A Refreshing Battle

Red fixed the straps of his backpack, since he can't afford to have egg soup in his bag, and readied himself for his next match. Taking a deep breathe, Red pushed open the heavy double doors. The doors squeaked loudly, Red made a mental note to tell the gym leader to fix the doors, and a large pool greeted Red. Many people in bathing suits were swimming in the giant pool, which could have been as big as a football field, with many kinds of water type pokemon.

"Umm..excuse me?" Red nervously said, getting the swimmers attention. Seeing everyone's attention was upon him, Red continued," I am here to challenge the gym leader."

"That will be me," a red hair girl, who looked no older than Red, answered Red's request. She had on a white bathing suit and a large white coat that reached to her knees. Her flip flops sounded on the floor as she walked up to Red. "I am Misty! The Cerulean Gym Leader!"

"You're the gym leader," Red blinked in disbelief.

"Yeah! Got a problem?" Misty narrowed her eyes.

"Well for starters, you're a girl and you look about my age," Red pointed out. A comical vein popped out of the gym leader's forehead in frustration.

"Why you little punk! You come in here to just insult me!' Misty shouted, and she would have put Red in the hospital if it weren't for the other trainers that held her back. "Come over here kid, so I can't tear you apart!" Misty yelled at Red.

"This is very unprofessional for a gym leader," one of the swimmers said to Misty, holding her back as Misty waved her arms around.

I starting to think that not all gym leaders will be as I expect them to be Red sweat dropped.

Misty soon calmed down and looked at Red. "Lets see if you can beat me in a gym battle, kid," Misty said, making Red angry like Misty wanted.

"Okay and by the end of the day, that badge will be in my badge case," Red retorted.

"We will see," Misty smirked. "It will be a three on three. The battle will be over until all the pokemon on one side are unable to battle."

Red remembered the rules, since he was familiar with them, but something puzzled him. "But where will the match be held?" Red asked.

Misty smirked and snapped her fingers. All the swimmers in the pool immediately got out, like if the pool was contaminated with toxic waste. "We will battle in this pool and if you didn't know, I am an expert in water pokemon." Misty winked at Red and headed to her respective place.

Red was left dumbfounded that he had to fight in the pool, when he had now water pokemon. He than noticed a few circle platforms were floating on top of the pool for pokemon who couldn't swim. He headed to his side of the battlefield.

So she uses water pokemon Red thought. It's a no-brainer to who I'm going to use. Red threw a pokeball while shouting," Pikachu, standby for battle!" The electric rodent landed on the floating platform. Pikachu was at first confused when he looked at his strange surroundings. He focused back on the battle, when he saw his opponent appear.

A brown star-shaped pokemon materialized in the water, stirring the water around him with its presence. The red core in the middle of the pokemon blinked to life as it waited for its first orders.

"Staryu, the star shape pokemon. As long as the core in the middle of its body is not destroyed than Staryu can reform, even if it has been cut into a thousand pieces." The pokedex informed Red in its usual robotic voice.

Who makes the entries in the pokedex? Red wondered. He shook his head and focused back on the battle. "Pikachu, let's try a Thunder Shock." Pikachu nodded in agreement and fired the weak electric attack.

"Staryu, dodge it," Misty ordered. The brown star-like pokemon submerged its whole body into the water, disappearing as it went deeper into the pool. The electricity hit the water and dispersed outwards, but wasn't strong enough to reach Staryu. "Use Water Gun to knock Pikachu off the platform."

Red gritted his teeth at how helpless his pokemon was. That Staryu can attack from any direction so Pikachu must be alert Red thought. Pikachu's ears twitched as it tried to listen for any sound. Behind the mouse pokemon, Staryu shot out of the water and fired a jet of water from the tip of one of its limbs. The water pushed the pikachu into the cold water. The water soaked Pikachu's fur coat, but he still tried to stay afloat. His head bobbed above the water as he struggled to stay above.

"We got it where we want it!" Misty shouted. "Rapid Spin now, Staryu."

Red smirked when he heard the gym leader call out her next attack. Misty noticed his grin, but ignored it. The staryu dived back into the water and began to spin very fast. It changed its direction to head straight at the swimming pikachu.

"Pikachu, Thunder Shock," Red ordered when he saw the water pokemon was close enough. Misty realized her mistake, but was too late. Pikachu released electricity from his tiny body, and the electricity reached the water pokemon this time. Being a water type, Staryu stopped in its tracks and got double the damage from the attack.

"Staryu, get out of the water," Misty cried in vain. At first, Staryu didn't move, getting seriously electrocuted. Then, it used all of its strength to jump out of the water and landed on a platform that was nearby. Misty sighed in relief, knowing that she could have lost if Staryu was a second slower. "Good thing you learn this move, Recover."

"Recover?" Red said confused.

"It's a move that restores a pokemon's health," Misty explained.

"I shouldn't have underestimated her…" Red said under his breathe. "Pikachu, swim to one of the platforms." Pikachu began to kick his feet to propel himself to the moving platform. Since pikachus weren't made for swimming, Red's Pikachu had a hard time getting to his destination. Meanwhile, Misty's Staryu began to glow as it healed itself. By the time Pikachu was a foot away from the circular platform, Staryu was fully healed.

"Alright Staryu, use Swift on Pikachu," Misty ordered her next move. Staryu jumped in the air, and while spinning, fired many gold stars. The glittering stars pelted Pikachu with great accuracy. The stars that hit the water created small waves that pushed the platform farther from the mouse. Pikachu whimpered, when he saw his chance of being save get father away from.

"Now you can't escape," Misty declared, happy that she cornered the cocky trainer's pokemon. "Staryu, use Camouflage in the Water and hit pikachu with a Rapid Spin." The brown star jumped into the cool, fresh water in one mighty leap. Once its entire body was in the pool, Staryu's body disappeared.

"Where did it go?" Red wondered out loud.

"Staryu just camouflaged with its surroundings. That's why the move is called 'Camouflage'," Misty replied in a snobby tone.

Now how do I know where the attack will come? Red thought. Huh? Red noticed an unnatural disturbance in the water that looked like swirling water. He figured that it was Staryu that was causing the phenomenon. The swirling came close to the confused pikachu, and Red quickly reacted.

"Thunder Shock!" Red shouted. Pikachu didn't hesitate to think on the command, since Red is mostly right when he calls out an attack. And like the times before, Red didn't fail Pikachu as he shocked the invisible staryu that turned visible again. A charred staryu floated to the top of the pool, the light of its red core flickered until it turned off. Misty had to grit her teeth to stop herself from cursing, and returned her pokemon.

"You just got lucky with that attack," Misty said, which ticked off Red, since he used his observing skills. "My next pokemon will be more than enough for you." She threw another sphere that opened up to release her next pokemon. The laser shot out into the water. Red then saw a white fish with red markings jump out of the water. The pokemon looked beautiful as the water droplets glimmer around its body in the air. Red stared in awe, but then saw a deadly horn on the top of its head. The pokemon fell back into the water, making a big splash.

Red pointed his pokedex at the new pokemon.

"Goldeen. The horn of this goldfish pokemon can break the thickest glass in an aquarium. It can swim at the speeds of five knots."

So its horn will be a problem Red thought. He noticed that Pikachu had climbed onto a platform. He shook his fur to get rid of the water in his coat.

"We will start first. So Goldeen, use Supersonic," Misty ordered. Goldeen flapped her little fins to move quickly through the water.

"Pikachu, use Double Team to confuse them." Pikachu nodded in agreement. His body shimmered before splitting into three identical copies, spread around the small platform. Goldeen didn't know which one was the real pikachu, so she took a gamble. She leaped out of the water; her eyes locked on the pikachu standing on the left, and fired light blue circles, which contained high pitched frequencies, from her horn. The circles grew in size as they neared the mouse, but the move harmlessly passed through the fake pikachu and the copy disappeared. Goldeen fell back into the water, disappointed that her move failed.

"Don't worry Goldeen. Let's get all of them by turning the platform over," Misty said. Goldeen swam under the platform and slammed her horn into the hard plastic. This caused the platform to tip over and threw the pikachus into the water. The fake pikachus disappeared as it hit the water, leaving the real one open for attack in the water.

"Water Pulse," Misty ordered. Three rings of water were fired from Goldeen and the rings hit Pikachu, doing a good amount of damage.

"Pikachu, quick use Thunder Shock on Goldeen," Red ordered. Pikachu looked around as if he didn't know where he was in the first place.

"Pikachu got confuse by the secondary effect of Water Pulse," Misty explained to the Red about Pikachu's confusion.

Red suddenly realized how vulnerable Pikachu was right now. "Pikachu, snap out of it!" Red shouted in distress. The confused mouse looked around, as he didn't hear Red.

"How will that work?" Misty questioned Red's order. "Goldeen, now we can use Horn Attack." Goldeen rammed her horn into Pikachu with all of her strength. The blow sent Pikachu flying out of the water and roughly landed on the pavement in front of Red. His dazed look was enough to tell that he wasn't able to battle any more. He returned Pikachu, it while giving his thanks.

"Pidgeotto, standby for battle!" Red announced his flying pokemon into the air. This will give me an advantage Red smirked.

-"This shouldn't take long!"- Pidgeotto cried. Goldeen rolled her eyes at Pidgeotto's cockiness.

"Pidgeotto, Aerial Ace and watch out for Goldeen's Supersonic," Red said. Pidgeotto nodded and tucked in his wings. He went into a step dive, adjusting his course to hit the goldfish pokemon in the water. White streaks of light swirled around Pidgeotto's body as he gained speed.

"Goldeen, try a Supersonic," Misty said. Blue rings were fired at Pidgeotto form Goldeen's horn. The large bird slightly shifted to the right to avoid the incoming move. When he was a few feet above the clear water, he disappeared from sight and shortly appeared in the water. He slammed into the surprise goldeen. Goldeen twirled backwards in the pool and was stopped by the hard floor as she slammed into it. Pidgeotto managed to pull himself out of the water, but with the weight of the water trapped in his feathers, he soon fell onto a free floating platform.

-"The water is weighing me down,"- Pidgeotto muttered, standing up and shook his water to get rid of the excess water.

Goldeen soon recovered from the attack. She was determined to follow her last command, so she swam next to the platform that the Red's pokemon rested. She leaped straight out of the water and fired her Supersonic. The move managed to hit Pidgeotto this time, leaving him confused.

"Good job, Goldeen," Misty praised her pokemon. "Now use Water Pulse." With another leap, she got out of the water and fired large, blue rings of water at Pidgeotto. The ring seem like they were about to hit Pidgeotto, but at the last second, Pidgeotto stumbled to the right side. The attack barely grazed against his left wing, before hitting the water.

Damn! His Pidgeotto must have Tangled Feet as its ability Misty blinked in disbelief. She looked at Red and noticed he had a confused look on his face. And by the looks of it, I bet he didn't even know that his pokemon had that ability.

Red observed his pidgeotto, who was stumbling around like a metapod with legs. It will be funny to see a metapod with legs Red smirked, imagining his crazy idea.

"Goldeen, knock that bird into the water with a Horn Attack," Misty called out, which caused Red to snap out of his thoughts. The water pokemon raced through water, and then gracefully jumped out with her horn aimed at pidgeotto. Pidgeotto stumbled to the right, dodging the attack completely. Goldeen fell back into the water.

"Great dodge, Pidgeotto," Red said. Pidgeotto shook his head and soon regain his senses. "Guess the confusion wears off. Well Pidgeotto, Air Cutter." With one final shake to get rid of water, Pidgeotto took off in the air. Getting a better aim, Pidgeotto brought his wings together. When he opened up his wings, v-shaped blades were fired at Goldeen. The blades easily sliced through the water, and slashed at Goldeen's body. After the attack, Goldeen seem as she wouldn't be able to take another hit.

This might be my last attack so I better make it count Misty thought. "Goldeen, use Aqua Tail." Goldeen sensed the urgency in her trainer's voice and knew she must complete this task. She began by swimming in circles, and by using her momentum she gained from swimming, she went upward and shot out of the water. Going higher than she normally did, she got in level with a shocked pidgeotto. Water began to form around her tail, the water swirled around the tail fin like a small tornado. Before Pidgeotto could act, Goldeen flipped forward and brought the tail down on his head. The force of the attack was so great that it sent Pidgeotto falling.

"Pidgeotto, regain your balance and use Wing Attack," Red immediately ordered. Pidgeotto caught himself from falling into pool, and angled his body to head towards the falling goldeen. Not being able to do anything, Goldeen fully took the blow from Pidgeotto's Wing Attack. Goldeen was sent into the water and shortly floated to the top with swirls in her eyes.

"Take a long rest," Misty said, as she returned the water pokemon back into its pokeball.

"That Goldeen was well trained," Red complimented. He returned his Pidgeotto, because he saw that he looked tired.

"Thanks, but my next pokemon is my strongest and won't go down easily." As she finished her last sentence, a pokemon that resembled Staryu appeared on the platform only that it was bigger and had more limbs than Staryu. Most of its body was a light purple, but had the same core as Staryu.

"Starmie, the mysterious pokemon. The core can glow in seven different colors, which people think it uses to communicate."

The Pokedex keep on giving weirder and weirder information. Why is it called the 'Mysterious Pokemon'? Red thought. Well I can't use Charmeleon, since he has a type disadvantage. Might as well give my new pokemon a shot at his first gym battle.

"Nidoran, standby for battle!" Nidoran landed on a platform. He looked around to see his surroundings. He became nervous at first, but put on a brave face when he noticed this was in an important battle.

"Not very often I see a trainer use a Nidoran in a gym battle," Misty remarked. "Let's see if it can handle an Ice Beam." On command, a light blue beam fired from the center of Starmie's core. The beam strikes Nidoran making him grunt. Ice began to form on his body but it soon broke after the attack was done.

A powerful move like Ice Beam could pose as a big problem Red thought. "Nidoran, use Amnesia to boost your special defenses."

-"Well I need the boost,"- Nidoran muttered. He temporary forgot part of his memory and in return, gained special defense.

"Never seen a Nidoran that knows Amnesia. Well, lets get physical, Starmie. Rapid Spin," Misty ordered. The back part of Starmie's body slowly began to rotate. With the two limbs that were station on the ground, it jumped into the air and turned its body horizontal. All of its body soon began to rapidly spin, flying over the water.

Red noticed a platform that has floated close to where Nidoran was standing. "Jump to the other platform," Red called out. Nidoran noticed the platform and makes a leap before starmie can hit him. He successfully landed on the plastic circle and heard a splashing noise behind him. He turned around to see the star-shape pokemon to jump out of the water and land to the platform that nidoran was standing on before.

-That was to close- Nidoran thought. –What is this tingly feeling…!- A familiar white glow surrounded his body. He grew larger and when the glowing stop, a fully evolved Nidorino proudly stood. –Ha! With this new form, I can get all the ladies know Nidoran thought, his body may have changed but his mind hasn't changed.

"Another of my pokemon evolved," Red muttered, taking his pokedex.

"Nidorino, the horn on its head is stronger than diamond and oozes out a powerful poison. It is easy to anger, and the barbs on its back bristle up to challenge a foe with all of its might."

This changes everything Red thought. "Nidoran, Focus Energy now."

"Don..don't let it, Starmie. Use Water Gun," Misty stuttered, surprised by nidoran's evolution. Nidorino was first to act by closing his eyes to focus his mind and getting a better aim for a pokemon's weak spot. His face was then hit by a blast of water, but thanks to the Amnesia, he barely felt it.

"Horn Attack, Nidorino," Red ordered. Nidoran pushed back against the high pressure water, and jumped to the platform that starmie stood on.

"Ice Beam!" Misty shouted in distress. Am I…panicking? Misty grimaced.

Starmie stopped its water attack, allowing Nidorino to advance, but was hit with a powerful light blue beam. Ignoring the cold, Nidoran jumped and jabbed his horn into the red gem of Starmie's body. Striking a critical hit, Starmie collapsed on its back. The light of the red gem slowly faded away.

Stunned by her lost, Misty stood there flabbergasted. She didn't even remember to return her pokemon, until one of the swimmers told her to. She sighed as she returned her Starmie. She grumbled under her breathe as she made her way towards Red. Red was bent down, congratulating his pokemon.

"Well you beat me," Misty muttered. She fumbled a bit as she got something from her pocket. She took out a metal object in the shape of a water droplet or a tear droplet. She handed to Red, who gladly took it.

"The TM as well," a male swimmer added, as he gave the water gym leader a blue disc. Misty took it from him and gave it Red as well. She then noticed Red's Pokegear on his belt.

"Let's trade numbers so I can call," she offered, fumbling with her fingers.

"Yea… get my number," Red narrowed his eyes, as he smirked.

"No! It's not like that," Misty raised her arms in defense, getting red as a tomato berry. "So we can a rematch when I call you. But you don't have to-."

"Fine," Red replied. He took his Pokegear and held up to Misty's Pokegear, who also held her blue Pokegear up. Red pushed a button and the Pokegears registered each others number like that.

"Next time, I will beat you," Misty hissed. She turned around and walked away, with the other trainers following her.

"Well another Badge closer to the Pokemon League," Red said, holding the badge in the air to see it glint in the buildings lights. He left the gym afterwards, with Nidorino following close behind. When Red walked out, he felt something moved in his backpack.

"Huh?" Red said. Nidorino gave him a confused look. "I think I felt something move in my backpack, but it must be my imagination." Red put that aside and continued on walking.


One thing I want to say is that pokemon speech has –these dashes - around there speech or thoughts. I like for people to see what the pokemon are thinking and maybe I will make a chapter of only the pokemon and no humans to better flesh out those characters.