Chapter Two: Internal, External Battle!
Dayne stared down at the little Pokémon in utter disbelief. The Torchic looked up at him with a cheerful expression on its face and then abruptly pecked his shin.
"Ow!" Dayne leapt backwards, rubbing the spot the little bird had pecked. "That wasn't very nice!"
When he heard laughter, Dayne remembered that at least twenty people were watching him with interest. His father smiled, eyes twinkling. His mother had tears of joy in her eyes. But not one of them seemed interested in his feelings, and he was going to make sure they knew exactly what they were.
"Dad, I will never be a Pokémon Trainer. I've told you this since I turned eleven." Dayne tried to keep his voice even, but his hands were shaking. He tossed the Pokéball back over to his father. "Why don't you just give up?"
The Torchic's head lowered, as if it were sad, and it hopped over to Dale. His father bent down and stroked it softly on the head. "Son, I'm not forcing you to become a Trainer. This was a gift. A rite of passage. For centuries the fathers of this village have given their sons a Pokémon for their eleventh birthday. And while you may be turning fourteen today, you weren't ready for one then."
His father picked up the Torchic, and gazed at Dayne with steel in his eyes.
"The world we live in now is rapidly training. A majority of professional jobs are becoming Pokémon related." He smiled sadly. "I never asked you to become a Pokémon Trainer, as I did, but I wanted you to understand the joy they bring to our lives each and every day."
Dayne couldn't meet his father's disappointed gaze any longer, and dropped it to his shoes. It was utterly silent now. He was irritated with everyone, knowing they were silently judging him. So what if he didn't want to have the stupid Torchic? What did it matter?
"Dayne, the choice is in your hands now."
Dayne looked up. A breeze ruffled his air. It should have been warm, but it chilled him to the bone. He bit his lip as he gazed into the hopeful eyes of the Torchic. The little Pokémon looked as if it were silently willing him to accept.
"No."
Dayne shook his head and took a few steps away from all of them. Some were shaking their heads in disappointment, others just sighed, and some even glared at him. Didn't they understand this was his decision? And it was a big choice that they were cramming down his throat!
"Well, then, son-"
And this was when Dayne's life would change forever.
The backyard had four short picnic tables with benches seated on either side of each one. Every inch of the available space on the tables were laden with food.
Out of nowhere, a mini cyclone came and tore through the tables, sending food flying in all directions. People screamed and ducked for cover. His father? A pie flew right into his face. Dayne didn't have time to laugh as he was busy dodging a rogue loaf of bread.
The Torchic seemed to think it was fun, because it leapt from his father's arm and began squawking excited.
And then Dayne realized it wasn't because of the party it was squawking, the Torchic had noticed a man standing beneath the shade of a tree with a Tailow circling around his head. He had an arrogant smirk on his face.
"Who are you?" Dayne demanded, getting to his feet. Oddly enough, the Torchic rushed over and stood directly beside him, squawking indignantly at the uninvited man.
"My name is of no importance child."
He wore a mask to cover up his features. He was of medium height, and a little on the chubby side.
"Tailow, swoop down and give that Torchic a nice little peck."
And as ordered, The Tailow swooped down and peck Torchic right on the top of the head. Torchic cried out and backed away as the peck attack continued.
Dayne stood there with his hands trembling.
"Stop! Leave my Torchic alone!"
The man just laughed evilly.
Dale, from somewhere under cover with the rest of the party members, shouted, "you have to battle him, Dayne!"
"Battle?" The very thing he had sworn against! "Why can't you?!"
"I don't have my Pokémon with me! Hurry! Help your Torchic, there isn't time!"
Frustrated, Dayne turned to see that Tailow now had Torchic pinned against a tree, the onslaught still ongoing.
And then something odd happened. All of the frustration seeped away from him, leaving him abnormally calm. Like a coil being unsprung, his mind sharpened and the bad feeling left him. He didn't really understand it, but he knew what he had to do.
"Dodge, Torchic!"
Instantly, as if that jogged the Torchic back to its senses, the tiny fire bird leapt away from the tree and landed a few feet away from Dayne.
"Ha! So you've decided to fight me, boy? Gust attack now, Tailow!"
The Tailow rose up into the air once again, and flapped its wings at a rapid pace, creating a mini cyclone that swallowed up Dayne's Torchic. He heard shouts from the party people, but they didn't make sense to him right now.
"Torchic, I want you to rise through the cyclone and tackle that Tailow!"
Torchic somehow managed to alter its course and leapt out of the cyclone. Instead of simply falling, it dove down straight at the Tailow, their heads bonking together painfully hard. And then both crashed to the ground.
Dayne rushed forward, dropping to his knees beside the Torchic. It gazed up at him hopefully, and he smiled. "Good job, buddy." And then the Torchic fainted. He picked it up and looked at the man across from him. His Tailow had fainted as well.
With a "hmph," the masked man called the defeated Tailow back into its Pokéball. "Good job, Dayne. You've passed the test."
Dale smiled and walked over, "yes, he certainly did." His father's tone was painted with pride.
Dayne, confused, looked between the two. "What in the world are you two talking about?"
Laughing, the masked man pulled off his mask.
"It's me, Dayne, Prof. Bluestone. This whole fight was a hoax to get you to battle."
Dayne felt absolutely dazed. And like his Torchic, his eyes closed, and he abruptly passed out.
Dayne awoke, finding himself in a candlelit room. Outside, he could hear a storm brewing. Thunder crackled, and the lightning that flashed cast sinister looking shadows throughout the room. And then he heard a whimper.
He looked over and saw that his Torchic was on a bed beside his own. Torchic was still asleep with an ice pack resting against its head. Dayne felt a wave of guilt wash over him as he relived the battle. He had failed the Torchic terribly by allowing it to get attacked so badly before he even reacted. Sighing, he turned onto his back.
"It wasn't your fault."
Dayne blinked and looked over to see his father, Dale, standing beside the window.
Dale looked over at his father as the storm raged outside.
"I shouldn't have forced you to participate in that battle. I was....hop-"
"You didn't force me to dad." Dayne slowly sat up, and turned so he was facing his Torchic. "...I felt something in that battle I've never experienced before. It was some kind of blood rush. It made my senses seem to....um...."
"Heighten. I know the sensation," Dale said, walking over. He sat down on the edge of Dayne's bed and gave him a smile. "This is what most natural born Trainers experience when they battle."
Dayne glared at his father.
"I should have known it was all a setup."
Torchic whimpered again, and Dayne sobered up.
"But.... I want to take care of Torchic. Even after I allowed it to suffer all those attacks, Torchic still tried to help me."
Dayne nodded with a satisfied expression on his face.
"However, father, I will be battling you tomorrow."
Dale's eyes widened, "I don't think that-"
Dayne shook his head, "I don't care. You will battle me tomorrow, else I will not become a Pokémon Trainer."
His father was silent for a long time, even standing up, beginning to pace back and forth. Finally, he stopped beside the door and looked back at Dayne. "Fine. We will have a one on one battle. I will use my Raichu against your Torchic. Good luck."
