Fate is a Fickle Friend
By GreatAngemon
A/N: This is a faux nuzlocke run, written for Meagan's Destiny Challenge at Ange and Neo's Hostile Takeover.
None of these characters are real, not the trainer or the Pokémon
Also, it isn't great, so… I don't write Pokémon for a reason.
"Tiny, attack!" bellowed Cameron, pointing his Growlithe towards the opposing trainer's Oddish. "Use Flamethrower!"
The small dog immediately leapt at his trainer's command, lunging forwards. With a great howl, a stream of fire burst from the puppy's mouth, enveloping the small blue Pokémon. Ceasing its attack, Growlithe meandered lazily back to Cameron's side. Oddish, blackened and scorched, fell backwards onto the ground.
"No way!" the other trainer roared. He ran forward and tried to get his Oddish to stand up.
"That's right!" Cameron cried, jumping and punching the air. "You don't want to mess with us! Play with fire, and you're gonna get burned!"
Walking away, Cameron heard the other kid mutter the word, "jerk,' under his breath.
"You think I'm a jerk for being the best trainer ever?" he asked.
"No, you're a jerk for having so little regard for other trainer's Pokémon."
Cameron was stunned for a moment. "I took the challenge. I'm the best trainer there ever was. I can't have any regard for any Pokémon but my own."
Leaving the young trainer behind, Cameron walked, his Growlithe at his side, contemplating his words. "So little regard for other trainer's Pokémon"
He was on a mission. He needed to prove himself. Prove that he was the best trainer that ever lived, and he couldn't do that by showing sympathy when he won, could he? He patted his Pokémon on the head. "You don't think I'm a jerk, do you Tiny?"
The small dog whimpered and licked his trainer's hand.
Just then, an elderly man with a grey beard stepped out onto the path ahead of Cameron. The boy saw a slew of differently colored Poké Balls attached to his belt. "Hey! Hey, you!" he called, running to catch up with the man.
The gentleman turned, apparently surprised that there was someone behind him, and smiled. "Hello, young man. What can I do for you?" he asked affably.
"Those are Poké Balls on your belt, right?"
The man nodded. "Well, then I challenge you to a Pokémon battle, right now!"
The man threw back his head and roared with laughter. "Oh, child, you make me laugh. Do you not know who I am? I am Drayden, the Spartan Mayor of Opelucid City, and Leader of Opelucid Gym!" His genial smile was gone now, replaced by a steely glint in his eye, and a flicker of a hungry smile. "I will battle you, if you wish. This is your only opportunity to flee though. Right now."
"Why would I run from a washed up old man?" Cameron asked, his fear of the old man's determination masked by his own. "I'm the greatest trainer there is. I don't ever worry about old men eating me."
"Alright then, boy, but I warned you."
"You did, and I warned you. Give me your best."
"My best, eh? Very well, child. I shall give you, 'my best'." He pulled a small grey and white ball from his belt and clicked the button. It grew to its full size in his palm.
"Go, Tiny!" Cameron called. His Growlithe immediately leapt from his side and growled.
"Go, Haxorus." Drayden tossed the ball carelessly into the air, and it burst open with a burst of white light. When the light cleared, a great dragon stood there, its scales green and black, a blade-like bone sticking out from each side of its mouth.
Cameron stood in awe for a moment, before calling out an order to his Pokémon. "Tiny, use Inferno!"
The small dog opened its jaws in a high-pitched howl, and spit a tornado of flame from its mouth. The flames surrounded the dragon.
But Haxorus shrugged off the fire as easily as a fly. "Our turn now," Drayden said. "Haxorus, use Dragon Claw."
The great beast stepped towards Growlithe, stretched out one massive claw and grazed it against his body. Immediately, Growlithe flew backwards, and remained immobile.
Drayden recalled his Pokémon to its Ball, and walked over to see if Cameron, who was trying to revive his Growlithe, was alright. He heard him muttering to himself. "I took the challenge… because I was the best. No one could beat me, not when I had Tiny with me.
"And now, I don't have Tiny." He sniffled. "Now I'm all alone. I thought my destiny was to be the champion of the Pokémon League. But that isn't it, is it? This is where my destiny ends."
"Destiny, child, rarely takes our feelings into consideration before acting." Drayden patted the boy's shoulder. "She is a fickle friend to have."
Walking away from a great oak tree, Cameron looked over his shoulder at the large rock he'd put at the bas, and the freshly dug ground.
'Here rests Tiny the Growlithe: A great and loyal partner'
"Goodbye, old friend," Cameron whispered, dropping a Poké Ball from his hand onto the dusty road. It hit the ground with a soft thud.