Shade Fight

"Ugg… we have been walking so long. I thought Christina said Rivet Town was small. Why did her house have to be at the outskirts of Rivet Town?", Brian said. His leg was almost completely healed.

Andy replied, "We're walking to the town square, where all the shops and important stuff are. And that's where the first Noble is too. So stop complaining."

The threesome had been walking for about 2 hours. Surrounding them was a field. Off to the right was the border of the Forbidden Woods.

Brian was still complaining. "I am really bored…I mean really bored…"

Celia spun around. "DON'T YOU THINK WE ARE TOO YOU MORON! BUT DO YOU SEE US COMPLAINING?"

Brian said, "I know! How about we have a practice battle to test out our Pokemon. We've never been in a real, fair Pokemon battle yet."

"Ok, if it will make you shut up." Celia said annoyingly. Brian looked at Andy. Before he could say anything Andy said, "No. I will not battle. I've done some training by myself already. I'll be the referee."

Brian and Celia walked opposite directions for a good length. Then, with a good amount of space for a battle, they started.

"Go Claws!" A Pokeball appeared in Brian's hand. He flung it and it released a white light that materialized into a Linoone. Claws turned around and tried to scratch Brian.

"HEY! STOP! I'm your trainer now!" Claws just sighed and got down into a sleeping position.

"Brian, your Pokemon won't even listen to you. Oh well. Let's go, Pichu!" The tiny yellow and black mouse yelled his cute little battle cry. "Pi Pi Pi Chu!"

"Pichu use Thundershock!" Pichu gathered electricity in its little cheeks. However, it was really inexperienced and it let the charge loose in a random direction. It flopped down onto the floor, tired out.

"Claws, now's your chance! Slash attack!" Claws continued to sleep.

"AAAHHH! CLAWS WAKE UP!" It didn't respond.

"Stupid little…." Brian ran forward and kicked Claws in the behind. Claws turned around with its eyes all red. After a few painful moments, Brian was covered in claw marks.

Celia couldn't help rolling on the floor laughing. She finally got up.

"Pichu, sweet kiss!" Pichu ran forward. There was a faint pink aura around him. He fired a little heart at Claws. Claws saw it and sliced it in 2 and then Growled. That was enough to make Pichu run away and return itself into the Pokedex. Brian, too worn out by Claws's resistance, returned it. Then they both sent out Treecko and Totodile.

"Ok! We have the type advantage! Absorb!" Treecko charged energy in its mouth and fired a green orb and Totodile.

"Dodge and use Bubble!" Totodile ducked, then shot a stream of bubbles at Treecko. It only did slight damage, but Treecko's speed was lowered. And speed was Treecko's best skill.

"Good job Totodile! Use Rage!" Totodile's eyes grew red. It then charged Treecko. Treecko easily dodged it, even with the speed reduction.

"Absorb again!" Treecko fired another green energy blast. It blasted into Totodile, then it healed Treecko to maximum health.

"Treecko, Bullet Seed!" Wave after wave of supereffective energized seeds struck Totodile. She was badly hurt.

"Cmon Totodile! Use Rage again!" Her eyes grew even more red. It charged Treecko, this time with more speed. But again, Treecko dodged. He ricocheted off a small boulder and fired another onslaught of Bullet Seeds. Totodile was getting weaker and weaker. Treecko then burst at Totodile with Quick Attack. He slammed into her, knocking her a few feet back.

"Ok. Third time's the charm. Use Rage again!" Brian thought Why is she doing that?

Totodile's eyes grew blood red. It flung itself at Treecko at a blinding speed and tackled it. Hard. Treecko flew back and rolled for a couple of yards.

Treecko got up. He looked like he didn't know where he was.

"Finish it with Rage!" Totodile's eyes looked like they were on fire. She flew at Treecko, slamming her entire body against him. Treecko was flying for a while before landing with a hard clomp on the grassy field.

"WHAT? TREECKO LOST?" Treecko, with a sling on an arm and a band-aid over its eye, waved a white flag in front of Brian's face.

Andy shook his head. "Lack of knowledge can really kill you."

Brian still looked confused. Celia explained, "Rage attack starts out really weak. Once used, its attack power doubles whenever the user is hit. You hit Totodile 4 times after it used Rage. So the attack power multiplied by 8, enough to knock Treecko's brains out."

Totodile walked back to Celia. She petted it, and Totodile jumped around with joy. Celia started laughing. But then she stopped. Standing behind her was a Shade. His purple cap, black shirt, purple vest and black trousers immediately darkened the mood.

"You three! What is your business here?" Andy spoke up. "We're here to go to the town square." "And what business do you have there?" Andy stopped. Celia said, "Oh… we're going there to check out the shops." The Shade looked at her. He walked up to her and grabbed her hand.

"You're a crafty little one, aren't you?" You think I'd fall for that pathetic excuse?" Celia screamed, "Let go you freak!"

"Freak, am I?" He slapped her across the cheek. She backed up a little bit. Brian charged forward.

"HEY! What do you think you're doing?" The Shade looked at Brian. He knocked him in the jaw. Brian fell down with a clomp next to his Treecko. Suddenly, a blast of fire almost torched the Shade. He turned around to see Andy's Charmander staring at him.

"You know, fistfights are wimpy. If you really are that tough, then beat me in a Pokemon match!"

"Oh you just made a big mistake!" He pulled out a crystal. It shot a beam out that materialized into a Geodude.

Andy pointed the Pokedex on his arm at the Geodude. It scanned the rock-type.

"… … Pokemon: Geodude. Level: 14. High defense and attack… …" Andy grinned. "Easy prey. Charmander! Use Ember!" Charmander charged flame in its mouth. Then three fireballs were hurled at Geodude.

"Defense Curl now!" Geodude rolled up into a ball. The Ember attack bounced right off.

Andy said, "Time to test out our new attack! Use Flare!" Charmander spun around and aimed its tail at Geodude. The flame on the tail grew larger until it burst into a current of fire that knocked the Geodude out in one shot. Charmander looked tired.

"How was that possible?" "That was an attack only Charmander and its evolutions could learn. Flare takes some energy from Charmander. That much energy is doubled, which is then converted into energy in Charmander's tail flame. Then it fires the doubled energy at the opponent. Since your Geodude had a high defense, I decided to make Charmander take off 75 percentof its energy."

The Shade was shocked to see that a kid was beating him. He shook his head, then sent out a Nidorino. Andy took out a berry and popped it in Charmander's mouth. Then Charmander looked much more energized.

"Sitrus berries are very useful." The Shade said, "Horn Attack!" The Nidorino's horn grew white. It then charged Charmander. Charmander jumped over the attack, then fired an Ember attack. It fried Nidorino's back. But then it turned around and rammed its horn into Charmander. He was sent flying back.

"Charmander, use Ember again!" Charmander shot 3 fireballs at Nidorino. It dodged, then jumped. It was right in front of Charmander.

"NOW! Use Flamethrower!" Charmander sucked in a deep breath, then blew a powerful flame blast at Nidorino. It collapsed under the heat.

"NIDORINO! How did you beat him! I am so going to kill you! Go Rhyhorn!"

A stone plated rhinoceros stood on the field.

"… … Opponent stats confirmed. Lv. 21. Extremely high attack and defense… …"

Andy turned around. "Guys, I need a little help here." Celia sent in a semi-tired Totodile while Brian used Claws. When Claws saw the Rhyhorn and the Shade, he basically went into another mode. His hair stiffened. His eyes went red. He was just plain mad.

"Alright Claws! Use-" Claws dashed forward and landed a Slash on Rhyhorn. The attack didn't do much. Rhyhorn reared up and used Stomp. Totodile and Charmander dodged, while Claws rammed into the behemoth again. It still wasn't doing much.

"Totodile, Water Gun!" Totodile shot a stream of water. The supereffective attack landed a hit, sending Rhyhorn skidding a couple feet back. It charged Totodile.

"Charmander, use Ember!" The fireballs bounced right off. Claws jumped onto Rhyhorn's back and slashed at its neck. Rhyhorn felt pain and went crazy. It ran around in circles, trying to shake the Linoone off.

"Totodile, use Water Gun again!" Stream after stream of water hit the Rhyhorn.

"Now, time to shake things up. Rhyhorn, Earthquake!" Rhyhorn jumped into the air, then landed. An immense shockwave rippled through the field, knocking Charmander out and knocking Claws off Rhyhorn.

"Return, Charmander! Go Nidoran!" The purple little creature stared at Rhyhorn. It ran behind Andy's leg.

"Your friends are in danger, Nidoran! Go help them! Use Double Kick!" Nidoran reluctantly ran up to the Rhyhorn and used both its hind legs to kick Rhyhorn in the face. It did moderate damage, since it was a fighting attack.

"Rhyhorn, use Rock Throw!" Big chunks of rock knocked out Nidoran and almost Totodile.

Brian said, "I've got no choice. Treecko, Go!" He sent out a completely weak Treecko. He tossed him a Sitrus berry. After eating it, Treecko felt stronger.

"Alright! Absorb now!" A green energy blast connected with Rhyhorn. The cluster of tiny bubbles of energy returned to Treecko, healing it even more.

"Totodile! Use Water Gun!" "Treecko! Use Bullet Seed!" A repeated wave of Water Guns and Bullet Seeds knocked Rhyhorn farther back. It then flew straight toward Totodile and Treecko. The Horn Attack knocked Treecko back. Totodile blasted a cluster of bubbles at Rhyhorn, doing serious damage. But Rhyhorn charged Totodile again, this time, the attack hit its target.

Treecko and Totodile were getting up slowly.

Celia said to Brian, "Our only hope is a combined attack." Brian nodded.

"Totodile! Use Water Gun at Treecko!" "Treecko! Fire Bullet Seed in the air!"

Totodile shot Water Gun at Treecko from an angle. Treecko flew into the air. It launched a wave of Bullet Seed at Rhyhorn. The attack connected, sending Rhyhorn further back. Totodile was still firing a continuous stream of water at Rhyhorn. Then it shook off the attack and charged Totodile. She leaped out of the way in time.

Treecko spun his body around and around, giving the Pound attack more and more momentum. Then, when he came down, he flung his tail with the strongest push he had onto Rhyhorn's face. The tremendously powerful combo attack slammed Rhyhorn to the ground, finally defeating it.

"Alright!" Brian and Celia jumped in celebration. But something was happening to the Shade. A dark aura surrounded him. Then all his black and purple uniform burned off, revealing a young man dressed in a red shirt and overalls in his early 20's.

"When we defeated him we must have freed him!" The former Shade looked around and saw Brian, Celia, and Andy.

"I thank you three for freeing me from the bottom of my heart. His defeated Pokemon looked up with gratitude too.

"Just a small gift for you." He handed them some cash. He returned all his Pokemon.

Brian sat down. "Wow. That was a tough battle." The farmer looked at him. "But you won. I take it you guys are going to find a way in the Castle? Well, you can know that you've got an ally now! I'm gonna help you in any way I can, by beating any and every Shade that I meet!. Once again, thanks! Goodbye!"

It was nighttime, and the three had set up camp. They each had a sleeping bag that Christina's husband gave them. Brian and Celia ate their sandwiches while reflecting on the battle earlier in the day. Andy ate his alone. After they were done, they sat around their campfire. Brian had tried to light a fire about 10 times before Charmander torched him in the butt and lighted it for him.

Celia spoke up. "I've been thinking. About nicknames. You know, for our Pokemon."

Brian said, "That's a great idea!" Andy replied, "Sure…whatever."

"Well, I'm naming Totodile Kroc, and Pichu Flash." She released her Pokemon and they seemed satisfied with their new names.

"I'm gonna call Treecko Annoying Butthead." Treecko Pounded him on the head.

"Fine, fine. I'll call you…Zeck." Andy threw in a comment. "What kind of name is Zeck?" Celia defended him. "He can name his Pokemon whatever he thinks fits." Treecko, now Zeck, nodded his head in agreement.

"And Claws already has a nickname." Claws tried scratching Brian again. Brian started running in circles around the campfire trying to avoid Claws.

Celia spoke. "What about your Pokemon, Andy?" He thought for a moment. "Charmander will be Blaze, and Nidoran will be Nidor. Happy?" "Why yes I am."

With new names for their Pokemon and a few scratch marks for Brian, the heroes and their Pokemon went to sleep after a very tiring, yet productive, day..