Day Two

3/7/10

As suggested yesterday, I met with Professor Oak after all. The man was...eccentric, shall we say, and initially hadn't turned up. He had the arrogance to pop in after me, but I suppose it was okay. He seems a busy man. I mean, he's a brilliant scientist, I'll give you that, but I think he may be perhaps a little too old for this sort of thing after all. But I shouldn't be a critic; I'm sure he believes me to be too young to go gallivanting around the country alone, and yet I'm doing it. I'm really doing it. Whilst I was there, the Professor gifted me some items to keep me going, a PokéDex (Seriously!), and he even allowed me to pick a starter Pokémon! Naturally, I picked a Geodude; I have to remain loyal to my home. I named him Boulder, and he's sleeping right about now. I'm trying not to wake him, which luckily isn't difficult as he's a heavy sleeper. This is going to be a big day for both of us and I'm unbelievably excited. I've camped out right on the edge of Pallet Town, and in a few hours we'll be heading out into Route 1. Wish me luck.

Seeya soon
Richard.

Finishing the entry into his journal for the day, Richard felt his eyes grow droopy as he fell into a sleep beside his new partner.

A few hours later, Richard awoke to a tugging on the side of his blue, chequered shirt, a click glance confirming it was simply his new Starter Pokémon, Boulder, the Geodude seemingly eager to make a start to their journey. “Ah, you're awake.” Richard murmured softly, slowly lifting the rock types hand off of his shirt. Suddenly, and without warning, Richard leapt up off the ground, standing at full height and raring to go. In a few quick movements, the camping equipment was packed up, and he turned down to his new companion Pokémon. “Are you happy to hop along, or would you rather I carry you?” The Geodude glanced up at him suspiciously.

“Dude.” He proclaimed after a moment of thought, and Richard took that as a inclination towards being carried. Reaching down, Richard smiled as he imagined himself totting along, route by route, with his rocky buddy sitting down in his arms. In reality, the boy tried and failed to lift up the forty four pound creature and shrugged. “Nevermind.” Richard murmured once more, and began to walk straight towards Route One, awaiting what adventures the pair might find inside, his companion Boulder hopping to the best of his ability along side him. With the two of them together, what could possibly go wrong?

Ooc: Not as long as my previous posts, but not as much to say. Will pick up the pace soon.

Nothing really seemed to go wrong, as the peaceful route only had a few chattering Pokémon, the usual types that you'd see on a normal route that beginning trainers started on. At any rate, Boulder can understand a bit better than his trainer, but nothing seems to be around on the main path, while the Pokémon cries are loud and abundant. Perhaps moving off of the main path would be strategic to their goals, or possibly not. But at any rate, where should Richard go now?

Ooc: Thanks for updating Firewater, appreciate it.

Glancing around himself, Richard couldn't help but feel slightly bored. There were the usual starting route creatures chattering around as you'd expect, but there wasn't any excitement, anything particularly interesting. Pondering for a second, he turned to the small bouncing rock on the floor and smiled, the Geodude looking up with curiosity. “Dude?” it questioned, obviously worried about the sudden pause. Richard pointed off the main path, clearly finding the standard route too silly. He had to snoop around a bit. You couldn't have a real start to an adventure without anything, well, adventurey, right?

“We're, um, heading off path. I think we'll explore a bit. Right?” Boulder tried his best to nod, and Richards smile faded, his mind taking over briefly. He realised truly how unprepared he and his partner were for adventuring in the wild. His companion, to put it bluntly, was slow and fairly weak, and the chances of him running away at the sign of danger seemed fairly slim. Though Richard would be able to run further and faster than his new companion, he wouldn't be able to leave him. In a negative situation, they would well and truly be trapped.

Well, this was going to be a fun adventure. Whistling softly, Richard led the pair off the track, imagination flowing with the possibilities.

At any rate, the duo's exploration proved for some positive results, as a Pidgey lazily glides to the ground, chewing on a berry of some sort. Richard and Boulder are watching it for a while, but as it finishes, the Pidgey glares before getting some air. It seems that it's ready to fight... but what will Richard and Boulder do now?

“Hmm.” Richard pondered as he watched the Pidgey in front of them. The flying type Pokémon seemed to be lazily going about its business, and Boulder seemed to be taking a growing interest in the bird. Richard was quite intrigued as well. He thought over his plans carefully, and pondered the possibility of a Pidgey companion. A flying type was always useful later on, Richard had heard, and whilst not entirely useful in his home town, especially with the rock gym, a lot of the trainers that passed through had these birds along side them, so it couldn't be too bad a Pokémon to capture. He nodded, to himself rather than anyone, and smiled as the bird noticed them, flapping its wings as it glided into the air. It looked like the Pidgey was already thinking off a battle, and with his rocky opponent, this was one that the enemy could not win. “Right-o. Boulder, this is our first battle together, as you'd know, so, um...Well, how about you try a Tackle to start us off, then defend yourself with a Defence Curl.”

Boulder pondered these possibilities for a second, and then nodded, raring to go to try and aid his new found trainer.

Things get ready to start before Pidgey flies away from something. At any rate, everything is a bit silent, before Richard and Boulder hear a cough behind them. As they turn, they see a massive Golem, and a rather large man behind them, who laughs.

"Hahaha, sorry about scaring that Pidgey, but my brother needs someone to fight, or something to get him out of the house."

As the guy's golem pulls a smaller boy from behind him, Richard simply stares in disbelief as the kid's glasses envelop his face, and shaking he looks at the duo.

"Well damn you brother, this was pointless, but who cares. Machop, we may as well fight now."

As the boy's Machop appears, it's sporting shades and doing cartwheels as his trainer explains.

"Bleh, I don't want to be on a journey, or even fight some person like you, but my parents say that going on a Pokémon journey is good for your health, and my brother said that you always need a rival to keep you sharp, so I had him find me one. I pick you, and my Machop will kick your Geodude's ass without the need of a water move. At any rate, my name is Thomas, and let's get this over with."

Richard and Boulder simply stare, confused, as Thomas' Machop grins, ready to battle.

What will you two do?

OOC: Apologies for the short update, really not in the mood today but I want this to continue.

Richard turned to his companion. The pair locked eyes for a second, each gauging each others reaction as the time ticked by. Eventually, Boulder gave an affirming salute. “Good...okay th-then Thomas...” Richard stuttered slowly, meeting new people wasn't something that came naturally to him, but he knew he'd have to learn. Breathing in deeply, he continued. “Right then. I accept your challenge to rival me! Or, to be me rival. Or, well, whatever...anyway, Boulder here will beat your Machop no problem, right?” Boulder shrugged uncertainly to the best of his ability, which was difficult due to the lack of visible shoulders. Richard took it as a nod. “Right! Same orders as we used against that Pidgey! Tackle to start us off, and then Defence Curl to prevent counter-attack!”

Boulder moved forwards, a little more uncertain this time, but Richard comforted him. “Boulder, you need to win this, for me. This...Thomas, is well, just beat him, okay?” Another deep breath from Richard, and they were off.

OOC: Ta for taking over Josh. Really appreciate it, and no worries, take all the time you need.

Richard eyed the battle carefully. The sunglasses sporting Machop would certainly be a worthy foe for his rocky companion, annoyingly so due to the super effective move that it possessed. He has every bit of faith in his new starter Pokémon, but his wasn't a fair battle, so the chances of an easy win would be limited. Boulder started off the round strong, using his heavy body to fling himself hard into the foe, dealing a a nice hit to start the battle off, knocking Machop when it was still off guard. Richard smirked, murmuring “Good job buddy,” not wishing to speak out too loud with his new, young rivals older brother so close by. Then, the opponent rushes forwards and smacked his hand into Boulder before he could react, dealing a nasty hit. That wasn't good in the slightest; with no super effective attacks and a limited movepool, he had little he could do. A pidgey would be so much simpler.

Either way, Boulder finished the round at instructed, curling himself up into a ball for defence as much as a Geodude could manage. Richard listened carefully to the orders of the foe, and groaned. This kid was going to be a pain in the rear, Richard could already tell. “Right, um, Boulder. He intends to hurt you more, so just Defence Curl again! Then, after his attack, slam into him with another tackle! Try to get yourself on top of him.”

Richard smirked as he found Boulder having collided into the opposing Machop, knocking him down into the ground. It seemed to be stronger than before as well. Richard couldn't help but cry out a triumphant “Heck yeah.” before embarrassedly looking back to the Pokémon, where the battle seemed to have finally got into a good position for him. Nodding to Boulder, who's eyes briefly met those of his trainer's, he followed with another set of orders, hoping to finish the Machop off if he could. These ones would be quite unconventional though, he knew, and was really unsure how they would work. Crossing his fingers, he began. “Boulder, keep his arms pinned down with your strong stone arms, and lift yourself up and down into him for a double tackle, while keeping him pinned to the ground with your hands. Think of it as a,” his confidence was suddenly disrupted when he caught the eye of his rival “a, um, well... rock hard press-up. Yeah.”

He smiled slightly.

OOC: Am I allowed to use more than two attacks in a round?

Richard laughed. The rock hard press up actually worked! “Great job buddy!” he cried, smiling, and getting more confident as the battle went on. Maybe he was good at this battling lark after all, even with the type advantage. His opponent seemed to be getting more angry as time went on, whereas Richard seemed to be simply getting more amused, though he did feel a little squeamish at the point of dislocation. Boulder seemed to be getting bothered by the battling, but Richard had every bit of confidence that he'd manage to pull it through in the end. Smirking at his opponents angry state, he calmed himself down to the best of his ability, and though excitement seeped in, managed to put together what he decided were some well thought orders.

“Boulder. Defence Curl that Karate Chop once more, then Tackle to the point of dislocation. Follow with a tackle to the same spot if you can manage. We're nearly there.” Nodding, Boulder resumed the match at hand.

Richard watched as his companion continued to add to his opponents pain, tackling once, twice into the Machop. Ordering three moves in such quick succession was perhaps pushing his companion too hard, however. Taking a mental note, he decided that there wasn't really much left to do. At this limited level, his companion didn't really have much to go in the way of attacking diversity, but it seemed to be working okay for now. And he at least seemed to be winning, though this Machop was quite annoying, as its super effective attacks would likely match two of his. “You can do this.” He murmured to himself, before returning his gaze intently to the round at hand. The Machop was now knocked over, which gave him a perfect opportunity.

“Let's try and finish this! Tackle him hard while he's on the ground, and then hit him again with a second tackle. C'mon Boulder!”Boulder nodded, a slight smile appearing on his rocky face, and he once more entered the conflict.

Richard eyed his Geodude as he moved forwards across the arena, preparing to slam into once more into the opposing Machop. His partner flew forwards and collided once more into the Machop, and finally fainted the fighting type. Richard grinned, running over and embracing his partner in the best sort of hug he could manage with the heavy rock. “Great job buddy. You did amazing. I know I wouldn't have been able to fight like that in your situation.” Boulder seemed to be glowing slightly after that battle, though Richard shrugged it off. Following that, he watched his new rival, Thomas, rush over to his fallen partner, scooping up the Pokémon in his arms, seeming to show carefulness as he tried not to aggravate the shoulder. Richard grinned as the rival spoke to him, and after he stomped off. Richard stood stunned for a few moments, and then he shouted after him. “Nice to meet you!” Though it was likely unheard.

The older brother of Thomas, who Richard has just realised was still there, begun to speak to Richard and his Pokémon. Listening to what he said, Richard quickly replied, “Well...it's um, not his fault I'm sure. He fought me well.” Then, the brother reached down to a knapsack, grabbing out some money, and a berry. Richard smiled gratefully as the man approached and gave him the items, and nervously replied “Um, thanks.”

Suddenly, the brother and his Golem left without a word, and Richard and his partner were left alone. Sighing, he reached down and placed the berry in the mouth of his Geodude, saying “Eat it. It'll heal you up some.” A chirping distracted the boy, as he turned round to face the shape of a familiar face, the Pidgey from before standing there and watching him. Richard grinned. “Boulder, no rest for the wicked. Let's catch this Pidgey! Go straight in for a double tackle.”

OOC: Apologies, this isn't up to normal standard but I'm tired/I delayed this too long because homework.

Richard eyed the battle as it unfolded, frowning slightly as the bird used the aerial advantage it had in order to eb able to walk all over his rocky companion. Frowning, he pondered briefly what the pair could do to fight the Pidgey more effectively. Nodding to nobody in particular, Richard spoke out. “Boulder,” he began, his eyes lighting up with inspiration, “just stand there for a bit. Wait until the Pidgey comes down to you. Then, as it comes in to attack, try and pin it down with a tackle attack!” Boulder nodded, clearly understanding, and the pair were at the mercy of the flying type, Richard hoping that this tactic would bring him one step closer to Pokémon capture. “You can do it...” he murmured.

Richard smiled as their plan seemed to at least vaguely work, the Pidgey's wing seeming to have taken a quite bad hit from the tackle, limiting its flight. Smiling, Richard decided quickly what the next course of action would be. The opponent certainly wasn't ready to be captured yet, but it was fairly damaged, and maybe he'd have the opportunity soon. It was slightly unnerving. What if he messed up? “Right. Nearly there, Boulder. Let's try and take advantage of the, um, advantage. Let's see if you can reach the slightly disabled Pidgey with a Tackle attack, aim for that wing you hit. If you don't manage it, though, wait once more for the opponent to draw in close and give another hard tackle into the injured wing. Best of luck buddy, I believe in you.”

Ooc: Woah, that was awesomely fast. Thanks.

Watching in awe, Richard smiled as his plan worked, the Pidgey now at a significant disadvantage, now unable to fly and having one of its limbs weakened. Smiling, Richard considered the options he had left. One major one sprang to mind. Reaching down, he gripped one of the red and white orbs he had recently come into possession of at his side, pressing the button to enlarge it, ready for capture. Turning to his companion, he began, “Boulder. We're at the ending point. Knock him back with one more tackle, then move out the way. I want to see if I can capture this bird now, so neither of you need to get hurt any more than you have done.” Boulder nodded, and turned back to the flying type, as Richard's eyes stared intently at the little opponent.