Leaf challenged the Vermilion City Gym Leader Lt. Surge and suffered a crushing defeat! But the help of her friends and Pokemon she managed to overcome her depression. Now she heads to the S.S. Anne to polish her skills. What kinds of battles await her?
Chapter 14: All aboard the S.S. Anne!
"Ok, this must be!" Leaf said admiring the stateliness of the great ship the S.S. Anne. She was prepared to board the ship now; she had her ticket and had no trouble at all with the boarding. For the next two days the S.S. Anne wouldn't departure due to a party being hosted which very important people are invited, according to what Bill told Leaf back then. She wasn't sure about being surrounded by lots of fancy people, but after a while decided not to give so much importance to the issue.
"This will be you're room miss; enjoy your stay in the S.S. Anne". The bellboy said.
"Thank you very much, here". Leaf said giving some money to the bellboy.
"How polite of you". He said with a smile, making Leaf blush a little. After that he left.
Seconds later, Leaf let herself fall into the bed. After staying there for a while, she decided to take a look around the ship and challenge all trainers she could meet. She went to the ship's deck and noticed a sailor having a Pokemon battle with one of the passengers. The sailor Poliwhirl defeated easily the trainer's Farfetch'd.
"Whoa! That was amazing!" Leaf said.
"Heh heh! Not for being pompous, but I'm the best sailor trainer on these seas". The sailor said.
"Eh… ok then… I was wondering if I could have a battle with you". Leaf said, and the sailor agreed.
They took their positions on the battlefield on the deck; some passengers were about to witness the battle.
"I'm going to use Poliwhirl here. What you about you? Eh…?" The sailor said.
"Leaf Green". She answered. "My Pokemon is this one! Go Ivysaur!" Leaf said extending her arm with the Pokeball on her hand, releasing her starter after throwing it.
"Saur!" The Pokemon said.
"I'm counting on you Ivysaur!" Leaf said.
"Just because you have type advantage doesn't you're going to beat us". The sailor said smirking.
"We'll see about that!" Leaf said determined.
"Let's begin!" The sailor said.
Battle Music ON! Leaf vs. Sailor
"Ivysaur, Energy Ball!" Lear ordered to Ivysaur who shot the attack.
"Poliwhirl, Water Pulse!" The sailor ordered; Poliwhirl formed a rounded shape water ball that clashed with the Energy Ball, forming a small explosion of white smoke.
"Ivysaur, Vine Whip!" Leaf ordered.
"Dodge it!" The sailor ordered to Poliwhirl, who managed to dodge the attack with no problem at all. "Ice Beam!"
"Ivysaur, use Vine Whip on the Ice Beam's direction!" Leaf ordered.
"Huh?" The sailor said.
Ivysaur shot her vines through the Ice Beam direction, who got frozen on the process, but that was exactly what Leaf wanted. The Vine Whips kept going forward hitting Poliwhirl really hard, who cried in pain.
"Poliwhirl!" The sailor shouted concerned.
"Energy Ball!" Leaf ordered to Ivysaur; the attacked hit Poliwhirl, however, she still had some energy left.
"Let's finish it! Energy Ball once more!" Leaf ordered.
"Water Pulse!" The sailor said; once again the attacks clashed, forming a little of white smoke. "Poliwhirl, Hypnosis!" Poliwhirl got in front of Ivysaur and hypnotized her, causing her to fall asleep.
"Ivysaur!" Leaf shouted concerned.
"You caused us real trouble, and now it's payback time! Ice Beam!" The sailor ordered to Poliwhirl, who landed the super effective attack on Ivysaur.
"Ivysaur!" Leaf shouted concerned.
"Ice Beam once more!" The sailor ordered.
However, Ivysaur woke up due to the last attack she received. Ivysaur, responded back with an attack Leaf didn't recognized; it looked like an Energy Ball, but this was of a purple color. The attack clashed with the Ice Beam.
"What was that attack?" Leaf wondered and checked her Pokedex. "Sludge Bomb! That's great Ivysaur!" Leaf said.
"Double Slap!" The sailor quickly ordered, and Poliwhirl rushed to Ivysaur.
"Grab his hand with Vine Whip!" Ivysaur stopped Poliwhirl and was holding him by now.
"Hypnosis!" The sailor ordered.
"Sludge Bomb!" Leaf ordered.
Ivysaur was affected by the hypnosis again, not without hitting Poliwhirl first.
"Ice Beam!" The sailor ordered.
"Ivysaur, wake up!" Leaf shouted.
Just before Poliwhirl could launch the Ice Beam, his body glowed purple, meaning he got poisoned by the sludge bomb. Poliwhirl could not hold any longer and fell into the floor fainted.
"No! Poliwhirl!" The sailor said.
"Yes! We won Ivysaur!" Leaf said in happiness; she then noticed her starter was still asleep and giggled. "Ivysaur, return. Sweet dreams sleepy head". She said with a cute smile.
The sailor then approached Leaf. "You're pretty good Leaf". He said
"Ha ha! Thanks! You're really strong too; you gave some trouble even when you were at type disadvantage.
"At the end, the trainer and the Pokemon skills are the only thing that matters". The sailor said smiling.
The people clapped for witnessing a great battle, some of them were complimenting Leaf, which caused her to slightly blush.
"Heh heh…" She said shy. "This is a bit embarrassing". She said.
"Why is it embarrassing sweet heart? You displayed a really good show!" A female voice could be heard approaching to Leaf.
"Huh?!" Leaf said surprised to recognize that voice, then turn around to confirm her suspects. "MOM?!" She said.
"It's been a while Leaf!" Her mother said.
"W-What are you doing here?" Leaf asked.
"I was about to ask you the same thing a while ago, but I didn't want to interfere with the match". Her mother said smiling.
Leaf only smiled back and hugged her mom. "Mom, I've missed you so much". She said happy.
"Me too sweet heart, me too". She said.
After a while, they were now having a meal on the ship's deck. Leaf kept telling her mom stories of her journey so far.
"Looks like you've been having the time of your life Leaf". Her mother said.
"Yeah, and that's how I got the ticket for the S.S. Anne. As you can see, it's a pretty good way of training for my rematch at the Vermilion Gym" She said.
Her mother smiled and saw her to the eyes.
"Mom? What's wrong?" Leaf asked.
"Nothing, is just that I feel happy for seeing how much you've grown in this short time". Her mother said.
"Mom!" Leaf said blushed and a little shy.
"So, what other Pokemon you have sweet heart?" Her mother asked.
Leaf stood up from her seat. "I'll show you! Everyone, come out!" Leaf said releasing all of her Pokemon: Ivysaur, Pikachu, Staravia, Eevee.
"Wow! Most of them have already evolved!" Her mother said.
"Yeah! And this is the Eevee I got from Bill. Eevee!". Leaf and Eevee said.
"Nice to see all of you! Please take care of Leaf for me". She said; the Pokemon nodded.
"So Mom, how exactly are you here?"
"Oh right! The thing is there's going to be a Pokemon Contest here aboard the S.S. Anne". Her mother said.
"A Pokemon Contest?" Leaf said.
"That's right! And since I'm a veteran coordinator, I've been invited to act as a judge". She said.
"I see now". Leaf said, but then faced her head to the floor.
"What's wrong Leaf? Her mother asked.
"Eh? Oh… Nothing, it's just… I was recalling the day when I took my decision to follow the path of a Pokemon trainer… And… how I rejected to participate in contests; in the end, you supported me…" Leaf said.
"Now sweet heart, I don't want to see you sad all of a sudden. Remember you're free to follow the path you want! I'll be always there for you". She said with a smile.
"Mom… thank you". She said hugging her mother again.
It was sunset now; Leaf and her mother went to their respective rooms to rest a little.
"It's been a long day". Leaf said stretching.
"You spent the whole day having battles after all". Her mother said with a smile, causing Leaf to giggle.
Some way or another, she managed to win all of her battles. This made her gain more confidence. She battle against trainers which had a Pidgeotto, Sandshrew, a female Nidoran, Paras and Gloom.
"I'm beat". Leaf said. "Hey, mom?" She asked.
"Yes?" She responded back.
"I have my own room but, it's ok I sleep with you tonight?" Leaf asked.
Her mother smiled and answered back. "Of course! We haven't seen in a long time after all, and yet, seemed like forever…" She said.
"Mom…" Leaf said.
"Forget that last part, after all, it's for your own good". She said smiling to her daughter.
"Right! I'll keep doing my best!" She said.
Just when they about to enter Leaf's mother room, they were spotted by a man wearing what seemed an orange tuxedo, with some grey hair, about Leaf height; in other words, short.
"Hey, Atena!" The man said to Leaf's mother
(Finally, I reveal her mother's name LOL! Hope you guys like it :D)
"Mr. Contesta!" Atena responded back.
"It's good to use you'll be joining us in the contest". He said.
"Thanks". Atena said.
"Excuse me…" Leaf said.
"Oh, sorry! Where are my manners; I'm Mr. Contesta". He said.
"Hi! I'm Leaf Green! It's nice to meet you" Leaf said politely.
"Green? So she's you're Atena's daughter?" He asked.
"Yeah, this is my pride and joy" She said smiling to her daughter.
"And to think you were a spectacular coordinator many years ago, it makes feel so proud of you Atena". He said.
"What? So you know each other from very long ago?" Leaf asked.
"Yeah; Mr. Contesta here was present as a Judge in every one of my contests on my old days". Atena said.
"Wherever there's a Pokemon Contest I'm there". He said.
"Looks like you have the time of your life then". Leaf said.
"So, Leaf, are you ready for the Pokemon Contest?" He asked.
"What?" She asked confused.
"Contesta, Leaf is not a coordinator." Atena said.
"Oh! I'm really sorry. Since she's your daughter I thought she might have liked following your footsteps." Mr. Contesta said.
"Don't worry about it". Leaf said.
"So which are your aspirations Leaf?" He asked.
"The Pokemon League!" Leaf said with a determination on her face.
Mr. Contesta did smile. "You may not be a coordinator as I thought, but you sure are serious about your goals".
"Thanks". She said back.
"Say, I think it might be a good experience if you enter the contest". Mr. Contesta said.
"Sorry, but I know absolutely nothing about Pokemon Contests". She said scratching the back of her head.
"Don't worry about that Leaf, this particular contest won't have any performance round; we're jumping directly to the battles". Atena said back.
"Really?! Well, if it's just battles it will do me do for my rematch at the gym". Leaf said.
"Well, with that settled, you should hurry and sign for it". Mr. Contesta said.
"Thanks, a lot Mr. Contesta! I won't disappoint you!" Leaf said happy.
"You won't, you're my daughter after all!" Atena said with a big smile on her face.
Leaf accompanied by her mother went register for the contest. It was nightfall already. Leaf and her mother went to their respective rooms, not before saying good night to each other.
The next morning:
"Leaf! Leaf!" a female voice could be heard.
"Awww….! 5 more minutes!" Leaf said struggling on her bed.
"Have you forgot about the contest?" Atena said.
"Ah! The contest!" Leaf shouted as she fell from the bed. "Ouch…"
Her mother sighed. "Some things will never change, I guess". Leaf just laughed nervously. After that, they had a shower, had breakfast and went to the hall where the Pokemon Contest would be held.
"Ok sweetheart, I must attend my duty as a judge, and I warn you I won't give you preference just because you're my daughter". Atena said.
"Couldn't be another way" Leaf said ready for everything that comes.
"That's my girl! I really wish good luck though". Atena said smiling.
"Thanks mom! I'll do my best!" Leaf said.
The battle rules would be just like the ones on conventional Pokemon Contests: each trainer can use only one Pokemon per battle; the match will last 5 minutes, whoever has the highest score before the time runs out, reduces the opponents points to 0%, or defeats the rival Pokemon, wins the match.
There were a total of 32 participants, and for her luck, Leaf was the first one to fight. She and her opponent were on their respective sides of the battlefield. Her opponent was a real pompous rich boy; both revealed they Pokemon at the same time: Leaf took out Ivysaur, while the rich boy had a Machoke.
Battle Music ON! Leaf vs. Rich Boy
Score: (Leaf, 100%; Rich Boy, 100%). Time left: 5:00 min.
"Ivysaur, Energy Ball!" Lear ordered to Ivysaur.
"Machoke, Dynamic Punch!" The Rich Boy ordered to Machoke, who bounced the Energy Ball.
"Slugde Bomb!" Leaf didn't waste any time and made another command, damaging Machoke a bit.
"Revenge!" Machoke hit really hard Ivysaur, dealing massive damage. "Revenge power is double is the user it hit first". He said cockily.
Score: (Leaf, 74%; Rich Boy, 88%). Time left: 4:34 min.
"Vine Whip!" Ivysaur lauched her whips directly to Machoke, but he was able to grab them. However, this part of Leaf's plan. "Leech Seed!" Ivysaur was now draining energy from Machoke.
"Machoke, send it to fly!" The Rich Boy ordered
"Stick to your feet Ivysaur!" Leaf said to her starter; Ivysaur has getting a hold of herself with the vine whips Machoke was grabbing. "Slugde Bomb!" The attack hit Machoke again, this time poising him badly and letting go Ivysaur.
Score: (Leaf, 66%; Rich Boy, 55%). Time left: 3:21 min
"Let's finish this, Energy Ball!" Leaf ordered.
"Machoke, dodge and use Dual Chop!" The Rich Boy ordered; Machoke was able to dodge the attack and rushed to Ivysaur, but was affected by the poison, later by leech seed, leaving him vulnerable.
"Energy Ball once more!" Ivysaur delivered the final blow; Machoke was unable to battle.
Score: (Leaf, 61%; Rich Boy, 0%). Time left: 2:44 min.
"We did it Ivysaur!" Leaf said hugging her starter.
Atena was really proud of her daughter.
Leaf's next match was against a female trainer with a Ponyta, but it was not problem for Eevee. She was now between the Top 8 of the Contest. There was a small recess.
Nurse Joy had just finished healing Ivysaur and Pikachu.
"You guys really did great out there" Leaf said scratching the heads of her Pokemon.
"Ivysaur! Pikachu!" The Pokemon cried with happiness.
"Let's keep moving forward in the contest" She said with determination.
Leaf was now facing a particular trainer with green hair and holding a rose on the left hand. He really had a confidence face; his name was Drew, originated from the Hoenn region. His attitude sure was cockier than that rich boy.
Leaf took Staravia, while Drew was using Roselia.
"What that's Pokemon?" Leaf said checking her Pokedex.
"Roselia, the thorn Pokemon; It uses the different poisons in each hand separately when it attacks. The stronger its aroma, the healthier it is. It's grass-poison type, commonly found in the Hoenn region".
"Hoenn, eh?" Leaf said.
"What's the matter lady? Scared?" Drew said cockily.
"You just remind me to someone else" She said sighing.
Begin!
Battle Music ON! Leaf vs. Drew
Score: (Leaf, 100%; Drew, 100%). Time left: 5:00 min.
"Staravia, Quick Attack!" Leaf ordered to Staravia, rushing towards Roselia now.
"Dodge!" Drew ordered to Roselia; the female evaded the attack in the last second before impact. "Magical Leaf!"
"Dodge Staravia!" Staravia was avoiding the leafs that Roselia fired, but they redirected into Staravia's direction, dealing some damage.
"H-How did she-?!" Leaf said surprised.
"Magical Leaf always hits its target" Drew said smirking.
"Just like Swift… Hey that's it!" Leaf said.
Score: (Leaf, 85%; Drew, 100%). Time left: 4:29 min.
"Aerial Ace!" Staravia rushed towards Roselia at full speed, hitting this time and dealing super effective damage on Roselia.
"Are you ok Roselia?" Drew asked to his Pokemon, who got up and nodded. "Due to Aerial Ace speed, it also never misses". He said.
"Aerial Ace once more!" Leaf ordered.
"Roselia, Stun Spore!" Drew ordered; Roselia shot lots of spores to the directions Staravia was coming from, paralyzing the Pokemon.
"Staravia!" Leaf shouted concerned.
"This is what happens with the major leagues" Drew said cockily while holding a rose near his head.
Score: (Leaf, 69%; Drew, 89%). Time left: 3:35 min.
"We're not done yet! Staravia, gain altitude!" "Staaaaar!" The flying-normal-type said.
"Roselia, Petal Dance!" Roselia was now at center at the field while she shot lots beautiful petals directly to Staravia.
"Double Team!" Leaf ordered to Staravia, forming dozens of copies, but the Petal Dance was forming a beautiful flower sketch that eliminated all copies, plus the performing was gorgeous; this is what Pokemon Contests are meant. Roselia, got confused however, but quickly recovered from it.
Score: (Leaf, 52%; Drew, 85%). Time left: 2:37 min.
For a moment, the real Staravia couldn't move due to the paralysis and got hit by the Petal Dance, falling now in nosedive.
"It's over" Drew said cockily. "Magical Leaf!"
"Not yet… No matter what's the situation, we will always get through!" Leaf shouted. "Staravia, BRAVE BIRD!" With that said, Staravia effulged his entire body in blue flames; thanks to the nosedive, he gained a boost and hit Roselia really hard, sending flying far way after taking serious damage,
"Roselia!" Drew shouted concerned. Staravia was suffering due to the recoil and also got hit by Magical Leaf again.
Score: (Leaf, 35%; Drew, 64%). Time left: 1:44 min.
"Roselia, Solar Beam!" Roselia started to charged energy.
"Staravia, Aerial Ace!" Leaf ordered to Staravia, but couldn't move due to the paralysis. "Oh no!" She said.
Roselia, had finally charged enough energy.
"Come on Staravia, you can do this! Double Team!" Leaf motivated his Pokemon, who made lots of copies again.
"Darn it… Fire all of them!" Roselia shot the powerful Solar Beam directly to all copies.
"NOW, AERIAL ACE!" All the remaining copies went directly to Roselia, performing an Aerial Ace; Roselia redirected the Solar Beam to those copies, but none of them was the real one.
"What?!" Drew shouted confused. "AH! Above you Roselia!" It was too late for Roselia to react, as the real Staravia dove from the ceiling delivering the final blow; Roselia was now unable to battle.
Score: (Leaf, 24%; Drew, 0%). Time left: 0:52 min.
"We won!" Leaf shouted happily while rushing to his Pokemon and hug him. "You were great Staravia! "Star!" The duo said.
Atena was seeing his little from his judge table; she was really proud of her daughter. Mr. Contesta noticed her couldn't help but to smile.
"Hey!" Drew said while approaching to Leaf and offering the hand. "I gotta say, you're really something, I admit I overconfident for a second; that mistake cost me the battle". He said.
Leaf got up and gave a hand shake. "Thanks; you really made Roselia look gorgeous on stage" She said smiling to the grass-poison-type, who also did a handshake with Staravia.
"I guess, I'll be seeing you in the next contest" Drew said.
"I don't think so, I'm much into battle; I participated in this contest to gain some experience". Leaf said.
"I see… That explains why you're attacks don't look so esthetic. Still, you beat fair and square". He said; Leaf took it a compliment.
A few minutes later, Leaf returned Staravia to his Pokeball after healing him up with some potions and berries. She was now at the semi-finals. His next opponent was an adult with long blonde hair wearing what it seemed a purple tuxedo; his name was Robert.
Leaf vs. Robert
Score: (Leaf, 100%; Robert, 100%). Time left: 5:00 min.
How will this fight end? Find out next chapter!
-To be Continued-
Hey everyone! I'm not dead as you can see LOL! College has gotten in the way, and also I was lacking of inspiration. But don't worry, my vacations start pretty soon! Thanks for reading!