Battling Rivalry ~A Pokemon Love Story

::Thirteen::

You stared up at up at a sign, with shaky hands, holding a map of the kanto region, with a relieved and delighted look on your face. After 2 weeks of being lost, walking, and sleeping out in the woods, the four of you finally made it to Vermillion City. You were beaming with joy, as now you could finally earn your 6th badge, which was the thunder badge. And whoever you were up against, you had to be ready. You sighed out of exhaustion, and fell back, falling on your rear. It had been awhile since you sat down.

"I can finally relax!" Misty exclaimed, with a dreamy look in her eye.

"First thing i'm gonna do, is go to the gym!" Ash exclaimed. You looked up at Ash, and then down at his pikachu, who appeared exhausted and weak. Your pikachu showed the same.

"Hold on!" You exclaimed. He looked behind his shoulder down at you. You stood up from your sitting position, and almost got in his face.

"Pikachu's exhausted. It's in no condition to fight. As well as mine" You said, pointing down at the two yellow creatures.

"I think we should stop by the pokemon center first" Brock mentioned. After your visit to recharge your companions, it would be time to go up against the gym leader. You nodded.

"Guess you're right" Ash sighed.While your pokemon needed to rest, you did too. Traveling and sleeping out in the woods was part of the journey, but even you needed to freshen up, and recharge. Ash picked up his pikachu, as did you.

"Pikachu, you feelin hungry?"

As soon as his words left his mouth, a loud grumble emitted from Ash's stomach. You mentally facepalmed. Ash giggled, with a nervous expression on his face.

"Maybe we're all a little hungry"

Through leaving your current location, the four of you wandered around the city, hoping to track down the pokemon center. And while walking there, you couldn't help but wonder who the gym leader was. You did a lot of hopping around from gym to gym in no particular order, so you could take time to see places. You figured Gary was doing the same.

And just like before, the thought of Gary left a weight on your shoulders. But you tried to brush that all off, to focus.

Finally arriving at the center, both you and Ash placed your pokemon on the counter, awaiting Nurse Joy's aid so she could heal your pokemon. Her appearance was no surprise to you, this being the countless time being in a pokemon center. With tired eyes, and dirty clothing, you outstretched your joints, and gave an long sigh out of exhaustion.

"I'll take good care of your pokemon, and have them healed right away" She smiled, with that sweet tone in her voice. You peeked over the counter at your pikachu. You hoped she was ready for your battle as well.

"Please, hurry!"

The four of you spun around, seeing a child, younger than yourself, rushing beside a gurney with wounded and unconscious Rattat on it, with a nurse Chansey steering. They flew past you in a hurry, leaving the four of you dumbfounded.

"I wonder what happened" You said. You heard Joy 'hmph', standing up from her desk.

"Unbelievable! That's the 15th one this month!" She exclaimed. You looked behind your shoulder at her annoyed expression, and her hands on her hips.

"15th?!" You exclaimed. What on earth?

She led the four of you into the bedding area, where all injured pokemon were kept to rest until fully healed. The room felt eerie, and sad, seeing a bunch of trainers huddled around their pokemon as they were unconscious.

"This is horrible" Brock added.

"What happened here?" You asked.

"They all lost to the gym leader here, known as Lieutenant Serge"

Suddenly, battling the gym leader left a bad taste. You overlooked the worried kids in the hospital room. Did you really want to put your pokemon through that, just for some piece of metal?

"Lieutenant Serge?" Ash with worry. You could hear it prominently.

"He must be really good" You said, with slight worry in your tone. You tried to coax your worry, but it was seen through.

"Yeah, and from the looks of it, he seems tough to beat" Brock added.

"You can back out any time you want" Ash said with a cocky attitude. You turned to your snarky friend, who you were still having a bit of a feud with.

"Absolutely not. I earned all of my badges, unlike you, and I plan to earn this one too"

"I did too earn those!" He exclaimed. "And i'll earn this one too"

"Please. Misty and Brock only gave you those out of pity. And if you lose, imagine how that'll look on them"

"A badge is a badge! And i'm gonna earn this one too!"

You flipped your hair, 'hmph'ing and turning your cheek.

"You know, you're acting just like Gary!" He exclaimed. You tensed up, and turned back toward your friend, with a look of hurt across your face.

"What's that suppose to mean?!" You exclaimed.

"Excuse me!" A voice suddenly cut out your argument, You looked toward the source of the voice. Nurse Joy stood with a glare toward the both of you.

"That is quite enough!"

"She started it" Ash said, throwing you under the bus.

"Need I remind you both, this is a hospital" She growled, standing with her hands on her hips. You both glanced at each other with shock written over your faces, and then turned toward the irritated faces looking toward you from beside their hospital beds.

Fighting with Ash had made you blind to the people around you. You were never usually like this. You were always calm, and level headed, and kept a positive attitude. But what Ash had said struck your core. You tensed your muscles, curling your hands into balls. You crossed your arms over your chest.

"You know, they say if two people argue a lot, they really care for one another"

You both seemed a bit taken back. You gasped, having an embarrassed blush spread to your face. You turned your cheek the other way with a scowl.

"E-ew! Gross!" You scoffed. Your face softened, with a look of sorrow.

"Me? Care about her?"

You knew that was a straight up lie, coming from the both of you. All those times Ash poured his heart out to you, really did show how much he cared about you. But you knew through that, he was also a stubborn child. And, you had to admit, so were you.

Nurse Joy giggled at how childish the two of you were. A ding suddenly went off in the center, indicating your pokemon was finished recovering, and was all charged up.

With the tension between you and Ash still thick, you stomped out of the hospital room, and back into the lobby. Your three friends watched you walk away, and soon after, they followed after you. You turned on a corner and saw both pikachu's being cute to one another, and recovering their strength with food. Once she saw you, her ears twitched, and her face lit up.

"Hey! You guys feelings better?"

And with a nod, you smiled. But now that they were fully charged, was it right to put them in the same situation as those other pokemon?

Feeling as the atmosphere was a bit crowded, you turned to see your friends standing behind you. Ash on the other hand, walked past you, and toward his pokemon,

"I hope you're feeling better, because we've got a badge to win!" Ash exclaimed. In the midst of your conversation, another injured pokemon came rushing past you, which you figured came from the gym leader, Serge.

"Must've came from that gym" Misty added. With the new found information, Ash's pikachu began to panic. Your's however, just seemed a bit off put.

"Don't be a coward!" Ash said. Pikachu began to chat up a storm, basically saying 'don't you care if I end up like that' Ash looked behind his shoulder.

"Of course I care, pikachu"

Pikachu sighed.

"But you wont, because you'll win!"

You held a scowl on your face, but it softened when you looked over at your pokemon. You knelt down in front of her.

"I know you might be scared. So, I just wanted to ask if you really want to do this" You said. You both held a stare for a moment, and then it switched when she smiled, jumping onto your shoulder. You took that as a yes. You looked back at Ash, who was not having luck convincing his pikachu to battle, trying to drag his pokemon along with him.

"Well, i've got a badge to win" You said, turning on your heel with your pikachu in your arms.

"Wait, we'll come with you!" Ash exclaimed.

You stopped, looking over your shoulder, raising a brow "Why?" You asked.

Your friends seemed a bit confused, as to ask why.

"What do you mean 'why'?" Misty asked.

"It's just..I've never had people spectate me while i'm battling" You said, turning fully around.

"I hadn't traveled with anyone, until I met you guys. It was just me, besides my pokemon"

Your friends seemed to take in what you explained.

"So I never really thought about having people watch me, besides the pokemon league"

"Well, then that's about to change!" Ash exclaimed. You raised an eyebrow.

"Fine, I guess. Do what you want" You said, turning on your heel. You didn't mean to come so snobbish, but your badge was a bit of a priority.


Standing in front of the gym door, you felt a bit intimidated. You got an uneasy feeling, and you're sure Ash felt the same way. To be honest, he had more of the advantage, since you were battling first.

"So, this is the place" You spoke out loud.

"It's not too late to back out" Ash said.

"As if. I'm gonna win that badge, and you'll get to watch" What the heck were you even saying. This wasn't even you. You were acting way out of character, and overall, a terrible friend.

"Good. Because i'll get to watch you lose" He added.

"Are we ever gonna go in" Brock added. You looked back up at the tall doors. Waiting inside, must've been the gym leader. With a harsh gulp, you pushed the large doors open, and was met with a dark stadium, and gang of people sitting around. It made you feel a bit anxious now.

"State your name and business" A tall man asked, almost rather harshly. You exchanged glances with your friends.

"I-i've come to earn an thunder badge!" You exclaimed. You were sure your voice cracked a bit, under pressure.

One of them seemed to snicker. "Hey boss, we've got another victim"

Victim?!

A large built man suddenly rose up from a large chair. "Which one?"

You quirked a brow, but once he stood in the light, you all stared in shock. He was definitely toned, and had spiked blonde hair. He was twice your size!

"So, which one of you is my next opponent?" His voice was sound slightly australian, and held a big grin on his face.

"Wait, you're Serge?!" You exclaimed.

"Welcome!" He paused when suddenly enveloping you in a tight friendly hug. This guy was kind of exceeding boundaries.

"Huh, so you're my next opponent. You're a cutie, but don't think i'll go easy on you, kid"

"I'm not cute!" You exclaimed. Serge gave a chuckle.

"Quit picking on my friend!" Ash barked, which caught your attention. Serge moved his attention on Ash.

"And who's this baby?" He asked. Ash seemed irritated.

"I'm no baby! My names Ash! And i'll be your next opponent!"

"I call all loser's baby"

Serge looked down at your feet at your pikachu, who was on all four paws, staring up with a growl.

"Would'ya look at that. Cutie brought a cute baby pokemon. Isn't that adorable" Serge laughed along with his crew. You gritted your teeth as the tall gym leader continued to degrade you and your companion.

"And so what? Quit making fun of my pikachu!" You exclaimed. You started seeing sparks, as electricity sparked in your pokemons cheeks, getting angry. Serge laughed, pulling a pokeball out.

"Because this is why" His pokeball grew in size, pressing the button, and letting out a pokemon a size bigger than your pikachu. An orange, slightly tall, mouse pokemon, with cheeks similar to your pokemon, but was a different color, stood with an eerie grin. Raichu loomed right over pikachu, and you could see it was trying to be intimidating. It had a long black tail with a thunderbolt on the end. With Raichu being the evolved form of your pikachu, you were sure she felt intimidated. Pikachu growled up at her opponent.

"So, if you wanna back out now, then there's the door" Serge said, kneeling down beside his pokemon.

"I came all this way, and i'm not gonna quit!" You exclaimed.

"Hmph. What could a baby like that do? If you wanna be a real pokemon master, you gotta evolve your pokemon as soon as you get it" Serge said, patting his Raichu.

You knelt down beside your pokemon with a glare "There's way more to raising a pokemon than you may think. She's fine just the way she is"

"Pika!" She growled.

Serge's crew laughed. "Wrong, cutie. Electric pokemon are only usueful once they've learned all there is to know" He said, wagging his finger.

You growled, standing up and balling your hands into fists "I'm not gonna stand here and let you insult me or my pokemon! I came here to earn thunder badge!"

"Cutie's got a back bone. Alright kid. But don't get mad when I beat you"

The lights in the stadium suddenly flicked on, and a voice over the speaker came on

"Pokemon battle will now begin. Each trainer shall use one pokemon only. The gym leader, Serge, has chosen Raichu. And the challenger, (Y/N), has chosen pikachu. Let the battle begin!"

With both pokemo charging out in the field, you took the first move.

"Thundershock!" You exclaimed. Pikachu was enveloped in a white electricity, sending it toward Raichu. Pikachu's thundershock didn't even phase the evolved pokemon. You gasped. How?!

"Show em what real power looks like!" Serge exclaimed. Raichu suddenly set off a powerful wave of electricity, and suddenly rendering pikachu unconscious, falling to the ground. Shock was written all over your faces.

"This match is over!" Serge announced.

"Pikachu!" You cried.

"Call it back!" You heard Ash cry.

You stared down at you unconscious pokemon. "Pikachu, return!"

But in your attempt to retreat, pikachu stood back up, and looked at you wit determination. She still wanted to fiht, regardless of of how outmatched she was.

"You still want to fight?" You asked. She nodded. She turned away from you, and had a stare off with Raichu. Pikachu suddenly lunged at Raichu but in an attempt to fight, Raichu threw a thunder punch, and with another attack known as a mega kick, it sent her flying.

"Now, show us the grand finale!"

Raichu suddenly gave off a very powerful electric shock, rendering pikachu into submission, and falling unconscious.

"Pikachu!" You cried.

"It wont be getting up from that"

You pushed off your feet, and picked up your injured pokemon, cradling her in your arms. Serge was a heartless person, treating anothers pokemon so poorly. You held her tightly in your arms. You looked up from your unconscious pokemon and up at Serge, getting ready to talk his ear off.

"Come on, (Y/N), we gotta go" You heard Ash beckon. He was right. It was pointless to waste your breath on him.

"We'll be back!" You exclaimed. You ran off out of the gym and hurried toward the pokemon center in high hopes of recovery.