Chapter five: Ion's first critical mistake
(Read this chapter; I'll let you all make up your mind on what could be Ion's first mistake.)
The two boys walked the path to Cherrygrove in amiable silence, Ion with a slight skip to his step. His journey was finally underway! He was finally going to get to go on an adventure, just like his parents had in their youth. He was going to prove to the world what he could do.
He had to get his Pokémon back from the Pokémon Center first, however… The only one they had between them was Leafeon, who hadn't been in battle at all. All their other Pokémon had been left at the Center for healing, some needing to be healed more than others (Cyndaquil and Ray's Umbreon being two that needed it most), but they'd wanted all their Pokémon to be in fighting condition. And he didn't like those nasty looking burns that had been on Nabel, Mortimer and Espeon's bodies.
As strange as it may have sounded, Ion thought that Yagami kid was an idiot. Judging by how bad those burns looked, it seemed to be a bit more of a fighter that Totodile had been. He suspected that jerkgator was more of a bully than anything. It probably would have been better to have kept the Cyndaquil and lose the Totodile. After all, you couldn't expect a Pokémon to do well against something with a type it was weak against unless you had a special strategy or something…
Ray interrupted his thoughts however, beginning to speak and drawing his attention over to him. "My thoughts are for us to see if we can't get to Violet City, but we could also remain at the Cherrygrove Pokémon Center, if you'd like." Ray said, his Leafeon tailing along behind the two, obviously pleased at the changing temperature as the hotter day turned into a cooler night. It was good they at least had her with them, although the Pokémon between New Bark Town and Cherrygrove City were remarkably docile and disliked confrontation. The only thing they'd encountered on the way back to Cherrygrove was a curious Sentret that skittered off as soon as all of them noticed it.
"Well, it normally takes a day on foot to get to Violet, but I do like the idea of camping tonight," The smaller boy said, smiling slightly as he thought it over. "Plus I can let my Pokémon run around, which they can't do in a Center. So let's try getting as far as we can before it gets too dark."
"Alright then." Ray said smiling. He was thoughtfully silent for a moment, as if he was thinking of a way to keep the conversation going, and finally decided on a topic. "And by the way, good job in that fight earlier. You don't understand how double battles work yet, but you do have a good grasp on type advantages."
Ion's face lit up at the praise, and he nodded enthusiastically. "Dad and Mom beat that into my head when I said I wanted to be a trainer. 'Ground types can hurt Fire types, and don't use Nabel against a Fighting type!' they always told me, it kinda stuck," He shrugged, snickering.
"Well, you learned well." Ray said, and Ion smiled widely. "Your only problem is that you don't know how to have Pokémon work together to improve your chances in a double battle." Ion's smile fell a little. "Like how Espeon and Umbreon were trying to work with Nabel and Mortimer, but some of your orders didn't work too well."
"Oh..." Ion frowned, looking thoughtful. It had been his first real battle, as his little mock battles with Lyra's Marill weren't really about winning; they had been more playing around than anything. He was sure he'd get better with time, as would his Pokémon. But had he been the reason Umbreon had fainted before?
Well, that only made him feel guilty. He hoped he wouldn't accidentally drag down Ray like that again...
"Luckily, Ponce and Yagami's teamwork was abysmal; otherwise we might've had some real trouble." Ray stated, glancing to the side and noticing just how glum Ion looked at that moment. He raised an eyebrow at that, not really understanding how the smaller boy could switch moods so quickly, but he realized that if someone pointed out his own faults, while he'd be grateful for the help - especially if it was in a constructive manner, - he wouldn't be very happy with it.
"Well, just something to learn, right?" Ray remarked positively, causing the boy to look up at him, and after a moment, smile a small smile.
"Yeah." Ion responded, thinking about it. So, would this mean Ray would be teaching him? That sounded like fun, but he didn't know how much longer than him Ray had been a trainer for. It would probably be best if he just got some tips from his parents or something…
Their conversation paused, however, when they noticed the sign that said 'Welcome to Cherrygrove!' in a cheerful font, and realized that they had passed by the city gates without noticing it. Something that caused the boys to (or at least Ion) to snicker to themselves, looking rather amused.
"Wow, already at Cherrygrove. It really is a quick walk." Ray laughed softly, causing Ion's snickers to turn to giggles.
He had no idea why Cherrygrove and New Bark town were so close together, or why it seemed like they got to it so fast this time. It hardly felt like an hour had passed. The closeness between the cities made some things easier, though, like getting to the shops that only Cherrygrove seemed to have, but for right now Ion wasn't interested in shopping. At the least, not for anything civilians normally needed; both already had everything they'd ever need packed away. The two headed toward the Pokémon Center, passing by a grumbling and progressively sleepy old man, and entered through the sliding glass doors.
The nurse looked up as the two entered. "Hello, how may I help you?" She asked cheerfully, standing up from her chair behind the front desk. Ray was the first to go claim his Pokémon, stepping up and handing over his trainer ID card and letting her look it over. She gave a brief smile and waved it down, remembering the two from a little earlier.
"Let me go get your Pokémon, sir." She said, giving a quick, slight bow before and disappearing through a door behind the counter.
It was a short wait for her to come back, carrying five different Poké Balls that she separated carefully and gave to the young man at the counter, who passed the group of three over to Ion and clipped his own two to himself.
"Your Pokémon are fully healed now. Do take good care of them." She smiled, giving another quick bow. "We hope to see you again!"
"Thanks." Ray replied, giving a quick nod.
"What he said," Ion smiled widely with those big eyes of his. The two walked off a little, letting the line that was forming behind them move forward, and after they were far enough away Ion immediately released all three of his Pokémon from their captivity. While Mortimer and Nabel immediately pounced on their master while Ray looked on in vague amusement, the Cyndaquil just shook her head, letting out a strange blustery sound.
She looked around as Ion dealt with his energetic yet loveable Pokémon, taking in the environment and people around her. This was new. She didn't think she liked it.
Nabel and Mortimer finally relinquished their attack on their master, and he got back up from where he'd lay prone on the floor. And then he was kneeling in front of the Cyndaquil, which made her look up at him, backing off slightly.
Ion looked quietly at her for a moment, before reaching out carefully, holding his hand out to her. "Hey girl." He smiled softly, hoping she'd trust him. "Sorry about earlier… I didn't mean what I said. I..." He paused for a moment, licking his lips and trying to think of what to say. He should have been doing this before, but he'd been busy running around everywhere. And Ray hadn't really given him much time to think about it… And like an idiot, when he did have the time, he had been busy focusing on other things. Moosepickles.
Finally, he decided to just be honest. "I only said it because I didn't want to be forced to pick something, but that was stupid of me. I didn't think about how you felt, and I don't want you to feel like you're not welcome. You can't help that you're going to be given away to some kid because of some stupid rule. So…" He paused for a moment, looking uncertain at the Cyndaquil who had been just staring at him all throughout his rant, her squinty eyes not giving away anything. Ion breathed deeply, let it out, and finally asked, "Can you forgive me?"
The firemouse looked at him for a moment, before she inched forward a bit and sniffed at his hand. Ion gave a small smile at that, but didn't try to press; only let her get his scent while Mortimer, Nabel, Leafeon, Ray and some others who paid them any attention looked on, Ray with a rather thoughtful look on his face.
And then Cyndaquil leaned toward his hand and caught one of his fingers between her teeth.
Mortimer and Nabel tensed, but Ion didn't say or do anything besides a minor wince. She wasn't exactly biting him, but she was giving him the reaction that he had come to know as the 'you're a bastard' response, or something similar. She even let him go quickly enough afterwards, looking up at him questioningly, almost as if she was daring him to do something back.
Ray sighed softly, relieved; that went better than he thought it might. He came up to Ion's side as the smaller boy stood up, looking kind of disappointed, and put a hand on his shoulder. Ion looked up at Ray helplessly, as if he didn't know what to do. Ray shrugged his shoulders in response. "You can't expect instant forgiveness for something that you've done, sometimes, no matter how flowery your words."
Ion didn't really look like he liked that, so Ray decided to just change the subject entirely. "At any rate, shall we get going?" He asked, taking his hand off Ion's shoulder and walked off a little. "I recommend at least keeping two of your Pokémon in their Balls in case we run into any trainers."
Ion nodded, looking a put out. He had apologized, just as he'd wanted to do, but it seemed he wasn't going to be forgiven just yet. He'd have to earn it. And for the moment, the only way to do that was let this little one walk with them.
With a sigh, he returned Nabel to her ball. He'd best let her rest until she was needed; between his first two Pokémon, his Kangaskhan needed the most training. And now with this little Cyndaquil added to the mix...
He needed to give her a name. Even if she didn't like it, he had to call her something other than the name of her species.
Ion bent down quickly, tapping the Cyndaquil's head and getting her attention again. "Doreen." He told her, making her look puzzled. "Your name is Doreen. Welcome to the team, girl."
She still looked puzzled, but she immediately fell into step behind him like a duckling, following behind Mortimer as they both walked off after Ray, leaving the Center behind.
"So," Ion began, "What's Sinnoh like, Ray?"
"For one thing," Ray replied, "The cities aren't that close to each other. And it's a lot colder."
"Heh, this is the last close city for a while," Ion smirked, though he made a mental note never to visit Sinnoh if it was so cold. "After this we'll be going quite a ways." He paused for a moment, before looking up at Will questioningly. "Are you planning on training all Eevees, by the way?"
"I'm what people would call a Pokémon breeder. I train all types of Pokémon to figure out their likes and dislikes, and record them for others to use in the raising of their Pokémon. However, for the Pokémon League challenge, I wanted to go with Pokémon I feel comfortable with, and those are the three Eevees you've seen." Ray said with a smile. "I like training Eevees, so if I can I'm going to keep using them, yeah."
"Oh... So you won't also be training that Pidgey you caught?" Ion was a real bundle of questions today, but he really felt comfortable around Ray now, even if their initial meeting had been... strained. He normally didn't have a turnaround like this about someone, but even if Ray had seemed kind of cold at first, he'd really warmed up. And he thought that Pidgey was pretty. If Ray didn't want to train it he was going to ask if he could have it.
"Hmm... I'm not sure." Ray seemed to ponder that question very seriously, tapping his chin in thought. "When we get to Violet City, I'll see if I can't talk to my dad. We haven't caught a shiny Pokémon before, since they're so rare, so he may want to train it himself."
"Ah." The boy thought for a moment, kind of disappointed by that answer but understood it, before he asked his next question, "So, what would you suggest I catch? I mean, I know I have Mortimer, Nabel and Doreen now, but should I start trying to fill out my team now?"
While he hadn't wanted to feel forced to pick his Pokémon, he wouldn't say no to a few suggestions.
Ray, however, shook his head, looking a little amused. "Don't feel rushed Ion." He stated. "Some of the worst teams come out of being rushed in your choices of Pokémon to use in your party." And then he began to do something that Ion had seen his teachers at his school do, and knew he was beginning to do that thing he called 'lecture mode'. However, as this was going to be about Pokémon, Ion couldn't find himself minding it… Too much. "Some people go for strategy, others for Pokémon they like. In my case," Ray smirked, almost making him look smug in Ion's eyes, "strategic advantage and favorites coincide, what with the many evolved forms of Eevee." Ray scratched the back of his head as he thought for a moment, trying to think up an example. And then he continued, "Did you know that the Champion Red didn't have his Lapras and Snorlax until he had gotten seven out of the eight badges? Before them, his team had a Primeape and a Pidgeot on it."
"Yeah, I think I remember hearing about that in school," The boy nodded, looking up at Ray with big eyes. "Wasn't he one of the first ever people to be Champion at age 11, before the League increased the ages for legalizing trainers?"
"Yes, he was." Ray nodded, a smile on his face. This was obviously a favorite topic for him. "His battle with Team Rocket and Giovonni is what made the League reconsider the age for young trainers." And both knew it wasn't because of Red, who was amazing in all aspects, but because many younger trainers had Pokémon stolen or killed by Team Rocket, though they had stolen a fair share of older people's Pokémon too. It still caused the league to bump up the ages and encourage people who wanted to be a trainer to raise a Pokémon at home, so they would have the knowledge and skill necessary to defend themselves. They'd also made it mandatory that all prospective trainers take classes in how to camp and live off the wild effectively, considering the longer wait the young trainers had before they could journey.
"Red is the best there is," Ray stated, his respect for the Champion obvious to Ion. He had respect for his parents too… Sometimes. When they reminded him of how awesome they had been before they had him. "For nearly seven years after he defeated his rival, Blue, in the finale of the Pokémon League tournament, and became the League Champion, no one has been able to beat him. Not Lance, not Steven, not Wallace and not Cynthia. All four of them have faced Red and lost soundly to him."
"Wow, really?" The boy gasped, looking up at Ray with wonder. He hadn't learned about that! This made Red practically a superhero if he had defeated all this big name trainers even he would know about! "So, he's like the best Pokémon Trainer there ever was?"
"Apparently so." Ray said, musing. "Maybe someday, if we both train hard, we'll get to face him in battle." He smirked slightly, though in this case it didn't look almost pretentious to Ion. "That's my dream. To fight Red using only my Eevee's. I think I'd be satisfied no matter what the outcome, wouldn't you think?"
"Maybe..." Ion said thoughtfully. Yeah, he'd feel happy if he could go up against the very best trainer there ever was, to fight to a stand still, even. But Ion, himself, could never stand feeling like he was only second best. He wanted to be the best there ever was, to beat all the rest. That would be his cause.
So, with a large grin, he pointed off in the horizon. "But I don't want to ever be second best to anyone. I want to be the very best there ever was. I want to be the best trainer in the world!"
"I see..." Ray said, a slight smile on his face. "In that case, you'd better work on trying to beat me first, before you even think about the Pokémon League or Red."
"Alright, then I'll defeat you someday first," Ion smiled up at Ray, though it had a bit of a challenge to it. "And on that day, my master, you shall know defeat, bitter and black as coffee."
The taller teen snorted. "I don't like coffee. Say something like hot chocolate, that's a much more enjoyable taste to defeat." Ray said airily, as once more they passed through Cherrygrove, and started heading up the route. "Ah, you do know how the new trainer battle rules work, right?" He asked, seeing as it was possible they would run into trainers soon. They'd seen some on the way up to Mr. Pokémon's house, but thanks to some clever stealthy maneuvers, they'd avoided coming into contact with those other trainers. Except for Ponce and Yagami, who'd literally ran into them.
"How many new rules have they made up?" Ion grumped suddenly, kicking the ground. "I mean, there's the badge rules, the market rules, the Center rules, the starter rule... How many rules do they need?"
"Well, this one is a little more important." Ray said, laughing softly. He agreed that there were a lot of rules, but most of them were necessary. "It used to be that battles would be initiated whenever two trainers met. I'm not sure why, but that was a rule or something. The new rule permits people to decline a battle if they wish, though that comes at the expense of being called a sissy or coward." Ray said, a smile on his face that didn't tell whether he usually gave the names or received them.
"Who would turn away free money?" Ion asked, looking up at Ray with his head cocked to the side curiously. Yes, he was that confident about his ability to win against most of the common trainers around here. After all, he did have with him three Pokémon; most kids around these parts normally had only one or two. And he'd trained Nabel and Mortimer with the help of his parents (Who gave him pointers when he asked for them), so he was confident that if Doreen couldn't do much, his other two would more than make up the slack.
And suddenly he remembered they hadn't gained money from the two rude idiots from earlier that day, which made him wince. Oh well, he'd beat twice the amount out of them next time.
"Well, if you do lose, you give up half of your money to the winner. That's why a lot of people leave money at home or transfer money to their home at Pokémon Centers nowadays." Ray stated, saying something Ion already knew. Of course he knew this; it was another thing Ion had known thanks to his parents. In fact, his Mom had offered to be his bank. "Of course, it's required that a trainer has at least one hundred poké at all times. If they lose a battle and go down below one hundred..." Ray paused for a moment, thoughtful, before continuing, looking somewhat uncertain, "you know, I'm not entirely sure what those trainers do. Maybe do some part time work in town or ask for money from their parents or something." He shrugged. "I've been lucky in that the few battles I've fought so far I've won them all, so..."
"Well, I'm sure I'll win all my battles too," Ion grinned, bouncing around slightly. "The only real weak link in my party is Doreen, and that's because I hardly know her like I know Mortimer and Nabel." Dorren may not be great yet, but she was going to be an awesome Cyndaquil, and all because she was going to be traveling with him. He just knew it.
"Don't be overconfident, Ion." Ray warned him, "That will lead to some big losses that you could otherwise avoid. Even the best of trainers lose battles at times." However, he could not continue, as upon the path there appeared to be two youngsters, hanging out and talking. However, since it was now evening, they must have been Pokémon Trainers.
"Ooh, trainers," Ion whispered with a wide smile, having noticed them as well. Completely ignoring Ray's somewhat pessimistic advice, he immediately rushed forward, calling out to the two other trainers, "Yo!"
The two turned to face him, looking more like two good friends chatting than mean spirited killers. Ray gave a sigh and realized that his imagination was really overactive at times. The two smiled, and the younger of the two said "Yo! Who are you guys? Headed to Violet City?"
"Of course, where else would we be going?" Ion rolled his eyes, but kept his friendly air, smiling widely. "I'm Ion, and I'm from New Bark Town."
"Ah cool!" The younger replied. "I'm Joey, from Cherrygrove."
"And I'm Zack, the same." The other shorts wearing boy said, before taking a closer look at the two and smiling. "I thought I saw you around before. You guys were visiting that Mr. Pokémon earlier today, right?"
"That's right." Ray answered, thought he thought wryly, 'So much for clever stealth, Ion.'
Zack rubbed his shoulder, looking a little uncomfortable. "Talking with that guy always tires me out."
"You're not alone." Ray said with a slight shrug and a chuckle.
"Tell me about it." Ion said flatly, before chuckling as well. He looked thoughtful for a moment, before asking the question that had been on his mind since he'd seen these two trainers. "So... Wanna battle?" Ion looked at the two with big eyes. He knew it was rather quick, they hardly knew each other, but if he was to beat Ray, then he needed to start training here. No offence to these kids, but they would be stepping stones in his career.
"We're game." Answered Joey. "Single? Or double battle?"
"Can we try a single battle?" Ion asked, giving a bit of an embarrassed giggle. "We had a double battle with some very rude idiots earlier. They kept insulting us and one of them had the foulest mouth you'll ever hear," The boy gave a frown at that. He did not like those Ponce or Yagami fellows.
"Oh those two." Joey said. "Yeah, those guys were rude."
Zack sighed. "The one blew past us, and the other looked at us like we were worms."
"Well, we're on their trail, so it's good to know they went this way." Ray said.
Joey smiled. "But enough about that, let's fight, you and me!"
"Alright, how many do we use? I got three, how about you?" Ion asked, bringing a Poké Ball into his hand and enlarging it, but not throwing it. He had to know how many first, and then he'd release his first Pokémon.
Joey's eyes widened. "I've only got one, myself. So let's go with that. Ready? Here comes Rattata!" He cried, throwing his Poké Ball onto the ground, and releasing the creature.
"Ion, be careful. Fighting at night is different than during the day." Ray commented, before taking a restful position against a tree.
"Well, of course it's different, it's dark out," Ion stated like it was obvious, which it was. It wasn't even night time yet, so he had no idea why Ray even gave that advice, but it was still appreciated, which he made known with a big, bright smile toward his new friend. He casually pointed in front of him, putting Nabel's Ball away, and Mortimer was there instantly, staring down the Rattata as he got into an almost Samurai-ish pose. Doreen sat on the sidelines, sniffing a flower curiously.
"Use Bone Club, Mortimer," Ion said almost calmly, though he kept that big, friendly smile on his face. And Mortimer was off like a shot, his bone club raised high as he let out a loud war cry of his species' name.
Joey smiled. "Rattata, Sand-attack!" The rat-Pokémon sent a stream of sand at Mortimer, which struck him and turned into a cloud of lingering grit. Thought Ion couldn't see his Pokémon's surprise, he did hear it from the grunt he made in response. "Follow it up with quick attack!" The Rattata could barely be seen, moving quickly from shadow to shadow as it launched its attack, aiming for Mortimer's back.
Mortimer pitched forward slightly at the Rattata's strike, but he whirled around and struck at the Rattata before it could get away, getting a solid strike (pretty much lucky as he was blinded at the moment) on the little rat before it could get away.
Ion blinked for a moment, before the smile grew wider. Oh, yeah, this would be fun. He didn't want an easy win, he wanted a challenge. So he ordered next, "Mortimer, use Growl."
And then Mortimer let out a low sound from his throat, one that reverberated around in his skull helm, causing it to rattle and intensify the sound, trying to intimidate the other Pokémon. And it worked, Rattata backing further away from the cloud of grit, a fearful look on its face.
"Rattata, Tail Whip!" Joey responded, and immediately, though the Rattata could not been seen well, it felt like everything around suddenly was less defensive than normal with its taunting tail-wave. "Tackle!" Came the shout afterwards, and the Ratatta once again charged at the Cubone.
"Headbutt," Ion returned, and his Cubone charged right back at the Rattata. Yes, he was aware this was a mistake, having his Pokémon charge right back, but what else could he do? Plus, it was clear Mortimer had the advantage in pure power and he wasn't really being hurt by Rattata, while the little rat had the clear advantage in speed. Of course, being in a cloud of grit it made itself wasn't smart, as it had the same accuracy loss that Mortimer did, and in that case, the one who had the most attack power would win this fight if they managed to get a hit in.
And they hit each other with amazing force, his Cubone thrown back a little and landing on his butt, while the Rattata was thrown clear out of the sand cloud, which was clearing away.
"Aw man..." Came a disappointed cry, as the Rattata was revealed to be fainted on the ground. "And I only have one Pokémon." Joey said sadly, returning his Rattata. "You win. Good job."
"You too, that was actually pretty smart, using Sand Attack like that." Ion encouraged, smiling, beckoning his Cubone back to him. "If your Rattata just had a ranged attack, he could have just sniped Mortimer while he was in the cloud, though, instead of trying to attack him in it, too."
Yeah, but not many Rattatas learn ranged moves..." Joey said, sadly skulking off to the side to make room for his friend.
"Alright then, shall you and I have a round?" Ray asked, looking at Zack. Zack laughed. "I think I'd rather try my luck against Ion as well, if that's alright with the both of you. I only have a Pidgey, so it'd be a one on one."
"Alright," Ion said, shrugging. He was thinking on who to use, and while Nabel was strong, perhaps he should use another one... Like, perhaps, his newest one. After all, Doreen needed work. And she looked rather bored, off to the side like that.
He looked at Zack, his smile turning challenging. "Ready?"
"Ready." Replied his challenger. "Pidgey, I choose you!" He shouted, and out came a similar bird to the one Ray had caught earlier that day, except this one wasn't shining, nor was it a pretty shade of gold, which disappointed Ion. Ray's Pidgey was prettier.
None the less, he pointed, calling out "Go, Doreen!", and after a moment the Cyndaquil hopped forward, realizing she was being called upon, and her fire formed on her back, puffing smoke out of her mouth.
Seeing that, Ion smirked and ordered her, "Use Smoke Screen, Doreen!" Although still confused with the name, she did as ordered, puffing a large cloud of smoke at the Pidgey. While Ion had a feeling Pidgey would just be ordered to blow it away, this was more a stalling tactic while his firemouse got into position.
"Pidgey, get on up there!" Zack called, and the Pidgey flew up into the air, and immediately its natural wing beat began to work against the smokescreen Doreen had created. "Gust now!" And the Pidgey created a slice of wind that cut through the smokescreen easily, though it may have been completely off the mark as far as hitting the Cyndaquil.
Which it was, as the firemouse had jumped to the side, and with Ion's next order of "Use Ember!" shot a fireball into the sky, right where Pidgey was. Ion hoped it hit, as it was a long range move as opposed to every other attack his Pokémon had.
Luckily, Pidgey's air movement got it out of the way just in time, and again the bird threw a powerful blast of wind, this time at the Cyndaquil.
But Cyndaquil was quick, and she jumped out of the way without Ion's order. While he was kind of glad she could do things by herself, he hoped she wouldn't try to disobey his orders in battle.
"Try Ember again!" He called out, and instead, this time Doreen sent out a cloud of embers, just so it would be harder for Pidgey to dodge than a singe fireball.
And this time it wasn't as lucky; the Pidgey was hit, its feathers burning, but it took this chance to charge forward, attempting a quick attack on Doreen.
And as it was Quick Attack, it was hard for the firemouse to dodge; which she couldn't. She was propelled through the air and landed hard on the ground from Pidgey's impact, but she wasn't quite as hurt as she had been by Mortimer's attack not to long ago. In fact, it felt like a love tap compared to that.
Shaking her head, she waited once more for orders, which came from Ion in the form of "Use Quick Attack as well!"
And so Doreen did, zipping around, kicking up clouds of dust before sweeping toward Pidgey, aiming to hit it back.
Unfortunately, all the Pidgey had to do was go a bit higher in the air and the Cyndaquil's attack missed completely. After which, the Pidgey immediately attacked with another gust attack upon its trainer's order.
And still using Quick Attack, Doreen was out of the way of where she would have landed, and fired another cloud of embers without Ion's order, which made him frown. This wasn't going well; she was starting to rely on his orders less and less. Oh well, he'd let her go on by herself for now, see how it worked.
Pidgey flew out of the way; easily this time, as the embers weren't positioned as well as they had been the first time. "Quick attack!" Came Zack's call, and Pidgey obliged, charging towards Doreen.
And Ion swore he saw the most unpleasant little smirk on Doreen's face, and he wasn't aware that mice could smirk. And it suddenly let out the biggest ember he'd ever seen, and Pidgey, moving as fast as it was, wouldn't be able to hope to dodge it.
The Pidgey was blasted head first and fell to the ground in a faint, most of its feathers burned off. And all the gathered trainers and single Cubone had to wince at that. "Ouch, that was a really strong attack." Zack said, returning the Pidgey. "Looks like I lost as well. Too bad."
"Well, you had the clear advantage all through the fight," Ion said with encouragement, smiling a friendly smile, motioning his devious Cyndaquil back to his side; she, however, just went back to the flower she'd been sniffing. "You just made a bad final choice. You'd have had me if you kept gusting."
"Yes, maybe I would've, but Pidgey's can't keep gusting without tiring themselves out quickly." He shrugged. "It was a good battle though."
Joey jumped up, interrupting any more banter. "Hey! Give me your number Ion? I'll call you someday for a rematch!"
"Uh," Ion blinked, looking at Ray (who gave him a look that it was his call) for a moment before he shrugged, pulling out his PokéGear and getting his number. "Sure."
After Ion got the boy's number and registered it (And also his winnings), he and Ray separated from Zack and Joey, who had to head home as it was getting dark (And they had to heal their Pokémon). They continued along the path, going around a large section of tall grass, and found themselves confront by a young boy in a strange, fishnet outfit, with a large straw hat and giant butterfly net, slowly stalking a tiny Spinarak.
"... Let's just keep moving." Ray whispered to Ion, willing to pass the strange boy altogether.
And then the Spinarak, startled from Ray speaking, shot off, and the boy tried to catch it with the net in vain, slapping it on the ground to keep it from running off.
And after it got away, the boy turned toward them angrily, scaring the smaller teen behind Ray once more.
"You deal with him, I don't like the looks of him," Ion whimpered softly.
"We don't have to do anything." Ray said calmly. "Let's just keep moving."
The two tried to move up the route, but the strange bug catcher blocked their path, taking two Poké Balls from... Somewhere on his person, and growled at Ray, "You made me lose that Spinarak. I'm gonna take it out of your hide!"
"Look, I didn't make you lose anything." Ray stated calmly, but after a few seconds (And trying to move past the stubborn bug catcher, only for him to get in the way), he could tell the boy was not about to let him go without a fight. So much for the great new rules of the Pokémon League.
"Very well." He sighed, taking up one Poké Ball. "Umbreon, Espeon, let's go." While the dark Pokémon strode out from behind Ray, where it had been since earlier in the evening, the purple one burst from a Poké Ball, sitting very majestically while it waited for the boy's Pokémon to appear.
He wordlessly sent out his Pokémon, a Beedrill and Butterfree, who let out a buzz and a strange trilling sound respectively, both flying in the air over them.
"Well, a most impressive pair, if I might make that comment." Ray said, smiling slightly. 'This is bad. I know this always seems to come up, but my team's one weak spot is the bug type... How do I take down two evolved forms that can fly?' Taking a breath, Ray began the battle.
"Umbreon, Helping Hand! Espeon, Confusion on Beedrill!" The helping hand would boost every part of the move, making it hard to dodge. And since Beedrill was part poison...
A glowing violet aura surrounded his two Pokémon as Umbreon concentrated, and Espeon focused intently on Beedrill, which was blasted back by psychic force.
However while it did seem hurt, it was still kicking. In fact, it looked right pissed off. And without warning, it shot at Espeon, its twin needle drill arms pointed at her, and began to sting her relentlessly with them though she tried to avoid it, while Butterfree flew over Umbreon's head, a glowing blue powder dropping from its wings over him.
Or had been standing, as Umbreon was already dashing towards Espeon, so the powder fell where he had been moments before. Instead of trying to help Espeon directly, however, Umbreon opened its mouth, and shot what was obviously a hyper beam right at Beedrill.
The bug catcher's eyes widened and he shouted something that was drowned out by the sound of the Hyper Beam exploding off a tree somewhere in the background, though Ray had the feeling it was an obscenity of some sort.
"Holy (junk heaps)!" He heard Ion cry, as the boy was most likely not expecting to see such an attack from an Umbreon.
And Beedrill obviously wasn't either, and it was knocked off of Espeon and fell to the ground, its exoskeleton blackened and smoking. And Butterfree decided to finish where Beedrill started, and darted at Espeon with a Bug Bite.
Espeon had recovered, and quickly started to run from the coming Butterfree. 'Come on, think Ray...' Ray quickly shifted his thoughts, until an idea came to him. "Sand attack Espeon! Then use Quick attack and get to Umbreon!" Espeon once again kicked sand at her opponent, but this time she shot away and towards Umbreon, who was still reeling from the Hyper Beam he had shot earlier. "Helping Hand!" Ray shouted, and with Espeon's Aid, Umbreon roared back into the fight, firing a Confuse Ray at the Butterfree.
Butterfree quickly flew up out of the sand, evading both it and Confuse Ray entirely.
Shaking himself out of his shock, the bug catcher sneered at Ray. "So you combine attacks too? Well see if you like that, then try this on for size!" He turned to his Butterfree, "Use Powder Gust, bro!"
And then the giant butterfly trilled once more, summoning a gale up like a normal gust attack, only it looked wrong. It was glittering.
Ray did not like the looks of this. "Espeon, Quick attack! Umbreon, buckle down!" As the Espeon sped as far away and as fast as possible from the gust of powders, Umbreon stayed put, facing it like the oncoming of a storm. Umbreon was hit, and immediately keeled over, flopping to the ground. However, even as it was unconscious, it seemed to be suffering, whimpering softly and trying to kick with mostly stiff limbs.
And Butterfree looked just as afflicted, only it didn't fall asleep, strangely. However, it flashed for a second after it made a gulping sound when Umbreon had been affected by that attack, but still looked ill and its wings flapped erratically.
"Okay, use Bug Bite on that Espeon and finish it off, Butterfree!" The catcher said, smiling smugly, but that smile fell when the butterfly suddenly stopped flapping its wings and flopped to the ground limply.
'A Lum Berry. A smart play, but that berry can only heal one status effect. Not many at the same time.' Ray thought. "Espeon, use Confusion!" Ray called, and though Butterfree wouldn't take as much damage, it would still be hurt.
Espeon grabbed the Butterfree with her mind and smashed it into the ground before throwing it into a tree, where it caught itself and began flying again, though it looked like it was having a heck of a time trying to keep itself up there. It didn't look very hurt by Espeon's attack, but still looked rather ill.
And then did the last thing its trainer commanded, flying down at Espeon for a Bug Bite.
Espeon took the hit, Butterfree grabbing an ear, though it hurt more than Ray would've liked to see. Instead of waiting, however, the Espeon attacked once more with Confusion, prying its mouth open and smashing it into the ground once more.
And the Butterfree was once more knocked down on its back and floundered a bit, before laying still, the poison taking its toll. The bug catcher looked at its Pokémon in shock, sighed and hung his head, recalling them both. He turned back to Cherrygrove and began to head back that way, grumbling and glaring at Ray and Ion as he passed them, causing Ion to cower away from him behind Ray again.
"What was with that guy?" Ion asked after the catcher was gone, shivering slightly. Not only dressed weirdly, but also quite an unpleasant person.
"I dunno, but I sure as (Hoothoot) hope I don't meet him again." Ray said simply as he returned Umbreon and Espeon, calling out Leafeon and walked up the now empty path, Ion and their Pokémon following him like chicks with a hen. "Come on, we're getting close to a place called... Dark Cave. We'll camp there for the night." He felt a sudden sense of dread when Ion's face lit up like a Christmas tree.
"Cave? We're heading for a cave!" Ion asked excitedly, bouncing up to Ray's side like an excited puppy. "I wanna explore the cave! Caves are where adventures are!"
"Well, this cave might not be so fun, Ion." Ray tried to persuade him, "Dark cave is pitch black, and only a Pokémon that knows flash can guide people through it. Sadly, not many people have a Pokémon with that move."
Ion looked up at the boy with big, sad puppy dog eyes, and Ray felt the dread boil heavily inside of him with a certain amount of annoyance thrown in for good measure. "Adventure?" Ion asked, almost insistent.
"Do you have a Pokémon with Flash? Because I don't." Ray stated flatly.
"Adventure!" Ion repeated, more insistent then the last time.
"Whatever." Ray sighed, giving up. "You can see for yourself. Then you'll understand."
"Yay!" Ion cheered, racing ahead excitedly.
Ray shook his head. There was no arguing with the younger boy.
They eventually had to turn onto Route 31, and Ion was still in the lead; so he was easily able to see the opening in the rock face up ahead, as well as the sign next to it. Even though the sun had long since set, he was able to catch the big, bold letters of 'Dark Cave' on it, and while he looked like he wanted to run straight in, he was kind enough to wait for Ray to catch up before shouting "Adventure!" one last time before racing in.
And then there was the sound of a commotion, of him tripping up and smacking into what sounded like a lot of paint cans that had been set up just for the purpose of him knocking them down, and then after it all ended, a small, whiny "Owie..."
Ray shook his head once more. If Dark Cave was anything like some of the caves from his homeland, it was impossible to navigate without light, especially at night. He sat down, figuring it would be best for him to begin making the camp, while Ion tried and failed to make it through.
"You alright in there?" Ray called out after a bit, watching Mortimer wait patiently by the cave's mouth while the Cyndaquil wandered over to where his Leafeon was laying down, and began to sniff her like she'd been doing to that flower earlier.
"What?" Ion called back, sounding like he'd gotten deeper in the cave in just those few seconds.
"ARE YOU ALRIGHT IN THERE!" Ray shouted, coming up to the mouth of the cave and feeling like a supreme idiot.
"WHAT?" Ion shouted back, more echoes accompanying his words. "I'M SORRY RAY I CAN'T HEAR YOU ITS TOO DARK IN HERE!"
Ray paused for a moment. Something about that last statement... was odd. Really, really odd. And very stupid, too. "HOW DOES THE DARKNESS STOP YOU FROM HEARING ME?" Ray shouted again.
"I DON'T KNOW- I MEAN, WHAT?" Ion knew he messed up there, and that it meant he'd probably have to give up his game. Ray's face twisted in annoyance, and he decided that he didn't want part of this conversation anymore, leaving the mouth of the cave to go and continue setting up camp. And pointedly ignoring Mortimer's chuckles at him.
"Uh, Ray, I think something is following me in here!" The smaller boy cried out suddenly at a more normal volume, probably heading back to the entrance of the cave, but also sounding quite a bit panicked.
"Well, it's not like I could see it if I came in there, so either get back to the exit or keep moving and hope it's your imagination!" Ray shouted, thinking most of it was more than likely Ion's imagination.
"Oh god it's right behind me I can hear it breathing," Ion practically sobbed back, nearer to the exit of the cave right now, but still obscured by the darkness. Mortimer had gotten up, looking into the cave worriedly, obviously agitated by the distress in his trainer's voice.
"Then hurry up and get out here." Ray said unsympathetically, as his warnings had been completely ignored until maybe just now, so he wasn't all that keen on being kind to the one that had ignored him.
Ion's foot falls came right to the edge of the veil of darkness before he suddenly let out a loud cry, and then there was the sound of him falling over and scattering things once more. And then there was silence.
"Idiot." Ray sighed. "If he doesn't come out in a minute or so I suppose we should go pull his butt out of the fire..." He sighed again, and his Leafeon gave a soft cry as it rested peacefully on the ground. And pawed at Doreen to leave her alone, though the little firemouse continued to sniff at her.
And throughout that minute of Will setting up the camp, there wasn't a sound from the cave, not a thing, not a peep. It was unnerving, and the Pokémon, and Ray himself, seemed to get more and more agitated as time went on, until Ray finally stood with a sigh.
"Alright, let's go Leafeon." He said, getting himself up from his sitting position, and heading over to the mouth of the cave, where Mortimer stood, waiting for backup. Leafeon followed him, looking quite annoyed with the little firemouse who followed her like a duckling. "I bet that kid knocked himself out with a rock or something."
"AH!" There was a sudden cry, and the boy was thrown right into Ray's chest with amazing force, sending them both tumbling head over heels and landing on the ground as their Pokémon jumped away, eyes wide with surprise.
"'Achop." An unfamiliar voice grumbled from the mouth of the cave, and a strange, scaly, blue little humanoid walked out of its home, holding one shoulder with a hand and rolling it, glaring at the two humans that just came into its territory.
"Ah, so that was the Pokémon that was following you." Ray said, getting up and not paying attention to the black eye Ion now sported. "You idiot, you ran right into the Machop's territory without any thought for what the Machop would do to you. Now my guess is he's going to beat the ever loving (patootie) out of you and anyone else in a five meter radius, so I'm leaving. Good luck." Ray said, before moving back over to the camp.
"Wait, what?" Ion asked, looking at Ray in surprise before looking at the annoyed Machop that was closing in. In reaction to not wanting to get beat up again, he jumped to his feet, pointing at him dramatically, and yelled out, "Go, Doreen!" completely surprising the approaching humanoid.
The firemouse jumped in front of her trainer, tilting her head curiously at the suddenly smirking Machop. "Cynda?" She squeaked, almost as if she was more curious than afraid.
"Good luck with that." Ray said, as he began to pack up what he had so far set up. Now that Ion had brought this Machop outside, it was very likely that it would attack anything in sight since this was its 'territory.' "If you can, you might want to catch it. Otherwise, force it back inside the cave. Either way, we'll have to head closer towards Violet City afterwards."
"Um, right," Ion managed to say, his voice nervous, while the Machop got itself into a strange stance, looking expectedly at the little firemouse.
Well, it looked like it was waiting for Doreen to make a move, so Ion pointed at their current opponent and yelled, "Doreen, use Ember!"
Immediately his firemouse's back flame lit, illuminating everything, and causing Machop to reflexively flinch back at the light, its eyes squinting against it... But it seemed rather surprised to get pelted with a fireball rather than being physically struck. And while the fireball did leave a burn, the Machop seemed more annoyed than anything.
It got out of its stance and began to charge at Doreen. Since the firemouse only had one order so far she decided to keep spitting fireballs at its opponent, jumping away to keep the distance up.
Machop didn't react to the fireballs pelting its chest, however, it only charged fearlessly forward closed the distance far quicker than Doreen could make it. He gave the small mouse a hard chop to the head, sending her flying, but the firemouse corrected herself in the air after shaking herself in her daze, spitting another fireball at the Machop.
It grunted in annoyance, the fireball splashing against its head, before it ran up to the other Pokémon just as it landed, sliding into a low kick that once more sent Doreen flying. As it wasn't a strike to its head, however, Doreen was able to correct herself faster, and as she landed on the ground, spat another fireball before using a Quick Attack to climb up a tree.
Even if it recovered from every strike that had landed on her, she couldn't take much more. That Machop hit hard.
And said Machop actually let out a growl, the fireball once more striking it, but this time on the shoulder. Its body was covered with burn marks by this point, but it wasn't really all that hurt, or seemed to be. It began to run toward the tree Doreen had skittered up, ignoring another fireball that pelted it, and gave the trunk a hard, powerful chop, smashing right through it. And with a loud groan, the tree began to fall.
"Oh holy (Tauros kibbles)!" Ion cried, having watched this fight critically up to this point (Doreen had proven quite well that it didn't need constant direction) and began to run out of the path of the falling tree.
Luckily, most of the camp had been packed up, but Ray still had to quickly get out of the way of the falling tree. "Ion, don't let that Machop use the trees to attack us! We're not as resilient as Pokémon!" He shouted, knowing full well that Ion had most likely figured that out.
"I got that!" Ion snapped right back, before calling to Doreen, who had quickly abandoned ship before the tree even got too low, "Don't climb up those again, Doreen! We don't want to clear cut this place, and Ray and I aren't as fast as you."
The firemouse gave a squeaky mutter, before spitting another fireball and darting off. The Machop had a feral smile on its face as it closed in on Doreen, grabbing her up in a bear hug, jumping high in the air, spinning as fast as it could, building up momentum, and then tossing the Cyndaquil hard at the ground.
Doreen collided hard with the ground, and after bouncing a bit, lay still on the ground, not even attempting to get up. And the Machop was falling right toward it with that same feral smile, ready to smash it into paste.
Ion didn't need to be told, before Ray could speak up he pulled out Doreen's ball, pointing it at her, and called out with a massive amount of panic, "Doreen Return!"
The ball shot its ray of light at her, and collected her mass and returned it to energy, which flew back into it. And not a moment too soon, as the Machop struck the ground right where it had been, and created a massive crater where its fist now was, right where Doreen's head would have been.
And Ion didn't need to be told anything again, he knew if he didn't send out his next Pokémon he would become the Machop's next target and it did not look very nice right now.
"Nabel, go!" Ion called, throwing her Poké Ball and summoning her to the world. She already knew what was going on, having heard it all from her little capsule, and gave the Machop a challenging growl, narrowing her eyes at it as she got ready to fight.
The Machop smirked at her, returning her growl, before charging. It thought that this new Pokémon would try keeping its distance like the last one would, but Ion surprised it when it came within striking distance of the new Pokémon, "Nabel, use Fake Out!"
Suddenly the little kangaroo-like Pokémon's hands shot out, boxing the Machop on both sides of his head. He stumbled back, dazed, but Ion and Nabby didn't let up.
"Use Comet Punch!" The boy called, and Nabel closed in on the other Pokémon, giving him a barrage of punches to the face that had it jerking every which way, before she landed a powerful one to its chest, sending it sliding away and falling down on its back. Ion didn't want to play fair with this one, he had a feeling if he let it get back up and prepare itself in its stance it would be that much harder to beat, so he called out again, "Use Comet Punch again, and end with a Low Kick!"
Nabby began to close in once more, as Machop got up slowly, still suffering from the Fake Out attack, and began to try her barrage of punches once again. Machop, however, while still dazed, knew what was coming, and began to put up a valiant effort, blocking some of the punches by tucking its head under its arms, but it didn't expect the Kangaskhan to, instead of landing one last powerful punch on him, instead slipped a leg past his and then kicked it out from under him, sending him once more on his back.
Ion, seeing an opening, called out to his little girl, "Finish it off with a Mega Punch, Nabby!"
Machop heard that order as well this time, and it did not want anything called a 'Mega Punch' landing on him in a position such as this, and rolled out of the way of the strong punch Nabby would landed on his stomach if he'd just stayed prone. And as a way to get revenge, he planted his hands under him and kicked out Nabby's legs from under her, knocking the young Kangaskhan prone, and then handstood and flipped back into a standing position, and then preformed an elbow drop on the baby Pokémon's stomach.
She lost her breath, and it would have been worse if Ion had lost his nerve here, but he called out to her before Machop could get up to do it again. "Get out of the way and Headbutt, Nabby!"
His little girl reached up and hit the Machop square in the chest again as it stood, making it stumble away, and rolled over and stood up, panting. Even if Machop only landed one attack on her so far, it had hurt, perhaps more than it had ever hurt Doreen. But she wasn't done yet, and just to prove it, she lowered her head and charged, catching the staggered Machop in the chest, and both tumbled to the ground, Nabby on top.
Ion still had the desire to press their advantage, however, and called out to his Pokémon, "Use Comet Punch!"
Nabel immediately straddled the Machop, and began her customary bout of punching the living hell out of it, but it caught her fists soon into her combo and delivered a hard knee kick into her back that had her pitching forward off of him, and he jumped to his feet, turned and grabbed her tail before she could stand, and, with a furious look on its face, began to spin around with her, building momentum, before tossing her with all its strength into a tree. The tree groaned but thankfully didn't fall, however Nabel did, knocked out cold.
Before the Machop could even get into thoughts into its head about finishing the young Pokémon off, Ion returned his little girl to her ball, wincing. Well, two down, now he needed to use his last one or else he was out.
"Go, Mortimer!" Mortimer had been waiting for this almost as soon as he'd seen the black eye on his trainer's face, and he immediately jumped in front of him protectively and went into his samurai stance. Machop snarled at them, all thoughts of this being a fun fight before he chased off his intruders gone, and gave a savage war cry before he charged at Ion's last Pokémon.
Mortimer didn't need to be ordered, but he was - "Use Bone Club!" - and his eyes narrowed as he waited for the perfect time to strike...
And when Machop went to punch him, Mortimer's club went out, smashing into the Machop's arm and making the punch only brush by his helm instead of fully on it. Mortimer worked quickly, ducking around Machop's side and landing a savage blow into the pit of his stomach, causing it to gasp out and bend over, before smashing the back of the Machop's head with the 'pommel' of his club, Machop's eyes rolling into its head at the impact, sending it to the ground.
And not wanting to get any of his Pokémon hurt, Ion took this moment to bring out one of the balls his parents gave him, a strangely colored ball, black with green spots on it, and red rim where the black would have been on a normal ball, enlarged it, and prepared to throw it.
"Dusk Ball, go!" He shouted, throwing the ball at the downed Machop, his Cubone backing off. The ball struck it, sucked the Machop in, and then fell to the ground. It shook once, twice...
Ion watched with baited breath, this would be his first capture, and this was a very, very strong Pokémon, and until the end there, handled itself well. And if he managed to catch it...
Three times... And locked.
Ion didn't know if his eyes were deceiving him, not expecting the first ball to catch it, not with such a stubborn Pokémon, but after a few moments, let out a whoop, ran over to the ball and picked it up. "Yeah! Machop is MINE!"
"Cubone, bone," Mortimer added helpfully, watching and shaking his head, seeming to smirk as his trainer began to dance around.
Ray shook his head and smiled. "Good job, Ion, but we don't have time for celebration. We better get moving." He picked up the final remnants of the camp and stashed them in his pack.
Ion stopped his little dance, before he nodded, looking back at the cave and shivering. He could imagine more super tough Machop living in there, staring at him... "Right, and I need to get most of my Pokémon healed," The boy said, going to catch up with Ray and sighing, looking down at the ground under his feet as they walked briskly.
The two then began a journey that would last long into the night, dashing off away from the cave before more angry wild Pokémon got the bright idea to leave it, and perhaps expand a territory outside of it.
One sez: So yeah. A lot of firsts happened in this chapter; Ion's first real battle, the first battle that truly gave Ray some trouble (And would have resulted in being beaten horribly if Ion had been the one fighting, even with a fire type), the first fully made up combo-like attack, Ion's first phone number get, and also his first true Pokémon capture (That wasn't forced upon him to get a Pokémon healed).
I guess I'll talk about the Powder Gust move that the unnamed Bug Catcher used. It's one I made up completely. In game terms, it'd be of the Bug type and have a 20 power, but its effects would be very nasty; at 50% chance of inflicting Poison, Paralyze or Sleep, with a 10% chance of causing Badly Poisoned instead of Poison. And since this is a fan fic, Pokémon can be inflicted with two or more status effects, which, from a writing standpoint, it only becomes even nastier.
Considering many higher level trainers seem to have an Eon of some sort, Mr. Bug Catcher had probably faced an Umbreon or Espeon before and was beaten by the same Synchronization tactic, which would reflect status effects onto the one who caused them. He tried to counter it with a Lum Berry, but since we have no idea if that thing can counter more than one status effect, we assume it can only cure one, which was his downfall.
Since I have nothing else to add except one more tidbit, I'll let Tatsu take over. Sorry for the wait everyone, I hope it won't take this long ever again. ^.^; I tried to make this chapter longer than the others as part of my apology, but I don't know how well that works. Or if anyone except my one constant reviewer reads this, anyway. Buy anyway don't worry, the next few chapters are in the works, so hopefully we won't have quite as long a wait.
Tatsu says: And I know the delay is mostly my fault, as I was busy and then lazy. So I apologize. And One's covered most of the topics, but I'll add what I can.
Point one: Yes, powder gust is one of many combination attacks you will see. For example, a favorite you may have noticed is sand attack coupled with Tackle, quick attack, or some other such attack.
Point two: If you haven't noticed I am and will continue to replace what would be swear words with random nonsense in paranthesis. It may not be neccessary, but I wanted to do it anyway.
Yeah. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, please review, all that good stuff.