Chapter 2 of A Raichu’s Tale - "Happy Birthday"

A trainer? Screw that!! I gritted my teeth in anger. Didn’t I have any say in this? I didn’t want some 10-year old human child ordering me around in a battle like I was some kind of plaything! She wasn’t going to be the one with the cuts and bruises and broken bones and possible brain trauma!

Immediately two arms wrapped around me in a choking hug, making it hard for me to breathe. I noticed that Samantha was wearing the same worn-out gloves just like the day I met her. My poor ribs! Need air… darkness… closing in… Fortunately Samantha let go before I passed out and decided to give my brother a hug. He seemed to enjoy the hug more since he was a lot skinner, being an Ekans and all.

"I'll call you Slick," she said, looking at my brother. He shook his rattle happily at receiving his new name. "And your new name is... Raizy!"

I gasped for air as Samantha got up from kneeling on the floor and hugged her healthy great-grandfather as thanks him for giving us to her. Raizy? Raizy?! What kind of dumb name is that? Raizy the Raichu... grrr… I narrowed my eyes in anger and annoyance. I was not going to allow myself to be controlled. I looked at my brother, now named Slick, in attempt to start some conversation with him, but he wasn’t paying attention when Samantha came back. He curled in her lap as she sat down on some outdoor furniture. Turning darkly away, I noticed the brown haired boy was nervously picking at the strings of the package in his hands.

The rectangular package was wrapped in some wrinkled brown paper and held together with red string. It wasn’t nearly as decorative as some of the other discarded colorful paper that was left on the patio’s concrete ground.

Just then Samantha announced, “I’ll take Toby’s next.” It was easy to tell which boy was Toby. The brown haired boy blushed furiously and cautiously handed his gift to Samantha. Samantha gently took the present, and carefully untied the red string’s knot. When she took the gift out of its wrapping, she held it up to her eye level and looked at it admiringly. Then a wide smile spread on her face.

“It’s so pretty! Thank you!” she chirped. Slick slithered to the ground as Samantha stood up and gave her friend a big hug. I thought the poor boy would catch on fire, judging by the color of his face. Since all the presents were opened, everyone headed for some food that was set out on a table. The humans paid particular attention to a round piece of food. After they lit it on fire (!), they sung a song around it. When they were done, Samantha blew out the flames, and cut out slices of it for the guests to eat.

Samantha, Toby, and the black-haired kid were sitting on some lawn chairs on the grass in a circle, with Slick and I sitting between Samantha and Toby.

“You think you can handle training a Raichu like that?” mentioned the black-haired boy between bites of his food. “I mean, even Pikachu are hard to handle, and with this one’s scruffy fur and scar, this one looks downright hardcore!”

“Raizy is NOT scruffy! Her long fur makes her look cuter.” Samantha retorted.

“Raizy? Raizy the Raichu? No offense, but that sounds a little lame... and what's with their eyes?" he said, pointing at Slick. "Ekans are supposed to have yellow eyes, not green; Raichu usually have brown eyes. Hers are different colors…"

"Daiki- there are no rules about what color eyes are supposed to and not supposed to be! They have beautiful eyes!"

I promptly gave Daiki a raspberry, something I learned from watching daytime TV. I was proud of myself until I noticed that Samantha was doing the same thing. I stopped immediately, I folding my arms in disgust. Toby kept quiet, poking at his food. Suddenly I decided I was hungry, and I tugged on Samantha’s pant leg. She looked down, and I pointed inside my open mouth.

She probably understood what I was saying, as she gave me a plate of the dessert they were singing about earlier. It was sweet and soft, and it tasted really good. When she asked me if she liked this thing she called ‘cake’, I turned around and shunned her, my tail high in the air. Just because she gave me food doesn’t mean she’s going to be my trainer. Hell no!

Later when Toby, Daiki, Professor Oak and Samantha’s grandmother had left, Samantha had led us up into her room. Although the room was neatly organized, there were a few clothes here and there, the desk was cluttered with papers, and many different posters covered the wall. All the posters had different kinds of Pokémon on them. Some I recognized, such as Pidgeotto and Poliwag. But there were many others that I have never seen before. Along with the posters were drawings that I assumed she had done herself, and they too were mainly Pokémon. Among Samantha’s work were other pieces of art that looked significantly better than hers. They included a sketch of the Pikachu that belonged to Samantha’s father and a sketch of Samantha herself. When Samantha placed the present that she got from Toby on the table, I saw that he must have been the artist who created the sketches. The picture he gave Sam was a small watercolor painting of a small blue lizard-looking thing in a wooden frame decorated with plastic beads.

Next to Samantha’s bed there was a giant doll of a blue spotted creature that had a long neck, flippers, and a shell on its back. When I went closer to examine it, Samantha mentioned that it was a Lapras. She then pulled out a smaller doll that resembled a blue lizard with ears and small green wings.

“This is Mr. Dragon,” she explained. When she held it out to me I took it into my paws. “My grandmother made him for me when I was a baby and I never go to bed without him.” He felt very worn out and I noticed that one of his eyes was close to falling out.

Photographs on the desk only yielded a picture of one person I hadn’t seen before. He had spiky brown hair and in the picture I saw him in, he had a younger Samantha atop his shoulders. Soon I heard Sam’s mother tell her something about getting ready for bed, and with a shout Samantha gathered up some clothes and left the room. I turned to Slick, who was making himself comfortable by wrapping himself around the Lapras doll’s neck.

“"Sheesh, can you believe this?"” I growled. "“Given to a human! We have a trainer! I’ve never been more insulted.”"

Slick responded, ““You shouldn’t be so pessimistic. Samantha is really nice. How do you know you’ll hate it if you’ve hardly spent a day with her?””

““We save her from being eaten, and this is what we get!”” I rambled on. ““Our family abandoned us and we’re given to some little girl as pets!””

"“Give her a chance…"” Slick said, as Samantha entered the door in different clothes. She turned off her light and crawled into her bed.

"“Good night, see you tomorrow!"” she whispered.

I muttered darkly to myself as I lied down on the giant doll’s back with a sigh. A feeling inside me told me that I wasn’t going to like tomorrow.

“Good morning!” A familiar cheery voice said, waking me from my slumber. Because of a mild case of homesickness, stomachache, and dread of the next day, I was hardly able to sleep at all the night before. With a grunt I rolled off the stuffed Lapras’ back and onto the floor. I blinked and rubbed my sleepy eyes to regain my sight. Samantha had already left the room and Slick was still fast asleep. As I was about to nudge my brother awake, a loud sound filled the room.

“BREEP! BREEP! BREEP! BREEP!” screamed an object on the other side of the room. The sudden noise startled Slick awake and made him instinctively shake his rattle in fear.

Angrily, I did the only thing I could think of doing. I charged up my electric pouches and gave the offending noisemaker a Thunderbolt from across the room. The object and its surroundings were fried, and smoke rose from the ashes. When Samantha re-entered the room she was surprised, and looked at me accusingly. I just turned my nose away from her, and she didn’t do anything more than tell us it was time for breakfast.

In the kitchen, the three members of Samantha’s family sat at a small table while three bowls were set out on the floor for the Pikachu, Slick, and I. The bowls were filled with PokéChow by my new trainer before she sat down for her breakfast. The humans’ food sure smelled a lot better than ours...

For a few minutes there was nothing but the sound of eating going on in the room. Then Samantha’s father broke the silence. “So, have you decided when you’re going to leave on your Pokémon journey, Sam?”

“I think I’ll leave at the end of the week,” she responded after drinking some juice. “I want to spend some time training before I leave.”

Her father sighed loudly before saying, “Well, I have something for you before you go.” He stood up and left to another room. When he came back, he was holding a dusty box. “I used this a long time ago when I left this town for a journey, and now I’m giving it to you.” He opened it, and Samantha pulled out a red hat that had a green symbol on its front.

“Why didn’t you just get her a new hat?” Samantha’s mother asked.

“No, I like it! Thank you Papa!” She said, putting it on her head proudly. I sneered and turned back to my food. At the end of breakfast, her father had also given her a new pair of black fingerless gloves.

"The gloves you're wearing now are too old and beat up. You deserve a new pair for your journey."

When they were cleaning up the table and dishes, there was a knock at the door. Samantha went to go answer it, and the Pikachu followed. “Uncle Gary!” cheered her voice from the direction she left. Out of curiosity, Slick and I left the kitchen to see this ‘Uncle Gary’.

In the doorway stood a tall man with unkempt brown hair and a rough face. He wore a long-sleeved purple shirt, a black jacket, and black pants; awkward clothes for summer. His boots were caked with mud, and next to his feet sat a black Pokémon with fierce red eyes and yellow ring patterns on her body.

Uncle Gary gave Samantha a big hug. He came into the house and took off his coat, revealing a shining green and yellow pendant that hung around his neck. The black beast followed, and looked at the Pikachu, Slick, and I.

“”Hey Pikachu. Who are these two?”” she asked.

“"They’re both Samantha’s Pokémon, Mercury. The Raichu is named Raizy and the Ekans is Slick.""

“”Two Pokémon? She’s so spoiled!”” answered Mercury, sitting in front of us. ““And a Raichu too. Do her parents know what they’ve gotten her into?”” There was a mysterious gleam in her eyes as she spoke.

""They do, but Professor Oak is the one who gave them to her.""

""The old man's going senile,"" Mercury muttered.

“”There’s no way that I’m going to obey HER!”” I spat. Pikachu and Mercury looked at me curiously, and Slick looked worried.

There was some talk among the humans in the kitchen afterwards that I took no interest in. However, I managed to steal a piece of toasted bread from the table when nobody was looking. Mercury noticed and grinned mischievously. Suddenly the conversation took a twist that caught my ear.

“A battle? Against you?” Samantha said.

“Sure! I’ll be easy on you, since you’re a beginner.” Gary ruffled her hair fondly.

May, Samantha’s mother, looked concerned. “I don’t know…” she started.

“Aw, don’t worry about it, sis. We trainers all have to start somewhere, and she’ll probably be better off if I start teaching her some pointers right at the beginning.” Turning to Samantha, he said, “Let’s go to the battlegrounds in the park.”

Samantha ran up the stairs and came back with two Pokéballs: my brother’s and mine. Slick allowed himself to be hit by a red beam that sucked him inside his Pokéball, as was Mercury when Gary did the same. But when Samantha tried to return me to my ball, I dodged the red beam with a snarl.

“That scarred Raichu is yours?” Gary asked. “I don’t know if you’re ready for such an advanced Pokémon..." Gary said with concern.

Samantha ignored what he said and continued to try and return me, but I dodged again and again. Pikachu whispered to me “”I don’t like being in Pokéballs either, but just get it over with for now."” His words distracted me and the beam hit me. A tingling sensation filled me as I was transported into my Pokéball once again.

When I was let out of my Pokéball, we were in a different environment. The clay beneath my feet was packed solid, and the sky above was bright blue with a few thin clouds decorating the sky. We were in an area that was made especially for battling. Chalk lines marked where the clay ground ended and short grass began. The rectangle it made was very large, and a line marked the halfway point with a circle in the middle of it. Samantha stood behind me, and her uncle Gary was on the other side of the battlefield.

“Go, Poliwag!” Gary yelled, throwing out a Pokéball. A small blue creature emerged. It had a small beady eyes, a swirl pattern on its belly, and no arms. It said its name cheerily, and got ready for battle. “Headbutt!” its trainer commanded.

“Raizy, use tail whip!” Samantha yelled, as if I would listen to her. I had no intention to do so.

The Poliwag lowered its head and jumped towards me, and instead of whipping my long tail at it I dodged and gave it a strong thunderbolt. But… I missed! That sneaky little…

I looked at it in disbelief. I was so sure that it would have been out of the battle. Samantha yelled, “Raizy, listen to me! Use a Tail Whip to weaken it!”

I growled and paid no heed to Samantha’s advice. Gary told his Pokémon to use Water Gun, and Samantha gave a command that I didn’t pay attention to. The Poliwag took in a deep breath and shot a strong stream of water at me, soaking my fur. When it was done I charged and took a swing at it with my right fist. My tricky opponent managed to dodge and it slapped me hard in the face with its tail.

Gary yelled at Samantha, “Why don’t you use your Ekans instead? Your Raichu won’t even listen to you!”

Samantha called me to her, but again I ignored her and glared angrily at the small blue pest. It taunted me by sticking out its tongue, but while it was doing this I hit it hard with my Slam attack and sent it flying. While it was getting up I used another thunderbolt to knock it out.

Gary sighed as he returned his fallen Pokémon to its ball. Then, he plucked another ball from his belt and called it out. “Mercury! Show this maverick what a real team can do!”

The black Pokémon that was in the kitchen materialized from the white energy. “Umbra!” she called. “”Hey chu, looks like it's you versus me!” Samantha tried to tell me to come back in vain, but I just narrowed my eyes at my opponent. Gary told Mercury to do a Quick Attack, and Samantha, probably learning from before, said nothing.

Mercury dashed forward at amazing speed. Having almost no time to dodge, I took the full brunt of the attack. I was sent tumbling across the dirt, and it took me a few seconds to recollect myself from the blow. Snarling angrily, I dashed forward on all fours with my own Quick Attack, but Mercury easily evaded it.

“”Face it, chu! You’re a newbie. I’ve got so much more experience than you-“” Mercury was unable to finish her taunt. I had lunged angrily at her, and I used my weight to pin her down.

I heard Samantha yell “Use Thundershock while she’s down!” What the hell, I figured. Using a Thundershock, I send an electric surge through my paws and into her. She screamed in pain as I electrocuted her, but to my surprise she kicked me over her head with her hind legs.

Gary shouted something, but I didn’t catch it as I rolled over onto my stomach to stand up. Mercury was already up, and she kicked some dirt into my eyes, blinding me. I rubbed my eyes furiously, yelling “”That was cheap! Augh, my eyes! Cheap trick!””

“”It’s perfectly fair,” snapped Mercury.

Gary commanded, “Hidden Power!”

I looked at Mercury with my blurry eyesight. She lowered her head and ears, and her eyes and rings were glowing brightly.

“BREOON!” she cried a wave of dark energy escaped from her and slammed into me. The force of the blast was so strong that I was lifted into the air. As I crashed back into the earth, everything turned black.

My head was throbbing in pain. I slowly opened my eyes and saw a few blurs staring down at me. After blinking a few times, the blurs changed into that of Sam, Gary, and Mercury’s faces.

“She’s awake,” said Samantha, who was closest to me. When I tried to get up my headache became even more painful, and there was a sharp pain in my left shoulder. Samantha put her hand against my back and helped me to my feet.

Gary then pulled Samantha away from Mercury and me. I looked at Mercury and she grinned evilly. “”Looks like you can’t handle my Umbreon prowess, newbie.””

“”Stop calling me that,”” I said grumpily.

“”What? Newbie? But you are! Especially if you don’t even listen to any command that Samantha tells you.””

“”I can battle just fine by myself. I don’t need her stupid commands or strategies. In fact, I’ll be surprised if she knew what strategy means!””

“”Big talk, newbie. We all start somewhere, and I advise that you listen to Samantha,"” I turned away from Mercury and folded my arms. “”Shit, you’re stubborn! Listen to Gary and Samantha. He’s telling her that you can’t be trusted as one of her Pokémon. At least not yet.””

“”So what? If everyone says that she can’t train me then that’s fine with me.””

Mercury walked in front of me and stared at me hard with her blood red eyes. “”You’re not going to get any tougher with that veil of ignorance over your face. Listen to me. Pokémon and humans work together to achieve a common goal. It’s a known FACT that Pokémon who listen to their trainers and work with them are stronger than those who think they can do everything themselves.”

I looked down, pretending not to listen. Mercury continued, “”You think you can do everything yourself, huh? Well, what about in this battle where I wiped the floor with your ass? You can say that’s because you’re a lower experience level, and that’s true. But you ONLY landed a hit when you decided to take a chance and listen to what Samantha had to say. Samantha is a good kid. She’s a bit ignorant, but she loves Pokémon. You’re lucky to have her.””

Mercury’s speech left me feeling a little angry, but after it while it made me feel depressed for the rest of the day. Alex had given me some medicine from a bottle to help me heal faster, but it did nothing to help me feel better about being beaten to easily in a fight. Guilt from ignoring everything Samantha said was pressing down on me. Because of what I did, I was probably going to be sent back home with my family: the same family that ran away in fear when Slick and I were in danger. The same family that ignored and hated me. I had turned down one of the few people who had ever been happy to see me.

And what about Slick? He was a good Pokémon; he was going to leave with Samantha. He was going to leave this place, and leave me behind. I was probably never going to see my brother again because of my haughty attitude. Thinking this over and over in my mind just made me get more and more depressed.

I was inside my Pokéball for the whole day, and I didn’t really care. I don’t know what I would have done outside the ball anyway. I’d probably do the same thing I was doing inside: angst. When I was let out again, it was sunset at Professor Oak’s estate… my home. Professor Oak was the only one there. "Things didn't work out. Go home," he said coldly.

I said nothing as I walked slowly to the forest’s edge. As I wandered deep into the forests, something pierced through my depressed thoughts. How was I going to get back to my herd? I walked deeper and deeper in, trying to find a familiar sight or scent as light from the sun slowly disappeared. I tried calling out for anybody… but there was no answer. The only sounds that could be heard were the chirrups of nocturnal Pokémon.

Then I heard a noise behind me. I swerved around, but there was nothing there. The leaves rustled a little bit to my left. I turned sharply, but again nothing. Suddenly I heard a familiar noise… the growl of the large toad Pokémon. A feeling of dread filled me.

“”So we meet again, little one,”” said a voice. Its origin came forth through the flora. “”I haven’t forgotten how you made me lose my lunch, and even though I had a Pidgey for breakfast and a nice sunbath this afternoon, I’m still hungry!””

Luckily I anticipated its attack and managed to dodge its whipping vines. The monster used a Razor Leaf attack, which whizzed over my head and sunk into a tree trunk behind me. By then I was running at full speed back the way I came, back to Professor Oak’s residence. At least, I think I was going the correct way.

Hoping that someone would hear me, I cried for help as loud as I could as I ran. Unfortunately, yelling and running at the same time took a lot of air, and I was getting tired very quickly. When I looked behind me to see how far my pursuer was, my foot caught on a tree root and tripped me.

When I looked up I saw blue powder land on my fur and nose. Suddenly I began to get very sleepy, and I couldn’t keep my eyes open. While I was fighting away sleep, I barely heard the big Pokémon chuckle about something. Using all the strength I could, I stumbled to all fours and looked behind me to see that the flower on his back was glowing brightly. Its light grew and grew, and I lacked the power to flee.

A magnificent beam of light burst forth from the flower, and hit me with immense burning power. Its strength pushed me over the ground and even through bushes, and low branches. The force of my body and its energy burned, snapped, and broke all obstacles in my path until I was practically out of the forest already.

My fur was singed, my body ached from all the things it crashed through, and my mind was a blur. I was amazed that I wasn’t knocked out or even dead by then. For a few moments I lay motionless, wondering what was going to happen to me. To think that all this could have been avoided if I were just more obedient! Even though my body ached, I slowly crawled forward. I opened my eyes and I saw bursts of light. But more importantly, I saw that the attack had sent me out of the forest! From where I was crawling I could see the lights from inside Professor Oak’s house.

Taking as deep a breath as I could without hurting myself, I cried out again. “”Slick!!”” I yelled as loud as I could. I called again. “”Samantha!!””

I gathered myself to my feet once more and turned to see that the monstrous grass Pokémon was very close. Vines emerged from the plant on its back. I tensed my muscles and shut my eyes, anticipating the pain. But it never came.

“Pidgeotto, Gust attack on that Venusaur!” yelled a hoarse voice. I looked to see who it was, and I was surprised to see that it was Professor Oak.

The brown bird’s Gust blew back the vines so that they hit Venusaur himself. Venusaur tried to use the same blue powder that he used on me before, but that too backfired when the Pidgeotto used its Gust again at the Professor’s command. The Venusaur’s eyelids drooped heavily, and despite its efforts to stay awake, he fell asleep under his own attack’s power.

Just then all the strength that I was using to keep myself standing left me, and I fell to the ground.

The next morning I was Professor Oak in his laboratory. I had spent last night in his house after I collapsed. After breakfast I followed him into his lab, and as I was sitting on counter he was checking some stuff on something humans called a ‘computer’. The only sound in the room was the computer’s hum and the occasional clacking of keys as the old professor typed. A few minutes passed, and then someone entered the room.

The man who entered had an Azumarril by his side. He wore some bright green pants and a while lab coat just like the professor’s. “Shall I begin feeding the Pokémon today, sir?” he asked.

“Hmm?” responded Professor Oak. “Oh yes, it’s Wednesday isn’t it. Go ahead then, Tracey.”

The man left the room and I was alone again with Professor Oak. The Professor finally stopped working when the computer's screen turned completely blue. He slammed his fist on the desk, sighed, and turned to me. Walking to me, he began, “Raizy. I’m going to bring you back to your herd today myself, since now I know that you’ll probably have trouble finding them again.”

I drooped my ears. I didn’t want to go back home. I wanted to go with my brother and Samantha.

The Professor seemed to notice my ears drooping. “What’s the matter, Raizy? Don’t you want to go back home?”

I shook my head vigorously. “Well, what’s wrong?” I would have tried to tell him why, but humans can’t understand a word Pokémon say. So, I just looked at him blankly.

“Oh, right… you can’t talk to humans,” he said. He really must be getting a little senile in his ancient age. “Well, is it because of the Venusaur? I can relocate him so he won’t bother you or your herd anymore.” That would have been nice, but that wasn't what I really wanted. I shook my head again.

“Um… okay, I was sure that was it. I know you, Raizy. I’ve known you since you’ve hatched from you egg! You are temperamental, stubborn, violent, and yet you get along very well with your more passive brother… Hey! Do you miss your brother?”

Right! I shook my head up and down for a big YES and smiled. But the Professor didn’t look as happy. He looked concerned. “But Raizy, you can’t go to Slick and Samantha. My great-granddaughter is too inexperienced for a Raichu, especially YOU.”

I didn’t know what he was insinuating by his last statement, but I stood up and tried look as innocent as I could with a big, toothy grin. I think it scared him more than charmed him. “Err,” he started. “All right. You get another chance. I’ll go call their house and see if it’s ok to come over.”

After a brief chat in the corner with something that looked sort of like another computer, the Professor came back to the counter where I was standing and told me that we would go to the park. Today Samantha, her father, and her uncle were at the park, probably doing more training. It took long time to get to the park since the old Professor took a long time to walk. I didn’t hold it against him, since he was probably really old, like maybe 1,000 years! Well, he at least walked like someone who was that age. When we finally reached the park, I was about to burst from excitement. I was going to see my brother again, and I was going to get another chance!

Slick was fighting Alex’s Wooper when we reached the battlefield. Slick tried to wrap it in his coils when Samantha ordered to, but the blue Pokémon easily slipped out of his grasp.

Alex chuckled. “Wooper is a really slippery Pokémon! You best try another strategy!”

Samantha ordered my brother to use a Poison Sting attack. Slick opened his mouth, and bright needles shot out, hitting the Wooper dead on. They quickly dissolved after they had punctured its skin, and it was obvious that the Wooper was feeling a little woozy.

“Now, bite it!” Sam yelled. Slick lunged forward and got a hold on the Wooper’s chubby tail. The Wooper thrashed about in pain, then fainted from the poison that had been injected into its body.

As Alex congratulated his daughter on her victory, Professor Oak and I stepped up to the field. “Hello all, guess who’s back.”

Alex and Gary’s silent reaction to my arrival didn’t make me feel very welcome. However, Samantha and Slick’s cheery greeting made me feel much better. Slick slithered up to me and asked if I was going to join him on Samantha’s journey when she left, and I said that I would try to. When the professor suggested that Samantha use me in battle, Gary and Alex openly protested.

“But that Raichu’s too wild!” said Gary, standing up.

“Samantha’s not ready,” agreed Alex.

“Now, now,” the Professor said. “If Raizy misbehaves, which I’m sure she won’t…” he looked down at me, and I responded with a nervous grin. “I’m sure you two can handle it.”

The professor walked next to Gary to watch the fight, while Slick slithered next to Samantha and I walked towards the center of the field. Alex pulled a Pokéball from his belt and threw it in front of him. A large, muscular, grey Pokémon formed in front of me. Its shape was almost human-like if you didn’t look at its face.

“Ma-choke,” he grunted, flexing his muscles. This guy looked like he could do some serious damage, and the fact that I was only allowed to do what Samantha told me to or face going home made me feel even more nervous.

“Begin!” called Gary from the sidelines. Both the Machoke and I took battle stances as we waited for our commands.

“Karate Chop!” commanded Alex.

“Jump back and Quick Attack!” yelled Samantha, and I did what I was told. I jumped backwards as the Machoke sliced his sideward hand with tremendous force at the area I had just been standing moments before. Then I jumped forward and slammed into the Machoke’s hard gut headfirst.

“Seismic Toss!” yelled Alex.

“Thunderbolt!” yelled Samantha.

The Machoke grabbed me before I had a chance to react, and threw me straight into the air with my back towards the ground. I screamed as I flew up until I hit the peak of my ascent. When I began to drop, I did my best to turn myself over so I could land on my feet when I hit the ground. As I turned I saw that I was a lot farther up than I thought I was, so I charged up my electricity as fast as I could I discharged a bolt of electricity at my opponent.

I hit the ground hard with a thud, but I was able to absorb a lot of the shock with my feet and paws. The Machoke was also showing some damage; burns from electrocution were clearly visible. When Alex ordered his Pokémon to use a Low Kick, Samantha quickly shouted out my command to use Tail Whip. As the Machoke slid forward I easily leapt over his head and used my long tail to slap him multiple times in the face and chest.

“Mega Punch!” said the Machoke’s trainer.

“Punch him back!” said mine.

“…Does Raizy know how to do a real punch?” questioned Gary.

Since Machoke was about twice as tall as me, I had the advantage. He had to aim down to be able to hit me, but I easily dodged to the side when his glowing fist took a swing at me. I pulled back my right fist, concentrated as on hitting Machoke as hard as I could, and I swung at his grey stomach.

To my surprise, my fist was glowing with bright energy as I made contact with Machoke’s abs. If that wasn’t enough, the blow caused Machoke to fly a few feet backward! Machoke cringed on the ground, holding his stomach in pain.

“A Dynamic Punch?!” cried out Alex in surprise.

“Wow! Oh yeah, Raizy, Thunderbolt!” said Samantha, almost forgetting that we were in a battle. A swift bolt at lightning was the finishing blow to Machoke, and my opponent was defeated.

Alex returned the unconscious Machoke to his Pokéball, and looked at me in disbelief. Samantha and Slick ran up to congratulate me, as did Gary and Professor Oak. Professor Oak took my paw and examined it.

“Heh, just as I suspected. Raizy’s inherited her mother's Dynamic Punch, and her large paws.” He explained. My mother's paws? The Dynamic Punch?

“I can’t believe your Raichu knows how to use a Dynamic Punch!” exclaimed Alex.

“I can’t believe that she actually obeyed you,” said Gary.

Samantha happily gave me a big congratulations hug, which I was thought caused more damage to me than Machoke’s Seismic Toss. That night, it was decided that I would belong to Samantha again, and when she left on her journey, I would accompany her along with my brother.