Last chapter Vance successfully defeated Hector, earning himself the first Foreen Region Gym Badge the Leaf Badge. Now it's Julies' turn to face Hector will she join Vance in the winners' circle? Or fall victim to Hectors' Grass pokemon?
Julie stood in the same spot Vance had the day before. Hector stood stock still, ready to face another challenger after a days rest.
"You can do this Julie!" Vance yelled from the sidelines. Julie nodded, but in truth she didn't know whether she could win or not. The breakfast talk had been mostly forgotten, but a key phrase still bothered her. When Maddy asked how Vance would feel if she dated someone, Vance said he'd be happy for her.
"Would he really?" Julie thought to herself.
"Challenger, are you ready?" Julie looked up to see everyone waiting on her. Hector had chosen an Aplet as his first pokemon and apart from the slight smell, it looked healthy and ready to battle. Maddy made her usual response upon seeing any small creature.
"It's so cute!"
"Right, sorry." Julie said embarrassed and called out her Puffen.
"The battle between leader of the Greenleaf City Gym Hector and Julie of Bright Town will now commence. Battle begin!" Kirby announced as judge again. Hector immediately started on the offensive.
"Aplet, Razor Leaf!" Aplet spun rapidly unleashing a volley of razor leaves. Puffen was quick to dodge, even without Julie's commands.
"Julie, get focused!" Vance yelled out.
"Right," Julie said snapping out of her thoughts. "Puffen Bubble!" The razor leaves ended and Puffen took the offensive firing stream of bubbles towards Aplet which scored a direct hit. Aplet quickly got up, unfazed being a grass type.
"Water types aren't the best choice against grass types you know." Hector said mockingly. Julie became a bit enraged and focused even harder in the battle, exactly what Hector wanted her to do.
"Puffen use Tackle!" Puffen began charging.
"Aplet Sleep Powder!" Aplet dodged the tackle by jumping in the air, then shook showering Puffen in a light blue dust. Puffen strode to stay awake, constantly swaying in an attempt to shake off the drowsiness.
"C'mon Puffen, snap out of it!" Julie begged.
"Aplet now use Bullet Seed!" Aplet landed and fired a series of exploding green pellets which hit Puffen with great accuracy. The drowse pokemon collapsed from the barrage.
"Puffen!" Julie cried out. The small bird pokemon slowly regained its' footing and stood weary against the still fresh Aplet. "I don't know if I can win, maybe I can't be like Vance." Julie said to herself.
"Julie!" She looked up to see Vance with a serious face, one that showed great compassion. "Don't think like that, you can do this! Just believe in yourself and in your pokemon." Julie was a bit shocked he had heard what she had said, but she quickly nodded with renewed strength and determination.
"Right, Puffen we can so this." Julie said. "We just gotta believe."
"Puff!" Puffen peeped back.
"While I do admire your compassion, this is a gym battle." Hector started. "As I said with Vance I will say to you, be ready because I'm not going to go easy on anyone!" his words once again did what they were supposed to do and further enticed Julie to give it her all.
"That's fine, we need a good workout if we're gonna beat the Elite Four." Julie replied with a smirk. "Puffen use Bubble again!" Julie commanded.
"Puff?" The bird questioned.
"Trust me." Julie said.
"Fen." Puffen agreed and again fired a stream of Bubbles that again hit its' mark covering Aplet in small blinding pops of light that did little damage.
"I hope you weren't trying to impress me," Hector said. "Because if you were then maybe you should rethink this battling thing."
"Try this for impressive, Puffen Peck!" The last of the bubbles popped a second before Puffen used its' large beak peck furiously at Aplet. The tiny apple pokemon got back on its' two feet to show a growing of damage.
"Not that was impressive." Vance commented.
"I see the bubbles temporarily blinded Aplet giving Puffen time to follow up with peck." Maddy obviously added. Julie kept a serious grin, ready to battle with everything she had.
"A nice trick," Hector said. "But this isn't a magic show, Aplet Magical Leaf!" A small bunch of glowing leaves fell from the single leaf on Aplets' head. Being a never miss move Julie didn't bother to tell Puffen to dodge when the glowing leaves struck.
"Puffen!" Julie again cried. Puffen again struggled to its' feet, but something else started happening. Puffen began to be swallowed by a thin water veil, as it seemed to be gaining extra power from some undefined source. And out of nowhere it released a much stronger form of bubble into the air, almost as a demonstration of its power.
"What is that?" Maddy asked.
"That's Puffen's special ability, Torrent. When Puffen is really weak, Torrent will boost all of Puffen's water attacks dramatically." Vance explained. "And it seems it also learned Bubblebeam." Vance added.
"Bubblebeam and torrent? Now we gotta win." Julie said with again renewed hope. "Puffen full power Bubblebeam!" Puffen took a deep inhale before sending a wave of bubbles towards Aplet. The tiny pokemon took increasing damage before finally it succumbed to its injuries and fell to the ground fainted.
"Aplet!" Hector said in disbelief.
"Aplet is unable to battle, the first victory goes to the challenger!" Kirby announced.
"Good job Puffen!" Julie said as she hopped for joy.
"Puffen puff." The tiny bird said, no doubt giving itself praise ftw. Hector recalled his Aplet with a smile.
"You did great, now take a long rest." He said. "I must hand it to you, I didn't expect Puffen to learn a move and use its' power all in one battle."
"That's why you can't underestimate us." Julie said giving the V for victory sign. Puffen sensed she was becoming a bit overconfident, as did Vance and Maddy.
"Don't forget that was just his first pokemon, now you have to face his strongest one." Vance said.
"Don't worry, with Puffen on my side we can't possibly lose." Julie said triumphantly. Vance and Maddy coughed a smile to support their growing ego of a friend.
"Puffen you think you can go one more round?" Julie asked.
"Puff." The tiny pokemon nodded.
"Great, then its all to you Hector." Julie said.
"Fine by me, I think you already know my strongest pokemon, go Gloom!" The white flight of the pokeball flashed and faded revealing the still foul smelling Gloom.
"Gloo gloom." It said happy to be in a battle again to make up for its' loss the day before.
"The second battle of the Greenleaf City Gym will now commence. Trainers, begin!" Kirby announced.
"Since I attacked first last time I'll let you take the lead." Hector said with surprising confidence.
"Fine by me," Julie answered back. "Puffen use Bubblebeam one more time!" Puffen exhaled its' breath only to release a single, tiny bubble which floated over to Gloom before harmlessly popping in its' face. Julie's face deadpanned.
"I knew it," Hector said. "Gloom use Energy Ball!" Gloom wasted no time in countering with a large greenish glowing ball that slammed into Puffen, sending it flying into the far wall where it fainted.
"Puffen is unable to battle, the second round goes to Hector!" Kirby said.
"What happened?" Julie asked flatly.
"I'll tell you what happened," Hector said aloud. "You overestimated the strength left in Puffen. Instead of calling it back and letting it rest, you decided to let it keep battling." Hector said sternly.
"But I…" Julie started.
"Your overconfidence is your weakness. Don't forget that although a pokemon may want to continue battling it's also up to the trainer to know when to call it quits." Hector added. Julie looked sadder than any other time Vance had ever seen her. She calmly walked over to Puffen and gently picked it up into her arms.
"Puffen…" Julies' voice began to break. "I'm so sorry." Julie started to cry and felt ashamed that she had let it go this far. Her will to win was what got Puffen hurt, now for the first time in her life she contemplated whether she was fit to be a trainer or not. She felt a warm hand on her shoulder and turned to see Vance. Maddy, Hector and Kirby all stood behind him.
"Julie, it's ok." He started. She was tearing now and it wasn't helping that everyone was looking at her unveil her inner feelings. Julie looked down at Puffen who was now awake, although obviously weathered.
"Puffen, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Julie said bringing the tiny pokemon closer to her.
"Julie don't worry, you didn't know." Vance said soothingly trying to cheer her up.
"What if I'm not cut out to be a trainer? What if I don't have the compassion for pokemon that everyone else has?" Julie cried. The outburst caught Vance a bit off guard, this was a rarely seen form of Julie. She was so vulnerable, so scared.
"But you do have the compassion," Julie looked into Vance's eyes. "The way you care for Puffen right now and how you'll fix yourself is what makes a trainer." Julie stopped crying as if Vance had spoken some secret code. "Not everyone gets it right the first time, what matters is that you'll show you've learned from your mistakes." Julie looked down at Puffen who gave a small smile with the rest of its energy.
"Thank you Vance." Julie said with a sincere smile. Vance merely smiled back.
"Well then, are you ready for your final battle?" Hector asked. Julie rubbed what tears were left in her eyes away.
"You better believe it." Julie said with renewed strength. Julie walked back onto her side of the field after recalling Puffen to its pokeball. Everyone took their old seats as Vance and Maddy sat in the audience while Hector stood across the field from her. And finally, there was Kirby announcer.
"Both opponents prepare for the final round!" Kirby announced. Julie took her second pokeball off her belt, the one pokemon she had feared, now liked. To a point anyway.
"Go Manti!" In the white flash of light stood Manti happily chirping as its two large eyes scanned the field.
"Both trainers have chosen their pokemon, let the final match begin!" With that Hector immediately went on the offensive.
"Gloom use Acid!" Gloom spit a glob of black goo at Manti.
"Manti dodge and counter with Scratch!" Manti scuttled to the left avoiding the acid and with surprising agility, ran up to Gloom and delivered a powerful scratch attack.
"Gloom use Vine Whip to toss it away!" Gloom extended two vines from its head that it used to toss the still scratching Manti back across the field. The tiny bug landed a bit rough, but got back to its feet.
"Manti are you ok?" Julie asked. Manti gave a quick hiss with a nod to signal it was still fine. "Good, lets try this," Julie said scanning Manti with her pokedex for known moves. "Manti use Cut!" Manti again quickly closed the gap between itself and Gloom and delivered a powerful cut that knocked Gloom to the ground.
"Gloom!" Hector yelled worriedly. The weed pokemon slowly got to its feet although it was clearly worn.
"That's good, Manti has barely taken any damage and Gloom already looks too tired to continue." Maddy said to Vance.
"Maybe but look how calm Hector is," Vance responded. "I think he still has some tricks up his sleeve.
"Manti lets finish this up, use Fury Swipes one more time!" Manti began charging and was within two feet of Gloom when Hector sprung his trap.
"Gloom use Leech Seed!" Still charging, Manti didn't even notice the small seed pop from Gloom's flower until it finally hit him in the head. Tiny vines quickly snared Manti as they began to suck his energy and transfer it to Gloom.
"Manti!" Vance and Maddy yelled at the same time.
"Once again you tried to rush into things head first, now you'll have to pay the price yet again." Hector said. Julie was momentarily stunned from the counter when a plan came to her. She quickly scanned the pokedex and found the move she had remembered, it was just what they needed.
"Manti use Metal Claw!"
"What?" Hector asked a bit shocked. Sure enough Manti's claws glow a silvery white and with tremendous power Manti cut the vines and was once again free. It caught it's breath since it had been trapped for a fair amount of time. Gloom looked refreshed, but still tired. By Julies' account they were pretty much even now.
"That was impressive," Hector said. "You used some good strategy there. Maybe I was wrong about you."
"Maybe, or maybe you were right on the dot." Julie responded.
"Either way, only one of us can win this." Hector said confidently. "Gloom time to end this, use Solar Beam!" Gloom began collecting sunlight in its flower.
"Manti are you ready?" Julie asked. Manti hissed a yes, somehow already knowing the plan. It moved in a zigzag motion towards Gloom, scurrying from the left, then right, then back to the left side of the field. Gloom now fully powered aimed as best it could and fired the solar beam. The blast raced towards Manti with sure intent when Julie sprung her plan. "Manti now, use Encore!" The beam missed just as Julie had planned, the weaving and running of Manti had made him a hard target. Now that Encore was used Gloom would have to power up all over again as Manti approached its prey.
"Gloom no!" Hector yelled. But it was no use.
"Manti use Fury Cutter!" Manti repeatedly slashed at Gloom, each cut being more powerful than the last. The solar beam again fired but Manti was quick to dodge. Again missing Gloom started to recollect sunlight for another attack. Manti continued to slash until, by Vance's count the eighteenth slash, Gloom finally collapsed backwards fainted.
"Gloom is unable to battle, the winner is Julie!" Kirby announced.
"We did it!" Julie said as she ran out to her Manti which happily jumped into her arms. Everybody approached her with a smile on their face.
"Congratulations Julie." Maddy said before anyone.
"Yeah, it was an awesome battle." Vance added. Hector recalled Gloom and placed its pokeball on his belt. Then he pulled out a small box from his pocket and held it up.
"That will be a very memorable battle for years to come," Hector said. "As Foreen League rules dictate, I may now present you with this Leaf Badge." Hector opened the box and inside was a single bright green pin in the shape of an oak leaf. Julie took it out and held it up proudly.
"Alright, I got a Leaf Badge!" Julie said aloud as Manti happily rejoiced on top of her head. After getting their pokemon healed, the trio said their goodbyes to Hector and Kirby.
"So where are you going to go now?" Hector asked.
"We guess Charolo City, that's where the next gym is." Vance replied.
"And some contests I hope." Maddy added. Julie rolled her eyes a bit, to which no one else saw. The group waved goodbye as they headed east towards whatever adventures still lye in wait.
Please review. If battling was to confusing tell me, I've tried things in the past which worked out well, but again it's what you guys think. I've been a bit behind lately on new chapters so I'm gonna kick it into overdrive. Thanks for reading and again please review. As a quick comment, no one seems to notice my little easter eggs. They're usually game or movie related, I put em in just for fun.
