Who is Alexa Ketchum?
As Alexa and Bryce sat at a dining room table located within a room behind the Pewter City Gym's main battlefield, the two chatted amongst themselves, as the new trainer was extremely impressed with the teen's battling capabilities.
"Your team was incredible! It's like it goes against everything I learned in the trainer's school!"
"I take it you're from Viridian City, then," Alexa said, earning a nod from the young boy in a cheery tone. "I'm from Pallet Town."
"Does that mean you know Professor Oak? His grandson is the one who gave me my Bulbasaur from Oak Labs!"
"He's actually a close friend of my Mom and my brother," Alexa said. "Nowadays Professor Oak spends his retired life in Alola with his cousin Sampson, or housesitting in Pallet Town. But he still comes through to visit the Lab every once in a while to make sure Gary is running things properly."
"So, did Professor Oak give you your Grovyle? I thought he usually gave out the Kanto Trio to aspiring trainers?" Bryce asked inquisitively.
"Nope. I actually haven't received any Pokemon from Professor Oak. I caught my Grovyle as a Treecko in the wild," Alexa beamed.
"So then, who was your first Pokemon?"
Alexa's demeanor shifted; freezing, as this was a topic she did not want to discuss.
Before she could give a reply, Brock entered the dining area from the kitchen with a tray of freshly made rice balls, sporting a pink apron over his muscular body. "Hope you guys are ready for some pickled plum onigiri!" Following behind him, carrying two massive bowls of Pokemon food in each hand was his younger brother Forrest. "And I brought something for your teammates to eat! Plenty to go around!"
"Alright!" Alexa said, unclasping three Pokeballs off her belt, tossing out her Grovyle, Abra and Electivire. Electivire and Grovyle each took a seat, and began chowing down on the food before them, while Abra levitated once piece of food at a time into its mouth for a slower rate of eating than its two companions.
"Alright Bulbasaur, you come out too!" The 10 year old said, throwing out his only Pokemon. The Kanto Starter let out a joyful cry as it bounded over to the same bowl Abra was eating from, using a pair of vines to grab its food, before bringing it towards its mouth for consumption.
"So Bryce," Brock said, as he and his brother took a seat at the table. "Your Bulbasaur looks pretty young. I take it you both started your journey recently."
"That's right," The boy said, taking a seaweed wrapped rice ball and taking a bite out of it, revealing its deep, purple center. "Bulbasaur and I became partners two whole days ago. But we were so excited to hit the road together we just couldn't wait to challenge you first. I guess we got in over our heads though."
"Well, don't be too disheartened," Brock said. "I would advise you to catch some more Pokemon to add some type-diversity to your team. Then you can come back for a rematch at any time."
"I thought about doing that, but I was a little too overconfident in our type advantage against you," Bryce said, dropping his head. "At the Trainer Academy, we learned that Grass Types are super effective against Rock and Ground Types. I honestly thought I could've won with only one 'Mon. We couldn't even beat your Onix, though, so I can't imagine what would've happened if you sent out your Steelix or Forretress."
"Well, type matchups can certainly play in your favor, but at the end of the day experience and strength can be the real game changers," Brock said. "Take Alexa for an example." He said, motioning to the girl with an onigiri in each hand, taking bites out of each one, who immediately froze at the mention of her name. "She went up with two Pokemon who I would consider to have major type disadvantages, but it doesn't mean they were ill-equipped to battle me."
"I may only be a trainer with a year's worth of experience," Alexa said with a mouthful of plum and rice. "But I've had some crazy adventures that made me stronger in that time."
"You see," Forrest added. "It's my brother's job to analyze his opponents before he faces them to gauge their skill level. If you've got a couple badges under your belt, he'll draw more Pokemon from his personal team. If you're a greenhorn, he'll use some of the League-Sanctioned Gym Pokemon on you."
"WAIT!" Alexa exclaimed, spitting out some rice. "But I only had one freeby badge before coming to challenge you! Why'd you use your Steelix and Forretress against me?"
"Like Forrest said, I have to gauge my opponents before battling them. And I know you are capable of quite a lot," Brock said with a smile. "Or are you forgetting the training that you underwent with your brother and 'The Ultimate Alliance' on top of Mount Silver?"
"Fair enough," Alexa casually said before taking another bite of her onigiri.
Now it was Bryce's turn to be speechless. "...Ultimate Alliance?!" He squeaked out, before nearly falling out of his seat. "So that means- you were at the Battle at the Tree of Beginning?!" He exclaimed.
"Alexa did a lot more than just be there!" Forrest said, as Alexa silently motioned for him to cut off his words. "Her and her brother, Ash Ketchum, teamed up and saved the Multiverse!" This remark caused the female trainer to facepalm herself.
"S-so that means-" Bryce stammered out. "Y-you're a Champion of Arceus?! A-and your brother is the Champion of Kanto, Ash Ketchum."
"Yep," Alexa said, staring daggers at Brock's younger brother, who cowered at the girl looking at him.
"That's amazing! I've heard so much about you, but I never made the connection!" The boy frantically said, as if he were a fanboy. "You teamed up with some of the strongest trainers and Legendary Pokemon across the globe! You went into the Tree of Beginning with an Elite Team of Aura Guardians! You helped save us all from a Team Rocket Leader capable of traversing the cosmos on a hunt for Arceus! You were given an Ultimate Wish and you used it to bring THE Red Ketchum back to life!... Oh my Arceus, does that mean Red is the rival you were training with in Cerulean Cave?! Is he your dad?!"
"He's not my dad, okay!" Alexa shouted, jumping from her seat and slamming her hands on the table. With all of the people and Pokemon in the room staring at her now, she soon realized that she had lost her cool. "He's just my rival… He helps push me to get stronger. That's all."
"I-I," The boy stuttered, realizing he had struck a nerve with the girl.
"I think that's enough questions for Alexa," Brock said to the boy. "We should be celebrating her victory on winning her first Gym Badge."
"Thanks Brock," Alexa said, following a deep inhale. "I have a question for you, while I'm here. I found two fossils while I was passing through Mount Moon. Is there a restoration machine over at the Pewter Museum so I can revive them?"
"Unfortunately, it's out of commission at the moment," Brock said. "A couple of Team Rocket insurgents tried to bust into the museum and did some damage to the machines… Thankfully Lance got there in time to keep them from running off with any of our fossils. We've had to ship out all of our restoration work to the lab on Cinnabar Island, though. That would probably be your best bet in reviving them."
"Team Rocket insurgents! I thought you guys put an end to-" Bryce exclaimed, before realizing he should just zip his lips. Alexa's head hung low, as she was not in the mood to answer anymore questions.
"Alexa and Ash took care of their boss," Brock said, sternly. "But there are still some members running about Kanto stirring up trouble. It's up to Lance and the G-Men to track them down," Brock said. "It's time that the Ketchum's be given a break from the Rocket's nonsense."
Alexa rose up out of her chair, noticing that her three Pokemon had finished their meals. Returning them all to their Pokeballs, Alexa bowed her head to her hosts. "Brock, Forrest. Thank you for your hospitality. I think it would be best if I hit the road. Next destination: Cinnabar Island."
"Like I said, the pleasure was all mine," Brock said, rising up from his chair, shaking hands with the 15 year old trainer. "You and your teammates are welcome here any time. Safe travels out there."
With a bow of her head, Alexa slung her yellow backpack across her back and opened the door to enter the Pewter City Gym. Crossing the battlefield, making her way to the sliding glass doors, she pulled out her badge case and examined the two badges she now possessed.
'I still have quite a bit to go before I catch up to Red… wouldn't surprise me if he's got half of the Kanto Gym Badges by now… But that won't stop me. I'll do whatever it takes to enter the Indigo League Tournament and beat Ash!'
Author's Note: A little recap of the precursor to this story. Alexa's determined to climb the mountain of challenges ahead, in order to beat her brother and her rival. But who could be missing at her side?
Next stop? Cinnabar Island... with a pitstop in-between.
- Kid Arceus
