Just one more pokémon left for the two of him. He wasn’t sure what other pokémon Lt. Surge had but he had to go all out now. He grabbed the final pokeball from his belt and threw it onto the battle field, the white light took shape of his loyal Scyther, who readied its scythes and waited for commands.

“Alright Raichu! Show this kid who’s the boss!” from the gym leader’s side of the field a giant orange rodent took the field.

“Rai rai!”

“Scyther…”

“Hit it with a quick attack Raichu.” Commanded the gym leader.

“Start off with agility then a focus energy!” the large rat bolted for the green bug, Scyther zoomed out of the others reach, glowing orange and pumping it’s self up. “Now, hit it with a Furry Cutter!” Scyther got in close to Raichu and slashed Raichu then bat him away. Raichu flipped back onto his feet and performed its own agility, matching the speed of the enemy to tackle it in the abdomen.

Scyther slapped it away once more and slashed it into the wall and out the window. The ref leaned out the window to check out the Raichu. It was unconscious…

“Raichu is unable to battle; the winner is Galvin Oak of Pallet Town!” Surge blinked then burst into laughter. He reached into his pocket and tossed the sun shaped badge to Galvin.

“Well, that was quite the intense match, have fun with your shiny trinket. It increase speed and ‘now you can use the HM Fly and all that good junk.” Galvin watched the gym leader jump out the window and retrieve his Raichu. He looked to the door then window and back. Why didn’t he use the door?

Pushing that aside Galvin exited the Gym an returned to the hospital to visit his friends. Brass was asleep when he came by but Steel was wide awake with a smile to greet him. Her head was bandaged up due to the head trauma she received, for whatever reason. He proudly showed her the badge with a smile; Steel was so awed she snatched the badge for a closer inspection.

“Wow! It’s so cool Galvin!”

“Indeed it is.” He grinned taking it back and placing it in the gym badge case. She huffed.

“Well, what will you do now? You got your badge but me and Brass are stuck here for a few more days.” He shrugged.

“I’m not sure but I’ll figure something out.” Steel suddenly reached for her bag, she pulled out four slips of paper and hand them to Galvin. “…Bike coupons?”

“Yep! This really nice guy gave them too me at the Pokemon Club, so, maybe you can cash them in for me since I’m stuck here and you don’t seem to have much to do.” He nodded

“Yeah, I could do that.” He walked to the door when Steel spoke up once more.

“Galvin, I want you to cash in all four coupons.”

“All four? But why do you…” he paused that train of thought as the reason why hit him in the face. “oh I see, that pen pal of yours in Johto. Is his birthday coming up soon or something?”

“Yeah,” Steel spoke up with a gentle smile “I want to get him a bike.” Galvin cringed. Arceus forbid it’s an older boy, that smile just rubbed him the wrong way, it was like she loved that boy. If it was an older boy, he hoped that he wasn’t toying around with her or some ass kicking would go down.

“Galvin did you hear me?” he blinked when he returned from his thoughts. Steel pouted and crossed her arms.

“Sorry, no, I missed it. What did you say?” Steel let out a heavy sigh.

“I’d like a black bike but get my pen pal a silver one!”

“Right, I’ll keep that in mind.”

“You better!” she huffed, shaking a fist at him. He laughed her off as he exited the room while stowing the tickets away in his bag. Steel returned her quiet sitting in the bed, she would have turned on the television but she didn’t want to wake up Brass. She sighed, leaning over the bed’s railings to grab her bag and throw it into her lap. From the bag she pulled out a familiar picture frame. She smiled, only a few more years and he would become a pokémon trainer too. She couldn’t wait for that day, they would surely meet again.

“Wha’d I tell you?!” the bike manger barked. Galvin cringed as he was pelted with salvia. “It’s a hundred thousand for a bike!” Galvin furrowed his brows at the man and presented the four bike passes to the man. He snatched the slips of paper to examine them. After several minutes he sighed.

“Pick your four bikes.” Galvin smiled. The shop had three wracks to the ceiling full of bikes, all of different colors; some were mountain, racing, recreational, utility and even more. He decided to take a good look at all of the bikes before making the choice; he had to make sure they were good for his friends and that pen pal.

After an hour of wondering around he made his choices, a green aerodynamic bike for himself, brown mountain bike for Brass and a silver and black traveler bike as Steel requested. He folded the three of the four bikes up, stowing them away he walked past the manager smugly with his green bike in tow. Outside of the bike shop he proudly jumped on and pedaled off as the children whispered. Unwritten laws stated to own a bike meant you were a somebody, or you were just that rich for one.

As for the bike shop owner, he sighed. That was four hundred thousand bucks down the drain, maybe he should have a sale…

Steel was very pleased with the bikes Galvin brought back, even Brass, who was awake at the time, was impressed with his bike. They both informed Galvin they would be released within two days, which he was glad to know, and then Steel requested another favor of him, this time to mail a letter for her, probably to her pen pal.

Leading him to where he was now, the green mailbox outside of the Pokemon Center. He cautiously looked around, despite knowing that Steel or Brass weren’t out and about, before opening the letter.

…

So, Simon was the kid’s name huh? Judging by of the first lines of the letter the kid wasn’t even eleven, seeing how the official trainer age of the kid’s region was the same as Kanto’s. At least that worry was over. Galvin shoved it into the box and left as if he did not violate his friend’s privacy.

Finding the route to Celadon City blocked, once again to the thirst of the guards as well to a sleepy Snorlax, the trio of friends had to take the long route through Rock Tunnel. They biked back to Cerulean and left the town through its eastern exit that lead to route nine and ten. They were aware of how dark the tunnel was; they heard all kinds of stories from their parents growing up and other trainers on their journey, so it was decided to leave around the afternoon instead of at night when it would be much darker.

Luck for them there was a pokémon center outside of the cave’s entrance. This made Steel exceptionally happy, since she would have a nice bed to sleep in rather in her sleeping bag on the dirt. Nurse Joy treated them, and the other trainers staying the night, to dinner.

“They say Pokemon Tower in Lavander Town is cursed.” One of the boys spoke up. Steel shivered.

“C-cursed?” he grinned, in her opinion, creepily then took a bite out of his stake. He pointed his knife at Steel, who squeaked.

“They say there was a Marowak and her babies who lived really close to the town, the babies were all taken away from the mom but of course to even do that they killed the mom, the remains of her mangled and brutally beaten body was buried in Pokemon Tower. After that, children began to vanish or turn up dead, the whole town became withdrawn from outsiders and parents kept their children inside at all times. They say if you try to go to the top floor you’ll hear a voice and get attacked by the ghost of the Marowak.” The boy leaned in closer to Steel, who was trembling in fright. He smirked.

“They say it’s the Marowak’s curse. She kills little human children for killing her and taking her children. Who knows… maybe you’re next.” Suddenly she felt something slide down her arm, Steel let out a scream of fear and hugged Brass, who held her in his own fear.

The storyteller among the group of trainers burst into laughter, slapping his knee.

“Oh man! You guys are so easy to fool! There may be ghost pokemon but no such thing as a ghost ghosts! That’s just stupid stories.”

“So… that was all fake?” A female asked with a huff.

“Bah, there have been weird things going on in the tower, but it’s just old. So it’s clearly nothing, the voices? Just the wind. Getting attacked, please, it’s probably just one of the crazy priests running around.” He paused and looked to his feet with a grim look. “But… the murder of the Marowak mother? It’s true. No one knew why at first but with the recent attacks, I might have to say its Rune.” It was hard for anyone to deny after what the news covered, which was rather accurate, and what Steel and her friends witnessed themselves.

“That’s just terrible!” Steel exclaimed. “How could they do that…?” she recalled Mewtwo, her cold and cruel ways, if it wasn’t for Galvin’s Scyther that woman would of killed her like the ship’s captain…

“Alright everyone, its eight o’clock!” Nurse Joy chimed “If you’ve finished dinner please go to your sleeping quarters now! Just leave your plates on the table and I’ll get them.” Trainers collectively grumbled as they took the escalator to the second and third floors. Steel and Brass arrived to their room to find Galvin staring out the window with a blank expression. What could he possibly be looking at?

Steel leaned out the window, surprising Galvin, and looked around curiously. All she could see was what looked like a radio tower and a stone tower with a lavender coloring.

“What are you starin’ at?” he simply pat her on the head.

“Nothing, go to bed, we need to get up early tomorrow.” She puffed her cheeks but reluctantly climbed into her bed. She couldn’t fall to sleep quickly like Galvin because of that stupid tall tale. She huffed in frustration and rolled around on her bed. Sleep soon enough caught up with her but only for a short amount of time.

Screams suddenly erupted from the lower floors of the pokémon center, trainers jerked themselves awake. The trio made a rush out of the room to be face to face with a gaggle of Gastly. Steel shrieked and ran in the direction of the escalators; foolishly she tripped and fell down them. When she pulled herself to she let out another shriek.

On the ground before her was the very same trainer that spoke of the Marowak’s curse. Laying on his back Steel could visibly see the needle pierced through his heart with blood soaking his pajamas, his eyes rolled back and an indescribable pain etched into his frozen face. She backed away trying to reassure herself it was just another one of his silly jokes. But this was just too real to be a joke, just too cruel.

Steel found she was unable to move back anymore, not because she hit the wall, she could feel claws on her ankles. From the ground a Haunter floated up with a malicious grin on its face, she struggled harder; trying to pry its hands off of her it was a vain effort her hands simply phased through the pokémon. Suddenly something was engulfing her in a purple haze and Steel flailed around uselessly to lose consciousness in a matter of seconds, the Haunter let her go to join the Gastly that put her to sleep with a mocking laugh. The pokémon briefly spoke in their tongue before coming to an agreement with something and the Gastly created a needle. It looked to Steel, already grinning at the crime it was about to perform when suddenly it was hit by flames.

The Haunter face the attackers to be hit by a borage of leaves, it growled for the attackers was to be its victims. A pair of trainers, Galvin and Brass with their starters. The pokémon was his once more, this time by a stream of bubbles; it reeled back to the unconscious trainer to find that the girl’s starter had taken a defensive stance to protect her. Seeing how futile it was to attack this one trainer the Haunter departed.

Brass and Galvin stumbled to their friend; Brass shook her, chanting her name. Galvin checked her pulse and was proud to report she wasn’t dead but sleeping. Brass made a fade. This had to be the worst time to sleep. The two boys looked around when they heard footsteps, a woman came into view she walked up to the dead body on the floor and kicked it. She looked to the trio with a rather bored expression.

“…You’re the only ones left alive.” She tsked “Stubborn rats.”

“W-what? You killed everyone?”

“It was their own fault, they chose to run but it does not matter, dead or alive, they still have use to us.”

“Ivysaur! Razor Leaf!” the pokémon nodded in understanding unleashing a fury of leaves. The woman waved her arm and a Gengar appeared, retaliating with a Night Shade.

“Hit it with a leech seed!” Ivysaur shot a small brown seed from the pink bud on its backside, it hit the Gengar and vines burst from it and wrapped around the pokémon.

“Shadow punch Gengar.” The ghost Pokémon’s fight glowed with a black aura as he chuckled, without a hint of effort it took flight and smashed its fist into the face of Ivysaur. She roared back with a wiped of her vines, colliding with the face of the Gengar. It staggered back and sneered, showing that it was just fine.

“Another Razor Leaf, Ivysaur, let’s go!” The seed Pokémon shook its rump, letting leaves drift to the floor. Then with a sharp roar they shot forward, slicing at the ghost type. The Gengar jumped to the left, dodging most of the leaves. Then it leapt forward, growling, jumping on top of Ivysaur’s back.

“Spite, Gengar!” It glowed for a moment, and then jumped back off, grinning wildly. “Now! Night Shade!” Ivysaur’s vision seemed to go completely dark. It panicked, scrambling back, when it appeared the darkness grew eyes. A hand shot out and gripped Ivysaur’s plant, and tossed it at the wall.

“Confuse Ray, Gengar.” The purple Pokemon, now with a heavy advantage, shot a glowing orb at the grass type, and it exploded into a shower of light. Ivysaur stood up, slowly, stumbling around while trying to maintain balance.

“Ivysaur, maintain composure! C’mon, use Vine Whip!” A vine lashed out from the bulb on its back in all directions, and finally stopped after it had smacked Ivysaur around a bit.

“Ha! Gengar might not even have to do anything. We could just watch your stupid Pokemon beat itself to defeat!” The woman smiled. “Of course, that wouldn’t be very fun, would it? Of course, I think this little game will be much more fun if we toyed around a bit more. Gengar, use Spite and make sure that Pokemon can’t use Vine Whip anymore.” The Gengar grinned wider, if possible, and leapt at the dazed Pokemon.

“Augh! Come on, Ivysaur, pull through! Vine Whip.” As Genger landed, vines once again shot out of Ivysaur’s back. However, they seemed to snake past the gas Pokemon and smacked the dinosaur in the face once again. Once the Gengar stopped glowing, the vines immediately shot back into the bulb, and the Ivysaur seemed much more tired, but no longer confused.

“What are you going to do with your Pokemon so weak, kid? You’re running out of options.” Galvin frowned but kept himself collected. He studied the situation in his head for a moment.

“Alright. Sweet Scent!” A pink, sweet smelling gas started seeping out of the bulb on the Ivysaur’s back. The Gengar frowned, its eyes widening. It made a motion that looked like it was trying to get a better whiff of the gas. “Alright, we’ve got it in our trap! Now, Sleep Powder!” The woman’s eyes widened as small, golden spores appeared in the gas. The Gengar froze, and then collapsed. A large bubble rose from where a nose would be as it slept.

“Finish it! Razor Leaf!” As the leaves shot forth, Gengar disappeared. Galvin’s eyes widened. “What? Where did it-” He saw Ivysaur fly a few feet away from where it had been.

“Ha! You didn’t think Gengar would fall for that so easily? You, in fact,” she smiled. “Fell for our Sucker Punch!” The Gengar danced back and forth on its feet, giving what seemed to be a cheer.

“Ivysaur, come on. Razor Leaf!” Leaves shot from where Ivysaur had landed, and Gengar easily jumped aside to avoid them. However, it hadn’t been expecting the group of leaves that had came from the back, sending him into a wall.

“What?” The woman seemed surprised herself, as Ivysaur came running up from behind Galvin and to his side.

“What did you just do?”

“Ivysaur shot at Gengar from its original spot, and then ran to a different one while Gengar was distracted. Simple.”

“Well then, I see we’re getting near the end of this fight. Gengar, at attention!” The Gengar stood up shakily, and then grinned. “Final tactic time!” The Gengar’s arm slowly turned into a gray item. A nail, if Galvin was seeing correctly. The nail detached from its body and floated to the front of Gengar. Then, it slammed right through Gengar, in between its eyes. Galvin’s eyes widened as blood poured out of the gas Pokemon’s eyes and mouth as it screeched with pain.

“Curse is a double edged sword, as it were. Despite losing some of his health, your Ivysaur’s going to be hurting because of this.”

“I can still easily knock him out before Ivysaur falls! Look at him, he’s incredibly weak.”

“Ah ha! I still the plan still isn’t finished. Gengar! Confuse Ray!” A light ball blasted from the purple Pokemon’s hand and dazed the dinosaur Pokemon once again.

“Now! Spite!” Galvin’s eyes widened as he watched Gengar sap away Ivysaur’s ability to use Razor Leaf. Gengar stumbled backwards, now completely childish despite impaling itself earlier. Ivysaur stumbled around, every so often flinching with pain as Curse did its thing.

“It’s over, boy! Recall your Pokemon and give up!”

“No, Ivysaur still has a way to win! Poison Powder!” Ivysaur sat for a moment, its eyes chasing something that wasn’t there. Suddenly, they locked onto the purple Pokemon, and it blasted dark purple spores at it, covering it. The gas Pokemon hacked as it was poisoned. Ivysaur seemed to regain its composure, taking a wide stance.
“Now! Leech Seed again!” A few seeds blasted Gengar in the face, snatching energy from it, as the vines connecting the dinosaur Pokemon and the seeds fed Ivysaur energy. Gengar flinched as the poison did more damage. Ivysaur flinched and then stumbled, but held strong.

“No! I can’t lose! Gengar, Sucker Punch!” The purple Pokemon leapt forward, but stopped, its eyes wide. The woman’s eyes widened, and then covered her ears. Galvin raised an eyebrow at that action. Before he could do anything but that, the ghost type let out an ear piercingly high scream as it sank into the ground below it, hands tugging on its body parts. After a minute, the Pokemon was fully through the floor, and the sound stopped.

Galvin let out a breath, rubbing his hurting ears. He returned Ivysaur to its Pokeball, since it was close to collapsing. A second after that, Gengar floated back through the floor, its arms crossed over its stomach, its eyes as x’s, and its tongue sticking straight up.

Galvin sighed at that. “I win.” The woman snarled at her useless pokémon. She returned the pokémon and pulled what appeared to be an explosive from her bag. She lit it and threw it in the direction of the trio; thankfully it was not an explosive but a smoke bomb. When the smoke cleared she and the bodies were gone.