Author's Notes:

Eevee in this chapter knows some attacks that he shouldn't know at his level. I'm just going to chalk that up to good breeding. After all, There isn't really a minimum level to learn an attack, if you can learn it then you can learn it! Anyways…

A Friendly Rivalry

Jet had set his phone on a silent alarm around six am, so he wouldn't wake the girls. He got up quickly and quietly and started getting dressed. He had been sleeping on the floor while both Amy and Natalie took the bed. The reason behind this was that there were no more rooms left for Amy and it was much too expensive to have her stay in a hotel.

Jet had gotten ready and grabbed his belt. He looked over and saw the two girls sleeping and smiled to himself. Amy had a terrible case of pillow hair, and she drooled while snoring lightly. Natalie, on the other hand, was mumbling in her sleep, "No, the other one. But I don't want to!"

Jet silently put on his belt and left the room. As soon as he shut the door, Amy woke up and said, "Huh, what time is it?" Beside Amy, Natalie mumbled sleepily, "Go back to bed, Jethro. Give me fifteen more minutes."

Deciding there was no trouble afoot; Amy laid back down and went to sleep.

Jet had taken the bus to a park that was ten minutes from downtown. It was a small park that looked as though its best uses were for barbeques and dog walks, but Jet figured it would have to do as a training ground. He sent out all of his Pokémon and had them line up.

"Ok guys, this is the big one. In four days we are going to challenge the Pewter City Gym for its badge. From what I hear, our opponent is no push over."

Jet paused for a second, and then continued, "We've been through a lot together; all of us. We've all had our fair share of hard fights. This Gym's specialty is rock type Pokémon. Aside from Pugsly, no one here is really suited to take on this type."

Jet scratched his head and said, "I've been thinking up strategies all night in order to be prepared for anything this guy might throw at us, so that's mostly what we are going to be doing for the next couple of days; strategizing."

Jet turned to Spark and said, "I might have you battle some local trainers to get your level up over the upcoming days, so be prepared. Your strength will be your agility."

Spark nodded nervously, and Jet turned to Pugsly, "We are going to be relying on you a lot during this match, so practice your techniques and get ready to shine."

Pugsly pounded his chest fiercely. Jet turned to Thorn, "Your Metal Claw will be a secret weapon, so I'll need you to focus on maneuvering and strengthening that weapon."

Turning to Butters, Jet said, "I'm going to need you to be quick, try not to get hit. Your Confusion could prove to be invaluable, though."

To the last two, Jet said, "If we do fight rock type Pokémon, then you two will be at a disadvantage. We are going to work on strategies to keep you guys from getting hurt."

And so, the training began. Jet had his Pokémon focus on mostly maneuvering; having them use their agility to get around their opponents defenses and striking hard. Watching his Pokémon work, Jet realized that he had never been more nervous before a match before, and was determined that his Pokémon would make it out of this alive.

XXX

Back at the room, Amy had just got finished getting dressed, "So, Nat, what are we doing today?"

Natalie was putting on her sneakers, "First thing's first, let's get some food."

And so the girls found a café right down the street from the Pokémon Center, and got to know each other better.

"So, you worked with Professor Oak, too?"

"Well, yeah," said Amy, "He's my grandpa."

Natalie raised her eyebrows, "Seriously? You have a famous Grandpa?"

Amy laughed, "Yeah, I live with him and my mom. My parents got divorced when I was younger, so my mom moved with me to Pallet Town, and we've been staying there ever since."

"Oh," said Natalie, "Got any brothers or sisters?"

"Yeah, but my brother Gary lives in the Johto with my dad. What about you, any brothers?"

Natalie rolled her eyes and said, "Three of them, all older. They're all off at college, but growing up with them was a nightmare. My oldest brother is a trainer. He's the one that made me get my license. Paid for it and everything."

Amy smiled, "Growing up in my house, raising Pokémon is like, mandatory."

"I bet," said Natalie, "My last ex was a trainer too. He used to do all of these underground battles and just crush everyone. He used to always buy me whatever I wanted with the prize money, but he was a cheating asshole so I had to let him go."

Amy sighed, "Been there."

Natalie chewed a piece of toast and said, "He was supposed to get his own Gym from his dad, but the Viridian Gym closed down so I bet that probably pissed him off. What about you? How's the love life of Amy Oak?"

"Ehh," said Amy, "Broke up with my boyfriend, Brett, like two months ago. Haven't really met anyone else I'm interested in. Brian use to have a crush on me, but I don't really like him in that way."

Natalie said, "What about Jethro?"

"What about him? I thought you two had something going on?"

Natalie shrugged, "I don't know about that."

Amy frowned and said, "In any case, you two make a cute couple. You should talk to him."

After their breakfast, Natalie and Amy started window shopping at the many shops that were available down town. After a while, they came upon a crowd of people in front of a fountain looking up at the sky. It was there that the girls saw a Pidgey and a Spearow doing battle.

"Spearow, finish him off with Peck!"

"Pidgey, dodge it and use Tackle!"

The Pidgey dodged Spearow's attack and went in for a Tackle. The Spearow, however, flew out of the way just in time. Pidgey was obviously not that talented a flyer, because it Tackled itself right into the ground.

"Ah, Pidgey! No!"

The trainer's cries fell on deaf ears. The Pidgey was now unconscious, and the Spearow circled overhead victoriously. The crowd applauded the spectacle, and both Pokémon were recalled. Amy turned to Natalie with a big smile and asked, "You wanna have a battle real quick?"

Natalie grinned and said, "Hell yeah!"

Someone from the crowd said, "Hey, another battle!"

Suddenly the crowd shifted its attention as both Natalie and Amy pulled out their pokeballs. Amy said, "How about the loser buys the winner lunch later? And two on two sound good?"

Natalie said, "Sounds perfect! Go, Spinarak!"

Spinarak was sent fourth, and a boy from the crowd yelled, "Eek, a Spinarak!"

Amy grinned and said, "Let's go, Hoot-hoot!"

The owl Pokémon came out and hooted excitedly, its wings flapping with enthusiasm.

"Hoot-hoot, use Peck!"

"Spinarak, use slam!"

Spinarak used stringshot and threw Amy's Hoot-hoot like a stuffed owl. The crowd ohh'd and ahh'd. Amy thought to herself, Using its web for an offensive attack? Clever! Not bad, Nat, Not bad at all.

"Now use Cobweb, Spinarak!"

"Cobweb?" Amy asked. But she was answered when Spinarak shot a web net from its mouth and trapped her Hoot-hoot. Amy groaned and said, "Hoot-hoot, return!"

Natalie smiled and said, "You thought you had me with a flying type, didn't you?"

Amy sighed and said, "You're better than I thought. But that Hoot-hoot hasn't really been trained, let's see how you handle one who has. Go Ivysaur!"

There were a couple of gasps from the crowd at seeing a rare Pokémon sent out to battle. Natalie said, "Oh wow, nice!"

Amy said, "Ivysaur, use Leech seed!"

"Spinarak, use Bug Bite!"

A seed was launched from Ivysaur's back and hit Spinarak. As soon as it made contact, vines burst out of the seed and wrapped around Spinarak's body. Ivysaur then started to drain Spinarak's energy through a thin vine that connected the seed to his back.

"Spinarak, use Poison Sting!"

"Ivysaur, use Body Slam!"

Ivysaur dodged his foes Poison Sting and hit him with a hard Body slam. Spinarak tried to recover but the Leech Seed was still sapping his energy. Natalie said, "Spinarak, return!"

After recalling Spinarak she sent out her Eevee and told him, "Watch out for that Leech Seed!"

"Ivysaur, use Vine Whip!"

"Eevee, use Quick Attack!"

Eevee's attack struck first, but Ivysaur took the blow and delivered his own. He used his Vine Whip to strike Eevee first, and then he used Wrap to trap him.

"Good job, Ivysaur, now slam it!"

"Eevee, use Hidden Power!"

Eevee was lifted in the air by Ivysaur's Vines. He used Hidden Power to great effect; not only did it free him from his foe's wrap, but he frosted the vines, numbing them.

"Ok Eevee, use Takedown!"

"Use Takedown, Ivysaur!"

In terms of pure force, Ivysaur had the advantage. Both Pokémon attacked head on, but Eevee was the one knocked back. Not that Ivysaur didn't take any damage; he immediately had a large lump on his head.

"Ok boy, let's finish this! Use Sleep Powder!"

"Eevee, don't breath it in!"

Ivysaur expelled a purple mist at Eevee, but the latter jumped over the attack and landed behind Ivysaur. Once behind him, Eevee bit Ivysaur's hind leg with all of his might.

Ivysaur yelled and bucked until Eevee was sent flying. Natalie said, "Good job, boy! Keep it up!"

Around them the crowd was applauding, "Wow, this battle is much more entertaining than the last one!"

"Ok, Eevee," Natalie said, "Use Quick Attack!"

"Growl, Ivysaur!"

Ivysaur let out a powerful Growl that made the surrounding crowd cover their ears. The force of the Growl lessened the power of Eevee's Quick Attack, so Ivysaur took less damage.

"Ivysaur, Body slam!"

"Dodge it, Eevee!"

Eevee rolled sideways out of the way. After dodging, Eevee went in for a Tackle, but Ivysaur butted heads with Eevee and it became a power struggle.

"Use Hidden Power!"

Natalie's Eevee once again used his ice type Hidden Power, which knocked his opponent back and made him flinch.

"Now Tackle, Eevee!"

"Dodge and use Vine Whip!"

Ivysaur pulled off a daring dodge, and struck Eevee with Vine Whip. This time, however, he didn't wrap his opponent for fear of his Hidden Power.

"Eevee, use Takedown!"

"Body slam, Ivysaur!"

Ivysaur jumped up, and Body slammed Eevee to the ground. Amy called, "Again!" and Ivysaur jumped up and struck again, causing Eevee to cry in pain.

"No, Eevee! Use Hidden Power!"

But Eevee couldn't muster up the strength.

Amy said, "Again!" and Natalie quickly recalled Eevee before he could receive any more damage. Natalie said, "You win, I owe you lunch."

The crowd applauded as Amy recalled her Ivysaur. Both girls shook hands and Amy said, "That was a great match! I'm a little surprised! Your Pokémon really are something else."

Natalie smiled and said, "That Ivysaur of yours is strong! That was the first time my Eevee ever lost a match. Well, aside from when he used to spar with Jethro's Charmander."

They spent the rest of the day hanging out and didn't get back to the room until about seven. When they got back, Jet still wasn't there. He didn't return, in fact, until around ten thirty.

"Where the hell have you been?" Natalie asked.

"I found out where the local trainers around here like to hang out. I've been battling Spark and Pugsly all night. Made a hell of a lot of money."

"Spark and Pugsly?" Amy asked.

"My Pichu and my Mankey. I'm getting them ready for my match against the Gym leader. I think I'm going to branch out and battle my other Pokémon as well, just to keep them sharp. What did you two do today?"

"Oh, you know," said Amy, "Shopping and checking out the city, nothing special." Natalie looked at Amy and smiled.

Author's Notes:

So Amy and Natalie are becoming friends while Jet's away training for his big match. Next chapter will see his first Gym Battle. Will Pugsly be able to handle Brock's rock types single handedly? Will Jet's other Pokémon be able to hold their own? Stay tuned to find out!

And, as always, please review!