4. The First Battle

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The garbage collection team was established.

There was no need to stay on Route 101 anymore.

Returning to oldale Town, Chris headed to the Pokémon Center to heal Torchic and restore the Contest Condition of five Zigzagoons. Afterward, he guided the protagonist to the left and entered Route 102.

In the main series of Pokémon games, the objective has always been to defeat the eight regional gyms, challenge the Pokémon League, and then take on the Elite Four and Champion to claim the title of regional champion.

Now, the protagonist's task was to challenge a gym.

However, the gym on the other side of Route 102 wasn't the first one Chris wanted to challenge. It was his father's gym, but the protagonist's father would dismiss the protagonist's strength, telling him to come back after earning four gym badges.

Thus, Chris's first real challenge would be at the Rustboro Gym, located in Rustboro City, led by the Gym Leader, Roxanne.

It was a Rock-type gym.

For Torchic, a Fire-type Pokémon, this was a daunting challenge.

So, in addition to leveling up Torchic and evolving it into Combusken to gain Fighting-type moves, Chris needed to see if there were any suitable Grass- or Water-type Pokémon he could train.

This would give him more confidence when facing Roxanne.

"Are there any good Grass- or Water-type Pokémon on Route 102?" Chris wondered.

Just a few steps into Route 102, a young boy in shorts and a blue hat suddenly blocked the protagonist's path.

"Big brother, battle me!" he shouted.

"Do you accept the challenge from the Youngster?" the game asked.

An option to accept or reject appeared, which was unexpected. In every previous Pokémon game, the player was automatically forced into a battle when spotted by an NPC.

There was even a running joke: "When a trainer's eyes meet, battle is inevitable."

Chris accepted without hesitation.

How could he refuse free experience and prize money?

But just as he clicked "Accept," the handheld console in his hands disappeared, and the surrounding environment changed dramatically.

Chris found himself in a nighttime forest.

It was still raining, and gusts of cold wind swept through the trees. The only source of light was a streetlamp near the entrance to Gumei Town.

Not far away, the boy in shorts was already tossing a Poké Ball into the air.

"Go, Zigzagoon!"

The Poké Ball burst open, and a Zigzagoon appeared on the ground.

"Zigzagoon!" The boy's Pokémon looked energetic, even in the dead of night.

"What...?" Chris was bewildered. How had he entered the game?

This had never happened in any of his previous battles.

Looking down, he noticed his attire—wind shoes, a cap, and a jacket.

Wasn't this the protagonist's outfit?

"Could it be that when the protagonist fights, I control him directly?" Chris speculated.

"Big brother, send out your Pokémon!" the boy urged.

Unsure of what was happening, Chris knew he had no choice but to battle.

He reached for his belt, where six Poké Balls were neatly attached. Grabbing the first one, he threw it forward.

A burst of silver light, and Torchic appeared.

"Torchic!" it chirped enthusiastically, despite the rain.

"Big brother, I'll attack first!" the boy shouted as he called out his move.

"Zigzagoon, use Tackle!"

Zigzagoon sprinted across the grass, moving swiftly, and slammed into Torchic.

Chris took a deep breath. This was the first time he had actually fought a Pokémon in real life. He raised his hand and commanded loudly, "Torchic, watch its movements and dodge, then use Ember!"

"Chic!" Torchic's eyes burned with determination. As Zigzagoon lunged forward with its Tackle, Torchic smoothly sidestepped, a burst of flames erupting from its beak mid-dodge.

The Ember attack peppered Zigzagoon like a flurry of tiny fireballs, reminiscent of the rapid "dong dong dong" sound effects from the anime, hitting Zigzagoon multiple times and knocking it back.

It wasn't a one-hit knockout—Torchic's level wasn't much higher than Zigzagoon's, and the rain was weakening the power of its Fire-type moves.

But that didn't matter.

"Hit it again with Ember!"

"Get up, Zigzagoon!" the young boy shouted, desperate to rally his Pokémon.

Unfortunately, the "magical recovery" was not a skill everyone could rely on.

Before Zigzagoon could rise or dodge, it was struck by another Ember and overwhelmed.

**[Defeated Zigzagoon LV4. Gained 80 experience points.]**

As soon as the victory message appeared, Chris found himself back in his apartment, sitting in front of the computer with the handheld in his hands, just as he had been before.

It was as if everything he had just experienced had been a dream.

"That was incredible," Chris muttered, a satisfied smile creeping across his face.

If all he did was improve his Pokémon's strength through turn-based battles on the handheld, his Pokémon would get stronger, but it wouldn't help him in real-world situations.

But now, by experiencing real, interactive battles through the protagonist, it felt like valuable training, a true experience in commanding.

If Chris wanted to eventually command champion-level Pokémon, he'd need to be a champion-level Trainer himself.

He glanced down at the handheld, where another prompt appeared:

**[Defeated Youngster. Earned 80 Pokédollars.]**

**[Youngster: Aw man, I lost, but I won't give up! Next time, I'll beat you for sure!]**

"Next time?" Chris chuckled to himself. "You won't stand a chance, not even in your next life."

Torchic was a 5V Pokémon, and as it leveled up, the gap between it and a Zigzagoon would only grow.

Still, the prize money was a bit underwhelming—only 80 Pokédollars.

"It's less than the stuff my Zigzagoons find lying around at home," Chris thought.

He opened the Pokémon panel and saw that two of his Zigzagoons were holding items. Zigzagoon's Pickup ability had come through again.

He removed the items they were holding: one Poké Ball and one bottle of Repel.

Repel, which keeps wild Pokémon away for a certain number of steps, sold for 350 Pokédollars at the store, meaning Chris could sell it for 175, and the Poké Ball was worth 100.

In total, he'd earned 355 Pokédollars from that battle—now that was satisfying.

Chris continued onward, knowing there were bound to be more Trainers waiting for him on Route 102.

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