Pokémon : The Journey of Travis Tedford

Chapter 4: Pewter City Gym

   We had spent all of yesterday training and decided to wait until the morning to go to the Pewter City Gym. When I woke up, the first thing I did was study up on both of my Pokémon's attacks from my Pokédex. I didn't want to be embarrassed about not knowing my own Pokémon's moves like I was when I battled Anna. One interesting thing I noticed was that a lot of Togepi's moves were very high level for a Pokémon as young as it. "Togepi, did you have another trainer before me?" I asked as I handed its bowl of Pokémon food for breakfast. Togepi had a sad expression on its face and nodded. Nurse Joy seemed to have overheard me and walked up to me. "You know, when I was treating your Togepi, I've come to realize that it's been quite some time since it had hatched from an egg. Usually after only a few months with a trainer, they're known to evolve. However, just like your Pichu, Togepi also evolves by happiness. That must mean that Togepi was never happy with its previous trainers," said Nurse Joy. She was then called away to check in on another Pokémon. I then turned back to Togepi. "Is that so? Well, I plan to do whatever I can to make you happy as long as you're with me, okay? I don't care whether you evolve or not. Your happiness in general is all that matters to me. Both of you," I said, also looking over at Pikachu. Both Pokémon smiled and then went on to eat their food. An hour after breakfast, we finally went to the Pewter Gym. From the outside, the gym looked like a bunch of rocks that were just merged together, but the inside looked very nice, and even the battlefield looked like it was carved from stone. "I see I have a challenger," said a man who was standing on the other side of the battlefield. "Yes, I'm Travis from Pallet Town, and I'm here to challenge Brock, the Gym Leader!" I responded. "Well, that would be me, and I gladly accept your challenge. I'm the Pewter City's Rock-type Gym Leader, and here we have 2 on 2 battles," said Brock. I nodded and walked to the other side of the battlefield. "Alright, when both trainers are ready, send out your first Pokémon!" called out the referee. "I'll go first, Geodude, go!" called out Brock as Geodude emerged from its Pokéball. "Geodude, huh? Alright, Togepi, I choose you!" I called out as I threw its Pokéball and it emerged. "Alright, I'll go first! Geodude, use Tackle!" called out Brock. Geodude came charging in quickly. "We'll use that to our advantage, Togepi, use Psychic!" I called out. Togepi used its psychic power to catch Geodude before it could land and then sent it flying up into the ceiling. "Wow, wasn't expecting a tiny Pokémon like that to know such a powerful move. Geodude, use Rock Throw!" said Brock. Geodude punched into the ground and picked up a giant rock and threw it at Togepi. "Quick, get out of the way, Togepi!" I called out. Togepi jumped out of the way but was still knocked back by the impact from the rock hitting the ground. That's when I then realized that I had a better strategy in mind. "Quick, Togepi, return!" I called out as I returned it to its Pokéball.

"Alright, Pikachu, you're up!" I said as Pikachu jumped off of my shoulder and onto the field. "An electric type against my rock/ground type? I must say, I'm curious to see what kind of strategy you have planned. Geodude, go and use Rock Smash!" said Brock. Geodude's left fist began to glow as it approached Pikachu. I then smirked and hoped that Geodude would come in close. "Alright, Pikachu, use Sweet Kiss!" I called out. Pikachu was faster than Geodude, so it managed to dodge its Rock Smash and then kissed Geodude on the forehead, which caused it to be confused. "Geodude, try and snap out of it!" called out Brock. "Alright, Pikachu, let's show him the debut of one of your new moves! Use Brick Break!" I called out. Pikachu's tail began to glow, and then it slammed it hard on top of Geodude's head, which caused it to faint. "Geodude is unable to battle! The winner is Pikachu!" called out the referee. "Great work, Pikachu!" I said as it ran and jumped into my arms. "Wow, your Pikachu is something. Kind of reminds me of another Pikachu I know. But don't think just because you've beaten my first Pokemon means you're gonna defeat my second one! Onix, Go!" called out Brock as Onix emerged from its thrown Pokeball. I was caught off guard by how big Onix was. "What do you think, Pikachu? Can you keep battling?" I asked. Pikachu nodded and then hopped back onto the field. "Battle begin!" called out the referee. "Alright, Pikachu, let's try and win this quick! Use Sweet Kiss!" I called out. Pikachu charged at Onix with its quick speed, but Brock anticipated that I would try pulling that move again. "Quick, Onix, use Dig!" called out Brock. Onix quickly dug into the ground underneath and vanished. Pikachu looked around confused, wondering where Onix was. Onix then emerged from underneath Pikachu and landed a direct hit. As Pikachu was launched into the air, Brock decided to take advantage and called out for Onix to use Stone Edge, which knocked Pikachu out. "Pikachu is unable to battle! Onix is the winner!" called out the referee. "Pikachu, you did great! Take a nice long rest!" I called out as I returned it to its Pokeball. "Togepi, I choose you!" I called out as it emerged from its Pokeball. Togepi looked at Onix and was intimidated a bit by its large size. "It's okay, Togepi, he may be bigger, but you're just as strong as he is! Let's show him that size doesn't matter!" I called out encouragingly. Togepi nodded, and then the ref signaled for them to begin. "Onix, use Screech!" called out Brock. Onix let out a loud screech that was so loud that even I was affected by it. "Now, use Iron Tail!" he called out. Onix's tail glowed and slammed hard into Togepi. Togepi went flying into the wall. "Togepi, are you okay?!" I called out, concerned. Togepi fell from the wall but didn't faint. It was badly hurt but was not ready to give up the fight just yet. I didn't know what to do; if I made the wrong move, then I'd lose the battle, but Togepi looked as if it barely had any energy to keep going. I then decided it was time to rely on a little luck. "Togepi, quick, use Metronome!" I called out. Togepi began to wave both of its arms from left to right over and over again. "We're not going to wait around to find out what you pull from that attack! Onix, hit Togepi with Iron Tail again to end this battle!" he called out. Onix came charging at Togepi, and after a few moments, the metronome finished, and Togepi launched a powerful Hydro Cannon attack that hit Onix directly in its face. Onix then collapsed defeated. "Onix is unable to battle, Togepi is the winner! The victory goes to Travis!" called out the referee. "Yes!!!! We did it!!!" I shouted in excitement as I ran to pick up Togepi. Togepi gave a very weak cheer, and then I recalled it back to its pokeball. Brock walked up to me with his hand held out. I looked down and saw the badge in the shape of a boulder. "You and your Pokemon did very well in today's battle. I present you with this Boulder Badge as proof of your victory at the Pewter City Gym." I took the badge from his hand and stared at it for a while before putting it inside of my badge case. "Thank you, Brock! I hope to battle you again someday," I said as I shook his hand and then left.

When I arrived back at the Pokémon Center, Nurse Joy smiled at the sight of me. "Welcome back, Travis. How did your gym battle go?" she asked. "It went really well! I won, but both of my Pokémon are in pretty bad shape. Can you take a look at them, please?" I asked as I handed over both of my Pokéballs to her. "Of course," she responded as she took the Pokéballs and then went to the back. She returned half an hour later with both of my Pokéballs. "Both of your Pokémon have made a full recovery," she said as she handed them over to me. I quickly let them out of their Pokéballs and showed them the badge we had won. "I wouldn't have won this without you guys. Thank you," I said to them. Both Pikachu and Togepi smiled and jumped into my arms. "You're a really special trainer, Travis," said Nurse Joy. I was caught off guard by her remark. "What do you mean?" I asked. "You may not have noticed, but quite a lot of people saw your battle against Anna's sister. They were all impressed with how you stood up for your friend and managed to even beat a top coordinator. You were quite the topic here the past two days. You're already slowly making a name for yourself," said Nurse Joy. I thought about it for a moment and then remembered that there were a lot of trainers around watching the match. "I mean, it wasn't really a big deal. Anna's my friend and even if Jessica is her sister, she shouldn't have talked down on her like that. I'll stand up to anyone who hurts or insults my friends," I said with a serious expression on my face. Nurse Joy went in the back for a moment and then came back with an egg in a container. "This Pokémon egg was found by Chansey a few days ago. It's very close to hatching, and I think you'd be the perfect trainer to train whatever Pokémon it hatches into," said Nurse Joy as she handed it over to me. "A real Pokémon egg?! I don't know if I'm ready for such a responsibility! I've only been on my journey for about a little while!" I said nervously. After saying that, the egg began to glow and after a few moments, it hatched and formed the shape of a Pokémon. I quickly pulled out my Pokédex, and it was revealed that the Pokémon was a Bagon, a Dragon-type Pokémon that originated in the Hoenn region. When Bagon first opened its eyes, the first thing it saw was me staring directly at it. It then stood up and walked towards me. I placed my hand on top of its head and began to gently pet it, which it seemed to like. "Dragon-type Pokémon are very hard to train compared to other types of Pokémon. It takes a lot of time and patience, but I have a feeling you'll be able to do it," said Nurse Joy. "What do you say, Bagon? Will you accept me as your trainer?" I asked it kindly. Bagon smiled and nodded, and that's when I used a Pokéball to catch it. "Where are you heading now?" asked Nurse Joy. "I have a friend waiting for me in Cerulean City, so I'm going to take tomorrow morning's flight," I responded. Later that night, I had heard that there was going to be a full moon, so I let my Pokémon all out of their Pokéballs, and we watched all of the beautiful Butterfree fly across the sky. Bagon was very excited at the sight of the Butterfree, and it began jumping up and down trying to move its arms as if they were wings. I couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of it. "Is that your dream? To fly someday?" I asked Bagon. It jumped up and down excitedly. Togepi walked over to Bagon and gave it an encouraging smile, but Bagon immediately got frightened and hid behind Pikachu. Togepi looked at Bagon confused. "Togepi, you're a Fairy-type, which means Dragons are at a disadvantage against you, so it's going to take a bit of time for Bagon to warm up to you. But Bagon, Togepi understands exactly how you're feeling. When Togepi evolves, it'll also learn how to fly," I said as I picked Bagon up from behind Pikachu. Bagon looked at me and then Togepi, surprised. Togepi nodded in agreement. Bagon smiled, and together the four of us continued to watch the Butterfree fly in the full moon sky. The next morning, I bid farewell to Nurse Joy and went off to the airport to catch my flight. It took two whole hours until the plane landed in Cerulean. Once I got off the plane, I quickly ran to the Pokémon Center and looked around for Efren. "Hey, Travis, glad to see you finally arrived," said a voice from behind me. I turned around to see a smiling Efren. I gave him a hug. "It's good to see you, Eff. How's your journey going so far? I bet you've already gotten your second badge by now," I said. "Actually, no. I've made some major changes for what I'm going to do going forward, and one of those changes is that I decided that I'm going to travel along with you from here on out," said Efren. "Wait, what?!" I asked surprised.