AN: This chapter will be before Daniel's fight with Flannery. And once again is not a chapter in Daniel's POV. Hope you like the expansion of the cast. It's a short chapter but I hope you enjoy it anyway. Please leave reviews and continue reading!
June 3, 2021
Alastor had not been expecting to meet anyone today. How could he have expected to meet anyone in this corner of Hoenn? So he was thoroughly shocked when he saw a familiar face on Route 114. The only people who normally came here were the townsfolk of Fallarbur.
"Hey, you're that guy who picked Treeko right?" the trainer in front of him. He had black hair and wore a t-shirt that had a Devon logo on it.
"And you're the one who picked Mudkip," Alastor replies dryly, slightly frustrated that he hadn't remembered his name when he had remembered his.
The trainer seemed to be searching for a Pokemon, looking all over the long route.
"Ah, of course, Bagon! He must be here for a Bagon. But they're beyond here in Meteor Falls... does he not know? I could tell him... But they're pretty rare. If we find one and he takes it... No."
"Ok then Mudkip guy, I'll be on my way then," Alastor quickly tries to duck out.
"But Treeko dude, life is more fun with more people! You going to Meteor Falls? I wanted to check it out too. Wait a sec, I'll come with," the trainer got up from the ground and began dusting himself off.
"This guy! He must be looking for Bagon. He was probably getting tired of not finding one here so decided to change locations!"
"Man, searching for Pokemon for a team is hard work huh? I haven't found a single one of the Pokemon I'm searching for. I knew it only had a one percent encounter rate but I've been here for two hours you know?" the black-haired boy complained with his hands behind his head as the two trainers made their way to Meteor Falls.
"Bagon has a twenty percent encounter rate though! How wrong can this guy be!"
"Of course, you don't get strong Pokemon by lazing around," Alastor couldn't help but wonder how he had made it this far without losing a gym battle. Alastor had heard the rumors of a Devon Corp trainer who came out of nowhere and got three badges. He also had yet to lose a gym battle so he had originally thought that this trainer would be more competent but no, he was wrong about everything so far.
"Well I'm here till tomorrow so I still have time! Hard work fails no man! Right Treeko-guy?" says the aloof trainer, unaware of the roast going on in the head of his travel partner.
"Uh, ya sure," "But stupidity will make all your hard work go to shit!" Alastor decided to keep that last part to himself.
"So, you searching for a rare pokemon too?"
"Not rare but still hard to find I would say, I've only seen a handful despite living so close," Alastor answers truthfully, the only real reason Bagon were hard to get was that they only live deep within Meteor Falls and you would need Pokemon that were strong to even reach there. Not to forget the absurdly low catch rate.
"So Bagon then?"
Alastor stopped in his tracks, he had not expected that.
"Uh, ya. You too right?" asks Alastor, embarrassed that he had been found out.
"Naw, Salamence is too common in the battle scene," the trainer answers. "It's too powerful for my tastes."
"Too powerful? Isn't that stupid? The whole point of a battle is to be stronger than the opponent," Alastor counters, very confused at the reasoning behind not wanting a freakin' Salamence on your party.
"That's wrong though, the point of a battle is to be better than your opponent, not stronger. If being stronger was enough there wouldn't be so many different strategies now would there?"
Alastor was simply dumbfounded. Anyone could see it, the paradox in the other trainer's logic. Using brute force isn't the only thing Salamence were known for after all. They had a multitude of varying strategies attached to them. But something told Alastor not to push it. Maybe it was the subtle way the trembling of the trainer's hand when he spoke of Salamence, or perhaps it was the fear in his eye. Salamence was not a good topic for this guy.
"Ah since you'll be looking for Bagon I suppose you'll be going deep inside huh. Well then, I wouldn't want to disturb you. I'll go back to searching for Surskit, thanks for the mini-tour. See you later, Alastor Dent of Fallarbur, next time let's have a battle," the shake in his voice was obvious but his sudden declaration left a smile on Alastor's face.
"So this guy was just messing with me the entire time! Tch."
"Alright then, Mossdeep City, in the beginning of July. I'll be waiting, Daniel Todd of Mauville."
Both trainers having recognized each other as rivals, couldn't wait to see the power of their opponent.
AN: If anyone finds any flaws or wants to show their support, both can be done by leaving reviews!