I slept in the next day, waking up just before noon. Our training session the night prior had been particularly effective with Chikorita’s new Miracle Seed. After freshening up, we quickly went to the cafeteria to grab breakfast. The lines were longer than yesterday’s lunch but still manageable. If I had to guess, the foot traffic at the center would pick up over the next few days as the year’s challenger’s made their way through Viridian and towards the Indigo Plateau or the Pokemon League Village for the Conference.
We finished up breakfast, which Chikorita seemed to enjoy quite a bit more with the Grass-type Poke Feed, and once more made our way towards the PokeMart. My funds were already quite low but I was sure I could find something for Held Items given how ubiquitous they became near the 3rd and 4th badge level. Unsurprisingly, it took only a few minutes to navigate the aisles and enter the Held Items section. Right at the front of the aisle were various harnesses for all types of Pokemon. There were also a few service numbers listed in case a trainer couldn’t find a proper harness to custom order one instead.
Thankfully, with Chikorita’s size and dimensions, a standard quadruped collar was sufficient. I nudged Chikorita to pick a color from the various options listed, and she chose a green half-collar that would hug the back of her neck without obstructing any of her nubs. We brought it towards the designated counter for Held Items and had it resized for a nominal charge; 500P gone but Chikorita’s face as I fitted the Miracle Seed into the holder was worth it. As soon as it was in, she jumped down from the counter and bounced across my feet, her leaf waving to and fro as a pleasant aroma started spreading around her.
Happy with our purchase, we headed out of the PokeMart and once more set our direction to the public BattleGrounds, although our objective this time was quite a bit different than yesterday. I spoke with Chikorita along the way, explaining our plan, which she was 100% on-board with so I recalled her before arriving, just to have that bit of mystery.
The BattleGrounds were busier now than yesterday, with about half of them already occupied with trainers of various skill levels. I only had Chikorita’s ball hanging on my belt, indicating that I would only use 1 Pokemon, and stood to the side while slowly scanning the field. Just as I swept my view from a slugfest between a Miltank and a Tauros, my vision met with a teen wearing a yellow cap backwards with his arms crossed across the way from me. I smiled and started striding forth, my prospective opponent doing the same.
“When two trainer’s eyes meet..” the yellow capped teen spoke as he came within earshot.
“..they must battle.” I declared with a smile. We clasped hands and I took the initiative to introduce myself.
“Hey, Jr. Trainer Avery, zero badges, first year. Got my starter a few days ago and was hoping to battle.”
“Heh, sure! Jr. Trainer Joey, zero badges, first year. My starter’s been with me for a few months now so if you’re okay with that, I accept!”
“Sounds good to me, 1v1 standard wager?”
“Yep, let’s do it!” He finished and we started heading towards an empty BattleGround. I quickly tapped my PokePhone against the console to the side of the BattleGround and confirmed the rules and wager; 200P to the winner. Joey did the same and we headed towards our respective sides. I pressed the Ready button and before long, a tinny robotic voice came out of the console.
“Attention Trainers! This will be a League Standard 1V1 battle between Jr. Trainer Avery and Jr. Trainer Joey until either trainer’s Pokemon faints or is recalled. No switch-ins, substitutions, or consumable items are permitted.”
“Begin battle in 3…2..1…go!”
“Chikorita, let’s go! Use Growl”
“Rattata, you’re up! Growl!”
Both Pokemon materialized on the field and snarled towards each other. Joey’s Rattata was bigger than the ones we fought on Route 1, especially its teeth seemed to be particularly large.
“Chikorita, stop Growl, Razor Leaf far!” I quickly switched her orders, taking the initiative to attack. Chikorita’s head-leaf started to glow as she swung it around and several leaves made of Grass-type energy flew through the air towards Rattata.
“Rattata, dodge to the side then Quick Attack and Bite!” Rattata finishes his Growl and is fast enough to dodge most of the leaves but some still hit his flank. The rat Pokemon’s body flashes white with Normal-type energy as it closes the distance to Chikorita, stopping shortly on her flank, opening his jaw wide.
I knew it was too late to move away, that Quick Attack was fast. So, before Rattata can fully bite her, I interject, “Chikorita, use Tackle to knock him away then shoot if you get the chance!” Rattata’s teeth bite into Chikorita’s body but she flashes white as well and rams her flank onto her opponent.
“Rattata dodge with Quick Attack!”
Rattata lets go of his bite and before he is able to get some distance, Chikorita takes a deep breath and uses Bullet Seed. Even with the negligible distance, 2 of her shots strike him almost exactly where the previous Razer Leaf had hit; the power behind the attack was quite a bit as well with the boost from her Miracle Seed. The rest however, are dodged easily with Rattata moving across the field in a white blur.
“Rattata, hit-and-run!” Joey commands and before i could process what happened, Rattata turns on a dime and slams against Chikorita again, darting away with Quick Attack before Chikorita could retaliate.
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“Chikorita, hold and watch!” I ordered, trying to regain control of the tempo and considered the current circumstances. Chikorita’s attacks were barely hitting her opponent, Rattata was just too fast especially as it got going. I had looked up the abilities that the species were known to have, and it's likely Joey’s Rattata had a very well trained Run Away ability allowing it to speed up and change directions during the battle itself faster than expected. The only way we would come out of this well would be to attack as it retreats and with a move Joey wouldn’t easily dodge. Having already thought of the answer, I held my breath as Rattata started to change direction and prepare for another Quick Attack.
“Chikorita, ready your Vines but hold!” I ordered as Chikorita nodded and two nubs on her neck started glowing with Grass-type energy. Rattata once more successfully hits her, hops back and prepares Quick Attack to escape again.
“Now!” I yell, and vines burst forth from the glowing nubs before swinging towards Rattata’s face. Chikorita times her move exactly right and the empowered Vine Whip strikes Rattata right across the face, knocking him across the ground towards Joey.
“Rattata are you okay?!” Joey asks worriedly from his side of the field as Rattata struggles to get up on his feet. “I forfeit.” Joey calls towards the console before rushing across and picking up Rattata, bringing out a Potion from his backpack and applying it on his Pokemon.
“Yes! Good job girl, we did it!” I celebrate before heading towards Chikorita myself. The console flashes green towards me and I feel the ping on my PokePhone; I don’t bother checking as I’m sure it’s the battle record and wager being transferred.
“KoriiI!”Chikorita turns towards me, a wide smile on her face although she is visibly a bit exhausted. I bring out a Potion as well, kneeling down and apply it to any darker spots on her flank as she relaxes against me. While it was a quick battle, Chikorita was hit quite a few times. Thankfully, the Potion works miraculously and most of her bruising is gone by the time the spray bottle is empty.
I pick her up and walk over to Joey, who’s still fussing over his Rattata. “Hey Joey, that was a great battle man! How’d you get Rattata to learn how to do that!”
Joey turns towards me, his frown turning into a sheepish smile at my compliment. “Heh, just something we’ve been working on for a while. Your Chikorita’s really good as well. I need to work on developing more moves for Rattata.”
“Yeah, she’s the best.” I grin, feeling good from both the win and his compliment.
“Pfft, cause that little cheater you have with you is bred ta’ be better than a punk-ass rat.” An annoyingly high-pitched voice commented from the side. Looking over, I spotted a girl with a red ponytail and about our age wearing a blue coverall. She had freckles across her nose with a vicious scowl right underneath it. I froze, replaying her comment in my head.
“Ya just used ye’r money and parents like all those other rich brats; bet ya’ haven’t worked a day in yer life.” The girl went on, chattering and stomping across the grounds towards me.
“Wait what?” I replied, startled and not quite coming to terms with her words.
“Oh an’ yer stupid on to’ o’ that ain’t ya. Wah, my accent got yer nickers in a ruffle Mr. Fancy?” The very-rude, and honestly scary, girl replied while resting her hands on her hips as she aggressively postured just a few feet from me.
Finally, her words registered fully and I felt my face heat up, the previously buried fire in my chest rising up.
“What do-”
“What’s a fancy-ass runt foreigner pissin’ in our good ol Kanto for anyhow? Ya think ya’r some hotshot comin’ ta our woods and pouncin’ on our trainers eh? I betcha din’t think someone would stand up to ya, now did ya after ya bully’d one o’ ours?”
“SHUT UP!!” I yelled glaring at her with my fists straining against my side. Her continued tirade was so impersonal, I shouldn’t have felt anything but anger seemed quick to come.
“What do you know about me huh? I don’t even know you lady and you come over here and start telling me off just because I have an accent?” I felt Chikorita run over next to me, her head-leaf already glowing as if she was about to attack.
“The brats runt is already here, attackin’ ‘nother Kanto-” The girl started again but before she could go much further, Joey appeared right behind her and started to pull her away.
“Mimi, what the heck are you doing again? This was just a normal battle!” Joey yelled, calling the girl, apparently Mimi, out.
“Nuh-uh it wasn’t. That kid played ya Joey, ya’ lost yer cash!” Mimi replied, stubbornly not looking away from me.
“Mimi, that’s how Trainer battles are, I’ve already told you this!” Another reply and I had an inkling what was going on, although why I had to be the bad guy was still confusing.
“Mama said never to trust a guy who takes all yer cash Joey!”
“Mimi, this ain’t the village anymore, ya gotta have more tact! And Avery’s got no badges at all, just like me!”
“So what, he prolly did a gym or two in his region and came here thinkin’ we’re easier pickins!” She yelled at Joey, finally looking at him.
“Mimi, this was a fair match, ya can’t just start calling people things just cause I lost!” Joey yelled once more, his face turning red.
“Ya would’ve won if it was fair Joey! Just you wait, Im’a take on this chump and get your money back!” Mimi declared, facing towards me and shaking off Joey’s grasp.
“Oy, ya’ heard me yeah? Battle me if ya’ got the guts!” The angry girl declared, striding away towards the console. I still stood where I was but felt a pull on the cuff of my jeans. Chikorita was nudging my shins with her head, her ruby red eyes set in an electrifying glare at our potential foe walking away.
“You’re gonna back me up, right girl?” I asked Chikorita; a low growl was the only reply. I hadn’t seen her so angry in a while. During the duos short spat, I was able to somewhat calm myself down but the heat was quite evident. I needed to have a battle now, not for pride but for both of us to just ride out this anger. It wouldn’t be healthy for me or Chikorita to take this battle, but we wouldn’t be able to leave the area without taking this girl on and pummeling her completely.
I paced right behind and tapped the console, agreeing to her wager and battle.
“Hmph, ‘least ya got a backbone. I’ll show you for the clown you are!”
“I don’t know what’s wrong with you lady but I’m not backing down either!”
Each of us made our declarations and headed towards either end of the fields. This was my second battle of the day and I was fired up!