"So that's Trapinch," Ochaco said, as she inspected Izuku's new pokemon.
"Pinch!" Trapinch glared at Ochaco wearily, ready to bite if Ochaco made a wrong move.
"It's pretty cute." Ochaco smiled at it.
"Trapinch!" Trapinch seemed to have taken offense to that.
"I think they'd prefer to be called fierce rather than cute." Izuku guessed.
"Pinch!" Trapinch nodded in agreement.
The two of them were currently in Izuku's room at the pokemon center, after finally meeting back up.
After Izuku returned Trapinch, he spoke. "She's not all too strong at the moment. She only knows bite, Mud-Slap, and Dig. But I'll change that. Before she knows it, she'll be stronger than ever."
"I can't wait to see it...hey is Flygon a flying type? Maybe I'll get one?" Ochaco asked him.
Izuku shook his head. "They can fly, but Flygon are exclusively ground and dragon type. Although a lot of people get confused by the name."
"Darn." Ochaco pouted.
"So, how did your gym battle go?" Izuku asked her, only to frown when he saw her get more upset.
"I lost." Ochaco sighed. "I tried using luck to win the battle, but it blew up in my face near the end."
Izuku cringed. "Sorry about that. But maybe you should switch to a more reliable strategy?"
"I doubt there's much I could do," Ochaco said, looking downtrodden. "His first pokemon resists or is immune to all my moves, and I don't have anything that's super effective on either of them. And they are super fast and strong, and he has a super effective move against Togepi. And Togepi's not all that good at single battles yet."
"Pi," Togepi said sadly.
"At this rate, I won't get past the first gym without training both of them up for a month." Ochaco sat on the bed, looking down at the floor. "And I don't want you to have to stay here and waste all that time because of me."
Izuku wanted to tell her that he would gladly wait for her after she helped him climb that mountain, but he's known her for long enough to know that wouldn't help her.
He shouldn't placate her, but rather, give her a solution.
And after thinking for a moment, he found one. "Well, there aren't a lot of flying type pokemon in the desert, but...there is one...notable pokemon in there, that evolves into a flying type. Its name is Bagon."
Suddenly, there was a spark in Ochaco's eyes and her whole face lit up with excitement. "Wait! Bagon! As in the pokemon that evolves into Salamence! One of the strongest flying type pokemon!"
"Yup." Izuku was happy that she seemed to have cheered up. "Although...it'll be really hard to find. Even harder than a Trapinch, pretty much every flying type specialist, a lot of dragon type specialists, and even a good amount of non-type specialists want to get their hands on a Salamence, not to mention pokemon collectors and poachers. They're not endangered, but they are very rare and hard to find."
"Hmmm. So it might take me a while to find one." Ochaco said, thinking about it for a moment, before getting a determined look on her face. "Doesn't matter! I'll search that whole desert if I have to! I'm gonna catch me a Bagon!"
"That's the spirit!" Izuku told her. "I'll help too."
"You really don't need to. You've already done plenty for me." Ochaco reminded him. "Wouldn't you rather take on the gym?"
Izuku shook his head. "I can wait, and honestly, I kinda want you to be there when I beat the gym leader...i-is that too vain or egotistical?"
Ochaco giggled. "No, you're fine. I'm sure you'll sweep that gym leader off their feet!"
Izuku smiled at the positive reinforcement, something he hadn't received much off. "Thank you. I'm sure you'll beat the gym leader too next time."
"With a Bagon on my side, absolutely!" Ochaco had a fire in her eyes that Izuku couldn't help but admire.
It was then he knew they were both gonna be the best trainers out there.
XXXXXXXXX
"Ugh! Where is that darn Bagon!" Ochaco shouted into the desert, as the two of them looked through it for the dragon-type pokemon.
They had been looking for two days now, in the blazing heat.
It was safe to say Ochaco was as annoyed as she was covered in sweat.
"Are you sure there's a Bagon in this dessert!?" Ochaco asked, a bit more aggressively than she would have liked.
"O-Of course!" Izuku flinched at how upset she was. "I-I checked multiple sources, and they all said that you can find Bagon in this dessert."
Ochaco sighed, as she tried to fan herself. "Well...aside from getting attacked by a powerful wild pokemon, at least this can't get any worse."
And then, a flash sandstorm occurred.
"I had to open my big fat mouth-pah!" Ochaco had to close her mouth, to keep sand from getting in, and both of them and to shield their faces from the sand.
It was hard to see, but Izuku barely managed to spot a cave nearby.
"Hey! I see a cave! Let's head over there!" Izuku shouted, making sure to try and keep sand from getting in his mouth.
Quickly, the two ran to the aforementioned cave, which protected them from the sandstorm's rath.
"Ugh." Ochaco sat down on the stone floor and started getting the sand out of her clothes. "I hate sand. It's coarse and rough, and it gets everywhere!"
"Well, you're a flying type trainer, so I guess it makes sense," Izuku said, before giving her a remorseful look. "Um...I'm sorry things aren't really...working out all that well."
Ochaco sighed. "You don't have to say that. If anything I should apologize for you spending time with me when I'm all snappy."
"Heh, trust me, I've spent time with much angrier, much snappier people," Izuku said, as he recalled a certain blonde.
Ochaco looked outside and saw the sandstorm was still raging. "It looks like this could go on for a while."
"Yeah, and the cave isn't really deep enough to explore," Izuku said, looking at the end of the cave. "So...what should we do?"
"Well...we could talk? We're traveling companions but we don't know too much about each other." Ochaco pointed out.
"I guess that's true," Izuku said, before thinking of what to say. "So um...I grew up in a small town, actually, it was the town just off route 1. I uh...I wasn't particularly popular. I was...a complete nerd, and everyone knew it. I probably would have been fine but I was always...different from other kids when it came to my taste of pokemon."
"Different how?" Ochaco asked.
"I was just...different." Izuku shrugged. "Other kids like Charmander, I like Bulbasaur. Other people liked Pikachu. I preferred Mimikyu. Other people preferred Garchomp. I liked Flygon. So I got the reputation of that weird nerdy kid that likes lame pokemon. I tried to tell them that I love all pokemon but...the reputation stuck, and I...didn't really make friends after that."
"Wow, kids suck." Ochaco gave him a sympathetic look. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that. But uh, you have me now, and honestly, I'd pick Mimikyu over Pikachu any day. There's just something about it that makes me want to hug em."
"I know right! They just want some love from people, it's so sad." Izuku's smile returned.
The two laughed for a few moments, before getting back to the conversation.
"Well, I grew up in Aleen town, it's also a small town, down south," Ochaco explained. "My family was a construction company, which worked with our town, and some of the nearby towns and cities, but then...a bigger company from the Unova region came into a nearby city and...well, they had more money and a lot of Unova pokemon."
"And the pokemon found in the Unova region are really good at construction," Izuku said, finishing her thought. "I'm sorry that must have been rough."
"It was." Ochaco sighed, pouting again. "After that, the only business we got was from the most loyal customers in our town. But like I said it was a small town. They didn't build much or break much, so while we were always the ones they called when they needed construction...they didn't really need construction all that much. After that, my parents really had to worry about how much money they spent, and things got really well...rough."
"So that's why you want to become a gym leader," Izuku said.
Ochaco nodded. "Gym leaders are so respected, they're practically the mayors of whatever town or city they're in. As a gym leader not only could I work to support my family, I could also convince the town to start expanding out, and if the town starts getting bigger, that means more construction, and then my parents will have plenty of work to keep themselves afloat until their retirement."
"Wow, that's actually...really smart!" Izuku said.
"I know right! It's such a good plan, that I'm surprised that me of all people came up with it." Ochaco laughed a bit. "But...that still requires me to get strong enough to be picked by the champion to become a gym leader. And at this rate…"
The two went silent for a few moments. Izuku thinking of something before he spoke up.
"Uraraka." Izuku had a serious tone and blazing fire in his eyes that took Ochaco off guard. "I know I said you don't owe me anything but...I want you to make me a promise."
"A promise?" Ochaco repeated curiously, wondering where he was going with this.
"That's right. I want you to promise me that when we get to the pokemon league tournament, you and me will battle." Izuku explained, with ironclad determination. "That means you can't lose to anyone in that tournament until then."
"T-That's...that's a big promise," Ochaco told him, a little taken aback by this sudden request. "I-I'm not sure if I can-"
"You want to become a gym leader right?" Izuku asked her, getting a nod from his friend after a few moments. "Well, I'm going to become the champion, and don't think I'm going to hand over the position of gym leader to you just because you're my friend. That's a position you have to earn. And if I'm going to be sure that you're the right person for that job, then I need you to at least make it that far."
"I…" Ochaco took a second to take all this in, before looking at the determination in Izuku's eyes once more. It was a sight to behold, and in that moment he looked like nothing would stop him.
And she believed that.
After a few moments, Ochaco looked up, returning Izuku's determined glare with one of her own. "I promise to help my family and to achieve my dream. I won't lose to anyone at that tournament, not until I battle you."
After staring at each other for a few moments, the determined looks melted off their faces and formed into smiles of renewed vigor.
And then, suddenly something came into the cave.
"Gon!"
Izuku and Ochaco froze for a second, before quickly turning their heads to see that a Bagon had waddled into the cave, seemingly also to take cover from the sandstorm.
"Oh my god finally!" Ochaco immediately stood up and took out a Pokeball. "Alright, Pidove let's go!"
"Dove!" Pidove came out, and as it flew up, she bumped her head on the ceiling. "Dove! Pidove!"
Pidove turned to their trainer and gave them an annoyed glare. Clearly not happy to be in a cave.
"Sorry, Pidove. But the sooner we catch Bagon the sooner we can leave!" Ochaco told her pokemon.
"Dove." Pidove hugged, before turning back towards Bagon.
Bagon, who was now very aware of the two trainers in front of him, turned and looked at the sandstorm, and knew they were trapped between a rock and a hard place.
It was either fight the Pidove or go out into the sandstorm and possibly fall to hands go ground type predators.
Bagon turned around and gave Pidove a menacing glare.
"Gon!" Bagon shot out an ember attack at Pidove.
"Dodge it and then use swagger!" Ochaco ordered.
"Pi!" Pidove did a mid-air roll to dodge the ember, before raising her beak up arrogantly, causing Bagon's attack to go up, and for them to become confused.
"Bag?" Bagon waddled around while confused before their head started glowing white as they activated headbutt. "Gon!"
Bagon then headbutted the wall, not only doing a good chunk of damage to themselves but also getting their head stuck in the wall.
"Alright, now's my chance!" Ochaco took out a Pokeball. "You're mine!"
Uraraka threw the Pokeball at Bagon, which overtook Bagon, and captured them inside it.
BRUP!
BRUP!
BRUP!
BRUP!
DING!
"Alright!" Ochaco cheered, as she picked up her new pokemon in the Pokeball. "I caught a Bagon!"
"Congratulations!" Izuku cheered Ochaco on. "I'm happy we finally found it."
"Finally!" Ochaco fell on her knees, crying actual tears of joy. "We don't have to keep looking in this Arceus forsaken desert!"
"Yup. Now, all we have to do is wait for the sandstorm to subside." Izuku said, looking at the raging storm outside. "So um...do you wanna keep talking until then."
"Yeah, sounds good," Ochaco told him.
"So...Snivy or Oshawott?" Izuku asked her.
"Oh Oshawott, all the way," Ochaco answered. "They're super cute, and Snivy are all just...way too smug."
XXXXXXXX
After about an hour of chatting, the storm subsided, and the two of them eventually left the cave. It was now nighttime. The stars shone brightly in the sky, as the moon gleamed down from above.
"About time!" Ochaco said, as the two of them finally exited the cave, now much happier than before. "Wow, the dessert looks much prettier at night. Look up! Look at the stars! This is the best view I've gotten of them since I left my hometown!"
Izuku looked up. "Yeah, they are really pretty...it's a bit cold though."
"Better than the blazing heat," Ochaco said. "Honestly, I don't understand how people enjoy heat like that."
"Well…" Izuku's mind went back to a certain someone. "I know someone who loves the heat. He's a fire-type specialist. I wonder how he's doing?"
"I thought you said you didn't have any friends?" Ochaco said.
"Well, calling him a friend is kind of a stretch," Izuku said. "He's kind of…"
"DEKU!"
"Oh." Izuku cringed. "Speaking of him, here he comes now."
Up ahead, coming from Geonosis City, was Bakugo. Marching at them with fury in his eyes.
Once he got closer to them, Bakugo started yelling some more. "Deku! Why the hell are you here!?"
Izuku tried to explain. "Well, I was helping Uraraka-"
"You know, what I don't give a shit!" Bakugo interrupted him. "Did you beat the fucking gym leader yet!?"
"Uh, no I was gonna try and beat him tomorrow," Izuku said.
"Psh, take a look at this!" Bakugo pulled out his badge case and showed off his engine badge. "I already whipped the floor with that loser! Eat it Deku!"
"Oh, that makes sense." Izuku seemed unaffected by Bakugo's gloating. "He's a Steel-type gym leader, and you're a fire-type specialist after all."
"I didn't beat him just because I had fire types Deku!" Bakugo shouted, aggressively getting in Izuku's face.
"I-I didn't say that!" Izuku said defensively. "I just said that it helped. I mean, unless you didn't use any fire-type moves, being a fire-type specialist definitely helped you."
Bakugo paused for a moment, as he couldn't really argue against that, so he just backed up, and gave Izuku a glare. "That's not the fucking point. The point is I've already kicked that gym leader's ass! And your worthless ass still doesn't have a single badge!"
"Hey, back off!" Ochaco went in between the two of them, glaring intensely at Bakugo. "The only reason he hasn't beaten the gym leader already is because he was helping me catch a pokemon."
Bakugo glared at how. "Wow, you must be a real pathetic trainer, if you're weighing Deku down."
That comment stuck something inside Izuku, and he felt a wave of deep anger. "Alright, that's too far!"
"Oh?! And what the hell are you gonna do about it!?" Bakugo challenged.
Izuku picked up his Pokeball and held it up at Bakugo. "This. Bakugo Katsuki, I challenge you to a pokemon battle!"
Alright, time for the second rival battle with Bakugo!
You can expect that he'll be much more of a challenge this time around. But Izuku's gotten a lot stronger as well.
Anyway, Ochaco now has her third pokemon! It's a Bagon! Salamance is the only flying type pseudo legendary, so adding it to Ochaco's team(eventually) will give her a good bit of extra power. But for now, much like Trapinch, they are rather weak.
And yeah of course Bakugo beat Iida with ease, Iida's ace is four times weak to fire.
Anyway, the new chapter will focus on the second battle with Bakugo, as well as two surprise characters making their debut in the story. Who are they? You'll just have to wait and see.
So, please review and give your thoughts on the chapter, and have a wonderful day.