Pokemon - Evil Reborn

Chapter 27 - Battle Bait

"I'll battle you, but not here." I said, still holding my PokeBall. "Away from the house."

"Fine." Victor frowned, stepping back. "The riverbank."

I nodded, slowly walking away from the front door. Whatever he wanted, he seemed dangerous, and I couldn't let a fight start right outside the building I lived in. "You go first." The boy said, standing aside. I walked past him and off towards the direction of the riverbank. He followed, right behind me, his orange eyes cold and serious, piercing into my back like lightning.

As we left the main part of the city, the front door to the house opened, and Nelly appeared. She watched me go and turned back into the house, calling for everyone else.

When we got down to the riverbank, I recognised Ryan, Torch, Gazelle and Nero playing football on the pitch. It had been a while since I had seen them, yet they were still practising as hard as ever. Victor directed me down the stone steps, though I couldn't see where he wanted the battle to start.

"Hey!" Ryan waved.

"Hi, guys." I waved back as we walked onto the pitch.

"It's that guy!" Torch pointed at Victor. "You've got some power in you!"

"Do you want to play?" Nero asked from the goal, rolling a ball out. The ball rolled and halted at Victor's feet, lightly tapping against his shoes. His eyes narrowed and it looked like he had gritted his teeth.

"No. Now get off the pitch – we need it!" He roared, kicking the ball hard. It blasted through the air, and Nero had no time to react. It crashed into him, right in the stomach, and the little guy was tossed violently into the back of the net – with the ball.

"Hey!" Gazelle shouted, but backed down when he saw the fire in Victor's eyes. Instead, he and Torch ran to Nero, who was creased up in pain on the grass.

"What the Hell are you doing?!" I turned to Victor.

"Just shut up and fight!" He once again drew a PokeBall. Ryan looked from one of us to the other, then ran off to his friends.

"Fine. Let's go!" I growled.

"Go!" The boy called, throwing his PokeBall forward. In a bright flash, a Mightyena appeared. Victor examined it as if he had never seen it before, but composed himself quickly.

"All right... Cyndi, go!"

My Quilava entered the battle, and her eyes lit up, ready for action. It had been a fair while since Cyndi had fought, and it was good to have her back. "Cyndi, use Flame Wheel!" I ordered. She immediately sprung forward, curling herself up. Flames engulfed her body, and she span across the ground, singeing the blades of grass as she went. She smacked right into Mightyena, sending it spiralling in the dirt. Cyndi skidded to a halt as the flames disappeared, seeming pleased with herself.

"Gh..." Victor blinked twice and pointed. "Use Crunch!"

His Pokemon lunged menacingly, flaring its fangs. Cyndi instinctively jumped backwards, and the snap of the foe's teeth came down just before her face. "Take Down!" Victor followed up. Before Cyndi had time to dodge again, Mightyena pounced with all its weight, barging into her. The two Pokemon went sprawling across the grass, both hurt by the attack.

"Flamethrower!" I commanded. My Pokemon bounced back to her feet and blasted hot flames from her mouth. The fire hit Mightyena while it was down, and it howled out. "Now, Quick Attack!"

Cyndi tore forwards on all fours, getting faster with each bound.

"Dodge it!" Victor called. But Mightyena, still blinded by flames and pain, couldn't avoid the attack. Cyndi bashed into it, sending it sliding along the ground. The Bite Pokemon was knocked out, thanks to a far superior showing by Cyndi.