Chapter 4: The Origin of Battling

It had been at least two hours since Julia began her journey, and she only managed to make it as far as the end of the path leading to a cave. Caves were dark and scary, and probably full of dangerous pokemon she wasn't sure she could handle. Since her legs were getting tired from too much walking, she decided to sit down on a nearby rock and take a break. Her feet were beginning to throb, so being able to stretch her legs out and fold them felt like heaven.

Then a thought popped up in her head. Her pokemon might be hungry by now. She was sure she had a bag of pokemon food stuffed in her new bag. Hikaru sat next to her, happily playing with some tiny rocks that happened to be nearby. She looked down at the PokeBall in her hand, the one she used to catch a pidgey with. She hadn't had the time to check its gender nor its attacks, but a name hatched in her head already. She pulled out a feather sticker and pressed it on the PokeBall, using her mechanical pencil to write a name on it.

"Tsubasa," She murmured before nodding. Tsubasa was a name she found on the internet. It was an ancient word that meant wings. What could be better to describe a flying type pokemon? "It's perfect!" Looking down at Hikaru, she asked, "Hey, Hikaru. Are you hungry?"

Hikaru looked up at her with its usual wide eyed stare, those huge eyes full of youth and curiosity. "Pichu," Hikaru shook her head, but the rumbling coming from her stomach begged to differ.

Julia stifled a laugh. "It's okay. I have plenty of pokemon food for everyone," She pulled out her PokeBalls and let everyone out, including the pidgey she caught. The one she named Tsubasa.

Tsubasa was a small bird pokemon, with cream and light brown fur, fierce black eyes, sharp pink talons, and a matching beak that curled slightly at the end. Julia smiled upon seeing her. Oddly enough, whereas everyone else was still chipper and jovial even from the walking they did, Tsubasa always seemed to have an annoyed expression about her.

"Everyone! I'd like you all to meet the newest member of our family, Tsubasa the pidgey!" Julia introduced her friends to their newest addition. Tsubasa simply turned her head away. "Oh! Sorry! I'm Julia. You don't mind if we call you Tsubasa, do you?"

"Coo coo," Tsubasa replied tersely.

"Pichu!" With a bright, welcoming smile, Hikaru moseyed over to Tsubasa and extended a hand out. "Pichu pichu!" She squeaked. Tsubasa gave her a stern, annoyed look, extending one of her wings out before suddenly...slapping Hikaru's hand away with it. "Chuu!" Hikaru cried, holding her hand. Tsubasa simply turned her head away.

"Hey! That's not nice!" Julia scolded. Tsubasa didn't even react. "You should say you're sorry."

"Coo!" Tsubasa chirped, turning around in order to avert their gaze.

This was a first. All of the pokemon she dealt with were pleasant and well behaved. Perhaps Tsubasa just needed some time. Some friendships don't always happen right away, and she knew she would have to deal with some slightly stand-offish pokemon some time. She kneeled down to Hikaru's level and examined her hand. "Sorry about that, Hikaru. Are you okay?"

"Pichu!"

"Glad to hear it. I'll bet you're all hungry, so it's lunch time now!" Julia unzipped her bag and pulled out a bag of pokemon food. The next thing she needed was something like a bowl to pour it in. She rummaged through her bag once more. All she found her clothes, her PokeGear, her PokeDex, her trainer ID, her ATM card, and other essentials. No bowl. "Oh no! I didn't get a bowl! Awww!" Julia let out a drawn out groan, kicking herself for her carelessness.

She wished she had gotten one at the PokeMart when she had the chance. The next town over was at least half an hour away on foot, and as much as she'd like to just deal with the hunger herself, she wasn't sure about her pokemon. Then again, pokemon normally find food for themselves. With a sigh, she opened the bag and poured a small amount of it on the dirt. "I don't have any bowls, so you're all going to have to share it," She told them ruefully. "And don't eat too much all at once."

The pokemon gathered around the food, happily chomping it down. She made sure to pour enough for them to eat, but not too much so as to completely empty the entire bag. She knew she had to be frugal and use as little as possible so as to save it for later, in case of dire emergencies. If they could get to the next town, she could get the chance to buy some bowls for them to use and get some food for herself at the Pokemon Center. Her stomach growled with an intense roar, begging for food. She didn't pack any food for herself, but she figured she could deal with it for a while.

After a while, the pokemon finished eating. Julia could tell they were ready to head out again. "Is everyone ready to go?" Her friends replied with cries and chirrups. Julia flung her bag over her back but noticed someone was missing. "Where's Tsubasa?"

The pokemon looked around. She was right. Tsubasa was gone. In an instant, a giant hand called worry clasped tight around her heart, trapping it inside and refusing to let it go. "Oh no!" Her hands flew to the sides of her head. "Oh no! Oh no! Oh no oh no oh no oh no!" All kinds of horrible scenarios were running through her mind.

What if something happened to Tsubasa? What if she got hurt? Kidnapped? Or even killed by poachers? She had to find her at any cost. She didn't know what she'd do if she lost any of her precious friends.

"Everyone! Tsubasa's missing and we have to find her! Let's split up and search the area!" She commanded.

On cue, her pokemon scuttled about the area to look for the pidgey. Even Papillon, who normally sits still, bounced off to try and find the bird pokemon. Julia walked around, calling Tsubasa's name on foot.

"Tsubasaaaaaa! Tsubasaaaaa! Where are you?!" She called and called, but no response.

"Pichuuuuuu!"

"Mariiiiiill!"

"Sentreeeeeeet!" Neji stood on his tail like any other sentret would, which helped him see a long way.

For a moment, Julia was sure Tsubasa was gone. All of a sudden, a tornado of wind suddenly spiraled up from a few feet away. It was a gust attack. Hikaru's diamond shaped ears picked it up. She and Julia ran to the source of the gust. As soon as they got there, the tiny tornado dissipated, revealing a slew of injured pokemon such as rattata, caterpie, a hairy yellow bug with a horn on its head, a giant ladybug, and a small plant with a yellow bell shaped head and a pink mouth.

There was Tsubasa, flapping her wings, letting out a hearty laugh.

"Tsubasa!" Julia stomped over to the bird with an angry expression. "You didn't just attack those pokemon, did you?!"

"Coo!"

Julia took that as a yes. "You can't just go up to random pokemon and attack them like that!"

"Coo coo coo!" ("Yes I can!")

That statement left her dumbfounded. Did this little pidgey just backtalk her? Already she began wondering if she had a rebellious little bird on her hands. But she needed to keep her cool. A good trainer never let their pokemon walk all over them.

She crossed her arms, stomped her foot once, pointed her finger at Tsubasa, and said, "Tsubasa Parisa! There are rules to being a member of this family, and since I'm your trainer, I make the rules, and it's your duty to follow them! From now on, you are forbidden from battling any pokemon!"

Tsubasa suddenly flew away right then and there, ascending into the sky without giving Julia time to react. "Hey! Tsubasa! Get back here!" Julia ran after the rebellious little bird. That didn't go well.

Tsubasa didn't go very far, as she sat on a tree branch and let out a yawn. The frazzled girl managed to catch up, confused by the little bird's defiant behavior. "Tsubasa! Please! Why are you acting like this? Am I doing something wrong?"

"Coo coo coo coo!" ("Battling is my life!")

The girl's mouth fell agape. Battling was her life, she said. She had suspected there were pokemon who loved battling above all else, but she certainly didn't expect her own pidgey to be one such pokemon. In all the books she read, pidgey were described as being docile, preferring to avoid battles. To confirm it, she pulled out her PokeDex.

"Pidgey, the tiny bird pokemon. Among all the flying type pokemon, it is the gentlest and easiest to capture. If at all possible, they usually avoid battles, and they protect themselves by using whirlwind and kicking up sand. They have an extremely sharp sense of direction, and are capable of unerringly returning home to its nest, however far it may be removed from its familiar surroundings."

Putting her PokeDex away, Julia looked up at Tsubasa and asked, "Why do you like battling so much? Don't you get hurt?"

"Coo coo coo!" ("I want to be the strongest pidgey ever! I'm not a puny little weakling!")

"Nobody said you were," Julia said. "But I don't like battles, and I don't want you or anyone else getting hurt."

Tsubasa huffed before turning around. "Coo coo!" ("Stupid idiot.")

"Hey! I heard that! Don't you take that tone with me, young lady!" Julia scolded. Tsubasa didn't say a word. All of her pokemon looked at each other with worried looks. This pidgey sure was a tough cookie, and a defiant little thing, too. Julia stomped her foot once. "Fine! Be that way!"

Once again, Tsubasa flew off. This time, she didn't sit on any branches. "Come on!" Julia whined, stomping her foot again in frustration. She put her pokemon in their PokeBalls sans Hikaru and ran into the tall grass. Julia had to wonder if she made a mistake in catching Tsubasa. She could easily see that Tsubasa was too tough to handle at this point, but she didn't want to give up on her. It had only been a short time since she caught her. Surely, she would come around.

"Yeek!" A girl screeched in the distance. Hikaru led her to the source of the scream. A girl with long, dark blonde hair was aghast, as Tsubasa was pecking her chikorita on the leaf.

Julia's eyes slammed open. "No! Tsubasa! Don't do that!" She leaped on the bird and managed to catch her with both hands, pulling her away from the chikorita.

"Is that your pidgey?" The girl asked, her voice a combination of both confusion, fear, and anger.

"Y-Y-Y-Y-Yes, she is. I'm so sorry!" Tsubasa flapped her wings and talons, struggling to break out of Julia's grasp. She was too small to fly right out, and Julia's hands were tight around her body. "Tsubasa! You do NOT go and attack people's pokemon like that!" She scolded sternly, like her mother would when she would scold Amara. "Say you're sorry right now!"

The defiant bird cawed and cooed, still flapping her wings. The bewildered girl's fear morphed into anger. "Control your pokemon, for Pete's sake! That thing just attacked my chikorita out of nowhere!" The girl yelled. Julia squeezed her eyes shut and recoiled. She wished she could cover her ears, but they were occupied with Tsubasa at the moment. The girl's words shot right through her heart. All of a sudden, Tsubasa finally broke free and flew away.

"Tsubasa! Come back! You need to apologize!" Julia yelled.

The girl made her chikorita return to its PokeBall, crossing her arms before sneering, "Wow. Your own pokemon doesn't even listen to you. You must be a pretty pathetic trainer."

Pathetic? Julia couldn't help but be offended. She turned around and shouted, "It's not like I wanted her to attack your pokemon like that, and I said I was sorry!" She glanced at a round, blue berry lying by her feet, picked it up, and handed it to the girl with a grunt. "Here's an Oran berry. They can heal your pokemon's injuries."

"Whatever," The girl walked away without another word.

Julia's shoulders slumped downward, and she found herself holding her head down, staring at her sneakers. She couldn't believe that just happened. Tsubasa had attacked someone else's pokemon for no reason, and Julia was blamed for it. In her heart, she did feel she deserved some blame. Tsubasa was her pokemon, and despite her best efforts to make sure she didn't do things like this, the pidgey didn't listen, and didn't seem to want to. Tsubasa was her responsibility. Still, she felt so berated, so exposed, so attacked. That girl even had the nerve to call her pathetic. What did she know? But it didn't make what she said hurt any less.

Memories flooded back in her mind. Bodiless hands yanked her chin upward with great force, and her fearful green eyes met the glowing eyes of a mysterious black figure. "You're pathetic! You're a bad little girl! Stop whining! You're selfish! A naughty girl who don't care about anyone but yourself!" Julia shook her head and put her hands over her ears to block it out, but it didn't work. Hikaru put a paw on Julia's leg to reassure her, but the dark yellow mouse could tell it didn't console her.

She hated it. She hated it so much when they did that. Called her names and made assumptions about her right to her face that weren't true. Amara calling her stupid and annoying when she wasn't. That girl telling her to control Tsubasa when she rightfully scolded her for what she did. That girl calling her pathetic when she did everything in her power to rectify the situation. That evil figure calling her selfish, naughty, and bad when she spent most of her life trying to be good, kind, and selfless. She took care of her pokemon. Would someone genuinely selfish and bad really go out of their way to care for their pokemon and treat them like family?

No. No they wouldn't.

"Pichuuu?" ("You okay?")

"Sorry, Hikaru," Julia stroke her little friend's head gently, happy that she stayed with her. "I'm not a very good trainer, am I?"

The yellow mouse vigorously shook her head in disagreement. "Pichu pichu!" ("No you're not! You did everything you could! That girl shouldn't have called you pathetic!")

At least she had Hikaru and her friends by her side. She forced a smile. "Thanks. I appreciate it," Julia scooped Hikaru in her arms. "Let's go find Tsubasa, then go to the next town."

As it turned out, Tsubasa didn't go very far. She was in a tree picking berries, namely Oran berries and Pecha berries. Whether it was for herself or for the pokemon, Julia wasn't sure, and didn't think to ask. She just pulled Tsubasa back into her PokeBall. Those berries would be very useful for her journey, though. But she didn't even walk two feet before a piercing screech froze her in place.

"Jigglyyyyy!"

It was close by, too. "What was that?! A pokemon?!" Julia yelped.

"Pichu!" Hikaru darted into the tall grass, with her trainer quick to follow.

It didn't take long for them to find the source of the screaming, but it was enough for them to hide in some bushes. A round, pink pokemon with pointed ears and large, round, teal eyes was holding its stubby hands over its head, cowering in fear. A man was looming over it with a long rattlesnake whip, his face contorted with rage. He was wearing a black hat, a matching shirt and pants, and tall grey boots and matching gloves, with a big red R emblazoned on the shirt.

Julia didn't even bother to pull out her PokeDex. The round pokemon tried to run away, but the angry man grabbed it by the ear, yanking it so hard the pokemon fell on its rear end. It was what he did next that absolutely horrified the two. The man held his hand upward, high in the sky, before dropping it down across the poor pokemon's cheek with a hard crack. The pokemon wailed after the slap, its large cheek red and stinging from the pain. Julia almost gasped, had she not managed to cover her mouth, but her eyes slammed open with horror.

"That's what you get for trying to run away, you piece of garbage!" The uniformed man roared, his eyes gleaming with nothing but anger and hatred. There was no sympathy nor remorse. "You're mine now, and you do as I say or else you're gonna get a bullet in your head!"

Something inside Julia snapped. This man was utterly deplorable. Slapping a pokemon across the face, calling it a piece of garbage, and giving it orders, completely ignoring its tears. That was the last straw. As much as she hated pokemon battles, she hated pokemon abusers even more.

"Hikaru! Use Thundershock!" She shouted.

"Piiii!" Hikaru leaped out of the bushes with a piercing battle cry, dropping a small jolt of lightning down on the uniformed man. Electricity surged through every single vein in his body, grilling him to the bone. This gave the round pokemon the chance to run away upon seeing Julia within its vicinity. Its round eyes overflowing with tears, the round pokemon ran into Julia's arms.

"Jiggly..."

"It'll be okay! You're safe now, little jigglypuff!" Julia stroke its back, crooning in a soft voice so as to not frighten it.

Unfortunately, the thundershock attack wasn't enough to knock out the man in black. He staggered to his feet, reaching for the holster on his belt. Julia saw a shiny black gun on his belt. Her mind was screaming that guns were bad news, and that she had to run. Now. With Hikaru on her tail, she scooped the jigglypuff in her arms and sprinted for her life.

"Come back here you brat!" The man screamed, holding out his gun, aiming it right at Julia.

BANG! BANG! BANG! Three gunshots echoed through the area, sending bird pokemon flying out of their nests in fear. None of the bullets hit Julia nor the pokemon, but they were definitely loud enough to make her fall to her knees. Seeing bullet casting right next to her sneaker made her shiver, freezing her in place.

The perfect opportunity for the man to grab her by the hair, preventing her from escape. He yanked on her hair so hard, he could very easily pull some strands out. "Jiggly!" The jigglypuff cried. The man then held his gun right at the shivering girl's face. Julia found herself looking right down the barrel of a black gun.

"This oughta teach you to mess with me, you brat!" The man howled.

"PICHUUUU!" With gusto, Hikaru flung herself at the man, managing to knock the gun out of his hand. But it wasn't enough to completely make him fall to the ground, and she herself was too small to do any great damage.

All of a sudden, one of her pokemon popped out of its PokeBall all on her own. It was Tsubasa, and a very enraged Tsubasa, at that. The tiny bird flapped its wings furiously as she dashed right toward the flustered man, pecking on his head with her beak over and over again.

"Tsubasa! Hikaru!"

"Ow! Owowow! Yeowch! Get off me, you little pest!"

It was then that a young girl of about seven or eight shyly moseyed onto the scene. She had pale blonde hair tied in two small braids with purple bows, and her blue eyes were brimming with nothing but worry. Julia took notice of her. 'Oh no! If that man gets her, he might kill her!' She thought.

"My jigglypuff! You brought her back for me?!" The girl yelped.

"Wait. This jigglypuff is yours?" Julia asked.

The little girl nodded. "That mean man took her from me."

So that was what happened. She put a hand on the girl's shoulder. "You and jigglypuff go somewhere safe. It's too dangerous."

"I already called the police," The girl told her.

"That's good!" Julia exclaimed. Her parents must have taught her to do that. That was when they noticed a shadow flying over them.

Silver and red wings reflected the sun's bright rays, blinding the man into holding a hand over his face. Cold steel clamped down on the man's back, pinning him to the ground. Looking up, he saw a large, silvery white bird, wings outstretched, staring down at him with shining yellow eyes like those of a predator ready to consume its prey.

"Skaaaaaar!" The bird roared into the man's face, scaring him into submission.

A police car wheeled onto the scene, sirens flashing a ghostly red and blue. The driver's door came open, and out came a blue haired man in a deep blue policeman's uniform, the golden badge on his breast reflecting the sunlight. Hand cuffs in hand, the man walked over to the large silver bird and placed a hand on one of its wings with a smile.

"Good work, Skarmory," He mused.

"Skarr!"

He looked down at the frightened man with a stern look. "As for you…" He wasted no time kneeling down and slapping the handcuffs on the man. "You're under arrest," He gestured for skarmory to let him go now that he was handcuffed. The man pulled him up, dragged him to the police car, pulled a door open, and threw him inside. Another police officer came out from the passenger seat.

"Great job, Falkner!" The man exclaimed.

"Thanks. You can take it from here, Sargeant," Falkner replied gratefully.

With a nod, the man went in the driver's seat and pulled away from the scene with the prisoner in his custody. The car disappeared into the distance. Julia looked down and noticed the jigglypuff, gently escorting her back to her trainer.

"I believe this is your pokemon?"

"Yay!" The little girl hugged her jigglypuff cheerfully, relieved to have her back. "Thank you, miss!"

"You're welcome."

The jigglypuff took the girl's hand, and the two skipped away from the woods, happy to be together again. The little girl's smile was radiant, and that prompted a smile to tickle Julia's face. She turned to face Falkner and his skarmory. She pulled out her PokeDex to check out his skarmory.

"Skarmory, the armor bird pokemon. In ancient times, people used to hunt them for their feathers, using them to make swords. Even though it's clad in armor and its wings look heavy, they are actually very hollow and light, and they can fly at a speed of 180 miles per hour."

"That's a PokeDex, right?" Falkner asked, putting a hand on his hip. "Did Professor Elm give that to you?"

"Ah!" Julia shoved her PokeDex back into her bag, her face turning red like a tomato. "Y-Y-Y-Yes…" She mused shyly. If there was one thing she didn't like, it was being put on the spot. But he did save her and the little girl from that man, after all. "Th-Thanks for helping us back there…"

Falkner pulled skarmory back into its PokeBall, putting it on his holster. "I'm the chief of police. It's my job to help those in need," He said in a low but smooth, rich voice. Upon closer inspection, Julia couldn't help but assume he looked to be in his very late twenties. But he said he was the chief of police. Weren't police chiefs supposed to be older than that?

"Coo coo coo!" Tsubasa rested on Julia's shoulder, cooing.

Julia gave her a stern look. "No, Tsubasa! You're not battling him and that's final!"

"Coo coo!" Tsubasa snapped back.

"Don't take that tone with me, young lady!"

Falkner scratched his blue hair, tilting his head to one side. "You won't let your pokemon battle?"

"No. I don't like pokemon battles. They're cruel, and I can't stand seeing pokemon get hurt," She replied matter-of-factly.

"Wow. You're the first trainer I ever met who hates pokemon battles," Falkner said. "It seems your pidgey likes battles. Did you just catch her recently?"

"Yes. She's a bit of a handful, though," Julia replied.

"You know…" Falkner pointed to a town just down the road. "You've probably had a long day. Violet City's just down this road."

Violet City. As soon as she heard that name, Julia found herself tensing up like she heard a swarm of beedrill coming her way. 'No way! Violet City?! No! No no no no no no no! Anywhere but that!' She scrambled through her bag to pull out her PokeGear. There had to be another town nearby. There just had to be. She looked at the map function on her PokeGear. Much to her dismay, Violet City was the only town that was close by. Everywhere else was just too far.

"Oh no…"

"What's wrong?"

"I was kinda hoping I wouldn't go there…"

Falkner shrugged. "I can escort you there, if you like."

"Sure. Thanks."

As much as she hated where she was going, she knew she and her pokemon had to rest. It would be bad if she stayed out in the wilderness and her pokemon got sick and tired. Knowing she had little choice, she followed Falkner down the road to Violet City. Thankfully, it only took them a few minutes to get there, and it was still light out. Julia checked the time on her PokeGear. It read 2:30 PM. She couldn't believe it. Had she really spent so much time between Cherrygrove and Violet? Her stomach roared, begging for food. Falkner heard it, but didn't say anything, as he didn't want to be rude.

Finally, they made it. Violet City was bigger than Cherrygrove, but still had its own kind of character. All of the buildings were made of greyish brown stones, even the Pokemon Center and the PokeMart, giving them an old, historic air about them. A tall, three-tiered tower stood at the far end of town, towering above everything else as though it were boasting about how it could touch the sky. But the building that caught Julia's attention was a large school building.

The big stone sign on the front read Pokemon Academy, Grades K-12. Pokemon Academy itself was a large building going almost two stories high, still dwarfed by the large tower, with deep purple roofing. At the top of the roof was a large, bronze bell that stood still and dormant, not making a sound. Surrounding the school were several smaller buildings with mahogany roof tiles and stone walls. Some small, fluffy trees were planted in some gardens dotting the school grounds. On the left was a pokemon battlefield, with the white pokeball emblem right in the middle.

Julia cringed, squeezing her eyes shut. She could already smell the old, stony scent of the classrooms and hear voice she wished she didn't have to hear again. "Chuu? Pichu?" Not even Hikaru's sweet, comforting voice could pull her out of the nightmare. The bodiless figure from before came back with a vengeance. A hand reached out to grab her.

"Miss? You're crying. What's wrong?" Falkner's voice made the hand dissipate. Julia's eyes slammed open, and the first thing she noticed was that her cheeks were wet. Wet with tears. She stroke her left cheek with her finger, noticing the tears.

"Oh! Sorry! I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay. Would you...like to talk about it?" Falkner pointed to some rocks a few feet away.

Julia shook her head. Her bangs covered her eyes, and she didn't bother to brush them out of her face. "Alright then. My gym is over there. If you ever want to battle me, you're more than welcome to-"

"How can you say that?!" Julia suddenly shouted out of nowhere. Falkner took a step back, his blue eyes wide with surprise. "How can you be okay with making your pokemon hurt other trainers' pokemon?! Do you want them to get hurt?! I don't know how you people can be okay with...battles!" She spat out the word like it was too terrible to say. "They're cruel, barbaric, and...all they do is make trouble and hurt the pokemon involved!" The tears wouldn't stop.

The chief of police didn't say a word. He felt she deserved to let her feelings out. Even Tsubasa was silent, listening intently. "I refuse to put my pokemon through such a cruel practice. Why would you even think of putting your pokemon through that?"

"You think battling is cruel?"

The girl squeezed her fists. "Yes. I do."

Silently, Falkner sat down on a rock. "Can I ask why you hate pokemon battles? You...cried when we passed by the school."

Julia didn't even turn around to look at the school. The sight of the purple roof, those stone walls, the bronze bell...all of it made her sick to her stomach. "I...I used to go to that school. In second grade. But my parents pulled me out of there. A teacher was being cruel to me."

"A teacher?"

She nodded. "I think her name was Mrs. Amoretto. She was really mean. She'd yell at me for no reason, even when I wasn't doing anything and when I was doing everything she said, and my parents said she made me cry a lot," She explained. "But...one day, this one kid went into a room where they kept a lot of PokeBalls. He wanted to use the pokemon and battle, even though he wasn't supposed to. He wasn't even supposed to be in there. When they didn't listen, he would stab them with sticks and yell at them. I tried to make him stop, but he wouldn't listen. All of a sudden, the pokemon went completely berserk, throwing attacks at each other like crazy."

The memories were vivid in her mind. Four large pokemon were shooting beams of light, flames, and lightning bolts at each other. One beam of light shattered the glass windows, sending shards scattering across both the floor and the area outside the windows. A big white seal with a horn on its head slammed against the walls, sending PokeBalls rolling on the floor. A white and red dog-like pokemon spewed flames all over. A young Julia huddled in a corner for safety, and she could do nothing but shiver and cry. Glass breaking, pokemon howling, people screaming...it was all too much for her to bear. It sounded as though there were continuous explosions raging all throughout the building, and the heat of the flames kept her in place.

"My goodness…" Falkner said, eyes wide from listening to the story.

"Mrs. Amoretto and other teachers came and stopped it. But the kid claimed I did it. I tried to tell them that it wasn't me, that it was his fault, but…I couldn't talk very well back then, from what Mom and Dad told me, and..." Her expression went dark and she looked down at her feet. "Mrs. Amoretto...believed him."

The feelings from that day returned in full force. Her humiliation. Anger. Sadness. Confusion. But for the second grader, organizing all of that into a form everyone could understand was impossible. She remembered the rage on Mrs. Amoretto's face. Her pearly white teeth clenched together, her sharp eyes, her loud, shrill, husky voice that still made her eardrums feel like they were being torn to shreds, her stinging hands going across her face when she cried after scolding her. She knew for sure: Mrs. Amoretto hated her. She took the other kid's side and blamed her for everything.

"She yelled at me, telling me I was a bad kid, a troublemaker, selfish, naughty, all that stuff that wasn't true. I tried to run out of the room, but she kept trying to pin me to the floor. She even hit me a few times when I cried," Julia continued. "Other teachers stopped her and called my parents. They were really angry. After that, they took me out of school and I never went back there again. I went to a different school in Cherrygrove."

"I see…" Falkner was at a loss for words. Oddly enough, he didn't look surprised. Tears came pouring out from Hikaru's eyes. With a cry, the yellow mouse crawled up to Julia's shoulder and nuzzled her cheek. A smile returned to her face, but the sadness was still there. Tsubasa said nothing.

Falkner smiled. "She's wrong. Your pichu clearly cares about you, and I'm sure you've been a good trainer to your pokemon."

"I try to be," Julia said, stroking Hikaru's ear. "I love pokemon. I understand them better than I do people. I know this is hard to believe, but...I can actually understand what they're saying."

"Really? Prove it."

"Pichu pichu chupi!"

"Hikaru says she saved me from a swarm of beedrill once."

"So the rumors are true…"

"Huh?" Julia noticed the tone he used. It was low, like he was implying he knew something.

Falkner stood up, putting a hand on his hip. "It's been a while...Julia Parisa."

"Huh?!" She took two steps back, her green eyes slamming open. "H-H-H-How do you know my name?! We...we never even met!"

The blue haired man let out a chuckle. "Actually...you may not remember, but I was there when the incident happened."

"You...you were?!" She had no idea. She tried looking through her memories to see if he was there. Nothing came up...except for a set of voices. One was Mrs. Amoretto's. The other one was...Falkner's.

"Stop! Don't restrain her! You're making it worse!"

"She's my responsibility and I have to discipline her! I told you she was a naughty little troublemaker!"

"If you think hitting her and screaming at her is going to solve anything, then you're not fit to be a teacher!"

It all came so suddenly. She sat down on the rock next to him, losing herself in her memories. "It was Police Appreciation Day at the school that day. I was invited to talk to your class. I even showed you and the other kids my Pokemon. You said that my hoothoot's favorite food was brown rice. You wanted so badly to play with my pokemon."

"Did I really?"

Falkner nodded. "I was also the one who saved you from the pokemon duking it out. You were in a corner crying. You were so scared, you were practically shivering."

"I...I had no idea…"

The blue haired man looked up at the sky. There wasn't a cloud to be seen. A perfect blue sky. "I arrested Mrs. Amoretto on the spot."

"What?"

Falkner stood up from the rocks, crossing his arms. "It's against the law for a teacher to hit, restrain, or mistreat a student, no matter the reason," Memories of putting the woman in handcuffs and escorting her to the police car played through his mind. Mrs. Amoretto kept ranting and raving about how she was trying to rectify Julia's so-called bad behavior, but he wasn't having any of it.

The girl next to him smiled. "I agree."

"I'm sorry it turned out that way, and I apologize on her behalf."

"It's okay. I...I don't remember much of it, but...thanks...for at least being there."

Falkner turned around to face her. "It's okay to dislike pokemon battles. There are many people who prefer living with pokemon and not going on journeys at all," He closed his eyes. "However, you may think pokemon battles are cruel, but they actually aren't. Come with me."

Gesturing for her to come with him, Julia stood up and followed him. It wasn't hard to figure out that they were heading to one of the buildings next to the school. Julia found herself shivering. Although she was happy that Mrs. Amoretto got arrested for what she did, it didn't make coming here any less painful. But she didn't want to make a scene, and she knew that Falkner wasn't trying to be cruel, so she decided to be silent. They walked into a small library. There were shelves full of books, from top to bottom, very neatly organized.

"Oh! Good afternoon, Chief Falkner!" An old lady with thick glasses greeted him kindly.

"The same to you. Do you have a copy of The Origin and History of Pokemon Battles?" Falkner asked, pulling out a black library card.

"Hmmm…" The old librarian put a hand on her chin, losing herself in thought. "We have a few copies. Hold on just a moment," She went into the back of the counter, digging through some books. "Ah! There we go!"

She came back to the counter, handing Falkner a very old book. The title read The Origin and History of Pokemon Battles in gold letters. The cover was made of brown leather, and the corners were folded and floppy. Upon further inspection, the pages were old and yellow, with some parts having been ripped, but not too a point where any pages were missing or unreadable. Falkner handed the librarian his card and she scanned it, along with the book.

"Here. It's due back in two weeks."

"Thank you."

With that, he and Julia left the library. He suddenly turned around and handed her the book. "You should read this. It details how pokemon battles came to be and why they're so commonplace," Julia found herself dumbfounded, giving Falkner a confused expression. He rented a library book for her to read? Nobody had ever done that for her before. But she figured it'd be rude to reject his offer, so she took the book, holding it in her hands. Despite its old age, it was heavy on her hands, like a big rock.

"It's one of my favorite books. I think you'll like it. Of course, if you don't want to read it, that's fine, too," He said. "My gym is just over there," He pointed to a big stone building next to the PokeMart.

"Gym…" She had read about pokemon gyms in books. "You're the gym leader, right?"

"Yes. If you ever want to battle, my gym's always open from eight AM to two o'clock noon. Also, see that tower over there?" He pointed to the large tower at the end of town.

"Yeah."

"That's called Sprout Tower. Many trainers train their pokemon there, and the sages there are experts in battling," Falkner explained. "They see battling as a way to connect with their pokemon. If you want, you should stop by. They may teach you a thing or two about battling that may help you a lot."

Battling as a way to connect with pokemon...Julia wasn't sure what to make of that. She had always convinced herself that battling was cruel, barbaric, violent, and did nothing but hurt people and pokemon. She couldn't picture battling being anything else. But the book she held in her hands detailed the history of battling. Maybe she could read it and learn something from it.

"I'll think about it," She answered. "Thank you, sir."

"You're welcome."

Night fell once more, and Julia had checked into a Pokemon Center, staying at their inn for the night. She laid down on her assigned bed, reading the book Falkner gave her intensely. The Origin and History of Pokemon Battles. The lamp's light was dim, but still bright enough for easy reading. Aqua, Papillon, Neji, and Tsubasa slept in another bed, all letting out contented sighs and snores. Hikaru, on the other hand, stayed up with Julia, also engrossed in the book despite not being able to read human language.

Julia was engrossed. Not once did she take her eyes off of the book and its dusty, yellow pages. The book began with discussing how pokemon used to fight violently over territory, food, dominance, etc. Their battles would be so violent and so intense that people would end up getting caught in the crossfire. Towns and livelihoods were destroyed, people and pokemon were killed, and they left nothing but destruction in their wake. The pokemon would always kill each other over anything. Understandably, humans got sick of this, and tried to brainstorm ways to rectify the problems the pokemon were causing.

After months of discussion, they came to a potential solution: capture and tame the pokemon and temper their powers to a manageable level. Since there were no PokeBalls back in ancient times, the humans had to resort to measures such as catching them with nets and traps. They had no prior experience with pokemon, so they learned everything through trial and error. Sometimes, pokemon still went after each other, even for no reason, and some pokemon just refused to do anything except attack others. This didn't stop them from trying.

Some people saw it from a different perspective. Instead of forcing the pokemon to contain their powers, they decided to intentionally pit them against each other, not to kill each other, but just have them let it all out and harness their powers in ways that can be used to benefit humanity and the pokemon. This was the very first pokemon battle ever recorded in history. As it turned out, pokemon battles could be viewed as a sport that would result in monetary gain, and the earliest pokemon trainers domesticated their pokemon and harnessed their powers enough to pit them against each other. Pokemon battles turned out to be a worldwide success, and with all the money they gained from it, the trainers used it to buy things that could restore their towns back to their original states, such as food, lumber, building materials, furniture, etc.

Pokemon battling singlehandedly saved pokemon from killing each other in cold blood. Instead, battles ended when a pokemon was too tired to go on, and killing was outlawed, with indecent battlers either being arrested for a year or fined huge sums of money if a pokemon died in battle under their jurisdiction. Forests, rivers, and lakes returned in full force. Towns and the livelihoods of people managed to be rebuilt. Humans found a way to coexist alongside pokemon, and ever since then, battling became a staple of becoming a pokemon trainer.

"Wow…" Julia gently closed the book shut, placing it on the pillow next to her. "I had no idea pokemon used to be so vicious. So that's how battling came about…"

"Pichuu…"

Reading that book made new ideas sprout in her head. She always hated battling because she couldn't bear to see pokemon get hurt. But battling was created to keep pokemon from hurting and killing themselves and others. In today's world, battling was tame compared to back then. Perhaps Falkner was right. Maybe battling does have its benefits.

She sat up in her bed, not thinking to turn off the lamp on the nightstand next to her. "Hikaru. Would you like to go to Sprout Tower with me tomorrow?" She asked.

Hikaru tilted her head to one side. "Pichu?"

"We're going to battle the trainers there. I...I want to see their perspective on battling," Julia replied. "Maybe...maybe they can help me not hate battles anymore…"

"Chuu!" Hikaru leaped into Julia's arms with a chirrup, which told Julia all she needed to know.