Pokémon - The Journey Begins
Chapter 10: A Well Deserved Rest
Upon exiting the forest which is the detour towards Route 6, which also lead to Vermillion City, Matt, Lizzie, Jordon, along with Squirtle rest in an open field. Matt was alert, hoping for some Pokémon to appear, while Jordan was silent, staring at a Pokéball.
"What's up Jordan?" Matt asked.
"My Charizard..." Jordan muttered, playing back over and over in his mind about his Charizard collapsing, deciding to take a nap. "He did everything I told him, but then he just suddenly decides to ignore me."
"I never evolve my Pokémon," Lizzie commented. "Unless they feel they're ready for evolution, I won't let them."
Matt and Jordan turned their attention towards Lizzie. "Yeah...?" Matt asked, beckoning for her to continue.
"Well..." Lizzie continued, "if a Pokémon grows levels too fast and evolves, it will become unruly...unless it's a Caterpie or some other Pokémon that evolves quickly. Otherwise it won't listen to anyone but itself. So you have to pay attention to your Pokémon's attitude, and its fighting ability."
"That doesn't make any sense," Matt replied. "If it's ready to evolve, how can you stop it?"
"Well, there is a method for you to halt the evolution, but it hardly ever works. Regardless, you have to try."
"That doesn't explain how my Charizard decided to just wake up and say 'I don't think I'll listen to my trainer today'. I like your idea about not forcing a Pokémon to evolve, but I never did it, either. Charizard's evolution was by simply working hard." Jordan minimized the Pokéball and placed it away.
"Perhaps he was just in a bad mood then," Matt said. "We can't be sure since you said that he was always obedient until what just happened a little while ago. You can't always assume that something went wrong because he just decides to go on a power trip."
"Well, now that I think about it, I think some recent event must have angered Charizard. It can't be because of lack of attention, because I use all of my Pokémon equally."
"Maybe he was upset and frustrated after losing to A.J.'s Sandshrew," Matt suggested. "Even Spearow hasn't been in a good mood since losing to him, either." Matt enlarged a Pokéball and let Spearow out.
Spearow squawked and stared at Matt. Its eyes were heavy, and its face was deep, almost as if he was trying to hide it. It frowned. Lizzie and Jordan stared with interest.
"You see?" Matt said. "When we met those wild Pokémon in the forest, I couldn't use it on any of them. By the time they saw Spearow, they would run away."
"Talk to it." Jordan said. "While you're working it out, I'll talk to Charizard."
Matt nodded and sat down next to Spearow. "Hey, what's wrong?" All Matt heard from a reply was a quiet squawking noise. "Are you upset?" Spearow didn't reply. "Are you angry?" Spearow still didn't respond. Not a sound, not a nod, not even a sign that his voice was acknowledged. "Hmm..."
While Matt was thinking, he heard yelling from not too far off. He turned and looked, and watched Jordan shaking his fist, as his Charizard was hanging its head in shame. "What exactly was the purpose of that?! You just decided to fall over and take a nap, while when I tried to get to your attention, you practically BURNED me! Are you pleased with yourself?! Are you?!"
Lizzie rolled her eyes. "Oh, and yelling at him is supposed to make everything SO much better..."
Matt began to get frustrated, as Spearow turned around and began to hop away, due to the yelling by Jordan. "Hey! Could you keep it down; your yelling isn't helping my matters over here!"
"Squirtle?" Squirtle asked Spearow. Matt turned and looked at Squirtle. Very rarely Squirtle would speak; he was almost always silent. However, this intrigued him, as he was communicating with the Spearow.
"Spearow, spearow. Row, spear. Spear, spearow..." Spearow replied.
Matt watched as the conversation went on. After a while, Squirtle walked over to Matt and tugged on his sleeve.
"Squirtle, squirt squirt squirtle," Squirtle said, calm and cool.
Matt looked confused. "I'm sorry, I don't understand." He continued to listen as Squirtle attempted to act out what Spearow was saying. "I think I may have it. Spearow is stressed because--whoa! Wait a minute, he's stressed?!" Matt exclaimed.
Squirtle blinked and sighed, shaking his head. He then continued his vague and bizarre body movements, while Matt himself shook his head in confusion. He had absolutely no idea what his Pokémon was trying to tell him.
"Spearow, spearow. Spearow row spear?" Spearow asked Matt.
Matt smacked his forehead and fell flat on his back, with his face staring towards the sky and the clouds above him. "I don't get ANY of this!"
Lizzie gave off an exasperating sigh and walked up towards Matt. "Look, Spearow isn't stressed, or sad, or anything. He's just tired okay?" Squirtle nodded as a small grin appeared on his face. "It's not that big of a deal! He just needs a nice long rest."
Matt sits up and with a surprised, yet frustrated look, he stared at Lizzie. "You mean I practically spent the entire day figuring out what's wrong with him, when you knew all along?!"
"Ugh, am I SUPPOSED to tell you what kind of mood your Pokémon is in?!" Lizzie looked to see Jordan was still yelling at his Charizard. She once again turned her attention to Matt. "It seemed a little bit obvious, but whatever. Call back Spearow so we can get going. It's starting to get cloudy, and I'd like to get to Vermillion in case it starts raining."
"Get it?!" Jordan exclaimed at his Charizard. It nodded. "Got it?!" The Charizard nodded. "GOOD! Now GET BACK INSIDE!" Jordan commanded, absorbing Charizard back inside of his Pokéball.
"I'm glad you settled things," Matt responded rather bitterly. "I didn't think it was necessary to yell at him like that, though."
"Hey! Who's the experienced trainer here?" Jordan replied. "You use YOUR methods to discipline your Pokémon, and I'll use mine. Is that understood?"
"You know, you're both really starting to get on my nerves!" Lizzie exclaimed. "Let's just go! I'd like to leave this forest sometime this week!"
As the group continued their walk down the detour, Matt suggested they cut through a specific portion of the forest, which would lead to Route 6, and a shorter passage towards Vermillion City. The other two agreed, without finding any reason to object. As they began walking through the shortcut, through almost a wall of trees, Matt noticed a building, though it was practically unnoticeable.
"What's a building doing in this part of the woods?" Matt asked. He pulled out his map and began to look for some kind of mark. "I don't see it on the map."
"Geez, it's a good think you said something, otherwise I wouldn't have even noticed it," Lizzie said. "But since it's not on the map, I don't think it's Pokémon related."
"I don't believe it, Matt, you've found one!" Jordan started to run towards the building. Matt and Lizzie soon followed.
"Found what? What is this place?" Matt asked.
The three stopped in front of the entrance of the building. It seemed relatively new, by Matt's eyes. It was made from solid bricks, though Matt wondered how it was practically unnoticeable.
"This is a hidden Pokémon gym!" Jordan said. "These gyms are so rare, there's only a few of these in existence!"
"What does that mean, then? Do we need to search these out in order to quality for the Indigo League?" Matt asked.
"No, no, no," Jordan replied. "All you need are eight from the qualified gyms, but you can actually collect as many badges you want. If you've collected a certain amount, you automatically qualify to battle the Elite Four!"
"Are you kidding me?" Matt said. "So if you collect them all, you could just skip the competition itself and go straight to challenging the Elite Four?"
"That's right. But the problem is that these hidden gyms are spread out practically everywhere in possibly every Pokémon League out there. It could take a lifetime to find all of them."
"I see."
"But the good thing is, these qualify as actual badges. If you collect the ones here, they could be good enough for you to compete in the Indigo League if you can get them. But it's only for this league only. If you wanted to transfer to another league, these badges wouldn't quality," Jordan said.
"This could work to our advantage. The leader in Viridian City has been missing for the longest time; if I get the badge here, I won't have to worry about being a badge short!" Matt smirked at the thought.
"Well, let's go inside..." Jordan opened the large wooden door and held it for everybody to enter. Inside it was only one room. It was well-lit, but rather chilled. The same bricks used on the exterior of the building also covered the interior. In the center of the room was a battlefield, made out of wood. In front of it was a middle-aged woman, with deep green eyes, glasses, wearing a sweatsuit. Her brown, greying hair was tied back into a ponytail. The women looked up and noticed the three trainers standing at the entrance.
"Oh, hello there. I see you've found my secret gym." She then stood up and closed her magazine. "I wondered when I would see another Pokémon trainer. In my ten years being here, this is only my fifth visit."
"Ten years?" Lizzie asked, completely surprised.
"Wow, it IS a rare find..." Matt muttered. "Anyway, what kind of badge do you give out if we win?"
"Well, you get the Blue Crystal Badge," the woman said. "There are a total of thirty Crystal Badges; if you find them all, you will quality to challenge the Elite Trainers of every Pokémon gym!" The woman then pulled out a Pokéball. "The gym is right over here. Follow me."
The woman walked towards one side of the battlefield, while Matt walked towards his side. As usual, he checked his surroundings, and found nothing abnormal or usual. He noticed how much space was in the air compared to normal Pokémon gyms; Matt figured perhaps she used flying Pokémon.
"Wow, you have quite the fighting space!" Matt said. He then pulled out a Pokéball and turned his head towards Lizzie, who was standing at the sidelines. "Let me fight first, Lizzie. You can go next."
"Let me warn you," the woman began. "You are only allowed to use one Pokémon. Should you fail you won't be able to battle again for 24 hours, got that?"
Matt nodded in reply.
Jordan smiled and crossed his arms. "Ah, it's nice to see youth going into Pokémon battles."
"Whatever..." Lizzie muttered, then turned her attention towards Jordan. "Hey. Aren't you going to fight for this badge?"
Jordan was silent for a moment. "Well...um...I..."
"Well, what is it?" Lizzie asked.
Jordan walked closer to Lizzie, cupped his hands around her ear and whispered something. After hearing this, Lizzie's eyes widened the quickly bolted her head and stared into the eyes of Jordan. Jordan put a finger up to his lips, motioning for her to be quiet. Matt watched them, and noticed something bizarre that occured, but said nothing. Instead, he threw an enlarged Pokéball out into the battlefield.
"Let's go Zubat!" Matt yelled.
"Go, Venusaur!" The middle-aged woman threw an enlarged Pokéball out into a battlefield as a Venusaur appeared and growled upon its entrance. Matt noticed that it was another Pokémon with a bulb on its back. Like Ivysaur, except the flower on its back was completely grown as well as the size of it was significantly larger to that of an Ivysaur.
Matt quickly pulled out his Pokédex to get some quick reference. He then stared at his Zubat. "Leech Life, Zubat!"
From its high position in the air, the bat-like Pokémon used its censors to indicate the location of its opponent. Upon discovering it, it quickly swooped and landed on the Venusaur's back and began to drain some of its energy with its fangs. The large Pokémon flinched and nearly lost its balance, uncertain of what just occured.
"Vine Whip, Venusaur," the woman said calmly.
Venusaur, almost suddenly noticing the Zubat on its back uncovered what Matt counted as six vines and struck Zubat violently with each one, sending it off soaring into the air. Fortunately, Zubat was able to regain its balance, and began flying about again.
Matt sighed in relief after clenching his teeth. "That was a close call. Okay then, Supersonic waves!"
The Zubat revived from the brutal thrashing and released mind-altering waves towards the Venusaur. Its vision blurred, it began moving around, completely baffled and uncertain of its actions. It unleashed its own Vine Whip attack against itself, and fell crashing onto the hard, wodden surface below.
"Come on Zubat!" Matt yelled.
Zubat from its position quickly swooped down and struck Venusaur across the face. The force of the attack sent Venusaur tumbling, but the mind-altering Supersonic attack's effect faded quickly. Noticing its opponent in front of it, Venusaur lunged forward, and struck Zubat with its head.
The battle continued. Both Pokémon continued to go back and forth with attacks, without either of them backing down from the challenge. After a few more moments, the battle became very intense, as both trainers were very cautious of their next commands.
"Zubat, careful now!" Matt yelled.
The middle-aged woman gave Matt a smile. "You fight very well, but unfortunately, the match must end. Venusaur, Solar Beam."
Crap! Matt thought. That's the most powerful attack! "Zubat, watch it!"
Venusaur shifted its position into direct sunlight, as it began to absorb it. Matt was uncertain of this attack; he only had vague thoughts about it. He eventually noticed a lot of glowing energy and light from the flower of the Pokémon, before realizing what the attack will do.
"Matt, you need to strike now, before the attack is released!" Jordan shouted.
A cold drop of sweat came down Matt's red cheek. He wiped it away and looked at Zubat who was just still in the air. "Just wait...."
The light glowing on its back continued to grow, as Venusaur had finished absorbing energy. Instantly, it aimed and fired.
"Flash attack now!" Matt commanded.
As the large, wide blast of light came towards it, Zubat quickly flew away from it. As the attack struck the back wall, Zubat flew in from behind and slashed across the back of Venusaur. Matt then quickly turned his attention to the slight debris which was falling off the wall, but noticed that generally, all was well.
Matt turned his attention again towards the battlefield. Venusaur was immobile, while Zubat continued to fly around. He smiled, knowing he had just won.
"Flash attack?" Jordan muttered, seeming very confused. "Flash attack? I've never even heard of that attack, or anything similar to that, other than a blinding light. But regardless...does it even exist?"
Matt nodded. "I don't know if it itself has been classified as an official attack for Zubat, but the other day, I noticed something very strange. It's when it becomes calm for a moment, then uses all of his energy to fly very quickly and attack the opponent from behind. I thought about giving a name for it, so I could use it willingly."
"Maybe you should teach that to Spearow?" Lizzie suggested. "It's really a creative attack, Matt."
"I just might, but only Zubat seems to be one capable of doing it."
The woman nodded. I underestimated your abilities as a Pokémon trainer. Take this." The woman tossed a clear blue, crystal-shaped badge over to Matt. He caught it it and looked at it.
"Wow...this almost looks like a real crystal..."
"Come on Matt. Let's go outside and wait for Lizzie to battle," Jordan suggested. Matt nodded and left the battlefield, following Jordan.
"You mean you're not going to watch?" Lizzie asked.
"We'll come back. I just want to go outside," Jordan replied.
"Right..." Lizzie repled, and walked to the platform where Matt was standing.
"Return Venusaur," the woman said as Venusaur was absorbed inside of its Pokéball.
"Yikes!" Matt shouted, running back towards the battlefield. "Sorry Zubat, I nearly forgot about you! Come on back now." Zubat was then absorbed back inside, as Matt minimized the Pokéball, placing it back on his Pokémon belt. "This is sweet..." He then ran through the front doors, following Jordan.
Matt left the gym noticing that Jordan was sitting and leaning next to a large, dark-trunked tree. Matt sat down beside him. Squirtle also joined them, crawling on top of Matt's lap and sat there, relaxing.
"Cute..." Jordan commented. "Well, anyway, you have a great Pokémon there."
"Who? Squirtle or Zubat?" Matt asked.
"Well, they both are. You managed to teach Zubat a new move that doesn't exist in the Pokédex. Hell, that may be the only Zubat to learn such a trick." Jordan said.
"That might be..." Matt began. "But somebody else might have learned that trick already."
"It's possible, but either way, it's very creative." Jordan said. He then sighed. "Well Matt...I need to tell you something...something that may be rather shocking to you."
Matt raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What is it?"
"I remember you both asking me how I should be well known, and I told this to Lizzie while you were battling but...I'm..." Jordan sighed again. Matt payed close attention to Jordan, waiting for him to tell, for he was very intrigued. "I'm really part of the Elite Four."
Matt jumped up, knocking Squirtle off of him. "What?!"
Squirtle mumbled, rubbing his head.
"Please don't take this personally, but I have indeed been a Pokémon trainer for over seven years. I am without a doubt one of the strongest Pokémon trainers who is currently out there."
"Well...why aren't you near the Indigo Plateau now?" Matt asked.
"I was too good." Jordan said. "Ever since I joined the Elite Four, I would be the last trainer to ever be battled in order for one to be not only the victor of the Indigo League, but actually be considered a Pokémon Master."
"And...?" Matt asked.
"Well, in all of only two years of being an Elite leader, not one single person beat me, except for this one exceptional trainer," Jordan said. "After I lost, I was pretty much kicked out."
"That's too bad," Matt replied. "Well, will I have to fight you in the Pokémon League if I can get that far?"
Jordan shrugged his shoulders. "If they decide to let me back in...maybe. But as of right now, no. They've found...somebody else," he replied, rather upset
Quickly, Lizzie ran out of the doors with her own Blue Crystal Badge. "I won!"
"That was quick..." Matt said.
"Well yeah, I just had good ol' Val blast that Mankey to a crisp. We've both got what we came for, now let's go to Vermillion and get our fourth badge!" Lizzie smiled.
Matt stood up, continuing to stare at Jordan. "I can't believe it. A former Elite Four member is travelling with us."
"No autographs, please," Jordan replied standing up.
"Oh, it's not that, I was just finding it funny that the highest, and hardest trainer to beat was taken out so easily by A.J.!"
"Now that's cruel...you didn't do too well yourself, you know. But that doesn't matter. You said you wanted to go to Vermillion, right? Well, let's get back on the road, and onto Route 6!"
TO BE CONTINUED.
Chapter 10: A Well Deserved Rest
Upon exiting the forest which is the detour towards Route 6, which also lead to Vermillion City, Matt, Lizzie, Jordon, along with Squirtle rest in an open field. Matt was alert, hoping for some Pokémon to appear, while Jordan was silent, staring at a Pokéball.
"What's up Jordan?" Matt asked.
"My Charizard..." Jordan muttered, playing back over and over in his mind about his Charizard collapsing, deciding to take a nap. "He did everything I told him, but then he just suddenly decides to ignore me."
"I never evolve my Pokémon," Lizzie commented. "Unless they feel they're ready for evolution, I won't let them."
Matt and Jordan turned their attention towards Lizzie. "Yeah...?" Matt asked, beckoning for her to continue.
"Well..." Lizzie continued, "if a Pokémon grows levels too fast and evolves, it will become unruly...unless it's a Caterpie or some other Pokémon that evolves quickly. Otherwise it won't listen to anyone but itself. So you have to pay attention to your Pokémon's attitude, and its fighting ability."
"That doesn't make any sense," Matt replied. "If it's ready to evolve, how can you stop it?"
"Well, there is a method for you to halt the evolution, but it hardly ever works. Regardless, you have to try."
"That doesn't explain how my Charizard decided to just wake up and say 'I don't think I'll listen to my trainer today'. I like your idea about not forcing a Pokémon to evolve, but I never did it, either. Charizard's evolution was by simply working hard." Jordan minimized the Pokéball and placed it away.
"Perhaps he was just in a bad mood then," Matt said. "We can't be sure since you said that he was always obedient until what just happened a little while ago. You can't always assume that something went wrong because he just decides to go on a power trip."
"Well, now that I think about it, I think some recent event must have angered Charizard. It can't be because of lack of attention, because I use all of my Pokémon equally."
"Maybe he was upset and frustrated after losing to A.J.'s Sandshrew," Matt suggested. "Even Spearow hasn't been in a good mood since losing to him, either." Matt enlarged a Pokéball and let Spearow out.
Spearow squawked and stared at Matt. Its eyes were heavy, and its face was deep, almost as if he was trying to hide it. It frowned. Lizzie and Jordan stared with interest.
"You see?" Matt said. "When we met those wild Pokémon in the forest, I couldn't use it on any of them. By the time they saw Spearow, they would run away."
"Talk to it." Jordan said. "While you're working it out, I'll talk to Charizard."
Matt nodded and sat down next to Spearow. "Hey, what's wrong?" All Matt heard from a reply was a quiet squawking noise. "Are you upset?" Spearow didn't reply. "Are you angry?" Spearow still didn't respond. Not a sound, not a nod, not even a sign that his voice was acknowledged. "Hmm..."
While Matt was thinking, he heard yelling from not too far off. He turned and looked, and watched Jordan shaking his fist, as his Charizard was hanging its head in shame. "What exactly was the purpose of that?! You just decided to fall over and take a nap, while when I tried to get to your attention, you practically BURNED me! Are you pleased with yourself?! Are you?!"
Lizzie rolled her eyes. "Oh, and yelling at him is supposed to make everything SO much better..."
Matt began to get frustrated, as Spearow turned around and began to hop away, due to the yelling by Jordan. "Hey! Could you keep it down; your yelling isn't helping my matters over here!"
"Squirtle?" Squirtle asked Spearow. Matt turned and looked at Squirtle. Very rarely Squirtle would speak; he was almost always silent. However, this intrigued him, as he was communicating with the Spearow.
"Spearow, spearow. Row, spear. Spear, spearow..." Spearow replied.
Matt watched as the conversation went on. After a while, Squirtle walked over to Matt and tugged on his sleeve.
"Squirtle, squirt squirt squirtle," Squirtle said, calm and cool.
Matt looked confused. "I'm sorry, I don't understand." He continued to listen as Squirtle attempted to act out what Spearow was saying. "I think I may have it. Spearow is stressed because--whoa! Wait a minute, he's stressed?!" Matt exclaimed.
Squirtle blinked and sighed, shaking his head. He then continued his vague and bizarre body movements, while Matt himself shook his head in confusion. He had absolutely no idea what his Pokémon was trying to tell him.
"Spearow, spearow. Spearow row spear?" Spearow asked Matt.
Matt smacked his forehead and fell flat on his back, with his face staring towards the sky and the clouds above him. "I don't get ANY of this!"
Lizzie gave off an exasperating sigh and walked up towards Matt. "Look, Spearow isn't stressed, or sad, or anything. He's just tired okay?" Squirtle nodded as a small grin appeared on his face. "It's not that big of a deal! He just needs a nice long rest."
Matt sits up and with a surprised, yet frustrated look, he stared at Lizzie. "You mean I practically spent the entire day figuring out what's wrong with him, when you knew all along?!"
"Ugh, am I SUPPOSED to tell you what kind of mood your Pokémon is in?!" Lizzie looked to see Jordan was still yelling at his Charizard. She once again turned her attention to Matt. "It seemed a little bit obvious, but whatever. Call back Spearow so we can get going. It's starting to get cloudy, and I'd like to get to Vermillion in case it starts raining."
"Get it?!" Jordan exclaimed at his Charizard. It nodded. "Got it?!" The Charizard nodded. "GOOD! Now GET BACK INSIDE!" Jordan commanded, absorbing Charizard back inside of his Pokéball.
"I'm glad you settled things," Matt responded rather bitterly. "I didn't think it was necessary to yell at him like that, though."
"Hey! Who's the experienced trainer here?" Jordan replied. "You use YOUR methods to discipline your Pokémon, and I'll use mine. Is that understood?"
"You know, you're both really starting to get on my nerves!" Lizzie exclaimed. "Let's just go! I'd like to leave this forest sometime this week!"
As the group continued their walk down the detour, Matt suggested they cut through a specific portion of the forest, which would lead to Route 6, and a shorter passage towards Vermillion City. The other two agreed, without finding any reason to object. As they began walking through the shortcut, through almost a wall of trees, Matt noticed a building, though it was practically unnoticeable.
"What's a building doing in this part of the woods?" Matt asked. He pulled out his map and began to look for some kind of mark. "I don't see it on the map."
"Geez, it's a good think you said something, otherwise I wouldn't have even noticed it," Lizzie said. "But since it's not on the map, I don't think it's Pokémon related."
"I don't believe it, Matt, you've found one!" Jordan started to run towards the building. Matt and Lizzie soon followed.
"Found what? What is this place?" Matt asked.
The three stopped in front of the entrance of the building. It seemed relatively new, by Matt's eyes. It was made from solid bricks, though Matt wondered how it was practically unnoticeable.
"This is a hidden Pokémon gym!" Jordan said. "These gyms are so rare, there's only a few of these in existence!"
"What does that mean, then? Do we need to search these out in order to quality for the Indigo League?" Matt asked.
"No, no, no," Jordan replied. "All you need are eight from the qualified gyms, but you can actually collect as many badges you want. If you've collected a certain amount, you automatically qualify to battle the Elite Four!"
"Are you kidding me?" Matt said. "So if you collect them all, you could just skip the competition itself and go straight to challenging the Elite Four?"
"That's right. But the problem is that these hidden gyms are spread out practically everywhere in possibly every Pokémon League out there. It could take a lifetime to find all of them."
"I see."
"But the good thing is, these qualify as actual badges. If you collect the ones here, they could be good enough for you to compete in the Indigo League if you can get them. But it's only for this league only. If you wanted to transfer to another league, these badges wouldn't quality," Jordan said.
"This could work to our advantage. The leader in Viridian City has been missing for the longest time; if I get the badge here, I won't have to worry about being a badge short!" Matt smirked at the thought.
"Well, let's go inside..." Jordan opened the large wooden door and held it for everybody to enter. Inside it was only one room. It was well-lit, but rather chilled. The same bricks used on the exterior of the building also covered the interior. In the center of the room was a battlefield, made out of wood. In front of it was a middle-aged woman, with deep green eyes, glasses, wearing a sweatsuit. Her brown, greying hair was tied back into a ponytail. The women looked up and noticed the three trainers standing at the entrance.
"Oh, hello there. I see you've found my secret gym." She then stood up and closed her magazine. "I wondered when I would see another Pokémon trainer. In my ten years being here, this is only my fifth visit."
"Ten years?" Lizzie asked, completely surprised.
"Wow, it IS a rare find..." Matt muttered. "Anyway, what kind of badge do you give out if we win?"
"Well, you get the Blue Crystal Badge," the woman said. "There are a total of thirty Crystal Badges; if you find them all, you will quality to challenge the Elite Trainers of every Pokémon gym!" The woman then pulled out a Pokéball. "The gym is right over here. Follow me."
The woman walked towards one side of the battlefield, while Matt walked towards his side. As usual, he checked his surroundings, and found nothing abnormal or usual. He noticed how much space was in the air compared to normal Pokémon gyms; Matt figured perhaps she used flying Pokémon.
"Wow, you have quite the fighting space!" Matt said. He then pulled out a Pokéball and turned his head towards Lizzie, who was standing at the sidelines. "Let me fight first, Lizzie. You can go next."
"Let me warn you," the woman began. "You are only allowed to use one Pokémon. Should you fail you won't be able to battle again for 24 hours, got that?"
Matt nodded in reply.
Jordan smiled and crossed his arms. "Ah, it's nice to see youth going into Pokémon battles."
"Whatever..." Lizzie muttered, then turned her attention towards Jordan. "Hey. Aren't you going to fight for this badge?"
Jordan was silent for a moment. "Well...um...I..."
"Well, what is it?" Lizzie asked.
Jordan walked closer to Lizzie, cupped his hands around her ear and whispered something. After hearing this, Lizzie's eyes widened the quickly bolted her head and stared into the eyes of Jordan. Jordan put a finger up to his lips, motioning for her to be quiet. Matt watched them, and noticed something bizarre that occured, but said nothing. Instead, he threw an enlarged Pokéball out into the battlefield.
"Let's go Zubat!" Matt yelled.
"Go, Venusaur!" The middle-aged woman threw an enlarged Pokéball out into a battlefield as a Venusaur appeared and growled upon its entrance. Matt noticed that it was another Pokémon with a bulb on its back. Like Ivysaur, except the flower on its back was completely grown as well as the size of it was significantly larger to that of an Ivysaur.
Matt quickly pulled out his Pokédex to get some quick reference. He then stared at his Zubat. "Leech Life, Zubat!"
From its high position in the air, the bat-like Pokémon used its censors to indicate the location of its opponent. Upon discovering it, it quickly swooped and landed on the Venusaur's back and began to drain some of its energy with its fangs. The large Pokémon flinched and nearly lost its balance, uncertain of what just occured.
"Vine Whip, Venusaur," the woman said calmly.
Venusaur, almost suddenly noticing the Zubat on its back uncovered what Matt counted as six vines and struck Zubat violently with each one, sending it off soaring into the air. Fortunately, Zubat was able to regain its balance, and began flying about again.
Matt sighed in relief after clenching his teeth. "That was a close call. Okay then, Supersonic waves!"
The Zubat revived from the brutal thrashing and released mind-altering waves towards the Venusaur. Its vision blurred, it began moving around, completely baffled and uncertain of its actions. It unleashed its own Vine Whip attack against itself, and fell crashing onto the hard, wodden surface below.
"Come on Zubat!" Matt yelled.
Zubat from its position quickly swooped down and struck Venusaur across the face. The force of the attack sent Venusaur tumbling, but the mind-altering Supersonic attack's effect faded quickly. Noticing its opponent in front of it, Venusaur lunged forward, and struck Zubat with its head.
The battle continued. Both Pokémon continued to go back and forth with attacks, without either of them backing down from the challenge. After a few more moments, the battle became very intense, as both trainers were very cautious of their next commands.
"Zubat, careful now!" Matt yelled.
The middle-aged woman gave Matt a smile. "You fight very well, but unfortunately, the match must end. Venusaur, Solar Beam."
Crap! Matt thought. That's the most powerful attack! "Zubat, watch it!"
Venusaur shifted its position into direct sunlight, as it began to absorb it. Matt was uncertain of this attack; he only had vague thoughts about it. He eventually noticed a lot of glowing energy and light from the flower of the Pokémon, before realizing what the attack will do.
"Matt, you need to strike now, before the attack is released!" Jordan shouted.
A cold drop of sweat came down Matt's red cheek. He wiped it away and looked at Zubat who was just still in the air. "Just wait...."
The light glowing on its back continued to grow, as Venusaur had finished absorbing energy. Instantly, it aimed and fired.
"Flash attack now!" Matt commanded.
As the large, wide blast of light came towards it, Zubat quickly flew away from it. As the attack struck the back wall, Zubat flew in from behind and slashed across the back of Venusaur. Matt then quickly turned his attention to the slight debris which was falling off the wall, but noticed that generally, all was well.
Matt turned his attention again towards the battlefield. Venusaur was immobile, while Zubat continued to fly around. He smiled, knowing he had just won.
"Flash attack?" Jordan muttered, seeming very confused. "Flash attack? I've never even heard of that attack, or anything similar to that, other than a blinding light. But regardless...does it even exist?"
Matt nodded. "I don't know if it itself has been classified as an official attack for Zubat, but the other day, I noticed something very strange. It's when it becomes calm for a moment, then uses all of his energy to fly very quickly and attack the opponent from behind. I thought about giving a name for it, so I could use it willingly."
"Maybe you should teach that to Spearow?" Lizzie suggested. "It's really a creative attack, Matt."
"I just might, but only Zubat seems to be one capable of doing it."
The woman nodded. I underestimated your abilities as a Pokémon trainer. Take this." The woman tossed a clear blue, crystal-shaped badge over to Matt. He caught it it and looked at it.
"Wow...this almost looks like a real crystal..."
"Come on Matt. Let's go outside and wait for Lizzie to battle," Jordan suggested. Matt nodded and left the battlefield, following Jordan.
"You mean you're not going to watch?" Lizzie asked.
"We'll come back. I just want to go outside," Jordan replied.
"Right..." Lizzie repled, and walked to the platform where Matt was standing.
"Return Venusaur," the woman said as Venusaur was absorbed inside of its Pokéball.
"Yikes!" Matt shouted, running back towards the battlefield. "Sorry Zubat, I nearly forgot about you! Come on back now." Zubat was then absorbed back inside, as Matt minimized the Pokéball, placing it back on his Pokémon belt. "This is sweet..." He then ran through the front doors, following Jordan.
Matt left the gym noticing that Jordan was sitting and leaning next to a large, dark-trunked tree. Matt sat down beside him. Squirtle also joined them, crawling on top of Matt's lap and sat there, relaxing.
"Cute..." Jordan commented. "Well, anyway, you have a great Pokémon there."
"Who? Squirtle or Zubat?" Matt asked.
"Well, they both are. You managed to teach Zubat a new move that doesn't exist in the Pokédex. Hell, that may be the only Zubat to learn such a trick." Jordan said.
"That might be..." Matt began. "But somebody else might have learned that trick already."
"It's possible, but either way, it's very creative." Jordan said. He then sighed. "Well Matt...I need to tell you something...something that may be rather shocking to you."
Matt raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What is it?"
"I remember you both asking me how I should be well known, and I told this to Lizzie while you were battling but...I'm..." Jordan sighed again. Matt payed close attention to Jordan, waiting for him to tell, for he was very intrigued. "I'm really part of the Elite Four."
Matt jumped up, knocking Squirtle off of him. "What?!"
Squirtle mumbled, rubbing his head.
"Please don't take this personally, but I have indeed been a Pokémon trainer for over seven years. I am without a doubt one of the strongest Pokémon trainers who is currently out there."
"Well...why aren't you near the Indigo Plateau now?" Matt asked.
"I was too good." Jordan said. "Ever since I joined the Elite Four, I would be the last trainer to ever be battled in order for one to be not only the victor of the Indigo League, but actually be considered a Pokémon Master."
"And...?" Matt asked.
"Well, in all of only two years of being an Elite leader, not one single person beat me, except for this one exceptional trainer," Jordan said. "After I lost, I was pretty much kicked out."
"That's too bad," Matt replied. "Well, will I have to fight you in the Pokémon League if I can get that far?"
Jordan shrugged his shoulders. "If they decide to let me back in...maybe. But as of right now, no. They've found...somebody else," he replied, rather upset
Quickly, Lizzie ran out of the doors with her own Blue Crystal Badge. "I won!"
"That was quick..." Matt said.
"Well yeah, I just had good ol' Val blast that Mankey to a crisp. We've both got what we came for, now let's go to Vermillion and get our fourth badge!" Lizzie smiled.
Matt stood up, continuing to stare at Jordan. "I can't believe it. A former Elite Four member is travelling with us."
"No autographs, please," Jordan replied standing up.
"Oh, it's not that, I was just finding it funny that the highest, and hardest trainer to beat was taken out so easily by A.J.!"
"Now that's cruel...you didn't do too well yourself, you know. But that doesn't matter. You said you wanted to go to Vermillion, right? Well, let's get back on the road, and onto Route 6!"
TO BE CONTINUED.
