A Growlithe leapt from the bushes right in front of her, its teeth bared.
Jojo gasped and took a few quick steps backward before falling down into a sitting position. As she stumbled, the rest of the pack crept out, together creating a chorus of low growls.
"Water Gun!" Jojo choked at Zero, whose previously alert expression had eased back into its blank, relaxed gaze. "Water Gun!" she shouted again, but he made no move to attack.
Jojo growled angrily before realizing it was probably a good thing to leave these Growlithe unharmed; she really wasn't interested in seeing them even more provoked then they were now.
A red light flashed from the ground, and she remembered her newly captured Growlithe with a small sigh of relief. It wasn't very fitting, however; one Growlithe against its pack wouldn't do much…especially when his only allies were a brain-dead potato sack and a naïve ten-year-old.
He barked at the largest, which Jojo assumed was the leader. The alpha drew himself to full height and stared down Jojo's, who recoiled slightly before returning the glare viciously.
A series of back and forth barks began to ensue; judging by what she saw, her Growlithe was…reasoning with the pack? She stared at the two, utterly perturbed by this exchange.
After a particularly fierce growl from her own, another Puppy Pokémon from the side jumped forward and let out a cackling bark, which forced the entire pack into Poochyena-esque laughter. Jojo shuddered; it was menacing in a way.
The alpha growled and took two steps forward before pouncing on her Growlithe. The duo began snarling, biting and sending flames at each other in a feral way that Jojo hadn't ever seen in the countless leagues she'd watched on television. Her eyes widened as she saw them tearing at each other, yelps and barks emanating from their tussle. She couldn't tell which was winning and which was losing, all she knew was that one was being thoroughly beaten.
The alpha took a step back, and Jojo gasped at the sight of her newly captured Growlithe on the ground, defeated and unconscious.
"Rocket…" she said in a faint voice; she wasn't quite sure of where the nickname had come from, but somewhere in the fighting she had unconsciously dubbed him 'Rocket'.
She reached slowly for his discarded ball and placed in it her bag; somehow, it seemed as though recalling him would anger the Growlithe further. Her face hardened as she looked back down at Rocket, and she glared angrily at the pack. How dare they make her day even worse than it already was?
Figuring that she was already as low as she could possibly be, she picked up a few rocks beside her and began chucking them at the alpha.
The rest of the pack responded instantaneously. Immediately, they began moving in for her, snarling and snapping their teeth as they got closer. She shrieked with fear and kicked the nearest one in the face before jumping over them and grabbing Rocket's unconscious body. "Water Gun!" she screamed at Zero, who – thankfully – obliged this time. However, the majority of them remained unscratched and began to bite at the Slowpoke. One was sinking its teeth into Jojo's boot; she squealed and hit it repeatedly on the head with a stick until it released her. She fumbled in her bag, while still fending herself with a pathetic twig, and finally grabbed on to Zero's ball. She recalled the Dopey Pokémon and was already out of the clearing before he had completely returned.
"So, Mrs. Jones, you say she disappeared in the middle of the night?" Officer Jenny asked, taking notes while listening to the distraught family.
"Yes," Jackie said anxiously, eyes red and puffy. The four were out on their porch in their pajamas, clutching tightly to one another. The only one who seemed unperturbed was Jake, who was sitting on the bench swing and kicking his legs back and forth, quietly singing to himself.
"I see," Officer Jenny replied, nodding her head and scribbling. "Do you have any reason to believe this was of her own accord, or do you suspect it was a kidnapping?"
"Umm-" Jackie began, faltering.
"Was there any sign of a struggle?" Jackie shook her head. "Did she have any reason to leave? Abuse?" Jenny probed, staring down the distressed mother.
"No!" Jackie snapped angrily. "But…" she cut herself off again, looking down.
"But what?" Jenny glowered, crossing her arms.
"We got in a fight last night. I told her she would have to wait a while before she began her journey, because my husband is out of a real job and her brothers can't take care of themselves…" She began sobbing into her husband's shoulder, unable to say anything else.
Jenny nodded, taking this in. "When was her tenth birthday?"
Jim answered this time, patting his wife's back. "A few weeks ago. Her journey was scheduled to begin today."
"I see," Jenny repeated. "Then I'm sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Jones, but there's nothing I can do."
"What do you mean!" Jackie shouted, her depressed demeanor evaporating instantly. "She didn't have our permission! Bring her back!" she hissed in a deathly low voice.
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Jones, but under the Johto jurisdiction, anyone ten years of age or older, regardless of parental consent, may begin traveling as long as they are accompanied by at least one Pokémon recognized by the official Pokémon League."
"But-" Jackie spluttered, "but we didn't give her a Pokémon! She didn't have one, and Whiskers is still here, so she couldn't have taken her!"
"Well, we may be able to do something about that. Did she leave this town's premises with a Pokémon?"
"No!" Jackie yelled, furious by now. "No, she didn't! So go out there and find her!"
Jenny scribbled more notes onto the pad before looking back at the family. "We may be able to bring her back because of that, but there is no guarantee she'll stay. After all, once she has her own Pokémon, she can leave any time she wants."
A faint voice in the distance began to carry over to them, and all five heads turned to the west. "Officer Jenny!" Professor Elm shouted, running quickly towards the group. "Officer Jenny!"
Jenny gave a deep sigh before say, "Yes, Elm?"
Professor Elm's alarm system was the bane of Jenny's existence. Every time a Pokémon decided to break out of its ball in the middle of the night, the siren went off. Technically, she was supposed to respond to it, but the number of false alarms had simply extinguished any desire for her to get up at two in the morning and recall a Pokémon to its ball.
"You didn't come last night," Elm glared, running his hands through his bedhead hair.
"No kidding," she snapped. "Did another Whismur have a bad dream?" she asked sarcastically.
"No!" he replied angrily. "No, not this time! No, this time it was real! This time, I actually had something stolen!" he smirked triumphantly at Jenny, who faltered for a moment.
"Wait, you're happy about that?" she questioned, cocking her head.
"Wha-? No, of course not! But I took inventory this morning, and there were a couple of balls on the floor and one was missing!"
Jenny blinked rapidly. New Bark Town was such a small town; nothing ever got stolen…ever! "Which ball was it?"
"Uhh…a Slowpoke's."
Jenny snickered, breaking into giggles. "A Slowpoke? Who in their right mind would steal a…oh."
She sobered, and looked at Jojo's parents; Jim was laughing uncontrollably, while Jackie was shooting him a murderous glare.
"She – got – a - Slowpoke?" he snorted through his chuckles.
"Apparently," Jenny confirmed. "This changes things, then. Now that she's considered a suspect for robbery, we can definitely bring her back and press charges, if Elm wishes."
"No," Jim said firmly, having finally stopped smiling.
"What?" Jackie, Jenny, and Elm said in unison.
"I want her to do this. If we bring her back, then she won't be able to start with a Slowpoke. This is her punishment. She wants to go on a journey before she's allowed? Fine, but she's doing it with a Slowpoke."
"That's not entirely up to you," Jenny replied. "It was Elm's property that was stolen, after all."
Everyone turned to face Professor Elm, who looked at Jim's face. "I owe you that much, Jim." Jim knew that his former boss was referring to his job – or lack thereof. The two men nodded respectfully at each other.
"Well, then, looks like my business is done here," Jenny said happily. With a quick salute, she turned on her heel and hopped onto her motorcycle, speeding away into the newly risen sun.
From the kitchen, the Jones family felt the smell of burning pancakes reach their noses, wondering – hoping – that they did the right thing.
"Growl!" Rocket barked happily, licking Jojo's face.
"He's fine," Nurse Joy assured the distraught girl, who pet her Growlithe carefully. "You ought to be careful, though. How did you manage to escape that pack with only two Pokémon? They're known to be some of the most vicious wild Pokémon in Johto."
Jojo shuddered at the memory of running from the forest, and she looked at some of the burns and bite marks she had already obtained on her first day. She sighed, and, for once, thanked her lucky stars for having a temperamental older sister. A lifetime of running from an angry Jillian probably gave her what she needed to escape those Growlithe. Of course, she hadn't managed to make it completely unscathed. With a half-hearted smile, she managed, "Practice." The nurse nodded a little, unsure of how to respond. "Oh!" Jojo piped up, remembering something. "Can you register my PokéGear?"
"Of course!" Joy replied, holding out her hand for the pink device. "I'll need your full name, hometown, age, and birth date."
Jojo nodded, but faltered a little, blushing. Shiftily, she looked around the rest of the Pokémon Center – there weren't many others, just a blue-haired girl who was simply sitting in a chair with an Absol laying across her lap and a black-haired boy, who was wrestling a disobedient Bellsprout into its ball. What if she was already wanted in Violet City ? She shuddered; perhaps it was a test. Perhaps Joy had already recognized her, and was waiting for her to admit to being a criminal. Well, that was not going to happen!
"Jillian Jones," Jojo replied smoothly, flashing a sweet, innocent smile.
"Middle name?" Joy said absentmindedly, looking at the computer she was typing in to. Jojo paused for a moment, scrutinizing the pink-haired lady. Deciding that she didn't know Jojo was a thief, she sighed in relief.
"Oh, oops!" she giggled, blushing as though she was embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I accidentally gave you my sister's name. Joanna Elizabeth Jones, no "h" in Joanna," she grinned again, looking expectantly at the nurse.
Joy smiled at the young girl and pressed backspace, before correcting the mistake. "Alright, hometown?"
Jojo gave the kind nurse the rest of the information before scooping the newly healed Growlithe into her arms. "C'mon, Rocket, let's go!" She turned to make her way out of the door, but didn't make it very far.
"Wait," a voice called, startling her. Jojo turned to face the blue-haired girl, who had stood up and walked towards her, her Absol in tow.
"Umm, yeah?" she asked uncertainly; after her previous experience with the hiker, she was a little wary of strangers.
"What did you say his name was?" she asked, pointing at the Growlithe.
"…Rocket?" she said, but it came out more as a question. The girl's eyes narrowed.
"Would that be in reference to Team Rocket?"
Jojo faltered, clutching her newly-caught Pokémon to her chest. "No," she said defiantly, glaring slightly at the stranger. "Who are you?"
"Call me Kyra," she replied stiffly. "Do you know what his name implies?" Jojo shook her head, squinting at the girl. "Team Rocket is an evil organization that was extinguished long ago," Kyra began; her tone was startlingly harsh. "However, recently there have been reports of people claiming to be members of it – or rather, a new one risen from the older one's ashes. There is no proof to the contrary, except for the fact that their leader, Giovanni, died nearly fifteen years ago." Jojo winced, cradling Rocket even closer to her. "A name like that would imply affiliation with them," she hissed, and Jojo took a couple of steps backwards.
"I'm not part of Team Rocket!" she huffed back at Kyra, who was creeping her out; she made a mental note to simply ignore any more strangers that attempted to speak to her.
Kyra blinked, and her tone changed dynamically. "Sorry," she murmured in a melancholy voice. "I didn't mean to scare you."
"I'm not scared," Jojo glowered, hoisting Rocket up, who was falling a little in her arms. Her voice softened, though, as she added, "It's alright. Are you okay?" She cocked her head, waiting for a reply. Kyra nodded and, without another word, she left the center.
"Are you ready, Rocket?" Jojo grinned down at the young Pokémon, but it fell a moment later. She shuddered as she looked at the large, imposing Gym doors, and her stomach contracted in nervousness.
Rocket and Jojo had made a surprising bond; he had only been caught earlier that day, and the two were suddenly inseparable. They had been training together on the other side of Violet – far away from the Growlithe pack – and the wild Pidgey and Weedle had been no match for Rocket's fire attacks. Jojo was grinning with pride at the memory of the singed Pokémon, but it faded as she pushed on the heavy doors.
"Hello…?" she called meekly into the large, drafty Gym, feeling Butterfree fluttering in her stomach.
"Who's there?" a voice answered, scaring her into shrieking.
"Umm, Jojo?" she replied, smiling in spite of herself.
"You've come to challenge Falkner?" the voice continued.
Jojo glared around the Gym, wondering where the voice was coming from. With a sudden surge of confidence, she snapped, "No, I've come to challenge Jasmine."
There was a silence following her lame sarcasm, causing her to cross her arms as the Butterfree flapped their way out of her gut.
"Proceed up the staircase," was all the voice said. A little uncertainly, Jojo walked up the stairs, onto the roof.
There was a large arena on top of the Gym, and the bright sunlight made Jojo shield her eyes and Rocket hide in her shadow. To the side stood the boy she assumed to be Falkner, holding a microphone that she assumed to be connected to some speakers in the lower part of the Gym.
"Hi!" she chirped excitedly.
He smiled politely. "Hello," he nodded, looking her over; she was obviously a new trainer, but what she could have done to completely destroy her dress so quickly was beyond him. "You're here to challenge Jasmine, I hear?" he joked, grinning.
Rolling her eyes, Jojo said, "Let's just do this! I want my first badge!" She crossed her arms and stared him down, as though daring him to deny her.
Falkner sighed, his cheery mood gone. It was going to be one of those trainers. He nodded to the referee, who went up to Jojo and held his hand out for her PokéGear. She obliged, and after quickly checking through her Trainer Card, he nodded in approval and motioned to the right side of the field, where Jojo practically skipped to, Rocket at her heels.
The referee walked onto his podium, holding flags in each hand. "The battle between Joanna Jones of Olivine City and Violet Leader Falkner is about to begin. This battle will be three-on-three with no substitutes for the leader. You may begin!" With that, he dropped his flags from above his head, and the battle commenced.
Jojo's stomach clenched in anticipation. This was it! She was finally doing what she'd wanted more than anything, ever since she watched Jasmine battle for the first time when she was four. She was finally going to show the world that a new trainer had come about, and she was going to blow the rest of the competition out of the water.
She smirked when she heard the referee say the name of her old town, Olivine. She had lived there until they moved three years ago, taking her away from the rest of her friends and, if she really thought about it, causing her to be here…with a Slowpoke…covered in burns and scratches from rabid feral Growlithe. She grinned, happy to have told Nurse Joy Olivine instead of New Bark.
"Showtime, Rocket!" she cried, overly-enthusiastic. With a cocky smirk, the Growlithe leapt forward.
"Hoothoot!" Falkner called, throwing a ball into the air. A round owl-like Pokémon appeared, hooting dolefully at being woken up in the middle of the day.
"Ember!" Jojo said confidently, knowing that his Hoothoot would be no match for Rocket. Radiating the same assurance as his trainer, the Puppy Pokémon unleashed a stream of fire towards the owl.
"Dodge it," Falkner said lazily, and the owl flapped easily out of the way of the flames.
Joanna staggered; none of the wild Pokémon they practiced against had managed to escape that attack. She frowned. That strategy was…gone. Despite it, she huffed, "Ember! Keep it up until you hit it!" It took at least another five shots before Rocket managed to singe its wings. "Tackle!" she commanded, and the Growlithe sped recklessly towards the owl, making contact with its stomach. "Ember again!" she cheered, elated.
"Peck!" Falkner countered, glaring at the girl. Effortlessly dodging the steady burst of fire, his Hoothoot's beak connected with Rocket's side, making him cry in pain.
Jojo glowered back at her opponent. "Tackle while it's still close!" she cried, and Rocket rammed his head into it, effectively knocking it out. She grinned cockily; this is what she had been born to do.
"Doduo!" Falkner said, after recalling his Hoothoot.
"Ember!" Jojo giggled, knowing that Doduo couldn't fly, meaning it would be hard pressed to avoid the attack the same way Hoothoot had done.
Nonetheless, Falkner called, "Dodge!" With startling speed, the two-headed bird crowed and sidestepped the attack gracefully.
Jojo groaned, her face falling. Couldn't this guy just lose so she could get a badge a leave already? She frowned, realizing that this was actually her first trainer battle. How could she have not realized that? With a shrug, she called out, "Quick Attack!"
"Dodge it again!" Falkner cried, but it was too late – Rocket had already managed to hit the ostrich-like Pokémon.
"Ember while it's down!" Jojo cheered, grinning. Puffing his fur elegantly, Rocket drew himself up and unleashed a strong flow of flames.
The Doduo fell, effortlessly defeated by the fire attack. Jojo laughed out loud; this was too easy!
Falkner's face darkened. It was now one-on-three (little did he know that Jojo only had two Pokémon), but he wasn't worried. He saved the best for last, after all.
"Go, Pidgeotto!" A large, graceful bird appeared, flapping her wings arrogantly. She was gorgeous and she knew it.
"Alright, Rocket, Ember again!" She smirked; even if Rocket missed, she would be able to win against the idiotic bird.
Of course, the Pidgeotto dodged. "Mirror Move," Falkner laughed, and Jojo froze. She hadn't ever heard of that move.
Opening her beak, Falkner's Pokémon let of a burst of blaze, startling Jojo. Pidgeotto was a Flying-type, not Fire!
"Wait," the ten-year-old whined. "That's not fair! How'd you do that?"
"Mirror Move copies the last move used by the opponent and sends it back," Falkner smirked, angering the blonde.
"Bite!" she snarled at Rocket, who charged at the Pidgeotto, baring his teeth.
"Fury Attack!" Falkner called back, and the bird swooped into the Growlithe, dodging his snapping jaws and stabbing him with her beak.
Pidgeotto rose away from Rocket, who was lying on the ground, unconscious. Jojo froze; that meant she only had Zero left. She hadn't trained him at all! Izzy's words rang in her ear - Gym battles are three on three, so it's almost impossible to take him with just one. She pouted a little; so what if she had been trying to do the impossible? "Return," she murmured meekly, sighing. This was not going to end well. With a deep breath and forced confidence, she yelled, "Showtime, Zero!"
Her pink blob entered, and Jojo felt her stomach clench again. "Umm, Water Gun?" she said, lacking the force she had used with Rocket.
"Peck!" Falkner smirked, and his Pidgeotto swooped in low, ramming the Slowpoke in his side. Jojo moaned – she knew what was going to happen. Hadn't they gone through something very similar to this? She recalled kicking him in his side, and him turning to shoot in the other direction.
Pidgeotto flapped her way back up, circling around him to reach is other side, hoping to avoid any damage. Unfortunately – for her, at least – Zero faced her and executed a flawless Water Gun, hitting her squarely.
Jojo froze, blinking rapidly. If anything, she hadn't seen that coming.
Falkner was also obviously impressed. "How'd you teach him to do that?" he demanded, watching Pidgeotto shake the water off her wings.
Joanna had no idea how to answer – she hadn't taught him to do that. Smiling smoothly at him, however, she giggled, "It takes talent. More talent then you could hope to have, though, so you're out of luck." She pouted as though sympathetic to his problem.
Falkner narrowed his eyes – she was one of those trainers. Overconfident, cocky, naïve, and obnoxious; someone had to put her in her place. "Fury Attack!" he hissed, and the bird flew in close once again.
"Water Gun!" Jojo laughed again. Was he really that stupid?
"Stay where you are!" Falkner commanded, and his Pokémon simply moved up, while Zero faced the wrong direction and shot, missing the wall completely and probably drenching anyone standing below the Gym.
Jojo insides chilled once again; she had no other strategy. She didn't even know any more of Zero's moves!
Scrambling for her Pokédex, she whipped it forcefully out of her bag and pointed it at Zero, turning it on for the first time.
"Hello," the Pokédex said in a monotone, robotic voice. "I am Dexterity, the Pokédex programmed for Joanna Jones of-"
"Shut up!" Jojo snapped at the thing, drowning out the rest of its monologue. "Hurry up and tell me the rest of Zero's moves!"
"Slowpoke, the Dopey Pokémon. It is always so absent-minded that it won't react, even if its flavorful tail is bitten."
Jojo glowered at it, while Falkner tapped his foot on the other side of the field, waiting politely but impatiently. However, she raised her eyebrows as it finished. Flavorful tail? She glanced over the pink device to look at Zero's tail, which didn't look any more delicious than the rest of him…in other words, not at all.
"Slowpoke's moves are Water Gun, Yawn, Tackle, and Confusion," it continued, allowing Jojo to give a sigh of relief before stowing back in her bag.
She frowned, though, as she went over the moves in her head. Water Gun was obviously no good, and Tackle probably wouldn't even be able to hit, considering Zero's speed – or lack thereof. She didn't even know what Yawn did, but…maybe she was on to something with Confusion.
It couldn't dodge it, right? Not when it was transferred through their minds…right? "Confusion!" she cried confidently, her confidence rising yet again.
Zero's face hardened, and she felt a surge of trust in him. He could so win this! Pidgeotto squawked in discomfort, and Jojo grinned as she watched her flail.
Falkner glowered. "Finish it off with Fury Attack!" he commanded, and his bird lunged in fearlessly, closer and closer…
"Confusion!" Jojo tried again, sticking her tongue out rather immaturely at the Leader. The Psychic attack hit, and Jojo laughed sadistically. With their minds that close to each other, the attack was only strengthened. Unable to escape it, the Pidgeotto fainted.
There was a silence as Jojo took it in, watching Falkner recall his strongest fighter. Something was ringing in her ears, blocking out all sound, before something exploded somewhere in the back of her mind.
That was it. She had done it. She'd gotten her first badge!
She shrieked (much to Falkner's dismay; he simply covered his ears) and ran across the field, where the Leader dropped the Zephyr Badge rather unceremoniously into her hands. She squealed again and, unable to contain herself, hugged him before recalling Zero and running out of the Gym, screaming the entire way.
A/N; Oh wow, I really need to be updating faster.
So much to say, even though I really don't want to type anymore. Ugh.
First things first – this chapter. That battle was really hard to write. It's actually the first battle I'm publishing, to tell you the truth. I needed her to win and seem confident in herself, but I wanted you guys to see that she's still very inexperienced and doesn't quite know what she's doing. She's lucky when she battles…and just a tad unlucky everywhere else. ;D Any criticism on writing better battles would be LOVED.
Kyra belongs to JigglyPuff's Pillow.
Oh, Kyra. I love you~ No, really. She's one of my favorite OCs, written by one of my favorite people…no, this isn't ass-kissing. What are you talking about? ;)
I know she's a teensy bit OOC with her little anger trip there…but everyone gets angry now and then, right? She snaps out of it, though, and she'll remain in character for the rest of her appearances. Sorry 'bout that, Puff!
OC sign-ups are officially CLOSED. I've got more that enough. Thanks, everyone! :)
On the topic of OCs, I've reached a very tough decision on the third main character. The winner was Fang's OC, Glen!
However, I want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who submitted a character. Honestly, it was nearly impossible to choose. I can tell you right now that three of them will definitely be recurring rivals for him, and will make constant appearances throughout the story. Thank you, thank you, thank you EVERYONE. I truly appreciate the time you put into them, and I feel bad only being able to pick one!
Pretty sure that sums this chapter up. Thanks to everyone who reviewed!
xoxo
Irene