Chapter Five - The Poison Girl

Jazz nodded to the weird trainer she'd met this morning. Broccoli Bunch was... strange, and Jazz wasn't just saying that because of the ears poking out of the top of her head, or the armour she wore. Though those were weird too.

Broccoli didn't know a lot of things that everyone knew.

Who didn't pick up on the rules for a basic pokemon battle? Sure, not everyone fought with their pokemon, that was probably something most trainers did, but not all, but everyone caught on to the rules, at least by osmosis!

It didn't matter. Jazz needed this fight, needed to get stronger. If she didn't... then her dream was forfeit.

Jazz reached up and tugged on the brim of her pokebaseball cap so that it blocked the sun a little better. "Okay, this is a one-on-one battle. Loser is whomever forfeits or is knocked out first, simplified Johto league rules, no substitutions! Got it?"

Broccoli nodded. Next to her, her little buneary looked up to his trainer with inquisitive eyes, then nodded too.

Gosh, they were so cute. She wanted to pinch their little cheeks, both of them. No, no, that wasn't her way. Buneary wasn't even the best type. She was pretty sure that he couldn't even learn a single poison-type move!

"Okay, I'm ready!" Broccoli shouted.

Jazz grinned. Finally! The only trainers around this route were picnickers and they... they mostly had nidoran. She couldn't handle fighting them, not because she was too weak but... no, it wasn't the time for that.

She tossed her pokeball forwards and noticed both trainer and pokemon ahead of her follow its shallow arc. "Go Bellsprout!"

The flower pokemon appeared in a wash of red light. Her bellsprout was a little guy, but he was still cute, and more importantly, he was half-poison type!

Bellsprout landed roots-first, then started to dance a little. Every bellsprout was little more than a thin main stem with a few roots splitting off to act as thin legs. Their head was a large yellow flower, with pinkish lips and beady little eyes.

Her bellsprout waved his leaves around. "Bell, bellsprout," he said.

"Bellsprout, bellsprout sprout!" Broccoli replied.

Jazz blinked. Yeah, no, this girl was weird-weird. And to think that some of the kids at school used to accuse her of being strange.

"The fight starts when this rock hits the ground, got it?" Jazz asked. She picked up a decently large stone, then grunted as she flung it up. Both she and Broccoli followed until, with a hard thump, the rock hit the earth. "Bellsprout, use Poison Powder!"

It was bellsprout's only poison move at the moment. Not for want of trying, Jazz had spent a week trying to teach him Acid, but he wasn't quite there yet.

Bellsprout sucked some air into his flower, then expelled it as a cloud of purple-tinted spores.

She watched as Broccoli caught Buneary by the ear, then pulled the little pokemon back. That was interference, but she supposed it was fine at this level of competition. The poison powder lingered in the air, creating a slight haze that didn't quite reach where Broccoli and her buneary were.

Poison would, of course, win her this battle!

Then Broccoli stepped forwards and gestured ahead of her, as if brushing away something out of thin air.

The poison powder disappeared.

"Huh?" Jazz asked.

Broccoli raised a hand towards her bellsprout, and then Broccoli used Ember.

Or... something like that, Jazz wasn't well-versed with fire-type moves, but still!

"H-hey!" she shouted even as bellsprout panicked and danced around zipping balls of fire. "Wait, wait, wait! That's... that's against the rules!" Jazz said.

The flames stopped, and Broccoli frowned. "It is?"

Bellsprout, the poor guy, was sweating and looking worse for wear, even after just a few moments.

Jazz pointed an accusatory finger at her opponent. "Th-this is a pokemon battle! Why are you the one fighting and not your pokemon?" Jazz asked. That was the first question on a list that was growing pretty long. Next on it was 'what in Arceus' name was that?' and maybe 'are you even human?' she was even considering tossing in a 'can you teach me to use Ember too?' but was a little shy about that one.

Broccoli raised a hand, like a child in a school.

"What?" Jazz snapped.

"What's a pokemon?" Broccoli asked.

Jazz slapped her own face and growled. She wasn't even sure what she was mad at anymore. This was supposed to be her big moment, the beginning of her journey to greatness. She was going to be a gym leader, one of the best of the best, and instead, she was losing a fight to some weird foreigner that was probably just messing with her.

"I'll show you what a pokemon is," Jazz muttered. She was a little too loud, as Bellsprout looked her way and tilted his head, leaves wilting a little. "I'm okay," she said to him. The little bellsprout seemed to relax a little. She refocused on Broccoli, who hadn't lowered her arm yet. "A pokemon is a... a pokemon is a friend! Pokemon and their trainers are inseparable! The two of them are a team, a bond formed between people and pokemon, and their strength and weaknesses become one."

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Jazz considered dying. That line was straight out of a cartoon.

"Oh!" Broccoli said as she lowered her hand. "I like having friends."

"A-anyway! Humans aren't pokemon," Jazz said firmly. "Your buneary is a pokemon, my bellsprout is a pokemon."

"Okay, but what makes something a pokemon?" Broccoli asked. She pointed to the side, and Jazz followed. There was a perfectly ordinary squirrel in a tree, chewing on a nut. "Is that a pokemon?"

"No, that's a squirrel, obviously. Squirrels are animals."

"Okay," Broccoli said. "What about that?" This time, she pointed across a field towards a small flock of three pidgeys, poking at some short grass.

Jazz placed hands on hips. "Obviously, those are pokemon."

Broccoli's arm dropped. "I'm so confused," she said.

Jazz didn't know what to do. The wind was ripped out of the sails of her fighting spirit, poisoned by Broccoli's... Broccoliness. This girl was too weird to take seriously. "So, are we going to fight properly, or what?" she snapped.

Broccoli turned towards her buneary, and the two had a conversation... of sorts. It was mostly the bunny pokemon speaking to Broccoli as pokemon did, then Broccoli repeating its name back to it with the occasional nod. More weirdness. Then Broccoli shrugged and stepped back, letting the little buneary hop forwards.

"Okay, I guess we're ready," Broccoli said. "We get the food whether we win or lose, right?"

"Yeah, sure," Jazz said with a dismissive wave. She didn't care much, at this point. She scooped up a rock, then weighed it in her hand. Bellsprout was a little singed on the edge, but still had some fight left in him. He wiggled at buneary, taunting the bunny pokemon. "When the rock hits the ground again," she said.

"Got it!" Broccoli replied.

Jazz tossed the rock up, and when it thumped to the ground, she called out, "Poison Powder!"

Bellsprout took in a deep breath--

Buneary's eyes went wide in fright, then they filled with water. The little pokemon looked like he was about to cry.

Jazz felt a tug at her heart. Was... was she really going to bully that poor little baby? It was so small, so weak and defenceless.

Then, before Bellsprout could spew out another puff of poisonous powder, the buneary hopped forwards with three quick bounces. His last had him shooting up into the air before he came crashing back down, butt first onto bellsprout's head.

There was a big puff of poison as the flower pokemon was squished flat by what looked like an untrained Pound.

"Bellsprout!" Jazz shouted, but it was over already. Bellsprout was squished.

"Oh no!" Broccoli said with a gasp.

The buneary spun, then gingerly reached out with a foot to poke at bellsprout's flowery head. "B-bell...sprout," her pokemon grumbled.

Buneary paused for a moment, then smiled big and proud, raising both arms up in victory. "Oh no," Broccoli said again. "Does that mean we won?"

Jazz rushed forwards and fell down next to Bellsprout while tugging something from her satchel. A small potion, her last. She didn't care how much it had cost her, instead, she pulled the tab off the top and spritzed the little plant pokemon a few times.

Bellsprout blinked his beady little eyes, then sighed. The pokemon carefully stood back up with a wobble. There was a slight kink in his stem, and his flower head was still a little squished, but he looked fine.

Jazz let out a sigh of relief. He'd be okay!

Broccoli came over, then knelt down next to Jazz. "I'm sorry, little guy," she said. "Uh, I shouldn't have let buneary fight. And I'm sorry I tossed fireballs at you too."

Bellsprout shook his little head. "B-bell!"

"Oh?" Broccoli asked. "But why, you were hurt."

"Bellsprout, sprout!" the flower pokemon said. Jazz... had no idea what he was saying, exactly, but Broccoli nodded as if she understood.

"That's actually really kind of you," she said.

"What?" Jazz asked.

Broccoli blinked at her. "You can't understand him?"

Jazz glared. "Of course I can... a little."

"He was just saying that he wanted to battle because he wants to be strong, for you. He's a good friend."

Jazz felt her glare softening, but then she redoubled her efforts and kept it up... she also picked her bellsprout up and hugged the little flower pokemon close. "Well, whatever. I guess you won."

"Yay!" Broccoli cheered. She presented both hands, palms out towards her buneary. The little pokemon was confused until Broccoli demonstrated clapping her hands together and pointed them back towards the rabbit pokemon. Buneary let out a cheer as well and smacked her palms with his ears.

With a grimace, Jazz fished out her two hiking bars, then tossed them over to Broccoli. "Here, I won't skimp out after making a promise. But... I wanna know what the deal is with you, you're weird-weird."

"Sure! I don't mind sharing with a new friend," Broccoli said. "But only if you tell me about your dream too! Fair's fair, right?"

***