Andy walked with a hop in his step for the first time since…he couldn't
even remember. Maybe it was nerves. Maybe it was excitement. Maybe it
was his lunch disagreeing with him. Whatever it was, it made him feel
different…and different was definitely good.
"I wish I had a bigger Pokemart." He said…to his pocket. His Omanyte was in there, of course…safe and sound…and Andy didn't even know if he could hear anything in his Pokeball, but he talked anyway. "I never bothered to get any balls in stock, so we have to go buy…oh crap." Andy was thinking about how easy it would be to just run back to his own small Pokemart (more a shack with some potions than anything else) than to have to buy them from the mart here in Pewter, when he stopped dead in his tracks. Buying things requires money. A commodity that he was very short on at the time. He could attempt to sell back his stock of Potions and Antidotes and such that he had at his own place…but he'd get less than what he paid for them, and he'd be needing them in the future anyway. He could go back and mind the shop for a few days and hope for a few customers…but that would be maddening. Or… "Or we could battle." He said. It was customary for trainers to place a small wager on informal Pokemon battles, around these parts anyway. "But what can you do? I can't figure it out without a Pokedex….I can't get a Pokedex without going to Pallet...I can't get to Pallet without going through Viridian, and I can't do that without Pokeballs or some attacks for you…which I can't get without money…"
"…which you can't get without battling."
Andy whirled around to see who had been eavesdropping on him. Right beside him stood a relatively young man, at least a few years younger than Andy. His hair was darker and longer than Andy's, and he was a good few inches taller.
"Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear. I think I can help you." The young man spoke. He carried himself with a tremendous amount of confidence, and Andy was a little intimidated by this.
"Hey, thanks…but uh…I don't know what…how…I don't really know how to battle, you know?"
"Well, I can help you there too. I'm Lance, by the way."
"Andy." He reached out to shake Lance's extended hand, and was quite surprised by the firmness of his grip. He pulled away, and reached for his Pokeball.
"Okay, so what do you have here?" he asked, as Andy tossed the ball on the ground. The Pokeball hit the soft dirt of the path with a quiet thump, and in a blue burst of light, released the Omanyte. "Whoa…Omanyte."
"AMANAMA!" the snail-like creature excitedly spoke, as it tried to reach up and grab Andy's hand again.
"Omanyte, this is Lance. He's going to help us learn to battle!" Andy said to his bulge-eyed friend.
"Ahmmmm" it said, and turned to face Lance.
"I've always wondered about these guys. I read about them in school. There were rumors that a few of these and some Kabuto were still around. In non-fossilized form, I mean. I have an old amber from an Aerodactyl at my apartment. Wow. Where did you find it?"
"He was in my shop, under the floor."
"So you haven't had him long, I assume."
"About an hour."
Lance laughed. "And you don't know what level it's at, or what attacks it knows."
"nope..."
"Well th…"
"WAIT! I do know one! Nurse Joy said it had used Withdraw!"
"Okay, that's a start. Give it a command."
"…..."
"Say 'Omanyte, Withdraw.'"
"Oh. Okay, Omanyte, Withdraw."
The slimy blue creature hurriedly retreated into its shell, so that only a little bit of its two 'arm-like' tentacles could be seen.
"Cool!" Andy said. "What's that do?"
"That raises his defense. When he comes out, it'll be tougher for your opponent to hurt it in battles. It only works against physical moves though."
"Physical moves?"
"You'll find out more about this as you battle more. You're really that new at this?"
"yeah…I've been a Pokemon…...I've been a Pokemon Trainer…" God, that sounded weird. "…For as long as I've had my Omanyte here."
"Well, let's see if it knows anything else. I know from reading about these that they lived in caves under the ocean, and it certainly looks like a water-type, so lets see if it knows any water moves. Try a Water Gun."
"Just…say it?"
"Like you did with Withdraw."
"Omanyte..Water Gun?"
Omanyte came back out of its shell, cocked its head slightly, and wiggled its arms around a little.
"Uh, Water Gun?"
The Omanyte tilted its head back the other way, wiggled its arms again, and started dragging itself over towards Andy.
"Withdraw?"
This time the Omanyte stopped in its tracks and scurried back into its shell.
"I don't think it knows that."
"No…I don't think so either. What was it doing with its arms though?" queried Lance, as he squatted down to get a better look at the Pokemon, still withdrawn into its shell.
"I don't know…"
"Withdraw isn't going to help you much. It's only defensive. I hope this thing knows some offensive moves…"
"AHM!" it said as it poked its head back out of the shell.
"…because if this is a water type, and it knows a good water move, you could take on Flint. He runs the gym here in Pewter. He's tough, but he only uses Rock types, so Water works really well against him."
"mmmmm" the Omanyte mumbled as it scrunched itself up.
"What's it doing?" Andy asked.
"I…I don't know." Replied Lance as they both stared at the Omanyte. The Pokemon was intently focusing on something, and it was almost shaking with concentration….
"Omanyte?" asked Andy, checking to see if it was all right.
"mmmmmmmMMMM!" It lifted its front tentacles…and a small bubble popped out.
"Gas?!" questioned Andy.
"Bubble." Lance laughed as he spoke. "It's a weak water attack, but it's at least something." The Omanyte looked very proud of iteself. "Not enough to battle Ol' Flint, but you could at least fight bugs and whatnot with it."
"Omanyte! Bubble!" Andy had a giant smile on his face as he spoke. The Omanyte (with much less stress, now that it was a command from his trainer) released a stream of a few bubbles out into the air, then poked at them as they floated around him. "Cool!"
"Yeah. Well, I wish I could stay, but I'm off to train for the Indigo Pokemon League. I won the tournament last year, and this year they say the Elite Four are going to be there to watch me. I need to really impress them. It was great meeting you though. Good luck to you two."
"Thank you so much, Lance."
"Hey, no problem. I wish I had some low-level Pokemon that were weak to water. I'd help get you some training. I have a Charmeleon, but it'd be a bit too tough for your little guy there."
"No, you've helped us out enough. Don't worry about it." Andy waved goodbye as Lance walked off into the afternoon sunset, tossing his jacket around his shoulders as though it were a cape.
"Next time I see you, we'll.….." Lance shouted as he turned back around to see Andy running to the path that led to Mount Moon, Pokeball in hand. "…battle." He turned back around and picked up his own pace.
"I wish I had a bigger Pokemart." He said…to his pocket. His Omanyte was in there, of course…safe and sound…and Andy didn't even know if he could hear anything in his Pokeball, but he talked anyway. "I never bothered to get any balls in stock, so we have to go buy…oh crap." Andy was thinking about how easy it would be to just run back to his own small Pokemart (more a shack with some potions than anything else) than to have to buy them from the mart here in Pewter, when he stopped dead in his tracks. Buying things requires money. A commodity that he was very short on at the time. He could attempt to sell back his stock of Potions and Antidotes and such that he had at his own place…but he'd get less than what he paid for them, and he'd be needing them in the future anyway. He could go back and mind the shop for a few days and hope for a few customers…but that would be maddening. Or… "Or we could battle." He said. It was customary for trainers to place a small wager on informal Pokemon battles, around these parts anyway. "But what can you do? I can't figure it out without a Pokedex….I can't get a Pokedex without going to Pallet...I can't get to Pallet without going through Viridian, and I can't do that without Pokeballs or some attacks for you…which I can't get without money…"
"…which you can't get without battling."
Andy whirled around to see who had been eavesdropping on him. Right beside him stood a relatively young man, at least a few years younger than Andy. His hair was darker and longer than Andy's, and he was a good few inches taller.
"Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear. I think I can help you." The young man spoke. He carried himself with a tremendous amount of confidence, and Andy was a little intimidated by this.
"Hey, thanks…but uh…I don't know what…how…I don't really know how to battle, you know?"
"Well, I can help you there too. I'm Lance, by the way."
"Andy." He reached out to shake Lance's extended hand, and was quite surprised by the firmness of his grip. He pulled away, and reached for his Pokeball.
"Okay, so what do you have here?" he asked, as Andy tossed the ball on the ground. The Pokeball hit the soft dirt of the path with a quiet thump, and in a blue burst of light, released the Omanyte. "Whoa…Omanyte."
"AMANAMA!" the snail-like creature excitedly spoke, as it tried to reach up and grab Andy's hand again.
"Omanyte, this is Lance. He's going to help us learn to battle!" Andy said to his bulge-eyed friend.
"Ahmmmm" it said, and turned to face Lance.
"I've always wondered about these guys. I read about them in school. There were rumors that a few of these and some Kabuto were still around. In non-fossilized form, I mean. I have an old amber from an Aerodactyl at my apartment. Wow. Where did you find it?"
"He was in my shop, under the floor."
"So you haven't had him long, I assume."
"About an hour."
Lance laughed. "And you don't know what level it's at, or what attacks it knows."
"nope..."
"Well th…"
"WAIT! I do know one! Nurse Joy said it had used Withdraw!"
"Okay, that's a start. Give it a command."
"…..."
"Say 'Omanyte, Withdraw.'"
"Oh. Okay, Omanyte, Withdraw."
The slimy blue creature hurriedly retreated into its shell, so that only a little bit of its two 'arm-like' tentacles could be seen.
"Cool!" Andy said. "What's that do?"
"That raises his defense. When he comes out, it'll be tougher for your opponent to hurt it in battles. It only works against physical moves though."
"Physical moves?"
"You'll find out more about this as you battle more. You're really that new at this?"
"yeah…I've been a Pokemon…...I've been a Pokemon Trainer…" God, that sounded weird. "…For as long as I've had my Omanyte here."
"Well, let's see if it knows anything else. I know from reading about these that they lived in caves under the ocean, and it certainly looks like a water-type, so lets see if it knows any water moves. Try a Water Gun."
"Just…say it?"
"Like you did with Withdraw."
"Omanyte..Water Gun?"
Omanyte came back out of its shell, cocked its head slightly, and wiggled its arms around a little.
"Uh, Water Gun?"
The Omanyte tilted its head back the other way, wiggled its arms again, and started dragging itself over towards Andy.
"Withdraw?"
This time the Omanyte stopped in its tracks and scurried back into its shell.
"I don't think it knows that."
"No…I don't think so either. What was it doing with its arms though?" queried Lance, as he squatted down to get a better look at the Pokemon, still withdrawn into its shell.
"I don't know…"
"Withdraw isn't going to help you much. It's only defensive. I hope this thing knows some offensive moves…"
"AHM!" it said as it poked its head back out of the shell.
"…because if this is a water type, and it knows a good water move, you could take on Flint. He runs the gym here in Pewter. He's tough, but he only uses Rock types, so Water works really well against him."
"mmmmm" the Omanyte mumbled as it scrunched itself up.
"What's it doing?" Andy asked.
"I…I don't know." Replied Lance as they both stared at the Omanyte. The Pokemon was intently focusing on something, and it was almost shaking with concentration….
"Omanyte?" asked Andy, checking to see if it was all right.
"mmmmmmmMMMM!" It lifted its front tentacles…and a small bubble popped out.
"Gas?!" questioned Andy.
"Bubble." Lance laughed as he spoke. "It's a weak water attack, but it's at least something." The Omanyte looked very proud of iteself. "Not enough to battle Ol' Flint, but you could at least fight bugs and whatnot with it."
"Omanyte! Bubble!" Andy had a giant smile on his face as he spoke. The Omanyte (with much less stress, now that it was a command from his trainer) released a stream of a few bubbles out into the air, then poked at them as they floated around him. "Cool!"
"Yeah. Well, I wish I could stay, but I'm off to train for the Indigo Pokemon League. I won the tournament last year, and this year they say the Elite Four are going to be there to watch me. I need to really impress them. It was great meeting you though. Good luck to you two."
"Thank you so much, Lance."
"Hey, no problem. I wish I had some low-level Pokemon that were weak to water. I'd help get you some training. I have a Charmeleon, but it'd be a bit too tough for your little guy there."
"No, you've helped us out enough. Don't worry about it." Andy waved goodbye as Lance walked off into the afternoon sunset, tossing his jacket around his shoulders as though it were a cape.
"Next time I see you, we'll.….." Lance shouted as he turned back around to see Andy running to the path that led to Mount Moon, Pokeball in hand. "…battle." He turned back around and picked up his own pace.