Two gyms, a death, and a pizza place

Starting Pokemon:
Izze the Charizard
Claire the Pidgeotto
Allie the Mankey
Sykes the Jolteon
Nessa the Lapras
Lump the Snorlax


My graveyard (R.I.P.):
Blossom the Vileplume
Doug the Dugtrio
Kingsly the Butterfree




Week 37:


With Giovanni and Rocket vanquished, the city of Saffron was safe again. Time for another badge.


--Saffron City--
Sabrina and the Marsh Badge


So this place is less of a Gym and more of a cult. Seriously. The people in this gym all walk around with their eyes half glazed-over murmuring about how wonderful and powerful Sabrina is. I feel bad for dojo next door. At least they weren't trying to convert me to anything. All business over there.


I decide to send out Sykes for the first gauntlet against Sabrina. Her Kadabra is powerful, but Sykes's Pin Missiles are pretty deadly for Psychic types. Before Kadabra goes down, he shoots off a Future Sight and collapses. After he faints, Sykes takes the damage and has to battle, weakened, against a Mr. Mime. He puts up a Barrier and Baton Passes to a Venemoth.


Charizard time.


Izze comes out, and a roar fills the cold, tiled gym. In one move, Izze has the Venemoth lying in a smoldering heap. Even a Hyper Potion-healed Mr. Mime goes down in two shots.


Sabrina sends out her final hope: a Lv43 Alakazam with whiskers down to his knees.


Izze shoots a white-hot jet of flame toward the creature, singing its long whiskers. Alakazam is burned. Alakazam uses Psychic and drains Izze's health to less than 50%. Wasting a costly turn, Sabrina uses a Burn Heal.


Too late.


WIth a final blast, Izze takes down the Alakazam and earns us our fifth badge. 


This Marsh Badge is for you guys: Blossom, Doug, Kingsly… You helped get us here.

But for some reason, I'm still going to accept your challenge.

Week 38:


--Fuschia City--
Koga and the Soul Badge


There are some battles where everything just seems to go right. It's like after all the effort and pain the team went through to take down Rocket in Saffron, we gelled into a cohesive unit ready for anything. Everyone has their role, everyone knows their place.


As Koga rambled on about strategy and crippling poisons, I calmly sent out my Snorlax, Lump, and watched as he absorbed hit after hit… He even withstood a Selfdestruct. It was with a tinge of bittersweet memory that I saw the Koffing explode before my eyes, the familiar flame and shrapnel flying in chaotic arcs around the room while junior trainers ran for cover. I was stricken by the ferocity of the attack and tormented with the memory of Blossom's fateful demise. And yet even as these emotions flooded my consciousness, I stood proud as Lump shrugged it off and took a bite out of his Leftovers.


Strong though he is, I pulled Lump and sent out my closer to finish the battle. With a confident ease, Izze burned his way through Koga's remaining Pokemon and gave me a gigantic, toothy smile. We were doing it. Two gyms in two weeks and here I was holding onto our sixth badge.


Koga handed us the badge along with TM06 - Toxic. I don't have a use for it yet, but I'm gonna hold onto this. This could come in real handy later on.

"I used to be a magician, but I came here to train as a ninja instead!"
So... That makes you a juggler?

Week 39:


The Soul Badge is considered a license to Surf in Kanto -- why they allow you Fly before you can Surf is beyond me -- but I'm not quite ready to head for Cinnibar. I've been hearing complaints about a tweaked out Power Plant outside of Cerulean for a couple months now, and I think I owe it to Misty and the rest of Cerulean to check it out before I leave. The trip to Cinnabar could last for a long time and I don't want to let anyone down.


The Power Plant is massive. A bunch of discarded Item Balls lay scattered about the floor, but it seems like every other one is just a Voltorb in disguise. I've got Allie out in front for this one. The Magnemites in this building are incredibly aggressive and she already helped us catch the first one (Magnum the Magnemite, sent straight to the PC).


I keep her out of her Pokeball to help me explore the hallways. She doesn't like it. Brave though she may be, the air around here is quite literally charged. Her fur is standing on end and I can feel the rivets on my jeans start to pull away as Magnemites race about the building.


She's the lowest level in my team right now by one, and I promise her that as soon as she gains one level, I'll switch to someone else. We don't have a Ground-type on the team right now, so her Fighting-type is as good as anything else to take care of these Steel pests.


It happens in a flash.


As I peek down another deserted hallway, I hear Allie's shouts from behind me. I whirl around to see a massive Electabuzz let fly with a bristling Thunder Punch. He stands a good four inches taller than Allie and I yell for her to duck. Too late. The punch connects but Allie bounces out of it, a glancing blow. She lands a Karate Chop square on his head and knocks him backwards. 


I smile. That's my Allie. The prize fighter.


The wild Electabuzz lets fly with another Thunder Punch. Allie tries to dip out of the way but something is wrong. The punch connects with a sickening crunch, arcs of electricity bouncing from the wild Pokemon's outstretched fist.


It's a critical hit. 


Izze emerges from his Pokeball without my needing to call him. With a fearsome howl, he tears into the Electabuzz… But it is already too late.

...

Allie lay still at my feet, her fists still clenched and ready for the fight, while her heart simply stops beating.


Izze places a claw on my shoulder as a giant tear falls from his scaly eyes, landing on the floor with a hiss of electricity. I gather Allie up in my arms and Izze uses Dig to take us to the front of the entrance.

You could float like a Butterfree and sting like a Beedrill.
Thanks for the memories.

---IN MEMORIAM--
Allie - Lv39 - The Brave Primeape I met along Route 3 as a tiny Mankey. May your death serve as a reminder that sometimes, there is no meaning in loss other than to remember the joy we once had as two living creatures.
-------------------------

Revenge is a dish best served ON FIRE

Starting Pokemon:

Izze the Charizard

Claire the Pidgeotto

Allie the Mankey

Sykes the Jolteon

My graveyard (R.I.P.):

Blossom the Vileplume

Doug the Dugtrio

Kingsly the Butterfree

Week 33:

I left Silph Co. with my head hung low. I was down to just 4 starters after losing three of my friends. I was impulsive. I was arrogant.

Izze is still frustrated with me. He tries not to show it, but I can tell he hasn't forgiven me for Blossom's death. I could have switched anyone in, really. Even him. Anything but letting her go like that.

I know that I can't face whomever or whatever resides on the top floor of Silph Co. until I train this team to the point of exhaustion. 


But my words are empty at this point. I've shown that. 

As I was leaving Silph Co. following the match with Gary, a scared Silph employee ran over to me. He shoved a Pokeball into my hand and begged me to take it. It was a Lapras. I asked him why he would just give me this Pokemon. He said that Silph had been using it for research and he was afraid that Rocket would find her and use her for evil. He said that he could tell I cared about my Pokemon and he felt like I would take care of her.

If he only knew.

I took the Lapras out of her ball when I flew to Fuchsia to train. She's an incredibly majestic Pokemon. I taught her Surf and began testing her out on the trainers littering Route 15. She can take a hit, that's for sure. 

I name her Nessa, and welcome her to the team. 

Week 34:

As we continue training, I decide to head up to Celadon to resupply and see if we can't catch that Snorlax I saw blocking the path to bicycle routes to the west. I've been doing some research on the Pokedex and it seems like Snorlax has incredibly high HP. This might be exactly what my team needs to survive: another tank.

I give Nessa a shot at weakening the Snorlax but he's just too strong for her. I switch her out for Izze. He nods in approval, always willing to step in and close out a battle. The Snorlax uses Rest and falls back asleep, its health skyrocketing. I seize my chance. Izze uses a Wing Attack and drops the Snorlax's health to under 50% as I throw a Great Ball at the sleeping behemoth. It works. 

We take the newly captured Snorlax to the Pokecenter and heal up the team. Welcome to the team, Lump.

Week 35:

I feel like time is wasting before something sinister goes down in Silph, but there is simply no way I can risk any more deaths. After a considerable amount of grinding, I decide to challenge the local Gym leader in Saffron. Well… Hm. There are next-door gyms here so I guess I'll challenge the one that isn't blocked by a Rocket thug.

Don't taze me, bro!

So Claire made quick work of the Fighting Dojo and the freaking' leader says he won't give me a badge. Why? No idea. Instead he gave me a Pokemon of my choosing. Thanks buddy, but I've already got a fighter. It's to the PC for Balboa the Hitmonchan.

Please! I don't want to admit that we were stripped of our
Pokemon League certification!

Added a couple new friends to the PC: Pokeball the Voltorb, Parseltung the Ekans, Panflute the Raticate, and Condaleeza the Fearow (Condorleeza was too long).

We ran into one of Oak's aides near Vermillion and he checked out our progress on the Pokedex. I guess we're doing well so far because he gave me an Itemfinder. I took it outside to the docks and found a piece of Leftovers. Gave it Lump to hold onto and took off for Saffron.

It's time.

Week 36:

The preparation paid off. It turns out Nessa was exactly what we needed to put Silph out of commission as the thug guarding the door sent out Ground-type after Ground-type in an attempt to thwart us. Not gonna happen.


Beyond the locked door stood Giovanni, leader of Team Rocket.

As Nessa began to take a few too many hits from Giovanni's Nidoqueen, I thought about the lessons learned from my past mistakes and withdrew her in favor of Izze. It didn't matter the foe, my ferocious Charizard--the captain of my team--was not about to let another of his teammates go down. 

With a mighty Flamethrower, the Nidoqueen fell to the floor. And the Kangaskhan that came after? Didn't stand a chance. 

Izze breathed a plume of smoke into the air and grabbed his tail, blowing it off like the little Charmander I once knew. Izze, it seemed, had finally forgiven me.

Now I just need to forgive myself.

And no structural damage? It's a miracle!

They Say that Deaths Come in Threes...

Starting Pokemon:

Izze the Charizard

Claire the Pidgeotto

Allie the Mankey

Blossom the Vileplume

Doug the Dugtrio

Sykes the Jolteon

Week 31:

Got word that something big was going down in Saffron so I hopped atop Claire and flew off to investigate. Turns out Rocket has taken over the Silph Co. Building and I don't think anyone else is gonna try to stop them. 

After one battle, Claire begins to glow. Her feathers are emitting little beams of light and her usually piercing screech is taking on a timbre I've never heard before. She lands atop my shoulder and I can feel her getting heavier. With a thundering shriek, Claire leaps from my shoulder and lands on the ground. Claire has evolved into a mighty Pidgeot. Get ready, Rocket, 'cause I ain't slowin' down for no one.

This will hopefully make using FLY more comfortable.

I'm worried about Allie and Doug. They're like glass cannons. They both inflict heavy amounts of damage and are fast as lighting (well, not as fast as Sykes) but they just can't take a hit. I find myself registering first aid and healing them after almost every battle. Most of the other guys are good for a long while, maybe a Fresh Water here and there to recover, but Allie and Doug are really concerning me. I can tell they're trying their best but I'm worried I'm pushing them too hard.

In all of my concern for protecting Allie and Doug, I grossly underestimate the danger of taking on the forces of evil. They don't play fair. They don't fight honorably. They don't bother to focus on anyone but themselves.

As Blossom faces down the enemy Electrode, she becomes paralyzed by a well-placed Shock. I instruct her to use Sleep Powder and she aptly puts the Electrode into a deep slumber. She tries to Cut him down, but it's only taking off about a quarter of his health. 

I could have switched to Doug. His type advantage would have made quick work of the Electric Pokemon. 

I'm worried that a wayward Selfdestruct or Screech/Sonicboom combo could seriously harm Doug. Surely Blossom can withstand this Electrode.

I'm wrong.

With but a sliver of health remaining, the enemy Electrode awakes and the crazed scientist screams for him to Selfdestruct. I helplessly look on in abject horror as Blossom turns to me, shielding her face from the terrible explosion. In an instant, her lifeless form at my feet, her petals burn off and leave but a charred corpse. The looks of pain remains etched across her mossy face. 

---IN MEMORIAM--

Blossom - Lv33 - The Mild-natured Vileplume met in Rte 25 as a Lv12 Oddish. You will be sorely missed, my friend. I am so sorry.
---------------------------

So senseless a killing.

The scientist wasted no time in sending out his next Pokemon, a disgusting Muk. In a rage, I sent out my first Pokemon: Izze. With a fury I've never seen before, Izze took dow the Muk with a single Flamethrower and stalked over to the unmoving body of Blossom. He looked down at me in anger. He knew. He knew that it didn't have to be this way. With tears streaming down my face I recalled Izze into his Pokeball and left Silph Co.

Good-bye, Blossom. You were incredibly brave and your death will be avenged. We will take down Rocket and make it so no Pokemon ever has to die in vain like you.

May you find peace, my friend. 

Perhaps my concern for Doug wasn't as misplaced as I thought in my grief over losing Blossom. As we climbed to the tenth floor of Silph Co., we encountered another Rocket goon with an incredibly powerful Machoke. Doug's Magnitude attack was firing on all cylinders. A Magnitude 8 took Machoke's health down to almost nothing, but it wasn't enough. The enemy Machoke used Revenge, and took Doug down with just one attack. 

It isn't fair.

You think that's revenge? You haven't seen anything yet, Rocket.

Today is becoming the worst day of my life. I've lost two friends to these monsters called Team Rocket and I now know of nothing but vengeance. I sent out Claire to finish off the Machoke and tried to gather myself. I'm not even crying anymore. I'm stunned.

---IN MEMORIAM--

Doug - Lv36 - The Hasty-natured Dugtrio I met in Diglett's Cave as a tiny little Lv17 Diglett. You will be missed, friend. I promise that your death will not be for naught. 

-------------------------

As we attempted to leave Silph to lay Doug to rest, another Rocket Scientist leapt out at us to challenge me in my grief. You picked the wrong day, asshole.

Allie is enraged. She and Doug were always close. With a mighty Karate chop, the enemy Magnemite fell to the floor. A one-hit KO. The scientist throws out a Koffing and she begs to stay in. A Karate Chop and a Rock Slide take its health down pretty low, but I'm not risking another death. I pull Allie and throw in Izze. His Flamethrower takes down the Koffing and we make a mad dash to the elevator. Today is a horrible, horrible day.

These deaths shall be avenged.

With only 4 active Pokemon left in my lineup, I check through my PC to take a look at my reserves. I withdraw Kingsly and head out to train up a bit more before tackling the top floor of Silph. I cannot bear the thought of losing another.

Week 32:

With my lineup reduced to reserves, I set out to find trainers. I needed to build up my team and right then, it meant getting Kingsly back into fighting shape. He was a good ten levels lower than anyone else on my squad and I would need him in prime condition before attempting to take down Rocket.


We headed toward the Fighting Dojo. I knew his level was still a bit low, but was intent upon getting him used to fighting speed again.

I had hoped that he earned an early retirement. I had hoped that I would never have to fight with him again, for he had already done so much.

I hoped in vain.

With a mighty Karate Chop, Kingsly was cut down before his prime.

---IN MEMORIAM--

Kingsly - Lv32 - The Timid Butterfree I met in Viridian Forest as a stubborn Lv5 Metapod. You are one of my oldest friends, and this hurts more than anyone can imagine.

-------------------------

And then I flew into a blind rage.

Enough fucking around. I gather myself and march to the top level of Silph Co. I can hear voices behind a wall, but there is no way in. There must be a key to these warp panels. I start running through the warps at random, trying to find a pattern.


I don't care if I only have four Pokemon. If they've survived this long then it means they're the strongest, right? It means they're the ones that are supposed to live on. These four will have to be enough because its clear that no training is good enough. I'll take on Rocket with my own bare hands if I have to.


WHERE THE HELL DO THESE PANELS LEAD?

Gary Oak.

Really, Gary? I'm in the middle of trying to take down an evil organization and you don't even bother to help? He says he was waiting for me because he "knew I'd show up" sooner or later. This kid is sick. He's twisted.

He... He's stronger than me.


Against all logic and reason, we defeat Gary. Sykes pulls off two critical hits in a row, and Izze manages to dodge about three attacks, but...


This was a victory we did not deserve.


And Izze knows it.

You have no idea.

The Calm Before the Storm

Starting Pokemon:

Izze the Charmeleon

Claire the Pidgeotto

Allie the Mankey

Blossom the Vileplume

Doug the Dugtrio

Sykes the Jolteon

Week 27:

--Celadon City--

Erika and the Rainbow Badge

With Rocket out of the way, it's time to take care of the Celadon Gym. They say it's girls only, but don't seem to mind a male challenger. Heh. Let's go turn some heads, boys. 

Damnit Gary. Looks like he beat me here cause his name is already etched onto the Winning Trainers list.

Scratches in: ... Is... a... tool...

Erika's junior trainers were amazing. Incredible. I mean… just… gorgeous. As trainers, they were awful… took them down without any trouble. But holy shit they were gorgeous. Anyway, Erika was *actually* amazing. Beautiful, but incredibly gifted as a trainer. Izze took down her Victreebell and Tangela with almost no trouble at all, but her Vileplume was incredibly powerful. Izze's Ember was barely singing its petals and I had to use some Fresh Water and Paralyze Heal mid-battle just to stay competitive. Erika used a Hyper Potion and the battle essentially restarted, with both our Pokemon fully healed.

Erika's Vileplume used Acid and kept getting stronger as it lowered Izze's defenses over and over again. Izze had her Vileplume on the brink, but one more Acid attack and Izze was gonna go down. I switch him out and send in Claire. She used Quick Attack and the battle was over. One more badge to add to the collection.

Week 28:

WIth four badges, it's time to figure out how to get past the Snorlax but I have no idea how to wake it up. I'm gonna check out the Pokemon Tower for no other reason than I have no idea what to do other than investigate the Silph Scope.

Ran into Gary on the second floor. He looked really upset to see me and prompty threw out his first Pokemon. It was really off-putting. He seemed really angry. I also noticed he didn't have his Raticate with him anymore. I remember the last time we battled his Raticate looked really messed up. I can't prove this, of course, but I'm really worried that he was here to lay the ashes of his dead Raticate.


I think I feel sick.

I climbed to to top of the Pokemon Tower and was surprised by the ghost of Marowak. This must be the Marowak that Rocket killed. 

There were a couple more goons atop the highest floor of the tower, and Izze tore through their ranks with incredible ease. He learned Flamethrower, which is incredibly powerful, and OHKO'd all but one enemy Pokemon.

And then….

It happened.

With a mighty roar, his head pointed toward the sky, Izze began to glow. Massive wings began sprouting through his shoulder blades as his tail snaked off behind him, growing larger and thicker. With a final screech, Izze stretched out his arms and breathed a plume of fire into the night air. 

Izze is now a Charizard. 

Like a BB gun evolving into an M1 tank.

I escorted Mr. Fuji back down to his house and he gave me a Poke Flute. He said it'll wake up any sleeping Pokemon. My first thought? Sweet, I can go sell these Awakening shots. 


Second thought? Holy shit, I wonder if it'll work on that massive Snorlax?

Week 29:

It's Snorlax time. Or… at least it was. Allie just took him down with one simple Low Kick. So much for catching him. I think I saw another one of these things over on the other side of Celadon, so I'll try again later.

"Appeared" must be relative. It's only been sleeping there for seven months.

Week 30:

Just got to Fuchsia and made a mad dash for this place called the Safari Zone. Nabbed a Nidorina and an Exeggute so far and stopped into a rest house to write it down. I met the Warden earlier and he said he was missing his teeth… At least I think that's what he said. It sounded more like "Ah miffy mah feef!"

Almost nabbed a Rhyhorn in Area 2 and just missed catching a Goldeen in Area 3. Oh well. I added some solid depth to my team anyway. Supposedly there's an HM03 buried waaaay back in the Safari Zone so I'm gonna try again tomorrow. 


There's sort of buzz going on in all of rest houses. People keep talking in hushed tones. I think I need to give Mom a call and see if there's any news happening around Kanto. Something feels off. 

Rock Tunnel and the Evolutionary Stones

Starting Pokemon:

Izzy the Charmeleon

Claire the Pidgeotto

Kingsly the Butterfree

Allie the Mankey

Blossom the Gloom

Doug the Dugtrio

Week twenty-two:

Had to store Kingsly for the time being and get Katie back out from the PC. Somehow, don't ask me to explain it, my little Meowth is able to use her little forehead-coin to light up Rock Tunnel. Remember when I said Viridian Forst was dark as a cave? Yeah. No. Not even a little. Rock Tunnel is like standing in a dark room at midnight while blindfolded. This is gonna be rough.

Met a guy who asked me about Pokemon cosplay. Um. Yeah. So. I killed his 'mon and ran the hell away.

Fuck everything about this.

Week twenty-three:

Lavender Town is an incredibly depressing place. There's a tower here where people pay their respects to fallen Pokemon. I really, REALLY, hope I never have to come here for that reason.

Stopped by the Name Rater to update my Charmeleon's tags. "Izzy" seemed a lot more fitting when he was a baby Charmander, and I've always called him "Iz" for short. Now he's just plain Izze! Izze seems to like the change.

Week twenty-four:

Just found an underground tunnel to Celadon. I'm gonna run that as fast as I can. Heard about a guy who might be giving away Eevees. If there's one thing my team NEEDs right now, it's an Electric Pokemon. I hear they sell Thunderstones in Celadon, too….

Okay, so I don't know who this guy was, but the ninja hanging out on the roof of Celadon Mansion told be that he knew everything, proceeded to break the fourth wall, and then just stared at me as I took the Eevee off the table in the corner. He didn't stop me, so… It's not stealing, right? 


Right!?

Stopped by the mall to pick up some goodies. Blossom sure seemed to like the Leaf Stone I bought. She up and sprouted these gorgeous petals and evolved right into a Vileplume! Nicely done, girl!

Not to be outdone, the newest member of our team, Sykes the Eevee, is now Sykes the Jolteon after seeing the Thunder Stone I purchased alongside the Leaf Stone. This team is looking pretty well built if I do say so myself.

Week 25:

Met these guys. Yup. Matching shirts.

It'll break their matching hearts to find out they're related.

Week 26:

Lots of training lately. I want to go snag my fourth badge, but I'm hearing all these rumblings about this Team Rocket. Maybe there's more to being a Pokemon trainer than winning badges. I'm gonna look into this Rocket business.

The Secret Base is immense. There are stairs everywhere, dead ends, elevator lifts… It's like this place was built by a mad-man and yet… I haven't got lost yet.

The elevator lift was shut down and needed a Lift Key and get this: I meet a Rocket goon who "dropped" the key after I beat him. There's no way this organization can last with goons like this.

Finally got to Giovanni. Hah. Whatta joke. Allie fought like a champ and took him DOWN. Onix? Low Kick. One hit KO. Rhyhorn? Low Kick. One hit KO. Kangaskhan? Low Kick, Karate Chop, KNOCK OUT. You're a champion, Allie. I have never been so proud.

Also, WHAT is with these guys just dropping things after they've been defeated? Giovanni dropped a Silph Scope that one of the other guys mentioned could be used to detect ghosts. Shit just keeps getting weirder and weirder around here.

Lt. Surge and the Thunder Badge

Starting Pokemon:

Izzy the Charmeleon

Claire the Pidgeotto

Kingsly the Butterfree

Allie the Mankey

Blossom the Gloom

Katie the Meowth

Week eighteen:

Fought through Lt. Surge's junior trainers at the Vermillion Gym. Surge has got some sort of weird trap system installed inside of a bunch of fucking trash cans. This guy is a freak, but he seems like a really tough trainer. I need to level up a bit cause this guy doesn't look right. Reeeeaaaally shifty eyes. 

I popped inside Diglett Cave to see if it would live up to its name. Sure enough, a Diglett stuck his head out of a little molehill and attacked us. Sleep Powder, Pokeball, BOOM. New member of the team. Welcome, Doug! 


Doug's Magnitude move is really interesting:


Magnitude - Power - Chance
4          -        10    -     5%
5          -        30    -    10%
6          -        50    -    20%
7          -        70    -    20%
8          -        90    -    20%
9          -       110    -   10%
10         -      150    -    5%

I made an apology to Katie and placed her in the PC for now. I should call Mom and see if she needs a pet Meowth. I feel bad leaving her in the PC, but this is about glory, not sentiment. 

Week nineteen:

After a LOT of training, Doug has successfully evolved into a Dugtrio. His Magnitude move has been fascinating thus far. It's frustrating, as he seems to save the 4s and 5s for high level opponents. I'm a bit worried Doug caves under pressure, but not so worried that I would avoid Lt. Surge. This battle has been a long time coming. Now if i can just figure out these switches…

So... Are those like, your brothers, or something?

Week twenty:

--Vermillion City--

Lt. Surge and the Thunder Badge

I feel kind of guilty for saying Surge had shifty eyes earlier. Turns out he had them injured during the war and wears sunglasses to hide his scars from insensitive people… people like me I suppose. Hm.

I heard what you said!

Doug is nervous. You can just feel it in the way he three little heads are bobbing about faster than usual. He OHKOs the Voltorb Surge starts with. His confidence is building. Magnitude 9!! Dough OHKOs Surge's Pikachu!

Surge grimaces. He sends out his Raichu. The Pokemon bristles with electricity--I can feel my hair standing on end. Doug is psyched out. Magnitude 5. Raichu delivers a sharp Quick Attack and cuts into Doug's health. I tell Doug to Dig. Raichu uses Double Team and starts moving so quickly that Doug misses his attack. Raichu gets in another Quick Attack and Doug's health is dipping perilously low. It's all or nothing now. Magnitude 6! It's not a great attack, but it's enough. Raichu faints to the floor and Surge looks up at me and actually smiles. He's impressed.

Three down. Five to go. We can DO this. I'm feelin' it.

Week twenty-one:

Met one of Oak's aides in Vermillion and was instructed to seek out another aide outside of Pewter. "That's quite a haul," I tell him. The aide tells me not to worry, that Diglett Cave connects Vermillion and Pewter. I tell him I'll look into it.

Diglett Cave was terrifying. I thought Doug was a badass but the Dugtrio hanging around down there are ENORMOUS. Blossom almost got seriously hurt during one skirmish, but thankfully Kingsly was there to bail her out with a well-placed Poison Powder.