Our two heroes, Brayden and Trace, split up and continued their journeys separately.
Last chapter, Trace helped Cubone master Thunder Punch! After defeating Misty, the young Trainer made his way to Route 3, heading for Pewter City for his next Gym battle. There, he found his old mentor, Jackie, who had been defeated by Brayden's rival, Blue!
Wanting to prove his worth to the ex-Champion, Trace challenged Blue to a series of three one-on-one battles. Cubone bravely volunteered to battle Blue's ferocious Ursaring, but was swiftly defeated.
Now it is Pikachu's turn, and his opponent is none other than Blue's Venusaur, the very same Pokémon that defeated Brayden twice in the past.
But before we get back to that, let's take a quick look back at the Fighting Dojo and see what Brayden is up to…
"…and since we had proven ourselves capable by stopping the S.S. Anne takeover, Professor Oak decided to ask Trace and I to continue fighting Team Rocket," Brayden finished.
"Wait. A while before you arrived, word was going around the city that Team Rocket had been trying to control Celadon's department store, but they were stopped by the Gym Leader and three Trainers. That was you and your friend?" Zachary asked.
"Heh! Well, one of Erika's protégés helped too, but yeah, that was us!" Brayden replied.
Gurdurr dropped his brand new girder from amazement. At his side, Primeape's expression soured. Brayden had already explained those events to him, and he was very disappointed he had missed out on that battle. The simian was anxious to pay the criminal organization back for their role in driving a wedge between him and his friends.
"Didn't you say you only started a few months ago?" Zachary asked. "Yet here you are, with four badges AND victories against the infamous Team Rocket… are you some sort of prodigy?"
Brayden was taken aback by Zachary's question.
"Wh-what? Me, a prodigy? I don't think so. My Pokémon and I are just super determined. Proton probably wasn't going all out, and I never would've beaten Ariana without Trace's help."
"Primeape," Primeape agreed with slight embarrassment.
"You seem to hold Trace is high regard," Zachary noted. "He must be a great friend and Trainer! I'd like to meet him someday."
"He's the best friend I could ask for," Brayden said. "I can't wait to see how strong he's been getting since we split up!"
Now back to Route 3…
Pikachu's Thunderbolt shot through the air and struck Venusaur. But the Seed Pokémon simply grinned. His Grass-typing insulated him from most of the damage.
"Pfffft, you expect me to be impressed by THAT? Venusaur didn't even feel it!" Blue groused.
"Pika…!" Pikachu responded irritably.
"Sorry, Pikachu, but you're biting off more than you can chew! Venusaur, Sludge Bomb!" Blue ordered.
Venusaur opened his large mouth, and large globs of sludge shot out from it towards Pikachu.
"Still think you can win with that Pikachu?" Blue taunted.
Venusaur's way too bulky for us to win with power alone, Trace acknowledged. So we gotta tap into Pikachu's greatest strength: his speed! Using Agility should give us a fighting chance!
"Pikachu, Agility!"
Pikachu ran around Venusaur, building up his speed until he vanished and reappeared multiple times in rapid succession.
"Use Mega Punch!"
Pikachu raced behind Venusaur and unleashed a punch on the plant Pokémon's back. Venusaur slid forward slightly from the speed of the attack, but otherwise seemed unperturbed.
"Grab it, Venusaur!" Blue commanded.
Before Trace could question how Venusaur could do that without arms, large vines appeared from the flower on the Seed Pokémon's back and wrapped around Pikachu.
"Oh no! Pikachu, use Thunderbolt and break free, quick!" Trace yelled.
Pikachu let loose another lightning bolt, enveloping Venusaur completely, but the plant Pokémon's body was too tough. Once the attack subsided, Venusaur brought Pikachu in front of him.
"Give 'em a dose of Toxic!" Blue shouted with relish.
Venusaur aimed his plant directly at Pikachu. A mass of poisonous liquid shot out from the top of the flower and splashed over the electric mouse.
"Pi…ka…" Pikachu groaned. His face glowed a very sickly purple, showing that the Toxic had poisoned him.
Not good! I gotta get Pikachu out of Venusaur's grip somehow or we won't have a chance! Trace thought.
The young boy's mind raced furiously. Thunderbolt clearly wasn't strong enough to break Venusaur's grip, and Volt Tackle wouldn't be possible since Pikachu couldn't move.
Wait a second… I bet if I tried asking Pikachu to use Volt Tackle, he could still cover his entire body with electricity. Even so, that still wouldn't hit hard enough. Then, what if we tried…?
There was no time to think about it any longer, so Trace threw caution to the wind.
"Pikachu! Use… Mega Punch!"
"Pi?!"
"What?!" Jackie shouted, baffled beyond belief.
"Are you serious, kid?!" Blue scoffed. "How's Pikachu supposed to punch Venusaur if he can't even move his hands?"
Pikachu agreed, the idea was downright stupid, and he glanced, unamused, back at his Trainer.
"Just trust me, Pikachu!" Trace urged. "It's not like we have any other choice."
Pikachu sighed, and decided to not question it further, seeing as he could feel the poison worsening by the second. Concentrating, he began gathering Normal-type energy into his hand.
"Heh heh! Alright, this I gotta see. It's going to be hilarious, no doubt!" Blue chuckled.
"Saur, saur!" Venusaur agreed.
"What could Trace be trying to do…?" Jackie wondered.
Moments later, a single ray of light shot out from between Venusaur's vines.
"What…?" Jackie uttered.
More lights shot out, and Venusaur looked concerned, and Blue suddenly realized what was happening.
"Throw Pikachu away, Venusaur!"
The Seed Pokémon threw back his vines, but in that instant, a burst of intense light exploded, stunning Venusaur momentarily and causing him to drop Pikachu. The Electric-type immediately ran back to Trace, where he was out of Venusaur's reach.
"You—! You made Pikachu charge up Normal-type energy until it overloaded and caused that explosion!" Blue realized.
"Trace reasoned that since electricity wouldn't break Venusaur's grip, the energy from Mega Punch would!" Jackie said. "Amazing!"
"Hitmonchan!" Hitmonchan agreed, full of awe.
"Actually, it was just a lucky guess, I didn't think it would actually work," Trace admitted with embarrassment.
Pikachu remembered that Brayden said something just like that before. He couldn't help but smile seeing how much that Trainer had changed Trace.
"Anyway, let's get back to the battle! Pikachu, use Agility and increase your speed to the max!"
"Pika!"
Pikachu began running once more, and this time he would vanish for slightly longer periods than before. Each time he reappeared, a brief flash of red light rose into the air around him, showing that his speed stat was rising.
"Run all you want!" Blue said. "You still can't beat me! Use Sludge Bomb, rapid fire!"
In spite of his large size, Venusaur demonstrated surprising agility of his own, as he moved around quickly, doing his best to keep track of Pikachu's speedy movements while launching more bombs of sludge from his mouth. Though his shots were aimed well, Pikachu was so quick on his feet that every Sludge Bomb failed to connect.
"Alright Pikachu, time to strike back! Back to back Mega Punches!" Trace cried.
Using his blistering speed, Pikachu jumped towards Venusaur and slugged him across the face, then shot around and struck Venusaur's back. Venusaur attempted to bat Pikachu away with his vines, but the electric mouse was so quick that the instant he landed a punch, he was already on another side of the Seed Pokémon by the time the vines reached the spot he was just at.
"Alright, no more playing around!" Blue said impatiently. "Venusaur, use Magical Leaf!"
Venusaur's massive leaves shook violently, and without warning, hundreds of smaller, glowing green leaves shot out from the flower on Venusaur's back straight towards Pikachu.
"Pika?!" Pikachu shouted, still running. He tried changing directions, but the leaves continued to follow him. In fact, the leaves were coming for him at an even faster pace.
"Magical Leaf NEVER misses!" Blue said proudly. "Like I said, don't bother running, Pikachu!"
Magical Leaf may not miss, but that doesn't mean we can't turn that fact against them! Trace thought.
Pikachu thought the same thing Trace did. Without even being instructed to, the Electric-type made a beeline for Venusaur. But Venusaur was unfazed, and jumped to the left as Pikachu passed him. Pikachu was so stunned by this feat that he forgot about the leaves… until they slammed into back with such force that he was knocked back several yards away.
"No way! They saw it coming?!" Trace yelled in disbelief.
"Of course I did! Redirecting a homing attack into the one who launched it is one of the oldest tricks in the book! You really think a Champion wouldn't know that?" Blue said snarkily.
Pikachu, growling furiously, pushed himself back up on all fours and faced Venusaur once more. Though he tried to hide it, he was clearly exhausted beyond belief.
"Pikachu's almost out of strength. Our only chance to take down Venusaur is put every last ounce of it into one attack!" Trace shouted. "Ready, Pikachu?!"
"Pi…KACHU!" Pikachu responded, weary but still determined to fight.
"Use Volt Tackle and Mega Punch, together!"
Pikachu enshrouded himself with electric power the moment Trace said 'Volt Tackle'. Hurtling himself toward Venusaur at breakneck speed, he leaped into the air and threw out his fist.
"Heh, not half bad, for someone who's barely past amateur level, that is,"Blue said sarcastically. "Venusaur, Earth Power!"
Venusaur lifted his front legs skyward, then slammed them into the ground with tremendous force. The ground shook and trembled, golden cracks burst out of it, and as Pikachu approached Venusaur…
Craaaaackle-WHAM!
A large pillar of earth erupted from below, slamming directly into Pikachu's torso.
Trace, utterly speechless, watched as his Pokémon friend was knocked helplessly into the air from the force of impact, causing the Volt Tackle aura to fizzle out near instantly. As Pikachu fell back down to earth, Trace's heart sank.
There's no way he can keep fighting after a hit THAT bad, Jackie told himself.
"PIKACHU!" Trace called out in anguish as he ran to catch the electric mouse. Pikachu was just out of his reach, forcing the young Trainer to slide across the ground and narrowly make the catch in the nick of time.
"Pi…ka…!" Pikachu uttered, still wanting to fight.
"Pikachu, you're too exhausted. It's alright, just rest now, okay?" Trace said gently.
Pikachu's ears drooped. He knew Trace was right, but that didn't lessen the shame he felt for having lost.
Trace walked over to Jackie and silently handed Pikachu to him.
Blue yawned.
"Come on, I'm getting bored over here. Send out an actually strong Pokémon this time!"
Trace put his hand over Arbok's Poké Ball, but Charmeleon batted it away. The Flame Pokémon retrieved the ball, then shook his head at Trace.
"Char, Charmeleon! Meleon Char!" he said urgently, pointing at himself.
Trace was stunned. Charmeleon had never once acted this way before. A newfound determination burned within the Flame Pokémon.
"Wow, you're really fired up to battle, huh, Charmeleon? Alright then, let's go!" Trace said as he returned Arbok's ball to his belt.
"Charmeleon!" Charmeleon shouted. He spread out his claws and shot a small flame into the air.
"Pfffft, really? Charmeleon?" Blue scoffed. "That's your final choice? That's a step above Cubone and Pikachu, but still not good enough to handle MY Pokémon!"
Neither Trace nor Charmeleon responded.
"Tell you what, I'll give you an opportunity to change your mind and send out something stronger," Blue said. "Or are you saying that's the strongest Pokémon you have?"
Trace admitted that, in terms of raw strength, Charmeleon didn't compare to Arbok. But he refused to go against his partner's wishes.
"Maybe I do, but Charmeleon was my first Pokémon. He's been with me through thick and thin, so I'm sticking with him!"
Well said, my student, Jackie said in his mind.
Blue crossed his arms and looked away from Trace.
Sheesh, he's exactly like Brayden! Always going on about how close they are with their Pokémon, as if that actually matters! The only things that matter in a battle are power and strategy!
And yet, though he didn't want to admit it, the bond that Brayden and Trace spoke of did seem to cause their Pokémon to get some surge of power. As Blue pondered this realization, he decided to put this theory to the test.
Maybe I can use that spirit of theirs to my advantage! If I can figure out how they draw out so much power from such weak Pokémon, I can use that knowledge to make my Pokémon even stronger! Red won't stand a chance in our rematch!
"Alright, kid, you've convinced me!"
"Of… what?" Trace asked with confusion.
Blue threw a Poké Ball that had a camouflage pattern on it. When it opened, a fearsome insectoid Pokémon that had scythes on the ends of its arms burst out of it.
"A Scyther?!" Trace yelped.
"This Scyther was caught recently. I haven't trained it much, so consider my use of it a handicap," Blue explained. "If you really think you can make Pokémon stronger through 'bonds', prove it to me by beating Scyther!"
Trace had read all about Scyther, and knew how fast and deadly they could be. Even if it was freshly caught, even with Charmeleon's type advantage, their chances of victory would be slim…
"Alright, Charmeleon! Let's start by using Swords Dance!"
Charmeleon crossed his arms, and his claws glowed bright purple. He waved his tail back and forth, then swiped his claws through the air multiple times. As Charmeleon did this, illusory blades materialized around him, spun around, then halted and pointed skyward in his direction, before vanishing. A brief flash of red light signified Charmeleon's Attack stat had risen.
"Two can play that game!" Blue said. "Scyther, you use Swords Dance too!"
Scyther crossed his scythes just like Charmeleon, but rather than repeatedly slash at the air, he hovered around in a figure-eight pattern before swinging his arms outward. The light-blue swords appeared and disappeared in an identical fashion, and then the flash of red light occurred.
"Charmeleon's claws are nothing to scoff at, to be sure, but they can't compare to Scyther's blades!" Blue pointed out. "Scyther, X-Scissor!"
Scyther spread out his wings, then crossed his scythes again. The scythes began to glow purple.
"Charmeleon, Metal Claw!" Trace urged.
Charmeleon attempted to raise his claws, but Scyther reached him first, slashing his scythes downward in a 'X'-shaped fashion, knocking Charmeleon away.
"Scyther's so fast!" Trace said. "Then let's try fighting from a distance, Charmeleon! Flamethrower!"
"Meleon!" Charmeleon shouted, as he shot hot flames from his mouth at Scyther.
"Silver Wind, go!" Blue ordered.
Scyther flapped his wings, stirring up a powder-filled wind that surrounded his entire body. When Charmeleon's Flamethrower struck, the wind blocked it completely.
"Wait, what?! How can Silver Wind block Flamethrower?" Trace wondered.
"It's because strong winds blow away the oxygen that flames need to burn!" Jackie explained. "But I never dreamed that Silver Wind could do that!"
"Oh, Silver Wind can do much more than that!" Blue said with a grin.
Before Trace could ask what Blue meant, several brief flashes of red light flickered over Scyther, and Trace had his answer.
"Wait… Silver Wind can increase stats! I totally forgot!"
"That's right! There's a rare chance that using that move boosts all of a Pokémon's stats by one level each!" Blue said triumphantly. "Now, Scyther! Night Slash!"
Scyther's scythes glowed dark purple this time. Charmeleon again tried to raise his claws to defend (surprising Trace, who hadn't called for the move) but again, Scyther's speed overwhelmed the Flame Pokémon, and he was struck by another slashing attack.
"Well?! Where's that power your bond supposedly gives you?!" Blue shouted mockingly. "Better show me before Scyther takes your little buddy down!"
Scyther began flying about, striking Charmeleon with a Night Slash at every opportunity.
No! It can't end like this! There must be some way we can overcome Scyther's speed! Trace thought in anguish.
Every slash of Scyther's scythes made Charmeleon grow angrier. But he kept his wits about him, following Scyther's movements carefully.
Looks like Charmeleon's looking for an opening! Trace realized. All right, let's go with that, then! I guess it's our only chance!
They wouldn't have to wait long. Scyther stopped in front of Charmeleon and waited for Blue's next command.
"I guess that's it then, eh? I knew you weren't worth my time!" Blue said. "Scyther, end this with X-Scissor!"
Immediately, Trace responded: "Block it!"
In an instant, Scyther attacked, but Charmeleon was ready this time, raising his claws up and holding Scyther's scythes back with them.
"Wait, what?! It's actually holding Scyther back?!" Blue yelled. "Well, it can't do so for long!"
Scyther pushed back, trying to pry Charmeleon's arms apart. The Flame Pokémon strained against this, but Scyther's greater strength was draining him at an alarming pace. Trace knew he had to act fast.
"Use Flamethrower again!"
As Charmeleon breathed in, his entire body became surrounded by a fiery orange aura. When he unleashed the Flamethrower, the flames were significantly more intense, scorching Scyther's face. Seeing another opening, Trace spoke his next command.
"Follow it up with Metal Claw!"
While Scyther stood there, flinching from the flames, Charmeleon razed him with a swipe of his claws, pushing Scyther away.
"Wow, Charmeleon! That Flamethrower was so strong!" Trace said, busting with excitement.
Moments later, Trace took notice of the fiery aura surrounding his Fire-type friend. The flame on the end of his tail was also burning more intensely than it had been at the start of the battle.
"Wait… what's going on, Charmeleon? You're… glowing. Kind of like how Brayden's Wartortle did when he fought Sabrina's Alakazam…"
"Charmeleon has activated his Blaze Ability!" Jackie shouted in awe.
"Blaze? Really?" Trace asked.
Charmeleon looked back at his Trainer and nodded.
Trace was at a loss for words. In the entire time they had been together, Charmeleon had never once activated his Ability. Trace assumed this was partly because of Charmeleon's kind nature, he had never been invested in battling as much as Pikachu or Arbok. If Charmeleon had triggered Blaze, that meant the Flame Pokémon was ready to start taking battles more seriously than ever.
"Huh, looks like your little buddy's willing to go all out," Blue observed. "Why don't we test that stoked fire? Scyther, Silver Wind!"
Scyther stirred up another powder-filled wind and sent it towards Charmeleon.
"Flamethrower, one more time!" Trace shouted.
Charmeleon inhaled again, but this time a ball of fire formed in his mouth. It grew to considerable size, and then Charmeleon shot it out. As it flew through the air, the front of the flame changed shape, resembling the Japanese kanji for 'dai'. When it collided with the Silver Wind, it effortlessly pushed through it and scorched Scyther.
"Wow! That was a Fire Blast! Charmeleon learned how to use it!" Trace cheered.
"Remarkable!" Jackie proclaimed.
Blue was somewhat surprised by Charmeleon's attack, though he did his best to hide this from Trace.
That Charmeleon learned Fire Blast right he needed it?! Could that kid and Brayden actually be right about bonds…? No, what am I thinking? It's just Charmeleon's natural pride emerging. Even so, I better get serious or he might actually have a shot at winning!
"Scyther, Night Slash!"
"Use Brick Break, Charmeleon!" Trace yelled.
Scyther flew past Charmeleon and slashed, but Charmeleon landed a swift strike of his own on the speedy Mantis Pokémon.
"X-Scissor!" Blue ordered.
Scyther lunged at Charmeleon, his scythes raised.
"Block it with Metal Claw, Charmeleon!"
Just as before, Charmeleon's claws grew longer, allowing him to catch the scythes as Scyther swung them down.
"Gotcha!" Trace shouted. "Charmeleon, Fire Blast!"
"Did you really think I'd fall for that trick twice?!" Blue retorted. "Use Silver Wind!"
Scyther kicked up another silvery wind around himself, harming Charmeleon and preventing him from opening his mouth to launch the Fire Blast. Scyther took this chance to push Charmeleon's claws away and strike with X-Scissor.
"Don't give up, Charmeleon!" Trace urged. "Fight the wind! Fire Blast!"
Charmeleon scowled at Scyther, and, heedless of the wind he was still standing in, opened his mouth and shot an intense blast of fire. The wind stoked Charmeleon's flames, engulfing both of them in a blazing tornado.
"WOAH! I didn't think that would happen!" Trace admitted in a slight panic.
Neither did I! Blue thought. Can Scyther even withstand sitting in there?!
Soon, the fiery whirlwind dissipated, and the resulting gale force knocked everyone back several feet.
"Oh man. Note to self: never use a Blaze-fueled Fire Blast inside of any wind-based attack again," Trace said to himself as he got to his feet. "You okay, Charmeleon?"
The Flame Pokémon pushed himself off the ground, looking weary, but still covered in his Blaze aura.
"Scyther, you can still battle, right?" Blue asked the Bug/Flying-type.
"Scy…" Scyther whispered.
"Alright, no more playing around!" Blue declared. "I gave you your chance, now this battle ends! Scyther, Night Slash!"
"Charmeleon, Metal Claw!" Trace shouted.
Scyther and Charmeleon readied their attacks, and Scyther flew towards Charmeleon. Both Pokémon slashed one another as Scyther passed Charmeleon.
Both Blue and Trace watched, waiting to see which Pokémon would fall first.
Several seconds slowly passed, until…
"Char…!"
Trace, Jackie and Pikachu gasped as Charmeleon flinched in pain, trying to steady himself, but ultimately lacked the strength to keep standing. The Flame Pokémon fell to the ground, the flame on his tail flickering and returning to its usual intensity as he collapsed.
"Ha! Even when I gave you a handicap, you still couldn't win!" Blue taunted Trace. "See what I mean, kid? You're nowhere close to reaching my level!"
Trace lowered his head in defeat.
I guess I should've listened to Jackie after all. Even after all we've been through, we didn't stand a chance…
But just as Blue grabbed Scyther's Safari Ball to recall him, the Mantis Pokémon suddenly burst into flame.
"WHAT?!" Blue shouted furiously.
Trace looked up just in time to watch Scyther fall down on his face. Charmeleon, looking up from where he laid, grinned in satisfaction.
"We… WE DID IT!" Trace screamed jubilantly. "We actually defeated Blue's Scyther!"
"Pika!" Pikachu shouted happily, jumping out of Jackie's arms and running to his Trainer.
Trace jumped around, careening in joy as Pikachu helped Charmeleon get to his feet.
"Charmeleon's Fire Blast afflicted Scyther with a burn!" Jackie realized. "That extra bit of literal burn damage was enough to end the battle in a tie! Well done, Trace."
Once Charmeleon was up, Trace gave the Fire-type a hug, laughing all the while.
("Great job out there, fire breath! I didn't think you had it in you!") Pikachu said to Charmeleon.
("To be honest, neither did I,") Charmeleon admitted. ("But I guess you rubbed off on me. Fighting a strong opponent and taking them down feels GOOD!")
Blue was at a complete loss for words. Not once, but TWICE a Trainer he deemed weaker than him had beaten one of his Pokémon?! He wouldn't stand for this.
"Ugh! It was just a lucky break that allowed you to do what you did. Nothing more! Don't think this makes you as good as me, okay?! It doesn't!"
"Of course not, I know better than that," Trace said. "But you said if I beat one of your Pokémon, then you'd admit I'm not as bad as you thought. And I did."
"No, I meant, beat as in win," Blue said snarkily. "Both of our Pokémon were knocked out. You didn't win."
Trace, Jackie and Pikachu crossed their arms, annoyed at Blue's stubbornness. Charmeleon leered at him.
Blue sighed in exasperation.
"FINE! I guess… you did perform a little better than I expected. Maybe there's hope for you yet, kid."
"For the last time, my name is TRACE."
"Ya want me to call you by your name that badly?" Blue asked irritably. "Then get all eight badges and challenge the League. When you can fight on their level, you might be worthy of my respect. Smell ya later!"
Blue called out his Fearow, who grabbed his arms in his talons, and then flew off with him.
"So… now that that's over with, what have you and Bruce been up to since Vermilion City, Jackie?" Trace asked.
"Well, after we returned to the dojo, my brother stayed there to help the Master run the place, while I left once again. Hitmonchan and I have been traveling throughout the region, searching for more Trainers to teach our move to," Jackie explained. "Earlier today, Blue sought me out, as he wanted to teach his Magmar Mega Punch. He mastered it quite fast, even faster than you did, in fact."
"And I guess he wanted to test it out, so he challenged you to a battle?" Trace replied.
Jackie frowned and nodded.
"I heard about his bad attitude from other Trainers I've trained, so I had misgivings about him from the start. But I couldn't resist the opportunity to pass on my knowledge to a Champion-level Trainer."
Trace looked back up into the sky and watched Blue continue to fly into the distance.
"No doubt about it, Blue's strong. We'll battle again someday, and I plan on winning," Trace said. "But we've got more important things to work towards right now."
"Of course, you plan on winning more Gym badges, is that right?" Jackie asked.
"Not just that, there's someone we're searching for. A bounty hunter named Gideon, who kidnapped Pikachu's parents," Trace said, clenching his fists.
"Pika…" Pikachu nodded, scowling at the mention of Gideon.
"I see. So this is why Cubone and Charmeleon were eager to fight, they want to be stronger so they can help catch that vile criminal," Jackie observed.
Trace sadly nodded.
"Once we get to Pewter City, we're going to ask around and see if anyone knows anything about Gideon. It's a long shot, but we've got no other options."
Jackie pondered this for a minute.
"This Gideon… he sounds like he's quite dangerous and secretive. You're going to need all the help you can get to catch him. So I'm going with you."
"Are you sure? I don't want to get in the way of your traveling teaching thing…" Trace pointed out.
"And I don't want to risk the chance of this Gideon targeting any more of my pupils' Pokémon! He must be stopped!" Jackie said firmly.
"Hitmonchan!" Hitmonchan agreed.
"Alright, if you're sure," Trace replied. "I definitely appreciate the help!"
"Pika Pi!" Pikachu said with gratitude.
At this moment, everyone noticed how dark it was getting. The sun was rapidly setting.
"It's getting late, we'd never reach Pewter before nightfall," Jackie observed.
"Looks like we better set up camp for the night, then," Trace responded.
Charmeleon's eyes suddenly grew comically large in shock
"CHAR, CHARMELEON!"
Trace was unsure of why Charmeleon was panicking, but it didn't take long for him to notice why.
There were dozens of stray flames throughout the immediate area, undoubtedly caused and spread by the fiery vortex they had accidentally made during the battle.
"Yikes! We gotta put those out fast before it gets bad! Sorry, Jackie, but could you put up my tent for me? It's in my backpack."
Trace threw his backpack to the ground, called out Poliwhirl, and ran across the hill towards the closest fire with Charmeleon and Pikachu in hot pursuit.
Jackie and Hitmonchan couldn't help but chuckle to themselves.
Although Trace was unable to win outright against Blue, securing a tie against Scyther has boosted his confidence and strengthened Charmeleon in more ways than one. Next chapter, it's back to Saffron City for Brayden's long-awaited rematch with the Mistress of Psychic-type Pokémon!
Trace's Team:
Charmeleon (Male)
Moves: Fire Blast, Metal Claw, Brick Break, Swords Dance
Ability: Blaze
Bashful Nature. Proud of his Power.
Eats Anything.
Pikachu (Male)
Moves: Thunderbolt, Mega Punch, Agility, Volt Tackle
Ability: Lightning Rod
Brave Nature. Likes to Fight.
Likes Spicy Food, Hates Sweet Food.
Poliwhirl (Male)
Moves: Surf, Double Slap, Mud Shot, Substitute
Ability: Damp
Gentle Nature. Naps Often.
Likes Bitter Food, Hates Sour Food.
Arbok (Male)
Moves: Sludge Bomb, Ice Fang, Dig, Glare
Ability: Shed Skin
Lonely Nature. Scatters things often.
Likes Spicy Food, Hates Sour Food.
Cubone (Male)
Moves: Bone Club, Growl, Headbutt, Thunder Punch
Ability: Rock Head
Timid Nature. Often Lost in Thought.
Likes Sweet Food, Hates Spicy Food.