Summer and her Pokémon battled their hardest against Weldon's powerful Pokémon. Despite taking down Weldon's strongest Pokémon, Summer eventually lost to her rival. After the battle, she ran into Lt. Surge, the Vermillion City Gym Leader. Lightning became upset at his criticisms and vowed to train harder. Summer reminds her that she evolves through high friendship. They decide to visit the Vermillion City Pokémon Fan Club to see how they can improve their bond. Will they find something to help Lightning?

P.S.- Please vote on the poll on my profile for how the side chapters should be written! :) The first of those chapters should be published after the events in Lavender Town.

Chapter 20: The Spark of Friendship

Five of my Pokémon and I exhaustedly sat under a grove of trees on Route 6. Errol, Swirls and I helped Blaze, Lightning, and Flower prepare for the Vermillion City Gym. The only one still training was Lightning. She was strengthening her tail by whacking it against a tree.

"You should take a break, Lightning," I called from a few feet away.

Lightning hesitated, then said firmly, "I need to get stronger, Summer. I'll show that Surge guy who's not weak!"

I walked over to her and said, "You still need to take a break. Besides, you can only evolve from high friendship."

She looked at me with frustration. "We do have a strong bond, Summer, but I still can't evolve!"

I sighed. There must be something we can do to speed up the evolution process.

I then saw the sun starting to set. "We should see if the Pokémon Center has a room tonight."

The sitting Pokémon nodded as I returned them. Lightning tiredly climbed onto my shoulder, and we walked back into Vermillion City.

When we arrived at the front of the Pokémon Center, we saw the S.S. Anne leaving the harbor. The ship blew two horns, as if saying goodbye to Vermillion City. Hopefully, we'll be able to board that ship again.

We entered the building, and I walked to the reception desk. After giving the nurse my Pokémon to heal, I asked, "Do you have any rooms tonight?"

Instead of giving me a frown, she smiled this time. "You're in luck, Summer. We do have rooms available. Would you like to book a room?"

"Yes, please."

After booking the room and getting my Pokémon back, I asked, "I would like your advice about something. Lightning wants to evolve, but we don't know if there's anything to speed up that process."

The nurse responded, "You should visit the Pokémon Fan Club here. They love to help Trainers with their Pokémon. It's not too far from here."

I thanked her, quickly left the Pokémon Center, and followed the signs leading to the Fan Club. After walking a few blocks, we approached a large, white stone building with six glass windows and many posters of various Kanto Pokémon.

I entered the double glass doors and saw a large light blue waiting room with two receptionists. Numerous doors and hallways led to the various amenities the Fan Club had to offer.

Lightning and I approached one of the receptionists at her desk.

"Hi, there," she warmly greeted us. "What would you like to do today?"

I motioned to Lightning and said, "My Pichu, Lightning, and I would like to know what we need to do to help her evolve."

She looked at Lightning and smiled. She then looked up something on her large computer. "We have an opening for a friendship evaluation now. Would you like to attend?"

"Sure. That'll be great."

The receptionist typed some words onto her computer. "May I see your Trainer ID, please?"

I took out my ID and gave it to her. She looked at it and said, "All right, Summer. Please follow me."

She got up from her desk and I followed her into a hallway. As we passed by several doors, I saw glimpses of what was behind them. People in the various rooms were cooking, playing games, training, and grooming their Pokémon. I couldn't believe this facility had so much to offer Trainers to bond with their Pokémon. After walking for a few minutes, the receptionist led me to a room with a heart on the door.

She opened the door and said, "Enjoy your friendship evaluation, Summer."

I thanked her and walked inside.

A brunette woman wearing a gray suit greeted me, "Welcome to the friendship evaluation room, Summer."

The first thing that caught my eye was the glass chandelier illuminating the room. A table and two chairs sat in the middle. The evaluator invited me to sit down across from her. She guided me to a wooden chair, and I sat on it. She then walked around a wooden table and sat in the opposite chair.

"Thank you for meeting with us today," I said.

The woman smiled and said with a gentle voice, "It's no trouble at all. Which Pokémon would you like me to evaluate?"

Lightning immediately jumped off my shoulder and landed on the table.

I giggled and said, "My Pichu, Lightning."

The evaluator looked at Lightning and slowly petted her. Lightning smiled softly and enjoyed the attention. The woman then looked at Lightning's black eyes, as if she was scanning her spirit.

The evaluator then smiled and concluded, "Your relationship with Lightning is very good. She's quite friendly with you and enjoys your company."

I sighed with relief. "Thank you, that's exactly what I wanted to hear."

The evaluator beamed. "To be honest, it seems Lightning really wants to evolve. It's a common goal for baby Pokémon."

"I see. Is there any way I can increase our friendship so Lightning can evolve?"

"Actually, Lightning is almost ready to evolve. But it seems she just needs a little push. Would Lightning like a massage? Pokémon massages are known to increase the bond between Trainer and Pokémon."

"How much would it cost?"

"Oh, it's free since you got a friendship evaluation today."

"Really? Thank you so much!"

"My pleasure, Summer. Let me show you to the massage room."

We got up from our chairs, and Lightning jumped back onto my shoulder. We exited the friendship evaluation room and went across the hallway to a door with two hands on it. She opened the door, and I went inside.

A blonde-haired woman wearing a white blouse and black skirt bowed and said, "Welcome to the massage room."

I saw six white massage tables lined up in two rows. Soothing fragrances from an aromatherapy fountain wafted through the light pink room.

"Thank you," I said. "I was told by the evaluator that I can get a free massage for seeing her."

"That's right. Is your Pichu ready for a massage?"

Lightning excitedly jumped to the nearest massage table.

The masseuse giggled. "Your Pichu's very energetic. It shouldn't take long at all." She then gave Lightning a light massage on her cheeks.

Lightning sighed happily and looked like she thoroughly enjoyed it.

"Excuse me, miss?" I politely asked. "Can I learn how to give Pokémon massages?"

She was slightly surprised but happily said, "Of course! Here, let me show you with your Pichu. The members of the Pikachu line love to be massaged around their cheeks."

After a few practice rubs, I got the hang of it. "I see. What about other Pokémon?"

"Overall, Pokémon enjoy being massaged in areas they feel as most comfortable. With time and practice, you can massage any Pokémon."

"Thanks for the advice," I said with a bow.

She bowed back. "Thank you for bringing such a well-behaved Pichu."

We waved goodbye and left the massage room. As I opened the door, an elderly man about my height with a cane and top hat bumped into me.

"Oh my goodness!" he shouted hastily. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm okay," I said, rubbing my head.

"That's a relief. How are you enjoying the Pokémon Fan Club?"

"It's great! I'm learning a lot here." Lightning nodded in agreement.

The man then scanned Lightning with his thick glasses. "What a cute-looking Pichu!"

"Thank you," she said.

"And what a cute voice too! Such a shame I cannot understand you."

Lightning and I looked at each other and smiled.

"My name is Peter. What is your name, young lady?" he then asked me politely.

"My name's Summer. And this is Lightning."

"Ah, you must be the first runner-up in the 2 to 3 Badges Tournament on the S.S. Anne! Sorry you didn't win."

"Oh! We did our best, but we'll win the next tournament we enter."

He then clapped enthusiastically. "I hope so as well! You seem like a caring Trainer, Summer. Are you free at the moment?"

"Uhh…sure…"

He then shouted, "Follow me!" He ran down the hallway with a surprising amount of speed. I walked towards him and saw the label "Peter, Chairman" on the door. Peter quickly unlocked the door and let us inside.

A typical wooden desk and two chairs showed it was an office space. But the Pokémon posters and bookshelves filled with Pokémon picture and fact books showed he was a true fan of Pokémon. I then noticed several posters of six female Trainers with different colored hair, clothes, and Pokémon. Each of the posters had the title My Little Ponyta. Peter sat down in his spinning chair and spun it in four times.

"Go ahead and take a seat across from me, Summer," he offered.

I nodded slowly and sat down. I then glanced at two miniature figurines of a large flaming unicorn and a large brown bird.

Peter picked up the figurines and said, "These two are my favorite Pokémon."

"What are they?" I asked curiously.

He placed the unicorn on his desk. "This is Rapidash, the evolved form of Ponyta." He did the same thing with the bird. "And this is Fearow, the evolved form of Spearow."

I then realized something. "If these two are your favorite Pokémon, why do you have posters of the TV show, My Little Ponyta?"

Peter's eyes suddenly sparkled. "My Little Ponyta is one of my favorite shows! There is a Rapidash in the show, and a beautiful princess with a flowing rainbow dress owns her. The princess has an apprentice, a purple-haired girl with a Ponyta. The girl is very studious and socially awkward, but she makes friends with five other girls in a new town. Let's see…an orange-haired cowgirl with a Growlithe, a sporty girl with a rainbow jersey has a Taillow, a shy girl with a Beautifly, a cheerleader who loves all things pink, like her Jigglypuff, and a fashionista with a rare white Pokémon from the Unova Region…"

Lightning and I tried to pay attention to the brief synopsis, but we started to doze off. After what felt like a few seconds, we suddenly woke up and heard the last of the plot.

"So the five girls went through a series of trials to save their homeland from an evil shiny Rapidash, who turns out to be the princess's younger sister. Then the girl with the Ponyta decided to stay with her new friends and learn from them. So, what'd you think?"

"Oh. It sounds like a good show. I'll try to watch it next time."

Peter smiled and made several tapping noises with his cane. "Wonderful! I'm sure you'll like it. You and Lightning were really in sync during your little nap."

Lightning and I became scared that he knew about it. "I'm sorry we dozed off!" I quickly said with a bow.

Peter laughed. "Not to worry. Most of the new people I meet fall asleep whenever I talk about my love for Pokémon or certain TV shows. You're actually one of the few who apologize for sleeping. You deserve a reward! How about a free bike voucher?"

As he was rummaging through his desk drawers, I said, "Thanks, but I already have a bike."

He looked up, surprised. "Impressive! I'm surprised you were able get one so early. How about this instead?"

He took out a small silver bell with a yellow ribbon tied around its loop from a drawer.

"What is it?" I asked, scanning the beautiful bell.

"This is a Soothe Bell. Whenever it rings, it plays a calming melody that allows Pokémon to become friendlier. If you let Lightning hold onto it, she'll be able to evolve faster."

"Yes!" Lightning shouted. Peter smiled at her response.

I took the Soothe Bell and put it around Lightning's neck.

"Thank you, Peter. I'm sure it'll be useful for Lightning."

"You're quite welcome, Summer. But I'm afraid we are now closed. I'll escort you to the entrance."

We got up and left his office. Once we got back to the lobby, I turned to him and said, "Thanks for all of your help, Peter. You and your workers do a good job with helping Trainers and Pokémon."

Peter chuckled and said, "You're quite welcome. I'm glad we can help you and Lightning. Good luck on your journey!"

We waved goodbye, and Lightning and I walked back to the Pokémon Center.

After a quick dinner, I researched Lt. Surge online in the computer lab.

Lt Surge's an Electric-type specialist. For new Trainers, his battle conditions are 3 on 3 singles battles. His main Pokémon in every battle is Raichu. He is an aggressive battler with a love of physical attacks. He stays in shape by performing calisthenics and drills with his Pokémon. What are calisthenics anyway? Must be some new exercise…

After the analysis, I headed to my room and strategized.

"Are you ready for your first official Gym battle, Lightning?" I asked my Pichu as she jumped up and down.

"You bet, Summer! I want to show that Surge guy who's not frail!"

I petted her head. "I know how much you want to beat him, but don't get too confident. We need to be cautious and work together with Flower and Blaze if we want to win."

Lightning nodded firmly. "Right, Summer."

I noticed it was late and climbed into the bed. Lightning crawled towards my arms, the Soothe Bell jingling around her neck. We both fell asleep at the same time, and I dreamt of Lightning enjoying her evolved form.

Pokémon: Blaze (Combusken, male): Brave Nature, moves: Quick Attack, Double Kick, Flamethrower, Focus Energy

Errol (Hoothoot, male): Rash Nature, moves: Tackle, Growl, Hypnosis, Peck

Swirls (Poliwhirl, female): Relaxed Nature, moves: Water Pulse, Hypnosis, Water Gun, Doubleslap

Lightning (Pichu, female): Adamant Nature, moves: Thundershock, Charm, Iron Tail, Sweet Kiss

Flower (Bulbasaur, female): Gentle Nature, moves: Tackle, Leech Seed, Vine Whip, Sleep Powder

Questions for the Chapter:

How will Summer do against Lt. Surge?

Would you watch My Little Ponyta?