SubSane
31st July 2005, 12:53 PM
About three years ago I began a quest/journey story called "Joe's Quest", which evolved into "Sun Coast". At first I had enough free time and interest to write chapter after chapter, but as time went on I realized I could not commit to write the story as I wanted to see it written.
Once I knew I couldn't finish it I sat down and jotted down every outline and detail I had in my head. Characters, chapter outlines, locations, gyms, and even prequel/sequel ideas were all jotted down and saved. Hell, I went as far creating a map of the place in which the story took place.
So I have all this info and about 25 chapters completed. It's not Pullitzer Prize material or anything, but what I'd like is for a creative and experienced Pokemon fan-fic writer to hopefully take over and complete what I had. If the story doesn't suck too much and someone's interested, feel free to contact me for further details. Thanks folks.
Here's the first chapter to give an idea of what I've done:
The Sun Coast
-Chapter 1-
Of Things To Come
"Quickly, hold this hose! Hey you, behind that pole. Take that big wrench and open the hydrant. NOW!!!" The man in the heavy yellow coat quickly barked orders to anyone within earshot. Anybody that could assist.
"Hey, captain," yelled another man in a yellow coat."How do you want to handle the burn victims?" He pointed to several men, women, and children that were either seated or lying down on a large tarp. Several doctors and nurses were there, dashing between patients, looking over the wounds to decide who would get priority treatment. Their faces showed the stress and pain of seeing such carnage.
The captain lifted the dirty glass visor from his face and looked at the people. There were children crying, their mothers and fathers trying desperately to calm them when there could be no calm. All around them were other people, but not victims. They were loved ones searching for their cousin, or uncle, or best friend.
The captain wiped his soot-covered face. "All right, get another tarp out here and get anybody that isn't hurt outta here, quickly! Set up a perimeter with some tape and tell Emergency Services to start getting the names of these people. You're in charge, Lindsey!"
"Yes sir!" Lindsey took off his helmet and began to round up the necessary people to get rid of the non-victims, per the captain's orders. The captain removed his own helmet, and sat. He stared angrily at the river of flame that flowed in the distance. Who knows how many people it had consumed in it's blind rush through the city. Houses, businesses, schools! The flame from the mountain was remorseless, and half the city was now gone.
But beneath all this, in their own world and unaware of anything else, were two boys. One dark-haired and short, the other one light-haired and tall. They sat but a few yards away, but could not be brought out from the despair in which they were in. They sat still, their arms over their black faces. They sat.
Between them stood a gangly little brown creature whose whiskers twitched feverishly. It was aware of their sadness, but could not comprehend it as they did. It just stared off to the north, to the mountain of fire. Thick masses of the blackest smoke circled around, and throughout the area where the liquid flame spread. For it was there that it witnessed the loss of another fellow creature… a friend.
The mountain of fire had released it's fury, and no one was spared.
------
Several months earlier...
Joe stumbled from his bed to the wooden floor, a tangled mass of sheets and pillows. He stood up and looked at his wall clock. The two arms of the Machoke in the center of it indicated that it was ten o' clock in the morning.
"I need a bigger bed," he muttered. Passing by the piles of clothes and various electronic gadgets lying about his room, Joe went into the bathroom and closed the door. After washing up and brushing his teeth, he looked at the fogged mirror. His brown eyes were half closed and his normally combed brown hair was matted in all directions.
Joe suddenly slammed his fist on the sink. "Today's the day. All the stuff I put up with ends today! No more, 'Hey Joe, still don't wanna battle? Ya freakin' loser...' I'll show them who the loser is!" Joe rushed to his closet and put on his jeans and t-shirt, gathered his wallet and keys, and headed out.
"Joe, honey, where are you off to in such a rush?" A short dark-haired woman wearing a green dress and white apron stood in the kitchen, chopping onions. Her eyes followed Joe as he flew by towards the front door.
"I'm taking Ratso over to the park, ma. See ya later!" With a determined look on his face he ran over to the garage and opened the door. As he entered a shadowy figure lurked out from behind a cardboard box.
"Ooooomf...!" Joe was suddenly knocked to the floor by a purple blur. "Ratso! Would ya stop jumping on me. Every time..."
Ratso, Joe's Rattata, was a hyper little thing. And the Pokemon had good reason. Several years prior, Joe was strolling through the Darkleaf Town park, as many young children do. As he passed by a thick mass of bushes he heard a wild commotion and a shriek. Joe entered the bushes, brimming with courage he did not realize he had. He discovered a pack of wild Raticates attacking a young Rattata. Joe managed to frighten the Raticates away, and he took the Rattata home to help it recover. Since that time they had been inseparable.
"Come on," he urged. "Today we're gonna show those guys at the park that you do have what it takes!"
Ratso answered with an enthusiastic "Ratta!"
Joe smiled, slipped on his brown leather boots, and headed off down the street towards the park. Along the way he glanced around at the different houses and buildings and sighed. He had lived on this street a long time, nine years now, and the neighborhood never changed. Over in the green house to the right lived old Mrs. Jones. She was always cranky, and any items that fell in her front yard often became her property. In the large brown house across the street lived the Whiltons. The father was never home, the daughter was often seeing gallivanting around with boys who had too many piercings, and Joe's mother often called Mrs. Whilton a "gossipy bottle blonde," whatever that meant. Yes, things were as they had always been.
"Well Ratso, if we start winning some battles then maybe we can start on our own Sun Coast League journey," said Joe. And get out of this town, he thought.
"Raaaata rat!", exclaimed the puny purple Pokemon.
They eventually reached a large, two-lane street lined with many shops and businesses. This was Champ Avenue. It was the Main Street of Darkleaf Town, you could say. Normally this was an excellent place to relax with friends or perhaps make new ones. But for Joe, there was no relaxing. Along the way he had no choice but to pass by the town's Pokemon gym. Although he would always walk across the street and never look at any of the people hanging around in front, they would often look at him, and his Rattata.
"Hey you, kid! Are you a trainer? Come on, let's have a Pokemon battle!" Every time.
Joe didn't dislike Pokemon battling, but he didn't think that he had what it takes to beat actual trainers. After all, Joe was no Pokemon trainer. The only Pokemon he had was more of a friend, and as far as Joe knew Ratso had never been in a battle. But the last couple of months Joe and Ratso had been training by beating small Pokemon. Caterpie, Sentret, and other small opponents local to Darkleaf Town and the adjacent forest.
"No thanks, we're just passing through," replied Joe.
"Hey, I know you! You're that fraidy Meowth, Joe! Haha, hey guys! It's little Joey! That kid who likes beating useless little park Pokemon!" Joe ignored the trainer and moved along. He was used to taunts, it was nothing he could not handle. Ratso could see the anger in Joe's eyes, but he was always there with a happy "Ratta!," to comfort Joe.
As they neared the park at the end of the street a black haired girl wearing denim shorts, a red t-shirt, and a backwards red hat waved at Joe. Her hazel eyes were nearly as pretty as the smile she flashed.
"Joe! Hey, Joe!" It was Lina, one of Joe's friends. She was everything Joe wanted to be. Calm, confident, and an excellent trainer. She already had three Pokemon, and one was even evolved! Joe sometimes felt put down by the way she gloated about how great her Pokemon were, but her merry and persistent personality made it hard to stay cross at her.
"So, going to the park huh? I'll go with you! My Ivysaur needs a workout and I heard a lot of water trainers are going to be over by the pond. It'll be a piece of cake!", she said quickly.
"Yea, sure, I guess," replied Joe. He knew enough to just agree with anything she said.
Lina looked to Joe's side and saw a tiny purple Rattata walking along. "Hiya Ratso, doing all right?"
"Ratta, ratta!", said Ratso.
"Geez, he sounds excited if all you're going to do is battle a few Sentret," said Lina thoughtfully.
"Actually, we're gonna battle a, um, trainer...," mumbled Joe. He cringed and prepared for it. With an excited look she smiled and hugged Joe, which annoyed him and she knew it.
"Trainer?! Great! Hey, it's about time! Cool, do you wanna borrow one of my Pokemon? Come on, Krabby would do a great job! You'll need more than one if you want to..."
"Lina, please!" Joe cut her off. "Me and Ratso are going to challenge someone and beat him on our own. We don't need your help." After noticing Lina's sad look he added "But thanks, I appreciate it."
Once again overjoyed, she looked at Joe as they entered the park. "It's okay. I remember when I first battled. I was determined to do it on my own, and I did! That guy didn't know who he was messing with... So anyway, who are you going to challenge?"
"I'm not sure. I guess I'll watch a few battles and challenge someone who's a beginner like me. I don't wanna get too ahead of myself." Better safe than sorry, thought Joe.
"Aw boo, that's no fun! You have to challenge a big shot, someone who thinks he, or she, is unbeatable. So when you beat them you get the bragging rights!" Lina laid a friendly slap on the back to Joe.
Joe smiled and shook his head once. "Uh, no, I'll challenge a beginner."
Lina shrugged. "Fine, whatever. Listen the pond is over this way, so I'll see you later. I'll try and make it to the asphalt field a little bit later. Bye!" With another wave she headed down the path to the center of the park, where the pond was.
Joe took Lina's subtle advice and headed for the asphalt field in the center of the park. It was an excellent place for beginning trainers to battle because many novices liked to go there. After following the right path for about ten minutes, Joe climbed over a low green hill and looked out.
The asphalt field obviously wasn't a field at all. It was actually a large crumbling asphalt lot that was once the town's Pokemon gym. A few years after the gym was established people realized that the gym was rather inaccessible to many trainers, so it was moved and the old gym was torn down. Since then the lot became a popular spot for young trainers to gain battle experience.
As Joe came down the hill he noticed that a crowd of kids was gathered in a circle.
Great, thought Joe. A battle already! He made his way to the circle and found a gap big enough for him to fit through. But just as he got through the last kid, he was hit by a splash of cold water.
"Hey kid, back up will ya! Ya might get hurt!" A large guy pushed him back into the crowd a bit as the Goldeen finished it's water gun attack. Joe put his arms out to keep the others from blocking his view of the battle.
On the left was a tall girl in a pleated blue skirt and white blouse. She was the one who had commanded the Goldeen to use a water gun. On the right was a guy wearing tattered shorts and some old sneakers. His Pokemon was the main draw of the battle. There on the field was the biggest Golem Joe had ever seen. It's eyes were a dark red, and the rock-like skin that surrounded it had just shrugged off a powerful water gun attack.
"Golem, use a rollout and finish off this fishy!" With speed Joe had never seen from such a heavy Pokemon, the Golem rolled up and began a roll where it stood, breaking up the already cracked asphalt.
"Oh no! Goldeen try another water gun! It can't resist two of them!" The girl's Goldeen flipped and opened it's mouth as the blast of water charged towards the rolling Golem. Just then the Golem released itself and rolled toward the Goldeen like a gray snowball down a gritty hill. The water gun disappeared as the Golem ripped through the shot, and crashed right into the Goldeen.
"Goldeen, nooo!" The Goldeen fell flat as the rollout attack broke through the ground under it and stopped at the other end of the field.
A young boy stepped out from the crowd and raised Jake's hand in the air. "Goldeen can't battle! Jake is the winner!"
"No, but, but Goldeen is Golem's weakness!", said the girl.
Jake lowered his hand and pointed to the girl. "Sorry babe, but if you think a worthless little Goldeen can beat my Golem, well you've cracked your crock!"
The crowd began to disperse as the girl called her Goldeen and Jake went over to a rock and sat down to brag. Joe walked away, stunned that a rock-type had beaten a water-type.
"I was sure that the Goldeen would've beat the Golem. Man, I hardly know anything about Pokemon. What am I doing here?" Joe walked over to the edge of the field and sat on the grass, under the shade of a tall willowy tree. He figured he would sit and watch for a while. Ratso looked at him and twitched his whiskers, then went to explore the tall grass around the tree. After about an hour Joe had witnessed two more battles, but no one that he felt he could safely challenge.
"Let's go Ratso, we're not gonna find anyone here." As Ratso ran over to his side a short, round, and bald boy in overalls walked by and heard what he said to Ratso.
"Hey, are you lookin' to have a battle?", he asked.
Joe looked down and sighed. "Well, maybe..."
"Great!", said the kid. "Let's battle, you and me! My name's Avis. How about a 2 on 2?"
With a relieved look, Joe replied. "Sorry, I only have one Pokemon."
"That's fine, it'll be a 1 on 1."
Ratso ran over between Joe and Avis and yelled, "Ratta, ratta, ratta!"
Avis smiled and laughed. "See, even your Rattata wants to battle me."
Joe thought for what seemed like an hour. Should I? This guy looks real confident, he must be a great trainer. But I've gotten better...
"Alright, Avis," he yelled. "I accept your challenge!"
Avis laughed and patted his stomach. "This ain't some gym kid, you don't have to be all official."
Joe walked down the field and said "Let's go," with as much confidence as he could muster. As Joe and Avis made their way to the asphalt field, Avis whispered something into a chubby guy's ear.
"Hey, another battle!", yelled the chubby boy. "It's gonna be Avis and some new punk!" A chuckle was heard as everyone looked over at the new kid.
After another whisper the chubby kid announced, "A 1 on 1 battle between Avis and Joe!" He then asked Avis and Joe what Pokemon they would be using. "Avis will be using his Tyrogue, while Joe will start with a Rattata!"
Aw man, a Tyrogue! I'm so dead, thought Joe as he saw the Tyrogue pop out of it's Pokeball. It was smaller than he thought a Tyrogue would be, but it still looked much stronger than a simple Rattata.
"Joe, I'll let new guys go first!" yelled Avis as he stood there with his arms crossed. Joe thought for a moment and looked at the ground.
"Ratso... use your quick attack!" With that command Ratso became a blur as he charged with great speed in Tyrogue's direction. Avis just smiled.
"Tyrogue, counter his quick attack with your mach punch!" Tyrogue raised his fist and charged forward with speed equal to, or greater than, Ratso's quick attack. The power of the mach punch proved to be too strong as Ratso was hit and thrown back. Slightly dazed he shook it off and stood ready for Joe's next move. Just then someone came running over the hill.
"Hey, Joe!" It was Lina running at full speed. She nearly tripped over a chunk of asphalt as she came up behind Joe. "Joe, hey you're battling, cool!"
Avis shook his head at this interruption. "Honey, please don't interrupt us, okay? Us men is tryin' to have a battle here." Lina looked over to Avis and sighed.
"Why'd you pick this jerk to battle with?" Joe shrugged at her and turned his attention back to the battle. He had to figure out some way to beat this Tyrogue.
This sucks, I'm gonna lose my first battle... thought Joe to himself. Just then Lina ran over to his side.
Quietly she said "Joe, you have to wear down his Tyrogue! It's way stronger than Ratso, but Ratso has a speed advantage. Use that against him."
"But I already tried that with quick attack! He countered like it was nothing..."
"Hey, are we havin' a battle or what?" Avis was quite annoyed now. "Ya can't get help, buddy. If I were you I wouldn't even listen to..."
"Shut up!", yelled Lina. "Listen Joe, wear him down. Combine Ratso's speed with something that'll wear down his Tyrogue and you can make it!" Joe turned back to the battle and got an idea.
"Ratso, use your agility!" Ratso became a blur, but this time not directly at Tyrogue. It made it's way around Tyrogue and began to circle him.
"Tyrogue, try to mach punch it again!" Tyrogue swung wildly in all directions in an attempt to hit Ratso, but it was futile. Tyrogue eventually tired out and Joe yelled out another attack.
"Ratso, now try your tail whip!" With the speed boost it gained from using agility, Ratso was able to tail whip the Tyrogue until it was both weak and tired.
"No!", yelled Avis as his Tyrogue stood there worn out. In a desperate attempt to recover, Avis yelled out another attack.
"Quick, Tyrogue, try to get out of there with rapid spin!" Tyrogue backed up and started to spin, causing Ratso to go flying again. This time Ratso took a big hit but still managed to get up. Joe sighed as he saw it get up and thought of another attack to use.
"He may be spinning but he's still weak! Use your bite to latch onto him!" Ratso ran in and with all the strength it had it latched onto the spinning Tyrogue. Joe knew that this would eventually wear out one of the Pokemon, so he had to think of something to clinch the match.
"Tyrogue, grab that rat and use your mighty seismic toss!", said Avis.
No!, thought Joe. With this attack he'll finish the match! It was then that Joe remembered what he had learned about Rattata and Raticate. It was back when he was young, after he found Ratso. The fuzzy Rattata had apparently been foraging in the wrong part of the park because a pack of Raticate were attacking him. When Joe stumbled upon the fight he noticed that one of the Raticate had a glowing fang and was about to hit Ratso with some kind of attack. He managed to pull Ratso out of there before it used the attack, but later on he found out that the attack was an extremely strong attack called a hyperfang. It was his only hope!
"Ratso, use your hyperfang!" Letting go of Tyrogue, Ratso landed a few feet away and it's front fangs began to glow.
"Quick, use seismic toss before it uses the attack!", yelled a desperate Avis. Tyrogue ran over the old asphalt towards Ratso, but it was too late.
As Ratso charged towards the running Tyrogue, Joe happily yelled out the attack. "Yes, hyperfang!" With a tremendous crack the hyperfang hit it's mark, sending Tyrogue over to the opposite end of the field, nearly hitting it's own trainer. The chubby referee looked over at the stunned Pokemon and even more stunned trainer.
"Wow! Joe's Rattata used a hyperfang and Tyrogue can no longer battle. Joe is the winner!" Avis fell to his knees as a roar came up from the crowd. As Joe stood there a smile crept across his face and he began to say something, but was tackled by both Ratso and Lina at the same time.
"Oh my god! Joe you did it! Wow, I mean, just, what a great battle!" Quickly, as usual.
"Ratta, raaaaaaata!"
"Aw, well, the credit goes to Ratso. And you, Lina. You guys helped a guy out with some confidence. How’s about we go celebrate at the Pizzeria?" Joe brought out his wallet and grinned.
As he, Lina, and Ratso got up to leave, Avis came over. "You little punk! That... was a great battle. Ya won fair and square, and what a finish! I hope to see you around kid cuz next time I won't take it so easy on ya!" Avis recalled his Tyrogue into it's Pokeball and walked away.
"Yea, I can't wait," said Joe boldly. He turned back to his friends and they all made their way to the park entrance.
"Hey Lina, did you get any battles over by the pond?", asked Joe as they turned onto the sidewalk.
"Yea, I beat this one guy called Jake. Can you believe he tried to beat my Ivysaur with a Golem? What an idiot," she smirked.
Joe stroked his chin thoughtfully. "I don't know Lina, you should never underestimate someone's Pokemon based on it's type."
She looked at Joe and laughed. "Ha, so what, you're the Pokemon wise man now that you won a battle? You better shut up or I may challenge you next!"
"Uh huh. What do you think Ratso, can we beat her?", asked Joe to his furry purple companion. Ratso gave a resounding "Ratta!"
Joe smiled and crouched to pat Ratso on the head. "I agree.”
Lina pulled the metallic door handle and looked back at Joe. "Oh, both of you be quiet."
As they entered the pizza place Joe glanced over to the gym in the distance and smiled. He was finally on his way.
Once I knew I couldn't finish it I sat down and jotted down every outline and detail I had in my head. Characters, chapter outlines, locations, gyms, and even prequel/sequel ideas were all jotted down and saved. Hell, I went as far creating a map of the place in which the story took place.
So I have all this info and about 25 chapters completed. It's not Pullitzer Prize material or anything, but what I'd like is for a creative and experienced Pokemon fan-fic writer to hopefully take over and complete what I had. If the story doesn't suck too much and someone's interested, feel free to contact me for further details. Thanks folks.
Here's the first chapter to give an idea of what I've done:
The Sun Coast
-Chapter 1-
Of Things To Come
"Quickly, hold this hose! Hey you, behind that pole. Take that big wrench and open the hydrant. NOW!!!" The man in the heavy yellow coat quickly barked orders to anyone within earshot. Anybody that could assist.
"Hey, captain," yelled another man in a yellow coat."How do you want to handle the burn victims?" He pointed to several men, women, and children that were either seated or lying down on a large tarp. Several doctors and nurses were there, dashing between patients, looking over the wounds to decide who would get priority treatment. Their faces showed the stress and pain of seeing such carnage.
The captain lifted the dirty glass visor from his face and looked at the people. There were children crying, their mothers and fathers trying desperately to calm them when there could be no calm. All around them were other people, but not victims. They were loved ones searching for their cousin, or uncle, or best friend.
The captain wiped his soot-covered face. "All right, get another tarp out here and get anybody that isn't hurt outta here, quickly! Set up a perimeter with some tape and tell Emergency Services to start getting the names of these people. You're in charge, Lindsey!"
"Yes sir!" Lindsey took off his helmet and began to round up the necessary people to get rid of the non-victims, per the captain's orders. The captain removed his own helmet, and sat. He stared angrily at the river of flame that flowed in the distance. Who knows how many people it had consumed in it's blind rush through the city. Houses, businesses, schools! The flame from the mountain was remorseless, and half the city was now gone.
But beneath all this, in their own world and unaware of anything else, were two boys. One dark-haired and short, the other one light-haired and tall. They sat but a few yards away, but could not be brought out from the despair in which they were in. They sat still, their arms over their black faces. They sat.
Between them stood a gangly little brown creature whose whiskers twitched feverishly. It was aware of their sadness, but could not comprehend it as they did. It just stared off to the north, to the mountain of fire. Thick masses of the blackest smoke circled around, and throughout the area where the liquid flame spread. For it was there that it witnessed the loss of another fellow creature… a friend.
The mountain of fire had released it's fury, and no one was spared.
------
Several months earlier...
Joe stumbled from his bed to the wooden floor, a tangled mass of sheets and pillows. He stood up and looked at his wall clock. The two arms of the Machoke in the center of it indicated that it was ten o' clock in the morning.
"I need a bigger bed," he muttered. Passing by the piles of clothes and various electronic gadgets lying about his room, Joe went into the bathroom and closed the door. After washing up and brushing his teeth, he looked at the fogged mirror. His brown eyes were half closed and his normally combed brown hair was matted in all directions.
Joe suddenly slammed his fist on the sink. "Today's the day. All the stuff I put up with ends today! No more, 'Hey Joe, still don't wanna battle? Ya freakin' loser...' I'll show them who the loser is!" Joe rushed to his closet and put on his jeans and t-shirt, gathered his wallet and keys, and headed out.
"Joe, honey, where are you off to in such a rush?" A short dark-haired woman wearing a green dress and white apron stood in the kitchen, chopping onions. Her eyes followed Joe as he flew by towards the front door.
"I'm taking Ratso over to the park, ma. See ya later!" With a determined look on his face he ran over to the garage and opened the door. As he entered a shadowy figure lurked out from behind a cardboard box.
"Ooooomf...!" Joe was suddenly knocked to the floor by a purple blur. "Ratso! Would ya stop jumping on me. Every time..."
Ratso, Joe's Rattata, was a hyper little thing. And the Pokemon had good reason. Several years prior, Joe was strolling through the Darkleaf Town park, as many young children do. As he passed by a thick mass of bushes he heard a wild commotion and a shriek. Joe entered the bushes, brimming with courage he did not realize he had. He discovered a pack of wild Raticates attacking a young Rattata. Joe managed to frighten the Raticates away, and he took the Rattata home to help it recover. Since that time they had been inseparable.
"Come on," he urged. "Today we're gonna show those guys at the park that you do have what it takes!"
Ratso answered with an enthusiastic "Ratta!"
Joe smiled, slipped on his brown leather boots, and headed off down the street towards the park. Along the way he glanced around at the different houses and buildings and sighed. He had lived on this street a long time, nine years now, and the neighborhood never changed. Over in the green house to the right lived old Mrs. Jones. She was always cranky, and any items that fell in her front yard often became her property. In the large brown house across the street lived the Whiltons. The father was never home, the daughter was often seeing gallivanting around with boys who had too many piercings, and Joe's mother often called Mrs. Whilton a "gossipy bottle blonde," whatever that meant. Yes, things were as they had always been.
"Well Ratso, if we start winning some battles then maybe we can start on our own Sun Coast League journey," said Joe. And get out of this town, he thought.
"Raaaata rat!", exclaimed the puny purple Pokemon.
They eventually reached a large, two-lane street lined with many shops and businesses. This was Champ Avenue. It was the Main Street of Darkleaf Town, you could say. Normally this was an excellent place to relax with friends or perhaps make new ones. But for Joe, there was no relaxing. Along the way he had no choice but to pass by the town's Pokemon gym. Although he would always walk across the street and never look at any of the people hanging around in front, they would often look at him, and his Rattata.
"Hey you, kid! Are you a trainer? Come on, let's have a Pokemon battle!" Every time.
Joe didn't dislike Pokemon battling, but he didn't think that he had what it takes to beat actual trainers. After all, Joe was no Pokemon trainer. The only Pokemon he had was more of a friend, and as far as Joe knew Ratso had never been in a battle. But the last couple of months Joe and Ratso had been training by beating small Pokemon. Caterpie, Sentret, and other small opponents local to Darkleaf Town and the adjacent forest.
"No thanks, we're just passing through," replied Joe.
"Hey, I know you! You're that fraidy Meowth, Joe! Haha, hey guys! It's little Joey! That kid who likes beating useless little park Pokemon!" Joe ignored the trainer and moved along. He was used to taunts, it was nothing he could not handle. Ratso could see the anger in Joe's eyes, but he was always there with a happy "Ratta!," to comfort Joe.
As they neared the park at the end of the street a black haired girl wearing denim shorts, a red t-shirt, and a backwards red hat waved at Joe. Her hazel eyes were nearly as pretty as the smile she flashed.
"Joe! Hey, Joe!" It was Lina, one of Joe's friends. She was everything Joe wanted to be. Calm, confident, and an excellent trainer. She already had three Pokemon, and one was even evolved! Joe sometimes felt put down by the way she gloated about how great her Pokemon were, but her merry and persistent personality made it hard to stay cross at her.
"So, going to the park huh? I'll go with you! My Ivysaur needs a workout and I heard a lot of water trainers are going to be over by the pond. It'll be a piece of cake!", she said quickly.
"Yea, sure, I guess," replied Joe. He knew enough to just agree with anything she said.
Lina looked to Joe's side and saw a tiny purple Rattata walking along. "Hiya Ratso, doing all right?"
"Ratta, ratta!", said Ratso.
"Geez, he sounds excited if all you're going to do is battle a few Sentret," said Lina thoughtfully.
"Actually, we're gonna battle a, um, trainer...," mumbled Joe. He cringed and prepared for it. With an excited look she smiled and hugged Joe, which annoyed him and she knew it.
"Trainer?! Great! Hey, it's about time! Cool, do you wanna borrow one of my Pokemon? Come on, Krabby would do a great job! You'll need more than one if you want to..."
"Lina, please!" Joe cut her off. "Me and Ratso are going to challenge someone and beat him on our own. We don't need your help." After noticing Lina's sad look he added "But thanks, I appreciate it."
Once again overjoyed, she looked at Joe as they entered the park. "It's okay. I remember when I first battled. I was determined to do it on my own, and I did! That guy didn't know who he was messing with... So anyway, who are you going to challenge?"
"I'm not sure. I guess I'll watch a few battles and challenge someone who's a beginner like me. I don't wanna get too ahead of myself." Better safe than sorry, thought Joe.
"Aw boo, that's no fun! You have to challenge a big shot, someone who thinks he, or she, is unbeatable. So when you beat them you get the bragging rights!" Lina laid a friendly slap on the back to Joe.
Joe smiled and shook his head once. "Uh, no, I'll challenge a beginner."
Lina shrugged. "Fine, whatever. Listen the pond is over this way, so I'll see you later. I'll try and make it to the asphalt field a little bit later. Bye!" With another wave she headed down the path to the center of the park, where the pond was.
Joe took Lina's subtle advice and headed for the asphalt field in the center of the park. It was an excellent place for beginning trainers to battle because many novices liked to go there. After following the right path for about ten minutes, Joe climbed over a low green hill and looked out.
The asphalt field obviously wasn't a field at all. It was actually a large crumbling asphalt lot that was once the town's Pokemon gym. A few years after the gym was established people realized that the gym was rather inaccessible to many trainers, so it was moved and the old gym was torn down. Since then the lot became a popular spot for young trainers to gain battle experience.
As Joe came down the hill he noticed that a crowd of kids was gathered in a circle.
Great, thought Joe. A battle already! He made his way to the circle and found a gap big enough for him to fit through. But just as he got through the last kid, he was hit by a splash of cold water.
"Hey kid, back up will ya! Ya might get hurt!" A large guy pushed him back into the crowd a bit as the Goldeen finished it's water gun attack. Joe put his arms out to keep the others from blocking his view of the battle.
On the left was a tall girl in a pleated blue skirt and white blouse. She was the one who had commanded the Goldeen to use a water gun. On the right was a guy wearing tattered shorts and some old sneakers. His Pokemon was the main draw of the battle. There on the field was the biggest Golem Joe had ever seen. It's eyes were a dark red, and the rock-like skin that surrounded it had just shrugged off a powerful water gun attack.
"Golem, use a rollout and finish off this fishy!" With speed Joe had never seen from such a heavy Pokemon, the Golem rolled up and began a roll where it stood, breaking up the already cracked asphalt.
"Oh no! Goldeen try another water gun! It can't resist two of them!" The girl's Goldeen flipped and opened it's mouth as the blast of water charged towards the rolling Golem. Just then the Golem released itself and rolled toward the Goldeen like a gray snowball down a gritty hill. The water gun disappeared as the Golem ripped through the shot, and crashed right into the Goldeen.
"Goldeen, nooo!" The Goldeen fell flat as the rollout attack broke through the ground under it and stopped at the other end of the field.
A young boy stepped out from the crowd and raised Jake's hand in the air. "Goldeen can't battle! Jake is the winner!"
"No, but, but Goldeen is Golem's weakness!", said the girl.
Jake lowered his hand and pointed to the girl. "Sorry babe, but if you think a worthless little Goldeen can beat my Golem, well you've cracked your crock!"
The crowd began to disperse as the girl called her Goldeen and Jake went over to a rock and sat down to brag. Joe walked away, stunned that a rock-type had beaten a water-type.
"I was sure that the Goldeen would've beat the Golem. Man, I hardly know anything about Pokemon. What am I doing here?" Joe walked over to the edge of the field and sat on the grass, under the shade of a tall willowy tree. He figured he would sit and watch for a while. Ratso looked at him and twitched his whiskers, then went to explore the tall grass around the tree. After about an hour Joe had witnessed two more battles, but no one that he felt he could safely challenge.
"Let's go Ratso, we're not gonna find anyone here." As Ratso ran over to his side a short, round, and bald boy in overalls walked by and heard what he said to Ratso.
"Hey, are you lookin' to have a battle?", he asked.
Joe looked down and sighed. "Well, maybe..."
"Great!", said the kid. "Let's battle, you and me! My name's Avis. How about a 2 on 2?"
With a relieved look, Joe replied. "Sorry, I only have one Pokemon."
"That's fine, it'll be a 1 on 1."
Ratso ran over between Joe and Avis and yelled, "Ratta, ratta, ratta!"
Avis smiled and laughed. "See, even your Rattata wants to battle me."
Joe thought for what seemed like an hour. Should I? This guy looks real confident, he must be a great trainer. But I've gotten better...
"Alright, Avis," he yelled. "I accept your challenge!"
Avis laughed and patted his stomach. "This ain't some gym kid, you don't have to be all official."
Joe walked down the field and said "Let's go," with as much confidence as he could muster. As Joe and Avis made their way to the asphalt field, Avis whispered something into a chubby guy's ear.
"Hey, another battle!", yelled the chubby boy. "It's gonna be Avis and some new punk!" A chuckle was heard as everyone looked over at the new kid.
After another whisper the chubby kid announced, "A 1 on 1 battle between Avis and Joe!" He then asked Avis and Joe what Pokemon they would be using. "Avis will be using his Tyrogue, while Joe will start with a Rattata!"
Aw man, a Tyrogue! I'm so dead, thought Joe as he saw the Tyrogue pop out of it's Pokeball. It was smaller than he thought a Tyrogue would be, but it still looked much stronger than a simple Rattata.
"Joe, I'll let new guys go first!" yelled Avis as he stood there with his arms crossed. Joe thought for a moment and looked at the ground.
"Ratso... use your quick attack!" With that command Ratso became a blur as he charged with great speed in Tyrogue's direction. Avis just smiled.
"Tyrogue, counter his quick attack with your mach punch!" Tyrogue raised his fist and charged forward with speed equal to, or greater than, Ratso's quick attack. The power of the mach punch proved to be too strong as Ratso was hit and thrown back. Slightly dazed he shook it off and stood ready for Joe's next move. Just then someone came running over the hill.
"Hey, Joe!" It was Lina running at full speed. She nearly tripped over a chunk of asphalt as she came up behind Joe. "Joe, hey you're battling, cool!"
Avis shook his head at this interruption. "Honey, please don't interrupt us, okay? Us men is tryin' to have a battle here." Lina looked over to Avis and sighed.
"Why'd you pick this jerk to battle with?" Joe shrugged at her and turned his attention back to the battle. He had to figure out some way to beat this Tyrogue.
This sucks, I'm gonna lose my first battle... thought Joe to himself. Just then Lina ran over to his side.
Quietly she said "Joe, you have to wear down his Tyrogue! It's way stronger than Ratso, but Ratso has a speed advantage. Use that against him."
"But I already tried that with quick attack! He countered like it was nothing..."
"Hey, are we havin' a battle or what?" Avis was quite annoyed now. "Ya can't get help, buddy. If I were you I wouldn't even listen to..."
"Shut up!", yelled Lina. "Listen Joe, wear him down. Combine Ratso's speed with something that'll wear down his Tyrogue and you can make it!" Joe turned back to the battle and got an idea.
"Ratso, use your agility!" Ratso became a blur, but this time not directly at Tyrogue. It made it's way around Tyrogue and began to circle him.
"Tyrogue, try to mach punch it again!" Tyrogue swung wildly in all directions in an attempt to hit Ratso, but it was futile. Tyrogue eventually tired out and Joe yelled out another attack.
"Ratso, now try your tail whip!" With the speed boost it gained from using agility, Ratso was able to tail whip the Tyrogue until it was both weak and tired.
"No!", yelled Avis as his Tyrogue stood there worn out. In a desperate attempt to recover, Avis yelled out another attack.
"Quick, Tyrogue, try to get out of there with rapid spin!" Tyrogue backed up and started to spin, causing Ratso to go flying again. This time Ratso took a big hit but still managed to get up. Joe sighed as he saw it get up and thought of another attack to use.
"He may be spinning but he's still weak! Use your bite to latch onto him!" Ratso ran in and with all the strength it had it latched onto the spinning Tyrogue. Joe knew that this would eventually wear out one of the Pokemon, so he had to think of something to clinch the match.
"Tyrogue, grab that rat and use your mighty seismic toss!", said Avis.
No!, thought Joe. With this attack he'll finish the match! It was then that Joe remembered what he had learned about Rattata and Raticate. It was back when he was young, after he found Ratso. The fuzzy Rattata had apparently been foraging in the wrong part of the park because a pack of Raticate were attacking him. When Joe stumbled upon the fight he noticed that one of the Raticate had a glowing fang and was about to hit Ratso with some kind of attack. He managed to pull Ratso out of there before it used the attack, but later on he found out that the attack was an extremely strong attack called a hyperfang. It was his only hope!
"Ratso, use your hyperfang!" Letting go of Tyrogue, Ratso landed a few feet away and it's front fangs began to glow.
"Quick, use seismic toss before it uses the attack!", yelled a desperate Avis. Tyrogue ran over the old asphalt towards Ratso, but it was too late.
As Ratso charged towards the running Tyrogue, Joe happily yelled out the attack. "Yes, hyperfang!" With a tremendous crack the hyperfang hit it's mark, sending Tyrogue over to the opposite end of the field, nearly hitting it's own trainer. The chubby referee looked over at the stunned Pokemon and even more stunned trainer.
"Wow! Joe's Rattata used a hyperfang and Tyrogue can no longer battle. Joe is the winner!" Avis fell to his knees as a roar came up from the crowd. As Joe stood there a smile crept across his face and he began to say something, but was tackled by both Ratso and Lina at the same time.
"Oh my god! Joe you did it! Wow, I mean, just, what a great battle!" Quickly, as usual.
"Ratta, raaaaaaata!"
"Aw, well, the credit goes to Ratso. And you, Lina. You guys helped a guy out with some confidence. How’s about we go celebrate at the Pizzeria?" Joe brought out his wallet and grinned.
As he, Lina, and Ratso got up to leave, Avis came over. "You little punk! That... was a great battle. Ya won fair and square, and what a finish! I hope to see you around kid cuz next time I won't take it so easy on ya!" Avis recalled his Tyrogue into it's Pokeball and walked away.
"Yea, I can't wait," said Joe boldly. He turned back to his friends and they all made their way to the park entrance.
"Hey Lina, did you get any battles over by the pond?", asked Joe as they turned onto the sidewalk.
"Yea, I beat this one guy called Jake. Can you believe he tried to beat my Ivysaur with a Golem? What an idiot," she smirked.
Joe stroked his chin thoughtfully. "I don't know Lina, you should never underestimate someone's Pokemon based on it's type."
She looked at Joe and laughed. "Ha, so what, you're the Pokemon wise man now that you won a battle? You better shut up or I may challenge you next!"
"Uh huh. What do you think Ratso, can we beat her?", asked Joe to his furry purple companion. Ratso gave a resounding "Ratta!"
Joe smiled and crouched to pat Ratso on the head. "I agree.”
Lina pulled the metallic door handle and looked back at Joe. "Oh, both of you be quiet."
As they entered the pizza place Joe glanced over to the gym in the distance and smiled. He was finally on his way.