Continuing their journey towards Washingburg City, Davis and the stopped at a local Pokemon Center.
"Let's see..." Cletus said as he looked over the map. "Looks like we're on the right path, and we're making good time."
"Good to hear. The sooner we get to Washingburg, the sooner I can get my second badge." Davis said as he was getting fired up. "Oh man. Just thinking about it is having me feel like I'm on fire! I'm red hot!" Davis was getting excited on the thought of an upcoming gym battle, but he was cooled down as Tetsu had Tentacool use Bubble Beam right on him. "Hey! What was that for?!"
"To cool you down." Tetsu said as he was getting annoyed with Davis' excitement. "You said you were on fire, so it would just be common sense to put out a fire."
"Not cool!" Davis said.
"What did you expect from someone that uses a water-type?" All of them looked and was met with someone. This guy had tanned skin, but had red hair looking similar to fire. He wore a black shirt and shorts with his shorts having flames on it, and also wore black boots with a small chain around his neck. "No offense, but I can tell just by looking at your friend that he prefers using water-types, and all water-type lovers are a buzzkill."
"I'm a buzzkill, am I?" Tetsu said as he didn't like what this guy was insinuating. "You got a problem with water-types?"
"No. I got a problem with water-type trainers like you." Flint said. "The guy was pumped. Why did you have to put out his fire?"
"You don't know Davis. It can be rather annoying and irritating." Tetsu claimed.
"Hey!" Davis complained.
"Who are you anyway?" Tetsu questioned.
"The name is Flint. I'm come all the way from the sunny city known as Calforn City. I'm a blazing hot trainer that even water-types evaporate around me." He surely sounded cocky and confident.
"Is that so? Well, let's see if you can back up that talk." Tetsu said as he was challenging Flint.
It's a big big world, but you know where to find me
We'll be together and we're gonna do it our way
We'll discover we believe in each other
On adventures with my friends like every day
And we're already on our way
The journey stars today
OHHHHHHH Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh
OHHHHHHH Oh Oh Oh OH OH Oh
The journey starts today
OHHHHHHH Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh
OHHHHHHH Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh
The journey starts today
(Davis' voice) Fire It Up
Since Tetsu was challenging Flint to a battle, they all stepped outside to have it. Both of them stood on the battlefield with them facing each other.
"If you like, I'll be the ref." Cletus offered.
"Thanks, Cletus. What do you say we make this a one-on-one battle?" Tetsu offered.
"You got it." Flint said.
"Kingler, let's go!" Tetsu called as he chose his pokemon
"Koki!"
"Cyndaquil, turn it up!" Flint called as he chose his pokemon.
"Cyndaquil!"
"A Cyndaquil..." Davis said as he reached for his pokedex and wanted to know more about it.
"Cyndaquil, the Fire Mouse Pokemon. A fire-type. Although they appear shy and timid, they hold great firepower. The more it is startled, the more the flames on its back burn."
"From all his talk earlier, it's not a surprise that he's using a fire-type, but do you really think his Cyndaquil can take on Tetsu's Kingler? He's at a complete disadvantage." Imperialdramon said.
"I don't know, but we're about to see." Davis said as he was starting to like how daring and passionate this Flint was.
"Let's show that water-type lover how hot you can get, Cyndaquil! Start by using Flame Wheel!" Flint said. Cyndaquil charged right at Kingler and coated itself in fire, spinning like a wheel. Kingler let the attack come as it easily blocked the attack and pushed Cyndaquil away.
"You'll have to do better than that." Tetsu taunted.
"How about this?! Cyndaquil, Swift!" Flint ordered. Cyndaquil jumped in the air and unleashed a series of stars with them blasting against Kingler, but Kingler was able to handle every attack thrown at him.
"Kingler, Vice Grip!" Tetsu ordered. Kingler went right at Cyndaquil and tried to get a crushing grip on it.
"Dodge it and use Quick Attack!" Flint Said. Cyndaquil jumped out of the way from Kingler's claw. Then, Cyndaquil charged right in with incredible speed and smashed itself right into Kingler.
"Not smart to get so close." Tetsu said as Flint didn't like the sound of that. "Kingler, Crab Hammer!" Kingler stored power in its pincer and smashed his claw right against Cyndaquil and it looked like a critical hit. Cyndaquil slid against the ground. Cyndaquil was knocked out in one hit.
"Cyndaquil is unable to battle! That means Kingler wins and Tetsu is the victor!" Cletus claimed. After running his mouth the way Flint did, he felt awful about loosing.
"Maybe next time, don't run your mouth so much." Tetsu said. Flint hurried over to Cyndaquil and lifted it in his arms.
"Just wait! I don't care if you do use water-types! I'm still going to win the Centros League!" Flint claimed. Hearing he was competing for the Centros League was a surprise to Davis. Before Davis could say anything, Flint ran back inside and hurried to get Cyndaquil some help.
"That guy is so obnoxious." Tetsu said.
"I wouldn't say that." Davis said with everyone looking at him. "I think a better word would be passionate." He claimed as he can relate to what Flint was saying.
...
Later
After making sure Cyndaquil was going to be okay, he treated Cyndaquil some food. He still felt awful that he lost, but it was more important to him that he treat Cyndaquil.
"I'm sorry, Cyndaquil." Flint said as he petted Cyndaquil while it was eating.
"Cyndaquil?"
"I wanted to win, but you ended up getting beat." Flint said. He felt bad, but he was trying his best to snap out of it. "Well, it doesn't matter. We're just going to get stronger. No matter what anyone says, fire-types are the best."
"Cyndaquil!" Cyndaquil felt the same way as Flint as Clyndaquil was getting just as fired up as Flint was.
"Hey, Flint." Both of them looked and were met with Davis and Imperialdramon. "Is Cyndaquil doing okay?"
"Cyndaquil is fine. Is there something you need?" Flint said.
"I didn't give you my name. My name is Davis and this is my partner here."
"The name is Imperialdramon. Davis here took an interest in you." He claimed, but Flint felt a little uncomfortable from hearing that.
"He means that I liked the way you were thinking." Davis said. "You were passionate about battling, got fired up, and you didn't really care that you were at a disadvantage. I like the way you work."
"Oh... Thanks." Flint said as it seemed like they were getting off on the right foot. That was when they heard someone clear their throat and saw Tetsu and Cletus coming over with some food.
"I believe we got off on the wrong foot. How about we start this again?" Cletus offered friendship and Flint and Cyndaquil accepted it. Putting what happened aside, all of them had lunch together and were on a good track now.
"Thanks again for this, but you didn't have to." Flint said.
"Well, I guess Cletus was right and we just got off on the wrong foot." Tetsu said as even he was calm now. "You seem really passionate about fire-types. How come?"
"Well, it's all really thanks to my mom." Flint said.
"Your mom?" Davis questioned.
"You see, my mom is actually a gym leader. She runs the Calforn Gym, and her specialty is with fire-types." Flint explained. "I want to be just like her. I want to be the next gym leader. That's why every pokemon I capture are fire-types. That's also why I chose Cyndaquil here as my partner, and I'm glad it was Cyndaquil. They're actually among my favorite fire-types." He said as he petted Cyndaquil and Cyndaquil felt a lot of love from its trainer. "I know I have a long way to go before I can become gym leader, but that's why I want to compete in the Centros League."
"I get it. So, your dream is to become a gym leader like your mom." Davis said.
"That certainly explains things. Some trainers favor one type over another, and yours is clearly fire." Cletus said. "You burn with such passion for it just like Davis said."
"And you seem to be off to a good start. Even though you were at a disadvantage against me, you didn't back down from anything." Tetsu said. "You seem to have the right idea, but you might want to keep a few tricks up your sleeve for when you don't have the type advantage."
"I know beating water-types, or even rock-types and ground-types, isn't easy. That doesn't matter to me." Flint said. "My pokemon and I will burn bright because our flames will never go out!"
"Cyndaquil!" The two of them certainly did speak with a lot of fire in them and Davis liked it.
"Flint, I like your style. That's want you to battle me now!" Davis said.
"Battle you?" Flint said.
"I'm passionate about battling like you. It's why I came back to my journeys after being away for so long." Davis said as speaking with Flint has ignited his competitive spirit. "I may not be battling to be a gym leader like you, but I've got my own fire that won't go out for battling. In truth, I don't know what kind of trainer I want to be except for one thing: I want to be the best trainer I possibly can. To do that, I want to take on trainers like you. What do you say? You want to battle?!" Flint admired how Davis was getting himself. He recognized it like it was himself and liked what he saw.
"Let's do it!" Flint said as he accepted Davis' challenge.
...
The Battlefield
The two of them were excited to battle again. They all went back to the battlefield and got themselves ready for this battle.
"Cyndaquil still needs time to rest, but I do have one other pokemon I can battle with." Flint said as he reached for another pokeball. "Slugma, let's turn up the heat!"
"Slugma!"
"A Slugma..." Davis said as he reached for his pokedex and tried to learn more about it.
"Slugma, the Lava Pokemon. A fire-type. Slugma's body is made out of fire, but it will cool and harden if it stops moving."
"I'm ready, Davis." Imperialdramon said as he was ready to jump into battle.
"Hold on, Imperialdramon." Davis said as he thought of something different. "I got someone else in mind. I don't want this battle to be over too quickly." Imperialdramon was disappointed he didn't get to battle, but he dealt with it. "Poochyena, let's go!"
"Pooch!"
"Let's do this! Slugma, give them a taste of your Incinerate!" Flint said as he started this battle. Slugma formed balls of heat and unleashed them.
"Dodge them and use Tackle!" Davis said. Poochyena ran around the field and avoided Slugma's attack. Poochyena kept going and tackled against Slugma. "Now use Howl and then use Tackle again!" Poochyena howled to increase its power, but Flint wasn't going to let another attack happen so easily.
"Slugma, conceal yourself with Smog!" Flint said.
"Slugma!" Slugma breathed out a dark cloud and hid itself in it. The smog covered Poochyena as well and it was causing pain to Poochyena.
"Get out of there! You can't stay in there!" Davis called. Poochyena hurried out of there before that Smog could do so much damage.
"We've got them on the run! Keep up the pressure by using Incinerate!" Flint said. Slugma attacked through the smoke and blasted Poochyena with Incinerate with Incinierate dealing even more damage.
"First, he used Smog to conceal Slugma and to attack. Then, he attacked while Poochyena was trying to get out of there. Flint's a better trainer than I thought." Tetsu said as he was impressed with Flint's battling.
"We can be just as tough. Poochyena, Tackle!" Davis said. Poochyena kept battling as it charged right at Slugma and tackled against it. "Now use Howl!" Poochyena howled again and increased it's power even more.
"Trying to get some extra power? Won't do any good if you can't attack. Slugma, Yawn!" Flint said. Slugma yawned out a bubble and it floated right out of its mouth. When it got close enough to Poochyena, it popped and Poochyena began to feel drowsy.
"Oh no! Poochyena is going to fall asleep!" Davis said as he didn't like where this was going.
"And once Poochyena falls asleep, it will be vulnerable to attack." Flint said as Poochyena is going to fall asleep any second as it was trying its best to resist.
"In that case, we'll end it now. Poochyena, show them we can burn just as they can!" Davis said with Flint seeing that inner flame already burning. "Tackle and make it a good one!" Poochyena fought through the drowsiness and ran as hard as it could. Poochyena smashed itself as hard as it could against Slugma, right on the head, and it did a lot of damage. Luckily, Slugma was knocked out with Poochyena falling asleep.
"No! Slugma!" Flint called.
"Poochyena is asleep, but Slugma is unable to battle. That means that Poochyena is the winner!" Cletus declared.
"Oh yeah!" Davis called and ran over to his sleeping Poochyena, lifting Poochyena up. "Great work, Poochyena."
"Slugma, thank you for battling so hard." Flint said as he had Slugma return to its pokeball. "You got game, Davis. You're one fierce battler."
"So are you." Davis said as he walked over. "I can't wait until we battle again because I'm entering in the Centros League myself."
"You are?!" Flint said as he was surprised to hear that.
"That's right. That means we're going to have more fierce and fiery battles ahead, and I'm looking forward to that." Davis said as he held out his hand.
"Same here." Flint said as he grabbed it and signified a new friendship and rivalry.
Davis now has a new friend and rival: Flint. Sharing the same passion and fiery spirit in battling, you can expect another great battle when these two go against each other. There'll be tons of other battles like that just further down the road...as the journey continues.
To Be Continued...