Pokémon Voyages Red-Blue (3)

To recap: After receiving Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle, Joshua has just accidentally challenged the school bully, Drake, to a Pokémon Battle!


Our battle took place in the biggest field in Pallet. 

“Three-on-three?” Drake asked from the other side of the field from me. “Or full team? Either is by me,” he said, cracking his knuckles and unclipping a pokèball from his belt.

“Three-on-Three,” I called, hoping to sound braver than I actually felt. 

“Ready…” Our judge called, a girl from school, a little too young to pokèmon train yet, but knew just about all she needed to judge a match. I think her name’s Savannah. “Battle!”

I threw my first pokèball through the air, at the same moment Drake threw his. They hit the ground, exploding into two pokèmon.

My first battle had begun.

The first pokèmon stepping up were Bulbasaur and Golduck. I ran through the calculations in my mind and figured out: Golduck’s Water was weak to Grass, but Bulbasaur’s  Poison had the disadvantage against Psychic. So I just had to focus on Grass moves.

“Vine Whip!” I called to Bulbasaur, and he let loose two vines, same as with Squirtle, and gave Golduck a good whooping. He’d obeyed me!

“Is that all you’ve got?” Drake called, taunting. “Confusion!”

Golduck let out strange waves from the red orb in it’s forehead, and the waves enveloped Bulbasaur, who seemed to actually take damage, unlike Golduck. 

“Erm…” I tried to command him, and I almost came up blank. Then Bulbasaur looked at me, awaiting his instructions. A surge of confidence flew through me.

“Sleep Powder!” I called, and Bulbasaur fired a round of the stuff, covering Golduck. Golduck’s eyes drooped once, twice, until it zonked out on the ground. 

“No!” Drake yelled at it. “Wake up! Water Gun! Psybeam! Ahh!” 

As Golduck snored away, Bulbasaur noticed the sun setting. 

“Solar Beam!” I called. He charged himself up, prepping himself for the blast. 

Golduck woke up, groggy and then noticed the bundle of energy just above Bulbasaur’s bulb. Golduck watched in horror as the energy flew into the sky and fired a blast of solar energy into his face. On the bright side for him, he had a pretty good-looking tan. 

Golduck collapsed backwards, and to his pokèball he returned, at that returned straight to Drake’s palm. I whooped. Bulbasaur did a little victory dance, standing on his left legs, then his right legs, then hopping around in a full circle.

Drake cursed. (Just a warning, you might hear that a few more times over the course of this battle).

As he chose his second, I returned Bulbasaur and placed my hand on my second’s pokèball, like a cowboy with his hand on his gun in a standoff. 

Drake threw the ball, releasing his second pokèmon: Beedrill, the one he’d mockingly was going to trade me. I threw in my second pokèmon: Charmander. Again I had the type advantage: Fire against Bug. 

“Poison Sting!” Drake called to his Beedrill before I could call Charmander’s move. Beedrill promptly pointed it’s rear at Charmander and fired a purple squirt of poison. The shot hit, and Charmander had a purple shading. Poison status. 

Charmander got an angry look in his eyes, so I called for his attack: “Ember!”

He fired a burning coal about the size of my hand flew at Beedrill, leaving and mark on it’s middle segment. Flames flickered out of the spot. Burn status. This was a status battle. 

Beedrill fired a Bug Bite at Drake’s command, and Charmander let loose another Ember, then Beedrill fired Poison Sting again. The poison and burn were wearing them both down. Beedrill didn’t seem as badly affected, but Charmander was slowly growing wearier.

I bit my nail. How could I win this? Charmander turned to me and nodded, despite the tiredness in its look. You got this.

“Scratch!” Charmander charged right toward its opponent and scratched his right wing. 

Beedrill buzzed in anger. It fired off another Poison Sting, but I called for Charmander, “Ember!” The fiery blast stung Beedrill and burned the left wing. Beedrill fluttered out of control. 

With Beedrill’s wings unstable, it tried for a Poison sting, but Charmander finished the round with an Ember blast.

Drake cursed as Beedrill returned (See, I told you). Charmander almost collapsed from the poison, though, so I returned him to his pokèball.

Now, the battle was coming easily to me. I threw my next pokèball at the same moment Drake threw his. 

Squirtle and Pidgeotto were ready for battle. This time, I had no type advantage backing me up, and if Pidgeotto won, Charmander couldn’t take any more, and Bulbasaur was weak to flying. 

“Air Slash!” Pidgeotto fired a round of blades of wind that sliced through the air itself. Squirtle took full brunt of the attack and staggered back. 

“Water Gun!” Squirtle sprayed water, drenching Pidgeotto.

He might as well have been using a sprinkler. The attack only annoyed Pidgeotto, who flew in for a Brave Bird, scoring a direct hit. 

Squirtle flinched, and Pidgeotto fired another perfect Air Slash. 

“Water Gun!” I tried again. Squirtle fired another sprinkler blast, and Pidgeotto was fine. He fired another Air Slash. Squirtle managed a half-dodge but was still hit. 

“Withdraw!” Squirtle popped back into his shell, hoping to lower damage from the next hit. Brave Bird slammed into Squirtle, but he kept in his shell, blocking the worst of the attack.

I wasn’t sure what Squirtle next move should be, Squirtle began to spin his shell a bit, then faster, and faster, until I noticed what he was going to do.

“Whirlpool!” I called, and Squirtle kicked off, spraying water in a circle around Pidgeotto, trapping him in a watery cage, slapping him with waves and even a tin can he must’ve picked up of the ground. Pidgeotto tried to escape, but the struggle made him take more damage. 

Drake called for him to use Brave Bird again, but Pidgeotto couldn’t escape.

Squirtle began to inhale with a bubbly sound.

“Water Gun!”

Squirtle unleashed the water he’d built up during Withdraw and blasted it in a high-pressure blast. Pidgeotto, unable to dodge, took the full power of the attack. The whirlpool settled down, and Pidgeotto fell down and returned to his pokèball.

The battle had been decided.