Alone in the clearing where she'd stood earlier that day, Tina was sitting at the base of a great tree when she heard something nearby. Not knowing whom or what would be around, she looked up with tears clouding her brown eyes.
The boy that had caught her on the stairwell just moments ago stood a few steps away on the outskirts of the field. He walked a little closer to the tear-streaked girl, "Excuse me, Miss?" He held out a Pokeball, the one that she'd marked with Loyalty. "Ya dropped this back there."
Tina took the ball and held it close to her, as if it were the greatest gift she'd ever received. "Taja…"
The boy tilted his head to one side, "'Taja'?"
Tina looked up a little more, "She's m-my best friend…" It was right then that she realized exactly who she was talking to. "Y-you're the one th-that caught m-me..." she stammered, still a little upset, then hid her face again.
There was a slight rustling of the grass as he took a seat beside her. "Yeah-hey, are you okay?" As soft as his tone was, Tina couldn't look up. "Told that guy off for ya."
Tina lifted her gaze and wiped her eyes with a sniffle, but didn't look at him. "I don't know why he's so... Just so mean... I never did anything to him..."
"Just another kid with an ego problem, 's my guess. He always picks on ya like that?"
Tina nodded, "But it's usually worse… And even when he leaves me alone, someone else starts... I don't even know what I did…"
"Ya didn' do 'nything, I'm sure." The boy put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Some people 'r just... they just don't like kids who're diff'rent." He smiled a bit as Tina looked up at him. "Tell ya what, though, I'll stick with ya, watch out for ya if I can; how's that sound? They pick on ya, you can come t' me. M'kay?"
The small smile spread to Tina's face. "Do ya promise?"
The boy's grin widened as he nodded, "Can't let 'em pick on such a cute girl, can I?" He stood and dusted himself off, then helped her to her feet. "What's your name?"
"Tina. Tina Oak. And you're...?"
"David Laramie. Nice t' meet ya, Miss Oak." He offered a hand to shake, but much to his surprise, Tina just bypassed the handshake and wrapped herself around him in a hug. She could feel him tense up, a little shocked, but he relaxed and hugged her back. "...Guess we're friends then, huh?"
Tina released her grip as a thought crossed her mind. "Um... Can you do one other... tiny thing for me?"
David cocked his head to the side, curious. "'S long as it ain't illegal, sure."
The young girl let out a small giggle. "It's not! I just wanna learn how to battle."
A look of surprise crossed her new friend's face, "...Never battled b'fore?"
The young student shook her head, her long, chocolate braid swinging this way and that. "It's not covered in the first year course until almost summer, but I wanna learn sooner."
"Hmm…" David shrugged. "Can't see no harm in it… All right," he said with a grin. "Ya wanna give 't a go? I warn ya, mine've been in more'n a few battles; they're gonna be pretty tough for a newbie."
Tina pulled out a Pokeball as she walked to the other side of the field, about 20 feet away, and spun back to look at him. "I might surprise you!"
As he pulled out his own Pokeball and twirled it around on one finger (as if it were a basketball) David laughed, "I just bet ya will! Let's go, then--Moop!"
In a flash of crimson light, a Sandslash took shape at the boy's feet. Tina could tell that it was at a high level by the shine in its eyes and the sharpness of its claws.
She chewed a bit on her thumbnail, trying to remember her lessons and muttering to herself. "…Ok, then," she started as she tossed her ball into the middle of the clearing, "Kezme!"
Just as Moop had appeared, the light faded to reveal Kezme, Tina's Abra. It hovered slightly above the ground, but otherwise appeared to be asleep.
Tina had been expecting David to make a move as soon as she'd called her Pokemon, but the Sandslash stood still; waiting.
"Well, go ahead... It's your first battle. You can have the first move."
Tina thought quickly, trying to remember the move that she always started with in the simulations. "Kezme, use Flash!"
Her opponent just grinned. "Kinda expected that." He seemed to suddenly 'click' into battle mode; a competitive gleam crossed his eye and he issued his command, "Moop, Swift!"
Seemingly unfazed by the brilliant light, Moop responded with a speedy round of stars, ripping though the air toward Kezme.
"Teleport away!"
Kezme was still hit and knocked to the ground by the attack. But immediately afterward, before David could follow-up on it, the Abra appeared to have vanished.
With a laugh, David seemed to switch from opponent to coach. "Good! Just work on 'er speed a little, you'll be able t' avoid that move completely!" Stuck somewhere between the two extremes, or so it seemed to Tina, he continued giving her advice. "An' if ya can't get hit, ain't no way you'll get beaten. But try an' get a hit in, why dontcha?"
It took Tina a few seconds to remember that Kezme even had offensive moves, but she called out the first one that came to mind. "Psybeam attack!"
Leaves and branches were blown back as, from a tree nearby, a ray of psychic energy erupted, speeding toward Moop.
"Moop, burrow underground an' dodge!"
The ever-obedient Sandslash was well underneath the ground before the attack even came close. It struck the dirt hard and left a small area of scorched grass, but didn't cause any damage to its target.
Tina stood confused; that'd never happened in the simulations. "…How'd he do that?"
"'F there's enough stuff in between a Pokemon an' the attack, it don't hit--your Psybeam didn' make it through the ground, 'cause Moop's under deep." Another glimmer shone in his eyes, "Now, Moop, Earthquake!"
Tina gasped slightly and almost fell to her knees as the ground began to quake violently. Kezme was also taken by surprise and tumbled from her perch.
"Try a Recover!" her trainer shouted, seeing the battered Pokemon fall.
"An Abra an' she knows Recover?" David whistled, slightly taken aback by the move. "Good trainin'. Didn' expect that one."
Kezme lifted herself from the ground, surrounded in a barely noticeable blue glow. As the light faded, the Abra was left without a scratch, and there it hovered, waiting for the next command.
Deciding not to waste any time, completely immersed in the moment, Tina called for the next move, "Teleport and Psychic!"
The Abra seemed to disappear, but only for a moment. It reappeared directly behind Sandslash and let loose an onslaught of psychic energy. Moop was hit full-force by the blast and knocked onto his back by the blow.
"Ah, nice shot!" David called to Tina as Moop stood and shook off the hit. He was a little bruised, but not beaten, and far from ready to quit.
"Wha- That was a direct hit!" Tina was caught somewhere between surprise and disbelief. {Usually a Pokemon would be knocked out by that, right?}
"Woulda taken 'im down, but he's used t' battlin', an' he's a higher experience level--trained 'im 'specially for defense. "
"Makes sense, I guess…" Tina took a moment to think, muttering slightly to herself, "What other moves does Kez know... I got it!"
The smile on David's face didn't waver as he waited for the move to be announced. Moop also seemed slightly relaxed, but the move Tina called for put a look of astonishment on both of their faces.
"Kezme, use Metronome!"
Kezme lifted just slightly more off the ground and raised both of her arms above her head. Suddenly, she crossed them in front of her and flew straight at Moop, imitating a Take Down attack.
"Moop, try an' hold on!" David called as his Sandslash was hit.
Moop dug in his heels and tried to whether the impact but was sent soaring by the strike. He landed hard on his back and struggled to stand for a moment.
"Hey, 's all right, bud." David said as he held out his Pokeball. "Return."
Smiling at Tina as he crossed the field, David called to her, "I'd say that's a pretty good first battle, wouldn't ya?"
Tina nodded as she walked toward Kezme, picking up the Abra and giving her a hug. "You did great!" Tina's sleeve was pushed up a bit as she reached into her backpack. She pulled out an apple and handed it to Kezme. "For a well-won first match!"
Realizing that her sleeve had moved, Tina quickly pulled it down and hoped that her new friend hadn't noticed. Apparently, he had…
"What happ'ned to yer wrist?" he asked as he gently pushed her sleeve back up and examined the bandaged hand.
Tina tried to avoid his gaze. "Tyler…That wasn't the first time he pushed me."
David was speechless for a moment. "That li'l'--an' the teachers know?" Tina still avoided eye contact. "Have ya told 'em?"
"They probably know," she bit her lip, "but they don't do anything because of who his parents are..."
Her friend swore under his breath. "Well, I don't give a care who 'is parents are, I'll give 'im a good talkin'-nah, forget that, I'm gonna take this on t' the battlefield."
That got Tina's attention; older students weren't allowed to challenge members of lower classes. "But you can get in real big trouble for that!"
David's tone was grim and serious as he averted his gaze. "Don't care. I'm not too keen on bein' here anyway- I mean, ya know, 'f means that he'll stop pickin' on other kids, I don't care 'f I get in trouble."
"It's ok, the scratches don't hurt anymore. I just wish he wouldn't call me things..."
"He don't have no right t' shove ya or call ya names." He gave her a sidelong glance. "'F ya won't battle 'im, I will, an' put 'im in his place."
"I'll battle him myself… as soon as I'm better at it..." She thought to herself again. "The class tournament is in a few months... Do you think I'll be ready by then?"
David nodded, "'F t'day was really you're first battle... Yeah, easy…" Another brief look of concern flashed over his face. "Sure ya don't want me t' take 'im on? A few months 's a long time t' be takin' abuse, Miss Oak."
Tina nodded again as she gave David another hug, remembering something that her mother had told her when she'd left for school, and that Tsai had once reminded her of.
"There's no such thing as a wrong course, as long as you don't walk it alone," she quoted. "And with Taja, Tsai and Kezme and… and even Rowan, I'm not alone."
"An' me, too," David cut in, making her laugh again. She gave him one last hug before she started to walk back toward the dorms.
"And you, too."
