Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or the concept of Moemon.
As Diego, Seraphina, and Rukia walked up to the Altair City Gym, they saw Christina walking out of it. "Oh, Big Brother. You finished making a pact with Frey?"
"Yeah. I guess you beat the gym in the meantime?" Diego asked.
"... I lost, actually." Christina said sadly. "Popo's Moemon are actually really tough."
"I see." Diego frowned. "Looks like I'm gonna be in for a real fight."
"Yeah. But, it felt like she was holding onto something in our battle. As if she has some sort of grudge..."
A grudge... Diego thought. Could it have something to do with Team Genocide? She seemed to really hate them.
There was a moment of silence before Christina sighed. "Anyway, I'm going to go train for my rematch against her. Good luck in your gym battle."
Diego nodded and walked past Christina, entering the gym with Seraphina and Rukia, where they saw Popo waiting at her side of the battlefield.
"So, now it's you're turn." Popo said with a frown. "You're Christina's older brother, right? She said that you were stronger than her, and that you would probably win against me." She narrowed her eyes at the man. "I'll have to see if that is actually true."
"Popo. Before we battle, can I ask you something?" Diego asked.
"What is it?"
"My sister said she thought you were holding some sort of grudge. Does it have anything to do with Team Genocide?"
Popo gritted her teeth at his question, before looking away from him. "Not like you can do anything about it." She said.
"But I want to help you!" Diego exclaimed adamantly. "Even if I can't do anything about it, I want to help ease your pain." Diego shrugged. "Besides, I seem to fight Team Genocide wherever I go. Maybe I can help you out somewhat."
Popo was silent for a moment, seeming to be thinking about it, before looking back at Diego with narrowed eyes. "Alright, you think you can help me?" She asked. "If you can actually win against me, then I'll tell why I hate Team Genocide so much."
"I accept!" Diego agreed to her terms, Seraphina walking to the bleachers with Rukia. "Let's go!"
Gym Leader Battle (Pokémon Rise & Fall)
"Cinder, go!" Popo tossed her first Moeball, which Cinder emerged from.
"Frey, go!" Diego tossed his first Moeball, which Frey emerged from with a smile.
"Flame Charge!" Cinder cloaked herself in flames and charged at Frey.
"Reflect." Frey created a wall of light that absorbed the blow of the attack.
"Damn it! Try blocking this! Aerial Ace!" Cinder disappeared and reappeared behind Frey, cutting into her.
"Not bad." Frey said, not even flinching.
"What?" Cinder asked with surprise.
"Reflect doesn't just block physical attacks. It also halves the damage I or my teammates receive from them." Frey explained.
Cinder growled. "Well, I'll just have to power through your barrier!" She exclaimed, a red aura surrounding her.
"Work Up?" Frey raised an eyebrow. "Interesting."
"Flame Charge!" Cinder cloaked herself in flames and charged at Frey, grunting as she tried to break through the Reflect barrier.
"Hyper Voice!" Frey shouted, releasing a shockwave of sound that knocked Cinder away, and then saw the Fletchinder once again use Work Up.
"Aerial Ace!" Cinder disappeared and reappeared behind Frey, cutting into her and actually doing some damage, making her grunt in pain.
That actually hurt. Frey thought, and then frowned as Cinder use Work Up a third time. If she keeps using Work Up in between attacks, this could get really bad. I have to end this now!
"Acrobatics!" Cinder started doing fancy midair stunts as she flew at Frey as the Audino waited, then when she was close enough.
"Thunderbolt!" Frey fired a blast of electricity at Cinder, hitting her head on and knocking her unconscious.
"Return." Popo said, returning Cinder to her Moeball. "Airia, go!" She then tossed her second Moeball, which a Skarmory emerged from. She wore a silver leotard with metal grieves, and had steel gray hair down to her shoulders and golden eyes, with a steel hat over her head and red metal wings sticking out of her back.
"Swords Dance! Then, Metal Claw!" Popo immediately commanded.
Airia summoned four swords that danced around her, sharply increasing her Attack, and then steel energy covered her hands in the form of a claw as she slashed the barrier, the blow pushing Frey back.
"Damn..." Frey said, regaining her balance. "Flamethrower!" She then fired a stream of flames at Airia, hitting her head on, but surprisingly she wasn't hurt much.
"What!? How!?" Seraphina asked with shock.
"Iron Defense." Popo smirked. "The reason why Steel type Moemon is weak to Fire moves is because heat makes metal become softer and less durable. However, by solidifying herself with Iron Defense, Airia can mitigate some of the damage."
"That's smart. As expected from a gym leader." Diego grinned.
He didn't see it, but Popo gave a sad frown for a moment.
"Thunderbolt!" Frey fired a bolt of electricity at Airia, flew around to dodge attack, but the electricity still hit her wing, making her lose balance for a moment. "Shadow Ball!" Frey used that chance to hurl a shadowy blob at Airia, hitting her head on.
"Aerial Ace!" Airia immediately recovered and disappeared, reappearing behind Frey and cutting into her. Unfortunately, the Reflect had vanished at some point, and Frey had no time to form another as she took the full force of the attack and fell unconscious.
"Return." Diego said, returning Frey to her Moeball. "Eve, go!" Diego then tossed his second Moeball, which Eve emerged from with a smirk.
"Aerial Ace!" Airia disappeared from view and reappeared behind Eve.
"Detect!" Eve's eyes glowed as she used her reflexes to dodge the attack. "Thunderbolt!" She then fired a bolt of electricity at Airia, hitting her directly.
"Agh!" Airia cried out in pain as she was electrocuted, and then she fell to one knee, looking back at Eve with a glare. "Alright then, let's see if your attacks can keep up with me." Airia said, blurring across the air with Agility.
Eve smirked. "Shock Wave." She fired three streams of lightning that locked on to Airia and followed her, arcing at the same time she took a sharp turn.
"Damn it." Airia growled as she looked at the electricity tailing her, and then decided to try hide behind Eve as the electricity hit her. "How'd you like that?" Airia smirked.
"...You do realize I have Volt Absorb, right?" Eve asked.
"...Oh." Airia said quietly, and then got knocked unconscious by a Thunderbolt.
"Why did Airia try to do that?" Diego asked.
"A few Jolteon tend to have Quick Feet." Popo said, returning Airia to her Moeball. "Oh well. Althea, go!" She then tossed her third Moeball, which an Altaria emerged from with a smile. She wore a blue dress with long white cloudy sleeves, as well as clouds covering her cleavage as a form of scarf. She had blue hair down to her shoulders, with two ahoge sticking out, and black eyes.
"An Altaria?" Diego asked with surprise.
"She was originally a Swablu, but she evolved during my battle with your sister." Popo explained.
"I see."
"Thunderbolt!" Eve fired a bolt of electricity at Althea.
"Cotton Guard!" Althea released some clouds from her sleeves to form a shield which blocked the electricity. However, due to the shield, she did not see Eve use Quick Attack to get behind her.
"Shadow Ball!" Eve made her presence known by hurling a shadowy blob at Althea, hitting her from behind.
"Alright." Althea frowned. "Aerial Ace!" Althea disappeared and reappeared behind Eve.
"Detect." Eve's eyes glowed as she ducked under the attack and used Double Kick to knock Althea away.
"You have some good reflexes." Althea said as she stood up, "But I'll still win! Dragon Pulse!" She fired a shockwave of wind from her mouth at Eve, knocking her to the ground.
"Damn. That's stronger than Tali's." Eve said.
"Earthquake!" Althea then delivered a powerful punch to Eve's stomach which even caused the ground to shake, knocking her unconscious.
"Return." Diego said, returning Eve to her Moeball. "Alright. Tali, go!" He then tossed a third Moeball, which Tali emerged from with a smile.
"Well, this is amusing." Althea smiled as she looked at her opponent. "To think I was also a Swablu moments ago..."
"Dragon Pulse!" Tali fired a shockwave of normal energy from her mouth at Althea.
"Dragon Pulse!" Althea responded by firing a shockwave of wind from her mouth, her stronger Dragon Pulse pushing forwards towards tali.
"Whoa!" Tali yelped as she quickly dodged the attack. "Hyper Voice!" She then shouted, releasing a shockwave of sound at Althea, making her cover her ears in pain. "Peck!" She then flew at the Altaria and punched her, knocking her into the wall.
"Not bad." Althea said. "But let me show you a real Flying type attack. Aerial Ace!" Althea disappeared and reappeared behind Tali, cutting into her.
"Damn it!" Tali said, turning to face Althea, only for the Altaria to disappear and reappear behind her in another Aerial Ace.
"You can't keep up with my Aerial Ace." Althea said. "Plus, I have evolved, meaning that I'm stronger. How can you hope to win?"
"Don't look down on me for some reason like that." Tali growled. "Dazzling Gleam!" She formed a blast of blinding light.
"Aerial Ace." Althea disappeared and reappeared behind Tali, but to her shock, the Swablu actually fired the Dazzling Gleam behind her, hitting her for super effective damage the moment she saw behind her. "Agh!"
"Evolving does make a Moemon stronger, but it sometimes has its disadvantages." Tali smirked. "And our main disadvantage is that we become weak to the Fairy and Dragon type moves we are able to learn! Dragon Pulse!" Tali then fired a shockwave of normal energy at Althea, hitting her head on and knocking her unconscious.
"Well, she is right about that." Popo muttered as she returned Althea to her Moeball.
"Alright, Tali! you beat your evolved form!" Diego cheered.
"I know. I'm just that strong." Tali smiled.
"Maybe." Popo said, before taking out her final Moeball. "But my last Moemon will end this battle. Emmy!" She tossed the Moeball, and an Emolga emerged from it, with a glare that betrayed the cheerfulness Emolga normally have. She wore a pleaded white skirt and a white button up blouse with detached sleeves that reached down to her wrists, the sleeves detached at just past the shoulders. She had brown hair that reached down to her neck, as well as two brown and bright yellow mouse ears on her head. She had a brown tail shaped like a lightning bolt sticking out of her butt, and shining brown-red eyes. She had a mantle that reached down to her waist, connected to her sleeves. The mantle was brown on the outside, and bright yellow on the inside, just like her mouse ears.
"An Emolga! And a shiny one, too." Diego exclaimed with shock.
"That's right." Popo said. "She's my very first Moemon, and my strongest. I'd like to see you try to defeat her!"
"Alright! I will!" Tali exclaimed, ready to fight.
"Hold on, Tali." Diego said, stopping his Swablu. "This looks a bit too tough for you. I'll save you for later." Tali gave a reluctant nod and returned to her Moeball. "Okay, Metallica, go!" Diego tossed his final Moeball, which Metallica emerged from.
"Christina did say you also have a shiny." Popo nodded.
"Wild Charge!" Emmy's body crackled with electricity as she charged at Metallica.
"Iron Defense." Metallica solidified her body with steel energy as Emmy tackled her, mitigating most of the damage, but still getting pushed back a bit. "Interesting. You're pretty strong.
"Air Slash!" Emmy sent slashes of wind from her arms at Metallica.
"Confusion." Metallica's eyes glowed as she used her psychic energy to stop the slashes.
"Thunderbolt!" Emmy sent a bolt of electricity that hit the slashes, pushing them towards Metallica as they hit her, knocking her back from the force of the two attacks.
"Metallica, are you alright?" Diego asked.
"Affirmative." Metallica said, getting back to her feet. "Shadow Ball!" She then formed a shadowy blob and hurled it.
"Iron Tail!" Emmy's tail glowed with steel energy as she swung it at the Shadow Ball, knocking it back towards Metallica as it hit her with greater force.
"Damn it!" Metallica growled. "Zen Headbutt!" She focused her psychic energy into her head and charged at Emmy.
"Knock Off!" Emmy dodged the headbutt and slapped Metallica with a hand coated with dark energy, knocking her to the ground unconscious.
"No way! Metallica was defeated so easily!" Seraphina exclaimed with shock.
"Emmy strong..." Rukia said in a frightened tone.
"And Master's down to just Tali, who's at a disadvantage." Seraphina said, worried if her master could win.
"Return." Diego said, returning Metallica to her Moeball. "Don't worry about this loss. You did your best, and that's what matters." He assured her through the Moeball. "Tali, it's all up to you!" He then tossed Tali's Moeball as she re-emerged back onto the field.
"A Normal and Flying type?" Emmy asked, frowning. "That's it. This will be over quickly."
"Don't underestimate me." Tali warned. "Althea did the same, and she lost."
"I will admit that it's impressive you managed to beat your evolved form." Emmy said, before her face became a glare. "But I hold my Mistress's desire for revenge. You can't win."
"I'll show you!" Tali exclaimed as she flew up into the air, Emmy following suit. "Ice Beam!" Tali fired a freezing beam at Emmy.
"Thunderbolt!" Emmy responed by firing a bolt of electricity, the two attacks colliding in an explosion. "Acrobatics!" She then flew through the smoke in a series of flips before kicking Tali away.
"Damn it!" Tali exclaimed as she righted herself. "Dragon Pulse!" She then fired a shockwave of normal energy at Emmy, who braced herself as the attack hit.
"Not good enough." Emmy said. "Wild Charge!" Her body crackled with electricity as she tackled Tali.
"Agh!" Tali cried out in pain as she hit the ground hard.
"Tali!" Diego exclaimed worrily.
"You're finished. Electro Ball!" Emmy formed a sphere of electricity and hurled it at Tali, an explosion then occurring.
"Oh no!" Seraphina cried out.
There were a few seconds of silence afterwards, before Popo shook her head. "Looks like that's it." She decided.
"Rgh…" Diego grunted, looking down in defeat.
"Fluffy not defeated!" Rukia suddenly exclaimed.
Everyone suddenly looked at the smoke, which then cleared to reveal Tali slowly getting up, despite all the damage she took.
"Tali..." Diego whispered, touched by his Moemon's willpower.
"Impossible..." Popo whispered, her shock evident on her face. "She took two Electric attacks and she's still standing?"
"...I suppose your willpower deserves some credit." Emmy said, eventually recovering from her shock as she stared at Tali. "But you should just give up. You are in no condition to be able to defeat me.
"No! I won't give up! I can't!" Tali exclaimed. "You may hold your mistress's desire for revenge, but I hold my Master's desire to help your mistress!" She glared at Emmy with all her willpower. "So I'm not gonna give up! Not until I win!"
A bright light soon erupted from Tali's body, and then a few seconds later she stood as an Altaria.
"Tali evolved!" Seraphina exclaimed with surprise.
"She became fluffier!" Rukia cheered.
Diego smiled at his newly evolved Moemon. "Alright, Tali! Let's win this!" He exclaimed with determination.
"Dragon Pulse!" Tali fired a shockwave of wind at Emmy, knocking her back.
"Why you...!" Emmy growled. "Wild Charge!" Her body crackled with electricity as she flew at Tali.
"Mirror Move!" Tali's body glowed like a mirror for half of a second, and then she flew at Emmy, her own body crackling with electricity as she collided with Emmy, the two getting knocked back from the force of the collision, however, Tali was the first to recover. "Ice Beam!" She then fired a freezing beam at Emmy which hit her as both fell to the ground in a puff of smoke.
There was a tense moment in the gym as the smoke cleared, revealing Tali slowly standing up, while Emmy laid on the ground, unconscious.
End BGM
"No way..." Popo whispered in shock and disbelief.
"Alright!" Diego cheered, running up to Tali and catching her as she fell backwards from exhaustion. "You did it, Tali! You were awesome!"
"Thank you, Master." Tali managed to say.
Seraphina and Rukia ran up to the two, both smiling. "I was really worried for a moment, but you pulled through!" Seraphina said.
"Fluffy amazing!" Rukia cheered.
Tali smiled thankfully at her two teammates.
Popo wordlessly returned Emmy to her Moeball, and collapsed to her knees. " I lost... Am I still not strong enough?" She asked herself.
Returning Tali to her Moeball so she can get some well-deserved rest, Diego walked up to Popo, kneeling down to her level. "Popo, I've won." He told her. "Now, as promised, tell me what brought you to hate Team Genocide so much."
Popo was still for a moment, before finally nodding with a sigh. "Alright. I'll tell you."
Roxas (Kingdom Hearts II)
"You see, before me, my father was the gym leader of Altair City." Popo began.
"Your father?" Seraphina asked.
"Ren Windheart." Diego said. "So that means you're his daughter."
"I'm actually his oldest child." Popo corrected. "I had a little brother and a little sister, but..." Popo's face saddened. "They're both gone. Along with my parents. I'm the only Windheart left."
Seraphina looked shocked by her words. "The only one...left?" She repeated. "What happened to your family?"
"If I remember correctly, the former gym leader's house had burned down two weeks ago, and he had died in the fire." Diego recalled.
"He did. Same with my mother and younger siblings." Popo nodded. "It was a week after I fifteenth birthday, when I became old enough to become a Moemon Trainer. My mom made me the dress I'm wearing now, and my dad gave me Emmy, so she's essentially my starter." Her hair shadowed her eyes. "But then, a week after, I had saw them die." She gritted her teeth, anger becoming present as she continued speaking. "The fire took them all away, and Team Genocide was responsible!"
The three listening were shocked by the revelation. "Team Genocide did that!?" Diego asked.
Popo gave an angry nod, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "Emmy and I were hiding in the bushes nearby, but we saw it all. They had my father trapped in a cuff hold, and their admin had his Chandelure set our house ablaze, with my mom and younger siblings still inside. They made dad watch in horror as his family was burned alive, before throwing him into the fire as well. I wanted to scream for them, but I was too afraid of them finidng and throwing me into the fire. All I could do was stare at the fire that took away all that I cared about."
Diego and his Moemon were left stunned as Popo continued. "When I finally stopped crying in front of the burned building, the sadness then turned into rage, a want to destroy the ones who caused this. I wanted revenge against Team Genocide, but I knew that someone had to run the Altair City gym. So after catching some more Moemon, I became the gym leader of Altair City, defeating all my challengers. There were some that gave up on their journey because of me, but I didn't care. I just wanted to become stronger and get my revenge."
"...That's kind of harsh." Seraphina frowned.
"...Looking back, it really was." Her voice began to sound guilty. "I was being cold and ruthless to all of my challengers, fighting with the mindset that losing makes you weak, which isn't how a gym leader's supposed to act at all. I was giving my father's gym a bad reputation because of it."
Diego was silently frowning as Popo began crying from the memories of both her family's death and her mistakes at gym leader, before he put a hand on her shoulder. "You don't have to shoulder this all on your own." He said.
"H-Huh?" Popo asked, looking up at him.
He gave her a smile. "Tell you what. I'll help get you your revenge."
"Wh-What?" The young girl looked at him with shock.
"Honestly, I never liked Team Genocide, and hearing your story just made me hate them a lot more." He told her. "Besides, I seem to run into them wherever I go. If I find the one, who killed your family, I'll give him the justice he deserves."
Popo was stunned, not just because he was willing to be the catalyst for her revenge, but because no one has ever been so willing to listen to her problems and help her. Wrapping her arms around him in a hug, she cried into Diego's chest, thanking him in between sobs, while Diego smiled and soothingly rubbed a hand across her hair, with Rukia hugging the girl from behind to comfort her.
As he comforted her though, he was sure about one thing.
He wasn't gonna let Team Genocide get away with this.
Popo's one of the more interesting characters I made when writing down the character profiles in my iPad notes. I was thinking about having someone who holds a serious grudge for the evil team because of a loss, and Popo was who I ultimately decided. Kind of harsh putting a girl around Christina's age through such torture, don't you think.
Anyway, with the Flying gym done, time for Diego and his Moemon to hit the road once again!
