A Rare Sight Ch. 15 - Sweatin' Bullets
A Rare Sight
Sweatin' Bullets
"I can't believe it! Crystium! How on earth did you get your hands on it?" Jade asked me while holding the bowl of Crystium up to her face.
"Taylor's Pokemon was infected with it, Chole somehow got it out," I said.
"Ah yes, Chole's extraction ability, such an interesting power that little Mew has."
"Hey I'm not little, now hand me my juice," Chole said, reaching out her arm.
Jade and I exited the house then sat down on the front porch. I looked around the neighborhood, watching the Purification workers walk around the place, looking for clues about Apocalypse.
"You're heading to Lavaridge Town next right?" Jade asked.
"Yeah, I'm going for my 4th badge," I said while rocking back and forth on the porch chair.
"*Chuckle* it's good to know that you're still trying to live your life like a normal Pokemon trainer while this huge mess is going on."
"Honestly, I couldn't see myself having a normal life now, I don't know if I would want to. Going against a top secret criminal organization, plus having the chance to save the world excites me way too much."
"Well I'm glad this excites you, for me it doesn't; having to live your life everyday and knowing that the world could end at any moment, it scares the shit out of me. But hey, that's why I signed up for this; I want to make a difference as well," Jade grinned.
Watching her smile made me grin as well.
"It's nice to see you talk not just in a professional way Jade."
"Hahaha, yeah a real workaholic right?"
"No kidding."
Just then, a Purification worker walked up to us.
"Ma'am, we have finished investigation, we'll be heading back to HQ now."
"Good job, make sure you stay out of sight when heading back."
"Yes ma'am," the worker saluted.
"Well, I guess I'll head off as well. I have to bring this sample back to HQ as quick as possible," Jade stood up.
"Alright, it's nice to see you again Jade," I copied her actions.
"Likewise; but before I go, I have a present for you," Jade reached into her pocket and pulled out a plastic card.
"Garrett, ever since you found out about Purification, you've been helping us out. This says you're willing to do almost anything to stop Apocalypse. Do you deny this?"
"Of course not, I'd do anything to save the world."
"Garrett, do you wish to join the ranks of Purification and stop the horrendous acts of Apocalypse?"
"I thought I already was," I smiled at Jade.
"Then you are hereby accepted into the ranks of Purification, congratulations," Jade handed me the card that had my photo on it.
"So what, is that like required of you to say that cheesy speech?"
"Heh, yeah kind of."
"So what happens now?"
"You're a special member in Purification; you answer to me and me alone. For what you're supposed to do now, just do what you always have been doing, getting those badges and keep a lookout on Apoc," Jade then turned around and began to walk the opposite way.
Before running off, Jade turned her head back to me.
"Oh and one more thing, never let Chole leave your sight, you may not know it but she is a key factor in this fight," Jade winked then ran off.
"Pshhh nice mug shot," Chole flew up behind me.
"Shut up you dumb kitty."
"What was that all about?" Taylor asked, coming out of the house while holding Swipes hand.
"Apparently I'm part of Purification now," I held up the membership ID.
"Yeah so no funny business Apoc," Chole busted out laughing, I responded with a slap to the face.
"Vee?" Buddy walked up to me after playing tag with the others.
"Look Buddy, we're officially the good guys now," I showed Buddy the card.
"Eevee!" Buddy wagged his tail.
"So, can we get moving now?" Chole asked.
"We need to get some supplies, we won't survive long with the amount of food we have now."
"The fridge may have some supplies that we could..."
"Hold that thought sister," Chole interrupted Taylor and floated over to the town shop.
Ten minutes later, Chole walks out as a Nidoqueen, holding bags upon bags of supplies; she then walked over to us and dropped them right next to us.
"There, have your fill of supplies," Chole glowed and changed back into her Mew form.
"Chole we can't take this!" I said.
"No one's here! And don't worry about that guy; I've left enough food for him."
"Chole, it's stealing," Taylor said.
"Don't think of it as stealing...think of it as a pre-gift from the town for saving them."
"Taylor, what do you have in the fridge?" I turn to Taylor.
Linoone, Treeco, and Ruby all walked out from the house, rubbing their stomachs and burping.
"Apparently nothing now."
I shook my head.
"I guess we don't have much of a choice now," I said, picking out a number of supplies that we needed.
Taylor picked up a few berries and held them up in front of Swipe's face. Swipes sniffed the berries and took them in his mouth.
"How is it Swipes, you like em'?"
Swipes smiled and nodded.
"Slash!"
"Hand me that bag of berries Garrett, looks like I'll have to stock up on supplies as well," Taylor stretched out her arm for the bag of berries.
"What does Dite eat?"
"She eats regular Pokemon food, except she eats them like a human would eat food, with utensils."
"You know, you never gave an explanation as to why you named Swipes, well, Swipes."
"Back then when we worked for, you know, our job was to steal, whether it was pick pocketing or breaking into a shop at night. Swipes had the claws perfect for swiping wallets or stealing materials without alarming anyone."
I finished restocking and closed up my backpack.
"You about done as well?" I asked Taylor.
"Yeah, just about. Go get everyone ready, I'm going to see if the shop has any more sleeping bags," Taylor said, running off.
I looked up to see my team playing tag.
"Alright everyone, huddle up; it's about time for us to get going!" I called out, clapping my hands.
"Lar!"
"Treeco Tree!"
"Linoone!"
"Vee!"
"About damn time!"
"Found some, and I also got these as well," Taylor said walking back to us and showing me some spray bottles.
"What are they?" I ask.
"Hold onto them, it'll come in handy for your next gym battle," Taylor placed the bottles in my hand.
"Whatever."
"Jynx, Jynx Jynx Jynx, Jynx!!" Dite called out as she ran outside with a Pokeball in her hand.
"You found it Dite?" Taylor asked.
"Jynx, Jynx," Dite nodded.
"Awesome," Taylor took the Pokeball from Dite's hand. Taylor then pointed the ball at Dite which sucked her right into it.
"Right then, shall we get moving now?" Chole pointed both thumbs at the exit.
"What's with you and leaving?" I asked.
"Nothing, this place is just so damn depressing, everyone disappearing and all."
"She's right, I want to leave to," Taylor said.
"Alright alright, calm down, just one last thing," I took out Ruby's, Linoone's, and Treeco's Pokeball and brought them back into their mobile homes.
"Now we can go," I picked up my backpack and started to lead the way.
"Lets go Swipes, it's time to start our adventure for real this time," Taylor called to Swipes.
"Slash!" Swipes smiled and followed Taylor from the vibrations made by her footsteps.
"Such an interesting Pokemon, recently blind and he already knows how to deal with it," Chole said, floating next to me.
"It's going to be really interesting to see his battle style," I said.
"Sight is only blindness for the true eyes."
I slowly turn my head to Chole's.
"What the hell? Where did that come from?"
"Cool huh? I made it up on the top of my head."
"What does that mean though?"
"Sight is only one sense, and your eyes only let you see what's in front of you. Your other senses: hearing, touching, and smelling can be just as powerful on the battlefield," Chole floated around my head.
"Hmm, you have a logical point, surprisingly. When did you get smart all of a sudden?"
"Newsflash dipshit, it's common sense; if you use all of your senses besides one, you're going to dominate the field."
"...I hate you."
"Noooooo, you hate that I'm right, you loooooooove me doncha?" Chole pinched my cheeks.
*BLAM*
Right in the face.
"Hey Taylor, wait up," I caught up to Taylor.
"Where's Chole?"
"Oh, she'll catch up in a second she uh...found something lying on the ground."
"Um...ok?"
So Taylor and I continued to walk ahead while the now conscious Chole floated back over to our positions. We talked and talked for what seemed like mere seconds turned out to be hours.
I checked my wristwatch, it was 7:20.
"Wow, time seemed to have passed us by," I said.
"Geez, it's already that late?" Taylor asked.
"You obviously don't look up much do you?" Chole pointed up to the stars and the moon.
"You obviously don't have an off switch do you?" I replied back.
Taylor giggled at my remark.
We walked for another hour when I began to feel hotter than usual.
"Is it just me or is it getting really hot?"
"Nope just you," Chole said as she wiped the blood from her forehead, "on second thought, I take that back."
"No kidding, it's like someone turned the thermostat to high and broke the switch," Taylor said as she removed her jacket and stuffed it in the backpack.
"According to the GPS, we should be only an hour away from Lavaridge Town," I said.
"Well that explains the heat," Taylor said while fanning herself.
It took only 10 minutes to change our pace, from walking to drudging.
"Holy heat stroke Batman," Chole said.
"Garrett...I hate to be a bother...but do you have any water left?" Taylor said in a raspy voice.
"Yeah, I have half a bottle left so make it last," I handed her the plastic bottle.
Taylor grabbed the bottle and slowly poured the liquid into her mouth.
"Thank you."
"No prob."
The more we walked, the rockier it became, and with it being dark, the risk grew tremendously.
"Be careful guys, this would be a bad way to die," Chole balanced herself on the rocky slope.
"What kind of fucking road has something like this to it?" I pointed the flashlight at the ground so everyone can see where they're going.
"Look there's some lights up ahead," Chole pointed in front of us.
In the distance we could see houses and buildings.
"Oh thank god," I said.
"Yeah no kidding, some shelter," Taylor said, wiping the sweat from her face.
"No I mean the path is back to how it should be."
"...I don't know what you're complaining about, I thought the trip was a hoot and a half," Chole floated around us.
"Yeah, well guess what; we're near civilization so transform already."
"Alright alright fine, don't get your panties in a bunch," Chole glowed white and transformed into a Charmeleon.
I shook my head, "Come on, let's get to the town before I snap and kill the family cat."
Chole's eyes widened.
We walked past the front gate and stopped to get a view of the town.
"Wow, they really milked the fire thing huh?" Taylor said.
"Yeah..."
All over the town, torches were lit to replace street lamps, candles inside homes replaced light bulbs, and the smell of charred food filled the air.
"Lets...just get some sleep," I said as we walked to the center.
"I swear if there's a fireplace inside the building I'm burning this whole town," Chole said.
"I don't think they'll mind honestly," Taylor chuckled.
We walked inside the center and was immediately flooded with cold air, it was as if we felt AC for the first time. I walked over to the counter and ordered for a room for the night.
"Actually Garrett, with me and the addition of my Pokemon, I think you should order two rooms instead, it'll be a little crowed for just one room," Taylor said.
"Alright," I said and ordered a second room.
We all walked upstairs and opened the doors to our rooms, Taylor and I turned around to face each other.
"Tomorrow morning we go over my battle plan and after lunch we go to the gym," I said.
"Sounds like a plan, and uh...Garrett."
"Yeah?"
"Thank you...for everything."
"No problem, you probably would have done the same thing for..." I was interrupted by Taylor kissing my cheek and then closing the door.
"....." I froze at what happened.
Chole floated next to me, she shook her head and dragged me into the room.
"Lets get you to bed Romeo," Chole dragged me to my bed and then turned off the "lights."
The Next Morning
"Garrett..."
"Garrett..."
"Mmmm, Taylor," I mumbled.
I heard a chuckle.
"Garrett wake up, it's 10:30."
I opened my eyes to see Taylor standing over me.
"Hey Sleeping Beauty, nice tent," Chole floated above me.
"Tent? What the hell are you..." I looked down at my pants and quickly darted to the bathroom.
All of a sudden I hear an explosion of laughter.
"Great," I bang my head against the wall.
"Get dressed and we'll meet you downstairs for breakfast," Taylor said from the other side of the door.
"...Kay'."
After everyone left the room I took a shower, got dressed, and fast walked down the stairs. I found everyone already eating breakfast and so I grabbed a plate and went to make breakfast; after getting everything I wanted from the buffet I sat down next to Swipes.
"Hey there Swipes, you sleep well?" I petted his spiky mane.
"Slash, slash slash, Sandslash, slash slash slash hehehe."
Chole tried to hold in a laugh.
"What? What did he say?"
"He said, "from what I heard, apparently not as well as you.""
Everyone began to laugh.
I slammed my head on the table.
After breakfast was over, I gathered everyone around to discuss our game plan for today.
"Okay guys, it would take the world's dumbest person to not figure out this gym leader specializes in fire."
"Hmm, I was thinking Rock," Chole said while looking out the window.
I slowly turn my head to her.
"Anyway, Buddy you're up first, then Linoone, then Ruby."
"A little similar to the last gym leader don't you think?" Chole asked.
"What choice do I have? Treeco is definitely not fit for this battle and you're sure as hell not going to help out."
"Well what if I want to?"
"...Are you serious?"
"....Nah I'm just pulling your leg."
I make a choking gesture at Chole with my hands.
"Fire Pokemon aren't to be messed with, your guard needs to be up at all times," Taylor said.
"Well that's all I have to say, ready to do some training?"
"Lar!"
"Vee!"
"Linoone!"
"Great, lets get goin' then."
We all stood up and stepped out of the booth, we walked to the front entrance of the center; as I was opening the door, I noticed someone standing on the other side of it.
"Oh excuse me," I said.
"No prob...GARRETT!?!"
I looked up to see who the stranger was, it turned out to me my old friend Allen.
"ALLEN!?! Holy shit!"
"Mother fucker! How you been dude?" Allen slapped my back...hard.
"AHHHHHHHHHHH....good," I fell to my knees.
"Still a pussy huh?"
"That maybe true but you're an *BLAM* open target," I punched him, straight at the balls.
"HOLY SHIT AHHHHHHHHH!" Allen fell on his back, holding his crotch.
"Yeah, not to tough now huh?" I made a "come on" gesture with my hands.
"..........Truce."
"Fine," I grabbed Allen's hand and brought him back to his feet.
"Who's the tall one?" Taylor whispered to Chole.
"He's Garrett's old high school friend," Chole whispered back.
"So how you been?" I asked.
"Not bad, I got my Heat Badge a few days ago," Allen showed the badge to me.
"That it?"
"Geez, tough crowd; lets see what you have bitch."
"I would love to," I pulled out a case containing my three badges.
"Fine you win, but the outcome was great for me to," Allen pulled out a Pokeball and released a Pokemon, it was a Swampert.
"Jesus! Is that your Mudkip?"
"Yup, he evolved yesterday."
"God he's huge."
"Pshh, that's what she said."
"....." I punched his arm.
"That's it, truce off," we both began to fight.
Taylor, Chole, and the other Pokemon looked at the fight and then at each other. Taylor decided to step.
"Boys! Boys! There's no need to fight," Taylor dragged me out of the fight.
"Of course we...well, hello there beautiful. How come I haven't noticed you yet?" Allen kissed Taylor's hand.
"Oh...uh-ah...ahh...ahem," Taylor stuttered.
"What's your name?"
"Ah...uh, T-Taylor," Taylor began to blush.
"Don't even try Allen," I pulled him from Taylor.
"Sorry, so I see you got yourself quite the crowd."
"Yeah I made a few friends on my way here."
"So I'm guessing you're here for the badge?"
"Yup we were about to go over a battle plan, want to come?"
"Nah, I have some important business I gotta' do. But I'll make sure that I'll be at the gym fight."
"Alright, sounds good. I'll see you then," the gang and I walked outside.
"See ya," we both waved goodbye.
"Wow, it was awesome that we met. Haven't seen Allen in months," I said.
"It seems you and him were good pals," Taylor said.
"Yeah, he's one of my best friends, he always had my back when we were in high school and he still does."
"Vee!"
"Oh, you to Buddy."
We walked around to the back of the center to begin our training.
Meanwhile, Inside the Pokemon Center
Allen walked up to the phone, picked it up and dialed a number.
"He's here," Allen said.
"......."
"Got it," Allen hung up the phone and walked away.