Ethan led the way down Route 30. Travis was training Flitt, who was extremely stubborn and kept trying to fly off.
"I swear, Terminus listens to Ethan, and Topaz listens to you." Travis complained to Lyra, "Maybe I should just let him go."
Lyra shrugged, "Why not. There are more Pidgey around here. Flitt just seems like he wants to be wild."
Travis stomped, "Flitt why won't you help me battle Falkner!" he shouted a the Pidgey, who was sitting on the branch of a nearby tree.
Flitt's head snapped towards Travis and he flew down. He landed in front of the young trainer and dipped it's head.
"Think I got through?" Travs asked.
"I think Flitt wants to battle against Falkner." Lyra said, "Maybe something happened?"
"Maybe, I doubt it was purposeful though, Falkner is a strong advocate for Flying types, bird pokemon in general. He even had a no Electric-type clause until the League forcefully removed it." Travis said, "Would've had to implement anti-type clauses at all other gyms and they weren't interested in implementing that."
Ethan nodded, "I remember my dad telling me about that. Apparently there was a trainer who missed the Silver League because of Falkner's rule, he went and won the next year too. League wasn't too impressed."
"Anyways, I need to train Flitt for out gym battle." Travis said, "Can you two handle the trip to Mr. Pokemon's house alone?"
Lyra nodded, "We've got Topaz, Larima, Sobek, and Terminus." Larima bounced up and down as if proving a point, "We can handle anything."
"Speaking of Terminus…" Ethan released the owl, who landed on his hat and looked around. Seeing no danger he plopped down off his leg, sitting on Ethan's head.
"I should see how Topaz is doing too. She doesn't seem to like being in a pokeball." Lyra released the Pichu, who frowned and sparked her cheeks at her trainer, "Sorry Topaz. I'll keep you out of your pokeball unless it's too dangerous from now on." The Pichu smiled and hopped onto Lyra's shoulder, rolling into a ball.
Travis had run off onto the Western half of Route 30, where there were many trainers.
"Well, I guess we should get moving." Ethan said, releasing Sobek, "Ok buddy, I want you to activate Rage and walk with us, gotta get you used to it." Sobek nodded and his eyes began to glow and his nails elongated. His fangs too grew this time. "Wow I guess his Rage is getting more powerful."
"He looks a lot scarier than usual." Lyra shuddered and put Larima on her hat.
"Terminus, I want you to use Hypnosis on Sobek if he goes out of control." Ethan said. The Hoothoot cooed in response, hopefully he understood. "Let's go Sobek." the Totodile grumbled and stomped along beside Ethan, causing him to laugh.
"Hey!" A voice rang out, "You up for a battle?" it was a boy a few years older than them, who was wearing a white t-shirt and beige shorts along with a straw hat. He had a bug catching net on his back.
"A Bug Catcher class." Ethan smirked, "I'll take you on!" Sobek stepped in front of Ethan and growled loudly, it was much deeper than what such a small creature should be able to make.
"How many badges do you have?" the trainer asked.
"None, this is only the second day of our journey." Ethan responded.
"Impressive, two days in and already training your pokemon's ability. I'm Donny by the way." the bug catcher said, "Been training for two, going on three, years. I'm training under Bugsy to be a Bug type master."
"I'm Ethan, I plan on going for the Champion title." Ethan introduced himself.
"Well met." Donny produced two pokeballs, "Since you seem to be competent I'll use two pokemon, that ok with you?"
Ethan nodded, "Sounds good. How's a $200 bet sound?"
Donny smirked, "I'll take that bet. Go Spinarak!" he released a green spider that was nearly a foot tall and a foot and a half long. It had a stinger on its head and a black skull marking on its back.
"Sobek, deactivate Rage for now." Ethan said, "You're up." Sobek's eyes returned to normal and he rubbed his claws.
Lyra stood off to the side as a referee.
"No need" Donny told her, "Stay off to the side." Lyra nodded and stood behind Ethan.
"I'll let you attack first." Donny said.
Ethan smirked, "Sobek Water Gun!" Sobek blasted a jet of water forward.
"Spinarak, String Shot on a tree, zip upwards!" Donny ordered. Spinarak shot a web from its thorax, hitting a high up branch. It began to retract itself but wasn't fast enough and was sent flying by Sobek's attack. His web snapped as he tumbled back.
"Sobek, get in close and use Scratch!" Sobek ran forwards, his claws begining to glow as he neared the spider pokemon.
"Spinarak use Poison Sting Long Range!" Donny shouted. Spinarak's stinger glowed purple and it shot hundreds of little purple needles, hitting Sobek all over, though they didn't pierce his skin.
Sobek didn't stop from the attack however, and was upon the spider, scratching away and leaving small cuts in its exoskeleton.
"Sobek jump back and use Water Gun, take it out!" Ethan yelled. Sobek complied, jumping into the air. However instead of blasting water forth, he surrounded himself with water and shot towards Spinarak, hitting it hard and leaving it knocked out.
"Sobek come here!" Ethan yelled. Sobek ran back on all fours. Ethan knelt down and pat Sobek's head, "Great job on Aqua Jet."
"Indeed. That was impressive. Most of the Feraligatr line need specialized training to learn Aqua Jet. I guess it was passed down as an egg move." Donny said, returning Spinarak
"It was. My father's Feraligatr, Cyr, was one of his pokemon he used when taking on the Johto league in his youth." Ethan said, "He got to Seven Badges but lost against the Blackthorn gym, with two of his pokemon dying in battle. After that he decided to give up training."
Donny nodded, "It's hard to lose a pokemon. I lost a Pinsir recently when challenging Jasmine for my seventh badge."
Ethan dropped his head in apology.
"Let's continue shall we?" Donny said, throwing out another pokemon, "Com'on out Venonat!" he released a large purple ball of fluff with two large eyes and two long antennae.
"Sobek you up for another battle?" Ethan asked. Sobek grunted and growled at Venonat.
"Venonat, start with Psybeam!" Donny shouted. The Venonat released a purple beam from its eyes, which struck Sobek and sent him flying back.
"Sobek, Aqua Jet!" Ethan yelled, "Hit it hard!" Sobek flew forth in a shroud of water, hitting the Venonat faster than Donny could react, sending it flying away, "Now ise Work Up!" Totodile growled, his veins enlarging, "And activate Rage!" His eyes glowed and his nails and fangs elongate, "Finish this with Aqua Jet and Scratch!"
Sobek roared, shooting forwards and scratching Venonat while also plowing into it, knocking it into a tree.
"Sobek back!" Ethan called. The Totodile slowly walked towards the downed Venonat. "SOBEK!" Ethan yelled. It snapped the little pokemon from its trace and he ran back to Ethan's side, giving Donny a chance to return Venonat.
"That was some combo Ethan." Donny said as he walked towards him.
"Thanks. Sorry if Venonat is too hurt." Ethan scratched the back of his neck.
Donny shook his head, "It's no worries, Venonat is actually for battling people with one badge so I'm surprised you took it out so easily. You should beat Falkner soon so that you can enter the Sprout Tower tournament in Violet City. It's at the end of the month and you'll need at least one badge to enter." Donny tapped his Trainer Card to Ethan's, transfering $200.
"I don't know if I'll make it." Ethan said, "I still have to return to New Bark Town with a package from Mr. Pokemon first."
"I see, maybe next month's then. There are some pretty good training spots around Violet City and the Ruins of Alph are fun to explore. There's also a chance that you can find some powerful Rock type pokemon around there." Donny said.
"Thanks, I'll look into it." Ethan said. He bid Donny farewell and continued on with Lyra.
"Hey Ethan, I'd like to battle the next trainer we come across." Lyra said, causing Topaz to squeak happily and spark her cheeks, "I should train my pokemon as well, since I'm gonna challenge Falkner too."
"You're gonna challenge Falkner?" Ethan asked, surprised, "I thought you were interested in contests"
"I am" Lyra said, "But I also want to make sure that my pokemon are growing. We have to be able to protect ourselves you know."
Ethan was surprised by Lyra's shift in behaviour, but he chalked it up to the Luxray attack she experienced.
"Alright Lyra. Let me know if you need any help." Ethan said with a smirk.
Lyra smiled and hugged Ethan, causing Topaz and Larima to fall off her shoulder and head. "Thank you Ethan. Thank you" She said into his shoulder.
"Of course" Ethan hugged her back. "Now let's get to Mr. Pokemon's house and back to Cherrygrove." Lyra nodded.
They trekked through the woods uneventfully, until they saw two Bellsprout battling each other. The smaller one danced around a Vine Whip and wrapped itself around the larger one, spitting acid onto it and then slithering off.
"Do you want one?" Ethan asked. Lyra shook her head, "I'll catch them both and see if Travis wants one of them. Terminus Hypnosis on that small one!" Terminus flew from Ethan's hat and hovered in front of the small Bellsprout, releasing a series of flashing lights from its eyes, putting it to sleep. Ethan lobbed a pokeball at the large Bellsprout while it was still wreathing from the other's Acid attack, "Keep it hypnotized Terminus!"
As soon as the first ball pinged as Captured Ethan tossed a ball at the second Bellsprout. It gave no struggles as Ethan captured it. He picked up both pokeballs and held his thumbs on them, "The smaller one will be Karl, the larger one will be Spring." He said, naming both and then placing them on his belt.
"What if Travis doesn't want one?" Lyra asked.
"I'll sell it to a trainer." He said, "Karl seems tough, and he's obviously smart if he can take out a Bellsprout as large as Spring without injury."
"Grass types don't fare too well in the Johto league though, so I'm not sure if anyone will buy him." she said as they walked.
"But Misty's challenge team consists of two Water and Ground dual types, anyone with hopes of beating her should bring a strong Grass type. Plus Bellsprout is part Poison, meaning Whitney's Fairy type team will go down easily." Ethan responded, "Plus when going against the Kanto league, which is necessary for gaining access to Mt. Silver and being allowed to challenge the Elite Four's real teams, Grass is a powerful type."
"Are you going to challenge Kanto's circuit after Johto?" Lyra asked.
"After the Silver League maybe. If I win I get to challenge Champion Lance without battling the Elite Four so I'm definitely going to try that." Ethan said, "I'm going for Champion after all."
"I'll be there cheering for you the entire way." Lyra smiled.
The two walked to Mr. Pokemon's house, which wasn't much further, and knocked on the door.
An elderly gentleman opened the door, he had a large white mustache and was wearing a suit, "Ah, you must be Lyra and Ethan. I suppose Travis is running around? Well do come on in, I have a guest but I'm sure he'd love to meet you." He led them in, it was a small house, with a living room and dining room with a door in the living room, probably a bedroom.
There was another man sitting at the dining room table, sipping on some tea.
"You're Prf. Oak!" Ethan exclaimed, pointing at the man, "You're a legend! You gave Red his Bulbasaur!"
The man laughed, "Yes I did. I also gave Green her Squirtle, well sort of, and Blue his Charizard you know. Not to mention I'm the leading expert on pokemon."
Ethan scratched the back of his head, "Ya I know that too. Sorry it's just Red is my idol and you're the reason he's a trainer."
"Not true, I gave him Bulbasaur but only because he said he'd help me fill out the Pokedex." Oak said, "Speaking of, I have three of my new models if you're interested. You can give one to your friend Travis."
Ethan immediately sat at the table. "Name your price."
Meanwhile Lyra was in the living room talking to Mr. Pokemon.
"So Prof. Elm told us you had something for us to pick up?" She asked.
"Ah yes. It's a pokemon egg, but not of any species I've seen." He said, "And no matter what it won't hatch. It was given to me by… Nevermind that, just please bring this to Elm, he knows more about pokemon eggs than anyone."
Lyra took the egg from Mr. Pokemon and put it in her back, fastening it tightly.
"You don't have to worry, we'll get it to him as soon as possible." Lyra said.
"Thank you."
"Hey Lyra, here ya go!" Ethan ran over and gave Lyra a small green device, as she touched it, it opened up.
Trainer: Lyra
Pokemon: Marill; Larima, Pichu; Topaz
Registration Complete
"It's a Pokedex, I'm doing a favor for Prof. Oak and he gave me three of the newest model isn't that awesome?" Ethan asked, clearly excited, waving his red Pokedex in front of him.
"It is, thank you." Lyra said, a little bewildered. "So what do you have to do for Prof. Oak?"
"Beat Champion Red" Ethan said, determination in his voice and his eyes flashing gold.
Hey all, thanks for reading. Check out the poll on my page, I want all of you to be a part of this story too so I'm letting all of you decide what to do with Togepi's egg. Also if you have any OCs you want in the story send them to me! Or if there is a pokemon you want one of the MCs to catch send those to me too and I'll see what I can do! Next chapter we'll go back and see what Emma and Ren the Zorua from Chapter 2 are up to, and there'll be a fight with Silver who's stolen Chikorita!