FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Ugh, it's so hot," thought Jason, who wore a red and black sweatshirt as he roared down the Florida interstate highway on his GX-7 motorcycle. He was on his way to his first Pokemon Battle Tournament, which was being held in Miami that weekend. He had signed up a month ago, in October, and spent the last few weeks training hard with his Chimchar, named Flare, and Chikorita, taking them to the PokeGym, giving them protein shakes, and leveling up their attack energy.

At first, Jason's mom and dad were cautious about the whole endeavor, constantly telling their 18yr old son that the "trip would be dangerous and exhausting" and "what if you got lost in Missouri and wind up in a bad part of town and get attacked?" Jason, however, mostly ignored their over dramatic warnings. He was just glad that they had gotten over their disgust and dislike of Pokemon. "It's an abomination of a science experiment," his dad used to say. It's been six years since Pokemon became part of society, and Jason's parents were probably two of the only people in the world who did not support the new Pokemon laws. It wasn't until the night of a bad lightning storm, when his mother was saved by a Machop from a fallen tree hitting her car, that she and her husband finally realized that Pokemon weren't so bad as they thought.

After a while, Jason pulled in to an empty rest stop. He parked the motorcycle and walked over to the grass.

"Come on out, guys," he said, pulling out the two Pokeballs he had in his brown satchel. Tossing them at the ground, the Pokeballs opened, released their Pokemon, and then bounced back to Jason's hands via a magnetic connection to his gloves. He smiled and pulled out a plastic bag filled with Pokefood. "You hungry?"

"Chi...chika!" exclaimed Chikorita. The grass Pokemon ran, excitedly, around her trainer's legs.

"Char" Flare said happily. He climbed up Jason's side and perched on his shoulder. While Jason held the bag, Flare opened it and took out a big handful of Pokefood. "Char...char?" Flare was asking Chikorita if she wanted him to bring her food.

"Chika," she answered, flashing a bright smile as the fire Pokemon jumped down from Jason's arm and gently placed the handful of food on the ground. "Chika...chi...chi!" Chikorita bounced happily before digging into the Pokefood.

"That's very thoughtful of you, Flare," Jason said.

"Chimchar," the Pokemon replied. He hopped back onto his trainer's shoulder and began eating his own food. Suddenly, a blue minivan pulled into the rest stop. Jason watched as a family of five jumped out. There were two little girls, a teenage brother, and then mom and dad. While the father and one of the girls head to the main building, the mother holds the leash of a small Scottish Terrier.

"Look, mama, that man has two Pokemon," Jason heard the other girl say.

"Yes, I see that, Rachel," the mom replied, nodding her head. "He has a Chimchar and, um, a...uh..."

"A Chikorita," answered her son.

"Toby, you gonna battle him?" the girl named Rachel asked.

"So, he's a trainer." Jason looked away, pretending to just watch his Pokemon eat and. "I do hope he wants to battle me. Gives me some practice for the tournament."

"Ssh, quiet, Rachel," he blurted out. He's wearing a green jacket with a brown t-shirt underneath. A pull-string bag over his shoulder reveals a blue Pokeball design.

"Oh, I think it'd be fun. Excuse me, young man." Jason turned around to the face them.

"Yes?" he asked, already knowing the question.

"Would you mind challenging my son to a Pokemon battle? He has a tournament tomorrow in Miami, Florida, and I want him to get some practice in."

"Well, what are the odds."

"I'd be happy to battle him, ma'am," Jason replied. "It just so happens that I'm going to the same tournament." At this, the mom smiled and called the rest of her family to watch. Her son, Toby, walked to the grass, forty feet from Jason, and turned to look at him.

"Hey, I'm Jason. How many Pokemon do you have?"

"I'm Toby, and I only have two," he answered. "What 'bout you?"

"Same. Where you guys from?"

"Nebraska. You?"

"Minnesota."

"Cool. So, we can start whenever you're ready," he said. With a nod, Jason pointed to Flare.

"Go, Flare," he says. Flare runs past him and they both await Toby's first Pokemon.

"Mightyena, time to show 'em what you're made of!" Toby threw his Pokeball and it released a Mightyena. Jason was shocked for a moment, as this was the first time he'd battled against one of those.

"Wow, that's a cool Pokemon," he said. "Alright. Flare, use Quick Attack!"

"Char!" Flare obeyed and launched forward at Toby's Pokemon.

"Mightyena, dodge it and use Bite!" Mightyena quickly dodged Flare's attack and then, just as Flare moved past him, he bit onto him and tossed Flare to the side.

"Char!" Flare slid several feet along the grass. Toby's family cheered and their Terrier barked as Flare struggled to get up.

"You alright, Flare?" Jason called to his Pokemon. Flare gave a rough groan but proceeded to remain in the fight. "That guy's Mightyena is fast," thought Jason. "Flare won't be able to get close enough to use his melee attacks unless Mightyena is distracted." Figuring out what he had to do, Jason smiled. "Ok, Flare, use Smokescreen!"

"Chimchar," his Pokemon acknowledged. Flare jumped into the air and unleashed a dense layer of grey smoke, completely surrounding Toby's Pokemon and making it near impossible to see.

"Now, Flare, use Ember repeatedly, but keep moving around!"

"Char...chimchar!" Flare shot a strong fireball at Mightyena, who could still not see due to the smoke that blanketed his side of the field. The blast hit Mightyena's face hard.

"Aarooo!" Toby's Pokemon stumbled a little but remained standing. However, several more vicious Ember attacks soon found their target, as Flare moved left to right, up and down, making his attack from all sides.

"Mightyena!" Toby cried out as his Pokemon collapsed on the ground.

"Momma, what happened to Mightyena?" Jason heard Rachel say.

"Don't worry, sweetie," came the reply. "Your brother's Pokemon is alright. It's just been knocked out." Meanwhile, Toby stood awestruck at what just happened. Finally, he called back his fainted Pokemon into it's Pokeball.

"Mightyena, you were awesome. Have a good rest," he said. Turning to Jason, he smiled and pulled out a Net Ball. "I have to admit, you've got a pretty strong Chimchar."

"Thanks," Jason replied. "But that Mightyena of yours is powerful, too."

Toby chuckled, "Heh, if you think that's powerful, wait till you see my next Pokemon. Vaporeon, I choose you!" He tossed his Net Ball and out of it came the Water-type Pokemon.

"Oh no, Water-types have an advantage over Fire-types," Jason realized.

"That's right. Ok, Vaporeon, use Water Gun," Toby ordered.

"Rooo." Vaporeon shot a strong stream of water at Flare.

"Dodge it!" Jason told Flare.

"Char." The Fire-type quickly jumped up out of the way, missing the blast of water.

"Quick! Tackle it while it's still in the air!" Obediently, Vaporeon jumped and slammed into it's opponent, knocking Flare against a tree. "Now, hit it with another Water Gun!"

"Flare! Get out of the way!" It was too late. Jason watched as his Pokemon got the full attack. Flare fell from the tree, knocked out by the attack. Before he hit the ground, however, Jason caught him. "You were really great out there. Get some rest," Jason said, opening Flare's Pokeball. "I guess it's come to this." Looking over his shoulder, Jason called for his last Pokemon. "Ok, Chikorita, you're up."

"Chika...chi?"

"Don't worry, you'll do fine," Jason encouraged. With that, Chikorita leaped into the playing field.

"Looks like you have the type-advantage now," Toby pointed out. "All the same, I wouldn't rely on it too much. Vaporeon, Aurora Beam!" A bright blue beam of energy emerged from its mouth, aiming at Chikorita.

"Counter it with Razor Leaf!"

"Chi...ka!" Chikorita whipped the leaf on her head around, firing bursts of sharp, energy-filled, leaves at the oncoming attack. *BOOM* The two attacks collided in an explosion that knocked both Pokemon off their feet.

"Vaporeon, you alright?"

"Are you ok, Chrikorita? Come on, get up."

"Aroo." Vaporeon quickly rolled over and got to its feet.

"Now, Tackle!" Toby's Pokemon charged at Chikorita, who was still trying to get up.

"Watch out, Chikorita!" Jason knew that, although his Chikorita was tough, she wasn't the quickest. He watched as Vaporeon tackled his Pokemon and jumped onto a nearby tree branch.

"Chika!" cried the grass Pokemon.

"Water Gun, Vaporeon!"

"Aroo." Vaporeon lowered its head and opened its mouth to fire at the Pokemon below it.

"Dodge it!" Just before the attack hit her, Chikorita rolled to the left. "Use Solar Beam!" Opening her mouth, Chikorita sent forth a powerful burst of white and yellow energy. It hit the branch Vaporeon was on, breaking it and sending Vaporeon to the ground.

"Rooo." It hit the ground with a *THUD*.

"Finish this, Chikorita!" Jason ordered. "Vine Whip!"

"Chi...ka!" Two green vines sprouted from around his Pokemon's neck. The tips of them slammed against Vaporeon's side, knocking it to the side and dealing incredible damage. For a moment, it appeared as if Vaporeon would continue, but then slowly, it's legs gave out and it fell, knocked out. When Toby called back his Pokemon, Jason could see the look of defeat growing on his face. After recalling his own Pokemon, congratulating it for its victory, he walked over to Toby and held out his hand.

"Hey, nice job out there. I had fun."

"Me too," Toby replied, shaking Jason's hand. "This made me even more excited for the tournament."

"Yeah. We're gonna be facing a lot of people," Jason added. "Strong trainers...with strong Pokemon. Trainers with teams of more than just two Pokemon. It wouldn't hurt to get some more training done."

"What're you gettin at?"

"I'm saying, when we get down there, would you wanna train with me and do some scrimmage battles? It'd help both of us.""Sure. I'd be happy to," Toby answered. Then, almost instinctively, both of them took out small rectangular devices. These were Trainer Assistants, or TAs, that, when the middle buttons are pressed on both devices, will register other Pokemon trainers. This makes it easier for trainers to stay in contact and find each other at tournaments. *Beep* *Beep* Toby and Jason were now registered on each other's TA.

"Toby, are ya done here? Your sisters are gettin fussy," Toby's mom called from the van, where the rest of the family was waiting for him.

"Comin, mom," he said as he started for the waiting van. Looking back over his shoulder, he continued, "See you at the tournament...uh"

"Jason."

"Right, Jason...um...bye." Jason watched as his new friend got into the minivan and drove out of the rest stop.

"Oh, now I'm gettin kinda hungry," he thought, as it was nearing dinner time. After packing everything up, Jason hopped on his motorcycle and, with a *WVOOR*, took off down the highway to find a restaurant.

As the journey continues...