Chapter 9: Father-Daughter Business
Koga and his daughter led us out another door and into a patio that was the center of the four-building gym. There was a wispy cherry-blossom tree in the yard, and a small training room to each side. Opposite the entry room was the battle chamber of the gym. It was famous for its floor, which tilted like a see-saw depending on the weight and position of the pokemon on it. Koga had long ago lost count of the number of trainers that had gotten vertigo on the tilting floor of his gym, or from the confusion it usually caused. It had been the end of many first time trainers' efforts.
It wouldn't be that way for us. I could feel it.
In the gym, we walked across the swinging floor with a lot of squeaking and tilting from the panels. There were three stable points in the gym which were not connected to the rest of the swaying room. They stood on separate foundations, and it was on one of these platforms that Richard and I stood. The gym leaders took another, and Casey a third, cheering softly for us all the while.
I wondered whether she was cheering for me or Richard… then realized it didn't really matter. I was about to battle again. My mind would soon be free again.
I surveyed my pokemon: I was starting to build up quite a team. There was Ivysaur, Staryu, Dugtrio, Eevee, and unpredictable Lickitung. Staryu or Dugtrio would have been my best choice, and Dugtrio hadn't seen any battles in while, so I chose him. Richard nodded, holding up his pokeball. Across the gym, Koga and Janine were ready as well.
There was a shout from the opposite side of the gym as Koga declared the match begun. Richard and I cast out our pokeballs, mine summoning Dugtrio, his Charmeleon.
Janine called out an Arbok, and Koga an Ariados. It was clear Koga wouldn't be fighting with his trusted Muk. It was too strong for almost any foe and certainly not suitable for anyone of our level. The snake pokemon hissed loudly, and the spider clacked its pincers.
Dugtrio moved quickly, following my point, and rose under Arbok, knocking it into the air with a screech. My pokemon rode a mound of dirt like a bird on a cloud, moving around freely and quickly. Charmeleon launched a Flamethrower at Ariados, which leapt away. A zip line of web sprayed from its mandibles, catching the wall behind Charmeleon and yanking it toward it. Ariados collided with its foe, using Bug Bite as it did.
Charmeleon hissed like and angry cat and punched the spider pokemon off. Dugtrio was dodging Arbok's combined Crunches and Sludge Bombs, occasionally sneaking in a Slash attack.
The battle was turning quickly into a stale mate, as Ariados stopped another Flamethrower with Psychic and attacked with Poison Sting; Charmeleon was dangerously poisoned and fell to its knee.
"Use Rock Tomb, Dugtrio!" Several boulders rose into the room through the floor, forming a protective barrier between Charmeleon and his enemy. While Dugtrio was focusing on this, Arbok finally connected with a Crunch attack to Janine's wild cackles.
Casey was cheering and pumping her pale fists into the air from the sidelines. I smiled and countered quickly. "Slash!"
Dugtrio rushed forward carrying Arbok, who was still latched onto his head, with him. Dugtrio hit the wall at full speed, threw the snake off and burrowed into the ground like a skilled diver. Arbok looked around confusedly, and was again slammed from below.
"Finish him with Tri-Attack!" Each one of his separate noses lit up, one red, one blue, one yellow. A line slid around, connecting the noses, which had become a perfect sphere of light and formed a triangle. The triangle launched off at Arbok, who was shot to the side by a Spider-Web from Ariados. I swore, and now Koga and Janine laughed together.
"Wonderful fun!" shouted Koga. "But I expected more of a fight. Do you expect to take down the Storm's Eye with moves as slow as that?"
That did it. I called to my pokemon, who launched another volley of slashes. This father-daughter team would be no match for me. I smiled and urged Dugtrio on.
(-o-)
Casey thought about this. She had had her share of father-daughter teamwork, except that it had been a grandfather-granddaughter team. She hoped her grandfather knew what she was now doing, and she hoped he was happy.
It had been a long time since Casey had thought about her grandfather. She remembered his smiling grey eyes, soft mat of brown hair, soft warm hands. She missed him a lot, or at least she had, but there had been enough on her mind lately to take him away from her. His death had been so sudden… so unexpected… Cassidy had immediately rushed away from Johto where she was just starting her journey, and her inability to return after. There was too much to do. Too much he had wanted her to do.
It was on that fateful airship trip from the Violet City air harbor to Fortree City, and then on to Saffron City where she had first seen Ian. She hadn't known how big a part he would come to play in her life.
Once she made it to Saffron, Casey had traveled to her old home town, Pallet Town. She feared what she would find there, but knowing what it would be… she had rushed into the house where a few distant and harsh relatives sat around in their clean black suits. Cassidy knew her clothes were covered in dirt and she was scratched badly from running there from the bus station in Viridian City, but she didn't care. The stares of angry relatives went unnoticed until later. Casey only cared about one thing.
She pushed her way into her grandfather's bedroom. It was no longer messy, strewn with papers, folders, and sheets from his perpetually unmade bed. All his hundreds of research books had been taken from the shelves and packed into a pair of cardboard boxes next to the window, along with the papers. On the bed was a coffin.
Casey had never been able to make herself look inside.
When she returned downstairs, crying vehemently, Casey discovered why all the distant relatives had looked so angry. In his will, her grandfather had left everything, everything he owned, exclusively to Cassidy Ryne. There was however, another matter of importance to be discussed immediately, and that was who would take charge of Casey's welfare.
Her parents had died, leaving her in the care of her grandfather, and now that he was dead… there were no near or willing relatives, no god-parents. There was however, a clause in the will.
Georgiou Ryne, Casey's grandfather, insisted that his granddaughter be left in the care of the resident member of the Professors' Guild, Professor Beech. Beech had taken the title of leading pokemon expert after the death of the former expert Oak five years ago. Beech had been Oak's closet friend and colleague, as well as his former assistant. Prof. Beech had once been known as Tracey Sketchit, but yielded to the tradition of the Professors' Guild and changed his name to that of a tree upon entry. He had chosen Beech, and this was appropriate seeing as he hailed from the Orange Islands.
Beech was almost anything but an experienced parent, but he had been a good friend and confident of Georgiou, and he reluctantly accepted Casey into his house. She went to the local high school in the morning and afternoon, and after that immediately went to her grandfather's house, which was growing dusty with disuse. Every evening, Casey would spend a few hours going through her grandfather's things, and she learned. There was so much to learn…
(-o-)
Dugtrio lunged up again, this time missing its target. Arbok was getting smarter, and had figured out how to dodge my Dig attacks. My pokemon spun, this time catching his foe off guard knocking him aside. Charmeleon leapt overhead and finished off Arbok with a Metal Claw. Finally…
Ariadow was on Dugtrio's back instantly, wrapping him in a net of Spider Webs. A wave of Poison Stings hit Dugtrio. Now both of us were poisoned. Richard had a pained look on his face as his pokemon stumbled. We were both starting to succumb…
"Faster!" taunted Koga. "Stronger! You are almost there, children. So close. Have you ever been this close to your foe before? Somehow I doubt it."
I looked at Richard and muttered a request. "Grab Ariados."
"Get him, Charmeleon!" Richard shouted. His lizard pokemon nodded and pushed itself up. With a screech, it launched towards the spider, catching it with a rapid Ember attack and then grabbing on…
"Tri Attack!" Dugtrio complied, sending out another blazing triangle, this time directly into Ariados. The spider struggled, trying to counter, the triple-energy attack knocked it senseless. The mix of sensations obviously hurt Ariados. It screamed and lashed out, sending Charmeleon sprawling but it was too late.
Ariados fell to its back, legs pedaling helplessly at the air. It was over. I sighed and returned Dugtrio. Richard did the same.
"That's more like it," said Koga. "Much better. Though I must say, the two of you need a lot of practice if you ever want to face the likes of John Rook."
Janine punched her father playfully and looked over at us. "Shut up, dad. They did fine!"
Koga nodded with a reluctant smile. "It was a good match. I shall have to try more of these double battles in the future." He turned to us, suddenly becoming serious. "And though I bestow this badge on you today, every trainer still needs practice. If you find need for an expert in giving practice, please feel free to come to my gym any time. I will help in whatever task you need."
We nodded gratefully and received our badges from the father-daughter team and left the gym smiling. Casey walked a few steps behind us, eventually catching up. She congratulated us, but then seemed to become lost in her own thoughts. We almost had to guide her back to the hotel. There was still a good bit left of the day, and Richard was eager to be moving again, so after lunch, we began moving on to Lavender Town.
I thought about what Koga had said, wondering what he meant by practice. He seemed to be implying something when he said it, like he could help me in ways others couldn't… whatever it was, I felt sure I would be back in Fuchsia City soon enough.
(-o-)
There, among all those files, what had she found? Casey counted off the things.
Her grandfather had always believed in the power nature, and pokemon, especially when combined and protect by humans. He was an adamant pokemon enthusiast, and kept his ancient and treasured Blastoise had served him faithfully since he had been a young boy. Ever since his death, the turtle pokemon had gone into its shell, probably to die, and not come out since. But it seemed, from those papers, that Georgiou had gone farther than simply believing in the power of nature. He had built something to defend it.
Cassidy was almost shocked by what she found, especially considering what had happened on the airship. But soon, she came to accept it, even be proud of it. She decided not to tell Beech about anything she found. Casey remained carefully guarded in her hurried dinners with him, and that was the only time they saw each other. Between work and school, they did not meet much during the week.
When Beech offered Casey her first pokemon, she refused. She had received one from the elderly Professor Elm in Johto. Despite Beech's superior knowledge, Elm was leader of the Professors' Guild as its most senior member. Beech seemed to have a bit of a grudge against him. Casey was glad that something could get under her adopted-father's skin, because at least when he was mad, he showed emotion. The rest of the time, he was stoic as a statue.
She didn't feel anything for him. How could she? Not after her Grandfather died. With her whole family dead… since then, Casey had never felt love but anything but the things her grandfather had: herself and pokemon.
(-o-)
We moved east, passing stepped rice paddies and several trainers. We managed to snap Casey out of her thoughtfulness for long enough to join us in some fights, but she lapsed back into silence as the day went on. As the sun went down, Richard checked the map and saw we were a few miles from the place where the path turned north and followed a series of wooden bridges all the way to Lavender Town.
Casey just nodded glumly. It was starting to bug me. I had only known Casey for a day, but I already hated to see her sad. But there was hope.
"Hey Casey!" I called; she started and looked up at me. "Are you up for a little sparring match?"
"I want in," said Richard, pulling out a pokeball.
"It's fine," said Casey, gesturing for him to stand back. She smiled, finally looking like her usual self. She pulled out a pokeball from her bag, but not just any pokeball. It was her starter pokeball. Her first and most trusted companion.
Casey almost felt sorry me, I think, but I drew a ball and readied to fight. We were both smiling broadly.