Chapter 101: Side Story: Charlie Part 3

Charlie's current Pokemon.

* Typhoon the Poliwhirl (F)

* Growlithe (unnamed) (F)

* Murphy Jr the Donphan (F)

* Lance the Goldeen (M)

***

“Use Flamewheel, Growlithe!”

With a sharp howl, a circle of fire enveloped Growlithe to defend against the Sandshrew she was facing and its incessant rollout. But to little effect, as the Sandhrew merely plowed through the flames and slammed into Charlie’s Growlithe, forcing her to cancel the move.

“Hang in there, Growlithe!” said the frowning Charlie. “Get up and use Agility.”

“Arf!” Growlithe barked as she got up and did as she was told, running around the rocky arena of Pewter Gym to try and build up some speed. Unfortunately, the hazardous nature of the arena meant that there wasn’t really a clear path for her to run with all the boulders, humps, divots, and rocks on the field, causing the puppy Pokemon to constantly have to jump around and slow down to evade the obstacles barring her way.

“I’ve seen enough, Sandshrew,” called the Gym Trainer who was currently assessing Charlie. “Sand Attack into a Bulldoze, let’s end this.”

The Sandshrew cried out in affirmation and steadied itself for an opportunity to strike. But Charlie wasn’t going to let his Pokemon get taken out that easily. “Forget Agility, use Flamethrower, Growlithe!”

“Arf!” Growlithe skidded to a halt with all four of her stubby paws digging into the ground while she took in a deep breath and let out a burst of flames towards the Sandshrew. However, the armadillo Pokemon merely rolled out of the way and hid behind a boulder, the flames barely singing the Ground Type’s hardy scales.

Charlie gritted his teeth in frustration but told Growlithe to keep up with the heat, hoping to smoke the Sandshrew out. For a brief moment, the arena fell into a lull, but even after Growlithe ran out of flames and huffed in exhaustion, Sandshrew was still nowhere to be seen.

Charlie furrowed his brows in confusion, thinking through his options. His instinctive reaction was to ask his Growlithe to get close, but immediately dismissed that notion. “That’s probably what they’re after.” He thought, after recalling what the Gym Trainer said before. “Use Howl, Growlithe!” The boy called, after finally deciding to play it safe.

However, before Growlithe could act on the command, the ground surrounding the puppy stirred and burst apart to reveal a Sandshrew who had just burrowed out of the ground. Charlie gasped in shock and quickly yelled for his Growlithe to dodge, but before he could even get a single word out, Sandshrew had already blinded Growlithe with a Sand Attack.

“Get out of there Growlithe!” Charlie called out to his Fire puppy, who was currently yelping in a panic and desperately shaking her head to get rid of the sand.

Needless to say, the well-trained Sandshrew did not let go of that momentary weakness by crashing into Growlithe with a Ground Type Energy infused Bulldoze, sending Charlie’s Pokemon barreling towards the distance and slamming into a boulder. The impact was hard enough to form cracks on the point of impact.

Charlie clenched his fist in frustration and returned his Growlithe, who was clearly unfit to continue battling. “Sorry, girl. I’ll make it up to you later with all your favourite treats.” He whispered.

With a shake of his head, Charlie forced himself to get over his self-loathing and returned his gaze towards the Sandshrew. “That Sandshrew is looking weak, and I can tell that it suffered through some burns.” He thought, referring to the dark patches on the armadillo Pokemon’s soft underbelly, as well as some residual embers that were still licking at the seams of its coarse, segmented scales. The boy smiled, glad to know that his Growlithe’s hard work was not in vain.

“Alright, Typhoon. Let’s avenge Growlithe!” And with a flash of light, Charlie’s Poliwhirl took to the arena.

The moment that the referee called for the start of the round, Sandshrew tried to use Dig again, only to be thwarted by an intense Bubble Beam from Typhoon.

“Don’t let up, Typhoon. Use Hypnosis!”

The Gym Trainer told his Sandshrew to avert its eyes, but it was too late as Typhoon’s mesmerizing swirls stole the gaze of Sandshrew and caused it to wobble unsteadily in place.

“Get in there with an Ice Punch, Typhoon! Don’t let up!” Charlie exclaimed, not wanting to miss this opening.

“Whirl!” Typhoon cried out in determination as she ran towards her opponent while focusing a frosty layer of Ice Type Energy around her powerful fist.

“Shrew!!!” Sandshrew reeled in pain as the ice hard fist collided with its head, the impact shattering the layer of Ice coating Poliwhirl’s knuckles.

“Body Slam!”

“Whirl!” Typhoon did as she was told, capitalizing on her residual momentum to crash into Sandshrew and pinning the struggling armadillo against the ground.

“Give it everything you got, Typhoon!” Charlie was buzzing at this point, high on the feeling of victory within his grasp. In the end, Sandshrew was taken out with a point blank Bubble Beam, followed by another Ice Punch.

“Alright, that’s enough!” declared the Gym Trainer, whose figure was obscured by all the boulders and rocks between them. He then sent out a Geodude, who Typhoon also took out handily. But Charlie couldn’t shake the feeling that his opponent was taking it easy on him, since that Geodude was withdrawn too soon.

“Nina did say that Gym Trainers will throw a match once they feel like they’ve seen enough of a challenger’s capabilities. Something about not wanting to wear out their Pokemon.” Charlie mused, hoping that the Gym Trainer’s conduct was a sign in his favor.

“Congratulations, you’ve earned the right to challenge the Pewter City Gym Leader. When would you like to schedule the match?” The Gym Trainer said, once Charlie met up with him after the battle.

Charlie clenched his fist and almost cheered out in celebration, but right as he did, he thought of something very important. “Wait, what difficulty challenge will I be facing?” He asked, hoping that it would be at the intermediate level at least.

The burly Gym Trainer, who looked like a younger version of Brock, raised an eyebrow at the kid before him while tapping at his tablet. “Your challenge will be at the beginner level.” He said, causing Charlie to droop in disappointment.

“May I ask, why?” The boy murmured.

The Gym Trainer smiled and gave Charlie a light pat on the shoulder. “You’re close, kid. But you’re not quite there yet.” He replied. “I can see that your Growlithe has the potential to beat Sandshrew just now, but a series of poor decisions lead to her defeat. Had you managed to win that round, I would have qualified you for the intermediate challenge.”

Charlie sighed, feeling frustrated at himself for dropping the ball like that. It was always the same way with him, whenever a battle got too heated, his emotions would get the better of him and caused him to make dumb mistakes. On the other hand, his classmates at the Vermilion Flame might have started off the same way, but learned very quickly to keep a cool head in battle, a state that Charlie was simply unable to cultivate for whatever reason.

“Why didn’t you use your Goldeen?” The Gym Trainer asked as he continued to read Charlie’s profile.

“I’ve only had Lance for less than two weeks, he’s not ready for battle yet.” Charlie answered. Not to mention the fact that his Goldeen hadn’t learned how to air swim yet either. Lance, like his namesake, was quite an aggressive Pokemon. Not to the point where he could be described as unruly or feral, but the Goldeen did have a shorter fuse than Charlie’s other Pokemon, so he couldn’t spend as much time training him as he would like.

The Gym Trainer nodded his head in approval. “A good call,” he praised. “What about your Donphan then?” He continued asking.

Charlie winced and averted his gaze. He wasn’t sure what expression he made at the time, but it seemed that the Gym Trainer glimpsed something from it and chose not to pry any further.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

In truth, while Charlie had accepted his dad’s generosity, he didn’t want to be carried by a ringer if possible. Especially not for his first badge. The boy’s self esteem was as low as it could get at this point, which was why he was desperately clinging onto what little fragile remnants he had left. And relying on Murphy Jr to secure his first badge was definitely something that he wouldn’t be able to let down for the rest of his life.

“I take it you’ll want to try again for the higher difficulty?” The Gym Trainer asked, eliciting a nod from the boy. “Alright, I’ll put you in as a priority, so there’s no need to wait in line the next time you return.” The man then gave Charlie another pat and a squeeze on the shoulder. “All the best, but make sure not to push your Pokemon too hard.”

Charlie thanked the man and walked out of the screening arena back to the lobby.

“How’d it go?” A familiar voice came as Charlie was about to exit the Gym. He turned around in response and saw the familiar figure of Brock waving at him.

“Oh, hey there Brock. Fancy seeing you here.”

Brock laughed at Charlie’s response. “I mean, can’t a guy be in his own Gym?”

Charlie chuckled and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. “Yes, but shouldn’t you be at the back dealing with challengers or something?”

Brock replied by saying that it’s not that busy around this time of the year and that he saw Charlie’s name on the challenger list and got curious. “Did my brother give you a hard time?” He asked.

Charlie shook his head. “No, not really. He was really fair. And I did win… Just that, it was only for the beginner challenge.” He then went on to relay everything that Brock’s brother said to him and said that he would try again once he trained his Goldeen on how to air swim.

“Yeah, Forrest can be a little strict at times, but he’s not wrong.” Brock responded, as he hummed in consideration. “Do you have a training plan in place for your Goldeen?”

Charlie wilted. “No… I was going to call my mom and maybe a friend of mine who works with Misty for advice.”

“Do you mind lending me your map for a sec?” Charlie tilted his head in confusion at the Gym Leader’s request, but still complied by handing over his Pokegear.

Brock fiddled with Charlie’s Pokegear for a bit before going behind the reception desk to rummage around and dug out a rusty iron key, one that was almost the size of Charlie’s hand.

“Here,” Brock urged, as he handed the two items to Charlie. “I marked the location of a water wheel on your map, the key is to a disused hydroelectric power plant that’s attached to it — well, I say power plant, but it’s more of a wooden hut really.” The Gym Leader explained that there was a waterfall right next to the waterwheel and that it would be helpful for Charlie’s training purposes.

“The mist and water vapours surrounding the waterfall saturates the air with an abundance of Water Type Energy. You’ll find that Goldeen will have an easier time training in that environment.” Brock said. “The place is a little far away from the city, so if you find yourself forgetting the time, then feel free to use the wooden hut for shelter — it’s a little run down, but last I checked, it was still sturdy enough that it won’t collapse on you or spring a leak or something.”

Charlie lit up at Brock’s generosity and thanked the man profusely for his kindness.

“No worries, just stay safe out there in the woods, alright? I don’t want Stephen hunting me down for the rest of my life.”

“Will do!” Charlie exclaimed, before thanking Brock again and left to heal his Pokemon at the Pokemon Center.

***

Charlie fed some Berries to his Goldeen as an encouragement for the training they were about to undertake. “Alright Lance, let’s try your air swim again.” The boy said, his voice slightly muffled by the roaring waterfall in the background. Every breath that Charlie took felt dense and cool with water molecules, his skin perpetually tickled by moisture and mist. Brock was right, this entire area was filled with Water Type Energy.

Lance the Goldeen nodded in understanding after he had his fill of Berries, the Goldfish Pokemon liked to be rewarded upfront, with an additional bonus at the end of training. Else, he simply did not have enough motivation to entertain the whims of his trainer.

“Deen!” With a determined cry, Lance burst out of the water and into the air, trying and failing to secure enough Water Type Energy to coat his body before flopping back into the river.

“Try to coat your body with Water Type Energy before you come out of the water.” Charlie instructed. “That way, you just need to focus on maintaining that connection when you’re in the air.”

Lance frowned in frustration and did as he was told. That second attempt was better, but he only briefly held in the air before falling back down again.

Charlie clapped in encouragement. “Good work, Lance. Almost there, just gotta keep at it.” The Goldeen attempted a few more tries after that, but with mixed results. Charlie couldn’t seem to pinpoint what the issue was. There was no lack of Water Energy surrounding them, and his Goldeen seemed to understand the mechanics of ‘Air Swimming’, but he just couldn’t maintain that state for very long.

“Maybe he needs more buildup?” Charlie wondered as he looked towards the waterfall. “Do you think you can swim up the waterfall and gradually get into the air?” He asked, only to receive an incredulous look in return from the Goldeen. Charlie smiled sheepishly. “I mean, it’s worth a try right?”

Lance rolled his bulbous eyes at his idiotic human and tried his suggestion, only to be beaten down by the heavy waterfall and be sucked into the swirling vortex underneath it.

“Lance!” yelled a panicking Charlie, as he scrambled to release Typhoon. Fortunately, the gesture wasn’t necessary, because the Goldeen surfaced shortly after he disappeared into the currents, looking pissed like a Mankey as he did.

“Hah! Dumbass!”

Charlie was startled by an unfamiliar voice coming from behind him. The boy jolted in surprise and turned around frantically.

“Who’s there?!” Charlie yelled, only to see that an unfamiliar boy had intruded upon the area at some point, and was currently sitting cross-legged on a rock and observing him with a twisted sneer on his face. The boy seemed to be around Charlie’s age, maybe a bit younger, with tanned skin, a buzzcut, and familiar looking slit-eyes that marked him as part of the Harrison family.

In lieu of a response, the unknown boy simply snorted and waved dismissively at Charlie. “You suck, kid. And you’re trespassing on my turf, so get lost before I make you.”

Charlie frowned at the kid’s rudeness. “First off, I’m pretty sure we’re around the same age, kid.” He retorted, merely eliciting a loud snort from the boy. “And secondly, my name is Charlie. Brock recommended this place to me, he even gave me a key to that old power plant over there.” The boy said, as he waved around the rusty iron key that Brock gave him.

The rude boy scoffed at Charlie’s words, his sneer twisting into a scowl as he did. “Of course that wuss took interest in a loser like you.”

Charlie’s eyes twitched at being called a “loser”, but instead of allowing himself to be cowed like he used to back in trainer school, he gritted his teeth and glared at the uppity kid. “Screw you!” He yelled. “What would you know? I bet you’re all talk. The rest of your family’s working hard at the Gym and yet here you are, lazing around.” Charlie sneered. “I betcha don’t even want you in the Gym!”

It felt good to be mean, like a rock nestled deep within the pit of his stomach had finally been dislodged. Charlie tried to be friendly and amicable even as his cousins and former classmates walked all over him. He told himself that he wouldn’t allow himself to stoop beneath them, for all the good that it did him. But no more! Charlie Rockford won’t allow himself to succumb to the whims and fancies of mean-spirited bullies ever again. This he swore, not to Arceus or his parents, but to himself.

The rude boy reeled back at Charlie’s intense gaze, face twitching all the while. “W-whatever, loser!” He stuttered, before getting up and disappearing into the woods.

Charlie sighed in relief as he let go of his angst, hands twitching from all the excess adrenaline his body was subjected to. “Sorry about that, Lance,” the boy said, as he returned his attention to the Goldeen. “I don’t know where he came from, but let’s just ignore him and continue with our training.

Surprisingly, Charlie’s little outburst seemed to have left a good impression on the angsty Goldeen, as Lance looked at his trainer with a glint in his eyes and responded to Charlie’s words with a respectful nod.

The boy smiled, glad to have at least made some gains from that unpleasant encounter.

***

“You’re doing it all wrong.”

Charlie sighed and turned to look towards the olive skinned boy, who he learned was named Cole at some point, but only after aggravating him enough and baiting him to blurt it out. Charlie had spent around a week camping out by the waterfall now, and everyday, Cole would stop by and mess with him.

At first, he was annoyed by the inane taunts, but after some time, he came to the realization that the kid was probably just lonely and learned to appreciate having his company, as aggravating as that company may be. He also figured out that Cole was a lot more knowledgeable than he might seem, being that he came from a family of Gym Trainers after all.

“So how am I supposed to do it then?” Charlie asked, he was still trying to train his Goldeen to air swim. Lance had made quite a lot of progress over this brief period of time, but he was lacking in endurance out of water, especially when he tried to battle or move around at the same time. Only managing to float in place for five to ten minutes at most.

Cole scoffed. “Figure it out yourself, dumbass.”

Charlie shrugged and just continued with what he was doing before. The best way to prod Cole into action was to just ignore him and continue making the same mistake that he was making. That way, Cole would get frustrated enough to intervene once he couldn’t stomach Charlie’s incompetence anymore. Just like right now.

“Dammit! I told you, you’re doing it all wrong!”

Charlie flashed a smirk before schooling his expression and turning back to address Cole again. “I did ask you what I’m supposed to do. If you’re not gonna help then just shut up and let me do my own thing.”

Cole huffed and marched over to Lance with a scowl on his face, before lifting the Goldeen out of water and unceremoniously tossing the goldfish Pokemon onto land.

“Hey!” Charlie exclaimed, while Lance shot a Water Gun at Cole for the boy’s rough treatment.

“Dammit! Tell that fish to cut it out!” Cole yelled, as he desperately tried to avoid getting wet. But if there was one thing that Charlie knew about his Goldeen, it was that Lance was very vindictive and wouldn’t stop until he got his due.

“Not until you tell me why you so rudely took Lance out of water.” Charlie responded with a smug grin.

Cole threw himself onto the ground to avoid a stream of water aimed at his face. “Alright, fine! Just make it stop!”

Charlie grinned at his triumph and asked Lance to stop with his attacks. “Let’s hear him out, Lance. You can continue later if you’re not happy with Cole’s answer.” He said to the fuming Goldeen, who begrudgingly halted his assault with an aggrieved huff.

Cole groaned and propped himself up. “You’re pampering that stupid fish too much.” He said, eliciting a confused look from both Charlie and Lance. The boy clicked his tongue in annoyance. “How do you expect your Goldeen to swim in air if he spends all his time in water?!” He exclaimed, before turning his back against Charlie, seemingly done with his curt explanation.

Lance looked towards Charlie with a look that seemed to say; “Can I continue drenching him now?” But Charlie lightly shook his head in denial as he contemplated the other boy’s words.

“Lance, can you try swimming right now? Using just the ambient Water Energy around you.” Charlie said, wanting to give Cole’s suggestion a shot before trying anything else.

The Goldeen narrowed his eyes in doubt, but did as he was asked and tried to gather the water vapours permeating the surrounding air to achieve buoyancy. Lance floated in the air ever so slightly, steadily ascending until he was just a few centimeters off the ground and began swimming around. His speed was slow and movement sluggish, but he was indeed air swimming.

Charlie took out his Pokegear and started a timer, steadily counting the time that Lance was able to remain active. “Wow, he’s never been able to keep going for so long before. That’s awesome!” The boy exclaimed, turning to thank Cole for the tip. “But why though?” He continued to ask. “This doesn’t make any sense.”

Cole gave a haughty snort and begrudgingly explained the mechanics behind air swimming with his back still turned. “The key is stability,” said the boy. “If you start him off in water, then he’s not gonna be able to get used to the sudden drop in Water Energy density once he gets out of it.” He explained. “Obviously, If you start him off with less then he’s gonna have to learn to make use of what he’s got… Dumbass.”

That last bit of name calling was unnecessary, but Charlie did not mind. Rather he just smiled warmly at the boy and thanked him for the advice.

***

Author's Note:

For those who don't remember, Cole is Brock's youngest brother and the kid that Nina defeated when she first visited Pewter City. The one that was given an Onix too early and caused a lot of trouble with it, resulting in Brock taking the Pokemon away from him after some "persuasion" from Nurse joy and Nina's grandma.

And since I noticed that some people have a hard time picking up context clues, I'll give a quick rundown of Cole's experience after his defeat in Nina's hands.

Since we last saw him, Cole was distanced from Flint and had undergone extensive disciplinary actions from Forrest, Brock's brother. He's the same age as Beverly and had actually completed his conference run in the same year but with middling results.

That said, due to his rough childhood, his relationship with his family remains rocky. Cole refuses to work in his family's Gym but also has an aversion to school. So nowadays, he just spends his time in limbo, trying to figure out what he wants to do in life while ocassionally joining Forrest in training his Pokemon.