"Thank you for waiting, here's the medicine you ordered." The pharmacist said and handed over the medicine to Janina who immediately put it safely away in her bag.
"Thank you so much sir." She said with a polite smile before turning to face us.
"Well that's a big relief." Misty said pointedly.
"You'd better hurry and take that back to Jasmine right away." Brock said to her and Janina nodded her head.
"I will."
"If you leave now you can catch the express ferry to Olivine City. It'll have you there before nightfall." The nice pharmacist told us so I turned to Janina.
"You'd better hurry in that case. You take care, okay? Make sure you don't lose that medicine, and give Jasmine and Sparkle our best." I told her as Misty gave her a smile.
"Make sure you don't lean too far over the side!" She said as Brock gave a smile.
"Give my love to Jasmine."
"We'll be back the moment I've won my next badge." Ash declared and Janina nodded her head.
"Okay, good luck to you Ash. And you too Ruby. I'll be cheering for you all the way from Olivine City." She told us before dashing out the store and hurrying back to the port to catch that express ferry, where she waved goodbye from the deck to us until she was gone from sight. I'll miss that little bundle of joy. She's actually quite sweet once you get to know her.
"Alright, let's go find that gym." Ash said so we turned to face the city but then the sound of thumping caught our attention. "Huh?" We looked down onto the beach to see a trainer and his Machoke, the trainer punching at the Machoke's lifted arms before going for a flying kick. Awesome.
The Machoke landed in the sand with a strong stance, facing its trainer with a focused look in its eye. "You defended yourself well Machoke. Now, let's switch to offence!" Its trainer complimented and the Machoke surged forwards with powerful hits. I blinked before looking a little closer. Wait a second…I know that guy! That's Chuck! The Cianwood City gym leader! No way!
"Hey, that's Chuck!" I pointed, giving a laugh as I studied his battling style. "This is so neat! My mom praised this guy to high heaven when she was training with him, and I can see why!"
"Who's Chuck?" Ash asked whilst scratching the back of his head so I whirled around and yelled at him.
"The Cianwood City gym leader, genius!" I waved my arms at him then spun around, giving an admiring sigh as I watched Chuck take a full on Submisison attack from his Machoke. Wow, if I had a Pokémon like that, then I'd definitely train the way Chuck did. Though I think that must have hurt a little, as he was now doubled over.
"Oh no!" Ash instantly ran over with us all close behind as Chuck struggled to his feet then collapsed to his knees again. "Are you okay sir?" Ash asked with worry, resting a hand on a bulky shoulder as Misty stared down in complete shock.
"What were you thinking battling with a Machoke like that?"
"Taking a Submission attack like that with no protection really isn't safe." Brock told Chuck who was trembling a little. However when he looked up his eyes were full of tears as they streamed down his face, his voice thick with emotion as he clenched his fists.
"I'm just…so proud of that Machoke!" He cried as we all took a step back in surprise. "That Submission attack was absolutely perfect! You here me? Perfect!"
"Choke." The Machoke nodded before they ran to one another and embraced one another, crying shamelessly despite their big tough guy bravado. Well, this isn't exactly what I was expecting but…who cares? It's Chuck!
"Hey you two in the hats." Chuck suddenly called and I blinked. Me? "What do you kids want?" I took a deep breath and swallowed nervously before giving a smile.
"Oh we were here hoping to get a gym battle with you, sir. My name is Ruby Bates and this is Ash Ketchum. We're both entered in the Johto League." I explained but Chuck suddenly squinted at me.
"Bates…I know that name. Hey, you look a little like someone who came here a couple years ago. Talented girl, real talented. You must be her kid." Chuck realised then instantly struck a battle pose. "Now put up those fists! Let me see you punch! One, two! One, two!" Instantly I was punching at the air, blinking slightly in bewilderment but striking out none the less. "Now kick!" I gave a high kick, twisting my body to the side before falling back into position again. "Now knees up, all of you! Hup two three four, hup two three four, let's go already! Come on, move it!" He roared and we all instantly tucked in our arms and began to lift our knees up high, jogging down the beach with Chuck as I couldn't keep the grin off my face.
"This is awesome! Doesn't this feel great?" I called back to the others who were red in the face and struggling for breath.
"Yeah…great…" Misty agreed as I overtook Chuck and jogged alongside his Machoke who smiled down at me before continuing to lead the way. Chuck fell well behind but when we stopped outside the gym, I stopped jogging and began to kick and punch at the air.
"Alright, I'm super psyched for this battle! I can't wait, I can feel the energy just building up and I can't wait to let it all out! Hiyah!" I gave a double strike punch then ended with a round house kick before placing a hand on my hip and watching the others as they ran up.
"Wait for us!" Ash called before stopping in front of the Machoke, gripping his knees and struggling for air. "I can't…go on…"
"Neither can I." Misty agreed, clutching a stitch in her side as I looked around.
"Hey, where's Chuck?" I questioned then looked back the way we came to see him bringing up the rear, still keeping his jogging going but he was now starting to seriously lag behind until finally he collapsed to his hands and knees in front of us.
"What's the matter? You kids out of shape or something?" He questioned and I arched an eyebrow.
"Yeah." I agreed. "Something like that."
"How much further are you going to be taking us anyway?" Ash asked but Chuck merely pointed towards the gates.
"We're here." He answered and I looked up to see a bunch of students and their Pokémon racing out of the dojo with laughter and bright smiles.
"Welcome back master!" They all chorused and I turned to face them with a smile.
"Well hi there!" I cheered with a wave as Chuck managed to stand up.
"Students! Did you finish all your training?"
"Yes sir!" They chorused again before pulling us all inside. "Come on master, it's nearly lunch time!" Great! That's the best news I've heard all day, I'm starving. We all took off our shoes and sat down at a long table where Chuck instantly grabbed a spoon.
"Now eat, eat, eat! So we can be strong, fighting machines!" I'll live to that for sure! He piled on the food and I instantly began to wolf it down, racing Ash to the finish as a pretty lady came and stood behind us.
"So you're here to battle for a Storm Badge you two?" She asked and Ash stopped his eating to look up at her.
"Uh, yeah." He answered with a nod of his head so the lady gave a sweet smile.
"Well you shouldn't have any problem beating that flabby old husband of mine." She revealed and I blinked. This was Chuck's wife? Wow, she sure knows how to instil confidence. Isn't she meant to support her husband to win the battles?
"Hey! Who're you calling flabby?" Chuck demanded, only just catching onto the insult, making her chuckle good naturedly.
"I have plenty more in the kitchen if anyone wants a second helping." She offered and I instantly lifted my hand straight up.
"I do! I do! I need to eat loads so I have plenty of strength for my battle with Chuck." I told her so she gave another gently giggle before nodding her head and going to fetch some more. I ate and ate and ate until I felt like a balloon fit to burst.
Okay, from now on, I'm putting myself on a strict consume watch. If my belt ever starts to feel this tight again, it means I should stop eating. But it all tasted so good! And it's very nutritious for the body, helping to flush out anything bad and strengthen you up for rigorous training and workouts. Maybe I'll need to get the recipe.
The day ended with Ash winning his Storm Badge, and in the morning, I got mine too. It was a tough battle, but I started with Ivysaur to help defeat Poliwrath and then Pidgeot took care of Machoke for me. Another double victory on the road to the Johto League, but we're getting close now. I can just feel it.
