Chapter 20
It was the first day of November, which meant Halloween was over. Everyone, who attended the Ghoul-n-Spook Pokémon tournament last night, helped with cleaning up. They did such a good job, that the city looked like nothing special ever happened.
"Well brother dear, how does it feel to be a Golden Twin and the champion of the Ghoul-n-Spook tournament?" Whitney asked as Aly, Duncan, and she walked down the streets.
"It feels amazing! Haunter deserved that trophy." Duncan answered her, raising a fist to emphasize his point.
"I agree; you both did amazing. Right, Totodile?" Aly added with a smile, her arms crossed behind her back. Totodile glanced up at her as he walked and shrugged in answer. Though he pretends to hate the Ghost Pokémon, he felt a little pride for it on the inside. "Wish you could be a little more enthusiastic about it." The crimson-haired tween muttered under her breath.
"It's a shame Bill had to go back to Kanto as soon as the tournament was done. I know he needs to complete his work, but I still wanted to see him and thank him for everything." Whitney said with a frown.
"Yeah, I wanted to make sure he was okay. After all, he almost lost his Eevee." Duncan agreed.
"True, but now we know that Eevee is in safe hands. Right, Whitney?" Aly asked with a wink.
"Yep!" Reaching down to touch the Pokeball containing said Pokémon, Whitney could not help but feel pride and joy; excited to make new memories with Eevee.
"Does that mean that you're gonna use Eevee in your battle, sis?" The purple haired young man asked his sister.
"You bet!" Whitney suddenly picked up the pace until she was right in front of Aly, raising her fist. "I hope you give a promising battle, Aly. After all, we waited this long."
"Yeah, and I better see the same thing from you, Whitney."
The trio made it to the gym, but when they entered, Aly was suddenly pushed back and trapped within two arms.
"Kiddo, you're okay!"
"Camilo!" She should have expected the stout man to be here, since today was her gym battle with Whitney, but the sudden bear hug was still overwhelming.
"I see you know our S.T.B.C coach." Duncan commented with a sweat drop on the corner of his head.
"Yep, Camilo found me back in Violet City when I had my first battle with Falkner." Aly answered when she was finally released from the man's grasp.
However, still feeling sentimental, Camilo went in for Totodile as soon as he released Aly. "Good to see you too, Totodile!" He said, rivers of tears flowing down from his sunglasses-covered eyes. Totodile struggled to escape, but his arms were trapped within Camilo's.
"Camilo, could you please let go of Totodile before you crush him to death?" Aly asked, trying to smile politely at the situation.
"Ah, yes. Sorry, Totodile." The stout man apologized and released the Jaw Pokémon, to his relief.
"Not to be rude, but why did you hug Totodile and I so suddenly like that?"
"Oh, it was horrible! I was back in Azalea Town to try out this really great sandwich shop I heard about when on the TV news, I saw that the Goldenrod City Department was under attacked by Team Rocket! What's worse; when they showed the list of hostages, your face popped up! Oh goodness, kiddo. I tried to get here as fast as I could, but…" Camilo ceased his rambling when the dreaded thought of something bad happening to the girl. Although he has only known the girl for a couple of weeks, he has grown to care for the crimson-haired tween. He did care for all his past S.T.B.C's, but he could not help himself to worry.
Aly was touched by Camilo's concern. She sees that he's become to care for her, and she was glad. If you take out Silver (since he was her rival) and the Professor (He was more of a mentor to her), Camilo is the first friend she ever made since she started on her journey. And she was glad for that fact.
"Don't worry, Camilo. I'm fine now." Hearing those words, Camilo smiled and wiped his fingers towards his eyes, indicating he might start crying.
"Well, everyone, how about we head on in and begin this battle?" Whitney asked the group, wanting to change the subject before she starts crying herself. They agreed with the pinkette and they walked through the double doors.
"The battle between trainer Aly Gray of NewBark Town and the gym leader Whitney is about to begin. Each trainer will use 3 Pokémon and only the trainer is allowed to make substitutions. The battle will be over when all 3 Pokémon are unable to continue. Trainers ready?"
"Ready!"
"Then, let the battle…begin!"
With Camilo's referee introduction done, the two girls began to summon their first Pokémon. However, as Aly reached to her belt for her Pokeball, Whitney looked towards her Clefairy, who was beside her. "Clefairy, I'm gonna use you first, okay?"
Clefairy, feeling good about being chosen first, nodded at her trainer with a smile and jumped into position.
"Good luck, Clefairy!" Misdreavus, hovering over Duncan's shoulder, shouted to her best friend with a smile.
Clefairy returned the smile and waved. "Thank you, Misdreavus!"
"Togepi, time to shine!" Aly announced as she tossed her Pokeball up.
Duncan (who was sitting in the front row of the bleachers in front of the battlefield with his Misdreavus), Camilo, and even Totodile were shocked when they saw the baby Pokémon appear from the light and landed on the battle ground, doing his little dance.
Unlike Camilo and Duncan, Totodile started to glare at the Egg Pokémon, growling a little when Togepi took no notice of him.
Aly heard the small growling and looked down at her partner, shocked to see this behavior. Totodile is becoming jealous, of Togepi? This was something Aly couldn't resist. "Jealous, tough guy?"
Totodile immediately stopped growling and gaped at his trainer, and then he turned his head to the side with a faint blush on his cheeks.
"You're using Togepi? Won't this be his first battle?" Whitney interrupted.
"Uh huh. I think Togepi has done enough observing from the sidelines and deserves a battle of his own. Right?" She called out and asked.
"Togei!" He answered her with a smile.
"Since this is Togepi's first battle, I'll let him do the honors." Whitney said with her arms crossed over her chest.
"Thanks. Okay Togepi, use Extrasensory!"
Togepi obeyed and closed his small eyes to summon the powerful move. Feeling something in his eyes, he opened them up and they began to glow golden. Raising his stubby hands, Togepi focused the energy to his hands and when he did, two beams of multi-colored rings shot out of his hand.
"Quick, Clefairy! Metronome!" Raising one of her fingers, Clefairy began to rock her hands back and forth to build up the power of the move. When she felt a move come to her, she stopped moving her hands. She felt something weird inside her, and it made her body glow for a second. Then, it was as if Clefairy had begun to clone herself; about 10 other Clefairy's appearing, only they were transparent.
Togepi did not like the sudden change, which made his Extrasensory attack to fade away. He tried to find the real Clefairy, but it was useless. Clefairy's Metronome turned into Double Team, which meant Togepi probably will not be able to find her for a while.
"Now use Double Slap!" Whitney commanded with a smile, silently thanking fate for making the Metronome turn into a Double Team.
The 'Clefairys' stopped spinning when the command was given and the real one jumped forth, raising her right hand and slapped the Egg Pokémon on the sides of his face.
Togepi never felt this much pain before, and he could feel two tiny pools of tears forming in the corners of his eyes. It may seem like nothing, but he was still only a child. Togepi could not help himself. It hurt a lot. He was starting to want to quit the battle and run back to Aly's arms, so she could make the pain go away.
As much as Aly hated seeing her Pokémon in trouble, she knew Togepi wants to continue the battle. No, he needed to continue the battle. He could not stay as her little baby forever; he needs to get stronger. "Hang in there, Togepi. I know it hurts, but you need to stay strong. Okay?"
Was she right? He could get stronger? That would be a good idea for him to evolve. Then, he could prove to Aly he was getting stronger and better in battles. She could use him more often. So, with a smile, Togepi nodded.
"That's my Togepi. Now, just focus on where the real Clefairy is. Once you find her, use Sweet Kiss." She reassured him.
Nodding again, Togepi returned his attention to the battle. It was hard for him to focus on one thing when there were other things spinning around him.
It took him a while, but he finally got a good shot at Clefairy. Smiling, Togepi raised one of his stubby hands to his lips, made a small pucker, and released a large pink heart to his target.
Sadly, the heart went straight through Clefairy, or in this case, the Double Team.
"Uh oh, wrong one." Aly muttered to herself.
"Sorry, Togepi, but Clefairy and I can't let you get away that easy. After all, I am a gym leader." Whitney apologized with a small smile and a playful wave. "Clefairy, use Double Slap!"
"Cle-fair!" The Fairy Pokémon nodded, and then, emerging from her actual spot within the Double Team. Togepi was unable to move, since he had no idea where Clefairy was originally hiding, and took the Double Slap to the face again.
"You okay, Togepi?" Aly asked her baby Pokémon with concern.
Togepi held in the tears and smiled back at his trainer, trying to be strong like she said.
"Okay, good." Aly sighed in relief. She suddenly noticed that the spinning 'Clefairys' have disappeared and now the real Clefairy stood alone. "The Double Team's gone. Now use Sweet Kiss!"
Seeing that Aly was right, Togepi raised his stubby hand to his lips and released the heart. This time, it gently smacked Clefairy and faded into her. Clefairy's consciousness slowly faded away and was replaced with confusion, her eyes turning into swirls.
"Clefairy, no!" Whitney called out to her Pokémon.
"Perfect. Now you can use Extrasensory, Togepi!" The crimson haired tween said happily, glad to see that the move landed successfully.
As Togepi began to charge up his Psychic power, Whitney began to grow nervous and decided to use the short amount of time to snap her Pokémon out of the confusion. "Clefairy, if you can hear me, use Psychic!" Sadly, her partner could not hear her, so she began to use the commanded move on herself. Whitney groaned at the sight.
Togepi finished his time and opened his now golden-glowing eyes, raising his two hands as two beams of multi-colored rings shot out.
Unlike the first time, the two magical beams landed successfully and Clefairy was knocked off her feet.
Duncan crossed his arms as he watched the battle. It was true that Duncan was Whitney's brother and rival, but to see her on the verge of losing a battle made him nervous as well. Why he was feeling nervous for her when he was not the one battling, he'll never know. It may be a twin thing.
"Come on, Clefairy! Get up!" The pinkette gym leader called out to her partner again, praying that her voice could reach her ears.
Although not quite out of the confusion, Clefairy's eyes started to slow down from the spinning, but they did not return to their usual shape.
"Thank goodness. Okay, Clefairy, use Metronome!"
Clefairy nodded, though she still felt a little lightheaded. She raised her two hands and lifted one finger. She rocked them back and forth, until they glowed blue. Clefairy slowly opened her mouth and as soon as she did, small rays of light suddenly appeared inside of her mouth.
'Don't tell me…that's a Solar Beam? And if that Solar Beam lands…'
Not liking how she sounded in her head, Aly frantically turned to Togepi. She should tell him to use Extrasensory, but that wouldn't faint Clefairy. And Clefairy would be able to use Solar Beam. An attack that strong could seriously hurt Togepi. Or maybe even faint him. 'I have no choice. I have to do something, no matter the risk.'
"Togepi, use Metronome too!"
Togepi looked back at her trainer and frowned, not sure that was the right choice to make. But he had faith in his trainer.
With that, Togepi lifted his own hands and began to rock them back and forth, allowing the blue light to appear on his hands.
He felt strange power coming from his hands now, so Togepi arched his right hand back and saw that a light blue sphere of energy was forming.
"Amazing. Metronome is turning into Focus Blast." Duncan commented to himself, surprised that out of all the good and bad moves a Pokémon can know, a powerful move like Focus Blast is something Togepi got.
"Let 'er rip, Togepi!" Aly ordered with a smile.
"To…" Togepi began to twist his sides to the left, and then he released the energy sphere. "Gei!"
Clefairy's Solar Beam was finally complete, but it faded instantly when she felt a sudden force against her stomach. Pain came to her and she immediately forgot about the Solar Beam.
Knocked off by the great power, Clefairy lay fainted on the battle field.
"Clefairy is unable to battle. Togepi is the winner!" Camilo declared with his left hand raised at Aly and Togepi.
Walking over to her fallen Pokémon, Whitney made a small smile as she gathered her in her arms. "You were amazing, Clefairy. Really, you were."
"Cle-fair." Clefairy said weakly.
"You did your best, Clefairy!" Misdreavus yelled to her best friend, hoping to cheer her up.
"Clefair!" She responded happily, jumping out of her trainers arms and raised her two hands, but then regretted it when she remembered that almost her whole body hurt.
"Slow down, Clefairy. You're still hurt. How about I get you to Duncan and you can watch the battle with Misdreavus?" Whitney asked, which Clefairy agreed with a nod.
Whitney quickly picked up her partner, ran her over Duncan, placed her in his lap, and ran back to her spot.
"Go, Whitney!" Clefairy and Misdreavus yelled out together joyfully.
As she dropped off her partner, Aly walked over to her successful Pokémon and knelt in front of him. "Togepi, that was awesome. You're definitely ready for battling from now on." The crimson tween praised with a smile.
"Togei!"
"But I guess you're not ready to evolve yet. Which is strange; battling a high leveled Pokémon like Clefairy should've gotten you a lot of experience points." Aly wondered. After that battle, Togepi should be caught up with Totodile and her other Pokémon now. Pidgeotto got a lot of experience, back when she was a Pidgey, so what's wrong with Togepi?
Her mind began to get more curious. If experience points is not enough for evolution, then what is? Do some Pokémon evolve differently? 'Oh, well. I've got a gym battle to finish. I can ask Professor Elm this later.'
"Togepi, return." Aly ordered as she brought out his Pokeball and watch Togepi vanish into the light.
Returning to her spot, Aly saw that Whitney has given her Clefairy to Duncan to watch over during their battle.
"Wow, I didn't expect Togepi to come out in the end." Realizing what she just said, Whitney blushed and guilt washed over her. "Uhh, that's not what I meant! I meant that…umm…"
Aly could not help but chuckle at Whitney's reaction. "It's okay. In all honesty, I had my doubts too. After all, Togepi is my youngest Pokémon. It's only been 2 weeks since Togepi hatched from his egg. After that battle, though, I felt bad about doubting him. I'm glad I chose him first."
"Aww, how cute. Then how about we continue the battle?" The pinkette asked.
Aly nodded and looked down at her Jaw Pokémon. "Ready to go, Totodile?" Totodile did not even hesitate and jumped into position, answering his trainer's question.
"Totodile, huh? Looks like I have to step it up. Miltank, come on out!" Whitney called out as she tossed her Pokeball. The red and white sphere opened up and Miltank landed on the ground, making it shake once. "Mil-mil!"
Whitney remembered that Togepi went first in the beginning round, so she made the first move. "Miltank, use Attract!"
"Mil!" Doing a cute twirl, Miltank wink playfully and multiple pink hearts came from her eye.
"Dodge it, Totodile!" Aly warned, but she was too slow. The hearts have already made contact with Totodile's stomach, shrinking into nothing.
Aly sweat dropped when she saw that Totodile's normal ruby eyes turned into pink hearts and was gawking at Miltank. "Oh great." She muttered, covering her face with her hand to prevent herself from looking at the embarrassing scene.
"Now use Rollout!"
"Mil-mil!" Miltank agreed, and then she jumped up and rolled her body fast towards Totodile.
Hearing the command, Aly removed her hand from her face. "Totodile, dodge!" To her horror, Totodile continued to hold his head and stayed in position.
Miltank finally approached him and slammed her spinning body into his, sending him across the field and into the wall near Aly. "Totodile!"
Totodile slowly opened his eyes, which were now glowing in the same shade of pink that the Attract heart, and shook his head. Jumping out of the crater in the wall, he started to charge for Miltank, who stopped spinning. "Great, use Ice Fang!"
Totodile nodded through his struggle, and weakly opened his jaw open, allowing his fangs to grow cold and icy. He jumped up towards Miltank and bit into her front hoof. "Mil!" Miltank cried out in pain.
"Good job, Totodile." Aly complimented to her partner, but her smile disappeared when she saw Totodile went back to struggling against the Attract effect. "Oh, boy. Hang in there, Totodile."
"Use Stomp!" Hearing her pinkette trainer's words, the Cow Pokémon braced herself and took one high jump, lifting her right hoof.
"Duck, Totodile!" The crimson tween warned him. Totodile agreed with a, "To" and lowered his body, shifting to the right. A small smile formed on his mouth as he watched his opponent return to the ground and planting her hoof at the spot where his head would have been.
However, he was not expecting a sudden recovery. "Go in for a Rollout!"
"Mil-mil!" Before Totodile could react, Miltank shifted herself into a ball, moving herself forward at a fast spinning speed, and forced her body to the right. She smashed into Totodile's side, and the hard contact caused the poor Water Pokémon's small body to go sky rocketing up.
"Totodile!" Aly cried out, watching her partner not moving in the air. She wanted to help him so badly, but what could she do? If she intervened, the battle would be over. She wouldn't be able to forgive herself, and she knew Totodile would hate her for helping him during a battle.
"Jump up and use Stomp on Totodile, Miltank!" Whitney commanded with a fist raised and a confident smile.
Though Miltank may not seem fast on the outside, she was a heck of a speedster. Well, in Totodile's opinion. One second, he saw Miltank's small body from the ground. The next, she was above him with her right hoof raised.
Totodile was torn. His inside voice was screaming for him to move, but his other inside was telling him, in a stern tone, not to hurt this beautiful Cow Pokémon he loved so much. It was strange; Totodile never once imagined in his head two unseeing voices punching each other for control of his body.
Miltank sweetly smiled and began to lower her hoof slowly.
This was going to hurt. A lot.
Once the hoof made contact with the stomach, a blue blur sped down and crashed into the ground, causing large clouds of smoke to form and spread out within the room. It came so fast, that everyone outside the battlefield had to shield their eyes with their arms.
A moment later, the smoke cleared and everyone lowered their arms. In front of them was a crater in the ground and a heavily-breathing Miltank in front of it.
"Totodile!" Aly called out, her teal eyes wide and her fists clenching hard.
"Is Totodile unable to battle?" Camilo asked his S.T.B.C., leaning over to see the results. He was expecting to see a fallen blue body within the crater, but to everyone's surprise, he was not in the crater.
In fact, Totodile was nowhere to be seen.
"He's gone!?" Aly gasped aloud in horror, clutching her green beanie cap.
"Where did he go?" Whitney asked; confused on where her opponent's Pokémon could be.
"You two don't think he used the clouds of smoke to cover himself and hide?" Duncan asked with his arms crossed, pointing the question to Clefairy and Misdreavus. The two females gave each other questioning looks, and then they shook their heads.
"Totodile! Where did you go?" Aly cupped her hands and called out. 'How on Earth did I lose Totodile during a battle?'
"Miltank, look around the field and see if you can find him." Whitney instructed her Pokémon. Miltank nodded, and then she began to move around to find her opponent. Suddenly, Whitney gasped, stuttering out her next words. "M-Mil-Miltank. Behind you…" Miltank tilted her head, confused why her trainer was acting strange, but she obeyed and turned around.
There, clutched on Miltank's back, was Totodile.
"Totodile!?" Everyone cried out in confusion.
"To…To…" It appeared that the Jaw Pokémon could not hear them, since his eyes were closed in content and he continued to nuzzle Miltank from behind. "Mil?" The pink Cow Pokémon asked in confusion, not believing what was happening to her.
"Looks like I was right about Totodile sneaking up on Miltank. Clever move." Duncan commented, with Misdreavus and Clefairy nodding.
"Seriously, Totodile? Snap out of it and get off of Miltank!" Aly ordered in an annoyed tone.
Once again, she was ignored by him. Seeing this made Aly pull the front of her beanie cap over eyes and grit her teeth. "This is humiliating."
"Miltank, try shaking Totodile off your back!" Whitney suggested.
"Mil-mil!" Miltank nodded. Then, she started to twist her body back and forth with all her strength. Sadly, Totodile continued to use his small hands and feet to cling on to her. "Mil…" She sighed in defeat.
'How can I get Totodile off of her? I wonder if…yes!' Whitney smiled as the idea she thought of became perfectly clear in her head. She outstretched her hand. "Miltank, prepare to use Rollout!"
"Oh no!" Aly reacted. Turning her gaze back at her lovesick partner, she continued to attempt to snap her Pokémon out, even if it will only be for a moment. "Totodile, please! I'm begging you!" The results never changed; Totodile never opened his eyes at her plea. 'If I don't snap Totodile out of this, he's gonna be flatter than pancakes. Unless…' As if something smack on the crimson-haired girl's head, Aly blinked and pounded her fist on the palm of her other hand. 'Perfect!' She lowered her hands and looked at her partner with teal eyes. "Totodile, I need you to just concentrate on me right now. Just remember who I am and you'll be alright."
After a few moments, the girl smiled as Totodile's ceased his nuzzling, opened his eyes, and turned to her. Though his eyes were outlined in pink, she was grateful that they were no longer shaped like hearts. Which meant she has some part of Totodile looking at her.
"Totodile, listen to me. When I say so, I want you to get ready to use Ice Fang. Okay?" She asked him, praying that he would listen to her.
Thankfully, Totodile nodded slowly. Aly nodded back and turned her attention to Whitney's next move.
"Go Miltank!" The pinkette ordered with a raise of her arm.
"Mil…" Miltank began to lean back (along with Totodile), preparing to jump.
'Get ready, Totodile.' Aly mentally sent to her partner. It shocked her a little when he glanced to her and nodded.
Time to slow down, as Miltank pushed her hooves off the ground and began to use gravity to dive forward into the ground, beginning to form her body into a ball.
"Now!" Aly gave the signal, and Totodile opened his large jaw. Ignoring the mental protests of not to hurt his 'loved one', Totodile's teeth glowed icy blue and he bit down on to Miltank's back. As soon as he saw the ice forming from his teeth, he released his hold on her and allowed himself to fall off.
Soon, Miltank's rolling body reached the ground, and the ice began to grow by the minute. Miltank realized what was going on and wanted to stop it, but it was too late. Her rolling body was soon covered in a sphere of ice. And in spite of all that; the Rollout was still going.
"Miltank!" Whitney cried out.
"It worked!" Aly happily said aloud, a big smile on her face. However, her smile faded as she saw the Rollout was still spinning, and heading towards Totodile. "Quick, Totodile! Use Water Gun while you're still resisting Attract!"
Once again, Aly smiled when she saw Totodile's pink eyes looking at her and his head nodding at her command. Jumping over the rolling ball of ice that was coming at him, Totodile opened his jaw and led out the Water Gun. The beam of pure water shot across the area and smacked right into the back of the frozen Miltank. The pressure of the Water Gun forced the rolling chunk of ice to roll at a faster pace and away from Totodile. It kept rolling and rolling until it came in contact with the wall to the left of Whitney. A large crash and cracks from the wall were heard.
Moments later, Miltank laid on the ground, thawed out, and unconscious, with spinning spirals in her eyes. Behind her was a crater with melted ice on the wall.
"Miltank is unable to battle. Totodile is the winner!"
"Way to go, Totodile!" Aly praised her partner, whose pink glowing eyes returned back to their natural ruby color. He sighed in relief, happy that he no longer had supposed romantic feelings towards his opponent.
"Return, Miltank." Whitney commanded with Pokeball in hand, and then smiling at it when Miltank returned inside. "You did well. Now you rest for a bit." Placing the ball back on her belt, Whitney looked back up at Aly. "I've never seen a Pokémon able to resist Attract that many times."
"Yeah, it was quite a shock for me too." Teal eyes glanced at the Jaw Pokémon. "Why don't you take a break, Totodile?" She asked gently. She was sure Totodile was going to protest, but she was proven wrong when Totodile jogged back to her side, crossing his arms behind his head. It looked like he was getting better at listening to Aly when it came to recalling him back. Then, she turned back to Whitney. "It's a no brainer who you're going to use next, right Whitney?" The crimson-haired girl asked playfully.
Whitney chuckled lightly at the sarcastic joke. "Nope. And I've been waiting for this one since the battle started. Now's the time."
Reaching for her belt, Whitney pulled out the black Pokeball with the autumn colored design. "Eevee, come on out!"
The Pokeball opened up and unlike what an average Pokeball does, orange and brown lines danced around the white light. The light faded into a small form, with the magical lines switching to dance around it. Soon, all lights faded and Eevee appeared on the battlefield. "Vee vee!"
"Hey, I didn't know Whitney had an Eevee. When did that happen?" Camilo asked, rubbing the top of his brown bowl-cut hair in confusion.
"Just last night." Duncan answered, making Camilo turning around to face him. "When Aly and Whitney went missing, I went to go save them. However, this man named Bill also lost something important, so he came with me. Turned out that his Eevee was missing. When we found everyone, and he learned that Whitney protected Eevee, he offered to give Whitney Eevee, as a meaning of gratitude."
"Wow, that's quite a thank you gift." The older stout man joked with a smile, and then turning his attention back to the battle that was about to start.
Aly grabbed her pink Pokeball and tossed it into the air. "Vulpix, time to shine!" The Love Ball opened and out came Vulpix. Also, just like the Luxury Ball, it had a different opening. Instead of the usual white light, the Love Ball emitted a pale pink light. And when Vulpix touched the ground, two pink hearts appeared beside her, fading away right after.
"This Whitney's last Pokémon, Vulpix. I know you can do this." Aly encourage her Fox Pokémon.
"Vul!" She nodded with a smile. Suddenly, she saw Totodile beside her, trying to look at the ground. That, and he had a faint blush on his cheeks. "Vul-pix pix!" She called out to him. He looked up immediately, and was greeted with a smile. "Wish me luck?" She asked, not aware how cute she appeared (in Totodile's opinion) right now.
Unable to find his voice, he looked down again, but this time he added a quick nod.
When he felt something, however, he looked up and saw his trainer giving him a very amused look on her face, arms crossed. "Aren't we blushing a lot right now?" She teased with a wink.
Aly Gray love to tease her partner (and even Ekans') current crush on Vulpix, but she always regretted it when Totodile would let out a Water Gun on her face.
Now drenched, Aly decided to ignore it and turn back to the battle. Seeing Whitney has not made a move yet, Aly went first. "Vulpix, use Quick Attack!"
"Vul!" Vulpix agreed, pushing herself ahead as a white light appeared behind her as she ran.
"Dodge it, Eevee!"
"Vee!" The Evolution Pokémon jumped to the right, easily dodging the attack.
"Now use your own Quick Attack!" Whitney countered quickly. Eevee mimicked Vulpix's movement with her own Quick Attack, and it got Vulpix on the side. It cause Vulpix to get pushed back, even though she tried pushing her paws down hard on the ground.
"You okay, Vulpix?" Aly asked in concern. Vulpix looked behind her and nodded. 'Looks like this Eevee isn't a beginner. Probably has some good battle experience in it.' Aly thought to herself. "Try Ember!"
"Vul-pix!" Opening her small mouth, small specks of flame came from the Fox Pokémon's mouth. Eevee was not able to dodge them so easily and cried out in pain as the flames hit its body.
"Alright!" The crimson girl shouted to herself. This was Vulpix's first official (Aly never considered the one against her own Pokémon at the Goldenrod Department Store as her first, and Vulpix was not Aly's when she battled against Ekans at their first meeting) battle, and she was already doing amazing.
"Eevee, are you alright?" Whitney asked her new Pokémon. Eevee shook her body to get rid of the specks, and when it was clean, it nodded its head. "Good, use Swift!"
"Vee-vee Vee!" Eevee nodded, and then opened its mouth and led out a group of golden spinning stars out of its mouth. Vulpix jumped to the side and watch the stars pass her, but she was unable to predict the stars to make a large turn and hit her in the back.
"Vulpix!" The crimson-haired tween called out to her Pokémon.
"Now use Quick Attack!" Whitney commanded.
Aly snapped out and recovered with a command of her own. "You use Quick Attack too, Vulpix!"
The two small Pokémon led out their cries, arched back, and stampede forward with white lights behind their tails. Both were at the same speed and both had determined looks on their faces. Finally, they collided, and a large cloud of smoke formed. Not a usual one that made people cover their faces, but enough to cover the whole battlefield.
Once the smoke cleared, the field revealed Eevee and Vulpix, only Eevee was covered in scratches and Vulpix had none.
Soon, Eevee fell on the ground, with swirls in its eyes.
"Eevee is unable to battle! Vulpix is the winner! Which means Aly Gray of NewBark Town is the winner!" Camilo announced, not helping himself with a smile on his face. Like always, he was proud Aly won.
"You did it, Vulpix!" Aly rejoiced, running to her victorious Pokémon with open arms. Vulpix happily accepted the invitation and jumped into her trainers arms. Both girls were giggling uncontrollably, and Aly was spinning them in circles. Totodile would have looked away at the embarrassing scene, but for some reason, the scene made him smile.
Whitney walked over to her injured Eevee and picked it up. "Looks like we still need a little more training to do, Eevee. But good job, anyways." She said to the brown Pokémon. It was true; the pinkette gym leader has only had Eevee for a day. They needed more time to not only to train, but to get to know each other.
"Looks like sis lost. What a bummer." Duncan sighed with his arms crossed. "Come on, guys. Let's head on down there." He told Clefairy and Misdreavus, who nodded in agreement.
"Well Aly, you kept your word. That battle kept me on my feet and didn't bore me." Whitney said to Aly as she walked over to her.
"Yeah, you kept yours too. Your Pokémon did awesome." Aly complimented back, with Vulpix still in her arms.
"And here you go; the Plain Badge." Whitney reached into her left pocket and pulled out the small metal gym badge and gave it to her.
Aly gazed at her prize and held it above her head, making sure both Vulpix and Totodile could see it too. "The Plain Badge, my 3rd gym badge. You both and Togepi deserved this." Hearing that caused Vulpix and Totodile to smile.
"That's my S.T.B.C. Keeping battles interesting and exciting." Camilo said, walking over and placing an arm around Aly's shoulder. "I know you won't disappoint me in future gym battles, kiddo."
"I'll do my best, Camilo." The girl answered back with a smile.
"So guys, should we head back home? I'm sure Uncle Milton has a lot of chores planned for us." Duncan asked the girls once he was standing next to them.
"Not exactly, big brother." Whitney said with a playful tone, mixed with a little bit of nervousness. "Huh?" Her twin looked at her with a confused look.
"There's actually something I need to give you." The pinkette informed him, scratching the back of the head.
"Oh, and what's that?" He asked.
"Read this and you'll see." Whitney told him, reaching into her right pocket and brought out an envelope, sealed with a purple stamp. Duncan took it and began to open it. As he read the letter silently, Misdreavus hovered over his shoulder to read it too. Duncan was too consumed in reading it that he didn't notice his floating best friend.
"Well, what does it say?" Aly asked, waiting in anticipation along with her Pokémon and Camilo.
"…It's from Morty…" He answered quietly, in a shocked tone.
"You mean Morty of the Ecruteak Gym?" Camilo asked. Duncan nodded, still reading the last part of the letter.
"He's…He's asking me to…" Duncan couldn't even finish his sentence, his pink eyes wide and his mouth hanging open.
Aly, Camilo, Whitney, and their Pokémon all nodded for him to continue.
"He wants me to see him at his gym; in Ecruteak City…He's asking me to be the new gym leader…"
Silence filled the room. No one spoke a word. Until everyone cried out, "Huh!?" and it echoed the room.
"You mean, Morty is asking you to become gym leader of Ecruteak City!?" Aly asked, her face inching towards the letter.
"That's what's written here." Duncan confirmed.
"This is wonderful, Duncan!" Whitney suddenly cried out, throwing her arms around her twin brother. "This is your chance. You can finally be the gym leader you always dreamt of being."
"I know, but…"
"But what? Aren't you happy, Duncan? Excited?" Whitney asked, releasing the purple haired boy from her hug.
"Of course I am. It's just…what if I'm not ready to become a gym leader. You know what the scouts said to me last time." Duncan said unsurely.
"Oh please, that's just their opinion. Besides, you've gotten better." His sister argued back.
"That's right, Duncan. Other than that, Morty is asking you to this; you and only you. It's not like he's throwing auditions. He obvious he knows who he's choosing." Camilo added.
"And lastly; we can have a battle. I'll be battling you for a gym badge. Don't you think that would be awesome?" Aly also added, with her fist raised.
Duncan looked at the people before him, shocked to hear such words of encouragement. He was expecting to only hear this from his sister.
Feeling a nudge at his shoulder, Duncan turned to see Misdreavus looking up at him. "Mis-mis." Which meant, "Please say yes, Duncan. You'll be a wonderful gym leader."
"You think I should go for it, Misdreavus?" He asked, as if he was hearing her statement. When she nodded, Duncan formed a big smile.
"You guys, thanks." Lifting his head, he raised a fist to the center of the group. "Alright, I'll do it. Let's go see Morty in Ecruteak City!"
"Yeah!" Everyone else exclaimed, placing their fist on top of the soon-to-be gym leader of Ecruteak City.
Hey, hey, everyone! Obiwan1527 here! I hope this chapter was a good one. I know it was only focused on one battle, but hopefully some of you enjoyed it.
And yes; Duncan has been asked to become the Ecru teak City gym leader! Dun dun dun! Plot twist…I think…oh well. So that's right, Duncan might be joining Aly on her way to the city. It'll be a short journey, but a lot will be happening. So stay tuned. Besides, I have other stories to work on, by gosh!
Oh by the way; I wanna point something out. This is about Aly's physical appearance. You all know the hair and eye color and everything else. But there's this; Aly is actually a little shorter than her age. Not like SUPER SHORT, but she's like an inch shorter than our normal Poke girls and a few inches for the normal tall Poke guys. Think Iris, but an inch shorter. Yeah, she's that thin. Just wanted to point that out.
No, I know! She's an inch shorter than Iris, but an inch taller than Manon (From the Pokemon Mega Evolution Special) Yeah, that's good. And I know it's weird, since Aly's 12 and older than our 10 year old heroines. Yeah...that's it...
Let us not forget the shout outs!
ShugoYuuki123: I'm glad you like the story, but I'm sorry; I don't understand your question. I'm pretty sure I introduced Vulpix, and she should've been in the whole chapter with Team Rocket in the Department Store. If not, please PM me some more so I can fix it.
I would also like to thank ShugoYuuki123 again for adding this to their Favorite/Follow List. You rule, friend!
I bid thee all a night of good. Happy Saturday!