Hello guys - just me again! Anyway, I'm sorry for not updating for a while, but I think this'll be a weekly updater. Anyway, the reason why I was so busy was because I now have a new DeviantArt account! :DDD
Well, anyway, back to business! I decided to just put the next part; being Matthew's Gym challenge to the next city, because I can't think of a proper Kanto/Johto episode to use where Mattie and Lovi would be in a cave - since they all involve Team Rocket, who aren't in this fic at all...TT_TT. Suggestions are welcome. :)
So, BIG thanks go to Mew I is Dinosaur for the follow AND the review, and to Lilypad the Fourth, AliasAlliance, RippedSenDen, CookiiRoxzXD00 and hetaliaforever123 for the reviews! :D
Lilypad the Fourth: Swimming's really great! I used to swim, but that was when I was starting high school (12-13) XD. That's pretty awesome timing! Heh, I was incredulous of Sealand when I first saw him, but he grew on me really quickly - he is a silly little guy. I loved Johto so much, too; it was a bit disappointing that Crystal wasn't remade, bu SoulSilver and HeartGold were pretty good in my opinion. As for your guesses...well, read and find out! ;)
AliasAlliance: Have more faith in Mattie! He's a determined guy! XD Yup, the brother that Peter wants to beat so badly is Arthur (I won't say what Arthur's status as a trainer is though). Nah, it's cool if your review is short; I'm really flattered and honoured that you're one of the readers who do so for every chapter! That really means so much to me! :D I truly appreciate it!
RippedSenDen: About time you got a freaking account here! Yeah, I kept my end of the bargain, too. ^^; anyway, put something up already! Maybe your Canada as Cinderella story or the one with Prussia being the High School Detective! Yeah, Lovino is just playing tsundere to Antonio - it's so obvious. Hehe, I couldn't help but put Tino in obviously - he's like Peter's mama.
CookiiRoxzXD00: Lovino's just that sort of a character! But despite that, he's actually deeper than he seems, in my opinion. Thank you very much! :D
hetaliaforever123: YES! Asian invasion FTW! Anyway, Peter was Bugsy in your fic, right? Hehe, anyway, wow...that's a lot of Asians...just read to find out the identity of the Gym!
Mew I is Dinosaur: Yeah, I know - I want there to be a game for DS or Wii that follows in the same outline as Pokemon Colosseum and Pokemon XD (snagging FTW!). Yeah, I miss the original anime of the 1990's...TT_TT.
I do NOT own Hetalia or Pokemon.
ASIAN INVASION!
The pair walked on, after Matthew's win against Peter and obtaining the Rain Badge, they rested for a whole day in Vice Town before going to the Ward's Cave in order to get to their next destination, which was Liánhuāhana City, so they could obtain Matthew's next badge.
The pair stood before a great cave that was underneath a green cliff that stood close to the sea; its opening was a dark and gaping hole.
"So...this leads to Liánhuāhana City?" Matthew asked as he gazed up at the cave.
"Yeah..." Lovino said as he stared at the cave before them. He inwardly shuddered; he hated going into caves. "Well, we're not getting any fucking younger. Come on, bastard..."
Matthew nodded, "Okay..."
And so, that was how the Canadian boy and the Italian man ended up wandering around in Ward's Cave. They were walking, their footsteps echoing the progressively great expanse of the huge cave. However, the further into the cave that Matthew and Lovino scoured, the darker it became, until the cave was starting to become pitch-black.
"Shit..." cursed Lovino. He yanked out HM Flash from the bag and held it up. "Mateo, teach Flash to one of your Pokémon, so we can find our way in this damn place..."
Matthew nodded and awkwardly took the white disk. He stared at its smooth, clear surface for a little while, "Um...how do I teach them, Lovino?"
The Italian sighed and rolled his eyes, but took the disk from Matthew, "Give me your Pokédex for a moment..." after the Canadian boy did so, Lovino checked the Pokémon on Matthew's belt to see what could use the move Flash. His amber eyes widened after looking at the light screen in horror.
Matthew didn't like the look on the Italian's face. "What's wrong, Lovino?" he questioned uncertainly.
Lovino gulped, "This...this is impossible! The Pokédex identifies your Pokémon, except Kumajirou, as an unknown Pokémon! That means..."
The Canadian boy's own eyes expanded in alarm, "None can use Flash then!"
And so, that was how the pair began their trek through the darkened cave, practically blind. Matthew walked timidly at the front as he waved around his Pokédex, which had a very limited light on it. Lovino was clinging tightly onto his arm, though Matthew couldn't blame him; he didn't want either of them to get lost in there.
It was a little while before there was some light again; this time it was a certain cavern that had two, separate tunnels.
"Two paths..." breathed Matthew. He turned to his Italian partner, "Lovino, which way do we go?"
"Uh..." Lovino licked his lips as his head looked back and forth at the two paths. After rubbing his chin, the Italian finally answered, "We go...left. Now come on, Mateo, let's go!"
And so, the pair continued on their journey, taking the left tunnel. Soon, it progressively became dark again, until everything became pitch-black; leading to the pair using Matthew's Pokédex as a light source again.
"I hate fucking caves..." murmured Lovino, now back to clutching onto Matthew's arm. "Chigi..."
Matthew swallowed the lump in his throat; he was much calmer than Lovino was here, but that didn't mean that he wasn't scared of trekking a pitch-black cave for the first time, wandering around aimlessly.
They weren't sure how long they had been wandering around Ward's Cave for, but eventually, Matthew and Lovino could hear something. Something rather...unusual...
"What's that?" Matthew asked in an urgent whisper. "Is that...flapping?"
Lovino arched an eyebrow, "How the hell am I supposed to know what that is? But, yeah...it does sound like flapping..."
"Wings?"
"Maybe..."
Lovino then took Matthew's Pokédex and raised it up, the little light blaring right up at the source of the flapping, which was stuck onto the cave's wall.
The pair could see a blue body, no eyes and a mouth with sharp fangs.
"ZUBATS! CHIGIIIIIIIII!"
Lovino grabbed Matthew's arm and sped back, giving a (manly), high-pitched scream as he ran like a true Italian. Matthew had yelped at first and tried to pick up the pace as his partner ran.
More Zubats began flying after them.
Somehow, Lovino had dashed all the way back to the cavern that had diverged into two separate tunnels, and this time, took the one that went right, his pace not broken. This time, more light gathered into the light as the Italian ran with the Canadian.
"The exit!" exclaimed Matthew.
"FUCK!"
Both leapt out of the cave and into a pond filled with lotus flowers just as the Zubat flew in a huge swarm out of the cave, filling the sky, screeching in an unearthly wail, fangs bared. They were now safe from the Bat Pokémon that were pursuing them before.
Lovino cursed, "Damn Zubat..."
Matthew sighed as he pushed his now soaked glasses up his wet nose. Things definitely weren't boring with Lovino "Romano" Vargas.
But he loved to keep it that way; he quite loved the adventure.
Pokétalia Maple Version: Fly High!
The pair finally make it through the Ward's Cave, got out of the lotus flower filled pond, dried off, and finally trekked a green hill filled with sakura trees before they eventually made it to their destination.
Liánhuāhana City.
"Chigi! We're finally here..." Lovino sighed as he pushed his sunglasses up to their perch and adjusted his cap.
Matthew nodded and beamed as he gazed around; the buildings were definitely more uniquely crafted than any other city that the pair had ever come into before. The air was warm and filled with a lovely, yet new aroma and there were statues of various oriental Pokémon built in shining, polished jade. The people themselves were hustling and bustling around, wearing garments as well that were different from the usual casual clothing that the pair had seen before.
It was a new feel, coming into an absolutely interesting new culture.
No sooner had they looked around in awe at the beautiful city and admire it a bit more, until someone shouted:
"Get outta the waaaaaaayyy!"
Matthew and Lovino turned around in shock to see what appeared to be a dark-haired Korean boy running at top notch speed that could possibly match an Italian's. The Korean boy was running in such a great rush that he caused a huge cloud of dust when he ran past them and accidentally bumped them. Both Matthew and Lovino were now practically spinning and landed right on the stony ground; completely dazed in the cloud of dust.
"W-wha...? What the heck was that?" Matthew clutched his head, feeling extremely dizzy.
"Chigi..." groaned Lovino. Once he regained his composure, he leapt to his feet and shouted, "What the hell was his fucking problem?!"
Matthew scratched his head, "He looked like he was in a real hurry…"
Lovino snorted, "This place is beautiful, but I bet it's as fucked up as Feral Town and Potato City." He rolled his eyes, "Why don't we just find the gym then get the hell out of here before any other shit happens."
"Huh? What's this?" Matthew pointed to something that was shining on the ground. Upon closer inspection, the pair saw that it was some sort of key. It was made of jade and had a uniquely shaped end with a strange crest-like loop. "A key; oh!" Matthew snapped his fingers. "He must've dropped it while he was running off."
Lovino grumbled, "Fucking idiot…"
Matthew laughed sheepishly, "Let's just take it with us; we'll return it to him if we bump into him."
"Do we have to?"
"Yes."
Lovino gave an exasperated groan, "Fine, damn it…"
The pair then continued, coming into the city and marvelled at seeing the great number of stalls that were selling all sorts of food. There was what appeared to be balls on a stick, ice cream inside some batter, sweet buns, and other kinds of delicious treats. Matthew and Lovino eventually noticed and came across a huge crowd gathering nearby, surrounding something that was now out of view. They looked on in interest.
"I wonder what's going on over there?" wondered Matthew, violet eyes glinting in curiosity.
"Well, what the hell are we still doing standing here like dumb bastards?" spoke up Lovino. "Let's take a look!"
The pair were able to push through the marvelling crowd to see what had captured their attention. It turned out to be some sort of a show.
There was a young man about Matthew's age, with choppy, dark hair that came up to his jaws and burning light brown eyes. He was wearing a crimson duanghua with black piping and oversized sleeves, as well as dark trousers. He had noticeably thick eyebrows, but they weren't as unkempt or bushy as a certain Buneary-owning, blonde, English gentleman.
Right now, this young man had leapt around as he was doing various martial arts feats with various sorts of weaponry - a spear with a feathered ornament attacked to its end, a nunchaku, and finally a metal wheel that he twirled a few times and his Pokémon lit on fire. He was accompanied in the show with an Eevee and a Pansear.
Lovino looked impressed. He smirked, "Heh…that does look pretty badass."
Matthew meanwhile, was awestruck, "Wow…"
The performance ended with a grand finale where the young man suddenly flipped and threw up a set of fireworks. He then crouched low in a certain stance and suddenly blew fire onto a torch. His Pansear helped, causing a great flame to erupt to onto the fireworks, where the explosion's smoke formed into the shape of a huge white, bipedal Pokémon with feathery wings.
Once the smoke and flames subsided, the great crowd applauded uproariously all around him, Matthew and Lovino included. The young man bowed as did his Pokémon and gathered his weaponry while his Pokémon helped.
"Who was that?" breathed Matthew, still amazed.
"That was Wang Leon!" laughed a camper upon hearing the Canadian boy's words. "He's a brilliant performer, isn't he?"
Matthew nodded, "I'll say!"
The pair noticed that more people of the crowd had plenty of praise and compliments towards Leon. An old man sighed, fondly, "Wang Leon…such vigour, youth and skill! Why, he reminds me of myself in my day! Wahaha!"
A youngster was bouncing on the balls of his heels. "That performer was Wang Leon!" he exclaimed. "He does all kinds of neat tricks in this square once every week! I always get so excited when I see them! They're so cool! I'm gonna do stuff like him some day! And then people will come and applaud to me every day!"
"Ahh…that Wang Leon..." sighed a socialite. She nodded, "So skilful, so poised, and so refined…I will make sure that he and my daughter have an arranged marriage at once!
Upon hearing that last exclamation, the pair ran off and eventually came into a what appeared to be a marketplace. There were red lanterns hanging on strings above them, obviously not lit due to it still being the afternoon. Many people were hustling around and looking at all kinds of objects. They then came across a store with some antique pottery with finely crafted etchings.
"These are quite beautiful and finely made," smiled Matthew as he picked one up. "Don't you think, Lovino?"
Lovino shrugged, though he was equally impressed at the crafter's skill, "Hmph…"
That was when a voice screamed, "Oh no! Get back here!"
Pretty soon, Lovino suddenly got knocked over by a green blur, screaming, "CHIGI!" landing right onto the ground and onto his back.
Matthew stared in shock to see that the green blur was a Pansage. It was chattering excitedly as it leapt up and down repeatedly on Lovino's torso. He gasped, "Lovino! Are you okay?"
A girl then ran into the scene. She appeared to be slightly younger than Matthew, but only a year or two. She had long, dark hair with a long, crazy curl that was dangling over the right side of her head. She was wearing a bright pink qipao with gold trimming and long, flowing sleeves as well as a long, white skirt. She was wearing two pink flowers in her hair as well.
Her light brown eyes were filled with concern, "Oh my gosh! Pansage!" she scolded. "That wasn't nice!" she averted her gaze back to Lovino, looking extremely worried, "Are you okay? I'm so sorry!"
Lovino was seeing stars, but soon, saw a rather pretty girl's face in its place a little while after. "Bellissimo…" he breathed.
Matthew and the Taiwanese girl helped the Italian up. Lovino finally snapped out of his gaze and glared right at the Pansage, who was still looking happy and dancing around him. The Italian snarled, enraged. "You little son of a-!"
The girl bowed, "I am so sorry for what Pansage has done! Really, he didn't mean it!"
Upon his eyes settling onto the girl's apologetic features, Lovino softened, "Che palle…don't worry; it was an accident…" he waved his hand dismissively as he straightened his posture and wiped the dust from the hoodie. "This little thing is yours?"
"Yes!" the girl giggled. "He's my little Pansage!" she then picked up the Grass Monkey Pokémon. "Now say hello and sorry!"
Matthew whipped out his Pokédex to take a closer inspection of Lovino's assaulter. "Pansage, the Grass Monkey Pokémon," said the Pokédex's mechanical voice. "It's good at finding berries and gathers them from all over. It is kind enough to share them with other Pokémon." The Canadian boy smiled, "Hello there, Pansage."
Pansage gave a happy chatter as it reached its paw over, patting the Canadian boy's cheek. Matthew chuckled, "Aw…he's cute!"
Lovino snorted as he leaned closer, "Ciao…"
Suddenly, Pansage began chattering more excitedly. It then spotted a part of Lovino's curl that was just sticking out from under his cap.
The Italian screamed bloody murder in a (manly) high-pitched scream as Pansage yanked at it. "AHHHHHH!" the Italian screeched. "S-stop that…! Stop that now…y-you little b-bas-!" he suddenly gasped as he gritted his teeth. "Oh…! Ch-chigi…!"
Matthew was stunned, "Lovino, are you alright?"
The girl quickly pulled Pansage away, who now let go of the curl, and began scolding again, "Pansage! That wasn't nice!" she then turned to Lovino, extremely embarrassed, "I am really, truly sorry about that! Really I am! He's never been like this with anyone! Honest! I don't know why—" suddenly, there was a small beep. She pulled out a pink P*DA and gasped, "Oh no! I'm sorry, but I have to go now! I really am sorry about my Pansage! Bye!"
And with that, she ran off in a great hurry, probably at the same speed as the Korean boy from before. Matthew began to wonder why she was off in a hurry while Lovino wiped at the corner of his eye, which was now a little teary.
He was also cursing, "Little green bastard! He's lucky his trainer is molto carino!"
Matthew nervously chuckled, "Ahaha…well, I'm glad you're okay."
Lovino grumbled, "Let's just get to the fucking gym then get the hell out of here…"
The pair admired the scenery around them, coming closer to a great mountain as well, with sparkling waterfalls that glinted from the sun's rays. The pair reached a bridge and saw more lotus flowers in the water, and finally came across a sign that was near what appeared to be an oriental styled building with various characters. However, there were three that spelled out in English - GYM. Matthew recognized the building as a kabuki theatre - his cousin Francis showed various photos of them from his travels.
They came across the sign. Matthew read it aloud, "Liánhuāhana City Pokémon Gym. Leader: Xiao Mei, Wang Leon & Im Yong Soo. The Triple Threat Trial!" he then instantly paled, "There are three gym leaders?"
Lovino shrugged, "I don't think you verse them all…" seeing Matthew's scared violet eyes bear right into his face, the Italian turned away, "Hopefully…damn it! I don't freaking know! Let's just get our asses inside and see…"
They entered the kabuki theatre-styled Gym and upon coming close to the stage, saw three familiar faces.
The Korean who had rushed past them, the girl with the Pansage that harassed Lovino, and the street performer, Wang Leon. It appeared that right now, Wang Leon and the girl were scolding the Korean boy.
"I can't believe this!" shrieked the girl. "How could you lose it?! It was your turn to look after it and you lost it?!"
"It was in my sleeve, da ze!" exclaimed the Korean boy as he began fumbling into the great sleeves of his white and blue hanbok. Matthew realized that the boy had a curl that was bouncing in the air as he continued moving, there was also what appeared to be a face there, and it looked equally panicked. "Where could it have gotten to…?"
"This isn't good…" sighed Wang Leon. "How would brother Yao like, react to this?"
The Korean boy then cried, "Hyeong!"
The girl rolled her eyes, "I still can't believe you lost the Jade Key to the places in the Relic Forest! It's been in our family for generations and thanks to you being so careless, it's lost forever!"
"Stop stressing Mei-Mei, da ze!" called the Korean boy. "I'm sure luck will shine on us and the key will return!"
"And just how could you be so sure?!" demanded "Mei-Mei".
"Excuse me..." Matthew chose to intervene. This led to three pairs of eyes fixing upon him. The Canadian boy felt nervous; he wasn't used to being noticed. He cleared his throat and revealed the jade key he and Lovino found earlier, "Is this the key you're looking for?" the three Asians gasped.
"See!" grinned the Korean boy. "Luck is shining on us, da ze! Did you know that luck originated from Korea?"
Mei snapped, "Shut up, Yong Soo!" she then turned to Matthewand Lovino. "Oh, thank you so much!" upon seeing Lovino, she flushed profoundly. "Oh…it's you again. I'm sorry about before with Pansage…"
Lovino shook his head and waved his hand dismissively again, "Forget it, alright bella?"
"Yong Soo, you should be grateful that these random strangers gave the key back," remarked Wang Leon. "Otherwise there's no telling what would happen next and how brother Yao would react." He then bowed to the pair, "Thank you; I am Wang Leon and these are my two younger siblings, Xiao Mei and Yong Soo."
"Um…if you don't mind me asking; what exactly is the key used for?" inquired Matthew curiously.
"The key is used to go to parts of the Relic Forest that are just past the Relic Stone," explained Xiao Mei.
"The Relic Stone?" asked Matthew, genuinely interested.
Leon nodded, "Yes, it is a beloved stone that—"
However, a loud voice screeched urgently, "Help! Help! There's trouble!"
Everyone whipped around and saw a kimono girl run in. She was panting, her white face even paler than before; she looked absolutely terrified. She gasped, taking in a sharp intake of breath, "Mistress...Xiao Mei! Master...Wang Leon! Master...Yong Soo! It's a serious situation! Some foreigners went into the Relic Forest!"
Leon's eyes widened, "What? Who were they?"
The kimono girl gulped, "I…I don't know…they shoved me aside when I asked what they were doing and…"
"Enough talk!" declared Leon. Matthew was shocked to see that despite his emotionless exterior, there was a great blaze burning right in the young man's eyes. "That can be saved for later! I'm so off!" and with that, he ran out of the Gym.
Yong Soo began leaping up and down, flailing his arms around, "Hey! Leon!" he exclaimed. "Wait for me, da ze!"
And with that, he ran after him with Mei who was really behind. Matthew and Lovino exchanged worried glances once the three young Asians had left the Gym.
"We should follow them," said Matthew.
"No shit," responded Lovino with a nod.
And this concludes this chapter! Yup! There are not one, but three Gym Leaders: Xiao Mei (Taiwan), Wang Leon (Hong Kong) and Im Yong Soo (South Korea). However, this will work exactly like the first Gym in the game of Pokémon Black & White.
Anyway, what's gonna happen now? What is going on in the Relic Forest? Tune in for the next chapter! Thoughts and opinions, guys? Well, have an awesome day! :DDD