Chapter 2: A Crab as a Partner?!
Ash set out off into the new route to begin her new adventure. For some reason, it felt a little awkward to be doing something like this, especially on her own. It was just suddenly a new thing she had to learn all about.
Oh well. With a little time, I'm sure I'll get the hang of it, Ash said to herself. She wasn't trying to be optimistic. She really thought that it was true, and she really could do it with a little practice.
Ash began to get a steady pace on the new route. She knew about all the other trainers, and how they were all heading to the same destination as her. She couldn't get too far behind and be considered a total loser.
Then, suddenly, a small boy jumped in front of her, blocking her path. "Hey, I challenge you to a pokemon battle!" he said. He held a pokeball right in Ash's face; almost close enough to where it touched the tip of her nose.
"No, no… I'm busy right now," Ash responded. She tried to get past the boy and be on her merry way.
"Nope, nope," said the boy. "I challenged you which means you have to battle me!" Without any consent from Ash, he threw the pokeball he was holding in the air. It hit the ground, and cracked open in a burst of red light. A small rat pokemon formed onto the field as the light dimmed away.
Great, Ash thought. She really hoped this wasn't going to get her behind everyone else. But then when she thought about it again, this training would be good. It would put her ahead, even if she was behind.
"Okay then… Go, Krabby!" Ash shouted. She threw her pokeball and it burst open, just like the boy's did. Her small crab pokemon appeared.
The boy looked for a second and then began to laugh. "What, are you serious?" he laughed. "You have a crab as a partner?! They must have ran out of good pokemon!"
Krabby began to bubble at the mouth angrily. Ash looked at her little pokemon and felt a little courage from him. "Hmp, my partner is really powerful. Why do you have a rat as a partner?"
This shut the kid up for a moment before he held up his hand. "Rattata, let's start this battle with tackle!" The rat ran forward towards Krabby at a hard speed.
"Krabby, hit Rattata with bubble!" Krabby hit the rat pokemon with multiple bubbles making it fall back. Ash beamed at her first successful attack. The kid, however, looked angry. Ash smirked thinking that he was remembering his comment he made about Krabby.
"Rattata, come forward and use tackle again!" shouted the kid. Rattata rushed forward again towards Krabby, just like their master ordered.
"Krabby, dodge and use bubble again!" Krabby leaped into the air out of the way, and then shot bubbles again. They hit the rat, once again, making it fly back again.
Ash stood there on her side of the field thinking that the battle was way too easy. She almost wondered if it was just natural to her, so the battle was easier than she thought. On the other side, the boy looked frustrated at Krabby, and then looked up at Ash. "You must think you have this battle won, but I have a secret weapon that will shut both of you down!"
Great, a secret weapon, Ash thought. As she thought this, she didn't know if she was truly scared, or if she was just sarcastic.
"Rattata, use quick attack!" Rattata came forward at Krabby just like the tackle attack, but it was almost ten times as quickly. It zipped forward and slammed right into Krabby hard.
"Krabby!" Ash shouted. She looked up and saw the rattata already on its side of the field again. She couldn't believe how quick it was.
"Now, do it again!" shouted the kid. Rattata zipped across the stage again and slammed into Krabby, making it fall back again.
"I have to stop this," Ash mumbled to herself. She thought about all of Krabby's moves, and smiled. She held up her hand bravely. "Krabby, use mud sport!" Krabby shot mud all over the field to where it turned almost into a mud swamp.
"Rattata, finish this off with one last quick attack!" Rattata tried to rush across the field, but it immediately began to stick in the mud, slowing it down tremendously. It then stopped almost directly in front of Krabby. The kid looked shocked. "Ah, no, Rattata use tail whip!"
"Krabby, use vicegrip on its tail!" Ash shouted. As Rattata tried to whirl around to hit Krabby with its tail, Krabby grabbed it with a pincher. It held on tight and used it to throw Rattata all the way in front of its trainer. Rattata fell down hard and collapsed almost immediately.
"No!" the kid shouted. He sighed and returned Rattata to its ball and walked over to Ash. "I- I'm sorry for calling your Krabby a loser. It is way more powerful than I thought." He held out a hand to Ash in apology and just to congratulate on a job well done. Ash shook it without hesitation and smiled at the boy's kindness.
A few minutes later, Ash began her journey on the road again and soon came to sign that read: Welcome to Viridian City. She had made it to her first town with one victory already under her belt.