Battle #2: A Rocky Start

Professor Elm smiled to Paul "Say, Paul. Why don't you let that Pokemon walk with you? I say a trainer and his or her Pokemon will be able to get along better when they are able to communicate more. Plus, it might be better when facing wild Pokemon, not having to pull out a Poke Ball all the time." Paul nodded and held his hand out "... Here goes..." He pressed the button at the center of his Poke Balls and that ball flashed a brilliant bright white as it opened. The light reached the floor and took on a form that materialized into an Eevee. Professor Elm smiled at Paul's reaction to the Pokemon and nodded "Paul, of New Bark Town, Professor Oak and I wish you the best of luck. Go on and enjoy your journey. Your new life!"

Paul looked back and grinned "Will I ever!" Paul walked over to the Eevee and picked it up off the floor, holding the Eevee up in front of his face. The Eevee simply looked back and gave off a cute squeak of a noise. "Waaah... it's so cute!" Paul announced, looking like his eyes sparkled as he looked at it. "... Is it a girl or a boy?" Paul lifted the Eevee higher into the air and looked in between the Eevee's hind legs.

Profeessor Oak and Professor Elm both gasped at seeing Paul looking at Eevee's privates "W-Wait, you don;'t have to do that..." Professor Oak told Paul. "In your Pokedex, it will also note what is the nature and passive ability of your Pokemon, the current list of moves it could use, even your Pokemon's gender. That is so it could save you from having to look at the privates of every Pokemon you catch."

Paul blinked and looked back to Professor Oak "... This Eevee is definitely a Female..." Professor Oak blinked and eyed Paul "Hey! Weren't you listening to me?! And how does a boy your age know how to differentiate between a male and female?! " Paul looked over to Professor Oak "... I was listening. I got, okay? Pokedex could tell me many details about Pokemon I catch from moves to it's gender. See? And... I'm not answering that other question..." The Eevee blinked and leaned over, nipping at Paul's ear with some rather sharp teeth. Paul blinked and shouted out "OWWW!!! You little brat!" He puts the Eevee down and points "Bad Eevee! No biting! No!"

Professor Elm chuckled and walked over him "To make it more personal, you could think up a nickname for your Eevee. I think your Eevee will like it, too." Paul heard this and looked up, as if in thought but, wasn't in it so much as he soon gave an answer "... Pickles." Professor Oak and Professor Elm fell silent for a moment upon hearing Paul say this. The assistants, too, were silent, looking oddly at Paul. "... Ha ha..." Professor Elm came to again "... What was that? I don't know if there is something wrong with my ears but, I could of sworn you said 'Pickles'..." Paul blinked a bit and nodded "Umm... yeah, I want to nickname my Eevee 'Pickles'." Professor Elm laughed nervously "... W-Why? Why would you give it a name like that?" Paul smirked a bit "Well, because, I love Pickles. As they say, life is like a Pickle. It's sour and hard to chew but, it's satisfying when you're done with it!" Everyone in the room, aside from Paul, fell over from Paul's odd reasoning. "... No one says that... ever!" one of the assistants muttered.

Paul blinked and looked around at everyone who fell over and the awkward silence, which was broken with the growls coming from Pickles. Paul glanced down and noticed Pickles tugging at his pant's leg like a dog Pokemon would, growling and tugging at his pants with it's teeth. "Pickles! No! That's a bad Eevee!" He lightly bonked it on the head to make it stop. "Anyways, the day is still young, we got some ground to cover since the others got a good head start over me. Bye Professor Oak and Professor Elm! Thanks for everything!" Professor Oak got up and waved at Paul "Wait! Register our numbers on that Poke Gear of yours! That way you could call us in case you have questions or want your Pokedex evaluated." Paul stopped and blinked "Oh, alright." He went back and took their numbers down on his Poke Gear, registering both of their numbers into it.. "Well, thank you... now I'm really on my way now. Bye!" Paul then turned and ran out of the laboratory. Professor Oak watched the boy leave ".... Paul, from New Bark Town, huh? Along with his partner, Pickles, the Eevee. Very interesting, indeed." Professor Elm smiled "... I know you don't just hand over Pokemon to anyone... I'll trust in your instincts about that boy."

Paul went ahead and ran to leave the town. A woman blinked and called out "Paul, shouldn't you visit your mother first before you go?" Paul stopped and shook his head "Tch... no way, she's probably too busy getting my room ready for her personal Spa." Paul then continued on out of the town as the woman looked puzzled by his reply.

As he stepped out of his town, he stepped into the natural route which was Route 29. Paul considered it kind of stupid that these routes were given numbers rather than actual names. Then again, it was such a small town and one being between two small towns as of New Bark Town and Cherrygrove City. But, as small as Cherrygrove was, did it even count as a city? Paul shrugged these thoughts away and glanced over towards his Eevee "Hmm, looks like it's just us two for now, Pickles. Let's get going, maybe we could capture some good teammates." Paul glanced over, peering at a large patch of grass out before him. He gave off a gulp, usually being told to keep away from the grass by his mother and others. But, now that he was a Pokemon Trainer, this would be his first tread through it.

However, Pickles didn't seem to want to wait, sniffing a bit at the grass, then gave off a small growl. Pickles then charged in, leaving his trainer behind. Paul blinked and watched this "W-Wait, Pickles! Where are you going?" Paul thoughtlessly rushed in, following in after Pickles. As expected, the grass was thick; if it weren't for him wearing pants, his legs would be tickled by the long blades of grass running over his legs. The scent of freshly cut grass filled his senses as he ran. It wasn't much longer than that as he spotted Pickles growling and prowling about with what looked like a Wild Ratata.

The Ratata bore it's fangs, trying to intimidate Pickles with it's sharp, front teeth but, there seemed to be no backing down in Pickles. Paul blinked a bit, a little nervous but, at the same time, excited, being it their first Pokemon battle of any kind. Fumbling through his pockets, he managed to find his Pokedex and opened it. "Well, then... Pickles, follow my orders!" Pickles kept it's eyes on Ratata, looking focused but, respond with what seemed to be a bark. The Ratata suddenly turned it's back on Pickles and wagged it's tail at her in a rather taunting gesture. Pickles blinks at this and seemed to get irritated, causing it to charge in to attack without Paul's order. Paul blinked a bit "W-Wait... Pickles, stop!"

Pickles didn't listen, charging at Ratata blindly. Ratata anticipated this and took an opening while Pickles' guard was down. Pickles yelped a bit as it slid back a bit a ways. Paul glanced over to Pickles "Are you okay, Pickles? Geez... we have to work on that temper of yours..." Pickles shook it off and squeaked up at Paul. Paul smirked a bit "Heh heh... that's right, now it's our turn!" The Ratata seemed to have other plans as it started running after Pickles with a bit of confidence in him. Paul smirked a bit and waited, he then extended his hand out and pointed "Pickles! Use Growl!" Pickles breathed in a bit, filling her lunges with air, and let off an astonishing growl. The Ratata's ears twitched violently from the loud cry from Pickles, causing Ratata to stumble a bit in it's run, trying to shake off the ringing in it's ears.

Paul saw this and acted quickly "There it is! Our opening! Pickles, Tackle the little bastard!" Pickles responded with no hesitation, charging at Ratata at full force. The collision was unforgiving, raising the Ratata off the ground for a bit and causing it to roll against the floor. By the time it stopped rolling, it was apparent that the Ratata was down for the count. Paul blinked at this "Damn, woman... hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, indeed... was that a Critical Hit? Paul looked down to his Pokedex "Well, it was only a level two... Either way, what did Oak say about registering a Pokemon on this Poke-whatever-thingy?" He looked to his Pokedex, pressing a few buttons "Hmm... I think it was this one and then... ah, there we go..." He saw that it listed the Pokemon's name, measurements, habitats around Johto, and a brief summary about them. "Hmm... alright. Let's move on... and Pickles... try not to make them faint, I do want to catch one or two. Are you listening?" He looked to Pickles, who seemed to be rather excited over this one battle and looked rather fired up, howling a bit. Paul eyed his Eevee with a worried look "... Uh, you are listening to me, aren't you. Pickles?"

Paul's fears seem to be legit, for as much as they have walked through the wild, Pickles would not hold back, attacking each and every wild pokemon that appeared before him. More Ratatas shared the same fate as their earlier brother, fainting to Pickles' wrath. Amongst the victims, Pidgeys and Sentrets had also fallen to Pickles' harsh Tackles. One by one, they fell and Paul was left sitting back, hoping for a small chance of being able to catch at least one. But, it never came to be. ".... Pickles, no... at this rate, I'll never catch anything.... please, give me a chance...."

It was night fall by the time they got to Cherrygrove City, Paul staggered a bit as he walked into the town. Much like a Pokemon, Paul looked rather beat up. ".... Ugh... I couldn't catch a damn thing.... why did I have to have a Pokemon who is so power hungry?" Paul looked back over towards Pickles, seeing that it was a bit tired but, still had that proud smirk on it's face. "... Damn it, I need to call that old man..."

Paul went ahead and took his Eevee to get some rest and relaxation at the Pokemon Center in the city. Paul rested outside, waiting for Pickles to get it's rest while holding the Poke Gear to his ear. "... C'mon, Old Man, you shouldn't be in bed this early in the night..."

"Well, hello there, Paul! Nice of you to call me, how are you?"

Paul blinked at Professor Oak answering ".... Professor? How did you know it was me calling?"

"The Poke Gear we use has caller identification, meaning you will know whose calling for as long as you have them registered."

Paul blinked and looked at the back of his phone, seeing the display. He then placed the phone back to his ear. ".... Ah, I see. Well, okay. Anyways, Professor... I was wanting to talk about the Eevee you got me."

"Oh? And how is that little Eevee doing? From watching you two, it seems to me that she's come to like you."

Paul sighed a bit "Well, that's not really the problem. The thing is, I think Pickles is a bit too energetic. I mean, I did manage to pick up three pages for the Pokedex but, I have yet to catch a Pokemon. She always keeps attacking until the other faints. Thanks to that, it's level eight now... at this rate, I won't be able to catch anything!" Paul sighed and laid on his side, on top of the couch "Ugh.... what should I do to try to calm it down? Give it a Rabies shot or something?"

"Ah, ha, ha... no, I don't think you'd have to go to that extreme. That Eevee of yours is still young, like you, getting used to the outside world. Give it a little time, it will learn that brute force isn't all there is to battling. It's a learning process of which you and your Eevee will experience together."

Paul blinks a bit and thinks ".... A learning process, huh? Okay, I think I get it now. Sorry for calling so late. Good night, Professor."

"You are doing a fine job so far, keep it up and don't lose heart. And get some good rest!"

Paul hung up the Poke Gear and sighed, slipping it into his pocket. A nurse walked over to him as he was resting. "Paul? Sorry to bother you but, your Eevee is ready." Paul blinked and nodded "Ah, alright then..." As Paul made his way over to get Pickles back, he couldn't help but, overhear a conversation going on amongst two trainers hanging out beside the counter. ".... So, there are different Pokemon who come out at night, huh? Such a drag... I'd rather sleep than hunt for Pokemon in the dark..." One of them said. "Even so, it'd be intriguing to see how these night Pokemon are like..."

Paul took this news to heart as he received Pickles. He let her out of her Pokeball and leaned down to her "Hey, I know you might be sleepy but, I want to go out again. I want to catch a Pokemon who only appears at night!" But, as he mentioned this, he sees Pickles snicker, seeming like she rather demonstrate her own power than helping her trainer form his Pokemon Team. At this, Paul sighed "... Life lessons, please come quick and help me..." Paul then turned and made his way out with Pickles, hoping that things would turn out for the better.