Episode 01 – "To Be Strong"

*Ding!*

"The bell has rung! It's time to officially start the match!"

The announcer's voice boomed all across the stadium, soon swallowed by the cheers of thousands in attendance. Spurred by the noise, the Pokemon Trainer threw his Pokeball into the large, battle ring, summoning out his smirking Ghost-Type Pokemon, Gengar! His rival threw his Pokeball out in unison, choosing his trusty Nidorino to start the fight!

Different sides of the stadium started chanting the trainers' names as the two Pokemon charged at each other.

Gengar swiped at the Nidorino with its claws.

"Gengar takes the initiative! But wait….!"

The Nidorino dashed aside, dodging the attack just barely over its head. As soon as it landed on its fours, however, its horn started emitting a bright glow!

"Could it be!? Yes! Nidorino is aiming to finish the Gengar off with a-"

"Whoa! That's so awesome!"

The battle in the stadium continued on behind the screen of a television, with some high school students stopping by to watch and cheer in front of the display glass. Of course, it wasn't long before the owner of the store came running out to chase them away as usual, only to ironically turn around to watch the TV as well.

One schoolgirl passed by the store, her eyes only momentarily catching the sight of the old man shouting at the boys. This was Kay, a slightly above average-looking girl. Kay was slightly shorter than most girls her age, and she didn't have looks that screamed 'cute' or 'gorgeous'. Her black hair was tied into a loose ponytail, and her fringe partially covered her face. She was one of those teenagers who – despite her age (fifteen) – didn't actively carry their Pokemon with them. She lacked popularity in school, which would explain why she normally walked home on her own.

But she was used to that.

Her ponytail bounced as she hurried into the public train, and sighed when the door closed behind her.

"That was close…" Kay muttered to herself as she took a seat, placing the grocery bags beside her. Only for a while though as she soon offered the seat next to her to an old woman who walked in at the next stop. "Please, go ahead."

Kay was a nice girl though so that was one of her good points.

But, a glance to the side surprised her. Not far from where she was sitting were three girls from her school, laughing and chatting away with each other. They wore ribbons and other fashionable accessories – in fact, their 'leader' obviously had her hair dyed blonde!

Kay knew them.

And that's why she had to instinctively hide her face behind her schoolbag.

Eventually she was able to get off the train, hurriedly even. Unfortunately, her escape attempt failed her.

"Oy, 'Plainer'!"

Kay froze on the spot. 'Plainer' – a play on her last name… Only certain girls called her by that name.

"Hey, don't tell me you were running away from us?" The one talking to her was none other than the girl who dyed her hair, and on each of her side were the other two girls that were always with her. "I'm feeling hurt, y'know?"

Kay slowly turned her head around, trying to put up a good smile. "H, Hi, Terry... And no, of course not; I… I just need to hurry back home is all."

Just then, the two other girls wrapped their arms around Kay's, giving the worried girl a mischievous grin.

"Oh come on," their 'leader' continued, walking ahead of them. "We just wanna talk to you, that's all. Come on; I know a good place nearby."

'Not again' were the words that were spoken in Kay's head as she was pulled from the train station.

'A good place' she said. Apparently to Terry and the other girls a 'good place' was right under a bridge that was overlooking a river. Kay even doubted the girls knew about this place to begin with and simply chose the spot because there was no one else around. That thought alone made her wonder what they were planning to do with her.

If anything, it was to bully her again – this wasn't the first time; they seemed to enjoy telling her to do errands for them or even criticizing the way she looked. Why, just last week they asked her to do their homework for them – all THREE of them.

But before Kay could say anything to either of the three…

"Oh, hey, look!" Vicky, one of the other girls – the one with the longer hair – said, looking directly at the grocery bags in Kay's hand. "She bought some things!"

"Did you buy anything for us?" the girl with the tan, Nicky, asked. "We're huuuungry."

"Yeah, Plainer," Terry said, flipping her blonde hair aside. "Come on, you gotta share something with us. Even if it IS something cheap."

Nicky giggled at that.

It was true though: Kay wasn't exactly someone who normally carried a lot of money. Not like these three girls – that was why they felt they could do anything they want. Nonetheless, Kay swallowed her pride and endured it, as usual.

"S, Sorry," said Kay, her head lowered. "But these are just raw vegetables and meat that my dad asked me to b-"

"Ah, whatever! If you don't have anything to eat…" Just like that, Terry held out her hand to Kay. "Just lend me some cash to buy something, won't you?"

"… eh…?

"You heard what I said. I just spent the last of my allowance on some music CDs so now I'm broke."

"But… But this money isn't mine. My dad lent it to me…"

"HA….?" Terry suddenly stepped forward. "Didn't you hear what I said? We're hungry here! Do you want us to starve or something?"

"Let me see it!" Suddenly, Vicky reached out and yanked the grocery bag from Kay's hand to rummage through it. "Aw, these are all cheap! I'm not going to get full eating just these!" And Vicky dropped the bag onto the ground just like that.

"H, Hey…!" Kay tried to pick up the bag, only to be stopped by an outstretched arm.

"You know what?" Terry asked, keeping Kay at bay. "I don't think my Pokemon has eaten yet either. Say, you wouldn't mind sharing these with it, would you?"

With her other hand, Terry reached out to her side, picking out a sole Pokeball that hung on her custom-made belt. The ball was the smaller kind – probably just around the size of a USB Drive – but as soon as she dropped it onto the ground, it snapped open with a 'pop' and out came Dandelion!

Terry's just-as-spoilt Furfrou.

Anyone who believes that Pokemon take after their owners would be right to use Dandelion as an example; it was just as mean and selfish as Terry herself. The blonde dye on its head fur made it recognizably hers too, and much like Terry herself Dandelion was wearing a lot of accessories – useful or otherwise.

Even when it was released from its Pokeball the Pokemon proudly had its chin up high.

"Dandelion, are you feeling hungry?" Terry asked. "Well, Kay here is being nice enough to give you whatever you want!" She gestured to the grocery bag. "Take your pick, okay?"

"T-Terry!" Kay cried out. "You can't! My dad really-"

Terry shot her down with a glare, and just as quickly she reached out to pull on Kay's ponytail! The other girls were just watching, with only Nicky pretending to care by playfully warning Terry not to accidentally pull Kay's hair off.

"You really make my blood boil, you know that?!" Terry stated with her grip still strong around Kay's hair despite her protests. "Where do you get off trying to talk to me like that? You're so weak!" And she pulled on Kay's hair a little more. "If you really want me to stop then fight back! What are you waiting for!"

"Terry, stop…!" Kay cried out, trying to push Terry's arm away. "That hurts…!"

"Shut UP!"

Terry's hand came swinging from the side, smacking Kay right in her cheek! The poor girl couldn't even keep her balance after that; she fell right to her knees. Unfortunately, this was not the first time she felt Terry's hand either.

"Are you going to cry this time, Plainer?" Terry mocked. "Stand back up." But when Kay couldn't muster the courage to do so… "I said STAND UP!"

Terry almost did something she never tried before at that time: she was just about ready to kick a defenseless Kay right at her side! Suddenly, however, something stopped her – something in the form of a paper ball…? But even that was enough to send Terry to take two steps away from Kay.

Terry's Furfrou was quick to bark at the thrower.

"Who threw that!?"

It was a man; he was probably around his twenties, but his tall, muscular frame made him look older. He had a menacing look on him: sharp eyes; spiky hair; also for some reason his teeth looked like fangs! His skin was tanned, suggesting he liked being under the sun a lot, and the girls could easily spot he owned a sturdy body to boot. Next to him was something much smaller: a Machop, the fighting-type Pokemon, clenching its fists as if ready for a fight.

"Whoa, girls sure are getting scarier these days," the man said with a menacing grin.

He stepped down from the steps he stood on, slowly approaching the girls below – all the while keeping the grin on himself.

"Ew, who's that!?" Vicky cried out. "A pervert!?"

Terry turned to her Furfrou. "D-Dandelion, do something!"

"Furf!" Dandelion barked.

But before the Furfrou could even attempt to do anything, the man's Machop quickly dashed forward. In a flash, the Fighting-type swooshed past Dandelion… and surprisingly had most of the Furfrou's accessories in its hands! Its hands moved so fast neither of the girls even saw when or HOW it pulled that off.

And the Furfrou simply froze on its spot, its eyes wide in disbelief.

"L, Let's get out of here!" Nicky cried out, quickly turning away.

"Pervert!" Vicky cried out as she followed after.

Soon the Furfrou would follow, with Terry close behind. "You're going to regret this…!"

Just like that the bullies ran off with their tails between their legs.

"Who the hell are they calling 'pervert'?" the man scoffed. "Man, girls these days sure are scary." That was when he finally turned his attention to Kay, who was still on her knees on the ground. "Oy, you okay? Huh, that girl really smacked you good."

At first Kay was worried if she was getting into the biggest trouble of her life, but here the man was sounding… genuinely concerned? She quickly raised her hand to her slapped cheek, but her eyes deterred from looking the man in the eye.

"It's okay…" she muttered. "This sort of thing happens all the time…"

As she said this, the Machop dropped all the accessories it nabbed onto the ground, again making Kay wonder just how it was able to get all that so fast. She quickly brushed off her curiosity however, and returned back to her feet to properly bow to her 'savior'.

"Thank you for helping me though!" Kay said. "I—"

"Ceh, save that for someone who cares." That comment took Kay by surprise, and Kay slowly looked up at the man, only to be met with a scowl. "Look, kid: I thought you needed help because you were outnumbered, but if there's one thing I hate in people…" He pointed down to her – literally; he was six foot tall while she was merely five feet! "… it's weaklings who don't do a damn thing to fight back."

Again that word – Terry said the same thing not too long ago. 'Weak'.

"… but what am I supposed to do…?" Kay asked, slowly looking downwards. "… I can't fight."

The man kept his scowl on her for a little longer, but then turned away while clicking his tongue. "Whatever," he said, moving back towards the stairs. "Just learn to watch out for yourself; I can't be bothered to play 'hero' all the time. Oy, 'Champ', let's go."

"Chop!" The Machop nodded before turning away as well.

"We'll be yelled at if we don't go back soon."

Without turning back even once the two left Kay alone at the scene, jogging back up the steps they came from and then finally disappearing somewhere above. Kay was saved, but the ending left a bitter taste in her mouth.

'Weak…?' Kay asked herself. 'Am I really that….?'

Later that afternoon, Kay finally returned home. Like usual she had to catch the bus heading out of the city and then walk quite a bit more distance from the stop. Her house was located far from the city, in a small village. Here, the people were more welcoming and familiar to her, but they were either children or adults. Nonetheless she greeted anyone she came across on her way home.

Her house, on the other hand, was somewhere near the outskirts. It was a one story house and much like most of the houses there it was made of wood and planks – no fancy paint jobs or whatsoever. A giant sign hung above her house, however, which read "Planer's Farm". Not far from the house was a field surrounded by a fence, where a few Miltank and Tauros could be seen grazing. As she made her way to her house, however, she was greeted by one of her only true best friends in the world.

"Tepig!" it cried out, before rushing towards its owner from the field.

It was a Tepig, a Fire-type Pokemon. It was apparently moving around in the field until it sensed Kay's arrival, indicated by the twitch of its ears. The little Pokemon continued its rush and soon jumped over the fence with ease. As soon as it landed on its feet, it made one more jump, this time towards the girl.

"Teppo!" Kay greeted. Seeing her Tepig after a long, lonely day always brought out her best smile. The Fire-type Pokemon jumped into her arms, almost knocking her over, and nuzzled itself on her with glee. "Sorry it took me a while to come back. Have you been working hard?" The Tepig nodded with a smile. "Let me just give the groceries to Dad and then I'll help out, okay?"

"Tep!"

"I'm home!" was the first thing Kay said once she entered the house, pushing her shoes off her feet gently at the entrance.

"Oh, Kay, welcome back." Her father soon stepped out of the room nearby, welcoming his daughter home with a smile. This was Thomas Planer, Kay's single father. Much like his daughter, he was average-looking, and shared the same hair color as her. However, where his eyes were brown, Kay's were shades of amber that shined orange under sunlight. He was also taller than his daughter by at least a few feet – slightly shorter than the man Kay came across to earlier. "Sorry that I had you to buy the groceries for me."

Kay shook her head. "No, it's alright; I don't mind it. I'm going to help out in the field."

Kay tried to hurry back into her room, but her father saw what she was trying to hide.

"Kay, your face…?" He noticed the red mark on her cheek, but Kay thought it would have been gone by now.

"Oh, uh…. I… tripped on my way here," Kay lied, lowering her gaze for a brief moment before putting up a smile once more. "That's why my uniform's a little dirty too. But don't worry; I can clean it up real easy!"

"….."

"Well… I'm heading to my room to change, Dad. Come on, Teppo!"

But before she could even take the fifth step away from her father, he called out to her again – Kay almost felt her heart skip a beat!

"Kay… I'm really sorry for asking you for help every day. Because of that, you don't even have a lot of time to spend with your friends."

Kay went quiet for a bit, but once again turned her head to smile to her father. "No, it's alright! I don't mind helping you out, Dad; besides, Teppo here is also helping out, remember?" She finally turned away again, continuing towards her room. "I'll see you in a bit, Dad!"

But of course, her father couldn't help but look on and worry, but he knew there wasn't much he could say to her at this point.

"Alright!" Finally after changing out of her uniform to something more casual, she finished it up with a pair of leather gloves and tying a small kerchief over her head and hair, leaving the latter's fringe and her ponytail free. Finally, she put on a look of determination – an expression not many outside the farm got to see. "Are you ready, Teppo?"

"Tepig!" the Tepig cried out, sharing its owner's enthusiasm.

Eventually, the two of them went out into the field to take care of the Miltank and Tauros. They had to make sure they stayed in their herd and not stray away; some Miltank tended to be too lazy to even move that either Kay or her Tepig had to literally push them to get them moving! Handling the Tauros proved to be harder as always as they were more stubborn than the females: one even tried to charge its way out of the fields! But as usual Teppo was there to catch up to it to tackle and intimidate the bigger Pokemon – either by continuing to knock it down or blowing fire from its nose before Kay could pull it away by the horns. Then the duo had to lead all of them back into their barn, where the Miltank and Tauros would feed on the hay that would eventually be brought in by Kay and Teppo. Needless to say, a long, lonely day quickly shifted into a long, hardworking day, and by the time they were done with all that, the two would of course be covered in dirt and grass!

Though neither of them seemed to mind that.

Later that night, Kay and Teppo finally got their rest in the former's bedroom. As one would expect, there wasn't much to her room either – no posters or dolls; no fancy, girlish designs or anything – just a standard bedroom. They laid on Kay's futon, but while Teppo was already fast asleep Kay was still awake, staring at nothing but the ceiling.

She couldn't get what happened earlier out of her head. Terry called her weak; even that man she barely knew called her weak. Then a question popped in her head: what exactly did it mean to be 'strong' then?

She turned her head momentarily towards her Tepig, before slowly tugging her quilt over her face.

The bell soon rang, signifying the end of school hours. Of course, Kay was alone as she packed her things into her bag, but fortunately it didn't seem like Terry, Vicky or Nicky were in school that day – she was worried that they were going to bully her again for what happened the day before. On her way out though, one of her classmates actually called out to her.

"Hey, Planer!" a boy called out. "We were thinking of heading out to see a movie. One of us can't make it so we have an extra ticket here. We were wondering if you wanna go?"

"E, Eh…?" Kay pointed to herself, almost in disbelief. "Me? Really?"

"Yeah," one of the girls nodded. "We never get to talk much, do we? So what do you say; wanna come with?"

"Sure!" Kay said, beaming. But… "…. Oh, wait… I promised I'd help my dad with the farm today…"

"… oh. That's too bad then… Well, maybe next time then? Come on, guys; maybe Mary in the next class wanna go?" With that, the girl waved to Kay before she headed out with the others outside the classroom.

However, Kay could overhear a few things said when they walked out.

"I don't think I've ever seen Planer much outside of school before… She's usually on her own and stuff."

And so Kay lowered her head, feeling rather disappointed in herself.

But of course, just like what her classmate said, she eventually ended up walking back home on her own. It was depressing than usual; it was a good chance for her to finally get along with some of her classmates! But she did promise her father after all. Despite feeling down, she did help out in the farm, this time without being stopped or delayed by Terry or anyone else. However, her father soon asked her to head back to the city to get some groceries missing from yesterday's list, but this time he asked her to take Teppo with her.

Teppo was more than eager to follow Kay into the city – it didn't get much chance to do so after all.

"Alright, I think that's all of them…" muttered Kay as the two finally walked out of the department store. "I guess it's about time we head back home, right?"

"Tepig!" Teppo agreed.

Just when Kay was about to turn towards the station… someone familiar caught her attention. On the side of the street, walking among the crowd was none other than that scary man from yesterday! His Machop wasn't with him this time though.

She didn't know why – perhaps it was out of curiosity – but she decided to cross the street to follow after him. Honestly, she just wanted to properly thank him for helping her last time since she couldn't do so the day before. Unfortunately, the way she rejected her gratitude that time made her indecisive on better alternatives. She tailed him, making sure she kept her distance. Teppo was confused as to why Kay was following the man, but it played along out of its own natural curiosity. Whenever the man stopped, the two would quickly hide away behind a building or in an alley, and it seemed he never caught on that he was being followed. Eventually he did stop, but only to walk into a building.

As he closed the door behind him shouting "I'm back", Kay and Teppo quickly ran up to the front door, before staring upwards at the giant sign hanging above it.

"'Pokemon Gym'…?" Kay read.

She never went into one of these things before… She gulped down her worries and slowly slid the door open, but what she saw nearly took her breath away.

In the room she was looking into right now, there were several people and Pokemon, but all of them were rigorously training and exercising! Some Pokemon were lifting weights, while some Pokemon were hitting targets from a particular range. They all looked worked up, and the Pokemon's eyes were intense – so much so that Kay felt pretty intimidated from continuing any further.

'Maybe this was a bad idea…' Kay thought, but right when she slowly backed away.

"Yo, you're blocking the door."

An unfamiliar voice spoke behind her, startling her until she almost felt her hair standing up. She quickly turned around to see who it was: it was a young man, and judging from how he looked he was probably a couple of years older than she was. He had short, spiky blonde hair, but he looked like one of those delinquents she normally saw hanging out in front of cafes or stores.

"Huh? Never seen you around here before." He stepped forward, which encouraged Kay to back away in return. The young man sized her up – studying her, even – and for some reason nodded to himself. "Let me guess: you're here for my autograph, aren't you!"

"… huh?" That caught Kay by surprise.

"One of my younger fans, huh?" The man smirked to himself, cupping his chin. "So who should I sign it to, little lady? Perhaps you'd like a picture of me too? Maybe even shake my hand? If you want both, it's going to cost you extra though – so what do you say?" He grinned at Kay, only to be surprised when he saw the poor girl looked really close to tears! "EHHH?! O, Oy, what's with that reaction?"

"What the hell are you doing, you idiot!" Another unfamiliar voice spoke out, but this time it came from behind the young man.

…. who was slapped right in the back of his head. Hard.

This time it was a young woman, but she looked she was around the blonde man's age. She had short hair, but it was kept neat and tidy to give her that 'mature' look on her – though the sides do flare up a little. She possessed a rather tall and lean frame, with what appeared to be a somewhat fashionable yet tomboyish attire over them. She was pretty, but she had an annoyed look on her face that time.

"Making a pass at a girl that younger than you…" she said. "What are you, a pedophile now?"

"Who-… Who are you calling a 'pedophile', you freakin' flat chest!" the blonde man barked back.

"WHAT WAS THAT!?"

Kay and Teppo sweatdropped. Suddenly, the two were in a glaring contest – perhaps this was a good chance for her to run away?

"What's with the damn racket!?" Now there was a familiar voice… but Kay wasn't sure if she wanted to hear that – it was the scary man she followed all the way here! "If anyone's fighting, let me in! …. eh?" That was when his eyes finally fell on Kay, who once again looked like a cornered mouse. "Wait a minute… AH! You're that kid from yesterday! I had a feeling I was being followed… Was that you?"

"N-No..!" Kay said, quickly shaking her head. "I, I mean… Yes! No, I mean…!" She flustered, but quickly reached into her pocket. "H-Here…!"

And she held out to him… a 500 Pokedollar note.

The two bickering at each other suddenly stopped and the man being offered the money simply stared down at the money, looking absolutely dumbfounded.

"What the hell were you doing extorting money from high school girls, Sodo!?" the young woman suddenly shouted. "Don't you have any shame at all! And in broad daylight too!"

"Everyone, listen up~!" the young man shouted at the rest of the room. "Sodo's hit a new low!"

"What the hell are you two on about?!" The man, apparently named 'Sodo', shouted back. "I have NO IDEA what the hell is going on here! Besides, what could I do with JUST 500 Pokedollars, huh!? …. ooops."

He slowly looked back at Kay, who was now confused as she was saddened. "B, But this is all I have… I'm sorry…!"

"Everyone, listen up~!" the young man once again shouted. "Sodo's making a girl cry!"

The others in the room started laughing. "Oy, Sodo! Not so popular with the girls, huh!"

"SHUT UP!" Sodo barked. "You people mind your own business!"

Eventually, once everything calmed down, Kay explained everything to them, having sat down on a bench while the others continued on with their exercises.

"You sure had us scared, kid," said the young man. "I mean, it's downright believable that Sodo would do something like that."

"Shut up, Blondy!" the bigger man said before looking back down at Kay. "I didn't help ya out for your money, kid. Then again… didn't expect ya to follow me all the way here." Then he crossed his arms, grinning those fang-like teeth to her. "So? Did ya finally tell off those girls to stop picking on ya?"

"Eh?" the young woman asked. "She was bullied?"

But Kay did not have an answer. Instead, she just lowered her head looking like she was the guilty one here.

Sodo once again had a frown on his face. "Oy, oy; even after I said all that to you yesterday you still don't plan on standing up for yourself?"

"Go easy on her, Sodo." The young woman nudged him on the arm a little. "I mean, facing your bullies isn't something easy to do."

"Actually…" Kay finally spoke up. "… I thought about what you said and… I really don't like how they picked on me. But… I don't know what to say or do… What if they just hurt me even more?"

"Then you use that Tepig of yours!" Sodo pointed at Teppo, who looked visibly surprised. "He's yours, ain't he? Go burn off that girl's Furfrou for once – that'll teach her a lesson."

"… but I don't want to hurt her OR her Pokemon… That just… seems wrong."

"Well, you ain't goin' nowhere if you don't a thing," added the blonde man. "But then again, I don't see how we should meddle in her affairs."

"Annoying…" muttered Sodo.

"What was that…?"

"This is annoying me!" Sodo suddenly shouted out. "Get over here!" He gestured his hand for Kay to stand up and follow, but the girl was so worried that she would be scolded again that she could barely feel her legs! "I said get over here!"

"Y-Yes…!" Kay sprang up to her feet, with Teppo straightening itself as well.

She meekly followed after him, all the while wondering what he was going to say or do to her. However, they soon stopped in front of a hanging punching bag, which looked like it was used plenty of times. He stood next to it, and thumped his knuckles on the bag's side.

"Imagine this punching bag as that girl's Furfrou," said Sodo. "And tell your Tepig to hit it."

Kay blinked. "… hit it…?" She could understand what he was trying to tell her, but… She turned her head to look curiously at Sodo. "… how exactly…?"

"What do you mean, 'HOW'?!" Sodo scolded. "Just tell your Tepig to tackle it or something!"

Kay stared back at the punching bag. "… where?"

"ANYWHERE! Just do it or I'll turn 'em into BACON!"

"Y-Yes!" She turned her attention to her Tepig, who looked rather lost on what was going on. "Teppo, you heard him: um… go tackle that punching bag."

The Tepig eventually turned around to face the towering bag, and once it got Kay's approval to go, the little Pokemon hopped and… lightly hit its own body against it. Kay looked pretty happy at that… but the same couldn't be said for Sodo.

… who didn't hesitate at all to show his dissatisfaction… by giving the girl a traditional knuckle-rub on the head!

"What the hell was that wimpy tackle! Tell your Pokemon to put more strength into it!"

"Aren't you being a little too rough on her, Sodo?" the young woman scoffed.

"Mind your own business!"

"What's with him…?" Kay groaned, rubbing the pain off from her head. "But looks like you need to put more back into it, Teppo. Hmm… Oh, I know! How about pretending that it's a Tauros?" The Tepig's expression changed for the better – it seemed to have understood her! "Alright, let's do this one more time. Good luck!"

"Tep!" The Tepig let out a happy cry before putting all its focus on the punching bag again, its smile now gone and its eyes now looking more determined than earlier.

"Oh-ho," chuckled Sodo. "Those are some nice eyes he's got there."

After a little time had passed, the Tepig crouched down a little more as its nose flared up a tad. The Pokemon then sprung forward and upwards. Wham! The sand bag finally shook, and the chain that kept it hanging rattled! The Tepig fell back onto its feet, but not before tumbling over itself in its landing.

"Hey, that's not bad at all!" Sodo whistled, and soon knelt down next to the Pokemon. "Now how about you try running before you start tackling? Gets some momentum going?" Sodo pointed to the back. "Go all the way there and run towards the bag with all your might. BUT!" He held out his hand in front of it. "Don't stop even once. When you get close enough, you jump and tackle that bag again, got that?"

"… I thought you just wanted him to tackle it once…?" Kay asked.

"Ceh, I'm not completely satisfied yet. Come on, go tell him to get started."

Kay nodded, though somewhat reluctantly. She instructed Teppo to do exactly what Sodo said, explaining that it would make its tackling harder and stronger. With a few encouraging words, the Tepig was more than eager to go. It came to stop several feet away from the bag, and though Kay and Teppo did not realize it, but the majority of the gym went quiet just to look at their direction. The Tepig started by tapping its paw against the floor, its eyes never leaving its target. It was only on the fifth tap did the small Pokemon start running, and just as instructed it ran with everything it's got. Its target was closing in fast, and the Pokemon's eyes burned with more energy the faster and closer it got to its goal. Finally, it came to that point where it was close enough.

The Tepig bended its legs before quickly springing up towards the punching bag, its momentum leaving a trail of dust. But, as it flew midair, it tucked its legs and twisted its body slightly sideways, planning to use all of its body weight in this one tackle. Until finally…

WHAM!

To the surprise of everyone in the room: the punching bag literally flew backwards at an incredible arc! Eyes widened at the sight, and ears perked up at the noise. The punching bag soon swung back, swooshing by Kay's smiling Tepig, who seemed to be the only one with an obvious smile aside from its owner.

"Whoa!" Kay cheered, clasping her hands together. "That was so cool, Teppo! That was-"

But before she could finish, hands – Sudo's hands – fell on her shoulders and turned her towards him. What she saw after was what she could only describe as an 'evil smile'.

"You're a pretty -interesting kid-," said Sodo… in a menacing tone. "Just wait 'till the Old Man meets you."

"E, Eh…?" Kay could only blink, and then she looked around at the others as if they could 'rescue' her. "What's going on…? What'd I do…?" Teppo closed in on her, looking rather frightened at the sudden silence of the whole gym.

"Come over here!" With that evil grin on his face, Sodo yanked Kay by the wrist, pulling her away further into the gym, with Teppo wrapping itself around one of Kay's legs.

As the three left the scene, the others slowly turned their attention to the punching bag, which now hung as it should be but with a visible mark where Teppo had tackled earlier.

"Oy…" the blonde young man muttered, his eyes still glued on it. "… did you see how far that punching bag went…?"

People looked at each other, apparently understanding what he was trying to say.

"…. what the hell kind of monster just walked into our gym…?"

Author's Note: 2006. 2006. That was how long ago since I last updated my first Pokemon fanfiction "Gambarimasu! Pokemon School!". Looking back, the characters weren't really fleshed out but it's a shame I could never continue it since I remembered I had tons of fun writing them in their story. Sure, there were a lot of loop holes and there were too many characters for me to keep up with, but fun is fun, and I loved reading the reviews from back then. Unfortunately, I have no intentions of continuing that one, but I AM finally starting to write up a new one!

Taking inspiration from what I think are unlikely sources - which, to be specific, Hajime no Ippo and Ashita no Joe - I've decided to write a Pokemon fanfic where Pokemon Battling is actually considered a serious competitive sport (similar to boxing, kickboxing, sumo, football, etc.). Our main characters are named Kay Planner (Kaya Nakahara if in Japanese), a girl who doesn't stand out socially, and Teppo, her beloved Tepig. Unlike the anime series but following the trend from my previous Pokemon fanfic, they don't actually go on a 'Pokemon Journey', per say. Instead, it's a journey of self-improvement, where the story will follow the two as they mature through Pokemon Battling. Aided by their inseparable bond, they meet new friends, create rivalries, engage in epic battles, dealing with emotional and physical strains - all to reach their goal: 'to be strong'.

Funny note: Kay was originally supposed to be an energetic and enthusiastic character, but I figured that's a bit too close to Ash Ketchum. In the end I decided to make her timid, but at the same time hardworking and honest. I figured the readers can relate and connect more with her that way.

So what do you think? You think the story could catch on? Please leave a review!

Thank you, and it's good to finally be back in!