Into the Unown (Pokemon Fanfiction OC)

Side Story: Charlie Part 2

Charlie's current Pokemon.

Typhoon the Poliwhirl (F)Growlithe (unnamed) (F)Murphy Jr the Donphan (F)

***

“RUUUNNN!!!” 

Charlie and his team booked it, yelping in pain each time they felt solid beaks against their tender flesh. Murphy Jr was unaffected though. But the armor Pokemon wasn’t as fast as her companions, so she took to curling up and rolling beside them, further discouraging any of the Spearows from going after her.

“Dammit! What did I do wrong? I approached the flock with Berries and everything!” Charlie lamented. He could have sworn he’d seen his childhood friend do this dozens of times before, and it always worked for her.

“Ouch!” Charlie exclaimed as he pulled his cap down to secure it, even raising his arms to cover his head against the relentless onslaught of angry Spearows. “Dammit! Growlithe, use Ember, scare them away!” The boy commanded, but that was a mistake.

The Fire from his Growlithe only served to further agitate the bird Pokemon, and because Growlithe had to pause in her steps to execute the move, it turned her into an easy target as the Spearow all piled onto her.

“Shoot!” Charlie cursed, running back to shield his puppy with his body and scooping her up in his embrace before continuing their frantic escape.

Charlie gasped as he collapsed underneath a tree. It took a while, but the Spearows finally relented and gave up on pursuing them.

“That was a close one huh, Typhoon?” Charlie almost saw his life flashing before his eyes  when one of the Spearows overtook them and charged towards his face with its claws primed. However, just as the boy was reaching to pat his partner on the back, the Poliwhirl winced in pain.

“Oh shoot!” Charlie unslung his backpack and frantically began

“I might not be the best trainer around, but I’m willing to work hard and train you to be the strongest you can be.” Charlie then talked about his mother who was a Water Type specialist, and his friend who was a Gym Trainer. “So yeah, if there’s stuff I don’t know, you can bet that help is just a call away.”

Charlie paused, allowing his words to sink in as the Goldeen considered his offer. Taming Pokemon was quite the ordeal, and something that Charlie was not confident in. He remembered taking some classes on the subject back in school. But he was completely devoid of any practical experience. 

So if at all possible, he preferred it if Goldeen would work with him willingly. Otherwise, he would simply finish feeding the Pokemon and release it back into the wild.

“So… if you’re up for it, I’d like it if you could join my team and go around challenging strong trainers.” Charlie said, before quickly backtracking on his statement a little. “But like, if you’re not that into battling, that’s fine as well. I can’t promise you I won’t use you in battle, but I’ll try my best to keep you out of any non-essential ones.

Goldeen did not respond, simply continuing to focus on its meal. In particular, Charlie noticed that it had quite the fondness for Rawst Berries, which the boy made sure to note down in his mind for future reference.

“Deen.” After it was done eating, the Goldeen returned its attention to Charlie, carefully looking the boy over from top to bottom, before turning its gaze towards the boy’s Pokemon, as if trying to assess their worthiness.

“Deen… Goldeen.” After much deliberation, Goldeen returned its gaze to Charlie and gave him a curt little nod in affirmation, prompting another round of celebratory dance to break out.

The Goldeen that Charlie captured ended up being male. Which was great, since every one of his team had been female so far. And given his gruff demeanor, Charlie decided to name him Lance, after the Indigo League’s Champion.

***

“Make sure to teach Goldeen how to Air Swim before challenging the Pewter Gym,” said Kumiko, when Charlie called back home to check in at one point. 

Needless to say, the woman was not happy about her son’s close encounter with the Spearows, a fact that Charlie had tried to hide, but in vain. Kumiko knew better than to ignore her instincts now, especially when it pertained to her children. So she relentlessly hounded Charlie until he opened up.

“And say hi to the folks over at the Gym for me will ya?” Stephen added. “I heard Brock got himself into a spot of trouble recently.”

“Will do, dad.” Charlie responded.

That call was over a week ago, and Charlie now found himself nearing the borders of Pewter City. The trip was a little rough at times, especially when he had to hunker down for a whole day when it started raining heavily all of a sudden. But compared to the ordeal he had to endure during that first day, everything went relatively smoothly. 

Charlie had briefly entertained the idea of passing through Mount Moon, but ultimately gave up. His Pokemon were exhausted after a week-long hike, and his limited backpack capacity meant that he was running precariously low on supplies. A detour into the bowels of Mount Moon was the last thing he needed.

However, the boy did pass by the Ranger outpost on Route 3 just to check on the availability of the campgrounds. He would have liked to just pay for lodgings in one of the city’s numerous hostels, but he needed to be conscious of his limited budget and opted to camp out for free instead. 

The campgrounds run by the Rangers had basic amenities like showers and toilets, so he wouldn’t be left wanting. The only thing Charlie had to pay for was firewood, but there was a tradition among the campers where they would all just pool their funds together to maintain one big bonfire to save money. 

And given that this was the tail end of spring, the weather was pleasant enough that a large bonfire wouldn’t really be necessary anyway. So it’s likely that Charlie could just make do with his portable stove.

Thankfully, the campgrounds surrounding Pewter City were relatively empty during this time of year, since most people preferred Pewter as their first Gym. So Charlie registered his name at the reception and headed back out to go visit the Pokemon Center. His Pokemon were in need of a more thorough checkup after such a long journey.

“Ahh… Sweet air conditioning…” Charlie moaned, the moment that he stepped into the Pokemon Center — air conditioning truly was the hallmark of civilization. Luckily there was no one paying attention to his embarrassing little outburst, because they were all focused on the vicinity of the reception desk for some reason.

Charlie followed the gaze of the small crowd to find a familiar looking macho man grovelling in front of the reception.

“Please! Ayaka, it’s not what you think!” Brock pleaded, only to be met with a disgusted gaze from the Joy who was manning the reception.

“Mind your decorum, Mr Harrison. As Gym Leader, it is your responsibility to uphold our city’s dignity.” The nurse rebuked, who Charlie presumed was the Ayaka in question. The woman gestured towards their spectators and once again, in no uncertain terms, told her disfranchised paramour to stand up and stop making a fool of himself

However, Brock was undeterred and simply persisted in his plea. “Ayaka, please! You have to believe me — I love you, and only you! There’s no other woman I’d rather be with. This is all just a misunderstanding!”

Charlie could tell that the nurse was starting to lose her patience as veins began bulging on her temple. “Save it for someone who cares, Mr Harrison. Perhaps that blue haired skank you’re so enamoured with… Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have patients that need tending to.” The nurse turned to leave with a haughty flick of her bouncy pink hair, while gesturing towards a security guard who was standing by the side.

The guard let out an exasperated sigh and approached the Gym Leader to give the man a gentle pat on the back. “Alright, up you go Brock… The missus is right, you’re making a fool of yourself. Come on, I’ll walk you out.” The heavyset man gently grabbed Brock by his arm and coaxed him up on his feet as they made their way out of the Pokemon Center.

Charlie and the rest of the crowd watched on in amusement, some even recorded the entire proceeding. There was no doubt that today’s events would probably make it on the Pokenet in due time. It was now up to the court of public opinion to decide on how to perceive Brock’s humiliation; either make a meme out of the guy or crucify his reputation, but more than likely, it'd be both.

Charlie felt bad for his dad’s childhood friend, but that drama did leave him in a bit of a dilemma — there was now no one around at the reception desk. Which meant that Charlie couldn’t get his Pokemon healed.

The boy sighed. “What now, do I wait or come back?”

Ultimately, he decided to catch up to Brock to check on the guy. Charlie’s dad did tell him to send his regards after all.

“Brock! Hey, Brock!”

The listlessly trudging Gym Leader perked up slightly and turned his head around, only to instantly fall back into depression when he saw Charlie. “Sorry, kid… I’m not in the mood for autographs right now.” He said as he continued trudging along.

Charlie frowned and planted himself in front of Brock to stop the man in his tracks. “I’m not looking for an autograph. My name is Charlie Rockford, my dad’s Stephen.” He said. “You know? Stephen Rockford? He told me to say hi to you if we ever get a chance to meet.”

Brock instantly lit up at the mention of his old friend. “Ahh… You’re Stephen’s kid!” Brock grabbed hold of Charlie’s shoulders and gave the boy a good look. “Yeap, that’s Stephen’s nose alright.” The man laughed and pulled Charlie in for a friendly hug. “Gosh, I remember you were just a little kid the last time I saw you. Time flies, huh?”

Charlie let out an awkward laugh at the man’s enthusiasm. The rapid change in Brock’s mood was quite jarring. “Yeah, I just took some time off school to go on my journey. I was actually planning to go challenge your Gym at some point, but only once I have my newest Pokemon trained up.”

Brock nodded in approval. “Good lad, don’t just settle for a baby badge like some of these other kids. Try to aim higher if you can. There’s nothing wrong with being over-prepared.” The man then invited Charlie to go have a meal with him, citing the fact that he thought the boy needed to bulk up a little — a sentiment that Stephen also shared.

“Are you sure? I don’t want to take up too much of your time. Don’t you need to return to the Gym?”

“I err…” Brock’s smile faltered somewhat at the query, as he gazed wistfully at the direction of the Pokemon Center that he was just evicted from. “It’ll be fine,” he said, finally. “I left things in Forrest’s hands for now. He’ll take good care of things while I’m away. ‘Sides, it’s not always I get to meet an old friend — gotta make the most of it.” 

The man, once again, beckoned for the boy to follow. “Come on, I know a great place around this neighbourhood — they’re friendly towards Pokemon as well.”

Not knowing what else to do, Charlie just shrugged and started walking with the Gym Leader as they chatted about Charlie’s family.