A/N: Good evening. I'm sorry for the two-week delay again. I started a new job last week, so I didn't write at all. I just got used to my new schedule. This past week, I managed to write mainly at work. I think I got a good balance going on now so I am hoping the next chapter won't be another 2 weeks. Also, I was hoping to be farther in this story then I currently am. I was hoping to have this done by mid-November, and have the next installment released on November 19th (Sinnoh Remakes release date). I thought it would be cool to play through Sinnoh for the first time with the team Brandon will have and write Sinnoh at the same time. Guess we will see. Anyways, have a great week and like I said, I plan on having the next chapter done this week sometime :)
Pokemon Journey: Indigo League
Chapter 19: Rough Start
"Come get your official Pokemon food! We have them all, from poffins straight from Veilstone City in the Sinnoh Region to a nice sausage curry right from the Wild Area from the Galar Region!" a salesperson shouts, attracting a small crowd of trainers. On the table in front of him, bowls of different Pokemon food from all the regions are laid out. "Allow your Pokemon to enjoy a treat!"
"We have all of your Pokeball needs!" another person shouts, standing in front of a table. On the table are different kinds of Pokeballs. "We have every Pokeball imaginable. From the regular red and white ball to the ultra-blue beast ball from the Aloha Region!"
"Is your Pikachu looking to evolve? What about your Eevee? Perhaps your sweet little Spritzee wants to evolve?" another salesperson calls out, attracting a few trainer's attention. "We have everything from evolution stones to evolution items."
"Are you looking to teach your partner a new move? Step right up and if your Pokemon is compatible to learn it, we can show you the basics!" a breeder calls out.
"This is good," Saul says, munching on a malasada. Beside him, Yungoos is happily eating one as well. "This is an authentic malasada, which I find is very rare in Kanto."
"Glad you like it," Chloe smiles, holding a completely red ball. "It might have been expensive but I love the design of this Cherish Ball. I will save it for a special Pokemon."
Colin also is holding a black with an orange stripe around the middle and a red stripe near the top. "Same with this luxury ball."
"At some point, Growlithe would love this," Ava says, holding a red stone. "Well, I hope anyway. I won't force her to evolve if she doesn't want to."
"Glad you guys found things that interest you," Brandon says, smiling at his friends. Beside him, Wartortle is walking beside his trainer, looking around.
"Excuse me, sir," the breeder says, speaking to Brandon. "Sorry to bother you but I want to say, your Wartortle is looking very healthy. Something I love to see."
"Thank you," Brandon replies, stepping towards the table. Wartortle looks proud at the comment. "If I may ask, how can you tell?"
"First, his tail is fluffy," the breeder says with a kind smile, pointing to Wartortle's tail. "The fluffier the tail, the healthier it is. Wartortle just evolved recently right?"
"Correct," Brandon nods.
"I'm Amy, a breeder from outside Slateport City in the Hoenn Region," Amy introduces herself. She brought out a Pokeball, releasing a bulky blue Pokemon with orange gills on its face and two large black fins on its head and tail. "And this is my partner, Lily."
Brandon took out his dex and scanned the new Pokemon. "Swampert, the Mud Fish Pokemon and the evolved form of Marshtomp. Water/Ground type. Swampert predicts storms by sensing subtle differences in the sounds of waves and tidal winds with its fins. If a storm is approaching, it piles up boulders to protect itself."
"Lily looks strong," Saul says, looking in awe at Swampert.
"She is. She was my first partner from Professor Birch," Amy explains, putting a hand on Lily's shoulder.
"Lily's cool," Brandon smiles. "Oh, sorry. I'm Brandon from Pallet Town. I'm competing in the Indigo League. This is my partner, Wartortle."
"Hi. I'm Colin. I am also competing in the Indigo League," Colin smiles.
"I'm Chloe," Chloe smiles. "I'm also competing in the Indigo League."
"I'm Saul," Saul says, nodding his head.
"And I'm Ava, Brandon's traveling partner," Ava introduces herself.
"Wow. So many competing in the league," Amy replies. "Should be fun. I remember when my friend competed. It was nerve-wracking."
"Did you compete as well?" Brandon asks.
"We started our journey at the same time, but I quickly realized I liked raising Pokemon more than battling with them. But that didn't stop us from traveling all around Hoenn together," Amy says with a smile. She holds up her left hand, showing them a wedding ring. "This will be our fourth anniversary tomorrow, to be exact."
"Congratulations," Chloe says. "If I may ask, where is your partner right now?"
Amy points to a TV, showing a battle between a white-haired trainer wearing a red and black shirt and black pants and a gym leader. "He's currently in Galar at the moment, taking on the gym circuit."
"I recognize him!" Saul exclaims. "He took the Island Challenge last year. I can't remember his name though."
"His name is Brendon," Amy says, nodding towards Brandon.
"Oh. Another Brandon," Ava says, sharing a smirk with Amy. "Now, is your Brendon a good cook?"
"Nope," Amy says, shaking her head. "Though he has gotten better over the years."
"Must be a Brandon thing," Ava says with a teasing twinkle towards Brandon, who just shakes his head. His friends are all chuckling.
"The reason I was asking about your Wartortle," Amy says, changing the subject. "is because, with your permission, I would like to teach Wartortle a new move."
Wartortle cocks his head, looking up at Brandon. "It's up to you Wartortle. I will support your decision no matter what."
Wartortle thinks it over before nodding his head. Amy smiles, leading Wartortle and Brandon towards the back before Lily began showing Wartortle the basics of the new move. It took nearly ten minutes but Wartortle manages to learn it.
"Great job Wartortle," Amy praises the blue turtle Pokemon. "Now, remember to practice it daily and soon, you will master it."
"War!" Wartortle says, nodding his head.
"Good luck to you guys competing in the League," Amy says, bowing to them all. "And good luck in the tournament this week."
"So what move did Wartortle learn?" Colin asks as they leave for the stadium.
"You will just have to wait and see," Brandon smirks, stepping into the stadium. Misty was currently on stage, ready to address everyone.
"Welcome new and returning trainers," Misty speaks into the microphone. "I remember back when we first started this weekly tournament, we barely got any interest in it. Now, we are at full capacity. For that, we are very grateful. Now, I will turn it over to the tournament's organizers, Johnny and Justin."
"Thanks, Misty," the long black-haired male says, taking the microphone from her. "And, to echo Misty's words. Welcome new and returning trainers. My name is Justin and my friend is Johnny. For those who don't know us, we both competed in leagues around the world but now, we are retired. I commentate the Indigo League, while Johnny does spots here and there."
"That's right Justin," the slicked-back hair male says. "We both love organizing tournaments for all trainers, which is why when Misty asked us to help here, we jumped at the chance. We understand the challenges with organizing weekly tournaments and trying to keep them fresh and I think we've done a heck of a job."
"For this week, we have our most popular tournament style. The Tag Team Tournament," Justin says, looking out at the masses. "Based on feedback from our last Tag Team Tournament, we are changing up the rules. This will be a four-round tournament. First-round will be our qualifiers. The second round will be our quarterfinals, third round is our semi-finals, and then the finals. Also based on feedback, Johnny, tell them what they could win."
"You can win a gift basket of things from the stores around here," Johnny says, holding up a basket. Inside, a few visible items are seen, including a thunderstone, a leaf stone, some treats, and 3 different colored Pokeballs. "The store owners have generously donated items. Now, you are probably wondering how you can win this basket? Justin will explain that."
"As I stated earlier, there will be 4 rounds. Each round will consist of a single two on two battle," Justin explains. "Based on previous feedback, we are testing this new rule implementation. You can only use one Pokemon once. So choose carefully."
"If you look at the board behind us, you will see each of your pictures," Johnny says, pointing to the jumbotron behind him. Sure enough, all the participating trainers' faces are shown. Chloe, Colin, Saul, Ava, and Brandon's faces are near the bottom. "We will now randomize who your battling partner will be."
All trainer pictures are flipped over and shuffled before being paired with another trainer. Once paired, they are flipped over, showing who is battling with who. Saul quickly finds his picture and sees he's partnered with a random female. Spotting her in the crowd, Saul walks towards her, smiling. Colin is next to find his picture. He found he is partnered with Ava. Shooting her a quick smile, Colin and Ava quickly left to discuss strategies. Chloe smiles as she sees who her partner is. She looks over at Brandon who glances at her. Looks like they are partners.
"Once more, can we have your attention back on the screen please?" Johnny asks them. Everyone watches as the schedule pops up. "The first match will begin tomorrow at 9 am sharp. Now, enjoy the concert!"
With that, the lights dimmed as a man with very short hair came onto the stage. He began singing as Chloe and Brandon walked over to a corner, to discuss a strategy for tomorrow.
"We need to decide how to line up our Pokemon," Chloe says.
"Right," Brandon agrees. "I have Wartortle, Tangela, Nidoran and a Joltik."
"I have Charmeleon, Pidgey, Pikachu, and Rhyhorn," Chloe responds. "I think we need to rule out Pikachu and Joltik as a pair."
"Agreed," Brandon replies, slightly bopping his head to the music behind him. "I want to suggest a Charmeleon and Wartortle pairing."
"Sounds good," Chloe says, nodding her head. "Pikachu and Nidoran?"
"Maybe. Who are we facing?" Brandon asks.
Chloe looks up the schedule. "Looks like a brother and sister duo from Celadon City. Why?"
"We should focus on that match and those pairings first," Brandon replies.
"We need to think about future matches since we can only use our Pokemon once," Chloe replies.
"Sure, but we shouldn't make it our focus," Brandon answers. "Who do you want to lead with?"
"Charmeleon for sure," Chloe says.
"In that case, I will use Wartortle," Brandon replies. "We will take it one match at a time."
"I still think we should plan a little more," Chloe says.
"Alright. How do we plan ahead?" Brandon asks. "Besides being unable to use Wartortle and Charmeleon."
"We make a second pair," Chloe answers him.
"And how will we make a second pair when we don't know who we are battling?" Brandon asks.
"Well, I..." Chloe falters. "Guess you are right."
"It's fine to think ahead, but sometimes we think too far ahead that we forget to focus on the present," Brandon tells her. "Our present is that brother-sister duo tomorrow. If we get past them, then we will make plans for our second battle."
"Sorry," Chloe responds quietly.
"You have nothing to apologize for," Brandon smiles at her.
"Really?" Chloe asks.
"Never apologize for having a different approach to battling," Brandon tells her. "If we all have the same approach, battling won't be as exciting."
"Thanks, Brandon," Chloe says gratefully.
Just then, they heard the famous opening bars and they perk up. Grinning and joining in with the crowd, everyone sang along, enjoying themselves. Soon, the five of them were in bed, ready for the tournament tomorrow.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the first round. Today, we will see thirty-two trainers advance to the next round!" Justin shouts into the microphone. "Let the tournament begin!"
For the next few hours, battles after battles are conducted. Teams won, teams lost but everyone seems to be having a fun time. None of the five friends battled yet as they all sat in the stands, watching. Finally, it was time for one of their battles.
"Ready?" Chloe asks, standing beside Brandon.
"Yeah, though I'm nervous," Brandon replies, suddenly uncertain about his decision.
"You got this," Chloe smiles at him, giving him a supporting nod. "We're in this together."
"Right," Brandon replies, nodding though he's still feeling a little anxious.
"Our next battle will be Chloe Summers and Brandon Adams vs Rachel and Kyle Anderson!" Johnny introduces the four trainers.
"Chloe and Brandon, bring out your Pokemon first, Rachel and Kyle will have the first move," the referee declares.
"Charmeleon, I'm counting on you!" Chloe yells, summoning her first partner.
"Wartortle, let's go!" Brandon shouts, summoning his first partner.
"Ponyta, please help us!" Rachel cries out in a sultry voice. She is wearing a simple red t-shirt with shorts.
"Spearow, we need your help!" Kyle shouts in a baritone voice. He is wearing a black hoodie with jeans.
A flaming horse materializes on the field, with a bird landing on its head. Brandon took out his dex and quickly scanned them.
"Ponyta, The Fire Horse Pokemon. Fire-type. If you've been accepted by Ponyta, its burning mane is mysteriously no longer hot to the touch."
"Spearow, the Tiny Bird Pokemon. Normal/Flying-type. Inept at flying high. However, it can fly around very fast to protect its territory."
"Brandon, we will deal with Spearow. Can Wartortle handle Ponyta?" Chloe asks, her eyes never leaving the Tiny Bird Pokemon.
"Err, sure," Brandon replies.
"Ponyta, use flame charge on Wartortle!" Rachel commands, thrusting her hand forward.
"Spearow, use focus energy!" Kyle shouts.
Ponyta dashes forward with incredible speed that Brandon has never seen yet. Ponyta smashes into Wartortle, causing him damage. Meanwhile, Spearow is sitting on the ground, pumping himself up.
"Charmeleon, use dragon breath on Spearow!" Chloe demands. She glances at Brandon out of the corner of her eye though she doesn't say anything right now. Charmeleon lets out a purple breath, aimed right at Spearow. At the last second, Spearow was able to flap his wings and just dodged the attack.
"Wartortle, use rapid spin!" Brandon shouts out an attack.
Wartortle begins spinning in place, trying to put some distance between him and Ponyta.
"Ponyta, don't let Wartortle getaway. Flame charge again!" Rachel shouts.
"Spearow, dive in towards Charmeleon and use peck!" Kyle shouts.
Ponyta, now seemingly faster, smashes into Wartortle again, pushing him backward. Wartortle comes out of his shell and glances at Brandon.
"Charmeleon, jump to the right!" Chloe shouts. "Once Spearow is in range, use metal claw!"
Spearow flaps his wings and dives right at Charmeleon before beginning to spin. As soon as Spearow is in range, Charmeleon's claws became a gray color and quickly slashes at Spearow, though missing him. Spearow came in and began to peck him, causing damage.
"Char!" Charmeleon cries out in pain.
"Charmeleon!" Chloe shouts in worry.
"Looks like Rachel and Kyle are in control of this match," Justin calls out. "That spinning dive and peck seem to have scored a painful hit. Can Chloe and Brandon stop the bleeding?"
"Wartortle!" Wartortle says, glaring at Brandon.
"Brandon, snap out of it!" Chloe snaps at her battle partner.
"Hey sis, these clowns don't stand a chance!" Kyle shouts out with glee, his voice carrying over to Brandon and Chloe's side. "Showtime!"
"Let's do it!" Rachel grins. "Ponyta, focus on Charmeleon. Use tackle!"
"Spearow, also focus on Charmeleon. Use peck once again!" Kyle shouts, also grinning.
Hearing the laughter, glancing at Wartortle and Chloe, Brandon glares at the advancing duo, though he stays quiet. Chloe is about to speak when Brandon sends her a quick wink.
"Wartortle, use rapid spin now! Spin in front of Charmeleon!" Brandon shouts, getting into the battle now.
Wartortle quickly spins in front of Charmeleon right as Ponyta was about to smash into him. However, Ponyta wasn't expecting Wartortle's shell in the way and was tripped.
"Charmeleon, dragon breath on Spearow!" Chloe shouts.
Spearow came diving at Charmeleon, though it wasn't expecting the quick reaction and soon found itself on the ground.
"Folks, look at that. Within two moves, Brandon and Chloe are back in the match!" Justin shouts. "Can they turn this match around?"
"Wartortle, use water pulse on Ponyta!" Brandon quickly shouts.
"Charmeleon, ember on Spearow!" Chloe commands.
Wartortle quickly fires off rings of water towards the downed Ponyta, causing it alot of damage while Charmeleon shoots out small balls of fire at Spearow.
"Kyle, I think we are in trouble," Rachel mutters to her brother.
"Yeah. I can see that," Kyle says, rolling his eyes.
"Wartortle let's finish off Ponyta with another water pulse!" Brandon shouts.
"Charmeleon, finish off Spearow with fire fang!" Chloe shouts.
Charmeleon's rushes at Spearow and sinks his fangs into the bird, causing damage, effectively causing it to faint. Meanwhile, Wartortle sends another rings of water towards Ponyta, causing it to faint as well.
"After a rocky start, Chloe and Brandon manage to pull out the win and advance to the next round!" Justin says.
After shaking Rachel and Kyle's hand, the duo leaves the arena. Inside the tunnel, Brandon leans against the wall. "I'm sorry. I nearly lost us that match."
"What happened?" Chloe asks him.
"I don't know. I've battled in front of crowds before," Brandon replies.
"But not one this size," Chloe finishes his sentence. "I get it. With more experience, battling in front of that many people will become easier."
"Thanks for understanding," Brandon says quietly.
"Come on," Chloe says, leading Brandon back to the Pokemon Center.
Team Listings:
Brandon Adams:
Wartortle - Male, Torrent ability. Knows Water Pulse, tackle, Withdraw, Rapid Spin
Tangela - Male, Leaf Guard ability. Knows Bind, Stun Spore, Mega Drain, Growth
Nidoran – Female – Poison Point ability. Knows Growl, Poison Sting, Double Kick
Joltik – Male, unknown ability. Knows: Shockwave
Ava Mcarthur:
Umbreon - Female. Synchronize ability. Knows Snarl , Quick Attack, Double Kick,
Omanyte - Male. Weak Armor ability. Knows: Withdraw, Constrict
Growlithe – Female. Flash Fire. Knows: Ember.