"Watch out for Team Rocket," Janine said, after Dash decided to actually pay attention to things. "More and more leads us to believe that they are up to no good. Maybe stay inside when it's dark outside, like now. The Pokémon Center has some beds that are free for trainers to use."

Beds huh? Dash thought. But I am not really that tired. Ridding himself off the thought, Janine said her goodbyes of which Nabooru gladly returned before turning to Dash: "This game world isn't that much different from the real world when you think about it," Nabooru began. "People and... well, 'animals' living with one another towards the same sky... it's like a fairy tale come to life, really. Well... anyway, maybe we should get some sleep here tonight. We can continue our journey tomorrow." She stretched her arms and seemed to head for the Pokemon Center. "Good Night, don't let the be-- um... Ledyba bite!"

"Yeah, you too," Dash replied, waving. Well I guess that confirms that. Nabooru must be a human player, or a really cleverly designed NPC. But was it so ridiculous to believe that this game would be considered a MMO? I mean Pokemon was practically begging for a game like this where you could interact with other players, catch Pokemon and do all that other stuff while fighting off some evil organization. In this case, Team Rocket. Oh well, Dash completed his thoughts. There wasn't much point in dwelling on the matter. At least for the time being, he had someone to talk to on his journey.

Dash made his own way over to the Pokemon Center. It didn't take too long to find it, as usually Pokemon Centers make it pretty obvious what they are, eliminating guess work completely. Dash entered through the sliding doors and walked up to the front desk. "Hey, can you heal up my Pokemon and get me a room. I'm…um…tired I guess," Dash requested with a sense of nervousness. Is that what your character says in the games. All Dash ever did was press the "A" button.

"Sure thing," the nurse replied before taking his Pokemon and Pokedex. Dash smiled a 'thank you' back and made his way to the assigned room before flopping himself onto the bed. It was pretty comfortable for a digitized bed.

Dash was unexpectedly impatient the following morning and left the Pokemon Center rather quickly. He felt bad, of course, as he left Nabooru behind. Deep down, he had hoped that she would get the message he left with the receptionist/nurse woman saying that Dash was heading to Route 22. Best case, he would happen to run into her there while he was in the midst of training or something. Dash wanted to build his team up a bit, as the skirmish with Janine only ended in his favor because of good luck and the element of surprise. He highly doubted that Dash would have any advantage over anyone in a real battle and needed to build up his team a little bit. He wasn't expected any members of his team to evolve or anything. No, he was hoping to learn a few extra moves and catch a new Pokemon or so. That really all depended on what he bumped into while on Route 22. Truthfully, Dash didn't know what to expect on Route 22. Route 1 was eventful enough.

By the time he reached Route 22, the sun was beginning to rise in the sky. "Looks like a good day to train some Pokemon. I wonder what we are going to bump into. This game has thrown enough curve balls at me already," Dash said with a small smile, before journeying into the Route. For the time being, Dash didn't venture too far into the wilderness quite yet, vaguely remembering that the road let to the Indigo Plateau and lacking gym badges, Dash wouldn't make it too far. In fact, he probably couldn't get through the front door. The guard would push him away and tell him to come back when he actually accomplishes something. Now the guard sounds like Dash's father. The thought made him shudder.

"Hey! You!" A voice called from behind him. Dash turned around innocently, and peered into the distance. The voice sounded like a girl. Was it Nabooru? No, she was nicer than that. She wouldn't call him "you." Nabooru would likely make an interesting remark or make a vague reference too. Not be so…direct.

"Yeah, what's up?" Dash asked casually. "Need something?"

The girl jogged lightly up to Dash, took a few breaths to gather her energy and sized up Dash with a quick glance. She seemed to be a bit…unnerved by Dash's appearance, as if something about made her gawk. She even took a step back when looking at Dash's face and hair. With dark skin and a set of golden eyes peering through a pair of glasses, Dash found her blue and red outfit a bit mundane, but something to be expected from a a Pokemon character with red Pokeball logos everywhere. It was a unique appearance in a matter of speaking, but Dash found himself far more interesting. Not to be egotistical or anything.

She shook her head, as if she was removing an image from her mind. "You are trainer right? Have you collected badges and are heading out to Indigo Plateau? Could you give me some advice? I want to get better!"

"Whoa, whoa. Slow your roll. I am a rookie. I just started."

"Oh never mind then," she said disappointed.

"What is that supposed to mean? For your information, I know plenty about Pokemon!"

"Yeah right. Like I'd take advice from a guy who can barely dress himself without looking like a total clown."

"Wait, what? Did you even look in the mirror when you dressed yourself this morning?"

"Don't you think that many rainbows are a bit overboard?"

"Rainbows are essential to my character!"

"Your character is ridiculous then. I should teach you something about proper dress."

"You need to loosen up. Nothing everything is so proper and serious."

"You will never get anywhere with that attitude!"

"I am awesome! I'll go plenty of places!"

"Ha! Keep telling yourself that!"

"Oh that's it! You…girl…I challenge you to a battle and I'll prove you to how awesome I really am!"

"Bring it on!" The girl took a giant step back and launched her Pokeball into the air and in a flash of white light, a small purple Pokemon. Dash recognized it as a Nidoran. The male one. Dash smirked, and sent out his response.

"Go Pinkie!" Out of the Pokeball came out Dash's Bulbasaur, who was ready for her first real battle. Dash was confident. "Let's start this on the right foot! Use tackle!" The Bulbasaur launched itself forward, striking the poison type head on, giving the beast a quick dirt nap before rising from the ground.

"Respond with a double kick!" The trainer ordered. As the Nidoran rose up, he delivered two solid kicks to Pinkie's face, causing the Pokemon to stagger back. Instinctually, Pinkie charged again, tackling the Nidoran again, hoping to deliver a finishing blow. The Nidoran stood up, shrugging off the attack, awaiting orders. "Use Peck!" The Nidoran nodded and leapt into the air, pecking the Bulbasaur with its beck like mouth. The strike seemed to harm Pinkie greatly, barely holding on dear life.

"Pinkie return!" Dash shouted, holding up its ball and recalling it with a red light. I forgot about that move. Why in the heck would they give Nidoran a flying move? Oh well, it was a bad idea putting Pinkie forth in hindsight. Dash took the other ball from his belt, summoning forth his next and final Pokemon: Kipz.

"Nidoran! Focus Energy!" Without much movement, the Nidoran stood straight, gathering its energy to make one great attack. Clearly, Dash's opponent wanted to finish the fight quickly and decisively.

"Kipz! Use mud slap!" Quickly, the Mudkip kicked up some mud and fired a wave of mud at the charging Nidoran that was clearly preparing another peck. The mud struck the Nidoran, veering it off course as the Pokemon crashed into the ground. "Kipz! Finish it with a tackle!" The Nidoran squirmed on the ground, until Kipz tackled the Nidoran in the side, causing the defeated Pokemon to roll back to its master.

The opposing trainer clenched up, angry at the defeat. "Fine then. I choose you, Hitmontop!" With a toss of the ball, the next Pokemon was chosen. In a flash of a light, the Hitmontop stood firm. "Use Rolling Kick!" The Hitmontop rolled on the ground, preparing to deliver a strong kick to the Mudkip. Kipz attempted to dodge the kick, the speed of the opponent was too great striking Kipz directly.

"Kipz! Use mud slap again!" Dash ordered. It seemed to work well in the previous battles. The attack worked, with a thick sheet of mud covering the Hitmontop. It's rolling kick missed badly, allowing Mudkip to fire a high speed water gun at the unprotected opponent.

Hitmontop removed the mud and dirt from its eyes and glared at Kipz. "Use Revenge!"

"Kip! Dodge it!" The water Pokemon failed to do so and took the strong blow, leaving the Pokemon squirming in pain. "Return! Go Pinkie!" The Bulbasaur came out and was ready to do battle. The Hitmontop wasted no time in attack, immediately going for the Rolling Kick, but Pinkie was nimble enough to make the quick dodge and replied with a strong tackle. It seemed to send the Hitmontop reeling in pain. Was it a critical hit? Dash hoped so, as both Pinkie and Kipz were in severe pain. Dash probably would need to stop at the Pokemon Center again.

"Good battle," his opponent said after returning Hitmontop to its Pokeball. "I'll be back for you someday. My name is Clarietta. Do please remember it."

"Right. And my name is Dash."

"Dash…hmm. Interesting name. Till next time, Dash."

I guess I got myself a rival.

Prince, Route 22 Part II
Many of the Pokémon that Prince encountered that night weren't much of a challenge; either they were half asleep or ran away no sooner had he whittled their health down. Few were aggressive towards Smoochum who, despite her best efforts, soon felt the effects of drowsiness herself. It had only been an hour or so when the little psychic type started teetering, rubbing her eyes whenever she had the chance to. Prince had been watching her from the leafy shelter of a tree, still holding his parasol, pale skin the only part of him that did not blend in with the shadows. Unlike his Pokémon, he hadn't felt tired in the slightest, even when she had finally stumbled over and collapsed at his feet.

"Return," he had muttered in his usual tone. He was cruel, yes, but not completely heartless. Besides, Smoochum was more valuable than that other thing which was taking up residence in a second Pokéball. He did not want to return to the Pokémon Centre until at least lunch time the next day, so had settled for sitting on his briefcase and leaning against a tree - not before he had ensured that there was nothing growing on the bark that shouldn't have been. His eyes had slowly closed, and despite the fact he did not feel fatigued in the slightest, Prince had fallen asleep anyway, wondering when Maman would pull him away from the game in order to force him to eat dinner.

When he awoke, the morning sun was fairly high in the sky, but it was not yet noon. His rear felt a little numb from the hardness of the suitcase and the rest of his body stiff all over. He was still in the game then, his mother displaying her usual amount of care and consideration towards him. When had he last eaten? Definitely before getting involved with this game, which was well over twelve hours by this point.

"Ugh," he groaned, standing and stretching a little. "Perhaps next time I should find a nice hotel... Not that they would have many in Viridian that meet my high standards." For a moment Prince stood there, contemplating the idea of getting something to eat or staying there and giving Smoochum a second chance at training - maybe if they stayed long enough they would encounter something decent. Correction, he rather than they. As if he would require Smoochum's help to find an amazing Pokémon! Capturing it, maybe, because people frowned on other people hitting Pokémon, even though Pokémon could survive being hit by a powerful blast of fire or completely soaked with water. No doubt there was some inane NPC watching him that very moment - maybe even a ninja like Janine - waiting for him to make a wrong move and report him to Officer Jenny.

He frowned suddenly, hearing a strange noise in the distance. It sounded like... Hooves. Ah well, perhaps someone was training their Pokémon here, or perhaps there was a Ponyta riding school nearby - wait, why was he starting to think like a person who lived in this world? Prince collected his case with the frown still upon his face. This world... It was a game yet at the same time, he was in complete control of himself, and every aspect of the environment felt real. Though he hadn't the best specifications for his games systems, everything here was three-dimensional, not pixellated in the slightest. Then there was the problem of Chloe, who had asked him if he was from the real world too. Now he thought about it more, his musings of this being an MMORPG were slowly seeming to be incorrect. Despite his desire not to, he would probably have to seek her out again or even see if he could find more like the two of them. Though if he wanted to meet others, he would have to show that he was better than them and having Smoochum alone just wouldn't cut it. So, Prince began walking through the grass ahead of him, seeking out candidates for his team.

"Ran!" he heard from his left; the grass rustled and a female Nidoran appeared. Smirking, he tossed Smoochum's Pokéball into the air. Now that she had rested she had regained her energy and was eager to please her trainer.

"Smoo!" she cried, alerting Nidoran of her presence. Both females eyed each other for a moment, the rodent Pokémon yawning as she sized up her competition.

"This should be amusing... Pound!" Prince gestured forward, index finger pointing at the Nidoran. Smoochum charged towards her opponent who tactfully dodged out of the way; Smoochum tried to break with her small feet and all but fell over.

"Ni ni!" squeaked Nidoran, sound waves engulfing the small purple creature. Smoochum shook her head, face scrunched up.

"Ugh, usually I'd laugh at you for doing something foolish but Smoochum doesn't have any special attacks yet," the trainer groaned. Again he threw his arm forward, pointing, "but that doesn't matter, we'll just hinder you with status ailments! Sweet Kiss!"

Smoochum's oversized lips became puckered at the command, and this time she launched herself at Nidoran no sooner had the words escaped from Prince's own mouth. The attack connected and as she pulled away Nidoran looked extremely... dazed. Smoochum held her hands over her mouth - her first kiss had been with a girl Pokémon! Nidoran shook her head, trying to rid herself of the giddy sensation, but as she went to tackle Smoochum she missed, finding herself charging straight towards a bush.

"Ni ni!" she cried, her body getting scratched by the tiny branches.

"Now Lick!" Prince urged, desperate to finish the battle while Nidoran was at a disadvantage.

"Smoo!" Smoochum shook her head, indicating to the bush and way that Nidoran was becoming more and more tangled as she attempted to break free.

"I don't care!" he realised what she meant, those thorns looked painful. "I'll take you to the Pokémon Centre after, just do as you're told!"

"Smoochum..." she murmured quietly, but began waddling towards the bush nevertheless.

"Ran ran!"

"Smooooooooo!" the squeal was long and high pitched as Smoochum was sent flying backwards. Somehow Nidoran had snapped out of confusion and managed to break free from her thorny confines; the marks on her body were less painful than they seemed. Would this be a good Pokémon to have on his team? She was hardy, that was for sure, and Nidoqueen was a formidable creature if any...

"Get up!" he barked to his stater. "Do you seriously think I'm going to let that thing defeat you?"

"Smoo..." She moaned, dusting herself down.

"You know what to do! Show that Pokémon that no one can make you look like a fool. Use Lick, Pound, whatever on it! get its health down!"

Smoochum tried with all her might, and Prince watched the two duke it out as he took out an empty Pokéball and enlarged it in his hand. Smoochum had successfully used Lick, Nidoran countered with another Growl... Good, it would make it easier to whittle down the HP and...


... Prince heard the victory cry, but only very faintly. He stood there, mouth agape in horror at the sight before him. Smoochum seemed extremely pleased with herself, but he was not pleased with her. Nidoran lay on the ground, unmoving, and not because of paralysis. She wasn't dead, of course not, but she was in no fit state to be caught either.

"... I didn't tell you to get a critical hit," he said sourly, pocketing the Pokéball and returning Smoochum to her own.

"We can't let you pass. You don't have enough badges."

"But I just want to check it out."

"Well sadly league policy doesn't reward curiosity or encourage it. The only thing that will get you through this gate are badges," another voice replied.

"You can't just make one tiny exception?" Dash begged.

"We're sorry, but we can't. Come by later when you win. Then we will more than happy to let you pass."

"Oh, alright," Dash sighed, turning around in disappointment. Heading back to the Pokemon Center to heal up and recover after the tough battle with his newfound rival just to make to this roadblock, unable to slip through was entirely disappointing, but Dash half expected this to happen. It never worked in the games, but Dash was hoping he could convince the guards by engaging in dialogue, but it seemed they were programmed with limited responses. A one track mind of a sort. Sinking down and staring at the ground, Dash walked off kicking the dirt as he went.

"Hey, uh, kid. Um, got a moment?" Dash turned around, with his curiosity piqued. What could the guard want? Dash wasn't sure about being called a kid though. The guard didn't look that old. "As you can see, we are awfully..busy keeping aspiring trainers like yourself from getting caught up in things they aren't ready to handle quite yet, but I think I got something you can do if you are up for it."

"I can give it a try. What's going on?"

"We have gotten reports of a herd of Ponyta disturbing the peace throughout Route 22. It has caused quite a bit of problems for new trainers and none of the veteran trainers (or those so called Cool Trainers) have bothered to check it out for us," the one guard said.

"And seeing how we can't leave our post, we can't check it out ourselves. We reported to our superiors, but their investigations haven't come up with much. In fact, they are simply crediting it to nature running its course or something. Personally, I think they are just being lazy. It's been a relatively new occurrence and rather random. Route 22 was been traditionally peaceful, so something must being on."

"I'll look into it," Dash said with a firm nod. It was something was afoot. Plus some part of Dash welcomed this challenge as it brought an opportunity he couldn't ignore.

Though about 10 minutes later, Dash wished he exercised a bit more patience and asked a few questions about the route, the Ponyta and the reports. Most importantly, what were the possible explanations for why the Ponyta were acting the way they were acting? Dash forced himself to move from that lapse in judgement and pressed on. Finding the Ponyta herd was probably the best idea, and Dash figured it shouldn't be too hard to find. After all, they were fire horses. Those kind of stick out especially if they stampeding all over the place. Dash continued to wander the route, rather aimlessly yet keeping an eye open for any occurrences that were out of the ordinary.

Dismayed after nearly an hour of searching, Dash perched himself on a low lying rock and leaned back, staring up into the morning sky. The sun was high in the sky, hiding behind some clouds. For a moment or two, Dash found himself questioning reality, losing himself in the beauty and majesty of the world. It was calming in its own way and he began to slip into a light sleep. However, a horrible thumping noise grew in volume pounding in his head. Soon, Dash felt the ground beneath quake lightly shaking the very foundations of the rock. Dash rolled off his "bed" and tumbled to the ground. "W-what's going on?"

Dash's question was swiftly answered, as the sound gradually took form as the stampede of wild Ponyta came forth. Dash was nothing more than a bystander caught in the wind. Instincts took over and not for the better. Dash attempted to run, but tripped and fell over a small branch on the beaten path, crashing to the unforgiving ground. It was in that moment that Dash's life (both literal and virtual) flashed before his eyes. He never imagined that death would come in the form of virtual Ponyta crushing his body beneath the storm of hoofed malice, but he took it in stride. At least he would have a great story to tell in the afterlife.

-------------------------------

"Hey! Hey! Are you okay?" It was a gentle voice that rung in Dash's ears. "Come on, man. Wake up!" Dash's eyes slowly opened, welcoming the bright light filling his vision. Standing above him, first blurred, but gradually clearing up was a young man, a few years older than Dash with a rather plain appearance. Dark hair and eyes, with a red cap matching well with a dark shirt and jeans. On his belt were a few Pokeballs, signifying the man's status as a trainer.

"What happened? Why does my head hurt?" Dash said, as he rose from the ground.

"Whoa, slow down there. You got trampled by a herd of Ponyta. You are lucky to be alive."

"That would explain the dirt on my clothes. And the bruises. And the soreness. Ow!" Dash replied holding his head. "I surely don't feel lucky to be alive."

"Ha. Well, you should at least be thankful that I was around to make sure nothing else happened. I didn't really need to patch you up or anything. For the most part, they seemed to stampede around you."

"I guess I am lucky then," Dash said with a chuckle before clutching at his side. "Wait, how did you know I was caught in the stampede?"

"Oh, right. I have been following the Ponyta herd for a few days now. And I have seen my fair share of experiences when dealing with them."

"Well, thanks for making sure I wasn't ground into dust. Now," Dash finished as he rose up from the ground, nearly losing his balance. "Now I better go and find those Ponyta. I have some unfinished business with them."

"Oh, really? What a stroke of luck! I am looking for them myself. Mind if I come along? I can probably help you find them," the trainer said with a smile.

"How do you figure that?" Dash asked, looking at the trainer with eyes of genuine interest. The trainer seemed nice enough and was being quite helpful all in all.

"Well, like I said, I have been following them for quite a while, occasionally bumping into the herd here and there. They are surprisingly predictable, having a few spots where they like to gather. Come on. They shouldn't be too far."

Dash caught a lucky break, bumping into the trainer that introduced himself as Eric. Dash made some small talk and learned that Eric enjoyed hanging around Route 22 because it was a good spot to train. Apparently he had some difficulty getting through Viridian Forest, and came back to spend the past few days catching some Pokemon and training the ones he already had. Dash was a little disheartened to learn that he wasn't some advanced trainer to pass on some advice, but nevertheless his experience provided a fair idea of what Dash had to expect going forward. Eric led the way down the path, navigating with his amateur tracking skills. Though, it could almost be described as simply following the ruins left by the Ponyta stampede. Dash couldn't help but feel as if something was greatly wrong at this point, as if the Ponyta were running away from something. It was a gut feeling, not some product of deep analysis.

"Should be down here a bit," Eric said, waving for Dash to follow him and crouch beside him. "Right over there." Eric pointed down into a small clearing. The Ponyta herd stood in silence. A few were grazing and enjoying the brief peace, others seemed paranoid looking around, as if they were waiting for something. Something they feared. "Well, I'll go first. You can the rest."

"What?" Dash said, shaking his head in confusion. It was too late, however. Eric slid down the shallow hill into the heart of the clearing. The Ponyta leapt up in fear and began to scatter, creating something resembling a riot, but Eric had a plan for that, sending out his Pokemon: A Mankey, a Pidgoetto and a Beedrill. Each Pokemon took a flank, encasing the Ponyta herd into a small circle. In a mere moment, Eric had controlled the chaos. And in that same moment, everything became clear.

Dash ran down the hill, almost stumbling down. "What in the name of Arceus is going on?"

"Exactly what it looks like. I'm training. From my experience here, Ponyta is probably the strongest Pokemon on this sad excuse for a Route. If you want to be the best, you got to beat the best," Eric said with deadpan delivery, until a smug smile stretched across his face.

"Can't you see that the Ponyta are scared? They don't want to fight you. All you are doing is beating up defenseless Pokemon!" Dash yelled, and despite understanding Eric's rationale, he held onto his morals.

Eric pouted a bit, as if he was disappointed in Dash: "That isn't my problem. Shame really. I thought you wanted in on this fun. Oh well, more training for me then. Get out of here, kid. You will just be in my way," Eric said, brushing off Dash.

Dash gritted his teeth and clenched his fist. "Fine! If its a fight you want, it is a fight you'll get. Go!" Dash threw out his two Pokeballs, summoning forth his Mudkip and Bulbasaur. Eric, for a moment, almost seemed impressed at Dash. Whether it was his Pokemon or his proposition of battle is up for interpretation. Without speaking, Eric motioned Mankey and Pidgoetto to battle, and both Pokemon swooped into battle. Mankey delivered a quick low kick to Mudkip, tripping up the small Pokemon before taking a blast of water directly into the face at point blank. Pidgoetto launched a quick attack, striking the grass Pokemon with enough speed that it managed to dodge the responding tackle. Pidgoetto swooped in for another strike, however this time Bulbasaur did a small side step before tackling the Pidgoetto to the ground, while Mankey and Kipz traded blows as the Mankey scratched the Mudkip, forcing it to reel back in pain only to hit back with a Mud-Slap.

While Dash was pleased with Mudkip and Bulbasaur holding their own against seemingly stronger Pokemon, he had made a grave error. The Beedrill flew by Dash, injecting a tinge of fear into the trainer. It was readily apparent that Eric was pulling any punches and wanted Dash out of the way. The Beedrill flew past Dash's head, like annoying fly that buzzes around in a room at night when one tries to sleep. "No Pokemon to protect you now, eh? Ha, good luck!" Eric said with confidence and sarcasm rolled into a simple demeaning phrase.

"You fight dirty!" Dash howled, as the Beedrill landed before Dash, anger in its gait.

"No. I fight to win." It was hard to deny that Eric's plan wasn't working. Mankey and Pidgoetto were handling Mudkip and Bulbasaur with relative ease, as both Pokemon were lost without Dash's guidance. They were fighting on pure instinct. That wouldn't be enough against a trainer like Eric. The Beedrill stood before Dash, needles ready to strike fear (in more than a mere figurative sense) into Dash. With his Pokemon hinging a defeat, of whom could Dash call upon for help? Dash opened his mouth, but no words came out and all hope was lost.

But then, a miracle happened. Dash couldn't recall what exactly happen, but in a red flash something woke up. In the hearts of the Ponyta awoke a fighting spirit, inspired by the gallant defense of Dash and his Pokemon. Rallying together, the Ponyta tackled the Beedrill back into the forest and valiantly drove off the Mankey and Pidgoetto from the nearly defeated bodies of Mudkip and Bulbasuar. Dash immediately tended to his Pokemon, seeing the breath of life had not left their bodies. Eric and his Pokemon stood strong, attempted to laugh at the concept of defeat, but it was in vain. The Ponyta herd outnumbered him, cornering him against the slope that overlooked the battlefield. Eric screamed in anger: "Back off you useless horses! Like I will be defeated by you!"

Dash shuffled through the herd, all of them looking at him as if he were a returning hero. "It seems you already have been, Eric."

"Oh, shut up you rainbow haired fool. If it weren't for those wild rampaging Pokemon you would be pinned to a tree by my Beedrill watching your Pokemon squirm around in the dirt in defeat."

"Yeah, about that. Pinkie, use Leech Seed on Eric," Dash ordered with a smirk. A small seed was launched from the wounded Pokemon's bulb landing on Eric's torso, wrapping him in a thin vine. "Sadly, she doesn't know vine whip yet, so this will have to do. You will probably faint in a few minutes, but that should give the Ponyta enough time to teach you lesson. Sorry, I can't be here to see it but I got to run to the Pokemon Center. See you around." Dash said with a devilish grin.

"Wait. You can't leave me here! NOOOOO!" The words echoed in the wind, as Dash returned to the beaten path, heading back to the city to heal up his team.

However, a quiet gallop followed Dash and stopped behind him as Dash turned around. It was single Ponyta, one of the ones that defended Dash from the Beedrill. "Um, hello?" Dash said, somewhat confused. The Ponyta simply neighed in response, confusing Dash further. He didn't speak Pokemon, which made everything far more difficult than it needed to be. The Ponyta made a stride towards Dash, purposely missing him with a weak attack. It wanted to fight? Great. Nor Dash nor his team was up for a fight. Especially not now. This time, however, Dash had a plan. It was a simple one, but it was better than the whole ordeal with Eric.

"Go! Pinkie!" With Bulbasaur out, Dash started out simple. The Ponyta was not phased by the small grass type, and used a tail whip to wear down the already weak Pokemon. "Use Leech seed!" Much like before, the Ponyta was wrapped in a thin vine, draining its energy however its strong legs were free, allowing it to still have range of motion. The energy was already beginning to be drained from the Pokemon, as Dash noticed a spike in energy in Pinkie already. "Return!" Dash recalled the grass type, however. Believing that Kipz could end the fight quickly. But if it was prolonged, the leech seed will give the Mudkip a much needed energy boost. "Kipz! Hit it with a water gun!" The Mudkip fired a weak shot of water, harming the Ponyta and dousing its flames a small bit. Angered, the fire horse struck back with a tackle, causing the Mudkip to faint in battle. A grave miscalculation on Dash's part. Luckily he still had Pinkie. However, Dash was running out of ingenious plans.

"Well, time for Plan B," Dash went with the hopeless plan. He threw a Pokeball. Hopefully that would end the fight.

Chloe Evergreen
Chapter 3 - Part II
- Route 22-

" Rival fever! "​

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The time between every shake felt forever for Chloe. She waited anxiously until finally the flashing button stopped and the ball remained motionless on the ground. Chloe's face lit up with a smile as she rushed to pick up the pokeball that now contain her very first catch. It didn't even matter now that she was still soaked from the earlier dive in the river, she was too happy at that moment to even care. The girl lifted the red and white sphere and pushed the button releasing Nidoran. The rodent pokemon perked up its whiskers and looked at Chloe and after a few seconds, started running around her crying out, wanting to tell Chloe that she was happy that she managed to catch her. Volt started chasing after Nidoran thinking that she wanted to play tag, but after a few circles made around Chloe Nidoran stopped, making Volt almost bump into the rodent pokemon. Good thing Chloe's reflexes were faster than the pokemon and picked him up before the collision.

"That's enough for today!" she teased Volt putting him in her lap. " Hello there." She said smiling towards Nidoran that was in front of her. " I'm Chloe and this over here is Volt."

" Nid…Nido!! " she cried greeting her new trainer and will-be friend.

" Aren't you a cute girl!" scratching Nidoran's ear. Seeing that the pokemon had that lavender bluish colour, it meant that she was a female. " Do you mind if I call you ……let me see…..Nina?" Chloe asked her pokemon, as she always liked to nickname them. It made her feel a bit closer to them and in this situations was and ice breaker for the trainer and pokemon. Nidoran taught a bit, analyzing her option, but finally responded with a loud cry followed by a smile. " Glad you like it. Let's see what information I have on you." She said reaching for the bag that was hanging from her shoulder. She kneeled on the ground and pulled out her Pokedex. "Hmmm…..that I knew….oh here they are, your attacks. It seems you know Growl, Scratch and Tail Whip……with some training you'll be even better." She said patting the pokemon on the head. " I'd better get these clothes….."

But before she could finish her sentence she heard a bunch of claps coming from not far away. " How interesting to see this rare type of trainer these days!!!! " she heard as the claps stopped. She turned and saw a boy being the one to make the remark from before. He was a bit taller than Chloe, with long red to brown hair that went down to his waist, left free. The colour of his hair matched his eyes that were examining Chloe and her pokemon carefully. He was well built and wore a pair of black pants, with a pair of white slim boots. His upper body was covered in a sleeveless red shirt that was covered by what looked like a grey vest of some sort, that went down just under his knees. His hands were in his pockets, but Chloe managed to see that they were covered in a pair of black leather gloves that were white at the wrist. The girl felt a bit of down talk in his earlier statement.

" W-w-what do you mean by that? " she asked in a low voice, getting Volt and Nina closer to her just in case something would require for them to flee.

" W-w-w-why it's quite obvious. It's very rare to see a pokemon trainer trying to hide his poor trainer skills by playing Mary Sue with her pokemon. " imitating Chloe's stutter. He couldn't believe how a girl who had ridden a Ponyta and managed to escape a whole herd was so introverted and scared when facing him. Yes, he had seen Chloe pass just by him earlier and decided to see what was happening and watched the girl from afar until this point.

" Then we'll leave!" she replied getting up quickly and trying to run away.

" Not so fast Mary Sue! " he said as the girl took a step away from him. " I wasn't done talking with you! " walking in front of Chloe, blocking her way. " But talking to you would just be a waste of my time so I'll get right to the point."

"To the point...?" Chloe repeated nervously, not knowing what to expect from the red haired boy. She didn't like his attitude and way of talking one bit. She was being cornered up to an invisible wall created by the boy's words and all her anxiety.

" Yes. I'm demanding a trainer battle, here and now." He requested with a big smirk on his face.

" Sorry...but I have to decline." She said averting her eyes from his and trying to make a step past him but with no success.

"Oh really. If you put it that way then sorry to have taken your time." He said in a very gallant manner and stepped away from Chloe's way, bowing like a servant as she started walking.

Chloe didn't say a thing. The boy had such a dramatic personality swing, that she didn't dare to say anything and would just go with the flow. " I'll be away from him in a couple of minutes." She was thinking as the distance between them turned from inches to feet. The red haired boy was looking as Chloe was leaving with a very sly smile on his face. In his earlier bow he picked two small rocks near him. He fixed his targets and threw the rocks straight at Volt and Nina, who were walking beside Chloe. The rocks hit the two pokemon in the head which made them turn around annoyed. The boy had a smug look and teased the pokemon whit his attitude. Volt and Nina looked at each other and nodded, then they both started to run towards the boy to land an attack. When Chloe noticed that she was walking alone it was too late. Her pokemon were already close to giving the boy what he deserved. However, as the two pokemon were about to shred some clothes, the boy evaded them by swiftly taking a step to the left.

"Oleeee! " he shouted waving a part of his long vest, as both Volt and Nina missed. Then he turned towards Chloe and smiled innocently. " I thought you didn't want to battle? "

" But...I..." she tried to explain but was rapidly cut off.

"No buts . You attacked me with your pokemon, so I am obliged to defend myself." He said then threw two pokeballs into the air. " Torchic! Lillipup! It's time to earn some experience." Were his words as his pokemon came out and looked all pumped up for a battle.

" Volt! Nina! Come back here!!!!" she yelled seeing that her pokemon were standing on the opposite side of the boy. She was worried that he might decide to launch an attack and she couldn't see the battle from that angle.

"Don't worry, I'll wait until they come to your side." He said while the two pokemon made their way to Chloe. They were as determined to start their fight as their opponents. However, Chloe was starting to get pale from the pressure. " I'll even let you start this one, so make your move."

"Guess I have no choice." She thought as the atmosphere was getting tense. Her pokemon acted on their own and now she had to face the fact that she had to battle. " The sooner we start, the sooner it ends. Volt use Bubble on Torchic! Nina try a Scratch attack on Lillipup." And at the sound of her command Nina started running towards the pup as fast as she could while Volt started firing some bubbles at the fire pokemon.

" You won't win with that attitude. " he said calmly as the attacks were just about to hit his pokemon. " Torchic counter that with Ember!" and with that the chick pokemon fired some bolts of fire that collided with the water attack dispersing both of them. " Now let's deal with the other!" seeing as the Nidoran had jumped and was coming down with its claws up ready to do some damage on his other pokemon. " Bite now!!!" he shouted when Nina was just about to land her attack. Lillipup jumped and caught Nina's paw in his mouth, keeping a tight grip on it.

" Nina toss him off!!!!" Chloe immediately burst, seeing her newly caught pokemon in a pinch. Nidoran started pulling as hard as she could, trying to free herself from his clutches. She fixed her feet in the ground and with a powerful tug, lifted the pup pokemon off its feet and sent it flying into the air. Seeing this opportunity that her pokemoin created, she had to take advantage and do some damage. " Volt use...!" but before she could end, Volt blasted a forceful shot of water at the "flying" Lillipup, sending it even higher as the stream of water kept coming until finally Volt stop, letting the pokemon hit the ground as it fell. " Nicely......done!" Chloe said shaking her head a bit as she felt a bit dizzy. She realised that Volt's accumulated experienced made him learn this new attack. Good thing Volt acted on his own this time.

" Lillipup!!!!" the pokemon cried getting up and shaking the water that was still dripping from his fur. Chloe looked at her clothes which were still a bit wet and felt just like Lillipup, however, being in the sun for such a long time dried them a bit. "Nice to see your pokemon know to battle better than you." He said full of himself. " Let me show you how an attack should look like. Torchic run towards Volt and use Ember as close as possible." And as it was told, Torchic launched its move.

" Volt counter with Bubble. " Chloe quickly said applying the same strategy her opponent used to block her attack " Nina Scratch attack once more on Lillipup!" and with that Nina sprung into action.

" Lillipup Tackle...!" he ordered and the pup started running also towards Nina. However, the red haired boy had a wide grin on his face. Torchic and Volt were still bombarding one another with their attacks while Nina and Lillipup were on the verge of hitting each other. But, in the last second, the boy opened his mouth. "Tackle the Chinchou! " he said. Lillipup jumped on Nina's head before she could attack him and went over Torchic and came down ramming into Volt with all his force. " Things are never as they appear to be my dear." He said snickering.

" This isn't going well. " she was thinking as Volt got up from the ground. " And this sun isn't helping one bit." She said putting her hand on her forehead which was steaming from the warmth. " Try Scratch once more! This time use your speed. Volt Flail on Torchic!" She said thinking if these attack would work this time.

"Torchic counter with Ember once more! Lillipup you use Bite!" He quickly replied sure of himself.

As soon as Volt started running towards Torchic, the bird pokemon started shooting out sparks of fire. Volt kept jumping left and right trying to avoid the attack. As the water pokemon was getting closer, he used Flail as a means to throw the spark of fire off course and when he was in attack distance from Torchic, smacked the bird pokemon as hard as he could making it fall to the ground. Nina and Lillipup on the other hand were using a direct approach and were running straight at each other. Nina jumped in the last second and avoided the attack, but she didn't manage to hit the pup either.

"Torchic can you manage?" the boy asked as the bird shaked its flustered feathers in place.

" Chic...Torchic!!!" it cried shooting up sparks of Ember.

"I taught so. It would take a more skilled trainer and pokemon to be a problem for you. " the boy said not even looking at Chloe. "Let's finish this. Torchic use Focus Energy!" Suddenly, Torchic's body started to glow in a red aura that kept getting brighter. " Lillipup follow up with Leer!" the boy said averting his eyes to the pup. Lillipup fixed his gaze on the two opponents and glared at them with his bright red eyes.

Chloe was surprised to see that her opponent was playing on defence. It was a smart move on his side. However, this strategy had one disadvantage...he was wide opened for an attack. " Volt Water Gun on Torchic! Nina Scratch Lillipup! " she yelled and as soon as her words ended, her pokemon sprung into action. Volt launched a powerful stream of water towards his target while Nina headed for Lillipup preparing its paws.

" You're so easy to read!!! But that makes things easier for me. Guys dodge those feeble attempts of attacks!" he ordered with a smirk on his face. Just as they were told, the two pokemon executed. Both Lillipup and Torchic simply jumped out of the way of the attacks without even shedding a drop of sweat. Chloe's pokemon were starting to get tired, as Volt had battled all day and Nina had just been captured. The boy knew this and took advantage. " Ok guys let's wrap this up. Torchic Ember on Nidoran! Lillipup Tackle the other one!" he said just after his pokemon dodged the previous attacks.
On the other side of the field, Chloe was in big trouble as her vision started to get blurry for some reason and she was trying with all her might to stay on her feet. All she could distinguish was some sparks of fire that went towards Nina, while a brown fur-ball rammed into Volt. Both her pokemon went flying in the air and landed a few feet away from her. When her vision finally went back to normal, she clenched her fist while a tear came down her cheek. Her two pokemon had fainted from the last two attacks.

" As I thought, you weren't a challenge after all. " he laughed as he called his pokemon back. He then walked up next to Chloe who was still motionless from the shock. " You should get some new pokemon....maybe then you'll have a chance to win." He whispered in her ear. Chloe clenched her teeth and out of pure reflex, raised her hand and slapped the boy as hard as she could, knocking him off his feet a bit. Then she ran to her pokemon and took them in her arms.

" Maybe you're the kind that would do so..... but I don't sell my friends."she replied holding her pokemon tight.

"Why you little!!!! I'll leave it at this for now....but mark my words, this isn't the last you'll see of me." He yelled ,then turned around and started walking towards the town.

After a few minutes, Volt and Nina opened their eyes and smiled at Chloe. The girl was overjoyed to see that they weren't severely injured. She was blaming herself for their loss, as her vision went blurry in the last part. Maybe if that didn't happen she would have managed to counter the attacks. Despite all these emotions that were storming inside of her, she was smiling on the outside, she was so glad that her pokemon were ok.

"CHINCHOU! NIDO!" the two pokemon cried as Chloe suddenly closed her eyes and fell down on the ground unconscious. Volt walked up to her and touched her face with his angler. The girl was as hot as a Flareon. Guess being drenched in the river earlier had put its mark on poor Chloe. She was down with a fever, a fever that kept getting worse during their battle. Both Volt and Nina looked worried at their trainer which was breathing hard and looked like wasn't going to get up very soon.




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