I’ve been thinking more about how this AU is gonna go story and rules-wise. I still want it to be a Nuzlocke in that you have to nickname your Pokemon and they can die, but I don’t want to play through Ultra Sun four times over so I’m doing away with the ‘you can only catch the first Pokemon you encounter’ thing. And also most of the plot of Sun and Moon. I haven’t even beaten the Elite Four on my playthrough of Ultra Sun that I started two years ago yet you think I can beat the game as a Nuzlocke four times in a row? No thank you.
Dan got a late start at being a Poke'mon trainer, but better late than never. Unfortunately, poor timing causes his journey to be a bit tougher than it should be. Poke'mon gyms are being renovated to double as contest halls. Coordinators and trainers are at war. Despite it all, Dan meets a coordinator that takes his breath away, and the two of them change everything. Phan. Pokemon.
Rating: T
Authors Note: This is not me claiming that phan is real. This is me being trash.
The smoke was thick in the air. Dan and Phil both held their breath, but not because of the suffocating dust. Who had won? Had Phil managed to knock out Brock’s last Pokémon, or had Brock proven to be a strong gym leader and ripped away Phil’s victory?
Eventually, the smoke cleared, revealing both Pokémon were still standing. Gardevoir and Kabutops were breathing heavily. Both were injured and doing their best to stay standing for their trainers. Then, Kabutops’ knees gave out, and the prehistoric Pokémon fell the ground. All three men gasped.
Brock sighed in defeat, “Kabutops, return.” Brock looked up and smiled, “Congratulations, Phil. You won.”
Phil stood with wide eyes. He turned to face Dan, his mouth still open in shock. “I won.”
Dan’s look of shock turned to sheer joy, “You won!”
Now Phil was smiling widely like Dan. “I won!” Phil couldn’t resist, and he embraced Dan. Dan hugged him back, grinning ear to ear.
“What?” shouted a voice. Dan and Phil looked to see the same man from before. He just wouldn’t go away. However, his friends weren’t with him this time. “You can’t give a badge to someone like him! He’s a contest fag!”
Brock’s look of neutrality changed immediately to a very angry and defensive expression. “He won fair and square. Not to mention he did better than you. You couldn’t beat me in a level two match. Not to mention you only have one badge. Phil beat me at a level four battle. So if I were you I’d leave while you still have the smallest amount of dignity, Lesley.”
Dan and Phil burst out laughing. Dan could have lost his balance. “Lesley? No wonder you’ve got so many issues!”
Lesley stormed out of the gym. Phil turned to Brock and tried to catch his breath. “Thank you, mate. I appreciate it.”
“Sheesh! He looked so wounded; it was great!” exclaimed Dan. “Are you even allowed to do that?”
Brock shrugged, “Probably not, but it’s my word against his.”
“Fuck yes.”
“So, are you ready for your battle, Dan?” asked Brock. Dan’s smile faded. He felt scared and nervous after watching Brock almost defeat Phil. “You can take some time to gather your thoughts. Until then,” Brock walked across the field and approached Phil. “It is my privilege to present you with the boulder badge.” Brock held out a silver badge in the shape of an octagon.
Phil took the badge from Brock. He stared at it in awe. “Thank you so much.”
“Also,” Brock handed him a case to hold badges. “I assume you’ll be needing this.”
“Oh, I doubt I’ll try my hand at gym battles again.”
Brock placed the case in Phil’s hands. “Don’t kid yourself. You’re talented.”
“He’s right,” said Dan speaking up. “You’re a strong, talented trainer, Phil.”
Phil blushed. “Well, thank you.”
“I’m ready to battle whenever you are. I’ll be at my side of the field,” said Brock. He walked away and took his spot on the field.
Dan took a deep, shaky breath. “I don’t know if I can do this.”
“You just made me do it!” exclaimed Phil.
“I mean win! How am I going to win?”
“He’ll use weaker Pokémon for one thing, and also,” Phil’s voice fell into a whisper. “Your Charmander has been learning metal claw, which is super effective against rock Pokémon.
“What?” asked Dan also lowering his voice.
Phil nodded his head, “Yeah. I saw it. When you had it use scratch on Nidoran, its claws lit up like a metal claw. I think you can win with that combined with double kick.”
“…Okay.” Dan raised his voice, “I’m ready.”
“Please join me over here so I can select my Pokémon,” said Brock. Dan and Phil stood by Brock next to the slots filled with poke’balls. “Have you ever competed in a League or Grand Festival?”
“No,” answered Dan.
“How many badges do you have?”
“None.”
“Have you ever battled against a gym leader before?”
“No.”
“Lastly, how many Pokémon do you have?”
“Two.”
“Thank you.” Brock opened up the slot labeled “one” and chose two Pokémon.
Dan and Brock took their positions on the field. Phil stood close to Dan, just like Dan had done for him. Brock spoke up. “This battle is between I, Brock, the gym leader, and Dan, the Pokémon trainer. We will each use two Pokémon. You may switch out as much as you like. The first person with no remaining Pokémon will lose. The challenger may not take any assistance from audience members, with the exception of poke’dex information. There will be no time limit. I will choose my Pokémon first. Let the battle begin.” Brock threw a poke’ball out onto the battle field. “Go! Geodude!”
A Pokémon shaped like a large rock with two arms took its stance on the battle grounds. Dan scanned it with his poke’dex.
“Geodude, the Rock Pokémon. Geodude has incredibly high defensive power, making it virtually resistant to any physical attacks.”
“Well that’s not good,” said Dan. He grabbed Nidoran’s poke’ball and held it tightly. “Here’s hoping for beginners luck. Go! Nidoran!” Dan threw his poke’ball, and his tiny, purple companion came out of the ball.
“Geodude use tackle!” shouted Brock.
“Double kick!” commanded Dan.
As Geodude attempted to slam its body into Nidoran, Nidoran kicked its hind legs up and proceeded to alternate between feet, harshly kicking Geodude over and over. Geodude fell to the ground and was unable to get up. “Geodude, return,” said Brock.
Dan felt confident, but then extremely nervous. That was almost too easy.
“Onix! Go!” Brock threw his poke’ball, and from it emerged a giant poke’mon. It was made of boulders that took the shape of a snake.
Both Dan and Phil took a step back in fear. Nidoran was petrified. Dan turned to Phil, “I’m fucked aren’t I?”
“It’s possible, mate,” replied Phil.
“Onix use bide!” ordered Brock. Onix began storing up energy.
Phil took another step backwards. “Just remember it may be big but it’s a low level!”
“Right,” agreed Dan. “Nidoran use double kick!” Nidoran charged Onix and used its double kick attack. Onix did nothing but take the hit. “Again!” Kick after kick, Onix just continued to sit still. Then, a burst of white energy blasted from Onix’s mouth and hit Nidoran dead on. Nidoran was sprawled out on the ground, knocked out. “Shit! Nidoran! Return, you did well.” Nidoran was sucked back into the poke’ball.
“I feel it’s only fair to tell you that bide is move that takes all the damage dealt, and deals it back twice as badly,” informed Brock.
Dan gasped quietly. How much damage had Nidoran taken from that hit? No wonder it was knocked out. “Oh my god.”
“You can still win this, Dan! Charmander is stronger than your Nidoran,” encouraged Phil.
Dan smiled at Phil, “Thank you.” He turned back to the field and held Charmander’s poke’ball in his hand. “Go! Charmander!” Charmander landed on the field and looked up at its opponent. It was instantly scared and looked back at Dan. “You can do it Charmander!”
“Onix use tackle!” commanded Brock.
“Dodge it!”
Onix attempted to slam into Charmander, but luckily Charmander was able to move away in time.
“Metal claw!” ordered Dan. Charmander went to use a metal claw attack, but it only succeeded at using scratch. “Oh, shit!”
“Onix use bind!”
Onix wrapped its body around Charmander and began to squeeze it. Charmander cried out in pain, wiggling its arms around, trying to pry itself out.
“Charmander!” yelled Dan in horror. What was he going to do? “Try using metal claw!” Charmander scratched at Onix over and over, only managing a scratch attack, which was doing almost nothing. “Come on!” Charmander was getting weaker. “You can do this, Charmander!” Charmander tried one more time, and this time, its claws lit up white. Onix let out a cry of pain.
“Onix!” yelled Brock.
“Alright! Metal claw again!” Charmander attacked with its metal claw, and Onix dropped the lizard Pokémon.
“Onix tackle!”
“Dodge it!” Charmander dodged the tackle attack with ease. A new found confidence was making Charmander battle even better. “Metal claw!” Charmander used its attack, and hit Onix on a weak point. Onix crashed into the ground, making the arena shake a bit.
Silence fell over the room. The dust cleared, and Onix was passed out on the ground. Brock returned Onix to its poke’ball. “Well done, Onix. Congratulations, Dan.”
“I won…” said Dan astonished. “I won!” This time it was Dan that couldn’t help himself, and he hugged Phil tightly.
Phil embraced Dan and felt like his heart could burst. “You won! We both won!”
“I can’t believe it!” Dan tightened his grip on Phil. He wasn’t sure why, but there was something about Phil’s embrace that made the victory more special. After a moment, Dan and Phil parted and turned to face Brock.
Brock held out a badge that was identical to the one Phil possessed, and he placed it in Dan’s hands. “Well done, Dan. You may be new at training Pokémon, but you’re doing well. I have faith that you’ll grow to be a very talented trainer.” He handed Dan a case for his badges.
“Thank you so much,” replied Dan as he placed his badge in the case. He held his case open, and Phil held his own. Side by side were their badges, their first accomplishments as Pokémon trainers. “I can’t believe this.” Dan looked up and smiled endearingly at Phil. “Thank you, Phil. I couldn’t have done this without your help and encouragement.”
“Oh it was no problem,” replied Phil with slight blush dusting his cheeks. “If anything I owe you my thanks. I’m a coordinator, but I have a badge now. Maybe that’ll mean something eventually.”
“It’s people like you two that might be able to stop all this fighting,” observed Brock. “In fact, Dan, you might want to compete in a contest.”
Dan laughed for a moment, and then realized Brock wasn’t laughing too. “Wait, you’re serious?”
“Deadly. Phil battled here; I think it’s only fair. Who knows, you might discover you like it.”
Dan bit his lip and pondered the idea. He barely beat Brock. How would he compete against skilled coordinators? He’d make a fool of himself. “I guess it’s only fair,” he said, still very unsure of himself.
“I wish you both the best of luck for every challenge you face.”
“Thank you,” said Phil.
“Yes, thank you,” repeated Dan.
Brock put his hands in his pockets and began to walk back to his seat across the arena. “I’ll be watching the contest on TV. I better see you there Dan!” he shouted to make sure he was heard.
Dan sighed, “You will!”
***
Dan and Phil were back at the Pokémon center. They were sat on a sofa in the lobby waiting for their Pokémon to be healed. Phil began to explain how contests worked in more detail.
“The preliminary round is all about beauty. You want to use a routine, like the one I performed, to show off how beautiful your Pokémon is. If you score high enough, you’ll make it to round two, and that’s where things get tricky.” Phil held up a magazine called “Coordinator Weekly” and showed Dan a page that had a picture of a contest battle taking place. Two Pokémon were battling, but their style showcased beauty alongside strength.
“Contest battles are based on points. You both start with a full bar that you see here,” Phil pointed to a yellow bar beneath a coordinators picture and name on a screen. “When you land an attack, or dodge while showcasing beauty, basically when you do anything to one-up your opponent, they lose points, and vice versa. There’s a five minute time limit. If you lose all your points, or your Pokémon is unable to battle, you lose. If the time runs out, whoever the most points wins.”
Dan took the magazine from Phil’s hands and laid down the sofa, his feet hanging off the edge so that they wouldn’t be on Phil’s lap. He flipped through the magazine, studying everything that was happening in the pictures, and reading the articles that focused on tips and tricks for being a skilled coordinator. “What are these things?” he asked pointing to colorful blocks surrounded by various berries.
“Oh! Those are poke’block,” said Phil with slight excitement in his voice. Dan looked at him with a very confused expression. “Sorry, I love making poke’block. It’s really fun. Basically you collect berries, and you make these square shaped treats for Pokémon. I feed my Vivillon lots of blue poke’block, which is why her wings are super shiny.”
“Oh, that makes sense. Will I need to do this to enter the contest?” asked Dan feeling more intrigued.
“I would recommend it. I can show you how to make poke’block, and help you make some good ones to give to whichever Pokémon you decide to compete with.”
Dan leaned his head back onto the sofa, and he held the magazine in the air so he could continue scanning through information. “Which Pokémon should I compete with? Neither of them are exactly ‘beautiful.’”
“They don’t have to be to win. It’s all about showcasing them. Remember how I used the seal on my poke’ball to make the glittery flowers appear?” Dean simply looked at Phil as if to say yes. “You can do that. Work with the seal and show off. I’d suggest competing with Charmander. Since there is battling in the second round, you’d be better off using him since he’s stronger.”
“That’s a good idea,” Dan agreed. “I’ll go with that. Where do I get seals and stuff? And don’t you have some weird blue casing around your poke’ball?”
Phil took a poke’ball and blue casing out of his bag. He snapped the plastic around the poke’ball and showed it to Dan. “It’s called a ball capsule. They’re free here at Pokémon centers. I can go grab you one if you’d like.”
“I’d appreciate that. I’ve assumed my browsing position and I can’t be bothered to get up right now,” said Dan as he snuggled down into the couch even more. Phil laughed as he got up and walked over to the front desk.
Dan continued flipping through coordinator weekly. He eventually found a section that featured up and rising coordinators. The coordinators posed for pictures, and had a small article about their success. It never occurred to Dan that coordinators were famous, but why only some of them? Some of the coordinators featured hadn’t even won a Grand Festival yet.
“Phil?” started Dan when he noticed Phil making his way back over. Phil’s eyebrows rose expectantly. “How come these people are featured in Coordinator Weekly? I mean some of them haven’t even won a Grand Festival. Hell, for trainers, to be even recognized as a breathing human you have to win a league.”
Phil sat down and handed Dan a ball capsule. “One ball capsule as promised. To answer your question, contests are all about beauty. Notice that every person featured is usually pretty hot.”
“So it’s just about pretty faces?” asked Dan feeling a bit more skeptical. He took a closer look at all the featured coordinators and realized that they all were indeed very attractive.
“No, I mean they’re all talented, but what you have to remember is that contests are televised. Gym battles are a more private event. That’s why trainers aren’t really seen by the media until they compete in Pokemon League Championships. You can enter one contest, and if the media thinks you’re worth it, they’ll put a lot into getting your name out there.”
Dan set the magazine down and tried to understand the purpose. “But why would they do that? Coordinators that are famous don’t get anything but their personal lives invaded.”
“Not true. Some end up on talk shows, some endorse contest products and get money for it, and some even go on to star in movies.” Phil sighed. “Personally I’d love to be recognized as a coordinator, but I’m just too shy. I was asked to do a quick interview and I practically ran the other way.”
At that point, Dan sat up and looked at Phil, his expression calm but serious. “You shouldn’t be shy. You have so much talent and more people should see that.”
Phil chuckled, “I think you’re being a bit too kind.”
“No, I’m serious. If you can get the media’s attention, then you could say you’ve won a badge. Maybe then trainers will see that coordinators are just as strong and stop being such dicks to you guys.”
“I never thought of that…” Phil trailed off as he thought deeper about the scenario.
Dan held up Coordinator Weekly, “Because from what I’m seeing, a lot of famous coordinators are bashing trainers, and that’s not going to help.”
“I really wish they wouldn’t do that. I wish everyone could just get along. Why is the fact that gyms are being renovated such a big deal? Yes, it’s been setting things back a bit, and the gym leaders have had some days they can’t battle, but that’s not our personal fault.”
“A lot of trainers are entitled pricks; I can agree with that. So maybe we can work to fix it. I think we should at least try.”
“I think we should,” said Phil with a small smile. Dan smiled back, having no idea how entranced he looked. Luckily for him, Phil didn’t notice. The two just stayed that way for a moment, but Phil felt himself getting a little self-conscious and embarrassed, so he cleared his throat and turned his attention to the magazine. “So, uh, tomorrow I’ll help you make some poke’block.”
Dan cleared his throat as well, and immediately mentally slapped himself. Smooth. Moron. “Right, thanks. Um, where are we going to get berries though?”
“Every city that hosts contests has a community garden where they’re grown. There’s a limit of course, but it’s really nice. All you have to do is a little work to help out and everything will be free.”
Dan looked surprised, “Wow. That’s actually a pretty cool system.”
“Yeah! So, shall we go tomorrow?”
“I’d like that. Meet me here in the lobby saaaay…noon?”
“That gives me plenty of time to sleep in,” observed Phil. “I’ll see you then.”
***
The sun was in the center of the sky, and Dan was sitting on the same sofa that he and Phil had been on the previous night. He was leaning back against the cushions as he read more issues of Coordinator Weekly. Every time he heard footsteps coming from the corridor leading to the rooms, he would look up to see if it was Phil. It wasn’t long before he was kicking himself for that habit. You are getting way too excited over this. He’s just a cool guy. Calm the fuck down. Despite this, when he heard steps again he looked up, and this time, a wide grin appeared on his face when he saw the familiar obsidian haired man walking his way.
“Hey,” greeted Phi as he made his way over.
Dan stood up and set the magazine on the nearby table, “Hey.”
“Ready to go?”
“Yeah.”
Dan followed Phil out of the poke’mon center. They walked side by side with Phil leading the way to the garden. Dan walked with his hands in his pockets, trying to keep his eyes on the side walk in front of him instead of Phil. If he constantly stared at Phil, it would be pretty obvious. He tried focusing on how beautiful of a day it was. The sun was making the earth warm, and the light breeze was cooling the air to the perfect temperature. Dan glanced to his left and noticed how Phil’s eyes seem to shimmer. Fucking stop.
After walking for a while, Dan and Phil arrived at the community garden. Dan had to admit, it was impressive. A large field was covered with fruitful bushes and trees. There was a large chalk board set up outside a small shed. The board had writing on it that said, “Oran berries need to be planted. Limit: 10 berries each.”
“Okay, so all we have to do is plant a few berries to grow, and then we pick whatever we want,” said Phil picking up the berries that were in a bucket next to the sign.
Dan and Phil spent the afternoon in the garden. There were a few coordinators around, and everyone was very kind. Dan made small talk with a few people that were going to be competing in the contest. When they found out he was a trainer interested in contests, they became ecstatic and began giving him pointers. Phil became quick friends with another coordinator that also had a Vivillon. They let their butterfly-like Pokémon out, and the two Pokémon enjoyed each other’s company.
Phil held the ladder for Dan so he could climb up and pick ripe berries from the trees, and Dan did the same in return. Dan needed to climb higher than the ladder would allow, so he carefully maneuvered through the tree, and was thankful for his conversation with another coordinator, as it was keeping him distracted from the height.
Dan stood with another person as they watered the plants, and they discussed the preliminary rounds of contests. He listened carefully when given advice. Deep into the conversation, he was so focused on processing all the information that he didn’t notice Phil sneaking up behind him with a hose. It was too late before he noticed, and Phil sprayed him in the face. Dan wiped his face and held up his own hose. “You twat!” he said with laughter.
It wasn’t long before everyone in the garden was having a water war. Everyone was soaking wet after just a few minutes. They all decided to take a break and lay in the grass to dry off. Conversations buzzed around like Beedrill. Dan found himself wondering why trainers could be so rude to these people. They were all so kind. It was in that moment that he decided that he would find a way to make sure that the fighting would stop, or at least lessen. He turned his head and looked at Phil, whom was chatting away with the coordinator that had a Vivillon. The corners of mouth rose, and he felt a little more lighthearted.
Authors Note: Hey guys! I apologize for this chapter being a bit slow, but the information about contests and stuff was necessary because I know a lot of people don’t know much about contests if they didn’t watch the anime and only played the games. I hope you at least liked some of it *sweats* Be sure to let me know! Thanks!
Phil brought Dan out to a gorgeous open field on the outskirts of Pewter City. It was the beginning of Route 3. Dan stood off the side, leaving plenty of room for Phil to put on his performance. Phil stood a few yards away from Dan. He reached for his poke’ball and held it in his hand. Dan noticed his poke’ball seemed to be inside some sort of blue, plastic seal. Phil threw the poke’ball in the air, “Vivillon! The stage is yours!”
Dan’s heart started racing. Vivillon?
As Vivillon emerged from the poke’ball, flowers that seemed to be made of glitter exploded in the sky alongside the beautiful butterfly Pokémon.
“Use stun spore!” commanded Phil. Vivillon flapped its wings and scattered shining, orange powder across the field. “Now use bug buzz!” Vivillon’s wings fluttered a little faster, and this time red waves of energy came forth. The red waves collided with the powder in the air causing everything to shimmer with red and orange hues. “Now finish it! Gust!”
Dan thought his heart stopped. Gust. That voice. It was him. Dan felt so mesmerized. To think that man had been the one to save his life. He almost forgot to pay attention to the routine. Quickly, he looked up and saw the Vivillon using the same attack it had used to rescue him. Vivillon moved its wings at an incredibly fast speed. A powerful whirlwind was created, carrying the sparkling dust around the area in various, beautiful patterns. Eventually, the gust attack broke apart, and the routine was over.
“Wow,” was the only word Dan could find.
Phil jogged over to Dan with a smile on his face. “What did you think?” he asked as Vivillon decided to take a rest on his head. He reached up and gently stroked the Pokémon’s wings.
“That performance was amazing,” said Dan, trying to focus. “I didn’t realize how strong and in control your Pokémon have to be to pull that off.”
Phil’s cheeks warmed a little, “You mean that?” Dan nodded his head yes and smiled. His eyes softened. That man, that amazing, beautiful man had been the one that saved him. “You alright, Dan? You seem almost distracted.”
“Oh, yeah I’m fine,” replied Dan. He wanted to thank Phil, but how would he put it? Hey thanks for saving me from those Beedrill. And I know it was you because of your voice and I stalked the Pokémon search engine to match the name Vivillon. He didn’t want to come across as strange, so he decided to just be grateful and leave it at that. If only there was a way to give Phil his thanks without Phil knowing. Then, Dan got a brilliant idea. “Phil, I have an idea.”
“What?” asked Phil intrigued.
“You should challenge Brock!”
Phil looked at Dan like he was crazy, “Are you mad? I could never defeat Brock. I’m a coordinator.”
“Exactly!” insisted Dan. “You have plenty of experience. Your Pokémon are strong, and you battle in contests. If you beat him, all those asshole trainers will see you’re just as good as them!”
Phil kicked some dirt and bit his bottom lip. “I don’t know…”
“Come on; I know you can win.”
Phil sighed. “I tell you what. I’m going to work on my routines, and if you can catch a good Pokémon to fight with by the end of the day, then I’ll do it.”
Dan stuck out his hand for Phil to shake it. “You’ve got a deal.” Phil shook Dan’s hand and gave him an ensuring smile. Dean tried to smile back without seeming awkward. He had felt a spark when their hands touched.
Phil took his hand back and went off to work on his contest appeal round strategies. He watched Dan take off to look for Pokémon. His eyebrows knit. He felt kind of bad. There was nothing but Pidgey and Rattata for miles.
***
“There’s nothing but bloody Pidgey and Rattata for miles!” shouted Dan in frustration as he made his way back to Phil. The sun was beginning to set, meaning the day was almost up. Dan kicked a rock as hard as he could before he turned to look at Phil. “How’s the routine coming along?”
“It’s coming along alright. I think I’ll be ready for the contest next week,” replied Phil trying to keep his voice neutral. Guilt was setting in, but he was just so afraid to try a gym battle.
Without warning, there was a rustle in the nearby bushes. Dan turned his head; rustling now caused him to slightly panic. “What’s that?”
“I don’t know,” said Phil. Vivillon rested on Phil’s head and watched the shrubs. Then, a little Pokémon appeared. It was like a small, purple dinosaur.
Dan pulled out his poke’dex, “What the hell?”
The poke’dex gave Dan information on the creature in front of him. “Nidoran, male. It scans its surroundings by raising its ears out of the grass. Its toxic horn is for protection.” The moves that the Nidoran knew appeared on the poke’dex screen.
“Oh my god!” exclaimed Dan as he looked at the moves the Nidoran knew how to use.
“What?” asked Phil starting to panic. Oh no. Oh no please miss this!
Dan pulled out Charmander’s poke’ball as quickly as he could. “That Nidoran knows double kick! That’s a fighting type move. If I can catch it, it’ll be perfect for battling Brock! Go! Charmander!” Charmander came swiftly out of its poke’ball ready to battle. “Ember!”
Charmander spat fire at the Nidoran. The Nidoran hadn’t been paying much attention to its surroundings, so it was taken by surprise. It was injured from the fire, but not so much that it couldn’t fight back. It charged at Charmander, horn first. Dan remembered what the poke’dex had said and yelled out at Charmander, “Watch out for its horn!”
Charmander barely dodged the Nidoran’s poison sting attack. Nidoran was right by Charmander, in close range for an attack.
“Tackle!” shouted Dan. Charmander obeyed, and rammed its body hard into Nidoran. Nidoran tumbled on the ground, but was back on its feet in no time. It charged at Charmander and used double kick. Alternating between feet, it harshly kicked Charmander in the stomach over and over. Charmander fell back, but was able to shake it off. “Stay focused. Use scratch!”
Charmander ran up to the Nidoran and scratched its body with sharp claws. Phil was watching closely, and noticed that Charmander’s claws had illuminated bright white for a moment. That was metal claw!
Nidoran was now struggling to stand. It was breathing heavily and glaring at Dan and Charmander. Dan grabbed an empty poke’ball from his belt. “Do you think its weak enough?” he asked Phil not taking his eyes off the Nidoran.
Phil wanted to lie, he wanted to lie so bad, but he couldn’t do that to Dan. Dan was so close to catching a new Pokémon, and he couldn’t take that away. “Yeah, go for it!”
“Go! Poke’ball!” Dan threw the poke’ball at Nidoran. The poke’ball sucked Nidoran inside and fell to the ground. The ball shook whilst the white button in the center was lit up red. It shook, shook, and shook some more. Then, the center button turned white again, and the ball lay still. “Holy shit. I got it. I actually caught it!”
Phil felt horrified. He had to challenge Brock now. However, at the same time, he felt happy for Dan. Dan seemed so excited; how could he not smile? “Congrats, Dan!”
“Thanks, mate!” Dan held the poke’ball close. “I can’t believe I caught it.”
Phil patted Dan on the shoulder. “I knew you could do it. But you should get it to the Pokémon center. You beat it up pretty bad.”
“You’re probably right.”
“We can walk together. After all…I need to register for the League so I can try to earn a badge.” Dan grinned from ear to ear hearing Phil say that, and this time, it was him that grabbed the other man’s wrist and dragged him along with great excitement.
Once they arrived at the Pokémon center, Dan and Phil both handed over their Pokémon to be cared for.
“Nurse Joy, may I sign up for the League?” asked Phil.
“Oh! Me too,” said Dan.
Nurse Joy smiled at them both, “Of course. I just need to see your poke’dexes.”
“Oh… I don’t have one…” mumbled Phil uncomfortably.
“That’s alright,” ensured Nurse Joy. “If you have any type of Pokémon competition identification, you’ll be just fine.”
Phil pulled out a small card with his picture and Pokémon on it. “I have my contest pass from Kalos.”
“Perfect,” chirped Nurse Joy taking the card from Phil. “While you’re here, would you like me to issue you a new contest pass for the Kanto region?”
“That would be great. I have the same three Pokémon on the top of the card.”
Nurse Joy started typing away on her computer. She inserted Phil’s old contest pass into a machine and pressed various buttons. A moment later, a brand new contest pass popped out. Nurse Joy handed Phil his card, and then turned to Dan. “And you’re signing up for League as well?”
“Yes, ma’am,” said Dan as he handed her his poke’dex.
Nurse Joy placed his poke’dex in a slot to be scanned. Once the scan was complete, Dan’s information appeared on her monitor. Nurse Joy completed the process and handed Dan his poke’dex back. “You’re now both registered for the Pokémon League. Earn eight badges and you’ll be eligible to compete.” She turned her attention to Phil. “And all you need to do is earn five contest ribbons and you can compete in this year’s Grand Festival.”
“Thank you very much,” said Dan.
“Yes, thank you,” said Phil.
“I wish both of you the best of luck, and I’ll contact you over the intercom as soon as your Pokémon are healthy again,” said Nurse Joy.
Dan and Phil gave Nurse Joy their thanks, and then walked away from the counter. Dan bit his lip unconsciously. “Are you ready for your battle?”
“Sort of. I’m really nervous. Is there any chance we can go challenge Brock together tomorrow?”
“Yeah, of course. That would be pretty fun actually.”
“So the faggot is going to try gym battles?” said a voice. Dan and Phil turned around to see the same group that had been harassing Phil before. Their leader looked at Phil like he was trash. “Pathetic. You can’t beat a gym leader.”
Dan maneuvered and stood slightly in front of Phil. “Either leave him alone, or I’m sending you to the hospital.”
“Dan, don’t,” said Phil. “They’re not worth it.”
The leader of the group laughed. “Luckily other challengers can observe the gym leader battling competitors. So we can sit in the stands and watch him kick your ass.”
“Show up to make fun of him and I’ll kick your arse!” shouted Dan getting extremely ticked off.
Nurse Joy stepped away from her desk and stood in between everyone. “That’s enough! I won’t have any fighting in my Pokémon center! Coordinators are just as capable as trainers! Now if you want to rest here I suggest you leave these two boys alone and mind your own business.”
The group grumbled and walked away. Nurse Joy simply beamed at Dan and Phil and returned to her post. Dan sighed, “I’m going to stab those guys.”
“Don’t bother. I just have more motivation to win now.”
“I’ll be right there with you, mate. You can do this.”
“I hope you’re right.”
***
Dan and Phil stood in front of the Pewter City Gym. Both men were nervous wrecks, and neither of them wanted to show it. Dan placed his hand on Phil’s shoulder. “Are you ready for this?”
Phil took a deep breath, “I think so. I’ll go first. That way, you can see his Pokémon and battle strategy. What really matters is you receiving your badge, not me.”
“But it’s important you win too,” insisted Dan.
“Dan, let me do this for you.”
But you’ve already done so much. “Alright,” Dan gave in.
Dan and Phil walked into the gym. Inside was a lobby with two doors, one to the left, and one to the right. Dan walked up to the counter with Phil. “We’re here to challenge Brock.”
The lady at the front desk gestured to her left, “Right through there.”
“Thank you,” said Dan and Phil. Both felt a little awkward, but walked together regardless.
Once they walked down the hall and entered the gym, they were met with a large arena. The terrain for battling was uneven and had small rocks and large boulders scattered across the field. Sitting in a chair at the end of the arena was Brock. He was wearing a tuxedo with a red bowtie. He stepped down from his chair and made his way to Dan and Phil. “Welcome to Pewter Gym. My name is Brock; I’m the gym leader here. Which one of you is challenging me today?”
“We both are,” said Dan. “And I have to ask, why a tux? Shouldn’t you be in like mountain gear or something? I heard gym leaders dressed along their theme.”
“That’s usually the case, however with the rivalry between trainers and coordinators, some gym leaders are trying to show support to coordinators. Coordinators dress formal for contests, so me and three other gym leaders across Kanto have been dressing formal for our battles,” explained Brock.
“That’s pretty cool,” said Phil. “It means a lot to coordinators like myself.”
Brock looked intrigued, “You’re a coordinator? May I ask why you’re asking me for a battle?”
Phil shifted his stance awkwardly. “Well, Dan convinced me that I’m strong enough to win a battle against a gym leader.”
“I guess we’ll see. Would you like to go first?” asked Brock. Phil nodded his head. “Alright. Follow me.” Brock led Dan and Phil over to the left side of the arena. Lined along a part of the wall were eight slots. They were labeled in numerical order. “What’s your name?”
“I’m Phil, and this is Dan,” Phil introduced himself and Dan.
Brock turned to face them and crossed his arms. “I have some questions for you, Phil, since I’m facing you first.” Phil waited for his questions. “First, have you ever competed in a Grand Festival?”
“Once. I competed in last year’s Kalos Grand Festival.”
“What was your place?”
“I made the top 8.”
“Have you ever competed in a gym battle before?”
“No, I haven’t.”
Brock turned to his array of slots. He pressed a button above the slots and all the panels fell open. Trays with poke’balls slid out. Each tray had six poke’balls. Brock was looking at his choices from slot four. “Lastly, how many Pokémon do you have?”
“I have three. And, may I ask you, why do you have so many Pokémon?”
Brock selected three poke’balls from slot four. He turned to talk to Phil directly. “Let’s say a trainer comes in and wants to battle, but he already has seven badges. I would need a powerful team to make it challenge, but I can’t use Pokémon that strong on someone who has no badges. All of these Pokémon have been specially trained at different strengths and levels. I have labeled one to eight in order to determine which to use based on how many badges someone has already earned. This is the first time I’ve had to make that decision based on contest skills. I should probably make a system in case more coordinators decide to try their hand at gym battles.” Brock walked away and took his place on his side of the battle field.
Phil made his way to his side of the battle field, and stood in the box that was painted on the ground. Dan stood as close as he could, right outside the box.
Brock spoke up, “This battle is between I, Brock, the gym leader, and Phil the Pokémon coordinator slash trainer. We will each use three Pokémon. You may switch out as much as you like. The first person with no remaining Pokémon will lose. The challenger may not take any assistance from audience members, with the exception of poke’dex information. There will be no time limit. I will choose my Pokémon first. Let the battle begin.” Brock selected a poke’ball from his belt and threw towards the center of the field. “Go! Graveler!”
A rock Pokémon with four arms appeared on the battle field. Phil swallowed hard and his breath rattled in his chest. He turned to Dan, “Dan, can you—?”
“On it,” stated Dan as pulled out his poke’dex.
“Graveler, the rock Pokémon. Graveler grows by feeding on rocks. Apparently, it prefers to eat rocks that are covered in moss. This Pokémon eats it way through a ton of rocks on a daily basis.”
“Well that doesn’t tell me much,” said Phil starting to panic.
Dan looked for any helpful information the poke’dex could provide, “All it says is that it’s a rock and ground type. It doesn’t show any moves.”
“Yearly, gym leaders submit their information to the Pokémon League. So when the poke’dexes are updated, you don’t have an unfair advantage,” informed Brock.
“So all I know is it’s rock and ground,” stated Phil. He chose a poke’ball from his belt. “Hopefully I can do this. Go! Sylveon!” From Phil’s poke’ball emerged a beautiful Pokémon. Similar to a large cat, it stood on all four soft paws. It had flowing ribbons attached to its ears. Dan scanned Sylveon with his poke’dex.
“Sylveon, the fairy Pokémon. It sends a soothing aura from its ribbon-like feelers to calm fights.”
“Alright, Graveler use rock polish!” commanded Brock. Graveler curled up into a ball and appeared to be coated in a silver sheen. The effect vanished. “Now rockslide!” Graveler traveled across the field with incredible speed. Several boulders from the field were brought up into the air, and then came crashing down onto Sylveon.
“Sylveon, no! How?” shouted Phil in shock.
Dan was in just as much as shock as Phil, but then it made sense, “It was the rock polish!”
Phil was trying not to chew his nails, and it was only just the beginning of the battle. “Sylveon get up! Use draining kiss!” Sylveon got to its feet. It ran towards the Graveler and wrapped the ribbons by its ears around its opponent to hold them in place. Sylveon then kissed Graveler on the cheek. Graveler wiggled around in protest as it was having its energy drained. Sylveon jumped backwards away from Graveler, its energy restored. “Now use moonblast!”
“Sandstorm!” shouted Brock. Before Sylveon could attack, Graveler began to rapidly spin on the ground, and tossed up a massive sandstorm. Dan, Phil, and Sylveon couldn’t see anything. “Earthquake!” Graveler jumped in the air, and then came crashing down, smashing its body into the ground. The whole arena shook, tossing Sylveon all over the place. Dan and Phil struggled to keep their balance. Eventually the earthquake ended, but Sylveon was starting to get weak. The air was still thick with sand.
Phil was coughing on sand, but he managed to yell out to his Sylveon, “Use dazzling gleam!” Sylveon generated bright lights around its body, and fired them in all directions. Luckily, it landed a direct hit against Graveler, despite the storm. Graveler was clearly getting weak. Phil held out his poke’ball. “Sylveon, return!” Sylveon was brought back inside the poke’ball. Phil threw a different ball out onto the field. “Vivillon! Go!” Vivillon came out onto the field, and was instantly shaken from the sandstorm.
“Rock polish!” shouted Brock. Graveler used its rock polish attack, and gained even more speed.
“Gust!” shouted Phil. Vivillon used its powerful wings to blow away all the dust. “Psybeam!” Vivillon gather energy close to its body. It launched a powerful attack at Graveler.
“Dodge that!” commanded Brock. Graveler attempted to move out of the way, but the blast range was too wide. A beam of bright colors collided into Graveler. Graveler tumbled, and lay on the ground. “Graveler, return.” Brock held out Graveler’s poke’ball, and the rock Pokémon vanished from the field.
Phil was in utter shock. “I did it?”
“Don’t get too excited,” said Brock. “You still have two Pokémon to defeat.” Brock threw a poke’ball out onto the field. “Go! Rampardos!” From the poke’ball appeared a large grey and blue dinosaur-like Pokémon.
Dan held out his poke’dex, “Rampardos, the Head Butt Pokémon and the evolved form of Cranidos. Its headbutt attack is so powerful that it can pulverize even the sturdiest of objects with one hit.”
“This one is a pure rock type,” observed Dan. “Be careful.”
“Right,” said Phil.
Brock smirked just enough to cause fear to surge in Phil’s body. “Rampardos use stone edge!” Rampardos attacked Vivillon with a powerful attack that caused rocks to come crashing down into Vivillon. When the dust cleared, it was obvious that Vivillon wouldn’t be getting back up.
“Vivillon!” yelled Phil mortified. Vivillon had been taken out with one hit. What was he going to do? “You did well; take a rest.” Vivillon was sucked into its poke’ball. Phil threw Sylveon’s poke’ball, returning his already tired Pokémon to the field. “Sylveon use moonblast!” Luckily for Phil, Sylveon was much faster than Rampardos, and it landed a direct hit.
“Rock polish!” shouted Brock.
“Shadow ball!” Phil was counting on Sylveon’s speed, and fortunately, Sylveon was able to launch a purple ball of energy at Rampardos. Rampardos was hit before it was able to use rock polish.
“Avalanche, Rampardos!” ordered Brock. Rampardos used its power to make the air chilly. Suddenly rocks were brought into the air and became frozen solid. They flew at Sylveon and collided into the smaller Pokémon’s body. Sylveon struggled to stay on its feet.
“Sylveon use dazzling gleam!”
“Earthquake!” Rampardos obeyed Brock and caused the arena to shake once again. Sylveon was unable to get up after that harsh attack.
“Return, Sylveon, thank you.” Phil took a deep breath. In his hand he held his last Pokémon, his last hope. “Go! Gardevoir!” Phil threw his poke’ball and out came a beautiful, elegant white and green Pokémon.
Dan was intrigued and scanned Gardevoir with his poke’dex, “Gardevoir, the embrace Pokémon. It has the power to predict the future. Its power peaks when it is protecting its trainer.”
“Moonblast!” commanded Phil. Gardevoir attacked Rampardos an explosive blast of energy. It was the same attack that Sylveon had used, but clearly Gardevoir was stronger. Rampardos fell in defeat after being hit with that attack.
Brock’s smirk had long faded. Gardevoir was not going to be an easy match. Brock held out his poke’ball, “Rampardos, return.” Rampardos disappeared from the field. “Go! Kabutops!”
Dan and Phil were both stunned. “He has a Kabutops?” they asked in union, completely flabbergasted. A large, prehistoric Pokémon stood on the battle field. It had sharp claws for hands, and it was known for being fast.
“I’ll get what information I can…” said Dan nervously as he scanned the Pokémon with his poke’dex.
“Kabutops, the shellfish Pokémon. Kabutops swam underwater to hunt for its prey in ancient times. The Pokémon was apparently evolving from being a water-dweller to living on land as evident from the beginnings of change in its gills and legs.”
“It’s a water and rock type,” said Dan. “You can do this, Phil! I know you can!”
“Thanks, Dan,” said Phil. He took a deep breath. This was it.
“Kabutops use aqua jet!” shouted Brock. Kabutops surrounded itself in water and attacked Gardevoir with speed that was almost unable to be seen. Gardevoir stayed on its feet, but it was already hurt badly.
“Use psychic!” ordered Phil.
“Rock slide!” Before Gardevoir could react, Kabutops had sent boulders high into the air, and made them smash into Gardevoir. Now Gardevoir was weak. It struggled to stand.
“I won’t lose this battle! Gardevoir! Mega evolve!” shouted Phil as he pressed a multi-colored button that was placed dead center of a band that clung to his wrist.
Dan’s jaw dropped. He can mega evolve? He wondered with wide eyes. He didn’t know much about mega evolutions, but he knew that only talented trainers could pull it off.
Gardevoir was wrapped in a veil of silver and white. The light shimmered brighter and brighter until it vanished, revealing Gardevoir had mega evolved, making it stronger and faster.
“Now! Magical leaf!” commanded Phil with determination.
“Aqua jet!” shouted Brock.
The two Pokémon launched their attacks. Gardevoir attacked with silver leafs, and Kabutops charged at Gardevoir surrounded in water. The Pokémon collided and caused a massive explosion. Dan, Phil, and Brock all stood still with faded breath as they waited for the smoke to clear.
The sun was beginning to make its way towards the horizon. Dan and Charmander had been walking for several hours, and both of them were starting to get tired. Dan glanced at his poke’tch, which was imported from the Sinnoh region, and saw it was just after 7:00 p.m. As long as he kept up his pace, he was certain he’d make it to Viridian before the sun vanished. “Just a little further, Charmander.”
“Char!” Charmander acknowledged what Dan had said and continued moving forward alongside its trainer.
Dan and Charmander continued walking. There was a sudden rustle in the bushes, and Dan stopped walking abruptly. “Charmander did you hear that?”
“Char…” Charmander waddled backwards and hid behind Dan’s legs. The rustling in the bushes continued, when out of nowhere a hoard of Weedle appeared. There were at least 5 Weedle surrounding Dan and Charmander.
Normally Dan wouldn’t have been frightened by a small bug Pokémon, but he was out numbered, and he had heard that Weedle were poisonous. There’s too many. “Charmander return!” Dan pulled out Charmander’s poke’ball and commanded that Charmander retreat. Charmander was about to protest, but it was too late, it had been sucked inside the ball. Dan put Charmander’s poke’ball safely on his belt and watched the Weedle carefully. He waited a moment, and then he ran.
Dan felt a pang of panic as he ran. The Weedle were surprisingly fast, and were able to shoot pin-missile attacks at him. He ducked, just barely avoiding the poison needles. He had outrun the Weedle, but they weren’t alone. Next thing he knew, he was running from Beedrill. He had heard about Beedrill swarms on Route 1 and Viridian forest, but he didn’t expect to be attacked when he was just minding his own business.
The Beedrill dove at Dan over and over trying to sting him. Dan was starting to run out of breath, and he couldn’t run as fast. Eventually, his pace almost came to a halt, and he stumbled to the ground avoiding another sting. Sat on the ground he looked up at a dozen Beedrill staring him down. He knew he couldn’t run, so he simply ducked his head and shielded his face with his arm. The buzzing of the Beedrill got louder and louder. Dammit this is gonna hurt!
“Vivillon, use gust!” a voice shouted from the distance. Dan looked up in panic and saw all the Beedrill being blown far away from him. He scrambled to his feet and looked around frantically for whoever saved him.
“Hello? Who was that?” he shouted. There was no response. He didn’t even see the Pokémon that had used the gust attack. “Whoever you are, thanks.” Dan gave the area one last look before quickly fleeing the scene.
Thanks to all the running, Dan was able to make it to Viridian City just at nightfall. He was out of breath and exhausted. He trudged to the Pokémon center, and was relieved to see a nurse at the front desk. He walked up to the front desk and brought out Charmander’s poke’ball. “Excuse me, Ms.”
The nurse looked up from her computer and met eyes with Dan. “Oh! Hello. And no need for Ms. My name is Nurse Joy. How can I help you?”
“Hello, Nurse Joy, um, can my Charmander take a rest here?” asked Dan holding out Charmander’s poke’ball.
“Of course!” beamed Nurse Joy taking the poke’ball. “Would you like to stay here overnight as well?”
“Yes, please.”
Nurse Joy fumbled with a drawer to her left. She then pulled out a room key and handed it to Dan. “Room 12 is open. Single bed, right?” Dan nodded his head yes. “Okay, perfect. Can I have your name so I can page you when Charmander is healthy?”
“I’m Dan.”
Nurse Joy smiled so brightly it was almost unnerving to Dan. “Nice to meet you, Dan. I’ll call you over the intercom when you can pick up your Pokémon.”
Dan nodded his head and started to back away from the front desk. “Thank you,” he said as he turned away and started towards the rooms.
He made it to room 12 and used the key to unlock it. Inside was actually pretty nice. There was a single bed, a small dresser, and a desk with a chair. Dan plopped his backpack on the desk, and then sat down on the bed. He allowed himself to fall backwards and lay down with his legs dangling over the edge. He started thinking back to the incident on Route 1. He would have been a mess without the help of…well he had no idea. Who had helped him? Whoever it was, was probably a guy, judging by the voice. Also, the Pokémon name he had yelled. What was it? Vivillon?
Dan’s curiosity was driving him insane. He got up from the bed and left the room. He remembered seeing some public computers to the right of the front desk, so he decided to see if he could at least figure out which Pokémon had helped him.
Once he was sat at the computer, Dan pulled up a Pokémon search engine. He did his best to spell Vivillon, and luckily the computer picked up on what he meant when he typed “Vivilen”. It corrected him, and brought up a picture of a beautiful Pokémon. It was a butterfly Pokémon with giant, brightly colored wings. However, the wings varied in colors. Depending on the environment, Vivillon could have anything from pink, to green, to blue, almost any color of wings. Dan was surprised. A butterfly had saved him? He scrolled down to look at the most common attacks that Vivillon could learn. “Gust” was the first move listed.
“Dan, your Charmander is ready to be picked up,” said Nurse Joy over the intercom. Dan huffed as he shut down the computer. Even though he knew which Pokémon it was, he would never be able to find the trainer. He walked up to Nurse Joy and took his Charmander’s poke’ball from her.
“Thank you,” he said still feeling gloomy.
Nurse Joy noticed that Dan was upset and couldn’t help but to ask, “Dear, what’s wrong?”
Dan shook his head, “It’s nothing really. I was attacked by wild Pokémon, and someone saved me, but I have no idea who it was. All I know is the Pokémon they used was a Vivillon.”
“A couple of trainers with Vivillon stopped by here.”
Dan’s eyes widened. “Are they still here?”
“Unfortunately they all already left to head to Pewter City,” said Nurse Joy with a saddened expression. Dan’s hope faded and he looked severely disappointed. Nurse Joy gave him an endearing smile. “I wouldn’t give up hope. You’re a trainer looking to earn badges or ribbons, right?”
“Badges,” Dan confirmed.
“Then you might be able to find who saved you in Pewter City. There’s a gym there; all of them were headed there to challenge the gym leader Brock. All except for one, that is.” Dan looked at Nurse Joy curiously. “Oh. One person was a coordinator. They were on their way there because the contest hall renovations are almost complete.”
“I see. Well thank you. I hope I can find them so I can thank them,” said Dan with a small smile.
Nurse Joy smiled back, “I hope fate allows you two to meet, whoever they may be. Have a good night, Dan.”
“Thank you, Nurse Joy,” said Dan. He attached Charmander’s poke’ball to his belt and went back to his room.
Dan walked into his room and let Charmander out of its poke’ball. Charmander immediately looked panicked and ran to Dan, clinging to him. Dan sat down on the floor and Charmander jumped into his arms. Dan hugged his Pokémon close to him. “It’s okay, Charmander. I’m safe.”
Charmander looked up at Dan, “Char-man?” it seemed to be asking what had happened.
Dan pet Charmander on its head as he told his Pokémon the story. “So to conclude,” he said at the end of the tale, “I’m okay, but I have no idea who saved my life.” Charmander looked at him curiously. “By the way, why were you so afraid when I brought you out of the poke’ball?” Dan suddenly felt dumb for asking a Pokémon such a specific question.
“Char-man! Char-char!” exclaimed Charmander. It was gesturing to its ears.
Dan’s eyes widened in shock. “You could hear everything?” Charmander nodded its head yes. “Oh god. I’m sorry, mate.” Charmander simply snuggled up to Dan in response.
Later that night when Dan went to bed, Charmander curled up by his stomach. Charmander’s tail kept the air warm, and even though Dan was far from home, he slept soundly.
***
The next morning came, and Dan practically jumped out of bed. Charmander jumped down from the bed and looked up at Dan with a giant grin. Dan unzipped his bag and pulled out a container of Pokémon food. He popped off the cap and poured some of the food into his hand. Getting to his knees, he held out the food to Charmander. Charmander used its small claws to grab pieces of food, and it ate very quickly. Dan smiled, “After you eat, we’ll get a move on.”
After Charmander finished eating, Dan made sure he had all of his belongings, and he left the Pokémon center. Dan checked the map on his poke’nav, which was imported from the Hoenn region, to make sure he was headed the right way. Luckily he was, and soon enough he was on Route 2. He felt nerves settling in, because not too far from Route 2 was the Viridian Forest, which meant even more bug Pokémon. He took a deep breath and kept moving forward. Charmander was tucked safely away in its poke’ball, and Route 2 was peacefully quiet.
It wasn’t long before wild Pokémon started appearing, and this time Dan wasn’t as afraid. Dan pulled out Charmander’s poke’ball and threw it high, “Go! Charmander!”
“Char!” cried out Charmander as it landed on the ground. It was faced with a Caterpie. Dan knew he didn’t want to catch it since he had limited poke’balls, but he wanted Charmander to start getting battling experience. He pulled out his poke’dex and scanned the Caterpie.
“Caterpie, the worm Pokémon. Caterpie uses the suction cups on its feet to climb trees and feed on its favorite leaves,” said the poke’dex in a male, robotic voice.
“Alright, Charmander use ember!” commanded Dan.
Charmander built up bright, orange flames in its mouth, and then launched the fire at the Caterpie. The Caterpie was badly burned, and it quickly crawled away.
“Great job, Charmander!” said Dan as Charmander hopped into his arms. “You won your first battle.” Charmander beamed.
“How about a real battle, kid?” asked a voice. From the distance a woman approached Dan. She held a poke’ball in her hand. “I recently got into battling. Why don’t we give it a go?”
Dan set Charmander down, and turned on the sass full blast. “Okay, first of all, I’m not a kid, second, bring it on.”
The woman smirked. “My name is Beth. What’s yours?”
“Dan.”
“Well, Dan, are you ready to lose?” Beth held out her poke’ball towards Dan.
Charmander took a stance, and Dan shoved his hands into his pockets. Dan was nervous to battle, but he didn’t want to appear that way. “Just choose your Pokémon.”
“Bellsprout, go!” shouted Beth as she threw her poke’ball. From the poke’ball emerged an odd plant-like Pokémon.
Dan pulled out his poke’dex. The poke’dex spoke out information, “A Bellsprout's thin and flexible body lets it bend and sway to avoid any attack, however strong it may be. From its mouth, it leaks a fluid that melts even iron.”
This won’t be easy. “Alright. Charmander, start out with scratch!” shouted Dan. Charmander charged towards the Bellsprout, its claws ready to swipe.
“Bellsprout, dodge it!” commanded Beth. Bellsprout used its body to sway and miss Charmander’s attack. “Now use slam!” Bellsprout smashed its body into Charmander. Charmander tumbled across the grass field. Quickly, it got back to its feet.
Dan’s hands tightened into fists in his pocket. He was starting to get anxious. “Charmander use ember!” Charmander rapidly fired pieces of fire at the Bellsprout. Bellsprout wiggled around, managing to evade each attack. Dan bit down, trying to think despite his frustration.
Beth’s smirk grew even more sinister. “Use wrap!” Bellsprout wrapped its body tightly around Charmander. It squeezed around Charmander until Charmander was crying out in pain.
“Charmander!” yelled Dan starting to really panic. “Uh! Um! I don’t know; bite it!” Beth’s eyes widened, and she was about to yell out a command, but it was too late. Charmander sank its teeth into Bellsprout’s body, and the plant Pokémon cried out, lost its grip, and stumbled away. “Nice job! Now use ember!” Charmander built up the flames in its mouth and got in a close range attack. Bellsprout was pelted with fire. After a moment, Bellsprout was wobbled around like it was extremely dizzy, and it fell to the ground.
Beth almost screamed. “Bellsprout!” she cried. Her plant Pokémon was down and out. She sighed and brought out her poke’ball. “You did well. Take a rest.” Bellsprout was returned to its poke’ball, and Beth placed the ball in her bag. “Congratulations.” She rummaged in her bag until she found what she was looking for. She walked over to Dan and held out 200 poke’. “Here.”
“Oh,” said Dan suddenly feeling guilty. “I can’t accept that.”
Beth then forcefully put the money in Dan’s hand. “It’s the rules around these parts. You lose, you pay. Be prepared for that when you meet your match.”
“Well, thank you.” Dan offered to shake Beth’s hand. Beth just looked at him, seeming upset. “Come on. Just shake it. It was a good battle.”
With a sigh, Beth shook Dan’s hand. “Good battle.”
***
It was a long day and night, but by the next day’s morning, Dan had arrived at Pewter City. He took Charmander to the Pokémon center, and took a while to rest himself. He found it strange that the Nurse Joy in Pewter City was identical to the Nurse Joy in Viridian City, but he didn’t bother asking any questions.
After taking Charmander back, he made his way to the Pewter City gym. When he walked up to the gym, he spotted three men surrounding someone.
“What right do you have to be here at a gym? This place is for trainers, not for fags,” said the biggest man in the group.
The man that was being cornered sank further into a slouch. He was leaning against a wall, seeming irritated but not necessarily afraid. “The contest hall is almost ready. I have the right to be here because your precious gym is holding a contest soon.”
All three of the men got even closer. One with a tattoo of a Gyarados spoke up, “Maybe we need to teach you a lesson in how to be a real trainer.”
Dan couldn’t take it anymore. He ran over and shoved one of the guys away. He stood in front of the man being attacked. “Hey! Back the fuck off!”
“Excuse me?” asked the largest in the group.
Dan’s heart was racing. He couldn't take on all three at once, especially not in a Pokémon battle. “You heard me!” Despite only having Charmander, he figured he could at least try to be intimidating. Luckily, he stood about two inches taller than even the leader of the group. For once, being 6’3 wasn’t so bad. He brought out his poke’ball and stared down all three men. “Leave. Him. Alone.”
“Tch. This is a waste of time. Come on guys,” and with that, all three men left.
Dan turned around to the person being harassed. “Are you…okay?” he asked tripping over his words slightly. Whoever this guy was, he was something else. His hair was obsidian and swept to the right, similar to Dan’s hair. He wore black skinny jeans much like Dan, but his shirt is where the clothing parallels came to an end. His shirt was white with random splashes of color that made the shape of a Mew. His eyes were a light, almost translucent blue.
Finally he spoke, “I'm fine. Thanks for that. I didn't think they'd leave.” He stood up straight, and Dan’s eyes widened. He was easily 6’2, because Dan only stood a smidge taller. “I'm Phil. What's your name?”
“I'm Dan,” said Dan trying to keep his voice steady. He smiled, more from the fact he felt blush coming on and didn't want it to be seen.
Phil smiled back, “Nice to meet you. And again, thank you. You really stood up to those guys.”
Dan chuckled, “I got lucky. All I have is a Charmander.”
“Seriously? How old are you, mate?”
Now Dan was definitely blushing, “I'm 23. My parents didn't believe in Pokémon training, so I just got started.”
“Oh, that makes sense. I had a similar upbringing. I started at 18, and now I'm 25. I just came here from the Kalos region.”
“I thought your accent was from Kalos. That’s where I'm from too. I moved here a few years back. What brings you to Kanto?”
Phil shuffled slightly uncomfortable, “Pokémon contests. I competed in the Kalos Grand Festival last year, and I only made the top 8. So I brought 3 Pokémon with me and thought I’d try again here.”
Dan gave Phil a genuine smile, “That's pretty cool.”
Phil perked up. “You think so?”
“Well, truth be told, I don't know much about contests. Aren't they just beauty competitions?”
“No! Well, yes, but they're so much more than that. They're intense competitions where you get to showcase your Pokémon’s beauty and talent!”
“Really? Hm.”
Phil smiled sheepishly. “So you're going after the League I assume?”
“Yeah. I'm about to challenge Brock.”
“With only a Charmander?”
“Yes, why?”
“I hate to break it to you mate, but Brock raises rock Pokémon. You can't win with Charmander alone.”
Dan sighed, “Well shit.”
“I tell you what,” began Phil. Dan looked at him expectantly. “If you come see my routine and let me show what contests are really about, I'll help you prepare to win your first badge.”
Dan smiled, “That's really nice of you, but isn't that taboo or something? Coordinators and trainers hate each other right now.”
“Maybe it'll take people like us to fix that,” said Phil with a wink.
Dan smiled and unconsciously fixed his hair, “I guess you're right. When should we start?”
“I’m free now if you want.”
Dan bounced on his toes, trying to find something to do since he was feeling a little nervous. “Sounds good to me.”
Phil grabbed Dan’s wrist and started dragging him, “Come on! Let's go!” Dan felt all the blood rush to his cheeks and felt his heart beat just a little faster.
