Here's the next chapter. If you like to recommend any Pokemon to join Charles' team please leave a review. All of Charles' Pokemon and their names can be found on my profile.
Martin - Thank you for reviewing. I get your concerns with this story, but I would like to assure you there would be nothing inappropriate in this story. It will be a slow burn harem and will be based more on crushes than on anything else. Perhaps when the characters become older it would be more developed, but for now it's a story about Charles' and his Pokemon. I'm sorry if you feel unease about it and perhaps I will reconsider on a later date.
("Pokespeech")
Chapter 9: The Fourth Sister
Outside Cerulean City
The group were approaching Cerulean City, ready for Charles' second Pokemon battle. Benny was resting on Charles' head while Alette was taking in the scenery from Flo's shoulder. Charles would be going over his battle strategies with Flo, but he couldn't help but uneasy at the moment. It felt like something was following them. They were hearing scurrying sounds and small mutterings ever so often. Charles and Flo shared a look and gave each other discrete nods. They turned around sharply to see an empty path and nothing else.
Shrugging, they continued their journey, but the scurrying sounds started again.
They looked behind them again, but there was nothing again.
They continued walking.
The noises started again.
They turned around.
Nothing was there.
Continued walking.
Noises started.
Turned around.
Nothing there.
Walking.
Noise.
Turned.
Nothing.
This time they didn't continue walking and a sandshrew appeared from the ground. The sandshrew, seeing that it's been caught, squeaked and curled itself into a ball while the group stared with small sweat drops.
("Well, I wasn't expecting that,") Benny admitted dryly.
"Do you think it has followed us from Mt Moon?" Flo asked Charles slightly confused.
Charles just shrugged, "I'll ask it and see what it wants," Charles said walking up to the still curled up sandshrew.
"Umm... excuse me-"
("No,") squeaked the sandshrew.
"No, what? I haven't asked you anything."
("I'm not here, so you can't ask me anything,") the sandshrew replied, causing Charles to sweat drop at his logic.
"If you are not here how did you reply right now?" Charles inquired with a raised eyebrow.
The sandshrew didn't say anything for a couple of seconds, seemingly trying to come up with a good answer.
("I'm not here,") he said finally, making Charles sigh in exhaustion.
("Hey I know you!) Alette cried out from Flo's shoulder, ("You're sneaky sandshrew, what are you doing here?") she asked curiously.
("Sneaky sandshrew?") Benny asked the clefairy.
("It's a nickname the other Pokemon gave him back at Mt Moon,") Alette explained.
("Why Sneaky?") Benny questioned further.
Suddenly the sandshrew uncurled himself surprising the group.
("It's because I'm the most undetectable Pokemon in the region,") he boasted before realising he is out in the open and curling himself back into a ball again.
("It's more of an ironic nickname we gave him,") Alette said rolling her eyes. She remembered the times when she encountered the sandshrew. He was always hiding around corners or just under the ground and whenever he was caught he would just roll up into a ball and pretend that they didn't see him. He lives by the principal that if he can't see you; you can't see him.
He wasn't particularly bright.
Charles explained the situation to Flo who grew a slightly mischievous smile.
"Well, I suppose there are no sandshrew here then," Flo said louder then necessary so the sandshrew can hear her, "which is a shame, because what would we do with all this extra Pokemon food."
The sandshrew unfurled himself slightly which Charles and Flo saw in the corner of their eyes,
Charles, having caught what Flo was doing, played along, "I know it's such a shame. I guess we have to throw it away."
("No please don't,") the sandshrew cried out, instantly unfurling and running towards the group.
("That was too easy,") Benny commented as the sandshrew clutched to Charles' trouser leg.
Flo kneeled down and gave the sandshrew a teasing smile, "I thought you weren't here, sweetie," Flo kindly said.
The sandshrew flinched and held onto Charles' leg tighter, ("I'm kinda here,") the sandshrew shyly admitted.
Stopping for a small break, the sandshrew ate the Pokemon food ravishingly as the others sat nearby looking at him weirdly.
"You know," Flo said leaning over to Charles, "having a ground type might be helpful," she suggested.
Charles looked at his best friend and then to the sandshrew who was now licking the bowl.
"It would take a lot of training," Charles whispered back.
"If anybody can, it would be you," Flo countered with a small smile.
Charles looked towards Benny, who was sitting beside him, and without speaking asked him what he thought.
Benny shrugged, ("I mean we can try,") he said unsurely.
Charles stood up from he was sitting and kneeled by the sandshrew, "You know we could use a Pokemon like you on our team. Would you like to travel with us and compete in battles. I could train you."
The sandshrew looked down for a moment, considering Charles offer.
He looked up at Charles, ("Can I still sneak up on people?") he asked honestly.
Charles gave him a raised eyebrow, "Err... yes," Charles replied, a little weirded out by the question.
The sandshrew smiled and nodded his head, ("Ok then,") he agreed happily.
("That was your only term!?") Alette and Benny shouted.
"Excellent," Charles said happily, ignoring the Pokemon' outburst, "I don't have any Pokeballs with me so I'll pick some up when we get to Cerulean City,"
("Ok,") the sandshrew squeaked happily, ("Can I ask a question though?")
"Of course," Charles responded with a smile.
("What's a battle?") he asked in confusion.
Charles, Benny and Alette fell over while Flo wondered what was going on.
Cerulean City
Cerulean City was much more picturesque than Pewter City. The city was located near the sea and was surrounded by waterways. Gardens and flowers were common around the city and it even had a decent market area.
After visiting the shops and buying extra pokeballs, Charles caught the sandshrew who was given the name Sneak (at the sandshrew's request).
Since Sneak was the seventh Pokemon caught, his pokeball disappeared in a flash as it went back to Professor Oak's lab. Charles made a mental note to contact Oak later so he could negotiate what Pokemon he can carry.
Flo wanted to check in on her aunt at the Pokemon Centre which is why Charles and Benny was exploring the city and its canals before checking out the gym. Flo said she'll meet them at the gym later.
("So what are your plans for the gym?") Benny asked from Charles' shoulder as they approached a small bridge over a canal.
"Well, I know Hurricane wants to battle and I think Mystic is ready," Charles said going over his plans.
Benny was a little bit surprised by that, ("Are you sure? I mean, I have nothing against Mystic, but she's still has a long way to go when it comes to strength.")
Charles started to cross over the bridge, "I know, but I still haven't trained Pyro to take water attacks, Boa can't move well under water, Echo only just recently joined our team and Cleo wouldn't be caught dead near anything wet," Charles explained, "besides she already feels sad about not being as strong as the other. Maybe this will be a good way to boost her confidence."
Benny was about to agree when he spotted somebody sitting by the canal beneath the bridge.
("Hey, isn't that Misty?") Benny pointed.
Charles looked to where his brother was pointing and there was the fiery red head. She seemed to be looking glum as she stared at the rushing water of the canal. She sighed and held her head in her hands.
"Misty!" a voice brung her out of her thoughts as she looked up to see Charles and Benny coming up to her.
"Oh hi Charles. Hi Benny," she greeted the pair in a friendly but sad tone.
Charles sat beside her on the side of the canal while Benny leaped on to her lap. The girl gave the shiny pikachu a couple of scratches behind the ears making him squeak in approval.
"What are you doing here? I thought you would be beating up Ash up for something he said," Charles inquired jokingly.
Misty chuckled slightly before her frown reappeared.
"I just wanted some time to myself," Misty answered in a depressed tone.
Charles could tell something was wrong, "Is there something wrong? Ash didn't say anything to upset you, did he? I know he could be-" before Charles could finish his sentence, Misty started to wave her hands in dismissal.
"Oh no no, it's nothing like that. Ash wanted to come to Cerulean City and I...I...I just didn't want to come here," she admitted sadly staring at the canal again and petting Benny on the head.
Charles frowned as he looked at the depressed girl. Benny and him shared a look before Charles remembered something from their last meeting.
"Does it have anything to do with the gym?" Charles asked, shocking Misty as she turned her head to the boy.
"How did you kn- I mean - no it's got nothing to do with the gym or...or...or anything," Misty replied with a stutter as tried to look at anything but Charles or Benny.
"Misty," Charles said firmly, catching her attention, "your last name is Waterflower, like the family who run the gym, and you only have water Pokemon. I know it's about the gym. If you explain to me what's wrong, I can help you," he told her calmly.
He gave her a comforting smile and she sighed in reluctance,
Misty explained to Charles about her sisters and the Cerulean gym. Apparently, she and her sisters, Daisy Lily and Violet, are the gym leaders for Cerulean City. Misty was the youngest of the four and was often called the runt due to her size. One day, they had gotten into an argument which resulted in Misty vowing never to come back until she's a water Pokemon master. Although, now that she's returned having achieved nothing, her sisters were going to ridicule her even more.
"I'm sorry, Misty," Charles sympathetically apologised as the girl hugged Benny in sadness.
"But you know, I bet it's not going to be as bad as you think," Charles told her catching her attention.
"What do you mean?"
Charles leaned forward and scratched Benny's head, "Siblings fight all the time over the smallest of things. I can't remember how many times Benny and I had fought," Benny agreed with a nod of his head, "but I know they love you so much and worry about you. I bet they'll be relived to see their sister after all this time."
Misty hung her head in thought.
"I don't know," she admitted with a sigh.
"Besides," Charles continued, "there is no reason why you can't be a water Pokemon master in the future. If you were the gym leader you must be an excellent trainer already and by the way you talk about water type Pokemon you must really love them."
"I do," Misty admitted happily, finally turning her mood around, "there just so amazing."
"Yes they are. Loving your Pokemon and forming bonds with them is the first step to becoming an amazing trainer," Charles told her, causing her to blush slightly and look shyly away.
Charles could still see she was on the fence. So he came up with and idea.
"Tell you what," Charles said standing up, "why don't I come with you. That way you don't have to face them alone," he suggested offering his hand to Misty.
Misty looked surprise at his idea, "Are you sure," she asked uncertainly.
Charles smile as Benny jumped on to his shoulder, "Of course. Benny and I were heading to the gym ourselves. And besides they're your family. You can't ignore them forever."
Misty looked at Charles outstretched hand and blushed again. She took his hand and Charles pulled her up so they were both standing.
They made their way down the roads leading to the gym. Charles saw that Misty was still looking anxious and decided to distract her for now.
"So," Charles started, catching Misty's attention, "what's your favourite water Pokemon?"
Misty's face brightened as they began to discuss everything related to water Pokemon as they headed closer to the Cerulean City Gym.
Outside Cerulean City Gym
The gym reminded Charles of a large circus tent. It was round with a pink and yellow striped roof and large picture of a dewgong, a seal-like Pokemon with a horn on its head, hanged over the front door.
As they approached the gym down a narrow path, Charles spotted Flo waiting patiently just outside the door.
"Hey, Flo," he called out with a wave.
"Hey Charles," Flo greeted when she noticed Misty, "Oh hi Misty. Haven't seen you in a while."
"Hi Flo," Misty greeted with a friendly smile before turning to the gym doors with a worried frown.
"Is there something wrong?" Flo whispered to Charles as she watched the anxious girl prepare to open the front doors.
"I'll explain on the way," Charles whispered back before laying a comforting hand on Misty's shoulder.
The girl looked up to meet Charles' green eyes, "You can do this," he reassured.
Misty gave a determined nod before opening the door and walking in with Charles following her.
Flo looked at the exchange with a raised eyebrow before stomped into the gym.
"I was only gone for half an hour," she muttered to herself.
Cerulean City Gym
Misty had given Charles, Flo and Benny a small tour of the gym. It was much larger than they were expecting. Not only did it have a Olympic sized swimming pool, but an aquarium full of water Pokemon. They marvelled at the sight. It was certainly more pretty than the rock gym.
Misty led them to stands where they can get a better view of the entire pool. They heard people talking from below the stands.
Misty cringed when she heard the voices, she instantly recognised them.
Charles, Benny and Flo looked over the rail to see Ash and Pikachu talking to three girls who were slightly older than them.
The eldest of the thee was a girl with long wavy hair, blue/green eyes and a flower in her hair. She wore a red dress with small flowers on the hem.
The second eldest was a girl wavy blue hair and brown eyes. She wore a similar dress to the first girl but it was in green.
The youngest had shoulder length pink hair and blue eyes. Her dress was yellow with blue and orange bow ties on it.
The blonde girl was holding out a badge which looked like a water drop to Ash.
"A Cascade Badge," she said presenting it to the boy, "this is what you want right, you can have one."
Ash seemed unsure about the situation. He arrived at the gym earlier today, hoping for a battle. However, the gym leaders, know as the Sensational Sisters, had no Pokemon well enough to fight. Apparently, they suffered heavy defeats from trainers and all of their Pokemon are out of commission. Well, all except a goldeen, but it wasn't much of a fighter. Instead Daisy was letting him have the badge without battling.
Ash was about to reach out for it when a cry rang out through the room.
"Hold It right there!" Misty shouted making everybody turn to her.
"It's Misty," Pikachu shouted as said girl jump down (dangerously) from the stands to the pool side.
"Misty!" Ash shouted in surprise, before noticing Charles, Benny and Flo using the stairs to reach the pool side, "Charles! Flo! What are you guys doing here?"
"We just arrived in Cerulean City," Flo answered as Benny jumped down from Charles' shoulder to meet his fellow pikachu, "you weren't going to take the badge were you?"
"Err well um..." Ash tried to come up with an excuse under Flo's inquisitive gaze.
Before he could reply Misty turned to her sisters, "I can't believe you were going to give him the badge just like that," she scolded them.
"Wait, what's going on?" Ash asked in confusion as looked around frantically.
"I'm the fourth Sensational Sister," Misty declared proudly.
"Actually, there are only three Sensational Sisters and one runt," Violet, the pink haired girl, snidely said causing Misty to growl at her.
"So, little sister, it's a surprise to see you back soon," Daisy spoke up.
"That little girl with a big mouth who said she wouldn't come back til she was a great Pokemon trainer. Wasn't that you?" Lilly added causing Misty to look sheepish.
"Huh? I guess I did say something like that when I left," Misty admitted.
'No wonder Misty left,' Charles thought as he witnessed the scene, 'It must of felt like they were ganging up on her.'
"I didn't want to come back," Misty insisted, "it was all because of him," she declared pointing her finger at Ash.
"Well, he's totally not someone I'd choose for a boyfriend," Daisy pointed out, making Ash fall over in despair, "but your no prize yourself. I thought you would go with somebody much more good looking like him," she continued as she nodded her head towards Charles.
Charles was surprised by this and felt his pride swell up a bit as he grinned widely. It disappeared as fast as it appeared as soon as he saw Flo's annoyed glare. He coughed sheepishly and tried to focus anywhere but her.
"If I win in a battle then I'll prove to you that I'm not a quitter," Misty declared with determination.
"Ok Misty," Ash said eagerly, "I'll take you on that offer."
"Not you," Misty denied sharply, "him," she said pointing at Charles.
"What!? Why him?"" Ash complained loudly.
"As punishment for almost taking the badge, I'm going to battle Charles and no you," Misty replied sharply causing Ash to sheepishly admit defeat.
She turned to Charles, "Charles can we please have a battle," Misty pleaded softly.
"Well, I was kind of hoping to-" Charles couldn't finish his sentence as he saw Misty's pleading face. She really needed to prove herself.
Charles sighed and smiled, "Ok then, let's battle," he declared making Misty smile gratefully.
Charles and Misty took their places on either side of the battle pitch. The pitch was a large swimming pool also used by the Sensational Sisters for their famous water shows. Charles and Misty each stood on a floating platform facing each other. There were also a couple more floating platforms for the Pokemon to stand on.
Daisy was refereeing and declared that each battler will use two Pokemon.
As the gym leader, Misty presented her Pokemon first.
"Come on out Staryu!" Misty called out throwing her pokeball into the air, realising a brown starfish-like Pokemon with a red jewel in the middle.
Charles took out his pokedex.
Staryu: An enigmatic Pokemon that can effortlessly regenerate any appendage it loses in battle.
Charles briefly noted how interesting that was before taking out Hurricane's Pokeball and realising the bug Pokemon.
Hurricane entered the battle with a flourish, (Whoosh! I an Hurricane and I will blow my enemies away! Whoosh!") he announced cheerily,
Benny and Pikachu sat next to each other watching from the rails of the stands to get a better view.
("He's still going with that motto,") Benny sighed as he watched the butterfree do loops in the air.
("He sounds...exhausting,") Pikachu commented sweat dropping at the excitable Pokemon.
"Ah wow, it's super pretty," Lilly said, admiring Hurricane's wings.
"I know right," Violet agreed.
"You not going to use Benny?" Misty asked from her side of the pool, knowing that electric types were effective against water types.
"I like a challenge," Charles responded as he lowered his goggles over his eyes.
(Battle Start)
"Staryu use Water Gun," Misty ordered firmly.
("Right,") her Pokemon obey before shooting a jet of water out of its jewel.
"Hurricane," Charles called out coolly, "have some fun."
("Woohoo!") Hurricane cheered as he effortlessly avoided the water gun.
"Staryu, keep it up," Misty instructed as the Pokemon kept shooting jets of water.
However, Hurricane kept on dodging by doing flips and loops. Judging by the happy cries he was actually having the time of it life, much to the chagrin of Staryu.
"Damn, the butterfree will not slow down," Misty muttered to herself as said butterfree avoided another stream of water.
"Use Rapid Spin," Misty told her Pokemon. Staryu started to spin so fast that he was able to lift up from the ground. It made his way to attack Hurricane, but he just moved out of his way.
Staryu started to chase the butterfree around in the air, but Hurricane was too fast for him.
"I'm sorry, Misty," Charles called out, "Hurricane is a particularly fast Pokemon even among other butterfrees. We had to run all the way to Pewter City to keep up with him and that was when he was in his Metapod stage," Charles told her.
Ash, who was in stands with Flo, watched the butterfree in awe.
"Wow, he sure is fast. He might be even faster than my butterfree," Ash admitted.
Flo gave him a tired sigh, "You have no idea," she grumbled.
Misty, seeing that Staryu was getting tired and Hurricane was not even breaking a sweat, tried to think of another way to attack.
Charles saw this and couldn't help but take the opportunity. He felt bad, of course, but he wasn't doing her any favours by letting her win.
"Hurricane use Confusion," Charles ordered plainly.
Hurricane suddenly stopped and turned to Staryu. His antennae started to glow as he shot a Confusion move at the exhausted Pokemon.
Staryu dropped out of the sky and landed hard on one of the floating platforms in the pool.
"Staryu no!" Misty cried out as her Pokemon landed with a crash. However, the Staryu wasn't down yet as it slowly got back onto his legs.
Charles didn't allow his opponent to relax.
"Hurricane, use Stun Spore," he ordered as Hurricane shot a plume of spores at Staryu. Since it is a grass move, it dealt extra damage to the water Pokemon.
"Staryu jump into the water and wash off the attack," Misty instructed. The Pokemon complied as it jumped into the water.
Charles, meanwhile, waited for the perfect moment.
"Ok Staryu use Water Gun," Misty shouted.
At her command, Staryu jumped out of the water, ready to shoot at the butterfree. However, Charles and Hurricane were ready for this.
"Hurricane now," Charles ordered.
Hurricane seem to some out of nowhere. It was right in front of Staryu, but now it had flew quickly around the starfish Pokemon and hit it with a powerful Tackle attack.
Staryu tried its best to keep up with him, but he was just to fast.
Sadly for Misty, after several Tackle attacks Staryu was knocked out.
"Challenger wins," Daisy declared holding her hand out towards Charles.
Misty sighed as she called back Staryu into its Pokeball. She underestimated Charles and his Pokemon.
Charles wanted to say sorry to her, but he knew it wouldn't do any good.
"Can the gym leader take out her second Pokemon," Daisy announced with a flourish.
Misty shook away her sadness and brought out her next Pokemon which happened to be the evolved version of staryu, starmie. It looked like a staryu, but purple and instead of having five limbs it had ten.
Charles checked his pokedex again.
Starmie: Its central core glows with the seven colours of the rainbow. Some people value the core as a gem.
"All right, Hurricane. It's time to-" Charles started, but the butterfree slammed into him and clung to the front of his shirt.
("Can I please, please, please fight again,") Hurricane begged as he looked up at Charles.
Charles wasn't pleased by this "Hurricane, you know the rules. It's Mystic's turn," Charles scolded the butterfree.
("Pleeeeaassssseeee, I really want to fight. I promise I won't ask again,") Hurricane insisted.
Charles looked down at the Pokemon and sighed. He knew he would keep on begging and the referee was starting to look impatient.
"Ok fin-" Charles reluctantly said, making Hurricane cheer in delight.
"Is the challenger ready?" Daisy called out.
Charles just nodded at her.
Flo hummed in concern, "This can't be good," she muttered quietly.
'Come on Misty, you can do this,' Misty encouraged herself, 'Hurricane is to fast for any direct attacks which means I need to take it by surprise.'
"Starmie use Hydro Pump," Misty ordered as the Pokemon shot a powerful jet of water out of its jewel.
As predicted, Hurricane did an elaborate loop to avoid the blast.
("Another attack dodged by Hurricane!") the butterfree declared boastfully.
He heard a cough behind him and he turned around to see Charles. The trainer had his hands on hips and was giving him an annoyed glare.
"Hurricane, don't lose sight of your opponent?" Charles asked much to the butterfree's confusion.
("I haven't it's right the-") Hurricane turned towards Starmie only to see it has vanished. He started to panic has he looked frantically around the pool.
"While you were boasting, Misty ordered Starmie to go into the water," Charles informed, "keep calm and try to get a sense of your opponent."
Hurricane nodded and tried to calmly find his opponent.
From the other side of the pitch, Charles could see that Misty was ready to tell Starmie to reappear.
"Starmie, now!" Misty ordered. Starmie jumped emerged from behind Hurricane ready to attack.
"Hurricane, behind you! Dodge!" Charles instructed as fast he can.
Hurricane turned around as fast as he can and tried to get out of Starmie's firing range. However, Misty had other ideas.
"Use Psychic," she commanded as Starmie's jewel started to glow, trapping Hurricane from moving away.
'Damn,' Charles thought in despair.
"Now use Power Gem and finish him off," Misty instructed cashing Charles to frown deeply.
Rocks fired out of Starmie's jewel aimed at the trapped Butterfree. Hurricane tried to get away in time, but he was hit hard by the attack. Hurricane fell on the water pitch, knocked out.
"Gym leader wins," Daisy announced as Misty celebrated.
"Wow, cool move by Misty," Lilly said, looking at her sister petting her starmie.
"I know right. I didn't know she had it in her," Violet admitted.
"Poor Hurricane," Flo whispered seeing the butterfree floating on the surface of the water.
("He knew the rules, but got too cocky,") Benny sighed as he shook his head.
("I hope he's alright,") Pikachu said.
Charles sighed as Hurricane floated towards him. Picking him up and brushing some of the water off, Hurricane looked up at him tiredly.
("I'm sorry. I thought I could...") Hurricane softly apologised.
Stroking his head, Charles gave him a smile.
"It's alright. I know this is your first gym battle, but it's best not to get too excited. Otherwise, you'll lose focus," Charles explained calmly.
Hurricane nodded his head weakly as Charles put him in his pokeball.
"Can the challenger take out his second Pokemon," Daisy ordered.
Charles held up Mystic's pokeball, "It's all up to you girl."
Charles released the golden magikarp who jumped into the water with a plop.
"Ah wow, look at that magikarp," Daisy squealed.
"Are all his Pokemon so pretty?" Violet said admiring Mystic's golden scales.
"The challenger wins for having such lovely Pokemon," Violet added.
"Hey shut up!" Misty shouted from her side. Although, she had to admit that she has never seen a magikarp like that.
"Why is it such a weird colour?" Ash questioned in confusion. Flo just rolled his eyes at his comment.
As Charles got ready to battle, he couldn't help but notice that the water was starting to vibrate rapidly. Misty noticed the too and they both shared a concerned look.
Daisy lifted her hand to start the battle, "Ok ready and-"
CRASH!
Suddenly, the gym wall collapsed to reveal a large vehicle. On the vehicle was a large machine which consisted of a metal vat and a giant hose.
"What's going on!" Ash cried as everybody stopped in shock.
Evil cackling emerged from the vehicle as Team Rocket made their over dramatic appearance.
"Prepare for trouble,"
"And make it double,"
"To protect the world fro-"
"Err... can we help you?" Charles asked stopping Team Rocket in their tracks. When Team Rocket crashed through the wall, Charles, Misty and the others came together on the other side of the pool.
"Hey, can't you see we in the middle of our motto!" Jessie shouted angrily.
"That's why I stopped you," Charles replied matter of factly
"Never mind the motto, let's steal them Pokemon," Meowth declared as James flipped a switch on the vehicle's panel. The machine started to make a loud tumbling noise as the giant hose entered the water. The machine started to suck up all the water in the pool.
"A massive vacuum and a giant hose," Ash gasped, "Team Rocket were the robbers who broke into that store."
"Our swimming pool," Daisy said in shock.
"They're sucking it dry," Misty cried.
"That's our water," Violet added.
"Right. I should give it back," Meowth said with a smirk as he pull down a lever.
The machine shot out the stolen water at the them. They would of been washed away if they didn't hold on to the side of the pool tightly. The hose started to suck the water back up again, making Starmie and Mystic swim for their lives.
"Starmie return!" Misty shouted sending the Pokemon back into its pokeball.
However, Charles wasn't able to save Mystic in time. The magikarp tried her best to escape, but the currents were to strong for her.
("Charles!") she screamed as she got sucked into the vacuum.
"Ohh look at that, a golden magikarp, they are rare," James said thinking that it would impress his boss.
"No Mystic!" Charles cried out before taking off his coat and hat and jumping into the pool to help the magikarp.
"Charles!" Flo screamed in panic, seeing him get sucked into the vacuum as well.
Benny would of jumped in after his brother, if Pikachu wasn't holding him back.
"Although, the twerp isn't so valuable," Jessie dryly said as she saw Charles get sucked into the vacuum.
"Now surrender all your Pokemon, now!" Meowth evilly threatened sending the others a menacing grin.
Inside the vaccum
Meanwhile Charles had found Mystic in the vat. It was dark in there, but he managed to feel her and hug her closely. The container was filling up fast and Charles was running out of breathing room quickly.
"Mystic are you okay," Charles asked the scared magikarp.
("I'm fine, but what are we going to do?") Mystic said in a panic.
"It's fine, I'll find a way-" however before he could finish the vat had completely filled with water. Charles hadn't had a chance to catch a breath before he was submerged.
Mystic could feel Charles was struggling to breath. She needed to get him out of here. She can't let him drown.
The walls of the vat were sealed tightly; she wasn't strong enough to break through them.
She racked he brain trying to come up with a solution, but she started to remember her times with Charles instead.
How he was so kind to her.
How he defended from that trainer.
How he supported her through her training even though she was having doubts.
She wanted to get stronger for him.
Before Charles could black out, the inside of the vat lit up with a bright light. He looked down to see that the bright light was coming from Mystic.
She was evolving.
Outside the vacuum
Team Rocket laughed triumphantly before they heard a loud banging noise. Confused they turned around to see the bolts of the vat shoot out and the walls start to bulge.
"Did we fill it up too much?" James questioned as the team took a couple of steps backwards.
Boooooommm!
The vat exploded as large red serpentine-like Pokemon erupted from the container. It grew taller and taller until Team Rocket stood in the behemoths shadow. The gyrados roared as she reached her full height, bearing her sharp teeth.
On top of the newly evolved Mystic's head was Charles who, despite being soaking wet, was unharmed much to the others' relief.
"Whoa! Who's that Pokemon?" Ash exclaimed in excitement taking out his pokedex.
Gyarados: Rarely seen in the wild. Huge and vicious, it is capable of destroying entire cities in a rage.
"Wow Mystic evolved!" Flo shouted in amazement.
("She looks really strong now,") Benny said in wonder looking at his teammate.
"Why did it have to be a gyarados?" Mystic questioned in fear. It turns out she didn't have a good history with this Pokemon.
Mystic, getting over the amazement of her new form, glared down at the terrified Team Rocket.
"Umm...why don't we call it draw. Nobody got hurt right?" Meowth said nervously, trying to negotiate with the very angry gyrados.
("My trainer got hurt,") Mystic growled, causing Meowth to step further back.
"Oh right, I suppose somebody did get hurt," the cat scratch Pokemon replied meekly.
Charles rubbed the top of Mystic's head comfortingly, "Now, now Mystic, don't be too harsh with them," he reassured making Team Rocket sigh in relief.
"Although," Charles continued, making them cringe in panic, "we do need a target to practice your new Hyper Beam. Can you think of any targets?"
("I might know one,") Mystic growled menacingly, staring down at the horrified Pokemon thieves.
Team Rocket barely had time to escape before Mystic shot a beam of energy at them. The blast caused them to fly through the roof and into the sky.
Charles could hear them cry "Team Rocket is blasting off again!" Before disappearing from sight.
"Your so gorgeous and so... red. I can't believe I have the most beautiful gyarados in the world. That was an amazing Hyper Beam, I'm so proud of you" Charles said while petting a purring Mystic's face.
Twenty minutes later and everybody had a large sweat drop as they witness the odd scene. Not only was Charles cooing and pampering a giant vicious serpent known for it rampages, but said giant vicious serpent was completely docile.
("They seem like their getting along,") Pikachu said as he watched Mystic wag her tail in the water.
Benny just held his head in his paws in embarrassment.
Charles had stopped his pampering and turned to Misty, "So do you want to continue the battle?" Charles asked.
Misty looked at the gyarados nervously before shaking her head, "I think, I will admit defeat, congratulations," Misty said giving an anxious smile. Despite how friendly she looked now, she was still very weary of the gyarados.
(Battle End)
"Ok, why don't you have a little rest, sweetheart," Charles cooed has he sent Mystic back into her pokeball.
Daisy walked up to him and presented the badge to him, "For winning the battle and getting rid of those weirdos, I present the Cascade Badge."
Charles took the badge and admire it for a moment, before thanking Daisy and Misty for a good battle.
Misty was smiling, but Charles could see she was upset about the battle.
"You know, Misty. That was a really cool move you did with Starmie," Lilly complimented walking up to her younger sister.
"Totally, that was so awesome," Violet added.
"R-r-really?" Misty asked in surprise.
Her sisters nodded.
Daisy walked up to her and laid a hand on her shoulder, "Misty, you just go right on trying to be a Pokémon trainer," she encouraged making Misty smile, "You might as well be good at something, cause you'll never be stars like us."
Misty lost her smile instantly, "You keep that up and you'll be seeing stars!" she threatened as she shook her fist at her.
"Chill out," Violet assured,
"Misty, be careful. You know we love you," Daisy added.
"Yeah," Misty admitted as a small smile crept across her face.
She looked towards Charles who gave her a smile. He mouthed 'I told you,' and gave her a wink. Misty smiled as her cheeks turned red a bit.
"HEY, WHAT ABOUT MY BATTLE!" Ash shouted catching everybody's attention.
"We need to repair the gym. If you help us, you'll get your battle sooner," Daisy told him, causing him to sigh in irritation.
"Fine, Charles, Flo will you help to-" Ash started to say before he saw them and Benny walking to the door.
"HEY!" Ash shouted.
"I've already had my battle," Charles pointed out over his shoulder.
"Good luck with the repairs," Flo called out sweetly as they walked out the gym.
Charles, Flo and Benny walked back to the Pokemon Centre, leaving an annoyed Ash behind.
I was halfway through writing this chapter when I realised something. To my horror, I seemed to have, unconsciously, written a very similar story to TheWhiteTitan's 'The Phantom Trainer'. In the first chapter, I did mention that this story was inspired by TheWhiteTitan's, but I didn't mean to copy so much. From now on, I'll be more aware of where this story is headed and make sure I'll write my own stuff.
I'm very sorry to anybody who has noticed this and I want to assure everybody that I didn't mean for this to happen.
On another note, I'm sorry for not updating in a while. I have been slightly under the weather this week. So I might give writing a little break.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter. See you next time.
Potential Pokemon list:
eevee
abra
vulpix
oddish
niroran
gastley
bellsprout
ponyta
Next Time: Charle, Flo and Benny will be tied up over a grass Pokemon.