely covering his head selling rocks. Matt found this strange and did his best to ignore the man. He then checked around Pewter City and noticed plenty of tall buildings, and particularly the sun setting.

Matt looked at his watch. Traversing through the Viridian Forest took him much longer thatn he thought; It was already getting into the later evening stages.

"This is enough for one day," Matt said aloud to his Squirtle; "let's go find a Pokémon Center to spend the night. We can go look for the gym tomorrow, okay?"

Squirtle nodded in response, and continued to follow Matt with complete obedience.

Upon turning the corner at a quiet intersection, Matt noticed the Pokémon Center and pointed it out. After entering the large building, he approached the front desk and rang for Nurse Joy.

"Just a moment!" a voice called from the back room almost similar to the one in Viridian City.

Matt looked around. For once, there were actually a few trainers. He started to examine them, and concluded that all of them were much younger than he was. Of course, this was the year where Pokémon age qualifications were significantly lowered to the age of ten, as opposed to eighteen which has been followed for the past several decades.

Nurse Joy finally exited the back room and approached Matt. "Sorry for the wait; how may I help you?" she asked.

"Um, here," Matt replied bluntly, handing over his Pokéballs from his Pokémon belt. "Sorry about Squirtle; he hates the Pokéball. Is it all right if you take him like this?"

"Of course," Nurse Joy replied, putting the minimized Pokéballs on the tray before picking up Squirtle. "It seems you've had a few encounters with some bug Pokémon."

"How did you know?" Matt asked.

"It seems to be covered in String Shot," Joy replied.

"Oh, that," Matt responded. "Yeah, we met a trainer in the woods, a rather crazy one actually who had a Caterpie. I tried to take off as much of the attack as I could, but...well...."

"That's all right. I've dealt with worse," Joy replied, picking up a tray. "Are you interested in staying for the night?"

"Actually...yeah. Are there any rooms available?"

"Plenty. Here, you can have Room 24. It's upstairs. Your Pokémon will be ready in the morning," Joy stated, and walked off into the back room.

"That was rather sudden of her," Matt commented, then turning his attention toward the key. "Oh well. I'll go to my room then and spend the night."

Matt turned around and began approaching the stairs to the second floor. Before reaching it, he notices a Pokémon League poster.

"The Indigo Pokémon League. I would watch these championship matches every year," Matt smiled, continuing to read the poster. "Just as I thought; I need eight badges in order to enter. But then...I thought that Viridian City itself was a qualifying gym? If it's closed, how do I get in?"

Matt scratched his head. "That's very peculiar. I'll have to ask later." Matt walked up the set of stairs and unlocked his room. He uncovered the sheets on his bed, changed into his pajamas and crawled in. He couldn't stop smiling. This ends the first day of his journey. His first of many.

* * *

Matt waited patiently at the front desk behind a few other Pokémon trainers who are also waiting to collect their Pokémon. As it was finally his turn, Matt was handed his Squirtle, along with his Pinsir, Pidgey and Spearow.

"You be careful out there; Team Rocket is on the loose."

"It's okay, thank you."

After exiting the Pokémon Center with his Squirtle behind him, Matt pulled out his map for directions. He began to walk down the sidewalk, continuing to walk in the same direction past one intersection. He glanced at his map again.

"Okay...we need to go left here..." Matt put down his map and sees a large sign that says 'Pewter Gym'.

"All right..." Matt walked past the sign and up a short set of stairs. Matt noticed that the area was surrounded by rocks. He walked up to two large doors and pushed one open. He gulped. "It's rather dark in here; I wonder if the leader's in?" he asked aloud. He looked down to his Squirtle. "Well, if he's not here, we could just wait for him, I guess.

"Squirtle?" Squirtle looked around, seeing nobody in the gym.

Matt took a couple of steps forward in the dark, hoping not to collide into anything. "There aren't even any windows in here--hello? Is the leader in?" Matt asked.

Suddenly, a clicking noise was made, as a light had just been turned on. Matt had covered his eyes, which had just been adjusted to the darkness. Afterwards, he noticed that there was a rather short man sitting down upon a large stone pedestal. He had brown pants, an orange shirt, and a green vest.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

Matt looked at the man and lowered his hands from his eyes. "Actually, yeah. Do you know if the gym leader is in?" Matt asked.

"I am he. My name is Brock," he replied, pulling himself to his feet. "I apologize, but it's part of my polocy to ask; is this your first gym battle?" Brock asked.

Matt nodded. "Yeah...why? Is it different from any regular trainer match?"

"There are rules which are a little bit different than a battling a regular trainer. We must use two Pokémon each. It's a two-of-three match," Brock explained.

Matt seemed to be a little confused. "That's not that much different than the trainer battle I was fighting the other day," Matt replied.

"The substitution is a little bit different," Brock began; "since you are the challenging trainer, you may substitute between your two Pokémon whenever you like. As for me, however, I can only substituse Pokémon when my previous one has been rendered unconscious."

"I see," Matt replied.

Brock turned his attention towards Matt's Squirtle. "A water Pokémon...interesting. Since you are a beginning trainer, perhaps this match will not be difficult for you. That is, if your Squirtle has already learned its water attacks."

"Shall we get going?" Matt said.

"Very well." Brock replied, flipping a switch. The entire gym is now fully lit, as two platforms begin to close in together. Matt jumped up on one side to avoid being crushed

Brock leaped up from where he was sitting and landed in front of the battlefield, with an enlarged Pokéball in his hand.

"The match will begin," Brock stated, throwing his Pokéball into the battlefield. As the Pokéball opens, Matt watches in awe as a large Pokémon takes form. Upon its arrival into the battlefield, it releases a loud, pulsating and intimidating growl.

Squirtle trembles and takes a few steps back.

"Perhaps my Onix appears to be a bit too much for your small Squirtle," Brock commented.

"Good lord, that thing is huge!" Matt responded. He looked at Squirtle. "You heard what he said, Squirtle. Rock Pokémon absolutely detest water, so get in there and try a Water Gun!"

Squirtle nodded and dashed into the battlefield, staring directly into the eyes of the large rock Pokémon. After taking in a large breath, it exhales, releasing water directly into the eyes of Onix. In response Onix cried out in pain, as it collapsed into the battlefield roughly, causing a a tremor in the ground.

Squirtle's balance was hindered after the Onix's collision with the ground. He watched carefully as Onix slowly pulled itself up.

"Squirtle, don't stand there; it's down! Try Water Gun again!" Matt yelled.

"We won't go for that twice; Onix, swipe at it!" Brock shouts.

As Squirtle was preparing another Water Gun attack, he quickly shifted his eyes towards Onix's tail, which had just been risen above his head. As a desperate response, Squirtle cancelled his attack and created an attempt to shield itself from the oncoming collision. Onix's tail struck directly across Squirtle, sending it off of its feet and crashing into the hard rock surface below.

"Damn!" Matt shouted. "Squirtle...are you all right?"

Squirtle pulled himself to his feet, wiping his mouth to check for blood. He looked into his claw and noticed that he had been hit quite heavily. Squirtle spat to his right and walked back to where it was standing.

"How interesting," Brock commented; "it appears that Squirtle didn't like that last attack. It's rare to see a Pokémon of that small stature with that much pride."

Onix, now fully standing again, stared directly at Squirtle with its tail in the air again. It swung it down towards Squirtle, in an attempt to knock it off its feet again, but Squirtle switfly jumped to the side. He then jumped on top of Onix's tail and began to climb up its long, snake-like body.

Matt watched in disbelief. "Squirtle, what are you doing? You can't climb up there; that's dangerous!"

Squirtle, ignoring the plea from his trainer had clasped itself onto Onix's back. Onix, frustrated, began to move, in hopes that Squirtle would release his grip. The attempt was made in vain. Squirtle inhaled deeply and sprayed Onix's entire back with a thick stream of water. Onix began to panic and shifted around more. Squirtle continued its persistent attack.

Onix, its body now drenched with water, gave up and collapsed heavily into the battlefield below. Squirtle leaped off seconds before the collision, and landed directly in front of Matt.

Matt was surprised, yet somewhat disgusted by this motive. His Pokémon had acted out of turn; this did not sit well with him. He dropped down to one knee and looked directly into Squirtle.

"Did you not hear me back there, Squirtle?" Matt asked sternly. "I had made a direct command not to climb up that Onix's back. I also did not make the order to attack it." Squirtle dropped his face, and looked to the side.

"Hey, look at me," Matt ordered.

Squirtle looked back up at Matt.

"You doubted my strategy, didn't you?" Matt asked. Squirtle tried to look away, but Matt grabbed his face and forced him to look into his eyes. "Squirtle, look. Perhaps that last attack made you angry, but regardless, you have to listen to me, all right? You may think that I don't know what I'm doing, but I do. I understand what you've just accomplished, and I like it very much, but in the future, you have to listen to me, understand?"

Squirtle nodded, somewhat shameful.

"Now, I'm not angry. We'll talk more once we finish this match, all right?" Matt asked. "Now get back out there."

"Return, Onix!" Brock said, calling Onix back inside his Pokéball. Enlarging another one, he threw it onto the battlefield. "Perhaps I should have played Geodude first, but I guess that can't be helped now."

"Squirtle, can you get another Water Gun attack out of you?" Matt asked.

Squirtle looked at the Geodude, before slowly allowing himself to slip onto the hard, rocky ground.

"I guess that counter attack took more out of you than you thought at first. That's a rather delayed reaction," Matt responded. "But I guess when you took that moment to relax, it all hit you at once. That's all right, I'll choose another Pokémon." He pulled out a minimized Pokéball and enlarges it.

"Flying types won't do much damage against them, so I'll have to use Pinsir!" Matt threw the Pokéball into the battlefield. Upon striking the ground, it sprangs open, with Pinsir taking form.

"This should be interesting." Brock commented with a smirk on his face. "Geodude, Tackle attack!"

Geodude repelled itself from a nearby rock, lunging at Pinsir, but Pinsir was given too much time to react, and jumped aside.

"Good work! Now, try Guillotine!" Matt commanded.

Pinsir quickly picked up some speed, dashing towards the Geodude, and with its two horns on top of its head it picked it up and begans to squeeze the two horns together. However, since Geodude is a practically a rock in itself, the attack did little damage to its body. The Geodude breaks itself free with a strong effort, then tackled Pinsir into a nearby rock.

"Crap," Matt muttered. "What other attacks does Pinsir know...that's it! Pinsir, Seismic Toss!"

After pulling itself to its feet, Pinsir quickly grasped Geodude within its two long, sharp claws, and jumped high into the air. Pinsir lifted Geodude quickly over its head, then violently slammed it hard on the rocky plain. Geodude was still conscious, but could barely move. Not too far from Geodude, Pinsir lands on its feet.

"Okay, Pinsir!" Matt shouted. "It's down! One more hit shou--"

"Wait!" Brock yelled.

"Huh?" Matt looked at Brock. "What? What's wrong?"

"Don't bother attacking; you can see how badly Geodude is hurt. It can't attack in its current position. I'll just declare you the winner."

"Really?" Matt asked, enlightened by Brock's last comment. "You mean...I won?" His face grew a large smile.

"I won!" Matt jumped. He then called back Pinsir inside of its Pokéball and picked up his Squirtle. "Pinsir was fantastic, but YOU were incredible!"

Brock smiled and pulled out a grey stone-like badge. He walked up to Matt and offered it to him, open palm. "Because of your victory, I award you the Boulder Badge," Brock said..

"Wow, thank you." Matt said. He took the badge, and stared at it for what seemed to be a long time for him. "Wow...I actually have a badge!"

"You're the first Pokémon trainer in a while to have put up such an effort like that. The past couple of years here hasn't been quite so thrilling. You're the first trainer to have beaten me in about two years!" Brock said.

Brock then looked closely at Matt, but seemed somewhat confused.

"Wait a second, how old are you?" Brock asked.

"Me? Fifteen," Matt replied.

"Fifteen?" Brock asked, surprised.

"Yeah. Didn't you hear? The new league rule states that you have to be at least ten-years-old before you can start out on your Pokémon journey."

"Ten? You don't say..." Brock muttered. "Well, thanks for the warning. Now my gym's going to become much busier. By the way, where do you come from, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Pallet," Matt responded.

"Pallet...sorry, I haven't heard of it. Oh, wait, is it that town near Viridian City?" Brock asked.

"That's the one."

"Wow. Any other trainers from there?"

"I think so. Three or four more, I suppose. Why?"

"Wow...my gym's going to be MUCH busier than I thought. I'll need to prepare. Well, congratulations on your victory. If you'll excuse me..." Brock hastely put his two Pokéballs into a backpack and exited the gym by the back door.

"Everybody's in a hurry for something," Matt commented. He then looked back at Squirtle. "Well, ready to go back to the Pokémon Center?"

Squirtle nodded, excited.

Again checking the map to make sure he wouldn't get lost, Matt walked back to the Pokémon Center with an exhausted Squirtle resting in his arms.

"Hello again, how did you do?" Joy asked.

Matt showed Joy the badge.

"Wow!" Joy exclaimed. "That's incredible; nobody's been able to win at that gym for a while now! Do your Pokémon need healing again?

Matt nodded. "Squirtle is just tired, and Pinsir just needs some perking to do."

Joy smiled. "I'll be back in a few minutes, you just relax yourself." She took the two Pokémon into the back room.

Matt found a nearby bench and decided to rest his feet, so he sat down. He looked around the center as he always does, spotting a few people in the lounge reading magazines, and two other trainers talking about trading Pokémon. One of them even started gossiping about how Brock was finally beaten for the first time in a long time. Matt smiled.

"Whoa...wait a minute!" Matt thought aloud. "My parents!"

He quickly jumped off of the bench and ran towards a nearby picture phone. He then dialed his home number.

After the phone rang twice, somebody picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

Matt watched an image open up on the screen; it was his mother.

"Mom! Hi!"

"Matthew? Oh! Where are you right now?"

"I'm in Pewter City! I've just won a badge there, see?" Matt replied, holding up his Boulder Badge to the monitor. "I'll be heading out to Mount Moon as soon as the nurse comes back with my Pokémon."

"That's fantastic. I don't know what to say," Matt's mother replied, wiping away a tear.

"Oh for crying out loud mom, don't get all melo-dramatic on me," Matt replied, rubbing the back of his head with his free hand.

"I'm sorry...--oh! Hey, did you know that one of the trainers got a Pikachu?"

Matt's eyes widened. "A Pikachu? No freaking way!"

"I'm serious! The professor called as soon as he gave out this last Pokémon. He didn't wake up until well after noon."

"Are you kidding me?! I was in Viridian City at the time!" Matt replied.

"Well, still, it's nice that you called. I thought that your departure yesterday morning was rather sudden. You didn't even come talk to us or anything."

"I wanted to be early."

"I understand. You'll call me when you get to the next city, won't you? I don't think Mount Moon has a phone there."

"They have a Pokémon Center, I think."

"Well, make sure to call, okay?"

"I will. Tell Jess I said, 'hi'. And I'll try to catch a Clefairy for her."

Matt's mother laughed in response. "I will."

"Bye!" Matt placed the receiver back on its hook and approached the front desk, as Joy was waiting.

"Thank you very much," Matt said, putting the minimized Pokéball containing Pinsir back onto his Pokémon belt. He lifted Squirtle off of the desk and placed him down gently on the floor.

Matt exited the Pokémon Center and began walking east, which will lead them to the foot of Mount Moon. Squirtle was always directly beside him, if not moving a little bit faster. Matt looked at his Boulder Badge, wondering where to place it. Unsure of where to place it, he put it into his left pocket of his jeans.

"We can't rest. Not while the sun is out. We'll keep going until it sets."



TO BE CONTINUED.