So. Ten minutes later. We were sitting around a campfire, two new additions to the squad. The Mareep Nate decided to name Chubber because he was, and I quote: "Fat." I'm not gonna comment on it. I'm not.
The Mareep itself proved to be a cheerful fellow much like Buddy who didn't seem at all bothered by his new forever name. It was currently playing with said Tepig just a little away from us.
Wonder if it feels sad it was separated from its family. It warmed up to us fairly fast but it was just removed from everyone he's ever known just like—
No. I have more important things to think about. Such as the annoying guy sitting next to me happily scarfing down a serving of sausages from a stick.
"Mmmmm." Ash freaking Ketchum hummed in contentment from his meal, patting a full belly like he was a Snorlax.
"Okay. So mind telling me what you were doing in the grass in the middle of nowhere?" I folded my arms as a statement of its own.
"I was just taking a nap! And then all of a sudden a bunch of Mareep came storming by and then you tripped over me!" He pointed a finger at me accusingly like a child.
"Stop acting like a Nate and tell me why you're here in Unova of all places. Alone."
"Hey! David don't say that! That's Ash Ketchum you know! He's a famous trainer!" Nate jumped up in Ash's defence. "He has the world record for most badges earned! I heard he has more than a hundred of them!
Ash scratched his cheek in bashfulness. "That's a bit of an exaggeration."
"I know full well who he is. He's ranked #89. I've memorized his entire profile." Every single person in the top 100 I knew everything there was to know about. One day, they would be the obstacles in my path, and I paid attention to the phrase 'know your enemy.'
But most of my knowledge on this character didn't come from whatever I read online. This one was a unique breed all its own. I kept tabs on him for as long as I knew he existed. Every tournament he went to, every town who's gym he challenged, every contest and public appearance, I wanted to know about it. It would give me somewhat of a benchmark for where I was in whatever crapshoot of a timeline I had found myself in after all. Plus. I mean it's Ash freaking Ketchum!
"Last time the public eye saw you was three months ago. At Professor Oak's lab in Kanto."
"I'm just taking a bit of a break from Pokemon training. I just want to travel the world for its own sake, you know?"
"That's amazing Ash! I don't know why you're so upset about this David! Ooh can you tell us a cool training story?!"
Ash grinned back at a star struck Nate, 'Oooh! Let me tell you about the time we encountered a cavern of fossil Pokemon!"
He launched into a super long and winding narrative about how he found still living Pokemon from millions of years ago. Something about an Aerodactyl I stopped listening after a while. I had my mind on too many things to want to focus on it.
----------------------------------------
Ash ended up travelling with us back to Route 20. On the road he mostly talked to Nate about this and that, but when he spoke to both of us he actually gave out some handy tips.
Who knew two decades of Pokemon training experience could be helpful?
Either way, I got used to him eventually and came into my own rhythm. More trainers challenged us on the road. I recognized some this time, and made sure to avoid the scary looking ones from Orre. I assumed they had just come back from defeating and probably demolishing Cheren's gym.
Can't imagine he's in a good mood having a bunch of elite trainers curbstomp his first level teams over and over. Not that Virbank's going to be too much different.
"Say, which gym did you want to tackle first, Nate?"
He put his hand on his chin. "Hmmmmm. That's a good question! What do you think Ash?"
Ash mimicked the motion. "Hmmmmm. It'd be nice to see Cheren again after a while. I don't think I've ever challenged his gym."
"And what about Roxie?" Nate asked.
"I challenged Roxie for my eighth badge, and man was she tough! She had this Garbador! It was something else!"
"So you're saying Roxie would be a more difficult opponent?" I asked.
"Yeah she is!" Ash grinned.
I read through the forums a bit last night, and that basically checked out. Roxie was known for going all out on any opponent, no matter what level she was battling. On the plus side, she allowed you to use all six of your Pokemon, usually against three or four of hers. On the lower levels, like say, the first gym, she was likely to only use one or two Pokemon versus whatever amount you wanted.
Cheren was on the complete opposite end of that spectrum. He only did 2vs2 single battles, no matter the level and scaled appropriately. He was a strict, hard on the rules sort of guy.
I had just two Pokemon, so battling Roxie right now would be a death sentence. With more, it would obviously go a lot differently. If I were to choose right now who to pick, I'd pick Cheren.
"Alright! It's decided! Let's go battle Roxie right now!" Nate shouted and immediately started walking east.
"Hey, wait!"
He turned around. "Eh?"
"I don't think that's the greatest idea. We've been trainers for barely a week. She'll curbstomp us."
"All the more reason to go!"
"Yeah, sorry. I don't fancy losing."
"Who says we're gonna lose?!"
I folded my arms. "Me. I say we're gonna lose. Listen, Cheren may not be the exciting option, but it's not like it still won't be hard. Most trainers don't start on a gym battle until they're at least a month in. If you try to fight Roxie as she is, you'd be a laughing stock."
Not that there'd be much of an audience against a no-badge trainer. I personally couldn't do that, either way. As an Orre trainer I had a reputation to uphold, and recklessly challenging a gym like Roxie's right now would do horrible things to that reputation.
"I don't care! We're going to Virbank City anyways!"
"Yeah. To catch and train Pokemon." I could feel my hackles raise. I wasn't super stoked about the conflict this early in.
"Why don't you two battle?" Ash interrupted softly. "Winner gets to choose where we go."
Huh. "Sure, why not. Nate?"
"Yeah! We haven't even battled yet, come to think of it!" That's true.
"Alright, square up then." I dialed Nate into the Pokedex and waited for his confirmation.
He grinned widely as he did so, and hastily pulled a Pokeball from his belt. "Just you watch! I'm gonna win, David!"
"Alright." No way in hell is he gonna win against me.
Now, so far Nate has always started with his Tepig first in every battle. I don't think that's gonna change fighting me, so I should send Razor in so he won't have to fight his Mareep right away.
"Start soaring! Razor!"
"Let's do this! Chubber!"
What?!
Two flashes of light revealed the contenders, the usually chipper Mareep adopting a mean look as he regarded his airborne opponent.
Despite the obviously bad type matchup, Razor didn't seem at all bothered to be sent out and looked eager to get this show on the road.
Our pokedexes turned yellow.
"Razor! Use Quick Attack!"
He didn't start with his usual play. He likely predicted I was gonna anticipate him sending in Tepig first since I saw all his matches so far.
Looks like I should start giving Nate some credit.
"Chubber! Use Thunder Shock!" Wow, right out of the gate.
Razor flew straight for the woolly Pokemon just as it began charging its strike. He struck true, and his Mareep's concentration was wiped, the bolt he was charging up being sent into the tree.
"Now! Use Wing Attack! Aim for the face!" Mareep's Static nature was entirely down to its wool and its charging ability. If we didn't want to get paralyzed, we had to aim for moves that fell outside that strike range. Problem was, Mareep is 90% wool. The only free areas were the tips of its feet, the tail, (which had electricity running through it too) and its face.
Razor flew back around and straight at Chubber's face, wings lighting up.
"Use Thunder Wave!"
Mareep recovered and launched a globule of electricity straight into Razor's path and hit him in midair.
It wasn't strong enough to stop the force of his Wing Attack, but it landed noticeably less hard than it should have.
The Starly, as soon as the attack hit, tried to scurry away from the looming Mareep, but thanks to its paralysis it couldn't get very far, not having the range of motion usually afforded to it.
Razor tried to get his wings back up again, but it wouldn't get past his shoulders.
"Now Chubber! Thunder Shock with all you've got!"
The surge of electricity hit Razor hard, a long shriek emanating from the tiny little bird. Crap.
If you can't use your wings.. "Razor! Tackle him! Use your feet for force!"
Razor was still caught up in the beam that was quickly draining his stamina, but he heard the order all the same. While being electrocuted he still moved and struck Chubber, again in his face. This little bird is a fierce one.
The Mareep didn't seem to have seen the attack coming, for his assault stopped the Thunder Shock's flow entirely.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
"Again! You got the advantage!"
"No! Tackle him back!"
The two Pokemon collided and dropped down to the ground next to each other.
Razor looked, for all intents and purposes, to not be getting up anytime soon, even if he was still conscious, the damage being that bad. Chubber was quickly getting up again. Razor glared daggers at him.
I retrieved Razor back into his Pokeball before Nate could order another Thunder Shock. He wasn't going to enjoy that matchup.
"What's the matter? Running scared already?" Nate was obviously having great fun with the retreat, grin turning cheshire in nature.
"Okay, then. You're about to have your world rocked. Go! Styx!"
Styx emerged from her Pokeball, ready for a fight. "Swift!" Swift was a move Styx had only recently started learning, the knowledge appearing in her head just this morning. It was a good sign that she was getting more familiar with the Normal-type energy in her body, even if I preferred her transitioning to another type soon.
For now, she was rather uncoordinated with it, half the stars coming out of her launch failed to properly bend around to Chubber, missing the mark by quite a bit. But that wasn't the point. I just needed an attack to finish him off without physically touching him.
Chubber recoiled under the stars that did hit, clearly not enjoying the assault. Nate didn't just leave his Pokemon to endure, however. "Knock out the stars using Thundershock!"
Chubber's cry turned from pain to determination, electricity frothing up from his wool and concentrating on a single beam, shooting out at any stars. Clearly, Chubber's aim was much better than Styx's.
"Styx, stop shooting and use Sand Attack!" She quickly ceased her barrage and dug her back paws into the ground, launching a patch of dirt and sand straight into the still lighted Mareep.
It hit head on, and Chubber just continued firing off Thundershocks, now blinded.
Nate was in a tough position here. Getting out of this situation would be some serious finangling and shouting very specific orders. Something a freshly caught wild pokemon wouldn't be able to properly process.
Styx, being raised by humans from birth, had no such problems with complexity. "Fire Swift from a different vantage point this time and alternate when he finds you. Go till he drops!"
He was on the backfoot, and I had the advantage. This match is already over.
The stars just kept coming, and just when Chubber thought he had Styx pinned down, Styx would dodge out of the way of the erratic lightning bolts and continue shooting off stars.
Nate knew this situation was going nowhere, and without a word withdrew his Mareep.
The look on his face was different now, and he didn't say anything as he slowly lifted up Buddy's pokeball. "Buddy, your turn." He spoke softly. Wonder what finally got him to take a battle seriously.
Buddy rushed out of the pokeball before Styx, ready to fight.
"Buddy, use Ember!" Hot fire filled balls of energy shot out of the Tepig's nose, making no mistake in aiming, going directly for my Pokemon's face.
"Side!" Styx rolled out of the way of the focused attack, sliding back into a ready stance. It was wobblier than I'd like, but she was improving massively. "Swift!"
Again, the stars that came out really didn't need to hit. They just needed to hit enough.
"Flame Charge!" The stars impacted against a steadily inflaming form, the Tepig uncaring of the damage they left behind.
He knew he could do more if this attack hit. Crap. Sand Attack won't do much against a Flame Charge. Growl could decrease the damage, but what about—Maybe.
"Side! Tail Whip!" Styx just barely dodged out of the way this time, rolling two and a half times to face Buddy. She shook her tail still, enticing him to hit again.
"Keep going! Flame Charge!" The flames came much faster this time, Buddy's paws hitting the ground at a more rapid pace.
Flame Charge ups speed. Right.
"Tail Whip!" Styx isn't gonna dodge that, so might as well get in more stat decreases. Styx flinched with the order, not nearly as risk averse as Buddy was in receiving attacks, but shook her tail anyway. Normal-type energy flailed off, lowering Buddy's inhibitions even as he was racing towards her.
Styx lurched back at the hit, the flames scorching her. She let out a cry as she recoiled back and away.
That was a mean hit. I don't think she could feasibly take another two. Maybe one would be pushing it even.
"Buddy! Don't let up! Use Flame Charge!" Are you kidding me? Okay, I am not going on the defensive. Defensive in this case meant reactive, and reactive meant losing.
"Side! Growl!" Please please please dodge this!
When the Tepig came, Styx seemed very motivated to get out of the way, almost instinctively rolling perfectly into the stand and then growling. A little bit of the flame did manage to catch her, her growl coming out half-pained even as she succeeded in lowering Tepig's resolve.
"Flame Charge! Again!" Come on! Use something different!
Though not likely. Tepig had gotten another speed boost. No dodging this.
"Tackle! Straight on!" Styx was not enthusiastic about the order, but had likely caught on that she couldn't get out of the way of this one.
The two Pokemon collided head on, Styx clearly getting the worse end of the deal, even as Buddy cried out in pain, the effect of having been subject to two different Tail Whips.
They both rammed each other away, Styx taking some time getting back up. She was on her last legs. I'd have to win with the next move, or I wouldn't win at all. Tenacity would have to get us through here.
"Don't stop! Tackle again!"
"Flame Charge! We're gonna win this!"
Oh hell. Styx got up, gritting her teeth even as she favored one side over the other. The one she hadn't been glanced by in the other Flame Charge. She revved up, starting to run up to Tepig with as much force as she could muster, even as Buddy was already at her doorstep.
They collided again, and I knew she wouldn't be getting up. The hope now, would be that Buddy wouldn't either.
The Tepig was going worse for wear, still on the floor, but also very much conscious. If he could stand up, he would be the clear winner.
"C'mon, Buddy! You can still go on! We're winning!"
"Ghyaa…." Buddy wasn't doing so hot. He was hit on the head by those two tackles with lowered defenses, it's likely he got shaken up enough to not even be able to hear Nate right now.
Time passed in a semi-awkward wait for him to get back up.
"You can do it Buddy! Up!"
"Ummm."
Tepig seems to have all but fazed out. Even if Styx could attack him, there would be no point.
"No! He can still go!"
Buddy's head promptly fell on the ground, that hazy look still in his eye.
Wow okay then. I returned my Eevee, feeling my first tie? Loss? I checked my Pokedex. It lit up orange.
It was recording the entire fight, and through machine learning and idk whatever else type of BS it could connect to the Pokeballs, it would gauge the winner. You could contest that if you'd like, but the system's gotten so accurate over the years it would really be pretty pointless.
And it lit up orange, which meant this was a tie. I checked my ranking again.
David Gale, Pokemon Trainer. #30,673,991 W6/L0/D1
Mmmmmm. I would have greatly preferred having at least 10 wins before getting anything else. I know that's a bit unrealistic, but starting this off with a 10:1 win ratio and keeping that up would get me to the Conference the quickest. Next season even.
I checked Nate's.
Nate White, Professor Juniper Aide. #30,278,502 W7/L1/D1
"You're a Professor's Aide?" Professor's Aide usually just means you got your license from a regional professor like in the games, and not through Trainer School or taking other classes. In hindsight that does make sense. He was given his Pokemon by Bianca, after all.
"Get up Buddy! Get up!" Seriously? Still?
"Nate, the pig passed out about two minutes ago. The Pokedex already registered a tie. Give it up."
"Well, I think you both did amazingly," Ash piped up. "Really showed off both of your sty—"
"Kwuoooooooooooooooooooo!"
An angry noise coming from worryingly close by stopped Ash's motivational speech. We couldn't see where the commotion came from, but that didn't sound like your average battle cry.
That was something much more... visceral.
"What was that?" I asked. Nate, upon hearing the noise finally had the good sense to retrieve Buddy back into his pokeball, looking around worriedly to the west, where the sound came from.
"Sounds like trouble." Ash responded, a conflicted look appeared on his face.
"We should go and help out!" Nate offered, already running towards the direction of the noise.
"Nate, wait!" Oh crap, he's already gone. "Ash, we just knocked out our Pokemon! He's going in without any backup!"
"kkkkuuuUUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHH!" It's getting closer! Birds started flying away from the scene, and in the corner of my eyes I could see a Lillipup and a Sewaddle running to safety.
Ash stood there, unmoving, teeth grinding. What even is this situation?!
"Well?!" Do I really have to—The ground started shaking. Ugh. "Fine! I'll go myself!"
I ran after where I could barely even see Nate anymore.
'WhatamIdoingwhatamIdoingwhatamIdoingwhatamIdoingwhatamIdoing'
This is such a bad idea. Why am I running after him? Whatever this is, it's not friendly, and I have virtually no support. What is wrong with me?!
Dodging bushes and foliage, running around trees, it wasn't easy trying to keep up with someone energetic like Nate, but I had to manage somehow.
I had to get him out of there, if not, we could be in for way more than we bargained for.
I spotted Nate in a cleared off section of the forest. Not a clearing, a cleared off section. The difference is important. Why?
Because a giant Sawsbuck had made sure it was more of an area derelict of trees and grass rather than the picturesque scene it was supposed to be.
Capsized trees and broken branches littered the edges, circling what must have been at least a 3 meter high Sawsbuck.
A very angry 3 meter high Sawsbuck, the sakura blossoms on it's horns pulsing dangerously. It's eyes were even more worrying, pupils contracting and expanding like crazy. That can't be healthy.
"KWUOOOUOUOUOUOUUOUUOUOOUOUOUUOUOOUOUHHHH!"
"Hey! Stop!" Nate screamed. At the Sawsbuck?! Oh wait, no. There was another man there, less than a stone's throw away from the beast, turning around at the sound of Nate's voice.
He was wearing a black mask over the bottom half of his face, a dark hoodie obscuring the top half. In his hand, he had some kind of wireless device. Despite his suspicious appearance, what worried me more was the full set of 6 balls on his belt.
Chances are he's got something to do with the angry Sawsbuck, making him arguably the more hazardous threat.
"Nate, we gotta run!" Nate jerked back to me, as if surprised I was here.
"But he did something to that Sawsbuck!"
"All the more reason to run!" The other guy could at least take the hint, making to leave in the opposite direction we came from.
"KWUUOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUOOUOUOOOOOOOOOUUUOUOUOUOOOOOOOOOOOO!" The Sawsbuck's shout was getting unbearable this close. I knew my ears were going to be ringing after this. One of its hind legs stomped down on a tree trunk, completely crushing the wood underneath. It stampeded around, as if gearing up for something.
"We can't do anything for this thing! We gotta go! Now!"
"But—!" The Sawsbuck was starting to face Nate's direction, horns lighting up in silver energy. It made no eye contact, but I knew it was readying to attack.
"NATE!" This time he got the message and dove to the side, barely dodging an irate sledgehammer slamming through the forest.
The debris, both from the ground and the flora scattered everywhere. The beast hadn't been very precise, partially tackling the floor in its assault.
"Let's go!"
We started running back the direction we came from. Back to the route and hopefully back to town.
We were about an hour away from Floccesy Town walking, so there would definitely be rangers around, right?
Right?
We kept running, not saying anything as we could feel the ground shaking, and getting closer and closer. If it wasn't chasing us before, it certainly was now.
A blur of color passed by me that I barely recognized as Ash. "It's coming this way! Run!"
Ash wasted no time catching up to us. "What are we running from!?"
"A giant Sawsbuck! Can't you do something about it?! You're a Pokemon Master aren't you?"
Ash kept running, not saying anything.
"You can't do anything about it, can you?!"
He still kept silent. "Do you even have any Pokemon with you?!" Come to think of it, I haven't seen hide nor hair of his Pikachu anywhere. That should have been a major red flag from the beginning.
"I wasn't expecting to be attacked by a giant wild Pokemon today!"
"You were sleeping out in the wild! How can you not have any sort of protection with you?!"
"Guys! Don't waste air talking! Just keep running!" Nate interrupted, looking back to where I could tell by the look on his face the Pokemon was gaining on us.
See, it wasn't necessarily that we were faster than a Sawsbuck of all things. It was more that the deer was busy mowing down everything in its way instead of just walking around it, which promises great things for our safety.
My body was starting to feel the strain from prolonged sprinting by now. I had trained for scenarios like this, where I would have to run from some wild Pokemon of course, but the minutes are racking up and that thing's not stopping.
"Wh—Where are *pant* the—th * pant* rangers?" Usually a disturbance this big would send the rangers over pretty quickly, especially on a relatively peaceful route like Route 20.
"KWUPPPOPPOUPOUPOUPWUPUPUWPOPUPOUPOUPOUPOUPOUPWOUPOWOU!"
Yeah like that. The Sawsbuck was getting close, way too close for comfort. In the distance I could see the outskirts of Floccesy Town.
"NATEWATCHOUT!"
*FWBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM!*
"Whoa!" The ground broke apart, dirt splashing as if water. My vision obscured as I fell forwards from the impact, as if it was a bomb.
I rolled once, twice, fearfully checking my surroundings.
Nate below, Sawsbuck above. Sawbuck coming down.
I didn't think. I acted.
I threw a Pokeball.
It hit, and by a miracle it worked.
The light flashed and took the Pokemon in.
"Nate! That's not gonna hold for long! Let's go!" True to my word, I wasn't even finished talking and it already burst back out again.
Nate was wise enough to get the heck out of there, thankfully, and the chase was back on. This time, though, it focused all of its attention on me. Obviously it did not like being put in a ball and wasn't opposed to the idea of revenge.
I tried the tactic again, just to gain a few seconds, but he headbutted it away ferociously. If anything it looked like it made him faster.
I could see buildings out in the distance! To be honest I hadn't really thought that far. What would the Sawsbuck do once it was in the village? Most Pokemon knew to stay clear of heavily populated areas, but this one didn't seem to like reason too much.
"Unfezant! Use Air Slash!"
A cry from up above could be heard as Flying-type Energy came raining down on the enemy. On impact it cut through Sawsbuck's assault, stopping it in its tracks.
I looked up. A ranger! He was dressed in the orange and blue attire of Unova Rangers. Seated on top of his male Unfezant, he threw a Pokeball down onto the floor, revealing a Cryogonal that wasted no time launching an Ice Beam attack to keep the distance they gained earlier.
"Ah. Our savior."
"You guys are good to go now. I got this handled." He tipped his hat at us, and we all collectively breathed a sigh of relief.
Just a few meters away from us, the beast was still being beleaguered with all kinds of attacks, but we could breathe easy now.
"Heh. That's good. Because I've been feeling lightheaded…." Nate muttered. I looked over at him.
He had a stick stuck in his torso. "Catch me pleaseeeeee~" He said, falling to the ground.