Like No One Ever Was

WataMote x Pokemon Crossover


"Did it have to be this hot today?"

Tomoko groaned loudly, yanking on the straps of her backpack as she trudged down the dirt road. If she had known becoming a Pokemon Master was this hard, she wouldn't have left home, though it wasn't like she had much choice in leaving.

"Stop complaining. I can't believe you dragged me into this," Komiyama said, wiping the sweat off her brow as she trailed behind her.

"Hey, you're lucky. At least you have a real Pokemon, instead of this electric thing my teacher saddled me with," she said, nodding towards the Pikachu riding on her backpack. The Pikachu smiled as it wagged its ears, oblivious to Tomoko's apathy.

It had been a few weeks since Tomoko had started her glorious quest to be a Pokemon Master. Their journey all started in her home in Pallet Town, right when her mother told her that she needed to clean her room.

"Tomoko, how many times do I need to tell you? Your clothes go in the basket, not on the floor. Your brother-"

"Geez mom, I get it. My brother is a great Pokemon trainer," she said, leaning back on her chair as she munched on some chips. Her mother simply stared at her, watching as she wasted her time away playing video games on her computer. Tomoko kept watching the screen, knowing that'd she'd probably go away in a few moments, just like she had every time before. To her surprise, her mother marched over to the computer and pressed the power button.

"Mom! I haven't even reached the save point yet. And I was so close to getting an achievement," she moaned before setting her controller down on her desk.

"Listen, I have some money saved up," her mother said, holding Tomoko's backpack in her hand. "Why don't you travel around the Kanto region for a bit? A lot of high schoolers spend at least a few months traveling to catch and study Pokemon. Even after Professor Oak gave you your Pokemon, you haven't improved your skills at all. . ."

The teenaged girl growled loudly. It wasn't like this for her mom to get so pushy.

"Pikachu, get over here."

Her Pikachu hopped over to her, landing right onto her head. Tomoko sighed, annoyed at how her Pokemon kept violating her personal space. Still, she had given it a couple of commands, enough to pass her classes.

"And look, he's not even in a Pokeball. How are you going to manage your training if you can't even control one Pokemon?"

"Listen, I can't even get the dumb thing to get in the Pokeball. Every time I try he just runs away," she said, setting the Pikachu down on the floor.

"Your brother made do with his Pokemon. He's caught a few dozen already this last year, while you've only caught a handful."

"It's not my fault! After I caught that Bulbasaur, he had to go and get himself a Charmander from Professor Oak. He probably just got it to spite me."

"And last I heard, your brother has a Charizard! You haven't gotten any of your Pokemon to evolve," her mother said, her gaze souring as she watched her daughter's Pikachu take a nap. Tomoko rolled her eyes. It wasn't like her Pikachu wanted to evolve anyway.

Her mother yanked her out of her chair, forcing her to stand up. Her Pikachu jumped down to Tomoko's feet, still energetic after months of simply resting in her room.

"You are going outside to make something of yourself, and that's final!"

Tomoko grumbled to herself and kicked up dust as she kept walking down the trail. Much as she hated to admit it, her mother was right. It wasn't like she was that popular at school anyways, especially since she only had one decent Pokemon. One of her classmates even owned an Alakazam! Tomoko wasn't even sure the girl had gotten it legally or if she had gotten her parents to buy her one. Without money or power, Tomoko knew that a few badges under her belt would be her best bet at overcoming her title as the school loner.

The two girls approached a nearby town to rest for the day. They wiped their brows as the sun continued to beat down overhead. Tomoko sighed as she took a seat on a park bench, knowing that the only things her mother allowed her to take from home were her Pokedex, her backpack, and her favorite hat.

"At this rate it'll be a decade before you get our next gym badge," Komiyama said as she took a moment to lean against a fence post.

"Why are you even here? I didn't ask you to come."

"We're heading towards the Cerulean gym, right? So, it's better to head there in a group than alone. Besides, Yuu said something about wanted to get the gang back together."

"Where is that girl anyways? She said she wanted to go with us."

Komiyama sighed as she looked off into the distance.

"I think she wanted to say goodbye to her boyfriend."

Tomoko shuddered a little as she thought about Yuu making out with her boyfriend one last time before heading out with the two of them. She firmly shook her head, instread trying to focus on the hot weather bearing down on them. She fanned herself with her hat as Komiyama took a swig from her water bottle. Even if Yuu was a slut, she would always stick by her friends no matter what.

"Tomoko? Is that you?"
"Hmm?"

"It is you! Big cousin!"

Tomoko blinked from the bright sunlight to see a familiar young girl run up to her.

"Tomoko, I missed you," the girl said, rushing up to her older cousin with a big smile on her face. On the outside, Tomoko put on a stoic face as she patted her cousin Kii on the head. On the inside, she was nearly ready to burst. Finally, she could she her cousin how cool she'd become after going on her journey.

"It's nice to see you again, Kii. Look, I already have a gym badge," Tomoko said, proudly showing off the rock badge pinned to her vest. Kii looked up at the badge, her eyes shining as she admired the coveted award.

"You really think that one counts?" Komiyama whispered. Tomoko silenced her with a swift elbow to her ribs. It wasn't like she didn't win the badge, but . . . she might have tricked the gym leader into letting her win the match. Especially since they went to the same school together.

"It's not my fault Yuu's so naïve. I just told her that I needed to get my gym badge to make my mother happy. It was a fair fight."

"She let you get a do-over when you tried to use Thunderbolt on an Onyx."

"Oh please. You're just jealous that I won my first gym battle so easily. It comes with being such a pro in life. I'm betting you're still jealous that I won my hat in middle school and you didn't," Tomoko said, proudly waving her red and white baseball cap in Komiyama's face. "Oh, what's that? You sent in a few dozen postcards to win the contest? With my skills, I only needed one."

"Anyways," Tomoko said as she turned back around, "what are you doing here Kii? Does your mother know you're visiting a champion today?" Tomoko said as she proudly patted herself on the chest.

"Sure! Since we live in the area, she wanted you to stop by to rest for the night. You could tell me all about your adventures then."

"Of course."

"But before that . . . do you think we could have a practice match? I only brought one Pokemon with me, but I was hoping we could play together."

Tomoko grinned, knowing that she had a chance to really prove how cool she was. Nodding to her Pikachu, Tomoko pulled her hat backwards to get ready for her match. Komiyama simply shook her head as she watched from a nearby bench. Kii took her place across from Tomoko, and unclipped her Pokeball from its belt.

"Here goes," Kii said, tossing out her Pokeball. With a flash of light came a small Rattata with its fangs bared. Piece of cake, Tomoko thought as she gave her Pokemon a knowing look.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

Lightning flared from Pikachu's cheeks as it barred towards the Rattata. A swift dodge, however, made sure that only a nearby tree was hit.

"Use Slash!" Kii shouted, her face beaming as she watched her Pokemon slice through the air. Pikachu flew back, hitting the ground hard before rolling back onto its feet.

"Pikachu, use Iron Tail!" Tomoko shouted, her face brimming with confidence.

Her Pokemon stopped, tilting its head to look at her in the middle of the battle. Tomoko felt a cold chill run down her spine as she thought back to her lessons in class. She had thought she taught her Pokemon that particular skill, but then again, she wasn't exactly paying close attention to her teacher. Her Pikachu attempted to slash at the Rattata with its tail, but only managed to slap its face.

"Something wrong?" Kii asked.

"Um . . . n-no. O-on second thought, I won't use such a high level move on your Pokemon. It wouldn't be sporting," Tomoko said, waving her cousin off. Turning back to her Pokemon, she noticed it was taking a nap on the ground.

"I told you, you need to feed your Pikachu something other than junk food all the time," Komiyama shouted from the sidelines.

"Oh, shut up," Tomoko said before nudging her Pokemon with her foot.

"Hey, come on, just do a good job for me and I'll get you some rice balls."

Her Pikachu finally perked up, and stretched itself out before getting back on its feet. Tomoko smiled

"Okay . . . use Headbutt?"

The Pikachu ran at full speed at the Rattata, eyes burning bright. At the last moment, the Pikachu bent its head down and smashed its head into the other Pokemon's skull. Both Pokemon flew apart as Tomoko clenched her fist. As the dust cleared, her mood soured as she noticed her Pikachu dazed and stumbling.

"He looks stunned," Kii said as she looked at her Pikachu swaying from side to side. Tomoko grit her teeth as the Rattata simply watched its opponent fall over onto its side. Of course she forgot to teach her Pikachu how to brace itself. Tomoko only used the move to give her Pikachu something to do while she played games in her room.

Before Tomoko's Pikachu could recover, a flash of red light appeared that enveloped Kii's pokemon. She placed the ball on her belt, her face looking downtrodden.

"K-Kii? Is everything-"

"Everything's fine. I'm just glad I got to have a match with my older cousin. I concede to you," she said, putting on a cute smile. She clipped the Pokeball to her belt and dusted herself off with her hands.

"O-oh, okay. It can be a bit challenging, figuring out how to battle Pokemon, so I understand if you're overwhelmed," Tomoko said, turning her cap back around. Her Pikachu sighed heavily before leaping up back onto its owner's backpack. Kii walked up to her, and as she got close Tomoko couldn't help but notice the disappointment in her eyes.

"Let's have a match again later, okay?" she said, holding Tomoko's hand and shaking it. "My mom should have dinner waiting at home, and I'll be sure to bring you plenty of food for your Pokemon to eat on your journey. Come on," Kii said, waving Tomoko over like she would to a little kid.

"So, are you still going to be the very best? It'll be hard if you keep facing tough trainers like her," Komiyama asked, sporting a grin that Tomoko would have loved to punch.

". . . shut up, Komiyama," she mumbled, trudging off down the road with her Pikachu riding on her head.