Ch 2: Gord Woods
I've been living in the Gord Woods about a week now, and surprisingly, I'm not dead yet. Which may or may not be a good thing. My stupid egg has yet to hatch, although I'm sure it'll be garbage like a Bidoof that won't be able to win me a single match. I'm already down to my last 100 dollars, since I've spent the last 400 buying food and fresh water from the vendors who camp out in the Gord purely to overcharge the shit out of young trainers who are forced to stay out in these woods by their negligent parents who are trying to turn them into Pokemon trainers. If I could only head into Lunaris Town to get groceries, perhaps this wouldn't be so bad, but my parents forbade any of the shopkeepers in town to sell me anything. Wonderful parenting.
When I'd left home, I had only my backpack to bring. In it, I stored a second pair of clothes, a Pokedex my Dad gave me as he kicked me out and muttered something about the Professor, and 5 Pokeballs, which are little spheres you use to catch your own personal little demons. I was forced to attempt to catch a few Pokemon since there was no telling how long I'd have to wait before this egg hatched, but it proved to be nearly impossible to catch Pokemon without weakening it with your own first. How the hell does anyone get their first Pokemon?
I refused to catch a majority of the 'mons in my vicinity, as it was mostly just a plethora of Rattatas, Oddish's, Caterpie's, and Burmy's. Mostly grass Pokemon, which are overwhelmingly considered a bad typing for the competitive trainers.
I had attempted several times to catch some wandering Pidgey's and Spearow's, but they were far too evasive. So I settled for just trying to keep my egg warm in between my arms, laying against an oak tree all day, and hoping a random Dunsparce up in the brances didn't take a shit on me as I shut my eyes.
What did Mom and Dad expect from me? Did they think sending me out here was going to turn me into a positive person now? Do they think I'm going to go beat all the gyms in Ilragorn and enter the League? Evan hadn't even beaten all the gyms. He's been struggling to beat the Dark Gym for two years now.
I tried to formulate a plan of action. So, I wait for this egg to hatch. Probably get a subpar mon. Catch a few pokemon in the Gord. Then head on over to the Peltagrow City, which is known for the Normal Gym. Beat that dude, get the badge, return home, and maybe Mom and Dad will be impressed enough with that accomplishment that they'll let me move back in. Can't be that hard, can it? As long as my mon doesn't end up being too bad.
I woke with a start from my daydream, feeling an uneasy pressure near my feet. I looked up and saw it:
A fucking little Skorupi was dragging my egg away, using its lethal-looking stinger to roll it into some bushes.
"Yo!" I cried out, in shock. The purple little bug didn't even turn around. "You're not stealing my fucking Rattata!" Angrily, I grabbed the nearest thing I could, which happened to be a small rock. In frustration, I chucked it at the back of the Skorupi, which could have easily broken the egg if my aim was off now that I think about it.
This time, the Pokemon turned around, with its blue eyes and tiny pupils narrowed. Its stinger was reeled in, waiting to strike if I got close. It opened up its mouth, which appeared to have white pinsirs on the side, and hissed a purplish sludge at me while snapping its claws.
"Trying to threaten me?" I grabbed another rock, and reeled my own arm back. "I'll split your head open. Back off." I'd read somewhere that Pokemon understood human language.
But the Skorupi instead lurched forward, its venomous tail whipped forward with it, aiming for my foot. I yelped as I nearly tripped backwards, throwing the rock at its face, but missing. The Skorupi was full on attacking now though, and it was crawling toward me quickly. Scrambling backwards in a crabwalk, horrified and sure this was the end, I felt my left hand scrape along my backpack.
Pokeball, was all I could think.
I reached inside rapidly, pressed the center button to enlarge and activate the ball, and just as the Skorupi jumped on my sneaker, hissing venom at me furiously and reeling its stinger back to strike, I chucked the Pokeball right at its open mouth.
A flash of white light as it was swallowed into the ball. The ball falling to the floor in between my legs, my thoughts engulfed with fear at the thought of the Skorupi escaping the ball right at my crotch. The ball rolling around two or three times, endlessly, forever, as the Pokemon struggled to not be caught. Then a soft, comforting ping noise, and silence.
I'd caught a Skorupi. My first Pokemon.
I tried to catch my breath as my heart stopped racing. My egg was resting safely along the edge of the bush. I'd saved my egg, and I'd got a Pokemon out of it. And I wasn't dead. As I tried to process what just happened, a girl's voice spoke to me.
"Did I just see you catch a Skorupi?"
I looked up, and saw a girl about my age, maybe a little younger. She looked much more comfortable with her surroundings though. She had a cowgirl hat on, traveling boots, a much larger backpack that looked like it's seen better days, and a look of confidence.
"Yeah. Thanks for helping." I brushed the dirt off my jeans as I stood up.
"So you're a trainer then," she said, not sure to phrase it as a question or statement.
"I guess. I'm new. That's my first Pokemon." I picked up the Pokeball for emphasis.
"We should battle then. It'd be fun to break your battling virginity." She winked at me, even though I'd just gotten nearly gotten killed by a Skorupi a few moments ago.
"I don't know. I only have, like, 100 bucks left. If I lose, which I will-"
"Oh, shut up, and battle," the girl reached into her back pocket, and pulled out her own Pokeball.
"Meh. Fuck it. Fine." I activated my Pokeball, and we both threw the balls at the ground in front of us.
From mine, my Skorupi popped out, still looking angry, though thankfully not at me.
From hers, a Starly.
"A flying type? Well, there goes my 50 dollars." I acknowledged.
"Just cause I have type advantage don't mean I'll win," she winked again. This girl and her winking.
"Yeah? Let's hear you say that when you bring out a grass type on me then."
"Starly!" The girl called out. I guess this was it. "Start this off with a Tackle. Go easy, we have a newbie!"
"Skorupi!" I called out, just trying to look like I knew what I was doing in front of her. The Skorupi turned to me as the Starly flapped its winged and began to take ascent. "Uh...String Shot?"
Nothing. The Skorupi just stared at me as the Starly got a solid hit into it, knocking my Skorupi to its side.
"You don't learn String Shot? Garbage. What the hell can you do?" I whipped the Pokedex out from the backpack and aimed it at my Pokemon.
"Starly, Tackle again!"
"Uh, Leer?"
This time, the Skorupi used its claws and eyes as a means of flashing a bright light as the opposing Starly, right before the Starly got a second hit in.
"So, its defense should be lowered. Go for a Poison Sting!"
Skorupi lurched toward the Starly, trying to stab at it with its dangerous stinger, but the Starly instinctively fled upwards into the air to evade it. Skroupi stood there like an idiot, wagging its stinger into the air and spitting out venom, insulted that the Starly was dodging it so easily.
"Starly, Wing Attack! End it!" the girl ordered.
Shit. Think. Think.
"Skorupi! When it gets close, leap into the air! High!"
Starly was descending, and this time its wings were outspread, aiming to hit my mon with them.
"Now!"
"Now!"
The Starly changed direction just as it reached Skorupi, turning sideways so that it could get a good swipe with its wings. Skorupi did as he was told though, and got a good foot into the air, above Starly's head, and landed on its back just in time.
"Shake that ugly thing off!" the girl said, more disgusted than worried.
"Bite it! Hard! The back of the neck!" Skorupi bit into Starly as the bird flew straight up, spinning.
"Use the trees! Slam your back against them!" she demanded.
"Grab the wings with your claws! Poison Sting them!" I shouted up.
The air battle was clearly in my favor. Skorupi had a firm grip with both its pinsirs, and its claws that were now digging into Starly's wings. Starly was too focused on the pain to listen to its trainer. It was just crying out in pain.
"Forfeit?" I ask the girl, as her bird was just flapping in the air wildly, unable to handle my new addition to the team.
"Ugh. Yeah. Starly, return." She picked her Pokeball up from the ground, and called Starly back. As the bird was swallowed by the red energy of the Pokeball, Skorupi fell to the ground. It landed with a thump, but seemed to be alright. I expected the match to be over, so I grabbed my Pokeball from the ground when I heard:
"Geodude, I choose you!" And a flash of white light, and then a muscular Geodude was staring me down.
"Uh, excuse me? I won. Battle's over." I state.
"I happen to have two pokemon on me. Sorry. Not over until my entire team's beaten." She winked again in that condescending way that started to piss me off.
"That's bullshit. I'm not facing two Pokemon when I only have one. Give me my money. You lost." I held my hand out, waiting for the money I knew wouldn't come.
"That's your own fault for only having 1 Pokemon in your party, not mine," she chastised. "The match isn't over until the entire teams beaten. How many pokemon are in either person's team is irrelevant. So either forfeit, and pay me, or let's finish this battle."
"It's my first Pokemon. You knew that you dumb bitch. Give me my fucking money. I'm not getting jipped by some girl in a cowboy hat who's such a shitty trainer she has to use two pokemon with type advantages to beat someone in their first battle."
Her Geodude took more offense to that than she did, and that's what set it off.
It reeled its arm back, and floated in the air (which makes no sense to me) towards me, wanting to punch me right in the gut.
Skorupi leaped into the air, this time without orders, and jabbed its stinger right into Geodude's eye. Geodude stopped in his tracks, holding his eye in pain, and he began to shiver as a purplish hue colored his body. He was poisoned.
"Oh, Geodude! Return!" The girl called him back into his Pokeball. "You asshole! Hope you're happy!" She chucked 60 dollars from her wallet at me and ran off into the woods.
"Very much so. Thank you." I picked up the money, and picked up Skorupi, which had very dry skin. "Not bad, man. Not bad at all." I returned the proud looking Pokemon to his ball, and walked over to the egg just in time, because during all the excitement of the battle, something had hatched out of it.
A very confused looking Togepi was stumbling along the edge of the clearing, chanting its name and walking headfirst into a tree over and over again, hitting itself.
"I see I got another winner over here," I spoke to myself. Togepi looked up at me and smiled blissfully. It was dumb, but it was cute. I toyed briefly with the idea of letting it loose in the Gord, but that just seemed wrong. So I ended up wasting/using one of my last 4 pokeballs to store Togepi. Probably not worth it, but the thing's so dumb, it won't last a day in the Gord. If anything, I'll trade it for something more useful later.
Over the next few weeks, there were two more additions to my team. I finally caught a very stubborn Spearow, who Togepi actually managed to weaken by using her move Metronome. I luckily got Spore. So I got a Spearow who seemed like he'd be a decent addition, with moves like Peck for my flying coverage. The second addition was a friendly Emolga, who while being another flying type, was the only electric pokemon I'd seen anywhere around here, and she seemed to have some potential in her, as she caught my eye by defending herself from a pack of Grimer's near the lake.
While I won't exactly say that I like these mons, they do provide a nice distraction from feeling lonely. I'm actually applying myself and attempting to teach them decent moves so that battles aren't so reliant on luck as well. I feel that I'm doing a pretty good job training them, all things considered, and I may just head into Peltagrow Gym tomorrow morning, as I'm pretty sure my Pokemon stand a decent chance of beating the gym leader.
Things finally may just turn around for me.