Chapter 4: A Stone Gray City!

In the last chapter of their adventure, Jordan, Dalton and Kendall traveled through the maze known as Viridian Forest, but got into many confrontations with wild Pokemon. By the end, Jordan and Dalton had successfully captured another Pokemon each, but Kendall’s self-esteem plummeted with Kusabana’s refusal, and Jordan finished a battle with Kusabana spectacularly… what will unfold in Pewter City?


An image of a Victreebel suddenly glared in Jordan’s brain.
Not the normal Pokemon species, but somehow so much worse – never taking its eyes off Jordan, and being a lime-green imprint, negative in appearance. Then next to it appeared an image of his brother, looking twisted and evil, constricted by tons of vines wrapping around his body and seeming to sprout from the back of his head. This image grew bigger and bigger until it seemed to become one with Jordan – the brothers had converged, and with it, a jolting pain and a piercing shriek caused complete overload.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHH!!! Oh my god!! Oh my—Dalton! Dalton! Holy god! No! No! NO!!!” Jordan screamed in horror as he jumped out of bed, throwing Xentaro off. He was sweating and shaking to the bone in a panic attack. Anxiety showed on his pale face. “That was horrible… just horrible.” His eyes slowly rolled over to Dalton, who was looking extremely frazzled, with rumpled hair and staring at him in a complete surprise as he sat up from his bed.
“Did… did you have a nightmare?” Dalton asked.
“Yeah, yeah, it’s n-nothing!” Jordan yelled, before sitting down next to Dalton and throwing his arm around his back.
Often, he would get this nightmare, and he had no idea why.

After getting slightly more prepared, Jordan and Dalton walked out of their room, with Vee and Xentaro, who hadn’t expected to be woken up like that.
Jordan and Dalton knocked on Kendall’s door and she got out in a sleepy condition.
“Hey, guys. What’s on the agenda today?” Kendall asked half-heartedly.
“If there’s a gym in this city, I’m challenging it!” Jordan yelled.
Kendall’s face looked ludicrous. “What?! You can’t challenge the Pewter Gym! You need to train, a lot! You need preparation or you’re going to get your butt kicked!”
“Well… maybe that’s so, but at least I’ll know what I’m up against,” Jordan replied.
“Yeah… I doubt he’s going to get the badge, but he can develop a strategy against the gym leader guy there, right?” Dalton asked.
“No,” Kendall insisted. “There are other ways to do it. You can just work a lot on general strength and tactics, and you can outmatch him…”
“Maybe so, but…” Dalton spoke up.
“If you want to be a great Pokemon trainer, you can’t just keep trying to break through the obstacles – you have to jump over them! We should go back to the outskirts of the forest and train for a while.”

“Ok, Kendall. Maybe you’re right, but… still, I’m interested in what the gym leader has!” Jordan replied.
“Yeah, and this is going to be his first time, so he might as well ‘savor the flavor’ instead of bounding over it, at least at first…” Dalton said.
“And I need the experience…” Jordan moaned. “I have no idea what I’m gonna do…”
Kendall groaned. “Alright, but you had better be ready. Gym leaders are serious business.”


None of them had realized that it was so early in the morning – the Pokemon Center’s downstairs clock was only at 7:30 AM. The morning sun through the windows was shining freshly in, and they ate an early breakfast to energize them for the rest of the day.

Kendall looked at the Pewter City’s Visitor’s Map. Alongside town maps, with the expansion of cities in the Pokemon world, it became more necessary to include maps of the towns themselves in Pokemon Centers which were located in those towns, for people who might have otherwise gotten confused. “There’s a Pokemart location here, the Pewter City Museum and the gym. We may be going to the gym first, but while we’re here you guys should wind down from your superfast speed and do some fun things!”
Jordan said, “Yeah, we will. But I think I know what I’m gonna do!”
“Wow, you’re actually making a plan?” Kendall asked.
“Don’t worry, this adventure so far has been an eye-opener. I think I’m starting to learn what to do… maybe…” Jordan shrugged as he finished his scrambled eggs and toast.
Kendall still looked at him with worry, but Dalton said, “I believe in my brother. Yeah, it’ll be okay.”

They went up to the reception counter to see Nurse Joy. Last night, they had barely enough energy to care, but suddenly Dalton was struck by surprise.
“Wait! Nurse Joy, how did you get to Pewter City from Viridian City? Why are you at this Pokemon Center?”
Jordan sighed. “Dalton, most usually, all the nurses in Pokemon Centers are of the Joy family!”
“That’s correct. I’m the Viridian City Nurse Joy’s older sister, and we have cousins all over the world, but somehow we all look the same! It’s pretty funny how it happens so coincidentally, hehe,” she said as she returned their Pokemon.
Dalton muttered something about clones while Jordan stuck Caterpie’s Pokeball into his backpack. “Jeez, don’t be so rude,” Jordan groaned.

Jordan, Dalton and Kendall quickly left the Pokemon Center and began walking down the street. They were on their way to find the Pewter City Gym…


After a while of searching, the three adventurers reached Pewter City Gym, the stern stone façade of the building looming over them. “Wow, this is a big place,” Jordan said.
“So, are we gonna go in…” Dalton asked. All three of them felt an intimidation.
“Yeah, we’re going to go in right now!” Jordan said as he pushed through the double doors, only to see an empty room.
“Nobody’s here,” Jordan murmured as his voice echoed off the high ceiling.
“That’s weird… do you suppose we’re going to be surprised?” Kendall asked.
“Don’t think so. Where is the gym leader?” Dalton wondered.
Jordan nervously walked forth with the others meandering behind. Xentaro felt anxious in the stadium and stayed close to Jordan’s leg.

“Is it really a good idea to search? I think we shouldn’t be snooping around,” Kendall wondered as Jordan reached the other side of the arena. There were some exit doors, but he nodded and slowly turned back.
“Hey! Wait a minute!” someone’s voice yelled. Everyone turned around to see a boy, about 13, with spiky dark-brown hair, squinty eyes and a green-striped shirt. “Did you come for a gym battle?”
“Uh, yeah, we did!” Jordan yelled as he turned back around.
“Well, you do realize that I don’t take challengers until 9:00, right?” the kid said.
“Oh! Sorry, but wouldn’t you have the building closed then?” Jordan said. “And why not put hours out front?”
“That’s a good idea… we never did think of that,” he said. “It’s only 10 minutes before 9, so why don’t we have our battle right now?”
“Great!” Jordan said.

“Oh yeah, and I forgot to introduce myself… I’m Forrest Harrison, Pewter City Gym Leader. My older brother Brock was the gym leader, but he’s currently away to see faraway lands with some of his friends, so he gave the title to me, and lent me some of his stronger Pokemon. If you’re a rookie trainer, I also caught my own just recently, so if your Pokemon’s levels are low, you can take on them too. So which one are you? And what are your names, anyway?”
“I’m Jordan, and a starting trainer. That’s my brother Dalton, Kendall’s the girl over there, and this is my Pichu, Xentaro…” Jordan said.
“Hmm… you’re not going to use that Pichu, right?” Forrest asked.
“Well, to be honest, I’m not entirely expecting this to be our only battle… I just want to see the power of a gym leader!” Jordan replied.
“I guess that makes it better, but if you want to beat me for real, you need to train a lot,” Forrest pointed out.
“Oh, I will, you bet,” Jordan shouted. “But why don’t we get this show on the road?”
“Right,” Forrest said. “I need to get my ref in here…”

Forrest ran into the exit door he originally came out of, and a few minutes later, came back out alone. But then the attention shifted up to a second floor along the wall which had a guard rail. Eight kids appeared to watch the action, lined up from eldest to youngest. “These are my younger brothers and sisters… Salvadore, Yolanda, Tommy, Cindy, Suzie, Timmy, Billy and Tilly. Salvadore is gonna be the referee! And here, we’re going to change the arena!”
The visitors cried out in shock as the arena seemed to part in two halves from the center and recede into the floor mechanically while a new arena rose, with a rocky, mountainous terrain.
“Okay, this battle’s between the challenger and Forrest…” Salvadore said. He was next oldest after Forrest and didn’t seem entirely sure of himself. “Are you guys ready?”
Jordan and Forrest both nodded as Forrest’s hand rose with a Pokeball in it.
“Go!”

“Go, Xentaro!” Jordan yelled as Xentaro dashed forth onto the rocky arena, and Forrest threw his Pokeball through the air. It crashed onto the rocks and beamed Geodude into physical form.
Dalton remarked, “That rock has arms!”
Kendall said, “Very strong ones, at that. Look at how tough its muscles are… are those muscles? It’s not entirely composed of rock, is it?”
Dalton shrugged as Forrest’s siblings yelled, “Go, big brother! Beat him!”
“Xentaro, use Thundershock!” Jordan cried out, but Geodude kept flying towards Xentaro and seemed unfazed by the Thundershock.
“Geodude, use Rock Throw!” Forrest yelled as Xentaro resumed idleness.
“Dodge it,” Jordan was about to cry as Xentaro got pelted with a volley of rocks.
“Piiichu!” Xentaro cried as he jumped back with bruises where the rocks made impact.
“Xentaro! Are you okay? Get up and use Tail Whip!” Jordan yelled. He figured that this might interfere with Geodude’s defense.
Xentaro waved his tail around in the air, confusing Geodude as it reared up for another Rock Throw command.
“Okay, now Thundershock again!” Jordan cried out as Xentaro released a Thundershock into the air.
“Rock Throw,” Forrest yelled, and Geodude flung forth rocks to get zapped futilely. Xentaro crashed to the ground weakly.
“Pi.. piichu…” Xentaro groaned, slowly getting up, and then crashed back to the ground.

“Your Pichu doesn’t look good. Call him back,” Forrest decided.
“Right. Good job, Xentaro,” Jordan said as he picked up Xentaro and placed him with Kendall and Dalton.
“Xentaro is unable to fight, and Geodude is the winner,” Salvadore announced.
“Now for my other Pokemon,” Jordan said. “Go, Caterpie!”
Jordan’s Caterpie was released, and she looked small and puny compared to Geodude.
“A… Caterpie?” Forrest laughed, and Kendall and Dalton nearly couldn’t help being amused either. Jordan’s Pokemon were weak because everybody had rushed. “Well, I won’t complain about it, but you are going to have to train if you want to have a real chance of getting the Boulder Badge! Return, Geodude!”
Geodude got sucked up by the red beam from Forrest’s Pokeball, and as quickly as he returned Geodude, he tossed out another one.
“Go, Aron!” Forrest yelled as he unleashed a peculiar small steel creature that looked as if it was wearing a hockey mask.
“Roooon!” Aron cried out as it shifted its weight from one side to another in expectation of a command.
“Caterpie, use String Shot!” Jordan cried out.
“Aron, use Mud Slap!” Forrest yelled.
Caterpie shot her string, but Aron dug up some mud and hurled it through the air, which halted the progress of the silk line. Caterpie detached herself.
“Caterpie, now use Tackle around the mud!” Jordan yelled, thinking it wasn’t a very good idea to get muddy.
Caterpie began charging at Aron. “Aron, use Harden!” Forrest yelled, and Aron’s body turned steely-strong.
Caterpie collided with Aron and harmlessly bounced off. “Gahh?” Caterpie cried out.
“Okay, Aron! Use Headbutt!” Forrest shouted, and Aron rammed into Caterpie and sent her flying backwards to slide beside Jordan. The blow looked critical.
“Caterpie is unable to battle! Aron wins, and my brother Forrest has won the match…!” Salvadore announced.

“So that’s the kind of strength a gym leader has…” Jordan wondered to himself.
“That was good fighting, but your Pokemon are outclassed. Definitely train!” Forrest advised.
“We’re going to train for sure,” Jordan said. “Isn’t that right, guys?”
Dalton said, “Yeah. We’re going back to Viridian Forest, aren’t we?”
“Yeah, we are,” Jordan explained. “I think it’s time we left and got back to the Pokemon Center.”
Forrest said, “Okay. Come back here when you’ve trained to the point where you think you can beat me!”
“We will,” Jordan affirmed as Dalton, Kendall and Xentaro got up. Xentaro was feeling better now, and walked easily to the exit.
“Forrest, you’re the best!” some of Forrest’s siblings shouted as they happily went through the exit. They were heading into their home, which was attached to the gym building.

Jordan, Dalton and Kendall strode through the double doors of the Pokemon Center. As Jordan had the quick revitalization for his Pokemon take place, he announced their plan.
“What I want to do is for all of us to train today. Me for my gym battle, but don’t you guys want to get stronger too? Then tomorrow we’ll shop at the Pokemart and go to the gym again!” Jordan said.
“I don’t know if a second day will be different,” Kendall said.
“I think I’ll be fine this time, really! It’s lunchtime, so let’s eat lunch, and then we’re going back to Viridian Forest!” Jordan declared.
“Cool,” Dalton said. “I need to train with Vee and Spear.”
“Me too, with Xentaro and Caterpie. But I’m sure that when we’re stronger, it’s gonna rock!” Jordan yelled with enthusiasm.
Kendall was anxious. She looked like she wanted to say and do something, but hold it off a little longer.


After lunch and a healing at the Pokemon Center, Jordan, Dalton, Kendall and Xentaro were at full energy. They busted out feeling ready to go.
“That was some good food. Let’s walk to Viridian Forest!” Jordan cried out.
“Nah, let’s run!” Dalton proposed.
“Oh jeez… I don’t think we’d feel as fresh…” Jordan muttered as Dalton broke into a running start and Jordan and Kendall pulled him back.
They left Pewter City and walked down Route 2. The ominous forest approached again, and they headed into the entrance house.
They walked straight ahead along the carpet, and soon the carpet turned into grass. They were out the other end and the unmistakable tree cover signified it. They were back in Viridian Forest.

“I think I want to concentrate on training as much as I can, so Xentaro, Caterpie and I are going to do a lot of battling!” Jordan declared.
“Yeah, and I’m going to get Vee and Spear a lot stronger too!” Dalton said. “Are we going to split up?”
“Perhaps it’s for the best,” Jordan remarked.
“I’m going to train with Pinkie,” Kendall decided. “…”
“What? Aren’t you going to train with Kusabana too?” Jordan asked.

“No! Jordan, I want you to have Kusabana!” Kendall yelled out, surprising everyone and holding out Kusabana’s Pokeball with two arms.
“What? Really? You think… you think I should have Kusabana?” Jordan said in amazement.

“Yeah, you should be Kusabana’s trainer!” Kendall replied, spilling her guts. “When you pulled off that amazing finish with Kusabana, I realized that Kusabana probably feels a lot more comfortable with you than me. I’ve let her down, but I’m not going to let it upset me anymore. Jordan, you’re a really good trainer, and you should train Kusabana to be the best Pokemon she can be, and I’ll be happy… and proud of her! Please do it, do it for Kusabana!” she pleaded.
Jordan smiled. “Okay, I’ll train Kusabana and make her into the best Bulbasaur ever. I promise I will!” He took Kusabana’s Pokeball from Kendall.
“Thank you… you don’t know how happy I am now!” Kendall exclaimed with a smile of relief on her face.
“Heh, I bet you’re going to train Kusabana just great,” Dalton said.
“I’m sure I will! And I’m going to beat Forrest with her, I know it!” Jordan yelled.

Once they decided to split up, Dalton headed off to one part of the forest with Vee and Spear, Kendall headed off to another part with Pinkie, and Jordan headed off to yet another with Xentaro, Caterpie and Kusabana. He had Kusabana re-registered as a Pokemon of his own instead of Kendall’s, but her OT information was still there.
“Okay, I think you and you should battle,” Jordan said to Kusabana and Xentaro. “This is how you fight trainers’ Pokemon, ok?”
Kusabana and Xentaro faced eachother.
“K, Kusabana, use Leech Seed! Xentaro, dodge it and use Tail Whip!” Jordan commanded. Trainer strategy was really important, so he pretended to be 2 trainers at once battling their Pokemon.
Kusabana growled and shot a seed at Xentaro who jumped out of the way and began whipping his tail at Xentaro. Seeing a Leech Seed attack made Jordan shudder for some reason, but he ignored it and kept going.
“Kusabana, use Vine Whip now!” Jordan cried out.
Kusabana’s vines grew out from the base of her bulb and flew at Xentaro, picking him up.
Jordan continued pitting Kusabana against Xentaro, hoping that this would give them perfect timing and precision, but seeing that the motions were becoming more routine. He felt like commanding both of them wasn’t cutting it, because real trainers were less predictable than he was.
“Okay, guys. We’re gonna stop there. How about we go gain experience from wild Pokemon?”
Yeah, he thought. This would go faster.


Dalton, in the meantime, was training with Spear. He took out his Pokedex, and listened to its definition of Weedle.

“It eats its weight in leaves every day. It fends off attackers with the needle on its head.”

He began scrolling through the data until he found that Weedle evolved into Kakuna at Level 7, and pointed his Pokedex straight at Spear to get Spear’s individual data. “Spear is at Level 5,” the Pokedex beeped, and Dalton looked up at Spear, who was continuously headbutting a small target Dalton had drawn on a tree stump. He hoped that this would toughen Spear up and shed his weakness, and he hoped that Spear would eventually evolve. Spear continued the headbutting until he got tired and crawled back to Dalton for a rest.
“Here, Spear! I’ll get you some leaves. You must be hungry,” Dalton pondered, remembering what the Pokedex said. He disappeared for a few minutes and came back with fistfuls of leaves, which he dropped into a pile at his feet. Spear began gobbling them up, and Dalton said to Vee, “I’ll train you after Spear evolves. It shouldn’t take too long now…”


Jordan, Kusabana, Caterpie and Xentaro were searching in tall grass to find any Pokemon challengers. Suddenly, a Pikachu leapt out and talked straight to Xentaro. “Pika pi! Pikapichu pika pika!” Pikachu yelled. Jordan understood right away. “Xentaro, that Pikachu wants to test you, doesn’t it? Okay, let’s show it what we’re made of!”

The Pichu and the Pikachu stood against eachother. Xentaro was a so-called Baby Pokemon – a weak and inexperienced Pokemon. However, most baby Pokemon didn’t stay babies for long and would eventually evolve, growing stronger and more mature in the process. Jordan was thinking that the way things were going, Xentaro could evolve very soon.

“Okay, Xentaro! Use Thundershock!” Xentaro tensed up and released a charge of electricity which rocketed across the air and seemed to soak into Pikachu – but Xentaro seemed to hurt himself a bit too.
Pikachu smiled and ran up to Xentaro, then gave him a mean growl. Xentaro shuddered and stepped back a little before Pikachu backed up and ran into close quarters.
“Xentaro! Dodge it!” Jordan yelled, and Xentaro pulled off a midair flip, landing back on his feet as Pikachu skidded to a halt.
Pikachu fired off its own, bigger Thundershock, which seemed to hurt Xentaro a lot. Xentaro was getting strong, but still very vulnerable.

Jordan and Xentaro had to be more careful fighting against Xentaro’s evolved form…
“Okay, now… use Tail Whip!” Xentaro shook his tail around, and Pikachu’s eyes followed. Before Pikachu could snap back to reality, Xentaro followed through with a Thundershock using all of his power. This time Pikachu was vulnerable and singed. A few sparks jumped off of Pikachu’s body, and Pikachu began chasing Xentaro around.
“Whoa, watch out, Xentaro! Whoa! Dodge that one!” Jordan began crying out commands.
Zoom! Xentaro hopped to the side as Pikachu attempted to charge him again.
And again.
And again.

“Pikaaa…” Pikachu growled. Xentaro pretended not to hear Pikachu this time, and leapt on Pikachu trying to beat him up. It was quite a spectacle as Xentaro attacked with his tiny arms and feet.
“Xentaro, watch out! If you and Pikachu are touching, you’ll get shocked harder than from a distance!”
Unfortunately, Xentaro was too late.
“Piiiii chuuuu!!”
Pikachu had charged up and released its Thundershock already, and Xentaro flew back into the ground, twitching with the volts in his body.
“No, Xentaro!”
Xentaro tried to stir himself into motion again, and he succeeded. Getting back on his feet, an injured Xentaro ran up to Pikachu and delivered another Thundershock.
The first bolt seemed to hit Pikachu in a sweet spot, and suddenly…
“PIKAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!”
Pikachu was hit with the full power of the Thundershock and seemed to take much more significant damage. Stumbling back, Pikachu was really disoriented now.

“We’ve got Pikachu on the ropes! Xentaro, just go and hit him with your best shot!”
A weak Xentaro nodded and suddenly got an idea – Xentaro began spreading electricity to every part of his body.
“Xentaro, what are you doing?” Suddenly, Jordan was surprised when he noticed the lightning crackling along a glowing Xentaro’s body.
“Wait, are you—“
The electrifying Xentaro ran up to the confused Pikachu and began attacking him, but this time, every attack gave another little shock to Pikachu. Xentaro really began laying the hurt on Pikachu – it was like a small yellow rodent doing electric kung-fu. Finally, Xentaro kicked Pikachu in the stomach, and Pikachu flew back and crashed back into the grass, disappearing for a few seconds.

“…”

Pikachu crawled out of the tall grass looking peaceful. Clearly, Pikachu knew that Xentaro had won. The two electric mice shook hands as a sign of respect, and the wild Pikachu ran off.

Xentaro then turned to Jordan. “Pi pi!” Xentaro cried out.
“All right, Xentaro! You did great!” Jordan exclaimed.
Suddenly, Xentaro seemed to grow quite happy and began to glow…
Jordan shouted out in surprise as Xentaro’s form began growing… The body started growing bigger and the ears began to get thinner, as the tail lengthened and became increasingly jagged…
The glow faded, and Xentaro the Pichu was no longer. In his place was Xentaro the Pikachu.
“…You… you evolved!” Jordan shouted with surprise. “Xentaro, that’s so great!”
“Pika, pikachu,” Xentaro replied with a nod. He had reached his mature stage, through constantly staying by Jordan’s side for three days straight. Their friendship had formed very quickly.

“I feel even more confident that we can take on Forrest tomorrow! Now, Caterpie… let’s start to train!”

And so, all three of the trainers continued their work. Hour after hour passed as the sun steadily made its westward arc to the horizon.
In all their training, nobody noticed that the sun was setting on the other side of the treetops…


“Okay, Pinkie! Scratch!” Kendall yelled.
Pinkie didn’t seem to be getting tired. In fact, each time he scratched the tree, his attack seemed to be stronger. Pinkie was sharpening his claws, turning them into deadly weapons.
“You don’t wear out, do you, Pinkie?” Kendall gasped. She could have sworn that Pinkie had infinite PP.
Pinkie shook his head, looking quite pleased with himself. “Nya!”
“You could kill somebody with those things…” Kendall said. She took out her Pokedex and measured Pinkie’s approximate strength with it.
“Calculating level… Your Meowth’s level is 12,” the Pokedex declared.
“Crazy,” Kendall exclaimed.

“Hey, Kendall,” a voice shouted.
Kendall looked over and saw Dalton walking up to the corner of forest where she was training.
“Hi, Dalton. How’s your training going?”
“Just look,” Dalton said. He thumbed behind him at the bouncing yellow cocoon behind him.
“K…kun…” Spear stated, now a Kakuna with limited mobility.
Kendall couldn’t help but laugh. “I feel kinda bad for him,” she remarked.
“Yeah, but it means he’s getting stronger,” Dalton replied. “And Vee is looking buff.”

Vee strolled into view, looking quite confident.
“Show her what you can do now, Vee,” Dalton told Vee.
Vee grinned mischievously and kicked some sand into Kendall’s face.
“Aaah!* Kendall screamed, shielding her face. “That’s mean.”
“Ok, I promise I won’t have my Pokemon attack you if your Pokemon and his sharp claws don’t attack me. Oh, yeah – have you seen my brother?” Dalton asked.
“No… why?” Kendall asked.

Dalton pointed to a clear patch of sky that wasn’t obscured by tree. It was pitch black, and Kendall suddenly realized the total and utter darkness that they were in.
Everyone was a silhouette, and suddenly a great fear kicked in to them.
After all, they were only children.

“W-we have to find Jordan and g-get back to Pewter City,” Kendall stammered, and she suddenly rolled back her sleeve and glanced at a peculiar wristwatch.
“Ooh, nice watch,” Dalton complimented.
“Yeah, it’s a Poketch from the Sinnoh region. But what’s more important is that it’s 8:52 PM and Jordan is m-missing,” Kendall gravely asserted, panic rising in her voice. “Oh no… this is bad… very, very bad!”
“Come on, let’s go find him,” Dalton shouted. “F-fear will get us n-nowhere… *gulp* I hope my brother is alive…”
“What?! Well, I… doubt he’s… d-dead…” Kendall replied.
“We’re coming for you, Jordan!” Dalton whispered, as they and their Pokemon ran into the depths of the forest.


Meanwhile, a boy and his Pokemon were sprawled out on the forest floor. The extremely fatigued boy was sleeping like a log, while his Pokemon, though energetic, had also given in to sleep. His Pikachu was curled up on his chest, his Bulbasaur was lying on her stomach on one side of him, and a new Pokemon was sitting upright against his other side, gently fluttering her wings in his sleep.

The sight both relieved and amused Dalton and Kendall.
“Nya nya!” Pinkie laughed, while Vee walked up to Jordan and looked hesitantly at Dalton.
“Go ahead, heheh,” Dalton permitted.

“GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!”
Jordan screamed – his face was burning! Or not – it was just highly irritating sand.
“Wha? Wuh? Huh? W-wh-why did you do that?!? Give me a straight answer!!” Jordan shouted wildly, looking ready to attack someone for no reason. Of course, his rudely awakened Pokemon began to attack him.
“Friiiiiii!” Butterfree squealed as she disrupted Jordan’s brainwaves with a healthy dose of Confusion.
“PikaCHUUUUU!” Xentaro yelled as he paralyzed Jordan with Thunder Wave.
“Bulba, bulba, bulba!” Kusabana growled as she lashed at Jordan repeatedly with Vine Whip.
The simultaneous attack sent Jordan crumpling to the ground, but also to his senses.
“Ohhhhh… my everything hurts…” Jordan groaned.

“Looks like you and your Pokemon fell asleep while training… but I bet the beds at the Pokemon Center are much harder than solid ground…” Kendall quipped.
“Yeah, yeah… wow, it’s late…” Jordan mumbled as his eyes drifted vaguely upward to the night sky.
“Come on, bro. Let’s go. If we hurry, we might make it before midnight…” Dalton said.
“Yeah… ok, let’s go…” Jordan mumbled, as he got up and recalled all of his Pokemon except for Xentaro.
“Congratulations on your new evolutions, by the way,” Dalton added.
“Yeah… all of my Pokemon are… strong now… they should be able to take Forrest… no… pro…” Jordan trailed off. He was a zombie.

Kendall and Dalton ended up carrying him back to town.

“Well, well, well! Looks like the kids from last night have been out past curfew,” Nurse Joy reprimanded. “For shame. But, anyway, I’ll take all of your Pokemon. You kids go to bed.”
Jordan slowly nodded, handing his Pokeballs and Xentaro over to Nurse Joy. The others did the same, then they all marched up to bed.

That night, as Jordan pulled the sheets over his shoulder, he fell asleep before he stopped moving. Visions of Boulder Badges were dancing in his head…


NEXT CHAPTER PREVIEW:
Jordan has done a lot of training, and now he has three much stronger Pokemon! But will it pay off when Jordan goes head to head with the Gym Leader of Pewter City, Forrest? Or will he face another crushing defeat, in the harsh reality of being a rookie Pokemon trainer?
Don’t miss Chapter 5: The Boulder Brawl!