Chapter Seven: Road Battle
Breakfast was brought straight up to their room the next morning. Funny, they hadn't ordered breakfast yet. The delivery guy said that someone else bought it for them. The bag contained bagels and oranges, which seemed very odd. Who might deliver food to them?
"I'm allergic to citrus," Cheren moped.
"Well at least you have the bagels," Hilda insisted. "They're plain bagels. The great equalizer of breakfast foods."
Cheren nodded, taking one.
"Hey Cheren, your show's on!" Bianca called.
The two of them joined her in front of the television, sitting with their Pokemon. Pikachu seemed relaxed and content with Oshawott and Lillipup. She had gotten used to being with them, at least. It was noted that she was still a bit wary around the other Pokemon, but she wasn't gearing up to attack them now.
The theme song came onto the television, and the title screen came up- "Alder's Adventures", it said.
"Welcome to Alder's Adventures!" the narrator announced. "The show where we track the whereabouts of famed Unova Champion, Alder! Where could he be today? You might ask?"
"Oh, I've seen this one before," Hilda noted.
"The beginning announcement is always the same," Cheren argued. "Give it a moment."
The television had a shot of a grand mountain peak, snow just touching the tips. Someone was seen on a large flying-type Pokemon. Was it an unfezant? No, its feathers were more colorful than that, even for a female unfezant. An archeops? Wow, those were extremely rare.
"Yeah, this one is new," Hilda admitted. "Especially that Pokemon he's riding. I think I want that one."
"Why does Alder travel all across the region, anyway?" Bianca wondered. "Is the life of a Champion really that boring?"
"He's riding an archeops. I wouldn't call that boring," Cheren scoffed. "Besides, he does all these things because he's the Champion. Unlimited opportunity across Unova, won through strength alone...that's got to be the key to life."
Bianca slumped her shoulders. "Don't say that. I can never get that key, then."
"Now you don't say that. You always have a chance to become stronger. All of us do."
"I suppose."
Tepig nuzzled her hand, trying to make her feel better.
"You'll feel better after we beat the first Gym," Hilda decided. "You're just worried because you haven't had the experience yet."
Cheren got up, collecting his things. "Speaking of which, we should probably head out now," he insisted. "Winning the Trio Badge will take forever unless we go."
"Alright, antsy pants, just give us a minute," Hilda teased.
They grabbed their bags, collecting things they'd placed around the hotel room. Hilda grabbed Pikachu's Poke Ball, pressing the button to bring her back in. The white light enveloped her, and she was taken right inside. However, in another second, Pikachu broke out, ears flattened in anger.
"I know you want to travel out with the others," Hilda insisted. "But the other Trainers will swarm us if they see you. We could be facing a really tough one."
"You could hide her in your bag," Bianca suggested. "No one would have to see her."
"She wouldn't fit."
Cheren shook his head. "Just leave it be. We'll figure it out later," he insisted. "If anything happens, I'll take care of it."
Hilda sighed. She scooped Pikachu into her arms, setting her on her shoulder. "Let's head out, then."
The three of them walked through Accumula Town, making their way to the route house. People stared at them around every corner. Correction- they stared at Pikachu. Every conversation Hilda picked up was about Pikachu, and how she came across a pikachu, and how rare and fantastic pikachus were. She felt naked, as if they were preparing to pounce on her at any second.
"They're all staring at me," Hilda muttered.
"You're alright. Don't worry," Cheren insisted.
Oshawott did his best to guard her from prying eyes, while Lillipup barked like crazy to scare people away. As one could imagine, none of those things worked too well on a crowd this massive. To make things worse, Bianca's lillipup Lilly started barking along with him, drawing more attention to the group. It was just awful.
They arrived at the route house, collecting their Pokemon and taking them in. The door closed behind them, and Hilda thought that might be the last of it. But then the door man commented on it as well.
"Oh, is that a pikachu?" the man gasped. "Did you get it from a trade? Oh, but your Starter hasn't evolved yet. So young, and you already traded something for a pikachu!"
Could this get worse?
Bianca gasped, pointing up at the electronic bulletin board. Rolling across in big orange letters- "Nuvema Town Trainer Has Been Spotted With An Extremely Rare Pikachu".
Yes. Yes it could.
"Alder's going to descend upon me with that archeops of his, I just know it," Hilda muttered.
Pikachu gave a few guilty yips.
"They'll all get used to it," Cheren insisted. "You just have to wait a little while."
"I'm not sure they're going to," Hilda sighed, arms crossed.
"Well, maybe after Nacrene City, you'll be okay," Bianca suggested. "You just have Lillipup right now. You can collect a larger variety of Pokemon in Pinwheel Forest, or so I've heard."
"It's a long way to Nacrene City, at this rate."
Someone ran into the route house from the opposite side. It was a nerdy boy with glasses and slacks. He was about their age, but he acted much older. At least, he tried to. A woobat floated up next to him, smiling like an idiot.
"Inconceivable! And yet, here it is!" the kid shouted. "A Pikachu in Unova!"
"It's nice to meet you," Bianca muttered. "What's your name?"
"Leroy. Top student at Striaton's Trainer School. I'm close to fighting at the Gym, but that's of no importance."
Leroy ran up to Hilda stopping at arm's length as he reached out for Pikachu. "We're too far away from the other regions. A Pikachu can't travel by water unless it's on a boat."
Pikachu flicked her ear, sparks coming from her cheeks.
"And how stubborn, too. Definitely a recent catch from the wild. Oh great Trainer, tell me of your adventures! What grand things have you seen on your great journey?"
Hilda scratched behind her ear. "I'm from Nuvema Town," she admitted quietly.
Leroy scoffed. "The boonies? That can't be, you must have greater power."
Oshawott scoffed, putting himself in front of her. Lillipup stepped in front of him.
Leroy looked at the two of them, blinking in realization. "Oh, so you're a brand new Trainer."
"I just got lucky is all," Hilda insisted.
"What great luck. No matter, I have an important request to fill out."
The kid formed a dramatic pose. "Oh great Trainer of Nuvema Town, I challenge your pikachu against my woobat to test our great power!"
Hilda stepped back, scooping her Pokemon into her arms. "No way! I haven't even battled another Trainer yet!"
"You really should hold off for now," Cheren told him. "We need some better experience first."
"Better experience, he says," Leroy scoffed. "Why, what better experience is there than battling the top student of the Trainer School? I won't take no for an answer! I will not wait! Let's go!"
"I've never used Pikachu in battle before," Hilda argued. "I wouldn't know where to begin."
Leroy grabbed Hilda's Poketch, fiddling with it. "Now you will. I've downloaded a new app for you," he explained. "This will scan your Pokemon and tell you which moves they already know. It will help in teaching them new moves as well."
Hilda took Pikachu off her shoulder, setting her on the ground. She scanned her with the Poketch, and a list of moves came up. So far, Pikachu knew three- Tackle, Leer and Thunderbolt.
"Impressive," Hilda muttered.
"Oh! Me too!" Bianca chirped. "I'd like one as well!"
"We're not battling you! That's that!" Cheren yelled. "Now let us go!"
Leroy crossed his arms. "I will not! I'll stay here all year if I have to!"
Hilda sighed. "I guess I don't have much of an excuse anymore. Okay, let's head outside, then we can battle."
Leroy jumped for joy. He hugged his woobat tightly, carrying him out of the route house. Hilda could hardly believe it. She was about to battle a Trainer who really knew his stuff. There was no way she could beat him.
Hilda and Leroy faced each other by a small tree on the other side of the route house. Sparks sprung up from Pikachu's cheeks- she was really gearing up for a battle. The idea seemed to excite her a lot. Even if there was a way to back out of this, Hilda didn't think Pikachu wanted to.
"This shall be the greatest battle of our young lives!" Leroy cheered. "Can the top student of the Trainer School possibly defeat the might that is this ultimate rare pikachu? We shall see!"
Pikachu and Woobat faced each other on the ground, circling each other and sizing the other up. Hilda's Pokemon could hardly contain her energy. But they needed to have a method for beating Leroy and his Pokemon.
"Pikachu, leer Woobat!" Hilda commanded.
Pikachu let out a growl, pounding a bit. Woobat backed up, caught off guard.
"Wing attack!" Leroy shouted.
Woobat curved in low, cuffing Pikachu with his wings. Pikachu tumbled for a bit, staggering back up.
"Pikachu, tackle him!" Hilda shouted.
"Woobat, protect yourself!" Leroy quickly interjected.
Woobat shielded his face with his wings. Pikachu rammed straight into the wings, failing to injure him.
"What was that?" Hilda gasped.
"The move Protect," Leroy smirked. "It leaves the user protected against all attacks. Pretty cool, huh?"
Hilda shook her head. "Tackle again!"
"Protect."
The same thing happened.
"Again!"
"Protect."
The same things happened.
Hilda threw her hands in the air. "You can't keep spamming the same move!" she argued. "The battle won't go anywhere, then."
"I want to see more from this battle as well," Leroy insisted. "Would you like to give me that?"
Perhaps he'd end this conflict early if Pikachu used powers that he wanted her to use. Hilda crossed her arms, frowning.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" she shouted.
Pikachu grinned. Sparks rose from her body, colliding and uniting together into one stream. The bolt struck Woobat, sending him to the ground. He gave off a few little spasms of the wings, a sign of paralysis in Pokemon.
Leroy moved his glasses down just a tiny bit, astonished. "Impressive."
Indeed it was. There was no reason for Pikachu to have more experience in Trainer battles than any of Hilda's other Pokemon, especially when this was her first battle. But a move like Thunderbolt in a beginner was truly an impressive one. There was no denying that. But perhaps it was a bit much...
"I think we should stop," Hilda insisted. "I don't want to overdo it with your Pokemon."
Leroy pulled a small yellow bottle out of his bag- a Paralyz Heal. He sprayed it out at Woobat, the mist settling on his Pokemon. Woobat flew back up into the air, gearing up to fight once again.
Hilda stepped back. "You want to keep going?"
"If we don't give it our all, we'll never even get past the first Gym," Leroy insisted. "You win by knocking out the Gym Leader's Pokemon. Nothing else to it, and nothing else for it."
"This isn't the same, though. I don't want our Pokemon to get badly hurt."
"It'll be fine. I wouldn't put Woobat through this if I didn't think he could handle it."
She would have to knock out the Gym Leader's Pokemon in order to advance, wouldn't she? Were there situations in life that involved the use of rigorous battle? Are people not able to avoid tough battles all the time? Perhaps if that was the only way, then Hilda would have to take this first step.
"Pikachu, tackle him!" Hilda shouted.
Pikachu rushed forward, leaping up. She headbutted Woobat square in the face, knocking him into the tree.
"Woobat, Heart Stamp!" Leroy commanded.
Woobat pressed his wings to its face, releasing them and revealing a heart-shaped energy. This energy shot at Pikachu, knocking her to the ground. She staggered back up, a little worse for wear. Another move like that, and she might be out for the count.
Hilda dug into her bag, dragging out the berry bag her mother gave her. She pulled out a yellow pear-shaped berry, studying the orange-ish marks on it. A Sitrus berry held a lot of energy, sure enough to heal a Pokemon.
"Pikachu, catch!" Hilda shouted, tossing it out.
Pikachu flicked her ears to the source of the sound, turning to face Hilda. She caught the berry in her paws, stuffing it into her mouth. The change was almost immediate, and Pikachu was back into fighting shape.
"Woobat, Heart Stamp!" Leroy shouted.
Woobat performed the same move again. Pikachu saw this coming, quickly dodging the energy before it could hit her.
"Thunderbolt!" Hilda commanded.
Pikachu released the stream of electrical energy, shooting it at the woobat. Woobat fell to the ground, his energy spent. Heavy breathing came from the fallen Pokemon, and a white light collected him into a Poke Ball.
"You knocked out my Pokemon," Leroy noted. "You are the winner of this battle."
Pikachu leapt into Hilda's arms, cheering. Hilda staggered a bit as she acclimated to her Pokemon's weight. They won? She could hardly believe it. They won.
"Guys, come out here!" Hilda shouted. "I think I won!"
Cheren and Bianca came out, followed by their Pokemon. "Are you sure?" Cheren asked. "Did the woobat faint?"
"He most certainly did," Leroy insisted, stepping forward. "And I must say, you and Pikachu have fine battling skills."
"Oh good job, Hilda!" Bianca cheered, clapping. "We knew you'd be great!"
Their Pokemon erupted into bouts of cheering, the lillipups running around them in circles, Tepig and Oshawott hugging each other, Snivy and Purrloin looking on with aloof stares, Pidove and Patrat doing their best to clap. Hilda welled with pride, as did Pikachu. They won their first battle together.
Leroy took Hilda's hand, vigorously shaking it. "I must say, this was a very excellent battle. I'm glad to have had the opportunity to battle a pikachu. Most impressive."
"You're welcome...I guess," Hilda muttered.
Leroy gasped, digging into his bag. He pulled out three flyers, giving one to each of them. A small, education building was featured on it. Emblazoned at the top- "Become a Better Trainer. Attend the Trainer School In Striaton City."
"I forgot I was supposed to be passing those out around town," Leroy chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "The Trainer School is a must before taking on the Gym. You get to learn all of the strengths and weaknesses for Pokemon, as well as participate in battles with other Trainers such as yourselves."
"That's not such a bad idea," Hilda decided. "I would like to know what we're getting into before we go for the battle. What do you guys say?"
Cheren adjusted his tie. "A few days at the most is all I'll accept," he insisted.
Bianca looked away, head bowed. "I feel like I'm not good enough for it," she muttered.
"It's a school. It's going to help you become good," Leroy promised. "It'll be good for all of you."
Bianca straightened herself out. "Alright, I'll do it!" she decided. "Thanks a lot, Leroy. You've really helped us out."
The four of them walked on the path together, making their way to Striaton City.
