Ch. 35: The Rock-Solid Poke'mon Trainer

Kari Arc

The sun has almost set by the time she arrives at the Pewter City Gym. She's about to walk up to the entrance when a small boy walks out. He sees her standing there. Kari wonders how old this boy is, maybe 5? The boy stops and points directly at her, "Huh? Who are you? What are you doing here?" She stumbles, "Uhm… I'm sorry, but is this the Pewter City Gym? I'm looking for the Gym Leader."

The little boy is suddenly excited, "Then you're looking for my big brother!" He grabs Kari's hand and pulls her away. "My name's Forrest, by the way! My big brother is Brock. He's the Gym Leader." Kari smiles as she's dragged farther and farther away from the Gym, "Brock, huh?"

They reach a small and quaint home. Kari can hear a lot of sounds coming from inside. Forrest leads the way in. There are little kids everywhere Kari looks, "So many..!" Vee… An older boy is running around, trying to calm the chaos. He's wearing a pink apron, carrying one of the babies in his arms. He finally notices Forrest by the door with the stranger and stops. Forrest pushes her forward, "Big brother! This girl was at the gym! She said she was looking for you." Brock gives her a curious look, scanning her up and down.

After a moment he smiles, "I'm sorry, but whatever it is you need, can it wait till after dinner? I just finished running a hot bath if you'd like to wash up and join us?"

"Huh?" Kari looks over her shoulder and back, "Oh, you mean me..?" Brock walks over to her, "Well, of course I mean you. It looks like you haven't had a good bath in a while." She giggles, "You'd be right about that..!"

The little ones crowded around as Kari introduced herself. They were still running around while Kari let herself into the bath. She could hear their loud voices as she dipped her head under the water. It was so relaxing. EEVEEEE! His cannonball splash drenches the entire bathroom. Eevee is laughing. Kari moves some hair out of her face, "Oh, I see how it is!" She splashes him- the universal signal for war, of course. Eevee splashes back and they start playing in the water.

About 30minutes later and Kari is sitting down with the other kids for dinner. She licks her lips at the delicious smelling stew. It's been awhile since she had a family dinner like this.

After getting roped into playtime with the little ones, it's time for them to go to bed. Kari is helping Brock in the kitchen as he washes up. He looks at her, "I can take care of this if you'd like." Kari smiles at him, "It's the least I could do to repay you." Once everything is put away they return to the table with some hot tea. Brock gives a mighty yawn. He's exhausted from the full day's work, but he's still polite.

"So, what did you want to see me for?"

"Oh! That's right!" She sets her cup down and gives him a serious look, "I wanted to challenge you to a Gym Battle." Brock is confused, "I'm sorry, Kari, but I can't." As he speaks Kari starts rummaging through her backpack, "I can only do official Gym Battles, and in order for that you have to-" Kari opens the Badge Case. He stops when he sees the Earth badge, "No way! You have the Viridian City Gym Badge? But that's supposed to be the hardest to get!"

She smiles, pulling out her PokéDex. She clicks a button. As the Professor explained to her, Dex would count as her identification as an officially registered League Trainer.

"I know Brock. I'm official, I promise." He takes a moment to process that. Brock laughs, "Wow… You must have worked really hard in order to make it here… Alright." He nods approvingly, "We'll have our battle first thing in the morning!"

"You hear that, Eevee?" She turns to see Eevee already snoozing away on top of one of the blankets, "Oh, I guess not." The two of them laugh. Brock stands, "Well, he's certainly got the right idea. If we're going to have a battle, we better get some sleep."

The following morning, after another amazing meal, Kari, Brock, and the rest of his family arrive at the Pewter City Gym. Forrest leaves with the other little ones to the viewing stands above. Meanwhile, Brock and Kari go to stand on opposite ends of the battlefield. Kari takes a moment to take in the landscape: half normal League regulation gym floor and half with stones scattered all about. [" Interesting."]

"I'm Brock! I'm Pewter's Gym Leader!" Kari looks across the way. He's so different from the Brock she sat at the dinner table with. So serious. He's wearing dark jeans with a black T-shirt under a simple green vest. She gives a smirk, [" Well, he certainly looks the part compared to last night." ]

"I believe in rock hard defense and determination! That's why my Pokémon are all the Rock-Type! Do you still want to challenge me?" Kari nods in response.

"Fine then! Show me your best!" He explains the Pewter City Gym Rules: Brock will only have the use of 2 Pokémon, while the Challenger may use up to 6 to defeat him.

"Got it!" Kari is pumped! She chooses a Pokéball from her belt… This will be her first "official" Gym Battle..!

Brock's first Pokémon is a Geodude and Kari sends out her Rattata. Kari's sharpened her battling skills by now, and Brock is certainly impressed; however, she still has a lot to learn when it comes to using these new Pokémon. Rattata is holding out thanks to his agile nature and powerful teeth, but after an extra powerful Tackle from Geodude, Rattata is knocked out. She returns her Pokémon, "You did a great job out there." Kari's a bit off-put with the sudden loss of one of her Pokémon. She gulps, thinking about her next move. She reaches for the right ball and throws it, "You're up, Pidgey!"

It's a bit more of a challenging match for Brock and Geodude, their opponent being able to fly but with Geodude's hard body it's still not so easy for Kari. Pidgey flies in and out of the tall spires, Geodude chasing her down. He crashes through causing rocks to fly everywhere. Kari has an idea, "Use Gust!" The wind picks up at Pidgey's attack. Geodude guards himself from the brunt of it, but the sharp edges of the rocks being flung their way are starting to hurt. Brock is starting to sweat now, "Clever move. But we're not finished! Use Gyro Ball!"

Geodude starts spinning his body, pushing through the wind at top speed towards Pidgey. She's knocked out of the air. As if in slow-mo, Kari watches her fall. She crashes into the field. Kari takes a hesitant step, "Be careful." Brock calls out to her, "If you interfere with a battle it'll be counting against you." Kari watches the field… If she goes out to check on her Pokémon it'll automatically take them out of the battle, "But if I don't…"

Brock's siblings are all looking sad up in the stands. One of the little ones is tearing up, "Poor, Pidgey..!" Forrest is keeping a close eye on the field as the dust clears. [ "Big Brother is so strong, but… does he really have to be so mean..?" ] Brock and Geodude are waiting to see the outcome. He sighs, [ "I know this may seem harsh, but…" ] He looks across at the small girl who is now his opponent, thinking about the previous night. She had come out of the forest a complete mess, with no plans as what to do next: no place to stay no money to get food… [ "If she wants to be a Certified Trainer she has to learn, one way or the other, how harsh this world can be…"]

Kari closes her eyes, clenching her palms together as if in prayer, "What should I do!? Please, Pidgey… Please be ok..!" Ee-eevee! He's the first to notice the movement from the battlefield. Pidgey suddenly comes flying out. The little ones in the stands give a cheer as Pidgey spreads her wings. Kari looks almost in tears- but something's happening. Pidgey's body is glowing.

"What the-!?" Kari's eyes are wide.

"Is it?" Brock wonders. Forrest at the top of the bleachers is just as stunned as the rest. He smiles widely, "It's evolving!" The light dissipates and in place of Pidgey is an evolved Pidgeotto! Kari checks her Pokédex. She's learned a new move, "Awesome." She calls up to her friend, "You still good for more?" Pidgeotto nods. But Brock and Geodude are ready!

With Pidgeotto's renewed strength and heightened speed, Geodude seems to be having a harder time now. She confuses them by flying in and out of the tall spires- Brock doesn't know where their next attack may be coming from.

"Aaaaalrighty! Let's show them that new move! Use Whirlwind!" Pidgeotto flaps her wings with all her strength- Geodude is caught up in the attack. Brock shields himself from the winds, "Oh no!" Geodude is thrown around and around until finally flying out of the Whirlwind and thrust into a large boulder. He's out for the count!

Kari is jumping around with excitement. As Pidgeotto returns from her match Kari reaches out, high-fiving Pidgeotto's wing. Brock returns his Pokémon, "Guess I shouldn't underestimate you, huh?" Kari calls back, "That would be a good idea!" They're both ready for the next part of the match. Brock's final Pokémon- and his best- it's Onix.

Kari gulps. Eevee's ears are drooping. They've never seen a Pokémon that big before in real life. She uses her Pokédex to identify its abilities before looking over at Pidgeotto. She's still rearing to go, "Ok, let's do this!"

Pidgeotto tries getting in a good attack, and although it's quick, Onix's big body does its job at blocking them. Keeping with their previous strategy, Pidgeotto swoops in and out of the battlefield quickly. Brock calls his attack, "Use Bide!" Onix's body flashes a bright red. Kari furrows her eyebrows, confused… That move sounded familiar… Had she read it somewhere before, maybe..?

Onix continues to take Pidgeotto's attacks head-on. Although it seems that they've taken the lead Kari wonders… She looks over to where Brock is standing, "Why does he look so calm?"

Onix's body flashes brightly. Brock nods, "It's time. Go, Onix!" He gives a mighty roar as he unleashes his stored up power. Pidgeotto rounds a corner at the exact same time as the blast is headed her way. Kari's eyes get wide- she remembers that class, now..!

…

Kari's sitting in an empty classroom at the Team Rocket Academy with her friends. They're going over specialty moves for their upcoming test. Eric and Amy are having an argument over the advantages of a move called Bide. He leans back in his chair, "But what if your Pkoémon isn't strong enough? Then there's no point in using this type of move since it'll be knocked out before you can even use it!" Amy rolls her eyes, "That may be so, but if you can train your Pokémon to have a tough endurance… then this move can be deadly." She points it out in the textbook. Kari can see pictures of Pokémon using it. Amy raises her eyebrows, looking around at them all, "If you can last until all the energy is stored up… you'd practically become unbeatable."

…

Pidgeotto is on the ground after having been blasted away. Kari returns her to her Pokéball. She thinks about the rest of the team- there's Kakuna and Metapod. Kari shakes her head, "They're not ready. Not yet." There's no other option. She turns to Eevee, "You're up." Eevee's ears prick up. Finally, a top opponent to battle against!

"Eevee's so little!" Forrest, along with some of his brothers and sisters are laughing, "They can't beat our big brother's Onix." Even Brock is confused. He hesitates, "Are you sure about your choice? You don't have any other Pokémon you'd rather use?" Kari cocks ones eyebrow, "I thought you weren't going to underestimate me?" He laughs, "You're right. Sorry. Well, in that case- Onix! Use Tackle!" But Eevee is too quick.

"Where we have the advantage is…" Something small slams into Onix out of nowhere. Not just once, but two- three times! Brock is starting to break a sweat. He looks over and sees Kari smiling. [ "Oh, I see it now. Eevee's small and quick- a difficult target for Onix to hit." ] He's following Eevee's movements closely as he continues to attack. [ "Difficult… but not impossible..!" ]

Eevee manages to land a few more attacks before Brock gets the hang of them. "Quick! Get hold of it! Use Bind!" Onix wraps his giant rock body around poor Eevee. He squeezes. Kari gasps, "Hang in there, Eevee!" Brock calls to her, "Will you surrender?"

"No way! We never give up!" Brock is surprised with her quick response.

"You ready, Eevee?" Vee!

"Huh?" Brock looks up. There, in the middle of Onix's Bind, Eevee is powering up for a move. They played right into their hands, "Oh no."

"Now!" Eevee shoots his Hyper Beam Attack- point blank. The giant Pokémon comes crashing down onto the battlefield. Sand and stone go flying in all directions and the entire building quakes. Forrest holds tightly to the railing as he peers over. Kari coughs up some dirt as she tries to look out onto the field. Brock takes a step forward to see. The dust settles. Onix is unable to battle! But where's-?

Eevee! They hear him before they see him. Eevee pulls himself out of Onix's tight grasp, shaking himself loose. He's dizzy from the fall. Kari laughs, running forward. She scoops up her friend, "You were amazing! I knew you could do it!" Vee-Eevee!

Brock returns his Pokémon. He sighs, looking down at the ball in his hand, "Didn't see that one coming, did we old friend..?" He looks over to where Kari is jumping around, spinning Eevee around in the air. Brock steps onto the destroyed field to meet her.

"I took you for granted and I'm sorry." Kari stops as he approaches. He reaches into his pocket, "As proof of your victory, here's the Boulder Badge!" It's small and shining. He hands it over to Kari. She and Eevee look at it together. They really did it… [ Maybe we can do this..! ]

"That's an official Pokémon League Badge! Its bearer's Pokémon become more powerful! And like Pokémon, the Trainer, too, will grow stronger. I'm sure of it."

"Thank you, Brock." Her stomach starts to rumble, "Oops… Hehe… I guess battling just works up an appetite, you know?" He looks up to where his siblings are in the raptors. They all clap and cheer, clambering over each other to get a better look. Brock laughs, "Well in that case, how about a celebration feast for our new friend's victory?"

That night, Kari enjoys another home-cooked meal with Brock and his family, and with their stomachs full, they all pass out. Brock walks around making sure they're all tucked in and warm. His eyes pass over Kari who's sprawled out just like the others. He chuckles to himself, shaking his head, "To think you're still so young… Just like them." He looks around one last time, smiling. It was like Kari was one of their own. He gives nod of approval before sliding the door shut for the night.

The following morning Brock sees to Kari's departure. He's prepped a lunch for her to take and has filled her medicine stores. He pulls at her backpack straps making sure they're tight enough, checking that she's ready, "Now you be careful out there, alright? You have all the supplies you'll need to get you to the next town. I packed enough food for you and for your Pokémon for a good while, too. Remember to always brush your teeth and wash your face first thing in the morning, ok? And make sure you don't talk to strangers. Now, You know the way to Cerulean City?" Kari pulls herself away from all his fussing.

"Of course! Just over the river and through the woods, right?"

"Ehhh… I think that's the way to Grandma's house…" They laugh together.

"Oh! Wait, take this with you." Brock hands Kari a small disk, "This is a TM, a Technical Machine. It contains a technique for Pokémon. Using a TM teaches the move it contains to a Pokémon. A TM is only good for one use. So, when you use one, pick the Pokémon carefully. Anyways… TM39 contains Rock Tomb. It hurls boulders at the foe and lowers its speed." Kari remembers learning about TM's, "How cool." She puts it away in her bag.

Brock stands upright to face her, "You may be small, Kari, but you're a pretty rock-solid Trainer." He offers his hand. Instead, Kari jumps into a hug, "Thanks, Brock! That's a great compliment coming from you!" He hugs her back. He really sees her as a sort of little sister now, "I'm sure you'll make it far. Good luck." Kari turns to leave, waving to Forrest and the rest of the kids.

As they make the turn to Route 3 Kari looks at her Badge Case. She now has two: the Earth Badge and the Boulder Badge. Now that she's officially won herself a Gym Badge, she's much more confident in her skills. She smiles, "Maybe I can do this..!"