“Bang!”

“Ahh!!!” a scream filled the room.

“Crash.”

A chair hung in the air as one of the legs impaled the drywall. It was just one of many objects having been thrown throughout the room in a fit of rage.

“Aahh, Aahh, Hahh…”

Panting replaced the screams as everything went quiet. Absol lay down in the middle of the room ignoring her Partner. Lilith was just beginning to calm down from her moment of weakness. The setback had not been huge, but it hurt to lose. Their strategy going into the battle was sound, but the matchup was just too detrimental. They simply weren’t strong enough.

“Hahh, I’m sorry Absol, I don’t know what came over me.” she whispered.

Absol nudged her Partner with her head. Therewasn’’t much to say as they sat down together and calmed down. Lilith had waited until she returned to her room to have her meltdown. As far as she knew, Bianca wasn’t home and the apartment was theirs for the moment. It made the meltdown feel less personal when only one was able to witness.

“We’ve been too stagnant, resting on our laurels while we could have been out and about doing real training. We’ve neglected the power that backs up our attacks, over the strategies we implement. What does it matter if a simple minded brute can squash us.” Lilith reflected on her training thrust far.

“It’s decided. We leave tonight.” She decided spontaneously.

The original plan was to travel north in the morning after having rested. Sam and Levy would have been there too, but Lilith felt antsy. She wouldn’t be traveling with them to the next town. Her sleep schedule had turned entirely nocturnal, so it would have made any cooperation a little awkward anyways.

Lilith packed her things quickly. Anything of value was stuffed into her Bag. It was the special one given to her by the League and was larger on the inside than its physical shape could normally hold. How it worked, she had no idea, that didn’t really matter though. As long as it did its intended function.

All the items she had hidden away from Buoy Town were thrown in with the rest of her supplies. Most of them she would be unable to use in the near future. They would have barter value or could even be sold for cash if she was desperate. The rest of her belongings emulated camping gear. A tent, sleeping bag, food, water. The essentials for living outside full time.

Lilith felt like a vagrant once more. She grabbed a pad of paper and wrote her apologies to Bianca, saying that she was starting her journey early and wouldn’t be able to say goodbye. Absol followed behind as they left the apartment for the foreseeable future. They would be back, but it would be a while.

The door clicked behind them as they left.

***

“Beep… Beep… Click” the line connected.

“Report, AP1?” The voice asked.

“The package has left the compound.” She replied. “Do I pursue?” She asked.

“Negative AP1. Resume current mission.” The voice answered.

The line clicked shut.

***

Lilith walked the streets of the night. It was a stark contrast compared to hours before. Everyone was now home asleep, while decorations still littered the area. Streamers hung from odd places or were just left on the ground. It appeared clean up would be handled later.

Her usual outfit helped her blend into the surrounding darkness. She was only stopped once at the gate before being let out. Smuggling was a problem, but the League card expedited the time it took for her to be cleared. They let her go, walking out into her first Route.

She had read what to expect, but was a little excited for the fun to come. The road gradually turned from asphalt to gravel, and then gravel to dirt. They walked a short way a little let down.

The lights of the city could be seen behind them, off in the distance. Route 19 was well marked and had lots of foot traffic. Trees loomed to either side of the path hundreds of meters apart. Tall grass lined the outer edges and Pokemon would occasionally cross the Route. It wasn’t anything like she expected.

Lilith and Absol looked around before making their way to the tree line. It was generally frowned upon to leave the designated Route, but she had other plans. The areas further away were less patrolled and generally more dangerous. She discarded the usual path and decided to make her own. Lilith was searching for danger.

Sandy had talked about moves being learned easily in battle, but it was also true that the best way to gather type energy to strengthen a Pokemon was through challenging others and stealing a small bit that hadn’t been attuned to any specific type yet.

The League generally didn’t want Trainers to recklessly go out and challenge anything and everything they came across, but in a fit of hubris, Lilith deemed the venture off course necessary. She had hypothesized the danger due to her Game knowledge.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

‘How hard can it really be?’ Lilith thought.

Her thoughts wandered back to her first Pokemon friend, Pansage. He had grown at an exponentially faster ratio than her and Absol. It was about the same increase in the two days that they had been together compared to Absol in a week. There was the idea that Pansage had been stagnant so long that the growth spurt was just catching up, but she cast the idea aside. She would check for herself. See it with her own eyes.

Lilith officially left the Route. She hung a right and headed east into the underbrush. Absol stayed close and watched for any wild Pokemon. If they were a good level of strength, then Absol would battle them, but if too strong then they would run away. She didn’t expect anything like that when they were so close to the City though.

Lilith and Absol prowled the night searching. To their disappointment, after some hours they had come across nothing strong enough to challenge them. The occasional sleeping Patrat were seen along with a small group of Sewaddle huddled together. It was the first time seeing the species as they all clung to a tree. She inspected the Pokemon until a noise caught their attention.

“What was that?” Lilith whispered.

She pointed Absol into a particular direction. She watched as a Pokemon peered out at them from the underbrush. The pair of eyes glowed a brilliant blue as the small cat walked out of its hiding spot, out into the open. Absol gave a warning growl to their guest, they would come no closer.

The wild Purrloin ignored the two, and treated them like they weren’t there. Instead, she sat back into her hind legs and began licking one of her front paws. She tried looking cute and harmless, but Lilith knew the species' reputation; they were tricksters like most dark types. Their Pokedex entry had even said as much. The cat must have felt their similar energy and came to check them out.

When Purrloin did nothing, Lilith gave the command. Absol dashed through the underbrush in delight. She had been wanting an opponent for too long, especially after their last defeat. It was time to let loose. The cat jumped in mock fright as she approached. Purrloin turned to leave before swinging back and smacking Absol with her tail.

Fake-Out had been applied flawlessly. Absol let out a yelp as she recoiled backwards. Quick Attack had been intercepted, but another move was right behind it. Her body dodged to the side as Sand Attack went whizzing right where Absol once stood.

‘Finally!’ Lilith thought.

A worthy opponent had presented itself.

Absol took the lull in battle and sent a Leer at Purrloin. Her defenses dropped as Fury Swipes came down on Absol. Some landed but most missed. The accuracy of her random attacks was low at best, allowing Absol a Bite of her own. The damage was too much as Purrloin stepped back in fright. It wasn’t as effective as usual, both the attack and target being dark types. Absol took the opportunity to close the distance with a Quick Attack, finishing off her opponent.

Purrloin lay out on the ground unconscious, her energy depleted. Lilith and Absol left her untouched after the battle had commenced. The Trainer School had taught them to not kill every Pokemon they came across. It would affect the population and ecosystem if everyone acted so barbaric.

Absol reveled in her victory as the two looked for more opponents. Purrloin had been around a 1 star, and they defeated her handily. Some of the pair's confidence returned. It was time to look for something much more dangerous. It would still take some time before they had recovered completely, but they were on the right track.

Absol and Lilith prowled the night, challenging any Pokemon worth their time. Many Purrloin, Lillipup, and Patrat came to face them. They had even ambushed and defeated a Deerling with Pursuit that had come across their path.

Lilith set up her tent as her timer went off. It had been a special purchase, as most tents weren’t made to block out the light. The Sun would be rising in a couple hours, and it was time for the duo to get some rest. It had been a long productive day.

***

“Hey look! It's a tent!” a voice rattled through the trees.

A boy and his Tepig had walked around aimlessly before coming across another person. They too had been looking for any wild Pokemon to challenge.

“Hello!” Wendell called out.

He and his Tepig approached the tent cautiously. It was strange that one had been set up during the day. His curiosity got the better of him.

“Uhgg.” a groan came from the tent.

Wendell watched as the flap was pushed aside and a head was stuck out from the open hole. He recognized the Pokemon and scowled. It was her.

Absol stepped out of the tent as a Pajama wearing Lilith emerged shortly afterward.

“It’s you!” He shouted.

“Ughh” Lilith covered her ears.

“Stop shouting, I’m trying to sleep.” She said.

“I challenge you to a Pokemon battle!” He shouted once more.

“No.” Lilith declined before turning back to enter her tent.

“You can't do that!” He said

“Ughh, if I accept will you leave me alone?” She groaned.

Lilith was too tired to argue with the stuck up kid, she just wanted to sleep.

“Fine!” He huffed.

“Alright, you call it then.” She yawned.

“Begin!” Wendell shouted.

Lilith hadn’t even bothered to scout her opponent. Only then had Lilith observed their foe. She watched as Tepig curled up into a ball as he shone brightly. Absol knew what to do against the Pokemon who tried setting up their defense, sending a Leer on his body. It canceled out the Defence Curl bonus.

“Ah darn! Attack!” Wendell shouted impatiently.

Tepig charged up his Tackle as Absol dodged with Quick Attack. Tepig’s momentum carried him forward as a Bite landed on his flank. He jumped back in surprise and sent an Ember from his snout. The flame hit Absol’s side as she tried dodging.

Tepig took the moment to charge up a Tackle once more. Absol was unable to dodge, as only a minimal amount of damage was actually taken. She let the attack hit her so Tepig was in range for her next attack. Her fangs chomped down onto his small body as she took the hit, and he was knocked out.

“No! Tepig!” Wendell yelled.

He recalled his Partner, in a hurry to return to the City's Pokemon Center and heal back up.

“I’ll have my revenge!” he shouted while running away.

Lilith rolled her eyes at the claim. The duo climbed back into their tent and went back to sleep.