This is the journey of a man named Chris, who had dreams shared by many, yet lived experiences known by so few... There are many people in the world of Pokemon, who come in just as many varieties as these strange creatures. And you are about to discover, perhaps, one you may just consider the rarest of all...
Chapter 10 - Got Badge?!
The two soundly slept throughout the night, with Ralts finding herself held snugly in Chris's soft embrace, cuddling her like a small teddy bear causing the Pokemon to flush and smile from ear to ear, holding onto him as she snoozed away, feeling safe and secure in his arms. As they slept, their positions wound up a little... Awkward... As by the time the sun started to rise, Ralts was laying with her stomach over Chris's face as she drooled in his hair. While the sun started to slowly shine more and more into the room, its rays hit Chris in the face, causing his eyes to wince in response. He suddenly stretched and let out a long snore, making Ralts stomach vibrate and, in turn, causing her to suddenly snap out of her sleep and thrash all over his face, laughing loudly from being tickled by the vibration on her belly. Letting out a groan, Chris reached over his face and lifted Ralts in the air, opening his eyes slowly with a yawn. Looking at her with bags under his eyes, he told Ralts "...Morning..." in a groan-like tone, with the small Pokemon facing down at him with bags under her glazed eyes as well, letting out a dreary sound as well as if to say morning in response, her arms and legs dangling limply in the air.
He slowly sat up, setting Ralts on his lap so he could stretch his arms up high. Looking outside, it seemed like another great day to hit the road, with the sun shining and Pokemon out and about enjoying the morning air. Rubbing his eyes, he looked at Ralts and asked if she was ready to hit the road again, with the small Pokemon simply swaying where she sat, her head dropping repeatedly as she remained half asleep. With a chuckle, Chris was about to give his hair a morning scratch as he yawned, only to feel was wet and slimy. Letting out a groan as his body shuddered, he looked at his hand then at Ralts, seeing her face still covered in drool. Scowling with a twitching eyebrow, he asked Ralts why she had to drool all over him, and she faced up in response, suddenly jolting and quickly wiping off her face, smiling as if to put on an innocent act. Shaking his head, Chris lifted her off and went to the bathroom, washing his hair in the sink and returning with towel in hand. Drying his hair, he suddenly grinned at Ralts and tossed the wet towel on top of her, causing her to scream and flail underneath it. Chris laughed as she freaked out, suddenly tossing it off her small body and rubbing her hands all over it confused. With a smirk, Chris told Ralts it was the towel he just used to dry off his hair and get the remaining drool off, making her shout and jump away from it, shouting at him with a red face for having a dirty towel tossed over her.
He chuckled and rubbed Ralts on the head, telling her it was worth it as he turned to get clothes out of his rucksack. As he bent over to put his pants on, he suddenly heard a loud snap as an extremely painful stinging sensation ran through his body from his butt. His eyes went wide as he jumped, rubbing his rear and looking behind him. Ralts was laughing as she used her psychic to twirl the towel and punish him, repeatedly snapping it towards Chris to make him dance around trying to avoid it, struggling to pull up his pants. "This isn't the kind of training you're supposed to use to practice your senses!!" he shouted, ducking and jumping away from the towel. He finally got his pants on completely and jumped towards the bed, grabbing Ralts and causing her to shout as she laughed, the towel falling to the floor as her eyes streamed tears while trying to breathe. Chris growled and started tickling Ralts all over as revenge, making her flail around as she gasped desperately. Asking her if she learned her lesson about snapping people with towels, she nodded her head rapidly. Backing away, Chris nodded with a smirk as Ralts laid on her back, breathing heavily as she slowly stopped laughing.
Gathering his things together, he put his leftovers in several bags as Ralts walked up to him, pulling on his pants leg. With a nod, Chris lifted her up on his shoulders and headed out the door. Looking around, he thought it wasn't a bad place to stay his first night as a trainer in town, and once he reached the receptionist, he bowed to them and gave his thanks, Ralts bowing over on his shoulder as well, causing the receptionist and several employees to swoon in response, petting her as Chris backed away with a nervous laugh, asking they not spoil her more than she already had been by the town. They all laughed as he walked out, waving the two off as Ralts scowled with her arms crossed. "Oh come on now... You and I both know what happened last time we let people spoil you with affection. You don't want to develop an unfavorable personality would you?" he asked, smirking as he walked along the streets. Ralts puffed out her cheeks, then sighed with a slump as she sat on his shoulder, nodding in response. Taking out his map, Chris took a look at which direction he felt was best to take, pondering whether to make it a straight shot to the next town, or do a little sightseeing by taking the scenic routes. Unfortunately, just as when he was leaving the village, its never a good idea to walk around distracted, as he suddenly ran into something and bounced backwards, landing on his back with a thud as Ralts flew up in the air and landed on his stomach, causing him to grunt as he sat up rubbing his back.
"Well... That's no way to treat an old fellow like me!" he heard someone say as he looked up. It was the old man from before, standing in front of him with a laugh. Suddenly, Ralts started bopping Chris on the head, shouting at him with a red face in irritation. As he covered his head with a scowl, the old man laughed once again, saying Ralts was right to give him a lecture. Reaching down, he helped Chris stand back up and gather his things off the ground, with Ralts standing back on his shoulder with her arms crossed. The old man asked where he was heading to, and when Chris told him he was leaving town and moving on, the old man blinked with a confused expression. "You are a trainer, are you not? You intend to leave town without challenging its gym leader...?" he asked. Giving the old man a shrug, Chris told him he had yet to consider having an actual gym battle, still feeling as though he wasn't ready for it with only one Pokemon who was just starting her training as well. However, the old man merely told him that was nonsense. "You can't be a trainer and simply waltz around willy nilly! You have to have some ambition! A willingness to face a challenge, ready or not, at any time to truly test yourself! Its how you grow in this world!" he said, giving Chris a push in the direction opposite of which he was heading. Pointing out directions, he sent Chris on his way towards the towns gym instead, grinning slyly as he waved him off. With a slump, Chris went where he was told, groaning as he rubbed the back of his head, Ralts picking up on his mood and movements and doing the same as it stood on his shoulder.
Once he was out of sight, the old man chuckled and opened his eyes. "You can come out now you two..." he said, looking towards each side of him. A man and woman suddenly jumped out from behind nearby rooftops, landing at both sides of the old man with a bow. "So... Is what you said true about his progress...?" the old man asked. "Yes sir... He was able to win several battles against trainers within the town borders... Some of the trainers were recruiters from our own gym who seek out opponents for you, as you know..." the woman said, bowing her head. "Interesting... And what of the... Violent young man caught mistreating his Pokemon near our center?" the old man asked. "As we reported, Chris was returning to the inn when he discovered the scenario. We were going to take action ourselves until we saw him walking up. He stopped the trainer from abusing his Pokemon any further and aided it..." the man said, bowing his head. "...Using his Ralts to do so?" the old man asked with a serious expression. "No sir. As the trainer proceeded to kick his Pokemon, that Chris fellow stopped him using his own leg, smashing his shin against the trainers just before his foot came into contact with his Pokemon. After this, he had a word with the trainer before taking away his Pokemon to the center. He did use his Ralts to hold the trainer in place however until he returned with a pair of officers from our town... Beyond that, there was no use of his Ralts against the trainer..." the woman said as they faced the same direction as the old man and started walking together.
"Interesting... Very interesting... He has trained a blind Pokemon at an impressive rate... Stopped the abuse of a Pokemon by its trainer without using his own to do so... I find myself fancying that young fellow more and more... This will be an entertaining match!" the old man said, laughing as they walked along in the same direction Chris was sent.
He had already reached the gym however, and looked up at the giant carving of a Pangoro standing in front of the entrance. "Creepy... Its like deja vu..." he said, walking under the massive work of art and looking at the doors in front of him. As he tried to pull them open, he realized they were all locked, making him scratch his head confused. "Nobody home...? Maybe its invite only...?" he said, turning and looking around. "Too early maybe...?" he said, looking at Ralts who simply shrugged in response, hopping behind his head and patting on it like a drum once again to pass the time.
Soon, he suddenly heard the doors click, and two staff members opened them to allow him inside, bowing and welcoming him as he blinked at them and walked past. Looking around, he followed the two through the gym, who just so happen to be the same man and woman who met up with the old man just moments ago! As Chris examined the passages, he saw paintings of many trainers and their Pokemon, with several small statues lining the halls as well featuring them. "What's with all the pictures and statues...? Are they gym leaders or relatives...?" Chris asked the two. "Every painting within these halls feature the most extraordinary of trainers, deemed the most unique by our leader. Whenever a trainer comes here that particularly catches his eye, the leader orders a painting of them and the Pokemon they brought to challenge him with." the man said, pointing out various paintings. "Also, when one of these particular trainers advance into eventually becoming one of this regions Pokemon masters, he then orders a special statue of them. Whilst he has many paintings, he only has a select number of statues, because as you know, becoming a master is very difficult." the woman said, pointing out various statues. Nodding at them in response, Chris continued to examine all the works of art until they suddenly reached a huge pair of doors. Telling him they had arrived, the two slowly opened the doors and allowed him to enter.
Thanking them and walking past, his eyes widened as his jaw dropped, looking around at the open air arena before him. Looking up, the ceiling was pulled back to allow a clear view of the sky above, and around the arena were various small waterfalls, created by building the gym in the center of where the towns streams converged, each streaming into a river surrounding the arena. After waiting for a short while, and with no sign of the leader arriving anytime soon, he decided to go ahead and have a quick bite to eat with Ralts since they left the inn without taking the time to enjoy breakfast. Seeing a table near the entrance, he sat his belongings on top of it and took out a container of leftover stew, enjoying a few bites with Ralts as he listened to the sound of the water. It was weird... He always expected gym arenas to be intimidating, but here he couldn't help feeling relaxed. However, he started hearing another sound... An odd rumbling noise that was coming from behind him. Turning around, he suddenly saw a large Pangoro sitting with its legs crossed, lifting its hand to wave with a grunt as its stomach growled, causing it to sweat. Chris just stared at it and blinked for a moment before suddenly jumping away, his spoon going into his throat due to being in the middle of taking a bite of food. As he began choking, Pangoro stood up and gave him a casual swat on the back, making the spoon come out of his throat so Chris could gasp in fresh air.
It sat back down and grunted, simply looking at Chris again as he stood rubbing his throat with a sigh, relieved as Ralts rubbed his cheek, making worried noises. He rubbed her head and told her he was fine, standing straight and turning to Pangoro. Thanking him, he heard its stomach growl again and, with a nervous laugh, asked if it wanted some of his stew. It looked away embarrassed, then reached out its paw with a nod. Chris handed what was left in the container over and the hungry Pokemon lifted it up, gulping it down without pause until finishing the last drop and shooting its paw back out towards Chris, letting out a sigh and a loud grunt of thanks as he took back the empty container. "Wow... You really were hungry... I'm impressed! Been a while since somebody ate my cooking so excitedly!" he laughed, putting his things away as the Pangoro suddenly stood, walking to the other side of the arena and turning to face him. Confused, Chris stood on his side as well, blinking at the Pokemon now standing in the leaders spot. "So... Does this mean... YOU are the leader of this place? A... Pokemon?" he said, the Pangoro tilting its head in response, confused by his words just as much as Chris was confused by the scenario. But suddenly, he heard a loud laughter fill the arena, and the old man he ran into again earlier walked out from behind Pangoro.
"Lad you truly are an amusing one. You never cease to impress me and bring a smile to my face!" he said, laughing heartily as he gave his Pangoro a pat on the back. "Proper introductions are finally in order! My name is Guile, leader of the Saga City gym! And it is here you will fight to earn your Sagacity badge my boy!" and in response to this, Chris simply stood with a slump and raised his finger in confusion. "Uhh... Wha...? You said you were just out on a final travel... So you're actually the leader of the gym here...?" and the more he talked, the more Chris scratched his head in confusion. Guile sweat a little, laughing nervously. "So sorry dear boy... I often travel around the local areas to find trainers that would make for interesting opponents here in my gym. If I let every traveler know I was a gym leader, there would be trouble eventually. An old man like me has to be able to enjoy his time in the great outdoors! Being swamped by endless trainers out there would be too much of a hassle for a man my age. And this big lug here isn't exactly a spring chicken either!" he said with a laugh, nudging Pangoro who grunted in irritation in response at being called out as old with its arms crossed.
Apologizing to it, Guile faced Chris and smirked. "This is going to be a very interesting match indeed... It will be a first for me in many ways, so I hope you will continue to impress me as you have thus far! I thank you for giving ol' Pangoro a bite to eat before our match, but don't think that will gain you any favors from us, we won't be holding back in any way. I wouldn't allow it!" he said, tapping his cane on the floor. Suddenly, the ceiling above began to close, with stage lights flashing on as the light from outside disappeared. "Now then, lets get started shall we? I'll allow you a moment to prepare yourself and little Ralts there, but know to stay sharp! I'll be sending Pangoro towards you at full force at any moment!" and as he finished speaking, Pangoro took a running stance, unsheathing its claws with a grin.
Chris laughed nervously, gulping as he set Ralts down in front of him and prepared it to fight, reassuring her things would turn out alright, win or lose. With a nod, she turned around and put up her small fists, causing Pangoro's eyes to shoot open wide as he blushed, grinning and pointing towards her as he looked back at Guile in a... "ain't dat' cute?!" sort of way, but Guile knocked Pangoro on the head with his staff and cleared his throat, telling Pangoro to stay focused. It rubbed its head with a grumble and nodded, and with a loud order from Guile, suddenly charged forward, crushing the ground behind it with every step. Ralts started to panic, feeling the ground trembling beneath her feet as she flailed her arms, but Chris told her to focus. The mighty Pangoro got closer and closer to Ralts, readying a powerful slash as its claws cut through the air. Closer... Closer... Closer the beast came until... Suddenly... "PSYCHIC!!!" Chris shouted, with Ralts suddenly shooting its arms out in front of it, halting Pangoro as its claw reached within an inch from her face. Growling, it struggled to pull its paw out of Ralts control, until suddenly Guile ordered it to use the other claw. Pangoro sent its claw flying, smacking it against Ralts and sending her flying over the arena as a result, smashing back down onto the floor.
Shouting towards her and asking if she was alright, Chris started to move until Pangoro put its arm in front of him, pointing where he stood as if to tell him to "stay put" as it charged towards Ralts. The small Pokemon weakly raised up, wobbling and rubbing her face. She started to panic once again, flailing her arms around terrified and calling out for help. Chris grit his teeth, trying to think of something before it was hurt again. Guile kept an eye on him, showing a serious expression as he ordered Pangoro to use a full force body slam on Ralts. This caused his Pokemon to glance towards him in shock for a brief moment, but quickly shook its head and launched his body forward even faster. Chris clutched his head, trying to think of something until... Suddenly...
He looked up towards the stage lights, shielding his eyes with his hand and suddenly thinking about his battles with Ralts. Looking back, Pangoro was a mere few feet away from coming into contact with her. He quickly shouted out, giving her the order to use Signal Beam and dodge combined. Facing where she heard Pangoro coming from, Ralts quickly jumped as far as she could to the side, sending a harsh Signal Beam right into Pangoro's face, blinding it briefly as its body slam missed, causing the Pokemon to run off the side of the arena, smashing into the wall and splashing into the river. Ralts stood back up with a wobble, flailing its arms around nervously. "Don't worry Ralts! You did fine, he missed!"
They both let out a sigh together, and she started trotting quickly back towards Chris. However, Guile smirked as his Pangoro launched high into the air from the water. "Now Pangoro! Use comet punch!" he ordered. Ralts jolted and looked around as Pangoro let out a loud growl from above, lunging its body downwards while thrusting its fist. Chris ordered Ralts to use her Magic Leaf along with her Fire Punch at the same time, and with a nod she formed a large ball of fire which engulfed the leaf attack, turning it into that of a makeshift flamethrower! The inferno blasted Pangoro as it fell into the fire headfirst, covering its face with a loud growl while Ralts ran off towards Chris. It slammed into the ground, rubbing the ashes off its face and patting away the fires covering its fur, leaving its body scorched and covered in soot. Looking over its burnt fur, Pangoro became enraged and let out a loud roar, charging towards Ralts yet again. With a nod, Guile snapped his fingers, with his Pokemon grinning in response. As Chris tried to order Ralts to use Psychic again, Pangoro was too quick and grabbed her. Spinning around, it pulled its arm back further and further until suddenly hurling Ralts into the air as high as it could. Chris yelled out to her as she went higher and higher, and as Guile held up his hand to snap his fingers again, Pangoro reached up his claw, ready to catch her.
"Afraid you're too slow lad! Once Pangoro catches Ralts, he will send it into the ground and end the fight! It was a nice match though, gotta say I expected more out of it nonetheless!" and he laughed, smirking as the two waited for Ralts to come back down. However, after a moment, Pangoro started sweating all over, its eyes growing wider and wider as it started shaking. Guile tilted his head confused, looking up as well, and suddenly noticed the Ralts had gone right through the ceiling via an open window. Chris's jaw nearly dropped to the floor. "THAT'S how you treat peoples Pokemon in a fight?!! You throw them into the abyss when you're finished with them?!!" he shouted, running towards his rucksack as Guile ordered the ceiling open. He ran up to Pangoro and tried to help the Pokemon find wherever the Ralts flew off to, as Chris suddenly pulled out his pair of binoculars, looking around in the sky. After a moment, he finally found her just as she started to plummet back towards the gym. Trying to think of a way to help her, he suddenly thought of a plan to not only stop Ralts from getting hurt, but to also catch the two off guard and... Maybe... Come out a winner in the process...
Running back to his place on the arena, Chris suddenly shouted as loudly as he could into the sky. This caused Guile and his Pangoro both to jump in surprise, blinking at him confused. Chris told Ralts to summon the largest ball of nature it could using Magic Leaf, and to use its Icy Wind at the same time. The two continued looking at Chris, then back up towards the sky bewildered, then at him again, wondering why in the world he was thinking just standing around giving orders to the great beyond. Guile suddenly ordered his two servants to come forward and head out to find the Ralts as quickly as they could, also giving Pangoro the order to help in the search, but as the two started leaving with Pangoro, and as Guile was walking up to Chris worried the accident may have done something to his mind, he saw a grin on Chris's face as he pulled the binoculars away from his eyes. "This battle isn't over yet... You better get back in place with Pangoro before you lose for breaking the rules!"
Blinking at Chris wide eyed, he tried to tell him the match was over as his Ralts was now missing, but shaking his head Chris turned Guile around and put the binoculars over his eyes. "SWEET MOTHER!!!!!" Guile shouted, suddenly running across the arena and demanding Pangoro return to its place on the field. With his servants and his Pokemon equally bewildered now, Pangoro walked up as it sweat all over, trying to question Guile with grunts while pointing towards the exit. "Just get in place and use Bulk Up immediately!!!" he ordered, causing Pangoro to suddenly jolt and solute him nervously. Facing Chris, it started growling as it flexed, pressing its paws firmly together in front of it as it focused.
In the sky, Ralts was on her way back down, faster and faster as she stood atop a massive chunk of ice, likely the size of half the arena!! As it rocketed down, the ice formed a trail of shimmering powder behind it, making it look like that of a dazzling comet while making its way towards the arena below. Throughout the town, citizens started taking notice one by one, pointing towards the sky as some of the ice fell like snow over them. Once it got close enough, Pangoro was able to suddenly sense the massive chunk of ice plummeting down, and as it looked up, the poor Pokemon's eyes suddenly shot open wide as its legs trembled. His expression had "this is gunna' hurt..." written all over it as he resumed using his Bulk Up ability to prepare. Chris was cheering for Ralts, jumping around all over the place as he laughed, while atop the mass of ice, Ralts was dancing around and laughing as well, the powdery, snow like trail coming from the mass tickling it all over. Right as it reached the arena, Chris told her to jump, and in response she leapt off the mass and landed in his arms, the impact causing Chris to fall backwards as he laughed.
Suddenly, Guile shouted "GIGA IMPACT" and his Pangoro shot its fist in the air with everything it had, sending Guile, his servants, along with Chris and Ralts into the river surrounding the arena. It was Pangoro's final attack against the comet like mass of ice, and as its surface started cracking all over, Pangoro grinned. However, the mass of ice slowly sent the Pokemon's body more and more into the arena floor until, suddenly, the comet erupted into pieces and collapsed down all over it. As everyone climbed back onto the arena, they looked at the mountain of ice now now covering it, leaving Guile with his jaw dropped as his servants simply said... "Unbelievable..." in unison.
Ralts was choking in Chris's arms from the water, and as he rubbed her back asking if she was alright, he walked up to the ice and set Ralts down, asking her to use her Psychic to help him get Pangoro out. As they started digging away, Guile and his servants walked up to join them when the arena started rumbling like an earthquake. They all fell backwards as Pangoro erupted from the top of the ice, like that of a volcano with a loud roar. Trembling all over, it looked down at Chris and Ralts before suddenly falling backwards, rolling down the pile of ice until flopping onto the arena floor out cold. Rubbing the back of his head, unsure of how to react to how the battle ended... Guile simply said...
"Well... Ya beat me... That's for sure!" and he walked up to Chris, shaking his hand and poking Pangoro with his staff. "Never had a defeat like this in all my years though... Nonetheless, even though it worked out in your favor, I'm sorry for what happened to Ralts, that wasn't our intention whatsoever. We would never purposely put any Pokemon in danger like that, rival or not... So I hope you can forgive us for that incident."
Waving his hands nervously, Chris told him it was alright. Guile thought over the final attack and chuckled. "It was thanks to the abundance of nature here that Ralts was able to summon enough material to create such a mass, combined with its high altitude that allowed it to summon a temperature frigid enough to create something so large and heavy...This was a very impressive move on your part lad..." he told Chris as his servants brought up a small box. "In here, you'll find the Sagacity badge already placed within for you. Please accept it as your prize for winning, and as an apology from the two of us."
Guile bowed as did his servants, and Chris blinked at them with a nod in response, telling them not to worry about it. Opening the case, he saw his badge gleaming, black and white in the shape of a Pangoro's head, reminding him oddly of a yin yang symbol. With a smile, he took it out and held it up into the light. "Can't believe we actually did it... Wanna feel Ralts?" he asked, squatting down and holding it out. "You beat that huge Pangoro and won the very first gym battle of my life for me... Earned my first ever badge for me too! You really are incredible, you know that...? Chris told the Pokemon, rubbing her head"
Ralts rubbed the badge as she flushed bright red, facing up towards Chris with a smile. However, she suddenly jolted as her horn glowed brightly. Guile blinked in surprise as he watched, with Pangoro finally waking up behind him and raising up with a groan, rubbing its head as it too looked at Ralts. Suddenly, the small Pokemon began glowing all over, causing Chris to jump back in shock. "You okay? Did I summon an attack by accident?!" he asked, holding up his arms nervously. However, Guile smirked and walked up next to him, placing his hand on Chris's shoulder.
"My boy, this Pokemon is one that surpasses many, if not, possibly all others when it comes to its bond with whomever becomes its human companion. Its emotions are one and the same as its companion, like that of a mirror if you will. The stronger your emotions, and the more positive, the more it will grow, just as it does when fighting. Having been able to experience this with you and sensing your emotions... Added with the way the two of you met... I do believe your Ralts is already evolving!"
As they all surrounded Ralts, the small Pokemon clutched the badge tightly, smiling from ear to ear as she started... Changing... "Wow... I can't believe she's already evolving... I don't feel like I've done anything to make it happen really... But its still amazing nonetheless." Chris said, crossing his arms with a chuckle. "Many things determine how quickly or slowly a Pokemon evolves my boy. Strength and skill are only part of the factor, its the heart that matters just as much, if not more-so than all else... A great bond is as key as anything else when it comes to living your life alongside these amazing beings... What's happening now tells a lot about you, as a trainer, and as a person..."
Guile smiled at Chris, giving him a thumbs up as they watched his very first Pokemon evolve...
A young man named Chris, now 23, who discovered he carries a curse placed on him by a Ninetails his grandfather saved long ago by grabbing its tail as it fell from a cliff, is to forever put others first before doing what he wishes in life, and has now finally set off on his own Pokemon journey, a little later in life than most, after dedicating his youth to care for his grandfather and the other elders in his village, part of the fate the Ninetails told his grandfather would befall Chris after his birth when the curse was placed.
Now that his grandfather has passed away and the elders have sent him on his way to live life as he should, his curse now strings him along as he walks the path of a Pokemon trainer, doing what he always dreamed while also, unknowingly, conveniently fulfilling his part of the Ninetails curse...
