Chapter 19

It was almost midnight when Redwald was sitting in Pokécenter’s dining room alone. All the travellers and trainers around Kanto who were residing in the Pokécenter were gone. Redwald, in the other hand, was drinking his hot chocolate while staring at the outside. Even though he was watching the street and staring at the trees shaking through the wind under the street lights, his mind was somewhere else, so far away...

He was thinking about his gym battle. It was disappointing for him in many aspects. Brock was a challenging gym leader, that was the fact. All the attacking moves that Redwald counted on so far almost did not work. Omanyte and Geodude were very defensive Pokémon. They must had overcome greater enemies compared to Eevee’s Bite or Pidgey’s Tackle or Gust, Redwald thought. But Brock’s Pokémon were not the only key in the battle. ‘’What about Redwald?’'

Redwald felt guilty for being caught to the moment. When he was performing his gym battle, he forgot to be careful about his Pokémon as much as he had always been. He knew that Pidgey could not take any damage from Geodude after getting so much damage from Omanyte. Just like the day he battled Blake when Redwald withdrew from the battle because Eevee was in a great pain, Redwald should had withdrawn from the gym battle as well. But he could not think through. The only thing he could think of was winning the battle by pushing his limits along with his Pokémon. However, they ended up getting serious damage and spending the whole night in the Pokécenter. Redwald drank the last slip of his hot chocolate and walked outside of the dining room. He found himself in the lobby. The nurse was busy with paperwork that she did not even realize Redwald. Redwald walked through the lobby and went to the Pokémon’s section. He looked at his Eevee and Pidgey behind the glass. They were sleeping in a glass tube. Redwald watched them for a couple of minutes with peace and proud inside him. Then he walked away, hoped that they could forgive him for what he did.

The next morning was better for everyone. Redwald checked out his Pokémon, Eusine prepared a delicious meal for everyone. Greta realized how much she missed Eusine’s great cooking skills. “If I ever marry, I will get a man who cooks.” She said. Eevee and Pidgey were refreshed and they were fighting fit. Metapod was just the same. She was staring at people and every other thing all day long. Greta was still as careful as she was from the beginning. Her time was going to eventually come.

“What is your plan now, Redwald?” Eusine asked. Redwald did not quite get what he tried to ask. “Will you try your chance in another gym, or do you want to go for a rematch to Brock?”

“I will not run away.” Redwald said. “My Pokémon may be way back from Brock’s position, but we will get there eventually. I want to train my Pokémon and challenge Brock to a rematch.” He turned to Eevee and Pidgey. “Is that all right for you?”

Eevee and Pidgey cried out, as loud as ever. They were ready even more than Redwald. Redwald nodded his head, smiled and said, “Let’s go for it, then.”

For the rest of the day, Redwald trained his Pokémon in the woods with Eusine’s help. Greta spent her day taking care of Metapod, Nidoran and Paras. They all were used to being washed and massage already. Greta would take it as a great opportunity to do all those things when Redwald went for training often.

In the end of the day, Redwald and his Pokémon were exhausted. In constancy to that, Greta and her Pokémon just enjoyed the day. “If we repeat the routine, we will eventually be able to defeat Brock, folks!” Redwald said. All the Pokémon seemed to be in sync with Redwald’s hype.

When they turned from the corner, they found themselves on a path to the city. But something interesting was happening on the path. A girl and a Pokémon were standing, probably talking about something. Redwald did not consider it anything interesting at first. But then he realized that the Pokémon was actually crying.

“What is going on there?” He questioned himself. But he said it out loud that also Greta and Eusine paid attention on the girl and her Pokémon as they walked towards them.

The girl had a long, blond hair. A hair buckle was attached to it. The purple outfit that she had on gave a very dominant personality impression to her. She had an unpleasant expression on her face. The Pokémon on the ground had a small body. She was covered with blue vines all around. Redwald never saw that Pokémon before. When he came closer, he turned on his Pokédex to scan the Pokémon.

“Oh, please Tangela!” The girl said. “Stop crying now. This is why I am leaving you!”

“Is everything all right here?” Eusine asked, but in a pleasant way. But the struggle meant nothing to the young lady. “Stay out of it.” She said shortly, then she turned to her Pokémon.

“I am sorry, Tangela. But I am training my Pokémon for Kanto league. You are not even close to be good enough for there. I have to leave you. Please try to empathise with my dreams and understand why I am doing this.”

“Are you...” Greta stopped, almost like she was scared to complete her sentence. “...releasing your Pokémon?”

“I am.” The girl said. She turned her back and began to walk away. But then, Redwald stepped forward and stopped the lady.

“How can you call yourself a trainer now?” He responded. The young lady did not expect to hear that. She turned her back and looked at Redwald. He was very mad. “The trainers are meant to bring out what Pokémon have inside! If you think Tangela is not good enough, then try. Train. If it is not good enough, then try harder! This is what it’s all about! If you think you should get rid of a Pokémon just because they are weak, then you are not worth to compete in the league at all!”

“Trainers have the right to release their Pokémon.” Eusine said.

“It doesn’t matter!” Redwald responded. He was still very angry. “I am also training for Kanto league, but I don’t leave my Pokémon behind because they couldn’t do it. Instead, I try to discover them. I try to let them discover themselves! You are such a shame for everyone, especially for your Pokémon!”

“I am done with this.” The young lady responded. Surprisingly, she was very calm. “If you are worrying about Tangela so much, you can just adopt her. As for myself, my job here is done.”

She turned her back again and walked away. Tangela was still crying. She ran to her former trainer and used her vines to wrap her leg. But the young lady shook her leg and got rid of the vines at once. Watching Tangela falling apart like that broke Redwald’s heart. He knew that he had to do something. Anything. Therefore, he did the first thing that crossed his mind.

“Hold it!” He shouted. The young lady turned her back once again. She seemed to be over this conversation already. Redwald made a hand move that looked almost like he wanted to shake hands from meters away. Then, he began to speak.

“I want to make a deal with you.” He said. “Give me a couple of days and let me train Tangela. Then, we will meet at this very spot and have a Pokémon battle. If Tangela defeats your Pokémon, then it means that you are taking Tangela back. If it won’t happen, then you can leave Tangela behind with no heartbreak.”

“Why would I bother?” The lady responded.

“You said that you want to get the best Pokémon for the league. Why would you want to pass on an opportunity to discover a Pokémon’s true potency here, if there is any?”

The young lady thought of what Redwald said for a second. “Deal.” Then she said. “I will meet you here in three days, at 7 pm. And I will have a Pokémon battle with Tangela.”

“What is your name?” Greta asked. The young lady smiled and answered with proud in her eyes. “Jennifer.”

“Okay, Jennifer. I, Redwald Walker from Pallet Town, will be here with Tangela.”

Although Redwald was fired up during his conversation with Jennifer, Tangela was not even close to be in the mood. She was so depressed that the whole time that they arrived in Pokécenter, Tangela only stared at the ground with watery eyes while Redwald carried her. When they arrived to the Pokécenter, Redwald let Tangela rest along with his other Pokémon.

“I don’t believe what she says.” Redwald said. Tangela did not realize at first that he was talking to her, but then she carefully turned her head –which happened to be her whole body- to Redwald to hear out what he said. Redwald repeated himself. “I am not buying that. She is wrong about you.”

“I don’t think that any Pokémon is incapable of becoming strong. You are a worthy Pokémon to compete in Kanto league, and you deserve to be there with the trainer you wish.”

Tangela was a Pokémon that her mouth could not be seen. But Redwald could tell from her eyes that she put a broken smile on her face. “What we are about to do is bring out what you have inside. Three days are not enough to do that, but at least we need enough to prove Jennifer that you can do it.”

Tangela stood up and walked towards Redwald on the table. She extended one of her vines and put it towards Redwald. She wanted to shake hands. Redwald held it and they shook hands. Tangela was in as long as she could get Jennifer back.

“I am happy that you compromised.” Greta said. She was worried that they would end up trying to calm down Tangela because she would cry all the time.

“Tomorrow first thing, we will train.” Redwald said. “I never trained a grass type Pokémon. But my friend, Eusine, will help us out with that.”

“Obviously.” Eusine said.

The first thing in the next day, Redwald and Tangela went to Pewter Woods in the very early hours. He left a note about that, so Eusine could join them after he woke up. They started training. At first, Redwald discovered Tangela’s moves. She knew how to use Bind. She would squeeze the enemy by using her vines that covered her all around her body. She had Absorb. With that move, she could absorb the enemy’s energy, and have half of it for herself. Redwald knew that it could be very useful in Pokémon battles. For last, she had Vine Whip. She would let her vines out of her body and hit the foe with them. They could be really harmful if it is used properly. But in Tangela’s case... They needed to be improved.

Redwald worked on Tangela’s moves and how they could be used properly, by giving the greatest damage to the foe. Redwald was not sure about his technic. However, once Eusine joined them, he saved the day. Eusine told Redwald that the best way to improve grass type moves would be fighting through water.

“Because...” Eusine said, while he explained. “...water gives life to plants. Grass can improve itself by taking support of water.” Thus, Eusine showed a lake on the map and they walked all the way up there. Redwald asked Tangela to do the moves properly against water. Tangela could already use the moves better. But she was lacking something – power.

Neither Redwald, nor Eusine spoke it out loud, but Tangela’s moves could barely cause a damage on the opponent. Redwald planned to warm up with attacking motionless things like tree and water, then train better with other Pokémon. But after seeing this, he was not quite sure if it would be safe for Tangela.

“You need to improve your attack better.” Redwald said. “You have great moves, but the damage would not affect the opponent as it requires.”

“I think the best way to resolve this is to have a battle with a wild Pokémon.” Eusine responded. Redwald was shocked to hear that. Did Eusine really want Tangela to have a Pokémon battle?

“Are you sure, Eusine?” Redwald asked. “I mean, we don’t know how to guide Tangela.”

“Even better.” Eusine responded. “So, we can get to see what Tangela truly lacks in battle and her moves. Do you want to do that, Tangela?”

Tangela was staring with empty eyes. She had no idea what would be better for her, as she was never trained properly, probably. But she trusted Redwald and Eusine, after all. If they thought it would be better for her, then it had to be. She nodded her head. She was in.

While they were walking a path, Eusine stepped on a hole. His leg stuck there. When he took his leg out, a Pokémon appeared after it. He was living in the hole. Redwald was familiar with this species. But he turned on his Pokédex to analyse.

“This is a great opportunity.” Eusine said. “Come on, Red! Use Tangela!”

Redwald felt rushed for a moment and had no idea what to do. But he pulled himself together quickly and told Tangela to stand forth. Tangela walked to stop between Redwald and Sandshrew. Redwald nodded his head, as the battle between two Pokémon officially began.

Sandshrew ran to Tangela and glittered his nails. “He is using Scratch! Dodge it!” Eusine yelled from behind. Redwald nodded his head and told Tangela to dodge the move. Although Tangela ran to right, it took only seconds for Sandshrew to change his direction and hit Tangela anyway. Eusine took a note on his paper.

“Tangela, use Bind!” Redwald ordered. Tangela let three vines on her body out and covered Sandshrew all around. Eusine took another note. In the meantime, Sandshrew’s nails glowed bright once again and he got rid of all the vines at once. Tangela was hurt as she cried out.

“Hold on, Tangela! You are doing great!” Redwald said to encourage Tangela. But Tangela was already too close to cry. “Let’s try something else.” Redwald said. “Use Absorb this time!”

Tangela’s eyes glowed in green as she focused on her move. An aura on the top of Sandshrew appeared. The green aura had exactly the same colour as Tangela’s eyes. After that, the aura absorbed Sandshrew’s energy, and Tangela absorbed half of the energy for herself. Sandshrew suddenly felt tired and sleepy.

“You are great, Tangela!” Redwald responded. “Now, use Vine Whip!”

Tangela let her two vines extend and reach to Sandshrew. Then, she attempted to hit Sandshrew for a couple of times. But Sandshrew pulled himself together just in time and dug a hole to disappear.

“Of course, he knows the move Dig!” Eusine said, almost like he was mad at himself. But Redwald had a smile on his face. “It doesn’t matter.” Then he turned to Tangela. “Tangela, use Vine Whip in the hole, please!” He said. Tangela nodded her head and directed her vines in the hole. Redwald and Eusine watched Tangela exploring in the hole with her vines for almost a minute. Eventually, Tangela acted weirdly.

“She pulled him!” Eusine said. Tangela began to take out what she pulled. Redwald thought it was just like fishing. In the end, Tangela brought out what she pulled, a bag.

“What is this?” Redwald responded, while Tangela put the bag on the ground. Redwald and Eusine walked towards it and Eusine opened the bag. There were potions, healers and other medicines that a trainer would need on a journey.

“I think one of the Sandshrew stole that bag from a trainer.” Redwald said. “Maybe they thought they had food in it.”

“...or maybe because there was food in it, and they have already eaten them.” Eusine completed his words. “Because Pokémon are unable to use medicines properly. They must be used on them by a human.”

“I didn’t know that.” Redwald responded. But before he knew what happened, Sandshrew used Slash behind him very hard. He was probably very angry because he thought Redwald and Eusine were going to steal the bag that he stole from another trainer.

Redwald cried out in a pain. That was hell of a Slash. Sandshrew’s this very attitude pissed of Tangela, as she wanted anything to happen, but Redwald to be hit. Out of control, Tangela let her vines go out and used another Vine Whip. This time, she hit the foe. Sandshrew was critically effected.

“Tangela, calm down!” Redwald responded. He was worried about his Pokémon. Tangela turned her back and looked at Redwald calmly. She did not have the hostile look in her eyes anymore. Redwald smiled at her. “Thank you.” He said. “But we need to have the control in our hands, not anger’s.”

In the meantime, Sandshrew stood up and ran to Tangela while her back was turned at him.

“Watch out!” Eusine said. Tangela turned her back and used another Vine Whip on Sandshrew. Sandshrew was thrown back as he fell in one of the holes, and he did not come out. Eusine checked to hole to make sure. He was fainted.

“He is unable to battle.” Eusine said. “You and Redwald just had your very first victory together, Tangela.”

Redwald and Tangela looked at each other in the eye. Both of them had proud and happiness in there. The more they looked at each other, the more they felt the proud and happiness inside. Redwald realized that he was the one to give Tangela the courage and passion to battle.

“I think you two have done enough for a day. What about going back to find Greta and have a great dinner?” Eusine asked. Redwald and Tangela, with proud and happiness, accepted his offer and they began to walk back. It took around half an hour to get back. During their way back there, no one really spoke. But Redwald and Tangela felt in their hearts how much they are meant to each other. Tangela was in a much better situation after their victory.

When they found Greta, she was washing Redwald’s Pokémon as well. Eevee and Pidgey were already washed, as the two Pokémon were resting on a rock with glowing fur besides Nidoran and Paras, while Poliwag was in the water tube and enjoying the moment. When he saw Redwald, he jumped off the tube and ran to his trainer as he made everywhere wet, including Redwald’s pants.

“Calm down, Poliwag. I am here.” Redwald said with a laughter. While Eusine cooked for everyone, Redwald helped Greta wash the Pokémon. Metapod was the only one remained unwashed because of Greta’s overprotective feelings towards her.

Eusine prepared the dinner and set a campfire with the help of Redwald. In the end, everyone gathered around the fire and enjoyed their dinner. While everyone was about to finish their plates, Tangela began to cry out of nowhere. Redwald, Greta and Eusine were having a conversation, but it was interrupted by Tangela’s cry. Surprised, everyone turned to the little Pokémon letting her tears in the bowl.

“What is it, Tangela?” Redwald asked. Eusine put his hand on Redwald’s shoulder. “Let me tell you what this is, Red.” He said.

“Jennifer does not have quality time with her Pokémon, probably. She only cares about training and exploring places in Kanto. We have a dinner like a family does. We have a connection and relationship, unlike Jennifer. I think Tangela felt bad about herself, because she never had enjoyed a family time like we have.”

“Is this true, Tangela?” Redwald asked. Tangela only nodded her head and stared at the ground, still crying. Redwald slowly walked closer to her and put her in his lap. “Do not worry. You don’t have to bear with someone who doesn’t treat you well.” He said. Tangela did not respond.

In the following days, Tangela kept training with Redwald and Eusine, while Greta took care of other Pokémon. Eusine once offered Greta to join them and watch their training. But Greta’s profession was not going to be about training Pokémon, but rather how to treat them properly and how to take good care of them. Thus, she found it more useful to spend quality time with the Pokémon rather than watching them battling. Her favourite type of battle was the gym battles, anyway.

During their training, Tangela improved herself much better. She was good at aiming, compared to the beginning. Also, she was not scared of battling. Eusine knew that Redwald was the key of it. Redwald was really giving her the feeling of battle for true reasons. They failed at times, as well as they defeated the foe some other times. But the point was that Tangela was improving. Three days could never be enough for any Pokémon to reach to their best, but with the passion of Tangela and Redwald and the help of Eusine, Tangela did what she could do best in three days. Eventually, the big day had come.

Redwald and Tangela were standing on the point where Jennifer left them. Greta and Eusine were sitting on a rock. Metapod was with Greta. Redwald could see that Tangela was quite nervous. “Don’t worry, Tangela.” He said. “If you do what you’ve been doing with me, all will be fine. You will defeat Jennifer’s Pokémon, and even Jennifer will want to have you back.”

Tangela smiled. Although she did not have a mouth, it was obvious by her looks.

Jennifer appeared on the path. “Sorry, I am a bit late.” She said. “I was on a serious training. How was your three days of vacation?”

“You will see how it was.” Redwald said. He was as serious as he could be. “Let’s get started, shall we?”

Jennifer nodded her head. “The sooner, the better. I have plenty of things to do.”

Eusine walked towards them. “I will serve as the referee.” He said. Now, everything was ready to get started.

“The Pokémon battle between the trainer Redwald Walker from Pallet Town and the trainer Jennifer Bloom from Saffron City will now begin.” Eusine said. “Each trainer may use one Pokémon. Once the Pokémon is unable to battle, the battle is officially over.”

Redwald and Jennifer were looking at each other. Each trainer had anger and pity on each other for different reasons.

“You may begin now.”

“Tangela, show yourself!” Redwald responded. Tangela walked forth and stood in front of Jennifer. She sure felt weird to battle against her. Redwald hoped that it would not affect Tangela’s battling skills that she had been showing in the past three days.

Jennifer, in the other hand, reached to her Poké Ball and threw it. “Psyduck, it is your turn!” She said by the time little, yellow Pokémon appeared in front of Tangela. Redwald turned on his Pokédex to scan the Pokémon.

“We can do this, Tangela!” Redwald responded. “Let’s start with Bind!”

Tangela let her vines out to squeeze Psyduck. Jennifer responded quickly, as she already knew her former Pokémon. “Dodge it, Psyduck!” She said. Psyduck jumped and landed back to dodge the move. Tangela missed it.

“Use Confusion!” She responded. Psyduck’s eyes glittered in pink as he used Confusion on the opponent. Tangela got caught in his eyes, as Psyduck made it more effective. Then Psyduck hit Tangela without even touching her. Tangela cried in pain with the same glittering eyes. Once Psyduck was done with the move, Tangela fell in pain.

“Tangela! Are you alright?” Redwald responded. Tangela was forcing herself to stand up by using her vines, but she was in a great pain. Jennifer almost laughed. “That’s the Pokémon I’ve been talking about.” She said. “Just a simple Confusion is enough to take this Pokémon out of the league.”

“You are wrong!” Redwald responded. He was very angry. “If only you could see how hard she tried and how long she went in the last three days. “Right now, Tangela cannot focus on this battle, because she still loves you. If only you could understand what love means!”

“Emotional decisions will not bring you anywhere with success in it.” Jennifer answered seriously. “I am not here to entertain Pokémon or build a future based on Pokémon’s fun. I am here to success something! I am here to prove people what I am capable of! Of course, I repeat, of course, I have no tolerance to a Pokémon who is incapable of battling in the Kanto League!”

“This is such a disgusting thing to say!” Greta interrupted them. “You can still have Tangela by your side, even if you don’t want to use her in the Pokémon league. She loves you for all the cost, even after you treated her in the worst possible way. This is definitely not what she deserves from you!”

“You are all full of talk.” Jennifer said. “If you are not going to move, then I will. Psyduck, use Water Gun!”

Psyduck opened his mouth big and used Water Gun. Redwald took it as a great opportunity to show everyone what Tangela got.

“Swipe it back with Vine Whip!” Redwald responded. Tangela let three vines of her out and used Vine Whip on the water. But it was not strong enough to dodge the move as a whole. Instead, only quarter of the water was swiped back. The move did not affect Tangela much.

“Don’t give up!” Redwald responded. “Use Absorb now!”

Tangela’s eyes glowed in bright green as she used the move. Psyduck was caught in Tangela’s eyes in the meantime. A green beam on top of him appeared in seconds. Tangela absorbed Psyduck’s energy and sucked half of it for herself.

“That’s the way, Tangela!” Redwald responded proudly. Tangela wished if only Jennifer could feel the same proud as Redwald. Jennifer did not mind what Tangela did. “Use Body Slam, Psyduck.” She responded. Psyduck nodded his head and ran to Tangela. Redwald ordered Tangela to use Vine Whip. But Tangela was distracted by Jennifer’s look. Her eyes were so full of hate and disgust that Tangela could not believe how she could feel that way about her. All the happy memories she had with Jennifer flashed in front of her eyes. Tangela did not even hear what Redwald screamed about. Eventually, Psyduck used Body Slam on her, and Tangela fainted.

As much as he did not want to, Eusine had to declare the result of the battle. “Tangela is unable to battle. Psyduck wins the round, and the winner is Jennifer Bloom.” He said.

Redwald expected Jennifer to say something really annoying for Tangela. But Jennifer remained in silence. She only called Psyduck back in Poké Ball, looked at Tangela with pity in her eyes, and turned her back.

“This is not over!” Redwald could say, finally. Jennifer turned her back. She was surprised to hear that. How could it not be over, Jennifer thought. Redwald walked closer to Tangela and touched her tangled body. “I will train Tangela for Kanto league. She will put all her might in the battle with heart that you will wish to not see her. But you know what? Even if we don’t match, I will challenge you to a Pokémon battle, and you will face Tangela. It will be so real that you won’t even believe it would be true. Then, you will understand what a big mistake you are doing right now. But it will be too late. Tangela’s loyalty will belong to me. Not you, not anymore.”

“These all happen if Tangela wants to, of course.” Redwald said, also. Tangela was shocked to hear all of it from Redwald. She stood up with watery eyes, and put his head on Redwald’s chest. Tangela started to cry really loud. She had to let everything out and there, she did all of it. However, Jennifer felt no mercy for her.

“You two are just meant for each other.” Jennifer said. Then she walked away until she disappeared.

“Don’t worry, Tangela.” Redwald said. “It doesn’t matter what she’s done to you in the past, or what she thinks about you right now. The future is ours, and we will success everything together, by giving a chance to each other. Are you in?”

Redwald extended his hand to Tangela. Tangela extended one of her vines and shook hands with Redwald. Redwald brought a Poké Ball out of his pocket and pushed the button in the middle of it. The Poké Ball had opened and captured the Pokémon inside. The Poké Ball shook once, and twice. Tangela was officially caught.

Greta put her hand on Redwald’s shoulder. “What you’ve done today is very honourable, Red.” She said. “I think you and Tangela with match with each other just fine.”

“Who knows, maybe Jennifer is right about one thing. We are really meant for each other...” Redwald said.

Humans

 * Redwald Walker
 * Greta Parker
 * Eusine Hunter
 * Jennifer Bloom
 * The nurse
 * Brock (mentioned)
 * Blake Oak (mentioned)

Pokémon

 * Jennifer's Psyduck
 * Jennifer's Tangela (removed)
 * Brock's Omanyte (mentioned)
 * Brock's Geodude (mentioned)
 * Wild Sandshrew
 * Jennifer's Psyduck
 * Jennifer's Tangela (removed)
 * Brock's Omanyte (mentioned)
 * Brock's Geodude (mentioned)
 * Wild Sandshrew
 * Brock's Geodude (mentioned)
 * Wild Sandshrew