Chapter 5

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"Wow, Ben! That was awesome!" Nemona said.

"I guess I wasn't ever going to stand a chance using the Pokémon I got from Director Mabel from Uva Academy..." Arven said emotionally.

Ben smiled a little at Nemona's praise, feeling a small sense of triumph. When he heard Arven's emotional admission about the Pokémon from Uva Academy, however, he softened his expression.

"Hey, don't beat yourself up about it," He said, his voice uncharacteristically gentle.

"Those things happen in battle. Your Pokémon did their best." Ben said.

Arven smiles at his compliment.

"Thanks, sorry for being mean earlier. I was just upset." Arven said.

Ben shrugged, dismissing Arven's earlier rudeness. He could tell that the other boy was genuinely remorseful, and his own mood softened further.

"No worries, man," He replied, shaking his head.

"We all get frustrated sometimes. No hard feelings." Ben said.

"Here's Koraidon's Pokéball." Arven said.

He handed him the Pokéball. But Ben noticed the Pokéball looked strange. It was purple with a M on it.

"A MASTER BALL?! THOSE ARE SO RARE POKÉBALLS!" Nemona said.

Ben's eyes widened in surprise as he took the Pokéball from Arven's hand and got a good look at it. The purple color and the distinctive "M" symbol immediately told him that it was a Master Ball - a rare and valuable item that only a truly powerful or wealthy trainer would possess.

"A Master Ball..." He whispered, his voice filled with astonishment.

"I've never even seen one of these before, much less held one in my hands." Ben said.

Ben looked over at Arven, his curiosity piqued. Holding a Master Ball was already unusual enough, but it was even stranger that it was Koraidon's Master Ball. He decided to ask directly about it.

"Arven, why do you have Koraidon's Master Ball?" He asked, his voice laced with curiosity.

Arven refuses to tell the truth.

"I need to head back home to get ready for the first day of school, ciao!" Arven said as he took off.

Ben's eyes narrowed as Arven abruptly ended the conversation and left without answering his question. There was clearly something going on with the Master Ball, and Arven was being deliberately coy about it.

He let out an exasperated sigh.

"He's definitely hiding something," Ben muttered, turning to Nemona.

"Yeah, what a weirdo." Nemona said.

Ben took a step forward and looked down at Koraidon, who was looking at him with curious eyes. He could feel the weight of the Master Ball in his hand, and a sense of responsibility as he prepared to recall Koraidon back into it.

He took a deep breath and spoke firmly.

"Return, Koraidon. We'll see each other again soon," He said, tapping the button on the Master Ball and watching as Koraidon was enveloped in a flash of red light and pulled back into the ball.

"Next time, he and I are battling! I'm gonna wring some answers outta him!" Nemona said.

Ben couldn't help but chuckle at Nemona's eagerness to wring answers out of Arven and have a battle with him. Her enthusiasm was contagious, and he found himself agreeing with her.

"Sounds like a plan," He said, a small smile playing at the corner of his mouth. "I wouldn't mind being there to see that showdown." Ben said.

"Right before we head back to Naranja Academy, how about you catch your first Pokémon Ben?" Nemona asked.

Ben raised an eyebrow in confusion as Nemona brought up the idea of catching his first Pokémon. He'd been so caught up in the encounter with Koraidon and Arven that he hadn't even thought about catching his own Pokémon.

"Wait, you think I should catch one now?" He asked, his curiosity piqued.

"Well yeah, since me and Arven already have two Pokémon. Here, you can use some of my Pokéballs." Nemona said as she gave him the Pokéballs.

"But Nemona..." Ben said.

"Meet me at the Pokémon Center at Los Platos when you're done!" Nemona said as she took off.

Ben blinked at Nemona's hasty departure, wondering how on earth he was supposed to make it back to the Pokémon Center on his own. But before he could protest, she was already gone, leaving him with the Pokéballs in his hands and a mix of confusion and determination.

"Well, I guess I'm doing this..." He muttered to himself, steeling himself for the task ahead.

He starts looking around for something until he saw a little Pokémon by his feet looking back up at him.

"Scatter?" The Pokémon said.

Ben looked down and saw a small Pokémon at his feet staring up at him. He paused for a moment, taking in the creature's cute appearance.

"Scatter?" Ben repeated, a little intrigued. He knelt down to get a closer look at the Pokémon, noticing its small size and its big, questioning eyes.

He pulls up his phone.

"Scatterbug, the Scatterdust Pokémon, a Bug type. Any poison this Pokémon takes in is converted into a black powder and secreted. That's why Scatterbug can eat poisonous leaves and roots." His Rotom Phone said.

Ben listened intently to his Rotom Phone's description of the Pokémon, his interest piqued by the mention of its unique ability to turn poisons into a black powder. It was a small creature, but clearly had some interesting characteristics.

"Scatterbug, huh? Interesting little fellow." Ben said aloud, still looking down at the bug-type Pokémon.

Ben kneeled down and started scratching his chin. Scatterbug closes his eyes as he enjoys the scratches.

"Scatter..." Scatterbug said.

Ben couldn't help but smile as he continued to scratch Scatterbug's chin and heard the small Pokémon emit a contented sound.

"You like that, huh?" He said, amused by the cute display.

Ben looked down at the black caterpillar Pokémon, the thought of catching it crossing his mind. Scatterbug was adorable, and it seemed to like the attention Ben was giving it. He considered what Nemona had said about catching his first Pokémon and decided that maybe this was a good opportunity.

"Here goes nothing," He muttered to himself as he grabbed one of the Pokéballs Nemona had given him and held it out toward Scatterbug.

He tapped the Pokéball on Scatterbug's forehead and he went in. The Pokéball started shaking in his hands, then stopped as sparks erupted from it.

"Scatterbug has been registered to your Pokédex!" His Rotom Phone said.

Ben couldn't help but let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding as the Pokéball shook in his hand and the sparks signified that Scatterbug had been caught.

"I did it," He said aloud, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth as the Rotom Phone confirmed the registration.

Ben Tennyson in Scarlet & Violet Where stories live. Discover now