Episode 8: Poisoned Pride
Pikachu's breathing was uneven, shallow, it gritted its teeth, fighting the venom coursing through its body. Red held it tightly, as if trying to stop the flow himself.
Brock followed closely at Red's side, though he was having fair difficulty keeping up with Red, which wasa odd, because Red's legs compared to Brock's were much shorter, yet he was moving alarmingly fast... Strange what adrenaline will do.
(Insert theme of your choice here)
"Don't give up buddy, we'll make it..." Red said to Pikachu as it desperately clutched to life.
They tried to find a Pokemon Center, frantically searching every corner they could, every street until they were completely worn out... And Red dropped to his knees in a grassy Park, still holding onto the gasping Pikachu.
Brock knelt down and put a hand on Red's shoulder, still looking around for any sign of a Pokemon Center.
"Hey, you kids alright?"
A deep voice boomed from behind the two boys, their heads turned to see a tall man, likely in his early twenties. His hair was blonde and spiky, almost sticking straight up, his body was chiseled, musclebound. He wore an amry-green tank top and camoflage pants, showing off his impressive imposing figure.
He walked over to them and knelt down, looked at Pikachu then back to the twelve-year-old holding it.
"I said are you alright kid?"
Red sniffed, "Y-yeah..."
"How about this Pikachu?"
"No..." Red fought the tears as he was slowly coming to the realization that this was the end.. Pikachu was going to die.
The large man put his massive hand on Pikachu's forehead, "Toxic... hang on."
The man raised three Pokeballs, and released the Pokemon inside.
Red's Pokedex shot off,
"Raichu, Electric Mouse Pokemon."
"Magneton, Magnet Pokemon."
"Electrode, Speedball Pokemon."
Red looked at them as the man took Pikachu, and handed it to the large Raichu.
"Alright you three, you know what to do."
"Rai!" Raichu responded, sparks flew from all three Pokemon, they seemed to aim straight for Pikachu's cheeks.
Red watched, his eyes widening as Raichu and the others zapped Pikachu, and rather than its heavy breathing and shivering, it grew calm and fell asleep, smiling/.
When the sparks quit flying, Raichu set Pikachu down, it curled up and slept soundly.
Red picked it up, the fever was gone and it seemed in perfect health, smiling as if dreaming.
"Is it okay?" He asked, standing up and facing the man, who had returned his Pokemon.
"Yeah kid, what you just saw was a directed charge, a Pokemon move that normally raises its defense against special attacks, and increases the power of their electric-type attacks.
Red tilted his head, as did Brock, "So... How did that heal Pikachu?"
"First lemme introduce myself, my name is Surge, and I was once in the same situation you were in.
Y'see, I specialize in electric-type Pokemon, so naturally I once had a Pikachu like yours, and like yours, mine got poisoned, real bad. I got desperate enough to think of a stupid idea."
"To have your other electric type Pokemon shock it?" Asked Brock, putting a hand on his chin.
"Yeah, I thought maybe it'd get a jump-start and fight the poison stronger, and long-story short, it worked. Now I've managed to master it, I call it Jump-Start, though it ain't an official move yet, its one I pride myself on."
Red smiled, then asked one more thing, "How long is it gonna sleep for?"
"That I don't know, depends on how long it was Poisoned and how much of its system was damaged while it was."
Red frowned, looking at Pikachu, knowing it was gonna be asleep for a while.
"Well thanks for everything Mr. Surge..." Red said in gratitude as Surge began to leave, "That's Lieutenant Surge to you." He said with a grin, walking out of sight.
Who's that Pokemon?
This Pokemon carries a sprig of green onion wherever it goes, and never goes anywhere without it, using it as a weapon. Though a plant sword may seem a bit far-fetched.
Red carried Pikachu in his Backpack, letting it sleep inside with the zipper open.
"So the next gym leader is a water-type user... Too bad Pikachu's out of commission, we'll have to wait its recharging period to challenge the gym."
"Nah, I'll just use Snorlax." Red said confidently, holding the Sleeping Pokemon's pokeball.
"Red, your Pokedex says you're not experienced enough to use Snorlax."
"Well what does a machine know about skill? C'mon, there's the gym!"
Brock rolled his eyes, but followed Red to see how the battle would go down.
They made it inside the gym, Brock sighing when he saw the swimming pool in the middle, feeling off his guard as a Rock-Type specialist.
"Welcome to the Cerulean City gym challenger!"
Right-the-freak out of nowhere, a familiar face popped in front of Red and Brock.
"Jim Gai?" Red said in surprise, as did Brock, knowing that this was the gym guide from the Pewter city gym...
"What are you doing here? Don't you have to be at-?"
"Oh you must be mistaking me for my cousin, he works at the Pewter Gym, we're all Jim Gai!" He said, completely oblivious to how weird that was.
"Oh... Well can we go in?" Red said, shrugging off the odd man.
"Oh no, the gym leader's not here, she's off doing something, didn't say. A wild girl that one, can't sit still... Makes ya miss her world-touring sisters.
Red, irritated that the Gym Leader was a truant, cursing her under his breath.
"Here, do you one of them Pokedex Doohickeys?" Asked Jim Gai, calling Red to attention.
"Well yeah, why?"
"Lemme see it son."
Red handed it to Jim Gai, who opened a compartment in the side, slid a tiny blue chip into the side of it.
"What's that?" asked Red taking the pokedex back.
"You're now on the gym's speed-dial, Red! I'll call ya when Misty gets back, and she'll STAY back, even if I have to chain her ankle to thje
"Thanks Jim, see ya..." Red walked dejectedly out of the gym, his frustration just growing further.
Red sighed as he walked into the Pokemon center, which they had FINALLY found. It turned out that they had passed right by it in their earlier frantic search.
Red set Pikachu up on the counter, it was still sleeping soundly.
The nurse on the other side turned and smiled, Hello, and welcome to the Pokémon Center, "We restore your tired Pokémon to full you like to rest your Pokémon?"
"Yeah, is it okay if Pikachu stays here for a while? It needs a rest..."
She smiled and took the sleeping Pokemon.
"May I have its Pokeball?"
Red shook his head, "That's the thing, Pikachu hates its Pokeball..."
The nurse tilted her head, "But, that's impossible..."
Red raised an eyebrow, "How?"
She set Pikachu down on a soft, pillow-cushioned area behind the counter, and turned to Brock and Red, "Pokeballs are designed as capsule systems, but so as not to be inhumane, a when a Pokemon is set inside, it is put into a type of dream-sleep, where it's actually unaware that its in a Pokeball, and the Pokeball looks into the Pokemon's mind and gives it a short reality in there..."
Red and Brock exchanged confused glances, the Nurse sighed, "Inside a Pokeball, there's a thing that makes it ideal for a Pokemon to rest and relax."
"Ohhh." The boys said in unison, "Why didn't you just say so in the first place?"
She just gave a weak smile, "I'll take care of Pikachu, can't imagine why its Pokeball makes in unhappy, but that's not my job, I'll take care of it until you two come back."
"Well what now? Nowhere to go around here..." Brock said shielding the mid-day sun from his face.
"I say we try and find this truant Gym Leader and drag her back to the gym so I can teach her a lesson!" Red said, gripping Snorlax's Pokeball and storming off toward the gym. Brock sighed and followed.
After getting a description from Jim Gai, the Boys took off to find her, they asked around, and it seemed everyone had seen her that day, sending them on a wild chase to find her. Red cursed her under his breath, vowing to beat her in battle mercilessly.
No sooner had they spent at least three hours searching, had a young girl with fiery red hair in a side-ponytail, a yellow half-t-shirt and short shorts cut them off, she was rushing apparently, crying as well.
"Well what the flip was that?" Asked watching her run away.
"Looked like Misty." Brock said, Red turning to him and giving him a 'what the hell' look.
"How could you tell?"
"Well she fits Jim's description."
"She was a blur!"
"When you're older you'll understand buddy." Brock lead Red to follow her, her path was luckily straight to the Jim, confirming Brock's suspicion.
They walked into the gym again, Jim Sitting down in deep thought.
"Hey, she back?" Asked Red.
"Yeah, but I dunno if she's up for a fight."
"Breakup?" Asked Brock, Red pulling a double-take.
"Yup."
"How long?"
"Six months."
"Ouch."
Red's head hurt, he disregarded them both and stomped into the gym.
"Hey! I challenge you for the Cascade Badge!" Yelled Red across the gym to Misty, who had changed into a blue (Modest) Bikini and had just gotten out of the water.
"Fine! One on one! I need to blow off some steam anyway!" Misty raised a Pokeball out of her towel and threw it into the air.
"Starmie, go!" She yelled as her Pokemon shot out of its Pokeball like a frisbee.
"Starmie, the Star-shape Pokemon, Water-Psychic type."
"Go Snorlax!" Red tossed his Pokeball up in the air, and the massive, Bear-like pokemon landed in the water... Red hoped it might make Snorlax more willing to battle... This was far from the case.
Snorlax's heavy but buoyant body floated up on top of the water, sleeping soundly on a water-bed... Taking up almost the entire Pool.
Both Red and Misty were surprised, Misty because of the sudden rise in the water level and the fact that her gym would be flooded if not for the drains in the floor, and Red because Snorlax was asleep.
"Snorlax! Wake up!" He yelled, the large Pokemon ignored him and kept on sleeping.
Misty sighed, "Too easy, Starmie, Water gun!"
The Purple Star-like Water Pokemon launched a shot of water at Snorlax... To little effect, it just kept on sleeping.
"C'mon Snorlax! This isn't naptime!" Red called in irritation, once again his calls were snubbed.
"Starmie, try a Water Pulse!" Starmie launched a ball of glowing water at Snorlax, this time making it stir a bit, but otherwise no effects were evident.
Red scowled, feeling stupid and arrogant for thinking he was smarter than the person who programmed the Pokedex... Misty, in her anger was ordering Starmie to continue attacking rapidly, it seemed like she was losing her temper... Heck, she was.
"C'MON! GET UP YOU STUPID PILE OF-... Woop..." This time, Snorlax got up, and scowled down at the now-terrified Starmie.
Misty got nervous, as did Red, watching the massive Pokemon climb out of the Pool onto solid footing.
Once again, Misty called out an attack, Rapid Spin, though she did it with much less... Enthusiasm than she had been previously showing.
Starmie launched itself at Snorlax at high speed, it looked like a direct hit... Then Snorlax lifted its paw and flicked its would-be attacker across the room, fainting it in one hit.
"Challenger Red has won the match!"
Snorlax, satisfied with its revenge on Misty, fell back to sleep.
Misty angrily handed Red the Cascade badge, "Here's your stupid badge, now get out! The next gym's in-?" Misty was cut off when Red grabbed her hand and put the badge back in her hand.
"I didn't earn this..."
Misty tilted her head at him, trying to hand it back, "But.. You won..."
"I didn't win, Snorlax wouldn't even listen to me, the only reason Starmie fainted was because I couldn't control my Pokemon."
They stared at each other for a minute, Red returned the sleeping Snorlax to its Pokeball, adjusted the brim of his hat and turned around.
"I'll be back for a rematch soon, be ready, cause this time, I will be." Red said with a smile as he and brock walked out.
Misty just stared at him, and at the door as they walked out.
"Hey kid, you okay?" Asked Jim Gai, putting a hand on Misty's shoulder.
"Wha? Oh... Yeah, I'm fine... I have some training to do, mind cleaning out the pool?" Misty walked into the gym's locker room, leaving Jim with a mop and the key to the drainage pool. He sighed and went into the pool.
"That was noble of ya Red." Brock said as he and Red walked back to the Pokemon Center.
"What was?" Asked Red, a bit disappointed in his loss.
"Not accepting that badge, it was very mature man." He said, patting him on the back.
Red shrugged, feeling a bit better.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Well, that's this chapter, probably wont be a new one till after the new year... We didn't die! XD Brace yourself pokefans, the new apocalypse date is coming.
Maiiilbag!:
Jac Bandit Writes: Let me just say 1 thing to you Crobatman...I...LOVE what you did with James! Sure, I liked James in the original, and even was my favorite character, but this James TRULY gives off the essence of a criminal, even his battle with Red seemed to give off an eerie 'I'm gonna kill your Pokemon and laugh' essence. Team Rocket is getting better now, but this James feels better.
Before I forget...is the WTP Dratini? I really can't think of any other KANTO Poke that fits the description.
I'm curious as how you're going to portray Misty. Honestly, I always found her annoying-but in a sisterly way. And sometimes that 'nagging girlfriend' way.
Also, you said you're going to avoid filler...but...will you avoid guns?! I'm sorry, I have to ask because I remember seeing a (banned) episode where a gun was pointed at Ash at point blank range!
My Reply: Thank YOU! :D James has always been one of my favorite silly villain characters, but I felt that in this story, a silly Team Rocket has little place in a realistic sense, so I took a tiny bit of my own psycho-murderer mind and put it into these characters.
And YES. Dratini is the answer! XD You win an internet!
Haha, I know we kinda got the bistitch side of Misty this episode, but trust me, the character will be MUCH more likable once I'm done with her!
And NO. I have ZERO, NADA, ZIPPO, ZILCH intention to put guns in this, sorry, but guns are for CoD, not Pokemon, I apologize if that disappoints...
Then again, I may change my mind, never know with me, I'm nutty.
RickyPWhoWrites Writes: Very good job, I love this idea and will be following. WTP is Dratini. And to answer the question "Jim Gai" or any of the gym guides have appeared in the anime.
My Reply: Thanks Ricky, and we have a second winner today! :D And they have? Awesome! Gotta rewatch it, see if I can pick them out!
iwish328 Writes: Dratini
My Reply:... Yes. That is correct.
Now, I'm not directing this at you, or anyone in particular, but speaking from a writers perspective.
One-word reviews are INFURIATING. I think a good handful of authors will agree, we see that email, hoping for some nice review and feedback so we can improve and we get some ponytashit like this... It's disheartening.
I know, iwish was just responding to 'Who's That Pokemon?', and it was in context, and that's fine... But please, all future reviewers, PLEASE put at least ONE full sentence in it! Don't leave a man hanging...
FYI: This is the LAST one-word review I'll ever reply to, any more will just be disregarded.
THANK YOU, AND GOOD DAY SIR!
-TheCrobatMan