Author's Notes:
I've been busy over the weekend so I really didn't have time to write this chapter. Next one is the first round of the Gym Battle, though!
The Boardwalk
Jethro sat on the ledge of a bench that over looked the river behind Cerulean Cape. It was there that he had been training with Bill for the past week. Before Jet was discharged from the hospital, Bill had come to visit him.
"I really do want to apologize for the way I acted," Bill had said, "I was fucked up at the time. Also… well, I can get a little overzealous when I see something I want. Don't worry about the hole your Pokémon left in my wall; we'll just call it even."
Unable to really think of a response, Jet just shrugged and grunted. Bill, however, took a seat by Jet's bed and said, "I have a proposition for you, mate. I want you to come train with me for a little bit over by my family's light house."
"Why," Jet asked, "If it's out of pity then no thank you."
"I don't train with people I pity," Bill said sternly, "It's beneficial for both of us. You can show me how you trained your Magikarp into a Gyarados, and I can have my Pokémon spar with yours to get their levels up. I needn't remind you that I have a large collection of TM's and can teach your Pokémon a wide variety of moves."
Jet didn't like Bill very much, but this was too big an opportunity to pass up. He agreed, and they set out for the lighthouse. Amy, Gary, and Brian, Jet had been informed, were all training together for their triple battle. Every now and then Amy or Brian would call him to say how their progress was going, but Jet had his own Gym match to worry about.
Bill sat next to Jet on the bench and smiled, "You have your Gym challenge tomorrow, do you?"
"Yeah," Jet said, "Just admiring the view before the big day."
Bill nodded, "You nervous at all?"
Jet shrugged, "I'm always nervous before a match where people are watching me."
"Ah, stage fright is it? I had that when I was a kid. You'll get over it soon, mate. Trust me, with your skills, you are going to be battling in front of a lot of audiences."
Jet watched the sun in the west and sighed, "Probably another half hour before the sunset starts."
Bill reached in his pocket and said, "I got something for you." He pulled out two tickets and handed them both to Jet, "On the twenty-first in Vermilion, there is a cruise ship called SS Anne that's making its maiden voyage. There are a lot of top class trainers that are going to be there, myself included. Both of these tickets are plus one, so your friends can come too. You should come on the ship, mate. Trust me, you haven't seen luxury until you've been on a cruise ship."
"And this is for trainers?" Jet asked. Bill laughed, "Well, not exclusively for trainers. There are a lot of high society types that will be there as spectators. Believe me, it will be fun. There is a big party going on that night on the ship, so don't be late. The ship sets sail at eighteen hundred on the twenty-first; remember that mate."
Bill stood up to leave and said, "I'm expecting you to be there, Jethro! It's about time you started training with real trainers, not just the locals."
He then walked away. Jet looked down at the ticket in his hand and smiled, "Well, I always did want to go on a cruise ship." He then put the tickets in his bag.
In the corner of his eye, Jet saw a Krabby waddling on the rocks on the banks of the river. He smiled to himself and made his way to the Pokémon to capture it. Jet was very fond of Krabby, as they were very common in Pallet Town along with Pidgey and Rattata. He always kind of figured a Krabby may be his first Pokémon because they were always so available.
The Krabby evidently heard Jet sneaking around behind it, because it turned around and used Bubblebeam. Jet quickly side stepped the attack and sent out his Bellsprout, "Use Leaf Blade, Quasimodo!"
The Bellsprout struck the Krabby with one of his leaf like appendages, which was now razor sharp, and got a one hit KO. Jet threw a Pokeball and captured the Krabby immediately. He turned to his Bellsprout and smiled, "That Leaf Blade attack is going to kill in our Gym match tomorrow! Now return, get some rest."
Jet registered the Krabby, deposited it, and grinned to himself. He was glad to have gotten a chance to train with Bill. His Pokémon had learned a bunch of attacks from TM's that he would have to spend weeks teaching them. Against Brock Jet felt as though he was in over his head, but against the Sensational Sisters, he felt he had prepared himself a great deal.
Jet decided to walk back toward the light house. Along the banks of the river, was a boardwalk that led from route 25. There were old closed down shops along the boardwalk. Not too far from this area, was the lighthouse that Bill's family had owned. It was a lot smaller than Jet had thought it'd be, but then again it over looked a river and not an ocean.
Jet walked along the boardwalk, admiring its old timey feel and beauty. He had heard that to the people of Cerulean, this place was very romantic. Walking down this area during the middle of a sunset, Jet could see why.
Jet soon came upon a girl who was sitting on a rail along the side of the walkway, watching the sunset. The girl looked to be in her early twenties. She had red hair that was cut in a sort of Marilyn Monroe style. She had green eyes that stared at the sky as if they were lost in a work of art.
Jet walked up and sat beside her, "Some view, isn't it?"
The girl turned and looked at Jet, "Yeah, it really is."
Jet smiled and asked, "Why is this place so deserted anyway?"
The girl sighed and said, "No one comes around here during the fall. It's a shame, I've always found this place so beautiful."
She looked down at the Pokeballs on Jet's belt and asked, "You're a trainer, huh? Judging by the expensive pokeballs on your belt, I'm guessing you're not a local one either."
Jet smirked, "How do you know I'm not just a rich local?"
The girl raised her eyebrows, "Are you?"
"Nope," said Jet as he turned back to the landscape, "you're right. I'm from Pallet Town."
"Pallet Town? That place sounds familiar."
Jet didn't answer but watched as more Krabby crawled from the river and began to congregate. The girl watched with interest as well and said, "I love them."
"Krabby?" Jet asked, "What do you love about them?"
The girl shrugged and said, "I always had a soft spot in my heart for water Pokémon. You know, most trainers have a policy when it comes to training Pokémon."
Jet smiled, "That so? What's yours?"
The girl turned and asked, "What makes you so sure I'm a trainer?"
Jet rolled his eyes and said, "Just answer the question."
She grinned and said, "My policy is an all-out offensive team of water type Pokémon!"
Jet frowned, "Now you see, I never quite understood why people would want to only train just one type of Pokémon. Isn't that tactically disadvantageous?"
"C'mon," said the girl, "Don't tell me you're one of those? I just like water types. That's really all there is to it. Let me guess, yours is a multi-type policy? You catch the strongest ones you possibly can and train them to take on any type they come across, right?"
Jet thought about it and said, "Yeah, something like that. Except I don't necessarily catch them strong. I prefer to catch them young."
The girl smiled and said, "I get it, builds a stronger bond that way."
"And," Jet added, "You can control how they grow. Shape their stats."
"So," the girl asked, "You're one of those hardcore trainers. The perfectionist, that needs everything to be just so."
"A perfectionist?" Jet repeated, "I just try and play at my Pokémon's strengths."
"Call it what you will," the girl grinned, "but you sound like a perfectionist to me. It's ok, I'm a bit of one myself. I train my Pokémon to hit fast, and hit hard."
"Finally, somebody who speaks my language," Jet said, "Me and you got to battle sometime."
"Maybe," The girl said, "but not tonight. I came out here to relax, clear my head."
Jet turned back to the Krabby and asked, "Are you a local?"
The girl stretched her legs out and said, "Yeah, I'm from here. I left for a bit to go to school, but I came back about a month ago. I'd like to do what you do, though. Travel and all. I was planning on saving some money to go on a trip of my own."
"Oh," Jet said, "Where do you want to go?"
"I don't know a lot of places!" She grinned, "I think the first place I'd visit is the South Pole. There are a lot of powerful water and ice type Pokémon down there. Oh, and maybe the tropics! I'd also like to see Rome; I just want to pack my bags and go!"
Jet smiled, "I'd like to go to all those place too, one day. Maybe I should start broadening my horizons."
"Maybe you should!" the girl smiled. Jet and the red-head talked for over an hour. Until the sun went down and the street lamps were lit. They walked along the boardwalk with no real destination talking about the places they would like to go, the things they'd see, the things they'd do.
"And I'd want to climb all the way to the top, just so I could spit over the edge and watch it drop!"
Jet laughed, "What if it lands on someone?"
The girl shrugged and said, "Shit happens. Oh, here's my car." They arrived at a gorgeous looking blue Benz. Jet smiled and said, "Nice whip."
"Thanks, do you want a ride to the Pokémon Center? It's getting late."
"Umm, yeah," Jet said, "that would be great."
The girl grinned at Jet and said, "Hop in!"
Jet got inside. The seats were leather, and the dash lit up like a Christmas tree as she started the ignition. "Hold on, I'm a fast driver!" And fast she was, as they did twenty over the speed limit just going over a bridge. From the boardwalk to the Pokémon Center must have been a twenty minute drive, but Jet's new friend got him there in ten.
"Here we are," she said, "the Center."
"Thanks," Jet said, "umm, maybe we could chill again sometime?"
The girl smiled and asked, "How long are you going to be in town?"
Jet shrugged, "Depends on whether or not you want to go on a date with me." Jet wasn't sure what gave him the courage to say this; it just kind of came out before he could stop it. The red-head, however, smiled even wider and said, "That sounds great! Let me give you my number!"
Jet typed the girl's number into his phone and asked, "What's your name, by the way? I never asked."
"Misty," said the girl, "My name is Misty. I work over at the Cerulean Gym."
Author's Notes:
Next chapter is the Gym Battle for Brian, Gary, and Amy. Stay tuned!
