Chapter Nine
The first thing that Amira noticed upon arriving in Veilstone City was the Galactic building that loomed over everything else. The top half of the main building was a white geodesic dome and that alone was enough an eyesore. It was surrounded by four towers and a couple of warehouses. The whole complex was gated off with a few grunts in uniform standing guard. Were it not for the large 'G' above the domes main doors, she would've mistaken the large antennas in front of it as belonging to a television studio.
She thought about breaking in and preemptively thwarting their plans but then she noticed the second largest building in Veilstone, its shopping mall. Suddenly Team Galactic's evil schemes could wait.
The Veilstone Department Store had a ritzy atmosphere. Its carpeted floors, uniformly dressed sales women, and shining wares displayed behind glass cases told her the mall was marketed toward a completely different kind of clientele. But they welcomed everyone's money none the less. Though she had set out with no money at all, she had earned enough from battling that she could pick and choose a few things. She was frugal about her purchases and stocked up only on the necessities such as healing items for her Pokémon and camping supplies for herself.
On the rooftop of the department store was a mail center. Employees took mail and delivered them by flying Pokémon, charging per letter. Being without an X-transceiver to quell her homesickness, she took full advantage of their services.
There was no doubt her mother had already heard about her running away. She wrote nothing in her defense and instead, wrote a brief retelling of her journey so far through rose-tinted glasses; that she had taken a job for Professor Rowan and had made it as far as Veilstone City with no idea where she'd go after that. She made no mention of Team Galactic or her run-in again with the International Police. She felt the less she worried her mother, the better.
Her next postcard went to her father. She squared her shoulders and wrote a happy letter full of smiley faces and cute drawings. Even though carefree was far from what she felt, she also felt the facade was important to keep for his sake. If she didn't have to tell him that she had relapsed into night terrors and suicidal thoughts, than she would hide it from him for as long as she could. She buried her feelings under flowery writing of describing how green Sinnoh was in comparison to Unova and vapid complaints about how the on-coming winter air made her long for summer.
When she was done, she had run up bill that took more than half of her money, mostly due to the distance between the three regions. Despite leaving with lighter pockets, she also left with a sense of contentment at knowing she hadn't lost all contact with home.
The only other attraction in Veilstone was a gambling house called the 'Game Corner'. First and foremost, she looked over the prizes available but didn't really see anything she deemed worth the time. She was about to leave when she saw a familiar red newsboy cap at one of the slot machines. Lucas hadn't seen her walk in, but he didn't seem to notice much of anything at all. He was focused intently on the screen in front of him with a scowl on his face.
"Lucas?"
"Busy," he barked.
"Obviously," she said in bemusement.
Despite his poor temperament, there were a number of plastic buckets around him that held his winnings. As she watched him play, he seemed to have a sixth sense for getting the reels just where he needed them to be. His sat hunched over with his hands at the ready as his eyes darted back and forth. Any and all attempts to talk to him were shot down. He didn't even look up when she took his red newsboy cap from his head. She had one last idea.
"Professor Rowan, what are you doing here?"
"What!?"
Lucas shot up and looked around anxiously at having been caught red handed. When the Professor was nowhere to be found, he let out a sigh of relief and frustration at her trick.
"Okay, okay, I get it," he responded to her know-it-all smirk. "I just came in to check it out and I guess I got a little carried away."
"A little," she said with a glance at the buckets of coins around him. "You sure it's just 'a little'?"
He gave a helpless shrug and was about to speak in his defense when they heard the soft chuckle of an older gentleman at one of the other machines. His voice sounded sleepy and the tired look on his face was obvious but he remained cheerful.
"You kids," he called, "you're Trainers, right? Going to challenge the Veilstone Gym?"
"Well, I'm conducting field research for my thesis so gym challenges aren't of any interest to me," said Lucas. "But Amira, you're going to take on the gym, right?"
"I guess so," she nodded. "I have two badges already so I might as well keep going until I get the full set."
"Oh, that's good, that's good." The old man didn't even bother to look up as he spoke and trailed off every now and then to mutter something about the machine.
"You know," he began again. "The Veilstone Gym Leader is a tough cookie. Yep. She's mastered fighting-type Pokémon in just a year. It's no wonder she's Gym Leader, isn't it?"
"Wow, that's amazing!" In his head, Lucas was imagining a woman in a skintight catsuit somersaulting around the gym and delivering knock-out kicks to a techno soundtrack.
"That's insanely intense," she added. She was picturing a woman dressed as a boxer delivering a flurry of punches while an uplifting rock and roll anthem played in the background.
"Yep, yep, yep….," he sang. "My little girl… Quite the Gym Leader, I hear. Spars with her own Pokémon too."
"Your little girl," she balked in surprise.
"Uh, wait, just how old is she," Lucas thought to ask before jumping to any more conclusions.
"My daughter? Uhm… Let's see…."
They didn't know if he was taking time to think about his daughter's age or if he was too busy fidgeting with the machine. Like a robot, he hadn't stopped operating it since they walked over.
"Huh… I think she's… about ten or eleven now. Yeah, that seems right. Tell her 'hello' for me, okay?"
Her horror at finding out her fearsome opponent was only a little girl was derailed by the distant way her father talked about her.
"Why don't you go tell her yourself?"
"Not until I hit the jackpot," he responded in a happy tune. "It's gonna happen any day now!"
"Just how long have you been playing the slots," asked Lucas.
"Oh… a while, I guess?"
"But you have to go home at night, right," she asked. "You can't live here!"
"Oh no, of course not," he said with a furrow of his brow. "I stay at a hotel. I can't face my daughter as a failure when she's doing so well. Anyway, it's no big deal. I just wanted you to deliver my message. You don't have to if it's a bother. I'm sure someone else will come along and I'll just ask them."
"We'll deliver it, Sir."
Lucas grabbed her hand, as well as his winnings and hurried to cash out. After exchanging them for TM, they walked outside to get a safe distance away from the Game Corner. He was growing increasingly uncomfortable as he realized the implications of what the man had said and was glad that he had been woken him from his daze.
"That's messed up," she snapped in anger. She could barely stomach the thought of her own parents leaving her and wondered just how Maylene had handled it. Perhaps she was a surly delinquent who had been made a Gym Leader just to keep her out of trouble.
"You know what? I'd fight Pokémon day-in and day-out too if my dad ever became that way. Then I'd punch some sense into him!"
"I can't imagine being like that with your family." Lucas and his father were both researchers so they often bonded while working side by side. Of course, they still came home in the evenings to enjoy dinner and time together with his mother and younger sister.
"Well…" He sighed and wanted to drive the uncomfortable thoughts as far from his mind as possible. "You go on to challenge the gym. I've got to get work on this Poké… Dex…?"
He patted his pockets then began frantically turning them inside out.
"Something wrong?"
"My Pokédex! I think I left it at the Game Corner… The professor would kill me if he found out!"
"We'll just go back and get it then, it'll be alright."
"I don't wanna hold you up," he said as he shook his head. "You go ahead to the gym. I'll grab it and meet you there, okay?"
"Alright…"
She wondered whether or not he was just trying to get rid of her but he seemed genuinely terrified of what would happen if Professor Rowan knew he'd lost his Pokédex at a gambling house. He waved her off as she headed in the direction of the gym, but not before she made him promise to meet her there.
The Veilstone Gym, aside from hosting Pokémon matches, was also a gym for mixed martial arts. There was the standard weight lifting equipment like most gyms, but this one also had a boxing ring, a caged grappling area, and more punching bags then she could count.
Its leader, Maylene, was well respected despite her small size. Instead of the brash delinquent that she expected to see, she was gracious, poised, and disciplined. She didn't dress in leather and chains with a colorful mohawk or shaved head. Instead, she had short pink bobbed hair and wore a reasonable exercise outfit in lycra and cotton. She was adorable aside from the fact she could break a grown man in half. She had been in the middle of practice but remained cordial when greeting her intrusive challenger.
"Hello. I'm pleased to meet you. I'm Maylene, and I'm the Gym Leader. I don't really know what it means to be strong or how I got to be the Gym Leader but I will do the best I can. I take battling very seriously. So, whenever you're ready! KI-YAH!"
Her first Pokémon was Machoke, a beefy rock-looking Pokémon with plenty of muscle to spare. It was strong but not very fast. This gave Murkrow a clear advantage. He repeatedly dive bombed with Wing Attack until the foe was down for the count.
Next was Meditite, a dual psychic and fighting type that wasn't to be taken lightly. Amira recalled Murkrow and sent out Luxio. There was no type advantage but his speed and teeth did Meditite in just fine.
Maylene's final Pokémon was a bipedal blue and black jackal called Lucario.
'Lucario, the Aura Pokémon. It has the abilities to sense the auras of all things. It can understand human speech.'
The Lucario did Luxio in with Bone Rush, leaving Amira with only two Pokémon left. She saw no other choice but to send out Prinplup, even against the odds.
When Prinplup went down from Lucraio's Force Palm, she nervously held onto Murkrow's Poke Ball. She had already envisioned this as her first defeat in the Sinnoh League. She withdrew Prinplup from battle and was about to call Murkrow out when Ponyta suddenly burst forth and onto the field.
"No! Ponyta come back!" She recalled it back only to have it burst forth again.
"Brace yourselves," yelled Maylene. It wasn't a warning but a command. She expected her challengers to face her properly prepared. "Metal Claw!"
"Dodge it!"
Lucario slashed at the filly with three long claws but Ponyta had moved out of the way just in time.
Amira had no time to think of a proper strategy nor consider if Ponyta would even listen to her. The horse had already taken on a full gallop to flee the pursuant Lucario. It suddenly turned to face its opponent. Lucraio was going in for another claw attack when Ponyta raised its two front legs and then slammed its diamond-hard hooves down on top of it.
"Aura Sphere," called Maylene.
"Ember!"
The two attacks met in the middle and to her surprise, Ponyta merely shook off the energy attack while the blaze stuck to Lucario.
'That's right,' she thought to herself as she wondered in surprise at the attacks sudden effectiveness. 'It knows Metal Claw… So that means it must be a part steel-type!'
"Again, Ember!"
Now that she knew, she used Ponyta's speed and type advantage to keep the Lucario from getting ahead. Ponyta's restlessness made it a stubborn and difficult opponent as it refused to stay still and often broke into a run when it wasn't attacking. She was amazed and in disbelief that it won her the match just by being unruly. She was expecting some reprimand from Maylene as to the wholly unusual event but she just yawned as she handed over the Cobble Badge.
"Oh, excuse me. I'm sorry. That was nothing. Uh… You win. I lost. That's tough but oh well. Please. Accept this Gym Badge. I'm kinda hungry… Uhm, I mean, I didn't say anything!"
"You want to go for a pizza or something," she asked with a friendly smile.
"Yeah!" Maylene cheered for the idea but her sudden enthusiasm turned somber as she received a chastising look from her Lucario. "I mean, no. I'm sorry. I have to train. But it was kind of you to offer."
"Are you sure," she asked again.
"Yes," she said in spite of the intrusive grumbling of her stomach. "Please! I'll be fine!"
Maylene's small size was in no way indicative of her voracious appetite. She could eat four full-grown men out of house and home and often did. Most of the gym's expenses were already spent on keeping her from starving, as she complained of being no matter how long it had been since she last ate. Even as she made excuses for her grumbling stomach, her mind was already on what to have as her after-lunch but before-dinner meal. Though her metabolism couldn't be helped, it still annoyed the Lucario that her head turned any time there was the mention of food.
All this was unknown to Amira, who was worried about the young gym leader. She knew Maylene was tough but took notice that she seemed distracted during their gym battle and wondered if hunger was the cause of it. She reasoned that she had to burn a lot of calories in her training and figured that something heavy like pizza would be a perfect food. Even though it was declined, she decided that she would have food delivered to the gym anyway.
"Oh, before I forget. Your dad, he said to tell you 'hello'."
"I see…" Maylene's smile disappeared as she turned reserved once more.
"Thank you for delivering the message. I have completed my duties as Gym Leader," she said with a stiff and formal bow. "Now please excuse me. I must get back to training."
She marched off with her Lucario by her side, leaving her guest to be ushered out of the gym by an attendant. The change in the atmosphere at the mention of Maylene's father made her regret having delivered the message at all.
Outside the gym, Lucas greeted her with a good-natured smile as her eyes widened in disbelief. Standing next to him, or rather being held captive in a hammerlock, was Maylene's father wearing a forced smile through a pained expression.
"Hey Amira," sang Lucas, as if nothing were out of the ordinary. "So you got the gym badge from Maylene? That's great."
"Yeah, great… " she answered in amazement with a hint of fear. "What're you doing?"
"You know what that means for you, don't you Mr. Endo," Lucas asked of the man next to him.
After a high-pitched squeal of pain, the man answered in a pitiful yet desperate to sound happy voice.
"Y-yes, of course! Con-congratulations, young lady. Now I should go talk to my daughter and congratulate her as well!"
"Yep, that's right," he cheered. "Go in then."
"Y-yes!" The man forced a laugh and Lucas chuckled as he released him, never losing his innocent grin.
She quickly moved aside as the man walked into the gym with trembling steps. Her jaw hung open as she looked from him then back to Lucas, who stood there looking as sinless as the day he was born.
"What's wrong," he asked.
"Nothing!" She let out a nervous laugh to cover her discomfort.
"Hey, now that you have the badge…" As he spoke, he grabbed her hand and began leading her away. He moved with an urgency that made her jump. "Can I ask you for a really big and really small favor?"
"Wait, is it a big favor that's small or a small favor that's big?"
She squinted in confusion at his wording but he ignored her question and explained only after they broke out into a jog.
"So you know how I left my Pokédex at the Game Corner? I went back to get it but these Team Galactic guys found it and they won't give it back! If the Professor found out, he'd flay me alive! So I'm asking you, please help me get it back!"
She was going to ask why he couldn't just strong arm them as well but thought better of it. There was still no telling what else was behind his unassuming demeanor. They both ran all the way to a side building of the Team Galactic complex. At an entrance gate stood two grunts who glared as they approached.
"Well looks who's back," said one to his partner. "Aww, did you run and get your girlfriend?"
"Nah, maybe she's his mommy and is going to make us apologize!"
"You're really obnoxious for a group of guys who can't do better than a couple of low-level Zubats!"
She wasted no time in sending out Luxio and sicking him on the two villains. Lucas sent out his own Pokémon, a Clefairy, a round pink fairy with strange wings on its back. That he would have such a stereotypical girly Pokémon made her do a double take but she didn't question it.
The two grunts sent out their Pokémon, two flying bugs that were easily brought down by Luxio's spark attack. Their next set was two poison-type Pokémon who were no trouble against Clefairy's psychic attacks and sent blasting off with Metronome.
"Darn kids! Here! Take it!"
One of the grunts threw the Pokédex at Lucas who caught it just in time to stop it from being smashed to pieces. With no more Pokémon to protect them, they took the fastest route into the warehouse and away from him.
"Thanks for the help," said Lucas. "I'm sorry about dragging you half of the way."
"Hey, no problem. It's what friends are for, right?"
"Yeah," he laughed. "I'm glad we're..., uh, friends. Well. I'm off to the Great Marsh! Pastoria City has a lot of rare water-type Pokémon. The next gym is there so I'll probably see you around, okay?"
"Sure. See you later."
She waved as she watched him walk off while wondering what all that fumbling over his words was about. If he had hesitated to call her a friend, perhaps he preferred they stay strictly as colleagues. She shrugged it off and hurried to check in at the Pokémon Center to see about her egg. She had left it there before going shopping and had almost forgotten about it. It was easier to just drop it off then having to carry it around.
She also found out she could order a pizza from their payphone and have it sent wherever she pleased. She tried to think of how many to order and figured hanging out at a gym with a bunch of brawny guys added up to lot of hungry stomachs. She ordered as many as she was allowed with instructions that it be sent to the Veilstone Gym, addressed to Maylene.
