Making Rivals [Quest]

The two Trainers stared each other down as the wind whipped the grass around their makeshift battlefield. A small crowd was starting to gather, trying to get a glimpse of the young man who was about to challenge Mikey today. Everett didn't doubt that he was a local hero, taking on all-comers. "Here we go! Prepare to lose!" Mikey shouted, throwing out his first Poke Ball. In a flash, a little black bird popped out. Everett scanned the Pokemon with his Pokedex, which told him that Mikey's first Pokemon was Starly, a Normal and Flying type. A smile formed on the older Trainer's face as he pulled out the perfect Poke Ball for the situation.

"Give it your all, Mango!" Everett called as he threw out a Poke Ball of his own. Mango rushed out onto the battlefield, meeting Starly in the air. Without any prompting, the two got into their spat straightaway. Mango, headstrong as always, rushed straight at Starly, initiating some high-flying, fast-paced combat. The two flipped and flew through the air in a violent dance of beaks and talons. Mango's hyper-aggressiveness was initially getting the better of Starly, who was only able to keep on the defense as the two exchanged attacks. Both Trainers on the ground would occasionally shout orders to their Pokemon, and they would comply quickly.

"Peck!" Everett shouted, finally giving in to Mango's offensive rush. Mango's beak began to glow as he charged in to hopefully deliver the final blow, but then Mikey smirked.

"Quick Attack!"

Starly shot through the air like a bullet, ducking underneath Mango and coming straight back up with a tackle from below at high speeds. Mango's beak was forced open from shock, and he faltered in the air for a moment.

"Your Rufflet is pretty aggro," Mikey commented. "He leaves himself open a lot."

Everett was admittedly a little miffed to be getting comments on his Pokemon's preferred battling style. "I have faith in Mango," he said confidently. "He might be a little hard-headed, but you won't find a tougher bird out there!"

Hearing Everett's words, Mango's eyes sparked back to life. He righted himself in the air and charged at Starly with a full-power Tackle, finishing the fight and knocking Starly back down to the ground. His battle won, he landed confidently and gave a defiant screech, puffing his chest out and fanning his wings in celebration.

"That was pretty gutsy," Mikey admitted, returning his Starly to its Poke Ball. "Maybe being aggressive isn't so bad!"

Everett smiled and returned Mango to his Poke Ball as well. He had won, but the battle hadn't been easy on the overconfident bird. "How about we just make this a best of three?" He kinda wanted to make this battle end as quick as possible. He was really losing out on valuable training time, as well as a chance to take in the sights of Stellara a little more.

Mikey seemed agreeable, if nothing else. He had been the one to insist on the battle, anyway. He could at least agree to the terms Everett proposed. "You're on! I choose you, Electrike!" Another Poke Ball revealed the green, canine form of Electrike. Everett thought for a moment, then quickly chose his next Pokemon.

"Faust, you're up!" The performance-loving Mimikyu was thrust onto the stage, looking as unsettling to everyone else as ever. Even Electrike was unsure of what to do. Mikey was ready to take him on, though.

"Electrike, Odor Sleuth!" the young Trainer ordered. On cue, Electrike started sniffing in Faust's general direction, getting an idea of the Mimikyu's scent.

Everett didn't see the strategy that Mikey was plotting and instead focused on his own. "Double Team!" Excited to finally be in a battle, Faust got right to work making clones of himself. In a flash, there were at least ten identical Mimikyu all over the battlefield. Everett grinned, knowing that Faust had been working on that move exclusively for a performance routine, but was ecstatic to find that he was able to use it for combat as well.

"Now, Tackle!" Mikey called. Electrike sniffed the air for a split second, then immediately charged at a seemingly random Mimikyu on the field. To Everett's shock and surprise, not only did the rest of the clones disappear on contact, but Electrike managed to actually make contact with Faust. The head of his disguise flopped over to the side, showing that he was more vulnerable now.

"How in the world did he hit Faust?" Everett wondered aloud.

Mikey chuckled. "Odor Sleuth allows Electrike to hit Ghost types with his Normal moves!" Sure enough, it seemed that Electrike was able to make contact with Faust. Everett wondered how that was even possible just by smelling a ghost, but noticed that an opportunity presented itself.

"Now, like we rehearsed!" Everett shouted, using words that Faust would probably prefer as a performer. "Wood Hammer!" Without any apparent expression, the stick Faust used as a tail began to grow larger and gave off an eerie green glow. Faust used his spectral arm to smack Electrike with the stick, made easier by the fact that Electrike was so close. Electrike looked hurt, but didn't falter. It seemed the attack wasn't quite strong enough to get the canine Pokemon away.

"You're finished!" Mikey shouted. "Discharge!" Electrike roared and suddenly exploded with electricity that arced across the field. The move was way too strong, something such a small Pokemon like Electrike had no business possessing. Once it subsided, Everett was saddened to see that Faust was slumped over, still in his disguise. He quickly returned the poor little ghost into his Poke Ball for some much-needed rest.

"That was a great strategy!" Everett said, commending his opponent. "I wasn't prepared for something like that at all! Your Electrike is really something else!"

Mikey snickered as he rubbed underneath his nose with his finger. "This Electrike was bred to be really strong!" he boasted. "My older brother gave him to me." The green beast ran back to his Trainer and got a good petting before he was put back into his Ball.

"All right, Mikey, this has been fun!" Everett admitted. "But, it ends here! Go, Bolin!" Everett's third Pokemon, his Heracross, made his appearance on the battlefield. He looked around for a minute to find Caesar so he could get his fill of sap, and quickly spotted the Bulbasaur. He ran over to get a snack, but Marshal stood in between him and his meal.

"(Hey...I just want a snack!)" Bolin whined.

"Bolin, I need you to focus, okay?" Everett pleaded. "You're my last hope in this battle, understand?" Bolin looked around Everett's legs at Caesar's sweet, sappy bulb, but Caesar stared back.

"(You can have some sap if you win this fight,)" the Bulbasaur bargained. "(Don't let Everett down, got it?)"

It looked like a fire exploded in Bolin's eyes as Caesar's bargain registered in his brain. He turned around and got in a fighting stance. It seemed that this battle would be over quickly if Bolin was even half as strong as his appetite.

Mikey looked nervous, but still grinned. "You've got some cool Pokemon!" he remarked. "I'm glad I managed to convince you to battle me! Now, I'm sending you out, Teddiursa!" Mikey's last Pokemon finally appeared, the tiny bear Pokemon, Teddiursa. Bolin wasted no time getting into the fray, however, and attacked Teddiursa with a super-effective flurry of Arm Thrust, sending the poor thing flying. Mikey was stunned as the Heracross immediately rushed back over to Caesar and got his promised reward.

Everett was similarly shocked by the speed in which Bolin had dispatched his opponent. It seemed this bug would really do anything for some food. "Well...I guess that's that!" Everett chuckled.

Mikey tended to his Teddiursa and smiled back at Everett. "It was really fun!" he said. "You've got a really solid team! You should take on some Gyms soon. I'm about to do that myself!"

"You think so?" Everett asked. It was nice to get some confirmation that he and his team were making progress, but he was hearing a lot of scary things about the Gym Leaders here in Stellara. He probably still had a long way to go. "Well, I'm definitely going to do it! And when I do, we'll battle again, got it?"

Mikey nodded and grinned. "You've got it, dude!"

"The name's Everett," Everett said, extending his hand out for a shake. Mikey quickly changed Everett's hand into a fist and fist bumped him instead. It seemed that there was some real competition to be had here in the Stellara Region. Everett smiled as he made his way to the Pokemon Center. He would definitely meet Mikey again. He was sure of it.