Pokémon Journeys - Pt. XI - The Surging Trio

[tenebrae]

Preface: ShowHide

Chapter 11 is here!
Took a while, turns out I'm bad at writing battles.

Link to the beginning


My team lay huddled together on the rug at the foot of my bed. I watched them for a few more moments from the seat at my desk. I had woken up earlier but couldn't get back to sleep, so I decided to see how this Hidden Machine worked. Under the light of the small desk lamp, I read over the Hidden Machine instruction manual.
"Place the disc on a level surface, or hold the disc flat. Then place the Poké Ball on the centre of the disc, button facing down. The Poké Ball should be that of the Pokémon you wish to have learn the Hidden Machine."
I looked at the disc that was beside me on the table, and then at the group of Poké Balls huddled next to it. Sure enough, each Poké Ball had a small round protrusion on the front which I had assumed was some sort of button, though every time I had pressed it, nothing happened. I grabbed the Poké Ball belonging to Pierce and placed it button down on top of the disc. I looked back at the manual and continued reading:
"Once the Poké Ball is in place, push down gently until the Poké Ball begins to spin. Then let it go, and when the Poké Ball has stopped spinning, your Pokémon will have learnt the Hidden Machine! This is accompanied by a small jingle."
I pressed down gently onto Pierce's Poké Ball and felt it twist below my hand. I quickly let go and stared at it as it spun upon the centre of the disc. After about a minute, it stopped spinning, and a little melody sounded from the Poké Ball. I waited a moment before picking it up and and looked it over. It looked no different to before, and I saw nowhere that seemed like sound would come from.

A faint squeak behind me made me turn around. Pierce was awake and climbing up the back of the chair. He climbed over the backrest then scrambled down my arm before jumping onto the desk and curled up next to his Poké Ball. Perhaps he sensed the change to his moveset. I gave him a quick scratch behind the ear before finishing reading over the manual.
"Hidden Machine Cut is capable of cutting the growth of a special type of tree that can be found scattered over the world. These trees are identified by..."
I skimmed over the next part as it wasn't valuable to actually utilising the Hidden Machine, and I had already seen this particular type of tree a few times already.
"...use Hidden Machine Cut, take the Poké Ball of the Pokémon that learnt the move and hold it up to the tree so that the button makes contact. Shortly after the Poké Ball passes over the tree sapling, or if the Poké Ball is taken too far away, the tree will rapidly regrow."
I nodded to myself having seen Lt. Surge do this yesterday.
"You have now successfully utilised the Hidden Machine Cut! Note: Under no circumstances should you attempt to pass through the tree's location when it is growing."
That much seemed apparent, I thought, as I leaned back in the chair having finished reading, and closed the manual. On the back page was a series of diagrams showing how to teach the move and then use it. Two of the diagrams had captions and I picked up the manual to read them.
"You can use Hidden Machine Cut to remove tall grass in your vicinity!" This caption accompanied a picture of a Trainer striking a pose while the grass around them was stylishly cut. The second picture had a big red X over it. It showed a Pokémon attacking one of those large trees directly with an attack. It was captioned:
"Warning: Under no circumstances should you have your Pokémon use the move directly on the tree."
This made me wonder why that was so bad, but there was no further explanations given, and I had no idea how I would be able to find out the reason. I tossed the manual back onto my desk and closed my eyes.

***

I woke up to the sound of my alarm blaring out. Apparently the sound was recorded from the cries of a legendary bird Pokémon that once used to roam the skies over Kanto, but there haven't been any sightings in recent times. Such circumstances are probably what gives a Pokémon its legendary status. I bolted upright and looked over at Pierce, still on my desk, but now hissing at my phone. I turned off the alarm and jumped out of my chair. All my other Pokémon were awake now, with the exception of Fin, who I left in his Poké Ball due to the lack of water.
"Alright team," I called out to them. "We have a gym battle ahead of us today, so whoever ends up fighting, let's give it out best!"
My Pokémon let out a collective cheer, at least that's what I assumed it was. Due to each Pokémon having a unique cry, it ended up being some kind of garbled sound. I withdrew everyone into their Poké Balls, except Amber, and left the room and headed up to the Pokémon Centre lobby.

There was already a few Trainers about, even though it was still quite early in the morning. Some staff members were watering the pot plants that lined the walls, and some others were cleaning down the PCs that sat between each pot plant. As I passed by one near the exit of the building, it sprang to life and I saw a figure on the screen.
"Good morning Lavender," the figure on the screen said, stopping me in my tracks. "Glad to see you're doing well," he said as I turned around and was greeted with the face of Professor Blackthorn.
"Professor!" I said, startled. "Wha- How??"
"No questions, please," the Professor said, holding up a hand before him. "I could explain to you all day and you still wouldn't understand. Besides, your progression has been mostly fine, if not slightly unexpected in some ways. Keep going like this and you'll be at the top in no time." The Professor straightened up before continuing. "Now, you are on your way to battle Lt. Surge? Good luck. He is quite a tough opponent for the unsuspecting."
I stood agape as I listened to him speak. I had no idea what the Professor meant by anything he had just said, or how he knew I was here, and he wouldn't answer any of my questions.
"Uhhhmm, thanks I guess," I replied, feeling obliged to say something.
I heard a ringing in the background and Professor Blackthorn quickly turned around, and picked up his phone. He looked down at it, and then back up at me.
"Sorry, I must go now. I will contact you another time."
As abruptly as the PC had sprung to life, it ceased all activity, and I was left staring at my reflection in the black screen, trying to process what just happened. For a good minute, these thoughts just raced through my mind until amber grabbed the hem of my jacket, giving me a tug to get a move on. I mindlessly moved in the direction I was being pulled, and soon enough I was exiting the Pokémon Centre with Amber leading the way

***

The overgrown tree towered above me as I stood next to it. I looked up at the tangle of branches and followed them down until they conglomerated into the thick trunk before me. I took a deep breath and pulled Pierce's Poké Ball out of my jacket, holding it out at arms length. I took a few steps forward and gently pressed the Poké Ball to the tree so that the button made contact with the bark. A small gust of wind blew around my hand and the tree then began glowing with a brilliant white light. It was so bright I had to shield my eyes as the light engulfed the whole tree. Before I had the chance to accustom myself to the blinding light, the light began to dim, quickly fading from view. I looked down at the unassuming sapling standing just over a metre in front of me. Seeing it occur for a second time, I still couldn't believe my eyes. I kept my eyes on the sapling as I stepped over it, Amber following right behind me. After a few moments, we both watched the sapling erupt back into another overgrown tree. I don't think I would ever get used to that sight. We both turned our backs to the tree, and after rounding the corner of the building, entered the Vermilion City Pokémon Gym.

***

"Welcome to Vermilion City Gym," a man said, as he greeted me at the entrance.
"Hello," I replied.
"Already here to challenge? I don't think the Lieutenant is expecting you just yet."
"I-" but I was interrupted before I barely said anything.
"Oi, Surge!!!" the man shouted out across the lobby.
"Mate, I'm comin' 'kay?" a reply echoed back from further in the building.
"Won't be a moment, miss," the man said to me as we both waited.
About a minute later, a tall figure emerged through a door at the back of the lobby. He was wearing a dirty brown jacket and a set of charred blue jeans.
"Who is it?" Lt. Surge asked as he looked at the man, before laying eyes on me. "Ah, it's... from yesterday... Hmmm..."
He scratched his head as I spoke, "Hello again Lieutenant. I'm here to challenge you to a gym battle."
"I see, I see..." His hand moved down the side of his face before coming to rest under his chin. "Well me assistan' here'll lead ya tha way, I'll see ya in tha 'rena."
He turned around and ran back through the doorway.
"Come this way miss, there is first a sort of test you must complete before you can gain access to the arena and proceed with a gym battle. Follow me." He turned and I followed him through the doorway.
"Although," he continued, "I don't think Surge has it se-"
"BOLLOCKS, FORGO' TA RESET THA DAMN COURSE AGAIN!"
"And there we have it," the man sighed as we emerged into a moderately sized room filled with a grid of bins.
Lieutenant Surge was standing beside a large metal coil fiddling with some sort of remote controller.
"Zapdos be damned!" he roared as he sent the controller flying across the room, landing inside one of the bins nearby. The bin emitted a loud crackling popping sound before a small puff of smoke erupted out of the top.
The man shook his head in dismay and turned to me, saying:
"He forgot to reset the course yesterday too. Needless to say, that challenger had a very easy time getting to the arena. His name was... Hold on, let me check." He pulled a small electronic device out of his pocket and flipped through a few menus. "Ah, Crimson. The victory plaque in the lobby has yet to be updated due to uh... needing to be replaced..." He trailed off and sighed again. I just kept nodding as he spoke.
"That's another story though..." he continued. "Umm, right! So after the battle, Surge reset the puzzle, and decided it was a good idea to give it a test to make sure it still works. And well, here we are again." The man sighed again, before pointing ahead of him. "Beyond those coils is the arena. Good luck with your battle. Now I'll have to excuse myself, I need to contact Silph Co. to order a new controller."
The man left me and I walked through the grid of bins, past the coils, and stepped into the gym arena.

***

Lt. Surge threw his Poké Ball toward the centre of the arena. From the red glow emerged a much larger Poké Ball, although this one had eyes. Angry eyes. It looked like anger had taken control of a Poké Ball. Small sparks could be seen arcing through the air all around it. Amber took a step forward, but I held out my hand to stop him.
"I'm going to let Pierce take this one," I said to Amber as I pulled a Poké Ball from within my jacket. "Go Pierce!" Amber retreated to the back wall of the arena.
The small Rattata appeared in a flash of red light and ran about in a small circle before growling towards Voltorb. Pierce was very much ready for battle, so I decided to get straight into it.
"Quick Attack!" I called out to Pierce.
He quickly charged at the Voltorb, making contact with it a moment later. The force pushed it backwards, and it started rolling away at a moderately high speed with Pierce quickly coming to a stop.
"Shock Wave!" Lt. Surge called out from the other side of the arena.
A dome of electricity spread out from where Voltorb was rolling. Pierce was still quite close to it at that moment, and despite jumping away from Voltorb with incredible speed, the dome of electricity still made contact with Pierce. It looked like it barely touched his whiskers, but that was apparently enough. He was blasted backwards, landing back where he had originally started charging from. Small arcs of electricity began to flash all over his body as he struggled to stand up.
"Ah, tha' good ol' para," Lt. Surge exclaimed rather enthusiastically. "Now finish tha job wiff a Sonic Boom!"
The Voltorb started rapidly spinning on the spot until its eyes were a blur. A high pitched whining sound began to ring out over the arena, rising in pitch until it became an near inaudible drone. I saw Lt. Surge turn around and cover his ears, but before I had a chance to react, a loud boom echoed through the arena. All the windows along the walls, as well as all the lights in the ceiling, shattered into tiny shards of glass, raining down on us all. The lights flickered momentarily before finally plunging the arena into darkness. A moment later a small shockwave of air hit me, making me loose my footing for a moment. Fortunately I was able to shield myself from the falling glass by covering myself with my jacket. I peeked our from under my jacket and saw Pierce get blasted backwards yet again, but managing to land on all four feet this time. There was small cuts and scratches all over his body, and the arcs of electricity were still there.
"Pierce, come back, I don't want you to get any more injured!" I cried out to Pierce as I emerged from beneath my jacket, ready to return him to his Poké Ball and beckon Amber over. He snarled at me, and in that moment I knew he had the resolve to finish the battle.
"Amber, stay back. Pierce still wants to fight!" I waved back to Amber and then turned to face Pierce.
"Okay Pierce, let's finish this. Use Quick Attack!" I called out.
Pierce launched forward from where he had been paralysed and slammed into the Voltorb. Once again, Voltorb was sent flying backwards, but before there was any impact with the back wall, it disappeared in a flash of red light.
"Tha's one gutsy Pokémon ya go' there," Lt. Surge called out to me, but I almost didn't hear him. I was too focused on Pierce.
Pierce was glowing a brilliant white light, similar to that tree earlier. I was about to rush over to him, but I heard Lt. Surge call out to me.
"Stop!" he called out rather harshly. "Ya don' wanna intafere if ya don' know exactly wha' ya wan'."
I paused just as I was about to dash forward, almost falling over forward. "What do you mean?" I asked the gym leader, a bit confused by both his words and accent.
"Jus' watch," he replied, much calmer in tone now. "This event is almost sacred. Only tha mos' experienced Trainers shoul' interfere."
We both watched in silence as Pierce's silhouette, now bathed in white light, began morphing and growing. After a few long moments, the light began to fade. Stepping forward from the light was not Pierce, at least not how I knew him. Besides being much larger, Pierce also now had light brown fur with a white underbelly. His whiskers and fangs had also grown considerably, the latter almost touching the floor as he stood on his back feet. Many of the cuts and scratches on his body had miraculously healed over, and the aura of crackling electricity had disappeared.
"Congra's on ya Pokémon's evolution!" Lt. Surge called out, clapping his hands loudly in the air. "Bu' no time ta celebra'e now, le's ge' on wit' tha ba'le!"
There was no time to celebrate as a moderately small yellow Pokémon appeared in a flash of red light near the centre of the arena. Lt. Surge was dictating the pace of the battle.
"Pika-Pi," it squeaked, rubbing its face with its front paws.
The Pokémon, instantly recognisable as a Pikachu, looked up at me and then tilted its head backward to look at Pierce. Pierce had now turned around and was growling at the Pikachu. It seemed his evolution had granted him newfound strength.
"Quick Attack, before your opponent can act!" Lt. Surge shouted out, his voice booming across the arena.
Pikachu shot off straight towards Pierce who was still snarling. Instinctively, Pierce managed to dodge out of the way just in time.
"Retaliate with a bite!" I called out.
Pierce immediately braced himself against the floor and darted at Pikachu. Pikachu didn't have time to react, and Pierce sunk his fangs into Pikachu's back. Pierce's fangs started glowing as they sunk deeper into the flesh. I recognised it as the same attack Crimson's Raticate had used on Spike yesterday, although I hadn't seen the fangs glow. Possibly due to the fact those fangs were unable to penetrate Spike's hide.
Spike stayed in position until the Pikachu stopped moving. He slowly extracted himself from the body but stayed in a stance weary of his foe. The Pikachu rolled over onto its back, the floor beneath soaking up some of the yellow goo that was leaking from the wound. After Pierce realised the Pikachu was unfit for battle, he started cleaning his fangs and whiskers off with his front paws.
A moment later, the Pikachu disappeared in a flash of red light, leaving behind a slightly sparking yellow ooze. Lt. Surge seemed unfazed though.
"Do no' worry, it's no' fa'al. It's tha way o' ba'le. Nurse Joy'll be able ta 'eal mos' any ailment. Lemme show ya me trump card!"
Lt. Surge put away his Poké Ball and threw another one toward the centre of the arena. Emerging out of a flash of red light appeared a Pokémon that somewhat resembled a Pikachu, but nothing like I had ever seen. It was standing on its tail, but that was far from the strangest thing. It was levitating just above the ground.
"This is Raichu. I evolved me first Pikachu when I was serving tha military long ago in a far away region."
By now, Pierce had finished cleaning himself down and was staring at his next opponent, a fierce fire in his eyes.
"Alright Pierce, let's finish this battle!"
The Raichu smiled and watched as Pierce began circling it. Then Lt. Surge screamed out his order:
"Raichu, use Psyshock!"
It raised its hands in the air wiggled its body about. The air around it distorted momentarily before a wave of energy shot forth directly at Pierce.
Pierce was struck by an invisible force and launched backwards into the air. He managed to land on his feet, somehow adjusting his motion in the air. Pierce then assumed an offensive stance, but did not attack. He was awaiting my order. I also didn't issue an order immediately like I usually would. Lt. Surge's Raichu was able to attack from afar, meaning Pierce would be kept on his toes as long as he kept his distance. He would have to get up close.
"Quick Attack!" I commanded after a few seconds of hesitation.
Pierce rushed forward vigorously, but before he managed to close the distance to Raichu significantly, he was blown backwards again, this time landing on his back and rolling across the ground. Pierce recovered quickly though, jumping up and running in a zig zag motion to get close to Raichu. This time it seemed like Pierce was able to predict Raichu's next attack. Each time Pierce would sidestep, the ground he would have stepped on was smacked by some kind of invisible force. It didn't take long before Raichu started looking visibly exhausted, and did not use that attack again. Finally, Pierce's dance was over, and he was able to close the distance, making contact with Raichu, but Raichu managed to mitigate the damage by shielding itself with its tail.
"Pierce, we have to get past that tail! Try biting it or something!"
Pierce tried to dodge around the tail, but Raichu retaliated with a Tail Whip. Pierce was pushed backwards, claws scraping against the floor, but other than that, suffered no visible damage.
"ОК, now finish with a Volt Tackle!" Lt. Surge called out, his voice booming over the sound of battle.
The Raichu started glowing a bright yellow colour and an instant later, shot forward with tremendous speed, slamming into Pierce before he had a chance to recover from the Tail Whip. Pierce arced through the air again, before landing with a crash into the back wall.
"Well done, Raichu," Lt. Surge started to say, but his tone soon changed. Then he began to laugh. "Hahaha, well well well. Tha' is a surprise. Mus' be holdin' on tigh' there."
Pierce had somehow survived the force of the attack, and was slowly regaining his footing. He looked badly injured, and the sight of electricity one again crackling around him did not help to improve his condition.
"Pierce, return, you're too injured to battle," I called out but he just growled at me.
I threw his Poké Ball toward him, but he head butted it back towards me. It rolled across the floor, coming to rest at my feet. Like before, Pierce was obviously still willing to battle, and if he was, then I was also going to give it my best too.

"Alright Pierce," I said softly, "Let's do this."
Raichu was already rushing towards Pierce, a glow of bright yellow quickly approaching Pierce. Before I even had a chance to say anything, Raichu closed the distance completely, but there was no boom. Pierce had somehow jumped out of the way just in time, and Raichu continued moving forward, almost colliding with the back wall. He quickly glanced my way, and I knew what he wanted.
"Hyper Fang!" I called out to Pierce.
Pierce jump forward and sunk his teeth into the already somewhat exhausted Raichu. It let out a high pitched shriek as it was bitten. It tried to shake pierce off, but he had firmly latched himself onto its back. After struggling for a little while, Pierce let go of his hold, somersaulting through the air and landing a few metres before Raichu.
"Finish it with a Bite!"
My last order had barely reached his ears before Pierce rushed forwards and sunk his teeth into Raichu one last time. After a few moments, Raichu collapsed onto the floor, unconscious.

"And the victory goes to Lavender!"
The gym attendant walked out into the arena, slowly clapping his hands. Lt. Surge returned his Raichu to its Poké Ball and then approached me. I was kneeling down patting Pierce all over his body. Despite his wounds, he was still rather lively, though he did have a slight electric feel to the touch. Amber had also approached us and was rubbing Pierce's back too.

Lt. Surge was now standing next to me, still holding his Raichu's Poké Ball. His free hand was outstretched towards me. In his palm was a small metallic badge.
"This is yer Thunder Badge," he said, as I took the badge from him. I turned it over in my hand, looking at how the light reflected off the shiny surface.
"Ya should ge' yer Pokémon healed up soon," he continued as I was inspecting my new badge. "I'll also need ta have me Pokémon attended ta."
He tried to pat me on the back as I stood up, but I quickly ducked back down, his hand gliding over by head. There was no knowing how far he would send me flying with his size.

Together we started walking out of the arena and towards the exit. Over Lt. Surge's excited talking, I heard the attendant call out behind us, "Don't forget to reset the course on your way out!"
Evidently, it fell on deaf ears, as Lt. Surge continued prattling on as we both walked out of the gym together.



Part 12 coming... eventually is here!