One week ago
Blaine watched with envy as Lachlan and Florian practised their moves on the grass. It wasn't fair that her brother was allowed to have a pokemon while she wasn't. She knew so much more about them than he did, but because he was younger and was a boy, he was allowed to do things that she would never be able to.
A couple of trainers strolled by and Lachlan ran up to them eagerly to issue a battle challenge. Blaine's heart began to beat faster in excitement. She loved battles and knew all kinds of strategies for winning them, though she'd never been in one herself. It was because of her advice that Lachlan had won enough matches for his bellsprout to evolve into a weepinbell.
One of the trainers agreed to fight Lachlan, and the other would act as referee. The three boys spread out over the grass, taking their positions on the field.
"Go, Florian!" shouted Lachlan, ordering his weepinbell out in front of him. The other trainer sent out a pidgey, an interesting choice. The pidgey had a type advantage, but weepinbell was an evolved pokemon with a higher level, and a skilled trainer would be able to win the match. Unfortunately Lachlan didn't have a clue what he was doing.
"Florian! Acid!"
Florian reared back and spat a glob of purple liquid at the enemy pidgey, but it darted out of the way and retaliated with a Gust attack that hit the weepinbell head on, knocking it back a few paces. It was stupid of Lachlan to use Acid at that range – pidgey were swift flying pokemon, so the attack had no chance of hitting unless the weepinbell closed the distance between the pair. Blaine already knew what to do.
Even Lachlan could see that a direct attack wouldn't work. "Okay, Florian. Stun Spore!"
The weepinbell opened its cavernous mouth once again and this time exhaled a flurry of golden particles, which wafted through the air towards the pidgey.
"Comet! Blow it back with Whirlwind!" called the opposing trainer, and the pidgey flapped its wings so rapidly they became a blur of brown and tan, whipping up a fierce wind that scattered the golden dust to the ground. Florian narrowly missed being hit by his own attack as the Stun Spore blew back.
"Hit back with Gust!"
Another gust of wind was launched towards Florian, striking its target and sending him tumbling backwards. The weepinbell was starting to show signs of damage after having been hit with two Gusts in a row. He was breathing heavily and his leaves were noticeably tattered.
Blaine marched on to the field and stopped right next to her brother.
"What are you doing?" she said irritably. "You're losing the match. Don't you know how to battle?"
"Go away," barked Lachlan, his little hands balling into fists. "I don't need your help. Florian and I can win this on our own."
"Yeah, I can see that. You're doing such a great job."
"All right, Comet! Keep up the Gust attacks!" ordered Lachlan's opponent. The pidgey drew its wings back and snapped them forward again and again, launching blasts of air at Lachlan's weepinbell.
"Dodge it!" Lachlan called. Blaine could hear the desperation in his voice. It was a stupid command, again. Weepinbell were not known for their agility.
Florian tried his hardest to avoid the attacks, but although he dodged the first two, he was hit by the next one, two, three attacks in quick succession. Buffeted by gusts of wind, his yellow body rolled and bounced along the grassy field, bruised and dusty. This match would be over soon unless Lachlan grew a brain.
"Pathetic," Blaine declared. "Just pathetic."
"It's not my fault!" Lachlan snapped. "Pidgey has the type advantage."
"And you have the level advantage. There's more to winning a match than the strength of the pokemon. The skill of the trainer makes all the difference. If I were battling in your place I would win easily."
"Oh, yeah? All right then. If you're so smart, you give the commands."
"Tell Florian to do what I say."
"Florian!" Lachlan shouted. "Do what Blaine tells you, since she knows everything."
Blaine stepped forward, facing the field and her opponent. She was ready for action. She was born ready for this.
"Florian!" she shouted. "Wrap!"
The weepinbell wearily picked itself up and struck out with the brown vine sprouting from its head, the vine extending smoothly as it shot through the air towards the startled pidgey. When the vine struck its target, it pulled the tiny bird pokemon out of the air, bringing it crashing to the ground, wrapping its body tightly in coil upon coil of thick brown material, squeezing and choking the life out of it. The pidgey struggled to break free, but the evolved weepinbell had superior strength, and the pidgey's wings were crushed against its sides, rendering it unable to use its attacks.
"Now!" Blaine called. "Pull it closer and use Sleep Powder!" The pidgey was dragged closer to Florian and dusted with a generous spray of white powder from the weepinbell's mouth. Its frantic struggles slowed and finally ceased as it slumped in the weepinbell's coils, snoring peacefully. Good, that should keep the pidgey from escaping and buy Blaine the time she needed while she prepared herself.
"Now, dust it with Stun Spore and Poison Powder, and follow it up with Growth." Two more nasty status ailments would slow the pidgey down when it finally woke up - if it woke up before she was done. The weepinbell took advantage of its opponent's defenceless state to smother it with two more bursts of toxic powder, before going still and gathering its energy, its body growing in size.
"Comet!" shouted the opposing trainer. "Hey, Comet! Snap out of it! Come on, wake up!"
"Keep up the Growth until the pidgey starts to wake," Blaine ordered. The more time they had, the better it would be for her. The tension on the field stretched as the pidgey snored on and Florian's gold and green form continued to grow in size, slowly but surely. One minute passed, then another. The pidgey began to stir, feebly turning its head from side to side as the Sleep Powder began to wear off.
"Now, Florian!" Blaine commanded. "Hit it with Acid!"
The weepinbell unleashed a spray of purple liquid at point-blank range, the pidgey still wrapped in the weepinbell's coils and unable to dodge. As the harsh acid engulfed the pidgey, it screeched and struggled fiercely, its little body scorched by the corrosive chemical solution. It managed to pull away and flap a few times through the air, but it collapsed to the ground, trembling, weakened by constriction, burnt by acid and poisoned by toxic dust.
"One more time!" Blaine yelled. "Finish it off!"
Florian delivered one final burst of acid, and the last of the pidgey's strength deserted it: it fell to the ground and lay stretched out on the grass in a faint.
"Aww! Comet, return." The opposing trainer called his pidgey back into its pokeball. "That was a good battle. You're an excellent strategist," he said to Blaine. He turned and added, to Lachlan, "I would have beat you if your big sister hadn't stepped in. Maybe next time you can battle me on your own, without her holding your hand." With a final smirk, he went off with his friend.
Lachlan, hurt and angry, ran away with Florian bouncing after him. But Blaine stood where she was, her heart thumping with excitement, adrenaline rushing through her veins, reliving the last moments of that battle again and again in her head. This was what she had dreamed of, the sweet taste of victory. It seemed to her that the colours of the park were brighter, the blue of the sky more vivid, the green of the trees more beautiful, the wind rushing past her face and playing with her hair.
She was born to do this. She was destined to be a pokemon trainer. Why couldn't her parents understand that?
A/N:
Thanks for the reviews, colbyjackchz and japaneserockergirl! If you guys can bear with me for the opening chapters, which will be kind of slow and scene-building, I think I might have an interesting story on my hands.
Reviews are very encouraging, even if you have no con crit or detailed response, a simple "I liked it" is good enough to let me know that someone is reading. Hope you guys stick around.