This is my third fic, my first Pokémon story, and my first in someone else's world. If you have been following HandsOfFate's A New Master's Quest (read it twice it was so good), then you will know the main storyline behind the fifth generation. I decided to explore the viewpoint of an up-and-coming trainer during that time who had no involvement whatsoever with Earth-shattering events. If you haven't read A New Master's Quest and the sequel A New Master's Quest: The Elite Four Challenge, I highly recommend that you do. You won't be lost, par se, but you will be missing a good chunk of the backstory. Did change a few things related to status effects (don't throw a hissy fit, they all have reasons) that may or may not have changed scenes in the original, but other than that everything is NMQ cannon. Starts the December before the 5th Generation began at around the same time as Vanessa was leaving the group in NMQ.
Burson, California
Graduation had come and gone, along with summer and a semester at the local college. The idea was that I'd get my general ed stuff out of the way and transfer to a bigger school for my bachelor's. Honestly, I hated it and still hadn't figured out what to do for a major. The two classes I did enjoy were Pokémon Battle Theory 101, which I aced, and Pokémon History 101, which I also aced, but any classes of the kind beyond that required me to have a Pokémon of my own.
Then, Mom and Dad gave me a slightly late Christmas present. Well, more like Dad did without Mom knowing until it was too late because she would never allow it. She had been a pretty good trainer in her time, but for some reason she was opposed to the idea of me becoming a trainer. My dad had also been a powerful trainer, but he was very much for me getting a Pokémon. He and I had argued with Mom probably hundreds of times, but she always told both of us that she "didn't want me to get hurt" or some other such crap.
"Hey Kyle," Dad said as we were eating the leftovers from our feast, "I think it's about time I gave you this." He pulled out a small box.
"Honey, what is that?" asked Mom.
He smiled. "Oh, just one more present. It's a lot like what I got when I was twelve."
That's when mom got really angry. "Norman, we talked about this!"
"It's his decision to take it or not. He's an adult, and much more responsible than I was at his age, so I trust him with this, even if you don't."
"With what?" asked my little brother Devon, classically with his mouth full.
I pulled off the bow and opened the box. I held up its contents. It was a little red and white ball with a button. "With this," I said. I smiled at the sight of the Pokéball. "This sure beats battling Spring and Shiny." Spring and Shiny were our pet Glameow and Meowth that Mom had barely let into the house to satisfy our desire for Pokémon.
Mom's face turned almost as red as her hair, and that was saying something. Back when she had been a gym leader, she had been known for three things: Water Pokémon, skimpy second-hand bathing suits, and really red hair. "You WHAT?!" Mom almost shouted.
I laughed. "Just kidding. I won't say I didn't try, though."
"Meow!" said the two cats with one voice. Who'd have thought that having two cat Pokémon with "meow" in their name would allow that?
"Norman Turner, how could you do this behind my back?" Mom glared at Dad.
He shrugged. "Would you have said yes if I asked?"
"No!"
Dad chuckled. "Too late now." Then he turned to me. "Well, c'mon. Check it out!"
I pressed the button that made the Pokéball bigger and tossed it across the room. It landed and opened in a burst of light. "Torchic," said the Pokémon inside.
I knew Torchic's capabilities by heart. Not only had they been taught in Battle Theory, Blaziken, Torchic's most evolved form, was easily my favorite Pokémon, followed at a short distance by Abomasnow. Sorry, but those two are way too badass.
Mom almost seemed to wilt with relief. "Well, at least it's just a Flying-type. I would have been worried if it was a Fire-type. Besides, it's way too cute to be a good battler!"
"Torch?" it said, quizzically.
I looked at Dad and Jenna. They looked at me and each other. Then we looked at Torchic. Then we looked at Mom. She was still looking at Torchic. We each put one finger over our mouths and looked at each other. "So, Dad," I began. "Where's a good place for us to train?"
He smiled. "You might try Lake Hogan. You know the cove where we used to go fishing? That would be enough room to train."
Mom looked at him. "If it's a Flying-type, why can't you train here?" she asked.
"Because not all birds can fly," I said, thinking quickly. "Torchic uses… other moves."
She seemed to accept this and I moved on. All of a sudden, I wondered if her time spent campaigning against Fire-type Pokémon had made her forget a lot of the things that she had learned about them. Particularly, everything about the cute ones. "After dinner, I'll head over to Jacob's house. He'll want to meet Torchic," I told Dad. Jacob had had his own Pokémon for a few years, but never gotten serious about training.
"That's fine," he said. "And why don't you check out the pantry, top shelf. There should be some Pokémon food just right for… um… bird Pokémon."
I did and found some dried Rawst Berries. I took them down and gave them to Torchic. When Mom started doing dishes, I whispered to Torchic. "Don't use your Fire-type moves around Mom. She's not the biggest fan of Fire-types."
Torchic winked in understanding. "Chic," it said confidentially.
I smiled at him and picked him up, putting his Pokéball in my pocket. Somehow, I just knew that he and I would be great friends. After putting him on my shoulder, I grabbed my jacket and left the house. When I got to my car, I buckled Torchic into the passenger seat. I pulled out of the barn (yes, I park my car in a barn) and started the five minute drive to Jacob's house. Really, he just lived four houses away from me, but in Burson, everyone has a 5-acre lot, and I had to drive around all four to get to his house. When I pulled in, I saw his family sitting around the living room, just talking. Their Pokémon were sitting around too. They heard me pull in, and Jacob came out to greet me.
"Sup bra?"
I guess I forgot to mention that Jacob grew up in Hawaii before moving to California.
"Oh, just bringing over a new friend for you to meet."
"Sick!" he said, trying to look through the windows of my car. "Uh, where's the girl?"
I just laughed. Then I went around to the passenger side and opened the door. After unbuckling Torchic, I put him on my shoulder.
"Try Pokémon," I said. Jacob's jaw dropped.
"Whoa! Since when does your old lady let her son get a Fire-type, man?"
I laughed. "Good one! Don't tell her Torchic isn't a Flying-type."
"WHAT?! Dude! I can't believe your mom fell for that!"
I laughed too. "I didn't tell her anything! She was all like 'Oh my gosh I'm so glad it's not a Fire-type and oh my gosh it's so cute!'"
Even Torchic was laughing now. "Wow, bra, wow," said Jacob after we had calmed down. "So, you up for a battle?"
I shook my head, "Nah, Torchic is still pretty young. I'd prefer to get some training under his belt before I start battling him."
Jacob shrugged. "Whatever, man. Hey, wanna' come inside?"
"Sure, let's go."
I went inside and was immediately floored by Jacob's family's Persian. It started licking my face like crazy. "Ah! Mr. Snuggles, get off of me!"
"Okay, Snuggles, that's enough," said Jacob. Finally, the Persian got off, but not before it had completely washed my face.
"Dude," I said when I got up, "why does that always happen to me?"
He laughed a little. "Well, I guess you're a Pokémon person!"
I laughed back. Just then, his mom came out of the living room. "Kyle!" said his mom. "Welcome!"
"It's nice to see you too, Mrs. Johnson," I said, "but I think Snuggles already gave me a welcome."
She laughed. "Well, he usually does!" she said brightly. "And is that Torchic yours?"
"Yes ma'am," I said. "Just don't tell my mom he's a Fire-type.
She laughed and said she wouldn't. She knew of my mom's paranoia of Fire-types, and why. Some Fire-types that had flames on the outside of their bodies had once set fire to Mom's gym. Torchic, thankfully, didn't, so it wasn't a huge deal.
"Kip!" Jacob's Mudkip came down the stairs. It was friendly enough, but not if it saw you as a threat to its dominance. Truth be told, it had actually been known to smack around Mr. Snuggles. Right now, it was deciding whether or not Torchic was a threat.
"Chic chic!" Torchic chirped, flapping its tiny wings happily at the other Pokémon.
Mudkip came all the way down the stairs and started conversing with Torchic. Eventually, it seemed to relax.
"Well, it's nice to see those two getting along so well together," said Jacob's mom. Then she turned to me. "Are you going to be entering the New Years County Pokémon Tournament next week?"
I shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe, but you need at least three Pokémon to enter."
"C'mon, man," said Jacob. "I'll loan you the Pokéballs, you can pay me back later. It'll be fun!"
I shrugged. "Well, all right."
"Sweet! Up top!" he gave me a high-five. "Hey, and then, we can take the League Challenge!"
"Whoa there cowboy, who said anything about that?"
"C'mon man, I've been waiting for this opportunity for a long time! Don't turn me down like this." He put on his sad face.
I sighed. "We have one week to get ready. If we both do really well, I'll do it."
"Cowabunga bra! Now that's what I like to hear!" He offered a fist, and I bumped it. "Start tonight?"
"Tonight?" I asked him. "Are you serious?"
He shrugged. "Some of the best Pokémon around only come out at night. Besides, training time is already at a premium."
I thought for a minute. What he said was true. Pokémon like Hoothoot and Kriketot did only come out at night. I shrugged. "Why not?"
"Sweet! Just give me a sec to get my Pokéballs." He ran upstairs and came down with six Pokéballs. "Three for me, three for you. That way, we'll have a selection for the tournament."
I nodded. "Okay, let's do it. Where to?"
He thought for a minute. "What about that meadow area in front of your house?"
I scrunched up my eyebrows. "You know we don't own that, right?"
"What the owners don't know won't kill them," he said.
"Okay, let's go," I relented. I put Torchic in his Pokéball and drove both of us back to my house, but stopped at the gate leading to the meadow near it. We got out and grabbed the Pokéballs. To the left was a grove of trees and to the right was a field. We hopped the fence.
"Hey man, let's spread out," said Jacob. "We'll meet back at the gate in fifteen."
I nodded. "Sounds good." He went right and I went left. I decided to let Torchic out ASAP so that we wouldn't wake the Pokémon with the light if we saw any.
We crept along, me and my big body keeping back from Torchic, who was in the lead. I was making sure to stick to the trees whenever possible. Then Torchic stopped.
"Tor," said Torchic quietly.
"You see… oh, I see it." Torchic had spotted a little mouse-like Pokémon curled up in a ball on the ground. I could see that it was a Sandshrew. Although they were usually desert Pokémon, this area was dry enough in the summer for a number of them to make their way this far north, though most headed south by December. This late in the season, they were a rare find. A Ground Pokémon wouldn't really help me against the Flying, Grass, or Water-types that were found around here, but if someone had an Electric or Fire Pokémon, which were good against the common types around here, it would be a real asset. In any case, it was one down and two to go. I knew that you had to weaken Pokémon, usually, but when they were sleeping naturally it was almost even odds. I decided to take a bit of a chance with this one. I threw the Pokéball and it disappeared in a burst of light. It didn't even try to escape.
Well, that was anticlimatic. I almost wish it had put up a fight. I said to myself. I checked my watch. I'd only been out for a couple of minutes, so I decided to keep going. Even with Torchic out in front I almost tripped over my next catch. In the light of the moon, I could make out a four-legged form with a large plant bulb on the back of the sleeping Pokémon.
There was no mistaking that it was a Bulbasaur, and a pretty big one at that. Bulbasaur were very common, not just around here but almost everywhere. They were known to be strong enough in competition for professionals, once leveled up and evolved a couple of times, but very easy to train with pretty significant defensive capabilities and powerful Grass-type moves.
In other words, it would be a perfect addition to my team. I was about to catch it in its sleep like Sandshrew when its eyes fluttered open. Well, there goes that idea. "Torchic, Peck!" Its beak glowed, then it charged and nailed Bulbasaur in the side, waking it up completely.
"Bulb!" it shouted, obviously not happy about being woken up. It immediately let loose with a barrage of Razor Leaves.
"Peck again!" I said. This time, Bulbasaur wasn't caught off-guard. It quickly countered with Vine Whip, snaking it around Torchic's body and holding it to be hit by Razor Leaf. I had to think fast. "Use Ember!" Torchic fired a small storm of embers from its beak, which almost got through the Razor Leaves but not quite.
I was running out of options.
"Peck the Vines!" I told my Pokémon. Apparently, Bulbasaur had a sense of feeling in its Vines, as the Razor Leaves faltered. With more pecking, Bulbasaur let go and Torchic was free. "Now go for Bulbasaur with Peck!" I told it. Torchic ran as fast as its little chicken legs could carry it, and managed to get to the grass-type before it could counter. The glowing beak definitely hurt it. At this point, it had taken two super-effective attacks but was still going. I had to be impressed by its toughness. That's when I saw something green shimmering around it. I couldn't figure out what it was until Torchic erupted in flames. Blaze and Overgrow! This battle was much closer than I would like. That Bulbasaur must have been at a pretty good level to give Torchic a battle like this, especially with all the typing against it.
"Bulbasaur!" it yelled defiantly.
"Torchic!" my little chicken answered back.
"Use Ember!" Bulbasaur countered with Razor Leaf. Thanks to Overgrow, Razor Leaf was much stronger, but Torchic's Ember was just as boosted. For a second, the two attacks held each other at bay, but eventually Bulbasaur started losing ground. Torchic must have been really trying to overcome that Razor Leaf attack as leaves fell to the ground in flames as the barrage of embers eventually made its way to Bulbasaur itself. I could tell that it was taking major damage, but it wasn't out of the fight yet. I had to finish this, or it would finish Torchic. "One more time Torchic! Peck!"
The last time was too much for it. It slumped over, tired, but still awake as I threw my second Pokéball. As the Pokéball opened up, it drew the Grass-type inside. It tried to get out, the ball wiggling back and forth, but it eventually stopped. Wow, that Bulbasaur will be one heck of an addition to my team, I said to myself. Granted, Grass-types were one of the most easily countered types, but that didn't mean that they didn't pack a significant punch. I picked up the Pokéball and headed back to the gate, noticing that I was five minutes late for my meet-up already. I guess it's easy to lost track of time when you're in a battle.
Well, what do you think so far? I know this sounds like an all-too-typical way to ask for a review, but please do so!
Also, if you read this chapter before I edited it, there was a last-minute name change for the MC and an inconsistency in the name of his dad. The MC is named Kyle Turner and his dad is Norman Turner.
