A True Trainer

By: Monituar Grote

Chapter 1: A World of Infinite Power

It's a typical mid-July summer day. A kid by the name of Brad Lee was enjoying the warm summer days in Orlando, Florida. Laying down, cool air in his face, he pulls out his New 3DS XL and begins playing Pokemon Omega Ruby. Still on his bed and partially clothed, his shirt missing, he began to fool around with the game. Walking around, talking to the city folks, the usual Pokemon game strategy. His team consisted of six, beautiful and powerful Pokemon. His leading Pokemon was a Sceptile, which was around level 87 and was holding its megastone Sceptilite. Treeko was Brad's favorite starting Pokemon, and he had always loved grass types, being the only one in his group of nerdy friends to choose Bulbasaur in Pokemon Red.

The rest of his Pokemon in his team consisted of a Steelix, a Hitmonchan, a Gardevoir, a Magnezone, and a Dragalge. All of these ranged from lvel 70 to 85. Brad was a sucker for having a diverse team of Pokemon for the random instance in which he would have to go "full out" in a Pokemon battle against his friends. So, as he stood up, finally closing his 3DS, he walked over to his mirror.

Looking at himself, he took a deep breath. Brown hair that wasn't too long, giving it the impression that it was always smooth. Brown eyes, because he was cursed with the horrible curse of "boring eyes", not to mention his black, thin rimmed glasses that shouted "NERD" from across the street. He had turned 17 a few months ago, but he had an expression of one that had slept for 30 years and just awoke from a terrible coma. He was about 5'11", but Brad always lied and said he was 6 feet tall to sound impressive. There was one thing about Brad that had always bothered him. He had to hide his nerdiness when he would go to school so that girls would even talk to him.

Girls scoffed and shunned video games and their players when they found out what they played and who played them. You could say, Brad was sort of a merging character. He could fit into any group if he tried hard enough to blend in. That's why he could talk to girls, nerds, jocks, baseball players, teachers, and middle schoolers. He just wished that the world wasn't so prejudiced against video games. Despite all of this, he had always wanted to find a nerdy girl to hang out with. Brad wasn't too innocent himself, having hit a "home run" before with his previous ex, who was a cheerleader by the name of Jean. So, to him, the perfect girl would be a girl that was nerdy, but not so innocent and clueless as to know what "third base" was.

Girl choice aside, it was Saturday, and Brad was going to have some friends over for a Smash Bros. party. From Smash 64 to Smash for Wii U, Brad had set it all up on his plasma screen television. "Okay! Just have to wait for everyone to arrive now..." he mumbled excitedly. He moved around his room, reorganizing a few amiibos and books on his shelves. As he did this, he accidently knocked his 3DS off of his bed while he was trying to reach for his Link amiibo. "Crap!" he shouted as he quickly scrambled to see if his 3DS was okay and his game wasn't destroyed.

He carefully opened the system and looked at the screen. "Wheu! It's fine. My heart stopped for a sec-" and poof! His 3DS screen suddenly turned white and then flickered to black. After a few more seconds, the 3DS just shut down on its own. "NO!" Brad yelled as he threw himself onto his bed and tried to turn his device back on, as it had shut down. "Come on," he mumbled, "Come on, come on, come on!" Nothing. The 3DS didn't react at all. "Gah!" Brad shouted as he tossed his 3DS to the side and grabbed his head in frustration. After a few minutes of just deep thinking about how he had just broken the device his father bought for him before he passed away, he stood up slowly. Walking around his room, he began to search for a picture of his father.

Inside the top drawer of his dresser, there it was. A picture of his father. He was a little bit taller than Brad, but he looked almost identical to him. There were a slight facial differences, which you could tell he got from his mother. The problem was, Brad had etched the face of his mother out of the picture. He held the picture close to his chest and began to take a few deep breaths as he shivered a bit, trying to hold back a few tears that began to appear in his eyes. He carefully placed the picture back in his drawer and closed it softly.

After bringing back a few unpleasent memories, he walked out of his room. His family wasn't rich. They lived in a small apartment complex that seemed to reek of burnt Swiss cheese if you didn't spray the room with Fabrese every few days. There was only a small hallway with two doors, including the door to his room. The other door was his mother's room. He avoided looking at the door and walked over to the living room through the hallway. "Mom," he mumbled quietly, "I'm going to cancel the event." His mother, who was a fiery red head that was a little bit smaller than him, stood up. She looked nothing like Brad, but she did have the same nose.

"What?" she asked rather confused on Brad's sudden change of plans.

"I'm not going to have my friends over anymore. I want to be alone today," he repeated a little bit slower.

"Ah. I see. Do whatever. Just, dont't come out of your room when it's 4. I'm having another customer over for another film shoot," she said as she adjusted her bra underneath her Green M&M shirt. That's right. His mother was a prostitute. His mother always said that she didn't like being bound to one man, but Brad's father didn't like to have his wife sleeping or doing other guys or sometimes girls. So, he divorced her. Brad lived with his father for a bit, until he died in a horrific car accident cause by a drunk prostitute. This is why he hated his mother so much.

Brad gagged a bit at his mother's comment of having a "customer" over. After hearing Brad's reaction, she walked over to him and slapped him on the back of the head. "Don't make me knock you out so you don't have to worry about hearing anything!" she shouted, rather harshly. Brad stumbled a bit, but his mother's hits didn't hurt anymore. He was used to it. He just shrugged his shoulders as he walked back to his room. He spat at the foot of his mother's door as he entered his room. Luckily, his mother didn't notice.

After closing the door, locking it, and baracading it with a nightstand a chair, he collapsed onto his bed. It was still 11 in the morning, but he just wanted to sleep the entire weekend. He hated how horrible his chances were. Video games were his escape from reality. But, at the moment, his dreams would have to do.

‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑

Brad awoke on the floor of a horrific forest. Laying on the grass, he stared up into the crown of the trees. An ominous feeling chilled through his spine as he felt immobile and couldn't move. The grass around him creeped up and began to strangle him. He suddenly regained the ability to move, giving him the ability to try and fight back. He struggled to stand and free himself, but he finally was able to after gritting his teeth and shouting through the dank and musty air.

He jumped up and off the ground and began to run through the forest. He had no control of his body, but he continued to move on his own. Up ahead, he could see the exit to this creepy forest. Once he got out, he recognized the area. He saw his father, smiling and motioning for Brad to get in the same car he was in on THAT day. He turned his head to the right, and there it was. A pickup truck being driven by a blonde chick was swirving uncontrollably on the two lane street. Brad's pupils shrunk and his mouth let out a dying scream as he relived that day for the thousandth time since it happened. The truck seemed to slow down as it neared his father's car.

The last thing he saw, was the smile on his dad's face as he mouthed the words "I love you", then closed his eyes. CRASH!

‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑

Brad jumped awake as he flipped over sparatically. He sat up on his bed and looked around. His room was the same as usual, but there was an odd escence and mood in the air. Brad turned to his pillow to see that he had been crying in his sleep. But what Brad saw next was something he had not prepared for. His 3DS, which he had thrown onto his bed and was on his pillow as well, was covered in his tears. He sighed as he picked it up and slowly wiped away the tears. His hands skimmed the red surface with caution and care. With slow hands and a sad face, Brad opened the 3DS. What he saw next made him freeze. Split between both screens was a picture of his father.

"What? How is this possible? I never take photos with my 3DS?" he mumbled aloud. The picture fizzed into clarity. Suddenly, his father blinked. Brad jumped a bit and tossed his 3DS down onto the bed. He gazed at it as his father's face seemed to take life on his screen. The face gazed at Brad, who could do nothing but gaze right back in awe.

"B-r-a-d!" a voice mumbled from his 3DS. "B-r-a-d-p-i-c-k-u-p-i-t-s-m-e!"

That was it. The voice disappeared. The face was gone. All that was left was a fingerprint icon on the bottom screen. "What the hell!" Brad shouted as he picked up the 3DS and inspected it. The 3DS had now received an eerie blue screen. The fingerprint icon was flashing on the bottom screen. Brad tensed up as he thought about what could happen if he touched the screen. After a few seconds of debating with himself, he quickly pressed his thumb to the flashing fingerprint on the bottom screen.

And just like that, it happened. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. Brad quickly flared up in anger. He picked up his 3DS shut it rather roughly. He looked up at the ceiling and groaned with frustration. He opened the 3DS again and tried all of his fingers. Nothing. Brad was furious. "My mind is just playing tricks with me..." he mumbled. But he couldn't believe that. He HAD seen his father on his 3DS screen. Did he? Well, either way, he had to find out why there was a fingerprint on his screen. He sat still and thought hard.

"That's it!" Brad said as he jumped up and checked the time. It was 3:45. "Yes! No one is here yet!" he said joyfully. Dashing out the door of his room, he began to call for his mother. When he finally found her, she was wearing a tight, black, leather outfit that no one would wear to go outside, as it seemed a person could get cold wearing that.

"What do you want, boy? Can't you see I'm getting ready for work?" she said as she checked her makeup in a nearby mirror.

"Ew! Mom! Disgu-" he trailed off and remembered his idea, "Mom! Did Dad love you?"

BAM! Brad's mom gave him a hefty slap that actually hurt a bit. "DO NOT TALK ABOUT YOUR FATHER BEFORE I GO TO WORK, BOY!"

"Mom! No! Listen" Brad interrupted as he stretched his jaw in pain, "I need you to touch this!" Brad revealed the 3DS and its blue screen and fingerprint icon. The mom scoffed and quickly pressed the screen so that she could get rid of her son. The screen flashed green and made a small "ding!" sound.

"Now go back to your room, boy!" she shouted as she pulled out a leather whip. Brad shook his head as he dashed back to his room. He placed the 3DS on his bed and stared at the screen, which had began to flash green. He watched with his mouth open as the screen flashed faster and faster. Suddenly, a green light enveloped the entired room. Brad stayed still as he felt an odd feeling in his stomach. The entire room seemed to disappear as he gazed in awe at the green light. And in an instant, it was all gone.

Brad now found himself in the middle of a dirt path, standing tall, and in perfect shock of what had just happened. The thing is, he wasn't phased about teleporting to another place, as much as he was shocked to see what was in front of him. There was a beautiful view of mountains and pure white clouds. The sun was up and shining, and the world seemed like it was painted bby the greatest pastel painter in the universe. The thing that made his mouth drop, though, was the Pokemon that he saw moving around this vast scenery. There was a Flygon in the distance, a few Swellows in a nearby tree, and a few Nuzleafs skipping around and sparing with each other in the grassy meadows.

Seeing this made Brad feel light headed. After a few minutes of observing all of this, Brad collapsed.