Olives
By TheKnightWhoSaysNi
Part II

Sun shone through the window, and it was morning. Riku slept in, a habit of the summer, even though he was incredibly nervous. It took a frantic jumping Petteler to rouse him, and wake him up. He glanced over at the clock, and wondered why he was getting up before 8:00. Then he suddenly remembered what had happened the night before.

He quickly got dressed and brushed his teeth with Petteler sticking to him like glue. As soon as he was ready, he rushed to the lobby, not caring about the warning he got from an older trainer not to run.

Riku skidded to a halt at the lobby, turning towards Nurse Joy’s desk. She wasn’t there. She was most likely treating Flaafy. Then he eyed a note on the desk. It read: Riku, I’m still treating your Flaafy. I’m still quite unsure of whether she will be better or not, but I’m trying as hard as I can. Breakfast is at 9:00, and I’d suggest calling your parents after breakfast. You may want to lounge with the other people staying; it will take your mind off things. Good Luck, Nurse Joy.

Riku took a look at the clock, and it was 8:55. “Well, I might as well get breakfast,” he said to himself. Petteler nodded and sounded in agreement.

He ate alone. Other trainers were coming and going, none really stopping to talk to anyone, unless they were in a group. Petteler wasn’t allowed in the kitchen, so it waited outside patiently, eyeing Riku intently. He was almost finished when he saw his family. His whole family.

He walked up to his parents, Mai, his grandparents, and his cousin Yoshihiro, and he said hello. While the family was greeting each other, Petteler started to call out in dismay. It wanted an introduction. Everyone looked down at the small human-like Pokemon , and 6 people wanted an explanation.

Riku told them everything, from the rainy log, to arriving, to the state of shock, to waking up, to meeting them. Everyone was interested in this, and they were happy that Riku had met a Pokemon he liked. Yoshihiro was a Pokemon coordinator himself, and traveled around with some Pokemon, and they were absolutely beautiful when battling. Petteler was happy with all of the attention it was getting, and it started to hop up and down. Riku’s father told Riku, “Your Petteler is a girl, considering its behavior.”

After the short meeting, everyone but Riku and his mother had left the Pokemon Center. Riku asked his mom to let him alone, so he could have a short walk, and maybe meet a trainer to be friends with.

The walk was scenic. There were trees and flowers, and you also spotted the occasional rat-like Pokemon. The Pokemon Center he was at was the Border Center, the biggest Pokemon Center on Shenju. It was a common pit stop for tourists who were visiting Evergreen Creek, and Riku had walked there many times. It was only about 45 minutes of traveling.

He was walking with Petteler at his side, cheerily chirping, “Petteler,” occasionally. The walk was very peaceful. That is, until someone jumped out at him.

“You!” She screamed, undoubtably at Riku and Petteler, “I challenge you to a Pokemon Battle!”

Riku looked at her like she had 2 heads. He was never challenged to a battle before, and he didn’t know how to battle. He had seen some of mom’s old Hoenn League Championship tapes, but that was about it. Besides, he had always seen trainers around here, and they had never challenged him before. Why should they now? Then, mom’s old lessons came flowing back into his brain. If you had a Pokemon with you, then you were officially a trainer, and that meant that you could be challenged to battles, as long as you weren’t inside, unless it was OK with the owner of the building.

Riku had no choice but to accept the challenge. Hopefully he would remember things from mom’s tapes, and he would be able to at least put up a fight. “Let’s go, Jestrat!” His opponent commanded.

She hurled a sphere, which Riku knew to be a Pokeball, and it opened with a flash of white light. The Pokemon took shape, into a small rat-like Pokemon. The Pokemon that was roaming around in the wild of the walkway. ‘So it’s called a Jestrat,’ He thought to himself. He looked up at the trainer. Her wild brown hair was blowing in the wind, along with her cliché trainer’s vest and shirt, and a pair of khaki shorts. She was barefoot. “The name’s Hikara, got that?” She asked Riku impatiently.

‘Well then,’ Riku thought to himself, ‘I believe she’s a stereotype amateur trainer. This may be a good fight.’ Jestrat got into a fighting position, its small cape and clown hat flowing in the wind. “All right,” Riku replied to Hikara, “My name is Riku, and I guess Petteler will battle with you.”

Petteler now entered the scene, her pigtails and dress moving in all directions because of the wind. She took a fighting stance, two arms in front blocking her body and face, and she stood slightly sideways. She was ready to fight. Hikara made the first move. “Jestrat,” she called out to her Pokemon, “Try a Tackle attack!”

The Pokemon grunted, and attempted a clumsy Tackle. Riku racked his brains for a good Grass-type attack he knew. He figured she was a Grass-type because she was decorated with flowers everywhere. Riku came up with an idea. “All right,” Riku yelled, “Petteler, try a Razor Leaf.”

The Pokemon shook her head in reply. Apparently she didn’t know that move yet. Jestrat was slowly getting up from its ungraceful fall the attack before. “Fine, Vine Whip,” Riku said impatiently.

This time Petteler reacted, sending two vines from her body towards the small rat Pokemon. Unfortunately, Jestrat had recuperated too quickly, and easily dodged the vines. Hikara laughed. “You’ll have to do better than that,” she told Riku, “Now Jestrat! Try a Laugh attack!”

“Laugh?” Riku asked out loud. He had never seen that in a Hoenn battle. He looked over at Petteler, who was waiting for the next command.

Jestrat opened its mouth and a small giggling sound came out. The sound drifted towards Petteler, slowly becoming louder. Petteler was ready for damage…

Riku watched as his Pokemon started to sway every which way, kind of like the wind. He recognized this condition. “She’s confused,” he said out loud, quite surprised.

Hikara only replied with a grunt of triumph. The attack had its intended effect, something a trainer was always aiming for. Riku watched in worry. Petteler would most likely take a while to become normal again. While this was going on, Jestrat would attack. His mom had done the same in her first Hoenn League Championship battle with Murkrow’s Confuse Ray. “Jestrat, Tackle it!” Hikara ordered the Pokemon.

Jestrat set up for a Tackle, but Petteler’s swaying was not making it an easy target. It was doing the least that it could do to protect itself. Finally, Petteler tripped over itself, and Jestrat saw this as a perfect moment to strike, and did so. The Tackle hit Petteler dead on. But, the Tackle did more than damage the Pokemon. Petteler got up, and stood straight, signifying that it wasn’t confused anymore.

“Petteler, Vine Whip!” Riku cried out to his Pokemon.

Reacting quickly, Petteler lashed Jestrat in the side. The rat-like Pokemon fell and struggled to get up. Sam saw this as a perfect chance. But, he wasn’t fast enough.

“Jestrat, get up and Scratch!” Hikara yelled out frantically.

Jestrat surprised Petteler and leapt at her immediately. Its claws slashed at Petteler, hitting her at some point. She fell down, seemingly fainted. But, at the same moment, Jestrat, having used up all of its energy with that attack, fell with it. It was a dead tie.

“Well then,” Hikara said, “I guess it’s a stalemate. I’d consider that good for my first battle.”

“First battle?” Riku asked. “ I guess we have something in common.”

“Guess so,” Hikara agreed, and with a line of red light, bringing the fainted Jestrat into the Pokeball. “I can’t stay, gotta go. Maybe we’ll meet in the Pokemon League sometime.”

And with that, Hikara disappeared into the wilderness.

Riku arrived back at the Border Center, carrying the fallen Petteler. Luckily, Nurse Joy’s little brother, John, was able to substitute, like he always did when there was a crucial emergency. John quickly had Petteler healed.

After that, Riku met his mom in the waiting room. He told her all about the battle, and how it was really exciting. He asked her if they could keep Petteler. She didn’t speak for a while. Then she inquired, “If you like battling and Pokemon so much, then why not become a trainer?”

Riku mused that a bit. Why not? The only thing holding him back was homesickness, which he was not good with. But with Petteler by his side, he could definitely overcome that.

John came over to the two, and said that lunch was ending, so they’d better hurry over and eat. They did so, but only for a short time. They were anxious about Flaafy. Nurse Joy had not come out of the ER since when she wrote the note, and even then it was possible that she sent John out with it. No one really knew what was going on with Flaafy.

The rest of the family came back at around 4:00, and they had a small reunion, recounting stories. It turns out that they had found a really cool shop with lots of Pokemon gear, and if it was that Riku was going to become a trainer, they should stop by. It was called Bitz and Piecez.

Finally, after about an hour and a half of talking, the red color of the ER sign disappeared, and that meant that either Flaafy was cured, or she was dead.

After five minutes of incredibly nervous waiting, Nurse Joy and her Chancey exited the ER. They showed absolutely no emotions on their faces. There was still no clue as to what happened with Flaafy. “Is Flaaf OK?” Mai asked softly.

Nurse Joy smiled, “Yes,” she told the family, “She’s OK.”

The family started to cheer, and Petteler jumped up and down. Flaafy exited the ER, walking almost perfectly fine. The family decided to return home to open Riku’s presents. Riku was most likely the most cheerful, as was Petteler.

And they walked home with the sunset.