-part 3-
"I may have jus' receive my starter Pokemon, but I jus' catch another one too, that is why I agree to two battles," Monique explained. She enlarged a Pokeball and quickly kissed it before cocking her arm to toss it. "Salameche, allons-y!"
'Did she say SALAMENCE?' Zack thought, worriedly. 'How could she get a Salamence so soon?' He'd heard of the Hoenn-native Dragon Pokemon, but had never seen one in person. However, what materialized from the Pokeball wasn't a Salamence, but a Charmander.
Noticing Zack's confusion, Monique apologized. "Oh, I'm sorry. I keep forgetting I have to battle in English now. Salameche is French name for Charmander." Her Charmander struck a cute pose, flexing its arm muscles.
Zack smiled and pulled out his own Pokeball. "Well, you're in for a tough fight, cause Squirtle, I choose you!" With an enthusiastic shout, the blue turtle Pokemon emerged, ready to battle. "OK Squirtle, this shouldn't be too hard, but don't get overconfident. We don't know what Monique has planned. Now start off with your Water Gun!" Squirtle obediently took a deep breath and shot a jet of water out of its mouth.
"Salameche, use Double Team!" ordered Monique. Before the stream of water could reach the little Fire-type, it seemed to split into many copies that surrounded Squirtle. Confused, the turtle Pokemon looked around, not sure what to do, while Charmander continued to create its illusionary copies.
'Wow, I wasn't expecting a Double Team from another beginning trainer.' Zack thought. Aloud he said, "Squirtle, you've gotta concentrate! Charmander's counting on you to get confused and give it the chance to attack! If you concentrate hard enough, you can find the real Charmander!" Squirtle closed its eyes and focused all its energy on trying to track Charmander's lightning quick movements to keep the Double Team going. After a moment, it was successful. Opening its eyes again, it shot a full-force Water Gun at one of the clones, who just happened to be standing right in front of Monique. The girl saw the attack coming and twisted away just in time to avoid the spray, as the real Charmander was hit by the water.
"Charmander, we can still win this! Try your Scratch attack!" Monique cried. Finally managing to dive free of the Water Gun, Charmander rolled, got to its feet, and raised a paw, poised for a Scratch...then fainted. The hard, continuous stream of water had proven too much for the little Fire-type, and it simply didn't have the energy to attack.
"Charmander is unable to battle. Squirtle is the winner!" Karen announced.
Zack ran up to congratulate Squirtle. "Wow, Squirtle, you did a great job! You focused and saw through that Double Team like a real pro!" Squirtle made a happy exclamation in response. Monique reassured her fallen Charmander in French that it had done a good job, then recalled it. "Monique, how'd you teach Double Team to your Charmander so quickly? I know not many rookie trainers have a move like that on their Pokemon, I sure don't."
"Mon pere...I mean, my father gave it to me as gift before I leave on my journey," Monique responded.
"Wow, that was a nice gift. TMs like that are expensive."
"Yes...and I appreciate what he did for me. So, Karen, are you ready for our battle now?"
"Sure thing!" Karen replied. "But I hope you aren't going to use Charmander, it looked like it could use a rest."
"No...I DID say I caught two Pokemon." Monique smiled.
"All right then, let's get to it!" said Karen. She traded places with her brother, with Zack serving as the referee for this match. When they were in position, Karen pulled out a Pokeball. "It's my turn to make the first move now, so Caterpie, come on out!"
Watching the Bug-type materialize, Monique shook her head in amusement. "This is a...what is English word...coincidence. Your new Bug Pokemon against mine. Don't worry, I don't call this one by its French name. I am trying to get used to English names." She pulled another Pokeball from her pocket and tossed it. "Weedle, allons-y!"
"A Weedle, huh?" said Karen. "This should be interesting."
"OK, Weedle, start with Poison Sting!" Monique exclaimed.
"Ha! Not so fast!" Karen retorted. "Caterpie, wrap up its stinger with your String Shot!"
Weedle lowered its head and began firing little poison pins from its stinger. Caterpie dodged a few of them, faked left, then shot a sticky string from its mouth that quickly wrapped around the opponent's stinger.
"Quoi...?" Monique was surprised, she didn't see that one coming. Weedle's best attack was now effectively neutralized.
"Caterpie, Tackle attack!"
"Ah...Weedle, try your own String Shot!" Off-balance from the ball of string on its head, Weedle struggled to take aim at the charging Caterpie, but couldn't focus. Caterpie knocked into it with a Tackle, sending it reeling. "Weedle! Peut-tu batailler?" asked Monique, wondering if it could still battle. The little Bug/Poison type struggled to right itself and shake off the string. "That's it Weedle, you can do it! Try Poison Sting again!" Weedle tried to aim its stinger at Caterpie again, but some of the string was still stuck on it. It fired off a few pins, which Caterpie easily dodged.
"Caterpie, one more Tackle should do it!" Karen encouraged. Caterpie obediently charged in again, knocking Weedle back to land at Monique's feet. This time, it didn't try to get up.
Zack whistled, earning a jealous glance from Karen who, despite her best efforts, was never able to do it. He pointed to Weedle, palm out, with his left hand, and then pointed his right index finger at Caterpie. "Weedle is unable to battle. Caterpie wins!"
"This was a great job for your first match, Weedle. I am proud of you. Return." Monique recalled the little Bug/Poison type.
Karen had similar congratulations for Caterpie, except hers were more celebratory. She held the worm Pokemon up triumphantly and spun around. "We won our first match against another trainer!" She was quickly interrupted though, by Monique standing seriously in front of her and Zack.
Monique spoke slowly, obviously trying hard to find the right English words to express herself. "I understand now that there are many trainers out there more skillful than me. I thank you for this experience. You taught me the importance of training hard and loving your Pokemon as friends." The twins thanked the girl for the match, and the three shook hands. "I should go now," said Monique. "I want to heal my Pokemon and then train some more in the forest here. I hope I see you again sometime."
"Hey, maybe we can do more than just hope," said Karen, who suddenly remembered something. "Zack, didn't Professor Oak say that our PokeNav records information about trainers we meet?"
"Right, said Zack, unzipping a pocket of his backpack and pulling out the device. "Monique, you wouldn't happen to have one of these too, do you?"
"Ah, oui," said the French girl, producing one from her jeans pocket. Zack and Monique clicked the devices on. They instantly made a wireless connection, and exchanged the required information.
"There," said Zack. "We're added to each other's address books. Now we can keep in contact."
"Sure, I like making new friends," agreed Monique.
So with that, the twins said their goodbyes to their new friend, and continued on. Karen was still excited over winning her first match with Caterpie. She knew that Caterpie evolved quickly, and hoped that hers would soon. She really wanted it to reach its full potential, and as she had mentioned, Butterfree was one of her favorite Pokemon. Zack was proud of his Squirtle's performance as well, but they were getting close to Viridian City now, and the closer they drew, the more worried he became about what Team Rocket might have in store for them in the Viridian Forest. If he only knew...
"I may have jus' receive my starter Pokemon, but I jus' catch another one too, that is why I agree to two battles," Monique explained. She enlarged a Pokeball and quickly kissed it before cocking her arm to toss it. "Salameche, allons-y!"
'Did she say SALAMENCE?' Zack thought, worriedly. 'How could she get a Salamence so soon?' He'd heard of the Hoenn-native Dragon Pokemon, but had never seen one in person. However, what materialized from the Pokeball wasn't a Salamence, but a Charmander.
Noticing Zack's confusion, Monique apologized. "Oh, I'm sorry. I keep forgetting I have to battle in English now. Salameche is French name for Charmander." Her Charmander struck a cute pose, flexing its arm muscles.
Zack smiled and pulled out his own Pokeball. "Well, you're in for a tough fight, cause Squirtle, I choose you!" With an enthusiastic shout, the blue turtle Pokemon emerged, ready to battle. "OK Squirtle, this shouldn't be too hard, but don't get overconfident. We don't know what Monique has planned. Now start off with your Water Gun!" Squirtle obediently took a deep breath and shot a jet of water out of its mouth.
"Salameche, use Double Team!" ordered Monique. Before the stream of water could reach the little Fire-type, it seemed to split into many copies that surrounded Squirtle. Confused, the turtle Pokemon looked around, not sure what to do, while Charmander continued to create its illusionary copies.
'Wow, I wasn't expecting a Double Team from another beginning trainer.' Zack thought. Aloud he said, "Squirtle, you've gotta concentrate! Charmander's counting on you to get confused and give it the chance to attack! If you concentrate hard enough, you can find the real Charmander!" Squirtle closed its eyes and focused all its energy on trying to track Charmander's lightning quick movements to keep the Double Team going. After a moment, it was successful. Opening its eyes again, it shot a full-force Water Gun at one of the clones, who just happened to be standing right in front of Monique. The girl saw the attack coming and twisted away just in time to avoid the spray, as the real Charmander was hit by the water.
"Charmander, we can still win this! Try your Scratch attack!" Monique cried. Finally managing to dive free of the Water Gun, Charmander rolled, got to its feet, and raised a paw, poised for a Scratch...then fainted. The hard, continuous stream of water had proven too much for the little Fire-type, and it simply didn't have the energy to attack.
"Charmander is unable to battle. Squirtle is the winner!" Karen announced.
Zack ran up to congratulate Squirtle. "Wow, Squirtle, you did a great job! You focused and saw through that Double Team like a real pro!" Squirtle made a happy exclamation in response. Monique reassured her fallen Charmander in French that it had done a good job, then recalled it. "Monique, how'd you teach Double Team to your Charmander so quickly? I know not many rookie trainers have a move like that on their Pokemon, I sure don't."
"Mon pere...I mean, my father gave it to me as gift before I leave on my journey," Monique responded.
"Wow, that was a nice gift. TMs like that are expensive."
"Yes...and I appreciate what he did for me. So, Karen, are you ready for our battle now?"
"Sure thing!" Karen replied. "But I hope you aren't going to use Charmander, it looked like it could use a rest."
"No...I DID say I caught two Pokemon." Monique smiled.
"All right then, let's get to it!" said Karen. She traded places with her brother, with Zack serving as the referee for this match. When they were in position, Karen pulled out a Pokeball. "It's my turn to make the first move now, so Caterpie, come on out!"
Watching the Bug-type materialize, Monique shook her head in amusement. "This is a...what is English word...coincidence. Your new Bug Pokemon against mine. Don't worry, I don't call this one by its French name. I am trying to get used to English names." She pulled another Pokeball from her pocket and tossed it. "Weedle, allons-y!"
"A Weedle, huh?" said Karen. "This should be interesting."
"OK, Weedle, start with Poison Sting!" Monique exclaimed.
"Ha! Not so fast!" Karen retorted. "Caterpie, wrap up its stinger with your String Shot!"
Weedle lowered its head and began firing little poison pins from its stinger. Caterpie dodged a few of them, faked left, then shot a sticky string from its mouth that quickly wrapped around the opponent's stinger.
"Quoi...?" Monique was surprised, she didn't see that one coming. Weedle's best attack was now effectively neutralized.
"Caterpie, Tackle attack!"
"Ah...Weedle, try your own String Shot!" Off-balance from the ball of string on its head, Weedle struggled to take aim at the charging Caterpie, but couldn't focus. Caterpie knocked into it with a Tackle, sending it reeling. "Weedle! Peut-tu batailler?" asked Monique, wondering if it could still battle. The little Bug/Poison type struggled to right itself and shake off the string. "That's it Weedle, you can do it! Try Poison Sting again!" Weedle tried to aim its stinger at Caterpie again, but some of the string was still stuck on it. It fired off a few pins, which Caterpie easily dodged.
"Caterpie, one more Tackle should do it!" Karen encouraged. Caterpie obediently charged in again, knocking Weedle back to land at Monique's feet. This time, it didn't try to get up.
Zack whistled, earning a jealous glance from Karen who, despite her best efforts, was never able to do it. He pointed to Weedle, palm out, with his left hand, and then pointed his right index finger at Caterpie. "Weedle is unable to battle. Caterpie wins!"
"This was a great job for your first match, Weedle. I am proud of you. Return." Monique recalled the little Bug/Poison type.
Karen had similar congratulations for Caterpie, except hers were more celebratory. She held the worm Pokemon up triumphantly and spun around. "We won our first match against another trainer!" She was quickly interrupted though, by Monique standing seriously in front of her and Zack.
Monique spoke slowly, obviously trying hard to find the right English words to express herself. "I understand now that there are many trainers out there more skillful than me. I thank you for this experience. You taught me the importance of training hard and loving your Pokemon as friends." The twins thanked the girl for the match, and the three shook hands. "I should go now," said Monique. "I want to heal my Pokemon and then train some more in the forest here. I hope I see you again sometime."
"Hey, maybe we can do more than just hope," said Karen, who suddenly remembered something. "Zack, didn't Professor Oak say that our PokeNav records information about trainers we meet?"
"Right, said Zack, unzipping a pocket of his backpack and pulling out the device. "Monique, you wouldn't happen to have one of these too, do you?"
"Ah, oui," said the French girl, producing one from her jeans pocket. Zack and Monique clicked the devices on. They instantly made a wireless connection, and exchanged the required information.
"There," said Zack. "We're added to each other's address books. Now we can keep in contact."
"Sure, I like making new friends," agreed Monique.
So with that, the twins said their goodbyes to their new friend, and continued on. Karen was still excited over winning her first match with Caterpie. She knew that Caterpie evolved quickly, and hoped that hers would soon. She really wanted it to reach its full potential, and as she had mentioned, Butterfree was one of her favorite Pokemon. Zack was proud of his Squirtle's performance as well, but they were getting close to Viridian City now, and the closer they drew, the more worried he became about what Team Rocket might have in store for them in the Viridian Forest. If he only knew...