Adventures in the Blue City, Chapter 6
If there's something I don't understand, it's why doctors want you to stay overnight at the hospital for whatever reason. If you walk in like I did, say your knee hurts because you tripped on a Pokemon, they'll quickly snap an X-ray, make sure it's not broken, and then ask you to stay the night for 'observation'. If it's not broken, what else could possibly be wrong with it? Long story short, I had to stay the night at the hospital. And those hospital beds just aren't comfy, and those gowns get in the way when you're trying to sleep.
My complaints aside, I was finally allowed to leave the next morning. At the front desk, I had a card from Gary, telling me that by lunch time or so the package from Professor Oak would arrive. I'd have to pick it up at the local market, so I was stuck in Cerulean at least until then. Either way, I had a busy schedule that morning: the Cerulean City gym needed conquering! After picking up my Pokemon at the center (and giving Vulpix a big hug, she missed me, you see), I made my way to the gym.
Unlike Brock's gym, which was just some dull building with the word 'GYM' splattered across it a few times, this one had a giant statue on top. It was a Dewgong, one of the few Pokemon I recognized, it being another favorite of mine. Once I was inside, I realized the running motif was water, so that probably meant Vulpix would have to sit this battle out as well. She didn't like the idea much, either.
I asked at the front desk about the challenge, but the lady there only sold tickets to some special show. Curious, I bought a ticket, and went on through the main doors. Rather than an arena for battle, I found a giant swimming pool, with a few ladies performing all sorts of tricks with Pokemon inside. The stadium was packed with people cheering on the performers, so I took a seat somewhere in the front row to get a better view.
From somersaults in the air to dancing underwater, the three ladies inside the pool used various water Pokemon, like Seel and Goldeen, to help them in their tricks. I even found myself clapping at some points, almost forgetting why I was there. At least Vulpix wasn't sour anymore, she was enjoying the show almost as much as me! With the final act complete a little while later, everyone started shuffling out of the stadium. I ducked underneath one of the bleachers, intent on talking to the ladies after everyone had left.
"Great show!" Said one of the three after they thought everyone had left.
"I'm tired, you guys," another one said. "I'm heading home early. Catch you guys later."
"Guess we have clean up duty," the third girl said. "Rock-paper-scissors for the pool?"
I watched from under the bleachers as the blonde won the match with a pair of scissors. The brunette let slip a curse under her breath, taking a mop from beside the pool, she got right to wiping the floor near the pool. It was then that I popped my head out from under the bleachers. Of course, she got scared and screamed a little before pointing the mop at me.
"Who are you?" I raised my arms up, as did Vulpix.
"I'm just here for a Pokemon battle," I told her. "This is a Pokemon gym, right?"
"Oh, is that all?" She lowered the mop.
"Yeah, I saw the show, by the way. You three were great!"
"Thanks, kid. Well, about the battle," she looked around for a second, she seemed unsure about the whole thing. "Normally, I'd ask if you could come back, say later this week?"
"Umm..." I didn't want to, but I took a second to find some polite way of saying it. Not that I'd end up having to.
"Yeah, I know, you'd rather not. Well, as you can see, we are all pretty beat after the show. Our 'gym' Pokemon are also at the center." She was having trouble coming up with excuses.
"So, I don't get to take the challenge?"
"You understand, right?" She patted me on the head, though it wasn't much consolation. Brock was more than willing to battle, why were these girls making such a big deal of it all?
"Tell you what, how about I just give you this?" She reached into a case by the pool, taking out a badge in the shape of a water droplet. It was the Cascadebadge.
"Isn't this cheating?" Not that I'd never cheated on something before, but this time it just felt wrong.
"Think of it as a reward for... tenacity! I mean, not many people would stay after the show to ask for a battle, right?" Her reasoning wasn't very good, either. Still, I noticed she was trying harder and harder get me to go away, so I figured there was no harm in taking it. Don't ask, don't tell.
"Thanks, I guess," I said as I took the badge. The lady gave me another pat on the head.
"No problem, kid! Now, if you don't mind, I do have some cleaning up to do here."
~o~
It wasn't even midday, and already I was bored. I stared down the Cascadebadge in my hand, feeling guilty about how I had earned it. But at the same time, I was also wondering if Deneb had gotten a chance to fight for his own. I figured it was Gary who put their Pokemon in the center last night, so Deneb probably came by earlier. Vulpix yawned, curling up on the floor next to me. Waiting for that package to arrive was terribly boring. At least, it was until I saw a familiar face walking around nearby.
"Deneb!" My voice reached him, and he smiled as he ran over to my side. My scream also woke Vulpix, but she did her best to fall back asleep.
"Wow, Star, didn't expect to see you here already."
"I got here yesterday. You won't believe how."
We took a seat by the market. I explained everything that had happened since our last encounter on Route 22. The forest, my battle with Brock, and the whole fight with Team Rocket in Mt Moon. Finally, I ended with meeting Gary outside the caves, and how he carried me into the city! Of course, Deneb was left speechless.
"You mean, our Gary Oak? From Pallet Town?"
"Yeah, can you believe it? He was always so stuck up in class." By this point, Vulpix was up and about, feeling refreshed after her nap. When I went to pet her, the Cascadebadge fell out of my hands. I had forgotten I was playing with it before Deneb showed up.
"Oh, I see you got your second badge already!"
"This? Well, truth is I didn't actually earn it." I went ahead and explained everything that happened in the gym.
"I noticed when I battled them yesterday," Deneb said, showing me his badge on his backpack, "they aren't exactly the best trainers."
"At least you fought them. I feel like a cheater."
"How's this, then: you and I have a battle? Consider beating me as your second gym match." Deneb didn't even wait for my answer, he was already getting up and ready for battle.
"Right here?" I asked, looking around at some people passing by. "Wouldn't we get in trouble for battling here in the city?"
"We'll head over to the park, just to be safe. What do you say?"
I knew Deneb had probably gotten much better since we last saw each other. Win or lose, the badge was still mine, so there was certainly nothing to be lost from the battle. Vulpix was egging me on, even! I nodded, accepting Deneb's challenge. He offered me his hand, which I took gladly, and he led me all the way to the park. Hand in hand, and Vulpix close behind!
~o~
"You have three Pokemon at least, right?" Deneb asked as he stood on the far side of the park.
"Yeah, I do," I answered.
"Then we'll have a three on three match. Since I'm playing the gym leader, I pick my Pokemon first."
He took a Pokeball from his belt, throwing it out into the field. A Butterfree was his first Pokemon. The smart choice was to send Vulpix, bug Pokemon being weak to fire, but I went with Beedrill instead. Fair play and all. Once both Pokemon were out, the battle began.
"Butterfree, Sleep Powder!"
"Beedrill, dodge and use Poison Sting!"
Butterfree flew up as high as it could, raining down that sparkly dust on the field. Beedrill found it hard to avoid, so he just flew up at Butterfree at top speed, landing the hit before he fell down, knocked out cold. I screamed at him to wake up, but he was completely out.
"Butterfree, Psybeam!"
With Beedrill out cold, Butterfree had no problem charging up its next attack, which shot forth a rainbow colored bullet at Beedrill. The attack sent Beedrill rolling to the sidelines, where he tried to get back in the air.
"Beedrill, Pin Missile!"
"Tackle, Butterfree!"
Before Beedrill could even get back into the air, Butterfree came crashing down on him, knocking him out for good. The first round was Deneb's. I called back Beedrill, and he called back his Pokemon.
"It's okay, Star! Next round!"
He threw out his next Pokeball, releasing a small bird. It was a Spearow. Mankey would've been a terrible choice, but Vulpix I wanted to save for the final round. I knew he still had his Bulbasaur, and I wanted at least one victory. I went with Clefairy instead, her first match.
"Lucky you!" Deneb called out upon seeing my Pokemon. "Extremely rare, those Clefairy!"
"Thanks!" I smiled.
"Spearow, Sand-Attack!"
"Clefairy, uhh..." I completely blanked out. I was so focused on the gym battle and Gary last night, I didn't bother to look up Clefairy's attacks! I scrambled for my encyclopedia, but that wasn't stopping Deneb's attacks.
"Clefairy, just run away for now!"
I started flipping through the pages of my book, all the while Clefairy ran around in circles, dodging Spearow's moves as best she could. Deneb may not have been stopping his assault as I read up on Clefairy's powers, but at least he went easy on her as I brushed up.
"Clefairy, use Doubleslap!"
A command finally in, Clefairy jumped up towards Spearow, smacking the poor bird a few times before she fell down. It was actually quite a silly attack.
"Spearow, Fury Attack!"
Reasonably enraged, Spearow swooped down on Clefairy, poking her repeatedly with his beak. After the attack was down, Clefairy was already looking pretty beat.
"Clefairy, heal yourself! Metronome!"
It was Clefairy's signature move, one that could allow it to use any ability she needed. What I had neglected to finish reading, however, was that Metronome was, more often than necessary, completely random. As I saw for myself, she waggled her finger, but instead of recovering from her wounds, she somehow started breathing fire at Spearow instead! It was an unexpected attack, but it also just barely missed Spearow.
"One more Fury Attack!"
Sadly, it didn't take more than a single peck to finish Clefairy off. She just wasn't ready to battle against Deneb's toughened critters. After we both called back our Pokemon, Deneb pulled out his final round critter.
"I'm pretty sure I can guess who you'll be using this time."
"Vulpix, you're finally up!" She leapt into the air with joy before running out into the field. Deneb knew his Bulbasaur would be at a disadvantage, yet that was the Pokemon he was about to release.
"Go, Ivysaur!"
Much to my shock, his Bulbasaur had already evolved! It didn't look much different from Bulbasaur, save for being a bit larger in size, and he had a large flower bud on his back instead. Vulpix still had the type advantage, but Deneb had a plan. He always did.
"Vulpix, Ember!" This time, I went with the first strike, intent on ending the match before Deneb could show off Ivysaur's moves.
"Leech Seed!"
Vulpix spun around in front of Ivysaur, releasing the dozens of small flames all over the Pokemon. Ivysaur cried out in pain, but it still followed Deneb's command. A small seed shot out of his back, and landed right on Vulpix's back. Vines started growing out of it on the spot, and Vulpix became obsessed with scratching the thing off.
"Vulpix, ignore it! One more Ember!"
"Poison Powder!"
Again, Vulpix spun around to cover Ivysaur in flames. He didn't even try to avoid the rain of fire, but took advantage of Vulpix's action to land his own attack. Vulpix was now breathing heavily, the powder taking full effect on her. Ivysaur was taking the punishment too easily, and something smelled off. Vulpix screamed out when the vines on her back sapped away some of her health.
"Vulpix, what's wrong?"
"Leech Seed: it plants a small parasite on the Pokemon, draining them of their health over the battle. It also heals Ivysaur in the process."
Just like Deneb said, Ivysaur's wounds were beginning to heal. I was so busy trying to finish the battle quickly, I allowed Vulpix to walk right into these traps. Between the seed's saps and the poison, Vulpix would fall long before Ivysaur. Still, it was too late now to go back on my strategy.
"Vulpix, one more Ember!"
Deneb didn't even call out his next attack. Vulpix screamed a bit as the seed sapped her again. She stood there for a moment, and I worried she wasn't going to have the strength to do one more attack. Then, rather than rain down the fires again, Vulpix opened her mouth wide, releasing a wave of flames on Ivysaur. She had finally mastered her Flamethrower attack! Ivysaur didn't endure the attack, and fell over.
"Wow! I seriously didn't expect to see that!" Deneb recalled his Ivysaur. At that moment, Vulpix fell over, exhausted from the battle. I ran over, potion in hand.
"Stop, don't waste your supplies," Deneb said, walking up to me. He pulled out a different spray bottle from his own bag, using it on Vulpix. The seed on her back, and the purple powder both washed away.
"Full Heal, cures any ailment on a Pokemon," he said, "Now just take her to the center. You don't want to go using up all your potions so quickly."
"Thanks, Deneb," I said. "Walk with me to the center?"
~o~
The battle was over, and though I technically lost, I now felt better than ever. It wasn't an official gym battle, but no doubt Deneb was already much better than those girls at the gym, anyway. Sadly, once Nurse Joy returned with his Pokemon, he said he had to go.
Wait a minute, Nurse Joy? Just how many of them are there? Before I answered to Deneb, I just had to ask the nurse about the other Joys in Pewter, Viridian, and Route 22. Turns out, they're all sisters. Makes absolutely no sense to me, but it just looked weird at first. Anyway, Deneb had to go.
"We both have two badges now," I said, eager to travel alongside him. "We can go together, right?"
"Sorry, Star, but I'm afraid not. A Pokemon adventure is something you do on your own. At least, I want to go it alone. It's not that I don't want to travel with you, just..."
"Just nothing! There's no excuse this time! We're both heading to the same places, I don't see why you don't want to travel with me!" For some reason, I was angry. I didn't realize why, at the time. But now I do, of course.
"Star, look: I'll make you a deal," he said, grabbing me by the shoulders. "We continue on our separate ways, for now. I'm sure we'll meet up again sometime, but I promise you, cross my heart, we'll get to travel again together."
"When? Next time we meet?"
"Viridian City. There's a gym there, but it was locked up while we were there last. I asked some people, and they said the gym leader closed shop for a while, to train his Pokemon all over the world. He'll be back later this summer, to offer the Earthbadge to anyone who can beat his Pokemon. I promise you, I'll wait for you there, and we can go on through Victory Road together after that."
"So, you're saying I have to continue on this quest alone, until then?" Deneb nodded.
"I just... I want you to become a better trainer, and I know you'll do a lot better if I'm not around to help you." Like that girl from the gym, his reasons sucked. All I was hearing was that he didn't want to hang around me.
"Fine, whatever," I answered, not caring anymore.
"I read something in school once," he continued, his hands still holding my shoulders. "It said: 'absence makes the heart grow fonder'. Some love poem thing."
At that moment, Deneb kissed me on the cheek! I was so shocked by the act, I immediately blushed hot red. He smiled at me.
"I'll see you, then?"
I nodded, but didn't say anything. I was so shocked, I could hardly form a thought. Deneb left, and truth is I didn't even notice. We had been friends for the longest time, but never did I think he liked me. At least, not like-like me. That kiss proved it, though: the real reason why Deneb didn't want to travel together. If he liked me that much, to kiss me, why didn't he want to travel together?
Boys are just so weird.