Pokémon : The Journey of Travis Tedford

Chapter 12: Friend or Foe

Instead of going to the gym right after I obtained Marshtomp, I decided to spend the next few weeks training non-stop. I still thought about Efren often, but I never felt sad about him anymore. All that mattered to me was that I didn't let my rivals get too far ahead of me. Whenever trainers would come to the Pokémon Center, I'd challenge them to a battle. Today marked 17 days since I lost against Surge, and I wanted to get in one last battle before I went to challenge the gym. I was surprised when the trainer Benjy, who I battled in the first round of the Unova tournament, stopped by. "I've gotten a lot stronger since we last battled. How about a rematch?" asked Benjy. I quickly nodded, and we headed off to the battlefield. "Charmeleon, go!" called out Benjy as his Pokémon emerged. "Let's go, Pikachu!" I said as Pikachu hopped off my shoulder and onto the field. My other Pokémon sat on the sideline to watch my battle, like they've been doing the past few weeks. I took turns using each of them in every battle I've had during this training period. "Charmeleon, use Dragon Claw!" called out Benjy. Charmeleon was fast, but Pikachu was faster; it dodged all of Charmeleon's powerful slashes. "Use Brick Break!" I called out. Pikachu swung its tail and slammed it onto Charmeleon. "Hit it with Dragon Tail!" called out Benjy. Charmeleon slammed Pikachu to the ground using its tail. "Now use Flamethrower!" he called out next. Pikachu got out of the way and dodged. I had spent the past few weeks helping Pikachu increase its speed and agility. Charmeleon was fast but not close enough to Pikachu's speed. "Alright, use Thunderbolt!" I called out. Pikachu unleashed a powerful Thunderbolt attack, which resulted in Charmeleon fainting. "Great job, Pikachu, we won!" I said excitedly. Pikachu and my other Pokémon cheered. Even Snivy had managed to lighten up a bit due to all the hard work it's seen me put into it and my other Pokémon. "Wow, your Pikachu's stronger than ever. How many badges do you have?" asked Benjy. "I only have two still, unfortunately," I said, showing my badge case. Benjy showed me his badge case, which revealed 5 badges. "If you're already at this level with only two badges, then you shouldn't have any trouble with the next couple of gyms. Next time we battle, you won't be so lucky," said Benjy as he turned around and left. I took Pikachu to get checked out by Nurse Joy, and then after that, I headed to the Vermillion City Gym. When I arrived, Surge was surprised to see me. "Wow, I thought you were never coming back. It's a good thing you did though because you need this badge if you plan on challenging the Kanto League," said Surge. "I know. I've trained hard for this rematch; I wanted to make sure that this time I don't lose as badly as I did last time," I said. "Well, let's get started," said Surge. I agreed, and we both went to the opposite ends of the battlefield. The referee then signaled for us to begin. "Raichu, let's kick their butts again!" called out Surge as Raichu emerged from its Pokéball. I knew I'd probably have a strong advantage if I were to use Marshtomp, but I was determined to show the results of my training. "Snivy, I choose you!" I called out as it emerged from its Pokéball.

"I'll make the first move," Raichu use Thunderbolt!" called out Surge. Raichu unleashed a powerful thunderbolt across the field. Snivy and I made eye contact, and then it nodded and began to slip and slide around the many different bolts that came its way. Surge was shocked. "Whoa, such speed and evasiveness," he said. "Use Magical Leaf!" I called out. Snivy shot out multiple beautiful colored leaves that all charged at Raichu and hit it. "Use Iron Tail!" called out Surge. Raichu's tail began to glow, and it came toward Snivy. "Use Vine Whip to launch yourself high into the air!" I called out. Snivy did as I instructed and launched itself in the air. "Quick, while it's in the air, use Thunderbolt!" called out Surge. "Spin and use Magical Leaf to defend yourself!" I called out. Snivy spun around and created a shield of Magical leaves. "Solarbeam!" I called out. Snivy absorbed sunlight and fired a powerful Solarbeam at Raichu. Raichu took a lot of damage but it still wasn't down yet. "Use Iron Tail!" called out Surge. Raichu swung its tail and struck Snivy directly. Snivy had used a lot of its stamina dodging all of Raichu's earlier attacks. I realized then now was time to bust out our new move. "Use Twister!" I called out. Snivy created a powerful twister that sucked Raichu into it and trapped it in there. "Now, add some Magical Leaf into that twister!" I shouted. Snivy did that and then there was an explosion which resulted in Raichu finally fainting. "Raichu is unable to battle, the winner is Snivy!" called out the Ref. "Great work, Snivy!" I said cheerfully. Snivy cheered too but then pretended it didn't care about the win. "Here you go, the Thunder badge," said Surge as he handed the badge over to me. I looked at it and cheered with Snivy. "I also have a present for you," said Surge as he handed over a stone with a Lightning symbol in the middle. "Whenever you feel the time is right, give this to your Pikachu and it'll evolve into a Raichu," said Surge. "Thank you," I said excitedly. I said my goodbyes and then ran back to the Pokemon center. I checked my email and saw that I received emails from both Jay and Anna. Jay now had 5 badges and was on his way to the Fuchsia Gym while Anna already had 6 badges and was heading back to her hometown for a bit to take a break. Unfortunately, there were no emails from Efren. "It's been over a month already, where are you Eff?" I whispered quietly to myself. I then looked on maps to find the nearest gym, and it gave me Celadon City gym.