*** I AM SO SORRY! ***
Turns out that I posted up chapter 3 instead of chapter 2
If you all read "Feather Shocker" before "Flirts and Fights" then you have skipped a chapter.
Once again, I apologize, and I have just fixed it. I hope you like the story! And remember, reviews are nice x3 3
!WARNING!
This chapter contains graphic imagery and my not be suitable for all readers. This may be over the rating of PG-13, but I don't think it's as bad as it could be. Please, just keep in mind, portions of this chapter are graphic.
Chapter 3
Feather Shocker
I woke up early the next morning, looking at the clock at the far side of the room. 5 o-clock. I rolled over thinking about how long I had slept. It was the first time in six months that I actually had a full eight hours of sleep. I had no nightmares, no crazy dreams, nothing at all, just a good nights sleep. I sat up in my bed, wondering if Shonna was having the same problem I was.
I got dressed, looking at the brochures that littered the coffee table in the room. One, of which, caught my eye, so I picked it up, looking at the cover. It had a giant picture of a Pidgeotto on it, and the words, "Come see the Violet City gym leader, Falkner, battle oncoming opponents". I flipped it open, reading the inside. It said that he would accept battles by challengers from 9am to 12pm. The battles are free of charge to watch, blah blah blah, so on, and so forth. I closed the brochure, looking over at Pichu who was still asleep on the pillow. I smiled, knowing what pokemon was going to use against a flying-type gym. I tossed the folded paper back on the table and opened the door to walk out of the room. When I went out I saw Ricky standing beside the door. "I heard you walking around so I went ahead and got up."
I didn't say anything, just looked at him. Why was he still here? Didn't I make it plenty obvious that I didn't want him to tag along with me? I started to say something when he shushed me.
"It's okay, I understand." He said. "You were having a rough day yesterday, no big deal, everyone has those days." He turned to face me. "And I also understand that you don't like me taking advantage of women, so I'll tone it down a bit when I'm with you." He then held his hand up high, motioning for a high five. He waited for a minute. "Come on man, don't leave me hangin'."
I yawned as I stretched walking by him. "So is this nurse in your room too?" I asked, not looking back at him.
"No." He pouted. "She didn't want to have anything to do with me."
"Whoa, no way." I walked up to the front counter, looking around for Nurse Joy. "The Casanova of Johto got turned down, what a pity."
He followed behind me, pulling a hand through his thick red hair. "Isn't it though? The one here is really ho-" He paused, for a second, remembering what he said to me only a few moments ago. "She's pretty cool."
I chuckled, seeing her working on the Pokehealer behind the front desk. "Nurse Joy," I said from the counter. "Could you please pour me some coffee."
"I sure can!" She said happily as she wiped some motor oil off her arms with a rag when she put down the wrench she was using. I saw Ricky's eyes get wide while he watched her wipe off the dark grease. I kicked him on the foot, giving him a harsh look as he looked away, still checking out Joy from the corner of his eye. "How would you like it?" She asked, back turned to us.
"Just like that…" Ricky said, staring a hole through her butt.
I kicked him even harder, this time making him wince.
"So you want it black?" Joy asked, turning around with a cup of hot coffee.
"Yeah, that's fine, thanks." I took the coffee, sipping on it.
"So what are you doing up so early, Joy?" Ricky asked, resting his elbow on the counter.
"Well, if you must know, I always get up this early to do my daily maintenances around the center before the trainers come here." She snapped back at Ricky, picking back up the wrench.
"Piiii!" Pichu yawned, walking into the lobby from the back room. He saw me then walk over, laying his head down on my boot. "Pii-ii-iii…" He squeaked, falling asleep on my shoe.
"Aww!" Joy squealed, running over to Pichu as I picked him up, putting him on my head. "He's just so cute!"
"He is, isn't he?" I answered as the little fuzz ball woke up again.
"Pi?" He sat up straight on my head. "Piiiii!" He yawned again. He then licked his paws, rubbing his eyes.
The nurse cooed again as I picked him up, looking him in the face. "Are you ready for today, Pichu?" I asked.
"Pi?" The mouse looked at me with half-opened eyes.
"Today you're going to win me a badge." I smiled.
Ricky and Pichu both jumped back. "Pi?!" Pichu pointed a finger to his face. "Pi, pi pi-i, pichu, chu, pi!" He cried, putting up his hands to shake them in front of his face.
"Oh, you'll be great!" I said, patting him on the head. "Don't worry, we will be training today on your thundershock a little more so by the time we fight the gym you'll be ready to whoop um'!"
"Pii…" He blushed, putting one hand behind his head.
"You're telling me that little rat is going to beat Falkner's Pidgeotto?" Ricky laughed. "That bird is strong. You shouldn't underestimate it!"
"I'm not underestimating anything." I said, holding up Pichu in the air. "This little guy has more juice than any other electric pokemon I have ever seen." I smiled, tossing him in the air and catching him, making him laugh. "Its just the key of unlocking it."
"Well I'll believe it when I see it." He said, watching the Nurse Joy walk back to the pokehealer. "When do you plan on going? It's like not even daybreak yet."
"We are going to be doing some training first." I said, placing Pichu back on my head. "Nurse joy?"
"Yes?" She said, raising up from under the counter, motor oil specks on her cheeks.
"When do you think the Pokehealer will be fixed?"
"Oh, it's not broke." She said, reaching around the counter for a screwdriver. "I'm just changing the oil, it needs to be done once every week with how much use it gets." She went back under the counter, working on the healer again. "I would say it will be ready for use in an hour."
"Alright, thanks!" I said, feeling Pichu playing around in my hair. "That's all the time we need to get Pichu ready."
"Hmph." Ricky huffed, walking to open the door. "I'll be back to watch your match."
I looked at him strange. Was he leaving? Not that I'm complaining if he was, but why is he? "Why, where are you going?"
He stopped with one foot on the door. "I do have a phone number I would like to call." He held up the ticket that Officer Jenny gave him. "Who knows, it may even lead into something else."
"Arg." I sighed, rolling my eyes. "Do whatever you want."
"You should stop by some time, she told me yesterday that she had a pool table in her house. She suggested using it for something else, but I think she would let us shoot a game of pool. After all, I would love to regain my title from you." He said holding up an eight ball.
I looked at him oddly, as he put it back in his pocket. "Why do you have a pool ball?"
"It's the only time I lost at pool." He said, turning around, showing me his blood red eyes. "I stole that eight ball from the pool rink in Cinnabar that night you beat me."
"So is that why you're following me, to beat me at pool?"
"No." He laughed. "No, I only keep it around to remind me I'm not the best. But the reason why I'm following you is to see if you can really make it to the Championship League in six months."
"Hey now, I just got lucky." I said.
"Anyway, I'm going out." He turned.
"Well I'm leaving as soon as I get the badge, so if you're going to follow me you might not want to get too carried away with her." I walked up to him. "The battle will be at 9:00. You going to try to make it?"
"I'll try." He smiled, shutting the door as he walked out.
I watched him as he disappeared into the dark. I then turned back to my coffee, sipping down the last bit of it before setting the cup back on the counter. "Thanks, Joy." I said, reaching into my pocket to bring out a one-dollar bill, laying it on the table.
"Oh, the coffee is free." She said, turning the healer back on.
"It's a tip." I said, turning to walk out the door. "That coffee was great, thanks." I didn't hear her say anything as I walked out the door.
* * *
It was chilly outside, not cold, but chilly. There was a slight breeze, but it wasn't enough to make a difference for a practice battle. The sky was dark purple, showing that the sun was going to rise soon. I picked Pichu up, placing him on the ground. "Are you ready?" I asked.
"Pi…" He said doubtfully.
I didn't know quite which one I wanted him to train with. Cyndaquil, though he is strong, isn't progressing as fast as Pichu. Kabuto hasn't had any training at all, so he is out of picture, and Scyther is far too powerful for him. Heck I don't even know if he would listen to me. Arcanine could help me, I'm sure he wouldn't mind, but I really want to use my others. "Well then," I said, reaching for the last pokeball on my belt. "That only leaves one left." I threw out the pokeball, watching as the giant bee pokemon popped out.
"Beedrill!" It buzzed, floating in the air.
"Alright Beedrill, this is a training match." I said, walking between them. "I need to see what you remember about battling, and Pichu needs some training." I walked back away, sitting on a nearby stump. "Just do as I say and everything will be okay." I watched as they both began to show their fighting stance. "Beedrill, Poison Sting! Pichu, dodge using your speed!"
Beedrill flew at Pichu with one of his stingers out. I knew he could fly faster, so I guessed that he was holding some back, making sure not to hurt Pichu. Pichu quickly ran to the left, dodging the stinger the struck the ground.
"Beedrill, Fury Attack! Pichu, Double Team"
Pichu used his speed he already had from dodging Beedrill's earlier attack to jump right into a double team. He ran so fast it looked like there were two of him, then four, and then six, all of which Beedrill struck until he found which one was him. Beedrill pulled back for a final swipe.
"Pichu, Thunder Shock! Beedrill, put your stinger in the ground!"
Beedrill shoved the stinger he was going to hit Pichu with in the ground as Pichu stopped, dead in his tracks, covered in a coat of yellow electricity. He shot a beam of light from him to Beedrill, who was floating in the air with one arm in the ground. The beam of light lit up the semi dark area behind the pokecenter where we were training. For it being his first full-fledge Thunder Shock, it wasn't too bad. Beedrill stayed in the air when the shock was over. His stinger in the ground kept him grounded, and he took no damage. Pichu just looked at him, dumbfounded, seeing that his attack did nothing. Beedrill picked his stinger out of the ground, waiting for the next order.
"Pichu, great job!" I said. "You're doing great, keep it up. And Beedrill your doing great too, just as strong as the day we parted." I stood up. Watching a battle sitting down was pretty tough. "Beedrill, Double Team!"
With that Beedrill flew fast around Pichu, making it look like there were about twenty of him. Pichu couldn't believe it, he was overwhelmed by how much more powerful and faster Beedrill was than him.
"Pichu, you're going to be just as fast one day, maybe even faster." I said. "But this is a battle, don't ever lose faith in yourself or me! You have to have trust if you want to win!"
"Pi!" Pichu said, charging up, regaining confidence.
"Now, close your eyes." I spoke softly.
"Pi?" He questioned, looking at me oddly.
"Trust me Pichu or you will never win!" I screamed. "Now listen to me and close your eyes!" I scared Pichu, making him jump, but he did close his eyes. "Now, listen closely to your target. He is moving very fast, but you can catch him. Listen to the flaps of his wings. When you think you have locked on, charge up a Thundershock and hit him with all you got."
I saw Pichu stand there for a while, twitching his ears, listening to the movements of the bee. After a few seconds I saw a bright yellow light form around him. He opened his eyes, pulling his arms to his chest, then thrusting them at one of the many Beedrill around him. "Piii!" He cried out, thrusting a very large Thundershock at Beedrill.
"Beedrill, Agliity!" I cried, just in time for the Thundershock to miss, flying into the air, where it fizzled out. Pichu fell on one knee, getting its breath back, when Beedrill swooped in from the right. "Pichu! Jump backwards!"
Pichu jumped, without even thinking about the demand. That's good, that means he is finally listening to me like he should. The left stinger of Beedrill crushed into the ground Pichu was just standing at.
"Pichu! Thunder Shock again!" I called out, watching as Pichu let out another Thundershock, this time much quicker, but just as powerful. The light beam hit Beedrill again, this time making his stinger slip out of the ground, resulting in him getting shocked.
"Pichu! Stop!" I screamed, running over to Beedrill, who was lying on the ground. "Are you okay?" I asked, watching him open his eyes.
"Buzz…" He hummed, putting on a smile.
"Pi, Pichu!" Pichu ran up to his side.
"He's okay." I said, patting Pichu on the head. "But he deserves a good rest." I pulled out his pokeball, sucking him back inside.
"Chaa!" Pichu said, flopping on the ground exhausted.
"Don't get too comfy." I said, sitting up some old cans along the ground that I found in the trash beside the center . "We still have a lot of training to do before your big match."
"Piii?" He complained.
"Don't worry, this one is easy." I sat down beside him. "Your speed is great, but your attack could be better." I pointed over to the cans. "Now, see that first can? I want you to do a very small Thundershock on it. Can you do that?"
"Pi!" He said, jumping up. "Pi-Chu!" He shot a small beam of light at the can knocking it over.
"Great, now I want you to shoot the next one, this time trying to shoot it in the air and keeping it in the air by hitting it multiple times."
Pichu looked at me like he had his doubts, but he did obey my orders. He charged up, shooting a ray of light that knocked the pop can into the air, then struck it again while it was falling, popping it back up again. He did this four or five times before he missed, letting the pop can fall to the ground.
"Wow, you're doing great!" I said, patting him on the head. "You know Arcanine did the same thing when he was a puppy."
"Pi?" He looked at me wide eyed.
"Yep, he sure did." I leaned in closer to him, whispering in his ear. "And I know a certain little mouse how is doing better than he was on his first try."
Pichu's eyes lit up. "Pi, Pi, Pi?" He asked.
"Yeah, really!" I said, laughing. "But don't tell him I said that."
The next few hours passed by quite quickly as Pichu perfected his Thundershock attack, almost making it as powerful as a Thunderbolt. He was a very quick learner and used what skills he had very well. He was fast, very fast in fact, and shooting those pop cans got his aim dead on. Not only had he improved physically, but he was listening to me in battle without questioning my orders. With some more work he could be one of my most powerful pokemon on my team.
At 8:30 we walked into the pokecenter. I dropped off Pichu with nurse joy, instructing her to get him ready for the battle in thirty minutes while I checked my PC. I logged on, pushing in my ID number and password. No new mail from the police about Raticate, but I did have a new mail from mom. I opened it, seeing that it said they put Umbreon and Pidgeot back into my system in exchange for Gyarados. I closed out of my mail, logging into my PC pokemon system. As I saw, Umbreon and Pidgeot were there, but Gyarados was missing. "Well, at least they sent me a notification this time." I said, glancing over my pokemon. "Umbreon, Pidgeot, Primeape, and Dragonite are in the PC." I looked down to my belt. "And I have Scyther, Cyndaquil, Beedrill, Arcanine and Kabuto on me, with Pichu in the pokehealer." I glanced up, thinking about all the pokemon I had. "I know the next gym is a flying type, so pokemon that are slow and grounded are out of the picture. I guess I have to choose from Umbreon, for his speed, Pidgeot, for his aerial, Dragonite, for his power and flight, and Beedrill for his speed." I then looked at Pichu who was fast asleep in the pokehealer. "And Pichu will be my main fighter." I thought about all of this. Most gym leaders use a three-on-three battle to give out a badge. Pichu will be there to take down his Pidgeotto, but as far as the other ones go, I don't know. I can have Arcanine as a backup, just incase something goes wrong, but I really want to see if Beedrill can still hold up in a match. I know it's a risky move, seeing as how he's a bug type, but I think it will be okay.
I closed out of the system. All the pokemon I wanted to use were already in my party, so there wasn't any need to withdraw any. I walked over to the nurse, watching her read Pichu's bio-feed back on a computer monitor beside the healer.
"You're Pichu has really gained a lot of EXP in a short amount of time." She said, looking at me. "How did you do that? Did you feed him rare candies or any vitamins?"
"Nope." I said, watching as he slept. "I don't believe in those things. Pichu has been in my party for a very long time, and has watched many battles. I always knew he was strong, but it wasn't till I started training him today that I really saw it. He picked things up so fast, it was like he was born knowing some really high powerful attacks."
"Did you breed him yourself?" Nurse Joy asked.
"No." I shook my head. "The egg was given to me by…" My heart sunk. My breath was gone. I felt myself go pale.
"Are you okay?" Joy asked, putting a hand on my shoulder.
I shook off my inside illness. "Yeah, I'm fine." Why is it every time I think of that girl this happens to me? "He was given to me when he was an egg by a friend, who got him from a daycare center in Kanto."
"Oh." She looked back to Pichu. "So he is an orphan?"
"No, not entirely." I leaned up on the counter. "His mother came with us, she stuck with my friend and Pichu came with me. The father on the other hand, I have no idea who he is."
The clock in the far room dinged, signaling 9 a.m. "You better hurry." Joy said, getting Pichu out of the healer. "Your battle is about to start." She handed me Pichu.
"Thanks." I said, picking the mouse up, putting him on my shoulder.
"Wish the gym leader good luck for me!" Joy said as we were walking out the door. "He's going to need it if he is going to be fighting the League Champion, after all!"
I stopped, one foot out the door. How did she know that, I didn't tell her, did I? I turned to face her, about ready to question her.
"I knew cause of your friend." She said.
"He's not my friend, he's more of a tag along." I turned back around, walking out.
* * *
"Give me a beer." Conner said, sitting at the bar counter.
"Aren't you a little young to buy a beer, kid?" The bartender said, walking around to him.
"I don't know, am I?" Conner pulled out an ID from his pocket, sliding it on the counter showing the bartender. "Like I said, a beer. Make it cold."
"Hmph." The bartender chuckled, looking at his red cape that was draped over the floor under him. "Whatever you say, cape man, as long as you can pay." He turned around, filling a mug up with some ice-cold beer. He sat it down, sliding it to Conner, who caught it while it was sliding.
Conner looked at the glass as it started to frost on the outside. He picked it up, taking several chugs before sitting the massive glass back down on the counter. "Hey Bartender." He said, putting twenty dollars on the table. "For the beer, and open up table seven for me."
The bartender took the twenty as he started to fiddle with some change.
"Keep the change." Conner said, walking to pool table seven with his beer in one hand, grabbing a pool stick in the other. He racked the table, placing the cue ball in the center of the invisible starting line. He shot, sinking three balls in all different pockets.
"You're pretty good." A woman in a black leather mini skirt with tore panty hose came up to him, sitting on the table, crossing her legs in front of him. "I could really go for a man like you." She leaned in close to him, rubbing one hand on his face. She pushed her breast on him. "What do you say we take this game into the back room?"
"What do you say that you take your mitts off my wallet?" He glanced up, staring the woman in the face with his eyes that were fixed in such a way that shot fear into her. She backed up, placing his wallet back in his pocket. Conner said nothing, just stared the woman down, looking like he was going to kill. He heard something, someone behind him, but he knew that if he took his eyes off of her she'd try something. He waited till the footsteps got closer. When they were right on him, he reached into this pocket, pulling out a switchblade. He pushed the button while he reached with the other hand around the person's neck that was creeping up behind him. He pulled him down, squeezing the man's neck in his arms while he held the knife to his throat, the whole time still staring down the woman. "And what do you think you're doing?" Conner asked in a deep dark voice, pushing the blade slightly into the man's neck, blood dripping to the floor. "I'm sorry that I'm wise to your stupid tramp trick, but if you don't want to die I suggest you get out of here."
"What are you going to do kid?" The man said, reaching into his pocket for his knife. "Kill us?"
"If you don't put that knife down I will." Conner replied, still looking at the woman, who stood there speechless.
The man grit his teeth, thrusting the knife at Conner's back. Conner moved, releasing the man and dodging his blow as the man fell to the ground. Ricky kicked his hand, throwing the knife under a nearby pool table. He kicked the man in the side, turning him over.
"Get out!" Conner said, grinding his teeth. He dodged to the left, hearing footsteps behind him. Luckily the dagger that the woman thrust at him missed. He raised up his arm, striking her in the back, knocking her to the ground. "I'm not telling you again." Conner said in an even scarier voice than before. "Get out, or die!"
The two struggled to get up, stumbling over to another pool table. Conner turned his back, returning to his game. His pool stick was knocked to the ground during the fight, so he put the toe of his shoe under the stick, kicking into the air where he caught it. He squatted down, lining up his shot when he saw in the reflection of his beer mug the man from before running at him with a pool stick. "Ah…" He sighed. "Can't say I didn't warn them." He shot the ball, then leaned down on the table as the man swung the pool stick, missing him. Conner rolled over under the man, knife still in hand. The man looked into Conner's eyes, knowing that he was left wide open for an attack. Conner held his knife tight as he thrust it into the man's neck, slicing his atom's apple. Conner smiled, watching the man cough up blood. It dripped on his face. He pulled the knife to the left hard, slicing through the rest of the skin, almost detaching the head. The man fell to the ground, bubbling in blood as his headless body struggled to breath.
"What a pity." Conner said, looking around to see that the only two people in the pool hall was the bartender and the hooker, whom where both speechless. He wiped the blood off his knife with a rag that was in the dead man's pocket. "If you two hadn't seen that I could of let you live." He saw the bartender reach slowly under the counter. Conner flipped the knife in his hand, blade facing towards him as he threw the knife at the man with enough force to push the blade through his skull, killing him instantly. He walked up to the hooker, picking up the dead man's knife as he held it to her bra strap. She backed up against the wall, shaking in fear as he sliced her left bra strap. He looked at her, staring into her eyes as he drug the knife across her chest to the other strap. "But, hey, I can still have my fun with you before you go, my little flower."
* * *
"Falkner!" I yelled as I threw open the doors of the very small gym, seeing that it had a sunroof that covered the whole gym. The floor was sandy and dirty, I'm guessing to give him an advantage when he used a sand attack, or gust.
"Yes?" He asked, sitting on a throne overlooking the gym. He was young, maybe even as young as me. He had dark green hair that looked a lot like Ricky's, and was wearing what looked like a light gray samurai get up.
"I'm here to battle you for a gym badge!" I yelled, holding a fist up in front of me confidently.
"Pi, Pichu!" Pichu mimicked me.
"Man, clam down." Falkner said, standing up. "You don't have to be so dramatic."
"Sorry," I said, putting a hand behind my head. "It's been a while since my last gym battle, I'm just really excited."
"Well then I guess you know how it works." He walked to a pedestal that stood high above the gym. "Seeing as how you have fought in a gym battle before." He pushed a button, opening the sunroof to expose an open gap in the ceiling. "Your pedestal is over there." He pointed to the other side of the gym, above the battlefield. "Take the elevator up."
"Don't take the stairs." Ricky yelled from above. I looked up to see a row of bleachers over looking the battlefield. "They suck!" I saw Officer Jenny wrapped under one of his arms. She had her legs crossed, putting one hand on his chest as she laid her head on his shoulder.
I shook my head, walking over to the elevator, riding it up to the floor with bleachers and the over hanging pedestal. I walked over to the platform. "Woo!" Ricky yelled. "Go Kyle! Yeah!"
"This will be a three-on-three battle, I can't change out. If you win you get a Zephyr Badge, yada yada yada." The gym leader spoke fast. "Ready your first pokemon!" He threw out a pokeball, as a Fearow flew into the air in front of me.
"Frrrrooooowww!" It crowed.
"Alright." I said, readying my pokeball. "Go Beedril!"
Beedrill buzzed out into the air. "Buuzzzzzz!"
"Hahaha!" Falkner laughed. "Wow, are you sure you had a gym battle before?" He pointed to Beedrill. "Even novices know better than to use a bug against a bird!"
I smiled, knowing that I was getting the advantage in this battle, he has already lowered his defenses. "Beedrill, double team!"
"Bee!" He buzzed, quickly turning into about fifty beedrill. They quickly flew all over the room, buzzing by Fearow, swarming all over it.
"Now, Poison Fury Attack!"
With that all the Beedrill turned to face Fearow, getting poison ready in all of their stringers.
"Fearow! Use your drill peck!" Falkner screamed, knowing that he had underestimated the speed and power of my bug-type.
The Fearow spread its wings, flapping them vigorously as it spun into a small, but fast, tornado. It flew down, making its beak point out at the bottom vortex. Once it was ready, it swooped up, at a swarm of on coming beedrill. The bird flew fast, piercing his beak into one, then two, then three, all the way up drilling into about thirty Beedrill, all of which vanished on impact. The Fearow stopped in the air, looking a little disoriented from all the spinning.
"Now!" I called out. "In the neck!"
Suddenly all the Beedrill disappeared, showing one flying fast and hard into Fearow's neck. He punctured the bird with all three stingers, filled it with poison.
"Crrraaa!" The bird cried out in pain as Beedrill flew right back into the double team, making fifty of him once more.
"Fearow!" Falkner called. "Don't give up, use a whirl wind!"
The bird, badly poisoned, struggled to lift its wings.
"Beedrill, scatter now!"
Beedrill made his doubles fly off in all different directions, forming a sphere of bugs around Fearow. With one last attack the bird flapped his wings, making a whirl wind attack that knocked all the Beedrill away from it, making them all vanish.
"Now!" I called out, watching as the real Beedrill flew from the blinding part of the sky where the sun was shining, smashing down with a powerful poison sting onto Fearow's head. The bird fell to the ground, knocked out.
"Damn!" Ricky yelled out. "Right on! Kick his samurai wanna-be butt!" I said nothing, just rolled my eyes thinking how dumb he really was.
"Hmph." Falkner groaned, recalling his Fearow. "I have never lost one of my birds to a bug." He spat, readying his next pokemon. "This next one wont lose."
"Neither will this one." I grinned, recalling Beedrill, reaching for the ball around my neck.
"Go Murkrow!" The black bird flew from its pokeball, soaring around the sky before landing on one of the palm trees below. I looked down, seeing the greenery that I didn't notice before.
"That's great." I whispered. "I can use those to my advantage."
"So where's YOUR unstoppable pokemon?" Falkner grinned.
"Right here." I said, releasing Arcanine onto the battlefield below us. He stood strong looking at the crow in the tree.
"Murkrow, start off with your pursuit!" Falkner demanded.
"Krow!" The bird flapped its wings, diving in fast towards Arcanine.
Arcanine waited till he got closer before he made a move. When Murkrow was right on him Arcanine opened his mouth wide as the tiny bird flew into his mouth.
"What the?" Falkner screamed, looking over at the tail feathers sticking out of Arcanines mouth.
Ricky and I started dying laughing, watching Arcanine's cheeks start moving as the bird tried to break free.
"Don't just laugh!" Falkner pointed at me. "Get my bird out of that dog's mouth!"
I stood up, wiping a tear from my eye. "You heard him boy, spit it out with a Flamethrower attack."
Arcanine raised his head high, sucking in air with his nose as he opened his mouth blowing flames everywhere. The bird flew out, landing on the ground, knocked out, burning feathers and all.
"Woo-Hoo!" I heard Ricky yell. Once again, I rolled my eyes. I really wish he would just stay quiet.
"Man," Falkner said, recalling his burnt bird. "I have never seen that in a pokemon battle before."
"You'll learn that I'm full of surprises." I grinned, nodding to Pichu who was on my shoulder. "You ready?" I whispered. "His next one is his strongest, you know, the one you're going to take down?"
"Pi!" He grinned, pushing a little static through his cheeks.
"I hate to tell you," Falkner grinned. "But this one is my most powerful one." He threw out his last pokeball, releasing a Pidgeotto that was as large as a Pidgeot onto the field.
"Geeeeot!" The bird flapped, gusting a wind of dust around the field.
"Pichu." I whispered. "When you do your double team bounce off the trees."
"Pi." He nodded, running to the elevator. He look up at the button, jumping to reach it, but couldn't. He turned back to me with a pitiful look on his face. "Pi, Pi Chu." I chucked, walking over to the door pushing the button for him. "Pi chu!" He grinned, running on the elevator, this time jumping and reaching the down button. I walked back to the overhanging platform. The elevator chimed as Pichu ran onto the field. "Pichu!"
Falkner looked at the tiny mouse. "Hmph." He snorted. "I don't know if your trying to toy with me or what, but this battle will be mine. I wont lose."
"I'm not toying with you." I grinned, knowing my next comment would blind him with anger. "I just know that my little mouse can take you down." I shrugged. "I mean, come on. A bug took down your Fearow, a grounded pooch took down your Murkrow with one hit, and it's just not looking too good for you. I want to give you a chance, I thought you would be happy to see my mouse on the field."
Even from as far away from him as I was, I could see his face turn red in anger. "What are you trying to say about my pokemon?"
"Oh, I'm only saying what was evident in the battles." I shrugged. "But if you don't want to admit it, that's okay. I mean, after all, the first stage is always denial."
"Oohhh! Burn!" Ricky yelled from behind me. I swear, if he interrupts one more time I might just call Beedrill out on him.
I saw a vein rise up on his forehead. "PIdgeotto!" Falkner yelled. "Use a gust attack on that rat!"
"Pichu!" I screamed. "Dodge left, into the grass!"
Pidgeotto flapped its wings, blowing up a small tornado. Pichu jumped to the left, missing the gust attack, and hid in the grass until the winds settled.
"Wait for it to show itself," Falkner demanded. "When it does, drill peck it!"
I watched as Pidgeotto scanned the grass, looking for Pichu. When the time was right, I put our plan into motion. "Now Pichu!"
Pichu ran fast, jumping on the trunk of a tree, jumping over to another one, working his way up till he was on top the tree. After that, he stayed there.
"Now!" Falkner yelled with a grin on his face.
Pidgeotto flapped its wings virtuously, spinning itself into a tornado with hits beat at the vortex. It flew straight at Pichu, who was still standing on the tree. I didn't say anything, watching as the bird flew closer and closer.
Ricky jumped up. "Don't just stand there! Do something!"
The bird flew full force into Pichu, pushing its beak through his stomach. But, instead of falling or acting hurt, Pichu vanished. "Now!" I screamed, watching Pichu fall from under Falkners platform on top of Pidgeotto's back.
"Piiiiiiii!" Pichu screamed, releasing a thunderbolt onto the flying bird.
"Crraaa!" The bird called out, falling to the ground, knocked out.
Pichu, happy for his first gym battle victory, jumped off the fallen bird's back. "Pi, Pi chu!" He squeaked happily, holding up one arm in victory.
"Congratulations." Falkner said, recalling his Pidgeotto. "You have won the Zephyr Badge. How? I don't know. But you have." He threw the badge at me as I caught it in the air. I pulled it down, looking at the two folded over wings on it.
"Thanks for the battle!" I said, walking over to the elevator.
"Yeah, whatever." Falkner muttered, walking back to his throne.
* * *
"That was so choice, man!" Ricky said, wrapping his arm around me as we walked out of the gym. I brushed him off, seeing Jenny still clinging to him like a love struck teenager. "Man, you smoked him! A lot better than I did." He nudged me. "But hey, what do you expect from a Pokemon Master?"
We walked into the parking lot, where I saw a police motorcycle parked. "Well, baby." Ricky said, grabbing Jenny by the waist, twisting her around, hugging her close. "Looks like I need to head out of here."
"Oh Ricky…" She said, staring into his blood red eyes, as they pulled closer for a kiss. I shook my head walking off. Its not that I found kissing gross or anything, but man, they had only knew each other for a few hours. And lord, I don't even want to know what they did when they went back to her house. The thought made me cringe.
I stopped walking, hearing Jenny's bike start. I turned just in time to see her drive beside me, letting Ricky get out from the side passenger seat. "Ricky," She said. "If you're ever back in town…"
"I know baby." He said, giving her a wink. "Don't worry, I'll come back for you." I saw her sigh as she drove off. "My God!" Ricky yelled. "What a control freak!"
I looked at him oddly. "What are you talking about?"
"Man, I know she's a cop, but she is so demanding in bed!" He groaned. "Don't get me wrong, handcuffs are hot, but not when they are on me."
"Gosh!" I screamed. "Is there anything else you think about besides sex?" I rolled my eyes, unlatching the pin on the back of my new badge.
"Sorry." He said, placing a hand behind his head. "It's going to be hard for me not to talk about that stuff around you. I'm just so used to it you know?" I didn't say anything as I opened my jacket, revealing my eight badges from Kanto as I added my new one to them. "Wow!" He said, as I put my jacket back down. "How many badges do you have?"
"Nine now." I continued walking to the pokecenter.
"I guess those were from Kanto, right?"
"Yep." We walked into the center. The clock on the far wall said 9:45am.
"Are we heading out of here soon?" Ricky asked, tagging along behind me as I dropped my pokemon off at the healer.
"Yep." I said, watching the lights signal that they were all healed. They didn't take any damage, but it couldn't hurt to have them checked on. "I plan on training Arcanine while we are on our way to Azalea Town."
"Yeah, that's a long trip. It took me about a week to walk all of that when I came through here." He said walking around to the hallway. "If we're leaving I guess I should go get my stuff packed up."
"Yeah…" I mumbled, taking my pokemon. "Thanks Joy."
"No problem!" She smiled. When Ricky was out of sight she leaned in to me. "You really don't like him do you?" She whispered.
"Not at all." I sighed, walking over to the PC system. I plugged in my information, watching as my screen came up. No new mail, and no new transactions. Oh well. I really hoped that they find Raticate soon, but at this rate I think I might as well give up. I looked at my party. It was nice having Beedrill for a change, but I think I wanted to put him up. There were so many new pokemon in Johto, I would like to have a free spot if I ever ran into one that I might want. I plucked Beedrill off my belt, placing him on the deposit unit. I watched as the ball vanished, logging in his information and data on my account. I logged off, turning off the screen.
"All ready to go." Ricky said, walking up behind me with his book bag full.
"I need to get my stuff." I walked by him, heading to my room. I gathered all my things, stuffing them back up in my bag when I noticed the door open. I leaned up to see Joy standing there. "Hey," She said, holding out her hand. "Give me the key to your room. I already signed you out, so sneak out the window when you get packed up."
I looked at her strangely, not knowing what to say.
"You know, so you can get a head start, giving you some leeway if that loser wanted to chase you." She smiled.
I grinned, zipping up the last zipper on my back pack. "Thanks joy." I tossed the key to her as I opened the window. I crawled outside, putting on my helmet and gloves as Pichu did the same thing. "You ready bud?" I asked, watching as he gave me a thumbs-up.
"Pi-chu!" He grinned.
I pushed the button on the capsule that was in my jacket pocket, throwing it out on the ground as it puffed into my bike. I opened the lid, sliding in as Pichu took his cup holder. We fastened the lid shut as we took off, speeding down the road, and soon, out of town.
* * *
"My God!" Ricky said impatiently. "I have had girlfriends that get ready faster than him."
"I'm surprised you have had a girl stick with you long enough to be considered a 'girlfriend'." Joy said, brewing up a fresh pot of coffee for the trainers that might come in.
Ricky looked up at the clock. "10:30? Man, it's been almost an hour." He groaned, standing up from the seat he was sitting in.
"Where are you going?" Joy asked.
"To check on Kyle." He motioned, going in the back hallway. He walked up to my door, giving it a knock. "Hey, Kyle?" He said, pounding on the door. "What's up, you die in there or something?" He waited a while, with no reply.
"Oh!" Joy said, walking up behind him. "Yeah, I forgot to tell you, he already left."
"What?!" Ricky gasped, turning around to face her. "What do you mean he already left?"
"Well, I guess it was about an hour ago." She put a finger to her chin. "Yeah, he signed out and walked through the door when you were busy chatting with that school girl that came in."
"Crap!" He screamed, running for the door. He ran outside, reaching for Dodrio. He threw her out, climbing on her back. "Come on, we got to catch up!" He said, pointing her down the road as they took off.
* * *
Conner watched the pokecenter. "Hmph." He grinned. "Once again, the boy is running faster than I can catch up." He walked into the center, not seeing Nurse Joy around anywhere. He walked over to the PC in the corner of the room, pulling out a laptop with a cable uplink hooked into it. In today's day and age laptops were easy to come by, but one built just for hacking PC Systems, not so common. He plugged up the free end of the data cable into the transfer unit. He turned on the PC, watching as the screen on his laptop lit up with green numbers that flew across it.
Data Base 1100100111001010100010
Conner Log In
Password -- ********
Loading
Access Approved
Entry Data Follow
Day 186/10:47Hours
Course Of Action --
Item Retrieval/Inside PC System
Item Deposit/Inside System
Item/File Name --
Deposit 2 – ITEM – Beedrill
Deposit Location --
U:/exp1/stem/CrioNo003
Connect Directly To Location U:/esp1/stem/CrioNo001
Required Statements 1 --
Retrieval Of Specimen 002
Required Statements 2 --
Acquired On Location: Johto/846538/2489/PCsystem
Required Statements 3 --
Other Specimens Locations Currently On Move: Currently In Pursuit
Conner Log Off
Password -- ********
Loading
Transaction Ended
Good Day Conner
Nurse joy walked back in the room from the hall way, locking the door Ricky forgot to do as she saw a figure walk out, cape blowing in the wind.