Varying circumstances part 2 by zendragan527
Disclaimer: I don’t own Pokemon, any characters and Pokemon there-in. You know, just to cover my ass in case. Better safe than sorry.
Author’s Note: Thanks to all the people that read the first chapter.
This chapter was a lot longer than I expected it would be. Enjoy!
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‘Dear Nicholas,
It’s your sister, Julian! I sent this letter by Taillow because it was quicker, and to congratulate you on passing the Pokemon Academy! Dad says that you did horrible on the exams…’
“I didn’t do THAT bad. At least I passed..” Nicholas grumbles, continuing to read the letter that had been dropped to him almost as soon as he broke out into the sunlight from Viridian Forest, Aisha close on his heels.
‘Dad also told me that he gave you that Absol he had bred. Nice. I hear Absol are great for traveling Pokemon trainers because of their ability to sense natural disasters. I suggest keeping your Absol out of her Pokeball unless it’s a dire emergency, especially when crossing through caves and stuff! Well, write me back when you get the opportunity!
Love, Julian.
P.S. Tomorrow night is a full moon. I suggest you search out a Clefairy on Mt. Moon, since you’re probably close to that area. I know how you love rare Pokemon. Good luck!’
Nicholas’ older sister Julian was easily four years his senior, and was well into her journey. Having conquered both Kanto and Johto in only four short years, it was no surprise that she was in the upper echelon of Pokemon trainers vying for championship status in Hoenn now. Well, barring the Elite Four and current Champions, Julian was probably in the top fifty. She was certainly quite the contender.
She’d always been competitive, Nicholas recalled. Always wore her brown hair long and straight, letting it flow down her backside. She loved her hair, and would probably have let it grown down to her feet if their father hadn’t suggested she keep her hair at waist length. Much like Nicholas, Julian also shared the hazel eyes passed down through the family for many generations.
Taking a pen out from his backpack, Nicholas jots down a quick note on the back of the letter:
‘Thanks for the tip, Julian. I’ll be heading to Mt. Moon after hitting Pewter Gym, will definitely try to pick up a Clefairy while I’m in the area. How goes your journey?’
Once tying the letter back to the Taillow, Nicholas releases it, letting it soar back through the skies in the direction it came from. It was then that he realized that was Julian’s Taillow, and he glances down at Aisha with a shrug. “Guess she hasn’t had the time to evolve it yet.”
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Pewter City was alive with the hustle and bustle of people going about their daily routines. The Museum, having been only recently re-opened in the past few months after renovations, is occupied by a few visitors, though many of them just travelers. The Gym and the Museum are the few buildings that stand relatively unvisited, and construction can be heard in the distance.
“Apartment buildings and things. Pewter City has begun to expand rapidly, and we get people settling down here faster than we can build.” An engineer speaks to a couple, who Nicholas can only assume intends to settle down here in Pewter City. Eavesdropping is bad, but at least it saves him the trouble of asking. “It’ll be a while yet before we’re done.”
But the real attraction for Nicholas comes from the Pewter City Gym, left unlocked for any trainers confident enough to challenge its sole occupant. That’s where he heads first, flinging the doors open and stepping inside, Aisha following closely, glancing left and right curiously. The arena, unlike the rest of the building, is made almost specifically of rock. It looks more like they built the arena around a large square patch of rock than actually built it.
“Only here a day after arriving in Viridian? Your dad wasn’t lying when he said you’d be here so soon.” Echoes a voice from across the arena. The spiky brown haired Brock steps his way up onto the area, folding his arms across his chest. “Think you’ve got enough experience with your Pokemon to beat me?”
“Well, only one way to find out.” Nicholas smirks, plucking a normal Pokeball from his waist.
“Fine then. I accept your challenge. Two Pokemon each, last Pokemon standing is the winner. Geodude, go!” Brock calls out his first Pokemon, the floating, armed rock appearing in a blaze of red light from the Pokeball, floating over the ground, defying conventional physics.
“Weedle, let’s go!” Nicholas calls forth his first Pokemon, his own, far smaller Bug-type appearing in a similar blaze of red light. The Weedle glances this way, that way, then looks across the arena towards its adversary. Then, it turns and makes its way back towards its trainer.
Nicholas rubs the back of his neck. “C’mon, Weedle. We’ve had some practice out in the forest already, so at least give it a try, okay?”
With a look of apprehension, the Weedle turns back around and heads back. “Alright, Weedle. Let’s start things out first. Poison Sting!”
A burst of purple stingers fires from the one large stinger atop the Weedle’s head, though the Geodude hardly flinches. “Let’s finish his first Pokemon off quickly. Tackle!” Brock commands, the Geodude moving at surprising speed for a rock.
“Crawl between the cracks in the rock and avoid it!” Nicholas commands, the Weedle preferring this course of action as it doesn’t hesitate to do so, squeezing in through the cracks in the rock and disappearing. The Geodude slams into the ground where the Weedle once was, rolls, and pushes itself back up to a float, looking around the arena.
“Crawl under the Geodude and pin him down to the floor with String Shot! If we can’t beat him by force, we’ll beat him by stopping him in his tracks!”
A burst of silky web-like material bursts from the cracks in the rocky floor, causing the Geodude to startle, but that moment of hesitation forces the Geodude to the floor. At first, the Geodude has no trouble ripping through the webbing, but more of it comes, faster than the Pokemon can rip out of it. Soon, the Geodude is little but a ball of webbing on the floor, moving slightly about.
“Impressive! You really do your dad proud by defeating my Geodude with just a Weedle. You win the first round by technicality.” Brock calls, returning his Geodude. The ball’s read light pierces the webbing, and recalls the Geodude, forcing the webbing to fall in on itself when its occupant is no longer there. Realizing this, the Weedle peeks its head out from the rocks, and crawls back towards Nicholas.
“Nice job. You’re stronger than you look, Weedle. Return!” In a blaze of red light, the Weedle disappears into the Pokeball. “Aisha. Go and meet his next Pokemon.” He smiles, the Absol wasting no time leaping out onto the arena, ready for her first major battle.
“Onix! Go!”
The behemoth rock snake appears in a large blaze of red light, staring down at its smaller adversary, though it seems that Aisha isn’t too put off by the size difference. “Strike first, Aisha! Faint Attack!”