Chapter 2: A New Friend?
"Alright, Amber! This is going to be your first and only chance to catch a Pokemon on this route, are you ready?" Shauna called across from the tall grass.
Amber and Lance had just finished crossing the bridge to Route 2 after the trainer purchased some Potions and Pokeballs. The winged girl took a deep breath as she stepped into the long grass, knowing full well that she would have to catch whatever would attack them first.
It didn't take long. A swift figure shot forth from one of the trees behind her.
"Ow!" Amber grunted as the flying Pokemon tackled the back of her head, "Hey! You're supposed to go after my Pokemon not me!"
A familiar bird Pokemon hovered before the duo. She had a smug look on her face, and her beak was twisted up into a grin. Amber didn't need her Pokedex to know what this was, but she opened it anyway.
"Pidgey, the Tiny Bird Pokemon. Female. Level 3. This Pokemon commonly flaps its wings at ground level to kick up blinding sand."
"You look like a Pokemon!" The Pidgey announced as she lifted up for another dive, "I'd rather fight you than pipsqueak there!" One of the talons on her foot pointed to Lance.
"Excuse me? I'm no pipsqueak." Lance retorted with narrowed eyes, "It is dishonerable to target my fair trainer." The vines wrapped around his arms once more, looping down in preparation to fight.
Amber chuckled, "Let's just teach this loudmouth a lesson. But don't make her faint. We can use her help."
"As you wish, my lady." Lance shot forward and slapped his vines onto the ground, using them like poles to lift him into the air. He slammed his shoulder into the bird Pokemon, causing her to miss a wingbeat. The Pidgey crashed into the ground and opened her mouth, growling angrily at Lance. As he landed on his feet, the Pidgey shot forward low to the ground and tackled into him in return.
Instinctively, the Chespin lashed a vine towards her, but her growl threw him off a bit, causing only the edge of the leaf on the end to smack into her. It was enough to weaken the bird, and Amber threw an empty Pokeball. As it struck the bird Pokemon's back, it opened and an aura of light surrounded the wounded Pokemon. The Pokeball twitched back and forth and finally made a small 'ping' sound, signalling the capture of the Pidgey.
"Great work, Lance!" Amber went to grab the Pokeball and smiled as she threw it to the ground, "Come on out and join your new team, Pidgey!"
"-two faced little rodent! You and your demon girl are going to-" The Pidgey stopped and turned her head towards the two she had been ranting about within the Pokeball, "Heh heh, I mean, um...you wonderful...wonderful trainer you."
"Come on, we're not that bad once you get to know us." Amber's lip did twitch as she smiled and she knelt down beside the wounded Pidgey. The bird screeched and started to flap her wings furiously backwards when she saw Amber reaching for her satchel, "What do you have in there?! If you hurt me I'll peck your eyes out!"
"Calm down..." The winged girl spoke in a soothing voice, revealing the Potion, "This will heal your wounds so you can fight along side of us."
As she sprayed the healing salve over the bird-Pokemon, the aggressive creature seemed to relax...at least a little bit.
"Man, you sure are a frightening little thing, aren't you?" The trainer chuckled and then blinked, "Frightful, that's it!" She smiled, "You're name will be Frightful."
"You foolish humans. Always want to give things names..." The bird complained as she turned her beak upward, "I guess it will suffice. At least you're not naming me Beaky or something idiotic like that."
"Do we really have to have her on our team?" Lance grumbled as he brushed some dirt off of his fur, "She's a bit unorthodox."
"Hey, I'll let you know that I'm a powerful fighter!" Frightful screeched in indignation, "You just won because lizard breath was leading you!" She gave a fake cough, "No offense."
Amber shook her head, "None taken. Let's just train up a bit, shall we?" The trainer was doing her best to hide her annoyance at the bird, and continued on her way.
The Pidgey stuck her triangular tongue out at Lance before fluttering up to Amber, landing on her shoulder. She squinted her orange eyes and snorted when she saw Shauna, "Aw crap, what have you done to your hair?! You look like a Jinx that nearly got swallowed by a Gulp-"
Amber quickly pinched Frightful's beak together, "Hush! Stop being so rude or you're going back into your Pokeball."
Shauna frowned, "That's your new partner? I hope you're not regretting your choice to take The Challenge."
Amber shook her head, "Nah, training difficult Pokemon is all part of being a good trainer. Only I gotta say, "I've never seen a Pokemon as frustrating as this one."
"Mmph Mpmh mph mphhhh mhhhh" Came the muffled voice of the Pidgey. Lance chuckled as he walked alongside of his trainer.
"Well, good luck! I'll meet you in the forest, alright?!" Shauna smiled and rushed forward. "If your Pokemon need to be healed call for me while I'm in there!"
Amber sighed and released her grip on Frightful's loud mouth.
"-and if you shove me in that Pokeball, I swear I'll tackle the back of your head until you get a concussion!"
"...I heard that..." Amber murmured.
"I know!" Frightful gave a huff and noticed a small black caterpillar-like Pokemon. "Can I beat up on that thing? Please?"
Amber looked to Lance, glad for the distraction, "Go ahead, you two need to train up more than ever. We won't be having a large team." Gazing at her Pokedex, she learned that the Pokemon was called Scatterbug. "Use Tackle, Frightful!"
"My pleasure." The bird Pokemon lifted high into the sky and slammed directly on top of the bug. It rolled across the ground and struggled to get up but was immediately tackled again. Amber was shocked at the ferocity that Frightful used to attack. She didn't seem to want to hold back at all. The bug fainted, and as a Fletchling soared down to make use of the quick meal, Frightful growled angrily at the offending bird.
"Stay back!" She screeched. Darting forward, she grunted as the enemy bird tackled into her but she flew forward anyway, slamming into the Fletchling's wing. The Fletchling shrieked in anger, throwing Frightful off of her next dive. Her attack struck the tips of the robin's wings and it spiralled down to crash into the ground. As it shrieked in surprise, Frightful didn't give it time to attack before she dove down once more, slamming the poor thing deep into the ground.
Amber was a bit nervous at how willing Frightful was to take out everything in sight. Frightful alighted on her shoulder and preened her injured wing, "Alright, rodent boy." She called down to Lance, "Show me what you can do."
The Chespin hid his frustration with the new member rather well. A racoon-like Pokemon emerged from the grass near him, glaring at the Chespin before darting towards him to tackle. Lance immediately wrapped his vines around the four legged creature and sent it flying into a nearby tree. The Zigzagoon darted forward, slamming its head against Lance's chest. He grunted, keeping his arms forward and causing his vines to shoot out further, sending the racoon towards the tree once more. The creature slumped to the ground unconscious.
The training continued, both Pokemon trying to show each other up. Lance did his best to fight cautiously while Frightful made quick strikes before her opponents could even react to her presence. Lance would usually bow his head towards the fallen Pokemon in respect while Frightful would casually fly back to Amber's shoulder and preen not caring about what Pokemon she took out.
"Aw man, your Pokemon are really strong!" A young trainer called out to Amber as he made eye contact with her, "Would you like to battle me?!"
"Heh heh, this kid wants to battle? Puh-lease." Frightful said with a shrug.
Amber sighed, "Sure, we can battle. I warn you, Frightful can be a bit...much."
The youngster smiled, "Not a problem! My Zigzagoon's pretty tough. I think he can handle it."
"You're going to eat those words, kids." Frightful warned as she pressed her wings against her side. She watched carefully as he threw his Pokeball to the ground. Just as the racoon Pokemon appeared, Frightful darted down and slammed into it. The Zigzagoon tried desperately to throw her off, growling and tackling her in the air, but its attacks barely phased the Pidgey.
Frightful flew through the air like an arrow, repeatedly striking the trained Pokemon until it could stand no more. As it fell onto its side, Frightful alighted on the top of Amber's wing, curling her neck around to rest her chin on her back, "Child's play..."
The youngster's mouth was agape and he called his wounded Pokemon back, "Wow, that was intense! Here!" He handed Amber some money, "Nice wings by the way! Good luck in the forest, though, with as strong as your Pokemon are now, it shouldn't be a big problem for you."
"Heh, thanks." Amber waved to the Youngster as she passed him by.
Stepping into Santalune forest, Amber glanced around at her surroundings. Trees surrounded them on all sides, and flowers of all sorts of colors and shapes were illuminated by shafts of light that filtered in from the canopy. She spotted Shauna nearby, finishing battling with a strange monkey-like Pokemon, blue in color. Certainly not one from Kanto.
"Oh, Amber! You made it!" Shauna smiled and looked at Lance and Frightful, "Your team looks like they can use some healing. Can I see them?"
Amber raised a brow, "I'm assuming you have plenty of potions? I have some of my own..."
"Oh, don't worry, I've got this..." Shauna took Frightful into her hands, causing the Pidgey to cry out in shock, "Hey, what are you doing pipsqueak, I-"
Frightful's shouts stopped and Amber gasped as she saw a light aura surrounding Shauna's hands. The Pidgey began to relax in the girl's grip as her wounds were healed, and she examined her wings that were once battered, "Huh...would you look at that..."
"Shauna, are you-"
The young girl set the bird Pokemon onto Amber's shoulder and knelt down by Lance, resting her hand on his shoulder and doing the same, "Shh, please don't tell anyone. I'd rather keep my powers a secret, you know? T-Team Rocket took me when I was a toddler and used my powers for their own gains. I thought I was doing the right thing by helping them, but then I found out what they did to make me this way..." She shook her head, "The others don't know. I'd rather keep it on the low down, I'm afraid someone will want me to use my gift for their own personal gain."
The older Experiment nodded, "I understand your fears...I promise, your secret is safe with me."
"Why don't I follow you around?" Shauna offered, "I can help heal your Pokemon along the way. It'll make for some easy training."
Amber smiled, "I'd like that very much, thank you." She wanted to know more about Shauna, but didn't want to bring back any bad memories. Instead she wandered through the grass, searching for a new Pokemon to join her team, "This Challenge is going to be pretty difficult. It's tough only training two Pokemon. Especially when there's so many different ones in this region."
"I know, right?" Shauna laughed, "I don't envy you one bit."
A bird-like cry interrupted them. As Amber looked up, she thought at first that maybe Embra, her mother's Fletchling, had come to visit. However, this Fletchling had sharper features, and looked ready to battle as it hovered above her head.
"Fletchling. The Tiny Robin Pokemon. Male. Level 4. These Pokemon send signals to one another with beautiful chirps and movements of their tail feathers."
"Awesome! I'm at least familiar with this Kalos Pokemon." Amber looked at Lance, "You can weaken it enough to capture it, let's go! Use Vine Whip!"
Lance whipped his vine directly into the air, arching it downward and sending the bird crashing into the ground. The male Fletchling used his wings to lift himself back to his feet and he growled angrily at Lance. His next vine struck the Fletchling's foot, tripping it up a bit. Knowing he was weakened, Amber threw a Premier Ball and it twitched back and forth before giving that satisfying 'ping' sound. She gave a happy flick of her tail and rushed up to grab it.
"Another bird Pokemon? Really? Frightful grumbled as she looked down at the Premier Ball, "You only need one of each type, you know?"
"You never know, Frightful." Amber said with a shrug as she called out the Fletchling, "One of you might faint. I'm only allowed as many Pokemon as could get."
"That was a mighty fine battle." The Fletchling said as he tried catching his breath, holding himself up and puffing his chest out proudly, "You fight with courage and honor. I appreciate that in a trainer and their Pokemon."
"Thanks for your kind words." The girl knelt down. The Pidgey on her shoulder rolled her eyes. Amber continued, "I'll call you Inferno. I believe you become a fire type when you evolve."
"A fine name it is." The Fletchling flew up and rested upon Amber's other shoulder, "What has this Pidgey's knickers in a twist?"
"Oh, don't mind her. She's always like this. This is Frightful, and the Chespin that battled you is Lance. I'm Amber." The girl smiled and turned to Shauna, "Mind helping Inferno out?"
The girl nodded and healed up both he and Chespin. Continuing their trek through the woods, Inferno bravely flew down as another of those strange monkey-like Pokemon appeared, a Panpour. He dove to tackle it, but the other Pokemon knocked him down from the sky. Amber quickly sent Lance out and he knocked the water Pokemon away, dealing quite a bit of damage.
"I apologize, I took on a bit more than I could chew with that one." Inferno apologized.
"Just take it easy, alright?" His trainer suggested as she stretched her wings, "Let Shauna heal you. We'll keep going."
As she walked, the winged girl jumped as a young woman stood up quite suddenly from the tall grass. She turned towards the Experiment, her dress billowing in the breeze, and shrieked in shock.
"Oh! I'm so sorry, I thought you were a wild Charizard. Please forgive me." The woman rested a hand on her chest, "How about a battle? I need to work off that adrenaline rush."
Amber looked towards Inferno. He puffed his chest out once more and flew forward, "I will go first. I must prove myself worth-" He stopped speaking as the woman sent out a Pokemon Amber was very familiar with. Very popular in Kanto, it was hard not to recognize the Pikachu as it fell to all fours, lightning bolt-shaped tail straight out as it prepared to fight.
"I think Lance should take this one on." Amber laughed, "No offense, but flying is weak to electric types."
"I'll take your advice..." Inferno agreed as he rested back on her shoulder. He could hear Frightful murmur, "Coward.." But chose to ignore it.
"Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt!"
As Lance charged towards the electric mouse, he staggered to a stop as the Pikachu's body sparked with eletricity. It shot towards him, causing the grass Pokemon to grit his teeth. His body stiffened and he gasped as he realized in fear that he was paralyzed.
"Come on, Lance, use Vine whip!" Amber called out.
The Chespin urged his body to move forward, feeling the jolts of electricity flow through his body. He managed to throw his arm forward, and the snake-like vine smacked the mouse directly on top of its head.
"Use Tackle, Pikachu!"
The mouse moved swiftly, slamming its forehead into Lance's belly. He grunted as he was flung back, his body still paralyzed from the electricity. He slowly got up, and managed to jump high into the air. Curling into a ball, he landed on the ground and began to roll forward with amazing speed. He smashed into his opponent with Rollout, causing the Pikachu to be flung into the air. It fainted as it hit the ground, surprising the Lass as she called her Pokemon back.
"That was very impressive. Keep this up and you'll beat the first gym in no time!"
The Experiment smiled, "Thanks! I sure hope I can do so." Saying goodbye to the fellow trainer, she continued onwards. Chespin brushed off the dirt and grass from his fur as they walked.
Along the way, Shauna healed her Pokemon, and Amber continued to train Inferno. He began to take on Panpours, Pansages, and Pansears with ease. As he darted down from the sky, tackling and quickly striking each foe down, Frightful watched with disdain. He seemed to grow quickly with each battle, and the Pidgey grew more and more jealous as Amber cheered him on. She was the quick striker of the group. Why did he have to come along and steal her thunder?
Frightful growled and curled her head under her wing. She didn't want to deal with this creep. She would prove to everyone she was the better flying type. No matter what it took.