Pokémon – Thunder Yellow
Fanfiction By – Spirit Reader
Pokémon Original Creator – Satoshi Tajiri
Chapter 7: Under the Twinkling Stars
Takashi's Pokémon
Pikachu (Male)
Froakie (Female)
"So this is the Viridian Forest…Funny, it's not as special as I thought it would be."
Following their adventure in Viridian, during which he captured his very first Pokémon in Froakie, Takashi and Pikachu continued on with their Pokémon Journey by beginning to make their way to their destination; Pewter City. Once there, Takashi would have the opportunity to win his first Pokémon League Badge by being victorious at the Pewter City Gym. However, before they could get there, the two of them first needed to trek through the large Viridian Forest. However, after spending just a few hours here, Takashi wasn't as impressed with the forest as he thought he would be.
From what he could tell, the Viridian Forest seemed to be nothing more than an ordinary forest. Even though it was pretty big, Takashi didn't really consider that to be very unique as he heard that there were much bigger places in the world. As for the Pokémon that lived here, the only ones that he happened to find so far were a few Bug-Types. Although Takashi found Bug-Types to be very cool, the constant sight of them was becoming quite repetitive. As a result of that, as well as several smaller reasons, that the young Trainer's impressions of the forest was very mixed at best.
Even so, despite of how he felt about his new surroundings, Takashi continued making his way through the forest. As he did so though, the young man was busy staring at the PokéBall that contained his brand new friend, Froakie. It was almost too hard believe that he managed to capture his very first wild Pokémon, one that's extremely rare to obtain in the Kanto Region no less. Just knowing that made Takashi extremely happy, so much so that the smile that was on his face was gradually becoming bigger with each step he took.
"This is incredible…" He said as he continued to walk. "I actually caught my very first Wild Pokémon. I can't believe it…"
As Takashi continued to smile gleefully to himself, Pikachu was simply spending his time resting on his Trainer's shoulder. Even though he was just as happy as Takashi was about Froakie's capture, the Mouse Pokémon also needed to be alert to his surroundings. The reason being is that Pikachu knows the ins and outs when it comes to living within a forest, having done so for the vast majority of his life. Because of that, Pikachu kept himself ready just in case something occurred that would require him to act. Eventually, that moment came when Pikachu picked something up thanks to his sensitive hearing.
At first, the sound that Pikachu was rather faint, so much so that the Electric-Type thought it was just a random Bug Pokémon. However, as the sound became progressively louder, Pikachu quickly realized that it was something else. This concerned Pikachu, prompting the Electric Pokémon to stand on Takashi's shoulder and get his attention by banging on the side of his head with his paws.
"Ow…Pikachu, that's hurts!" Takashi said as he turned his head to face his friend. "What's going on?"
Once he got his attention, Pikachu pointed to where he heard the sound, prompting Takashi to do the same. At first, the young man couldn't hear anything and started to wonder what Pikachu was trying to tell him. However, once his hears finally picked up on the noise, Takashi instantly got the message and began to brace himself. After about a few seconds, the thing that was approaching Takashi and Pikachu finally emerged and the two of them saw that it was a young man.
As he looked on at him, Takashi noticed that this young man seemed to be roughly around his age. He had spiky brown hair and with eyes and was wearing an orange and t-shirt with blue jeans. Upon seeing that he wasn't a threat, Takashi calmed himself down and started to wonder who this young individual was. However, before he could ask that question, the young man responded with a question of his own.
"Excuse me!" He said in an excited tone of voice. "But are you a Pokémon Trainer?"
"Um…Yeah," Takashi slowly answered. "Why do you ask?"
"That's great…Then I hereby challenge you to a Pokémon Battle!"
Upon hearing the young man's request, Takashi was a bit taken back by what he just said to him. Without even introducing himself, this guy just appeared from out of nowhere and immediately challenged him to a battle. Although he wasn't against the idea himself, as he felt it would be a good opportunity for some much needed training, a part of Takashi wanted to know why this young man wanted to challenge him so suddenly.
"…May I ask why?"
"Why?" The young man said, somewhat stunned by Takashi's question. "Haven't you heard of the Trainers Credo? If two Trainers eyes happen to meet then the rule is…they have a battle! Or at least…that's what I heard anyway."
After hearing this, Takashi looked over at Pikachu for a moment, who responded by looking directly at him. Having never heard of this Credo before, the two of them were a bit stunned by it. Despite that though, Pikachu smiled at Takashi as he was eager to participate in another Pokémon Battle. Upon seeing that smile, Takashi let out a smile of his own. The two of them then turned their attention back towards the young man.
"Alright then…you're on!" He said. "By the way, my name is Takashi Nakamura and I'm from Pallet Town. And the little guy on my shoulder is my good friend, Pikachu."
"Nice to meet you," The young man replied with a smile. "My name is Taichi and I'm from Viridian City!"
After getting the introductions out of the way, Takashi and Taichi started making their way towards another section of the Viridian Forest that had a lot more open space. As they walked, Takashi started to wonder how he should take this upcoming battle. Against other Trainers, he currently has a 1-and-1 record as he lost against Sasuke but won against Bruce. However, as he doesn't consider Bruce to be a true Pokémon Trainer, Takashi personally doesn't believe he has a legitimate victory yet. Because of that, he was determined to give this battle against Taichi everything he got and he swore that he would win this time around.
Eventually, after about a bit of walking, Takashi and Taichi finally found the open space that they were looking for and prepared themselves for their battle. As the former continued to go about his mental planning, Taichi went out of his way to grab a PokéBall that he had in his pocket. Once he enlarged it, the young man then proceeded to throw the PokéBall out towards the battlefield.
"Pinsir, I choose you!" He called.
As the PokéBall opened up and unleashed a giant blast of light energy, Takashi and Pikachu looked on in shock and amazement as they were confronted by a giant Bug-Type Pokémon. It had brown skin, small thick legs, long thin arms with sharp claws, and a large open mouth with its sharp teeth placed horizontally instead of vertically. However, the most imposing feature that was on this Pokémon was the two large, and spiky, pincers that were placed on the top of its head.
Having never seen a Pokémon like Pinsir before, Takashi was immediately awestruck at the sight of it. Not only that, but he could already tell just by looking at it that the Bug-Type Pokémon was really strong. However, as he simply couldn't judge a Pokémon based on how it looked, Takashi decided to get some more information with the help of his PokéDex, Dexter.
"Pinsir, the Stag Beetle Pokémon," Dexter said after Takashi pulled it out activated it. "When its strong pincer gets a grip, Pinsir can lift an enemy much bigger than itself. The spikes that line its pincers dig into its opponent, making it hard for them to get away. Pinsir is a Bug-Type Pokémon."
Once Dexter finished its explanation, Takashi put the PokéDex back into his pocket before looking back over towards Taichi and Pinsir. As he looked at them, Takashi saw that Taichi had a pretty confident look on his face. Given how strong his Pinsir seemed to be, Takashi quickly understood why his opponent seemed that way. Even so, the young Trainer from Pallet was about to back down and became determined to win this battle. This question though is…which of his Pokémon he should use to battle against Pinsir?
At first, Takashi considered using Pikachu as the Mouse Pokémon had already jumped off from his shoulder and prepared himself for battle. However, before he did so, Takashi stopped himself from choosing Pikachu after looking at his left hand and seeing that he was still holding Froakie's PokéBall. As he stared at it, Takashi suddenly came to a realization and figured that now was a pretty good opportunity to see how he and his newest Pokémon did in a battle together. With that in mind, Takashi knelt down towards Pikachu and gently started petting his head.
"Sorry buddy…" He said. "But I want to see how Froakie does. You'll get to battle next time, I promise."
Upon hearing Takashi say that to him, Pikachu became a bit depressed as he really wanted to battle against Pinsir. However, the Mouse Pokémon respected his Trainer's decision and promptly nodded his head at him. After that, Pikachu then took a few steps back so that he wouldn't be in the way of the battle.
Once Pikachu was back by his side, Takashi got back to his feet and looked down towards Froakie's PokéBall again. The young man then let out a small sigh before proceeding to throw the ball out onto the battlefield and watching as a blast of light energy burst from it.
"Froakie, I choose you!"
As the light energy that shot from inside of the PokéBall, Takashi and Taichi watched as Froakie materialized onto the battlefield. After quickly adjusting to her surroundings, Froakie looked up and saw that she was immediately being confronted by Taichi's Pinsir. Just seeing the Stag Beetle Pokémon instantly prompted Froakie to brace herself for battle before turning around slightly and looking at her new Trainer.
"Listen Froakie…" Takashi said to her. "We're about to have our very first battle together. So let's do our best and win this!"
As Takashi smiled at Froakie, the Bubble Frog Pokémon simply stared at her Trainer with a silent expression on her face. She then focused her attention back towards Pinsir and saw that it was eager to get this battle started. This caused Froakie to brace herself even more as she knew right away that this was going to be an extremely difficult battle. Eventually, once both Trainers were ready the battle between the both of them immediately got underway.
Pinsir started things off by instantly charging towards Froakie. Despite its bulky appearance, the Stag Beetle Pokémon was pretty quick on its feet. Even so, Takashi didn't seem to mind as he's seen firsthand that his Froakie was much faster. Because of that, he decided to make the first move before Pinsir had the chance to connect with its own attack.
"Froakie, use Bubble on Pinsir!" He commanded.
After giving his command, Takashi gently closed his eyes for a moment as he pictured his plan within his mind. When Froakie's bubbles strike Pinsir, not only would they deal quite a bit of damage to the Stag Beetle Pokémon, but they would also slowly it down considerably as well. Once its speed was diminished, Takashi would then have Froakie barrage Pinsir with a flurry of her Pound attacks. The plan seemed perfect and as he opened his eyes, Takashi assumed that things would be going the way he envisioned. Unfortunately, much to his surprise, that wasn't the case at all.
Instead of doing what Takashi told her to do, Froakie was simply standing her ground as Pinsir continued charging. This shocked Takashi somewhat, causing him to wonder whether or not his Pokémon happened to hear him. As a result, he decided to give the command again.
"Froakie…did you hear me? I want you to use Bubble."
Again, without even moving an inch, Froakie seemingly ignored Takashi and continued to focus all of her attention of Pinsir. The sight of this concerned Takashi somewhat, causing him to wonder if there was something wrong with Froakie. However, before he could see if that was the case or not, Taichi saw that Pinsir had finally gotten close enough to Froakie and immediately made his first move of the battle.
"Pinsir, use Brick Break!" He said.
Upon hearing Taichi's command, Pinsir immediately complied with his wishes and prepared to strike Froakie with one of its arms. However, just before the attack could connect, Froakie used her incredible jumping ability to easily jump out of the way. When Takashi saw that, the young man let out a huge sigh and quickly adjusted his plan in order to make up for this development.
"Good job Froakie!" He said to his Pokémon. "Now use Bubble while you're in the air!"
Froakie glanced over at Takashi for a moment as she was beginning to make her way back towards the ground. However, instead of launching her Bubble attack like she was instructed to do, the Water-Type Pokémon instead landed on the ground and prepared to strike Pinsir from behind with her Pound attack. This again surprised Takashi, causing to him worry if there was something wrong with Froakie's hearing.
Meanwhile, as this was going on, Taichi was taking notice of what was going on between Takashi and his Froakie. It was clear to him that the two of them were not on the same page, which also caused Taichi to wonder if there something going on between them. Even so, Taichi decided to take advantage of Takashi and Froakie's lack of unity by showing them what real teamwork looks like.
"Pinsir…use Harden!"
Without even needing to turn around to check with its Taichi, Pinsir instantly obeyed his order and began tensing up its muscles. Once it did, a light glow began to envelop the Stag Beetle Pokémon for a moment, causing its entire body to harden up. As soon as it finished, Froakie came up from behind and struck Pinsir with her Pound attack. However, instead dealing any damage to its opponent, Froakie was the one who got hurt as she felt like she just struck her hand against a brick wall. She then fell to ground, holding her hand in agony as Pinsir turned around and confronted her.
"Great work, Pinsir!" Taichi said with a proud look on his face. "Now use Vice Grip!"
Again, without any hesitation, Pinsir obeyed Taichi's order and began to slowly lower its head towards Froakie. As it did, the pincers that were on top of its head began moving around, banging against each other. When Takashi and Froakie both took notice of this, the two of them knew right away that they had to get out of this situation. Unfortunately, the two of them had different ideas on how to do it.
"Froakie, use Double Team to escape!" Takashi said.
With Pinsir only a hair away from grabbing it with its pincers, Froakie responded by firing her Bubble attack right in her opponent's face, once again disobeying Takashi's command. Even so, the Water-Type's plan worked as Pinsir backed away in order to get the water out of its eyes. It was during this moment in time that Froakie decided to get another attack in before Pinsir had a chance to recover. However, after seeing Taichi smirking to himself, Takashi realized that this was a setup.
"Froakie, you have to stop!"
"It's too late!" Taichi replied, as he raised his fist firmly in front of him. "Pinsir, use X-Scissor!"
As Froakie closed the distance between herself and Pinsir, the Bubble Frog Pokémon prepared to finally strike it with its Pound attack. However, just as she was about to do so, Froakie looked on in shock as Pinsir snickered at her, revealing that it was pretending to be blinded by her previous Bubble attack. Pinsir then proceeded to cross its arms together, causing a glowing x-shaped symbol to appear of it. The two Pokémon then went on to collide with their respective attacks, with Pinsir easily overpowering Froakie and sending her flying.
Upon seeing this, a concerned look instantly appeared on Takashi's face as he watched Froakie fly over the entire battlefield until her body was slammed into a nearby tree. Just seeing this prompted both the young Trainer and his Pikachu to rush over and check up on their friend. When they arrived, the two of them saw that Froakie was in a lot of pain after that last attack. Despite that though, they also saw that Froakie had no intention of giving up and prepared herself to get back in the battle.
"Wait a minute, Froakie!" Takashi said as he grabbed one of her hands. "Don't just rush in. We have to-"
Before he could even finish his sentence, Takashi watched as Froakie released herself from his grip and began rushing towards Pinsir. However, due to the amount of damage that she sustained from that last attack, Froakie wasn't as fast she normally was. Because of that, both Taichi and Pinsir could easily read the Water Pokémon's movements and responded accordingly.
"Now Pinsir…Finish this off with Seismic Toss!"
Nodding its head, Pinsir charged in just as Froakie began firing another barrage of bubbles from her mouth. However, the Stag Beetle Pokémon managed to endure the assault and proceeded to grab a hold of Froakie before she had a chance to get away. Once she was in its grasp, Pinsir jumped into the air began swinging Froakie repeatedly before finally tossing it hard towards the ground.
When he saw this, Takashi instinctively jumped in and began to catch Froakie before it could reach the ground. However, the force in which Pinsir tossed Froakie was so great that it caused Takashi to fall and skid across the ground. This continued until Takashi found himself slamming into the same tree that Froakie slammed into a few moments ago. It was at that moment that Taichi decided to end things right here.
"That's enough Pinsir…" He said, disappointed with how this battle went. "It should be clear who won this."
When Pinsir heard this, the Bug-Type glanced over at Taichi for a moment before looking back at Takashi and Froakie, the latter of which was knocked out from that attack. After seeing that, Pinsir realized that its Trainer was right and thus it returned to his side. Taichi then went on to happily pet the stop of his Pokémon's head before proceeding to return it back to its PokéBall. Once he did that, the young man turned his attention towards Takashi and began walking towards him.
As for Takashi, the young man's eyes were slowly fixed on his injured Froakie as he began to pick himself up from off the ground. At this moment in time, he didn't care about the outcome of the battle. The only thing that was on his mind was two things; Froakie's condition and the reason why she wasn't obeying his commands. While he was thinking about those things, Takashi looked up and saw that Taichi was right in front of him.
"Well…that was disappointing. I was expecting more since you own a fairly rare Pokémon, but I guess that's what I get for getting my hopes up."
As Taichi expressed his frustrations over how the battle went, Takashi simply looked down at his Froakie with a sad expression on his face. When he lifted his head back up the young Trainer watched as his opponent was beginning to walk away. Upon seeing that, Takashi stood up, still closely holding Froakie in his arms, and asked something of Taichi.
"I'm…I'm sorry with how this battle went, but will you challenge me and Froakie and again sometime soon?"
Taichi stopped walking for a moment as he took the time to think about what Takashi just asked of him. After thinking for a few seconds, the young man started walking away again, but not before replying to Takashi's request.
"…Only when you learn to control that Froakie of yours."
Once he said that, Taichi continued walking away and Takashi watched him until he couldn't see him anymore. After he left, Takashi felt something tugging down on his pants leg and saw that it was Pikachu, who had a concerned look on his face. It was clear just from that expression that the Mouse Pokémon was just as concerned for Froakie's well being as Takashi was. This prompted him to nod at his Pokémon.
"I know Pikachu…Let's make camp."
A few hours later, as the sun was beginning to set over the Viridian Forest, Takashi and Pikachu were busy sitting a campfire that the former made about an hour ago. In front of them was Froakie, who was still recuperating following her defeat against Taichi and his Pinsir. As Takashi was taking the time to carefully bandage his Pokémon's wounds, his mind was fixated on the battle against Taichi and why Froakie acted the way she did.
During the battle, Froakie simply fought the way she wanted too, refusing to listen to any of Takashi's commands. When he saw this, Takashi wondered why Froakie was doing this as, while watching her battle, he could tell that she wasn't disobeying him out of a sense of resentment. Not only that, but after remembering his battles against Bruce and Primeape, Takashi knew that both he and Froakie are capable of working together. Because of that, he wondered why this was happening now, especially since Froakie was now officially his Pokémon.
As he continued to think about this, Pikachu saw that Froakie was beginning to stir and promptly alerted this to Takashi. When he saw this, and noticed that Froakie was beginning to wake up, the young man was extremely relieved to see that she was alright. He went then went on to pour some fresh water that he had on him into a cup before giving it to Froakie. After pausing for a moment, Froakie to the cup and slowly began to consume the water while both her Trainer and Pikachu looked on. Once Froakie finished drinking she slowly placed the cup down before looking at Takashi. The two of them stared at one another for about a minute before Takashi finally spoke up and said something.
"Froakie…What's going on with you?" He asked. "Why didn't you listen to me during our battle?"
As he closed his eyes and scratched the back of his head for a moment, Takashi again pondered the reason behind Froakie's disobedience. He didn't want to believe it was because Froakie simply didn't like him, but he couldn't be too sure. After all, even though the two of them may have worked together recently, the little Water-Type Pokémon could still carry the scars from her time with her previous Trainer, which could very well explain her actions.
"Listen Froakie…" Takashi continued as he slowly reopened his eyes. "I want you to know that I…Huh?"
Just as he was about to finish his sentence, Takashi noticed that Froakie was nowhere to be seen. After overcoming the initial shock of this turn of events, the young man quickly stood up and began searching the immediate area for his Pokémon.
"Froakie! Froakie, where are you!"
Searching all across the campsite, Takashi attempted to find any sign for his missing Pokémon. Although he was very concerned about where Froakie might be, Takashi was even more concerned about her well being. In her condition, Froakie should be resting and Takashi was afraid that any needless movement could worsen her condition even more. Because of that, Takashi searched through the entire campsite in order to find his friend. Eventually though, after it became clear that Froakie was not here, Takashi decided to expand his search and thus turned his attention towards Pikachu.
"Listen Pikachu, I want you to stay here. I promise that I'll be back once I find Froakie."
Nodding his head in compliance, Pikachu nodded his head towards Takashi and watched him leave the campsite in order to find Froakie. Although he was just as concerned for Froakie as Takashi was and wanted to help with the search, Pikachu decided to put his trust in his Trainer. Also, Pikachu was aware that another reason why Takashi wanted him to stay behind was so that he could guard over the campsite. Because of that, Pikachu sat by the campfire and waited patiently for both Takashi and Froakie to return.
Meanwhile, as this was going on, Froakie was busy sitting on top of the many tree branches present in the Viridian Forest. As she sat by herself, the Water-Type was busy reflecting on the battle against Taichi and his Pinsir and how poorly it went for her. Not only that, but she was also thinking about how she disobeyed Takashi, doing what she wanted to do instead of what he wanted her to do. While thinking about that, Froakie knew right away that she didn't disobey Takashi because she didn't like him, that wasn't the case at all. In reality, the only reason why she acted the way she did was to prove something to herself.
When Takashi successfully captured Froakie and became one of his Pokémon, the Bubble Frog made a promise to herself that she would do everything within her power to help him achieve his dream of becoming a Pokémon Master. Because of that, she swore to do everything within her power to become stronger and win any battle that she fought in. This was the least that she could do as if it wasn't for Takashi, Froakie knew that she wouldn't be alive right now. She owed him a great debt and she had every intention of repaying it.
So, when Froakie went up against Pinsir, the Bubble Frog Pokémon could tell right away that it wasn't an opponent that Takashi could defeat at his current level of experience. As a result, she decided to fight the battle her own way instead of how Takashi wanted. She wanted to believe that doing so would be the best for both of them, but unfortunately that wasn't the case and Pinsir was easily able to defeat Froakie.
This recent defeat troubled Froakie a great deal, not only because she let herself down, but because she believed that she let her Takashi down as well. Her previous Trainer abandoned her because her weakness and it took her a long time to open her heart up enough to allow herself to be under the ownership of another Trainer. Even though she wants to believe that Takashi won't abandon her over what happened, the fact that she disobeyed him, even though it wasn't because she hated him, was quite disrespectful on her part. Because of that, Froakie left the campsite to quietly ponder over her actions and what she could do to make things right.
While continuing to think to herself, Froakie heard something coming from below and promptly looked down in order to see what it was. To her surprise, she saw that it was Takashi, who was combing the entire area for her.
"Froakie, where are you?!" He cried. "Froakie…please come out!"
As Takashi continued searching for her, Froakie continued looking down at him from on top of the tree branch. A large part of her wanted to jump down and show him that she was okay, but she was also somewhat scared to do so at the same time. After what happened, she wouldn't be too surprised if he was mad at her for losing the battle the way she did. She was also afraid that Takashi might even abandon her, just like her former Trainer did. It's due to those feelings that Froakie sadly stayed put and simply kept on watching as Takashi continued his search for her.
Soon though, as this was going on, Froakie noticed something else approach Takashi as he kept on walking through the forest. Upon closer inspection, she saw that the thing she was seeing was a wild Beedrill. Takashi unintentionally entered its territory while he was searching for Froakie, angering the Poison Bee Pokémon as a result. When she saw that and noticed that Takashi was unaware that Beedrill was right behind him, Froakie quickly jumped down from the branch she was sitting on and quickly got in between the two of them.
Upon hearing jump down from behind him, Takashi quickly turned around and was happy to see that it was Froakie. However, his happiness soon turned into surprise and fear when he saw the Beedrill that was about to attack him. Before the Poison Bee Pokémon could do anything to him though, Froakie quickly fired off a large barrage of bubbles from her mouth. This barrage was enough to cause Beedrill to back away a little bit, creating some distance between them.
Once Froakie finished firing her attack, the Bubble Frog Pokémon looked over towards Takashi and was pleased to see that he was okay. She then turned her attention back towards the wild Beedrill and saw that it shook off her Bubble attack and was about to counterattack with its twin stingers. When she saw that, Froakie got ready to fire another barrage of bubble at it, but Takashi quickly grabbed a hold of her and started running in the opposite direction. This prompted the Beedrill to give chase after both of them, causing Froakie to squirm and try and break free from Takashi's grip.
"No Froakie…" Takashi said as he continued to run. "You're too injured to fight. I'll take care of this!"
As he continued to run, Takashi looked down at Froakie for a moment and saw that she was still squirming around in his arm. He knew that she wanted to fight, but he also knew that in her condition it would be extremely difficult for her to win. Not only that, given how she acted during the battle against Taichi, Takashi couldn't be sure if Froakie would act up again. Knowing full well what Beedrills are capable of, Takashi decided that the first thing he needed to do was get Froakie someplace safe before dealing with it himself.
Soon though, as he continued to run, Takashi ended up tripping on a tree branch, causing him to fall to his side and drop Froakie. Fortunately, Froakie wasn't injured and managed to recover from the fall rather quickly. However, the same couldn't be said for Takashi, who ended up injuring his knee a bit. Upon seeing that he was hurt trying to protect her, Froakie became extremely upset and braced herself as Beedrill appeared before her again and attempted to attack again.
Just as Beedrill pointed its twin stingers and unleashed a massive barrage of poison needles at Froakie, the brave Water-Type attempted to counter with her Bubble attack. However, the needles easily popped most of the bubbles and continued on their way towards Froakie. Froakie, before the attack could reach, Takashi grabbed Froakie and managed to get them both out of the way of the attack.
Upon seeing him trying to protect her again, Froakie started yelling at Takashi. Although she understood his good intentions, the fact remained that Takashi was no match for Beedrill and only she could defeat it. Even so, Takashi wasn't about to let Froakie battle…at least not all alone.
"Listen Froakie…" He said as he looked down towards her. "I know this is still new for us, but we're a team now."
While continuing to look down at Froakie, Takashi slowly began to piece together the reason why the Bubble Frog Pokémon was being so disobedient earlier. He also recalled Froakie's past and how, even though she was now under his ownership, those tough experiences still plague her thoughts. However, things were different now and it was time for both Takashi and Froakie to realize that.
"Froakie…I'm still new at being a Pokémon Trainer and I'm going to make a lot of mistakes. However, it's precisely why I'm new at this that I'm going to need your help. With you and Pikachu by my side I know we can accomplish anything that comes our way…just like how we handle Bruce and that Primeape."
After hearing him say that and seeing him smile at her, Froakie's eyes widen slightly as she suddenly realized how foolish she's been being. He was right, she and Takashi were a team now and just because she has more battle experience than her doesn't mean that she has to do all the work. If she truly want to help him become a Pokémon Master, Froakie knew that she had let go of the bad experiences she had in past and truly let Takashi be her Trainer. Only by doing that could the two of them possibly reach their true potential, both as individuals and as a team.
Upon reaching that realization, Froakie nodded her head towards Takashi, prompting him to go on and do the same. The two of them then looked on and watched as the wild Beedrill was getting ready to fly down and attack again. However, this time the two of them were ready and they weren't about to run away this time around.
"Alright Froakie…run towards Beedrill!"
Nodding her head in compliance, Froakie dashed towards Beedrill as quickly as she could, just as the Poison Bee Pokémon was prepared to strike with its stingers. However, just as the two of them were about to clash, Takashi made his next move.
"Now, jump up and fire your frubbles!"
Using her incredible leg strength, Froakie narrowly avoid Beedrill's attack and proceeded to grab two sets of frubbles from her back. She then unleashed them just as Beedrill was about to fly up and continue on with its assault. The frubbles went on to place themselves on both of its main stingers and although it didn't damage it the sight of this did confuse the Bug-Type Pokémon for a moment. And…it was precisely this moment that Takashi had been waiting for.
"Okay, now use your Bubble attack!" He commanded.
Without wasting any time, Froakie unleashed the largest barrage of bubbles that it could possibly muster and directed all at Beedrill. With its stingers still covered in the frubbles, the Poison Bee Pokémon had no means to block this assault and was thus completely overwhelmed by Froakie's attack. The full force of this barrage was so much that Beedrill immediately decided to cut its losses and fled the area as quickly as it could. Once it was gone and nowhere to be seen that Takashi let out a small sigh of relief, prompting him to sit on the ground.
"…It's gone. Thank goodness."
As Takashi continued sitting down on the ground, Froakie looked at him with a quiet expression on her face. When he eventually looked back at her, Takashi simply let out a small smile as he gently petted the top of the Water Pokémon's head. He then picked up Froakie and held her in his arms.
"Great job Froakie. You kicked some serious butt in that battle."
Froakie's eyes widen slightly, taken back at how proud Takashi was with her, despite the disobedience she was displaying not that long ago. She then watched as Takashi let out a goofy smile that had him reveal all of his teeth. However, just seeing that smile put Froakie's mind at ease, so much so that Froakie dropped her guard and let out a goofy smile of her own. When Takashi saw that all he could do was smile even harder, which prompted Froakie to go on and do the same. Finally, although it took them a little bit, Takashi and Froakie were now on the same page.
Eventually, after resting for a few more minutes, Takashi and Froakie picked themselves up from off the ground and started making their way back to Pikachu. When they finally arrived at the campsite, both of them were pleased to see that the Mouse Pokémon was still waiting patiently for them and was glad that they were okay. Now that the three of them were together, Takashi and his Pokémon sat next to the campfire as they happily ate their dinner and enjoyed each other's company.
Later, as day turned into night and all the stars were out, Takashi lying down in a sleeping bag that he had on him, preparing to go to sleep. As he did so, both Pikachu and Froakie were both sitting down on a stump that was right next to their Trainer. While looking at all the stars, Takashi smiled at how beautiful they all were and proceeded to reach out his hand in order to grab them. However, no matter how hard he tried, the stars were simply out of his reach. Despite that though, Takashi wasn't really upset and simply smiled some more, confusing Pikachu and Froakie somewhat.
"You know…these stars in the sky represent my dream."
Still confused, Pikachu and Froakie had a hard time trying to figure out what Takashi meant by that. How could the stars represent his dream? This prompted them look up at the stars as well, hoping that doing so would allow them to understand his meaning. However, neither one of them could figure it out. This prompted Takashi to explaining his reasoning to his two Pokémon.
"When I was a little boy, my father used to tell me something," He continued. "He said that something is only worth obtaining if it's out of your reach. At first, I didn't understand what he meant, but now I think I do. My dream is to become the greatest Pokémon Master who has ever lived, a goal that nearly impossible to achieve. Trying to become that is like trying to touch the stars while lying on the ground…just what I was trying to do just now. But it's because that dream is nearly impossible…that makes the goal of trying to achieve it worth it."
Digging into his sleeping bag, Takashi grabbed the headband that his father gave to him just before he left on his final Pokémon Journey. As he looked at the star symbol that was on its metal plate, another smile appeared on his face. He then titled his head and stared at both Pikachu and Froakie, both of whom were now looking down at him again.
"Pikachu…Froakie…I want to become a Pokémon Master. It's been my dream since before I even knew how to walk. However, it's not something I can do on my own. I'm going to need both of your help in order to reach it. So, while under this twinkling stars, let's make a promise to each other. I'll help the both of your to become the strongest Pokémon who has ever lived…and in return, you'll help me to become the greatest Pokémon Master who has ever lived. That way, we all work together to achieve our dreams. What do you say?"
Taking out his hand again, Takashi reached out and placed it face down, in front of both Pikachu and Froakie. He then looked at the two of them with a determined look on his face. Seeing that look allowed the two Pokémon to realize just how serious Takashi was about this. The look also caused them to recall the times Takashi helped them out with their respective problems. Wanting to repay that debt to him, as both his Trainer and his friend, Pikachu and Froakie nodded their heads and proceeded to place their hands on top of Takashi's.
Upon making this promise to each other, Takashi and his Pokémon all let out a big smile as they raised their arms in the air in victory. Shortly after that, Takashi decided to head on to bed so that he could wake up early the next morning. Pikachu followed shortly after him, resting himself on top of Takashi's sleeping bag. As she watched them sleep, Froakie took a moment to stare at Takashi. While doing so, one final smile slowly appeared on her, happy in the fact that managed to find a young man like him. She then proceeded to go to sleep too, resting comfortably right next to Takashi.
The next morning, as the sun was beginning to rise just above the thick trees, Takashi was continuing his trek through the Viridian Forest, with both Pikachu and Froakie resting on each of his shoulders. As he walked, Takashi thinking about how he should best prepare with his upcoming challenge at the Pewter City Gym. He had no idea what kind of battle it would be or what kind of Pokémon he would be facing. Because of that, the young Trainer was going over every possible way that could prepare both Pikachu and Froakie for the challenge that they would soon face.
Soon though, as Takashi continued walking through the forest, both Pikachu and Froakie picked something up thanks to their exceptionally hearing. They then turned both of their heads towards the right of them, prompting Takashi to stop walking when he saw the both them do that.
"Hey…What did you hear, guys?" Takashi questioned.
Pikachu and Froakie didn't answer, as they weren't quite sure themselves. All they did know is that they could hear two sets of footsteps and that one of them was much louder than the other. In time, Takashi could hear the footsteps too and prepared himself just in case. However, when the two set of footsteps finally got close enough, both Takashi and his Pokémon were surprised to see who it was coming from.
The footsteps were coming from Taichi and his Pinsir, the both of whom had just finished some earlier morning training. Just like him, Taichi was a bit surprised to see Takashi so soon after defeating him. Not only that, Taichi could also see that there was something different about Takashi. It wasn't much, but he could tell that he had come to an important realization and that realization had given him more determination. Taichi also saw that Froakie had the same look on her face, prompting him to ask a question.
"So…have you and your Froakie settle your issues?"
Upon being asked that question, Takashi and Froakie glanced at one another, with the latter firmly nodding her head at the former. This caused Takashi to smile before turning his attention back towards Taichi.
"Yeah…" He answered. "I think we have."
"…Good," Taichi replied. "Then…as I promised you yesterday, me and my Pinsir will face the two of you again."
Taichi's Pinsir stepped forward and began opening the closing the pincers that were on its head, showing that it was eager to battle. When Froakie saw that, Froakie instantly jumped down from Takashi's shoulder and prepared herself for battle as well. She then looked back towards Takashi for a moment, wanting to see if he was ready as well. To her joy, Takashi was indeed ready as he wanted to face Taichi and his Pinsir again, even though he didn't expect it to be so soon. Because of that, the two Trainers and their Pokémon made their way to an area with more open space so that they can have their battle.
Upon reaching that area, Takashi had Pikachu get off his shoulder and stand next to him. He then had a quick pep talk with Froakie before pulling out the headband that his father gave to him and wrapped it around his head. Once everything was said between them, the Bubble Frog Pokémon stepped forward and again prepared herself to confront Pinsir. After once again seeing the determined look that was on Froakie's face, Taichi decided to see how much both she and Takashi have changed by making the first move in this battle.
"Pinsir…use Vice Grip!"
Letting out a loud battle cry, Pinsir started charging towards Froakie at an incredible speed. As it closer and closer towards its target, Taichi looked on intently as Froakie sat patiently on the ground, her eyes focused solely on her foe. Soon, just when Pinsir was about to grab Froakie with its pincers, Takashi finally made his move.
"Froakie…use Double Team!"
At the very instant that Pinsir was about to close in on its target, Froakie immediately disappeared from view for a moment. When she reappeared, several afterimages of the Bubble Frog Pokémon suddenly materialized all across the battlefield. The sight of this surprised Pinsir greatly as it wasn't able tell which one of the Froakies was the real one, something that Takashi was hoping to be the case.
As this was going on, Taichi couldn't help but let out a small snicker. The fact that Froakie obeyed Takashi's command this time around was the proof that the two of them were truly on the same page now. Not only that, but it also showed Taichi that this battle will be much more interesting now than it was the other day. With that in mind, he decided to get more serious.
"Alright Pinsir, use Harden!"
Complying too its Trainer's request, Pinsir immediately stopped trying to figure out where the real Froakie was and proceeded to stiffen its body in order to prepare for its opponent's next attack. However, despite the fact that Pinsir has now risen its defensive power, Takashi wasn't about to back down.
"Don't let that stop you, Froakie!" He said. "Use a continuous Pound attack on Pinsir!"
Not wasting any time, all of the Froakie clones rushed over towards Pinsir at a blinding speed. Once they got close enough they then started circling around it in multiple directions, making it difficult to predict where it the attack would be coming from. Thanks to that, the real Froakie used that to her advantage and began to barrage Pinsir was several powerful strikes.
At first, due to the fact that it used Harden prior, Pinsir was able to endure the assault that Froakie was unleashing upon it. However, as the barrage of attacks continued, Taichi noticed that Pinsir was slowly becoming fatigued. Although he was tempted to use Harden again to strengthen Pinsir's defenses, he knew that wouldn't help him in the long run. In order to win this battle he needed to stop Froakie from moving.
With that in mind, Taichi focused all of his attention on the multiple Froakie clones that were surrounding Pinsir. Even though it was difficult to determine which one of them was the real one, Taichi knew that it wasn't impossible. All he needed to do was focus on the little details and take advantage of them. After some time, Taichi discovered that amongst all of the Froakies present, only one of them produced a shadow, indicating that it was the real one. Thanks to that, Taichi was able to tell that this Froakie was about to attack Pinsir from behind next, allowing him counter.
"Pinsir, turn around and use Brick Break!"
Upon hearing Taichi's command, Pinsir quickly turned itself around and confronted the Froakie that was about to hit him. It then struck the Bubble Frog Pokémon right in the middle of her head with its forearm, causing her to be sent crashing into the ground. This act also caused all one the Froakie clones to suddenly disappear as well as the real one wasn't able to maintain them anymore.
When Takashi saw this he was instantly concerned for Froakie's safety as her Double Team attack was the best defense she had against Pinsir's superior power. Now that Taichi had managed to deduce the flaw in the move, Takashi knew that using Double Team again wouldn't be helpful. To make matter worse, Pinsir was right on top of Froakie and proceeded to grab her with one of her arms, preventing the Water-Type from escaping.
"Well…I have to admit that this battle was indeed much better than the last one," Taichi said with a small smile. "However, this is the end. Pinsir…use Vice Grip!"
Nodding its head, Pinsir slowly started lifted Froakie higher and higher until she was at the same level as its horns. It then prepared itself to ensnare the Water-Type into them, intending the squeeze the life out of her until she couldn't take the pain anymore. Unwilling to let that happen, Takashi put the fate of the entire battle into one last act.
"Froakie!" He called out too. "Use Bubble before it's too late!"
Just as she was a hair away from being caught within Pinsir's horns, Froakie heard Takashi's voice and quickly regained her senses. Then, after seeing the situation that she was in, immediately fired off a large barrage of bubbles at her opponent. The sheer density of the water was so great that Pinsir had no choice but to release Froakie so that it could use both its arms to defend itself.
Upon seeing Pinsir stunned, Takashi knew that he needed to act quickly before it had a chance to recover. At the same time, Taichi knew what Takashi was planning to do and prepared to counter it.
"Froakie, use one last Pound!"
"Pinsir, counter it with Tackle!"
Both Pokémon instantly responded to their respective Trainer's command and immediately started charging one another. As they raced towards each other, Takashi looked on and waited until Froakie and Pinsir were about to make contact. When that moment finally came, the young Trainer put his final plan into motion.
"Froakie…Jump now!"
Letting out a small grin, Froakie used all the strength she had to jump right through Pinsir's horns, moving pass it in the process. Stunned by this action, Taichi wondered what Takashi was doing as Froakie was about to crash right into a nearby tree. However, before he had the chance to comprehend this act, he watched as Froakie suddenly flipped herself backwards and used the nearby tree to spring back towards Pinsir with even greater force. Once he saw this, Taichi's eyes widen in shock.
"Pinsir, look out!"
It was too late. By the time Pinsir managed to turn itself around, Froakie struck it with the strongest Pound attack it could muster. The Bubble Frog Pokémon then slid across the ground, unable to brace herself, and landed just by Pikachu's side. She then slowly picked herself up and watched as Pinsir slowly fell backwards onto the ground, completely unconscious.
At first, both Trainers were silent, attempting to comprehend the final moment of the battle. After some time however, Takashi saw that Pinsir wasn't moving, causing a large smile to appear on his face.
"We…we won," He said. "WE WON!"
Letting out a loud cry of victory, Takashi and Pikachu immediately rushed over towards Froakie, where the former held her tightly in his arms.
"You did it, Froakie! I just knew that you could it!"
As Takashi continued hugging his Pokémon, Froakie glanced over at him slightly before letting out a smile. Although she was the one who fought, Froakie knew that she couldn't have one if she didn't believe in Takashi like she did. This made her very happy as it once again showed her that she made the right choice in joining Takashi and becoming his Pokémon. Unfortunately, that happiness suddenly turned to dread as she suddenly found herself unable to breath due to Takashi's aggressive hugging.
While all of this was going on, Taichi slowly made his way over towards his fallen Pinsir and proceeded to help it back to its feet. No words were spoken between them, but it was clear that Taichi was extremely proud of his friend. Even though they didn't win this battle, both of them knew that they will ultimately become stronger from this experience. With that in mind, the two of them had no problems with losing as the battle team won this time around.
Eventually, after bringing out Pinsir's PokéBall and returning the Bug-Type to it, Taichi made his way over to Takashi, who was busy apologizing to Froakie after just realizing what he was doing to her. Once he arrived, the two Trainers stared at one another for a moment before Taichi slowly extended his hand towards Takashi. Upon seeing that, Takashi let out another smile before taking out his hand and going on to shake Taichi's.
"Thanks for the good battle," Taichi said. "I guess I really was wrong. You and your Froakie make a great team."
"…Thank you," Takashi replied with a slight nod. "But it only thanks to you and Pinsir that Froakie and I managed to win. If you two hadn't pushed us like you had then we might still be having problems."
Upon hearing Takashi praise him like that, despite the fact they were opponents not that long ago, surprised Taichi somewhat. However, this only impressed him as he could tell that there was something different about Takashi than from the other Trainers he faced. Although he couldn't tell what that was, Taichi had a feeling that Takashi Nakamura was going to be someone to look out for in the near future.
Soon, after talking to one another for a little bit, Takashi and Taichi decided to part ways in order to continue their respective Pokémon Journeys. Once he watched Taichi make his way towards another section of the Viridian Forest, Takashi and his Pokémon proceeded to make their way in the opposite direction.
As they did so, Takashi pulled out the headband that his father gave him and stared at it intently as he walked. Just looking at it reminded him of the promise he and his Pokémon made to each other the previous night and Takashi knew that the battle he just had was just the first step in fulfilling it. So, as he watched both Pikachu and Froakie sit upon his shoulders, a determined look appeared on Takashi's face he started running towards his next destination.
"Alright guys…Our next battle is waiting for us, so let's get going!"
Chapter Preview
As he continues to make his way through the Viridian Forest, Takashi happens to come across a Pokémon with a rather feisty personality. However, this Pokémon is also injured and it refuses to allow Takashi to help it. Just who is this Pokémon and what will Takashi have to do in order to help it.
Next Time, Chapter 8: The Brave Little Bird – Part 1