Chapter 7

Yoruichi sighed as she once again told her story about her world and the people there, her walk through the wood and the cup.

She then relaxed as Kukkaku explained about how Yoruichi had seen the cup again and how they were planning to take on the Sunze cup.

Soi Fon raised her eyebrow. "You intend to let a person who has known about pokémon for less a month to attack the elite? Have you lost it?"

"She wanted this herself. You should know how thick she is when it gets to being reasonable."

"I'm right here" Yoruichi grumped.

Soi Fon frowned and looked at Yoruichi, as if judging her from a glance. She reached back into her pocket and took something out. Yoruichi blinked as Soi Fon held up a small steel badge. It was black and orange, the form being of Soi Fon's favorite mark, the homonka.

"You think you are good enough to get this badge from me? I don't hold back no matter how much or how little you know."

Yoruichi looked at Soi Fon who looked at her. Her face showed no anger, nor any happiness.

"Even if you miraculously win over me there are 7 more gym leaders, a bunch of other trainers who has also proven their worth, the 4 strongest trainers on the continent who has been doing this since they where young… and last year's champion, who is the strongest of them all."

"Kukkaku already told me this" Yoruichi said simply. "And I'll tell you what I told her. It is the only way for me to get home."

Soi Fon frowned and placed her badge back into her pocket. "All right… if sense can't get through to you I just have to beat you tomorrow."

Yoruichi smiled and suddenly got an idea. "How about a deal Soi Fon?"

Soi Fon frowned. "That depends on the deal."

"If you beat me tomorrow I will leave. I will go to another gym and never bother you again."

"And if you win? If I win you join me and Kukkaku on our journey."

Soi Fon raised an eyebrow. "Why do you want me on your journey?"

"2 reasons" Yoruichi said simply.

"Reason one is that Kukkaku aren't a master in pokémon. She has said it herself that all she knows comes from things she has seen or read. You on the other hand are an expert… it would be nice to have you with me."

"And reason two?"

"Last time I left this place I left you behind. I owe you an adventure too."

Soi Fon scowl reappeared, and yet it wasn't an angry scowl.

"All right" Soi Fon said. "Why not, I agree. I will send you home in pieces."

Yoruichi smiled in face of the challenge. "I look forward to it."

Soi Fon smiled gently. "Tell you what; there are this girl who came today to challenge me just as I closed the gym. I promised her a battle the first thing in the morning. Why don't you come and watch the battle, see how a real gym battle looks like."

"I would love that" Yoruichi said.

"Well then" Soi Fon said rising. "You should head back to the pokémon center and get some rest. I will see you all tomorrow."

Yoruichi and Kukkaku left and headed out in the evening.

"And reason 3" Kukkaku said grinning from ear to ear. "Is that you want your precious little Beedrill with you to always hug and kiss and make love too."

"Shut it" Yoruichi said, not really protesting to what Kukkaku said.

The next day Yoruichi and Kukkaku walked up to the Suzne gym. Yoruichi gaped as she saw it.

A huge structure of yellow and orange with black edges at the corners of the building. Welcoming them was a huge sign that simply said Suzne Gym.

"Wow she likes to make an impression" Yoruichi said blinking.

Kukkaku chuckled gently. "You're surprised?"

"Not really" Yoruichi said mulling it over. Soi Fon always liked showing off, even if she were a glorified ninja.

Entering the gym the two women saw Soi Fon, sitting at a chair on the other side of the room, as if she were a queen, and they where lowly subordinates who intruded on her castle.

"Morning" she said gently. "The challenger hasn't come yet, so you might get comfortable."

She gesticulated to the stands next to the field which Yoruichi only suddenly noticed.

The gym itself was sat up as a clearing in a forest. In the middle of the field was a small tree stump, and the floor was made mostly of what could only be grass.

"A gym leader always customizes the gym and the battlefield to improve their pokémon they own" Soi Fon explained as she saw Yoruichi looking around.

"I see Yoruichi said. So… you have grass types?"

"Nope" Soi Fon said smiling.

"I have bug types."

Just as those words were out of her mouth the doors opened and a girl walked in. She had blonde hair and blue eyes, smiling gently up to Soi Fon. She wore a basic black shirt with a red vest with a dark black hood. Her pants were baggy and white, and she wore a pair of basic black sneakers. On her head she had a blue bandana with the familiar pokéball emblem. Next to her were a pokémon.

Yoruichi weren't sure what it looked like. Maybe a dog of some kind. It was mostly white, with a gray face, tail and claws, as well as a round grey crystal on its forehead. On the right side of its face a long blade showed, giving the red eyed pokémon a menacing look.

She turned to Kukkaku to ask what pokémon it was, and were surprised to see her friend's face pale.

"A-a-Absol… you brought an Absol?"

"What of it?" The girl asked patting her pokémon. "He has been with me for ages."

"But it's bad luck" Kukkaku protested.

"No he's not" the girl said scowling lightly. "Absol reacts to disasters, true, but he doesn't cause them."

The girl turned to Soi Fon. "You promised me a gym battle Soi Fon, I am here to challenge you for your badge."

Soi Fon smiled. "Of course. I never back down from a challenge."

Yoruichi and Kukkaku sat down in the stands as Soi Fon and the girl got into place.

"I never got your name" Soi Fon said simple to the girl who smiled.

"Kitty Petro. From Tibru town."

"Tibru? That's a long way from home miss Petro."

Kitty nodded. "Yeah, but I'm saving my home town gym for last. Well then, let's get started."

Soi Fon looked to the side where a man came running up to stand on the side of the middle of the field.

He looked to Soi Fon and to Kitty. "A gym challenge is about to start, he called. The battle is between the Sunze gym leader Soi Fon and the challenger Kitty Petro from Tibru town. This battle will be over when 3 pokémon on one side has been defeated. The gym leader is not allowed to switch pokémon in battle. Are these rules understood?"

Soi Fon nodded, as did Kitty. Soi Fon reached down to her belt and took up a pokéball. Smiling a smile that made Yoruichi shudder Soi Fon threw out the pokéball which opened to reveal…

"A bee?"

Kukkaku smiled. "A Beedrill."

"Your little Beedrill owns a big Beedrill… that is so awesome."

Yoruichi looked at the Beedrill and then at Kitty who took out her own pokéball. She kissed it gently for good luck and then threw it out on the field and released the pokémon inside.

It was a small red fox with a bunch of tails.

"A vulpix" Kukkaku said smiling. "Fire type… that could be bad for Soi Fon."

But looking at Soi Fon Yoruichi didn't think she looked worried. The man, who Yoruichi understood were the referee looked at both woman and held up both arms.

"GO."

"Vulpix, Flamethrower."

Kitty started off strong. But Soi Fon just smiled.

"Beedrill, double team."

The Beedrill avoided the flamethrower and suddenly cloned itself forming a round formation around the vulpix who blinked in shock.

"Beedrill, agility."

The Beedrill's who all surrounded the vulpix started circling the poor pokémon and got faster and faster until they were a blur.

"Vulpix, use Dig."

The vulpix jumped up and crashed into the ground and dug down into the ground.

Soi Fon frowned as Beedrill stopped up, the double team fading away. Kitty smiled as vulpix suddenly jumped up from the ground behind Beedrill.

"Vulpix. Fire blast."

The Beedrill were to slow to dodge the blast and fell to the ground. It tried to rise but couldn't.

"Beedrill is unable to fight. Point goes to the challenger."

Soi Fon frowned slightly and returned Beedrill to its pokéball. "Not bad… you've trained your pokémon well."

"Thank you" Kitty said smiling returning Vulpix to its pokéball, smiling gently.

"Thank you Vulpix, now rest for a while."

Soi Fon grinned and took out a new pokéball.

"Don't make the mistake of thinking you can win just because you beat Beedrill. Beedrill is my weakest pokémon; my other two will crush you, as well as your dreams."

"Well aren't we a bad loser" Kitty said grinning taking out a new pokéball.

"But fine I'll play along."

She threw the pokéball which released something that looked like a small girl with green hair.

Kukkaku blinked. "A Kirlia."

"What type is it?" Yoruichi asked, getting more and more familiar with pokémon slang.

"Psychic" Kukkaku said gently. "This could be bad."

Soi Fon simply grinned in face of the challenge and threw out a new pokéball.

Yoruichi blinked and turned to Kukkaku again who sighed.

"It's a Ninjask, now be quiet and watch."

Yoruichi blinked and watched the match once again. The Ninjask lived up to its name, with its black and golden body, its wings fluttering so fast that Yoruichi barely saw them. The referee raised his arms, indication the start of the second round.

"GO."

"Ninjask, poison sting."

The Ninjask moved so fast that Yoruichi for a moment wondered if it knew shunpo. Kitty's Kirlia didn't have the time to react to the hit and flew across the room, skidding on the floor.

"Kirlia." Kitty called out in worry, smiling gently as the pokémon rose gently.

"Kirlia, Psybeam."

"Ninjask, dodge and use quick attack."

Once again Kirlia was sent flying and Yoruichi sighed. Typical Soi Fon strategy. Move in fast and hit the opponent before they had the chance to react.

"Kirlia, protect."

Ninjask, who had been in the middle of a fury swipes blinked as it hit a green orb that surrounded Kirlia.

Kitty grinned gently. "Kirlia, Calm mind."

"Too late" Soi Fon called grinning. "Ninjask, screech."

The Ninjask made a noise that was so bad and loud that Yoruichi covered her ears, as did Kirlia.

"Ninjask, poison sting."

Ninjask moved in and hit Kirlia who once again skidded along the ground and remained still.

"Kirlia is unable to battle; point goes to the gym leader."

Kitty sighed and returned Kirlia. "Rest my friend, you fought well."

Soi Fon smiled but didn't return Ninjask, and Yoruichi suddenly remembered what the referee had said about the gym leader not being allowed to change pokémon during battle.

Kitty sighed and took up a pokéball, sending out vulpix again.

"Ready to face defeat?" Soi Fon asked.

"I believe in my pokémon" Kitty said smiling gently.

"Though I got to admit, even for a Ninjask, it's pretty darn fast."

"I know" Soi Fon said readying herself for a new fight.

The referee smiled and held up his arms. "GO."

"Vulpix, Quick attack."

"Ninjask, poison sting."

Yoruichi gaped as the match continued. Kitty's vulpix were doing pretty good, considering how fast Soi Fon's Ninjask were. Just as Ninjask hit the vulpix, the vulpix turned and attacked back.

Then suddenly…

"Vulpix, flame wheel."

Vulpix spun around and shoot fire around itself and rolled towards Ninjask who took the hit and crashed into the ground… and stayed there.

"Ninjask is unable to fight, point goes to the challenger."

Soi Fon returned Ninjask to its pokéball, sighing. "You are good… but not good enough."

Soi Fon took out her last pokéball, Yoruichi wondering how in the world this next pokémon could help Soi Fon out.

Soi Fon grinned her usual, 'I'm going to kick your ass' smile that she spared for really hard opponents and threw out her last pokéball.

Yoruichi gaped. Kukkaku whistled, and Kitty blinked.

"That is one giant bug" Yoruichi muttered.

Kukkaku smiled. "It's a Vespiquen. Now this will be interesting."

The referee raised his arms again. "GO."

"Vespiquen, pound."

The attack came to fast that Kitty didn't have the chance to react. Vulpix flew a small distance, crashed into the ground and landed at its owner's feet.

"Vulpix is not able to fight; point goes to the gym leader."

Yoruichi blinked and turned questioning to Kukkaku. She sighed.

"As Soi Fon waited with using Vespiquen till now, it is probably her strongest pokémon. Kitty has been using Vulpix for a while and the poor thing was exhausted. Exhausted pokémon versus strong rested pokémon equals knock out."

Yoruichi nodded in understanding and looked at Kitty who petted the small fox on the head before returning it to its pokéball.

"Rest well Vulpix… you did your best." Kitty rose again and looked at the Vespiquen and turned to Absol.

"You want to fight Absol?"

The Absol growled low and butted its head to Kitty's side.

"All right, I trust you. Go kick its butt."

Absol ran out on the field glowering at the Vespiquen. Yoruichi turned to Kukkaku who looked around carefully.

"What's wrong?"

"I know I'm being silly" Kukkaku said. "But nothing good ever comes out of the presence of an Absol."

"Why not?"

Kukkaku sighed. "Absol have really good senses and can feel when a disaster is coming. They always run to cities, disaster in its footsteps. Therefore people tend to see Absol as a bad luck pokémon, and flee when they see it."

Kitty frowned gently. "What few seems to realize is that Absol comes to warn the people of those cities that disaster is coming."

Soi Fon smiled. "Well no matter how you look at it, that pokémon is going down."

The referee sighed. The gym leader was enjoying this… which meant bad news. Maybe it was a bad idea to show up for work today. He raised his arms gently.

"GO."

"Absol, night slash."

"Vespiquen, attack order."

Yoruichi gaped at the match, as Soi Fon's Vespiquen kept summoning small pokémon that Kukkaku called Combee's to guard and attack Kitty's Absol. Absol kept attacking though, not giving up for a second.

Soi Fon frowned. Her Vespiquen was getting tired, time to finish this match.

"Vespiquen, Sing."

Vespiquen sung and Absol fell to the floor in deep slumber.

Soi Fon grinned.

"Vespiquen, pound."

Kitty smiled, from her place. "Absol, use sleep talk."

Absol rose, its eyes still closed but opened its mouth and released what looked like a bunch of red and black notes.

Vespiquen, who had lunged in the air, had no time to avoid the attack. It hit squarely onto the Vespiquen… but didn't seem to hurt it.

Kitty smiled. "Though luck Soi Fon. Sleep talk allows a pokémon that is asleep to use one of the moves it knows at random while asleep. That move was Perish song, a move useable by dark types. The song is sung, and in a little while the pokémon that heard it will faint and be unable to battle."

Absol opened its eyes, waking up from its sleep, looking up as Vespiquen faltered and fell to the ground.

The referee gulped, looking warily at Soi Fon. "Vespiquen is unable to battle; the Winner is Kitty Petro from Tibru town."

Soi Fon sighed and returned Vespiquen to its pokéball. "Not bad Miss Petro… but we both know that you got lucky."

"As long as I get the badge I can live with that."

Kitty smiled as Absol returned to her side, petting him on the head. "You did good Absol, I'm proud of you."

Soi Fon sighed but walked down to stand in front of Kitty. Another member of the gym, came walking up to Soi Fon with a small pillowed case. Lying on the pillow all by itself were the badge Yoruichi had seen Soi Fon show her the day before. Soi Fon sighed and took the case, presenting it to Kitty.

"Congratulations Petro, I admit defeat and present to you the Homonka badge."

Kitty smiled and took the badge gently smiling.

"Thank you Soi Fon san… it was a though match."

Soi Fon smiled. "Good luck on your journey further Petro, I expect you to go far."

"Thank you" Kitty said. "I will do my best."

"And with that the girl left, Absol walking next to her."

Soi Fon sighed and turned to Yoruichi and Kukkaku.

"I'm afraid our battle will have to wait, my pokémon are tired and need's some help of Unohana's healing fingers."

Yoruichi nodded gently.

"I hope you understand what you are up against" Soi Fon said.

"You got lucky and saw a proper battle; most won't even get past Beedrill… Use today to train, and I will accept you challenge in the morning."

Yoruichi nodded gently. "Yeah, I'll see you in the morning then."

And with a final wave Yoruichi and Kukkaku left, going to train, for Yoruichi's first important battle.