Author's Note: This chapter might be the first to actually resemble Pokémon in any way...
Disclaimer: Yadda, yadda, yadda
Michael reached the beach just outside of Roi Rill Port fairly quickly. He sent Breeze to gather vines from the woods while Xero and Scar went to gather wood for a raft. While they were gone, Michael sat on a rock and tossed stones into the water, watching the waves ripple outward. Suddenly, one of Michael's pebbles stopped short in the water with a clunk. It had hit something. Something rose out of the water with a large lump on its head. It was a Horsea. But this Horsea looked different from most: it had black and white squares on the top of its head, making it look like a chess or checkers board.
Michael whistled loudly, calling for Xero. "Xero! Scar! Breeze!"
The Horsea glared at Michael. Angrily, the Horsea shot a Water Gun at Michael, hitting him in the face. Michael made a gurgling noise as the water filled his nose and mouth. He dropped to the ground to avoid the Water Gun and scrambled to grab something from his backpack. Horsea puffed out his cheeks and spit Acid at Michael. Rolling out of the way, Michael grasped what he was looking for in his backpack and threw it. The red and white Poké Ball hit Horsea (in the same place the stone had hit him), and Horsea was transformed into a ball of red energy.
Right at that moment, Breeze appeared from the forest and divebombed toward Michael, landing lightly on his shoulder. The Poké Ball wobbled on the ground as Horsea struggled to escape. The Poké Ball suddenly shattered, and Horsea escaped. Seeing this, Breeze took to the air, ready to fight.
"Breeze! Use Quick Attack!" Michael yelled.
Breeze disappeared. Without warning, Horsea was knocked backward, then forward again, falling face first into the sand of the beach. As if out of nowhere, Breeze was back on Michael's shoulder again, proudly juggling a bottle of Carbos with her talons. Michael threw another Pokéball at Horsea, and capturing process was repeated. Michael and Breeze waited, staring at the Pokéball. Xero and Scar burst from the forest right at that moment. They moved slowly toward their trainer, as if they were afraid any sudden move might prevent the capture of a Pokémon. But they had no need to worry. The Horsea was caught.
Michael stooped over and picked up the Poké Ball.
"Great job, Breeze! We caught a Horsea!"
(Would you like to give Horsea a nickname? Yes. What would you like to name Horsea? Checkers.)
Michael reached up and patted Breeze on the head. But Breeze suddenly began to shudder.
"Breeze, what's wrong?" Michael asked concernedly.
A white light shot out from Breeze, consuming the Tailow in seconds. Tailow was evolving!
"Breeze!"
Michael shut his eyes; the light was too bright. When the light disappeared, instead of his Tailow, a newly evolved Swellow stood on Michael's shoulder. Breeze hopped down to the ground, having trouble finding descent footing in the cramped space of Michael's shoulder.
"Swellow!" Breeze called.
Michael beamed. Now he had a Swellow and a Horsea! This day was getting better and better.
-
Within seconds Ryan had grown tired. He was still relatively young, but never ran much due to his mother's constant traveling from region to region. He was thin, he was healthy, but he was definitely out of shape. All that aside, he had no bicycle, and as fast as his Running Shoes were, they were still Running Shoes. The son of a researcher, Ryan always had some clever idea hidden in his mind.
"Ryu! Float ahead and use Ice Beam!" Ryan commanded, grabbing a nearby piece of bark from a large tree. He tied the laces of his shoes around the wood while Ryu sped along.
"Dra!" Ryu yelled, blasting the ground into a frozen wasteland.
"Perfect!" Ryan laughed. The wood under his feet slid along the frozen ground with ease, providing a much more efficient form of travel. Ryan pulled a map from his backpack and looked at what should be his first destination: Roi Rill.
Within moments he was approaching Roi Rill's port. He spotted someone else there and figured this could be his first challenge.
Michael turned away from his newly evolved Swellow when he heard someone approaching him. Whoever it was was breathing heavily. He must have been running. He saw a Dratini floating ahead of its trainer, who was skating on the ice Dratini had made with its Ice Beam.
Hmm. That's an interesting idea, Michael thought.
"Can I help you?" Michael asked the newcomer.
Ryan eyed his potential opponent with caution. He had seen all of those Pokemon before; his mom's research had documented over 350 species of Pokemon and he had learned all of their strengths and weaknesses. It was really all he could do since he never got to train outside.
"My name is Ryan, and I want to battle. It's my first step in becoming a Pokemon Master." Ryan announced. Ryu floated back toward his trainer and went around his neck, staring at Michael.
"Pokémon Master, eh?" Michael said, raising an eyebrow. "That's a big goal. My name is Michael. I'd be happy to help you with your quest. Prepare yourself! Checkers! Go!"
Michael hurled a Poké Ball in front of him, and his new Horsea emerged in a beam of energy.
"Horsea!" Checkers squealed.
Michael sprayed a Potion on Checkers to heal his wounds from their earlier battle. Then he stepped back and allowed Checkers to hop forward. But Checkers decidedly wasn't a land creature (who would have known?), so he hopped into the water and waited for his opponent to make a move.
"Alright, let's go!" Ryan yelled. He put on his standard Pokemon Trainer's hat and said "Ryu, dive into the water and use Thunderbolt!"
Ryu, a naturally aquatic dragon Pokemon, obliged without hesitation, creating a small wave where it landed in the water. It began using its Thunderbolt attack in the water to zap Horsea out. He wasn't affected himself by the Thunderbolt due to his Dragon type.
-
Xeno skidded through the ice tunnel, the exhilaration of the route coursing through him like a rushing inferno.
The pitch black tunnel suddenly lit up, and Xeno groaned when he saw the bend in the ice slide - and the lack of railings.
Xeno reached out as he slid towards his doom, digging his right claw into the ice slide, changing his course rapidly. He changed course a little TOO rapidly, and almost slid off the other side!
Xeno breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the end of the tunnel approach. 'No more ice tunnels!' he thought.
Xeno stabbed both his claws into the ice behind him, slowing rapidly as he came to the end of the tunnel. He slowed, finally stopping a couple of feet from the end of the cave, the little door sticking out conspicuously. It would have been a real shame, he decided, if he died because of a door.
Xeno stood up, shook to remove the stray ice filings, and looked at the door. He sweatdropped anime-style as he looked at his claws.
WHAM!
WHAM!
WHAM!
WHA-SMASH!
Xeno stepped through the now-open doorway, into the shining daylight.
Credit for this chapter goes to:
Xero
Veralice
Xeno Major
