PokeWild

Fred and David’s battle didn’t start immediately.

Fred wanted some time to speak to Machop first and David realized a bit belatedly that he should do the same with Pidgey.

He hadn’t even asked her if she wanted to fight.

This led to them relocating to a wide dirt field out behind the league office.

David crouched down in front of Pidgey.

“Are you okay with fighting Machop?”

Pidgey simultaneously pecked forward and chirped. She hopped about and turned to face the other side of the field where Fred and Machop were talking.

“Woah!” David reached forward and picked Pidgey up. He rotated her back around to face him. That was not the reaction he’d expected. She was only this enthusiastic when picking which berry to eat. It.. kind of disturbed him a little. Pokemon fighting wasn’t a surprise to him, it was kind of what they did back in his world. It was all they did in his world. But Pidgey wasn’t some numbers in a video game. She was real, intelligent and very very young.

Pidgey squirmed in his hands.

She was always going to fight. He knew that. He needed her to fight, and a battle against another young Pokemon was a good place to start.

David buried his discomfort at the sheer interest his baby Pokemon had in fighting and started to plan.

“Right. You have to keep away from Machop. It’s strong, you’re frail.”

Pidgey let out a low squawk and puffed up a bit. David ignored her.

“But you have no ranged moves so you’ll have to get close.” He drummed a beat with his fingers as he considered Pidgey and her limited capabilities.

“Here’s what we’re going to do.”

-.-

David shifted nervously as he stood on a small wooden platform.

Fred stood on a matching platform across the dirt field from him. To call it a platform was a bit of a misnomer. It was more like a baseball home plate. The wooden deck was an inch above the ground and only served as a marked spot for trainers to stand.

Pidgey stood in front of David and stared across at Machop. Both Pokemon were limbering up and making final preparations. Well Machop was stretching. Pidgey just twitched her wings every now and again.

“You ready?” Fred cupped his hands around his mouth and called across.

“Countdown from three and start on go,” David shouted back.

“3.” Their timing was a little off and David rushed to catch up.

“2.”

“1.” Their voices synced.

“GO!”

Machop broke into a wobbly run.

Pidgey hopped forward a step before stopping and waiting.

David and Fred had both given their Pokemon instructions to start them off.

“Don’t let her get into the air!” Fred yelled excitedly from behind Machop.

David stayed silent.

Machop raised its arms as it got closer, ready to try to prevent Pidgey from escaping up. Pidgey made no move.

“Low kick!” Fred shouted as it became clear Pidgey wasn’t attempting to take to the air. He sounded less confident now.

Machop dropped its arms and lashed out with a leg. Trying to adapt to the late orders threw it off balance and the kick was stunted.

David unclenched his hands and got ready.

Machop’s kick landed and the air in front of Pidgey popped.

Pidgey jolted as the feedback hit her and the remaining force of the kick slid her back an inch.

Machop was in more trouble and it staggered back as its balance was further thrown.

“PECK!” David shouted, leaning forward. This was it.

Pidgey hopped forward at Machop holding her beak up high.

“Get out of there Machop!” Fred yelled in a panic.

Machop regained its balance just in time for Pidgey to hop-dive into it, beak first. The Fighting Pokemon opened its mouth and let out a pained bark as it was knocked back.

However, instead of falling completely, Machop’s left arm swept back and held it off the ground.

Pidgey wavered as she landed from her Peck-dive at an angle.

“Low Kick from there!” Fred roared.

David’s eyes widened. “Abort Pidgey! Launch out of there!”

Pidgey raised her wings and with a large flap shot into the air. The displaced wind kicked up a large dust cloud but David could make out a leg shooting through where she had been seconds before. The kick helped spread the cloud and Machop was engulfed in dirt.

Pidgey escaped on time. She glided around the arena on a shaking path.

David racked his brains thinking what to do next.

Machop stood up and the dust cloud was beginning to settle.

“Knock her down when she comes to land,” Fred shouted.

David turned to him. ‘Was that a move?’ He vaguely recalled a Dark move named something similar. Could Machop learn Dark Moves? Frantically he tried to remember more only to come up with nothing. He turned his attention back to Pidgey only to realize with horror she was coming in for a landing.

In front of him and far too close to where the Machop stood.

“Tackle Pidgey!” He shouted. He’d lost track of the battle. He should have gotten Pidgey to land across the field by Fred to create time for her.

Machop charged forward and shoved the landing Pidgey. Pidgey fell on her side instead of landing straight. She rolled in a tumble across the dirt, letting out short high-pitched shrills.

David ran forward.

“Forfeit!” He shouted as he left the platform.

Machop hadn’t capitalized on the downed bird, but her shrills had cut out suddenly.

David dropped to his knees beside Pidgey. He gently reached forward and put a hand on the still Pokemon.

”Pidgey?”

Pidgey shook a little first. Then she squawked and heaved upright. She turned to David and Machop who had walked up to David’s shoulder and fixed them with a look. Both David and Machop shied back at the chill.

Then the feeling disappeared, and Pidgey let out a loud squawk before plopping into a roosting position in the dirt.

David exhaled in relief and sat down in the dirt. Beside him Machop raised its arms high and struck a pose.

“MAAAA-Chop!”

“Machop! You said your name!” Fred shouted, running up to them. He held out a hand and Machop grasped it. “Great battle buddy. And you said your name!”

David turned his attention back to Pidgey. She was kicking and scratching at the dirt around her and fluffing her feathers. He reached out a hand and smoothed down the askew crown feathers on her head.

“You did great Pidgey. Fantastic Peck.”

Pidgey stopped her scratching as his hand touched her head. She turned her head towards him. They stared at each other, unsure of this new development.

David withdrew his hand but didn’t look away.

“David! What a battle.” Fred said, patting him on the back.

David blinked and Pidgey turned away. He looked up at the teen.

Fred and Machop had finished their congratulations and stood watching the two of them.

“It was great. Congratulations.” David smiled at the duo. He turned back to Pidgey who had gone back to kicking up dirt into her feathers. “Pidgey enjoyed it too.”

And she had. David hadn’t seen her so excited or motivated before. She had performed a proper Peck too. On her first try. With no prep time.

“I should hope so. What was that first move? And then that combo with the Sand Attack! I didn’t expect it at all. How did you figure that out in two days!”

David scratched his chin.

“That was one of the training stages of Tackle. Just Pidgey building and holding Normal type energy around her,” David replied. Both Machop and Fred seemed surprised by this. “What do you mean by combo move?”

“No way, Tackle? So it would have been more effective if Machop hadn’t used Low Kick?”

David froze. He hadn’t considered how Normal and Fighting type energies would interact. Fighting was super effective against Normal which made Normal weaker against Fighting. Pidgey tackle must have been weakened.

He still had so much to learn.

For now, he settled for a shrug.

“I guess it’s like Protect then,” Fred continued after seeing David’s non answer. “And the Launch move. I guess it’s not a proper combo yet but if you work a full Gust into it you’ll have a great combo.”

David could only nod and smile as Fred lost him. He needed to get back to the library.

“What move did you use to hit Pidgey out of the sky? Knock something?” He asked.

“Oh, that wasn’t a move.” Fred rubbed his hands together. “Machop and I have been working on Karate Chop but we’re not close to using it yet. Machop was just going to shove her down.“

David blinked. Of course. Pokemon had no reason not to use their strength in real life. They didn’t need to use Moves or type energy. Why wouldn’t a Machop just use its muscle?

“Chop,” Machop said. Its voice was huffy and half a growl.

“And you can say your name Machop! Oh man you’ve grown so much.”

Fred and Machop shared a high five.

“But David, do you have a second?” Fred indicated off to the side as he had earlier.

David pushed himself off the dirt and followed Fred.

“I’m sorry. I should have forfeited when Machop fell down from the Peck. We said to first knockdown,” Fred said. His cheer from a few seconds before gone. “I got too into it and I messed up. I would have apologized earlier, but Machop said her name for the first time and I don’t want to spoil that. So again, I’m sorry.”

Fred looked at David with such a serious expression that David almost felt bad for not noticing. He hadn’t even considered that Machop’s near fall could have counted as Pidgey’s victory. He’d been completely absorbed in the battle.

“It’s alright. Pidgey’s fine. No harm done,” David replied. The change from Fred’s energetic demeanor had put him off balance.

“No it’s not,” Fred answered and ground his fist into his palm. “I’m going to be a fair trainer. No underhand moves or dishonesty. So I want to make it up to you.”

Fred dug into his pocket and pulled out some short paper stubs.

“These are for the tournament match tomorrow. Want to come with me?”

“Fred, you don’t have to do that. It was just a short training battle,” David said, holding his palms up and backing away. He didn’t want to take something that was clearly expensive off a teenager.

“I do.” Fred stepped forward, following him and pushed a stub into David’s hand. “It’s important for me. I need to act as I wish to be.”

David tried to back away again but Fred followed. David sighed and closed his hand around the stub.

“Fine - but I’d rather you give me some tips on how you get Machop to train with you.”

Fred smiled and put the other ticket back in his pocket. They began walking back to their Pokemon.

“Oh that’s easy. Machop is a fighting type. We train together.”

“Wait every exercise?” David asked.

“Yup. I can’t gather energy but I meditate or do the motions with her,” Fred said then laughed. “I’m not sure that’ll work for you though.”

David laughed with him as he imagined running around flapping his arms as Pidgey practiced flying.

“No, probably not. But it might help with some exercises.”

“Plus, it helps with the ladies,” Fred grinned and flexed his arms.

David raised an eyebrow at the teen.

“Uh huh. Is that why you have a spare ticket to the match tomorrow?” He asked.

Fred went red and began spluttering denials. David burst out laughing and both Pidgey and Machop turned to them.

David took pity on the floundering teen and changed the subject.

“Want to do some more training or are you done for the day?”

“We can do some more,” Fred replied quickly, his face still red.

-.-

Pidgey and Machop trained for another hour before they left. It was funny watching Pidgey try some of Machop’s fitness exercises and hilarious to see Machop attempt some of hers.

David joined in on a few of Fred and Machop’s exercises which fascinated Pidgey.

In the end, they waved goodbye to Fred and Machop and entered the woods to the south of the Route 7 path.