It's Our Destiny
Chapter 2:
The sun was beginning to make its way towards the horizon. Dan and Charmander had been walking for several hours, and both of them were starting to get tired. Dan glanced at his poke'tch, which was imported from the Sinnoh region, and saw it was just after 7:00 p.m. As long as he kept up his pace, he was certain he'd make it to Viridian before the sun vanished. "Just a little further, Charmander."
"Char!" Charmander acknowledged what Dan had said and continued moving forward alongside its trainer.
Dan and Charmander continued walking. There was a sudden rustle in the bushes, and Dan stopped walking abruptly. "Charmander did you hear that?"
"Char…" Charmander waddled backwards and hid behind Dan's legs. The rustling in the bushes continued, when out of nowhere a hoard of Weedle appeared. There were at least 5 Weedle surrounding Dan and Charmander.
Normally Dan wouldn't have been frightened by a small bug Pokémon, but he was out numbered, and he had heard that Weedle were poisonous. There's too many. "Charmander return!" Dan pulled out Charmander's poke'ball and commanded that Charmander retreat. Charmander was about to protest, but it was too late, it had been sucked inside the ball. Dan put Charmander's poke'ball safely on his belt and watched the Weedle carefully. He waited a moment, and then he ran.
Dan felt a pang of panic as he ran. The Weedle were surprisingly fast, and were able to shoot pin-missile attacks at him. He ducked, just barely avoiding the poison needles. He had outrun the Weedle, but they weren't alone. Next thing he knew, he was running from Beedrill. He had heard about Beedrill swarms on Route 1 and Viridian forest, but he didn't expect to be attacked when he was just minding his own business.
The Beedrill dove at Dan over and over trying to sting him. Dan was starting to run out of breath, and he couldn't run as fast. Eventually, his pace almost came to a halt, and he stumbled to the ground avoiding another sting. Sat on the ground he looked up at a dozen Beedrill staring him down. He knew he couldn't run, so he simply ducked his head and shielded his face with his arm. The buzzing of the Beedrill got louder and louder. Dammit this is gonna hurt!
"Vivillon, use gust!" a voice shouted from the distance. Dan looked up in panic and saw all the Beedrill being blown far away from him. He scrambled to his feet and looked around frantically for whoever saved him.
"Hello? Who was that?" he shouted. There was no response. He didn't even see the Pokémon that had used the gust attack. "Whoever you are, thanks." Dan gave the area one last look before quickly fleeing the scene.
Thanks to all the running, Dan was able to make it to Viridian City just at nightfall. He was out of breath and exhausted. He trudged to the Pokémon center, and was relieved to see a nurse at the front desk. He walked up to the front desk and brought out Charmander's poke'ball. "Excuse me, Ms."
The nurse looked up from her computer and met eyes with Dan. "Oh! Hello. And no need for Ms. My name is Nurse Joy. How can I help you?"
"Hello, Nurse Joy, um, can my Charmander take a rest here?" asked Dan holding out Charmander's poke'ball.
"Of course!" beamed Nurse Joy taking the poke'ball. "Would you like to stay here overnight as well?"
"Yes, please."
Nurse Joy fumbled with a drawer to her left. She then pulled out a room key and handed it to Dan. "Room 12 is open. Single bed, right?" Dan nodded his head yes. "Okay, perfect. Can I have your name so I can page you when Charmander is healthy?"
"I'm Dan."
Nurse Joy smiled so brightly it was almost unnerving to Dan. "Nice to meet you, Dan. I'll call you over the intercom when you can pick up your Pokémon."
Dan nodded his head and started to back away from the front desk. "Thank you," he said as he turned away and started towards the rooms.
He made it to room 12 and used the key to unlock it. Inside was actually pretty nice. There was a single bed, a small dresser, and a desk with a chair. Dan plopped his backpack on the desk, and then sat down on the bed. He allowed himself to fall backwards and lay down with his legs dangling over the edge. He started thinking back to the incident on Route 1. He would have been a mess without the help of…well he had no idea. Who had helped him? Whoever it was, was probably a guy, judging by the voice. Also, the Pokémon name he had yelled. What was it? Vivillon?
Dan's curiosity was driving him insane. He got up from the bed and left the room. He remembered seeing some public computers to the right of the front desk, so he decided to see if he could at least figure out which Pokémon had helped him.
Once he was sat at the computer, Dan pulled up a Pokémon search engine. He did his best to spell Vivillon, and luckily the computer picked up on what he meant when he typed "Vivilen". It corrected him, and brought up a picture of a beautiful Pokémon. It was a butterfly Pokémon with giant, brightly colored wings. However, the wings varied in colors. Depending on the environment, Vivillon could have anything from pink, to green, to blue, almost any color of wings. Dan was surprised. A butterfly had saved him? He scrolled down to look at the most common attacks that Vivillon could learn. "Gust" was the first move listed.
"Dan, your Charmander is ready to be picked up," said Nurse Joy over the intercom. Dan huffed as he shut down the computer. Even though he knew which Pokémon it was, he would never be able to find the trainer. He walked up to Nurse Joy and took his Charmander's poke'ball from her.
"Thank you," he said still feeling gloomy.
Nurse Joy noticed that Dan was upset and couldn't help but to ask, "Dear, what's wrong?"
Dan shook his head, "It's nothing really. I was attacked by wild Pokémon, and someone saved me, but I have no idea who it was. All I know is the Pokémon they used was a Vivillon."
"A couple of trainers with Vivillon stopped by here."
Dan's eyes widened. "Are they still here?"
"Unfortunately they all already left to head to Pewter City," said Nurse Joy with a saddened expression. Dan's hope faded and he looked severely disappointed. Nurse Joy gave him an endearing smile. "I wouldn't give up hope. You're a trainer looking to earn badges or ribbons, right?"
"Badges," Dan confirmed.
"Then you might be able to find who saved you in Pewter City. There's a gym there; all of them were headed there to challenge the gym leader Brock. All except for one, that is." Dan looked at Nurse Joy curiously. "Oh. One person was a coordinator. They were on their way there because the contest hall renovations are almost complete."
"I see. Well thank you. I hope I can find them so I can thank them," said Dan with a small smile.
Nurse Joy smiled back, "I hope fate allows you two to meet, whoever they may be. Have a good night, Dan."
"Thank you, Nurse Joy," said Dan. He attached Charmander's poke'ball to his belt and went back to his room.
Dan walked into his room and let Charmander out of its poke'ball. Charmander immediately looked panicked and ran to Dan, clinging to him. Dan sat down on the floor and Charmander jumped into his arms. Dan hugged his Pokémon close to him. "It's okay, Charmander. I'm safe."
Charmander looked up at Dan, "Char-man?" it seemed to be asking what had happened.
Dan pet Charmander on its head as he told his Pokémon the story. "So to conclude," he said at the end of the tale, "I'm okay, but I have no idea who saved my life." Charmander looked at him curiously. "By the way, why were you so afraid when I brought you out of the poke'ball?" Dan suddenly felt dumb for asking a Pokémon such a specific question.
"Char-man! Char-char!" exclaimed Charmander. It was gesturing to its ears.
Dan's eyes widened in shock. "You could hear everything?" Charmander nodded its head yes. "Oh god. I'm sorry, mate." Charmander simply snuggled up to Dan in response.
Later that night when Dan went to bed, Charmander curled up by his stomach. Charmander's tail kept the air warm, and even though Dan was far from home, he slept soundly.
The next morning came, and Dan practically jumped out of bed. Charmander jumped down from the bed and looked up at Dan with a giant grin. Dan unzipped his bag and pulled out a container of Pokémon food. He popped off the cap and poured some of the food into his hand. Getting to his knees, he held out the food to Charmander. Charmander used its small claws to grab pieces of food, and it ate very quickly. Dan smiled, "After you eat, we'll get a move on."
After Charmander finished eating, Dan made sure he had all of his belongings, and he left the Pokémon center. Dan checked the map on his poke'nav, which was imported from the Hoenn region, to make sure he was headed the right way. Luckily he was, and soon enough he was on Route 2. He felt nerves settling in, because not too far from Route 2 was the Viridian Forest, which meant even more bug Pokémon. He took a deep breath and kept moving forward. Charmander was tucked safely away in its poke'ball, and Route 2 was peacefully quiet.
It wasn't long before wild Pokémon started appearing, and this time Dan wasn't as afraid. Dan pulled out Charmander's poke'ball and threw it high, "Go! Charmander!"
"Char!" cried out Charmander as it landed on the ground. It was faced with a Caterpie. Dan knew he didn't want to catch it since he had limited poke'balls, but he wanted Charmander to start getting battling experience. He pulled out his poke'dex and scanned the Caterpie.
"Caterpie, the worm Pokémon. Caterpie uses the suction cups on its feet to climb trees and feed on its favorite leaves," said the poke'dex in a male, robotic voice.
"Alright, Charmander use ember!" commanded Dan.
Charmander built up bright, orange flames in its mouth, and then launched the fire at the Caterpie. The Caterpie was badly burned, and it quickly crawled away.
"Great job, Charmander!" said Dan as Charmander hopped into his arms. "You won your first battle." Charmander beamed.
"How about a real battle, kid?" asked a voice. From the distance a woman approached Dan. She held a poke'ball in her hand. "I recently got into battling. Why don't we give it a go?"
Dan set Charmander down, and turned on the sass full blast. "Okay, first of all, I'm not a kid, second, bring it on."
The woman smirked. "My name is Beth. What's yours?"
"Dan."
"Well, Dan, are you ready to lose?" Beth held out her poke'ball towards Dan.
Charmander took a stance, and Dan shoved his hands into his pockets. Dan was nervous to battle, but he didn't want to appear that way. "Just choose your Pokémon."
"Bellsprout, go!" shouted Beth as she threw her poke'ball. From the poke'ball emerged an odd plant-like Pokémon.
Dan pulled out his poke'dex. The poke'dex spoke out information, "A Bellsprout's thin and flexible body lets it bend and sway to avoid any attack, however strong it may be. From its mouth, it leaks a fluid that melts even iron."
This won't be easy. "Alright. Charmander, start out with scratch!" shouted Dan. Charmander charged towards the Bellsprout, its claws ready to swipe.
"Bellsprout, dodge it!" commanded Beth. Bellsprout used its body to sway and miss Charmander's attack. "Now use slam!" Bellsprout smashed its body into Charmander. Charmander tumbled across the grass field. Quickly, it got back to its feet.
Dan's hands tightened into fists in his pocket. He was starting to get anxious. "Charmander use ember!" Charmander rapidly fired pieces of fire at the Bellsprout. Bellsprout wiggled around, managing to evade each attack. Dan bit down, trying to think despite his frustration.
Beth's smirk grew even more sinister. "Use wrap!" Bellsprout wrapped its body tightly around Charmander. It squeezed around Charmander until Charmander was crying out in pain.
"Charmander!" yelled Dan starting to really panic. "Uh! Um! I don't know; bite it!" Beth's eyes widened, and she was about to yell out a command, but it was too late. Charmander sank its teeth into Bellsprout's body, and the plant Pokémon cried out, lost its grip, and stumbled away. "Nice job! Now use ember!" Charmander built up the flames in its mouth and got in a close range attack. Bellsprout was pelted with fire. After a moment, Bellsprout was wobbled around like it was extremely dizzy, and it fell to the ground.
Beth almost screamed. "Bellsprout!" she cried. Her plant Pokémon was down and out. She sighed and brought out her poke'ball. "You did well. Take a rest." Bellsprout was returned to its poke'ball, and Beth placed the ball in her bag. "Congratulations." She rummaged in her bag until she found what she was looking for. She walked over to Dan and held out 200 poke'. "Here."
"Oh," said Dan suddenly feeling guilty. "I can't accept that."
Beth then forcefully put the money in Dan's hand. "It's the rules around these parts. You lose, you pay. Be prepared for that when you meet your match."
"Well, thank you." Dan offered to shake Beth's hand. Beth just looked at him, seeming upset. "Come on. Just shake it. It was a good battle."
With a sigh, Beth shook Dan's hand. "Good battle."
It was a long day and night, but by the next day's morning, Dan had arrived at Pewter City. He took Charmander to the Pokémon center, and took a while to rest himself. He found it strange that the Nurse Joy in Pewter City was identical to the Nurse Joy in Viridian City, but he didn't bother asking any questions.
After taking Charmander back, he made his way to the Pewter City gym. When he walked up to the gym, he spotted three men surrounding someone.
"What right do you have to be here at a gym? This place is for trainers, not for fags," said the biggest man in the group.
The man that was being cornered sank further into a slouch. He was leaning against a wall, seeming irritated but not necessarily afraid. "The contest hall is almost ready. I have the right to be here because your precious gym is holding a contest soon."
All three of the men got even closer. One with a tattoo of a Gyarados spoke up, "Maybe we need to teach you a lesson in how to be a real trainer."
Dan couldn't take it anymore. He ran over and shoved one of the guys away. He stood in front of the man being attacked. "Hey! Back the fuck off!"
"Excuse me?" asked the largest in the group.
Dan's heart was racing. He couldn't take on all three at once, especially not in a Pokémon battle. "You heard me!" Despite only having Charmander, he figured he could at least try to be intimidating. Luckily, he stood about two inches taller than even the leader of the group. For once, being 6'3 wasn't so bad. He brought out his poke'ball and stared down all three men. "Leave. Him. Alone."
"Tch. This is a waste of time. Come on guys," and with that, all three men left.
Dan turned around to the person being harassed. "Are you…okay?" he asked tripping over his words slightly. Whoever this guy was, he was something else. His hair was obsidian and swept to the right, similar to Dan's hair. He wore black skinny jeans much like Dan, but his shirt is where the clothing parallels came to an end. His shirt was white with random splashes of color that made the shape of a Mew. His eyes were a light, almost translucent blue.
Finally he spoke, "I'm fine. Thanks for that. I didn't think they'd leave." He stood up straight, and Dan's eyes widened. He was easily 6'2, because Dan only stood a smidge taller. "I'm Phil. What's your name?"
"I'm Dan," said Dan trying to keep his voice steady. He smiled, more from the fact he felt blush coming on and didn't want it to be seen.
Phil smiled back, "Nice to meet you. And again, thank you. You really stood up to those guys."
Dan chuckled, "I got lucky. All I have is a Charmander."
"Seriously? How old are you, mate?"
Now Dan was definitely blushing, "I'm 23. My parents didn't believe in Pokémon training, so I just got started."
"Oh, that makes sense. I had a similar upbringing. I started at 18, and now I'm 25. I just came here from the Kalos region."
"I thought your accent was from Kalos. That's where I'm from too. I moved here a few years back. What brings you to Kanto?"
Phil shuffled slightly uncomfortable, "Pokémon contests. I competed in the Kalos Grand Festival last year, and I only made the top 8. So I brought 3 Pokémon with me and thought I'd try again here."
Dan gave Phil a genuine smile, "That's pretty cool."
Phil perked up. "You think so?"
"Well, truth be told, I don't know much about contests. Aren't they just beauty competitions?"
"No! Well, yes, but they're so much more than that. They're intense competitions where you get to showcase your Pokémon's beauty and talent!"
"Really? Hm."
Phil smiled sheepishly. "So you're going after the League I assume?"
"Yeah. I'm about to challenge Brock."
"With only a Charmander?"
"Yes, why?"
"I hate to break it to you mate, but Brock raises rock Pokémon. You can't win with Charmander alone."
Dan sighed, "Well shit."
"I tell you what," began Phil. Dan looked at him expectantly. "If you come see my routine and let me show what contests are really about, I'll help you prepare to win your first badge."
Dan smiled, "That's really nice of you, but isn't that taboo or something? Coordinators and trainers hate each other right now."
"Maybe it'll take people like us to fix that," said Phil with a wink.
Dan smiled and unconsciously fixed his hair, "I guess you're right. When should we start?"
"I'm free now if you want."
Dan bounced on his toes, trying to find something to do since he was feeling a little nervous. "Sounds good to me."
Phil grabbed Dan's wrist and started dragging him, "Come on! Let's go!" Dan felt all the blood rush to his cheeks and felt his heart beat just a little faster.