Note: Nothing in this story that belongs to Pokemon belongs to me.
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Not Another Pokefic 2-The First Battle
"So, where are you from?"
"A place called Petalburg City. It's in Hoenn."
"Is it nice there?"
"Yeah, it's just a little bigger than here, but only because it has a gym."
"Any other girls in your life?"
"Angie!"
"…eh….?"
The three newfound friends were walking around the nearby lake, Lake Verity. As they walked, they were trying to needle Xander for more information about him. Despite the fact that he was friendly, he was very reserved when it came to information about him.
"So, how good of a battler are you?" Roku asked.
"I dunno. I don't really fight. It's just Riddle and me, so we're not too amazing…" Xander responded.
"Riddle?" Angie and Roku asked.
Xander pulled out a Pokeball and tossed it. The Ralts came out and looked around. Before it managed to get its bearings, it was picked up and squeezed tightly by a specific raven-haired female.
"Oooh, it's so cute!" Angie said, squeezing Riddle tightly. Riddle started to flail its arms to get free. He didn't mind the compliments; his lungs were just getting constricted by the squeeze.
"So, you're more like Angie and prefer breeding over battling?" Roku asked.
"No, it's just…I really don't know what I am. Riddle and I haven't battled too often yet, so…" Riddle said, nervously.
"How bout a battle after we get our starters?" Roku asked.
"Eh? Starters?" Xander said, looking a little stunned. He was going to go on a new journey, but this soon?
"Yeah!" Angie said, smiling and holding Riddle. The Ralts seemed more content now that Angie had loosened her grip, and was even smiling? "We're going to see Professor Rowan as we speak."
"Rowan…?" Xander asked.
"The leading Pokemon authority in Sinnoh," Roku explained.
"Ooh…let's go then!" Xander said.
And with that, the three were off, talking about the Pokemon they might get. It was a short walk, arriving back in Twinleaf in less than 10 minutes. They approached the lab and entered inside.
"Hello? Welcome to Rowan Labs!" a cheery voice called out from another room.
"Hi Professor Rowan!" Angie called back.
"Hello Angie! I take it Roku's here too?" the voice, Professor Rowan's, called out again.
"Yes professor, I'm here," the battle-hungry trainer replied.
"Professor! We brought a new friend! His name is Xander and he comes from Hoenn!" Angie called.
"Hmm? The champion Xander?" Rowan asked, emerging from another room. The professor stared at Xander for a second, trying to see similarities between the two.
"Ah, you must be m-mistaking me for s-someone else…" Xander said, his stutter returning.
"Really…you look a lot like him…" Rowan said, inquisitively. "Are you sure you're not the champion?"
"R-really, I'm not…" Xander said nervously.
"If you say so. Anyway, why are you here?" Rowan asked.
"We're here for our starters!" Angie said happily.
"We're going to start our adventure tomorrow!" Roku exclaimed.
"I guess I'm going with them…?" Xander said, scratching his head.
"Well, in that case, right this way!" Rowan said happily
The professor led them into another room in the back. He pressed a button and opened another door, leading them into a smaller, darker room. In the middle was a glowing pedestal with a Pokeball-like dome encasing the top. The professor pressed a button and the dome opened and slid away. Inside were three Pokeballs with symbols for their respective types-fire, water, and grass. Xander noticed a fourth symbol with an electric symbol, however he dismissed this as a power source. Rowan pressed another button and the Pokeballs all opened, letting loose their inhabitants.
"These are the three starters: Turtwig, the grass-type; Chimchar, the fire-type; and Piplup, the water-type," Rowan said.
Before anyone could react, Angie ran over to Turtwig. She picked up the small turtle and cuddled it. Holding it in her arms, she reached over and took its Pokeball.
"I'll take this one, Professor Rowan," she said, stroking it. "I'll call you Bonsai."
Roku and Xander stared at the remaining two. A monkey with a burning bum or a blue penguin. Which would they choose? Xander moved first. He walked over to the two. Both of the remaining starters looked up at Xander. Xander reached over and picked up the Pokeball next to the water-type symbol. He then picked up the Piplup and held it at arm's length, observing the blue penguin.
"Professor Rowan, I'll take Piplup. Thank you," he said, bringing the Piplup closer to his body. "I'll name you Deep Azure," he mumbled, making his words only audible to Deep Azure himself.
Roku, left with no other choice, was forced to take Chimchar. He named it Inferno, thanked Professor Rowan, and took its Pokeball.
"You three should rest up tonight. You have a long journey ahead of you tomorrow," Rowan said. Xander, Angie, and Roku thanked him. They turned to leave, but Rowan stopped them.
"I almost forgot. This is a PokeDex. With it, any Pokemon you come across will be recorded with it, including its height, weight, gender, possible techniques, etc. If you manage to find and record all 150 Pokemon in Sinnoh, bring it back here and I'll have a reward for you," Rowan explained. He then handed them the small red computer encyclopedia. The three thanked him again then left.
Roku, not forgetting his request to Xander, brought it up again. He was ready to battle and wanted to see how well this newcomer from Hoenn fought. The idea that Xander could be the Hoenn Champion was really rattling his mind too.
"Hey Xander, how about that battle now?" Roku asked.
Xander looked over at Angie for an answer. Anger nodded at him, so Xander looked at Roku and accepted his offer. Both took ten paces from each other, turned and stared at each other. Roku was focused, ready to battle, ready to see his opponent humiliated and defeated. Xander, however, seemed unaffected, almost like he was used to this sort of things. Both pulled out Pokeballs, ready to fight. They tossed them in the air. The Pokeballs opened and their inhabitants were set free although only temporarily.
"Go Sparks!"
"Go Riddle."
Their Pokemon appeared and stared at each other. Oddly enough, their Pokemon displayed similar emotions as their masters. Sparks seemed all fired up. Riddle, on the other hand, looked ready, but mostly uninterested. They faced off ready for their masters command. Angie watched closely to see what her friends would do and how the battle would turn out. She let Bonsai and Riley out to watch with her. Nobody moved after that, not until the first shot was fired.
"Sparks, Thunder Wave, then Quick Attack!" Roku commanded.
The Pikachu growled and launched off a wave of energy from its body.
"Riddle, Teleport then use Double Team," Riddle said.
The Ralts did as it was told. It Teleported successfully, dodging the Thunder Wave. By the time Sparks had launched off his Quick Attack, it was already surrounded by multiple Ralts. Sparks looked around, trying to figure out the real one among the fakes.
"Riddle, Confusion."
On command, the psychic blast came from one of the Ralts in the ring. However, Sparks was caught on unawares and didn't get enough time to react. The psychic blast hit Sparks from the side, knocking him off his feet and sprawling on the ground. Angie became much more interested in the fight. She had seen Roku fight before and Roku usually won. However, Xander was making this fight more interesting. Xander seemed to have something Roku didn't: technique, skill, and a little bit of ruthlessness. Indeed, Xander was a much better trainer than Roku was. Tied in with how well trained Riddle was and how much skill he had, it almost seemed that Roku was fated to lose. However, both had two Pokemon, and Roku could easily bring out Inferno after Sparks was knocked out.
"Riddle, Confusion again."
Before Sparks had time to recover, Riddle had loosed another psychic attack on the yellow rodent. Sparks was completely unable to defend himself and was knocked out. Reluctantly, Roku recalled Sparks. He put Sparks' Pokeball away and took out Inferno's. Roku released the Chimchar from its Pokeball and got ready. He was unsure of its attacks, but he had to give it a shot. It was his only Pokemon left. He tossed the Pokeball in the air and sent out his Chimchar.
"Go Inferno!"
Xander and Riddle watched as their opponent showed itself. The little monkey looked around, then focused on its targets (as Riddle hadn't called off the Double Team). Inferno waited for its master's command.
"Uhh...Scratch?"
Inferno nodded and launched itself at the ring of Ralts.
"Confusion."
A psychic blast hit the airborne monkey and knocked it out immediately. Riddle completely trounced it. Roku embarrassedly recalled the Chimchar. He looked up at Xander. Xander was good. Maybe a little too good, he thought. Xander smiled and hugged Riddle.
"Good job buddy," he said, recalling the Ralts to its Pokeball.
"Wow Xander, that was amazing!" Angie yelled, running over to Xander. Her Pokemon ran up too. "Roku's never been beaten before!"
"Thanks Angie..." Xander replied, smiling nervously. Maybe I should've gone easier on Roku, he thought. But, either way, the battle was over and he showed his ability perfectly. He was in hot water, but he assumed that neither were suspicious of him.
"That was...amazing...thank you Xander..." Roku said, feeling the humiliation and sense of defeat that he so strive to make his opponents feel. "Well, I'll see you guys in the morning..."
"Good night Roku!" Angie said, smiling.
"Good night. Nice battle," Xander called after him. He stopped and blinked, realizing how late it was. "Ah, I guess I should be heading off too. Where are we meeting tomorrow?"
"Uh...how bout the town exit?" Angie suggested.
"Sure, I guess," Xander agreed. "Can I see the PokeDex? There's something I was gonna do tonight, but I need that to do it."
Angie thought it over a second, then nodded. She gave him the PokeDex. Xander thanked her for it, then said goodnight and ran off home. Angie went her own direction to her house. For some odd reason, she thought, she wished she wasn't heading home by herself.
The three spent their nights preparing for the next morning and saying good night to their parents. Tomorrow they would begin their adventure. All of them felt excited to be leaving home and exploring the vast continent of Sinnoh and all of them had their dreams to accomplish.
After everyone else was asleep, Xander pulled out a box he had been keeping. It contained some of the gear he had used Hoenn, like his Pokenav, his communication earpieces, his PokeDex case and link, and his special Shoe devices. Tomorrow will be an interesting and fun day, he thought. He laid out his clothes, the equipment, and his bag. Then he crawled into bed and went to sleep.
