You take the bet

You think it over for a while before settling on takeing the bet. You squad down to face your Squirlte who now looks like nothing ever happened to him. “Hey there little guy, sorry about that, I’ll try to be more careful about our battles in the future.” You say to him, in an apologetic voice, “How about I give you a name, Squirtle seems so impersonal, how about Mr. Bubbles?” Squirtle look at you for a bit, before waddling closer and hugging your leg.

The stranger addressing you interrupts your little bonding session with Mr. Bubbles, “While we are on the topic of names I don’t believe I ever got yours, I’m Mark by the way” he says. “Right how rude of me, my name is Sky” you reply. “Well Sky, it won’t be long before the sun sets we should probably be on our way huh?” Surprised you look to the sky and notice he is indeed right the sun will be setting soon. Without a word, you stand up get Mr. Bubbles back in his Pokéball and start walking.

Mark follow suit not far behind, you walk in silence. You don’t really feel very chatty, partly because of the pressure of the bet, but also because you feel like Mark is taking advantage of you. He was clearly aware you were a new trainer when he challenged you, yet he still decided to go through with it. Regardless the past was the past, the bet is what matters now, and you will just have to win it so you can teach him not to take advantage of you.

Most of the trip is uneventful, however you soon find yourself standing before a field of tall grass, and it then dawns on you just how much of a struggle this bet might turn out to be. You carefully step out into the grass and start walking; it doesn’t take long before your presence draws the attention of wild Pokémon in the area. A wild Rattata comes at you in the grass you quickly get Mr. Bubbles out and ready for battle. “Go Mr. Bubbles Use bubble beam” you shout, but then you second-guess yourself, that attack did nothing against Mikes Pokémon maybe you should try something different. “No wait, use tackle… No bite” you blurt out. Mr. Bubbles looks back at you in confusion and as he does, the Rattata jumps him and bites him. Mr. Bubbles is again left screaming and you frantically try to figure out what to do. Mr. Bubbles manages to get free of the Rattatas grip and you command him to bit, this time with no hesitation or second-guessing yourself. Mr. Bubbles lands a great bite on the Rattata and it is sent screaming away in fear. Mr. Bubbles is looking a little worse for wear, but he looks like he can still keep going. You let out a breath you didn’t realize you had been holding.

“A little unsteady, but you got there, nice job.” You hear Mark say behind you, his voice startling you. You had been so wrapped in the battle you had forgotten he was even there. “Thanks” you say sheepishly, before moving forward through the grass again. Before long another wild Rattata jumps you, but this time you are ready, and Mr. Bubbles dispatches of it in no time, not without suffering another bite however. Thankfully not as bad as the first, but you can tell it’s starting to take its toll on him. Another few feet’s worth of travel in the grass and you can see the edge of the field, and beyond that the entrance to Viridian City. Your focus is again ripped to the surrounding grass as you hear the sounds of another Rattata coming for you.

Mr. Bubbles stands ready to defend you, be he can’t seem to figure out where the wild Pokémon actually is. Before either of you can react it come flying out of the grass and catches Mr. Bubbles in the neck, he thrashes around with a roar dislodging the Rattata and biting back. The Rattata squeaks and sprints off again, but the damage is don’t Mr. Bubbles collapses and you are **** to return him to his Pokéball. Knowing you are now defenseless against any further attacks you decide to make mad dash through the last ten feet of grass. As you run, see and hear something moving in the grass around you. Just five feet to go, whatever it is in the grass is closing in fast. Two feet to go, you take one last step and lunge forward and break free of the tall grass, landing on the dirt road on the other side. You sigh in relief, but soon realize that you are not saved. Another cursed Rattata jumps form the tall grass straight at you, you scream and cover your face with your hands.

Nothing happens, you slowly move your hands away from your face, in front of you stands Marks Krabby in a defensive stance. “Damn you almost had it Sky, well better luck next time,” Mark says as he walk out from the tall grass. “I must admit that little dash maneuver had me worried for a bit, but it seems I have won our little bet.” He finishes smiling at you. He offers his hand to help you up; you take it dust yourself off once you are on your feet. "Come on then, let’s go get Mr. Bubbles healed up and then get some food." Mark directs you to the Pokémon Center in town you go take care of Mr. Bubbles while he get some pizzas.

Dinner passes silently, you didn’t feel like talking to Mark before and losing the bet has not helped that one bit. You get yourself a nice warm bath and retire to the guest room, you were promised. The bed is nice and soft and for a moment, you forget what waits for you tomorrow, that doesn’t last long though and you're left staring at the ceiling thinking about it. “Maybe I should just try and sneak out once Mark falls asleep, what can he really do about it?” you think to yourself.