Pokémon : The Journey of Travis Tedford

Chapter 11: Vermillion City Gym

I spent the remainder of the holidays alone in my room, depressed. Anna and Jay came to my room daily to try and cheer me up but failed to do so. Eventually, Jay went to Vermillion Gym and won his 4th badge. Afterwards, he came back to bid farewell to Anna and me. Later that evening, I decided to train with my Pokémon. I released them all from their Pokéballs. While Pikachu, Togetic, Bagon, and Tepig were all pumped and ready, Snivy remained expressionless. Anna saw I was outside training and she was happy to see that I was slowly returning to my old self. "It's nice to see you training again. It's a good thing too because the Vermillion City Gym Leader is very strong," said Anna. "I know, Jay told me that he specializes in Electric-type Pokémon, which means Togetic and Pikachu will have to sit this one out," I said. Pikachu and Togetic went from happy to sad in an instant. "Hey, don't worry, we still have plenty more gym battles after this one! Everyone will get a chance to shine!" I said. "Alright, Snivy, I know you're new to the team, so let's see what you can do!" I said. Snivy looked at me and then walked over to the battlefield. I looked up Snivy's attacks on the Pokédex and then decided to try them out for myself. "Alright, let's try Magical Leaf!" I called out. Snivy pretended it didn't hear me and looked the other way. "Uhhhhh, okay, let's try your Vine Whip attack!" I called out. Snivy yawned and then walked off the field and went to sleep underneath a tree. "What the?! Why does Snivy have such a bad attitude?!" I asked, annoyed. "I heard that Snivys usually have to accept their trainers before they decide whether or not to follow them. It's why I chose Tepig over it," said Anna, laughing while scratching the back of her head. "Well, I guess I won't be able to rely on it for this gym battle then," I said as I recalled it to its Pokéball. "Dragon-type Pokémon are also resistant to Electric-type moves so you, Bagon, can use that," said Anna. "You're right. Alright everyone, let's go!" I said as I recalled them all to their Pokéballs. Anna and I left the Pokémon Center and went off to the gym. There was a big lightning bolt symbol on the gym, which I thought was cool. When I entered, there was a big battlefield just like the ones in the previous gyms I went to. "So? I have a challenger?" asked a man from behind me. I turned around to see a strong, muscular, military-looking man standing behind me. "Yeah, that would be me. My name's Travis," I said, feeling a bit intimidated. "I see. The name's Lt. Surge. And oh, I see you've come back as well," said Surge as he looked over at Anna. "I'm just here to cheer him on. That's it," she said. "You can cheer for both of us. Here at my gym, we use 1 Pokémon each so I hope you bring your all because my Pokémon is the strongest around," said Surge. He then turned to walk to the battlefield. I reached onto my belt and released both Pikachu and Snivy from their Pokéballs. "I want the two of you to watch this match from the sidelines. Pikachu, it'll be good for you to see other Electric-type Pokémon in action! Snivy, I hope this victory of mine will convince you that I'm worthy enough to be your trainer," I said. Snivy looked the other way and walked off with Anna and Pikachu.

I walked onto the battlefield. "Each trainer will use 1 Pokemon; whoever Pokemon falls first is the loser!" called out the Ref. "Alright, Poke Ball, go!" called out Surge as he threw his Pokeball onto the field. I was shocked at what emerged. It was my favorite Pokemon, Raichu. "Raichu?! That's so awesome! I get to battle against my first ever Raichu!" I said with hearts in my eyes. I then snapped out of it and chose my Pokemon. "Let's go, Bagon!" I said as it emerged from its Pokeball. "Alright, let's start this off with Headbutt!" I called out. Bagon charged at Raichu and launched itself, hitting it directly. The attack did a lot more damage than I thought it would. "Alright, Raichu, counterattack with Iron Tail!" called out Surge. Raichu's long tail glowed and quickly smacked Bagon. "Use Thunder Punch now!" called out Surge. Raichu's right fist began to glow and shroud itself in electricity as he struck Bagon with it. "Quick, counter with Dragon Breath!" I called out. Bagon shot the attack, which managed to hit Raichu who was still close to Bagon. "Now use Hydro Pump!" I called out. Bagon quickly reacted and fired its attack. Surge smirked. "Let's take advantage of that Hydro Pump, use Thunderbolt!" called out Surge. Raichu unleashed a powerful electric attack that climbed up the Hydro Pump and struck Bagon. "Let's wrap this up, use Volt Tackle!" called out Surge as Raichu charged at Bagon, covered with lightning. "Counter with Dragon Rush!" I called out. Bagon charged at Raichu with a powerful aura that took the form of a dragon. Both attacks collided and created an explosion. When the smoke cleared, Raichu was still standing while Bagon had fainted. "Bagon is unable to battle; Raichu wins! The victory goes to The Gym Leader Surge!" called out the Ref. I recalled Bagon to its Pokeball. "You did your best, take a long rest," I told it. "I'm going to train hard and then come back here even stronger!" I said as I turned around and left. Anna, Pikachu, and Snivy quickly followed after me. When I returned to the Pokémon center, I slumped onto the couch, depressed. "Come on, Travis, you can't let one loss get you down. You need to be training so you can go back and beat him soon!" encouraged Anna. "I know it's just, even during that battle, all I could think about was Efren. I still can't believe he left like that even after I confessed my feelings for him. Ever since then, I've been feeling this weird hurt feeling in my chest," I said. "It's called being heartbroken. It's okay, Efren still loves you, but he left so he can get stronger on his own. You'll see him again soon. He'll be a lot stronger too so you can't slack off now or else you'll never beat him," said Anna. I looked at Anna and then smiled. "Yeah, you're right! I refuse to let him or Surge beat me! I'm going to train to get stronger and go back there and win that badge!" I said, feeling more determined than ever. Snivy watched in amazement at my determination. "I have an idea for an activity we can do to clear your head a bit! Follow me!" said Anna. Wendy walked for about 20 minutes until we came across what looked like a fishing area. She then pulled out two fishing rods. "I've been wanting to catch a new Pokémon before I leave for Saffron City, so I thought now would be the perfect chance," she said. "Alright, if I manage to pull something, then it's up to you two to battle it for me," I said to Pikachu and Snivy. Pikachu agreed while Snivy shrugged its shoulders. I sat on the bridge and threw my lure into the water. We sat there for about an hour until finally Anna managed to catch a bite. "I got something!" she shouted as she tried to reel it in. She used all of her strength to pull it out, and then suddenly a Horsea emerged. "Oh my gosh! I've always wanted a Kingdra! I have to catch it!" she screamed in excitement. Horsea grew angry and shot bubbles at Anna. Anna dodged out of the way and then called upon her Ivysaur. "Use Vine Whip!" she called out. Ivysaur did as she instructed and caught it with its Vines. "Now, use Solarbeam!" she called out. Ivysaur absorbed as much sunlight as it could and fired its powerful beam at Horsea. Anna then threw a Pokeball and managed to catch it. "I did it! I caught a new Pokemon!" she cheered. "That's great, Anna! Now it's my turn!" I said, all fired up. I threw my lure back into the water, and after a few minutes, I managed to feel a bite. I used all of my strength and pulled it out of the water. It then landed on the bridge. I pulled out my Pokédex to identify the Pokémon, and it turned out to be a Mudkip, a water type Pokemon that's usually found in the Hoenn region.

"After this, I'll have a full team of six Pokémon," I said. I then looked at Pikachu and Snivy. "Snivy, I choose you!" I called out to it. Snivy looked at me confused but surprisingly went in front of me. Mudkip grew angry and then fired a Hydro Pump attack. "Dodge it, Snivy!" I called out. Snivy listened and jumped in the air. "Hit it with Magical Leaf!" I called out. Snivy shot out a bunch of beautiful colored leaves that aimed directly at Mudkip. Mudkip then shot them all down with Ice Beam. "That Mudkip must be a pretty high level to know attacks like Hydro Pump and Ice Beam," said Anna. "Yeah, well, it'll make a great new addition to my team! Snivy, charge directly at Mudkip!" I instructed. Snivy surprisingly listened to me and charged. Mudkip then fired another Ice Beam. I anticipated that. "Use Vine Whip to jump!" I called out. Snivy did just that and launched right into the air. "Now, use Solarbeam!" I called out. Snivy was so high in the sky that it quickly absorbed sunlight and then fired it directly at Mudkip, resulting in it fainting. I then threw a Pokéball at it and after three shakes, it was caught. "We did it! Great work, Snivy! We make a pretty good team!" I said to it. Snivy looked the other way, but I could see it was trying to hide its smile. We went back to the Pokémon Center where Nurse Joy treated both Mudkip and Bagon. When she finished, I released them all from their Pokéballs. "Everyone, this is Mudkip! It's our newest addition to our team!" I said. Mudkip gave a kind greeting, as did the rest of my Pokémon. "Well, it's been fun but I really should be going," said Anna. I turned around and gave her a sad smile. "I'm sad to see you go, but thank you. I appreciate you for being here with me even after the holidays, Anna. You're a really good friend," I said with a smile. "Yeah, I guess I am. Next time we meet, I'll be stronger and I'll beat you the next time we battle," she said with a smile. "We'll see about that," I said with a smirk. We shook hands, and then she left. My Pokémon and I went outside to wave her off and then went to the back of the Pokémon Center to train. "Mudkip, fire your Mud Shot attack at that tree!" I called out. Mudkip did as I instructed and shot a powerful Mud Shot attack at the tree. "Your Ground-type moves might be just what we need in order to win!" I said, all hyped up. Mudkip agreed. Suddenly, there was a loud scream in the woods behind the Pokémon Center. I quickly ran to find a girl being attacked by a Scyther. "Mudkip, quick, use Hydro Pump!" I called out. Mudkip fired a powerful blast of water directly at Scyther. Scyther then turned its attention to us and attacked Mudkip with X-Scissor. "Mudkip, no! Tepig, quick, use Ember!" I called out. Tepig fired a strong Ember attack at Scyther, but it was too fast and hit Tepig with Slash. I ran and caught Tepig, who was sent flying from the attack. Pikachu fired an Electro Ball, while Snivy fired Magical Leaf, and Bagon fired its Dragon Breath attack. Scyther used Agility and then slashed all three of them. "That does it, I don't need my Pokémon to kick your ass!" I said as I picked up a branch and charged right at it. My Pokémon all looked at me as if I were crazy. Scyther came at me and used X-Scissor, but before the attack could land on me, Mudkip jumped and got in the way to protect me. I caught it in my arms, and we were both sent back flying. I reached for Togetic's Pokéball, who I had let sit out this training session, but Mudkip jumped out of my arms and stood in front of me to defend me. It then began to glow and transform. When it stopped glowing, it had evolved into Marshtomp. Scyther came charging at Marshtomp ready to slash at it. Marshtomp rushed at Scyther, and then its right fist began to glow and shroud itself with a very cold aura, and it used Ice Punch, which froze Scyther completely. Then it used Hydro Pump to send it flying. "Marshtomp! Everyone, you did great!" I said as I rushed over to them all. They all got excited and jumped on me. Even though I was still sad about Efren leaving me, at least I still had my Pokémon to continue on my adventure with, and in that moment, I felt happier than I've felt in weeks.