AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello all, many thanks to anyone who read the first chapter and particularly to anyone who took the time to review. I'm very glad that you're continuing to read on. Please do review, whether you're a first time reader or a former one back to read chapter two. I really do value the feedback and I do respond to all messages (even the critical ones). I'm also open to suggestions on what way you'd like to see the story go or what you'd like to see. This chapter also has my first battle sequence in it so I'd be particularly interested to hear what you think of it. Enjoy!
Chapter 2 – Biting the dust
Ignis walked out the gates of the Professor's ranch with his new Growlithe trotting alongside him. His new pokemon's tongue wagging happily, ears perked up as the trainer and pokemon embarked upon the first steps of their adventure. Growlithe didn't seem to mind being in his pokeball but the Professor had warned him that as his Growlithe was still very young he would need lots of exercise to help its development. The Growlithe was also quite inexperienced only knowing basic moves such as bite and growl but Professor Oak said that he expected the young pokemon to develop and grow quite a lot even in the coming weeks especially with the increased training.
The Professor had issued Ignis with his pokedex which served as his official I.D, a computer with encyclopaedic information on all pokemon and also a device which could be used to access the internet and all kind of useful apps. The professor had also issued him with six pokeballs including Growlithe's own ball which were currently strapped to his custom made belt.
As the pair headed down Route 1 Ignis found himself reflecting on the morning's events. The day had taken several twists and turns but had somehow managed to work out quite well. He had received his very own growlithe which was a pokemon he had only ever dreamed of owning. He had also had formed quite a good relationship with Professor Oak who had given him his private phone number before he left and he had even gotten to meet Elite Lorelei even if it only had been for a moment. Of course those had been the highs thought Ignis, there had also been lows, his mind jumping unbidden to the image of the two dead growlithe. His own Growlithe had left his side as they'd been heading to the gate and walked solemnly to the spot where his brothers had died hours earlier. Their bodies had been removed but his growlithe had sat there silently for a few moments, eyes glancing around the field before letting out a loud howl to the sky and trudging back to Ignis downheartedly. Ignis had spent a few moments sitting with him and rubbing his ears while the pokemon rested his head on the teenagers lap. After a few minutes of the two of them sitting there quietly Growlithe had risen up, licked Ignis and looked down towards the gate as if to indicate he wanted to continue.
Ignis dragged himself from his thoughts and watched his pokemon who bounded out ahead of him, running across fields, back and forth but never going too far from his trainer. Ignis had stopped near a tree as they began their journey and used his knife to cut a branch which he had fashioned into a makeshift staff which would be useful should they encounter any wild Spearow or Rattatas. It wouldn't be of much help should they encounter anything bigger but his pokedex had informed him as they set off that those pokemon along with the more docile pidgey were the most frequently seen along Route 1.
The pair walked down the road for nearly an hour without any incident. The grasslands around them quickly grew wilder as they left the protection of the Pallet suburbs and the trees that had been sparse grew more and more common as they approached an area of dense woodland. Ignis killed the time by sticking treats at the top of his staff and making Growlithe jump higher and higher to get at them. This was a good workout for the pokemon and encouraged it to use some of the muscles that it would later rely on in battle while also serving as some important bonding time for the pair. Ignis was pleasantly surprised at just how high the young growlithe could leap to get at the treat. The dog was currently eating his fourth one and eyeing Ignis's backpack where he kept the treats with interest when his whole demeanour suddenly changed. His ears picked up, his back arched and he growled deeply, eyes trained on the long grass to his right.
"What is it boy," whispered Ignis gripping his staff firmly.
Suddenly the grass rustled and a large rattata burst out of the undergrowth running across the path, hissing madly but seemingly ignoring Ignis and his companion. This was it thought Ignis, his adrenaline started to pump as his looked at the large rodent that sported teeth that could cut through bone frothing madly from the mouth. This, it seemed, would be his first pokemon battle. He was confident Growlithe could take this rattata, vicious and all as it looked and then he would capture his first wild pokemon he thought, hand already moving to grasp an empty pokeball on his belt. Suddenly, before Ignis could give a command or Growlithe could make a move in its direction, a large burst of water sped out of the bushes smashing straight into the rattata's head. The rattata was spun around by the blast and continued to spin slowly around in circles, clearly dizzied from the direct impact.
Ignis spun around to see a squirtle emerge at high speed from the long grass where the rattata had come from.
"Squirtle!" it exclaimed putting on an extra burst of speed and tackling into the dizzied creature sending it crashing into the ground.
A moment later a pokeball whirred through the air smashing into the side of the fallen rattata before opening and sucking the pokemon inside. It wiggled once before a dinging noise signalled the pokemon had been safely captured.
Ignis turned around to see River emerging from the long grass that the squirtle had come from, beads of sweat trickling down his brow from chasing after the two pokemon.
"Another one bites the dust Iggy boy!" said the teenager walking forward and picking up the pokeball. Ignis scowled at the continued use of the nickname but decided to make an effort to be friendly nonetheless.
"Ya good battle River," he said with a smile.
"Not so much a battle as a hunt," replied the boy wiping his forehead with a towel he had taken from his backpack. "Little shit tried to make a run for it," he said with a laugh. His eyes flicked from Ignis to the Growlithe at his side eyeing him and his Squirtle suspiciously.
"Damn Iggy, where ju manage to catch a Growlithe, I didn't know there were any around here".
"I didn't" replied Ignis, happy to see the other trainers obvious jealousy. "Professor Oak gave him to me as a starter".
"Oak gave you a Growlithe as your starter?" the boy replied amazed. "Oak gave you a pup from his own Arcanine? The same Arcanine that was in his top six when he was still competing" said the boy incredulously.
Ignis had never thought of it that way. The sudden weight of the Professor's kindness started to dawn on him. Breeding was important in all pokemon but Growlithe in particular benefitted greatly from their parents attributes. Oak's Arcanine was something of a legend and he remembered his Dad's stories about watching Oak compete with Dragonite, Arcanine, Alakazam and Blastoise amongst others. "He could've been champion" his Dad would always say. He should've been the Lance for my generation but he didn't care for power, choosing instead to retire and concentrate on research". Now that he thought about it that made his Growlithe particularly special and he swelled with pride.
"He did" replied Ignis enjoying the other boy's disbelief.
"Who the hell are you to him" the boy said bitterly.
"No one" said Ignis simply "I saved this growlithe from bleeding to death after the fire so Oak thought I should have him".
The other boy stared at him for a long moment forehead creased as he took in and processed everything that Ignis told him while staring at Growlithe.
"Right, let's have a battle!" he suddenly snapped, the words almost bursting from his mouth as he stepped back putting space between them. "We won't be long seeing how special this dog of yours is".
"Squirtle!" offered his pokemon standing up straight next to his trainer. Growlithe growled deeply noticing the change in atmosphere between the two trainers but didn't move so much as a muscle.
"No can do" said Ignis surprised at the trainer's sudden outburst. "You know the rules".
"What bloody rules?!" shouted River clearly getting more irritable by the second.
"Well firstly you're never meant to use your last pokemon to battle a trainer in the wild, you're last is meant to be used for defence against wild pokemon only. Secondly, neither of us have registered officially for the League yet so it's illegal for us to battle" said Ignis calmly.
"You still only have the one!" replied River, "I'm up to three already and to hell with the rules" he added.
Ignis looked from his Growlithe to the Squirtle. The Squirtle was far more developed than his young pup and it would have a type advantage, what's more if a Ranger came by and asked for their I.D they'd be in real trouble. Having said all that River was really getting on his nerves and he'd love to take him down a peg or two.
"I tell you what," said River. "When I win, I'll wait with you until your Growlithe's recovered. That way I can protect you from all the big bad wild pokemon," he said mockingly.
"If you win," said Ignis stressing the first word.
"That's the spirit!" scoffed the other boy, "Right here, one on one" he said moving back a few spaces".
His growlithe stepped forward infront of him before he even had to order him still growling deeply. He found his own hand clenched tightly in a fist. He'd show this stuck up idiot. "Ok let's go," he finally said gritting his teeth.
"Ready," said River… "Go Squirtle! Tackle!"
Squirtle charged quickly towards his Growlithe, shoulder lowered ready to smash into the Growlithe's jaw.
"Dodge it!" Ignis shouted quickly.
Growlithe moved aside at a remarkable speed just as Squirtle was about to make contact. Ignis smiled, Squirtle might have the type advantage but Growlithe was much quicker, he could use that.
"Bite Growlithe!" shouted Ignis and his pokemon quickly whirred around in mid-air and sprang on the turtle pokemon as its momentum carried it past him, biting down fiercely on the Squirtle's arm.
"Squirtle!" the pokemon screeched in pain as the growlithe tore into its arm and a small amount of blood ran out of the wound. It withdrew its arm into its protective shell with a yelp opening up the cut further as its arm pulled across the sharp teeth on the way back into the safety of its shell. Growlithe jumped back growling madly, some of the Squirtle's blood dripping from its maw. The squirtle popped tentatively out of its shell and sprang backwards with a large leap panting heavily but succeeding in leaving a good amount of space between the two pokemon.
"Water Gun!" came the shout from behind him. The squirtle recovered and quickly shot a powerful burst of water at the dog pokemon. Growlithe reacted just a second too slowly dodging the worst of the attack but the water gun glanced of its hind legs knocking him over. Growlithe yelped as it was flung to the ground but jumped up almost as quickly as it had hit it, eyes locked on the Squirtle, who was still bleeding quite badly from the arm, staring at it with determination.
"Tackle Growlithe!" shouted Ignis noticing the Water pokemon tiring and his Growlithe instantly put on a spurt of speed incomparable to his usual playful bounding around the fields and rushed towards the squirtle. The squirtle didn't anticipate the massive burst of speed, it fired a water gun in Growlithe's direction but the pokemon was already moving and the jet connected with nothing more than the fresh air where the dog pokemon had been a moment before. Growlithe closed the gap between the two before Squirtle had time to fire again connecting with him squarely in the chest knocking him backward a good distance with a loud bang but Squirtle withdrew in mid-air saving it from much of the landing damage.
"Quickly Growlithe, rush it again and bite!" roared Ignis sensing victory
"Water gun!" shouted River desperately as the Growlithe closed in fast.
The bruised and bleeding Squirtle recovered its composure just in time, letting loose a powerful jet of water. The water gun hit the Growlithe at point blank range right into its mouth which had opened wide to bite down once again on the injured turtle pokemon. Growlithe was blown back head over heels from the blow and hit the floor coughing and struggling to breathe, lungs half drowned from the direct water gun. It rose up from the ground dazed just as the Squirtle smashed into its head, blindsiding him with a powerful tackle attack. Growlithe hit the ground hard and a cloud of dust from the dry ground erupted around his unmoving body.
"Squirtle," the squirtle declared weakly with a note of finality but with far less smugness than it had portrayed before the match. It was breathing heavily and cradling its bleeding arm before a beam of light signalled River returning it to the pokeball.
"Good but not good enough," River said quietly, although even he seemed taken back by how close he'd been to losing and how much damage his Squirtle had taken. He quickly clipped Squirtle's pokeball onto his belt. "I guess good breeding isn't everything," he said with a sneer before turning and walking up the road towards Viridian before Ignis could even reply, all thoughts of their agreement seemingly forgotten.
Ignis smarted at his remarks. He knew he'd let River goad him into a battle that he'd have been extremely disadvantaged in but the fact remained that the battle had been far closer than it should have been given the type and development levels of the two pokemon. He knelt down next to his Growlithe who was just regaining consciousness.
"You did really great buddy," he said, "Hold still there while I spray you with some of this potion," said Ignis pulling a small green bottle from his backpack. He was glad now that his mother had given him some as a parting gift before he left. He sprayed it over the large lump on the pokemon's head and the swelling immediately looked less red and angry. It was no substitute for a pokemon centre but it would have to do until he got to one. "I'm going to return you so that you can have a rest," he said taking out his pokeball. Growlithe looked at him with sad eyes, still unable to rise from the ground.
"You've nothing to feel bad about," said Ignis firmly. "That Squirtle was really strong and had a type advantage on you, don't worry we'll get stronger too soon enough," he said. Growlithe licked him weakly in acknowledgment and Ignis returned him into his pokeball still angry that River had left him defenceless in the wild.
He took out his pokedex and checked for notifications of wild or dangerous pokemon sighted by locals or other trainers. There were none although it did say that there was a ranger in the area and Ignis was glad that he hadn't come across their battle berating himself once again for his foolishness. There was no need to put in a request for assistance from the ranger just yet as he was in no immediate danger but he certainly had no wish to be out on the road when it got dark. He picked up his staff and set off with at a new determined speed.
He walked for about another three hours keeping up a good pace despite the heat of the day. He stuck closely to the path, well aware that he probably should have returned to Pallet but he couldn't deal with having to give up on his first day. If he could just get to Viridian like he had always planned then the day would still have been a success. Twice he stopped after hearing something in the forest around him, looking anxiously from tree to tree, knuckles turning white from the grip on this makeshift staff, heart pounding so hard he worried that every pokemon in a mile radius would be able to hear it but each time silence returned to the forest and Ignis gingerly set off again. He had relished the thought of journeying in the wild looking for pokemon but with his Growlithe still recovering and nightfall not too long away Ignis found himself wanting nothing more than to see the city lights and the safety of civilisation.
He finally got his wish when the trees started to thin and the tallest of Viridian's buildings became visible way off in the distance. Ignis felt himself release some of the breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding at the sight of the far-off skyscrapers. Relief slowly crept over him. He doubted it was more than an hour away at this stage so despite his fears he should make it before dark. The trees were really starting to thin out now opening into the rocky open terrain at the feet of some small mountains. The path ahead veered off to the left which would point him straight at Viridian.
Ignis bolstered his speed, feeling renewed by the sight of his destination and the promise of safety. He was just rounding the corner when suddenly there was a deafening smash that cut through the silence of the forest. Ignis froze the moment he heard it but he was just too late. There in the clearing, standing infront of a boulder it had just turned to rubble and dust, was a graveller.
Ignis locked eyes with the large pokemon, body frozen in fear. Ignis had seen a couple of gravellers before, all of them in Blaine's gym, and he knew that this one was quite small for its species. Nevertheless that gave him little comfort as he also knew this beast could tear his arms from their sockets as easily as fire could cut through ice.
Ignis considered his options, quickly concluding that he had none. He couldn't outrun the large pokemon and he certainly couldn't fight it. He let his staff drop to the ground suddenly realising how flimsy his only form of protection was. He started to back away slowly hoping the rock pokemon would lose interest in him when suddenly another noise, this time from behind him, broke the silence.
"I see you've met my graveller," a voice said.
Ignis spun around so quickly that he fell to the ground scraping the palms of his hands off the rough ground.
"Oh I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you," said the voice and Ignis felt a strong arm help him up. He rose slowly rubbing the dust from his eyes.
Standing infront of him was a tall young man. Ignis guessed maybe eighteen or nineteen years old, with short black hair, pale skin and blue eyes, a small amount of stubble shadowed his young face. He looked at Ignis with concern, "you ok buddy?"
"I'm ok," replied Ignis with relief. He wasn't sure his heart could take any more of this day's surprises. His eyes flicked to the graveller that was regarding him with an amused expression.
"Don't worry about him," the stranger offered. "He's harmless really," he said with a smile. Ignis found that particularly hard to believe as he looked at the remnants of what must have been a sizeable boulder.
"I'm Peter," the young man offered extending his hand. "I really am so sorry for frightening you. What has you out on the road so late? Are you heading to Viridian?"
Ignis nodded, still unable to take his eyes off the graveller.
Peter laughed unclipping a pokeball from his belt. "Return Graveller," he said releasing a beam of light from the ball that sucked in the large rock type. "Graveller only evolved from a geodude last week so I came here to train some new moves and get it used to its new form," said Peter beaming at the pokeball in his hand. "It's getting late though so I'd better be getting back to the city; we can walk together if you like?"
Ignis accepted the offer gladly. He felt a lot of the tension disappear now that the Graveller had been returned. He wouldn't normally be so frightened by the sight of the pokemon but he'd been so on edge all the way through the forest coming face to face with the large rock pokemon before he'd seen its trainer had turned his blood cold.
The pair set off toward Viridian exchanging stories and getting to know eachother as they walked. Peter was eighteen years old, a trainer from Pewter city who was in the area training and preparing to go on his own journey. His work had kept him from undertaking it until now but when his Geodude had evolved two weeks ago Peter had taken it as a sign that it was time. He had handed in his months' notice the day after the evolution and was currently in Viridian on an errand for his work. He had to return to Pewter tomorrow but planned to embark on his own adventure the moment he had seen out the last day of his notice. They talked about Ignis's short time at Blaine's gym which seemed to interest the young man greatly. Ignis also filled Peter in on the morning's events and he saw the concern on the older boy's face as he recounted the tale.
"Team Rocket grow bolder by the day," he stated with a worried expression. "Only last week they broke into the Pewter city museum ... not many people know that," he added hastily.
They soon came to the city, their conversation providing a welcome distraction from Ignis's growing exhaustion. Ignis couldn't help but like Pete. He spoke about pokemon with the same enthusiasm that Ignis held for them and was always smiling and laughing and as such the hour's walk seemed to pass very quickly.
"You'll want to head to the pokemon centre to register and have your growlithe seen to," said Peter as they came to the heart of the large city. "I've a few things to be doing but I'm staying at the Centre too so if I don't see you tonight I'll see you for breakfast tomorrow maybe?" Ignis happily agreed to this suggestion, keen to see his new friend and headed in the direction of the large pokemon centre.
Viridian was quite a large old city, not nearly as modern or large as Saffron or Celadon. It had lots of grand old stone architecture that gave the city a very ancient feel. Many of the footpaths were cobbled and the old fashioned feel of the city served to make the few modern skyscrapers of the business district look particularly out of place. He continued down the main street, stopping only when he came to a particularly large building at the end of the street opposite the pokemon centre. Again, the walls were made of stone and the roof of the porch area stood atop massive grey pillars that lined the building. The door was flanked by two stone gargoyles and carved into the stone above the door were the words Viridian City Gym. He stared at the large building for a long time. He had seen other gyms before like the forest dwelling maze that was Fushcia gym and of course he had worked in Blaine's old gym. He had even gone to see matches at the grass type gym in Celadon when he'd been visiting his aunt and uncle that lived there but he had never quite seen anything quite as imposing as this large structure. It seemed a good fit that the gym leader with the harshest reputation would have the most intimidating looking gym. He eventually dragged himself away from looking at the large behemoth and walked across the square towards the pokemon centre. Unlike all the other shops in the street all the lights were on and the automatic doors opened as he approached. He walked up to the counter and joined the short que where he was soon seen by one of the Nurse Joy sisters.
The sisters were quite famous. Ignis couldn't even remember how many sisters they were but they all held degrees in nursing, were almost identical and worked in various pokemon centres around the globe. They were highly respected, very skilled members of the pokemon centre and almost universally liked. Of course they weren't all called Joy, that was their surname but such was their identical appearance most people just stuck to calling them Nurse Joy. Ignis was called to the front of the line served by one of the sisters. He noted her small nametag on her uniform that read 'Clarence Joy'.
"Hello and welcome, how can I help you?" she said with a big smile.
"I need to heal my pokemon and I also need to register for the league," he started. "This is my Growlithe he said popping the ball up on the counter. "Water gun and trauma to the head, he's had three sprays of a potion about four hours ago," he finished handing over to the Nurse the way his father had taught him.
"Sure thing," said the young nurse jotting down a quick note of what he'd said. "We'll take good care of him for you. Here's the form for League registration, fill it out, sign it and bring it back up to me when you're ready" she said smiling kindly.
Ignis spent nearly the next hour filling out the form, answering various questions and by the time he was finished his eyes were starting to feel very heavy from his early start and long day. He walked back up to the desk that was still manned by Nurse Joy and handed her over the completed documentation.
"You're just in time," she said cheerfully. "I was just about to page you. Your growlithe is ready for collection," she said handing over a pokeball. "Let me just take a swipe of your Pokedex and you'll be all league registered and ready to go," she said entering a code into his pokedex and scanning it with a handheld scanner. "All done," she said cheerfully as the scanner made a loud binging noise and his picture and details appeared the screen infront of her.
Ignis felt a wave of happiness come over him when he saw his image presented on the screen in the same way that trainer's faces were displayed on the big screen at the pokemon league. He had always been in awe of these trainers and now he felt like he had completed his first step towards becoming one.
He got a room for the night from the reception desk which was free of charge now that he had trainer status and headed wearily upstairs. He let himself into the simple room and lay down on the bed still fully clothed. He was asleep before his head hit the pillow dreaming of the Pokemon League, a packed audience and his picture on the stadium big screen.