Pokémon – Thunder Yellow
Fanfiction By – Spirit Reader
Pokémon Original Creator – Satoshi Tajiri
Chapter 11: A Rock-Hard Gym Battle
Takashi's Pokémon
Pikachu (Male)
Froakie (Female)
Pidgey (Male)
"Finally…I'm finally here."
Those were the words that ran through Takashi's mind as he stood directly at the edge of Pewter City. Ever since first learned of the annual Pokémon League Competition, arriving here has been the young Trainer's singular objective. The journey has been long and hard as Takashi and his Pokémon were forced to overcome several tough challenges along the way. But now, after nearly two weeks of traveling, he has finally arrived Pewter City, the site of his first Gym Battle.
The thought of participating in his first Gym Battle was almost too overwhelming for Takashi to resist. It wasn't just the prospect of winning a Gym Badge that was driving him. He also wanted to see how far he's come as a Trainer since he first started his Pokémon Journey. Although he's had quite a few battles since he first started, the Gym Battle would be his first true test. Winning the battle at the Pewter Gym would be proof that he had would took to become a Pokémon Master, at least that's what Takashi believed anyway.
As the young man continued to stare out and observe the city, his new friends Rebecca and Danny were just looking at him. It hasn't been long since they met him, but the siblings could immediately tell what was on his mind. After all, most Trainers who arrive here in Pewter City only do so in order to challenge its Gym. From the way he looking, that was precisely what was on his mind. Although a part of them wanted to let Takashi go ahead and have his battle, Rebecca wanted to do something first.
"So Takashi…" She said as she walked up to him. "Why don't you come over our house for a bit? My mom's making dinner and I'm she'll be more than happy to let you have some."
As he turned to face her, Takashi took a moment to think about Rebecca's offer. Truthfully, the only thing that was on his mind was his upcoming Gym Battle and he initially had no intention of doing anything else other than that. However, the more he started to think about getting something to eat, the more his stomach was starting to growl. Not only that, but he was a bit tired from trekking through the forest for so long and knew that his Pokémon were exhausted as well.
"…Sure." He answered. "I definitely do for some food right about now."
With that said, Rebecca smiled as she nodded at Takashi slightly. She then proceeded to lead him towards her home as Danny followed close behind. As they made their way through the city, Takashi took a moment to take in all of the sights. He noticed that several of the buildings looked like they were made solely out of boulders and rocks. It gave the city a more natural look to it, which contrasted to the more modernized look he saw back in Viridian City. Despite that however, Takashi didn't really mind as he found the look of the city to be quite interesting.
Eventually, after a few more minutes of walking, the group finally arrived at Rebecca and Danny's home. The look of the house reminded Takashi a lot of his back at Pallet Town, being that it wasn't too big but also not too small either. In addition, just like several of the other buildings he's walked past, the outer structure of the home was completely made out of rock. As he began making his way up towards the building, the young man stopped when he suddenly heard a loud barking sound.
While Takashi tried to figure out where this sound was coming from, Pikachu placed himself on high alert and soon got in front of Takashi. The Mouse Pokémon then braced himself as another Pokémon suddenly appeared before the group. This Pokémon strongly resembled a dog with brown fur, blue eyes, and a fluffy white tail. In addition, around its neck were several pebbles of varying sizes. While wondering what this Pokémon was, Takashi watched as Danny happily made his way towards it.
"Hey there, Rockruff!" The young boy said with a smile. "We're back!"
Upon seeing him greet it, the Pokémon known as Rockruff quickly turned its attention away from Takashi and Pikachu and immediately jumped into Danny's arms. It then happily licked his face before nuzzling its head against the young boy's. Because of the pebbles that were around its neck, Rockruff's nuzzle hurt Danny a little bit. However, from what Takashi was able to tell, Danny didn't seem to mind it too much.
As he continued look on at this scene, Takashi decided to pull his PokéDex in order to find out about this playful little Pokémon. When he did, Takashi listened closely as Dexter explained to him what kind of Pokémon Rockruff was.
"Rockruff, the Puppy Pokémon." Dexter explained. "Rockruff has a long history of living in harmony with people. This friendly Pokémon is often recommended for Trainers just starting their journey, although it tends to develop a bit of a wild side as it grows. Rockruff is a Rock-Type Pokémon."
After Dexter finished its explanation and Takashi put the PokéDex back into his pocket, the young man looked back at Rockruff and watched Danny placed it on the ground. He then walked up towards the Puppy Pokémon and gently knelt down towards it. Takashi then let out a small smile as he introduced himself.
"Hi there Rockruff," He said. "My name is Takashi. It's a pleasure to meet you."
After introducing himself, Takashi went on to gently pet Rockruff's head. Although a bit apprehensive at first, Rockruff quickly warmed up him and happily began to bark at him. The Puppy Pokémon then made its way over to Pikachu and began to bark at him as well. Upon seeing that it meant no ill will, Pikachu happily greeted Rockruff and began to play with it for a bit.
As he looked at this scene with a smile on his face, Takashi noticed that the front door to Danny and Rebecca's home was beginning to open. When it did, he saw woman with short brown hair and amber colored eyes appear on the other side. Her attire consisted of a light blue dress with skin tight pants. Upon seeing them, in particular Danny and Rebecca, the woman happily greeted the group.
"Welcome back, you two." She said with a smile. "And I can see you brought a friend."
"Hello mother…" Rebecca replied.
"Hi mom…" Danny followed.
The two siblings immediately walked over towards their mother and greeted her with a quick embraced. As he looked on at this scene, Takashi noticed how the woman gave off the same vibe that his own mother, Haruka, does. The only difference is that Haruka was much younger than this woman, as she gave birth to Takashi when she was only 19-years-old. He watched as the woman began making her way up to him.
"It's nice to meet you, young man. My name is Darla and, as you can see, I'm Rebecca and Danny's mother."
"The pleasure is mine, ma'am." Takashi said in return. "My name is Takashi Nakamura. I'm a Pokémon Trainer from Pallet Town."
After taking a moment to shake hands, Darla warmly let the group enter her home. Upon entering, Takashi noticed that the inside of the complex had wooden flooring, showing that the house was a lot fancier on the inside than on the outside. As he continued to look around, Rebecca and Danny were taking the time to explain to their mother about how Takashi helped them while they were in the forest. Upon hearing this, Darla was very appreciative of the young man for helping her kids and decided to make him a home cooked meal as a reward.
Soon, as Takashi started to make his way back towards the others, the young man noticed that someone else was about to enter the room. When he did, Takashi saw that the individual was fairly older man who looked to be in his mid to late 60s. He had grey hair, blue eyes, and was walking around with the aid of a cane. Takashi also saw that this old man a scowl on his face that was rather off putting, but he tried his best to ignore it.
"Please allow me to introduce to you my father, Victor." Darla said as he walked up to the old man. "Father…this is Rebecca and Danny's new friend, Takashi. He'll be joining us for dinner tonight."
"Umm…It's nice to meet you, sir." Takashi nervously followed as he extended his hand out to the old man.
As he waited for Victor to respond, Takashi was starting to become somewhat uncomfortable with the way the old man was looking at him. It was almost like Victor considered him to be an eyesore and that his mere presence was painful to him. Although he tried his best to hide his discomfort, it was clear to both Pikachu and everybody else watching that Takashi was having a hard time doing so.
Eventually, in an attempt to ease the tension that was in the air, Darla proceeded to get to work on dinner. As Rebecca left to help her mother, Takashi decided to take the opportunity to feed his Pokémon and thus summoned both Froakie and Pidgey from out of their PokéBalls. Upon seeing Froakie, a Pokémon that he's never seen before, Danny became absolutely giddy and began to examine her closely, much to the Bubble Frog Pokémon's confusion.
While doing so, Danny asked Takashi about Froakie and learned that it was a Pokémon that originally hailed from the far out Kalos Region. In return, Danny revealed that his family's Rockruff is a Pokémon normally native to the Alola Region. Hearing these things made the boys realize that their world was a pretty big place and they started to wonder what other Pokémon resided in it. Meanwhile, Victor was silently looking on at this scene was a disdainful look on his face.
Soon, after about an hour of waiting, Darla and Rebecca finished cooking and called everyone over to the table to eat. Just one look of all the delicious almost caused Takashi to drool, but managed to control himself. The group then proceeded to bless the food before sitting down and enjoying their meal.
"So Takashi…" Darla said as she watched him eat. "What brings you here all the way to Pewter City?"
"Well…" Takashi paused for a moment to swallow his food before continuing. "I'm here to challenge the Pewter Gym. You see, it's been my dream since I was little too one day become a Pokémon Master and ever since I first learned about the Pokémon League…I've felt that competing in it would be great first step in achieving that dream."
Upon hearing his explanation for coming all the way to Pewter City and his overall goal as well, Rebecca, Danny, and Darla were all quite impressed with Takashi. Wanting to become a Pokémon Master is a very difficult task, as even the most hardworking and driven Trainers might not be able to do it. However, upon seeing the look of confidence and determination that was in the young man's eyes, the 3 of them were beginning to believe that Takashi might just be able to do it one day. Unfortunately, there was one who thought otherwise.
"You…become a Pokémon Master? What a joke."
Turning his head in response to that comment, Takashi saw that those words came from none other than Victor. He watched as the old man silently ate his food for a moment before lifting his head and facing him. Just one look was all he needed to get a read on the young man, which only confirmed is suspicions of him.
"You don't have what it takes to become a Pokémon Master…" He continued. "Let alone win at the Pewter Gym."
"…What makes you so sure about that?" Takashi asked.
"Simple…You're too green. Trainers like you are a dime a dozen. You all believe that you can do anything you set your mind too, completely unaware of the harsh reality of truly being a Pokémon Trainer. The faster you stop believing in such foolish fantasies, the better off you'll be."
After hearing Victor's explanation, Takashi simple looked at him while placing his hands under the table and clinching them in anger. As he did so, all of his Pokémon took notice of what he was doing and could tell right away that he didn't like what he was hearing. Ordinarily, the 3 of them would immediately rush to his defense, but they chose to do nothing as knew that Takashi didn't want to make a scene.
As this continued, Victor took a moment to look over at Takashi's Pokémon. Like with Takashi himself, just one look was all that Victor needed in order to get a good impression of them. From his point of view, all 3 of them were very idealistic Pokémon who lacked the drive needed to truly become strong. Because of that, the old man could feel noting but sympathy for them and thus shook his head in disappointment, something that Pikachu and others quickly took notice of.
"With you as their Trainer, any Pokémon that's under your ownership must truly be pathetic."
"Shut your damn mouth!"
In anger, Takashi immediately stood up from his chair and slammed both of his hands on the table. As Rebecca and the others looked on in shock, Takashi gave Victor as rather fierce some glare, although the old man didn't seem to care in the slightest.
"You can say anything you want about me, I'll just shake those off!" He told Victor. "But no one calls my Pokémon pathetic and gets away with it! It's only thanks to them that I've gotten this far!
"If that's the case then you're only proving my point." Victor calmly replied. "With you and your Pokémon as you are now, there's no way you'll win at the Pewter Gym."
As Takashi became very close to flipping the table over at Victor, all of his Pokémon rushed over and confronted the old man as well. Just like how Takashi will never allow anyone to disrespect his Pokémon, none his Pokémon will allow anyone to disrespect him. Pikachu, Froakie, and Pidgey all owe their lives to Takashi and would practically do anything for him. Because of that, they refused to allow anyone to talk bad about him, regardless if it were true or not.
Eventually, as taking a second to get his anger under control, Takashi realized that lashing out a Victor was precisely the reaction that the old man wanted and he refused to give him the satisfaction. To that end, he calmly finished the rest of his dinner before turning to face Darla and the others.
"…Thank you for the food." He said softly.
Once he said that, Takashi turned towards his Pokémon and proceeded to return both Froakie and Pidgey back into their respective PokéBalls. He then had Pikachu hop onto his shoulder before grabbing his things and leaving the house. As she watched him leave, Rebecca angrily glared at her grandfather for a moment as his comments started all of this. She wanted to say something, but knew that doing so would be pointless and so she left and chased after Takashi.
After about 2 minutes of searching, Rebecca spotted Takashi as he made his way towards the center of the city. From the expression that was on his face, it was clear to her that he was very upset about what Victor told him and that he wanted to prove him wrong.
"Takashi…!" She yelled as she made her way over to him. "Takashi, where are you going?!"
"That should be obvious…" Takashi replied, not even taking the time to turn around. "I'm heading over to the Pewter Gym. That old man thinks that my Pokémon and I don't have what it takes? Let's see him say that once I win that Gym Badge!"
"But…I mean…The Pewter Gym Leader is really tough and your Pokémon are…"
Before Rebecca could finish talking Takashi turned around and faced her. Once she saw the angrily look that was on both his and Pikachu's face, the young woman suddenly stopped talking.
"So you think we can't win either? Is that what you're saying?"
"No…" Rebecca honestly told him. "That's not what I'm…"
"Then shut your mouth!" Takashi lashed out. "Don't talk about things you have no business knowing!"
With that said, Takashi walked off as Rebecca simply looked on with a concerned look on her face. As he did so, the young man's thoughts were entirely focused on what Victor said about him and his Pokémon. Just thinking about it made him even angrier, causing him to clinch his fist in frustration as a result.
"I'll show him!"
Ever since he was a little boy, Takashi Nakamura has always found himself taking on a variety of challenges. These challenges often range from the mundane, like cleaning a messy room, to the more difficult, like building something from scratch. Despite that, Takashi always took every challenge he faced head on and refused to give up when doing them, even if he failed. He refused to give up for one simple reason, he believed his late father wouldn't give up and didn't want to let him down.
Now, as he prepared himself for what was about to take place, Takashi knew that his next challenge was about to begin. After about 20 minutes of walking, the young Trainer finally arrived at the site of the Pewter City Gym. As he stared intently at the front entrance, Takashi wondered what kind of battle he'll soon be participating in and just how strong the Gym Leader might be. All of those thoughts ran through his mind and soon found himself becoming nervous, but he soon forced himself to get over it.
Takashi knew that if he wanted to achieve his dream of becoming a Pokémon Master, he couldn't allow his fears to get the better of him. He had to move forward and charge head first into this challenge. If he didn't, then he knew that everything he's done up to this point was just a complete waste of time and that was something he couldn't bring himself to accept. So, after taking a deep breath, Takashi opened the doors to the Gym and promptly went inside.
"Hello!" He called out. "Is anyone here?!"
As he closed the doors behind him, Takashi looked on in amazement as the inside of the Gym was completely incredible. There was a large battlefield and on it were several rocks and boulders of a variety of sizes. While examining it, Pikachu looked over from his shoulder and took notice of something from a distance. Upon being alerted of what Pikachu saw, Takashi looked out and saw two individuals standing on the other side of the battlefield.
The first individual was man with blonde hair and blue eyes. His attire consisted of a white and black referee shirt, with a button of the official Pokémon League symbol placed on the side. The second individual was another young man with black hair, squinty brown eyes, and tanned skin. He was wearing a black and gray jacket with brown pants. Upon noticing Takashi, the two individual immediately faced him.
"Greetings…" The second individual said. "May I ask who you are and why you're here?"
"Um…Sure," Takashi replied. "My name is Takashi Nakamura and I'm a Pokémon Trainer from Pallet Town. I'm here to challenge the Gym Leader to a battle."
"I see. Well you're in luck, Takashi. My name is Brock and I'm currently Gym Leader here at the Pewter Gym. If you truly believe that you're ready to face me, then I'll gladly accept your challenge."
As Brock finished introducing himself to him, Takashi suddenly felt a wave of intensity come off from the Gym Leader. He could tell right away that he's been through a lot of battles and faced off against many powerful challengers before him. Just thinking about that made the nervousness that he felt earlier come rushing back. While trying to get over it, Pikachu noticed that Takashi was started to sweat and silently wondered if he was going to be alright.
When Takashi noticed the concerned look that was Pikachu's face, he quickly berated himself for feeling the way he was. He had to stay strong because if he stayed worried, then his Pokémon would be worried too. To that end, Takashi gently slapped his cheeks in order to snap of it before turning towards Pikachu and smiling at him. Upon seeing that smile, Pikachu could tell that Takashi was forcing himself to keep calm, but decided not to say anything about it. Instead, the Mouse Pokémon simply nodded at his Trainer before turning his head and facing Brock.
"So Takashi…" The Gym Leader continued. "If you don't mind me asking, how many Gym Badges do you currently have?"
"How many…?" Takashi questioned. "I don't have any. Why do you ask?"
"Well you see, one of the duties of a Gym Leader is to test the abilities of the challengers we're facing. However, if I were to face you with my current Pokémon then there's a strong possibility that our battle will become extremely one-sided. In order to remedy that, the Pokémon League Committee has required all Gym Leaders to ask how many badges their challengers currently have. That way, we can choose Pokémon that will match well if your current level of ability. Does that make sense?"
"Yeah…I think so."
After nodding his head at his latest challenger, Brock made his way towards the edge of his Gym. Once he reached the wall, he pressed a switch and watch as a panel opened up, revealing several PokéBalls. He then went on to place one PokéBall that he had on him in one of the empty slots on the panel before grabbing two that were already then. As soon as he finished and closed the panel, Brock returned to his side of the battlefield.
"I'll use these two Pokémon." He revealed. "Now, before we begin, I'll allow my referee, Kevin, to explain the rules our battle."
Upon hearing his name, Kevin nodded his head towards Brock before making his way towards a small platform that was placed just outside the battlefield in the middle. He then pulled out two flags, one being green and the other being red. Once he had them in hand, Kevin explained the rules.
"This Gym Battle between the Challenger, Takashi Nakamura of Pallet Town, and the Pewter City Gym Leader, Brock, is about to begin!" He started off. "In this battle, the Gym Leader will only have the use of 2 Pokémon while the Challenger may use all the Pokémon that he currently has in his possession. In addition, only the Challenger will be allowed to substitute his Pokémon at anytime during the match. Finally…the battle will be over once one side's Pokémon are all declared unable to battle. Is that clear?"
Kevin first looked towards Brock and responded by giving the referee a quick nod. He then looked towards Takashi and although he was a bit slower to respond, he nodded at him as well. As soon as he saw that both sides were ready, Kevin lifted the two flags that he was holding high into the air.
"Then…Let the Battle Begin!"
With the Gym Battle officially underway, Brock decided to make the first move. To that end, the Gym Leader took one of the PokéBalls that obtained earlier and threw it onto the rocky battlefield.
"Let's go, Geodude!"
Takashi and Pikachu looked on in anticipation as the PokéBall that Brock threw opened up and released a small blast of light energy. As the energy began to take shape, the two of them watched as it transformed into round boulder with a set of arms, eyes, and a mouth. Having never seen a Pokémon like Geodude before, Takashi pulled out his PokéDex and immediately used it in order to figure out what it was.
"Geodude, the Rock Pokémon." Dexter stated. "Geodude climb mountain paths using only the power of its arms. Because they look just like boulders lining paths, hikers may step on them without noticing. Geodude is a Rock/Ground-Type."
After Dexter finished its explanation, Takashi slowly placed his PokéDex back into his pocket before looking back over towards Geodude. As he watched the Rock Pokémon start to gesture at him, the young Trainer tried to figure out which of his 3 Pokémon should he send out first. While trying to come to a decision, Pikachu poked the side of his head. When he turned towards him, Takashi saw that his partner was eager to battle first. Upon seeing that, Takashi smiled and nodded his head.
"Alright then…" He said. "Pikachu, I choose you!"
Once Takashi chose him to battle, Pikachu eagerly jumped from off of his shoulder and quickly rushed onto the battlefield. He then proceeded to stare down Geodude, who wasn't intimidated in the slightest by the Mouse Pokémon. As he looked on, Brock had a silent expression on his face. The Gym Leader was a bit surprised by his challenger's choice, but he didn't say anything about it. Instead, he simply extended his hand out towards him.
"Alright Takashi…" He said. "I'll let you make the first move."
"That's fine by me." Takashi replied with a smirk. "Pikachu…Start thing off with Thunder Shock!"
Right away, Pikachu complied with Takashi's command and soon fired off a blast of electricity from the sacs on his cheeks. The blast quickly made its way towards Geodude and struck the Rock Pokémon head-on. When he saw that, Takashi initially believed that the attack work and that Geodude had taken a significant amount of damage. However, upon closer inspection, he soon realized that wasn't the case at all.
Without any difficulty, Geodude was easily able to shake Pikachu's Thunder Shock attack, much to the surprise of both him and his Trainer. Stunned by what he just witnessed, Takashi assumed that Thunder Shock was simply too weak to do any significant damage on Geodude. Fortunately, Pikachu had another move that might change that.
"Okay then…Let's see how you'll handle this. Pikachu, use Electro Ball!"
Again, Pikachu responded to Takashi's command without any hesitation and soon started gathering all the electricity he could and focusing near the tip of his tail. After a few seconds, the electricity that Pikachu was gathering soon took the shape of a fairly large orb. Once he felt that he gathered enough, Pikachu launched his attack directly at Geodude, who once again took it head on.
Due to the sheer power of Pikachu's Electro Ball, a small explosion occurred around Geodude's side of the field. Seeing it made Takashi believe that there was no way that it could withstand such an attack and not take any damage from it. However, as the smoke began to clear, the young man looked on in disbelief as not only was Geodude fine, but was also laughing at him and Pikachu.
"What…What is going on here?" He questioned. "How can it take both Thunder Shock and Electro Ball and not take any damage from it?"
"That's quite simple." Brock answered. "You see…Geodude is both a Rock and Ground-Type Pokémon. Being a Ground-Type, Geodude is completely immune to any and all Electric-Type attacks, no matter how powerful they may be."
Upon hearing Brock's explanation, Takashi's eyes widen in shock. Although he knew that all Pokémon were strong against certain types of moves and weak to others, he never knew that some may be completely immune. At first it seemed difficult to believe, but Geodude easily shaking off both of Pikachu's Electric-Type attacks was proof. Now, with two of his best moves now basically useless, Takashi wondered just how was he going to pull this off.
While the young challenger tried to figure a way out of this predicament, Brock simply looked at him. Although he had every intention of winning this battle, Brock also knew that one of his duties was to also test Takashi as well. It was clear from this first exchange that he was struggling on what to do next. Despite the fact that he wanted to help him, Brock knew that doing so now would be missing the point. He first needed to get Takashi's head in the game and to do just that.
"Alright Geodude…It's time for us to make our first move. Let's kick this off with your Rollout attack!"
Nodding its head in agreement, Geodude swiftly obeyed Brock's command and soon started rolling across the battlefield at an incredible speed. Even so there were several rock lying across the field, Geodude easily crushed them all along the way as it made its way towards Pikachu. When Takashi finally took notice of this, the young man swiftly reacted.
"Dodge it, Pikachu!"
In this nick of time, Pikachu was barely able to avoid crashing into Geodude and watched as the Rock Pokémon crashed into a large boulder. However, Geodude was completely unfazed by what happened and simply took the time to dust off the dust that was on him. It then prepared him to roll over towards Pikachu again.
"I don't think so!" Takashi declared, refusing to let Geodude use that move again. "Pikachu, intercept it with Quick Attack!"
Just as Geodude was about to do another Rollout, Pikachu quickly dashed towards it opponent at an incredible speed. Then with all of his body weight behind him, Pikachu rammed his entire body directly into Geodude. However, instead of dealing any damage to his opponent, Pikachu was the one reeling from that exchange. Geodude's rock exterior was simply too hard and dense for Quick Attack to do any damage, much to Takashi's shock.
"Nice try, Takashi…" Brock said to his opponent. "Geodude, use Mega Punch!"
As Pikachu continued to stagger from his failed Quick Attack, Geodude quickly closed in on him. Then, before he could even react, Pikachu found himself on the receiving end of a punch so powerful that it sent him flying.
"Now Geodude," Brock continued. "Use Rollout before Pikachu lands on the ground!"
Right away, Geodude locked onto Pikachu and began rolling towards him. Then, before Pikachu could even crash onto the ground, Geodude slammed its rocky exterior into the Mouse Pokémon. This caused Pikachu be sent flying again, this time crashing into another large boulder that was placed on the battlefield.
As the referee looked on, Pikachu used all of his strength to try and pick himself up. After a few seconds, he barely managed to do so, but it was clear to everyone that he was already on his last legs. When he saw this, Takashi wondered what he was going to do, but then he listened as Brock started talking to him again.
"Takashi…If you have another Pokémon on you, I recommend that you switch out Pikachu for it."
"Switch out Pikachu…?" The young Trainer questioned. "Is that really okay?"
"Yes it is." Brock confirmed. "As Kevin told you before the match began, you're allowed to substitute your Pokémon at any time you want. As a Pokémon Trainer, it's important for you to know when to exchange your Pokémon during a battle. By doing so, it's possible for you to turn an unfavorable situation around."
After Brock finished explaining this to him, Takashi looked back over towards Pikachu and watched as he braced himself for more. His breathing was staggered and his legs were barely able to keep him up. When he saw this, Takashi understood the point that Brock was trying to make and realized that he was right. To that end, he did the only thing that he could.
"That's enough, Pikachu. Return now."
Pikachu turned his head and faced Takashi with a mixed expression on his face. Although he understood what his Trainer was trying to do, Pikachu didn't want to give up on this battle and wanted to keep fighting Geodude. However, after everything that went down, it was clear to Takashi that this was a battle that his partner could not win. With that in mind, Takashi called Pikachu over to him one more time and the Mouse Pokémon reluctantly complied too his wishes.
Once Pikachu was back by his side, Takashi took a moment to gently pet his head before turning his focus back towards Geodude. If a frontal assault wasn't going to get the job done, then perhaps attacking from a distance will do the trick. Upon reaching that conclusion, the young man pulled out a PokéBall and quickly threw it onto the battlefield.
"Pidgey, I choose you!"
The PokéBall that Takashi threw quickly opened up and released his Pidgey, who began flying high above the battlefield. When Brock saw it, the Gym Leader could tell right away that this was a feisty little Pokémon. Even so, he wasn't too concerned as he knew something about Pidgey that even his challenger probably wasn't aware of.
"Pidgey, use Gust!"
Right away, Pidgey obeyed Takashi's command and began flapping his wings as quickly as he possibly could. In doing so, the Tiny Bird Pokémon summoned the strongest windstorm that he's ever produced before. The intensity of the storm was so great, that even Brock could feel it from his side of the field. Unfortunately, despite Pidgey's best efforts, Geodude easily held its ground.
Thanks to both its typing and heavy body weight, Geodude was able to withstand Pidgey's attack and even found it to be quite refreshing. Upon seeing this, Takashi started gritting his teeth in frustration as even Pidgey's Flying-Type moves were not enough.
"Damn it…!" He cursed. "Now what…?"
"This…" Brock revealed. "Geodude, use Rock Throw!"
After nodding its head, Geodude proceeded to punch the ground beneath it with incredible force. This caused several large rocks suddenly jump into the air as a result of the impact. Once that happened, Geodude proceeded to grab a few of the rocks and threw them directly towards Pidgey.
"Dodge it, Pidgey…Quick!"
As the oncoming rocks crept ever closer, Pidgey managed to avoid each one of them thanks in large part to his ability to fly. However, Geodude wasn't done with him yet as it went on to throw even more rocks at him. This forced Pidgey keep on dodging, causing it to remain on the defensive.
While this progressed, Takashi knew that Pidgey wouldn't be able to keep this going for much longer. He needed to do something in order to turn things around in his favor. As he tried to figure out how to do that, he soon remembered something back when he was with Ariel in the Viridian Forest. She had Pidgey use another move during the battle against Kaze and thanks to the rocky battlefield they were currently on, Takashi figured that now would be a good opportunity to use that move.
"Alright…Pidgey, use Sand Attack!" He declared.
Upon dodging another oncoming rock, Pidgey quickly made his way towards the ground and soon started flapping his wings again. When he did, the wind that he was creating caused all the dirt that was on the ground to rise up into the air, completely covering the entire battlefield. When Brock saw this, the Gym Leader was a bit impressed with Takashi's strategy as he was able to momentarily blind Geodude. Now he waited to see how he would follow it up.
"Now Pidgey…Use Quick Attack and don't stop!"
Without pause, Pidgey flew directly into the dust cloud. Thanks to his superior eyesight, the Flying-Type was able to locate Geodude rather easily and proceeded to tackle it at an incredible speed. Like with Pikachu's Quick Attack, Pidgey's didn't really do much damage onto his opponent and even hurt himself in the process. Despite that however, Pidgey shook off the pain and soon bombarded Geodude with a barrage of swift strikes.
When the dust finally began to clear and the Gym Leader saw what was happening, Brock instantly knew what Takashi was trying to do. He hoped that by attacking one spot repeatedly, Geodude might suffer some damage. However, despite Pidgey's best efforts, none of his attacks were doing any good against his opponent. Because of that, Brock decided to take things a bit more seriously.
"Geodude, stop Pidgey with your Mega Punch!" He ordered.
As Pidgey prepared himself for another assault, Geodude was able to intercept him before another Quick Attack could land. The Rock Pokémon then went on to send Pidgey high into the air with a well timed Mega Punch attack.
"Good…Now finish it off with Rock Throw!"
Right away, Geodude complied with Brock's command and proceeded to pick up a large stone that was right next to it. After taking aim at Pidgey, who was beginning to fall back down towards the ground, Geodude threw the stone as hard and as fast as it could. Before he even had time to react to any of this, Pidgey was struck by the flying projectile and sent crashing into the ground.
As Takashi looked on in disbelief, Kevin examined Pidgey for a moment and saw that the Flying-Type was knocked out cold. When he saw that, he instantly came to the obvious conclusion that it could not continue the battle. To that end, he took the red flag that he was holding and raised it high in the air.
"Pidgey is unable to battle!" He declared. "Geodude wins!"
Following Kevin's declaration, Brock smiled at Geodude for doing such a great job before turning his attention back towards Takashi. He watched as the young Trainer took a moment to thank Pidgey for doing such a good job before returning him back into his PokéBall. After that, he watched as Takashi started struggle what to do now.
"Listen well, Takashi." He told him. "A Pokémon Battle is a lot more complicated than it seems. Trainers not only need to think about how to properly use their Pokémon, but also how they match up against their opponents. Being a Flying-Type, your Pidgey was at a major disadvantage against my Geodude, since it's a Rock-Type. In the next battle, choose a Pokémon that you believe will give you the advantage."
As he listened to what Brock had to say, Takashi proceeded to grab another PokéBall from his belt and hold it firmly in his hands. He then stared at it for a moment before looking over back at Brock and his Geodude. The Gym Leader told him to be more mindful of Type matchups, but Takashi wasn't entirely sure if his third Pokémon was a good match. Regardless of how he felt though, Takashi didn't have any other choice. To that end, he threw the PokéBall out towards the battlefield.
"Froakie…I choose you!"
After Takashi threw the PokéBall, everyone watched as Froakie emerged from it and landed on top of one of the large boulders. Upon seeing her, Brock was amazed that Takashi owned a Pokémon as rare as Froakie. Not only that, but the Gym Leader was a bit pleased as it seemed that his challenger was taking his advice. He then waited to see how Takashi would best utilize his third Pokémon.
"Alright Froakie…" Takashi said as he braced himself. "Start off with Double Team!"
Nodding her head in agreement, Froakie jumped down from the rock that she was sitting on and began to circle around Geodude. As she did so, the Bubble Frog Pokémon created at least 2 dozen afterimages of herself that also circled around the powerful Rock-Type. In no time, it soon became nearly impossible to tell where the real Froakie was amongst all the clones.
When Brock saw this, the Gym Leader figured that this was probably Takashi's strategy. By using Double Team to hide Froakie, he can keep his distance and wait for the best moment to strike. It was a good plan, but one that Brock had already seen before from previous Gym Battle matches. Because of that, he knew of an effective way to counter it.
"Geodude, use Rock Throw!"
After hearing its next command, Geodude took both of its rocky fists and smashed them into the ground. This resulted in even more rocks jumping up into the air. When they came falling back down, the rocks each struck one of the Froakie clones, causing them to disappear. Although the real Froakie managed to avoid being it, she was trapped by all the rocks and could no longer move freely.
"Good…Now use Rollout again!"
Again, Geodude rolled its entire body towards its opponent as Froakie struggled to get free of the rocks and avoid getting hit. When Takashi saw this, he knew right away that if this attack landed then there was no way Froakie would be able to withstand it. Because of that, and because Froakie could stop Geodude from getting any closer, he did the only thing he could in this situation.
"Froakie…Use Bubble!" He yelled.
Just before Geodude could connect with its attack, Froakie took a deep breath a fired off a large barrage of bubbles at her oncoming opponent. When they struck it, Geodude was caught completely off guard and ended up completely avoiding Froakie and crashing into another large boulder. Not only that, but the resulting crashing shook up the battlefield slightly, adjusting the rocks that were trapping Froakie just enough so that she could escape. She then looked as Geodude struggled to get up, clearly in pain.
"Wow…" Takashi said, amazed that Froakie's attack worked. "That was awesome, Froakie. Now…don't let up! Use Bubble on Geodude again!"
After nodding her head one more time, Froakie dashed over towards Geodude and quickly fired off another barrage of bubbles from her mouth. When Geodude saw this, the Rock Pokémon attempted to block them with its arm, but the pain of each oncoming strike was making it extremely difficult for it to do so. Once he saw that Geodude guard was dropping, Takashi made his final move.
"Now use Pound, Froakie!" He shouted.
"I don't think so!" Brock countered. "Geodude, use Mega Punch!"
With all of their strength, both Pokémon lunged at one another and prepared unleashed their respective attacks. After a quick clash, Froakie and Geodude had their back against each other as they stared at their respective Trainers. At first, Froakie fell to one knee, but managed to pick herself back up. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be done for Geodude who fell unconscious as it hit the ground. When Kevin saw this, the referee raised his green flag up in the air.
"Geodude is unable to battle! Froakie wins!"
Upon hearing the referee name Froakie the winner of the battle, a large smile appeared on Takashi's face as he started raising his fist in satisfaction. He then raced over towards his Pokémon, giving her a big hug as thanks for her hard work. Although she was slightly embarrassed by all this, Froakie was still happy to see that she made her Trainer proud.
As for Brock, the Gym Leader calmly accepted his loss and proceeded to return Geodude back inside of its PokéBall. Once he did so, he then took a moment to watch Takashi as he continued to congratulate Froakie. Although he knew that their battle was far from over, Brock wanted his challenger to enjoy this victory as he believed that he deserved it.
"Well done, Takashi." He said as he started clapping. "After seeing that Water-Type moves are extremely effective against Rock-Types like my Geodude, you immediately used that knowledge to your advantage and was able to pull out a victory. Now you see the importance of how type matchups work."
After listening to Brock's speech, Takashi faced the Gym Leader and nodded in acknowledgement. Although he wasn't aware at first that Water-Types were strong against Rock-Types, he does now. Because of that, Takashi became even more confident as he now had an ace up his sleeve.
Meanwhile, after taking a few moments to think to himself, Brock proceeded to pull out a second PokéBall. He then looked back at Takashi and saw the confident look on his face. Although the Gym Leader was pleased that he was showing confidence, he was also a bit worried that Takashi might be showing signs of overconfidence. In order teach him not to get ahead of him, Brock decided to bring his challenger back down to Earth and went on to throw the PokéBall that he was holding.
"Alright…Onix, you're up next!"
As the PokéBall opened and released a massive burst of light energy, Takashi and his Pokémon all looked on in utter shock at what they witnessed. The energy quickly transformed into a giant snake-like Pokémon whose body was made completely out of rocks. In addition, the top of this Pokémon's head had a set of eyes, a mouth, and a sharp horn on the top.
Once Onix was fully materialize, the giant Rock Pokémon let out an ear deafening roar as it stared down and looked at Takashi and the others. As it did so, Takashi was so frightened by the mere sight of it that he couldn't bring himself to look away. Not only that, but his body was also breaking out in a cold sweat. Even so, he still managed to instinctively pull out his PokéDex and used it to look up Onix.
"Onix, the Rock Snake Pokémon." Dexter stated. "Thanks to its internal magnet, Onix never loses its way while boring through the ground. Its body grows smoother with age as the rough edges wear away. Onix is a Rock/Ground-Type Pokémon."
After Dexter finished its explanation, Takashi slowly put his PokéDex away as he continued to look on at Onix. This was the first time he's ever seen a Pokémon like it before and he was having a hard time coming to terms with it. Both Froakie and Pikachu felt the same way as the two of them were both stunned by what they were seeing.
When Brock saw the expressions that were on their faces, the Gym Leader simply let out a small smirk as he nodded to himself. Geodude was just the opening act in this Gym Battle and now that Onix has joined the fray, Brock can finally battle seriously. Because of that, Brock didn't waste any time and made his next move.
"Onix, use Tackle!"
Upon hearing its Trainer's order, Onix let out another loud roar before quickly making its way towards Froakie. Although he was still stunned by what he was seeing, Takashi was barely able to snap out of it in time and react.
"Froakie…Dodge it and use Bubble!" He declared.
In just the nick of time, Froakie also managed to snap out of it and used her incredible leg strength to jump high in the air. Once she managed to avoid Onix's Tackle attack, the Bubble Frog Pokémon took aim at the back of the Rock Snake's head and quickly fired off a barrage of bubbles at it.
"Onix, use Dig!" Brock countered.
As the bubbles continued making their way towards Onix, the Rock Snake Pokémon managed to avoid them by diving head-first into the ground and tunneling through it. After it disappeared from the battlefield, Froakie landed back on the ground and started wondering where Onix might be. Unfortunately, Froakie didn't have to wait for very long as the ground began to shake beneath her.
From below, Onix suddenly emerged from the ground and struck Froakie from below. The force of the impact sent Froakie flying, being dealt a serious amount of damage as a result. Then, once Onix was completely above ground again, Onix didn't waste any time in making his next move.
"Now use Tackle again!"
Not wasting any time, Onix made its way towards Froakie again and this time it was able to connect with its Tackle attack. Upon being struck, Froakie was sent flying across the battlefield, crashing into one of the nearby boulder. As both Takashi and Kevin looked on, Froakie was barely able to get back to her feet. Even so, it was obvious that she couldn't take much more.
"Good work Onix." Brock praised. "Now…Let's finish this up with Rock Tomb!"
"Froakie…You have to stop it with Bubble!" Takashi yelled.
After both Trainers gave their respective orders, the two Pokémon acted accordingly. Onix proceeded to slam its large tail onto the ground, causing several large rocks to jump up into the air. It then used its tail to launch several of the larger rocks at Froakie. When she saw this, Froakie attempted to destroy the rocks by firing her bubble at them. Sadly, the bubbles were simply not strong enough and instantly popped upon making contact with the rocks. As a result of that, the rocks crashed into Froakie and pinned her under them.
Following this exchange, Kevin raced over towards Froakie in order to see if she could continue the battle. However, upon getting a good look at her, the referee saw that Froakie was completely unconsciousness and she was lying on the ground. Because of that, Kevin went on to raise his red flag in the air again.
"Froakie is unable to battle! Onix wins!"
As soon as Kevin declared that Froakie was unable to continue, Takashi sadly pulled out her PokéBall and promptly returned her to it. He then looked back at Onix and saw the Rock Snake Pokémon look back at him with a fierce some look on its face. Just looking at it, caused him to shake in fear as he had absolutely no idea how he was going to defeat it.
While Takashi was struggling to figure out what to do next, Pikachu took a moment to look at his Trainer. He saw how frightened he was, which frightened Pikachu to some extent as well. Even so, the Mouse Pokémon knew that the battle was not over yet. He had to go back out there and so, after getting Takashi's attention, he pleaded with him to allow him to battle again.
Upon looking down at Pikachu and seeing that he wanted to fight, Takashi started to wonder if that was a good idea. If Pikachu couldn't defeat Geodude, who was obviously a much weaker opponent, the odds of him defeat Onix was practically slim to none. Not only that, but since Onix was also and Rock/Ground-Type, all of Pikachu's attack will have little to no effect against it. Even so, Pikachu was still determined to battle and with no other options available to him, Takashi reluctantly gave in to his partner's request.
"Okay Pikachu…Head back out there."
Pikachu nodded his head at Takashi after he allowed him to head back into the battle. The Mouse Pokémon then raced onto the battlefield before taking a stance and confronting Onix. When Brock saw this, it was obvious to him that Pikachu was the only remaining Pokémon that Takashi had left. This was going to be the final battle, but given the current state of things it was fairly obvious how things were about to go.
"Pikachu, use Quick Attack!" Takashi ordered.
"Onix, intercept with Tackle!" Brock countered.
Both Pokémon obeyed their Trainers command and proceeded to rush towards each other. Thanks to his greater speed, Pikachu managed to get his hit in first and used all the strength that he could muster to try and damage Onix. Unfortunately, Pikachu's attack was not strong enough, allowing Onix to easily push it back before tackling it into a nearby boulder.
After this swift, but painful exchange, Onix looked on as Pikachu slowly picked himself back up from off the ground. It was clear that he was still feeling the effects from the battle against Geodude, but the Mouse Pokémon didn't care. As long as he could help it, Pikachu was going to keep fighting until Onix was defeated or he simply couldn't go on any longer.
To that end, Pikachu gathered all the remaining energy that he had within him and unleashed the strongest Thunder Shock that he could muster. Sadly, thanks to its Ground Typing, Onix was able to easily shake off the attack. It then looked back at Brock for a moment, who simply replied with a silent nod.
"Onix…use Wrap!"
After hearing Brock's order, Onix made its way towards Pikachu and proceeded to wrap a portion of its body around Pikachu. It then started to squeeze the life out of the Mouse Pokémon, causing him to scream out in agony. As he looked on in horror, Takashi nearly fell to his knees in despair as he had no idea how to help his friend. When Brock saw the look on his face, the Gym Leader promptly gave him a solution.
"This battle is over Takashi." He bluntly told him. "It's time for you to surrender."
At first, Takashi's words didn't completely register within Takashi as the thought of giving up was something he absolutely refused to even think about. After all the hard work Pikachu and his other Pokémon put in order to get to this point, he didn't want to throw all away because things were going bad. However, as he watched Onix continue to squeeze down on Pikachu, Takashi was beginning to contemplate it as he still couldn't come up with a solution to this predicament.
Brock was well aware of what Takashi was thinking and understood it completely. When he was a young Trainer, he too didn't like to give up in any of his battles as he felt doing so was even worse than losing. But, now that he was older and a far more experienced Trainer, Brock knew that there were times where one had to put their pride aside and do what was right. This was one of those times and he wanted his challenger to understand that.
"Takashi…As a Trainer, your number 1 priority is the well being of your Pokémon. I know giving up may seem like the cowards way out, but that's not necessarily the case. There's nothing wrong with saying enough is enough…especially when you know you can't go on anymore."
Upon listening to Brock's explanation, Takashi looked back up at Pikachu and saw that he was barely conscious at this point. The pain that Onix was subjecting him to was so great that he didn't even have the strength to scream. Just seeing the helpless look that was on his face was eventually too much for him to bear any longer. So, with an extremely heavy heart, he said something he thought he would never say.
"I…I give up…"
Once Takashi said those words, Onix slowly released Pikachu from its grip and watched as the electric Mouse fall face-first on the ground. It then let out a loud roar as Kevin proceeded to raise his red flag up in the air one last time before pointing it at Brock.
"This battle is over!" He declared. "The winner by surrender is the Gym Leader, Brock!"
As soon as the battle was officially over, Takashi quickly rushed over towards Pikachu and gently picked him up from off the ground. He then stared at his unconscious Pokémon, trying his best to hold back tears as he did so. When he first arrived at the Pewter City, Takashi had all the confidence in the world that he and his Pokémon were going to win at the Gym. Unfortunately, things didn't turn out in their favor and this battle proved just how weak they really were.
Meanwhile, after taking a moment to congratulate Onix on another victory, Brock went on to return his partner back inside of its PokéBall. He then made his way over towards Takashi and gently placed his hand upon his shoulder. As Takashi lifted his head to face him, the Gym Leader went on to gently nod at the young Trainer before giving him a smile.
"You made the right decision, Takashi." He told him. "You and your Pokémon have a lot potential…but you need some work if you truly want to reach it. I recommend you heal up for a bit and get some training done. When you feel you're ready for a rematch, I'll be glad to take you on again."
Without saying a word, Takashi gently acknowledged Brock's words with a slight nod. He then proceeded to exit the Gym and quickly make his way towards the nearest Pokémon Center. As he did so, the thing that was on Takashi's mind was not the fact that he lost. Instead, it was what Victor said to him before he even challenged the Pewter Gym.
With you and your Pokémon as you are now, there's no way you'll win at the Pewter Gym.
Just hearing those words in his head both angered and sadden Takashi greatly. This prompted him to run faster towards the Pokémon Center, all the while trying and failing to keep his tears from falling down his face.
"Damn it…!"
Later on that evening, as night fell upon all of Pewter City, Takashi was busy sitting by himself while at the local Pokémon Center. Upon arriving, the first thing he did was make his way towards the front desk and request that his Pokémon be treated. Right away, the doctors took Pikachu and the others and reassured Takashi that they would be okay before taking them to the back. Despite that however, Takashi and decided to hang out by himself for a while in order to sort out his feelings.
While trying to figure out what to do, Takashi noticed something next to him and decided to take a look. When he did, he saw a fellow Pokémon Trainer talking to his mother through one of the local videophones that were stationed throughout the Pokémon Center. As he watched them talk to one another, Takashi noticed that although the Trainer was initially sad at the start of the conversation, he gradually started to feel better as time went on. After seeing this, Takashi wondered if talking to his own mother would help him out and soon decided to do so.
Once he saw that one of the videophones was finally free, Takashi proceeded to sit down in front of it before dialing his phone number onto the keypads. After doing so, he then went on to grab the receiver and place it by his ear as he waited for someone to pick up. Eventually, after about a minute of waiting, the phone clicked and Takashi watched as his mother's image appeared on the screen.
"Hello, this is the Nakamura Residence." Haruka stated. "May I ask who's calling?"
"…Hello mom." Takashi slowly answered. "It's me…Takashi."
Upon hearing her son's voice on the other line, a huge smile quickly appeared on Haruka's face. She then pressed a few buttons on the video phone back her home in order to get a better look on the display screen. When she did, she was able to see Takashi's face and just looking at it caused the smile that was on her face to grow even bigger.
"Oh Takashi, it is you!" She said as she shed tears of joy. "How have been, sweetie? Have you been eating well? Where are you right now?"
It's been just over 2 weeks since Takashi first left Pallet Town to begin his Pokémon Journey and Haruka has been wondering how he was doing ever since. Although she could've contacted him at anytime thanks to the PokéGear that she gave prior to him leaving, she didn't want to be overbearing. Haruka wanted Takashi to forge his own path as a Pokémon Trainer and decided to let him contact her first. Now that moment has finally come and Haruka didn't waste any in bombarding her son with a variety of questions.
After taking the time to explain to his mother everything that happened ever since he first left Pallet Town, Takashi went on to talk about the recent events here in Pewter City. He mentioned the argument he had with Victor, his battle at the Pewter Gym, and how he ultimately gave up. Once he finished, Takashi placed his head down slightly as he held his hands together.
"Mom…I don't know what to do?" He admitted. "I gave that battle everything I had and it still wasn't enough. Not only that, but now that I think about it, I think Brock was holding back considerably…so he could have defeated me even more easily. To make matters worse…I was forced to give up, something I've never done before. I've never faced something like this before and I…I just don't know what else to do."
As she watched Takashi placed his head down even further, Haruka silently looked on at her son as she wondered what she could say to him. The feelings that he was experiencing was not uncommon, as she went through the same thing back when she was a Trainer. Thanks to that prior knowledge, Haruka quickly realized something important and alerted Takashi of it.
"Sweetie…Do you have your father's headband?"
Takashi paused for a moment as he wondered what his father's headband had to do with his situation. Regardless, he nodded at his mother in acknowledgement before going into his backpack and pulling out the headband. He then held it out in front of the screen so that she could see it too.
"Do you know why it has a star engraved on it?" She followed up.
"…Yes." Takashi confirmed. "It represented dad's desire to reach for the stars. Why do you ask?"
"That's right…But it also represented his desire to never give up. Back when he was still alive, your father wasn't the most talented Pokémon Trainer. In fact, he often loss more times than he won. Despite all that though, he never once gave up on his dreams of becoming a Pokémon Master. Just like how stars are seemingly impossible to reach, your father wanted to reach out and do the impossible."
Nodding his head in agreement, Takashi acknowledged that everything that his mother was saying was true. His father, Tatsumi, was a Trainer of unmatched passion. No matter how many times he loss he just smiled and kept going. That was the type of person he was and Takashi always respected him for that. Even so, what he was experiencing was different.
"But…In my battle against Brock, I ended up giving up." He pointed out. "I don't see how-"
"Giving up to protect your Pokémon and giving up for the sake of giving up are two entirely different things!" Haruka revealed. "I know it seemed like you quit, but what's the point of winning if your Pokémon are seriously injured in the process. You may not believe it, but your father would be proud of you for the decision you made. I know I am."
Upon hearing Haruka say that, Takashi took a moment to stare back down at his father's headband. He then recalled the conversation he had with his Pokémon when he first arrived in the Viridian Forest. During that conversation, he mentioned how the stars in the sky represented his dream and how he wanted to reach out for it, regardless of how difficult it may seem. It was something he father wanted to do and despite what he was feeling, Takashi still wanted to do it too.
"Listen Takashi…" Haruka continued. "It doesn't matter how many times you get knocked down. What really matters is how many times you decided to get back up. As long as you remember that, you and your Pokémon will be fine. Do you understand?"
"Yes mom…" Takashi nodded.
"Good. Now getting late and I promised Professor Oak that I would help him out at his lab in the morning. I'll talk to you later, sweetie. I love you."
"I love you too, mom. Bye."
With that Haruka happily waved goodbye to her son before hanging up the phone, causing the video screen to go black. Once it did, Takashi hung up the phone as well before looking back at his headband and clinching it firmly in his hand.
"Takashi Nakamura…" A voice called over the intercom. "Attention Takashi Nakamura. Please make your way to the front desk. Your Pokémon are fully recovered."
Takashi quickly picked himself up after hearing the announcement and soon rushed over towards the front desk. When he arrived, the young man was quickly greeted by none other than Nurse Joy and her Chansey. When he first arrived at the Pokémon Center and saw them, Takashi initially believed that they transferred from the Center in Viridian City. However, when asked about that, Joy simply told him that wasn't the case.
According to her, the Nurse Joy Takashi met in Viridian City was her younger sister. Not only that, but Takashi also learned at every Pokémon Center throughout the Kanto Region was ran by a Nurse Joy and they all looked identical to one another, albeit with a few unnoticeable differences. When he first learned of that, Takashi found it to be confusing and decided to not dig any deeper into it.
More importantly, Takashi was soon greeted by a happy and fully recovered Pikachu. Nurse Joy and Chansey's treatment really did the trick as the electric mouse was already back in fighting shape. In addition, Takashi saw that next to Pikachu was both Froakie's and Pidgey's PokéBalls. The two of them were successfully treated as well, alongside Pikachu. Upon seeing them, Takashi thanked Nurse Joy for her help, who simply smiled at him in returned.
Once he had his Pokémon back, Takashi made his way outside and sat down at a bench just outside the Center. He then went on to let both Froakie and Pidgey out of their respective PokéBalls. After that, he then went on to pet all three of his Pokémon before taking a moment to look at his headband again.
"Guys…" He started off. "There's no excuse about what happened back there. We got our butts kicked."
Pikachu, Froakie, and Pidgey all silently agreed with Takashi's statement as they each put their heads down. Despite giving it everything they had, the three of them were simply not strong enough to win against Brock and his Pokémon. Both Pikachu and Pidgey were unable to deal any real damage against them and despite Froakie managing to defeat Geodude, she was completely outclassed by Onix. It was a total defeat, plain and simple.
"Still…Here's the way I figure it." Takashi continued. "We can either sit on our butts and continue to feel sorry for ourselves or we can do something about it. Personally...I've tried sulking and it kinda sucks. So, after spending the last 2 hours thinking about it, I decided the best thing we can do is train and get stronger. That way, when we face Brock again, the battle will be far more evenly matched. What do you guys…Are you with me?"
After listening to their Trainer's speech, Pikachu and the others all looked at one another for a moment before looking back at him. They then all nodded their heads at him, signifying their desire to get stronger so that they can defeat Brock the next time they face him. Upon seeing that, Takashi smiled at his Pokémon before taking the time to take off his hat and put on his father's headband.
Takashi then prepared to head out in order to find a nice place for him and his Pokémon to train. But, before he could get too far however, Takashi stopped when he saw someone appear in front of him. It was none other than Rebecca, who looked at him with a silent smile on her face. Takashi was about to ask her why she was here, but she stopped him by speaking first.
"Come with me."
Chapter Preview
Where is Rebecca taking Takashi and how does it relate to the latter's training for his eventual rematch at the Pewter Gym?
Meanwhile, just outside of Pewter City, a mysterious van happens to lose an important piece of cargo. Just what is this cargo and why is it so valuable?
Next Time, Chapter 12: An Egg Scramble – Part 1