Pokémon : The Journey of Travis Tedford

Chapter 5: Best Friends

Efren and I went to sit at a nearby cafe to discuss the plans he had made going forward. "Alright, so tell me, why are you deciding to travel with me? I thought you had plans to go on your own journey?" I asked.

"Why does time traveling with you bother you so much? You don't want the Effles to travel with you?" asked Efren with a sad look on his face.

"Don't be dramatic, you know that's not what I'm saying. Ever since we've left home and went on our own separate journeys, I've seen you as my main rival. Someone I must beat. You've always been one step ahead of me, and now all of a sudden you've given up on all of that," I said.

"To be honest, I still do plan on entering the Kanto league someday, but unfortunately, I can't. I've done my research and, well, apparently you have to be at least 10 years old or older to enter the league. I'm only 9, and my birthday is over 6 months away while the league is in less than 4. I don't want to just go back home and lay around the house for 6 months, so I thought, why not go and see the world with you, my best friend?" said Efren.

Even though he was smiling as he said all of that, I could tell that he was hiding his sadness beneath that smile. "Well, I always thought it'd be fun to have someone else along on my journey, so why not have that person be my own best friend?" I said with an encouraging smile.

Efren's face lit up, and I can tell in that moment he was no longer sad. "So you got your first badge already, huh? How many Pokemon do you have now?" asked Efren.

"I recently just caught my 3rd, so I have 3 on me. What about you?" I asked.

"I have three as well. I have an idea, let's have a battle! We can show each other how much we've grown as trainers since the last time we had seen each other," said Efren.

"Alright, let's do it," I said with excitement. We went back to the Pokemon Center and used the battlefield that was behind the center.

"Alright, for my first Pokemon I'll choose Meowth!" called Efren as he threw a pokeball into the air and a Meowth emerged.

"Alright, Bagon, it's time for your debut!" I called as Bagon came out of its Pokeball. Bagon looked around nervously. It didn't have any battle experience, but I knew in order for it to grow and evolve someday, I'd have to put it to battle.

"Alright, I'll start first! Meowth, use Fury Swipes!" called Efren. Meowth was fast, and it immediately made contact with Bagon and slashed it multiple times.

"Hang in there, Bagon, use Headbutt!" I called out. Bagon shook off its pain and then launched itself headfirst at Meowth and hit it right in the chest. Meowth was sent backward.

"Whoa, for a baby Pokemon, it's got a very hard head. But silly Travis, it's going to take more than that to take down my Meowth. Now use Shadow Ball!" called out Efren. Meowth charged the Shadow Ball in its mouth and then launched it at Bagon.

"Bagon, intercept with Dragon Breath!" I called out. Bagon fired its attack, and it collided with the Shadow Ball, causing an explosion that hit both Pokemon. When the smoke had cleared, Meowth was still standing while Bagon had fainted.

"Good Job, Meowth!" called out Efren. Bagon snapped out of it and sat up, sad. I walked onto the field and picked it up. "Hey, don't feel down. You did great for your first battle. Whether you win or lose a battle, you'll only continue to get stronger. I'll let you watch the rest of the battle," I said as I walked back to my side of the field and sat Bagon on the ground. I then grabbed my next Pokeball and threw it onto the field. Togepi emerged out of its Pokeball ready to battle.

"A Bagon and a Togepi? You must have some kind of plot armor or some shit to have such rare Pokemon this early in your journey. For my second Pokemon, I'll use Espurr!" said Efren as it emerged from its Pokeball.