Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ The Journey Onward ❯ Chapter Five: Pewter, Slate, and Flint ( Chapter 5 )

Chapter Five: Pewter, Slate, and Stone

 

 

 

“Hey, are you ready yet?” Krissy nudged at Kathryn's backpack with her toe. It was lying on the ground while Kathryn sat at the same booth she had the day before, apparently lost in thought. “Kathryn, come on, let's go.”

 

Kathryn's eyes flickered over to her but moved away, drifting around the room from one person to the next. Finally, she slid out of the booth, picking up her bag.

 

“Yeah,” she replied, casting one more glance around. “Alright, let's go.”

 

Sliding out from the booth, she picked up her bag and slung it dejectedly over her shoulder. Rachel met up with them by the entrance and they left the Pokémon Center, releasing their Ponytas so they could continue their journey to the next town.

 

“Hey!” The slider doors swooshed open behind them. “Wait up a second!”

 

Brandon came rushing out, his shirt half on and wrinkled, shoelaces untied and flapping uselessly as he ran. He stopped, shielding his eyes as he winced at the brightness of the afternoon sun.

 

“Crack of noon?” Kathryn teased, while Krissy muttered, “You should talk…”

 

He gave an embarrassed laugh, running a hand through his tangled hair. “Not much of a morning person.” He walked up to her with a grin of amusement. “Not leaving without saying goodbye, are we? I thought you knew better than that.”

 

Kathryn broke away from her two friends (one who had a sly smile on her face, the other who eyed the male with mistrust) and thrust her hand out to him. He stared at it blankly before grinning broadly and shaking her hand once, firmly.

 

“Good hunts, swift speed, the Gods bless.”

 

She'd never heard a farewell worded that way before. Before she could ask, Brandon was hastily laughing as he jerked his hand away.

 

“Sorry. What I meant to say is, good luck.”

 

Kathryn contemplated the response and repeated the words once in her head before replying uncertainly, afraid she'd get the words wrong.

 

“Good hunts, swift speed…” Her eyes looked upward in concentration, her lips pursing before she grinned widely and uttered the last half in a joyous rush. “And the Gods bless.”

 

He clasped her shoulder suddenly, startling her. He gazed directly into her eyes and opened his mouth to say something more but Krissy appeared, prying his fingers from her friend's shoulder.

 

“Come on,” she hissed, pushing Kathryn away. “We have a journey to finish.”

 

“Oh, uh, bye!” She wanted to stay longer but Krissy shoved against the resistance Kathryn put up. He lifted his hand in a half wave, remaining till the girls had ridden out of sight.

 

 

 

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“What's with all this grass?” Krissy scowled from atop her Ponyta.

 

“The more grass, the more Pokémon!” Kathryn craned her neck, looking for a Pokémon to catch and add to her team.

 

“I'd like to catch a Pokémon,” Rachel admitted, nudging her Ponyta to keep up with her friends. “Hopefully a Spearow or a Pidgey.”

 

Krissy snorted. “Those little bird things? They don't seem that great.”

 

“Their final evolved forms are Pidgot and Fearow,” Kathryn remarked, looking up to the sky, as though expecting to see one. “They're most commonly used for transportation, flying people from one place to another.”

 

“Flying would be nice.” Krissy thought of the Spearow ridding in her pokéball as she shifted her weight on her Ponyta. It might be worth training to get it to evolve. “Riding's alright but my legs get sore after traveling so much.”

 

Kathryn slowed her Ponyta to a stop, checking the area. “This would be a good place to catch one.” She dismounted, returning Blaze. “Try for a Pidgey, Spearows can be mean buggers.”

 

“Why didn't you tell me that before I caught one?” Krissy retorted, getting down and returning her Ponyta.

 

Kathryn blinked. “You didn't know? You fought it, after all.” She made an indifferent sound. “Besides, with proper training, it'll be fine.”

 

“Any other Pokémon we should look out for?” Rachel slid off her mare, petting her gently before returning her.

 

“Eh, there's probably only Ekans, Rattatas, and a couple Bug Pokémon. Nothing that our Pokémon can't handle.”

 

“Geez, I just want a Fighting Pokémon, not any of these wimpy things.”

 

“Unevolved forms can be just as tough as the Evolved forms. Either way, without training, your Pokémon won't be strong enough to beat a Fighting type. If they can't beat a Fighting Pokémon, you can't catch one. Start small, work your way up.” Kathryn breezed by a stunned Krissy. “You didn't fight a black belt on your very first day as a white belt, did you?”

 

Krissy's eyes narrowed at Kathryn's back, hating that what she said made sense.

 

“Look!” Rachel interrupted with an excited whisper. “Pidgeys!”

 

Indeed, a small flock was in the process of landing nearby, not noticing the humans downwind. An eager smile curled Kathryn's lips upward as she rubbed Chomper's Pokéball with her thumb, eager to try her luck.

 

“Come on,” she encouraged her friends. “Pick one and go for it.”

 

Kathryn threw out Chomper and Rachel sent out Briar. Checking her Pokédex, Rachel tried to figure out what attacks her Chikorita knew.

 

The mechanical voice droned, pausing after each attack. “Chikorita's attacks so far are: Tackle. Growl. Razor Leaf. Vine Whip. Reflect. Poison Powder.”

 

The flock had spotted the trainers, three took flight while two remained on the ground. The two on ground used Sand Attack, flinging up dirt to try and blind the trainers and Pokémon. Livid at the audacity of the birds, Krissy sent out Charmander to join the brawl.

 

Kathryn covered her eyes with her forearm, keeping her sight on the Pidgey she'd picked out. He was currently circling overhead, preparing to attack. A lean fellow, his colors were lighter than the females who flung the sand from the ground. The two other Pidgeys from the flock had fled. Cowards.

 

“Chomper, Water Gun the Pidgey in the air!”

 

“Toto!” The little Pokémon let a gusher of water loose from its lips, hitting the Pidgey dead on. The water made its wings heavy with water, forcing it to land. It tried to attack with Peck, but Totodile dodged it and Water Gunned it again, weakening it for capture. Kathryn tossed a Pokéball at it, watching as the Pidgey became a red light and was absorbed into the ball. It rocked frantically before settling and pinging, signaling her successful capture.

 

The pokéball flew to her hand and she attached it to her belt, bending down to pat Chomper's head as she turned her attention back to her friends. Rachel had Briar using his vines, effectively pinning the Pidgey's wings and preventing it from attacking. Krissy's Charmander was using similar tactics that it used on Spearow and shortly, both girl's had successfully captured their Pidgeys.

 

“Now what?” Krissy grumbled, hastily returning her Charmander.

 

“We make friends.” Kathryn pulled out some Pokéchow and released her Pidgey, the bird agitatedly flapping his wings to hover a foot above the ground. He squawked something nasty sounding at her and Chomper stepped forward, rattling off something equally nasty right back.

 

“Hey.” She lightly tapped Chomper's snout with her index and middle finger. “Be nice.” Kneeling, she put some food in her hand and offered it to the haggard looking bird. “Come on, fella. It's good.”

 

It landed, looking suspiciously at her before swiftly swiping one of the treats from her hand and hopping some distance away. Kathryn remained still as he pecked the treat apart, gobbling up the crumbs. When he finished, he watched her warily before sneaking another treat and proceeding to do the same thing. Eventually, Pidgey relaxed as he ate, taking food from Kathryn's hands.

 

“That's not so bad, is it?” She moved to stroke his feathers but received a sharp Peck on her hand for her troubles. She jumped up, dropping the treats, and stuck her wounded flesh into her mouth, sucking on it. Pidgey went back to gobbling treats, ignoring the scolding Chomper was giving it.

 

“Some friend,” Krissy muttered, leaving her Pidgey in its pokéball.

 

Rachel gave it a try and had much better success than Kathryn, the dusty female taking an instant liking to Rachel. The little bird perched contently on Rachel's shoulder while Kathryn stared down her own Pidgey.

 

“Come on, Jet Streak. I'm not a bad trainer, ask Chomper.”

 

“Jet Streak?” Rachel inquired.

 

Kathryn nodded as her Pidgey ruffled his feathers, looking like an annoyed feather duster. “Yeah. He's gonna be really fast when he gets bigger, you'll see.”

 

Kathryn reached out to try and pet him again but the bird lunged its head forward to try another Peck. This time, Kathryn noticed the telltale signs of the attack and pulled away in time. Disturbed by the odd behavior from the normally docile creature, Kathryn returned him for the present with a soft hum.

 

“We should stay here tonight. After a good days travel tomorrow, we should be in Pewter.”

 

They set up camp, laughing and teasing each other as they went. It was odd, though. Despite the light mood, the back of Kathryn's neck felt tingly, as though someone was watching them. She shoved the feeling aside and focused on her task for the night. Since she had gotten the firewood last time, she was now in charge of digging out the fire pit. It was easy enough, Nashley loved to dig.

 

Finished with that, Kathryn returned Nashley and went to search for other new Pokémon. She was disappointed and worried when she didn't find any. Did the Pokémon leave because of her and her friends or was there something else here that she didn't see? Uneasy, she went straight back to camp and released Nashley, wanting the Houndour as a guard. She didn't mention the matter to her friends, hiding her worry behind a happy façade as they ate hot dogs, roasted marshmallows, and told ghost stories long into the night.

 

 

 

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After a good breakfast, the girls decided to walk, giving the Ponytas a rest. The plains of pasture seemed to starch out forever, the long grass swaying in the wind. She inhaled the scent of grass and soil, thinking once more about home before distracting herself with conversation.

 

“So, what kind of Pokémon do you want to catch?” She directed the question to Rachel but Krissy answered instead.

 

“Fighting types,” came the worn answer.

 

“I'm happy with what I have for now.” Rachel thought a moment. “I guess I wouldn't mind something really cute though.”

 

“Cute would fall under Vulpix, Eevee, or Clefairy. Fighting, on the other hand, Fighting would be something like Hitmonchan, Hitmonlee, or Machamp.”

 

“So what kind do you want?”

 

Kathryn held back the answer to Rachel's question, certain of the response she'd get, but gave in after her friends persisted.

 

“All of them.”

 

“Impossible!” Krissy's laugh ripped at something fragile inside Kathryn. “There's no way.”

 

“I'm going to catch them all.” Kathryn repeated with forced conviction. “I'll make my own place for them to live at, larger than Oak's! With different environments to suit each type!”

 

“Psh. Where will you get the money, dope?”

 

“Gym leaders and the Elite Four pay money once you beat them. If I save the money that's sent to my account it'll gradually gain interest. There are eight gyms in Kanto and Jhoto, a few in Orange Islands and many other little gyms through out the world. I'll make a name by besting them all then buy the land I need to build to build my dream.”

 

“You honestly think you have a chance?” Krissy tried to keep from sneering but only succeeded halfway. “The gym leaders are leaders for a reason.”

 

“I can do it.” Kathryn's voice was soft but steady. “It's what I want.”

 

“Do you really think your mom is going to let you?” Rachel's practical side cut into one of the few uncertainties Kathryn had about her plan. “You only get so much time off of school… why not just go to college and get a good job?”

 

“That's not what I want.” Rachel noticed Kathryn's eyes grow focused out of the corner of her eye. “I've trained. I know almost every Pokémon, every attack, every item. I know how to care for them, breeding techniques, care, and first aide. It's my dream and I will succeed.”

 

The last statement was a heavy one that left Rachel and Krissy uncertain about what to say next. Rachel finally raised her hands up in defense.

 

“Hey, I'm sure if it's what you really want, you'll do fine.”

 

Kathryn nodded and sighed, the tension in the air drifting away. “Well, lets hurry and get to Pewter. I'd like to get my first badge soon.”

 

The girls traveled in silence on their way to the town. Rachel and Krissy were both unsure what to make of Kathryn's startling declaration. They'd known she'd liked Pokémon but to this unrealistic extent? Rachel truly thought that if Kathryn tried hard enough she might be able to be a great trainer but the likelihood of her dream become a reality was slim. Krissy figured it was something Kathryn would just give up on later in life. Neither realized just how determined she was to see her dream become a reality…

 

 

 

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After much grass, silence, and blisters, they finally reached Pewter City. When the town first came into view, the girls were stunned into silence.

 

“It's so…”

 

“Gray.” Kathryn finished Rachel's hanging sentence.

 

“Oh,” Krissy replied with dry tones, “it's definitely gray.”

 

“Hey, the Pokémon Center!” Kathryn tugged Rachel and Krissy toward the Center. “Let's go get our Pokémon treated so I can head to the gym after!”

 

After a short wait, Nurse Joy brought back out their Pokémon, healed and refreshed. Kathryn had asked for directions to the gym only to be told the gym leader wasn't available for any battles.

 

“What?!” Kathryn banged her shins on the coffee table in her haste to stand. “Do you know when they'll be back?”

 

“No, I'm sorry.” Joy gave a helpless smile as Kathryn fell back onto the couch before brightening. “If you want, I do have an address where you might be able to get that information.” Writing down the information, Joy handed the paper to Kathryn before Rachel or Krissy could stop her.

 

“Thanks!”

 

Kathryn was gone before either of her friends could get to their feet.

 

“Kathryn! Wait!” Too late, she was out of the Center doors and on her way with impressive speed.

 

As they went after her, Krissy made plans to break one (if not both) of Kathryn's kneecaps to prevent this from happening again.

 

 

 

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“This is it.” Kathryn looked at the address on the paper then at the number on the house.

 

Walking uncertainly to the door, she knocked and waited. A few minutes later, the door opened and a small girl with auburn hair peeked out from behind it.

 

“'ellwo.”

 

“Hi.” Kathryn wasn't sure what to do next. “Uh, are your parents home?”

 

“Daddy's home.” The little girl plopped her thumb into her mouth, sucking it.

 

Kathryn waited before sweatdropping as the child remained at the door. “Could… could you get him for me? Please?”

 

“O-tay!” The child raced back into the house, not bothering to shut the door. Kathryn could hear her voice ringing out, “Daddy! There's someone here!”

 

The door opened wider, this time, a seven or eight year old standing there. His face screwed up uncertainly.

 

“Are you a trainer?”

 

“Yeah, I'm looking for the Pewter Gym Leader so I can battle him for a badge. Do you know when he'll be back?”

 

“Brock? He went on a training mission. Dad's taking over for him.”

 

“Oh.” If she fought with the father, would she still get a badge?

 

“My name's Slate. That was Sandy you just saw.” He rolled his eyes. “She's such a baby.”

 

“Hello?” A deeper voice called from the confines of the house.

 

Slate turned and hollered. “Over here, dad!”

 

The door finally opened all the way and a tall man with dirt brown hair and rich skin looked down at her, scratching his head.

 

“She wants a badge, pa.”

 

“I see.” The older man rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Well, why don't you take her to the gym, Slate. If she beats you, I'll take her on.”

 

Kathryn wasn't sure if she liked this new change of events. She'd been planning on facing one person, not two. However, she needed the experience for herself and her Pokémon. And, if she ever wanted her dream to come true, she couldn't back down.

 

Slate tugged her shirt. “This way.” He headed off, leaving Kathryn to trail behind him. The gym was only a short walk and when he pushed open the creaking doors, Kathryn stared into solid darkness. The lights flickered once before shining at full, illuminating an arena designed solely for the benefit of Rock and Ground types.

 

“How many Pokémon?” Kathryn walked to the opposite side of the field, playing with the pokéballs on her belt.

 

“Best two of three.” Slate positioned himself and dug out his first pokéball, releasing a Diglet.

 

Kathryn grabbed and flung out her choice, Nashley. Slate snorted and shook his head.

 

“Fire? Against Ground? Are you trying to lose?”

 

Kathryn ignored him and ordered Nashley to use Faint Attack. Nashley rushed forward, seemingly swallowed by her surroundings as she vanished. Diglet looked around nervously, trying to find her.

 

“Diglet, Dig!”

 

The mole Pokémon quickly burrowed a hole to hide in.

 

“Ha! You can't get `em now!” Slate's taunt was brought up short by a squeal of pain from under the ground. Nashley was seen a scant minute later, reappearing by Kathryn's side of the stadium. “How'd you hit him?!” Slate's disbelief was comical.

 

“Faint Attack's like Swift, hits no matter what.” Kathryn thought out her next step before giving the command. “Nashley! Dig!”

 

Nashley barked and immediately dug into the ground after Diglet, her sharp claws ripping through the rock floor. Soon, her hole was so deep, neither Kathryn nor Slate could see her. All they could do was wait while the sounds of battle erupted from under their feet. Without warning, the ground exploded upward, flinging dirt and rocks at both trainers.

 

Turning her back to the worst of it, Kathryn waited for the rubble to subside before checking on what had happened. Nashley was still standing, eyes glowing faintly as she growled. There were a few noticeable bumps and scrapes but the Houndour seemed fine otherwise. Kathryn's eyes then landed on the unconscious Diglet.

 

“He fainted, figures.” Slate returned the Pokémon. “Looks like I'll have to use Rumble.” A Geodude appeared on the field.

 

Nashley bared her teeth and gnashed them, a grinding sound emulating. The Geodude raised his arms and pumped them up and down in the air, both waiting for directions.

 

Kathryn assessed the situation. Nashley's Fire would be weak against the Rock type but she believed Nashley's overall strength and power would overwhelm the small Pokémon. At any rate, she'd find out.

 

“Fire Blast!”

 

“Rock Throw!”

 

Rumble began grabbing chunks of loose rocks and heaving them at Nashley who evaded them and got in close, releasing a bright gold Fire Blast almost on top of Rumble. Slate's Geodude fainted from the attack.

 

“You win,” he grumbled, returning his Pokémon. Kicking a rock free, he shoved his hands into his pockets and went to retrieve his father. He'd be sure to send the trainer packing!

 

 

 

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“Finally!”

 

Rachel nodded, agreeing. They'd finally found the gym after asking for directions and figured that the house Kathryn'd gone to was somewhere nearby.

 

“She beat my Rumble with a Houndour, dad!”

 

The girls honed in on the voice, spotting a young boy tugging, what looked to be, his dad along.

 

“We'll see if she's good enough to earn a badge,” the man replied.

 

“Hey!” The man glanced up when Krissy called out. “Is the girl you're talking about spacey, got glasses, and has her hair done up in a geeky ponytail?”

 

The son nodded. “Yeah! That's her!”

 

“Do you know her?” The father motioned them to follow.

 

“I'll say! If she runs off like that again, so help me I'll get a leash and collar her myself!”

 

The man laughed and held open the door to the gym to allow the girls in. Kathryn was easily spotted amongst the gray interior.

 

“What took you guys so long?”

 

“NOT KNOWING THE ADDRESS MIGHT HAVE HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT!!”

 

Kathryn cringed and cowered as Krissy ripped into her about her behavior. The gym leader let it continue for about five minutes before he realized that Krissy wasn't going to stop any time soon.

 

Clearing his throat, Krissy became aware of the spectators around her. To Kathryn, he asked, “Are you ready?”

 

Kathryn's head bobbed so fast her brain shook. Anything to escape Krissy's wrath!

 

“Oh, this isn't over yet.” Krissy's soft voice made Kathryn pale and tense up. “You and I are going to finish this as soon as you're done.”

 

“Krissy, leave her be for now.” Rachel dragged her friend to the sidelines so the match could begin.

 

“Three on three,” Slate called out, voice booming. “Last standing wins. Temporary Gym Leader, Flint, against trainer… Go!”

 

Both Pokémon emerged at the same moment, Flint's a Ryhorn and Kathryn's was her newly acquired Pidgey.

 

“Jet! Sand Attack!”

 

The Ryhorn rushed Jet with a Tackle and, for a fearful moment, Kathryn thought Jet Streak wasn't going to obey her. Thankfully, he blinded the Ryhorn with a face full of sand. The Ryhorn slid to a halt, shaking his head and bellowing. Kathryn nipped the inside of her cheek, knowing Jet was on borrowed time.

 

“Good! Now, Gust!”

 

Rather than attacking, Jet flew to land on top of a towering boulder, twice the height of the Ryhorn. Casually, he began to preen. Cheeks flushing, Kathryn tried another command.

 

“Wing Attack!” Still, no response other than preening. Exasperated, Kathryn was annoyed and worried. If Jet didn't listen, the Ryhorn might seriously hurt him. “Jet, come on!”

 

The Pidgey gave her a “look” that clearly said he didn't want to be there but gave a flap and dive-bombed the Ryhorn. The bird ignored her previous commands to give Ryhorn a hard Peck on his back. The larger Pokémon roared, more from annoyance than pain, and jumped into the air. Jet held tight, the other smashing and stomping as he tried to dislodge the bird. Sick of the ride, Jet took to the air.

 

“Dig!”

 

“Don't let him get underground! Gust!”

 

Jet circled lazily before giving a mighty flap of his wings, launching a powerful Gust attack at the Ryhorn's face, making it wave its arms wildly. While strong, Jet held only a type advantage. Ryhorn was at too high a level to be really hurt by the Gust and proceeded to Dig into the rocks.

 

“Use Gust when he surfaces!” Kathryn wasn't sure what to do. Jet wasn't listening as well as he should be and if she didn't keep whittling down Ryhorn's health, she wouldn't get the big lummox to faint.

 

“Joooo.” Pidgey spun in the air, blatantly ignoring her. Luckily, Ryhorn's attack had no effect on Jet and Jet continued to easily flutter out of reach of Ryhorn.

 

“Thunder!”

 

“Jet! Dodge!”

 

Ryhorn's horn began to spin and generated enough static electricity to send zaps of Thunder at the Pidgey. However, it had heeded Kathryn's warning and only got nicked once or twice on his wings. With an angry screech, the bird flapped up higher and circled, spinning faster and faster till he closed his wings and began another dive.

 

“Jet! Pull up!”

 

“Fire Blast.”

 

Jet didn't pull up but spiraled around the Fire Blast with startling ease. Spreading his wings wide open, he flung a wave of dust into Ryhorn's mouth as it was closing. The large Pokémon began chocking and coughing random Fire Blasts every which way. One badly scorched Pidgey on the wing.

 

“That's enough, Jet.” It was too dangerous for him, especially if he wasn't listening to her. “Return.” Quickly, Totodile was sent out.

 

“While it's busy, use Water Gun!”

 

Chomper opened his mouth wide and sent out a torrent of water that struck Ryhorn in the belly, knocking the air out of it and leaving him unconscious. Flint hummed softly before returning his Pokémon and sending out a Marowak.

 

“Focus Energy!”

 

“Water Gun!”

 

Chomper did as he was bid, nailing the meditating Marowak directly. Once again, the level difference presented itself and, while weakened, Marowak was still ready to fight, mad and dripping wet as it was.

 

“Boomerang!”

 

Marowak threw its bone at Chomper and Kathryn just gave a snort.

 

“Fetch.”

 

Chomper was more than happy to comply, jumping up to catch the bone in his mouth. Landing, he sat with a “plop” and began to chew it as Marowak waved its fists at him, angry puffs of steam coming out of its ears. It worked itself into a Rage that made Krissy look tame. Kathryn decided to quickly end the battle.

 

“Blizzard, Chomper!”

 

As the Marowak rushed recklessly, the Totodile dropped the bone and blew an “A-class” blizzard at the Marowak, snow and ice pelting the irate Pokémon.

 

“Focus Energy!”

 

Marowak was in too much of a Rage to listen and kept trying to swing at Totodile. Dodging the wide swings, Totodile used Bite when it swung too far and left its tail exposed.

 

“MARROW!” The Pokémon jumped into the air, squealing with pain. Circling, it tried to grab hold of Chomper to throttle him. Marowak moved so fast that a small cyclone of dust surrounded them, clearing to show both Pokémon passed out on the ground, swirls for eyes.

 

Both returned their Pokémon and sent out new ones. Stone sent out Golem and Kathryn reluctantly brought back out Jet. She didn't want to bring out a new Pokémon just yet and if Jet would only listen to her, they could do this!

 

“Time out!” Kathryn pulled out a Burn Heal and coaxed Jet to come to her but the bird seemed very reluctant.

 

Very well… He hopped over and cringed when the spray hit his wing. It was a temporary pain that soon gave way to soothing relief. Testing it, he found it to be as good as new.

 

The human said something but he ignored her. He'd have thought she'd have given it up by now but the human was a glutton for punishment. Pleased with himself, his feathers ruffled.

 

“Look,” her soft tone made him gaze up at her face. He gave small gulp, her eyes reminding him of an Arbok's, mesmerizing and deadly. “You wanna fight with me, do it off the battlefield. But here, right now, it's not about you and me. It's about us and him. So get your act together.”

 

Pidgey sat stock still for a full five seconds, eyes wider than a Hoothoot's, before Kathryn gave him an easy going smile. “Let's do our best, shall we?”

 

With a quick flap, Jet was back in the arena as the “time out” ended. The way he figured, he'd have better luck against the Golem than his trainer.

 

“Gust!”

 

He hastily obeyed, sending an air blast at the Golem.

 

“Harden.”

 

“Gooollll!” Glowing, Golem's shell began to grow stronger, the Gust attacks soon having no effect. Changing tactics, Kathryn ordered Jet to use Wing Attack. The bird began hitting the Golem with its wings but to no avail.

 

“Rock Throw!”

 

Jet began to flap about, trying to avoid the large rocks being hurled at it. It did well enough but got tired out from the weaving and eventually got its wing clipped with a rock, forcing it to land.

 

“Finish it! Tackle!”

 

Pulling inside its rock shell, the Golem rolled straight for Jet. Knowing that her Pidgey didn't have a move strong enough to beat Golem, she reached for his pokéball, wanting to return him before he got hurt. Suddenly, Pidgey leapt up in the air and began flapping wildly. A huge Whirlwind appeared before Jet and with one more wave, it was sent towards the rolling Golem. The unsuspecting Rock Pokémon was sucked inside the Whirlwind while the trainers watched in amazement.

 

Flint came out of his stupor first. “Defense Curl!”

 

Pulling tighter inside itself, Golem moaned as it began to get dizzy.

 

“Great job, Jet!” The small bird pointedly ignored her but she was pleased. Returning a weary Jet, she sent out Surfer.

 

“Let's finish this, use String Shot and aim for the Whirlwind!”

 

Surfer aimed and sprayed, thick, sticky webbing. The Whirlwind slurped it up like spaghetti noodles before slowly dwindling down to nothing, leaving behind a well-wrapped Golem.

 

“Get free!”

 

“Surfer, hop on and use Giga Drain!”

 

Spinarak leapt onto the string ball, slowly absorbing Golem's energy. It struggled valiantly, several strands snapping as it tried to force its way free. In the end, it was too exhausted to break loose and gave a groan before ceasing to move.

 

“We did it.” Kathryn fell to her knees, gathering up a happily chattering Surfer. “We did it!”

 

Flint returned his Golem, solemnly walking over to Kathryn. She quieted down when he handed her the Boulder Badge. She took it reverently and murmured her thanks.

 

“Don't thank me,” Flint replied gruffly. “It was a well fought battle.”

 

Kathryn laughed and hugged Surfer closer to her as Flint pulled something out of his pocket.

 

“Here. I want you to have this too.”

 

Kathryn opened up her hand and accepted the TM, confused. “Are you sure? Wouldn't you rather use this on your Pokémon?”

 

“I'm sure. Take it and use it well.”

 

She nodded her head and rose, carrying Surfer towards her friends, rejoicing till she saw their glares of doom. Gulping, she turned and ran the other way, calling out her goodbyes to Slate and Flint as she bolted past.

 

“Kathryn! Get your ass back here!” Krissy tore after her, calling out death threats on her way out the door. Rachel tagged behind, trying to catch up, while Flint chuckled.

 

Well, she pulled it off. I didn't make it but who knows. Maybe she'll have what it takes.

 

The thought left Flint with a small smile on his otherwise expressionless face.

 

Nahhh…

 

 

 

=^.^==^.^==^.^==^.^==^.^==^.^==^.^==^.^==^.^==^.^==^.^==^.^==^.^= =^.^==^.^=

 

 

 

After returning to the Pokémon Center and getting ready for bed, the three girls chatted. Kathryn had a few bumps and bruises from when Krissy and Rachel had caught her but was in high spirits. She'd just one her first official gym battle and it felt great! Giggling to herself, she stopped brushing her hair for the briefest instance as something struck her as odd.

 

“Hey… did Flint ever open his eyes?”