Chapter 2: Anger

“Tree…” Treecko murmured in its sleep. It was sound asleep. This was the most special Treecko in the world to Champ. Its nap on Champ’s shoulder was doing it some good, after today’s rush to pack things, and get the luggage onto the ship, and everything. Champ and Treecko had been so tired, that they hadn't even gone to their own room yet. Nevertheless, Champ couldn't sleep. He was too excited about tomorrow. he would arrive at Gateon Port, his new home. He would have a house about two blocks from the beach. He would be able to train with Treecko against the waves, or against other trainers. Treecko seemed happy about that. Treecko loved to train. It usually won battles. Usually it would whack its opponent, using Iron Tail.

Champ’s dad, a special move tutor, had taught Treecko how to use Bullet Seed and Iron Tail. He also taught his own Machamp how to use Double Kick and even Fire Punch. He had taught many moves to Pokémon, and he was one of the best and most skilled tutors in the area. He had been the Dewford Island Gym Leader for some time, but the rest of the family lived in Littleroot. They had always lived in Littleroot, because Champ’s dad thought that they wouldn’t get used to the trendy style and the constant noise from surfing contests.

The top surfer was a man named Brawly. This guy was the best surfer, and one of the best trainers around. When Champ visited the island, he always challenged Brawly. Champ and Treecko couldn't even come close to beating his Machop, who always rolled with the punches. It just absorbed the impact from Treecko’s attacks and rolled the momentum into the ground, while it suffered minimum damage. Then, it would attack Treecko with one of its Fighting type moves. Treecko didn’t even stand a chance against its Cross Chop. Now, Champ would never be able to win.

Champ turned around, stopping his stargazing session. He started to walk across the deck, studying the Pokémon and their trainers. Many trainers were on the ship to Orre. Probably after the Team Shadow invasion that left most of Northern Hoenn poor. Team Shadow was an evil organization that wanted to freeze Hoenn and block out the sun, leaving the whole world poor. They would sweep in and take over. Team Shadow used Articuno to help them. Soon, a team of great Pokémon trainers, Brendan, Steven, Wallace, E-man, Roxanne, Brawly, Wattson, Flannery, Winona, Tate and Liza and more, helped stop them. It was sad to see that even after the chaos had stopped, many people wouldn’t let it go. They couldn't stay.
One kid caught Champ’s eye. She was a small kid, about five inches shorter than Champ, and had brown hair, semi-long, and she was sitting and stargazing just like Champ had done. A little yellow Pokémon with brown stripes and a big head was sleeping in her arms. It had a short pointy tail, and its torso was all brown. Champ automatically knew that it was an Abra.

“Abra can launch attacks and teleport while it’s asleep,” Champ thought. “This’ll make for a great opponent.”

“Tree…” Treecko could always sense when another Pokémon was around. It’s sixth sense for battling was useful sometimes. Treecko immediately woke up from its nap, and hopped down in front of Champ. Its tail perked up, ready for battle. The girl turned around. Her Abra yawned sleepily and buried its head into her arms.

“That’s a nice looking Abra,” Champ complemented, seeing how healthy the Abra looked.

“Same goes for your Treecko,” she replied, arousing Abra from its slumber, obviously knowing what must come next. Her voice sounded conforting to Champ. “As soon as it heard my Abra breathing, it jumped up.”

“Well, that’s my Treecko for you, always looking for a battle.”

“Well, while we’re here, would you mind helping my Abra evolve? It has been looking for a fight for ages.”

Champ smiled. He knew it. Champ loved to battle as much as Treecko did, and he always wanted to prove others wrong about “Treecko being better than Grovyle”. Treecko smiled smugly, and walked up closer to the girl.

“Yes, I accept your challenge,” Champ said. “By the way my name’s Champ. What’s yours?”

“My name is Julia.”

“Ok, Treecko, you ready to battle?” Champ asked Treecko. Treecko nodded sleepily, annoyed that every time it was going to be in a battle, it had to be asked if it was ready.

“Ok, Abra, let’s show these guys how tough we are!” Julia called, putting the sleeping Abra down. Abra snored lightly.

Treecko looked at it in disbelief. It had never attacked a defenseless, sleeping opponent before. Treecko turned around to face Champ. It shrugged, asking,

“Tree?”

Champ looked at Treecko assuredly.

“Oh, it can fight while asleep. So be alert.” Champ warned Treecko, as Julia decided to make a move.

“Abra, use Calm Mind.” She ordered. Abra’s sleeping face turned more relaxed, as it cleared its mind, calming itself. It glowed blue.

“Treecko, it’s making itself more powerful by calming itself. Use Pound.” Champ said calmly. Treecko got on all fours and charged toward Abra, who was still using Calm Mind. Treecko took a flying leap into the air, and was about to land on Abra. Treecko lashed out its tail, about to make impact with Abra. Julia wasn’t even responding, until when Treecko was mere inches away from a direct hit.

“yes!” Champ muttered happily.

“Use Psychic now!” she yelled suddenly, pointing at Treecko.

Abra glowed blue again, this time sending a bluish beam of psychic energy towards Treecko. The beam hit its mark, and Treecko was hit hard. Treecko started to glow blue, and Abra took over Treecko’s body. Abra threw Treecko onto the cold deck hard, and Treecko let out a yelp of pain. Abra, still using Psychic power, slammed Treecko onto the deck over and over again. Treecko had no control over its body. Abra’s face remained emotionless, for it was still asleep, and the Calm Mind was calming it down. Treecko yelled out once more as Abra released its psychic grip on it, and Treecko crashed down to the ground with a thud. Treecko staggered to get up. Once it got up, the look on its face was the most anger Julia or Champ had ever seen a Treecko show. It was frowning so badly, that it could barely see. Its teeth were in a snarl, and it had its fists clenched, ready to battle for real now.

“Try Quick Attack!” Champ called out, trying to use Treecko’s anger to his own advantage. Treecko saw red, and charged at Abra again, as ferocious as a wild Tauros, and as fast as a Rapidash. This time, when Julia shouted out for Abra to use Psychic, Treecko was already too close. Treecko lowered its shoulder and…

WHAM!

Abra was sent tumbling backwards from the blow, flipping over backwards from the impact. The attack left a mark on Abra’s right cheek, where Treecko had hit it. Treecko jumped up again, ready to perform an Iron Tail attack.

“Abra, no,” Julia yelled. “Use Protect!”

Treecko’s tail glowed white, as it is hardened to the consistency of iron. Treecko slammed its tail down, but Abra acted first. Abra, using blue psychic power, created a yellowish- orange colored shield forming a dome around it. It was going to block Treecko’s Iron Tail!

Treecko’s iron-hard tail slammed into the shield, and didn’t have any effect. Treecko immediately lost balance, and fell backwards, crashing onto its back hard.

Treecko began to twitch from anger. Its face started to blush red, and it got up. Abra released its shield… just in time for it to be whacked in the face by Treecko’s Iron Tail. Abra flew back, covering its face, and landed about a foot away from Julia’s feet. Abra struggled to get up from the blow. As Julia encouraged her Abra, with a pep talk about how much they had worked on their battling skills, and how much hard work they had put into training, Champ studied her strange clothing.

Her pants were black, with purple flames from the knee down. Her T-shirt, which had a big purple “S” on it, had the same design. The flames only reached the “S”, which was a couple inches below her neck. She was wearing black purple flamed gloves, to match. She looked almost gothic, but most gothic people had Dark or Ghost type Pokémon, or didn’t even like Pokémon at all. There was no make-up on her face, nor anything on her hair. Champ would have to ask about the strange uniform-like clothing.

Abra slowly got up, drops of sweat on its face, but nevertheless sleeping. Abra glowed blue, and started to float into midair. It crossed its legs and put its short arms onto its knees. It was using Calm Mind again. Once again, Abra’s expression relaxed, and it sighed in relief. Treecko growled, gritting its teeth.

“Enjoy your peace now,” it thought, waiting for it to make a move. “But I wont be the one losing this.”

Abra took a deep breath and exhaled. Champ waited impatiently. Now was his chance. Treecko stared at him, pressuring him to make his move. Champ saw Treecko’s anxiety and decided not to keep it waiting.

“Ok, now use Pound!” Champ shouted, hoping that Abra was not going to counter it. Treecko charged toward Abra, but Julia once again gave no response. Bad sign. Once Treecko had jumped in the air, Abra looked ready. Definitely a bad sign.

“Now Abra,” Julia said confidently, with a smug smile on her face. “ Use Confusion!”
Champ had never had seen the attack been used on Treecko before. Treecko didn’t know what happened when some Pokémon used Confusion on it.

Abra concentrated, breaking its peace of mind, and shot out another blue beam from its brain towards Treecko. Abra’s forehead tensed, as it attacked. The blue beam hit Treecko right into its head, and the blue psychic energy seeped into its brain as Abra lifted it up into the air. Treecko lost all of its concentration, and missed the Pound attack. Abra pushed Treecko back with the Confusion attack. Treecko’s brain began to slip into a chaotic mess of confusion and distress. Treecko clutched its head, as the effects of Confusion gave it a massive headache. Treecko became confused about everything, and began to wobble around. Champ panicked quietly, trying to figure out what to do. Obviously, Treecko was too unfocused on the battle, and was unable to attack.

“Hang in there, Treecko! Try Bullet Seed!”
Treecko tried to recognize the voice, but it had no idea who was ordering it to use some attack called “Bullet Seed”. Treecko wobbled even more, and soon fell over, crashing hard to the floor. Treecko was hopelessly defeated. Champ knew that it was over. Confusion attack was nothing to mess with. Treecko couldn't handle it, especially after it being so enraged that it couldn't even focus. Treecko had lost. Champ hadn't experienced that many losses, but he kept himself under control.

“Wow, we got destroyed,” he thought sadly. “But how did that Abra get so strong?”

“Good battle, Champ,” Julia congratulated, bending down and picking up Abra. “You were great too, Abra.”

“How did your Abra get so strong?” Champ asked, looking down at the damage that Abra had done to Treecko, who was twitching on the floor.

“My Abra? Well, when we lived in Mossdeep City, Psychic Pokémon were popular. I had always admired Abra, and when I got one for my ninth birthday, I was so happy. Abra and I trained and fought other people, and we got stronger. Abra decided it didn’t want to evolve, so I didn’t force it to evolve.” Julia explained, stroking Abra’s head.

“Well, pretty much the same thing happened to me, except I found my Treecko.” Champ explained, picking up Treecko. Treecko sighed, and took a nap to rest. Champ reached for his bag and took out Potion. He sprayed some onto the gash on Treecko’s leg from the fall. Treecko winced, as the spray stung. Champ took out some medical tape and wrapped it on Treecko’s leg. Champ grabbed a Persim berry, to heal Treecko’s confusion.

“Who is this kid who’s taking care of me?” Treecko asked itself, taking a bite of the dry berry. Suddenly, after swallowing, Treecko remembered who it was, and who was helping it. It glanced over at its opponent and frowned. It had lost.

The bad headache struck again, and Treecko winced as it could feel its own heartbeat in its head.

“Looks like you know how to take care of your Pokémon,” Julia said. “It’s useful when you’re in the desert, without a town for miles. But when you’re in the east, there's usually a Pokémon Center around.”

“I’ll take care of my own Pokémon,” Champ replied. “Unless it’s serious.”

“Treecko.” Treecko complained, tugging on Champ’s sleeves.

“Well, I better be going now,” Julia said, looking around the deck. “ They want everyone inside when it gets late. You should be on your way too.”

“Ok, I guess,” Champ answered, packing up his bag and slinging it across his shoulder. “Bye, I hope we get a rematch soon.”

Julia walked off, heading towards the door leading into the cabins. Champ walked off in the opposite direction, looking toward the stars. He remembered how uncountable they were, and decided that he had had enough stargazing for now.

Champ opened a large door, straight in the middle of the deck, leading to a huge cabin hall. The two smokestacks loomed over him. Once he was in, he remembered how unorganized it was. Hallways leading every which way stretched out all around him. He remembered his room number- 1029. He headed down the diagonal hall to the left of him, holding Treecko tight. He looked around. 1001, 1003, 1005, were the numbers on the right side. On the left were 1000, 1002, 1004, 1006. He kept going, looking to the right side. Here it was- 1029! Champ took out his room key and slid it across a slot. The door beeped, and automatically opened. Champ’s mom was waiting for him on the other side. She was two inches taller than he was, and her brownish-black hair was fashioned into a ball with a hair clip. She was a bit stocky, like Champ, and had short legs. She looked concerned.

“Champ, what happened to Treecko?” she asked, taking notice of Treecko’s small cuts all over its body and the medical tape on its leg.

“We battled another trainer,” Champ said sadly. “And her Abra beat up Treecko. We didn’t stand a chance.”

“Oh. Well, you better wash up Treecko so it can get some rest.”

“ Ok Mom.”

Champ hopped into the cabin’s bathroom, and turned on the sink. He put Treecko into the sink as it filled with water. The sink was big enough to fit Treecko in, and Champ scrubbed Treecko, careful not to hurt it. Treecko seemed to enjoy the bath, and it playfully splashed Champ. Champ splashed back, and Treecko jumped out of the sink. Champ laughed, and chased Treecko with the towel. Treecko violently shook the water off of itself, and began to dash on all fours around the cabin. It wasn’t watching where it was going, and ran right into another Pokémon.

The Pokémon was small, about Treecko’s size, and it was blue and extremely muscular. It looked like a small, blue, muscular baby. It had two half-moon shaped beige horns, jutting out of its head. The horns were flat side down, and they faced forward. It had a small, cone shaped tail, pointy side-out.

The Pokémon was not too pleased with Treecko running into it. It clenched its fists and frowned.

“Treecko, tree.” Treecko apologized. “Sorry, sorry.” Treecko put its hands in front of it, as if to say, “Don't hurt me please!”.

“Machop! Ma-Machop!” the Pokémon yelled. “ I’m tired of you playing around!”

“Treecko, tree Treecko! Tree Treecko Tree.” Treecko argued. “I should be allowed to play around a bit- after that beating I took. But you just sit there and do nothing, you lazy bundle of muscle.”

Machop held a fist up to Treecko’s face.

“Machop!” Machop threatened. “You wanna fight?”

“Treecko!” Treecko yelled, tackling Machop. “AARRRGH!”

Treecko slapped Machop hard. Machop quickly took the flow of the battle and started to bang Treecko against Champ’s bed. Champ was brushing his teeth, and he heard the noise. Champ came out.

“Hey, stop fighting you two!” he said, but it sounded more like “Eh, op ighteeng ooh ooh!”

Treecko whacked Machop hard, and Machop threw Treecko onto the ground.

“’Om, ‘ell ‘em ooh ‘op ‘ighteeng ‘ease!” Champ yelled, pointing to the fight between Treecko and Machop. Treecko was getting hurt, but Machop was weakening. Champ’s mom didn’t listen. She had no idea what he was saying.

“Eeko, eeurn!” Champ called angrily, grabbing his bag. He took out a Pokéball.

It was a sphere, red on the top, and white on the bottom. A black line divided the sections. In the middle of the Pokéball there was a gray circular button. Champ pressed the button and it glowed red. A red beam of energy shot from the button and traveled right toward Treecko. The beam hit Treecko, and Treecko turned completely into a red, transparent energy figure, then beamed back into the Pokéball.

Champ looked sadly at the Pokéball containing Treecko. This was the first time he had had to put Treecko into the Pokéball because of it misbehaving.