Chapter 2: The Road to Oldale
The sun shone brightly as Eric, Josh, and Katrina set out from Littleroot Town on their Pokemon journeys. Before leaving town, however, Eric's mom had stopped him and given him something she had forgotten to earlier: a PokeGear. PokeGears were popular in the Johto region, and were more advanced than the Hoenn region's PokeNav at this point, so more and more trainers around the world were getting PokeGears. The gang registered each other in their PokeGears in case they ever had to separate at any point, then left town. With their first steps onto Route 101, the journey had truly begun.
"All right! We're off!" Josh exclaimed after taking his first step onto Route 101.
"Settle down, dude; don't want to burn yourself out already," Eric told Josh.
"Alright, alright, I'm just excited, is all," Josh replied.
"Well, don't get too excited now; there's so much more out there to get excited about," Katrina said. "Now, let's find some wild Pokemon to train ours against".
"Way ahead of you," Eric said. He had just come across a small black and gray dog Pokemon. Josh and Katrina gathered around Eric.
"Hey, that's a Poochyena," Josh observed. They all took out their Pokedexes to obtain data.
"Poochyena, the Bite Pokemon. Poochyena are very persistent, and will chase their prey until the prey becomes exhausted. Poochyena will bite at anything that moves. They bristle out the hair on its tail to intimidate enemies," the mechanical voice droned.
"All right, I'll take it on since I encountered it first," Eric announced. He took the lone Poke Ball from his belt and got ready for his first wild Pokemon battle. "Alright, Torchic, I choose you!" The ball opened and Torchic emerged with a small cry. The Chick Pokemon landed on one foot and maintained its balance as it looked back to Eric. "Torchic, you ready for a battle?" Eric asked. Torchic turned to face Poochyena and signaled affirmative. "Ok then! Use Scratch!" Torchic took off, rushing Poochyena and using its sharp talons to scratch it. The wild Poochyena flinched a little when it was struck, but prepared to strike back at its aggressor. Since this was a young Poochyena, it did the only thing it knew it could do: Tackle. It charged at Torchic with a full-body tackle. Torchic took the hit and went to the ground from the force of the blow. It got back up and struck back with another Scratch. The wild Poochyena dodged the attack and used Tackle again. "Dodge it, Torchic!" Eric called. Torchic leaped out of the way. Suddenly, a ball of fire shot out of Torchic's mouth. The wild Poochyena was caught off guard as it wasn't expecting a Fire attack.
"Whoa, dude, did you see that?" Josh said.
"Yeah; didn't think Torchic already knew a Fire-type attack," Eric replied. He took out the Pokedex and scanned his Torchic to reveal its known moves.
"This Torchic knows the following moves: Scratch, Growl, and Flame Burst". Eric's eyes widened in surprise. He knew Torchic didn't know Ember right off the bat, so he didn't figure on it knowing any Fire attacks, but knowing it had Flame Burst caught him by surprise.
"Guys, check this out," he said. "Torchic knows Flame Burst!"
"Whoa, when did it get that?" Josh asked incredulously.
"I would assume it learned that through breeding," Katrina answered. "Pokemon can sometimes learn moved through breeding that it can't normally. Whatever Professor Birch was breeding must have passed Flame Burst to this Torchic".
"Well, this is a pleasant surprise," Eric concluded. The wild Poochyena had recovered from its initial shock and was attacking again. Eric noticed and jumped in surprise. "Shoot, shouldn't have taken my eyes off of the battle," he scolded himself. "Torchic, use Flame Burst!" A ball of fire formed in Torchic's mouth and the Chick Pokemon shot it at the wild Poochyena. The Bite Pokemon took a direct hit from the Flame Burst attack and was knocked right out. Torchic was victorious, and gained some experience from battling. Eric twitched a little.
"Hey, Eric, something wrong?" Katrina asked.
"Nah," Josh interrupted. "He always gets like this when he's excited about something".
"You know me too well, Josh," Eric said. Then, he jumped into the air. "YES! I just beat my first wild Pokemon! YEAH!" Josh chuckled.
"And you were telling me to settle down earlier," he joked. Eric rolled his eyes.
"Ah, shut up," he said as he slugged Josh in the arm. Katrina giggled.
"I think this is gonna be quite an interesting journey," she said. "I don't think I'm gonna regret this at all".
"Well, I'd sure hope not," Josh commented. "Boring journeys are no fun at all".
"Yeah," Eric agreed. "Besides, I thought we were trying to get away from the boredom of Littleroot Town, right, Josh?"
"Haha, yep," Josh replied. "What about you, Katrina?"
"Well, one day, I hope to be a top Pokemon Coordinator, so I set out to travel the region and participate in Contests. Mudkip and I are gonna rock the stage once we get a little practicing in," Katrina answered.
"Ok, so, Contests. Didn't Professor Birch say something about that at the lab?"
"Yeah, I think he said his daughter was a really good coordinator or something, and that she's a judge now," Eric replied.
"Ooh, I'm getting excited just thinking of these contests!" Katrina said enthusiastically. "I think the first one is in Slateport City, so we gotta get a move on!" She began dragging Eric and Josh along with her as she walked briskly down the path, leaving Torchic, who still hadn't been returned to its Poke Ball, to catch up.
"Hey, hey, slow down," Josh said as he tried to loosen Katrina's grip.
"Yeah, could you let us go? We're perfectly capable of walking on our own power," Eric pointed out.
"Ah, whoops, sorry," Katrina apologized as she let go of the boys. "I guess I got a little carried away, ehehe..." The boys thanked her for letting them go and began walking down the pat again. Torchic caught up and Eric returned the Chick Pokemon to its Poke Ball.
A little ways down the road, the gang ran into another wild Pokemon. This time, it was a small brown and white raccoon-like Pokemon. It growled as the group passed by and alerted them to its presence. Josh was first to turn around.
"Hey, is that a Zigzagoon?" he said as he pulled out the Pokedex.
"Zigzagoon, the Tinyraccoon Pokemon. Zigzagoon move in a zigzag pattern, and wander restlessly at all times because it is very curious. Zigzagoon are very good at finding items in the grass and even in the ground".
"Hm, could be a good fight. Alright, Treecko, go!" Josh threw his Poke Ball and Treecko popped out. The Wood Gecko Pokemon stared Zigzagoon down. Josh scanned Treecko with the Pokedex to learn its moves.
"This Treecko knows the following moves: Pound, Leer, and Magical Leaf".
"Whoa, awesome! Treecko knows Magical Leaf!" Josh exclaimed. "Alright, let's go, Treecko! Use Magical Leaf!" Treecko scattered rainbow-colored leaves that homed in on the wild Zigzagoon. The Tinyraccoon Pokemon attempted to zigzag out of the way, but was struck and sliced. The wild Zigzagoon then attempted a Tackle attack. "Dodge it, Treecko!" Treecko jumped out of the way. "Now use Pound!" As Zigzagoon screeched to a halt, Treecko swung its tail at it, scoring a hit. Zigzagoon then struck back with a Tackle. At a closer range, Treecko didn't have the time to dodge and was hit. "Shake it off, Treecko! Use Magical Leaf!" Treecko scattered more leaves and Zigzagoon took another direct hit and fainted.
"All right! I won my first battle with a wild Pokemon!" Josh exclaimed. He called Treecko back, congratulating it on a job well done.
"Not bad, Josh," Eric said. "Of course, these are just the low-leveled wild Pokemon around here. Good for training against, but not much else".
"I disagree," Josh replied. "Sure, they're good for training, but if I can catch one of these, I can give it a chance to prove itself. You might not think these guys are much, but I think they all have potential". Eric shrugged.
"Suit yourself," he responded.
"Alright, you two, let's get going," Katrina interrupted. "I'd like to get to Oldale Town soon".
"Ok, we gotcha," Josh replied. The group set off again towards Oldale Town.
After about two hours on the road, Oldale Town was finally in sight. The group was glad to have finally gotten to the end of Route 101.
"Hey, I'll race you two to Oldale," Josh challenged.
"Challenge accepted," Eric replied.
"I'm not gonna lose this," Katrina responded.
"Ready? On three... one... two... two and a half..."
"Oof," Eric groaned as he slipped trying to stop himself. Katrina giggled at Eric's small misfortune. Eric picked himself back up and got ready again.
"Three!: Josh shouted. The three trainers took off like speeding bullets towards Oldale Town. Eric pulled out to an early lead, but Josh caught up and overtook. Eric pulled level and shot Josh a competitive glare. Josh returned the competitive glare and the boys went all out to try and beat each other. Neither of them noticed that Katrina had not only pulled level with them, but had overtaken them while they were glaring at each other. Eric turned to notice this and picked up the pace. As he shot off, Josh put the pedal to the metal to try and catch up. The three trainers were nearly level as they neared the sign for Oldale Town. In a last-ditch effort, Eric pushed himself just a little further and he pulled ahead of the other two. He passed the sign first, with Katrina arriving second and Josh pulling in right behind her.
"Aww, how did I lose?" Josh complained.
"Better luck next time," Katrina teased.
"Well, guess you're buying dinner, dude," Eric said.
"Whoa, no way! We never agreed on that as a condition of losing," Josh said in defense.
"Well, I just did, so you gotta deal with it".
"Fine, fine, I'll buy dinner. You're buying next time, though".
"Fair enough". They were about to go to the Pokemon center when Katrina saw something by the Oldale Town sign.
"Hey look, a Wurmple!" she said as she pointed towards the sign. She pulled out her Pokedex.
"Wurmple, the Worm Pokemon. Wurmple is targeted by large bird Pokemon as prey. The spikes on its rear end are utilized as a defense, as they leak poison. With these spikes, it attempts to fend off predators. Its feet have suction pads that allow it to climb any surface".
"I've been looking for one of these. Wurmple has a chance of evolving into Silcoon, which evolves into Beautifly. Beautifly is a Pokemon I've always wanted to use in a Contest, so now's my chance to try and get one! Mudkip, let's go!" Katrina did a little twirl, then threw her Poke Ball and the Mud Fish Pokemon emerged with a cry. It faced the Wurmple and prepared to fight. Katrina scanned Mudkip for its moves.
"This Mudkip knows the following moves: Tackle, Growl, and Water Pulse".
"Ooh, Water Pulse," Katrina commented. "That might come in handy. Ok, Mudkip, use Tackle!" Mudkip charged at the wild Wurmple. The wild Wurmple was surprised it was being attacked and it stuck out its rear spikes. "Mudkip, stop!" Mudkip screeched to a halt. "Water Pulse!" Mudkip opened its mouth and a pulsing blast of water shot out. The wild Wurmple looked up and was struck by the Water Pulse. It was dazed by the blow.
"Hey, Katrina, I think you confused it!" Eric said.
"Yep, that's Water Pulse's secondary effect, according to the Pokedex," Katrina replied. She pulled out an empty Poke Ball, preparing to throw it, but called out another command. "Mudkip, Tackle!" Mudkip charged at the dazed Wurmple and scored a hard hit. Wurmple looked quite weakened, so Katrina decided now was the time to throw a Poke Ball. She pushed the button on the empty Poke ball in her hand to enlarge it, then did a twirl, throwing the ball right after it. "Poke Ball, go!" The Poke Ball spun as it flew through the air towards the wild Wurmple. The ball hit Wurmple and a red light sucked Wurmple into the open ball. The ball then closed and hit the ground. It began to shake, signaling that Wurmple was struggling to get out. Katrina eyed the ball closely to make sure nothing went wrong. After about half a minute of shaking and rolling, the Poke Ball stopped moving and the center button glowed red, signaling that Wurmple had successfully been caught. Katrina gasped and ran up to the Poke Ball, grabbing it and lifting it into the air. "Yes! I caught a Wurmple!" Mudkip hopped up on Katrina's shoulder and let out a small cry of victory.
"Nice job, Katrina," Eric said as he ran up.
"Yeah, that was a great job catching that Wurmple," Josh concurred. Katrina giggled a little.
"Aw, shucks, 'twas nothing," she replied, blushing a little out of embarrassment. "Now, let's get to the Pokemon Center so we can rest our Pokemon and such". Katrina then returned Mudkip.
"Good idea," Eric agreed. "We've been doing quite a bit of training out here, so it would do our Pokemon good to get some rest at the Pokemon Center". The three trainers turned around and went to the Pokemon Center, not too far from the entrance to Oldale Town.
A few hours after reaching the Pokemon Center and booking rooms for the night, Eric, Josh, and Katrina were exploring Oldale Town. The town didn't have much to offer, but it was a little larger than Littleroot Town and had a Poke Mart, so they decided to go buy a few items. All three trainers bought some Potions, a few more Poke Balls, and some Antidotes in case their Pokemon ever got poisoned while on the road. After leaving the Poke Mart, they decided to go explore the route to the north, Route 103. It led to a dead end unless one had a Pokemon that could use the move Surf, but there were a few more Pokemon on this route that were not on Route 101. New Pokemon in the area included Wingull and the occasional Pelipper, Wingull's evolved form, over the water. Nothing really caught the trainers' interest out here, so they decided to head back, but before they could, they heard the sounds of somebody training their Pokemon at the north end of the route. They went to go investigate. In a small clearing, a boy who looked a little younger than the group was training a black fox-like Pokemon against a wild Wingull. The boy was wearing a short sleeved, ghost-white jacket and black pants. His sneakers were white with what appeared to be black trim on the bottom. His hair was silver and was parted slightly on the left with the bangs spiked up. He appeared to be about 4'5" in height, much shorter than Eric, and was quite lithe in build. His back was turned to the group, so the rest of his features and clothing were obscured. He commanded his fox-like Pokemon with authority to take out the wild Wingull. A shadow blob flew from the fox-like Pokemon and hit the wild Wingull, knocking it out. The black fox Pokemon simply swished its tail as the Wingull fell to the ground. The boy then looked around for any other wild Pokemon to take out, but was instead surprised by the gang of three trainers watching him.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, wary of them.
"Hey, no need to worry, man, we were just watching you take out that Wingull just now," Josh said. "Chill out".
"He's right; we were just watching," Eric piped up. "That was impressive. You've obviously trained your Pokemon well. Can't say I've ever seen one of those Pokemon before".
"Hmm..." the boy mumbled. "Well, you don't seem to have malicious intentions. Very well". He turned around. Now the gang could see he was wearing a black shirt under his jacket. The jacket had a high, ash-gray collar. The ends of the sleeves and bottom hem of the jacket were also ash-gray. A silver stripe ran down each sleeve from the shoulder to the end. A black kanji symbol was on the left breast of the jacket. The boy had platinum-colored eyes, adding to his overall mysterious look. "What is it you want from me?" he asked the gang.
"Nothing really; we were just fascinated by your command over that Pokemon of yours," Eric replied.
"I wouldn't call it 'command', but I do see where you're coming from," the boy responded. The black fox Pokemon jumped up onto the boy's shoulder and made a sound that sounded like it was asking a question. "Don't worry, Xander, they mean no harm," the boy assured it. The fox Pokemon let out another sound and just sat there on the boy's shoulder, staring at the gang.
"Dude, that Pokemon's glaring at me. It's kinda creepy," Josh told Eric.
"I get you," Eric replied. He took out his Pokedex so he could see what this Pokemon was. The Pokedex took a while to scan, but then hummed to life.
"Zorua, the Tricky Fox Pokemon. To protect itself and to surprise others, Zorua often transforms into other Pokemon and people. It is known to transform into a silent child. Zorua is a native Pokemon of the Unova region. This Zorua is male," the voice droned.
"A Zorua... no wonder I've never heard of them before. They're native to the Unova region," Eric said.
"Yes," the boy piped up. "Xander here was my first Pokemon. I actually am from Unova originally, but I moved here to Hoenn to forge my own path. Xander is going to help me do just that".
"Well, you certainly seem set on your goal. How about a battle to see how far along you are?"
"Hmm... I suppose. I've been fighting nothing but wild Pokemon for the past few days, so it would do me some good to battle a trainer. You ready, Xander?" The Tricky Fox Pokemon jumped off of the boy's shoulder and loosed a battle cry. Eric grabbed the Poke ball from his belt and threw it out.
"Torchic, let's go!" The ball opened and the Chick Pokemon burst out from the light. It shook its head and prepared to fight. Katrina walked over to referee.
"All right, this is going to be a one-on-one battle. If both trainers are ready, then begin," she said. Eric decided to strike first.
"Torchic, use Scratch!" Torchic rushed at Zorua and scratched at it with its talons. Zorua easily dodged, however.
"Xander, Shadow Ball," the boy ordered. A shadowy blob formed in Zorua's mouth and it fired it at Torchic.
"Dodge it!" Torchic leaped over the Shadow Ball. "Now use Flame Burst!" Torchic shot a ball of fire from its mouth Zorua jumped to the side, but was hit when the ball of fire burst when it hit the ground, causing splash damage.
"Xander, Extrasensory". Zorua's eyes glowed blue as it loosed an invisible attack at Torchic. The space around Torchic became blurry as a blast of psychic energy assaulted Torchic's mind.
"Come on, Torchic, shake it off!" Eric called. Torchic eventually recovered from the attack, but looked shaken. "Alright, use Flame Burst!" A ball of fire shot from Torchic's mouth. Zorua simply took the attack head on.
"Use Night Daze". Zorua launched a pitch-black shockwave at Torchic. Torchic leaped up in an attempt to dodge it, but ended up taking the brunt of the attack and was knocked out of the air.
"Torchic, get up!" Eric called, worried about Torchic. The Chick Pokemon attempted to get up, but gave out and fainted.
"Torchic can't battle. Zorua wins," Katrina said as she raised her left arm.
"No, Torchic!" Eric called as he ran over to the injured Chick Pokemon. "You ok, Torchic?" Torchic responded with a weak chirp. "Good job anyways. You should take a long rest". Eric returned Torchic to its Poke Ball. He got up and the boy walked over to him.
"Not bad... for a rank amateur. I can tell you just recently became a trainer," he said.
"That's right. This was actually my first trainer battle. I didn't expect to win, but I got stomped flat. That's kinda disappointing, losing my first battle. Well, that just goes to show that I've still got a lot to learn," Eric replied.
"Hm... for your first battle, that wasn't bad. You have potential," the boy responded. "I'm curious as to why you decided to become a Trainer".
"Well, becoming a trainer is only a part of it for me," Eric started. "I've always wanted to get away from Littleroot Town, and now that I'm a trainer, I can do just that. My dreams are carried on the wind, and I'll go wherever the wind takes me".
"I see. Was becoming a Pokemon Trainer one of those dreams?"
"Indeed it was. I was always intrigued by the battle styles of the pros, so I decided that I'd become like them when I got my first Pokemon. I believe I could go far, and Torchic is going to be my invaluable partner".
"Hm... sounds like you have everything in mind. My advice to you: continue chasing your dreams, but be realistic about them. You don't want to end up disappointing yourself. I would also advise that you spend a considerable amount of time training your Pokemon so you can achieve your goals. The relationship between Trainer and Pokemon is forged through training".
"I see. Well, I'll definitely keep that in mind".
"Good. Well, I should be going. I have a call to make and I don't want to keep the recipient of the call waiting".
"Ok. Wait, I don't think we got your name," Eric said.
"I'll only give you my name if you give me yours," the boy replied.
"Well, my name's Eric Knight. People call me 'Knight of the Wind'". Josh spoke up next.
"I'm Josh Anderson. I've got Eric's back, and he's got mine. We've been friends since childhood". Katrina then spoke up.
"My name's Katrina Aeris. I'm aiming to be a top Pokemon Coordinator:" The boy nodded.
"Very well. My name is Seito Hiwatari. I seek to forge my own path in life, and my Pokemon will help me do so. I must be going now".
"All right. See you down the road somewhere," Eric called as Seito walked off.
"We shall see," Seito called back. Eric turned to Josh and Katrina and they headed back to Oldale Town for the evening.
And that's this chapter complete. So, how did I do? Leave a review with any thoughts, comments, and constructive criticism you may have.
So, in this chapter, Eric, Josh, and Katrina make it to Oldale Town. They each have a battle with some wild Pokemon and learn that their Pokemon came with moved learned through breeding. Katrina catches a Wurmple because she wants a Beautifly for use in Contests. The rival is introduced in this chapter: Seito Hiwatari (submitted by Tendou Souji). Seito is quite a mysterious-looking fellow, and he's three years younger than Eric, Josh, and Katrina. He claims to hail from Unova, and it would seem his Zorua proves that. Eric battles Seito, but he gets stomped. He took the loss well, though (strange for a rookie trainer to take a loss well, haha). So, the plot moves along a little here.
Next up, the gang makes the trek to Petalburg City. The chapter will mainly just move the plot along a ways.
I'm still looking for a few OCs. The remaining slots are as follows: seven Gym Leaders (Dewford is taken) and two Elite Four members (slots 3 and 4 are taken). Random trainers are also accepted.
Fun Fact: Guile's Theme really DOES go with everything! I was listening to Guile's Theme while writing the battle between Eric and Seito, and it just fit.
Until next time, MasterFreezeman, signing out.