The Disclaimer 4: I Still Don't Own Pokemon. Coming out...right now. Also, to be frank, I'm writing this story to get some ideas out of my head. Chances are I'm already brainstorming which Pokemon Nick should catch. Some ideas might be nice though.

(ROUTE 30)

Amy breathed in deeply, a serene smile on her face as she walked along the route with her Trainer. It was morning - five o'clock, since Nick felt that they needed to get moving as soon as possible - and they'd left the Pokemon Center. Though Nick had stopped off at the PokeMart for a belt with Pokeball holsters, Potions and a bunch of heal items, they'd soon continued on their way to Violet City and their first Gym.

This is the life, she thought. The wind on my leaf, the grass tickling my feet and the smells of nature surrounding us. Nothing could ruin this moment.

Just then a loud thud rang out, which sounded suspiciously like something heavy hitting the ground. Amy sighed and turned her head to see her Trainer sprawled on the ground with his bag, and some of what was in it, lying next to him.

Well, she amended, almost nothing.

"Sorry Amy," said Nick as he got up. "I must of tripped on a stone or something."

Today he was wearing the red shirt, jeans and blue sneakers, but had decided against the black leather jacket because of the pleasant weather. The clothes were barely wet anymore and, if they were a little dirty, well that was part of the thrill of being a Trainer!

Amy glared at him a little, but really she couldn't blame him for tripping. There were too many stones and rocks lying around here anyway. It was only a matter of time before one of them tripped, she'd just been hoping it would be her first. Now they'd have to pick up everything that had fallen out of the bag.

Nick quickly gathered some of the things that had fallen and put them back in his bag, then paused when his hands came into contact with a familiar red notebook. Amy looked at him questioningly when he sat down and started paging through it.

I used to make all kinds of notes from shows with Professors in them with this book, Nick thought. If there's anything in my notes that can help me it's gonna be in this. Thank Mew mom put this in for me.

He flipped through the pages, searching for something that may help, when his eyes landed on something extremely important. It was marked 'Professor Oak, Radio Talk'.

" 'As a Pokemon grows in physical strength - through battles or other training - they tap into new abilities or powers, affectionately called 'moves' by the younger folk' ," he read. " 'These moves are normally related to the Pokemon's type and can be used in battle to do more damage than basic attacks can, like Tackle, Scratch or Pound.' So basically, a more powerful attack related to the Pokemon's type."

Nick closed the book and put it in his bag, then sat there thinking on the implications of what he'd just read.

If Amy got any stronger from yesterday's fight, he thought, then would she have a new move now? There's only one way to find out.

Nick looked curiously at Amy, who looked back at him with one raised eyebrow.

Eventually Nick stood back up and said,"Amy, I want to see if you can do anything new. Like a stronger attack, or something like that." When she looked baffled at the request, he huffed and tried to explain. "I just read a little about it in one of my old notebooks. It seems as if it would be useful to know if you had a newer, better move we could use. Chances are you beating up those Sentret would have made you stronger."

Amy looked at him consideringly, then scrunched up her nose (or the slight bump that qualified) and focused. She did this for a few minutes before her face lit up in surprise. She looked up at him and nodded then settled into her usual battle stance (standing up straight and staring straight ahead).

Nick smiled as excitement rocketed through him. This was another one of the thrills of being a Trainer: watching your Pokemon grow and learn. All he had to do now was tell her to do her new move. He stood up in front of his partner and gave the command.

"Amy, do whatever new move you've got!"

Amy drew back her head then threw it forward, her leaf swishing as it swung. Small, crescent shaped leaves flew from the leaf on her head, spinning through the air as they made a sharp wooshing noise.

Nick was almost ready to jump for joy, elated at his Pokemon having learned a new move, when he realized with a start that a) those little leaves were mowing down all the the grass in their way and b) he was standing in front of Amy!

Realizing this, Nick followed the instincts he'd developed over a long period of being awesome (i.e. being chased by random wild Pokemon) and rolled out of the way as the sharp leaves came slicing past. They cleaved the air as they wooshed by, cutting into one of the bag's side pockets (which, thankfully, were empty).

As the leaves got stuck in a nearby tree, Nick climbed to his feet and said,"New rule: we're teaching you how to aim. And not to fire new moves at Trainers."

Amy nodded in agreement, but as they continued walking she'd occasionally glance at Nick and giggle in amusement. The frown on his face grew everytime she did it.

He grunted and said,"Glad my almost getting injured makes you happy."

She nodded and said,"Chiko, chiko." She said it in such a way that Nick could imagine it meaning 'It does, thank you.'

Nick, deciding to do the mature thing and ignore her taunts. Eventually he stopped walking, turned to her and, with a straight face, said,"You know, you can't beat every Trainer we battle, right? I mean, not forever?"

Amy stopped walking and paused to consider his point. After a minute she nodded.

"Good. Then you also know we're going to have to catch a few new Pokemon if we're going to beat the various Gym Leaders. So, while we're walking, keep an eye out for any Pokemon you think could work well with you and whose types would prove useful. Typing is important."

Amy nodded again and they set off once again, making their way to Violet City. Neither of them noticed the shadow of the Pokemon flying overhead, though Nick did at what point glance at it out of the corner of his eye.

(HALFWAY THROUGH ROUTE 31)

Nick stood and surveyed the land before him. The gate/terminal that led to Violet City was only a little way off and wouldn't take that long to get to from here. Nick looked at it, a testament to their determination, and smirked. It was already late afternoon, and they'd been running most of the way here.

It's taken time, effort, more battles than I wanted to get into today to get here and one horrible mistake, but now we're here, he thought. Amy's gotten stronger and learned a new move, but now nothing will-

Just then his phone rang, cutting off his train of thought. Nick answered it hesitantly, already wary who may have called him, his thumb over the call cancel button.

"Yes, who is it?"

"Hey, so you know my super cool Rattata?"

That was as far as he got before Nick ended the call, rolled his eyes and groaned. That one mistake he'd made? Giving that boy - Joey, his name was - his Pokegear number.

Joey was an aspiring Trainer that lived in Cherrygrove. He had a habit of challenging anyone he could find, and had challenged Nick to a battle. Amy had beaten his Rattata with a few Tackles, though the Rattata had gotten a few good shots in. Nick had been so happy to win another battle that he'd thought nothing of exchanging Pokegear numbers. He'd thought all Trainers did it to get more battle experience. Now though...

Nick rubbed his eyes and tried to put Joey out of his mind, but found he couldn't quite pull it off. Joey didn't seem to get the message, even after Nick hung up on him at least three times!

Nick sighed and made to continue on to the terminal, only to feel something pushing against his leg. He looked down and saw Amy pushing against him, stopping only when she noticed he had looked down.

She huffed, gesturing to his Pokeball belt, and said,"Chi chi chiko, chi chiko!"

Nick realized with a start that, even though they'd battled Trainers and Pokemon along the routes, he hadn't caught a single new Pokemon. He groaned and removed a few Pokeballs, then turned and began looking for any new Pokemon.

When he didn't see any Pokemon after a few minutes he turned to Amy and asked,"Should we just go into Violet City by ourselves?"

She shook her head furiously and stomped her foot.

Nick sighed in exasperation. "So, we're basically staying here until I catch a new Pokemon?"

Amy nodded, smiled and gently knocked against him in a somewhat comforting gesture.

Nick sighed deeply and said,"I thought so. It's actually not a bad plan. Well, while we're here, I'm going to review what I know about what you can do. It could come in handy for when we fight a Gym leader. For now though, go practice those new moves you learned."

Amy nodded again and went to practice her new moves (Razor Leaf and Poison Powder). She did one Razor Leaf, then promptly lay down in the grass and began staring at the sky. Nick sighed again and sat down on the dirt path, picking up a stick so he could doodle.

Okay, basic revision, he thought. Pokemon have four basic stats that Trainers work on improving: Attack, Defence, Speed and Special. These are important in that they provide the basis of a Pokemon's training (they tell you what to improve on). E.g. the Sentret we faced yesterday was much faster than Amy, but she could take more damage and was heavi- stronger.

He wrote down 'Attack, Defence, Speed and Special' in the dirt and regarded the words carefully.

Now, what can Amy do?, he thought.

He sat there and stared for a few minutes. Truth be told, all he could really figure out about Amy was that she was something of a tank, taking hits he'd thought would knock her out and getting right back up to keep fighting. He'd never really taken notice of her speed or whether she was strong, but in his defense it never really came up when they were battling. He tried remembering, but nothing really stood out except for her exceptional defence.

Nick sighed and, scrubbing out the words he'd written in the dirt, moved nearer to the tree line and took out his sleeping bag. He looked up and noticed that the sun had set, the night lit with stars and the moon. How long had he been thinking about this?

He walked over to Amy and, picking her up and taking her back to his sleeping bag, said to himself,"Since I'm not allowed to enter Violet City without getting you some kind of a partner, I'm going to start a fire, roast marshmallows, put out the fire, crawl into this sleeping bag and go to sleep."

Just then a soft fluttering drew their attention to the trees near his sleeping bag. They looked up at the branches of the trees and saw a strange feathered Pokemon with red eyes (which certain Pokemon just seemed to have for some reason), strange black markings around those eyes which resembled eye liner and extended past it's head in some sort of arrow shape, and...one...leg.

The new Pokemon looked at him and said,"Hoot."

Nick stared for a few moments, moments in which the Pokemon simply stared back, until eventually he said,"Something like you chased me once when I was out looking at Pokemon too late. Hoothoot, right?"

A single nod from the Hoothoot.

"And you're a boy?"

Another nod.

Nick sighed and said,"Look I'm going to be honest with you, Amy's really tired right now and neither of us is in the mood to fight. So, if you could just go bother somebody else, that'd be great."

The Hoothoot glared at him and hopped off the tree branch. Nick readied himself to sprint away, but he needn't have bothered. Hoothoot flew a little away then turned around and hovered, staring at him expectantly. Nick watched him for a few minutes, waiting for him to make a move, when the Hoothoot flew at him with a Tackle.

Startled, Nick jumped out of the way, almost dropping Amy. She yelped and turned to glare at the Hoothoot, who was flying at them with another Tackle.

Once again Nick dodged the attack and yelled at the Hoothoot,"We're not going to fight you! We can't fight you! Amy's too weak to-"

Amy, abruptly deciding that Nick shouldn't get to finish that sentence, hopped out of Nick's arms - kicking him in the forehead as she did so - and turned to face the Hoothoot.

If it wants a fight, it'll get one! she thought.

Nick, rubbing his forehead, looked at Amy and asked,"Are you sure? You seemed so tired a minute ago."

Amy nodded, but Nick noticed how her legs seemed to wobble slightly and her eyes drooped a little. She was still tired, but she wouldn't admit it.

Nick thought fast. This battle can't last long. We need something that'll hurt the Hoothoot and end the battle quickly with minimal effort on Amy's part. But...now that should work.

"Amy, wait until he gets close," Nick whispered.

Amy looked back at him curiously, but nodded in agreement and stood her ground.

The Hoothoot hesitated, puzzled as to why this Pokemon (it's Trainer called it an Amy) would just stand there.

Hoothoot had been looking for a strong Trainer to help him develop his power (or help him learn new things) and had stumbled on the duo almost completely by accident.

Since they'd seemed interesting Hoothoot had observed them for most of the day and, from what he could tell, this particular Trainer preferred brute force as opposed to strategy. His Amy was always commanded to Tackle and relied on only her power in a fight. While it was disapointing, Nick was doing something now that seemed interesting. Why the Trainer was hesitating now he wasn't sure, but if this was an opening he saw no reason not to take it.

Hoothoot rushed at Amy with another Tackle and she looked back at Nick, who seemed to be waiting for something.

A few more seconds, aaaannnd, now! thought Nick.

"Amy, Poison Powder!"

Hoothoot attempted to swerve away from Amy after hearing that, but he was too close.

Swinging the leaf on her head, Amy threw a strange purple powder at Hoothoot. It got caught in his feathers, poisoning the Flying-type Pokemon. He fluttered away from her, coming to rest on a tree branch a few metres away.

Hoothoot regarded the Amy with cool, appraising eyes. Poisoning me? Not a bad plan for a long, drawn-out battle. If this lasts too long then the poison will get me before she can. Guess I'll have to- What is he doing?!

Nick had made a pair of binoculars with his hands and was looking at Hoothoot through them. He seemed to be saying something to Amy, who shook herself awake and stared at where Hoothoot was.

Hoothoot stared in puzzlement as the boy raised three fingers. Was he...counting down? Hoothoot caught the words 'little above' but nothing beyond that, tensing his muscles, awaited the Trainer's next move.

Nick mentally counted down. 3...2...1!

"Amy, Razor Leaf! As many as you can!"

Amy shook her leaf back and forth furiously, sending waves of sharp leaves at Hoothoot. He flew up to avoid them, only to find (quite painfully) that the Amy had been firing above him on the gamble he would fly up. Hoothoot cried out in pain and shock, then curled his wings close and abruptly dropped to avoid the barrage of Razor Leaves.

Hoothoot opened his wings and hovered above the ground a few inches above the ground.

"Now!" shouted Nick.

Hoothoot looked up at the shout, only to be met with a Tackle courtesy of the screeched in pain as he rolled away from the force of the hit, then struggled weakly back to his foot.

Nick stared at the Hoothoot and it stared back, both of them silently regarding the others strength. Nick knew Amy was probably beyond tired at this point. Hoothoot was still poisoned and wouldn't last long.

In the end, Amy broke the stalemate. She turned around and walked back to Nick, then began angrily gesturing at his Pokeball belt, yelling what were probably obscenities. He looked down at her in surprise before he said,"You know, I would have done it myself. Eventually."

Amy scoffed and walked back to the sleeping bag. As she stalked away Nick removed an empty Pokeball from his belt and slowly approached Hoothoot, moving slowly so as not to startle him.

"Hey Hoothoot, I'm sorry about this, but I need to capture you now so Amy will let me get to Violet City."

Hoothoot stared at him as if he had declared himself to be a Snorlax on a diet.

"Of course, I won't if you don't want to me to, but since you're the only wild Pokemon I've seen since Amy made her absurd request, it would be convenient."

Hoothoot considered his words. Suddenly, a bolt of pain rocketed through his chest.

"I've got Antidotes. They could fix your poison problem."

Hoothoot looked at Nick and nodded once. That was all it took for Nick to walk over and lightly tap the Pokeball against Hoothoot's head. He was sucked into the ball and promptly captured.

As soon as the ball dinged to signify Hoothoot's capture Nick let him out and began rummaging around in his bag.

"Notebook, pajamas, encylopedia," he muttered as he went through his stuff. "Why do I even have this?" he said as he looked at a pair of goggles. "Oh yeah, they're awesome. I'm wearing these tomorrow. Oh hey, there's the Antidote."

He took the Antidote and said,"Okay Hoothoot, drink up. It should cure the poison. I'm going to go set up the tent. You can come over when you're ready, though you should still take it easy for now."

As Hoothoot drank the potion Nick walked back to camp and began setting up his tent. Once he was done he crawled into the tent and layed out his sleeping bag, putting his backpack next to it. A soft rustle drew his attention to the tent flap, where Hoothoot had entered and was inspecting the tent.

Amy followed soon after and, as Nick looked on incredulously, she made her way to his sleeping bag and collapsed onto it. As he stared she got up, made her way to the opening of the sleeping bag and slide in a bit before falling asleep again, her head exposed.

"Um, Amy, you're sleeping in my..." Nick trailed off as he heard the soft snores coming from his sleeping bag. "You know what, take the sleeping bag. It's warm tonight anyway." Nick layed down next to the sleeping bag, staring curiously at this small, determined Pokemon who'd become his partner.

Meanwhile Hoothoot, who began wondering how something with practically no nose could snore, hopped over and started inspecting Amy's face from all angles. When he tried to move her head to get a better look the leaf on her head slapped him, startling him into flying across from Nick on the other side of the sleeping bag.

Nick laughed and said,"You know, I've got a name for you, if you want to hear it."

Hoothoot thought about it for a moment before he nodded.

"Right, well how about Jerry? I'm not into complicated names, and you look like a Jerry to me."

Hoothoot stared at him for a few minutes, surprised at the nickname he'd come up with, before he chuckled and nodded in agreement.

"Alright Jerry, tomorrow we continue on to Violet City! While we're walking I'm gonna try to use you in as many battles as I can because, no offense, you kinda sucked and you'll need the toughening up."

Jerry nodded, accepting the constructive critiscism, and motioned for him to go on.

"Once we're in Violet City we need to find out if there's a Gym there and, if there is, battle the Leader. It'll be our first Gym battle and we'll need to train hard for it."

While Nick shivered in excitement at the thought of facing a gym leader, Jerry began thinking of Amy's attacks (or those that he'd seen anyway) in an attempt to see how she had beaten him with so little actual effort.

"Night Jerry."

"Hoot."

With that they both went to sleep, Jerry dreaming of how he would grow and learn and Nick dreaming of the one battle he strived for.

(NEAR GATE TERMINAL, ROUTE 31)

"Now Amy calm down," Nick said as he held a struggling and extremely pissed Chikorita from going back to attack another Trainer's Weedle.

Nick had gotten into a battle with a Bug catcher from Cherrygrove and had made Jerry battle all of his Pokemon so he could get a workout in. Amy, bored with watching the fight after the second Caterpie, had gone into the tall grass and, as near as he could tell, promptly fell asleep. Once the battle was over the Bug Catcher had offered to exchange numbers in case he found anything interesting and Nick had agreed, albeit reluctantly.

From what he could gather, the Bug Catcher's Weedle had in the meantime lost interest in their conversation and went looking in the tall grass for something to eat. Not far from the battle site he'd found a big, juicy leaf to snack on. Since he hadn't noticed the Pokemon attached to said leaf, he'd opened wide and bitten into it as hard as he could. The resulting scream scared a flock of Pidgey away. The Bug Catcher's Pokemon had latched onto him in fright and, while Jerry had attempted to do the same to Nick, he hadn't succeeded and had instead hit his head against Nick's backpack.

Suffice to say, they probably wouldn't be seeing that Bug Catcher again anytime soon. Not with what Amy threatened to do to his Weedle (which, considering her tone of voice at the time, was nothing pleasant).

Amy, of course, was still angry, which brought them to the present, where Nick was holding Amy in his arms in an attempt to stop her from going back and causing an unnecessary fight and Jerry was sitting on a nearby tree branch rubbing his head.

Finally Amy stopped struggling and said,"Chiko chi chiko, chi chi chi."

Nick put her down and she sent one last sharp glare back at the Bug Catcher, who by now was out of sight, and said something under her breath that Nick assumed was a threat. His guess wasn't far off.

He rolled his eyes and, beginning to enter the terminal, said to his Pokemon,"Alright, here we go."

As they walked through the terminal they were stopped by a guard who asked,"What'd you wanna do in Violet City?"

Nick blinked and said,"I'm here to challenge the Gym Leader."

The guard snorted in amusement. "Yeah, you and everybody else. Look kid, Falknor don't battle with nobody unless they've battled the monks of Sprout Tower."

Nick stared for a second. "We have monks in Johto?"

"They're mostly dedicated Trainers themselves who focus on enlightenment and educating other, younger Trainers in 'the ways of battle'. Bunch of old geezers." Before Nick could ask what that meant the guard said,"Look, you'll understand when you battle them."

Nick looked towards the entrance to the city. "So, can I go through now?"

The guard sighed and gestured him through. Nick hurried through, eager now to see what Violet City looked like.

As they entered the city they stopped dead. From what they could see trees surrounded the city, but what drew their attention were the houses. The walls of each of the houses were varying shades of brown, some made of stone and others made of wood, whereas each of the roofs were the same striking shade of, well, violet. The oddest part of the city was the large tower in the distance, which seemed to be made of wooden walls and purple tiled roofs. Sprout Tower, they all thought simultaneously. The entire town had an almost ancient feeling to it, with Sprout Tower appearing to be the oldest building of all.

Nick tore his gaze from the tower and noticed that Amy and Jerry were just as distracted as he was by the city. He smiled to himself as he noticed that the Pokemon Center was just down the road and an idea began to form.

"Last one to the Pokemon Center's gotta carry the sleeping bag and tent!" he shouted and took off. The others soon followed, Amy ahead of Jerry and closing in on Nick.

Amy overtook Nick and ended up coming in first, though Nick and Jerry tied for second place. Nick simply smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'll carry it."

Making his way to the counter, Nick began making a mental list of everything they'd need. A check-up, some training, lunch, training, dinner, a good night's rest, coffee, and, in the morning, waffles. Lots of waffles. With coffee.

(THE NEXT MORNING, VIOLET CITY, THAT FUNNY ISLAND THINGY IN FRONT OF SPROUT TOWER)

Nick stood in front of the Sprout Tower, nervousness tying his stomach in knots. Today he was wearing an open red cotton jacket, white T-shirt, red pants, red baseball cap with a white Pokeball logo on it and a pair of black boots.

They'd taken a day to relax and review they're abilities, and were only going to Sprout Tower now. Mistly because the Gym wouldn't let them battle Falkner without coming here first.

In sharp contrast to Nick's hesitation, Amy and Jerry were having a small mock fight in preparation for the fights they'd face inside.

"Hey, so you guys are okay with going in now right?"

Jerry looked at him and gave him a quick nod. Amy wasted no time in knocking him to the ground, smirking at him as he muttered.

"Hey, what was that? Did you really just ask your Pokemon whether they wanted to fight or not?"

Nick looked towards the bridge leading to town and stared. Stepping off the bridge was a female Trainer wearing a navy blue shirt, black pants with yellow lines down the sides and a pair of red sneakers. She had copper hair and dark brown eyes.

Nick blinked and said,"Well yeah. If I'm going to do something that could get them hurt I should at least have their consent." This earned him furious nodding from Amy and a sharp, surprised look from Jerry, who shook his head in exasperation and sighed.

The new Trainer smirked at him. "And what would you do if they said no?"

Nick rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I would have built up their confidence with some more training and a few days of relaxation. With waffles."

The Trainer stared in shock for a few minutes before she said, with clear contempt in her voice,"That's stupid! What, do you think Pokemon are our equals?"

Nick smiled. "Yes. Well, except for the fact that Pokeballs don't work on humans. That's where we're superior."

"That's ridiculous!" the girl exclaimed. "I mean sure, Pokemon may be considered our equals at home, but in a battle a Pokemon is nothing more than dumb muscle. It's up to the Trainer to think and plan while the Pokemon follows orders. It's only outside of a fight that a Pokemon's intelligence can even be considered on par with the intellect of us humans, and even then they tend to act like the wild beasts they are."

Nick started a slow clap and said sarcastically, "Riveting speech, but I'm in the middle of something way more important than whatever this is. So if you don't mind..." Nick turned to leave, his Pokemon following suit just to taunt the new Trainer.

"Hey!" shouted the Trainer. "No low level creatures and their pathetic excuse for a Trainer can just walk away from me."

Nick turned back and said,"For your information, they're very high leveled."

Amy tensed, ready to spring at this new Trainer. Jerry simply stared at her condescendingly.

The Trainer scoffed and said,"Here, I'll prove my style of training is better. Come on out, Pikachu!" She threw the Pokeball and it released a small, yellow ball of fluff with a lightning bolt shaped tail and ears that looked like antennae.

Nick stared at it for a minute before he said,"Let me guess. You must be Dumb Muscle."

The Trainer snorted. "Very funny. Now, shall we battle?"

Nick turned to the Trainer and asked,"So, we're going to fight because you want to prove a Pokemon can't fight without it's Trainer?"

The Trainer nodded smugly and said,"Yes, that's right."

"Shouldn't I leave now, have one of my Pokemon fight alone and come back when the fight's over? I mean technically, that would resolve the issue."

The Trainer snorted. "What an absurd idea. Now, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Maya Superior and this is the Pikachu my father has bred specially for me. I only received him recently, but he comes from the best of stock." The Pikachu in question stood up and bowed at Nick.

Amy and Jerry returned the Pikachu's bow, then went right back to glaring at it's Trainer.

"My name is Nicholas Garret, Nick if you're feeling informal, and the Grass-type over there is Amy. She was entrusted to me by Professor Elm after he was robbed by a ginger. The Flying-type with the guyliner is Jerry."

"Good. Now that the pleasantries are out of the way..." she trailed off as her Pikachu settled into a fighting stance.

Nick sighed then said,"Okay. Jerry, give it a shot."

Jerry swooped down from his perch on Nick's shoulder and stood staring at the Pikachu, waiting for him to make a move.

Maya began laughing. "Don't you know flying Pokemon are weak to electricity? You've just made a huge mistake! You might as well surrender now before-"

"Jerry, Hypnosis!"

"Wait, what?"

The pink waves of the Hypnosis hit the Pikachu, who wobbled where he stood for a moment before falling to the floor, sound asleep. It was a new move Jerry had used after the battle with the Bug Catcher to temporarily sedate Amy. Not that it changed anything when she woke up.

Maya stared in shock before shouting,"Why did you do that?!"

Nick shrugged and said,"Because you let me. You probably shouldn't talk so much. Unless you're issuing orders, in which case, talk all you want."

Maya glared at him before she shouted,"Pikachu get up! We have to win!"

"Jerry, Tackle him."

The Pikachu shook himself awake and, before he could comprehend what was happening, was hit by a Tackle from Jerry that knocked him back to the ground. A second after he landed he started struggling to his feet, weakened by the attack.

"Oh no, Pikachu!" shouted Maya.

Just then Nick thought of something and shouted,"Jerry hold on for a second."

Maya spluttered and asked,"What're you doing now?"

Nick asked,"This just occured to me, you know, not very important, thought I'd get right on it, but is this your first battle!"

Maya, her face crimson, said,"I have studied with some of the best tutors around. I've been to see Professor Oak himself, and I've watched battles between Elite Trainers and the Elite Four themselves. Why? Because my dad arranged for me to be there, watching the match up close and personal, learning everything I could. Do you get it yet? I basically went to a private Trainer's School, with the best teachers around!"

Nick considered her words for a second before asking,"So, that's a no?"

"Ye-yes."

Nick slowly shook his head then said,"Yeah, I can't do this. Jerry, come back here." Jerry looked at him incredulously, but nonetheless obeyed and returned to his Trainer's side. Amy was staring at him in shock as Nick walked over and tried putting her on his shoulder.

Maya spluttered then asked,"Hey, what do you think you're doing?"

"You're a new Trainer," Nick explained as he lifted Amy. "A brand new Trainer. I've already got more experience than you. It just doesn't feel right to battle you when you're so unsure of what to do." Jerry nodded slowly in agreement. Amy, who was finally settled on Nick's shoulder, nodded as well. "Though I've gotta admit, most of my experience is 'use Tackle'. Maybe get a workout in with some other new Trainer, but I'm not your guy."

Maya stared in shock before she shouted,"But you have to finish the battle! It's the rules."

Nick shrugged and said,"Oaky, fine. If you insist. Amy?"

Amy sighed and nodded at Nick, who lifted her off his shoulder. She made her way onto Jerry's previous spot and stood staring at the Pikachu, who had gotten to his feet.

Nick quickly said,"Amy, do a Tackle!"

Amy ran towards the Pikachu and Tackled him. The Pikachu dodged to the side and Amy, unheeded, swerved and Tackled him. He was knocked to the side, his eyes swirling.

"That didn't last very long."

Maya recalled her Pikachu and glared at Nick. "Oh, shut up. You may have beaten me this time, but that was only because you challenged me before my Pokemon was ready. Next time I'll be the victor."

Nick raised an eyebrow and stated,"Yeah, but, this didn't solve our debate. Not to mention, you challenged me."

"The words of someone like you are worthless to someone like me."

Nick looked at Maya and smirked. "You wanna know why we're so different? Your rich, but I've got more common sense."

Maya blushed furiously at the insult. "Why you little...?!" She turned abruptly and, glancing back at him, announced, "This isn't over Nicholas Garret!"

With that she dashed away towards the Pokemon Center, leaving them to think about what had just happened.

Nick stared after her for a few minutes before turning to his Pokemon and saying, "Well, that was fun."

Amy rolled her eyes and Jerry sighed.

"Let's get going guys. Try not to think about what she said," said Nick, turning to walk towards Sprout Tower.

Amy and Jerry followed after him, both eager to continue, as Nick opened the door to Sprout Tower.

(END CHAPTER 4)

Yeah, Maya is a bit of a jerk right now, but I'm hoping to develop her a little more later. Also, after watching the Pokemon VS Digimon Death Battle I've decided to make Pokemon-Can't-Battle-Like-They-Usually-Do-Without-Trainers a plot point, since Wiz and Boomstick bring up a good point. You should check it out, I won't spoil anything. I will try to make a lot of references to TeamFourStar DragonBall Z Abridged.

Next chapter Nick will challenge Sprout Tower. Yeah, that's it. I mean, you don't even need me to say it. It's right there in the cliff hanger.

Question: BTW, one question. Is this story only based on the game? Or do you also use some parts of anime and manga?
Answer: Games mostly, though I'm including some elements of the anime to make it cooler (I recently started watching some of the first season of the anime, nothing past episode 21) and I can't include much from the manga, though it's only because I haven't really read the manga, not because I don't like it. I may alter a few things for the sake of plot though.