The Ace Trainer

Ace read and reread the letter in his hands hoping that the message would change before his eyes. No matter how long he stared, though, the words remained. "Regret," "accident," "deceased." He stood, shocked. Ace had never been close to his father; in fact, he barely even knew the man. He had been in one boarding school or another for most of his life and it had made him pretty self-sufficient. His father was his one living relative, though, and Ace felt strangely lost without him. Alone, he was a plant separated from roots he had never seen before. The dean's consolatory words fell uselessly into Ace's ringing ears.

Shell shocked, he wandered into the hallway of a school that had been his home for his brief adolescence. He planned to go directly to the dormitory to lie in his bunk bed until he withered into nothing, unobserved by the other 16 year olds that shared the large room. Unconsciously, though, he found himself in the antechamber stationed outside the large training room on the other side of campus. He stared blankly at the trophies and pictures of Ace Trainers and Pokémon League Champions, whose legacy had inspired his Ace's father to send him all the way to Cinnabar Island for his schooling. Would his picture one day decorate these walls? Would professors tell anecdotes of his exploits to fresh-faced pupils? Did it even matter now that he would never have the respect of the one person he had ever tried to impress?

He punched in the password on a small door that led to locker rooms where battling trainers could prepare for battle and walked slowly past the rows of lockers. He paused for a second to open the one that had been assigned to him in the row reserved for current students. Locker number 106 held a variety of workout clothes and empty sports drinks bottles, but Ace pushed those out of the way to get to the berries and healing potions that lay untouched towards the back. He quickly shoveled them into his backpack, replacing the textbooks he had needed for class that morning. He shouldered the heavy bag, but as he went to close the small metal door, his gaze was drawn to the old faded picture taped to it. It was the only picture he had of his father, an old picture a stranger had taken of the two of them in the park on Ace's sixth birthday.

Hastily, he jammed the photo into his front pocket and continued to the end of the locker room that connected to large antechamber where Pokémon battled for practice and heated tournaments. Directly to the left of the door stood a section separated by a chain-link fence and a locked door. Ace grabbed the worn handle and yanked hard and fast. The door had been broken for years and he was only one of the many students who had opened it without permission on multiple occasions. He stood facing the rack of unadorned Pokeballs, steeled his nerves, and grabbed one. Surely, they wouldn't miss just one Pokémon; they had dozens. Stealing one was necessary for his purposes, but it also ensured that there was to be no turning back.

Closing the door behind him, Ace turned to leave the way he came. He had not heard Mr. Vincent enter the locker room, but here he stood, blocking the exit. There was another door, though. Ace turned quickly and slammed through the door that led to the Stadium. He ran headlong toward the far end, with no plan of what he was going to do next. Before he could reach the doors, he heard a loud shout from behind him. "That's far enough, boy!"

Ace had never been fond of the grizzled, old Battle Professor, but he and the other students felt a strange mixture of fear and respect concerning the man. He turned to face the man sheepishly, but determinedly. "My father is dead."

"I know."

"I have to go. I can't explain it. I just… I have to do this."

"I know that too, but I can't just let you go. It's dangerous outside these walls and I can't protect you there."

When Ace looked at the scars and burns that marked the old man's bare arms, he knew his words to be true. As his gaze dropped, he noticed the Pokeball still in his left hand. There was no going back. He wasn't the only one to suddenly notice the small sphere, though.

"If you're going to use that, we had better see if you know what you're doing."

Mr. Vincent tossed a Pokeball underhandedly into the air to release a Geodude that Ace had seen him use to test students on a number of occasions. In response, Ace called upon his newly obtained Pokémon. It didn't surprise him when an Eevee jumped out in a flash of light. Eevees were perfect for teaching students about evolution and type matchups. For that reason, the school always had plenty on hand at any time.

"Well," said Mr. Vincent, "come at me, then."

"Eevee, tackle!" Ace commanded without hesitation.

"So predictable," chuckled the teacher. He was right too. Tackle was one of the first commands the students learned how to give. "Defense Curl!" he shouted as his opponent rushed forward. The Geodude covered his face with his hands right before impact and forced most of the blow to glance off of him as the two tumbled end over end.

"Now, it's our turn." Mr. Vincent's counterattacks were devastating and Ace knew that his escape may well be over before it began if he didn't do something about it.

"Rock Throw!"

"Sand attack!" Ace commanded a split second later. Geodude lifted a rock from the ground and cocked his arm back to hurl the projectile. Before he could launch it, though, Eevee's tail whipped sand from the ground into the rock Pokémon's eyes, blinding him and forcing his rock to fly safely away from his opponent. "Now's your chance, Take Down!"

Take Down was a risky move that involved a headlong charge and could cause the attacker quite a bit of harm if done incorrectly. Luckily, in his blinded state, Geodude could do little strike back at his foe. His response slap did little more than ruffle Eevee's fur as Geodude flew backwards. It was hard to tell if he was more rattled or enraged, but his trainer showed a different emotion. His wide smile showed a gap where one of his teeth was missing and he shook his head.

"That was risky, but it worked. When you're out there in the real world, not everyone will go as easy on you as I did here today. Just do me a favor and be careful."

Ace could hardly believe his ears. He decided to leave quickly before Mr. Vincent could change his mind. He trotted back towards the front doors with Eevee at his heels, but he stopped as he passed his teacher. "Thanks," he said softly without turning to face him.

"Just don't make me regret this." He reached out his arm and handed over a ticket for the cruise liner bound to the Kanto mainland.

As he exited the front gates of the boarding school's fenced-in campus, Ace reflected on how strange it was to embark on a Pokémon adventure in such a way. When he looked down at the small brown Pokémon at his side, though, he felt strangely reassured as if he could take on any challenge.

The warm ocean air ruffled Ace's blonde hair as he leaned on the balcony railing outside his small cabin. As he watched Cinnabar Island grow smaller in the fading light of the sinking sun, Ace realized that if there was ever a chance for him to return to Cinnabar's Boarding School for the PokElite, it was shredded up with the one-way ticket he had used to gain passage across the sea. He pulled the letter he had received that morning from his pocket and read it again.

"Dear Ace Huxley,

You don't know me, but I'm an associate of Dr. Huxley's. I regret that the task has fallen to me to send you grim news of your father. It seems that a terrible accident has befallen him. I know little of the details concerning the event. All I can tell you is that your father is now deceased. I offer you my deepest condolences and if you ever find yourself in Saffron City, please, visit us at the Silph Company Headquarters.

Sincerely,

Dr. Stan Isis"

The whole letter seemed very vague and Ace needed to know more. If there were any answers to be found, this Dr. Stan Isis and his father's lab were the best place to start looking. If they wouldn't give him the answers he was looking for, he would take them by force. Eevee wasn't strong now; but by the time he made it to Saffron, he would be a force to be feared. They just needed to practice. Surely there would be no shortage of willing trainers onboard. He folded the letter back up and returned it to his pocket beside the photograph of his father and headed to the upper deck of the ship.

When he got to the deck, the ocean was ablaze with the orange glow of the sun on the horizon. Bright pink and orange in the western sky faded to deep purple and indigo in the east. The air was electric with the excitement of battle with circles of rowdy gamblers blocking the view of the combatants. From time to time, cries of victory and pain could be heard from their midst, followed by applause and the exchange of money. The deck was massive with enough room for a dozen different conflicts to take place without interrupting one another.

Overwhelmed, Ace made his way to the eastern side of the ship alone. He let Eevee out of his Pokeball and knelt down to stroke his fur. "I'm sorry for stealing you, but we're in this together now. I don't know what's going to happen, but if you promise to be strong, I will too. We need to figure out what happened to my Dad." Eevee looked back at him blankly, but serenely. Ace wondered if the creature had any idea what he was saying. It seemed to understand his commands in battle well enough, but maybe those were the only words he ever heard from human lips. All he needed was a strong partner able to defeat other Pokémon, but part of him wanted Eevee to be more than that.

"That's a really adorable little pet you have there," interrupted a mocking voice from behind him. There stood a tall, gangly man with a shaved head and crooked smirk on his face. "Looks kinda puny, though," he laughed. Ace wanted to respond, but before he could, Eevee tensed and began to growl at the man. "Got some spunk, does he? How would you like to see if his bite is as big as his bark? C'mon, one on one."

They had come out onto the deck to get some experience fighting together, but suddenly Ace wasn't sure. Before he could protest, the older man sent out what Ace recognized from one of his textbooks as a Sigilyph. It would seem that retreat was no longer an option. The two Pokémon had drawn the attention of some of the nearby gamblers who were already placing bets. Few had any faith in the younger competitor and his petite partner, but that only worked to resolve the two underdogs. "You're on."

"Okay, but let's make this interesting. Let's put 100 Pokedollars on it." That was all the money he had, but he couldn't walk away now. He gritted his teeth as he nodded in resigned agreement.

The crowd roared as the trainers backed away. Ace was the first to command, "Quick attack!"

His opponent said nothing but nodded towards the strangely shaped creature. It seemed to understand his orders and proceeded to move over the ship's railing. Eevee stopped abruptly to watch Sigilyph float out over the ocean. Pokémon and trainer stood dumbstruck and before they could react their opponent yelled, "Alright, now use Gust!"

Eevee tumbled backwards as he was hit by the brunt of the attack, but the spectators and trainers nearest had to brace themselves for some of the peripheral effects of the wind. One man ran off to chase the hat while many more began laughing at the bizarre strategy. Ace wasn't entertained, though. "That's cheating! How's Eevee supposed to fight him while he's out there?"

"That sounds like you're problem. You could always just give up." The man said through a smug smile. Ace looked desperately into Eevee's eyes. Suddenly, as if the two were thinking as one, they both knew what had to be done.

"Alright, go get him!" To the surprise of the onlookers, Eevee began running towards the railing.

"Psy-psybeam!" The trainer stuttered and the Pokémon obeyed. It was a moment too late, though. Eevee jumped onto the railing as the psychic attack struck the ground where he had been standing less than a second earlier.

As the small brown creature jumped from the ship's railing, his master yelled, "Bite!" As the two made contact, Eevee sunk his teeth deep into one of the thin appendages of his foe. Surprised and unable to support the added weight, Sigilyph careened back to the ship's deck, landing awkwardly. Though the fall looked to be painful, it was nothing compared to the loud crunch that occurred when Eevee brought his teeth together, severing the wingtip he had been holding onto.

Shocked, the tall man returned his Pokémon. "I yield, I yield! Man, you're crazy." He slapped the prize money into Ace's hands as he stormed off. The crowd was ecstatic, though. Many congratulated him, while others challenged the duo. It seemed like they would have plenty to do for the rest of their sea voyage. In all the excitement, he could almost forget about his father. Almost.