"Well, this is it." Ash said as we looked up at the Azalea gym, a massive glass, dome shaped greenhouse. Maybe the gym leader uses bug Pokémon? "Hello? Anybody here?" Ash called out but there wasn't an answer.
"Brock, are you sure this is the right place?" Misty questioned as we took a step inside. "This looks more like a garden than a Pokémon gym."
"Well it may look like a garden but according to the guidebook it's the Azalea town gym." I looked around and inhaled the fresh air before smiling.
"I like it." I decided as headed on inside.
"Come on, let's have a look around."
"Uh Ash? Maybe we should wait here." Misty suggested but Ash continued walking.
"The gym leader's got to be around here someplace." Ash mused quietly, looking around as we took the main path further into the greenhouse. Misty crept at the back of the pack, crouched over slightly as she tiptoed.
"I know we're inside but it feels like we're in a forest." Brock said and I agreed. There were literally trees in here. Living, breathing, tall trees.
"Well it feels to me that something creepy is about to jump out at us any second now." Misty said quietly, still nervously looking around her.
"What kind of something Misty?" I asked her so she continued, not looking where she was going.
"Probably something kind of slimy, slippery…ARGH! AAAAAGGGGHHHH!" Misty screamed then ran to the entrance of the gym faster than I had ever seen her run before, stopping only to be surrounded by startled Metapod and she screamed again and raced back, crouching down on the ground and covered her head in an attempt to protect herself. "I hate 'em! I hate bug Pokémon!"
"Misty are you okay?" Brock called as we all ran over. I quickly picked up the Caterpie, who was the culprit of all Misty's distress and smiled down at it.
"It's okay, I'll take you away from the scary redhead." I told it gently and I got a little squealing trill in reply as I carried it over to a sunny branch and settled it there away from Misty.
"This isn't a Pokémon gym it's a torture chamber!" Misty whined, struggling to get a grip of herself.
"Wrong miss!" A little voice called up from above and we all looked up. "This is definitely the Pokémon gym, the Azalea Town gym and if you don't mind me saying so miss, your ignorance is showing. Because everybody knows that bug Pokémon are the best Pokémon in the world!" The kid up in the tree told us, his shaggy purple hair framing his face with only a neatly cut fringe to keep it from his eyes.
"Don't you dare call me ignorant!" Misty growled angrily. "Just who do you think you are?"
"I don't have to tell you who I am." The kid answered, turning his face away. "You're the ones who ought to be telling me who you are." I walked forwards and placed my hands on my hips, tilting my hat back so I could get a good look at the kid.
"Well if you want help out of that tree I would say you should be a little more sensitive to your guests." I told him firmly. "You can see Misty is afraid of bug Pokémon and you should not be one to judge." In answer he glared down at me.
"Who says I'm stuck up here?!" He demanded so I just shrugged.
"You don't want help getting down?" He paused, thinking for a moment before sighing. Deciding to go easy on the kid I smiled and pointed to myself. "My name is Ruby. I'm a challenger here for a gym badge and so is Ash." I said, gesturing to him. "And these are our good friends and coaches, Misty and Brock."
"Oh! You're challengers!" He said, standing up on the branch and I tensed slightly with worry. I hope he doesn't fall. "Well I'm Bugsy, the Azalea Town gym leader and bug Pokémon are my specialty, and I know just about everything there is to know about them." He boasted and Ash stepped forwards.
"Okay, let's battle!" He challenged and Bugsy smirked.
"I accept all challenges! That's the job of a gym leader!" He told us proudly before blushing with embarrassment. "Now could you please get the ladder? I can't get down." I looked over to where the ladder had fallen and made to go get it with Ash when I heard Bugsy cry out from above.
"Watch out!" Brock yelled and I looked up to see Bugsy slip and fall.
"Help!" He cried out so I abandoned the ladder and leaped forwards, stretching out my arms and without thinking, caught Bugsy. Only thing was, he flattened me. I grunted from the hit, feeling the air being pressed from my lungs before wheezing.
"Ouch. That hurt." I pushed myself up and smiled at Bugsy who shook out his hair then looked at me. "Hey, you okay? That was some fall."
"Yeah I'm fine." He said with a little blush on his cheeks. "Thanks for the catch."
"No problem. Just do me a favour and please get off." I said and he blinked before quickly shooting to his feet.
"Oh! I'm so sorry." I assured him that everything was fine and that this sort of thing happened all the time. Only then was he satisfied and didn't look so embarrassed anymore. "Okay, so two challengers. Who's up first?" I quickly pressed my hand against Ash's face and shoved him out of the way, stepping forwards with a determined expression, not feeling anywhere near as nervous as I had before.
"I am. You better be ready because I like to battle with heat and speed!" I informed him.
"You got it. Come on, the battlefield is this way." He said then led the way.
"Hey no fair! I wanted to battle first!" Ash complained but I just stuck my tongue out at him.
"You battled Falkner first last time, so now it's my turn." I told him as I ran over to the box where I was to face Bugsy. The referee came once he had dressed in his official uniform before calling out the rules.
"This official Pokémon battle between the Azalea Town gym leader and Ruby Bates from Pallet Town is about to begin. Each trainer may use three Pokémon and only the challenger may substitute, a gym badge is at stake! Are the trainers ready?"
"You bet." I said, nodding my head as Bugsy smirked.
"If you are then I am too. I'm going to start off with one of my strongest bug Pokémon, so Spinarak! I choose you!" Okay, so I have two choices f0r my starting Pokémon. I could use either Pidgeotto or Charizard and both would have a type effect, however Charizard would have greater power and would be able to defeat these Pokémon a lot quicker than Pidgeotto. Yeah why not? I haven't battled with Charizard for a while. Maybe he'll enjoy some playtime.
"Okay, then I'll choose one of my strongest Pokémon too! Go Charizard!" I called, sending him out and he arrived with a roar, landing on the ground then glared at the little green spider Pokémon. "Don't be fooled Charizard, remember to never underestimate your opponent." I reminded him as Bugsy laughed.
"Your fire Pokémon doesn't scare us. Spinarak! Use String Shot and wrap it in a cocoon!" Bugsy directed and Spinarak shot out a strong string of silky web, covering Charizard in it and he growled, trying to move but the String Shot held him fast. "Great, now that's its immobilised, use Fury Swipes!"
"Stay calm Charizard." I said gently in a relaxed tone as Charizard struggled against the string that bound him in place. "Wait for Spinarak to get closer." I directed then watched as Spinarak used its String Shot to shoot up into the air then swing towards Charizard. It landed on his broad chest and began to swipe at him but Charizard's arms were pinned back, anchored to two trees so he couldn't shake it off. "Now Charizard, use Inferno."
Everyone gasped, staring as Charizard suddenly glowed with fire, the flames crackling on his body as Bugsy yelled. "Get out of there Spinarak!" But before Spinarak could escape Charizard let loose the attack and the flames spread out, burning through the String Shot and smacked into Spinarak, making it cry out from the direct hit before it landed on the ground, already knocked out.
"Perfect hit Charizard. Can you move now?" I asked and he nodded his head, taking a step forwards and stretching out his wings.
"Amazing, Charizard's Inferno burned right through the String Shot and because Spinarak was so close it was much more likely to hit." Brock said with an impressed nod of his head. "I don't know how Ruby is able to teach her Pokémon moves like this so quickly. It must be all the training she does even when on the road." Ash looked at Brock then got a thoughtful expression which I caught a glimpse of before I turned back to the battle.
"Spinarak return!" Bugsy called then smiled to his Pokéball. "Don't worry, they were very tough. You deserve a long rest now." With that he looked up, watching Charizard for a moment before smiling and nodding his head. "You have raised your Charizard well. Your bond together is very great."
"That's right. Charizard and I have been through a lot together." I told him. "Now, let's get back to battling!"
"Right! It looks like with you I'll have to up my game, so come on out Ariados!" Ariados? I don't think I've heard of that Pokémon before. Just then a large red spider Pokémon appeared, clicking its fangs together before scuttling towards Charizard so I pulled out Dexter.
"Ariados, the Long Leg Pokémon. The evolved form of Spinarak. Ariados is able to spin extremely strong and sticky webs to trap its adversaries." Okay, so we'll have to be careful of those webs too.
"Okay Ariados, Spider Web!" Suddenly the entire battlefield was covered in a sticky net, once again trapping Charizard inside but I was already moving forwards.
"Flamethrower through the web then aim for Ariados!" I called and Charizard instantly began to burn through the webs, however Ariados was fast and just kept and creating more and would scuttle out of the way before Charizard could hit it.
"Get above Charizard Ariados then use Bug Bite!" Bugsy directed and Ariados instantly shot a line up into the air then used it to shoot up above Charizard, who clamped his mouth shut and watched as Ariados disappeared into the trees.
"Okay Charizard, focus only on the webs. Let's use Flamethrower one more time!" I told him and instantly he began to burn through them all, clearing all of them from the battlefield but as he worked, Ariados suddenly dropped down from the sky.
"Charizard watch out behind you! Wing Attack!" Charizard turned around to face Ariados but it was too late, it was far too quick for Charizard to counter attack and he was bitten on the shoulder, Ariados chomping down as Charizard roared then stumbled back a step, falling down as Ariados leaped off and scuttled away. "Now Charizard, return!" I called and pulled him back. "Pidgeotto, I'm counting on you! Let's go!" I called and replaced Charizard with Pidgeotto. "Razor Wind!"
"Ariados! Use String Shot to anchor yourself down then use Poison Sting!" Ariados used its sticky string to anchor itself down as the harsh wind slammed into Ariados, but the brave little Pokémon stood its ground, taking the damage. It lifted its head and began shooting sharp needles towards Pidgeotto who dodged them, stopping the Razor Wind to get out of the way.
"Now use Peck, before Ariados can move." I told her and she flew forwards.
"Pidgeo!"
"Ariados! Stay there!" Bugsy called and I frowned. What was he doing? The moment Pidgeotto was close enough she was pecking at Ariados who took a lot of damage since the flying type attack was effective against the bug type. "Now use Poison Jab!" Without waiting a second Ariados stabbed one of its legs into Pidgeotto, glowing purple at the tip and Pidgeotto was thrown back. Wow! That was a direct hit and it looks like it's done a lot of damage!
"Pidgeotto! Pidgeotto are you okay?" I asked with a gasp, making to step forwards but she was already trying to get up.
"Pidgeo…" Her body trembled and I knew she had been poisoned by the hit and it was deteriorating her energy already. "Pidgeo!" She stood up, glaring at Ariados so I sighed with relief.
"Alright! Let's use…" Pidgeotto's body started to glow. "Huh?"
"Wow! Pidgeotto is evolving!" Brock said and the others all beamed.
"Alright!" Ash cheered as I watched Pidgeotto. Her body grew larger and the feathers on her head grew longer, curling around gracefully as she spread her wings, which also grew wider until with one flap, the glow disappeared into sparkling dust, leaving my Pidgeotto now a Pidgeot.
"Pidgeot…you look incredible!" I laughed, leaping up into the air. "Alright! Let's do this, Wing Attack!" Pidgeot chirped determinedly then flew forwards with speed unlike anything I've ever seen before. With a glowing wing Pidgeot slammed into Ariados, sending it flying through the air.
"Pidgeot! Pidgeooo!"
"Nice hit, now use Whirlwind!" I called to her and Pidgeot instantly flew a circle, gracefully gliding before beating up a harsh wind which caught Ariados in mid-air.
"Agh! Ariados no!" Bugsy called as his Ariados fell to the ground and didn't stir, knocked out from Pidgeot's powerful flying attack.
"Ariados is unable to battle, the winner is Pidgeot!" I cheered and leaped up into the air with a victory punch before watching Pidgeot land in front of me. She stood taller than me now and it was slightly weird to be looking up at her when I was so used to looking down.
"You look so beautiful Pidgeot." I said then put my arms around her, resting my head on her soft feathered chest as she chirped softly and put a wing around me. "I love you so much."
"Pidgeot." She said back to me and I smiled, knowing that she loved me too.
"Okay, let's win this battle and our second badge Pidgeot, together!" I smiled, stepping back to look at her. "I know you'll fly through this, so let's go!"
"Pidgeot!" She lifted her wings and flew up into the air, circling the battlefield at top speed.
"So your Pidgeot's pretty fast, but I have a Pokémon who'll match its speed. Go Scyther!" Neat, a Scyther! This should be a great battle! I glanced over to the others, watching Misty as she took a few photos with a camera and listened to them cheering me on.
"Begin!" The ref called so I turned to face Scyther.
"Scyther, use Agility then Fury Cutter!" Bugsy yelled and Scyther darted forwards, using its speed to disappear each time it moved but I wasn't worried about that, as Pidgeot had a keen eye.
"Okay Pidgeot, let it come to you!" I told her so she hovered in the air, looking around and watching until the Scyther suddenly appeared behind her, lifting its bladed arm to take a swipe at her. "Double Team!" I called and instantly she surrounded Scyther with copies of herself, confusing the Pokémon as to who was the right one.
"Attack them all with your Fury Cutter!" Bugsy directed so Scyther began to hack away at each one, leaping up and down but once it had its back turned, Pidgeot appeared and dove down.
"Tackle!" I watched as Pidgeot ploughed into Scyther, both of them calling out at the impact but Scyther sprang back to its feet the moment it was down, facing Pidgeot with a determined gleam in its eye.
"You won't beat us so easily. Scyther, use Sand Attack!"
"Blow it away with Razor Wind!" I countered and Pidgeot whipped up a powerful blast of wind, hitting Scyther as well as the sand it had kicked up, redirecting it back into its face and it yelped as its own move was turned back on itself. "Now, use…"
Suddenly Pidgeot stopped the Razor Wind and slashed at the air with her wings one at a time, sending a glowing streak at Scyther one at a time. Wait a minute…was that Air Slash? Awesome! "Way to go Pidgeotto!" I celebrated, clapping my hands once as Scyther was taken down and it struck a tree, groaning softly.
"Scyther…"
"No! Scyther! Get up, please get up!" Bugsy pleaded and Scyther managed to climb to its feet as Pidgeot landed, watching it carefully as she panted for breath, the poison beginning to show its effect. Scyther had taken a lot of damage but Pidgeot was fading fast, barely able to fly anymore.
However Scyther suddenly crumbled to the ground and finally fainted from exhaustion, laying on the ground in defeat. "Scyther is unable to battle! The winner is Pidgeot and the battle goes to Ruby from Pallet Town!" I squealed with joy and ran over to Pidgeot, hugging her carefully as I beamed.
"I'm so proud of you! You were amazing Pidgeot." I told her before lifting her Pokéball. "You take a long rest now, I'll make sure Nurse Joy takes good care of you then you'll be back to normal in no time." I promised her and she nuzzled against me before going back into her ball.
"Well, I'll admit that I barely had a chance against you." Bugsy told me as he walked over to me, Scyther now safely back in its Pokéball. "You put up a tough fight and I had fun battling you." He said, blushing slightly. "In honour of your victory, here is the Hive Badge."
Bugsy held out his hand and in his palm lay a round badge with the pattern of a ladybird, which I took with gratitude and I smiled. "Thanks Bugsy! You were awesome too, you really know how to use your Pokémon's strengths to battle against opponents who even have an advantage, I can see you've trained them really hard and it was amazing to battle with you." I told him, clipping the badge into my jacket alongside my Zephyr Badge.
It felt great to win, now Ash had to win too! Because after that we can head on for our third badge and I just can't wait to get going. I was proud of my Pokémon and I still couldn't get my head around the fact that Pidgeot had decided to evolve. For what reason I don't know, she's had the experience to evolve long before now but for some reason she just decided not to. It's very fascinating and I'll be sure to discuss it with Professor Oak later.