Chapter 23 - Magikarp

Route 12 was mostly just a large bridge. It was a pain in the ass to cross because fishermen kept challenging us to battles, to test out their recently caught Pokemon.

I can't even tell you how many trainers I battled that day. I even got to use my fire-type Pokemon, Vulpix & Charmeleon, to battle against some water-types for practice. Eventually one day we would find ourselves face to face with a water-type, & I wanted them to be confident & experienced for it, not frightened because of a simple type disadvantage.

I didn't use Jolt to battle because then it would be all too easy. I didn't use Phantom either; he knew Thunderbolt & he was already one of the strongest Pokemon I had.

So I focused on using mainly Cinder, Charcoal, Venus, & Relic. They did good, & we suprisingly won every single battle. The fishermen were mostly using Magikarp's.

Brandon won all of his battles, too. He mostly used Dratini, & Poliwag, because they were his newest Pokemon.

"Hey, I think I'm gonna catch a Magikarp," I turned to Brandon as we sat at the edge of the bridge, eating our lunch. I remembered how my brother Randall desperatley wanted a Gyarados of his own. However, he was never able to train a Magikarp to evolve, so I decided that I would do it for him. "Why?" he asked me, with his mouth full.

"Because it'll evolve into a big bad Gyarados!" I explained, deciding not to tell Brandon the true reason. He rolled his eyes at me. "Katrina. Let's be realistic. Gyarados are dangerous Pokemon. You need extreme skills to tame one. & two, Magikarp's are weak. How woud you ever possibly train it enough for it to evolve? It'd take years," he snapped, before shoving the rest of his sandwhich in his mouth.

"I will become really skilled eventually. & in the end, it'll all be worth it," I winked & got up. "Come on, Relic. We're gonna go catch a Magikarp." Relic didn't protest, he latched onto my leg & crawled up to my stomach. Whenever we traveled he just loved to latch onto my stomach. I expected it to hurt, but it really didn't. Not that much.

I walked up to a fishermen fishing on his own. "Excuse me?" I questioned. He turned to look at me. "May I borrow your rod for a moment? I want to catch a Magikarp," I said politely. He looked me over.

"A Magikarp huh... I tell you what miss, if you can beat me in a battle I'll let you have this spare Super Rod I have here," he stood up & reached to his belt to get a Pokeball.

"Okay, sounds like a plan," I nodded excitedly. "A three on three battle?" he asked. I agreed & he sent out his Pokemon first.

A Rhydon? Not what I expected a fishermen to have. I looked at the giant & tough Pokemon. "What? You thought fishermen only had water-type Pokemon?" he laughed at me. I gulped. This would be much harder than I thought.

& fighting on a bridge? Made it just more complicated. "You sure this bridge is sturdy?" I gulped nervously.

"I'm sure, miss. I've battled here hundreds of times. Even my huge Snorlax was here battling & this bridge sustained all of her weight without any trouble," he explained. I bit my lip.

"Venus!" I called out to him. Moments later my Pokemon & Brandon's all appeared, seeing that I was gonna battle. Venus ran in front of me & let out a battle cry. "Bulba!" he screeched, in hopes of intimidating the Rhydon, but she simply scoffed & raised her nose up in the air.

"Leech Seed Venus!" I began. The small seed planted itself on Rhydon. "Use Take Down!" My heart skipped a beat with fear as the huge Rhydon charged towards my tiny little Venus. "Dodge & Sleep Powder!" I was lucky. Venus just barely was able to dodge the move, & used Sleep Powder right after.

It started working quickly, & as Leech Seed zapped another amount of energy from Rhydon, I felt relieved.

"Vine Whip now!" Venus used his vines to bitch slap Rhydon, which was very effective let me tell you that. "Rhydon! Use-" Before it's trainer could finish, Rhydon collapsed into a deep slumber.

"Okay, not bad. I expected that tiny little Bulbasaur to be done almost immediatley. No more kid games, Ponyta you're up!" The fire horse appeared & neighed loudly.

Venus was at a huge disadvantage here. "Ponyta, use Flame Wheel!" Ponyta was enveloped in a big, spinning flame. She sent it flying towards Venus. My eyes went wide.

"Jump through the flame!" & Venus did just that. As if he was in a circus, Venus jumped through the hoop of fire perfectly. I grinned as my opponent looked shocked.

"Good, now Take Down!" In a flash, Venus slammed into the Ponyta, nearly knocking her into the water. "Ember!" This move really hurt Venus. He cried as he was feeling his skin burn.

"Venus!" I cried. I couldn't stand to see it go on any longer. "Ponyta, finish it with-" "Stop!" I ran onto the battlefield to pick him up. He was hurt pretty bad. He could still battle, but I wouldn't let him, knowing he'd lose. "He isn't gonna battle anymore. He's hurt," I gulped.

The fishermen nodded his head respectfully at me. "I understand." I put Venus down behind me, & into Brandon's lap, who was sitting silently watching the battle. Venus gave me a weak, grateful smile.

"Relic?" I asked my Kabuto, who was down at my feet watching the battle intently. "Kabb!" He cried & jumped foward.

"Let the battle resume. Ponyta, Flame Charge!" "Stop it with Mud Shot!" I was suprised as Relic shot out a strangely powerful Mud Shot, which knocked out Ponyta just like that.

"Damn! Relic is getting strong!" Brandon called out from behind us. "Wow, Relic," I gasped. "Pretty strong Kabuto," the fishermen examined Relic. Relic cried out, as if trying to show us how powerful he was.

"You won't beat my Wraith," the fishermen began. Wraith? What kind of name was that for a Pokemon? It sounded like a Rolls-Royce. "Go Wraith!" Wraith appeared from it's Pokeball.

I was terrified by this Pokemon. Big. Bulky. Powerful. It was a Poliwrath. "Poliwrath," Wraith said cooly. His Poliwrath looked so strong & in such great care! "Use Brick Break."

What?! "Harden Relic!" I shouted, hoping it would work. The Poliwrath landed its outstretched hand right on poor Relic. When the move was done, I called out to Relic.

"You okay buddy?" "Kabuto..." Relic replied weakly. He didn't move at all.

"Relic is done," I said out loud to the fishermen. He nodded. "Come here," I gently picked him up. He was pretty weak. His shell was bruised. I could have let him continue to battle; he had a bit of fight left in him, but he wouldn't win anyway. & that Poliwrath was really powerful. "Stay with Brandon," I left Relic with Brandon. He immediatley latched onto Brandon & clung onto him. Brandon flinched, but smiled & pet Relic.

I looked over my Pokemon. I didn't want any of them to face that Poliwrath. "Sir... Thank you for the battle but I forfit. You're Poliwrath is incredible! & I really don't want my team to end up in the hospital," I chuckled, scratching my neck nervously.

"I understand. I see how much you care about your Pokemon, & that's the most important part of being a trainer," he said. I felt bad that I didn't beat the fishermen to use his Super Rod, but I was just glad none of my Pokemon were harmed badly.

"You guys did great," I told Relic & Venus. They smiled & cheered happily, loving to be praised. I pet them. Relic crawled off Brandon & crawled onto my back, & then to my shoulder, where he stayed.

"Where did you get that Kabuto? Those are rare Pokemon. Never seen one in real life," the fishermen asked me. "I... I actually got him from a scientist," I explained. "Oh... I see... You have a really interesting team, you know... Charmeleon & Bulbasaur are a bit hard to find in the wild. Kabuto is hard to find, & ghost Pokemon are hard to find, too. Very hard. & as for Jolteon... Eevee's are rare as it is. This is a nice team you have here," he smiled.

"Thank you. Yours is nice, too. & powerful," I smiled. "Your Poliwrath..." Brandon admired the giant looking Pokemon. "Looks amazing! I hope one day my Poliwag can grow & be like Wraith," Brandon smiled. Wraith looked down at Poliwag, who was looking at him like he was his idol.

"Thank you. Work hard & you will get there. Now, did you want to catch a Magikarp young lady?" he asked. "Um... Yeah?" "Well, come on. I'll fish it out for you, & you battle it & catch it," he urged me. He moved to the edge of the bridge & stuck his rod in. For a long time, nothing happened.

We switched casual conversation until the fishermen got a bite. "I got one!" He landed it onboard, & what do ya' know, it was a Magikarp. A male, by the looks of it. What was it with me & male Pokemon? I had all males, with the exception of Cinder.

"Okay, Charcoal, this one is yours, Ember!" I commanded. The poor Magikarp was flopping on board when Charcoal aimed an Ember attack at it. The poor thing nearly fainted. I threw a Pokeball at it, & it almost instantly clicked. That was it? That was easier than I thought.

"Wow, that was quick," I said casually. "It's a Magikarp. They're some of the weakest Pokemon in the world, miss. About 90% of them don't even ever evolve into a Gyarados," he explained.

But I still had hope that one day my Magikarp would evolve, despite what he said. "Thank you sir. Erm... We should get going now, Brandon," I suggested.

"Yeah," he agreed. He retreated his Pokemon & I retreated mine, with the exception of Charcoal, who wanted to roam around freely for a while. "Farewell, I hope that Magikarp of yours evolves miss," the fishermen told me. "Thank you, I hope so, too," I smiled, & we were on our way. "Hey," the fishermen called after me. "Yeah?"

"When you get a Gyarados, come show me! I fish here every day, at this time!" he yelled. "No problem!" I assured him, & walked off happily. One day, I would have a Gyarados, I told myself.