7 Chapter 7: The open road!

Kai sat down next to the campfire and started routing through his bag, finding the Pokemon food he had bought along with the small bowl he had also got for Sandshrew.

Kai could see on the packet that it recommended a certain amount of food depending on the size of the Pokemon.

"Here you go, little man," Kai said, placing one large scoop of the food into the bowl as it said on the packet, before handing it over to Sandshrew.

"Shrew!" Sandshrew said happily as it started digging into the food, not complaining one bit.

"Looks like somebody likes it," Kai said, happy that Sandshrew was happy.

Kai couldn't help but think about both Snubbull and the Rattata that he had just caught, wondering if they were also hungry. But, he also had to think about the injuries that had suffered, knowing it was probably best to leave them inside their Pokemballs for the time being.

Kai had another thing to worry about as he set his small ration pack onto the little metal tin filled with some water to let it cook, having another route through his bag as he waited for it.

"Wait a second... There it is." Kai said, pulling out an antidote and two potions he had in his bag, having forgotten that he had bought the antidote just in case.

"What an idiot I am..." Kai said, feeling bad he had forgotten about it.

"Come on out, Rattata," Kai said, placing the Pokeball down on the ground, releasing the Rattata who simply led on the ground still unable to move due to its wounds.

Sandshrew also stopped eating to take a look, seeing that Rattata was in bad shape.

"Here, let's try these," Kai said, pulling the lid off of the antidote and dripping it onto the poison wound on the Rattata.

The antidote got to work fast and soon enough the poison mark disappeared from its body.

"There we go, little guy," Kai said, seeing that Rattata's breathing got easier.

"Alright, now let's try this potion," Kai said, spraying the potion onto Rattata, waiting to see what happened.

A few moments passed with nothing happening, causing Kai to worry a little thinking it might not have worked, or thinking he had done something wrong.

"Ta..." The Rattata said opening its eyes slowly as it seemed to come around not a moment later, putting Kai at ease.

"There we go," Kai said, feeling relief.

The Rattata took a look around, seeing that Kai and Sandshrew were looking at it, also feeling recovered from the poison it had suffered from.

"It's ok little guy, you are all better now," Kai said, not sure how it would react.

"Ta." Rattata said, sitting up and nodding at Kai, seeming to act much more tame than when he had battled it.

Kai had to wonder if this was the Pokeballs doing, knowing that wild Pokemon seemed to obey much better once they had been caught from the games and anime.

"It looks like you are better at least," Kai said, happy that the little guy wasn't in trouble anymore.

"Ta." The Rattata said again, nodding its head.

"I guess that just leaves you." Kai then said as he pulled out the Pokeball he had used to catch the Snubbull, looking at it momentarily before setting it down.

Kai slowly pressed the middle button, allowing the Pokeball to open and Snubbull to come out.

"Snub..." The Snubbull said, looking around before letting its eyes fix on Kai.

"Snubbull." It simply said, not seeming all that interested before turning its attention to the Rattata.

"Snub?" It said, about to walk over to it, however, the battle with Kai and Sandshrew had left it weak, even if it did put on a tough act to try to hide it.

"Ta, Rattata." The Rattata said, rushing over to the Snubbull, causing the Snubbull to look at Kai.

"That's right, I saved him," Kai said, giving the two Pokemon a moment.

Even though Kai couldn't understand what they were saying, he got the gist of it, guessing that the Rattata was telling the Snubbull what had happened.

"If you let me, I can use this potion to make you feel better?" Kai asked after a moment, getting a small nod from the Snubbull.

Kai knelt down next to the Pokemon and sprayed the potion on it, giving it a minute for it to start working.

"Snubbull!" The Snubbull said after a few seconds, feeling much better as it felt its energy increase.

"Shrew, Sandshrew," Sandshrew suddenly said, having walked over to the others after finishing its food.

Kai could see that his Sandshrew looked to be laying down the law, kind of wishing he knew what it was saying to the Snubbull and Rattata.

"Snub..." The Snubbull said after a moment, nodding its head before looking at Kai.

"Looks like we are all on the same page now, huh?" Kai asked, waiting to see what the Pokemon did.

"Snubbull!"

"Rattata!" They both said, nodding their heads before sitting down, seeming to have accepted Kai as their new trainer, with a little help from Sandshrew.

Boy... It really is different than in the game... Kai thought.

I mean in the game, you catch a Pokemon and it listens to you right away. I mean sometimes if you didn't have enough badges it could disobey you. But here... Here Pokemon are wild and alive. From the looks of it, if they don't want to obey you there isn't much you can do. Kai wondered, remembering that even his Sandshrew wasn't interested in listening to him at first.

"Ok, you two. If you want to be a part of the team, then we have a lot of work to do." Kai said, getting his new Pokemon's attention.

"But first, have some food and get some rest. Tomorrow we start the real work." Kai said, getting a nod from all three of them, feeling a sense of pride as he and Sandshrew welcomed both of them to their team.

With that Kai gave both Snubbull and Rattata some food before allowing them both to return to their Pokeballs for the night. Kai decided to leave Sandshrew with him, knowing he could trust the little guy the most, finally climbing into his tent and getting into his sleeping bag.

Before he knew it the day had gone and it was time to get some sleep, lying in his tent with the door unzipped so he could feel the heat from the fire. Sandshrew had also chosen to curl up into a ball, staying close to the tent with Kai.

Kai was all wrapped up in his sleeping bag, feeling his eyes growing heavy while reflecting on what had happened so far in his journey, feeling as if everything was still only a fantasy or some sort of dream. Still, Kai was glad to have found himself here and was excited to see what another day would bring him, letting his eyes give in to the weight of sleep.

The next morning came quickly for Kai, hearing the chirp of birds and feeling the small beams of light from the sunrise on his face caused him to slowly open his eyes.

"Arrhhhh..." Kai groaned as he stretched, yawning at the same time.

Kai could see that Sandshrew was still fast asleep, curled up in a ball next to the fire that was now only small embers.

Well, I slept surprisingly well. Kai said to himself, taking a look around before checking the time on his Pokegear.

It's early. Kai thought, seeing that it was only 5 am.

The sun had only just risen over the tree line, glowing brightly in the clear sky looking like it was going to be a glorious day.

"Time to wake up, Sandshrew," Kai said as he stepped out of his sleeping bag and tent feeling the need to crack his back.

"The floor sure is hard." He said, feeling like his back had been twisted after sleeping on the ground.

"Shrew," Sandshrew said as it unrolled and also stretched out.

Kai smiled while taking the scenery in, seeing the beautiful countryside that he found himself in now.

"How about we have breakfast first, and then pack everything away?" Kai said, looking at Sandshrew to see what it thought.

"Shrew, shrew." Sandshrew said, agreeing with him.

"Ok, come on out, Snubbull, Rattata!" Kai said, releasing both of his other Pokemon so they could join him and Sandshrew for breakfast.

"Snub."

"Ta." They each said, feeling much better after a good night's rest.

Kai laid out the food for each of them, only having one small bowl that he had gotten for Sandshrew though. He also realised how fast they would run out of food now that he had three of them to feed.

"I guess the next thing we have to worry about is money..." Kai said, watching as the three of them wolfed down the food, making it seem like they hadn't been fed the night before.

"Looks like you three were hungry," Kai said, taking a bite of his own food.

It certainly didn't take long for the three of them to finish their food, with Kai following them not long after. Now it was time to pack up camp and hit the road, with Kai wanting to make it to the first Pokemon centre on his journey before midday if they could.

Kai was able to collapse the tent and fold it away, doing the same with his sleeping bag, rolling it up before he placed it back into the bag.

"Ok you three, are we ready to make a move?" Kai asked, looking at his three Pokemon.

All of them nodded, causing Kai to smile before he returned both Rattata and Snubbull to their Pokeballs.

"Come on, Sandshrew, let's get going," Kai said as he set off, getting his Sandshrew to follow him so he had some company.

Kai could see from the Pokegears map that he was around a three-hour walk to the Pokemon centre, meaning it was some distance.

"I don't think I've ever walked so far before..." Kai said out loud as he headed down the path, knowing that with the early start, he would still have plenty of daylight left if they didn't take too many breaks.

Kai whistled a small tune while he walked, admiring the countryside and scenery whilst he and Sandshrew walked along the dirt path leading through the trees.

They had quickly made it across the field and into the small forest that was waiting on the other side. Now that they were in the woods Kai had expected to see some more wild Pokemon, however, Kai hadn't seen anything yet, wondering where they all were.

Kai and Sandshrew had been walking for an hour now and Kai had to admit that his feet were already hurting.

Ah man, I underestimated just how much walking I would have to do. Kai thought while he carried on walking through the woods.

Sandshrew on the other hand seemed fine, simply rolling along the ground stopping every now and again to walk some with Kai.

"At least you seem to be having fun," Kai said, looking at the Pokemon.

"Shrew, shrew," Sandshrew said, not seeming phased by the journey so far.

"I guess it could be worse." Kai said, looking ahead as he tried to mentally prepare himself for the rest of the journey.

"Hey you, are you a Pokemon trainer?" A voice suddenly said, catching Kai off guard.

Who the hell said that? Kai wondered, quickly looking around to see a boy running over toward him from out of the woods.

"Y-yeah..." Kai said, not sure what was going on.

"Perfect, I've been training my bug-type Pokemon here in the forest and have been looking for trainers to battle against." The boy suddenly said.

Kai took a good look at him, seeing that he looked like some sort of bug catcher.

"Jim is the name. So, what about you?" He asked, introducing himself.

"Oh, my name is Kai," Kai said, also introducing himself to Jim.

"Nice to meet you, Kai. So how about it, do you wanna battle against me?" Jim then said, flashing Kai a confident smile.

It didn't take long for Kai to nod his head, feeling all of his fatigue fade away, replaced by the adrenalin of a Pokemon battle.

"You're on!" Kai said, looking Jim in the eye.

"Good, how about we each put 200PK$ in, winner takes all?" Jim then said, causing Kai to raise his eyebrows.

"Like a bet?" Kai asked.

"Well yeah... Man, are you a new trainer or something?" Jim asked, seeing that Kai looked a bit green.

Kai knew that he only had 200 left after all of his shopping and registering for the Pokemon league. But he also knew that he was pretty much broke, and if this was how he was going to earn money, then he would have to get good at it.

"Alright, you're on," Kai said, agreeing to the bet.

"Good to see you aren't a coward," Jim said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"How many Pokemon do you have?" Jim then asked.

"I have three," Kai said.

"Not too shabby. I only have two, so how about we both use two Pokemon each?" Jim said.

"Sounds fair," Kai said, agreeing to his terms.

"Alright then, let's get this battle started!" Jim said, throwing one of his Pokeballs out.

"Go, Metapod!" Jim shouted, revealing his first Pokemon.

I guess this is a good chance to test out the Snubbull I caught. Kai said to himself, reaching for the Pokeball in his pocket.

"Go, Snubbull!" Kai said, throwing the Pokeball, feeling a little hesitant as he didn't know much about his Snubbull just yet.

"Snub!" The Snubbull yelled, seeing that it was about to enter into a battle, feeling pumped to please its new owner, something Kai could see for himself.

"You're right, Snubbull. We can do this!" Kai said, getting pumped.

"Not if we have anything to say about it!" Jim said, getting ready to battle.

"Alright, Metapod, let's get this started, use harden!" Jim shouted.

"Snubbull, use headbutt!" Kai yelled.

Snubbull rushed forwards and slammed it head into the Metapod, knocking it flying back before it skidded on the ground.

"Metapod can take those hits all day! Now, use string shot!" Jim yelled.

Kai watched as the Metapod shot out a thick thread from its mouth, wrapping his Snubbull up in the tight thread and stopping it from moving.

"No way... I thought that move only lowered a Pokemon's speed..." Kai said to himself, clearly having underestimated the move.

"You fool, you really are a new trainer!" Jim yelled, laughing at Kai's inexperience.

Here goes nothing... Kai thought, knowing it was a long shot, but decided to try it anyway.

"Snubbull, use fire fang!" Kai shouted, hoping that Snubbull knew how to use it since he had seen it use ice fang already.

"Snub!" Snubbull yelled, suddenly forming a pair of fire-like teeth in front of its face, burning all of the string that covered its body away allowing it to charge towards the Metapod.

"What no way!" Jim yelled, not realising that Kai's Snubbull would know a fire-type move.

Kai watched as his Snubbull smashed its fire fang right into the Metapod, landing a devastating blow with the first hit, knocking the Metapod out as it crashed into the ground next to its owner.

"No... Metapod return!" Jim shouted, using its Pokeball, seeing that Metapod was out cold.

"That was a cheap stunt you pulled, but I won't let you get away with it again," Jim said, getting his second Pokeball ready.

Kai frowned a little at his words.

Cheap stunt? He thought, thinking about that string shot he had just used.

"You're one to talk!"

"Now to show you my ace. Go Pinsir!" Jim shouted, revealing his last Pokemon, ignoring Kai's words.

"Pinsir!" The Pokemon yelled, letting both the large pincers on its head clash together, showing why it was named after them.

"That thing looks strong, Snubbull, we had better be careful," Kai said.

"Snub!" Snubbull yelled, nodding in agreement.

"Go Pinsir, use vice grip!" Jim yelled, not wasting any time.

"Snubbull, don't let it get close to you!" Kai said, knowing if it got Snubbull in its claws it was game over.

However, the Pinsir was surprisingly fast, closing the distance between it and Snubbull quickly, taking both Kai and Snubbull off guard.

"Oh crap, Snubbull use fire fang to counter it!" Kai yelled, rememebring that the sting shot attack must have lowered Snubbull's speed.

"Don't give it the chance, Pinsir!" Jim yelled.

Kai watched as Snubbull tried to get another fire fang ready, however, the Pinsir quickly scooped it up in its pincers, squeezing hard, causing the Snubbull to cry out in pain.

"Oh no, Snubbull!" Kai yelled, seeing that it was no use.

"Return, Snubbull!" Kai said, using his Pokeball to get Snubbull back to safety, taking it out of the fight.

"You did well, rest for now." Kai then said, knowing it was hurt by the Pinsir.

"You think you can take him?" Kai said, turning his attention to Sandshrew while not taking his eyes off of the Pinsir.

"Shrew," Sandshrew said, feeling confident nodding its head.

"Ok, go get him," Kai said, knowing he could trust his Sandshrew.

Sandshrew nodded and rushed out onto the battlefield, taking a ready position as it waited for Kai's orders.

"A Sandshrew?" Jim said, knowing that his Bug-type Pokemon was weak to Rock type.

"We won't give you the chance! Go, Pinsir use vice grip!" Jim yelled, wanting it to use the same attack as before.

"Sandshrew, use sand attack!" Kai shouted.

Sandshrew quickly used its claw to kick up some dirt from the ground, tossing it into the Pinsir's eyes and stopping it in its tracks.

"Oh no, Pinsir shake it off!" Jim yelled.

"Now Sandshrew, use defence curl!" Kai shouted, getting his Sandshrew to boost its defence while it had the chance.

"I don't think so, Pinsir stop messing around and get it!" Jim shouted, ordering his Pokemon to attack.

Pinsir managed to wipe its eyes, quickly closing the gap again as it got ready to scoop Sandshrew into its large pincers and squeeze it just as it had done to Snubbull.

"Sandshrew use defence curl again!" Kai shouted, getting Sandshrew to boost its defence once more.

"You can't win if you only defend!" Jim shouted, watching as his Pinsir got hold of Sandshrew, squeezing tight as it tried to crush the smaller Pokemon.

However, even though the Pinsir squeezed as hard as it could, its pincers couldn't break through Sandshrews defences, showing that its defence curls had not been in vein.

"What in the... What are you doing Pinsir, stop messing around!" Jim yelled.

"It's no use, Sandshrews defence is way too high now for that attack to work!" Kai shouted, seeing that his plan had worked.

"Now Sandshrew, use rapid spin to get out of there!" Kai yelled, watching as his Sandshrew did just that, curling into a tight ball before it spun out of the Pinsirs hold.

Pinsir was also hit by the attack, getting knocked a little off balance before Sandshrew landed back onto its feet.

"Now hit it with a rollout!" Kai yelled.

"Pinsir, counter it with a seismic toss!" Jim yelled, trying to also keep on the offensive.

Sandshrew quickly curled up into a ball, spinning towards the Pinsir before it slammed into its body, pushing it back from the hit, doing more damage than Jim thought it would.

"Now Sandshrew, use rapid spin to get out of the way!" Kai yelled, taking advantage of the speed boost Sandshrew got from the move.

Thanks to that speed boost, Sandshrew was able to jump back, avoiding Pinsirs grab attempt and get back to safety.

"This isn't over yet! Pinsir, attack with another seismic toss!" Jim yelled, feeling the pressure.

"Sandshrew, use rollout again!" Kai yelled, watching as both Pokemon charged in for the attack, giving it their all.

Sandshrew curled up into another ball, rolling at speed towards the Pinsir before it crashed into its face, knocking the large Pokemon to the ground with a powerful thud.

"No, Pinsir!" Jim yelled, seeing that it was all over.

"How could we lose..." Jim said, taking a moment to let it sink in.

"We did it!" Kai yelled, rushing over to his Sandshrew before Sandshrew jumped into his arms.

"That was a great battle, Sandshrew, you just keep getting stronger every time!" Kai said, almost dancing around with the small Pokemon.

Jim could see the love and care that Kai had for his Pokemon and smiled, using his Pokeball to return his Pinsir.

"You defeated me fair and square. Please, take your winnings." He said, handing over the 200PK$ that they had bet on the match.

Kai nodded and took the money.

"That was a great battle, Kai. I hope we get to battle again someday." Jim said, extending his hand towards Kai.

Kai agree and took his hand.

"Me to Jim." He said, shaking it.

With that, both Kai and Jim parted ways, with Kai heading onward towards the next Pokemon centre. Now only time could tell what would happen next on his adventure!

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Ok that's the end of that chapter! I hope you enjoyed it!