So, Time To Beat An Arrogant Fu- Wait, Your Name Is What?

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"Speech"

'Thoughts'

[Pokemon Speech]

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"Victreebell, you don't have the greatest speed. Don't try to dodge if it's inevitable that you'll be hit!"

At the current time, the group were still in the jungle training. Nate and Kayden were both standing on the sidelines and observing as Victreebell was having a small training session with Golisopod. The training was simple, Golisopod kept shooting his Pin Missile attack at the grass-type, and it was her job to defend against it.

It had honestly taken quite a bit of time to get the training kicking off since Nate needed to calm down Victreebell after he had captured her. She was pretty pissed off due to the sudden attack from them, though he did manage to calm her down to the point that it was somewhat friendly between them.

The training was definitely progressing well, though this particular part wasn't so much. Victreebell wasn't exactly the fastest pokemon out there, so avoiding the missiles sent by Golisopod was very difficult. She had been trying to dodge and jump away, but the attacks went after her and were definitely faster.

At least the damage was minimal, Golisopod was holding back.

They then watched as Golisopod sent another wave of Pin Missiles towards Victreebell, the pokemon narrowing her eyes as she saw them heading towards her at incredible speeds. Instead of trying to dodge, Victreebell used its vines that extended from the back and grabbed a nearby thin log before using it to smack down all of the attacks.

[Smart. Using the environment for defense] Kayden commented calmly as Nate just nodded his head. He had forbidden her from using her attacks to directly make contact with the attacks sent by Golisopod, he wanted to see if she could figure out a solution without his commands.

While he knew that he would be most of the time giving her commands, there is a chance that he wouldn't be able to and that his pokemon would need to think for themselves. He had already been doing this training for Golisopod, which was when he sparred with Kayden.

When it came to a situation where his pokemon would need to think for themselves, he is making sure they are prepared for it. He didn't need to worry about Kayden, the guy obviously could think for himself around the battlefield.

He would honestly have no problem just letting Kayden do whatever he wanted when he sent him into battle, the guy had just as much knowledge as he did. Though he wasn't going to do that for obvious reasons.

One being that it would just weird if he didn't speak his commands, he wasn't just up and make an excuse like he was a freaking psychic or something. There are many things people could do to prove that he wasn't. The other main one being was that he didn't want people to scold him for being an 'incompetent' trainer.

If people watched him not give any commands to his pokemon as they battle, they would most likely think that he was incompetent and didn't know how to do so well. They'd probably think that he was entirely depending on his pokemon to make the decisions and win the battle for him.

Criticism would also end up stemming from that, people would mock him and such. Though, he could honestly ignore the mocking and criticism even if it wasn't true, though he would get pissed if it gets to a certain extent. He would more concerned about those out there that would annoy the hell out of him if they saw him in person.

Like hell he was gonna deal with that shit.

If it does happen, he'll just kick their ass in a battle. Though, he would prefer to avoid the situation altogether.

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After having finished up with training, Nate and Kayden quickly made their way towards Vermillion City. Which didn't take much longer at all as they had decided to stop and train in an area that was pretty close by to the city, so it wasn't that much of a long walk.

At the current time, Nate and Kayden were in the shopping mall to buy a few supplies. They had exhausted a majority of the food they had on them, so Nate needed to restock. The shopping mall in the city was quite massive, and there were many different kinds of shops set up in the building.

"Wait, they actually HAVE meat?" Nate went bug-eyed as he picked up a wrapped up packet of meat that was on display within the frozen section of the store. He stared at it with blank eyes, he couldn't help but gawk as he looked at it. "I honestly thought it didn't exist..."

He had always thought that meat didn't exist in the pokemon world due to the lack of 'normal' animals, though it seems he was incorrect. He could only assume they must be unbelievably rare and probably all on the verge of extinction, he had never seen a chicken or a cow, normal ones, in this world at all yet.

"Though, considering this price tag... no damn no one has ever really wanted to buy it." Nate twitched his left eyebrow as he looked at the price. It was labeled at thirty thousand pokedollars per pack. True, the cuts were decent, but the price was still a bit insane. "Fuck it... we need our protein."

Nate wasn't at all low on money, though he was still hesitant to buy such an expensive thing. While the 'meat' he made tasted like regular meat, he wasn't able to find any good ingredients that would give that 'meat' any serious amounts of protein. It was just the taste and texture that he managed to replicate.

He was pretty sure Kayden wouldn't mind if he bought it, considering that Nate needed some more protein in his system. Speaking of which, Kayden had run off somewhere in the store and had told him that he'd be back pretty soon. Wherever the heck the guy went off to was beyond him.

"Alright, three packs should be enough for now. Jeez, ninety thousand down the drain right there..."

[I'm back...]

"Oh, Kayden. What's wrong with you?" Nate couldn't help but raise an eyebrow as he saw Kayden walking back over with his ears drooped down and a massively disappointed expression on his face. "You look like when you can't find your damn oreos, dude."

[That's exactly it!] Kayden screamed as he scratched the top of his head vigorously. [This shop is so massive that I thought I MIGHT be able to find some oreos! But, no! Disappointment has reached all the way towards the heavens!]

"Okay... anyway, let's go to the checkout." Nate just rolled his eyes as he saw Kayden stomping his foot on the ground. Kayden grumbled a bit as he followed after Nate, though Kayden was confused when Nate suddenly froze in place not long after.

[What's wrong?]

"B-Bro, look..."

[What? What is so shocki- oh my god...]

Kayden also seemed to freeze when walking up beside Nate as he saw what had caused the boy to suddenly freeze up. They were looking towards the checkout lines, and the one that they were going towards seemed pretty empty, though for good reason...

[I-Is it possible... even in another world?!]

"Apparently... a freaking karen!"

[I shall smite thee karen!]

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It was certainly a situation, both Nate and Kayden had just left the store that they were buying groceries from as they were now back to walking through the shopping center. The situation was a bit complicated with Kayden sending a Thunderbolt at the woman in the store.

Though, they fortunately, got out of it without any trouble since it seemed that the woman was complaining to the person, who COINCIDENTALLY the manager, for an entire two hours straight! It was to the point that the manager just let Nate and Kayden go without any fuss.

At the present time, they were just looking around now since Nate had already bought everything that he had come here to buy. It was just a simple walk before some kind of cheering could be heard, catching their attention.

Nate and Kayden both looked towards the noise to see some kind of crowd surrounding something, they were all cheering. The area they were currently in was pretty open, so whatever was happening could honestly be anything.

Though, considering the explosions and such they could hear, it was most likely a battle.

[Should we check it out?]

"Why not? Could be interesting."

"H-Hold on, you need to slow down!"

"Watch out~!"

"Wha-?" Nate blinked as he turned around in time just before something crashed right into him. He wasn't able to see who or what had crashed into him before he was hit. Thankfully, he recovered fast enough to not fall to the ground as he stumbled slightly before shaking his head. "That hurt..."

"W-W-Wah~..."

Nate shook his head once more before looking down at the ground to see who or what had smashed into him. When he did, he saw that it was a girl his age with tanned skin and blue hair, she had her eyes closed, though when she opened them slightly, he could see they were bright green.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine! S-Sorry about that, I wasn't really looking where I was going." The girl seemed to apologise as she took hold of his hand before he pulled her back up to her feet. "Nice to meet you, my name is Rita. What's yours?"

'Rita? That name sounds familiar...' Nate thought as he blinked a few times. He glanced down at Kayden, who looked back at him and seemed to be thinking the same thing. Nate just decided to ignore it for now. "Nice to meet you as well, my name is Nathan. Just call me Nate. This here is my friend and partner, Kayden"

"Alright, Nate it is! Nice to meet you as well, Kayden!"

[Sup]

"Rita!"

"Hm? Oh, Chloe!" They all turned to see another girl their age running over towards them while panting. The girl had fair skin and maroon coloured braided hair, her eyes also being green, though not as bright as Rita's. "Did you end up finding him anywhere?"

"No. Who knows where Goh is at this point..." The one known as Chloe sighed as she held her forehead in frustration. Nate and Kayden didn't recognise this girl or the name 'Goh' that was mentioned. "Though, I did end up seeing you cause that little accident..."

"Hehe~..." Rita rubbed the back of her head sheepishly as she then looked at Nate. "This here is my friend, Nate. We're classmates!"

"Nice to meet you, my name is Chloe." Chloe gave a small bow as she introduced herself. Nate did the same in return as he once again introduced himself to her, also making sure to introduce Kayden as well. "Are you okay after that hit? Rita can be reckless at times."

"H-Hey!"

"I'm fine, there's no need to worry about it." Nate assured with a small smile as he responded. Their attention was soon brought to the crowd, Nate then decided to ask. "So, do the two of you perhaps know about what is going on here?"

"Hm? Oh, that's actually why I was rushing towards here! I heard a battle was happening and I wanted to check it out!" Rita smiled as she skipped over towards the crowd. Chloe, Nate and Kayden seemed confused as they followed after her. She was pushing her way through the crowd as the others stuck close behind her as to not get swallowed up and separated by the crowd. "Made it!"

They had managed to get to the front and could now see the commotion was indeed a pokemon battle, a battle between two male trainers. Nate and Kayden recognised the two pokemon they were using were a machoke and a growlithe.

Nate and Kayden could instantly tell the growlithe was on its last legs as it was barely able to stand anymore, the machoke appearing barely winded as it snorted in amusement at the fire-type. It was obvious who was the winning side here.

"You're pokemon is pathetic. It didn't even give us a challenge! Just quit being a trainer before you embarrass yourself anymore." The trainer of the machoke snorted arrogantly as he spat. "You won't make it far with how pathetically weak a trainer you are!"

Nate and Kayden frowned heavily at this, along with the entire crowd. While showing confidence and criticising was fine in a battle, being because you could learn from the criticism. But just full-on insulting and mocking your opponent is frowned upon.

"Who's that guy?"

"You don't know?" Chloe seemed surprised by this as both her and Rita stared at him in surprise and also confusion. Nate just rose an eyebrow in confusion. "He's a part of the King family, they run a rather expensive store here in the city. They're a part of the richer people here in the city."

"How don't you know that?" Rita questioned in confusion.

"Well, I kind of just arrived in Vermillion City earlier today."

"Oh, you did? How come?"

"Well, I'm here to get my badge from this city's gym. I was just shopping before I encountered you two here." Chloe and Rita nodded their head in understanding at this. No wonder he didn't know who this guy was. "So, is he a strong trainer?"

"Despite his arrogance, he's actually a pretty good trainer. The only one stronger than him here is the gym leader." Chloe answered as Nate listened calmly. "People are afraid to challenge him since he is rather brutal when battling, he doesn't hold back no matter who you are..."

"Not only that! He's as arrogant as arrogant can be, and mocks others about being weak in his eyes!" Rita growled as she twitched her right eyebrow constantly. She obviously didn't like the guy. "He keeps insulting them about how they can never make it on a journey when he himself doesn't even have the guts to go on one himself!"

[Sounds like Gary, but worse. Impressive...]

"Yeah, even Gary wouldn't just up and insult his opponent so badly. Maybe lightly, but not a crazy amount..." Nate muttered as he looked at the arrogant smirking trainer. The other trainer held his growlithe with an immensely concerned expression, tears actually forming slightly as he heard the other trainer's comments.

The trainer then quickly returned his growlithe to its pokeball before rushing off, probably towards the pokemon center as the other trainer laughed arrogantly as the machoke crossed its arms. Looking around, Nate and Kayden could see a number of other trainers frowning and looking away from the guy. Maybe they were other victims as well.

"Oh, if it isn't Chloe and Rita!"

"Gah! He noticed us!" Rita flinched back with a devastated expression as the arrogant trainer seemed to walk towards them. Chloe seemed just as annoyed as Rita, though was more reserved as Nate and Kayden just watched. "Wh-What do you want?"

"Calm down, brat. I couldn't care less about you." The trainer smirked as Rita just glared at him hatefully. Chloe flinched as he seemed to look at her with a flirtatious look in his eyes. "Hello there, Chloe~. Have you finally decided to come running to little old me?"

Nate just sweatdropped at the line as he deadpanned. 'Oh god...'

[CRINGE!]

"Absolutely not. So, I would appreciate it if you would leave us alone..." Chloe frowned as she stated this. While the guy wasn't ugly, he was a bit above average at best when it came to his appearance. "The three of us are currently busy, we don't have time for you..."

"Three of you...?" The trainer frowned as he turned his attention towards Nate. Nate just kept his usual calm expression as he had his arms crossed over his chest. "Who the hell is this guy? I've never seen you before... What's your name?"

"Nathan." Nate introduced himself with a calm tone. He didn't even allow this guy to just call him Nate, that was only something he allowed people he was neutral towards or friends with call him. People he holds in low regards, he would prefer they didn't act so friendly with him.

"What's your relationship with my Chloe?"

"We're friends..."

'Damnit, another rival, huh? First that Goh guy, and now this golden-eyed pretty boy...!' The trainer thought with major annoyance as he secretly glared at Nate in his mind. He considered every male Chloe may be close with his love rival, he was just THAT guy. "I suggest you stay away from Chloe. She's mine!"

'God, kill me now...'

"What do you mean YOUR Chloe!?" Rita glared as she scooted in front of them as she continued to death stare the trainer. "Chloe doesn't belong to anyone! She is her own person and you can't just treat her as if you own her!"

Chloe sighed. "Rita, calm down..."

"Chloe, we need to do this! This guy needs a damn lesson!" Rita shouted as she pointed at the arrogant trainer. Rita then pointed towards Nate, who seemed confused about her gesture. "Nate, kick this guy's butt! For Chloe!"

"R-Rita!"

"Shush, Chloe!"

"You want this guy to beat ME in a battle? As if!" The trainer snorted as he looked at the pikachu, being Kayden, who just leaned back against Nate's leg with a bored expression. Compared to his machoke, Kayden looked like nothing. "Do you really think this guy can beat me in a battle?"

"Of course! Considering the fact you don't even have the confidence to go on a journey yourself, I'm sure Nate here can beat you!" Rita grinned as the trainer twitched his eyebrows in anger at the comment. Chloe just slumped her shoulders and sighed. "Don't worry, Chloe! Nate will win this for you!"

"Sorry about this, Nate. We dragged you into my problems..." Chloe apologised as she looked at their newest friend. Nate just waved it off with a smile. He was pretty certain that he'd kick this guy's ass even if Rita didn't initiate the challenge. "I am flattered that he likes me. He just doesn't seem so see I don't like him..."

"I see. So, he just doesn't give up on this, huh?"

"Yeah..."

"Very well then! I'll show you just how powerful I am, and I'll show you that Chloe belongs with me!" The trainer declared firmly as he pointed a finger at Nate, who just deadpanned at him. Kayden did the same as he looked up at the guy as if he was stupid. "You're new to Vermillion, correct? Then allow me to introduce myself! I am the son of one of the richest families here in the city, Fu King!"

"So, time to beat an arrogant fu- Wait, your name is what?"

[Da hell? Were his parents thinking straight?]

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