Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.
The first thing I noticed was the old man waiting by the trees. That creeped me out in a huge way. I was almost tempted to have Cyndaquil use Tackle on him just so we could get by. But my morales got the better of me, and instead, I had Cyndaquil stay by my side.
We slowed to a walk as we approached the man, as to not startle him. He seemed to be sitting on the ground, writing in the dirt. I also heard some faint words- indicating perhaps he was talking to himself.
Walking down the dirt path, our footsteps were masked by the soft silt, but due to it being early in the morning and there being no noise about, the old man looked up. His face brightened considerably upon seeing travelers. I was just hoping he was friendly and not crazy.
"Hello! Are you a rookie trainer?" He asked joyfully, springing up. He extended his hand, which I politefully took and shook. He even knelt down to shake Cyndaquil's paw. The small fire pokemon retreated at first, but hesitantly stepped forward and shook his hand.
"Yes actually... how can you tell?" I asked, not as suspecting as I was previously. He seemed nice, and was even kind enough to extend pleasantries to my Pokemon. He chuckled slightly and gestured to my attire.
"First, your clothes are fairly clean- something a veteran trainer wouldn't be seen in usually. Second, that's a young Cyndaquil and you just came from New Bark." His explanation made sense, and I 'oohed' in response.
"Ah... um, may I ask, why are you outside?" The question had been knocking on the inside of my skull, and if I didn't ask, I knew there was no way I would be at peace.
He sighed, and responded. "My wife picked a great time to have a... tantrum. So, it was either sleep outside OR visit my early grave. I've still got a few years left." The old man said with a twinkle in his eyes.
"So! If you'd like, I can show you around Cherrygrove, get you familiar with the buildings and resources you'll need to be a great trainer." The offer caught me by surprise, but without hesitance, I agreed. He smiled, and began walking. Taking that as my queue to follow, I walked in tow.
"First, this path leads to all the houses. Now, Cherrygrove is not a large town, so there aren't many houses. This way," He said, walking toward the bright glowing (fairly large) building with the red roof. I slowed up and stared at it in awe as I got closer. For such a small town, this was such a majestic building.
For one, it was at least 2 to 3 stories tall. Second, there was a turnstile door, and a glass automatic door. The white walls were shiny and bright, even in the young morning.
Walking in, I saw a mid-aged nurse on a computer, wide awake. She was wearing a nurse's outfit (surprisingly, not one of those revealing ones) and had shockingly pink hair. The quiet clicking of the keys on the keyboard were the only thing that could be heard in the otherwise silent room. Well, now you could hear our footsteps, but before that.
Alerted to our presence, she peeked around her large monitor, and smiled at the sight of us. Wheeling from behind the device, she stood up, and stretched out a moment.
"Hello! Welcome to the Cherrygrove Pokemon Center. How may I... oh!" She stopped, noticing who was with me. At first, she'd only been interested in the new trainer, but upon seeing the older man with me, she suddenly became interested. "Mr. Vin! Quite early for you to be up, don't you think?" She said with a smirk. He laughed, and nodded.
"Thank the wife..." He said, only half-jokingly. "Anyways, could I get a room for my young friend here?" He asked, and she nodded, going to the back of the small counter area to presumably, fetch some keys. I was a bit surprised, because if you could get a room, why didn't he? I would've asked, but I was way too tired, and when the keys were handed off, I was barely conscious. I was still rather tired and sickly from that whole fiasco earlier yesterday. Hungry, tired, and hurting... it was a bad and sucky combination.
"Second floor, room 4. Enjoy your stay." She said way too cheerily for 2 o'clock in the morning.
We went up the stairs (me having to pick up Cyndaquil, for he fell asleep while we were waiting for the keys) and finally reached my room.
"Alright young man. You get yourself some rest. Come find me tomorrow, and we'll have a small battle, okay?" I nodded, barely comprehending his words. He smiled, and I went into my room, closing and locking the door behind me. Not bothering to do anything else, I walked over to the bed, and fell onto it, reaching into a slumber nobody in the right mind would wake me from.
The best part about that sleep, was that there was no alarm to disturb me. And that was enough to make it one of the best sleeps I'd gotten in a long time.
I woke around 11, and immediately, I felt better. I was in the same position I'd fallen asleep in. Face first in the bed, and Cyndaquil sleeping peacefully on my back. As cute as he was, I knew that he needed to get ready for later. So, I jostled him... by rolling over.
A few muffled yells and bites later, we were both up and walking around. Rubbing my eyes, I went into the bathroom to try and clear up my vision. I'd unfortunately, slept with my contacts in- the only way I could avoid glasses- and they'd caused for some minor sight inconveniences.
I found my backpack strewn on the floor in a heap. The red backpack was still fairly empty, but held a few things. I'd gotten a potion from the lab, and also the Ultra Ball. I sighed, and tossed it down. As it hit the ground, something rectangular popped out and landed on the floor. Curiously, I walked over to it, and picked it up.
It was silver, and a bit scratched up. Inside was 8 indents, each a different shape and pattern. I didn't recognize it at first, until I counted the indents. 8. This was a badge's case.
I slipped the case into my jeans pocket and smiled. The sun wasn't shining today, as I peered outside. Grimacing, I nodded and stared outside. A few Pidgey flew in the sky, their small wings beating frantically as they battled the winds.
Closing the curtains, I picked up my backpack, and made sure I had everything I needed. I threw it onto my back, and patted my side pocket to make sure I still had Cyndaquil's pokeball. It would be a disaster if I lost it.
Outside, in the far distance, I heard the rumble of thunder.
Thunder. I hated thunder. Thunderstorms and all. It was one of the only things I hated.
Trying to ignore it, I picked up the keys and whistled for Cyndaquil. The small fire-type had been staring at the television... except the device had been powered off. He turned his attention to me and raced over to me. I closed the door, and locked it, but not before hearing someone call my name.
"Kyle! Thank Arceus you're okay!" Turning, I saw Helgi running over to me. His clothing consisted of a pair a brown shorts and a burgundy shirt, with Eevee running alongside him.
"Huh?"
"Lyra and I heard you got hurt after we got here. I had no idea! I never woulda left if I knew..."
I shook my head, trying to find something to say. "Don't worry about it. I'm glad you didn't put your dreams on hold just for me. It's unnecessary. I'm good now, and so are we. Alright?" I didn't give him much room to speak; mostly because I didn't want to hear sorry 1,000 and 1 times.
"Okay... so, you made it already? Tough stuff. Caught anything?" He asked, and I shook my head. "Me neither."
I was a bit surprised. I thought for sure Helgi would've caught a Pidgey or Hoothoot. But, he never did like being compared to his mother... so it made sense he didn't catch one. We walked to the stairs, and I opened the door for him, before asking the other question that was inevitable.
"You battled yet?"
He grinned. "Yeah... and we got stomped. Just... we didn't even get an attack in." I wondered how he could be smiling after that. I mean, getting beaten that bad? I didn't know you could smile.
"And you're fine with that?" I asked incredulously.
"Yep! We have tons of time to train and grow. Just seeing how good defensively we were was enough. Besides, why get discouraged over a loss to a veteran trainer?" So it was a veteran trainer...
"Ah. Who was it?" I asked, but we reached the bottom of the steps, and we were surprised by the whole town being out by the practice battlefield.
"Wonder what's going on..." I mumbled, but my question was lost to Helgi, who, excitedly ran outside to witness the scene. Getting outside, Cyndaquil lept onto my shoulder to get a better view. What I saw, was not what I expected.
Lyra was in a heated battle with the old man from earlier today. Mr. Vin.
Chikorita looked heavily damaged, and fairly exhausted, but Mr. Vin's Wigglytuff looked completely fine.
"Young lady, your Chikorita needs to watch its confidence. It's too cocky and by goading opponents, you risk getting a harder battle." Mr. Vin said, pausing a moment to explain to Lyra. My crush looked a bit crestfallen, and very nervous. Instead of replying, she ordered a battle cry.
"Chikorita! Tackle!" The green grass-type got to its feet, and rushed forward. The attack looked very good for a young Pokemon, but Mr. Vin sighed.
"Intercept it." He said carelessly, and the Balloon Pokemon followed his command entirely. Using its soft, bubbly body, Chikorita's Tackle was completely absorbed and caused no damage.
"Finish. Use a weakened Body Slam." The weakened part confused me. Didn't everyone want to win ruthlessly? I knew if I ever faced a young, weak trainer, I'd give leeway, but I didn't know others were like that.
Wigglytuff obeyed, and used its body to pummel Chikorita, knocking it backward. Lyra, in a panic, rushed forward and picked up the leaf pokemon- who was completely unable to battle. Nurse Joy, the referee, called out the results.
"Chikorita is unable to battle! Wigglytuff wins!"
"Again..." Said a spectator, obviously expecting that.
"Now, will someone please fetch Kyle? I wish to battle him lastly." Hearing my name, I walked forward with Cyndaquil starting to get scared. As ready as he was when we were on Route 29, he was now about to enter his first battle. One with an opponent who'd easily KO'ed my childhood friend.
"Ah! Kyle! Good morning! I was hoping you'd stay true to your word to a small battle?" Mr. Vin asked happily. I nodded, trying to calm myself. The crowd had begun to disperse, but was all back, hoping I could somehow win. Lyra was staring at me, and I immediatly solved her mind.
"It's fine Lyra, you didn't know. No sorrys. We'll have breakfast after this, okay?"
Surprised, she nodded without thinking. Turning toward Mr. Vin, I felt a small stroke of confidence flow through me.
"You can do this buddy. I believe in you." I whispered to Cyndaquil, who's shaking stopped as I spoke. It breathed in and out and nodded.
"Cynda." It spoke quietly, and hopped off my shoulder and walked into the ring. Wigglytuff was recalled, and Mr. Vin clutched a different Pokeball.
"Alright... Furret! Go!" A flash of white, and a rodent Pokemon remained. It had dark and light brown stripes and was standing on its hind legs. It didn't speak; instead, it stared down Cyndaquil.
"This is a one on one battle. Cyndaquil versus Furret. Begin!" Nurse Joy cried out, and I took the advantage quick.
"Alright! Cyndaquil, light up!" To be honest, I didn't know if he could light his fire yet. It'd be a large advantage if he could, but I wasn't placing my money on it. As expected, he struggled, but the end result came to a failure.
"Don't let it discourage you buddy! Growl!" A rumble in Cyndaquil's throat came bursting out, and Furret was momentarily awed by the sound.
"Slam Furret!" Mr. Vin called, and the rodent rushed forward. It leapt into the air, and its bushy tail was preparing to smash my Cynadquil.
"Dodge!" I called, and hoped it had the speed to do so. In an act of desperation, Cyndaquil lunged out of the way, landing hard on its belly. But the tail attack missed and a small indent was left in the ground.
"Hm! Your Cyndaquil moves quite fast! This could be interesting speed-wise." Mr. Vin commented, not worrying about anything else. Furret raced back into position as to not get caught in an attacking pose.
"Cyndaquil, try using Ember!" A few murmurs of shock came from the crowd. Without a fire, Cyndaquil wasn't able to use its fire attacks. But I was hoping for some smoke as a distraction. Catching onto my plan, Cyndaquil exhaled, but to our unluckyness, nothing came out. No flame, and no smoke.
"Idiot..." I heard someone say. Ignoring it, I growled.
"Try a Smokescreen!" Maybe if it tried using an attack with a name, it'd work better. But yet again, Cyndaquil's attack failed.
"This has gone long enough. Furret, Iron Tail." The Furret raced forward, its tail glowing. It spun around, and the tail came flying toward Cynaquil. The second it made contact, I knew it was basically over. Cyndaquil cried out and was sent spiraling into the dirt. His landed on his belly, his back in the air. I saw a small glow coming from inside his fire-holes, but nothing was emitting.
I sighed, recognizing a lost battle when I saw one.
"Cyndaquil, can you stand?" I asked, wondering if I should forfeit.
The Pokemon, to his credit, struggled to his feet, but looked at me with pure fear. He didn't want to go on anymore. He was done in by that attack.
"I forfeit." I said plainly, walking over to Cyndaquil. I picked him up, and cradled his small body in my arms. Mr. Vin walked over as the crowd dispersed, unhappy with the predictable result.
"That was a gutsy move- forfeiting. I commend you for it. It takes a real trainer to know when to give in." He said, obviously impressed with the judgemental call.
"I overheard you having breakfast plans, so I'll let you be... oh, by the way. That blond friend of yours? The one with the Eevee? Watch out for him; he's very strong for how long he's been with that Eevee. When you battle; be careful." He said with a twinkle in his eyes. The same one as he had earlier.
I thanked him for the battles, before turning to the Pokemon Center.
"First, we'll get you healed... then, it's time for our date!" I said, grinning widely. If I hadn't known any better, I would've said Cyndaquil was grinning too...