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Chapter 3: First Rival Battle! Dirk is a Jerk!

Carl awoke to find himself still lying on the floor He looked at his Poketch and saw that only two hours had passed since he fainted. Annoyed, he sat up. What a hell of a way to start off my first day at becoming a fully-fledged trainer. Carl angrily thought.

A door opened and a Pokemon came into the room, carrying a tray. It was egg-shaped, and had an egg pouch. However when he took a closer look, he could see that she was having difficulty holding it. Carl made sure that his shoelaces were tied and double-knotted then hurried to help the pink Pokemon. The Pokemon looked up at him and smiled wearily in gratitude. "Chansey."

Daisy also came into the lab room. "Oh, so you're awake." Carl nodded. She gestured. "Well, come on, you missed everything, now my grandfather has to explain everything to you." Daisy led Carl into another room. Carl saw the professor kneeling on the floor drinking tea and the orange Pokemon that Carl had released from its Poke ball blowing smoke rings.

The professor saw Carl as he sat down with him. "Ah, welcome!"

Professor Oak went into a long lecture about how to take care of his Pokemon, how to battle, and other stuff that Carl couldn't remember afterwards. When the professor was finished, Carl glanced at the Charmander which was now standing next to him with a look of pride on its face. "So, is this Pokemon mine?"

Oak nodded. "Yes. It is a Charmander. He's a fire type. They're somewhat difficult to take care of, but if you have enough patience, the job is very rewarding."

"I don't get it."

The professor was sipping his tea when Carl asked this. However, he could not believe his ears. He spat out his tea. "You can't be serious." He spluttered.

Carl stared blankly back at the professor. The professor's mouth dropped open. "Weren't you listening to everything I was saying?"

"Not really." Carl replied.

The professor opened and closed him mouth several times without saying anything. But before he could say anything, Carl interrupted him with a guffaw. "I'm just kidding, I know what to do. I plan to go all the way to Indigo League with my Pokemon."

The professor sweat dropped. "Is that so?"

"Yup. Oh, and one more thing. I have to know, who picked what?"

The professor closed his eyes and tried to remember. "Since Charmander is now yours, I believe Squirtle and Bulbasaur were left. So the girl must have picked Bulbasaur and I think Squirtle was chosen by the other boy." The professor opened his eyes. Quick as a flash, Carl had vanished. Charmander had also disappeared. He looked around in confusion. "Carl?" The sound of the Professor's door slamming closed answered for Carl.

Carl was now full of energy. He wanted to find Dirk and talk to him to bury the hatchet before leaving. He hoped he wasn't too late. He held his Poke ball up to his eyes while running. From inside the ball, Charmander stared back at him. In his Pokemon's eyes, Carl saw undying and fierce loyalty yet still retained its friendliness. Without watching, Carl bumped into someone. "Sorry." He said.

"You should be." Someone replied. Carl looked up and groaned inwardly. It was Dirk, grinning arrogantly. "Had a nice hangover, crackhead?"

"Shut up! I don't take drugs!"

Dirk smirked. "Yeah, you do."

Carl stood up. "Damn it! I'm getting really sick and tired of you always making fun of me! Let's settle this once and for all with a fight!" Carl launched a fist. However Dirk caught the punch with his hand. He scowled at Carl.

"If you attack another trainer physically, you're not a trainer yourself. For the proper way, we're using our own Pokemon." He held out his Poke ball and released a cute-looking turtle standing upright. It had an orange-brown shell, big black eyes, and light blue skin. "Meet Squirtle. My new Pokemon." Dirk said.

Carl also held up his own Poke ball. "Here's my Pokemon, Charmander!" He opened his Poke ball and in a flash of white light, the lizard Pokemon appeared. Dirk grinned and started to laugh.

"Good thing I picked Squirtle!"

Carl looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"Take a look at your Charmander. What type do you think he represents?"

Carl inspected his Charmander. He had no idea what Dirk was talking about. Then he saw the flame on Charmander's tail. It took a moment for him to remember Professor Oak's previous lecture. "Fire?"

"Duh. And my Squirtle is a water type. And what happens to fire when you put water on it?"

Carl had a sinking feeling. "It goes out?"

"Obviously. The same thing will happen to your Charmander. Squirtle, Water Gun!"

The little turtle spat a torrent of water towards Charmander. Carl acted instinctively. "Charmander, dodge it!"

The orange lizard quickly stepped to one side as the jet of water passed by it. Carl quickly looked at Charmander and said the first attack that came to mind. "Charmander, use Ember!" Charmander shot a fireball at Squirtle from its mouth. To Carl's surprise, Dirk did not command Squirtle to jump out of the way. The fireball hit Squirtle and created a lot of steam. The air cleared and Carl saw Squirtle standing without a scratch.

Dirk laughed. "You idiot! Physics and chemistry still apply to Pokemon battling! If you don't know anything, you'll never survive as a trainer!"

Carl looked down and didn't say anything. Tears stung his eyes. He thought about how he failed himself, his life, his dream even though he'd barely started. He thought about his family, seeing their faces… Carl's blood boiled. He'll show him…

"Charmander, use Ember again!" Charmander fired another fireball at Squirtle. When it hit Squirtle, the steam appeared again. However, Carl didn't wait until it cleared. Instead, he commanded Charmander to use Ember again and again. Right now, instead of small wisps, the steam had turned into a huge cloud of hot air. Through the fog, Carl saw Dirk's Squirtle. It looked like it was looking around in confusion.

Carl seized this chance. "Charmander, get in there now!" Carl's Charmander ran into the fog covering Dirk's Squirtle. "Now, give it everything you got! Pummel him into the ground!"

After sounds of hitting and growls, Squirtle tumbled out of the Mist, bruised and bloody. Charmander leapt out after it. Carl noticed the fire on his tail was bigger than before. Dirk's Squirtle struggled to stand up, but collapsed. Dirk gritted his teeth and recalled his fallen Squirtle. Carl, with a grin, walked over to Charmander, crouched down, and raised its tiny arm in victory.

"Carl…"

Carl looked up and frowned. Dirk had vanished. He still wanted to talk to him Professor Oak was instead in his place, wheezing with an old bicycle at his side. "I see that you won your first battle." He panted. Carl smiled.

"Yeah. I guess."

The professor held up a red rectangular object. "You forgot this. This is a Pokedex. This records every single Pokemon you've seen and/or caught. It is also your license."

Carl took it and flipped it open. All of sudden, there was a flash of light. Blinking, he stared into the Pokedex. The flash turned out to be the flash of a built-in camera. Sure enough, there was Carl's picture in the Pokedex. He closed it. "Well, guess I better pack up."

"Indeed. Good luck to you Carl. I expect I'll see you soon at the Indigo League."

Carl smiled. "Thanks." He walked away.

Professor Oak watched him leave. He shook his head slowly and walked off in the opposite direction. Yes…Those three will do great things… The professor thought.