Dusk POV
As we past through the large city gates, we were greeted by an artificial river, a rather fancy looking bridge passing over it. How convenient.
"Water, water, water!" Gold shouted, diving straight into the river which created a large splash as he hit the water, which I couldn't help laughing at. I've got to admit, I was pretty damn thirsty. I hurried over the edge of the water, and started drinking as fast as I could. Ruby had the same idea, but at a considerably slower pace. Finally, I finished drinking the cool water, just as Gold emerged from the water.
"Oh man, my fur's all wet!" he moaned. "Ruby, this is all your fault," he said, giving her a playful shove. Everyone laughed at this, even Jon, who obviously couldn't understand Gold, but still got the joke. Jon had just sat down on a long bench, which was looking really appealing right now. I wandered over to the bench, jumping up onto the seat before stretching my legs. It was so good to be able to relax after that long walk. We had been going for quite a few days now, and apart from at nights and before we met up with Dawn again, we really hadn't had any time to relax. I've got to admit though; this journey has been making me a lot fitter then back at the enclosure. I would never have considered myself unfit before, but I just feel so much stronger now, with all the walking and battling.
After a few minutes of resting (and Gold madly trying to groom his fur), Jon decided that it was about time to leave for the Gym.
"...And there are a couple of potions," Jon finished after organizing his bag.
As we walked through the streets and past all the building, I began to notice different things about this city. First, there were so many people here. I remember there being lots of people back at the other cities, but I never really took much notice due to the shock of being out of my enclosure. Second, it was a lot cleaner then any of the other cities. All the streets were void of garbage unlike some of the other towns and cities, and everything had a very polished look about it. I like it here, if I weren't of been travelling around with Jon, I might of considered living here.
Finally we arrived at what was most definitely the Gym. It was a large dome shaped building with a glass roof. Although I couldn't read human words, I recognized the sign above the entrance as having the same funny symbols as at the Pewter City Gym. There were three of them, and I was guessing they spelt out the word Gym. The first thing I noticed as we entered the large sliding doors made of glass was that there were tons of people inside. Back at Pewter City, there was a person at the entrance that Jon spoke to, and Brock, but that was it!
Jon made his way over to the counter, where a woman sat behind it. "Ah, hi," Jon said to her. "My name is Jonathan, and I'm here to battle the Gym Leader!"
"Ah, Jonathan, right on time," the woman said to him happily. "Just go straight through, Misty should be waiting for you."
We entered the next room, and were greeted by a large pool filled with various water Pokemon in it. Sculptures of more water type Pokemon hung around the edges. Hold on, so this is a water type Gym? Score! I guess Gold wasn't right after all! At the back of the room, a woman, not that much older the Jon sat, happily watching the Pokemon play. She looked up at us as we came in, nodding when she realized that we were here to challenge her.
"I'm guessing you're Jon?" she asked, standing up.
"Correct," Jon answered.
"Okay guys, time to move to the other pool," she said to the Pokemon as she pressed a button on the wall. The button seemed to activate some underwater door, which all of the Pokemon exited through. As she pressed another button, a large platform was hoisted down onto the surface of the water by four metal bars which detached themselves from it as it hit the ground. The platform covered most of the water and had white markings across it that resembled a Pokeball. Overall, it was quite impressive, but no doubt it was really expensive.
"How does 2 on 2 sound?" She asked. Jon looked at us briefly before replying.
"Sure, why not?"
Jon seemed deep in thought as we took our place on the other side, he was probably deciding which Pokemon to use when facing Misty. Gold would seem like the obvious choice, seeing as he had the type advantage, but Jon might also use him as a back up and send in Ruby or I first. Who would he use?
"Gold, you're up," Jon said, answering my question. Gold jumped from the edge of the water to the platform, clearly excited for the battle.
Misty threw a Pokeball in to the air, an orange star shaped Pokemon exploding out from the bright light the ball created. I vaguely recognized the Pokemon as a Staryu.
"This should be easy enough," I heard Gold say.
"Type advantages only go so far," the Staryu reminded him. I'm really not sure how it was talking though, as it seemed to lack a mouth. It did, however, have a sort of large, valuable gem taking up half of its body which I imagine people like to rip out and sell for tons of human currency.
After the Staryus words, they started circling each other. Gold feinted an attack, getting a reaction instantly. Gold's eyes narrowed at this, the Staryu was obviously better then he had expected. Gold attacked again, discharging a bolt of lightning from his cheeks. The Staryu, who had probably expected another feint, was able to jump out of the way just in time. While still in the air, it started spinning rapidly, fast enough to keep itself off the ground. Gold prepared for the attack, ready to counter it. Jon seemed to pick up on this.
"Dodge it," he said firmly just as the Staryu spun towards Gold, much faster then I expected. Gold jumped out of the way just in time; the Staryu had barely missed both Gold, and the floor. It looked slightly disoriented as it finished its spin, which Gold took advantage of by slamming straight into it. It hit the ground painfully, which caused the platform to rock; but it got up again quickly and regained its composure.
"Impressive!" I heard it say under its breath. The star-shaped Pokemon shot a burst of water out of its body, which Gold avoided by jumping into the air. Gold realized what he had done just a moment too late, as the Staryu shot another burst of water straight into Gold, who was unable to avoid the attack. He hit the ground painfully, bouncing off of the platform and into the water. The Staryu started spinning rapidly agaib before submerging itself into the water before Gold was able to get back onto the platform. The only thing I was able to see behind the platform was the water pouring up onto the platform as the Staryu sped towards Gold. Just before it reached the spot where the Pikachu hit the water though, the entire pool lit up briefly, which was followed by the Staryu racing to get back on the ground as sparks flew off it in every direction. I imagine that getting electrocuted while underwater would hurt.
Gold grinned as he got out of the water, shaking the water off of his wet fur. As the Staryu tried to catch its breath, Gold began to creep up behind it, charging up an electrical attack. Although Gold had thought that it mustn't have noticed him, the Staryu seemed to of sensed him approaching, as he turned around at the last moment, knocking him off of his feet with a burst of water. As Gold hit the ground, the Staryu lifted itself off of it and started spinning. Gold seemed too dizzy to be able to dodge, as it rammed straight into him. As he got up again, it slammed into his stomach, still spinning. Gold tried to get up, but it seemed he was winded. The Staryu swooped in for the final blow, but just before it hit, Gold rolled over and shot a blast of electricity straight into the centre of its body.
It seemed to have worked perfectly. The Pokemon fell straight to the floor. It was clearly unconscious.
Yes! One down, one to go! Gold pumped his fist into the air before wincing. I could see that he was bleeding from where the Staryu had hit him.
"Nice work Gold!" Jon praised, as Misty returned her Pokemon to its Pokeball. Jon got out his Pokeball so Gold could rest, but he shook head furiously. "Okay, I guess I can just use a potion."
Gold walked over to Jon, who sprayed the potion on his wound, gaining an almost instant response. The Pikachu seemed in no pain at all, although he did still look exhausted. He then hurried over back onto the platform to see who was next.
"Go Starmie," Misty said, throwing another Pokeball in the air. A bright light exploded out of the ball, and the Starmie flew out of it. It very much resembled the Staryu from before except it was blue and had ten points instead of five.
Gold shot an electric attack at the Starmie, which it easily avoided. It responded with an Ice Beam, which Gold didn't have time to avoid, and he was thrown to the ground. He tried to get up, but his foot was frozen to the platform. The Starmie took advantage of his brief confusion by ramming into him, hard enough so that it smashed the ice as the Pikachu was pushed to the ground. It tried to attack again, but Gold was too quick. Just at the last moment, Gold jumped out of the way, blasting it was a burst of electricity.
It had obviously been underestimating Gold, as it seemed surprised for being hit. It recovered quickly though, hitting Gold with a blast of water. Gold was knocked to the ground; he seemed to be really exhausted. Gold got up again, dodging another blast of water from the Starmie. He still seemed keen to fight, although for how long he could fight was anyone's guess. Gold slammed straight into the Starmie, too quick for it to retaliate, which pushed him to the ground. Just as the Pokemon got up again, Gold rammed into it for a second time. Before he was able to attack again though, the Starmie got up and shot a blast of ice straight at Gold.
It dealed the final blow by slamming into Golds stomach. Gold tried to get up, but he was too weak to be able to do anything. Jon instantly returned him to his Pokeball.
"Alright Dusk, it's your turn," Jon said to me. Awesome! I jumped onto the platform, ready to fight the Starmie.
This should be fun!
Happy First Birthday to From the Shadows! It's amazing to think that I started this fic an entire year ago. Honestly, I would have liked to have updated more often, 21 chapters in a year really doesn't seem like that many, but still, I'm proud of what I've achieved. Here's hoping for another few years to come!
Oh, and I would really appreciate it if you could review what I've done so far, even if you don't normally review. t means a lot to me!