-Chapter Nine-
There's something about the smell of Dewford Island that brings a feeling of serenity. Unlike many places around Hoenn, Dewford Island is less industrialized. Its inhabitants are of a harder working class. Despite how large the island is, everybody knows everybody here. I can honestly say that Dewford Island is one of the most unified areas in the entire region.
As we walked down a roadside path, I looked over at Emi. It's amazing. It's been a long time since we traveled with one another. She looked that same. Well...added the fact that she has more feminine characteristics. When we were younger, Emi used to be somewhat of a tomboy. Actually, she still is a tomboy. She's not afraid to get dirty. She doesn't have any fears. Except of slimy things. Hence the reason her least favorite Pokémon are Grimer and Muk. She looked at me and instantly turned red. "Why are you staring at me?"
I turned forward and kept a smile on my face. "Oh, nothing. Just that it's been a long time since we traveled together." I said. I looked further up the road where there seemed to be less and less trees. As we walked into the clearing, we could see Dewford Town. Although the city had more buildings since I last saw it, it still had its togetherness. I looked down at my PokéTech and called Max's PokéNav.
"Hello?" He said while answering.
"Max? Hey! It's Axom." I replied to him.
"Axom?! You're call says you're in Dewford Town. Am I right?" He asked.
"That's right," I pulled my PokéNav from my hip and opened it up. It said that they were at the Pokémon Center. "You're at the Pokémon Center, if I'm not mistaking. I'll be there soon. See ya." I clicked my PokéTech and ended the call.
"Max...? Axom, he wouldn't happen to be a little boy who wears glasses, right?" She asked me.
"Yes, he does." I answered her.
"And an older sister named May?" She added. I nodded my head. "Thought so! I know them! I used to play with them in Petalburg City. They're like brother and sister me. They're here in Dewford?" She asked.
"Yeah, they're traveling with Ash and his friend, Brock." I told her. Her eyes widened when I mentioned his name. "Let me guess, you know him too?"
"Yes, actually, I met him a while ago. He was with Prof. Ivy when we met." She said. That makes sense. That was around the time when Brock first left the group. It was a brief time back when we were traveling in Johto. I snapped back into my mind and looked at her.
"Well I guess the only person you haven't met is Ash. Well, I know he'll be happy to meet you. Come, let's go." I told her.
After a few minutes, we arrived at the Pokémon Center. Once inside, I could immediately see the crew sitting on a sofa. Before I could make my presence known, Brock looked up from a handbook and looked at me. "Ah, Axom! Hey!"
Me and Emi walked over to them and smiled. Umbreon hopped of my shoulder and ran over to Pikachu. They began communicate between one another while exchange pleased gestures. I looked over at Emi and smiled. "Guys, this is Emily. Well, May, Max, Brock, you guys already met." Max ran over and hugged Emi.
"Emily! Hi!" Emi wrapped her arms around Max and hugged him.
"Well, hi Max. It's been a while," she looked up at May, "and May, I'm happy to see that you've decided to start your journey. Any goal in mind yet?" May walked over to her.
"Yes, I decided to become a Pokémon Coordinator." She responded. Brock walked over to her and grabbed her hand.
"Emily, it's a pleasure to meet you again." Brock said while shaking her hand.
"Surely enough. Are your Pokémon still doing well? Well, that was a silly question. Last time I saw them, they were in top shape!" She responded. Brock had an embarrassed smile on his face. While everybody was laughing, I saw Ash watching.
"Hey, Emi, this is my cousin you heard so much about." She turned to Ash and shook his hand.
"Hello Ash! I've heard quite a bit about you. Actually, I saw you at the Johto Pokémon League. You made it pretty far, if I'm not mistaking." She asked. As soon as those words left her mouth, Max popped up between them.
"Nope, he lost second round in the Silver Conference." He said. May grabbed his ear and began to pull him away, mouthing sorry to the two of them.
"It was the championship tournament..." He said, a bit distraught over Max's statement. Emi giggled a bit. I stepped over to Ash.
"Hey, I know it's only been a few days, but if I know anything about you Ash, you caught a few Pokémon already. So how about a battle? I want to see how strong you've become in such a short time." I asked him. Before he could answer, Emi placed her hand on my shoulder.
"Actually, if it's okay, could I battle Ash?" She asked. Everybody looked at her. "I mean, what better way to get to know somebody than though battle? Right, Ash?" She asked, looking back at him. Ash's face straightened up and gave a confident smile.
"Yeah! I'm up for it!" He said. I sighed and smiled.
"I guess it can't be helped. Okay! I'd actually like to see you two battle. I know it'll be intense! Come, let's go to the battlefield." I said. Once outside, Ash and Emi stood on opposite sides of the battlefield. Me, Max, and May all sat on a bench on the sideline. Brock made his way towards the middle and began to talk.
"This will be a singles three-on-three. The battle will proceed until one side's Pokémon are no longer able to battle." He announced. Emi yelled over to Brock.
"Actually, how about a two-on-two Double Battle?"
"What's a Double Battle?" Ash asked. Emi laughed and pulled two pokéballs from her waist and pointed them at Ash.
"You'll see soon enough!" She tossed them in front of her and from the pokéballs, a Mightyena and a Dragonair appeared. I looked at Emi's Dragonair in shock. Not only because she caught a pretty rare Pokémon, because the fact that her Dragonair was pink. For the first time in a long time, I pulled my PokéDex from my backpack and pointed it at Dragonair.
"Dragonair, the Dragon Pokémon and the evolved form of Dratini. A Dragonair stores an enormous amount of energy in its body. It is said to alter the weather around it by losing energy from the crystals on its neck and tail." I looked at the picture on my PokéDex. I was right. A Dragonair is normally blue. Emi caught a Shiny Dragonair. I was in awe. The only other Shiny Pokémon that I saw were a red Gyarados and my blue ringed Umbreon. I put my PokéDex away and looked at Ash. I yelled over to him from the sideline.
"Ash, a Double Battle is when you command two Pokémon simultaneously! It's a two on two battle!" Ash looked from me and back at Emi's Pokémon. He smiled and looked down at Pikachu.
"Ready, Pikachu?" Pikachu ran from his side and stood in front of him. When Pikachu looked at Mightyena, his body froze. It was Mightyena's ability, Intimidate. It lowers the attack strength of the Pokémon. Ash grabbed one of his pokéballs and threw it next to Pikachu. "Corphish, I choose you!" He yelled. From the ball, a Corphish came out. It snapped in claws at Dragonair's direction. Corphish looked at Mightyena. She was giving Corphish the same fierce stare she gave Pikachu, but Corphish proceeded to snap its claws at Mightyena in confidence. This was Corphish's ability, Hyper Cutter. Hyper Cutter prevents another Pokémon from lowering their Attack status.
My eyebrow slightly arched when I saw that he caught a Corphish. What's more is that Corphish looks like he truly believes in what Ash can do. In only a couple of days too. That shows how much he can influence people and Pokémon alike. Umbreon sat on my lap and I began to stroke his fur. I watched as Brock signaled for the match to begin. "Ash, since you're new to Double Battles, I'll let you make the first move." Emi said to him. Ash nodded his head and pointed to Dragonair.
"Thanks! Corphish, use Crabhammer against Dragonair! Pikachu, use Thunderbolt against Mightyena!" He yelled. Corphish jumped into the air and its claw began to glow. It threw its body at Dragonair. Dragonair slithered away before the attack could hit it. Corphish flew into the ground, smashing part of the battle field. Pikachu began to produce lighting and shot a bolt of it at Mightyena.
"Dragonair, use Protect for Mightyena!" Dragonair flew in front of Mightyena and a force-field shield flew in front of them. Pikachu's attack bounced off of the shield and dissipated. The shield wore off and Mightyena was ready to pounce. "Mightyena, Thunder Fang! Dragonair, Fire Blast!" Mightyena opened her mouth and lighting began to form in it. She took off and charged to Pikachu. I looked at Emi with a puzzled look. Why would she attack Pikachu with a move that wouldn't even faze him?
"Pikachu, dodge it!" Ash yelled. Pikachu jumped into the air. Emi smiled and yelled out.
"Got you! Now!" Ash looked at Mightyena who had immediately cut straight towards Corphish. Mightyena had clamped her jaw down on Corphish's tail and it yelled out as she did.
"Corphish! Use BubbleBeam and get it off! " Ash yelled. Corphish opened its claw and shot a beam of bubbles at Mightyena directly. Although the rapid attacks were direct hits, Mightyena didn't let go. She has a lot of endurance to take direct shots like that.
"Don't forget about Pikachu, Ash!" Emi yelled. Ash looked back up at Pikachu to see that Dragonair was in front of him. Dragonair opened its mouth and shot a huge bolt of fire at Pikachu. Pikachu took the full impact of Dragonair's Fire Blast. As Pikachu was flying towards the ground, Emi yelled out again. "Mightyena, toss Corphish at Pikachu!" Mightyena turned and slung Corphish across the field and it slammed into Pikachu. "Now, Dragonair, end this with Hyper Beam!" Dragonair opened its mouth and a huge beam of energy quickly flew towards Pikachu and Corphish. There was a huge explosion and smoke consumed the battlefield.
Once the smoke calmed down, everybody had a look of shock on their face. There was a hole just next to where Pikachu and Corphish landed. Did Dragonair accidently miss? No, their attacks were too precise and accurate to be an accident. Dragonair purposely missed them. Emi looked over at Brock and raised her right hand. This is a code known to Pokémon Trainers all around the world. It was a sign of surrender. Brock looked shocked but he cleared his throat. "Trainer Emily has forfeited by way of surrender! Pikachu and Corphish wins! The victory belongs to Ash!" Ash ran to Pikachu and Corphish. They had a sense of defeat although they won.
"You guys put up an excellent fight. I'm proud of both of you." He said while hugging his Pokémon. Emi had walked to Corphish and Pikachu and kneeled on the ground. She patted both their heads.
"You two are pretty strong. I could sense the trust and connection you have with Ash," she stood up and looked at Ash, "You're a strong trainer. That wasn't bad for your first Double Battle!" She said. I stood from the bench on the sideline and walked over to Ash.
"She right. But, as you can tell, there's a huge difference between a Singles and Doubles Battle. In Double Battles, you need to always think five steps ahead. You need to be able to predict what your opponents about to do and how to counter it. Emi actually had you beat from the moment you first attacked." Ash looked at me then at Emi and sighed.
"I have a lot more training to do then..." He said, sounding a bit defeated. I placed my hand on his head and smiled.
"Yes you do, but that's what friends are for; to help." I told him.
"He's right. Besides, the Dewford Gym is known for its tough Double Battling. To beat Brawly, you need to practice Double Battling and I'd be more than happy to help!" Emi said with a bright smile on her face. Max grabbed Emi's hand and pointed to her Dragonair.
"This is a Dragonair?" Max asked while walking towards it. Dragonair placed its head down and let Max pet it. It let out a delighted cry as he did. Max had a huge smile on his face as he did. Emi walked over to it and petted it head.
"Why is it pink?" May asked while walking over to it as well.
"It's a Shiny Pokémon," I began, "It's a really rare type of Pokémon to come across. Like Umbreon for example. His rings are blue as opposed gold and his eyes are yellow instead of red as most other Umbreon." Although, to be honest, I didn't realize Umbreon was shiny until Professor Birch told me when I visited his lab, back when Umbreon was an Eevee.
Emi walked to Dragonair and Mightyena then patted both of them. "You guys did an excellent job! I'll be sure to give you some PokéBlocks later. Right now, you guys should rest." She pulled two pokéballs from her waist and withdrew both of them. When she did, I began to think about how she battled. Emi was a good battler, but she got much better. Even the way that Dragonair was able to quickly form that Hyper Beam and deliver it with precision right next to Pikachu and Corphish. Their teamwork in amazing, Emi trained them very well. It reminds me of Maxie. The way Arcanine and Houndoom manhandled Swampert and Umbreon. The thought crept back into my mind. Seeing Umbreon burned and knocked out and Swampert hit with two Fire Blast and slamming against a tree. I wasn't good enough trainer to defeat Team Magma or protect my Pokémon. I was too weak...
"AXOM!" She yelled into my ear. I snapped from my thoughts and saw everyone was looking at me.
"Wait, what happened?" I asked.
"Are you okay? You were completely out of it." Brock asked me.
"Y-Yeah. I'm alright. Come on, I think that Pikachu and Corphish would like some medical attention." I responded. Ash nodded and turned back to Pikachu and Corphish. He drew Corphish back into his pokéball and picked Pikachu up and walked back into the Pokémon Center. Brock and the others began to follow behind. I was about to them Emi grabbed my hand.
"Axom," She began, "You were thinking about Team Magma again, weren't you?" I sighed and continued to stroke my sleeping Umbreon's fur. She took my headband off and I could tell that I must've been sweating. The part that lies over my forehead was completely damp. I sat back on the bench.
"Emily, I can't help it. The way Maxie thrashed me. The way he thrashed my Pokémon. I couldn't do anything to stop him. If it wasn't for my dad, I don't know what he would've done to the rest. I wasn't good enough." Umbreon woke up when he felt his fur getting wet. My tears were dripping on him. I couldn't help but begin to cry. I felt like it was the only thing I could do. After building everything up, this was the first time I was able to finally break down.
Emi say next to me and wrapped herself around me. Umbreon burrowed himself deeper into my jacket. Emi wiped away my tears and I looked up at her. "Axom, you are strong. One battle doesn't determine a trainer. Winning a battle isn't the only thing about being one either. It's also about learning from your mistakes. Anyone can win a battle, but it takes a special breed of trainer to take a loss and turn it into knowledge. If you can take a loss and make turn it into a learning experience, you can become the greatest trainer ever. Your Pokémon are all willing to stand by your side no matter what happens. I know they don't blame you for anything. Right, Umbreon?" Umbreon looked up at Emi with a delighted look.
"Umbre!" He hopped back onto my shoulder and rubbed his head against mine. They're right. Why am I being so hard on myself now? This isn't the first time I lost a battle and I know this definitely won't be the last. I can't let this get to me. I rubbed Umbreon and I stood up from Emi's grasp. I turned back to her and flashed her a smile.
"Heh, I guess your studying with Prof. Birch has been working. I feel extremely motivated right now! Come on, I think the guys are waiting on us." Emi smiled and got up from the bench and followed me inside the Pokémon Center.
I tend to never really get down on myself. I normally take my faults and learn from them. But it's something about that battle with Maxie. I still couldn't shake this feeling of fear. Those two pokéballs, I wonder. What Pokémon were in them? Although I knocked out his Camerupt, I still feel like he didn't even try. Did he really defeat me so easily...or was he actually holding back? As much as it scares me, I need to ask Maxie a lot of questions.
-End of Chapter Nine-