Disclaimer
I do not own the world of Pokémon nor do I claim to. I do however own Leon, his family, and his wonderful misfit friends. This tale is my own work; the Pokémon world is just its container.
Chapter 2
Uncle Alan, with Leon tagging behind attentively, set off for Route One, easily the most docile place in Unova when it came to Pokémon so it'd be easier for Leon to gain experience battling and capturing whilst they were there. After they had done so, Leon's mother had forced him and Alan in to returning for a "leaving dinner" as she decided to call it, then the next morning Leon would fly the nest. Leon was strangely calm surrounding the issue, his mother and uncle were worried, he could see it in their faces and the way they were acting; more high pitched and enthusiastic than usual – in his mothers case – but deep down Leon knew this was his one chance to come out of his shell, to show Unova what they'd been missing for three years. As they walked past the Pokémon centre, nearing the outskirts of town and the beginning of Route One, Alan stopped and stooped suddenly to address his nephew.
"Now Leon, the Pokémon you catch here will affect you for the rest of your life, all I'm saying is, make sure you make the right choice," he whispered remorsefully, as if the Patrat he had caught on the very same route in his childhood wasn't good enough.
"I'm not stupid Uncle Alan; I understand how important this is." Replied Leon, hints of annoyance showing through in his voice.
"Okay then, we're here! Zorua come on out girl!" Alan yelled, obviously embracing his younger, eager to battle self. Leon watched as the foxy black and red ball of fur stretched as if to warm up for battle, but no. Alan's Zorua flopped to the ground and continued her rest. Ginger was without a doubt the laziest Pokémon ever, although Zorua' as a species were considered to be mischief making, high maintenance, high energy breeds. Although Alan did have a knack for finding Pokémon that didn't fit their stereotypes.
Route One had the perfect scenery for a slightly scared new trainer; full of trees and flowers and harmless Pokémon, a beautiful sight at any time of the year it may be, but it failed to prepare fledgling trainers for what was to come. Leon spent a while contemplating this before remembering sharply that he was here to complete one of the most important tasks of his life so far. After a few minutes of Leon coaxing Ginger with treats given to him by Alan – who said he had to learn to deal with Pokémon on his own – she finally awakened from her slumber and paid attention to Leon.
"Okay Ginger, you're going to help me catch a Pokémon, so don't go too hard on them, eh?" Leon chuckled. The smart little Zorua seemed to understand, and accompanied Leon in to the long grass. It wasn't long until he heard the sly fox Pokémon squeal: Leon turned to the direction of the sound, and seen his first battle opportunity, his Uncle's Zorua had found a young Lillipup, and with the dog Pokémon being extremely territorial, they had started a stand-off of growling and squealing at each other. "Okay Ginger, let's go!" Leon exclaimed, the adrenaline starting to pump around his body, his first ever Pokémon battle was mere moments away from taking place.
"Ginger, let's play sly! Use fake tears!" Leon exclaimed, his heart beginning to beat a frantic rhythm in his chest. Upon hearing the order, the fox Pokémon planted its head on the ground and began to whimper, feigning illness in front of the Lillipup. The puppy Pokémon fell for the ruse, and bounded over to the 'injured' Zorua and began to nuzzle the other Pokémon.
"Ginger, use scratch!" The Lillipup never even seen the paw coming, the fox Pokémon raked its claws across the Lillipup's left flank, causing it to bark with pain. Leon could have sworn that Ginger was laughing at the other Pokémon. This riled the Lillipup to a new extreme; the tiny little Pokémon charged the Zorua and managed to tackle her to the ground, mainly because Ginger was too busy amusing herself with thoughts of scratching the puppy. Realizing that this was a fight it probably wouldn't win, the Lillipup saw its chance to flee and began to run away from the curious fox and human.
"We can't let him get away Ginger, pursuit!" Leon screamed, not wanting his first ever Pokémon battle turning out as a failure. Ginger understood his pain; she scrambled onto her haunches, coated her body in dark energy then, quick as lightning, pounced and slammed in to the side of the other Pokémon. The Lillipup didn't get back up for a few minutes, so had fainted there on the grass. It took Leon a few moments to realize that he'd actually won his first ever Pokémon battle! The cute little fox Pokémon bounded over to him, wanting to share in the celebration. However, another thought had just creeped into Leon's mind. "Oh crap, we forgot to catch it!" He sighed, disappointed in himself for forgetting perhaps the most crucial aspect of the task at hand, however, he still had many more opportunities.
Leon and Ginger trekked further through the long grass, it had been a while since they had seen any Pokémon, when a strange little blob of green matter floated upwards from the grass and began to stare at them. This Pokémon looked like a green version of a red blood cell his Uncle had shown him when teaching science; it certainly didn't look like it belonged on Route One. As Leon stared at this strange being, he felt as if it were projecting its feelings to him, he sensed fear, longing and a deep sadness from the tiny Pokémon. Leon was too used to having these feelings himself, and had a strong urge to comfort and console the poor thing. Judging by the way the Pokémon projected its thoughts; he presumed it was a psychic type Pokémon.
"This is the one, Ginger, let's go!" Leon muttered to the small fox. "Faint attack!" Leon had been told by Uncle Alan that this move couldn't miss, and he wasn't taking any chances. The cell Pokémon looked hurt already, but the lightning quick dark strike from the fox Pokémon brought it to the ground.
"Please," Leon whispered as he retrieved the pokéball from his pocket and threw it precisely toward the cell Pokémon; it didn't even twitch, the poor thing was too beaten to put up a fight.
Leon's lungs were pumping as he and Ginger ran back to Accumula, Uncle Alan was waiting for them in the Pokémon centre, precisely where they needed to go to have the Pokémon restored back to health. They bounded through the doors of the centre to find Uncle Alan speaking to the nurse at the desk in the simple red and white foyer. Leon let out a sigh of relief when they finally got to the desk, he handed over the newly filled pokéball to the nurse and explained how he thought it was hurt, she replied with the usual drabble about how it'd be fixed up in no time, he hoped so.
"What's that all about? What did you catch?" Enquired Alan as he turned to face the young boy.
"You'll just have to wait and see," replied the fledgling trainer with a wink and a smile.
Leon
Pokémon;
Solosis – Psywave, Reflect.
Author's Note
Can I have a drumroll please? Leon's initial Pokémon has finally been revealed, do you agree with his choice? More will be explained about Leon's love of psychic Pokémon later, and he'll meet the first of his friends for his journey! Reviews are welcome.