Chapter Three
[2 April- 8:00a- Viridian City- Pokemon Center]
"Thank you very much." a tired Will says, rubbing his eyes and accepting his Pokemon back from Nurse Joy.
"Any time." she replies, taking the tray back to the stack. "I would suggest that you pitch a tent either at the end of the forest or just outside of it. Most forget that the end of the forest doesn't mean that you've reached Pewter City, and by the time you get through the forest it will be nightfall."
"Thanks." Will responds, smiling.
"Good luck," she finishes, returning to the back room. Will turns around and heads out, making a quick stop at the PokeMart to stock up on some Potions and Pokeballs. After doing so, he makes his way to the northern gate of the city.
"It was!" an elderly man calls out, Officer Jenny trying to calm him down. Will looks at him curiously as he walks.
"Sir, Absol are very rare in this part of the world." Officer Jenny assures him.
"Exactly! You there, traveler!" he calls out, referring to Will. "Be warned! There's an Absol lurking! Disaster is going to strike!" Officer Jenny dials up her radio.
"Okay." Will says with uncertainty. He had previously learned that Absol were known for appearing when a disaster was about to fall upon the area.
"I'm going to need some help here" is all Will hears Officer Jenny say before he finds himself out of range, passing into the first leg of Viridian Forest.
"That was very strange." Will admits, throwing his two pokeballs into the air. Vulpix and Eevee appear by his side and the three enter into the forest.
[11:45a]
Will and his Pokemon battle a few Caterpie on the way through legs one and two of the forest.
"Here you go." Will says, pulling one of the potions from his bag and spraying the damaged Caterpie. The Caterpie looks at him once more before retreating into the forest. Will returns the half-empty bottle to his bag. "Alright, onward."
The three walk for a while, along the way watching a flock of Pidgey fly by.
"Pidgey doesn't sound like a bad idea." Will comments, watching the birds. "Alright Vulpix. Ember attack…now!" Will points in front of him at a low flying Pidgey. The bird-Pokemon turns away, avoiding the attack. Will scratches his head, deciding to continue walking through the forest. Spying another one, he tries again.
"Fire Spin, go!" he calls, Vulpix obeying. This attack lands, trapping the Pidgey in a ring of fire temporarily and forcing it to the ground. PIdgey flaps its wings, gusting the flames out. The bird then looks up at the human trainer. "Now use Ember!" Vulpix sends a thin blast of fire at the bird, who narrowly dodges it before flying at Vulpix. "Use Quick Attack!" Will says, watching his Pokemon collide with the bird as he did in his match with Ryan. Both rebound off of the other, distracting the bird as Will pulls out a pokeball. "Pokeball, go!" he says, launching the Pokeball at the weakened bird. A direct landing, the bird is transferred into the ball, which begins to shake. "Come on…" Will says with tension, watching the ball blink and shake. Slowly, the ball calms and the light turns on for a full five seconds. "Caught!" Will announces, running to pick up his new Pokeball. "You catch a rest for a while, Pidgey, and you can meet the team later." With a smile, Will puts the Pokeball with the others and decides to break for lunch.
[12:30p]
''Alright, Pidgey," Will begins, having finished and packed up from lunch. "Test drive!" The pokeball opens to reveal his new Pokemon, who utters its cry at him. "Pidgey, gust attack on that Weedle over there!" PIdgey locates the desired Weedle and flies over to attack, flapping its wings furiously. "Alright, dive and use Quick Attack!" Pidgey dives for the Pokemon, but it rolls out of the way, sending Pidgey back up into the skies. "Wrap around and try again!" Will suggests, this time successful. Will walks over to the weakened Weedle, deciding not to catch the creature. Instead, like he did the Caterpies, he heals the creature with a potion, as well as his own Pidgey, which lands on his head.
"Off you go." Will says to the creature, which hastily runs for safety of the bushes.
"A strange trainer." a man, who is hiding a considerable distance away, notes. "Hey Greg, do you know of anyone who would heal a freaking Pokémon instead of catching it?" he says over his radio.
"No one in this brigade." the man on the other end, Greg, replies.
"Wimp." is heard next from a deeper voiced person. The other two cease their conversation in slight fear of the voice. The man hiding turns away, heading back to his tent.
[6:00p- ForestxRoute2- North Forest Gate]
"I told her that if we got a head start we would get here earlier," Ryan boasts, now a mere hour away from Pewter City.
"I know." Liz replies, looking down the road. "I'm just happy to get out of those woods."
"How far do you think that Will kid is behind us?" Ryan asks, setting pace for the road.
"He didn't look like he was leaving until this morning, so he might not get here until tomorrow." Liz says, following at her brother's side.
"Hmph." Ryan says. "I'll be battling Forrest in the morning. No good."
"You could actually wait a decent amount of time before challenging him again." Liz points out.
"Not my style." Ryan comments.
[8:30p- Pewter Pokemon Center]
A fourteen-year-old sporting jet black hair and a leather jacket walks into the Pokemon Center, standing in line behind Ryan and Liz.
"Thank you, Nurse Joy." Liz says, accepting her Pokemon back and releasing her Squirtle onto the ground. Ryan turns around.
"About time you got he- oh." he begins, realizing his mistake. "You're not Will. I thought you were someone else."
"Nope. Not exactly a sporting 'hello', either." the boy points out, stepping between them to get to the counter. Liz's Squirtle moves closer to her leg.
"What's wrong?" Liz asks, looking down. Squirtle shows the slightest hesitation with the boy.
"Just two today." the boy says to Nurse Joy.
"Shouldn't be too long." she assures him, taking the balls into the back.
"Thank you much." he replies, turning around to face the blondes.
"Squirtle, what is up with you?" Liz asks, ready to recall her Pokemon if it refuses to stop pestering. Ryan looks at the situation and inquires.
"What Pokemon do you have?" Ryan asks, trying to sound innocent.
"Well, I caught a Hoothoot in the forest on my way," the boy responds, heading for the door.
"And the other?" Ryan asks.
"Hmm" the boy replies playing coy; not wanting to say. "You would know if you hadn't left Viridian so soon." Ryan gives him a less-than-amused look as the dark-haired one takes leave.
"Well someone's playing mysterious." Liz says, recalling Squirtle. "Maybe he was the one who stopped your match."
"Yeah, and he knows it, too." Ryan deduces. "No matter." Liz sighs.
[9:30p- Viridian Forest, Last Leg]
"Finally!" Will exclaims, his Pokemon shut away in their pokeballs. A yawn interrupts the situation. Will's. "Now, Nurse Joy suggested that I stop here and rest. Good call." Will pitches his tent, and then calls out Vulpix. Piling an array of sticks next to his tent, Vulpix starts a fire.
"Fire Pokemon. Gotta' love'em." Will remarks, warming his hands from the cooling forest. He takes some of the food he packed from Viridian Mart and begins to eat, offering a portion of Pokemon food to Vulpix who eats it with a smile. Vulpix finishes and then sits down next to his trainer. Will pets its head, looking out at the forest. One by one, Metapod begin lighting up in the forest before him. Each in its own time, they evolve into Butterfree, flying into the night.
The thought of trying to catch one of them crosses Will's mind, but he decides against, taking in the moment. Soon enough, all of the newly-evolved creatures disappear from view. Will pours the rest of a bottle of water out and douses the fire and heads to bed for the night.
"I wonder how far the blondes made it today…" he wonders to himself in his sleeping bag. "Odds on Ryan challenging Forrest the second he gets his Pokemon healed?" he asks his Vulpix, who responds by jumping on top of him.
"Valid point, I don't know them well enough to judge so quickly. Good night, Vulpix." Will leans over the bed to his vest, pulling out Vulpix's pokeball and calling him in for the night.
[3 April- 9:00a]
Over the Viridian Forest, the sun was poking through the trees minimally, creating just a bit of light on the floor.
On the morning a Fearow had kindly taken perch on the top of Will's tent, the weight causing the tent to dip. As the bird realized that is was slowly making its way to the ground, it launched into the air, sending the tent backward and down.
"What the?" Will calls, rudely awoken by the tent falling on him. "Blast!" Taking his bag with him, he makes his way beneath the roof of the tent, looking for an exit. After about a minute, he finds fresh air.
"Well this isn't the start to the morning I wanted." Will mutters.
"Sorry!" an older girl calls out to him, running his direction. As she arrives, she begins laughing. "I'm sorry, Fearow thought it would be an idea to land on top of your tent."
"It's fine." Will says, scratching the back of his head and looking down at his misshapen tent.
"Here, let me help you with that" she offers, picking up and separating the tent into its pieces.
"Thanks" Will replies, digging his sleeping bag out as she does. The cleaning of the tent takes a mere five minutes, as does rolling the sleeping bag and repacking.
"I'll make sure to keep Fearow within range" she says, the bird in question landing beside her. "Have a safe trip!"
"You, too." Will replies, turning the other way and out of Viridian Forest.
[10:00a- Pewter Pokemon Center]
"Sorry for the delay, Mr. Pearson." Nurse Joy says, the dark-haired boy accepting his Pokemon.
"It's cool. I'm in no rush" he replies.
"Well, that gives us a last name." Ryan says, emerging from the back rooms.
"You never asked for my name yesterday. I would have been happy to oblige." he reminds them. "Nathan, for the record."
"Well then, Nathan." Ryan says, cut off with a blank mind. Regaining his focus, he changes topic. "Off to challenge the Gym Leader this morning?"
"This afternoon." Nathan corrects, putting his pokeballs away. "I intend to actually practice before I walk into a Gym." Ryan puts on a death stare.
"Hmph" he says, turning around to walk back to his room. Liz gives a sneaky shrug and follows him.
"You know, my niece in Viridian City tells me the worst things about them." Nurse Joy points out, reappearing behind the counter. "They don't seem that horrible. What do they think you did?"
"They believe that I stopped the boy's match with someone named Will outside of Viridian Gym two days ago." Nathan informs.
"Well did you?"
"Yes, but it was very much so warranted."
"How so?"
"His opponent told him to stop the battle, and he refused." Nathan explains. "I sent a Night Slash their way. Stopped the battle"
"Hmm. I see." Nurse Joy comments. "Probably best."
"They don't know that, though." Nathan adds.
"They'll figure it out eventually" she reminds.
[11:00a- Pewter South Gate]
"Finally!" Will calls, looking over the hill at Pewter City. Now running down the hill, Will looks over the landscape for the Pokemon Center. Locating it quickly, he makes it his first stop. Reaching the door, he finds a black-haired boy walking out.
"Good morning." he says, holding the door for him.
"Good morning." Will replies, yawning.
"Long night?"
"Not really. I just slept too late." Will explains, turning inside as the boy walks away. "Hmm…"
"Welcome to the Pokemon Center!" Nurse Joy announces with a little bit too much energy.
"Hello, Nurse Joy." Will replies. "I'm Will Anderson. The Cinnabar Island Nurse Joy told me that you were her sister."
"That's correct" she says with a smile. "How is she?"
"She's doing excellently."
"What can I do for you today?"
"Three Pokemon," Will says, putting the pokeballs on the table. "They rested overnight, though."
"Good trainer. This should be no problem." she assures him, walking away to the back. "Nope, not long at all. You'll be in fighting form for the Gym in no time."
"Great, thanks." Will replies, taking a seat, thinking about the exchange earlier. "Do I know him…no…no one I can think of."
"Excuse me." Nurse Joy says, interrupting Will's thought.
"Yes?" Will says, turning to the desk.
"You said your name was Will, yes? A blonde-haired boy was here a couple hours ago looking for a Will. You wouldn't be him, would you?"
"If his name was Ryan, yes." Will replies. "Why, what did he want?"
"He was curious as to when you would get here. He went to the Gym an hour ago; him and his sister" Nurse Joy says. "They also interrogated the boy you passed on the way in about his Pokemon."
"Well, that's strange. Why?" Will asks.
"They believe that the boy was responsible for stopping a battle and an opponent who I presume is you."
"Ah!" Will spouts. "Where did he go?"
"He just left for the gym, where you'll probably be headed in an hour." Nurse Joy.
"Maybe we'll meet up later."
[11:15- Pewter City Gym]
"Each participant will use only two Pokemon to battle." Forrest declares.
"Sounds good to me." Nathan calls back, looking to his upper-right.
"Excuse me, you already got your badge." Forrest calls up to the two blondes who were sneaking around in the tunnel. "Are they friends of yours?" he asks.
"No, they are not. I don't want them here either, if that's okay."
"Fair enough. Salvadore, would you please guide them to the door?" Forrest says.
"Sure, bro." the man standing next to the referee says, jogging over to the tunnel.
"You two are outta here!"
"But we just want to watch." Ryan complains.
"But I don't." Nathan calls to them.
"If the challenger does not want you in here during his match, then you are required to leave." Forrest announces, leaving that as that. As they are escorted out, Forrest turns back to his opponent. "Now, I'll make the opening move by calling out Crobat!"
"I'll begin with my Hoothoot!" Nathan says, throwing its pokeball
[11:20- Outside]
"Well that's not fair." Ryan complains.
"It is in the rulebook." Liz says, examining it carefully. "Right here, it says, 'If the challenger of a Gym Leader has assistants, friends, family, etc., they are permitted to attend without needing the Gym Leader's approval. If a challenger wishes that a spectator leave or otherwise not witness, they are required to leave subject to the will of the Gym Leader.'"
"I don't care what that book says, I want to know what that Pokemon is." Ryan retorts, slamming his fists on the stone wall of the Gym.
Not far away, two men in trench coats are talking by the trees.
"We're set to go this evening, sir" the taller one says to his two-way radio.
"Excellent. Don't screw this up, we only have one chance."
"We won't let you down, sir."
"I certainly hope not."
X
X
[3 April- 12:00p- Pewter Pokemon Center]
"Here you are, Will." Nurse Joy says, presenting him with his pokeballs. Behind him, a taller man walks in the door.
"Oh hello, Forrest, what can I do for you?" Nurse Joy asks, turning to him.
"My transporter is out and I need to exchange teams." Forrest explains.
"Tsk. I'll call someone to come over and fix it, but as for your Pokemon," she says, rummaging under the desk, "here they are." She hands him two pokeballs, both marked with a Boulder Badge. Forrest hands her two in exchange.
"This is Rhyperior's ball." Nurse Joy notes, smiling. "And who took the liberty of this one?"
"A mister Nathan Pearson." Forrest replies. "A tight match."
"You're Forrest?" Will asks, turning to the man.
"Yes. Are you looking to challenge my Gym?" he asks in return.
"I am."
"Forrest, this is Will Anderson." Nurse Joy says, putting the two balls under the desk.
"Pleasure to meet you." Forrest says, extending a hand. Will accepts, nervous. "Well, let's get going. Gym's this way."
Will thanks Nurse Joy for his Pokemon once again, taking out his Pokedex and finding Rhyperior.
"Rhyperior, the evolved form of Rhydon. It can launch a rock held in its hand like a missile by tightening then expanding muscles instantly."
"I only have one Rhyperior." Forrest points out.
"Still, fun to learn." Will says, putting the ball away.
"Very." Forrest agrees, silent the rest of the way.
AN: Ryan and Nathan both have their first badges, and now Will is to take his turn against Forrest for the Boulder Badge. Next time: Pewter City Gym
Until then,