All the World's a Pokemon - IC

[S121]

Sinnoh Region - Oreburgh City - 8:30 PM

After leaving the restroom, John walked over to the corner of the room and sat down cross-legged. Once John was seated, he then opened up one of his storage compartments and pulled out an MRE. The MRE was in a green package, similar to the color of John's MJOLNIR armor. John opened up the plastic back with little effort and emptied it's contents on the ground in front of him. There were now an assortment of packets in front of him, each one containing a particular portion of his dinner. Inside the packest was a main dish, a side dish, an energy bar called "First Strike" with an MA5C printed on the front, a package of crackers, cheese spread, powdered drink mix, a plastic spork, a flameless, water-powered ration heater, a beverage mixing bag, Xylitol chewing gum, a water-resistant matchbook, napkins, moist towelettes, and seasonings, all originally tightly packed into one small package.

John quickly got to work, tearing packages and preparing his meal. After a couple of minutes, John's food was now ready for consumption. It took John very little time as he quickly scarfed down his food without making a mess. It was a habit that was trained into him when he was a child. When one ate, they were vulnerable to attack, so the less time they took to eat, the sooner their guard would be up again. Once all the packages were empty, John grabbed them all, walked over to the garbage can, and tossed them in. After enjoying his meal, John put his helmet back on and reengaged his energy shields.

John had to admit, the meal wasn't the most flavorful, but it still satisfied him and left him in a good mood. As John's helmet repressurized, he walked to the window and simply gazed out of it, looking at the city before him. Tomorrow, John knew that he would be busy trying to find a water pokemon. John didn't really believe in luck, but hopefully everyone was right about him. Hopefully his luck would make tomorrow easier.

[WriggleRid3r]

Hoenn Region - Petalburg City

---

"Yeah?" Yuuka rose her eyebrows as if someone just answered a rhetorical question. Of course you don't want to spend the night in the woods, unless you have a death wish. "Come here, follow me."

"Yuuka!" Violet giggled as she pranced over, with her recently-bought hat on her head. "Who's this handsome gentleman?"

"Oh, he's... uh... Chung. I met him today. Chung, this is Violet. I live with her family."

---

Hoenn Region - Route 116

---

The enemy Geodude merely bounced the attack off with ease. It seemed that Mac's attack didn't even hinder the Geodude as he flew into the air and slammed Mac aside with a tackle of his own.

"My Geodude is sturdy! I fed him pebbles from all over Hoenn!" Hiker Andrew boasted. "No mere tackle can take him down so easily!"

[Major Mario]

Hoenn Region - Rustboro City - Route 116

---

"...What? Pebbles?" Sherry stood silent as she stared at the hiker. Was he being serious? "Uh, okay... Mac! Are you alright?"

Mac picked himself up and rotated his shoulders before nodding. There was a scrape on his knee from the tumble, one that was present from the last fight with the Makuhita. Sherry figured the potion only covered up the injuries, and this fight was probably going to reveal them. If the Machop was still rearing to fight, then Sherry had no choice but to oblige him.

"Okay, move in again with a low kick!"

The Machop rolled its eyes. How else would he kick that rock pokemon? He rubbed his face and leaped forward again, this time with a stiff right leg aimed at the rocky mass.

[Lord_Jacobus1]

Unova Region - Nimbasa City

---

"I might as well go to Castelia City today. I've got nothing better to do." It was a boring Spring day for Sekibanki. "But first I'll go spy on Elesa. That ought to be fun." Sekibanki pulled out a Pokeball that she had brought with her from Kanto, from back when she was a newscaster. "Aurelia, do come on out!" And from the ball came a very careful Barboach. "I heard that Elesa has an Emolga. You better have Ice Beam, because I have never battled with you before, & if you don't I'll be very ashamed of you." Aurelia looked around nervously. "Uh, I only have, uh, Mud Slap... Sorry?" "Of course! I knew that!" In reality, Sekibanki did not know, but she was feeling very proud of herself today. "Might as well take the Nimbasa Gym on anyways. I never did like Elesa's control of the city." "Uh, I don't know if that's a good idea..." Sekibanki, not listening to the Barboach Aurelia, instead picked her up, walked outside the house, past the Battle Subway, & into the amusement park. "We will practice on that person by the Ferris Wheel." "I don't trust you. What if I faint?" But Sekibanki was already rushing towards the Ferris Wheel, thoughts of glory in her heart...

[WriggleRid3r]

Hoenn Region - Route 116

---

The Geodude tensed itself to take the blow, but did not notice that Machop's low kick would do more damage when the target is heavier. Practically knocking himself out, Geodude was sent back to hiker Andrew's Pokeball.

Mac grew to Lv: 7!
Mac learned Focus Energy!

"Not bad!" Hiker Andrew seemed taken aback. "But wait until you see my second Pokemon! Go, Roggenrola!"

Roggenrola looked like a more rugged version of Geodude, with deep indigo body covered in smooth facets. Weird part about Roggenrola was that its' one ear was placed at the center of the body. The Roggenrola rolled about, scanning the landscape to see where is the best spot to hold its' ground.

Roggenrola Lv: 4

"Roggenrola, the rare rocky Pokemon from the Unova region!" Hiker Andrew guffawed. "He may not look like it, but he's even bulkier than my Geodude! Can you even crack through his armor?"

[Major Mario]

Hoenn Region - Rustboro City - Route 116

---

Sherry heard her pokedex beep in satisfaction when Mac the Machop finished off that Geodude. She took out the device and flipped it open to notice that it was notifying her of Mac's new level. Two levels in one day, she thought to herself. It wasn't bad at all, but she knew that training would be much tougher as time passed, and levels would be much harder to earn. Sherry was not deterred in the slightest at that fact. She pocketed her device and looked over at the new pokemon, a little blue rock thing with brown touches and a yellow opening.

The young woman blinked twice and looked for eyes on that pokemon, but when she couldn't find any, she scratched her head. She didn't know what to do, and she didn't want to make Mac run blindly ahead like an idiot. As for Mac, that was just what he wanted to do. He rocked on his heels and cried out before taking a step forward to challenge the newcomer.

"Mac, wait! I have no idea how to tackle this thing, and I bet you don't know either. Let's play it safe and-"

"Machop!"

Mac had no intention of waiting. He figured this new foe would go down just as easily as the Geodude before it, so he aimed another low kick its way without input from his trainer.

"Oh dear," Sherry muttered.

[WriggleRid3r]

Hoenn Region - Route 116

---

"Take my bait!" Hiker Andrew bellowed. "Roggenrola, Harden!"

The enemy Roggenrola dug itself to the ground and stiffened its' muscles... if those rugged boulder-like ridges can be called that. Unfortunately, just like Geodude, Roggenrola did not know that becoming heavy does not fare well against Mac's vicious low kick.

"Roggenrola!" Hiker Andrew gasped as his second Pokemon was knocked out in one hit again as well, increasing Mac's already large ego. "Grr... I haven't been backed into this corner for a long time... but the time is ripe!"

Hiker Andrew's last Pokeball released a humongous chain of boulders that resembled a rock snake. The magnet on his head looked like a horn, followed by a set of black eyes under it. The boulders closer to his head was smoother than the boulders closer to his tail.

Onix Lv: 6

"This is my trump card!" Hiker Andrew shouted as the rock snake slithered and forced the crowd to move away to obtain the space needed to freely move about. "Let's see you take my Onix, bestowed to me by my hiker father, down at all!"

[Major Mario]

Hoenn Region - Rustboro City - Route 116

---

Although Mac had managed to knock out that Roggenrola, the hardening had taken a toll on his foot. He had failed to twist his foot into a good position and suffered a bit of recoil damage, resulting in a yelp and a stubbed toe. The little Machop leaped onto one foot and cradled the other in pain.

"Ugh. Mac, you gotta use your head," Sherry scolded. She looked up at the massive stone serpent and blanched. "...Oh boy."

Ms. Birkin had seen plenty of big monsters in her time, but this one was different. How could one be made entirely of stone? Was it just really, really thick skin? She saw the crowd around them move back and did the same herself. Such a huge creature needed all the space it could get, but for Mac, he was just fine. At least, Mac was fine without a giant looming over him.

The little Machop was undeterred by this new foe after he recovered from his pain. He reeled a fist back and charged forward at the Onix.

[Cucoo5]

Johto Region - Goldenrod Department Store

"Hmm..." Lyrica looked over the menu, but couldn't see what she was looking for...
"Pardon me for asking, but do you folk have eggrolls? If not I think I would go with a simple Mongolian..." Lyrica looked over the menu again.

[WriggleRid3r]

Hoenn Region - Route 116

---

The stone snake coiled and waited patiently for Mac's move. When the Machop decided to run headfirst, the Onix also jumped...

Wait what. Jumped?

The Onix jumped, taking its over-200kg body up to the air and aiming at Machop as he landed. Fortunately, the Onix's Tackle missed, but if it hit, poor Mac would've fainted, thus leaving the duel at a loss for Sherry.

---

Johto Region - Goldenrod Department Store

---

"We have all the assortments of appetizers at the back of our menu." The waiter kindly replied.

[Major Mario]

Hoenn Region - Rustboro City - Route 116

---

Sherry couldn't watch. She averted her eyes and gritted her teeth, unwilling to see her little Machop get splattered. When she heard the smash of the rock giant hitting the ground, she heard the gasps of the onlookers and feared for the worst. However, a short and shrill voice punctuated the silence.

"Chop!"

She couldn't believe it, but the Onix had missed its target. Mac was unharmed and mere inches away from an untimely defeat. He stood at the Onix's midpoint, knees quivering from fright. He too was shaken from the attack, his ego and momentum shattered in one fell swoop. Sherry counted her blessings and shouted out to the little fighter.

"You can't take a hit like that, Mac! Focus your energy, evaluate your target, then strike!" she ordered.

Mac took the order in stride this time. He leaped away from the Onix and clenched his fists on either side of his body as he began to focus on his energy. His little eyes searched the Onix before him, quivering with courage. He could do this as long as he had his head in the game. As unspent energy seeped into his system, he searched his opponent for a weakspot. Perhaps the head would take the most damage...

The best bet now was to wait for a move and counter accordingly. Sherry was going all in on this one, and Mac had all the cards.

[WriggleRid3r]

Hoenn Region - Route 116

---

Hiker Andrew seemed dismayed that his Onix couldn't finish off the tired Machop, but it didn't seem to matter that much, as he began to order Onix to once again attack Machop.

"Onix, Bind him till he faints!"

"Yah!"

This time, Onix slithered across the flat dirt land; splattering dust all over the battlefield in doing so, thrust his tails against Machop's tiny muscular body, and curved his body inward to tightly wrap Mac in.

[Major Mario]

Hoenn Region - Rustboro City - Route 116

---

Mac waited for the right time before acting. He focused his power into his legs and pushed off from the ground into a high jump. As he rocketed skyward, he escaped the dust cloud and could see what the Onix's intentions were. Had he hesitated, he would have been crushed by the stone serpent's tail. But now the tables had turned.

"Counter, Mac! Aim for the head!" Sherry shouted.

While Mac did not yet know 'Counter' as a move in itself, he could still counter with a move of his own. Why was it that the pokedex said some pokemon could tackle and others could not? It wasn't that hard to tackle at all, Sherry thought. She clenched her fists and waited for Mac to descend, and when he did, he did it with aplomb. The little Machop came thundering down with a leg raised high, and when he came to Onix's head, he brought it down hard. An improvised 'low kick' to the head!

[WriggleRid3r]

Hoenn Region - Route 116

---

The kick landed clearly on the temple of the Onix. The towerinf rock serpent bellowed in pain, having taken a damage both amplified by his weight and by the energy focused into the kick itself.

Critical Hit!

"Onix!" Hiker Andrew shouted in defeat as the stone snake fell in defeat, landing on the ground with a large THUD and a tremor.

Mac grew to Level: 8!

[Major Mario]

Hoenn Region - Rustboro City - Route 116

---

Mac fell down from the sky and landed in a heap, failing to stick the landing. He raised himself back up to his feet and gave a weary thumbs-up to Sherry, who returned it in stride. The little underdog had done it! Well, just barely, but he did it! Sherry shouted in joy and pumped her fist before snapping to attention and composing herself. Mustn't showboat, even though she wanted to shout at the top of her lungs about her victory.

The once-agent went up to her little partner and gave him a pat on the head and a few words of praise before approaching the hiker. She stuck out her hand and smiled. If there was one thing her parents did right by her, it was teaching her how to be polite and humble.

"Woah... That was a great match! I've never seen your last two pokemon before!"