"Sunkern!!!" came from nowhere.Chapter 4
I kissed my Pokeball and threw it onto the ground.
"Time for your first battle, Tracer!" Smeargle came out of his ball and blinked rapidly. He was in a state of shock.
"What?!? Your first battle? I am not battling with an amateur! I look for real battles! Hah! Your Smeargle wouldn't last a minute against my Aphrodite!" She wasn't good at hiding her feelings and I could tell she was quite pleased to find out this was my first battle. An easy win. Smeargle was stung by these insults, but instead of being sad, he was mad.
"So are you ready to battle, Tracer?" He waved his tail furiously.
"Ok. Before we start the battle, I give you my name and you give me yours. My name is Cathleen."
"Kristy."
"Ok, Kristy! Don't blink! Because the battle has just began! Aphrodite, Attraction! Now!" She pointed her finger at me and Aphrodite ran left to right throwing kisses, invisible kisses. How can Tracer dodge something he can't see?
"Tracer, dodge it! Er, or, umm, grow immune to it, uh, ahh!!" Tracer looked at me skeptically and just decided to jump up and down. Then he stopped in mid jump and looked lovingly at Aphrodite. Oh, no!
"Ha!" Cathleen cackled. "Aphrodite, Flamethrower!"
Attraction only stopped you from attacking her, I think, but Sketching and Dodging doesn't hurt her! "Tracer, jump to the side and Sketch that Flamethrower!"
Tracer obeyed and Sketched it. But Aphrodite released another Flamethrower which burnt his tail, disabling him from Sketching any more attacks during this battle! Tracer howled with pain, but he was still looking lovingly at Aphrodite. Oh, no! It wasn't wearing off!
"Looks like your Smeargle is absolutely smitten with my Smeargle! Do you not know how to train him?" She giggled madly for that moment, leaving Aphrodite vulnerable to attacks.
Wait, I think I have an idea! "Tracer, Hypnosis! You've used it before! It won't hurt her, in fact, it'll help her! She needs her beauty sleep, right?" Tracer looked at me as if it was a good a idea and waves came out of his head and towards Aphrodite.
This shocked both Aphrodite and Cathleen. "What!?! You know Hypnosis!?! Aphrodite, dodge it! Run away from it! Thunder Wave!" Bad move.
Aphrodite sprinted around randomly and when she stopped for a brief moment to use Thunder Wave, Tracer's Hypnosis hit her. Unlike back at the warehouse, the effect was immediate. She was down before you could say 'Sweet Dreams'. She might have an attractive Pokemon, but she wasn't attractive when she slept. She snored really loudly so that her nostrils looked huge. All the wild Smeargles that had been cheering her on fled.
"Aphrodite! Wake up! Grrr! I don't have something that'll wake her up! Wake up, Aphrodite! NOW!!" She stomped, but Aphrodite continued to snore.
Tracer got one look at her and his face turned green. The effect of the Attraction was over!
"Tracer, Flamethrower!" Tracer let loose huge sparks of fire onto Aphrodite. Aphrodite woke up and was furious! Her bow was burned away so that she didn't look any different from Tracer, except that she was full of burnt markings.
"Aphrodite! Thunder Wave!"
"Tracer! Hypnosis!" It was Tracer's waves against Aphrodite's. Although they were different waves, you could tell that they were at this one place, struggling to push the other.
"Aphrodite, concentrate on your Thunder Wave!"
"Tracer! If you win, I'll cook for you as much sausage and bacon and whatever you want! Oh, just, please try to win!" Aphrodite's health was already down by two-thirds so it wasn't a surprise to see Tracer's waves slowly push her waves back towards her.
"Aphrodite! Concentrate!" Cathleen looked around frantically for something to help Aphrodite.
"Bacon! Apples! Blueberry Pie! I'll make you anything! This is your first battle and you don't want to go off on a bad start!" Beads of sweat trickled off of Tracer's forehead. The waves were pushing, pushing, pushed!
Aphrodite fell back down. But this time she was both asleep and paralyzed. Her eyes were half opened and her mouth kept opening and closing like a goldfish.
"Tracer, another Flamethrower!"
"Aphrodite! Dodge it!" Cathleen was was half screaming and crying. "Aphrodite!!" Aphrodite didn't budge. Tracer's Flamethrower finally reached Aphrodite after what seemed like an eternity. Aphrodite didn't move. The only that thing that told me that the Flamethrower didn't miss her was that now she was much darker. All that stood was a tiny flame on her forehead, burning away her already burnt bow. She fell.
"Aphrodite!!" Cathleen ran to Aphrodite and picked her up. She ran back into the Pokemon Center, crying. The guys looking pityingly at her fading shadow and just glared at me. Then they followed her back into the Pokemon Center.
"Good job, Tracer!" I gave him a high five and rubbed his head. "You won your first battle! I'm so proud of you!" I hugged him for a while and lost myself. I had won my first battle! I couldn't believe it!
Tracer struggled away from my grasp and dug into my plastic bag that was lying on the ground. He fished out my Pokemon Translator and pressed the red button.
"Smeargle, Smear, Smear, Smeargle?"
"So when do I get my food?" He let go of the button and placed the Pokemon Translator back into my bag. I couldn't help, but laugh.
"Soon. I promise. But first I gotta heal you at the Pokemon Center. You've had a tough battle. Back in the ball." I called him back into my Pokeball and a beam of light sucked him into it. I turned towards Kom and grinned. He smiled back.
"Sooo..what does Mr. I Have No Confidence In You want to say now?" I said nonchalantly.
He smiled again and said, "I'm proud of you and I think your Smeargle would appreciate it if you healed him and gave him his food now.
"Tracer. He has a name now." I smiled and dashed into the Pokemon Center. Cathleen looked at me bitterly as I gave my pokeball to Nurse Joy. A guy was comforting her.
"This isn't the last time we'll meet. We'll battle again, and next time, I swear I'll beat you." It wasn't until now I noticed she had dropped her Southern accent. It scared me that I now had an enemy. It scared me that she had taken this so seriously. It scared me. She whispered again, "I swear."
When I finally got my Pokeball, I slowly backed away from Cathleen.
"What? Now you're scared of me? You should be. That was a lucky stroke. I don't lose to newbies." Her hazel eyes flashed and her face darkened. Then she took my hand and I flinched.
"What? You won the battle. Here's what you've won." She placed some crisp bills into my hand.
"I don't get it. We weren't gambling or betting." I tried to give her back her money.
"Look, it doesn't matter whether we were battling for money or not. Everytime two people battle, the loser has to give the winner half of the amount of money she has with her. But the rules can be changed if both sides agree on something else."
"But you could have just not told me and saved yourself the money." I tried to give her back the money, but she wouldn't take it.
"Are you kidding? I could get arrested. Don't you know anything?? I wouldn't be allowed to battle anymore! I'm saving myself so I can beat you later on."
"Oh, um, thanks." I counted the money and put it in my plastic bag.
"Hmph, you're going to need it. Go buy yourself a dress. You're a disgrace to all girls." My cheeks flushed and I held onto my bag. I walked out and left Cathleen and her laughing guys. But she herself wasn't laughing, she just looked angrily at me.
I walked outside and went to Kom.
"Are you ready to go to the shops?" He had his on backpack and he was sitting on Stantler.
"Yeah, oh, I have some money from that battle I won." I got onto Stantler's back.
"Stantler, to the Poke Mall. I'm not going to direct you because I trust you know the way." He turned his head towards me and I grabbed his waist. "Next time you shouldn't be too eager to battle. You only won because she was overconfident."
"Are you saying that I didn't have the talent to win? That's mean!"
"It's true. Slow down, Stantler. A rule of thumb is to choose your opponents carefully. They can unleash anything. For example, Cathleen never expected your Smeargle would know Hypnosis. It caught her off guard and cost her her battle. You have to think like your oponent."
"Are you lecturing me? I won anyways!"
"You've never taken these Pokemon classes they have here and I understand, but you mustn't be indignant when I'm trying to teach you something. You are from the other world and thus know nothing of our world. There is much for you to learn."
At the mention of 'outer world', my eyes drooped. I missed my family. Kom remained silent. He knew he had hurt me.
I concentrated on where we were. We were in a field and there were wild Pokemon scattered everywhere. I wanted to catch them! I knew Smeargle wouldn't have minded. But I didn't dare stop Kom or Stantler. Maybe afterwards.
We reached the Poke Mall in about twenty minutes. When I saw it, I was surprised. It was a small, dinky place in the middle of nowhere. It was more like a supermarket. Inside was no different. Instead of cereal loaded on the shelves, there where Pokeballs, potions, and other Pokemon merchandise.
I glanced around the backpack aisle and found a pretty light blue backpack. I got a whole bunch af stuff and took it the counter.
"That'll be 114 dollars and 66 cents, miss."
My eyes must have bogged out or something because Kom offered to pay for it. I counted the money I won from Cathleen and found I had only won 40 dollars. She must have been a pretty rich girl if this was half of the amount of money she had with her at first. I looked miserably at Kom and tried to give it to him, but he wouldn't take a cent and said that I needed it. I put everything I had into my bag and threw my plastic bag into a nearby trash bin. I swung my backpack onto my shoulder and I felt ready!
"Kom? Do you think we could go back to that field that we just passed on our way here? I would love to catch some new Pokemon! Wouldn't you?"
"It sounds reasonable." We got on Stantler and went back to the field. On the way, he told me that it was called the Flora Fields and I jotted down a map of our surroundings onto my notebook.
The moment we reached there, I jumped off Stantler and called Smeargle out. Kom and I splitted so that we both could catch wild Pokemon without interferring with each other.
Of course, I had to choose the empty place. After a while, Tracer started to complain so we sat down on the grass. Being the idiot I was, I had no food. Being the bigger idiot that I was, I had no way of finding Kom's location.
"Sunkern!!!" came from nowhere.
"Oof!" Something hard fell on top of my head. Sunkern bounced off my head and into my lap. He gave a shriek and immediately tried to run, umm, bounce away.
"Not so fast!" I grabbed him and he vibrated fiercely within my grasp. "Come on, would you be my Pokemon? Smeargle and I are getting kind of lonesome and we need some company. I'll put you down slowly and you promise not to hop away, ok?" I put him down and he stayed.
"Sunkern!"
I got out my Pokemon Translator and pressed the button.
"Sunkern?"
"What is this?" said the Translator.
"Sun, Sunkern!!"
"Oh, hey, cool!!" translator.
"Sun, Sunkern, Sun, Sun, Kern, Sunkeeeerrrnnn!"
"Sally went to the sea and got some seashellllllsssss!" translator.
"Hey, quit it!"
"Sunkern." He shut up.
"I'm sorry." translator.
"So will you be my Pokemon?"
"Kern!"
"No!" translator.
"No?!? Why not!?!"
"Sunkern, kern." he stuck out his tongue and crossed his eyes.
"Because you're mean, neah." translator.
"Smeargle, smear, smeargle."
"Aw, come on, she's really nice once you get to know her." translator.
"Sunkern!"
"Liar!" translator.
"Smeargle..."
"She makes good sausages..." translator.
"Sunkern? Suuuunnnn....Sunkern!! Sunkern!" He hopped up excitedly.
"Sausage? Mmmmmmmmm....Alright!! But you'll have to battle me first!" translator.
"Alright! Yay!" I put away my translator and stood up. Sunkern hopped away for a couple of meters and turned around.
"Tracer! Use your Hypnosis on Sunkern!"
Sunkern smiled and a small seed popped out from behind him. It flew onto Tracer and landed on his head. This distracted him which stopped his Hypnosis right in the middle of the field.
"Rip the seed itself and destroy it with a Flamethrower! That'll wither the vines that are on you! Then continue concentrating on your Hypnosis!"
"Smeargle!" He did as I instructed and went back to his Hypnosis. Sunkern tried to use another Leech Seed, but he didn't suck enough energy from Tracer to be able to make another one. The result? He bounced everywhere screaming "Sunkern!" I think he was trying to yell Bloody Murder.
"Sunnn..zzzZZZ"
"Tracer! Use your Flamethrower, but not too harsh! You don't want to toast the little fella. Just barely breath on him." Tracer walked over to the sleeping Sunkern and wisp of fire came out of his mouth. It was enough to weaken and awaken the startled Sunkern. Smeargle used another Hypnosis without my telling to and I threw a Pokeball at Sunkern. It rolled. It shook. It vibrated. It beeped! I caught my very first Pokemon!!! Yay!!!
I picked up the Pokeball and Smeargle smiled drowsily at me. I suddenly noticed he was sweating so I called him back to his Pokeball. I guess he was still inexperienced to the point that a single battle would tire him out. The problem now was to find Kom. Maybe one day I would catch a Stantler myself. But it didn't worry me. I now had a new companion, Sunkern!
===End of Chapter 4===