Author's Note: Yes, I'm still alive. Since I've written four one-shots, that is the equivalent to four chapter updates. I want you all to know that I'm not abandoning any of my stories. I've just been super busy with schoolwork. After I post updates to some of my stories, they will go back on hiatus. I'm doing this because I'm a Beta reader and currently have ten stories that I'm working on, excluding one-shots. Once a story is finished, then I will take one off hiatus and move on. Anyway, I'm not posting the ages for this chapter because the ages of these characters will be referenced in later chapters. Please be sure to read the bottom A/N as it features an important layout for this story. I don't own Pokémon, but is that gonna stop you from reading? I also don't own Ace bandages or Nissan. Final thing: this chapter is mostly in third person perspective, unless otherwise indicated.
Chapter 19: Remember
"Reggie!" a girl shouted, gaining the attention of a purple-haired breeder. Reggie turned.
"Hey, Eileen. That was a great battle against Carter," he said.
"You watched that?" a younger boy next to her asked.
"I did. From the way the announcer put it, his Pidgeot seems like a tough opponent," Reggie said. Neither of them noticed the younger boy going to one of Reggie's Pokémon.
"I'm surprised I landed a hit. Wow, is that what I think it is?" she said, turning to a Pokémon.
She pulled out her Pokédex and the voice said, "Kangaskhan, the Parent Pokémon. Once approaching extinction, they are now protected by law and inhabit the Safari Zone. Approach with extreme caution. They will attack viciously and without warning if they feel their young are threatened in any way."
She put the device away. While she was doing that, Reggie asked, "So what brings you to Sinnoh?"
"Oh yeah, I should've told you that first. Anyway, after my loss to Carter, I got my Pokémon healed and was going to go home. Then I was stopped by Dalton. He said that he watched all of my final Indigo League matches and asked me if I wanted to take on the Battle Frontier. Check it out," she said, going through her bag. She pulled out a special case. In it, there were two ticket-like pieces of paper that had been laminated. Both had gold borders around them. The first one had an Earth badge on the left side, a picture of the Olivine City Battle Factory in the middle, and a young male on the right; the young male is the Factory Head in Olivine City, Thorton Datsura. The second one, like the first, had an Earth badge on the left side. Instead of the Battle Factory, the Lilycove City Battle Arcade was pictured in the center and on the right was a young female; the female is the Arcade Star, Dahlia Alvarez.
"I'm here in Sinnoh so I can battle aunt Argenta and Uncle Palmer," she said, putting the case back. There was a brief silence as Eileen and the younger boy looked at the other Pokémon. Some belonged to Reggie, some to other trainers, and some to Paul, she imagined.
"Reggie, I challenge you to a battle," she said, finally breaking the silence.
"He won't use Kangaskhan, will he?" the younger boy asked.
"That's not up to me, TJ. I don't know if Kangaskhan is Reggie's or if he's looking after it," she said to her younger brother.
"Kangaskhan is mine alright. I caught her in the Safari Zone. Alright, I accept your request and I will not use Kangaskhan. What are the rules?" Reggie asked, readying a Poké Ball.
"Three Pokémon each, substitutions freely on either side. We agreed on those terms a long time ago, Reggie. Don't you remember?" Eileen asked, awaiting to see what Pokémon Reggie would use before making her choice.
"Evan, you can't be serious," a girl said as she took her Pokémon from the tray at the Pokémon Center.
"Chill out, Eileen. He was just some hippie," another girl said.
"The same can be said for you, Liana. I have a feeling I know who Blaine is and I'm going out to find him. If you come with me, fine. If you don't, fine," Eileen said as she began to walk out.
"What's her problem?" Evan asked. Liana shrugged.
"If you don't mind my asking, aren't the three of you from Viridian City?" an older boy asked.
"So what if we are?" Evan replied.
"Evan, don't be so rude," Liana scolded. She turned her attention back to the older boy and said, "Yes, we're from Viridian City. Why do you ask?"
"My name is Liam and I'm from Blackthorn City in Johto. I'll help you guys find your sister and maybe all of us can look for Blaine," the boy now known as Liam said. Evan and Liana followed.
Liam stopped them at a resort, where two figures were standing to face off.
"Why are we here?" Liana asked. Liam didn't reply. He instead opened a door, revealing the hippie and Eileen.
"Guess you won't miss my battle. I'm ready when you are," Eileen said to the hippie.
"Battle?" Evan said.
Eileen sighed and said, "This guy isn't really a hippie. In reality, he's the Cinnabar Gym leader. Evan, Liana, this is Blaine. Am I right?"
The man took off his wig and sunglasses. He chuckled and said, "Yes, you are. Question is, how did you know it was me?"
"That's easy. Like I said before, our parents were the Viridian Gym leaders and said that Blaine tended to disguise himself, liked riddles and was always a bit mysterious," Eileen answered.
"Fair enough. However, I only have two badges left to give. We'll battle one-on-one. If you win, your siblings are free to battle me. If you lose, you'll have to find another gym to battle. Follow me to the gym," Blaine said, going through another door.
"That Blaine is something else," Liam said, following Blaine.
"Why are you doing this, Eileen?" Liana asked.
"I had to do the same thing in Celadon City. If you want to battle Blaine, let's go," Eileen said flatly.
"Why is she comparing Erika to Blaine?" Evan asked.
"Like Erika, Blaine said something about Viridian City. Don't you remember, Evan?" Liana replied before heading out. Evan scratched his head and followed his sister.
"Misty. Okay Mom, I give. Why do you have me and Misty as roommates, let alone teammates?" a girl asked.
"I don't get why you've given me the cold shoulder ever since we got here, Eileen," Misty said.
"My guess is that something happened between you two. Care to explain what?" a taller male said. Both girls folded their arms and refused to face each other.
"You see Lucian, Misty and Eileen have been friends ever since they were young children. They became fast friends. Not to mention, Derek and Violet are married," Eileen's mom said.
Misty faced Mrs. Matthews and said, "Eileen and I agreed to battle each other if I became a gym leader."
"Evan and Liana beat me to the gym. When I got there, I called Misty's name. I was about to leave when Daisy came out and said she was ready for a battle. I turned around and asked where Misty was. Daisy said that Misty had left that morning and nothing more. I challenged Daisy to a battle, with Parker serving as ref. Shortly after that, I asked Nurse Joy where Misty went. According to her, Misty went fishing. Since that day, I've been waiting to battle Misty," Eileen said.
"Then why not battle now?" Lucian suggested.
"We can't, Lucian. We're both gym leaders," Misty replied.
"There's nothing wrong battling another gym leader. Neither of you are trainers on a journey anymore and there's really nothing against it," Mrs. Matthews said.
Eileen finally faced Misty and said, "So how about it, Waterflower?"
Misty smirked and said, "You've got a deal. Better late than never, remember?"
The two leaders left the room to go to the battlefield, Lucian and Mrs. Matthews close behind.
"Eileen, are you scared?" a male asked with a woman wearing a white lab coat present.
"Well Lance, she has a small cavity. However, it's too small for your idea," the woman said.
"So what do you suggest, Dr. Schroeder?" a woman with black hair asked.
"What about me just wearing a small microphone instead of putting a microchip in my tooth?" Eileen asked.
"Why don't we go look?" Lance asked.
As Lance was leaving, Eileen wiped the sweat off of her forehead.
"I guess I better follow him," the woman said.
"Oh, Azami," Dr. Schroeder said.
Azami stopped in her tracks.
"If you happen to see Agent Ramirez, would you mind sending her this way?" Dr. Schroeder asked.
"Sure thing," Azami said, leaving Dr. Schroeder to take care of Eileen's cavity.
"So how's your ankle?" Dr. Schroeder asked, trying to get Eileen's mind off of her tooth.
"It's sore, but it's not broken," Eileen said, sitting up. She looked at it and said, "I'm not supposed to put any weight on it, but according to Dr. Lance, I should be able to walk on it." The doctor chuckled at the young agent's jab to the champion.
The door opened to reveal a young female in her 20s with dirty blonde hair and blue eyes.
"What happened?" she asked.
"I sprained my ankle in a training exercise. Lance had one of the agents wrap my ankle with an Ace bandage. I'm just glad it isn't broken" Eileen answered the older agent, a faint blush on her face.
"Young love," Dr. Schroeder said.
Eileen ignored it, but shot the older agent a glare when the older agent chuckled lightly.
"That's not what I meant, but a sprained ankle is no fun, either. Be careful, okay?" the older agent said.
"Yes mom. I'll be careful. Ouch!" she said, rubbing her face. After taking a glance at the younger agent's X-ray, the older agent began to wash up.
"You two are something else," Dr. Schroeder.
"I guess so. What do you think, Anna?" the younger agent asked the older agent.
"I think you and I need to have a talk," Anna said.
The younger agent blinked and said, "Why?"
"A little Pidgey told me that you were involved in spray-painting Lance's Altima black," Anna said.
(Eileen's P.O.V.)
'Someone let the Meowth out of the bag. I've got a hunch,' I thought to myself.
"It was Lee, wasn't it?" I asked. Lee Wright and I don't always get along. Anna nodded, confirming my suspicion.
"Aren't you going to talk with Agent Daniels?" Dr. Schroeder asked, referring to Shauna.
"Lance is talking with her as we speak," Anna said.
"As for Keanu?" Anna asked after a pause. Keanu got busted, too?
"He will be receiving a punishment from me," Dr. Schroeder said as Anna shot the Novacaine into my gum.
I groaned. This conversation would be one to remember.
(Third person P.O.V.)
"Maylene, I don't think Ash and Misty are dating," Eileen said.
"Why did you start talking about Ash?" Misty said as she stepped back into their bedroom.
"He just won his first round battle against Nando," Maylene said.
"I thought Nando was a coordinator," Eileen said, finally taking her eyes off of her computer.
"He's both," Maylene said. The three roommates had been watching league matches, grand festivals, and other competitions that were being televised over the past few weeks.
"I wonder who Paul battled," Maylene said.
"I'll look it up," Eileen said, going to the website for conference results.
"Paul probably won. First round, right?" Misty asked.
"Ooh, does someone like my cousin Paul?" Eileen asked, looking at Misty.
"No! It's just that first round battles in the league are usually the easier ones," Misty said.
"I didn't know you've competed in a league," Maylene said.
"She didn't. Misty was one of Ash's supporters in the Indigo League. If Ash had that Bulbasaur of his battle Ritchie's Pikachu, he could've gotten further in the league," Eileen said.
"Do you have the results or not?" Misty snapped.
"Take a chill pill. Fifteen-year-old Paul Ivy of Veilstone City defeats eleven-year-old Jennifer Gomez from Eterna City using, whoa that can't be right," Eileen said.
"What?" Maylene and Misty asked.
"He took down her Beautifly, Azumarill, and Absol using only his Aggron," Eileen said.
"Whoa, that's impressive," Misty said.
"Paul also has a Honchkrow," Maylene said.
"I know, I've helped Honchkrow train," Eileen said.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you want to battle his Aggron," Misty said.
"A battle between his Aggron and your Swampert would be a sight to see," a voice said, startling the girls.
"Lucian, how long have you been standing there?" Maylene said to the Psychic elite.
"Long enough. I just thought I'd check in on you three," Lucian said calmly.
"Did my mom send you here?" Eileen asked.
"No, I came here on my own," Lucian said.
"Lucian," Eileen said, standing up to face her cousin.
"Alright, she sent me. I hope you're all getting along. Lights out in fifteen minutes," Lucian said, leaving, missing a sphere of blue energy fired from Eileen's hand.
"Ow, hot. Misty, little help?" Eileen said.
"I call Azumarill," Misty said.
"Hey, why don't you and I have an aura battle sometime?" Maylene asked.
"Azumarill, Water Gun," Misty said. Azumarill complied.
"Thanks Misty, Azumarill. An aura battle. Yeah, sure," Eileen said.
'That would be a battle to remember,' Eileen thought to herself.
"Barry, control that Rapidash," a purple-haired trainer said.
"Okay, okay, sheesh, Paul," Barry said.
"Let me see what I can do," TJ said.
"Go for it," Barry said. As TJ walked off, Paul smacked him upside the head.
"Ow! What was that for? I'm fining you!" Barry said.
"Idiot. We're supposed to be looking after him," Paul said. From inside the Pokémon Center, Eileen and another person waited for their Pokémon to heal while giving the guys some space.
"You sure about this?" they said to Eileen, who merely nodded in response.
'A journey with Paul is a journey I'll remember,' they thought.
"Empoleon, let's battle, shall we?" a man wearing a suit asked.
"Castle Valet Darach has selected his Empoleon. As for the challenger?" an older woman asked.
"Come out, whoever you are!" Eileen said.
"Dile!" the Pokémon cried.
'A Sandile, good. Let's see what moves it knows,' Eileen thought to herself, pulling out her Pokédex.
"Empoleon, Hydro Pump," Darach commanded.
"Sandile, Dig!" Eileen countered, Sandile complied.
Sandile began to dig.
"Quite the strategy, my dear niece," the Frontier Brain said.
"Thank you, Uncle Darach. This is gonna be a short battle, though," Eileen said.
"What makes you think that?" Darach asked.
"This. Sandile, use Thunder Fang on Empoleon!"
Sandile complied, its fangs shooting electricity into Empoleon's body.
"Empoleon is unable to battle, which means Sandile wins and the match goes to Eileen Matthews of Viridian City!"
"We did it!" Eileen cheered. Sandile made its way toward its temporary trainer.
"That was an awesome battle. Thank you, Sandile," Eileen said.
On the other side of the field, Darach smiled at his fallen friend.
"Good job old friend. Take a rest," he said, smiling.
After receiving a certificate, Eileen smiled.
"So what are you going to do now, Eileen?" a younger girl who had witnessed the battle said, as TJ was outside playing with some wild Pokémon.
"I dunno, Caitlin. I'll be 11, soon. Perhaps I can help TJ get over his fear of Salamance," Eileen said.
"You never did tell me the story. Father has only mentioned that it's in the database," Caitlin said.
"Uncle Darach is a G-Man?" Eileen asked in a whisper.
"Not exactly. Alder, our champion, doesn't support the G-Men's policies on dealing with villainous teams," Caitlin whispered back.
Eileen raised a brow.
"I'll tell you later," the Elite said as TJ, Darach, and the older woman walked in.
"So are you staying for the night?" the woman asked.
"Can we?" TJ asked his older sister.
"I don't see why not. Thanks, Aunt Esther. I'll give my folks a call," Eileen said, moving to one of the phones.
Eileen dialed the phone and an older man appeared on the screen.
"Ah, Eileen. How did you fare against your aunt and uncle this time around?" the man asked.
"Check it out, dad," Eileen said, showing off her new certificate and Castle Print.
"It must've been some battle. Where is Darach, anyway?"
"Right here, Alexander. Eileen pulled off a few surprising strategies," Darach said to his brother.
Alexander chuckled and said, "That sounds like my daughter. So what's up?"
"So Caitlin, can we have a battle?" TJ asked.
"Sure. We can test Arcanine. After that, I'd like a battle against you, Eileen," Caitlin said.
"You mean it? Don't we gotta go to Vertress City, though?" Eileen asked.
"No, because you haven't entered the Unova League. How about Kirlia vs. Espeon?"
"No can do. Espeon is with a move tutor. I'll have dad send over one of my Pokémon," Eileen said, getting up.
"A battle between you and Caitlin will be one to remember," Esther said. Eileen nodded, thinking which Pokémon she'd have sent home to Viridian City.
"Regirock, I need your assistance!" the man bellowed.
"Brandon has called out his Regirock," Samuel said.
"Flareon, take a good rest," Eileen said, recalling her Flareon. She then unclipped a ball off her necklace, enlarged it and said, "Storm the field, Blastoise!" The ball spun a few times in the air and it opened to reveal the Viridian trainer's starter.
In the stands were a few Frontier Brains.
"Recalling Flareon is a smart strategy," TJ said. "Blastoise has been with Eileen for a long time," he added.
"Pyramid King Brandon, you can have the first move," Eileen said.
"Did she just do that? She's going against Regirock," Noland said.
"Very well. Regirock, Zap Cannon!" Brandon said.
"Blastoise, Iron Defense!" Eileen said.
The Zap Cannon hit Blastoise, but Blastoise wasn't fazed.
"I don't get it. Zap Cannon is an Electric move," TJ said.
"That's true, but Iron Defense is a Steel-type move that heightens defense and acts as a shield. Your sister has come pretty far," Lucy said.
"Brandon won't let Regirock go down without a fight. I can see why she chose Blastoise in terms of type," Scott said.
"It's a battle of heavyweights. A battle we'll all remember, no matter the outcome," Anabel said.
Author's Note: So, that's done. I would've mentioned that I didn't create the whole "microchip in a filling" concept. That was from the movie "Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London," which I don't own. I dedicate this chapter to my uncle. He passed away 12 years ago today.
Now, on lighter notes: I have arc plans for Paul's Torterra. Specific chapters, not so much. Turtwig will be mentioned and given to Paul as an egg in the alpha challenge arc. Turtwig will hatch in the first Kanto arc. Turtwig will evolve into Grotle while Paul is traveling Johto. Grotle will evolve into Torterra in Hoenn. Turtwig will not evolve in Kanto because Paul will (to a degree) baby Turtwig. Don't worry, Turtwig will learn a few moves and other things. To be honest, Turtwig won't hatch until Paul has at least half of his badges and Reggie is at a similar point with his Frontier symbols. I have already planned how and when Turtwig will evolve into Grotle. I'm not sure how or when I will evolve Grotle into Torterra, but it'll definitely happen in the Hoenn arc.
As far as the other individual went, I didn't intend that to happen, but it did. Now I know I've told some of you through PM that this might be a Novel (Paul/Misty) story. Please disregard this. I will have other Novel stories up, I promise. I was thinking of making it a Mock or MakeKind (Mock is Paul/Ursula and MakeKind is Paul/Leaf), but I then remembered that while my opinion of Ursula has changed, I still don't really like her. As for Leaf, I'm using an OC who has the nickname and not so much the female player character. I edited the other girl part into another person. I don't have a guarantee on which girls will be in the poll when the time comes. I will have an answer and a further explanation in the next chapter. I remember when I first played Pokémon Pinball, my first game.
So that's my question to you: what was your first Pokémon game?
Leave your answer, comments or anything else in the review box!
P.S.: I fixed the typo in chapter 18. Also, since Shauna, Lee, Keanu, Anna, Liam, and Dr. Schroeder don't really have big roles, I'll do them in future chapters. Parker isn't an OC, he's a Cerulean gym trainer. Speaking of OCs, if you haven't guessed who TJ is, the first part of this chapter should make it obvious.
Final notes: I know this chapter seemed to focus on Eileen a lot, but I want you to think of the events around her and the other characters present. Think of the arc it might happen in. Speaking of arcs, here are the arcs for this story (which I estimated).
1. Introduction and alphabet flashbacks arc (chapters 1-27). In progress.
2. Reggie and Paul vs. Kanto/the first Kanto arc (chapters 28-?). In progress.
...while there are more than 2 arcs (there are somewhere between 5 and 15), I don't have an estimate/idea for how long Paul and Reggie will be in Kanto. Arc completion will go on my profile as they are completed/in-progress.