Chapter Eleven: Rivalry Revived
"Hey, You there! What are you doing lying around? Ha, I bet you don't even have a badge yet, huh?" That voice was unmistakable. I knew it from the first word it shouted at me, and I didn't like it. Not one bit. "Go away, Paul, before I sic my Pokemon on you." Paul looked over at the four Pokemon playing around a tree. "Hey, you have four Pokemon? Where'd you get a Furret?" Allie sat up and shot Paul an annoyed glance. "That Furret is mine, pea-brain, and I got it from my cousin Whitney." "Yeah, whatever." Paul looked back over at the Pokemon, who had stopped playing to watch us. "Hmm. You still have three Pokemon, though, so. Wanna battle?" I almost had a hernia laughing, because something was just hilarious about that statement. Probably because I knew it was coming, but I couldn't help but remember a fight we'd once had about what training style was better, mine or his. So our parents, in an attempt to keep us from killing each other, gave us each a baby level five Pidgey. We raised them for a week, but were forbidden to fight each other. At the end of a week, our Pokemon were still the same level, so we battled them. Needless to say, my Pidgey and I won the battle. "Are you sure you want to try?" I looked up at Paul and almost died laughing again. I bit it back. "I mean, c'mon, Paul, after that little bout with the Pidgeys? And even after that, you want a battle?" "Yeah! A three - on - three battle! And that battle was rigged! Your Dad made sure you won it, and I know it!" I jumped to my feet. Dad and I may not agree on much, but no one could put him down but me! "You take that back!" Paul smiled. "If you win, I will. But you won't win, so I will have to take my own prize." "And what, per se, is that?" "I want your full apology for how you treated me back at the lab!" When I turned red and was about to say no way, he added, "That, or your Kanaun." "Fine," I growled. "Kanna! Spike! Sprout! Come here, we have a battle to win!"
~*~*~*~*~
It was decided, a three - on - three match, no time limit, being refereed by Allie. We also agreed to play our Pokemon in the order that we caught them, from the newest to the oldest. So Sprout was first out. "You ready, Sprout?" "Bulba!" "Then lets do it!" Paul sent out a Spearow. It looked to be about level ten, not that old either. We should have no major problems with this thing. "Ready!" Allie called, both hands in the air. Paul and I nodded, and she dropped her arms. "Begin!" "Alright, Sprout, start with a Tackle!" "Counter with a Peck! Hey, you gave that thing a name? Names are for wusses!" I smiled. "Not in my mind! They build trust and character in a Pokemon, so all of mine will have names! Now, Poisonpowder!" Spearow had dodged Tackle, and Sprout had dodged Peck, so we were still even. Poisonpowder would change that in our favor. Sprout readied himself for a Poisonpowder while Paul called out to Spearow to dodge it. But Sprout let out such a large cloud of dust so fast, Spearow had no time to move. "Great! Now Tackle it again!" Sprout gained momentum as the dust died down and rammed into Spearow at full force. The hit sent Spearow flying right into Paul, who yelled at it to get up. But it was too weak from the poison, so he was forced to recall it when it didn't get up. "That's one point for me!" I called to Paul as he fished out his next Pokemon. Sprout came running up to me, but he looked tired. "Go ahead and take a good rest, you deserve it! Great job, Sprout!" "Bulbasaur!" I looked up to see a Pineco appear. It looked fresh, but so did Spike. I looked down at him. "Are you ready?" "Pika!" Spike ran out onto the battlefield, once a peaceful park, ready for battle. "Begin!" "Spike, start off with a Quick Attack!" "Use Tackle!" Spike hit Pineco first with a heavy Quick Attack, but it came right back into the fight with a good solid Tackle. I knew Spike would be hard pressed to dodge it, as it was fairly fast. I had to end it as fast as I could. "Thundershock!" Spike charged up for a Thundershock as Paul tried to think of something to counter it with. "Um, Protect!" Spike let lose the biggest Thundershock I'd seen, as Pineco tried to Protect itself. The Thundershock was enough to make Pineco unstable, and try as Paul might, he couldn't keep Pineco from Selfdestructing. "Yes! That's another win! One more, and it'll be a shut-out!" "Pika!" Spike ran towards me and leapt into my arms. "Great job, Spike! That Thundershock was your biggest yet!" "Pika pika! Pikachu!" Spike replied modestly. "Kanaun!" Kanna jumped onto my shoulder and joined in the celebration. "If you could, will you bring out your precious Kanaun and fight us?" I glared at Paul, but did want to finish the fight. "Fine! Ok, Kanna, let's go!" "Aun." Kanna jumped down and prepared herself as Paul's Tyrogue appeared. It was actually fairly large, and looked almost ready to evolve. Darn, it's at least level eighteen! I knew, though, that no matter how tough it was, Kanna was tougher. With Bubblebeam, Headbutt and Bite on our side, we could win it! "Kanna, start off with a Bite!" Kanna leapt into action, letting lose with energy that she only had in battle, and clamped down hard on Tyrogue's left arm. It didn't even flinch! Paul laughed at me. "Tyrogue is a Fighting type, and Bite is a Dark move! Fighting is resistant to Dark! Duh!" He looked at Tyrogue, who was trying to shake it off. "Get rid of it and Tackle!" Tyrogue shook harder and sent Kanna flying. It readied itself, then tore towards my fallen Pokemon. "Kanna, get up!" I screamed. Kanna shook her head and looked up to see the Tyrogue five feet away and closing. With a yelp and speed I thought only Spike had, she got out of the way just in time. As she landed and turned around, Tyrogue flipped a U- turn and came again. Kanna dodged a second time, and by then I'd thought of something. "Knock it off balance with a Water Gun!" A torrent of water came from Kanna's mouth and worked to knock Tyrogue off its feet. It was wet and sore looking when it turned around and used its only attack again. "Alright! Give it a Bubblebeam right between the eyes!" Kanna's attack sent Tyrogue staggering back, and it fell, knocked out, at Paul's feet. Allie raised her hand, then pointed at me. "The match goes to Nicole and Kanaun!" We had won again!
~*~*~*~*~
"Well, Paul?" Paul looked up at me. He'd been staring at his Tyrogue as I walked over to receive my prize. He looked. defeated. "Well, what?" I gave him a look. "I won, so you need to take back what you said about my dad." Now, I don't like the guy, but I'm not heartless, either. I knew his loosing had hit him hard, so I was going to apologize for how I treated him at the lab, anyway. But he had to hold up his end of the deal. "Fine. Your dad didn't rig it. But I still say someone did!" Paul grabbed Tyrogue's Pokeball and recalled him. He was about to go when I put my two cents in. "Fine, you can think that all you want. I don't care, so long as you agree that my parents didn't rig it. Maybe Elm or Kory did, but my parents would rather I loose then build fake confidence. Oh, and, uh, I kinda owe you an apology." I was looking everywhere but at Paul. This was necessary, but not easy. "What? Nicole, you won. You don't have to apologize, because you won. The agreement was I -" "I know what the agreement was, Paul Somme! That doesn't mean I don't owe you an apology!" "Uh." "Now look. We don't get along, right?" "Right." That much Paul knew how to deal with. "However, we still owe each other respect, no matter how mean or wussy we think the other is. Right?' "Uh, sure." I nodded. "So I didn't treat you with respect back at the lab. And I'm sorry, although I do still think you could lighten up. Pokemon can only do so much, you know!" "Yeah, so? That doesn't mean I can't push them harder!" "No! You just don't get it!" I shook my head. "You're a trainer, you're supposed to push them! But they need a break every once in a while! You have to get to know your Pokemon so you can tell when they are about ready to break! Now do you see?" "No." I gave up, right then and there. The kid was hopeless! "However." Paul continued, " I do think I know what you're going at." He gave me a funny look. "Do you really think that all I do is push and put down my Pokemon?" "Sure seemed like it to me! And after how you dissed on the Pidgey family so bad, I wouldn't be surprised." Paul shook his head. "No, I don't do that, sorry to ruin your view of me. But I do push them a lot. I have to! After that battle, we have some training to do!" He turned to go, but then thought of something. "You're going in for your Gym badge tomorrow, right?" I looked up in surprise. "Yeah, I'm going up against Jori, Falkner's top trainee." Paul nodded. "Be careful! He has a Spearow, about level 15 last time we talked, and a Delibird." I snorted. "The Spearow might be a problem, but I'll just put Spike up against it. As for the Delibird, they only learn one move on their own. So long as we can dodge it, it won't be a problem." "Don't get cocky, Nicole!" Paul surprised me, so I listened. "The Spearow is the least of your worries! That Delibird knows much more than just Present! Jori taught it Blizzard and Fly too! Oh, and his last Pokemon is a Noctowl, level 20. I would say leave Spike for that one. I'll let you decide on that, though." He turned again. "Just a few tips." "Wait! Why are you telling me this? An hour ago, you would have told me Jori was a piece of cake!" Paul turned and smiled. "Well, yeah, but an hour ago I hadn't lost to you! If Jori beats you, and finds out you beat me, I'll never hear the end of it!" Paul left, and Allie and I had some planning to do. But I was sure I knew how to beat Jori.
"Hey, You there! What are you doing lying around? Ha, I bet you don't even have a badge yet, huh?" That voice was unmistakable. I knew it from the first word it shouted at me, and I didn't like it. Not one bit. "Go away, Paul, before I sic my Pokemon on you." Paul looked over at the four Pokemon playing around a tree. "Hey, you have four Pokemon? Where'd you get a Furret?" Allie sat up and shot Paul an annoyed glance. "That Furret is mine, pea-brain, and I got it from my cousin Whitney." "Yeah, whatever." Paul looked back over at the Pokemon, who had stopped playing to watch us. "Hmm. You still have three Pokemon, though, so. Wanna battle?" I almost had a hernia laughing, because something was just hilarious about that statement. Probably because I knew it was coming, but I couldn't help but remember a fight we'd once had about what training style was better, mine or his. So our parents, in an attempt to keep us from killing each other, gave us each a baby level five Pidgey. We raised them for a week, but were forbidden to fight each other. At the end of a week, our Pokemon were still the same level, so we battled them. Needless to say, my Pidgey and I won the battle. "Are you sure you want to try?" I looked up at Paul and almost died laughing again. I bit it back. "I mean, c'mon, Paul, after that little bout with the Pidgeys? And even after that, you want a battle?" "Yeah! A three - on - three battle! And that battle was rigged! Your Dad made sure you won it, and I know it!" I jumped to my feet. Dad and I may not agree on much, but no one could put him down but me! "You take that back!" Paul smiled. "If you win, I will. But you won't win, so I will have to take my own prize." "And what, per se, is that?" "I want your full apology for how you treated me back at the lab!" When I turned red and was about to say no way, he added, "That, or your Kanaun." "Fine," I growled. "Kanna! Spike! Sprout! Come here, we have a battle to win!"
~*~*~*~*~
It was decided, a three - on - three match, no time limit, being refereed by Allie. We also agreed to play our Pokemon in the order that we caught them, from the newest to the oldest. So Sprout was first out. "You ready, Sprout?" "Bulba!" "Then lets do it!" Paul sent out a Spearow. It looked to be about level ten, not that old either. We should have no major problems with this thing. "Ready!" Allie called, both hands in the air. Paul and I nodded, and she dropped her arms. "Begin!" "Alright, Sprout, start with a Tackle!" "Counter with a Peck! Hey, you gave that thing a name? Names are for wusses!" I smiled. "Not in my mind! They build trust and character in a Pokemon, so all of mine will have names! Now, Poisonpowder!" Spearow had dodged Tackle, and Sprout had dodged Peck, so we were still even. Poisonpowder would change that in our favor. Sprout readied himself for a Poisonpowder while Paul called out to Spearow to dodge it. But Sprout let out such a large cloud of dust so fast, Spearow had no time to move. "Great! Now Tackle it again!" Sprout gained momentum as the dust died down and rammed into Spearow at full force. The hit sent Spearow flying right into Paul, who yelled at it to get up. But it was too weak from the poison, so he was forced to recall it when it didn't get up. "That's one point for me!" I called to Paul as he fished out his next Pokemon. Sprout came running up to me, but he looked tired. "Go ahead and take a good rest, you deserve it! Great job, Sprout!" "Bulbasaur!" I looked up to see a Pineco appear. It looked fresh, but so did Spike. I looked down at him. "Are you ready?" "Pika!" Spike ran out onto the battlefield, once a peaceful park, ready for battle. "Begin!" "Spike, start off with a Quick Attack!" "Use Tackle!" Spike hit Pineco first with a heavy Quick Attack, but it came right back into the fight with a good solid Tackle. I knew Spike would be hard pressed to dodge it, as it was fairly fast. I had to end it as fast as I could. "Thundershock!" Spike charged up for a Thundershock as Paul tried to think of something to counter it with. "Um, Protect!" Spike let lose the biggest Thundershock I'd seen, as Pineco tried to Protect itself. The Thundershock was enough to make Pineco unstable, and try as Paul might, he couldn't keep Pineco from Selfdestructing. "Yes! That's another win! One more, and it'll be a shut-out!" "Pika!" Spike ran towards me and leapt into my arms. "Great job, Spike! That Thundershock was your biggest yet!" "Pika pika! Pikachu!" Spike replied modestly. "Kanaun!" Kanna jumped onto my shoulder and joined in the celebration. "If you could, will you bring out your precious Kanaun and fight us?" I glared at Paul, but did want to finish the fight. "Fine! Ok, Kanna, let's go!" "Aun." Kanna jumped down and prepared herself as Paul's Tyrogue appeared. It was actually fairly large, and looked almost ready to evolve. Darn, it's at least level eighteen! I knew, though, that no matter how tough it was, Kanna was tougher. With Bubblebeam, Headbutt and Bite on our side, we could win it! "Kanna, start off with a Bite!" Kanna leapt into action, letting lose with energy that she only had in battle, and clamped down hard on Tyrogue's left arm. It didn't even flinch! Paul laughed at me. "Tyrogue is a Fighting type, and Bite is a Dark move! Fighting is resistant to Dark! Duh!" He looked at Tyrogue, who was trying to shake it off. "Get rid of it and Tackle!" Tyrogue shook harder and sent Kanna flying. It readied itself, then tore towards my fallen Pokemon. "Kanna, get up!" I screamed. Kanna shook her head and looked up to see the Tyrogue five feet away and closing. With a yelp and speed I thought only Spike had, she got out of the way just in time. As she landed and turned around, Tyrogue flipped a U- turn and came again. Kanna dodged a second time, and by then I'd thought of something. "Knock it off balance with a Water Gun!" A torrent of water came from Kanna's mouth and worked to knock Tyrogue off its feet. It was wet and sore looking when it turned around and used its only attack again. "Alright! Give it a Bubblebeam right between the eyes!" Kanna's attack sent Tyrogue staggering back, and it fell, knocked out, at Paul's feet. Allie raised her hand, then pointed at me. "The match goes to Nicole and Kanaun!" We had won again!
~*~*~*~*~
"Well, Paul?" Paul looked up at me. He'd been staring at his Tyrogue as I walked over to receive my prize. He looked. defeated. "Well, what?" I gave him a look. "I won, so you need to take back what you said about my dad." Now, I don't like the guy, but I'm not heartless, either. I knew his loosing had hit him hard, so I was going to apologize for how I treated him at the lab, anyway. But he had to hold up his end of the deal. "Fine. Your dad didn't rig it. But I still say someone did!" Paul grabbed Tyrogue's Pokeball and recalled him. He was about to go when I put my two cents in. "Fine, you can think that all you want. I don't care, so long as you agree that my parents didn't rig it. Maybe Elm or Kory did, but my parents would rather I loose then build fake confidence. Oh, and, uh, I kinda owe you an apology." I was looking everywhere but at Paul. This was necessary, but not easy. "What? Nicole, you won. You don't have to apologize, because you won. The agreement was I -" "I know what the agreement was, Paul Somme! That doesn't mean I don't owe you an apology!" "Uh." "Now look. We don't get along, right?" "Right." That much Paul knew how to deal with. "However, we still owe each other respect, no matter how mean or wussy we think the other is. Right?' "Uh, sure." I nodded. "So I didn't treat you with respect back at the lab. And I'm sorry, although I do still think you could lighten up. Pokemon can only do so much, you know!" "Yeah, so? That doesn't mean I can't push them harder!" "No! You just don't get it!" I shook my head. "You're a trainer, you're supposed to push them! But they need a break every once in a while! You have to get to know your Pokemon so you can tell when they are about ready to break! Now do you see?" "No." I gave up, right then and there. The kid was hopeless! "However." Paul continued, " I do think I know what you're going at." He gave me a funny look. "Do you really think that all I do is push and put down my Pokemon?" "Sure seemed like it to me! And after how you dissed on the Pidgey family so bad, I wouldn't be surprised." Paul shook his head. "No, I don't do that, sorry to ruin your view of me. But I do push them a lot. I have to! After that battle, we have some training to do!" He turned to go, but then thought of something. "You're going in for your Gym badge tomorrow, right?" I looked up in surprise. "Yeah, I'm going up against Jori, Falkner's top trainee." Paul nodded. "Be careful! He has a Spearow, about level 15 last time we talked, and a Delibird." I snorted. "The Spearow might be a problem, but I'll just put Spike up against it. As for the Delibird, they only learn one move on their own. So long as we can dodge it, it won't be a problem." "Don't get cocky, Nicole!" Paul surprised me, so I listened. "The Spearow is the least of your worries! That Delibird knows much more than just Present! Jori taught it Blizzard and Fly too! Oh, and his last Pokemon is a Noctowl, level 20. I would say leave Spike for that one. I'll let you decide on that, though." He turned again. "Just a few tips." "Wait! Why are you telling me this? An hour ago, you would have told me Jori was a piece of cake!" Paul turned and smiled. "Well, yeah, but an hour ago I hadn't lost to you! If Jori beats you, and finds out you beat me, I'll never hear the end of it!" Paul left, and Allie and I had some planning to do. But I was sure I knew how to beat Jori.