Castelia City, Unova
Most kids in Downtown Castelia City were outside, enjoying the weather and playing with their friends and Pokemon. A familiar 15-year-old boy, Davey, was not one of those people. He spent his Thursday evening doing what he normally does. Babysitting the next generation. Due to Davey being a go-getter, this was something he liked doing, because he liked children and always wanted a younger brother or sister of his own.
Right now, Davey is babysitting two children: Natalie and Ash. Both were the children of neighbors on his block, James and Delia, but they weren't siblings. Natalie had a younger brother named Ross, who was the same age as Davey, living alone with his sister and caring for her, as their dad abandoned them years ago. While Delia was a single mother, she tried her best to work hard to raise her son, Ash.
Ash and Natalie were a handful with different personalities. Davey has been running around all day, chasing after the two of them. Natalie and Ash had practically destroyed Davey's house, with the walls covered in markers and crowns, toys everywhere, etc.
The worst thing is, Natalie and Ash had gotten ahold of his recently caught Eevee and dressed her in a pink dress with an eyeliner that didn't match. Eevee felt exhausted from being passed around like a toy and passed out. Davey sees the state that Eevee was in and it makes him angry. "Oh no, Miss Piggy, what have they done to you?" His blood boils. "This won't stand." He grabs Eevee and chases after the kids.
"Ooh Ash, look at this!" Natalie looks through Davey's phone and notices that much of his search history contained the word "Stepbro" in it. She clicked on one of the links, and what they witnessed shocks the two of them as the video starts to play.
"What are you doing step bro-"
Davey snatches the phone away and quickly closes the link. He blushed, but that didn't stop Natalie and Ash, who were now traumatized and scarred for life. "Let's never speak of this moment…" Ash says.
"Agreed…" Natalie replies. They both look at Davey, staring at him in a different way. "What is wrong with you?"
Davey clears his throat. "You weren't supposed to see that. Anyway, why can't you two just sit down and watch Cocomelon like everyone else?"
"That's for babies…" Ash replies. "Shouldn't you be off on a Pokemon Journey by now? Or something… What is your goal?"
"Yeah, sounds like you got a serious PokeProblem." Natalie insults him.
Ash and Natalie knew how to push Davey's button, which they were doing right now. Davey knew he had to rein in his anger, understanding that Ash and Natalie were just little kids. He inhales some air for a quick second, only to exhale it all out, as a way of calming his anxiety down. He comes up with a quick comeback. "Oh yeah, well, what is your goal, mister?"
"To become a Pokemon Master." Ash proclaims, shouts.
Natalie points at Ash and laughs at him, while Davey gives the raven haired boy a puzzling manner. "What the heck is a Pokemon Master? Sounds like something you completely made up…"
Ash gets frustrated and blushes. "No, I didn't!" As the brunette, green-eyed girl continues laughing at her friend. "And how can you judge, when you're the one with no goal!"
Before Davey could say anything, someone knocked at his door. "Hold that thought…" Davey says. He turns around and opens the door. It was Ross, Natalie's brother.
"BIG BROTHER!"
Natalie rushes into Ross' arms, and he smiles. Ross was delighted to see his sister, and so was his Dachsbun, who was standing right next to him. "I missed you so much, erdnuss!" Ross embraces Natalie extensively. It was a joyous reunion for the family. She then bends down and pets Dachsbun. "Thank you for taking care of my little sister!"
Davey nods. Natalie sticks up the middle finger and her tongue out at Davey as Davey growls. "No problem, your sister is the spawn of Satan." He mumbles. Ross looks down to see what was going on, but Natalie's facade of a sweet innocent little girl came back in full force. Ross shrugs it off. Luckily, Ross couldn't hear fully what he was saying. "I'm always willing to help a neighbor. How was Rare Candies tonight?" He backtracks.
"Horrible, lots of demanding Pokemon Academy students came in. I'm so tempted to quit, but if I wanna enroll at the Pokemon Academy, I'm gonna have to save up a lot of geld."
"Yeah, it's pricey! $49,679 a year is insane! I don't know how I do it!"
Ross raises his eyebrows. "Um… Aren't you on a scholarship?"
Oh, no, I'm trying to act relatable, but instead I came off as a douche. Why is being a nice person so hard? Davey nervously laughs it off. "Right! Sorry, I didn't mean to come off as privileged!"
Ross snickers. "You're a hoot!"
Natalie was getting bored. "Ross, I'm ready to go home. Lillipup Patrol is coming on!"
Giving his sister what she wanted, Ross decides it was time to leave. "We should get going, see ya later!" Ross turns around and waves goodbye.
Natalie and Dachsbun follow suit, but Natalie sticks her tongue out at her babysitter and makes him angry. But he calms down when he remembers she was just a little girl. 'See ya later!" Davey replies.
Davey watches them as they leave his apartment until the Huot family encounters a dashing young man, who has spiky thin black hair and blue eyes. "Oh hey, Ross!" The handsome man greets.
"Hey, Jeremiah! What's up?"
"Just came home from football practice. I'm tired as hell. Are you down to hang out, maybe catch the game tonight?"
Ross lets out a sigh of distress. "I'd like to, but I can't. I have to do my homework, tuck Natalie in and do some training with my Pokemon."
"Come on man, you used to be the party god back in the day, before your dad left. You should come over!"
"I know, I know, but ever since I had to take care of Natalie… I've just been trying to change, so I can lead a better example for my sister."
"Lame." Jeremiah responds. He shrugs. "But I understand."
"Ross…" Natalie was getting impatient.
"Okay, okay. I'll catch you later, Jeremiah."
"See ya, bro!" Jeremiah replies. Jeremiah and Ross high-five. Jeremiah sees Davey watching everything through his doorway. Jeremiah merely couldn't help but laugh at him. "Stalking me again, amigo?"
"I'm not stalking you!" The boy responds.
Jeremiah sees Davey had his Eevee standing right next to him, and shakes his head in disappointment. "I don't get it… Why do you still wanna play with Pokemon? Pokemon are for kids. I've outgrown them a long time ago, and so should you! Heck, aren't you scared of Pokemon? Why are you even at the Pokemon Academy?"
"I still like Pokemon, even though I'm scared of them! Besides, what else could be better than Pokemon, Jeremiah?"
Jeremiah starts laughing. "Lots of things! School, dating, having HUMAN friends." He lifts each thing off one by one, which only makes Davey angrier. Jeremiah felt his ego boosting more and more each time he talked.
"I have all those things… But I also have my Pokemon with me."
"I guess. Whelp, enjoy your Pokemon, because I'm going to become the star quarterback for the Nimbasa Sawks someday! I don't have time to play with those childish creatures." Jeremiah says as he walks away, semi bragging about his future.
Davey raises up his right eyebrow. He sighs. "I don't know what happened. Jeremiah loved Pokemon so much growing up…" He shrugs.
"Oh well, I gotta get back to babysitting the next generation." He turns around and shuts the door, only to see the horrific sight of Ash writing profanities all across his father's wall. Davey's blood boils and he screams. "ASH KETCHUM!"
Chapter 5
"There's a First Time for Every Battle"
The next morning arrives. A cold breeze blows by as the first day of fall finally arrives. The leaves on the trees weren't turning yet, as it was still September. Everyone out was wearing jackets, including Davey, who was wearing one over his school uniform. Davey sped by his fellow peers at the Academy to get to class early, all while he held Eevee in his hands. Davey needed something that comforted him, like school, after the stressful night he had, babysitting Ash and Natalie.
As he approaches the door of his classroom, he sees his best friend Ashley, who surprises him by being there quite early. "Hey, Ashley. You're here unusually early…" He points out. He sees a branch poking out of her hair. He knew something wasn't up.
"Haha…" She laughs nervously, as if she was hiding something. "Yes, well… I needed to come to school early because I wanted to get some training in with Piplup." She explains. She held Piplup in her arms. Lying in the process.
Davey speculates Ashley was hiding something, but he didn't want to provoke her, so he tries to change the conversation. "Okay, but if you ever need anything, let me know!"
"Right!" Ashley responds. "How did babysitting the trouble twins go last night?" She asks.
Davey sighs. "It was horrible! They almost destroyed our apartment. Luckily, I cleaned everything up in time before Sarah and dad got home." He explains. Davey had nightmares just thinking about them.
Ashley pats Davey on the back. "Cheer up! At least we got an A- on our first Research Task assignment for bringing back the Shadow Pokemon aura."
"I know, but we could've gotten a better grade. Ugh! Why did my phone have to go out when that fog swept me away!?" A frustrated Davey complains as he grabs his hair. But there was another thing on Davey's mind that was still bothering him. He then thinks back to what Natalie and Ash said earlier, and makes him even more frustrated. He looks down, sad with a look of defeat on his face. "But you see, there was something Ash and Natalie mentioned that's been bothering me."
"What's that?"
"You see, they mocked me for not having a goal, and they're right. What kind of trainer, enrolled at a Pokemon Academy, doesn't have a goal? You want to capture every shiny variant of all Pokemon. Harper wants to better understand Psychic-type Pokemon, heck even Spyro wants to become a Fighting-type Gym Leader. Everyone has goals, but me and it's not fair."
"You'll find your goal someday, there's no rush! You're only 15, you have your whole life ahead of you!"
Davey smiles and nods. "You're right!" He felt better, but not by much. Just enough to help him get going for the day.
"It's a brand new day, and the school year isn't even over yet, so there's going to be many more things awaiting us! So let's head to class! God, I can't believe I just said that." Ashley says as she and Davey share a quick laugh. Ashley wraps her arm around Davey, and the two move forward.
As they approach the classroom door, he tries to go for the doorknob, only to see a note on the door. He reads the note. "Attention students, please report to the Crimson Stadium for class today, make sure your Pokemon are all healthy." He finishes reading the note.
Davey and Ashley look at each other and shrug. "I wonder what it could mean?" Ashley asks.
The duo head to the stadium. Being one of the biggest stadiums in Unova allowed students to have hands-on experience with league-like battles. The stadium wasn't only used for hard heading Pokemon battles televised world wide, but also sports games like Football and Soccer. Some of the most watched battles on the internet were battles held at the Pokemon Academy Stadium.
Davey and Ashley see that the other students in their class were also there, speculating among themselves about why they were called here. "Ashley, why do you think the Professor called us here?" he asks.
"I'm not sure…"
"Pokemon battles!" The Professor explains. He walks up to his sisters with Harper by his side. He had his hands behind his back, but holding them together. Everyone turns their attention to the teacher. "Today's lesson will be about Pokemon battles."
The class cheered, for some of them this was the lesson they wanted to learn about the most. "Pokemon battles! Hell yeah!" Spyro cheers, he high fives another one of his classmates.
"Finally, some action!" Sarah says.
"I've been waiting for this moment!" Davey says.
"About time!" Ashley shouts. Davey's comments confuse Ashley. "Wait, it thought you were scared of Pokemon battles though?" She asks.
Davey smiles. "After getting closer to Gligar and battling Blastoise, my fear of battles has dwindled a bit. I'm not scared of Pokemon at all!"
Ashley and Piplup look at each other as Ashley brings Piplup up into Ashley's face. Davey freaks out and runs far away from Ashley. "So I see you're still scared of Pokemon!" Ashley and Piplup laugh.
"That's not funny Ashley." Davey vocalizes, holding onto Eevee tightly. "Okay yes, fine! I'm still scared of Pokemon! As long as the Pokemon doesn't touch me, then I'm all good!"
Ashley laughs. "I knew it." A good idea comes into Ashley's nogging that she thinks might help Davey. "You know Davey, maybe having a Pokemon battle can help you find a goal!"
"You think so?"
Ashley nods. "Yeah! It will be a good stepping stone!"
"I guess…" Davey replies. "But maybe, I have to think about it for a bit." He explains, but he was mostly just making excuses because he knew Ashley could be right.
"Now everyone, settle down." Professor Moss instructs, as Harper steps into the room and closer towards her superior. The class gathers together in one big circle, with their Pokemon partners standing by their side. The students were wired up, inching to get that sweet taste of battling goodness.
The Professor had to temper expectations. So he starts by explaining away what they were going to do today in class. "For today's morning lecture, me and Harper will give a Pokemon battle demonstration. Instead of giving a more oral presentation of the ins and outs of how a Pokemon battle works, we hope you can pick up things that you learn during our battle. Once our battle is finished, I'm going to choose four of you to have two sets of battles against one another. We hope that during that battle, you will use what you've picked up during mine and Harper's battle as an advantage to help you win." The Professor clarifies, so they wouldn't get their hopes up. Luckily, it works as it calms down a few of them.
"Shall we get started with the lesson, sir?" Harper asks. Her phone rings. She sees that she received multiple messages from Professor Cotton asking her to skip class to hang out with him for some "private lessons." But she declines by ignoring him and shutting off her phone.
"Do you need to take that Harper?" The curious Professor asks.
"It's no big deal. Just my boyfriend sir."
Ashley didn't buy it. "Why would Jeremiah, of all people, be texting her right now? That doesn't seem like something he would do." Ashley whispers to Davey.
"Because Jeremiah is Harper's boyfriend. Besides, it's none of our business Ashley! We should stay out of it."
"I know, Davey! But I love drama!" She replies, whispers back and talks low so no one would hear them. Though their attempts to be coy weren't working, as Harper heard a glimpse of the conversation between them and gave them a death stare, which startled them.
"Now before the battle begins, let's give you a quick refresher on how Pokemon and moves work. Each Pokemon is assigned a type, some Pokemon have two-types, which gives them the classification of a dual-type Pokemon. A Pokemon with only one type is called a Mono-type Pokemon. Types don't only apply to the Pokemon, but also the moves they use. Each Pokemon can only memorize up to four attacks, though there are special circumstances." The Professor says as he walks back and forth.
The Professor plays with his hair a bit as he continues to give his lecture. "But types and moves aren't the only thing that you have to worry about, you also have to worry about a Pokemon's ability. A Pokemon's ability is a special, yet natural attribute that helps them in a Pokemon battle. For example, Davey, your Eevee's ability is known as adaptability. Adaptability powers up moves of the same type as the Pokémon. Whereas Ashley, your Piplup's ability is Defiant. With Defiant, when its stats are lowered, its attack increases. It's actually Piplup's Hidden Ability. A Hidden Ability is a rare type of ability that certain Pokemon have."
"But let's go back to types for a second. Each type has its own strength and weakness. For example, the electric-type is weak to the Ground-type, but the electric-type is strong against the Flying-type Pokemon. However, some attacks can't do anything against curtain types, like a Dragon-type attack can't hit a Fairy-type Pokemon." The Professor explains to his students. It was a bit of a mouthful, but he hoped his students caught on to everything he said. "Now I know all that might be hard to remember, but I hope you do, because it can become key to winning a Pokemon battle."
"Okay, okay, we get it! Now can we see some battles?" An impatient Ashley shouts.
The Professor lets in a deep breath, before finally exhaling. The rest of the class minus Davey agree with Ashley, and they cheer. The Professor gives in. "I guess I gave enough exposition, so let's have some fun!" He cheers, and the rest of the class follows suit, cheering along.
Professor Moss and Harper stand on opposing sides of the battlefield. The most interesting thing though was the two Pokeballs they were both holding. The Professor held what looked like a standard, but it was different. Made out of wood and with a zipper on the front, it looks like an ancient version of the standard Pokeball. Harper has a similar ball, but the first half was sky blue and had a wing like symbol on it. These Pokeballs were strange.
"What kind of Poke Balls are those?" Spyro squints at their Poke Balls. He hadn't seen anything like them before, and they peaked his interest. "I've never seen anything like them before." The whole class agreed with Spyro. None of them hadn't seen them before.
Professor Moss looks at his PokeBall. "Oh yeah, these Poke Balls were made in the Sinnoh Region a long time ago. Back when it was called the Hisui Region. I'm an antique collector and have a storage full of old things. I actually gave a few of my ancient Poke Balls to Harper when she was a student in my class two years ago…" He explains to the students, who look at him in excitement and awe.
A man walks onto the center of the lines of the battlefield. He was wearing a black and white referee uniform. "Curtis here will be the referee." The Professor mentions.
"The Class 2019 battle between Professor Moss and Harper is about to get underway. The battle will be one v. one. Whichever Pokemon becomes unable to battle, will be declared the winner. So ready, set and let the battle begin!"
"Now, Go!" Harper and Moss both shout.
Moss and Harper throw both of their Pokeballs, with Moss sending out Bellibolt and Harper sending out a Meditite.
So I'm battling Harper. It's been over a year since the last time me and her battled. I could tell the two of them have grown tremendously. The Professor rolls up his sleeves and does a few stretches to get him in the battle mood.
It's been a while since the last time I've been in a battle. I'm kind of rusty, but this will be great practice if I want to work hard to become a gym leader some day. Harper was ready and raring to go. "Meditite use Bulk Up!"
Meditite's body becomes surrounded in a red aura, allowing its muscles and body to grow bigger. The light quickly disappears as she gets amped up. Meditite stares at the cocky Bellibolt.
Ashley looks around confused. "Huh? Why didn't Meditite hit Bellibolt?"
The Professor hears his student teacher and decides to inform them about one of the basics of Pokemon battling. "That's because Harper had Meditite use a non-damaging status raising attack. There are some attacks that allow a Pokemon to raise its stats in battle. Not all attacks are made for battling, just using damaging attacks isn't the only way to win a battle." He explains to the newbie trainers.
"The Professor is right Ashley. There are three types of attacks, physical, special and status. Physical moves deal damage depending on both the Attack stat of the attacking Pokémon and the Defense stat of the defending Pokémon. While most physical moves make contact, some do not. For example, Magnitude does not make contact despite being a physical move. Status moves include several moves that do not directly inflict damage, unlike physical and special moves. Status moves include moves that change the weather, inflict status conditions, or raise or lower the stats of a Pokémon, among other effects." Davey explains.
"So being both offensive and defensive in battle can help you win?" Ashley asks.
"Correct!" Davey winks.
Ashley stares at Davey, so much so that it makes him uncomfortable. "You know Davey, for a normal-class student, you know a lot?! Why aren't you in a higher class?"
Davey sighs. He was tired of hiding his truth from Ashley. "You see Ashley." He explains with a more somber tone. "While I tested well on the knowledge part of the Placement Exam, it was the Pokemon part I didn't do well on. I failed because I don't have a good, actual physical relationship with Pokemon." Davey explains.
"Due to my fear of Pokemon, it's made me lose that connection with Pokemon I used to have years ago." Davey balls his fist up. He wanted to punch himself for becoming such a bullock, but didn't because he had too much respect for himself and the person he'd become. He didn't like himself right now. This version of him isn't who he truly was. But a half of a whole of his true self.
Ashley felt bad for her friend. She didn't know what to say. She tries to reach her hand out, but didn't because she knew Davey needed a moment to himself.
"Haha." Sarah giggles. Her snooty Furofru laughed too, and the Pikachu nesting on her right shoulder chuckled along. "Just like my brother, all talk but no bite. No wonder dad hates you so much." She says. Sarah tucks her hair behind her ear. Davey growls back at her. He didn't say anything back. He refocuses his attention back to the battle between Harper and Moss.
"Alright Meditite, use Focus Punch." She shouts.
Meditite's right first surrounds itself in a white light. Meditite starts running towards Bellibolt and trusts its fist out towards Bellibolt. Meditite punches Bellibolt, but it barely does anything. Harper quickly notices it wasn't phasing the Plasma Frog Pokemon. Tired of her failure, Meditite repeatedly punches Bellibolt, but it continues to not do anything. Its defenses are too high, because Bellibolt is too thick. I need to think of something else. Harper looks at the ground and wonders how she could use that to her advantage. She quickly formulates a plan in her hand.
"Why aren't Meditite's attacks doing anything?" Spyro asks. "Its attacks should be strong due to Bulk Up."
"That's because the Professor is known for using his Pokemon's physical attributes as a battle strategy. By using the thickness of Bellibolt, he could bounce off any and all attacks that Harper throws at him." Sarah explains.
"So it's like a beanbag!" Spyro says.
"Wow, there is a brain up there after all!" Davey insults him; making the rest of the class laugh.
Spyro gets offended, causing him to blush. He grabs Davey by the shirt and lifts him up into the air. "Shut up Davey, or I'll punch you!"
A scared Davey backs away. "Okay, okay." He says.
The Professor stands there with a stern smirk on his face. Ashley picks up on it and begins staring at him. I wonder what the Professor is planning…
"Meditite uses Brick Break!"
"Bellibolt, Mud Shot!"
Both Pokemon start their attacks simultaneously. Meditite starts running across the field with her right arm bricked up, ready to punch. Bellibolt's mouth becomes filled with mud, and she spits out shots of mud pellets.
"Bellibolt, Discharge!" Bellibolt listens to its trainer's command and spins on the ground like a dreidel. Bellibolt discharges the electricity from its body and spirals around everywhere, like unkempt hair.
Meditite tries dodging each of the bolts that come its way, but each time it dodges another comes at a faster pace. Professor Moss kept on her toes, as she didn't know what to do next, making Harper sweat. What am I going to do? As Medittie tries to dodge another attack, it trips over its own leg and falls straight into electricity, shocking it. Meditite screams in pain. "Meditite!" She cries out.
Bellibolt gets back up and stops. Meditite lays there with its body, becoming surrounded by mini streaks of electricity that disappears and reappears every couple of seconds. Medtitie has been paralyzed.
"What's going on with Meditite?" A curious Spyro asks.
"Meditite has been paralyzed. When paralyzed, it can prevent the Pokemon from using an attack. Paralyze is a status condition. A status condition affects a Pokémon's ability to battle. There are five major status conditions: Burn, Poison, Paralysis, Sleep, Drowsy and Frostbite." Sarah explains to Spyro.
"Come on Meditite, don't give up now! I know you can do it!" Thanks to the encouragement of its trainer, Meditite gets up and roars. Harper smiles as she balls up her fist. She puts her right arm out and closes her eyes. Harper starts to think. Meditite, listen to me. Connect with me, and let's sync our hearts together. Meditite and Harper become one. Now.
With their hearts now connected, Meditite begins running. Focus Punch. Meditite clenches her right fist as a white light surrounds it. Meditite punches the ground, causing a chunk of the battlefield to pop out. Meditite jumps into the air and punches the earth chunk, sending it flying to Bellibolt and hitting it in the face.
Meditite does a spin before finally hitting Bellibolt in the face, performing an uppercut on it. Meditite then punches Bellibolt on the head; making Bellibolt flying into the nearby wall, creating a dent. Bellibolt eyes turn into a spiral sign, and the Pokemon flops onto the ground, knocking it unconscious and unable to battle.
The referee gets a good look at Bellibolt to see if it was still able to perform. It wasn't. "Bellibolt is unable to battle, victory goes to Meditite, which means Harper is the winner."
Meditite's fist goes back to normal, and it unclenches them. You did a great job, Meditite. But there are a few things we need to work on, like your speed. Meditite returns itself back into its Pokeball as Harper walks in the Professor's direction.
Professor Moss grabs Bellibolt's Poke Ball. "We lost, but Bellibolt, you did amazing!" Moss walks up Bellibolt. Despite taking in a lot of damage, Bellibolt quickly gets back up. Bellibolt licks Professor Moss, which disgusted him as he becomes paralyzed. "No need to do that, Bellibolt. I get it, you love me." Bellibolt bounces up and down, and then returns into its ball as Moss points the ball at it. He puts the ball away.
"Harper, you did amazing out there. You've grown as a trainer since when you first started."
"Thank you Professor, I had a good time." Harper looks at her phone. The first thing she notices is that Professor Cotton was sending her hundreds of text messages. She huffs and puts her phone away.
Ashley and Davey approach Harper and Professor Moss. "That was a good battle, you two." Ashley says. "I was so on the edge of my seat, man, it was really close.
"Thank you, Ashley." Moss acknowledges.
"Yeah, I learned a lot from that battle." Davey specifies. "So many good strategies were on full display from you both." He sounded enthusiastic about the results of their battles. It even pumped him up a bit to get out there and start battling on his own. Though he was still reluctant to fight.
Professor Moss notices Davey's newfound passion for battling, and it makes him curious. "Wow, Davey… I've never seen you so excited before. Not even homework has ever gotten you this worked up before."
Davey felt like he was caught in the act and backtracked immediately. "Well, I was just more interested in the technique of battling, not actually having a battle on my own."
The Professor cackles. He stands there in deep thought for a quick second.
Ashley turns to Harper and smiles. "Harper, I wondered maybe we can-"
Before Ashley could finish her sentence, Harper turns to the Professor. "Professor Moss, I must go. It was a pleasure battling you sir." The nods as a way of saying thank you. She walks away with Abra following her. She didn't say goodbye to anyone and didn't even let Ashley finish her sentence.
"Bye Harper." Davey shouts and waves. The trio watches her leave the stadium. "Man, Harper is really cold and distant. But I get it, the world sucks." Davey shrugs.
Harper used to be so happy. She didn't used to be so cold and introverted. Me and her used to be best friends, and now, it's just a broken stick. Ashley thinks back to the fun times she had with Harper. To see her change so much deeply affected her, as the two of them were good friends.
Some time had passed, which gave the students enough breathing room to communicate. They huddle together like a colony of Durants, and face their educator. The class was thrilled, as they were ready to have some Pokemon battles on their own.
"So did everyone enjoy the battle?"
The class applauds. "Hell yeah, I fucking loved that battle sir." Spyro swears.
The Professor glares at him. "Spyro… language young man."
"Sorry sir." Spyro blushes as he scratches the back of his head.
The Professor clears his throat again. "Now that the dust has settled, let's move onto the next part of our lessons. More Pokemon battles, but this time two sets of battles. The first battle will be between Spyro and Ashley." Ashley and Spyro stare at each other with an intense hated passion. "While the second battle will be between Davey and Sarah."
Spyro cheers. "Aww man, why do you have to battle that witch?" He asks. Ashley looks at Spyro and scowls. Spyro steps back a bit, scared out of his mind for what she would do to him. But he wasn't going to admit that.
Davey starts to shake and sweat. Oh no. Davey stares at Sarah for a quick second, only to turn back around in fear. "Sir, do I have to battle?"
"Davey's right." His twin sister says. "We already know that I'm going to be declared the winner right off the back, so what's the use of going through it?"
After hearing that comment, Ashley was pissed. "What in the hell did you just say?" Ashley screams. Ashley wants to punch Sarah in the face for smacking talking Davey, but Davey grabs her by the hand. "Let go of me, Davey!"
"No Ashley, it's not worth it." He responds. "Look Sarah, you're right. I won't battle you. I'd just lose to her anyway." The defeated Davey looks down and sighs with regret. Truth is, I would like to battle her.
Ashley puts her hand on Davey's shoulder. "Look bro, I get it. Your sister is a complete piece of work. I hate her fucking guts and wish she would die in a ditch."
"Ashley…" Davey says, protecting his sister and warning her from saying something she'd regret just in case something did happen to her.
Ashley tries to reel herself back in, so she could make her point clearer. "I know, Davey. I know. But look, you should battle her! You need to stop letting people like Spyro, Sarah and your dad get to you so much." Ashley tries to shake some sense into Davey.
Davey sighs. "You're right." Davey says. He walks up to the Professor and swallows his spit. It was time for him to bite the bullet and be proactive for something in life for once. "Professor Moss, I would like to battle my sister."
"I'm glad to hear that Davey." He smiles. "I'm proud of you Davey, you've come a long way since the first day I met you one week ago." His comment makes Davey blush.
"Same rules apply from me and Harper's battle. Your battles will both be one on one, no exceptions." Moss explains to the four students and also to the rest of the class for further context. The students all nodded their heads.
Sarah looks at Davey and puts her hands on his shoulder. "Listen Davey, I know we have our spouts, but I wanna battle you. So let's both give it our best." She says in a warming tone.
Davey smiles. "Thank you, I needed to hear that."
Davey and Sarah smile at each other, sharing a moment before Spyro interrupts it. "So when do we start battling?" Spyro asks.
Spyro and Ashley step onto the battlefield on opposing sides. The referee steps onto the edge of the lines of the field, and the students watched from the stands. Timburr steps in front of Spyro, and Piplup gets in front of Ashley. "The Class 2019 battle between Spyro and Ashley is about to get underway. The battle will be one v. one. Whichever Pokemon becomes unable to battle, will be declared the winner. Now let the battle begin!"
The battle between Spyro and Ashley was only just getting started. But the tension in the air between the two foes was deadly. Both aiming to win. "Timburr, use Rock Smash!" Timburr drops its plank. Timbbur's right fist turns yellow as it runs towards Piplup.
Ashley knew she had to hurry to counterattack. "Use, Peck now!" Piplup's beak glows white, and Piplup jumps in the air. Timburr goes in for a punch, but Piplup's peck blocks it.
Davey was impressed with both Spyro and Ashley, but was nervous about his upcoming battle with Sarah. For her first ever Pokemon battle against another trainer, Ashley is doing a good job. I hope I can perform well when it's my turn.
"I see you're determined Ashley." Spyro compliments.
"Of course I am!" She says. "If I'm going to capture every shiny Pokemon to build an army to battle Arceus, I need to be strong. I'm using everything I ever learned into this battle to show people that I'm a force to be reckoned with. Zack, Davey and Professor Moss have taught me a lot and I'm not going to back down." She explains. Her speech was powerful, even moving Spyro a little bit. Ashley holds her head up high, ready to finish this battle quickly with her as the victor.
"Timburr use Low Kick." Timburr runs towards Piplup. Timburr lifts up its right leg and kicks Piplup in the face. It didn't do much damage, but it did enough to cause Piplup to close its right eye.
Spyro beats his chest. He was getting pumped up and ready to win. "Timburr use Facade!" Timburr becomes surrounded in an orange aura that makes its body shine. Timburr uses the plank it was carrying to slap Piplup across the face. Hitting Piplup with the plank should add some extra damage. If I use one more attack, I should win this thing. "Now Timburr, Low Kick once more. Let's end this thing!" Timburr throws the plank up into the air and kicks Piplup, making it fall in front of Ashley. Timburr grabs its plank, and both it and its trainer glare at their opponent with a cocky grin.
"Piplup!" Ashley shouts out with concern. "Come on Piplup, I know you can do this!"
Piplup struggles to get up. But with the encouragement of Ashley, it does. Despite taking in a ton of damage, Piplup wasn't willing to give up so soon.
What? That should've knocked that freaky little penguin out. Ashley might be stronger than I thought. Spyro stood there frozen, not knowing what to do next. But he wasn't about to give up so easily, since in his own words, he wasn't a "punk".
Davey lets out a sigh of relief. "Good, I'm glad Piplup is okay."
"Wow, I'm impressed by Spyro." Sarah says. "He may be a meathead, but he knows what he's doing on the battlefield."
"That's one of the great things about Pokemon battles. You never know how a trainer and Pokemon will act." Professor Moss starts crying in an overly dramatic fashion. "It's so great to see your students take in everything they learn from you!" Their overemotional teacher embarrassed his students.
Spyro laughs. "I'm so winning this thing!" Spyro throws his arm out. "Timburr use Facade again." Once again, Timburr becomes surrounded in an orange aura that makes its body shine. Timburr rushes towards Piplup.
Ashley looks at Timburr's plank. I have to do something about that plank, but what can I do? Should I have Piplup grab it? No, it might be too big, unless we try it. "Piplup use Peck." Piplup jumps in the air and does a spin. Here we go… Piplup and Timburr were getting closer. "Now Piplup, grab Timburr's plank!"
"Huh!?" Davey asks.
"Huh!?" Spyro asks.
"What?!" Moss asks.
Everyone was shocked to hear Ashley say that. Piplup grabs the plank. Although it was heavy, Piplup tried its best to hold it, before finally getting enough strength to hold it successfully. It actually worked, no way! Ashley too was surprised it worked, but didn't dwell on the moment too long.
"Is she insane? Or smart…" Sarah asks. She was impressed with Ashley's battle style.
"Now Piplup, slap Timburr across the face with its own plank!" Ashley commands. Piplup slaps Timburr across the face multiple times, before finally hitting Timburr on the head. Piplup lets go of the plank as it flips and lands in front of Ashley, all while standing proud and confident.
The plank lands on the ground as Timburr becomes dizzy. Timburr collapsed, not being able to sustain all the damage inflicted onto it. Timburr closes its eyes, as it didn't have enough energy to battle. Curtis looks at Timburr and determines it was unfit to battle. "Timburr is unable to battle, Piplup wins. The victor is Ashley."
Ashley smiles. She runs up to Piplup and hugs it. They spin. "We did it!" Ashley says.
Spyro throws a temper tantrum by stomping his foot on the ground. "What the actual fuck? How did we lose?" Spyro doesn't even acknowledge Timburr's hard work, and just returns it back into its PokeBall. "This sucks!"
"Spyro, language!" Professor Moss shouts.
"Sorry Professor."
"Haha! I beat you!" Ashley teases.
"You only won due to pure luck, that's all!" Spyro fights back. "I just wasn't in my top form today."
Ashley laughs. "If top form means being a poor loser, then yes."
Professor Moss walks up to his two students. He had some words of encouragement that he needed to give them, but also some feedback that could help them with their future battles. "Spyro, you did a good job."
"Ha! I knew it!"
"But…"
"But what?"
"But, you let Ashley exploit Timburr's weaknesses. You didn't have any real strategies, and you let Ashley take advantage of the fact that Timburr carries around a log in battle."
Spyro didn't want to admit the Professor was right, but he caved in. "You're right Professor, I didn't think that…"
"No worries Spyro, we all have areas we need to improve on." He says, which causes Spyro to smile.
The Professor turns to Ashley, Ashley gets a little nervous, thinking the Professor was going to grill her. "Lay it to me straight Doc."
"You did a good job, I'm proud of you."
Ashley's pupils dilate, and she hops up and down. She was thrilled to get such praise from her teacher. "Wait, really?" She was so shocked that she was in disbelief. "Did I do a good job?"
"You did. Now if only you showed as much passion as you do in battle, in the classroom." She says.
Ashley sighs. "I can try, in two years." She responds in a sarcastic way.
Davey runs up to Ashley and hugs her. "Ashley, you did amazing out there." Davey and Ashley high five.
"I know, I'm somewhat of an all star." She brags, but gets serious as she wants to encourage Davey. "But don't forget you're up next, so stay strong!"
"Right." Davey nods in agreement, although he was super nervous. Looks like I'm up next. Davey turns to look at Sarah, who started to crack her knuckles.
Davey and Sarah step onto the battlefield, with everyone taking their seats in the stands. Davey was nervous, while Sarah stood there with full confidence that she was about to win. The ref steps in his place and looks at both Davey and Ashley. Davey looks at Eevee. "Go out there and do your best, Eevee." Eevee nods and steps onto the field.
Ashley looks at Pikachu. "You're up buddy." Pikachu nods, and Pikachu steps in front of Ashley.
Both Pikachu and Eevee stood there with confident looks on their faces, and in a stance with them both ready to battle. "The Class 2019 battle between Davey and Sarah is about to get underway. The battle will be one v. one. Whichever Pokemon becomes unable to battle, will be declared the winner. Now let the battle begin!"
Sarah laughs. "Alright Pikachu, let's do this!" Pikachu nods.
"Come on Davey, you can do it!" Ashley cheers.
Oh no, I'm about to have my first battle! I don't know if I can do this. Davey freezes up. He didn't know what to do next. He starts shaking and shifting back and forth. Several thoughts started to pop up in his mind: How are you going to win a Pokemon battle when you don't have a goal? You're not good enough to battle, you're weak. Give up, you'll never make it as a Pokemon trainer. From his dad to what Natalie and Ash teased him about earlier, several negative thoughts filled his mind, and the pressure to give up was getting to Davey. Davey starts to shake.
Ashley sees something was going on with Davey. "Davey, are you okay?" She shouts.
Davey hyperventilates, his shaking gets worse. His eyes shut and he suddenly stopped hearing. The pressure, the negativity, the possibility of failure, everything was getting to him. Davey collapses on the ground. He had passed out.
Author's Note: Whew, a new chapter so soon?! I'm just as shocked as you are! Man, this was a fun chapter to write. It's my favorite one so far! We finally get another lesson at the school lol, it took long enough. Poor Davey, though, his anxiety is getting too him. So much pressure from just about everyone. At least Ashley won her first battle. And my favorite character Jeremiah is introduced! A boy in the Pokemon world who doesn't care about Pokemon, no way?!
Also, Ash's first appearance! He's a kid in this story, don't ask me why I just thought it would be funny lol.
As for what's going to happen in the next chapter, it's a secret. But I'll give you a hint! It's a Zack focused chapter!
Thanks to Deutschland1871 for submitting Ross and Natalie to the story. It's great to have them back! You'll see more characters from old Pokemon Academy stories in this story, so stay reading.