Hmm, this is my... *tries to count how many times I've attempted to write a Pokemon Story*... forget it, I've tried to write a Pokemon Story too many times. They're kinda hard to write, in my personal opinion. This one is I think my best attempt yet, and is also my first attempt at writing a cocky main character. Tell me what you guys think! Just note that even though the main character is named Wes, it has no relation to the Pokemon Colosseum main character of the same name. I actually named my player character Wes back in 2000 with Pokemon Silver, believe it or not.
Also, big thanks to The King of Emerald for allowing me to use his character, Jason, in this story, as well as being my Beta Reader for this story!
Enjoy!
"Why did I have to come here again?"
This was the number one question on young Wes's mind since he stepped off the plane from his hometown of Hoenn onto the sandy shore of Alola. He had changed on the plane into more appropriate attire, since Alola was usually always around 25 degrees Celsius (that's 77 Fahrenheit), and was now wearing a short sleeved red t-shirt with black capris, with red shoes, a black backpack on, and black rimmed glasses over his red eyes. His whitish silver hair was down to his shoulders, his bangs swept slightly to the side to stay out of his eyes.
"Well…" The dark brown eyed women sitting on the other end of the video call thought for a moment, choosing her words carefully, playing with her brown hair, which hung down draping across her apron. "I thought it might be a good idea for you to begin attending Pokemon School, and Alola is the best place to go for that!"
"But what's the point when I got Nayru by my side?" Wes huffed, crossing his arms.
"Nayru isn't invincible," his mother warned, looking at her son with a stern look. "Ever since you rescued her five years ago you've been pretty cocky when it comes to pokemon battles, young man. I think it is best you forget about the Gym Challenge for a while and focus on refining what you know about Pokemon. You've neglected the basics over these last few years in favor of battling. And before you say anything, young man, the basics are important." Wes closed his mouth from having opened it to counter-argue, sighing. "Now, be sure to go straight to the school. No slacking! The Professor wanted to meet you right away and get you set up."
"Yeah, yeah." Wes sighed. "Once Nayru is done with her checkup, I'll go…"
"I love you," his mother said, a smile on her face. "Have fun!"
"I'll try… love you too," Wes muttered, hanging up. He slouched in the chair, sighing a little in irritation. He didn't see what the big deal was. So what if he was confident in his battling? Nayru was very powerful, and Wes felt like she was almost unstoppable in his battles with her.
"Wes?" a nurse called. Wes looked over his shoulder to see the nurse holding a Friend Ball in her hand, a smile on her face. "Your ralts' checkup is complete! I must say, seeing a ralts in Alola is very uncommon. I've never had the pleasure of checking one until now, let alone one like yours."
"Thanks a lot." Wes grinned, taking the Friend Ball from her and releasing the Pokemon that was inside. Out popped a light blue, alternate colored ralts, with an orange horn on her head.
"I hate it in there…" the ralts muttered, making a few trainers look over in shock that a Pokemon just spoke.
"Oh, come on, it wasn't that bad, was it?" Wes asked, picking her up and placing her on his shoulder. "Thanks, Nurse Joy! But we got places to be! See you!" And without waiting for a reply, Wes dashed out of the Pokemon Center of Hau'oli City, dashing towards Route 1, where the Professor lived.
"You sure seem in a hurry for someone who didn't want to come here," Nayru pointed out, looking over at her trainers face as she held tightly into his head.
"The quicker we get this over with, the better," Wes replied, keeping his eyes on the path. "Besides, if we catch some pokemon here, graduate from his academy with flying colors, and prove to Mom that it was a waste of time coming here, we might get to go back home quicker and partake in the Hoenn League!"
"Joy," Nayru muttered, twirling a finger in excitement. "Back home, where all the other Ralts hated me because I'm… this!"
Was slowed down to a walk, panting a little and looking over at Nayru, a bit of a frown on his face. "Those other Ralts were jerks… you didn't deserve getting teased just because you are a different color. Besides, back home you can prove them wrong, remember?"
"True, I guess," Nayru muttered. Wes continued walking for some time before finally, after following the directions on his phone for a while, Nayru spoke up. "Hey, is that it?"
Wes looked over, sweat dropping the second he saw where Nayru was pointing. "This old wooden shack? I doubt it… Maybe I entered the wrong location…"
"Alright, Rockruff, let's go! Give it everything you've got!" Shouting was heard from inside, as Wes and Nayru sweat dropped more and more with each passing second. "My body is ready!" The sound of a rockruff barking, then a slam indicating someone being talked to the ground was heard next. Wes just started in shock for a few minutes, as more sounds of tackling and slamming were heard. Finally, the door flew open, and a bruised Professor Kukui walked out, with what looked like a very pleased Rockruff. "Ah, that's the stuff!" Kukui bellowed, grinning. "Pokemon Moves are best studied when you take them for yourself!"
"If you say so, Professor," Wes muttered, looking at him.
Kukui blinked and looked up, and upon seeing Wes grinned even wider. "Wes! How was your flight? Experiencing any jet lag?"
Wes shrugged. "A little, but I slept most of the plane ride, so I should be fine."
"It's still day here in Alola," Kukui commented, still smiling. "But it's nighttime in Hoenn, so I don't blame you for any jet lag you might have. Lucky for you, your mom sent you out here a week early to get used to the time change."
Wes frowned. "That's the part that sucks, Prof. I was hoping we could get started right away so I can show you that I don't need this school."
This is when Kukui finally frowned, placing his hand on Wes's shoulder. "Come on, cousin, don't be like that. Every trainer is always learning, and even if you know everything I am going to teach you here, a bit of review never helps." He smiled again, pumping his fist. "Yeah! Focus Energy and hit the books, cause the learning never stops!"
Wes blinked, before he and Nayru both turned slowly to face him. "Was… was that a pokemon move pun?"
"No time to rest, I say!" Kukui shouted, clearly way too excited. "I think we should head on over to the school and show you around, what do you say?"
"Sure, I guess," Wes agreed. "I mean, might as well since I'm stuck here."
"Great!" Kukui grinned excitedly. "Then let's Extreme Speed our way over!"
"These move puns don't stop, do they?" Nayru whispered to Wes.
"God, I hope they do…"
XxXxXxX
"And this is your dorm room," Kukui finished explaining, opening a door inside of the school's off campus building. Wes looked inside to see a very basic room set up, complete with hard wood floor, a bed with basic red sheets, a wooden desk with a chair, and a dresser with a few boxes on top of it, which Wes assumed were the stuff his mom sent down.
"Very… basic, don't you think?" Wes asked, raising his eyebrow.
"Cousin, all you need here are the basics," Kukui explained. "Most of your time will be spent in other parts of the school, partaking in class exercises and battles, along with field work. If you are one of the lucky ones, you'll even get picked to go on a ton of field trips. Your room will basically be your place to sleep and study, so a bed, desk and dresser is all you're going to need."
"Alright." Wes sighed, setting his backpack down on the bed.
"Oh, one second," Kukui suddenly said, seeming to notice someone. "Hey, Jason, come here will ya?"
A boy, only an inch or two taller than the newcomer, walked in, his brown hair combed back with some of his bangs hanging in front of his left eye. He wore a black tank top and a white pair of shorts, and a pair of black and white sneakers on his feet. He wore a bored expression as he stepped in, clearly annoyed by the professor. Wes assumed this boy was another student, as he seemed the same age as Wes.
"This is Jason," Kukui explained, grinning as he placed a hand on Jason's shoulder. "He defeated the Kalos League and is my Student Teacher for this year. He's also here to oversee construction of a secret surprise as well."
"It's not really a secret, Prof, since a few of the students caught you talking about it loudly with Oak." Jason sighed, a tone of lazy attitude in his voice.
"This guy… is a Champion?" Wes asked, staring is disbelief. "But he looks my age!?"
"I happened to start earlier then you, that's all," Jason rebuked. "Can I go now?"
"Right, I guarantee you this whole thing is to pull my leg," Wes grinned. "I see though this, and to prove it I'll beat you in a battle, right here and now."
"Whoa, there," Kukui said, looking slightly panicked. "First of all, battles can only be held outside. Second of all, I'm not pulling your leg here. This guy is the real deal Champion, you can even look it up yourself if you don't believe me."
Jason was staring at Wes with a mixture of interest and annoyance. "I think someone is a little too cocky for their own good. Listen here, newbie, cockiness is going to get you in trouble here. There are several students that have been here longer than you, and could probably easily clean your clock."
Wes smirked a bold smile. "Is that so? I bet you if you placed the top student in front of me, I would beat him in seconds."
"Can we not start drawing attention to ourselves on the first day?" Nayru whispered into Wes's ear.
"Hey, it's true," Wes replied.
Jason stared at Wes for a few seconds before something in the hall caught his attention. He looked over at Wes with a slightly mischievous smirk on his face. "Is that right? Just so happens, SHE is coming out of her dorm room right now. Hey, Rose! Can you come here please?"
"What is it, Professor?" A girl's voice asked, as she came into view in the doorway. Wes could see a girl with short shoulder length red hair standing there, with emerald green eyes. She was wearing a purple-ish blue no-sleeved top with a black skirt, black socks and white shoes, carrying with her a white handbag.
Jason sighed. "I told you to stop calling me that… Anyway, I want you to battle with the new kid."
"Right away, Professor," Rose replied, a serious look on her face. Jason looked as though he was holding back from scolding her for calling him Professor again.
"Wait… she's the top student!?" Wes gasped in disbelief. "She hardly looks like a trainer!"
"And according to you, I hardly look like a Champion, but looks can be deceiving," Jason said, looking at Wes again with that same smirk. "Just follow me."
Rose glared at Wes a bit before she turned on her heel and followed Jason. Kukui sighed, muttering to himself. "Oh boy, looks like you're already in a Bind."
"Again with the move puns?" Wes sighed, before following after Jason himself, with Kukui bringing up the rear. They walked for a good five minutes down the hallway, down a few flights of stairs, and out the doorway before heading into one of the two outside battle arenas, with Rose taking one side and Wes taking another.
"Alright, this will be a quick one on one battle." Jason announced. "Any objections?"
"I'm fine with a one on one." Rose spoke, sizing Wes up. "From the looks of it, he only has that ralts, anyway."
Wes hissed a little in frustration. "Nayru is all I need! Let's do this, partner!"
"Right!" Nayru nodded, jumping down from Wes's shoulder and facing Rose.
"Against your ralts…" Rose thought for a minute before pulling out a Great Ball. "I choose Bagon!" Out of the ball popped a blue reptilian looking Pokemon with a large, round snout and triangle eyes.
"A Dragon type?" Wes asked, grinning a little. "If you're the top student, you should know that Dragon moves have no effect on Fairy types, and that Fairy moves do double damage against Dragon's cause they are super effective!"
"At least you know some basics, I'll give you that." Rose smirked back, brushing the hair from her face, looking at Wes seriously. "However, the type of the Pokemon isn't everything…"
"Alright, begin!" Jason shouted.
"I'll end this quickly so I can unpack sooner!" Wes shouted. "Nayru, use Disarming Voice!"
"Right." Nayru nodded, before inhaling and letting out a vocal shout. Bagon covered its ears in pain, shivering as it got damaged.
"That should be enough to guarantee me a knock out." Wes smirked, confidence radiating off him. However, to his surprise, Bagon stood up, ready for battle. "But how? That move was a Fairy type attack!"
Rose was smiling, looking down at her Bagon. "Your ralts is decently trained, but it seems she just lacks the fire power needed to defeat my Bagon. By my calculations, you've chipped away about 1/3 of Bagon's health, which will allow my Bagon to survive an additional round of your attack… Bagon, use Ember!"
Bagon nodded, breathing in, and spitting out some flames which surrounded Nayru. She hissed in pain, but shook off the damage.
"I'm still going to win!" Wes shouted. "Nayru, use Disarming Voice once more!" Nayru once again let out a vocal shout, and this time Bagon took a little longer to stand firmly on its feet.
"I think it is about time I wrap this up." Rose stated. "Bagon, use Shadow Claw!"
"Use what!?" Wes shouted in disbelief. Bagon's claw began glowing a sinister purple as it rushed forward, closing the gap between them in seconds, before bringing the claw down onto Nayru, who got sent flying back and hit the ground, unmoving.
"Nayru!" Wes shouted, running forward.
"Nayru is unable to battle." Jason announced. "Bagon and Rose are the winners!"
"Hey, buddy, you ok?" Wes asked.
"I got Shadow Clawed to the face." Nayru hissed in pain. "I'm peachy."
"How did Bagon know Shadow Claw anyway?" Wes asked.
"Simple." Rose stated. "The school has TMs that the students can use for free. I actually recommend you browse through them sometime, there are tons of moves there you might wanna teach that ralts of yours." Rose turned away, but turned her head a bit to look over her shoulder at Wes. "From the moment I saw you, I knew that ralts only knew standard moves and wasn't trained properly… It was only natural that I could defeat you with my calculations."
Wes stood up, glaring at her in anger while holding Nayru. "Books can't teach you everything! Battles aren't just about books, calculations and what moves to use! They're about passion and the heat of the battle! You'll get nowhere with just simple math!"
"You also won't get anywhere with simple blind tactics." Rose replied. "You say I'll get nowhere with calculations, but I beat you didn't I?" She then walked away, leaving Wes to simmer.
XxXxXxX
"I'm sorry you lost, but maybe now you see what I am talking about?"
Wes had his laptop open on his desk, staring at his monitor with a mixture of sadness and anger. His mom was on the other end of the program he was using to call her, looking at him with a stern, parental look mixed with some sympathy. His mom sighed, petting her skitty that was sitting in her lap. "I knew you were going to fight me on sending you there, but I wouldn't have if I didn't think you would benefit from it… how is Nayru doing?"
"She's resting in her pokéball." Wes gestured over to the Friend Ball on his nightstand. "I healed her using the school's healing machine, but she's pretty burnt up about this as well. I don't get it, we were unbeatable beforehand."
"Is that right?" His mom asked. "When you were just facing against other novice trainers and wild zigzagoon?" Wes didn't reply, so she continued. "You had no idea what you were getting into when you wanted to challenge the Pokemon League, and I had the feeling there was only one way to help you get a taste of that experience."
"I get the feeling this is a harsh way to teach me," Wes grumbled. "That Jason guy… he just put me against the top student because…"
"Because you were talking a big game?" His mom asked. "I know you better than you know yourself, Wes, and you definitely have grown an ego recently. If it took you facing the top student to deflate that ego a little bit, then that's what it took. Want to get better? Study, learn, train, and eventually you will surpass her. I guarantee it."
"Yeah…" Wes nodded. "Alright, I'm heading for bed… have a good day there, mom."
"Sleep well, sweetie." His mom said sadly before Wes turned off the program and closed the laptop, before walking over to the bed and lying down in it, looking up at the ceiling. He was unaware that at that moment, his mom was entering another call at that moment.
"Rough first day, huh?" She asked Professor Kukui. "I heard everything from Wes."
"Yeah, Jason can be a little harsh." Kukui grinned sheepishly. "But I won't argue that his Nasty Plot can get results."
"Well, you have to admit failure and losing are often better teachers then winning and getting results," Wes' mom admitted. "His father would always say that his best teachers were his defeats, and when Wes was beginning to get a big ego in his Pokémon Battling, he was the one to suggest Wes experience a loss. I simply thought sending him to a Pokemon School might help him understand more about battling and level his head… Guess we both got what we wanted in the end."
"Indeed." Kukui nodded. "But don't worry, we will take good care of him here."
"Thank you, Professor."
Edit: After receiving a review from St Elmo's Fire, my Beta Reader and I went back and implemented a lot of the changes in his review. I would like to personally thank him for bringing these grammatical mistakes up, especially the specific ones involving how Pokemon stories usually are written. For years, I usually wrote using improper grammar, and I just never really paid attention to it until St. Elmo's Fire pointed it out, and I realized suddenly that everyone else seems to write the way he explained dialogue is written. Just for reference though, I will be keeping moves capitalized to distinguish them from everything else (and to emphasis Kukui's puns).
