"So now begins the real battle…" Riley said softly.
"Riley, Vegeta won't be able to attack for the next turn since he needs a chance to regain his strength…" Leaf explained hurriedly, "There's a reason why I don't have him use Hydro Cannon often…"
"Machoke! Quick!" the leader cried. "Use Thunder Punch on that Blastoise now before it can use Hydro Cannon again!"
Unable to dodge, Vegeta took the attack, and it caused a large amount of damage. Leaf winced. "Hang in there, Vegeta!"
Riley called for Lucario to use Aura Sphere. The Lucario held his paws together to form a small, focused ball of bluish energy, and he sent the energy flying straight at Machoke, a direct hit.
"Dusty! Use Toxic on the Blastoise!"
A mist of purple smog gathered about Dustox's wings, and it flapped them vigorously, sending the poison flying straight to Vegeta. The Blastoise cringed as he inhaled the purple air.
"Heh, heh. That cares care of that one. Now, Machoke, use Focus Punch on that Lucario!"
"Oh, I wouldn't count on that," Leaf remarked as she reached into her bag and pulled out a Pecha Berry. She quickly tossed it to Vegeta, who caught it in his mouth and was instantly cured of poisoning.
Meanwhile, Lucario was doing his best to dodge Machoke's attack. Unfortunately, Machoke managed to strike Lucario on the arm, causing quite a lot of damage. Upon hearing Riley's next command, Lucario charged up another Aura Sphere and smashed Machoke again with another direct hit.
"What? She healed the Blastoise?" The lower ranked man could hardly believe that someone actually bothered to carry around items. "Whatever! Dusty! Attack the Lucario instead! Use your Swagger!"
From out of nowhere, Dusty retrieved a pair of sunglasses and placed them over his giant bug eyes. From there, the moth struck a gangsta pose.
Lucario snarled, his anger increasing his Attack power. He couldn't believe the audacity of his opponent, pausing the fight like that just to show off! But wait… that was an actual move, so how could he have paused the fight? But what kind of a move was that?! It made no sense!
Lucario gripped his head, trying desperately to maintain his hold on his sanity, but it was no use. He was starry-eyed within seconds.
"Hah! Now, Machoke! Use Thunder Punch on Blastoise again!"
"Vegeta! Withdraw into your shell and prepare for Skull Bash Attack!"
Vegeta quickly obeyed, and Machoke's Thunder Punch inflicted little damage on the turtle's shell. Riley called for Lucario to use Aura Sphere once more, but his confusion was so great that the sphere blew up in his face. His increased attack power made the mistake all the more devastating.
"Dusty! Use Silver Wind on… Lucario!"
Lucario braced himself and took the attack head on. The damage received was fairly effective.
"Machoke! Fire Punch! Take that Lucario out!"
"Blastoise! Skull Bash Machoke! Finish it!"
Vegeta's shell suddenly sprang to life and slammed into Machoke, sending it reeling. The Fighting type was too stunned from the attack to carry out its own orders.
"Lucario! One more Aura Sphere should do it!" Riley called out.
Lucario grinned menacingly as he charged up another Aura Sphere. The attack smashed into Machoke and knocked it out.
The two thieves stared at the fainted Machoke and then at each other. "Eh, that was our strongest Pokémon… What now? We can't possibly beat them with the runts we have left… We… failed…"
"RUN AWAY!" The leader suddenly shrieked. The second guy hurriedly recalled Dusty, and the two took off running like scared children.
"Wow, way to stick to the mission…" Leaf commented.
"At least now the Steel Pokémon are safe. For the moment, anyway."
"Yeah, but what happens if more of them come back later?" she asked nervously, watching Lucario pant with exhaustion. The fight was particularly tough on him, given how much damage he had suffered. It was incredible he was still standing.
"Don't worry about that. I don't plan on spending the night, but I'll be back in the morning. Actually, I'll be sticking around town for a while, so I'll be sure to keep an eye on things myself," Riley stated, and he paused to pull out a Hyper Potion before he carefully applied it to his Pokémon, "… with the help of Lucario, of course."
"Oh, I see..." Leaf frowned. "I wish I could stick around as well and help you out, but… I'm lined up for a new job tomorrow, and I'm not quite sure where it'll take me."
"Not to worry. I can handle it from here. You really were a great help to me today, and now that I know what I'm up against, things should go more smoothly from here on out. And…" Riley adjusted his hat so that he could look her in the eye. "I'd like to give you something to express my thanks."
"What? No!" Leaf flushed red and frantically waved her arms. "You don't have to give me anything! I'm just happy to help!"
"I know, and that's why I want to give you this egg."
"You want to give me an egg?" she repeated, hardly believing her ears.
Behind her, Lucario's brow furrowed, revealing a faint trace of consternation. However, the expression vanished from his face nearly as quickly as it appeared.
"Yes, I've been wanting to give that egg to a nice Trainer... My hope is that you'll travel the world with this Pokémon. Please, take it with you."
"I'll… do my best," Leaf said quietly as Riley handed her the egg.
"I know you'll take good care of it and raise it well." He smiled at her. "I've seen first-hand how well you treat your Pokémon."
"Well… only a jerk could be cruel to Pokémon, am I right?" She looked down out of embarrassment and coincidentally noticed the time on her watch. "What! How is it already-? Man, it's so late! I should really start to head back…"
"Well, I guess this is good-bye then… Take care on your way out."
"You're not coming?"
It was pretty late, and she was certain the ferry didn't run twenty four hours a day.
"Lucario and I are going to poke around here for a while before the ferry arrives. We'll be on in a while; don't worry. You go on ahead."
"Okay, if you say so. See you then!" Leaf quickly waved before she turned and took off.
Once she reached the ferry, Leaf hurried aboard, hoping to find a chance to use the bathroom. It took longer to find one than her bladder would have liked... So as soon as she finished, she headed back to the deck to discover that the ferry had already taken off. With a light sigh, she watched the effects of the waning sunlight on the landscape around her. It wasn't long before she heard footsteps approach.
"There you are." Riley's familiar voice broke the silence.
"Yup, just admiring the view," she replied. "Hey, where's Lucario?"
"Back in the Pokéball. He's not a fan of sea travel."
"Aw, poor thing."
They fell silent for a while, until Riley decided to break the ice. "You said you were doing research?"
"Yeah, only… I don't find out what exactly the professors want me to research until tomorrow."
Riley chuckled. "No hints, huh?"
"Nope, none! I'm actually a bit nervous now..."
But she sighed in contentment as she watched the Wingull soar through the sky. The two didn't speak for a long time after that, happy to watch the scene pass by them.
Leaf eventually noticed that they were nearing the shore. "So, where are you headed?"
"Bathroom," Riley said bluntly and pointed with his thumb in the direction of the door leading back inside the boat.
"Oh. I guess that makes this… good-bye then. I've got to hurry on out of here, so..."
Riley shrugged, reminding her that they'd probably meet up again at the Pokémon Center, since they were both staying in town, at least for tonight. So they exchanged their good-byes without remorse. Seconds after Riley left, the boat reached its destination. Once again, Leaf was the first one off the boat. She ran to the Canalave Gym as quickly as she could, which unfortunately wasn't very fast.
As soon as she reached the place, she noticed a man was just leaving. "WHOA! Where are you going in such a hurry! Don't tell me you're here to challenge the Gym?!" he exclaimed, planting the shovel he had been carrying over his shoulder into the ground.
Leaf nodded, breathless, before asking him if he knew where the Gym Leader might be.
He let out a hearty laugh. "If you're looking for the Gym Leader, then you've found the right man!"
"What? You're the Gym Leader? But, I thought you were the Gym Leader of, like, Oresburgh or something…"
He laughed again, this time rather loudly. "I was, but that was two years ago. Now, my son Roark runs the Gym in Oreburgh, and I run the one here."
"Oh, so that explains it," Leaf could feel sweat on her brow, due to her embarrassment at being behind the times. "But anyway, I'm here to challenge you, here and now!"
"Hmm… I hate to disappoint you, but I was actually just about to head home…" Byron scratched his chin thoughtfully. "How about we battle tomorrow, first thing?"
Leaf paused to consider this. If they battled in the morning, she should have enough time to meet Professor Rowan in the afternoon… Right?
Deciding it would be better than waiting even longer for a challenge, she agreed.
"Great!" Byron exclaimed enthusiastically, posing for an invisible camera. "It'll be the battle of a LIFETIME!"
"Right…" Somehow it felt like there was even more sweat on her face...
oOoOoOo
A scowling man with wild, blue hair sat in his chair, situated far above a group of similarly dressed grunts attending to several monitors.
"Master Cyrus, sir, we've just received word that two guards assigned to the Iron Island excavation have fled the scene. Apparently, they were chased away by two Trainers," a young grunt cried as he rushed to the man's side.
"Hmph… They've made a mess of things…" Cyrus frowned.
"Heh, leave it to a couple of grunts to screw things up…" a young woman with strange, red hair snickered quietly.
The young man who had delivered the message flushed, well aware of his own low status.
"How true, indeed, Mars," Cyrus said smoothly. "I shall assign you to take care of Iron Island. I know you will not fail me."
"Of course, Master Cyrus." Mars bowed gracefully. "I won't let you down."
"Jupiter?" Cyrus turned slightly to acknowledge a purple haired young woman standing around nearby.
"Yes, sir?"
"I'd like for you to take over Mars' upcoming project at the Valley Windworks. Charon will fill you in on the details."
"Leave it to me…" Jupiter's lips curled into a smirk.
