CHAPTER 25: Vermillion City and The Dancing Bird!
I feel a light humming on my stomach, and slowly open my eyes.
Floating with a hand on my stomach, is a large yellow pokemon, wearing a crown with a flashing red jewel and dress made of black and yellow honeycomb.
"Vespi!" Is hisses happily, floating back.
"Bea... Beatrice?" My eyes fly open, and i throw her into a hug, laughing happily.
"Hm?" I hear another voice, and whip around, to see Misty, slowly sitting up from her sleeping bag.
"Mist!" She stands up, rubbing her eyes, then catches sight of Beatrice.
"Is that...?" I nod and she smiles.
"Looks like Horsea wasn't the only evolution to come out of Route 5!" She laughs, hugging the newly evolved queen bee pokemon.
"Horsea evolved?" And as if on cue, I feel a light tapping on my thigh.
I turn around, and the large blue pokemon hugs me.
"Serena, meet Seadra!" Misty claps.
"Oh wow! Aren't you just beautiful!" I lightly stroke her fins, and she giggles happily.
"Whats all this ruckus?" I hear a deep voice, and turn around to see Brock and Ash, both standing up out of their sleeping bags.
"Boys! How did we all meet up here?" I laugh as I hug them.
"You were snoring up a storm so we thought we would crash with you." I hear a voice behind me, and whip around again as Hilary throws me into a hug.
"Hills!" I cry as i laugh, hugging her tightly.
"I know. I know about Mom!" She laughs, voice breaking.
Ash, Brock, and Misty all clean the rest of their stuff up, as none of us are going back to sleep anytime soon, wake the pokemon, and we start our way through the Underground Path.
The tunnel is at least a hundred feet wide, so my pokemon can fly to their hearts content.
Even Beatrice can keep up with the birds in her new form.
"So when did little Bea evolve?" Hilary asks, and i shrug.
"While i was asleep, actually. I kinda wished i had gotten to see it for myself, but im so happy for her." They all nod.
"And Horsea? When did she evolve?" I ask, and Misty grins.
"Just before we came to the Path, actually. She seemed really sick, so i put her in the water, and next thing you know, I'm the proud mother of a sea dragon!" She laughs, clapping her hands.
"Are you going to evolve her again?" Brock asks, and Misty turns to him with a confused expression.
"Again? I thought Seadra WAS the final evolution?" She asks, and Brock shakes his head.
"Kingdra is the final evolution for the Horsea line, but you need a Dragon Scale to evolve her again." Misty nods.
"Then i guess I'm on the hunt for a Dragon Scale!" She laughs, running up to catch up with Ash and Tia.
"So, where's Gardenia?" Hilary asks.
"She had some gym leader business in Saffron city, so Candice picked her up. She's going to meet us in Vermillion." Brock explains, and Hilary nods.
"Anyways, how did you meet up with Brock and Misty?" I ask, and her face goes red.
"Well... I... um... kinda got..." She stutters, and i poke her stomach.
"Did you get lost?!" I burst out laughing as she nods quietly.
"Hey, dont be mean to her! Route 5 is an extremely confusing Route!" But even Brock has a smirk.
Hilary releases her pokemon, including Spexure and Daphne, and tells them the good news.
Daphne starts crying, and Spexure howls and runs around in excitement.
"Oh, Daph! It's okay!" I hug her as we walk, and she sobs into my shoulder.
Jojo spins around us as we walk, and giggles every time she hits a wall or a leg.
Mizara, Arnarra, and the twins are a ways behind us, in a heated conversation over what moves they can and can not learn.
Ace, Alto, Beatrice, and Sunshine are racing back and forth along the roof of the path, while K.O and Spritzer are talking amongst themselves.
Ash's and Misty's pokemon are ahead, playing and messing around.
"So, whats the plan for Lt. Surge?" Brock asks, and i flinch.
"Send Belle and Ace in, Twister and Psychic the crap out of them. Hopefully they don't land to many good hits on us."
"Well, thats not a bad plan, but you better hope none of his pokemon can land a square hit!" Hilary laughs.
Misty runs back to us, smiling and waving.
"End of the path is right up here!" She points, and the stairs appear in front of the pokemon.
We climb quickly, flinging ourselves out, into the morning sun.
"Hey!" I hear a familiar voice, and see Gardenia up ahead, leaning against a tree.
"Gard!" I throw myself at her, hugging her tightly.
"And what am i, chopped liver?!" I look behind her to see Candice.
"Candy!" Hilary flies past, hugging her.
After introductions, they walk with us down the Route.
"So, Candy! What are you doing here?" I ask, and she smiles, arm still around Hilary.
"Lorelei gave me a couple days off of training, said i could come exploring with you guys and Gar. She's excited to meet you guys." She smiles, kissing Hilary's cheek, laughing.
"Thats so exciting! Your just in time to witness our third gym battle!" Ash exclaims from behind us.
"The next gym leader is an electric type, no?" Candice looks at me with a worried expression, but i smile and nod.
"We're all ready. Even Misty's water types have some sneaky tricks up their sleeves... or fins, i guess." Misty giggles ahead of us.
We chat idly as we finally make our way into Vermillion.
"Me and Ash will go get us set up with rooms, you guys go pick somewhere to eat. We will meet up with you!" Misty grabs all of our bags, loads them onto Tia, who is tickled pink she gets to help, and they head off to the PokeCenter, leaving us to find a restaurant.
We walk the streets for a while, before coming to a nice little pizzeria, beside the gym, and we head in.
"I'll wait for the kids." Brock smiles as he waits outside.
"Well, isn't he just a sweetheart? And hes CUTE, to!" Candice giggles as we all shoot her a look.
"Candy, Brock is off limits. We can't have relationship drama messing up our gym circuit!" I sigh, and they all laugh.
We grab a big table, and some menus, when everyone else walks in.
"Here is your room keys ladies!" Misty hands us keys.
Me and Gardenia are together, same with Candice and Hilary, and none of us have any objections.
We order food and drinks, when Candice, who is sat beside me, asks me a question.
"So, how did you all meet?"
The rest of the breakfast/lunch is spent talking about how i left Pallet Town with Ash, how we ran into Misty in Viridian, and how Brock decided to tag along. Hilary explains how she came to be with us as well, and both Gardenia and Candice cry a bit at the Noctowl parts.
Candice generously pays for everyone, and we all head to the PokeCenter, and get set up in our rooms.
"So, any big plans for the rest of today?" Gardenia asks as i hop onto the bed.
We all agreed to meet up for dinner around six-ish, so we could have some relax time.
"I'm going to go meet Lt. Surge. Maybe beat the gym trainers today, and versus him tomorrow." I say, and she turns quickly to face me.
"Are you serious? Do you want me to come with you?" She asks, but i shake my head.
"No, i'll be okay. Just want to know what i'm going up against." I smile, and she just nods.
"I wont tell the others." She says, and i hug her.
"Thanks Gar. This gym terrifies me, so i need to see it and strategize." With that, i head out.
I return all my birds, leaving only Beatrice out to follow beside me.
"Ves?" She asks.
"We are going to scope out the next gym, Bea. You will be my fighter for today, if we end up battling, is that okay?" She nods vigorously, and we finally walk up to the gym doors.
"Here we go..." I open them, strutting straight in.
The first thing i notice is the large metal garbage cans, placed in rows of five by three. There are multiple trainers walking along the rows, and i see a large metal door behind them all.
"Welcome to the Vermillion City Gym! Please, try to find all three levers in the barrels, then head on back to see Lt. Surge, Vermillion City's Gym Leader!" A gym guide says as i walk in. I smile and wave at him, then step aside to let Beatrice in.
All of the trainers turn to face me, staring at the queen bee pokemon that has just entered.
Then they all look at me, then at each other.
"... it's her."
"Serena, i think her name was?"
"Somebody go get the Lieutenant!"
I hear multiple voices, then one of the kids types a quick pass code into a key pad beside the large metal door, and slips in.
One of the trainers comes forward, and ushers me towards the door.
"My name is Heather! It's nice to finally meet you, Serena!" She smiles as she takes my hand, pulling me towards the door.
"It's nice to meet you to, Heather, but if i may ask, what is all this about?" I hear Beatrice fussing behind me, worried.
"Oh! Nothing bad! The Lt. asked to see you when you came." She smiles, and we arrive at the door. Beatrice grabs my hand in her claw, and we are ushered through. I squeeze her claw lightly, and she buzzes happily.
I see a large chair set up at the far end of a large battle field, and there is a man sitting in the chair, wearing camouflage shorts and a dark green tank-top. He also had dog tags around his neck, a large pair of sunglasses atop his head, and bright yellow hair, with brown army boots.
He stands as i approach, and i see how tall he actually is, and i almost faint.
He stands easily twice my height, a charming smile on his face, one eyebrow raised.
"Well hello darlin'! It's nice to finally meet ya!" He hugs me as i get close, lifting me a couple of feet off the ground. Beatrice buzzes angrily, but i wave to her to show i'm okay.
"Hello... Lt?" I say, almost a question, and his laugh resonates around the room, booming.
"I apologize, little lady! The names Lt. Surge, but you can call me Surge!" He guffaws, and i nod, smiling.
"So, why have you been so excited to meet me?" I ask, and he points to the chair. I sit down, and he plops onto the floor in front of me.
"Well ya see, I heard what ya did back there in Cerulean, with the orphanage and whatnot. I wanted to personally tell ya that ya were a hero to me." He says, and i almost fall off of the comically large chair.
"Um... what?" I stutter, at a loss for words.
"Jakob and Melody, they were a friends of mines kids, and they mean the world to me. Now, I haven't been to see them in quite some time, unfortunately, but i love them nonetheless. So when i heard how ya helped them catch their first pokemon, i wanted to thank ya, from the bottom of my heart." He grabs my hand gently, kissing it, and placing it back down.
"Oh! Well, those kids mean the world to me, to, Surge. I only did what anyone else would have done for those beautiful children." I smile, and i see tears well up in the Lt.'s eyes.
"Those kids are a miracle, ya see? They survived hell, and even laugh about it to friends now. It would mean the world to me to adopt them some day, but as a gym leader, i ain't qualified as a parent. But, anyways, you even got Melody a wheelchair? And both of them cellular phones? That is the kindest thing i can think of. And ya communicated with Jakob in a way that made him not only comfortable towards ya, but you were able to get him a pokemon that can understand HIM. You are an angel, little lady. And for that, I have a present."
I turn my head slightly in confusion, as he waves to Heather, who has reappeared with a medium sized box, wrapped with string that's tied into a bow on the top.
He takes it from her, and hands it to me gently.
"Surge, you really don't hav-"
"I ain't takin no for an answer darlin', so ya better go on ahead and open it." He smiles warmly, and i undo the bow.
I open the box, and see...
A gym badge, a few TM's, a pokeball, and four small bundles.
"Whats this?" I take the badge out first.
"That is the Vermillion city Gym badge. Ya earned it, in my opinion." He smiles, but i stick my hand out.
"I cant accept this. I haven't earned it, not until i've battled you." Beatrice makes a buzz of approval, but Surge shakes his head.
"I ain't takin it back, little lady. But i guess that just means ya'll will have no choice but to beat me now." He winks as i take the TM's out of the box.
"Thunder, Charge, and Thunder Bolt. All essential electric type attacks for ANY serious trainer." He says, pointing to each one respectively.
"But, Surge. I only trai-"
"Flying types, i know darlin'. That brings you to my last gifts."
I take the pokeball out, and hold it in front of me.
"Surge, a pokemon? I cant, really." He lets me finish, before shaking his head.
"It's a flying type pokemon that I can't train, darlin'. I'm an electric type gym leader, and even an electric flying type is to much for me to handle. Plus, he's a little bundle of joy and energy, so ya will love 'im!" He laughs loudly, as i release the pokemon in front of me.
Out of the pokeball comes... a small yellow bird, with little pom-pom's coming out of the ends of it's wings, which it strikes a pose with, chirping sweetly..
"Serena, darlin', meet Oricorio, a flying type pokemon from Alola." Surge smiles, waving at the little bird, who waves back enthusiastically.
"Hello, sweetheart!" I bend over , and he jumps into my arms, twittering excitedly.
"Oricorio is a very unusual pokemon, ya hear? See those bundles? Oricorio can change types, depending on what kind of nectar it eats from Alola's native islands. It can be electric, fire, ghost, or psychic, depending on the nectar it eats." Surge explains, and i stare at this little pokemon in awe.
"He's just a newborn, though. As he hatched as an electric Oricorio, he will always return to this as his main form, and his electric type attacks will have some extra UMPH!" Surge laughs as Oricorio puffs out his chest.
"Can i name him?" I ask, and the little cheerleader nods vigorously.
"Hm... how about... Mambo?" I suggest, and laugh as he jumps into a lively mambo dance.
"Well, Mambo it is!" I laugh, dancing with him.
Surge joins in, laughing, and soon Beatrice and Heather are dancing with us as well, laughing the whole time.
"Well, i'm very glad to see ya'll getting along. Mambo, you be good to Serena here, ya hear?" The bird nods vigorously, almost falling over, and i place him on my shoulder.
"Before i go, Surge, would you mind telling me where you got Mambo?" I ask, and he smiles, nodding.
"Got him from the professor, ya see? He has family over there in Alola, and he caught little Mambo here for me when he hatched, but i cant train flying types unfortunately. But, ya seem like the perfect trainer for the guy!" He laughs again as Mambo nods so hard he almost falls off my shoulder.
"Well, i'd better be going. I'll be here to challenge you tomorrow, so be ready!" I smile, and he escorts me all the way back to the Center, before leaving.
I see Gardenia, Misty, and Ash, who all have looks of awe as i approach.
"Was that... holy wow he's tall!" Gardenia gasps.
"Who's this?" Ash asks, pointing to Mambo, who has fallen asleep on my shoulder.
"This is Mambo. The Lt. gave him to me as a gift for helping Melody and Jakob!" They all smile, nodding.
"That's so cool!" Misty croons, petting the now waking up Oricorio.
"He also gave me this..." I hold out the gym badge, and Ash literally starts crying.
"That is s-so c-cool! I wish i h-had one!" He sniffles.
"We are all scheduled to battle him tomorrow, so be ready!" They all give me looks of confusion.
"Why are you battling, Ser? You already have the badge?" Gardenia asks, but i shake my head.
"I haven't earned it yet. I intend to, though." I smile, and they all nod.
I politely excuse myself, and head into the room, getting changed into pajama's. If i'm going to be battling that tower of a man, i'm going to need all the sleep i can get.
I fall asleep quickly, Beatrice and Mambo playing quietly in the corner of the room.