Chapter 7 - Sprout Inspiration
We decided to visit the Sprout Tower, one of the central attractions of Violet City. My Vulpixes and I entered the tall structure, and inside, there was a large wooden beam in the center, swaying back and forth. We watched from the wooden guard rail surrounding it - it was almost hypnotic. I jumped when a voice came from behind us, "So, you are beginning a Pokemon journey?" I turned to see an old sage, with a shaved head and a robe. "Yes, we are. I am Joe from Crimson Town, and these are my Vulpixes, Flamefox and Firestorm." He responded, "I am Li. It is a pleasure to meet you." I asked him, "Do you live here?" He said, "I meditate here. You see, the center beam sways like a Bellsprout, back and forth. That is to remind us of ourselves when we started out. We all begin as sprouts, but we blossom into something greater." I watched the swaying beam and said, "So that's why this is called the Sprout Tower." He replied, "Yes. Many trainers come here, both new and experienced, to be inspired. Always remember that no matter how experienced a trainer you are, there is always room for growth." I said, "Thank you, Sage Li." He smiled and nodded, then returned to a corner to continue meditating. We watched the swaying beam for a while longer, then my Vulpixes and I left, Flamefox sitting on my head.
After walking around town some more, I stopped at an ice cream stand for an ice cream cone. My Vulpixes and I returned to the park and sat on a bench. We each took turns licking the ice cream cone, first my Vulpixes each took a lick, then me. A girl with a backpack came walking along and saw us, and she exclaimed, "You're eating the same ice cream cone as your Pokemon?!?" I looked coyly at her and said, "That's right", taking a big lick. "That's disgusting!" she shouted. "Aren't you worried about all the germs you could catch from them?" I replied, "I have a close bond with my Pokemon. We share everything. I don't believe their germs can hurt me." She seemed interested and sat down. "Gee, I wish I had that kind of relationship with my Pokemon" she said. We looked at her, then I asked, "You're a Pokemon trainer, too?" She replied, "Yeah, but not a very good one. My Pokemon won't listen to me." I asked her, "What kind of Pokemon do you have?" She took out a pokeball and said, "I'll show you. Cyndaquil, come on out!" The small, mole-like fire Pokemon materialized from the pokeball. "What seems to be the problem with him? He won't obey you?" I asked her. She answered, "It's not so much that he won't obey me, so much as he doesn't put much effort into any attacks. Watch." She then said to Cyndaquil, "Do a flamethrower." The flames on Cyndaquil's back barely lit up, and he let out a stream of fire from his mouth no bigger than a small propane torch. "That IS bad" I said. I turned to Flamefox and said, "Show him how it's done, Flamefox." At that, Flamefox's eyes glowed, and his mouth released an inferno in the air. "Wow", the girl said, "Your Vulpix has a very powerful flamethrower! Is it okay if we train with you for a while?" I replied, "Sure. Your Cyndaquil can practice fire attacks with my Vulpixes! By the way, my name's Joe." She replied, "I'm May". I said, "Well, May, let's see if we can't help you and your Cyndaquil to become a better team."
We headed for a wild area, and found a nice, open grassy spot. While we were here, I let my other Pokemon out so that Tauros could graze, Fearow could fly around, and Eevee could get some exercise. May exclaimed, "You have a lot of Pokemon! I only have Cyndaquil." I said to her, "Well, we'll just have to change that. There are a lot of Bellsprouts in this area. After we get in some training, maybe your Cyndaquil will be ready to battle one. Fire types are strong against plant types." She smiled for a second, but then looked distraught again. "How is he going to battle a Bellsprout if he can't even do a decent attack?" I responded, "Maybe he'll be inspired by my Vulpixes' attacks." We lined them up so that Cyndaquil was sitting between my Vulpixes. I set up dummies made of branches. I then said, "Okay, let's start out with ember attacks. I want each of you to show me your best ember. Go!" Flamefox launched his ember attack, bursting his dummy into flames, and Firestorm did likewise, each of them knocking down their dummies in the process. May then commanded, "Cyndaquil, it's your turn!" I think he got a little inspired by my Vulpixes, as his back flames were a little better, but still not the height they should be. He managed to launch a tiny ember, that knocked the head off of his dummy. "There, you see, May? Progress!" I said excitedly. She smiled, "Good job, Cyndaquil!" Then I said, "Let's try flamethrower next." Each of my Vulpixes, in turn, did an intense flamethrower in the air. Cyndaquil watched, and was inspired to try, but his attack was not very inspiring - it still resembled a small blow torch. We continued training throughout the afternoon, but Cyndaquil did not get much better. I tried to be encouraging, though, and took the next step. I mounted up on Tauros and said, "Let's go look for a Bellsprout and see if we can catch one!" We headed through the woods, and up on Tauros, I could see much further ahead. Soon, I spotted a Bellsprout ahead in some open grass. "Now, May, Cyndaquil, watch this!" I said. "Flamefox, hit that Bellsprout with your flamethrower!" I commanded. Flamefox proceeded with the fire attack, and the Bellsprout never knew what hit him, getting instantly knocked out. I jumped off Tauros, and took out an empty pokeball, tossed it at the Bellsprout, and he was engulfed inside of it. May said to her Cyndaquil, "Did you see that? Why don't you try that on the next Bellsprout we see?" "Cyndaquil", he replied. I even gave him some encouragement, "You can do it, Cyndaquil. Just do like my Vulpix did!" Flamefox and Firestorm walked with Cyndaquil, and they seemed to get along just fine. I picked up the pokeball with Bellsprout, got back up on Tauros, and we continued ahead in the woods. After a while, I saw a clearing up ahead, and another Bellsprout. "May, there's another one up ahead. This one's all yours!" I said. She actually looked confident, and said, "Right!" My Pokemon and I stayed back while she and Cyndaquil proceeded ahead, and I watched from up on Tauros. She commanded, "Cyndaquil, attack that Bellsprout with ember!" This time, the flames on Cyndaquil's back barely lit, and his ember wasn't much more than a shot from a small Roman candle. It hit the Bellsprout's right leaf, but hardly did any damage. The Bellsprout retaliated, using vine whip. The vines hit Cyndaquil, knocking him to his side. "Cyndaquil, you can do better than that! Please try again!" May shouted. Cyndaquil got back up, but this time, the flames on his back didn't light up at all, and he just let out a puff of smoke. The Bellsprout used wrap this time, crushing Cyndaquil in it's vines. Cyndaquil fell to the ground, and Bellsprout ran off. "Cyndaquil, are you okay?" May shouted, running over to her injured Pokemon. I got off Tauros again and ran over to them, along with my Vulpixes. Cyndaquil was still conscious. "Cynda",he said to May. She started crying, "I'm never going to be able to train this Cyndaquil to do anything!" She continued rambling on, and I rolled my eyes, then said, "Look, it was just one battle. Come on. We'll take him to the Pokemon center and get him healed up. Then we'll do some intense training with him and my Vulpixes. Sound good?" I asked her. She started to wipe away her tears. "Okay" she replied.
After visiting the Pokemon center, we returned to the same grassy area, and I once again sat Cyndaquil between my 2 Vulpixes. We had them continue fire attack practicing the remainder of the afternoon. If anything, my Vulpixes got better, but May's Cyndaquil still didn't show much improvement. I was getting tired and leaned on Tauros after a while. We finally took a break early in the evening. May sat down, looking very downhearted. "I don't know. Maybe I'm just not a good enough trainer for Cyndaquil. Maybe I should just forget about my Pokemon journey." I looked at her, and thought about the Sprout Tower, then said, "Come with me. After hearing you say that, I think there's something you need to see."
We walked back into town and I led her to the Sprout Tower. We walked in, along with my Vulpixes and her Cyndaquil. We watched the swinging central beam, and she asked me, "Why did you bring me here?" I responded, "Because this place was built to inspire trainers and to remind them that we all start out as sprouts, but we grow into something greater as we continue on our journey. I thought you could use a little inspiration." She said, "Thanks. I guess you're right." While we watched the beam, Sage Li, who was still meditating there, approached us. "Hello again, my young friend", he said to me. "Oh, hello, Sage Li. This is May, another Pokemon trainer. She needed some inspiration, so I brought her here." May said hi, and introduced her Cyndaquil. "You've come to the right place for inspiration. But what seems to have brought your spirit down?" he asked her. She said to him, "I don't know what to do about Cyndaquil. He won't put much effort into his attacks, no matter how hard I train him. Maybe I'm just not cut out to be a Pokemon trainer." Sage Li then said, "Your Pokemon battle for you because they believe in you and they respect you. They consider you their friend, and they care for you. You, in turn, must believe in them. Their ability to battle is greatly affected by how much faith you have in them. But to believe in them, you must first believe in yourself. If you don't, your Pokemon can sense it. I think that is where your problem lies." May looked at him intently, then said, "Thank you, Sage Li." She then looked at me and said, "I'm going to head back and start training Cyndaquil again some more." I replied, "Okay, I'll meet you there." I then said to Sage Li, "You were right. This place is a great inspiration. Thank you for your help." He said to me, "You are a very thoughtful and considerate young man, taking time out of your own journey to help that girl." I said, "It's the least I can do. Pokemon trainers need to stick together." He then said, "You have a very mature attitude for one so young. We are always looking for young men like you to join our order." I looked at him, a little surprised, then said, "Thanks for the offer, but I already have a destiny to fulfil, and I need to stay on the path I'm already following." He said, "I understand. But if you someday change your mind, the offer will remain open." I replied, "Thank you", looking strangely at him. He was very mysterious, but very Zen. "Good luck" he told me, as I left with my Vulpixes.
I rode Tauros to the spot we were training in earlier, and May was already practicing when we got there. She seemed different now, a lot more confident in herself and in her Cyndaquil. She was actually getting her Cyndaquil to hit some targets with a much improved ember attack. His back flames were actually burning brighter now! I said to May, "Wow, what an improvement! What do you say we try flamethrower practice with Flamefox and Firestorm again?" "Okay", she said. Again, we had Cyndquil sit between my Vulpixes. "Okay, Flamefox, Firestorm, do a flamethrower!" I commanded. They each did, and Cyndaquil watched, inspired, and the flames on his back grew. "Do it, Cyndaquil! I know you can!" May exclaimed. He did, and his flamethrower was very good, almost as good as my Vulpixes'. The 3 of them did flamethrowers in the air simultaneously. "Good work, Cyndaquil!" May shouted. Then she said, "Now let's put it to the test. We're gonna catch a Bellsprout of our own!" My Vulpixes followed May and her Cyndaquil, and I rode on Tauros behind them to see up ahead further again. After an exhaustive search, I finally spotted one up ahead in an open grassy area. "There's one!" May exclaimed, spotting it the same time I did. The Bellsprout turned to look at them, and immediately did a vine whip on Cyndaquil, knocking him down - it was the same one from before! Cyndaquil got back up, his back flames more intense than I'd seen all day. May said to him, "I know you can do it, Cyndaquil! I believe in you! Use flamethrower!" The Bellsprout then launched it's poison powder at them. "May, watch out!" I shouted. But just then, Cyndaquil launched his flamethrower, incinerating the poison powder, and engulfing the Bellsprout in flames, knocking it out! May threw her pokeball and the Bellsprout was hers. "Yay, we did it, Cyndaquil!" she shouted, then ran over to hug him. "Cyndaquil!" he said in response. Then May said to me, "Thank you, Joe. If it weren't for you, I'd probably have given up as a Pokemon trainer!" I replied, "It was no problem. Just remember whenever you see your Bellsprout that we all begin as sprouts, but we grow into something greater", remembering what Sage Li had said to me. She then said, "Maybe someday, we'll meet again, and I'll be ready to battle you." I replied, "I'm looking forward to that!" She then went on her way, and I continued on my journey, with my Vulpixes at my side, feeling good about having helped another Pokemon trainer in need.