A/N: The chapter you've all been waiting for is here! Well someone has anyway. I think you'll find it quite exciting (and shocking)!

Cody's Pokémon Adventure

Chapter 7

Cody woke the next morning feeling both excited and nervous. His very first thought when he awoke was of facing Brock in a battle. Before he had become a Pokémon trainer he had been impatient to get his own Pokémon and take on different gyms. He had imagined a gym battle as exciting and fun, but hadn't considered how nervous he'd be beforehand. His stomach was doing flips.

After getting up, he showered and got dressed. He was going to head into the dining hall to get some breakfast when he realized none of his friends weren't up yet. It was still early. So instead he decided to take a jog around town with his Pikachu. It was good exercise and by the time he got back the others were up.

Lindsay and Beth smiled at him as he walked over. "Hey guys," he greeted them.

"Hi Cody!" Lindsay waved.

"Good morning," Beth greeted him.

"How are you feeling?" Harold asked.

Cody shrugged. "Okay I guess. Just a little nervous."

Harold clapped a hand on Cody's shoulder. "Well don't be. You're going to do great."

"Yeah," Lindsay agreed, "I just know you'll win Cody!"

"Thanks guys," Cody gave a small smile. He was still nervous, but it was nice to know his friends believed in him. "Let's go eat."

Breakfast was a fairly quiet affair. No one said much so the only sounds were the clinking of silverware. "So Cody, are you heading to the gym right away?" Beth asked as they ate.

Cody nodded, but before he could speak he was interrupted. "No, he can't go yet."

Cody looked at Harold in surprise. "I can't?"

"Uh, didn't you read the sign outside the gym? It doesn't even open until noon, gosh!" Harold shook his head. Clearly he had expected Cody to know all of this.

"Oh sorry Harold. I guess I didn't think about that kind of thing." Cody admitted. "So I guess we'll have to wait until then. What should we do?"

Beth swallowed the food in her mouth before speaking. "Could you get some last minute training in?"

Cody frowned. "I don't think so. If I trained now my Pokémon would get tired and possibly injured. I'd rather let them rest until the match."

"I think you should think about something else until your match Cody," Lindsay said to the surprise of all. "It's not good for you to just sit there and stress about it. That could cause premature wrinkles." Just then an idea came to her. "Hey why don't we all get a manicure? It'll be super fun, and I know it'll take your mind off the match Cody."

"Uhh…" Cody attempted to respond to that but his mind went black. He shook his head. "Well…no thanks Lindsay. I'd rather not." Harold nodded his head in agreement.

Lindsay frowned. "Oh, okay Cody. That's fine." She sounded rather put out.

"But I think your idea to do something to take my mind off it was a good idea." Cody tried to cheer her up. "Let's just do something different okay?"

"Okay," the blonde gave a small smile.

Beth turned to her. "Hey Lindsay, what about asking Cody about that one thing? The one we discussed earlier…"

Lindsay looked at her open-mouthed for a minute before a light went off in her mind. "Oh yeah!" She turned toward the brunette. "Cody, do you think maybe you'd want to help me train Jigglypuff? Just until your match I mean."

Cody looked surprised. "You want to train your Jigglypuff, Lindsay?"

"I want to get stronger," she declared. "Or at least, I want to try."

Cody glanced briefly at Harold who shrugged. "Yeah sure," he nodded, "I'd love to help you train. Let's go."

"Yay!" Lindsay clapped her hands excitedly. Beth looked on, happy for her friend.

After finishing their meals and cleaning up the four teens left the Pokémon Center and headed back to the tall grass where Cody and Harold had previously trained. "This is good Lindsay. Go ahead and send out your Pokémon."

The blonde pulled out her lone pokeball and tossed it up high. "Come out Jigglypuff!" The ball opened up and a pink ball-shaped Pokémon with big eyes came out. "Jigglypuff!" It seemed excited to be somewhere outside the Pokémon center. "Now what?" Lindsay asked.

"First, tell me what attacks your Jigglypuff has." Cody said.

"She can…umm…" Lindsay racked her brains for the answer. "…she can…sing? Yeah, she can sing!"

"You don't even know your own Pokémon's attacks?" Harold slapped himself in the face. "That's just…just…gosh!"

"It's fine," Cody pulled out his Pokedex. "Let's see here. According to my Pokedex your Jigglypuff knows sing, pound, and defense curl. Not too bad."

"That's great!" Lindsay turned to her Pokémon. "Jigglypuff use defense curl!"

"Jigglypuff!" the pink Pokémon said excitedly before using the move to increase its defense. This was followed by an awkward moment of silence.

"Yeah…" Cody put the Pokedex away. "Let's find a wild Pokémon for you to battle. That way your attacks will actually do something."

Finding a wild Pokémon for Lindsay to battle did not prove to be a challenge. They soon came across a Nidoran (girl) alone in the tall grass. Cody guided the blonde over to where she was standing in front of the wild Pokémon with Jigglypuff in front. "Alright Lindsay," Cody said. "Anyone can learn to battle, it's not that hard. Don't worry about making mistakes just do your best. If you get stuck just remember all the times you've watched me battle and do what I did."

Lindsay nodded, "Okay." She glanced at the Nidoran with an uncertain look in her eyes before looking at Jigglypuff. "Jigglypuff…use vine whip!"

"Jiggly?" The pink Pokémon looked at its trainer confused. Beth, Cody and Harold all slapped themselves in the face upon hearing the command.

"No Lindsay, you can't use my Pokémon's moves." Cody sighed. "You have to attack using the moves that your Pokémon knows. Don't you remember?"

"Oh yeah…" Lindsay lightly taps herself on the forehead. "Duh! Wait…what were my Pokémon's moves again?"

"Sing, pound and defense curl," Beth reminded her.

"Then I should use…defense curl?"

Believing her question to be a command, Jigglypuff used defense curl to raise its defense. Just then the Nidoran attacked. The small bluish Pokémon leapt forward and tackled Jigglypuff to the ground. "Oh no!" Lindsay gasped. "Cody what do I do?"

"Tell Jigglypuff to use sing on Nidoran!"

"Right," she nodded. "Use sing Jigglypuff!"

The pink Pokémon began to use its enchanting voice against Nidoran, putting the small Pokémon to sleep. "Good," Cody said, "now that Nidoran is asleep it can't hurt your Jigglypuff. This is a smart move to use at the beginning of a battle Lindsay."

"Oh I get it." She said. "That way Jigglypuff won't get hurt!" Something occurred to her. "But now what?"

"Now you need to attack," he said. "Use pound!"

Lindsay then told Jigglypuff to attack with pound. Her Pokémon began to hit the wild Pokémon with its fists repeatedly. It took a few tries but the Nidoran eventually fainted. "Yay I did it!" the blonde jumped up and down and clapped. She then ran over to Cody and pulled him into a hug. "I did it Cody!"

"Great job Lindsay," he told her after a few seconds. "Not that I don't enjoy this hug, but you better hurry. If you want to capture that Nidoran you have to do it now!"

"Huh?" Lindsay released Cody and looked behind her. Unfortunately it was too late as the Nidoran had regained consciousness and fled further into the grass. "Oops."

"Don't be disappointed Lindsay," Beth told her friend. "We can always find another one for you to capture if you want."

"No thanks," the blonde shook her head. "I didn't really want to capture it anyway. I think that's enough training for now. Thanks for all of your help guys."

After assuring her they were happy to do it, the four teens headed back to Pewter City. "Well that killed a little bit of time." Beth said. "Now what should we do?"

"Let's just head back to the Pokémon Center." Cody said.

After a quick lunch it was time to head out. The four quickly made their way to the Pewter gym getting there only half an hour after it opened. They stood outside the gym for a minute as Cody prepared himself. "You ready?" Harold asked him.

Cody nodded. "Yeah, let's go." Taking the first step, he walked into the gym with the others behind him. It looked the same as it had the first time he'd entered. One of the first things he noticed was the older man they had met was waiting at the entrance. He spotted them immediately.

"Hey hey! Look who it is!" He waved them over. "I was wondering when you'd be back. You had me worried there for a while kid. But I'm glad to see you found your way back."

Not quite sure how to respond, Cody merely nodded. "I'm here to challenge the gym leader."

The gym guy placed his hands on his hips. "Well then it's your lucky day because it just so happens Brock is in the gym today and he's itching for a challenge. I sure hope you're prepared."

"I am." Cody stated.

"Then follow me." He turned and started to walk onto the field but stopped once the four teens began to follow him. He turned around. "Only you," he pointed at Cody, "your friends can watch from the audience."

"Sorry guys," Cody looked apologetically at his friends.

"It's okay Cody," Harold said patting him on the shoulder. "You got this."

"Good luck Cody!" Beth wished him with a braces-filled smile.

Lindsay bent down to give Cody a quick kiss on the cheek. "Go kick his butt!" She told him with a smile.

"Y-Yeah," he smiled back. As they walked off toward the stands he waved. Once they were gone he followed the older man onto the gym field. He passed by a few of Brock's apprentices that Cody was pretty sure he'd have had to battle if he wasn't with the gym guy.

"Cody! Hey!" The brunette swerved his head to the side to see Tyler standing off to the side waving at him. Cody walked over to him.

"Hey Tyler!"

"Hey bro," Tyler smiled. "You going to go take on Brock?"

"That's right," he nodded. "I'm getting the presidential treatment too for some reason."

"Well good luck man. Just remember, Brock really knows how to bring it! Don't be surprised if you don't earn a place at the table!" The jock laughed.

But Cody did not want to seem intimidated. "Oh yeah? Well I'll be sure to walk back this way after I beat Brock so you can get a good look at my badge!"

And with that he walked back toward the gym guy. He could hear Tyler yelling something back but didn't hear him. He knew what he needed to do now was focus on Brock.

After climbing a few stairs they arrived at Brock's rock battlefield. Cody had never been in a gym battle before so he found the whole thing quite impressive. Standing only a few feet away from them was Brock himself. Spotting Cody he walked over.

"I thought I sensed a new challenger," he said. Brock then held out his hand. "What's your name?"

Cody took the hand and shook it. Brock had a firm grip. "I'm Cody Anderson from Pallet town."

"Pallet town huh? I think I battled two other trainers from there recently." Brock recalled. He was quite a bit taller than the boy from Pallet.

Cody knew exactly who he was talking about. "What, really? Those were two of my friends."

"Well they both knew how to put up a good fight." he said casually. "Now are you here to challenge me? Better make it official."

"Yes," Cody nodded. "I challenge you, the leader of the Pewter Gym, to a Pokémon battle."

Brock nodded. "Take your place." he motioned to the field. Cody walked over to the challenger's box which was really just a square drawn in the dirt with chalk. Brock was standing exactly opposite him, but quite a good deal away.

The gym leader had his arms crossed and looked very serious. "I'm Brock! I'm Pewter's Gym leader! I believe in rock hard defense and determination! That's why my Pokémon are all the rock-type! Do you still want to challenge me? Fine then. Show me your best!"

Without another word, Brock pulled out a pokeball and tossed it into the air where it opened up with a burst of white light. "Go Geodude!" The rock Pokémon that appeared raised its arms threateningly.

Cody gulped, and then took a deep breath. "I can do this," he whispered to himself. In his right hand he held a pokeball. After looking at it for a few seconds he nodded to himself and then flung it into the air. "Go Nidoran (boy)!"

The young Pokémon trainer's small pinkish Pokémon appeared on the large battlefield. It looked around curiously before setting its sights on the Geodude. A moment later Brock called out to Cody. "As challenger, you may have the first move."

Taking a quick glance over at the stands Cody spotted his three friends cheering him on. Feeling reassured, he called out his first attack. "Nidoran use horn attack!"

Nidoran sprinted forward heading straight for Geodude. As it ran the small horn on its head started to glow white. The sharp appendage seemed to double in size as it got closer and closer to the rock Pokémon. When it was only a few feet away Nidoran leapt up and stabbed Geodude with its horn.

The rock Pokémon was pushed back and winced, but otherwise seemed fine. Well that didn't work, Cody thought to himself. But before he could try anything else, Brock attacked. "Geodude tackle it!"

With surprising speed Geodude rushed forward and slammed into Nidoran knocking it back. Nidoran let out a painful groan, but got back to its feet. "Cody!" Hearing his name the Pokémon trainer turned his head to the side where the stands were. "Remember what we talked about with type advantage!" Harold yelled out with his hands cupped over his mouth.

Right, Cody nodded. Turning back to the battle he called out his next attack. "Nidoran use double kick!" The small Pokémon understood the order and once again rushed toward Geodude.

"Dodge it Geodude!" Brock called out.

Right as Nidoran was about to kick out Geodude rushed out of the way. "Don't stop! Try again!" Cody called out. Nidoran rushed forward and this time managed to connect. It kicked the rock Pokémon hard two times. The pained expression on its face told Cody that it was hurt. Rock Pokémon are weak to fighting type moves! Cody smiled.

"Tackle it again!"

Too caught up in the effectiveness of his own attack, Cody hadn't been ready for a counterattack. Geodude slammed into Nidoran hard causing more damage. Tackle was a basic attack, but thanks to Geodude's strength it was very effective. "Use double kick again Nidoran!"

Nidoran was still very close to Geodude after its last attack and had little trouble closing the small distance and kicking out hard. After two very effective kicks Geodude went down. It hit the dirt floor and when the dust cleared the X's covering its eyes revealed its fate.

"Geodude is unable to battle." The referee called out from the sidelines. "Nidoran wins."

"Not bad," Brock admitted as he recalled Geodude to its pokeball. "I may have underestimated your little Nidoran-unlike most newbies you know how to handle it. But still, it's no match for my Onix!" And with that he tossed his second pokeball into the air unleashing a giant rock Pokémon.

Cody actually took a few steps back at the sight of such a monstrous Pokémon. It took up half the battlefield and was nearly as tall as the ceiling. Its entire body was made up of rocks with the top consisting of a mouth and eyes. "Whoa…" The brunette pulled out his Pokedex. "Onix: the rock snake Pokémon. Onix are known to burrow underground at high speeds in search of food. The tunnels they leave behind are used as homes by Diglett."

As Cody moved back to his spot he realized what Brock had said was right. Looking at Nidoran it was clear he had taken a good deal of damage and trying to make him battle against an Onix would be irresponsible. "Nidoran return!" A bright red light from Cody's pokeball shot forward and returned Nidoran to its home. "Good job buddy. Now go Bulbasaur!"

As soon as Cody's pokeball hit the ground it opened up to reveal the grass Pokémon. "Bulba!" it called out confidently.

"Smart choice," Brock remarked. "But my Onix is used to fighting against its type disadvantage and can end this fast. Onix use screech!"

Onix opened its mouth and a horrible sound came out. Cody had to cover his ears with both hands to block out the terrible scream and he wasn't even in range. Bulbasaur got the full blast lowering its defense and leaving it exposed. "Now use rock throw!"

Cody watched as Onix picked up a large boulder and prepared to hurl it at Bulbasaur. "Quick use vine whip!" he called out. Bulbasaur pulled the two long vines out of its body. The vines raced forward and hit the boulder. The large rock cracked down the middle and split into two. Cody sighed in relief before realizing the attack hadn't been fully stopped. One half of the boulder had fallen to the floor but the other half hit Bulbasaur.

"No!" Cody cried out. When the dust settled he was relieved to see Bulbasaur was still standing-just with a few injuries now. "Don't let it do that again. Vine whip!"

"Use bide!" Brock called out not a second after.

Bulbasaur's vines shot out once again and hit Onix dead on. The rock Pokémon groaned in pain, but now its body was covered in a slight yellow glow. "Oh crap!" Cody bit his lip. Brock had managed to use bide just in time. This is bad, he thought. Onix won't be able to attack right away, but when it does it'll unleash a wave that does twice the damage that Bulbasaur did to it. If that hits its game over.

In the space of only a few seconds Cody searched his mind for an answer. Should I do as much damage as I can in the hope that I can knock Onix out before it can use bide? Cody shook his head. He knew that plan was far too risky. Just then an idea occurred to him. Of course!

"Vine whip!" he called out. Bulbasaur's attack hit Onix again making the rock Pokémon take significant damage. But Brock wasn't worried, seeing how Cody chose to attack he was actually looking confident. That is, until Cody called out his next attack. "Now use sleep powder!"

Brock's seemingly always closed eyes actually opened a little in surprise. He had been sure Cody would've tried to do as much damage as he could before bide ended. If he had Brock would've been confident Onix could've held out until the attack ended and he won. But if sleep powder worked then any damage bide had built up would be for nothing.

Cody's heart was thumping in his chest so hard he could almost hear it. Sleep powder was a risky move because there was no guarantee it would work. He watched the powder shoot out of Bulbasaur's top and cover Onix. Holding his breath he waited. A few seconds passed and then Onix closed its eyes and fell to the floor asleep. Thank you Lindsay!

"Yes!" Cody cheered. He knew that even if Onix woke up right now it wouldn't be able to use bide. Looking at his opponent he could tell Brock was a little frustrated. "Hurry Bulbasaur, while it's still asleep! Use leech seed and then vine whip!"

The grass Pokémon sprouted tiny seeds that latched onto Onix's body and began to suck out its energy. The rock Pokémon did not wake up. Then it used vine whip to do major damage.

"Again Bulbasaur! Use your-

But he was cut off by Brock. "Onix! Wake up!"

Hearing its master call out, Onix awoke. Cody swore inside his head. He had been hoping to knock it out before it woke up. "Onix use bind! Give it a good squeeze."

"Evade Bulbasaur!" But it was no use. Avoiding Onix's large body was nearly impossible in those circumstances. Onix wrapped its snake-like form around the grass Pokémon and began to squeeze. Cody's starter Pokémon began to groan in pain as it struggled. "Get out of there!"

"It's no use." Brock stated. "Your Pokémon won't be able to escape bind until it's over."

Cody knew he was right, but couldn't give up. If Onix kept squeezing then Bulbasaur would be done for. "Come on come on!" he racked his brain. "Bulbasaur!" He cried out. "Use poison powder!"

He had no idea if it would work, but didn't have any other options. It turned out Bulbasaur was in luck as its top was sticking out of the bind pointing up at Onix. It let out a spray of poison which hit the rock Pokémon right in the face. Poisoned and surprised it let go of Bulbasaur who fell ten feet to the floor below.

Cody barely resisted the urge to run across the field and see if his Pokémon was alright, but he knew he'd be disqualified if he did. When he saw Bulbasaur get to its feet he was relieved. "Great job Bulbasaur!"

"Urghh…" The gym leader groaned. "Lucky move, but I'm done playing around. Onix use rock throw!"

Seeing Brock's determination Cody knew he meant to finish it. Both Pokémon looked weak and one good move on either side could end the match. "One more time Bulbasaur! Use vine whip!"

At the same time that Onix threw an enormous boulder so did Bulbasaur shoot his vines out to attack. There was a large cracking noise that filled the gym at the same time as a layer of dust filled the field. Both Pokémon were hidden from view. The two young men could only wait for the dust clear and hold their breath.

A minute later the dust cleared and the first thing either of them saw was Onix lying on the floor knocked out. On the opposite side they spotted a hurt Bulbasaur standing alone. The winner had been decided.

"Geodude is unable to battle," the referee announced. "Bulbasaur is the winner. Victory goes to the challenger Cody."

"I-I won." Cody gasped. As the realization entered his brain he raised his arms up and cheered. "I WON! I freaking won!"

Loud cheers could be heard from the spectator stands where all three of Cody's friends were standing and cheering loudly as they clapped their hands. Cody looked over at them and smiled. He turned back to the field when he heard Brock return Onix to its pokeball.

The gym leader looked a little weary, but not angry or disappointed at all. He walked over to Cody and smiled. "Congratulations Cody, you won. It seems I underestimated you because that was one hell of a fight. As proof of your victory, here's the boulder badge. It's an official Pokémon league badge. Now that you have it your Pokémon can become much more powerful."

He handed a small circular grey badge to Cody who took it eagerly. Cody held it up to the light to get a better view. The sight of his first badge made him so giddy he wanted to jump for joy. "Wow…the boulder badge. Thank you Brock."

Brock shook his head. "I should be thanking you. That was a great battle Cody and you've earned that badge." he then reached into his pocket and pulled out something else. "And I want you to take this too." It was a small silver disc that Cody had never seen before. "It's a TM," Brock explained. "It's a technique that can be taught to a Pokémon, but only once! So make sure you pick which Pokémon you want to learn it carefully. That one is TM34: bide. I think you know what it does."

Cody grinned as he slipped it safely into his pocket. "Thanks again Brock."

"No problem. Now listen: there are all kinds of Pokémon trainers in this world. Your strong Cody, but if you want to get stronger you have to keep challenging gyms and winning badges. If that is the path you wish to follow you should head over to Cerulean City and challenge Misty."

"I will," Cody assured him.

Brock nodded. "Good luck."

After putting the gym badge safely away Cody made his way back to the front of the gym. The gym guy was there already and he was smiling. "Just as I thought!" he said. "You're Pokémon champ material after all!"

Cody opened his mouth to thank the man when he was interrupted by the arrival of Harold, Beth and Lindsay. The three converged on Cody all at once bombarding him with congratulations. The Pokémon trainer found himself slapped on the back by Harold, awed at by Beth, and spent a particularly long but pleasant minute smushed between Lindsay's breasts in her version of a hug.

"Okay guys, okay! Let me breath!" he said with a laugh.

"Sorry Cody," Beth said, "but we're just really happy for you."

"I knew you could do it!" Lindsay repeated for the third time. "I knew you'd kick that guy's butt!"

"Thanks guys," Cody said smiling widely. "I couldn't have done it without you."

"Can I see your badge Cody?" Harold asked. This question excited the other two who also wanted to see the shiny new badge. After passing it around so all three of them could see they left the gym. What they hadn't realized was from that day on Cody's name was engraved on a statue listing all the trainers who had defeated Brock.

They headed back to the Pokémon Center. Once they were inside Cody made sure to give Nurse Joy his injured Pokémon so she could heal them right away. He also mentioned his victory over Brock. "Congratulations Cody," she smiled at him. "I know you'll be leaving soon enough so I wish you luck in your future gym battles."

After thanking her Cody returned to his friends. "We should celebrate." Harold suggested.

"Let's have a party!" Lindsay declared. Her idea was met with enthusiasm so they began to celebrate. They all brought out their Pokémon and had some fun. Harold was happy to give the play by play of Cody's battle to anyone that would listen but found more people wanted to hear it from the winner himself.

After about an hour it was dinner time and everyone was famished. They all brought a lot of food to their table and began to eat heartily. It was then that Nurse Joy came by and placed a chocolate cake down in the middle of the table. "What's that for?"

"For your victory of course," the nurse answered. "I always like to give Pokémon trainers that defeat Brock a little reward for their hard work. So dig in."

The four teens each took a slice, but insisted Cody take the first bite. The brunette took a bit of cake on his fork and put it in his mouth. His face lit up at the delicious taste. "Mhmm Chocolate! My favorite!" Hearing this the other three wasted no more time and dug into their own slices of dessert.

The cake didn't last long but the four remained at their table and continued talking. After a while all the soda Cody had drank caught up with him and he excused himself. A few minutes later he left the bathroom and headed back to the table. He was almost there when a Chansey passed in front of him carrying a trainer's pokeballs.

Cody of course waited until the Chansey had passed before walking back to his table. But it was then he heard his friends whispering to each other. Normally he wouldn't have eavesdropped, but when he heard what they were saying he couldn't help himself.

"What do you mean you haven't told him yet?" He heard Harold say angrily to Lindsay.

"Lindsay you said you were going to tell him earlier!" Beth said sounding disappointed.

"I know, I know!" Lindsay moaned. "But I just…I couldn't! It's too hard. I don't want to." She crossed her arms and looked huffy.

"But it's your decision," Beth reminded her. "You chose this. Are you changing your mind?"

"No, but…"

"You know we can't do it for you." Harold said.

"I know! I just don't want to say goodbye…"

At this point Lindsay sounded so sad Cody couldn't listen any longer. He quickly walked over to the table. "What are you guys talking about?" Lindsay, Beth and Harold looked surprised at his sudden arrival.

The three looked at each other as if each of them expected the other to answer. "Go ahead Lindsay, you have to tell him." Harold said.

The blonde looked unhappy. She looked into Cody's eyes but didn't say anything. "What's wrong Lindsay?" he finally asked.

"I…I can't go with you." she shook her head. "I can't go with you to Cerulean City Cody. I'm sorry."

"What? What do you mean?" he asked. "Why not?"

"I'm just not cut out for all of this traveling." she explained. "It's too hard. You saw what happened in Viridian Forest, I was no help at all!" Cody wanted to say something, but Lindsay continued. "A few days ago I asked Henry about the next place you'd go to after you got your badge and he said it was even more dangerous than the forest. There's even a dark cave Cody. A dark cave! I won't make it through there; I'd just slow you down!"

"Lindsay that's not true!" Cody objected. "You're stronger than you think. And even if you're not good at that kind of thing, I'll help you! We'll get through it."

"No Cody," Lindsay shook her head sadly. "It's not just that I can't do it, but I don't want to. I'm scared. I'm…I'm staying with Beth from now on. I'm so sorry…" Her eyes filled with tears before she ran off.

"Lindsay wait!" Cody called out, but the blonde was already gone.

"I'll go calm her down." Beth stood up. She ran out of the Pokémon center and followed the blonde.

"Sit down," Harold gently pushed Cody into his empty seat. "You should give her some time. Going after her now will just make it worse." The redhead pushed a glass of water over to him, but Cody ignored it. "It's not your fault. I think this is just something she's been dealing with since we left Viridian Forest."

"But why would she think she has to leave?" He asked. "Why didn't she just tell me? And where's she going to go now?"

"Don't worry about that." Harold tried to reassure him. "She's going to go with Beth for a while. Beth's going to keep looking for Pokémon to photograph but doesn't plan to go anywhere dangerous. She'll leave Pewter City of course, but there are safer ways to get around than the way you're going."

Cody turned to his friend. "But Harold, we can't just let her leave. She's my-I mean she's our friend. Isn't there anything we can do?"

"I'm sorry Cody," he shrugged in a defeated manner. "But this might just be for the best. Lindsay has a point after all." Cody glared at him. "I'm sorry. If it makes you feel any better I've decided that I'll go with you. You won't be alone."

Cody nodded, but couldn't manage to say anything. After a few minutes Harold stood up and let Cody have some space. Not long after Cody headed up to bed. He lay in bed for a while thinking on what had happened. He would never have imagined feeling so miserable the night after winning his first gym badge. Eventually he fell asleep.

The next morning at ten a.m. Cody and Harold had finished packing and waited outside the Pokémon Center. Cody found it hard to believe that he was leaving so soon and without Lindsay, but as Harold reminded him if he wanted to catch up to his friends from Pallet, time was of the essence.

Both boys were ready to leave, but hesitant to do so. A few minutes later Beth and Lindsay came outside. Beth looked fine but Lindsay's eyes were red and Cody could tell she'd been crying. This made him feel even worse about leaving.

"Lindsay, we don't have to do this." he told her. "You can come with us, we can even wait a day if you want. I don't mind, really!"

But the blonde shook her head resolutely. "I'm sorry Cody, but I've made my choice." Cody was hurt by the finality of it all. He had secretly been hoping he'd be able to change her mind.

Beth decided to start their goodbyes. "Goodbye Cody," she held out her hand. He went to shake it but before he could she pulled back. Instead she gave him a quick hug. "You were a nice guy and I'll treasure the time we spent together. Good luck on your journey."

"Thanks Beth." Cody said. "You were a good friend too and I hope you get some good pictures. Goodbye."

Beth then said goodbye to Harold and also gave him a hug. However she surprised him by giving the redhead a quick kiss on the cheek. Blushing slightly, she walked back over to Lindsay.

It was now the blonde's turn to say farewell. She walked over to Harold first. "Goodbye Henry," she gave him a quick hug. "Thanks for all the advice and stuff. You were kinda grumpy at times, but I still liked you."

"Goodbye Lindsay. I think I might actually miss some of the things you say." He admitted.

Then it was Cody's turn. "I'm sorry Cody," she started. "I hope you can understand why I can't stay and forgive me eventually."

For once it was Cody who hugged her first. "I'm not mad at you Lindsay, I'm just sad." His voice cracked slightly. "I'm going to miss you…"

"I'm going to miss you too!" The blonde's eyes began to water. "Cody, look at me." Slightly confused, Cody looked into her big blue eyes. Suddenly Lindsay leaned down and captured Cody's lips in a kiss. She had kissed him multiple times before on the cheek, but never on the lips. Cody felt a layer of warmth as her lips enveloped his and once his surprise disappeared he kissed her back. It was his first kiss and he had never felt anything quite like it. When it ended ten seconds later he was sad that it was over. He looked up into her eyes again silently asking the question of why. "Something to remember me by." she said.

"Goodbye…"

A/N: Before anyone gets mad and decides to flame me, I promise Lindsay will be back. This is not the last Cody will see of the lovable blonde.

Reviews are appreciated.