Wanna Be A Hardcore Nerdward Contest

Title: Pride Lost
Author: Moonlightoftwilight
Rating: T
Summary: Summary: After being defeated by an unknown stranger to a Pokemon battle, Edward sets his sights on finding out who it was that he lost to. He just might be surprised to know who the stranger really is...
Word Count: 3,103
Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or Pokemon. Those belong to the people who created them.
Beta: xxLove-Is-Adorablexx

A/N: I've always wanted to do an Edward that likes Pokemon. When I found this contest, I got inspired to finally write out this plot bunny. Note that the Pokemon used are only up to the 4th Generation ones. Since I'm not used to the 5th Generation ones, I decided to stick up to where I'm most comfortable the most. Enjoy!

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa!" Jasper took a bite of his apple with a shit-eating grin on his face. "Let me get this straight. The Edward Cullen, expert Pokemon expertise, had been defeated in a Pokemon battle?"

I nodded. "I just don't get it. This stuff doesn't happen to me."

"And who was it that you lost against?" Emmett asked.

I shrugged. "Dunno. All I know is that her name in the game is Bella."

"Wait!" Emmett said. "You said she."

"Yes... and?"

"Dude! A girl defeated you in battle?" Jasper's mouth is hanging open as Emmett reached forward to grab the apple still in his left hand and placed it back on his plate.

"So?"

"You do realize that there aren't a lot of girls that play the Pokemon games, let alone can defeat a guy in battle who happens to have level 100 Pokemon and has collected all of the legendaries."

"It might not even be a girl," I suggested. "Maybe it's a guy who chose the female as his player."

Jasper scoffed. "Yeah right. A guy would be stupid to do that."

"It could happen!"

"Whatever." As Jasper continued to finish his lunch, my thoughts drifted to what happened last weekend.

As juniors in high school, I never would have expected that girls would want to go out with me. Despite my love for Pokemon, I had the looks that made me swoon worthy. The only people that knew about my secret love for Pokemon were my best friends Emmett and Jasper, who also happen to like Pokemon too. Call it weird, but underneath my nerdiness, I'm part of the popular crowd. I'm considered one of those who are expert whizzes in the Pokemon universe. Like Jasper said, I have a bunch of level 100 Pokemon and, thanks to Action Replay, I managed to collect all the legendaries so far. I've never been defeated in battles, whether it's the user generated battlers or the real players in Wi-Fi.

Until now.

I don't understand why. Bella (That's the name of the player) also had a team of level 100 Pokemon. At first, I wasn't so worried. I've battled plenty of times against people who had level 100 Pokemon. Her (Or 'he' based upon my suggestion) team consisted of a Gardevoir, Tropius, Froslass, Dragonite, Arcanine and Blastoise. I considered it a decent team since it had a good combination of grass, ice, fire, dragon, psychic and flying types. On that day, I had chosen my regular team of Garchomp, Torterra, Lucario, Staraptor, Charizard and Lapras. I love this team the most since it covered all the basic weaknesses in types.

When it came to battle, I was surprised at Bella's unique skills. I prefer doing one hit ko's, so most of my Pokemon have powerful attack moves like flamethrower or frenzy plant. My other preference is to try to boost my Pokemon's speed as much as possible. That way, my Pokemon would get to attack first.

Bella managed to beat through my tactics with a strategy opposing mine. Throughout the battle, I noticed that each of Bella's Pokemon had at least one move that either boosts attack, defense, speed or evasiveness healing moves that gains more HP. Whenever after my Pokemon attacks, Bella would use a boosting move so that in the next turn (If the Pokemon still has remaining HP), it would attack.

That girl (or guy) definitely made me have to think on how I could go around those strategies. Bella could cause as much damage to my Pokemon as I can to hers. By the end of the battle, I found myself shocked when I saw half her team was still undefeated by the time I lost.
You can definitely say I lost my pride that day. Never, in my entire life that I've played Pokemon, have I been defeated in battle, let alone a girl. I know girls of girls that like to watch the anime, but there are very few I know that actually play the games and are experts. The only girl Pokemon gamer I know is my little sister Kate... and she's not even as good as I!

So now, I wonder... who is this Bella?

~:~

On Saturday afternoon, there's a loud knock on my bedroom door.

"Eddie open up!"

I sighed and walked over to the door. When I opened it, I see Jasper with a huge grin on his face, along with a girl with short spiky black hair. "What do you want?"

"Well hello to you too," Jasper said sarcastically. "Mind if Alice and I come in?"

I shift my gaze back to the girl besides him. Oh right... Jasper asked out Alice a few days ago and they went on their date last night. Alice is a girl a couple of my classes that has a punk rock sort of style. She likes to wear dark of clothing and makeup that I sometimes think whether or not she's a descendant from a family of witches. She's a very upbeat person that rarely anything bad spoils her genuinely good moods. Jasper had a crush on her for the past few months since they bumped into each other in the hallway and found that she had a CD of Green Day, a band that I learned the both of them enjoyed. Emmett convinced Jasper to ask out Alice and voila! If their date went along great last night, then I think Jasper's found himself a new girlfriend.

"Sure..." Jasper and Alice walk in as I kick the door shut behind them. "How was last night?"

Alice beamed. "Fantastic! Jasper was the perfect gentlemen."

"So are you two..." I didn't want to say the last part just in case they weren't in the together that I'm thinking they might be.

"Yes," Jasper answered. "We're a couple. Happy?"

"I guess so. I mean, if you like her that much then I accept the two of you together."

"You should," Alice said. "If you didn't I could have threatened to chop your head off until you did."

I raised an eyebrow, curious to Alice's little would-have threat.

"She wants people to accept who she dates," Jasper clarified. "Remember James?"

"That jock in the football team?"

He nodded. "Her parents didn't like him when they dated."

"More like they wanted to murder James," Alice corrected. "By the time I dumped that loser, they were having their own little party to celebrate... if you know what I mean." I shuddered at the thought of the meaning behind Alice's words. No way did I want to know what her parents did behind her back.

"Right..." I lay back down on my bed and looked back to my open textbook. Before Jasper and Alice showed up, I was trying to study for a science test for next week. "So why are you two here?"

Jasper glanced at Alice. "Don't look at me. Alice mentioned to me that she wanted to tell you something."

I looked towards Alice. She's on her Blackberry and I don't think she was paying attention to what Jasper just said. "Well?"

"Huh? Oh right!" She shoved her phone back into the pocket of her skirt. "Jasper mentioned to me last night that you like Pokemon?"

I groaned. "Seriously Jazz? I thought I told you not to say anything about me on your date with Alice!"

"Sorry," Jasper apologized. "It sorta slipped out somewhere."

"Anyway-" Alice interrupted. "Edward, how much do you like Pokemon?"

"Uh..." Should I tell her that I'm a Pokefreak?

"He's an expert in Pokemon gaming," Jasper answered for me. "He has a bunch of level 100 Pokemon and got all the legendaries."

"Jasper!" That answered things... but I have a feeling that Alice will think I'm a loser.

"It's okay," Alice said. "I know the two of you share a thing for Pokemon, just like Rose and I share a thing for shopping." Rosalie, or Rose for short, is the girl that I see Alice with often. Rosalie also happens to be dating Emmett. Lucky oaf. He's got a supermodel-like girl as his girlfriend.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" I asked.

"Duh." Jasper laughed and I playfully hit his shoulder.

"Why do you ask?"

"Funny story. I have a cousin that loves playing Pokemon. She goes to the same school as us, only she's a year younger than us."

"Do I know her?"

She shook her head. "I've never mentioned her around you guys."

Wait...

"You said she," I murmured, repeating the same words that Emmett said during lunch three days ago.

"And? Guys aren't the only people that like Pokemon. Girls do too."

"I know."

"And your cousin... she loves playing the games?"

"Uh-huh. She'd always rather play than shop with Rose and me. I know that shopping isn't her thing, but she's missing a lot."

"Weird." Another girl that likes playing Pokemon... doesn't mean much.

"You should meet her. I bet you two would be good friends."

"Uh... I dunno Alice," I said uncertainly. "What if she thinks I'm weird."

She scoffed. "Trust me. I don't think you two will have a problem with each other. The fact alone that you two love Pokemon should be enough."

I turn my head towards Jasper, pleading with my eyes for him to help me out.

He shrugged. "Sorry, Ed, but I agree with Alice. I think you should meet this girl. You need a lady for once to dump all your Pokemon knowledge to."

"Gee thanks," I said sarcastically.

"So you'll meet her?" Alice made a puppy dog look with her eyes. Damn it... that girl's good.

I sighed. They're right. I needed to be around a girl for once that I can myself around with.

I gave in. "When?"

Alice squealed. "Yay! We'll meet you here tomorrow and you can see her."

"Fine." There's just one more thing that I needed to know. "What's her name?"

Alice grinned. "You'll know when you meet her."

Great. Who knows... maybe her name would be Ugly. What did I get myself roped in?

~:~

That night, after Jasper and Alice left to go on another date, two things were stood out in my mind. One: I still want to know who the Bella that beat me is. Two: Whether or not Alice's cousin will be worth meeting. I've been set up by Jasper and Emmett a few times to know that I can get a girl without their help. Their 'helping' really isn't that helping.

Would be another coincidence if I found out that Bella and Alice's cousin are the same person?

Hmmm... probably not. Again, Girls and Pokemon clearly don't match.

I'm trying to take my mind off of meeting Bella by doing what I always do to distract myself: play Pokemon. I patiently wait for whatever battler is available

and my mouth hangs open when I see who it is.

Bella.

Great. I'm gonna suffer another blow of humiliation.

And I did, which didn't take me much by surprise at this point. I can't blame her. Her Pokemon had strong moves equivalent to mine.

By the time I finished battling, I threw my DS beside me and lay back on my bed. I let out a growl of frustration.

Why can't I beat this girl? She's perfectly spoiling my record of being undefeated in a Pokemon battle!

I groaned. This isn't a time to worry about this Bella. What I should be worried about is when I meet Alice's cousin. What if she thinks I'm a freak? I'm a Pokemon addict for goodness sake! She'll see all my Pokemon games, posters, DVD's, cards...

Yeah, I'm dead.

~:~

"Bella, this is Edward. Edward, this is Bella."

I'm blown away at Alice's cousin. Her dark brown eyes stare back into my boring green ones as she too takes in my appearance. I'm wearing a simple black t-shirt (I wasn't going to overwhelm her by wearing by Pikachu sweatshirt), blue jeans and slip on sneakers.

Her brown eyes match the color of her hair, which falls in past her shoulders halfway down her back. Her skin is like the color of caramel, similar to what I see in the coffee I get from Starbucks. Her body is slender and lean, but not muscular like Emmett or Jasper.

I like her.

She reaches her hand forward and it takes a few seconds for my brain to catch up with reality that she wanted to shake my hand.

"Nice to meet you Bella," I said as I take her hand into one of mine. I feel a slight jolt from our contact, like electricity is flowing through our veins.

She must have noticed, because she gasped and quickly withdraws her hand.

"Y-You too Edward," she stuttered.

Alice beamed. "Alrighty then. Jasper and I are going out... have fun!" She gives us a small wave before she walks out the door.

What the- that little sneaker! I thought she told me during that phone call that she was going to stay for a half-hour before she left to go to a movie with Jasper! Did she do this on purpose? She must have. And I thought Jasper and Emmett were my devils...

"Shit," Bella muttered under her breath.

"What's wrong?" I saw her eyebrows scrunched slightly as if she's thinking of something.

"Alice told me we were coming to see you, but she didn't say anything about leaving us alone." She sighed. "Sometimes I just don't understand that girl."

"Welcome to my world," I grumbled. "Jasper and Emmett are my personal hell."

She chuckled. "Rosalie is mine. Alice just adds on to the equation."

"Really?"

"Uh-huh."

Ten minutes later, I found myself leading Bella upstairs to my room. My heart pounded nervously in my chest. What would she say when she sees all my Pokemon stuff?

I don't have time to worry about the what-if's when Bella turns the doorknob and opens the door.

"Oh my god!" is the first thing that she says when she sees my room.

"Ummm... is that a good or bad thing?" I asked dumbly. Real smooth Cullen.

"A really good thing!" she reassured me. "Alice mentioned that you like Pokemon."

"Yeah..."

She smiled and a light blush flushes her cheeks. "I kinda like them too."

"I know."

"What?"

"Sorry!" I said sheepishly. I didn't want her to think I'm a stalker. "Alice told me the same thing when told me about you."

"Really? She must be matchmaking again."

"Matchmaking?"

"It's an Alice thing."

"Small world. You're not alone in this."

"Jasper and Emmett does it too?"

"Yeah..."

Huh. Maybe we do have more common things about us than I once thought.

"I like your Pokemon cards." I turn around to see that Bella is sitting on my bed looking through my collection of Pokemon cards that was on my bedside drawer.

"Do you have every Pokemon card here? There's like at least a couple hundred in your collection."

"Almost," I replied. "I'm missing a few."

"Oh. I have some too, but not as much as you."

"Do you have the legendaries?"

"Only a few like Mew, Lugia, Deoxys and Arceus."

"Cool." I sit next to her and peer down at the cards she has out. Most of them are in her hands, but she has a few of the common ones like Chimchar, Croagunk, Sandshrew, Happiny, Starly and Wurmple.

"Do you have the games too?"

"Yes. Why?"

"I have my DS with me... and I was wondering if you wanted to play a few battles."

"Are you sure? I gotta warn you my Pokemon are level 100."

She eyed me skeptically. "Level 100?"

"And undefeated." It wouldn't hurt if I had to lie. I'm not about to tell her about the Bella I fought...

I shook my head. This Bella and the Bella I battled against can't be the same person. It's just a coincidence that they share the same name.

Bella smirked. "I don't know about you, but I have level 100 Pokemon too."

That's weird. That's another similarity between the two Bella's.

"So what do you say? Should we battle?" Bella reaches into her back jeans pocket and pulls out a light pink DS.

It wouldn't hurt to try. "Sure. What version do you have?"

"Diamond. You?"

"Platinum." Yups, this battle can work.

We activate out DS's and enter the Pokemon Wireless Club Union Room.

"Hey Bella?"

"Yes?"

"What Pokemon do you have?"

"Gardevoir, Tropius, Froslass, Dragonite, Arcanine and Blastoise. Why? What do you have?"

"Garchomp, Torterra, Lucario, Staraptor, Charizard and Lapras." I froze, realizing her team is the exact same as the team I fought against player Bella.

"What moves does your Blastoise have?"

"Hydro Pump, Skull Bash, Rain Dance and Surf." Player Bella's Blastoise used Rain Dance in the beginning of battle and knocked out my Garchomp with Hydro Pump...

"What moves do your Staraptor have?"

"Brave Bird, Close Combat, Fly and Endeavor." She looks at me, confused at to why I'm throwing these questions at her.

"What's your friend code?" This should be the rule breaker. I memorized player Bella's friend code by heart just in case I get the chance to battle her again. If her friend code doesn't match player Bella's, then they're not the same.

"5673-6580-4301." My blood runs cold.

"Edward?"

I stay silent.

"Edward?"

"Uh..." is all I can say.

"What's your friend code?"

"7406-4395-1054," I muttered.

Bella stares at me with wide eyes.

"It's you," she whispered. "You're..."

"It's me."

We stay silent for a few minutes, still shocked at our revelation.

"No wonder Alice did this," Bella said, breaking the silence. "I told her about you and she must have figured it out before I did."

"This really must be a small world."

"Tell me about it."

"I will. She must have purposely made us meet so we can get together. She always complains of my lack of boyfriends and dating I do. The last date I had was a complete disaster. No one ever understood me for who I really am. I'm just a girl who loves reading and Pokemon."

My mouth hangs open. "Me too..."

She smiled at me. "I guess Alice's matchmaking this time is a success."

"I agree." I'm internally doing a happy dance. I don't care Bella's the girl that defeated me in battle. All I know is that I finally found a girl who shared the same interests as me.

"So... what now?"

I grinned at her. "I don't know about you, but you still promised me to do battle with me..."

*Bites fingernails* How was it? I have plans to add a few more chapters after the contest... that is if you like it.

PS Pokeward's mine, so no one dare steal him! xD Nah just kidding... but my kind of Pokeward shall not be copied! He's actually based by a friend of mine who's female and also happens to be a Pokemon expertise like this Edward. :) Coincidence? Don't think so.

Thanks to my bestie xxLove-Is-Adorablexx for pre-reading this little fic for me & doing a small beta work for me!

So... yeah. I'm bad with end notes, so I'll stop here.