The grass ended. The trees thinned out. The shrubberies vanished. And the mountains began. Up one side of the rocky road… mountains. Up the other side… more mountains. Isaac looked up in wonder.
*At least we’re out in the open* he thought to himself. *Out in the open and surrounded by mountains. Fantastic…*
“Hey you!”
Isaac stopped and looked around. Standing in a field next to the road was a boy of about 11.
“Hey, are you a Pokemon trainer?” he asked hopefully.
“Uhh… yeah. Why?” Isaac asked suspiciously.
“I’m challenging you to a Pokemon battle then, that’s why,” the kid exclaimed. Isaac’s eyes lit up.
“Fine, I’ll take you on,” he told the kid. “Just don’t be too sore when you lose.” *Man did that sound arrogant* he said, scolding himself.
“I doubt it. I’ve won every battle I’ve had so far for a whole week,” the kid sneared back. “I just wanna add one more victory to my list before the end of the day.” The boy pulled a pokeball from his belt.
“We’ll make this a 3-on-3 match,” he told Isaac.
“Sorry kid, but I only have two Pokemon on me,” Isaac called back.
“Is that all?! You just came out of Viridian forest and that’s all the Pokemon you’ve got?! Man, you must suck” the boy laughed. Bulbasaur began to growl.
“My two Pokemon are more than enough to take you down,” Isaac, retaliated, while turning slightly red. *Stupid dumb kid, trying to make fun of me…* he thought angrily.
“Fine, 2-on-2 then and I’ll go first,” the kid smirked. He pulled back his arm and let his pokeball fly. “Go Spearow!” he yelled.
The pokeball opened up and the light flashed out, transforming into a squat bird with a vicious look on its face. Isaac pulled out his Pokedex.
“Spearow, a flying type Pokemon. It is common around grassy and open areas. Unlike Pidgey, Spearow have a vicious temperament,” the machine beeped before going silent.
“That’s all I need to know,” Isaac murmured. He pulled Poliwags pokeball from his belt and threw it forward.
“Lets go Poliwag,” he called. Poliwag emerged from the light, looking determined.
“Poliii!”
“Roooww, Spearoooww!”
“Lets do this Spearow. Peck attack,” the kid called out. Spearow flew up in the air and then dived towards Poliwag at an incredible speed.
“Poliwag, dodge it and use Bubble attack to slow him down,” cried Isaac. Poliwag leapt out of the way and Spearow only just managed to pull itself out of its dive. Poliwag turned back towards Spearow and shot a stream of bubbly foam at it. However, Spearow was all ready back in they sky and ready for another attack.
“Spearow, use Fury Attack,” the kids yelled.
“Spearow!” the bird Pokemon cried and flew down towards Poliwag, claws extended forward.
“Look out Poliwag,” Isaac yelled. Poliwag began a mad attempt at hopping away from Spearows claws, which started raking at Poliwags body.
“Poliii,” the water Pokemon cried out as one of the claws connected with its rubbery skin.
“Poliwag, use Water Gun, quickly,” Isaac called.
“Oh no, Spearow get out of there,” the kid yelled in distress. However, Poliwag opened its mouth and let a big stream of water fly out, hitting Spearow in the face and knocking it to the ground. Spearow flapped about, trying to get back in the air while under the pressure of the water torrent.
“All right Poliwag, you’ve got it where you want it,” cried Isaac. “Now finish it off with Hypnosis.”
Poliwag stopped the onslaught of water and began to emit faint red waves from its eyes towards Spearow. The bird Pokemon looked up and gazed at Poliwags swirl, which appeared to be spinning. Slowly, its eyes began to close and then it slumped over, snoring peacefully. The kid stared at his Pokemon in horror.
“Argh, Spearow couldn’t cut it,” he exclaimed, calling Spearow back. “You just got lucky with that Hypnosis attack.”
“Nothing but skill mate,” Isaac retorted with confidence.
“Yeah right. Lets see how well your skill goes against my strongest Pokemon,” the kid sneered as he prepared to throw another pokeball forward. “Go Nidoran!”
The ball left his hand and opened up to reveal a male Nidoran forming from the light. Bulbasaur began to growl menacingly.
“Saaauuurrrrr…”
“Easy Bulbasaur,” Isaac muttered. “You’ll get your turn against this slime. Go Poliwag, Water Gun attack.”
“Nidoran, jump over it and use Poison Sting.”
The small poison Pokemon leapt nimbly over the streaming jet of water and released a flurry of needles from its mouth.
“Poliwag, look out!” Isaac cried. Poliwag had no time to leap out of the way due to the fact that it was still performing its Water Gun. It took the needles to the face. The water stopped automatically and Poliwag began rolling on the ground crying in pain.
“Poliwag, please get up,” Isaac urged. The water Pokemon slowly got to its feet and stared at its opponent for a few seconds before collapsing to the ground.
“POLWAG!!!” screamed Isaac, who ran over to his fallen friend. *He must have been poisoned from the attack* he thought. He pulled off his backpack and searched for an antidote. From across the battlefield the boy laughed.
“Your Poliwag is pathetic,” he sneered. “Fainted after one attack.”
“Shut the hell up,” Isaac roared and pulled out the bottle of anti-venom. He sprayed it over Poliwags cuts. Poliwag groaned weakly in its unconscious state.
“You did real good Poliwag,” Isaac whispered softly. He held out its pokeball and recalled the fainted tadpole. He stood up and glanced down at Bulbasaur.
“It’s all up to you now,” he told his starter. “Reckon you can handle his Nidoran?”
“Saurrrrr…” Bulbasaur growled confidently and stepped forward to face his opponent.
“Ha! You think your little tulip over there is gonna stop Nidoran?” the kid mocked. “Don’t you know that grass-types have a weakness to poison-types? Or do you need your Bulbasaur to learn that out the hard way?” Isaac grinned as past words from his Pokedex floated into his head.
“…Because of its Poison attribute though, Poison type moves are not very effective…”
“Bring it on,” Isaac said.
“Fine then, I will. Nidoran, use Poison sting again.”
The Nidoran opened its mouth and shot out another flurry of small needles, this time sending them towards Bulbasaur. The small Grass type began to brace itself.
“Bulbasaur, counter with Vine Whip,” Isaac ordered. “This is just like hitting rocks out of the air.”
“Bulba!” Two vines shot out from underneath Bulbasaur’s bulb and began slapping away the poison needles. A few got through however and struck his front legs.
“Ha ha, bullseye,” the kid crowed. “Now lets see how long your stupid Bulbasaur lasts when it’s poisoned.” Isaac sighed sarcastically and smiled.
“Bulbasaur, show his Nidoran how much it’s poison is slowing you down,” he called. Bulbasaur grinned menacingly and ran forward to do a Tackle Attack. The Nidoran stood there dumbfounded, wondering why Bulbasaur wasn’t losing health. It was hit head on and flew back towards its owner. The kid looked as surprised as his Pokemon.
“What the… Why isn’t your Bulbasaur weakening?”
“If you were a REAL Pokemon trainer,” Isaac began sarcastically. “You would know that Bulbasaur is a Grass AND Poison type Pokemon. Therefore, your Poison attacks are gonna do squat. Bulbasaur lets finish this guy off with Leech Seed.”
“Bulbasaur,” it cried and shot its Leech Seed from its bulb towards the downed Nidoran.
“We’re not through yet,” the arrogant little kid yelled. “Nidoran, roll to the left and get up.” Obeying its trainers command, the Nidoran rolled to the left. The seed hit the ground where the Poison Pokemon had been seconds ago and sprouted vines that wrapped around thin air. The Nidoran stood up and snarled viciously.
“Nidoran, Horn Attack,” the kid commanded. The small Poison type lowered its head and charged towards Bulbasaur.
“Bulbasaur look out,” Isaac cried. But Bulbasaur stood his ground, its face full off determination. Suddenly, he dropped his front legs, raised his bulb, and shot out a stream off yellow powder. Nidoran ran right into the cloud, breathed in and started coughing violently. Isaac looked dumbfounded at this new attack. He pulled out his Pokedex and pointed it towards the battle scene that lay in front.
“Stun Spore,” the machine beeped. “Hundreds of tiny spores are released and cause paralysis to any who breathe them in. A favourite attack of Grass type Pokemon.” Isaac smiled wickedly.
*All right, I got this creep now* he mused. The Nidoran had since stopped his Horn Attack and was still coughing, while his trainer stood a few yards behind, frozen in horror. The small Poison Pokemon suddenly found it hard to stand and dropped to its knees, then rolled on to its side and stopped moving. The cloud of spores dispersed and Bulbasaur stood there triumphantly.
“Bulba, Bulbasaur!” it cried, happy with its first trainer battle victory. Isaac smiled and walked over to his Pokemon to scratch its head. Meanwhile, the arrogant kid had run over to his fallen Pokemon and was busy administering a Parylz Heal to it. The Nidoran slowly opened its eyes and then slipped into unconsciousness. The kid held out its pokeball and recalled it. He stood up, crestfallen and slightly embarrassed.
“Umm…” he began. “I’m sorry about the insults. You really are a good trainer.” The kid didn’t look at Isaac.
“Hey, we all say stupid things when we get competitive,” Isaac told him. “Next time, don’t underestimate your opponents abilities while slagging off at his Pokemon.” The kid looked up and smiled sheepishly.
“Ok,” he said. “Oh yeah, this is yours.” He dug his hands into his pocket and pulled out some notes. He held them out for Isaac to take. “You get half my money for winning, so here.” Isaac took the money from him and pushed it into his own pocket.
“Thanks kid,” he said. “C’mon Bulbasaur, we’ve got to get Poliwag patched up.”
“Bulbasaur,” the Pokemon said and began walking down the path towards Pewter City. Isaac turned back to the kid. “Your Pokemon gonna be all right?” he asked.
“Yeah, I’ve got some potions in my pack.” The kid smiled and turned round to grab his stuff.
“I’ll see you round then,” Isaac called. The kid turned back and smiled.
“Yeah ok.” Isaac gave him the thumbs up and ran off to catch up with Bulbasaur. Another victorious battle lay behind them while a new city lay in front.