I was woken up by a Thunderbolt from Pikachu. I groaned and looked at him.
"Pika…"
"I bumped you…didn't I?"
"Pi!"
"Sorry."
I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and slid off, Jason was already up.
"You slept late. Are you ready for your battle?" Jason asked as he tied his sneaker.
"As I'll ever be!" I answered, enthused. I had slept late because I had spent most of yesterday after Jason's battle training my Pokemon. Specifically Charmander, since he needed to learn Flamethrower, just like Jason's Charmander did. It was the only way he could stand up to Steelix.
"You won't be able to beat what Charmander and I pulled off." Jason boasted.
Oh, Jason the bragger. Just like what my dad had told me about Gary. Must run in the family. I just rolled my eyes and walked out of the room and towards the bathrooms. When I returned to the room, I grabbed my bag and slung it across my back. I attached my Pokeballs to my belt.
"Ready?" I asked.
"You should be asking yourself that." Jason replied and got off the bed.
We checked out of the Pokemon Center since we planned to head towards Cerulean City after I won my badge today, passing through Mt. Moon on the way there.
We walked through Pewter City and headed towards the gym.
"Hang on, I'll be right back." I said, and walked off without waiting for a reply from Jason.
I was behind one of the houses in Pewter City, but I wasn't trespassing...or I hope I wasn't.
"Go!" I cried tossing two Pokeballs.
"Bulba!" Bulbasaur said.
"Char! Char!" Charmander cried happily.
Pikachu hopped off of my shoulder and stood next to the other two.
"Well, today is the day of our first gym battle. Are you guys ready?" I asked, giving my team a pep talk. My dad had always given his Pokemon pep talks before any major battles.
"Pika! Pikachu!" Pikachu cried as his cheeks had electricity flaring from them to show his enthusiasm.
"Char!" Charmander cried.
"Bulba. Bulbasaur!" Bulbasaur said nodding.
"That's the spirit! We can do it. Now return," I said, and returned Bulbasaur and Charmander, with Pikachu jumping on my shoulder again.
I walked back towards the gym and didn't see Jason, so he must have gone inside already.
I walked into the gym and spotted Jason sitting on the bleachers and Forrest on his side of the field.
"So, let's see if you can top your friend's battle. Are you ready?" Forrest asked as he took his side of the field.
"Oh, yes." I said confidently, taking my side of the field.
The referee hurried to the middle of the field with his two flags.
"The battle between Gym Leader, Forrest and the challenger, Adam will now begin!"
"Geodude let's go!" Forrest cried, tossing a Pokeball.
"Geo!" Geodude cried giving a determined look.
Without hesitating, I grabbed the Pokeball and tossed it.
"Let's show them, Bulbasaur!" I cried as the Pokeball opened.
"Bulba!" Bulbasaur cried, determined. I had the advantage with a Grass Pokemon.
"Go ahead, Adam." Forrest said.
"Bulbasaur, use Leech Seed!" I commanded.
"Geodude, dodge and then use Sandstorm!" Forrest commanded.
Bulbasaur's in trouble with Sandstorm. I thought.
But luckily, Geodude wasn't fast enough and the Leech Seed hit it. Vines surrounded Geodude's body, instantly draining energy and healing Bulbasaur, even though it hadn't taken any damage yet.
"Now Bulbasaur, use Razor Leaf!"
Bulbasaur was able to hit Geodude, taking some big damage.
"Geodude, get out of there with Dig!" said Forrest.
Geodude made a hole underground and I smirked. I had learned how to deal with Dig after watching what Jason did yesterday. It seemed that letting him go ahead of me had paid off for me, just as I had hoped.
"Bulbasaur, charge your Solarbeam!" Bulbasaur began gathering energy. Just as he had finished, Geodude burst from under the ground right underneath Bulbasaur, hitting him and knocking him into the air.
Geodude was back on the battlefield now, and took some more damage from Leech Seed, which healed some of the damage Bulbasaur had taken from Dig. As for Bulbasaur himself, the Dig had knocked him into the air and he was spinning in midair, disoriented. But I knew how to recover.
"Bulbasaur, spin in midair! Spin in the opposite direction that you're spinning now!" This was a simple contest move that I had seen my mom do a hundred times before. And by twisting his body to spin in the opposite direction, Bulbasaur was able to get his bearings and stop spinning altogether. He was now flying directly upward with his body right side up.
"Now, fire your Solarbeam!" I shouted. Bulbasaur blasted Geodude, engulfing the Rock Pokemon's body with the energy. When the attack faded, Geodude had fainted.
"Geodude is unable to battle! Bulbasaur wins!" the referee cried.
"Alright Bulbasaur, you did it! Take a rest." I said as I returned him for a rest.
"I must say, that was impressive." Forrest said, returning Geodude. "Using a spin in the opposite direction to get your Pokemon to stop the initial spin."
"Steelix, let's roll!" Forrest cried, tossing his Pokeball.
"Steelix!" Steelix cried and looked down at the field, waiting to see its opponent.
"Charmander, go!" I cried, tossing the Pokeball.
"Char! Char!" Charmander cried happily.
"Charmander, use Flamethrower!" I commanded. The flames his Steelix dead on.
"So, your Charmander knows Flamethrower, too?" Forrest asked.
"Yeah, we trained a lot yesterday to perfect it. Looks like we learned it just in time!" I said happily.
"No matter. Steelix, use Bind!" Forrest yelled.
"Charmander! Smokescreen, quickly!" Smoke now covered the field. "Now use Flamethrower!"
"Sandstorm, Steelix. Blow away the smoke!"
The Sandstorm quickly removed the smoke from the field and cancelled out Charmander's Flamethrower before it could reach Steelix.
I lowered my cap so my eyes were covered better. Charmander wasn't going to be able to last if this kept up.
"Charmander, use Flamethrower while running towards Steelix!"
Charmander was able to hit Steelix with its Flamethrower as it took off running.
"Steelix use Iron Tail!"
Steelix's Iron Tail was just about to hit Charmander when Charmander used Flamethrower again, but it only angered Steelix since the flames hit its face.
"Try Iron Tail again!"
Before I could get the command out to dodge, the Iron Tail hit Charmander.
"Char!" Charmander cried out in pain.
"Hurry before it can recover! Use Rock Throw!" Boulders crushed down on Charmander, crushing him.
Once the dirt cleared I saw Steelix breathing heavy and with a few scratches. I saw Charmander breathing heavy, scratches all over, and supporting itself.
I glanced up and saw Forrest with a shocked expression.
"Char..." Charmander said falling to the ground, fainted.
"Charmander is unable to battle! Steelix wins!" the referee announced.
I couldn't believe it. Even after all our hard work on Flamethrower, Charmander still couldn't win. With a voice full of defeat, I said, "You did good, Charmander. Take a well deserved rest." and returned Charmander and attached the Pokeball back to my belt. It was apparent that Flamethrower alone wasn't going to cut it. We obviously had a lot more work to do.
I glanced down at my feet and Pikachu looked up at me.
"You ready, Pikachu?" I asked him.
"Pi!"
"Alright then! Pikachu let's show them!" I cried.
Pikachu ran onto the field with a look in his eyes, which I haven't seen in a while. The spark that he always got from battling was back once again. This was his first battle since the ambush that wounded him severely and made up Dad's mystery disappearance.
"Pikachu, use Quick Attack!"
"Steelix stop Pikachu in its tracks with Sandstorm!"
The Sandstorm started, but Pikachu wasn't completely stopped in his tracks, he just slowed down.
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt and spin!"
Pikachu quickly jumped and used the attack, and once on the ground he spun and cancelled out the Sandstorm.
"Rock Throw, Steelix!"
"Use Quick Attack to dodge!"
The rocks started flying towards Pikachu, who dodged. Once the attack was over, he continued to run towards Steelix.
"Now, use Iron Tail!"
Pikachu jumped up so he was at Steelix's head and slammed his tail onto Steelix's skull.
"Steel!" Steelix cried and fell to the ground.
Pikachu landed on the ground, waiting to see if his opponent could move.
"Steelix is unable to battle! Pikachu wins!" the referee announced.
"Way to go Pikachu!" I cried.
"Pika, Pika!" he cheered.
One thing bothers me. I thought to myself. In the videos I've seen of dad and Pikachu against a Pokemon who knew Sandstorm, Pikachu was always stopped in his tracks. Did dad train him to only be slowed after that battle?
"Well, you've done well so far, but can you last against my final Pokemon? Let's rock and roll, Rhyperior!" Forrest cried, tossing his last Pokeball.
"Rhyperior!" Rhyperior cried, looking at Pikachu.
"Pika!" Pikachu cried signalling he was ready for the battle. He wasn't afraid of a huge Pokemon like that.
"Pikachu, use Quick Attack."
"Use Rock Blast!"
"Pikachu, continue to use Quick Attack to dodge!" Pikachu zigzagged to avoid, but some of the collateral damage from Rock Blast hit him, and damaged him.
Rhyperior's Rock Blast ended and I had to act quick if I wanted to end this.
"Iron Tail, quick!" I cried.
Pikachu jumped into the air and his tail hit Rhyperior on its head.
"Megahorn!"
Pikachu was still going towards the ground and the Megahorn hit him, sending him flying towards a wall.
Pikachu slammed into the wall. Hard.
"Pikachu!" I cried, running over to the wall.
I knelt down and picked up Pikachu.
"Pika…" he said weakly.
"Pikachu, you did your best. Now rest."
As I looked at Pikachu I saw a look in his eyes. It was like he was remembering something or maybe this is something that happened that day dad disappeared.
"Is Pikachu okay?" Jason asked me.
"Yeah, he's okay." I replied.
I put Pikachu by my feet and removed Bulbasaur's Pokeball.
"You're my last hope for this badge. Bulbasaur, I choose you again!" I cried, tossing the Pokeball.
"Bulba!" Bulbasaur cried, looking up at Rhyperior.
"Rhyperior, use Dig!"
Just what I wanted you to use.
"Bulbasaur, use Razor Leaf in the hole!"
"Rhyperior, get out of there, quick!"
Bulbasaur was faster than Rhyperior and the attack went into the hole.
Rhyperior popped up from the ground and I could tell the Razor Leaf had made contact.
"Rhyperior, end this with Rock Blast!" Forrest cried.
"Dodge it!"
Bulbasaur started dodging the attack. I waited for Rock Blast to finish and as I was waiting, I heard Bulbasaur cry out in pain. One of the rocks had hit Bulbasaur.
"Bulbasaur, use Leech Seed!" I cried as soon as the attack ended.
"Bulbasaur!" the Pokemon replied.
The seeds latched onto Rhyperior and started draining its energy, healing Bulbasaur.
"Rhy!" Rhyperior cried.
"Bulbasaur, let's finish this. Use Razor Leaf!" I cried.
"Bulba!" Bulbasaur said confidently.
The attack hit Rhyperior whose energy had just finished getting drained.
"Rhy!" Rhyperior cried falling to the ground, struggling to get back up.
"Hurry before it can get back up! Use Solarbeam!" I shouted. Rhyperior tried its best to get back on its feet as Bulbasaur was charging its energy.
Just as Rhyperior was about to completely stand up, Bulbasaur was ready. "Let 'em have it, Bulbasaur!" I yelled.
"Bulb...a...SAUR!" Bulbasaur declared, firing the Solarbeam, knocking out Rhyperior for good.
The referee looked over and raised his flag towards me.
"Rhyperior is unable to battle! Bulbasaur wins! That means the challenger, Adam, is the winner!" he announced.
"We did it, Bulbasaur!" I cried, kneeling down to praise my partner.
"Bulba!" Bulbasaur cried happily.
"Take a good rest now." I said, returning my Pokemon friend.
I stood back up and Forrest was walking over.
"Well Adam, you won. Here is the Boulder Badge." Forrest said, presenting the cushion with the badge resting on it.
I picked up the badge and looked at it for a moment.
"I just got the Boulder Badge!" I cried, holding the badge up into the air, doing the same pose that my Dad always did when he won a badge.
I removed my badge case and placed the badge inside of it.
"Adam, Jason, there are many gyms out there. Those gyms are far tougher than this one. I wish you two the best of luck." Forrest said.
"Thanks," we said and walked out of the gym.
"So, we go to Cerulean City now?" Jason asked.
"Actually, we go through Mt. Moon, to get to Cerulean City. Before we leave, I need to heal my Pokemon." I answered.
"Okay,"
We walked to the Pokemon Center so I could get my Pokemon healed.
"Adam, I noticed that Pikachu looked sad when he was defeated. Did you notice that, too?" Jason asked suddenly.
"Yeah. Yeah, I did notice." I replied, looking at Pikachu who was perched on my shoulder. Maybe he's sad because he's reminded of the time he wasn't strong enough to protect my dad when he lost. Or maybe the person who attacked him had a Rhyperior, too. I thought.
We walked into the Pokemon Center and I went to the counter.
"Hello again. How may I help you?" Nurse Joy asked kindly.
"I just won a gym battle. I need my Pokemon healed."
"Certainly,"
I placed my Pokeballs into the tray and Pikachu hopped into it. I handed Nurse Joy my Trainer card, too.
I glanced at the television again and saw the same announcement that I had seen last time. It was Lilian announcing about the contests…again.
"Adam, your Pokemon are healed." Nurse Joy said after a while.
"Thanks," I said removing my Pokeballs.
"I'm calling my mom. To let her know of my success." Jason said, and walked off towards the video phones.
I walked over towards the phones to call my mom, too.
Jason's POV
I waited for my mom or dad to pick up the phone. After the third ring, my mom answered the phone.
"Hello?"
"Hey, mom!"
"Jason! Hi! How are you?" she asked.
"Hey, Gary! Jason's on the phone!" I heard her calling for my dad to come to the phone.
"I'm doing good, mom. What about you and dad?"
"We're fine, we just miss you a little. So where are you now?"
"Well-"
"Hey, Jason!" my dad greeted.
"Hey, dad! Well, I'm in Pewter City." I answered my mom's question.
"Pewter City?" he asked.
"Yep. Guess what?"
"What?" they asked.
"I got my first gym badge. See?" I said, removing my badge case and opening it.
"Very nice." my dad said.
"Aww, my little boy has his first badge!"
"MOM!" Ugh. Why does she still treat me like a little kid? Adam's mom does it to him, too. But not as much as mine.
"Sorry," she said sheepishly.
"Well, I gotta go. We're about to leave for Mt. Moon."
"Tell Adam we said hey."
"I will. Bye, love you both."
"Love you, too."
Adam's POV
I dialed my house and waited for mom to pick up. On the second ring, she answered the phone.
"Adam!" she said, surprised.
"Hey, mom."
"How are you?"
"Good, what about you?"
"Good. Where are you and Jason now?"
"Pewter City,"
"Oh. What happened there?"
"I got my first badge."
"Let me see!" she said in an excited voice. I reminded her so much of dad. She was always excited when he won a battle, and she was just as excited for me.
I removed my badge case and opened it, then held it close to the screen, so she could see. She smiled at me but when I looked at her eyes, I could see a sad look. She wished my dad was there to see it.
"Adam, I'm proud of you and I know your dad is, too."
"I...I know, mom."
"Well sweetie, I have to go. I love you."
"Love you, too."
I walked towards the doors and Jason hurried over.
"To Mt. Moon now?" he asked.
"Yeah, to Mt. Moon." I replied.
I thought to myself, Well, we got our first badge. Now we head to Cerulean City to challenge the next gym! That badge had given me a burst of confidence. Don't worry, Dad. I WILL find you somehow.
Little did I know that I would get my first clue to his whereabouts VERY soon.
Author's Note: Adam has taken his first step towards entering the Pokemon League, and now he and Jason are back on the road. What will the boys find in Mt. Moon? What do you think is this "first clue" that Adam is talking about?
Find out next time on Pokemon NG!