The day was fresh. The air was sunny. And somebody was lost. This somebody was me. I had been walking along the East North rd like the professor had told me. But somehow, I was walking beside a creek instead.

"This won't do!" I complained loudly. "There aren't even signs!"

A voice interrupted. "Of course there aren't signs, silly. This is the wild."

I turned to see who it was and found myself face to face with a boy with short, wavy blue hair that hung over a black headband. He was wearing a pink and red patterned jacket with white pants. Over his shoulder, he hung a bamboo fishing rod. In one hand, he held a pokeball.

"Hi. Name's Jule. Taken from your expression I guess you're new around here… Say, why aren't you carrying a rod?"

My face blushed pink.

"So?"

Jule looked at me superiorly. "This is the best fishing spot for Dratini in the entire world. Not carrying a fishing rod is a big waste."

My fists clenched. I had plenty of experience with no good know-it-alls and this was one of them.

"How about you lend me a fishing rod and I'll fish up a Dratini for you to see?!"

Jule smiled. "I guess you can prove yourself at the annual Dratini fishing comp. See you in 2 weeks at River-row town."

With that, Jule flounced off.

I gritted my teeth. I thought about following him and challenging him to a battle, but decided against it. Besides, my Chimchar hadn't got much experience yet. Still, first I need to prove myself by going to River-row town. My eyes swept around me. Then I saw a town in the distance. Yay! I thought and headed off there to ask directions.

I wandered through the town. People were off and going about their daily business. I saw a young boy walking around the streets. The boy wore a tie-dyed t-shirt and Hawaii shorts. He looked like he was just back from a long beach side holiday. Maybe he'll know where River-row town is. I stopped him and asked.

The boy scratched his head. "Well, I do know but I'll tell you on one condition."

"What?" I asked him.

The boy grinned. "I'm a new trainer and I need some practice. How about a Pokemon battle?"

"Err… sure…"

The boy took out a shiny red and white poke-ball. He gripped it firmly in his small hands and tossed the poke-ball up into the air.

"OK! Elekid, I choose you!"

Elekid appeared in a blaze of light.

[Some facts: Elekid is a lightning type Pokemon. It has black and yellow stripes and looks something like and little monster with horns poking out of its head. Elekid evolves into quite a powerful Pokemon...]

I got out my poke-ball. Chimchar, even though I don't know your full strength…here goes something. "Let's go Chimchar."

I threw the ball.

A Chimchar appeared.

[Some more facts: Chimchar is a fire type that looks like a monkey. Its basically all red with a wisp of hair on its head. Is very good at climbing. Cute.]

"I'll go first," the boy said, "Elekid, use swift!"

"Elekid." A stream of stars shot out of Elekid's mouth. The stars were rotating and their sharp points were aimed at Chimchar!

"Chimchar, dodge and use ember."

Chimchar braced itself, and just before the stars collided, leapt nimbly up into the air. It opened its mouth and unleashed embers of fire upon Elekid. "Chimchar!"

Elekid smiled.

The boy smiled too. He had an expression on that said oh boy we've been working on this move so long but never had a chance to use it. This is really going to be good...

"Elekid, use Special Attack 1."

Elekid started spinning. As it span, its arms started to glow a brilliant white. The ember attack hit Elekid's arms but bounced right back to fall harmlessly onto the ground.

"Oh, gods," I whispered, "What was that?"

The boy must of had very sharp ears because he answered, "A mix of brick break and the force of spinning. It's a great form of defence and offence and makes a beautiful contest move."

"Enough of that, lets get on with the battle. Chimchar, jump and use ember!"

I grinned. The boy wasn't so smart. He'd left his top completely unprotected.

The boy seemed to know what I was thinking. "I know what you're trying to do. It won't work."

Chimchar let loose ember. Its aim was true and fell towards Elekid. Elekid, sensing it, raised its arms up to stop the ember attack. That was the moment I was waiting for.

"Now, Chimchar, switch ember direction to Elekid's sides!"

"Oh no!" the boy cried.

Oh no is right. I thought. Elekid can't protect its top and its sides. Elekid could completely dodge, but ember is coming in too fast. This move will definitely hit.

Elekid was buffeted in the sides by the ember attack. It fell crashing hard into the battle ground. It muttered a faint sound and slowly struggled to its feet. "Chimchar chim." Chimchar landed safely in front of Elekid.

The boy grimaced at the state Elekid was in. "Can you still fight?" he called to Elekid.

Elekid nodded weakly and stared defiantly at Chimchar.

Tears welled in the boy' s eyes. He suddenly ran to Elekid and hugged him.

"I surrender." He sniffed. The boy wiped his nose on his sleeve. "Sorry, I guess I have a bit of a soft spot for my Pokemon. Too soft."

I looked at him pityingly.

"Your Pokemon are great. You know, the only way to truly become better is pushing to the limit every time. Then gradually, you'll improve."

The boy studied my expression.

Finally, he said, "I'll tell you where River-row town is. You go along the West side forest, look for the crossroads and take the one that looks more dangerous. You should be walking alongside a creek and if you follow it, it should lead you to River-row town. Be careful though, if you choose the wrong crossroad, you're in a sticky situation."

After he said that, he returned Elekid to its poke-ball and bounded off.

"Well, we should be off too." I told Chimchar.

"Chimchar."

Chimchar hopped on my shoulders and we were going.

"You know, Chimchar. I was thinking. While I'm here, I should really start to experience more things. What do you think…"

Chimchar looked at me doubtfully.

I laughed.

"All right, then let's get to River-row town first."