Pokemon - To Catch Them All - Goldenrod City and National Park

Story by soni050 on SoFurry

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#24 of Pokemon - To Catch Them All

Leo challenged Whitney and explores the National Park too


After thoroughly emptying my bank account at the Goldenrod department store I was eager to begin battling trainers once again to try and earn some money back. Turns out there was such a place nearby and it wasn't the gym. I followed down a tunnel which had some trainers and apparently led to a dress up shop, that's what I'd heard from some people chatting around the city. It sounded interesting and I'm sure my Pokemon would also appreciate a small break from battling and a chance to wear some accessories too. At that I headed down the tunnel and was challenged to a battle by a Pokemaniac who sent out a Slowpoke and I sent out my Ledian and had Ledian use Struggle Bug and defeat Slowpoke, then defeated the second Slowpoke that was sent out as well.

Continuing on a Super Nerd challenged me with a Magnemite and I sent out my Heracross my only real Fighting Type at the moment and had Heracross use Brick Break defeating Magnemite. This was followed by two more Magnemite which were defeated much the same way with Heracross repeatedly using Brick Break. The final Pokemon sent out was a Voltorb and I substituted for my Aipom and had Aipom use Swift defeating Voltorb. Next I was challenged by a Pokemaniac who sent out a Lickitung and I sent out my Slowpoke and had him use Water Gun a few times defeating Lickitung. Next a Super Nerd challenged me with a Grimer and I sent out Slowpoke once more and had Slowpoke use Confusion defeating Grimer. This was followed by a second Grimer who Slowpoke defeated as well.

After the battles had been won I reached the end of the tunnel and found the dress up shop and was immediately invited in to begin dressing up my Pokemon, many other people were dressing up their Pokemon in private rooms surrounded by different accessories. I grabbed a select few and entered the dressing room where I was left to my own devices. "Come on out everyone!" Since I could only bring out six Pokemon, the ones I had chosen were, Croconaw, Bayleef, Ariados, Noctowl, Heracross and Flaaffy. The Pokemon seemed confused and interested in what was happening and I was more than happy to explain.

"I decided to bring you here as a special treat, you can dress up and look nice and pretty or handsome if you want." Some of the Pokemon blushed and grumbled, slightly embarrassed at wearing such accessories for their trainer. But at the same time, they wanted to pay their trainer back and so they began to work on wearing different accessories. Heracross was first and accepted some fluff around his horns which suited him nicely making him look rather handsome and he knew it smirking at the guys who watched with slight envy. At that everybody began to get involved and dressed up with feathers, fluff and even getting a nice background for their photo. After a few minutes they seemed to settle down and I had believed that was the end of the accessories for now.

However, I hadn't expected for all my Pokemon to grin at one another and decide to grab their respective accessories and began dressing up their trainer. They began applying feathers on my head and placing fluff around me as well. Eventually they had finished and I'm sure I looked quite the sight. I did agree to get a photo with the Pokemon who seemed to adore their beloved trainers new look. If anything the Pokemon knew I was doing this as a way of giving the Pokemon a break from battling and catching all the time. However, they knew they could give their trainer a break as well. The Pokemon also loved what they did and while they didn't mind a break they just preferred being on the road, battling and catching Pokemon for their beloved trainer.

As such, when all the accessories were returned we exited the shop with a new spring in our step, the Pokemon and I were rejuvenated from the exciting experience. At that I decided to do some research on the gym leader of Goldenrod City and her name was Whitney and she was a specialist in Normal Types. Normal Types were only weak to Fighting Types and couldn't be touched by Ghost Types. Out of my current Pokemon the only one who had a type advantage was Heracross who was a Bug and Fighting Type. However, I needed one more Pokemon and that needed to be strong enough to handle some powerful moves. After much deliberation I chose to use Croconaw as he was one of my most powerful and capable fighters. It was a difficult choice and I'm sure the Pokemon understood my reasoning.

I entered the gym and was surprised at how different it looked, don't get me wrong it was a gym all in all but something seemed different. This gym seemed more inviting than most others. Still I walked through and met with the gym leader, a young women who introduced herself as Whitney. "Hey, are you a challenger?" Whitney asked me jumping up and down excitedly and I nodded my head, "yes I'm Leo from Viridian City, here to challenge you to a gym battle." Whitney shrieked in excitement and darted off down to the arena shouting for me to follow. Whitney definitely left an impression that showed eagerness and determination when it came to battling. When we got to the arena the referee announced the rules. "This will be a two on two battle. The battle will be over when one sides Pokemon are unable to continue battling. Now trainers please send out your Pokemon!"

At that Whitney chose her Pokemon, "Clefairy come on out!" Clefairy appeared for her and while it wasn't a Normal Type it was still a powerful Pokemon to deal with and it also reminded me that some gym leaders were renowned for surprising challengers with different Pokemon appearing in their gyms. "Come on out Croconaw!" I chose Croconaw simply because Clefairy was a Fairy Type and would be super effective against my Heracross who was a Fighting Type. "Battle begin!" The referee declared and Whitney started things off with a bang. "Clefairy use Metronome!" At that I remained cautious and warned Croconaw of what could happen. "Croconaw be on guard, Metronome can choose any move at random. Be prepared to dodge whatever comes your way!" Croconaw agreed and observed cautiously while preparing himself to counterattack or dodge.

When Clefairy finished waggling its fingers a huge bang appeared as Clefairy had actually gone and used Explosion a powerful Normal Type move, however, that meant that Clefairy was already unable to battle. Though Croconaw had managed to endure the explosion he wasn't doing exceptionally well. "Clefairy is unable to battle, Croconaw is the winner!" At that Whitney returned her Clefairy. "Oh I'm so sorry Clefairy, better luck next time though!" At that she grabbed her second choice and unleashed her next partner.

"I choose you Miltank!" Miltank appeared mooing observing Croconaw with interest. "I should warn you, Miltank is my most powerful Pokemon. It won't be easy to defeat her." I grabbed my Rotom phone and pointed it at Miltank. "Miltank the Milk Cow Pokemon a Normal Type. Miltank produces highly nutritious milk, so its been supporting the lives of people and other Pokemon since ancient times." I lowered my Rotom phone and spoke to Croconaw. "Croconaw can you continue battling?" Croconaw smirked nodding his head gnashing his teeth aggressively trying to intimidate Miltank who remained unfazed.

"Miltank use Stomp!" Whitney commanded and Miltank dashed forward with surprising speed foot raised to Stomp down on Croconaw. "Croconaw dodge and use Water Gun!" Croconaw just barely dodged and unleashed Water Gun but Miltank seemed to brush the attack off. "Miltank Attract!" Miltank winked and pink hearts flew towards Croconaw infatuating him with Miltank. Judging from his eyes he would do nothing but admire the beautiful Pokemon for as long as he wanted. "Croconaw snap out of it!" Croconaw turned and me and acted confused as if to say. "Why would I stop looking and loving that beautiful Miltank?" There was no getting through to him.

"Miltank use Rollout!" Miltank rolled around and bashed into Croconaw doing more and more damage with each and every hit. "Croconaw try and use Water Gun and stop Miltank!" Croconaw used Water Gun but the attack seemed to only make Miltank spin even faster. "This isn't working, return for now Croconaw!" Croconaw was returned and disappointed with himself but he would come around soon enough. "Take over Heracross!" Heracross landed on the field with a thud glaring at Miltank who smiled. "Heracross Brick Break!" Heracross charged forward while Whitney countered, "Miltank Rollout again!" Miltank rolled and clashed with Heracross. Heracross was slowly being pushed back further and further until he dug his heels into the ground and pushed back shocking Miltank.

"Miltank quick use Attract!" Miltank attempted to stop Heracross by using Attract but Heracross landed two super effective Brick Breaks which defeated Miltank. "Miltank is unable to battle, Heracross is the winner and that means Leo is the winner!" Whitney returned her Miltank before she handed me the Plain Badge with a smile. "Wow you and your Pokemon are really strong!" I thanked her for the compliment as she then handed me the gym badge. "This is the Plain Badge, thanks again for such a fun battle! We should battle again some time alright!"

At that Whitney quickly ran off and I exited the gym wondering why she was in such a hurry. It could be that she already had more challengers waiting for her. Putting that aside, I headed back to the Pokemon centre and had Croconaw and Heracross fully healed and thanked them both once again for such an incredible battle. The two accepted the praise blushing somewhat with embarrassment.

At that I headed north leaving Goldenrod City and headed through Route 35 and decided to have a look at what Pokemon where available here that I hadn't yet caught. I was pleasantly surprised to know that on this route I could find and catch a Yanma a Bug and Flying Type that would come in handy for sure. At that I started exploring and began searching for Yanma. There were lots of other Pokemon available to be caught, but I'd already caught those ones.

For a while I kept looking and had my Pokemon battle the wild Pokemon that came our way. When suddenly a small Pokemon suddenly flew right at my face. It was a Yanma that had just happened to fly almost right into me. "I need your help Furret!" Furret appeared scurrying along before staring down the Yanma. Yanma wasn't waiting around and attacked using Sonic Boom. "Dodge that by using Quick Attack!" Furret dodged around Sonic Boom before landing Quick Attack.

Yanma righted itself before glaring at its attacker and using Aerial Ace. "Furret meet it head on by using Quick Attack once more!" Furret ran to the approaching Yanma and the two Pokemon met head on. Both pushed against the other trying to overpower their enemy. However, Yanma was knocked down and Furret was the winner. I took a chance and threw a Pokeball watching as it shook once, twice, three times before the capture was confirmed.

"Yanma has been registered to your Pokedex. Yanma the Clear Wings Pokemon a Bug and Flying Type. Its eyes can see 360 degrees without the Pokemon moving its head. It won't miss prey - even those behind it." Yanma was healed up with a potion and showed me all about himself. Like many of my other Pokemon, Yanma liked using his new trainer as a head resting place. Whenever Yanma didn't feel like flying, he would land on my head and stay there for as long as he wanted. Not like I felt like stopping him anyway.

Moving on I was challenged by a picnicker who sent out a Vulpix and I sent out my Croconaw having him use Water Gun defeating Vulpix. Next up a Camper challenged me with a Sandshrew and I sent out Skiploom having him use Bullet Seed defeating Sandshrew. The second Pokemon sent out was a Marill and I substituted for my Bayleef having him use Razor Leaf defeating Marill.

Next was a Camper who sent out a Pikachu and I sent out my Quagsire having Quagsire use Mud Shot to defeat Pikachu. Another Camper challenged me with a Diglett and I sent out my Croconaw having Croconaw use Water Gun to defeat Diglett. This was repeated with a second Diglett as well. The final Pokemon sent out was a Zubat and I substituted for my Flaaffy having him use Thunder Shock which was super effective.

I was then challenged by a Juggler who used four Voltorb and so I sent out my Quagsire who repeatedly used Mud Shot defeating all the Voltorb. Next up was a Firebreather who sent out a Magmar and I sent out Croconaw who used Water Gun winning the battle, this was repeated with the second Magmar. Next was a Bug Catcher who sent out a Venonat and I sent out Slowpoke and had him use Confusion defeating the Bug Type. A Bird Keeper was next to challenge me and they sent out a Pidgey and I sent out Flaaffy having him use Thunder Shock. Next up was a Pidgeotto who went down the same way.

I headed north and reached a crossroads, to my left was the Pokeathalon dome where trainers and their Pokemon could compete in events against one another. Or I could head to the National Park, that's where I decided on going since I'd heard that it was quite a relaxing location where we could take a short break. I had a look around the National Park and found that Sunkern inhabited the park. At that I headed on in and began searching and it didn't take long at all to find a Sunkern.

"Come out Noctowl!" Noctowl appeared flying over to Sunkern who panicked slightly at the looming Noctowl. "Noctowl Air Slash!" Air Slash struck Sunkern and defeated it allowing me to throw a Pokeball and watch as it shook once, twice, three times before the catch was confirmed. "Sunkern has been registered to your Pokedex. Sunkern the Seed Pokemon a Grass Type. They may suddenly fall out of the sky in the morning. In the year following a cold summer, their population explodes." I healed up Sunkern and he happily acceped the healing. Sunkern was quite a shy Pokemon, not that confident and I saw that when he battled against Noctowl. But at the same time, his decision to flee was intelligent as he likely knew he was outmatched against Noctowl.

I continued exploring the National Park and was surprised when some trainers wanted to challenge me. First up was a Pokefan who sent out a Snubbull which was a Fairy Type as such I sent out my Ariados and had him use Poison Sting a few times to defeat Snubbull. Next was a Lass who sent out a Oddish and I sent out my Ledian and had Ledian use Aerial Ace defeat Oddish. Next up was a Cubone and I substituted for my new Sunkern. Sunkern proved himself to be a capable battler by using Mega Drain defeating Cubone.

Next up was a Pokefan who sent out a Raichu and I sent out my Quagsire having him use Mud Shot defeating Raichu. A School Kid then challenged me with a Oddish and I sent out my Yanma for his first battle as well. Yanma did quite well defeating Oddish with a super effective Aerial Ace. The next Pokemon sent out was a Voltorb and I substituted for my Quagsire and had Quagsire use Mud Shot winning the battle.

After the battles had been won I alternated between all of my Pokemon and gave them some time out to enjoy the National Park. The Grass, Bug and Flying Types seemed to enjoy the serenity of the park most. There were even a few ponds where my Water Pokemon could relax in. The rest enjoyed either staying near me or playing with one another. It was a wonderful sight to see all of my Pokemon playing together.