A/N This is my first Pokemon fanfic so I hope I'm doing it okay. The world is a mix of the video games and the anime... They both make sense with certain things. The two main characters are OCs but I tried to make them balanced enough. I will, however, add in canon characters as well, although I don't know whether they'll be like they are in the anime ^^
Disclaimer: I do not own the Pokemon franchise. If I did then I would not be writing fanfiction. I'd be sitting on a large pile of money, laughing at all the common folks. I do, however, own both Zenelle and any other OCs that appear in this. Mine Mine Mine! ...Unfortunately they won't make me any money :(
"Chimchar is unable to battle. Gym Leader Roark wins," the referee reported, holding up a red flag in his left hand. Zenelle ran to her downed Chimchar.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Flare. We were so close," she whispered to it, cuddling it close. "He was down to one Pokémon and everything!" Okay, so it had been a one on one match because her beloved Chimchar was her only Pokémon, but he was still down to his last.
"It was a good battle," Roark told her good-naturedly, despite it being the third such battle where his Geodude had come out without a scratch. He held out a hand to help her up. She scowled at him, unable to take her third loss quite so well as she stood up on her own.
"Just you wait, Roark. I'm going to beat you so hard next week... You'll be... Unable to battle for a whole week!" She decided. He sighed.
"Perhaps you should try catching other Pokémon," he suggested.
"Nope, I'll beat you with Flare," Zenelle retorted, turning her back on him and leaving. The last loss had been taken slightly better. The first, she had actually been polite. This wasn't fair! She hadn't won a single Pokémon battle so far and her friend, Senny, was well on her way to reaching their goal by now – Sunyshore Gym, home of the resident hottie Volkner. The first one to reach him was allowed to date him. Of course, he'd fall in love with them as soon as they beat him in a battle... If they beat him in a battle...
She hovered nervously inside the Pokécenter as she waited to see if Flare would be okay. She had become a regular there, having been regularly beaten. Even her attempts to catch Pokémon had been unsuccessful. Wurmple, Budew, Starly... Even Bidoof had escaped her. She had weakened them! She had made friends with them! She had done everything but as soon as she started chucking her balls around, they vanished.
"Urgh, I guess I ought to apologise to Roark as well. It's not his fault his Pokémon are good! ...No... It's not his fault he managed to train his Pokémon well. It's not Flare's fault. She tries her best. She'd be great with a good trainer," she groaned, as Nurse Joy came back with a happy looking Flare. Zenelle instantly held her arms out and Flare leapt into them, gibbering cheerfully. Flare was always cheerful, no matter how many times she fainted. "Thank you, Nurse Joy. I swear, next time we'll come back triumphant."
"Good luck," Nurse Joy replied, although her almost neutral tone failed to hide the disbelief. Zenelle tried to ignore the hidden laughter of the other trainers as she walked out. They didn't mean to be mean, but Zenelle had made a name for herself.
The two of them walked out, ignoring the bright sunshine. One of them still seemed happy and cheerful, skipping along, while her trainer dragged her feet behind. Flare stopped and waited for Zenelle to catch up before patting her leg comfortingly.
"Char, chimchar, char," she assured. Zenelle sighed, wishing she could understand. Good trainers could understand their Pokémon, or so she'd heard.
"Thanks, Flare. Next time, I swear. Now why don't we capture a Pokémon to help? Something with lots of water to wash that smirk off Roark's... Non-smirky face. Geez, I'm being really mean to him. He's not really bad looking himself, you know? But he is no Volkner! Volkner's my goal. Senny will not get him!"
"Char, chim!" Flare agreed, holding up a determined fist. Zenelle laughed and counted her Pokéballs. She still had the ten she'd started with. Not a single one had actually caught a Pokémon, so she had picked them up to try again. She was determined this time! She would win!
It wasn't long before the two spotted a wild Bidoof happily nibbling on some form of treat it had probably fished out of a rubbish bin. Zenelle put a finger to her lips and gently cupped a Pokéball, ready to tell Flare what to do. They would take this one unawares. They would capture it.
"Flare, I want you to leer at it before scratching it. These things frighten so easily you should have it fainted in seconds," she whispered. Flare nodded, pressing closer to the ground, much like a Meowth on the hunt. "Silently," Zenelle added, softly. Flare crept closer as the Bidoof happily nibbled away.
The Bidoof sat up suddenly, staring intently in the opposite direction to Flare. Zenelle bit her lip, sure it would run. Flare froze. The silence was almost overwhelming. Zenelle was certain her heartbeat was far too loud, and far too fast. In fact, it almost sounded like someone running very fast towards them. Zenelle glanced up, away from the Bidoof, to a figure that was quickly approaching.
"No, wait!" She cried as the Bidoof suddenly started to dig, quickly disappearing. "But you were meant to be mine!" She protested, running to it, before glaring at the boy and deliberately stepping into his path. He instantly forced himself to stop; pretty sure she wouldn't let him pass until she spoke her piece.
"Please let me pass. This is urgent," he panted. Zenelle opened her mouth to berate him but stopped when she saw just how exhausted he looked, almost as if he had been running for days. On close observation, she had to admit he was handsome, despite the fact he was dripping with sweat and his formerly pure white uniform was now torn and muddy. His black hair was long and heavily tangled, but it flopped artfully into dark green eyes...
"Char chim chimchar!" Flare protested, ignoring any rugged handsomeness. She had wanted to help capture a Bidoof! Zenelle snapped out of it.
"Oi, you, you owe me a Bidoof!" She cut in, hands on her hips. The stranger looked startled.
"P-Pardon?" He replied.
"You scared the Bidoof I had weakened off before I got a chance. You owe me a new one. Pay up," Zenelle responded, firmly.
The stranger regarded her hesitantly, before he suddenly smiled and pulled a Pokéball from his pocket. Zenelle was almost too surprised to catch it. She hadn't actually expected that to work!
"She may not be a Bidoof but perhaps this will pay my debt. Her name is Star. Please keep her safe and do not tell anyone about her," he begged. Zenelle's mouth opened and closed a few times, but she failed to respond before he ran off without a glance back. Finally her voice worked.
"W-Wait!" She called but he was already gone. She glanced back at the Pokéball in her hand – a luxury ball by the looks of it. "Flare... What do you think?"
"Chimchar," Flare replied, scratching her head.
"Yeah, that's exactly what I was going to say," she replied, still slightly overwhelmed. She gulped and jammed the strange ball in her pocket as two others came running up, dressed in similar white uniforms to what the stranger had worn, except they had a big blue G emblazoned on the chest. They also had the stupidest bowl haircuts Zenelle had ever seen. Despite this, they both gave her a look that suggested they thought themselves superior to her.
"Oi, you!" One yelled. "Did you see a young man run past here?"
"Yeah, he scared off my Bidoof," Zenelle replied, uncertainly. Those outfits practically screamed that these guys were up to no good. Flare hid behind her leg.
"Did he say anything?" The other demanded, glaring down at her Chimchar.
"Um... Sorry? That's about it. He just ran past," Zenelle assured. Were they after this Pokémon? That had to be it. Bad guys always wanted Pokémon. Is that why he had given her this? Had he just made her a walking target!? That stupid jerk! The two guys exchanged glances, one making a slashing movement across his throat, but the other shook his head.
"She doesn't know anything," he whispered. "Let's get PT2 and go."
"Fine," the first agreed, running off. The other followed instantly. Zenelle watched them go before pulling out the Pokéball again.
"PT? Is that you? What does PT stand for? A new Pokémon? Porygon? Pikachu? Pelipper? Poochyena? Oooh let it be a Poochyena! I so wanted one! ...Pachirisu? Where does the T come in? What do you think, Flare?"
"Chimchar!"
"No, there's no P in that... or T," Zenelle replied with a sigh. "...You know; the jerk is probably in trouble. Do you think we should help him?"
"Chaaar..." Flare replied, hesitantly before smiling. "Chimchar!"
"Okay, let's go!" Zenelle agreed with a laugh, waiting for Flare to jump up on to her shoulder before she ran to help the strange jerk.
A/N So why are the Bowl Cut Brothers chasing this stranger? Just what Pokemon is PT2? Will Zenelle ever get the elusive Bidoof!? Find out next week on Unable to Battle :D (please note a week may not be a week) Direct any complaints, notes, or general criticisms onto the review button. Thanks very much :)