Chapter 3 - First Battle!
"This is bullshit…"
I'd been walking for hours. My clothes were still slightly damp, the rest crusted over with dried mud. The sun was nearly gone, and according to my Pokédex map, I was still a good hour away from Viridian City. But none of that was the reason I was in such a sour mood, trudging down Route 1 like some dejected asshole who'd just walked in on his girl cheating with his best friend.
Everywhere I turned, there were Pokémon. Everywhere.
Pidgey flapped from tree to tree, Sandshrew dug through dirt piles, and Poliwag splashed in a nearby pond, practically begging me to catch it. It should've been the perfect stroke of luck—a Water-type would've been perfect to win my first gym badge. But no, I was stuck watching, simmering in frustration, with no way to catch any of them.
I kicked a rock in frustration, sending it skittering into the grass. "Fucking figures," I muttered, watching the rock disappear into the underbrush. Every Pokémon I had seen earlier scattered the moment I got close. Now that I didn't have Pikachu—or any other reliable partner—they wanted to stay out in the open.
I still hadn't worked up the courage to let Gyarados out. Most would think catching something that powerful on day one would make me feel like a badass pokémon trainer.
I felt like an idiot.
Now that I was in a world where pokémon didn't just listen to you if you had enough badges, catching a Gyarados on your first day was like being handed a flamethrower before learning to use a lighter. Dangerous as hell.
"What am I supposed to do with you?" I asked the ball, not expecting an answer.
Up ahead, I spotted movement—a trainer crouched in the grass. He was maybe my age, focused on something I couldn't see. When I got closer, I caught the red flash of a pokéball opening.
A Shinx materialized on the path, its blue and black fur gleaming even in the fading light. The little electric-type blinked, looking around curiously while the trainer scanned it with a pokédex. For a second, I admired it. Then Damian clicked his tongue, and my mood soured all over again.
"Useless?" the trainer clicked his tongue. "I need one that knows Quick Attack."
I froze, my fists clenching at my sides. Was this guy serious? He didn't even try to train it. Just caught it, decided it wasn't good enough, and now he was tossing it aside like garbage.
It reminded me of Paul, that asshole from the anime. He'd done the same thing with Starly, releasing it because it wasn't strong enough. Back then, watching it on TV, while I had thought it was a dick move, it was also just dramatized nonsense—the writers creating an asshole rival to make Ash look better.
Now that I was in the pokémon world myself, seeing some discount version of Paul treating Pokémon like they were disposable really pissed me off. Probably a completely unreasonable amount, but I came from a world where pokémon weren't real.
I knew trainers were all different. Had different methods of trying to become the best. Some focused on strategy, some on friendship, some on sheer brute strength. But this? Catching a Pokémon and dumping it because it wasn't perfect right off the bat? That wasn't training. That was being a lazy little bitch. Put in the work. Grind the levels. That's how you got strong.
"Hey!" I barked, stomping toward the little shit. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"
The trainer looked up, startled and I knew that face. Damian. From the anime. Like with Paul, I never liked the guy, even when Pokémon were just pixels on a screen. Seeing his bullshit firsthand really pissed me off. It wasn't just a plot device—cartoon drama designed to make Ash look like a hero and give him one of the starter Kanto starters. This was a real person treating a living being like garbage. And it was infuriating.
"What do you want?" Damian asked, , as if I were a minor inconvenience rather than someone about to verbally throw down.
"You heard me." I stepped between him and the Shinx. "What are you doing throwing away a Pokémon because it doesn't know the move you want?"
Damian shrugged. "I need a strong team, " he said simply. "This Shinx isn't good enough. I'm better off catching the best one I can."
"And you can tell which ones the strongest?" I scoffed.
"Of course!" Damian laughed. "Watch!"
He tossed another pokéball, and another Shinx appeared next to the first one. My jaw dropped.
"You've got two of them?" I stared at him in disbelief. These little electric cats weren't exactly uncommon around here, but they weren't common either. The fact this dickwad had managed to catch multiple of them while I was stuck with a Gyarados that wouldn't listen pissed me off even more. He didn't deserve them.
"Sure do!" Damain had this smug little grin that made me want to introduce his teeth to the dirt. "You must know you can scan the pokémon you catch with your pokédex to check what moves they know. And that's just what I do."
He pulled out his pokédex, pointing it first at one Shinx, then the other.
"If you do this from the beginning, it saves you a bunch of time in the long run," he explained like he was sharing some profound wisdom. "No point wasting time training a pokémon that isn't strong from the start."
The pokédex beeped again. Damian pointed at the second Shinx he released. "See? This new one I caught knows Quick Attack. But the old one? Useless."
My hands clenched into fists so tight my knuckles went white as he recalled the "good" Shinx into its ball, then turned to the other one with a dismissive wave.
"Take a hike. You're not worth my time."
Before I could move or say anything, he dropped its pokéball and ground it under his heel. The crunch of breaking metal and electronics made me feel sick.
The rejected Shinx just stood there, ears drooping, watching its former trainer destroy the one thing linking them together. Its eyes were wide with confusion and hurt, like it couldn't process what was happening.
"You piece of shit…"
Damian rolled his eyes. "Look, I don't have time to train something weak. I need a Shinx that already knows Quick Attack. This one doesn't, so it's useless."
Before I could respond, his attention flicked back to the Shinx. He waved it off dismissively. "If you care so much, you can have it. Not worth my time."
"I just might!" I shot back, heat rising in my chest. "At least I wouldn't treat it like trash!"
The guy smirked, his glasses catching the last rays of sunlight and making him look even more punchable. "Big talk. How about you put your money where your mouth is? Battle me."
Oh, shit.
For a second, I actually considered it. My blood was up, my pride was on the line, and the thought of wiping that smug look off his face was tempting as hell. But then reality came crashing down like a ton of bricks.
I didn't have a Pokémon. Well, I did, but Gyarados was a walking (swimming?) disaster waiting to happen. It was injured from the earlier fight, and even if it wasn't, there was no guarantee it would listen to me.
"I don't have anything to battle with," I admitted through gritted teeth.
Damian laughed, loud and obnoxious. "Nobody can travel without at least one Pokémon. What do you have, a Rattata? Maybe a Caterpie?"
"I have a Gyarados," I said flatly.
That shut him up. For about two seconds.
"A Gyarados?" His tone dripped with disbelief. "Yeah, sure you do. And I'm the Champion of Kanto."
I ignored Damian's self-satisfied smirk and knelt beside the Shinx. The little Electric-type watched me warily, its ears drooping.
"Hey," I said softly, keeping my voice low so I wouldn't spook it. "I know this probably isn't what you had in mind, but... what do you say? Want to team up? I could really use your help."
Shinx tilted its head, its big ears twitching as it studied me. For a moment, I thought it might bolt. But then, slowly, it nodded and stepped closer I pulled an empty Pokéball from my belt and pressed it to its side. A soft click later, and Shinx was mine.
"See?" I said, standing up. "That's how you treat a Pokémon—with respect."
Damian snorted, crossing his arms. "Respect doesn't win battles."
"No," I shot back. "But it makes you less of a douchebag."
His face turned red, and for a second, I thought he might swing at me. I wouldn't have minded if he did. canon Ash was always ready to throw hands, and while I wasn't exactly following the plot, that was one part of his character I didn't mind living up to.
My Pokédex buzzed in my pocket. When I pulled it out, a notification flashed across the screen: "BATTLE REQUEST FROM: Trainer Damian."
I jabbed the 'accept' button hard enough that my thumb hurt. I had a Pokémon that could actually fight now and watching this asshole's face when I kicked his ass would be worth it.
"One on one," Damian called out, already backing up to make room for the battle. "Unless you're scared?"
I snorted. "The only thing I'm scared of is catching whatever personality disorder makes you such a dick."
The new weight of Shinx's Pokéball felt good in my hand as I enlarged it. The little electric-type materialized in front of me, fur bristling with static electricity. Despite everything that had just happened, it looked ready to fight.
"Charmander, let's go!" Damian called out, tossing his ball.
Then Damian released his Pokémon, and I almost laughed out loud. A Charmander appeared in a flash of red light, its tail flame burning bright.
Oh, the fucking irony.
I knew this Charmander—or I would, anyway. This was the same one Damian would eventually abandon in the rain, the one that would wait on that rock for days, hoping its trainer would come back. The same one that would become one of Ash's most powerful Pokémon.
My grin must have looked a bit unhinged, because Damian's smug expression faltered for a second.
"What's so funny?" he demanded.
I shook my head. "Just thinking about karma, man. Just karma."
Time was weird in the anime—episodes could cover days or weeks or seemingly no time at all. I had no idea exactly when Damian would abandon Charmander, but I knew it would happen. And when it did?
Charizard would be mine!
But right now, I had a battle to win.
"Shinx," I called out, "you ready to show this asshole what you can do?"
The electric-type's fur crackled with energy as it dropped into a fighting stance. Perfect.
"Let's see what attacks you know," I quickly scanned Shinx with my pokédex. Once Shinx was lined up in the camera, that familiar mechanical voice kicked in, making me feel like a proper trainer for the first time since I'd landed in this world.
Shinx, the Flash Pokémon. This Pokémon generates electricity by contracting its muscles. Excited trembling is a sign that Shinx is generating a tremendous amount of electricity.
Gender: Female
Height: 1'11
This Shinx knows the moves: Tackle, Double Kick, Thunder Shock and Bite.
"Double Kick, huh?" I whistled impressed as I tucked my pokédex away. "That will be a big help against Brock."
Shinx preened at the praise, bumping her head against my leg, a little spark of electricity jumping between her fur and my jeans.
"Use Scratch, Charmander!" Damian ordered.
Charmander charged forward, its claws outstretched and ready to strike.
"Hit it with Thunder Shock!" I said as the young fire-type stumbled more than ran on its stubby legs.
Yellow sparks crackled through Shinx's fur before discharging a small blast of electricity that shot through the air toward Charmander. There was a slight tingle in the air, almost like static electricity that sent a tingling sensation through my body.
"Get out of the way, Charmander!" Damian shouted.
Charmander jumped to the side just in time as the Thunder Shock plowed a blackened furrow into the ground.
"Ember, let's go!" Damian punched the air.
"Get in close with Tackle!" I countered. No way was I letting them set up a ranged game when we had paralysis on our side.
Shinx shot forward like a blue bullet, slamming into Charmander's chest before it could spit fire. The impact sent both Pokémon tumbling, but Shinx recovered faster, her four legs giving her better stability.
"Again!" I called out, watching Charmander struggle to get back to its feet. "Don't let up!"
Another Tackle sent Charmander skidding backward. Its tail flame flickered, but instead of looking worried, Damian looked pissed.
"Ember, point blank!"
Charmander's jaws snapped open, a burst of flames catching Shinx right in the face. She yowled, jumping back with singed fur.
"You okay?" I asked. Shinx shook herself, sparks flying from her coat. Her eyes were narrowed, focused. Yeah, she was pissed now.
"Thunder Shock then Tackle!" I ordered. "Full power!"
Shinx's eyes glowed with an intimidating light, making Charmander flinch. Then she charged, electricity crackling around her like a makeshift armor.
The impact was brutal—Charmander went flying, hitting the ground hard enough to kick up dust.
When it cleared, Charmander was down. Not just down—out cold.
Holy shit. I just won my first real pokémon battle.
"Useless, huh?" I couldn't help but taunt as Damian recalled Charmander. "Maybe you should try actually training your Pokémon instead of just giving up on them."
Damian's face went red, then purple. For a second, I thought he might actually abandon Charmander right then and there just to spite me. Instead, he spun on his heel and stormed off the path into the woods.
When he was gone, I knelt down next to Shinx. "That," I told her, scratching behind her ears, "was amazing."
It hadn't been the most spectacular battle in the world, but I still couldn't stop smiling riding high on our win. I just won his first Pokémon battle! I almost started skipping!
I knew the battle probably had looked quite boring from the outside. A battle between what was essentially two baby Pokémon wasn't going to be prime-time television, but I didn't care!
Thunder Shock was awesome!
Ember was awesome!
Even Tackle was awesome!
Everything about the battle was amazing because it was real! The smells, the feeling, the adrenaline!
The Pokémon games were fun, and the anime was flashy, but nothing compared to the real deal.