Ambition Part 4 By Icelord *R&R* Well, it’s been almost a year since I’ve written an Ambition and man, does it feel good to be writing again! Enjoy the story! Disclaimer: I don’t own Pokemon. “Congratulations,” said Nurse Joy as she began printing two new licenses, “Both of you are now eligible to compete in the Hoenn League.” The machine in the front of the Pokemon Center slowly began making strange sounds. Soon, two small green cards appeared in an opening in the back of the device. Nurse Joy pointed and told Dan and Brendan to take the two cards. Each was plastic, and had a white back ground with a green line at the top. The card had name, age, and other information you’d see on any other typical I.D. “Well,” said Brendan, “We did it.” Dan didn’t respond and blankly stared at his card He eventually said, “We haven’t done anything yet.” Brendan became confused at the remark. Even though he was not the most happy of people, Brendan had never seen this kind of pessimism from his friend before. “What are you talking about?” he asked, confused. “I mean we haven’t done anything worth celebrating. Any good trainer can get their license, but only the best actually get to compete in the League tournament. Let’s not jump the gun…” “Wow,” Brendan said sarcastically, “Don’t talk to me about jumping guns. If I recall correctly, you’re the one who rushed off into the forest in the middle of the night.” “Would you just shut up?” “No, sorry.” The two walked through the glass doors of the Pokemon Center and began making their way to the city limits. However, just a few feet away, a muffled ringing sound came from Brendan’s bag. He quickly pulled out a shiny silver cell phone, and pressed talk. Dan couldn’t make out what Brendan was saying, but from the look on his face it obviously wasn’t good. Brendan hit end, and looked up at Dan with the most ominous face he had ever seen before. “I hate to have to do this,” said Brendan, “but I can’t keep going on with you.” Dan was dumbfounded. He asked, “What? Why?” Before he could mutter any more questions, Brendan interjected, “I had a feeling this would happen. My dad, beginning the Prof. and all, needs me here to help with his work. I can’t keep going with you.” There was a long pause before Dan whispered, “I guess…I’ll see you around?” “You can count on it…” The two shook hands, and Brendan began walking towards the path leading to Oldale. Dan waited until his friend was completely out of sight, and headed for the shore just east of Petalburg. Sitting down on the beach and watching the waves, Dan began to ponder the events that had occurred so far in his life. He lay back on the sand, and began to drift into sleep, when a face appeared above his. “Hey, you!” Dan immediately jumped up and turned around to see a boy about his age staring at him. The kid had dirty blonde hair, a red T-shirt, jean-shorts, and a belt with two Pokeballs fastened to it. “What’d you want?” The kid sneered and said in a cocky tone, “My name’s Chaz and I saw you at the license try-outs!” Dan looked at him awkwardly. “Your point being?” “I didn’t make!” Chaz yelled, “And I know you did! I want to know how someone with no prior experience got into the League when someone like me didn’t!” “Uh...” Dan paused for a moment. Then he said, “Maybe because you aren’t very good…” Immediately, the kid flared up in rage. His face went red, his palms began to sweat, and he was grinding his teeth. “That’s it! I challenge you, hot shot!” “Fine!” Dan exclaimed. He was excited because this would be his third battle with another trainer, and he needed the experience. “One-on-One?” “Sure, why not?” Chaz immediately drew the first Pokeball on his belt, hit the button, and threw it at Dan. It hit the ground halfway there, and exploded into a white light. When it disappeared, a small black triangle covered by a yellow and orange cover was left on the sand. It had two stubby black legs, and two spheres for hands. “Meet my strongest Pokemon!” Chaz yelled proudly, “It’s my Snorunt!” Dan was surprised, but not afraid. “Wow, a Snorunt!” he exclaimed, “I saw one of those when my family was in Mossdeep. How’d you get one?” The boy smirked, “That’s for me to know, and you to find out.” “OK,” Dan said, “Then here’s mine,” “Wait, “Dan thought just as he was about to pick a Pokemon, “I only have Treecko, Pineco, and Wingull. They’re all vulnerable to Ice-type attacks. Oh man…” “What’s the holdup?” Chaz taunted, “Are you scared?” “Of course not,” Dan bluffed, “I’m just trying to decide how I’m gonna smack you down.” “Just try it…” “Alright,” Dan thought, “I can’t just have Pineco blow him self up in a one-on-one, that’s be a draw in favor of him. But at least Pineco doesn’t have the type disadvantage that the other two do…” Dan picked the second Pokeball from his belt, hit the button, and threw it yelling, “Go, Pineco!” The ball exploded and Pineco came forth, bouncing up and down on its stub. Chaz began to laugh hysterically, and said, “A Pineco? That’s your ace in the hole, oh man…” “Pineco, use rapid spin and hit that thing hard!” While Chaz was laughing, Pineco began spinning uncontrollably. Like a tornado, he sped across the sand, kicking up a huge cloud, and nailed Snorunt, sending it flying.” “What?” Chaz was shocked, “That’s not cool! Alright, Snorunt, use Icy Wind!” Snorunt’s small blue eyes began to glow and a gale started from behind it. Eventually, small ice particles were flowing through it and heading at Pineco. “Perfect, Dan thought. Then he yelled, “Pineco use Bide!” Pineco held its ground as the small particles began raining down upon it. It began to glow, and started to absorb the damage it was taking from the Icy Wind. When the attack stopped, Pineco shot a white beam at Snorunt. “Nice try,” said Chaz, “Snorunt, dodge it!” Just as the beam was about to hit the small ice Pokemon, it jumped up and over it. The beam dissipated, and Snorunt landed softly on the sand. “Oh man,” Dan thought, clenching his fist and digging his heel into the sand, “I’m in trouble…” “Now, Snorunt!” Chaz yelled, “Finish this with Bite!” The small Snorunt jumped high into the air, and began to descend in Pineco’s direction. It opened its mouth, and clamped its teeth down hard on Pineco’s top. It let out a yelp, and began jumping around in pain, the Snorunt holding on for dear life. “What can I do?” Dan thought. But then, he had a stroke of genius. “Pineco, settle down and use Rapid Spin!” With Snorunt still on top, Pineco began spinning at intense speeds. Snorunt just couldn’t take it, and was thrown from the top of Pineco, dizzy from the spinning and hurt from the fall. “Finish it, Pineco! Use Take Down!” Pineco jumped forward and rammed into Snorunt so hard, it flew from the beach and its pointy head stuck into one of the tree on the other side of the path. It passed out, still stuck. “Oh no, Snorunt!” Chaz yelled as he ran and began yanking Snorunt’s feet, trying to get it out. Dan called back Pineco, and rushed to his aid. “Here, let me try,” Dan said calmly. Chaz stood back and watched as Dan called Wingull from its ball. “Use your Water Gun around the edges,” he said. Wingull began flying in circles around the small Pokemon’s body, lubricating the edges. With more pulled, Dan eventually set the small ice Pokemon free. He handed it to Chaz and said, “Sorry for the trouble.” “Not at all,” he said, no longer upset. “I can see why you got your license, you’re great with Pokemon. I want to show you something.” Chaz called the Snorunt back into its ball and began walking into the woods separating the beach and Petalburg. “Where are we going?” Dan asked after walking with him for five minutes. “There,” Chaz pointed to a small cottage in the middle of the woods. They approached it. It was made completely out of logs cut down from the trees in Petalburg Woods. It had a chimney, many windows, and a carved out front door with a brass doorknob. Chaz opened it and went inside, beckoning Dan to follow him. “Well, my parents aren’t home,” said Chaz, “Oh well, too bad.” Chaz swept up a carpet in the middle of the room to reveal a trap door. He opened it to reveal a small ladder leading into a lit room. Dan went down with him, slipping on a few of the ladder rungs, until they made their way to a door. Chaz opened it to reveal a large area with many Pokemon running around. Some were bigger than others, and some were evolved while others weren’t. “My Mom and Dad are breeders,” said Chaz, “We take Pokemon given to use by trainers and breed them. We make our money by selling the offspring to the League, to Pokemon Profs., and other places. You wanted to know where I got that Snorunt from?” “Yeah, sure,” Dan responded, still in awe from seeing all the different kinds of Pokemon in one place. “We recently got a request from a trainer to breed their Glalie,” explained Chaz, “We did, and to our surprise, it didn’t just give us one egg, it gave us three. All of them hatched into Snorunt. We gave the first to the trainer along with their Glalie, I got the second one, and we still have the third.” Chaz made his way to a small corner and picked up what appeared to be the sleeping form of a Snorunt. He walked over and put it in Dan’s arms. “What are you doing?” asked Dan as he received the Pokemon, “Why are you giving it to me?” “We were going to release it into the wild since we don’t need it,” said Chaz, “But I think giving it to you is a much better idea. I saw you with my Snorunt. It wasn’t even yours, but you took care of it. I can trust you with Pokemon, so giving it to you is a much better choice than leaving it to fend for itself.” Dan looked at it, took out a spare Pokeball from his backpack, and gently touched the Snorunt with it. The ball opened, and Snorunt disappeared in a red flash. The ball immediately closed, shrunk, and Dan put it on his belt. “Thank you, Chaz,” Dan said. He was led back up into the room, through the forest, and to the beach. He waved good- bye, and made his way towards the Petalburg Woods. “Look out, Rustboro,” he whispered, I’m coming…”