I also wanted to throw this out there, for those of you who have read past the first chapter, that if you'd like anybody to read a story you've made, feel free to PM me about that as well. It would be my pleasure to help people in this community with their own passion projects.
Another note that I forgot to mention as I first posted this. One of my favorite parts about XD Gale of Darkness was its incredibly soundtrack. In the interest of introducing people unfamiliar to it throughout the story, I might put the soundtrack name in bold and parenthesis for a section that I felt was better to read when listening to it. Obviously, it's purely optional, but recommended.
Without further ado, here is the next chapter!
I couldn't believe it. Even as we made our way to one of the island's many empty dirt lots, I kept subtly pinching myself, thinking that I would just wake up and find myself staring at my ceiling fan again. There were a lot of open spaces like these on Citadark. In half a decade's time, Orre hoped for Citadark to become a luxury housing area and, according to my father, almost a dozen families had already staked their claim on the Isle.
We walked for about an hour, with Salvator trying to find the perfect empty lot. His tiny black eyes squinted, as he seemed to be doing mental simulations of his own to find the optimal battlefield. Eventually, he settled on a dirt lot with two under-construction houses on either side. The foreman there gave the all-clear, but asked that the workers be able to watch the battle. Salvator happily agreed, but my nerves weren't having any of it. Just that morning I was ready to be strapped into a pod and fail a few simulations; this was a lot different.
The workers drew lines of a normal battlefield in the dirt, and gathered around the large lot. This particular group of houses overlooked the ocean, and with the blazing early afternoon sun and shot up nerves, I was building up a sweat before the battle even started. I had never been in a real Pokemon battle prior to this, so I only had the words of my dad and the simulations to work off of. In an effort to calm myself down, I thought about the things that my father had told me about Pokemon battles.
Well Son, in a Pokemon battle each trainer sends out one or more of their Pokemon. When the referee declares the battle to begin, you engage your opponent until either one or all of one person's Pokemon are unable to continue. Then a winner is decided.
Even though I was discouraged about having ever forgotten those details in the first place, they were the things that I could latch onto as I stood in my position. It felt like I could close my eyes, and still be conscious of where every worker was staring at me from. I kept quiet, putting my hands in my pockets so that people couldn't see that they were shaking.
The head foreman stood at the edge of the arena, between me and Salvator. I assumed that he was going to be the referee. Looking at the opponent for my first ever battle, I saw an unusual amount of enthusiasm from Salvator.
"Well Hakins, it is time for a real lesson in the world of Pokemon!" Salvator exclaimed, rubbing his hands together. This caused the surrounding workers to holler and pound their fists against the walls of the houses. When Salvator saw how nervous I looked, his expression softened a bit.
"Hakins, being nervous is natural. But for the sake of the Pokemon which you wield now, your commands must be confident. The Pokemon within that ball is one that will help me know just how well you paid attention in last week's Normal-type simulations…"
The SIM master smirked.
"...Before you gave up, that is."
At saying this, a heavily bearded foreman loudly voiced an Ooooh, causing his friend next to him to slug him in the arm. This caused an uproar of workers demanding that the battle start. The strangers cheered me on, and it was their voices that gave me the confidence to look Salvator directly in the eyes.
"Sir, I didn't give up. I was just waiting for a moment like this. Foreman, sir, let's get this show on the road."
The awkwardness of saying that quickly vanished when the bearded foreman shouted,
"I like the way this kid thinks. Start things up Don!"
After Don managed to hush the crowd, he spoke.
"Trainers," he said, gesturing at us, "and ladies," he said, pointing at all of his workers.
A brief spurt of laughter shook the crowd.
"This will be a 1 on 1 Pokemon Battle! The battle will be over when one trainer's Pokemon is unable to continue. Trainers! Go to the center of the battlefield and shake hands!"
As I made my way over to Salvator, my adrenaline was pumping and excitement surged through my veins. In my eagerness I shook his hand a little too hard, but when I looked at Salvator crack a grin, that handshake was a thing of the past. We made our way back to our respective sides. Don continued:
"Trainers! Please bring out your Pokemon!" he yelled.
As I wasted time wondering which Pokemon I was holding, Salvator was already prepared.
"Of course Don! Girafarig, let's GO!" Salvator underhanded the Poke Ball and out came Girafarig, looking ready to battle.
Not wanting to delay the battle any longer, I gripped the Poke Ball in my hands. I was pretty good at throwing things, so a Poke Ball was no different.
"Alright, let's go Pokemon!" I yelled awkwardly, throwing the Ball. From the ball, a Kecleon emerged, also looking like it was raring to go.
"You've battled with this Pokemon in simulations before!" Salvator yelled. "Let's just hope that you remember some of its moves."
"No more chit-chat," Don said. "Battle begin!"
(Play Rider Willie Theme from Pokemon Colosseum)
"The first move is mine!" yelled Salvator. "Girafarig, use Tackle!"
At saying this, his Pokemon began charging towards Kecleon at full speed. I panicked for a moment.
"Kecleon dodge-" I was too slow.
Girafarig hit my Pokemon head-on, causing Kecleon to lose its balance and tumble back towards me.
"Kecleon! No!" I had just looked at it, forgetting that I was in the middle of a battle.
Things snapped into reality at that moment. This was nothing like a couple of sprites beating each other senselessly without dodging. This was dynamic, and I had to get my head in the game quickly.
"If you will not make a move, then I will have to! Girafarig! Zen Headbutt now!" Salvator commanded, and once again Girafarig charged straight towards Kecleon, the top of its white head pulsating with energy.
"Kecleon, please get up!" I shouted.
Hearing my calls, the chameleon Pokemon sprung up.
"Alright, Kecleon, dodge that!" I said more confidently.
Kecleon blended in with the ground a bit and snaked to the side, causing Girafarig to lose its balance and tumble in the dirt. This maneuver got the group of workers riled up, and the bearded man's friends were struggling to hold him back from running into the arena.
Salvator straightened out his duster. "Well well well! That was good Hakins! But in battle, Pokemon must use their moves. Girafarig! Use-"
"Alright! Use Camouflage to protect yourself" I interrupted. Kecleon immediately disappeared into the ground.
"Not good enough!" Salvator replied, his right hand twiddling his moustache. "Now use Odor Sleuth!"
Girafarig closed its eyes and lowered its head. I was utterly baffled by Salvator's tactic.
But there wasn't time to think about that. I ran through a list of common moves in my head, and threw out a guess.
"Kecleon? Can you use Double Team?" I asked.
My question was quickly answered, as small apparition-like shapes began duplicating and darting all across the battlefield. Workers in the crowd were startled by the snake-like figures, and the bearded worker screamed and fell backwards.
My confidence was through the roof! Not only was Kecleon unable to be seen, but with Double Team used, it would be almost impossible for Girafarig to land an attack. Soon, the battle would-
"I think that it's time to wrap this up, Hakins!" Salvator announced, snapping me from my thoughts. "Girafarig, Zen Headbutt, full power!"
The ferocity of his command completely threw me off guard. I had no idea why he would do that. There was no chance of his Pokemon landing that. Then it happened.
"Gir-Afa-RIG!"
Girafarig then threw an extremely powerful Zen Headbutt at one of the dozens of shifting copies of Kecleon. The result was a massive shockwave that sent the dirt of the lot into a storm, blinding everybody including me.
"Kecleon!" I yelled through the thick dirt cloud.
(End)
Eventually the dust settled, and Kecleon was on its back in a small crater that was once a flat lot.
"Kecleon is unable to continue!" Don yelled out. "Girafarig wins, which means that the match goes to Salvator!"
There were hoots and hollers all around, but the only thing that I could think of was how utterly I failed. The loss itself wasn't something that I really cared too much about; the well-being of Kecleon was far more important to me. I rushed over to the crater and held Kecleon in my arms.
"Kecleon? Kecleon, are you okay?" I asked, feeling guilty over what had happened.
"Kec-leon," the Pokemon responded, trying to assure me that it was fine.
"That was quite a battle, Hakins." I turned to see Salvator and Girafarig behind me. Girafarig was enjoying a scratching under the chin that the SIM Master was giving it.
"You did great Girafarig." Salvator said warmly. "Now return." With a click on the Poke Ball, the victorious Pokemon was sent back in a red flash. With that being taken care of, Salvator crouched by me.
"Will Kecleon be alright?" I asked feebly.
"He will be fine," Salvator assured me, "It would help if you returned Kecleon to its Poke Ball to heal. That is what is best for him."
"Sounds good," I said. "Alright Kecleon, thanks for everything. Please try to rest now."
After saying that, I clicked the button on the back of the Ball, and Kecleon was returned just like Girafarig. Don and the workers approached us shortly after, giving me pats on the back and congratulating me on a fiery first battle. I didn't feel that way though.
"Salvator, I'll go back to doing simulations now. You've proven that they work after all."
"Hakins," Salvator replied. "I don't think you quite understand, so let me explain."
He turned to the workers, who were tightly huddled around them.
"You can hear what I have to say too, but give us some breathing room, for crying out loud!"
"You heard 'em boys!" Don said loudly. "Back it up!"
The workers took a few steps back, and then sat down in the dirt, clearly interested in what Salvator had to say.
"Alright, now that I can breathe..." Salvator took a breath, and then his gaze returned back onto me.
"When I first met you, Hakins, your passion for Pokemon seemed up front and center, and I was surprised that you might actually need private lessons. And then when your simulations went so horribly, I was quite confused. It seemed to be an impossible contradiction."
At saying this, he tapped one of his index fingers against his forehead.
"To be entirely honest with you, I had no idea what I was going to do about it. The simulations that I set up did not work at all because I was trying to mold them to the traditional model of student I'm accustomed to working with. In order to determine a better path forwards, I had to give you the day off so that I could examine ALL of your previous simulation footage. You remember the unusual call, right?" I nodded.
It was just another morning of looking at the fan when my mother knocked on the door, and said that I wouldn't have to go to simulation training that day. At first I assumed that I had gotten in trouble for something that I wasn't aware of, but then I realized that it had to be of some importance in order to make Mom wake up that early. With the realization that I wouldn't have to go fail another simulation, I gladly played Assassin's Creed and just relaxed the day away.
"After lengthy examination I had my suspicions," Salvator continued. "This was a means of making sure that I knew what was amiss. I determined that we would battle here before you even walked in."
I smiled at that. As far as I had known prior, the last thing Salvator wanted to do was invest time outside of our sessions trying to help me.
"How did you know?" I asked.
"I did not know before our battle, but if there is one thing I've learned in my years as a SIM Master, it's that battles are a great lens into the mind of Trainers. Let me say that I am glad that you proved today that my faith in you was well placed. Now, let's talk about our battle. How do you think it went, Hakins?"
"That battle was fiery!" one worker shouted.
"I've seen them on TV, but being there for one was something else." replied another.
"Since when did the Instructor say that he cared about what you lugs thought?" Don growled. "Shut up and let the kid talk!"
Dozens of pairs of eyes locked on me, waiting for me to reply. The pressure for me to speak made me only say the question that was on my mind.
"How?" I asked Salvator. "How did you hit Kecleon with Zen Headbutt? Not only was he camouflaged, but I set up a Double Team too! I may be new to real battling, but I know that evasiveness that high makes hits nearly impossible!"
Salvator smiled. "Do you remember when I had Girafarig use Odor Sleuth?"
I nodded.
"The move Odor Sleuth has more than one effect, Hakins. In addition to allowing Normal-type moves to hit Ghost-types, which I am sure that you knew already, it also-"
"Guaranteed that the an evasive target could be hit." I finished, realizing how dumb I was for not figuring that out in the moment.
"Correct. Now, Odor Sleuth takes time to use. However, rather than capitalizing on that by attacking, you instead went completely defensive, trying to guarantee Kecleons safety. Am I right so far?"
Once again, I could only nod. Salvator looked affectionately at the Pokeball he had been gesturing with while he was talking, and finally secured them in his duster.
"Now I understand the importance of defense. But if you do not believe in your Pokemon, nor trust that it will do its best when attacking, then you will struggle to win battles. Offense can be best defense Hakins, and this old phrase holds true for a reason. Remember what you have learned today, and continue to grow from it."
I could feel myself getting frustrated. Was this it? Would I have to go right back to doing simulations again the day after? No. I couldn't.
Don checked his watch. "Alright, boys! Back to work, all of you! Who knows, maybe if you actually put some effort into it, we could have some more battles on this empty lot."
And just like that, the workers were back to building the houses. After thanking the workers for being a great crowd, and trying to stay upright while having my hand shaken by the bearded worker, we began the walk back to the SIM Center. Away from the crowd of spectators, I spoke.
"Salvator, what do I do now? After having a real Pokemon Battle, I don't think I can ever go back to doing simulations again."
Salvator, not looking in my direction, raised an eyebrow. I was not done speaking, however.
"I know that I have a lot to learn about Pokemon and battling, but this is the first time that I've felt like this. The feelings...adrenaline, excitement, confusion...even the sting of defeat. I know that this might come off as self-centered, but I want to continue to feel this way, alongside Pokemon."
Salvator stopped walking, and turned to look at me.
"Hakins, if this is what you truly want, then say it with heart!" He said loudly, clenching his fists. "Do you want to do this? Then look me in the eyes and tell me, Hakins! Show me this passion that you speak of!"
I was taken aback by the energy resonating from Salvator. I didn't know where he was going with this, but I wasn't going to back down.
"I want to become a Pokemon Trainer!" I yelled, looking the veteran instructor directly in the eyes. My voice echoed through the peaks of the isle.
Salvator smiled, and put his left hand in his duster pocket, pulling out a closed envelope.
"I will never doubt your passion again. Take this," he said, putting the envelope in my hands.
"What is-"
Salvator clearly anticipated me having a question, and swiftly interrupted.
"Bring that letter to your parents. What I wrote in said letter is permission to end all simulation lessons and begin the very journey that you desire. When we reach the Simulation Center, I have a few more things to give you."
After saying this, he turned and began jogging. A lot had just happened. My first battle and a heart to heart with the coldest person that I had known. There was too much excitement ahead to have gotten bogged down in overthinking, though. I loved a good run, so I took off after him, excited for what the future held.