Chapter three: First Battle

Kai swatted another fly off his leg, Mudkip was at his side, psyduck was snoozing and carvana was staring off into the distance in a small lake. Kai was beginning to regret his decision, his clothes were filthy and he was covered in bug bites.

"This is harder than I thought". Kai muttered, Mudkip looked up at him with a quizzical look.

"Oh nothing". Kai said, petting the top of Mudkips head.

"So let me get this straight"! Psyduck exclaimed. " We have to win every single gym battle?!"

Kai nodded, "Yep".

Psyduck gave a frustrated groan and flopped onto his back. Kai couldn't blame him, the idea of going up against eight gym leaders in a year seemed daunting even to him. It was a surprise when Psyduck started to talk to him after they left he knew that Psyduck line was one of the few Water psychic pokemon.

Carvana stayed silent, she had barely spoken since they had left Aqua Haven. Kai hoped that he could bring her out of her shell.

He thought back to his argument with his parents and knew that they weren't entirely wrong. Becoming champion in a year was a long shot, and they had a lot of work to do. Kai pulled out a map and traced their path with his finger. He decided to go to the closest route and catch more pokemon to add to their team.

"Let's go guys." Kai said.

"Okay" Psyduck and Carvana nodded and returned herself while Mudkip just cheered excitedly around them. Mudkip didn't seem to mind the bug bites and was full of energy, Kai wished he shared Mudkips enthusiasm.

Upon arriving on route 1 or what he thought was route one he knew that it would be close by.

"Hey!" An angry voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "What the heck do you think you're doing?"

Kai whirled around to see a short boy with blonde hair glaring at him. "There's no one allowed in this area."

"Um, sorry." Kai stammered. "I didn't know."

The boy rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure you didn't. Look, if you want to get to the town, you've got to get through me."

All of the intimidation that Kai felt evaporated in the sun. He rolled his eyes and thought "Our you kidding me i thought people only acted like this in the games". " Really" Kai replied with a monotone voice "you are seriously challenging me to a Pokémon battle."

"Really? Challenge me to a Pokémon Battle!?" The blondie's eyebrows twitched.

"In case you haven't noticed," he gestured to the sign nearby, "this is Route 1."

"Right..." Kai trailed off, having completely ignored the sign. "I guess it is."

Blondie continued his tirade, pointing at the nearby pokéball emblems. "And those over there? That means you can catch wild Pokémon here."

"Uh-huh," Kai replied noncommittally, now paying attention to the field around him. He didn't want to give Blondie the satisfaction of seeming impressed.

Kai stepped closer to a pond filled with small Pokémon, clearly visible thanks to its shallow depths. They swam through the crystal clear water, their orange fins cutting through the surface and reflecting the sunlight. Some of them leapt into the air, giggling and squeaking playfully as they splashed down. A few larger Pokémon lounged near the shallows, dappled in sunlight, their iridescent scales shimmering beautifully.

Blondie's voice became a buzz in Kai's ears as he found himself entranced by the sight. It was enchanting, peaceful and beautiful. Something in his heart stirred as he watched the small creatures frolic and play in the water, carefree and joyful.

"Who knew water Pokemon could be so cute". Kai thought. "Well i did". Kai shook his head with that dumb question he asked himself.

Mudkip raced up to the water's edge, panting happily as he watched the Pokemon swim around.

"You still listening!?" Blondie's loud voice startled Kai out of his daydreaming.

"Yeah, yeah," Kai muttered, waving dismissively at him. He had forgotten all about Blondie during his reverie, and seeing him again just soured his mood further.

"Good," Blondie huffed, placing his hands on his hips. "Now, listen up. In order to enter Wedgehurst Town, you've got to defeat me." He jabbed at his chest with a thumb and smirked cockily at Kai.

"I hope this isn't the main character Bs i've heard so much about". Kai thought.

Kai closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, feeling a sense of calm wash over him. "Fine," he replied, his voice steady and unwavering.

"One on one, or vgc?" Blondie asked.

"One on One," Kai responded instantly.

"Fine with me," Blondie nodded, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a pokeball.

"Me?" Mudkip asked, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

Kai hesitated for a moment, considering using one of the other two Pokémon before shaking his head. Mudkip would be the perfect matchup for a grass type. "Yeah buddy," he smiled, patting Mudkips head affectionately. "Let's do this."

"You'll regret picking Mudkip," Blondie sneered, tossing his ball into the air. "Go, Marcus!"

A flash of red light illuminated the field, and a humanoid cactus appeared in a beam of white Kai felt his heart sinking as he stared at the giant prickly plant. "Of course he has a Grass/dark type Pokémon." He groaned. But he couldn't lose hope yet. "Don't worry buddy." He said to Mudkip. "We can do this."

Mudkip just let bubbles out of his mouth with a stupid grin. Usually Trainers would have to teach their new pokemon what a word mean't but since mudkip and kai were basically raised together it wasn't an issue.

The Cacnea screeched and started stomping its feet angrily, making its round body shake violently. Mudkip growled in response, baring his sharp teeth menacingly. The two Pokémon faced off, sizing each other up in preparation for battle.

"Use Absorb!" Blondie commanded, thrusting his hand forward. The Cacnea launched itself towards Mudkip, its green arms outstretched and glowing with pale blue light.

"Jump over it!" Kai ordered, adrenaline rushing through him.

Mudkip jumped over the charging cacnea which collided with the ground in a cloud of dust. "Bite it!" Kai shouted

Mudkip leaped at the cacnea once again, biting it hard. The cacnea winced but managed to slip out of Mudkip's grip. "Absorb again!" Blondie screamed.

As the little dark-type opened its mouth, his glow intensified. Then a spiral of bright energy exploded from his mouth, hitting Mudkip directly in the stomach! "Quick use Tackle"! Kai was anxious not wanting to be beaten in his first fight his palms were starting to sweat.

Mudkip barreled into the Cacnea knocking it backwards Mudkip was quick on the recovery so it dodged the absorb attack.

Cacnea was getting weak now.

"Absorb"! Blondie screamed with a smug look on his face.

"I've got an idea," Kai whispered to Mudkip when he was near enough. "Keep taunting it."

The cacnea spun around in circles, lashing out with its spikes. Kai acted quickly and shouted "Dodge it and dive under him!" As Mudkip sidestepped the initial rush he jumped into the water. Quickly disappearing beneath the surface. Before the cacnea could react Mudkip surfaced beside the cacnea and flipped him onto his back knocking him out cold.

"Come on Marcus!" Blondie pleaded with the fallen cactus. "Get up!" But the defeated Pokémon refused to budge, lying motionless in the dirt.

Kai chuckled in victory, a broad smile spreading across his face as he fist-pumped the air triumphantly. "We did it!" He exclaimed, turning to congratulate his Mudkip who was proudly barking at the cacnea from the lake. "We actually did it!"

But his celebration was cut short by an enraged scream from Blondie. "What is wrong with you! How could you do that!?" He roared, rushing towards Kai. "You absolute jerk." The blondie shoved Kai as hard as he could sending him toppling backward, causing him to hit his head on the rocky ground.

"Wtf dude you lost fair and square." Kai said, rubbing his aching skull.

Blondie fumed with rage, clenching his fists tightly as he stood over him. "You can't just humiliate my Pokémon like that. You're awful!" He spat venomously.

"Come on, you weren't going to beat me anyway." Kai shot back sarcastically.

"Oh, really!? Well we'll see about that." The blondie retorted angrily as he recalled his fainted cactus. "How'd you like to take on two at once huh?

"Nah I'd pass" Kai grabbed out Psyducks ball. "Maybe another time". Psychduck came out looking more confused than angry when he saw the situation he shot the blondie with a death glare.

Grabbing out two more pokeballs from his pocket, blondie released his Pokémon, shouting " Go Charlotte and Rainer! Get him!"

Charlotte the Charmander and Rainer the Scyther shot evil glares towards Kai, ready to attack on their trainers orders. Kai gulped nervously; three against one wasn't exactly a fair fight.

"What's the matter?" The blondie sneered smugly. "Having second thoughts?" The arrogance oozing from his voice made Kai's blood boil with anger.

"No way, we can take you on," Kai snarled defiantly, puffing out his chest and putting on a brave façade. "Can't we, Psyduck?" He turned to the yellow duck beside him, hoping for reassurance.

Psyduck grunted confidently and took a step forward. "Well, in that case," the blondie chuckled maniacally, "go Charlotte! Ember!"

With blinding speed, the small orange lizard dashed toward Psyduck, spewing a shower of flaming embers. Mudkip stepped into the line of fire, shielding Psyduck from the flames with his tough skin.

"Mudkip, Tackle"! Kai ordered.

Without hesitation, Mudkip charged at the fiery lizard, but the agile Charmander easily evaded his clumsy attacks.

"Again Charlotte!" The blondie shouted, a wicked grin creeping across his face.

Once more, Charlotte sprayed a wave of scorching flame at the incoming opponents, surrounding them in a blazing inferno.

"Psyduck, Use Water Gun! Mudkip, Use Watergun too!" Kai cried desperately, hoping that the attacks would put out some of the raging blaze engulfing them.

A stream of water shot from Psychduck's bill, extinguishing the raging inferno surrounding him. However, Mudkip wasn't so lucky—the blast of sweltering heat just washed over him harmlessly.

"Is that the best you can do!?" The blondie laughed derisively, doubling over in mirthful laughter.

Scyther came in screaming at him, blades glowing brightly.Psyduck acted fast, shooting a quick barrage of water guns at scythe's back effectively knocking him back.

Mudkip Growled, " god damn this lizard". The words shocked Kai almost as much as the fact that it was coming from a Mudkip! He'd never been able to understand Pokemon before!

Mudkip immediately charged, knocking her down and rendering her immobile.

"Charlotte!!!" The blondie wailed

Kai felt an overwhelming sense of pride in his friend, but it was short-lived.

Before either trainer could react, Charlotte sprang back onto her feet and tackled Mudkip into the dirt with superhuman force and started to slash at any unguarded area! "Mudkip!" Kai shrieked anxiously.

He tried to run towards his fallen Pokémon but a sudden gust of wind blew him back. Turning to face its source, Kai saw the menacing figure of Scyther looming over him, twin blades poised threateningly.

Scyther made an attempt at cutting Kai's legs off before being interrupted by psyduck surprising him from behind and kicking him away. Psyduck landed next to a recovering Mudkip and helped him up.

Meanwhile, mudkip was busy with the charmander who had taken to clawing at him. Even though he was essentially ineffective Mudkip fought on bravely refusing to give up until his opponent was exhausted.

Scyther advanced on mudkip preparing another slash. Just as he was about to deliver it Psyduck hit him in the back with another water gun jarring him slightly. "Guess we're not done after all".

Kai began thinking about how he could stop these 2 pokémon and came up with a plan. "Psyduck! Mudkip!" Kai called out, trying to get their attention without drawing too much from the scyther. "When I say "now", go for the throat of the scyther. Got it?"

"Got it." They both replied.

Suddenly Kai shouted "NOW"!

The scyther kept on blurring a bit, unable to keep up with psyduck and mudkip who were targeting its throat. Psyduck stopped shooting water at him to try to breathe from exhaustion.

While the scyther struggled to recover, Mudkip lunged at Charlotte and knocked her unconscious before turning towards Scyther

After a moment or two of intense fighting, Psyduck won, knocking the scyther into a tree. With the other three out for the count blondie ran off leaving Kai victorious.

"Wow guys great work"! Kai hugged all three of them proudly while petting their heads softly.

Looking around the battlefield, Kai spotted something unusual — a small, round object gleaming in the sunlight. Picking up what turned out to be a luxury ball. "Huh, I guess it'll come in handy". Kai thought.

Thinking back on the battle he felt a little shocked that he would have had his legs cut off if not for Psychduck's assistance. "Thanks, Psyduck." Kai said gratefully as he kneeled down next to him. Psyduck blushed a bit before smiling and nodding in return. "My head hurts again" and he returned himself in a red beam. Mudkip barked and went between Kai's legs, the blood on his skin was drying off and his wounds were healing already.

The only thing that still was unknown to him was why he didn't fear for his life when that scyther was approaching him.

It just felt like all his fear was gone. Almost like he had just given up right there... Or maybe.. he spoke the next part out loud "It's because of what I have to become.. Whatever it is, I just hope I can avoid fights from now on."