Friendly Battle

Gible's hatching had thrown the night off considerably. Despite the already tired body, which wanted nothing else but to embrace the absolute exhilarating slumber, Cinder had taken the dragon-type to Nurse Joy to get checked out, assuring Korrina that she could go to bed if she wanted to. Storm was accompanying him. The Mareep had quickly step up to the plate and taken the role of being a compassionate big brother figure to the baby dragon.

Cinder would be lying if he said he wasn't touched by his starter's commitment. Storm had always been, thus far, been curious, smart, friendly, and shares Cinder's fondness for training. The dedication that the wool pokemon showed earlier the day from their training made Cinder extremely happy, but still constantly caught him off guard. He wasn't sure if his starter was just a battling maniac within his species, or he was just going with the flow of what Cinder was up to. Nevertheless, he was content with Storm and their relationship was becoming more attached with one another.

Either way, Storm had been consistently helpful ever since the day they left Pallet Town, and had even assisted sometimes in taking care of the egg quite a bit. Cinder would always be grateful for him because of that.

Gible had remained fixated on Cinder, seemingly identifying the young human boy as his 'parent'. It did not take too long for the newborn pokemon to feel secure, constantly looking up at Cinder and Storm who was always standing by his side.

Nurse Joy already knew what pokemon was going to hatch from Cinder's pokemon egg because of the prior examination. She had immediately looked over the newborn to see if he was healthy, and was happy to announce he was born perfectly.

Cinder had convinced Korrina and her pokemon, to not wait up for them, but they were still awake when they came back on the room. Cinder assured her that everything was fine with Gible, since she kept asking questions of the newborn's condition from hatching. It seems that Korrina still carried some guilt towards the incident which happened earlier on the lobby. Cinder was grateful for her concerns and with a little bit more assurance, she finally stopped herself from asking anymore.

He asked for her Pokedex, so he can look over more information regarding Gible's species, which he, Storm, Korinna and Riolu spent the night doing.

They had read through the information with extensive detail, and shortly after, both their pokemon got tired which made both their trainer stop and got them tucked in bed before they continued.

Cinder was still completely floored that his father had entrusted him with a dragon-type, and not just any dragon-type, it was a pokemon that would evolve into a terrifyingly strong Garchomp when completely matured, which was classified as a Pseudo-Legendary, much like Lance's Dragonite. With Korrina filling him on a few details and the handy Pokedex, he couldn't explain how he felt the entire night.

Dragon-type, just where did his father got this pokemon egg, did he even have the capability to do so? Cinder wasn't belittling his father or anything, but a dragon-type of all things? It was one of the most fundamentally feared typings in all of the pokemon, any pokemon just being of the typing at all was more than enough to generate attention and interest. They were all rare pokemon, albeit to varying extents, and the fearsome reputation that the typing had going for it existed for a reason.

Of course, dragon-types were often considered to be ridiculously hard to raise and train.

Just who was his father... This made Cinder feel ridiculous of himself, but he really don't have much knowledge about his father, while the man constantly contacted them and would send them letters, Cinder was clueless on what his father was or what his work was, no matter how he wrapped his head around, it was still simply too unreal. This made the teenager more inclined on calling his mother first thing in the morning so he could ask the numerous questions he have.

Needless to say, the fact that Gible had hatched from the egg and had not been caught in the wild would most likely work in Cinder's favor, as Gible had no prior upbringing due to being a new born, but the creature's own natural instincts would still be a factor.

Gible was no exception as Cinder and Korrina learned from the documents that they had read through that the Pokedex provided.

Behavior and characteristics wise, the Gible species entirely loves to bite anything, and that can be a pain for Cinder if he gets or his pokemon bitten themselves. This habit of biting anything is probably instinctive, and it is very hard to train them to control their urges. It is a strong pokemon in battle, but it often hurts itself due to its own clumsiness. Based on this, Cinder could see raising Gible was not easy.

Just yet another challenge for them to have to overcome on the road to the Indigo Plateau.

It had been a long night. But thankfully, they finally got to sleep.

...

It was a lot later in the morning than when Cinder would usually rise.

In fact, it was now after 9:00AM, that Cinder began to get up.

Korrina was already in the shower, so Cinder waited for his turn, finding the need to use the bathroom.

Storm and Gible were still dozing off, both looked content. Gible's infant body was a sight that Cinder need to get used to.

As it was no longer an egg...

After a few minutes, the sound of the shower stopped, indication Korrina had finished. Not too long after, she came out of the bathroom wearing her signature ponytail and a much more relaxed expression on her face.

He raised his hand to her when she stepped out, to which she returned.

"Oh, good morning." She greeted. "How's your sleep? Did you slept well?"

"Good morning to you too." Cinder smiled as he greeted back. "Slept like a log... Anyways, I'm going to go towards the lobby and use the intercom. Wanna ask my mother some stuff after showering. Wanna come with?"

She revealed a reluctant smile, but eventually she found the courage to say. "I'm afraid no. I have to get to Pallet Town by today since I have something to discuss with Professor Oak. I'm gonna leave this morning so I can arrive there much sooner."

Cinder blinked absentmindedly. After a moment, he revealed a casual smile, but didn't reply. He simply nodded at her.

After using the bathroom, Cinder got out feeling refreshed. His mind all the time couldn't help but dwell on Korrina departing. He shook his head as he thought. 'What's wrong with me? Why am I getting affected by her departure? I haven't felt this much to such extent when Dom and Diana decided to go towards Pewter early...'

This feeling kept bugging him all the while as he got inside the elevator and arrived on the lobby. He made his way towards where the intercoms were found, he sighed as he put the matter of Korinna departing behind his mind, he still have to call his mother after all and wanted to ask questions that also was constantly bugging him.

Before anything else, Cinder need to call his mother.

"Lark's residence, who is this?" Since their house didn't have an intercom that has a screen which you could see the person on the side of the dial, Marcia had no idea who called their telephone number.

"It's me, mom." Cinder responded to get himself known ok on the other side of the phone.

"Cinder! It's good you finally got the chance to call me." His mother's good mood radiates from the call, Cinder couldn't help but somewhat relax on her voice. His mother was still the best after all. "It's been a few days now, how are you? What have you caught? Are you taking good care of your hygiene everyday-"

Cinder quickly cut her off as he flinched from the avalanche of questions, but his smile didn't go away. "Whoa, mom, hold on a second, one at a time please!"

A deep breath sounded out from the other side, as Marcia let out a giggle. "I'm sorry about that, I just missed you, son. Anyway, where are you now? I'm assuming in Viridian City." She hid the disgusted tone she initially wanted to add when 'Viridian' came out of her mouth.

"Yeah, we got here yesterday. I'm sorry I didn't call you, mom. I was organizing the training Storm would be doing and was preoccupied with training him. I didn't want to disturb you in the evening cause I figured you might be sleeping..." Cinder trailed off, before saying. "I miss you too, mom."

Hearing him, Marcia got emotion. "Oh my boy, you still are my adorable-munchkin."

"Stop calling me those names, mom." Cinder said annoyingly, albiet he did so half-heartedly. He added to change the subject. "I haven't caught any pokemon yet, nothing really caught my eye with all the rattata and pidgey residing on route one."

"Taking your time to encounter what's good for you is good. After all, you couldn't catch them all and left them unattended on the professor's corral." She responded as she agreed with her son's action. After all, there are still a lot of places in Kanto where variety of pokemon resided, maybe then would Cinder find a pokemon that is a good addition to his team.

"Yeah..." Scratching the back of his head, Cinder finally asked. "Speaking of pokemon, mom, can I ask you something?"

"Yes? What is it son?"

"How did a dragon-type... Hatched from the egg father gave me? A Gible, nonetheless." It had been eating him for quite a while now. Even Korrina seemed to find it suspicious, and she was living in a region where you could find this species. Unless there was some other reasons, Cinder really couldn't think of anything else at the moment.

His mother was silent at the other side for a few seconds, before she answered. "Well, Cinder... You knew your father was working in the Sinnoh Region, right? But his homeland is Unova. In the Unova region, you usually wouldn't find Gible's species, but the village your father came from are... Let's just say are good at raising dragons, the Gible you received from him is likely from the result of his Garchomp which he caught somewhere else and his partner, which had a compatibility with Garchomp's breed in mating. Your father also didn't fill me in the details, but that is most likely how he got you your Gible."

That explaination was most was probably the most probable one. It certainly would have explained why his pokemon egg was such a shocking surprise when it hatched on to a Gible. But, something didn't felt right to Cinder, his father was such a person? A dragon like a Garchomp as his pokemon? Besides, his village probably isn't that simple considering what his mother said about them being able to raise dragons. He haven't seen his father's pokemons before. Well, maybe he did, but he was just a toddler the last time his father was around him, he couldn't remember such memories even if he saw them cause he was such a young boy back then.

"I wouldn't worry much about it right now, aren't you happy your father was able to get you one? No matter the means, it is still a pokemon with great battling capabilities, Cinder."

"Well, it just sounds too... Convenient." Cinder grinned sheepishly.

"Hmm, your right, son. Enough of that. So, how long are you going to stay in Viridian? You should hurry and get to Pewter."

"Tomorrow I would be leaving for Pewter City." Cinder subconsciously scratch his cheek as he replied. He wasn't in a rush, although most rookies wouldn't be able to participate in the Inidgo Conference because of the lack of experience, he would try his best in participating. But, rushing it would also be no good, so he is taking his time training and making his pokemon prepared for what's more important for him currently. "I figured we are not ready for the gym yet, so we are taking our time. I'll catch a pokemon or a few while passing Viridian Forest if a pokemon caught my eye, After all, a gym battle needed at least two or three pokemon in possession before being able to challenge one."

"We'll probably challenge Brock shortly after gaining battling experience and honing our trump cards." It was a nice feeling that Cinder could share the plans he have with someone else. His mother was a good listener as she patiently waited for her son to finish.

"You seemed to have everything planned out for you, that's good. I was worried that you would have no clear plans of action. But it seems you have got that all arranged by yourself. I'm proud of you, Cinder."

Cinder blushed hearing his mother's words. It was encouraging when it came from someone he sees as an important person. He said. "Do you want me to call you every morning like this?"

"You don't need to. Call me whenever you like, son. However, if you are doing something important or something happened, do inform me alright sweety?"

"Alright, mom.

...

After calling his mother, Cinder was now much relaxed. He didn't overthink around the whys and hows of his Gible anymore, what's more important was it was his pokemon now, first he should catch Gible so it would be registered as his pokemon. He couldn't help himself grinning at that prospect.

When he left the area and arrived at the lobby, he saw Korrina waiting for him, all dressed and ready to leave. He flinched, but decided to properly bid farewell with this new friend of his. After all, it wasn't like they wouldn't meet each other again.

"Yow, Korrina!" Cinder called out.

Korinna smiled seeing him, she was about to speak, when Cinder beat her to it. "Let's sit down for a while, then let's talk, is that okay?"

Korinna raised a brow, but nonetheless responded with a nod.

They found a table not occupied by any trainer, they sat down and stared at each other. Silence, that was all that lasted for a few minutes.

Still, neither of them were quite enjoying the silence anymore, and Cinder broke the ice.

"I know we start off badly, but in all seriousness, it was pretty nice having you around for less than a day, Korrina." his gaze held genuine feelings with a smile on his face.

Korrina didn't even have a strong reaction to that, simply nodding in response as he glanced over to the other trainer. "Glad the feeling's mutual. Honestly, it's nice being able to know you, it is much more relieving making a friend of someone like you while I'm traveling here in a foreign region."

Cinder nodded in agreement. He though for a moment before saying. "Hey, what do you say we have a pokemon battle?"

"Hmm?" Korrina shot him a perplexed look.

As Cinder raised his head at her, his eyes inescapable locked into her eyes, as though it was unavoidable. There was flames in Cinder's eyes that made Korrina's blood turn into a boiling fire.

Korrina knew that look, it was the intent of a challenger that trainers usually have to others when they have the intention of having a friendly battle. She grinned then replied competitively. "You're on!"

....

***I'm done finalizing the water pokemon for Cinder. It was a tough choice to make, but I eventually did pick a pokemon that is gonna be good enough.

Now, let's move on to fire-types. I actually already had a few on me, but I wanna hear your suggestions. If I feel like it is much better I may or may not pick one."***