Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or any of its characters. They all belong to Satoshi Tajiri and the Nintendo Company. The only thing I own is my dedication to Egoshipping. jumps up and down
CHAPTER 3
Gary searched every inch of his duffel bag again hastily, even turning it inside out, to check if indeed there were no supplies left. "Please, even a single Potion would do…" he thought desperately.
He leaned against the rough, cave wall in defeat. There was really, absolutely nothing left. Not even a lowly Berry or a single Antidote or Paralyze Heal. Zero. Nada. Zip.
The only contents of his bag as of the moment were scattered clumsily on the cave floor because of his hurried search. It included his spare clothes, his sleeping bag, his ever-trusty First Aid kit and some of his food. There were also some cans of Pokémon feed that he blended himself, and also some Pokémon grooming tools. Nothing that would exactly help Nidoking that moment.
"What on earth am I gonna do?" This was the very first time that he ran out of supplies. He felt so… insecure. And helpless… He never thought that he would end up in such a critical situation. Not even in his wildest dreams.
"Guess there's a first time for everything, Oak," he thought miserably to himself.
Yet, there was something that was disturbing him, something that was stirring in him. That feeling… He partly blamed himself for what has happened. It was, after all, his duty, as a trainer, to bring medical supplies for his Pokémon. No trainer should be caught dead without them.
No, that wasn't it. He definitely shouldn't blame himself. His bag was practically brimming with all sorts of Potions, ranging from Berries to Full Restores, fresh from the Blackthorn City PokéMart, when they left for the long, vigorous trek to New Bark Town.
He just didn't expect the blitzkrieg of wannabe trainers along the way. He didn't realize that he was getting that famous. Every trainer he met along the way wanted have a piece of Gary Oak, draining him all of his supplies along with it. How could he resist?
"It was just rotten timing, that's all…" he concluded dismissively, as he slumped helplessly. He stared at Misty's trembling form. She looked just as helpless as he was.
Misty stared at Gary's defeated form in disbelief. "Oak, what're you doing! You are not going to give up this easily!" she blurted, her temper rising.
He gave her a look of pure venom. Misty expected him to shout back. But all she heard was a menacing whisper… "That's the very last thing on my mind now, Waterflower," he said coldly.
"Then, why are you just sitting there!" she hissed. She started to clench her fists as well.
One thing flashed through Gary's mind. "God, she's so bossy! Who does she think she is?" Only two words came up in his mind. Two words that he liked to say since they met in that stupid place.
"Shut up!" he screamed acidly.
Misty flinched at those last two words. It echoed throughout the cave, like a ghastly phantom.
Then, they heard it. A sound. An unfamiliar one. It was a sound they never heard before.
It was a sound that was terrible to the ears. It was a sound of something in pain.
Something was moaning. Gary stood up in alarm, when he recognized what that was. He looked at his Pokémon. Nidoking was groaning in terrible agony, clutching its head as if it was suffering from a mind-numbing migraine.
Those moans…. They pierced Gary's heart and soul as a trainer…. And as a friend. He never saw his Pokémon this distressed before…
Fainting and injured Pokémon were already a common sight to him. After all, he already had his fair share of Pokémon battles, winning spectacularly at that. But, he never was on the wrong end of the fork before. His Pokémon were never actually hurt or injured in the past.
He never realized that it hurts so much to see his Pokémon, his buddy, suffering like this. It hurt even more when he knew he can't do something about it.
"No! I will not stand for this! I will do something. Anything. I can't let Nidoking go on like this!" he thought determinedly as he stood up with newfound energy, adrenaline pumping in his veins.
Misty was slightly taken aback by his new actions. She thought that he was going to punch her in frustration. But he just stood up, crossing his arms, cerulean eyes narrowed in focus. He was obviously deep in thought.
Gary weighed his options. He could go out in the storm and scurry all the way back to Blackthorn City to buy some supplies. "Not good," he concluded. Climbing the slick and slippery mountain trail in this storm would practically be suicide.
He was forced to stay in that cave until the downpour passes. There was no choice left. It was time to put his brain and survival instincts to the test. He had to improvise.
He perused all the remnants of his bag which were scattered across the rocky cave floor. "There must be something here I could use," he muttered feverishly to himself as he picked them up one by one.
His eyes scanned the First Aid Kit he was clutching with his sweaty palms. "This is it!" he exclaimed in relief.
Professor Oak posted something on it. A reminder. "Only use this in real emergencies. Don't resort yourself to that extent. Be careful. Grandpa"
"I guess this definitely qualifies as an emergency." He smirked as he remembered his Grandpa back home, waiting for him to arrive, wanting to hear stories about how he pulverized the Johto Gym Leaders and fiddling with his Pokédex.
"Don't worry, Gramps. I'm coming," he thought warmly.
He opened the lid. There was a lot of medicine inside, ranging from cough drops down to snake poison antidote. Bandages were neatly folded in one compartment. A small bottle of disinfectant alcohol was also present in it. "That's Grandpa for you… Always complete."
Misty looked at the box skeptically. "Oak, are you that desperate? You plan to use human headache medicine on your Pokémon? You don't know what's going to happen! My God, you could even make it worse if you're not careful!"
Gary cracked s smug smile. Misty wondered for an instant if he had already snapped and gone insane. "Why is he smiling at a time like this!" she thought worriedly.
He cleared his throat. "There you go again, jumping to wild conclusions without taking all the possibilities into consideration," he said calmly. "Thanks for the newsflash, Mistress Obvious. I know perfectly well what I am doing, I'm the trainer. Leave everything to me."
As he took out the bandages, Misty was struck by a burst of understanding and relief.
"I'm no Nurse Joy, but I know that this will stop the bleeding for the time being." he said wisely as he went to Nidoking and wrapped the bandages around its head carefully, sealing the injury.
"Now, I have to reduce the swelling," Gary said expertly, as if giving first aid was his cup of tea. To reduce the swelling, he needed an ice bag. To get ice, he needed…
"Blastoise!" The water Pokémon stood in attention as its master called out its name, ready to follow any command.
Gary rushed over to his duffel bag and pulled out a silver bowl. He uses it to blend Pokémon feed; but obviously, it wasn't the time for that.
"Blastoise, fill this up with water for me," he said commandingly as he gave the bowl to it. It used its Water Gun technique to fill it to the brim. Seconds later, it was full of sparkling, clean water.
"Ok, next stage, buddy. Use Blizzard on the water in it." Blastoise gave him a questioning look. Misty snorted, wondering where this is going to lead.
Gary ignored Misty's skepticism and continued.
"Ehm, just focus your Blizzard attack on this bowl right here. Control the attack so it hits this bowl only. Ok? You understand what I mean?" he asked, with a worried look.
Blastoise nodded. It held the bowl and proceeded to use its Blizzard technique. It blew ice crystals from its mouth, rendering any target helplessly frozen. As Gary requested, it was done in a controlled manner.
It was as if Blastoise was blowing candles on a birthday cake. Ice crystals were spewing from its mouth gently, freezing the water inside the bowl slowly and surely.
After a few minutes, the water was completely frozen solid. It became frigid ice. Gary cracked a soft smile as he removed it from the silver bowl. A bowl-shaped chunk of ice emerged. Everything was going according to plan… Except…
It was definitely far too big for Nidoking's injury. He has cut to it into pieces somehow…
But, he already devised a plan on how to go with it…
"Arcanine, come here for a moment please," he said gently as he called his fire Pokémon.
It boldly strode forward.
"Arcanine, here's what I want you to do. Use your Extreme Speed attack on that ice chunk, Ok? Pretend that we're training," he said, while stroking Arcanine's fur. It barked joyfully in response.
"Ok… Ready… go!" commanded Gary. Arcanine suddenly disappeared for a second, and then rematerialized again beside him.
"Nothing's happening, Oak! What did you just do?" asked Misty, with a raised eyebrow.
"Sheesh, you could use a pair of glasses right now, Waterflower," he said jokingly. Misty's temper flared for a moment because of that last comment, but wondered what he meant at the same time… She stared at the piece of ice. It was already in pieces.
Misty was absolutely flabbergasted. "What… happened?" she murmured.
Gary rolled his eyes. "Waterflower, it's not called Extreme Speed attack for nothing, you know."
He then proceeded to his own Pokédex mode. "One of Arcanine's signature moves is called Extreme Speed. It attacks with blinding speed, and then slashes the opponent with high accuracy. An opponent wouldn't even know what hit 'em."
"Now, for the last piece of the puzzle," he murmured softly. He picked up his bag and pulled out a clean shirt. He picked up some of the ice pieces scattered on the floor and stuffed it in the shirt, thus producing a makeshift ice bag.
He clambered over to Nidoking asked it to hold the "ice bag" over the injured portion of its head. It moaned in relief as the soothing coolness touched its bruised flesh. It then extended its bulky arm and proceeded to give Gary, which was unmistakably, a hug.
Misty was touched by this scene. It was absolutely precious. It is one of those picture perfect moments that make Pokémon training worthwhile.
She snatched a peek at Gary's face. Her heart skipped a beat because of what she saw.
There was no other word that could describe him at this moment. He was so…handsome.
His features were void of any worry… of any burdens. It was like he was the happiest and luckiest man on Johto that moment.
That smile he adorned… It was different from his usual charming, flirty smile… It was a smile of pure happiness… of relief… It was completely new. She loved it.
She saw his sapphire eyes even through the dim glow of the lantern. The blizzard that brewed in there earlier was gone. They were again calm… and warm… The way she liked them to be.
Nidoking finally let go of him. He faced Misty, and then flashed a thumbs-up, winking.
Misty blushed, but horrified all of the same because of her reaction. "What's happening to me? This IS Gary Oak, for Mew's sake! My best friend's rival!"
She can't help the relief inside her, though. Because of Nidoking's temporary treatment, their animosity was fading… The invisible barrier between them was crumbling to dust. "Looks like he already forgave me," thought Misty, as she took a deep, cleansing breath.
Gary's Pokémon cheered for their master, as if he already won the Silver Conference. For a fleeting moment, Misty thought that he was going to brag to her about his cleverness or wittiness, something he was prone to do after every successful venture.
But he just scratched his cheek sheepishly and patted each of his Pokémon in the head gently. Misty was highly surprised. Gary Oak was being humble?
"GROAR!"
A snarl stopped the little celebration in its tracks. It was different from the sound they heard earlier from Nidoking. It wasn't exactly the sound that was pleasant to the ears. It was a cry that would invoke fear in any human.
"GROAR!"
The horrible cry came from the heart of the cave. It wasn't a cry of pain; it was definitely a roar of fury. It was as if it came from the bowels of the Underworld.
Gary felt a distinct rumble on his feet. After a few seconds, there it was again. The earth under his feet shook again, like a mini-earthquake.
His stomach lurched when he realized what that rumbling meant.
Footsteps. Gigantic ones. Big enough to shake the earth slightly as it walks. Whatever "it" is. And "it" is already…. coming.
"What now?" thought Misty in alarm.
There were going to find out in just a few seconds.
Author's Note: I'm on a roll lately…. Another cliffhanger! Sorry for the delayed update, guys. I'm just plain busy lately. So for the meantime… Reviews will highly be appreciated… So don't hesitate to click that little square button down there and go! Lotsa thankies! – Momentum's Strife