Chapter 13. First Battle

Rattata was having a difficult time trying to land a good hit on Alex. It most often targeted the shin guards, which were closer to the ground, rather than the vest, which might leave it vulnerable to being punched mid-air. As a result, the fight became a series of repeated tackles from Rattata and simple kicks from Alex.

Meanwhile, Alex was closely observing Rattata's decision-making process. He noticed that Rattata was opting for the easily targetable shin guards rather than the more difficult-to-reach vest, bracers, or helmet.

Alex recalled the previous Alex's memories and noted that Rattata would almost always attack from the side to make retaliation difficult. However, this was when it was allowed to use Quick Attacks. Now that it was restricted, it was opting for safer locations. It was good that his Rattata was able to discern possibilities given its current situation. This was something Alex could work with.

If Rattata had simply charged in without caution, Alex would have had a much more difficult time teaching it the flow of combat.

As the two were sparring, a younger kid with a yellow hat worn backward walked over, noticing the fight. He didn't like that this older kid was kicking his Rattata, especially since he had been taught never to hurt his own Pokémon.

The older kid was even wearing armor while doing so. It was unfair, and it wasn't right. So, he immediately walked over to give this bully a piece of his mind.

"HEY! You shouldn't hurt your Pokémon!" the youngster shouted, pointing fiercely at Alex.

Alex and Rattata immediately stopped sparring and turned their heads toward the younger boy, who seemed to be about eight years old.

Then, as if on cue, they both turned back to each other and tilted their heads in confusion. This prompted a few chuckles from the middle-aged women watching from afar. It looked like a comedy skit.

Alex turned back to the boy and, in a gentle voice, began to explain.

"I'm just teaching Rattata how to fight. I'm not hurting him, I promise. See these pads? They make sure we don't get hurt while sparring."

"But you're not supposed to hit your Pokémon!" the child insisted.

"To be fair, he's the one hitting me."

"No! I saw you kicking him!" the boy shouted.

They were starting to draw unwanted attention, so Alex did what any regular trainer would do—start a battle.

"How about this? We battle, and if I win, I'm right, and you're wrong. If you win, I'll stop hitting Rattata. Does that sound fair?" Alex proposed.

"Alright!" the boy accepted easily.

This logic made perfect sense to him, though he wondered why he was hearing a few more giggles behind him.

Without hesitation, he threw his Pokéball, releasing a red flash of light that revealed another Rattata. Alex, meanwhile, simply stepped back, allowing his own Rattata to square off.

Both Rattata looked exactly the same, but for some reason, Alex could immediately tell which one was his.

The boy started the battle with a loud command.

"Rattata, Quick Attack!" the boy shouted.

"Protect," Alex said calmly.

Both Rattata shimmered gray—one burst forward with speed, while the other simply concentrated. A small, crooked shield immediately formed around one, just as the other slammed into it head-on.

Now, both Rattata were staring at each other awkwardly due to how slow their moves had been executed.

"Fury Swipes," Alex called out.

"Quick Attack again!" the boy shouted.

Both shimmered in gray light, but one Rattata managed to tackle the other, sending them both tumbling.

Alex's Rattata quickly recovered and began repeatedly scratching at its opponent as they skidded to a stop. Alex counted three hits before giving his next order.

"Quick Attack. Finish it."

Before the boy could even issue his own command, Alex's Rattata landed a solid hit, sending the other Rattata tumbling until it finally fainted.

Alex had won his first-ever battle—though it was against a younger child. But he was a child himself, so who cared?

"Oh no! Rattata!" the boy cried, running over and cupping his Pokémon in his hands.

"Don't worry, he's fine. Now, why don't you run back to your mother so she can take Rattata to the Pokécenter?" Alex suggested.

This had been his goal all along. As long as this kid got out of his face for the day, he could continue training with his own Rattata.

As if summoned, one of the chuckling middle-aged women walked over with a slight smile.

"Tommy, why don't you store Rattata back in his Pokéball so we can bring him to the Pokécenter to rest up?" she said gently.

"Okay…" the boy replied, his voice trembling with emotion.

"I'm sorry for the bother, young man, and thank you for going easy on him," she said to Alex as she took the boy's hand.

"No problem at all, ma'am."

"My, what a polite boy. You take care of yourself. Let's go, Tommy," she said, leading the boy away.

"Yes, Mom."

Thus ended Alex and Rattata's first-ever battle.

As Alex reflected on the fight he quickly noticed his own Rattata's proficiency in combat.

The first command had gone as expected, considering Alex's goal was to stop the momentum the opposing Rattata had built while closing the gap.

The second Quick Attack, however, resulted in both of them tumbling rather than just his Rattata being sent flying like in the third exchange. This indicated that his Rattata had stepped back with the attack, reducing the damage taken and causing them both to fall instead.

The third instance was beyond his expectations—his opponent hadn't even managed to issue a command before his Rattata reacted. Not only did it strike first, but it also managed to completely transfer the momentum onto its opponent, sending it flying by itself.

His Rattata was clearly more skilled in battle than the child's.

"You did much better than I expected for our first battle. Have you fought much before with your previous trainer?" Alex asked.

"Ratta." Rattata nodded, holding his head high.

"That's good. I especially like how you're able to manipulate momentum so precisely. We'll talk more about that later. For now, let's continue sparring. You have permission to use Quick Attack at your discretion."

With Quick Attack allowed, the spar became a much more even fight. Previously, Alex had the advantage, as he was quick enough to react to Rattata's movements.

Now, however, Rattata was fast enough to get behind Alex and even land a clean hit to the head. Of course, Rattata made sure to use only glancing blows to avoid giving Alex a concussion.

Through their continued sparring, Alex became certain—his Rattata was a genius in combat. Unfortunately, it was still just a Rattata, a species with no real future in top-level battles. He would have to find a way for Rattata to remain relevant, even against Legendary Pokémon—if that was even possible.

For now, they still had a long way to go.

After an hour of training, Alex—with Rattata perched on his shoulder—called it a day and returned to his apartment to continue his studies. He had only a few months left before starting school, something he both dreaded and looked forward to.

His grades in high school had been average, so most of the coursework would be just a refresher. What excited him the most, however, was the opportunity to learn about Pokémon-exclusive knowledge.

There were still over a thousand Pokémon, hundreds of abilities, nearly a thousand moves, and thousands of items to study—on top of basic subjects like geography, history, and this world's version of science.

It was a daunting amount of information to memorize, analyze, and extrapolate from.

Thankfully, this was a subject he was genuinely interested in, unlike math or chemistry, which he had always struggled with. From Alex's perspective, this was just like continuing to play Pokémon games.

Back in his room, he continued to browse through news articles, catching up on current events. In addition to the shocking discoveries he had read about previously, he also came across details about the role of firearms in this world.

Unlike conventional guns, which relied on combustion to achieve velocity, weapons here used Flying-type energy to propel projectiles—or, in some cases, energy-based attacks that had already been formed into Moves by specific Pokémon.

This technology functioned through rare specialized crystals capable of storing and releasing type energy. For example, a crystal struck by a Thunder Wave would store the energy of the move. When triggered by a different type of energy, the stored Thunder Wave would be released in turn, creating a firearm-like consistency of potential energy.

If this technology was as advanced as it seemed, humans theoretically had the potential to rival Pokémon in power—provided they had the right Pokémon to supply the necessary moves.

Still, this system required Pokémon cooperation, making it unlikely that human supremacists would be running around with particle cannons capable of blasting Legendaries to bits. Not to mention the apparent scarcity of these move crystals. It would take some miraculous discoveries to be able to weaponize and spread this technology before human supremacists emerge.

Unbeknownst to Alex, however, that was exactly what already existed.

They called themselves Team Dominion.

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