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What was he going to do?

How was he supposed to even compare to this Pokemon?

A giant snake, made entirely of rock, loomed menacingly over Charmander. When it moved, the building seemed to rumble. It hade a large spike on the top of its head that Charmander would hate to have impale him. Its eyes were large, mostly white, with smallish pupils, at least in relativity. They were really half as big as his fist, and the whole eye as big as his head.

Charmander realized why the stadium had to be so big. The Pokemon was so huge that it took up almost half of it.

Perhaps the most frightening part was the Pokemon's utter confidence. It knew the creature facing it was nothing in comparison, and so it seemed almost relaxed.

And what was there not to be confident about? It was twenty times the length of the small fire lizard. Its body was rock solid, and not even the toughest scratch would affect it, or at least Charmander guessed. He wasn't going to try. He winced as he remembered the pain that had resulted from the earlier scratch attack on Geodude. Maybe it wasn't impervious to fire? But how could a tiny wisp of flame do anything to this monster!

"Round Two of the Pewter City Gym Battle is about to begin! Battlers, are you ready?"

With the call of the referee, the Onix - for that's what it was called - came straight for Charmander. He dodged quickly to the side, out of the way of of the huge titan. At the very least, his small size made it easier for him to maneuver and dodge his assailant's attacks. How long that would hold out, though, he didn't know. His mind jumped for a moment to his earlier battle with Sparky, the agile electric mouse. Nope, agility wouldn't last him long.

"Nice dodge, Charmander!" Red called. "Try a Smokescreen!"

Would it work? It was as good a move as any, and Charmander shot a stream of smoke at the Onix. It began to thrash around, and Charmander had to step nimbly to the side to avoid being hit. But seemed to have been successful!

The Onix's head came down through the top of the cloud, straight for Charmander. It was too tall to be affected by the smoke for long.

Charmander grunted as he was thrown halfway across the field. He shot an ember at the base of the Onix, but with a flick of its tail, it blew the flame away. Charmander growled, but the Onix was unafraid, and it did nothing.

Charmander was out of options!

The Onix let out a terrible, mind-numbing Screech. It was as though thousands of knives had pierced his ears. He put both paws up to his head and tried to block out the sound, but it was like trying to stop a flood with a napkin.

He stood, rooted to the spot, as the Onix began to circle him, like a shark encircling its prey. Charmander stood on guard. What was going on? Why wasn't it attacking? Then it tensed up and Charmander realized his error. He was surrounded!

Before he could jump out of the way, the bind constricted him to the point where he couldn't move. Charmander struggled, but to no avail. The Onix squeezed tighter.

He used Ember, but the Onix was ready for this. Tail at the ready, it knocked the flame right back toward Charmander, roasting him alive. He struggled again, but it was no use. He was trapped, and he could feel the will of battle leaving him.

With a savage cry, the Onix brought its head down to Charmander's face, staring him right in the eye. He stared sadly back, acknowledging defeat.

With that, the Onix opened its mouth. Charmander was surprised to see what actually resembled normal mouthparts inside - not the cold-hard rock that he had expected. What seemed like hard, solid rock from the outside was really just another living creature. The tongue drifted out and lapped Charmander across the face.

Saliva dripped down his cheek and forehead, and Charmander felt the coils around him loosen somewhat. Then he closed his eyes as the Onix fit his whole head into its mouth in one effort. It began a steady, calming onslaught across his face with its tongue, rhythmically pulling his shoulders inside, and then his chest.

Charmander had never felt anything quite like this before. The Onix, being a gym leader's Pokemon, must have experience with defeating trainers. Being so huge and powerful itself, it must have done this many times. It was amazing! The Onix seemed to know just where the right pressure points were, the most soothing methods for finalizing its battles.

Charmander couldn't help but to thoroughly enjoy it, though it was with a hint of guilt, as he knew he had cost his partner the battle and the gym badge. At least he would always have another chance.

For the time being, he submitted himself to the wonderful onslaught, letting the Onix nom him up without a struggle. He let out a moan as he slid down the ever-pulsating throat, and it barely even registered that he was now completely inside the Pokemon, up to his hind paws, with only his tail left outside.

The skilled tongue of the Onix massaged his feet for a while before pulling them down, too, into the waiting throat. Charmander's tail was slurped up like a noodle, and the added warmth from the flame only intensified the pleasure of his ride.

He never seemed to drop into a stomach. However, as Charmander slipped down the smooth and surprising soft path of muscle and soothing, wet saliva, he eventually realized he was contained in a sort of pouch.

After a while he closed his eyes, and the weak flame from his tail flickered ever so slightly through his eyelids. He let out a soft cry as the light flickered to black and the flame was extinguished.

Charmander hung his head low as he trudged by Red's side back into Viridian Forest. As soon as he had recovered in the Pokemon Center, it had hit him with full force just how badly he had failed. He had cost Red his first gym battle, and could tell that, though Red had told him they would just go back into the forest and train some more, his trainer was upset.

What Charmander feared even more at the moment was that they might run into Sparky again. The awkwardness would be overwhelming, not because of their loss without him, but because he had made it clear that he did not want to be seen again as part of the team.

It made Charmander sad to remember how his friend could not accompany them on their journey, and angry, too, because the Pokemon had just upped and ran without a word, without even telling him, or saying goodbye. Sparky was a coward, he decided.

Charmander kicked a rock angrily. So much was going wrong for him. He had lost a battle, a friend, and maybe even the top place on the team, because, though Red hadn't said it directly to him, the boy had been looking at a Route Guide in the Pokemon Center. He had been staring intently at the notice that said there were Mankey on Route 22.

This frustrated Charmander even more, because he had battled this Pokemon the last time they had been in its habitat and defeated it easily. Red only wanted it because of the type advantage it had toward rock Pokemon.

That was almost cheating!

If Red would just train him more, Charmander knew that he would eventually become strong enough to be able to defeat Brock on his own. He didn't need the help of another Pokemon.

But he didn't say this to Red. His pride burned too much to whine about not being picked to lead the team to their first gym badge. If Red needed the help of some monkey, so be it.

Thoughts like these bounced around Charmander's head as he trudged through the forest, taking down the occasional bug Pokemon that came too close. It was to his complete surprise when they turned a corner and realized there was no more path.

"Not again . . ." Charmander moaned, realizing they had lost their way, just like the last time they had been here. They were always getting lost in this accursed forest, and he silently cursed Red for making them go through it again. Anyway, the longer they stayed here, the more chance they would have of running into . . .

"Lost again, Chief?" came a familiar chuckle, and Charmander turned to face the Pikachu angrily.

"You again?" he sneered. "I thought we'd seen the last of you."

Sparky was silent for a moment. "Well, I realized I just couldn't stay away from your pretty face."

Charmander growled, not in the mood for Sparky's games.

He continued. "So, I've come here to do what I started the last time."

Charmander was about to ask what this was, but then Sparky stepped into the path of his trainer, and the boy's eyes lit up. "Hey, look! It's that Pikachu! I thought - hey, wait!"

Sparky had darted straight at Red, seeming like he was going to attack. Charmander tensed, but it was too late. The Pokemon swung his tail at Red's belt, causing a Poke Ball to drop to the ground, but otherwise causing no harm to the boy.

"What are you doing?" Charmander asked cautiously, not daring to believe what he was seeing.

Sparky trotted to the ball and sniffed it. He took a deep breath and pressed the button on the front. A red light surrounded him and he was sucked inside. Red and Charmander stood, silent, both staring at the Poke Ball as it twitched once, twice, three times. And then it was still. Sparky had just captured himself.

He was now part of the team.

"So, Chief," Sparky stretched back nonchalantly as they set a campfire some distance away from the point where he was caught. Red had made camp in Viridian Forest tonight, and had let Sparky out of his Poke Ball once he was absolutely sure the Pokemon would stay. "What have I missed?"

"What have you . . . wait a minute!" said Charmander, taken aback. "How about telling me what happened with you, first?"

"It's simple, isn't it?" Sparky shrugged. "I chickened out. I couldn't handle being part of this totally awesome team. I needed time to reconsider."

This was mostly true. Sparky felt more comfortable than he'd ever felt being with Red and Charmander. He knew it was the right place for him. But the stress of battle, and of being captured inside a Poke Ball for the first time, had freaked him out so completely that he had let pure animal instinct take over. He had run away because he was afraid.

"And then?"

"Well, it took me a little while, but then I realized I'd made a mistake," Sparky admitted, all humor now gone from his voice. "I called for you, and I looked, for the rest of the day, but it was too late. You had already left the forest." He picked a leaf up off the ground and tore it in two. "And you? I thought your plans were two battle the almightily gym leader and move on with your adventure? Or did you come back just for me?" He grinned hopefully at his own joke.

"We lost. We came back to train," Charmander stated and then trailed off. Sparky grunted. "We thought you were gone. We didn't think we'd see you again."

"Good thing I can't make that mistake again," Sparky muttered quietly.

"I tried to come back for you, but Red stopped me. He said you needed some time to settle down. Loosen up. We didn't want to force you."

"Guess it's my fault then. . . . " said Sparky, suddenly cheery. "So! You couldn't take on that Onix, could ya, Chief? Weren't strong enough?"

Charmander was hurt, but he let it go, realizing Sparky was upset. "Nope. I think Red is going to enlist in some help."

"Me? Ha! I could beat him! Give him the old one-two!"

Charmander laughed bitterly. "You? No offense, Sparky, but you're an electric type. Your attacks wouldn't do a thing to a ground type like Onix, or even Geodude."

"Yeah," Sparky nodded, put out. "What are you going to do, then?"

"I think Red wants to replace me," Charmander said bluntly.

Sparky jolted. "You mean get another Pokemon? Already? But you just got me!"

"Your attacks wont do anything against Brock's Pokemon," Charmander reminded him.

"But even I know that Charmander can learn moves that will put rock Pokemon in their place!" Sparky exclaimed. All hints of resentment were gone, and Charmander was glad to be with the comfort of his friend.

"What! I can learn - what do you mean, Sparky?"

"I've seen a few starter Charmander come through the forest, and while the weak ones can't make it past Brock and end up going home, every once in a while a smart trainer comes through and makes it right through the Gym, even without extra help."

"So, then . . ."

"Yeah," acknowledged Sparky. "All you need is more training. We can start tomorrow."

"Thanks for the help, Sparky," Charmander said quietly. "I really don't know what we would have done without you."

Sparky grunted. "G'night, Chief."

The next day came before they knew it, but Charmander and Sparky couldn't get to the training they had planned. They got up early in the morning, hoping to sneak off before Red woke, but were caught before they made it two steps out of camp.

Red also had an agenda on his mind. He wanted to get to his destination, and quick. So as soon as noticed the two Pokemon were awake, he was ready to leave.

"Okay, so that path there, right behind us, is the one we took last time," he said thoughtfully. That means the one we just took is the better way. We should come this way when we head back to Pewter. Right. So that's the clearing we took a rest in last time. Oh! I know where we are!"

Red pulled two Poke Balls off his belt. "Okay guys, we're almost out of the forest. I can get us through the rest of the way on my own, and then we got business to take care of. You should rest inside your Poke Balls until we get there. C'mon, in you go!"

To their dismay, Sparky and Charmander were transported to their Poke Balls before they could get away.

Red pulled the Pokedex out of the back pocket of his beg and ran his hands over it gently. It hadn't gotten scratched through their travels. This was good. He opened it for the first time since he had gotten it, and typed in the name 'Pikachu.' Now that he had the Pokemon, he wanted to learn more about it.

The page came up empty. "Figures," Red muttered to himself as he stored the machine back in his pack. He had expected it to work, but with his luck, it was just as well that it didn't.

"Oh well. At least the gate to the forest is just up ahead. I made it out okay. Maybe my luck will change!"

Through the gate where tired travelers rested, down the short path that led to Viridian City, and Red was back to the first place outside of his home town he had ever visited. It was strange that it seemed so familiar to him now, but he didn't let himself get too confident as he made his way through the maze of large buildings. It was very easy to get lost here, as he had found out last time. But without too much trouble, he found himself once again on Route 22. He had only made a wrong turn once, when he winded up at the trainer's school. But it was a straight path from there to where he was now.

His head flooded with unpleasant memories as he made his way down the route. Here was the spot where he had battled Blue and lost. Here was also the spot where he had watched his own Pokemon get vored for the first time, by the very same Pokemon that it had beaten only two weeks before.

He remembered the fear he had hidden as the belly of his opponent's Pokemon, Squirtle, shook and bulged with the weight of his own. And then Blue had walked away without a care. Red had run back to the Pokemon Center as soon as Blue was out of sight, and waited. Waited until the nurse called him to the desk, hand in hand with his Charmander. Red had almost cried out of relief. It was this moment that lead him to relax some about the whole idea. His Pokemon was safe, the other Pokemon was safe, and they both seemed quite happy, despite their 'adventures.'

He glanced up and saw the Pokemon League in the distance. This was his final destination as a trainer, but first he had to beat all the Gym Leaders spread throughout the region and collect the eight gym badges. And that quest started with the Gym in Pewter City. Brock's Pokemon were tough. There was no doubt about it. And as much faith as he had in his Charmander, he didn't think it could face the Gym on its own.

He thought of the battle he had just fought. Surprisingly, he had barely even flinched at the way Brock's brutally stong Pokemon disposed of his Charmander at the very end. Maybe it was the professional atmosphere of the gym that had kept him calm, or maybe it was his own Pokemon's relaxed attitude, or maybe he had just seen it before enough times not to be overly frightened.

He was still upset about his loss, though. That's why he had come to this route. He knew there to be fighting type Pokemon here, which were rumored to be strong against rock types. Or ground types. Red still wasn't quite sure how the type matchups worked. In any case, he knew one of these would be effective against Brock's Pokemon.

He wasn't angry at his Charmander. After all, it had lasted a long time in that battle, even with the type disadvantage! But he knew he couldn't use it the next time. It was obvious that it had a hard time going as far as it did, and he was afraid want to push it. Besides, with some training, he could get a Mankey to be just as strong as his Charmander, and with its fighting type moves it could wipe the floor with Brock's Pokemon, winning him his first badge.

Finding a Mankey wasn't a simple task, and definitely not as easy as he had expected. Last time he was here, he had stumbled across one by chance. It was the first Pokemon he'd seen on this route. But now it was as if all the Mankey had disappeared.

After a few hours of searching and analyzing his journey so far, he finally decided to take a rest. He was hungry, and sore from walking along the route all day, and annoyed that it was taking him so long. He was beat. He let out his two Pokemon, figuring it wasn't a bad idea to let them stretch, too. They looked to him, and then took off down the path, seemingly enjoying themselves. His eyes began to drift shut.

They jerked open suddenly when he heard tense sounds a little distance down the road, and he looked around groggily. He recognized that growl.

Without a moment's hesitation he shot up and ran in that direction. And there it was!

Charmander stood tense and Pikachu's fur was bristled as they stood facing a Mankey. The Mankey was without a hint of fear, and actually seemed to taunt the Pokemon, because Charmander suddenly shot at it and raised its paw, ready to strike.

"Charmander, stop!" Red called, an idea suddenly forming in his head. "Let's see if Pikachu can handle this one."

Charmander stared at Red as if it thought he was nuts, but obediently backed down.

"Okay, Pikachu! Let's see what you can do!" called Red from the sidelines. "Use . . . Um, use Tail Whip!"

Charmander tugged at his shirt, pointing into the field. "Not now, Charmander! Look!"

The Pikachu did what it was told, but to little effect. The Mankey came in with a Low Kick, right to Pikachu's stomach, but it was dodged at the last second. At least this Pokemon was speedy.

"Okay, now use your electric attack! Er, Thundershock!"

The Pikachu did as it was told, but Charmander obviously didn't approve. It jumped up and down, fuming wordlessly, but Red didn't know what was wrong. The Thundershock hit home, and Red grinned. This would do almost double the damage that it usually would. Except . . . The Mankey shook it off and retaliated with another Low Kick. This time it didn't miss, and Pikachu came away wincing.

That was strange. He had lowered the Mankey's defense with a Tail Whip. Shouldn't the attack have done more damage? "Pikachu! Try another Thundershock!" Charmander, who was still gesturing frantically, stopped and brought a paw to its forehead.

What was he doing wrong? Suddenly Red remembered. Oh no! Pokemon 101! There were two types of attacks, physical and special. The defense of a Pokemon was sure to affect the success of a normal attack, but of a special attack like Thundershock? How could he have been so stupid!

The attack again landed successfully, but the Mankey was still standing strong, while Pikachu was now panting heavily. Mankey leered at the Pokemon, who cringed, afraid. This would never work!

Well, Charmander seemed to know what it was doing, so, despite his forebodings, Red switched the two. Now it was Pikachu on the sidelines, still weak, while Charmander faced the fighting-type. And Charmander had full health.

It shot an ember at the Mankey as soon as it was in the line of battle. Mankey jumped, and came down on Charmander like a ninja, landing a kick right to his Pokemon's head.

"Charmander! Smokescreen!" he cried. The battle was becoming way too intense and fast-paced. His Pokemon easily let out a cloud of smoke that swirled the natural-made arena, and then went in quite suddenly for a scratch. Yes! The Mankey fell back, clutching its side and glaring angrily at Charmander. A few moments went by, and it was almost as if the two were communicating heatedly, or else deciding which part would hurt most to hit.

And then the Mankey leaped at Pikachu! This wasn't fair, as Pikachu wasn't even in the battle anymore. They both cried out as an all-out brawl formed on the sidelines, one second with Pikachu banging the Mankey against the ground, the next with the Mankey's hand around Pikachu's throat.

It all ended as soon as Charmander entered the fray. It pushed the two Pokemon apart angrily, and then turned to the Mankey, fire in its eyes. The paw came down with a scratch! And then it was all over. The Mankey was defeated. Now was his chance. Red eagerly reached to his belt for a free Poke Ball.

But when he looked up, he got a surprise. "Charmander, stop that!" Its maw was around both of Mankey's kicking legs, tail whipping furiously.

Charmander glanced coldly at Red before spitting the Mankey out onto the ground. The latter jumped up furiously and seemed rather violated.

"We need that Pokemon," Red said calmly as he reached for his bag. He had just had another idea.

He pulled out the Pokedex and aimed it toward the Mankey. "Mankey," it said out loud. "The Pig Monkey Pokemon. An agile Pokemon that lives in trees. It angers easily and will not hesitate to attack anything."

"Well, that's what we need," Red mused. "A fighter. Let's see if this thing says anything else."

Red opened the Pokedex to see a bunch of information that had been gathered about this Pokemon called Mankey. Its size was there, as well as its weight, list number, and even other areas where it was reported to make its habitat. "Hm. Maybe this thing isn't so worthless after all. Now, Mankey. I'm going to have to ask you to make this easy for me, okay? Just get in the Poke Ball."

He threw the empty ball at the Mankey, who was captured inside. On, two, three, and that's all it took. Red had caught another Pokemon.

He looked to the other two, still on the ground, expecting approval, but they just looked back at him with horror. Pikachu was close to fainting and lay there, panting. But Charmander, who still had energy to spare, lunged at Red. Claws outstretched, it ran them through Red's arm, leaving a small trace of blood. It growled angrily and returned to the Pikachu's side.

"Ouch! What was that for?!" yelled Red. "Geez, Charmander!" Fuming, he held out his Poke Ball and summoned it inside. Then he turned to the weakened Pikachu, who stared at him with doleful eyes. "I'm sorry about that, buddy. I'll take you to a Pokemon Center and get you healed up as soon as I can. You did good, for as long as you lasted . . ."

Red put the Pikachu back in its ball and sighed heavily. Now he had three Pokemon. Granted, the Mankey was weak and needed some training, but he could deal with that on the way back to Pewter. He stood tall and couldn't help a smile from spreading across his face. He already had three Pokemon!

He set off down the road and started out a battle plan. Next time he challenged the gym, he would be ready.

To Be Continued