TEEN: More Than Expected

[MrWhite325]

Chapter One: World Renown Trainers


"...the highly anticipated press conference with Trainers Red of Kanto and Ace of Hoen will begin at eleven o'clock today at the Regent Town Research Lab. Not only will these elite trainers answer the citizen's questions, they will also be the first two to be registered for the Sanoah Pokemon League, which opens for general registration at noon today. This is a monumentous milestone for Sanoah, as this will be the region's first official Pokemon League Competition. Over a thousand trainers are expected to register from Sanoah alone, with hundreds more flocking in from all of the corners of the world. This is Blake Weaver, Channel Nine News.

Click

David switched off the TV and threw the remote onto his bed. He leaned back in his desk chair, the only thought in his head was, Holy crap, two of the greatest trainers in the world are right down the street, and I can't see them. David had gone down to the lab at about nine c'clock to sit in on it, but the conference was full and a security guard shooed him away.

The computer on the other side of the room beeped, "Hey, idiot, pick up the phone!", the voice from the speakers screamed. David walked over to the computer and turned on the video phone. Staring straight at him was his next door neighbor, Peter. His happy-go-lucky appearence was a ploy, for Peter was an incredibly serious person. The more serious he was during an activity, the smarter he was at it. Both Peter and David had graduated in the top five percent of their high school. The thing Peter enjoyed the most was Pokemon. If anyone was more upset about the conference than David, it was Peter.

"Whatcha need, Pete?"

"We need to get in there Davey. My life is depending on it." Peter tabbed out of the video call, but David could hear him type away at his computer. "I'm looking for something."

David sat back down in his chair, he had gotten use to Peter's scheming. Given a few minutes, Peter could find pretty much anything to aide his plots. "You know, I have an idea too, Pete."

Peter's roman face cam back up on screen, covering David's Playboy background, "Well, your plans tend to suck," David shot him a 'scre you' face, "take a look at this." A wireframe construction plan appeared on his screen. The plans looked familiar, but he couldn't quite pin exactly what they were.

"What am I looking at?"

"Those are the maintenance and access tunnels."

David sighed and looked out his window. He wasn't going to like this plan.

*****​

Far below Regent Town were large, raging vents of geothermal energy. Years ago, the people of Sanoah decided to harness that energy. The original tunnels went as deep as they could have considering the times. As the technology to extract the energy advanced, new tunnels were built that went down deeper, and old, redundant ones were closed down. On the surface were big processing buildings and transformer rooms, the older tunnels directly connected each of these buildings. The Regent Town Research Lab was converted from the old above ground power station, the oldest building in the system.

Having memorized the blueprints beforehand, Peter led the way through the steam tunnels. David looked at the decades old machinery stacked to the ceiling. Covering the walls were cracked pressure gauges and rusted, leaky pipes. David looked down at his watch. 11:23. The press conference would be well underway at this point. Even when Peter would say, 'It's only a few more bulkheads this way' every few minutes, David wanted to go back and try his luck with the security guy again.

"Would you stop looking at that thing!" Peter shot at David. "Look," Peter pointed at another door, "we're there." David looked to where he was pointing, printed above the door was 'Power Station'. Peter examined the closed bulkhead, a disgruntled look slowly appeared on his face. "It has a pressure safety lock. There must be some residual pressure in these pipes."

"What do we do now?"

"I'm a genius remember!?!"

"Hey, hey, hey," David pointed at Peter, "we had the same rank when we graduated high school."

"Eh, shut up." Peter went over to a big red release valve on the wall. He grasped the valve in both hands and turned it in one fell swoop with a sound of exertion. A column of steam erupted from one of the cracked pipes and enveloped David. He yelled and fruitlessly swatted at the steam until the pressure subsided.

David, now sopping wet, looked at Peter and panted out, "What... the... HELL!" Then screamed out, "Your plans... SUCK!"

"David-"

"Shut up and let me yell at you!"

"David-"

"Shut up!"

"DAVID!"

"What!?!"

"Door's open." Peter pointed at the open door behind him.

David sighed, the rage leaving him as the air left his lungs. "Good job Petey." He patted Peter on the shoulder as he walked through the open bulkhead.

*****​

The two teenagers strained themselves looking through a glorified air vent, trying their hardest to get a glimpse of the trainers. Neither could see them. They could see that there were over a hundred people crammed into the small lobby of the lab. A dozen or so reporters sat in front shoving mincrophones and cameras into Red's and Ace's faces. David only heard tidbits of the interview, but something Ace said really resonated with him:

...and I'm not saying this to toot our own horns. Both Red and I are the Champions of our home regions, we both have other claims to fame, and we both have done extensive travelling around the world. But what is happeing in Sanoah could make what we did look like nothing. This is your region's first Pokemon League Tournament. Whoever wins would instantly become more famous that Red or I. Then whoever beat your Elite Four and became the first official Champion... I can't even explain it. Fortune and glory. The Champion would recieve unimaginable fortune and glory. Everybody remembers the first.​

'More famous than Red. Fortune and Glory.' All David could think about was what Ace had said. Fame. Fortune. Glory. From the look on his face, Peter was having the exact same thoughts. The first thing the two of them were doing after this was catching some pokemon. Peter tapped David on the shoulder, "I can't hear. Follow me." Peter led them up a metal staircase. Now they were on ground level with the lab. David couldn't see anything from their new vantage point, but they could hear everything the reporters and trainers said. The duo was leaning on a grated metal panel, part of the lab's wall. Both of them were enjoying the time until a sound startled them.

Creeeeeee. There it was again. It was like nails scratching a chalk board. "I think the wall might be shifting." Peter guessed.

Again. This time it was accompanied by both David and Peter stumbling. The panel they were on shifted just far enough to reveal the crappy bolts used to secure it to the rest of the wall. David went into shock, "Definitely the wall! Get off the wall! Move away from the Wall!"

Too late.

The panel and the two boys fell to the hardwood floor with a booming thud. The noise didn't seem to upset the press conference any. Looking around, David guessed they were in some sort of work area, as there were desks, computers, and stray papers lining the four walls. Peter stood up to brush the dust off himself. He looked around, "So this is what the inside of the lab looks like," he remarked nonchalantly, "it's nicer than I would have guessed."

"Shut up!" David yelled through gritted teeth, frantically waving at Peter to get him to get down.

Somebody must have heard one of them. The door opened. Two security guards in blue walked in, arms folded. The both of them looked like former linemen. David's and Peter's eyes darted at each other. No one said anything because their looks said it all: We're dead. The guard on the left chuckled to himself, obviously finding amusement in the two teenagers that had suddenly entered his jurisdiction. The one on the right whispered something into his radio. David thought of everything that could happen in the next few minutes. None of it good for him.

After standing there for what felt like hours but turned out only to be three minutes, a third person walked in. It was a man. His hair was thinning in the front, even though he only appeared to be in his early thirties. What David noticed first though was his white lab coat that almost touched the floor. He chuckled once he saw the boys and quitley whispered something to the security guards. The guards grabbed David's and Peter's arms, applying a firm grip to dissuade escape. The man in the lab coat smilied and look both boys in the eyes. "Don't worry boys. I'll be dealing with you myself."

 

[Milo†icgirl McQüeen]

Is this your first attempt at a fic because it is good if it is.

Plot: I don't think you've presented a clear plot for the whole story but there definately is a direction of the fic about meeting the two great trainers. I assumes the plot is going to be more detailed and portrayed a little more in future chapters.

Spelling and Grammar: Overall, it's not that bad. However there are times where you slip up and I guess they are not that bad. Places such as Hoen instead of Hoenn or Scre instead of screw. Again I put it down to you just rushing or not reading over it.

Now onto grammar, I find some of your sentence phrasing slightly awkward. Especially when it comes to thoughts try phrasing it differently. It's much easier and a much better read.

He leaned back in his desk chair, the only thought in his head was, Holy crap, two of the greatest trainers in the world are right down the street, and I can't see them.

Leaning back on his deck chair, there was only one thought that ran through his mind, ' Holy crap, two of the greatest trainers in the world are right down the street and I can't see them'.

That's one alternative but personally I'd do it like this;

As he lay back on his deck chair, David's mind was angry at the fact that two of the greatest trainersin the world are right down his street and he was unable to see them.

Again, it's personal so if you can't adapt then stick to what you know.

Personal Comments and Final Words: It's definately going somewhere. As to where and how much substance is going to be in the fic, thats anybody's guess. But a little more time on maybe phrasing, and grammar and I'm sure you'll be making better chapters for weeks to come hopefully.

Also, maybe since this is your first chapter, if you try making them a little bigger, it will definately help.

 

[MrWhite325]

Chapter Two: Baby Steps

David and Peter sat stone faced and silent. The security guards had escorted the two into another room above the lobby. David had lots of time to examine their new surroundings during his detainment. There was a finished wooden desk covered in files and a top-notch computer. Sketches and notes were taped to the walls along with framed photographs and college degrees. On the other side of the room was a kitchenette and couch. It gave the feel of a homier environment meant for only one person.

Peter's gaze hadn't averted from the door since they had arrived. It wasn't locked, but there was only one door out of the lab and their entrance was most likely guarded. David was sure that Peter was churning through ideas on how to escape from there. Nothing either of them could do would help the situation any. The only thing they could do was sit tight and ride the whole thing out.

The door knob clicked. It swung open and the man in the labcoat stepped through. "Boy, it sure is hard to clean up after a press conference. Surprised they didn't just declare the place a landfill," he chuckled to himself, stopping immediatly once he realized it wasn't funny. Confused, David looked at his watch. 12:27. The press conference was over and Red and Ace would be long gone. His day was ruined all thanks to Peter.

"I'm Dr. Maple," he said as took a seat across from David and Peter.

Peter stook his hand out, "I'm Peter Chase," he frantically blurted out.

The shock dissapeared from David's face. "I'm David Rooker. Pleased to meet you sir."

"There's no need to be so formal. Or pretentious," Dr. Maple stood up and paced in front of the boys, "I did field work with Professor Birch for five years. The man spends more time playing with Pokemon than he does researching them. Of course, his argument is always 'This is the best way to analyze their behavior'. It's a valid point, but I prefer a more analytical research approach."

David and Peter sat in silence. "Uhh... are we in trouble?" David asked, admittedly worrying more about himself than Peter.

"No, of course not," Dr. Maple chuckled, "no, I understand what you two did today. I knew I wanted to devote my life to understanding Pokemon at 16, your age." He looked to the ceiling, as if to reminisce on his early years with Pokemon.

Peter leaned forward, "So what are you going to do?" He said like petrified toddler.

Dr. Maple walked over and faced the window. "Do you know what they're calling it, the first Sanoah Pokemon Leage Tournament?" He said this as if he had completly disregarded Peter's question. "The World Championship. Can you believe it? Come three months from now a few million people will be watching trainers battle it out at our League Tournament." Dr. Maple's words added color to the picture Ace's words had painted in David's head. Each word made both David and Peter want to jump out the window and start journies right then and there. "Imagine being the World Champion. The first Champion of Sanoah. Everlasting glory."

"Look," Peter said, now visibly ticked, "just get to the point already!"

Dr. Maple turned around and smilied at them. "I'm going to help you boys fulfill your dreams."

"WHAT?!?" Both David and Peter said as the jumped to their feet. A Pokemon Professor wanted to help them become the World Champion!

"How?"

The Doctor ushered them towards his desk. Dr. Maple placed a box from the floor on top of his desk. The boys crowded around the box. A Pokeball emblazened on the side. "I had these wired over from some of the other Professors. Sanoah doesn't have any sanctioned starter Pokemon, so I think these'll do." He picked up the three Pokeballs and released their occupants.

From the first ball came a spunky blue turtle. Squirtle looked like it was ready to fight.

The second had another turtle, except this one was bigger and clunkier. Turtwig wanted a trainer.

Then from the third ball came a Cyndaquil. The second it rematirelized it sat down on the floor and seemed to have fallen asleep. From the moment David saw it he knew he had found his match.

And with that David had his starter. His first Pokemon. His friend. His Cyndaquil.

 

[Heartz]

The story is really starting to build up. I love the idea of not having sanctioned starter Pokémon. You also know how to layout your dialogue, description and actions. It's not rushed or shoved together, its subtle and easy to read. Looking forward to the The World Championship!

 

[MrWhite325]

Chapter Three: Right Out of The Starting Gate

Route 57 had never looked so different. Over the years David had gone out to Route 57 dozens of times; as a young boy to play with his friends and some pokemon after school, then to meet 'people' before going to Bell Town during High School. Maybe because of the fact he had Pokemon now. He looked down to Cyndaquil walking at his side. He looked so chipper to be out of his pokeball and walking with his trainer. David just knew he and Cyndaquil would go far.

*****​

Mom and Dad had taken the news quite well. In fact, they looked extatic when David had told them Dr. Maple had given him a Pokemon, and even happier when he said he was going off on a journey. It was to be expected, though. A third of his graduating class had left to travel Sanoah the day of graduation. He and his parents had had a travel bag packed for the past three weeks. David was wearing the bag now; inside it was five pokeballs, a few potions, a full heal, some provisions, and a compact sleeping bag.

Then came his clothing. If it had been up to him, David would have ran out in his jeans and t-shirt, his mom would hear none of it. His mother went up to his room and handed him approved clothing: Nike shoes, khaki pants, gray t-shirt, and a blue jacket. He put the clothes on in the bathroom and went back to his mom. Once she had blushed and called David a 'little adventurer' and left he walked over to his mirror. David had grabbed a black and yellow hat from his closet, put it on his head, and made a serious look in the mirror. 'Red wore a hat,' he thought to himself, but he figured hats didn't fit well with his blonde hair. He took it off and shoved it to the bottom of his bag along with some spare socks and the like. After that he hugged his parents at the door and set off on his journey.

*****​

Each and every inch of Route 57's beautiful scenery was ingrained into David's memory. Nothing could make him forget his first few hours with his Pokemon. Now he wanted to accomplish his next goal: catch a Pokemon. David had skittered around Regent Town training with and honing Cyndaquil's abilities. Cyndaquil had quickly mastered Ember, and had almost set the woods on fire doing so. David was sitting on the edge of a stream, figuring every Pokemon had to drink at some point. He figured right.

A tiny blue and white bird Pokemon waddled to drink at the stream. David jumped up and pulled out his PokeDex, even though he knew he was looking at a Rufflet, he just wanted to use his shiny new PokeDex on something. The screen slid up to reveal a scanning lens, he aimed it at Rufflet. A ding confirmed the lock.

Rufflet, the Eaglet Pokemon. Rufflet are competitive by nature. Each regards the feather on its head as a badge of honor.​

'And we're going to use that competitive nature to our advantage.' "Cyndaquil!" The little blue mouse jumped up at David's command and stared intently at Rufflet. "Hey, Rufflet!" David yelled at the other Pokemon, trying to intice it into battle.

"Ruff!" The Rufflet moved to stare down its new foes. The look in its eyes said, 'Fight me.'

"Ok Cyndaquil, c'mon!"

Cyndaquil jerked his foot like starting a motorcycle; the flame on his back erupted into a violent blaze, a move it and David had worked on earlier. "Quil," it screeched with excitement, Cyndaquil wanted to fight just as much as Rufflet.

Rufflet made the first move. He jumped forward, closing the distance to do a Fury Attack. "Ember!" David commanded. Cyndaquil fired a dozen red cinders from its mouth, each hitting Rufflet square in the chest. Rufflet was stopped dead in its tracks and fell to the ground. "Alright, finish it off with a Tackle!" Cyndaquil did a quick nodd to confirm, ran full speed to the grounded bird and slammed into it with full force. Rufflet gave a final cry and collapsed.

'Nows my chance!' David grabbed one of the empty pokeballs from his backpack. He held it firm in his hand, took aim, and threw. The ball spun through the air and hit Rufflet smack dab in the head. The pokeball opened and turned Rufflet into a ball of energy that was sucked into the open pokeball. David and Cyndaquil held their breaths.

One bob. David gritted his teeth.

Two bobs. It felt like he cracked his molars.

Three bobs. He closed his eyes.

Click.

They opened their eyes. 'I heard right, right? That was the pokeball and not my teeth, right?' It was the pokeball. He had done it. David had caught a Pokemon. A Rufflet. He went over and picked up his prize. Cyndaquil looked extatic; the flame on his back snuffed out and he latched onto David's shoulder. David looked right into Cyndaquil's eyes. "Hahahaha! You did great!"

"Quil!!!" David was so proud of himself, but even more proud of Cyndaquil.

*****​

David's pride lasted just long enough for him to catch another Pokemon. He had vowed to catch the next one he saw. A little brown and green Nincada had just popped out of the ground just minutes after hed made that promise. David repeated the same process he did with Rufflet, and caught the Nincada even faster than Rufflet.

*****​

With Cyndaquil latched onto his shoulder, David looked at the two occupied pokeballs in his hands. Rufflet and Nincada. He figured both of them were still too weak from the battles to be out. The first thing he was going to do was heal them at the Pokemon Center in Bell Town.

Bell Town. He could see the ancient bell tower just over the next hill. The bell shrines were starting to pop up now and then. In twenty minutes he'd be in Bell Town: the first stop on his Pokemon Journey.

 

[MrWhite325]

(Kind of Long in My Opinion)

Chapter 4: Underdog Blues!

No one in Sanoah knew who the original settlers of Bell Town were. One thing everyone could agree on was that it was the second oldest settlement after Gamlyn City, making it well over five hundred years old. The Bell Shrines on the outskirts of the Town were a topic of discussion though, and the Bell Tower. People figured that the Bell Shrines were built to worship nature and Grass Pokemon. From time to time, people would place small offerings on them, to help themselves through hard times. The Bell Tower isn't a tower per say, it was constructed of four, slighty curved, five story wooden rods with a covered box containing the bell on top. Ringing the bell is considered taboo; only the forces of nature were allowed to ring it, yet somehow, the bell rang everyday at noon like clockwork.

*****​

The Pokemon Center was the first building into Bell Town. David instantly identified it from the universal red roof. David ran from the second he saw the Center until he ran through the automatic doors, he covered it in less than a minute. David wanted to get a lot of things done at the Pokemon Center in a short time. Reluctantly, David returned Cyndaquil to his pokeball and handed all three to the cheerful, pink-haired Nurse behind the desk. "Come collect them in about twenty minutes," she said with a wide smile.

"Alright," David smiled and winked at the woman at least seven years older than him. She giggled back, giving him some confidence in his boy-like charm. His smile faded as he walked away from the counter, realizing she must be like this with everyone. David went to go sit in the waiting area, alternating between watching the news and skimming through magazines.

*****​

With his Pokemon returned to him, David crossed the Center towards the dining area. At five o'clock the Pokemon Center was full of trainers either having their Pokemon healed or getting ready to stay the night. David bought a turkey sandwich and sat down to eat with his Pokemon. All three were provided with food, compliments of the Bell Town Pokemon Center, and sat a few feet from David's table. He watched as his team began to bond; Cyndaquil and Nincada seemed to get along well, though both looked as if they would rather nap than play. Rufflet stood between them pecking at both to wake them up, he obviously had the most moxy of the trio.

As his Pokemon ate and played, David took out his PokeDex and looked through its functions. Besides being a catalog of every known Pokemon, it also contained a map, basic first aid instrunctions, a camera, but most importantly to David, a scanner that identified a Pokemon's age, gender, moveset and ability. He turned around to look at the lens, frowned, and looked to Cyndaquil, "Something Professors hand out willy-knilly to any trainer that walks through their door is equiped with a molecular scanner. Either they're all very stupid, or these things are cheaper than we all think."

"Quil?" Cyndaquil looked at its trainer, confused at what he was trying to say.

"Yeah, I was pretty sure you wouldn't understand or care." David commenced with scanning his team. Cyndaquil's stats were what you would expect of a starting Fire type. The read out of on Rufflet showed his current moves were Peck, Fury Attack, and Leer. A scan of Nincada showed it t be very young, as in recently hatched young. The only two moves it knew were Sand Attack and Fury Cutter. David knew these weren't the movesets of a Championship winning team.

*****​

David finally got around to doing what he really wanted to do at the Pokemon Center: register for the Sanoah League. Dr. Maple had told him he could register at any Pokemon Center; Bell Town was the closest town with a Pokemon Center. He walked up to the counter with the pretty Nurse, "Hi again, I'd like to the register..."

"...for the Sanoah League. Yeah I know," the Nurse sneered.

"Why do you say it like that?"

'We've had almost a hundred people register since noon. It's getting a little old."

David leaned in closer, admittedly to be closer to the pretty nurse, "Can I still register?"

"Follow me."

The Nurse led David through the Center and into a back room. She walked, he followed and looked at her legs. Inside the room were five computer stalls, all empty. She sat David down at the nearest computer. "The instructions are on-screen, but if you have any questions just come to the desk." David nodded and the Nurse walked out, with David following her movements.

Powering up the computer, David saw their were a few icons on the screen, but the only one he cared about was 'League Registration'. He clicked it and the program booted up. It was a step-by-step process with the usual things: name, age, sex, and place of residence. Once done with that a camera appeared to take his headshot. The screen turned blue and the word 'Processing' popped up on the screen. After a few moments, and black and blue card the size of a license slid out of the computer: David's League Register. The screen then said 'Please insert Register'. David found the slot on the computer and put his card in, wondering what this part of the process was for.

The video conference software started, and David could see what looked like a lab on his screen. David wondered what he was looking at until the familiar face of Dr. Maple appeared on-screen. "Hello David, been waiting for you to register. Glad you finally decided to."

"Hey Dr. Maple," David said, confused on why he was talking to the Doctor, "what are you doing on the computer."

"This is to register for you storage space here at the lab, or at the Beta Storage Site. Most go to the later, but I pulled some strings to have you and Peter be cataloged here."

Peter. David had forgotten about Peter. "How is Peter? Last I saw he had bolted out the second he told his parents.

"He looked fine, he was actually one of the first to register. I would know because the first thirty from Bell Town defaulted to the lab." 'Of course Peter was one of the first to registerm,' thought David. "Alright, let's get started. First type in a five digit code." David typed in a code. "Alright, now I put in the lab's master code, known only by me and the four techs here at the lab," David heared the clacking of the keys, "and we're done. Welcome to one of the most secure storage mediums in the entire world, David." Both David and Dr. Maple nodded, and the video conference shut down.

*****​

David walked out of the computer room into a near-empty lobby. The lobby should have been full at 6:30, a time when most of the lodging trainers would parooze in the lobby. David walked outside into the waning sunlight of Bell Town. He walked the streets, trying to find where everyone could be. Looking down Main Street he saw a large crowd gathered at the Square. He nudged his way through the crowd, which was mostly composed of trainers, to the front. Set up in the middle of the Square was a well put together, blue booth with Harper-Riley emblazoned on top.

Harper-Riley is the Sanoah Region's counterpart to Sliph and Devon, but on a much higher level. The company started as a large consumer and industrial manufacturer devoting millions into research. Within the past twenty years the Corporation had gotten into two things: Energy, and more importantly, Pokemon Products. They began making everything from pokeballs to Pokemon Center medical equipment. The boom it recieved from Pokemon caused unbelievable growth in all fields, making it number one in Sanoah and giving it large shares in the global market.

Standing infront of the crowd was a confident-looking Scientist; two men in suits stood behind the booth, acting as defacto security guards. The Scientist cleared his throat, a sign for the crowd to cease murming, and began his speech.

We at Harper-Riley have made astounding developments in all fields in the past five years, all of which accumulated into some of our greatest technology. What we are presenting today might be the greatest developments in Pokemon technology since the pokeball itself." He paused for a reaction from the crowd. "You all know of Sliph Co.'s Master Ball, the perfect, sure-fire way to catch any Pokemon. But, Sliph has produced less than twenty Master Balls in the past ten years, most of which go to the regional Professors. If Master Balls were mass produced, sales in every other type of pokeball would plummet. But we at Harper-Riley decided to challange that quo with this," the Scientist took out a blue pokeball with twin electrodes on top out of his pocket, "the Blue Ball! An innovation in catching technology, the Blue Ball has vast improvements over the Master Ball!​

The whole crowd was amazed, a company even talking about having something better than the Master Ball was enough to get trainers going. If it worked, the Blue Ball would make Harper-Riley Legendary. "I am going to show you how well the Blue Ball works." He signaled to the two men in suits. They rolled a big cage in view of the crowd. Inside was a very angry looking Tauros. "The Master Ball has a one hundred percent catch rate because of the way it stores the Pokemon, the Blue Ball uses the caught Pokemon's strength against it. As you all know, a pokeball converts a Pokemon into energy and stores the energy inside. Now, a healthy or strong Pokemon can send energy through the pokeball and into the capacitors, eventually overloading and destroying them. The Pokemon is released due to the pokeball's internal fail-safe." Every person in the world knew that, it was Pokemon 101. "Now, the Blue Ball has the catch rate of five Ultra Balls, and capacitors that are ten times more efficient and powerful than any standard pokeball. When caught in a Blue Ball, some of the Pokemon's released energy is dispersed through the nodes on the outside, reducing risk to the capacitors. The rest of the energy is cycled, then sent back into the ball to sheild and subdue the Pokemon. This process in 97% effective in catching Pokemon. The Blue Ball will be mass-produced and only slightly more costly than an Ultra Ball."

The crowd went wild! 97% catch effiency and cheap to boot. David imagined what he could do with Blue Balls. Everytime he ran into a powerful Pokemon there'd only be a small chance he wouldn't catch it.

"A Nurse has confirmed that this Tauros is perfectly healthy. Now release it!" One of the men opened the cage. The Tauros stepped out and let out a thundering bellow. The Scientist took stance and tossed the Blue Ball. The Tauros was converted and contained in the Ball. Sparks erupted from the two nodes on the ball, the whole crowd stepped back to avoid them. The sparks ceased and the Ball clicked; a confirmed catch. The Scientist picked up the ball and held it high in the air, "You saw it, one atempt and the Pokemon was caught!" The crowd applauded. "Our research also shows that the cycled energy also strengths the Pokemon, and may even allow the caught Pokemon to learn and develop new moves. The Blue Ball will be on shelves in two weeks, in every trainer's bag in three. But, one lucky trainer can have a free Blue Ball, granted they defeat me."

High catch rate, stronger Pokemon, new moves. David needed a Blue Ball. Now. "I'll do it!" David shouted and raised his arm high above any other person. The Scientist nodded to David, he stepped up infront of the crowd.

"Is a three on three battle alright?"

"Of course." David would have fought the guy hand-to-hand to get a Blue Ball.

"Mind you, my team will compose of Pokemon only caught by Blue Balls."

Another nod. Both trainers took position across from each other, preparing for battle.

"Go Tauros!"

"Rufflet!"

Rufflet looked minuslce compared to the enourmous Tauros before it. "Tackle!" The Scientist's out stretch hand pointing at Rufflet.

"Dodge and attack from behind!" The Tauros charged forward, but Rufflet did a loop mid-air and jabbed Tauros in the neck. From the way it winced, David could tell the Tauros must have been very young. "Latch on and use Fury Attack!" Rufflet grabbed onto Tauros' neck and swipped at its head with every part of his body. The Tauros managed to shake Rufflet off, but not before taking a huge beating.

"Swift, in the air!" Tauros shot a stream of energy stars from its mouth into the air. Rufflet got nicked by a few, but went low to the ground to avoid the rest. Big mistake. "Stomp!" Rufflet happened to be very close to Tauros' foot. Rufflet was crushed to the ground, incapacitated. David returned him to his Pokeball and sent out his next Pokemon.

"Cyndaquil, quick Ember!" As soon as Cyndaquil rematieralized, he shot a two dozen of the burning cinders from his mouth, each one striking the already weakend foe. Tauros fainted in one shot. "Great job Cyndaquil!" The crowd cheered for David and Cyndaquil; David was quickly becoming the new pride of Bell Town.

Zizagoon was the Scientist's next Pokemon. David imagined another one-shot Ember from Cyndaquil. "Let off a few Mud Slaps!"

"Ember!" Cyndaquil wasn't fast enough. Some of the cinders cancelled out the some of the Mud Slaps, but two got through and smacked the Fire Type straight in the chest. Zizagoon fainted from the cinders that got through. Cyndaquil survived, but was severly damaged by the Mud Slaps. Both trainers returned their Pokemon. David sent out Nincada, the Scientist chose a Sentret.

"Sentret, Iron Tail!" Sentret's tail glowed white, and Sentret jumped in the air. Nincada skittered out of the way. The Iron Tail made a tire sized hole in the ground where Nincada was.

"Nincada, use Sand Attack!" Nicada wipped up a small sandstorm's worth of sand, all shot directly at Sentret's eyes. David decided to use his opponent's blindness to his advantage, "Start a volley of Fury Cutters!" Nincada jumped into the air, his claws glowing green, and slashed Sentret across the face. Then another. And another. And another. Then after a fifth slash, Sentret fell back, fainting from the pain.

The crowd went wild!!! Everyone cheered for David, Bell Town's newest and favorite underdog. Nicada jumped and hugged David, at least the best hug a huge clawed bug could give. David almost started crying. Not only had he won a Blue Ball, but he had won his first Pokemon Battle. And the crowd cheered him on through the whole thing.

 

[MrWhite325]

Chapter Five: Thunderstruck

Cyndaquil strolled happily a few feet ahead of David. Every so often, he would chase after the stray Rattata or Bidoof that would stumble upon their path. After a good night's sleep and a light breakfast, David had set off on his way to Opal City. He spent two hours on Route 58, and now was on the final leg on Route 59 to Opal City. David pulled the Blue Ball out of his bag and held it in his hand. The top was Harper-Riley blue, a metallic sheen of dark blue; the bottom was a slightly lighter shade of Great Ball blue. The nodes on the top stuck out about a quarter of and inch. David still couldn't believe he had actually won it. He couldn't wait to find a powerful Pokemon, catch it, and use it to become the League Champion. David looked to the horizon. Slowly poking their way up were the Opal City broadcast towers. Opal City was close, as was David's first Gym Battle.

*****​

Walking the streets in Opal City was a lot different than walking in Regent or Bell Town. Apartments, offices, and stores lined the streets on both sides. Flashing lights and echoing announcements tried to grab the attention of the passerby citizens. David couldn't even fathom where he should start first. Much of the advertisements plastered on the walls were aimed towards trainers; miracle potions, breeded Pokemon, and specialized training were just some of the services they offered. David ignored all of them. His father did a lot of business in Opal City, and once told David, "Half of the people are liars and cheats and the other half are just better at hiding that." Even though Opal City was one of the safest places in Sanoah, it was so big David wanted to leave before he found himself lost and out of money.

Finding the Pokemon Center was such a challenge, David felt he should earn a badge just for hiding it. The Pokemon Center wasn't its own building, it occupied floors four through seven of a high rise in the middle of town. The building wasn't well advertised as containing the Center either. It was eleven fifteen before he finally talked to the Nurse at the desk; it had taken a full hour of patrolling the city to find it.

"Welcome to the Opal City Pokemon Center!" the cheery nurse behind the counter said, "Is this your first time in Opal City?"

"You can tell?" David meekly answered.

She giggled, "Most newcomers have a certain look on their faces. Then the trainers who come here usually look relieved once they finally find this place."

"Yeah well, I'm pretty glad I found this place so soon," David sighed, "another hour and I would have bypasseed this whole district." He unclipped the pokeballs from his belt and placed them on the counter, "Anyway, can you heal these for me?"

"Certainly," the Nurse nodded and placed David's pokeballs on a tray.

David tapped his fingers on the counter waiting for her to come back. "It'll be about ten minutes before they're fully healed," she said as she come back into view, "is there anything else I can do for you?"

David stopped the tapping, "There is one thing. Could you by chance show me where the Gym is?"

The Nurse smiled and gestured David to a map of Opal City and gave him step by step directions to the Gym.

*****​

The Opal City Gym was situated on the outskirts of the city, sitting on a ridge that had spectacular views of Downtown. David had never seen a building like the Gym before. It was a gleaming gray and yellow stadium about the size of an average football field, stands included. The real draw of the building, though, was that right on top was a huge red and white broadcast tower. Unlike the other Gyms in Sanoah, the battles in the Opal City Gym were televised and seen throughout the region. The pressure was on not only to win, but also to put on a good show.

David walked through the sliding doors into a small lobby. There was a young man behind a desk tapping at a computer. "Can I help you?" he asked once he saw David.

"I'd like to challenge the gym," David answered as confidently as he could.

"Let me just check," he tapped at the computer some more, "Elizabeth will be ready in ten minutes. You can go have a seat in the Challenger's locker room."

David nodded and walked through the door marked 'Challenger'. It was a small locker room, obviously a place where hopeful trainers could psyche themselves and their Pokemon up for the looming battle ahead. David released his Pokemon. Cyndaquil, Rufflet, and Nincada now sat a foot ahead of David, exaining their new environment. They had done some training on Routes 58 and 59 before entering the city. Each of his Pokemon had learned new moves during the training. David was confident for the battle, but wasn't sure about victory.

"Alright guys," David's Pokemon gave him their undivided attention, "we're here. Our first Gym Battle. Now I want all of you to do your absolute best. We win this and we're on the trail to the Pokemon League!" All three of his Pokemon jumped in the air and did a Pokemon style 'Super Duper'. They were as excited as David was.

"Will a challenger enter the stadium." A voice over the intercom rang through the locker room. Since David was the only one there, he returned his Pokemon and entered the stadium. The steel and concrete arena filled up the middle of the Gym. Stands lined either side of the arena; they were as full as a mid-season high school basketball game. Watching the Gym Battles live was a past time in Opal City. Hanging from the ceiling were two huge screens and a score board currently flashing through ads for local businesses, though an ad for Harper-Riley occasionaly showed up. The people in the stands cared little for David. They talked among themselves; from what David could make out, Elizabeth hadn't lost a battle in two weeks. There was however, one person that took an interest in David. He was sitting somewhat by himself, arms crossed, wearing black sunglasses and rolled-up black shirt. The man stared intently at David, like he was examining David. The audience started to cheer wildly. David looked to the other side of the arena. Elizabeth, the Media Queen, had made her entrance.

In a word, she was stunning. Flawless skin, flowing black hair, killer figure. It all made Elizabeth one of the most attractive Gym Leaders, and one of the world's most beautiful actresses. David and the rest of the men in the crowd could barely contain themselves. The heels, tight black pants and yellow top drove the men all wild. "So, you are my latest challenger?" She spoke in a sing-song voice with a slight hint of an accent.

"I am." David answered in awe of Elizabeth's precense.

"Then let us begin!"

The League Official appeared at the edge of the arena. "The battle between Elizabeth of the Opal Gym and challenger David from Regent Town. The battle will be three on three. Elizabeth will choose her Pokemon first. "

"Voltorb, put on a show!" Elizabeth's Voltorb came from it's Pokeball and erupted into a ball of sparks. Her Pokemon were as into the show as she was.

"Nincada!" David knew Nincada's ground sub-type would negate any of Voltorb's electrical attacks. "Go, use Sand Attack." Nincada kicked up a cloud of sand. David intended on using the same strategy he used on the Scientist in Bell Town.

"Voltorb, Sonicboom!" The Voltorb jumped in the air and shot a plume of air from its core. The Sonicboom burst through the sand and struck Nincada hard enough to lift him off the ground.

"Charge a Fury Cutter!" It was a last ditch effort that Nincada wasn't able to use. A second Sonicboom came and blasted Nincada through the air. Nincada fell to the ground and was out for the count. David clipped his second Pokemon off his belt, "Go, Cyndaquil!" Cyndaquil landed to the ground and flames on his back erupted into a vigorous blaze.

"Thundershock!" Elizabeth ordered, though she said it more to the audience rather than Voltorb. Voltorb shot a tiny spark of electricity towards Cyndaquil.

"Dodge with Quick Attack!" Cyndaquil darted past the electricity and slammed into Voltorb. "Before it can react, use Ember!" At point blank range, Cyndaquil fired a swarm of cinders onto Voltorb. The Voltorb's eyes went wide and it fell to the floor in a cloud of soot.

"Meowth!" Now this was against everything David knew about Elizabeth. From earlier in the battle and everything he had heard, she specialized in Electric Types. This Meowth, however, seemed to be the star of Elizabeth's team, for every pose she made, the Meowth made. The crowd cheered the Meowth on like it was normal, so David assumed it was. "Meowth, use Thunderbolt," she pointed straight onto Cyndaquil. A bolt of lightning erupted from Meowth and struck Cyndaquil before David could react.

"Quuuiiil!" Cyndaquil fanited before it had a chance. Her Meowth was the star of Elizabeth's team and was the strongest Pokemon David had encountered so far.

He sent out Rufflet, fully knowing there was little to no chance of this coming out well. "Wing Attack!" Rufflet's wings glowed white and he dove towards Meowth, hellbent on causing as much damage as possible. Elizabeth called for another Thunderbolt, though Rufflet was able to swoop through the air to avoid it. Rufflet got within two feet of hitting Meowth before hearing the words that made his heart sank.

"THUNDERBOLT!" Both Meowth and Rufflet were enveloped in electricity. The surge of power was too much for the Flying Type to handle. Rufflet screeched in pain as the the current arced across each cell in his body. Rufflet's smoking body fell to the ground; David returned his fainted Pokemon to it's pokeball. Elizabeth's Meowth back-flipped through the air and landed on its trainer's shoulders. The crowd cheered wildly and Elizabeth absorbed the energy of the crowd.

David never felt so small.

*****​

David sat silently in the challenger's locker room alone with his thoughts. He had just participated in his first official Gym Battle, and lost gloriously. Every thought a trainer could have in this situation he had. Did I not train enough? Do I have the wrong Pokemon? Am I a bad trainer? Should I be doing this? He stared at the three pokeballs on the bench to his left. Three fainted Pokemon. David had half a mind to march his way back to Regent Town and enroll as Maple's lab tech. He gathered his Pokemon and was about to leave when someone came in.

"Don't sit there feeling sorry for yourself," a man's voice came from the open door way.

David was more angry than confused, "Yeah, well I just got my ass handed to me on a platter by the first Gym Leader. I think I earned feeling like crap for a while."

"Your a noob. Probably been at Pokemon Training less than a week now." he walked in. David recognized him as the guy starring at him during the battle. He looked to be about 22, his black hair was combed back, and had broad shoulders. David thought this guy looked like a cross between a quarterback and a greaser. "You're going to lose. Suck it up."

"Yeah, well, I did," David sighed, "I'm thinking about going back towards Bell Town and doing some more training."

"You don't have to. You're going to train with me. This won't be normal training. Specialized training that will gaurantee a victory against Elizabeth."

David stood up in astonishment. Some complete stranger wanted to help David defeat Elizabeth, even after his loss. "Ok, we'll train."

The man smiled, "Good. Be at the Eastern Gate in one hour." David nodded and the man started to walk out of the room. David sat their, almost giddy, but quickly realized he didn't ask him something important.

"Who are you?"

The man stopped in the middle of the doorway. He turned his head, giving David a good profile. "The names Guy Wright, and I'm going to make you a whole different class of trainer."