Ambition

I don’t own pokemon. Pokemon is © Creatures Inc. and Nintendo Inc.

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“Oh, Dan I just know you’re going to love Petalburg City. It’s such a marvelous place. It 
even has a pokemon gym. Imagine that!” said Mom.

“I don’t want to move to this stupid Hoenn place,” Dan said, “It’s just going to be another 
temporary move where I’ll make friends and lose them when we move to the next 
continent. Then again, the name Hoenn is kind of familiar…”

Dan was a 14 year-old boy who had never had the opportunity to get into pokemon. His 
father was a famous pokemon gym inspector, and he went around inspecting each 
continent’s gyms. He checked a leader’s competence, strength, and their love of 
pokemon. Whenever he finished all of the gyms in the usual year, he would take his 
family to the next continent. Dan never got a chance to make any new friends as he was 
always about to move whenever someone spoke to him. Dan couldn’t register for a 
specific continent’s league because the course takes two years and most start when 
they’re eight.

“Mom, why can’t we just pick a spot and stay there?” asked Dan.

“Well, honey, you’re father’s a very busy man. If he just settled down he would lose his 
job and we’d be living on the streets.”

“At least I’d be able to get to know the other hobos…” moaned Dan.

“Now why would you say something like that? You’ve had plenty of friends in the other 
towns,” Mom said, trying to placate Dan’s misery.

“Name five,” Dan countered. His mother was at a loss for words, and so they drove on 
until the outlines of Petalburg City were apparent on the horizon. The car pulled up the 
dirt road, and Dan looked around at his new temporary dwelling. 

“Oh well,” Dan sighed, “At least I have my pokemon books…”

Dan had always wanted to be a trainer, but he never dared tell his mother. She’d tell him 
how it was a stupid concept and that life had many better fruits to choose from.  
However, Dan knew pokemon like the back of his hand. He could tell you the name of 
any species in the wild and name all of its attacks. He also had used his books to develop 
complex strategies for battling. However, he knew he would never get to use them.

“Honey, I’m going to go help the movers take our belongings inside the house. Why 
don’t you go play for a little while?” said Mom.

“Okay,” Dan muttered, “Might as well get to know it so I can be even more upset when 
we leave…”

Dan walked up the road and saw various people. He saw the pokemon center and the 
mart. He didn’t care, after all, it wasn’t like they did things he could use. However, one 
large building caught his eye. It was a large grey building with a golden roof. There were 
double doors in the front, and a man had a booth outside of the gargantuan building. Dan 
walked to it, and the man immediately recognized the boy.

“Well, sonny,” he said, “Have you come to watch the match today?”

“What match? You mean a pokemon battle?!”

“Ya, the gym leader’s challenger today has allowed the general public to come and watch 
his show. The tickets are five dollars.”

“Oh, man,” Dan sighed, “I don’t have any money…” Dan began to walk off.

“Now just one minute there,” he said, “I’m only charging five dollars for trainers who 
want to see the match. They gotta pay to see Norman’s strategy. However, it’s free to the 
general public!” he said.

Dan lit up like a Christmas tree just plugged into the socket. “You mean I can watch?!”

“Come on in,” the vendor beckoned Dan towards the door and he stepped towards it. He 
pushed a button under the vending booth, and Dan walked in. He looked around to find 
himself in a stadium.

“Wow, it’s just like on tv!” Dan exclaimed.

Dan took a seat near the end of the bleachers and turned his vision to center stage. He 
saw the same vendor from the street take up a microphone and put it to his lips.

“Hello, everybody! Welcome to the Petalburg City Gym. Today, Norman has been 
challenged by a boy all the way from Fortree City!”

The crowd exploded with joy as the young man stepped out. He was wearing a navy blue 
hooded sweatshirt with a large, white pokeball on the front. On the other side, a man in a 
red wind-breaker stepped onto the field. He had blue pants, black shoes, and a slick top of 
black hair. Dan assumed he was the Gym Leader because everyone cheered extremely 
loud for him.

“This match will go according to official Hoenn League rules!” yelled the vendor, “A 
three on three match. Are you ready? Let’s begin!”

The man ran off the field and Norman pulled a shiny, little pokeball from his belt. He hit 
the button in the center, and the ball expanded. He pulled it back like a pitcher.

“Alright!” he yelled “Linoone, let’s go!”

He threw the ball out onto the field and it exploded into a white light. Dan had to cover 
his eyes to avoid being temporarily blinded. Where the pokeball had just been a few 
seconds ago a slender body uncoiled itself. It was a long raccoon type pokemon. Its sharp 
blue eyes could penetrate anything, and the vibrant stripes across its back really glowed 
with a harsh light reflected from the beams illuminating the gym.

“Wow!” Dan exclaimed, “A linoone! I’ve never seen one in person, but from what I’ve 
read, this linoone is in impeccable shape!”

It took a low stance to the ground and bared its fangs. They weren’t like ones on a 
predator, more like the fangs of a scavenger.

“Alright, now what’s this other guy gonna pull?” Dan asked himself, “If I were the other 
trainer, I’d try for a fighting pokemon. That would have the advantage over linoone.”

The trainer stood, pulled a ball from his pocket, expanded it, and threw. Dan closed his 
eyes as the monster came forth, and revealed itself as a Mightyena. Its thick black coat on 
its back covered the thin grey hairs on its legs and underbelly. It had thin red eyes, and 
fangs much sharper than the linoone’s. 

“Let the battle begin!” yelled the announcer.

“Alright, Mightyena,” yelled the boy, “Use howl!”

The Mightyena stood tall, opened its mouth, and howled. It was soon engulfed in a 
blazing red light, and when it was over, the large, black wolf had a new expression of 
power on its face.

“Ah, the howl maneuver,” Dan muttered to himself, “It increases the attack power of the 
user. Now Mightyena’s blows will be even more critical than before.”

“Mightyena, use take down!”

The large wolf bared its fangs and dashed for the linoone. It gained speed with every step 
towards its foe, and soon it was foaming at the mouth.

“Linoone!” yelled Norman, “Counter with fury swipes!”

Linoone boosted himself up onto his hind legs and bared his claws. It looked like a 
scarecrow standing over a cornfield. The second Mightyena jumped at it, Linoone 
sidestepped and put its claws into mightyena’s side. The black wolf howled in pain, and 
fell to the ground.

“Mightyena is unable to continue. Norman wins the first round!” yelled the announcer, 
“Both trainers call back your pokemon.”

Each trainer extended a pokeball and twin beams of light engulfed the pokemon. The 
light zoomed back to its origin, and each pokeball was put away.

“Norman wins round one of three!” yelled the announcer, “If he takes a victory in the 
next round, he will beat the challenger!”

The kid in blue grit his teeth, and pulled out another pokeball. With a flash, another 
pokemon came into view.

“Wow,” exclaimed Dan, “A Raichu. Those pokemon are supposed to be very rare in the 
Hoenn region. I wonder where he caught one.”

The Raichu lashed its tail through the air as it pushed out its white gut. It had a dark 
yellow back with two brown stripes cutting horizontally across it.

“Very nice,” Norman said calmly, “But I doubt it will be able to beat this. Pokeball go!!!”

Norman threw his next ball and the white light blinded everyone except Dan, who knew 
enough to close his eyes. A large rhino-type pokemon stood firmly on its two hind legs. It 
let out a loud roar.

“Oh, man,” Dan said, “A Rhydon! Those are even rarer than a Raichu. And, because 
there’s no substitution in a Gym battle, Norman wins!”

“And why would you say that, young man,” asked the man in front of Dan. He turned 
around and showed his face. He had a cool, collected expression. He had brown hair, and 
wore a white lab coat with a blue shirt, green shorts, and sandals.

“Well, Rhydon is a ground/rock type,” explained Dan, “Not only will Raichu’s attacks 
not affect it, but Rhydon will easily overpower Raichu with its brute strength and ground 
type techniques.”

“I see,” said the man, obviously intrigued, “Let’s see how this plays out…”

But it was already over…

“I forfeit!” yelled the boy in blue, “My Raichu won’t be able to put even a dent in your 
pokemon, while Rhydon has the capability of accidentally killing my Raichu. I don’t 
want to take such a risk for a lost cause.”

“An admirable decision, young man,” said Norman, “The best trainer always puts his 
pokemon before himself. Every trainer is allowed to challenge a gym a week after he is 
beaten. Pick a spot either in the city or outside it and train. I promise you’ll be much 
stronger when you return.”

“Thank you,” the boy said. He called back his Raichu, and moved out of the building.

“Well, that’s that!” Dan exclaimed, “Just as I predicted!”

“You truly have the knowledge of a trainer,” said the man.

“You really think so?”

“I know so,” said the man, “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Professor Birch of 
Littleroot Town a few miles to the south-east of here.”

Dan was shocked. He had been talking to the Prof. Birch. He taught the classes for 
trainers to get their first pokemon and win up through the ranks. 

“Tell me, are you a pokemon trainer?” asked Birch.

“Um, no,” Dan muttered, “I’ve never actually had the chance to take the class because 
my family’s always on the move, and even if we stayed in one spot, my mom would 
never approve of spending the money for a class…”

“Well, what if I got you a pokemon without the class?” 

“What are you talking about? All would-be trainers must pass a class to enter a pokemon 
league!” Dan exclaimed.

“That’s where you’re wrong!” countered Prof. Birch, “All you need is the approval of a 
leading pokemon official, such as myself. However, we provide the classes to educate the 
would-be trainers so they won’t slip and fall while they’re on their journey. However, I 
would give you my signature at this very moment. You haven’t been to a class, and yet 
you provided battle examinations better than any of my other students!”

“You mean…”

“Well, yes, I was listening to you speak with yourself. You know so much about 
pokemon already, if you had become a trainer sooner, you might be a champion right 
now!” exclaimed Birch.

“Well, I really can’t,” said Dan, “If my family has to move again, I’d go with them. I’ve 
heard it can take years to reach the Hoenn League tournament…”

“I’ll tell you what,” said Birch, handing Dan a piece of paper with various numbers on it, 
“If you change your mind, this is my phone number. Call me if you want to start training, 
and then come to Littleroot Town. I’ll be there.”

With that, Birch stood up and left. Dan was close behind, and he stepped through the 
glass double doors. He watched Birch step into his jeep, wave, and pull down the road 
towards Littleroot Town. Dan stood, holding the piece of paper.

“This could be my chance…” he muttered. He began the walk down the road, until his 
new house came into sight. He hadn’t really taken a look at it before. The windows 
shined a vibrant light which came from inside. The teal paint matched the sun setting on 
the horizon. The house had a white roof that curved down in order to pull the rain off of 
the tiles.

When Dan opened the door, his mother and father jumped out and yelled, “Surprise!”

“What’s going on?!” Dan yelled.

“Well, as you may have noticed, this house is much bigger than the others,” his father 
said, “Dan, this is our permanent home.”

Dan lit up with a newfound joy. He knew his father had already checked the Hoenn 
region when they had lived in Sootopolis. Why hadn’t he figured it out?

“We’ve already phoned Prof. Birch. He said he had talked to you at the Gym, and wanted 
you to become a trainer,” said Dan’s mom, “He said you were fit for the job. All you 
have to do is call him and be on your way to Littleroot.”

Dan bolted out but his dad stopped him.

“Come on, Dan,” he said, “You’re not stupid enough to go through the woods without a 
pokemon to protect you. Prof. Birch stopped by and gave us this.”

Dan’s dad stepped forward with a pokeball and handed it to Dan. “This is the pokemon 
Prof. Birch wants to escort you through the woods.”

“What is it?” Dan asked.

“It’s a pokemon called Treecko. However, even though he knows you can do it, Prof. 
Birch can’t give you a trainer license unless you can pass the pokemon course’s final 
test.”

“Oh, man,” Dan muttered, “What is the test?”

“The test is to get from Petalburg to Littleroot without having your pokemon faint. If you 
and Treecko can work as a team and beat the wild pokemon outside the city limits, you’ll 
receive a full trainer license!”

With that, Dan held his pokeball firmly, and proceeded towards the path that would 
determine whether he could live out his dream…