After arriving in the Kanto Region, Summer and Samir attended a festival for new Trainers. Summer defeated her rival, Weldon, and received a translator app, which allows her to hear Pokémon that have been scanned in her Pokédex. Summer and Samir arrive in Viridian City, where Summer registers for the Indigo League. While surveying Indigo Plateau, she runs into Weldon, who challenges her to another battle. Who will win?

Chapter 5- The Different Strategies of Battle

"Wow," I told Samir as we walked by a bush on Route 1, "that festival was really great."

"It was," Samir said, "I even won this Radio app for my Pokégear."

"Cool!" I said, though I was a little upset that I didn't get it. "Can we listen to it?"

"Sure," Samir said. As he was about to take out his Pokégear, an alarm went off by the Pallet Town entrance.

What the… I thought, almost jumping in fright. We turned around and saw a police officer wearing a siren hat jumping out of the bush and stopping a young boy.

"You! Don't you know it's dangerous to walk in the tall grass?!" the police officer lectured the boy.

"I'm sorry!" the boy said with big tears. He ran back towards Pallet Town. The police officer, satisfied with his work, slipped back into the bush.

"I don't know about you, Samir, but Kanto has some very weird protocols for people without Pokémon," I said with disbelief.

"No, I agree with you," Samir said. "Let's keep going. I'll turn on the Radio now."

We listened to a popular Kanto song about Viridian City and arrived at the city quickly. That song really makes you get to Viridian City faster, I thought.

We saw the Pokémon Center and went inside. This Center was bigger than the one in Cherrygrove City. The lobby was filled with Trainers sitting on couches, walking around, and watching the large screen TV. There were multiple rooms for emergency operations, the cafeteria, and conferences. Samir and I went to the reception desk and the nurse and her Chansey took our Pokémon. As our Pokémon were being healed, I saw a line for Indigo League registration. I walked over and waited in line, which felt longer than the walk to Viridian City. I finally approached a long table where a lady saw me.

"Hello there," the lady said with a cheerful smile. "Are you here to register for the Indigo League?"

"Yes," I said. "What do I need to do to register?"

She gave me a registration form and said, "Please fill out this form with the information from your Trainer ID. It should be fairly quick if you're a new Trainer. After that, I'll verify the information with the Pokémon League Association database. Once everything's in order, you'll be eligible to compete in the Kanto Gym challenge."

I quickly filled out my form. Luckily, I only needed to put in my name, hometown, age, and Trainer status. I gave her back the form, and she put it through a scanning machine. After a few minutes, the machine made a chime sound and saved my form information.

"All right, Summer, you are registered to compete in the Indigo League challenge. Please take this badge case and put this sticker on your Trainer ID as proof of your participation in the Indigo League," the lady said, handing me a red case and a red Pokéball sticker.

I put the badge case into my backpack and put the sticker next to my picture on my ID. "Thank you so much," I said.

"You're welcome, Summer," the lady said with a smile. "You're also free to look at Indigo Plateau, the place where the Indigo League will occur this year. It's just at the end of Route 22 to the west. Good luck!"

"Thank you," I said, bowing to her. I left the registration table and saw Samir waiting for me.

"How was the registration?" he asked.

"It went pretty fast, and I got a new badge case," I said.

"Great! I was able to get a room with two beds for tonight. Anything else you want to do today?" he said, giving me a room key.

"Yeah," I said, putting the key into my wallet. "Do you want to go with me to Indigo Plateau? The lady said people can look around there."

"I wish, but I'm really tired," Samir said sadly. "Besides, I need to make sure I have everything for the internship orientation. I'll be here in case you need anything."

I was a little sad, but I understood. "Okay, I'll be back in about an hour."

I said goodbye and headed out on Route 22 in the west. I saw signs pointing to Victory Road and Indigo Plateau and walked in that direction. As I approached Indigo Plateau, a large orange building on top of a mountain, I saw a familiar person looking at the building. It was Weldon.

Weldon turned around, saw me, and sneered. "So you've come to look at Indigo Plateau, as well?" he asked. "You really must be serious about the Indigo League."

I told Weldon, "Of course. I wasn't lying about it earlier."

He said, "I know you weren't. That's what makes beating you all the more satisfying. Why don't we have another battle?"

I smiled confidently and said, "Sure, I'd love to beat you again."

"We'll see," Weldon said with a smile. "Let's do a two on two battle. No substitutions."

I nodded, This shouldn't be so hard. We moved to opposite spots in front of the entrance to Victory Road, Weldon in the west and me in the east, and got ready to battle.

"Let's go, Swirls!" I commanded, throwing out her Pokéball. Swirls came out and was ready for battle.

"Go, Spearow!" Weldon said, tossing the Pokéball. A small brown bird Pokémon with red wings came out and flew in the air.

I've never seen that bird before. I should look it up, I thought. I took out my Pokédex and scanned the Pokémon. The Pokédex said [Spearow, the Tiny Bird Pokémon. Its loud cry can be heard over half a mile away. If its high, keening cry is heard echoing all around, it is a sign that they are warning each other of danger.]

"I do have to ask, Summer," Weldon said, touching his cap. "Why do you keep using your Pokédex? Shouldn't you know all Pokémon from this region? It's common knowledge."

I got angry by his insult and said with a stern voice, "Just because I'm a Trainer in Kanto, doesn't mean I know every Pokémon here. That's why I'm learning about them from the Pokédex."

"Really…?" Weldon said, turning his cap backwards. "You can't rely on your Pokédex for answers. You must battle to find them! Spearow, use Peck!"

"Yes, boss!" Spearow said in an energetic, raspy voice and charged at Swirls.
"Dodge it, Swirls!" I commanded. Swirls nodded and jumped left.. Spearow saw the movement and quickly changed direction, hitting Swirls with his beak.

I was surprised, How did that happen?

Weldon smirked and said, "You didn't know Spearow's Ability is Keen Eye? It never lets him miss moves when Pokémon are dodging. Your Hoothoot has it too, correct?"

"Yeah…" I slowly said. "how did you know that?"

Weldon scoffed and said, "Really?! I saw the look in your Pokémon's eyes and knew his ability straight away. Maybe you should try that more often."

My anger started to build, and I told Swirls, "Use Bubble, full power!" Swirls quickly shot a small stream of bubbles from her mouth.

As the bubbles headed towards Spearow, Weldon told Spearow, "End this with Peck." Spearow destroyed the bubbles with Peck and hit Swirls. The attack did a lot more damage than usual, complete with a slow motion effect. Swirls immediately fainted, and I was in shock.

"Come on," Weldon taunted. "Don't you know a critical hit when you see one?"

I gritted my teeth and said, "Swirls, return. Let's do this, Errol!"

Errol came out of his Pokéball with fire in his eyes. "How dare you hurt Swirls! You shall pay for this, foul bird!"

"Let's battle then, wimpy owl!" Spearow retorted.

"You must really want to beat that Hoothoot," Weldon said, a little confused. "Go use Peck!"

"Errol, counter with Growl!" I commanded. The Growl slowed Spearow down, and Errol dodged him. "Great! Now use Tackle!" Errol hit Spearow in slow motion, and Spearow fell down. "Yeah! Great job, Errol!" I thought Weldon was going to become upset, but I was surprised to see him smile.

Weldon returned Spearow without saying a word. "Let's finish this, Bulbasaur," he said, sending out his Bulbasaur.

This isn't good, I thought. Bulbasaur's Grass type moves won't affect Errol as much, but Errol doesn't know any Flying type moves. What should I do?

"Ms. Summer, you must focus," Errol said, looking at me.

"Bulbasaur, use Growl," Weldon said.

"Errol, use Growl as well!" I commanded.

The growls cancelled each other, but I noticed Errol was getting tired. Now what do I do? I thought, panicking on the inside. Should I still use Growl or just attack? I can't lose to him!

"Ms. Summer," Errol asked, a little worried. "is everything all right?"

"Oh…yeah," I said, snapping out of it. "Errol, use Tackle!"

"Yes, Ms. Summer!" Errol said and charged at Bulbasaur. Weldon didn't issue a command, and Bulbasaur stood firm. I didn't think about it as much then, but I would soon regret not thinking about it.

As soon as Errol got close, Weldon smiled and told Bulbasaur, "Grab that Hoothoot with your vines." Bulbasaur used his vines and wrapping them around Errol's wings, stopping the Owl Pokémon from attacking.

Oh, no! I thought, as panic set in again. "Errol! Try to break free!" I yelled. Errol struggled, but he couldn't break free.

"It's no use, Summer," Weldon said confidently. "Bulbasaur, throw the owl in the air and use Tackle." Bulbasaur nodded and launched Errol in the air. Although Errol was free, he couldn't flap his wings. "This battle is now over," Weldon said as Bulbasaur tackled the falling Errol.

Errol rolled towards me, and I saw that he fainted. I slowly knelt down and picked him up. "Errol," I softly asked, "are you okay?"

Errol woke up and said, "I am, Miss Summer. I apologize for my performance."

I cracked a little smile, trying hold back tears. "Don't be, Errol." I weakly said. "Go get some rest."

I returned him and slowly got up. I blinked quickly and tried to look at Weldon without crying.

"Return, Bulbasaur," he said, and Bulbasaur nodded. "You see, Summer? It's not good to be overconfident before a battle. If you are, you panic when things go wrong, and that'll cost you the match. You may have beaten me before, but you still don't know how to be a good Trainer. Stop relying on your Pokédex and train your Pokémon to win." He turned to the direction of Viridian City and walked past me. "Let's battle again. That way, we'll know who's better," he said as he walked away.

I was in shock about what Weldon said and I couldn't move. Suddenly, a wave of doubt and failure swept over me. I collapsed on the ground and started to cry. Has my goal for my journey been wrong? I've always known the bonds between Pokémon and Trainer should conquer everything. But now, I don't know what to do. Is Weldon's philosophy right? I pondered on the ground.

I heard a Pokéball shake, and someone came out. "Summer?" Blaze asked. "are you okay?"

I looked at him and sat up. I slowly stopped crying and said, "I don't know, Blaze. Should I focus on training or bonding? After battling Weldon again, I'm not sure what to do."

Blaze jumped into my lap and nuzzled me. "You know what I think, Summer?" he asked, looking at my red eyes. "Why not let our training also be a bonding experience? That way, we can learn and improve together. We all need to train to get stronger, but we want to win for you. You mean so much to me Summer, and I don't want to see you so sad."

I hugged Blaze and said, "Thank you, Blaze. Don't worry, I'm fine now. Weldon is right about some things, but I still believe in the bond between Trainer and Pokémon. Win or lose, let's show him that."

"Yeah!" Blaze yelled confidently.

I felt a raindrop touch my hand. I looked up and saw the blue sky turning dark. "Uh oh," I quickly said. "Looks like it's going to rain soon. Let's hurry back to Viridian City."

Blaze nodded. I returned him and ran to the Pokémon Center. I barely beat the sudden downpour and saw Samir waiting under the Center's awning. Samir said, "There you are. I was wondering what took you so long. Is everything okay?"
"Yeah," I said, squeezing my wet hair. "I'll tell you about it later."

Samir went inside the warm Center. The Chansey handed us two towels. "Thanks, Chansey," I said and took them. I handed her my Pokéballs and asked, "Could you please heal my Pokémon? I'll be in the room with Samir." Chansey happily nodded, took my Pokéballs, and walked to the reception desk. Samir then guided me to a walkway on the right of the reception desk, leading to the dormitory hallway of the Pokémon Center.

Samir led me to a bedroom a few doors down. It was small, but it had enough room for two beds. Samir and I went inside, and he closed the door. Samir said, "They are shared restrooms in the center of the hallway. The cafeteria by the lobby is free for all people with Trainer IDs. We can go eat once you get your Pokémon back. Now, what happened to you?"

I took a deep breath and, trying to hold back tears, told him what happened at Indigo Plateau. Samir put his hand on my shoulder and said, "It's okay, Summer. Losing hurts, but you'll learn a lot more from it."

I smiled and said, "Thanks, Samir." We heard a small knock at the door. I opened it and saw Chansey with my Pokéballs. I took them and thanked Chansey. She smiled and went back to the lobby. "Hey, Samir? Is it okay if you go to the cafeteria first? I want to talk to my Pokémon."

"Sure, Summer," Samir said, going out of the room. "See you in a bit."

After Samir left, I closed the door. I let out my Pokémon on the floor. Errol and Swirls looked a little upset about the battle. I felt really bad, but I knew what I had to do. I remembered that I never looked up Poliwag in my Pokédex and took it out. My Pokédex scanned Swirls and said, [Poliwag, the Tadpole Pokémon. It is possible to see this Pokémon's spiral innards right through its thin skin. However, the skin is also very flexible. Even sharp fangs bounce right off it.]

That's a little gross, but cool… I thought, making a weird face.

"Hey, Summer," a female voice said, "Why's your face like that? It doesn't look very cool, you know?"

I looked up and saw Swirls giving me a weird face. "Oh, sorry, Swirls."

Swirls winked and said, "It's cool, dudette."

Errol was appalled by Swirls's accent, I thought I heard him said, "What an uncivilized vocabulary…" I stared at him and he looked away, whistling.

"Anyway," I said, sitting on the floor with them. "I just want to say…I'm sorry for the way I acting earlier. I didn't know what to do during the battle with Weldon, and I let you and Errol get badly hurt. I'm sorry my inexperience and my overconfidence got the better of me."

Errol looked at me and said, "Ms. Summer, we are all inexperienced in the ways of battle. But we must learn from our mistakes and each other."

Swirls nodded and said, "Totally! I didn't join you because you're strong. I joined you because I felt a strong positive vibe from you. That's the mentor I want to train with."

Errol made a slightly disgusted face but regained his composure. "The point is, we want to help you since you have assisted us. And we will keep on doing it." Blaze and Swirls nodded.

I almost burst into tears of happiness, but I held them. "Thanks, everyone. I'll do my best to control my emotions and work on some strategies. Let's train, battle, and work hard! Next time we meet Weldon, we'll definitely beat him!"

"Yeah!" everyone cheered.

We then heard our stomachs growling. I giggled and said, "Guess that means it's time for dinner. Who's ready?"

"We are!" my Pokémon yelled happily. We headed to the cafeteria, had dinner with Samir, and went to bed.

Pokémon: Blaze (Torchic): Brave Nature, moves: Scratch, Growl, Ember

Errol (Hoothoot): Rash Nature, moves: Tackle, Growl

Swirls (Poliwag): Relaxed Nature, moves: Bubble

Questions for the Chapter:

Whose battling philosophy do you agree with?

What do you think of Summer's Pokémon's voices?