Chapter 2: Road to Viridian City—Skylark's Team Expands

"What?!" Skylark shouted, surprised. "You want me to take Abra?"

"Is that not what you want?" Oak asked, confused. "I mean, this Abra was your father's…and it's a rare one in its species, too. It's pigment is a different color, and that already makes the rare Abra that much rarer." Abra floated by Oak, looking up at Skylark curiously.

"I mean…I guess I can?" Skylark said. "But isn't it attached to you, like if it's your trainer?"

"Actually, no. That's the thing. I did train it some, and it's at level thirteen now. I had a move tutor teach it the move Headbutt, and trained it from level five or so." Oak replied, a bit of sadness it his voice. "But he doesn't really pay me much attention. It seems he wants something more than just an average trainer like me."

"So? What about Skylark is different?" Grace asked.

"Well, he won the Kanto Tournament. That already takes a lot of strength." Oak praised. "With that potential, maybe Skylark can break through to Abra and Abra will finally attach to a trainer. So what do you say Skylark?"

"I was planning on just training up Ivysaur…"

"Skylark!" Oak scolded, his voice rising. "A trainer who stays with one Pokémon is no better than a runner who only trains once a week. Like a runner, a trainer must experience with different things other than just sticking to one thing, such as a day or a Pokémon."

"Bu-"

"That and, Skylark, going against the Pokémon League with only one Pokémon is foolish. You'll never beat a single member of the Elite Four if you only have one Pokémon. Only a handful of people in existence have been able to do such daring things." Oak continued on scolding. "So will you take Abra and expand your team, or no?"

Skylark thought for a moment on the professor's words. He finally decided that he was right. If he only stayed with Ivysaur, he wouldn't make it too far before he'd find himself failing again and again. So, he decided that Abra would be his second Pokémon on his adventure.

"I'll take Abra, professor!" Skylark answered happily. Oak handed Skylark the Pokéball that Abra was kept in, but Skylark just put the ball up. He preferred Abra out of the ball, like Ivysaur.

"I'm glad you decided to take him!" Oak said happily. After a few minutes of talking, and a last couple of goodbyes and exchanging of numbers for the PokéGear, Skylark was off to Route 1, which led to Viridian City. Oak said it was a three-day hike, so he gave them a few supplies, as well as a few Pokéballs just in case Skylark found an interesting Pokémon to catch.

Skylark trained with Abra for a few minutes before they found a good camping spot. Testing out Abra's moves, he realized it only knew the same two: Teleport and Headbutt. It was difficult to battle with such a different Pokémon than what Skylark was used too, but he liked Abra.

Abra managed to knock out a few Ratata before they set up camp, and Skylark was glad to know that Abra was a good fighter. It made him more confident in his abilities as a trainer. But later that night, when everyone prepared to go to sleep, Abra refused to get inside the tent with him and Grace. Instead, Abra stayed outside by the fire and meditated the whole night.

"What's up with Abra?" Grace asked. "Is…is he depressed, possibly?"

"I don't think that's it." Skylark replied. "Oak said this Abra had a hard time attaching or trusting anyone. It probably just isn't used to me yet."

"But didn't you grow up with this Abra?"

"Only for a couple of years. Even then, my mom cared for him more than I did…I didn't really care for any Pokémon for a while, remember?" Skylark stared up at the roof of the tent. A cool feature to the tent was that they could unzip the roof, leaving a small net covering to keep out bugs, but allowing them to look at the sky and observe the stars.

Skylark quickly dozed off, with Ivysaur by his side. Abra continued meditating outside as Grace and Eevee dozed off to sleep too. Abra was actually asleep the whole time, but it was still awake subconsciously. It was keeping watch while sleeping, something that not many things on Earth could do. It was like a guardian angel, keeping watch through the night.

The next day, after eating a nice breakfast that Grace helped Skylark make, they packed up their tent and belongings and kept going. They hiked for a few hours, coming across a tall patch of grass every now and then. Inside the patches they occasionally found lost items, and every now and then they were also attacked.

Skylark took these opportunities to train Abra. Half the time Skylark wouldn't even see the enemy, but Abra would sense the enemy and attack on its own sometimes. Because of all this attacking, Abra actually gained a level near the end of the day.

But as the day drew close to an end, Skylark came across a peculiar Pokémon. "Oh my gosh!" Grace shouted as they ran close to the Pokémon. "It's a Pidgey!"

"A pidgeon?"

"No! A Pidgey!" Grace said again. "It's this cute bird Pokémon that is just a must have!"

"A must have?"

"Eventually, it'll evolve and you can use it to fly around the region!"

"Really?!"

"Yeah, and they're good fighters against fighting and grass type Pokémon!" As Grace explained Pidgey to Skylark, Skylark got the urge to capture it.

"Alright then, I'm going to make Pidgey mine!" Skylark shouted. "Pidgey!" The Pidgey turned around, looking curiously. "Join my team!" Skylark took a Pokéball out of his bag and began to throw the ball, but Grace slapped his hand.

"Skylark! You have to weaken it first, otherwise it'll just break free of its Pokéball!" Skylark was silent for a second, realizing that he knew that from the academy he went to in Hoenn. He felt embarrassed for forgetting, but quickly made up for it by sending in Abra to fight.

"Abra, use Headbutt on Pidgey!" Skylark shouted as Abra flew forward and smashed into Pidgey. Even though Abra was a high level, its attack was very low since it was a Psychic type. Pidgey was knocked a foot or so away, and quickly hopped up and shook off some dirt it landed in.

Pidgey flew forward and smashed into Abra, who was sent flying backward and into Skylark's legs. "Hey buddy, it's all good!" Skylark reassured Abra, who slowly got back up. "Let's go ahead and attack with another Headbutt!" Abra nodded reluctantly as it floated forward and smashed into the Pidgey, who then tried to follow it up with another Quick Attack.

Skylark, thinking fast, grabbed his Pokéball from earlier and chucked it at Pidgey. It absorbed Pidgey and knocked back and forth slowly, before finally snapping and alerting Skylark that he caught the Pidgey.

"Yes!" He shouted triumphantly. "I caught it!"

"Sweet job!" Grace shouted on the sidelines with Eevee and Ivysaur next to her. Skylark then took two potions that he had found earlier throughout the day and handed it to Abra and Pidgey, who he also let out of the ball. After healing them, they continued forward until night fell. It was a good day's walk, and Skylark was already exhausted. After eating and playing with his Pokémon some, he quickly went to sleep.

The next day went exactly like the last day. Abra and Pidgey both chased after enemies, growing stronger and stronger as the day went on. Skylark was so happy to see that he was training well enough. But it wasn't until the day after that that he realized he wasn't doing something right.

The next morning, they arrived to Viridian City. Taking his Pokémon to the center to get healed, he waited patiently for them to get better. But something going on over the PokéGear caught his attention. He was listening to the radio when something said, "Elite Four Member Lorelei visiting Viridian City to confront missing Gym Leader Giovanni."

"What?!" Skylark shouted. Grace looked at him curiously, but he soon explained. Grabbing his Pokémon, he ran out of the center and ran forward to the gym, where he ran into an old lady.

"Hey, watch where you're going! Who do you think you are?" She shouted crankily.

"Oh, sorry mam', my name is Skylark. I'm looking for this Elite Four member named Lorelei." Skylark explained. "I'm a trainer and I want to battle her."

"You're looking at her, youngster."

"But…but she's so old…her Pokémon can't possibly be that well trained…" Skylark judged in his mind. Shrugging it off, he got straight to the point. "I want a battle, Lorelei."

"What for? That's stupid, you're stupid. Do you even have a gym badge yet?"

"No, but I beat the Kanto Tournament for Beginners. I have three strong Pokémon, I bet I can win!"

"Really now? You think you can beat me, an Elite Four member?"

"Yes!" He shouted as he sent out Abra. "Is it a yes or a no?"

Lorelei stared at him with an annoyed expression. She didn't want too, but she soon decided it was the only way. "Fine, impatient and stupid trainer Skylark. I, Lorelei of the Elite Four, accept your battle offer!"