Pokémon : The Journey of Travis Tedford

Chapter 6: Cerulean Gym

I was in the Cafe drinking a latte when Efren found me. "Hey, you were gone when I woke up this morning. Did you sleep okay?" asked Efren. "Yeah, I slept fine. Did you have any weird dreams or anything last night?" I asked. "Hmm, I'm not sure. I don't really remember my dreams that often unless they're really major or they scare the shit out of me. Did you?" He responded. I took a sip of my coffee and then sighed. "No, I didn't. Anyways, we better hurry and get to the gym before someone else beats us there," I said. We left the cafe and went to the gym, which was only a few blocks away. "Well, I'll see you back at the Pokémon center later after your match," said Efren. "What the, you're not going to come cheer me on?" I asked, confused. "You don't need me there cheering you on in order for you to win. You got this. I'll see you later," said Efren quickly as he turned and ran off. I was confused at first but didn't think much of it after and continued on into the gym. There was a giant pool in the middle of the gym, which made me then realize that this must be a water-type gym. I walked over to the edge of the pool and smiled at the reflection of myself from the water, but then suddenly something emerged from the water, which resulted in me falling back on my ass. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you," said the teenage girl that climbed out of the pool. "My name's Misty, and I'm the Cerulean City Gym Leader. As you can tell, I specialize in water-type Pokémon. Aren't water types the greatest?" said Misty as she fell deep into her imagination of her owning every single Water-type Pokémon in the world. "I wouldn't know, I haven't even caught one yet," I said, scratching my head. Misty's dream shattered, and then I could tell my response annoyed her. "Well, anyways, we'll be having a two-on-two battle. If you manage to defeat both of my Pokémon, you win. I'll show you just how great water Pokémon are!" she said. We both went on the opposite ends of the battlefield, and then Misty called out her first Pokémon, which was Staryu, a starfish-looking Pokémon. I knew Pikachu would probably be my best bet, but I wanted to save its energy for in case Misty's second Pokémon was stronger than Staryu. "Alright, Bagon, it's time for your gym battle debut!" I called out as it emerged from its Pokéball. Misty took a close look at Bagon and then laughed. "Are you serious?! It's obvious that Bagon is still a baby, and you're gonna use it against a gym leader's Pokémon? You really do underestimate me," she said. "Bagon's dream is to grow strong and evolve into a Salamence someday, so I'm going to help it achieve its dream by pushing it to become stronger. Isn't that right, Bagon?" I said. Bagon turned and gave me a confident nod. "Hmm, well, just don't hold me responsible for whatever happens to it. Go, Staryu, use Rapid Spin!" she called out. Staryu began to spin its body so fast it looked as if it was a thrown shuriken. "Bagon, quick, get out of the way!" I called out. Bagon jumped out of the way and dodged it the first time, but then it came from behind and struck it. "Hang in there, Bagon, use Headbutt!" I called out. Bagon launched after Staryu and hit it directly in its gem, which gave it a small crack. "That Bagon's head is tough. Let's try attacking from a distance with Water Gun!" called out Misty. Misty fired a powerful blast of water that hit Bagon directly. Due to Bagon being a Dragon-type, Water-type moves weren't that effective against it. "Counter with Dragon Breath!" I called out. Bagon shot a powerful blast of energy from its body that hit Staryu. There was then static around Staryu. "Oh no, you're paralyzed!" said Misty. "Alright, let's try your most powerful move! Use Dragon Rush!" I called out. Bagon began running, and then a powerful blue aura in the shape of a dragon surrounded it. This was Bagon's first attempt at using this attack.

When Bagon was close enough to hit Staryu, the dragon-shaped aura vanished, and the attack failed. "Oh, no," I said quietly to myself. "Alright, Staryu, let's finish it off with Ice Beam!" called out Misty. Staryu fired a powerful icy beam at Bagon, resulting in it being completely frozen. When the ice shattered, Bagon fainted. "Bagon is unable to battle; the winner is Staryu!" called out the ref.

"Great job, Bagon. We'll work on that Dragon Rush later," I said as I called it back to its Pokéball. I then threw Pikachu's Pokéball, and it came out ready to battle. "Alright, Pikachu, let's end this quick! Use Brick Break now!" I called out. Pikachu advanced toward Staryu at incredible speed. Misty tried instructing Staryu to dodge, but it was still paralyzed and was struck by Pikachu's Brick Break. "Staryu is unable to battle; the winner is Pikachu!" said the ref.