Kanto Travels, Day 4
She's gone...
I still can't believe what happened. Such a stupid, basic mistake, I was so foolish. All my fault...
We were ready, all of us had trained hard and felt we were strong enough to take on Brock. Using her newly-learned Metal Claw, Miki took out Brock's underling trainer without so much as a scratch. I made sure to give him a healing potion, just to help spread my message and to make sure his sandshrew was okay. That critical hit was nasty.
Then we moved on to Brock himself. He looked old, tired, and distraught. He barely spoke a word before tossing down his pokeball and summoning a frightened looking geodude. The poor thing was so frightened all it could do was use Defense Curl over and over. Miki picked away at it until it finally, mercifully fainted.
Before I could check on the poor thing, before I could even react, Brock sent out a massive Onix, pitted, scorched, and crumbling from numerous battle scars, its rocky body loomed over Miki, and just as I screamed for her to return, it used Rock Tomb.
How could I forget something so basic? Fire pokemon are weak against rock? Something so basic.. One of the first things you learn. I could see the rocks flying in slow motion towards her, crashing against her body as she screeched out, belching a deep red flame. I couldn't look away. There was a sickening crunch, a scream, and the smell of blood and brimstone. She was gone.
Without me even commanding it, Elaine was on the stone snake in an instant. A single low kick flipped it into the air and dropped it on its back. As I sat, cradling Miki's body in my arms, she crawled atop the fallen pokemon and began using her steel-hard fists to actually break chunks of rock from its underbelly. Snapping out of my stupor I screamed at her to stop, and thankfully she obeyed.
I returned Miki's body to her pokeball, which instantly became a dull grey and black. I would take her to lavender town as soon as I could. In the meantime, I reduced the ball to it's smaller size and attached it to the thin gold chain I wore around my neck, a reminder to never make the same mistake again.
I gazed up at Brock before walking unsteadily forwards, using another of my potions to tend to the huge Onix's wounds. I asked him why, why he felt he had to kill my charmander.
He explained that he thought I was like the others. They stormed in, not simply out to defeat a gym leader and earn a badge, but to make a name for themselves by spilling the life blood of his Onyx. He said it had been many years since he had encountered a trainer like me, one who truly cared for the well being of all pokemon, not just their own. He pressed the boulder badge into my hand, as well as a TM disc for the move Rock Tomb, and beckoned for me to follow him.
Behind the gym was a peaceful garden, filled with young Onyx and Geodude, unmarked by combat, happy and playing with one another. He told me that he still dreamed of becoming a pokemon breeder and soon hoped to retire as a gym leader. He simply needed someone who truly cared to take his place. I knew what he was asking, but I shook my head. I couldn't stop now. I had to keep going, to keep spreading my message no matter what, to stop all of this senseless killing. I stayed and talked with him a while, learning of other things that had changed over the years, but my my thoughts kept drifting back to the black and grey ball hung around my neck, a tear running down my cheek. He patted my back and apologized for what had happened, I told him it was not his fault, he had no way of knowing, and I had made a horrible mistake having her out there in the first place.
Nodding to him, I excused myself and left the gym behind me. Stopping overnight in a room above the pokemon center, I let the others out and tried to express to them as best I could what had happened. Elaine was a huge help in this. All of them were saddened by Miki's passing, but like me, they seemed more determined than ever to press on.
So press on we shall.
We will never forget you, Miki...
(Miki, Female Charmander, Level 5 - 14, RIP)
I still can't believe what happened. Such a stupid, basic mistake, I was so foolish. All my fault...
We were ready, all of us had trained hard and felt we were strong enough to take on Brock. Using her newly-learned Metal Claw, Miki took out Brock's underling trainer without so much as a scratch. I made sure to give him a healing potion, just to help spread my message and to make sure his sandshrew was okay. That critical hit was nasty.
Then we moved on to Brock himself. He looked old, tired, and distraught. He barely spoke a word before tossing down his pokeball and summoning a frightened looking geodude. The poor thing was so frightened all it could do was use Defense Curl over and over. Miki picked away at it until it finally, mercifully fainted.
Before I could check on the poor thing, before I could even react, Brock sent out a massive Onix, pitted, scorched, and crumbling from numerous battle scars, its rocky body loomed over Miki, and just as I screamed for her to return, it used Rock Tomb.
How could I forget something so basic? Fire pokemon are weak against rock? Something so basic.. One of the first things you learn. I could see the rocks flying in slow motion towards her, crashing against her body as she screeched out, belching a deep red flame. I couldn't look away. There was a sickening crunch, a scream, and the smell of blood and brimstone. She was gone.
Without me even commanding it, Elaine was on the stone snake in an instant. A single low kick flipped it into the air and dropped it on its back. As I sat, cradling Miki's body in my arms, she crawled atop the fallen pokemon and began using her steel-hard fists to actually break chunks of rock from its underbelly. Snapping out of my stupor I screamed at her to stop, and thankfully she obeyed.
I returned Miki's body to her pokeball, which instantly became a dull grey and black. I would take her to lavender town as soon as I could. In the meantime, I reduced the ball to it's smaller size and attached it to the thin gold chain I wore around my neck, a reminder to never make the same mistake again.
I gazed up at Brock before walking unsteadily forwards, using another of my potions to tend to the huge Onix's wounds. I asked him why, why he felt he had to kill my charmander.
He explained that he thought I was like the others. They stormed in, not simply out to defeat a gym leader and earn a badge, but to make a name for themselves by spilling the life blood of his Onyx. He said it had been many years since he had encountered a trainer like me, one who truly cared for the well being of all pokemon, not just their own. He pressed the boulder badge into my hand, as well as a TM disc for the move Rock Tomb, and beckoned for me to follow him.
Behind the gym was a peaceful garden, filled with young Onyx and Geodude, unmarked by combat, happy and playing with one another. He told me that he still dreamed of becoming a pokemon breeder and soon hoped to retire as a gym leader. He simply needed someone who truly cared to take his place. I knew what he was asking, but I shook my head. I couldn't stop now. I had to keep going, to keep spreading my message no matter what, to stop all of this senseless killing. I stayed and talked with him a while, learning of other things that had changed over the years, but my my thoughts kept drifting back to the black and grey ball hung around my neck, a tear running down my cheek. He patted my back and apologized for what had happened, I told him it was not his fault, he had no way of knowing, and I had made a horrible mistake having her out there in the first place.
Nodding to him, I excused myself and left the gym behind me. Stopping overnight in a room above the pokemon center, I let the others out and tried to express to them as best I could what had happened. Elaine was a huge help in this. All of them were saddened by Miki's passing, but like me, they seemed more determined than ever to press on.
So press on we shall.
We will never forget you, Miki...
(Miki, Female Charmander, Level 5 - 14, RIP)