The young woman walked out into the arena, absentmindedly spinning a Pokeball in her hand.
That Azure guy said this would be enough, she thought, skeptical. So it must be a pretty strong one.
A small stadium –if one could even call it that– sprawled out before her. The concrete floor was cracked and scorched and stained with blood all over, surrounded on all sides by rusty fences which were missing a few chunks here and there. Beyond them there were about a dozen spectators, waiting for the fight to begin. Steps echoed not far off as more people started coming in.
Her opponent, a middle-aged man with a horrid multicolored mullet, turned his nose up at her and chuckled derisively. He grabbed a Pokeball from his belt, opening it to a blinding flash of light. That the ground shook under the creature's weight was already bad news. The fact that it ended up being a Rhydon only exacerbated the crease of anxiousness in Sabrina's forehead.
"And who's this, eh?" scoffed the man. "This ain't a kindergarten. I came here to fight the Gym leader, not to have a tea party."
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"Then how about you show me what you're made of?" replied Sabrina, ticked off. "If a snot-nosed brat like me gives you a beating, that'd be pretty humiliating, wouldn't it? Then again… with that hair, you must be used to the feeling."
"Tsk. Just shut your mouth and open that Pokeball."
"You don't have to tell me twice!"
Filled with confidence, she smiled and threw the ball up in the air. After the flash, the figure that appeared was small, skinny and with a big head, its body swaying sleepily from side to side.
An Abra.
"…Ah."
A gnawing worry started rising up her body. Abra couldn't learn any offensive technique normally, but… that Azure guy wouldn't just give her a defenseless Pokemon for her first fight. The Abra surely knew a TM or two… right?
"Psychic!" she yelled, hopeful.
The Abra turned his head slowly toward her, questioning.
"…You only know Teleport, don't you?"
As the creature gave a lazy nod, their opponent's order echoed through the arena.
"Rhydon, use Megahorn!"
"…Shit."