Pokemon: Kanto Elite

Earn It

"Easy out!" She mocked as her pokemon lunged forward, spinning wildly in its shell. Being too weak to dodge it, the pokemon slammed into Snorlax's side and bounced off in a wild spin.

"Snorlax, Rest!"

As his pokemon gained back health, the Wartortle began using focus energy, readying itself for the next attack.

The turtle pokemon slammed into Snorlax repeatedly, Red thought up a plan. One that just might work, especially against something that quick.

Snorlax awoke rejuvenated but still weak. Red felt beads of sweat dribble down his back.

"Snorlax, earthquake the ground to your left!"

Snorlax immediately shook the ground near Wartortle, who dodged it easily.

The girl threw her head back and laughed.

"You seriously think that would help?! Wartortle, attack with skull bash!"

Yet Red knew what he was doing. The shock from the earthquake became a springboard for the massive pokemon, sending it flying towards where Wartortle stood.

Yet that wasn't even the best part of the plan. As Wartortle dodged, it moved into the perfect position for one major shot. It was now or never, and Red knew that the time was now.

"Snorlax, THUNDERBOLT!"

A burst of lightning erupted from Snorlax's mouth and barreled straight through the blue turtle, sending it flying away into a top spin.

Yet it wasn't over. The pokemon clumsily stood up, wobbling on its hind legs.

As the girl fumbled her commands, Red knew how to finish the match.

"ONE MORE TIME, SNORLAX! THUNDERBOLT!"

The Wartortle collapsed in exhaustion, as the girl rushed to her pokemon in a mix of shock, awe, and shame.

She never even congratulated him on the match, leaving instead to cry on her pokemon and curse him while calling him a monster.

Now all he needed was another battle with a higher leveled trainer. That's all he needed to get that next pokemon.

But why was it not taking as long as Ray and Delia? After all, they started before him and just got them.

Then again, they had young, small pokemon to work with, while he found a way to get a massive Snorlax to obey him almost immediately. How he did it, he had no idea, but after allowing Snorlax to eat his fill and fall asleep before calling him into his pokeball, he took some time to walk around the premises.

He had never fully explored the fields before. The battle arenas stretched from the gate to the forest, alternating with different terrains and heights. Some trainers battle atop mountains, others in a man-made lake nearby. He looked up and saw bird pokemon carry their trainers across the skies, squealing with joy as loud as their trainers.

Ever since he came here, he had been focusing on battling. He wanted to be the best so badly, that he never looked to see the view from the plains. The mountainous region behind Pewter city peaked out from across the horizon. Trees blanketed the valleys and fields behind Veridian City. He could catch a glimpse of the Kanto peninsula if he squinted hard enough at the other side. The sun beat down on him from above as he closed his eyes and let his hair wave in the wind.

Just for that moment, the world slipped away and he felt like a baby again. He remembered running to the beaches of Pallet Town, splashing in the waves while his Mom and Dad looked on. His Dad helped him build sand castles with his Golduck, laughing when it crumbled down atop all of them.

He turned to the desert terrain, where battles happened all around him. Looking down, he gathered some sand and let it pour down his raised hand. Not even bothering to look up, he took out his water bottle, poured it onto the sand and kneaded it into a thick mixture. Some other trainers gave him second glances as he started building a sand sculpture, gathering it into the shape of a ball. His Dad had taught him how to balance the extra sand on smaller amounts. It wasn't until Professor Blaine showed up that he quietly built himself a small sculpture of an upright Ekans made of sand.

"Red, what in the world are you doing?!"

His tone seemed harsh yet warm, firm yet understanding. Red was still a young child after all.

"My Snorlax is resting, so I decided to take a break."

Professor Blaine's eyebrow raised up slightly.

"Why do that, though? Why not do some research? Scout out your next opponent?"

Red shrugged his tiny shoulders. "Dunno. I guess I didn't wanna."

Blaine towered above him, especially with Red sitting cross-legged underneath him.

"Well, you're going to need to gather yourself together. There are some other trainers you could fight. I see there's a trainer over there not doing anyth- wait... Is that boy walking into a wall?"

Red perked up and looked in his mentor's direction.

"Yes. He barely responds to anyone. Just walks around aimlessly, randomly brandishing his Venomoth. People don't even know his name. They just call him Twitch."

Blaine scrunched his face in confusion as Red stood up and brushed the sand off of his pants.

"Professor, what's with that lone Tauros in the field over there?"

"That's Professor Oak's very own Tauros. He allows it to graze in the fields and battle any trainer that dares to challenge it. I don't get why he thinks that's a good idea for trainers to interact with an unpredictable pokemon as powerful as that..."

"What happens if you beat it?"

"I don't know. Rumor is you automatically elevate in status. In your case, you'd go to black and receive your starter."

He failed to notice the twinkle in Red's eye.

"I'm gonna challenge it."

Blaine jerked his head downwards to his young student.

"Red, you can't be serious."

"I'm gonna challenge that Tauros to get my starter."

"I would highly recommend you not do that."

"Why not? My Snorlax is ready. It can take it. I know how to beat it."

He couldn't tell him what to do, yet Red actually had nothing to lose by challenging it. All the sacrifice would be was to spend another day at the Pokecenter.

"I guess I can't say no. If that's what you want to do, then go for it."

Red jubilantly ran to the field, tilted his hat backward the way he had seen on Television, and pointed to the Tauros, grabbing its attention.

"Tauros! I challenge you to a battle! You versus me!"

As if the whole academy heard, including Ray and Delia, the mighty bull turned and galloped in his direction... and straight towards the little boy.

It didn't stop, even a hundred feet away. Red froze in panic as Tauros flew across the field. Blaine saw it happen in slow motion, not realizing that Oak's Tauros was never meant to be provoked.

His screams barely left his throat. He didn't even feel his pokeball shake with the ground.

As the Tauros lunged at him, a massive furry blob with pointy ears and a deafening roar shoved the bull aside and stood in front of its trainer.

Their first true battle had begun.