CHAPTER 3 - Virbank... sorry it took so long. I may not be able to work on it Monday so I made it longer. enjoy ! REVIEWS APPRECIATED.
Mark had just finished packing up the small tent and other various item into his backpack when Gardenia walked up, "I wanted to thank you ,Mark , for everything you've done for me .''
"It's no problem ,"he smiled, "I'm glad that we met , uh-not under the circumstances I mean bu-"
"As I understand ,in human culture, this can be used as a sign of gratefulness."
"What is?" he asked. Then Gardenia stepped even closer and kissed Mark on the cheek.
"Thank you," she said shyly.
Mark's face grew unbearably hot ,"Um, L-like I said, no problem..."
They walked for a few hours, enjoying the scenery , when they came into view of Virbank City. As they walked in they could see a lot of hangars , and docks in the distance.
"I've been here before..." whispered Gardenia.
Mark glanced with concern, "Oh my gosh, I just realized I forgot something!"
"Hmm?"
"There's someone here that you should meet, " he laughed as he grasped his pokeball.
"You have another pokemon?" she asked.
"Yup , he's my starter. Come on out tepig !" he cried as he launched the pokeball into the air. A red beam shot out and tepig appeared on the ground.
"Oh! He's a fire-type !" she exclaimed .
"Yeah , don't worry he's a nice little guy." Tepig sneezed in surprise seeing Gardenia spraying embers from his nose ."
"Oh!" she screamed as she jumped back.
"Now be nice tepig ," he scolded , " this is Gardenia , our newest member of our party."
"Hello tepig ," smiled Gardenia as she knelt down smiling.
" Tep!" He clumsily held out his front leg.
Gardenia giggled and shook his hoof.
"We're gonna be heading into Virbank City ,Tepig, " he said, "expect a gym battle !"
''Tepig!" Tepig jumped happily.
"Alright ," laughed Mark , " come on back," Mark held out the pokeball and called tepig back in. "ya know, Gardenia, I've been meening to ask you..."
"What is it ?"
" Um, how come your ... blue..." he chuckled nervously.\
"How come I',
"Hey!" sounded an unfamiliar voice.
Mark turned around and spotted a man on a bicycle. He was in his early twenties ,with dark slicked hair. He wore dark glasses with a red and green cap. A black jacket and jeans completed his curious ensemble . "Ya gonna challenge the gym, boy? "
Already annoyed by the fact that he was just called boy , Mark answered with a curt, "yeah, what about it?"
"How's about a battle between the two of us ?" asked the man with a grin , "See if your ready !"
Mark was beginning to dislike this man even more, "Alright then ,you call out your pokemon , and I'll call out mine."
"Great ! Lets see what my new pokemon can do ! " snatching a pokeball from his belt ," Lets go Golem !" A beam of red light struck the ground .
" GOOLEEEM!''
"Where did you get that ?" asked Mark .
"None o' your business ." He growled.
Sighing with disdain , Mark grabbed at the pokeball on his belt. He would have liked to use Gardenia, but he didn't know if she was up to it yet. And he didn't want to force her.
"Ah ,ah ," the man wagged his finger," I want to fight you gardevoir."
Mark turned his attention to Gardenia with a questioning look. He was surprised when he saw her trembling. But she wasn't looking at Golem, she was staring at the man with a look that he couldn't quite place.
"Interesting color by the way ," the man smirked .
Mark ignored him
Gardenia placed a hand on his shoulder and talked into his mind, Let me fight ,it's the only way I can get stronger and recover .
Mark nodded
"Will ya hurry up , you two gonna stare at each other all day !?" The guy was obviously perturbed when Gardenia put her hand on Mark's shoulder.
" Fine ! Keep your shirt on!" Mark spun on his heel to face him ," And her name's Gardenia !"
"Tch ,whatever ," He replied with an edge to his voice," what's your name ,boy ?''
"First tell me yours..."
The man chuckled ," It's R-...Dan."
"I'm Mark"
As the pokemon took their places, about fifty feet apart, Mark remembered ,"Crap ! I don't know any of Gardenia's moves !"
Don't worry ,Mark, Her soft mind's-voice spoke , I do...
Somehow he felt comforted.
And with that the battle commenced. "Golem , rock throw !" Yelled Dan.
Golem dug his fingers into the ground and ripped up a large stone, simultaneously throwing it at Gardenia.
Gardenia stayed in her position ,letting the stone hurdle towards her.
"Gardenia !" Mark yelled in alarm.
I've got it ,Her mind soothed.
Just as the stone was about to strike, it glowed with an eerie blue light , and flew back at golem with even greater speed. It struck him square in the face ,shattering into a dozen pieces.
"Gooll..." Golem took it stoically as any rock type would.
Gardenia then took this time to unleash a flurry of razor bladed leaves at the stunned Golem.
LEAF STORM , she involuntarily shouted in Mark's mind.
This was too much for Golem however . The sudden whirlwind of leaves drowned out any cry he might've made as he got the sense knocked out of him.
Dan smirked as he recalled golem and paid out the money , "Nice battle , where'd you get that gardevoir?"
Mark glared, "Where I got GARDENIA is none o' your business ," he replied.
"Suit yourself ," he smirked and rode off without another word.
Mark turned to Gardenia," Gardenia ,that was awesome !"
"You were happy with me ?"
"Happy ? Haha , I'm ecstatic . I've never seen such a fast battle !"
And then without thinking he grabbed Gardenia and hugged her.
She gasped in surprise.
Then Mark realizing what he just did, and let go, "Oh, I-I'm sorry ,it was a reflex ..." He felt his face getting hot again.
"No problem ," laughed Gardenia. And to Mark's surprise she walked up and hugged him back.
Getting even more embarrassed, much to Gardenia's amusement , he said, " So,uh, you wanna head to Virbank now.
Gardenia nodded.
It just occurred to Mark that Gardenia was using only her telepathy around Dan. "Ah , she's still probably getting used to speech ," he reasoned.
"Alrighty, " he started, " what do you say we spend the night at a hotel ,then if you feel up to it, we can challenge the gym leader."
Gardenia tilted her head in her own personal thoughts, It makes me feel good that he treats me so well. That he even asks my opinion...he really is sweet. "Sure that sounds good" ,she replied.
After wandering about for a little bit, they finally found a hotel. It was in moderate condition. A chandelier hung from the fifteen foot ceiling, though it had a bulb or two dead. The chairs looked like they ... used to be expensive. And the finish was flaking off of the main desk. Mark walked up to the clerk with Gardenia behind him. "Room for two please."
The clerk , an elderly chap with a full head of white hair , was dozing. However he snapped to attention when he heard the request ,and acted as though he was never asleep. " That'll be two hundred dollars."
Mark flinched , he had the money ,but it took out a good chunk.
Gardenia put a hand on his shoulder, " If it's cheaper , I can spend a night in a pokeball."
" No, you will have a regular bed like anyone else ." Mark didn't notice how Gardenia beamed, but the clerk sure did.
The elderly clerk watched this exchange with a raised eyebrow. Mark ,being oblivious to such things , shelled out the money and took the room key. As they walked down the hall ,the clerk settled down into his chair. "Curious..." he muttered before dozing off again.
Mark and Gardenia ,woke up revitalized . Mark quickly walked out of range of the clerk's silently accusing glare ,of what he had no idea , and turned to Gardenia.
" So ,lets head to the mart and see if we can find anything to help with the gym battle."
She merely nodded.
After shopping for half an hour ,they bought three potions and set off in the direction of the gym.
"What kind of pokemon does this gym use ?" asked Gardenia.
Mark grinned sheepishly ,"Ah, I don't really know ."
She giggled ," Okay."
They walked up to the gym ," Nothing special about it," he remarked. When they walked through the door and into the poster littered hallway, they could hear the deep thrumming common to rock bands. Inside was a small waiting room . Dirty ,torn up seats lined the walls and a man reclined on a wheeled chair reading a magazine. Above his head read a sign, APPLY FOR AMETUER BAND AUDITIONS AND BE JUDGED BY ROXIE HERSELF ! for a small fee of $500.
Mark walked up to the desk ," Sir ?"
The man jumped and threw the magazine into a drawer with almost practiced swiftness. "What can I do for you?"
" Well we would like to challenge Roxie ,the gym leader..."
" Well ,ya see, she is in a concert right now ," he stated, " I'll make sure she gets word though. I'm sure the fans will love to see a pokemon battle as well ," he chuckled. As he said that , he pushed a button on the side of the desk , and a light began to flash red on the desk. " Please ,'' He motioned ," have a seat ,shouldn't be too long."
Mark and Gardenia sat side by side on the cleanest chairs they could find. They both sat there thinking , of their past and of their current events.
" I cant believe all of this happened ," he thought. Mark never expected to find the Gardevoir. She was so frail and hurt. He knew he had to protect her.
He treats me like a human , she thought. She had read his emotions and thoughts as they traveled. He had been lonely. Far from close human company , she had been a fresh breath of air to him. It made her feel happy that he looked to her so much, He has helped me so much ,he is kinder than-than anyone I've known. She could read other people's emotions , but she didn't realize what made her heart beat so fast when she thought of him.
"Whatever happens ," thought Mark.
No matter what , thought Gardenia.
"I'll protect her ,"
I'll be there for him.
Then they turned to each other and smiled , not even knowing what the other was thinking.
"Yo !" called out the man , " She's ready for you , ya better hurry through that door she can be impatient."
The light was now flashing green. Mark and Gardenia got up and walked through the door. As they opened the door , the sheer amount of light blinded them. The waiting room was obviously well insulated , for the cheering cry of hundreds of fans blasted their ears . The smell of sweaty bodies and hotdogs permeated their smell. Roxie , the gym leader , stood with her band on the stage pumping her fists. The two started to walk down the pathway leading up to the stage , then the fans caught sight of them . The noise became as they cheered for their leader and for the challenger. Gardenia jumped at the sudden noise and instinctively pressed herself against Mark. He consoled her and led her to the stage with an arm on her shoulder. Leading to a lot of queer looks from the fans and some... suggestive comments. Luckily neither of them could hear it. Roxie stood with her arms crossed and a big grin on her face.
" Welcome challenger ," She yelled over the clamour, " lets make this simple , I'll call out my pokemon , you call out yours . Then we fight!"
" Deal."
"Alright , let's rock koffing !" She grabbed her pokeball and threw it into the air. Koffing appeared over the stage .
" Koff, koffin."
" Dangit ! Poison type ," Mark muttered as he glanced at Gardenia. '' Alright, Tepig , let's go !" Tepig appeared on the stage as well , about ten feet from koffin. "Alright ,tepig, embe-"
" SMOG ,koffing ," yelled Roxie.
Koffing quickly let loose a cloud of rancid gas . Tepig, threw his head down as the gas watered his eyes and burned his nose.
"Tackle !"
Koffin came barreling through the cloud and slammed into tepig. Sending him sprawling.
" Tepig , ember ! You can do it !" Mark yelled . And no sooner, tepig sent a flurry of firey embers from his snout. Koffin grimaced in pain as the embers burned his body.
Alright , koffin use assurance !" yelled Roxie.
Nobody could see well what happened in the cloud . But the fact that tepig flew out seconds later , slamming into the floor , it became obvious the attack hit home. Roxie pumped her fists in the air, "YEAH BABY !"
" Tepig , flame charge !"
Tepig got up as flames danced around his body in blinding rings. He ran at koffin with surprising speed for such a short creature.
" Koffin , dodg-"
But it was too late . Tepig hit koffin with full force , and sent him unconscious to the floor. Deflating , he let out noises akin to farts as the gas escaped.
" ALRIGHT TEPIG !" This time it was Mark pumping his fist.
But tepig was worn out , and Roxie saw that. " You're good , but your tepig's weakened! Can he stand against my whirlipede ?!" She recalled her deflated koffin and tossed a second ball. Her whirlipede rolled out onto the stage.
Mark raised his eyebrow. It didn't look like much , but looks can be deceiving. "Okay tepig , see if you can muster a flame charge ."
Again Tepig hurled at the enemy ,body blazing.
"PROTECT !"
A sheen of green light covered whirlipede , just in time for tepig to bounce harmlessly off.
" NOW USE PURSUIT!"
Normally the attack wouldn't have done so much damage , but tepig was already weak and too close. THe result was in Roxie's favor as tepig was knocked unconscious.
Mark turned to Gardenia, " Well I guess your up ,if your okay with it..."
Ofcourse , she smiled . Her voice reassured Mark.
She stepped up confidently.
" Poison sting whirlipede !" yelled Roxie.
Whirlipede shot forth a dozen purple needles which Gardenia deflected with psychic.
"Hey !" Roxie pouted ," I didn't hear you tell her to do that !"
" Telepathy ," Mark laughed , " perfectly legal!"
Roxie scowled , " Poison sting !"
Gardevoir reacted with magical leaf , but she had been distracted by the conversation. She had destroyed
most of the needles. A couple of leaves even hit whirlipede. But one of the needles hit Gardenia. It didn't do
much damage ,but it did poison her. Which is all Roxie wanted.
Gardevoir used psychic to lift whirlipede off the ground and slammed it onto the stage ,seriously injuring it .
Roxie's eyes glinted, " Whirlipede ! Finish with venoshock!"
Gardenia couldn't dodge the purple glob of liquid . It struck her and began to react with the poison in her system. She fell to the ground and began to convulse. Mark ran over to the ground and lifted her head off of the hard stage.
Gardenia began to cry , " I'm sorry ,Mark , I really am worthless . Just like he said," and she began to sob bitterly .
" No , no ," soothed Mark , " you were wonderful, don't fret." he hugged her. The fans were cheering like mad-people for their gym leader . None of them were near enough to watch what happened between Mark and Gardenia. " I 'm sorry for putting you into this , I should've known better," he started to tear up.
Gardenia was near fainting, but she was able to put a consoling hand on his cheek before she fainted.
Roxie however watched the whole thing with an open mouth. She had never seen something like this between trainer and pokemon. She almost felt bad for winning.
Mark cradled Gardenia in his arms . "For the second time ," He thought bitterly . He looked up at Roxie, " I'm coming back ..."
She merely nodded , still confused , as Mark walked down the path amidst the cheering fans.
