PW! - Tweety the Second

[Steffan Alun]

Shelley had been training her Pokémon for over a week, and they were
looking good for it. She’d also taken the time to see the sights,
stopping in museums and exhibitions along the way. She spent three
whole days in Viridian City, and still longer in Pewter.

The fact that both were home to Pokémon gyms hadn’t escaped her
attention either, but she didn’t feel ready to challenge one yet. She
knew Hitokage, her Charmander, would be up for it, and that
Darkflight, her Spearow, would accept it in his stride, but neither
would offer much of a challenge at this point.

Instead, she decided to concentrate on training Primace, her freshly-
caught Mankey. She took her time on Route Three, running back and
forth to the Pokémon Centre whenever she needed to do so.

As she returned from the centre for the umpteenth time, she spotted a
lad about her age training in the grass. He seemed familiar.

“Excuse me,” she said, approaching him. “Do you attend contests at
all?”

“I do!” replied the trainer. “I’ve competed against you in Goldenrod,
haven’t I?”

“That’s right!” said Shelley, and she introduced herself.

“I’m Terry.” He surveyed the area around him. “I used to hate this
place as a child.”

“Really?” Shelley couldn’t imagine finding such a place intimidating.

“I grew up in Pewter,” explained Terry. “And once, after school, I
was training here. I challenged a passer-by, who beat me
relentlessly, and stole my Pokémon.”

“Horrible,” said Shelley softly.

“She had me trapped by her Ekans, and that took a while to get over
too. Plus, catching and training a new Pokémon is depressing when
you’ve lost a beloved one.”

Shelley could imagine. She hated the idea of losing her Smoochum.

“Is that why you’re back?” asked Shelley. “To track down your
Pokémon?”

“Nah,” said Terry. “It was over ten years ago now. I’ve moved on. I
just felt nostalgic, so I came to replace my old Pokémon.”

“Fancy a battle, then?” asked Shelley. “I could do with the training
too.”

“Sounds great!”

They agreed to battle with a single Pokémon apiece. Shelley sent out
her Mankey.

“Go, Primace!”

“Go, Tweety the Second!” Terry released a Spearow.

Shelley quickly assessed the match-up. She had a Spearow herself –
Darkflight – so she was at least forewarned. But the bird would
definitely have the upper hand against her fighting-type. But then
again, what about the level difference? Primace seemed better trained
than Terry’s Pokémon.

“Primace, focus your energy!”

“Tweety, peck it!”

And the Pokémon started to make their moves ...

TBC