Chapter 144:  Losses (Part B) by Michael Keens/Exodus  

Having found a small abandoned hut for trainers to rest at, Ellie properly got 
to learn about Pokémon Contests from her new friend Roslyn.  
Trainers who trained and competed in these kinds of settings were given the 
classification of Pokémon Co-ordinators, and they trained their Pokémon to use 
attacks and techniques to create visual displays or creative acts of beauty to 
qualify for several rounds of battle against their opponents which was based 
around points awarded by judges for every aspect of the fights.  
Ellie had heard of such events within her home region of Kanto but had never 
sought out more information on them, the whole thing had begun in this region 
and soon branched out to other countries yet was still popular here.  
She’d seemingly made a new friend in Hoenn but had already been forced to lie 
in order to nullify the possibility of Roslyn being able to help anyone 
wanting to track Ellie down.  
She’d already planned on staying here for the entire year regardless if she 
was successful or not, not that she wouldn’t try hard in order to prove to her 
father she could make it as a trainer, and yet not bothered if she won this 
year’s Pokémon League or not since winning it all would be what many expected 
of her just because she was her father’s daughter.  
Ellie came out of her private thoughts when Roslyn arrived holding two hot 
snacks she’d picked up outside.  
“The rain stopped and I figured you could do with some food.” she said 
pleasantly.  
“Oh... thanks Roslyn, how much do I owe you?”  
“Don’t be silly, you’re one of my friends now...” she giggled.  
“... Who hasn’t known you for that long.” added Ellie.  
“Believe me, you’re special.  I get laughed at back home because I haven’t 
mastered my dancing, and after what just happened in Slateport it was nice 
that you were nice to me, and you’re honest too.”  
“Why... thank you Roz’...” Ellie replied.  
“No, thank you Elise, I’m glad we’ll be travelling together for now...”  
“... But I’m not honest...” thought Ellie sadly, “Maybe I’m better off 
alone...”  
“We should be able to head off now; it shouldn’t rain now for at least a day.” 
Roslyn said, breaking Ellie out of her thoughts.  
“Sure thing.” murmured Ellie, popping the snack on a stick into her mouth and 
holding it there until she could adjust her jacket and collect her 
belongings.  
“I checked some maps and we’re a little way away from Mauville City as yet but 
we should be there in a few days or so.” explained Roslyn.  
“Great, I’m looking forward to having my first Gym Battle there, especially 
since I’ve finally got a Pokémon who will listen to me.” Ellie smiled.  
“Was it deaf?” Roslyn asked with an odd look.  
“Not that sort of listening, I guess I should have said I have a Pokémon who 
deliberately ignores me, but now I’ve got a replacement for it.” rephrased 
Ellie.  
“Um, how many Pokémon do you have?” Roslyn asked somewhat nervously.  
“If we’re counting All of them, then two.”  
“Me too...  I know it’s sudden but would you be interested in a Pokémon Battle 
soon as we find a large open space? I could use whatever training I can get.” 
enquired Roslyn.  
“Absolutely.”  
“And would you mind if it were a Double Pokémon Battle considering-”  
“Um, what’s that?” Ellie asked; she felt a little silly doing so.  
“I’m surprised you don’t know, it’s a well known method in Hoenn; they’re when 
two Pokémon battle two other Pokémon, whether the teams are made of one 
trainer’s Pokémon or a team using one Pokémon each.” explained Roslyn.  
“I don’t know if it’ll work considering...  But what the heck, maybe seeing 
its replacement fighting will inspire my Kecleon to battle.”  
“Then we’re settled...”  

Meanwhile Wanda was already engaged in battle but against a lone Pokémon.  
“Zigzag! Use yer San’ Attack.”  
“Wurm-Pul!” shouted the opponent, a tiny red caterpillar Pokémon Wurmple, as 
it was blinded in the midst of its Poison Sting attack.  
The needles scattered around the small battlefield randomly and Wanda’s 
Zigzagoon dodged around them by running in its usual zigzag direction towards 
its target.  
“Tackle!”  
“Zagoon!” it growled with a confident grin, slamming into the little worm and 
causing it to bounce backwards and hit a tree.  
Wanda launched her second and final Premier Ball forward and hit the dazed 
Pokémon head on, it didn’t have much resistance and the ball barely shook at 
all.  
“Oi hope ei’ wasn’t ‘urt too much...” Wanda said genuinely while she picked up 
the ball, returned to the blanket with her lunch and the Pokémon’s food and 
released it.  
“Wurm...  Wurmple?” it inquired, scanning its surroundings and situation.  
“‘ey...  Oi hope Oi didn’ ‘urt you too badly, buh’ Oi promise thin’s are goin’ 
ta geh’ beh’er from now on.” Wanda comforted in a soft tone.  
“Pul...” it moaned, its strength leaving it.  
“‘ave some Potion; Oi’m givin’ ei’ ta all the Pokimon Oi catch.” Wanda said as 
she used a healing spray on the Wurmple, it perked up almost immediately and 
smiled.  
“Oi usually nickname moi Pokimon buh’ Oi know tha’ you’ve goh’ a branched 
evolution tha’ Oi have no control over, so you’ll ‘ave ta wei’.”  
“Wurmple?”  
“Buh’ if you’re stuck on a decision, Oi love Beautifly.” added Wanda in a 
friendly whisper.  
The Wurmple cocked its head and simply smiled “Wurmple!”  
“Oi wonder if tha’s a yes ta evolvin’ inta Silcoon, oh well, Oi’ll deal wi’ 
ei’ oi-ver way.”  
Her Zigzagoon had already returned to the food it’d been called away from to 
battle the passing Wurmple and ate everything in the bowl, while Wanda’s 
Azurill sat alone; a little shy around all the new Pokémon.  
“Oh Luriri, don’ stay there on yer own, join us.” called Wanda.  
“Rill...”  
“Are you shy?...  Or jealous?” Wanda smiled, “Oi meant wor’ Oi said 
before ‘Riri, Oi want all moi Pokimon ta be friends, else Oi wouldn’ catch ‘em 
in the first place, Oi’ll always catch Pokimon who will get on with all moi 
others, an’ you’re all as importan’ ta me equally.”  
“Rill...” smiled Luriri, bouncing into its owner’s arms.  
“Buh’ you know we’ll always ‘ave a special connection ‘Riri.” Wanda whispered 
only loud enough for the one Pokémon to hear.  
“Now ea’ up everyone, we’re nearly a’ Mauville Ci’-ee so we’re goin’ ta ‘ave 
ta train with spee’ attacks until yer strength is buil’ up.”  
Wanda packed away whatever she could as she left her Pokémon to eat, unknowing 
of the fact two dark pairs of eyes were watching from the shadows...  

Ellie and Roslyn had found a nice space in the forest that had the markings of 
an official Pokémon Battlefield.  
“Release your Pokémon at the same time and remember they can help each other 
out or attack in unison or separate.” explained Roslyn.  
“Sounds appealing.” Ellie smiled, before her expression dropped a little as 
she added quietly “‘Cept that won’t be an option unless my Kecleon gets its 
act together.”  
Four Pokéballs spun into the air and exploded open.  
“Kecleon!”  
“Tree-Ko!”  
“Ros-eee-lia!”  
“Nyahnyah nyahnyah!”  

“Wow...” Ellie purred as she saw her opponents, a spiky female flower either 
holding or connected to two large roses, and a cute little red and yellow cat-
like Pokémon with a strange tail, scanning both with the Pokédex soon enough.  

“Roselia, the Thorn Pokémon.  This graceful Grass/Poison-type sometimes waves 
its rose hands like pompoms, despite its innocent appearance a Roselia’s 
poisonous thorns are harmful and can be fired at will.”  
“Skitty, the Kitten Pokémon.  This carefree innocent Pokémon is fascinated 
with moving objects and tends to chase them; on occasion this can mean their 
own tail.  Skitty are very popular pets but can become swift battlers with 
enough training.”  

“They don’t look Too tough; I might actually pull this off.” Ellie 
muttered, “You ready Guys?”  
“Kec-Leon!” shook Sneak, having realised the Treecko wasn’t here to spectate, 
it was meant to fight alongside it.  
“Oh come on Sneak, I’m not even asking you to work as a team, just do your 
share.” pleaded Ellie.  
“Kec-Lee-On!” shouted Sneak with more emphasis, crossing its arms and 
sulking.  
Ellie groaned, “Good thing Shredder is fairly high level...”  
“Treecko!” shouted Shredder, rushing headlong into the fight.  
“Kit! Tackle! Thorn! Needle!”  
“Nyah Nyah Nyah!” squealed the Skitty, suddenly intercepting the Treecko’s run 
and smashing into it hard with its body.  
Shredder crashed down and didn’t get to stand up, as piercing needles shot 
into its arm and sent a shooting pain along with a strange feeling into its 
body.  
Shredder pulled the needles out but felt faint for a moment and had to use an 
arm to balance himself as his legs appeared to weaken under his weight.  
“Kec Kec Kec...” sniggered Sneak cruelly, it glanced at Ellie as if to rub it 
in but also as if questioning if the Treecko was honestly meant to serve as 
competition to get Sneak to fight.  
This was a mistake as a couple of needles came flying at it; Sneak quickly let 
himself fall onto his back to avoid the shots.  
It angrily glanced for a split second at the Roselia, and in moments it had 
vanished from her sights.  
Ellie glanced but stopped herself from tracking the Kecleon’s visible red 
stripe so as not to reveal it to the opponent like she’d done before, she 
smirked a little and thought “Maybe this will work out, Sneak might not work 
as a team with Shredder but the rivalry might be the only thing to make my 
Kecleon battle for me.”  
“Rossssse-el-Lia!” cried out the Grass Pokémon as the long tongue of Sneak 
shot forward while uncurling and sent her into a spin while putting her in a 
state of temporary paralysis.  
It didn’t last too long but the Roselia spent a while removing the slimy 
saliva from her face and body, this would buy Ellie a moment to concentrate on 
the other opponent.  
Sneak reappeared and glared at the Skitty but its expression changed as it 
fell for the technique it was currently using.  
Kit was bouncing about in a half circle around Sneak, a happy expression on 
its face and its tail spiralling around in a heart shape, the actions causing 
Sneak to stare in awe.  
“Oh no, it’s the Attraction technique, they’re of different genders so it’s a 
definite hit.” Ellie spoke to herself, “Sneak you have to-”  
A sharp slapping sound filled the air as the Skitty completed its mid air spin 
and its heavy tail swept away from a battered Kecleon.  
“Highly effective Tail Whip.” Ellie whispered in disbelief.  
“Sel!” said the Roselia, back in the battle and calling out while stretching 
out one of her rose hands and concentrating.  
“Keccc...” groaned Sneak, trying to get up and suddenly darting back 
uncontrollably as a green sphere of his health was drawn out of his body and 
dragged towards the Roselia.  
“Nyah!...” cried out the Skitty happily, chasing after the object as it 
floated towards its partner.  
“Treecko!” shouted Shredder, running into the battlefield and using Absorb 
itself, but it wasn’t either of the opponents it targeted, but the energy 
heading towards the Roselia to rejuvenate itself.  
The green ball of energy shook in the air, caught in a pull between the two 
combatants, but Shredder seemed to want it just a little more and won the 
tug.  
The energy came to the Treecko and boosted its health so that it could 
participate in the battle without worrying as much about the poison coursing 
through its body, the Skitty had continued to chase the energy until it was 
claimed by the Treecko but now rejuvenated it dodged the opponent’s charge 
easily.  
“Kecleon!” Sneak bellowed.  
“Uh oh.” Ellie gasped, in the awe of Shredder’s sudden leap back into the 
battle, the realisation that at the heart of it all Shredder had taken Sneak’s 
energy for itself only just became clear, and the Kecleon was not happy with 
that.  
So much to the point that a small battle was about to occur between the team-
mates, Sneak’s long tongue shot forward at Shredder but with a swift graceful 
leap it was dodged.  
Ellie’s hand covered her face in disbelief as she audibly moaned 
out, “Ohhhh...  This is atrocious...”  
“Ro-Sel-Liiii!...”  
On that cry, Sneak turned away from attacking its partner just in time to see 
a cloud of yellow dust sweep through the area and overwhelm it.  
The dust cleared and a spiral eyed Kecleon was stiff, slow and struggling to 
move, an easy target for the Skitty’s Tackle Attack.  
“Shredder, Ignore the Skitty and go for the Roselia!” Ellie called out, “It’s 
spent this entire battle in the background launching attacks on us and hardly 
being attacked itself, beat it and it’ll be easier to beat that Skitty!”  
“Treecko.” it nodded, sprinting past the two other Pokémon and towards 
the ‘sniper’.  
It leapt into the air, somersaulted and brought its large tail down on the 
Roselia’s head but then fell to the floor holding its tail in pain, in the 
rush Shredder had overlooked the sharp points of the Roselia’s head, but it 
didn’t linger on this and leapt forward again.  
A shame it had also overlooked the poison still affecting it that had depleted 
even the recently gained energy boost, and now the little remainder of health 
after that.  
Sneak leapt up to avoid another tackle from Kit and took Ellie’s previous 
orders in a sense by running at the Roselia who was now aware she was a target 
and gracefully jumping away while keeping within the boundaries of the 
battlefield.  
“Growl Kit and Thorn:  Increase your power.” Roslyn called.  
“Sneak, slow down, you’re-”  
The Kecleon passed the fallen Treecko and stuck its tongue while pressing its 
eyelid open to mock it before turning to continue following the Roselia, it 
was probably because of this that it lost track of the Skitty who leapt in 
front of it and yelped out.  
“Skii-yah!”  
Sneak leapt up in shock and crashed to the floor and Roslyn’s Pokémon struck 
their final blows, Thorn reached out and shot a small seed onto the Kecleon 
which exploded into several moving vines which bound the Kecleon and drained 
it of its energy, and finally Roslyn’s Skitty ran from a distance and leapt 
into a powerful Tackle attack.  
“Keaaeeeaaeeeccc!!!” Sneak screamed out as it was spun into the air and 
crashed nearby the sick Treecko.  
“No...” Ellie moaned, falling to her knees, she growled and then shouted out 
in an upset manner, “Ohhh I Suck! I’m never going to be able to win a Pokémon 
Battle! I can’t control one of my Pokémon!”  

A little distance away, Wanda was clearing away the small picnic for her and 
the Pokémon after washing the portable plates/bowls in a stream.  
“Shall we be movin’ on then?” she asked the three Pokémon, preferring to keep 
them by her side than inside their containment devices.  
The two new recruits nodded happily but the Azurill’s attention was diverted, 
she was staring at the path ahead in concentration and Wanda shivered a 
little.  
She’d seen this kind of behaviour before, maybe it came naturally or her 
mother had deliberately taught the Azurill but little Luriri seemed to have a 
sense for incoming danger.  
“Wha’s wrong Riri?...”  
The Azurill leapt into the air and released a torrent of water while spinning 
to drench two targets on either side of the path.  
“Extrasensory abilities, doncha just hate em’?” a gruff female voice 
commented.  
“At least it’s got that, not like the common scatter we’ve found lately...” a 
calm male voice added.  
“‘oo r’ you?” Wanda called out, scared a lot but not wanting to look it.  
Two figures stepped out of the bushes, to the left stood a quite frankly 
muscular woman in tight black clothing with a purple collar, belt, boots and 
strap-on pocket cases, along with metal plating on her wrists, thighs and 
midriff like a skirt.  
She had short shoulder length red hair in a parting, cold green eyes and a 
black tattoo on the left side of her face in a tribal-like design.  
On the right was a tall male with messy spiky dark green hair, he wore an open 
ragged olive jacket, black trousers, brown boots, and red wristbands with a 
metal shoulder pad on his right side.  
He looked a bit of a state, with metal supports around his left leg, a deep 
scar across his chest, and a silver eyepatch over his right eye.  
They didn’t wear anything to show for it but Wanda feared by their tone and 
their hiding in wait for her meant that these two were part of the criminal 
groups she’d heard of from her mother’s past.  
“Wor’ do you w’on’?” Wanda called out.  
“We’re just trainers who like to show an interest in other people’s Pokémon.” 
the woman smirked, stepping forward and then around Wanda, eyeing up the 
Pokémon on display, “Typical; another newbie with an eye for common infant 
Pokémon.”  
“Leave her Alex’.” the male said, “Why waste time on the likes of her.”  
“She’s seen our faces Jack’.” the woman replied, “Is that really wise? 
Besides...”  
Suddenly the woman performed an incredible flip to position herself close 
enough to grab Wanda’s Azurill by the tail.  
It struggled, pointlessly trying to run but stuck on the spot, it gave up on 
this, turned and blasted the woman hard in the face with Water Gun.  
She wiped herself off with one hand while keeping her grip of the Pokémon’s 
tail, the tattoo was still present and definitely not of the temporary kind, 
she stared back at Wanda and then the Pokémon with a murderous glare before 
cruelly swinging the Pokémon hard into a tree.  
Wanda screamed out and charged forward but a huge Pokémon blocked her way.  
“LAIIII-RON!!!” the armoured rhino-like Pokémon roared out, stomping the 
ground to make Wanda distance herself.  
“Azurill aren’t particularly powerful but they are rare, and while I might 
have let you go before, your Pokémon just sealed its fate.” Alex stated 
firmly.  
“No!” Wanda screamed, “Give ei’ back!”  
She threw herself forward anyway but soon felt a rush of pain as the woman’s 
Pokémon defended its master and rammed the small threat.  
Wanda crashed down; looking up to her two other scared but concerned 
Pokémon, “Please... ‘elp ‘er...”  
They were reluctant to do so but stood up and charged.  
“You’ve got to be kidding, it’s hopeless Child, you’ll never defeat even one 
of us with Pokémon like that.” shouted Alex, “We were training Pokémon years 
before normal trainers are even allowed to own them! Ivory! Deal with them!”  
“LAI-RON!!!” the Lairon roared, blasting the area ahead with sharp hard horns, 
the two Pokémon avoided them and carried on charging, the Wurmple fired 
poisonous needles while the Zigzagoon awkwardly charged forward.  
The needles shattered against the metal plating on the giant and Zigzag’s 
Tackle attack was completely pointless, dealing more damage to itself and none 
at all to its target.  
With a simple lift of its head, the Zigzagoon was defeated outright and landed 
on the small Wurmple so hard it was knocked out too.  
“No...” Wanda cried, “This carn’ ‘appen, there mus’ be-”  
“A way to win? To overcome us? To get a fairy tale ending?” the woman 
condescended, “You need a wake up call; the world is cruel and merciless even 
without people like us.  You need to grow up and toughen up; your choice of 
Pokémon is proof enough of that.”  
“Please...  Give ei’ back...  Moi mum gave me tha’ Pokimon...  Ei’s 
irreplaceable...”  
“Jack’? What do you think?” the woman teased.  
“I think you should stop playing games.” the male said, turning and walking 
away without any real care.  
“Just having a little fun.” the woman replied, “If only sentimental value 
could be converted into cash...  Oh well.”  
“No...  You carn’...  You carn’ take ei!” Wanda screamed, fighting the pain 
and charging again.  
“Feisty little whiner, ain’t you, I admire your drive... but it’s a huge 
mistake on your part! Ivory!”  
The woman wore a dark smile on her face as she turned away and starting 
walking, bagging the Azurill in a sack and tying it shut, all the while 
cracking, sharp, hard sounds occurred behind her as her Lairon dealt hit after 
hit until there was no more need to, without looking back, the woman aimed a 
Pokéball over her shoulder and recalled her beast, leaving in its wake a mess 
of wood and rock in the area behind along with two downed Pokémon and a 
seriously injured girl...  

End of Chapter 144B  

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