(Yes, here we are! This is the chapter where everything starts going horribly wrong emotion wise. So be ready for that, and our final hero to join the party! If you haven't figured it out yet, then you will this chapter when she joins the group. Let's get to it!
The Reviews:
SHSL Hope G Komaeda: Yes, this is why I'm going to split the Driftveil arc in two. The main part being one chapter, and the World Tournament being another intermission.)
CHAPTER 5: Dig Up Old Wounds; Meeting Up With Other Pals!
"Ground...if I remember correctly, it's common that Water and Grass types will do exceptionally well." Flash commented.
"So I should have the upper hand here, right?" Casey beamed as the trio followed Zorua.
"Don't get your hopes up." Peanut nodded.
"Meanwhile, Caleb will have a harder time..." The Eevee glanced at Caleb, the sorcerer not paying it too much mind. The group was stopped when they reached Route 5.
"There's a Pokémon I want to catch here. Give me some time." She announced before abruptly leaving. Zorua sweatdropped. The boys looked around to notice there were a few street performers in the area, as well as gang members. Robyn looked around.
"I'm also going to go searching for Pokémon." She said before disappearing like Hailey did.
"What with the girls disappearing like that?" Henry asked. Casey looked around the route.
"Who knows?" Zorua shrugged. "They like Pokémon a lot, I guess."
"This looks like somewhere that Ibuki-dono would be if she was a street musician, and here." Casey commented.
"You miss her, don't you?" Caleb asked.
The journeyman sighed. "A bit." Truth be told, he really did miss his girlfriend. He was wondering how she was holding up, hoping that the craziness of the island didn't get the better of her. But then again, both of them lived on the island for a long time now, Casey having been on the island for over a year now. Peanut was now tugging on Casey's pant leg.
"I can bring her here, if you want..." Casey had a huge grin on his face.
"I will owe you big time if you do that." He gleefully stated.
"I'll only do it if you call her and she agrees to come." Peanut made that last part very clear, as Casey already had his lacrima out.
(Soundtrack: 'Nothing Left to Lose' by Heaven's Basement)
"Knowing her, she would." Caleb whispered to Peanut.
"Will do!" Casey called up Ibuki, who was on the other end.
"Ayo, Casey-chan!" She greeted. "What's up?"
"I'm in the Unova region right now, and I would love it if you would be here with me." He told her. "Wanna tag along for the ride?"
The guitarist thought about it. Did she want to go on this adventure with him? Now normally any regular person who just wanted to have a normal life would be reluctant, but Mioda was not that kind of person. After a minute, she responded with, "Send Ibuki on over!"
Peanut pulled out his own lacrima and started chattering away in Pokémon language. He put it away after a few moments.
-B2W2-
Over with Ibuki, she was strumming away on her guitar, having not hung up on Casey yet. She was sitting on one of the couches in the penthouse she lived in with the brothers and Flash (Zorua and Peanut as well) back on Gamer's Island. An Abra appeared next to Ibuki.
"Hiiiiiiii! I'm Peanut Mark 5!" He greeted.
"You here to take Ibuki to Unova?" The guitarist asked the obvious, Peanut Mk. 5 holding his hand out for the musician to take. He didn't need to say anything further. With her guitar in one hand, she used her free hand to take the one Peanut Mk. 5 was holding out to her, and within a minute, she was teleported to the Unova Region right next to Casey.
-B2W2-
The realization sunk in for four seconds...then Casey and Ibuki huggled each other. "Welcome to Unova, Ibuki-dono!" Casey cheerily greeted. With that, Peanut Mk. 5 poofed away.
(Soundtrack: None)
"So now what?" Caleb asked.
"Ibuki's thinking the same thing!" The guitarist chirped. She had just arrived in unfamiliar land; of course she would be wondering what to do! She looked at Casey expectantly, knowing he's had experience with Pokémon regions before.
"Well, we wait till Hailey and Robyn get back...but in the meantime, why not Caleb and I do a little training?" Casey suggested.
"We'll get Ibuki a Pokémon a bit later." Peanut walks over to Flash, his part of the bargain done. "Training should do you two good, though!"
"I could use some training to. Mind if I join?" Henry asked.
"Oh, Henry. This is my girlfriend, Ibuki Mioda. She has the title of Ultimate Musician." Casey informed. "But I just call her a guitarist seeing as she prefers playing said instrument."
"Nice ta meet cha!" Ibuki cheerily said to Henry.
"Nice to meet you to Ibuki!" Henry greeted.
"Same to you, Henry-chan." She smiled.
"Hm... Maybe you guys should practice battle." Zorua suggested. "If Flash joins in, that's four trainers. You can practice doing tag battles. You're all probably stronger than the trainers here, anyway."
Henry was now looking to Zorua. "Including me?" He inquired. Zorua nodded to that.
"In total, Casey, Caleb, Henry, and Flash! Two trainers against the other two! Does that sound good?"
"I don't see the problem with that." Flash shrugged, looking at Casey. "Caleb, you're with Henry." Peanut darted in front Flash, ready to go.
-B2W2-
Meanwhile, Robyn was on the hunt for some new Pokémon; however she did not yet notice there was an Emolga in the trees. That Emolga had one mission; Glomp Robyn. Once Robyn was in position, Emolga began to fly straight at Robyn, the latter noticing the former. "Oh wow. She is so cute! I have to catch her." She squealed grabbing a Poke Ball.
Too little, too late, as Robyn would soon discover. Emolga was closing in on Robyn, shouting, 'Love me!' And then the Emolga attached herself to Robyn's face. Robyn screamed, not expecting this as she grabbed her and tried to pull her off. Emolga was holding on as tight as it could and laughing at Robyn's expense. A Gothita was nearby, watching this whole spectacle. Its eyes were fixated on the Emolga.
"GET OFF! GET OFF! GET OFF!" Robyn screams were muffled by the Pokémon being on her face. Emolga got off, but then she threw a Volt Switch to cover her escape. 'Later, loser!' She taunted as it flew away. Robyn yelped when she was electrocuted and now sat on the ground, dazed and with her hair messed up.
Gothita then walked over to Robyn. 'You alright?' The psychic type asked.
"Ow my head." Robyn said as she placed her hand on her head and felt her hair, which of course was all frizzy thanks to the Volt Switch. "Aww man. That Emolga made my hair go on the frizz." She whined.
'Yeah, that's Emolga for you.' Gothita rolled her eyes. 'She loves to mess with people like that.'
(Soundtrack: 'Stalwarts Unite' from Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn)
Robyn shook her head. "Who is that?" She asked looking up and around, not seeing the Gothita below her. Gothita was poking Robyn now.
'I'm down here!' She said. Robyn looked down and saw Gothita.
"Aww you are so cute!" She squealed.
'Yeah, I know I'm adorable.' Gothia smirked. 'Hey, this sounds crazy and sudden, but can I come with you?'
"Really? But why?" Robyn asked.
'I wanna get back at Emolga, that's why. She had no right to attack you.' Gothita answered. If there was one thing this Gothita couldn't stand, it was Emolga's constant trolling of people, and she wanted to bring a stop to it.
"Aww you are so sweet! Well in that case I would love you to join me! Now your nickname." She said beginning to think. After a minute or two of deliberation with herself, she decided on naming Gothita 'Wendy'. Robyn smiled and grabbed one of her Poke Balls and held it out to her new partner. Wendy pressed the button on the Poke Ball, effectively letting herself be sucked in to the Poke Ball.
1...
2...
3...
Success!
"YAY I GOT GOTHITA! ...Er... WENDY!" Robyn shouted happily, correcting herself on the name.
-B2W2-
Back with the others…
The journeyman and ex-narrator looked at each other, Flash saying, "Case, send out Garbodor. I think it's time we get a good laugh, eh?"
"Sure thing." Casey had a wide grin on his face before asking Henry, "Hey, you remember that Trubbish you didn't catch back in Castelia?"
Caleb had already called out Magnemite, hearing what Flash said to Casey. Were they seriously going to make a joke out of something that happened yesterday? Henry had nodded and tossed out Howler the Lillipup. Casey then, with a wide grin, sent out Garbodor.
Henry took a moment to let the realization kick in. Casey had caught a Pokémon that he wanted to get earlier, and now it was a Garbodor. "You have got to be kidding me." He frowned.
"I kid you not." Casey responded. Flash was laughing his arse off at his reaction.
"Are we gonna battle or what?" Caleb glared. Ibuki started tuning her guitar, looking at them with an expression that was asking if she could play some music during the battle. Zorua was sitting next to Mioda.
"You should play, I'm sure they won't mind." He encouraged her.
"Okay!" She then began strumming out a song to the practice match.
(Soundtrack: 'Bat Country' by Avenged Sevenfold)
"I'm ready when you are." Henry told his opponents mockingly.
"Since we're so nice, we'll let you two have the first move." Flash offered. He was really being sarcastic about that first part. He had a mean streak to him, even so much as telling people off when they really need it.
"Alright then. Magnemite, Thundershock on Garbodor!" Caleb shouted, the Electric/Steel type doing just that. Garbodor took the hit, but shook it off.
"Howler, use Baby-Doll Eyes!" Henry called out, the Puppy Pokémon widening his eyes at the two opposing Pokémon like he was in an anime or some sort of manga. Garbodor stared back at Howler. Casey thought it was the cutest thing ever...until he remembered Lillipup was a dog, and winced a little from it.
'Wimp.' Caleb thought, thinking his brother's fear of dogs was more irrational than anything. Caleb really never understood Casey's rational thinking for being afraid of dogs.
"Peanut, go after Howler!" Flash requested. "I don't care what you attack him with, though." Mainly because he wanted to know what Peanut knew. That or he was too lazy to look it up on his Pokedex. Peanut used Leer on Howler, not very impressed with the Baby-Doll Eyes that Howler was trying to sell. Howler then suddenly went from looking cute to growling and glaring at Peanut. "Howler, Tackle attack!" Howler did so charging straight at him.
"Garbodor, go for a Body Slam on Magnemite!" Casey shouted. The Trash Heap Pokémon leisurely sauntered over to Magnemite, jumped a whole five centimeters in the air, and landed on Magnemite. "Dodge and counterattack!" Flash commanded.
Garbodor got off of Magnemite, and sauntered back to where it was standing. "Set up with Stockpile!" Casey said, the Poison type doing just that. Peanut dodged out of Howler's way, and surprised Flash and Casey when he used Thunderbolt.
"Magnemite, you okay?" Caleb asked.
'Yes. I am functioning alright, thank you for asking.' Magnemite responded.
"Good. Give Garbodor a Supersonic!" The sorcerer commanded. The Electric/Steel type did as it was told, confusing Garbodor.
Howler took the attack from Peanut.
"Bite!" Howler did so attempting to sink his teeth into Peanut's back. Peanut squeaked in pain as Howler sank his teeth into him.
"Garbodor, snap out of it!" Casey begged. The Trash Heap Pokemon was too busy pimp slapping himself to even pay attention, causing Casey to facepalm and recall Garbodor. "Magby, help Peanut!" He ordered.
"Peanut, try focusing your back towards Magby! He'll get Howler off!" Flash commanded, staying cool under pressure. Peanut turned Howler toward Magby, using helping hand at the same time. However, Caleb had other ideas.
"Magnemite, stop Magby with Sonicboom!" Caleb shouted.
'Scuse me for a second, Peanut.' Magby dodged the attack, launching an Ember at Magnemite, defeating it. Then he turned back to Peanut's direction and shot an Ember aimed at Howler's behind.
Howler did what he did best. Howl... in pain that was!
"Howler!" Henry shouted. The little puppy jumped up as he released Peanut and began to drag his flaming behind across the dirt.
"Thanks to Casey's swap out, it looks like Flash and Casey have taken the lead!" Zorua cheered. The fox felt it was his responsibility to be that announcer guy for the battle.
'Yeah, that and the fact I'm awesome.' Magby bragged.
Caleb recalled Magnemite, and then sent out Pignite. "Fight fire with fire. That's something even you do, Casey."
Flash, meanwhile, had stifled his laughter watching Howler. Honestly, he found this whole thing funny. Peanut on the other hand, scampered over to Magby and sat next to him, blinking at Howler's pain.
'Yeah, I might have aimed in the wrong place.' Magby shrugged. 'All's fair in love and war, I s'pose.'
"Howler, use Helping Hand!" Henry shouted. Howler quickly complied after he felt his buns cool off.
"Pignite, give Magby an Arm Thrust!" Caleb ordered. The Fire Pig went over to smack Magby with his extended arm...but the attack went over the Live Coal Pokémon's head. Because height differences and all. Peanut glanced up at Pignite, sweatdropping at the utter miss. He decided that this was too big a chance to miss up on, and straight up take downed the pig in the stomach. Even Ibuki sweatdropped at the utter miss, continuing to play her song.
'Dude, it's not my fault you're taller than me!' Magby defended. He shot an Ember at Pignite, not doing much. Howler went to use Tackle on Peanut again. "Same old song and dance, my friend!" Flash commanded, Peanut dodging and using Thunderbolt on Howler once more. Howler managed to dodge this time, using Bite and having Peanut squeak in pain.
'Hey, leave my pal alone!' Magby shouted, shooting another Ember at Howler to intercept him.
"Pignite, Tackle on Magby again!" Caleb shouted. Pignite rushed forward. Howler dodged the Ember thanks to Pignite's involvement, causing Peanut to get lit up from the attack.
"Uaaaaaaah! Hoooooooot!" Peanut started running around in pain. And when that happened, Pignite slammed into Magby, taking him down.
"Well that was humiliating..." Casey sighed. Caleb stuck his tongue out at his older brother.
"And Caleb evens the score, taking out Casey's Pokémon! Not to mention Peanut just took two significant hits! Things are not looking good for Casey and Flash!" Zorua narrated excitedly, annoying Flash slightly.
'I am more awesome than you, ya puny firebug!' Pignite taunted. Casey didn't take kindly to the tone of that comment, sending out Servine.
'Oh look. It's the nutjob starter.' Servine teased.
'Who're you calling a nutjob?' Pignite sounded offended.
Servine slinked forward, using Wrap on Pignite to put him in some sort of wrestling move. 'You are, Pignite.' He informed. Peanut stopped running around and was now looking at Servine.
"Thats kinda mean..." He frowned. With the help of the Helping Hand that Howler provided, Pignite threw Servine off him, only to get glared at with a Leer, and then slapped several times with Vine Whip. However, Pignite took the attacks and retaliated with Ember. Howler jumped in with a Tackle attack. Servine however, dodged the Ember just barely, then used Vine Whip to grab Howler. Peanut then began unleashing a steady stream of thunderbolts on the immobile puppy.
Howler screamed as he was attacked and helpless to defend himself. But this wasn't Servine's plan at all.
'I'LL SAVE YOU!' Pignite roared, rushing towards Servine with a Tackle. However, Servine just looked at Pignite and proceeded to toss Howler his direction, having fallen for his trick hook, line and sinker. Peanut quickly scampered to the side, watching as Pignite hurtled straight at Lillipup.
'Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap-' Pignite repeated as Howler was thrown at him, and both went down from it.
'And that's why...whatever.' Servine huffed.
"Ooh! Casey and Flash take the lead again as Servine almost effortlessly defeats its fire type counterpart!" Zorua cheered, bouncing up and down in excitement. "It's a double knock out! Without taking a single hit, Servine took down both Pignite and Lilypup! Servine is definitely a formidable opponent! Casey and Flash now have a two Pokémon lead, having knocked out three Pokémon, while only losing one Pokémon!"
"Well that won't be the case for long. Broham, GO!" Henry shouted calling out his Tepig.
Caleb recalled Pignite. "Seriously Case, what's gotten into Servine?" Flash had to ask.
"I dunno. As long as it wins me the next gym badge, I won't complain." Casey rolled it off his shoulders.
'Alright, let's see here...what can I use against Casey that would help me out here?' Then it hit him. "Alright Qwilfish! You're my last hope!" He called the Balloon Pokémon out.
'Duh...' Qwilfish was derping.
'Oh...crap...' Servine hissed. He knew about Qwilfish's Poison typing, and Poison types were super-effective against grass types. Qwilfish, however, led off with Rollout. Peanut looked rejuvenated, instantly preparing to attack. Strangely enough, if Flash was paying attention, he seemed to have his sights set on Qwilfish.
"Peanut! You know what to do!" Flash encouraged. Peanut instantly unleashed a powerful thunderbolt on the incoming Qwilfish. In an attempt to stop it, Broham launched an Ember at it.
Sadly however, it didn't work. In an almost comical fashion, Qwilfish deflated like a balloon, landing at the sorcerer's feet as it fainted.
"Why me..." He frowned. Zorua then decided to unwillingly kick Caleb while he was down.
"Looks like Caleb forgot about Peanut's electric type attacks when he made his selection, because Qwilfish is down! Casey and Flash are even further ahead!" Zorua narrated, causing Caleb to inwardly growl at Zorua, feeling a little ashamed of himself hearing the narration. At this rate he might as well give up his dream of winning the Unova League.
What did he know about Pokémon? All he knew about them was what his brother told him about his glory days in the Pokémon regions. Caleb felt like he had no chance of proving his worth to Casey at this point, but he tried to remember what Peanut told him earlier. 'You've already attained what you want; you just can't see it yet.' He wanted to, but was just a little humiliated his brother and Flash were beating him this badly.
He calmly sent out Sewaddle after recalling Qwilfish.
"You've hit the bottom of the barrel now, haven't you Caleb?" Flash taunted.
"Flash, I have a sniper rifle with me." Caleb hissed. "And I wouldn't feel ashamed in using it."
Henry growled. "Broham, Tackle!" Broham did so and went for the weaker one. Peanut. And it worked.
"Oh! Looks like Peanut's down! What will Flash do now?" Zorua narrated dramatically. Peanut Mk. 5 appeared next to Flash. The Abra tugged at Flash's leg, as if motioning it would fight next.
"Go forth, Abra!" Flash pointed after picking up Peanut and holding him in his arms. Ibuki was playing a somber melody on her guitar now.
(Soundtrack: 'Dance with the Devil' by Breaking Benjamin)
Peanut Mk. 5 floated slowly over next to Servine. Before Servine or Peanut Mk. 5 could react, Sewaddle had attacked with String Shot, hitting home right in between Servine's eyes. Broham added onto attacking the grass type and fired an Ember at Servine. Servine did what it could to get out of the way, however the Ember was not nessecary as Sewaddle began nibbling on the area between Servine's eyes, causing the grass type to start stumbling around, and right out of the Ember's way.
"That's Bug Bite." Casey breathed in realization.
"Abra, attack Broham!" Flash commanded. Abra stayed still. Suddenly, a ring of light green lights surrounded him. They shot at Broham with alarming speed. Hidden Power! Broham was hit but didn't take too much damage. Broham then went to tackle the Abra. Peanut Mk. 5 took the tackle, but recovered very quickly.
"Servine, stay calm and use Vine Whip to get Sewaddle off you!" Casey shouted. Servine didn't need to be told twice as the Bug/Grass type was grabbed and thrown to the ground rather hard.
"Sewaddle!" Caleb cried out in distress. As Sewaddle struggled to get up, a light enveloped him. Sewaddle had evolved into Swadloon!
'You'll pay for your insolence, Servine.' Swadloon calmly said. Caleb quickly got out his Pokedex scanning Swadloon.
Swadloon, the Leaf-Wrapped Pokémon, and the evolved form of Sewaddle. Preferring dark, damp places, it spends the entire day eating fallen leaves that lie around it.
Broham attacked with Ember at Servine, taking the grass type down.
'That was rather satisfying.' Swadloon said to Broham.
'Very.' Broham replied, smiling.
"And Servine finally goes down! Casey and Flash are still in the lead, however." Zorua announced.
"And then Leavanny comes next, I suppose." Caleb mused.
"That was luck!" Casey shouted. "I'm not out of this yet!"
"Abra, what else you got in your bag of tricks?" Flash inquired. Peanut Mk. 5 focused for a moment... And then teleported. Broham prepared himself for Peanut Mk. 5 to reappear.
"Alright Garbodor, show 'em that was just luck!" Casey called out Garbodor after recalling Servine. Without a sound, Peanut Mk. 5 appeared behind Swadloon and Tepig. Swadloon casually turned around to face the Abra. Or at least, he had a feeling that's what the Teleport was for. Broham did so too and quickly tried to attack with Tackle. However, it was in vein as the Abra used Teleport a second time, having diverted their attention away from Garbodor, and the Trash Heap Pokémon, taking this opportunity, attacked Swadloon with Sludge. Attempted to, of course, unless Broham wants to try anything funny. Broham saw the attack and intercepted it. But in doing so took great damage and also got poisoned.
"Broham!" Henry cried out. Swadloon was surprised with what happened.
'Well I'll be...' He said. Broham was taking damage from the poisoning, as Peanut Mk. 5 used Hidden Power on Broham again. Swadloon tried to pull Broham out of the way with String Shot.
Broham was pulled but not before part of the attack hit. With the blow and another hit from the poisoning was enough to cause the pig to faint. "Broham!" Henry shouted as he ran out and picked up the small Pokemon. "Thank you buddy. You did amazing out there. Get some rest."
'Thanks.' Broham nodded before he was returned.
"Alright. It. Is. On." Henry said as he tossed out Vile.
'Wassup homies!' Vile shouted.
"Looks like we're almost done here." Ibuki mused, continuing to play on her guitar. Zorua nodded to Ibuki.
"Looks like Casey and Flash are pulling ahead once again!"
"Swadloon, be ready to evade Garbodor's attack!" Caleb shouted.
'Understood.' Swadloon agreed.
"Not for long. Now Vile, use Bite on Abra!" Henry shouted. Vile lunged forward to bite said Abra on the arm.
"Garbodor, hit 'em with Sludge!" Casey shouted.
"Teleport!" Flash shouted at Abra. Peanut Mk. 5 Teleported out of the way just in time to evade. Which meant Vile bit the air and skidded across the ground. He looked around confused.
"Don't freak out Vile. Just wait for him." Henry called out.
Vile nodded. 'You got it boss.' He then closed his eyes and waited. The Abra, however, appeared behind Garbodor.
"Quick, trap them both with Sand Tomb!" Henry shouted and quickly did so sending a Sand Tomb at the two as fast as he could. He would succeed as Garbodor and Abra were caught in the Sand Tomb. "Vile, Dig!" Vile did so and dug underground. Where will he come up? No one knows. Who will he attack? I don't know that either.
"Go for it Vile! Use Bite!" Henry shouted. Suddenly Vile popped up and hit Garbodor. Then bounded off the gargantuan trash heap and went to bite Abra. Peanut Mark 5 was taken by surprise and defeated.
"And Flash is down! Looks like Casey's on his own!" Zorua narrated excitedly. Ibuki let out a sudden shout.
"Zorua-chan! You made Ibuki lose her spot in this song!" She complained. Zorua sweatdropped.
"Sorry Ibuki...Flash, come sit with us and watch!"
"I don't see why not." Flash shrugged, sitting next to Mioda. "This'll be over soon anyway, seeing as Casey hasn't sent out his ace yet."
"I hope he doesn't use Embrace... She doesn't need training, and this is supposed to be a training match..."
"He knows if he does I'll make sure his face makes friends with the cold, hard dirt." Flash reassured.
Garbodor was bit, and tried to swat Vile away. Vile was knocked back and skidded to a stop by Swadloon, the Leaf-Wrapped Pokémon still using Razor Leaf to attack Garbodor. Vile stood up and he trembled. He seemed to have been weakened quite a bit. However, Vile began glowing!
"We got this Vile! I believe in the two of you! Let's win this together!" Henry shouted, encouraging his partner. This is when he noticed Vile glowing. "What the?!"
'And seeing as we might be on a schedule here...' Flash thought, looking at Vile. 'Evolution. Awesome.'
Ibuki looked on, witnessing the glow. "What's it doing?"
"It's evolving, just like Swadloon did before!" Zorua explained to Ibuki. "Evolution is when a Pokemon gets strong enough to gain a new, more powerful form!"
Flash! Bang! Zap! Vile is now a Krokorok!
"AWESOME! VILE YOU EVOLVED!" Henry shouted happily. Henry couldn't help himself as he ran over to his Pokémon and the two hugged and cheered.
"Wow..." She was excited to hear that.
"Not every Pokémon can evolve that way. Some need a stone, some need a factor thrown in, and there was even one case where a Pokémon needed to reach a certain level of power while fighting in the rain." Flash added.
"Some Pokémon can't even evolve, and some can evolve less than others. There are all sorts of methods to evolve Pokémon, including the methods Flash just described." Zorua added.
"Some don't evolve at all or choose not to." Henry also added. "Now let's finish this!" He shouted.
"Well, Pokémon are people too, Zorua-chan." Ibuki agreed. "They have their own choices to make."
'Indeed.' Swadloon agreed.
Zorua sweatdropped. "I happen to be a Pokémon myself, remember?! I'mma have to choose whether I evolve or not someday..."
"I'll tell you what I told Hailey then." Flash responded. "Take your time with that choice. It's best not to rush it and later regret it."
Zorua sweatdropped more. "Save it. I'm not a battling Pokémon, so I don't level up much. I won't have to evolve anytime soon..." Flash looked away, a little discouraged from what Zorua told him.
Garbodor wasted no time throwing another Sludge at the Bug/Grass type, but Vile swung his tail and smashed the attack before it could connect. Garbodor used Body Slam on Swadloon then. Now Vile grabbed Swadloon and jumped out of the way. After setting him down, Henry shouted for him to use Sand Attack but the next thing he did was use Swagger. "Whoa! He learned a new attack!" Henry shouted.
"And to think Swagger wasn't used in the way we use it today." Caleb mused to himself. Garbodor's attack rose yes, but he was confused once more.
"And Casey doesn't have any Pokémon to switch him out to, which means he'll have to snap out of it on his own!" Zorua gasped.
"Not unless my Ground type takes out his Poison type. Now Vile, Dig." Vile jumped up and dug his way down into the earth.
"Running now might be a good idea, Ibuki-san." Flash warned casually.
"Why is that?" She had to ask.
"Confused Pokémon are rather unpredictable." He answered. "So much so they can even...do things that'll either hurt itself, or in rare cases, other people." Vile then erupted from underneath and dealt a blow to the confused Garbodor. To which there were two things to that. One, it hit, and two, it was super effective, weakening Garbodor enough for Swadloon to land the final attack with Razor Leaf.
"Caleb and Henry win! In fact, neither of them even got down to their last Pokémon!" Zorua cheered. "Everyone reaped the benefits of training, too! ...except Casey."
(Soundtrack: None)
"YEAH! WAY TO GO VILE!" Henry shouted as he hugged the Desert Croc Pokémon. Robyn did return at this point holding little Wendy the Gothita in her arms.
"Hey guys look what I got." She then saw Vile. "UM, what is that?" She asked. Casey was not in a good mood from that last bit of said comment from the fox.
"Let's just go. Now." He then walked off to the bridge at the end of the route, not saying another word to anyone before recalling his Pokémon.
"I think you went a little too far, Zorua." Caleb informed. "Now my brother's in a pissy mood."
"I was just pointing out that all the people who were actually training got an evolution except him..." Zorua hopped down and trotted over to Caleb.
"You guys weren't gonna ditch me, were you?" Hailey emerged from the bushes, an Emolga in her arms. "This little guy was hard to find..."
"Oh, Casey already has." Flash jerked his thumb in the direction the journeyman went. "He took something Zorua said the wrong way." Then to Zorua, "It's not the first time he's misinterpreted something."
Hailey sighed. "Let's calm him down, then..."
"Casey-chan!" Ibuki called. "Wait up!" She ran after him, leaving Caleb and Flash to just exchange glances, the former ignoring Zorua's comment.
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Caleb asked.
"Remember the last time he went there?" Flash responded.
"Never mind then." The sorcerer deadpanned.
"It's Vile he evolved." Henry told Robyn.
Robyn nodded impressed. She then saw Hailey and saw the Emolga that Hailey had. "WHAT?! IS THAT THE SAME EMOLGA THAT SHOCKED MY FACE?!" Robyn shouted pointing at it.
She blinked at Robyn. "Um... No...?"
"How do you know?" Robyn asked.
"I... Don't I guess? She doesn't seem to recognize you." Hailey pointed out. Emolga was just blinking at Robyn.
"His girlfriend's going to work on that. She'll be fine." Caleb reassured.
"Good." Hailey nodded at Caleb.
"Music soothes the savage beast, after all." He added. "Now are we gonna move on to Driftveil? Odds are he'll be too busy with Ibuki-san."
"Let's go." Hailey agreed. She and Zorua began walking, the other two following them.
-B2W2-
They soon reached the Driftveil Drawbridge. Robyn walked a little bit faster; Wendy liked being held like this but her thoughts were interrupted when she saw something in the sky. "There are some flying types here, but you'll probably only find Ducklett." Zorua explained to the group. "Catch one if you want." Caleb and Flash really didn't care, but they were however, going to where they heard guitar playing, assuming that was where Ibuki and Casey were.
"I'd love a Ducklett." Robyn said. Wendy tried to point up but Robyn didn't notice. A shadow suddenly shot down at Robyn and Wendy, and Robyn looked up. Before anything could happen, Wendy used Confusion on the shadow. The shadow was frozen in place and confused by the attack. It was revealed to be a Ducklett! "Wow what luck!" Robyn replied.
'No one ambushes my trainer!' Wendy shouted jumping out of Robyn's arms and attacking Ducklett with a Double Slap attack. Every slap hit, Robyn throwing a Poke Ball at the Ducklett.
1…
2…
3…
Success! Ducklett was caught!
When they found the two others, Ibuki was strumming a bit of a lullaby, Casey snuggled up close to her, fast asleep.
'Shipping!' Flash thought with a grin. 'I wish I had a camera...' As if Henry read his thoughts, he held out a camera to him. "How the hell did you get a-" Flash began to whisper, but decided not to question it. He had snapped a photo of the duo and handed it back to Henry.
The guitarist however, turned around a little having heard the pic being taken. "Oh oh?"
"This is my kinda thing!" Peanut apparently had a healing factor with him, and hopped up onto Flash's shoulder, pulling his own camera out of nowhere. Ibuki then just shrugged it off, continuing her lullaby for Casey.
"Hey Flash-chan. You can carry Casey-chan, right?" Ibuki requested.
"When did that become a problem for me to handle?" He responded. Caleb had already picked his brother up and kept walking towards Driftveil.
Henry then lifted his hand up slowly showing a Staples button before pressing it.
"I love this thing." Henry said gleefully.
-B2W2-
Upon reaching Driftveil City, in his subconscious, Casey felt a flash of familiarity. An aura... Something familiar about an aura in the city. He would get an intense feeling of déjà vu. 'An old friend' was the first thing that came to mind. He knew someone in Unova? No, he thought that impossible. There's no one native to Unova that he knows about. Casey wouldn't let it go as the party approached the gym. 'I thought I knew that aura from somewhere...' He thought. But for some reason he couldn't identify whose aura it was.
"So who's the Gym leader here?" Henry asked.
"A crazy mining guy who has ground types." Zorua told Henry. "Pokémon with levitate or flying types over all are useful. Otherwise, grass and water types have an advantage." Robyn's eyebrow twitched up at that and smiled.
"Say shouldn't we go to the Pokémon Center first?" Henry asked.
"Oh, I took care of that. I secretly healed everyone with Heal Pulse."
"Well then to the Gym we go!" Henry called out.
"Just another wackjob to deal with in my life..." Flash sighed. "This guy got a name?"
"Clay." Zorua told Flash. "He's not that great at battling, though. You're only screwed over if you picked Tepig."
"I'm right here you know." Caleb frowned.
"Caleb, Qwilfish will help out quite a bit this battle, so don't worry too much about it." Flash reassured. When they reached the gym, the guard out front stopped them.
"You guys can't enter unless you're challenging the gym. Are all of you challenging the gym?"
"When Casey wakes up, he will. I also am here to challenge the gym." Caleb answered.
"Ibuki's just here cuz she's with these two." Mioda answered, pointing to the brothers.
"Can't we watch?" Henry asked.
"Not unless you've already earned six gym badges." The guard responded firmly.
"What. The. F***?" Flash deadpanned, looking at the person. Robyn growled to herself.
"We can't even watch? What kind of gym is this?" Henry asked. Ibuki was kinda confused about this.
"Ibuki thought this was the fifth gym." Then had an idea. "Is Clay-chan busy right now?"
"This is for safety reasons." The guard explained. "Only those prepared to risk the challenge should be in it."
"Oh come on! Do you even know who these two are?" Ibuki teased, pointing to the boys. "They can handle a silly little mine!" Caleb's guess was a 'no' on the guard's behalf.
"So can we." Henry insisted.
"Only those challenging it may enter or someone with five badges already. This is because the gym is a hazardous area." The guard continued.
'Or because Clay is doing 'something' down there he doesn't want us to see.' Flash thought.
"Now we just uh..." Caleb looked around. "Anyone brave enough to wake my brother up?" Robyn and Henry backed away knowing what happened last time. Hailey, being the brave one produced a Poke Ball and sent out Dewott. Dewott used Water Gun on Casey. Ibuki was about to wake him up, but then the Water Gun connected on the journeyman, causing him to grab the musician by the wrist as he sprung awake, but calmed down after seeing whose wrist it was.
"Call me crazy guys...but I think someone I know is here in this town." He said.
"Everyone who is challenging please enter." The guard announced.
Hailey blinked at Casey. "Hold that thought until we've beaten the gym." She entered the gym. Casey and Caleb began to enter, leaving Flash and Ibuki to wait outside.
"Keep your ears open." He whispered to the musician. "Just in case."
Henry sighed. "Well I'm not ready to face any gym so good luck guys." Henry called over.
"Yeah, let's wait." The ex-narrator nodded.
Mioda however, didn't respond to that. 'Please, please, please, tell Ibuki that they'll be okay.' She thought. Ibuki was just nervous now, wondering if Flash was genuinely concerned for the brothers, or if he was just being a troll. She wasn't strumming out of boredom. Her main focus was hoping the boys would be okay. Flash just waited outside with a neutral expression. But deep down, he honestly was wondering what Clay was doing down there. Maybe mining? Maybe something private? He didn't know.
Zorua managed to pass himself off as one of Caleb's Pokémon and scamper in. As soon as they entered, the floor gave way under them, and Hailey, Caleb, and Casey were sent hurtling into the floor...
-B2W2-
Casey had conjured a light orb in his hand. He looked around at where he was, When Casey's eyes adjusted to the light, he found himself alone. Apparently, the three trainers had been separated...
"Well this sucks." Casey frowned. "At least I'm used to going it alone...most of the time." He began to look around the area to get his bearings; Casey seemed to be in a mine of sorts. There were candles around if he felt like lighting them, which he did for one of them. "Let there be light." He grinned, forming a fire wisp in his other hand and taking aim at one of the candles. Once he was sure of his shot, he fired off a wisp. "There was light." The mine was now lit up as the journeyman dispelled his orb of light and grabbed the candle. It was pretty empty…
Until he spotted a light around the corner. Casey went towards the light.
"Anyone there?" He reached for Servine's Poke Ball. A miner soon appeared in front of Casey, sending out a Sandile at him. Casey had already called out Servine, the Sandile using Bite.
"Dodge it, Servine!" Casey whisper yelled. Servine darted out of the way, then back at Sandile in hopes of using Wrap. Sandile got constricted by Wrap, Servine began slapping Sandile with Vine Whip. His facial expression was rather hostile. With that, Sandile was defeated and the trainer fled.
'Excellent.' Servine mused. Casey and Servine began following the path the fleeing trainer was taking. They soon encountered another trainer who sent out Palpitoad. It lunged at Servine with a Body Slam, but Servine leaped in the air, its tail taking on a green glow as it slammed down on Palpitoad.
Servine has learned Leaf Blade! And had unceremoniously defeated Palpitoad in one shot.
"Let's keep following these trainers, Servine." Casey suggested, going after the fleeing trainer.
'Sure thing.' Servine was following. The next trainer Casey encountered sent out a Drillbur to attack Servine with Metal Claw. Servine used Vine Whip to fell the Drillbur, as Casey would notice a rather strange light ahead.
"What's that?" Casey wondered, looking at the glow. "Is that evolution?" No, it was just straight up light. Casey and Servine walked ahead to the light. "Please tell me I didn't die..." He didn't. Instead, he came just in time to see an old guy giving Hailey the badge.
"The next challenger's here!" The guy grinned.
"You're this Clay guy I'm hearing about?" Casey inquired, Clay nodding to his question. "I've heard uh...interesting things about you." Casey commented. "At least this gym isn't a death trap."
"Well, we tend to keep out non-challengers because it's a slightly dangerous gym." Clay explained. Servine blinked at Clay, thinking, 'Understatement of the year'.
"Slightly dangerous?" He looked around. "More like one false move and tragedy strikes." He then cracked a smile. "I like that you're willing to take the risk of having a gym like this." He also knew that Ibuki was a non-challenger. He didn't want to lose his girlfriend anytime soon, so he was a little grateful about that.
"I like you, kid. Let's battle!" Clay sent out his Krokorok.
"Well I am pretty likable..." He blushed a little before motioning to Servine to step forward. He also scanned Krokorok. If there was one thing Casey knew about himself, it was the fact he had quite a lot of friends. Friends from Johto, friends from Tellius, Hoenn, the Neo, Kalos and the Spiral. He felt himself to be quite the social butterfly, even though he was a little crazy in the head.
Krokorok, the Desert Croc Pokémon, and the evolved form of Sandile. Protected by thin membranes, their eyes can see even in the dead of night. They live in groups of a few individuals.
Krokorok lunged forward to use Bite, but Casey shouted,
"Leaf Blade!" Servine jumped up to use said move, outright destroying Krokorok in one attack. Out came a Palpitoad, and Servine used Vine Whip to have his vines wrap around the Water/Ground type. Palpitoad was stopped in its tracks, but still tried to hit with Mud Shot. Servine slammed Palpitoad on the ground before he was struck with Mud Shot.
-B2W2-
"Caleb! Caleb!" Zorua was jabbing Caleb in the ribs.
"Ow..." Caleb groaned. He didn't know if he had broken something or not.
"Wake up! Caleb!" The fox continued doing what it was doing, until Caleb hissed softly in pain.
"Zorua, I'm awake! Just in a bit of pain."
"Oh! Sorry!" There was the sound of small footsteps retreating in the darkness, the sorcerer identifying them as Zorua's.
"It's fine...unless I landed on my tailbone..." He groaned. It was hard for him to tell where exactly he was hurting, what with him being in the darkness. He could have hurt his back, or maybe even a rib for all he knew.
"Hm... Try and find Pignite's Poke Ball to call him out. He can light the place up." Zorua suggested. Caleb looked for Pignite's Poke Ball, and he succeeded.
'What cha need?' Pignite asked Zorua, looking at him.
'Can you light this place up with your fire so we can see?' Zorua asked.
'I just need like a candle or torch...or something.' Pignite responded.
"Maybe I can enchant one of my arrows with fire so we can see?" Caleb suggested. "Then we could look for whatever Pignite needs?"
'Just use a big fire attack for a few moments!' Zorua deadpanned. And he was wondering why Servine constantly called Pignite an idiot. The Fire Pig Pokémon then used Ember, and with that Zorua found a candle and held it up to Pignite. Pignite lit the candle up with Ember, solving their problem concerning seeing.
"Can you see now, Caleb?" Zorua asked.
"Yeah." He nodded, getting up slowly. "I hope I didn't break anything."
"It doesn't look like you did." Zorua said. The fox said that to reassure Caleb, as he could not be for certain if Caleb had any fractures from the fall or any broken bones. But he felt that Caleb wouldn't be able to get up if he did have any broken bones. Caleb began navigating through the mine with Pignite following. He called out Qwilfish as well seeing as he might need the Balloon Pokémon later. Two trainers approached Caleb, one sending forth a Sandile and the other a Palpitoad.
"This isn't what I had in mind, but okay then." He motioned his two Pokemon forward. "Pignite, Arm Thrust on Sandile. And aim down towards its height this time. Qwilfish, Poison Sting on Palpitoad."
The two did what they were ordered to do. Sandile was defeated. Palpitoad looked majorly unharmed and used Aqua jet at Pignite. Qwilfish used Rollout to attempt and deter Pignite away from his ally, having both parties taking damage from that. Pignite then darted forward, aiming to use Tackle. Palpitoad was smacked back. It used Aqua Jet at Pignite again. Pignite was sent reeling, Qwilfish using Rollout again.
"Pignite, switch out." Caleb recalled Pignite. Palpitoad went for a Mud Shot, and Qwilfish went for a Water Gun. The attacks collided, but Palpitoad was struck down. The trainers fled, prompting Caleb to follow after them. The next trainer that Caleb encountered had a Drillbur that tried scratching Qwilfish, the Balloon Pokémon retaliating with Water Gun. Qwilfish won because of that, and heard sounds of battle up ahead.
"That must be Casey." He smirked, following the noises. Caleb would come upon Servine defeating Palpitoad. Down to his last Pokémon, Clay brought out Excadrill.
"What's that?" Casey looked at his Pokedex.
Excadrill, the Subterrene Pokémon, and the evolved form of Drillbur. Forming a drill with its steel claws and head, it can bore through a steel plate, no matter how thick it is.
"Well then. This'll be good." Casey chuckled nervously. "Servine, Leaf Blade!" Servine tried to use that move. Excadrill closed up in a pod and shot at Servine with Bulldoze. Servine tried dodging, but the attack still hit where Servine had been standing, causing a tremor, causing Servine to faceplant. Excadrill attacked with Slash next. Servine attempted warding Excadrill off with Vine Whip, and managed to do so, but Excadrill wasn't damaged very much. He used Rock Slide next.
"Maneuver through the rocks, Servine!" Casey cautioned, Servine going as fast as he could for dodging. Servine mostly did that, but Excadrill was waiting for him at the end, with a Slash ready. The wait was worth it as Servine went down.
"Alright Servine, switch out." He recalled Servine, reaching for Embrace's Premier Ball. "This Excadrill your ace, Clay?" He inquired. Clay nodded.
"Yeah, that's why I save him for last."
"I think it's time you meet my ace. Let's show 'em, Embrace!" Casey called the Gardevoir out, who gave a friendly smile and a wave to Excadrill. Clay grinned.
"You should save yer best for last, you know. Bulldoze!" Excadrill followed the command.
"Eh. Living on the edge." Casey shrugged. He looked at the battlefield. Embrace was struck with the Bulldoze, but regained her poise seconds later. The rocks from the Rock Slide were still there, giving Casey a devious idea. "Embrace, use Psychic on one of those rocks! Just like you did fighting Flash's old boss!" Casey ordered. Embrace used Psychic to lift up one of the rocks and threw it right at Excadrill. The rock slammed into Excadrill, throwing him back.
"Now, Shadow Ball!" Casey called, Embrace using the move on Excadrill. Excadrill was slammed with the attack again, using Bulldoze again. "Psychic and hold Excadrill up in the air!" Casey called once again. The Gardevoir nodded, trying to lift Excadrill up in the air with Psychic. Excadrill was hoisted up in the air with Psychic, Embrace then, back first, threw Excadrill into one of the rocks. And with that, Excadrill was defeated. Clay forked over the Quake badge before turning to Caleb.
"I'm his brother." Caleb explained.
Casey took the badge in hand. "Yeah, that's right. He wanted to see how we do things in the Pokémon Leagues, and so far he's doing well." He added.
"I see. Well, let's have a go, then!" Clay sent out Krokorok.
"Very well." He nodded. "Qwilfish, let's go!" Casey decided to watch this match. Krokorok led off with Mud Shot, while Qwilfish fought back with Water Gun. The Desert Croc was beaten and Palpitoad was sent out. "Alright, switch out." Caleb recalled Qwilfish and sent out Swadloon. "Razor Leaf, Swadloon!"
'Do forgive me for this.' Swadloon apologized to Palpitoad, using the aforementioned move on his opponent. Palpitoad was felled with that hit, and now Excadrill came out. Caleb swapped Swadloon for Qwilfish again. "Water Gun again, Qwilfish!" The Balloon Pokémon did that to attack. Excadrill was defeated!
Caleb got the badge, and the three and Zorua were allowed on the elevator. That sense of déjà vu from before had returned, though. Casey could feel it getting stronger and stronger as he ascended in the elevator, until they reached the top. When the door opened, and they found their friends waiting for them...G was standing right behind the group, holding an Eevee and waving at Casey. When he saw G, he breathed,
"I knew it...I thought I felt someone around here." G continued to wave silently. Henry came running at them, panicking.
"GUYS!" He shouted. He had a Pansage in his arms.
"What's happened?" Caleb had to ask, a sense of urgency in his tone.
"It's Robyn. I haven't seen her since you guys entered the gym. I looked all around the city, and I couldn't find her. The only thing I found was this girl who apparently saw our battle on Route 5 and she gave me Finnick here as a reward for that battle." Henry told them. Finnick the Pansage waved at them.
"What? Why?" Caleb was curious. Casey however, walked over to G. Ibuki and Flash? They were just watching this play out.
"Why about Robyn or Finnick?" Henry asked making sure.
Hailey blinked. "We should search, then." Hailey let go of Emolga. "Search the sky, Emolga!" The flying squirrel shot off to look for the missing girl. "Meanwhile, we should split up and search the city." Hailey commanded.
G started walking away suddenly.
"Hey wait up!" Casey followed after G.
"We'll be with ya, kiddo." Flash told the sorcerer. "If she got taken by those Neo Team Plasma dicks, I won't shed a tear if I have to beat them up." Finnick then reached down and grabbed one of Henry's Pokeballs and threw it. Out came... Howler.
"What the... Finnick. Why'd you do that?" Henry blinked at Finnick. G stopped.
"I was going to tell you something, Casey, but it can wait."
Hailey nodded. "We shouldn't be going solo. Everyone stick with at least one person."
Zorua hopped over to Flash and Caleb. "Let's go find Robyn!"
"No, I want to know now." Casey huffed. "And I thought Darky was traveling with you."
"She's waiting at the place I was going to bring you to." G said. "I wanted to personally inform you about the world tournament, but this seems more important."
'World tournament...' He thought, then said, "Friends first. Fame second. That's how I'm doing this."
"That's what I figured." G nodded. "I'll find you again once this thing is over. I'm not leaving Driftveil, so..." He started walking away.
"See ya there!" Casey waved him goodbye.
"Hey, Ibuki wants to come with you three!" Mioda requested. But as this was happening, Henry shouted,
"EVERYONE WAIT!"
"We're listening." Flash coolly told him.
"Look at Howler." Henry pointed. The little puppy was sniffing around. The foursome were looking at Howler.
"He got a lead?" Caleb wondered. Howler didn't do anything except kept smelling around. Soon they followed him right to... the entrance to the gym.
"Really? Howler. Everyone was standing out here." That's when Howler began scratching at the door.
"She's trapped inside the gym?" Flash thought. "But that shouldn't be true, right?" Hailey walked up to the guard and flipped open her badge case. He opened the door for her.
"Let's go in, then. Howler will come with Casey, Caleb, Zorua, and I, since we're the only ones allowed to enter."
"Okay, be careful Howler." Henry told him who nodded and licked him before entering.
"Stay safe, Casey-chan!" Ibuki gave Casey a peck on the cheek, giving him a trusting smile.
"I promise, Ibuki-dono." He went with Caleb inside, following Hailey.
"So what's the plan?" Caleb inquired.
"We follow Howler." Hailey said calmly.
-B2W2-
Meanwhile, inside the gym, Clay could hear footsteps heading his way. Clay turned to the footsteps to see a girl holding a Gothita appeared. "Are you the Gym Leader here?" She asked. It was Robyn!
Clay nodded. "You're the next challenger, then?"
"Indeed. Name's Robyn." Robyn said as she stepped forward and stood where the challenger would go.
Clay grinned. "Let's battle, then!" He sent out his Krokorok.
(Soundtrack: 'You Give Love a Bad Name' by Bon Jovi)
The others were following Howler inside the gym. "We're almost there!" Hailey chased after him.
"Gladly." Robyn replied yet before she threw her Poke Ball there was a howl from behind. She looked to see Howler running in. "Howler?" Hailey was close behind Howler.
"Robyn, if you wanted to challenge the gym, you should have told someone first..."
Clay coughed as a way to get Robyn's attention.
"I wanted to surprise you all. Now if you'll excuse me I have a gym battle to win." Robyn turned back around. "Go Jade!" She called out as her Snivy appeared. Hailey folded her arms.
"You should have told ONE person..." Krokorok shot forward with a Bite. Jade brought out her vines and wrapped them around Krokorok's muzzle and threw it past her. However, Krokorok grabbed the vines, and red energy shot through them. Snivy was inflicted with Torment!
"What the?! What happened?!" Robyn shouted surprised.
"That's Torment, honey." Clay said. "Now you can't use the same move twice in the row. Swagger!" While Robyn was distracted, Krokorok used swagger. Jade's attack went up, but she was confused.
"Oh great. Jade try and use Growth!" Jade attempted but ended up hitting herself.
The guys were now there, looking at Robyn. "You want to tell her?" The older asked.
Hailey sighed. "Let her finish her gym match; I already told her."
"Call Flash with your lacrima and tell the others what happened." Zorua said to the brothers.
"I'll do it." Caleb did just that, getting out his lacrima and filling Flash in on what happened.
Back to the battle, Clay grinned as Krokorok used Bite again. Jade was bit.
"Jade, use Vine Whip!" Jade was successful in not hitting herself and went to hit Krokorok. Krokorok grabbed the vines and swung Jade by them. Jade soon snapped out of her confusion.
"Great! Now use Attract!" Robyn hollered. Jade sent out a plethora of hearts at Krokorok, and Jade was successful in making her opponent infatuated. "Yes! Now use another Vine Whip!" She shouted. Jade did so whipping the infatuated Pokémon multiple times. With those attacks, Krokorok went down. Palpitoad was up next! Casey was watching this battle with a smile.
-B2W2-
Back up in the lobby of the Gym, Flash had hung up on Caleb after the latter had informed them about where Robyn was.
"Well, at least it wasn't Neo Plasma Grunts." Henry sighed in relief.
"Yeah. I doubt you'd want to see what I would do to them, eh?" Flash asked. Which his method was basically stabbing them to death.
"Neo Team Plasma?" Ibuki wondered. "Are those the bad guys in this region?"
-B2W2-
Back down below, Palpitoad had been felled by Jade. "This is too easy! I thought you'd be more of a challenge!" Robyn called over. "Let's make this quick. Jade, Attract." Jade smirked too and sent out one last Attract attack. Excadrill was infatuated, making Robyn grin. "This fight is in the bag. Now use one last Growth and Vine Whip." Jade did both and sent her whips flying out. The guys looked at each other again.
"Once she's done we get out of here?" The sorcerer inquired.
"Yeah, we are." Casey nodded.
The vines Jade used hit…but they didn't do a whole lot.
"Huh? Jade keep it up." Robyn said. Jade couldn't keep it up due to the Torment, and Excadrill snapped out of the Attract and went for a Bulldoze. Jade was hit and it was enough to take her out. "Jade, no!" Robyn cried out as she scooped up her Pokémon.
"Robyn got too overconfident." Zorua said. "She assumed a grass type would be strong against every member of a ground type gym. She doesn't know Excadrill's typing."
"Ground and Steel." Casey added. "Steel resists Grass, negating Excadrill's weakness to Jade's attacks. That doesn't make it immune to Water type attacks however…"
"Next Pokémon, lass." Clay grinned.
She returned Jade and went to grab her next Poke Ball until she felt something touch her leg. She saw Wendy. "Wendy?" She didn't get a response other than Wendy walking out onto the field.
"Bulldoze!" Excadrill pulled off the technique. The attack struck Wendy. 'Wendy's not strong enough to take an Excadrill out.' Robyn thought to herself but then though of something. 'Maybe she doesn't have to.'
"Wendy, quick, use Confusion!" Wendy nodded and did so. "Please work." Robyn silently begged. This caused Excadrill to be frozen in place from the attack.
"Yes. Now use... Tickle!" What.
Wendy quickly strolled up and began tickling Excadrill. And Excadrill was not happy about that. It was just as mad as Rupert was when his bananas in Heroes vs. Villains were being messed with by said Villains. Yeah, Excadrill was pissed. And used Slash on Wendy to show he was not at all amused.
"Hey! Play Nice!" Robyn shouted and that's when Wendy began dancing around Excadrill like she was playing. Excadrill couldn't give a damn about Wendy's stall tactics to save a life, so he used Drill Run, smashing the ground up. Wendy was thrown up in the air, and Excadrill bounded upwards to slash Wendy back down to Earth.
Houston, we have landed.
"Wendy!" Robyn called out. Wendy was unable to do anything as she was hit, sent flying into the ground, and fainted.
Howler cringed. 'That's going to leave a mark.' She sighed and returned Wendy. She pulled out her last Poke Ball.
"This's the final battle, missy. Choose wisely." Clay advised.
"This is a pretty big risk but I'm willing to take it." Robyn said as she kissed the Poke Ball for good luck. "Diana! It's all you now!" She hollered as she called out her Ducklett. Excadrill, without any second thought [or first thoughts for that matter] used Rock Slide.
"Dodge quickly!" Robyn shouted. Diana was fast and luckily dodged the attack. "Now use Feather Dance!" Diana shot out a cloud of feathers at Excadrill. Casey scanned Ducklett with his Pokedex.
Ducklett, the Water Bird Pokémon. They are better at swimming than flying, and they happily eat their favorite food, peat moss, as they dive underwater.
Excadrill's attack was lowered, but it kept using Rock Slide.
"Zorua, I don't know about you, but Ducklett in a battle like this kind of feels like a double edged sword." Casey commented.
"Aye. Her water attacks are really strong in this fight, but Rock Slide is super affective against her." Zorua concurred. "The first one to make a mistake loses."
"Let's just pray Robyn doesn't get cocky." Caleb nodded in agreement.
"She was before." Zorua pointed out dryly.
After the last Rock Slide, Diana had used Aqua Ring to restore some of its HP, then she was buried under a Rock Slide. All seemed lost…
.
.
… Soon a wing popped out of the rocks as Diana dug her way out not hurt too badly and the Aqua Ring restored some of the damage taken. The Gods of this universe were in uproar over this. Excadrill kept spamming Rock Slide, the battlefield now messed up ground wise and absolutely covered in rocks. Rocks were on top of rocks. Diana managed to dodge and went in for an Aerial Ace. Excadrill was hit, but it wasn't very effective. He used Slash while Ducklett was close. Diana barely missed it and opened her mouth to fire a close range Bubblebeam in its face. Hopefully with the Tickle Wendy got in Excadrill's defense was weakened enough that she could finish this. But Bubblebeam was a special attack. Not a physical one. Excadrill was hurt, but not down. Rock slide was used again!
"Diana, get out of there!" She tried to escape but it seemed futile. Not even her Aqua Ring would save her if she couldn't get out fast. Robyn began thinking. She then thought of how she tried to dive-bomb her on the Driftveil Bridge. "Diana! Dive towards the ground!" Diana nodded and did so falling straight down and when she rocketed towards the ground she flew above the ground, dodging the rocks. Unfortunately for Diana, going downward was only closing her in more. She didn't seem to have anywhere to escape to. 'No. I thought that would work. I thought she would be able to outspeed this.' Robyn thought. "T-Try flying up!" She called out through teary eyes.
Diana tried but found that just as difficult. There was no escape.
ROCKS!
Sorry, I just had to do that. I had The Australian Outback on the brain.
Caleb took note of this attempted strategy. "At least it was worth a shot." Caleb shrugged. Soon Diana was smacked down by a big rock.
"NO DIANA!" Robyn cried out as she ran over and collected her fainted Pokémon. Which took a lot of digging. And a lot of big rocks.
(Soundtrack: None)
Clay walked over to her and held out a hand, smiling. "Chin up, lass. That was very impressive for your first try."
"But I was doing so well. I almost had you until your Excadrill came out. How come I took out two of your with one Pokémon while your last one got to all of mine? I thought Diana and I could do it." Robyn said as she sat there saddened but took his hand while the other still held Diana.
"It was a valiant effort, at least." Casey reassured. "The main thing is that no matter what, a loss shouldn't be a deterrent to getting back up on your feet and powering on." That and he remembered Clay said he saved his Excadrill for last. Now he knew why.
"Steel types are difficult to handle, lass." Clay said. "Besides, you need to train more. You'll defeat me with ease once you've grown as a trainer."
"Steel type Pokémon are resistant to a lot of things." Casey corroborated on Clay's statement. "Only things I can think of that would be super effective against 'em would be Fire, Fighting and Ground." Clay nodded.
"You could easily take on the first four gym leaders, with this level of training. You've worked very hard, and your Pokémon love you. You have the makings of a great Pokémon Trainer."
She smiled through her tears. "Thank you, Clay."
"Well spoken, sir." Caleb complimented the gym leader. "And to think Robyn and I are on our first journey as Pokémon Trainers."
"Don't forget Henry." Robyn reminded.
"Especially Henry." The sorcerer agreed.
"Clay? Can I ask you a favor?" Robyn asked.
"Of course. What's the favor?" The gym leader asked in response.
"Can you have one last battle?" She requested of Clay.
"Great. I'll be right back with your next challenger." Robyn said before she ran out. Soon Howler began barking happily as Robyn was pulling Henry down to the battlefield.
"Robyn! What are you doing?! You know I'm not allowed to be down here." Henry said sternly to her.
"Challengers are allowed down here." Hailey pointed out. Clay already had Krokorok out and ready.
"No. No. I'm-I'm not ready." Henry objected trying to back out.
"Yes you are. Henry I have seen the way you've connected with you Pokémon. You have such a strong bond. I think you have what it takes. Please just try." Robyn pleaded.
"But... I'm scared. I don't think I can take on someone like Clay." Henry sighed, prompting Hailey to step in.
"The worst thing that'll happen is you'll lose." Hailey pointed out. She walked over to him and gently grabbed him by the shoulders. "Remember what I told you when I gave you the Poke Ball to catch Broham? You WILL lose if you battle with Pokémon. But you caught him anyway, didn't you? Didn't you promise you would be strong? If you don't try to win and fail, you'll never try to win and succeed. Just think about it as fun, because this is a gym battle. Try your best, and it doesn't matter whether you win or lose. There's always next time." It warmed the journeyman's heart to hear Hailey say that. Seeing as Casey himself has dealt with quite a number of losses but managed to get back up and power on? That motivation was enough to keep him going this whole time.
Henry smiled. "O-Okay. I'll try." Henry breathed before stepping up. He knew he had two Pokémon that could help but what about his third? He had a bad feeling. But he wouldn't let it show. "You ready ole timer?" Henry asked mockingly.
Clay's eyes instantly narrowed. "Ready to crush you un'erfoot I am. Bring it, scruffy."
"So I will. And I see you got a Krokorok. Well how about he meet an ole friend. Go Vile!" Henry shouted as his Krokorok came out.
'Wassup my homie!' Vile shouted.
Clay's Krokorok used Bulldoze, clearly not Vile's homie. Vile was hit.
'Hey man not cool.'
Vile quickly used his Swagger. Krokorok used swagger at the same time.
...they were both confused.
"Hey Hailey? Can I tell you something?" Casey asked. Hailey blinked, looking away from the match.
"Sure, Casey. What is it?"
"It's uh...concerning my reason for being in the Unova region." He explained.
"Is it that hard to explain, dude?" Caleb frowned.
"Don't pressure him." Hailey frowned at Caleb. "Go ahead and tell me, Casey. Why did you come to Unova?"
"Um...you're not going to believe this, and I won't blame you if you don't but uh...I was on Survivor before." Casey spat it out then. Hailey blinked.
"Survivor... Oh! It's one of those reality TV shows, right? I've never seen it, but that's amazing that you were on it."
"Flash and I love that show. There was uh, one instance in particular where I was thought to be underestimated. Because I was able to build a house of cards." Casey explained. "So here I am, hoping to prove those three fellow 'fans' right."
"You? Building a house of cards?" Caleb raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah...I went a little cuckoo out there once something that I wish not to speak of happened out there, and long story short, I actually started cussing. And I never cuss." AKA, his 'Senpai' getting voted out. People that watched that season, you know who he is.
"So you want to prove yourself because you lost?" Hailey asked. She frowned. "No, that was too harsh. I guess I'm kind of here for the same reason as you."
"Ninth place wasn't that bad a finish, in all honesty." He shrugged. "But still, if it means making them realize who I really am, they'll know if I come back, they better be ready for me." Hailey nodded. She looked down.
"Like I said, I think I came here for a similar reason..."
Casey came up with this thought. "You were on reality TV too?"
Hailey sweatdropped. "No! I lost in the Sinnoh league..."
"Oh yeah..." He facepalmed. "You told us this that you got to like, quarterfinals?"
Hailey nodded. "I trained my Pokémon really hard, but I still lost... It kind of made me question whether I was really cut out to be a trainer..." She looked down. "So I'm going to decide once I fight in the Unova League..."
"That's still something to be proud of." Casey stated. "I've said it once and I'll say it time and time again. Just find the motivation you need to keep going and power on." Hailey sighed.
"That's easy for you to say..."
"Then let me ask you this. Simple yes or no question." Casey asked her. "Are you going to keep beating yourself up over your loss in the Sinnoh League?"
"Of course I'm over that. It only makes me more determined to win this time around." She turned to Casey, fire in her eyes. "I'll even defeat all of you guys if I have to! This league is my victory!" Caleb was just listening to Hailey boast and put on a poker face. He was hurting a little on the inside from hearing that. Hailey grinned at Casey and Caleb. "Truth be told, I hope I'm out against you two. I'll have an awesome time beating you, since you're both formidable."
Plunging the knife deeper, Hailey...
"I'm not going to go down like a chump, dude." Casey countered.
"...I said that you're both formidable." Hailey deadpanned.
"That means hard to defeat." Zorua put in. Apparently he's forgotten that Casey isn't the sharpest sword in the armory. Hailey was about to ask, but Zorua have her a look that told her that she shouldn't. Instead, she went back to watching the match.
"Vile snap out of it!" Vile tried but found himself meeting his own fist. Meanwhile, the other Krokorok seemed to be banging his head on the ground.
"Vile listen to my voice. You can break this! I know you can!" Henry called out. Vile heard him and through some fighting he eventually broke free. "Yes! Now Sand Tomb!" Vile nodded before sending one out at the confused Krokorok. Krokorok was trapped. There didn't seem to be anything left for it to do, since it had no long range moves. With this, Vile dug into the ground. Krokorok continued struggling, but to no avail. That's when Vile popped up and hit the opposing Krokorok's face.
'Surprise mothaf***er!' Krokorok was defeated.
Palpitoad came out next. "Vile return." Henry called out returning the ground type. "Go Finnick!" His Pansage came out.
"What? Where did he get that?" Robyn asked confused.
"While you were sneaking away." Zorua said to Robyn slyly. "Guess you miss out when you're on an undercover mission." Palpitoad used Body Slam. Finnick managed to jump out of the way and went for a Vine Whip. Palpitoad was defeated. Excadrill came out, but Finnick stayed out.
Excadrill went for Bulldoze, but Finnick took it like a champ and used Play Nice to begin dancing around Excadrill. Like with Wendy before him, the mole like Pokémon used Drill Rush on the floor. The rocks were thrown in the air along with the grass monkey but Finnick actually used this to his advantage. Being a monkey-like Pokémon he began bounding off the rocks like they were tree branches getting closer to Excadrill before using his Vine Whip to grab some of the stones and hurl them at Excadrill. Excadrill curled up into a pod and used bulldoze. He easily broke through the rocks on his way to the one Finnick was standing on. Finnick stumbled and tried to regain his balance which made sure he couldn't get away. And because of that he was hit though it seemed Finnick dropped something as he was. Finnick was flung back and hit another nearby boulder and got knocked out from the blow.
"Finnick!" Henry hollered.
"Oh no. Not again." Robyn said, seeing his battle turning out like hers.
"Mah Excadrill can smash through pure steel when it gets a goin', yes it can!" Clay grinned mockingly.
"That may be true but in the end all machinery will eventually crash and burn. So you'll do the crashing..." He said as he returned Finnick and pulled out another pokeball. "And I'll do the burning. With Broham!" Henry shouted sending out his first partner.
"WHAT?! What is he thinking? He knows Fire doesn't stand a chance against Ground types. I don't understand why he's not going for Vile." Robyn looked to Hailey.
"Excadrill is half steel type." Hailey pointed out. "Granted he doesn't take any hits whatsoever, he can beat it with Broham." Clay's eyes narrowed, and he instantly ordered a Rock Slide.
"Well yeah but it won't be easy. I couldn't beat it even after using two Pokemon who were strong against it typing wise. How can he do it?" Robyn asked. Broham dodged and went for a Tackle attack. Excadrill was hit by the Tackle. As soon as the attack finished, he swiped down on Tepig with a Slash. From that close range, it would be impossible to dodge. Broham went for a Defense Curl and raised his defense before being hit by the Slash. Broham uncurled himself and went for a face full of Ember. Excadrill took a number from the attack, slashing again. Broham took it again and was knocked back. Things were starting to look bad as Broham was slightly trembling.
"I can't watch Hailey." Robyn groaned as she covered her face and turned away.
"Expect the unexpected, Robyn." Caleb reassured. "That statement never changes."
"Don't worry..." Hailey patted Robyn on the back.
Excadrill used Bulldoze.
Robyn gulped as she heard Broham yelp from being hit. One more and Broham could be finished. "Broham! Don't give up! I believe in you!" Broham struggled to get up but through his trainer's encouraging words he stood. Broham suddenly cried out and was now engulfed in flames as he charged at Excadrill.
"WHOA!" Henry exclaimed.
"WHAT IS THAT?!" Robyn shouted.
"That would be Flame Charge." Casey calmly informed. The attacks collided, with the end result being both Excadrill and Broham being defeated. However, because Henry still had Vile, he won the gym match!
Clay handed over the badge.
"HE DID IT!" Robyn happily hollered.
"I got my first gym badge!" Henry said excitedly. Zorua started bouncing around gleefully.
Hailey smiled to herself. "Alright, guys! We've kept Ibuki and Flash waiting long enough! Let's head up the elevator!" So the group headed up to the lobby again.
-B2W2-
When they reached the top, Casey could feel G was close again. This time he was standing to the side behind Flash and Ibuki. He would try to look for G. I wonder if he has a psychic bond with him.
"So what's next?" Caleb had to ask.
"Casey-chan's seriously going after one of his pals?" Ibuki had to wonder.
"I'm starting to think that G's hiding something. But then again, I could be wrong." Flash suggested. G was standing right behind Flash, grinning cheekily and waving at Casey.
"I keep getting these weird senses with you. What's going on?" The journeyman asked. "Are you trying to tell me something?"
"Oh, it's probably your aura powers resonating with the notebook." G suggested. "It still has traces of you in it. Anyway, I'm here to take all of you somewhere." G announced to the entire Unova group. "I already mentioned this to Casey."
"Ah..." Casey realized. "I wonder what else of me is in there."
"That place being?" Caleb raised an eyebrow.
"The world tournament, of course!" G grinned. Peanut's ears perked up.
"World Tournament?" Robyn asked.
"This'll be good." Flash deadpanned.
"Aw, Flash-chan! Don't be a stick in the mud. Who knows? It'll probably be good." Mioda playfully punched Flash in the arm, which he didn't take as playful.
"But how do you know we're all ready? I hear there's a cool Pokémon on the next route and I want to see if I can get it." Robyn pointed out.
"Yeah what if aren't ready?" Henry asked.
"Oh, I stalked your gym battles. Based on your battling skills there, you two are more than ready." G said.
"Yeah...I don't know how to explain that." Caleb sweatdropped.
"But what if we want to catch more Pokémon? There's still a few I'm interested in catching." Henry told G. G sighed.
"Look, it was REALLY hard getting all of you spots in this thing. It starts REALLY soon, and we don't exactly have a LOT of time..."
The two looked to each other. "Okay fine." They agreed.
"Well we might as well make a run for it now." Flash deadpanned.
G started rushing the group toward the stadium. As they ran, Peanut hopped on Caleb's shoulder.
"Hey, Caleb! This is your chance! Try and win this thing, or at least do really well, and then you'll get a ton of recognition!" Only Caleb could understand Peanut at this point.
"Alright. I'll give it a shot." He grinned, racing outside and looking for where the tournament was, Casey close behind.
CHAPTER 5 END!
(Next chapter is where all the fun happens! Johnny Fairplay gets put to shame, Caleb gets a second wind, and someone goes a little cuckoo. Find out what happens in the next intermission. Lata! -Flash)
