"Mud shot, Rio!" Rio slapped the ground with his tail, launching up three balls of mad. Then, he fired the mud balls at the Ekans, landing a direct hit. The Ekans hissed a final cry of pain before flopping onto the ground, exhausted.
"Great battle Ekans, you were great." The young boy he was battling, Ben, called his pokémon back as Tommy's Pokédex buzzed. You defeated youngster Ben. You have received $176.
"Alright Ben, I've got to get going, but great battle."
"Thanks man, you too!" Tommy pulled Rio back into his pokéball and continued moving. They were making steady progress through route three, but it was already mid-afternoon, and Tommy wanted to make it to the pokémon center by Mt. Moon before dark.
As they walked, Tommy continued looking out for wild pokémon, but so far he had mostly seen pidgey and spearow. He had seen a Mankey in the trees, but as soon as he turned to face it it fled.
Tommy knew that the Cerulean gym was a water type gym, so he was secretly hoping to find a grass or electric But, there weren't going to be any electric types before he reached Cerulean City, and he probably wouldn't be able to find a grass type in this rocky terrain. But, nevertheless, Tommy kept his eyes peeled for new pokémon.
As Tommy passed a cluster of tall grass he noticed a small rustling sound. Crouching quietly, Tommy waited as the noise grew closer. Then, a small, white and blue pokémon stumbled out of the tall grass. The pokémon had tiny blue dots on its side, a sharp tooth protruding from the roof of its mouth, two large ears, and a set of spikes on it's back, as well as a singular spike on its head. That looks like a nidoran, Tommy thought. But I thought nidorans were purple. Either way, a Nidoking would be great to have. Here we go.
"Blaze, come on out!" Tommy startled the poison pin pokémon with the release of Blaze, but the Nidoran didn't try to run away. Instead, it began to growl loudly at Tommy.
"Nido!" Then, it turned around, ignoring them entirely.
"Are you kidding me? Alright. Blaze, don't let it get away! Use ember!" Blaze spat flames at the nidoran, knocking it into the grass. The nidoran got up, now appearing to be incredibly angry. The sharp horn on its head began to glow a dangerous purple before it dove towards Blaze, knocking him backwards. He didn't appear to be too hurt, but after a moment, Blaze staggered, and purple bubbles rose out of the charmander's body. "No! You're poisoned Blaze!" Tommy began to breathe heavily, getting flustered. "Okay Blaze, let's take it down, catch it, and then we can get you healed up! Now, use Dragon Breath!" Blaze inhaled before breathing a thick blue and purple stream of energy at the Nidoran. The Nidoran didn't even bother to move. Instead, it took the hit directly, falling to the ground. After a moment the Nidoran stood up and began run at Blaze with glowing claws. "You use scratch too!" Blaze met the Nidoran's scratch with his own, overpowering it and slicing its side with glowing claws. The Nidoran yelped before collapsing to the ground. "Go pokéball!" Tommy hurled the pokéball at the Nidoran, encapsulating it in the same bright red lit Tommy had grown so accustomed to seeing. The pokéball shook once, twice, three times, before dinging. "We caught Nidoran Blaze!" Tommy began to celebrate.
"Char, charma-" Blaze stopped, wincing in pain. Seconds later, he collapsed.
"Blaze! Blaze!" Tommy rushed over to Blaze, trying to shake him awake. Blaze's eyes opened slightly, but they closed just as quickly. Tommy reached into his backpack and grabbed a potion. Spraying Blaze with the potion, Tommy waited anxiously for him to wake up. Poison Point, of course. Nidoran's ability must have poisoned Blaze badly when he used scratch. He was already poisoned from that poison sting. What he really needed was an antidote, but he didn't have any. The pokémon center was close; he could probably make it on foot, but he'd have to hurry. Tommy picked up Blaze just as he reopened his eyes and began to run. He ran the rest of the way through Route 3, holding Blaze in his arms. Tommy began to notice that the flame on Blaze's tail started to wane, becoming less bright every minute. Soon enough he reached Route 4 and the pokémon center was within sight.
The Mount Moon pokémon center was rustic compared to the one in Pewter City, and much smaller too. But Tommy didn't care. He just wanted to make sure Blaze was okay. Tommy grabbed the door of the pokémon center and yanked it open.
"Nurse Joy," Tommy said, panting. He was exhausted. "My Charmander was poisoned and I didn't have any antidotes. Can you help him?" Nurse Joy took one look at Blaze, then looked at the flame on his tail before responding.
"Chansey," Nurse Joy called, "grab a stretcher. We need to get this Charmander care as soon as possible." Tommy watched helplessly as Nurse Joy took Blaze out of his arms, placed him on the stretcher, and wheeled him away. Tommy slumped onto a bench at the back of the pokémon center, sick with worry.
"I feel bad for your pokémon," a boy spoke from the other side of the pokémon center. Tommy hadn't noticed him before, but now he stood and faced him.
"What'd you say to me?"
"I said," the boy stood up. "I feel bad for your pokémon. Traveling with an amateur like you must be tough." The boy was slightly taller than Tommy, and maybe a little older too. He wore black jeans with small rips at the knees, a red shirt, a black leather jacket, and boots. Hanging from his neck was a silver chain, and his blonde hair was styled, fluffed up.
"Amateur? Excuse me?" Tommy was beginning to get angry.
"What else would you call yourself? You didn't bring an antidote with you, and then, when your Charmander was poisoned, you didn't recall it into its pokéball. You do know that when a pokémon is in its pokéball, it can't take damage from its status condition, don't you?" Tommy winced. He hadn't known that. But he wasn't going to back down from this bully.
"You think you know me from watching me walk into the pokémon center? That's funny." Tommy spat. "Does an amateur win a gym battle?" The boy just laughed.
"The Pewter City Gym is a joke. It's a cake walk with a decent water or grass type."
"Well how many gym badges do you have?"
"I've got four, and I'm just getting started. By the time the Indigo League rolls around next year, I'll have had all eight for a while."
"I've got an idea; I'll show you just how much of an "amateur" I am when I crush you in a battle."
"Save it kid, I've got nothing to prove to a loser like you." The malice in the boy's words stung, even though Tommy shouldn't care what he thought.
"Sounds like you're scared to me." The boy scoffed at Tommy's words, but couldn't resist the jibe.
"Okay, but when I beat the crap out of you, don't say I didn't warn you." Tommy's blood was boiling; he wanted to punch the boy in the face. He clenched his fists at his side.
"Excuse me," Nurse Joy spoke from the hallway. Tommy spun to face her as she continued. "Your Charmander is going to be just fine; he needs time to rest. But, it was incredibly irresponsible for you to be traveling without an antidote, or at least a pecha berry."
"I know. It won't happen again, trust me."
"For now, take this." Nurse Joy handed Tommy an antidote, which he gladly took, putting it in his pocket. "I need to go check on Charmander, but I'll let you know when he's healed. It may take a while though." Tommy nodded as Nurse Joy turned and left, heading back into the examination room.
"Are we gonna do this or what? I've gotta get going to Viridian City."
"Yeah, we're gonna battle alright."
Tommy and the other boy moved to the battlefield behind the pokémon center. Tommy's heart was pounding; he had never wanted to win a battle more. His Pokédex buzzed in his pocket. Bradley would like to battle.
"How about a three on three battle?" Bradley shouted at him from across the battlefield. Tommy gulped. With Blaze in the pokémon center, he only had two pokémon with him.
"Let's do a two on two instead."
"Okay, fine. You're up first as the challenger." Before making his own move, Tommy clicked the side bumper on his Pokédex, and began to look at his own pokémon. So Nidoran is female. That's why she's not purple. Tommy checked out Nidoran's moves as well.
"Nidoran, I choose you!" Tommy chucked his Nidoran's pokéball up into the air, releasing the newest addition to his team. Bradley began to laugh, insulting Tommy even further.
"So that's your choice, huh? Man you really are an amateur."
"What? What are you talking about?"
"Female Nidoran hate fighting, but I guess you didn't know that. Until you evolve her into Nidorina, she's basically useless. But, that won't make me go easy on you. Nidorino, let's squash these losers!" Bradley threw down his own pokéball, releasing a spiky purple pokémon that resembled nidoran, but was bigger, fiercer, and had spines that appeared to be much sharper. "Nidorino, use fury attack!" The Nidorino leaped at Nidoran with the spike on its forehead glowing. Nidorino speared Nidoran with its horn, once, twice, three times before Nidoran finally got out of the way.
"Nidoran, use fury swipes!" The smaller poison pin pokémon launched itself back towards the Nidorino, swiping at it with glowing claws. Nidoran landed two hits before Nidorino dodged the attack.
"Nidorino, use toxic spikes!" The Nidorino's spikes began to glow a bright purple. Then, the Nidorino launched purple missiles from its back. The missiles soared into the sky and began to spin, arcing down before slamming into the ground. Nidoran is immune to poison, but if she goes down, Rio is gonna have a rough time.
"Nidoran, use Scratch!" Nidoran's claws began to glow, but before she could attack, Bradley responded.
"Knock it back with Double Kick!" Nidorino's legs began to glow red, and as Nidoran leaped to attack, Nidorino met its scratch with a kick, blocking the attack. Then, as Nidoran fell backwards, Nidorino spun around, kicking Nidoran into the ground with its other leg. "Finish it off with peck!"
"Get up Nidoran! Use Fury swipes!" Nidoran struggled to get up, but before she could, Nidorino's glowing horn pierced Nidoran. Nidoran collapsed to the ground, clearly fainted.
"You're Nidoran's unable to battle."
"Nidoran, return." Tommy called back Nidoran in a flash of red light, before grabbing his other pokéball. "Alright Rio, you're up!" Tommy threw his poliwags' pokéball into the air.
Seeing his choice, Bradley called back his Nidorino. "Magmar, time to burn!" Bradley chuckled his pokéball forward, releasing a large, fiery pokémon that vaguely resembled a human. The Pokémon's entire body seemed to be covered in flames. Tommy recognized the pokémon, but still pulled out his pokédex. If anything, he was stalling. As the pokédex scanned the spitfire pokémon, Tommy struggled to understand why Bradley had brought out Magmar. It was at a type disadvantage after all. Whatever the reason, Tommy would have to be wary and keep his wits about him. Tommy tucked his Pokédex back into his pocket, ready to start the battle.
"Alright Rio, use Bubblebeam!"
"Dodge it!" Magmar leaped away from the bubbles Rio fired, completely avoiding the attack. "Now, Magmar! Use confuse ray!" The Magmar's eyes began to glow a strange shade of purple, as the pokémon stared directly at Rio. Tommy sensed a sort of chill in the air, and while Rio wasn't hurt, his eyes became foggy and he began to look around aimlessly. Ignoring the attack, Tommy continued.
"Use Mudshot!" Rio looked around for a moment before smacking his tail into the ground and launching up three balls of mud. But, as soon as he was going to launch them towards the Magmar, he hesitated, before smacking the mud at himself. "Rio, what are you doing?" Tommy yelled.
"Your poliwag's confused," Bradley said. "This battle's over. Magmar, use fire punch!" The Magmar's fist began to glow an orange-red. Then, in a burst of speed, it appeared behind Rio and knocked him up into the air with the fire punch.
"Rio! I know you're confused, but you have to use bubble beam!" Rio remained unresponsive for a moment, but as he fell towards the ground, he seemed to regain focus. Spinning to land on his feet, Rio touched the ground and immediately fired a strong bubblebeam, catching the Magmar by surprise and landing a strong attack.
"Well, at least you managed to get one hit, but this is where it ends. Magmar! Use thunderpunch!" Thunderpunch! Tommy thought. How is that possible? But sure enough, Magmar's fist began to glow an electric yellow as it ran towards Rio. Unsure of what to do, Tommy called for a desperate response.
"Rio! Block the punch with mud shot!" Rio smacked the ground with his tail, kicked up three mud spheres, and just as the Magmar went for the punch, Rio slapped the mud at its outstretched fist, completely blocking the attack before jumping away.
"Huh. I'll give you this. Using a ground type move to nullify an electric type move was pretty smart, but that's the last lucky break you'll get. Magmar, use Confuse Ray once more!" Before Tommy could respond, Magmar's eyes glowed and the same chill spread through the air, confusing Rio once more.
"Rio! Use bubble beam!" But Rio didn't respond. Instead, his poliwag flopped onto the ground.
"Fire punch! Knock it up into the air!" Bradley's Magmar quickly reached Rio and sent him flying. "Now, wait for it to come down, and then use thunder punch before it lands!"
"Rio! Use Mud Shot again!" But Rio was soaring in the air, and couldn't kick up any dirt with his tail.
"This is over. Now Magmar!" Magmar struck with its glowing yellow fist, launching Rio into the ground in a cloud of dirt. When the dirt cleared, Rio's eyes were in little spirals; he was truly knocked out. "Battle over." Bradley said smugly.
"Magmar, mar!" A wave of embarrassment crashed over Tommy. He had challenged Bradley, but his pokémon were just too strong. For one thing, they were evolved. For another, they knew better moves. It was a feeling of utter humiliation.
"Rio, return. You did great." He whispered to the pokéball with his exhausted pokémon inside. Tommy turned to talk to Bradley, intending to begrudgingly congratulate him, but the boy had already disappeared inside the pokémon center. Tommy rushed after him, and once he was inside the pokémon center, he called out to Bradley, who was already at the other door. "Hey! That was a great battle man, your pokémon are really strong." Bradley snickered.
"Look kid. If you think that was a great battle, then you've got a long way to go." The condescending tone almost convinced Tommy to run over to Bradley and try and strangle him. Restraining himself, he spoke out instead.
"What's your problem?"
"My problem?" Bradley turned to look back at him. "My problem is I have a loser of a trainer wasting my time. Here's some free advice. Why don't you catch some real pokémon before challenging anyone else, and don't think about ever challenging me again. Cause if you do, I'll wipe the floor with you again in a heartbeat." Tommy reeled backwards, stung with the harsh words. Bradley opened the door and called back once more as he exited the pokémon center. "See you around…amateur."
Alright Guys, this is the end of chapter five. Tommy now has Blaze the Charmander, Rio the Poliwag, and a newly caught female Nidoran. I'm still pretty open on other pokémon for him to catch, so if anyone has any suggestions feel free to include them in a review. Also, someone suggested exeggcute for a pokémon, but I don't think I'm going to have Tommy catch an exeggcute because I already have a grass type in mind for him. Again, please review as this is my first story and appreciate any and all feedback!