CHILI

Raven's dark purple hair went halfway down her back and swayed with every step she took. Jasper, her Snivy, was by her side. Determination swirled in her eyes as she counted the Poké Balls she had on her belt. Polished and waxed to perfection, the glistening orbs shining in the midday sun. Striaton City's lush green trees were lightly ruffled by the breeze in a delicately calming way but Raven did not spare the nature a glance. Only when she had triple-checked the Poké Balls for scratches did she consider letting them out to play a little.

"Come out, guys," she said, sending out the other two of her Pokémon.

A young grey pigeon-like Pokémon crooned, ruffling his feathers. Beside him sat a cream-and-pink Pokémon with the clearest blue eyes Raven had ever seen and perhaps, another day, she would have paused to stroke the cute little Audino. However, that was the day of the first Gym battle. She was about to challenge the three leaders of Striaton City and begin her journey as the greatest Pokémon Trainer ever. She smiled at her Pokémon, commanding them to practice their moves on a tree.

"Maybe you'll actually learn an attack, Peach," she said to the silent Audino. The Pokémon smiled earnestly, bumbling over to the large tree and growling softly at it. Raven shook her head, sighing. She then turned to Jasper who had already scarred the bark with some of his accurate and perfectly-timed Vine Whips. He narrowed his eyes, shooting his arms forward quickly and without warning to throw out a green arc which snapped at the tree. Her Pidove, Plum, was shooting all over the place in a continuous Quick Attack almost too fast for Raven to see. She had helped him prepare an intimidating Growl not so long before. He was proud of it.

My Pokémon are ready.

She glanced at Peach, who was making Baby-Doll Eyes at an unimpressed Jasper.

Well, almost. I'm sure I can beat all three of the Gym Leaders with just my two best. I mean, how hard could it be? They're only the first ones.

So Raven rounded up her Pokémon and set out a test. They would alternate between running or flying laps, attacking the tree and performing their moves in front of her. Each of them squeaked in agreement before dispersing. Peach remained to perform her moves, a grin upon her rounded furry face.

"Right, Peach. Here, hold this for a while. Be careful, though - it belongs to Silvia."

Raven handed Peach a glittering purple orb, eyes glowing at the mention of her older sister.

"She said I had to look after it until she came back. Cool, huh? It's a Toxic Orb. I read about it in Causes and Cures. That's the book she sent me about poison and pa-la-riss-is and stuff when she heard that I got a Starter. Do you know what a Starter is, Peach? Well, I'll assume that you don't. A Starter is what Jasper is. I mean, he's a Snivy, but a Snivy is a Starter, right?" Raven began to ramble, gesturing freely with her arms. Peach gave a weak nod, starting to feel sick.

"Well, I think it's working. Do you feel alright?" Raven asked quietly, peering into the wide eyes of her Audino.

Peach nodded, blinking.

"Okay. Do a Refresh," she shouted, frowning when Peach glowed a little before slumping to the ground. The Audino cried out weakly, attempting to use the move again and again. Raven did nothing but watch, looking more panicked each time. Peach curled up in a shivering heap before Raven snapped out of her daze and rushed forward, pulling an Antidote out of her messenger bag and spraying it all over the weakened Pokémon.

"Maybe we should try something else," the worried ten-year-old muttered, biting her lip as she snatched up the Toxic Orb and glared at it before shoving it to the bottom of one of her bag's pockets.

Peach bit back a wail of pain as she tried to stand up but fell awkwardly onto her arm. Raven absentmindedly sprayed a Potion over her, hissing something about not being able to waste medicine. Then, with a resolute nod, she told Peach to go fetch Plum from the tree he was attacking.

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

"Come on, Plum," Raven shouted, tossing her Poké Ball high into the air before taking a step back to observe as her Pidove twirled through the air, landing on the ground with a squawk of pride at his accomplished manoeuvre. Chili smiled and shook his head.

"That's a pretty advanced Pidove you've got there," he began lightly, "but not nearly strong enough to beat my Lillipup. Out you come!"

The red-haired Gym Leader thrust out his right wrist, letting a Poké Ball roll down his arm before snatching it up and pitching it forwards. Raven didn't hide the look of amazement as he snapped his fingers, the Lillipup growling at Plum with the light of battle in its eyes. Raven scoffed.

A Lillipup? Oh, this will be easy.

"We'll start! Plum, let's hit him with a double stat lower!" she cried, pointing dramatically as if trying to make herself fit in with Chili's style. He had his hands calmly folded behind his back as he watched Plum rocket forward to let out a shrill Growl and Leer at Lillipup at the same time. At this, he only raised a single eyebrow.

"That's quite a... suprising move there. Not many young Trainers choose to go for the stats on the first move," he said, not saying anything about how she used two moves.

Raven shrugged, tapping the toe of her black ankle boot on the cold floor of the Gym. She flicked her straight purple hair behind her shoulder before tugging the black hoodie tighter around herself. She was regretting the decision to wear her dark blue shorts - apparently Pokémon Gyms had air conditioning.

This guy needs to make a move and stop staring at me!

Chili let a grin transform his face.

"If she's going on the stat road then we will, too! Lillipup, Work Up!"

Lillipup squeezed its eyes shut until a bit of smoke came off of its glowing body. It then relaxed with an electric gaze locked on Plum, ready for action. Chili continued to watch Raven.

"What? Never seen a ten-year-old girl before?"

He blinked, caught off guard.

"It's just that not many of... you know... your age challenge my Gy--"

"Our Gym!" came two disgruntled bellows from the back room of the building.

"Well, not many of your age challenge this Gym. So I wasn't expec--"

"Quick Attack!" Raven cut in, seeing her chance. Chili's gaze snapped up just in time to see Plum shoot into Lillipup mercilessly, angling his body so that he bounced off it neatly before spinning into a landing.

"How? Wait, no. Lillipup, enough playing around! Bite!" he commanded, regaining his composure.

Raven laughed when Plum managed to dodge it, forcing Lillipup to clamp its jaws down on thin air. The puppy-like Pokémon turned to face Plum with a furious expression on its face. It began to scamper across the battlefield, teeth lengthened and sharpened as it leapt up and dragged Plum down by the tail.

The cries of her wounded Pokémon filled the air as Raven didn't move. Didn't breathe.

Didn't blink.

She heard someone shout for them to stop, you're hurting Plum and she ran over to her Pidove.

He shook himself off and stood up, looking at his Trainer quizzically. Raven knew she was crying before she looked up to see Chili's disapproving expression.

"You aren't ready for Pokémon battling," he told her, not a flicker of remorse in his expression when it made her harden. "You aren't ready to win this battle."

Raven stood up at once, withdrawing Plum without a word.

"I am," she hissed, seething. "I'm not just a little girl. I can beat you!"

Chili merely took a step back, withdrawing Lilipup before he spun the next Pokémon's ball on his left hand, throwing it out after a few seconds. A flaming red monkey burst out of it, laughing at its opponent before waving its tail back and forth in a threatening manner.

"Go, Jasper!"

The Snivy spun forwards, landing almost perfectly on his two feet before letting out a feral snarl. He eyed up his foe, a blatantly amused Pansear with a devilish smirk.

Raven wasn't stupid. She knew that she was at a disadvantage.

"Wrap!"

Almost before the word had left her mouth, Jasper was running up to the opposing Pokémon, a vine extending from one of his arms. Raven wiped away her tears, watching the battle take place and hoping she won.

"The fiery flavours of this battle are finally clashing in a shower of glory! Pansear, use Fury Swipes on that Snivy before it reaches you!"

The Pansear reached out and lashed at Jasper, scratching his side. Jasper winced before completing the move, albeit not very well. The vine wrapped around Pansear with a snap, holding it in place as Jasper performed a Tackle on the incapacitated Pokémon. It struggled, trying to chew at the plants holding it in place. Chili snapped his fingers with a smirk, attracting the attention of his Pokémon.

"Work Up, Pansear!"

The monkey began to fume until it was strong enough to rip apart the bindings restraining it.

Raven opened her mouth to cry out an attack but her eyes were bathed in the glow of fire.

Pansear had bounced off one hand and somersaulted in the air until it was directly above a startled Jasper. Without blinking, it opened its mouth.

A long plume of fire burst out of its jaws, drowning Jasper in it and scorching a black circle onto the floor of the Gym. Raven turned away, having no wish to watch the look of victory on Chili's face.

Instead, she felt a tap on her shoulder.

The Pokémon Connoisseurs were all beaming at her. Well, two of them were. The third was tucking an empty Potion bottle into his pocket, looking away.

Held in the green-haired Gym Leader's outstretched hand was a glistening badge. It had three identically shaped and sized diamonds in a row, framed by the reflective surface that she would soon become well acquainted with.

"Your Snivy survived the hit. Took my Pansear down with a well-timed Leaf Tornado that slammed it down into the ground and its own flames. Also carried itself away with the same move. Smart Pokémon you've got there," Chili admitted, still not meeting Raven's stare.

"Don't mind him, he's just a sore loser. I'm Cilan," the green-haired Gym Leader laughed, straightening Chili's posture.

"I'm Cress," added the blue-haired Leader.

"Congratulations, you've got the badge," Chili said half-heartedly, muttering something under his breath as he crossed his arms. Raven just took it in tilted it in all directions, marvelling at the shiny metal symbol of her achievement.

"But I didn't beat the Lilipup," she replied, eyes widened.

Cress merely shrugged. "It was no small feat, what your Snivy did," he responded quietly.

"Th-Thank you," she whispered, hastily stuffing it into her pocket before sprinting off to the exit.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Cilan called after her, confused.

"To train for the next gym!" she screamed back.

The three Gym Leaders just smiled.