Chapter 10: Realization And Battle

It was another day for our group of Pokemon. They woke up fairly early so they can get in some more training. Oshawott and Snivy were having a sparring match. Tepig was the referee. And Emolga? She was still being herself. Sitting near the side, under the shade of a tree, eating an apple.

"Razor shell!"

"Leaf blade!"

Despite Oshawott's type disadvantage in this fight, he was holding his own pretty good against Snivy. After all, she did say that the best way to train is to not hold anything back in battle. And Snivy was known for being a little rough when it came to combat. Whether its a leaf storm or even a vine whip, she will be hurting the opposition.

Anyways they both attacked each other. The two attacks collided making a thick smoke cloud where the attack happened. Oshawott was panting pretty badly. "That was good, but not good enough. "Water gun!"

"Think again. Vine whip!"

While Snivy got soaked a bit, Oshawott flew back quite a bit due to the knockback of the vines. Snivy walked over to her sparring partner. "That's enough for today Oshawott. I can tell that you're getting stronger." She said while smiling.

Oshawott got up and looked directly at her. "Why thanks. Those bug Pokemon are not going to stand a chance to me."

"You mean us?" Snivy said.

He rubbed the back of his head laughing a bit. "Ha ha. Yeah..."

They continued their trek through Pinwheel forest and made it to Skyarrow bridge. A bridge known for leading the way to Castelia city. Its also known for its impressive size. The group was definitely admiring the sites that the bridge had to offer. Especially Oshawott.

He liked the sky, the architecture and the boats that passed underneath. But for some reason on this walk, he kept turning his head off to another direction. That direction is towards Snivy. Why do i keep looking at her? He thought.

While Oshawott is a bit of a flirt with female Pokemon, he never saw Snivy that way. At least when they were in the lab. Even the first day of their adventure, he didn't feel anything. But that last comment really stuck with him. Shes always given him comments similar to that.

Emolga noticed this as well. She saw that Oshawott took a minute every once in a while to look at the snake Pokemon. Now this has her interested. So knowing the electric squirrel, its time for her to get information.

She tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey Oshawott. What are you staring at?"

He was kind of startled. "Oh me? I'm just admiring the sights."

She smirked. "Oh really? 'Cause to me, it looks like you were looking at Snivy."

He laughed a little bit. "Oh me? Looking at Snivy? No, no. I wasn't looking at her. I was, uhhh... Looking at the sky. Those are some great clouds!" In the direction he pointed in, there were no clouds actually.

Emolga lightened her smirk. "Look, kid. I know that at the very least, you are rather fond of Snivy."

Oshawott pushed her away a bit. "Well i see her as a regular friend and thats how its going to be. Because i have no romantic feelings towards her at all. Shes my best friend." He turns to look at Snivy. "And she sees me as that as well."

Emolga tilted her head a bit. "They say its not good if you bottle up your emotions. If you do have a crush and don't let it be known, its going to hurt you in the long run."

Oshawott gave her a look. "What do you know about love."

She shook her head. "I'd rather not talk about... My past."

Oshawott looked ahead. They were close to Castelia city. If Emolga does know about love, maybe she can help me. Oshawott thought.

He looked over to see Tepig and Snivy having a conversation. We also wanted to make sure that they don't overhear them talk.

The otter turns to Emolga. "If i tell you, you promise not to tell anyone else about it?"

"Your secret is safe with me."

"Ok, so you were kinda right. I do sort of like her. But only a little bit."

Emolga was trying her best to keep her laugh back. "Oh man that's funny. You two are polar opposites. You are the fun, goofy one. While she is all serious. How did you fall for her anyways."

Oshawott looks down at his scalchop. "Well, i don't really know. She compliments me quite a bit. And she always did seem a bit protective of me. Right now anyways. I'll be able to handle my self later."

She chuckled to her self. "I'm surprise you haven't made any moves on her."

Oshawott got up close to Emolga. "That's because i'm too scared to do that. Shes probably going to say no and leaf blade me to oblivion."

"Never seen you be this negative before." She tapped her chin in thought. "Well maybe one day you will impress her enough to where she will think about dating you. After all, we still have a while to go before we get all eight badges."

"Thanks Emolga. Nice to see you care."

She shrugged. "I'm a romantic who would like to help others with their love related problems ok. But don't let the others know. 'Cause then i'll have to talk about my past..."

The group finally arrived in Castelia city. Oshawott was pumped to fight this gym. And to everybody's surprise, so was Tepig.

Snivy smiled a bit. "Nice to see you ready for a gym battle."

Tepig nods with a bit of a blaze being ignited in his nostrils. "This gym is so dead. My fire attacks will cause heavy damage to his bugs."

Snivy looks around. "Where is this gym anyways? The city is way too huge."

Oshawott looks around and notices something. "Ice cream!"

Emolga looks at Snivy, shaking her head. "Such a little kid."

Snivy crossed her arms. "Despite me being serious, i kind of want some. A casteliacone sounds really good right now."

"Um, sure?" Snivy takes off but Emolga is still thinking to her self. Should i try to see if Snivy has any romantic interest in Oshawott. I would need a way to get her by herself. Instantly she had a idea.

"Hey." She said flying over to the others. "What if we split up? Oshawott and Tepig go one way, and me and Snivy go another way." She said casting a idea.

Oshawott rubbed his chin for a moment. "That's not a bad idea. Lets do it!" He finished off his casteliacone and follows Tepig. Snivy and Emolga are now alone.

The snake and squirrel were silent for a majority of the walk. But Emolga had to break the ice quick. She had to find out if Snivy had any interest in the otter. What would be a good way to get the ball rolling? Maybe i should ask the way she feels about him.

Wrapping up her thoughts, she starts off. "So Snivy. I hear that you and Oshawott are rather good friends."

Snivy gives her a look. "I'd say that we are friends. The poor guy never really had one other than Professor Juniper. It just seemed like the right thing to do. I helped him train and get on track for the gym battles that lie ahead. Even if it was his idea to leave the lab in the first place."

Emolga gave a small grin. "Are you particularly fond of him by any chance?"

Snivy quickly shook her shead. "Not any romantic feelings. But in terms of hanging out and battling, i say i'd admire him for his abilities of battling. After all, he already has two gym badges."

"Oh, ok." She felt a bit disappointed that the snake Pokemon didn't feel anything special for the otter. There has to be someway for me to get these two together. But how?

Oshawott and Tepig were walking down one of the main streets of Castelia city. They both were pumped for fighting this gym. And not in a million years did Oshawott ever expect that very Tepig at the lab to battle alongside him.

Tepig got a conversation going. "I wonder where the gym is. I'm all ready to battle."

Oshawott looks up and notices a flat pokeball statue. Just like the last two gyms had. "My suspicions are that this is the place." Oshawott points at the building and Tepig nods in agreement. Oshawott starts to climb the short staircase there. "Third gym badge, here i come!"

The inside of the gym was a bit weird. It was like they were in a huge hive of some sorts. There was a lot of honey all over the place. And up a interior staircase lied some Pokemon on a 'throne.' The gym leader appeared to be gone here too. They had remarkable luck getting by that.

"Who goes there!" The Pokemon said.

Oshawott went up to the chair and holds out his scalchop in defense. "My name is Oshawott, and that over there is Tepig. We would like to challenge your gym and earn the insect badge.

The Pokemon huffed a bit. "Without a-"

"Oshawott quickly cuts him off. "Yes, without a trainer. We got the first two badges of the Unova league so far. So you have to say yes to our challenge. We've already came this far."

"Hmph. Very well. I am Leavanny. I am also the gym leaders 'ace' Pokemon. So if you want a tough Pokemon to fight. I'm your guy. That over there is Whirlipede and Dwebble."

Whirlipede and Dwebble were both asleep on the floor next to the chair. They were also completely oblivious to the Pokemon wanting a fight.

Leavanny began to clap her hand... leaf... things to wake up the two sleepy Pokemon. "Get up you two. We have challengers. Surprisingly without a trainer."

Dwebble shook his head. "But Leavanny sir. It's against the rules to fight Pokemon that don't have a trainer. We can't have wild Pokemon challenge us."

Oshawott shook his hand. "First off, i refused to be called 'wild.' Second, we already have two badges. Nothing stopped us from earning those. So quit sounding like Clair and fight us dang it!"

Tepig tilted his head. "Whos Clair?"

Oshawott turned around and looked at him. "Never mind that. I'll explain it later. Now, can we have this battle finally."

The Leavanny made no hesitation to respond. "Of course you can. But because there are two of you, i'll let you pick who you want to battle. I mean, its a requirement that you fight me but i'll let you pick either Whirlipede or Dwebble to engage combat with.

Tepig was a bit surprised by this. "Really? Normally you're supposed to go up against all the gyms Pokemon."

"Well because you guys don't have a trainer, we have already broken a rule there, didn't we? Now choose!"

Oshawott and Tepig went a bit away from the bugs of the gym and had a private conversation. Oshawott held his scalchop for a bit. "So what do you think we should do Tepig?"

"He thought for a minute then finalized a decision. "I'm going to take down Leavanny. That's a grass and bug type. So my fire attacks are going to do massive damage. I would recommend that you fight Dwebble, considering he's a rock type."

Oshawott gets slightly annoyed by this. "But i wanted to take down the 'ace' of the gym."

"Listen Oshawott, i'm only telling you this to maximize our chances of winning. Plus i need to test out my strength. Now that i've been doing some training on my own in this adventure."

"You've never once did that."

"Sure i did, it just wasn't announced through wor-"

Oshawott slaps his hands over Tepig's mouth. "Hold on there chief. You are stepping a bit too close to the-" He leans in close to Tepig. "-The fourth wall."

Tepig backs away from Oshawott. "Well whatever, i still want to do this. "It'll help me get stronger. What do you say, friend?"

The fiery pig kept looking at the otter until he agreed. "Fine, but next gym battle i get dibs. Ok?"

"Deal!" Tepig and Oshawott walk up to the opposing Leavanny. "I would like to have the battle with Dwebble."

Dwebble shook his body a bit, still unsure about battling non-trainer Pokemon. "Pleasures all mine, i guess. But be careful. I'm quite the... BUGGER!

The whole gym went silent. The only noise that could be heard was honey dripping from the ceiling in various spots. And all Leavanny did was facepalm. "For making that joke..." He threw Dwebble all the way into the 'battle field.' "You're up first!"

For the record, the battlefield is really just them fighting a distance away from the throne that burgh would sit on. (He wasn't there, so Leavanny filled that spot.)

Whirlipede decided to be the referee for the fight. "This will be a exciting fight to see if Oshawott and Tepig can get their next gym badge. Here we have round one. Oshawott versus Dwebble. And... FIGHT!"

"Razor shell!" Oshawott's scalchop glowed blue with energy as he smacked the Dwebble right in the face with it. He was a bit too slow for hiding in his rock shell of his. "Yes, i got in a hit. A rather powerful hit too.

"Don't get too cocky yet. Rock wrecker!"

"What!" Oshawott's eyes widened when he saw this massive pile of rocks flying towards him. Maybe my scalchop can deflect this! With panic dwelling inside him, he holds up scalchop and closes his eyes, hoping he wouldn't be in pain. Surprisingly, he was able to protect him self from such attacks.

Dwebble though was in disbelief. "I can't believe this! Bug bite!"

"I got this... Water gun!"

Dwebble was not fast enough for his attack. As for the water blasted him before he was able to retreat back into his shell.

The rock hermit crab was now barely able to stay alive. "Holy crap you hit strong. Either you've done some training, or that's the type effectiveness."

Oshawott shrugs. "I've got you right where i want you. Water gun!" He shot another stream of water towards the Dwebble.

"Not this time! Faint attack!" He disappeared making Oshawotts water attack get on the floor.

"Where could he of gone?"

Dwebble suddenly appeared behind him. "Watch your back!" He hit Oshawott with respectable damage, now both sides are weakened a bit.

Oshawott, still panting, was in a current stale mate versus his opponent. He already tried water gun and razor shell. He was running out of options. But suddenly, he had a flashback to when Snivy was first training him.

You need to utilize that scalchop in a variety of techniques.

Widening his eyes, he thought of an idea.

"Hey Dwebble, watch this craftsman ship! Hi-yah!"

Oshawott threw his scalchop like a boomerang. It came crashing through Dwebble's shell a bit. He then hopped over his in coming scalchop and saw it circle around some of the interior pillars. The scalchop came back around and stabbed him right in the shell. No joke, the scalchop was wedged into one of the cracks he made beforehand.

The Dwebble looked at his shell starting to cry a little. "No, my precious shell. My home... I REFUSE TO FIGHT A POKEMON THAT DOES DAMAGE TO MY PRIVATE PROPERTY!"

Leavanny picked up Dwebble and set him down near Whirlipede. "Use your indoor voice. It's not a big deal, you can find a new rock when we get done with our fight." He pulls out Oshawott's scalchop and throws it back at him. "Speaking of which..."

Tepig took the place of Oshawott and began to take a stance. "Let the best 'mon win."

Leavanny just laughed it off. "Oh please! Like you could beat me. A fully evolved Pokemon for that matter. There's no way i could lose to a first stage mon like you. Even though you are fire typed, what are you going to use? Ember? Hah, keep dreaming. Don't take this the wrong way but you need a miracle to defeat a wonderful and elegant Pokemon such as myself. It would appear that you-"

While Leavanny was still rambling about how good he is, Tepig was ready to attack. "Flame charge!" He rammed his body into Leavanny causing massive damage. Plus, Tepig got a speed boost.

Tepig scoffed at him. "You're really that tough huh? Keep in mind that i haven't been feeling the greatest these past couple of days. I have been drained of my energy it feels like. And you still got knocked out in one hit, from a first stage 'mon."

Whirlipede noticed this. "It would appear that Leavanny is unable to battle. The winner is Oshawott and Tepig. Their reward-" He turns to the both of them and pulls out a green badge that looks like butterfly wings. "-The insect badge."

Oshawott, still a bit exhausted, was able to celebrate their victory. "Good job Tepig. Thanks to you, we won and got another gym badge."

"Yeah, that Leavanny really was weak. I wonder how he got to be the 'ace' of the gym. He died to my weakened flame charge."

Leavanny managed to stand up to congratulate his opponents. "It would appear i underestimated you. Seeing you with two badges didn't change my opinion on your battling abilities. And maybe i shouldn't of been all that cocky." He added that last part at the end.

Oshawott nods and waves. "Well, it's been nice battling with you and Dwebble." He turns to Dwebble. "Sorry about what i did to your home." The poor Dwebble was still crying about his 'property' getting ruined.

Leavanny waved it off. "Eh, he'll get over it eventually. Just make sure to continue growing strong and traveling with your friend there."

"Actually, there's more of us. They haven't found the gym yet."

"Well then, it appears that you are socialistic as well. Good... Well i hope you people have a wonderful adventure. Or should i say... Unovan adv-"

Oshawott immediately turns around. "Your lucky Snivy isn't here to stop you from saying that." They both shared a laugh. "Ok see you."

Leavanny waved. "Ok, goodbye Tepig and Oshawott. May your journey bring you luck."

As soon as the gym door shut Leavanny sat on burgh's throne waiting for his return. "I don't think i deserve to be 'ace' anymore. After those... monsters... attacked me and drained my energy, i've been losing a lot.

Dwebble was still rather upset about his home being destroyed. Whirlipede was fed up with it. "It's just a few cracks calm down."

The hermit crab shot him a glance. What about that female Pokemon you tried to date. "It's just a few cracks. Calm down."

"She was scary looking with all that. It was a turn off!" He shot back.

"Can both of you two zip it!" Leavanny said, obviously upset that his lack of energy has been affecting him. "Its obvious that the Tepig has been met with the same problem i have. I need to find a way to ask them for help.