Pokémon: Red Steel Travels

I noticed I had kept "Nationality" in the OC Form instead of "Hometown". Granted the chapter was posted at 2 AM so I guess that explains why I didn't think over it further. The form have now been edited to say "Hometown" and will still be found at the end of Chapter 1.

As might be noticed along the story, I'll be drawing inspiration from the games amongst my own ideas.

And what's with people's love for Lucario? There are more Fight and Steel types than it.

Erina's Team:
Hagane the Pawniard.

Chapter Two
Training with the Former Champion?! Vs. Rattata

They say traveling the world shapes your character. I wonder how much that is true. Maybe I'll know when the journey is over. Those thoughts go through my head as we walk through the gate. Here we are, Route 19.

Route 19 is pretty plain, a few trees here and there before breaking into thick forest. There's just a single path going through the grass. There's a small pond at the far left part of the path.

I'll admit I was in higher spirits before we left, casting a glance to my left I see two Patrat stalking Hagane and I. I may be eager to be a trainer but some Pokémon just aren't my cup of tea, so to say.

So I'd never consider a Patrat, nor would I consider those overly cutesy Pokémon like Pichu. I've never been one for the whole cutesy thing, even if I'm considered 'Daddy's little princess'.

I let out a sigh and the two rodent like Pokémon hurry away between the taller grass. "Not like I was interested in any of you" I let out.

Route 19 really isn't the most interesting place you can find in Unova. It's not even very long. I could probably make to Floccesy and back, challenge Cheren and then make it to Floccesy before nightfall.

Hagane and I walked for what felt like hours, which it really shouldn't. Route 19 is a rather quiet place when you consider it. Even though Aspertia is rather active for a town in the middle of nowhere, anything between it and Virbank is extremely quiet, well except for the Pokémon wildlife.

"You there! Trainer with the Pawniard!" a rough voice calls out. Hagane and I look up confused to the rather high hill towering over the road. People yelling at me from hills, perfectly normal. So, looking at the crazy old guy yelling I think my jaw drops, hits the ground, and then keeps going.

Standing above us, wearing sandals, white jagged trousers and a large poncho with a necklace of Poké Balls. With orange and red hair tied back in a ponytail. The man looks, well a bit old. At least for my taste anyways.

"You... You..!" I mutter, trying to force the words out of my mouth as he jumps down, I think my brain is having issues comprehending this because that hill have got to be at least a couple of feet tall. Heck I don't think a couple can cover it. "You're Alder!" I practically burst out in the end, receiving the odd stare from Hagane. Clearly he doesn't understand who Alder is.

"Hello young trainer" Alder grins giving a friendly wave, before looking at Hagane. "Quite the interesting choice I have to say" he added running a finger under his nose. "The last few that's come this way usually had either Oshawott, Snivy or Tepig."

"Well..." I muttered, dragging on the 'E'. "I was late for the handout so I missed the last one" I admitted. I paused for a moment, swallowing.

"That's nothing to be embarrassed about!" Alder proclaimed with a hearty laugh. "And I can see you made sure it wouldn't stop you."

I was still a bit embarrassed about it so I decided to omit the part about my dad sending Hagane to me and figured I should change the subject to something else. "So," I asked, "What's the former Champion doing out here?"

"I want to help young trainers like yourself" Alder explained, still giving out a hearty laugh "And since I'm from Flocessy, the only town connected to Aspertia where young trainers start, this makes the perfect location, don't you think?"

"So let me get this right" I said, "I get a chance to train to become a better trainer, with you?"

"For a bit, you're old enough to see the world so you should not spend the entire time with me. You'll gain some experience as a trainer and then you're ready to battle for your first Gym. I'm certain" Alder said. "Now come along" he added waving a hand toward himself.

Now, Flocessy Town. It's a rather small town, especially when you compare its size to the neighboring cities, Aspertia and Virbank. When you enter the town from Route 19 you're met with the Pokémon Center. In the distance from the Pokémon Center you can see the town's more urban areas with housing and regular stores.

"Your Pawniard seems to be healthy enough" Alder commented as we walked past the Pokémon Center.

"We didn't really run into any Pokémon on Route 19" I admitted. "So we haven't really had a battle yet"

"Yet is the right word, I have a young trainer at my place who's been training with me for a while" Alder explained cheerfully.

"I thought you said you just helped us along?" I asked a tad surprised.

"Yes, the those that are allowed to travel" Alder corrected, "He have not passed the tests yet"

We continued walking through the town, passing the large clock tower. It is a famous for the town said to tell of Flocessy Town's beginnings. Or something like that.

"Well then, here we are" Alder proclaims breaking my train of thought. We're standing in front of a large, rather old red brown wooden building. I decided to keep my comments about the place to myself knowing I couldn't really talk bad about a guy who's offering to help me.

"Who's the old lady, Alder?" a squeaky voice asked the moment we stepped inside, I instantly twitched. Standing in front of us, at the other end of a small indoors battle arena, was a small kid, a blue backwards baseball cap sitting on top of his small head, a yellow t-shirt and blue shorts.

"Who are you calling old! You twerp!" I hissed, I can accept people teasing me for being small but hell if I'll let him get away with calling me old.

"You, who else old lady" the kid retorted back with a stupid smile.

"Now now kids, settle down" Alder said, trying to get us to relax. "Joey, you need to show respect to others, and..."

"Erina" I said. I figured that's what he wanted.

"And Erina, don't take ill thought to what he's saying" Alder finished. "Now, the reason I brought you here Erina, is to have a battle with Joey"

"Me?" I asked pointing at myself, "Battle him?" I further asked pointing at Joey.

"Her, she can't even beat my awesome Rattata if she had a Dragonite" Joey laughed.

"Oh yeah?" I snapped, "I'm sure Hagane and I can show you a few things" I stated boastfully. Truth be told I don't even know what moves Hagane know, nor if his ability is good.

"You're on old lady!" Joey grinned as he pulled out a Poké Ball of his own.

"Stop with the old lady!" I shouted back, I pulled my arm through one of the trims of the backpack and swung it onto the ground with a thud, feels good to have it off my back.

"If you can beat my awesome Rattata, which you totally can't, I'll stop" Joey proclaimed, "How's that old lady?"

"If that's what it takes..!" I replied with an annoyed grunt. "Hagane, you ready?" I asked my red helmeted companion. Hagane replied with a hearty cry before he started to stretch his limbs. Guess the little guy love battles.

"Now, I choose you, Rattata!" Joey yelled with all his squeaky might as he threw the red and white orb into the air, while spinning the ball opened itself sending out a small beam of white light, with what looked like enough pressure to push it backwards considered Joey caught the ball.

The white beam died down revealing a small purple, large teethed, rat like Pokémon. I held up my Xtransceiver to have it scan the Rattata for the PokéDex function.

"Rattata, the Mouse Pokémon. It searches for food all day. It gnaws on hard objects to wear down its fangs, which grow constantly during its lifetime." the synthetic voice from my Xtransceiver explained.

"Well then" I said feeling slightly more relaxed, I had envisioned Rattata being huge, but considering it's not even as big as Hagane I think we'll manage. "I choose you, Hagane" I stated motioning him forward.

Hagane replied with a fierce cry as he stepped forward. The two not to tall Pokémon stared at each other, Joey and I equally staring. Might just have been me, but we were both breathing heavily. We cast a glance at Alder who had placed himself outside the arena, between us.

"This is a match between Erina and Joey, each trainer will only use one Pokémon! When either Pokémon is declared unfit to continue fighting, by yours truly, a winner will be decided!" Alder proclaimed in a fake announcer imitation. "Without further ado... Begin!" he declared swinging his hand down.

"Rattata, use Quick Attack!" Joey yelled and as if shot out of a cannon his Rattata bolted across the arena ramming it's body into Hagane, who didn't even flinch at the hit, the Rattata actually bounced off Hagane looking just as confused as its trainer. "Why isn't that Pokémon sent flying?!" he yelled confused.

"Pawniard is part Steel type. That means Normal moves like your Quick Attack won't work well" I explained with a grin.

"Let's not let it get to us, Rattata. Awesome people like us always have a top percentage tactic" Joey said to his Rattata, who seemingly ate it all up. "We'll just tear through their defense and then come flying at them"

Alder just stood passively looking at the battle. Was he enjoying that Hagane was making Joey think? I wasn't going to let Joey off the hook so I decided to look up the PokéDex for Hagane's known moves, way too late. I glanced at the list, for something not super powerful that could break that Rattata, I noted scanning the list;

"Known Moves: Leer, Metal Claw, Night Slash, Fury Cutter" I read off the list, coughing at the moves. I know Pokémon parents can pass down moves but geez, for a young one like him to have some of those moves surprised me.

"Now Rattata, use Tail Whip to reduce that defense!" Joey demanded as Rattata started wagging its tail at Hagane, at first Hagane loosed up his body just a bit before instantly tensing up, his eyes wide open as he took an aggressive stance.

"What in the?" I muttered holding up the Xtransceiver once more for the PokéDex information.

"Ability known by Pawniard: Defiant, when the Pokémon's stats are reduced its Attack value will increase. Stats are an estimate of how powerful a Pokémon is, measured by the PokéDex to give trainers an idea of the Pokémon's physical capabilities. Values may vary from PokéDex to PokéDex and Pokémon to Pokémon." the synthetic voice of the Xtransceiver explained out loud.

I could see Joey's facial expression just drop. Not only is Rattata not a good match for Pawniard but his so called 'Top Percentage Tactic' just backfired. But then again, who wouldn't feel like that if all your ideas are against you.

"Ehm, Hagane" I muttered, there's a lot different from planning a battle to being one, "Use Metal Claw!" I decided to announce, Hagane looked back at me, gave a quick nod before the blades on each of his arms started glowing. He announced a fierce battle cry and stormed across to the poor Rattata delivering a powerful slash before landing behind it with his right arm in front. I'm certain if he had a visible mouth he would be smirking.

"Don't give up Rattata, our Top Percentage training will still keep us in this" Joey cried out to his Rattata who was looking a bit wobbly, but gave a re-assuring nod to its Trainer.

Got to give it to the little guy, even when he was against the wall with all odds against him he still give it his ass. I wonder if Hagane will be like that in our future battles. Alder was still just looking at the battle.

"Rattata, use Super Fang!" Joey declared as Rattata wobbled a bit more before breaking into a run toward Hagane.

"Hagane, counter with Metal Claw!" I announced and Hagane turned around swiping his right arm back as the blade was glowing an intense white, colliding with the equally brightly lit teeth of Rattata. There was a slight echo from the two attacks colliding, Hagane flinched shortly as Rattata was sent back from the hit, tumbling over a feet or two from Hagane.

"Rattata is unfit for battle, Paw- Hagane wins!" Alder declared standing up.

"But my Top Percentage Rattata can't lose" Joey cried as he ran to his Rattata. "I guess you win" he muttered at me.

"You put up a good fight, you know" I said crouching down, "And your tactic wasn't that bad, making Hagane's defense lower so your attacks would work better"

"She's right, it was a perfect display of tactical assessment." Alder explained, "I've taught you well. And you Erina, Pokémon with the ability Defiant are usually not that often to see since very few are born with it. But the Pawniard species have it commonly due to their competitive spirit in their natural packs. But you should keep your head focused on the battle. If you take your attention away from it, your opponent may very well take advantage of it"

"Man, I can't believe I'm getting advice from a Champion, former or not, you've been the Champion and I'm thankful you wanted to devote this time to me" I said with a large smile on my face, I might idolize Elesa quite a bit but that doesn't mean I don't have my moments with other big names in the Trainer World.

"I'm just another trainer now, giving friendly advice to all the new trainers" Alder said giving out another hearty laugh. "Now I'm sure you have a battle with Cheren back in Aspertia"

I let his comment sink in for just a moment before I realized all this time with Alder made me forget about the package I was going to pick up for Cheren. "Come Hagane, we have a stop to make" I called to my only Pokémon as he walked over to me while I swung my backpack back on, even if the battle was one-sided he did get hit by that Super Fang. "Thank you once more for your time" I said bowing, before turning to the door.

"That girl, I'm sure she have a bright future ahead of herself as a trainer" Alder muttered to himself. "Now, Joey, what do you say we get Rattata fixed up"

"Now, let's see" I muttered looking at the Xtransceiver, since I left it's already been an hour! I should note the walk to Flocessy is usually just ten minutes or so. I guess even though the battle was short it felt like a lot more, or maybe it's because I took more time getting there since I was walking with Hagane, I cast a glance to him and he looks back up. "Well let's get to the Pokémon Center" I said as we decided to walk.

From Alder's house to the Pokémon Center isn't exactly a long walk, a few minutes as we once again pass the clock tower. It's quite impressive to walk by and rather tall. I guess I lost myself in thought once more because Hagane and I were already right next to the Pokémon Center.

The doors to the Pokémon Centers are automatic as they open with a fine 'whoosh' sound and we enter. They're rather simple in looks. At the end of the large room that make up most of the center is a reception with a Nurse Joy, a beautiful young woman with red hair and an average build, I think, those nurse uniforms do leave a lot to the fantasy since kids also use Pokémon Centers. To the right of the entrance is a small desk a single man dressed in a apron. He have short black hair and looks to be past his thirties I'd guess.

"I'm here, regarding a package for Cheren, the Gym Leader" I said, I figured I'd get the package, hand over Hagane for a checkup after the battle with Rattata and then rest while he's getting it.

"Ah yes, he did call ahead and say a young woman would come pick it up. I just need to see some identification" the clerk said.

Can't blame it, lot of people could say they were me so I dug into my jacket pocket and fished out a small pink wallet, I don't like overly cute and girly but I like pink as a color, don't judge me. I opened the wallet and took out a small card, my Trainer card. It's just a plain image of me with my hair down, next to it is my name, Erina Kiriyama, my birth date written as date/month, 29/9, and then my trainer ID, which is just a bunch of numbers I don't feel like listing.

The clerk looks over it, scans it, I didn't know they did that, and then handed it back to me, "Everything looks to be in order Miss. Kiriyama" he said, ducking under the desk he's at and took out a small box, it can be more than a couple of inches on each side. Heck the box Hagane's Poké Ball arrived in was bigger!

"Thanks" I replied quietly taking the box and walked over to Nurse Joy. "Could you take a look at Hagane," I said motioning to him, "Just want to get a check up before we move on" I explained.

"Certainly" Nurse Joy stated in a cheery voice, which to me feels odd when this is practically a Pokémon hospital, albeit a minor one. I return Hagane to his Poké Ball, he doesn't really react to it, I guess he's tired as well and hand it to Nurse Joy. "It won't take long, you can wait out here" she said motioning to the chairs scattered around the room. I nod slowly and walk over to one of the chairs at the wall, I take off my backpack and place the package within it before leaning back. Soon we'll head back and then I'll battle Cheren for my first badge!

End of Chapter

I'm still experimenting with this first person style of writing, so it might be a bit odd in places, but I want to try and work with it as a way to tell what Erina thinks about what's happening, and at a point where there is one vocal character it would feel really dry to have her traveling alone!

Yes, I used Youngster Joey! I figured since I needed a one shot character (Maybe I'll let him pop up later, I don't plan on it at all though) I figured he would do fine for that role. And yes, pitting a Rattata against a Steel type might have been a bit mean. And yes the battle wasn't really much of a battle, they'll be improved when it's not a cruel one sided match.

And the chapter do reveal a bit more of the PokéDex features. And yes, alternative move pools to low level Pokémon because we can't just follow the games only. So a bit of anime fanciness is there as well. (Besides, Pokémon only beating each other with Scratch and Tackle would get boring to write)

I'm still taking oc's at this point, and will soon start picking out the first to appear.

Anyway, give words on things if you feel like it. We authors we like reviews, except for Oc's in reviews when you're me, because that meant people didn't read the form and then no one is happy.

Trivia: Erina is given to share my birthday because why not.