[Pokémon] Mentor (PG-14)

[Dagzar]

Yay, another chapter! ^^ I found it interesting but I caught a few mistakes. Twice you put 'need' instead of 'needed' somewhere. (Sorry, I'm too lazy to go check where. >o<) Lol, the ending was funny...but true. I mean, seriously, I feel bad for all male Blissey. XD

I found the mistakes and fixed them, though I have no clue how I missed them. And yeah, male Blissey have it hard, but I can't help but feel sorry for all the female Mr. Mime. Even their name is against them! ;)

 

[Neiko Star]

Yeah. XD I remember Sabrina had a female Mr.Mime. I was like, What the heck? 0_0 I actually find Ed kind of annoying...which means that you're good at writing characters and personalities, because I don't care much about boring charries. All of your characters have good, distinct personalities and natures, and that makes them easy to identify. Which is good. :) They're realistic too. Can't wait for the Gym battle. ^-^

 

[Dagzar]

Yeah. XD I remember Sabrina had a female Mr. Mime. I was like, What the heck? 0_0 I actually find Ed kind of annoying...which means that you're good at writing characters and personalities, because I don't care much about boring charries. All of your characters have good, distinct personalities and natures, and that makes them easy to identify. Which is good. They're realistic too. Can't wait for the Gym battle. ^-^

Heh, if you found Ed annoying, then my work is done. He's the irritating kid brother you never knew you had. I'm glad my characters are distinct enough to not be boring because I too hate boring main characters and I wouldn't like it if they came out like that. And yup, I also can't wait to continue writing the gym battle, though I think I made it a bit hard on myself.

 

[delongbi]

Leah could see the girl winning just because Voltorb was unpredictable, though if Voltorb lost, then there was absolutely no chance of the girl bouncing back.

This was the only mistake I caught. You should delete the ", then"- It should be:

Leah could see the girl winning just because Voltorb was unpredictable, though if Voltorb lost there was absolutely no chance of the girl bouncing back.

Actually, that's more of a wording issue... your wording just sounds a bit awkward. Anyway, great chapter. I like how realistic your wild Pokemon are, and I agree with Leah- a lot of Pokemon are ignored and criticized because they are not as cute. So far you've done a very good job of using fairly underappreciated Pokemon!

Great story, keep up the good work!

 

[Cirrus]

Nice fiction you've got there. Fairly balanced.

I'll have to read all of it when I've got the time.

Anyway... keep up the great work!

 

[Dagzar]

This was the only mistake I caught. You should delete the ", then"- It should be:

Leah could see the girl winning just because Voltorb was unpredictable, though if Voltorb lost there was absolutely no chance of the girl bouncing back. Actually, that's more of a wording issue... your wording just sounds a bit awkward.

I'll see if I can make up a better sentence for that later. Thanks for pointing it out.

Anyway, great chapter. I like how realistic your wild Pokemon are, and I agree with Leah- a lot of Pokemon are ignored and criticized because they are not as cute. So far you've done a very good job of using fairly underappreciated Pokemon!

Great story, keep up the good work!

Yeah, I personally think the ugly Pokemon are the more interesting ones and they're actually pretty useful in-game. The cute ones are just so boring and common these days while Pokemon like Paras and Victreebel can be awesome when used properly.

Nice fiction you've got there. Fairly balanced.

I'll have to read all of it when I've got the time.

Anyway... keep up the great work!

Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you like it and don't worry, I'll try. ;)

 

[Giratina ♀]

Yeah, I personally think the ugly Pokemon are the more interesting ones and they're actually pretty useful in-game. The cute ones are just so boring and common these days while Pokemon like Paras and Victreebel can be awesome when used properly.

Agreed!

[has a strange obsession with Murkrows and Magmars]

 

[Neiko Star]

Yup, that's totally true. I mean, seriously...Vulpix and Eevee are way too common in stories. What's wrong with poor Murkrow?

 

[Giratina ♀]

Foolish mortals fanfiction writers don't know the true value of awesome Pogermans. :C

 

[Dagzar]

Murkrow are awesome! (I'd say the same for Magmar, but they're being highly uncooperative at letting me catch them in Pokemon Leafgreen). I don't mind Vulpix or Eevee being used as long as they're not starters. Seriously, I can hardly count how many OT fics I've come across that have either of them as starters.

 

[Neiko Star]

Riolu's starting to get annoying too. Charmander as well. (Ugh, people try to follow the 'classic' starters, but they always choose Charmander because it evolves into Charizard.) And holy crap, you can catch Magmar in LeafGree? 0_0

 

[Dagzar]

Ugh, don't remind me about Riolu. I have an odd hate for that Pokemon (weirdly, I don't mind Lucario).

And holy crap, you can catch Magmar in LeafGree? 0_0

Yup, on Mt. Ember, on One Island. Personality, I'd rather have Electabuzz, but it's only in FireRed. :disappoin

 

[Dagzar]

Mentor
Chapter 9: Blaine​

Ed frowned. "It doesn't look very gym-like."

"What were you expecting?" Leah asked sarcastically. "It being shaped like a volcano?"

"No…" Ed said slowly. "But maybe less… boring?"

That was true as Leah observed the building in front of the trio. It wasn't unique looking, just a plain white structure that was out in the middle of nowhere. The building was standing on the edge of a cliff, closed in by the forest. The area looked a bit dangerous, especially since it looked like the cliff could crumble at any sign of trouble and taking the gym with it. There were no windows, only a single double door entrance with a sign to the left of it stating:

Cinnabar Island Gym!
Enter and challenge
Gym Leader Blaine
for the Volcano Badge!​

"Come on," Leah said, pushing open one of the doors. "I'm not standing around all day."

Ed and Ally exchanged looks before following hesitantly, both of them wondering whether they somehow wound up in the wrong place.

Unlike the outside however, the inside wasn't as dull. The room they ended up in had white walls, tiled gray squares for the floor and a desk behind a single line of plastic chairs that were all connected by steel supports. Candles formed in groups of eight flickered around the room, giving it light, though they didn't seem to be giving off much judging by the bright lamp the man behind the desk was using.

The dark-haired man glanced up from his book as they entered. Leah was only able to get a glance of a green cover before the book was put down as the man stood and welcomed them.

"You here to challenge Blaine?" he asked, voice rough.

Leah motioned behind her to the duo, who were still looking around curiously. "They are, not me."

He nodded. "There hasn't been any challengers all day, so you won't have to wait. I just need anyone challenging to fill out a form first."

Ally hesitantly picked up the clipboard that was put out in front of her and Ed. She silently scanned the words under the light of the lamp before asking, "w-why do we need it?"

Ed glanced over her shoulder, eyes narrowing. "Yeah, why do we need a signature from a guardian? What if they're not here?"

The man coughed. "I assumed that the young lady with you was your regulated guardian. I'm sorry if it inconveniences you, but these are new rules."

Leah snatched the clipboard from Ally and read it over quickly. The form was basically outlining that the Cinnabar Island Gym was at no fault for any accidents and couldn't be sued if anything happened to the trainer or their Pokemon.

"This is ********," she said, frowning. She didn't really understand what the form was about or if it was even legal. Wasn't she underage? "When did gyms ever need these?"

"It's a new process," the secretary replied. "It's a bit hard to explain."

"So I just have to sign this and they can get in?"

The answer was absolute. "Yes."

Leah looked back at the duo, but before she could say anything, Ed verbally jumped her.

"You're going to sign it," he said, expression filled with determination. "We're ready."

She snorted. "I don't care, I just don't like signing stuff." Though she signed it anyways, using the pen the secretary gave her. The blue ink made her full name look very permanent on the paper and she handed the clipboard and pen back to the man.

The secretary nodded and sat down again. "Thank you. I'll page Blaine and let him know he has challengers." He turned to Ed and Ally. "To make sure Blaine can properly challenge you, I must know what level the Pokemon you plan on using are."

Ed looked panicked. "Level?"

"You don't know?" Leah asked Ed incredulously. "Even I know what he's talking about."

"Is it how strong our Pokemon are?" Ally asked nervously.

Leah sighed in her head. She hated explaining things. "Yeah, kinda. It's a new system where your Pokemon is assigned a level and that's how strong it currently is. The levels go from zero to ten."

The man took over. "I could give you an example. Could one of you volunteer your Pokemon's techniques?"

"Attacks? I could, yeah," Ed said and thought for a moment. "My Paras knows Scratch, Stun Spore, Poison Powder and just learned Leech Life."

The secretary thought deeply. "I don't know much about Paras, but I'd say it's at early level one. So I assume the rest of your Pokemon are like that." He picked up the phone and pressed a button. After a moment he said, "Blaine, I have two challengers for you, their Pokemon are in level one as I assume." Pause. "Yes, I'll send them in a few minutes."

Ed grinned at the one-sided conversation while Ally bowed her head, lost in thought. Just when Leah thought she would get away with doing nothing for the rest of the time, Ally spoke to her.

"Uh, Leah," she asked nervously. "D- do you think I'm ready for this? This battle?"

Leah shrugged, disinterested. "How should I know? Depends if your Voltorb goes psycho or not."

Ally bit her lip. "S- Sparks still doesn't like me and he won't obey."

Sighing, Leah scratched her head and thought whether she should give out some type of wisdom. "Well, Voltorb will attack anything that moves, so as long as it doesn't see anything else, doesn't go out of boundaries or doesn't attack us again, it can probably fight on its own."

Despite her advice, Ally just looked more worried.

The secretary spoke up after a few more minutes. "I think Blaine's ready, so you can probably go in now."

Ed jogged towards another set of double-doors, grinning, and fidgeted when he had to wait for the other two to catch up.

"This is it!" Ed exclaimed. "My very first gym battle!"

Leah rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, let's go already."

"A- are we all supposed to go in at the same time?" Ally asked.

Leah opened one of the doors and stared into the dim room. "Dunno. Oh well."

They entered the arena. The large, rectangular room was just as well lit as the waiting room, minus the lamp. The candles were lined up in two lines all around the gym walls, the ones at the back taller then those at the front. The ground was made of stone and small pebbles crunched under their feet as they went further in. There was a rectangular white chalk outline on the stone with two boxes drawn on either side of the rectangle. In the middle of the chalk outline was a single line that went through a Pokeball-like diagram that was positioned exactly in center.

It became apparent that the chalk box on the other side of the room was occupied. It contained a tall man with no hair except for a fuzzy white mustache. He wore a long white lab coat over a black shirt with a red tie and had blue pants. Completing his outfit were a small pair of circular black sunglasses that were perched comfortably over his eyes.

"Ah-ha!" he boomed as he spotted his guests.

The room seemed to amplify his voice and Leah winced at the volume. Ed and Ally exchanged looks before Ed bravely stepped forward.

"Hi!" he said brightly. "I'm here to get the Volcano Badge!"

Ed's voice was just as loud as Blaine's and Leah wished that they would both just quiet down a tad. Or maybe shut up all together and get the battle started.

"Then you've come to the right place!" Blaine said, just as cheerful.

Very shyly, Ally also stepped forward. "Uh, I- I'd like to challenge you too…"

Blaine's voice was still annoyingly loud. "Excellent! Why don't you two introduce yourselves."

Ed nodded determinately. "I'm Ed Williams from Fuchsia City!"

Ally also replied. "I- I'm Ally Anderson from Cerulean City."

Blaine then spotted Leah who was standing behind the duo. "How about you? Are you also challenging me?"

Leah leaned against the wall and gave him a bored look. "Of course not."

Blaine pouted, put off by her attitude. Suddenly, he got a cunning look on his face and took out two Pokeballs from his pocket. The balls were odd looking, their orange tops obviously different from their usual red.

"Since you both are challenging me," Blaine explained to the two. "I will make this battle an interesting one. You two will both fight me at the same time; a double-battle. There will be no time limit and it'll be two on two, you each using one Pokemon. Is that fair?"

"But what if we've never-" Ed exchanged frantic glances with Ally and Leah started wondering whether the two somehow developed the power to talk telepathically.

"Don't worry!" Blaine's abnormally loud voice soothed them. "It's not that hard, you don't need to actually fight together if you don't want to."

Ed exchanged one more look with Ally before he made the decision. "Bring it on!"

"That's the spirit!"

Leah, meanwhile, slid down the wall as it looked like the battle would take a while. She crossed her legs and sighed deeply before leaning her head against her hand. Her loose, stringy hair shifted across her vision, but she made no move to remove it, having no interest in the battle. At least, not yet.

Blaine made one last call on his pager, saying some words, and almost immediately, the secretary shuffled in, holding a green and red flag. He obviously didn't have much work to do as he dully stood outside the boundary line, parallel to the chalk Pokeball.

The secretary sighed and raised his flags. "This is a battle between Gym Leader Blaine of Cinnabar Island and Ed Williams and Ally Anderson, from Fuchsia and Cerulean City respectively. This is a double-battle with no time limit…"

Blaine gave the secretary a pitying look. "Come now, can't you put some emotion into it?"

The secretary ignored him. "Let the battle begin," he droned and waved the flags down.

Blaine went first and threw both of his Pokeballs out in front of him.

The first Pokemon was dog-like in appearance as it sat on its hunches, tongue hanging out of its mouth. It was covered in short orange fur with small black stripes on its legs and back. Long and poufy pale fur stuck up in every direction from between its triangular ears and on its stomach. Behind it, its large pale fluffy tail wagged happily and its black eyes stared curiously at the two trainers in front of it.

Blaine's second Pokemon was a Vulpix. It looked just like any other Vulpix, brown fur, fox-like body, but it was sporting three tails that fanned out behind it. It pawed the ground and tilted its head, ready to receive orders.

Ed wasn't worried about the Growlithe and the Vulpix, both fire types. He had been training with his Paras and he was confident that he could win. "Go, Paras!"

Unlike its trainer, Paras didn't care if Ed was prepared or not. The Pokemon held up its claws, once covered by blood and the liquid from an eye, and silently threatened the two foes that stood before it.

Ally hesitated. She bit her lip, her Pokeball shaking with her arm.

Looking up at the sudden movement, Leah followed Ally's arm curiously as the girl put the Pokeball back into her bag and brought out a different one. Oh no, Leah thought. Please don't tell me she's going to…

"Go, Amber!" Ally said clearly, letting loose her recent addition. For the first time under a trainer's rule, the two-tailed Vulpix looked around, not recognizing the environment she was in. Her eyes caught another pair of eyes, similar to her own, and she stared into the face that could be seen within a mirror. She hissed at it and the other Vulpix growled back.

And so the battle began.

Ed wasn't concerned about Ally's choice of Pokemon. He had to concentrate on his own battle and didn't have any time to be worried. "Paras! Poison Powder!"

"Growlithe, Ember!" Blaine cried. "Stop it!"

The Paras was busy, silently letting its mushrooms generate purple spores, but it seemed it wouldn't be able to finish. On the other side of the field, the Growlithe barked and spat a mouthful of flames. The fire streaked towards Paras and the bug type forced its little delicate legs to propel itself out of the way. Paras made a little clicking sound as one its legs didn't get out of the blast in time and tingled in pain. It had just enough time to look up to see the Growlithe trotting towards it, fangs barred.





Meanwhile, the two Vulpix stared at each other in menace, glaring and trying the scare the other Pokemon off. Amber was the underdog, having one less tail than the other, but didn't back down, its instincts howling at it to get rid of the other Pokemon. The other Vulpix fanned out its tails, whipping them in the air in warning. When Amber stood its ground, Blaine's Vulpix knelt down, its back legs hunched before it darted forward and crossed the arena in seconds.

"Watch out, Amber!" Ally gasped as her Vulpix leapt aside, the other Vulpix shooting past a few more feet before stopping and turning around. It tried to tackle her Vulpix again and again. Each time, Amber got out of the way with a hair to spare, but she was obviously getting tired. Amber panted and her fur coat was already starting to gleam with sweat.

"Vulpix," Blaine commanded, switching his attention for a brief moment. "Keep using Quick Attack!"

The Vulpix agreed, keeping up its assault on Amber.

Ally also gave a command. "Ember!"

Amber didn't understand what Ally was saying, but its instincts screamed for it to defend herself, so that's what she did. She skidded to a halt, after dodging another attack. With an intake of breath, Amber held it in, and just when the enemy Vulpix came shooting in again, she released it. The fireball hit its target dead on, blowing the other Vulpix back, but the Vulpix just got up again, not looking at all damaged. Actually, it looked even better than before, standing up straighter and its ears were perked.

It let out an arrogant huff and inhaled just as Amber previously did, but instead of fire, out came sound. The sound was fierce and it didn't sound like something such a small body could produce. Amber whined at the noise, unwillingly backing up, ears flattened and tails curled in between its legs.

"It's okay, Amber!" Ally cried out, trying to give her Pokemon courage. "Don't back down!"





On Ed's side of the field, the Growlithe looked up at the noise, its lips pulling back to show a hint of teeth. Paras, on the other hand, was as cool as a cucumber, casually going on with making its Poison Powder. Getting a whiff of a bad scent, the Growlithe snapped its head towards the bug Pokemon and lunged. The fire type had the perfect timing, getting a face full of Poison Powder for its efforts. Paras looked up at the hunched over dog Pokemon coolly and its tapping feet moved it backwards quite a bit as it gave off the impression of smugness.

"Good job, Paras!" Ed cheered, but on the inside, his mind was racing on what to do next. The Growlithe was poisoned, so Paras couldn't use Stun Spore and the bug type didn't know any special attacks. To defeat the Growlithe, Paras would have to use either Scratch or Leech Life and that meant going closer.

"Paras! Go up closer and use Scratch!"

Paras gave its trainer a un-amused look, but did as he commanded. Its feet clicked and clattered as it made its way toward the Growlithe, who growled angrily. The fire type got back up to its feet, but kept its swollen eyes shut and instead sniffed the air with its black nose. Paras walked up to it cautiously, claws held up, their points looking as sharp as ever. Suddenly, the Growlithe extended its neck to as far as it could go and bit down to where it thought the bug was.

Paras had backed up at the last minute, but took the opportunity. It swung its claw horizontally and swiped at the Growlithe's head. Growlithe yelped as the claw nicked it on the side of the mouth and in defense, it breathed out flames.

This time, there was no way Paras could dodge.

"Paras!" Ed yelled as his Pokemon was covered in fire and thrown back a few feet at such a close-ranged attack. The bug type skidded along the ground, its feet scrapping lifelessly across the stone. Its healthy orange skin had turned a burnt dark orange and a bit of steam rose off of the body, which didn't move as it came to a halt.

Ed stood frozen, watching his Pokemon and wondered whether he should go see if it was okay. His hand was on his Pokeball and he thought about recalling his Paras, but didn't try as he stared at the body, hoping it would get up.

The referee slash secretary carefully walked on the field, making sure to stay away from the other battle. He leaned in towards the Paras and looked at it carefully. When he didn't see any sign of movement, he called it.

"Paras is unable to battle!" he declared, raising the red flag. "This victory goes to Growlithe and Gym Leader Blaine!"





Amber tried not to back down. It slowly uncurled its tails, one at a time and tried to stand up straight on its trembling legs. The other Vulpix growled at her when she tried to raise her head.

"Don't let it bully you!" Ally told her as the girl thought furiously.

What should she do? What attacks did Amber know? Ember, Tail Whip, and maybe Roar… What could those do against another fire type? What should she do? No. A better question was what could she do? Amber couldn't defeat the other Vulpix. It was stronger, faster and more powerful. So, if Amber couldn't defeat the other Vulpix, should she just give up? Spare Amber more pain?

No, Ally thought instantly. She couldn't do that. Not only would Ed and Leah be disappointed in her, but how could she go back home knowing that she gave up? She was a Pokemon trainer now! Pokemon trainers didn't give up. Never.

The real question she should be thinking about was that if Amber couldn't win the battle directly, how else could it be won?

"Vulpix," Blaine said. "Quick Attack, finish it off!"

The other Vulpix seemingly nodded to itself as its body curled up like a spring. It blurred as it shot off like a cannon ball. Instead of trying to hit Amber head on, it halted a few feet beside her and prepared to tackle Amber's side.

"Dodge!" Ally screamed.

Amber did so, once again getting out of the way in time. The other Vulpix shot past her, where it skid to a halt before turning around and got ready to try again.

Now was her chance! "Ember! Amber, use Ember!"

The Pokemon didn't understand, though it felt like it should being doing something. It didn't realize how stupid it was to use an attack that didn't do anything the first time, but it inhaled, gathering up air. The flame unleashed raced across the gap between the Pokemon where it hit the other Vulpix directly, who did know that fire didn't hurt it and always made it feel more powerful. So it took the hit, no matter how close it was and felt better. It was forced back by the blast, but as soon as it stopped, it prepared another assault.

"Wait!" The referee called as he raised both flags. Both Vulpix paused as the man looked towards Blaine's Vulpix critically and saw the obvious. Behind the other Vulpix was the boundary line, its straight path marred by the messy white blur that was smudged outwards, out of the battle zone. The secretary went over to Blaine's Vulpix and lifted one of its paws, revealing white chalk sticking to its heel.

It was called. "Vulpix has gone out-of-bounds! This victory goes to Vulpix and Pokemon Trainer Ally!"





The battle had ended and it had left Leah scowling fiercely as she redid her ponytail before whipping it back behind her.

What a copout! Seriously, it was just getting interesting. Blaine's Vulpix was about to wipe Ally's Vulpix into infinity and then wham! Out of nowhere, the foe Vulpix got disqualified for putting a foot out-of-bounds. What a rip-off!

She got to her feet, put her arms in the air and stretched. The gym should really have built in audience chairs because wow, she didn't think that the stone floor would be that uncomfortable. Her legs hurt, her butt hurt and she wanted to leave already after such an anticlimactic battle.

Across the gym, at the challenger's box, Ed and Ally were talking to Blaine. Ed's Paras was gone, presumably back in its Pokeball, but Ally had her arms filled up with her Vulpix, who was held to her shoulder like a cat. As Leah walked closer, she could see and hear what was going on.

Ally was beaming as Blaine held up a triangular orange badge.

"This is the volcano badge," Blaine explained. "It's proof that you've beaten me. If you get seven more of these, you can enter the Indigo League Tournament that will be taking place in the spring."

Ally smiled happily as she took the badge and kept it in her hand as she held Amber. "Thank you!"

"Good job, Ally," Ed said weakly, forcing a smile. "You did great."

"Uh huh," Leah said dryly, coming up to them. "You done?"

Blaine coughed. "Ah, one more thing." He reached into his pocket and pulled out another badge. "I challenged you two to a double battle, so since I lost, both of you won."

Leah knew what was about to happen and mentally started to swear. "Uh, wait a minute. Your Growlithe beat his Paras, so technically, isn't this a stalemate?"

"I could say that," Blaine considered. "But Growlithe was poisoned and wouldn't last long anyways, so that's one for me and one and a half for the challengers."

Damn it!

Ed took the badge, holding it like it was the most precious thing in the world. His voice was shaky. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it!" Blaine's booming voice returned as he laughed. "Good battle you two! I hardly ever see newbies around here; they always go to Viridian or Pewter City first."

"We were going to go that route," Ed explained as a grin started to set in. "But Leah said that'd we should go here first."

"Ah!" Blaine boomed and Leah was suddenly under the unseen gaze of the gym leader. "That's smart, then. Viridian City is packed with trainers this time of year, the waiting list for the gym is probably days long! What's your name?"

The sudden change of topic jarred Leah. "Leah Gordon. Why?"

"Hmm," Blaine was silent for a moment before laughing. "No reason!"

Ally spoke up. "Um, the man that refereed the match, he gave Ed's Paras a level… do you think you can tell my Vulpix's?"

"Just caught, eh?" Blaine said as he hoisted Amber from Ally's arms, holding her above his head as he looked at the Pokemon from all sides.

"Yes, just this morning."

After a few more minutes of observation, Blaine handed Amber back. "Well, judging by the gym battle, I'd say that he's not quite on the chart yet and if so, very low level one."

Ally nodded along, but froze as she went through the explanation. "He?"

Blaine chuckled, a bit embarrassed for Amber's sake. "Yes. It comes to a surprise for some people, but Vulpix can be male, though it's a bit rare."

"Amber the male Vulpix," Leah snorted, amused. "Poor Pokemon."

The girl looked torn as she held Amber tight. Then, something flashed across her face before disappearing. "No," Ally said firmly. "Nothing's wrong with Amber. Amber's a nice name; it can be used for a boy."

Leah nodded as if agreeing. "Suuuuuure," she drew out, smirking. "Whatever you say."

After a few more minutes a chatter, Blaine departed to seemingly heal his Pokemon, leaving the trio to their own devises.

"Our first badge!" Ed cheered. "Awesome!"

Ally smiled and agreed. "We won!"

"Don't get cheerful yet," Leah warned them as they walked out of the gym and into the sunlight. "We still have to go back through the forest and if a Pokemon attacks us, we're screwed unless another sacrifice pops up."

Ed ignored her. "I still can't believe we won!"

Leah let her failed act of changing the topic slide. "Yeah, me either. He obviously went very easy on you."

"Maybe a little," Ed admitted. "But we still won!"

"Not really," Leah said, putting her hands in her pockets. "Blaine could have defeated you guys easily if he didn't let his Pokemon do his own thing. And even then, you half-lost."

Ally hummed a bit and agreed with Ed. "It doesn't matter, we still won."

Leah sighed and looked at the clear blue sky ahead of them, overlooking the trees.

"Suit yourself."





A/N: Since I thought that the real leveling system from the games was too detailed, I've decided to introduce a vague one. Level one Pokemon in this system are levels 10 – 19, level two Pokemon are levels 20 – 29 and so on. (Just in case I confused people).

When I was going over the gym leader battle, I noticed most of the actions followed a pattern of either dodging or direct hits, so I apologize for its boringness.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and next week we'll finally be getting the show on the road!

 

[Buoysel]

Love the way the battle was won. Very clever indead. Can't wait to read more.

 

[Dagzar]

Love the way the battle was won. Very clever indead. Can't wait to read more.

Thanks, Buoysel! Heh, I wasn't sure that winning the battle due to boundaries was a good idea, but I'm happy it seems okay.

 

[Neiko Star]

Great battle! Wow, I really wasn't expecting that...but in the first sentence, you wrote that Ed didn't seem very gym-like. XD

 

[Dagzar]

Great battle! Wow, I really wasn't expecting that...but in the first sentence, you wrote that Ed didn't seem very gym-like. XD

<.< Very first line; how did I miss that?

Anyways, I originally wasn't going to have Amber kick Vulpix out-of-bounds, but I honestly couldn't think of any other way on how to win. *sighs* That's the problem with these battles, a small move pool equals not much to do.

 

[Giratina ♀]

That's true, small movepools equal spamming of a lot of moves in most battles, but I think you got out of that pretty well! I certainly wouldn't have expected it.

 

[Dagzar]

That's true, small movepools equal spamming of a lot of moves in most battles, but I think you got out of that pretty well! I certainly wouldn't have expected it.

Thanks, Giratinasaur! Heh, the trio's Pokemon should hopefully get a few more moves soon so that they won't have to rely on other ways to win battles. I find that there's actually a lot of ways to win battles, like time limit and such, but it'd get boring if I kept using loopholes.

Anyways, thanks for reviewing!

 

[Dagzar]

Uh, yeah. Obviously, this isn't an update. :(

You see, the next few chapters are pretty important and, in fear of screwing up, I won't be updating this week, even if I've finished Chapter Ten. I need to make sure these next chapters go according to plan and, while the next chapter technically isn't as important as the others, I need to do some much needed tinkering on it.

Anyways, sorry for the inconvenience, but you guys will just have to wait until next week where you'd probably get a better chapter than if I posted it today.