Pokemon: Kanto Elite

Rite of Passage

  "Sandslash, fury swipes attack!"

"Snorlax, Double-edge!"

The yellow hedgehog barreled towards Snorlax, as if they never fought before.

Its attack faced two massive claws, sending the Sandslash flying.

"Sand-attack!"

No, not again...

Sandslash kicked up the desert sand towards Snorlax. It couldn't move fast enough to avoid it.

"Now, Dig!"

It buried underground, hidden underneath the sand cloud. 

Sweat trickled down Red's sideburn as he sped through any kind of strategy in his head. He knew that Snorlax couldn't move fast enough out of the way.

But it could catch Sandslash after the attack.

"Snorlax, amnesia!"

By the time Snorlax's special rose drastically, Sandslash rose up to deliver another blow. 

"Snorlax, ICE BEAM!" 

After hitting Snorlax, it leapt out of the way- only to be grabbed by the leg and dealt the point blank range hit of an ice beam. 

The secrets paid off as Sandslash tumbled away, smashing into a sand dune before screeching to a halt at the edge of the arena.

One down, one to go.

The crowd murmured as Blue called back the fainted pokemon. As the sand dissipated, Red saw Blue's smile grow as he launched the next challenger into the field.

"You think you're ready for my next pokemon?! You have no idea what's coming!" 

Red was ready for Gyarados. He beat it once, he could do it again. Yet when the ball crashed onto the floor and the monster emerged, it stood on sturdy legs, with massive arms, three ridges on its head, and a massive roar emanating from its jaws.

Red's pokeball dropped from his hand as fast as eyes widened. 

A machoke?! How did he get a different pokemon?! But, that's against the rules!

The crowd booed as Red yelled at the top of his lungs.

"That's not your Machoke, cheater! You borrowed a different pokemon from one of your cronies, you prick! You couldn't stand to lose to me again so you cheated, you magikarp trainer (an insult to a pathetic trainer that trains a pathetic pokemon)!"

"You think that's my CRONY'S machoke?! What kind of trainer do you think I am?!"

Red clenched his fists, Snorlax copying his trainer. 

"I think you're a dirty liar and a cheater! No one has three pokemon yet, especially a trainer that still loses!"

"And what makes you think I always lose?"

Machoke flexed as Red stared back in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"Ever since I lost to you, I knew I needed to boost my strategy. It's good to have friends willing to excel in the academy, only to let me beat them and earn the highest levels imaginable. See Red, it's not about how long you train, it's how smart you train."

"But that's still a high-level pokemon! You get a beginner for the second pokemon! None of those are beginners."

"Well, then it's good to know people."

That makes no sense. If it's all about knowing people...

then I guess he'll know me as the trainer he'll never beat.