Chapter 14:

Wow, it really took this long for me to actually get challenged to a battle?

After a short stop to get a snack at a convenience store, we made our way to a Pokémon center. And Rado City is just as big as the name would imply. Oddly, there seemed to be a lot of musicians around here. All of the ones that I had seen had a Chatot or Loudred or musically inclined Pokémon with them, which is enough to put a bit of doubt in their actual musical skill. Maybe this is supposed to be the "Music City" of this region? Interesting to note, but not really of use to me until I get a bard class, or something along those lines.

And, more of a curiosity than an oddity, the Center seemed to, well, be in the center of the city. It was also more on the scale of "Best-ranked hospital nation-wide" than the "Mid-to-small time veterinary center" than I expected; it was much more like the centers from gen 5 & onward than gen 4 & backwards. Which is definitely a good thing, considering how easy it can be for someone to get caught in the crossfire of wild battles. And on top of that, I will eat a bowl of nails with vinegar if a Pokémon can just shrug off the damage from Pokémon battles... Unless said battle is grossly one-sided.

And, considering how massive the complex is, it, of course, is filled with trainers & doctors. Which of course makes sense; this is a medical center, of course medical professionals would be here. However, even with that said, there is a rather large amount of people here... Which would be worrying were it not for the fact they have an actual arena here for people to train in. Whether or not people use it right, or if they just use it for battles, I've no clue, but that isn't my problem.

"Hey! Come on, let's have a battle! It'll be fun!"

What is my problem, is the wannabe Jackie-Chan here trying to get a newbie-kill on me. As for how I got to this point, when me & Marie got here, she decided to be sure her new catch was fine and went to the doctors. I, on the other hand, thought that if any of them were in an unfavorable condition, it would be a good opportunity to try and get them to be able to fight well even when they're picking out wooden onesies. Apparently, Junkie here saw that I was a trainer & old, and automatically assumed I was a veteran. The problem? I am 100% percent sure they are above my level, considering I saw a Machoke with them... And my patience was very much so starting to wane.

As such, I turned my neck to face them as I voiced my irritation.

"Why should I bother with a curbstomp that is going to end with me wasting my time waiting for my 2 Pokémon to get healed because I put them up against a titan that's obviously out of their league and them hating my guts for the exact same reason?"

I admit, I may have been a bit vitriolic there, considering the flinch.

"Wh-what? But you can't be a day under 30! How can you not even have a full team by now?!"

Oh, great, I was hoping he was observant, but no. He's just like a fucking shounen protag; all muscle no brains. Now I don't feel much remorse at all.

"Well, it's obviously because I just started the damn journey! What, are late beginners really that rare? And, trust me, flattery won't work on me."

"Hey, don't get mad at me! How was I supposed to know that you were just starting?!"

"Why the hell would you assume that I DI-"

I had to physically clamp down on myself to keep myself from going ballistic. God, for something that's supposed to only be able to emulate emotion, sure does fucking feel like I'm using the console version of anger. Wait a minute, I remember some... Weirdness from when I first selected Priest. That has to be it. It effected the guy that obviously inspired what's happening here, and since classes effected his mind, mine must be affecting mine as well. God, you shitty fanfiction writer, start using some ORIGINALITY, why don't you?

"I don't even know what moves my team can use. I haven't trained them even a bit yet. I planned on using the arena for that. Please. Move."

Aaaaand their eyes have lit up now. Great. Kill me now.

"Oh, perfect! I just got 2 new team mates too! We can train them together and help each other out!"

"That-"

...

"That actually sounds like a decent idea. And here I was, think you were just some shounen protag..." Of course, that little snipe was under my breath because I have zero doubts, he could & likely would fold me like a bench if I kept antagonizing me.

And I continued on to where I had planned to go from the very beginning. With this muscle-bound moron trailing behind me. Hopefully he doesn't pull out a fucking Shuckle or something else that's fucking stupid even at level one.

"Before we fight, I would prefer to test my Pokémon a bit first."

"Alright! Just tell me when you're ready!"

With that, I pulled out both of the Pokeballs, summoning the Riolu and Dottler I've picked up.

"Alright, We've got our first fight coming up. I need you both to demonstrate everything you can. Ria, there's no need to demonstrate Force Palm considering you already used that on me before. Any move you know, show me. If you need to, use me as a training dummy; I can take it."

That seemed to alarm Dottler, and Ria flinched at the reminder, but neither of those things mattered. Ria herself had hesitated a bit before demonstrating some that appeared to be Quick Attack, but- wait... [Observe].

[Ria (Riolu)]

Fighting type

Shown Moves: Feint, Force Palm

Present Abilities: Steadfast

[Ria (Riolu)]

Something caused Ria to freeze up where she stood. In hindsight, it might have been the slasher smile slowly growing on my face. Whatever it was, it no longer mattered, because I can officially break battles now.

"Well now. This is going to make things fun."