A/N: Good evening :) I wanted to apologize for the wait. As I stated in the now-deleted update, I was battling my landlord over a bed bug infestation. Things have been resolved this week and I spent the majority trying to get caught up in sleep. I did say there will be three chapters coming. I am still tweaking the other two but I figured I would drop this one for now. Enjoy! :)

Pokemon Journey: Indigo League

Chapter 9: Ava's helping hand

"Squirtle, use water gun!" Brandon shouts, pointing to his opponent.

"Eevee, dodge it quickly!" Ava yells.

For the past 2 days, Brandon and Ava traveled along route 3, heading towards the ever-looming Mt. Moon in the distance. They had finally gotten to a Pokemon Center, that was convenient, located near the entrance of Mt. Moon. Together, they had decided to just relax and train for the rest of the day before tackling Mt. Moon in the morning. Thanks to Ava pointing out that a practice battle would be beneficial for both of them, they were currently on the practice field.

"Great job Eevee. Now, let's go on the offensive. Use quick attack!" Ava commands.

"Squirtle, withdraw!" Brandon orders.

Eevee bounded towards Squirtle with incredible speed but Squirtle managed to retreat into his shell just as Eevee slammed into him, causing a little damage to Eevee.

"Eevee, if he wants to hide in his shell, that's fine. Think of the shell as a ball and play with it!" Ava shouts once again, almost smirking at Brandon's shocked face.

Eevee began to paw the shell and began to play with the shell, pushing it back and forth with her paws, almost like she was playing with a ball. She was having fun doing it and begin to push her nose against it, pushing the shell forward, causing Squirtle to become dizzy inside it. Brandon just watched, shocked at this tactic but he had to give Ava credit. Not many people would think to do that.

"Squirtle, hang in there alright?" Brandon calls out, trying to rack his brain to counter this attack. He can hear the murmurs of the crowd that had started to form. His eyes fell on the shell and he got an idea. "Squirtle, can you hear me?"

"Squirtle!" Squirtle's voice echoes from his shell.

"Good. If Eevee wants to play shell, let's make it a little challenging," Brandon shouts. "Use water gun on the ground and propel yourself forward."

Ava's eyebrows arch as Squirtle begins using water gun on the ground, almost like an engine and soon, he was pushing himself forward, with Eevee happily following, as if they were playing tag. Ava couldn't help but chuckle at this sight along with the crowd. This is the first time she was apart of this kind of battle.

"Keep going Squirtle!" Brandon yells. He notices there was a trail of water behind Squirtle, slowing down Eevee. He hopes this tactic works out. "Now, get out of your shell and use water gun on Eevee!"

Squirtle quickly pops out of his shell and tried to aim a water gun at the advancing fox-like Pokemon but due to his dizziness, his aim was off. Eevee easily managed to dodge it and went in for another quick attack, ending the battle.

"Squirtle, you did great. Return," Brandon recalls his partner before walking towards Ava, who was kneeling down and petting Eevee.

"Tough break," Ava says, standing up. "That strategy almost worked."

"Yeah, almost," Brandon sighs.

"Hey, that's why we have battles. To perfect those tactics," Ava tells him, as the crowd disperses. "Never stop trying different tactics during training. You never know when one sticks. I kinda liked this one, to be honest."

"Really?" Brandon asks, stepping into the Pokemon Center.

"Yeah. Look, Squirtle only lost because he was dizzy. Now, imagine if you trained together to avoid being dizzy," Ava suggests, sitting down on a couch. "You would be able to catch your opponents off guard."

"The more I think about it, the more I can see it," Brandon nods his head, thinking.

"Excuse me," a well-dressed man steps towards the duo. "I couldn't help but watch your battle earlier. Very entertaining."

Ava and Brandon look at each other before looking at the man. "Thank you?"

"You two have incredible Pokemon already," The man tells them with a smile. He pulls out a Pokeball. "But with this fabulous Pokemon, you will be the envy of everyone around you. This Pokemon can boost any team from great to spectacular. And it can be yours for only 500 Pokedollars!"

"Are you kidding me?" Ava says, standing up and faces the salesman. "Are you really trying to sell us a Pokemon?"

"Well, you see ma'am," the guy tries to speak before being interrupted.

"No, we won't buy that Pokemon," Ava states, crossing her arms and glaring at the man. Brandon also follows suit. Behind them, they hear a chuckle.

"I don't think they are falling for that," a lad speaks up, a grin on his face. "Now, Jimmy. Why don't you pack up and leave before I get Nurse Joy?"

"Hmmph. Fine," Jimmy says, before shooting a glare at Brandon and Ava. He quickly departs the place.

"Don't mind him. He's harmless," the boy says. He adjusts his glasses. His red hair slicked back. He wore a white shirt with a leather jacket over top and black jeans.

"Harmless or not, selling Pokemon is despicable," Ava states.

"No argument here," the boy says.

"Just out of curiosity, what was he selling?" Brandon asks.

"A Magikarp," the boy answers. "He keeps coming back here, hoping to scam new trainers into buying one."

"Do people actually buy one?" Ava asks, sitting back on the couch.

"You would be surprised at how many new trainers do buy one," the boy replies, sitting on a chair nearby. "In the past, trainers would buy a Magikarp and then abandoned them in the cave, after realizing they aren't great in battle."

"Sounds like you know this person," Ava remarks.

"Yep. I'm Colin, from Pewter City," Colin introduces himself. "He offered me the same deal but I turned him down. Don't get me wrong. A Gyarados would be great to have but I would rather catch a Magikarp."

"Nice to meet you, Colin," Ava says. "I'm Ava from Big Town in the Johto Region."

"I'm Brandon, from Pallet Town," Brandon speaks up.

"A pleasure. You two taking on the gyms?" Colin asks.

"I am," Brandon says.

"I'm taking some time off," Ava replies. "What about you?"

"I am," Colin replies, as he pulls out his badge case. He opens it up to reveal he has 1 badge. "I decided to spend some time here before heading out."

"Nice," Brandon says. "Will you be heading out soon then?"

"Yeah. In fact, I was about to leave until Jimmy showed up. I look forward to battling you at some point, especially if you come up with more strategies like you did earlier," Colin says with a grin. "I take it you guys are going through Mt. Moon tomorrow?"

"Yeah. We figured we would rest and train a little tonight and start fresh tomorrow," Ava says.

"Good choice. Mt. Moon can be dangerous at night," Colin replies. "I pretty much know the way, since I've been hiking in the mountain for a long time."

"Do you have any advice?" Brandon asks.

"Bring a map. Stick to the main route, unless if you are looking for Pokemon," Colin replies, "If that is the case, stick to the green marker route. The Pokemon found along that route is much easier to catch and much safer."

"Thanks for the advice," Ava says.

"Any time. Good luck out there," Colin tells them before getting up and departing the Pokemon Center.

"Any plans for tonight?" Ava asks as she shifts into a more comfortable position.

"Not really. I would like to get in a training session tonight, but I still don't know what I'm doing," Brandon admits.

"You're not half bad," Ava teases him. "But seriously, you have to come up with a training segment that works for you and your Pokemon. Once you get that setup, I can help with training matches and whatnot."

"I'm still unsure of how to start," Brandon admits.

"Think about it like this. Squirtle seems to be a sturdy battler. His accuracy has gotten a little better with training but it seems like he has more success being up close. Try to train around that. As for Tangela, he surprised me during his gym battle. The way he was able to control his vines and the strength it took to pull that maneuver was incredible," Ava points out.

"Wow. I never thought of that," Brandon exclaims, thinking over his match.

"Not many new trainers do think of that. What they most care about is winning, and not how they won," Ava replies. "It's a skill that many trainers develop later in their journies, or some trainers never develop it at all."

"Thank you for pointing that out," Brandon says gratefully.

"All I did was give you a starting point. The rest you will have to figure out with your Pokemon," Ava says before getting up. "While you ponder that, I'm heading for a quick shower. Afterward, want to grab some dinner and call it a night?"

"Maybe," Brandon replies, deep in thought.

"Another piece of advice Brandon," Ava replies. "Get as much rest as you can when you can. Trust me on that one."

"Thank you again," Brandon tells her before Ava wonders up to her room for a quick shower. Brandon looks around the near-empty trainer lounge, spotting only 2 other people relaxing.

The duo quickly ate supper before Ava called it a night. Brandon, on the other hand, couldn't sleep. He tossed and turned in his bed before finally getting up and heading outside. The night was clear as Brandon just stood there, watching the starry night when his attention shifted.

In the distance, he saw something walking along the path. At times, this Pokemon would stop and eat something but essentially, it was just roaming. Excited, Brandon ran into his room and grabbed his Pokeballs and Pokedex before dashing outside, in search of the horned gray-colored Pokemon. Spotting it wandering towards Mt. Moon, Brandon put on a burst of speed, pulling out his dex and scanning the looming Pokemon.

"Rhyhorn, the Spikes Pokemon. Ground/Rock type. Strong, but not too bright, this Pokémon can shatter even a skyscraper with its charging tackles," the dex chimed back.

"Perfect," Brandon wheezes out, coming to stop in front of Rhyhorn and trying to catch his breath. "Rhyhorn, I challenge you to a battle!"

Rhyhorn cocks his head to the side before entering a fighting stance. It welcomed the battle.

"Tangela, you're up!" Brandon shouts before realizing people might be sleeping. He lowered his voice as Tangela materialized, yawning. It looks at Brandon, then at Rhyhorn before looking back at Brandon before curling up and going back to sleep on the ground. "Come on Tangela, I need your help."

Rhyhorn couldn't believe someone would fall asleep during a battle and began charging the sleeping Tangela. The ground shook underneath Brandon's feet and it felt like the ground was going to collapse. Remembering the dex's words, Brandon began to think this was a bad idea. Too late though as Rhyhorn slams into Tangela and with its horn, flings the now awake Vine Pokemon in the air.

"TANGELA!" Tangela shouts, landing on his feet. He was facing the Rhyhorn and was mad since this is the second time he was woken up.

"Tangela, sorry to wake you up. I should have realized maybe night time isn't the best time for a battle, but we need to stop Rhyhorn from charging," Brandon quickly explains. Both trainer and Pokemon stares as Rhyhorn came back for a second round. "Tangela let's try to slow it. Use stun spore!"

Tangela immediately shoots a cloud of orange powder in the path of the charging Pokemonbut was flung again into the air. Tangela lands on the ground, glaring at the Spikes Pokemon.

"Looks like we might need to trip him up. Wait until it comes into range before jumping to the side and try to trip it," Brandon calls out.

Tangela waits as Rhyhorn came rushing forward again before jumping to the side and instantly releasing his vines and managed to trip Rhyhorn, who faceplants into the ground.

"Great job! Now use bind," Brandon orders, pulling out an empty Pokeball.

Tangela shot vines around the legs of Rhyhorn, holding it in place while Rhyhorn struggled to break free. Rhyhorn thrashes about, desperately trying to break the vines but soon tired itself out.

"My turn!" Brandon exclaims excitedly, throwing the Pokeball at Rhyhorn. Together, Tangela and Brandon watch as the ball wiggles twice before Rhyhorn breaks free of the ball. Rhyhorn immediately charges towards Mt. Moon and away from Brandon.

"Shoot," Brandon says, feeling a little down before a vine snaps at his feet. Looking up, he sees Tangela angrily shaking his body at him before plopping down and going back to sleep. Brandon chuckles as he pulls out Tangela's ball and recalls him. "No worries buddy. I won't chase it tonight. Tomorrow, however, I will look for it and catch it!"

Brandon re-enters the Pokemon Center to a sleepy Ava rubbing her eyes.

"What's going on?" Ava asks, yawning.

"Nothing really. Sorry if I woke you up," Brandon tells her, feeling guilty that she was the second one he woken up.

"Don't worry about it. Everything ok though?" Ava asks.

"Yeah. Just failed to capture a Pokemon," Brandon says, climbing the stairs towards the rooms.

"If that's all, I'm headed back to bed," Ava replies before retiring to her room.

Brandon enters his and lays down on the bed, his thoughts wandering towards that Rhyhorn. He mutters something as sleep overtook him. "Tomorrow, I shall hunt for it."

Unknown Place, Johto

A figure can be seen storming through a hallway, pissed off. The figure begins to toss things on the ground as the figure enters a room. The figure stops at a computer and begins to enter a series of text before a globe shows up on the screen. The globe was moving in a circular motion as it was scanning for something, or someone. A picture of Ava is shown at the top right of the screen. The figure slams their hands on the keyboard.

"How hard is it to find a simple girl?" the figure growls. "One of these days, I shall find you!"

Team Listings:

Brandon Adams:

Squirtle - Male, Torrent ability. Knows Water Gun, tackle, Withdraw

Tangela - Male, Leaf Guard ability. Knows Bind, Stun Spore, Absorb, Growth

Ava Mcarthur:

Eevee - Female. Run Away ability. Knows tackle, Quick Attack

Omanyte - Male. Unknown ability. Knows: Withdraw