Chapter 27 – A Blossoming Friendship & the Sixth Gym Battle
"You can do it! Hyper beam, Firestorm!" May shouted. I just watched in amazement as Firestorm launched the powerful beam of energy from his mouth! Then May said to me, "There you go! Your Ninetales now knows hyper beam! Just don't forget, he can't attack for one turn after he uses it!" I just looked at her in amazement and said, "Thanks, May!" She said, "You're welcome. It's the least I could do. After all, you helped me to train Cyndaquil, gave me the confidence to evolve him, and helped me to believe in myself as a trainer." She just completely astounded me – this was not the same little girl we met in Violet City who couldn't even get her Cyndaquil to do a decent ember attack. Now she was so full of confidence in herself and her Pokemon, she reminded me of me! Then she asked me, "Did you ever try flying on your Fearow to other cities?" I replied, "No. He flew me, Flamefox, and Firestorm out of danger once, but we were too heavy for him – he could only fly us a few miles." She said, "That's a lot of passengers. I'm sure if it had been just you, he would've done fine. If you switch him back into your team, I'll help you to teach him to fly better, and then you can fly on Fearow anywhere!" I said, "Thanks, but I like riding Tauros from town to town. There's just something about the wind in my face as he gallops ahead." I was surprised to hear May respond, "Yeah, actually, I know what you mean. As much as I like to fly on Pidgeot's back, I prefer riding on my… oh, I forgot, I switched her out when I got Amber! Let's go to the Pokemon Center! I have to call Professor Elm and do a Pokemon switch!" As she ran ahead, I asked, "Which Pokemon?" She yelled back, "You'll see…" and continued running ahead, accompanied by Amber and Typhlosion. I looked at Flamefox and Firestorm, shrugged, and we ran after her.
When we arrived at the Pokemon Center, May was just getting off the video phone with Professor Elm. She was saying, "Thanks, Professor! I know you'll take good care of Typhlosion for me. Talk to you soon!" I walked over to her and asked, "You switched out Typhlosion? But you just evolved him!" She answered, "I know, but little is known about Cyndaquil's final evolved form. I guess I should explain – Cyndaquil and Totodile are recently discovered Pokemon, native only to Johto, and Professor Elm thought they might make good starters, so he gave them out to a few select trainers. The catch was, he wanted them back when they reached their final evolved forms so he can study them and learn more about them for their eventual inclusion into pokedexes worldwide!" I said, "Wow! Everywhere else, you usually get Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle as starters. You're pretty lucky!" She replied, "Yeah, but you're pretty lucky, youself – you got to start with a Vulpix!" I looked at Flamefox, and we smiled at each other. Then May continued, "Anyway, come on with me outside! I want to show you my riding Pokemon!" We went outside, she tossed the pokeball, and shouted, "Go, Fierymane!" The pokeball released a Ponyta! She whinnied, and May ran over to hug her. "It's been a little while, Fierymane! I missed you" she said, as she hugged her. Then May asked me, "How do you like her? Cute, huh?" and then said, "Fierymane, meet Joe, Flamefox, and Firestorm." I walked over to Fierymane and said, "Hey there!" and I reached out my arm to pet her. May warned me, "Be careful! Ponyta's mane and tail are made of flames! She won't burn anyone she trusts, but she doesn't know you!" I heard her, but I just had this feeling, and I walked right up to Fierymane and began to pet her. It didn't burn at all, and she lowered her head to nuzzle me. "I… don't believe it! She just met you and she already trusts you! You definitely have some kind of bond with Pokemon!" May exclaimed. As I petted Fierymane, I said, "I don't know how… somehow I just knew she wouldn't burn me." May said, "Well, anyway, I do know what you mean about riding your Tauros between towns. In fact, you're the one who inspired me to catch Fierymane, so that I would have a Pokemon to ride between towns, too! But I switched her out when I caught Amber, and missed her a lot!" Then I said, "Hey, how about a race? You and Fierymane versus me and Tauros!" She said, "You're on! Let's go!" At that, she leapt onto her Ponyta, and they ran off! "Hey, that's not fair!" I shouted after her. Then I released Tauros from his pokeball, leapt up on his back, and said, "Catch up with them, buddy! We'll show her!" We ran ahead, accompanied by Flamefox and Firestorm, and we caught up with May, Fierymane, and Amber. "You may have cheated to get ahead of us, but we'll show you who's faster!" I said. "We'll see!" May answered. Tauros and Ponyta kept up with each other for miles. Finally, in the middle of an open meadow, May said, "First one to touch that tree up ahead wins!" I answered, "Fine with me!" and our Pokemon both gallopped ahead. It was very close, but May reached out her arm and touched the tree first! "I win, I win!" she gloated. I said, "Big deal! One little race!" She asked, "Do I detect a hint of jealousy?" I answered, "No." Then she said, "You did pretty good! You ALMOST beat me! Now let's take a break!"
We decided to sit under a big tree and let all of our Pokemon out. Flamefox, Amber, and Firestorm all played, while Tauros and Fierymane grazed. Our other Pokemon enjoyed being out, as well. "You know, its funny – I never named any of my Pokemon except for Flamefox and Firestorm" I observed to May. She said, "Yeah, I only named Amber and Fierymane. Nicknames are hard to come up with – and then you hate to switch them out!" I said, "But Bill named all of his Eevees." May replied, "Well, you told me he had a lot of them. He probably did that to tell them all apart." I said, "That's true, I suppose." Then May asked me, "So, what do you want to do? I mean, after you finish the Pokemon League?" I answered, "I guess I'll take some time off, and then enter the Kanto League. Hopefully, after that, I'll have had enough experience to build my own gym! Then I'll be a gym leader!" She said, "That's a great ambition! I'll probably enter the Kanto League after this, too! But I don't want to be a gym leader. I was thinking about maybe going into Pokemon breeding." I replied, "That's a big ambition, too! And I'll bet you'll be a great Pokemon breeder!" She said, "And I;m sure you'll be the toughest gym leader!" I was starting to realize just how much alike we were – we were both strong trainers and we respected each other, but we were also very supportive of each other. I couldn't ask for a better friend. "So what's Crimson Town like?" she asked me. I answered, "Oh, it's a small town in outer Johto. We have a Pokemon Center and a Pokemart, but no gym yet. But I'll change that someday. Anyway, its right next to the Brushfire Woods, named for the strong fire Pokemon that live there, especially Vulpixes! That's where I got Flamefox and Firestorm!" Then I asked, "So where are you from?" She said, "Violet City, where we met! My family has been good friends with Professor Elm for years, so he knew me since I was a baby! I knew I wanted to be a Pokemon trainer pretty early on." I said, "Me, too! And I knew I wanted a Vulpix! I've always felt drawn to them. So, what's your favorite Pokemon, May?" She answered, "I'm not sure. I like so many of them. Probably Ponyta!" and she looked over at Fierymane and smiled at her, then said, "But I've always liked Vulpix, too!". We enjoyed sitting under the shade of the tree for a while and watched our Pokemon. Flamefox and Amber were becoming quite smitten with each other.
As we rode back into town later, I said, "You know, I like us riding together like this. What do you say we ride our Pokemon to the Lake of Rage after I battle Jasmine?" May replied, "I think I'd like that. I've always wanted to see the Lake of Rage. I hear the Gyarados there are actually friendlier than most. You can watch them jump in and out of the water." I said, "That's great! Okay, right after I win my Mineral Badge, we'll go!" May said, "Just don't blow it!"
We arrived in Olivine City again and I recalled Tauros, May recalled Fierymane, and we both entered the Olivine Gym, accompanied only by our fire foxes. Jasmine saw us, and asked May, "You're not here for another badge, are you?" Jasmine and May both laughed. Then May said, "I'm just here to watch my friend, Joe, battle you." Jasmine looked at me and said, "Oh, yes, I remember you from the lighthouse. How did your battle with Chuck go?" I replied, "I won his Storm Badge." She said, "Good for you! Are you ready to battle me for a Mineral Badge?" I confidently replied, "Yes, I am!" We entered her arena. "Is a 3 on 3 battle okay with you?" she asked. "That's fine with me!" I answered. "Then let's begin! Go Magneton!" she said, releasing her first Pokemon. After the steel/electric type appeared, I said, "Go, Flamefox!" She ordered, "Magneton, use zap cannon!" I shouted, "Flamefox, use agility!" He moved quickly, evading the attack. "Now use flamethrower!" He lauched his intense flames at Magneton, and it was a strong attack. I could see Magneton was severely weakened! "Magneton, supersonic!" Jasmine ordered. Magneton released an ear shattering sound, and Flamefox became confused. "Flamefox, try to shake it off!" I yelled. Jasmine said, "Magneton, use thundershock!" Magneton launched the electric attack, which jolted my confused Vulpix. He was still standing afterwards, though. "Flamefox, try to focus! Use your flamethrower again!" I ordered. He tried, but he was still confused, and the attack failed. "Magneton, use sonicboom!" Jasmine commanded. Magneton launched a forceful attack that knocked Flamefox to the ground! "Flamefox!" I shouted and ran over to him. "Are you all right?" I asked him. "Vulpix!" he said, and stood up. The confusion had worn off! "Flamefox, fire spin!" I yelled. He launched the tornado of flames from his mouth, and they spun around, heading for Magneton. "Watch out, Magneton!" Jasmine shouted, but the attack hit, and wrapped up Magneton in flames! That was it! Magneton was defeated! "Magneton, return!" Jasmine said. "Excellent job, Flamefox!" I shouted, and ran to hug him. I picked him up and said, "You deserve a rest after that! We'll let Firestorm have the next battle", and I put him down next to Amber, who licked his face. "You did good in there, Joe! Keep it up!" May said to me. "Thanks, May!" I said to her. Then Jasmine said, "Next up, Magneton!" and released a second Magneton. I said, "Another one? This one's yours, Firestorm!" May said, "Be careful! I think this one's at a higher level than that last one!" Jasmine said, "Magneton, use lock-on!" I thought, "Uh oh! That means the next attack will definitely hit! I've got to think…" Then I commanded, "Firestorm, use dig!" My Ninetales burrowed under the ground. Jasmine ordered, "Try using thunder", but she had to know it would be useless! Magneton launched the powerful electric attack, but Firestorm was unaffected, safe under the ground. Then he shot up from the ground in a fury of dirt! Magneton took a direct hit, but still hovered! "Use double team!" Jasmine yelled. Magneton appeared to multiply! Then Jasmine ordered, "Use tri-attack, Magneton!" I shouted, "Try avoiding it with your agility, Firestorm!" Magneton launched 3 attacks, and Firestorm attempted to avoid all of them, but couldn't tell which was the real Magneton! He got hit by fire, then ice, and then an electric attack which paralyzed him. He couldn't move! Jasmine yelled, "Magneton, finish it with tackle!" I shouted, "Firestorm, please, try a fire blast!" As Magneton quickly hovered at Firestorm, he managed to move his head enough so he was facing Magneton, and launched the "t"-shape of flames at it! Magneton was struck by the powerful fire attack and knocked down! "Way to go, Firestorm!" I shouted, and then picked him up and carried him off to the side, where I gave him some paralyze heal. After Jasmine recalled Magneton number 2, I asked, "What's next? Another Magneton?" Jasmine said, "Not quite! Go, Onix!" and she released the large rock snake from his pokeball. I said, "Oh, piece of cake! Go, Vaporeon!" and I released my water Eevee from her pokeball. Jasmine said, "I figured you'd try using a water type for this battle!" I commanded, "Vaporeon, use hydro pump!" Jasmine commanded, "Onix, use endure!" Vaporeon launched powerful cascades of water at Onix! When she was done, I couldn't believe my eyes – Onix had hardly felt the attack! "Now Onix, use slam!" Jasmine ordered. Onix slammed his large rock snake body against the floor, and the impact sent Vaporeon flying backwards, and she crashed to the floor. She stood back up. "Try it again, Vaporeon!" I said. "Keep using endure, Onix!" Jasmine shouted. Vaporeon's water attacks were not doing much damage against the normally weak against water rock snake. "Now use dig!" Jasmine ordered. Onix burrowed under the ground. "Vaporeon, watch out!" I shouted, but he shot up from the ground, and sent Vaporeon hurtling through the air, and she crashed down again. "Vaporeon!" I shouted and ran over to her. She was too weakened to take much more of this. Then I said to May, "I think I have a plan!" Then I said, "Go, Firestorm! Use hyper beam!" Cured of his paralysis, Firestorm leapt into battle, and launched the powerful beam of energy from his mouth at the Onix! Onix was sent backwards, and crashed to the floor! But he got back up! Firestorm was a sitting duck now! "Hopefully that attack weakened him enough! Try one more hydro pump for me, Vaporeon!" She nodded, and weakly stood up. Again, Jasmine ordered Onix, "Use endure!" Vaporeon launched one last cascade of water at Onix, until she collapsed from exhaustion. Onix roared, then collapsed to the ground! "Yes!" I shouted! I picked up Vaporeon and said, "You did good, girl." I looked at Firestorm and said, "You, too, pal! The 2 of you were great!" Jasmine recalled her Onix and said to me, "You're a very strong trainer, Joe. Here is your Mineral badge!" "Thank you!" I replied, and took the badge in my free hand.
I brought my Pokemon to the Center afterwards, and soon enough, they were as good as new. We all took a little breather in the park again, but soon, I was on Tauros, May was on Fierymane, and we were all on our way to the Lake of Rage!