Chapter 15: Master of Plant Pokemon
I remember chuckling to myself at Gardenia's declaration. Part of it was because I was fed up with everyone knowing I was a Nuzlocker, but it had happened so often now that I had just given up on keeping it secret. Another part was confidence. I had only one pokemon that was weak to grass-types, and another that was incredibly effective against them. If anything, I was the one who should be going easy on her. That arrogance cost me.
Gardenia sent out a Turtwig, surprising me slightly that it wasn't a Cherubi like I expected. I chided myself mentally for not remembering everything was different after fighting my way through an entirely new gym puzzle and sent out Mufasa. I figured that I would only use Sora if things got bad, though I didn't expect anything to go wrong.
"Turtwig, use Reflect!" Gardenia cried, starting the battle off without any more small talk. That took me off guard a little as the turtle raised a clear barrier in front of it. I had no idea Turtwig could even learn that move I thought. Oh well, it shouldn't be a problem. "Mufasa, use Bite!"
Knowing that electric moves were pretty much useless against grass-types, my options with Mufasa attack-wise were pretty limited. Only Bite would do significant damage, Tackle not being much of an option anymore. The blue cat rushed forward, dodging around the Reflect and latching onto the Turtwig's side. His sharp teeth clamped down on it's shell, doing damage but nothing serious.
"Turtwig, Grass Knot!" Gardenia ordered. Thick vines shot out from under his shell, wrapping themselves into a tight ball. He slammed the knotted limbs into Mufasa's side, trying to knock him loose. "Hang in there Mufasa! Give it all you've got!" I yelled, trying to provide support. Mufasa bit deeper into the shell, causing small cracks to appear. The Turtwig was alarmed now, frantically wailing on Mufasa with the vines.
"Turtwig, hold on, I've got a Potion!" Gardenia called, running over to administer the medicine. The vines stopped, retreating under the grass-types shell. The potion helped, but Mufasa simply clamped down harder, undoing everything the healing had done. With a final squeeze, he damaged the shell severely, causing the turtle to faint. Gardenia recalled her pokemon with a groan. "I'm sorry little guy, I'll patch you up later." she cooed to the pokeball.
Mufasa retreated over to me while Gardenia chose her next pokemon. I dug through my bag for a Super Potion, taking notice of the several bruises Mufasa had taken from the Turtwig's attacks. A few more of those and Mufasa would have been done I thought grimly. The next pokemon had appeared by the time I had dragged out the medicine. It was a Cherrim, wrapped tight in the purple petals, hiding it's face. I quickly sprayed the potion on Mufasa, getting ready for their next attack.
"Cherrim, show them what a real Grass Knot can do!" Gardenia said. Once again the vines shot out, knotting together in a thick ball. It slammed into Mufasa's side, though thanks to the medicine, he wasn't hurt very badly. Surprisingly, the vines retracted, probably because there wasn't a three-foot tall lion latched on to the Cherrim. Yet. "Mufasa, use Bite!"
"Cherrim, Safeguard!" Gardenia ordered quickly. The protective veil came up a moment before Mufasa's jaws bit into the soft petals. Unlike the Turtwig, Mufasa got plenty of soft flesh to hold onto. Also unlike the Turtwig, Cherrim seemed less fazed by the large cat, possibly from the Safeguard.
"Grass Knot again!" Gardenia called. The vines emerged again, striking against Mufasa's flank. The pattern repeated again, the vines hitting Mufasa and his teeth sinking in deeper with each hit. However, I noticed that Mufasa wasn't going to win this fight without my help. "Mufasa, come back!" I called, digging up another Super Potion. He let go reluctantly, swiftly returning to my side. A deep gash was left where he had bitten, oozing sap.
After I sprayed the medicine, Gardenia seemed to have a change of strategy. "Keep him away, he can't bite you if he's on the other side of the field! Magical Leaf!" The grass-type retracted its vines, instead shooting out leaves laced with psychic energy. The first few stuck themselves into Mufasa's hide, but the cat quickly managed to get away from them, dodging and weaving through the onslaught of foliage. True to Gardenia's word, he had to stay far away form Cherrim in order to avoid the missiles. This is never going to work, I need to do something. "Mufasa! I'm sorry, but you're gonna need to tough it out and get in close. Bite!" I called.
I had to admit, I could never say Mufasa wasn't loyal or determined. Without any hesitation, he changed course, diving straight through the barrage of leaves. He got hit quite a few times, but managed to hit his target, grabbing back onto the other petal, biting down hard. The Cherrim squeaked in pain, trying desperately to get out of his grasp. Gardenia grabbed a Super Potion and approached the tangled pokemon, which gave me time to think of my next move. Mufasa's hurt badly and he can't take another Magical Leaf. I can't take the risk that they'll use Grass Knot again. "Mufasa, switch out!" I ordered. The cat obeyed, letting Cherrim go and retreating to my side.
"You did a great job, take a rest." I said, scratching his ear before returning him to the pokeball. As Gardenia healed her Cherrim, I sent out my next combatant. "Alright Lola, let's see what you've got." The bunny glanced around, getting her bearings before looking over her shoulder at me. "Hey, I thought you said I wouldn't be in this fight." she called.
"And I thought I'd be using Sora for most of it, things change." I retorted.
"You both need to pay more attention." Gardenia interrupted. "Cherrim, Magical Leaf!" Lola had no chance to dodge as the leaves struck, knocking her across the field. She quickly hopped back to her feet, dodging the next blast of leaves.
"Lola, Jump Kick!" I called. I had figured that the quickest way to end this battle, other than just using Sora, was to hit hard with my strongest pokemon. Lola may have been new to the team, but her Jump Kick attack was strong. Unfortunately, Gardenia seemed to agree.
"Cherrim, move!" She ordered. The plant pokemon shot its vines out directly beneath it, rolling itself out of the way. Lola could do nothing in midair and slammed into the ground, skidding a few feet. "Now, Magical Leaf while it's immobile!" Gardenia cried. The leaves homed in on Lola's position. Lola cried out in pain as the leaves buried themselves in her fur.
"Lola get away!" I called desperately. This is not going as planned I thought, panicked at the potential loss of another team member. Either from luck or raw toughness, Lola bounced out of the storm of leaves, still hurt but not out of the fight by any means. I sighed in relief. "You scared the hell out of me!" I scolded.
"Yeah, cutesy family moment later, right now we need to focus!" she snarled. I was a little taken back by how violent she sounded, but in the end I took her advice and focused on the battle, putting off my concerns for another time. "Alrighty then, can't fuck it up twice in a row. Jump Kick!" Turns out I was right for once, the attack hitting home. It seemed I had underestimated the toughness of our opponent, however, as the Cherrim seemed hardly fazed by the blow.
"Cherrim, Leech Seed!" Gardenia called. I groaned inwardly as the seeds shot out, wrapping small, thin roots across Lola's fur. She tried to brush them off but they were imbedded, slowly sapping her energy and feeding it to the grass-type. I waved Lola over and sprayed a Potion on her, hoping to ease the wounds somewhat. One Magical Leaf attack later, I recalled the feisty bunny. This is really getting out of hand I thought, sending out Armstrong. For some reason, I still refrained from using Sora, my ace in the hole.
Gardenia noticed this as well. "What's the matter, don't want to use your big strong Staravia?" she taunted.
That got my blood boiling. "Armstrong, shut them up with a Seismic Toss!" The Machop had learned the move in the recent training session and I was itching to test it out.
"Cherrim, Safeguard!" Gardenia ordered. I had failed to notice the previous veil was gone, replaced now by a fresh one. Armstrong grabbed Cherrim in a tight arm-lock, hoisting the pokemon over his head in a perfect german suplex. Kurt Angle would have been proud. The move only does damage equal to the users HP, but even at a low level it packed a punch.
"Use Magical Leaf!" Gardenia cried, and another volley of leaves shot out from the purple petals. I didn't even try to tell Armstrong to dodge it, his ability No Guard removing any chance of that happening. The leaves struck, taking far more health than I had anticipated. "Armstrong, come back!" I called. "I need to heal you!" Reluctantly, he returned to my side, his battle lust starting to take over. I sprayed him with a Potion and sent him back out. Another Magical Leaf later, I decided the situation was to much for Armstrong to handle. "Come on back Armstrong, we're not getting anywhere." I groaned, recalling the Machop.
Gardenia chuckled. "What's next? Is the Staravia finally coming out?" she teased. My hand stopped short of Sora's pokeball. For some reason, the taunt prevented me from simply ending it. I wanted to prove that I could beat her without a type advantage, that I could win without going the easy way. My hand moved to Franklin's ball, tossing it lightly and releasing the large tortoise.
"Ooh, you have a Grotle!" Gardenia complimented, nodding appreciatively. "I don't always see trainers that start with them, it's mostly Chimchar."
I ignored her and knelt down next to Franklin. "Hey buddy, we're in a tight spot here. That Cherrim has been kicking us around. Think you can take her?" I asked.
Franklin looked across the field at his adversary, studying her. He probably saw, like I did, that she was breathing heavily, wounds from both Lola and Armstrong's attacks still evident. Apparently, Gardenia had run out of healing items to use. Franklin looked back at me and nodded firmly. "I've got this." he said. "Leave it all to me."
He charged forward, getting some impressive speed for a Grotle. It still wasn't as fast as other grass-types though, and Gardenia had plenty of time to retaliate. "Cherrim, knock him down with Grass Knot!" The ball of vines once again shot out, slamming head on into Franklin, trying to halt his charge. It slowed his fairly easily, but then stalled out, each pokemon pushing against the other, struggling to move them back. "Franklin, use Bite! Grab the vines!" I called. Franklin acted without question, chomping down on the stringy limbs. He pulled back hard, dragging Cherrim across the arena. Neither Gardenia or Cherrim had expected this, a sharp cry rising from both of them. Quickly, Franklin charged forward again and Tackled Cherrim, finally knocking out the tough grass-type.
I cheered, patting Franklin on the back as he ran over. Gardenia merely smiled and returned her fallen pokemon. "You did a great job." she murmured, putting the pokeball away before drawing another one. "This is my last pokemon, but it's a tough one. Don't think it's over just yet." she called, releasing it in a spray of red light. The light faded away and a Roserade stood, looking powerful. It flexed the flowers that stood in for hands, beckoning Franklin to come fight.
"This guy looks tough, but we can take him." I told Franklin. He nodded, still fired up from his previous victory. He faced his new opponent, ready for action. "Use Bite!" I called and the fight was one, Franklin charging forward once again.
"Grass Knot!" Gardenia ordered, and the now familiar ball of vines slammed into Franklin's side, trying to knock him down instead of preventing his charge. He was too steady though, already well into the run when the attack hit. Franklin reached his target, biting down on the Roserade's blue hand and holding on tight.
"Great job Franklin, just hang in there and we'll be done in no time!" I encouraged.
Gardenia gave a deep sigh. "I told you at the start I wasn't holding back." she muttered. "Do you really think that strategy will work a third time? Grass Knot!" she ordered.
Things seemed to slow down a bit. I heard the order. I saw Roserade lift it's arm, Franklin's mouth still clamped on it. I saw Franklin rise up off of his front legs, lifted by the grass-types impressive strength. And I saw the Roserade's free hand point directly at Franklin's exposed underbelly.
"Franklin, NO!" I shouted in warning.
The vines shot out, slamming directly into his stomach. I heard a sickening crack and Franklin let go of the other hand, mouth hanging open in a silent scream of pain. He rocketed back, stopping only when he hit a tree outside the arena. I rushed over to him, kneeling at his side. This can't be happening. I remember repeating that to myself, like a mantra. As if I repeated it enough times, it would be undone. I reached out, wanting to hold him but to scared of causing him more pain. "I...Franklin?" I asked, the words finally leaving my mouth.
He coughed in response, his body shaking horribly. "I guess...cough...I guess I wasn't strong enough." he said weakly. The blue glow started to move across his body, just like with Brittany. Only this wasn't Brittany. This was Franklin. My starter. My first friend in this whole stupid challenge. Just before the glow completely covered him, his eye opened weakly, focusing on me. "I'm glad I was able...to get this far..." he gasped. His head fell and the blue spirit rose, flying up and out through the glass roof of the gym, into the clear blue sky. I stayed on my knees, staring at his body, unbelieving. I was there for several minutes before a voice roused me from my thoughts.
"Do you...do you need a minute?" Gardenia asked meekly. In hindsight, she was probably as upset as I was. I mean, she had complimented Franklin earlier, saying how much she liked the Turtwig line. Hell, she even had a Turtwig herself! But at the time, her voice was what made what just happened real to me, and my grief turned swiftly into anger.
"No." I growled, getting to my feet. "This will all be over in a second." Without turning, I tossed Sora's pokeball, releasing the bird pokemon. I didn't look, still staring at Franklin, but I heard from her later that she looked around, figuring out the situation. When her eyes found me, and the object of my attention, I heard her gasp.
"Oh! Oh no, Franklin..." she wailed, shuffling over to stand next to me.
"No. Take out the Roserade. Wing Attack." I ordered, my voice harsher than normal. Sora hesitated only slightly before taking off, wheeling around. I heard a short scuffle, a half-hearted "Grass Knot." from Gardenia, before a bell rung throughout the field.
"The winner is...Nick." a somber voice announced. At least they knew enough not to act cheery. Sora flapped over to my side, not a single scratch on her as we mourned Franklin. I remained where I was for quite some time, until a new voice interrupted. I noticed immediately that it wasn't Gardenia.
"Uh, we can take care of your...of Franklin for you." she murmured softly, as if scared to speak to loud around me. I was roused enough to notice it was getting dark. How long have I been standing here? I thought, looking around. The source of the voice turned out to be one of the gym trainers from earlier in the day, what felt like years ago. She took the fact that I was looking at her as a good sign. "Like I said, we can transport him to the Pokemon Tower. It's on Route 209... all the pokemon lost in league battles are buried there. Its free, so you don't have to pay for it."
I stared at her blankly till I felt a nudge on my leg. Looking down, I saw Sora still standing next to me. "You need to let go Nick." she said. Seeing her, I remembered all of the talks I had recently about stepping up, accepting the fact that sooner or later, someone's luck was going to run out. I swallowed, my throat dry and nodded. "Yeah, that'd be great." I croaked. "Hold on one moment." I walked back over to my bag, dropped at the challengers side of the ring. I reached in and grabbed a notecard and marker. Slowly, using my best handwriting, I wrote:
Here lies Franklin the Grotle.
My starter. My friend.
May you travel far among
the stars
Finished, I slipped the notecard into a protective sleeve and handed it to the trainer. "Make sure this gets placed on his...on his tomb." I said. She nodded, gingerly taking the card from me. "And these are for you." she said, holding out a TM and badge. I paused again before taking the badge. I'll never forget what this badge cost me I thought, putting it in my badge case. I left the gym, walking down the street to the PokeCenter. As I walked, I glanced at the TM, reading the label. TM86: Grass Knot it said. I tossed it into the gutter and kept walking without a second thought.