Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Striaton City was a backdrop to life that Cheren had never experienced before. Truthfully, he had never even ever been this far away from Nuvema before. He kept his mouth shut about that fact and walked around normally, acting as if everything about the city was all old things he was already long since accustomed to. Fortunately, his manner of dress, though slightly different from those who lived here, did not stand out. Hilda seemed to be far less impressed by the fact that she was this far away from Nuvema Town, and just shrugged while occasionally glancing around the city.
City life had to have been very different from life in Nuvema, Cheren understood as he looked around. It was approaching evening, and by this time everyone would be settled indoors in Nuvema for the night. In Striaton, it seemed possible that the activity only really started as the sun went down. It was lively, but it wasn't quite as… bustling, as he assumed city life would be, but Striaton also wasn't Unova's largest city. He might not be able to hide his shock when he arrived at the larger cities of Unova.
The city was lit up, almost like there was a festival going on. Considering the expressions on the faces of the people he and Hilda passed, this spectacle was likely just daily routine for them. The city had a certain cheerfulness to it, but it was distinct from the Nuvema-brand of cheerfulness. Cheren wasn't interested in any sightseeing or culture learning, and simply looked toward one of the large, helpful maps of the city. As a trainer, there were some things he wanted to see before anything else.
His first desire was to challenge the gym, but as he looked at a local map something else caught his eye.
"Hilda." He called his companion over. She walked up and looked at the map with a bored expression.
She craned her neck slightly and yawned. Her eyelids were drooping and it seemed to be a challenge for her to raise her head. "Please tell me you're pointing to a hotel." She looked ready to say that the first day of this adventure was over, but she was disappointed when Cheren shook his head in defiance of her wishes.
"We won't be done for the day at least until I make a gym challenge. Before we even do that we have two stops to make."
Hilda groaned her frustrations out. "Well, it's not like I need sleep or anything." She muttered sarcastically before frowning at her friend's utterly unsympathetic face. Cheren pointed a finger at a tree line leading east out of the city.
Hilbert and Bianca at last arrived at Striaton. Hilbert had to blink at the city, so completely different from Nuvema, he wondered if anyone would start leering at him as he went in. Bianca gaped at every corner of the city she could see, living in the country town of Nuvema, she had only seen places like this on television. With lights strung up and more people then she could imagine walking around even at this late hour, she felt like she was in another world. It was amazing that just a few days ago it seemed like she might be stuck in Nuvema forever. Not realizing that she might end up looking like some country bumpkin, she started to move, eager to see every nook and cranny of the city, but then something grabbed her shoulder and jerked her back.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." Hilbert said, letting go of Bianca's shoulder. He looked up in the air, it was now nighttime, with all the stars out. The city buildings were not so tall that the stars or moon were hard to see. The city wasn't like anything he had ever encountered before, but after all of today he couldn't properly summon any enthusiasm. He felt exhausted, but he wasn't ready to find a bed just yet.
"But, Hilbert, what is there's something-"
"Let's sight-see in the morning." He sighed. "For now, we need to find that Gym Cheren was talking about." He led Bianca away to a large lit-up sign that hosted a map of Striaton City. His eyes scanned past the location of the Center or of any shops and popular attractions, he was looking for Striaton Gym first and foremost. Instead, something else reached out and grabbed his undivided attention.
"…Trainers' School?" Hilbert asked out loud.
"Where are you looking?" Bianca asked, looking all over the map and not seeing anything. Hilbert pointed a finger at the map, Bianca looked at the Trainers' School, which the map's guide stated was for Pokemon Trainers. Judging by its position on the map, it was probably…
Hilbert casually turned his head. The Trainers' School had been almost to his immediate left, across the street. He shrugged. "Not sure what the school is, but if its for trainers, it might be worth checking out first."
So long as he did not disturb the night class that was currently in session, Cheren and Hilda were allowed to be in the classroom. Cheren was staring at a large blackboard. The board was perhaps longer then the side of his house, and was rich with facts that held deep meaning to a trainer.
He wasn't oblivious to many of the facts, but the words struck him deeper now that he was a trainer. Type elements, statuses, move setups, even item usage, these things would be the end of him if he didn't know them. He walked from one end of the board to another, taking in the richly detailed facts. His mind contemplated how to properly use this information, and he was already burning for a chance to try this new knowledge out. Hilda took a seat at a vacant desk and put her head down, staring at Cheren with a bored expression and waiting for him to finish. The minutes came with a cruel slowness as Cheren seemed to want to read the board several times over.
The door to the classroom eventually opened. Cheren turned around and blinked as Hilbert and Bianca unexpectedly entered. Paying them no mind, he turned back to the blackboard. He heard Hilbert and Bianca talking to the teacher, most likely receiving the same warning about not disturbing the class, and then Cheren heard the feet coming up to him.
Cheren turned to Hilbert. His friend glanced at the board. "What are you looking at?"
"Types. Setups. Abilities." Cheren explained. "If a trainer does not understand these, he will not get very far at all."
Hilbert shrugged and he and Bianca both began to read. Hilbert had to blink at some of the terminology the board used. He also found himself going into a near stupor from how tedious the knowledge was being presented. Cheren had the patience for words, he didn't. He'd rather someone personally explain this, or maybe he could learn through experience. If he was having trouble paying attention and was spacing out, he doubted Bianca was following all that well either.
"I'd enjoy practicing what I've learned." Cheren said quietly, he glanced at Hilbert. The expression was clearly challenging, Hilbert just sighed, then nodded with a smirk. Hilbert was the one who had defeated him before, and Cheren wanted to settle the score. Bianca he had far less interest in having a fight with. Cheren walked off to speak to the teacher for a moment, then returned to Hilbert. "We can battle in the classroom. It will be a demonstration for the class."
Hilda got out of the desk she was sitting at and moved next to Cheren as Cheren and Hilbert got on opposite sides of the room. She did not in anyway look like a cheerleader right now, instead she just sighed and hoped the fight would begin, and end, soon. Bianca was far more enthusiastic, tapping Hilbert's shoulder and wishing him good luck.
The two released their Pokemon. Snivy took the time to casually stretch and went so far as to yawn, looking like it wasn't being as serious about this as it really should be. Tepig tensed and pawed the ground, ready to pay Snivy back for their first fight from just yesterday morning.
The students of the night class began to murmur amongst themselves. Hilbert didn't need to pay attention to know what the central thing they were talking about was. Snivy was a Grass type, and he already knew that it was at an elemental disadvantage against Tepig. The teacher of the class had just crossed his arms, not saying anything, but his expression was proof enough that he felt Hilbert had already lost.
Bianca and even Hilda were looking almost offended that the class was acting like the match was already decided. Hilda made a glare and most of the murmuring died down. Hilbert and Cheren squared off…
"I don't think you fully understand how uphill this battle will be." Cheren said, a slight look of confidence in his eyes. He wasn't cocky, not did he think he had already won, but he understood that things were tipped in his favor. "After my training today, Tepig learned a new attack, and my chances of victory are much higher then last time. Tepig, use Ember!"
Tepig's eyes glinted mischievously, and it snorted, smoke coming from her nostrils. She raised up on her hand legs and then thrust her head forward, practically sneezing two little sparks of fire at Snivy.
"Snivy, dodge!" Hilbert ordered. Snivy, with a new focus to its eyes, darted aside, letting the hot flames shoot past both himself and Hilbert. Hilbert gave the order to attack, victory was going to depend on not letting Tepig do that too much. Snivy rushed ahead as Tepig began to draw in air for another Ember.
"Give yourself some room." Cheren said, Tepig jumped back before charging ahead, rushing past Snivy and turning around. Tepig readied itself for another Ember, but Snivy reflexively used Vine Whip. The slender vine struck Tepig across her face, but she didn't even recoil. Only hurting a little, it released the fire from her nostrils. Snivy tried to retract the vine and start moving again, but wasn't fast enough. The little fireballs struck him in the chest. The flame dispersed quickly, Snivy didn't even get knocked off his feet, but a burnt chest and a new glare from its eyes gave evidence to the new pain it was in.
Some of the students gasped, surprised that the fight hadn't ended with just that one blow. That Snivy was still standing even after it was hit by its elemental weakness seemed illogical to them. Hilda allowed herself to smirk, happy to see the students get their first guesses proven wrong.
Hilbert glared at the Tepig, then looked at his wounded Snivy. "Snivy. Rush in, do not give Tepig a chance to do that again." Snivy, too prideful to reveal that it was in a fair amount of pain, did as he was told and rushed forward. He jumped over the next series of fireballs and tackled Tepig, sending the pig scraping away.
Tepig tried to use Ember again once it stopped moving, but Snivy spun around to behind the enemy. Tepig's eyes almost bulged out as it was yanked around by its tail. Snivy managed to toss Tepig a short distance away, then tackle its enemy before it could rise. Tepig snorted and got up, pawing the ground. It looked very, very determined, and was not about to allow a repeat of the last battle.
Snivy smirked, looking in control once more.
"Finish it." Cheren commanded. Tepig sucked in air, ready to use Ember again, and then charged forward. Hilbert was puzzled at first, then realized that Cheren wanted Tepig to use Ember right in Snivy's face.
"Don't even let Tepig look at you!" Hilbert called, it was the best wording he could think of to describe the strategy he wanted to employ. Snivy understand exactly what Hilbert was getting at, and ducked to the side. Tepig couldn't shoot its Ember at an enemy it couldn't see, Tepig spun around… but it was almost like Snivy had just evaporated.
Tepig's movements were initially frantic, but it eventually slowed, it started to look more confused then panicked at Snivy's disappearance. It started to wonder if Snivy ran off… had it won by default? Her tail was up, it was still slightly tense, but it had stopped keenly examining the environment for her enemy. Cheren was scanning around… the Snivy was apparently quite good at stealth. Then his eyes widened.
"Above you!" Cheren shouted. Tepig jumped at the sudden voice, then looked up to see that Snivy has climbed up a shelf… and had just jumped down.
Tepig released its flame, but Snivy dodged both fireballs. It continued down, and landed with force on top of Tepig.
Cheren sighed. For all that he had just taken in from the blackboard, he hoped that the result would have been different. Despite his desire to win, Tepig didn't deserve to be put through more pain because her trainer was being stubborn. He walked up, Snivy looked at Cheren's approach and turned around. Raising his tail in an overly haughty fashion, he pranced back to Hilbert.
As the battle ended with Hilbert's and Snivy's victory, the students in the room began to discuss among themselves.
"No way."
"…statistically impossible…"
"A Grass type can't defeat a Fire type…"
The teacher clapped his hands, immediately silencing the students in the room. He walked forward. "Both Pokemon fought admirably. I admit to being surprised that Snivy came through and won… but that illustrates an important point. Sometimes skill, or the individual Pokemon's power, can overcome a disadvantageous typing. Always remember that…"
He kept talking, the four teens had joined up to talk amongst themselves. Cheren held Tepig in his arms, he'd have to bring the banged up Pokemon to the Pokemon Center before his planned Gym challenge. "I suppose just knowing about the inner workings of battle won't guarantee victory." He glanced at the Snivy, sitting atop Hilbert's hat with a burnt but seemingly fairly unharmed chest. "I'll put more priority on getting Tepig stronger. I'll also catch a new Pokemon. Things will be different next time."
"Yeah…" Hilbert said, not sounding convinced that the end result would be any different in the next duel. "How did your Tepig get that strong? I know it wasn't just off of the Pokemon on Route 1."
"I trained at the Dreamyard before I came to the Trainers' School." Cheren said frankly. "It's on the edge of the city, a suitable training ground. I trained enough there, after a stop at the Center I'm heading to the Gym."
Hilbert nodded and turned to Hilda. The girl's eyes narrowed, it was obvious that she wanted to get to a bed, not a spectator's chair in the Gym. Cheren and Hilda left first, leaving Bianca and Hilbert in the school.
"What next?" Bianca asked. Then her eyes twinkled with a thought. "Can we look around the city now?"
He looked at her, and almost caved to the request given by the innocent face, but just shook his head. "Let's get to the Dreamyard." Bianca's eyes drooped in disappointment. "If Cheren trained there, then I should check it out myself." He glanced at the teacher of the current class, he was still busy explaining how matches didn't begin and end with type differences and didn't even notice that Hilbert was still in the room. Motioning at his friend, Hilbert got himself and Bianca out of the room.
"…with that in mind, I'd like to ask the trainers if-" The teacher turned around and looked, seeing only empty space where the four teens has been earlier. His mouth was frozen mid-word, and as he stared incredulously at the now empty area near the blackboard.
"They left." The teacher muttered, shaking his head.
"Thank you, Captain Obvious." One of the students in the back of the room answered.
The teacher snapped around. "Who… just said that?"
The student that had spoken looked around uncomfortably, then pointed a finger to the student at his left. "George did."
Bianca's eyes widened as she took in the sights of the Dreamyard. Hilbert looked at his friend, hopefully this somewhat counted as letting her sightsee a little. She moved impetuously, almost leaving Hilbert behind, he had to jog to keep pace with her.
Hilbert realized that there were eyes watching him. Little Pokemon wandering about in the grass and hiding in the trees were watching the humans suspiciously. The area was clearly visited frequently by humans… Hilbert wondered what the popular opinion was on humans among the Dreamyard Pokemon.
Snivy stood up from its sitting position on Hilbert's hat. It stomped a foot, seemingly for no greater purpose then annoying Hilbert. Hilbert raised his head. "Yes, yes. We're going to get to training. After Bianca finishes… with, whatever."
Bianca was still walking around and gaping. There were buildings here, and they were in ruins. Neither she or Hilbert had ever seen anything like them. It wasn't like they had stumbled upon the remains of an ancient civilization, but Hilbert felt a certain excitement at the thought of wandering around the abandoned, and at this point, crumbling, structures. If he felt the impulse, he supposed it was okay to let Bianca act on her own impulse.
"Oh, hello." Hilbert blinked at the sound of a distant voice. It didn't sound like it was talking to him. He looked, and saw Bianca talking with someone. Another girl at the Dreamyard.
"Hi." Bianca said cheerfully, not at all worried about who this person might be. "Do you need something?"
The girl tilted her head at Bianca's innocent attitude, then looked at the single Pokeball she had. "You're a… starting trainer?"
Bianca smiled. "Yes, I just started this morning. All I have with me right now is Oshuwott." She took a Pokeball out and, with no prompting from the girl, released the little Water type.
The girl saw the little thing trot around and smiled easily. Oshuwott looked around, then made a curious tilt of the head. Unable to understand why it had been called out, it tensed and struck a fighting pose as a twig snapped in the distance. It didn't seem to realize that it looked more endearing then fierce.
"Will you be leaving Striaton soon?" The girl asked out of the blue. Bianca blinked.
"Why… do you ask?" Bianca suddenly looked uncomfortable at the random question.
"I…" The girl's eyes looked a little sad. "I have a Pokemon, and I want it to see the world outside of Striaton, but… I can't go and travel. I was hoping a trainer might take it… if you'll leave soon."
Bianca blinked. "Are you… giving me a Pokemon?"
The girl revealed a small Pokeball, and released a Pansear. The little monkey bounced up and down at first, then clung to the girl's leg.
"No, Pansear." She said, shaking the Pokemon off her leg, but then picked it up and held it firmly in her arms. "I… won't be able to be with you any longer past today." Pansear tilted its head, not understanding. "I'm not abandoning you, just… you need to see the world outside of Striaton. Besides…" She trailed off, not alluding to another reason she wanted Pansear to leave. She had heard that Pokemon thieves were in the area… and one of her neighbors recently lost a Pokemon to those same thieves. Seeing her beloved Pansear leave with a good trainer, though painful for her, was better then letting it get kidnapped. "If this trainer will have you."
Bianca looked at the small Fire type, it looked at her with a peculiar expression. It clearly didn't really understand what was happening. Its trainer hugged it before putting it down and gave it a small push forward.
Oshuwott walked up to it and extended a hand. The Pansear took it quietly. Oshuwott slowly smiled. "Wott! Oshu."
The enthusiasm returned to the little monkey. The two little things released each other's hand and shared a jumping high-five. Bianca knelt down and picked up what had just become her newest Pokemon. The Pansear looked cheerily at Bianca, seeming to take this sudden and unexpected change in its life well.
"Please… take good care of her." The girl said. She patted Pansear on the head and smiled, bitterly, then with her head turned to keep her former Pokemon in sight for as long as possible, started to move to leave the Dreamyard.
"That was strange." Hilbert said, looking at the little monkey in Bianca's arms, and trying to make sense of what had just happened so suddenly. His friend now had a new team member, which would be given a new Pokeball to live in very soon. After the unexpected difficulty of his fight with Cheren, he wasn't… too keen on Bianca having a fire type. Fortunately, the idea of another battle between them didn't occur to Bianca.
Bianca patted the Pansear on the head, then put it down. It started to hop up and down, clearly just a little bundle of energy. Hilbert raised his head quickly to get his Snivy's undivided attention. "It's time to start training." The Snivy jumped down, at first looking at the Pansear. The monkey approached Snivy, looking friendly. Snivy crossed its arms, not interesting in getting buddy-buddy. The soundless rebuff made Pansear pause, Snivy turned away haughtily, eager only to start training.
Almost immediately, a Patrat began to approach. Snivy readied a battle stance just in case the Patrat was charging with hostile intent. Instead, the Pokemon ran right past Snivy and its trainer. Snivy looked quizzical as the Patrat shot past at max speed, and understood immediately that the Patrat was… scared, of something.
It wasn't the only one. More Patrats and even some Purrloins ran past. They outright fled the Dreamyard, huddling at the line of foliage between the Dreamyard and Striaton City. Hilbert felt a slight sense of apprehension in him, and wondered what was chasing them out.
His unspoken question was answered. Something stepped out into plain sight. It was small, it was angry, it was staking out its territory… and it had decided that Hilbert and Bianca were trespassing.
Hilbert quickly brought out his Pokedex and let the device record the strange creature.
"…Pawniard?" He cocked his head slightly. "But, wait… the Pokedex says that they're only native to Route 9 and Route 11. What's one doing-ah, Snivy!"
He called his Pokemon just in time. Snivy heard its name and immediately jumped, evading a thrust from one of the dual Dark and Steel type's bladed arms. The Grass type reflexively slammed itself into its unexpected opponent. The Pawniard stumbled a step back, then immediately came forward with a horizontal slash, scarring Snivy's still burnt chest.
"Snivy! Use Vine Whip! Don't let it get close!"
It obeyed, lashing out with its vine and briefly forcing the Pawniard to back away. Hilbert took in a slow breath, wondering if he was putting Snivy in a very dangerous situation. Snivy swung and snapped his Vine Whip, not giving the Pawniard a chance to approach… but then the Pawniard swung one of its bladed arms, slicing the vine in half.
Snivy, for the first time since it had joined Hilbert, looked honestly afraid as the Pawniard began to close the distance, and…
"Trip it!" Hilbert called. Snivy moved to the side, letting the Pawniard's wide arm swipe only slash empty air. Snivy dropped its tail and let it catch the Pawniard's foot, causing the enemy to fall and skid across the dirt ground.
Snivy closed in and kicked its enemy, making the Pawniard roll away. It quickly got up, Snivy ducked over one slash and darted away from its second, but when it tried to strike the Pawniard, the Pawniard blocked the attack with an arm and elbowed Snivy in the gut.
The Pawniard raised an arm, Hilbert thought for one horrifying second that it was going to be a death blow. He shouted for Snivy to defend himself, Snivy lunged forward through its pain and managed to strike Pawniard's unguarded chest.
The enemy recoiled, taking several steps back, glaring at Snivy while breathing heavily. It charged again. Hilbert called for Vine Whip and Snivy obeyed, lashing the vine across Pawniard's face and making it scrap to the side. The Pawniard did not immediately start moving again. It hunched over, needing a moment before it could dare to continue the fight, Snivy pressed the attack, the next strike of the Vine Whip sent Pawniard off its feet and onto its back.
Hilbert took in a slow breath, hoping that the unexpectedly intense fight was over. The Pawniard was still breathing, but it didn't look like it was in any condition to get back up. A fact that was confirmed when the Pawniard tried to rise, but just fell back down. Despite the fact that he could say that he was the victim of assault, Hilbert wasn't content to leave it wounded. He grabbed one of the Pokeballs he received from Juniper earlier and threw it. It hit the Pawniard and took the Pokemon inside. The ball shook briefly on the ground with the Pawniard's defiance, but eventually all movement ceased.
Walking over and picking the Pokeball up, Hilbert glanced at Snivy, it would definitely be visiting the Pokemon Center before challenging the Gym.
"Y…you and Snivy are okay?" Bianca asked, the concern so plainly clear in her voice. Hilbert put a hand on Bianca's shoulder to calm her nerves. He thought he might have looked a little panicked, but Bianca had him beat there. He smiled to assure her that everything was alright.
Hilbert opened the Pokeball and let the Pawniard out. Bianca shuddered. "What are you doing? That thing just-"
"Bianca, please… let's see how it's doing." He looked at her, not realizing he was giving the pitiable expression that Bianca would always cave to. The Pawniard reappeared, no longer lying down but now in a kneeling position. It looked up at Hilbert and Bianca, then slowly turned its head away, shamed by its defeat. Hilbert got up close and placed a hand on the Pawniard's shoulder, it shuddered and looked back at the human that had caught it.
"How did you get to the Dreamyard?" Hilbert asked, though not really expecting an answer. The Pawniard had… apparently already accepted that Hilbert was its trainer, but it was certainly still a tad defiant. It looked to be deeply injured, and some wounds… he knew Snivy did not inflict. "Doesn't matter, I guess. I need to get you to the Pokemon Center." Pawniard looked away, and saw Snivy. The two Pokemon shared a glance, and Snivy confidently extended a hand. The Pawniard stared, not seeming to understand how to respond to the gesture, then extended its arm and let Snivy grab the blade.
Oshuwott trotted forward and made a similar gesture. Pawniard glared at the Water-type's extended hand and turned away, scorning the friendly act. Oshuwott dropped its hand, tilting his head in confusion at Pawniard's behavior.
Hilbert carefully put both of his hands on the Pawniard and picked it up. Snivy climbed up, this time climbing onto Hilbert's arm rather then his head. It and the Pawniard shared a glance, it was impossible to tell if it was a friendly or unfriendly glance.
"I have two Pokemon now." Hilbert said, he smiled. "After a visit to the Center… the Gym won't stand a chance."
I already have Hilbert's team settled. Though there is a bit of a problem that they're all found in the later parts of the game, so I'll cheat a little with Pawniard. (I do have a reason as to why it was at the Dreamyard.) Snivy and Pawniard, and their evolutions, will be all Hilbert has for... quite a while.
Please review.