Memoirs of a Pokemon Master CHAPTER 9 A battle of electric proportions
"Welcome back." - Trey LaJaunie
The next morning, pikachu and I walked out of the pokemon center without waiting for Andrew. We headed for the gym with our jaws set to win this battle. Soon we stood outside the gym. The gym was painted in electric blue with large yellow lightning bolts. There was a bronze plaque on the wall next to the front doors. It stated the gym's establishment, the gym leader and the junior trainers. I had never heard of a gym leader having junior trainers before. I checked the names. Private Volt and Private First Class Bolt.
"Interesting names. I wonder what kind of pokemon they use." I said sarcastically.
We entered the gym. It was a fairly large gym. Grandstands on either side, a large pokemon arena in the center, a high ceiling lined with spotlights and catwalks, and at the far end sat Lt. Surge, with two young people in fatigues and large hats that hid their faces. I could only assume they were Volt and Bolt. Surge stood up as we entered.
"Good." He said. "You actually came! We thought you had chickened out."
"I haven't chickened out yet and I'm not about to." I said. "Let's get this over with."
"Not just yet." He said. "I'm not sure if you're strong enough to face me."
"So you're calling off our little wager?" I asked.
"No." He replied. "You are going to fight these two."
As he acknowledged them, they stood.
"If you win, you fight me." Surge continued. "If you lose, feel free to try again."
"That's very considerate of you." I said with no hint of kindness in my voice.
"Volt! Bolt! Attack!" Surge barked.
Volt got up first. Volt tossed a pokeball and a voltorb materialized. Pikachu went over to the voltorb.
"Pika!" Pikachu said.
"Voltorb!" The voltorb replied.
"Pi?" Pikachu asked.
Bolt stood and tossed a pokeball. A beedrill materialized. I recognized this combination. So did pikachu. Pikachu jumped behind me. Surge looked at me.
"Scared?" He asked.
"When did you take these trainers in?" I asked.
"Just the other day." He said. "Why?"
I knew it would be humiliating but I needed to reveal Volt and Bolt's true colors. And there was only one way to do that. I looked Surge dead in the eye.
"I hope you didn't go to too much TROUBLE to get these guys." I said in a loud voice.
Bolt and Volt looked at each other.
"Trouble!?" They asked.
"I just can't hold it in!" Volt said.
"Neither can I!" Bolt said. "Let's do it!"
Bolt produced a stereo system and hit the play button. Some sinister music began to play.
"Prepare for trouble!" Volt said as she tore off her fatigues and revealed a team rocket uniform. It was Lilly!
"And make it double!" Bolt tore off his fatigues and revealed a team rocket uniform as well. It was Kirby.
"To protect the world from devastation!" Lilly struck a pose.
"To unite all people within out nation!" Kirby struck a pose.
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!" Lilly said.
"To extend our reach to the stars above!" Kirby said.
"Lilly!"
"Kirby!"
Just then, Surge slammed his foot on the stereo, crushing it and stopping the music. I had to give him one thing and that was that he could stop team rocket's motto really good.
"You're those pokemon murderers!" He said.
"Yes. We are team rocket." Lilly said.
Surge threw out his raichu. Pikachu stood at my side. Surge's raichu did a body slam to the volt orb while pikachu made quick work of the beedrill. Lilly and Kirby called back their pokemon. Kirby produced a blue bazooka. He pointed it towards the window. Lilly grabbed hold of the bazooka. Kirby looked at me.
"You may have given us a few bruises but we're back with a vengeance!" He said.
I reeled back and hit him square in the forehead. A large red lump formed and he shot the bazooka. A grappling hook, followed by a rope flew through the window.
"Welcome back." I said.
They flew out the window as the rope started to wind. Both pikachu and raichu hit them with a thunder shock as they flew. When they hit the window, the bazooka exploded. They flew through the air and I heard a familiar cry.
"Looks like team rocket's blasting off again!" They cried as they flew.
"I can't believe that they were impersonating junior trainers!" Surge said. "They got this close to me."
"Put it this way Surge, now you don't have to worry about them killing your pokemon." I said.
"Alright, enough fooling around!" He said. "Lets get this thing started."
We took our positions on the arena. An announcer stated the rules of combat.
"Only one pokemon per trainer. The champion, Lieutenant Surge, chooses raichu and the challenger, Trey, chooses pikachu. No time limit. Let the battle begin!" A bell sounded.
The raichu jumped to the center of the arena. Pikachu did the same. Pikachu seemed determined to win this battle.
"You think an unevolved pokemon can beat it's evolved form?" Surge asked.
"Why not?" I asked. "Pikachu and I have been through tougher spots than this." I said. I knew that it was mostly a lie but I needed the leverage.
"I'll show you the power of an evolved pokemon!" He said. "Raichu! Use your body slam!"
The raichu jumped up over pikachu.
"Raiiiiichu!" The raichu loomed over pikachu, then landed flat on it's face. Pikachu had dodged easily. The raichu tried to swipe at pikachu with it's tail but pikachu dodged that attack too. Raichu tried for another body slam but got the same results.
"Pikachu! Thunder shock! Now!" I yelled.
Pikachu charged up and shot a beam of electricity at raichu. Raichu stumbled backwards but remained standing.
"Hah! You call that an electricity attack? Raichu use your thunder bolt!" Surge said.
The raichu charged up and shot a big beam of electricity at pikachu. There was a loud explosion and the room was filled with dust.
"Yeah! The pikachu is mine!" Surge said.
When the dust cleared a big smile came to my face. Pikachu was being propped up by his tail. He had used his tail as a ground to absorb the electricity! An electric field surrounded him. The raichu's face matched Surge's : complete shock.
"Alright pikachu! You've absorbed a lot of electricity! Time to let it fly!" I yelled.
Pikachu started running towards the raichu, jumped in the air and released a very large blast of electricity. It lasted for awhile. I pulled out Dexter for an explanation.
"Pikachu's attacks. Thunder. The most powerful electric attack. Only a pikachu can learn this attack. It happens when the pikachu absorbs at least 60000 volts of electricity." Dexter said.
The room filled with dust and smoke again. This time when the dust and smoke cleared, only one pokemon remained standing. It was pikachu. Pikachu stood on the raichu. The raichu had fainted. Surge was speechless. It was about this time when Andrew had finally tracked me down and had entered the gym.
"Did I miss anything good?" He asked.
Once raichu was recovered and Surge was able to talk again, he handed me the thunder badge. He informed me that he wanted a rematch. But Andrew had already challenged him and he had other business to take care of. The rematch would have to wait for another day. Andrew defeated Surge easily with his geodude. By then it was late. Nurse Joy told me that the next town was Lavender. It would be a good 3 week's walk if we went around but we could get there in one week if we went through the nearby ranches. Andrew, pikachu and I decided that the best and most scenic route would be to go through the ranches. After Andrew went to bed, pikachu and I started plotting out the best route. We picked a route that went straight through a ranch, but that route seemed to be the best for catching pokemon. It was midnight before we went to bed.