- 36
- Posts
- 7
- Years
- Age 22
- Netherlands
- Seen Nov 12, 2023
19. The Northern Cape
"Staryu! Bubblebeam on that Spearow to slow him down!" Ariana Rowe shouted.
"You know that I hate it when you tell my Pokémon what to do!" Proton Carson reacted.
"So what?" Ariana replied.
"So don't do that, focus on your own Pokémon, or I'll tell Lucy about this." Proton threatened.
"Oh, how scary," Ariana sarcastically reacted. Proton was about to reply, but then he remembered that there was still a Pokémon battle going on. He looked at his and his companion's Pokémon to see that Ariana's Gloom had been defeated by Bill's Porygon, while the PokéManiac's other Pokémon were attacking her Diglett and Growlithe, and his own Staryu was under attack from Zane's Bulbasaur.
"Diglett! Mud Slap on Magneton and Voltorb!" He heard Ariana command. He told his Staryu to hit Zane's Bulbasaur with Psywave, while the female Admin's Growlithe attacked Bill's Eevee and Porygon.
Kelvin's Seel, meanwhile, had been beaten by Misdreavus before being able to hit Sneasel, meaning that the latter two could go and help the admins. The Dark Type's Icy Wind managed to defeat Zane's Spearow, whereas Misdreavus confused Bill's Dratini with Confuse Ray. The brown-haired man's two Electric Types fainted due to Ariana's Diglett, while Zane's Grass Type beat Proton's Staryu, leaving the male Admin without any Pokémon to battle. The Misdreavus went on to confuse Bill's Clefairy as well, and Sneasel used Icy Wind to deal critical damage to both Bulbasaur and Dratini. However, the green Pokémon's Ability, Overgrow, was activated because of this.
Overgrow, being the Grass Type counterpart to Blaze, Red's Charmander's Ability, raises the power of Bulbasaur's Grass Type Attack when he hasn't got much health left. Zane knew this and told his Pokémon to use Vine Whip to defeat Ariana's Diglett with one hit. Bill's Clefairy tried to use Disarming Voice to beat Team Rocket's Sneasel, but the attack landed on Bill's Dratini, because of the Fairy Type's confusion, causing the Dragon Type to faint.
The grunt whose Pokémon had already fainted was told something by Proton, after which he ran back to Cerulean City, probably to send that message to their Chiefs. Their Misdreavus, meanwhile, attacked Zane's Bulbasaur with Astonish to defeat him. At least, that's what would've happened if Bill hadn't interfered. His Shiny Eevee beat the Ghost Type with Bite before she could reach Zane's Pokémon. The Sneasel, however, distracted the Shiny Pokémon while Ariana's Growlithe struck with Flame Wheel to beat the Palletan Boy's last Pokémon so that Bill was the only Trainer left to battle the Admin and the grunt.
Clefairy fainted after hitting herself with Disarming Voice, while Porygon used Signal Beam to defeat Sneasel, and Growlithe's Bite was enough to cause the Shiny Eevee to faint.
"One versus one," Zane noted, trying to start a conversation with Kelvin, but the Pewterian boy grumbled back as a sign of neglect, so Zane looked back at the fight. Porygon's Conversion turned it into a Psychic to make its Psybeam do more damage. Bill, however, forgot about Ariana's Pokémon's attacks, and Growlithe used Bite to hit the pink-and-blue Pokémon with a super effective hit. After the Pokémaniac cursed himself, and his Pokémon had only just survived the attack, he ordered it to use Psybeam. That extra bit of damage due to Porygon having the same Type as its move, combined with a lucky critical hit, got Bill quite close to defeating the Fire Type. The admin told her Pokémon to use Reversal, a Fighting Type attack that does more damage when the user has less health left. Ariana's Growlithe had nearly been defeated, so the woman thought it would be a good idea to do this. However, Bill didn't even need to tell his Pokémon what to do, it had already figured out what to do. It used Conversion 2 to change itself to a Ghost Type, causing Reversal to do no damage at all.
"No!" Ariana shouted. "Proton, why did you do this?!" The male admin didn't reply, but even Zane and Kelvin could hear his deep sigh and see the frustrated look on his face.
"You distracted me!" Ariana continued. "Don't you ever dare to do that again!"
"And how would I have been able to do so?" Proton returned.
"By standing there!" Ariana yelled. "Get out!"
"And you'll have to do that with him!" Bill shouted.
"Your last Pokémon has been beaten just now," one of the Grunts noted.
"I can see that myself!" The admin barked. "And why didn't you do anything? You could've told Growlithe to use Bite!"
"Well..." The grunt tried, but the woman had already turned back, and everyone but her knew that she would've yelled at the Grunts if they had dared to even think about ordering her Pokémon to attack.
"You!" Ariana shouted, looking and pointing at Zane. "The Boss will know about this, Patterson! And he will destroy you and your Pokémon!"
"We could've done that if it weren't for you," Proton mumbled, quiet enough for his companion to not hear it. Ariana turned around to the other Admin and the remaining two grunts and shouted at them to return to their base. At that moment, the third grunt reappeared together with five Abra to teleport the five members of Team Rocket. The three grunts and Ariana each took one of the Pokémon and disappeared.
"He'll find you, Patterson," Proton warned with an evil smile on his face. "And I'll be with him when he does. Maybe, if you're lucky, Ariana as well," he laughed, after which took the last Abra in his hand and was teleported away.
While Bill returned his Porygon, Zane tried to start a conversation with Kelvin again, but the Pewterian's response was the same as before.
"I thought I'd told you to give up on your League Challenge, bonehead" he noted.
"You did," Zane replied. "And as you can see, I didn't listen to you."
"You should've," Kelvin said. "You're too stupid to even defeat two Pokémon that were weak to yours, don't you think there's a clear sign in that?"
"But then what about you?" Zane asked.
Kelvin still didn't seem pleased with the amount of frustration in his rival's voice, "mine were defeated after they had beaten four of their Pokémon, idiot. And you even had one more Pokémon and the Maniac to help you."
"So what?" Zane exclaimed.
"That means that you're not good enough for the League," Kelvin calmly replied, irritating the other boy even more.
"That's enough!" Bill interrupted. "I know that you like getting under his hair, probably also under other people's, but the two of us need to continue."
"Good, then I can defeat Misty and continue east," Kelvin replied. "See if you can catch up with me."
"Didn't you do that already? I thought you were so much better than me," Zane mocked.
"That's because I spent some time training with the strongest Trainer in northern Kanto," Kelvin answered.
"You've beaten Lance?" Bill exclaimed.
"Well," Kelvin started, but the Pokémaniac already knew the answer. He turned around, taking Zane with him and leaving the other boy alone to get back to Cerulean City.
"Ah, finally," the wheatish boy sighed. He looked at his companion with his brown eyes to wait for her reply.
"The Floral Lagoon City," the girl nodded as she waved her dark red hair back into place.
"What?"
"That's Cerulean's nickname," the dark brown eyed girl replied after she had removed a bit of sand from the boy's shagged black hair.
"Do all cities have nicknames?" Brown asked.
"Yup," Yolanda replied. "Pewter City, for example, is the Stone Gray City, and Pallet Town is the Tranquil Setting of Peace and Purity, I believe."
"And what about Viridian City?"
"That's your home city, right?"
"Yes, it is."
"It's the Eternally Green Paradise," Yolanda claimed.
"Meh," Brown reacted, "good enough."
Yolanda laughed.
They continued walking to Cerulean City, talking about the nicknames of other cities and towns in the Kanto region. When they entered the TRC, near the east exit to the Rock Tunnel, the two immediately went to ask for rooms. Brown had to share a room with one Cedric Burns, whereas Yolanda got the only one-person room. After this, the two went to the battlefields to see if there was anyone for Brown to challenge. They looked around for some time until someone tapped on Brown shoulder.
"First in Pewter, second-last in Cerulean," the orange-haired boy laughed. "Well done." Brown turned around to see his best friend's face.
"Blue!" He exclaimed. "How are you doing?"
"Well, I haven't defeated Misty yet," the Palletan boy admitted, "even though I did already challenge her twice. How about you?"
"Yolanda and I have just gone through Mt. Moon," Brown replied.
"Yolanda is Brock's sister, right?" Blue informed.
"Yup," the girl behind Brown replied, "and that's me."
"Nice to meet you," Oak's grandson said.
"Same to you," Yolanda returned.
"By the way," Brown interrupted. "Blue, I challenge you to a battle!"
"I was wondering when you'd do that," Blue smiled, and the other two laughed with him.
Meanwhile, north of Cerulean City, Bill and Zane had started their way to the former's house near the lighthouse on the Northern Cape.
"And who was that brat?" the PokéManiac asked.
"Kelvin Berry, from Pewter City," Zane explained. "He challenged and beat me in Viridian City right after I had obtained my Boulder Badge. He is also trying to beat the Gym Leaders, and he told me to give up because I'm not strong enough for that."
"He's right about that," Bill replied, and Zane looked at him with a look of combined confusion and anger.
"Not yet," he continued. "But you've only been underway for less than a month, it's no surprise you're still not strong enough to defeat all the Gym Leaders. However, neither is he. He too has yet to beat Cerulean's Gym Leader." Zane nodded in understanding.
"Speaking of Cerulean," he noted, "why were you there when Kelvin and I were battling Team Rocket?"
"Oh yes! Of course!" Bill exclaimed. "Totally forgot about it, thanks for reminding me."
"So what was it?"
"My girlfriend went to the city this morning like she always does, but she forgot these," Bill explained, while taking a box out of his wave-patterned bag. He opened it and showed Zane the small steel pins in the shape of light blue raindrops.
"What are they?" Zane asked. "The shape reminds of something."
"That could very well be," Bill replied with a mysterious smile on his face. "You'll find out fairly soon."
"Why don't you just tell me?"
"Because I want to see the surprise on your face when the time's there," Bill friendly teased.
Zane noticed it and decided not to respond to the man's mocking, "I'll wait, then." The disappointment on Bill's face satisfied Zane, and the PokéManiac told him to go to the cape and wait for himself to return. The boy nodded, after which the two went their different ways.
When Zane walked onto the grassland on the cape, the first thing he saw was the oldest standing building in the entire Kanto Region: the Lighthouse of Cerulean City, a 70 feet high, square white tower surrounded by a number of lower buildings. Those were the rooms of the lighthouse's owner. For three consecutive days every four years, however, they were reserved for the Pokémon League Competitors as a place to stay during the first three days of the League Competition. This was because of the first round of the competition always taking place at the Northern Cape.
The cape itself was a grass plain that grew steeper when going towards the sea, slowly going from dirt and grass to rocks where it became too steep to stand upon without falling into the waves that crashed into the rocks far below. While Zane was enjoying the view of the ocean and the mountains to the north, he noticed a sound behind him.
As he turned around, he saw two large orange-red pincers and then the Pokémon they were attached to. The upper part of the Water Type was the same orange-red, while the long, thin legs, his jaw, and his hips had a light tan color. On top of his head were two small spikes, and the Pokémon started walking to the left and to the right. Zane knew from the many lessons of Professor Oak that this Pokémon's pincers were not only used offensively but also to retain balance while walking sideways. If one of the two were to break off, which could happen very easily, it couldn't walk sideways anymore, but the pincer would rather quickly regenerate into a new, even stronger one.
The Krabby looked at Zane with something that was supposed to be a smile, but it looked more like he was putting up a challenging look. Luckily for him, Zane understood him and already took a Great Ball out of his bag. This particular Krabby had seen the battle between Team Rocket and Zane earlier that day and figured out that he and the other boy were on an adventure through the region. The Water Type wanted to do the same and decided to go with the kid in the blue jacket.
When he saw that boy's Pokémon and the way he treated them, however, he guessed that it would be a better idea to go with the other Trainer, who actually cared for his Pokémon and treated them as the wondrous creatures they are. This Trainer was Zane, and he had now placed the Great Ball in front of the Water Type. Krabby pushed the button with his right claw so that the capturing device could turn him into his energy state and fit him into itself. The Great Ball didn't even wiggle once before definitely catching the orange-red Pokémon.
'And that's number five,' Zane thought while taking the three Poké Ball and the Brawl Ball out of his bag to let his other four Pokémon meet their new friend.
"So you're finally underway," Nick noted.
"Yes, it took me some time, but here we are," Gray answered.
"And how are the other four?"
"Well, two days before Red's birthday, Brown captured a Geodude in the forest by Route 1. The last time I saw him, he still hadn't beaten Brock yet."
"And did you?"
"Yup, on my first try."
"With just Dratini? Nice."
"But now comes the best part for you," Gray announced.
"I'm listening."
"On Red's birthday, the other three got their first Pokémon from the Professor."
"Seriously? So Zane's on his way through Kanto as well?"
"Yes, together with Bulbasaur, Spearow, and Mankey. I don't know if he has caught any since I last saw him, but he had those three when he defeated Brock."
"And Red and Blue? I suppose they got Charmander and Squirtle?"
"Yup, and Blue caught a Nidoran near Viridian."
"Anything to tell about my sister and her friends?"
"Kiara and Green are still in Pallet, I think. But Yellow is in Pewter already as well. She got her Pikachu a few days after Red's birthday, and she has already caught a Rattata that guided her through the Viridian Forest."
"Isn't that the Forest Guides' job?"
"They've left the woods."
"What?!" The 16 years old stopped walking.
"Why would they ever do that?"
"I don't know," Gray lied.
"What's the matter?" Kevin and the three girls were walking after the two Palletans, but only nearly avoided bumping into Nick when he stopped.
"The Forest Guides left the woods," Gray explained.
"Who are they?" Tanya asked.
"Where are you from?" Nick returned.
"My twin sister and I are from Lavender," Lola replied.
"And we're from Pewter," Tara added.
"That explains it," Nick stated.
"Anyway," Gray continued. "It looks like we've reached Vermilion City."
"I could've figured that out myself," Lola mumbled, watching the sign above the gate that said 'Welcome to Vermilion City.' The six returned to the TRC, in which Gray properly introduced his new friends to Nick.
"They are Tanya and Lola," he started. "As you probably already noticed, they are twin sisters. Tanya is the chirpy one with the curly hair, Lola with the straight hair."
Nick nodded.
"And the other two are Kevin and Tara, the brother and sister I battled in the Pewter TRC together with Blue."
"Who won?" Nick asked.
"We, of course," Tara laughed.
Nick nodded again with a smile on his face.
"Tanya has the Cascade, Rainbow, and Thunder Badge," Gray continued, "and Lola the only the first of those two."
Another nod.
"And the Pewterians have beaten Brock and Misty, just like me."
A final nod, "and you 've captured a Diglett to help you in your battle against Lt. Surge, am I right?"
Now it was Gray's turn to nod.
"And which Pokémon do yall have?" Nick asked the four. He listened to their teams and gave them a few strategies to use with the Pokémon they had.
"And how many Badges do you have?" Tanya asked.
"Six," Nick answered. "And I was about to leave for Fuchsia to obtain my seventh." Gray's friends, even Lola, were impressed by his achievements.
"So you only have to defeat Koga and Viridian's Gym Leader, right?" Tara asked.
"I have already earned my Earth Badge," Nick replied. "When I started my journey, Giovanni was still Viridian's Gym Leader. The other one I haven't defeated yet is Blaine, he's going to be the last one for me."
"By the way," Gray interrupted. "Have any of you heard of Team Rocket?" The other five all confirmed that they did.
"We saw them right before we arrived in Cerulean," Tara explained.
"They were heading for Mt. Moon," Kevin added, "but we had no idea that they were going to harm anyone. It was in the TRC when we discovered who they were."
"We've seen a bunch of them hanging around the Celadon Game Corner," Tanya continued.
"And I saw them when I first arrived in Viridian City," Nick finished. "Giovanni was fighting the six of them when I arrived at the Gym, but they stood no chance against that man."
"I still wonder why he gave up his position," Gray said.
"Same here," Nick responded.
"And where is he now?" Kevin added.
"Nobody knows," Lola replied. "But I've heard some theories that the new Gym Leader has connections with Team Rocket and they forced Giovanni to leave the Gym."
"Wouldn't be a surprise to me," Tara admitted.
"But it definitely would to me," Nick replied. "Team Rocket is a bunch of unorganized thugs, they would never be able to scare a Gym Leader away, not even with twenty or thirty of them."
"I'm not so sure," Gray responded. "They definitely have at least some structure. I've heard people talking about their Admins and Executives."
"Seriously?" Nick exclaimed. "Now that's what I would call a surprise."
"I think they will be a bigger threat than we think now," Tanya admitted.
"But only time will tell," Nick added. "Speaking of time, I think I'm leaving."
"Why don't you stay with us for a bit more?" Gray asked.
"I've had contact with a friend I made in Celadon, we've arranged to meet in Fuchsia's TRC today. It's still early in the afternoon, so I might be able to make it there before dusk."
"Okay then," Gray said. "I guess I'll see you again on the Indigo Plateau."
"If you make it that far," Nick laughed.
"Oh, just you wait."
"Clefairy, Spearow, Bulbasaur, Mankey, meet Krabby." On the Northern Cape, Zane wanted to train with all five of his Pokémon. They attacked the wild Pokémon on the cape, including some Bulbasaur.
'I didn't know they could appear in the wild,' Zane thought, but he didn't take the next step to the conclusion he would later come to.
"Krabby, Spearow, use Vice Grip and Peck to attack the wild Bulbasaur!" Zane was so focused on his own Pokémon that he didn't notice Bill returning to the cape.
"Training your new Pokémon, aren't you?" He shouted, not accidentally startling the Palletan boy.
"Let's go," he continued. "It's less than a five-minute walk to my house." Zane nodded and returned his Pokémon after they had defeated another wild Bulbasaur. He ran to Bill, who had already started walking.
"So, how did it go?" Zane asked.
"How did what go?"
"Returning that box to your girlfriend?"
"Oh, it was nothing special," the PokéManiac answered. "This wasn't the first time she forgot it."
Zane nodded, "Will you now tell me who she is?"
"Nope," Bill laughed. Zane grumbled and decided to stop trying.
"Believe me, you will find out in a few days time," the man repeated. The two chatted some more about the rare Pokémon Bill had at his lab like his Porygon and Shiny Eevee. After about two minutes, they found Bill's home.
It was a one-story-high building, made of yellow bricks with a flat wooden roof. The house only had a bathroom, a bedroom, and a living room, nothing more.
"Here we are," the Maniac announced. "This is where I live together with my girlfriend." He tried to provoke Zane into asking about her again, but the boy didn't give in.
"That's one small house," he instead noted.
"Yeah, she wanted a compact house near the sea, so there you go."
"Can we go inside? It's getting a bit cold."
"Of course," Bill replied. "That's what we're here for, isn't it?"
The dark-brown-haired man quickly showed Zane the few rooms but then led him to the garden, which was much more spacious than the house itself. Flowers in all colors, trees of all sorts, rocks of all sizes, small fountains in all shapes, and gravel paths in all directions.
Bill's Pokémon were all around the garden. There were Shiny versions of several species like Geodude, Raticate, Pidgeotto, and Drowzee, but also Pokémon that weren't particularly common like Omastar, Ditto, Tangela, and Lapras. One thing that got into Zane's mind was that there was an enormous amount of Water Types. He could see one of each species, including Vaporeon, Poliwrath, and even Blastoise.
"Oh, there you are," Bill interrupted the boy's thoughts, he picked something up from the ground.
"Have you heard about different sizes of Pokémon?" The PokéManiac asked, to which Zane nodded.
"Well, then take a look at this one." Behind Bill lay a dark blue-green Pokémon with a cream-colored spot covering his front and the underside of his feet. It was of the fattest Pokémon species in existence, but this one was only as high as Bill's knees.
"The smallest Snorlax ever found," the dark-blue wearing man explained, "living in our garden." Zane, still surprised by the size of the Normal Type, didn't know what to say.
"I get this reaction a lot," Bill stated.
"What reaction?"
"None," the man laughed.
The two went back inside to get something to drink and were followed by Bill's Shiny Zubat.
Her body was a moss green color where a normal Zubat would've been dark blue, and her membranous wings were light brown to orange. Her pointy ears and two thin tails were the same green as the rest of the body, with the insides of the ears having the brown color.
"Do you want to come with me for some time?" Bill asked. The Zubat gave a screech, which the PokéManiac understood as a yes.
"Then Voltorb'll have to stay here for that time." He took out the Luxury Ball containing his Electric Type and sent out the Pokémon. He placed the Ball inside a box and took out Zubat's Dusk Ball to return her into it and bring the Poison Type with him.
"So," Bill continued. "What tea flavor do you like? I've got Qualot, Nomel, Pecha, Salac, and Ganlon."
"Whichever one is the sweetest."
"Well, Qualot is a bit spicy, Pecha is just sweet, and Salac is also sour."
"Then I want the Pecha tea."
"Will be fine!" Bill went into the garden to find a Growlithe that could use Ember to heat up the water. When he came back, he had two cups of hot tea for him and his guest to drink.
"What flavor do you have?" Zane asked.
"This is Ganlon tea, very bitter. I definitely don't have a sweet tooth, I just .. bleurgh, no, not for me."
"I can see," Zane joked. The two talked some more in the company of some Pokémon that walked inside and then out again.
"Oh, there was something I wanted to ask you," Bill started. "I've created something that I want you to test out, I call it the Pokémon Storage System. Could you try to put one of your Pokémon into it to see if it works?"
"And what will it do to them?"
"It will store them in the boxes of the system. Not physical boxes, of course, but boxes on a computer that you can access in every PMC and TRC."
"Sounds cool," Zane admitted. "But is it dangerous?"
"Definitely not," the PokéManiac assured. "The worst thing that can happen is that the system doesn't work, and even then, your Pokémon will still be in its Poké Ball."
"Okay, let's do this," Zane decided while taking a Poké Ball out of his bag. "This is the Clefairy I caught before we battled Team Rocket in Mt. Moon."
"Oh yes, I remember that one," Bill responded. The two walked to the computer that stood on the other side of the living room.
"Now place your Clefairy's Poké Ball here to send her into this box." He pointed at a hole, the size of a Poké Ball, in the desk before the computer.
"If it works, an icon that looks like a Clefairy will appear here on the screen." Zane did as he was told to, and the two looked at the screen to see what would happen.
"I don't think it worked," Zane stated.
"Just wait, this can take some time. I'm going to work on its speed later, this is just to see if it does what it's supposed to do." And there it was, on the screen, a small pink Pokémon with pointy brown ears and a curled patch of fur on her forehead.
"Yes!" Bill exclaimed. "It works!" Zane looked at the man with confusion in his eyes, he didn't understand the importance of what had just happened. Moreover, the Poké Ball containing his Fairy Type had just disappeared, so he didn't feel entirely sure how he should react.
"Zane Patterson, you have just helped me take a step to what'll be the future."
Zane nodded, but still had no idea what he had done.
"Now," Bill continued, "to retrieve your Clefairy, just click on her icon, and her Poké Ball will reappear on the desk." Zane took the mouse of the computer in his hand and moved the cursor to the pink shape. When he clicked on it, it disappeared, and the Poké Ball appeared in the hole in the desk.
"It actually worked!" Bill shouted, even more enthusiastic than before. "Send her out to see if she's alright," he urged. Zane threw the Poké Ball in the air to see his Pokémon jump out of it onto the floor, and she seemed to be doing alright. To confirm, she let out a growl with a high-pitched but healthy voice.
"Perfect," the PokéManiac praised, "absolutely perfect."
"Kadabra, your turn again!" Blake shouted to start the battle between him and Kiyo's favorite in the Fighting Dojo.
"Just as expected," the massive man said with his low and rumbling voice. "X-Scissor to damage that Kadabra!"
"No!" Blake yelled, but he was too late. His Psychic Type got hit by Bruno's Pokémon and, being tired due to the previous seven fights, fainted after only one attack.
The brown Bug Type was only as high as Zane's shoulders if it weren't for the two big spiky pincers on his head. His arms were thin, contrary to his legs, and his teeth were aligned horizontally in his mouth. Each foot and hand had three gray claws, and the look in his eyes was as angry as it always was.
"Good job, Pinsir," Bruno growled. "Now let's see what else that boy's got."
'I could let Beedrill use Fury Attack, but that's too risky,' Blake thought. 'Or Voltorb could... Yes, that might work.'
The Celadonian boy sent out his Electric Type and told it to use Screech to harshly drop Pinsir's physical defense.
"Double Hit!" The gigantic man commanded. The Bug Type hit Voltorb but was paralyzed due to that one's Static Ability.
"Now, Voltorb!" Blake excitedly shouted. "Spark to defeat Pinsir!" The attack didn't have the desired effect, however, since Bruno's Pokémon survived the hit. Luck was on Blake's side, though, because the paralysis caused the Bug Type to not be able to move. Due to this, Voltorb got the opportunity to strike again, this time actually beating the brown Pokémon.
"Pinsir, return," Bruno grumbled. "Cubone, your turn! Bonemerang to get rid of that Electric Type!" The attack was strong enough to severely damage Voltorb, but it just held on. It started spinning around to create orbs of yellow lights around him.
'A new attack,' Blake figured. 'Let's see.' Voltorb sent the five lights towards Cubone, and the rays they left behind had the shapes of stars.
"Swift!" Blake exclaimed. "That could come in handy." The Ground Type, however, managed to beat Voltorb with his second attack, meaning that Blake had to send out his third Pokémon.
"Tangela," was his best option, "Vine Whip!" Again, luck was on Blake's side as his Grass Type's Attack struck on his opponent as a critical hit, knocking out the enormous man's second of three Pokémon.
"And it comes down to you," he shouted while sending out the third.
The gray-skinned Pokémon had four sharp teeth, narrow red eyes, and three dark yellow ridges on top of his head.
"Machoke, Fire Punch!" Bruno shouted. Around the Fighting Type's muscular arms, covered in red stripes, flames started forming. The golden marking on his black belt glowed in red as well when his right fist was set on fire by the flames.
"Tangela!" Blake yelled. "Poison Powder to give us a chance!"
The Grass Type managed to hit Machoke with her poisonous spores but was then defeated by that one's Fire-Type Attack.
"Well done," Blake thanked, so quietly that it almost sounded like whispering. He knew that he had already lost this battle, since his last Pokémon, Beedrill, would also be defeated by one Fire Punch. He tried anyway.
The Bug Type was sent out and told to use Rage, after which he was hit by Machoke. That one's Fire Punch, surprisingly, wasn't enough to beat Beedrill, who continued by using Fury Attack. With their raised power, the Bug Type's stingers hit Bruno's Pokémon five times in total, with one being a critical hit. Even though Blake had all this luck, Machoke didn't faint and used one last Fire Punch while Beedrill got ready for another Fury Attack. Beedrill avoided his opponent's fist but got burned by one of the flares around his arms. This caused Blake's Pokémon's Physical Attack to return to normal, which meant that Fury Attack's two hits weren't enough to defeat Machoke either. Beedrill, distracted by his burn, didn't see the next Fire Punch coming and got knocked out by it.
"And Blake Moran, from Celadon City, is revealed to not be invincible either," Kiyo announced. "and Bruno Garwig, unsurprisingly, won the battle!" The enormous man returned his Machoke and beat on his chest to intimidate Blake, even though their battle had already finished.
"I liked this fight," the man grumbled. "Are you participating in the Pokémon League?"
"Yes, I am," Blake replied with a terrified shake in his voice.
"Perfect," the man laughed, but that sounded more like the barking of a dog than something else.
"Then I'll see you again," he concluded.
"And I'll guide you back outside," Kiyo added. Blake nodded and followed the Karate Master through the main hall. The Black Belts that had earlier shaken their heads of disapproval were now looking at the Celadonian boy with a much more appreciating and challenging look in their eyes.
'Those seven must've told them about me defeating them,' Blake figured. 'It might be a good idea to return here, maybe some stronger Trainers would like to fight me then.'
The two had reached the door.
"Thanks for paying us a visit," Kiyo said. "And to be fair, nobody except for you and two other Trainers has ever been able to get that man to send out his last Pokémon."
"And those other two?"
"Lance Draken and Lorelei Frost."
"The two that won the Pokémon Leagues from fourteen and twenty-one years ago?"
"Correct," Kiyo confirmed.
"So we both have high expectations of you," another voice grumbled. Bruno also walked through the door with a shiny stone in his hand.
"You might want to have this." He gave Blake the white stone.
"Alakazite," Bruno growled. "I thought you might like it."
"I definitely do," Blake responded.
The Mega Stone gave off a particular power. The swirly form inside it had orange, red, and yellow colors to represent Alakazam's Mega Evolution. After he had turned the small gem around several times, Blake stretched out his hand to return it to the massive man.
"No, it's yours to keep," Bruno laughed, and Kiyo laughed with him because of the surprise in the boy's eyes.
"Are you making a joke?" He asked, which only caused Kiyo to laugh even harder while Bruno looked at him with his right eyebrow raised.
"I think that's enough," he barked. "And no, this is no joke, it's actually yours."
"I don't know how to thank you," Blake muttered.
"Just try to make it to the League Competition," Bruno replied. "And I promise you that we'll have another battle."
"I'll do my best," Blake assured.
"You better do," Kiyo concluded.
The three said goodbye, after which the two men went back into the Dojo, and the boy returned to the TRC.
"Staryu! Bubblebeam on that Spearow to slow him down!" Ariana Rowe shouted.
"You know that I hate it when you tell my Pokémon what to do!" Proton Carson reacted.
"So what?" Ariana replied.
"So don't do that, focus on your own Pokémon, or I'll tell Lucy about this." Proton threatened.
"Oh, how scary," Ariana sarcastically reacted. Proton was about to reply, but then he remembered that there was still a Pokémon battle going on. He looked at his and his companion's Pokémon to see that Ariana's Gloom had been defeated by Bill's Porygon, while the PokéManiac's other Pokémon were attacking her Diglett and Growlithe, and his own Staryu was under attack from Zane's Bulbasaur.
"Diglett! Mud Slap on Magneton and Voltorb!" He heard Ariana command. He told his Staryu to hit Zane's Bulbasaur with Psywave, while the female Admin's Growlithe attacked Bill's Eevee and Porygon.
Kelvin's Seel, meanwhile, had been beaten by Misdreavus before being able to hit Sneasel, meaning that the latter two could go and help the admins. The Dark Type's Icy Wind managed to defeat Zane's Spearow, whereas Misdreavus confused Bill's Dratini with Confuse Ray. The brown-haired man's two Electric Types fainted due to Ariana's Diglett, while Zane's Grass Type beat Proton's Staryu, leaving the male Admin without any Pokémon to battle. The Misdreavus went on to confuse Bill's Clefairy as well, and Sneasel used Icy Wind to deal critical damage to both Bulbasaur and Dratini. However, the green Pokémon's Ability, Overgrow, was activated because of this.
Overgrow, being the Grass Type counterpart to Blaze, Red's Charmander's Ability, raises the power of Bulbasaur's Grass Type Attack when he hasn't got much health left. Zane knew this and told his Pokémon to use Vine Whip to defeat Ariana's Diglett with one hit. Bill's Clefairy tried to use Disarming Voice to beat Team Rocket's Sneasel, but the attack landed on Bill's Dratini, because of the Fairy Type's confusion, causing the Dragon Type to faint.
The grunt whose Pokémon had already fainted was told something by Proton, after which he ran back to Cerulean City, probably to send that message to their Chiefs. Their Misdreavus, meanwhile, attacked Zane's Bulbasaur with Astonish to defeat him. At least, that's what would've happened if Bill hadn't interfered. His Shiny Eevee beat the Ghost Type with Bite before she could reach Zane's Pokémon. The Sneasel, however, distracted the Shiny Pokémon while Ariana's Growlithe struck with Flame Wheel to beat the Palletan Boy's last Pokémon so that Bill was the only Trainer left to battle the Admin and the grunt.
Clefairy fainted after hitting herself with Disarming Voice, while Porygon used Signal Beam to defeat Sneasel, and Growlithe's Bite was enough to cause the Shiny Eevee to faint.
"One versus one," Zane noted, trying to start a conversation with Kelvin, but the Pewterian boy grumbled back as a sign of neglect, so Zane looked back at the fight. Porygon's Conversion turned it into a Psychic to make its Psybeam do more damage. Bill, however, forgot about Ariana's Pokémon's attacks, and Growlithe used Bite to hit the pink-and-blue Pokémon with a super effective hit. After the Pokémaniac cursed himself, and his Pokémon had only just survived the attack, he ordered it to use Psybeam. That extra bit of damage due to Porygon having the same Type as its move, combined with a lucky critical hit, got Bill quite close to defeating the Fire Type. The admin told her Pokémon to use Reversal, a Fighting Type attack that does more damage when the user has less health left. Ariana's Growlithe had nearly been defeated, so the woman thought it would be a good idea to do this. However, Bill didn't even need to tell his Pokémon what to do, it had already figured out what to do. It used Conversion 2 to change itself to a Ghost Type, causing Reversal to do no damage at all.
"No!" Ariana shouted. "Proton, why did you do this?!" The male admin didn't reply, but even Zane and Kelvin could hear his deep sigh and see the frustrated look on his face.
"You distracted me!" Ariana continued. "Don't you ever dare to do that again!"
"And how would I have been able to do so?" Proton returned.
"By standing there!" Ariana yelled. "Get out!"
"And you'll have to do that with him!" Bill shouted.
"Your last Pokémon has been beaten just now," one of the Grunts noted.
"I can see that myself!" The admin barked. "And why didn't you do anything? You could've told Growlithe to use Bite!"
"Well..." The grunt tried, but the woman had already turned back, and everyone but her knew that she would've yelled at the Grunts if they had dared to even think about ordering her Pokémon to attack.
"You!" Ariana shouted, looking and pointing at Zane. "The Boss will know about this, Patterson! And he will destroy you and your Pokémon!"
"We could've done that if it weren't for you," Proton mumbled, quiet enough for his companion to not hear it. Ariana turned around to the other Admin and the remaining two grunts and shouted at them to return to their base. At that moment, the third grunt reappeared together with five Abra to teleport the five members of Team Rocket. The three grunts and Ariana each took one of the Pokémon and disappeared.
"He'll find you, Patterson," Proton warned with an evil smile on his face. "And I'll be with him when he does. Maybe, if you're lucky, Ariana as well," he laughed, after which took the last Abra in his hand and was teleported away.
While Bill returned his Porygon, Zane tried to start a conversation with Kelvin again, but the Pewterian's response was the same as before.
"I thought I'd told you to give up on your League Challenge, bonehead" he noted.
"You did," Zane replied. "And as you can see, I didn't listen to you."
"You should've," Kelvin said. "You're too stupid to even defeat two Pokémon that were weak to yours, don't you think there's a clear sign in that?"
"But then what about you?" Zane asked.
Kelvin still didn't seem pleased with the amount of frustration in his rival's voice, "mine were defeated after they had beaten four of their Pokémon, idiot. And you even had one more Pokémon and the Maniac to help you."
"So what?" Zane exclaimed.
"That means that you're not good enough for the League," Kelvin calmly replied, irritating the other boy even more.
"That's enough!" Bill interrupted. "I know that you like getting under his hair, probably also under other people's, but the two of us need to continue."
"Good, then I can defeat Misty and continue east," Kelvin replied. "See if you can catch up with me."
"Didn't you do that already? I thought you were so much better than me," Zane mocked.
"That's because I spent some time training with the strongest Trainer in northern Kanto," Kelvin answered.
"You've beaten Lance?" Bill exclaimed.
"Well," Kelvin started, but the Pokémaniac already knew the answer. He turned around, taking Zane with him and leaving the other boy alone to get back to Cerulean City.
"Ah, finally," the wheatish boy sighed. He looked at his companion with his brown eyes to wait for her reply.
"The Floral Lagoon City," the girl nodded as she waved her dark red hair back into place.
"What?"
"That's Cerulean's nickname," the dark brown eyed girl replied after she had removed a bit of sand from the boy's shagged black hair.
"Do all cities have nicknames?" Brown asked.
"Yup," Yolanda replied. "Pewter City, for example, is the Stone Gray City, and Pallet Town is the Tranquil Setting of Peace and Purity, I believe."
"And what about Viridian City?"
"That's your home city, right?"
"Yes, it is."
"It's the Eternally Green Paradise," Yolanda claimed.
"Meh," Brown reacted, "good enough."
Yolanda laughed.
They continued walking to Cerulean City, talking about the nicknames of other cities and towns in the Kanto region. When they entered the TRC, near the east exit to the Rock Tunnel, the two immediately went to ask for rooms. Brown had to share a room with one Cedric Burns, whereas Yolanda got the only one-person room. After this, the two went to the battlefields to see if there was anyone for Brown to challenge. They looked around for some time until someone tapped on Brown shoulder.
"First in Pewter, second-last in Cerulean," the orange-haired boy laughed. "Well done." Brown turned around to see his best friend's face.
"Blue!" He exclaimed. "How are you doing?"
"Well, I haven't defeated Misty yet," the Palletan boy admitted, "even though I did already challenge her twice. How about you?"
"Yolanda and I have just gone through Mt. Moon," Brown replied.
"Yolanda is Brock's sister, right?" Blue informed.
"Yup," the girl behind Brown replied, "and that's me."
"Nice to meet you," Oak's grandson said.
"Same to you," Yolanda returned.
"By the way," Brown interrupted. "Blue, I challenge you to a battle!"
"I was wondering when you'd do that," Blue smiled, and the other two laughed with him.
Meanwhile, north of Cerulean City, Bill and Zane had started their way to the former's house near the lighthouse on the Northern Cape.
"And who was that brat?" the PokéManiac asked.
"Kelvin Berry, from Pewter City," Zane explained. "He challenged and beat me in Viridian City right after I had obtained my Boulder Badge. He is also trying to beat the Gym Leaders, and he told me to give up because I'm not strong enough for that."
"He's right about that," Bill replied, and Zane looked at him with a look of combined confusion and anger.
"Not yet," he continued. "But you've only been underway for less than a month, it's no surprise you're still not strong enough to defeat all the Gym Leaders. However, neither is he. He too has yet to beat Cerulean's Gym Leader." Zane nodded in understanding.
"Speaking of Cerulean," he noted, "why were you there when Kelvin and I were battling Team Rocket?"
"Oh yes! Of course!" Bill exclaimed. "Totally forgot about it, thanks for reminding me."
"So what was it?"
"My girlfriend went to the city this morning like she always does, but she forgot these," Bill explained, while taking a box out of his wave-patterned bag. He opened it and showed Zane the small steel pins in the shape of light blue raindrops.
"What are they?" Zane asked. "The shape reminds of something."
"That could very well be," Bill replied with a mysterious smile on his face. "You'll find out fairly soon."
"Why don't you just tell me?"
"Because I want to see the surprise on your face when the time's there," Bill friendly teased.
Zane noticed it and decided not to respond to the man's mocking, "I'll wait, then." The disappointment on Bill's face satisfied Zane, and the PokéManiac told him to go to the cape and wait for himself to return. The boy nodded, after which the two went their different ways.
When Zane walked onto the grassland on the cape, the first thing he saw was the oldest standing building in the entire Kanto Region: the Lighthouse of Cerulean City, a 70 feet high, square white tower surrounded by a number of lower buildings. Those were the rooms of the lighthouse's owner. For three consecutive days every four years, however, they were reserved for the Pokémon League Competitors as a place to stay during the first three days of the League Competition. This was because of the first round of the competition always taking place at the Northern Cape.
The cape itself was a grass plain that grew steeper when going towards the sea, slowly going from dirt and grass to rocks where it became too steep to stand upon without falling into the waves that crashed into the rocks far below. While Zane was enjoying the view of the ocean and the mountains to the north, he noticed a sound behind him.
As he turned around, he saw two large orange-red pincers and then the Pokémon they were attached to. The upper part of the Water Type was the same orange-red, while the long, thin legs, his jaw, and his hips had a light tan color. On top of his head were two small spikes, and the Pokémon started walking to the left and to the right. Zane knew from the many lessons of Professor Oak that this Pokémon's pincers were not only used offensively but also to retain balance while walking sideways. If one of the two were to break off, which could happen very easily, it couldn't walk sideways anymore, but the pincer would rather quickly regenerate into a new, even stronger one.
The Krabby looked at Zane with something that was supposed to be a smile, but it looked more like he was putting up a challenging look. Luckily for him, Zane understood him and already took a Great Ball out of his bag. This particular Krabby had seen the battle between Team Rocket and Zane earlier that day and figured out that he and the other boy were on an adventure through the region. The Water Type wanted to do the same and decided to go with the kid in the blue jacket.
When he saw that boy's Pokémon and the way he treated them, however, he guessed that it would be a better idea to go with the other Trainer, who actually cared for his Pokémon and treated them as the wondrous creatures they are. This Trainer was Zane, and he had now placed the Great Ball in front of the Water Type. Krabby pushed the button with his right claw so that the capturing device could turn him into his energy state and fit him into itself. The Great Ball didn't even wiggle once before definitely catching the orange-red Pokémon.
'And that's number five,' Zane thought while taking the three Poké Ball and the Brawl Ball out of his bag to let his other four Pokémon meet their new friend.
"So you're finally underway," Nick noted.
"Yes, it took me some time, but here we are," Gray answered.
"And how are the other four?"
"Well, two days before Red's birthday, Brown captured a Geodude in the forest by Route 1. The last time I saw him, he still hadn't beaten Brock yet."
"And did you?"
"Yup, on my first try."
"With just Dratini? Nice."
"But now comes the best part for you," Gray announced.
"I'm listening."
"On Red's birthday, the other three got their first Pokémon from the Professor."
"Seriously? So Zane's on his way through Kanto as well?"
"Yes, together with Bulbasaur, Spearow, and Mankey. I don't know if he has caught any since I last saw him, but he had those three when he defeated Brock."
"And Red and Blue? I suppose they got Charmander and Squirtle?"
"Yup, and Blue caught a Nidoran near Viridian."
"Anything to tell about my sister and her friends?"
"Kiara and Green are still in Pallet, I think. But Yellow is in Pewter already as well. She got her Pikachu a few days after Red's birthday, and she has already caught a Rattata that guided her through the Viridian Forest."
"Isn't that the Forest Guides' job?"
"They've left the woods."
"What?!" The 16 years old stopped walking.
"Why would they ever do that?"
"I don't know," Gray lied.
"What's the matter?" Kevin and the three girls were walking after the two Palletans, but only nearly avoided bumping into Nick when he stopped.
"The Forest Guides left the woods," Gray explained.
"Who are they?" Tanya asked.
"Where are you from?" Nick returned.
"My twin sister and I are from Lavender," Lola replied.
"And we're from Pewter," Tara added.
"That explains it," Nick stated.
"Anyway," Gray continued. "It looks like we've reached Vermilion City."
"I could've figured that out myself," Lola mumbled, watching the sign above the gate that said 'Welcome to Vermilion City.' The six returned to the TRC, in which Gray properly introduced his new friends to Nick.
"They are Tanya and Lola," he started. "As you probably already noticed, they are twin sisters. Tanya is the chirpy one with the curly hair, Lola with the straight hair."
Nick nodded.
"And the other two are Kevin and Tara, the brother and sister I battled in the Pewter TRC together with Blue."
"Who won?" Nick asked.
"We, of course," Tara laughed.
Nick nodded again with a smile on his face.
"Tanya has the Cascade, Rainbow, and Thunder Badge," Gray continued, "and Lola the only the first of those two."
Another nod.
"And the Pewterians have beaten Brock and Misty, just like me."
A final nod, "and you 've captured a Diglett to help you in your battle against Lt. Surge, am I right?"
Now it was Gray's turn to nod.
"And which Pokémon do yall have?" Nick asked the four. He listened to their teams and gave them a few strategies to use with the Pokémon they had.
"And how many Badges do you have?" Tanya asked.
"Six," Nick answered. "And I was about to leave for Fuchsia to obtain my seventh." Gray's friends, even Lola, were impressed by his achievements.
"So you only have to defeat Koga and Viridian's Gym Leader, right?" Tara asked.
"I have already earned my Earth Badge," Nick replied. "When I started my journey, Giovanni was still Viridian's Gym Leader. The other one I haven't defeated yet is Blaine, he's going to be the last one for me."
"By the way," Gray interrupted. "Have any of you heard of Team Rocket?" The other five all confirmed that they did.
"We saw them right before we arrived in Cerulean," Tara explained.
"They were heading for Mt. Moon," Kevin added, "but we had no idea that they were going to harm anyone. It was in the TRC when we discovered who they were."
"We've seen a bunch of them hanging around the Celadon Game Corner," Tanya continued.
"And I saw them when I first arrived in Viridian City," Nick finished. "Giovanni was fighting the six of them when I arrived at the Gym, but they stood no chance against that man."
"I still wonder why he gave up his position," Gray said.
"Same here," Nick responded.
"And where is he now?" Kevin added.
"Nobody knows," Lola replied. "But I've heard some theories that the new Gym Leader has connections with Team Rocket and they forced Giovanni to leave the Gym."
"Wouldn't be a surprise to me," Tara admitted.
"But it definitely would to me," Nick replied. "Team Rocket is a bunch of unorganized thugs, they would never be able to scare a Gym Leader away, not even with twenty or thirty of them."
"I'm not so sure," Gray responded. "They definitely have at least some structure. I've heard people talking about their Admins and Executives."
"Seriously?" Nick exclaimed. "Now that's what I would call a surprise."
"I think they will be a bigger threat than we think now," Tanya admitted.
"But only time will tell," Nick added. "Speaking of time, I think I'm leaving."
"Why don't you stay with us for a bit more?" Gray asked.
"I've had contact with a friend I made in Celadon, we've arranged to meet in Fuchsia's TRC today. It's still early in the afternoon, so I might be able to make it there before dusk."
"Okay then," Gray said. "I guess I'll see you again on the Indigo Plateau."
"If you make it that far," Nick laughed.
"Oh, just you wait."
"Clefairy, Spearow, Bulbasaur, Mankey, meet Krabby." On the Northern Cape, Zane wanted to train with all five of his Pokémon. They attacked the wild Pokémon on the cape, including some Bulbasaur.
'I didn't know they could appear in the wild,' Zane thought, but he didn't take the next step to the conclusion he would later come to.
"Krabby, Spearow, use Vice Grip and Peck to attack the wild Bulbasaur!" Zane was so focused on his own Pokémon that he didn't notice Bill returning to the cape.
"Training your new Pokémon, aren't you?" He shouted, not accidentally startling the Palletan boy.
"Let's go," he continued. "It's less than a five-minute walk to my house." Zane nodded and returned his Pokémon after they had defeated another wild Bulbasaur. He ran to Bill, who had already started walking.
"So, how did it go?" Zane asked.
"How did what go?"
"Returning that box to your girlfriend?"
"Oh, it was nothing special," the PokéManiac answered. "This wasn't the first time she forgot it."
Zane nodded, "Will you now tell me who she is?"
"Nope," Bill laughed. Zane grumbled and decided to stop trying.
"Believe me, you will find out in a few days time," the man repeated. The two chatted some more about the rare Pokémon Bill had at his lab like his Porygon and Shiny Eevee. After about two minutes, they found Bill's home.
It was a one-story-high building, made of yellow bricks with a flat wooden roof. The house only had a bathroom, a bedroom, and a living room, nothing more.
"Here we are," the Maniac announced. "This is where I live together with my girlfriend." He tried to provoke Zane into asking about her again, but the boy didn't give in.
"That's one small house," he instead noted.
"Yeah, she wanted a compact house near the sea, so there you go."
"Can we go inside? It's getting a bit cold."
"Of course," Bill replied. "That's what we're here for, isn't it?"
The dark-brown-haired man quickly showed Zane the few rooms but then led him to the garden, which was much more spacious than the house itself. Flowers in all colors, trees of all sorts, rocks of all sizes, small fountains in all shapes, and gravel paths in all directions.
Bill's Pokémon were all around the garden. There were Shiny versions of several species like Geodude, Raticate, Pidgeotto, and Drowzee, but also Pokémon that weren't particularly common like Omastar, Ditto, Tangela, and Lapras. One thing that got into Zane's mind was that there was an enormous amount of Water Types. He could see one of each species, including Vaporeon, Poliwrath, and even Blastoise.
"Oh, there you are," Bill interrupted the boy's thoughts, he picked something up from the ground.
"Have you heard about different sizes of Pokémon?" The PokéManiac asked, to which Zane nodded.
"Well, then take a look at this one." Behind Bill lay a dark blue-green Pokémon with a cream-colored spot covering his front and the underside of his feet. It was of the fattest Pokémon species in existence, but this one was only as high as Bill's knees.
"The smallest Snorlax ever found," the dark-blue wearing man explained, "living in our garden." Zane, still surprised by the size of the Normal Type, didn't know what to say.
"I get this reaction a lot," Bill stated.
"What reaction?"
"None," the man laughed.
The two went back inside to get something to drink and were followed by Bill's Shiny Zubat.
Her body was a moss green color where a normal Zubat would've been dark blue, and her membranous wings were light brown to orange. Her pointy ears and two thin tails were the same green as the rest of the body, with the insides of the ears having the brown color.
"Do you want to come with me for some time?" Bill asked. The Zubat gave a screech, which the PokéManiac understood as a yes.
"Then Voltorb'll have to stay here for that time." He took out the Luxury Ball containing his Electric Type and sent out the Pokémon. He placed the Ball inside a box and took out Zubat's Dusk Ball to return her into it and bring the Poison Type with him.
"So," Bill continued. "What tea flavor do you like? I've got Qualot, Nomel, Pecha, Salac, and Ganlon."
"Whichever one is the sweetest."
"Well, Qualot is a bit spicy, Pecha is just sweet, and Salac is also sour."
"Then I want the Pecha tea."
"Will be fine!" Bill went into the garden to find a Growlithe that could use Ember to heat up the water. When he came back, he had two cups of hot tea for him and his guest to drink.
"What flavor do you have?" Zane asked.
"This is Ganlon tea, very bitter. I definitely don't have a sweet tooth, I just .. bleurgh, no, not for me."
"I can see," Zane joked. The two talked some more in the company of some Pokémon that walked inside and then out again.
"Oh, there was something I wanted to ask you," Bill started. "I've created something that I want you to test out, I call it the Pokémon Storage System. Could you try to put one of your Pokémon into it to see if it works?"
"And what will it do to them?"
"It will store them in the boxes of the system. Not physical boxes, of course, but boxes on a computer that you can access in every PMC and TRC."
"Sounds cool," Zane admitted. "But is it dangerous?"
"Definitely not," the PokéManiac assured. "The worst thing that can happen is that the system doesn't work, and even then, your Pokémon will still be in its Poké Ball."
"Okay, let's do this," Zane decided while taking a Poké Ball out of his bag. "This is the Clefairy I caught before we battled Team Rocket in Mt. Moon."
"Oh yes, I remember that one," Bill responded. The two walked to the computer that stood on the other side of the living room.
"Now place your Clefairy's Poké Ball here to send her into this box." He pointed at a hole, the size of a Poké Ball, in the desk before the computer.
"If it works, an icon that looks like a Clefairy will appear here on the screen." Zane did as he was told to, and the two looked at the screen to see what would happen.
"I don't think it worked," Zane stated.
"Just wait, this can take some time. I'm going to work on its speed later, this is just to see if it does what it's supposed to do." And there it was, on the screen, a small pink Pokémon with pointy brown ears and a curled patch of fur on her forehead.
"Yes!" Bill exclaimed. "It works!" Zane looked at the man with confusion in his eyes, he didn't understand the importance of what had just happened. Moreover, the Poké Ball containing his Fairy Type had just disappeared, so he didn't feel entirely sure how he should react.
"Zane Patterson, you have just helped me take a step to what'll be the future."
Zane nodded, but still had no idea what he had done.
"Now," Bill continued, "to retrieve your Clefairy, just click on her icon, and her Poké Ball will reappear on the desk." Zane took the mouse of the computer in his hand and moved the cursor to the pink shape. When he clicked on it, it disappeared, and the Poké Ball appeared in the hole in the desk.
"It actually worked!" Bill shouted, even more enthusiastic than before. "Send her out to see if she's alright," he urged. Zane threw the Poké Ball in the air to see his Pokémon jump out of it onto the floor, and she seemed to be doing alright. To confirm, she let out a growl with a high-pitched but healthy voice.
"Perfect," the PokéManiac praised, "absolutely perfect."
"Kadabra, your turn again!" Blake shouted to start the battle between him and Kiyo's favorite in the Fighting Dojo.
"Just as expected," the massive man said with his low and rumbling voice. "X-Scissor to damage that Kadabra!"
"No!" Blake yelled, but he was too late. His Psychic Type got hit by Bruno's Pokémon and, being tired due to the previous seven fights, fainted after only one attack.
The brown Bug Type was only as high as Zane's shoulders if it weren't for the two big spiky pincers on his head. His arms were thin, contrary to his legs, and his teeth were aligned horizontally in his mouth. Each foot and hand had three gray claws, and the look in his eyes was as angry as it always was.
"Good job, Pinsir," Bruno growled. "Now let's see what else that boy's got."
'I could let Beedrill use Fury Attack, but that's too risky,' Blake thought. 'Or Voltorb could... Yes, that might work.'
The Celadonian boy sent out his Electric Type and told it to use Screech to harshly drop Pinsir's physical defense.
"Double Hit!" The gigantic man commanded. The Bug Type hit Voltorb but was paralyzed due to that one's Static Ability.
"Now, Voltorb!" Blake excitedly shouted. "Spark to defeat Pinsir!" The attack didn't have the desired effect, however, since Bruno's Pokémon survived the hit. Luck was on Blake's side, though, because the paralysis caused the Bug Type to not be able to move. Due to this, Voltorb got the opportunity to strike again, this time actually beating the brown Pokémon.
"Pinsir, return," Bruno grumbled. "Cubone, your turn! Bonemerang to get rid of that Electric Type!" The attack was strong enough to severely damage Voltorb, but it just held on. It started spinning around to create orbs of yellow lights around him.
'A new attack,' Blake figured. 'Let's see.' Voltorb sent the five lights towards Cubone, and the rays they left behind had the shapes of stars.
"Swift!" Blake exclaimed. "That could come in handy." The Ground Type, however, managed to beat Voltorb with his second attack, meaning that Blake had to send out his third Pokémon.
"Tangela," was his best option, "Vine Whip!" Again, luck was on Blake's side as his Grass Type's Attack struck on his opponent as a critical hit, knocking out the enormous man's second of three Pokémon.
"And it comes down to you," he shouted while sending out the third.
The gray-skinned Pokémon had four sharp teeth, narrow red eyes, and three dark yellow ridges on top of his head.
"Machoke, Fire Punch!" Bruno shouted. Around the Fighting Type's muscular arms, covered in red stripes, flames started forming. The golden marking on his black belt glowed in red as well when his right fist was set on fire by the flames.
"Tangela!" Blake yelled. "Poison Powder to give us a chance!"
The Grass Type managed to hit Machoke with her poisonous spores but was then defeated by that one's Fire-Type Attack.
"Well done," Blake thanked, so quietly that it almost sounded like whispering. He knew that he had already lost this battle, since his last Pokémon, Beedrill, would also be defeated by one Fire Punch. He tried anyway.
The Bug Type was sent out and told to use Rage, after which he was hit by Machoke. That one's Fire Punch, surprisingly, wasn't enough to beat Beedrill, who continued by using Fury Attack. With their raised power, the Bug Type's stingers hit Bruno's Pokémon five times in total, with one being a critical hit. Even though Blake had all this luck, Machoke didn't faint and used one last Fire Punch while Beedrill got ready for another Fury Attack. Beedrill avoided his opponent's fist but got burned by one of the flares around his arms. This caused Blake's Pokémon's Physical Attack to return to normal, which meant that Fury Attack's two hits weren't enough to defeat Machoke either. Beedrill, distracted by his burn, didn't see the next Fire Punch coming and got knocked out by it.
"And Blake Moran, from Celadon City, is revealed to not be invincible either," Kiyo announced. "and Bruno Garwig, unsurprisingly, won the battle!" The enormous man returned his Machoke and beat on his chest to intimidate Blake, even though their battle had already finished.
"I liked this fight," the man grumbled. "Are you participating in the Pokémon League?"
"Yes, I am," Blake replied with a terrified shake in his voice.
"Perfect," the man laughed, but that sounded more like the barking of a dog than something else.
"Then I'll see you again," he concluded.
"And I'll guide you back outside," Kiyo added. Blake nodded and followed the Karate Master through the main hall. The Black Belts that had earlier shaken their heads of disapproval were now looking at the Celadonian boy with a much more appreciating and challenging look in their eyes.
'Those seven must've told them about me defeating them,' Blake figured. 'It might be a good idea to return here, maybe some stronger Trainers would like to fight me then.'
The two had reached the door.
"Thanks for paying us a visit," Kiyo said. "And to be fair, nobody except for you and two other Trainers has ever been able to get that man to send out his last Pokémon."
"And those other two?"
"Lance Draken and Lorelei Frost."
"The two that won the Pokémon Leagues from fourteen and twenty-one years ago?"
"Correct," Kiyo confirmed.
"So we both have high expectations of you," another voice grumbled. Bruno also walked through the door with a shiny stone in his hand.
"You might want to have this." He gave Blake the white stone.
"Alakazite," Bruno growled. "I thought you might like it."
"I definitely do," Blake responded.
The Mega Stone gave off a particular power. The swirly form inside it had orange, red, and yellow colors to represent Alakazam's Mega Evolution. After he had turned the small gem around several times, Blake stretched out his hand to return it to the massive man.
"No, it's yours to keep," Bruno laughed, and Kiyo laughed with him because of the surprise in the boy's eyes.
"Are you making a joke?" He asked, which only caused Kiyo to laugh even harder while Bruno looked at him with his right eyebrow raised.
"I think that's enough," he barked. "And no, this is no joke, it's actually yours."
"I don't know how to thank you," Blake muttered.
"Just try to make it to the League Competition," Bruno replied. "And I promise you that we'll have another battle."
"I'll do my best," Blake assured.
"You better do," Kiyo concluded.
The three said goodbye, after which the two men went back into the Dojo, and the boy returned to the TRC.
Last edited: