I fidgeted around that morning. Not only was I frantic before anyone else was up, but I was also in a crappy mood to boot. I didn't get any sleep whatsoever, and now I was getting myself worked over nothing. I was anxious. I tried walking over to call my parents, but my crash down the stairs woke them up. Having to rely on them like this always was such a bother. I was ten! I didn't have time to be going around being dependent on my parents. Breakfast was made by dad, and my bath was prepared by my mom. Just like always.
Saffron City was my home city, and I loved it. I had my friends play with me always, had my parents and we even had our own adventures. That all changed when I had On…Oncho… something disease. I don't even remember the name of the illness, but it left me like I was now. Helpless.
Today was going to be my first day going over to the Gym. My parents were the one who got the idea months ago, and I was very much against it. It was only after a television program we watched together last week changed my mind. It was about the Saffron City Gym Leader Sabrina having a televised battle with Elite Four Member Will. Both were apparently Psychic Pokémon Masters. I wasn't the one listening in though. It was my dad, who used to be a quite serious Trainer himself. He told me once that he challenged and defeated the Fighting type Gym that's next door to the Psychic one, but when he tried challenging Sabrina's, he lost miserably every time. Over time, my dad became a huge fan of Sabrina. My mom too. But that's because she used to train in that Gym herself. Now, I wasn't interested like they both were. I was tired of television. It was all the same nowadays. I could listen to the radio, intake the same information and leave it at that. That's how it had been since the first time I've been with my parents while they watching battles. But with this match, though, my opinion changed.
The Pokémon League was having a tough time stimulating interest for the Kanto branch of things. Kanto Gym Leaders weren't racking up enough challengers. So they had a Kanto Gym Leader and Elite Four Member battle special kind of battle. After a while, I was left confused. I heard blast after blast from the Pokémon, but I didn't know what Pokémon they were, or any commands. According to the newscaster, all of their attacks of their Pokémon were surprisingly hitting each other. I didn't hear anyone once mention the Gym Leaders giving commands.
"Dad, I think I was spacing out, mind telling me what's going on? I don't hear them any calling attacks." I complained.
"Sabrina and Will are taking place in this really awesome battle, kiddo. They're both Psychic Masters, and the rules that were agreed to the battle were extremely interesting! They've been blindfolded and ear-plugged for the match. They're also not allowed to directly give orders!" Dad explained. I was still confused.
"But, how do the Pokémon know what to do?" I asked, curiously. I now heard the television announcer call that Sabrina's Alakazam was defeated by Will's Exeggutor. My dad groaned, and then shifted his attention back to me. He didn't like it when Sabrina lost.
"Well, Psychics have a method of communicating that doesn't involve hearing, speaking, or seeing. They do it through the mind, like Sabrina! They can communicate this way to their Pokémon, and it always makes them strong opponents. " He told me. That was all he needed to say before I could honestly say I was looking forward to visiting the Gym.
We arrived there after a good half hour of walking, me holding onto my mom's hand. We walked pretty darn far without me tripping up, and I was feeling proud. My mom told me that the entrance was just around the corner. I let go of my mom's hand, and I ran ahead at full speed while I heard my parents yelling at me to wait for them. Then it hit me.
No, really. I hit what felt a glass door to the Gym at full force, and I fell back. My parents caught up and franticly pulled me up back on my feet. I groggily recalled my dad was telling me to be careful, and my mom was blaming herself for not keeping up with me. I felt blood on my head from the collision with the hostile glass door. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a big batch of blood on the glass panes of the door right now. Was this supposed to be the best day ever? I heard the accursed door opened soon after, and I listened to a rather familiar voice.
"…I'll get someone to clean that up. Are you here for the Psychic Training program?" she asked in a stoic, emotionless voice. If she meant my bloody head, or the theoretical bloody door, I wasn't sure.
I nodded slowly, still feeling rather woozy from my possible concussion.
Then I passed out in front of the Saffron City Gym, to start off my first day training as a Psychic.
My name is Mark Seva, and I'm blind.
"I see. Sebastian, you should really come back to Goldenrod City. You could come back to train or maybe train for the Violet City Gy-"
"I'm not going back! It's not about not beating Morty anymore, it's about me not being good enough for my Pokémon!" I yelled into the Pokégear. Then I pressed the end call button.
I hung up on Isidora. Calling her was a mistake. I wanted to be scolded at right now. I wanted somebody to show me the mistakes I made. She was just being helpful and caring. I didn't need that. I took out my small bag from my backpack, and took out the Plain Bade I won in Goldenrod to think. It was early in the morning, and I began to remember last night at the Gym.
"And I was supposed to be getting better here…" I thought. I took a deep sigh before grabbing my journal, and placing my lonely diamond shaped Badge back. I didn't really want to record what happened in the Gym last night, but I had to. If I wanted to get better, I needed to examine everything.
That's right. I want to get better.
The floor was made of wood.
My thoughts first went to avoiding the Hypnosis-Dream Eater combination counter, but it wasn't going too well. I had Mars the trustful, and Adonis the not so trustful in my party.
Morty greeted me with the referee as soon as I walked in, and I was pretty confident on beating the Ghost type Gym Leader. The man I was going to face was wearing a black sweater, and a snazzy scarf going around his neck, and a headband going under blond hair. He had sunken eyes, which gave his creepy vibe.
"So, challenger, mind telling me a little about you?" he asked. I was determined.
"I'm Sebastian from Goldenrod City, and I'm training to be a Blackbelt!" I shouted. I was ready for this. He was going down. No doubt in my mind.
"Taking on my Ghost Gym is pretty bold, then. Interesting. I feel an air of determination around you." He told me. He looked at me for a little longer, identifying me. I was getting impatient and creped out. "Hm. You also seem to be a little worried about something. It's something that you're trying to mask with your determined exterior." He was profiling me. I really didn't like it. He was talking about Adonis. He was talking about my fear of Adonis not listening to me. I started to shiver.
He glanced over at my unnerved self, and nodded to the referee.
"This is a battle between Ecruteak City Gym Leader Morty and Sebastian from Goldenrod City! This battle is a four-on-four match with only the challenger allowed to substitute! You may begin!" he yelled out.
"Four-on-four match…" I thought to myself. That couldn't be good. That meant that I had to rely on Mars to beat four Pokémon. Still, I took out Mars' Pokéball, and released him out on the field.
"Alright, Mars! Let's show them what you can do!" I screamed in excitement. I needed to get Mars pumped for this. I held my fist out, prompting his support.
"Chan!" he responded by meeting his fist with mine. We both then faced the Ghost type Leader. He lightheartedly laughed.
"Hm. I like the bond you two have. But let's see if you can leave a mark on my first Pokémon, Gastly!" he said before releasing the Gas Pokémon. I didn't get a chance to train Mars against any Ghost Pokémon, but I was confident we could do this with Mars' new move.
"Bullet Punch!" I commanded, and he followed though. It was my only move that I could use to beat Ghosts. Mars' fist glowed in a silver light before hitting the Gastly. It was a one-hit knockout. Morty looked perplexed, before returning his Pokémon. I was ecstatic. I jumped up and down in happiness, and Mars let out a 'Hitmon' before taking his position for his next opponent.
"Didn't see that move coming… very interesting. Now, let's try this! Go, Haunter!" he let his next Pokémon come out of its Pokéball. It was larger than Gastly, but had a different shape, and had two disconnected hands floating around its body. It gave us a scary look, but it was directed more at me than Mars.
"Mars, again, Bullet Punch!" I repeated. This time, it didn't do as much damage. I saw the Haunter standing strong, and I knew we were in for a tougher battle. I looked over at Morty as he gave his first command of the match.
"Hm. It's no good using it twice, I guess. Haunter, use Hypnosis!" he ordered. I clenched my teeth. There was no way to avoid it. I couldn't go and ruin the wooden floor, and there was no substance that I could get to avoid the attack. I had only one option.
"Bullet Punch before it gets to you, Mars!"
He acted quickly, and let off his attack. It was going good. This way it couldn't get to put him to sleep. Ghost Pokémon have sneaky ways of getting in your way, though. Haunter's floating hands disappeared for a bit, before coming back and grabbing Mars' arm. Mars was shocked, but I was terrified. I looked over to Morty, who gave a grim smile. So much for that strategy.
The Haunter then began its Hypnosis on Mars. Its eyes shone a soft blue color, and in an instant, Mars was down sleeping. He was now a sitting Psyduck. Just like when we fighting against the Psychic Trainer.
"Dream Eater." Morty spoke softly. Just like the Psychic. I hated that. They were so dead when they spoke like that.
Still, Dream Eater worked the same way it did before. Strange red energy was fired at Mars, and he screamed in his sleep, just like before. I felt as if the Haunter was way stronger than the Drowzee we faced before. I cringed further. I wanted a miracle like back then. I tried yelling at Mars to wake up, but…
Mars just stayed there. No response. Hopeless.
"Haunter, use Shadow Ball!" he said, while the Haunter formed a blob of blackness in its hands. It fired away, and Mars was down. He fainted in his sleep. How horrible…
I bitterly returned Mars into his Pokéball. I didn't know what to do. I could give Adonis a chance. I could hope he does listen. Maybe…
Morty looked on while I took out Adonis' Pokéball from my pocket.
"Adonis, I'm counting on you!" I yelled over while Adonis took the field.
"Chop!" He looked at his opponent, inspecting it. I wondered why. He scanned long and thoroughly. Morty looked on intrigued. I wasn't feeling too good about this. I didn't do any training with Adonis like I did with Mars. I don't know if he'll be able to even get a hit in. He beat the Kimono Girl's Vaporeon, but it's what let him to completely disregard my commands.
"Haunter, Hypnosis!" My face turned white. No way Adonis could avid that.
But he did. Adonis fired a Karate Chop at the Haunter's face. My world turned upside down when it hit, cleanly, and the Haunter groaned backwards.
"What the." I said. That should not have done anything. Why? Morty face lit up when he found it out.
"Hm? It looks like your Machop used Foresight right as he came out. It allows him to hit Ghosts with Normal and Fighting moves like that Karate Chop. Very impressive." He took a long stare.
"But you didn't command it, did you?"
I froze. No I didn't. Adonis pulled off a move without my permission, and on top of that, I didn't even know it. My face darkened, and Morty's face lit up, enlightened.
"Ah, I see now. This is what you were trying to mask when you got here. You're having trust issues with your Pokémon. Regardless, Hypnosis isn't going to work, so Haunter, use Shadow Ball!" he ordered the Gas Pokémon. Another black blob was fired, and this hit hard. Adonis flew back from the blast, and ended up face flat. I yelled at him to please listen to me this time, but he wouldn't have it by stomping around and grunting. I lost hope by then. I wistfully wished for some sort of miracle like Adonis evolving, Adonis learning a new move, Adonis listening to me.No such miracle happened.
"Adonis, use Low Kick when it gets near you!" I tried commanding, desperately. Adonis shrugged me off, before going with a Karate Chop. Morty looked on, staring at the dysfunctional teamwork.
"This is getting pathetic... Haunter, finish it off with Shadow Ball." The Gym Leader said coldly. One last attack was fired, and Adonis ended up like Mars.
"Chop…" he mumbled before collapsing on the wooden floor. I returned him. I took his Pokéball and placed it with Mars' in my pocket. I'm not sure how long they were going to have to stay at the Pokémon Center, but I was going to need time off.
"You only had two Pokémon, challenger? This is supposed to be a four-on-four match." The referee asked me. I weakly nodded, confirming his statement. He took a deep breath before announcing the result.
"The winner is Gym Leader, Morty!" he yelled out. I picked up my bag in the corner, and began to leave. Morty stopped me, though.
"I had many battles over the last few days, but this one… was the most pitiful. You wanted to be a Blackbelt, you said? I'd suggest getting Pokémon that will listen to you. Because I only see more of these battles in your future. I'd recommend trying out other Gyms before coming back here."
I nodded slowly. I lost.
"Your Machop especially needs work. Your Hitmonchan has your full attention, I noticed. You're neglecting your Machop in favor of your more 'trusty' Pokémon. "
I nodded again slowly. I lost.
"You're just losing any chances of getting better by ignoring my advice."
I nodded once again. I lost.
Morty sighed, before walking back to the referee, leaving me alone.
I closed my journal when Nurse Joy announced that my Pokémon were done and fully recovered. I thanked her before taking them back. I didn't know what to do. Did I let down my Pokémon, or did they let me down? The second notion was selfish, but what if it was true? I scratched my head. I was frustrated now. I sat alone in a table in the Trainer's lounge of the Center.
Behind my back, I heard the group of Trainers congratulating the one girl (who didn't beat Morty as fast as them) for her new Fog Badge.
"Thanks guys! It was a tough earn, but I'm so happy right now!" she said. It was the usual group of two girls and three boys.
"No kidding, I thought you'd never win it!" one of the boys said. I heard the other girl laugh.
"Hey that's so mean!" the original girl said. There was a long moment of laughing along, having fun, and cheering. I was so jealous of them. I felt miserable. It stopped thankfully when one boy asked the group a decisive question.
"I dunno what I want to do now guys… Do I want to go to Mahogany Town or Olivine City for my next badge?" he asked. It stopped the whole flow of the conversation, and began a new one. I heard them all making questioning noises.
"Well, Mahogany Town has the Lake of Rage. I'd love to see the Gyrados!" one boy said.
"But, Gyrados are scary! There's a lot more to do in Olivine!" one girl argued.
"Olivine has quite the restaurant, I've heard." Another boy said.
"Jasmine is so pretty, I'd love to meet her!" The other girl said.
"I kinda want to get a Gyrados… now that you mention it, Shawn." The original asker said. It was the first time I heard one of them refer to each other by name. To me, the group represented the Trainer world. All of the gossip they had… it didn't seem like they needed names. I went back to eating my snack.
"So… you guys want to go to Olivine?" asked 'Shawn'.
"More than Mahogany Town!" a girl said. I heard the other girl and one of the boys agree with her.
"And you two want to go to Mahogany Town…?" the other girl asked. I heard something in her throat.
"…Yeah. I think it's time we split up, I guess." He told them. The rest of them went silent.
I started thinking. These Trainers were all good friends, but… they're all human. They all want to do things their own way, and won't always conform to each other's ways of going around things. This could be last time they ever saw each other. That made me sad. If I had traveling partners, we'd have to split up too. Trainers aren't the best idea if you want company, I realized. I realized something else then.
Since Trainers will come and go, there's only one other option to avoid loneliness. Your Pokémon.
I stood up, getting ready to leave the Center. But I got one idea. It was bold, and I wasn't sure if it was going to work. Because it involved socialization. I turned around to face the group of Trainers.
"Why don't you all exchange a gift to remember each other by? That way you won't feel alone when you split up!" I said, cheerfully.
The three boys and one of the girls looked me oddly. They were probably wondering how much of their conversation was overheard.
"That's a great idea! I don't want you two to just leave us. But since you are, I want to remember you!" the other girl said. It was the girl who just won her Fog Badge.
"I like that idea" 'Shawn' said. He smiled at her. Then he looked at me.
"Thank you." he said, and the rest of them looked at me, and smiled.
I never saw any of them again after that.
"Alright, Mars, Adonis, come out!" I said, releasing both of them. We were going to have lunch together by Route 42, where we traveled to Mt. Mortar to get a Machop, who ended up being Adonis.
Mars gave me a questioning look, wondering something. I didn't know what he was getting at. He went over to my bag and grabbed the smaller bag out that had the Plain Badge. I realized what he wanted to ask, and my face turned dark. Adonis looked equally as guilty.
"Sorry Mars. We didn't get the Badge." He looked disappointed, but then raised his arm up looking at both me and Adonis, trying to raise our spirits. I smiled, and touched his fist with mine. He raided his fist to Adonis, expecting the same thing, but Adonis didn't respond. Instead, he got up, and began walking away from us. I got up myself, and tried to stop him.
"Adonis, what are you doing?" he began running, ignoring me again. I ran to catch up. I had longer legs, and they were giving me an advantage. I saw Mars running behind me.
I began catching up to Adonis, but still, he wasn't slowing down. I thought about returning him, but I remembered that I left both of their Pokéballs behind at our lunch spot. I had to have one way on getting Adonis to slow down.
I jumped on top of him, pinning him down on the terrain.
"Chop! Chop!" he franticly tried to escape my grasp.
"Adonis, what's the matter with you?" I yelled and violently shook him. He looked up to me, and calmed down. His face got darker and out of nowhere, began to cry.
I've never seen Mars cry before. I personally didn't ever think that Fighting type Pokémon could cry. I didn't know how to handle this. I looked over to Mars who looked worried about us.
"Adonis…" I didn't know what to say. I imagined myself crying.
I imagined myself in National Park, crying, with the bullies walking away from me. I'm beaten up, Mars somewhere in the grass, and I'm alone. I replaced myself with Adonis, and I wondered what I, the bystander, should do. It was obvious what I needed back then, and what Adonis needs right now.
I put my arms around Adonis, and held him tightly. He was surprised, but he settled down. Mars walked to us, and did the same. The three of us spent an everlasting time in silence. I was giving the support that Adonis needed. I was giving the support I never got in Goldenrod. Maybe this was the connection I needed that Morty was talking about.
"Adonis, I'm sorry." I said. I let go of Mars and Adonis, who had stopped crying now, and got up. Mars let out a 'Chan' in content. I smiled at him, before giving my attention to Adonis. He looked sad, but much more stable than before.
I took his arm and pulled him up.
"Come on, let's go eat, okay Adonis?" I asked. Adonis nodded unsurely, and the three of us walked back to the lunch site. Mars began to dig in right away, but Adonis was just drinking water. I sighed. Taking a bag of chips, I walked over to him.
"Here, take some." I said, urging him to take the bag. We needed to talk and patch things up. I made up my mind when I was talking to Isidora. I was going to be staying in Ecruteak until I beat Morty. No turning back.
Adonis took some chips hesitantly, but made an effort. That was a start.
"Alright Adonis. I want to know what's wrong. Are you upset with me?" I asked.
He shook his head.
"Well you should be. I'm pretty mad at me too. Because of me, I couldn't really help you train yesterday. I just left you at the Pokémon Center while I went with Mars… I'm sorry, Adonis. I really am." I let it all out. Mars just stayed in the background watching us. I looked back at Adonis, who looked back at me. He sighed.
"Chop!" he said, now smiling brightly.
"So you forgive me?" I asked. Adonis nodded.
"Thanks." I grinned. One issue down. And our trust began to rebuild itself. Now for the next problem that needed solving…
"Adonis, do you not like taking orders from me?" I asked flat out. It caught him off guard.
"C-Chop?" he stuttered. I took that as a 'yes, but didn't hear it from me'. I took a deep breath, and began to recall when exactly Adonis stopped listening to me. I remembered. It was in the Dance Theater, when we were battling the Kimono Girl and her Vaporeon. The beginning of the battle was going smoothly, but during the middle… That's when Adonis stopped listening to my commands. I tried recalling further.
"Adonis… did you stop taking my orders when you got hurt against the Vaporeon after taking my command?" I asked.
He nodded guiltily. I remembered it fully now. He gave me a glare when he was hit by the Vaporeon. I didn't notice it until now.
I understood it now. Adonis doesn't like to lose, and will do everything he can to avoid losing. That's why when he was hit and hurt by the Vaporeon through my command; he stopped listening and began to battle himself. Because if he followed my commands, he would have lost. That's why he had an outburst earlier. He lost against Morty's Haunter with no saving grace. The logic made sense, but it wasn't very practical.
"Adonis. You're such a baby. Are you really scared about losing?" I taunted. His eyes widened at the insult. I sighed.
"Well, at least you're not as much of a baby as your Trainer. I use to cry every day, at least twice as much as you did." I finished. Adonis then looked at me, taken back. Mars laughed and nodded, agreeing with me.
"But Mars helped me out. And I want to help you out. What I'm trying to say is… I want to try out this team thing again. Do you want to give another shot?" I asked Adonis.
"Ma!" he nodded, almost immediately. I was glad. Step two, done and over with. We're getting places now. I smiled at them, and opened my mouth.
"Then let's train. The three of us; together." I looked over at Mars, then to Adonis.
We finished eating, and moved onto seeing what Adonis can do. He showed me that he could use Karate Chop, Low Kick, Foresight, and…
"Hey Adonis, mind showing me the last move you have? I know you can use Karate Chop, Low Kick, and Foresight, but there's another move, right?" I asked him. Adonis nodded, and walked over to me.
Then he gave me a Leer. He tried really hard to give me one that would scare me. It didn't work.
"Um, okay. So Leer." I said, unfazed at all. Then I started laughing. Adonis gave me an embarrassed Karate Chop. It sure did shut me up.
"I think we need a new move. Something that can touch Ghosts without having to set up on Foresight. Maybe they sell some in the Pokémart. How about if we go see?" I explained. Adonis looked on. Mars carried another bag of chips that he shared with Adonis and me. The three of us walked over to the Pokémart, and took a look at the wares. I was disappointed.
No TMs anywhere. I sighed before leaving. Looks like we have to find another way to learn a move. The three of us walked all over Ecruteak. I don't know what we were looking for, but we just wandered around. I checked my Pokégear, and it was already around six. There was no way I'd challenge Morty again until I was confident that we can take on his Ghosts. Let that be tomorrow, next week, next month, it didn't matter.
We continued to walk until we arrived at a series of alleyways. The three of us just played around with a can we found, and Mars kicked it all the way into one of the darker alleys. We heard a crash, and somebody came running out.
A shady looking old man came out, and we heard something tumble down afterward.
"Ya! What are ya doing knocking down my house! I spent all week makin' it!" he yelled at us. I was scared. This homeless guy was probably going to knife us down. Just because Mars kicked a can too hard. I didn't even want to know how weakly the 'house' was, because it came crashing down.
"I-I-I'm s-sorry! It won't happen again!" I stumbled. The man was short, stumpy, and looked really dirty. Missing teeth, smelled pretty bad, all that good stuff. He completely ignored me, and looked at Mars and Adonis, who both became nervous.
"These are yer Pokémon, ya brat?" he asked. I nodded quickly and nervously. "You won yer Fog Badge yet?" I shook my head. "Speak up, sonny! Can ya do anythin' other than move yer head?" he yelled at me. I yelped.
"N-No! I didn't win the Fog Badge! I-I only have these two Fighting type Pokémon!" I yelled on impulse. I expected more yelling from this eccentric old man, but he didn't.
"Oh? So ya need… attacks that can deal damage on dem Ghost types?" he looked intrigued. I was still scared, but I complied.
"Y-yes sir." I said. He completely turned around, and went back deep into the alley. I was so not going to follow him in. Mars and Adonis made signs for us to escape while he wasn't looking, but something told me that this guy could help us out, so I denied their request. The three of us almost began fighting on the spot on what to do when the old man came out again, a bag with him.
He took out the components of the bag, and laid them out in front of us. I recognized what they were.
"Dey calls me TM Larry. These are all the TMs I have for sale. Tell me if ya like any of dem." I almost fell down. There tons of TMs here. I saw some black ones, some yellow ones, some red ones… I didn't even know what I wanted. He scoffed, which stopped my trance.
"U-Um, are there any… TMs that are good against Ghost types?" I asked.
"Aye. For yer Hitmonchan or Machop?" he asked back.
"Machop. Mars here can hold his own pretty good." I replied. I was getting less uneasy with this guy. After all, he was helping me out here!
"Hrm, I have this beauty right here dat can help yer Machop out. Payback. TM 66. It's a Dark type move that will definitely help ya beat Morty. I gasped. With this, Adonis could give lethal damage. We'd have a bigger chance of not going down so fast with it.
"Yes! I'll take it!" I yelled, excited. Adonis and Mars both caught on, and yelled along with me.
"Great! So how about ten thousand for it?" My heart stopped. My world came crashing down. That was unbelievable. I only had half of that amount on me. I couldn't pay it. And even I did haggle to make it half price; I'd be going without any supply or food money. It wasn't worth it. Mars and Adonis both seemed to sense my dilemma.
"…I only have a quarter of that, sir." I said. Maybe if I played around, I'd be able to get it really cheap. Isidora told me she did this plenty of times when she was traveling.
"I'll only cut it down to 7,500. And that's 'cause I like ya." He explained. Still no go. I sulked, and looked at Mars and Adonis. Mars shrugged, and pointed the way back to the main part of Ecruteak. Adonis on the other hand, winked at me. Then he walked over to the old man.
"What is he planni-" I tried asking Mars, but then I was cut off. By my running Adonis. I glanced over at the old man, and I saw his face red and boiling.
"Thief! Thief! Dat Machop took ma' TM! Stop it!" he yelled franticly. So that was his plan. But this was it. This was how I was going to get my fighting chance to defeat Morty without wasting a penny from my pocket. I grinned to Mars.
"Don't worry, sir! I'll get Adonis back and the TM! Just stay here!" I yelled, running off; Mars' glove in my hand.
Yeah. I just lied to the guy. I was going to run after Adonis, and we'd never see the guy ever again. I laughed manically at my master plan. Mars just gave me 'this is so wrong' look again. But still.
We arrived at the ponds near the gate to the Tin Tower when we are crashed, tired. Adonis had the Technical Machine with him, and we were all panting. It was getting dark, but I was going to be training with the two of them until much later. I don't want to waste a single second.
"Nice…Nice going, Adonis. I don't know how I didn't think of that." I laughed. He laughed too, and Mars just groaned. I think he was tired.
"Mars, if you keep eating like you did since we got to Ecruteak, you won't feel so tired after running like this! I laughed.
"Chaan" he groaned even louder. Still technically, mission was a success.
The machine taught Payback to Adonis in exchange for Foresight. There was no need for it now that we can hit Ghosts. Watch out, Morty. We were going to get you this time.
Adonis practiced his new attack on Mars the rest of the day, and it wasn't much more than a tackle. As the move name suggested, Payback did more damage when the user was just struck by an attack. I was checking out my Plain Badge. I may not have been able to add the Fog Badge to my collection today, and I probably won't until later on. But I was determined to train. Mars was with me. Adonis and I renewed our relationship.
Adonis went up to me, wanting to wrestle with me. We've done this a lot lately, and it's fun. I feel myself getting tougher. I also feel that we get stronger together. I put the Badge back into the bag, where it accompanied the Lure Ball. I was wondering when I'd have to tell my sister about the mishap with her Heavy Ball, but I guess it didn't matter.
I didn't notice when Mars was checking out my Plain Badge when Adonis and I started wrestling.
I didn't notice a Murkrow taking the shiny object from Mars when Adonis and I were wrestling.
I did notice, however, when Mars threw a Mach Punch at the Murkrow, and then the Murkrow dropped my first and only Badge into the deep pond.
I pushed Adonis out of the way (he was winning) and jumped into the pond. Mars ran after me, while Adonis was confused, not knowing what was going on. I swam and dove a little, but I didn't see my badge anywhere in the rather murky water.
I got up, soaking wet, and. I didn't know what to do. Mars tried comforting me apologetically, and Adonis was still trying to get the gist of what happened. I crouched up, getting my stuff. I wanted to go back into the Pokémon Center. I wondered if Whitney would give a Badge to those who lost theirs. This was just… disheartening.
I kept on sulking until I felt something nudging me in the back. I looked up and saw Mars and Adonis looking at me. But I felt some more nudges, and I didn't see any of them move.
There was something behind me trying to get my attention. I slowly turned around to see who my mystery back-nudger was.
It was petit, blue, had little eyes, a peculiar swirl pattern on its stomach, a tail, and little pink lips.
It was a Poliwag. And it had something on its head.
My Plain Badge.
I went out to my first college visit today, and it was really cool. So sorry for the rather late update. This is now my official longest chapter in the series, triumphing over chapter 2. Things have patched up for Adonis and Sebastian, don't you think? We'll also be wrapping up Mark's primary Flashback next chapter too. Really happy to write him. That being said, R/C welcomed as always, because I'd love to hear what you guys have to say!