Author's Notes:
It was brought to my attention by Jess Readin that when Pokémon refer to their trainers as "Master" it seems like a slave type relationship. Allow me to clear up this misunderstanding.
When a Pokémon refers to their trainer as master, it is similar to calling them sifu, or sensei. It is an honorific recognizing the trainer as their teacher and leader.
I mention in chapter two that a Pokémon and a trainer share a certain bond, but I'm not sure how much detail I put into that. When a trainer captures a Pokémon, (or when a Pokémon decides a human is worthy to be its trainer), it creates a powerful bond of trust and loyalty between the two.
The Pokémon looks to the trainer for leadership and to be a teacher. It expects the trainer to look out for its wellbeing and to raise it with respect and discipline. It also looks for the trainer to bring out its strengths and win battles.
The Pokémon, in turn, has an obligation to protect its trainer. It also considers the trainer's orders absolute; just so long as the trainer in question does their job.
If the trainer neglects the Pokémon or becomes abusive, or if the Pokémon deems its trainer as an unworthy master, then the Pokémon may choose to break the bond between trainer and Pokémon.
Once this bond is broken, the Pokémon doesn't have to protect, nor obey, its former master. The Pokémon can then choose a different master, or just free itself. In many cases, the Pokémon will simply turn on their master and kill them. Serves them right for not doing their jobs!
Anyway, I'd like to give a big thank you for Jess Readin and the rest of my readers for taking time to review the story and ask questions. It's good to ask questions if something strikes you as odd, because another reader may just be wondering the same thing.
So from now on, I will answer questions in the author's notes as well as by private message, just to avoid confusion. Once again thanks for the reviews, and enjoy!
Cerulean City
Brian groaned when Gary informed them they would not be going to the Battle Club after the Pokémon got back from the infirmary. "I'm just too tired tonight! And after waiting for Pokémon to get back there's no way I'm going to feel like heading out."
Amy rolled her eyes and Gary sighed, "Tell you two what, tomorrow I'll pick you two up here around noon. After that we'll head to the Gym and make an appointment for my Gym battle. After that's done we'll get some lunch, and then head to the Battle Club."
And true to his word, Gary pulled up outside of the Pokémon Center just before twelve, "Hop in!" And they were off. The October breeze blew in through the cracked windows, carrying with it the smell of autumn leaves. Amy leaned back in her leather seat and closed her eyes. This is what she's been missing toiling about in high school and work. The promise of adventure lay ahead of her with her big brother and her best friend. Now if only I didn't have on this fucking cast! Amy thought to herself, bitterly.
They drove past the five story apartment buildings that seemed to make up Cerulean's old town district. Amy watched as a flock of Wingull from some other region flew by overhead. Her sense of excitement mounted as Gary pulled up in front of the Cerulean City Pokémon Gym.
From the outside looking in, it seemed like a large aquarium. There was a large sign out front bearing the visage of a Dewgong with 'Welcome All Trainers' under it. Gary parked and Amy limped out of the corvette. Gary turned to Brian and asked, "You said you fought the Gym Leader all ready?"
"Fought and lost," Brian replied, "There are three Gym leaders that run this place, and they all have strong aquatic Pokémon."
"Three, huh?" Gary smiled, "We should challenge them to a triple battle, all of them vs. all of us!"
Amy frowned, "Would they even let us do that?"
Gary raised his eyebrows, "If they did, would you two sign up with me?"
Brian grinned and said, "Sounds like a plan to me! Amy?" he asked, turning to her.
She smiled and said, "If you and Jet both got badges, then I might as well see if I can get one of my own, right?"
Gary clapped her on the shoulder, "Good shit! Let's head inside!"
They walked into the lobby and went over to the service desk, "Hi," Brian smiled, "We'd like to challenge the Gym Leaders, please?"
The guy behind the desk said, "Oh, you again huh?" Brian frowned. The guy laughed, "Sorry dude, no need to get offended! I'll head to the back and get one of the Gym Leaders for you."
As the boy went in the back to fetch a Gym Leader, Amy looked around at the lobby. There were paintings of different water Pokémon going all around the room. Many of them looked as though they were done by school children. Sure enough, upon closer inspection, each painting had a small handprint and a signed name next to each of the painted Pokémon.
"Aww, that's so cute!" Amy cooed, "It looks like kids from local elementary schools got to paint on the walls! Some of these are really good!"
"Yeah," Gary said while staring at a painting of a Luvdisc, "Kind of reminds me of Gramp's old office when we were kids. You couldn't finger-paint for shit, Amy."
Amy turned to Gary, clearly affronted, "And I suppose you were a regular Picasso? I was five, dick!"
"This kid was five too, and look at their Luvdisc! That's like, twenty times better than the painted squiggles you would try to pass off as art."
Amy smirked, "You're just jealous because all of my paintings went on the fridge! Don't even get me started on how horrible you sounded in the shower!"
"Um, guys?" Brian interjected, timidly. His words fell on deaf ears, however, "My singing? What about your Spice Girl stage!"
"Guys?"
"Pff!" Amy laughed, "Like it was any worse than you singing N-Sync or Boyz2men?"
"Guys!" Brian yelled over the sibling's bickering, "The Gym Leader is here."
Gary and Amy turned to see a gorgeous woman with blonde hair smiling at them, "Oh no, please don't stop on my account!" she giggled. Amy blushed. Gary, however, was completely unabashed, "We want to challenge you and the others to a three on three triple battle!"
The blonde beauty smiled with surprise, "You three want to take on all of the Sensational Sisters at once? That's certainly original. Well, it's a three hundred dollar challenge fee. That's per person by the way."
The receptionist chimed in and said, "That's in addition to whatever money you're putting down for a bet."
The Gym Leader nodded and said, "Yeah, what Rick said."
Amy asked, "So wait, we're actually allowed to do a triple battle with you guys?"
The blonde girl smiled and said, "It's your money! You can challenge us however you want! Only the Pokémon that win get the badge, though. And the winnings."
Brian, Amy, and Gary all looked at each other. Amy turned to the Gym Leader and said, "Sounds fair."
The Gym Leader smiled and said, "I'm Daisy, by the way. You three can just fill out the challenge forms with Rick over hear. Next available time is the thirteenth, I think."
Rick nodded, "Yes ma'am! That gives you all ten days to prepare!"
Three hours later, Gary pulled his Corvette in front of what looked like a large warehouse. Above the doors, was a big sign that read, 'Bill's Battle Club.' "Wow," Amy said, sarcastically, "How creative is this guy?"
There were cars parked all around the building and trainers standing around smoking cigarettes or just hanging out together. When everyone got out the car, they heard a loud roar come from inside the building.
"What do you think made that sound?" Amy asked, nervously. Gary frowned, "If I had to guess, I'd say it sounded like a Nidorino. Apparently there are more than just local trainers that go here."
Both Amy and Brian were impressed when they went inside. Gary was right, it was a Nidorino. His opponent, a Hitmonlee, was kicking his ass all over the sand pit in which they were battling.
The sand pit was in the middle of the ware house. It was just large enough for two Pokémon to do battle, with ten foot high walls. Above the pit stood all of the trainers, (many of them holding bet stubs), all cheering on their favorites to win. Near the entrance was a man checking ID's and another man taking bets.
Gary walked up to them and asked, "Hey, where do I sign up to battle?"
"Newbie, huh? Let me see your licenses." When the three trainers handed over their license, the man behind the desk let out a low whistle, "Class A trainers? We don't get a lot of you down here. Mostly class B's, you'll be lucky if you find a four star in this lot."
He then handed Gary a sign that was tied to a string, "You are number twenty nine. Just wait for them to call your number and go up to that guy by the pit. His name's Johnny. Show Johnny your number and place your bets for your match."
Gary grinned and put the number around his neck. Amy and Brian signed up too and were dubbed numbers thirty and thirty-one. They headed over to the pit to watch the battle.
The Hitmonlee was dominating the field. It moved from the Nidorino, to a Geodude, and then took out a Sandshrew. The crowd cheered as Johnny, who was apparently the announcer, said, "Ooohhh! And Hitmonlee takes the victory, ladies and gentleman! That's a five hundred dollar prize, if I recall correctly!"
The crowd cheered and the trainer of Hitmonlee recalled his Pokémon, looking superior. "Our next match! Numbers twenty eight and twenty nine!"
Amy raised her eyebrows at Gary, "That was fast!" Gary grinned and walked up to the announcer. Brian whispered into Amy's ear, "I wish Jet was here! Do you know how much money I would bet on that Gyarados of his?"
Amy shrugged, "You can bet on me! I'll win you some money!" Brian laughed and Amy frowned, "What's so funny?"
"Nothing!" Brian said, quickly, "I'll bet on you, promise!"
"Ok, our trainers have agreed on a three-fifty wager! You know the rules; each trainer uses three Pokémon. Once a Pokémon has been recalled, it's out of the match! Both trainers send out your first Pokémon!"
On one side, Gary threw out a heavy ball, "Go, Sudowoodo!" A tree-like Pokémon was sent into the sand pit. Gary's opponent, a girl who looked about his age, sent her Pokémon forth, "Let's go, Machop!"
"Twenty eight seems to have the advantage in this first round, folks!" said Johnny the announcer while gesturing to the little blue-grey fighting Pokémon, "Let's see if twenty-nine and his Sudowoodo can overcome the odds! Aaaaand, BEGIN!"
"Machop, use Low Sweep!"
"Use Wood Hammer, Sudo!"
Machop ran forward at break-neck speed and slid in a powerful, sweeping motion. Sudowoodo, however, jumped his opponent's attack and slammed down, right on Machop's head.
There was a collective flinch from the crowd as Sudowoodo got in a critical hit. Johnny said, "That had to hurt! Surprisingly, it looks like Machop is out for the count! Sudowoodo wins this round! Who will twenty-eight send out next?"
Twenty-eight gritted her teeth and said, "You're not the only one with a rare Pokémon! Go, Munna!"
A small, pink, psychic Pokémon floated fourth. Amy squealed, "Oh my god that's sooo cute! I want one!" There were murmurs of surprise from the rest of the audience as well, "What is that?" "Where can I find one?"
Johnny got back on the mic and said, "Look at this! One of our challengers has a Munna! You can't find those in this region, folks! You have to do some creative online shopping to find one of these bad boys!"
Gary looked impressed, "That's one hell of a rare Pokémon!"
His opponent smirked and said, "My grandfather breeds them! She knows some pretty good moves too!"
"Yeah," Gary grinned, "Let's see them! Use Wood Hammer!"
"Double Team!"
There were suddenly four blurry Munna surrounding Sudowoodo. Gary yelled, "Attack them all! One of them has to be the one!" Sudowoodo nodded and went to strike the nearest opponent, which turned out to be an illusion.
Number twenty-eight shouted, "Use Gyro-Ball!"
The Munna directly behind Sudowoodo shot forward with a Gyro-Ball attack. It was a steel type move that basically tackles the opponent with a high-speed spin. The special thing about this technique, however, was that it does more damage if the user is slower than the target. As Munna was very slow to begin with, and Gyro-Ball was type effective against Sudowoodo, the attack did some damage.
"Ohh, that looked painful! Looks like Sudowoodo is recovering though."
And so it was. Sudowoodo stood up; visibly shaken, but ready to fight none the less. Gary asked, "Are you ok, Sudo?" Sudo nodded and ran in for another attack, but Munna floated above the sand pit and out of harm's way.
"That's not gonna work with us! Sudo, use rock throw!"
"Munna, use Psybeam!"
Sudo shot a rock at Munna, who floated to the side to avoid attack. Munna then started to glow and sent out a strange, multicolored ray at Sudowoodo. Gary quickly shouted, "Use Dig!"
Sudo avoided Munna's attack at the last possible second by digging deep underground. Munna's trainer said, "Stay in the air, where it can't hurt you!"
Gary shouted, "Use Smack Down!"
A rock burst forth from the ground and struck the unsuspecting Munna, who fell to the ground. Her trainer gasped just as Sudowoodo emerged from the ground and struck his opponent with Dig. Munna squealed in pain and her trainer yelled, "Get airborne!"
"Use Smack Down again, Sudo!"
Sudo sent another rock at Munna, but she dodged it just in time and floated into the air. Her trainer then called to her, "Heal yourself; use Moonlight!"
Munna began to glow. Gary told Sudo, "Don't let it heal, use Rock Blast!"
Sudo immediately started tossing rocks from the pit at his foe, who dodged them all with apparent ease. Sudo looked like it was getting tired; its attacks were a little slower than usual. Gary said, "Use mimic, Sudo! And then use Moonlight!"
"Quick, Munna, use Hypnosis!"
The Sudo had to concentrate in order to sense how Munna did her attack, so that little hesitation gave Munna the perfect window to put him to sleep. Gary cried, "No, Sudo, close your eyes!" He was too late, however, for Sudowoodo fell face first into the sand, unable to battle.
"Looks like Munna won this round!" exclaimed Johnny, "Ladies and Gentleman we have ourselves a battle! Who will twenty-nine send out next?"
Gary recalled Sudowoodo with annoyance. This bitch and her fucking Munna! I'm not losing to this floating stuffed animal!
"Go, Umbreon!"
Umbreon came out ready for battle. He bore absolutely no evidence of the fight from the previous day. Gary had him attack immediately, "Use Night Slash!"
Munna made an attempt to dodge the attack. However, whereas Sudo wasn't built for speed, Umbreon was much quicker than either Pokémon combined. He shot into the air with grace and poise, striking his opponent and landing outside of the pit. Munna dropped to the sand, blood now flowing freely from her fresh wound. Her trainer recalled her immediately.
"Wow, and Munna is now out! That Umbreon is definitely something! Number twenty-eight now has only one more Pokémon left!"
Gary's opponent was now looking nervous as she pulled out another pokeball. "Let's go, Pidgeotto!"
Her bird Pokémon shot out and began circling the sand pit from the air. Gary gritted his teeth, Another goddamn airborne Pokémon?
Gary turned to Umbreon and said, "Use Snarl!" just before his opponent told Pidgeotto, "Hit him with Gust!"
The two attacks collided directly in front of Pidgeotto, which knocked it to the ground. Gary took advantage and said, "Now use Night Slash!"
"Use Sand-Attack!"
Amy was strongly reminded of Jet's fight against Brock when a huge sand cloud covered the area. Johnny coughed through the dust, "Don't worry, this happens all the time! *Cough, Cough* We should probably ban Sand Attack. Ahh, I can't really tell what's going on."
It took a full minute for the dust to clear. When it did, the audience was met with a strange sight. Pidgeotto was flying in circles, crying out in pain. Attached to its leg, was a very resilient Umbreon who refused to unclench his teeth. Several people laughed while Pidgeotto's trainer yelled, "Throw it off!"
Gary, however, grinned at the sight of his Pokémon going the extra mile, "Let go and use Snarl!"
Umbreon dropped and immediately sent a dark sound wave at Pidgeotto. This time, the attack hit its target full force. Pidgeotto was knocked to the ground again, and Gary once again said, "Use Night Slash!"
"Pidgeotto, use- ahh!"
She never got her command out. Umbreon's attack had struck home, and Pidgeotto was now out for the count. Johnny announced, "Pidgeotto is unable to battle, Umbreon is the winner! And the victory goes to, number twenty-nine! Give it up!"
Gary wore a superior smile as he recalled his Pokémon. The crowd applauded the victory. Brian turned to Amy and said, "That was quick. Your brother is pretty good. I doubt even Jet's Charmander could beat that Umbreon!"
Amy raised her eyebrows, "Have you seen Thorn lately? It's not a Charmander anymore, that little fucker is vicious! I've seen it battle, I wouldn't send any of my Pokémon against it any more than I would that Gyarados of his."
"So, you think Jet could beat Gary?"
Amy shrugged, "With that Gyarados and that Charmeleon? I'd say probably."
Brian nodded, "I got to catch up. Gary and Jet are good trainers, but I don't think they're on the same level as those Gym Leaders. I need to train hard to get that badge."
"Are they really that strong?" Amy asked.
Brian nodded, "The match I fought was hard as hell. I lost the match in the first round because my Heracross' life was in danger, so I had to forfeit and get him to the Pokémon Center right away."
Amy frowned, "Wouldn't he be safe in a Pokeball?"
Brian shook his head, "The wound was pretty serious, I wanted to make sure he was ok."
"Can I get numbers thirty and thirty-one, please?"
Amy limped over to Johnny and said, "That's us!"
Johnny raised his eyebrows, "You sure you want to fight with those crutches?"
Amy rolled her eyes, "My Pokémon aren't in crutches! I think I can manage."
Johnny shrugged and said, "Ok, what's the bet?"
Brian turned to Amy and said, "What are you betting?"
Amy said, "Weeeell, how about we keep it a low one hundred?"
Brian nodded and said, "Ok, but…" his cheeks went red, "If I win you have to let me take you out on a date!" He then looked away, afraid of her reaction.
Amy looked surprised. Then she smiled and said, "Ok! Deal."
Brian looked up, "Really?"
Amy laughed, "Yeah, I don't really know where you want to go with these crutches and everything, but I'll take that bet."
Brian's heart pounded furiously, "Ok, Amy, you're on!"
"Ahh," Gary came from out of nowhere, "young love! Bless their little hearts!"
Amy blushed, as well as Brian. Gary laughed and pinched Amy's cheek, "They grow up so fast!" Amy pulled his hand off and said, "Quit it!"
Johnny interjected, "Listen, lovebirds, are we going to start this battle or what?"
Author's Notes:
Will Brian get to go on his date with Amy? And if so, will she see him as more than just a friend? What does Gary think about his little sister dating? What does Jet think about his best friends dating? Stay tuned!
And, as always, please review!
