Chapter 5

Friends

Mikoto's POV

Its been a week since I started out my journey to travel the whole region in order to complete the Jotho PokeDex. And during those seven days of traveling, I learned a lot of things that books didn't tell me.

First, the PokeDex will only have complete details once you caught the Pokemon. Seeing it alone will only record their appearances and their names. Other than that, there's nothing more. I wont complete the PokeDex at this rate so I decided to just 'Catch them all'... And that taught me my second lesson of being a trainer...

...You cannot have more than six Pokemon in your party and in my case, the egg Mr. Pokemon gave me is counted. With that simple fact, I can only catch four then go to the Pokemon Center to use the PC and began catching another four again. Its kinda hard to go back and forth in the Pokemon Center and tall grass. But luckily, on the second day, Mom delivered a laptop and a Portable Pokemon Transport System or PPTS. With the use of those device she sent, I can now easily send the Pokemon I caught to Prof. Oak.

The road to Violet city is longer than I thought and there is a lot of trainer in the way. But I guess that's okay since Fera need to level up so I can catch stronger Pokemon in the future. And during those trainer battle, I noticed that the PokeDex have some page filled. 151 to be exact. Maybe its the work of the other trainer from Kanto region he is talking about...

During my journey to Violet city, I heard a lot of trainers doesn't want to challenge the Gym anymore. Its not like the Gym is too strong for them but its because they will never be the champion anymore. I still haven't found out why but I really want to know the reason.

And on those seven days of travel, I finally reached Violet city. On my party, I have Fera who is already in level 15, a Hoot Hoot named Ao and a close to hatching egg.

Normal POV

The Sprout Tower.

It is the main tourist attraction in Violet city and it attract more than tourist. It attracts trainers too. It is said that it was built long time ago to be the home of this grass Pokemon called Bellsprout. But today, monks decided to train Bellsprouts and turn the Sprout Tower to a battle field for trainers.

With the rumor of a lot Pokemon around the tower, monks that willing to battle and a price for someone who beat the head of the tower, Mikoto's attention were quickly caught and its the first thing she visits right after the Pokemon Center.

It didn't take her to long to reach the top of the tower. Because she know that water doesn't fit well with grass, she decided to relay on Ao for a while. And those battles are paying off pretty well since Ao already reached level 12.

"I better save some PP for peck..." She said to herself while staring at her PokeDex, while climbing up the stairs. "It will be bad if I just relay on Tackles and Water Gun doesn't work well with Bellsprouts."

"Toto?"

"Ahh, but when they use Rattata or Gastly, I will let you handle it." She smiled at the Totodile walking behind her. Her smile, however, quickly faded once a light explosion can be heard followed by the room shaking. Mikoto quickly put a hand on the wall, seeking support so she wont fall down the stairs. The tower usually shake when there is a intense battle happening on the floor above. She experienced this a lot while she's inside but she still can't get used to this feeling. When the shaking stopped, she quickly carry Fera to her arms and rush to the next floor wishing that she can still watch the battle.

When she reached the next and last floor, the first thing she noticed is the dust on the air and a boy with blonde hair wearing a blue hoodie jacket. In the front of him, there are two Pokemons, giving her the idea that this might be a double battle. However, she was bothered by the young boy's Pokemon. Its because she never seen it before.

One of then is in a form of a blue lion with black fur while the other one looks a little human like with a long green hair covering the half of its face. Pulling out her PokeDex once more, Mikoto pointed it on the two Pokemon. The human like one were identified as a Ralts and for some odd reason, there are some data about it. However, when she pointed it on the black tiger, the PokeDex gave out a loud 'beep-beep' followed by the word 'Unidentified' flashed in the screen.

'Wait what...?'

The black tiger give out an angry roar towards their opponent, surprising the boy a little.

"Ray, calm down!" He said. "We can't win this if you wont!"

"Boy, you better control your Pokemon. This place doesn't need to be repaired twice a day." His opponent said.

"Right. I'll try." He said once again with determined eyes. "Ray, Spark on Noctowl! Riku, confusion on Bellsprout! Go!"

The red horn on the Ralts, nicknamed Riku, glow for a while before the Bellsprout on the other side of the field hold its head like there's something painful inside. The black tiger he called Ray on the other hand, let out one more angry roar before running with electricity dancing on its body. When Ray hit the Noctowl flying in the air, another light explosion can be heard followed by a thick black smoke.

When the smoke cleared, it also declares the winner of the battle.

"Young Kojiro, you won the battle."

"Yeah!" He said happily, giving his Ralts and Ray a hug. "We won, guys!"

"But I must admit, I'm surprised that you can control your Ray despite being short tempered. There are only few trainers who can do that."

"Ray is my first Pokemon so I know him like the back of my hand." Kojiro said with a smile. "Anyway, elder, seems that we have some audience behind." And all of them looked behind.

"Umm... Hi...?" Is what Mikoto can only say.

"Oh, another challenger already? Perhaps this tower is really famous today." The elder said with a smile. "However, I do apologize. You see, we just lost in a battle with Kojiro here. Can you come back later when they're ready? In the meantime, I will let Kojiro accompany you for a while."

"Yeah sure." She said as the blonde haired boy walk closer to him as well as his... Unknown Pokemon behind him. He spread out his right hand, which is protected by a fingerless gloves, in the front of her and smile.

"The name's Hikari Kojiro. And this is Ray, the Luxray, and Riku, the Ralts. Oh and we're from Sinnoh Region in case you're wondering."

"Ahh... Now that explains better... I'm Misaka Mikoto. And this is Fera. We're from New Bark town." She said, shaking his hand.

Its been a while since Kojiro and Mikoto leaved the Sprout Tower. They quickly visited the nearest Pokemon Center to heal Kojiro's Pokemon and there, they decided to take a break.

"So..." Mikoto began. "Why are you traveling around Jotho instead of Sinnoh?"

"I actually traveled around Sinnoh when I was 9. Its a reason why Ray is on such a high level right now. We never challenged the Sinnoh League even though we collected all the badges and every Gym Leader said that we got potential."

"Eh? Why is that?"

"Hmm... How do I say it... Let just say, I'm not that good when it comes to single battles."

"Huh?"

"You see, I'm not pretty used to single battle because I always fight with Kiiro. Every Gym Battle we fight, its always in double battle."

"Kiiro?"

"She's my twin sister. We are connected is what others like to describe us. We both received a Shinx as a starter. Because of some family problems, we got separated and she start living here in Jotho with father. But she soon stop sending letters and I got pretty worried. And that's why I decided to travel here instead of Sinnoh."

"I see." Mikoto said, looking at Fera on her arms. "Sorry for making you recall those things."

"Hey, dont be like that. Its okay." He said with a smile and move closer to her. "I know! To cheer up the atmosphere a little, how about we have a battle? I'm sure you can learn something from an expert!"

"Alright, you're on!"

In a unknown place at the same time of that day, a young blonde haired girl with a angry Luxray by her side were surrounded by multiple amounts of Growlithe and young trainers in the same uniform.

"We're from the Judgment!" Said the girl with auburn colored hair tied into twin tails. "If you don't want to get in anymore trouble then put your hands up and surrender!"

However, even in a situation like this where an ordinary trainer can be easily defeated, the young girl smiled like she's getting excited of the result of this event.

"Ehhh? And why would I do that?"

"We are arresting you for stealing Pokemon specially in a lab."

"Pokemon in the lab doesn't have any trainer. So those that count as stealing?"

"Yes." Is the Judgment Girl's simple reply. The smile on the blonde girl's face faded as she let out a heavy sigh.

"Okay, officer, there is one thing I would like to point out with your strategy." She said panting her Luxray on its head, signaling it to calm down. "This is unfair! Ten versus one is definitely unfair."

"This is not a trainer battle!"

"Its not? Then lets make it one!"

"...What?"

"Ten versus one. You can use six each and I'm only using two. If you win, I'll come with you quietly without destroying anything. If you lose, you have to give up on catching me. Because. You. Can't." She said, pointing at the Judgment girl as if she was insulting her. "To make this even more interesting, I wont use Lux here. Deal?"

Silence covered the whole forest as she finished her sentence. There is nothing can be heard except for the sound of rustling leaves as the wind blows. Is this true? She's making a bet that gives her a very little chance of winning? All the other Judgment Members stared at the girl in twin tails, who looks really surprised.

"Shirai-san..." The one who have a flower headband break the silence. "... Are you taking her challenge?"

"Come on." The girl speak once again. "Its sixty versus two! Even a Professor can say that you got 99% chance of winning!"

"Fine!" Shirai said, pulling out a Pokeball from her belt."You better come with us quietly if we win!"

"Geh." The blonde haired girl smiled as she hold on her two Pokeballs. "Of course I will. I never break my own promises. Lets go! Misora! Explo!"

And the multiple popping sound of opening Pokeballs thrown in the air is the signal that the insane challenge will begin. In the front of the blonde girl, a Cyndaquil and a Ralts she nicknamed Explo and Misora, look at her, pretty worried about the situation. The girl noticed this and let out a smile for the two of them.

"Dont worry. We can do this." She said but her words isn't enough to erase the confusion inside the head of her two Pokemon. Without removing his smile, she lowered her hat a bit so that others can only see one of her emerald eyes. "Trust me. I dont pick fights that I cannot win."

Outside the Pokemon Center of Violet city, Mikoto and Kojiro stand in the front of each other with a determined expression painted all over their faces.

"I really wanted this to be a double battle... But for your sake, I will make this a single one." He said with a sigh and pointed out a Pokeball at her direction. "You can use all Pokemon you have on your party. I will only use this one. But before we start, I will tell you some details with the Pokemon inside. This is a level 11 Minun. The lowest leveled Pokemon on my team and he knows how to use Quick Attack, Tail Whip, Flash, and Thundershock."

"Thundershock?" Mikoto whispered to herself. 'This is bad. All of my Pokemon are weak against electricity.'

"I wont take easy on you, okay?"

"Alright then."

"Let's get started! Lets go! Minus!"

"Go for it! Ao!"

Two consecutive popping sounds of opening PokeBalls echoed around the area followed by the battle cries of two Pokemon on the opposing field.

"Flying?" Kojiro whispered to himself, unable to understand why the brunette decided to send out a Pokemon with the type disadvantage. He stared at his opponent and saw her pulling out a red device from her pocket.

"Lets go, Ao, Tackle!"

Obeying his trainer without any kind of worry, the small owl skillfully leaps forward with all his force to the direction of the little blue mouse.

"Dodge it with a Quick Attack." Minus did as told and with light leaving his trail, he easily passed through Ao.

"Turn around then hit it with Gust!" quickly catching up with Mikoto's commands, Ao turned around and began to flap his small wings, creating a small gust of wind enough to send the little mouse up in the air.

"Minus Thundershock!"

"Dodge, quickly!"

When Mikoto made her command, the Minun, which is still up in the air, was still preparing the electricity to be discharged. But it seems that Ao wasn't that fast enough to doge the incoming electricity and took a direct hit.

The electricity died down and the first thing Mikoto did is to pull Ao's PokeBall from her belt. She doesn't need to look at the PokeDex or see Ao's expression to tell how he's fairing.

"Ao, return!" she said and the small owl glowed in red before going back to his PokeBall. "Go for it, Fera!"

"Hmm? Water? Could this be that all your Pokemon are weak to electricity?"

"Sort of." Was her only reply. "Water Gun!"

"Let it hit."

"Let it hit…?"

Taking a deep breath, Fera shoots out water from his mouth in a rather strong pressure. The water hit Minus like what Kojiro intended to happen. At first, Mikoto don't understand why the young man give such order but when she stared at the situation of the two Pokemon, she finally noticed it.

They are connected by the water from Fera's mouth.

"Cut the attack, Fera!" she quickly ordered and was glad that Kojiro didn't command his Minun to use Thundershock just yet.

"Quick Attack!"

"Dodge it!" she ordered but for some reason, Fera didn't move. "…Fera?"

Minun already began running.

"Fera, dodge it!"

No respond. On the other side of the battlefield, Kojiro cracked a small grin.

"FERA!"

This time, Fera did move but based on his movement, he is not going to dodge the incoming attack from the blue mouse. Instead, he turned his body and readied his right fist. His fist glowed in white and in that moment, Mikoto's PokeDex beeped.

[Fera learned Ice Punch]

"What?"

The moment Mikoto let out that question, Minus is already close to Fera. The next thing she know is Fera slamming his glowing fist to his opponent in a downward motion. The impact of the punch sends a rather cool air around the battlefield and before Minus could even close his eyes from fatigue, Kojiro already pull out a empty PokeBall.

"Enough, Minus." He recalled the mouse back to his PokeBall before slowly walking towards the brunette. "That's it. Looks like you won."

"Eh…? But…"

"The problem here is you're focusing too much on this red little box right here." His gloved hand snatched the PokeDex away from Mikoto's. "There are things that even the most high tech machine fail to notice. Try battling without this on hand. I'll guarantee you, the experience is ten times more exciting than what it is today."

"Ahh… Alright. Thanks."

"No problem." He said with a smile, returning the PokeDex to her at the same time. "I have to go now. There are still badges waiting for me."

"You're participating on the Pokemon League?"

"Hmm… Not really. It's just I think this is what Kiiro will do when she decided to travel again. If I do the same thing, there is a chance our paths will cross one day. Besides, I also wanted to find out from the Gym Leaders why Johto Pokemon League suddenly become a impossible challenge all of the sudden."

Ten Judgment members on the ground, out of breath.

One lone girl with three Pokemon near her. Two in the front and one behind.

"What? That's all? You sure you're training or something?" she said in a rather teasing manner. "Come on, send more! Explo need to evolve again at least!"

"Raaay." The Pokemon behind let out a small sound, catching the attention of the blonde.

"Eh? That was supposed to be the last?" she said, a little disappointed. She then adjusted her hat again and look at the two Pokemon she used during the battle. It's not the same Pokemon she sends out during the start of the battle but at the same time… it is. "Well, both Explo and Misora evolved once… do you think that's enough for today, Lux? I mean we still need to bring back Star and Buiz."

"Rayy."

"Right. This is overdoing it."

"What is this madness?" the auburn haired Judgment member said in disbelief, cutting what kind of conversation the girl is having with her Luxray. "Just… who are you?"

"Hmm… how do I answer that…" she said again and for the first time in a while, she removed her red hat and smiled at all the Judgment member present on the area.

"Wait… You're…!"

"I'm not really happy that even the Judgment can recognize me after what I've done two years ago but… the name's Hikari Kiiro. The famous trainer who Conquered all eight Gym in less than two months."

A/N: Originally, I have no plans on continuing this. Heck, I even said that I wanted to rewrite it or something. But I don't have both time and motivation to do that… T_T

But when all hope is lost, I found this Chapter 5 file deep in my laptop. REEEAAALLLYY deep, as in inside a folder hidden in nine other folders… I reread it and the story stopped before Mikoto vs Kojiro. I was like "Oh fine! Let's write whatever idea pop out in our mind!" and here we got; Chapter 5

Someone please give me pointers on how to properly write a Pokemon Battle. I'm not good at it.

This… doesn't look like 'actual Mikoto traveling as a trainer anymore'. This looks like 'Mikoto look alike traveling in Johto.'. and that also applied to all Raildex Characters appearing in this chapter.

Kiiro and Kojiro are OCs, if that wasn't obvious enough. They don't exist in both Liquid Crystal and Raildex. I just wanted to insert a twin character that's insanely strong in double battles… and to be honest, these two are my motivation to continue writing this. Kiiro is a little bit overpowered though…

Next in A Certain Journey: Okay, this is the real... Sky High!

Mikoto vs Flan… Flankner? Is that his name? Uhh… Johto's first Gym Leader. With Fera learning Ice Punch, she should have the advantage but it still won't be a easy win. And deep inside Ruins of Alph is… Explo's supposed to be trainer? How will they react when they found out that their Cyndaquil is already in the care of a certain overpowered trainer? Not to mention, what are they doing inside Ruins of Alph? The egg is now hatching! But… hold on a sec… that doesn't look right… Is that Pokemon really from Johto? Someday, these numerous questions will be answered!

Anyone else watching Index III? I want to watch it but I'm too busy, I'm still in episode 3… T_T