Pokemon: Kanto Elite

Delia's Starter

Delia sprinted towards the battlefield after numerous tremors struck the ground with such ferocity that all of the trainers stopped to watch. Little had she known that her newest friend had been in the thick of it, his Snorlax taking on such Blue's massive Gyarados. As she reached the base of the hill, she overheard screaming coming from that little boy's lungs.

"AND DON'T YOU EVER FORGET THAT, YOU STUCK UP PRICK!"

She stopped midway, her Bellsprout clinging desperately to its trainer's neckerchief. She couldn't believe it. The kid won. Red beat Blue. Unheard of! Absurd! Unthinkable!

Most of all , she never heard anyone talk like that to Blue. Not even she did that, and she was a jerk to everyone. As she climbed up the steep rocky side with the apple tree poking out the top, she heard Blue's snarky remark about the Academy being a sort of Hell.

Then an idea hit her like an apple. She yelled back at Blue and his cronies:

"THE ONLY REASON IT'S HELL IS BECAUSE PEOPLE LIKE YOU ARE HERE!"

Delia stood by the little boy's side, her Bellsprout at the ready, as he faced away from his new rival.

Blue smirked back at the hapless duo, one with a Snorlax, the other with a tiny worthless Bellsprout.

"Yeah, that's true Delia. About high time I make you my inferior in every way. Next time I see you, I'm challenging you and I'll smear Red too. Just wait, you red-haired pigtailed princess!"

Delia's pale face matched the color of her hair with rage.

"Nobody makes fun of my ponytail! NOBODY! I'll challenge you first, you Blue-faced loser!"

His cronies laughed him away in a farewell parade off of the hill as the two of them stared in that direction. Red looked towards his friend and put a hand on her heaving shoulder.

"It's okay. Thanks for standing up to me. I... I can take care of myself."

She gently shrugged off his hand as she stood closer to him. She was a full foot taller than him, so from a distance they looked more like siblings than friends.

"A bit of a shame too. I was going to show off my newest pokemon too."

Red's face changed from sullen victory to excitement.

"How did you get a second pokemon?! Wait, did you..."

"Yep," She interrupted triumphantly. "Beat two higher level trainers. Finally won me another leg up on the competition..."

She smirked as she held her second pokeball in her hands. The metal still felt cold against her hand.

"...Or maybe a new torch above the rest! Pokeball, go!"

The pokeball popped open in dramatic fashion, the white energy folding again and again onto itself before a lizard appeared within the light, its tail burning a crimson and yellow flame.

"A Charmander! Wow! I've never seen one so close!"

He knelt down towards the tiny pokemon, who immediately wobbled towards its master in fright. Delia chuckled as she gathered up the little reptile in her arms, its wide eyes glowing in her secure embrace. She even felt it purr as it buried further into the crutch of her elbow.

"It's so cute!"

"Yep. Got the little Charmander at level 5. Isn't it adorable?!" She cooed the little pokemon to its delight.

"I wonder if I'll get a Charmander." Red wondered aloud.

"Probably not. Then again, all second-tier level trainers get a starter pokemon at random. So you have ,like , a 1 in 3 chance of getting a Charmander over a Squirtle or Bulbasaur."

"Why is that? I thought the second pokemon is also a reject."

"Nope. When a trainer shows promise, they trust them with a rarer type of pokemon."

"Huh. I never thought of that."

"Well, that's why I'm the better trainer. I've been here longer. I know more secrets about this place."

She pointed at the horizon, where the sun was losing in to kiss the hills.

"Like, the moment the sun touches the horizon, the bell will be blown throughout the campus and all training will immediately stop for curfew."

Almost immediately afterwards, Red shook with the blast of the bell, signaling the end of his second training day. They walked together to the main doors of the battlegrounds, Delia with her newest addition, Red with his newest winner tucked safely in his pokeball. They led the rest of the trainers indoors, with all higher level trainers depositing their second Pokemon into the secured database onsite.

...

Massive posters and achievement banners dominated the cafeteria walls, from massive pictures of legendary pokemon to a board with the trainer color standings hammered into the plastered wall. Ten tables, each able to hold twenty trainers, lined up in rows, surrounded by stools locked onto them at all sides. It was at one of these tables that they sat together for supper, with Red telling her in detail how the battle took place, at least from his point of view.

"So there was Snorlax, a full ten feet away after being blasted by the hyper beam..."

Some other smaller trainers surrounded their table, eager to hear how Blue was defeated by a trainer their same age. One trainer in particular overheard it, his yellow mouse bending its ears towards the commotion.

"So I thought 'We need to get closer to Gyarados now! Otherwise, we're toast!'

"So there we were, on the verge of victory..."

"More like beginner's luck."

They all turned around to see another trainer towering over them, his red hat pushing down the mop of black hair on his head, his Pikachu loyally hugging its master's shoulder. Delia's large bright eyes narrowed at him.

"Shut up, Raymond."

Red looked confusingly between the two of them, while the other younger trainers stood watch. Pikachu jumped down onto Red's lap and curled up comfortably.

"What? I've never seen such a young trainer take on such a powerful opponent and win. Not like that anyway."

"Huh. Nice compliment to a kid who wiped the floor with Blue's Gyarados, the one pokemon everyone wanted to beat but couldn't."

Red looked incredulously at Delia. Seriously? EVERYONE wanted to beat that overpowered sea snake?!

"Well, that's because he's way too connected, what with his Grandpa and all. Look I know you like to play daycare with all of the younger trainers and all, but get a grip. We're all here to win, not make friends."

"Uh, you guys know each other?"

Neither of the two older trainers looked towards him.

"RayMOND and I know each other from a while back. We started here together, yet he's just as stubborn as he was when he got here-"

"Which is why" Ray interrupted, "I have two pokemon and not you."

"Actually," Delia smile-smirked, "I have two now."

"Oh yeah? What?"

"Charmander, level 5."

Ray stopped before he retorted back. No one could lie about their pokemon. They would have to prove it later, so it wasn't worth trying to build up such a big game, especially if it was on such a low level.

"Squirtle, level 10. Just started training him before I had to return him to the PC."

Their conversation ground to a halt as Red looked back to Delia, a look of dissonance printed on his eyes.

"I'll see you on the battlefield tomorrow. See you later, Red. C'mon Pikachu."

The little mouse obeyed, leaping from Red's lap back onto Ray's raised arm as he walked to the other side of the cafeteria, on the way to the dormitories.