Chapter Nine: Check It Out
Red dug the toe of her beaten-up sneakers into the dirt. Cerulean had many more dirt paths, waiting to be re-paved, than Pallet Town had in existence. Leo made himself comfortable of Red's head while Hydra rested in a new bucket by her feet. Auriga and Ara were nearby, playing in a fountain that housed many water-type Pokémon.
They were supposed to be meeting Misty, and maybe Green, to gauge the strength of Violet. Red'd been waiting for at least an hour and a half. Approached by a person wearing a ridiculously strange outfit puts Red on edge, Leo jumps off of her head and his cheeks spark.
"W-W-Wait!" The gothic Lolita practically screams, holding a hand out as she looks desperately at Red, "It's me, Misty!" Leo automatically stopped his sparking and Red looked over the Lolita in front of her.
"W-Why are you dressed like that…?" She stifled a laugh. Misty blushed, crossing her arms.
"It's the only costume they had that fit me. Not all of us are blessed with breasts, you know. Besides, I didn't want my sisters to recognize me; they won't allow me in the gym anymore." Misty griped, crossly staring at Red's chest. Red frowned, shrugging and turning to look at the gym.
The outside was rather childishly designed, with a carousel-like shape and a large Dewgong on top. The doors, Red knew, were automatic just like every other gym's. Looking back to Misty, Red sighed, gesturing towards the gym, "Well, if that's the case, shall we go in?" She questioned.
"Er, yeah…" Misty walked in first, followed by Red and her Pokémon. The inside of the gym was much larger than Red had originally thought. Rimming the walls was a large aquarium and small walkways, showing that this was in fact a water-type gym. People and Pokémon alike swam in the tanks and rivers underneath the glass walkways.
Red waved to many of them, still amazed at the gym's structure. Bringing Red out of her amazement, Misty pointed to a door nearby, on solid flooring. Above it in large letters read: AUDIENCE. Misty, Red and Leo, Red had recalled her other Pokémon on the request of Misty, made their way to the audience seats.
"They're not as packed as usual…" The two easily found a seat in the front row, as only those waiting for their battle were sitting in the stands. "There are usually many, many more people here to watch the battles. It's only been three days since I was kicked from being gym leader…"
"Well, maybe they could sense something was wrong. I—" Red was cut off by a slap to her head from Leo. She glared up at him as best she could but he only pointed a chubby finger in the direction of the field, which was just a large pool.
"UltraViolet!" One of the other trainers yelled. Violet climbed down the lifeguard chair and stood at the edge of the pool, staring down her opponent, which was just a little boy, who hugged his starter nervously.
The starter was a Bellsprout, who didn't seem all that keen on being in the arena either, but didn't want to let his trainer down. "Y-You don't have to, Whip…" The boy said, looking at his Pokémon, "We can just leave, maybe try Johto or something…"
The Bellsprout shook its head, and to emphasize its point, leapt from its trainer's arms and onto the ground below. He got into a battle stance and the boy stood back, not sure if he should recall his Pokémon or not. Deciding against his better judgment, the boy looked up at Violet.
"Ready?" She asked, her tone flirty. The youngster blushed, nodding his head, "Then, let's get started. League battle... yadda yadda, can't switch for me... whatever, let's start. Staryu, tackle." Her tone changed dramatically, as did the smile on her face. Instead of a happy smile, it was replaced with a sadistic smirk and a harsher tone.
Staryu wasted no time in pulling itself out of the water and crashing into the Bellsprout. The boy gasped, taken by surprise but recovered in a slightly quick manner, "U-Um, Use Vine Whip!" He called, though he was sure his Pokémon couldn't hear him; the small plant Pokémon was too busy being pummeled by the onslaught of sharp tackles and precise water guns to do anything, but luckily, the Staryu ran out of water.
Covered in green juice-like blood, Whip moved fast, wrapping the Staryu in his vines and swinging it around, unfortunately, into the pool. His trainer groaned, but Whip still had a hold on the Staryu, his vines were still attached. Pulling didn't work in his favor though, and Violet smirked, giving him a 'thumbs down' motion.
"I hope your Bellsprout knows how to swim... Staryu gets a little- Oops..." She giggled as the Bellsprout was dragged across the tile and into the pool.
"No! Whip!" The boy fumbled around his body, looking for the Bellsprout's Pokéball, only to find it too late, as only vines returned to the surface, followed by more of the Bellsprout's blood. Violet crinkled her nose in response.
"Ew, somebody needs to clean the pool!" She shrieked before turning and ascending the chair to sit once more.
Misty looked at Red, who had a shocked expression, "And before the cruise," Misty started, "Violent wouldn't even dream or think, about doing something like that." Red turned to look at Misty, but Misty knew what she was going to say.
"Misty, I-I don't think I can do this..." Misty stood, nodding, but Red grabbed her hand before she could leave, "I don't think I can do this now. G-Give me a few days, we need to train... Because Violet is goin' down."
Red left Misty in the stands as another trainer went unknowingly down to have his Pokémon massacred.
"Why do you think they call her 'UltraViolet'?" Auriga asked, perched next to Ara. Red shrugged, looking around. Currently situated on the route nearest to Mt. Moon, the small group was hanging out underneath a tree, eating lunch. They'd been out on the route for a few hours after meeting with Misty at the gym.
"Maybe it's because she's Ultra?" Red stated the obvious, shrugging before taking a large bite of her sandwich. "I dunno, when we battle her, we'll find out." Leo's ears perked.
"Which reminds me, Red," He said, scratching himself, "Wha's up wit' y' getting' all defensive back a' th' gym? Seemed a li'l hardcore afta watchin' tha' boy get 'is Bellsprout maimed."
"Well, I don't know Leo," Red told him honestly, "I just think that something a little weird is going on with the League. Why now, I don't know, but it seems like since nobody knows who the champion is or if there even is a champion, everything's practically gone to shit and I… I feel like it's my duty to put everything back in order. I can't really explain it, though."
It was quiet after Red finished her little speech and Leo felt a little sick, he knew he'd have to call Oak soon, but kept quiet. Ara gave Red a toothy smile, "Well, I'm with ya, Red! If that's what you think ya gotta do, then more power to ya! You can rely on me! Bros before hoes!"
Red chuckled, but Leo spoke up, "That's something guys say to each other." Ara shrugged, she didn't care, "Well, I guess since you're kinda feminist, it works out. Bros before hoes."
"Is that, like, our motto?" Hydra asked. Red gave her a toothy smile, laughing.
"Nah, it's more like our sub-motto. Now that I think about it, our motto is 'Never Give Up, Never Forget and Grind like Hell'."Leo nodded, crossing his arms in satisfaction, "Those are the rules we live by on this team."
With that, everyone else agreed as well and Red smiled, standing up. "I guess we're about done here, let's try a new route, guys." Red told them. She gripped Hydra's bucket, using it as leverage and stood up, dusting off her shorts with one hand. "Let's try north."
The Nugget Bridge. Red wasn't sure why it was called that, but she accepted it and scratched her arm awkwardly. Hydra was getting heavier, it seemed, by the moment and Red was tired of continually switching arms to hold her. The water-type didn't seem to notice, but Ara did, taking the bucket from her trainer.
A look of gratefulness was sent her way and Red cleared her throat, "Alright, so it looks like there's some trainers on that there bridge of nuggets." She said, "Who wants to lead?" Naturally, Ara stepped up but Red frowned, thinking it over in her head.
"Meh, I'll do it if y' want." Leo lazily climbed off of Red's head. Red nodded, clapping her hands with enthusiasm.
"Good! Y'know, you could stand to level up and lose a few pounds, Leo. Besides Hydra, you've got low levels." Red told him, having checked the Pokédex. He growled, trotting forward with the others following, "Just sayin', bro."
"Right…"
"Hey! Hey you, trainer!" Someone halted any other thought or word Leo was going to say. With an indifferent look, Red stopped, looking at the dirty trainer. The glint in his eyes and slight smile on his face made him look like any other trainer and Red tilted her head slightly. "Welcome to Nugget Bridge! I'm your first opponent of five. Beat me and the others and the boss'll give y' a prize!"
"Hey, a prize?" Red repeated, receiving a confirming nod, "That sounds wonderful. Alright, go Leo!"
With little trouble, Leo managed to take down both the young trainer's Pokémon. He frowned, handing over the cash prize to Red whose smile practically gleamed egotistically. She strutted down the bridge, Ara, Auriga and Leo alternating taking down the other trainer's Pokémon. Occasionally, Hydra would be tossed around just to get experience.
Finally, they reached the end of the bridge where a man stood, dressed in black. Leo growled, darting towards him with Red and the others in tow. "Ha!" The man said just as they reached him, "You and your Pokémon are pretty strong there, huh?"
"Yeah, so? Are you the boss? I want my prize." Red held out her hand, almost defensively. The man only chuckled, shaking his head and pulling out a Pokéball.
"Maa, you've got one more challenge, and if you lose, you have to join Team Rocket!" He said. Leo growled, his cheeks sparking while Red tensed at the mention of the team.
"B-Be careful, Leo, these guys play dirty…" She said, before loudly adding, "Alright, I accept your challenge."
Almost as soon as it started, it ended and Red was left with a nugget and Leo triumphantly knocking the man and his Pokémon into the river, not to mention all of the Nugget Bridge gang jumping in after him. "So that's why they call it Nugget Bridge." She tapped her foot against the bridge, "Does that mean this bridge is made of gold?"
Leo face-palmed himself, "No, dumbass… that does not mean that it's made of gold."
Red shrugged, "Well, it's a new route and that means a new Pokémon, yeah?" Turning, the raven-haired female walked off of the bridge with the promise of a new Pokémon.
"This. Is. Fucking. Ridiculous." That was the first time they'd ever heard Auriga utter a curse when not in a rage. Red gave her an astonished look, but couldn't agree more with the words she'd just uttered.
Ara groaned, rolling over as she tried and failed to block out the noise. Leo was nowhere to be found, leaving the three females alone with their newest team member. Apus the Mankey was loud and proud; the white fluffy ball of Pokémon bounced around, off the walls and knocking things over. Red didn't understand why he was still on the team.
"Red, box this sucker already!" Ara yelled, "We won't be mad!"
"It's not you who I'm worried about being mad!" Red scrambled to get out of the way as she ducked, dodged and weaved around things being thrown by the ape Pokémon, "I don't even know where his ball is!" The red-white ball rolled towards Red. She picked it up, the ball being labeled with Apus' name on it. "R-Return, Apus!"
The bright flash brought Apus back to his ball and Red sighed, "Box Apus." And the ball disappeared from her hand. She plopped down onto the ground with another sigh and Ara collapsed on the bed with Auriga.
"Arceus! What the fuck was his deal?" Ara yelled, only to receive silence in return as the door swung open, revealing Leo. The Pikachu gave them a once over and declared he didn't want to know, not even asking about where Apus went.
"Let's go to bed, guys. We have to grind extra hard tomorrow if we want to be in top percentage for the battle in a few days." Red mumbled, crawling towards the bed. Again, Leo did not ask, only taking his place on the bed with Red while Auriga turned off the lights and Ara made herself comfortable on the windowsill.
Pokémon: 5
Deaths: 2
Boxed: 3
Badges: 1