The next day, the two trainers arose and began planning for Blaine, the fire gym leader. As he was one of the most experienced trainers – and the two had but a single water Pokemon apiece – they were forced into bettering those Pokemon through battling one another. After a few hours of Wartortle and Golduck's workout, though, the two decided to take a break. Being so near the island's volcano, they decided to go explore that, because the story's plot demands it.
After an uneventful travel across the black beach, toward a muddy grotto at the base of the great volcano, the two noticed a crack in rock-face. Peering in, they noticed a large, hollowed out cave, with crags of magma flowing about. And in the center, huddled together in a collective ball, were a slew of red Pokemon. Ryan's heart skipped a beat as he unconsciously grabbed his Pokedex and pointed it at the group of red animals.
"Charmeleon, the Flame Pokemon. Tough fights could excite this Pokémon. When excited, it may blow out bluish-white flames."
"Yes!" Ryan yelled, pumping his fist into the air, "I've always wanted one of these! You know, Charmeleon evolves from Charmander, who's my favorite starter, Kelly."
The older girl ignored him.
"Fine then. I'm busy catching Pokemon, anyway. Matata, I choose you!" Ryan unhooked Matata's Pokeball, then did a masterful spin before chucking her through the small looking hole. Upon letting her out, he quickly ordered her to use focus energy on the nearest Charmeleon.
The move had little effect aside from waking one of the beasts and making it sleepily, lazy, quiet growl toward Matata's general vicinity. This formidable attack left Matata shivering and quite scared. It was a fearsome growl!
"Now use fury attack, Matata!"
Matata obeyed, and roared toward the creature. Charmeleon was taken aback by the speed of the Beedrill; it was quickly overcome by several quick hits. Charmeleon stumbled back after the fourth hit and retaliated with a quick ember attack. Matata was hit head on, and after being engulfed by the flames, fainted.
And despite Ryan's surprise, Kelly, who was watching the fight unfold, simply laughed. "You really don't know anything about Pokemon, do you?"
"Why would you say that?" Ryan retorted with a look of sheer displeasure.
"If you did, you would know that bug types are weak against fire. We went over this this morning. Water beats fire. It's how we'll beat Blaine. You should have used Golduck against Charmeleon if you wanted one so bad."
"Well, I'm not done anyway!" Ryan said, his face flushed. "Go old faithful!"
Like a magnificent geyser, Abra shot forth from his Pokeball. He landed in the cave, scratching the back of his head and yawning. "Brah? Rah rah Abra!"
Ryan nodded. Yeah Abra, tell them who's boss. Sing it sister.
Suddenly, like a fly hitting a windshield, Abra was engulfed by red hot flames. "Abraaaaa!" he screamed in pain and surprise. The villainous Charmeleon was standing fierce, opposite of the psychic Pokemon. He was not about to be caught without a fight.
"Oh jeez!" Ryan said in shock. "A-abra, are you okay?"
"Ra!" replied Abra, extra crispy. The smell of him made Ryan's mouth water.
"Okay, then use Thunder Wave!" Ryan commanded, pointing to the Charmeleon.
His Abra obeyed and shot the electricity from him like he was a proper pikapi. Charmeleon just sat there and absorbed the shock and was also shocked. It was incredible. The yellow bolts jumped across his body like fleas and soon Charmeleon fell to his knees and howled out in pain.
Ryan whooped a good whoop. "Ha! Charmeleon is paralyzed! It may be unable to move," he recited, his finger up.
"Great job. You're the best trainer in the Pokeworld," Kelly breathed out. She didn't seem like she meant it.
He ignored her. Now was the time to fulfill Ryan's destiny. Now was the time for Ryan to get the starter he had always wanted. "Now, Pokeball, go and catch me my new 'mon!"
The blue-haired trainer threw a ball towards the paralyzed Charmeleon as if he were an Olympic athlete. Yet the ball landed a good 15 feet in front of the fire lizard. Must've been the wind. Ryan scowled.
"Hey, you, get over here!" he hollered to the Charmeleon. The Pokemon just looked at him and let out a low growl, though his paralysis seemed to be holding him back. In but a moment, Ryan went from being a winner to a crestfallen little non-winner. How was he to get Charmeleon now? That cave was dark, hot, dangerous, scary. No way he could step in there. Then he spied Abra, his old friend; his true friend; his shield; his sword.
"Abra! Quickly, grab the Pokeball and throw it at Charmeleon!"
"Ra? Abra abra!" his future sweeper replied.
Ryan couldn't blame him. It was unexpected. It was unprecedented. Abra would be the Pokemon to catch a Pokemon. He would be a trailblazer, a Pokemon amongst men. It would be like a pig eating bacon if pigs existed in the Pokemon universe. He would be a legend, born today.
"Just do it, buddy-o!"
"Bra."
Abra used his psychic abilities to grab the fallen Pokeball and bring it over to his clawed hands. Then, he grasped the small ball and did a little ballerina twirl. "Abraaa ra!" he yelled, doing a double backflip as what seemed like fireworks were going off in the background. "Ra ra abra!" There was audible applause when he landed the difficult acrobatic maneuver, though from whom Ryan could not see.
He threw that ball, he did. He was Abra, king of the 'mons. He slept all day. He could learn teleport. He was the greatest there ever was. The Pokeball traveled faster than the winds over to the red lizard and as it opened, Ryan saw Charmeleon try to fight against it. But he was paralyzed, so he couldn't do anything. What a shame. Soon, a red light covered the Pokemon's visage, and after a flash, he was safely in the ball. Abra picked it up, showed a peace sign to the camera and then scampered back to Ryan.
"Aw, Abra, you did it!" Ryan was jubilant. He was ecstatic. "You're number one, buddy!" he patted Abra on the head. "And you're number forty-seven for doubting me," he sneered at Kelly.
She rolled her eyes and bit her lip.
After a short trip to the PokeCenter, Ryan and Kelly returned to the beach with the intent of training up their Pokemon for old Blaine the Bold. The sun was already beginning to set, but the air was still warm, smelling of salt and promise. Ryan was a bit anxious, for he only had one water Pokemon. Matata would be useless against Blaine's fearsome guys. Abra and his Charmeleon wouldn't be much better. So it was all up to Golduck. Ryan had briefly entertained the thought of purchasing a fishing rod, which looked like a rather old rod in truth, but he had not the Pokedollars to buy it He needed his money for more important things, like twix bars. After all, food tasted better than catching Tentacools. Contrary to popular belief, they were not all that cool.
When the two reached the sand, they spied a host of people ahead. There were tents and umbrellas and loud music and beach balls and girls playing beach volleyball with naught but bikinis on. This was Ryan's type of party. He nodded their way to Kelly, who looked more annoyed than ever. But she couldn't really train her Wartortle without Ryan's help, so she bit her lip and followed him into the din of partygoers. There were dozens of them – men, women, boys, girls, and Pokemon too. Ryan got excited at that and instantly let loose all of his Pokemon with the flick of his wrist. Matata, Abra, Clawey, and Charmeleon came fluttering out. He watched them for a moment, and he realized he still needed to give Charmeleon a nickname. Maybe after the party.
Ryan gave his 'mon a few Pokedollars and told them not to waste them – for they would get no more from their fickle trainer – and then bade them off. He looked to his left and saw that Kelly was already sitting at a table and drinking from a pitcher of orange juice like a ravenous raver. So Ryan found himself alone and he started wandering through the beachgoers, searching for his own pitcher of orange juice. It was then that Ryan beheld a most glorious sight that made him stop in his tracks.
In the sand, there was a huge entity. Ryan knew what it was as soon as he saw its figure, even if he couldn't see it properly because the sun was setting right behind it and silhouetting it. "A Snorlax…" he mumbled to himself excitedly. "Cool!" He reached for his Pokeballs when he realized all his trusty pals were out and roaming about. He had no one to catch snorrey with. "Curses!" he whispered just as a girl walked in front of him. She met his eyes and looked at him like he was a lunatic. He frowned and stared back at her. She didn't know why he had yelled that. Stupid assumptive girl.
Without any Pokemon, Ryan was low on options. So he resolved to just throw a Pokeball at the Snorlax. It was sleeping, so maybe it couldn't say no to the ball. Ryan jumped in the air, putting on a dramatic performance of moves and twirls in the sand. He instantly regretted his moves, for sand got all in his shoes. He shivered. He hated that. Still, Ryan had to clear his head and focus, for he was about to catch a Pokemon he'd always wanted.
"Go get a Snorlax!"
The ball flew forward and hit the Snorlax in the side of the belly, getting stuck in one of the rolls of fat. Ryan was perplexed. He lurched forward, his mouth agape. What had just happened? Why hadn't the Pokeball opened?
"Are you serious?!" came a sudden booming, warm voice. Suddenly, the Snorlax stood up and Ryan saw that he was face-to-face with a human, not a Pokemon. "Really?" the former Snorlax said, his voice rich as honey with disbelief. He plucked the Pokeball out of his rolls of fat and handed it back to Ryan. "What were you trying to do, man?"
Ryan scratched the back of his head. "Uh, well…" he blushed. "I-I thought you were a Pokemon. Honest mistake, dude."
"Are you serious?!" the guy repeated, this time rolling his head around like a turtle and looking this way and that at everyone watching the spectacle. He had a glimmer in his eye and an incredulous smile on his bronze face. And he tugged at his sweet-as-tauros goatee with a few fingers. It clothed his chin like bikinis clothe hot girls. It really was a spectacular goatee. Ryan felt a pang of jealousy. He wanted to be able to grow a goatee like fake Snorlax."Do I look like a Pokemon?"
"Not anymore," Ryan admitted.
"Ugh!" the other replied, throwing his arms up into the air. "I wonder which Pokemon you thought I was. There's only one it could be."
"No, it's not like that," Ryan assured the big man. "You… uh… you reminded me of Mr. Mime!"
"Sure," the once-a-Snorlax replied sarcastically.
Ryan sighed. "Look man, I'm real sorry I threw a Pokeball at you. Can we just forget it?"
The other's eyes suddenly shot up like a dog's. "Deal." He thrust out his dark hand to shake Ryan's. With his other he produced a screwdriver-like device and raised it to the sky like it was a fine glass of wine. "I'm Doctor Rahul Kanojia!" he squealed out.
"Doctor… who?" Ryan asked, for he barely comprehended the outlandish name.
"Exactly!" Rahul replied. He patted Ryan on the back of his back. "Come on, let's get you a drink."
To say Ryan was confused would be like saying generation one was the best generation. He had barely heard this self-proclaimed doctor's name; and the doctor hadn't even asked for Ryan's. Was he serious?
Rahul moved forward to a table, putting each arm around a girl in a bikini. He turned around and looked at Ryan, beaming. "Are you hungry?"
Before Ryan could respond, Rahul whistled. Within a moment, a breathless girl came flying onto the scene, a plate of hot wings held delicately in her hands.
"Here you go Rahul! Hope I was fast enough," she said, handing him the plate.
Rahul laughed. It was not as hearty as Ryan had expected. He took a bite out of a hot wing, spilling its sauce all over his face. He didn't even care, even though he wasn't a honey badger. He gestured for Ryan to come forward and eat off his plate of hot wings. Ryan was just in awe of Rahul's ability to whistle and summon hot wings out of nowhere. It was magic, truly. How could he learn to do that too?
Ryan sat with Rahul, learning about how great of a doctor he was and eating hot wings when suddenly, a flash of flames caught Ryan's eyes. He turned his head just in time to see a roar of flames and sand go by him. It was so close that he felt the heat and said goodbye to his eyebrows. He blinked the sand out of his eyes just in time to see the flames go rushing by again. This time he saw what it was – a girl riding a Rapidash. Ryan audibly gulped. It was a beautiful, haunting sight. She was literally riding in her mount's flames, but Ryan knew that was possible so long as the owner had the trust of the Rapidash. His father had a Rapidash too, and it was his prized Pokemon. Ryan had considered taking old Rappy instead of Abra when he set out on his journey, but he figured his father would miss his favorite Pokemon too much. He still sometimes thought about it, though he did not regret his choice in Abra, the truly loyal steed.
The girl riding the Rapidash was not much older than Ryan. She had blond hair and green eyes, and she was scantily clad. She looked like she was wet, as if she had just been spit out by the ocean. In each hand, she had a shot glass and she was doing shots of apple juice. Ryan admired her skill. Crowds of people had encircled her and now they were cheering as she rode the Rapidash around in skillful fashion. Ryan entertained the thought of running up to her and asking for a ride, but he quickly reminded himself that he was a part of society, and that was not something people in society do. So Ryan sat down, ate some more hot wings, and admired Rahul's unrivaled goatee. He just wanted to tug on it like one tugs on grass.
As Ryan was sitting on a bench with Rahul and Rahul's two token babes (whom Rahul, in all his physical Snorlax likeness had somehow managed to woo), he spotted his recently acquired Charmeleon. Pride swelled up in Ryan's throat. He had caught that Pokemon all by himself. He was amazing; he was the best. He was a true Pokemon master.
"Hey Charmeleon, come here!" Ryan shouted. The Charmeleon looked at Ryan but did not move. Perhaps it didn't hear him. So Ryan flailed his arms about as if he were having a seizure and flung himself into the sand like a fish out of water. Sure enough, the Pokemon understood that and trotted over.
"Charmeleon!" Ryan said, proudly. "I caught him today!"
Doctor Rahul took a bite out of a hot wing. He grunted in pleasure at its taste. Hot grease ran down his mouth into his goatee and he seemed like he loved it.
"Now let's give you a nickname," Ryan began, taking out his PokeDex. "All right, Dexxy. I want to give Charmeleon a nickname."
"This Charmeleon already has a nickname," the Pokedex stated.
Rahul took another bite out of his hot wing. Grease and sauce splattered on his face. He smiled. He was happy. Perhaps eating hot wings was his natural state. And whenever anyone walked by, he would raise his left hand, which held the screwdriver-like device in it and wink at the passerby. It made him look homely and homeless at the same time.
"No way!" said Ryan. "He was a wild Pokemon. He couldn't have a nickname. Lemme name him already!"
"This Charmeleon already has a nickname," the Pokedex stated a second time.
"No! His name is supposed to be Aegon! Do you hear me, Dexxy? Make his name Aegon! I command you!"
"This Charmeleon already has a nickname," the Pokedex stated a third time.
Rahul sucked the succulent meat off of the bone of his little hot wing. He was surgical, precise, deliberate with every bite. This was not his first hot wing. He was a master in his own right, well learned and masterfully trained in the art of eating these little treats. Hot grease ran down his lips into his goatee. He smiled in pleasure. Hot wings did taste good.
Ryan was getting annoyed now. "How?! He's wild!"
"This Charmeleon already has a nickname," the Pokedex stated a fourth time.
"I know, I know!" Ryan shouted, banging his Pokedex on his thigh. "At least tell me what his nickname is!"
Rahul found another hot wing under the house of bones he had created with the ones he had already consumed. His little fingers started going real fast and his face lit up as if he had just won a million Pokedollars. He quickly grabbed the hot wing and took a voracious bite out of the cooked flesh. Hot grease ran down Rahul's face into his goatee and he moaned out in pleasure of eating his food. The two girls in their bikinis just sat next to Rahul like statues, as if they couldn't – nay, wouldn't – see what was going on between them. Playing beach volleyball wouldn't be nearly as fun as watching a Snorlax wannabe tear into hot wings without respite.
"Charmeleon's nickname is 'Get Over Here'," Ryan's Pokedex spoke in monotone.
"What?!" Ryan screamed so loud that everyone around stopped what they were doing to stare at him for exactly four seconds before returning to their personal activities. "How is that his nickname?"
"Dontcha 'member," a slurred voice spoke up from just behind Ryan's ear. "Thass what you called 'im when ya caught him," Kelly nodded in a lethargic way. Her eyes were glazed and she was covered in sweat.
"Kelly?!" Ryan squinted his eyes. "What's wrong with you?"
"Oh, nothin'… juss had a little too much orange juice!" she stated proudly before hiccupping. "You… you came up with a really great name for Charmey. Really great. I love it. I love you."
"Okay, okay. That's enough!" Ryan raised his arms and stood up. He pocketed his Pokedex and grabbed the pink-haired girl by the shoulders. "Kelly, I need to get you back to our tent. You're really in no condition to stay here."
She laughed and drank some more orange juice.
Ryan thrust his face into his palm. "Come on, let's go!" He turned to Rahul. "And it was nice meeting you, Doctor Rahalakanijiwali."
Rahul raised his screwdriver to the sky, hot grease pouring down his face into his goatee.
Ryan then helped the stumbling Kelly away. "Come on Charmeleon, let's go home!"
"Meleon," it replied in deadpan, crossing its wee arms.
Ryan scowled. "Fine. Come on, Get Over Here!"
The fire lizard barked and then ran on all fours over to his new master with happy vigor. Ryan sighed. At least he had a Charmeleon now. That was better than nothing.