"Go, Monferno, use Flare Blitz!" Dean commands his Pokemon. Monferno charges towards Venom.
"Venom, use Gust to send it back towards him!" I command. Venom flaps its wings hard, sending the flares back towards the Monferno. It-meaning the gust attack, and the flares-hits the Monferno hard, sending it flying backwards. Dean gapes at my Venomoth, before recovering slightly.
"Monferno, use Mach Punch!" He commands. Monferno runs at Venom, and hits him hard. Venom lets out a cry as he flies backwards.
Venom fluffs out its wings, forcing itself to stop. "Good job, Venom!" I call to the Pokemon. "Now, Venom, use Poison Fang!" I command. Venom dives forward, fangs glowing purple, and he bites down on the Monferno. Monferno lets out a cry of pain, before stumbling backwards, and wincing. Obviously, he got poisoned. "Now, Venom, attack it again! This time, with tackle!"
"Venomoth!" Venom cries, before tackling Monferno. Monferno lets out a cry, before falling backwards, and fainting.
"Monferno is unable to battle, the winner is Silver and Venomoth!" Saturn says, raising his left arm towards me.
"Good job, Venom," I say, returning the Pokemon.
I watch as Dean grits his teeth, before tossing out a Pokeball, "Go, Seviper!" The snake Pokemon comes out, hissing, and sticking out its forked tongue.
"Go, Snatch!" I say as I throw out my Arbok's Pokeball. Sury seems disappointed, as she lets out a sigh, and curls up on my head. "Snatch, use Crunch!" I command. The snake Pokemon flies forward, biting down upon Seviper's head. Seviper lets out a cry, and falls backwards.
I feel the kids' gaze on me, and I glance back at him, as Dean commands his Seviper to use Night Slash. "What?" I ask the kid, narrowing my eyes at him, before turning to the battle, and commanding Snatch to use Crunch once again. I then turn my gaze towards the kid.
"...Why are you helping me?" He asks slowly, as the Turtwig and Gallade peer at me.
"Because you looked like you needed help," I say, before turning back to the battle. "Snatch, use Fire Fang!" Snatch lets out an "Arrrboook!" before zipping at the Seviper, biting down on its neck. The Seviper lets out a screech, and falls backwards, before using Bite as commanded.
"That's hardly a reason." The boy says.
I turn and glare at him. "Look, stop questioning this, or I can just turn right around and tell Dean he can have your Turtwig, and just walk away. Which shall it be?" That shuts him up. I give a yawn, before looking at Snatch, "Alright, Snatch, enough playing around." That makes Dean's face flush, "Finish this up, and use Bulldoze!"
"Arbok!" Snatch cries, before diving at the Seviper. Seviper lets out a cry, before collapsing on the ground; fainted.
"Seviper is unable to battle. The winner is Silver and Snatch!" Saturn says, raising his left arm towards us.
Snatch and Sury let out cries of happiness. I grin, then return Snatch. Dean's looking at me, stunned. Suddenly, he gets angry, "Fine! I didn't even want the stupid Turtwig anyways!" He shouts, before turning, and running into the woods. I snicker, and turn to the kid with the Turtwig.
"Hey are you okay?" I ask, reaching a hand out to him. He grabs it, and pulls himself up.
"Thanks," he murmurs.
"You're welcome, ...?" I trail off, signaling he hasn't given me his name.
"Cast. Cast Freelance." The kid-Cast-says with a sigh. "But really, thank you for your help. Without you, I'd have lost Leafy." He says, holding the Turtwig tight. A little too tight, from the looks of it.
"Er...yeah," I begin, rubbing the back of my head, "No problemo! Anytime, I guess." I say, as the others walk up to me.
"Nice job, bro!" Ashy says, high fiving me. I roll my eyes, and high five back. Everyone else-besides Gabi and Cast-congratulate me on the win. Gabi just peers into the forest, arms crossed across her chest, and she looks somewhat mad. I bet she's thinking, 'I wish we could get to Pastoria City', or something along those lines.
I turn to look at Cast. "Be more careful next time. Don't make deals with people unless you know you can beat them." I say, glancing at a Pokemon. "Especially if it's a Pokemon." I murmur under my breath, before shoving my way past the group, and heading out towards the path. When I realize the group isn't following, I glance behind me to see Saturn giving me a "oh dear god" look. I frown, and walk back over to the group, to see Gabi, Ashy, and Feather crooning over the little Turtwig; Leafy. The Turtwig was soaking up the attention, and had jumped from Cast's arms into Ashy's.
Cast stands up, and blinks at the girls. He then shakes his head, as Garden comes over of her Pokeball, and floats over to the Gallade, who I think Cast called "Ade"? I don't know...
Garden smiles at the Gallade, and she brings out some Oran Berries she was holding, and hands them to Ade. Ade smiles appreciatively, and eats them. I look towards Saturn, who's looking irritated. "At first they were all excited to get to Pastoria. Now they're crooning over a Turtwig." He says, glancing at the girls.
I nod in agreement, "Their attitudes change on a dime. It's scary. Really scary." Saturn chuckles at that, and then turns to face the forest.
"Hm...I just realized it's been about five years since I've actually been able to walk through this forest, and actually enjoy it." He mumbles, as Bronzong, floats down, and settles on the ground, waiting for the girls to get done crooning over the Turtwig.
"I see..." I say to Saturn, before turning to look at the girls. Cast is standing there like he doesn't know what to do. I sigh, and say to the girls, "Let Cast have his Turtwig back! I'm sure he'd like to get on his way...to wherever the heck he's heading." The girls sigh, before mumbling something to each other. Ashy hands the Turtwig back, before the three of them walk over to Saturn and I.
"Okay..." my sister says, looking disappointed, "Let's go..."
"Finally," Saturn and I say at the same time. The girls roll their eyes, before pushing through us to take off towards the path. Saturn and I have to hurry to catch up. Once we do, we let the girls chat ahead of us, and we talk about nothing in particular as we head to Pastoria.
As we walk into town, through the big, lighten up sign, I get a sense of deja vu. Wasn't it, about over a week ago, I was here, being taken by Team Galactic grunts? I shake my head, trying to clear myself of that thought...
"We've still got three hours until the Gym closes," Feather says, speaking to Gabi, Ashy, and I. "If any of you want too, I'm sure you can go challenge Crasher." She adds, curling a piece of green hair around her index finger, and studies it. Sometimes, I think she's a little nutty in the head. Huh, that's bad when I can say that and I've barely known her for a month. Not even two weeks, even.
"I'll do it!" Ashy says confidently with a grin. "What about you, Silver? Are you going to face the "Big and Bad, Crasher Wake" today?" She turns to me, with an expectant look. Everyone turns to look at me too; except for Saturn. Saturn mumbles something about looking for the Pokemon Center, and heads off.
I shrug. "I'll just watch." I tell them, "I'll battle him tomorrow." Gabi narrows her eyes, as Ashy blinks at me in surprise, then sticks out her tongue.
"You just want to see what kind of Pokemon he's using so you can stack them against him. You're a cheater, you know that?" She grins madly, and begins to head to the Gym. I shove my hands in my pockets, and follow.
"Maybe I do." I state boredly, as Feather and Gabi follow my sister into the Pokemon Gym. I follow them inside, after waiting for Saturn to reappear from the Pokemon Center. I waved him over, before going inside.
"Challenge accepted!" I hear Crasher say to my sister, and he sounds a little angry. Huh, so Ashy must have busted out the "you're-just-too-scared-to-battle-me" card, and Crasher must have gotten infuriated and decided that his pride meant more than his Pokemon so he accepted Ashy's challenge...
I walk up the stairs, and into the stands, walking along the first row of bleachers until I get to the spot where Gabi, and Feather are sitting. "You missed it!" Feather chirps, "Ashy spit some insults at that weird man, and he turned bright red!"
"That usually happens when she speaks to Gym Leaders," I say with a sigh, remembering all the times Ashy would video call me, and tell me about how red the Gym Leaders got. It actually got boring after a while...
"I wonder what Pokemon she's going to use," Gabi murmurs to herself, but she said it loud enough for it to jerk me out of my thoughts.
"Who knows with her." Feather says, shaking her head, "Remember last time with Fantina, she pulled out that Sableye? I didn't even know she had a Sableye, to be honest." Pinprick sits up next to Feather, and it swings its legs boredly. I remember that Sableye; Ashy was ecstatic when she caught it. She wouldn't shut up. Gabi just nods in agreement.
"Go, Gyarados!" Crasher calls, throwing out said Pokemon into the water. The Gyarados brings its head back, and before throwing its head forward, and letting out a powerful roar.
Ashy doesn't seem fazed, as she says, "Go, Speed!" and out comes her Scizor. I hum slightly to myself, and wonder when Ashy had the time to get Speed from the PC; well, I mean from Professor Oak. "Speed, use Steel Wing!" She commands the bug and steel type Pokemon. Speed's wings glow a light gray color, as he zips at the Gyarados, and cuts it across the middle. The Gyarados looks hardly fazed by it.
"Use Dragon Rage!" Crasher commands the Pokemon. Gyarados' mouth begins to glow purple, and yellow, before it spits the attack out at Speed. Speed dodges it, flying around the stadium, but it fails to dodge the attack completely, because it ends up getting hit by the attack. Speed falls to the ground with a loud thud, but he soon shoots up, wings buzzing.
"Huh," Crasher speaks, admiring the Scizor, "That's a pretty strong Pokemon you have; for being a girl." Ashy purses her lips, and looks at the Gym Leader, annoyed. I glance towards the entrance as the doors open, and in walks Saturn. He looks around the Gym, before spotting us. He walks over, and sits down next to me.
"Who's winning?" He asks, absentmindedly.
"Right now, I think its a tie." I state, as Ashy goes to make her next move.
"Use Hyper Beam!" Ashy commands the Pokemon. Speed raises one of it's claws, opens it, and a small, glimmering, silver ball appears. It slowly gets bigger, until he fires it. It hits the Gyarados in the face, and it staggers, letting out a cry. It falls backwards, next to Crasher. Crasher didn't even look fazed.
"Gyarados, get up!" He commands the Pokemon, who gets up. "Use Bite!" Gyarados darts at Speed, and bites down on it. Speed struggles to get out of its grip. "Now, toss it into the wall!" Gyarados turns, and chucks Speed towards the wall.
"Scizzooorr!" Speed cries out.
"Speed, stop yourself!" Ashy shouts. Speed brings his wings out, and manages to stop himself. "Now, use False Swipe!" I blink in surprise. I didn't know Speed knew False Swipe. Hm...Better keep that in mind.
"Doesn't False Swipe always knock the foe's Pokemon down to one HP?" Saturn asks me. I nod, and know that with the next attack, Gyarados will have fainted. Speed strikes Gyarados with its claw.
"Now, Speed, use U-Turn!" Speed strikes Gyarados, knocking it backwards. The Gyarados crumples on the ground across from Crasher; fainted. Crasher returns the Pokemon, as Speed goes back into its Pokeball.
"Hm..." Crasher hums, absentmindedly. "Go, Quagsire!"
"Quagsire!" The Pokemon calls, landing on one of the plate forms in the water. Ashy seems to be contemplating her next move.
"She's going to bring out an electric type," I state duly, staring down at the field. I see Ashy's hand twitch, and I know she's trying to see if it's a good idea. It's not...she should be saving that electric type for his last Pokemon. Electric type moves have no effect on Quagsire.
"What?" The others gasp.
"She can't be that stupid!" Gabi snaps, "She's got to have some better brains than that! Electric type moves have no effect on ground."
"I think she realizes that, and just wants the challenge," I tell Gabi slowly. Gabi snaps her jaw shut, and mumbles how "Ashy's being stupid".
"Go, Mimi!" She shouts, throwing out a Pokeball. When the light disappears, in its spot, sits a Minun.
"Minun?" Mimi asks, quietly. She spots the Quagsire, and suddenly looks scared. "MINUN!" She turns to run back to Ashy, but that's when it realizes it's standing on a plate form, and realizes she has no choice but to battle the Quagsire. She slowly turns, to face the Pokemon.
"Quagsire, use Sludge Bomb!" Crasher calls.
"Dodge it, Mimi!" Ashy shouts. Mimi dodges it just in time. "And use Grass Knot!" I knew that move was coming up, because Ashy once used that move to K.O. one of my water type Pokemon. When the attack hits, it knocks the ground and water type Pokemon back into the water.
"Quagsire!" Crasher calls once again, "Come up and use Ice Beam!" The Pokemon shoots out of the water-in front of Mimi-and hits her in the face with the attack. Mimi lets out a screech, and falls back into the water.
"Mimi!" Ashy calls in desperation. Pretty soon, Mimi comes to the surface on Quagsire's head, fainted. I sigh. Mimi's still a weak Pokemon; not as high leveled at the others Ashy has. I think Mimi's around level 23, but I don't know. But that was not a wise Pokemon to use against Crasher. "Return," Ashy says, bowing her head. She then grows still, as she thinks about the Pokemon to use next. She grabs a Pokeball, and tosses it up in the air. "Go, Speed." Out comes the Scizor once more.
"Use Metal Claw!" Ashy commands the Pokemon. Scizor's claws grow a light silver, before he darts forward, hitting Quagsire hard. Quagsire flies backwards, as Crasher commands it to use Ice Beam. "Dodge it!" She shouts. Speed dodges it. "Now, use Brick Break!" Speed darts at the Pokemon, and uses it claw to hit the Quagsire on the head, before using its other claw to punch the Pokemon in the stomach, and sending it flying back to Crasher.
Crasher stares dumbfounded at Speed as he returns the Quagsire. "Hm...so that's what Ashy's waiting for..." I mumble to myself.
"Waitin' for what?" Feather asks.
"The perfect opportunity to bring out the Pokemon she's been training non stop." I say.
"How do you know she's been training it non stop!?" Gabi snaps at me, "You aren't the one travelling with her!"
"Yes, that may be true, but she's my sister." I say calmly, "She does call me weekly to catch up, and if I remember correctly, she had this one Pokemon she was training really hard, so it could go up against Crasher's Pokemon."
"Do you happen to know which Pokemon that is?" Saturn asks, curiously.
I shake my head. "No, she said she wanted it to be a secret...Don't know why."
"Well," he says, turning back to the arena, as Ashy picks up a Pokeball. "I guess we're about to find out."
