Pokemon - To Catch Them All - Saffron City

Story by soni050 on SoFurry

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#13 of Pokemon - To Catch Them All

Leo challenges Sabrina and explores further


After Charizard returned me to Saffron City, I healed my Pokemon before making a slight detour before battling the gym leader Sabrina. I actually wanted to visit the Fighting Dojo next door, as I had heard that by defeating the Karate Master, I could receive either a Hitmonlee or a Hitmonchan. Choosing one would be difficult for me, but since they evolved from Tyrogue, I would eventually have both anyway. I entered the dojo, seeing a large amount of Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan training against one another. Heading onwards, I was challenged by the trainers inside, who were students off the Karate Master. I accepted their challenges knowing that would make me and my Pokemon stronger.

Surprisingly, I was challenged by a coach trainer, who sent out a Machoke and I sent out my Mr. Mime, who used Psychic which was super effective defeating Machoke. The second Pokemon sent out was a Electabuzz which I substituted for my Sandslash who used Bulldoze defeating Electabuzz. Following this, I was then challenged by the Karate Masters students all of whom were apparently quite strong. The first student sent out a Primeape and I sent out Hypno, having him use Psychic to knock Primeape out. The next trainer sent out a Graveler and I sent out my Golduck, whose Hydro Pump defeated Graveler.

The next Black Belt sent out a Poliwhirl and I sent out my Jolteon and had him use Thunder Fang defeating Poliwhirl. The next Black Belt sent out a Machoke and I sent out my Pidgeot having him knock Machoke out with Wing Attack. When I reached the Karate Master I wondered whether he would use a Fighting Type or a Pokemon that new Fighting Type moves.

In the end he chose to use a Poliwrath and I chose to send out my Venusaur, it was a good and touch battle between the two power houses. Poliwrath managed to land a powerful Body Slam but Venusaur seemed to shrug the attack off before retaliating with a Giga Drain restoring all of his health. Poliwrath struggled to stand up but another Giga Drain defeated Poliwrath. Upon winning, the Karate Master returned his Poliwrath and thanked him for such a tough battle.

"Congratulations young man, you defeated not only me, but all my students that I've trained. As a reward for your battling skill, I'd like you to choose from these two Pokemon." At that two Pokemon appeared from beside him, "this here is Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee, both are Fighting Types. Now which one will you choose to accept as your future partner?"

I studied the two Pokemon briefly, noticing they were studying me just as I studied them. Hitmonchan decided to show me his punching abilities, boxing in the air, showing his strength. To compete with his apparent rival, Hitmonlee, began showing off his skills, by kicking in the air repeatedly. Eventually the two stopped and waited for me to make my decision. "I'd like to choose Hitmonchan." Hitmonchan fist bumped in the air, but Hitmonlee seemed to be fine I guess he didn't mind that much.

"A fine choice, this Hitmonchan has been one of my most powerful, always training to become stronger every day. I believe you two will make a fine team with patience and training." At that he gave me Hitmonchan's Pokeball and Rotom registered the new Pokedex entry. "Hitmonchan has been registered to your Pokedex. Hitmonchan the Punching Pokemon, a Fighting Type. When Hitmonchan twists its arm while throwing a punch, the blow will pulverize even concrete. The Pokemon rests after three minutes of fighting." I also checked Hitmonchan's moves, those being, Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, Ice Punch and Close Combat.

Those moves were exceptional and would be great when battling as he was very unpredictable with what moves he could use. Before I returned Hitmonchan to his Pokeball and head on over to the gym, I spoke to him. "Hitmonchan, my names Leo, I hope we can become a good team together!" At that Hitmonchan nodded his head and punched repeatedly, before stopping extending his glove to me. I tapped his glove, like a fist bump and he grinned excitedly.

At that I returned him to his Pokeball and thanked the Karate Master for such a good battle, I had grown even stronger thanks to the battles here. After leaving the gym was only a short walk away, so I had some time to decide which Pokemon would be used in the gym challenge. I had wanted to work on creating a strong bond between me and Hitmonchan however, the gym was a Psychic one and Fighting Types didn't stand much of a chance.

Looking over my Pokemon, I thought on which ones would have a good chance against Sabrina and her Psychic Types and the following were the best choices to battle with. Butterfree, Beedrill, Parasect, Venomoth, Haunter, but that would be risky, Scyther and Pinsir. Now that's not to say my other Pokemon couldn't win. Arcanine and Gyarados both knew Crunch which was super effective against Psychic Types. Any one of my Pokemon would be a good choice but the ones I mentioned would have the highest chance of success.

Ultimately, I chose to use, Butterfree, Scyther and Haunter. Honestly, this gym did have me concerned, I didn't have all that many Pokemon other than Bug Types that had a good advantage against Psychic Types. I had no Dark Types as of yet, as they didn't really inhabit Kanto. Still I was confident my Pokemon would win, they always did. Besides, when I told Butterfree, Scyther and Haunter I would be battling with them in the gym I received a unanimous response.

Butterfree hovered over my head attempting to hug me, Scyther couldn't really hug me either, but tried to gently wrap his scythes around me, that wasn't an easy task for him. I did appreciate the gesture returning their hugs. Haunter was the most relaxed, he did attempt to scare me as per usual, but Scyther didn't seem to happy about scaring their trainer. Someone who had helped all of them grow to be the strongest they could be.

Haunter grinned, unfazed at Scyther but knew where he was coming from and so reluctantly he backed off grinning knowing he would have another chance at scaring his trainer, not yet, but soon. I returned them all to their Pokeballs and headed inside the gym, which seemed to have been revamped. I came across the gym leader Sabrina who seemed to have been expecting me.

"Welcome challenger, I foresaw your arrival here. I'll accept your battle challenge." At that we headed to the battlefield and the referee announced the rules. "This match will be three on three, when one sides Pokemon are unable to battle, the opposing trainer will be declared the winner. Now trainers send out your Pokemon!" At that Sabrina sent out a Mr. Mime and I sent out Haunter. Before the battle begun Sabrina smiled at seeing Haunter. "A Haunter a smart choice, I remember a trainer from Pallet Town who gave me his Haunter, that was such a long time ago, I wonder how he is doing?" Sabrina apologised, "sorry I was just thinking aloud."

"Battle begin!" The referee declared and I immediately went on the offense. "Haunter use Shadow Ball! Haunter fired the Shadow Ball, but Sabrina commanded, her Mr. Mime to use Light Screen. "Light Screen will lower how much damage our special attacks will do, that's a problem for Haunter." I gritted my teeth deciding to try and wait out the Light Screen, it would eventually fade, but could I wait for that to happen.

"Your thoughts appear clouded, could it be you've already admitted defeat?" Sabrina asked, it was all part of her plan to trick and confuse her opponents with psychic trickery. I shook my head, regaining control of my thoughts and not allowing them to run rampant. Haunter turned to face me, concern was evident on his face but I shook my head smiling, regaining his confidence.

"Haunter get close and use Hypnosis!" Haunter moved swiftly across the battlefield, but strangely Sabrina didn't make any moves. When Haunter was close enough, he attempted the Hypnosis but Sabrina smiled, "use Psychic, slam it to the ground." Mr. Mime grabbed Haunter using Psychic, before slamming him painfully into the ground. It was super effective and seemed to do some serious damage. But Haunter wasn't giving in just yet. In the brief moment he had, he had managed to unleash the Hypnosis right before Psychic had hit him.

This provided us with an opportunity and I was going to take advantage of it, "Haunter use Sludge Bomb!" Since Mr. Mime was a Psychic and Fairy Type, he was also weak to Poison Type moves as well. The Sludge Bomb scored a direct hit on the sleeping Mr. Mime, but seemed to have an opposite effect. The attack woke Mr. Mime up and he appeared ready for battle but definitely struggled.

"Mr. Mime another Psychic!" Haunter waited for his command, "don't let them, rapid fire Shadow Balls make them lose concentration." At that Haunter threw a multitude of Shadow Balls, all of which distracted Mr. Mime preventing him from using Psychic to knock Haunter out. Mr. Mime managed to destroy several but eventually he was struck by a secret Shadow Ball which defeated Mr Mime.

"Mr. Mime is unable to battle, the winner is Haunter." At that Sabrina returned her Mr. Mime and I also returned my Haunter, "you battled really well Haunter, now get some rest." At that Sabrina got her next Pokemon out, "your up next, Slowbro!" Slowbro was a Water and Psychic Type, maybe I should have brought other types with me, but still I was confident I could win.

"I need your help Butterfree!" Butterfree appeared gliding through the air, before settling, glaring down at the relaxed Slowbro. "Slowbro use Yawn!" Sabrina commanded, "dodge that!" Luckily Butterfree managed to avoid the Yawn by not looking, otherwise that would have been disastrous. "Butterfree use Bug Buzz!" Butterfree used a powerful and loud Bug Buzz, but Slowbro appeared unfazed, but since I owned one, I knew it was actually taking damage, but didn't react instantly like other Pokemon would.

"Slowbro Psychic!" Slowbro ignored the Bug Buzz before grabbing hold of Butterfree with Psychic preventing him from flying around the arena. "Now use Water Pulse!" Sabrina commanded taking control of her now weakened and helpless opponent. I panicked wondering how to get Butterfree free, before I figured out a strategy. "Butterfree break free and use Air Slash!" Butterfree began rapidly fluttering attempting to break free from the Psychic and it seemed to be working.

Slowbro eventually released Butterfree and as such the Air Slash managed slice through the Water Pulse and score a direct hit on Slowbro. Sabrina seemed slightly concerned, but her face was difficult to read, she was so calm even when battle and under pressure. "Slowbro Slack Off!" At that Slowbro began healing which if allowed would cause major problems for me down the line.

"Buttefree use your strongest Bug Buzz, give it your all!" Butterfree recognising the situation used his strongest Bug Buzz and did apparently enough damage to knock out Slowbro before it could heal off the damage it had already taken. Thankfully I made the right judgment call and had Butterfree finish off Slowbro before it could heal up.

"Slowbro is unable to battle, Butterfree is the winner!" Now Sabrina had only one Pokemon remaining and my confidence was slowly returning to me, but I didn't allow myself to become complacent, Sabrina likely had her strongest Pokemon remaining for last and I knew it wouldn't be a easy win. "Your not bad at all, lets see how well you handle my Alakazam!"

Sabrina's final Pokemon was an Alakazam and the evolved form of Kadabra, knowing how powerful my Kadabra was, I knew that her Alakazam would likely be on another level compared to mine at the moment. "Butterfree can you go on?" I asked and Butterfree nodded, he did seem relatively unfazed from his battle with Slowbro, still I kept my guard up.

"Alakazam use Shadow Ball!" Alakazam fired a Shadow Ball which flew surprisingly fast towards Butterfree, but he remained calm. "Butterfree use Air Slash!" Butterfree fired Air Slash right back, but the blades couldn't stop Shadow Ball and eventually Butterfree was hit with a powerful Shadow Ball. Sabrina didn't let up though, "Now Psychic!" Before Butterfree could even regain his footing, he was struck by a powerful Psychic, which weakened him severely.

"Return Butterfree!" I knew he wouldn't be able to stand against such a powerful foe, a substitution would be my smartest play. "Scyther I need your help!" Scyther appeared slashing the air, threatening Alakazam with such fluid movements. Alakazam remained unfazed, a calm unfazed façade on his face. "Scyther start with Swords Dance!" Scyther began dancing twirling his scythes in such a mesmerising dance increasing his attack power.

"Alakazam Shadow Ball, don't allow them to finish powering up!" Sabrina understood that allowing Scyther to increase his attack power would be disastrous for her. "Scyther use Slash, cut through that Shadow Ball!" As the Shadow Ball reached Scyther, he slashed through the attack, taking minimal damage from the small explosion. Scyther turned to me, making me know he was fine and unharmed.

"Scyther go on the offensive and use X-Scissor!" Scyther charged towards Alakazam, Sabrina, however remained calm and gave her own counterattack. "Alakazam Shadow Ball once more, at full power!" Alakazam made a much larger Shadow Ball, the biggest I'd ever seen. When Scyther was in range of landing his X-Scissor, Alakazam fired the Shadow Ball. The two moves collided and it generated a massive explosion covering the entire battlefield.

When the smoke eventually cleared, I could see both Alakazam and Scyther looking at one another, they were both exhausted and looked as though any one of them could faint at any given moment. Scyther began faltering, but regained his footing and at the same moment. Alakazam collapsed, he was unable to battle and the referee announced the results. "Alakazam is unable to battle, Scyther is the winner. That means that Leo is the winner."

At that Sabrina returned Alakazam to his Pokeball before making her way to me, while I walked with Scyther to meet her. "I already knew how this battle would end, you didn't disappoint me. Your bond with your Pokemon, it's beyond even my psychic abilities. Here this is your reward for defeating me, the Marsh Badge." At that I thanked Sabrina and took the badge placing it in my case before heading out.

I returned Scyther and headed to the Pokemon centre to have my Pokemon fully healed, every one of them had battled brilliantly. Her Alakazam was no joke though, it already gave me ideas about evolving my Kadabra soon, just to see how powerful my Alakazam would be. Upon entering the centre I had my team healed and phoned my mother.

When she answered the phone she was surprised, not assuming I would be calling at that moment. "Leo, where are you now?" Mum asked me curiously, "Saffron City, I just won my gym battle, got my sixth gym badge." Mother was happy and I could tell she must of been smiling. "Congratulations, that means you've only got two more badges to go, then you'll have them all." I nodded, "after I've got all eight, I'll continue completing the Pokedex from other regions." Mother agreed with my decision, she just wanted me to be happy on my journey.

At that we ended the conversation and I received my Pokemon from Nurse Joy and headed outside. Checking the map, I decided to return to Cinnabar Island and challenge the next gym. Before leaving though, I released my Kadabra, Machoke, Haunter and Graveler. The Pokemon all appeared confused as to why they were being called out. "I wanted to know whether you wanted to evolve into your final forms. To do so, I'd need to temporarily trade you and then receive you back." Immediately the Pokemon made up their minds.

Kadabra had no qualms about evolving and seemed to gravitate towards evolution happily. Machoke was similarly excited to evolve, knowing he would be even stronger and be able to carry his beloved trainer around with his renewed strength. Graveler was on a similar page, to what Machoke was, he simply wanted to do whatever was necessary to protect me. Haunter had the mischievous reason to evolve, as a Gengar he believed he would be able to scare me.

After some trading, with some local trainers, I had managed to evolve my Pokemon who were happy to be returned to me. Rotom then began registering the new catches. "Alakazam has been registered to your Pokedex. Alakazam the Psi Pokemon, a Psychic Type. It has an incredibly high level of intelligence. Some say Alakazam remembers everything that ever happens to it, from life to death." Alakazam now had two spoons instead of just the one. He also seemed more wise in the way he acted. He didn't come to me for attention like he had when he was a Kadabra, but that didn't mean he didn't care for me. He was just adjusting to his new body.

Next Rotom registered my evolved Machoke. "Machamp has been registered to your Pokedex. Machamp the Superpower Pokemon, a Fighting Type. With four arms that react more quickly than it can think, it can execute many punches at once." Machamp sure had increased strength thanks to his evolution. He hugged me tight grinning as he happily lifted me in the air, as if I weighed nothing in comparison to him. Eventually he placed me on the ground, but he would of happily never released me.

"Golem has been registered to your Pokedex. Golem the Megaton Pokemon, a Rock and Ground Type. It sheds its hide once a year. Its boulder-like body is so tough, even dynamite can't break it." Golem seemed rather proud of his Pokedex entry, as he looked over his new body. He grinned happily, before rolling towards me with such speed, I wondered if he would even be able to stop before he barrelled into me. Golem sopped though, I quickly brushed a hand over his body, noticing the new feeling of his stony skin. Golem seemed to enjoy the attention.

The final Pokemon registered to my Pokedex from trading was the newly evolved Haunter. "Gengar has been registered to your Pokedex. Gengar the Shadow Pokemon, a Ghost and Poison Type. Lurking in the shadowy corners of rooms, it awaits chances to steal its preys life force." Gengar showed me his new abilities by going invisible in an attempt to scare me. Unfortunately before Gengar was given the opportunity to scare me, he was blocked when Machamp grabbed me moving me away from Gengar. Much to his disappointment, but there were other chances.

I returned my new trade evolutions and began training some of my other team members that I knew could evolve soon. The first ones being my new fossil Pokemon, the two had been growing exceptionally powerful and as such, it wasn't a surprise when they each began to evolve. "Omastar has been registered to your Pokedex. Omastar the Spiral Pokemon a Rock and Water Type. Omastar's sharp fangs could crush rock, but the Pokemon can attack only the prey that come within reach of its tentacles." It sounded as though Omastar's shell become more a hinderance than a benefit and could of been one of the causes of its extinction all those years ago. Still my Omastar seemed happy with his newfound evolution.

"Kabutops has been registered to your Pokedex. Kabutops the Shellfish Pokemon a Rock and Water Type. The cause behind the extinction of this species is unknown. Kabutops were aggressive Pokemon that inhabited warm seas." Kabutops actually resembled one of my other Pokemon, that being Scyther. I decided to release Scyther to see the two Pokemon's similarities. When Scyther and Kabutops faced one another, they both posed in a similar manor. Their sharp scythes both looked identical if not different colours and sizes as well. It struck me that potentially Scyther may be a distant relative of Kabutops, their evolutionary paths may have been close to one another.

Ponyta was next to evolve, into a Rapidash, "Rapidash has been registered to your Pokedex. Rapidash the Fire Horse Pokemon a Fire Type. It has astounding acceleration. From a standstill, it can reach top speeds within 10 steps." With Rapidash now on the team, I had another Pokemon which demanded that I use him as a ride Pokemon whenever I desired. I didn't agree but, Rapidash was far stronger and very determined he wouldn't back down and thus I agreed to sometimes ride on his back. It also helped me was rather warm and his flame didn't burn me since he had a strong bond of trust and friendship with me.

I had also been training with Shellder and Staryu well, in comparison to some of my other Pokemon they had some difficulties. Still, the two Pokemon had actually approached me on evolving, as such when I presented them with two Water Stones, they accepted them graciously and began evolving.

"Cloyster has been registered to your Pokedex. Cloyster the Bivalve Pokemon a Water and Ice Type Pokemon. Once it slams its shell shut, it is impossible to open, even by those with superior strength." Cloyster when with me didn't close its shell, I assumed that was for two reasons. The first was that Cloyster wasn't battling and the second was he trusted me. I also quite liked that he also was now an Ice Type as well, that would come in handy in the future.

"Starmie has been registered to your Pokedex. Starmie the Mysterious Pokemon a Water and Psychic Pokemon. Starmie swims by spinning its body at high speed. As this Pokemon cruises through the ocean, it absorbs tiny plankton." Starmie when hearing its Pokedex entry happily showed me its spinning power and I was surprised at how fast Starmie could spin. Starmie also definitely looked otherworldly in appearance. No wonder it had been declared the mysterious Pokemon.

I had been doing some bonding with my Eevee's that I had caught and my patience was paid off, after creating a strong bond with one during the daytime, one Eevee evolved into a Espeon. "Espeon has been registered to your Pokedex. Espeon the Sun Pokemon, a Psychic Type. It unleashes psychic power from the orb on its forehead. When its power is exhausted, the orb grows dull and dark." Espeon now was very playful and enjoyed being around me but preferred the daytime. Espeon also got along well, with my other Psychic Types.

The next Eevee, evolved during the night time and became an Umbreon. "Umbreon has been registered to your Pokedex. Umbreon the Moonlight Pokemon, a Dark Type. On the night of a full moon, or when its gets excited, the ring patterns on its body glow yellow." Umbreon was reserved a quiet and patient Pokemon. He always appeared stern and wise, but in reality he was just as playful as Espeon. Since I didn't have any Dark Types, he did get along well, with Ghost Types, especially keeping Gengar in check.

The final Eevee I had caught, had been given as much affection as any one Pokemon could desire. Since this Eevee also knew the move Charm which was a Fairy Type move, it was the key in allowing Eevee to evolve into the Fairy Type Sylveon, a Pokemon discovered in Kalos. "Sylveon has been registered to your Pokedex. Sylveon the Intertwining Pokemon, a Fairy Type. There's a Galarian fairy tale that describes a beautiful Sylveon vanquishing a dreadful Dragon Pokemon." Sylveon adored me, the trainer who gave him so much love and affection. In battles Sylveon was ruthless in ensuring he always won his battles, to pay me back for such love.

I knew that I also had some areas on my journey that I hadn't been able to find Water Pokemon, specifically I hadn't yet found a Poliwag or a Horsea. There was Goldeen as well, but there was another Pokemon that I had wanted to find, the ever rare Dratini which evolved into the elegant Dragonair and the powerful Dragonite. Doing some research I found the locations of these specific Pokemon and began searching for them by using Charizard to fly to specific locations and having either Gyarados or Lapras ferry me across the oceans or lakes to find new Pokemon for my Pokedex.

My first destination was returning to Route 22 where I knew there was a lake, that I knew held some wild Poliwag and so I sent out Gyarados and began searching for a Poliwag. Gyarados was determined to please me and searched far and wide and eventually he came across a Poliwag that was swimming through the lake. Immediately Gyarados swam as fast as he could towards the unsuspecting Poliwag who when he saw Gyarados approaching, understandably he panicked and tried to flee.

Gyarados easily weakened Poliwag enough for me to throw a Pokeball and catch Poliwag. "Poliwag has been registered to your Pokedex. Poliwag the Tadpole Pokemon a Water Type. For Poliwag, swimming is easier than walking. The swirl pattern on its belly is actually part of the Pokemon's innards showing through the skin." I knew that Poliwag had two final evolved forms. The one that I could currently obtain would be Poliwrath through a Water Stone. The second would be trading a Poliwhirl holding a Kings Rock into a Politoed. For now though I only caught just the one Poliwag.

After that, I flew Charizard back over to Route 11 to catch Horsea, when I reached the open lake, I called Lapras out who allowed me to climb aboard. Lapras took off and began searching for Horsea and soon enough we found a Horsea swimming around the lake. "Lapras Ice Beam!" Lapras fired a powerful Ice Beam weakened Horsea enough for me to throw a Pokeball and catch Horsea. "Horsea has been registered to your Pokedex. Horsea the Dragon Pokemon a Water Type. Horsea makes its home in oceans with gentle currents. If this Pokemon is under attack, it spits out pitch-black ink and escapes." Horsea was quite the playful Pokemon enjoying battling whenever he got the opportunity.

Next was visiting Route 6, to catch a Goldeen, once again, I had Charizard carry me to the route and had Dewgong ferry me across the lake, as we searched for Goldeen. It was much easier than expected as we found multiple. "Dewgong use Ice Beam!" Once again, like with Lapras against Horsea, Dewgong's Ice Beam weakened Goldeen enough for my Pokeball to catch it. "Goldeen has been registered to your Pokedex. Goldeen the Goldfish Pokemon a Water Type. It swims elegantly by flittering its tail fin as if it were a dress. It has the look of a queen." Goldeen sure loved the company of my fellow Water Pokemon, especially the ones that I had recently caught.

I had one final Pokemon that I had wanted to catch, but this one I believed would be a challenge, not with battling per say, but finding the Pokemon. Nonetheless I called Charizard and asked him to fly me to Route 10. I had done some research and learned that both Dratini and even Dragonair could be found rarely in the lake. I knew it would be exceptionally difficult to catch a Dragonair and since I wanted to complete the Pokedex, I wanted to catch a Dratini instead.

When Charizard landed, I thanked him returning him to his Pokeball and then sent out my Tentacruel. Tentacruel was more than happy to ferry me across the lake and he was also happy to help me search for a Dratini. We scoured the lake, searching far and wide, for hours it seemed looking for a trace of the rare Dratini. Tentacruel eventually decided to dive down, while I waited above when he returned he was followed by a curious Dratini.

Tentacruel then prepared himself for battle against Dratini. "Tentacruel Ice Beam!" Since Dratini was only in its base stage, Tentacruel had the power and Ice Beam was super effective and weakened Dratini enough for me to throw a Pokeball and capture Dratini. "Dratini has been registered to your Pokedex. Dratini the Dragon Pokemon, a Dragon Type. It is called the mirage Pokemon because so few have seen it, but its shed skin has been found." I definitely agreed with the moniker of mirage Pokemon, it took so many hours to find a Dratini, thankfully Dewgong managed to find one.

After all the captures I had and the evolutions too I knew that I was close to completing the Pokedex from Kanto at least. Next I would return to Cinnabar Island and challenge the gym leader there.