Chapter 5: Onwards
The two trainers threw their pokeballs in unison. Akari's Arc Phone flew up as the Pokemon appeared. It was using the camera, but it seemed that some AR technology was showing the names and stats of the Pokemon.
Hmm, it seems that my Sprigatito is double the Skwovet's level, Akari thought. She was used to this kind of display, but back in Hisui, she had to hold the phone as she battled. Sprigatito's level was 10 while her opponent's Skwovet was level 5.
"Alright, Sprigatito, let's end this with one attack," Akari and Sprigatito made eye contact. "You remember what I taught you?"
Sprigatito nodded and meowed in response, causing Akari to smile.
"Alright, Sprigatito! Let's do this!" Akari held her hand out with a determined smile. "Strong Style!"
"Strong what?" Nemona's question was answered when power started to swell around the small cat. Sprigatito then spun, using its tail to launch a leafage attack.
"Skwovet! Do—" Arven hadn't anticipated the speed of the leaves. When they collided with the Pokemon, the explosions were twice as big as a normal leafage attack. The Skwovet was sent flying several feet and landed at Arven's feet. It didn't get up.
"W-what was that?!" Arven frantically returned his Pokemon to its pokeball.
"That was awesome!" Nemona shouted as she ran up to Akari. "What was that?! You have to teach me!"
"Just a little technique from home," Akari brushed Nemona off.
"Wow, I guess you really are something, huh?" Arven walked up to Nemona. He seemed to have simmered down, but he was far from happy. He took a pokeball from his bag and handed it to Akari. "If you want to be Koraidon's trainer, you're going to need its pokeball."
"Thanks," Akari said and took the pokeball and placed it in her satchel. "I'll be sure to treasure it."
"Do whatever you want," Arven huffed.
"Why do you have Koraidon's pokeball anyways?" Nemona asked.
"Doesn't matter," Arven dismissed her with a glance. "That thing's your problem now. Not mine."
With that, Arven turned and ran off.
"Hey! Where the hell do you think you're going?!" Nemona called after him.
"Nemona please," Akari shook her head. "It's not worth it."
"Fine…" Nemona grumbled before clenching a fist. "But next time we're gonna battle! I'm gonna wring the answers outta him!"
This woman… Akari shook her head.
"But first!" Nemona pointed to the top of the lighthouse. "We need to get up there. I can't wait to show you the view!"
Before Akari could respond, Nemona ran off and started to climb the ladder. Akari just sighed and followed her. It didn't take long for the two to make their way up to the top. When Akari stepped on the top floor, Nemona was already at the edge, staring off into the distance.
Akari walked over and followed her new friend's eyes. When she saw the massive building, her jaw dropped. The closest thing she's seen to a structure that size was the ancient temple at Snowpoint, and that still paled in comparison to the massive structure before them.
"Look!" Nemona pointed to the large building in the center. "That building with the giant pokeball is the school!"
"The school is that big…?" Akari barely managed to pick her jaw up from the ground.
"Yeah," Nemona's eyes shone with pride. "It's going to be great to have you in the same class."
"Yeah…" Akari looked around, taking in the scenery. She then took Sprigatito's pokeball and let the Pokemon out. Sprigatito appeared on her shoulder and its eyes widened at the vast landscape.
"I bet he's enjoying the sights too, huh?" Nemona smiled at the cat before turning to Akari. "Well, let me be the first to say this to you, Akari. Welcome to Paleda."
"Thank you, Nemona," Akari replied. "I'm happy that you're here to guide me."
"No problem," Nemona then walked over to Akari's right and pointed at a cluster of buildings. "Our next destination is Los Platos. I'll see you there!"
Before Akari could respond, Nemona had already started climbing down the ladder.
"Honestly, she has too much energy," Akari shook her head before making her way down the ladder herself.
/
Instead of making her way straight to Los Platos, Akari decided to train a bit more. She explored Poco Path, battling the pokemon and taking in the sights. There were some Pokemon that she recognized like Buizel and Psyduck, and others she didn't, like Fletchling.
During this time, she leveled up her Lechonk to level 8 and caught a Psyduck which was level 7. Sprigatito leveled up to level 12 before Akari was satisfied with her results.
"Hey Akari!" Nemona called as Akari made her way to Los Platos. "Come check this out!"
"What's up?" Akari jogged over to Nemona.
"This is a Pokemon Center," Nemona gestured to the building they were standing by. "You can do a lot of stuff here related to Pokemon, but I'll let the pros explain."
"Happy to be of service," The woman bowed to Akari. "My name is Nurse Joy. You can heal your Pokemon here."
"I'm John," The man in the blue shirt waved. "I sell a lot of things like pokeballs and potions, so be sure to stop by whenever you need something."
"And the machine here is where you can use LP to make TMs," Joy gestured to the weird green machine.
"TMs? LP?" Akari turned to Nemona for an explanation.
"You can use TMs to teach Pokemon new moves," Nemona handed Akari a disk, which she took and examined. "This one teaches Swift. Be careful though, a TM only works once."
"Thank you," Akari gingerly placed the disk in her satchel. "What are LP then?"
"League Points can be used to buy things and make TMs, along with materials you find around," Nemona's phone appeared in front of her as she spoke. "Here. I have a lot. Let me give you some."
"Are you sure?" Akari asked. Nemona was being quite generous and Akari didn't know what to think about it.
"Don't worry about it! I want to make sure you're prepared by the time we get to school," Nemona nodded with a smile. Akari nodded apprehensively and took out her phone. The two devices glowed for a few seconds and a number on the Arc Phone went up from 0 to 5,000. "A League Point is worth 1 yen."
"I'll be sure to repay your kindness," Akari bowed to Nemona.
"None of that," Nemona shook her head. "Anyways, meet me at Mesogoza. I can't wait to battle you again!"
Having said her peace, Nemona ran off once more. Akari saw her off before turning to Joy,
"Is it okay to heal my Pokemon?" Akari asked.
"Of course, honey," Joy smiled sweetly.
/
Akari looked up at the giant doors with wonder. She absentmindedly thought how she would be able to open the doors when she heard footsteps approach behind her.
"Oi! Akari!" Akari whirled around at Nemona's voice. "How was the trip up the hill? I bet your Pokemon have gotten stronger.
"Yeah," Akari nodded as she looked at her three pokeballs. "I think we've gotten stronger."
"Well why don't you show me in a battle?" Nemona grabbed a pokeball from her bag.
"Alright," Akari grabbed Sprigatito's pokeball. She knew a battle was unavoidable and prepared herself beforehand.
"Now, let us have a fruitful battle," Nemona smirked before throwing the pokeball. Akari responded in kind by throwing Sprigatito's pokeball. Sprigatito appeared just a few meters away from Nemona's Quaxly.
"Alright, let's show them what we've been doing," Akari nodded to Sprigatito. "Agile Style! Bite!"
"Don't let him hit you!" Nemona shouted. "Quaxly, use water gun!"
A pressurized jet of water shot from Quaxly's mouth towards Sprigatito. The cat, however, dashed to the side with astounding speeds.
"Wha—!" Nemona's eyes widened. "Pound!"
Sprigatito charged towards Quaxly at blinding speeds, only to be hit square in the face by Quaxly's wing. The small cat was sent sprawling on the ground.
"Sprigatito!" Akari called. The cat hissed and stood up. "Thank goodness."
"Keep that Sprigatito away from you, Quaxly! Go for another water gun!" Nemona commanded. The Quaxly did as Nemona asked and shot an attack at Sprigatito.
"Strong Style!" Akari shouted. Sprigatito nodded and jumped above the water gun. Glowing leaves flew from his fur and launched towards Quaxly.
"Dodge!" Nemona shouted. Quaxly dived to the side, but the leaves seemed to home in on the duckling. Quaxly made a valiant effort to dodge the attack, but it eventually caught up to it. The barrage of glowing leaves assaulted the duckling. By the time the attack had finished, Quaxly was on the ground.
"Wow, I wouldn't think your Sprigatito would know magical leaf already," Nemona returned Quaxly to its pokeball with a smile. "Looks like I'm going to have to use my trump card. Pawmi!"
Nemona threw a pokeball and a small, furry rodent. It let out a cry as it landed on all fours.
"Alright, Sprigatito, do you think you can go another round?" Akari asked. The small cat jumped up and down before nodding. "Alright. You can start off with bite."
"Now," Akari looked back up to see Nemona holding an odd sphere that looked a bit like a pokeball. "Time for me to show you my trump card! Pawmi, Terastillize!"
Akari's muscles tensed as wind started to gather around the gem before she threw it. Crystals started shooting up from the ground before they exploded, revealing Pawmi with a lightbulb crown.
"Thundershock!" Nemona shouted. Sprigatito jumped out of the way, but the bolt of lightning approaching Sprigatito was too fast. Sprigatito let out a cry of pain and was sent sprawling on the grass.
"Sprigatito!" Akari shouted. The cat coughed once in response and started to struggle to get up. Akari walked over and put a hand on the Pokemon's head. "You did good. Take a rest now."
The cat mewled weakly as Akari returned him to his pokeball. She then grabbed another pokeball from her bag. "Alright Lechonk, I'm trusting you."
She threw the pokeball and Lechonk leaped out of the pokeball. As soon as she landed, mud was already flying towards the Pawmi. The mud hit Pawmi head on, sending it flying towards a tree. The rodent shook the mud off its face before letting out a squeak of rage.
"Damn, you're good," Nemona gritted her teeth as she looked at the screen on her phone. "Pawmi, go for another thundershock!"
"Mud shot, then strafe and tackle!" Akari ordered. Lechonk shot another ball of mud at the Pawmi, only for it to collide with the thundershock. Lechonk was already on the move, however, dashing to the side before charging. The opposing Pokemon barely had time to turn its head before Lechonk collided with him, sandwiching the Pawmi with the tree behind it. As Lechonk let up, the Pawmi started to glow.
"Lechonk, get back!" Akari shouted. The Lechonk obeyed, jumping back just in time for the crown on Pawmi's head to shatter before it was returned to its pokeball.
"Wow! You never cease to amaze me," Nemona walked up to Akari as she returned Lechonk to her pokeball. "Man, I'm not sure I want to imagine what you'll be like with a Tera Crystal."
"Tera Crystal? Is that the thing you used with your Pawmi?" Akari tilted her head.
"Yeah," Nemona nodded. "Well, I'll talk to Dr. Clavell and see if I can get you one."
"Thank you," Akari turned to the giant gates and smiled. "Now, shall we?"
"Yep!" Nemona walked over to one of the gates and placed both hands on it. She turned to Akari and nodded. Akari then made her way to the other gate and placed her hands on it. "To Mesagoza."
"To Mesagoza," Akari replied with a nod. Nemona nodded and the pair started to push.
Team:
Sprigatito- Level 14
Lechonk- Level 12
Psyduck- Level 11
Akari definitely understands the need for a good grind. I'm thinking of nicknaming Akari's Pokemon. Nicknames are welcome! Please do consider leaving a review! I would love to read and reply to your thoughts. Also please join my Discord! I would love to talk to you all and answer all your questions! I talk a lot about my thought process while writing, so if you're interested in that, do consider joining. The url is discord . gg (forego the spaces) followed by a slash and CpVs7R8KXz. Unfortunately you'll have to type the rest of the url in manually because I'm not allowed to post links. Thank you for reading and I'll catch you on the flipside.