Chapter 8

Rivalry Rekindled?

Celadon City-

            The two young trainers spent the next morning shopping in Celadon City.  It was a small concession Red had to make to Blue for challenging the Gym the previous day.  However, the two had planned to rent bicycles to travel south along the long bridge that connected Fuchsia to Celadon at noon.

            As they approached the rental store, they noticed the sign read “closed.”

            “That’s a bummer,” said Red.  Blue pulled out her map of Kanto.

            “The only other way to get to Fuchsia is to go all the way back to Lavender Town, and then south,” she said.  “Hopefully that gigantic sleeping Pokémon is gone by now.”

            A voice came from outside the store from a man on a bench.

            “Fuchsia?” the man, Red had deduced he was the owner of the shop judging by the T-shirt he wore that matched the sign.  “No one goes to Fuchsia anymore.  My business is ruined!” He put his face in his hands and began to cry.

            Red didn’t know what to say to bring any comfort to this man.  Blue decided to be the nosy one anyway.

            “Why doesn’t anyone go to Fuchsia anymore?” asked Blue.  The man looked up at her and swallowed his tears.

            “Koga, the leader of Fuchsia’s Gym, has aligned himself with Team Rocket,” he sobbed.  “They’re blocking the bridge and charging expensive tolls to anyone who dares to even face them.”

            The two young trainers were stunned.  A Gym Leader aligned with Team Rocket?

            Red was determined.  “A Gym Leader’s a Gym Leader and I need that Badge!” He said proudly.  “I’ll rent a bike from you, sir! How much?”  The man smiled a little.

            “I appreciate the offer,” he said.  “But I can’t put kids like you in danger like that.”

            “Like I said,” said Blue, “we should just go the back way.”  The man shook his head.

            “I guess you could,” the Bike Store Owner said.  “What it lacks in Team Rocket it makes up for in its wilderness.  Anyways, you two go have some fun here in Celadon, where it’s safe…” He put his face back in his hands and Red and Blue could hear him moaning about his loss of business as they walked towards the east in the direction they arrived in Celadon from.

            Afternoon turned to evening as the silhouettes of Celadon’s buildings disappeared behind them and the lights of the skyscrapers of Saffron loomed ahead.

            “I can’t believe Saffron is still closed down,” said Blue.  “They’re really afraid of Team Rocket.”

            “It makes me mad,” said Red.  “I only need four more badges, and all the remaining Gyms are in a city in league with Team Rocket, a city closed that’s afraid of Team Rocket, and Cinnabar Island way down south!  Not to mention the Gym in Viridian is probably still closed…”  His voice trailed off as they heard a loud screeching sound in the sky, like an eagle calling out.

            “Look!” shouted Blue as she pointed back in the direction of Celadon.  Red had to squint against the setting sun to finally see what she was looking at.  A large bird was flying their way.  As it approached, he saw a familiar spiky haired boy riding on top of it.  Then the boy spoke, and Red’s theory was confirmed.

            “How’s the badge colleting going?” it was a sneering, proud voice.  The bird landed.  It was large, nearly four feet tall, and brown with a long beak and red feathers on its head.  Hopping off was Green, Red’s rival who had received his first Pokémon on the same day as him.  Green had rushed picked the fiery Pokémon, Charmander, ignoring Bulbasaur and Squirtle who would later be picked by Blue and Red respectively.  Red and Green had had four battles previously, with the former winning the first three, and Green claiming victory on the S.S. Anne most recently.

            “I already have five badges,” Green continued.  He stroked his Pokémon’s wings.  “You remember Spearow don’t you?  Well, this is Fearow, its evolved form.  It comes quite in handy when I want to get from place to place.”

            Red had forgotten how annoying Green’s better-than-you attitude could be.  Before he could respond, Green continued on.

            “When I heard Team Rocket wouldn’t let anyone pass on the bridge to Fuchsia, Fearow just flew me in.  Of course, Koga the Gym Leader was no match for me-“

            “Do you ever shut up?” said Blue, tapping her feet.  She could handle Red because at least he didn’t brag about himself.  Green, on the other hand, quickly got on her nerves.  Green turned to her.

            “I know you don’t have any badges, girl,” he scoffed at her.  “Who gave you permission to speak?”  His Fearow turned its head and glared at Blue out of the corner of its eye.

            Blue had already pulled a Pokeball out.  “I didn’t get a chance to battle you on the ship!” she said.  “I want to know how it feels to kick your butt!”

            Green laughed while Fearow let out a cry in unison and spread its long wings.  “I guess a nice warm up will be fine.  Hey, Red! Take notes you’re gonna need them when the big boys battle again.”  Red folded his arms and leaned against a nearby tree, trying to act cool while he was very interested in gathering any information he could about any new strategy that Green used to battle. 

            “Three on three sound good?” asked Green.  Fearow stood in front of its trainer flapping its wings menacingly. 

            “Sure! Let’s take to the skies! Go Butterfree!”  Blue released the little purple bug.  Immediately the Pokémon flew around speedily like a dogfight above the trainers.  The pace of the battle was established right off the bat. Fearow was fast.  Very fast.  It easily outpaced Red’s own Pidgeotto in terms of speed, while also possessing that ferocious beak.  However, Butterfree was able to do more acrobatic moves, avoiding Fearow’s beak just barely.

            “Alright, Fearow,” yelled Green.  “You’ve had your fun!  Hurry up and finish that little bug, I don’t want you tired for the flight into Saffron!”  On command, Fearow angled its wings like a fighter jet, becoming more aerodynamic.  Its long sharp beak slammed into Butterfree, knocking the frail bug out of the air.  Butterfree’s technique was effective against untrained opponents, but Fearow’s brute force and sheer speed was too much for it.

            The large bird landed behind its trainer and sat down, conserving its energy for the ride it would give to Green after the battle. 

            “Time for my second Pokémon!” said Green.  “Let’s see how you deal with this!  Your boyfriend couldn’t handle it on the ship!”  He sent out Exeggcute: the pink, seed like eggs all bunched together.  Red perked up as he was anxious to see any weak point in Exeggcute’s game.  When he had battled it with Wartortle, the little eggs had drained all of the turtle’s energy.

            Blue pulled out her Pokedex and identified Exeggcute as part Grass, part Psychic type.  She decided to use her oldest friend.  “Go Nidorina!”  The light blue Pokémon emerged from its ball ready to fight. 

            “Use Confusion, Exeggcute!” commanded Green.  The eggs all began to wiggle as their eyes glowed.  In Nidorina’s eyes, it saw the eggs multiply exponentially dancing around mocking it.  It began leaping and trying to crush the eggs to no avail, they started disappearing.

            “Nidorina!” yelled Blue.  “Go after that big egg over there!” She pointed towards the center egg of Exeggcute, its eyes glowing the brightest.  Nidorina heard its master’s voice and snapped out of its trance. “Use your Poison Sting attack!”  It ran swiftly and lunged at the bigger egg, its mouth gaping fangs barred as it bit its foe.  The big egg began to appear sick as it toppled over while the disease quickly spread among its partners.  Blue had won round two.

            “This girl can party too!” laughed Blue.  “Bring out Charmeleon, let’s see what you’re really made of!”

            Green laughed too, though obviously not happy losing even one of his Pokémon in the fight.  “The one you call Charmeleon only comes out for battles that are tough! Kadabra, you can handle this!”  He released a golden Pokémon with brown shoulder pads and two long whiskers.  It held a silver spoon in its hand.  “You remember Abra from the bridge by Cerulean City!  This is its evolution!  You see, making Pokémon evolve greatly increases their power!  Now let’s see your last Pokémon!”

            Blue sent out Ivysaur, the very Pokémon Green had scorned in Professor Oak’s lab.  It was going to make Green pay for overlooking it. 

            “This is Ivysaur!” said Blue.  Ivysaur growled.  “He doesn’t like you very much, you see.   Now show us what you can do! Use Razor Leaf!”  Ivysaur lowered its head and launched the barrage of sharp leaves from the pink flower on its back. 

            “Is that all you’ve got?” mocked Green.  As soon as the leaves were about to strike Kadabra, its eyes glowed and the leaves froze in midair, glowing with Kadabra’s Psychic energy.  It pointed the spoon at Ivysaur and the leaves shot back at the greenish Pokémon.  Luckily, Ivysaur was quick with the Vines hidden in the flower on its back as it skillfully batted the leaves away. 

            Ivysaur let out a little battle cry and boldly charged at its foe.  Once again, right before Blue’s Pokémon made contact Kadabra acted.  In a flash of light it teleported to a separate location as Ivysaur skidded to a halt.  It whipped around and violently charged again.

            “Geez, you just don’t know when you’re beat, do you?” said Green condescendingly.  Kadabra’s eyes glowed and pointed its spoon at the charging Pokémon, who was lifted into the air outside its own power, glowing the same color as Kadabra’s eyes.  “You can’t beat Psychics with brute strength,” Green chided.  “Finish it, Kadabra.”

            The golden Pokémon’s spoon bent downwards as Ivysaur contorted with pain in, still suspended in midair.  Blue gritted her teeth as she couldn’t stand the sight of one of her strongest Pokémon crying out so helplessly.  Kadabra’s spoon bent farther down, and Ivyaur’s flower began to wilt and seemingly lose color.  Its voice was no stronger than a whisper when Blue ended the fight.

            “STOP!” she yelled as she ran into the middle of the fight and grabbed Ivysaur.  Green’s Pokémon ended its Psychic attack and allowed its opponent’s trainer to reclaim it.  “You win, and I hope you’re proud of yourself.” Her face flushed with rage.  She recalled Ivysaur into its Pokeball and stomped towards Green.  “There’s a difference between winning and trying to severely hurt your opponent!”  She was nearly in his face at this point.  Red didn’t know what to do, he was busy jotting notes and little sketches, hypothesizing about how he would have to defeat Kadabra should he ever face it.

            Kadabra glanced at Blue and Fearow, still present, let out a growl of warning, telling Blue to back off from its trainer.

            “I don’t know if that makes you any better than Team Rocket,” said Blue as she turned her back on Green, tears in her eyes.  She had remembered how brutally the Rocket Boss’s Pokémon beat up hers and Red’s Pokémon.  She could still see Butterfree’s crumpled, almost lifeless body after it had smashed through the door.  This time, it was Ivysaur panting in fear in her arms.

            Green recalled Kadabra and hopped on Fearow’s back.  “You’ll never win any meaningful battles if you don’t develop some thicker skin.”  Fearow lifted off and circled Red and Blue.  “I expect more from you, Red! Remember that!” he said as Fearow flew off towards Saffron City’s buildings in the distance.

            It wasn’t long before Red and Blue arrived at Saffron’s west gate.  Once again denied entry, they walked through the underground path that ran east and west under Saffron, a journey that lasted a good two hours through the long, plain hallway.  It was late when they emerged just east of Saffron.  They waited and finally caught a bus that took them back to Lavender Town. 

            Blue hadn’t said much throughout the whole journey after Green left them.  She fell asleep on the bus and laid her head on his shoulder.  For a while, he had forgotten all about badges, or his rivalry with Green.  He just wanted to make sure Blue was alright. 

            She was pretty shaken up after that battle, he thought.  She cares a lot about her Pokémon, even if it means losing.  He wondered if he could have done the same thing in her situation.  What if Wartortle had a crack in its shell?  Machop, a broken leg? A crushed Pikachu? Pidgeotto with a clipped wing? Yeah I would, those Pokémon of ours aren’t simply tools for battle and competition.  They’re our friends. He smiled and looked at Blue, resting peacefully in the seat next to him.  He put his arm around her and rested his head on hers.  Thanks for being a great person, Blue.  I couldn’t have gotten this far without you. The bus trudged on, Lavender Town still an hour away.

The Skies Above Saffron-

            Green was puzzled.  The roads were blocked to Fuchsia, so he just flew over the roadblocks on Fearow.  Surely Saffron would be the same?  Wrong.  When Fearow went in for a landing, it was stopped by some invisible barrier, like a force field.  Everywhere Green and Fearow flew, the same conclusion was reached.  This force field extended all above the city, like giant invisible dome. 

            Green landed; Fearow began to slow.  He recalled it into its Pokeball and sat under a tree.  He leaned his head back in frustration.  “What kind of Pokémon can create a barrier around an entire city?”  He said.  The answer came.

            “Not just a Pokémon,” said a woman’s voice.  ”It would take many Pokémon, all highly trained in their Psychic Powers, as well as a trainer who understands these powers herself.”  Green stood up and looked around.

            “Who are you? Where are you?” he frantically scanned his head from side to side.  The Pokeball of his starter Pokémon in his hand.

            “Right here!” Green turned his head again and there she was.  A tall, pretty woman stood directly in front of him.  “I’ve heard much about you, Green, grandson of Samuel Oak.  You’ve defeated many Gym Leaders... You show such promise!  We could use a trainer like you!”

            Green recognized the woman.  He knew the faces and names of all the current Gym Leaders in Kanto.

            “Sabrina!”