My Main Pokemon:
Soren – Cyndaquil
Victor – Pidgey
Kadela – Weedle
Joseline – Bellsprout
Rhine – Gastly
...I smiled at Rhine before closing my bag and walking towards Falkner's platform.
Falkner watched me aloftly as I walked towards him. When I stopped on the platform, he uncrossed his arms and put his hands in his pockets. He stood tall, his back straight and his shoulders back. He was up on a small raised platform, which he stepped down from before speaking.
"So, you have triumphed over the other trainers, and without the use of electricity," he said, staring me down. I held his gaze without wavering or looking away. "And for that reason I already have some respect for you. Clipping bird's wings with electricity is unacceptable and an insult to bird Pokemon." In my head I said It's not an insult, it's just good strategy, but I kept quiet as he continued. "Don't get cocky just because you've beat the others; my skills are for real." He pulled a Pokeball out of one of his pockets. He threw the ball forward. "I, Falkner, accept your challenge. Go, Pidgey!"
"Finally," I muttered, before saying louder "Victor, you know what to do."
Victor launched himself from my shoulder and glided down towards the ground between Falkner and I. While in the air he unleashed a Gust that threw Falkner's Pidgey against the wall behind Falkner. His head whipped around as he followed his Pokemon with his eyes. Under his gaze the Pokemon managed to lift itself to its feet, wobbling forward back towards Victor with determination in its eyes.
"Tackle," I whispered so that Victor could hear me but Falkner could not. Victor shot forward towards the struggling Pidgey, knocking it back again but not doing nearly as much damage as his Gust had done. It didn't look like it was in good shape, but I wanted to make sure that it was taken care of as quickly as possible, so I ordered another Gust from Victor. He complied, the Gust sending the nearly limp Pidgey against the wall to my right. My eyes followed it until it was absorbed by a ray of light, and I trained my eyes on Falkner, whose eyes were now showing anger instead of cool indifference and haughtiness.
Replacing his Pidgey's Pokeball into his pocket, he called out "Pidgeotto!" I furrowed my eyebrows, confused at the lack of Pokeball in Falkner's hand. My confusion was resolved a moment later when a large dark brown shape dived from above and narrowly missed Victor. It flew back up and started to circle the battle area, and I saw that it was in fact a Pidgeotto. My PokeDex beeped using a pitch I had never heard before, and I reached for it as I gave Victor my next command.
"The usual Victor, and make it strong and fast." Victor unleashed a Gust straight upwards towards the Pidgeotto, but the force of the wind gathering around him and then going upwards caused him to be carried up as well. On instinct he opened his wings to catch the wind of the Gust, and he was carried upwards past the Pidgeotto, who got the brunt of the wind. The Pidgeotto was barely affected, however, its wings only getting jarred slightly with the initial force of the wind. It kept circling, flapping its wings on occasion but mostly gliding in a lazy circle. Its eyes were trained upwards on Victor's form near the ceiling of the gym.
I chanced a glance down at my PokeDex. Apparently it had beeped because the Pigeotto was level 13 but Pidgeys didn't evolve until level 18. I didn't know whether to raise my eyebrows or furrow them, so I ended up just raising one eyebrow rather awkwardly. I returned my face to normal and looked across at Falkner, who was looking at me instead of the battle going on above. "You hacked your Pokemon! Or something. Why is it evolved five levels early?"
Falkner seemed to stand up even straighter with pride, if that was possible. "He was my father's, who was gym leader before I was."
"So you're not even battling with your own Pokemon?" I asked in surprise.
Falkner opened his mouth to retort when his eyes caught sight of something above, and I looked up as well. It seemed that Falkner's Pidgeotto had unleashed a Gust on Victor, causing him to hit a rafter when he lost temporary control. He had lost a lot of altitude in his fall, and was now only a dozen feet above where the Pidgeotto was circling. Falkner called out something to the Pidgeotto that I didn't quite catch, and it flapped its wings several times and headed straight for Victor in what looked like a Tackle or Headbutt of some kind. Victor was faster than the Pidgeotto and much more manoeuvrable, and he dodged the attack easily. Victor landed another Gust, but it didn't do much damage. He used the extra wind to give himself some more altitude and get himself out of reach.
The Pidgeotto, angry at the miss, unleashed a Gust in Victor's direction, causing him to almost hit the wall before he made a sharp turn to avoid it. One of his wingtips hit it, however, causing it to bleed lightly. "Victor, come down for a Potion," I called up to him. Avoiding an attack attempt by the Pidgeotto he made his way down to my side within a matter of moments. I had the Potion ready to spray on his wound, and applied it quickly. As I sprayed I whispered to him. "Good job using Gusts to keep yourself in the air. Try and focus them more so that they're more violent. Don't be afraid to dive-bomb it if you see an opening, otherwise just keep Gusting. And aim for the wings, if you can cripple it we'll be good to go." Victor chirped in acknowledgement when I finished spraying before summoning a light Gust to get himself back into the air.
Once Victor was closer to the Pidgeotto he unleashed another Gust, this time with renewed vigour. The Pidgeotto hit another rafter, and I was sure I heard something crack. It stayed up there, though, climbing onto the rafter and closing its eyes for a few moments as Victor worked his way up to the Pidgeotto's height. I had no idea what it was doing until it opened its eyes and a few feathers started to float to the ground. "Shit ass, it used Roost!" I muttered, and I saw Falkner cast a glance my way before returning his gaze to the battle.
I could tell that the Pidgeotto was almost at full health after its Roost because of how quickly it climbed above Victor after launching itself off of the rafter, its wingstrokes long and powerful. Both Pokemon positioned themselves to attack, and both released a Gust at the same time. I couldn't tell exactly what happened up in the air, but both Pokemon were flung backwards into opposite walls. They were both dazed, but recovered quickly and were back in the air in moments. I pulled a Potion out of my bag, holding it at the ready in case Victor needed it. The Pidgeotto released another weak Gust at Victor, and before he could retaliate it climbed quickly to the very top of the building, where I supposed it used Roost again.
"Fuck," I muttered again, getting frustrated. "Victor, Quick Attack it," I called out to him. I saw him gain altitude quickly and slam his body into the Pidgeotto's, causing it to fall off the rafter before it was done Roosting. It recovered after a moment, spreading its wings and using its speed to glide up to where Victor was. I guess it unleashed a Gust as it was moving, because Victor was thrown up against the roof when the Pidgeotto was still a dozen feet below him. Victor started to plummet down to the platform that Falkner and I stood on, and only spread his wings at the last moment to stop himself from getting flattened. I ran forward to spray a Potion on him, watching as his eyes focused once more. "Hang in there Victor," I said. "The Quick Attack seemed to do more damage than Gust, so do that instead of Gust spam. Go!"
Victor shot back into the air, heading straight for the Pidgeotto who was heading towards a rafter, likely for another Roost. Victor hit it in its stomach, but before he could get away it got a good hit in with its wings, throwing Victor through the air. The Pidgeotto stopped flapping its wings, clearly in pain from Victor's blow. It glided for a few moments, scanning the area below for Victor. It never saw him coming.
Victor had managed a Gust strong enough to carry himself above the Pidgeotto before letting himself drop straight onto it, effectively knocking it out of the air and down onto the platform between Falkner and I. Victor landed less than gracefully on it, barely keeping his eyes open. Falkner and I both ran forward. I lifted Victor into my arms before reaching for his Pokeball and returning him to it, and Falkner got down at the Pidgeotto's side. Falkner looked up at me, and the only word to describe his expression was cold.
"You and your Pokemon are ruthless," he said in a loud whisper, standing up without breaking eye contact with me. "A lesser hit would have brought my Pidgeotto down, and you used excessive force with the junior trainer's Pokemon as well. You may be powerful, but you have yet to learn to control that power." He turned around and walked over to where he had been seated when I entered the gym. He grabbed something before turning back around and walking back. "Here," he said gruffly. "The Zephyr badge, as proof of your victory here, and TM51, which contains Roost." He placed the items into my outstretched hand, along with the bills that made up my victory money. "I'd suggest going to Azalea next," he said, picking up his Pidgeotto and turning away from me. "Maybe Bugsy will be able to show you why it is important to control your power."
Why contain power when you can use its full potential? I scoffed in my head as I turned away as well. In all honesty I was a little confused about what I had done wrong; Victor had given it his all to make sure he won, right? This was a gym battle, shouldn't you give it your all?
I walked towards the platform that had brought me up there quickly and quietly, ignoring the congratulations coming from Abe and Rod. This time I was prepared for the sudden drop of the platform, but I had to wait for a moment at the bottom as Rhine floated down on her own time. The short fat guy from before tried to congratulate me as well, but I walked past him quickly and outside into the fresh air.
It was completely dark out now, and there was a thin layer of clouds high above that blocked out the stars but still allowed a halo of the moon's light to shine through. There were no street lamps in Violet (I had always figured that every town besides New Bark would have them, but I guess I was wrong), so it was this pale light that guided me as I made my way to the Pokemon Centre to get Victor healed.
As I waited for Victor to be healed the Nurse asked if I wanted a room as well. As I counted my money from my battle with Falkner – 1560д – I declined, but before she could ask why I heard my PokeGear ring from inside my bag, saving me from coming up with an excuse and likely listening to a lecture. Pulling it out and walking away from the counter, I looked at the caller display. It was the number of Professor Elm's lab. I debated answering it silently, but decided against it in case my dad was somehow able to trace my location. I let it ring, and a minute after it stopped ringing I got notification of a voice message. I figured it was safe to listen to that.
Professor Elm's voice carried through the speaker as it sat against my ear. "Hi Sy, it's Professor Elm. I hope you're okay, and, umm, your parents are worried about you, but that's not what I'm calling about. I can't say much, but you see, I got tipped off that being around Pokemon might help the egg you brought me develop and eventually hatch, and I was hoping that you'd be willing to carry it around until it hatches. I'm counting on you, because I really can't trust Jared with it because he'd likely drop it within an hour. My aide is waiting in the PokeMart in Violet for you, so if you could pick it up asap that would be great. I hope Soren's doing well. Bye."
Wow, Professor Elm sounded really awkward on the phone. I put my phone back into my bag, pondering the situation. Keeping the egg warm and making sure it didn't break would require a lot of work, not to mention there was no guarantee that it would hatch into a Pokemon that would be worth using. Plus it could be a trap, I thought as I walked back to the counter to collect Victor's Pokeball. My father could have set it up to get me and bring me back home. It was a risk I wasn't willing to take.
I released Victor from his Pokeball and said "Come on buddy, let's get you some food and then go find a place to camp for the night." Before I could start walking I felt a tap on my shoulder, and I jumped slightly in surprise before turning around.
Behind me stood a man about my height, with short black hair and icy blue eyes. He was probably in his late twenties (but I'd never been good at judging people's ages), and he was wearing dark blue jeans and a black jacket. "Sorry, but I couldn't help but overhear – and by couldn't help I mean that I have hyperacusis so my hearing is extremely good – that someone wants you to pick something up at the PokeMart. Aren't you going to do that?"
I looked at the guy incredulously. "What's it to you?" I asked, keeping my guard up.
"Well, shouldn't you go collect it?" he said, seeming to squirm under my gaze.
"I ask again, what's it to you?"
"N-nothing," he said. "I was just curious is all."
"Then I think you should just mind your own business," I said, turning away from him and starting to walk away from the strange man towards the door.
Just before I opened the door he called out "I can get it for you, if you want."
I turned my head to look at him again. I studied his face. His eyes were wide either in innocence or fear, I couldn't tell which. I let out a heavy sigh before saying "Fine, if it's so important to you, go ahead. Tell the aide that Sy sent you to get the egg for her since she's busy at the moment. Then bring it back here."
The man smiled wide and bolted past me through the door. As I lost sight of him I realized I should have told him to make sure not to give away my location to the aide in case my dad asked him anything. I ran my hand though my hair before going to sit down in one of the chairs in the lobby of the Pokemon Centre to wait for his return.
A couple of minutes later he walked through the doors of the Pokemon Centre, looking calm and composed. He held the egg carefully in his arms against his chest. He spotted me quickly and made his way over to me. "Here," he said, handing it to me. I nodded in thanks, taking it from him and placing it in my lap. He remained standing in front of me awkwardly.
"What?" I asked after a few moments.
"Well," he began, squirming again. "I was wondering – if it wasn't too much trouble – if you could call me when that egg hatches. I'd really like to see what it hatches into."
I was very suspicious of this odd man by this point, but I figured the only way to get him to leave me alone was to comply. "Fine, give me your number," I said, holding out my hand for his PokeGear. He pulled it out of the pocket of his jacket and handed it to me, another grin on his face. I pulled my own PokeGear out of my pocket and entered his number. His number registered in my PokeGear as Gabriel. Afterwards I held his PokeGear out to him, but he didn't take it back immediately. "What?" I asked, getting a little frustrated.
"Aren't you going to give me your number?" he asked.
"No. I will call you when the egg hatches, alright?"
He nodded and took back his PokeGear, replacing it into his pocket. "Well, bye," he said before running out of the Pokemon Centre.
I couldn't help but mutter "What the fuck" when he left, amazed at the strangeness of the whole thing. I looked down at the egg in my lap, trying to decide what to do now that I had it. After a moment I had an idea. "Excuse me miss," I said, getting the Nurse's attention. "Do you know if you can store eggs in the PC?"
"I believe you can," the Nurse said, nodding. "Do you need help?"
"No, it's fine, I'll do it myself," I said before standing up and walking over to the PC counter. I placed the egg on the counter before logging into my account. Within moments I had deposited it in the same box as Felni, and my problem was solved. "Good riddance," I muttered, logging off and leaving the Pokemon Centre.
Once outside I stopped to consider where I should sleep. I decided quickly on the woods, where I would be out of sight during the day if I slept in (my eyes were feeling quite heavy at that point). I remembered spotting a clearing on the western edge of the water by Sprout Tower, so I decided on that since it was otherwise out of sight of the city, and it would give me a chance to wash my hair.
Thinking of this, I scanned the stores in sight quickly. I spotted a general store with its light still on, so I made my way over to it. I looked in, and only saw a short lady reading a book at a cash. I walked in, and she only gave me a quick glance before returning to her book. I walked through the aisles quickly, picking up anything I needed. Shampoo, a toothbrush and toothpaste, the works. I also grabbed a snack for myself and my Pokemon. With my money from the gym I was up to around 10 000д, and the total of my items came to around 1600д, which left me with plenty for new clothes.
As I walked through town towards the water with my bag of purchases in hand I looked at the stores I passed. They were all closed now, but I noticed a store that advertised outdoor adventuring clothing and gear, so I marked it on a mental map and planned to visit it the next morning before moving on from Violet.
I reached the water and started to walk along the bank, keeping to the grass so that my tracks wouldn't be obvious. As I walked I looked at the map on my PokeGear, trying to decide where I would go next. Falkner had suggested Azalea, but that seemed like the logical next step, so my dad might be expecting that; not an option. There was a crossroads to the west where I'd be able to cut up to Ecruteak to the north, which would allow me to bypass Goldenrod (where my dad was based) entirely. Satisfied, I threw my PokeGear into my bag, and looked up at the sky. The clouds were thicker now, blocking out the moon entirely. The only light I had to see by was the residual light from Violet and the Sprout Tower.
I looked to my left where I knew Rhine was floating by my shoulder. The only way I could tell she was there was because of the purple haze I could see the Sprout Tower through. "How are you doing Rhine?" I asked. I saw her big white eyes turn towards me, and she showed her teeth in a smile. "I'll take that as good." I felt Victor squirm on my right shoulder. "And how are you doing, oh great soaring one?" He chirped several times as I pet his head. "That battle was incredible, I have to say. I think it's good that you managed to summon a light Gust and still be able to use Tackle and Quick Attack, but we'll practice tomorrow and see if we can get your Gusts powerful and accurate so that it's even more effective." He chirped again before letting out the bird version of a yawn. "Long day, huh?" I said, putting my bags down because we had arrived at the clearing. I searched my bag for Victor's Pokeball, but he jumped off my shoulder and tried to grab it out of my hand when I found it. "I'm still going to be awhile," I told him, holding it out of his reach. "You get to sleep, and I'll release you when I'm ready for bed." He looked crestfallen but went into his Pokeball willingly.
I put his Pokeball on top of my bag before emptying my bag of purchases from the store. Rhine floated down beside the small pile and started to emit a faint purple glow on them. "Why didn't you do that sooner?" I asked, sitting down beside the items to sort through them. She looked up at me but didn't say anything as I worked.
After a minute I had several things put away in my bag, and a few things left out for my use that night. I returned Rhine to her Pokeball, and grabbed the shampoo, soap, toothbrush and toothpaste and walked towards the water. I realized that I didn't have a towel, but I shrugged that off; it would take up too much space anyway.
As I removed my clothes and glided into the water – it was warmer than the surrounding air so it was quite pleasant – I added a bathing suit to my mental shopping list. I ran through it quickly as I dunked my head below the water to get my hair wet and swam a few strokes below the surface of the water, my short hair feeling strange as I moved through the water. Pants, shorts, tops, a sweater or two, and ankle socks. I'd also need a bag with more capacity than my messenger bag, a compass in case I ever lost my bearings, an emergency blanket (which would take up less room than my down blanket and was waterproof), and maybe a tent as well depending on the price. Also a wallet or some way of keeping my money organized, if the store had any.
As I shampooed my hair it again felt strange because of its shortness, but I noticed that I required far less shampoo now than I had before, which would mean my purchase would last longer. I washed myself quickly, a light wind having picked up, swirling at me from all different directions as its flow was disturbed by the trees a few dozen feet away from me.
Once I was done I let the wind dry me. As I stood on the beach I realized I'd have to put my dirty clothes back on, but shrugged it off when I realized I'd have to get used to it, because I'd probably end up doing that a lot. I decided to ask at the store the next day about a way to clean clothes in the wilderness when washing machines weren't available.
Once I was dry I pulled my hoodie out of my bag and pulled it over my head, then proceeded to remove my blanket and plastic sheet from my bag as well. I set up my bed under what would be the shade of the trees once the sun rose and out of sight of the bridge that crossed over to Sprout Tower, moving my other items out of sight as well. I applied some cream to my sunburn again, though it hadn't been bothering me. Once I was settled in I released Victor from his Pokeball as promised. He opened his eyes drowsily, so I couldn't tell if he had been sleeping or not. He snuggled up to me under the blanket and closed his eyes, promptly falling asleep. I followed him a few minutes later.
Author's Notes – IT'S DONE OMG. Sorry this took so long, I was working on it on and off. This chapter and the next were going to be one big one, but I decided to split them up. The next one will be up very soon, I just have to write one small part of it now that I have access to a map.
I had way too much fun with this chapter and making Victor glide. All the other gyms are going to seem all boring and lame :c
Speaking of which, I assume that Pidgeys are not strong enough or are otherwise incapable of flapping their wings enough to fly, even though they can technically learn the move Fly (but using it outside of battle for carrying yourself is bullshit). I also assume that the Pidgeotto is strong enough, and also has enough experience to be capable of flying. I haven't quite decided whether or not I'll attribute this to Victor as well when he evolves.
I consider a Pokemon in the yellow range to be "bloodied" (a Dungeons & Dragons term for at or below half health), and "uber bloodied" if in the red range. So basically if blood is present I'm simply stating that a Pokemon's HP is starting to get low-ish. Any mention of the word "dazed" or some type of lack of focus is likely inferring that as well.
I don't think that trainers would call out every command to their Pokemon. Eventually a Pokemon would know the strategy that its trainer uses, and be able to anticipate enough to be able to act on its own without prompting from its trainer, oftentimes being able to take advantage of favourable attack opportunities. I showed this a bit with Victor in Sprout Tower, but I think that this would definitely apply to gym leaders and their Pokemon.