Chapter 19: Vermillion City
When the S.S. Aqua FINALLY landed, Aaron was ready to hit the gym.
"Come on guys. What are we waiting for?"
"Hey. Entertaining a little girl is not easy. How do you do it?" Andy said.
While on board, a small girl was trying to keep from being bored so she went to "play with" the captain. Because the trio found her and kept her busy, her grandfather gave them a Metal Coat.
"I guess I'm just energetic." Aaron said. "How about it Static? Ready to win our first Kanto badge?"
"Pikachu!" (You bet)
"Have fun" Marie told him.
"I will." Aaron said "C'mon Static"
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"Hello? Is anybody here?" Aaron asked into the darkened gym.
"Pikachu" (Not again)
"The least they can do is put a sign saying they're closed." Aaron said.
"Who's there?" a loud voice boomed.
"My name is Aaron of New Bark Town in Johto. I'm here to challenge the gym leader."
"I am the gym leader. Lt. Surge." The voice said as a tall, extremely muscular man appeared.
"Oh boy." Aaron said to himself not noticing the shocked look in Surge's eyes.
"So, you have a Pikachu?" Surge asked amused
"Yes sir. Static was my first ever pokemon." Aaron told the gym leader.
"And yet you haven't evolved it." Surge said.
"The thought had never crossed my mind." Aaron informed Surge.
"Well then, how about a one-on-one battle. RAICHU GO!"
0000
A few minutes later in the Pokemon Center,
"When I met Aaron, he said that his dad was a single parent. What happened to his mother?" Marie asked Andy.
"He doesn't like to talk about it, but his mom left him and his dad when he was only a year old. Apparently, Mr. Ketchem was a workaholic and the stress got to her."
"That's terrible." Marie said.
"I know. And his rival brings up the subject every time the argument doesn't go his way."
"Oh my goodness. I had no idea…"
"Coming through. Pardon me. Nurse Joy!" Aaron said entering the Center carrying an injured Static.
"What happened!" Marie asked.
"Surge's Raichu. That's what happened." Aaron said handing the pokemon over to the nurse.
"That strong huh?" Andy asked.
"Electric attacks didn't have very much effect." Aaron said.
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A few minutes later,
"Your Pikachu's going to be just fine. It just needs to rest." Nurse Joy said.
"Thank you so much Nurse Joy." Aaron said.
"Don't worry about it. You're not the first trainer to have brought a Pikachu in." she informed him.
"Did the trainers before evolve their pokemon?" Aaron asked.
"Not all of them. I won't forget it, but there was this one trainer who actually left it up to the Pikachu to decide if it was going to evolve."
"Smart idea." Marie said. "Some pokemon will refuse to listen to their trainer if they were forced to evolve."
"Did it?" Andy asked.
"No. It even gave this long speech about how it was going to defeat Raichu for all Pikachus."
"Cute." Marie said.
"Are you going to evolve Static?" Andy asked
"I don't think so. Nurse Joy, those trainers that don't evolve their Pikachus, how did they win?"
"They never said. Sorry."
"Rats."
"Wait a minute." Marie said.
She grabbed her backpack and dug until she came upon a notebook.
"Raichu. Raichu. Ah. Here it is. Raichu. Mouse Pokemon. Height: 2'7. Ah ha. Weight: 66 lbs"
"So?" Andy asked.
"That means it's pretty heavy. Static weighs, what, 13 lbs?"
"I've already seen what Raichu's bodyslam can do." Aaron told her.
"Doesn't Static know any speed attacks like Quick Attack and Agility?" she asked.
"But won't Raichu know those attacks as well?" Andy asked.
"Surge said that he evolve Raichu as soon as he got it." Aaron told them.
"Then Raichu doesn't know those attacks. They can only learn those in the Pikachu stage." Marie said.
"So by using attacks like quick and agility, we actually have a chance." Aaron realized.
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After Static recovered, the trio went towards the gym. About halfway there,
"We are the challenger's cheerleading squad." A boy introduced his friends to the threesome who were now blocking the way.
The squad consisted of a boy, a girl, and a Mankey.
"Go! Go! Pikachu! You can beat that Ri-I-CHU!" they cheered.
"Mankey!" (Go!)
After the cheer, they went running.
"That was weird." Aaron said.
"And disturbing." Andy added.
"And a horrible cheer" Marie stated.
0000
The strategy proved to be successful. Static ran circles around Raichu. Andy even heard Surge murmur "déjà vu" to himself.
"Well Aaron," Surge said after the battle, "It's been over a year since I battled someone like you. You earned this."
"Thank you sir." Aaron said. "I GOT A THUNDERBADGE"
"Is he always like this?" Marie asked.
"Most of the time. Depends on the battle." Andy told her.
TBC