Pokémon : The Journey of Travis Tedford

Chapter 14: Celadon City Gym

The next morning, Adam noticed that I hadn't said much since dinner last night and asked me what had happened. "Nothing, I'm just determined to win my gym match later," I told him. I could tell he wasn't buying it, but thankfully he chose not to push. After breakfast, we immediately went over to the Celadon City gym. Inside, it was beautiful, with flowers planted all around the field, which made it stand out more compared to the other gyms I had been to. "Hi, looks like you're my first challenger of the day," said a voice. I turned around, and there stood a very beautiful woman behind me. "My name is Erica, and I'm the Celadon City Gym Leader. I specialize in grass-type Pokémon," she said. Adam was immediately infatuated with her the moment he laid eyes on her. "Y-you're really beautiful," he said, blushing. "Thank you. Will you be challenging me as well?" she asked him kindly. "N-no, I'm just here to cheer him on. Good luck, Trav," said Adam as he quickly rushed to the sidelines. Erica and I both walked onto the battlefield and stood on the opposite ends of the field. The referee came out and announced the rules. Each of us was to use three Pokémon, and the best two out of three wins. I pulled out my Pokéball and threw it onto the field, which revealed Togetic as my first Pokémon. "Gloom, I choose you!" called out Erica. "Alright, let's end this with one move! Use Aerial Ace!" I called out. Togetic flew high into the sky and then came charging down at a fast speed. Erica smiled. "Quick, Gloom, use Stun Spore!" she called out. Gloom released a powerful spore from its body that Togetic immediately inhaled. Its body became paralyzed, and it dropped to the ground. "Togetic, no! Get up!" I shouted. Togetic tried getting off the ground, but it was unable to due to the paralysis. "Use Sap Sipper!" she called out. Gloom spat out some sap from its spore, and it landed on Togetic. It then began sucking all of Togetic's strength. I was losing this battle already, and I knew it was because my head wasn't in the game. I pushed Efren out of my mind and then focused on the battle. "Hit it with Fire Blast!" I called out. Togetic stood up and then fired a fire blast attack directly at Gloom. It did a lot of damage. "Use Giga Drain!" she called out. Gloom began absorbing Togetic's energy while healing itself. "Wrap it up with Sludge Wave!" she called out. Gloom created a giant poisonous wave that came charging at Togetic. When the wave vanished, Togetic was on the ground unconscious. "Togetic is unable to battle, Gloom is the winner!" called out the ref. I quickly ran onto the field and picked up Togetic. "I'm sorry, Togetic. My head's not in the game and you suffered for it. I won't let your loss be in vain," I said to it. Togetic opened its eyes and then touched my face with its hand. I smiled at it and then recalled it to its Pokéball. "For my next Pokémon, I choose Weepinbell!" she called out as it emerged from its Pokéball. "I won't lose again! Tepig, I choose you!" I called out as Tepig emerged from its Pokéball.

    "Use Poison Powder!" called out Erica. Weepinbell shot a powerful poisonous spore from its mouth toward Tepig. "Burn it down with Flamethrower!" I called out. Tepig shot a powerful flamethrower at the spore and succeeded in burning it down to Erica's surprise. "Use Flame Charge!" I called out. Tepig began charging power and then charged at Weepinbell with flames covering its body. Weepinbell tried jumping out of the way, but Tepig was too fast. "Hit it with Razor Leaf!" called out Erica. Weepinbell fired multiple Razor Leaves at Tepig. Thanks to Flame Charge, Tepig's speed had increased and it was able to dodge all of the leaves with ease. "Use Flamethrower again!" I called out. Tepig vanished from Weepinbell's sight, only to appear in front of it and then fired a powerful flamethrower directly at it, which resulted in it fainting. The referee declared Tepig the winner and I cheered. Tepig ran to me, excited. I rubbed the top of its head and thanked it for its hard battle before recalling it to its Pokeball. Erica then sent out her final Pokémon, which revealed to be Vileplume. I then reached for my Pokeball and threw it out onto the battlefield, and Bagon emerged, pumped and ready to fight. "Vileplume, use Stun Spore!" called out Erica. Vileplume shot out a spore even more powerful-looking than the one Gloom had shot earlier. "Clear the field with your Hydro Pump attack!" I called out. Bagon fired Hydro Pump all over where the spore was reaching and managed to cancel it out. "Use Sludge Wave!" she called out. Vileplume created a powerful wave of poison that was so big that even Bagon couldn't dodge it. Bagon was hit and, worst of all, it was now poisoned. "Bagon, are you okay?!" I called out to it. Bagon turned to face me and then nodded. The look it had in its eye showed that despite being poisoned, it was still determined to fight till the end. I nodded and then smiled. "Alright, let's show it your power! Use Dragon Rush!" I called out. Bagon charged at Vileplume with a powerful aura surrounding it in the shape of a dragon and landed the hit. "It'll take more than that to beat us. Use Petal Dance!" called out Erica. Vileplume spun around and hit Bagon with multiple spinning sharp flower petals. The attack was so powerful that Bagon was left barely standing after. "Let's wrap this up, Solarbeam!" called out Erica. Vileplume began charging sunlight. "Bagon, now's our chance to strike! Use Dragon Breath at full power!" I called out. Bagon charged its attack and then fired a powerful blast that took the form of a dragon from its mouth. The attack hit Vileplume directly and caused an explosion. When the smoke cleared, Vileplume had fainted while Bagon was still standing. The referee then declared me the winner. I quickly ran to the field and picked up Bagon. "Bagon, that was a very powerful Dragon Breath. I didn't know you had that kind of power in you," I said, amazed. "That was Dragon Pulse that Bagon used. It's a very powerful move. Your Bagon is very talented to have learned it so quickly while in such a weakened state," said Erica. She then fed Bagon a berry. Moments later, Bagon's poison symptoms vanished. She then handed me a beautiful rainbow-looking badge. "Congratulations on your win. I now present you with the Rainbow Badge," she said. I examined the badge and smiled, but then suddenly I felt a wave of depression overcome me. "Thank you," I said to Erica as I turned around and left. Adam came running after me but stopped once he saw the look I had on my face.

After Nurse Joy finished healing my Pokemon, I released Togetic, Tepig, and Bagon from their Pokeballs. "Look, we did it. You all fought hard, and we won," I said with a smile. The Pokemon cheered but then stopped when they noticed tears running down my face. Togetic flew up toward my face and wiped away my tears. "Oh, sorry about that. And I'm sorry for how I battled today. I let my emotions interfere, and because of that, you were badly hurt," I said to Togetic. Togetic frowned and then shook its head left and right. It then pointed at the badge. "Yeah, you're right. We still won anyway," I said, trying to sound encouraging. I stood up and turned around and saw Adam standing behind me. I quickly wiped away the remainder of my tears.

"Look, man, I don't really do touchy-feely or anything like that, but if something's bugging you, you have to let me know. We are about to compete in a tournament in a couple of days together," said Adam.

"I got an email from Efren. He left for Sinnoh because the league there starts a week after his birthday, so he'll be eligible to join. He also said that I probably won't hear from him until then," I said, trying to fight back tears.

"I don't get it. I thought you'd be happy for him. Why are you sad about that?" asked Adam.

"Because he left right after I told him how I felt about him! I told him that I was in love with him, and then he vanishes for nearly two months and finally sends me an email telling me he's in a whole different region!" I said angrily.

"Hmm, I always knew you two were gay for each other back when we were kids. But I think you're looking into the negativity of everything he said. It's obvious he went to this other region because he's determined to grow and become stronger. You may not realize it, but he's not just doing this for himself but also for you. That's why he's telling you he'll see you after the league. He's hoping by the next time you see him, he'll be a Sinnoh League Champion," said Adam.

"You really think so?" I asked.

"Yes, it's obvious, and he's hoping by the next time he sees you, you'll be the Kanto League Champion. So you need to snap out of whatever depression episode you're going through and get yourself together. If he's training to become stronger, then you need to be doing the same. You can start off by training with me for the tag battle tournament," said Adam.

I was sad at first, but after hearing Adam's words, I began to feel a lot better. I wiped my eyes and then looked at my Pokemon, who were all smiling at me. "You're right. Let's do it," I said. I then released Pikachu, Snivy, and Marshtomp from their Pokeballs as well. "Okay, everyone, I'm sorry I've been stuck in my emotions the past two months, but right now, as we're speaking, Efren is out there training to become the Sinnoh League Champion. So let's do our best not to fall behind so that we can become the Kanto League Champions. Let's work harder than ever going forward," I said encouragingly. All of my Pokemon nodded in agreement, except Snivy, who just closed its eyes and smirked.