Heya guys! Sorry about the long time to update, but here it is! The next chapter where we finally go and get into Emil's first Gym battle!
Anyway, HUGE thanks to Mirror Night for the fave AND the follow; Nanhty for the fave; RainbowSaga for the follow; and most especially to HoneyBeeGirl94 and LiztheGamer for the reviews! 8D
HoneyBeeGirl94: I always saw Yong Soo as being a lot like Barry. X3 I do like him being the rival, but at the same time, he isn't the only rival (I will say it straight away that out of the companions, it'll be Yong Soo, Leon and Michelin who will be Emil's biggest rivals). Thank you so much! :D
LiztheGamer: Well, wait no more - here it is. =^^= sorry for taking a long time to update. TTwTT
Will Emil win his first gym battle? Will he gain the badge? Tune in~
When Yong Soo's first order came out, the waitress had a bowl of what appeared to be the mozzarelline fritte. Yong Soo eagerly bit into one and melted cheese oozed out from it. Emil stared, feeling a little hungry again. Especially when the aroma wafted into his nostrils and enhanced his senses.
The waitress however beamed in the Icelandic boy's direction, "And you are the one who ordered the Gym challenge?"
Emil blinked, but nodded slowly, "Yeah…"
"Welcome to Miamolta Gym!" the waitress said warmly as she held her serving tray. "Allow me to show you a taste, and be your appetizer!"
Emil's whole face reddened at her words, but he grew on guard when she took a Pokéball out from her frilly dress and engaged him in battle.
Once she was beaten, the waitress gave a squeal, "Wow! You're a trainer with a lot of pepper!" She giggled after their battle, though and exclaimed, "You might have even more pepper than Lovino does~!" With that, she turned around and scurried back to the kitchen before Feliciano could so much as say a word to her.
Though initially disheartened that the pretty girl left so quickly, Feliciano found his pep again at seeing his friend win his first gym trainer battle. "Ve~! That was great, Emil!" Feliciano cheered as he continued eating his gelato.
"See? What'd we tell you?" Yong Soo smiled while continuing to devour his appetizer. "You'll be fine!"
Soon after, another waitress appeared, this time with two large plates that were Yong Soo's pasta e fagioli, along with the pizza romana. The pasta e fagioli consisted of small pasta with cannellini beans, olive oil, garlic onions, spices and stewed tomatoes. The pizza romana was cut into eight slices and had tomato, mozzarella, capperi and anchovy as toppings. The smell was really delectable, and Emil found himself licking his lips. Feliciano eagerly reached for a slice of the pizza, to which Yong Soo allowed. Yong Soo even gestured at the food in Emil's direction – offering him some.
Emil gratefully took it and even fed Fennekin a slice. Piplup, being the proud Pokémon that it was, however, refused.
Though it wasn't deniable that it still looked like it wanted something to eat.
The waitress however spoke up in the silver-haired youth's direction, "You wanted the Gym challenge order, no?"
"Uh, yes," Emil said slowly as he wiped at his mouth with a napkin.
The waitress chuckled, prompting heat to flow to the Icelandic boy's ears, "The specialty of Miamolta Gym is the full course 'trainer de luxe!' I'll be your second course~!" And with that, she took out her Pokéball and engaged in a battle with Emil again. However, when she lost, she bowed her head.
Yong Soo finished his mozzareline fritte before exclaiming, "That's really good, da ze!"
The waitress chuckled, "That is one of our most popular dishes!" She then smiled sweetly in Emil's direction, "How about you, signor? Did you enjoy the battle~?"
Emil could only let out a stammering yes, inwardly cursing his stutter as the waitress gave another chuckle and left. He smacked his forehead as Yong Soo continued eating with Feliciano. Feliciano was slightly sulky that the waitress didn't pay much attention to him, or give him time to flirt with her, but he teased Emil – claiming that her tone was more flirtatious in regards to the Icelandic boy. Emil's response was to tell Feliciano to shut up with embarrassment.
The third waitress this time had the beef ravioli and coda alla vaccinara on her serving tray. Yong Soo looked just as eager to eat when the food came, which made Emil wonder just how much the Korean could pack it in. Still, with the food looking this amazing and smelling so wonderful, you'd feel hungry, too. The coda alla vaccinara, as Feliciano explained, was a modern Roman oxtail stew made from oxtail and various vegetables, most notably celery.
"Oh, man…this is really, really good, da ze!" Yong Soo was licking his lips as he gobbled up the food eagerly.
"Grazie~" the waitress giggled at the Asian's eating.
"Ve~! You are very pretty, signorina~!" Feliciano exclaimed. Emil could've sworn he saw the Italian's curl form into a heart.
Just like with any other pretty girl he saw.
"Grazie," the waitress said. However, she turned her attention to Emil and cleared her throat, "We are very proud of our menu, which we hope to satisfy every trainer with!" Emil wasted no time to let out Fennekin and Piplup into battle. Upon her defeat, the waitress gave a sheepish chuckle before returning her fainted Pokémon, "You're still so full of spice it appears!"
"Thanks?" Emil wasn't sure if that was meant to be a compliment or not, but either way, he really felt pumped. The initial nerves that he felt before in facing the Gym Leader disappeared, and right now he was eager to face him head on.
Yong Soo also seemed to notice it, "Hehe, you look like you're ready now, Emi!"
"No more nerves!" Feliciano cheered, clapping his hands. "That's very, very good~! Plus…" he winked cheekily in the pale-haired trainer's direction. "It looks like the pretty waitresses like you~!"
"I think they just like anyone who beats them in a Pokémon battle," laughed Yong Soo. "They spoke like that to me when Leo and I beat them." He then gave a shrug, "I guess they like strong trainers? Maybe…"
"Probably!"
"I wonder where my dessert is?" Yong Soo wondered as he stretched back onto his seat. "And where are Eri, Mitchie and Leo?"
"Ve, didn't Leon say he had somewhere to go?" Feliciano piped up.
"Yeah, he did," Yong Soo said slowly. "Just wondering where, though?"
"Hey, you guys!"
Looking up, the boys saw that Michelin and Erika had finally entered the Miamolta City restaurant Gym. Michelin was waving enthusiastically in their direction, accompanied by Erika who gave a calmer one. The two girls sat with the three boys, and declined the offer to order something.
"Wow, so you've already beaten three waitresses?" marvelled Michelin. "Nice one, Emil!"
Emil felt his cheeks redden, but something pleasant bloomed from within with that compliment. "Thanks," he nodded.
"How many more waitresses are there?" asked Erika.
"Ve~ from what I remember, there are still two more to go!" Feliciano responded, looking quite eager.
"Good luck, Emil," Erika said with a pleasant smile.
Emil nodded, still blushing at the positive words that his new friends were giving him. However, he definitely felt all the more motivated to continue.
Indeed, the second waitress came out, looking quite serene and graceful. She smiled pleasantly as she prudently placed a platter with a dessert that looked frozen with whipped cream at the top along with two chocolate pieces. The dessert was sitting on a bed of golden leaves and carefully applied chocolate sauce. Everyone stared at it in marvelled wonder. "Your semifreddo, sir," the waitress said pleasantly.
"Kamsahamnida!" Yong Soo exclaimed, his brown eyes sparkling at the dessert.
"That looks really good…" Michelin looked like she was going to drool.
"It's a really pretty, little dessert," Erika smile fondly as she gazed at the food.
"As pretty as the one who served it~!" Feliciano piped up – his curl going into the shape of a heart again.
The waitress chuckled at hearing the compliment, giving a slight bow before turning to Emil. "And, as you ordered, sir – a Gym challenge," she then took out her Pokéball as Emil followed suit. After the battle where he beat her like the others, the waitress looked a little flustered from her loss, but gave another giggle, "Very strong, and very full of pepper and spice – just like the others said~!"
With that, she turned tail and left quickly.
"They really do seem to like you, Emil," Yong Soo chuckled before taking a bite out of his dessert. He seemed to collapse as he gave a very happy groan, "I'm in heaven, da ze!"
"That really looks so good…" Michelin gave a sad sigh. "I should've ordered…"
"Yes, yes you should," Yong Soo grinned mischievously in the Seychellois girl's direction.
Michelin rolled her eyes, "Don't rub it in, Yong Soo."
"There is another waitress coming over," noted Erika.
And indeed, she was right. This waitress had a platter that consisted of Yong Soo's final order, which was the three scoops of gelato. From what Emil could remember, the flavours, he was pretty sure, were banana, pistachio and chocolate. One of the scoops was coloured light yellow, another was a very light brown, while the other was a darker shade with some chips of chocolate in it.
"My gelato, da ze!" Yong Soo exclaimed, looking as eager and excited as a child. "Thank you very much!"
"You're very welcome~!" the waitress laughed. However, when she turned to Emil, she became so serious, that the Icelandic boy was highly taken aback at her sudden change of demeanour. "You're already causing quite a buzz in the restaurant with how quickly you're taking out my fellow employers. Let's see how much spice you've got left in you!"
Emil's immediate instinct was to grab at his own Pokéball.
When the waitress lost, Emil was just as stunned when she cried, "You're scorching hot! You haven't simmered at all!" She suddenly ran away quickly, sobbing loudly. The other customers in the restaurant turned their heads in direction to the weeping, but, much to Emil's shock, they looked back to their menus or food.
"W-what…?" Emil was stunned and alarmed – he didn't mean to make a girl cry.
"Ve~! Don't go, signorina!" Feliciano called. "Let me help and comfort you!"
"What the heck was that?" Michelin asked, just as stunned as Emil was.
"I…I don't know…" Emil stammered.
"I hope she's okay," Erika looked worried. "But in all honesty, she shouldn't have to cry just because she lost…"
"I know, right?" Michelin this time looked a bit annoyed. "It's not Emil's fault he's strong! She should grow up."
Noticing Emil looked really uncomfortable with what just happened, Yong Soo spoke up, "Don't worry about it, Emil! She cried when I beat her – same with Leo. You should've seen the look on Leo's face when he beat her, da ze! It was priceless!" Remembering that certain event seemed to make Yong Soo break into bursts of giggling.
"I can imagine," Erika herself gave a giggle.
Emil himself tried to imagine it, but found that he couldn't. It was just too weird to see the stoic Asian react in any other way besides indifference or mischief.
All of a sudden, the doors to the kitchen slam open with a loud bang. It caused everyone to jump in their spots.
Emil was stunned to see a man who looked remarkably like Feliciano burst out from the white kitchen. However, upon closer inspection, he had his array of differences. The man had dark brown hair and an olive complexion. His eyes were a very light hazel colour and appeared to be sparking with angry flames. He also had a strange curl, but it was resting at the other side of his head – on the man's right. He was wearing what appeared to be a waiter's outfit with a black vest that had golden buttons, a white dress shirt with cuffs, black trousers, black dress shoes and a black tie. He was also coming in with what appeared to be the restaurant bill and a pen.
"Oi, you!"
Emil felt his whole figure tense upon this man's sharp and angry gaze, "W…what is it?"
"What the hell is your problem making a poor signorina cry like that?!" the Italian snarled in a much lower voice than Feliciano's. He jabbed a finger in Emil's face, "You should be ashamed of yourself, you bastard!"
Whereas Emil looked quite affronted at being called a bastard, Feliciano on the other hand, looked extremely ecstatic. "Lovino~!" the bubbly Italian leapt up and immediately threw himself on the other angry Italian. "Fratello~!"
"What the-?!" Lovino spluttered before removing Feliciano from his grip. "Feliciano! Get off of me! Now's not the time!"
"But I miss you so much, fratello~!" Feliciano called as he got up to wrap his arms around his older brother again.
Emil looked up, 'This is Lovino? This is Feliciano's older brother?' Well, he could definitely see the resemblance between the two brothers, however the differences were also quite jarring with them placed beside each other. 'He's also the Gym Leader…' remembering that, he sat straight as well.
"You made one of my waitresses cry," Lovino snapped. "You'll pay for making her cry!"
"But it wasn't even Emil's fault!" this time, Michelin cut in, looking thoroughly irritated.
Erika also nodded, "Excuse me, but Emil beat her fairly. It's not fair to be angry at him just because he beat someone in a battle."
Seeing Erika and Michelin, Emil was afraid that Lovino would snap at the both of them. However, to his astonishment, the older Italian's whole demeanour seemed to change.
His scowl suddenly disappeared, the burning spark of anger in his hazel orbs disappeared and was replaced with glittering light. His whole visage seemed to uplift, and even his curl formed into a heart. "Ahh, so I see," Lovino then responded pleasantly; even his whole voice seemed to change, too. The snarl was gone, and it was even replaced with what sounded like a purr.
Emil sighed as he recalled Giorgio from earlier, and the numerous amount of times he had to drag Feliciano away from the Lass girls in Miamolta Forest, "Looks like it really does run in the family…"
"Them Italians," Yong Soo smirked as he continued eating his gelato.
"I notice you are both not eating," Lovino spoke up, he was focusing on both Michelin and Erika. "You are not hungry? Would you like a coffee? Maybe some Fresh Water?"
"Errr, no thanks…" Michelin was highly shocked at the sudden one-eighty that Lovino had gone through.
"I am good, thank you," Erika was amazed at the sudden change, too.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, we're good! We're good," Michelin was waving her hands in front of her.
Erika also nodded, though she was doing so quite quickly. "Is that waitress okay?" she questioned in concern.
"She's calming down at the back," Lovino sighed. "I apologize, but she's quite a sensitive signorina, she is. She was a trainer not too long ago, and employed a week ago, too."
"Yeah, but that still doesn't give her an excuse to cry just because she loses in a fair battle," Michelin still looked irritated as she put a hand on her hip. "Emil beat her fair and square, and she cried about it!"
"I see your point," Lovino nodded as he rubbed his chin. "It's not so uncommon of her to be like that. But trust me – she bounces back quite quickly whenever a new challenger comes in."
"That's good," Erika sighed in relief.
"Yeah," Michelin nodded. "But she needs to really stop that. Seriously."
"Anyway!" Feliciano spoke up, and pulled on his brother's arm in Emil's direction. "Emil ordered the Gym challenge, fratello! He wants to have a battle with you~!"
All of a sudden, Lovino's demeanour changed again – he looked serious and sharp once more, when he looked down at Emil. "You the bastard who ordered the Gym challenge?" Lovino's hazel eyes narrowed as he glared down at Emil.
Emil inwardly cringed, but he made sure not to make his unease known. "Yes, that's me," he replied as calmly as he could.
"Well, you've got a battle, bastard," Lovino sniffed. "Since you beat all of my lovely waitresses." He smacked the bill in front of Yong Soo, "Here's the bill to this bastard, and you…" he clicked his fingers – motioning Emil to follow him. "Come on," he said calmly. "Let's do it, then."
Emil followed Lovino and was surprised at seeing that there was a stadium at the back of the restaurant appearing to be a kind of nice garden. There were some tables outside and some people were also dining there. However, catching sight of the group, they were whispering excitedly and pointing in Emil and Lovino's direction. Lovino stood at one side while Emil went to the other. Yong Soo had brought his gelato with him and seated himself with Feliciano, Michelin and Erika at one of the white tables.
One of the waitresses came out and provided as the referee. She announced, "The challenger is Emil from Heima Town. This will be a two-on-two Pokémon battle! No time limit. The challenger is allowed to substitute Pokémon in battle, while the leader cannot. Let the battle begin!"
Lovino had a hand on his hip as he snorted. He took out a Pokéball from his belt and threw it, "Lillipup, go!"
When the white light disappeared, a light brown canine Pokémon with oval, brown eyes, a red nose, and face covered by an abundance of cream fur landed on its four paws. It had large, pointed ears with a tuft of fur near the base of each, and fur puffed out above its paws. Its back had a spiky, dark blue blaze of fur, and each of its paws had three toes with a blue paw. Its tail was short and tufty.
"Awww! That's so cute!" Michelin squealed in delight. Erika was also gushing over the Pokémon before taking a look in the Pokédex.
"Lillipup, the Puppy Pokémon," said Erika's Pokédex. "Though it is a very brave Pokémon, it's also smart enough to check its foe's strength and avoid battle. The long hair around its face provides an amazing radar that lets it sense subtle changes in its surroundings."
Emil took a deep breath as he gazed at the Pokéballs on his belt, wondering who to use first. After some thought, he finally took one of the balls and called, "Go, Piplup!"
When the light was gone, the Penguin Pokémon chirped, "Plup! Piplup!"
"Okay, then!" the waitress gave a sunny smile before raising her two hands. "Let the battle begin~!"
"Lillipup, Bite!" Lovino called pointing forward.
"Pup, pup!" Lillipup ran forward with its mouth open – baring its sharp canine teeth.
"Piplup, use Bubble!" called Emil.
"Piplup!" the Penguin Pokémon opened its beak, allowing glowing, blue orbs of bubbles to blast forward. The attack hit the Puppy Pokémon, causing Lillipup to blow back a bit.
Taking advantage of the situation, Emil ordered, "Now use Pound!"
Piplup started to run forward with its wing at the ready to lay a smack down on its opponent, when Lovino scoffed. "Tch!" the Italian snorted before calling another command. "Lillipup, Baby-Doll Eyes!"
"What?" Emil looked a bit surprised – what kind of attack was that? He'd never seen it before.
Lillipup gave a cheerful bark as its eyes suddenly started to sparkle, bearing right into Piplup. The Penguin Pokémon then seemed to soften and falter a bit. It raised its wing ready for Pound, but instead of actually pounding the Puppy Pokémon hard, the attack looked more like a tap, if anything.
"What just happened?" questioned Michelin, thoroughly confused.
"Baby-Doll Eyes," explained Erika matter-of-factly. "It is a Fairy-type attack that has increased priority, and lowers the target's Attack stat."
"Wow, no wonder Piplup didn't attack properly," said Feliciano in awe.
Lovino then smirked before ordering, "Now, you Bite!"
"Pup!" and with a loud chomp, Lillipup clamped its teeth down on Piplup's wing – the one that was supposed be used to Pound it with. Piplup gave a shrill squawk as it stated to struggle – trying to get Lillipup to relent. However, the Puppy Pokémon held on tight.
Emil grit his teeth, "Piplup, use Bubble!"
Piplup tried to do the attack, however Lillipup didn't seem to relent at all. Its face did screw up into a slightly pained expression from getting hit in the face by Bubble, but it continued to bite – staying on Piplup's wing.
Seeing that Piplup looked to be in pain, and unsure if the Penguin Pokémon would be able to last through Lillipup's Bite attack, Emil raised his Pokéball, "Piplup, return!" Once Piplup was back in its ball, Emil took his other Pokéball, starting to feel the sweat form at the sides of his head. "Okay, Fennekin, go!"
Once the light disappeared, Fennekin gave a little yip before getting out of its proper sitting posture and into a fighting one, "Fennekin!"
"Fennekin, use Ember!" Emil shouted.
"Fen…" the Fox Pokémon swung its head before opening its mouth – letting loose a bunch of flames. Lillipup squeaked in pain as it was knocked back.
"That looked like a critical hit, da ze!" Yong Soo spoke up, eagerly eating his gelato.
"Fine!" Lovino looked noticeably a bit on edge – his curl starting to get crooked. "Lillipup, go Bite!"
"Not this time!" Emil snapped. "Fennekin, one more Ember!"
Both Fennekin and Lillipup ran forward, Lillipup was able to take a Bite on Fennekin's tail. Though giving a bay of both surprise and pain, the Fox Pokémon did not look happy. It unleashed the Ember with a lot of force, which knocked Lillipup back again with another yelp. Lillipup tried once more to get up upon Lovino's prompting, only to this time collapse and seeing stars.
"Lillipup is unable to battle," announced the waitress who was refereeing. "Fennekin is the winner!"
Lovino's eyes popped out from his head, "Chigi!" He rubbed his head and returned his Pokémon, however he spoke in a gentler tone once Lillipup was back inside.
"Good job, Fennekin!" Emil called at his Pokémon, his heart beating fast, and feeling really happy with the win. Fennekin was fixing at its tail, but gave a cheerful bark in its trainer's direction for the praise. 'One down, one to go…' Emil thought to himself as he stared in determination at Lovino's direction.
"You go, Emil!" Michelin cheered happily, punching high in the air as Erika clapped. Yong Soo was also pumping his fist. Emil couldn't help but flush at his new friends cheering for him quite loudly.
"You beat me once," Lovino said quite bluntly. "But, this is it for you now, you white-haired bastard!" Reaching for his second Pokéball, he then shouted, "Go now, Miltank!"
"Miltank!" when the white light subsided, out came a bipedal, bovine Pokémon that had a mostly pink body with a yellow belly, and black, angular markings along its back. A hood-like marking surrounding its face was also black, and there was a pink, triangular mark on its forehead. There were two small horns on the top of its head, large blue eyes, a black nose, and long, black, folly ears with yellow insides. It also had a yellow udder with four pink teats. Its four limbs ended in black, cloven hooves, and its long tail was tipped with a black sphere.
"Whoa…" Emil this time took out his Pokédex.
"Miltank, the Milk Cow Pokémon," said the Pokédex's electronic voice. "Miltank gives over five gallons of milk on a daily basis. Its sweet milk is enjoyed by children and grown-ups alike. Its milk is packed with nutrition, making it the ultimate beverage for the sick or weary. People who can't drink milk turn it into yoghurt, and eat it instead."
"Keep going, Emil!" Yong Soo shouted. "And be careful, da ze!"
Emil nodded, "Go Fennekin! Use Ember!"
"Kin!" Fennekin swung its head before unleashing the bursts of flame from the Fire-type attack. The attack hit Miltank, causing the Milk Cow Pokémon to go back after a loud bellow.
"Okay, Miltank?" Lovino questioned, looking at the Pokémon.
The Milk Cow Pokémon gave a slight wince, when everyone saw what appeared to be a burn on its body. "Ve! Miltank's got a burn!" exclaimed Feliciano in shock.
"Miltank's attack will be lowered," Erika said. "And it'll continue to get hurt unless treated."
"Emil's got this, then!" Michelin exclaimed happily.
Yong Soo however gave a chuckle as he continued to eat his gelato, "Don't be so sure." With the looks he was getting, the Korean nodded at the battle, "Just look."
"Fennekin, use Scratch!" Emil called. The Fox Pokémon obeyed by running forward with its paw outstretched.
However, Lovino smirked, "Miltank, use Façade!"
"Mil…" all of a sudden, Miltank became surrounded by an orange aura that made its body shine. Then it rushed forward – charging a tackle right into Fennekin. "Tank!"
"Kin!" Fennekin squeaked as it was blown back by the move.
"Fennekin, can you get up?" Emil questioned in alarmed concern. Seeing the Fox Pokémon struggle to get up, he felt a bit relieved. But instantly, he grew alarmed again when Fennekin collapsed. "Fennekin!"
"Fennekin is unable to battle!" spoke up the waitress who was refereeing. "Miltank is the winner!"
"That Miltank just took Fennekin out in one shot!" Michelin exclaimed, looking really worried for Emil.
"Yeah, it took out Fletchling for me," Yong Soo agreed with a nod. "It's tough, but I'm sure that Emil can do it, da ze!"
"Miltank must be strong," Erika said quietly. "Façade is a Normal-type move where its power doubles when the user is affected by Poison, Paralysis or Burn. However, even with a Burn, the Attack power is still lowered down unless the Pokémon has Guts as an ability."
Emil bit his bottom lip, starting to feel the pressure. However, after taking a deep breath once he returned and thanked Fennekin, he took his other ball out. "Okay, Piplup, come on out!" the Icelandic boy shouted, releasing the Penguin Pokémon. He was glad that Piplup looked much better rested than before. "You ready?"
"Plup! Piplup!" the Penguin Pokémon nodded in determination.
"Sorry to say," Lovino spoke up. "But I'm not going to lose this one, white-haired bastard! Miltank, use Façade!"
Once more, the Milk Cow Pokémon's body was shining from an orange aura that surrounded it, before charging forward.
"Peck, Piplup!" Emil yelled.
"Plup!" Piplup's beak glowed white as it flew forward and slammed right into Miltank – its beak piercing at it.
"Tank!" suddenly, Miltank gave a loud bellow of shock as the orange aura disappeared and it took shaky steps back in surprise.
Its trainer was just as shocked, "What the hell was that?!"
"Miltank just flinched," Erika spoke up in amazement.
"Come on, Emil! You still got this!" Michelin shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth. Yong Soo was also joining in on her cheering.
"You lucky bastard," Lovino snorted. "But so what?! That's not all my Miltank can do! Miltank, use Stomp!"
"Mil!" the Cow Pokémon began running forward before leaping high up into the air, ready to stomp down on Piplup.
"Piplup, use Bubble!" Emil shouted. "Hurry!"
Piplup opened its beak to unleash the myriad of glowing blue orbs that consisted of the Water-type attack. It struck Miltank a couple off types, causing it to blow back. However, as it fell down, it caught itself again, and slammed its trotter down onto Piplup, causing the poor Penguin Pokémon to squawk in pain.
"Use Bubble again!" Emil cried, now starting to get understandably panicked. Piplup followed the order; opening its beak and letting loose more of the Water-type technique onto Miltank.
"Stomp once more!" Lovino shouted as he clicked his fingers. Miltank, once again, leapt up into the air and stomped down onto poor Piplup who gave another trill of pain from the large weight on it. Still, the little Penguin Pokémon looked determined as it got up and blew another Bubble at Miltank.
"Do something, Emil!" Michelin shouted from her spot. "If you don't, Piplup's done for!"
"I…I know," Emil bit his bottom lip as he tried to wrack his brain on what to do. He was really starting to panic – this was only the first Gym, and already it was proving to be tougher than he expected. His heart racing, he looked closely at Miltank.
"Once more, Miltank! This will be it!" Lovino called, looking quite ready. "Stomp!"
Miltank leapt up again, however, that was when Emil noticed something peculiar.
'Hold on…' the violet-eyed trainer thought to himself as he saw Miltank jump into the air. 'Miltank got slower…huh. I can use that to my advantage!' He then shouted, "Piplup, jump up and use Peck!"
"Plup!" Piplup leapt up at a fast speed, and slammed its glowing white beak into Miltank. Despite the small size, the force was so strong and fast, that Piplup was able to offset Miltank's balance and cause it to fly back up in the air.
"Piplup's so strong and fast!" Feliciano marvelled.
"Bubble can lower the Speed of its opponent," Erika sighed in relief. "But that had me so worried…"
"No kidding!" Michelin herself heaved a sigh of relief. "Me, too!"
"Not me!" Yong Soo was grinning from ear-to-ear. "No way my rival would just give up and go down like that, da ze!"
"You're faster!" Emil shouted at Piplup. "You can do it! Piplup, use Bubble again!"
"Plup!" Piplup opened its beak and let loose the Water-type attack, which struck at Miltank, knocking it backwards. By now, Miltank was starting to look a bit tired.
Lovino was starting to grit his teeth, "Damn it…Miltank, use Milk Drink!"
"Hurry, Emil!" Yong Soo shouted this time, standing from his seat. "Now's your chance, da ze!"
Emil nodded, "Yeah! Piplup, go and use Peck again!"
"Piplup!" the Penguin Pokémon ran forward with its beak glowing white just as Miltank suddenly lowered its head to one of the teats of its udder. It slammed into Miltank with its beak once more, this time causing the Milk Cow Pokémon to bay in pain as it was blown back.
"Miltank!" Lovino shouted in alarm.
"Bubble one more time, Piplup!" Emil called. "Go!"
"Pip…" the Penguin Pokémon opened its beak and unleashed the Water-type attack once more. "Plup!"
Only this time, when it hit Miltank, the Milk Cow Pokémon gave a loud yelp, "Tank! Mil…" before collapsing on its front. "Tank…"
"Miltank is unable to battle!" the waitress announced. "Piplup is the winner! The winner of this match is the challenger, Emil of Heima Town!"
Emil panted slightly, however upon hearing what the waitress had said, everything seemed to stand still for him. His amethyst hues widened as he stood up more properly from his hunched position. The sweat rode down the sides of his head, and his heart was still beating quickly. "I…" he was able to stutter out. "I did it? I won?"
"Plup!" Piplup was nodding quite happily. "Piplup! Pip!"
"We won…" the realization struck the Icelandic boy as a smile then spread across his pale face. "I did it! We did it! We won!" He released Fennekin from its ball to share the good news. Though Fennekin did look tired, it still yipped happily.
"Kin! Fennekin!" it barked in delight. Emil pet his starter Pokémon, "We definitely couldn't have done it without you, Fennekin!"
"You did do it, Emil!" Michelin exclaimed happily. "You did it!"
"That was a great battle," Erika smiled pleasantly. "Congratulations, Emil."
"That's my rival, da ze!" Yong Soo threw his gelato cup in the air in triumph.
"Ve, that was such an intense battle, Emil!" Feliciano was clapping his hands. He then gave a nervous chuckle, "You did good, too, fratello! Maybe next time."
"CHIGIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" Lovino shouted at the top of his lungs. He smacked his head, his curl all crooked. "Merda!" However, after kicking at the dirt, he rubbed at his forehead, and went up to his Miltank. Bending over, he patted its shoulder, "Stai bene, amica mia?" Noticeably, his voice was quite gentle and much lower.
"Tank~" the Milk Cow Pokémon gave a smile before nodding.
Lovino gave a sigh of relief before standing up again, "Oi, white-haired bastard."
Emil straightened his posture as Piplup looked up curiously, too. "Yes?" he questioned.
"Since you beat my ass, as the official Pokémon League rules say, you get this," Lovino then reached in the pouch that he was wearing around his waist and pulled out a shining piece. It was rectangular and looked like the purple spine of a book. "The Basic Badge is all yours, white-haired bastard. Take it or leave it."
Emil nodded as he took the badge from Lovino. He gazed at it in awe, "My first badge…the Basic Badge!" He then held it up as the customers around the restaurant cheered and applauded – a few whistled. Piplup puffed its chest out, looking very proud, while Fennekin gave a happy howl.
"With the Basic Badge, all your Pokémon's Attack stat increase," said Lovino stiffly. "Oh, and might as well take this, too." He then stretched his hand out in Emil's direction with a disc in his hand.
"Huh?" Emil was surprised, but he took it.
"Just take it!" Lovino snapped, looking irritated.
Not wanting to further the temper of the Italian who lost, Emil took the disc and saw it was white in colour. Michelin, Erika, Yong Soo and Feliciano had come closer to take a look.
"I got one, too," Yong Soo chuckled as he showed a similar disc in his own case. "TM!"
"Technical Machine," Erika looked excited. "What does it contain?"
"That is TM42," Lovino explained, once more his whole demeanour changed when a girl spoke, like his younger brothers. "TM42 contains Façade."
"That's the move Miltank used," Michelin marvelled. "Cool!"
Lovino seemed quite happy to hear that.
"Really?" Emil looked surprised. "Thank you so much, Lovino."
"Tch," Lovino huffed before crossing his arms over his chest. "I give these to everyone who beat me. Don't think I gave that to you because I think you're good or anything!"
"Got it," Emil nodded. He now felt that he understood the older Italian, and Italians in general, a bit better. He then placed it in his TM case, and smiled as he placed the Basic Badge in his badge case. "My very first badge…"
"Seven more to go!" Yong Soo grinned as he wrapped an arm around Emil's shoulder. "But it's gonna be a big ride, da ze!"
"Oi, and you, you hungry bastard," Lovino spoke up stiffly. "You owe a lot of money for the bill!"
"Well, okay then!" Yong Soo shrugged. However, when Lovino gave him the bill, the Korean boy instantly paled as he screeched, "It cost that much?! You've gotta be kidding me, da ze!"
Everyone else just laughed as Yong Soo started to flail his arms around.
Emil couldn't help but take another peek at the shining badge that twinkled back at him from its spot in his badge case. He was well on the way to the Pokémon League. He still had a long way to go, but with his friends, his Pokémon, and feeling quite pumped and determined to see what else the world would throw at him, he was excited and eager to go forward and be the best Pokémon trainer.
And end scene!
However, the adventure definitely doesn't end! 8D
What will happen to our heroes now? Who will the next gym leader be? What lies in store for Emil and his friends? And will Yong Soo be able to pay that bill?
Tune in next time on Poketalia Edition: Amethyst.
Peace out!
- Hebi-Kazechi-10