"Ha! I totally beat you!" Riley called out as he panted heavily. He leaned on the railing of the stairs as the girl across from him shook her head violently.
"No way! You only won because you cheated! You can't push people to get past them!" she called back.
"I only tapped you! You stumbled over and a big deal about it, but I barely touched you!" Riley exclaimed.
"You know what, whatever. We're here now, so let's just get going." She started up the stairs with an indignant sigh. Having caught his breath, Riley followed suit, triumphant smile still fixed onto his face. A few flights of stairs later, they reached the top. At the sound of their footsteps, a blond girl perked up, turning around towards the pair.
"Oh, excuse me!" She jogged lightly to meet them, one hand holding a lime beanie to her head, and the other wrapped around some sort of case. "Would you two happen to know a boy named Riley? I'm supposed to meet him, but I'm afraid I don't know this town very well..."
He grinned slightly before he stated, "Never heard of him," with a deadpan expression plastered on his face. Jen gave an exasperated groan before smacking Riley on the back of his head. He cried out briefly in pain before he burst out laughing. The blonde girl who was only slightly older than the two looked at them with a confused expression. She obviously had no idea what was going on.
"This is Riley, please forgive his idiocy," she stated as the boy's laughter gradually died down.
The blonde's face lit up with a smile, "Oh, great! I'll take it that you're Iphige-"
"Call me Jen. Please."
"Ooooor... Phi-Phi," Riley snickered behind her.
"Not if you want to keep your head on your shoulders, you won't!" She growled at Riley, temporarily forgetting about the utterly bewildered blonde before them.
"Umm... so yeah! Riley and Jen! My name's Bianca! I'm here to ask you if you'll help me and the Professor fill out these Pokedexes! You probably know what goes along with that and-,"
"Wait, what's a Pokedex? I remember hearing about it somewhere, but...," Riley interrupted.
"It's like a Pokemon encyclopedia. Really, Riley, you need to wake up occasionally and listen when people talk to you. How do you expect to succeed in life, let alone keep yourself alive, if you don't take some responsibility and-"
"We'll do it!" Riley said, tuning out the rambling brunette, "So... what exactly goes along with it?"
"I'll give you a pokemon of course!" Bianca giggled, "It's like your parents didn't tell you anything about it. But that would be silly, of course they would tell you something. Umm... right?" The blonde looked at the pained faces of the two teenagers with a bit of confusion.
Riley changed his pained expression to one of excitement, "Neat! I've always wanted to get out of this town! They won't let you out the gate without a pokemon and Jack's has had one for almost forever!" He rubbed his hands together before he looked around. "Uh... so where are they?"
"I've got them right here!" Bianca presented the case with a bit of a flourish, popping open the lid to reveal three pokeballs inside. "Now, be careful... The one you choose will be your-"
Riley interrupted her spiel by quickly picking one with a green symbol on it. "I'll take this one!" he exclaimed.
"But, don't you want to-" Bianca said a bit confusedly before she was interrupted again.
"Wow thank you so much! I - Hey! I wanted that one!" Jen whined, her voiced edged with disappointment. She gave a glare, grabbing the pokeball emblazoned with a red mark. "I guess I'll take thisone, then," she said with a pointed malice.
"Wait... isn't that...," Riley muttered before Bianca spoke again.
"Well... I guess you've chosen! Why don't you release your new partners and give them a nickname!" Bianca said excitedly with a bit of a twitch.
"Alright!" Riley pumped his fist excitedly before tossing his pokeball into the air. "Go, this one!" he called out as Jen facepalmed at the cliche. The annoyance left her face as she examined her own pokeball with thinly veiled wonder, tossing out her own pokemon in time with Riley. A flash of light signified the release of a pokemon and a pair of similar pokemon appeared in front of them.
"Oooh! I know the name of this one," Riley stated, "It's a Snivy, right?"
"Umm... yes," Bianca said worriedly, "But why are there two of them? The pokeballs must have been mislabeled... If you want I can-"
"Oh no, I don't mind one bit!" Jen said hurriedly, "I'm perfectly happy with Snivy!"
"Hmm... I think I'll name you Eliwood!" Riley said excitedly, oblivious to the other two. The Snivy gave him a pointed stare before he nodded and jumped for his leg. The pokemon slithered up his leg and onto his shoulder where it stayed, slightly curled around his arm, looking ready for adventure. "Whoa! Cool!" Riley exclaimed.
Jen crouched down, gazing at her pokemon thoughtfully. "How about Simon?" The pokemon looked up at her before turning up its nose in distaste. "What, not good enough for you? Well ex-cuuseme, Smugleaf!" That caught the pokemon's attention, as it began looking contemplative before nodding curtly in approval. "...You're not serious." Jen sweatdropped, before noticing that the pokemon was gazing at her humorlessly. "Well, I've heard stranger nicknames. Welcome aboard, Smugleaf!" She smiled, standing up and brushing the dirt off her leggings.
"Okay! Those nicknames are fine!" Bianca said before rummaging through her bag, "Here are your trainer cards and Pokedexes... Your Pokedex can be used as a trainer card as well if you can't find it. I know it helped me a lot when I was traveling!" She handed them each a card with a blank square where a picture would go and a number on the front. Riley turned his over to see that another empty box was on the back. She then followed it with a sleek handheld device. "If you take those to the gatehouse to route 19, you can get those finished! All the other paperwork is done, so you're good to go! Of course, I have to teach you the basics of being a trainer first!" she continued.
Riley nodded vaguely before he heard footsteps coming up the stairs behind them. He turned around to see Jack mounting the top of the stairs. "I finally got those chores finished and I came to find you as fast as I- Whoa! Is that..."
"It is!" Riley replied. He fistbumped Jack before he began speaking.
"Awesome! But, I can't let you leave without trying a battle first!" Jack exclaimed. "I'll battle you first," he said to Riley, "Then you next," he said pointing to Jen.
The Snivy on Riley's shoulder sprung off and landed a few yards away, its eyes blazing. "I think Eliwood is ready! Whenever you're prepared we can battle!" Riley burst out excitedly.
Jack responded by grinning and releasing his own pokemon. "Let's go Baconator! We can win!" The Tepig snorted as it pawed at the ground with its front hoof.
Riley prepared himself to battle, but he realized a problem. "Uh... what moves do you know?" he asked the Snivy who gave him an odd look.
"You can use the Pokedex to check!" Bianca called helpfully from the sidelines. Riley took out the device from his pack and pointed it at Eliwood.
"Snivy! The Grass Snake pokemon, being exposed to sunlight can-" the machine blared out in a mechanical voice.
"Come on, I want the moves! Not a description!" Riley interrupted. It seemed to work as the machine whirred for a second before it spoke again.
"Target's moves: Tackle, Leer," the Pokedex responded.
"Okay, let's try Leer!" Riley exclaimed. The Snivy in front of him began to glare at the Tepig disconcertingly until the Fire Pig pokemon shivered a bit under the intensity of the glare.
"Hmph, let's respond with a Tail Whip!" Jack commanded. Baconator jumped forward and wagged his curly tail back and forth, causing Eliwood to look a little confused. The Snivy looked back at Riley for instruction.
"Okay, I'm guessing Leer was a stat-reducing move! Use Tackle!" Riley commanded. Eliwood's eyes glinted with excitement before he dashed forward with decent speed and used his body to knock the Tepig to the ground. The Snivy then jumped back from Baconator and prepared for a response. But the Tepig merely wagged his tail lazily again without any instruction from his owner. Although Jack didn't seem to mind as he didn't look unhappy.
This series of actions continued for a while, so Jen turned her attention from the battle after noticing a flicker of green in the corner of her vision. Her Snivy slithered around excitedly, watching the battle with a fiery expression in its eyes.
"You're raring to go, aren't you?" Smugleaf gave an enthusiastic cry, nodding quickly before fixing its gaze back onto the brawl.
Eliwood took one final blow against the Tepig and he toppled over with a sad sounding squeal. The Snivy made a small incline of its head to the fallen opponent before he returned to Riley's side and made a small salute. Riley picked up the grass type pokemon and placed him on his shoulder.
"Great work, partner. Take a breather." Jack returned his Tepig to its pokeball before turning his attention to his opponent.
"Wow, you're hot stuff Riley! I'm glad I have a trainer like you to count on!" Jack grinned, running his finger through his spiky hair. "I'm gonna heal up my partner now," He turned to Jen as he said this, his happy smile turning cocky and confident despite his previous loss, "but don't think I've forgotten about our battle. Meet me back up here in 15 minutes, and I'll show you what a real trainer battles like!" With that, he turned and calmly made his way down the stairs.
"How can he be so confident after that? That was a lousybattle. He never even got to attack!" Jen stared down the stairway where the black-haired boy just made his exit.
"Heh, I was just too good for him! Though with all those Tail Whips, if he had attacked me I could've been toast!" Riley laughed, patting his Snivy affectionately on the head. "We did a great job, buddy!"
"I'm willing to bet he won't try the same strategy twice… Are you up for a challenge, Smugleaf?" Snivy smirked in response, his small frame exuding confidence. She turned back to the stairway, a thoughtful expression on her face. "I hope his Tepig is alright. It did look pretty beat."
"Oh, it'll be fine!" Bianca chimed in, still slightly dazed from the chaotic turn of events. "Pokemon that are fainted just need a quick rest at the Pokemon Center and they'll be as good as new!" She didn't quite look either of the new trainers in the eye as they waited for the older one to come back. Jen noticed it, but didn't say anything as she didn't want to provoke any argument that could get her pokemon rescinded.
"Sorry to keep you all waiting!" Jack's voice rang out across the overlook. "I hope you're ready to lose, Phi-Phi!"
Jen gave a nervous glance down to her Snivy, whose confidence was back with full force. Sufficiently reassured, Jen stepped forward and unwaveringly met Jack's gaze.
"Bring it on! Let's do this, Smugleaf!"
"Baconator! Time for Round Two!" A flash of light announced the entrance of his newly-rejuvenated Tepig, which stamped at the ground with vigor.
"Alright, let's start this off with a Leer!"
"I won't make the same mistake twice, Phi-Phi!" Jack scoffed, "Hit 'em with a Tackle!" Baconator charged forward rapidly, knocking Smugleaf off its feet onto the ground. A second later, it picked itself back up, shaking off the attack with a determined stare.
"Two can play at that game, Jack! Hit him with a Tackle of your own!"
"Keep at it, Tepig! Show them your strength!"
The two pokemon charged forward at each other, crashing together with increased fervor. As the battle continued on, Jen noticed with a bit of apprehension that her Snivy seemed to be wearing down faster than his Tepig.
"Hang in there, Smugleaf! You can do this!" The Snivy staggered forward, eyes half-lidded as it focused its attention back onto his opponent. The Tepig's exhaustion was evident as well, but it seemed to realize that the match was going in its favor.
"Oh, what a shame," Jack taunted, his face pulled into a mock-frown. "Your Snivy's not gonna last another hit! Let's finish this quick, shall we?"
"Smugleaf! Put all you've got into one last Tackle attack!"
Baconator began its final assault, its movements slower but resolute. Recognizing this opening, Smugleaf used its superior speed to swerve behind the attacking Tepig, striking it down with a strong blow. With a weak cry, Baconator collapsed to the ground, overcome with exhaustion.
"Smugleaf, we won!" Jen called out jubilantly before recalling her weakened pokemon. "Time for some well-deserved rest."
"You almost lost!" Riley called out, "Your Snivy doesn't even look like it could take a stiff breeze!"
"I didn't ask you," Jen retorted. Riley prepared a response, but Bianca stepped up to interrupt the building argument.
"Well... That was fun!" she said excitedly as she bounced slightly on her heels, making the green beanie on her head become slightly off centered. "I need to teach you two about being a trainer though! Follow me!" The professor's assistant left the outlook and picked her way down the stairs carefully. Riley looked around to find that Jack had already left to take care of Baconator and that Jen looked like she wasn't finished with him.
"She is waiting for us to follow her," Riley stated before he dashed after the retreating figure.
"Hey!" Jen called out, "Don't run after her, she's not even moving that fast!" The girl ran after the other pokemon trainer, only a few feet behind him.