Disclaimer: Pokemon is owned by the Nintendo, Hakunon/Fate is owned by the all-powerful Mushroom(Nasu), and all that stuff.
Hakuno slightly frowned as she answered the questions. So many strange questions. When would I ever have to break into a Casino's backroom and why would I even think about sending out a Pokemon that is 10x larger than a typical room to fight a gang member?
She rolled her eyes taking only a moment to glance around the room, so many of them seemed to be in deep thought, am I missing something?
The test was about fifty percent theoretical, and fifty percent multiple choice. The only questions that gave her any pause were safety and exploration questions. She had to drudge through memories of the Johotonian Pokedex as she looked for name resemblances, there seemed to have been a few missing pages of the copy she was reading so she hoped that when Pokemon 'evolved' they kept a similar name.
Hopefully, a Mamoswine is related to Piloswine…
Glancing at the clock she only had five minutes left, she had answered all she could, her eyes scanning each question looking for errors or miscalculations. Math she could right off, she was previously an AI after all as bitter as that memory is, most of what Maizie helped cover was on it.
"Time's up! Pencils down!" Chansey came by and picked up each one, giving a subtle nod to Hakuno as she did. "In one hour we will start on the second part," Second part? "I will request that all of you stay near the Pokecenter, if you miss the second part you automatically fail and have to retake the exam in three months." With that, the Nurse and Chansey left the room.
There was a flurry of noise, as the three girls quickly began talking to each other. Hakuno took a closer look at them, one had green hair and seemed to be the leader, and another had dark crimson hair and wore a camo-colored outfit, and the final one had violet hair and was the quietest of the trio. The lone boy reminded Hakuno of a certain bug catcher, a large straw hat, and a small box beside him, and propped up against the wall was a large bug net.
"Psst… Hakuno, wanna go head out back? Let Pokey and Teddy train for a bit?" Hakuno nodded, and the trio of girls stared at them as they left.
Kids are strange…
In the back of the Pokemon Center was a large grassy field that contained three large soccerball-esque zones, a Pokeball in the middle of each, as well as two rectangles on each side.
The two of them went to the middle field, "So what is the second part?" Hakuno felt like Maizie might know, but was slightly dismayed as Maizie shrugged.
"Not sure, it's not something that's talked about, the older kids say they can't talk about it and the old folks get this amused look on their face." Hmm other than a written test… what else could there be? "Come on out!" Maizie tossed the two Apricorn balls as Teddy and Pokey appeared in the flesh, she expertly caught the balls as they returned to her.
She would have to figure out how that works when she gets her own Pokemon… a new teammate.
The Two Pokemon yawned as they appeared, The Slowpoke's eyes focused on something in the back corner. Hakuno tilted her head as she couldn't see what the Pokemon was focusing on before he huffed and curled up. The small bear gave her a nervous smile as did the mischievous Slowpoke when its eyes lazily came to her.
"Think you passed?" Hakuno broke the ice, Teddy the Teddiursa noticed the girls from earlier appear on the other court and took that to hide behind Pokey.
"Hopefully… I wasn't sure about a few questions, like Who can remember the names of all the Eeveelutions and how to evolve them?"
"Most are stone evolutions… two are in certain areas and three are about feelings and type energy," Hakuno shrugged, "Not sure if the test counted Sylveon though." Hakuno was good at memorization… for the most part.
Was the original Hakuno Kishinami good at memorization? Or was it her brain having more empty space due to only being the equivalent of a newborn? Nero would…
Don't forget, but keep moving forward.
"I was more confused about the… Casino question?"
Maizie got a confused look before a flash of reminiscence came across her mind, "Ohhhh that was probably added a few years ago, Back when Team Rocket was around Former Champion Red and Current Champion Lance were known to do raids on their compounds, one of them was at a Casino."
Huh. A casino acting as a front for a gang… didn't sound unrealistic, but how large of a backroom could they have had?
"Alright, Teddy, Pokey! Let's do some drills! Teddy give me your best Fling! Pokey Shoot down the rocks with Water Gun!" The two Pokemon looked at each other before nodding, the little bear picked up some rocks and began to chuck them into the air, a flash of dark energy covered the bear's paws as they shot out.
The Slowpoke huffed out small bullets of water, missing about fifty percent of the time he did manage to redirect a few that went wide with Confusion.
Hakuno rummaged into her pack for a Cherri Berry, the small berry reminded her of a spicy cherry. Except for her, it was fairly mild, she enjoyed the small amount of spice the berry had. One of the books she read mentioned even spicier Liechi and Petaya Berries and they called to her.
She remembers the Priest's Mapo Tofu fondly. Saber looked at her strangely when she ate it. She popped another Cherri berry into her mouth, the two Pokemon Alternated attacks for a few minutes before starting panting.
"Alright, let's take a break…" Maizie pulled out a handful of Leppa berries and handed them to her Pokemon, "Eat up, you two did good." Maizie ate a Lum berry. "I don't know how you can handle eating that many Cherri berries Hakuno, they make my tongue go numb after two."
Hakuno shrugged, "Spicy food is good food." Hakuno always held that belief. It was a core concept for her.
"Bleh, balanced is where it's at!" The girl stuck her tongue out at her. Her Portable Terminal vibrated again, Hakuno sighed, she wasn't too confident in what would happen if she placed it in the Minimize bag so she always had it on her.
It would be terrifying if she would lose the handheld, the sole connection she had to Nero. Soon she can connect her Portable Terminal to the computer… and see what it can do in this new world.
"Ok, children~ Time for your final test." Nurse Joy brought them out to the back of the Pokemon Center, Chansey pushed a small metal cart with a dome on it she lagged slightly behind. "You can't be Pokemon Trainers unless you can fight. Now, Bugsy has graciously let us borrow a few of his new First Badge Pokemon."
The tray was lifted revealing eight golfball-sized Pokeballs.
The violet-haired girl raised her hand, "Yes Rie?"
"Wouldn't Eiji have an easier time due to his Dad working at the Gym?"
Nurse Joy politely smiled, "Don't worry that has been taken into consideration." Hakuno was still conflicted. "All of them had wanted to see their possible challengers early, and most of them are still fairly young."
This would be her first time commanding someone other than her Rose.
"Why can't we use our own Pokemon?" The green-haired girl asked.
"It is to see how you would react to a new situation. Not everything will go according to plan on your journies, Kaori." Chansey handed her one of the black and gold Pokeballs. Hakuno rolled the small sphere in her hand, "Of course, you will not be able to keep the Pokemon unless they specifically wish to stay with you and you're able to convince Gym Leader Bugsy, please take ten minutes to talk to the Pokemon and get a handle on how best to work with them."
Heading to her small half-court-sized area Hakuno wasn't sure how to use it Chansey, perhaps due to worrying about her, came to her and motioned for her to press the button, as she did it quickly became the size of a baseball. Pointing the ball towards the ground and pressing the button twice sent out a beam of light that quickly formed the Pokemon.
"Ledyba?" A large ladybug appeared, its wings rapidly fluttered as it gained altitude to be at eye level with Hakuno as it took her in. The buzzing ladybug must have found her agreeable sense it nodded with a cheerful, "Ledy Ledyba~!"
"Do you wish to fight on my behalf for this singular battle?" Hakuno reached out, placing her hand on the smooth shell atop its head. The Pokemon looked at her strangely before nodding, a serious look flashed in its eyes.
"Hand?" Ladyba placed a hand in her own, Hakuno looked over the Pokemon as it sniffed her, she didn't know what to look for in a Pokemon, "What moves do you know?" The bug chirped as it moved a few feet away before flapping its wings hard and silver powder coated the ground.
Hakuno racked her brain before recalling the move, "Silver Wind?" The bug chirped happily before its two antennae moved together and a faint purple ball slowly came into existence after a moment it fired a thin purple beam forming a small dent into the ground. "Confusion? No…it's a beam… So Psybeam?" It sounded right, the Pokemon chirped its name once more before a thin barrier appeared. That… is an interesting move, she tapped the shield and felt its resistance.
"Five Minutes!"
She took a moment to glance towards the other children, a Green Pinecone that was well… Pineco, a small mollusk inside of a knight helm that she wasn't sure what exactly it was, a purple ball of fluff with large red compound eyes a Venonat, and two small green spiders that she knew were expert weavers Spinaraks.
"Ledyba, I have… some experience in giving orders, are you going to listen to me?" The Ladybug tilted its body.
"Ba, Ledy, Ledyba, Edy." Its hands moved rapidly with excitement in its eyes, "Ba." It finished with a nod.
"I have… no idea what that meant." But the bug type seemed willing to listen to her, that is what matters… hopefully, things work out.
"Alright, now first round is…" Nurse Joy had her hand in a cup before she revealed to slips of paper, "Hakuno and Eiji." Her eyes met the bug catcher's, a small green spider climbed onto his shoulder as the large Ladybug fluttered near her, clicking the button on the Level Ball the Ladyba quickly returned. So… her opponent was the one with the most experience with bugs.
"This will be a one-on-one match, the battle will end when I believe your Pokemon cannot continue or faint, Trainers are you ready?"
Hakuno gave a slight nod as did Eiji.
Her mind went into overdrive as in her eyes a faint swirl of blue overcame the area, and the scent of iron and death radiated.
Live or Die by the Sword.
"Begin!"
Hakuno pointed the Pokeball at the ground and the Ladybug reemerged, its eyes glaring down at the Spider.
"Spinarak used String Shot! Coat the Place!" The small green spider scuttled backward shooting a cascade of webbing into the air towards her temporary ally.
"Shields up. Get close while using Silver Wind." The bug formed a small barrier in front as it dashed forward, blocking the sticky liquid as the shield blocked the worst of it, Silver Scales began to drop from them and the gust picked up by the flying bug sent it floating toward the spider. The Ledyba was faster allowing it to catch up to the spider as it reeled back.
"Poison Sting!" Dozens of tiny purple hairs shot out of its mouth, and the shield began to crack as the Ladybug was right on top ready to- "Switch to Infestation!" The spider opened its mouth as countless tiny green things flew around the shield and surrounded Ledyba forcing the thin barrier to drop.
Her heart stopped as the Pokemon cried in pain.
"Hakuno! Keep Pressuring! Don't stop!"
Stop?
When has she ever done that?
S̷͈̐̓̇ḩ̸̱̀́e̷̺̣̙͆ ̷̡̩̭̏̂͊w̴̼̼̽i̸͖̭̹͋l̶̡͘ļ̷̱̭̄̃ ̷͖̉̋ḑ̶̛̝̈̇i̶͎̊ͅę̸̛͈͜ ̷̻͖̰̇̈́̒i̷̛͓̺̰͗f̷̫͉̌̐͘͜ ̴̻͎̯́s̶͙̱̤̑̾̕ḩ̷̂͛͝e̵͓̻̺̒̊͠ ̷̢̇͜ŝ̷̜̥ť̵̙̳͗ó̵͐̇ͅͅp̷̯͉̞̓s̷̼̓̑̚.
"Psybeam, aim for the Pedicel." The shield dropping had another effect, the spider's webbing fell stopping another volley of Poison Stings before covering the spider's face giving the Ledyba time to charge.
Which it did reluctantly.
Why are they going slow? They will die if they don't move faster.
"Spinarak! Move!" The Spinarak would need only a moment to free itself from the glob of webbing, but a moment was all that was required as the Psychic-Type move cut through the webbing and lanced the Spider's side forcing it to scream only then, was it finally able to free itself allowing it once more freedom of movement for it to scuttle on the ground.
"Pick up the pace, keep on top of it." The beetle hesitated before following her command, letting another volley of poisonous needles lance into one of its many arms.
"Scary face!" The Pokemon's face darkened causing the Ledyba's wings to stutter as it grew scared.
They need to fight back.
"Silver Wind don't hold back!" The ladybug's wings took longer to kick up the small gust allowing the spider to dodge most of the fallen scales and fire off another barrage of poisoned needles that barely missed their mark.
"Start charging Psybeam, block its movement with your Shield." Another beam began to form, a thin translucent barrier appeared in the direction the spider had run into. The Ledyba was quickly showing exhaustion but they needed to keep going. Hakuno gritted her teeth.
"Tsk! Climb up and use Night Slash! Show them whose the best!" The Spider hesitated for a moment but obeyed as it climbed onto the barrier and used it to leap into the air its small body landed on the buzzing Ledyba with mandibles coated in the darkest black and dug deep as it bit down.
"Fire!"
The charged Psybeam went wide, something halted the move a dozen feet away as Nurse Joy yelled. "That's game! Recall your Pokemon!"
She went to shout, to command Ledyba to Keep Fighting but something held her mouth in a grip. Her eyes darted around landing on Chansey as it subtly waved its arm with a subtle pink glow surrounding the appendage. Her hand stiffly followed as the pink energy forced her to press the button, the Ledyba returning in a flash of red.
Her pulse quickened, and Chansey quickly came to her side a soothing radiance spread from her arms as she took the Pokeball with a soft "Chansey." Hakuno gave a small tiny nod. She fell onto the floor and took a few huge breaths. The adrenaline quickly weaned off as Chansey held out its arm.
When the digital sea did not appear to swallow her whole, when the crushing digital wall separating her from her opponent who was looking at her slightly strangely did not appear and her life wasn't starting to erode as her very existence did not begin to unravel, only then did her pulse start to slow.
Only then was her flight or fight instinct temporarily abated.
Hakuno closed her eyes the former AI calming her heart as she focused inward, Her life was not in danger, Her Rose might be gone… but her life at the moment was safe.
This world might be dangerous… but this was a controlled battle. Like listening to one of Nero's stories about sparring. The Pokemon will heal. No one is dead.
I am safe.
Maizie swallowed nervously, seeing how intense Hakuno's battle was a lot different than battling the occasional Zubat she felt the need to approach her friend? She hoped Hakuno saw her as a friend. It would be nice to have a friend that wasn't a Pokemon. The stoic girl was confusing to her though, friendly but very quiet and loves to read. If it wasn't for her and Chansey Hakuno probably wouldn't ever leave the Center's Library.
She wanted to go over and help Hakuno stand up, but Chansey had beat her to it. The Egg Pokemon had taken her arm and led her back into the Pokemon Center. Maybe… After this, they can chat like real girls and not Pokemon Trainers. The stoic girl was intimidating when she wasn't teaching her about Pokemon or Survival.
Maybe it was her eyes, she believed it could calm a Mother Ursaring. Maybe Hakuno would even tell her where she is really from. She had money on Ransei, Pokey was adamant about her being from Galar. She didn't believe him, she didn't speak like them. If she is from the war-torn Region of Ransei, it would explain her confidence in commanding that Ledyba.
Teddy insisted she was from the Moon for some unknown reason, it was to hard for her to understand him still.
She glanced at her temporary partner, the other Spinarak, hers was a leaner and had a tiny amount of yellow around its mandibles hinting at its other parent. These Pokemon might currently be first badge level, but she had a gut feeling they wouldn't remain like that for long.
They all had different moves, ones most of their species did not learn. At least that was her guess, normal Ledyba didn't have Silver Wind or Reflect as early as Hakuno's did; it took months of dedicated training for those moves to be battle-ready.
And she hadn't even heard of a Spinarak knowing Night Slash. Why would Bugsy send them Pokemon with such power? Was there another part of the test?
"One-on-one battle between Yoko and Maizie, trainers are you ready?" She blinked and took a moment to collect herself before nodding, only sparing a moment to glance at her fellow trainer, this would be her first true step, her first true battle even if it was with a Pokemon not her own.
A boy in red and gold flashed in her vision.
Teddy wants to see his Mother, and as his friend, she wants to help him, even if it will take them to the peak of Mount Silver.
Author's Note: Did ya know that Chansey can learn Telekinesis? Just a heads up, the Manga won't be referenced too much, but a few things will be included from it and be given to their anime/video counterparts.
First Pokemon Battle! Hopefully didn't butcher it too badly!
And more specifically Hakuno's first Pokemon battle! And her first loss. Ever. She has retreated, but never outwardly lost a fight before.
She would be dead if she had.
I'll admit, I hope I'm showing how hard it is for Hakuno to continue after well everything. Lunar Thief Hakuno had a slightly easier time due to the whole, 14ish years of being alive before she fought again, for this Hakuno the wound is still incredibly raw and well. Being forced to fear death at any moment takes a lot on a young girl's psyche more so if her first friend died less than two weeks ago.
But, the world of Pokemon's first goal with kids is to give them a mouse to fight god.
Anyways, soon. She will have her own Pokemon! Two Chapters! Though it should be obvious next chapter~
Cya' laterz.