A/N: Chapter 6 is here.
Cody's Pokémon Adventure
Chapter 6
Following Cody's battle at the Pewter Gym, both boys headed back to the Pokémon Center. They were both worried about leaving Lindsay for so long and hoped Beth had kept her company. It was the middle of the afternoon by the time they got back.
They needn't have worried as they quickly spotted both Lindsay and Beth sitting at a table together laughing. "Oh hey guys," Lindsay spotted them, "where'd you go? Belle showed me all around the city but we never saw you."
"Sorry Lindsay," Cody took a seat next to the blonde. "Harold and I went over to the gym to check it out."
Beth gasped. "Did you win a badge?"
"No," Harold shook his head.
"I didn't challenge the gym leader." Cody explained. "I did beat one of his followers though."
Beth congratulated him on his small victory. Lindsay seemed to have something else on her mind. "Hey Cody, when you battle the gym leader can I watch?"
"Of course Lindsay," Cody smiled. "Actually I'd really appreciated the support. It'll be my first gym leader battle after all."
"I'll cheer you on!" Lindsay said excitedly. "Wait, what do you call those girls in skirts that cheer for people?"
"Cheerleaders?"
"Yeah! I'll like, be your cheerleader!"
Feeling slightly embarrassed, Cody thanked her and quickly changed the subject. "So what should we do now?"
The four began to discuss what they should do with the rest of their day. It was too early to just stay in the Pokémon center and none of them were tired yet. All four of them seemed to have different ideas.
"You should train for your gym battle." Harold told Cody.
"You're right," Cody admitted. "But I can't train Pikachu yet and I want to give Bulbasaur a break. Maybe I'll wait till tomorrow."
"I want to go shopping!" Lindsay told the others.
"Do you have any money?" they asked her.
"Well…no…" she pouted.
"Hey do you guys want to check out the museum?" Beth suggested. "I heard the Pewter museum has a great fossil exhibit."
"Fossils? Nice." Harold agreed. "I'm in."
"That could be fun." Cody nods.
The only person that wasn't up for it was Lindsay who made it quite clear she was unhappy with this idea. "Museums are boring!"
But despite the blonde's protest, the four soon set off. They left the Pokémon Center behind and walked across town. The museum was at the northernmost part of the town past any shops or houses. They went in and found the building fairly quiet and empty. After paying a small fee (Cody paid for Lindsay who refused to pay for something so boring) they looked around.
They spent over an hour walking around the museum and looking at all the exhibits. They had the run of the place with almost no other patrons around. They would've stayed even longer, however Lindsay's complaining had turned into full-on whining and the other three felt it was time to leave.
They headed back to the Pokémon center. It was growing dark and the wind had suddenly picked up. Fearing rain they hurried inside as quickly as they could. "Well that was fun." Cody said after taking a seat on a nearby couch.
"I got some great pictures of the fossils," Beth said as she examined her camera.
"Can we eat now?" Lindsay groaned at the same time as her stomach. "I'm starving."
"Yeah, let's eat." The teens got up and headed over to the dining area. Various other young Pokémon trainers were already eating. They had barely gotten in line before three others joined the line behind them.
After getting their food they all sat down at an empty table and began to eat. After getting out of the museum and getting some food in her stomach, Lindsay was much more agreeable. She began to chat casually with Beth over something the girls had done earlier. Every once in a while Harold would make a comment about something but didn't seem to be directing it at anyone or caring that no one responded.
No longer engaged in conversation Cody's mind thought back to earlier that day at the gym. He had put it out of his mind until now, but he wondered about that girl. She had only beaten the gym a few hours ago so the brunette thought there was a good chance she was still in Pewter City. She might even be staying at the Pokémon Center.
Raising his head a few inches he looked around at the various trainers eating dinner. There were all different kinds of boys, girls, and Pokémon which made it hard to get a clear look at the entire room. But as luck would have it, on his second scan of the room he spotted that boy Dave that he had mistaken for Noah sitting only a few tables away. Dave was talking to a girl sitting across from him. Cody could only see her back but was sure it was the girl from the gym. Her black hair was unmistakable.
Cody wasn't sure what it was about her that drew his attention. There were plenty of trainers out there and defeating the first gym wasn't anything particularly special. Sure, that guy at the gym made her out to be something special but he made everything sound exciting. For all Cody knew he talked like that about everybody. Despite telling himself this, it didn't change anything for him. Cody wanted to find out for himself.
"Be right back." Cody stood up. He left his half-eaten dinner on the plate and walked away from the table. Beth and Lindsay barely noticed his departure and quickly went back to their conversation. Harold on the other hand watched Cody for a good minute before turning back to his meal.
Cody walked straight over to the table where Dave and the girl were sitting. The table was pretty empty so he had no trouble taking a seat right next to the girl. Both the girl and Dave stopped what they were doing and turned to look at him. Cody suddenly felt embarrassed at what he was doing and surprised at his own audacity.
But of course at this point he could hardly back out. "Umm hey, I'm Cody." He introduced himself. His gaze was immediately drawn to the girl's. There was something mysterious about those dark eyes of hers.
"I know you," Dave frowned as he pointed his index finger at Cody. "You're that guy that bothered me yesterday. You thought I was 'Noah' or whoever."
"Yeah, sorry again about that." Cody said feeling more and more awkward. His gaze had momentarily left the girl to look at Dave, but then quickly returned to the girl. "Anyway I saw you at the gym earlier. I heard you really did a number on Brock."
The girl grinned and gave the slightest of shrugs. "Well I certainly won if that's what you mean. Brock is an excellent Pokémon trainer-
"But you beat him easy!" Dave interrupted. He seemed quite proud of this.
"Anyway…" the dark-haired girl looked down at the table before looking back at Cody. "If you were there that means you must be a Pokémon trainer going for gym badges."
"I am." Cody acknowledged.
"Oh, were you looking to challenge Brock as well? I'm sorry if you're match was postponed because of me."
"No, it's okay." he assured her. "Actually I was just checking the gym out today. I wasn't planning on challenging it until tomorrow." The words came out of his mouth before he had thought them through in his mind. He had never actually decided to challenge Brock tomorrow, but it had seemed the right thing to say at the time.
"Really? Well it's nice to meet another trainer going for gym badges. My name is Sky." She held out her hand to shake.
Cody eagerly shook it. "Nice to meet you Sky. I'm Cody."
"Yeah," she smiled, "you already said that."
"Oh right." Cody's face turned red. Sky giggled a little. Dave looked cross.
"Don't worry about it. So where do you come from Cody?"
"From Pallet town," he answered. "I left with two of my friends less than a week ago after receiving my first Pokémon."
"Less than a week? Are you sure you're ready to face Brock?" she asked.
He hadn't expected her to ask that. Once again, his mouth was answering for him. "Well…yeah. I might be a new trainer, but I know what I'm doing. My Bulbasaur has the type advantage so I should do okay."
"I like that confidence." Sky told him, "but I'm not sure you're ready. I was the best trainer in my hometown, but I still waited two weeks before I challenged Brock. You might want to wait a while. You wouldn't want your Pokémon to get seriously hurt."
"What, you're saying if I fought Brock now I'd lose? You don't even know what Pokémon I have or how strong I am!" Cody rebutted.
"Then let's find out!" Sky slammed her spoon down on the table. She had an eager look in her eyes. "How about a Pokémon battle? If you can beat me then Brock should be easy."
Cody hesitated. He hadn't come over to her table looking for a fight. He just wanted to talk to her and maybe learn her name. Part of him wanted to back out, but another part knew he couldn't do that. He had gotten himself into this situation and if he backed out now he'd be letting himself down. Not to mention Sky probably wouldn't want anything to do with him if he quit, and for some reason he didn't want that.
"Alright, I accept."
Ten minutes later Cody and Sky were outside behind the Pokémon Center. Lindsay, Beth and Harold had come to watch and were standing behind Cody while Dave stood beside Sky. Despite how dark and stormy the clouds looked it had not yet begun to rain.
The sun had set and it was growing dark. The cold breeze made Cody shiver and he suddenly wished he was back inside the warm building. Cody's friends looked anxious and kept glancing over at him. He knew they were confused as to why he was suddenly having a Pokémon battle but he hadn't had the time to explain exactly what had happened.
Glancing over at his opponent, Cody didn't think Sky looked bothered by the weather at all. She looked focused. "I beat Brock with only one Pokémon." In her outstretched hand she held out a single pokeball. "So if you can beat this one Pokémon then you win."
Cody pulled Bulbasaur's pokeball out of his pocket and enlarged it. "If you're only going to use one Pokémon then so will I."
"You don't have to do that," she said. "Feel free to use as many Pokémon as you'd like."
"Thanks, but that wouldn't really be fair. I'd prefer it just be one on one." Cody said. Sky nodded in understanding. The truth is Cody didn't really have any Pokémon worth using besides Bulbasaur. Nurse Joy warned him not to use Pikachu yet, and seeing as how it hadn't been trained at all he was sure it wouldn't be much help. His only other Pokémon was Rattata but the rat Pokémon was at such a low level it would just embarrass him in a fight against someone that beat Brock.
"Have it your way. Go Eevee!" Sky threw her pokeball into the air and out shot a furry little creature that was mostly brown in color.
Cody quickly pulled out his Pokedex. "Eevee: the evolution Pokémon. Eevee's genetic code is irregular. It may mutate if it is exposed to radiation from element stones."
Closing the Pokedex he shoved it back in his pocket. Cody had heard of Eevee and how it could evolve half a dozen ways depending on certain conditions. I need to get me one of those, he thought to himself. Remembering the battle, he threw his own pokeball into the air. "Go Bulbasaur!"
Once both Pokémon were out Harold stepped forward. "Alright I'll referee. I want a good clean battle. Ready…set…go!" He swung his arm down in an arc and then got out of the way.
"Go Sky!" Dave cheered from the sidelines. "Kick his butt!"
Cody started the battle. "Go Bulbasaur! Use leech seed!" Bulbasaur shot out multiple seeds out of its top. The seeds were aimed right for Eevee.
"Dodge it Eevee!"
Eevee instantly responded to Sky's command and leapt to the side right before the seeds hit it. "Now quick attack!" Eevee's speed suddenly increased exponentially. Before Cody could blink Eevee suddenly appeared behind Bulbasaur before slamming right into it. The grass Pokémon was knocked back but landed on its feet.
Cody was taken aback by the speed of the attack. The bruise forming on Bulbasaur told him it wasn't just fast, but powerful. "Hit it with vine whip!"
Bulbasaur's two vines extended out of its body and shot out toward Eevee. It was in that split second that Sky called out to her Pokémon. "Left!" Eevee leapt to the left avoiding the attack. "Right!" She called out and Eevee obeyed. They had avoided both attacks with surprising speed.
Bulbasaur was uncertain of what to do and looked to its trainer. "Don't stop! Keep attacking!" Cody ordered. Feeling slightly reassured Bulbasaur used vine whip again. Unfortunately this time was no different as Eevee again avoided the attack. Each time was the same: Eevee would avoid Bulbasaur's attack thanks to its speed and Sky's split second orders and each time Eevee would get a little closer to its target.
Finally Eevee was face to face with Bulbasaur. "Sand attack!" Sky called out. A wave of sand was suddenly kicked up in the grass Pokémon's face blinding it temporarily. "Now tackle!" Eevee happily slammed into the blinded Pokémon knocking it on its side.
Cody was shocked. He had never fought a trainer with such good control over her Pokémon. Eevee obeyed her without question and almost seemed synced to Sky somehow. If that wasn't enough the Pokémon's speed was unreal. Forget beating it, he couldn't even land a hit!
"Bulba!" The grass Pokémon cried out in pain and confusion.
Hearing his Pokémon cry out Cody regained some of his focus. His Pokémon was impaired, but maybe he could use that to his advantage. "Bulbasaur don't worry about your aim! Use your vine whip like a propeller and just focus on hitting anything you can!"
Hearing its trainer's orders Bulbasaur began to spin its vines over its head faster and faster. Unsure of what to do Eevee waited on its toes. Suddenly the vines shot out and started slamming down into the ground at different places with no real direction. They always missed but would immediately pull back and try again.
"Dodge it!" Sky told Eevee. However this was easier said than done as the chaotic attack was impossible to predict. After dodging a few times Eevee was struck hard across the face.
"Yes! Nice one Bulbasaur!" Cody exclaimed.
A look of frustration crossed Sky's face. "No more playing around. Quick attack now!"
Getting to its feet Eevee instantly obeyed. It leapt forward in a flash and hit Bulbasaur hard. The grass Pokémon was knocked back a good few feet before falling down in the dirt.
"Bulbasaur…is unable to battle." Harold said reluctantly. "Sky is the winner."
Cody rushed to his Pokémon's side. "I'm sorry Bulbasaur," he fell to his knees. "This was my fault. You take a good rest." Cody returned the Pokémon to its pokeball. He then turned around to see Sky standing over him.
"Sorry Cody, but you won't be able to beat Brock with that level of strength." She held out her hand and helped him to his feet. Standing face to face with the female trainer Cody noticed they were both about the same height.
Cody sighed. "Yeah you're probably right. Anyway good battle Sky. You beat me easy. I couldn't believe how fast you and your Eevee were out there."
Sky opened her mouth to reply but was interrupted by Dave cheering. "Great job Sky! You were awesome! I knew you'd win." He wrapped one arm over Sky's shoulder.
"Thanks Dave." She politely pushed his arm off. "Listen Cody, you might not have won, but you put up a good fight and I admire that. It was a nice change to have a boy want to battle me rather than just praise me."
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Well Dave is nice and all, but it's great to meet another serious trainer." She then noticed Dave looked offended. "Don't take it the wrong way Dave. We've known each other since we were kids and I'm glad you decided to come with me when I set off on my Pokémon journey, but you're not much of a trainer."
"Hey I have a Pokémon." Dave held up his own pokeball. "I've been in a few battles myself. It's just I want to support you. And don't say my cheering isn't helpful, because I know it is!"
Sky smiled, "Of course." She turned back to Cody. "Anyway thanks for the battle Cody and good luck with Brock. Dave and I are heading out tomorrow morning but if we ever run into each other I'll be happy to battle you again."
"Sure Sky, that sounds great. When that day comes I promise I'll be stronger." he vowed. "Good luck on your journey."
"You too, bye!"
They all headed back into the Pokémon center. After Cody explained everything to his friends they went to bed. He stayed up and gave his Pokémon to Nurse Joy to heal. Then he went to bed himself feeling both frustrated and disappointed.
Lindsay woke up the next morning feeling relaxed and refreshed. She looked around but noticed that Cody and Harold weren't around. Curious, she entered the lobby (still wearing her pink pajamas) to see if they were there. She found them both talking to Nurse Joy. They were both already dressed and ready to go.
She walked over to them. "Cody, are you going somewhere?"
The brunette looked slightly surprised to see her. "Sorry Lindsay, but I need to go train. You heard what Sky said, I can't beat Brock yet."
Lindsay frowned. "Well don't listen to that mean girl! I think your very strong Cody."
Cody's cheeks reddened and his voice came out higher than expected. "T-Thanks Lindsay, but all the same I really should. Harold's coming to help me, but we'll both be back later okay?"
"Ah okay," Lindsay said slightly disappointed. Cody started to turn away but the blonde called him back. "Cody wait!" He turned around to see her move closer and lay a quick kiss on his cheek. "Good luck okay?"
"T-Thanks," he blushed. Deciding to turn away before the smiling blonde could see him get any redder he rushed out of the Pokémon center with Harold close behind.
The two walked silently for over a block before Cody stopped feeling embarrassed. "So…" he said. "What was it you were saying earlier?"
"Huh? Oh yeah." Harold adjusted his glasses. "I know of this small grass field right outside Pewter that could be great for training. It's not big, but it might be preferable to going back into Viridian Forest."
Cody nodded. "Sounds good."
The two boys made their way out of town at a brisk pace. They followed the path leading to Viridian Forest but stopped halfway between the forest and the town. It was there Harold showed Cody a small grass field he hadn't noticed before. No one else was around but the faint sounds of Pokémon could be heard.
"Wow great job Harold."
Harold smiled proudly. "Yeah well, I know a lot about this area. If there's anything else you need just let me know."
But Cody wasn't listening. He had jogged over to the tall grass and looked around. Holding his hand over his eyes like a visor, Cody scanned the surrounding area for Pokémon. "I think I see one!"
"Wait up!" Harold called out as he ran to catch up with his friend who was once again on the move. When he found Cody he was already engaged in battle. His Bulbasaur was out swiftly dispatching a wild Pidgey. He then found himself two Rattatas to defeat without breaking a sweat.
After a long drink from a water bottle he brought with him, Cody turned to his friend. "I think I should train Pikachu next."
Harold raised an eyebrow. "Pikachu? Are you sure? It won't be any good against Brock's rock Pokémon."
"I know, but if I'm going to use it I'll need to train it at some point. Better now than later." And with that Cody pulled out Pikachu's pokeball. "Pikachu come out!"
"Pika?" The electric Pokémon looked around curiously until its eyes fell upon Cody. It immediately cowered and tried to make itself look small. "See? It's still not used to you. You can't make it fight like that." Harold said.
"Let me at least try." Cody got down on one knee and pulled out some Pokémon food he brought with him. He held the food out in his outstretched hand toward Pikachu. "Are you hungry Pikachu? I've got some nice Poke-treats here that you can have."
Pikachu spotted the food in Cody's hand and looked on hungrily. It sniffed the air as it caught the food's scent. "Come on Pikachu, I promise I won't hurt you." He said calmly. "Take your time. I'm not going anywhere." Cody watched as Pikachu slowly came closer; one inch at a time.
Finally Pikachu was right in front of Cody. It sniffed his hand one last time before eating some of the Pokémon food. After a few bites a look of pleasure crossed its face and it began to devour the rest of the food. "Good right?" Cody smiled.
One hour later Cody had managed to get Pikachu to feel much more relaxed around him. It no longer ran away from him when he moved closer or looked scared when he petted the electric Pokémon. It stood calmly on his knee eating the last Pokémon treat Cody had.
"I guess you proved me wrong," Harold admitted. He had watched Cody gain Pikachu's trust and was impressed. Of course Pikachu still looked frightened when the redhead approached so he made sure not to make any sudden moves. "You really have a way with Pokémon. Who taught you how to do that?"
"Nobody," Cody shrugged. "Well I guess I picked a few things up from watching Professor Oak work with Pokémon but he never actually trained me."
"You got the watch The Professor Oak work? Lucky." Harold sighed. "So are you going to train Pikachu now?"
Cody turned to look at the electric Pokémon. "What do you think Pikachu? Would you be willing to train for a while?" Pikachu seemed to think it over for a minute before nodding. "Great! Let's go find a wild Pokémon."
With Pikachu running in front, the two humans headed further into the grass. It wasn't long until they ran into a small purple Pokémon Cody hadn't come across before. He quickly checked his Pokedex. "Nidoran (boy): the poison pin Pokémon. It's large ears are always kept upright. If it senses danger, it will attack with a poisonous sting."
"Cool," Cody said. "That should make a good first fight. What do you think Pikachu?" But Pikachu looked rather apprehensive. "Don't worry little guy, you can take him. I believe in you."
Somewhat reassured by its trainer, Pikachu stood ready to fight. "Alright Pikachu, start off with a growl!" The electric Pokémon let out its most fearsome growl to lower its opponent's attack.
Nidoran (boy) was affected, but didn't back down. Instead it charged Pikachu down in a tackle attack. "Dodge it Pikachu!" Cody called out. Pikachu managed to scurry away just in time. "Now use thundershock!"
"Pika-chu!" A bolt of electricity erupted out of Pikachu's body and hit Nidoran (boy). The wild Pokémon wasn't defeated, but it had been hurt. "Great job Pikachu!"
But Nidoran (boy) wasn't down yet. It tried to tackle Pikachu again and this time it succeeded. Pikachu was knocked down, but immediately got back up. It looked angry, and before Cody could even issue an attack Pikachu attacked on its own. It sent another thundershock right at its opponent knocking it unconscious.
"Wow," Cody said surprised. He hadn't expected Pikachu to attack without his order. It was unusual, but he didn't mind. It showed the little electric Pokémon definitely had some fight in it. Seeing the defeated Nidoran (boy) he pulled out an empty pokeball. "Go pokeball!"
The pokeball sucked up the purple Pokémon and began to shake rapidly. A few seconds later it went quiet. "Yes!" Cody cheered. "My fourth Pokémon." He picked up the ball and examined it for a moment before turning to Pikachu. "Great job Pikachu! You did an awesome job."
Pikachu looked pleased at the praise. "Let's keep going." Cody then fought a few more wild Pokémon using Pikachu. The electric Pokémon held up well and gained some good experience. After a while Cody noticed Pikachu was growing tired and had taken some damage so he decided to head back to the Pokémon center.
Both boys walked back and once they arrived had Nurse Joy heal Cody's Pokémon. He then informed Lindsay and Beth of his progress. Lindsay looked like she wanted to say something but Beth silenced her with a look. Cody didn't notice. After a good meal he informed Harold of his new plan.
"I want to go back to Viridian Forest," he said. "There aren't enough Pokémon in the tall grass outside Pewter. There are a lot more in the forest; plus I might run into a trainer I can battle. I don't expect you to come in with me."
"If I don't, you'll just get lost again." Harold joked. "Let me come with you. I know the forest like the back of my hand."
"Thanks Harold. I appreciate it."
Cody spent the next three days in the Viridian Forest training. Harold was with him the whole time making sure he didn't push himself too hard or get lost. Every morning the boys would leave the Pewter Pokémon Center and every evening they'd find their way back in time for dinner.
"I'm done," Cody told Lindsay on the night after his third day in the forest. "I think I'm finally ready to face Brock." The blonde was relieved as she had barely seen Cody at all the past few days.
"Don't worry, I'll take good care of your Pokémon." Nurse Joy told him. "Get a good night's sleep Cody. You'll need to be at your best for your battle tomorrow." Cody thanked her and decided to heed her advice. He wanted his first gym leader battle to end in victory.
If Sky can do it, then so can I! He thought to himself before drifting to sleep.
A/N: The end is a little quick, but I didn't want to drag out the training. I know some of you were looking forward to Cody VS Brock but there just wasn't time in this chapter. That's next chapter, I promise.
Reviews are appreciated.