Buuta: Emboar

Tori's Emboar, Buuta.

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Level: 65 (B2/W2), 71 (OT)

Species: Emboar

Gender: ♂

Nature: Adamant

Ability: Blaze

Hold Item: Quick Claw

OT: Victoria Hearthwell

Known Moves: Flamethrower, Heat Crash, Focus Punch, Stone Edge

Buuta is Tori's starter Pokémon in her return to the Unova region two years after her battle against Aldritch in the Unova League. She received this Pokémon as a Tepig when she encountered her old friend Bianca in Aspertia City; Team Plasma stole the starters from Bianca and Tori stepped in, using this Tepig to fight off the thieves. Bianca, unaware that she was talking to the same Tori who went missing two years ago, gives her ownership of the Tepig as well as the Unova Pokédex.

Out of Tori's second Unova Pokémon team, Buuta has been naturally the closest she has had a bond with, confiding most if not all of her past troubles and secrets to him. Because of their closeness, Buuta is very protective towards his Trainer and wears his black headband proudly around his head as a symbol of his fierce loyalty towards her.

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Rumors spread quickly around Opelucid City, of the Trainer who had faced Team Plasma head-on without batting an eyelid. What's more, she was on her way to conquer the Gyms throughout Unova. Then she was heard to have finally won against Drayden, the Opelucid Gym Leader...

"I don't buy it!" Gunther exclaimed, arms crossed indignantly as he listened to his friend's story. "One Trainer facing up against Team Plasma alone?" He raised an index finger up, stressing his point. "I call BS. I bet that's nothing but a load of crack."

"You know, it isn't impossible." Graham shrugged. "You recall that Trainer--what was her name, Tori?--face up against Team Plasma the same way. Then lo and behold, who'd have thought she would be the one to tame Zekrom and face off against their leader in a final battle, eh?"

"That was one time!" The seemingly younger of the two pouted. "I doubt it could happen again anyway. Who'd be that stupid to pull it off again?"

"That Trainer's "stupidity" was what saved Unova and the entire Pokémon World."

"My point is that there's just no way. No damn way anyone could be both that strong and fearless!"

Their conversation came to a halt when they heard a commotion downstairs, and the pair went to check it out. People seemed to be gathered up, whispering amongst themselves.

"I don't believe it! She took him down so quickly..."

"Wow, who'd have thought! That's amazing!"

"That girl is strong... I wonder if she can take on Gunther?"

"Eh...?" Gunther blinked as he scanned the crowd. "What's going on?"

"Damnit!" A man roared in the center of the commotion. He was knelt down beside his fallen Leavanny, his face full of complete disbelief at the thought of losing against the stranger in front of him. "NO! I call cheatin'! That girl was cheatin'!"

"There's nothing worth attaining from cheating in a Pokémon battle," The girl, a traveler as she appeared very unfamiliar, said coolly. "How could I have been possibly cheating when the crowd was completely focused on our battle?" Her eyes went to the referee. "You've been witness to our battle after all, haven't you? Have you seen at any point I attempt to cheat?"

"She's right you know," The referee agreed. "This was a battle won fair and square. She hadn't cheated at all whatsoever."

"Gahh!! I don't believe you! You're just siding with her!"

"More like doing his job," The girl rolled her eyes.

"Shut up!"

"Alright, that's enough," Graham stepped in before the tension worsened. Looking at her, he regarded her with a bow. "I apologize for our colleague's behavior. We don't mean to be impolite towards our guests."

Gunther came close behind, smacking the kneeling Trainer upside the head. "Have some shame, you idiot! Can't you see how embarrassing you are, calling cheats over a fair battle!?"

"But... But..."

"No buts! Now apologize to that Trainer right now!"

The man grumbled. True enough, he had been rather embarrassing; the crowd was a witness to his appalling behavior. "S-Sorry about that," He said forcibly as he bowed.

Gunther kicked the man on the side. "Say it like you mean it!"

"Gah! I'm sorry! I won't do it again!"

"Good. Now get on outta here and heal your Pokémon already."

The man had soon bolted out of the Trainer House after returning his Pokémon. The girl simply shrugged; it wasn't new to her anymore.

The crowd dispersed with the battle now at an end, and people went back to their activities before the battle had started--chatting, training, and whatnot. Graham approached her. "You seem to be a new face around here, Miss." He held out his hand. "My name is Graham, and this is my companion, Gunther." He gestured to the aggressive Trainer who was walking just behind him.

"Yo! Sorry about that guy though. Usually we don't get thugs like that 'round here. Welcome to the Trainer House!"

"Just call me Zip," Tori said as she shook Graham's hand. She watched as his expression changed suddenly.

"Zip?" He repeated. With a thoughtful look, he lowered his head. "Where have I heard that before..."

"Funny sounding name, especially for a girl like yourself, but nice to meet you, Zip!" Gunther grinned and held out his hand to her, which she shook as well.

"Gunther, don't be rude," Graham chided.

"What? I'm shaking her hand, aren't I?"

"That's not what I meant."

"Oh, it's no problem," Tori waved her hand in dismissal. "So anyway... You two are in charge here?"

"Yes," Graham nodded, and continued, "We have been managing this place for two years. We welcome all trainers who like to battle, and often we get Trainers from around the city. Very rarely do we get outsiders like yourself..."

It's not the first time I heard that, friend, Tori mused as she once again heard that same statement.

"Yeah. You seem pretty interesting..." Gunther placed a hand to his chin. "Where'd you come from, Zip? I don't think you're from anywhere near here..."

She thought of saying Nuvema, but she decided otherwise. "Aspertia."

"Whoa, damn that's far!" He laughed heartily. "I'll bet you've got a lot of battle experience huh? Given how far you've come from after all! You got any badges?"

A flash of the seven badges neatly pinned on the inside of her vest was all he needed to know. His orange eyes widened at the sight of the Legend Badge as well as Graham's black ones. 

"W-Whoa..." His mouth was agape, and he blindly reached for Graham's arm before gripping it tightly. "Ah... You mind excusing us for a moment?" 

"Um... Sure."

Immediately Gunther pulled himself away from her and huddled with Graham from a distance. "Dude... She has the Legend Badge!" He exclaimed in a nearly audible whisper. "Do you think that she's..."

"I can't say for certain, though I will admit that the name Zip strikes a familiar chord," Graham said with a shake of his head. "But if you want, you could check for yourself to see if she has that strength the rumors say about that other Trainer."

"Huh?"

Graham faked a cough, his eyes, moving down to the pokéballs on Gunther's belt.

"Riiiiiight." Quickly, he spun around and went back to where Tori was standing. "So, Zip, seeing as you've come all this way from so far, you mind going for a battle with me? One-on-one, mano-a-mano, just you and me!" He pulled out one pokéball from his belt. "It'll be fun! Whaddya say?"

"I suppose there's no harm," She said with a shrug.

"Do you need to heal your Pokémon?" Graham asked as he presented to her the Pokémon healing machine they had inside the Trainer House. "Perhaps they have been worn from your last battle?"

"Sure."

Her use of the machine didn't take long, and her Pokémon were quickly healed. The two Trainers stepped on their respective sides, the crowd regathered along the sidelines, ready to spectate. On one side of the battlefield the referee stood again, the screen on the wall behind him lighting up.

"Today, we have the Trainer House's Gunther, facing off against the challenger--the outsider Zip--in a one-on-one match! As such, each Trainer may only use one Pokémon in this battle!"

"Alright then," Gunther said with a confident grin. Enlarging his pokéball, he threw it forward. "Come on! Bouffalant!"

With a click and pop, the buffalo Pokémon emerged from the pokéball in a red light. It made a loud cry as it kicked its rear legs backward before bringing its forelegs up in a cycling motion.

"The Trainer Gunther has chosen Bouffalant for this match!" The referee claimed, and at the same time, Bouffalant's icon, current health and status bar appeared on the screen behind him.

Tori closed her eyes. The match had already been decided seeing the Pokémon the hyperactive man chose. Pulling out a pokéball from her belt, it enlarged, and she threw it forward.

"Let's go!" The pokéball, like Gunther's, did the same click and pop. However, this time what emerged was no buffalo Pokémon; instead it was a red and black flame pig Pokémon, whose weight shook the battlefield as it landed on a floor surrounded by a circle of flame. It assumed a battle stance as it let out a battle cry of its own.

The crowd, along with Gunther and Graham, were in awe at the sight of the unfamiliar Pokémon. But the referee was kind enough to enlighten them, as well as the screen showing the Pokémon's statuses. "The challenger has chosen Emboar for this match!"

"That's one tough looking Pokémon you got there, eh?" Gunther called from the other end of the arena. Tori paid no heed, and the referee raised his hand up.

"Let the battle..." His hand fell quickly. "BEGIN!"

"Heh, this is gonna be easy!" Gunther snickered. "Fire, huh? No problem. Nothing like a quick Earthquake can't fix! You may have seven badges, Zip, but even so, I can easily take you down in a single--OOF!"

It all happened so fast. In the blink of an eye Bouffalant and its Trainer were sent flying towards the wall behind them with a loud crash, shaking the entire Trainer House's walls. People had ducked for cover, yet Tori remained standing, unfazed, as well as her Emboar, who kept its fist outstretched before it. When the dust cleared, both Gunther and his Pokémon were slumped to the ground, both unconscious from the sheer force of the Emboar's Focus Punch. The crowd could only stare wide-eyed in utter disbelief at the Emboar's immense strength, as well as it's Trainer's nonchalantness towards what just transpired before them. 

Graham ran to his friend, concerned for his and his Pokémon's safety. "Gunther, are you alright!?"

The only response he received was an indecipherable gurgle. "Ooohhooaarrghhhh..."

"Bouffalant has sustained an instant knock-out!" The referee raised his right hand, gesturing towards Tori. "The challenger Zip and her Emboar are the winners!"

The crowd was instantly whispering amongst themselves.

"Oh my god! Even Gunther couldn't handle that!"

"Dude, I didn't even see that attack land on his Pokémon! I don't believe it!"

"That Trainer and her Pokémon are too strong!"

"Man, that was so awesome! It was so fast too! Hahahaha!"

"H-Hey, is Gunther even okay??"

Tori stepped across the battlefield along with her Emboar, coming to a stop to where Gunther, his Bouffalant, and Graham were. "Your friend shouldn't have been so busy talking too much," She spoke with a cross of her arms. "He was too busy being so arrogant that he didn't take the opportunity to land a first move, especially since my Emboar should be slower than his Bouffalant."

"True..." Graham sighed and shook his head. "He has a tendency to brag; I always did say this would be his downfall eventually..."

"Should I call a medic? He and his Pokémon might have sustained some serious injuries... I'm sorry in advance if ever."

"He should be fine..." At the same time, Gunther managed to return his Pokémon back into its pokéball. The quirky boy tried to sit up.

"Urgh... Damn, ow, man, that was..." He fell back to the floor. "Ow."

Graham reached down for his fallen friend. "Are you alright? Did you break anything?"

"N-Nah... I'm just fine. Just that..." He clutched his head with his hand. "Man, now I see why that guy called it cheats..."

"It wasn't cheating, Gunther..." Graham sighed. "You were too distracted to start off the battle with a first move, so she went and moved first..."

"Yeah? Well--" He struggled to sit up, only to almost fall back down again. Graham quickly held him up. Pointing at her, Gunther exclaimed, "Next time, next time I won't lose! And especially not in a humiliating way like earlier! You'll see! It won't be the same!"

"Mm, sure," Tori chuckled. "Until then... I hope you'll tone down some of that cockiness of yours so things will be a bit more interesting."

This sent Gunther reeling in a furious fit. "Who the hell do you think you are--!?"

"The Trainer who just kicked your arrogant ass."

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Buuta's name is a combination of buta (豚) and buu (ブー), which means pig and oink in Japanese respectively. The kanji 豚 is also found on Buuta's headband, signifying the kind of Pokémon he is.

While Japanese food mostly consist of fish, rice, soybeans, and tea, over time the Japanese have incorporated pork in their culture. The Kurobuta (black pig) is their most famous pig breed.

Buuta's name in Japanese is written as ブータ.