27
"TRAINERS! ARE YOU PREPARED TO FIGHT?"
Yellow looks to both of us. Koga and I nod to him than look back at one another and bow.
"HAJIME!"
Koga sprints towards me with tiny pouches in his hands, but I don't want to wait for him to throw them at me, so I attack first. I've learned some new moves in the last several weeks, and I won't hesitate to use any and all of them in this fight. As I suck in air into my lungs and blow up my chest, a burning sensation courses through my body from head to toe and finally reaches my myself, I open my mouth and unleash an unavoidable surge of fire.
"Look!" yells a spectator. "He's using Flamethrower!"
Koga jumps above my wall of flames but not without choking on the smoke as the heat rises after him. He slams hard onto the ground next to me and tries to sling Toxic gas at me, but I'm much too fast for him. Jumping into the sky, I bring my arms together with a great speed into a powerful clap, my favorite Wing Attack, and send him back into the flames.
Crack!
As the flames get taller, I lose sight of Koga and Fly up into the sky to find him. He's gone!
"Red, keep up!"
Turning to my right to the sound my of Koga's voice, I look just in time to see Koga jumping off of a nearby rooftop straight for me. Grabbing onto me, I try to break his hold on me, but it's no use! I feel his arms wrap tighter and tighter around me and the odd sensation of heat coming from his body. Actually this is heat is incredible! What's happening? Something is wrong? Looking at his face and skin, I see it glow bright as the sun and then…
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
At first all I sense a great deal of heat and a blinding light. Oh, it burns! And the pressure is so great! What is that ringing? Then my vision and sense of touch go out, and the only way I can describe the experience is like falling under the surface of a hot bath with the lights out and not having any sides to grab onto.
"Red?"
"RED! Hey, look he's getting up!"
And just when I thought I might never see or feel again, my vision comes back, and I find myself lying face down on the sidewalk. I...I have have tremendous pain all over my right side. Oh, this throbbing won't stop! I shift my weight onto my left side to help me get back up to my feet. I think...yes, my Charizard Skill just cracked. I'll switch to my Gyrados Skill.
I'm no sooner transitioned when the last of the smoke clears and Koga appears a few feet in front of me. Looking down at his hands, I see the familiar looking jars of Sludge reveal themselves just as the contents come flying out towards me. I try my best to dodge, but I'm just not fast enough.
"Ack!"
I recoil my arm in pain as the Poison starts spreading through my veins. Flipping open my jacket cover, I reach for an Antidote, but Koga keeps throwing more Sludge at me, and I can't get a moment to grab the bottle. I'm not surprised. I have done my best to avoid using Items during an actual match as time doesn't stop for a Trainer to use one and basically leaves you wide open for an easy attack from an opponent.
All the same, I usually bring Potions and Antidotes with me wherever I go and try to apply them as needed after a match. More recently I tried to stock up on Full Heals which can help with any status impairment be it Poison, Burn, or Paralysis. I also have a couple of Full Restores which are a bit pricy but can restore status as well as health to all of my Skills. They are the ultimate life saver, but I only have the two that I have because some trainers gave them to me.
BAAAAAAAM!
With my focus off, Koga gets in a quick Tackle knocking me hard into the sidewalk once more. As he comes in close for another strike, I lunge forward and Bite him making him Flinch and pull his arm back. I concentrate my energy into the palms of my hands and feel it rise in pressure. Just as Koga seems to bring his attention back to the moment, I release the deadly Hydro Pump, dual blasts of water with power similar to that of a firetruck hose and drive Koga back. He braces himself for as long as he can but is soon swept away by the powerful current and sliding down the street on his side. He struggles for just a moment then goes still.
Crack!
I stop and take a deep breath as Koga transitions to his final Skill. I don't know what he has planned for me, but I'm noticing he's digging into some pouches on his side for some kind of powder.I won't wait to see what that stuff is though! I concentrate more water into my hands again only this time I swing my arms apart then back together to make a small cyclone of water form in the air headed towards my opponent. The Twister is nearly as big as me when formed but slowly gains size and momentum as it approaches Koga. He throws up his hands, but the attack again flushes him back and then to the ground. As he tries to get back up, I shoot one final Twister towards him, and this time he doesn't get back up.
Crack!
At first I'm not sure if the fight is over or not. No one claps or says a word. A large group of fans in Fuchsia City have been watching every move Koga and I make until now as well as viewers at home as I've noticed some people are recording the match with their smartphones which means this fight is now on the internet. After a long silence, I finally hear Koga speak.
"Well...I think you've earned the Soul Belt, Red!"
Koga reaches into his gi and pulls out a black Belt with a solid Pink heart emblem on it's side and holds it into the sky as he lays still on his back. The crowd erupts into cheers and applause leaving me speechless. I step forward and take Koga's hand to help him up then take the belt from him. I won? I won! Wow! Only two left to go.
"Red, I know this may seem like a rush, but you are ahead of the game. Don't hesitate! Get to Cinnabar Island and grab the next belt right away."
"You mean that?"
"Yes, and then go back and check Green tonight. I'll be there waiting for you with Sabrina."
"Deal!"
28
Heading down the street to the south side of town, I dash into a Focus to change into my Big's Evertone swimsuit then run back out with my possessions stowed away in my Bill Box in small suit pocket. I almost forgot about this thing until I came to the Safari Zone. I tried swimming in regular clothes and the swimsuit, and well, the suit makes you feel more serious about the swim not to mention it dries much faster than my other clothes do. There just is no excuse for not donning this cool swimsuit before going Surfing.
I see the beach in view and off to the side a sign with the caption "Route 19." Without another thought, I wade out into the waters and begin Surfing straight ahead. Swimmers wave at me and encourage me to fight them as I pass by, but I try my best to simply ignore them. In part because several of the girls are wearing the most revealing bikinis I've ever seen, and I don't need my eyes or mind wandering plus I remember fighting with Misty back in Cerulean and how disorienting that was. If I can avoid fighting all of these trainers in the water, I'll feel amazing. I just can't stop, I' ve got to keep going and...wait...who's that?
In the waters ahead of me is a young girl who seems oddly familiar. I can acknowledge I know her face but not how I know it. Who is she?
"Hello? Are you looking at me?"
"Uh...sorry, I...OH! Is your name Yumi?"
"Why, um, yes it is. And how do you know my name?"
"I...I think I met your brother, Bill."
"OH! How is he? You talked about me?"
"Uh...well that's sort of complicated...I'm trying to remember all what he said."
But in my head, I know the truth. I thought I was talking to Bill at the time, but I was speaking to Mewtwo in disguise. He gave me Bill's tickets to get on the SS Anne then a card for Yumi. I almost forgot!
"I...he told me to give you a letter actually. I didn't open it. I actually forgot I even had it...hold on while I pout my Bill Box…"
"Oh? Well take your time. Can I ask what your name is stranger?"
I float over to a tiny island and open the Bill Box on solid ground then begin rummaging through it.
"Oh sorry, my name is Red!"
"Red? Are you the Red from TV? The one that does all of the fighting?"
"I am. Why?"
"Oh, well I don't really follow the fighting stuff much, but my coworkers talk about it all the time. You're the only Red I know of. Cool! Should I be asking for your autograph then?"
"Oh, I'm not that big of a deal, honest! I...oh, here it is!"
I take out the envelope and hand it to Yumi as she steps onto the island and wipes he hands off on her grass. She quickly tears it open and starts reading through a handwritten letter I've had stashed away in my bags for weeks. I'm glad I got it to here after all. Wait? Is she crying?
"Is something wrong?"
"Wrong...no, but Red, how did you get this?"
"Huh? No! I told you it was given to me by…"
"But Bill didn't write this letter...it's from...from my late fiance!"
"I...oh! I had no idea! I'm sorry for your loss. I thought it was from Bill. "
"It's...OK, really! I was so heartbroken when he died last winter at such a young age. It was a tragedy in itself, but before he died Bill and my Everett got into a terrible fight. I tried to get in the middle and then EVerett and I said such horrible things to one another. We were both so hurt and pushed each other away. Everett left for a business trip to america and not long after he died in a car accident! He was barely even there for 48 hours. I was so devastated at losing him but also at the thought that he died holding anger against me in his heart. I was a miserable wreck so I left my brother and moved to Fuchsia City. My mother came down with me to help me get my affairs back in order and ended up staying. My brother and I haven't talked since the funeral. At least I've not returned any of his calls."
"I see, but you said the letter wasn't from Bill. Who was it from?"
"OH! That's just it! This is a letter from my Everett!" Yumi says proudly waving the letter in the air. "He wrote me saying that he wanted to apologize for his behavior and wanted me to know how much he loved me. Oh, he wanted to reconcile all this time, and I didn't know it! I'm so happy, but why...why would Bill not simply share this with me before now."
"Uh...maybe he was afraid you weren't ready for it until now."
"I...I guess that makes sense, but then he gave this letter to you then? He must have thought you were someone trustworthy to send such a letter down here. I bet he knew I'd throw it away if I thought it was from him. Smart move! Well Red, I'm impressed and forever in your debt. I'll start watching your battles adn routing for you next chance I get. I...I can't thank you enough for this!"
Yumi comes close and hugs me tightly then steps back. I nod and get my things back into my Bill Box. I don't know why Bill would hide this letter or if he did at all. I know that Mewtwo gave it to me. He knows what really happened.
With a smile and a wave, I bid farewell to Yumi and return to Surfing down Route 19. I somehow think that I'll have to speak with Yumi or her brother, Bill, again. I wish I hadn't run into her here, but now it's too late to think about. Speed ahead Red!
I Surf for several minutes at a steady pace with no interaction from other swimmers much to my relief and almost start to zone out when I look up and see a wall of rocks. Whoa! I slow myself down and stop to look around. Above my head by about six feet sits a small sign reading "Route 20" and an arrow pointing to the right so I touch the rocks, turn my body, and bound forward towards Route 20. The next several feet are ripe with large rocks and strong currents. I have to push myself to not get swept into the walls of stone or swept back by there are no trainers around here at all, and it's almost quiet ignoring the sound of waves splashing.
But as I make way close to the next patch of land, I start to get very, very cold, and just as I'm starting to wonder why, I run into a clump of ice. This little iceberg is twice the size of my body for that measure! Though the small ice is smooth, it is incredibly cold and unbearable to touch for long. I paddle away from it only to run into another chunk of ice. Looking up, I see that the whole sea is littered with these tiny ice balls separating me from the big island now appearing far ahead of me.
"Try not to touch them, and you'll be fine!"
Turning to look towards the voice, I see Yellow standing on top of a small island to the right of the big one in front of me. The island appears to have a small door size entrance that leads into an underground cavern of some kind. Yellow doesn't have on his usual long coat but instead a black and yellow bodysuit. I'm sure it's Evertone, and probably Big's like mine.
"What brings you all the way out here?"
"I'm headed to Cinnabar Island for the next Belt. What are YOU doing out here?"
"OH! Funny you should ask. It's actually kind of annoying, but I'm afraid that one consequence of all this violence in Kanto is that a lot of Pokemon have been upset by the panic. In particular, there are three Pokemon that have started acting out all around Kanto, a trio of rare birds."
"Birds? Your mission is to catch some birds?"
"Hey, don't judge! These are no ordinary birds. It may not look like it, but there used to be a much bigger island here, and now it's mostly underwater because of an Ice type Pokemon. IP is calling it Articuno."
"Articuno?"
"Yes, code name for a creature from the arctic and the number one."
"Oh, what about the other two?"
"Well, back at the Power Plant there was an incident with machines attacking workers we had to look into…"
"I remember hearing about that, there were Voltorb and Electrode running around."
"Yes, and actually these floating magnet robots were there, too. They're called Magnemite, the single ones that is, and Magneton, the ones that have three stuck together. They shock people if you get to close to them!"
"Oh, that's not good! But hey, what does that have to do with these birds?"
"Well that's it. The second bird, Zapdos, is an Electric type Pokemon, and it has been overcharging generators and causing the robots to malfunction. We thought the robots were just defective, but it was Zapdos all along! Real pain if you ask me!"
"OH wow! And there is a third one?"
"Yes, Moltres. We haven't seen that bird in several days though a young boy told an officer yesterday that he saw it Flying towards Viridian City. I'm afraid she may be the most powerful of the three, a fiery phoenix, she burn a whole city down with a single breath if provoked. So far though it sounds like she has simply been Flying around and feeding at night in isolated areas. This would keep most people away from her, but you know how Kanto is, people run off into the woods to find Pokemon Skills."
"Well if I get done with Cinnabar Island soon enough maybe I'll head to Viridian next and look for him. That is where the last Belt is."
"Ha! That's the spirit! But seriously, don't you worry about it. The IP will take care of these animals. You go ahead and focus on your training. You're getting near the end of this Belt collecting process aren't you?"
"Down to two!"
"Awesome! Well, Cinnabar is right there," Yellow says pointing at the bigger island ahead. "Good luck!"
We say our goodbyes and I turn to Surf onward. Behind me I hear Yellow say over his phone to someone "yeah, the Blizzard attack nearly killed me….no...I used the Silph Ball…." Looking back for just a second, I see Yellow holding a metallic looking ball with a red top and white bottom in his hand. This Item looks familiar to the one used in that Catch'em All game found at the Game Corner. Weird! But I quickly turn my attention back to Cinnabar. I've got to stay focused for my next Belt!