The next gym battle will soon come for Brooklyn!

.....

Brooklyn's Journey continued ever since winning his Cerulean Gym Badge, now traveling along a beach, the heat pretty much getting to him there.

He once in a while took a break in the water but whenever he brought out his water Pokemon to chill in the water but most of the time Squirtle and Magikarp never enjoyed the salt water as much as the fresh ones.

Sitting down on the hot sand after not having found any shade, Brooklyn flapped his wings for a while to keep himself cool until something pinched him, making Brooklyn cry out in shock, spotting a strange crab like creature having been the one responsible to pinch him.

Brooklyn grinned, knowing this could be a Pokémon, pulling out his Pokédex and it read: "Krabby, the crab Pokémon. It resides in beaches and it is usually 16 inches in length, having sharp pincers.

"You're tellin' me," Brooklyn grumbled, rubbing his tail, but decided this Pokémon was better than nothing since traveling from Cerulean Gym, he never saw anymore new Pokémon until now.

Krabby pinched its pincers, letting out a chittering noise, making Brooklyn glare at the thing, pulling out his Pokeball and tossing it. The Pokeball hit against the Krabby, and surprisingly pulled it in right away without even having to battle it like Magikarp. Brooklyn waited for a while, then it dinged, signaling his catch.

"Yes! Krabby is all mine!" Brooklyn cheered, though knowing his Pokeball would soon disappear. And it did; flashing very brightly then fading away, making his eyes blink.

He rolled his eyes in exasperation, wishing he could keep more than just 6 Pokémon. Soon Brooklyn let out a soft yawn, seeing the sun setting nearby. Normally he would sleep during the day but thanks to his bracelet he can sleep whenever he wanted.

Brooklyn decided to call out his friend Charmander, who raised his little hands up at Brooklyn. "Char!" He squeaked, making Brooklyn chuckle, petting his head. "I'm getting tired of camping out, how about you boy?" He asked, making the fire type Pokémon nod.

The two looked about soon eventually spotting a building from afar on top of a cliff which to Brooklyn looked like a lighthouse. That would be a perfect place if nobody was living in it.

Deciding this was the best place to stay for now, Brooklyn had Charmander jump onto his back, climbing up a rock on the beach then taking off into the air, soon landing on the side of the cliff, clambering up to the lighthouse then upon reaching the door, studying the many Pokémon on it too, he noted the security panel. "So that means someone lives here... great. But, maybe they got food."

Brook then pressed the button for the speaker. "Uh, hello?" He called. "Is anybody there?"

A voice on the intercom replied back. "Who is this? I wasn't expecting visitors." The gargoyle grinned nervously. "Just a lost Pokémon trainer looking for a place to rest for the night since I'm lost and I'm trying to find the Thunder Gym."

The person on the other side replied back. "Oh, uh, alright then. All I've got is tofu for food though. You can come in." Brooklyn watched the door to the lighthouse open after that, stepping foot inside, wondering who the owner is, Charmander waddling in beside him. He looked around the place.

"Can, can I use the phone you got in here?" Brooklyn asked tentatively. The owner replied to his request. "Oh, sure, right over there."

The red gargoyle spotted the phone which was one of those fancy video phones which made him sigh in relief, sitting down to call Professor Oak if there was any way he could switch out Pokemon for his upcoming gym battle. Pressing Oak's number, he saw the Professor come onto the camera who turned about in surprise at his appearance.

"Brooklyn my boy! It has been a while, so good to hear from you again! How goes your training? I see Charmander is looking healthy!" He greeted with a wave, Charmander squeaking back at him.

The former second in command gave a tired smile. "Fine, though more exhausting and challenging than I thought. I got the Thunder Badge to earn next but for the moment I am staying to recover a little at the lighthouse I found. And I want to ask; where is the Krabby I caught?"

Professor Oak looked down at the little crab Pokemon that had turned up in his lab a while ago who pinched his pincers. "Right here Brooklyn, and he is safe. Should you ever want to switch out any of your Pokemon for others you can just call me since Sandshrew is still here too."

Brooklyn spotted his Sandshrew who was looking into the camera, giving out little squeaks which made him laugh. "Hey buddy!" He greeted. "Oak, I probably wouldn't mind having Sandshrew when I face the next gym leader. Perhaps, any chance of trading my Magikarp for him?"

Oak stroked his chin for a moment before soon nodding. "Sure, though keep in mind that Magikarp would soon become one of your most powerful Pokemon after it evolves."

The red male lowered his ears, unsure about that, but he soon agreed with his words. "Alright, whatever you say. We can trade when I get to the next Pokemon Center. Good to see you again. And say hi to the owner Bill for me. He can teach you all he can about almost every Pokemon out there."

Brooklyn grinned, nodding. "Sure will." He eventually hung up, turning around to see a young man there who had a nervous look on his face and green hair. "You must be the new trainer I've been hearing a lot about." Bill greeted.

Walking up to him carefully and not to scare Bill, Brooklyn extended his arm. "Yeah, name's Brooklyn. I'm only here because I... I kinda got lost and can't find my way to the next gym."

Bill after a while warmed up to Brooklyn's personality and smiled lightly. "Well then you're welcome to stay. And you can look at a lot of the Pokemon carvings I have, even of extinct Pokemon."

Brooklyn stared, looking up at some of them in awe. "Whoa, extinct Pokemon?" He eyed one in particular that reminded him of a dinosaur the most. Bill noted him very interested in that one. "Yeah, this Pokemon is called an Areodactyl. The most fierce and carnivorous of them all. If it were alive today it would be pretty hard to catch and train."

Bet I could if this guy were around. That would be pretty cool. Brooklyn thought before another question hit him. "Bill, exactly, how many Pokemon are out here in this region? So far I have known only 7 species."

Bill laughed. "7 Pokemon? That's nothing from what I'm about to tell you. In the past before us humans and possibly even gargoyles, there were over 150 Pokemon that lived and breathed on this earth from the time it had been created." He revealed, which made Brooklyn's eyes pop out, not knowing there were that many. "Wha... 150? That would take forever to catch every single one of them!"

The researcher smirked a little at his expression in humor. "For sure. But what about your Charmander there? How did you catch him since he is your first Pokemon?"

Brooklyn felt rather embarrassed to tell him that. "Well, uh, I kinda saved his life back in New York. He somehow showed up there, hunted by my clan's biggest rival, the Quarrymen. But I'm not so sure how he even came into my world to begin with." Bill stared, amazed that somehow a Pokemon could appear in another universe. But then Brooklyn eyed one Pokemon in particular on the chart that looked like some kind of cat. "What is that one Bill?"

Looking up where Brooklyn pointed, Bill knew the answer. "Ah, that is the rarest Pokemon in existence named Mew. Nobody had ever even seen one yet and everyone keeps thinking Mew had gone extinct. But I bet that if you catch Mew, it could make you the most powerful Pokemon trainer."

That made the red male feel rather excited, but unsure. He didn't feel right wanting to show up anybody about his training but then again... returning to Goliath with Mew and many other Pokemon could help him prove that he was worthy to be a leader. He soon gave a shrug. "Suppose, though not sure where to find Mew."

Bill smiled. "I might be able to give you some maps to locate it. But for now you look hungry and tired I bet." At that moment Brooklyn felt his stomach growl, nodding. "Guess so."

"Follow me. I got some tofu for us in the kitchen. My cook left on vacation so that's all I got." Bill said, gesturing to Brooklyn who walked behind in his wake. "Tofu is better than nothing. Especially if you're really hungry." Brooklyn responded in a humorous way, the two soon entering the kitchen and having the best meal they could from the tofu Bill had.

After that Bill brought Brooklyn up to one of the guest rooms. Brooklyn was willing sleep at night now, rather tired again and deciding to do his stone sleep for the morning before he left, giving a yawn when seeing his bed. "I hope you'll be comfortable here."

Brooklyn grinned tiredly back. "Only staying one night anyway. But I am happy to be here. See you in the morning Bill." Bill waved as he left, going down to work on one of his Pokemon costumes as Brooklyn crept under his blankets, listening to the ocean beating against the cliff. Charmander gave some squeaks as he clambered into the bed with Brooklyn who chuckled, petting his head. "Glad you're still here with me buddy." He said gently, Charmander purring from his pets. The two curled up with each other, sleeping through the night, wondering if they'll find the next Gym.