A Tale of Gym Leaders

Chapter 2: Realizing

The next morning Falkner got up and changed into some cloths. He kept his arm bands and shoes on but went for different pants and a blue shirt without sleeves. A symbol with his Gym Badge was on it as a way to identify he was a Gym Leader. The male made his way to the table to eat breakfast.

"Well hey there Falkner," went a voice he couldn't help but love already. Looking up he could see Skyla. This time she was wearing simple boots, along with longer pants. Her shirt left her stomach exposed, and around her neck was the symbol of the Gym Badge she gave out.

"Uh hey, morning," Falkner commented. He couldn't help but think Skyla looked hot right now. She giggled; it was a beautiful sound.

"Mind if I join you?"

"No! Not at all!" was the hasty reply. The female took her seat and the two continued where they had left off. Eventually breakfast came to an end and both decided to head to the Groom Room. They had heard about it from Nicholas when asking where their Pokemon could get cleaned. They made it and were impressed by the way it looked.

"This is perfect," stated the female as she and Falkner walked up to a grooming table. "You can groom any Pokémon here easily."

"Yeah," he agreed. "Here let me show you mine." The male sent out his Pidgeot which let out a cry.

"Oh my... he's handsome," commented Skyla. The female walked over and began to pet the flying type. The Pokémon let out soft noises as he liked her touch. Falkner chuckled.

"I think he likes you already."

"Want to see mine?" He nodded and out came a female Swanna. The male was able to recognize this one from yesterday. Her eyes then fell onto his Pidgeot as his did with her. The two flying types went over and began to examine the other.

"Aw, how cute," stated Skyla with a grin.

"Perhaps, but I came here to get my Pidgeot cleaned," commented Falkner. He didn't want to get his hopes up that maybe these two could come together allowing him and Skyla to do so. He then went on to show he knew how to groom his Pokémon which left the female impressed. Falkner even helped her with grooming hers.

The two ended up having a good time, laughing and continuing to talk. But they weren't the only ones who would end up having a great day. For Volkner and Elesa they two had their Gym Badge symbol somewhere on their clothes. The two made their way down to the breakfast table and somehow were drawn to each other; like opposite ends of a magnet. The two continued to talk until the meal was over.

"So uh, what are you going to do?" asked the male to her.

"I was thinking of heading to the ranch I heard about that is here," she answered. "Want to come?"

"Sure," he responded. "Let's meet there in half an hour."

"Okay. See you then." Volkner watched Elesa walk away. He then got his Luxray ready and made his way out there. He found the female already there with her female Emolga out and gliding through the air. The second she saw Luxray, the female went over and landed on the male's back. He didn't seem to mind.

"Hey there," stated Elesa. "Ready to go?"

"Sure." Both then went on to look at the Electric type Pokémon at the ranch. It was a lot of fun, allowing the two to talk and get to know the other better. Both couldn't also help but notice how Emolga and Luxray were interacting with little playful moments. The day turned out to be a good one all around. But for all four Gym Leaders the real thing would happen very shortly.

A few days later since finding Falkner and Skyla had gone to the grooming room, both Gym Leaders had contained to meet and talk throughout this time and talk and learn more about the other. However, this day would bring about quite a change. At least for the male. "So, you said you wanted to meet me?" he asked Skyla. Today the female was wearing her usual shirt but with shorts. As always, this girl looked beyond amazing.

"Yes," she responded. "Why don't we meet outside in a little bit, okay?" Falkner nodded and for some reason blushed a bit. It had been happening as of late and the male wasn't sure why. Shrugging the thought off, Falkner got ready. This time her brought the other five Pokemon with him including his Pidgeot. The male figured he could show them off to her. These were others that had been used at the Pokémon World Tournament in Driftveil City.

He made it outside. Five minutes later Skyla showed up. She led him, not stating where they were going. A few minutes passed and Falkner couldn't help but ask. "So where are you taking me?"

The other Gym Leader looked back at him with a grin. "You'll see," she responded in a teasing voice. Again, Falkner felt himself blush again. Skyla didn't seem to notice. Eventually they reached a grassy field that made up the ranch. It was a hilly place with some flowers and even a huge rock that a number of people and Pokemon climbed to get to the top. The female human than stopped walking.

"So now can you say what it is?" asked the male. She turned to him.

"Falkner," stated Skyla. "I would like to battle." It caught him off guard.

"You what?"

"I want to battle you. Just a friendly one. But I want to see if your Pokémon can match mine."

He realized this was what she wanted and had lead him out here for that purpose. It was the perfect area. "Well… alright then," Falkner said.

"Good. I'm not going to hold anything back!" The female had a grin on her face. The male suddenly had one as well.

"Same with me!"

It then took off and it was a good battle. Especially since Skyla had attacks for her Swanna and another that could inflict super effective damage on Falkner's Pokémon. But his were faster and thanks to that, the male was able to win. He didn't even have to use Pidgeot. After the last one was beaten the female Gym Leader called it back.

"Wow… you're quite an amazing Gym Leader Falkner," stated Skyla. She gave him a look of glowing pride. "It's been awhile since we could fight with our full strength."

The male couldn't help but smile. Somehow this praise was making him feel good. More than it should. He noticed his heart beat was faster than before. But Falkner played it cool. "Well you certainly know how to battle as well. Here, let me heal your team up."

He did so and it was long before Swanna was out again. The female Pokémon had taken to the skies with the male Gym Leader's Pidgeot. Both opposite genders were flying around each other and calling to the other. Almost as if they were mates. Both of these Pokémon knew they really liked the one across from them already.

Skyla and Falkner were just watching below with them sitting down. "Wow, look at them," commented the female with a happy smile and she was on her knees. A slight wind had come in and was blowing the longer strands of hair she had around playfully. "I wish I could be up there with them!"

It was in this moment that the male Gym Leader looked at her in that pose. Something lurched inside of him. Falkner blushed again and his heart beat went fast just looking at her. Suddenly the male felt something about Skyla that he'd never felt with anyone else before. He quickly stood up and she noticed.

"Falkner?" asked Skyla with concern.

"Excuse me for a moment," he replied quickly. "I'll be right back." With that, the male ran. The female looked where he gone.

"I hope he's okay…" she whispered with worry on her face. Skyla didn't want anything to happen to Falkner.

He in the meanwhile made it to a tree and leaned against it, while panting hard. Not from the run, but what had happened. The male could feel his heart beating and calling out to Skyla. "It can't be…" he whispered. "Am I…?" And then Falkner realized that there wasn't a reason to ask. He knew the answer. It hadn't been a week yet and already… he was in love with Skyla. Somehow this made the male calm as he realized why he had been blushing with simple things she did. The female was perfect in every way for him. But right now, it was too risky to go beyond than what they had. if anyone could help him get with her it was Swanna and Pidgeot. Falkner could tell the two flying types were already falling for the other. He then went back to her.

"Sorry about that," Falkner stated.

"No, it's okay," responded Skyla with a sweet smile. Both of the Gym Leaders stayed out but then headed back. As usual they ate and talked before saying goodnight. The female had a soft smile on her face as she went back to her room with thoughts about the male. It was only when she got there did she realize what it was.

"I already like him…" Skyla whispered. Placing a hand over her heart, the female went inside her room. Both were happy; the most they had been for a long time. Of course, it wasn't just with them. It had also been a few days for Volkner and Elesa since they had visited the ranch. It was during this time that Nicholas had told them they both were Electric type users even though they already knew this. It made the male happy that at least they both had something else in common. Along with other things. Even so Volkner felt that Elesa was still out of his league.

"I can dream…" he mumbled.

"Dream about what?" asked a voice. The male looked up knowing who it was.

"Elesa morning… good..." Volkner responded clumsily, not able to tear his eyes away from her but did so after some moments and back to his breakfast. "Err… I mean good morning."

The reason was because the female was wearing shorts and a top that was off the shoulders, exposing them and somewhat of her chest. She looked beyond amazing. Elesa saw the blush coming onto Volkner's face and couldn't help but smile. "So, sleep well?" The male nodded. "That's good. Because I want to try something today."

"Oh?" asked the Volkner, his curiosity getting the better of him. "What exactly?"

"Well if you could bring your Luxray and five other Pokemon, I'll show you. Let's meet up in half an hour."

The male stated he would and got his full team together that had been used at the Pokémon World tournament. He showed up just as she came out. "Ready?" asked Elesa with a soft smile.

"Uh… sure, lead on," responded the male while blushing. The female giggled and lead him to a different section of the ranch. Upon arriving she turned to him.

"You know I've heard you're the last Gym Leader from your Region. I'd like to see why for myself. Mind having a battle?"

This caught the male off guard. "A battle?" Elesa nodded. "Well… I don't know." Volkner went on to explain how at one point battles had become boring for him. It had only been thanks to Nicholas, Corrine, and a few others that had given him a thrill and made battles fun again. "I'm just worried that this one won't be, shall we say, a shocker." He knew that the female liked puns. Elesa giggled at it.

"I don't think I will. Emogla really wants to prove herself. As do my other Pokémon. We'll see whose shines the brightest!"

This got the male fired up. "Alright then, let's go!"

It took off. One moment one was ahead and then the next behind. Quickly Volkner realized that Elesa was quite a battler. He managed to win, but barely. The male had been grinning and had a blast the whole time. Elesa called back her last Pokemon when it was over. "Wow… you're quite strong," she commented with a look of glowing pride and a smile.

"So are you!" laughed Volkner with joy. "Man, that was a thrill! And a good battle! Even if I had lost, I wouldn't have minded. Thank you for doing that. As such, let me heal up your Pokémon." The female allowed him to do so. Soon Emolga was back on her feet and flying around. Luxray looked up to her with a smile. The group of four walked back to the castle and contained to talk about what had happened. Suddenly Volkner saw Emolga fly around his head and disappear. "Uh… where did she go?"

"Right there," stated Elesa and pointed with a smile. The other Gym Leader looked to see she had landed on Luxray's head. The female Pokemon was smiling with happiness. The male one looked up with a smile and blushed a bit.

"What are they doing?" asked Volkner and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Oh, just having fun," stated Elesa. But both Gym Leaders knew what was going on. "You sneaky little Pokemon," thought the female human. "You've already got a crush on his Luxray."

"He's never acted like this before," thought Volkner. "Seems he really likes that female Emolga. Maybe…" The male let the thought trail off. Maybe these two could help him perhaps get with Elesa. He glanced at her quickly. Seeing the female human dressed like that made Volkner realize that he really liked her; already. A smile crept onto his face now that Volkner knew. For now, he would just stay as friends with her.

Elesa in the meantime thought what was going on with the two Pokémon was so cute. And she didn't mind. She was happy this was happening since the female realized she already liked Volkner. And wanted to be with him. With those thoughts in mind, the group of four headed back to the castle.