Part 6: Meowth in Boots

The late morning sun shone through the window of the cafe on the outskirts of the Cerulean Metropolis. I sat directly across from Kiwi, both of us ploughing through our stack of fresh pancakes, swimming in maple syrup. Now and again we would eye each other as we raced to finish our breakfast first.

‘Wow guys, take it easy ’, said Aly poking her straw around her fruit smoothy.

‘Yeah, Kiwi’, laughed Juni, ‘I didn’t realise you had such a big appetite.’

‘I... (gulp) have a big gym match today. I gotta... (gulp) keep up my strength if I wanna be a pokemon master’, said Kiwi sternly as swallowed giant chunks of chewy pancakes.

‘Not if... (gulp) I challenge Cerulean Gym first’, I grunted stubbornly in retort and filled my mouth with another load of pancakes.

‘Umm... Robin?’, asked Aly curiously, ‘Aren’t you forgetting about the Moon Stone we have to deliver to Lanette?’

Remembering the Moon Stone I accidentally swallowed a giant piece of maple covered pancake too early. My breakfast slipped back off my tongue and became lodged in my throat. I burst into an abrupt fit of gagging and coughing. I pounded my chest in an attempt to loosen the blockage and scrambled for my glass of orange juice. I threw it back and to my relief it unhinged the consolidated pancake, washing it down my distressed body.

I coughed to clear my throat and steadied my breathing, realising that half the customers in the cafe were staring at me with weird looks.

Kiwi smirked, ‘Slowly does it, Robin. Wouldn’t want to get too ahead of yourself.’

‘Oh yeah!?’, I barked, ‘Lets see who’s laughing when I get my gym badges first!’

We both grunted and started to polish off the last of our breakfast with vigour. Our glares locked and neither of us blinked, refusing to show any weakness.

Juni giggled at our ridiculous little rivalry.

‘Salvadore, can’t you try talking some sense into these two?’, asked Aly, frustrated, ‘Salvadore...?’ Her and Dratini turned their heads to the left to see an empty seat which had previously been occupied by the pokemon breeder.

‘So, when does your shift finish?’, asked Salvadore in his goofy voice, a voice he commonly slurred out around beautiful females. He slouched over the payment counter, drooling over the unfortunate brunette waitress. She edged backwards with a puzzled look.

Aly growled quietly and quickly stood up.

‘So, what d’ya say?’, Salvadore continued, ‘You and I could get a coffee or- Aah! AAAHH!!’

Salvadore winced in pain as Aly dragged him away by the ear. ‘Maybe you could get a grip on yourself’, gritted Aly as she stormed back to our table with Salvadore in her grasp.

The waitress went back to work, still confused.

Juni smirked and shook her head.

Neither Kiwi nor I had noticed this commotion. We were still stuffing our mouths with pancakes, refusing to be the last to finish. We suddenly both found ourselves with our last fork full of pancake. With one final swirl of maple sirup we practically inhaled the last piece of our breakfast. I never really got a chance to slow down and savor the taste. I couldn’t show any signs of weakness. With a quick chew we simultaneously gulped down the last of the pancakes and slammed our forks on the table.

‘Finished!’

‘Finished!’

We both said, almost in unison and slowly stood up, staring at each other, refusing to break our rivaled eye contact.

‘Would you two ever give it a rest?’, sighed Juni, ‘You’ve been at this all morning! You’re both gonna be great trainers for sure. But if you really wanna settle this you know what you have to do.’

We both broke eye contact, contemplating what Juni had just said. I’m sure we were both thinking the same thing. Although we were rivals at practically everything we had never actually battled with pokemon before.

Kiwi sniffed, breaking the silence before smiling at me. ‘There’s no point in us battling. We both know I’d win anyways!’

‘Ha! In your dreams!’, I laughed. No matter how big our rivalry was, friendship came first!

‘Anyways, we better get going’, Kiwi said turning her attention to the pokemon professor in training. Juni nodded in agreement. ‘It’s almost time to win my second badge!’. Her eyes blazed in confidence.

We all went up and paid for our breakfast. Thankfully, it was a male cashier who accepted our money but Aly still kept a stern watch over Salvadore in case he went a bit goofy again.

We walked outside together and soaked up the beautiful sites of the sun filled city. It was almost midday and the town was buzzing with merchants and shoppers.

I turned to Kiwi, ‘Hey, you better win that badge. I need someone to beat when I make it to the League’, I said jokingly as we shook hands.

She rolled her eyes to heaven at sly remark. ‘And you better get a move on, mister! I can’t keep waiting around for you to catch up.’ We laughed at our odd words of encouragement.

‘It was nice seeing you again’, said Salvadore with a gentle smile. He then turned to Juni with an over exaggerated expression, ‘And Juni, if you ever want to meet up or anything just give me a call on my Pokegear and we can go for a picnic or-’

SMACK!

A frustrated Aly gave Salvadore a smack in the back of the head, sparing us from his drivel. She then quickly turned her frown into a blushed smile and fixed the back of her beanie.

‘Hehe’, she smiled awkwardly, ‘Nice meeting you both’.

We finished our goodbyes and saluted each other farewell as we walked in our separate directions.

Salvadore, who had self appointed himself as the group navigator lead the way. Although our Pokegear had GPS, we had learned that it was not always the most reliable source when trying to reach a destination. It also took up a lot of battery power so we opted for the former gym leader’s direction skills.

Salvadore led us north through the city, passing multiple tourist and souvenir shops. He explained to us that this city was renowned for its large scale river fishing. This became pretty obvious as we turned the corner to see a harbor and shipping yard sprawling down the quays. Queues of people and their pokemon filled the street, bartering and purchasing products of the most fresh quality.

Aly and Dratini’s faces lit up with all the crowds and smells of food stalls, engulfing their senses. ‘Wow!’, she exasperated, ‘Maybe we should take a look around and get an ice cream’, Aly suggested eagerly.

I was just about to agree with her when Salvadore reminded us of our purpose in traveling this way in the first place.

‘Don’t forget, we promised Bill that we would deliver the Moon Stone to Lanette’. We sighed and resignedly nodded. ‘But hey’, he continued, ‘Robin will be coming back this way for his gym battle so we can always check it out then.’

We happily agreed and continued on.

We soon came across a gigantic bridge, embroidered with golden rails and stilts. It seemed to stretch endlessly across the wide river.

‘Woah! This thing is crazy!’, I gasped in awe.

‘According to the guidebook, this bridge is called the Golden Nugget Bridge’, explained Salvadore studying the guidebook. ‘It also says that it is not uncommon for trainers battle here’, he added.

I smiled eagerly and clenched my fist at the thought of a battle. ‘Battles, huh? Well, what are we waiting for?’ I walked with pace in my stride, confident as ever.

Aly and Salvadore laughed at my eagerness and followed me, matching my fast walk.

The golden bridge seemed to continue endlessly over the calm river. Mt. Moon loomed over to the west, while green fields and vast growths of trees could be seen across the river stretching east.

We passed a couple of trainers having battles, mostly younger kids practicing with their bugs, pidgey and rattata.

 After a while the end of the bridge was in sight, leading to Route 24. This path was surrounded by flourishing plants and fruit trees, perfect for wild pokemon to make their home. However, what really caught our attention was the small crowd that could be seen at the edge of the bridge. As we approached the crowd, the screams and cheers grew louder and louder. Intrigued by all the commotion we decided to inspect what all this fuss was about. We walked up to a small opening in the crowd of at least a dozen spectators. It was a pokemon battle!

We spectated the match as a young boy dressed in a colourful striped t-shirt and tacky combat shorts was yelling orders at his machop. I checked my Dex:

Machop, the superpower pokemon. Machop uses its muscles to lift boulders and other heavy objects. This helps it to increase its stamina and strength.

I then turned my attention to his opponent. She was slightly older than him, around my age. Her golden hair curled around her left shoulder, onto her black leather jacket. A string of violet hair swayed lifelessly over her right cheek, complementing a violet flower perched on top of her blonde hair. Her dark red dressed, partitioned by a white belt matched the fiery confidence burning in her eyes. She seemed vaguely familiar but I couldn’t quite figure out why?

‘Vulpix’, she commanded her pokemon, fully focused, ‘Use quick attack!’

I red blur advance towards the Machop and knocked it off it’s feet. It didn’t even have a chance to move.

‘Woah’, I said gasped, dumbfounded, ‘What’s that pokemon?’ I held my Dex up to the small, amber furred fox:

Vulpix, the fox pokemon. Vulpix tail splits into six tails as it grows. If it feels endangered, it feigns injury to fool its opponents.

Not only was this pokemon cute, but it could trick its opponents AND pack a punch. The weary machop shakily rose to its feet and shook off its dizziness.

‘That’s the spirit Machop!’, encouraged the young trainer, ‘Now hit it with karate chop!’, he instructed, hacking his hand through the air as if performing his own version of martial arts.

Machop ran at the Vulpix with a raised fist. But the female trainer kept her cool. ‘Vulpix, its time to show  this little boy how real trainers battle!’, she smirked, a hint of cockeyness in her voice. ‘Focus and us confuse ray!’

As the Machop approached at great pace, the Vulpix sprung onto all fours,readying itself to attack. I noticed its pupils starting to turn an eerie shade of purple and project a sudden purple ray at the Machop. As the superpower pokemon was struck by the ominous ray, it began to stumble and lose balance. It still made a lunge at Vulpix but the firefox pokemon did not move. The karate chop came down with full force but missed the target and followed through, causing machop to hit himself directly in the... lets just say, a very tender spot.

-CHOP!-

The Machop’s eyes bulged as it cried out in agony. I guess it was a male...

All the guys in the surrounding crowd, including Salvadore and I flinched, empathising with the poor Machop.

I bit my knuckle. Ouch! That had to have hurt!

‘Hm!’, smirked the blonde-haired girl, ‘Finish this off with ember, Vulpix!’

The Vulpix gave out a small battle cry and exhaled a swift flame. It was accurate and the stunned Machop keeled over and fainted.

Machop’s trainer whimpered over his loss and pouted as he withdrew his fainted pokemon. He then burst through the crowd and ran crying back across the bridge.

‘So, who’s next’, beckoned the victor, almost daring the next person to challenge her. Most trainers took a few steps back, not wanting to get roped into a battle.

She sure seems tough, I thought to myself, but I’m sure we could take her on. My body flooded with adrenaline and I jumped into the centre of the crowd. ‘I’ll challenge you!’

She looked surprised for a second but then she smiled, ‘Excellent! But you better be good!’, she warned.

I grinned at her statement, ‘My name is Robin. I come from Viridian City and I want to beco-’

‘You’re from Viridian too?’, she interrupted, ‘My name is Tammie. I come from the suburbs of Viridian City. Wait a second’, she paused for a second and then smirked, ‘Let me guess, you’re that boy who never turned up to get his starter pokemon!?’, she jeered.

I gritted my teeth, ‘Oh, I got a pokemon alright!’, I retorted.

‘Well, it can’t be that great a starter if the first three were gone, now can it?’

‘Why don’t you too stop glaring at each other and settle who has the better starter in a battle’, interrupted Salvadore, ‘I’m interested to see how both of you have progressed since you both won my badge. I can act as the referee is that’s alright with both of you?’, he suggested.

I had forgotten the Salvadore had fought all the trainers that started the same time as I had. If she won the Boulder Badge then she must be good. I couldn’t let my guard down.

We both nodded in agreement.

‘That’s fine by me!’, she yelled and withdrew her Vulpix.

I took out Toto’s pokeball and threw it into the centre of the surrounding crowd. ‘Lets show them who’s boss! Go, Toto!’

A couple more people had joined the crowd to spectate the new battle. They were all shocked when the small water starter, originating from Johto emerged from the pokeball. Toto danced happily on the spot.

‘Ok, I must admit, you having a totodile as a starter is a bit unexpected’, she said, a bit taken back. She checked her Dex for information on totodile. She then smirked and continued, ‘But today just isn’t your lucky day!’ She took out a pokeball from her belt and tossed it near Toto, ‘Go, Bulbasaur! Lets teach them how a real starter pokemon battles!’

The pokeball hit the bridge decking and a small pokemon with a bulb on its back beamed out of it. I checked my Dex:

Bulbasaur, the seed pokemon. Bulbasaur grows from gaining nourishment from the seed on its back. It has the dual typing of grass and poison.

So Tammie chose bulbasaur as her starter pokemon? Given that Toto was a water type, it would be a difficult fight against the grass starter and its second poison typing didn’t help much either.

‘Wanna just give up now and save yourself the embarrassment?’, suggested Tammie, dismissing Toto and I.

I gritted my teeth in anger, ‘Not a chance!’, I yelled back, ‘We may be at a disadvantage on typing but pokemon types don’t always decide who wins! Ready to battle Toto?’

-Tototototo-DIIILE!!!-

Toto winked at me and showed off his quick feet, dancing once more on the spot. Aly and Dratini cried some words of encouragement as the rest of the spectators cheered.

‘This will be a one on one battle!’, announced Salvadore as he took his place at the side of the audience-made battlefield, ‘Being courteous, I suggest that Tammie should go first?’

‘That’s fine by me’, I nodded, fully focused.

‘Ok then, Bulbasaur. Let’s make this a quick one. Use razor leaf!’, Tammie commanded.

The Bulbasaur let out a battle cry as it shot out several shuriken like leaves from its bulb.

‘Dodge it!’, I responded.

Toto ducked and hopped skillfully around the flurry of leaves.

Tammie scowled.

‘Awesome job, Toto!’, I grinned, ‘Now, use tackle!’

The lively Totodile sprang into the air, lunging towards Bulbasaur.

‘Stop it with vine whip!’, ordered Tammie.

Two thick vines snaked out from behind Bulbasaur’s head and surged towards Toto. The crocodile pokemon managed to dodge the one on his left in mid air but was wrapped tightly by the second vine. Gasps of shock and disbelief came from the surrounding crowd.

Toto squirmed in bulbasaur’s grasp, frantically trying to escape.

-Bulba!-Saur!-Bulba!-Saur!-

The bulbasaur growled and used its free vine to whip Toto across the face. Toto cried out in pain as it took the super-effective blows.

I stood there speechless, watching helplessly as my partner pokemon took one powerful slap after the other. My mouth was open in shock but I didn’t know what to do. Maybe I should just admit defeat? My head was clouded in pessimistic thoughts. Maybe I was overconfident? May we weren’t-

‘Robin!’, Aly yelled in frustration, ‘Stop standing there like an idiot and do something!’

She was right! But what... Think, Robin. Think! My mind raced through previous battles for some inspiration as Toto took another vine whip to the jaws. Wait! His Jaws! That’s it!

A look of determination grew in my eyes. ‘Toto, listen to me! Face the vine and use bite!’

‘Oh no ya don’t!’, retorted Tammie, ‘Finish this with solarbeam!’

Toto, whose cheeks were swollen from the relentless attack turned his head blindly and opened his daunting jaws.

A ball of light began to form on the tip of Bulbasaur’s seed, absorbing it’s power from the sun’s rays. People in the circling audience began to edge back, some watching the battle from behind their fingers.

I watched nervously as the ball of light began to grow larger. I then turned my attention to Toto as he was about to use bite. But something seemed strange about this bite attack. His fangs seemed to grow slightly larger, looking more like crystal stalactites.

CHOMP!

He made direct contact with the threatening vine.

Bulbasaur winced in pain pain but continued to collect sunlight, now chanting.

-Bulba!-Bulba!-Bulba!-

Suddenly, a case of ice started to envelope Bulbasaur’s wounded vine. The outbreak of ice seemed to be coming from Toto’s jaws. I checked my Dex:

Ice Fang - The user bites its target with cold infused fangs, This attack may also make the target flinch or freeze.

Cool!

The ice advanced towards Bulbasaur who continued to chant while absorbing light.

-Bulba!-Bulba!-

The seed pokemon’s left vine was now completely coated in an ice sheath that continued to spread up the bulb on its back.

The solar ball that hovered over the bulb was now almost the same size as the Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur crouched and tilted its gigantic ball of light, aiming it in the directing of the vine-trapped Toto. Just before Bulbasaur gave its final battle cry, the ice that had spread up its bulb continued upwards, completely encasing the solar orb.

The crowd stood there, mesmerised by the shining ball of ice.

Tammie shrieked in disbelief.

-Bulba-SAAUUURRR!!!-

Bulbasaur roared and the sphere of glowing ice above its seed exploded, bursting tiny shards of ice and energy in all directions. Everyone covered their faces. Dratini hid her whole body behind Aly for protection.

When the blast cleared I slowly lifted my head up.

Both Toto and Bulbasaur, lay sprawled on the ground, both fainted.

‘Both pokemon are unable to battle’, declared Salvadore, ‘I declare this match as a draw!’.

Everyone cheered and applauded our efforts.

We withdrew and thanked our own pokemon for their great performance.

Tammie walked over to me and offered her hand. I was weary at first but then happily accepted it and we shook. A shake of respect.

‘Not bad, Robin!’, she acknowledged, ‘You and you’re Totodile really surprised us.’

‘Umm, thanks!’, I said, almost blushing, ‘You’re Bulbasaur was awesome!’

‘Of course he is. I’m his trainer!’

We both laughed.

‘So, where are you guys going anyways?’, asked Tammie.

‘Oh, we have to deliver this Moon Stone to Lanette on Route 25’, I replied as I dug out the mysterious evolution stone.

‘Woah!’, Tammie exasperated, ‘That’s an interesting stone you’ve got there!’

She stooped her head closer to the stone, giving it a closer inspection.

‘So, are you going to challenge the Cerulean City Gym?’, I ask eagerly.

She stood up straight. ‘Oh, I already beat that gym’, she said as if it were no big deal, ‘But what I’m really interested in is catching that Rogue Meowth!’ Her eyes narrowed as she grinned.

‘Rogue Meowth?’, questioned Aly.

‘You haven’t heard about the Rogue Meowth?’ Tammie seemed a bit surprised at our lack of puzzled looks. She then sighed at our bemused faces and continued, ‘ It is rumored that there is a Rogue Meowth that lives somewhere near this side of the bridge. It used to belong to an elderly woman who cared for it when it was ill. In return for the woman’s hospitality, the Meowth stayed with her and looked after her, repaying the debt. In caring for her, the Meowth also mastered standing on its two hind legs, apparently making it faster and capable of doing more chores. The two were said to have a close bond and the Meowth was always rewarded with the lady’s cooking and love. However, just over a year ago, the aging woman passed away.’

‘Oh, that’s so sad...’, trailed Aly, engaged in Tammie’s story.

Tammie nodded. ‘Ever since then the Meowth has had to fend for itself. Since it never perfected its preying skills it has relied on stealing food from unaware trainers that pass by here. It is rumored that the Meowth where’s the boots of its former master as a sign of its loyalty to her.’

‘Sounds like a cunning pokemon’, Salvadore remarked.

‘Yes, it is! And that is why I must capture it!’ Tammie’s face turned from a soft gaze to one filled with determination and a fiery glare.’

‘A Meowth in boots, eh? Umm... well, good luck with that!’, I smiled weakly, slightly intimidated by her burning stare.

We walked off the bridge and onto Route 24 together, leaving behind another battle which was about to take place.

‘Well, it was nice meeting you’, said Tammie as she turned to face us, ‘Good luck in your gym battles. It would be nice to have a strong opponent in the League’, she smiled.

‘Thanks! Good luck with catching that Meowth!’, I said as we saluted each other, ‘And don’t worry. I’m sure we’ll meet again!’

We said farewell as she took a side track to the left and we continued east along the main road of Route 24.

The path was wide and walled with giant chestnut trees. We could hear pidgey cooing high in the hidden branches.

Within an hour we came across a worn wooden sign indicating that we were about to enter Route 25. A noticeable reduction in trees could be seen as we passed the sign. As the path meandered to the left ,the road went into a decline, leading down to the north eastern coast. We stared down at the small cottage and a towering glass building which peaked out over the sea. I guessed that must be where Bill and Lanette lived and smiled.

We were just about to descend the hill when Aly suddenly spoke. ‘Did you guys hear that?’, she asked curiously.

‘Yeah! I can already hear the pokemon from the lab’, said Salvadore amazed at the distant pokemon cries.

‘No, it’s not that she said’, turning back, ‘I thought I heard... something...’

She walked back a few steps and stooped down. We walked over to the Dragon Tamer who was now holding a silver necklace in her cupped hands. The necklace had a small heart piece with ‘Mia’ engraved on it.

‘Mia? I wonder who that is?’, I pondered.

‘I don’t know’, said Aly quietly, ‘But it sure is pretty!’

‘Maybe Lanette might know who owns it?’, suggested Salvadore.

We nodded in agreement and continued on to Lanette’s lab to deliver the Moon Stone.