Noob (calling you by the name I'm most familiar with, rather than even try to spell your current username), the only similarity to between myself and the character is the first name. :P It's not a self-insert: I just like the name Ian.
kjt, I'll get to fixing those. And as for sidetracking or not? Well, you'll see. Glad to see you're looking forward to it.
'cause it's coming out right now.
Rebirth of Sinnoh
Volkner's Tale
Chapter Three: Problems with results
The wind blew steadily, in through a large, square hole in the roof, creating a tense atmosphere for Volkner Sune to stand in, his eyes narrow, an eager smile on his face. His muscles were firm, locking him in place for the moment, and the look in his eyes meant business.
“So, this'll be a one-on-one battle, then?” Lily Florence asked.
Volkner nodded. “Yeah.”
Standing to his rear were Willow Bryant and Gardenia Florence, both of them having told him they would be at the scene to cheer him on. Of course, he had just gone through with it, not wanting to deal with the sort of stigma that might have come from denying them this, but their presence still mildly annoyed him. He would try to tune them out.
“And you know the rules?”
Volkner shrugged softly. “I think I do.”
“Unfortunately,” she said, making Volkner groan, “thinking you do isn't good enough. I've got to tell you.” She lifted up a single finger. “The Gym Leader is not allowed to rotate Pokemon, while the challenger is. Of course, this doesn't apply with us, but...” A second finger, putting her digits into a peace-sign. “The battle ends at knockout, or if either side forfeits. If a Pokemon is injured to the point of serious risk, this also counts as a knockout, even if the Pokemon is still conscious.” A third finger. “Finally, attacks that could permanently damage the environment are not allowed.”
Volkner knew nothing about this woman's type preferences: though he guessed bug or grass. That seemed a bit unfair, but he wouldn't question it. But apparently, the concrn was evident in his eyes, and the woman clarified.
“That means that, in our grassy environment...” She waved her hand around, pointing to the outside arena they were in, “you can use such attacks as Ember or Flamethrower, but a Fire Blast could annihilate this place. Therefore, Fire Blast is a banned technique. Just for our safety.” She laughed softly. “After all, we wouldn't want to put you in the hospital again, now would we?"
Volkner had to offer a small chuckle at the woman's audacity, but otherwise ignored the commeint in favor of pulling off a small sphere from his belt: red on its top, white on the bottom, his thumb resting on the silvery metallic button in the center.
"Are we going to start or what?"
Lily Florence unhooked a similar ball from her belt, and pressed her arm forward. She pressed her thumb down onto the release switch, and the ball opened, sending forth a flash of white light: Volkner did the same.
Silence for a few moments.
"I see I was right in choosing to go easy on you," Lily said, a slight taunt to her voice. He figured she was lying: after all, she had said just moments
In front of her stood an odd green Pokemon, quadrupedal with a small "necklace" of buds coming from its neck. On top of its head was a thin leaf, waving around lightly. Its small tail thumped the ground excitedly. Volkner could see the happiness in its expression: he scowled.
"Chikorita?" Volkner asked. "A Chikorita isn't anything for me!"
"Then prove me wrong, Pichu boy." Lily offered him a simple wink, before pointing in his direction. "Are we ready to start?"
Volkner nodded.
"Chikorita, start things off with Tackle!"
The small green Pokemon leaped forward on all fours, running in Chuseph's direction. The Pichu's eyes widened, and braced itself for the oncoming attack. Chikorita rammed into him at full force, and the two of them were sent sprawling to the ground. Chikorita got up easily: Chuseph, not so much. It took him a few seconds, but he made it.
"Alright!" Volkner exclaimed. "Chuseph-"
"BUAHAHA!"
At that moment, he turned to see Gardenia burst out into a fit of raucous laughter. Volkner frowned, staring at her until she finished her fit of giggles.
"...Is something funny?" he asked.
"Chuseph! Heh..hehe... what kinda name is Chuseph? Hahaha!"
Volkner felt the heat rush to his face. He turned around, focusing his attention back on the battle. "It's my mother's Pokemon, not mine..." he grumbled. "...Anyway. Chuseph-"
A snort. "...use Thundershock!"
Chuseph glanced over to Volkner for a moment, before returning his gaze back to the opposing grass-type. He closed his eyes and began to shiver: moments later, a tiny bolt of electricity shot forward, striking Chikorita dead-on. The Pokemon shivered, but was otherwise unaffected.
"An electric-type move on a grass-type? Don't tell me you don't even know your basic type matchups?"
Volkner had no clue on most of the Pokemon Training basics: he knew the fire-water-grass triad, but nothing else. Grass-types resisted electric-type moves, he noted. "Who says I didn't do that for a reason?"
"Aye, I suppose that's a possibility. But it would be stupid. Does your Pokemon not have any other moves or somethin'?"
Volkner laughed softly in embarrassment. "...I have no idea."
A few moments later, things were starting up again. This time, Volkner had a new guest: a silver bird-like robot, resting upon his shoulder. Its talons were sharp, pinching his skin, and he shifted himself around a bit to loosen that problem.
"MechaStar is built off a Starly," Lily said, "and is meant to guide trainers if they lack basic necessities: certain knowledges, and it even provides a rudimentary battle-dex, which tells you what special techniques your Pokemon is capable of performing. Just say the name of the command to open it."
"Battle-dex," Volkner said, and the Starly beeped and whined for a few moments, before beginning to speak in a loud, obnoxious tone.
"I am MechaStar, model V.345, built for Gym Leader..." Lily's voice piped up. "Lily Florence..." Back to the annoying voice. "Serving function... Battle-dex. Pokemon: Pichu and Chikorita. What Pokemon do you pick?"
"Pichu!" Lily said.
"Pichu knows the following moves: Thundershock, Charm, Thunder Wave, Double Slap, Sweet Kiss and Volt Tackle. Would trainer require an explanation of any of these moves?"
Volkner had heard most of these briefly: but never the last. "Volt Tackle."
"Searching..." A few moments of buzzes and beeps passed by, Volkner's patience thinning. Finally, the odd robotic bird spoke. "Volt Tackle is a technique normally not found on Rai, Pika or Pi-chu in the wild. It is the result of breeding specifically geared toward battle. At the cost of risking their own health, the -chu envelopes themself in electricity, ramming into their opponent and often giving them the shock of their lives. Injuries can-"
Volkner shrugged. "Enough."
The bot was silent. Volkner's mind was in a swirl of thoughts at the moment - Volt Tackle was a move made by those who bred the Pichu for battle. Mother had requested the Pichu bred - he remembered it coming home in an egg. What exactly did this mean? Did his mother request this? Was it bred on without mother's consent?
He shook his head, trying to shrug off the thought. He would worry about it at a later date. "Chuseph, let's go with Double Slap!"
Lily grinned. "Not so fast, kid! Poison Powder, Chikorita!"
This would be a matter of speed, and Volkner knew it. Which would be faster? Chikorita, or Chuseph?
Chuseph darted forward, trying his best to dodge the various purple spores spread throughout the air, his face ever-so-slightly darker due to the fact that he was holding his breath. Volkner grinned. Smart Pokemon, he had to admit - not entirely useless.
Chikorita seemed to be doing her (Volkner assumed it was female) best to spread the spores however, waving her leaf around and creating a small, but significant enough, wind. The spores began to disperse, covering more distance albeit at the cost of significance in any specific area. Volkner covered his mouth with the collar of his jacket, and saw Lily doing the same.
Chuseph managed get over toward Chikorita and offered it a quick series of slaps with his tiny paws, repeatedly striking her and jumping back. He stumbled, falling flat onto his butt, and unfortunately, releasing a heart gasp for air.
Volkner's teeth clenched. If Chuseph had been able to hold it a little longer, he could have avoided the poison all together; now he had the chance of inhaling it. His best choice would be to remain close to the Chikorita and not risk the breath running.
"Chuseph! Stay close! See how she can handle-"
"Razor Leaf, Chikorita!" Lily exclaimed.
Chikorita closed her eyes, and a few of the leaves on the ground around them began to lift up, as if by some sort of psychic energy. They whirled around for a moment, trimming themselves like a potato being skinned by an old worker: then, they flew forward toward Chuseph.
"Chuseph, focus on dodging!" Volkner said. "Try and hit it with a Thundershock, though!"
Conflicting orders, Volkner realized, but before he could correct himself, Chuseph had started moving. A leap to avoid one leaf, a duck to avoid the next, and a fall flat on his butt - again - in order to get scraped by a third, cutting his skin open and letting a few drops of red blood drip from the wound. Another place for the spores to get into. Volkner cursed, earning a thin and curious smile from Lily.
Chuseph whimpered slightly, but got back up and closed his eyes, firing a small bolt of electricity in Chikorita's direction. The bolt hit Chikorita square on the back, causing her to cry out slightly. She wavered for a moment, but then stood strong once again.
"Wow, that was a stupid move," he heard Gardenia say behind him.
"Aye," Willow agreed. "But it's his battle."
He scowled, trying to keep ignoring them.
"Chikorita, let's go with our specialty!" Lily commanded.
More chatter from behind, but he had to ignore them now. Their specialty? What was she talking about?
"Riiii..." Chikorita started, getting up onto her hind legs for just a moment, her stubby front legs spreading apart.
"Get toward her and use Double Slap, Chuseph!" Volkner commanded. "Do it quick!"
There was a total distance of about three feet in between the two.
"Don't!" he heard Gardenia cry, and he turned to face her.
"What do you mean-"
"Nothin', Sune," Willow said, shoving his hand over the mouth of Gardenia, who was now squirming to get free. He could tell she was biting him, and it was probably rather painful.
"Let her say-"
"It's your battle, Sune. No outside help. Sorry."
"Right... whatever-"
"Pay attention, Volkner!" Lily exclaimed triumphantly.
Chuseph, as Volkner turned to see him, was now flying through the air, flung off an apparently elastic string of grass reaching from one end of the arena to the other. He landed with a soft thud on the other side of Chikorita, skidding to a stop at Lily's feet.
"What the hell happened!?"
Finally, Gardenia had apparently broke through. For once, he was glad to hear her annoying accent. "Ya frickin' idiot, Will!" she exclaimed. "...Volkner, that was Grass Knot. It's our gym's specialty move: all of mom's Pokemon know it, and one or two of our Pokemon each know it. It basically creates a trip wire'a grass - the heavier the Pokemon, the more the damage, but the lighter the Pokemon, the longer distance they go. I'm surprised yer lil' Pichu didn't go to the fuc-"
"Gardenia! You're twelve, you shouldn't be using that kind of language."
"Sorry, mom," she muttered. "...Frickin' moon."
"Right... gotta keep an eye out for that," Volkner noted. "Chuseph, let's get up and-"
"Your Pichu isn't getting up," Lily said. "It's a knockout."
Volkner froze, his teeth clenched. "Chuseph, get up-"
"You deaf or something?" she asked. "It's a knock out. K-O."
"Chuseph, GET UP-"
A hand on his shoulder. Volkner turned to face the person who did it: Willow Bryant. The surfer-esque boy shook his head, his eyes filled with a stern look.
"You lost, Sune. It's over - don't make that poor thing get up more than it needs to."
Volkner swatted Willow's hand away, causing him to stumble back, visibly hurt (albeit only slightly) by such actions. "Who cares!? Pokemon are heathens. God damned heathens made for violence, and that's all they're good for!"
Volkner quickly turned, pointing toward the slightly shivering Pichu at Lily's feet. It was obvious to him now that he had gotten poisoned, slowly sapping away at his stamina.
"You stupid little rat! UP! NOW!"
"QUIET!" Lily roared. "Return your Pokemon now. I'm calling the police for abuse otherwise!"
Volkner gritted his teeth harder than ever, feeling himself grinding them into dust. He didn't care. His hand clenched tight around the Pichu's Pokeball and returned it, letting him rest for the moment.
He hated this place. He hated these people: because of that god damned woman, he hated his life. With a cry of frustration, Volkner turned around and headed for the door.
"GOD DAMN IT!"
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Originally Posted by Trainer Robert
