fanfiction Dear Diary Part 5

[ArdillaVerde93]

 

                                                                                                                Dear Diary

  Out of all of the challenges I expect us to face in our journey, I always get a lump in my throat when it comes time to face a Gym Leader. Whitney, in particular, is known to be a thorn in the side of many trainers. So, if we can make it past her, we’ll have put a great difficulty behind us. I just hope we can do this. Like I said before, I’d hate for everything to end here. Angelica and Chrissy are trained up for this. But we’ll never know if it was enough until we try.

  Whitney’s Gym trainers were tough, especially since we don’t have any Fighting types. But we managed, and, soon, I was face-to-face with Whitney herself. Her lead Pokémon was Clefairy, who was quickly dispatched by the Grass type tag team. But that was just the beginning. Her Clefairy isn’t what makes Whitney so formidable. Sure, Clefairy has caught many trainers off guard with Metronome. But her biggest threat, for sure, is what comes after Clefairy gets defeated. From her next Poké Ball came Miltank.

  Our first line of defence against the bovine beast was Chrissy. I knew before I even entered the Gym that none of us could take on Miltank face-to-face. Our best shot was to give it a face full of Sleep Powder first. And, as much as I appreciate Julia, who also has Sleep Powder, she’s too frail to stay in and risk missing and taking a Rollout attack in retaliation. Enter Chrissy. She’s more capable of taking a Rollout or 2. All that needed to happen was for Sleep Powder to hit its mark. And, as Chrissy sprayed wisps of silver powder at our opponent, we were elated to see Miltank shut its eyes.

  Her job done spectacularly well, Chrissy was returned to her Poké Ball. Next up was Angelica. She would finally get to leave her mark against a Gym Leader. She set up Reflect, then fired a Razor Leaf against the sleeping Miltank, and it hit hard. Miltank remained asleep. It wasn’t quite the clash that Brittany versus Scyther was; the exchange of quick blows leading to a decisive finish. Another Razor Leaf was used, and, while it also hit, it awoke the sleeping giant. Miltank stared Angelica down and leapt into the air. Shocking, considering its size. And that size came into play when Miltank returned to the ground, a hoof outstretched. Angelica attempted to escape, but was hit regardless, causing her to fall to the ground. But she got back to her paws as quickly as she was downed. Regardless, I sent her back to her Poké Ball. The pattern would have to begin again.

  Chrissy hit the field again, but took a Rollout in the process. She stood her ground, however, and fought back with another dose of Sleep Powder. Again, it was effective in subduing the bovine menace. Miltank fell asleep once more, and Chrissy was switched out. Angelica was her replacement. She set up Reflect once again. But, this time, Miltank woke up before damage could be dealt with Razor Leaf. Miltank sped towards Angelica like a cannonball, but Angelica dug her heels in and took the hit. Shock was evident in Miltank’s eyes as a Razor Leaf was launched. Undeterred, Miltank tried Rollout again. Angelica smirked. I’ll never forget it. Taking a page from her opponent’s book, she took a flying leap. In the air, she angled herself properly. When she came down, it was leaf first, directly into Miltank’s head. The beast bellowed, then fell, defeated.

  At her loss, Whitney burst into tears. I wanted a badge, but not like this. I tried to leave, but was stopped by a trainer who informed me that this is a common occurrence. After a short talk, Whitney relented, and handed me the Plain Badge. That makes 3 badges! And a huge roadblock is out of the way; a lot of trainers, as I said before, fail at Whitney. But we weren’t done in Goldenrod City yet. Speaking of roadblocks, I heard that people have reported that a tree has sprouted seemingly out of nowhere to the north, blocking access to Ecruteak City. Maybe the employees at the nearby flower shop would know a way to get past it.

  The flower shop is a wonderful place, full of sufficient blooms to make a Shaymin blush. And, to my surprise, they had already heard of the sudden tree. Not only that, but it turns out, the owner had already deciphered its identity. It was actually a powerful Pokémon that had stymied all attempts at relocation. Fresh off of a victory in the Goldenrod City Gym, however, I was able to convince the shop owner to let me help. The identity of the obstructive Pokémon is Sudowoodo, and it may move if somebody sprayed water on it. The shop owner gave me a Squirt Bottle with which to do that, feeling that our skills could subdue Sudowoodo if the spray causes it to retaliate. With the Squirt Bottle in hand, we headed North to Route 36.

  On closer inspection, I dunno how I missed it when I was in this area before, during the Bug Catching Contest. Of course it’s a Sudowoodo; trees don’t magically pop up, unless they’ve been put there by a Pokémon with sufficient power to do that, such as Celebi or Meganium. Speaking of Meganium, or, rather, something that will hopefully soon be one, Angelica is still overjoyed at having helped so immensely with the match against Whitney. I don’t think Brittany, even with her speed and power, could’ve brought Miltank down. She would have to cut deep to get through Miltank’s blubber, and, even then, she’d be leaving herself vulnerable to a devastating Rollout. Anyway, Angelica is right to be ecstatic. I think Chrissy would be right to share her happiness, in fact. They both helped, after all.

  As we stepped closer, I remember hearing Sudowoodo whimper. It knew I had found out its secret; hiding would do it no good now. After a bit of effort on both sides, I got it into a Poké Ball. Sudowoodo was caught! I named her Barbie. I don’t think I’ll be needing to rely too heavily upon her, but Sudowoodo are rare; Professor Elm will surely be interested. As well, I caught a Spinarak nearby, choosing to dub her “Charlotte.” North from Route 36 is Ecruteak City. Morty is the Gym Leader there, although he seemed to not be at the Gym. Fine by us; that gives us time to train. We’ll check out the Burned Tower first.

  Some serious irony came when I found Morty in the tower. He was there with a Pokémon trainer in search of one of the Legendaries. One that was said to sleep beneath the tower, ever since it burned down. I’m more than familiar with the legend; it’s one of my favourites, actually. Long ago, during a massive thunderstorm, the tower was hit by lightning and burned to the ground. Lugia, who once lived atop the tower, fled. A trio of nameless Pokémon, caught in the tower when the lightning struck, died in the fire, only to be revived by Ho-Oh and given new lives and identities. Raikou was born as the personification of the lightning that struck the tower. Entei was created as the personification of the terrible fire that consumed the tower. Finally, Suicune was born as the personification of the north wind that brought the rain which eventually quelled the flames. Morty and this trainer were looking for Suicune in particular. And they weren’t the only ones.

  It didn’t take long before we came across the Cyndaquil trainer. He was also searching for the Legendary Pokémon, and was quite intolerant of anybody impeding his progress. We defeated him in a close match, ironically thanks to Barbie. However, it was a pyrrhic victory. Our battle shook the already weakened structure of the tower. I remember feeling the entire tower shake before everything went black. When I awoke, I could’ve sworn I was dreaming, ironically. Standing before me, staring me down, were none other than Raikou, Entei, and Suicune! They looked angry, and had every right to be. Rather than confront me, however, they sped past me, and out of the tower. I don’t know why they didn’t attack me, but I’m sure glad they didn’t; we certainly can’t match their power. After making sure everybody was alright, I set to work finding a way out. Luckily, exploration teams appear to have made it here already; there was a ladder I was able to use to get out. How nobody else has found the Legendaries is beyond me.

  Now that we’re safe, it’s time to train. Morty’s signature type is Ghost. Sarah could be very helpful here, once she gains power, and perhaps even evolves. Her Dark type Bite attack will be our main weapon in this fight. As well, the Ghost types native to Johto are mostly dual-typed, having the secondary Poison typing. As such, I plan to use Julia as backup. Her Confusion attack should do significant damage by exploiting the Poison type’s weakness to Psychic type attacks.

  Our training lasted into the night, which gave me a chance to go after a nocturnal Pokémon. We successfully tracked down and caught a Stantler. Naming her after one of Santa’s magic reindeer, I decided to call her Comet. Like when I caught the Sudowoodo, I’m sure Professor Elm will be happy to know of this. During our training, we had some evolutions. Diane became a Ledian, and, as I had hoped, Sarah became an Arbok! We had some close calls, particularly west of Ecruteak. We very nearly suffered several casualties trying to train there; that was my mistake. Knowing that, It might be prudent to train more before we try taking on Morty. I’ll head to Olivine City to do some training there.

  Past the renowned Moomoo Farms, Olivine City is a port town for the SS Aqua, which sails from there to Vermilion City in Kanto and back again. Unfortunately, I found the ship to be out of service. I saw the Cyndaquil trainer again, but he wasn’t interested in a fight. He wanted only to badmouth the compassion of the local Gym Leader, who he claims has gone absent from her post in favour of caring for a sick Pokémon atop Glitter Lighthouse. He left after that, and I took the time to scour the city for trainers. While I didn’t find any, what with the Gym Leader gone, I was able to find a kind fisherman who offered me a free Good Rod! I graciously took it. With no training to be done here, I made my way back to Ecruteak. Just south of there, something amazing happened.

  Determined to defeat Morty, I put my Pokémon through a training regimen south of Ecruteak. Unfortunately, the wild Pokémon there didn’t give much experience, save for the odd Pidgeotto. I knew we would have to either find some trainers, or find a better training spot. Just as we were about to leave, however, I remember feeling an intense, sweltering heat. It came on suddenly, and set me to looking in all directions for the source. What I saw, there was no mistaking. I’m surprised beyond belief that the route wasn’t ablaze at the mere presence of this creature! I had found myself once more face to face with Entei! I threw a Poké Ball at the beast, but it may as well have missed, for all of the good that it did me. Then, just as quickly as it appeared, Entei sped away, leaving embers in its wake. Truly magical.

  Perhaps, if I had caught Entei by some miracle, I wouldn’t need to train anymore. Surely, Morty couldn’t possibly counter Entei! But, with my attempt having ended in very predictable failure, there was nothing to do but search for a challenge. The Kimono Girls, a group of dancers in the Ecruteak Dance Theatre, were formidable, but fell one by one to our team. A man in the theatre, impressed by our battles, gave me the HM for teaching Surf. Like with the Good Rod, I accepted my prize with gratitude. But it still wasn’t enough training. We even took on the local Gym trainers, and, while it was great training for Julia, we still needed more. Luckily, with a Good Rod, I can fish up decently strong Pokémon to battle. I set off for Route 34, just south of my hometown.

  Fishing went well, Extraordinarily well, in fact; not only did we get some great training in, but we also added yet another member to our “family.” Soon into fishing, I came across something I wasn’t aware even lives in the area! A Corsola. Using the Lure Ball Kurt gave me some time ago, I captured it. It took a while to come up with a name for her. “Marina” was suggested, as were “Crystal” and “Pinkie.” However, it was eventually decided that I would call her Coraline. With another Pokémon caught, our training could continue. And, as I got to really thinking about it, I decided to utilise Diane in the upcoming Gym match. With her access to Light Screen and Reflect, she can minimise damage throughout the fight. So, she received experience, as well. I had taught her Thunder Punch with a TM, so the Water types we came across simply didn’t stand much of a chance. Before long, several of my Pokémon had gained immense power. I just hope it’s enough. I hoped so all the way back to Ecruteak City. Especially now that we’ve beaten Whitney, losing to Morty would be devastating.

 

*Author’s Note*

Another chapter of our adventures, in the books! Next up is Morty. I trained and trained, but will it be enough? Or will Morty hand us a defeat that will haunt us for the rest of our lives? Find out next time! Sorry these take so long. I can say, however, that Left Behind is not dead!

 

*Pokédex*

 

#24: Arbok, the Cobra Pokémon

Venomous fangs aren’t the only weapons Arbok wields. They can also spit acidic venom, and their belly patterns give them powers as well. Covering up these patterns will weaken Arbok significantly. It’s rumoured that some Arbok can change these patterns at will.

 

#167: Spinarak, the String Spit Pokémon

To keep Spinarak away, which is something many people want, having a Flying type with you works wonders. Even just the presence of one will scare off all but the bravest Spinarak. If this is not possible, mix standard Repel with Berry Juice. It’s a home remedy that really works!

 

#222: Corsola, the Coral Pokémon

In the Hoenn region, it’s said that there’s an entire town built atop a colony of Corsola. Their antlers are brittle, but shatter into sharp points, so these Pokémon should be handled carefully, particularly ones with broken antlers. The leftover shards can be fashioned into beautiful art.

 

#234: Stantler, the Big Horn Pokémon

In frigid regions, there are legends of Stantler capable of flight. These legends have spread since ancient times, and are the basis of the tales of Santa Claus and his flying Stantler. Every year, children hope to catch a glimpse of them, but to no avail.