As the ferry skimmed across the water, Jen leaned on the railing and looked down at the activity in the ship's wake. Every so often, a Tentacool might drift up alongside the hull, and on a rare occasion, a ray-like creature might swim next to them as well. She looked to the horizon and saw a dark landmass in the distance, becoming larger as they steadily drew closer.
“First time visiting Cianwood?” a voice asked. Jen started, then turned to see the sailor from the docks standing nearby.
“Yes, it is. My friend and I are going to take on the Cianwood Gym, since the Olivine Gym's closed right now.”
“Sounds like fun. I never had the motivation to take on the Gyms, myself.” He thought for a moment. “You were the one who caught the Tentacruel, right?”
“Um, yes. How did you know that?”
“Tentacruel are really conspicuous Pokémon, and the battle you and it had made quite the spectacle. I saw the whole thing from the dock.”
“Oh. Well, it was a tough fight, but we caught it in the end.”
“Your team must be strong if it can take on a creature like that.” The sailor grinned, as if he'd just thought of something. “I'm guessing you're going to use Tentacruel at the Gym?”
“That's my plan, once we train a little.” The sailor's grin became even wider.
“Here's my question, then: how are you going to use Tentacruel with no water around?” Jen's eyes widened.
“I hadn't thought of that. Tentacruel doesn't look like it can do much out of the water.” The sailor's grin was now so wide, Jen wondered if it hurt.
“It just so happens that I can help with that. I know a move that can allow Tentacruel to fight on land just as well as it could in the water. That way, you won't have to worry about the type of battlefield you find yourself on.”
“I'd appreciate that, mister, er..”
“Call me Huey.”
“Okay. Thanks, Huey. Once we get to shore, we can see how this works out.”
----------------------------------------
After the ferry docked, Jen, James and Huey found an empty stretch of beach to practice. James sat down on a nearby rock with Quilava, and Jen stood next to the shore with Huey, who released a small blue Pokémon with a dark spiral on its white belly. It stood on two short legs, and its tail seemed built for swimming.
“My Poliwag will demonstrate the move. Since Poliwag aren't very good on land, it'll be obvious how much of a difference this move makes.”
“Okay!” Jen let Tentacruel out, and pointed to Poliwag. “Tentacruel, pay attention to Poliwag's moves. It's going to show you how to battle on land.” Tentacruel did nothing, and Jen assumed that meant it understood. “Alright, Huey, go for it!”
“Poliwag, Surf!” Poliwag's eyes glowed, and a small wave appeared under its body. It turned towards a small cluster of rocks, then charged with surprising speed. The wave broke over the rocks, and Poliwag balanced on top of one of them. Huey grinned. “Poliwag kinda jumped the gun a little bit there. Surf is primarily an attack, but it can be a totally passive move as well. Try it with Tentacruel and you'll see.”
“Gotcha. Ready, Tentacruel?” Tentacruel floated a little closer to shore. “Okay. Use Surf!” Tentacruel sat still for a moment, then generated a wave under its own body. “Like this, Huey?”
“Yeah, you got it. If Tentacruel just sits there, it can launch attacks from a distance.” Jen nodded, and Huey continued. “Now have it float completely onto the shore. The wave should move with Tentacruel, and it'll stay there as long as Tentacruel can maintain it.”
“Tentacruel, move closer to James.” Jen pointed to where James was sitting, and Tentacruel floated towards him. “That's it! A little closer now!” Tentacruel floated forward again, a bit further this time. Jen's face broke into a mischievous grin. “Once more, Tentacruel.” When Tentacruel was about ten yards from James' position, Jen shouted. “Okay, Tentacruel, go for it! Surf attack!” James' head whipped around when he heard this.
“What are you doing?!” He and Quilava scrambled to escape, but Tentacruel was too fast for them. Trainer and Pokémon found themselves swamped by the wave, and Tentacruel floated back towards Jen.
“Sorry, James! I just couldn't resist!” Jen laughed, but then stopped when she saw Quilava. “Oh, no! I forgot Quilava's a Fire-type!”
“How could you forget that?!” Quilava got up slowly, glaring at Tentacruel. Tentacruel simply stared back, and Jen quickly recalled the jellyfish.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“James, I'm really sorry. I just wanted to have some fun, but I didn't mean to hurt Quilava.” James looked down at Quilava, then back at Jen, and relaxed.
“It's okay, Jen. I guess I should pay better attention.” He scratched Quilava's ears, and felt the Fire-type start to shiver. “I'll take Quilava to the Pokémon Centre. You keep practicing, Tentacruel needs the work.”
“No, I'm coming with you. It's my fault Quilava's like this.” Huey checked his watch.
“I'll leave you guys to it. I'd better get back to the ship, it'll be headed back to Olivine soon.” he said. “The only thing left to show off is how to use close-range attacks while maintaining the Surf wave, anyway. It takes a lot of concentration, but since Tentacruel's at an advanced stage, it should be able to catch on without too much trouble.”
“We'll work on that later. Thanks for the help, Huey. The training will really help us out at the Cianwood Gym.” Huey grinned.
“Glad I could help. Good luck at the Gym.” Huey recalled his Poliwag and headed back towards the dock, and the two youngsters started towards the Centre.
----------------------------------------
Once Nurse Joy had taken charge of Quilava, James and Jen sat down in the small lounge to talk.
“Who's going to go first for this gym?” Jen asked as she read Tentacruel's data on her Pokédex.
“I'll let you go first.” James answered. “I went first in Ecruteak, so it's your turn.”
“Gotcha. I'm gonna have to train pretty hard with Tentacruel to get it up to the rest of my team's level.”
“That shouldn't be a problem. It's already evolved, so you don't need to worry about that.”
“True.” Jen considered. “I just have one question, then: what kind of Pokémon does the Gym Leader use?”
“I think it's a Fighting-type Gym. At least, that's what my brother told me.”
“So Tentacruel's a good pick for the battle; since it's part Poison, it can resist Fighting-type moves.” Jen thought for a moment, then her eyes brightened. “Hey, James, can we have a practice battle once Quilava's back? I want to put Tentacruel's Surf into action.”
“Sure. I'm up for it.” Just then, a chime sounded, and Nurse Joy appeared with Quilava at her heels.
“Your Quilava is all rested and ready to go, James.” Quilava bounded over to his trainer and growled softly.
“Thanks, Nurse Joy.” The Pokémon Nurse gave the pair a small bow, then returned to the reception desk. James watched her leave, then turned back to Jen. “So, should we go now?”
“We'd better hurry, it'll be dark soon.”
----------------------------------------
A few minutes later, James and Jen stood across from one another on the beach, ready for battle.
“Who's going to battle Tentacruel?” Jen asked, as Tentacruel floated next to her. James simply tossed out his own Pokéball and revealed Gastly.
“If we're going after Fighting-types, Gastly needs to catch up, and fast. This should give him a good workout.” Gastly yawned, and James groaned. “No, you are not taking a nap right now. Battle now, nap later!” The gas cloud simply yawned again and faced up to Tentacruel. “Alright, Jen, get us moving!”
“Gladly! Tentacruel, use BubbleBeam!” Tentacruel shot a thick stream of bubbles towards Gastly, who floated lazily out of the way.
“Okay, time to counter! Gastly, Shadow Ball!” Gastly's ball of sparking black energy struck Tentacruel between the eyes, and the jellyfish floated closer.
“Don't take that lying down! BubbleBeam again!” This time, the bubbles hit Gastly head-on, slowing the ghost. “Now, Poison Jab!” Tentacruel's violet-tipped tentacle missed Gastly by inches, and the gas cloud stuck his tongue out at his adversary.
“Gastly, focus! Night Shade!” This time, Gastly shot Tentacruel with a black beam of energy, which surrounded the jellyfish before bursting. “Now, Shadow Ball again!”
“Not so fast! Poison Jab!” Before Gastly could release another energy blob, the Poison-type attack caught him just above the mouth, knocking him backward. “Good work! Bubble Beam!”
“Shadow Ball!” The attacks cancelled, blasting both Pokémon back. “Get back in there, and use Lick!”
“Surf attack!” As Gastly stuck his tongue out to attack, he was swamped by the massive wave that Tentacruel had generated. When the water receded, he was hovering inches from the ground, barely able to move. “Looks like Gastly's had enough.”
“I guess so.” James moved to recall the ghost, but his body began to glow and expand. “Oh, boy. Here we go again.”
Gastly's body became more angular, and two claw-like hands appeared next to him. When the evolutionary glow dissipated, the two small fangs in the corners of his wide mouth had disappeared, replaced by several more. His eyes had become more triangular, and several spikes had appeared on his back.
“Another evolution.” James took out his Pokédex to learn about the ghost's new form.
“Haunter, the Gas Pokémon. It is able to phase through any solid object, and it has a mischievous, if predatory, nature.”
“Sounds like a freaky...hey!” While the Pokédex had been reciting its data, Haunter had floated towards Tentacruel and sent one of its hands to attack. “What was that about?” The Pokédex whirred again.
“That attack is Shadow Punch. It is a Ghost-type attack which will never miss its target in most situations.”
“Could be useful.” James recalled Haunter to prevent any more mischief, and Jen zapped Tentacruel back into its own Pokéball. “I think we're done training today. Want to call it a night?”
“Yeah, let's do it. I want to get plenty of rest before we hit the Gym.”
----------------------------------------
As they walked back to the Pokémon Centre, the two youngsters passed a woman in the street. She was carrying a large bag of what looked like groceries.
“Do you want some help, miss?” James asked. The woman shook her head.
“I'll be okay, thank you.” She put her bag down and looked at both of them. “Are you guys going to challenge the Gym?” Jen nodded.
“Yes, we are. We had to take a detour from Olivine City.” Jen looked to James, then back at the woman. “Do you know anything about the Gym Leader here?”
“Oh, I've met him a fair few times. This is such a small town, everybody knows everyone else.”
“Can you tell us anything about him? We know he uses Fighting-types, but that's pretty much it.”
“Well, I don't want spoil the surprise for you. I will tell you this, though: he's no pushover. You'll have to work hard to win the badge.”
“Okay. Thank you!” Jen turned and ran towards the Centre, with James and Quilava following close behind. The woman laughed to herself as she picked up her bags.
“Those kids look like strong challengers. They should do fine.” She made sure the bag wouldn't fall, then turned and continued her walk.