A/N: Heh... SO I got a really nice review and finally remembered to post this. I've got the next few chapters done already, but I plan to space them out a bit.

Thank you to linkthetoaoftime, The fallen flames, BetterWithThree101, tylerxc626, and guest for reviewing!

Title: Another Kind of Battle

Author: liketolaugh

Rating: T

Pairings: None

Genre: Friendship/Adventure

Warnings: AU

Summary: 'An Amestrian battle is different from a battle in any other region. For one thing, a human battles right alongside their pokemon.' 'There were three requirements to be a State Alchemist. First, you had to pass the State Alchemist exam. Second, you had to have at least three pokemon. And third, you had to get the first four gym badges.' (Follows Ed through his Pokemon journey and then skips ahead to a post-2003 anime AU. Post-Hoenn Ash in later chapters.)

Disclaimer: If I owned Fullmetal Alchemist, would I really be here right now? Or Pokemon, for God's sake.


Ed didn't know how long they'd been at it when he spotted something in the forest. Glancing at Al, he saw that he'd seen it already, and was drawing steadily closer, as subtly as possible. Riolu was ignoring it altogether, red eyes intent on Ed and Minun, legs folded neatly and paws in his lap.

Ed half-listened as Al deemed himself close enough and said softly, "Hello."

To Ed's surprise, he heard a very human squeak; a young girl, if he had to gu- He stumbled back a step and grunted as Minun Tackled him again.

"It's alright," Al said hastily. "I won't hurt you. I just wondered what you were doing all alone."

The girl hesitated for a long moment. "…I got lost," she admitted finally, sounding young and scared. "I'm sorry. Mom told me not to go off, but I saw a really neat pokemon and followed it. It went away and I turned around and…" She whimpered, sounding close to tears.

"And you didn't know where you were," Al finished, tone understanding. "Don't worry, it happens to everyone. Do you like pokemon?"

"Uh-huh!" the girl confirmed, cheered. "They're the best! I was watching that boy with the Minun. Is he a trainer?"

"Yeah," Al confirmed. "Riolu is his, too. He's my brother."

"Ooh!" the girl squealed, excited. "Do you have pokemon, too? Can I see them?"

"Sure," Al told her. Ed glanced up to see two flashes of red. "This is Togepi, and this is Plusle. They're both really friendly."

The girl squealed again; from the happy "Togeprrrri!", Ed qould guess that Togei had tackled her to cuddle, as he was wont to do.

"Plu, plus elplue?" Plusle questioned.

"My name is Annie!" the girl said happily, thoughts of being lost forgotten. "I'm five!"

"Plusle!" Plusle sounded pleased. Minun's ears pricked up and Ed smiled at her, then stepped back. Minun took her cue and straightened up, head turned to look curiously at where Al and Annie were.

Ed looked at Riolu, but the black-and-blue pokemon was already heading for him, steps light and confident.

As soon as Riolu reached him, Ed reached out and scratched his head affectionately, making him huff in pleasure, eyes drifting half-shut. Ed chuckled at him and lifted his hand, moving forward to the edge of the clearing. Riolu huffed, shook his head, and followed.

Sure enough, a girl with brown hair was being cuddled half to death by a very happy Togepi, laughing. Togepi was crooning and nuzzling up to her head, while Plusle knelt next to them, watching.

As they entered, Plusle looked up, smiled, waved, and tilted her head at Minun. "Plu?"

"Min!" Minun replied, looking tired, but very pleased with herself.

"She did great," confirmed Ed, giving Minun a grin. Riolu huffed and nodded in agreement. Minun glowed.

Annie sat up, Togepi squealing as he tumbled off his perch into her arms. "Hi!" she said cheerfully. "I'm Annie!" She held out her hand.

Ed smiled and shook it. "I'm Ed," he returned. "And this is Minun and Riolu." Both of them waved. Annie waved back. "Hey, so I overheard that you were lost. Al and I aren't in a hurry-" At least, not yet. "-so what do you say about us taking you home?"

Annie's eyes widened. "Really?" she asked, relieved.

"Sure," Al answered, comforting. "Like brother said, we're not in a hurry right now. We can take you home."

Annie beamed, carefully put Togepi down, and hugged Al, then Ed. "Thank you!"

Ed smiled at her awkwardly, then looked at Al questioningly.

"We can probably see it from here," Al agreed, understanding perfectly. "Why don't you and Riolu look?"

Ed nodded and Riolu hopped onto a tree, climbing it nimbly. Ed climbed another with a little more caution, reaching the top a few minutes after.

Ed squinted his eyes, gaze sweeping the forest canopy, but saw nothing. After a few minutes, though, Riolu huffed out an 'uh' and pointed.

Ed turned and looked, and could just spot the top of a house, a surprising distance away. If their perches were just a little lower, he wouldn't have seen it at all.

Ed grinned at Riolu, who beamed back, and started to climb down.

Al and Annie were waiting for them at the bottom, expectant. Ed nodded in the direction of the house. "Riolu saw a house that way. It's pretty far, but it shouldn't take long."

Al brightened. "That's great!" Annie beamed.

"Let's go!" Annie exclaimed, bouncing in excitement.

Annie ran a few steps ahead and Ed and Al followed behind. Pokemon scattered from the noise, and Plusle sat neatly on one of Al's shoulders, while Minun took the other, and a reclaimed Togepi occupied the crook of Al's arm.

A few times, Riolu or Ed climbed up to check their course, and eventually, they reached a large clearing, with a neat house and what looked like a small pokemon ranch.

As they approached, a few pokemon bounded out. A Growlithe tackled Annie to lick her face, and a baby Squirtle leaned over to grin at her.

"Squirtle!" it said triumphantly. It looked at the Growlithe, smirking. "Squirtle, squirtle squirtle squirtle."

"Grow," Growlithe snorted at him, backing off of Annie. She sat up, beaming.

"Growlithe!" she said happily. "Squirtle!"

They grinned at her.

"Mom's a pokemon breeder," Annie explained to Ed and Al, then turned toward the house, cupped her hands around her mouth, and called out, "Mom! I'm home!"

Nothing happened. She deflated, eyes shining with anxiety.

"Maybe she's out looking for you," Al suggested, looking back toward the forest.

"Most likely," Ed agreed, seeing Annie brighten. He looked at Riolu. "Riolu, could you go find her and bring her here?"

Riolu nodded and turned, running off and disappearing into the forest.

Ed and Al left Plusle, Minun, and Togepi to entertain Annie while they talked quietly a little to the side, checking the edge of the forest periodically. Finally, just when Al was beginning to worry, a voice called out from the forest,

"Annie!"

Annie brightened and hopped up, Plusle hastily flipping out of her grip before she could drop her. "Mom!"

A tall woman with brown hair like Annie's was emerging from the forest, pulled along by an insistant Riolu. Upon finding Annie, her eyes flooded with relief.

"Annie!" Annie ran up to her just as Riolu released the worried mother's hand and the little girl jumped into her arms, beaming. "Oh, thank goodness you're alright. I was so worried about you, what on earth were you thinking?"

"I'm sorry, Mom," Annie murmured, trying to press herself further into her mother. "But I saw a pokemon."

The mother sighed. "Of course you did." Loosening her grip slightly, allowing Annie to slide down to the ground, she looked up and found Ed and Al. "Hello. One of you must be this Riolu's trainer." She held out her hand with a wan smile. "I'm Vivianne. I can't thank you enough for finding my daughter."

Ed grabbed it and shook it, expression slightly embarrassed, Riolu darting over to stand by his trainer. "It was nothing, ma'am, really."

"No, no," Vivianne insisted, stepping back a little. "Why don't you come in? And what are your names?"

Ed shifted slightly. "If you're sure…" He smiled a little. "I'm Ed, and this is my little brother Al." He nodded to the pokemon swarming Annie's feet insistently, almost being tripped over. "Minun's mine as well, but Plusle and Togepi are Al's."

"I see," Vivianne smiled, holding her daughter's hand tight as she opened the door into her home and stepped aside to let them in. "And are you both trainers?"

"Just brother," Al told her, embarrassed as well. Armor was an unspeakable advantage in a pokemon battle. "I'd like to be a breeder someday."

Vivianne laughed. "Well, I suppose that armor would work well as a deterrent."

Al forced an awkward laugh of his own. "Eheh, yeah…"

Ed changed the subject hastily, giving Al a guilty look. "We actually just started travelling. I'm trying to get the first four gym badges."

Vivanne looked surprised. "Really?" She gestured for them to sit down at the small wood table, and Annie went off to play with the friendly pokemon. Riolu sat down, legs crossed, beside Ed's chair. "That's interesting. Amestris really isn't friendly to beginning trainers." She looked concerned. "Are you sure you'll be alright?"

Ed shrugged and grinned, nodding. "Sure. Don't worry about me, me and Al've been training with Teacher for a couple years now. She's taught us just about everything we know." Al nodded frantically in agreement.

Vivianne relaxed slightly, though the worried expression didn't fade. "Well, if you're certain. What made you want to be a trainer, Ed?"

Ed half-smiled and half-grimaced. "Ah, well, I've always liked pokemon." He chuckled. "Who doesn't? And I'm pretty competetive, Al can testify that." He grinned at Al, who laughed and nodded in affirmation. "But, well, there was a pretty bad accident recently, and…" He shrugged. "Well, I have some things I need to do."

Vivianne's eyes had fallen to Ed's wrist, and Ed realized self-consciously that his sleeve had risen above his glove. He tugged it down, but Vivianne had already looked back up.

"I see," Vivianne said quietly. She forced a smile. "Well, you could certainly do worse. Where are you two from?"

"Resembool, not far from here," Alphonse provided, voice bright.

Vivianne, slightly startled, laughed. "Wow! You certainly weren't joking when you said you'd just started. Does that make this your first day?"

Ed nodded. "Yeah. We've been preparing for a while, but this is our first day."

Vivianne smiled and shook her head. "Well, now, I can't say no to that. It's already pretty late. Why don't you stay for dinner?"

Ed started. "Are you sure?"

"Of course," Vivianne assured him. "A trainer's first night is special."

Ed grinned. "Then thanks. We'd love to."


After dinner, which Ed loved, Vivianne eyed them thoughtfully. "You know, by now it's really late," she said slowly.

Ed looked outside and nodded ruefully. "Yeah. I guess we won't be getting any farther tonight, huh, Riolu, Al?"

Riolu huffed and shook his head. Al shrugged.

"There's always tomorrow, brother."

Ed stood up and smiled at Vivianne. "Thanks for giving us dinner, Vivianne, but we should probably go find somewhere to set up camp."

Vivianne's eyes widened. "I couldn't have you do that!" She smiled. "It's so late already, you must stay the night."

Ed looked slightly uncertain, but he smiled. "If you're sure…" he allowed. "Thanks a lot."

"It's the least I can do," Vivianne smiled, looking at Annie.


Um. I, ah. Didn't realize how far ahead I'd gotten. *flush* Sorry again. In further apology, expect another update tomorrow. But now I need to go study. For finals. Ergh. Thanks for reading and please review! *goes off muttering*