Rival battle and A wonderful gift chapter -3

I looked at Brawly with his burning eyes and heard him say, "Let's battle, Machop, and I need to ride some waves."

"Okay, let's battle."

Before a Pokémon battle, pokemon trainers decide the amount we want to wager. This system helps us earn while making the battle more exhilarating as the stakes increase. I waged 500P$.

Brawly and I both went to the corners of the room.

"Aron, let's show them what we got."

"Arr!"

"Machop, let's show them how we ride."

"Maa!"

The screen in the practice room displayed a timer.

3

2

1

0

"Aron, use Harden."

"Machop, use Leer to make it lose its effects."

"Aron, use Dragon Rush."

Aron was oozing a purple aura as he made his way towards Machop.

"Machop, dodge it," Brawly said anxiously, but Aron didn't give Machop a chance and struck him.

Machop flinched due to the effect of Dragon Rush.

"Now, Aron, end it with Dragon Rush."

Aron struck Machop again and knocked him out.

"No, Machop!" Brawly exclaimed.

I felt extremely proud of Aron; even though he had a type disadvantage, he still delivered. I knew that this battle was a one-time thing. I got extremely lucky due to the flinch; otherwise, I would have had a hard time in this battle.

"Damn, that Dragon Rush was high tide. If you didn't have that, then we were sure to win. You got lucky that Machop flinched."

"Luck is still a part of skill, buddy. Although if we didn't have Dragon Rush, it would have been a hard fight."

"Anyway, I've got to head to the Pokémon Center in the gym. See you on Monday."

Each Pokémon gym has a Pokémon Center in it for healing the gym staff's Pokémon. It's also here to take care of Pokémon of trainers who are sponsored by the gym when they exceed the carry limit of 6.

I approached Aron.

"From now on, you shall be known as Trigon. Do you like the name?"

Aron nodded his head vigorously.

Brawly left the field, and I received a notification for receiving 500 P$ for winning. For me, 500 P$ was a small amount, as my dad, before passing, made a lot of money by selling fossils and artifacts.

In this world, 1000 P$ can feed a family of 5 for a month, but for trainers, they spend that amount to feed and groom their Zizagoon in 2 weeks. Being a Pokémon trainer was a lucrative job but also one where there is a constant expense. For example, a Water Stone costs up to 100,000 P$, which is 5 months of my salary from the gym.

The Pokémon Alliance pays for all the needs of trainers for health care and lounging in a Pokémon Center, but most high-class trainers live in hotels.

The internet also exists here, along with all social media sites. I felt joyful that I could use Reddit to be toxic again.

It is extremely hard to raise and train Pokémon, so most people specialize in one particular type, while some generalize. This is one of the biggest debating points online, causing cyber wars over whether specialization or generalization is better.

There are 3 ranks for trainers:

Beginner: 0-2 gym badges

Intermediate: 2-5 gym badges

Elite: 5-8 gym badges

I'm working as a gym trainer to learn and gain experience in a safe environment. Even though Pokémon are mostly friendly, there are Pokémon on the opposite spectrum. The leading cause of death in this world is caused by Pokémon. Ghost and Poison types, in general, have a bad reputation.

I returned home along with Trigon. I released him from his Pokéball and let him play around. While snooping around the house, I discovered a necklace with a Dragon Fang in its center and some markings. Trigon tried to bite and break the fang, but couldn't. I snatched the necklace from Trigon and discovered that it belonged to my mom, as the last memento from her. I wore the necklace and thought it looked good on me.

After some time, I returned Trigon to his Pokéball and went to the local Pokémart to get supplies. I bought vegetables, berries, and a sack of steel-type Pokémon food, which had high iron content along with metal polish for steel types. I also bought a bag with space extension technology, similar to a Pokéball, some potions, and full heals. It totaled to about 18,000 P$.

While returning, I looked around the town. Although it was called a town, it was bigger than most cities in my past life. The Pokémon world is much larger than Earth. While loafing around like a Slaking, I came across an old man who looked like a Mudkip.

I stumbled upon one of the most famous residents of Dewford Town, Old Man Swamp. I had some acquaintance with him as my parents were friends with him, and he also visited our Pokémon school to talk about Pokémon breeding as a career.

"Hey, Mr. Swamp, how are you doing?"

"Oh, it's Rex. I'm doing just fine but feeling a bit troubled. You see, a person ordered a Mudkip but canceled the order last minute."

"Mr. Swamp, if you don't mind me asking, how much does the Mudkip cost? I just graduated from Pokémon school and became a trainer, so I am interested in purchasing the Mudkip."

"Oh, that's great! Congratulations on graduating. I was good friends with your parents. Now that they're not here, it's some of my responsibility to take care of you. I will gift you that Mudkip as a graduation gift, and before you refuse, I will be offended if you refuse."

"Thank you, Mr. Swamp. You don't know how much this means to me."

In my ORAS run, I always picked Mudkip as a starter. I always thought that Mudkip was the best starter. Now the thought of having one made me feel giddy.

"Come to my ranch tomorrow, as it's a Sunday. I will be free."

"Of course, Mr. Swamp. Still, thank you for the gift."