Pokemon SilkWhite: Journey through Johu

Chapter 8: Route 4 - Razor Revenge

Charlie had been pestering them to leave Penrith for a few hours now, and Brandon and Kyle had finally given in. It was early in the afternoon, but she wanted to get to the hotel in Skoro Town as early as possible. There were a few trainer battles, nothing tough, but they made their way to Mount. Pina, where they only got a few steps in before being ambushed by a trainer.

"This is our area. Leave, now, or you won't like the consequences," the grunt grumbled. Two other grunts ran up behind him, pulling out Pokeballs.

"Yeah, I'm gonna have to pass," Brandon replied. "we're getting through here. You can move, or you won't like the consequences."

"Hmph. Three on three. Seems fair. Zubat, take these losers out." The other two grunts sent out their Pokemon, a Geodude and a Poochyena.

The trio responded with Marill, Trapinch and Mareep, and a well timed Thundershock from Mareep was enough to take out Zubat, before Geodude shot mud into Mareep's eyes and put it out of commission.

"Alright, Marill, Water Gun on Geodude!" Marill shot a beam of water at Geodude, knocking it to the ground, and making the battle 2-1. Poochyena charged at Trapinch, but was unable to do anything significant. 

"Trapinch, Dig!" Charlie shouted. After a few seconds, Trapinch came up from underground and made contact with Poochyena, not quite enough for a knockout, but giving them the upper hand in the battle. At the last second, a Beedrill swooped through the cave, grabbing the Pokeball that held Kyle's Diglett.

"What the hell?" Brandon shouted. "Marill, Water Gun it out of the air!" But the Beedrill had already left. 

"Shit," Brandon muttered. "Sorry, Kyle.." he turned to Kyle, whose eyes were blazing with anger.

"We're finding that Beedrill!" He shouted as the grunts walked off into the distance. "It went towards the cave exit. Let's go."

Charlie nodded. "If we find Sofie in here, she has some serious explaining to do." Sure enough, after a few minutes of walking in relative darkness, they spotted Sofie and her Totodile up ahead.

"You don't steal Pokemon, do you?" Kyle snapped. "Then what the hell did your grunts do to my Diglett?" He wasn't particularly intimidating, but his tone surprised them all.

"I.. don't know? I didn't do anything. I told you, I never have to do the dirty work. Nor do I want to. Anyway, what are you three doing here? These grunts are useless. Can you please leave? I don't care which way you go. Just get out. Now. Please," Sofie groaned.

"Help us find Beedrill, please," Kyle asked. "I get it. You don't like us. But you said you disagree with stealing Pokemon. We'll let you do whatever the hell you want in here if you help. Please."

"No," she replied after waiting a few seconds. "Find it yourself. I've got better things to do. Sorry."

Kyle frowned. "Whatever. Get out of the way," he replied, walking out of the cave.

"What an asshole," Brandon replied. "We'll find it, don't worry." 

"Okay.."

They walked down the path, carefully avoiding all the trainers. Brandon tried to make small talk, but it was obvious that the usually enjoyable atmosphere was very tense. After a half-hour of walking, they saw Marla at the end of the path. 

"Hey!" Brandon called out. "What's up?"

Marla smiled softly, walking towards them. "Skoro Town is a lot calmer than Penrith. I needed a break. The Gym Leader here is a good guy. He lets me stay here when I need a break from the hectic battles at my Gym. You guys look worried," she replied, scratching the back of her head. "What's wrong?"

"Some moron stole Kyle's Diglett," Charlie spoke up. "Anyway, I'm not particularly interested in this conversation, so I'm heading to the hotel. Bye." Kyle followed her.

"Yeah, see you later," Brandon told Marla, following the two.

In the hotel an hour later.

Charlie was sprawled out across a bed on her phone as Kyle and Brandon compared their Pokedex information. The atmosphere was a little calmer, but not much.

"Shouldn't the Gym Leader be.. at the Gym?" Kyle suddenly spoke. "She wanted a break, but you would think the Gym would need to stay open."

"Who cares, dude?" Charlie replied. "Gym Leaders are people too. I'm sure somebody replaced her for a while."

"Yeah, I guess," Kyle replied. "I'm going to the Gym. I hate this place." He walked out.

At the gym

Kyle walked in with his Mareep's Pokeball in his hand.

"Hello!" The Gym Leader called out. "I'm Gustavo. You're here for a battle?" Kyle nodded.

"Can we make it quick, please? I don't expect to win, but my Mareep is itching for a good battle."

"I don't know about quick, but a good battle I can most certainly do. My prized bird Pokemon helped me become the best this town has to offer. Ready?" Kyle nodded. "Let's go!"

Mareep was tossed out of Kyle's Pokeball, and Gustavo sent out a Pidgey.

"Mareep, use Thundershock!" He shouted. Pidgey was struck by the bolt of electricity and fell quickly to the gym floor.

"Quite impressive. You're a strong trainer. Very well, then. Tropius, let's turn this battle around!"

Mareep was unable to deal significant amounts of damage to Tropius, and was struck with a strong Razor Leaf.

"Come on, Mareep. We can do this!" Mareep was surrounded by a glow of light. "Yes! An evolution!" Mareep was no longer a Mareep, but a much stronger Pokemon.

"Flaaffy, use Thundershock!" This time, Tropius took much more damage, but it was not quite enough. Flaaffy went down to another Razor Leaf.

"This doesn't look good. But I guess I have to use it. Squirtle, come on out! Use Bite!" It just barely dodged a Razor Leaf, and Tropius fell down. "Yeah! Nice!"

Gustavo grinned. "You're a tough trainer for sure. Congratulations, here's the Gust Badge. My birds had nothing on you." Kyle smiled, but it was hard to take the win without thinking of Diglett. He took the badge, and walked out quickly.