Fireworks Armor and Ribbons
Part One
AN: Sorry for the wait. I've been busy with some other fics of mine. I'm also getting a little worried. I have a few fics with no readers or followers. Oh well. I just gotta be patient. If any of you are also fans of Naruto, then can you read my Naruto/Pokemon crossover fics?
Summary: Sequel to "Taming Black". Ichigo finally reaches Seretei Town and challenges the gym leader to a battle. Will he come out victorious or lose and go for a rematch. Read and find out.
Ichigo sighed in relief after he ascended to the top of a small hill. From the hill, he saw his destination, Seretei Town. It was one day after he took his leave from the academy students. He only needed to hike for about ten more miles before he could reach the town's entrance. It also seemed a bit bigger tha Karakura Town. This was Seretei Town, a place where, supposedly, the best fireworks came from. Plus the large factory-like building on the other side of the town was a dead giveaway.
"Finally! We made it, guys!" Ichigo groaned and looked down at his two Pokemon that were currently loose. Mirabel, his Mawile, was happy and Black, his Poochyena, was still a bit gloomy for wearing the Soothe Bell. "C'mon you two. Let's go!"
The boy and his two Pokemon descended down the hill and got onto the road. After a few minutes of walking, Ichigo noticed some Pamtre berry bushes on the side of the road. He decided to pick all of them clean. Pamtre berries could be used to make Pokeblocks and Poffins. And when these Pamtre berry products were fed to a Pokemon, the Pokemon's beauty would increase. Ichigo was lucky, because these berries were some of the rarest ever. They would definitely come in handy in helping Helena the Feebas evolve in a Milotic.
After putting the berries in his backpack, Ichigo continued on his way. It was about an hour and a half when Ichigo finally made it to town. His first stop was the Pokemon Center. He found it by spotting the red roof. Pokemon Centers were great and the most important building to trainers. They offered free beds, cheap, but delicious, food and medical care for any Pokemon that needed it.
Upon entering the structure, he headed straight for the bank of video-payphones to make a call.
"Hi mom!" Ichigo smiled as the black screen came alive with his mother's familiar face.
"Hey! You made it back to civilization!" she greeted with her usual bright smile. "Excellent! What town are you in now?"
"Seretei Town," he answered.
"Wow!" she said in awe. "Have you caught any new Pokemon?"
"Yep!" Ichigo nodded. "I caught a Poochyena and a Feebas."
"Cool!" his mother commented. "Now show me!"
Ichigo picked up Black from the floor and set him on his lap. "Mom, say hi to Black."
The Poochyena tried biting Ichigo's hand when he started petting the dark-type.
"Not very friendly, is he?" Ichigo shook his head and returned the puppy into its Pokeball. "That's okay! The Soothe Bell around it's neck should help. Now show me that Feebas of yours."
"This is Helena," he introduced it after letting out and struggled to lift the large yellow fish into the camera's view.
"She's going to be the most beautiful Milotic ever," she said happily.
"Thanks mom," Ichigo sounded bashful and re-confined the fish.
"How's Mirabel doing by the way?" she wondered.
"She's good," Ichigo mentioned as said Pokemon appeared next to him.
"Hello Mirabel," Misaki cooed the steel-type. "Has my son been nice to you?"
Mirabel nodded bashfully.
"Good, because if he wasn't I would smack him upside the head," she warned.
"Mom!" Ichigo gasped.
"I'm serious Ichigo," she said. "By the way, since I don't trust Kisuke, I purchased a few acres of land behind our house and had it fenced up, so from now on, any Pokemon after six that you catch will come straight here. Plus, we even own the lake."
"Mom, how many acres did you buy?" Ichigo asked slowly."
"Let me check the deed." His mother pulled out a paper from her purse and scanned it for the information she wanted. "Ah! Here it is. Fifty-two acres."
"That's a lot," he said with a look of disbelief.
"Maybe so, but remember your sister Karin is also going on her own adventure when she turns ten," she reminded him.
"Oh yeah," he remembered and check the timer on the screen. "Gotta go mom. My time is almost up."
"Okay, good luck with your gym battle. Bye." His mother waved.
"Thanks! Bye," he said right before the timer hit zero and the screen shut off.
Sighing, Ichigo returned Mirabel to her Pokeball and handed his three Pokemon to Nurse Joy. To pass the time while he waited, he decided turn a few of his Pamtre berries into Pokeblocks and Poffins, so he first went to the Pokeblock machines, before heading for the Pokemon Center's kitchen.
After he was done making Poffins, Ichigo picked up his Pokemon from the front and went to pay a visit the local park. Feeding Helena some Poffins and training all of them is what he needed to do. Since the park was right next to the forest, he could have them battle some wild ones. There were plenty of people having picnics with their Pokemon. Maybe some trainers would challenge him to a battle.
"Alright guys! Come on out!" Ichigo yelled out as he threw three Pokeballs into the air, unleashing his Pokemon.
Mirabel and Black appeared in front of him, while Helena floated in a stream a few feet away from Ichigo.
"Okay now. Mirabel! Black! I want you both to go into that forest and battle as many wild Pokemon as you can." The Mawile followed the order immediately and ran toward the trees, but the Poochyena hesitated a bit before slowly making its way there. Then Ichigo spun around to face the Feebas. "Time for some Poffins."
Ichigo crouched down and plopped six of them into the water. Helena ate them happily.
"Glad you like them," the boy said as he got up. "Now see if you can find any water Pokemon in the stream and battle 'em"
Helena obeyed and dove down. With that, Ichigo walked to the forest to check on the progress of his other two Pokemon. It seemed that Black was having a little too much fun attacking wild Pokemon. After an hour of monitoring their growth, Ichigo came across a wild Cherubi.
'If I can't get Helena to evolve before the contest, I might as well catch this Pokemon to help me in the mean time,' Ichigo thought about it. Then he acted. "Mirabel! Use Bite on that Cherubi!"
Mirabel lunged at the grass-type with her jaw-like horns in front. But the Pokemon dodged it. Then it launched a barrage of razor sharp glowing leaves.
"Dodge that Magical Leaf!" Ichigo ordered but it was no use. Then he remembered that Magical Leaf was an unavoidable move.
The move hit Mirabel, but it didn't do a lot of damage. The tiny round Pokemon then charged at the steel-type with a Tackle.
"Mirabel!" Ichigo called out. "Use Bite to grab it and slam it to the ground."
The Mawile waited until the offending Pokemon was close enough. When the Cherubi was within range, Mirabel picked it up with her horns and swung it around to gain momentum before slamming it on the ground.
"Oh yeah!" Ichigo cheered and pulled an empty Pokeball from his pocket. "GO POKEBALL!"
The red and white sphere hit the semi-conscious Pokemon, and it sucked it in. The ball shook a few times, then the red light from the button blinked out, meaning a successful capture.
"Oh heck yeah!" Ichigo cheered, then walked to it and picked it up, striking a pose.
He pulled out his Pokedex from his pocket and used it to scan the Pokeball's inhabitant.
"Huh?! This Cherubi is a girl," he said as he finished reading his Pokedex, then released it in front of him. "Hmmm… I think I'll name you Hanako, but Hana for short."
The Cherubi, now Hanako, jumped for joy. She was happy with the name. Black and Helena reappeared, and it looked like the Feebas had lost a few scales. Ichigo knew that that was a sign that a Feebas was close to evolution. Helena just might evolve and be ready before his first contest.
"Helena! Black!" Ichigo called as he brought the grass-type closer to the riverbank. "Say hello to Hanako."
After introductions, though Black was still being a jerk and tried using Poison Fang on Hanako, Ichigo fed them some Pokesnacks. Ichigo had to return the Poochyena to its Pokeball. He gave Helena a generous portion of Poffins. He himself was munching on a granola bar.
For hours, Ichigo trained all four of his Pokemon. He got challenged by a few picnicking trainers and managed to beat them all, though Black got knocked out since he refused to listen to Ichigo. After some rest, he got to his feet, noticing that Helena had lost few more scales.
"Alright, let's head back to the Pokemon Center, grab some dinner and get some sleep," he smiled. "We're scouting the gym tomorrow."
He returned Helena, and Mirabel and Hanako followed him back. After a quick dinner, he checked his Pokemon in with Nurse Joy, then went to his room. Ichigo fell asleep coming up with a strategy to hold up against Self-destruct and Explosion. His plan was the last thing on his mind.
'Mirabel's Iron Defense should do the trick…'
The next morning, after retrieving his Pokemon from Nurse Joy, having breakfast and giving Helena her morning supply of Poffins, Ichigo found himself in front of the fireworks factory. It took a few hours of wandering around, and countless stops to ask for directions, before he found out that the Seretei Town Gym and the fireworks factory were the same building. Fireworks were also sold in there as well as being shipped out to stores all over the world. With a sigh, he walked in.
The front door led straight into the store. There were windows that viewed over an indoor Zen garden. The door behind the counter he guess that it led to the gym field and the area where the pyrotechnics were being produced. A boy, that seemed to be a little bit older than he was, sat at the counter reading a league magazine. He wore a white bandana over his head and a black one-piece jumpsuit. A Donphan was sleeping at his feet. Ichigo guessed it was female because it was styling a big pink bow.
Ichigo picked up a shopping basket and browsed the shelves for a bit. He filled the basket with a few fireworks. When he came across the sparklers, he saw how cheap they were and picked up all of the packets. Which was twenty and every packet held ten sparklers. Once he got what he wanted, he went to pay.
"Two Roman Candles, three tiny bottle rockets, twenty sparklers, and one large case of poppers," the boy said as he scanned the products. "Will that be all?"
Ichigo spotted some two-and-a-half-foot long sparklers behind the glass counter. "How much are those?"
"They're two bucks each," the boy mentioned. "They come in three colors, red, green and blue."
"I'll take five of each," Ichigo ordered, taking out his wallet.
The boy grabbed a plastic tube from a shelf and filled it with the giant sparklers.
"Anything else?" he said placing the tube on the counter with one hand and marking the price on the register with the other.
It came down to it being a bit over fifty bucks.
Ichigo placed the money on the counter. "I would also like a gym badge."
"Mmhmm!" The boy looked at Ichigo skeptically. "So you wanna challenge the gym, huh?"
"Yes."
"Alright, follow me," he said, motioning to the door behind the counter, then faced the sleeping Donphan. "Bonnie! If any other costumers come in ring the bell and I come."
The boy led Ichigo through a long hallway.
"The name's Ganju," the boy introduced himself. "Ganju Shiba."
"My name is Ichigo Kurosaki," he said, more interested on his battle up ahead. "From Karakura Town."
"Well Ichigo Kurosaki," Ganju said, as they got closer to the door at the end of the hallway. "How many badges have you acquired yet?"
"None yet," the orangette replied with a determined tone. "This is my first gym battle."
"Really?" Ichigo nodded as Ganju open the door and the two of them walked in. "Well, good luck. You're gonna need it."
"I know," Ichigo mumbled under his breath.
They came upon a battlefield painted over the floor. It was a simple field with no obstacles or a pool of water. To one side were bleachers. To the other was a wall with windows and a door. The wall went all the way up to the roof. On the other side of the wall was the area where the fireworks were made. Ganju walked to the wall and tapped on the glass. He got the attention of a woman. Said woman soon walked into the field, followed by a boy.
The woman had long black hair in two ponytails and light brown eyes, and was… well… busty. She sported a white bandana over her hair like Ganju, a semi-open red shirt, revealing a large amount of cleavage, and an ankle-length skirt with a split on the side. She was also barefoot. Six Pokeballs were clipped to her tanned, brown leather trainer's belt. The woman seemed pissed.
The boy had shoulder-length hair. Like Ganju, he was also sporting a black one-piece jumpsuit. Instead of a bandana on his head, he wore a welding mask. He also seemed angry.
"What do you want, Ganju!" the woman yelled at Ganju. "I was working on a new firework."
"Ummm… sis, you've got a challenger." Ganju mentioned on a terrified tone.
"Well, why didn't you just say so," she smiled as she turned to face Ichigo. "What's your name, kid, and where are you from?"
"I'm Ichigo Kurosaki from Karakura Town," he answered with a hint of excitement in his voice.
"Well hello Ichigo Kurosaki of Karakura Town," she said as her smile transformed into a smirk. "I am the Seretei Town Gym Leader, Kukaku Shiba. And those two are my little brothers, Ganju and Kaien."
The commotion caught the attention of the rest of the factory's employees. They started filling the bleachers. Kukaku didn't mind though. The workers need a break anyway.
"It's been a while since I've had a challenger," Gym Leader Kukaku mentioned.
"Two years to be exact," Kaien reminded.
"We were about to lose our gym permit," Ganju added.
"Here're the rules, Ichigo," the gym leader started to explain. "This will be a two-on-two battle. Only you are allowed to substitute Pokemon. You won't get my badge if the match ends in a draw. Kapeesh!"
"Understood." Ichigo nodded, understanding the rules.
"Good! Now get to your position," she commanded. "Kaien, you ref! Ganju, get off the field!"
When everything was set, the gym leader and the challenger called out their first Pokemon.
"Let's go, Hanako!" Ichigo unleashed his Cherubi.
"It's show time, Spinner!" Kukaku released a Baltoy.
Both Pokemon appeared on the field in a flash of white light.
"Since you're the challenger in a while, I'll let make the first move." Kukaku smirked sadistically.
Ichigo felt a shiver go down his spine. "Fine! Hanako, use Magical Leaf!"
Glowing leaves were closing in on the ancient looking Pokemon.
"Use Confusion to stop it and send it right back!" the gym leader commanded.
The Magical Leaf halted in midair, only inches from the Baltoy. A bluish-purple aura surrounded the leaves, before they were launched right back at the Cherubi. Hanako was hurt badly.
"Are you okay?" Hanako got up again and moved her body in a nodding motion. "Alright! Use Magical Leaf again, but keep them going until they hit."
The Cherubi sent a barrage of the glowing leaves at its opponent.
"Try to evade 'em, Spinner!" Kukaku ordered.
The gym leader's Pokemon tried its best to do as told, but it eventually got hit. With the Baltoy being part-ground, it took a lot of damage. Spinner now was trying to keep itself from collapsing.
"Mud Slap!"
Spinner hurled a ball of mud.
"Dodge it and use Tackle!" Ichigo was getting excited.
A ghost of a smirk appeared on Gym Leader Kukaku's face as the grass-type move to the side, avoiding getting hit by the mud, and was now running toward the teetering Baltoy. She waited for when it was close enough, then called out a move.
"Self-destruct," she muttered lowly.
"Huh? Wha?" a bewildered Ichigo said as he remembered what those academy kids said.
Unfortunately, it was too late. Spinner's body started to glow white, then an explosion filled the room with a loud bang, and smoke and dust. When the dust settled, both Pokemon were laying on the floor, fainted.
"Both Pokemon are unable to battle!" Kaien called the results from the side, and the crowd was going wild. "No winner!"
Both Ichigo and the gym leader returned their Pokemon.
"It's show time, Boomer!" Kukaku called out her next Pokemon.
It was purple, round and it had spores all over its body. Its beady eyes and wide smile creeped out Ichigo. And the skull and crossbones pattern under its mouth wasn't helping the matter. He whipped out his Pokedex and read the input on the Pokemon in front of him. It was the poison-type Koffing. Ichigo knew what to do.
"Let's go, Mirabel!" Ichigo unleashed his Mawile.
Mirabel appeared on the field with her hands on her hips, confident grin on her face and bow puffed up. Her Intimidate ability took affect immediately. The Koffing backed up a bit in fear.
"You're smart, kid!" The gym leader smirked before extracting a brown glass bottle from her belt's pouch. She then emptied it in one go. "You knew that steel-types are affected by poison-type moves."
"Ummm… okay… thanks…" Ichigo was almost speechless at the compliment.
"Alright! Boomer, use Thunderbolt!" Kukaku's command sounded a bit slurred.
The Koffing's was surrounded with electricity and then it shot it at the Mawile.
"Counter it with your own Thunderbolt, then use Iron Defense!" Ichigo called out.
The two electric attacks collided, causing an explosion. With the Koffing distracted by the explosion, Mirabel's body shined as it became harder due to her Iron Defense.
"Boomer! Snap out of it and use Smokescreen!" she ordered as the alcohol took affect.
The purple Pokemon spit a cloak of black smoke from its mouth and it surrounded the Mawile. Mirabel looked confused as it looked around, losing sight of the poison-type.
"Mirabel! Calm down!" Ichigo soothed. "Keep using Iron Defense until the smoke clears up, and when it does, use Return!"
For the next two minutes, Mirabel's body hardened and looked like polished stainless steel. She spotted the dark shape of Boomer through the smoke as it started to disappear, and lunged herself at him. Four pink hearts appeared around the two Pokemon on impact.
"That's it!" Kukaku roared. "EXPLOSION!"
"Hold your ground and use Iron Defense one last time!" Ichigo yelled.
The Koffing started to glow as the Mawile got polished once more. Mirabel covered her face as Boomer finally exploded. Everybody in the room was quiet as they watched tensely, waiting for the dust to settle. When the room cleared up, Boomer was on the floor unconscious and Mirabel kneeled on one knee, panting hard.
"Boomer is unable to battle!" Kaien yelled out then waved an open hand in Ichigo's direction. "The Mawile wins and the victory goes to Ichigo of Karakura Town."
"Yeah!" Ichigo jumped in a cheering manner and pumped a fist in the air. Mirabel mimicked her trainer and ran to him. Ichigo hugged and spun her around. "We won Mirabel! We won!"
The audience, which was made up of factory workers, gave the victorious boy a round of applause. Kukaku returned her downed Pokemon and complimented it with a sigh. Soon, all the workers went back to work. The gym leader walked up to the boy and retrieved something shiny from her pouch.
"Here, kid. The Pyro Badge" Kukaku handed Ichigo the shiny object, which turned out to be the gym badge. It was red and blue, and shaped in the outline of a bottle rocket. "This is proof of your victory over my gym. The Seretei Town Gym."
"Sweet," Ichigo commented, placing the badge in his case.
"Since I don't have a favorite type of Pokemon, I don't have a certain TM type to give you," she started explaining. "What I do instead is grab ten random TMs from storage and package them together and give 'em to the trainer who won over me. So… here."
Gym Leader Kukaku held out a small box. Ichigo took it and thanked her.
"Now get outta here! I got work to do!" she ordered.
With a nod, Ichigo left, but not before picking up his fireworks. On his way to the Pokemon Center, he checked his TMs. There was Shadow Ball, Aerial Ace, Water Pulse, Dragon Claw, Earthquake, Brick Break, Shock Wave, Attract, Steel Wing, and Overheat. Once at the Center, he transported the leftover Pamtre berries and half of the fireworks back home, and told his mom about his win at the gym. After going to his room, he got his things ready to head out for Rokungai Town the next morning. Once everything was set, he climbed into bed for some sleep.
'Now to find a way to beat an Aggron…'
Finally, done! This is the first installment of a three-shot. Not all of my fics following Ichigo's Pokemon journey will be one-shots. Ichigo should be getting his egg very soon. So leave your reviews.
And they better be good!
SEE YA IN PART TWO