Well things are starting to look up for this story. I now have two reviewers, which is great. It also appears that more people have read my story, which is also pretty sweet.
Also, my story has been added to a community, which is awesome.
Note: Some language in this chapter, hence the T rating.
Anyways, I don't own Pokemon, and here we go!
Chapter 4: New Faces, New Friends, and a New Rival
Stephen slowly drifted back into consciousness. His head was throbbing, making it hard to remember what had happened. He was too tired to open his eyes, so he just lay in his nice soft bed. Only it wasn't his bed at all. Suddenly, all the events of the day rushed back to Stephen. They ran through his mind at such a dizzying pace that it caused Stephen's already throbbing head to ache horribly. The teen rubbed his head as he groggily opened his eyes. A smiling face greeted him. An orange smiling face.
"Char!" Charmander's face lit up when he saw his master's eyes open. The joy in his fire type's smile was infectious, and soon Stephen found himself smiling as he reached forward and rubbed his friend's head.
You look like you're doing much better, buddy. What about Machop?" A sudden voice came from Stephen's right.
"Chop!" Stephen looked over to see Machop sitting in a meditative position on the bed next to him. The Pokemon's injured right arm was covered in tape that reached slightly past his elbow, but other than that it seemed fine, for which Stephen was glad.
"You look like you're doing well, Machop." The fighting type nodded, smiling at the teen.
"Chopchop Machop." Stephen waved Machop's words of thanks away.
"It was nothing, Machop. I'm always willing to lend a hand to those in need. Right, Charmander?" The fire lizard looked over at Machop, grinning and flashing him a thumbs up, causing Machop to smile. The sound of a door opening caused the trio to look up. Two boys about the same age as Stephen stood in the doorway with two Pokemon at their heels. Stephen easily identified them as a Chikorita and a Totodile. Professor Oak had shown them to Stephen, along with a Cyndaquil, the day Stephen had brought the old man some butter. Stephen noticed that Charmander wasn't looking anywhere but at the Chikorita, and he could have sworn he saw little hearts in his friend's eyes. The boy with brown curly hair and glasses smiled as he spoke.
"Hi, I'm Peter and this is my friend, Ethan." He motioned to the olive-skinned boy next to him, who nodded politely. "I volunteer here a lot, so Nurse Joy asked me to come back here and see how you and your Pokemon were doing." Stephen sat up straighter in his bed and smiled.
"Hi, my name's Stephen. I'm doing fine, and so is Charmander." The fire-type flashed a thumbs up in agreement. Ethan motioned towards Machop.
"And how about your Machop?" Stephen's eyes widened slightly at this.
"Oh, he's not mine. I just carried him here because he was injured." Peter and Ethan's eyes both widened at this.
"So you willingly let yourself get pummeled by Spearows and Fearows just to get a wild Pokemon, who you'd never met before, some medical attention?" Stephen simply nodded in response. "I can't believe that. Do you expect him to join you out of obligation?" Stephen shook his head.
"Not at all. Machop's free to do whatever he wants. I wouldn't take a Pokemon that doesn't want to go with me. What would be the point of training a Pokemon that really didn't want to be there?" Ethan seemed to digest this, but a part of him still wasn't convinced. Peter broke the awkward silence that had settled.
"So, Machop, what are you going to do?" The Superpower Pokemon was caught off guard by the question, looking down at his crossed legs as he thought. Stephen smiled at the fighting type, speaking after a few seconds of silence.
"Don't feel like you need to come with me out of honor or obligation, Machop. I did what I did because it was the right thing to do. You live your life how you want to live it." Machop looked up at the blonde haired teen, and as they looked at each other, something clicked in Machop's mind.
"Chop Machop chop?" Stephen smiled and pointed at Charmander.
"Of course not. I don't keep Charmander in his poke ball. You can go in and out when you wish. Does that mean you want to come with us?" Machop smiled and nodded getting off his bed and standing next to Stephen's. The blonde teen smiled and reached into his pack, which was on the table next to his bed. Pulling out a poke ball, he enlarged it and pointed it at Machop. "Welcome to the team, Machop." Stephen tossed the poke ball at the fighting type, striking him lightly in the chest. When the ball made contact, it popped open and Machop was sucked inside. The ball fell to the floor and began wobbling back and forth, a red light shining on the center button. Suddenly, the ball stopped wobbling and the red light dimmed, signifying that Machop was now Stephen's. Stephen smiled as he reached down and picked up the poke ball.
"Come on out, Machop." Stephen tossed the poke ball into the air again, causing Machop to rematerialize. Charmander grinned and gave Machop a thumbs up, to which the fighting type replied in kind. A sound from the doorway reminded the newly formed trio that they weren't alone.
"Is that how you plan to capture all your Pokemon?" Stephen shrugged Ethan's question off.
"Depends on what you mean. If you mean saving them while getting pummeled in the process, then my answer is no. If you mean letting them decide if they want to come with me, then my answer is yes." Peter cleared his throat before Ethan could respond.
"Well, if you guys are doing alright, I guess Ethan and I should be going." Ethan nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, we really should. The sooner we get to the Gym, the sooner we both get our first gym badge." Stephen's attention shot away from his Pokemon at these words.
"Wait, there's a Gym in this town?" Ethan looked at the blonde trainer with a confused expression on his face as he replied.
"Yeah. Why?" Without answering, Stephen turned to his two Pokemon, a determined expression on his face.
"This is great, guys! We can get our first badge right here! You guys feeling up for a battle?" Charmander jumped up and nodded furiously while Machop simply smiled in approval. Ethan's voice cut through the moment like a hot knife through butter.
"You're going to fight a gym battle the same day you were treated in a Pokemon Center for serious wounds? That's ridiculous!" The Chikorita at Ethan's side nodded in support of her master. Stephen merely shrugged.
"Hey, if Charmander and Machop think they can do it, why shouldn't I support them?" After thinking on this for a moment, Ethan replied.
"Well, I guess it really is up to you guys. But why don't you come along with us? Three people and their Pokemon is a lot safer than one guy. That is if you don't mind, Peter." Peter smiled.
"Not at all. You'd be welcome to travel with us. The more the merrier, right?" Stephen grinned and looked back to his Pokemon.
"Well, guys, what do you say?" The blonde teen received an immediate response from his flaming lizard.
"Char!" Stephen couldn't help but smile at his friend. There was no doubt in his mind that getting to spend time with Ethan's Chikorita was a major factor in the Pokemon's response. Stephen turned to his newest Pokemon.
"And what do you say, Machop?" The fighting type shrugged.
"Chop chop." Stephen nodded in agreement.
"Alright, it's settled, then." The blonde teen looked back over to Ethan and Peter. "We'd be happy to join you guys. There's just one thing I've got to do before we go."
"What's that?" Peter asked. Stephen threw off the sheets and stood up, gesturing to the medical smock he was wearing.
"I've got to get my clothes back."
…..
Twenty minutes later the trio and their Pokemon were walking out the front door of the Pokemon Center. It had taken that long for Stephen's clothes to finish drying. While the blonde teen was anxious to battle for his first gym badge, he wasn't too keen on walking around in wet clothes all day.
Also during this time, Peter said his goodbyes to Nurse Joy and Chansey. Though they were both sad to hear he was leaving, they wished him luck on the road ahead. Peter had then thanked them for everything they had done for him, and then the trio went on their way. It would take about five minutes to reach the Gym, so the boys decided to share their stories.
"I was born and raised in Pallet Town, which is just south of here." Ethan nodded his understanding.
"That's where Professor Oak is, right?" Stephen smiled as he replied.
"Yeah, that's right. The Prof. was a good friend of my family, so he came over for dinner at least once a week. I learned all I know about Pokemon from him." Peter got a wistful expression on his face at this.
"It must have been cool, living near such a famous and respected person." Stephen simply nodded.
"What about you guys? What are your stories?" Ethan was the first to reply.
"I live here in Viridian City, but I spend a lot of time at Peter's house. My parents are archeologists, so they're away from home a lot." Peter spoke up when Ethan finished.
"I live here in Viridian as well. My father's a rich oil tycoon and my mother travels with him, mainly because he often visits places with nice resorts." Stephen nodded his understanding, and the boys continued their small talk.
While this was going on, the Pokemon were having conversations themselves. Totodile had timidly struck up a conversation with Machop, who was more than happy to socialize with the shy croc. Charmander, who upon leaving the Pokemon Center had picked some flowers, walked up to Chikorita and cleared his throat. The grass type turned around, a happy smile on her face.
"Chika chika rita?" Charmander, who was now blushing slightly, pulled the bouquet of flowers out from behind his back and held them out towards Chikorita. Had the flame-tailed Pokemon been able to keep his eyes on her, he would have seen the brief blush of pleasure that spread across Chikorita's face. Sadly, he failed to see this, and only witnessed her reaction after she quickly brought herself back under control.
"Chikorita rita!" Charmander took a step back from Chikorita, his hopes crumbling in front of him.
"Ch-char?" Chikorita took a threatening step towards him. She gestured from the flowers Charmander held to the ground.
"Chikachikachika!" Charmander was quick to do as he was bid, replanting the flowers immediately. Chikorita monitored him as he worked, telling him to stop when she felt he had done a good enough job. After stuttering through a hasty apology, the saddened fire type rushed back to Machop, who, having seen what had happened, tried to console his new teammate, Totodile having run up to walk beside Peter. Chikorita stood where she was until she was sure nobody was looking, and then took a deep sniff of the flowers, which smelled absolutely divine. When she was finished she rushed back to the group, trying hard not to smile happily.
…..
"Closed! Aw, man!" Stephen was sitting cross legged on the ground, refusing to believe this horrible stroke of bad luck. Charmander was in a position much like his trainer, only he had the added weight of his apparent rejection by Chikorita on his mind as well. Machop stood next to the pair, silently kicking his foot against the ground. Ethan stood at the door to the gym, reading the sign over and over again.
"Attention: The Viridian City Gym will be closed for an unspecified period of time. Rest assured it will be open so as to allow enough time for those desiring to participate in the Pokemon League Tournament. We are sorry for any inconvenience." Peter shook his head.
"Well, this certainly puts a damper on things, doesn't it?" Totodile sat forlornly at the foot of his trainer, idly drawing patterns on the ground with his finger. Chikorita lay next to the blue croc, looking sadly at her trainer. "What do you guys think we should do now?"
"Pewter City!" Stephen replied out of the blue, snapping his fingers as he spoke. A smile slowly spread across the blonde teen's face as his mind worked. Ethan shot Peter a confused look, and then asked Stephen:
"What about Pewter City?" Stephen stood up and brushed himself off, speaking as he did so.
"There's a gym in Pewter City, I remember now. Seeing as how this one's closed, we should probably go to that one." Ethan's face brightened at this, and he turned to Peter as he spoke.
"Hey, that's right! What do you say, Peter?" The curly haired boy shrugged.
"I don't care either way. It seems to me that going to Pewter City is the only logical option." Stephen stretched his back and legs, turning to his two Pokemon when he was finished.
"What do you say, guys? Want to go give it a try?" Charmander and Machop grinned, both of them giving their trainer a thumbs up. Chikorita and Totodile's moods had also lifted considerably, as they sensed in their trainers a hope that hadn't been there a minute ago. The celebrations were cut short by a voice calling out from behind the group.
"You think you really have what it takes to win a gym badge?" The entire group whirled around to see who the question came from. Standing about fifteen yards away stood a teenager, probably three or so years older than Stephen, Ethan, and Peter, with close cropped black hair. He was somewhat portly, but the fact that he was a couple inches taller than the other teens hid this marginally well. He was wearing a navy blue jean jacket with brown trousers. His face had one of the cockiest expressions Stephen had ever seen, causing the blonde haired teen to take an immediate disliking to the newcomer. However, he was able to keep his suspicions in check as he replied.
"Yeah, we do. Who's asking?" The older teens cocky smiled seemed to shift into a sneer before Stephen's very eyes.
"The name's Casey. I'd ask you for your names, but I really don't give a shit." Stephen had to utilize a sizeable amount of self-control to keep himself from sending a biting retort.
"There's no need for that kind of language, Casey." The older boy turned his attention to Peter, gazing down his nose at the curly haired trainer.
"And what makes you think you can boss me around, four eyes?" Angry, Ethan stepped in on his friend's behalf.
"Ok, cut it out, man. I don't know where you come off at, but nothing gives you the right to be a jackass for no reason." Casey looked Ethan up and down, a genuine smile slowly spreading across his face.
"I've got no quarrel with you, dude. I'm willing to bet you're a better trainer than these other two jokes combined." Ethan was taken aback by the sudden compliment.
"Wh-what makes you say that?" Casey gestured to the group's Pokemon as he answered.
"You're Pokemon, that's what. From the position they're in, it's easy to tell whose is whose. The Charmander and Machop obviously belong to blondey over there. I'm telling you that neither of the two looks all that strong, probably because their trainer blows." Machop glared at Casey and cracked his knuckles, but Stephen had to quickly grab the Charmander's tail to stop him from mauling the black haired trainer. Casey gestured at their reactions to his words.
"See? He can barely control them! And as for that Totodile, it's obviously four eyes' over there. I can tell because a; it looks weak as shit, and b; it's hiding behind his leg." Even though Casey was saying all these things to be a jerk, Ethan had to admit everything he said was making sense.
"And what about me? Why am I different?" Casey smiled at this.
"Isn't it obvious? You're the only one whose Pokemon isn't either hiding or trying to maul my face off." And it was true. Chikorita did have an extremely pissed off expression on her face, but she was standing motionless next to Ethan, not willing to move unless he gave her the go-ahead. Casey nodded approvingly.
"You seem to have taught your Pokemon the most important lesson you can teach them: obedience. They need to learn whose master and whose servant. You see, if they think-oof!" Casey was cut off mid-sentence by a sudden fist making contact with the side of his face. Everyone stared in surprise at Stephen, who was currently standing over Casey, a look of quiet fury on his face.
"Don't you ever, ever, talk about Pokemon like that!" Casey looked up at Stephen, fear briefly flashing across the older boys face. "Pokemon are not servants or slaves! They have just as much a right to do what they want as me or you. Understand?" The black haired teen snorted and stood up, brushing himself off as he responded.
"Spoken like a true reject of a trainer. You really think if you raise your Pokemon as equals that they'll ever reach their full potential? Pft." Stephen crossed his arms, scowling.
"I bet Charmander or Machop could beat any of you Pokemon." Casey's eyes glinted dangerously at these words.
"Is that a challenge, blondey?" Stephen nodded.
"It sure is, asshole. Charmander, you feel like teaching this guy a lesson?" Charmander growled and walked up to his trainer, his tail burning brighter as he replied.
"Charmander!" Machop walked up to Stephen as well, a slightly hurt expression on his face.
"Chopchop Machop chop?" Stephen smiled at the fighting type and gestured to his hand.
"I want to let your hand recover before we start training. Ok?" Machop nodded his understanding, happy that his new trainer was concerned about his safety. Casey's voice brought them back to the matter at hand.
"Charmander, huh? Then there's only one Pokemon for this job. Get out here, Poliwhirl!" The Pokemon that came out of Casey's poke ball is best described as a blue tadpole. Only instead of a tail, it had legs, not to mentions arms and hands with gloves on them. The majority of its belly was white with a swirl pattern.
"Poliwhirl!" Stephen pulled out his Pokedex and pointed it at the blue Pokemon, curious to find out about it.
"Poliwhirl, the Tadpole Pokemon. It can live in or out of water. When out of water, it constantly sweats to keep its body slimy." Stephen slid the Pokedex back into this pack, turning to Charmander as he spoke.
"Well, buddy, here we go. First battle against another trainer. You psyched?" Charmander grinned and gave his now trademark thumbs up, turning back to the Poliwhirl with a determined expression on his face. Ethan walked between the two trainers and their Pokemon.
"Well, if you two are intent on going through with this, I'll be the referee. I've seen enough battles to know how it works." Stephen and Casey nodded their consent and took their positions opposite each other. Ethan cleared his throat as he began to announce.
"This is going to be a one on one match between Stephen and Casey. Each trainer is only allowed one Pokemon. Let the match between Charmander and Poliwhirl begin!" No sooner had the words left Ethan's mouth then Casey yelled out his first command.
"Alright, Poliwhirl, start things out with Bubblebeam!" The symbol pattern on the tadpole Pokemon's chest began to glow as it responded to its master's command.
"Whirl!" Suddenly, an intense stream of bubble shot forth from the Pokemon's stomach, bearing down on Charmander with intense speed. Stephen's mind raced.
"Charmander, dodge it, quick!" The lizard nodded its understanding.
"Char!" The fire type rolled to his right, the stream of bubble hammering away at the area he had just vacated. Stephen let out a relieved sigh.
"That was a close one. Good job, Charmander." As the fire type nodded, Stephen began to formulate a plan.
Alright, we're at a severe type disadvantage here. That Poliwhirl has us beat if we keep our distance, so I've got to find some way to close in on him. However, Casey seems to have focused solely on bulking up Poliwhirl's attack, so Charmander should have him beat when it comes to speed. Wait, I've got it! Stephen called out to his Charmander, satisfied with the plan he'd formulated.
"Charmander, use Ember!" The fire type nodded his understanding, and then proceeded to shoot a small ball of flame at Poliwhirl. Reflexively, Poliwhirl raised its arms to shield its face. The fire engulfed the tadpole Pokemon and then quickly disappeared, leaving the water type largely unscathed. Casey smirked at the futile effort.
"Did you honestly expect a fire attack, especially such a weak one as that, to do anything to Poliwhirl?" Stephen didn't reply, but smiled inwardly to himself. His plan was working. And he could tell by the quick look that Charmander had shot him that the fire type had caught on. Casey called out again.
"Hey, are you asleep over there?" A sly smile suddenly spread across the trainer's face as he asked this question. "Actually, that's not a bad idea. Poliwhirl, go!" Nodding to his trainer, the blue Pokemon faced Charmander once again. Slowly, the pattern on its chest began to swirl. Before Stephen realized what was happening, he began to feel drowsy. It was apparently affecting Charmander as well, as the Pokemon fell to one knee and rubbed its eye. Stephen finally realized what the design on Poliwhirl's chest meant.
"Charmander, snap out of it! Poliwhirl's trying to hypnotize us into falling asleep! Close your eyes!" Charmander responded immediately, slamming its eyes shut. It immediately felt better, getting back up on its feet. Stephen smiled at his friend. "Nice job, buddy. Now go, you know what to do!" Charmander grinned and took in a deep breath before unleashing another ball of flame at Poliwhirl. The tadpole again brought its arms up to shield its face. Only this time when it brought them back down, Charmander wasn't in the same place.
"Poliwhirl, behind you!" But Casey's warning came too late. After unleashing its Ember attack at Poliwhirl, Charmander had rushed in, using the attack as cover. While Poliwhirl was shielding its face, Charmander had slid between its legs and now had the blue Pokemon's unprotected back as an easy target. Stephen smiled as he saw his plan work out perfectly.
"Charmander, hit Poliwhirl with Scratch!" Charmander immediately leaped up and let loose on Poliwhirl's back, scoring a critical hit. Poliwhirl cried out in pain, falling forward on to its hands and knees. Casey stood there, too shocked to issue a command. Stephen was only too happy to make one of his own instead.
"Charmander, let's rap this up with Ember!" Grinning Charmander leaped into the air once more. Gathering as much energy as it could, Charmander unleashed one of the most powerful Embers of its life. Poliwhirl cried out as the flame engulfed it, its resistance to fire type attacks overshadowed by its currently weakened state and the sheer power of Charmander's attack. When the flames cleared, Poliwhirl was laying face down, unmoving. Ethan was quick to announce the winner.
"Poliwhirl is no longer able to battle. The winner is Stephen and his Charmander!" Stephen smiled as he rushed over to his now panting Charmander, a huge grin on his face.
"Great job, Charmander! You were amazing, buddy!" Machop, who had been following right behind Stephen, nodded in agreement. Charmander managed to smile but continued panting, clearly exhausted from its battle. Smiling, Stephen patted his fire type on the head. Peter's voice caused everybody to whirl around.
"Where you going, Casey?" The black haired trainer was about thirty yards away from the group, his back turned to them. His Poliwhirl was back in its poke ball, probably recalled while Stephen was talking to Charmander. The trainer turned around, his face calm and even.
"Not that it's any of your business, four eyes, but I'm going to make my Poliwhirl stronger. The fact that it lost to such a weak Pokemon, and a fire type at that, only goes to show how pathetic it is." Stephen stood up, not believing what he was hearing.
"How can you say that? Poliwhirl put up a great fight! It's not his fault his trainer isn't worth a krap." Casey huffed and whirled away, walking away without another word. Ethan sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Well, hopefully that's the last we'll see of that guy." Peter nodded in agreement, but Stephen shook his head.
"No, we'll see Casey again. You can count on that. For what it's worth, I think I have myself a rival." Peter grimaced while Ethan shrugged.
"Hey, from what I saw, he's not really your rival. He had a clear type advantage and, no offence, a stronger Pokemon. Yet you found a way to beat him, utilizing superior tactics and speed. I'm willing to bet you're twice the trainer he is." Smiling Stephen scratched the back of his head.
"I don't know about that, but thanks for the compliment, Ethan. Still, I wouldn't have been able to do it without Charmander, he was great." Charmander blushed slightly at this, but the blush grew substantially when Chikorita chimed in her agreement.
"Chika chika!" Stephen smiled at everybody, clapping his hands together before he spoke.
"Well, what do you guys say we hit the road? I can't wait to get to Pewter and win my first badge." Ethan and Peter nodded, and then the group made their way down the road that would bring them to Pewter City, each of them wondering when they would see Casey again.
…..
Well, there it is, for what it's worth.
Did you all enjoy the fourth installment of my story? If you have any questions/reviews/flames/suggestions or anything else, don't hesitate to utilize the largely ignored review button.
Chapter 5 will hopefully be up by Friday. Hopefully.
Anyways, hope you enjoyed and see you next time.