Chapter 11

I gave Max a meaningful look, but he could only shrug his shoulders in reply. Steeling myself, I rose up, left the warm confines of the tent, and took a look outside. The sun had just begun to rise, and the very tops of the hills and trees were kissed with a piercing shade of yellow. The large rays that stretched luxuriously into our clearing created thick shadows that permeated the air.

But I could still see no people.

I returned to the tent, and saw Max packing his bag.

"I couldn't see anyone." I told him.

He looked up, still putting his poke balls into his pockets. "I know, I saw them on a bridge just in the distance, but once they'd noticed I'd seen them, they did a runner."

"Did you see who it was?"

"Of course I didn't, dumbass! How could I have seen all the way over there?"

"Was it a boy, or a girl?"

Max frowned, deep in thought. "I think…it was a boy. But a tall one."

"Right."

My friend brightened up, as he did up the straps on his rucksack. "Anyway, that reminds me. We can't keep storing out poke balls in our pockets. Once we get into the city, we're gonna go to the megastore and get ourselves one of those utility belts; the ones you can put your poke balls in."

I nodded my agreement, noticing the weight in my pockets not for the first time. Hurriedly, I packed up my stuff, and then we took apart the tent, stored it inside its own separate bag, and left for the city.

After what seemed like a long walk, we finally entered Viridian City. I checked my watch, and was pleasantly surprised to see that we had actually been walking for only an hour. It had only just reached 9 in the morning, so the city's shops were beginning to open.

Leading into the city was a large, open paved road, which led into a large square. There must have been thousands of people milling around on the road, as they all headed into the square.

"Guess that's where we should go." Max remarked, so we headed off in the same direction as the crowd.

All around us we could hear the cries of different pokemon trainers, as they attempted to sell memorabilia, in order to raise money. It was well known across Kanto that accommodation for a visiting trainer was very expensive.

The smells of hot coffee and pastries wafted alluringly around our nostrils, and after realising we hadn't eaten yet, we headed into a nearby coffee shop. Entering it, we noticed that it was as busy as it was outside, and there were lots of waiters bustling around, attempting to collect everyone's orders.

I pointed out a free table, so my friend and I sat down heavily, and placed out bags on the floor. One waitress ambled over, with red hair and an uninterested expression on her face.

"What can I get you?"

"I'll have a double hot chocolate and three pastries please." I told her.

Max ordered as well, and we walked away.

"So," I began. "What do we do now?"

"Well, I saw the train times as we came into the city, and it looks like the earliest train is delayed until 3 today."

"Why?" I asked, confused. Normally the train to Pallet Town ran every hour.

"Sounds like there's a pokemon tournament somewhere in the city."

Wanting to know more information, I asked the waitress when she arrived back to give us our orders.

"The tournament?" she asked. "Well, it's all been set up by the new pokemon gym leader; he wants to see how everyone performs before he starts taking challenges at the gym."

"You mean Geovanni's left?" I asked.

She gave me a small smile. "Being the leader of Team Rocket does have its cons as well. The Pokemon League removed him, and replaced him with Gareth. He's very young, but his dad used to be part of the Elite Four, so they think he'll be ready."

"So where's the tournament?" Max asked, swallowing his pastry, and then taking a deep gulp of his coffee.

"I believe it's in the courtyard outside of his gym. The winner gets a large cash prize, and the chance to be the first to challenge Gareth."

Max and I's eyes lit up. The chance to be the first person to defeat the city's new gym leader was one we couldn't turn down. After thanking the waitress, and giving her a good tip, we entered into a discussion.

"Sounds like we'll be staying here tonight then. We'll get the train to Pallet Town tomorrow." I said.

"Is that a good idea?" Max asked. "You know how expensive it is to rent a room for one night here. And we'd be doing the Gym challenge all the wrong way round."

I laughed. "We'll use the money we get from winning the tournament and beating Gareth to get the room for tonight, and then we'll head to Pallet Town and do the gym there tomorrow. It doesn't say anywhere in the League rules about the order you should do your badges in. I reckon it's the trainer's discretion."

After a moment's consideration, Max finally agreed reluctantly. Finishing off our breakfast, we headed out into the large road again. Sure enough, plastered to most of the street signs were large posters, adorned in colourful letters that informed trainers about the tournament. We can't have seen them on the outskirts of town.

I stopped a kind old man to ask him for directions to the courtyard, and he pointed up a winding alley. We thanked him, and followed the path he had told us to take.

However, once we had walked quite far up it, I got the horrible feeling that something could be wrong.

There was no trace of anyone else around us, and definitely no large battles going on. So where had the man sent us?

"Finally realised, 'av ya?" a voice snarled from behind us.

We spun round, to see two black-clad men approaching us from one side. They were both holding weapons in their hands, clearly loaded guns. I couldn't see them, but I could hear the rustle as two other people closed in from behind us.

We were trapped inside of the alley.

"It's hard being in this place, without any protection or money." The lead man drawled, pointing his gun at me. "We all assume that you have some, judging by your smarmy attitude, and snobbish air."

"Give us everything you have. NOW!" one of the other men shouted, clicking his weapon menacingly.

Max dropped his bag on the floor slowly. One of his poke balls fell out. The lead man reached down to pick up the bag when suddenly:

"ROARRRRRRRR!"

The poke ball had smacked onto the floor, and sprang open. Looming menacingly over the man who was clutching the bag, was a shining red, and very angry, Gyarados.

The men turned and ran for it, leaving the alley. Max, realising they had taken his bag, started to chase after them; his Gyarados following closely at his heels. I tried to keep up, and saw them enter the large square. Trainers were throwing themselves out of the way as Max tackled the man who had taken his bag, and they both landed in a fountain with a large splash.

The Gyarados leapt in after them, now not looking as awkward as it was back in water. It fired up a surf attack.

"No! No!" the man panted, soaked as he tried to sit up. The large pokemon traced his movements with narrowed eyes. "I'll give it back."

"Good." Max took a step forward, and retrieved his bag.

The man looked up, obviously scared of the Gyarados.

"I'm sorry…" he continued.

"I'll take your guns." Max said. The lead man handed over his weapon, after flipping it onto safety. "Now get out of here, I reckon someone would've already called the police."

The man nodded, seeming to want to say something. But he shook his head violently, clambered out of the fountain and sprinted away. I walked over, as Max patted his pokemon on its crested head.

"What. The. Fuck." I said, motioning towards the pokemon.

"I caught it while you were asleep, back in the tent. I couldn't relax, so I crept out, and found this thing, having a rest in some shadows by a river we passed."

"But…but…it's red!" I exclaimed. A red Gyarados was a very rare one indeed, and it was virtually impossible to find one – let alone catch it.

"It is. I dunno. It's my luck I suppose."

"So what're you going to do with it now?" I asked. It seemed improbable that Max would make it part of this team, it would just wipe out most trainer's pokemon, and would probably allow him to walk through the Pokemon League challenge.

I was right. "I can't use it, it'll be ridiculously overpowered. So I'll make a few phone calls, and see what I can do."

He left for a few minutes, so I was left on my own to try and convince people that I was alright. Eventually, the police arrived, so I pointed them in the direction of where the thief had run.

Max then came back.

"I've found somewhere to send this big guy." He said, patting the huge red creature. "I rang up the pokemon professor from school, and he said I could transfer him across the system, so it can wander around in the lakes just behind the school grounds."

"Good idea."

"He also asked how we were getting on, so I told him what we've been up to."

"What did he say?"

"Nothing, really. He just thanked me, and hung up. Bit rude really."

I laughed. "He's probably just excited that we're doing something, that's all."

Max nodded. "That's probably true; he is a bit…different."

After putting Gyarados back inside its poke ball, we headed off to the nearby pokemon centre. There, the kind nurse showed us how to use the transfer machine. Max sent his new pokemon to the school, and we headed off to the tournament, after being given proper directions this time around.

We reached there at about 1 o'clock, and it appeared that the stewards were accepting any last entries. We joined the line, and eventually were in front of an old man, who was wearing red overalls.

"Welcome, gentlemen! You wish to enter the tournament?"

We both nodded in confirmation.

"Excellent. You have to register three pokemon only, and will be allocated against an opponent. The winner of each round will go on to face another trainer, until eventually we have two finalists. The winner will go on to be the first to challenge the gym leader. Any questions?"

"Nope."

He handed us both a form, which required us to write down our contact details, and any pokemon we were going to use. After we were done, we were directed to a large wooden board, where the match-ups were being made.

Having a quick look, I noticed that I was up against a guy called Ryan, and Max would be battling against Tim. Just as we were discussing the pokemon we would be using in our first round, a man approached us.

He had a slender figure, and a pleasant-looking face, that was jaded by some rough stubble. He couldn't be any older than 20.

"Ah, young trainers!" he said. "It's good to see some of my competition. I'm Gareth."

We shook his hand, before he wished us well and walked off, to greet some other trainers who were milling around.

My first match would begin at half 1, so we left the area, and sat down on a picnic bench. After a small conversation that was filled with lots of hesitation and nervous stutters the time had come.

"Please can trainers Dan Davis, and Ryan Benson make their way to field one. Your match is about to begin." A voice announced over the speakers.

Max stood up, shook my hand; and I walked off towards my first competitive pokemon battle, feeling a strong wave of dread rise up through me.