DISCLAIMER - I DO NOT, AND MOST LIKELY NEVER WILL OWN POKEMON.
Chapter Four - Burned by Ice. Otherwise Known as How Not to Train Your Dragon.
As Riley camped out on route 102, she ran Joy and Kek through some basic exercises. Nothing too intense, just some light agility drills to keep them limber, and some target practice. After almost two hours, Riley received her first challenge.
A rugged looking boy, who looked to be around fourteen, made his intent clear. "Are you looking for trainer battles? If so, I'll give you more than you can handle. How many Pokemon would you like to battle with?"
After a brief pause, Riley decided using Asher would be a bad idea. "I have two Pokemon able to battle. Ideally a two on two battle if you are up for it."
The teenage boy released his first Pokemon, signaling he'd accepted her terms. As the crimson glow subsided, a Taillow emerged. Riley called Joy forward, and the battle began.
"Joy, this is just like battling the Pidgey's we've seen, wait until it comes close, and strike. You know what to do." The seal took her position, and waited for her chance.
"Sky, let's get this over with quickly. Use tackle now!" In an instant, the bird began its descent, with impressive speed. It locked onto the stationary Spheal, and braced for impact.
As the avian foe approached, Joy let loose a powder snow attack. Quickly the snow began to crystalize, forming ice on the birds wings. Unfortunately, it wasn't quick enough to halt the birds attack. With a crash, Joy was knocked backwards while the bird hit the ground. Joy shook herself off, successfully regaining her footing. The Taillow struggled to leave the ground, with the additional weight impairing its flight.
"Water gun!" was all Joy needed to hear, and unleashed a stream of pressurized water. The Taillow hit the ground, and was unable to continue.
"You got lucky on that one, but your Spheal doesn't stand a chance against Bolt!"
With a flash, a Shinx took shape. Riley recalled her starter, and called Kek forward.
"Kek, don't worry about the electric attacks, get in close with sand attack, and finish him off with sand tomb!" The Sandile cracked that evil grin, and darted towards the electric type.
"Bolt, use spark!" The blue and black lion cub began to glow, and discharged a small bolt of electricity. The attack hit its mark, but as Riley had promised, had no effect on the reptilian attacker.
A cloud of sand overwhelmed the Shinx, and before it had the chance to recover, he was cloaked in the muddy tomb. The young trainer quickly recalled his Shinx, signalling the end of their battle.
"Wow, I was the best trainer in my class, and I didn't stand a chance. That was some great battling!" The boy made his way to Riley, laughing as he reached out for a handshake. "Here's your winnings. By the way, my names Owen. It was a pleasure!"
Riley smiled, he was a cute kid, and he had an infectious smile. "I'm Riley, and you were my first real trainer battle. I'm glad to have met you."
The boy was shocked, her first trainer battle? How did she wipe the floor with him if she'd never battled? Regardless, this girl was good, and he was smart enough to know he may be able to learn from her. "I'm headed up to Petalburg to challenge Norman. If you make it up that way, I'd love to train and hang out." With one last smile, he turned and began his final trek towards civilization.
As the day wore on, Riley battled four more trainers, all ending in victories. She noticed her Spheal was beginning to grow what appeared to be a mustache, and her tail was beginning to elongate. She looked a little awkward, but she knew it meant greater things were in store.
As Riley prepared her team for the short trek back to Petalburg, she received another challenge. A tall girl of about Riley's age made her way towards Riley. "Hey Trainer, how'd you like to have one more battle before sundown? I've only got one Pokemon with me, so it shouldn't take long."
Riley considered the challenge, and accepted. She called forth her loyal Sandile, and prepared for battle. The girl across from her released her pokemon. Riley couldn't believe what she was seeing. She was quite familiar with the formidable Pokemon, and it made her nervous. A Gible, and a big one, stood before her.
"OK Kek, same plan of attack, you've got this!" The Sandile began with a cloud of sand, and charged preparing to unleash his signature sand tomb. As the cloud settled, a black and blue orb of draconic fury barreled towards the unsuspecting Sandile. The dragon rage found its mark, and the Sandile was finished. As Riley recalled her friend, a blinding veil of light encased the Gible. Moments later, a surge of energy burst outward, and what was left standing was truly impressive. The Gible had evolved into a Gabite, and it looked irritated. As the female trainer approached her dragon, she was forced to dodge a dragon rage. She had no idea what to do, her friend was in a frenzy, and she couldn't get close enough to console it.
Riley was in shock, she'd just taken a sound defeat, witnessed her first evolution of the journey, and nearly saw someone killed by a Pokemon. Fortunately there was someone there willing to take charge. Joy put herself in between the girls and the Dragon, and unleashed a barrage of snow. The dragon was clearly irritated by its natural weakness, and set its sights on the Spheal. It hurled another dragon rage towards Joy, who narrowly dodged the attack. Instead of immediately returning fire, Joy remained stationary. She looked to be concentrating, but on what? Instead of the powder snow she'd been accustomed to seeing, Riley witnessed something new. Joy opened her mouth and unleashed a brutal stream of ice at the dragon. The frost breath had the desired effect, distracting the dragon and weakening it to the point the female trainer could return her dragon.
Riley stood in awe of the power she had just witnessed. She'd always wanted a dragon of her own, but after witnessing that display of power, she knew she wasn't ready. She looked to her trusty starter and couldn't help but beam with pride. In a moment of dire need, Joy stepped up to the plate. She developed a new attack in order to save her trainer. She took on a newly evolved dragon, and lived to tell the tale.
"I am so sorry, I had no idea he was that close to evolving. If I had known, I would have stayed in the wild until he'd calmed down. I don't know how I can thank you, but please, add my information to your Pokedex. When I can come up with a just reward, I'll find you to repay my debt." As the girl typed Riley's information into her Pokedex, she sent a message to Riley. "That's my trainer ID and contact information. As you can see, my name is Susan. I just finished my fourth gym battle, and was headed home to see my family. I shouldn't have rushed, and I'm sorry you were involved in my mistake."
Riley brushed off the apologies, she'd made plenty of mistakes in life. Hell, she got her arm broken by a Pokemon she caught less than a week ago. The two girls gathered their composure and began their walk back to Petalburg together. As they walked, they told each other all about how they got their starts, the ups, the downs. Riley enjoyed talking with Susan, it was nice to have another woman to talk with. She wished she could tell Susan ALL of her story, but mentioning who her Godfather was typically garners certain reactions. Reactions she was never comfortable dealing with.
Finally, after almost two hours of walking, as the last rays of sunshine had crested on the horizon, they reached the Pokecenter. Susan wished Riley farewell, and made her way home. Riley dropped off her Pokemon with Nurse Joy, and began looking for Nick. She looked in the computer bank, cafeteria and his room, but he was AWOL. With nothing left to do, she decided to head back to the grassy patch and try to bond with Asher.
"Hey Asher. I thought it'd be nice to hangout, just the two of us. I know you weren't interested in talking when we talked yesterday, so today I thought I'd just tell you about our day." For the next half hour, the Helioptile skeptically watched the young woman passionately recall her day. As the portion of the dragon began to wrap up, Riley looked back up to Asher. He was now within arms reach of the plucky trainer.
"And as Susan and I walked back to town, I realized, my Pokemon are the only ones I can really be 100% open with. This is why I told you about our day, it was a long about way to get to this point. What would make you happy? Do you even want to battle? Have you ever had the opportunity to before? If it made you happy, I'd take you back to the family home, where you could roam free, hunting and relaxing in the sand dunes, or napping with the Pokemon in the corral. I really want you to enjoy your life, and if it means losing you, so be it." With that, the girl lost focus, as her hero came into focus.
"Hey RJ, sorry I've been unreachable, I've been on the phone with the league all day. Apparently there's a Pokemon attacking trainers out on Route 104. We dispatched a team of Ace Trainers to deal with the issue, but the political garbage attached is always a waste of time."
"What kind of Pokemon is it? And why would it be attacking random trainers?" Riley was clearly concerned. She'd been through a Pokemon attack of smaller scale, and knew how terrifying it could really be.
"That's the thing, some of the trainers that were able to escape its wrath said it was a Poliwrath, others mentioned a Braviary, while one had mentioned a Staraptor. We can't make heads or tails of it. I'm leaning towards a menacing Ditto, but the aggressive nature doesn't really fit it's demeanor." Nick didn't have a clue. What he did know was if the trainers didn't resolve the issue today, he'd be headed to quell the problem. "But enough about this, for the moment, it's not my concern. Tell me about your day."
For the next hour, Riley retold her epic day to the Hoenn Champion. Nick was amazed about the battles, but more importantly, the tale of the Gible. As Riley finished her story of the terrifying dragon, she realized she'd unknowingly been petting her electric type while it slept in her lap. Her train of thought vanished, the sleeping quadruped emitted a low growl as he happily drifted to sleep. Riley carefully reached for the pokeball, and recalled her newest teammate. Riley and Nick made their way to the Pokecenter, where Riley gathered her team and they made their way to their rooms. As Riley slowly drifted to sleep, the feeling of pride began to overtake her. She'd made progress, isn't that what lifes about?