Galaxy God signing in. A chapter immediately posted a day after?! Well, it isn't really hard. It mainly involves cleaning up posts, rewriting them to fit the standard progression format that stories tend to follow. Anyhow, I hope you enjoy the "actual" first chapter, seeing as the previous one was just a prologue at best.
Cliffside Brawl
On one of the many perches that jutted out the massive mountain range of Mt. Coronet, a child walked along the dangerous and rugged path haphazardly. He was closely followed behind by a Pokemon, a Ground and Dragon dual-type well known to the region. The kid would take a moment of reprieve to glance out to the scenery that unfolded before them. All of Sinnoh, or at least one half of it, was reserved for him to bear witness to in the dazzling sunshine.
Two Luxrays could be seen leading a Shinx, presumably their child, down the rocky slope...probably foraging for food. As Staravias, Starlys, and Staraptors flew across the sky in flocks, the boy couldn't help but feel a surge of pride in the beauty of the world. This peace and tranquility was the core of what life itself was! His Gabite nudged him, eager to get going.
"...Gabite, Gabite."
"...Yeah, sorry, Chaser."
Noah smiled and continued his trek through the mountains. As Noah walked through, a white haired individual silently followed him from a distance. The mysterious figure laughed quietly to himself.
"I bet this chump doesn't even know I'm following him...whaddya say, Monferno? Should we screw with this guy?" The fiery chimp on his shoulder grinned from cheek to cheek, and gave him a nod. The boy grinned in turn. "Alright then..."
He slowly made his way towards Noah, making barely any noise. Once he positioned himself behind his prey, he took a deep breath.
"HEY YOU!"
Noah jumped slightly, and his Pokemon would turn around, poised to strike. He raised his hands quickly, and slowly turned around. Keeping a level composure, he eyed the boy who had startled him.
"...What are you doing out here in mountains? It's dangerous for kids to be hanging around here." Noah maintained his footing, but his choice of words couldn't have been poorer. He was neglecting the fact that this person was taller than him, and probably older to boot.
"Who you callin' a kid, kid? And for your information, this is MY turf! You're the one who shouldn't be here," the trainer said belligerently.
"Turf? Out in the wilderness? How pedantic. This is free game for anyone. Know your place, hmph." Noah stuck his chin up, nose pointing to the sky as he smugly locked his arms together and rested them across his chest.
"Know my place!? Who the hell do you think you're talking to, bud!? Listen here... I claimed this area as my training spot. And I don't want some random kid wandering around here."
His eyebrows perked up, his interest caught.
"Is that so? You don't strike me as the kind of guy who'd take training seriously..."
"Like hell I don't! Who the hell do you think I am?"
Noah brought a hand up to his scarf to readjust it. His Gabite glanced at him. He didn't like it when Noah did that. It meant that he was thinking of something stupid.
"Why...don't we settle this with a friendly bet? If I win, you give up your turf, and if you win, I'll leave."
"Hmm... Yeah, sure. I ain't gonna go easy on you just cuz you're a kid, though." The newcomer grinned, much to Noah's distaste.
"So you're lower than a kid. A baby?" Despite his innocent looks, Noah was arrogant and sassy as all hell. He pointed at his opponent and began his proclamation. "We'll settle this with a one-on-one Pokemon battle. First knockout is a loss. No switching out. Sounds good?"
Chaser grunted in disapproval. He knew right off the bat Noah was going to make him fight. And Chaser abhorred fighting. And hitting. And walking. And moving.
And doing anything in general, really.
"Alrighty then." He said with a grin. Monferno hopped off the white haired boy's shoulder and started punching at the air in preparation. "You're up, Monferno."
Chaser walked up and bared his claws. He glared at Monferno, clearly gauging the monkey's strength. Noah grinned and lowered his visors onto his eyes.
"Alright, let's show this baby who's really kidding around! Chaser, you know the drill!"
The Gabite grunted and raised his hands into the air, his blood pumping in accordance as it became more worked up.
Monferno hops around excitedly, eager to find out how strong Chaser was. "Go ham, Monferno!" He looked over at Noah. "You guys got the first move."
Noah grinned. "Chaser, shred him up!"
With the natural speed all Gabites were gifted with, the Land Shark Pokemon dashed forward, its claws glowing brightly.
"Dragon Claw!"
"Gah! Gabite!"
The boy grinned. "Monferno, dodge that!" Monferno flipped right over Chaser and landed behind it. "Now use Mach Punch!" He yelled. Monferno's fist glowed a bright white color before it dashed at Chaser and went for a punch to his back.
"Oh, no! Chaser, break it down!" Noah quickly barked out countermeasures. The Gabite yelled and directed the Dragon Claw into the ground, kicking up dirt from the impact. "Follow up with a Slash!"
Chaser growled and hit the airborne rocks with a powerful swipe, sending them hurtling towards the opponent. The view of Chaser would be obscured from Monferno due to the incoming barrage of debris.
The opponent covered his eyes with his forearm, weathering the onslaught. "Crap... Monferno! Don't let those rocks hit you!" Monferno, with surprising agility, avoided the falling rocks by jumping from side to side.
When the rocks cleared, Chaser was missing from the scene. There would just be the lone trainer Noah with a grin plastered on his face. He would then point to the sky.
"Show them how it's done!"
"Gabite!"
Chaser shot up from the ground as the Fire Pokemon leaped to the side to dodge a rock, a Dragon Claw uppercut poised to strike Monferno in the jaw. Amidst the commotion, Gabite had used Dig to cover itself up. The rocks had been a diversion to its actual attack. Now, Noah zoned in on the Monferno, observing how the Pokemon would react.
Monferno was too late to react and was sent into the air by the uppercut.
"Monferno!" His trainer yelled as Monferno landed hard on his back a couple feet away from him. "You okay?"
The chimp slowly stood up and nods at his owner.
"Monferno!" It said with a grin. The white haired boy nodded.
"Alright... Time to get serious! Monferno, Flame Wheel!" Monferno engulfed himself in a fiery blaze and charged at Chaser.
Noah lowered his hand, and clenched it into a fist and punched the air in front of him. A bead of sweat streaked down his temple as the atmosphere began to take a serious turn.
Seems this imbecile was finally upping his game.
"...Chaser, we're not going to let him one up us, are we?"
"Gabite, Gabite!"
"Just as I thought. Come on, Chaser, move those legs and take him down!"
The Gabite charged forward to meet Monferno head on, his body rippling with energy.
"Monferno, jump over him!" Monferno, in the middle of using Flame Wheel, leaped into the air. "Now use Flamethrower!"
Monferno broke from the fiery shell he encased himself with and instead aimed at Chaser, directing the flames towards him with a large blast of fire.
Noah tried to tell his Pokemon to avoid it but the maneuver caught the pair off guard. The flames surrounded Chaser as he collided with a boulder, demolishing it from the force of Take Down.
"Chaser!"
When the blaze ended, the Gabite was seen holding his hands up defensively. It was clear he had taken some damage from the flames as well as the recoil from his own move.
"We're still in this, isn't that right?"
"Guh..." The Gabite's eyes glimmered, and it raised up its arms, prepared to keep going.
"Gabite!"
"You know it! Head in the game! Use Take Down again!" The Gabite gave a cry and pounced on the Monferno.
"It didn't work the first time, come on, Monferno, same as before!"
Before it carried through, However, Noah barked out another command.
"Switch it up with Dragon Claw!"
Chaser smirked, and as if this had been something well rehearsed, changed up the game by releasing the built up energy within him and focusing it onto his claws. They had used Take Down to match the Monferno's agility, then when the distance was close enough, swapped out the move for a Dragon type one. Though Chaser might suffer the effects of the recoil, there was no denying how clever the combo had been, albeit slightly on the reckless side.
Monferno raised his arms in an attempt to defend against the attack. However, Chaser's overwhelming strength managed to send Monferno flying back. Right before he nearly smashed into a rock, Monferno twisted mid air and planted his feet on the ground, skidding to a stop. The white haired boy lets out a sigh of relief.
"Phew..." He looks over at Noah. "Nice combo! But you're gonna have to do more than that to beat us! Monferno! Time for our trump card!"
Noah grinned and pointed, then twisted his arm and twitched his finger in a boastful fashion that literally screamed "Come get some, then." Chaser followed suit and aimed its claw forward, then offered a gesture that closely resembled Noah's provocation, but instead directed it towards Monferno.
His opponent grinned, beginning to take a shine to this kid's audacity.
"Keep talking, kid... Monferno, use Revenge!" Monferno grinned as well as a blood red energy egan to surround it's fist. It leaped at Chaser, pulling it's fist back before throwing a powerful punch equivalent to twice the power of Chaser's Dragon Claw right at him.
"Dig!" Noah yelled. Chaser jumped into the air slightly before diving headfirst into the ground. He racked his brain for a way to win the match...
Wait a minute.
Was he...having fun? This was the first time interacting with another human granted him joy. Then again...why was this feeling so...familiar? It felt like he's experienced this feeling before—
"Don't let him get away!" his opponent yelled. Monferno redirected his attack, aiming from the ground instead. He punched the ground, sending out a rippling shockwave and making a large crater in the ground.
"Get back, Chaser!" The Gabite had been in the middle of executing a Dig when the sky suddenly opened up above him. The trainer had fashioned their strategy for his own uses! Clearly, Noah was against someone formidable...But no matter! Chaser complied to his master's orders and dexterously landed in a poised position besides Noah.
"Hey, you're not half-bad." Those words weren't from Noah, no, they were from Chaser. At least, that was what he said when it was roughly translated to English. Obviously, typical Pokemon had their own way of communicating with one another.
Monferno hopped out of the crater and lands on his trainer's head.
"Damn right! You're pretty good too." Monferno responds with a grin.
His trainer looked up at Monferno. "The hell are you doing? We're in the middle of a battle!"
"Well, hate to cut this chat short, but he's calling me. Seems Noah wants me to end this...and your trainer seems to feel the same. What a pain..." Chaser raised his arms. Noah glanced at his Pokemon, but shook his head and refocused.
"Alright, they want to try pulling out the rug on us? Let's give them a taste of their own medicine, how about that?"
Monferno hopped off of the white haired boy's head.
"Alright, Monferno. Get ready!"
Noah grinned at that statement. The Gabite glanced at his opponent, but made no moves for once. Seems Chaser was watching...and waiting…
And the Monferno waited there, at a loss for what to do simply because his opponent made no apparent or indicative action. Noah narrowed his eyes.
"...So it really was that simple, heh." He had deduced his opponent's entire fighting style with those blows traded. Noah wasn't a fool, though he had a terrible streak of arrogance and pedantry. His opponent was the kind of person to respond, rather than initiate. A bold tactic, but also one with a fatal flaw. He'll bet everything on this one move.
"Chaser, full speed ahead!"
"Gabite!"
Chaser ran blindly towards the enemy. Whatever Noah had on his mind, it was clearly something the Land Shark was not accustomed to. But he had faith that his trainer would not let him down. After all, their bond wasn't just for show.
The other trainer raised an eyebrow. "The hell's this kid doing...? Monferno, Flamethrower!" Monferno takes a deep breath before letting another blast of fire loose.
"Sandstorm!"
His Gabite took a second process it, but responded nonetheless. The flames approached Chaser quickly, but the sudden onslaught of weather change would alter the course of the Flamethrower, making it lose its intensity and its direction. Noah clenched his fist, then extended his fingers as he swiped his arm outwards horizontally. Of course it made sense! This was a Fighting type, after all. Trying to butt head to head with one, even when you were more powerful, was a foolish move. No, he should have realized the whole act from the very beginning. Good thing Noah caught on before it was too late. Now he was certain the upper hand was his.
"You're out of your element!"
True to his words, this was a field where Ground, Steel, and Rock thrived in. The adjustment in the environment would obscure Chaser from view, making it difficult for even Noah to see in those conditions. But he was not to be outdone. He knew that his Pokemon knew exactly what he wanted.
"Lock him down!"
The sand violently rose up and whipped around Monferno, faster and faster. Gabite had used Sand Tomb!
"Crap... Monferno!" Monferno is caught by the sandstorm, getting smacked around by the ferocious winds. The other trainer set his jaw. "What the hell do I do now...?"
Chaser jump into the air, his claws gleaming. Noah roared over the ensuing storm.
"Dual Chop!"
He charged Monferno, and lashed out twice. Victory was his…!
"Use Flame Wheel and Flamethrower!" Monferno, despite the constant damage from the sand, managed to surround himself in fire and spun around quickly. He then unleashed a stream of fire from its mouth. As it spun, the Flamethrower begins to push away the sand around it.
Of course! He had completely neglected the fact that this Pokemon was a dual type! But...Fire trumping over Ground? It was near impossible! For the first time in his life...he felt a bit of anxiety. Had Monferno beaten Chaser? An actual worthy adversary? This nervousness...it excited him.
"...Whether we win or lose, Chaser, give him a good fight."
The Gabite roared in assent, feeling the hype begin reaching its climax, and began charging its limbs with draconic energy. It was clearly going to be a Dragon Claw to close out the match one way another, be it victory or defeat.
Monferno stopped spinning and faced Chaser. The trainer grinned. "Alright! Let's finish it off with a Mach-" Before he could finish, Monferno yawned and lied down, slowly drifting to sleep. Chaser looked at Noah, who in turn looked at his opponent, who looked at his slothful Pokemon.
"..."
"..."
His trainer blinked twice, breaking the spell.
"WAIT, WAIT, WAIT. WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?" Monferno waved his hand at his trainer, as if to say. "I'm done." This only further enraged the white haired boy, as he began to grind his canines and run his fingers through his hair.
"You can't just quit mid fight, you lazy sack of—" the boy stopped himself, looking over at Noah. He didn't want to swear in front of the kid. "Uh...Sack of sunshine."
Noah cocked his head to the side.
"...You sure that isn't a Slakoth in disguise?"
"I'm not even sure sometimes..." He sighed. "Whatever... I, uh, guess you win since this guy doesn't wanna fight anymore. Maybe he's just covering up the fact that he didn't wanna lose?"
Monferno flips him off.
"Hey!" he yelled. "Ugh! Just get back in the ball!"
The boy grabbed a Pokeball from his back and clicked the button. A red beam of light flew from the ball and hit Monferno, sucking it into the Pokeball.
Chaser walked back to Noah in silence. Noah was a bit sad about not being able to clinch some kind of conclusion. If it had been victory or defeat, he would have been able to accept it. But this...this was just—.
A very loud growl could be heard over the sandstorm.
"Gah. Gabite."
Chaser pointed to his open mouth. Yeah, that's right...food.
"...Sorry, Chaser, we're out of rations. You'll have to wait until we get back—"
Noah then heard something resembling the growl of a feral animal coming from the direction of defeated adversary. Turns out, Chaser wasn't the only one starving.
"S-sorry...I'm sorta hungry too..." he said sheepishly. Noah rubbed the temple of his forehead with his thumb and finger. He then pulled out a map and began looking at it. Where was the closest city? They were on the outskirts of Mt. Coronet, so a couple hours walk should land them somewhere near civilization...
"...What's your name?"
"It's Kenta. You?"
"Noah. Noah Vale."
The sandstorm finally subsided, giving way back to the beautiful scenery that had captivated Noah from the beginning.
"We should get going. I want to make it before nightfall."
"Alrighty then... Wait... Where you going?"
"Eterna City. It's the closest on the map."
"Eterna...City...I don't wanna leave the mountain, though...but, I did agree to your terms...and you did win."
"Listen, you want food or not?"
He began walking regardless of Kenta's answer. Gabite faced the new companion, then shrugged and ran behind Noah.
"...This kid is a little annoying." He said, following behind the cocky kid.
As per usual, read and review. Questions, comments, suggestions, criticisms, I take them all into account when writing. Don't hesitate to point out things you think could be considered mistakes in previous chapters, because chances are I will go back to edit in the correct changes upon confirming that it was indeed an error. Galaxy God signing out.