I have two FireReds. One has the completed Kanto Pokedex in it. That is the one I'm NEVER gonna delete. It took me forever to get all of those Pokemon!!! Dx And I had almost all of the 380 or so Pokies. I just needed Jirachi, Celebi, Mew, Ho-oh, Deoxys, and Milotic...I can never get a darn Milotic...T-T Anyway, the other FireRed is the one I use to restart my game over and over when I'm bored. So I started over. It's took me FOUR hours to catch a female Nidoran. Dx It usually didn't take me very long before...Anyway, here is the new chapter.

It's a Tough Life

Zoey ran towards Vermillion, Charmander chasing after her.

"Char!"

"Come on Charmander! I know you're faster than that!"

The little lizard sighed and ran faster to try and catch up with her Trainer. She was glad that they were almost there...

Zoey stopped and gazed at the city. It was a port and there was a beach.

"Oh the sea!" she said in awe. "I love the sea. And beaches! Come on Charmander."

Charmander was glad that Zoey had stopped. The lizard panted while she had her paws on her knees. "Charmander char char mander!" she said angrily.

"Well I'm sorry buddy. I just wanted to get here quickly..."

"Char..." She sighed. "Charmander char mander char?"

"Huh? Oh! That's right! We came here to beat the next Gym! Well, let's go!"

Charmander sat down on her bottom. She was tired from running. Zoey put her hands on her hips and shook her head. She then picked up Charmander and carried her in her arms. "Fine. We'll rest for a while. We could browse the beach side shops a little. Then we'll have a little snack. After that, it's off to the Gym!"

Charmander nodded and smiled.

--------------------

Zoey and Charmander went window shopping. They also went inside the stores and looked at all the things they had for sale. There were many pretty necklaces and bracelets made out of coral and pretty little stones.

And then Zoey saw this beautiful necklace that made her shout in awe.

"Ah! It's so pretty!"

She went up to the necklace. It was in a glass case. It was like a pendant. A pretty black opal was in the center and surrounding it were six tiny pearls. Behind it was a piece of white coral that looked like a sea flower. And behind that one was a bigger piece of pink coral in the same shape. The string was a brown suede lace. It was beautiful and Zoey wanted it.

"Excuse me Miss," she said to the lady in the shop. "How much is that necklace?"

"You mean the coral one? Hmm...It's about two hundered dollars."

"That's expensive!"

"Well, coral isn't easy to get. Neither are those gems. That's why it's so expensive."

"Oh...I'll never be able to afford that..." said Zoey to herself quietly. "Well, thank you for your help Miss."

"Anytime."

Zoey and Charmander walked out of the shop. The little lizard's stomach growled. She blushed. "Char..."

"Oh you're hungry Charmander! I haven't fed you! Let's get something to eat."

The two walked to a stand that was selling sandwiches. There were tuna, ham, and balony. Zoey wanted them all. But she ordered a tuna sandwich and Charmander got a ham sandwhich. They also ordered juice. Then the two sat down on a bench at the beach and began to eat their food.

"Yum!" said Zoey. "This is so good! I haven't had food for a few hours."

"Charmander char!" The lizard was extremely happy because she was eating.

After they had finished their food, they threw away their trash and sat back down on the bench.

"Well, we have to wait until our food goes down. You can't battle on a full stomach or else you'll hurl."

Charmander nodded. She closed her eyes and took a short nap. Zoey smiled.

You must be tired buddy. You've done well as my partner.

A man with fishing gear and a suit to match walked past. He noticed Zoey just sitting there, fiddling with her skirt. He walked up to her. "Hey there kid!"

"Huh? Oh. Hello."

"You look kinda bored."

"I'm just waiting for Charmander to wake up from her nap."

"Well, you know what I like to do while waiting? Fish."

"But you can't fish at every location..."

"Here you can! Why don't you try it?"

"I don't have a rod..."

"I have an extra." He took out a rod from his sack. It was simple, yet strong. "You can have it." He gave it to Zoey.

"Really? You're gonna give me a rod? But I'm a complete stranger."

"So am I. But that doesn't stop me from trying to spread the joy of fishing! Well kid, I gotta get going or else there won't be any fish left for me to catch. See ya around!"

And the man walked away.

"Who the heck was that guy?"

Charmander opened her eyes slowly and yawned. "Charmander."

"Huh? Oh, you're ready for the Gym?"

Charmander jumped off the bench and punched the air. "Charmander!"

Zoey smiled and stood up. "Okay! Let's go!"

--------------

As the two were walking towards the Gym, they saw a little boy with a blue cap come out. He was holding an Abra in his arms. It had scratches and burns on it.

"It's ok buddy..." he said. "I'll take you to the Pokemon Center. You did your best..."

Zoey looked concerned and walked up to him. "Hello."

"Huh? Oh. Hey there."

"What happened to your Pokemon?"

"He was beaten by Lt. Surge..."

"Lt. Surge?"

"Yeah. He's the Gym Leader of Vermillion. And he's strong. His Pokemon are of the Electric type and they're really fast. Especially his Raichu..."

"And all of his Pokemon did this to your Abra?"

"No. My Abra was able to beat his two other Pokemon. But when he sent out Raichu, I was fried. My Rattata, Oddish, and Nidoran were beaten too. I wouldn't dare use my Spearow. He'd be the one in the worst condition...And I need to go and heal my Pokemon, so bye."

The little boy ran off to the Pokemon Center, the Abra in his arms.

Zoey took out her Pokedex and got Abra's information.

"Abra, the Psi Pokemon. Abra sleeps for eighteen hours a day. However, it can sense the presence of foes even while it is sleeping. In such a situation, this Pokemon immediately teleports to safety."

"A Psychic Pokemon? Then it should be harder to hit...But if that kid's Abra got toasted...Oh..."

Zoey put away her Pokedex. She took a deep breath and let it out. Then she said "Ok, let's go."

--------------------

The Gym was a little dark, even though there were bright lights around it. It was empty. There was a box in the back of the Gym, like the ones at baseball stadiums where the announcers speak.

"Hello?" Zoey said. It echoed.

"Who's there?"

A blonde man in an army suit walked towards Zoey. "Ah, another challenger."

"Are you Lt. Surge?"

"Yes I am. I'm the Leader of this Gym. Are you here for a fight?"

"Yes!"

"Fine."

He walked towards the far side of the arena. "I hope you know what's comming to ya little girl."

He took out a small Pokeball. He pressed the center button and it enlarged. "Go, Voltorb!"

A Pokemon that looked almost like a Pokeball came out. "Voltorb!" it said in a somewhat machine-like voice.

"Go, Oddish!"

Oddish came out of her Pokeball. "Oddish odd!"

"Alright Oddish. It's your turn to shine!"

Oddish smiled. She put on her battle ready face and looked at Voltorb. Zoey took out her Pokedex.

"Voltorb, the Ball Pokemon. This creature was first sighted at a company that manufactures Pokeballs. The link between that sighting and the fact that Voltorb looks very similar to a Pokeball remains a mystery. It is said to Screech or Self Destruct."

Zoey kept the Pokedex on hand.

"Voltorb, use Rollout!"

The ball started to spin rapidly. It charged towards Oddish.

"Use Poison Powder!"

Oddish shook the leaves on her head. Out from them came tiny purple spores that floated in the air. They landed softly on the ground. Voltorb got some on it. He slammed into Oddish who was thrown back.

"Odd!"

Voltorb then stopped. It's eyes were tightly shut and it looked as if it were in pain. "Vol...torb..."

"You can walk that off Voltorb! Use Thunderbolt!"

Voltorb started to glow yellow and a bolt of electricity raced at Oddish.

"Break that bolt with Razor Leaf!"

Oddish twirled herself and many razor sharp leaves spun towards the bolt. It cut it in mid air. The rest of the leaves slashed at Voltorb.

"Use Self Destruct!"

"What?!"

Voltorb began to glow. "Voltooooooooooorb!!!!"

"Return Oddish!"

Oddish was returned just in time. Voltorb exploded. When the dust cleared, it's eyes were swirls.

"Return," said Lt. Surge. "Go Magnemite!"

A silver metal ball with two magnets on each side came out. It had three screws. One was on it's head, the other two were at it's side towards the bottom. It also had one eye. "Magnemite!" it said robotically.

"Go, Nidorina!"

Nidorina popped out. "Nido!"

"Magnemite, the Magnet Pokemon. The units at it's sides are extremely powerful magnets. These Pokemon generate enough magnetism to draw in iron objects from more than 300 hundered feet."

"Magnemite, use Thunderbolt!"

Magnemite shot a bolt of lightning at Nidorina. Zoey had to think fast. "If Nidorina is one of the Pokemon that can learn a variety of moves...then she could also probably...Nidorina! Use Dig!"

Nidorina looked at her and the bolt hit her. She was shocked but shook it off. Then she looked back at Zoey with a puzzled look. "Nido?"

"Can you use the move Dig? You know, as in dig underground?" Zoey made a digging movement with her arms. Nidorina smiled and nodded. "Nidorina!"

"Magnemite, use Sonic Boom!"

The steel creature shot another blast of energy.

"Nidorina use Dig!"

Nidorina dug rapidly into the dirt floor. She disappeared in a hole. Magnemite didn't know where she could be.

"Now attack!"

Nidorina shot out from the ground like a bullet and struck Magnemite on it's underside.

"Finish it with Double Kick!"

Nidorina slammed her first foot into Magnemite, and then the next. It fainted with a swirl in it's eye.

"Return Magnemite!"

Lt. Surge looked at Zoey. "You're strong kid. The last time someone was this strong were these three trainers I battled earlier today. A blonde who had an Ivysaur, a kid with amber eyes who had a Wartortle, and another kid with a red hat who had a Wartortle as well. Those three beat me, even the two Wartortles. And they're Water types too. Let's see if you can beat their record with your punny and unevolved Charmander."

"Just my Charmander?"

"No. You can use any Pokemon you'd like. Heck, you can use all the ones you have on hand! Go! Raichu!"

Lt. Surge tossed out his final Pokemon. It was a Raichu and he looked proud. "Raaaai."

"Raichu, the Mouse Pokemon. Its electirc charges can reach even 100,000 volts. Careless contact can cause even an Indian elephant to faint."

"Nidorina, you ready for this?" Zoey asked her Pokemon. Nidorina nodded.

"Raichu, use Quick Attack!"

Raichu charged at Nidorina. He was so fast that she didn't even have time to react. "Now use Thunderbolt!"

"Raaai...chuuuuuu!!!!" The Pokemon glowed a bright and intense yellow and out from him shot a powerful bolt of lightning that fried Nidorina. She fainted.

"Oh no! Return Nidorina!" Zoey took out another Pokeball. "Go Clefairy!"

"Clefairy!"

"Raichu, use Iron Tail!"

Raichu's tail glowed silver. "Raichu!" He slammed his tail into Clefairy.

"Use Double Slap!"

Clefairy got up and charged towards Raichu. But he was too fast. He dodged it. "Uh...Use Mega Punch!"

Clefairy's fist glowed and she slammed her fist into Raichu's stomach. "Cleafiry!"

Raichu gasped but then Lt. Surge said "Now use Thunderbolt again!"

Raichu shocked Clefairy. And since it was closer contact, more damage was delt. The pink Pokemon fainted. "Clefairy..."

"No! Return! Go Oddish!"

Oddish was still damaged from the previous fight, but still wanted to continue. "Odd!"

"Raichu, use Quick Attack!"

The mouse dashed towards Oddish and slammed into her. She didn't stand a chance. "Ooooooddd!"

"No, not you too! Return Oddish!"

Zoey didn't know what to do. "Crud! I only have Pidgeotto and Charmander left...Please...forgive me Pidgeotto...I choose you!"

Pidgeotto came out of her Pokeball. "Pidegooo!"

"Ha!" said Lt. Surge. "You led your bird Pokemon into a death trap! Raichu, Volt Tackle!"

"Rai rai rai rai rai rai!!!" He dashed even faster and he glowed yellow. He jumped up and slammed at Pidgeotto who was thrown to the floor. She was burned.

"Pidgeotto," said Zoey softly. "Can you get up?"

Pidgeotto struggled. But she got to her feet. "Ok. Use Quick Attack!"

Pidgeotto spread her wings and darted towards Raichu. He took the hit, but only to shock Pidgeotto in retun. She too, fainted.

Zoey wanted to cry. "Return..."

"You only have your Charmander left kid," said the Leader.

"Alright Charmander, it's now...or never!"

Charmander stood in her position.

"Use Fire Spin!"

"Chaaaaaar!" Intense flames flowed out of the lizard's mouth in a spiral. Raichu used another Quick Attack and charged through the flames. He slammed into Charmander.

"Charmander, use Metal Claw!"

The lizard's claws shined silver and she slashed at Raichu's face. It didn't do much damage because Steel type attacks weren't good against an Electric Pokemon.

"Raichu, use Thunderbolt!"

Raichu shocked Charmander with power. Charmander had burns on her skin. "Ch...Char..."

"Charmander! You can do it! Use Smokescreen!"

Charmander was going to exhale, but then Raichu dashed at her when Lt. Surge said "Finish her off with Volt Tackle!"

Raichu slammed into Charmander who was thrown back and hit the wall. She was unconcious.

"No! Charmander!" Zoey ran to her Pokemon. She picked her up and held her in her arms. "Charmander..."

"You loose kid," said Lt. Surge. "Come back when you're ready. I don't have time to battle Trainers whose Pokemon are weak."

"My Pokemon are not weak!" Zoey was on the verge of tears.

"Tell you what kid, come back when you're stronger and you'll only face my Raichu. It seemes my Voltorb is no match for your Oddish and my Magnemite is clearly weaker than your Nidorina. Raichu will be your only competiton."

The girl was about to leave until Lt. Surge said "It's a tough life being a Trainer isn't it? You shouldn't become one until you're ready and completely sure you won't fail your Pokemon or yourself. Think about that young lady. Now if you have no further buisness here, get out of my Gym."

Zoey didn't have to be told twice. She ran out of the Gym and strait to the Pokemon Center.

------------------------

"You too huh?" said Nurse Joy. "You're not the first Trainer to come here today with burned Pokemon."

"Please...heal my Pokemon."

"Don't worry. They'll be fine."

Nurse Joy took Zoey's Pokeballs. She had returned Charmander. Chansey gave the girl something to snack on. Zoey looked miserable sitting down in the lobby with the other Trainers. They too seemed sad.

"How can this be?" she said. "It was simple beating Brock and Misty...But this Lt. Surge guy...He's tough. And...those three trainers he was talking about...I think they were Jessica, Gary, and Joey. But then that means their starting Pokemon have already evolved! Mine hasn't!"

Zoey put her head in her hands and sighed. She tried not to cry. "What am I doing wrong?"

Nurse Joy came with a tray that had the Pokeballs. "Here you go."

Zoey looked up at her and then took her Pokemon back. "Thank you Nurse Joy..."

"Don't be sad. In all my years I have worked here, many Trainers come to this Center constantly to revive their fainted Pokemon. Lt. Surge is tough, but he's not even the worst of the Gym Leaders. From here on in it's gonna get tougher, but if you stick to your dream and have a lot of determination, you can do it."

Zoey smiled and said "Thank you Nurse Joy." And with that, she left the Pokemon Center.

-----------------

The girl released her Pokemon and said "Guys, I'm so sorry...I didn't mean for you to get hurt that badly back there, especially you Pidgeotto...Can you ever forgive me?"

Her Pokemon looked at her.

"I...I will understand if you don't forgive me. If I were my Pokemon, I wouldn't forgive me..."

Pidgeotto flew to Zoey and just hovered there right in front of her. She stared at her Trainer. Then she flew to her shoulder and landed. She rubbed against her cheek. "Pidgeo."

"You forgive me?"

The bird nodded.

Her other Pokemon walked up to her and hugged her. Well, just her legs because they weren't that tall.

"Oh thank you guys! I promise, next time will be different!" She bent down to hug her companions who responded back with more hugs.

"But...how will we get stronger?"

"Clefairy!" The pink Pokemon had seen Zoey's fishing rod sticking out of her bag. She took it. "Fairy fair!"

"Fishing? Yeah, that's a great idea! I'll fish for a Pokemon for you guys to battle!"

Zoey returned her Pokemon except for Charmander. Then she and the lizard ran off to go catch a fish.

-------------------

It had been an hour and still nothing...

"I think I need bait."

Charmander looked at her in a "No really?" kind of way.

"Don't look at me like that! I didn't know."

The lizard sweatdropped and sighed. She got up and went to the trash. She took out a half-eaten fish and put it on Zoey's hook.

"Charmander that fish smells nasty!"

"Charmander char char mander char!" And that translation basically meant "It's the only bait around here!"

"Ok fine," said the girl. She cast the line out into the ocean and waited. For ten minutes...

"I'm bored--Hey! I think I caught something!"

Zoey realed in her line, but the catch seemed heavier than she thought. "It's a big one! Charmander, come on! Get ready! If we're lucky we can probably catch it!"

The girl pulled and realed. "Come on you stupid piece of--"

And when she pulled with all her might, a giant sea Pokemon appeared.

"Gyaraaaaaoooo!"

It was a Gyarados.

"Ahhhh!!!"

Zoey and Charmander screamed. The sea serpent seemed angry.

"It's a G-Gyarados! Charmander can't fight that!"

Gyarados shot a Hydro Pump at the two. They screamed again, but the water never reached them. When Zoey looked at the scene, a shell was using Rapid Spin on the jet of water to stop it.

"Now Wartortle, use Bubblebeam to blind Gyarados!"

"War!" The turtle Pokemon came out of his shell. He shot a beam of bubbles at the larger Pokemon's eyes. It was blinded and couldn't see.

"Now use Bite!"

Wartortle jumped at the Gyarados and bit him in the stomach. He roared.

"Finish him off with Rapid Spin!"

"Wartortle!" The Pokemon retreated inside his shell and started spinning. He aimed for Gyarados' face, right between the eyes. The giant Pokemon roared again and returned back into the sea.

Zoey had been trembling the entire time with Charmander in her arms. She had never seen a Gyarados so close up before.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, thank you."

The other Trainer helped up Zoey and that's when she realized that he was Joey.

"Joey?"

"Hey there."

The girl blushed. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

"I came to beat the Gym. It was tough, but my Pokemon stuck to it and won."

"Lucky..."

"Why?"

"I went to the Gym, but I didn't win..."

"Oh..."

There was silence.

"I see your Squirtle has evolved."

"Yup. And um...Charmander looks great too."

"It's ok. I know what you really wanted to say...Anyway, thanks for saving me."

"You're welcome."

"Well, I have to get going."

Zoey started to walk away until Joey said "Hey Zoey?"

"Yes?"

"Have you heard of the S.S. Anne?"

"You mean that ship that sunk years ago?"

"Yeah they made a new one with the same name."

"Oh. I didn't know...Well, why do you ask?"

Joey blushed. "Well um...there's a party on that ship every year. Whenever the S.S. Anne arrives at a port, they hold parties for Pokemon lovers and Trainers. There's one today and it already started. I have an extra ticket...and I was wondering if...um...you wanted to come?"

Zoey's blush returned and was a deeper shade of red. "You...you want me to come with you?"

"I understand if you don't want to..."

"No, I would love to go. I've never been on a cruise ship before."

"Great!" said Joey with excitment in his voice. "Uh I mean...Ok." The blush widened.

Zoey smiled and giggled. This only made the boy blush more.

"So...I guess we better get going then."

"Yeah."

The two walked towards the ship that they saw in the distance. Many people were boarding it.

From a bush nearby, three pairs of eyes watched the two Trainers walk towards the ship.

"There's that twerpette again."

"And it looks like she's with a twerp this time."

"That Charmander and Wartorle will be ours..."

"Right. Let's get on that ship."

"You two morons better not mess this up! The last mission failed because of you two idiotic humans!"

"You weren't much help you lazy cat, so don't complain!"

The three shady figures got out of the bushes and made their way towards the ship in secrecy.

I finished!!! Yay! xD This chapter was long. D: My stupid computer kept on saying "The page cannont be displayed" when I would save this chapie. It was so frustrating! Dx Anyway, I hope I at least got close to the roar of a Gyarados. And I also don't remember if the S.S. Anne really sunk in the anime. I don't even remember if it was called the S.S. Anne...All I remember is seeing Ash, Brock, and Misty drowing in a ship that was sinking underwater. So yeah. Excuse me if I'm wrong! Dx Oh and thank you minipower for your help with this chapter. :)