"Charizard, Bayleef, Seaking, c'mon out." Tony called out in the currently empty Pokemon exercise yard behind the Cerulean City Pokemon Center.
Seaking landed in a pool of water that had a low wall surrounding it, while the other two pokemon stood nearby on the ground. Delia was not in sight as she felt that Tony and his pokemon needed a little one-on-three alone time.
"Guys, we need to talk." Tony sighed as he sat on the wall surrounding the pool. Looking at Seaking, he continued. "You first. Seaking, is it true that you don't trust me completely yet?"
"Sea..." the goldfish pokemon hesitated for a moment. "Seaking, sea. King-king, seaking."
"I see." Tony sighed again. "I guess it's true that I've been asking for quite a bit from you without offering much in return. You have to understand though, and this goes for you too, Bayleef... I would never ask you, ANY of you, to do something that I thought you couldn't handle. If it appears that I'm asking too much, or giving preference to one of you three over the other two, I want to apologize here and now."
"Bayleef, bay-bay."
"The thing is, Charizard and I have been together for years, Bayleef. We have a very tight bond. I want to make nearly the same bond with you and Seaking. It just... takes time, trust and patience."
Charizard growled a response.
"Yes, and understanding too. Preferably without the petty arguments about who does what, where, how and why. I trust all three of you with my life and I'd be tickled pink if you'd at least consider the same for me."
Charizard roared its response. Of course, Tony could count on the fire-flying type pokemon.
"Bay, bayleef bay." Bayleef needed no further convincing, but it couldn't guarantee that it'd never argue or battle with Charizard again.
"King..." Seaking was still a bit hesitant. It had spent so much time with Professor Oak and there was the time with Professor Elm. But on the other fin, it did want to travel and Tony happened to be at the right place at the right time for that that to happen. "Seaking!"
"All right. Now that that's been settled, Bayleef, I wanted to congratulate you on evolving."
"Bay..." Bayleef blushed happily. "Bayleef."
"Quick question, though. What move was replaced with Petal Dance? I thought it was Vine Whip at first, but I think you used it to help me and Sakura out of the pool."
"Bay, leef leef." Bayleef said as it showed off weakened versions of the attacks it knew.
"Poison Powder, Magical Leaf, Vine Whip and..." Tony ticked off as he watched the attacks. "Synthesis got replaced?"
"Bay!" Bayleef nodded. Since it didn't live on its own in the wild anymore, it felt it could rely on Tony to help it get stronger. Who knows, maybe it could beat Charizard in a battle one day.
"Mm. Okay, guys. Let's go get some grub and tuck in for the evening. Today was long, but the road from here to the Indigo Plateau is even longer. Tomorrow, we head out."
For days after having Cerulean City's southern border, Tony put extra effort in training all three pokemon. Usually he had Charizard be Seaking and Bayleef's opponent if no other traveling trainers or wild pokemon appeared, though he sometimes switched the three of them around for different combination experience.
The day before they were to reach Vermillion City, Tony and Delia set their campsite up a bit earlier than usual. As Delia was preparing the evening meal, Tony released his pokemon from their pokeballs to have a bit of rest and relaxation.
Sighing, Tony sat on a medium sized boulder and blankly stared out into the horizon for a few minutes before closing his eyes.
"What's wrong, Tony?"
"Gah!" Tony's eyes snapped wide open as he floundered and attempted to prevent himself from falling off the boulder. When he stopped floundering, Tony realized that Delia had a firm grip on one of his arms to help keep him steady. Tony took several deep breathes to slow his pounding heart and collect his now scattered thoughts.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you." Delia apologized, releasing his arm when she was sure that Tony wasn't going to fall from the boulder.
"S'alright." Tony said, once he was able to speak again. "I... well... I was just realizing what tomorrow's date was."
"Tomorrow's date?" Delia looked at him curiously as she sat down beside him. "It's March twenty-first, right?"
"Yeah. It's also my nineteenth birthday, but the first one not celebrated with family." Tony sighed wistfully. "I feel as if I've become..."
Silence permeated the air as Tony let the sentence die out.
"...An orphan." Delia finished the sentence with a sad understanding. Before Tony could ask her how she knew the feeling, she continued. "Both of my parents passed on a few years ago. After their deaths, I didn't have the heart to keep the family business running or to even stay in Pallet Town. For a while, I traveled with a group of trainers and the rest, as they say, is history."
"Sorry to hear that." Tony uttered a few moments later.
"Thanks." Delia replied with a small grateful smile. A slighted blushed turned her cheeks rosy pink. "Say, Tony..."
"Hmm?" Tony glanced in her general direction.
"I was wondering..." Delia paused as she felt her heart pounding crazily within her chest. "May I be considered part of your family? I realize we've only known each other for a short period of time, but it seems like... like.."
'Oh, God. If my heart beats any louder, they'll be able to hear it all the way back in Johto!' Delia's mind was mentally shouting.
"...Forever?" Tony asked, attempting to finish her sentence. At Delia's nod, Tony turned his head and gave her an appreciative grin. "I like that idea. After all, we orphans have to stick together, right?"
"Right!" Delia replied happily, her pulse beginning to slow down. Turning back towards the campfire, she added, "Dinner time!"
"Good morning, Birthday Boy!" Delia called over to Tony as he stretched, yawned and began to clime out of his sleeping bag.
"'Morning." Tony muttered as he rubbed his eyes. Taking a deep breath, Tony's mouth began to water as the scent of something delicious being cooked. "Mm. What's cooking?"
"An old family recipe I learned from my parents a long time ago."
"And does this recipe have a name?" Tony wondered as he wandered over to the cooking pot to have a look.
"Hm. If I were to name it, it'd be N.B.D. - Nameless, But Delicious." Delia said with a grin.
"Sounds mysterious." Tony's interest piqued, but his curiosity changed the subject. "I was wondering, what was your family's business?"
A flicker of sadness flashed across Delia's face, but before she replied, she was smiling again, albeit a bit forced.
"Both of my parents were chefs. They were always teaching me something new at the restaurant when I was younger."
"I bet that you were a pro even back then." Tony smiled, encouragingly.
"Hardly!" Delia laughed, glad that her forced smile was replaced by a truly happy smile with the fond memories. "I nearly burned Pallet House to the ground a few times."
"Mm, something to use as blackmail, eh?" Tony joked.
"You wouldn't!" Delia exclaimed in mock surprise.
"You're right, I wouldn't." Tony laughed. "I'd probably wind up cooking my own goose, if you weren't around. Besides, we're family now. Being a dysfunctional family is something I try to avoid. Strange family if you count the fact that the pokemon members out numbers the human ones, but one I can live with."
"Speaking of pokemon, call them out. I made enough for everyone."
"Charizard, Bayleef, Seaking! You heard her. C'mon out, it's breakfast time!" Tony said as he grabbed the pokeballs and released his pokemon from within them.
Long after breakfast was finished, Tony and Delia entered Saffron City's Pokemon Center. Upon making sure that they had a room for the night, Tony was all but ready to drag Delia along with him in his search for the Gym.
"Tony, hold on." Delia paused before reaching the glass double doors of the Pokemon Center. "I... um.. want to take a nap while you search for the Gym. I woke up so early this morning to make breakfast, that I'm totally worn out."
"Oh... Sure, Delia. I understand." Tony said with the faintest hint of disappointment. "Have a nice nap."
"Good luck with the Gym." Delia replied as Tony left the Pokemon Center. Heading back to the reception desk, Delia asked, "Nurse Joy, may I ask a huge favor?"
"Aha!" Tony exclaimed quietly to himself. "Saffron Gym."
Standing out in front of the Gym, Tony was again wondering what mysteries the building before him held. Reaching out for the front door's handle, he found that he was locked out. Tony was about to knock, when he spotted a notice hanging nearby.
"Gone to the Dojo. Be back soon. - Gym Leader Gloria." Tony read out loud. "Swell. There's no telling how long ago her soon her was meant to be... or where the Dojo's at."
Sighing, Tony began to walk away from the closed Gym, when a gut feeling told him to look up at the building next door. A large sign indicated that it was the Karate Dojo, and chances were, that it was the one and the same Dojo that he could find the Gym Leader in. Approaching the Dojo, Tony could hear what sounded like a heated debate escalating inside the building.
"Great..." Tony muttered dryly. "A cat fight in the Dojo. I should just walk away and look for the Gym Leader another time."
"...You dare challenge my Gym for official status?" A female voice yelled.
"Uh-oh..." Tony took a step back. "Doesn't sound good at all."
Grabbing a pokeball in each hand, Tony dashed into the open-doored Dojo, even though a mental voice was screaming that he should leave well enough alone.
"Hello? Is something wrong?" Tony asked, barely able to hear his own words above his loudly thumping heart as he came across the two people.
"Beat it, Kid. This is a private conversation." came the gruff response of the Dojo's leader.
"If it's so private, why'd you leave the front door wide open?" came the sharp-needled response from the woman that Tony realized had been yelling moments earlier.
"Shaddap." the Karate Master growled under his breath.
"I apologize. You did catch us at a bad time. On the other hand, I also thank you for interrupting what could have escalated into another turf war."
"Another turf war? You mean this happens on a regular basis?" Tony blinked a few times in confusion.
"Unfortunately, yes. My Gym was sanctioned by the Kanto Pokemon League to be Saffron City's official Gym years ago."
"Your Gym?" Tony's eyes grew wide. "Then that means that you must be Gloria. I want to challenge you to a pokemon battle."
"Fat chance that do you, Kid. She's tied up right now. Soon as I beat her pokemon, my Dojo will be on top!" The Karate Master sneered.
"My name is NOT 'Kid'. I am Tony Ketchum, and I challenge you as well!" Tony growled dangerously, his infamous temper flaring up again.
"Well, this is a fine conundrum. What if we have a three way doubles battle, two pokemon each? That way, whomever winds up on top gets their wish." Gloria suggested.
"Wouldn't that be too risky for your official status?" Tony asked, his irritation temporarily forgotten.
"Maybe, but no Dojo leader has ever successfully beaten a psychic-type pokemon Gym Leader in all of Saffron City's history."
"I'll prove that statement wrong when I defeat you. I accept the challenge!" the Karate Master growled.
"Eh.. hehe." Tony nervously chuckled, before becoming seriously psyched. Clenching his pokeballs tightly, he gave a smug grin. "Okay... It's a bit odd, but hey, I'm game."
"It's settled then. Why don't we have the battle here? You did insist upon my coming over..." Gloria let the sentence hang.
"Agreed. Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan, prepare yourselves." the Karate Master released his two fighting-type pokemon.
"Kadabra. Hypno."
"Charizard! Bayleef! Let's do this!"
The four remaining pokemon came out of their respective pokeballs, ready for battle.
"I wonder what's taking him so long. From what Nurse Joy showed me on the map, finding the Gym and coming back here would have taken an hour, tops." Delia muttered to herself as she idly ran a finger around the top rim of the cylindrical cake cover.
Although she told Tony that she was going to take a nap, shortly after Tony left, Delia convinced Nurse Joy to let her use the kitchen facilities for a while. Fully expecting Tony to have shown up by now, Delia made a simple one-layered cake with the words 'Happy Birthday Tony' on it. That was baked, cooled and frosted over an hour ago. It was nearing the two hour mark, and still no Tony in sight. Delia felt that she was waiting so long, that her butt wasn't going to be the only body part falling asleep on her.
Before she realized it, a sudden thump coming from her left caused Delia's eyes to snap open and her hand to grasp the cake cover's knoby handle & blindly flail the hard-plastic object in a horizontal arch. A reverberating bong caused her to slowly turn her head. Delia's eyes grew huge as she saw the stunned form of Tony with a thick stripe of a welt across his face where the cake cover made contact.
"Oh my gosh!" Delia quickly abandoned the object onto the table. "Tony, I'm so sorry!"
Several moments later, Tony held an ice pack to his face while trying to convince Delia that there was no permanent damage.
"Really, Delia. I'm okay. Honest." Tony winced as he moved the ice pack from one side of his face to the other. "Besides, I should be apologizing to you for taking so long. I found the Gym and you'll never believe what happened next!"
"You battled and won?" Delia verbalized the most obvious option.
"Yeah." Tony said, sounding a bit deflated before recovering quickly enough to add, "but it wasn't a normal battle. Did you know that this city has two gyms, even though only one of 'em has official status?"
"Really?" Delia asked, interested to hear all that took place as she divided the cake.
"Uh-huh. There's the official Gym that's lead by Gloria and there's the martial arts Dojo that's lead by some rash, hot-headed Karate Master. Never did find out his name. Scary part is, he reminded me a little of myself." Tony slightly shuddered at the thought, before adding under his breath, "no wonder the dojo isn't officially sanctioned..."
"How'd the battle go?" Delia asked, attempting to get the conversation back on track.
"It wound up being a three way doubles battle, with the Karate Master's pokemon being the first two to be completely knocked out. Gloria's pokemon were a bit tougher to take down, but Charizard and Bayleef were ultimately able to take them out." Tony said, taking the Marsh Badge out of one of his vest's many pockets with his free hand. "And there's my proof."
"Wow, congratulations!" Delia exclaimed.
"Thanks." Tony's face was flushed with happiness and a touch of pride at his earlier achievement. Putting his ice pack down, Tony noticed that the cake had been cut into seven pieces. "What's with the odd number?"
"Nurse Joy and Chancy should each get a piece. They didn't have to lend me the use of the kitchen. The rest is for us." Delia explained.
"Ah. Makes sense." Tony nodded in understanding before releasing his pokemon to join in the party.
As was a birthday tradition between Tony and Charizard, the duo mock wrestled. It, as usual, ended with Tony's hair being tousled, and Charizard lightly head-butting its trainer.
"You win." Tony smirked at his fire-flying type pokemon. "Only thing tougher than a stubborn, hot-headed human is a head-strong, fire breathing, flying pokemon that puts up with the aforementioned human."
Charizard snorted and nodded as if to say, "You got that right!"
"Chan-chansey!" the Egg Pokemon called out as it and Nurse Joy arrived at their table.
"Happy birthday." Nurse Joy happily told Tony as she spied the badge. "And congratulations on your win at the Gym."
"Thanks." Tony replied as Delia served the cake to human and pokemon alike. "I just don't know where I'd be right now without my 'family'."