Greetings, everyone, and welcome to another chapter of this very interesting fanfiction. You'll probably like reading this chapter just as much as I enjoyed writing it! Before I do go on, however, there are some reviews I must address first.

Please enjoy it!

Summary: A young boy only wanted to have a Pokémon and to go on a Pokémon Journey. However, the journey would not be what he expected…

Alternate Paths

:Chapter Three:

-=Two Aims At One Goal: Appearance Of A Rival=-

The Sinnoh League followed the many rules and requirements of any proper Pokémon League, sponsoring the efforts of countless young and coming trainers. Once at the ripe young age of ten, the child would get a bank account and Regional Trainer License, getting permission to capture and raise a Pokémon for travel purposes. With this particular License, a Pokémon trainer would be allowed to challenge any other trainer to a match, with the regular wager being some of their money.

This was not the only type of wager, of course, but not many people wanted the other options. Still, as a general rule, matches were fair and decent, especially during the tournaments; after all, there was an image to be kept, and the public was satisfied by the regular combats. They didn't really know better.

Accidents still did happen.

…%)

Steve sighed, as he walked through the long road, alone. Gible was back in its Pokéball, a safety measure for the both of them, as not only could he not bite him inside it, but he wouldn't run away from him either. Of course, this was just a safety measure for until Gible trusted him, but it still wasn't the best thing he wanted to do.

Then again, so far, he hadn't had much luck. Aside from that Starly that attacked them, it seemed he had been walking away from where other Pokémon were, since the grass was only to the sides for now. Since it didn't look like it had been touched in a while, he doubted any had come by to eat recently.

After tugging onto his backpack once more, trying to give himself some leeway of some sort, Steve looked about. He had heard about how some trainers purposely stood at the areas where newer trainers hung about, keeping their own Pokémon secret so they could make an easy money off those trainers, who would undoubtedly be weak enough they'd be easy pickings.

It wasn't something he really wanted to deal with, but… well, what could he do? He only had a single Pokémon, a strong one to be honest, but still only a single Pokémon. He wasn't stupid; Pokémon trainers needed at least three Pokémon if they wanted to handle any situation, and to get the Pokémon he'd need to fight.

…or was it something else? Maybe his blood loss had made him dizzy… he really should check his hands on a hospital soon…

Steve's bizarre train of thought was quickly interrupted, however, as the boy saw a person sitting to the side of a tree. It was a blond boy, with wild hair shaped like a pair of monstrous horns of some sort, as well as a striped orange and white shirt and grey pants, and a stupidly long green scarf wrapped around his neck. He looked like he was exhausted, if his dumb-looking expression and his panted breathing meant anything.

"Um… hello?" Steve asked, after a moment, drawing the attention of that strange kid. He didn't seem to be familiar, but he didn't look threatening either.

"Oh! Howdy-do!" the boy said, quickly hopping into the air and stretching his arms. "I'm Clint! Clint is my name! Pokémon is my game!" he introduced himself, before pulling a one-liner. "I thought I'd get some good training today, so I decided to fight as many Pokémon as possible! But it seems like they're all busy or something, since I haven't found any yet!"

"Ah…" Steve uttered, a bit confused by the other boy's demeanor. "So, you're a Pokémon trainer… right?" he asked, trying to make sure. Clint nodded quickly and repeatedly.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!" he said… before stopping for a moment; it seemed he became dizzy from shaking his head so fast. "A-ha-ha… well, anyway, yes, I'm a Pokémon trainer, kid! The name's Clint!"

Steve was starting to feel uncomfortable, now. "You… already said that," he muttered, unsure of how to take this stranger. He had heard about how older trainers were supposed to help newbies if they needed the help, and considering how bad he was going, he wouldn't mind some help… but did he really need this guy's help?

"Oh, sorry! Anyway, I'm guessing you're a trainer too, right? After all, that's why you're allowed to go out in this big huge world of ours despite being just a little kid!" the blond replied, cheerfully. "So if you're a trainer, this means we have to do battle now!"

"…huh?" the black-haired boy uttered, this last part actually confusing him. Clint raised a finger, before wagging it in a negative motion.

"No no no! Don't hesitate! Never hesitate! Hesitation will do bad things to you!" he said, so quickly Steve barely understood it, and went on. "And I challenge you to a Pokémon battle! One-on-one! Winner takes all!"

Steve was getting more confused now. "Hey, wait a minute!"

"Three two one GO!" Clint finished, taking out a Pokéball, enlarging it, and throwing it faster than the eye could see. From out of it, a small red chimp with fire coming out of its butt and a curl on the top of its head was released, seemingly curious at the stranger.

"Chimchar!" it let out, although Steve wasn't fully surprised. After all, that was a more common Pokémon given out by the professor; while his own wasn't that common, there were some rarer Pokémon given out occasionally. Not that he knew of them, but he had heard some comments from his classmates.

What surprised him was the other trainer's decision to fight so much.

"C-calm down! I am not prepared yet!" he tried to ask, but Clint ignored him.

"Ember now!" he ordered, and Chimchar quickly spat out several small bits of flaming material, which were headed straight at him. Steve barely had time to fall away, his backpack being so heavy it wasn't helping at all, and he felt something happen to his spine that… was really unpleasant.

"…" he tried to say, but the pain really made it difficult for him to make anything more than a few, unintelligible sounds. Clint frowned, as he saw that.

"HEYHEYHEY! What are you doing?! Get your Pokémon out already!" he cried out, glaring at the ten-year old. "It's a Pokémon battle after all!"

"…is it?" Steve eventually breathed, as he started to feel some sort of feeling on his body again. "I… never agreed to it…"

"It's part of the rules! Every time a Pokémon trainer meets another one, they must fight!" Clint told him, angrily. "If you don't accept, then you're gonna lose by default!"

"W-what?!" the boy let out, even as he tried to get up again. "Just… just wait a bit! I just have to get out my Pokéball!"

"What are you waiting for, then?!" was the question, and Steve let his head hang against the ground. His hand brushed against the Pokéball that was attached to his belt, and he picked it, enlarging it with a motion.

"G-go, Gible!" he cried out while tossing the sphere away, and from out of his Pokéball came the small big-eyed Pokémon, who stood perfectly still after being released.

"What's that thing?! Alright, we're all ready! Chimchar, Scratch!" Clint ordered, his surprise quickly disappearing. Chimchar rushed towards the opponent Pokémon, its fingers forming sharp claws, and prepared to scratch it.

"Wait! Don't I get a chance to do anything?!" Steve asked, from his lying position, and Clint wagged his finger again.

"You snooze you lose! I hate slow people, and you're one of the slowest of them!" he stated, but as he did so, Gible had already made its own decision.

It ran away from Chimchar.

"Gyaba!" it cried out, having turned fin and headed in the opposite direction, where Steve was still lying down at. The fire monkey Pokémon pursued him, regardless, with loud cries.

"Gible, what are you-OOF!" Steve gasped, as Gible hopped onto his stomach, before running onto his ribs and face. "T-that… OWWW!" Just as he felt the Gible leaving, Chimchar hopped on his body, surprisingly heavy as well. "Stop that!"

"This isn't working! Chimchar, Ember!" Clint decided, ignoring Steve's state. Gible didn't quite hear the new command nor the cries of the Chimchar, but the sudden spewing of burning things was easily felt as one of them landed on its tail.

"BULUUUUUUUU!" it cried out, jumping into the air by reflex, even as Steve managed to recover from the impacts against his ribs. He rolled onto his front, before using his arms to push himself up, even as Gible started to run like a chicken that had just lost its head.

'There's got to be something I can do… Gible isn't too smart, so he'll probably not manage to win… but that guy is so strong, he is humiliating me without any problem…' the boy thought, even as another order was given to Chimchar. The chimp with a flaming butt prepared to scratch the smaller Pokémon, too distressed by the fire on its tail to do something.

"Gible… Gible!" he called out, his voice getting louder with each word. Somehow, the Pokémon stopped, one of its eyes looking at him. "Uh… run!"

"Gyaba?" was the response, only for Chimchar to catch up; however, the stop made it easy for Gible to see its opponent, now, and even its strange manner of thought realized it couldn't escape that fast.

So Gible did the only thing it could.

"Gyabu!"

To both Chimchar and its trainer's surprise, the Pokémon had bitten onto the chimp's paws, closing its powerful jaws tightly around them. There was a moment of silence.

"CHYAAAAAAAAAAR!" was the loud scream that broke it, as Chimchar tried to get its paws out of such grip. However, Gible's mighty biting ability was keeping them trapped, and its tongue slowly licked the soft flesh, finding it tastier than Steve's hand – thus, rather than let it out at first, the sphere-shaped Pokémon tried to chew, pushing its jaws tighter.

"Chimchar, Scratch!" Clint cried out, as if the Pokémon hadn't just had its paws stuck in a small tin can made of sharp teeth. Still, the order was successful enough, as one of the paws hit Gible's tongue, making it open its mouth again.

"BULULULULULULUUUUUUUU!" the Pokémon cried, and Chimchar retreated, disgusted at the feeling on its paws. Clint was grinning, however.

"Ember, Chimchar!" was the next order, and Steve stared at him, for a moment. However, it didn't last for long.

"Gible, run!" he countered, and Gible started to run off, waving its small arms like they were chicken wings again. This was enough to let it avoid the flames, but the two of them were clearly exhausted. Gible, in particular, didn't seem to be able to last for very much longer.

"Chimchar, Scratch!" Clint ordered, and the chimp Pokémon rushed again, its fingers forming claws once more.

"Gible…" Steve let out, as he realized how bad things were. He didn't really know any of Gible's moves, and so far all he had been able to do was tell it to run! If this went on, then… "I… I can't…"

Gible didn't listen to him, of course, since the Pokémon was too busy running like an idiot to pay attention to him; however, almost as if one of its brain synapses had managed to work, the Pokémon slid to a halt, turning around. It then opened its mouth wide.

The strange sighting was enough to halt Chimchar's rampage, who hadn't forgotten what had happened the last time its hands were placed inside that Pokémon's mouth, but apparently it didn't plan on eating its hands again. Rather, Gible shoved its mouth onto the ground, taking a good bite of it, and started chewing, in such a way that distracted everyone. "…chyaaa?" Chimchar asked, confused, and Gible tried to show its mud-covered tongue. Trying being the operative word.

"…BA!" it spat, literal and eventually, the mud flying straight at Chimchar. Compressed as it was, it still could do little damage, but the major of it was done; some of it covered the Pokémon's eyes, keeping him from seeing for a moment. The Pokémon tried to clean its eyes, but it was difficult with such sharp claws.

"Chimchar! Use Ember!" Clint ordered, but the Pokémon was too distressed to perform an attack now. "I said to use Ember!"

"Gible…" was all Steve could say, his heart beating extremely fast. Was… was this really going to work?

Almost as a response, Gible started to run, slamming its small body against Chimchar's roughly, and pushing the Pokémon forward, its small stubs for arms holding the opponent surprisingly tightly. The small sphere Pokémon pushed forth until they collided against a tree, the chimp with a flaming butt hitting it hard enough to be stunned.

"...yeah…" Steve uttered, a smile slowly coming to his face. Maybe… maybe they could… "Gible… you can win, Gible!"

"Gyaba!" the small Pokémon cried out, before performing another tackle – this time, from point-blank range, the energy put into it not wasted with useless movements. Chimchar screamed in pain, but eventually the attack subsided, and it fell limply onto the ground.

"Chhyyaaaaaar…" the small chimp let out, its eyes spinning from dizziness, a sure sign that it was knocked out. Clint surprisingly didn't seem too disappointed, as he witnessed that.

"Chimchar, that's enough!" he said, recalling the Pokémon into a Pokéball. "Well, seems like you won, kid! What's your name? I'm Clint!"

"Um… it's Steve, and… you already told me your name," the boy replied, but the way Clint was acting, it was like he hadn't even heard the rest of it.

"Steve, huh? Well, you're pretty good! I didn't expect you to be that good! I really need to practice more!" he said, in a tone so chipper it could break glass. "But the next time we meet, I'm going to win, definitely definitely! I will win!"

"…you do that," Steve replied, even as Gible passed by, apparently wondering where had the monkey gone. "But, um… could you tell me where-"

"Oh, sorry! I have to leave!" Clint suddenly interrupted, as he started to stomp his feet rapidly, in such a hurry it was surprising. "I have to get to a Pokémon Center as fast as possible! I really have to go now!" he explained, before moving off. Just before he was out of sight, however, he waved at Steve. "See you later, cute stuff!"

"See yo-" Steve began, only for the last two words to stop him, his jaw slowly coming to hang from his face, his body frozen in place and his expression one of utter shock and horror. Gible stared at him, for a moment, before walking away.

…%)

Dawn grumbled, as she rode down the trodden path. After the humiliation from losing to a Magikarp, she had placed her Piplup back in its Pokéball, just after healing it. Good thing her Pokéball would recover its health, but Aquos' not quite strength was something she didn't like much.

"This day is not going well at all," she muttered, stopping her bicycle for a moment. "First I get a stupid Piplup for a Pokémon and then I learn it's good for nothing! There's got to be something I can do with this thing…"

Even as she looked about, she saw another kid in the distance, seemingly distracted, and he seemed to be a green trainer as well. "Alright… this should do!" she decided, pedaling her bike down to the trainer's side. "Hey there…"

"Oh?" the kid said, before grinning. It was a young boy, not much younger than she was, and he seemed to be happy to see her. "Well, hi! I'm Chuck!"

"Hi, Chuck! I'm Dawn!" she replied, quickly seeing the Pokéball in his belt. She took out her own from her bag. "Want to have a battle?"

"Do I!" he said, picking a Pokéball of his own. Dawn climbed off the bike, not realizing the show she was giving, and the two of them took distance.

"Aquos, turn up!" Dawn cried out, letting out her Piplup. The Pokémon quickly took a pose, decided to not do too poorly again.

"Piplup pip!" it cried out as well, frowning and preparing its feet for some serious stomping action.

"Shinx, your turn!" Chuck called out, the small blue cub Pokémon emerging from it in a serious position as well. Piplup stared at it, disturbed, fear already creeping into its mind.

"S-Shinx?!" was Dawn's response, somewhat staggered. Still, she wasn't too afraid – it was obviously still young and probably not too strong, just like h-

"Thunder Fang!" the boy ordered, and Shinx rushed towards Piplup with surprising speed, as if all it did was run. The young girl realized she had to give a command, and quick.

"Piplup, dodge it!" she snapped, and Piplup did a jump to the side, but it was for naught; to their surprise, Shinx quickly made a sharp turn, catching up with its opponent. A sharp bite later, and dozens of electric volts surged into the miniature penguin, causing it to scream in pain.

"PIIIIIIIIIIP!" The scream of pain was loud and awful, and the smell of avian flesh being crisp-fried for an instant was quickly noticeable. Shinx shook its head for a moment, waving the Pokémon around like a toy, before spitting it towards Dawn.

"AQUOS!" she cried out, running towards the Pokémon, who was clearly knocked out – if not worse. Shinx retreated back to its trainer's side, who was smirking.

"Well, that was easy… now, if you don't mind…" Chuck said, before walking towards Dawn. The girl stared at him, somewhat nervous; this wasn't something she had heard about during her studies…

"W-what do you want?" she asked, defensively, and the boy snapped his fingers. Shinx rushed at her, easily pushing her down. "HEY!"

To her surprise, the blue Pokémon bit onto her small bag, pulling it away from her. "Stop! That's mine!" she cried out, but by the time she could stand up the electric cub had already returned to Chuck, who started to look into her bag.

"Jeez… how much garbage do you carry here?" he asked, looking in her bag. Still, after a moment, he seemed to have found what he wanted. "Alright! Now this is good!" he let out, as Dawn ran towards him – an admirable effort, but one that was easily halted as Shinx stopped right in front of her, sparks coming out of its tail and teeth.

"G-give that back!" she ordered, and Chuck stared at her, for a moment.

"Ah, alright…" he said, about to throw it at her… only to do an about face, running away. "PSYCHE!" he laughed, and Dawn clenched her fists.

"GET BACK HERE!" she screamed, only for Shinx to act; with a growl, it let out a burst of electricity, enough to stun her. "AAAAAAHHHHH!"

Even as she fell down, paralyzed for a moment, the Pokémon ran away as well, and she could hear their mocking laughter.

"No… way…" she grumbled, her body twitching in pain… before she said something else.

"GET BACK HERE!"

…%)

I hope you have enjoyed this third chapter. The next one will be coming once it is finished.