Story Notes:
The journey will go from Kanto to Johto, to Hoenn, to Sinnoh. I may do the battle frontiers but i don't know (we'll see when i get there)Disclaimer: Pokemon and all related characters, locations, items, ect are the copyrighted property of Nintendo and as such I claim no rights to them.I'm currently working two jobs and I'm kinda making this up as I go along, so don't be surprised if there are delays between chapters... I'll try to update this as regularly as i can (I do apologies for the delays, but that's how life goes)Updates...Genre: Adventure/Romance (relationships between characters will begin to develop after the Kanto League)Warning: One later chapter will contain fairly light scenes of sexual intercourse between two characters. (Much later chapter,will be marked for mature content) For now, I'm rating this PG 13
Chapter 5: The Tomboyish Mermaid
"Look at that" Melody said in surprise
The egg that Alex had received from the Johnson's before coming to Kanto was beginning to glow and flash with light
"Looks like it's going to hatch soon" Ben remarked, "Let's get to the pokemon center quickly"
"Let's get moving" Alex said as they ran towards the city.
As they rushed to get to the Cerulean City pokemon center, the egg Alex was given by Mr. and Mrs. Johnson began to flash and glow with light. After running for 7 minutes, they finally found the pokemon center. Rushing through the doors to the front desk where Nurse Joy was standing with a welcoming smile.
"Good Afternoon" she said
"Nurse Joy, we got an egg that is going to hatch soon" Alex said urgently
"Come this way" Joy said as she led them into another room.
After taking the case from Alex, Joy set it down and hooked up a pulse monitor to it. Carefully looking it over, Joy then turned to the owner.
"Oh my, this egg is going to hatch any minute now" she said with surprise
"So what do we do?" Alex asked in surprise
"Calm down, buddy" Ben said
"Just leave this to me" Joy smiled
After several minutes, the egg began to glow even brighter than before. Everyone looked at it.
"It's hatching" Ben said
Alex and Melody stared in awe. The light became brighter and brighter. After a few seconds, the light dissipated and a small pokemon appeared. For a moment, Alex thought it hadn't hatched all the way; it was still encased in the egg shell. Only the top was opened, revealing a light yellow pokemon with five spikes going around its head and a pair of black eyes. It also had two small fingerless hands and two small feet.
"It's adorable" Melody smiled
"It's a beautiful Togepi" Nurse Joy said joyfully
"Togepi..." Alex stared as a smile came across his face
"Togepi, the Spike Ball Pokémon. Happiness is stored in Togepi's shell, and it shares its happiness with kind-hearted people. Togepi are joyful and childish, and often require great care from others to keep them safe. As a result, it is said Togepi will share its joy with those who take care of it and protect it from harm." Alex's pokedex explained
"Congratulations" Ben said
Nurse Joy picked up the baby pokemon and gave it a quick look over before handing it over to Alex.
"Congratulations, it's a beautiful baby boy" she said joyously
As he gently held his newborn pokemon, a smile came across Alex's face as Togepi smiled joyfully at him.
"My name's Alex, it's nice to meet you my little one" he said in a warm tone
"So, what are you going to call him" Ben asked
"I think I'll call him... Johnny" Alex replied as the Spike Ball Pokemon waved his arms and giggled happily.
"I think he likes it" Melody giggled, "It's nice to meet you Johnny" the Togepi giggled happily as Melody smiled at him
"You're probably hungry aren't you?" Alex said to his little pokemon
"Stay here, I'll get something for him to eat" Joy said as she and Chansey walked out of the room
"Let's introduce you to the rest of the group" Alex said as he placed Johnny down, "Alright everybody, come on out and say hello"
Alex released his other pokemon, as they appeared Alex grabbed Johnny and knelt now to place him on the floor in front of the other pokemon.
"Everybody, this is Johnny" he said
As Johnny waved his tiny arms happily, Lucas, Mimi, and Zack made their way up and greeted him happily. Sophia walked up and looked at him curiously. Johnny looked at her with the same curiosity. As they looked at each other, they began to move closer together. Johnny smiled and hugged Sophia; she was a bit surprised by this but quickly her expression changed as she smiled and began to rub her face against the small baby pokemon.
"Aw, isn't that cute" Ben said
"Aw, that is so sweet" Alex smiled
As the pokemon played with their new friend, Alex and Ben sat down and began to talk about what they were going to do next.
"So, what do you know about the Cerulean City gym?" Alex asked
"Water Pokémon are the gyms specialty" Ben answered him, "Misty, the gym leader, is known as the Tomboyish Mermaid and she knows more about Water-types than both of us"
"Sounds like she's a tough opponent" Alex remarked
"Don't underestimate her" Ben added
"I'll keep that in mind" Alex laughed
"Sorry to have kept you waiting" Nurse Joy reentered the room with a bowl of rice porridge and a spoon on a tray
"Thank you, Nurse Joy" Alex said as he got out of his seat
"I'll get the rest of the pokemon something" Ben said
As Ben got food for the other pokemon, Alex picked Johnny up and placed him on the table. Grabbing the bowl and spoon, Alex took the spoon in one hand, scooped out a spoonful of porridge, and gently blew on it before bringing it up to Johnny's mouth. Johnny opened his mouth and eagerly ate the porridge.
"There you go" Alex smiled, "Eat it all up, Nurse Joy and Chansey made this just for you" he said as he got another spoonful
As Alex continued to feed Johnny, Ben pulled out his an item from his bag that resembled a large PEZ dispenser with a pokeball design on top of it.
"What's that thing?" Alex asked
"It's a Pokeblock dispenser; I keep all my blocks in here" Ben answered, "I'm going to give Mimi some dry blocks"
"You know, I might want to use Mimi in this gym battle" Alex said
"Well that would make sense, considering the Cerulean gym is a gym for Water pokemon..." Ben said
"Which means the field is suited for Water-types, so Mimi should be able to do well in a battle there" Alex finished Ben's sentence
"So then who's going to be your second choice?" Ben asked
"I was thinking Melody" Alex replied, "Her Magical Leaf should help us win here"
"It's true that Water pokemon are weak against Grass moves, but you're going to need more than just Magical Leaf to beat Misty"
"Yeah, but I don't have a Grass or an Electric type pokemon"
"I think I may have a solution"
"I'm listening"
"I think I may be able to teach Melody a new move that can help you guys here"
"What would that be?" Melody asked
"Thunderbolt... Electabuzz and I can teach you guys that attack" Ben replied
"That would be great" Alex said, "Let's get started as soon as I'm done feeding Johnny"
After Johnny finished his porridge and everyone else finished eating, everyone went outside to train.
"Sophia, Lucas, Zack, I need you guys to keep an eye on Johnny while Melody and I are training ok" Alex said
The three pokemon nodded as they turned their attention to the new baby of the group.
"Ok, let's get started" Ben said as he called out his Electabuzz
"Electabuzz, let's show them how to use Thunderbolt" Ben said
Electabuzz nodded and turned as its antenna began to spark violently, a few moments later they unleashed a powerful bolt of electricity. The bolt flew and collided into a large stone outside of the pokemon center. The force from the bolt blew it to pieces.
"Dang..." Alex stared in amazement of the power of that Thunderbolt
"First things first" Ben said, "I want you to try gathering some electricity"
"I remember my mother knew this attack" Melody replied, "so I think I should be able to do this"
Melody stood still, focusing her powers, trying to gather enough electricity. After several minutes of no results, her hand began to spark with a small amount of electricity. Alex smiled as eventually the sparks became larger and more noticeable. As Melody continued, Ben set up a target for her to practice against.
"Alright, now keep focusing and try to launch that power at the target over there" he said as he stepped away from the target
Melody opened her eyes, brought her right hand up, and fired a small bolt of electricity towards the target. As it sped towards the target, it veered off and just missed, connecting with a tree behind it.
"Almost" Ben said
"Let's try it again" Alex said
"Right" Melody nodded as she closed her eyes and tried again.
After a few moments, she fired again and managed to hit the target on the outer most ring.
"A hit" Ben smiled
"You're doing great Melody" Alex commented
Melody fired several shots until she finally hit the bulls-eye on the target.
"Perfect"
"You did it Melody"
Melody turned and smiled as the sparks around her hand ceased
"Ok, try to do that again a few more times"
Melody turned to face the target and began to attack again. She fired three Thunderbolts one after another; the first two were about the size of the very first one she fired, but the third one larger both in size and in power. All three hit the bulls-eye, but the third one not only hit the bulls-eye, it destroyed the target
"Now we need to get you used to hitting a moving target" Ben turned towards the pokemon playing together, "Zack, come here"
Zack ran over and looked at Ben curiously
"Wait a minute, I'm not blasting him with a Thunderbolt" Alex said
"Relax, remember electric attacks have no effect on Ground types and Zack is a combination Dragon and Ground type" Ben said
"Oh yeah..." Alex remembered, "um... I knew that..." he said in a slightly embarrassed tone
Melody couldn't help but giggle
"Ok Zack, we need your help" Ben knelt down
The Land Shark dug its way into the ground and began popping up out of holes in the ground. As Zack kept popping up, Melody fired one Thunderbolt after another. They all connected with their target, but didn't harm him at all. Zack then began to move around underground with only his fin sticking out of the ground.
"Melody, aim for Zack's fin" Alex pointed at the moving fin
Melody took aim and launched another Thunderbolt, just missing its intended target.
"Concentrate" Ben said, "Lead the target, take aim, and then fire"
Melody nodded and looked at her target. After looking at his movements, she readied another Thunderbolt, took aim, and fired. This time she hit Zack as he was speeding around underground. Alex noticed that Melody was looking tired from the training.
"Ok guys, what do you think about taking a break?" Alex suggested
"That's probably a good idea" Ben agreed
Alex walked over to Melody and handed her a water bottle. As she drank the cool water down, Alex whistled for Zack.
"Thanks for your help little buddy" he said as he patted Zack on the head and gave him a hand full of poke-chow.
Zack eagerly opened his mouth as Alex dropped the food into his mouth. Zack happily ate it and then ran off to bask in the sun.
"You did great Melody" Alex smiled
"Thank you" she smiled back at him
"Now I know we'll beat Misty for sure" he said with confidence
"Slow down there" Ben said, "You guys just about have Thunderbolt down, but you should train a little more before you challenge Misty to a battle"
"Trust me, the last thing you want is to go into the battle and have your move fail" he added
"hmm, good point" Alex remarked
After resting for a few minutes, Alex and Melody got back to perfecting Thunderbolt. Alex set up a line of empty soda cans.
"Alright, let's try knocking these down all at once"
Alex stood back as Melody took aim, firing a bolt of electricity. After connecting and knocking down the first can, she pulled her arm right, sweeping the bolt across and knocking away the remaining cans. Ben watched as they continued practicing their new move.
"I'm impressed with how quickly they're getting this" he remarked
Electabuzz nodded as they continued training for another hour before finally stopping.
"I think we got it down" Alex said as Melody's hand ceased sparking with electricity
"Not bad you two, not bad at all" Ben said, "I'm impressed with your hard work"
"Thanks" Alex smiled as he handed Melody a water bottle
"Let's take a break at the pokemon center, then we'll go to the gym for your battle" Ben said
"Good call" Alex replied, "Alright everybody time to get going"
Sophia, Lucas, Johnny, and Zack all rushed over to their trainer. Reaching for his belt, Alex grabbed each of their pokeballs and recalled his team to their balls. Back at the pokemon center, they all took a lunch break and thirty minutes later, made their way to the Cerulean City gym.
The Cerulean gym was completely different from the Pewter gym. Pewter looked like an aged stone building, but the Cerulean gym looked like a more modern building. It was a fairly large structure with a large dome painted with vertical pink and yellow stripes, with a wave like design along the base of the dome. Alex looked up and was amazed to see what looked a large sea lion like pokemon just above the sign for the gym.
"What kind of pokemon is that?" he wondered
"It's a painting of a Dewgong" Ben answered
"Dewgong..." Alex reached for his pokedex
"Dewgong, the Sea Lion Pokémon. Dewgong primarily live in freezing cold climates. It stores thermal heat in its white fur coat to keep its body warm. Dewgong are capable of swimming a steady eight knots even in intensely cold waters."
"wow" he replied
"I'm sure we'll see plenty of water pokemon inside" Ben remarked
"What are we waiting for?" Alex said with excitement
As they stepped through the double doors of the gym, Alex thought they had walked into an aquarium. There was a long hallway with many glass windows, and inside were many different species of water pokemon and other aquatic life.
"Amazing..." Alex looked through the glass, seeing many pokemon he had never seen before.
"Quite an amazing assortment of pokemon" Ben remarked, "There's Goldeen, Seaking, Staryu, Starmie, a Seel, and over there is a Horsea"
"What's that pokemon?" Alex pointed at a massive shell with a small black face in the center.
"That's a Cloyster" Ben answered, "and over there is its pre-evolved form, Shellder"
Alex was about to pull out his pokedex and see what information it had on the pokemon in the aquarium but something caught his eyes. He saw a girl with red hair swimming inside the aquarium, but what really surprised him was that she had what looked like a fish tail from the waist down. As he stared at her, the girl spotted and waved at him. As he slowly brought his hand up and waved back, she swam over and touched the glass where he was standing. Ben looked over and saw the look of surprise on Alex's face.
"What are you looking at?" he asked
"I think I see a mermaid" Alex replied not taking his eyes off of her
"What the..."
Melody and Ben immediately came over to see what he was talking about.
"She's so pretty" Melody said as she gazed at the figure on the other side of the glass.
"That's not a mermaid" Ben laughed, "That's Misty, the gym leader"
She pointed to a door down the hall as she swam to the surface. Alex, Ben, and Melody proceeded through the door and found themselves at a massive pool.
"Well hello there" a voice said
Alex turned and saw the same girl from before. She wore a blue two-piece swimsuit and had her short red hair tied in a pony-tail on the left side of her head. She looked a little older than he was
"Are you Misty?" Alex asked
"Yes, I'm Misty and I'm the leader of this gym" she replied
"Then why did you look like a mermaid when we first saw you in that tank before?" he asked with a confused look on his face
"Just trying out a new swimsuit" she giggled
"Oh..." he replied
Ben and Melody couldn't help but laugh a little
"So I take it you're here to battle for a badge"
"Yes I am"
"Well, then I accept your challenge"
Misty and Alex took their places on opposite sides of the pool in the center of the room. The pool was massive and had several small platforms on the surface to stand on.
"We'll each use two pokemon and you are allowed to substitute your pokemon if you chose" Misty said, "You ready to start?"
"I'm ready when you are" Alex replied, "Mimi, I choose you"
"Go, Staryu" Misty called
As Mimi appeared, a tan colored starfish pokemon with a red gemstone in the center of a gold colored design on the center of its body appeared from Misty's pokeball.
"Staryu, the Star Shape Pokémon. It lives primarily on the ocean floor. The gem in the center of its body is called its core and serves as its heart. If a Staryu loses any of its appendages it can grow them back with ease provided the core is still fully intact."
"A Staryu... never battled one of those before" he said, "This is should be good"
"Staryu, Tackle" Misty commanded
Staryu flew at Mimi, spinning like a disk as it flew
"Mimi, Water Pulse" Alex commanded as Staryu came closer
As Mimi opened her mouth, a blue ball formed and was launched towards Staryu
"Dodge it, then use Water Gun"
Staryu effortlessly evaded the Water Pulse and immediately fired a stream of water at its opponent
"Dive underwater, quickly" Alex said urgently
Mimi dove underwater to evade the attack
"After it Staryu, Tackle"
As Mimi hid underwater, Staryu immediately followed her and proceeded to attack, slamming into her.
"Now follow with Bubble Beam"
"Counter with Mirror Coat"
As Staryu fired a stream of light blue bubbles from its gem, Mimi's body became enveloped in a glowing, reflective substance. As Staryu's attack hit, the bubbles were reflected back at Staryu. The reflected attack hit and sent the Star Shape pokemon out of the water
"Water Pulse" Alex commanded
"Use Water Gun" Misty replied
Staryu and Mimi fired their attacks simultaneously, causing them to collide and explode near the surface of the pool. The blast sent water flying everywhere and propelled Mimi into the air
"Gotcha" Misty smiled, "Tackle it Staryu"
Staryu immediately flew towards the Fish pokemon as it flew into the air
"Water Pulse" Alex yelled
As it drew closer, Mimi fired a Water Pulse at her attacker. The attack connected right on center of Staryu's body, the force from the blow sent it hurling towards one of the platforms still in the pool. Staryu hit the platform hard as Mimi landed back in the water
"Staryu, you ok"
Staryu got up and stood ready to continue.
"Tackle, once more"
"Mimi, Flail"
Staryu dove after Mimi, colliding with her underwater. As the Star Shape pokemon hit her, she proceeded to slap it repeatedly with her tail.
"Bubble Beam"
"Mirror Coat"
Staryu fired another stream of bubbles at Mimi as she countered and sent the attack back at it. Staryu flew back and landed on one of the platforms, its core flashing with a red light.
"Why is it flashing like that?" Alex asked
"Staryu can't continue" Misty answered
"And it looks like Mimi is out of it too" Ben pointed
Alex looked and saw Mimi on her side
"Thanks for your hard work Mimi" Alex returned her to her pokeball, "Now get some rest"
"Looks like its one-on-one now" Misty reached for her second pokeball, "You ready for round two"
"Ready when you are" Alex replied
"That what I like to hear" Misty smiled, "Go, Starmie"
Misty's new pokemon was just like Staryu, but this one was violet and looked like it had a second star on its back, making look like a ten- sided star. Also, the core of its body looked like a beautifully cut precious gemstone, like something you would see in an expensive jewelry store.
"Starmie, the Mysterious Pokémon. Starmie is the evolved form of Staryu. Starmie's central core shines the seven colors of the rainbow. The star on its back is capable of spinning 360Â�. Starmie are rare in the wild. Like Staryu, if Starmie loses a piece of its body it will grow back."
"Alright Melody, your turn" Alex smiled
"You got it" Melody leapt onto one of the platforms in the pool.
"Someone's eager to get going" Misty smiled
"Melody, Magical Leaf" Alex said
Melody unleashed a flurry of light green leaves at the Mysterious pokemon
"Starmie, counter with Swift" Misty commanded
Starmie released many yellow stars from its core gem. As the stars and leaves flew, many collide with each other causing an explosion at the center of the pool.
"Starmie, Water Gun"
"Melody, dodge it then use Psychic"
Melody leapt to another platform as Starmie fire a powerful stream of water. As she landed, Melody fired a blast of psychic energy at her opponent
"Dodge it, then use Water Pulse"
Starmie evaded Melody's blast and formed a blue ball of energy in front of its core and fired.
"Protect"
Melody quickly set her shield to block Starmie's attack
"Starmie, Tackle" Misty commanded
"Thunderbolt" Alex replied
Starmie flew at Melody as her Protect faded. As it came closer, Melody's right hand began to spark. A moment later, she fired a bolt of electricity at the incoming Mysterious pokemon.
Starmie received the attack and was sent hurtling across the battlefield, hitting the water five feet away from where Misty was standing.
"Got it" Alex said
"You'd think so wouldn't you" Misty smiled, "Starmie, Recover"
At the word, Starmie emerged from the pool and its body began to glow brightly. As the light enveloped it, all the damage Starmie had received faded away.
"No way" Alex said in shock
"Recover restores a pokemon's health and heals its wounds" Ben explained
"Oh great" Alex replied, "So how are we suppose to beat it?"
"Recover can only restore so much health" Ben answered, "You're going to need to do enough damage to finish it in one move"
"Easier said than done" Alex replied
"Starmie, Water Gun" Misty commanded
"Dodge it, then use Magical Leaf" Alex quickly replied
Melody jumped to another platform as Starmie fired its attack. As Melody landed, she launched a flurry of leaves
"Starmie, into the pool"
Starmie immediately dove underwater and the Magical Leaf simply hit the surface of the water, unable to go after their target.
"Darn it" Alex said in an annoyed tone, "It can heal itself and we can't go after it if it hides underwater"
"So what do we do?" Melody's voice entered his mind
"I don't know" he thought to himself, "The best way I can think of to beat it is to hit it with a powerful Thunderbolt attack, but that's not going to help if we can't see where it is"
"Magical Leaf isn't strong enough to win this. Thunderbolt is our best bet, but we need to get it out of the water and then hit it with an electric attack"
"Wait... water and electricity..." a thought occurred to him, "That's it... why didn't I think of that before"
"You got an idea?"
"Starmie, Water Pulse" Misty commanded
Starmie emerged from the water and immediately fired its move at the Emotion pokemon
"Protect" Alex said urgently
Melody again protected herself from the attack
"Starmie, Tackle attack"
Starmie flew towards Melody
"Melody, use Psychic and knock Starmie back into the water"
Melody leapt into the air and launched a powerful blast of psychic energy at the Mysterious pokemon and sent it plummeting into the water of the pool
"What's he up to?" Misty thought to herself
"Now use Thunderbolt on the water" Alex commanded
Melody's hand sparked with electricity as she landed, a second later, she unleashed a large bolt of electricity upon the pool. The electricity of the attack coursed through the water, delivering a devastating shock to any in the water. After a short while, she ceased her attack and waited to see if her opponent would resurface. After a minute, Starmie floated to the surface, its gem flashing red light.
"Starmie's out of it" Ben remarked
"Melody, you did it" Alex cheered
"Thanks you Starmie" Misty said as she recalled her pokemon, "you really did great"
"Not bad" Ben said, "How did you know that would work?"
"I remembered one of my teachers mentioning that water conducts electricity a lot better than air does" Alex replied, "Can't ignore all of the stuff they teach in school"
"Well, that was creative thinking back there" Misty commented, "Here, take this Cascade badge as proof you won here at the Cerulean gym"
"Thank you Misty" Alex said as he accepted the badge
"Good luck at the other gyms" she smiled
"Thanks" he replied as he, Ben and Melody took their leave
"So where to next?" Alex turned towards Ben
"Back to Vermilion City" he replied
The egg that Alex had received from the Johnson's before coming to Kanto was beginning to glow and flash with light
"Looks like it's going to hatch soon" Ben remarked, "Let's get to the pokemon center quickly"
"Let's get moving" Alex said as they ran towards the city.
As they rushed to get to the Cerulean City pokemon center, the egg Alex was given by Mr. and Mrs. Johnson began to flash and glow with light. After running for 7 minutes, they finally found the pokemon center. Rushing through the doors to the front desk where Nurse Joy was standing with a welcoming smile.
"Good Afternoon" she said
"Nurse Joy, we got an egg that is going to hatch soon" Alex said urgently
"Come this way" Joy said as she led them into another room.
After taking the case from Alex, Joy set it down and hooked up a pulse monitor to it. Carefully looking it over, Joy then turned to the owner.
"Oh my, this egg is going to hatch any minute now" she said with surprise
"So what do we do?" Alex asked in surprise
"Calm down, buddy" Ben said
"Just leave this to me" Joy smiled
After several minutes, the egg began to glow even brighter than before. Everyone looked at it.
"It's hatching" Ben said
Alex and Melody stared in awe. The light became brighter and brighter. After a few seconds, the light dissipated and a small pokemon appeared. For a moment, Alex thought it hadn't hatched all the way; it was still encased in the egg shell. Only the top was opened, revealing a light yellow pokemon with five spikes going around its head and a pair of black eyes. It also had two small fingerless hands and two small feet.
"It's adorable" Melody smiled
"It's a beautiful Togepi" Nurse Joy said joyfully
"Togepi..." Alex stared as a smile came across his face
"Togepi, the Spike Ball Pokémon. Happiness is stored in Togepi's shell, and it shares its happiness with kind-hearted people. Togepi are joyful and childish, and often require great care from others to keep them safe. As a result, it is said Togepi will share its joy with those who take care of it and protect it from harm." Alex's pokedex explained
"Congratulations" Ben said
Nurse Joy picked up the baby pokemon and gave it a quick look over before handing it over to Alex.
"Congratulations, it's a beautiful baby boy" she said joyously
As he gently held his newborn pokemon, a smile came across Alex's face as Togepi smiled joyfully at him.
"My name's Alex, it's nice to meet you my little one" he said in a warm tone
"So, what are you going to call him" Ben asked
"I think I'll call him... Johnny" Alex replied as the Spike Ball Pokemon waved his arms and giggled happily.
"I think he likes it" Melody giggled, "It's nice to meet you Johnny" the Togepi giggled happily as Melody smiled at him
"You're probably hungry aren't you?" Alex said to his little pokemon
"Stay here, I'll get something for him to eat" Joy said as she and Chansey walked out of the room
"Let's introduce you to the rest of the group" Alex said as he placed Johnny down, "Alright everybody, come on out and say hello"
Alex released his other pokemon, as they appeared Alex grabbed Johnny and knelt now to place him on the floor in front of the other pokemon.
"Everybody, this is Johnny" he said
As Johnny waved his tiny arms happily, Lucas, Mimi, and Zack made their way up and greeted him happily. Sophia walked up and looked at him curiously. Johnny looked at her with the same curiosity. As they looked at each other, they began to move closer together. Johnny smiled and hugged Sophia; she was a bit surprised by this but quickly her expression changed as she smiled and began to rub her face against the small baby pokemon.
"Aw, isn't that cute" Ben said
"Aw, that is so sweet" Alex smiled
As the pokemon played with their new friend, Alex and Ben sat down and began to talk about what they were going to do next.
"So, what do you know about the Cerulean City gym?" Alex asked
"Water Pokémon are the gyms specialty" Ben answered him, "Misty, the gym leader, is known as the Tomboyish Mermaid and she knows more about Water-types than both of us"
"Sounds like she's a tough opponent" Alex remarked
"Don't underestimate her" Ben added
"I'll keep that in mind" Alex laughed
"Sorry to have kept you waiting" Nurse Joy reentered the room with a bowl of rice porridge and a spoon on a tray
"Thank you, Nurse Joy" Alex said as he got out of his seat
"I'll get the rest of the pokemon something" Ben said
As Ben got food for the other pokemon, Alex picked Johnny up and placed him on the table. Grabbing the bowl and spoon, Alex took the spoon in one hand, scooped out a spoonful of porridge, and gently blew on it before bringing it up to Johnny's mouth. Johnny opened his mouth and eagerly ate the porridge.
"There you go" Alex smiled, "Eat it all up, Nurse Joy and Chansey made this just for you" he said as he got another spoonful
As Alex continued to feed Johnny, Ben pulled out his an item from his bag that resembled a large PEZ dispenser with a pokeball design on top of it.
"What's that thing?" Alex asked
"It's a Pokeblock dispenser; I keep all my blocks in here" Ben answered, "I'm going to give Mimi some dry blocks"
"You know, I might want to use Mimi in this gym battle" Alex said
"Well that would make sense, considering the Cerulean gym is a gym for Water pokemon..." Ben said
"Which means the field is suited for Water-types, so Mimi should be able to do well in a battle there" Alex finished Ben's sentence
"So then who's going to be your second choice?" Ben asked
"I was thinking Melody" Alex replied, "Her Magical Leaf should help us win here"
"It's true that Water pokemon are weak against Grass moves, but you're going to need more than just Magical Leaf to beat Misty"
"Yeah, but I don't have a Grass or an Electric type pokemon"
"I think I may have a solution"
"I'm listening"
"I think I may be able to teach Melody a new move that can help you guys here"
"What would that be?" Melody asked
"Thunderbolt... Electabuzz and I can teach you guys that attack" Ben replied
"That would be great" Alex said, "Let's get started as soon as I'm done feeding Johnny"
After Johnny finished his porridge and everyone else finished eating, everyone went outside to train.
"Sophia, Lucas, Zack, I need you guys to keep an eye on Johnny while Melody and I are training ok" Alex said
The three pokemon nodded as they turned their attention to the new baby of the group.
"Ok, let's get started" Ben said as he called out his Electabuzz
"Electabuzz, let's show them how to use Thunderbolt" Ben said
Electabuzz nodded and turned as its antenna began to spark violently, a few moments later they unleashed a powerful bolt of electricity. The bolt flew and collided into a large stone outside of the pokemon center. The force from the bolt blew it to pieces.
"Dang..." Alex stared in amazement of the power of that Thunderbolt
"First things first" Ben said, "I want you to try gathering some electricity"
"I remember my mother knew this attack" Melody replied, "so I think I should be able to do this"
Melody stood still, focusing her powers, trying to gather enough electricity. After several minutes of no results, her hand began to spark with a small amount of electricity. Alex smiled as eventually the sparks became larger and more noticeable. As Melody continued, Ben set up a target for her to practice against.
"Alright, now keep focusing and try to launch that power at the target over there" he said as he stepped away from the target
Melody opened her eyes, brought her right hand up, and fired a small bolt of electricity towards the target. As it sped towards the target, it veered off and just missed, connecting with a tree behind it.
"Almost" Ben said
"Let's try it again" Alex said
"Right" Melody nodded as she closed her eyes and tried again.
After a few moments, she fired again and managed to hit the target on the outer most ring.
"A hit" Ben smiled
"You're doing great Melody" Alex commented
Melody fired several shots until she finally hit the bulls-eye on the target.
"Perfect"
"You did it Melody"
Melody turned and smiled as the sparks around her hand ceased
"Ok, try to do that again a few more times"
Melody turned to face the target and began to attack again. She fired three Thunderbolts one after another; the first two were about the size of the very first one she fired, but the third one larger both in size and in power. All three hit the bulls-eye, but the third one not only hit the bulls-eye, it destroyed the target
"Now we need to get you used to hitting a moving target" Ben turned towards the pokemon playing together, "Zack, come here"
Zack ran over and looked at Ben curiously
"Wait a minute, I'm not blasting him with a Thunderbolt" Alex said
"Relax, remember electric attacks have no effect on Ground types and Zack is a combination Dragon and Ground type" Ben said
"Oh yeah..." Alex remembered, "um... I knew that..." he said in a slightly embarrassed tone
Melody couldn't help but giggle
"Ok Zack, we need your help" Ben knelt down
The Land Shark dug its way into the ground and began popping up out of holes in the ground. As Zack kept popping up, Melody fired one Thunderbolt after another. They all connected with their target, but didn't harm him at all. Zack then began to move around underground with only his fin sticking out of the ground.
"Melody, aim for Zack's fin" Alex pointed at the moving fin
Melody took aim and launched another Thunderbolt, just missing its intended target.
"Concentrate" Ben said, "Lead the target, take aim, and then fire"
Melody nodded and looked at her target. After looking at his movements, she readied another Thunderbolt, took aim, and fired. This time she hit Zack as he was speeding around underground. Alex noticed that Melody was looking tired from the training.
"Ok guys, what do you think about taking a break?" Alex suggested
"That's probably a good idea" Ben agreed
Alex walked over to Melody and handed her a water bottle. As she drank the cool water down, Alex whistled for Zack.
"Thanks for your help little buddy" he said as he patted Zack on the head and gave him a hand full of poke-chow.
Zack eagerly opened his mouth as Alex dropped the food into his mouth. Zack happily ate it and then ran off to bask in the sun.
"You did great Melody" Alex smiled
"Thank you" she smiled back at him
"Now I know we'll beat Misty for sure" he said with confidence
"Slow down there" Ben said, "You guys just about have Thunderbolt down, but you should train a little more before you challenge Misty to a battle"
"Trust me, the last thing you want is to go into the battle and have your move fail" he added
"hmm, good point" Alex remarked
After resting for a few minutes, Alex and Melody got back to perfecting Thunderbolt. Alex set up a line of empty soda cans.
"Alright, let's try knocking these down all at once"
Alex stood back as Melody took aim, firing a bolt of electricity. After connecting and knocking down the first can, she pulled her arm right, sweeping the bolt across and knocking away the remaining cans. Ben watched as they continued practicing their new move.
"I'm impressed with how quickly they're getting this" he remarked
Electabuzz nodded as they continued training for another hour before finally stopping.
"I think we got it down" Alex said as Melody's hand ceased sparking with electricity
"Not bad you two, not bad at all" Ben said, "I'm impressed with your hard work"
"Thanks" Alex smiled as he handed Melody a water bottle
"Let's take a break at the pokemon center, then we'll go to the gym for your battle" Ben said
"Good call" Alex replied, "Alright everybody time to get going"
Sophia, Lucas, Johnny, and Zack all rushed over to their trainer. Reaching for his belt, Alex grabbed each of their pokeballs and recalled his team to their balls. Back at the pokemon center, they all took a lunch break and thirty minutes later, made their way to the Cerulean City gym.
The Cerulean gym was completely different from the Pewter gym. Pewter looked like an aged stone building, but the Cerulean gym looked like a more modern building. It was a fairly large structure with a large dome painted with vertical pink and yellow stripes, with a wave like design along the base of the dome. Alex looked up and was amazed to see what looked a large sea lion like pokemon just above the sign for the gym.
"What kind of pokemon is that?" he wondered
"It's a painting of a Dewgong" Ben answered
"Dewgong..." Alex reached for his pokedex
"Dewgong, the Sea Lion Pokémon. Dewgong primarily live in freezing cold climates. It stores thermal heat in its white fur coat to keep its body warm. Dewgong are capable of swimming a steady eight knots even in intensely cold waters."
"wow" he replied
"I'm sure we'll see plenty of water pokemon inside" Ben remarked
"What are we waiting for?" Alex said with excitement
As they stepped through the double doors of the gym, Alex thought they had walked into an aquarium. There was a long hallway with many glass windows, and inside were many different species of water pokemon and other aquatic life.
"Amazing..." Alex looked through the glass, seeing many pokemon he had never seen before.
"Quite an amazing assortment of pokemon" Ben remarked, "There's Goldeen, Seaking, Staryu, Starmie, a Seel, and over there is a Horsea"
"What's that pokemon?" Alex pointed at a massive shell with a small black face in the center.
"That's a Cloyster" Ben answered, "and over there is its pre-evolved form, Shellder"
Alex was about to pull out his pokedex and see what information it had on the pokemon in the aquarium but something caught his eyes. He saw a girl with red hair swimming inside the aquarium, but what really surprised him was that she had what looked like a fish tail from the waist down. As he stared at her, the girl spotted and waved at him. As he slowly brought his hand up and waved back, she swam over and touched the glass where he was standing. Ben looked over and saw the look of surprise on Alex's face.
"What are you looking at?" he asked
"I think I see a mermaid" Alex replied not taking his eyes off of her
"What the..."
Melody and Ben immediately came over to see what he was talking about.
"She's so pretty" Melody said as she gazed at the figure on the other side of the glass.
"That's not a mermaid" Ben laughed, "That's Misty, the gym leader"
She pointed to a door down the hall as she swam to the surface. Alex, Ben, and Melody proceeded through the door and found themselves at a massive pool.
"Well hello there" a voice said
Alex turned and saw the same girl from before. She wore a blue two-piece swimsuit and had her short red hair tied in a pony-tail on the left side of her head. She looked a little older than he was
"Are you Misty?" Alex asked
"Yes, I'm Misty and I'm the leader of this gym" she replied
"Then why did you look like a mermaid when we first saw you in that tank before?" he asked with a confused look on his face
"Just trying out a new swimsuit" she giggled
"Oh..." he replied
Ben and Melody couldn't help but laugh a little
"So I take it you're here to battle for a badge"
"Yes I am"
"Well, then I accept your challenge"
Misty and Alex took their places on opposite sides of the pool in the center of the room. The pool was massive and had several small platforms on the surface to stand on.
"We'll each use two pokemon and you are allowed to substitute your pokemon if you chose" Misty said, "You ready to start?"
"I'm ready when you are" Alex replied, "Mimi, I choose you"
"Go, Staryu" Misty called
As Mimi appeared, a tan colored starfish pokemon with a red gemstone in the center of a gold colored design on the center of its body appeared from Misty's pokeball.
"Staryu, the Star Shape Pokémon. It lives primarily on the ocean floor. The gem in the center of its body is called its core and serves as its heart. If a Staryu loses any of its appendages it can grow them back with ease provided the core is still fully intact."
"A Staryu... never battled one of those before" he said, "This is should be good"
"Staryu, Tackle" Misty commanded
Staryu flew at Mimi, spinning like a disk as it flew
"Mimi, Water Pulse" Alex commanded as Staryu came closer
As Mimi opened her mouth, a blue ball formed and was launched towards Staryu
"Dodge it, then use Water Gun"
Staryu effortlessly evaded the Water Pulse and immediately fired a stream of water at its opponent
"Dive underwater, quickly" Alex said urgently
Mimi dove underwater to evade the attack
"After it Staryu, Tackle"
As Mimi hid underwater, Staryu immediately followed her and proceeded to attack, slamming into her.
"Now follow with Bubble Beam"
"Counter with Mirror Coat"
As Staryu fired a stream of light blue bubbles from its gem, Mimi's body became enveloped in a glowing, reflective substance. As Staryu's attack hit, the bubbles were reflected back at Staryu. The reflected attack hit and sent the Star Shape pokemon out of the water
"Water Pulse" Alex commanded
"Use Water Gun" Misty replied
Staryu and Mimi fired their attacks simultaneously, causing them to collide and explode near the surface of the pool. The blast sent water flying everywhere and propelled Mimi into the air
"Gotcha" Misty smiled, "Tackle it Staryu"
Staryu immediately flew towards the Fish pokemon as it flew into the air
"Water Pulse" Alex yelled
As it drew closer, Mimi fired a Water Pulse at her attacker. The attack connected right on center of Staryu's body, the force from the blow sent it hurling towards one of the platforms still in the pool. Staryu hit the platform hard as Mimi landed back in the water
"Staryu, you ok"
Staryu got up and stood ready to continue.
"Tackle, once more"
"Mimi, Flail"
Staryu dove after Mimi, colliding with her underwater. As the Star Shape pokemon hit her, she proceeded to slap it repeatedly with her tail.
"Bubble Beam"
"Mirror Coat"
Staryu fired another stream of bubbles at Mimi as she countered and sent the attack back at it. Staryu flew back and landed on one of the platforms, its core flashing with a red light.
"Why is it flashing like that?" Alex asked
"Staryu can't continue" Misty answered
"And it looks like Mimi is out of it too" Ben pointed
Alex looked and saw Mimi on her side
"Thanks for your hard work Mimi" Alex returned her to her pokeball, "Now get some rest"
"Looks like its one-on-one now" Misty reached for her second pokeball, "You ready for round two"
"Ready when you are" Alex replied
"That what I like to hear" Misty smiled, "Go, Starmie"
Misty's new pokemon was just like Staryu, but this one was violet and looked like it had a second star on its back, making look like a ten- sided star. Also, the core of its body looked like a beautifully cut precious gemstone, like something you would see in an expensive jewelry store.
"Starmie, the Mysterious Pokémon. Starmie is the evolved form of Staryu. Starmie's central core shines the seven colors of the rainbow. The star on its back is capable of spinning 360Â�. Starmie are rare in the wild. Like Staryu, if Starmie loses a piece of its body it will grow back."
"Alright Melody, your turn" Alex smiled
"You got it" Melody leapt onto one of the platforms in the pool.
"Someone's eager to get going" Misty smiled
"Melody, Magical Leaf" Alex said
Melody unleashed a flurry of light green leaves at the Mysterious pokemon
"Starmie, counter with Swift" Misty commanded
Starmie released many yellow stars from its core gem. As the stars and leaves flew, many collide with each other causing an explosion at the center of the pool.
"Starmie, Water Gun"
"Melody, dodge it then use Psychic"
Melody leapt to another platform as Starmie fire a powerful stream of water. As she landed, Melody fired a blast of psychic energy at her opponent
"Dodge it, then use Water Pulse"
Starmie evaded Melody's blast and formed a blue ball of energy in front of its core and fired.
"Protect"
Melody quickly set her shield to block Starmie's attack
"Starmie, Tackle" Misty commanded
"Thunderbolt" Alex replied
Starmie flew at Melody as her Protect faded. As it came closer, Melody's right hand began to spark. A moment later, she fired a bolt of electricity at the incoming Mysterious pokemon.
Starmie received the attack and was sent hurtling across the battlefield, hitting the water five feet away from where Misty was standing.
"Got it" Alex said
"You'd think so wouldn't you" Misty smiled, "Starmie, Recover"
At the word, Starmie emerged from the pool and its body began to glow brightly. As the light enveloped it, all the damage Starmie had received faded away.
"No way" Alex said in shock
"Recover restores a pokemon's health and heals its wounds" Ben explained
"Oh great" Alex replied, "So how are we suppose to beat it?"
"Recover can only restore so much health" Ben answered, "You're going to need to do enough damage to finish it in one move"
"Easier said than done" Alex replied
"Starmie, Water Gun" Misty commanded
"Dodge it, then use Magical Leaf" Alex quickly replied
Melody jumped to another platform as Starmie fired its attack. As Melody landed, she launched a flurry of leaves
"Starmie, into the pool"
Starmie immediately dove underwater and the Magical Leaf simply hit the surface of the water, unable to go after their target.
"Darn it" Alex said in an annoyed tone, "It can heal itself and we can't go after it if it hides underwater"
"So what do we do?" Melody's voice entered his mind
"I don't know" he thought to himself, "The best way I can think of to beat it is to hit it with a powerful Thunderbolt attack, but that's not going to help if we can't see where it is"
"Magical Leaf isn't strong enough to win this. Thunderbolt is our best bet, but we need to get it out of the water and then hit it with an electric attack"
"Wait... water and electricity..." a thought occurred to him, "That's it... why didn't I think of that before"
"You got an idea?"
"Starmie, Water Pulse" Misty commanded
Starmie emerged from the water and immediately fired its move at the Emotion pokemon
"Protect" Alex said urgently
Melody again protected herself from the attack
"Starmie, Tackle attack"
Starmie flew towards Melody
"Melody, use Psychic and knock Starmie back into the water"
Melody leapt into the air and launched a powerful blast of psychic energy at the Mysterious pokemon and sent it plummeting into the water of the pool
"What's he up to?" Misty thought to herself
"Now use Thunderbolt on the water" Alex commanded
Melody's hand sparked with electricity as she landed, a second later, she unleashed a large bolt of electricity upon the pool. The electricity of the attack coursed through the water, delivering a devastating shock to any in the water. After a short while, she ceased her attack and waited to see if her opponent would resurface. After a minute, Starmie floated to the surface, its gem flashing red light.
"Starmie's out of it" Ben remarked
"Melody, you did it" Alex cheered
"Thanks you Starmie" Misty said as she recalled her pokemon, "you really did great"
"Not bad" Ben said, "How did you know that would work?"
"I remembered one of my teachers mentioning that water conducts electricity a lot better than air does" Alex replied, "Can't ignore all of the stuff they teach in school"
"Well, that was creative thinking back there" Misty commented, "Here, take this Cascade badge as proof you won here at the Cerulean gym"
"Thank you Misty" Alex said as he accepted the badge
"Good luck at the other gyms" she smiled
"Thanks" he replied as he, Ben and Melody took their leave
"So where to next?" Alex turned towards Ben
"Back to Vermilion City" he replied