Pokémon Creepypasta A to Z

Curse

Wind rushed through Kari's hair as she clung to Dragonite's neck, her stomach fluttering in exhilaration as they descended towards the plateau. This was it: the site of the Indigo League. After a long, arduous journey of narrow victories, shameful losses, and eventually earning all eight Johto gym badges through blood, sweat and tears. She was finally here, and with Dragonite by her side, nothing could stop her from being crowned champion this year.

"You tired?" she called to her partner. The Pokémon grinned and took a playful dive by way of answer, and she chuckled even as her stomach took a lurch at the unexpected movement. "Thought not. I was thinking we should find a trainer for a practice match, just to see where we stand compared to the other people here. What do you say?"

"I'm in," replied the dragon and took another swoop downwards, energized at the thought of a battle. Kari smiled to herself. She had always figured that even if she hadn't been interested, he would have dragged her out to be a trainer anyway; he could never stand being a pet.

Dragonite skillfully pulled into a low, lazy hover over the general area and Kari peered down at the trainers, trying to pick out a suitable opponent. She ignored those that were just squabbling with one another; if they came all the way here only to spend their time talking instead of training, they were probably just casual trainers and in the weaker half. Some were battling against each other, but if she landed next to a battle and watched until it was over, it would look like she was sneakily trying to gauge their battle styles and strategies for the tournament. But others were discussing strategies with their Pokémon or practicing moves alone, and it was to them that she looked now.

"That guy," she said at last. "Blond, ten o'clock. With the Scizor. Let's see if he's any good."

Her Pokémon nodded and approached the trainer she indicated, landing a safe distance away; it tended to startle people when they landed too close. The boy's Scizor was expertly smashing a rock into pieces with its metallic claws, paying them no notice as its trainer gave it some inaudible directions.

Kari slid off Dragonite's back. The trainer turned to her as the two of them walked towards him.

"Hey," she called, raising a hand in greeting. "I just got here and want an idea of how I stand. Quick one-on-one? Your strongest against my strongest?" She pointed a thumb over her shoulder to indicate her Pokémon while she quickly sized her opponent up. He was on the short side, skinny and pale and sickly-looking, but his light blue eyes sparkled with the same confidence she'd seen in his posture that had made her decide to challenge him. His Scizor looked disinterestedly up at her as the boy cocked his head slightly.

"A Dragonite?" he asked. "Impressive. Where'd you get it?"

Kari grinned. "My grandpa's one of the elders of the Dragon's Den in Blackthorn City. Gave him to me as a Dratini when I was a kid. So what have you got to match him? Scizor?"

The boy fingered one of the Pokéballs at his belt slowly as he glanced at the bug Pokémon. "Oh, no," he replied. "Scizor's not my strongest. That's why it needed the training." He turned his gaze back towards her and smiled. "Okay, you're on. One on one."

Dragonite stepped in front of Kari, giving her a quick nod and a grin before he turned to face his opponent. The other trainer detached the ball he'd been fiddling with from his belt, turned it over in his palm a few times, and then called, "Snorlax, go!"

Kari raised her eyebrows as the Pokéball he threw released a huge blob of white light. She'd assumed the kid was pretty good, sure, but not a lot of people had Snorlax, plus that it just didn't seem to fit such a small, skinny trainer. But unexpected as it was, it did not pose a problem for Dragonite; he stood tall and unwavering as the light took the shape of the Snorlax's enormous, round belly and two stubby feet, and Kari did not doubt that he could win.