The Tale of a Trainer- Chapter 2: Rival
Setting: Current Time: Green Wood
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon in any way shape or form. I DO own the character Alex Dugman, his parents, Chad, and the personalities I give the Pokemon. Don't steal them. Alex has been my creation since I thought him up in 2000. I have proof, don't make me use it. Fear me, just don't sue me. ;)
Author's Note: Thank you to Coldfire323 and Facia for the reviews! I tried to make this chapter's writing as non-repetitive as possible, but I fear that it still is… so I apologize in advance for that. By the way, if anyone would like to provide me with some suggestions for filler chapters (I'm planning on doing a gym chapter, a filler chapter or two, and then another gym chapter as my basic chapter layout) or would like to be a character, please leave that information in a review or send me an email. If you want to be a character, please tell me: personality, looks, Pokémon, and anything else you'd like. You'll be credited for it, of course. Thanks again guys!


The Tale of a Trainer
Chapter Two: Rival

He couldn't help but grin as his mother opened his other Pokéball and his white Eevee, appearing with a light shimmer, shook its fur happily in front of him. The little Eevee was a rare site indeed. Its coat was a brilliant shade of white and stood out amongst the dull landscape. His mother looked over his shoulder at the squealing Pokémon. "Well, Eevee checks out just fine. He's in wonderful shape!"

"Thanks mom." Alex put his hand on his Eevee's head and scratched behind its ears. The little Pokémon squealed happily again and rubbed up against his side affectionately. Chikorita came up beside him and the two ran off to play on the carpet. Enjoy your play time, my friends. Alex smiled as he watched his two Pokémon wrestle on the floor. They'll love traveling. "Oh Alex!"- His mother cut in- "Can you believe it? A new family just moved in! I mean, what's it been, five, six years since someone new came around?"

"No mom," Alex piped in with a flat face, "It's been six years since everyone left. No one has moved in, ever."

His mother's face darkened and a sad frown formed on it, "I know Alex. But listen, this family has a boy your age. I've heard he has Pokémon. Maybe you two could travel together. Wouldn't that be great?"

"Yeah," there was a hint of happiness in Alex's voice but it was very subtle, "Maybe."

"Your father invited him over, why don't you go say hello?"

He did what? A wave of heated frustration overtook Alex. I'm going to kill them! Why was his mother chatting with him while there was someone in his house? It just made him angry. There was no other way to describe the feeling. He nodded curtly towards his mother and returned Chikorita to her Pokéball. He carefullyplaced his Eevee on his shoulder, ruffling its fur gently. The little Pokemon nuzzled his neck in support. -Don't worry so much!-

He strode into the sitting room to find his father talking with a boy who appeared to be his age. The boy had sharp blue eyes that were partially covered by a thick layer of dirty blonde hair. He was dressed in a plain pair of jeans which were topped with a rough looking tan vest. Everyone that comes here likes vests… An image of Chris, the trainer he'd incountered earlier flashed in his mind. The boy looked up as Alex walked in, his teal eyes cutting right through the room. That doesn't work on me. His father and the boy stood at the same time.

"Alex!" His father looked proud of himself, "This is the son of our new neighbors. His name is Chad. I just got through giving him a starter Pokemon! Isn't that wonderful? I've been waiting for someone to come by for awhile, and he jumped at the chance. I thought maybe that two of you could start your journeys together."

Chad eyed Eevee as he sat perched on Alex's shoulder, his white fur gleaming in the light of the room. Alex grinned lightly and Eevee shook gracefully, moving to a more exaggerated pose. Chad's eyes flashed and he pointed stiffly at Alex. "I want a battle. Now."

Alex took a step back. He was surprised bythe newboy'sspasmodic forwardness. "Wha?" Chad stepped towards him. His eyes shot right through Alex. -Stay away!- He could feel Eevee's level of discomfort mixing with his own as he repositioned himself again. Chiks stirred restlessly in her Poke Ball, her emotions pulsing through the air and his mind.

"You heard me. I want to battle you right now!"

Alex's father sensed his son's unease and took a step in between the two boys. He lifted his hands upin a friendly surrender. "Now Chad, do you really want to be doing that? Alex has his Pokémon for over six years, and you just got yours."

Chad's eyes were burning now, the flame of an unjustified hatred gaining power in his blue orbs. "Now."

What the? All Alex could do was nod and he soon found that he was fighting a grin that was attempting to take over his face. His father, rather reluctantly, led them out to the small battle field that had been built next their home, withhis mother in close pursuit. The field was fairly new since it had only been constructed the year before. Alex used it to practice sometimes, but other than that, it was hardly ever used. The ground was darker than the dusty dirt around it, but that only because the field was well taken care of.It to be the only place on the whole ranch that looked alive.

Alex took his place at one end and Chad the other. Alex shuffled on his feet, kicking up small clouds of dust up in the air. Anxiety sparked by the strange anger he was feeling ran through his veins. The new boy was grinning madly from the other side of the field.. "Two on two, got that?"

With a snort, Alex removed Chikorita's Pokéball roughly from his belt. "Fine."

No more than a second later, Chikorita had materialized in front of Alex. Eevee jumped down from his shoulder to join his partner, touching his fluffy white tail to Chikorita's leaf. Chad's grin was more visible than before. You're going down. The snarling boy slid his feet apart into a more comfortable position, and pulled two Pokéballs from his vest, tossing them at the same time up into the dry air. A small Squirtle stretched as it emerged from its ball, while the Sandshrew that appeared beside it energetically shook its body as it took in the dry air.

Alex recognized the Squirtle immediately; it was the one he'd raised since it'd been born. It was strangely small, especially for its age, but that never seemed to limit it when they did practice battles. It hurt Alex to see him go. You'd better treat him right.

"So tell me, why do you want to become a Pokémon Trainer?" Chad's voice seemed to be mocking him. Alex glared at him, refusing to allow his eyes to stray from his opponent's. "So that I can find and capture a Pokemon called Mewtwo. I want to bring him back to this village. Then he can correct the magnetic fields here and return this place to the way it once was."

Chad threw back his head and laughed. His dark blond hairs bobbed with each deep intake of air. "How noble of you! Luckily for you, I'm here to complete that little task. You see, after this battle, you won't ever want to fight again!" –he steadied himself and pointed at his little mole Pokemon- "Sandshrew, Sand Attack, go!"

The little Pokémon flipped around and leaned over the ground, using its sharp claws to throw the dirt between its legs and upon Alex's waiting team. Alex reacted quickly. "Eevee, Reflect that sand back. While he's doing that, Chiks, give him a taste of Razor Leaf!"

The two Pokémon worked in unison. Eevee sprang gracefully in front of the sand as an orange shell materialized around it, blocking the flying gravel. Moving carefully behind the shield, Chikorita crouched and jumped, spinning its leaf in midair and releasing its Razor Leaf attack. Chad seemed to have gotten an idea by the look on his face. He turned to his Sandshrew, "Sandshrew, use Dig!- he looked to his new Squirtle- "Use Withdraw and take that Razor Leaf!"

Squirtle withdrew itself in its hard shell as it leapt in front of Chikorita's attack. The leaves bounced off the solid shell, harmless, and fell timidly to the ground. Alex was less concerned with the Squirtle and much more worried about where Sandshrew would spring up. His eyes scanned the ground feverously. Chad, taking not of his rival's anxiety, called to his ground Pokémon, "Sandshrew, you're done!"

The little Pokémon emerged from the same hole it had first burrowed, shaking as if it had water on it to get rid of the thin layer of dirt that'd accumulated on it. Alex looked at with a puzzled glance. He had the advantage, why didn't he take it? Was there something else to this? Why's he toying with me? Chad interrupted his thoughts, "Squirtle, Water Gun into the hole!"

What? Alex didn't quite understand. What good will that do? He needed to concentrate. "Eevee go in for a Rollout on Squirtle!"- His little Pokémon curled up and lunged at the turtle Pokémon- "And Chiks, focus your Vine Whip and Razor Leaf on Sandshrew."

Squirtle's Water Gun was interrupted as Eevee slammed into it, throwing the Pokémon to the side. Eevee was turning sharply for another hit as the ground began rumbling beneath. Alex's eyes darted to his Eevee, his face plastered with fear. What's going on? The ground suddenly collapsed into itself, sending a spray of dirty water up into the air, spraying Eevee's white coat with brown muck. When the small wave had gone, a three foot deep hole was left in the middle of field, filled with a thick pool of swirling mud. Alex's mother gasped at the large imprint in the middle of the field. Alex clenched his fist as he snarled at Chad, "You created a sink hole!"

Chad snapped his fingers, "Bingo! You get the prize little boy! Now Squirtle, Skull Bash!" Squirtle, not even bothering to stand up, stuck out his head and, using his legs to propel himself, began sliding along the mud, aiming right at Eevee. Eevee, who was having difficulty moving in the muck, tried to jump away, but could only slide on the slick surface. He was hit with the full force of the attack and was thrown backwards into the goopy mess. Chikorita was having about the same amount of luck. She had successfully wrapped Sandshrew in a Vine Whip, but was being pulled in by it, and due to the flooring, had no traction.

All Alex could do was stand there shaking as he watched his Pokémon get beaten up by an amateur trainer. The anger he was feeling was unexplainable and quickly becoming uncontainable. He wanted to go out onto the battle field and fight with his Pokémon, to be able to attack the ones attacking his own. No… please… both of you… stand up! Keep fighting! We can beat him! The feeling seemed to explode; he could feel it pulsing through him. His head screamed with a thousand cries, reaching out to anything and everything around him. Moments later, both Eevee and Chikorita were standing, looks of infinite determination plastered on their faces. They simultaneously jumped backward to stand in front of Alex, the mud seeming to not be a problem anymore. (-For you, Alex!-)

"Eevee, use Sand Attack! Chiks, fire your Razor Leaf right into the Sand Attack! Go now!"

Eevee nodded with a cry as he flipped around and began tossing piles of dry dirt on the mud, surrounding Squirtle and Sandshrew in a mess of sand. Chikorita too listened to her orders, flinging razor sharp leaves into the cloud that Eevee had stirred up. Chad looked with unintentional amazement, trying to recoup himself. "Sandshrew, Squirtle, use your Tackle attacks!"

It was too late though; by the time the sand had cleared, both of Chad's Pokémon were laying on the ground, damaged by the Razor Leaf assault. Both Pokémon tried to stand. "Finish them!" –Alex's voice seemed foreign- "Both of you, Tackle!"

Working in unison, Eevee and Chikorita slammed into Chad's Pokémon with an renewed force of energy. The winner was obvious. Chad's eyes were burning from the mix of dry air and sand that had been flung around. Shaking his head, he tired to comprehend what he had just felt. No more than a second before the two Pokemon's comeback, a wave of something had come over. He couldn't explain the odd warmth he'd felt, the energy that'd surged through him, and then the sudden devotion to his Pokémon he'd experienced. It'd stunned him though, leaving Alex enough time to recover. Has that been on purpose? "How did you do that?"

Alex was breathing rather heavily. His head felt light and he swayed from the dizziness he was feeling. "I- I don't know."

The young trainer collapsed on the ground as his parents rushed from the sidelines to his aid.

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"So it finally has been proven," Alex's mother's face showed deep thought as she spoke. She clenched her eyes shut and rubbed her temples. "He can connect with them subconsciously, can't he?."

"Please take into consideration," his father replied to this with a similar tone of concern as he recalled the wave he knew his son had put out, "That he still is in our town. We don't know if this will work outside where the magnetic waves are normal."

"I suppose we'll have to see then. Oh how I wish we could go with him and watch! But we'll send your Charizard along, right? There aren't many other options."

"Yes, that's all we really can do."


Yayness! Another chapter finished!
Like I said in the Author's Note in the beginning, suggestions and character requests are very much appreciated, as are reviews! Hehe, I'll never get that point across enough!

Also, this was the last chapter I have that was actually fully written and just needed to be editted. So please, allow me some time to finish composing and reviewing the next one. It's started, but definitly not completed yet! Thanks again for reading!