The Boulderbadge, Chapter 4

My first stop, as usual, was the Pokemon Center. To my shock, there was a Nurse Joy there as well! Triplets, I wondered? Regardless, I handed Weedle over to her, and she quickly rushed him to a separate room in the center for treatment. While I was at it, I gave Vulpix to her as well, so that she could be refreshed and ready for battle. The brochure said there was a gym here in Pewter City, and I was planning ahead for the inevitable battle.

Keeping Mankey at my side, I went next door to the local market. My potion stock was still good, but it was about time I picked up more Pokeballs. With my current three Pokemon, I couldn't hope to take on every challenge out there. It was pretty intimidating having to shop for all these things on my own. Before, I always had Mom around to lend a helping hand should I feel I was making a poor choice. Now, everything rested on my judgement, and I found myself second guessing every Pokeball past the first. Would it be a waste of money at this point? Just how many Pokemon would I be catching?

I ended up buying four, along with a few other medicines for the road. Couldn't be sure what kinds of critters prowled the roads beyond this city, or the trainers for that matter. The bug kid in the forest may not have been a tough fight, but I'm sure I'd be running into tougher trainers before long. My supplies stocked, I ran back to the center, where both Weedle and Vulpix sat by the front desk.

"It's fortunate you took care of Weedle so quickly," Nurse Joy told me. "We would've had to keep him overnight if you hadn't."

"So, he's all set to go?" I asked. Nurse Joy nodded.

"Thank you, Nurse Joy. I'll promise to take good care of him!"

"I'm sure you will. Have a safe journey!"

Once I was outside, I was about to return Weedle to his Pokeball, but instead I let him ride on my shoulder. I didn't exactly like the idea of forcing my friends into those things, but I couldn't have a bunch of Pokemon follow me around everywhere. It'd draw more trainers to me.

The sun was setting when I finally found the gym somewhere in the heart of the city. It was a huge building, much larger than I actually expected a gym to be. As I was about to open the front door, it swung open from the inside, knocking me on the head. Last thing I remembered was someone's voice calling out to me, and the blurry image of Vulpix and Weedle looking over me.

~o~

When I finally came to, I was in someone's house. Before noticing that, however, I saw Weedle, staring me down as usual. When he noticed I woke up, he instantly called out, leading Vulpix to jump on top of me and start licking my face. Once I had my two friends out of my face, I finally met with the good samaritan that took me in.

"I'm so glad you're finally awake! Does your head hurt still?"

As if on cue, a sharp throb struck the same place where the door of the gym swung open. I let out a small yelp and fell back on the couch. The young man ran off somewhere, and promptly returned with a bag of ice.

"I'm sorry about that, I didn't notice you on the other side of the door," he said as he placed the bag on my forehead. The cold of the ice wasn't any more comforting or painless, but I knew it was for the best.

"It's okay," I replied. "I hope you didn't go through too much trouble over me."

"Nonsense, it was the least I could do."

At that precise moment, a swarm of pitter-patter flooded the room, and children's laughter filled the area. I turned my head slightly, and saw what looked like a dozen little kids run over to my side.

"You're awake!"

"Are you okay?"

"What's your name?"

"Did my brother hurt you bad?"

"Can I play with your Pokemon?"

The questions from the kids continued to pour in, despite the young man's attempts to get them to scatter. I tried my best to be polite, but the truth was their noise was making my head hurt worse. Finally, the young man stomped his foot, grabbing the attention of the kids.

"Everyone, out! We have to let her rest!"

After a collective 'awww' from the kids, they slowly shuffled out of the room, most of them dragging their feet along the way.

"I'm sorry about that," he said with a weak smile. "They're my brothers and sisters."

"Wow, so many of them? Your parents must have it hard."

"Well, they did. My dad left to become a Pokemon trainer, and my mom left after him, I think. So, it's my job to look after them. I'm Brock, by the way."

"Star."

~o~

I stayed at Brock's place for a little while longer, until my head no longer killed me with every little movement. I was even invited to have dinner with his family, which I politely declined, having an agenda to fulfill. That is, until Brock let me in on a little secret.

"The gym leader isn't available at night, you'll have to try again tomorrow."

"You know him, then?" I asked.

"Yeah, you could say that. Looking to challenge him for a badge?"

"I want to try. My friend is trying to get to Indigo Plateau, and he told me I needed eight badges from Kanto to be allowed in. Has he passed through here? His name is Deneb."

"I think I remember someone by that name. I didn't knock him out with a door, though."

I smiled at Brock's comment. Deneb had already passed through Pewter, and defeated the gym leader, no doubt. I wasn't exactly racing him to the finish line, but I did want to see about traveling alongside him for a while. A Pokemon adventure was pretty lonely.

"So, can I interest you in something to eat? I'm sure my siblings would love to have a guest over."

"I guess. If it's not too much trouble."

"Not at all, Star." Brock replied with a smile.

So I ended up staying at Brock's place for dinner. And quite the noisy dinner it was! I was an only child, so I never knew what it would be like to grow up with a brother or sister, but for Brock to have nine of them? Wow! I had Weedle return to his Pokeball as soon as I found him, didn't want to risk losing him like a toy with all those kids running around.

At the dinner table, all of the kids continued to bombard me with questions. I tried my best to answer all of them, but between shoveling food into my mouth and keeping an eye on Vulpix, I had to skip over most of them. I knew she wouldn't hurt any of the kids, I just wanted to make sure she didn't tire herself out too much. Tomorrow was going to be a big day for us both.

After thanking Brock and his siblings for their hospitality, I made my way back to the Pokemon Center. Nurse Joy wouldn't turn away anyone looking for a place to sleep, and I didn't want to impose on Brock any more. Before I dozed off that night, I glanced over the brochure one more time, and noticed the gym leader of Pewter City specialized in the rock type. Vulpix wasn't a viable choice anymore for tomorrow's fight.

And that made falling asleep a bit harder.

~o~

I got up bright and early, and even had to carry Vulpix to the gym with me. Since she wouldn't be fighting today, I let her sleep a little while longer. When I got to the gym, I made sure to knock from a safe distance. When no one answered the door, I peeked through the glass to see if there was anyone inside. The gym was completely empty.

Figuring the gym leader was running late, I turned around to have a seat nearby, when I ran right into Brock again.

"You work here or something?" I asked him.

"Yeah, I do. Come inside."

Brock unlocked the doors to the gym, and I followed him inside. Once the lights were on, I saw the battlefield for today's fight. It was massive, with plenty of space for the Pokemon to move freely. Brock made his way across the space, placing his bag next to the lone chair at the other end of the field. It was quickly dawning on me just who Brock really was.

"Are you...?"

"Yeah, Star, I am. You came here to challenge the leader of this gym. My name is Brock, and I gladly accept your challenge."

I would later learn that Brock did not say anything about being the gym leader last night on purpose. It wasn't exactly a good sign for the leaders to get too friendly with trainers. What's more, it wouldn't be fair to other trainers if I got to know his Pokemon and strategies before I had my chance to fight him.

"Since this is your first gym battle, I'll explain the general rules. Our Pokemon fight until one is unable to battle anymore. You are allowed only two Pokemon for this challenge. Do you understand?" Brock's voice was different when he was on the job. That sense of serenity and love was gone; here, all that mattered was the battle. With Vulpix a poor choice for today's battle, I wasn't sure how I was going to pull this off.

"I call forth: Geodude!"

From Brock's Pokeball emerged a lump of rock with arms. The Pokemon wasn't very large, but his arms looked packed with muscle, and made of rock, no less. Weedle wasn't a good match, so all I had left was Mankey. I wasn't even sure I could properly control him, either. Still, the fight was on, so I pulled Mankey's Pokeball off my belt and threw it will all my might into the arena.

Once Mankey was free, he looked over in my direction. After seeing that I was perfectly fine, he turned around and saw the Geodude. Then he just sat down, showing no signs of worry over the opponent.

"Geodude, Rock Throw!"

Brock's Pokemon reached for the nearest boulder and hurled it at Mankey. I yelled at him, trying to get him to avoid the rock, but he didn't even listen to me. The rock crashed right into him, sending him flying across the field back to me. I ran to his side, worried he was harmed. Brock ordered his Geodude to stand down.

"Entering the arena isn't allowed, Star!" He yelled at me. It didn't matter to me, though. I had to make sure my Mankey was okay.

"Mankey! Are you alright?" I screamed, yet the Pokemon didn't move. Could a single attack like that... kill? I started to panic, shaking Mankey harder. I called his name, over and over, tears forming in my eyes. Brock didn't move, he didn't even say a word as I called out to Mankey. After a few moments of silence, his eyes slowly opened. Mankey saw me, tears in my eyes.

He shrugged off the blow, pushing me back out of the arena. He let out a sharp howl that echoed in the gym. The battle had just begun. Mankey rushed Geodude, not caring if that left him wide open to another attack.

"Geodude, full-on tackle!" Brock's command was a recipe for disaster.

The two Pokemon crashed into each other at full speed, kicking up a large dust cloud. I called out to Mankey, unsure if he had been hurt again. Once the dust settled, I saw that Mankey had Geodude in his hands, lifted high above his head. With a single movement, he sent Geodude flying towards the wall. Mankey followed his opponent, not even giving the Pokemon a chance to recover from the attack.

"Geodude, Defense Curl!"

Brock's command reached his Pokemon, and I saw that it tried to follow the order. But Mankey was too fast, and it grabbed Geodude before it could curl up into a small ball. Once again, Mankey swung with all his might, sending Geodude right back into the wall. The force was so great, it even cracked! When Geodude rolled over, it was clear for all to see that he had no energy left to fight.

"Geodude, return!" Brock absorbed his Pokemon into its Pokeball. Mankey had won the first round! I was so amazed at his victory, I ran into the arena to congratulate him myself. After giving him a hug and even a kiss on his head, the monkey hugged me back, a look of joy finally expressed on his face. My small victory was premature, though.

"Star, please go back to your side of the arena. There's still one more Pokemon on my team."

Once I returned to my side, Brock threw his last Pokemon into the arena. When the Pokeball erupted, the red flash of light nearly took up the entire gym. When it revealed the Pokemon, I was left in awe. It was a massive snake made of rock, an Onix, one of the largest Pokemon in the world. Mankey was a hairball compared to it.

"Onix, Constrict!"

Right away the giant snake dove in to catch Mankey. I didn't know if he'd start following my orders, but it was worth a shot all the same.

"Mankey, jump out of the way!"

Rather than follow my order, Mankey tried to run out of Onix's range. It didn't end well, either. Onix was too long for Mankey to try and escape, and he easily caught the small monkey. Locked in place, I could only scream as the Onix crushed Mankey in its grip. After a few seconds, Brock called for Onix to let him go. Mankey fell out unconscious, but otherwise okay.

"Your Mankey is unable to battle. Choose your next Pokemon, Star."

I put Mankey back in his Pokeball. It was either Vulpix or Weedle. Vulpix had far more experience, but I knew she wouldn't be able to outrun that Onix. Her fire moves also wouldn't do a thing to Onix. Weedle, on the other hand, was so small, Onix would only need to step on him to win the match. I looked at Vulpix, who was eager to jump into the arena. I didn't share her optimism, though. I reached for Weedle's Pokeball.

"Give it up, Star. Weedle doesn't stand a chance in this fight, and you know it. I don't want to hurt your Pokemon anymore." I had almost forgotten he knew which Pokemon were in my possession.

"Don't worry about me, Brock," I called back to him. Once Weedle was out on the field, I yelled my first command.

"Weedle, String Shot!"

Weedle started with Onix's tail, spraying the massive thing with all the web it could. Brock didn't order Onix to do anything, he just watched as Weedle slowly covered Onix's tail in web. After most of the tail was covered, Brock ordered Onix to break free of the string, which it did without a single bit of effort. I realized how pointless that strategy was.

"Weedle, Poison Sting!"

Loyally obeying my command, Weedle crawled up to the Onix's tail, driving his stinger directly into the snake's tail. He managed to poke through the hard rock skin, but if Onix took any damage, he didn't show any signs of it.

"Last chance, Star," Brock called out. "Do you give up?"

"Weedle! Poison Sting!" I yelled defiantly.

My command was the answer Brock didn't want to hear. After Weedle's attack connected, Brock gave his next order.

"Onix, Tackle!"

The massive snake raised its tail and swung at Weedle. It was all the force it needed to win the fight, anyway. Even I closed my eyes, unable to watch. It was after Brock gasped that I opened them and looked again. Weedle had somehow attached itself to Onix's tail! It was actually the string, which allowed Weedle to stick onto his tail and avoid the damage! At that instant, I saw Weedle begin to glow.

"Weedle!? What's happening?"

"It's evolving!" Brock called out, equally shocked.

After a moment, Weedle's glow disappeared, and a new Pokemon was now stuck to Onix's tail. Weedle had evolved into Kakuna! I scrambled for my encyclopedia, trying to bring myself up to date on what Kakuna was capable of. In the meantime, I heard Brock call out his next command.

"Onix, Constrict!"

I continued to flip through the pages of the book as fast as I could. If Onix managed to wrap around Kakuna, the battle would be over for me. When I finally landed on Kakuna's page, I skimmed the passage, finding only one highlighted command.

"Kakuna, Harden!"

Kakuna just barely managed to follow the order before Onix began to squeeze him. I yelled out the command over and over, and Kakuna continued to harden its body. I couldn't exactly tell, but it looked like Onix's attack wasn't doing anything to him! Onix even started looking a bit tired.

"I'd be willing to call a draw, Star. Kakuna cannot fight back, and it would take Onix hours to break through his defense."

"Does a draw mean I win?" I asked, hopeful.

"It means we get to try the battle again, from scratch." Not the answer I wanted.

"Kakuna, don't stop! Harden!"

I didn't know how long I'd be there, screaming out for Kakuna to maintain his Harden, but I would not back out. Brock was free to throw in the towel at any time, but I wasn't going to. That is, until I saw Kakuna's shell start to crack open. All this time, I thought he was safe from Onix's attack, but he was only chipping away at Kakuna's shell. The battle was turning bad, and fast.

"Kakuna! Please, don't give up!" I screamed. Brock didn't budge. His Onix was still doing the Constrict he ordered earlier. It looked like Onix wouldn't have to work much longer to win the fight.

I didn't know what else to do, until finally I heard it. Kakuna's shell cracked open. A flash of light burst out, and a giant bee emerged from the shell. He had evolved again, into a Beedrill! Once again, I went for my encyclopedia, turning the page from the Kakuna entry to the next one. The battle was about to turn in my favor.

"Beedrill, Poison Sting!"

Now airborne, Beedrill had no problem diving into Onix's face for the attack, making it much more powerful and effective against Onix. Before Brock could make a comeback command, I ordered the next one.

"Now, Pin Missile!"

Beedrill backed up a bit before charging full force into Onix, both its arms out and locked on. The impact sent Onix reeling back, screaming out in pain.

"Onix, return!" His order left me stunned.

After Brock made the giant snake disappear into its Pokeball, he started walking towards me. Beedrill returned to my side, now much larger than the Weedle he used to be.

"Congratulations, Star. The Boulderbadge is yours." Brock reached into his coat, removing one small, gray rock. It was the sign of my first true triumph. I took it in my hands, still in shock at how quickly everything had wrapped up.

~o~

"Why did you give up?" I asked Brock, now that we were back outside the gym. He looked away.

"Your Weedle managed to poison Onix with the first attack. I knew it was slowly eating away at him, but I actually thought he'd outlast your Kakuna's defense. That, or you'd throw in the towel." I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"You tried to scare me into forfeiting? When you knew you were the one losing?"

"I'm sorry, it was a low blow. Still your Beedrill managed to turn the tables on Onix. I have to say, Star, I'm impressed."

"No more than I am. I never thought Weedle would evolve so quickly, in the middle of the fight, no less." I gave Beedrill a pat on the head. He buzzed a bit at me.

"The wonders of bug Pokemon. They are famous for growing extremely fast. I have to be honest with you, I wasn't sure you were cut out to be a trainer."

"Why?"

"You're so nice, so gentle with your Pokemon. I didn't think you'd be able to force your Pokemon to battle as hard as a normal trainer. I'm sorry I underestimated you." Brock offered his hand in apology, which I took.

"I didn't think I had it in me, either. But, now I know. I'll make it all the way to the end. Thank you, Brock, for everything."

After he disappeared back into the gym, I put Beedrill back in his Pokeball. As usual, there was one more stop before I set out again, the center. As I made my way there, I ran across a boy in a red cap.

"Excuse me, do you know where the Pokemon Gym is?"

"Just down that road, it's that building," I told him, pointing out the gray gym I had just come from.

"Thanks. Come on, Pikachu." Just like me, his Pokemon was at his side, rather than in a Pokeball. The small yellow rodent looked at me with a smile before it followed its trainer towards the gym. As he walked off, I couldn't help but wonder how hard that boy would have it against Brock. If that Pikachu was his best, he'd have one hard fight ahead of him.

At that moment, I laughed a bit to myself. Without even trying, I was already thinking more and more like a Pokemon Trainer.