“Hello and welcome to the wide world of Poke’mon”. Just a little disclaimer here: while Poke’mon, Ruroni Kenshin, and their characters aren’t copyrighted to me, characters such as “Landon” and “Zeru” are. In this story, you’ll join our young hero, Landon, in his epic and unusual journey in the world of Poke’mon. Equipped with a magical bell, he and his friends must stare down the face of evil, win every challenge, make new friends, and claw their way to the top. But can they stop the ultimate evil that threatens their world? There are many twists and surprises, so you have to keep reading if you really want to “Catch ‘em all!” in:

 

                                      Poke’mon X

       (Last time, our heroes were walking from the ruins of Granite Cave and into the bustling Dewford Town. In this episode, Landon hopes to earn his second gym badge and his next step to the Hoenn League.) The sound of slurping filled May’s and Zeru’s ears as they walked down the side walk of Dewford Town. The sun was high in the sky as it beamed down on the tree decorations and lampposts. Landon had a small bowl of Chanpon noodles in his hand and was slurping it up with a pair of black chopsticks. Toya, who was laying over his shoulder, crunched lightly on a large fried dumpling. “This food is pretty good. Maybe we should go back and get some more.” Landon smiled. “Lan, that’s your sixth bowl since we left that restaurant. Do you have to hurt my stomach so early in the day?” May stated. “Besides, don’t you have a gym match to be worried about?” Zeru asked, “From what I’ve heard, the Gym leader is pretty tough.” “Relax, Zeru; remember that Poke’mon battles take a backseat to hunger.” Landon smiled with his cheeks puffing a bit from the noodles he just stuffed in his mouth. “I’ll defeat the gym leader with both power and grace—” If only he had been paying attention to the sidewalk instead of his bowl; from out of nowhere, a ball rolled out onto the asphalt. Tweep!!! It squeeked as Landon’s feet landed on it. “Whoa….” He felt his body teeter back and forth, but didn’t dare drop his bowl. Landon and Toya crashed to the ground with a thud, holding up their food to protect it rather than their faces. “Oooo…” May and Zeru blinked at them. “Yeah, Lan, that’s real gracefull.” Zeru said. “Oops, I’m sorry, Mr.” A little brown-haired kid came over to scoop up his ball. “It’s quite alright.” “Mudkip,” Landon and Toya sat up. He sat cross-legged and Toya climbed up to his shoulder, finishing the rest of her dumpling greedily. The kid bowed and scampered off. Landon’s eyes darted left to right for a second before he quickly swallowed his bowl of noodles—he couldn’t risk anything else happening to his food. “Hiyaa—” BANG-BUFF! “Hiyaaa—” BUFF-BANG! A series of shouts and strikes carried down the street. To the left of the hero trio was a training hall with many glass windows. The inside yielded punching bags hanging from the ceiling like vines and weights were stacked all over. In the middle, visible from the glass doors, was a large fighting ring. “Kiyaa—” BUFF-BUFF!! The sounds jumped again. At one of the punching bags, someone and his Poke’mon were striking it with rapid and harsh blows. The Poke’mon was pudgy—kind of like a very petite sumo wrestler—with red cheeks, black fists, and a knot tied on its head. It was a yellow as the sun and, by the looks of it, nearly all muscle. The person standing next to it had long, spiky sea-foam blue hair and blue eyes. He was wearing an orange shirt, blue pants, and black sandals. “Hey, what kind of Poke’mon is that?” Landon jumped to his feet in fascination and started across the street. “Lan, wait, you can’t just run up to people like that!” May shouted and they ran after him.

 

                    Theme Song: Pocket Monsters X(treme)

Running at

The speed of sound

What adventures can be found?

Traveling the world all around

As fate just spins it upside-down

Little monsters

Everywhere

Find a knew one and I’m there

Victory is just for fun

There’s no stoppin’ till I’m number one

 

Crys-tal,

Clear, and Shadow

Three lights—

That fight the way

Protect those legendary

Is my destiny!

 

Poke’mon X

(Poke’mon X)

Leading the way

Is my sweet victory

Poke’mon X

(Poke’mon X)

A mystery

Behind each one we see



Poke’—mon X

(Ex—Ex)

This journey I’ll run

Has only begun!

 

 

                           Episode 15: Brawl with Brawly

 

       “Landon, hold it!” May pulled at Landon’s hair once they got to the other sidewalk. “Geeze, May; I’m taking a look at the Poke’mon, not stealing it.” Landon said. He, Zeru, and May pushed through the glass doors and stepped in. “That’s he way, Makuhita! Give it another Mega Punch!” The trainer from the window exclaimed. “Makuu—” The yellow Poke’mon drew back its fist, then brought it forward heavily, “—hitaaa!” BUFF!! The room rattled a little at the force of the strike. “Oh, wow; now that’s power!” May complimented. “He’s using a Makuhita. Shoura always wanted one.” Zeru said. Landon pulled his Poke’dex from his pocket and opened it up. Click—ick! “Makuhita, the Guts Poke’mon. Makuhita trains everyday of its life, hardly ever ceasing for any reason. It eats a large, yet healthy diet to pack on weight for its strong body. This Poke’mon is all about physical strength and fitness as it always strives to better itself.” “Huh?” The guy with the sea-foam hair became alert and glanced back. His eyes fell on Toya and a smile spread on his face. Suddenly, he dashed up to the trio and snatched Toya right off of Landon’s head. “Hey! You can’t just grab my Poke’mon!” Landon shouted, causing a couple of heads to turn their direction. “Who do you think you are, anyway?!” He growled. “Oh, please forgive me, but I couldn’t help but notice your Mudkip.” The guy said. Toya was really too taken aback to actually do anything. “She’s so well-kept and her color shows she’s really strong and healthy. It’s a wonder why she doesn’t evolve. Do you have a special diet for her?” “As a matter of fact—” Landon snatched Toya back into his arms, “—I make my own Poke’mon food. Cheap imitations for a Poke’mon diet don’t guarantee the best results.” “By the way, my name is Brawly.” The guy held out his hand. “Oh, spare—” Quickly, May and Zeru clasped their hands around Landon’s mouth and pulled him behind them. It was clear Landon was about to blow up and they couldn’t let him do that with all those people watching. “His name is Landon, and I’m Zeru, and this is May.” Zeru said hastily and May nodded in agreement. “Nice to meet you all.” Brawly shook their hands. “Maku-maku,” Makuhita walked over and tugged at Brawly’s shorts. “Oh, and this is my partner Poke’mon, Makuhita.” He introduced and Makuhita flexed its muscles. “How about a battle? Any one of you against my Makuhita.” “Hmph!” Landon pushed his two friends out of his way and stepped up. “Fine, I accept your challenge!” He said loudly. “Hey, everybody, someone’s gonna’ battle with the gym leader!” Someone shouted. “Fight Brawly?” “Let us see!” In no time at all, a crowd had developed around Landon, May, Zeru, and Brawly. They were shouting and making loud cheering noises. “You mean you’re the gym leader here?” Zeru asked and Brawly nodded. Landon just growled under his breath.

 
      
       Landon and Brawly stepped into the stadium ring in the middle of the training hall. The crowd (along with Zeru and May) huddled close, but not too close as to get hit during the battle. “This will be an official gym match.” Brawly spoke up and the crowd fell silent. “The challenger, Landon, will be competing for this—” He held up a silvery badge that looked like a boxing glove, “—the Knuckle badge. Is a one-on-one fine with you?” “Yeah, that’s fine.” Landon said. The two trainer’s stared at each other, one with anger and the other with excitement. Their Poke’mon stood beside them, ready to be called out. The ding of a bell sounded for the start of the battle. “Go, Toya!” “Mud-kip!” Toya leapt into the ring, her expression going serious. “Take ‘em, Makuhita!” Brawly pointed. “Maku-Maku!” Makuhita faced its opponent, flexing its muscles. The two Poke’mon growled at each other while awaiting their trainer’s orders. “Brawly, Brawly, he’s our man—if he can’t do it, no one can!” A group of girls cheered and Brawly grinned. “I’ll wipe that grin off your face,” Landon growled, “Toya, Tackle attack!” “Muuud!” Toya skated into the air and launched her body at Brawly’s Poke’mon. But instead of giving a counter-order, Brawly just ran his hand through his sea-foam hair. “Ma—” Makuhita stuck out its thick belly; Toya crashed into it, but was bounced off. “That’s some thick fat.” Zeru said. “Both fat and muscle.” May corrected. “Errr…” Landon growled, “Toya, Bubble attack!” Toya took in a deep breath, then spat out a stream of bubbles from her mouth. “Makuhita, use your Bulk up!” Brawly exclaimed, a bit more serious now. “Maku-hita!” Makuhita tensed its body up, clenching its teeth; the bubbles reflected off of its belly, only allowing the pressure to shake it up a bit. Landon took a shocked step back. “That’s twice Makuhita’s Bulk up has blocked Toya’s attack! How do I defeat someone who stresses such an impervious defense?” He thought to himself. “Mudkip,” Toya gulped. She was beginning to sense her trainer’s nervousness and, in turn, became nervous herself. “We’re not gonna’ give up. Use your Bubble attack again!” Landon ordered. “Mudkip-Mudkip!” Toya spat up another stream of exploding bubbles. “Nice try, but not good enough.” Brawly said, then pointed to Toya. “Makuhita, dodge and use Karate Chop!” Makuhita’s footwork was swift and flawless; it easily bobbed and weaved around the bubble attack, closing the distance between it and its opponent. It rose a fist and started swinging furiously, forcing Toya to do a weird dance in order to narrowly evade. “How can something with so much fat move so fast?!” Landon thought in disbelief. Once again, his breath was caught in his throat. His brain wouldn’t work and kept him from finding any possible way out of this mess. “Brawly has trained his Makuhita good,” Zeru started to sweat, “Despite its heavy weight, it still moves flawlessly and effortlessly.” May looked at the expression on Landon’s face. He looked as if he was confused, angry, and a little scared all at once. “Zeru, do you think Lan can make this work?” May asked in concern. “I don’t know; Toya is doing her best just to dodge, but Makuhita keeps coming back with more and more energy.” Zeru said, watching Toya start to tire and slow down. “Makuhita, take her down now!” Brawly exclaimed. “Maku!”

       WHOOSH-BANG!! Makuhita’s chop attack crashed harshly into Toya’s shoulder, sending her flying. “Oh—” Landon gasped, “Toya!” In mid-air, Toya opened her eyes and corrected herself to land on her paws. She panted a little as she stared down her opponent. “…I have to find a way to trick Makuhita…..oh-I got it! Makuhita’s probably all muscle and no brain because its just been tossing attacks over and over. If that’s the case…” Landon grinned at his idea. “Toya, can you use your Double Team?” “Mud,” Toya nodded to him. “Mud-mudkip!” Her body blinked before creating multiple images of herself, encircling around Makuhita. “Ha! Let’s see if you can get through that.” Landon said with a bit more confidence. “We’ll counter,” Brawly closed his eyes, “With meditate,” “Makuhita!” Makuhita took a breath in; when it let it out, its body became relaxed and loose. It used its senses to concentrate deeply on its battle. In this state, it could easily react to anything its opponent threw at it. “Now, Makuhita, it’s time for this to end!” “Hita-Hita!” Makuhita toe-jumped to the left and spotted the real Toya. “Mudkip!” Toya shrieked, sweating. “Water Gun—qiuck!” Landon said rather hurridly. Toya opened her mouth and made a gurgling sound as a blast of water fired. However, the attack was neutralized by Makuhita’s thick fat, posing no threat at all. “Body Slam!” Brawly went in for the finish. Like a shadow, Makuhita’s body hovered over Toya. She was so afraid that her copies vanished without a trace. There was a sudden rush of wind and the thick Poke’mon dropped its body on her. “MUDDDDD!!” Toya shrieked in pain. “That’s ENOUGH!” A few tears flew from Landon’s eyes as he ran into the ring. He fell to his knees and cradled his hurt Poke’mon in his arms. “I forfeit; you win.” He said. Brawly didn’t smile, but gave the young samurai an approving look. “You’re a good trainer, Landon. If you would’ve kept going on, your Mudkip may have been seriously injured.” He told him.

 

       Landon sat in one of the chairs inside the Poke’mon center beside May and Zeru. He stared at the ground with shaking eyes. His mind would only let him reflect on how much damage Toya took in his crushing defeat. “It’s okay, Landon; it’s no like you’re expected to win every battle.” May tried to comfort him. Unfortunately, it did more damage than help. “We were totally over-powered,” Landon clinched his fists, “How can we stand up to that much power?” ‘How’ indeed. He needed a way to beat Makuhita’s thick body. Surely if he had a flying or psychic-type Poke’mon, the battle would’ve been easier.  The doors to the ER opened up and Nurse Joy came walking out. Toya was curled up in her arms, resting lightly. “Toya!” A smile spread on Landon’s face as he ran up to Nurse Joy. Toya perked up and got to her feet abruptly. “Mudkip!” She yelped happily, jumping into her trainer’s arms and licking him all over the face. “Thanks a lot, Nurse Joy.” Landon said. “You’re welcome; your Mudkip was more exhausted than hurt.” Nurse Joy told him. (Meanwhile) Peeping into the Poke’mon center from the window outside, Team Darkhorn were up to their usual spying again from the bushes. “I can’t believe Toya lost a battle.” Tsubimi said. “It’s not like she’s perfect—she was bound to lose sometime or another. It was how she was defeated that bugs me.” Yoshimari said. “Toya didn’t stand a chance at all.” “Yoshi, what are we gonna’ do? We can’t bring her to Miru if he looses. The entire reason we’re chasing her is because of her unstoppable EX.” “That’s why we’re going to help her out.” He said and his sister’s jaw dropped. “Help her? I didn’t taker it that far. In case you’ve forgotten, they’re the enemy!” Tsubimi stated. “But remember that Miru wants to see how far Toya will go. If we help her become stronger, then it’ll be that much more valuable when we catch her.” Yoshimari glanced back through the window and gave a short gasp. “Oh-no; they’re coming!” As quick as lightning, they bolted into the bushes next to the building. “Get your disguise ready.” Tsubimi hissed.

       The doors of the Poke’mon center slid open and the hero trio stepped out into the sunshine. Landon had his hands in his pockets and was staring at the ground. His two friends and Poke’mon were looking at him with very concerned looks. No one really said anything for lack of a good conversation. Zeru and May didn’t want to say anything that would upset the young trainer. “…Maybe you should try another gym.” Zeru finally suggested. “Not a chance,” Landon clenched his fists and held them up. Inside of his eyes, the flame of determination burned dangerously. Toya felt a hot-cold tingle flow through her body and she closed her eyes as her cheeks went pink. Landon’s determination was one of the many things she admired about her trainer. “We’ll find a way to defeat Brawly—” “Excuse me, but did you say you wanted to beat Brawly.” A voice approached them. The two (Yoshimari and Tsubimi) were dressed in black karate Gi’s and black belts. Landon, May, Zeru, and Toya sweated anime style from what they were wearing. “We didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but we couldn’t help overhearing. You’re trying to get past Makuhita’s Bulk up, right?” Tsubimi asked. “Uh…yeah,” Landon said. “Then we know a move a move for you Mudkip.” At this, Landon’s frown turned into a smile. Toya’s tail started to wag. If he and Toya could learn an attack that could defeat Brawly, he was all for it. “You’d really help us out?” “Mudkip?” He and Toya asked. The two Karate suites nodded their heads in agreement. “Then we’re all—” “Wait a minute,” Zeru pushed Landon out of the way. He gave the two a suspicious little frown. “Why are you helping, anyway?” Suddenly, Yoshimari and Tsubimi started performing a series of flips and spins like a couple of acrobats. “Your Poke’mon has potential—HA!” “We like what we see and want to help—HO!” They landed and imitated a swift fury of punches, “ So do you want our help?” They asked together, sweating anime style. They felt really stupid acting like that, but if they acted any more idiotically, no one would notice it was them. “I’m in!” Landon said excitedly. Yoshimari and Tsubimi grinned to each other, winking. It looked as if their plan had worked perfectly. Yoshimari reached into his Gi and pulled out an orange cube with a weird circular opening at the top. “Is that…?” “Yeah, it’s a TM cube.” Tsubimi blinked at him.

 

Fast Fact Quiz: What is the name of Indigo’s very stern father? If you can’t guess, find out at the end of this Chapter!


This is the end of Chapter 15, Part 1.