Disclaimer: I own neither Pokémon nor its characters
Chapter 26: an island of fire
After breakfast, we surfed to the next island. There, Red and Leaf went to the gym while Zain went to find food, and me and Aqua dropped our fossils off at the science lab nearby. We'd pick them up after we were finished.
"I heard the gym leader uses fire" Aqua said, as we waited nearby "do you know if that's true?"
"I think so" I said
"Then I don't want to battle" she replied.
I looked at her "Aqua, you can't challenge the elite four unless you get every badge" I said
She looked at the grass "I don't think I want to fight them" Aqua said quietly "if they're as good as people say they are, I don't stand a chance"
"Aqua, how will you feel when we can go in but you can't?" I asked "plus, you can't get to most of the Sevii islands without the Rainbow pass, and I think you need to beat the Elite four to do that"
Before she could reply, Leaf and Red came back, scorch marks on their clothes in several places. "Well…the battle was interesting to say the least" Red said
"You guys look like you ran through a fire!" Aqua exclaimed
"We practically did. Blain accidentally trapped us in a ring of fire and couldn't put it out quick enough" Leaf said "thankfully I got Charizard to protect us, so only our clothes got singed"
"Now I really don't want to battle" Aqua said
"It's not that bad Aqua" Leaf said "at least try"
She sighed and started heading to the gym "fine, but it's on you if I get burned" she called back. I followed close behind her.
I saw one room with a door in the back, and a machine in the corner. We answered the questions and moved through the gym very quickly. When we got to the end, there was a man there. Just like Red and Leaf, his clothes were scorched in several places, and so was the room.
"Sorry about the ash, a move gone wrong almost sent the whole place ablaze" the man said "disregarding that. I am Blain, fiery leader of Cinnabar gym"
"I'm Alex and this is Aqua" I said "she got burned and is a little nervous, so I'll go first"
Blain nodded and threw a poke ball "go Ponyta!"
"Ponyta!"
"Go Blastoise!" I said, throwing a poke ball.
"Blastoise!"
"Blastoise, water gun!" I called quickly. The Blastoise complied, and Ponyta was out.
"Go Growlithe!" Blain said, throwing another poke ball.
"Blastoise, water gun again!" I called. Again, the Growlithe was knocked out quickly.
"Go Rapidash!" Blain said, throwing yet another poke ball.
"Rapidash!"
"Water gun again Blastoise" I said. The Rapidash didn't stand a chance.
"Go Arcanine!" Blain said, throwing his last poke ball.
"Arcanine!"
"Water gun again!" I called. Arcanine was out immediately.
"You're relentless, aren't you?" Blain said, returning his Pokémon. I shrugged, returning my own "I don't have my badges on me right now, so I'll give you it after I battle Aqua, ok?"
I nodded as he walked out "see? Nothing to worry about" I said
"You also have a water type, I don't" Aqua said
"It won't be too bad, don't worry" I said. Just then, Blain came back.
"Ready Aqua?" he asked
"I guess so" she said
He threw a poke ball "go Ponyta!" he called
"Ponyta!"
"Go Geodude!" she called back, throwing a poke ball.
"Geodude!"
I didn't really pay attention to the battle. I started thinking about Moltres, and what might happen with it. "Arcanine, use Flame Charge!" I snapped back to the present as I barely dodged a stray flame.
"Geodude, Rock tomb!" Aqua called. Arcanine was knocked out, though it was obvious it had taken a while.
"congratulations" Blain said, returning his Pokémon "here is the Volcano badge" he gave us each a badge as Aqua returned her Pokémon "oh, and you can have this too" he gave us a disk "it's Flame charge, a really powerful fire move."
"Thanks" we said in unison, then we headed out.
When we left, we were greeted by Bill "hey Bill" I said, surprised to see him here.
"Hey Alex" he said "uh, I need to ask you a favor"
"Sure, what do I have to do?" I asked
"Well, I need some help taking something, do you think you could do it?" he asked
"Sure, where am I going?" I asked
"I'll take you to one island, there I'll give you it" I said
"Wait, one island?" I asked
"Yep, you'll have to come alone, the water is too rough to surf" he said
I hesitated "I don't think I want to leave the others behind" I said
"I thought you might feel that way" he said "I can give your friends Tri-passes, which will allow them to take the Vermillion city ferry there"
"I'll go get them" Aqua said, running off
"Alex, you know you can't stick with them all the time, right?" Bill said
"What do you mean?" I asked
"You can't take them with you into the elite four, you have to go alone one by one" he said
"I know, and we'll cross that bridge when we get there" I said
Before he could reply, Aqua came with the others "ok, we're ready" she said
"Oh, uh…I don't actually have the passes" Bill said awkwardly
"Why did you say you did then?" I asked
"They're at my house, I can get them, but you'll have to wait until tomorrow" he said
"Ok, we'll wait" Leaf said
"I'll be back tomorrow, see you then" Bill said, he then hopped on his Jet Ski and rode off.
We went to the Pokémon center for the night. Let me tell you, it was nice staying in a bed after so many nights of camping. We ate dinner, and then I went to bed. I knew I'd have to catch Moltres, I just didn't know how. Those were my thoughts as I fell asleep.
Yay! Another chapter done! Don't really have much to say again…so yea. Remember: I love criticism, reviews encourage me, and I'm open to input. Bye for now!