Beryl Dreams: Part 12

Part 12: Tidal Rise

I was standing above my last battle in the Dewford Gym.  We had given Steven his letter and escorted him back to town, where he gave us a TM as thanks.  After that, we healed and headed over to the Gym, where we had been battling for the past hour or so.

"Use Gust, Heather!"  I said, watching my beautiful butterfly blow away the Machop in front of her.  The girl recalled the small, human-like fighter.

"Heather, take a little break."  I said, recalling her.  "Go, Daniel!"

"Come on out, Meditite!"  She said, sending out the small meditating Pokemon.

"Daniel, Ember!"  I said.  He breathed small flames at the short Pokemon and knocked it out.

"Great work!"  I said.

Daniel turned back to me and smiled.  Then, he started to glow a hot white.  He grew at least a whole foot taller, grew long arms and a beak and even longer claws.

I smiled.  "Looking good."  I said.  Daniel looked down at his new evolved form.

"Thanks."  he said.  His voice was deeper, like a kid going through puberty.

"How does it feel?"  I asked.

Daniel stared at his newly formed arms.  "Really weird."  he muttered, fixated on them.

I smirked.  "Come on, let's go."

Our team walked into the arena.  Like in Rustboro, it was a large room rimmed by seats with a rocky battlefield covered in stalagmites.  Unlike Rustboro's gym, though, the field was ringed by a quickly running river, and the seats were filled with jocks and martial artists.

The daimyo, Brawly, was sitting on a rough-hewn rocky throne, looking down on me with contempt.  He wore an orange kimono, blue and white waves flowing on the bottom of it.

He stepped down off the throne and onto a small platform in front of it.  The crowd exploded into bellows and chanting.  After about five minutes, I was annoyed and ready to fight.

Brawly lowered his arms and everyone quieted down.  Then he looked up at me and smirked.

"Welcome to the Dewford Gym."  he boomed.  "I am Brawly, and I will be your opponent.  Defeat me and you win.  Are you ready?"

"I was ready before I even got here."  I huffed.

Brawly laughed and threw his kimono open.  He was shirtless, with a pair of navy blue hakama held up by a belt that also held his Poke Balls.  He grabbed one and sent out the Pokemon inside.

A Machop popped out onto the battlefield and flexed his muscles.  The crowd went insane once more.

"Heather, let's do this!"  I said, sending out my Beautifly.

The crowd erupted into laughter at the sight of her.  Heather looked down and blushed.  I gritted my teeth as I felt my blood boiling.

"Heather, Gust that runt out of here."  I snarled.  Heather looked back at me, questioning.  The audience was still guffawing.

"I said, Gust!"  I yelled.  Heather turned back to the Machop and beat its wings at it.  The wind whipped Brawly and mine's jackets and knocked the Machop to the floor.

The crowd went silent.

Brawly looked at me and smiled.  "Machop, use Seismic Toss."

"Use Gust again!"

Heather beat up another gale while the Machop struggled to get close to her.  Eventually, the wind lifted him off his feet and he landed, fainted, at Brawly's feet.

"Alright, then."  Brawly sneered.  "Makuhita, go!"

"Daniel, show them what you're worth!"  I said as I returned Heather and sent him out.

He stood, staring down the small bag-ish Pokemon, and shook his legs, emitting small sparks.  Makuhita punched his open hand and stepped into a fighting stance.

"Daniel, Peck!"

"Makuhita, dodge."

Daniel shot forward, beak first and jabbed at the Makuhita.  It jumped out of the way and Daniel went in for another jab.  The Makuhita continued to slide out of the way.  The two of them danced two full circles around the ring.  The crowd was starting the snicker again.

I screamed.  "Daniel, use Peck!"

"Knock Off."

Makuhita jumped above Daniel's attack and slammed its fist into his beak.  Daniel fell with his beak sandwiched between Makuhita's fist and the ground.

Crack!

I couldn't breathe.  My vision blurred with tears, and I felt a pain in my side.  My hand found its way to Daniel's ball and clicked the button.  Daniel disappeared into red light and was replaced by Heather, which I guess my other hand found.

I briefly felt the wind that blew Makuhita away and the thud that followed as it landed in the center of the battlefield.  I ran as soon as the buzzer signaling my victory rang, ran through the maze of the gym and into the bright sandy beaches to the center.



"Wake up."  I heard someone say in the recesses of my mind.  I woke up slowly to see Brawly standing over me, wearing an orange t-shirt and shorts.

I glared at him.  "Why are you here?"

"You forgot this."  he said, handing me the Knuckle Badge.  I took it reluctantly from him and placed it in my pocket.

I stood up, stretching out the kinks I'd attained from dozing in a chair.  Brawly grabbed my shoulders and pulled me in close.

"You need to get your emotions in check if you want to go further."  he whispered.  "My goal is to try and get you riled up and off focus.  Your Combusken is going to be fine, but I guarantee if you try that with another leader, they will die."

He pulled away from me and smiled, regaining a public facade.  He bowed to me and I bowed back.  Then, he left me to my worrying.



"Sir?"  The nurse said, waking me.  "Your Pokemon are healed now, sir."

I sprang up and ran down the hall, past nurses and Chanseys imported from Kanto, and over to the operating room.

Two lines of beds sat along the walls, filled with various sick or injured Pokemon.  I walked slowly over to the second bed down on the right and knelt down next to it.

Daniel was doing a lot better than before.  He was sitting up, awake and breathing.  He looked at me with no small amount of hurt in his eyes.  His beak was wrapped in white gauze bandages.

"Daniel,"  I started, my eyes blurring from tears.  I threw my head onto his lap and flung my arms around his neck.

"I'm sorry."  I sobbed into him.  "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Daniel wrapped his small, new-ish arms around me and rubbed my back.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"It's okay."  Daniel whispered through the bandages.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

I stayed like that for a long time before I finally thought Daniel was being serious.

Pokémon: 7       Badges: 1         Deaths: 2            Current Location: Dewford Town

Beryl Dreams: Part 9

AN: Holy crap, how did I never post this one?  This is like really important.  Whoops.

Part 9: Stone Cold

"Great work, Tiffany!"  I said as the last Geodude fell to the ground, unconscious.  The young Trainer recalled the small rocky creature and handed over a small stack of cash.

"Congratulations." he said.  "Now you're ready to fight Daimyo Roxanne."

"Great, where is she?"

"Right this way."

A secret door behind him opened.  We walked through the small corridor to a dark room.

Suddenly, the lights all went on.  In front of me, was a giant battlefield littered with jagged boulders.  A lot of Hikers and Trainers with rock-types were in the stands, cheering Roxanne's name.

On the other side of the battlefield, Roxanne stood on a raised platform.  Her brown hair was tied back into with a pink ribbon and she wore a long, blue and pink kimono.

"Welcome, challenger, to the Rustboro Gym!"  she said.  "I am Daimyo Roxanne.  Here, we are one with the Pokemon of the mountains, the Rock-type."

"It is an honor to challenge you, Daimyo."  I said, bowing to her.  "But we will not lose."

"Well, let's see about that."

I walked up to my platform.  The referee walked onto the field and started the match.

"In the red corner, the Daimyo of Rustboro, the queen of the Rock-type, the master of the mountains, Roxanne!"

The crowd screamed for her.

"And in this corner, from Littleroot Town, the newcomer to the Trainer scene, please welcome, Challenger Matt!"

Everyone applauded and some even called my name, wishing me good luck.  I waved to them and smiled, blushing a little.

"Begin!"

"Go, Geo!"

"Tiffany, let's go!"

The two combatants stared each other down.  The crowd roared in anticipation of the coming fight.

"Tiffany, Water Gun!"

Tiffany spat water at the small rock, knocking it out.

"Geode, your turn!"  Roxanne said as she sent out her second Pokemon.  Tiffany Water Gun'd it down before it could attack again.

"You're doing well, but how will you handle this?  Go Nozu!"  she said, sending out a small rocky nose Pokemon.

"Alright, you know what to do, Tiffany."

"Right!"  she said, before Water Gunning the Nosepass.

Sadly, it was still standing after the drench, though it was a little unsteady.  It then jumped into the air before slamming down again, launching rocks into the air.  They crashed into Tiffany and pinned her wings.

"Tiffany!"  I screamed.

"I'm okay!"  she called back before launching another Water Gun.  The rocks fell away from her as the Nosepass was pushed back.  Tiffany flew around, trying to avoid attacks and shoot another Water Gun.  Once the Nosepass got its footing, it shot another Rock Tomb and pinned her to the ground.

"Tiffany, Water Gun!  You almost have him!"

"Nozu, Rock Throw!"

Somehow, the Nosepass moved first.  Rocks erupted from the ground as the Pokemon glowed a dull tan.  They hovered over Tiffany, her eyes filled with fear.

I watched helpless as the rocks fell and crushed her.

"Tiffany!"  I screamed.  My vision grew blurry as tears filled my eyes.

"Oh, Arceus."  Roxanne said.  "You have Nuzlocke, don't you?"

I nodded wordlessly, fumbling for the right ball.

"We don't have to end this."  Roxanne tried.

"No."  I said.  "We have to.  Heather, use Absorb!"

Heather flew out into the field and Absorbed the last remaining energy from Nozu.  It fell to the ground, knocked out cold.

The crowd cheered for my Pyrrhic victory.  I ran out onto the field and began frantically scraping the rocks to find Tiffany.

I cringed when I saw her.  Her wings looked broken, her body slightly flattened.  A trail of blood flowed from her beak.

"No."  I whispered.

"Matt?"  she weakly asked.

"I'm right here."  I said, trying to hold back sobs.

"Did we win?"

I smiled through the pain.  "Yeah. We did."

"Did I do good?"

I sniffed.  "You did better than I ever would have imagined."

Tiffany started breathing heavily.  "Can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"Can you sing to me?"

I blinked back tears and held her mangled body to my chest.

Just close your eyes,

The sun is going down.

You'll be alright,

No one can hurt you now.

Come morning light,

You and I'll be safe and sound.

R.I.P. Tiffany
Lv. 4- Lv. 13

Pokémon: 5 Badges: 1 Deaths: 1 Current Location: Rustboro City

Eulogy:  We have our first death.  This does not bode well for us.  Poor Tiffany.  Managed to take on the entire Gym up to that goddamn Nosepass.  I thought she could still outspeed him after two Rock Tombs, but apparently not.  R.I.P. Tiffany.

Beryl Dreams: Part 11

Part 11: Grotto Nuevo

I stood on the deck of Mr. Briney's ship and stared out over the ocean.  The sun turned the ocean and sky a blazing amber as it sunk lower in the sky.  I sighed, then walked back down into my room.

John jumped onto me as soon as I flopped onto the bed and curled up into a ball on my chest.  Tyler laid down next to him and Heather perched herself on my headboard.

"Is something going on guys?"  I asked.

"We're just tired."  Daniel said as he jumped onto the bed, followed by Brandon and Bryan.

I smiled as we all drifted asleep, rocked by the gentle waves.

"Thanks for the ride, Mr. Briney!" I said as the team and I walked onto the golden sands of Dewford Island.

The town was much smaller, almost as small as Littleroot.  There was a Pokemon Center, a couple houses and, of course, the Gym.  But that wasn't why we'd come.

"Come on, guys.  Let's go deliver this letter."  I said.  We walked north along the beach, taking in the salty air and the sunshine.

"Hey, kid!"  a man called to me.  I looked and saw a fisherman sitting on the beach a little ways away.

"Battle?"  I asked.

"You know it."  he said, standing up.  "Go, Haepari!"

He set out a small blue and red jellyfish, which floated slightly in the air.

"Come on, let's go Brandon!"  I said as the little bug Pokemon jumped in front of me.

"Poison Sting!"

"Cut!"

Brandon jumped forward to slice up the jellyfish, but it shot out a long, purple-glowing tentacle, which hit Brandon square in the chest.  Brandon cut the Tentacool and jumped back, looking queasy.

"Brandon, come back!  Bryan, use Pound!"

Bryan shot forward from behind me, jumped over Brandon and knocked out the Tentacool with one ear strike.

"Dang, you're good."  the fisherman said, recalling his jellyfish.

"Thanks."  I said, scooping up Brandon from the sand and rushing back to the Center.

As soon as we were healed, we walked back to the beach and into Granite Cave.  It felt big and empty, yet still teeming with unseen life.

We walked further and further into the darkness, descending and descending into the inky depths.

Suddenly, I heard another set of footprints approach.  I turned around and stared into the black.

A small, bipedal yellow Pokemon stepped up to me.  He punched his fists together and stared us down.

"Human.  What are you doing here?"  it said.

"I'm just trying to deliver a letter to someone."  I said, waving it at him.

"If you wish to pass, you must defeat me."  he said, stepping back into a fighting stance.

I looked down and saw Brandon walking towards the Makuhita.

"You sure about this, Brandon?"  I asked.

"Yes."  he said, staring down his opponent.

The two Pokemon stared each other down for another moment.  Then, Brandon leaped forward, claws outstretched.  The Makuhita grabbed him and threw him to the ground.  Brandon jumped up again scratched him twice before he was thrown down again.

"You okay?"  Bryan called from right behind me.  I could feel Daniel steaming from a little bit behind me.

As the Makuhita came closer to him, Brandon spun, cutting the Makuhita across the front.

"I'm fine."  Brandon said.

The Makuhita got to his feet.  "You have truly bested me, sir." he said.  "I ask you to finish this fight."

I knelt down next to Brandon and looked at him.  "How would you like to come with us?"  I asked.  "You could train with many different partners and get much stronger."

He looked up at me.  "Do you really think so?"

I smiled.  "Definitely."

He nodded.  I pulled out a Poke Ball and touched it to his forehead.  He was sucked into the ball, and it clicked.

"What's his name?"  Heather asked.

I checked the digital display on top of the ball.  "It says 'Spencer'."

I stood up and let the ball disappear into the ether.  "We'll see him back in town.  Come on, let's go find Steven."

Pokémon: 7       Badges: 1         Deaths: 1            Current Location: Granite Cave