Chapter 19 - The Feels

"You always challenge the gym leader first! I wanna go first this time!" I huffed angrily. I had been argueing with Brandon for about 10 minutes now, about who was going to challenge Erika first.

"Well I won our battle yesterday so it's my turn!" he wailed. I made a puppy dog face at him, attempting to use it to get what I wanted. "That's not gonna work, Katrina." He crossed his arms & looked away from me. Adriana was glancing at us, awkwardly, unsure to but into our arguement or not.

A thought came to my mind & sly grin spread on my face. "Well... Okay then..." I slowly made my way to the door. "First one to the gym challenges Erika!" I yelled & burst out of the door.

Seconds later I heard the door open & looked back to see Brandon running with a smirk on his face. The gym was a bit far from the house, so after a minute of running, I stopped. I was panting heavily & so was Brandon as he stopped beside me. "You... You... Challenge Erika first..." he barely managed to say.

I smirked. "Thank you." We walked the rest of the way to the gym. There were five challengers in front of us, so we had to wait.

Fortunately for us though, we were able to see them battling, so it wasn't horridly boring. I saw a girl with a Flareon squash Erika's pokemon like they were Weedle's. That Flareon was very powerful. The girl confidently strode off & I actually recognized her face.

"Brandon... That's that girl remember? The one that approached us at the Pokemon Center after we rescued the Aerodactyl fossils from the museum?" I pointed at her & he thought for a moment. "Amy?" he questioned. "Yeah! Her!" I said a little too loudly. The other trainers in front of us looked back & sneered at me.

"Hey, you're the girl that saved the Aerodactyl fossils right?" Amy said as she walked toward us, her Flareon by her side, looking tough as ever. "That's me," I found myself smiling sheepishly.

"Here to get your badge?" We engaged in conversation as the next challenger, with a Meowth, who wasn't doing as well as Amy, was now battling Erika's Gloom.

"Yes," I answered. "Well, good luck guys. She's not that difficult. I now have every badge in Kanto," she bent down to pet her Flareon, who was sort of purring with delight at Amy's touch. I cocked my head to the side, confused. "I went backwards," she explained, resolving my confusion. "Oh," I muttered.

"So now I have no choice but to wait the next five months out for the Pokemon League to begin," she frowned. My heart skipped a beat nervously. "Only five months?" I asked with disbelief. "Yeah, are you two almost done with collecting your badges?" she brought a light warm smile on her face. "Uhh... At the moment we have two..." Brandon sighed. Her eyes went wide. "We kinda started off late, about three months late actually..." I scratched my neck nervously. "So in the first three months of the Kanto Circuit we only got two badges..." Brandon added, obviously emberrassed.

"Well pick up the pace, I'll see you two at the Pokemon League," she smiled & her Flareon snuggled against the legs of Brandon & I, as if saying bye to us. I pet the unbelievably soft fur of hers, & whispered,"Bye."

By the time our conversation was up, we were next in line. Currently a boy with an Oddish was battling, & he wasn't doing well. Erika knocked out his Pokemon & motioned for the next person to come foward.

It was me. I walked over to her with determination in my eyes. I had to beat her! I couldn't allow to waste any more time, with the Pokemon League five months away & I still had six badges left to win! The rules of the battle were recited. 'This will be a two on two battle... Yadadada... No substitutions... First trainer to lose two Pokemon loses...' I tuned it out the best I could & thought of who I would use against Erika. I had five Pokemon with me. I didn't have Jolt, he was still at the house, & I was letting him enjoy his last days as a spoiled house pet, even though he desperately wanted to come with me to battle Ericka.

I decided to start off with my Charcoal. "Char!" He looked highly estatic & appreciative that I chose to use him, I had never used him for a gym battle before. "Alright Charcoal, let's give it our best shot!"

"A Charmeleon... You have the advantage here no doubt about it. Let's battle starter Pokemon with starter Pokemon, Ivysaur come on!" A female Ivysaur appeared, probably a bit larger than your normal Ivysaur.

"Razor Leaf!" "Use Ember!" As I thought, Ember overpowered Razor Leaf, but just barely. "Sleep Powder." "Use Smokescreen." Smoke blocked Ivysaur's view & I instructed Charcoal to get away from Ivysaur as much as possible, I didn't need him falling asleep.

When the smoke cleared up, something strange happened. Ivysaur was the one asleep? I can't tell you to this day how that happened, but this pretty much ensured my victory at the Celadon gym.

Her next Pokemon was a Vileplume, which was much harder to knock out. Charcoal's Ember attacks didn't do as good as I thought they would, & it was during this frustrating moment that Charmeleon learned a new move, Fire Fang. Much stronger than Ember, Fire Fang saved the day & won us the badge. I hugged Charcoal & congradulated him. "You did so good!" I squeeled. "That Charmeleon is strong. Even when faced against fire Pokemon, Vileplume usually wins. I've beaten lots of Charmeleons with Vileplume. Yours is one of the few who've won. Congradulations," she handed me the badge & I held it in my hands, proud of my Charmeleon for doing so well.

I didn't even recall him back into his Pokeball, he sat beside me on the bleachers as we watched Brandon prepare himself for hiss battle. Erika sent out a Gloom. The grass-type Pokemon didn't look like much of a threat, & it was fairly easy for Brandon's Dratini to beat it.

In the second battle, however Erika's Victreebell proved to be strong, & knocked out Dratini cold. Luckily, Growlithe was ale to save the day, using Fire Fang as a finishing move. Our third gym battle had been won.

The next morning, Brandon & I decided to head back to Saffron, challenge Sabrina, & then challenge Surge in Vermillion. This way we would have five badges! It was the best way to earn badges without wasting time & going back & forth.

"Are you sure you don't wanna come?" I asked Adriana as we gathered our things. I had become used to her presence, & wanted her to come along with us, but she said that Vaporeon was not ready to travel yet, & that she had to give away the Eevee eggs before she left. "I'm just gonna hang around here for a while. How about I call you when I give away the last egg & I'll catch up?" she winked. I nodded happily.

"So it's settled then. You two go win your badges," she encouraged us. "Well Jolteon," I turned my attention to him. "Are you ready?" He nodded & ran in small circles excitedly. "Alright boy," I chuckled. "Return." With the flash of a dim red light, Jolt was in the Pokeball that was once held by my very own brother.

My brother... I felt a tinge of sadness as I felt the Pokeball in my hands. Sensing this, Adriana spoke comforting words. "It's what he would have wanted." Her calm voice soothed me. I gulped, & nodded at her understandingly.

She gave us each a small incubator with an egg in it. "How long until it hatches?" I asked. "A few weeks. Maybe even one week, because of the incubator. Pokemon eggs hatch fast. Now get out of here," she winked at me. We said bye to Adriana & her sister Ariana, & were on our way.

"Am I the only who feels a bit sad?" I frowned. Brandon spoke up. "No, I feel it too..." We walked in silence until we stopped for lunch. We released our Pokemon & ate quietly. It was a sad day.

We didn't stop again until night time. "It sucks traveling in a small group, you know," I sighed. Brandon agreed with me. "It feels... Lonely sometimes." Our Pokemon were a bit sad, too. I think they missed Adriana & her Pokemon, too. "But remember, when she gives away the Eevee eggs, she'll call," I smiled, hoping to brighten up the mood.

By the next afternoon, we had arrive in Saffron City. Brandon & I spent literally an entire day, just training our Pokemon. We knew Sabrina wouldn't be easy to beat.

Our Pokemon really didn't learn any new moves, unfortunately, but I did see some progress with our training. Relic was a little less slow.

I was fairly impressed with the amount of moves my brother's Jolteon knew. He had moves like Shadow Ball taught by TM, to powerful moves learned by leveling up like Thunder. He even knew Dig! My brother used lots of TM's on this Pokemon, & Jolt was incredibly strong & fast!

That night we got a room at the Pokemon Center & shared our usual routine;eating, releasing our Pokemon, & watching tv. It didn't take long for everyone to fall asleep. I couldn't. I tossed & turned, but too many things ran across my mind.

I got up & walked to the balcony of our room. I stared down at the beautiful city light. A Hoothoot flew by, hooting at me & staring with its big round glowing red eyes. I closed my eyes & enjoyed the cool, slightly breezy weather.

I looked down & saw two trainers walking into the Pokemon Center with a Wooper & a Marill at their feet. They looked tired, as if they had been traveling all day. Then it occured to me, they probably have.

I sighed & tried to clear my head, but nothing worked. I felt around in my pocket & felt a familiar peace of paper. The note Randall left me. I felt like reading it over & over, & crying forever, but I kept myself from opening the note, knowing it would make me break down like it always had.

I missed my brother. I closed my eyes & reminisced to when I first met Jolt when he was an Eevee, & Randall's first Pokemon. He had been lucky to find the poor Eevee beat up badly, barely clinging onto its own life. Abused by it's trainer because it wouldn't evolve into the Espeon he so desperately wanted.

Despite our money issues, Randall brought the Eevee home, & nursed it back to health. Soon they began to bond closely, & when all hope seemed lost for us, not having enough money for even toothpaste, Randall left the house with his beloved Eevee to battle & earn money.

As I thought back to the wonderful times I had my brother beside me, I felt soft fur gently glide over my hand. Jolt was at my feet, whimpering. He already knew what I was thinking, & I knew that Jolt suffered from my brother's death just as much as I did.

"Hey buddy, why aren't you asleep?" I asked, trying to sound cheerful. Jolteon whimpered again & I saw his eyes get watery. Did he want to... Cry? My guess was proven right as a single tear slid down Jolt's face. I had never seen a Pokemon cry before.

"Jolt..." the poor Pokemon jumped into my arms, seeking comfort. Seeking a friend. Just seeking someone to be there for him, & I couldn't let him down. "I... I miss him too Jolt. So much..." I began to cry. Jolteon & I cried for what seemed like hours.

The pain was unbearable. Losing your brother? This was not something that was supposed to happen to a 17 year old girl! As our sobs died down, & became light sniffles, Phantom appeared. He hovered by us, with a frown on his face. This was unusual, he was usually my happiest Pokemon.

I had never seen him looking sad before. He must have been able to sense the depressing atmosphere.

"Well guys... There's not much we can do... We can just, make sure that Randall is proud of us, by doing our best & winning our next badge tomorrow," I tried to sound encouraging. Jolt lightened up a little. He nodded & looked determined. "Jolt!" Jolt's tears were replaced by a look of sheer determination.

"Haunter!" Phantom cried. "Time for bed, you two," I smiled at them & we went to sleep. I was glad to have my Pokemon here with me to help me get through such a difficult time.

-------------------------Hello to the few readers I have lol v.vI hope those of you that read this part enjoyed it, I actually felt really sad while writing this...Like, I felt my heart break as I wrote it, yaa'know?Anyway, please please please vote if you liked this chapter (: good day to you all . d: