3 Chapter 3: My starter pokemon is!

Kai watched as the professor took both of the poke balls and pressed the small button in the middle, producing a beam of red light to release the Pokemon inside.

Kai waited in anticipation to see what Pokemon would come out, feeling tingles run up and down his arms.

If it was anything like the game he was expecting one of the three starter Pokemon to appear, either a Cyndaquil, a Totodile, or a Chikorita, remembering how it felt the very first time he played Pokemon silver version as a kid.

However, those were not the Pokemon that appeared once the light gave way.

"Meet, Sanshrew and Sentret." Professor Elm said, introducing both of the Pokemon as they gave their signature cry, taking a look around the room.

What the actual fuck is this... Kai thought, wondering what was going on.

"Oh wow, look at you both," Lyra said, loving both of the Pokemon.

"I'm afraid these two are all I have left, as you see I had already promised the others to up-and-coming trainers from our town." Elm said.

Kai took a moment as he looked at both of the Pokemon, feeling a little hurt that it wasn't one of the three he had expected.

After all, did he expect to simply just turn up and be given a Pokemon like in the game?

No, this wasn't a game. This was real, and as far as Kai could tell, things would certainly play out differently than they would in the game world of Pokemon.

"Well come on, Kai, which one do you want?" Lyra asked as she looked at him.

"Please go ahead and choose one." Elm also said, giving him a moment to decide.

Kai looked at both the Sandshrew and Sentret as they also looked at him, seeming to take interest in him.

If Kai remembered correctly, Sandshrew was a ground type with good defence, while Sentret was a normal type with decent speed.

Well, beggars can't be choosers. Kai thought, making his mind up to which one he wanted.

"I'll take this little guy," Kai said as he pointed to the Sandsrew.

"Shrew." The Sandshrew said, not seeming overly impressed by Kai, wearing a hardy expression on its face.

"That's a great choice, Sandsrew are easy to manage for new trainers," Elm said as he handed Kai the Sanshrews Pokeball.

"Well ain't you a cute little guy," Lyra said to the Sandshrew, getting closer to it.

However, Sandshrew turned away from her not seeming interested in her either.

"Oh my," Lyra said, hoping she hadn't upset it.

"Don't mind him, this Sandshrew is a little more independent than most, he will come around." The professor said with a small chuckle before getting more serious.

"Now please, I must ask that you get a move on and find that thief for me, I know I can count on you, Lyra," Elm said.

"Of course professor, I won't let this guy get away with it." She said with determination.

"Good, and Kai, please take my Pokegear number so that you can get a hold of me if need be." Elm then said.

Kai was a little confused, not sure what he meant by pokegear.

"Umm... I don't have one of those." He said, looking a little embarrassed.

Professor Elm gave a surprised look at Kai as he scratched his head.

"Is that right, I thought all you kids had the latest gear these days." He said, brushing it off before turning around and opening a drawer in his desk.

"You know what, I'm sure I have an old one of mine around here somewhere." He then said, ruffling through the drawer to try and find it.

"Ah, there it is." He said after a moment, scattering a few things around.

"Please, take this," Elm said as he handed Kai the old pokegear.

"That way I can contact you once the police arrive."

Kai took the pokegear, seeing that it was similar to a smartphone, just a little smaller and more like a watch.

"It also has a GPS function, so you can help find your way around," Lyra said, showing Kai how to use it quickly as she brought up the map.

That sure is handy. Kai thought while looking at the map, seeing it also displayed his current location.

"Here, please take these too. I can't let a new trainer leave without some provisions." The professor said, also handing Kai five small Pokeballs and two potions.

"Thank you, professor," Kai said, taking the items and putting them in his jacket pockets.

"Come on, Kai, now that you have your own Pokemon, we should go and look for this thief before he skips town," Lyra said, making a good point.

"That's right," Kai said, pointing Sandshrew's Pokeball at it.

"Return, Sandshrew," he said, pressing the small button for the ball to emit the red light.

The Sandshrew didn't resist and the red light quickly sucked it back into its Pokeball in an instant, impressing Kai to the level of technology.

Man, that's so cool! He thought, trying not to dance around in excitement.

With that both Kai and Lyra left the professor's lab, heading back out onto the street as they decided which way they should try and go to look for the thief.

"There is only one main road that leads out of Newbark town, we should head that way to try and catch this guy before he tries to leave," Lyra said, coming up with a good idea.

"Sounds good, lead the way," Kai said, running after Lyra as she led the way.

Kai and Lyra rushed through town as they followed the main road that led towards the exit. One was a road for cars only while the other was a dirt path meant for Pokemon trainers and other people travelling on foot.

Both of them had been running for some time now and they were starting to get tired due to the amount of exercise they had been doing already.

Man, I haven't run this much in years! Kai thought, trying to catch his breath while to two of them took a quick break.

"It's not far now, once we get up this hill we will be out of town," Lyra said, also out of breath from all the running.

"Ok..." Kai said, feeling his energy return to him much quicker now he was only around 12 again.

"Hopefully this guy hasn't already skipped town," Kai said, standing to his full height.

Lyra nodded, doing the same.

"Come on, let's get going." She said, getting a nod from Kai before they both started walking up the hill towards the treeline.

"Once we get to the trees, we will need to be careful of the wild Pokemon, after all, there are far more of them in the wild areas than in populated places," Lyra said.

Kai had to agree with her on that. Thinking about it for a moment, he hadn't seen any wild Pokemon in town at all so far.

"But now you have your Sandshrew, I'm sure you will be fine!" Lyra said, wearing a big smile on her face.

"Oh my god, wait a second!" Lyra suddenly yelled, causing Kai to almost jump.

"What is it?" Kai asked, looking around to see if anything was wrong.

"You have never had a Pokemon battle, or tried to capture a Pokemon before, have you?" Lyra suddenly asked, getting all excited.

"Umm, no," Kai said, rubbing the back of his head.

"In that case, allow me to show you some of the basics. Once we get to the top of the hill that is." Lyra said, winking at him.

Kai nodded, accepting her offer.

I guess it would be good to learn from someone who knows what they are doing at least, after all, I'm sure it's not as easy as in the game. Kai thought, keeping an eye on the top of the hill as it got closer and closer.

Soon Kia and Lyra reached the top, allowing both of them to take in the sight of the town from their vantage point.

What an amazing sight. Kai thought, taking in the scenery for a moment.

"Well, this is the only way in and out of town, unless the thief can drive," Lyra said.

"Which means if we stay here, we should find them soon," Kai said, liking the plan.

"Hey wait, that's my Pokemon!" A voice in the distance suddenly yelled, catching both of their attention.

"Did you hear that?" Lyra said looking at Kai.

"Yeah, let's check it out," Kai said, quickly rushing off this time being followed by Lyra.

"That's my Pokemon, you can't take it!" A young boy with a blue cap on said with a worried look on his face.

"You lost kid, so this is my Pokemon now." An older boy said as he shoved the other to the ground, taking the Pokeball in his hand.

"No..." The other boy said, knowing there was nothing he could do to stop him.

"Hey, what's going on here!" Kai suddenly yelled, seeing what had happened in the distance.

Kai skidded to a halt before taking in both of their appearances, seeing the red hair of the one who had pushed the other over.

Red hair... This guy looks like the rival in the game... Kai thought, knowing he was the thief.

"You two again." The boy said, wearing a frown on his face.

"This is the guy, Lyra. He is the thief." Kai said, taking in his full appearance.

He had red medium length hair, standing tall in a black jacket with red seems and stitching on it, blue jeans and black boots with red rubber outsides.

"Hey you, we know you stole a Pokemon from the professor's lab now give it back!" Lyra yelled, pointing her finger at him.

"He stole my Pokemon too!" The younger boy also said, moving away from him and towards Kai and Lyra.

"If there is one thing I can't stand its bullies," Lyra said, getting pissed off now.

"Is that right, and what do the two of you think you are going to do about it?"

"Looks like we have no choice but to battle." Lyra then said, taking her Pokeball in hand.

"Stand back, Kai. I will handle this" She then said, throwing her Pokeball into the air.

"Go, Marill!"

The Pokeball opened wide and a bright light burst forth before revealing Lyra's Marill.

"Marill!" It said, seeming to be just as pumped as its trainer was, taking a battle-ready position.

"You really think a little girl like you can defeat me?" The thief said with a cocky smile on his face.

"The only reason I came to this pathetic town was because I heard the professor here had some rare Pokemon. And now I will show you their power." He then said, throwing his own Pokeball out.

"Go, Totodile!"

"Dile!" The Totodile yelled, having a happy-go-lucky kind of nature to it.

No way, that's a real-life Totodile... Kai thought, seeing how cool it looked.

"I'll make you give that Pokemon back!" Lyra yelled before waving her arm.

"Go Marill, use watergun!"

"Dodge it, Totodile!"

Kai watched as the battle started with Lya's Marill shooting a water gun towards the Totodile. However, the Totodile dodged the attack before charging forwards and headbutting it and causing it to flinch back from the hit.

"Great hit, Totodile, now use bite!" The thief shouted.

"Dile!"

"Marill look out!" Lyra yelled, being forced to watch as the Totodile opened its mouth and sank its teeth into her Marill, causing it to yelp in pain.

So this is a real Pokemon battle... Kai said to himself, watching as both of them went at it.

"It's so different..." Kai said out loud, watching as Marill was able to shake Totodile off of it before dashing back to get some distance.

"Your Marill is weak, just like its trainer." The thief said, looking confident in his victory.

"We aren't finished just yet!" Lyra yelled, getting ready to make her next move.

"Whatever, Totodile finish this, use bite!"

"Marill, Counter using defence curl!" Lyra shouted.

Kai watched as Mrill curled into a ball, seeming to get some sort of boost before the Totodile jumped forwards, trying to sink its teeth into it again.

However, this time Marill was able to take the attack, surprising the Totodile for a moment as its attack didn't work.

"Now use tickle!" Lyra shouted, telling Marill what to do next.

Kai watched again as the Marill seemed to tickle the Totodile, causing it to start laughing and let its guard down.

"What the hell are you doing Totodile, snap out of it!"

"Marill, now use slam!" Lyra yelled.

Kai watched as Marill shoulder barged the Totodile with a powerful bash, knocking it flying into the ground before getting knocked unconscious.

"Darn, it... How did you lose?" The thief asked as he withdrew Totodile back into its Pokeball, not looking impressed.

"Alright, looks like it's your turn, go Houndour!" He yelled, throwing his second Pokeball and revealing his next Pokemon.

"No way... He has another Pokemon?" Lyra said, seeing that her Marill was already hurt from that last battle.

"What's wrong? You didn't think I would play fair did you?" The thief said, crossing his arms arrogantly.

"It doesn't matter, me and Marill won't lose!" Lyra said, also seeming confident.

"Besides, your Houndour is a fire-type Pokemon, so we have the advantage."

"We will see about that. Houndour, use ember!"

"Marill counter it with water gun!" Lyra yelled, knowing that water was stronger than fire.

"You fell for it!" The thief suddenly said, watching as the water and fire clashed, kicking up steam that covered the battlefield for a second.

"Houndour, use smog!" He then shouted, causing Lyra to panic.

Kai watched as the Houndour unleashed a poison type attack from its mouth, breathing a purple cloud of poison fumes that hit Marill head-on, leaving it unable to breathe.

"Oh no, Marill!" Lyra yelled, watching as her Marill was suddenly knocked back out of the smog unconscious.

"Marill!" Lyra yelled as she returned it to its Pokeball, looking worried.

"Just as I thought, weaklings." The thief said, watching as Lyra dropped to her knees.

"Now to finish you both off." He then said, getting ready to give Houndour the order.

"Hold it!" Kai shouted, having had enough of sitting back on the side-lines.

"I won't let you get away with this, redhead!" Kai said, taking his Sandshrews Pokeball in his hand, looking at it for a moment before throwing it out.

"Srew!" Sandshrew said, taking a look around for a moment and seeing that Kai had called it out.

"Alright, Sandshrew it's our turn to teach this guy a lesson!" Kai said.

"Shrew..." It said looking at Kai, not seeming impressed before it turned away from him.

"Ha! Your Pokemon won't even listen to you, and you think you stand a chance against me with a weak Pokemon like that!" The red-haired boy said, laughing.

Kai clenched his teeth, feeling embarrassed and angry at the same time, somehow not expecting this to be his first Pokemon battle.

"Shrew..." The Sandsrew said, suddenly turning its attention towards the Houndour and its trainer, hearing him call it weak.

"Kai, look." Lyra said, getting his attention.

Kai looked at her and then back to Sandshrew, seeing that it looked mad, realizing it must have gotten pissed off due to the insult.

"That's right Sandshrew ... This guy called us weak. Are you just going to take that?" Kai said, playing on the situation seeing that it clearly bothered his Pokemon.

"Sandshrew !" The Sandscrew yelled, getting mad as it scuffed its foot against the ground.

"I've had enough of this, Houndour use ember and take it out!" The redhead yelled, growing impatient with the situation.

"Dodge it Sandshrew!" Kai yelled.

However, his Sandshrew had other ideas as it jumped forwards into the air and curled up into a tight ball letting the flames of the Houndour bounce right off it before it opened up and slashed at Houndour with its claws.

"No way, it was able to defend and counter with the same move?" Lyra said, seeming impressed that it was able to do something like that on its own.

"What the hell are you doing, Houndour!" Redhead yelled, growing mad.

"Use ember again!"

The Houndour growled as it jumped back and unleashed another fire attack at Sandshrew.

"Sandshrew look out!" Kai shouted, seeing that this time it was coming from close range.

Kai's Sandshrew took a direct hit from the ember and was knocked back, seeming to have suffered from a burn to its belly in the aftermath of the attack.

"Oh no, it's been burned!" Lyra said with a worried voice.

Shit... It won't listen to me... Kai said to himself, getting pissed off, not sure what he should do.

I don't even know what moves it has... And even if I did the little bastard won't obey me anyway. Kai thought as he tried to think of what he could do.

"Now finish it Houndour, use take down!"

Kai knew that his Sandshrew was about to take a finishing blow, knowing that this would all be over if he didn't do something about it.

"Look out Sandshrew!" Kai yelled, feeling his body suddenly move, dashing forwards to protect it from the Houndour.

"W-What the hell are you doing, get off my Houndour!" The thief yelled, watching as Kai jumped in the way of his Houndour and tackled it head-on, trying to hold it back with his arms best he could to protect his Sandshrew.

"Kai no!" Lyra yelled, knowing how dangerous it was to get in the way of a Pokemon attack.

"No way, this guy is crazy!" The other trainer who had also been watching from the sidelines said, impressed that he was brave enough to do such a thing.

"Don't worry Sandshrew, I won't let this guy hurt you!" Kai said, pushing the Houndour back as it snarled at him, bearing its teeth,

Sandshrew watched from behind Kai, watching as he risked his life to protect it, not understanding.

"We have to work together if we want to win here, buddy... You have to listen to me!" Kai shouted, his words seeming to echo in Sandshrews mind.

"You pest! Houndour use roar!" The redhead shouted, watching as his Houndour opened its mouth and blasted Kai with a powerful bark that knocked him back before he hit a tree.

"Kai!" Lyra yelled.

"Shrew!" Sandshrew also said, watching as Kai dropped to the ground.

"Ha... Don't worry, it will take more than that to finish me off..." Kai said before he slowly got back up to his feet, shaking the pain off.

"I've had enough of this crap. Just hurry up and get out of my way already!" The thief shouted, getting ready to finish this thing now.

"So... How about it, Sandshrew? Will you battle with me?" Kai asked, standing to his full height while looking down at his Pokemon.

Sandshrew looked up at Kai, feeling a sudden sense of loyalty towards him, nodding its small head with a determined look appearing on its face.

"Alright, then let's do this, together!"

"Sandshrew!!!"

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Going to end this one here! I hope you are enjoying the story so far.

Let me know what Pokemon you would like to see Kai catch and add to his team in the comments.

Have a great weekend everyone, until next time!