The Battle Club
Chapter 1
-The Kid-
(Originally M, but I ended up feeling that this was about the same as some other T Fics. Swearing, violence, and reality, and some inappropriate things mentioned, but nothing that really makes it M. I had it M so that I was safe, but I ended up not caring. Enjoy.)
1:30 A.M.
Pewter City
"It's just down this road here…" A man in a suit led a young woman down a dark street. They walked until they reached a two-story building with boarded-up windows and worn paint, the color of the paint unidentifiable in the night.
"Okay, thanks." She adjusted the bag on her shoulder and frowned.
The man held out his hand, which she shook. "It was nice doing business with you, Ms. Rothel. If you have any questions, just call."
"I thought you said this place didn't have a landline?"
"Well…. You know where my business is."
"Right."
"Are you sure you'll be alright by yourself?"
"I have my Pokemon. They're all pretty strong."
"Alright…" The man turned and walked away without another word.
Ms. Rothel stood outside for a while, letting out an audible sight before pulling out a key and going up to the door. She unlocked it, stepped in, and searched the wall for a light switch. The light flickered on, revealing a wooden floor bare of any amenities at all. "Nice place…." She muttered, setting her bag down and locking the door behind her. A narrow stairwell was located at the back of the room, leading upwards to the next floor. She traversed it carefully, making sure there were no faulty floorboards.
The next floor held the same as the first. She found the light switch and flicked it on, revealing nothing but boarded up windows and a wooden floor. Reaching into the pouch on the side of her pocket, she grabbed a Pokeball. "Go Primeape," She muttered, sending the brown fighting ape out.
It looked around before staring up at her questioningly.
"I don't want to travel anymore… It's not as great as all the hype says it is. We're staying here from now on…"
"-You've got to be kidding me! You're so lazy!-" The Primeape spoke in its own language, but they had been around each other enough to understand their respective tongues.
"Hey, calm down. I just don't feel like it anymore. We'll start a battle club, so you four can still battle… And I'll find a job or something. Make some money to fix this place up."
"-Asshole. I liked traveling,-"
"I didn't. I'm the trainer. If you don't like it, leave."
The Primeape rolled its eyes, and went downstairs.
"Now you've gone and done it, Zicks," She muttered to herself. She reached into her pouch and pulled out three more Pokeballs, sending out a Golbat, Victreebel, and Kingler. "Hey, we're not traveling anymore, go downstairs and consort against me with Primeape." She looked into their eyes, searching for some happiness or acceptance.
All of them glared at her and descended the stairs.
"To hell with them," She sat on the wooden floor for several more minutes before descending herself. On the first floor, Primeape had started pulling boards from the windows. Victreebel was grabbing what Zicks had brought along from the bag and spreading it on the floor. Kingler was piling up the boards in neat stacks that looked to be organized in size, and Golbat was fluttering around the roof, wiping away cobwebs.
"What… The hell…." She stood with a look of stupor on her face.
"-You better go through with this whole battle club, or else we'll probably have to murder you.-" Primeape called.
"Battle club? Sure… Whatever. We'll set it up tomorrow, if we can."
She grabbed her laptop and leaned against her single pillow, powering it up. It didn't take her long to log on and press the 'Mozilla Ninetales' icon, but she was met with an error message. "Noooo! Come on! There isn't Wi-Fi anywhere around here?" She fiddled around with the settings for a few seconds. "Fuck! Not one of my new neighbors is rich enough to own an internet connection I can hack into? Fuck!"
"-Language, Zicks…-" Primeape called.
"Shut the hell up, Primeape, you called me an asshole earlier! Remember?"
"-The internet connection doesn't deserve it. You kind of did.-"
"You said you were happy about this!"
"-Kind of.-" Primeape went back to work.
Zicks played a game of hearts, swearing a few more times when Golbat, which she had named one of her opponents, shot the moon. The Pokemon's activity had died down, and so she turned off the light and fell asleep, resting her head on her pillow.
9:00 A.M.
Pewter City
Zicks woke up to a young boy walking through her house.
"What the hell?"
He whipped around, startled. "Woah! I thought you were asleep! When I talked to you, all you did was mumble something about a internet connection…"
"So? What are you doing in my house? How did you get in?" She stood up, stretching.
"Your door was unlocked. I'd figure I'd come in here and see if I could find any items."
"You didn't steal anything, did you?" She checked to see if her laptop was still there, which it was.
"No, I mean like Potions or TM's. You know, the stuff people usually have lying around their house that they let you take."
"Nobody does that."
"Maybe not for you because you're grouch-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" The boy screamed as Golbat landed on his head.
"Dammit! Golbat, return!" The large bat disappeared in a flash of red light.
"Woah, you're a Pokemon trainer?"
"I used to be. I quit."
"Why?"
"Traveling was too much for me."
He stood still for a moment, before speaking again. "I know what I'll do! I'll battle you!"
"No! Get out!"
"Okay! We'll battle outside! I'll be waiting!"
He ran outside and stood in the middle of the street.
"Little urchin…" She mumbled. She went to her bag to grab a bite to eat, but when she went to eat her Snorly Bar, there were only a few crumbs left.
Zicks looked outside again. "Dammit! Go and battle Brock or something!" She grabbed the small amount of cash she had, and headed out the door.
"AHA!" He screamed, pointedly making eye contact. "When trainers eyes meet, they have to battle! No questions asked!"
"I'm not a trainer, and that's someone else's line." She mumbled, readjusting her dark blue shirt. And walking down the road toward the Pokemart.
"Come on! I know I can win! You're not motivated at all, so if I battle you, I'll win, because I'm motivated!"
"Go away."
She opened up the door to the Pokemart and stepped inside. The boy remained standing in the middle of the road.
She checked how much she had money-wise, and examined the prices. She grabbed a small bag of Poke-food and some bread, and headed up to the counter.
"Is that all?" The woman at the counter asked.
"Yes…" Zicks mumbled, handing over the items. The cashier began ringing them up. "Do you know anywhere in town that's hiring?"
"Hmmm…" The woman handed over the Poke-food and bread, "We do have an opening here, but it's a janitorial job…. I'd check the Gym and the museum… Also, there are some… Successful… Families around here, and they might be looking for a maid, I don't know."
Zicks sighed. "So there's no water parks around here?"
"No."
"Restaurants?"
"No."
"Movie theater?"
"There's one being built!"
"Oh! How soon will it be done?"
"2 years."
"Dammit. Well, thanks for the groceries."
"It's my job."
"Oh yeah."
Zicks walked out into the street again, heading back.
"Come on! Battle me!" The boy jumped out from behind a dumpster.
Zicks ignored him and kept walking.
"Please?"
She didn't say anything.
"Please please please?"
She rolled her eyes and walked faster.
"-"
"NO!" She screamed whirling around to face him. "For whatever reason, your ears are clogged with your own shit, but I said: NO. MANY TIMES. I'm trying to adjust to living on my own, but so far, all it has consisted of is buying small amounts of food and being annoyed by PIECE OF SHIT TRAINERS whose stupid-ass mothers never taught them the meaning of the commonly used word: NO. GET THE HELL OUT OF MY LIFE YOU USELESS BAG OF SHIT."
The boys face dropped and he stared at the ground.
Zicks turned on her heel and walked away.
She stormed into her house, throwing the food against the wall.
"-So he wanted a battle?-"
"Shut up, Primeape."
"-You promised us a Battle Club, and you turned away a battle.-"
"You would've demolished him, I'm sure of it. He probably didn't even have any prize money to his name, so it would've been a waste of time."
"-Still…. Where is he now?-"
"I talked some sense into him."
"-Talked?-"
"Okay, fine. Yelled."
"-He's just a kid.-"
"Fuck you. I'm fifteen years old, so I'm a kid too."
"-Language.-"
Zicks rolled her eyes and opened up the bag of bread, tearing a piece off of the first slice. "I'm going to find a job somewhere. I'm taking you with me, just in case someone attacks me." She pulled out Primeape's Pokeball. "Or in case I need to attack someone.
"-No problem. Wait wha-" Primeape disappeared in a flash of red light.
She walked down the street again, this time heading toward the gym. She walked up the hill, and opened the doors.
"Welcome trainer! Are you here for a Gym Bat…. Wait, haven't you already been here?" An old man stood before the gym puzzle, head tilted in curiosity.
"About a month ago, yes. I'm here to see if there's a job opening."
"Hmm…. We do have an opening in the janitorial department."
"Really? Why is there a severe lack of janitors? Why can't there be a severe lack of… Gym Trainers?"
"Janitors have respectable jobs, I'll have you know! If it weren't for them, buildings everywhere would be inhospitable."
"I'm a teenage girl. Not janitor material."
"You could be the first…."
"Never mind…" She walked out the door, leaving a chuckling old man behind her.
The museum was close by, and she walked through the automatic doors to the front desk. A man sat in a wooden chair, surrounded by an armada of rocks and fossils.
"Welcome to the Pewter museum! If you want to look around, it just costs the small fee of-"
"I'm not here for a visit. Do you have any job openings?"
"Job openings? Well, we do have a Jani-"
"Never mind." Zicks sighed, and walked out.
"Hmm… Well, I guess working in a Janissary-themed restaurant is not for anyone. Speaking of which, I'm up for some sauerkraut," He mumbled.
Zicks walked into the central plaza of Pewter City, and sat down at the park bench.
She leaned back, listening to the sounds. People walked down the street, talking about politics or food prices… Pidgey and Spearow chirped happily…. Sniffling emanated from a tree….
She rolled her eyes, guessing immediately who it was crying in a tree. She looked over to the big oak, and stood up.
"Kid? You there?"
The crying stopped.
"Hello?" Zicks called.
"What do you want?"
Zicks mentally stumbled over words. "I, uh… I thought about it. Yeah. I was thinking, and maybe a battle wouldn't be so bad after all."
The kid jumped down from the tree. Rubbing his eyes furiously. "Of course! I'm always ready! And I wasn't crying!"
"Sure."
"I wasn't!"
Zicks rolled her eyes. "So there's someone else up in that tree?"
"It was a Pikachu. It just ran off, you missed it."
"Right….." She rolled her eyes again.
"Anyway, when trainers eyes meet, they have to ba-"
\ "I already agreed to battle you."
"…..Fine."
Zicks pulled out a Pokeball from her pouch. "Primeape, get ready…"
The boy pulled a Pokeball out of his pocket. "NOW! WITH THE POWER AND PERSEVERANCE OF A MOUNTAIN! GO, METAPOD!"
The immobile green cocoon popped out next to the ape, who looked mildly confused.
Zicks sighed, rolling her eyes once again. "You're serious."
"Yeah, it just evolved! There's no way you're winning!"
"Whatever. You make the first move."
"NOW! TO MAKE IMPENETRABLE THAT WHICH IS TOUGH AS STEEL! METAPOD, HARDEN!" Metapod obeyed, giving off a metallic gleam as it increased its defenses.
"Primeape, Karate Chop," The ape walked over to the cocoon and slammed its hand down, knocking the Pokemon out clean.
"What? How did you win?"
"I didn't use a Metapod."
"But I…. But I… But…"
"Okay. I'm going to go home now. If you want to battle, go to the Pewter Gym."
Zicks chuckled as she walked home. It didn't take long, as Pewter wasn't a very large city. She opened the door and sent Primeape out.
"-Wow. That was pretty pathetic.-"
"Yeah…" Zicks let out a heartless laugh. "Glad we're done with him though."
"-You were nice to him! I was surprised!-"
"It was only to get him to leave us alone. And he didn't even give me any prize money."
"-You didn't ask for any…. Awww, Zicks has a soft spot!-"
"Shut up."
"-It's so cuuuute…-"
All of a sudden, the door swung open, and the boy stepped inside. "It's decided!"
"What? What are you doing here? I beat you! Go away!" Zicks groaned, slapping her forehead.
"No! I can't leave now! Because from now on, I am your…"
"Oh hell no."
"APPRENTICE!"
"NO!"
And on that note, the first chapter is over. As it was the first chapter, it's naturally a bit short, but oh well. I promise that if I can come up with enough content, that the chapters will be longer. Please, if you enjoy, give me five minutes or less of your time and write a review. It would mean a lot, and thanks in advance!
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. Game Freak develops it, Nintendo publishes it. I'm not involved at all. However, I would appreciate it if you don't steal my story. Thanks.