The Mighty Chuckster! ...Chapter 37
Once the ferry docked in Cianwood City, I was one of the last people to get off. I stopped by the captain's cabin, and asked him when the ferry was set to depart again, even letting him know I was running an errand for the Pokemon of the lighthouse. Because the lighthouse was out, he'd have to leave earlier than usual, giving me a timeframe of no more than three or four hours to do what I had to in the city. I couldn't remember the last time I just took my time wandering around a city without a clear goal.
Once off the ship, I lost track of Charlie, which was just fine, considering the little stunt he pulled on the ship. My first stop was to be the pharmacy, which was just a few minutes away, and right across from the gym, like Preston told me. I walked inside, and was instantly greeted by that medicine smell you get from doctor's offices and hospitals. There was a woman tending the counter, though she was busy messing around with all sorts of bottles and potions to notice me walk in.
I told Vulpix not to touch anything, though that hardly did any good. The first thing she did was try and touch a large pill bottle, which she promptly knocked over and caused a huge mess in the aisle.
"Hello? Who's there?" The woman ran around to my side of the counter, catching sight of Vulpix just as she ran to hide behind my legs.
"I'm sorry," I said, dropping to my knees to clean up after my Pokemon. "I'll clean this up, I promise!"
"Thanks, I don't have much time to clean it myself, anyway. What do you want?"
"Well, I've come from Olivine City," I said, reaching into my bag to produce Preston's handkerchief. "I need to pick up some special medicine for the lighthouse Pokemon."
The woman took the small cloth, examining it for only a moment. She nodded to herself, and ran back around the counter. I finished cleaning up Vulpix's mess, and scolded her for not listening. I went up to the counter, and watched as the woman prepared some kind of liquid in a bottle. Once it was filled and sealed with a childproof cap, hopefully not to prevent me from drinking it, the woman turned around and handed me the bottle and handkerchief.
"Is this it?" I took the items and stored them safely in my 'key items' pocket. What? I had my bag organized with compartments!
"Yup, just tell Jasmine to apply that to the Pokemon's skin and for it to drink a few drops, and only a few. It should perk right up, and be healthy as a Rapidash in a day."
"Thank you, and I'm sorry again about the mess Vulpix made." I gave the woman a bow, and she forgave my Pokemon with a small handwave.
"Don't worry about it. Tell that lazy oaf Preston to stop sending kids to do his own chores for me, will ya?"
"Um... okay," I said, unsure how to respond to that. Before I walked out the door, I remembered one last thing I had to pick up while here. "I almost forgot! I need medicine for the Miltank at Moo Moo Farm."
"Running yet another errand, now for that whale Martha?" The woman asked with a raised eyebrow. I would consider Martha to be a large woman, but calling her a whale was more than an insult.
"Her Miltank is sick, and I offered to pick up some medicine for her, since I was coming this way." Though now that I thought about it, I hadn't even asked what was wrong with Miltank in the first place.
"Here," said the woman, handing me what looked like a dried tree root wrapped in plastic. I took the... thing... and put it in the same pocket of my bag.
"Is this it? I don't even know what's wrong with Miltank."
"Martha gave me a call a couple days ago. I hadn't gotten around to mailing that, is all. Can't count on that whale to pick it up in person, either." For a person dedicated to helping people and Pokemon with medicines, she was surprisingly lazy and critical of others. I kept that comment to myself, however.
"Well, thank you for everything. I should be going, now." I gave her a bow and let myself out of the pharmacy as quickly as I could without seeming rude.
Vulpix was feeling a bit down after I yelled at her in the pharmacy, so she kept some distance between us. With the medicine in my possession, there was really only one task remaining for me, and that was right across the street. Before I could cross, though, Vulpix started barking at something to the north. I looked over in that direction, and just barely caught a glimpse of something blue run away. Curious, I started running towards it, Vulpix leading the way.
"Quick, girl! Follow it!"
Vulpix went into a full sprint, leaving me behind to catch up. A few people noticed us running, but since the blue blur had long since vanished, I guess they thought I was chasing Vulpix instead. At the north end of town, Vulpix was barking at a large Pokemon. I dug around my bag for my Pokedex, but unfortunately the critter was spooked by something and instantly took off again. I watched as it ran across the ocean's surface towards the Whirl Islands. At that moment, I heard someone run up behind me, gasping for breath as he caught the rear end of the Pokemon before it vanished on the horizon.
"Blast! I nearly had it!" The man pulled out a notepad and made a few notes on it before turning his attention to myself.
"What was that?" I asked, not expecting him to practically blow up at me.
"You ruined my chance to study Suicune! Just what did you think you were doing, girl?" Vulpix stepped between the man and me, growling at him and forcing him to back off.
"What? Suicune? Vulpix just saw something and started chasing it. I didn't know what it was." I explained in my defense.
"Oh, never mind. Looks like I'll have to cross the ocean yet again to catch him." The man turned to leave, but I ran to stop him.
"Wait! Who are you, and what was that Pokemon?" He sighed, but chose to answer.
"My name is Eusine. I'm a Pokemon Researcher and scholar. That Pokemon was Suicune, a legendary beast that calls the entirety of Johto its home. I've been hot on its trail for the past two years, but have yet to catch more than a glimpse of it." He focused his eyes on me, which made me feel slightly uncomfortable.
"Y-Yes? What is it?"
"How is it that you were able to stare him down for so long, so easily? Every time I get close, Suicune sprints off in a different direction, yet it stood still before you. Who are you?"
"I'm Star, a Pokemon trainer. This is Vulpix, my best friend." I offered a handshake to Eusine, but he instead sized me up.
"So Suicune remained stationary for a Pokemon trainer? Perhaps this was the detail I had been lacking all this time! I must go."
And just like that, Eusine ran off again. He was an odd man, to be sure, but I knew his kind from my travels all too well. I don't know if he ever caught that Pokemon Suicune, but I hope that encounter helped him out.
~o~
Cianwood's gym was quite a sight to behold from the inside. The arena was there, as usual, but the real spectacle was the beautiful waterfall on the leader's side of the building. Sitting underneath the crashing falls was Chuck, the leader. Unlike every other gym I had been to, his name was plastered all over the walls of his gym. Most of it was from news clippings where he had won some kind of tournament or another. With all that water clogging his ears, he didn't hear me as I called out to him, forcing me to walk across the arena to get his attention.
"Excuse me! Chuck!" I was screaming at the top of my lungs from just a couple feet away, and still he didn't hear me. Because he was sitting in the middle of a pool, I couldn't get any closer to poke him without getting soaked myself. I looked down at Vulpix, who was just as confused on how to get his attention.
I looked up at the source of the waterfall, trying to see if there was some way to stop the water. Of course, all this was a grand waste of time, as there was quite literally a switch next to the waterfall to turn it off. Vulpix pointed at it, so I walked around the pool and switched it off. After a few seconds, the waterfall diminished to a few droplets, though Chuck still looked like he was lost in deep meditation.
"Hello? Chuck?" I leaned in close, and realized the issue. He wasn't meditating, he was asleep! Under a waterfall? No wonder he was starting to get fat!
"Vulpix, tackle him."
It was strange for Vulpix to be ordered to attack a person directly, but she executed my command swiftly. The blow to Chuck's pot belly finally brought him back to the waking world, if a bit disoriented.
"Wha-? Who dares disturb my meditation?" He made a motion to get out of the pool, but slipped and fell back in. I tried to contain my laugh, but a few giggles escaped me. Chuck crawled out of the pool at last, and after drying off a bit with a towel, finally took notice of me.
"Something funny, girl? Who are you?"
"I'm sorry, I couldn't stop myself. My name is Star, sir. I've come to challenge you to a Pokemon battle." I offered my hand in greeting and apology, but Chuck didn't take it.
"Sure thing. I've meditated enough for today," he said with a hearty yawn. I didn't want to cause anymore trouble, so I didn't bring up the fact he had been out cold under the waterfall. He threw his towel over his shoulder, but missed it somehow, causing it to land in the pool. Once he noticed, he scrambled to get it out, but the garment was already soaked through.
"Darn, wife won't like this." He mumbled to himself.
"Oh, you're married, Chuck?" This was the first time I met a gym leader with an actual family, Brock's siblings aside. Always felt like being a leader took away your time to have a life of your own.
"That's right! Though Tara's not always happy with me. She says I don't spend enough time with her." Chuck threw his soaked towel on the floor, no doubt hoping that would do the trick and let it dry out. I sighed, and picked it up, throwing it over a set of weights just beside the waterfall.
"I see you're good at housework." He said with a chuckle.
"And not because I'm a girl!" I pouted. Chuck let out a bellow of a laugh, no doubt finding the image of me with my hands on my hips simply adorable.
"I don't have a lot of time, Chuck. Can we get started?" I quickly explained my situation, with the ferry being set to depart soon and the sick Pokemon of the lighthouse.
"Say no more! Let's get this battle over with! Should you lose, which probably will happen, I'll just challenge you again in Olivine, so that you don't miss the ferry back!"
Nothing wrong with Chuck feeling confident, but I was certain I'd defeat him on my first try. I ran back across the arena, setting myself up for the battle. Chuck released his first Pokemon, a Primeape, which hit right where it hurt. All Pokemon essentially looked alike, so it was hard not seeing my own critter in the Primeape across from me. Chuck, despite being rather dense on other fronts, noticed my discomfort right away.
"Something wrong, Star?" I shook my head.
"No, it's nothing. What are the rules?" I quickly learned Chuck had superb eyesight, as from over thirty feet away, he noticed a single tear escape my eye. He recalled Primeape, and ran across the arena.
"Star? There's something bothering ya, what is it?"
"It's just... I had a Primeape until recently. He died, because this bad man- trainer,- used an illegal move in battle. Just hurt to see another Primeape, is all." As I talked, I felt my eyes well up, but I did my best to keep it all in. Chuck offered me a bit of consolation, patting my shoulder.
"Truly sorry, Star. If you'd like, I can use other Pokemon, make you feel better?"
"No, it'd be unfair. Let's just start the match." I didn't want to cry my way to an easier victory, no matter how effective that was. Chuck nodded, and walked back across the arena, this time releasing a Poliwrath.
"There are no rules, Star! Give me everything ya got!"
I chose Beedrill as my first Pokemon, hoping the flying advantage he had would offset the bug type disadvantage. I was fighting an uphill battle, and I knew it wouldn't be easy.
"Poliwrath, Focus Punch!"
"Beedrill, fly up high!"
Poliwrath charged towards Beedrill, but the yellow Pokemon took to the sky, where Poliwrath's punch had no chance of reaching him. I'd have to play keep away with Beedrill's attacks to slowly but surely defeat Chuck. Not the best strategy considering my limited time on the island.
"Beedrill, Posion Sting!"
"Poliwrath, Seismic Toss!"
The large blue Pokemon readied itself, hoping to catch Beedrill when he moved in for the attack. What Poliwrath didn't know was that Beedrill didn't have to get very close to use his attack! The large bee dove in, but stopped just a few feet short of Poliwrath to launch a stinger projectile directly at Poliwrath's chest. The Pokemon, caught off guard completely, hunched forward, trying to null the pain. Fortunately, after he recovered from the blow, he showed signs of fatigue. The poison had got to him.
"That's it! Use Surf!"
"Beedrill, fly up high again!"
Confident that any attack in Poliwrath's arsenal couldn't reach Beedrill, I stood cocky on my end of the arena. However, my confidence started to dissolve and merge with the growing mass of water surrounding Poliwrath, whose body flashed blue for a split second. Before I could order a counterattack, the mass of water propelled Poliwrath sky high, a huge tidal wave following him. Beedrill froze in place as the wave came crashing down on him, washing both critters away. I covered myself as best I could, trying not to be soaked by the splash of the wave as it crashed back down.
When I could see again, and the waters had receded, I saw Beedrill on the ground. Poliwrath stood over him, his arms raised high in victory. Chuck started cheering himself on as well, though I was left utterly shocked at the display. How had Poliwrath managed to summon up all that water out of no where?
"Choose your next Pokemon, Star! Don't forget, you're on the clock!" I recalled Beedrill, and went with Ariados as my next choice. Once Chuck noticed the critter, he scratched his head. "You got a thing for bugs?"
"No, they just happen to flock around me. Ariados, use String Shot!"
"Focus Punch, Poliwrath! Knock it outta here!"
Poliwrath rushed Ariados down, his fist pulled back and ready to strike down my Pokemon. Ariados flashed green for a second, which shocked me. Tensions were clearly high, and Ariados proved it with his amazing new ability. I checked the Pokedex to see just what this new move was; Spider Web. Ariados launched a mass of sticky substance on Poliwrath, completely encasing him. Unlike the normal String Shot, however, there was no hope for Poliwrath to escape this time.
"Ariados, use Pin Missile!"
"Poliwrath, get out of that, NOW!"
Ariados aimed the two legs on its back at the mass of web, propelling itself forward to drive them into Poliwrath. After the attack was done, Ariados pulled back, and drove them in again from a different angle. And again, from a third, fourth and fifth angle. After this, the white mass stopped shaking, and Ariados went through the trouble of cutting through it. Inside, Poliwrath was knocked out completely. Chuck recalled the Pokemon, and released the Primeape from earlier.
"Alright, Primeape, Seismic Toss!"
"Ariados, use Psychic!"
Primeape ran in for the kill, but was stopped entirely just before he touched Ariados. The monkey stood there, frozen for a few seconds, until he was sent flying at rocket speed towards Chuck. Rather than move out of the way, Chuck held his ground, intending to catch his Pokemon. The monkey crashed into Chuck, sending both flying backwards and into the pool.
"Chuck! Are you okay?" I didn't run over to check on him, not wanting to lose the match on a technicality. Not that Chuck would do something so cheap to win, but I didn't want to take that chance. After a few moments, Chuck crawled out of the pool again, carrying his Primeape with him.
"Looks like ya win, Star. Poor Primeape's out cold."
~o~
I waved farewell to Chuck from the deck of the ferry. He asked me to share his best wishes with Jasmine and the Pokemon of the lighthouse, but sadly couldn't take the trip with me. After my victory, and he handed me the Stormbadge, his wife busted into the gym, demanding that Chuck get home right away. It was quite a hilarious sight, seeing that large tough guy hang his head in shame as his wife scolded him right in front of me. She was probably half his size, too!
As the ferry pulled away from Cianwood, I asked someone sitting nearby if I could borrow their camera, hoping to take a single picture of the beautiful beach in the sunset.
"Oh, don't worry," said the girl I had asked, "I already took like three of them! If you want, I can give you a copy when I get it developed at Olivine. What's your name?"
"I'm Star, and thanks!"
"I'm Yunie. You a Pokemon trainer?" I nodded, taking note of Yunie's appearance. She was dressed similarly to me, sporting a yellow shirt with a denim skirt, her hair held back in a ponytail with a large blue ribbon.
"Yeah, I was running some errands in Cianwood for a few friends." I gave her a quick recap of my trip to Cianwood, and why I was there.
"How nice of you. Staying in Olivine City after you're done?"
"No, I think I'll head back east," I told her, checking the map on my Pokegear. "There are still two more gym badges I have to collect from the region."
"You're trying to get into the Pokemon League?"
"No, collecting badges is just a hobby of sorts," I said. It was a strange hobby, to be sure.
"Well, have you ever been to Hoenn? I'm heading there for a couple photo shoots in a couple weeks."
"Actually, I was thinking about going there myself! Is there a ship headed there soon?" I asked, remembering my chat with Mom. If everything panned out correctly, I'd have to call her tonight and arrange for her to send me that money.
"The SS Aqua leaves from Olivine City for Hoenn in a couple weeks, actually. I have a ticket already, see?" Yunie reached into her backpack, and showed me her ticket, the logo clearly visible on the piece of plastic.
"That's so cool! But you're not a trainer, are you?"
"Kinda. I don't like battling much, so I only do it when I absolutely have to. I also only have one Pokemon." Yunie dug around her backpack, pulling out a Pokeball that had been decorated with countless stickers. She released the critter inside, a little yellow Pokemon that resembled a Pikachu, only not quite. It was a Pichu.
"How cute!" I reached out to pet the critter, though its cheeks started to let out a few sparks when I got close. Vulpix moved up on the bench, barking at the Pokemon for a bit, then hearing out Pichu's response.
"Her name's Starly, I got her as a gift when I was little. I never wanted to be a Pokemon trainer, so it was an odd gift, but we became friends quickly." Yunie picked Starly up, hugging the Pokemon closely.
"So what do you do?" I eyed her camera, and silently guessed photography.
"I'm a photographer, though not professional yet. I'm practicing, though!" She showed me her camera, seeming quite proud of her path in life.
The trip back to Olivine was quite joyous with Yunie at my side. Like my trip to Cianwood with Charlie, I had lucked out and made something of a friend along the way. Because Yunie and I hit it off so well, I knew I'd have a great friend to talk with on the voyage to Hoenn in the coming weeks. All I had to do now was call Mom to arrange it all.