Pokémon: A New Journey

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I sat in my small bunker and looked out the window at the waves. They were glimmering in the moonlight, causing a surreal effect. But I wasn't thinking about the waves. It had been only a couple hours since I had left Stork at the pier, and already I missed him.
Soon, a man in a blue uniform knocked on my door, but entered before I could reply.
"Ticket please," said the man as he opened a small envelope. I reached into my pocket and took out the ticket. I then handed to him without a word.
After he had taken my ticket, he looked at me and asked in a slightly British accent, "Why the glum face? If it's sea-sickness, there are special bags in that pocket over-"
I cut him off before he could show me where the "Barf Bags" were, "Umm, no. It's not that. I'm fine. Don't worry about me. In fact, I'm pretty tired. I think I'll go to sleep now."
"Oh, ok," said the man with a confused look. He knew there was something bugging me, but he didn't bother to question it as he stepped out of my room and closed the door.
I wasn't tired, I just wanted to be alone. I laid down on my bed and stared blankly at the ceiling. After several minutes of mindless pondering, my knapsack on the table adjacent to my bed started to shake. A red beam shot out from inside and hit the floor, soon forming the shape of Togepi.
"Breee!" he said as he waddled over to his empty food bowl and picked it up. He started shaking it up and down in an irritated manner.
"Are you hungry?" I asked as I rose from my bed and picked him and his bowl up.
"Bree! Tokay!" he yelled happily.
I set him down on the table and went into my knapsack, where I pulled out a paper bag full of food balls. I poured them into the bowl, and he began to munch on them with a grin on his face.
"Oh yeah," I said as I again reached into my bag and pulled out a plastic bag with fresh lettuce in it, "I almost forgot! Here's some lettuce to munch on too!"
I handed him a leaf of it and he immediately took it from me and dropped all of the other food that he was in the middle of eating. As he nibbled on it, I fed my other four pokémon their proper foods.
After "dinner," I realized that I was now hungry, so I stepped out onto the ship in search of a restaurant of some sort. While walking down the side of the boat, there were many people looking out at the moon and I even saw some brushing their pokémon's hair or feeding them. As I walked by the many people, I soon found what I was looking for. I spotted a restaurant called "Rydon's Restaurant," and I quickly entered.
After ordering a soda and a hamburger, I sat at a small table to wait for my food to come. I was next to a window facing the deck of the ship, and I watched many people pass by. Before long, a young boy entered. He looked to be about five or six, so I felt it my duty to invite him over to my table where he could sit with someone.
"Hey, over here." I said as I motioned to the boy to come over. He came over and sat down across from me.
"Hi," he said shyly.
"Hi," I then said, extending my hand, "My name's Austin."
He shook it and then replied, "I'm Robbie."
"Nice to meet you, Robbie," I said with a smile, "So, where are your parents?"
He replied, not as shy as he was before, "They're in Cerulean. I was staying with my grandparents in Harborsville for a couple weeks. Now I'm on my way back."
"That sounds like fun. I'm on a pokémon journey, and Cerulean is my next stop to get a gym badge."
His eyes suddenly glowed as he looked up at me, "Really? I love pokémon!"
"Oh you do?" I asked, surprised by his sudden change in attitude.
"Yeah!" he started, still as excited as before, "I've always wanted to become a trainer, but my parents won't let me. They think it's too dangerous to go out there alone. But my grandpa doesn't think that's fair, so he gave me a pokémon."
"Won't your parents be mad?" I asked, trying to keep up the conversation.
"Nah. My grandparents already told them. I haven't used it yet, though. And I don't know what kind it is. Do you wanna see it?"
"How about after dinner?" I asked him, "Would you like anything?"
"Can I get a milkshake?" he asked politely.
"Sure," I said, "We'll get you one when the waiter comes by."
After a short period of time, the waiter came with my hamburger and soda. I ordered Robbie a shake, and we talked about his parents and life while we ate.
After paying the bill and leaving the restaurant, Robbie guided me towards a large room located below the deck. As I walked towards the room, I heard cries of people inside, and then the sounds of various pokémon.
Robbie talked to me as we entered, "I've been hanging out in here all afternoon. It's a place where trainers can battle and show off their pokémon.
"Wow," I said in astonishment as I looked at all of the pokémon that were jumping, running, and doing different attacks.
Robbie pulled out a single pokéball and threw it on the ground.
"Here's the pokémon that was given to me," he said as the red glow formed the shape of a pokémon.
"Saaaanddslash!" it cried as it looked at us. I pulled out my pokédex and pointed it at the large rodent:
<SANDSLASH: A mole pokémon. Sandslash are known for their ability to quickly dig underground and attack their opponents from behind. Trainers should beware of their sharp teeth and claws>
"Cool," Robbie said as he approached his pokémon. He was about the same height as the Sandslash, but the pokémon looked a lot more powerful.
"Hey," Robbie said as he looked back at me, "Do you want to battle?"
"Ok, but be aware that this is your first battle and you might not win."
"That's fine," he replied as he stepped into the proper area to prepare for battle.
"Go, Poliwag!" I yelled as the tadpole pokémon appeared in the ring.
"Ok, go Sandslash!"
The Sandslash didn't even respond to the order. It simply started scratching it's leg.
"What's going on?" Robbie asked, confused.
"I don't know, Robbie. Try to get it over here again."
"C'mon, Sandslash!" he again yelled. This time, the pokémon looked up and slowly walked over to the rink, but it still didn't appear to be that interested in what was going on.
"Ok, Robbie, you go first."
"Fine. Sandslash, bite his pokémon!"
Again, the Sandslash didn't obey orders.
"Umm," I said, just as confused as Robbie, "How about I go first? Maybe that will get Sandslash into the fight."
"Ok," Robbie complied.
"Poliwag, give it a bubble attack!"
Poliwag began to shoot bubbles out of it's mouth. When they hit the Sandslash and poured water over him, he didn't appear too happy.
"Saaannnnddslash!" he screamed as he sprinted towards my Poliwag. He quickly curled into a ball and knocked the tadpole back. Poliwag flew into the air, and hit the ground hard.
"Pollii…" it muttered.
"Looks like you won," I said with a big smile.
"Way to go, Sandsl-huh?" Robbie said as the Sandslash again started to run fast towards Poliwag.
"Sandslash, stop!" Robbie yelled. The pokémon didn't stop though. If I didn't do something, Poliwag would be in big trouble.
"Poliwag, return!" I yelled over the cries of Robbie. The red glow shot out and sucked Poliwag back in, just before Sandslash hit it. Instead, Sandslash hit the wall and fell onto the ground, stunned.
"Sandslash, return!" yelled Robbie as he called back his pokémon.
"What happened?" he asked me as we walked to the stands on the side of the room.
"I don't know," I said, "but maybe my pokédex does." I opened it up and the screen faded on:
<Sometimes, pokémon will disobey their trainers if they feel that their trainer is not worthy of owning them. Other known factors are if the pokémon feels hurt or rejected>
"Well," I started, "It's definitely not rejected or hurt."
"Then that means that I'm not 'honorable' enough?"
"Maybe. What did your grandfather use him for?"
Robbie replied, "Grandpa told me that Sandshrew helped him win many battles, and that it evolved while he was fighting the Elite Four. He and it were really close, and he trained it well."
"Let's see if my pokédex has any more information about this," I said as I again pulled it out again:
<The main reason why a pokémon would consider it's owner unworthy is if it's trainer does not have enough experience. Gym badges are a good way to earn experience for beginning trainers>
"So then I just have to get some gym badges?" Robbie asked me as I snapped shut my pokédex.
"I guess so," I replied, "Hey, I'm heading to Cerulean Gym. Do you want to tag along and try to get a badge there?"
"Sure!" Robbie said with the same excitement that he showed in the restaurant.
After making sure Robbie got to his room for the night, I walked over to mine while others did the same. By the time I reached the bunker, it was almost midnight. I got ready for bed, and then fell asleep quickly after a busy day. It was just this morning that I had been at Bill's lighthouse. And now I was without Stork. I didn't know how I would become a great pokémon trainer without him. He was the reason that I won the Boulder Badge. He gave me the information I needed to win battles. How am I going to get the Cascade Badge now? These memories infested my dreams that night, as I remembered the short time spent with Stork, and how he brightened our journey.
***
As the morning sun arose over the horizon, the sleeping Cerulean brightened up. By the morning, the boat had reached Cerulean, and we would unload in an hour.
After breakfast, I quickly got dressed, cleaned up my bunker and left it so I could get to Robbie before the boat docked. When I knocked on his cabin door, there was no reply.
"Hello?" I said, still knocking on the door, "Robbie, are you in there?"
After a few seconds of rustling, a faint and dreary voice replied, "What? Is it morning already?"
"Hurry up, Robbie!" I said loudly, "The boat docks in thirty minutes!"
This sparked his attention as the rustling grew louder and louder. After several minutes of this, he came out of the door, placing his hat on his head and rubbing his eyes.
"Ok, Austin. Let's go," he then said.
After unloading our items onto the pier, we packed everything up and started into the small city. It was a little bigger than Pewter, but not by much. There were cars going by and businessmen walking towards their buildings.
Robbie and I soon found a pokécenter where we placed our pokémon for an hour or so. In the meantime, we walked through the business section of the city, where we found a small diner to eat breakfast in. It was weird not having Stork sitting across from me, and I tried to block the fact that he was gone out of my mind. I had to move on.
Robbie could see my depression in the way I stared blankly at my pancakes and how I just didn't show any emotion. He knew there was something wrong, but he also knew better than to get into my personal affairs.
At noon, after doing a little shopping and refreshing my supplies (antidotes, potions, and pokéballs), we walked over to the pokécenter again to pick up our pokémon. My Togepi was awake when I arrived, and was playing happily with one of the local Chansies.
"Breee!" he yelled happily, as he was tossed into the air and then caught by the pink, oval-shaped Chansey. Once he spotted me, though, he hopped onto the ground and quickly waddled over to me with a happy grin. I picked him up and then looked at Nurse Joy.
"You're pokémon are healed," she said as she handed me a small bill. I handed her my pokémon license, which has my ID number on it. After the computer processes the number, the bill goes straight into my account, which my parents pay off monthly.
"Oh," I said before she finished typing in the amount of money, "Could you charge the cost of healing the Sandslash in there too?"
"Certainly."
"Gee," Robbie said to me, "You didn't have to do that."
"Don't worry about it," I said, "It's hardly any money to heal one pokémon."
"Ok, thanks." He said as he reached up to the counter and picked up his pokéball.
With our pokémon fully healed, we walked to the town center, where the pokémon gym was located. On the outside of the gym, there was a sign listing "Show Times." This confused me as I walked in, only to hear cheering in the inside. Robbie and I walked in, astonished by the hundreds of people lining the bleachers around a large pool of water. In the middle, three girls in their teens were jumping in and out of the water, and doing many tricks beneath it also. We found some seats and sat down, waiting for the show to be over so we could get some answers.
About twenty minutes later, the show ended and the people flocked out. Robbie and I were left alone in the open of this vast gym. We headed down he stairs that led to the base floor of the gym, where we found the three girls drying off.
"Uh-oh," one said, looking at the other two, "Looks like trainers."
"Yep," the other two agreed.
"Yeah, we're trainers," I said, stepping forward, "And we're here to challenge the gym leaders for the Cascade badge! Umm, do you know where they are?"
"Right here, silly!" the one with red hair said.
Robbie was astonished, "YOU guys are the gym leaders?"
"Of course we are! We're the Sensational Sisters!" another with blue hair said.
"Ok, fine!" I said, "Then we challenge you three!"
"Suit yourself," the red-haired one said, "Which one of you will go first?"
"Robbie here will," I said, volunteering him. I then whispered to him, "Don't worry, Robbie. Just give it all you got!"
"Easy for you to say," he spoke softly, "You're not going first."
"Good luck!" I said, pushing him forward.
After their places were set on the pool, I took a seat in the bleachers. I was close enough to observe the fight, so I could find out what pokémon the sisters were using.
Robbie looked determined as he called out his Sandslash, "Go, Sandslash!"
The yellow-haired sister would go with her pokémon next, "Go, Seaking!"
I pointed my pokédex at the spotted fish, hoping it would be able to get a clear image of it:
<Searching, please hold…>it said as I waited. Soon enough, it found it:
<SEAKING: A fish pokémon. Seaking, the evolution of GOLDEEN, are known for their horns, that may cause sever damage to their enemies>
I didn't know if Robbie could win this one after that message.
"Ok, Seaking! Give that Sandslash a tackle!"
"Seaking, king" it said is it dived deep down into the water and then jumped quickly out of the water. It hit the unsuspecting Sandslash (who happened to be cleaning itself) hard, and the large rodent fell hard onto it's platform.
"Saaaannddslash!" it screamed in pain, after having the wind knocked out of it. It charged towards the water and then curled into a spiny ball. While going at its top speed, it whirled across the water, causing a wave to form behind it. In that wave, I could spot the confused Seaking at the top.
"Seakiiing!" it cried in a scared voice from about twenty feet above the water.
I no time, Sandslash reached the edge of the pool and hopped out. From there, it sprinted out of the way of the gigantic wave, which slammed onto the hard pavement. Seaking slammed down with it, and when the water cleared, I could see the badly injured fish pokémon flopping up and down.
"Seaking!" the girl cried as she jumped into the water and began swimming to it. But at the same time, the Sandslash was rearing up for another attack.
"Robbie," I screamed as I noticed it, "Your Sandslash! Don't let it attack the Seaking again!"
Immediately he noticed, and he yelled, "Sandslash, stop!" But it didn't obey. It continued to run right at the beached Seaking.
Robbie was almost in tears as he cried out, "Stop, Sandslash!" But yet again, the Sandslash didn't listen. And then, Robbie said something that hit the mark, "If Grandpa was here, you wouldn't do this!"
The Sandslash stopped in its tracks and looked at Robbie. I noticed a sudden change in emotion as he sat down compliantly and allowed itself to be sucked into the small pokéball.
All of us were stunned at the current events. The blonde sister was hugging her Seaking as she returned it to its pokéball. She then turned to Robbie and said, "Looks like you won. Here's the Cascade Badge." She tossed it into the air, and it glimmered as it flew to Robbie and then landed in his waiting palms!
"Yes!" he cried as he jumped into the air. He then attached the blue badge to his jacket.
The Sensational Sister he had beaten congratulated him as she said, "That's one strong pokémon you have there. Maybe my Seaking will become that strong someday."
"Thanks," Robbie said, as his cheeks grew red.
The blue-haired sister then broke into their conversation, "Ok," she started, "that's enough of that. Who's challenging me?"
I realized it was my turn for action, so I stepped forward, "I am!"
We took our places on the platforms above the water as she started, "We'll each use two pokémon! If it's tied, we'll go into a third, final match!"
"Ok!" I said as I pulled out my first pokéball, "Go, Butterfree!" The blue pokémon emerged from the pokéball.
My opponent then replied, "Go, Kingler!"
I pointed my pokédex at the large crab pokémon:
<KINGLER: A crab pokémon. The evolution of KRABBY, Kingler are known for their large pincer. With these pincers, they perform their special attack, GUILLOTINE>
"Ok, Butterfree!" I yelled, "Use your stun spore attack!"
The butterfly proceeded to shake yellow powder on the crab, but the blue-haired girl had already yelled out a counter-attack, "Dodge the powder Kingler!" As the crab dodged the falling powder, she yelled out the next attack, "Now tackle it!" The Kingler jumped high into the air, and just when it was level with the Butterfree, it slammed it down towards the water. They fell, with my Butterfree on the bottom. Soon enough, the Kingler slammed it into the water, soaking Butterfree's wings. I could see my pokémon struggling to fly, but it just couldn't do it.
"Butterfree, return!" I yelled as the red beam shot from the pokéball and surrounded Butterfree.
"Good job, Kingler!" the girl said, "Return! Go, Lapras!"
I again pointed my pokédex at her pokémon:
<LAPRAS: These rare pokémon are over-hunted, causing them to be very valuable possessions. Lapras are often used as ferries to transport people across the water>
"Ok," I said as I pulled out another pokéball, "Go, Poliwag!"
The girl hid a giggle as she commanded the next move, "Lapras, give it an ice beam!"
The Lapras' horn began to glow as bright colors began to surround it. And then, out of nowhere, a bright, fluorescent blue beam shot out and knocked my Poliwag back about ten feet. It was all over in a matter of seconds.
"Poliwag!" I screamed as I ran over to it.
It said with a groan, "Polliiwaggg."
"Return, Poliwag," I said with a small sigh, as I then stood up and looked at the girl, "Look's like you win."
"It's ok," she said as she saw my dreary face, "You can always come and challenge me again!"
"And lose again?" I asked with a hint of sarcasm.
"It's not your pokémon that caused you to lose. It's your choice of pokémon that made you lose," said the red-haired sister, now chiming into our conversation, "Against Kingler, you should have used a grass pokémon, because grass is strong against water. And against that Lapras, you should have used a fire pokémon. Fire pokémon are strong against ice."
She was right. I had screwed up and it might cause me the Cascade Badge. It then occurred to me. Stork always told me what pokémon I should use. Without him, I would never win a battle. From now on, I'll have to figure these things out myself.
Without even saying goodbye, I walked out with a depressed face. Robbie soon caught up, and tried to comfort me, "Don't worry, Austin! That Lapras was strong, and you know it. Just come back later and challenge her again! If you use the right pokémon, you're sure to win!"
This helped a little, but I was still tired of all of it. I again went to the pokécenter and put Poliwag and Butterfree in it. While they were healing, Robbie and I walked to his house, where I would meet his parents.
He opened the door as he said, "Come on in. My parents should be home." He then called out into the house, "Mom? Dad? Are you guys here?"
"Is that you, Robert?" a voice replied from the other room.
He replied, "Yeah, it's me mom." A woman that looked a little younger than my mother came running out and hugged Robbie closely.
"I'm so glad you're back!" she said, followed by, "Ouch!"
"What is it, mom?" Robbie asked as she stepped away from him.
"Something on your jacket pricked-" she stopped as she looked at the small, blue badge on Robbie's jacket, "Oh no. You didn't"
"But mom," Robbie said in a slightly whining voice, "You know this is what I want to do."
I realized that this was a family matter, so I excused myself and stepped outside. I then sat on a bench that was across the street from their house. After waiting for a little while, I got bored, so I pulled out my pokédex to see if there was anything else it could do. I found a green button that I had never pressed before, so I did. On the screen, a chart appeared. My pokédex said:
<BATTLE CHART: This chart is used to aid trainers in their pokémon battles. It explains the fifteen different types of pokémon, and their strengths and weaknesses>
"What?" I asked myself in astonishment, "I didn't know this thing was here!"
After my new "revelation," my spirits rose as I realized what this meant. I wouldn't need Stork to explain any of this now that I actually had a chart. Soon, Robbie stepped out of the house with his mother and father. He had on a bigger knapsack and a huge smile on his face. I knew immediately that he had won the battle with his parents, and that he would be allowed his pokémon training license.
As he walked towards me, he waved goodbye to his parents. His father was looking very proud of his son, and his mother was in tears.
"Way to go!" I said to Robbie as we were away from his house, "Now you need to get your license and pokéballs."
"I know," he replied, "I need to stop by at the Cerulean lab to pick up the stuff. And then I'm going to head south towards Pewter so I can get the Boulder Badge.
"So then I guess this is goodbye," I said, not depressed, but proud of Robbie.
"Yep," he said to me, "But maybe we'll see each other later on or something."
"Maybe," I then replied as my mind began to wander. I started to think about how Stork and I had had the same goodbye, the same "Maybe we'll see each other later." Robbie then broke in.
"Ok, later Austin," he said as he began walking through downtown.
"Later Robbie," I said as I then turned away and headed back to the pokécenter.
After picking up Poliwag and Butterfree, I found a hotel near the gym, where I out all of my stuff. After an early dinner, I gathered my pokémon and pokédex and walked out the door. After coming onto the street, I turned right and headed straight to the gym. It was dark now, and there were many lights from the city brightening the sky.
When I walked into the gym, the Sensational Sisters were putting on another show. Except this time, the roof of the gym was open, allowing the moonlight to pour in. There were also lights inside the pool, making the turquoise water glow brighter. It was very majestic looking at the pool, and I, along with the crowd, was entranced.
I again took a seat to wait for the show to be over, and when it was, I approached the sisters again. They knew I was here to challenge them again, and the blue-haired one stepped forward, "Do you want to challenge me again?" she asked.
"Yes," I replied, "and this time I'm ready!"
"Ok," she said, "then let's go!"
After taking our places on the platforms, a lot of the people leaving noticed that there was going to be a pokémon fight, so they took their seats yet again.
"Oh, great," I muttered to myself, "Hundreds of people watching me battle. There's no pressure there."
Once the crowd had taken their seats, an announcer spoke, "Pokémon battle. The fight is between gym leader Aurora, and trainer Austin Ketchum. Each will use two pokémon and a third if necessary. Trainers, start your battle!"
Aurora yelled, "Go, Seadra!"
I pointed my pokédex at this one:
<SEADRA: A water pokémon. This pokémon->
I shut the pokédex and said quietly, "That's all I needed to know. Go, Oddish!"
My blue pokémon came out with a battle face on, and he looked determined to win.
"Oddish!"
Aurora could tell that I had been studying, but nevertheless, she commanded her pokémon it's move, "Seadra, give it a tackle!"
I quickly yelled to my Oddish, "Dodge!" It dodged quickly, and the Seadra had not time to respond. It hit the platform hard and I yelled the next move, "Sleep powder, Oddish!" Oddish's leaves began to shake as a red powder surrounded the Seadra. The Seadra's eyes closed slowly, and soon, it was asleep.
"Darn!" Aurora said as she called her seahorse back in, "Look's like you know what you're doing. Go, Seel!"
I knew that this pokémon was ice, but I didn't want to tire my Growlithe down in case we had a third match and she sent out her Lapras. I yelled, "Go, Togepi!"
"Breee!" it said as its image formed from the red light.
"Seel, give it your bite attack!"
The Seel hopped into the water and began swimming towards Togepi. It hopped out of the water before I could yell a command, and bit Togepi.
"BREEE!" Togepi screamed out.
"Togepi!" I yelled, "Try to get out of it's jaw!" Togepi struggled hard, and got out, but was very dazed. "Good job, Togepi! Use your pound attack!"
Togepi shook its head to get rid of the dizziness and the jumped high into the air. Before the Seel could respond, it was hit hard on the head.
"Seel, seel," is cried as it was flattened to the platform.
"Seel!" Aurora yelled, "Are you ok?"
"Seel!" it responded, shaking its head.
Aurora then told it its next move, "Body slam!"
The Seel again dove into the water, leaving my Togepi alone on the platform. And then, out of nowhere, the Seel jumped out of the water and was high above Togepi. The crowd "Ohhed" and "Ahhhhed" at the Seel. Then, the Seel started falling, belly first, and it slammed down on Togepi!
Togepi screamed out, "Breee!"
I knew that I had lost that match, so I yelled, "Togepi return!"
We had come down to a last match. Whoever won this match won the battle. I had to pick my pokémon wisely on this one.
Aurora pulled out one last pokéball after she had returned Seel, "Go, Lapras! Let's beat him again!" With those words, I realized that she was becoming a lot more competitive than she was in our last battle.
"Ok!" I yelled, "Go, Growlithe!"
The crowd was thrilled over this match, and all of them were at the edge of their seats. My Growlithe looked extremely determined to win this one.
"Grrrr," he growled under his breath.
"Ok," I said, "Use your flamethrower attack!"
A huge burst of fire emerged from his mouth and surrounded the Lapras. When the fire ceased, Lapras was burned, but was still in the battle.
"Lapras, give it you ice beam attack!" Aurora yelled.
Again, the horn on the Lapras began to glow, until the deadly blue beam shot out towards Growlithe.
"Growlithe!" I yelled, "Dodge the beam!" He tried to get out of the way, but he didn't make it all of the way. The beam singed his leg, causing him to yip loudly.
"Are you ok, Growlithe?" I asked him. He nodded his head, despite the excruciating pain in his leg. "Ok, then," I said, "Use your fire blast!"
Growlithe began to growl in a deep, low voice, and small flames started to emerge from his mouth. As his growl grew louder, the flames grew bigger, until finally a ear-splitting roar shook the stadium and flames surrounded the entire pool. When they stopped, a badly burnt and fainted Lapras was left floating on the water.
"Lapras!" Aurora cried, "Return!" The beam sucked the blue creature in, and I was gleaming with pride.
"Way to go, Growlithe!" I said as I pet him on the head, "We did it!"
I then noticed his freezer-burnt leg, and I pulled out a freezing heal antidote. As I poured it over his leg, he tried to hold back his cries.
"It's ok," I said, trying to comfort him, "It will help it heal."
After I had returned Growlithe to his pokéball until I could get him to the pokécenter, I stood up and faced Aurora.
"Good job," she said, "You have won the Cascade Badge."
The crowd began to cheer as I was handed the badge, and I was the proudest that I had ever been in my life. I attached the badge inside my wallet, where I also kept my license. After saying goodbye to the three sisters, I walked over to the pokémon center and placed my pokémon inside before returning to the hotel for the night.
This night, I didn't dream about Stork. I dreamt about victory.

TO BE CONTINUED
Coming Up in PART X:
Austin leaves Cerulean in search of adventure and pokémon.