=Chapter 7, The First Tests!=
*Jacob to Arky*
*I'm about to head out to Rustboro tonight, I'm still wondering how to raise Coral, my new Feebas that I acquired (acquired because I have no idea what else to describe it as). Coral is certainly not the most powerful Pokemon I've ever heard of, and everyone I've asked yesterday just said to release her.*
*I've looked up in my Pokedex about how to train Coral, but even it doesn't have much information outside of battling it. There isn't much data about Feebas outside of it being shabby and nobody wanting to train it. I'll figure out something for Coral, I'm not about to give up on her yet.*
*Back to what I'm doing today, I'm planning on going to Rustboro to sign up for my very first Gym match. Back in the day like forty or fifty years ago, all a trainer had to do was walk into the gym to challenge the Gym Leader. Yet nowadays you have to schedule a match because of how many trainers there are. I mean, back in Littleroot, I thought seeing ten trainers at a time was a lucky day when I was younger. But here in the rest area, there had to be at least sixty trainers including me, it just shows how amazing being a Pokemon Trainer is!*
=Battle One, the Training Wheels are Off!=
(Jacob's PoV)
"Well Sara here we go, time to go sign up!" Jacob whispered as he strode into to the Rustboro City Gym. "This is our first big test as a team Sara, I hope we do well."
(I don't hope… I know!) Sara whispered to him confidently, though he could tell she was just as nervous as he was. (You will… do well… and we'll help… you out!)
"Good to know… so if I collapse you'll catch me right?" He joked, trying to raise his spirits.
(I'll try… but don't expect… a miracle.) She replied.
He knew he shouldn't be worried about signing up for his first big Gym match, but he was still really nervous. He had never been to a big city like this, and seeing all of the trainers and tall buildings, the shops and all the steel structures of Rustboro was so intimidating for him. Petalburg had been more like what he was used to, having grown up in Littleroot and being 'closer to nature' as Arky had told him he was. However there were almost no trees or plant life like what he was used to and familiar with, it was all concrete, steel, and glass.
That and all the shops, there seemed to be a shop almost everywhere, ranging from clothing stores for humans or accessories for Pokemon, and even some that had both. To shops that sold food, restaurants, grocery stores, Pokemon food stores, fast food places, everything he could think of there seemed to be a store with it. There were other stores that sold traveling equipment and other such merchandise, and all-purpose convenience stores.
The first thing he did upon entering Rustboro City, besides being intimidated, was check his Pokemon in at the Pokemon Center. Without fail all of his Pokemon passed the health check, and Nurse Joy said that all of his Pokemon but Coral were at the peak of health. She said that whatever he was feeding them was really helping their bodies get stronger. She even asked for the recipe of whatever he was feeding them, which he gladly shared, saying that he hoped it helped heal injured Pokemon better.
After he checked them all in, he headed over to the Rustboro Gym, which is what he was entering now after a long walk.
The Rustboro Gym, or at least the lobby, looked pretty interesting. On the sides were stone slabs, where engraved into each slab were the names of every trainer that had defeated the Gym Leader each season and lining the floors were eight statues depicting a different Rock Type Pokemon, each one a different type of rock element, and each statue had a stone slab hanging from it. Each of the slabs had several names written on them already, but for the most part they were blank, awaiting names to be engraved on them for this season.
At the far back next to a large door was a single table with a young lady who was signing up trainers to challenge the Gym Leader. Among them he recognized a familiar face.
"Hey Karen!" He shouted, waving at a certain energetic trainer to get her attention.
Instantly at his voice Karen turned around, smiled enthusiastically and ran over to Jacob, grabbing his hand and shaking it like a jackhammer. "Hey there Jacob old buddy, nice to see ya how you doin, nice Ralts by the way, tell me is it male or female?" She said, not giving him time to ready himself or Sara time to brace herself before she was clutching Jacob's neck to hold on. "Don't tell me, leme guess it's a girl right, I know I'm right! Hardly seen a Ralts since I started training Ziggles and the way it's clinging to you I KNOW it's a girl! Oh Ziggles and I have gotten stronger by the way, nice to know huh? I also got some new friends on my team and let me say they are a ton of fun to train!"
"That's nice to know Karen, but can you please let go of my hand!" Jacob said quickly as he felt Sara losing her grip.
"Oh yea sorry!" Karen said, laughing at her own enthusiasm. "Sorry I got a little carried away, but after you left I had so many boring battles. Poochyena, Wurmple, Shroomish, and the occasional Tailow, nothing and I mean nothing but those! It got boring for me and Ziggles, so we decided to go on to Rustboro through the Petalburg Woods. I decided to start with my first Gym here in Rutboro and sign up for my match, that and I needed to buy some new clothes for my journey. Ziggles tore up all of my traveling clothes by accident. But man are you slow Jacob, how long have you been traveling, you left me about a week ago and you only just showed up here now?"
"Well that's not entirely true, but we can talk about that later." Jacob said as Sara steadied herself and looked up at the older trainer. "This is Sara, a technically 'wild' Ralts. She wanted to join me after I found her starving after you and I battled. Sara, this is Karen, a trainer I battled with Harold prior to meeting you."
(Nice… to meet… you.) Sara said to Jacob, giving Karen a slight bow as he translated for her.
"Oh she's already talking to you psychically huh?" Karen asked in amazement. "Wow, talk about friendly for a Ralts, the Ralts' I've read about don't speak with their mind to their trainer for at least a while after their caught or found, sort of a trust test period from what I've read. She must really trust you or like you if she's speaking to you like this."
(I trust… Jacob… a lot!) Sara said happily. (He's a nice… trainer!)
"She says I'm a nice trainer, and that's why she trusts me a lot." Jacob said to Karen, happy to be playing translator for Sara.
"I figured that, but why didn't you capture her?" She asked curiously. "Sounds like she wouldn't resist at all and would love to be captured by you, so why are you keeping her wild?"
"Sara doesn't like Pokeballs, so I'm respecting her wish to not be put inside one." He said, rubbing Sara's head. "She follows me because she wants to, and listens to my commands when training and in battle, but she's still wild by her wish. So I'm not going to force her into a Pokeball if she doesn't want to."
"Alright that's understandable." She said with a smirk as they both walked back over to the front desk as the line got shorter. "Anyway, where you off to after this, I need to go get some new traveling clothes. I won some spending money thanks to the local Pokemon tourney here."
"Local Pokemon tourney?" Jacob asked as Sara looked at the statues around them.
"Yea, you know a tournament for trainers here in Rustboro, nearly all of the cities have them in some form." She said nonchalantly. "They have them every day, walk in trainers compete and battle for small cash prizes. Nothing fancy, at most each trainer that wins his match gets about five hundred Pokedollars, plus extra depending on the tourney rules and competition. They have them each day; it's funded by the Pokemon League as a way for trainers to finance themselves during their travels. I'll show you where to go if you want after we both sign up."
"That sounds like a good idea; Ivan and Harold are both itching to show off." He said as he imagined telling his two most eager and strongest team members of the tournament.
"What about Sara there, she's a Psychic type, and there aren't many trainers who have Psychic type Pokemon at our level." She said as they moved up. "I'm sure she'd be a grand slam in a fight, Ralts or not. Man how I wish you had her when we first met, I woulda loved to battle against her."
"I don't know, I mean Sara is still a little young and inexperienced…" He said hesitantly as Sara turned to look at him.
(I can battle… just let me… try!) She said confidently.
"I just don't want you getting hurt." He said nervously. "If something bad happened to you, you aren't in a Pokeball so it's not like a trip to the Pokemon Center will fix everything if something happens."
(I can do… it Jacob!) She said with a sharp nod. (Give me… a chance… please?)
Jacob thought about it as Karen walked up to the desk and signed up for a match with the Gym Leader. He knew that Sara was really improving with her Psychic powers, she had finally mastered her confusion attack, and her growl was a little more intimidating now thanks to help from Ivan and Roran. But she was still untested in battle, if she went in as is, she might not fare well under pressure.
Still though he remembered one of his lessons from Arky, the best way to learn was first-hand experience, so he figured it would be best if he listened to Sara's wishes and gave her a taste of real battle. "Alright Sara, after we sign up we'll head over to this local tournament and enter it." He said with a nod.
(Thank you!) Sara said, rubbing her cheek with Jacob's as a sign of affection. (I promise I… won't let… you down!)
"I know you won't." Jacob chuckled as he stepped forward when Karen moved out of line.
He looked at the signup schedule for matches with the Gym Leader, and saw that there were only a few spots and times available for him. He either had to pick tomorrow super early in the morning, as in two hours before dawn, or two days from now at mid-day. While he wanted to get his first Gym over with, he wasn't too eager to wake up hours before his match was to begin just to get there on time before dawn. Neither was Sara, and if any of his Pokemon had been out, neither would they. So he signed up to have his match the day after tomorrow.
"There we go Sara, now we just need to show up and do well, and we might have earned our first Gym badge." He said to Sara as he walked out with Karen leading the way.
"Yea well don't be so easy going, Gym Leaders are tougher than ordinary trainers, if you aren't careful they'll stomp you without breaking a sweat!" Karen said as they turned down one street. "Especially the Rustboro Gym, you can't even challenge the Dewford Gym Leader until you win a badge here in Rustboro. Plus the Gym Leader here uses the same Rock Types that the original Rustboro Gym Leader used back in the day. If I remember her name was Roxanne, but after she retired Karen, an admirer of hers took over, and after she retired so did this one. If I remember her name was Tara."
(She knows… a lot about… this Gym… Jacob.) Sara commented from his shoulder.
"Sara said you seem to know a lot about this Gym." He relayed.
"It's because I want to get an advantage in my match, so I did some research beforehand." She said as she led them down another street toward the edge of town and toward a huge open area that was surrounded by a high fence. "Alright here is the local tournament Jacob, see that man there?"
Jacob looked and saw that there was a man with a clipboard talking to a group of trainers. "Yea?" He replied.
"Talk to him, tell him your name, how many badges you've got, show him your Pokedex and how many Pokemon you're entering into the match." She said in an excited voice. "Then wish yourself luck, because these trainers fight hard. It may only be five hundred Pokedollars but this is how all trainers make their money outside of big league matches. You can enter only one tourney a day, and up to three times a week if you win all three. I'd watch but I want to fight you later on, and I don't want to spoil the surprise of what Pokemon you have, though I can probably guess what you've got. Good luck Jacob!"
"Alright, thanks a lot Karen!" He said as he waved goodbye, watching Karen run back into the city.
(She's weird…) Sara commented as they went to the entrance.
"Well other trainers might have the same opinion about me Sara." He said as the trainers ahead of him entered and vanished out of sight.
The man looked up from his clipboard and examined Jacob momentarily before asking for his name, how many badges he had, and how many Pokemon he planned to enter. After that he asked for his Pokedex and after checking it to see how long he's been a trainer, gave him a number and told him to walk inside until he reached door fifteen and wait for his number to be called.
He entered the opening and saw what he meant by door, along one side of a long corridor were a bunch of odd numbered doors and on the other were even numbered doors. He found door fifteen, and after knocking to let anyone inside know he was entering, opened and walked inside.
The room was fairly large as far as he was aware of, there was enough space for eight trainers and their Pokemon, assuming they were small, to fit in with enough room to walk around. There were already seven other trainers inside and all of them looked up at his entering before returning their attention to their Pokemon, or whatever they were doing before he entered. Guessing that he had to wait there, he found an empty spot where he could sit and waited with Sara in lap.
Through their Psychic link, Jacob could feel her nervousness and excitement about the upcoming match. She had sounded confident before but now that her first match was mere moments away, she was getting nervous and afraid.
He could tell that she wasn't afraid of losing in the match, nor was she worried about doing badly, she was more afraid of letting Jacob down when he had faith in her.
"Hey don't be so worried, it's just like all the other battles we had during Petalburg Woods and while at the rest area." He said. "Don't take it too seriously."
(But you heard… Karen… this time there's… a reward for… winning!) She said nervously, looking up at him with her amber colored eyes. (What if we… lose… what if we… fail?)
"We still have food to last us a few weeks, and I still have that other nugget if we need money." He said with a confident smile. "Just consider this a test of our teamwork and of everything we've been practicing till now, and try to learn from any mistakes we make."
(Alright…) Sara said with a nod.
There came a knock at the door and a voice called out, "Number fifty seven, number fifty seven you're up next!"
One of the trainers stood up and walked out with his Pokemon, a Poochyena. Moments after he left, another knock came and called for number eighty nine.
This time another trainer stood up and walked out with her Wurmple holding onto her back.
It went like this for twenty minutes, with periods of waiting as the trainers in his room left one at a time as they were called out for their battles. One by one the room emptied until only he was left alone with Sara inside.
Wanting to talk to his team before they were called out, Jacob released Harold, Ivan, Roran, Coral and Kora out onto the floor of the waiting room. Coral started flopping around before Jacob grabbed and calmed her down, then he spoke to them all.
"Alright team, we have a Gym match the day after tomorrow, but before that we have a battle today." He said to them all, and he could tell they were hanging on his every word. "This is a really important match, it's just a local tournament for the trainers here in Rustboro, but dozens of people are going to be watching us fight. The winner of each individual match gets five hundred Pokedollars as a prize, while the money is important I'm not too worried about it because we still have plenty of food and medicine to live off of. What's really important is that we treat this as if it were a real Gym match, so when we go in there, we need to be one hundred percent ready!"
All of his team nodded in understanding, faces determined and expressions set. "Sadly Coral, I'm afraid this is one match you can't participate in because there isn't any water for you to swim in, plus you haven't had any experience in battling outside of splashing around in the rest area's pond."
"Feebas bas bas Fee!" Coral said cheerfully.
(She says… it's alright Jacob… I'm right here… if you need… me!) Sara translated for him.
Jacob smiled at his team and recalled them all back into their balls, just as he recalled the last one a knock came at the door and he heard a voice call out his number. He took a deep breath, picked up Sara and put her on his shoulder before leaving the waiting room to follow a woman in an official Pokemon League uniform.
She led him down the hallway and to a fork in the hallway that split up to either the left or right, taking the left path she led him down another hallway and toward a small staircase. "Alright Mr. Beryl, wait here until you are called onto the stage, and good luck." She said with a smile before walking away.
He gulped as he heard a loud cheer come from somewhere, and seconds later another loud cheer. He could imagine trainers currently battling each other in front of a huge crowd, and wondered if perhaps he was wrong to do this. But he didn't get any time as a massive voice over a megaphone called out, "AND NEXT UP FOR THE BEGINNERS' LEAGUE, JACOB BERYL!"
He took a deep, calming breath, and gave Sara a pet on her head for good luck before walking up the small staircase and into bright sunlight.
He looked out as he saw row upon row of raised seats on one side of a big clearing, allowing spectators a clear view of the arena, which he realized was what he was standing on. Across from him was another trainer who was standing there waiting for the match to begin. While he and Sara were getting used to the sight of their first battle arena as well as battle in front of a crowd, the voice on the megaphone continued to talk over the small crowd. The crowd itself wasn't too large, at most the seats could only hold about fifty or seventy people, and there were really only about thirty people at the moment. As for the arena, it was quite spacious, being fifty feet in any direction and had a dome overhead to protect the trainers and their Pokemon from the sunlight.
"THAT'S RIGHT OUR NEXT CONTESTANTS ARE JACOB BERYL FROM LITTLEROOT TOWN, AND HIS OPPONENT IS JEFF COBBLER FROM OUR OWN RUSTBORO CITY." It shouted for all to hear, and at these words Jeff waved to the crowd who all cheered in response. "AT STAKE IS FIVE HUNDRED POKEDOLLARS AS PER WALK IN MATCH RULES, BOTH TRAINERS PLEASE BOW TO YOUR OPPONENT BEFORE WE BEGIN THE MATCH!"
Jacob nodded and bowed to his opponent, who promptly bowed to him before grabbing a Pokeball from his belt. Jacob nodded and put Sara on the ground and grabbed Roran's ball in preparation for the battle.
"REMEMBER THE RULES; THIS IS A FOUR ON FOUR POKEMON BATTLE. BOTH TRAINERS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO SUBSTITUTE A POKEMON WITH ANOTHER UNLESS THEY FORFEIT THE ROUND TO THEIR OPPONENT, THE WINNER WILL BE DECIDED WHEN ONE TRAINER HAS NO MORE POKEMON TO FIELD. BEGIN THE MATCH!" The voice declared.
"Cascoon take to the field!" Jeff declared, releasing a pinkish Pokemon with several spikes and two angry looking eyes.
"Cascoon…" It hissed as it was released.
"Roran you're up!" Jacob declared, releasing Roran from his ball.
"Tailow!" Roran declared.
"Alright Cascoon, let's start this off with String Shot!" Jeff ordered.
"Casc…"Cascoon whispered, before sending out a single sticky strand towards Roran.
"Roran counter it with a quick attack!" Jacob shouted.
"Tailow!" Roran declared, rushing into the air and towards the Cascoon before the string shot could reach him.
Roran connected with his attack and the Cascoon was nocked all the way back to its trainer, its eyes spinning around, clearly indicating that it was done.
"WOW, TALK ABOUT A QUICK ATTACK. THAT LAST MOVE TOOK OUT THE OPPONENT WITH ONE HIT! NOW HE MUST SEND OUT HIS NEXT POKEMON, HIS OPPONENT MAY KEEP HIS CURRENT POKEMON, OR HE CAN BRING IN A FRESH ONE. WHAT WILL THEY SHOW US NOW?"
"Cascoon return buddy." Jeff said, recalling his Pokemon back into its Pokeball.
"Roran, do you feel like sticking out another round?" Jacob asked Roran, who nodded confidently.
Jeff stood up and pulled out his second Pokeball. "Alright Silcoon, take to the field!" He declared, releasing yet another bug type Pokemon similar to Cascoon, only instead of a pinkish shell this one was white, and its eyes were gentler than Cascoon's.
"Alright Roran, Focus Energy!" Jacob ordered, and Roran replied by closing his eyes and relaxing.
"Silcoon, Harden!" Jeff ordered.
"Silcooooon." Silcoon said before its shell gained a gleaming sheen, indicating that it had increased its defenses.
"Roran, Peck attack!" Jacob ordered, knowing that Roran's sharp beak combined with Focus Energy would give it the advantage over Silcoon.
"Tailow!" Roran chirped, taking to the air and flying at Silcoon, beak ready and face set.
"Silcoon use string shot!" Jeff said.
"Sil…" Silcoon said, releasing yet another sticky strand at Roran, only this time it succeeded in wrapping around Roran, slowing his attack down and throwing off his aim.
"Now use Tackle!" Jeff ordered, and the Silcoon propelled itself forward with the aid of its own string shot.
The combined attacks of String Shot and Tackle, combined with its previous Harden was too much for Roran, who thanks to the string shot was unable to veer away. He connected with Silcoon's attack and was knocked flat on his back, eyes swirling in defeat and confusion.
"Roran return!" Jacob said quickly, recalling Roran instantly. "Don't worry Roran, as soon as we're done here I'm taking you to the Pokemon Center."
"COME FROM BEHIND VICTORY IF EVER THERE WAS ONE, AFTER A RESOUNDING ONE HIT KNOCK OUT, JEFF PULLS BACK WITH A STRING SHOT, TACKLE, HARDEN COMBO! HOW WILL JACOB RESPOND?"
Jacob looked at the Silcoon and pulled out Harold's ball. "Harold, you're up!"
Harold appeared in a flash, and gave his cry as he faced off against the Silcoon. "Silcoon use String Shot!" Jeff ordered.
"Harold use Quick Attack!" Jacob shouted.
"Tree!" Harold said as he got on all fours and quickly raced forward, outpacing the sticky string that Silcoon emitted.
The same thing repeated for Harold and Silcoon that happened between Roran and Cascoon. Harold smacked Silcoon head first, and sent it flying back into its trainer's arms, eyes spinning as it sported a very dark bruise on its shell. As for Harold, he wobbled slightly as he returned to Jacob's side of the arena, the Silcoon's hardened shell having absorbed most of the damage but not enough to keep Silcoon in the fight.
"Harold, that's enough, return for now and rest." Jacob said, recalling Harold into his ball as Jeff recalled Silcoon. "Ivan, you're up!"
Jacob called out Ivan from his ball, and he promptly growled to the crowd to try and look intimidating. As for Jeff, he sent out a surprising Pokemon that not Jacob was not expecting.
"Ditto, take to the field!" Jeff declared, sending out a pink blob-like Pokemon.
"Ditto!" Ditto declared as it faced off against Ivan.
"Ditto, use Transform!" Jeff ordered, and Ditto concentrated for a moment before it glowed, shape shifted, and reemerged as an exact copy of Ivan.
"Well… this is a problem Ivan." Jacob told Ivan as he faced off against himself. "Ivan, use Growl!"
"Grrrrr." Ivan growled, showing his fangs and glaring at his duplicate.
"Ditto, counter with your own Growl!" Jeff ordered.
"Grrrr." Ditto mimicked, down to the glaring eyes and fangs that Ivan did, only Ivan seemed to quiver slightly as he took one step back.
*Dang it, I forgot about Poochyena, as soon as something fights back they tend to lose their nerves.* Jacob cursed to himself, forgetting the most basic rule about Poochyena battles. *Meanwhile that Ditto doesn't lose its nerve because it's merely copying the moves and looks of the Pokemon it became, not the personality and traits belonging to the Pokemon it copies.*
"Ivan use Bite!" Jacob ordered, trying to get Ivan back on track.
"Arf!" Ivan barked, face determined again and charging forward with his fangs bearing down on Ditto.
"Ditto counter with tackle!" Jeff ordered, and his Ditto charged forward.
The two Pokemon met and Ivan sank his teeth into Ditto, just as Ditto slammed its head into Ivan. The winner of the fight was Ivan, whose bite caused Ditto to flinch, messing up the Tackle and throwing it off course. The two Pokemon separated and Ditto stood up shakily, trying to face Ivan for a counter attack.
"Ivan use Tackle while it's off balance!" Jacob declared.
"Arrrrrrf!" Ivan growled, racing forward and smacking Ditto in the side, knocking him to the ground and causing Ditto to revert back to its original form.
"Ditto return!" Jeff declared, recalling Ditto back into its ball.
"Nice job Ivan, now return and take a good rest." Jacob ordered, holding up Ivan's ball and recalling his Poochyena so he could get a well-deserved break.
"NOW THIS IS TURNING INTO AN INTENSE YET ONE SIDED FIGHT, JEFF IS DOWN TO HIS LAST POKEMON, WHILE JACOB STILL HAS ONE IN RESERVE AND TWO STILL PRIMED AND READY TO FIGHT! WHAT WILL JEFF'S LAST POKEMON BE, AND CAN IT TURN THE TIDE OF THIS ONE SIDED MATCH?"
Jeff smirked as he pulled out his last Pokeball and held it for a moment, before declaring in a confident and loud voice, "Take to the field, Abra!"
Jacob watched as a flash of light released a yellow, cat-like Pokemon that looked like it had some kind of body armor on its chest and a long tail. It seemed to be sleeping, but that wasn't what got Jacob surprised. It was the fact that he was fighting an Abra.
"A Psychic type, this is going to be a challenge." Jacob whispered to himself as he recalled what he knew about Abra from the Pokenet.
*If I'm right, Abra spend all of their time sleeping to help it retain control of its telekinetic powers. Yet the only move it can use is Teleport if I'm right… so that means his plan…*
"Sara." He said, turning to look at Sara next to him.
(Got it…) She said, already sensing his plan.
"WELL THIS LOOKS LIKE IT'S GOING TO COME DOWN TO A ONE ON ONE PSYCHIC TYPE SHOWDOWN LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! JEFF HAS BROUGHT OUT AN ABRA, A RARE SIGHT, AND JACOB COUNTERS WITH HIS OWN RALTS, AN EVEN RARER SIGHT! CAN THESE TWO PSYCHIC TYPES COUNTER EACH OTHER MOVE FOR MOVE?"
"Sara, all this Abra knows how to do is teleport, so you'll only get one chance to score a hit before it teleports away!" He told Sara as she slowly waddled out onto the battlefield.
(I got it… Jacob… just tell me… what to do!) She said confidently.
Once she was ready to battle, Abra vanished without a single command from its trainer, clearly indicating that it too had a Psychic link with Jeff, just like Sara had a link with Jacob. Sara looked around silently, trying to figure out where Abra would appear. At the same time Jacob was watching out as well, looking for any sign of where Abra was teleporting to.
Sara had mastered her confusion, but because she was still a Ralts and her Psychic powers had yet to develop and manifest fully, she only had enough mental power to use two confusion attacks before she was worn out entirely. If Abra dodged them both, she was finished.
Suddenly Abra seemed to fade in directly to Sara's left. "Sara, on your left!" Jacob said, but he was too slow to call out the command before Abra once more vanished from sight.
Sara responded to the command, but at the same time responded to Jacob's feelings as she turned to her left and used a confusion attack at nothing but air where Abra had been. The attack worked, but Sara quickly clutched her head painfully for a while.
(That… hurts…) She moaned to him as she recovered from her own attack. (Jacob… you don't need… to call out… where he is… just think it… I can sense… your thoughts and… feelings faster… than your words.)
Jacob nodded and resumed searching again. Abra and his trainer were clearly aware of Sara's weakness, and knew that they had to wear her down; if she went down they'd win because none of his other Pokemon could keep up with an Abra teleporting around. He'd win through sheer exhaustion. Yet Jacob also knew that Abra was not a very resilient Pokemon, if it got hit even once it wouldn't last, so Sara had to get the next hit to get the win.
Jacob looked around for any sign of Abra appearing, and sure enough he spotted Abra rematerializing to Sara's right.
Thinking with his thoughts, he told Sara where he was and instantly Sara used her second Confusion attack, and this time it was on the mark. Abra was knocked onto its back, his head slowly shifting from side to side in confusion.
"Abraaaaaaaaaaa…" It groaned before its trainer recalled it.
"AND THE WINNER IS JACOB BERYL, CONGRATULATIONS ON AN EPIC BATTLE!" The announcer said over the megaphone as an official walked onto the stage.
Jacob shook hands with the official, thanked Jeff for a tough fight, and accepted the five hundred Pokedollars for the match. He followed the official out of the beginner's arena and back outside. For his first public match that was really serious, he and his team did very well, and they all learned from it.
Yet only one phrase crossed Jacob's mind as he held a tired and sleeping Sara in his arms. *The training wheels have finally come off.*