Back again! Here's the next chapter! You know my disclaimer, enjoy!
Chapter 30: A Hot Crush
The bright morning sun shone through the clouds in the sky above. A light breeze traveled between the buildings of Fallabor Town. The New Years celebration had ended and now came the worse part—the cleaning. The city janitors grumbled as they swept up paper from fireworks, food wrappers, and some things that were best left unknown. The spirit of the town had died down to a peaceful, normal state.
Now that the New Year's Festival is over, our heroes can get back on the road again. Their rest and relaxation has given them their energy back, and with an added surprise, Drew caught up with the group.
"Are you ready, Charmander?" Christina asked, clenching her fists.
Angelina, Christina, Drew, and Jeremy were in the town square—the only completely clean spot in town. The sparkling fountain in the middle spurted out crystal-clear water. Angelina and Jeremy sat on the bench, watching the little girl. Chocolate was perched on Angelina's shoulder.
Christina and Charmander stood facing their opponent.
The kid had short red hair and green eyes. he was wearing a yellow shirt and blue shorts. The Pokemon in front of him was a large, floating orange rock with yellow ridges that made it look like a sun. Its yellow eyes looked as if they were closed.
"Are you ready, Christina?" The boy asked, grinning.
"Let's get this match started, Natt." Christina returned the competitive favor.
"Ya know, I could be out there battling trainers, too," Angelina said. "But for now, I'm taking a break."
"Well that's good," Jeremy nodded. "And I'm sure Christina appreciates you watching her first trainer battle."
"Solrock, us Flamethrower!" Natt exclaimed, pointing forward.
"Solll!" Solrock's north-pointing ridge burst with a stream of flames that heated the air. Waves of intense humidity surrounded the traveling attack.
"Hah! Not hot enough for us. Charmander, counter with your Ember!" Christina shouted.
"Char!" Charmander clenched its fists and opened its mouth; a machine-gun burst of flames fired hotly. The attack collided with each other, fizzling out in puffs of white smoke.
"Wow, Christina, you're good!" Natt stated.
Christina flashed him a thumbs-up, "If you think that was good, wait till you see this next move. Charmander, Dizzy Punch attack!"
Charmander raced forward, its sleeping cap swaying from the breeze. It drew back its fist, which started to sparkle with spinning stars.
"Solrock, Tackle!"
Solrock forced its body through the wind at a whistling speed.
"Char!" Charmander frowned. If Solrock's speed increased, it would totally deflect the pain of the Dizzy Punch. It kicked across the brick ground to launch its body faster. "Char!"
SPEESH! Charmander winced—punching Solrock's rock-hard body was no joke.
"Char!" "Solrock!" The two jumped back from each other.
Angelina held Chocolate close from the suspense of the battle. She must have hugged too tight because she struck her cheek with her tail. Now, she had a thin red mark on her face.
Pokemon!
Every trainer has a choice,
to
listen to that voice inside.
I know the battle may be
long,
winners may have come and gone.
I will carry on, Yeah!
This dream will last
forever,
this dream will never die,
we will rise to meet the
challenge every time.
Yeah, this dream keeps us
together,
just know that you and I,
will be the best that the
world's ever seen,
because we always will follow this dream.
Pokemon!
"Charmander, it's time to heat things up with Dragon Breath!"
"Charrrr!" Charmander jumped into the air and spat out a burst of blue flames. Solrock started to spin in a clockwise motion; a thin screen of transparent light was created in front of it, blocking the burning attack.
"Good job, Solrock. Now let's catch it with Psywave!" Natt stated.
Solrock's eyes started to glow. Form its body, a blast of ring-shaped waves shot through the air.
Charmander crossed its arms to try and block them. The waves hammered its body, slowly pushing it backwards.
"Hang in there, Charmander!" Christina called, starting to sweat.
"I don't think so. Flamethrower!"
"Solrock!"
Charmander winced as it was swept off its feet by a burst of flames. It hit the ground with small black scorch marks on its body.
"Charmander, are you okay?" Christina ran towards her Pokemon.
Charmander shook as it got back to its feet. When its trainer came near, it held its claw out to stop her. It wanted to fight this match no matter what. Its obsession to become stronger showed that it was becoming more and more like its trainer.
Christina frowned, sweating anime style. "Fine, go on," And who was she to stop it? If it could go on a little longer, she didn't mind at all.
Natt was actually impressed. "Wow, Christina—I've gained an all new level of respect for your Charmander. But that only means we'll battle harder. Solrock, let's wrap this up with your Solarbeam!"
The north-pointing ridge atop Solrock started to glow dimly. Shimmering beads of solar energy drifted from the sky and gathered to it. Christina frowned and clenched her fists again. She had to find a way to stop the attack. With Charmander in its weak and panting state, it very well could take a Solar Beam.
"Christina, you have to take it head-on." "Huh?" Christina glanced back at Drew. Her friend folded his arms, "Solar Beam always takes time to attack. Use that time to your advantage." he said.
Christina nodded, "You heard him, Charmander. Flare Tail, go!"
Charmander stopped holding its aching arm to put its fists up. It clenched its teeth and launched forward. Solrock's point lit up like a light—it had retrieved enough energy to attack! This was bad. It was as if Charmander was rushing straight into a punch.
"Fire Solarbeam now!" Natt ordered.
Solrock's north ridge forced the glowing power to the tip; in a shaking force, a beam of solar energy fired heavily.
"Do it now, Charmander!"
"Charman—!" Charmander didn't slow down, but jumped into the air. It winced slightly; even though it flew over, the beam still grazed its stomach.
"Flare Tail Attack!" Christina thrust her fist through the air.
The flame on Charmander's tail increased in size, sparking wildly. "Char—char!" It spun around, swinging its tail viciously; Solrock's eyes widened as a whip of flames beat against its face.
"Solroooock!" the psychic rock Pokemon crashed to the ground with a harsh thud.
Charmander landed more softly, but fell to one knee. It was pretty banged up and panted from the fight.
"Charmander!" Christina's serious face turned sympathetic and she dashed to her Pokemon. She picked it up and cradled it in her arms.
"Nice job, Solrock. Return," Natt called Solrock back to its ball. He then adjusted his backpack onto one shoulder. "Is Charmander going to be alright?" He asked.
"Yeah, it will. I'll get it to Nurse Joy as quickly as possible." Christina assured him. Natt nodded and started away. Angelina, Drew, and Jeremy got off the bench and went over to Christina.
"Well?" Drew asked.
"Let's hurry and get it to Nurse Joy." Christina told him.
The four friends nodded to each other and ran off down the street….
Chocolate still had her spot on Angelina's shoulder, but Angelina focused on Charmander to make sure its condition didn't worsen.
Christina raced either around or through anyone who got in her way. She was so determined to get to the Pokemon Center, she ran down any and all obstacles.
"Wow, Charmander is really tough. It took a banging and kept on going." Drew complimented.
"Thanks," Christina half spoke.
The dome-shaped form of the Pokemon Center came into view at the end of the sidewalk. The sun gleamed off the red roof and polished windows. Christina smiled at the sight before her'Don't worry, Charmander; you'll be there shortly.' she thought.
Charmander's tail flame shrank slightly. The tough Pokemon frowned and forced its fire-tip to increase right back.
The kids burst through the glass doors of the medical facility. They zoomed by the various trainers and up to the counter. The Nurse Joy typing behind the counter was a little different that the others. For one, she wore a black shirt underneath a white lab coat and a white mini skirt. The hat she wore was the same, though.
"Excuse—me, Nurse—Joy," Christina panted, "Please, can you help—my Charmander?"
Nurse Joy looked up at him through her glasses. She stopped typing and stood up from her chair. "Your Charmander is in rough condition. What happened to it?" She asked in a concerned voice.
"My Charmander got pretty banged up in a battle. Could you help it out for me please?"
"Sure, I'll help—it's what I do." Nurse Joy glanced behind her, "Ruby, can you get the stretcher for me—we have to get this Pokemon to the ER."
The doors to the ER opened, followed by the sound of moving wheels. The Pokemon the kids were expecting was a Chansey, but what they got was something completely different. Her eyes were pink, but the rest of her body was unmistakable. Ruby was, in fact, a Charmander wearing a white nurse's skirt and red cross hat. She pushed the white stretcher a across the orange-tile floor with a serious expression on her face.
BADUMP! Charmander's chest gave a sudden bump and it sat up completely. Ruby's pink eyes made its stomach feel both hot and cold. It tried to hold it back, but couldn't keep itself from blushing.
Nurse Joy took Charmander gently and sat it on the stretch. Both Charmander stared at each other, until Ruby winked and Charmander had to turn away as its heart thumped louder.
"Ruby, could you get it to Radiology first?"
"Charmander char!" Ruby saluted Nurse Joy before pushing the stretch through the door.
Charmander was too busy blushing to remember it was in any pain.
Nurse Joy smiled at them, for she knew exactly why Charmander was blushing.
"Nurse Joy, is my Charmander going to be okay?" Christina asked out of concern.
"Of course it will. You can wander around the lobby until it's back." Nurse Joy stated.
Christina stared at the ground for a second, then nodded to her. There was no use getting worked up; Charmander was her Pokemon after all.
Just then, there was a ringing sound from the opening door. The guy who came through the door had short brown hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a brown shirt and white pants. The Pokemon behind him was a large chameleon-like lizard, crimson in body color. Its stomach and claws were as white as the snow and stood out against its other body color. The tip of its tail burned with an orange-red torch.
"Hey, cool—it's a Charmeleon!" Angelina whipped out her Pokedex and flipped it open. Cli-ick!
"Charmeleon, the Flame Poke'mon. When this Poke'mon gets mad, it burns everything around it. This makes it difficult for inexperienced trainers to handle." The machine spoke.
The guy and his Charmeleon walked up the front desk with a wide grin.
"Hiya, Nurse Joy! You look nice today."
Without looking away from her computer screen, which she was using for Charmander's check-in, Nurse Joy let out a sigh. "Hullo, Chase," She really didn't seem that enthused. "I just want you to know that I'll be winning Fallarbor's Pokemon contest all for you. I hope I can find you in the stands."
"I'm one of the judges—you'll see me regardless." Nurse Joy told him, sweating anime style.
"Char-char!" Charmeleon blushed.
"Yeah, Ruby will be there too." Nurse Joy answered just as airily. She never made eye contact with them, just sort of kept to her computer screen.
Christina wished she'd hurry so she could get to Charmander. Without warning, Chase wrapped his arm around Nurse Joy's neck; the nurse gave a shocked look and had to adjust her glasses to keep them from falling off her face.
"Ms. Joy, wanna' go out for a pizza or something?"
"Oh, God—help me!" Joy muttered under her breath.
"Huh?" Chase blinked for her to repeat her statement. He relinquished her, but just when she was about to type, he gently grasped her hands.
"Chase…stop it please. I'm at work." Nurse Joy said, trying not to hurt his feelings. But her rejection only made him try harder.
"Ms. Joy," Chase smiled, revealing his pearly white teeth, "Please allow me to take you out to dinner."
"How about moving as far away from me as possible?" Nurse Joy mumbled again, "Chase, I have an injured Poke'mon to tend to. So if you don't mind…" With a forced smile, she nodded to her hands trapped in his grip.
"Oh, right; I'm so sorry." Chase let her go.
Nurse Joy got to her feet and started towards the ER in a somewhat eager attempt to get away. As the doors shut, Chase gave an airy sigh.
"You must really like her a lot." "Yeah….dah!" Chase suddenly jumped back from Christina, who was standing right beside him. He looked pretty shaken up. "Wha-where did you come from?" He asked, just when the others approached behind Christina.
"You'll have to pardon my little sister—she doesn't know her manners sometimes." Angelina said, smiling appologetically to her glaring sister. "Sweetie, weren't you just about to polish your Pokeballs with Drew?"
"You're Drew?" Chase stood up, looking towards the girl's friend with bright green hair. "So, you're the one who placed second in Slateport City, huh? Forgive me for not introducing myself. My name is Chase." he held out his hand to Drew, who smiled and shook it.
"I know who you are. You're one of the top beginner coordinators. You also have been nick-named the flame juggler because of how good your Charmeleon is." Drew pointed out.
"So, do you really have a crush on Nurse Joy?" Christina asked curiously.
"Well, of course. I'll do anything to win her over. My Charmeleon would do the same for her Charmander too." Chase answered, "It's what fuels us to win these Pokemon contests; whenever we feel like we can't win, we think of Ms. Joy and Ruby."
"How romantic!" "Oh, please!" Drew and Jeremy snapped after Angelina's comment. The two boys were all but interested in the coordinator's love life. As a matter of fact, they weren't all that interested in staying in the Pokemon center all day long.
Once the four friends were out of the building, Chase and Charmeleon made their move. The two grinned with a sly glint in their eyes. They rushed up to Ruby and Nurse Joy, holding their hands (claws) gently.
Nurse Joy and Ruby took a shocked step back, forcing a smile and sweating anime style.
"So, how 'bout that date, Ms. Joy?" "Char-meleon?" The two boys flirted.
The girls started to growl. "LEAVE-US-ALONE!" They shouted loud enough to shake the building.
There was a strange chiming sound that came from the speakers above. The wait was so long that Angelina cuddled with Chocolate and fell asleep. Jeremy was standing with his arms folded. She tapped the ground with her foot in a spit of impatience. Drew and Christina were the only patient ones; they sat together reading a book quietly.
The doors to the Emergency Room came open. Ruby lead the way our, followed by Nurse Joy. At that, Chase and Charmeleon perked up. Charmander walked behind with its arms folded.
"Charmander!" Christina dashed towards her Pokemon.
"Char-char!" Charmander dashed off towards its trainer, jumped into her arms. It was as good and energetic as new.
"Charmander was just banged up a bit, that's all. You've done a good job in raising it."
"Thanks," Christina said to Nurse Joy.
"Charman," Ruby walked towards her and held out her claw, "Char-char!" She winked at the Pokemon in Christina's arms.
Charmander jumped a little and started blushing again. It wasn't hard to see it had developed a crush on her.
"Charmander, Ruby would like to shake your claw." Christina smiled. Without getting out of Christina's arms, Charmander reached out and shook with Ruby. Its insides tensed up with butterflies.
"Erm…." Angelina slowly opened her eyes. She sat up and rubbed her face. "….ice cream…let's get some." she said, stretching her arms and yawning.
"C'mon, let's go get some of that ice cream. Angel has the right idea." Drew stated.
Charmander never let its eyes leave Ruby's pink ones. She didn't seem to mind and even kept her smile. Jeremy nodded and they started to the door.
"Bye," Christina waved to Chase. Before the friends left the center, Ruby gave Charmander another wink.
"Dah!" Charmander froze up.
Outside, Angelina sat on the fountain in the town square. She shared her chocolate mint ice cream with her Pikachu. Christina enjoyed her own strawberry while Drew had vanilla, and Jeremy took on a coffee-soda banana split.
Charmander was the only one not enjoying its ice cream. It sat on the fountain, stirring the water with its foot. The sadden look on its face melted its ice cream.
"Hey, buddy, what's wrong? You get the wrong flavor or something?" Christina asked her Pokemon.
"Char…" Charmander sighed.
"What is it?" Drew sounded concerned as well.
"Char-char, Charmander. Charman-char-char."
"Huh?" Drew and Christina looked to each other in confusion. They couldn't understand a word the Pokemon said.
"It has a crush on Ruby and wants to do something nice for her—loosely translated a little." Angelina said simply. She understood Pokemon speech perfectly without the use of her Crystal Bell.
"Oooooh!" Christina and Drew grinned a sly grin. Angelina sweated anime style. If she knew them, they were only going to make this situation worse.
"Well, if you wanna' impress her, you've gotta' get her something nice. Girls love getting gifts and stuff—dah!" "Excuse me; since when were you an expert on impressing girls?" Angelina pushed Drew off to the side.
"Since I've been coaching my own Pokemon, little girl!" Drew pinched Angelina's cheeks.
"You're so naïve, little boy!" Angelina returned the favor.
"At least I'm no Krabby!" "You jerk!" The two broke out into a pinching fight. Their actions weren't helping Charmander's situation at all.
"…." Jeremy's eyebrow twitched, "I guess…. this is what they call a lovers' quarrel."
At that, Angelina and Drew turned from their fight and knocked Jeremy on his head.
"Owww…." Jeremy rubbed his head and finished his ice cream. "My advice to you, Charmander, is to be yourself."
"Sounds so plain." Drew said, then turned to Charmander, "Don't worry, I'll help you out."
Charmander stood in front of the Pokemon Center doors, shivering out of nervousness. In one claw was a bouquet of flowers and in the other, a box of candy.
"Old fashioned, yes, but still effective." Drew grinned.
"…char-ar," Charmander backed into its trainer's legs. For once, it couldn't be its brave and bold self.
"It doesn't think it can do it." Angelina stated.
Charmander could see Ruby through the glass doors. She was sitting on top of the counter, gazing at the pictures in a medical textbook.
"Don't be afraid, Charmander. Fighters must be brave and face their fears." Christina told it, holding up her fists.
Charmander nodded and closed its eyes. With a deep breath, the Pokemon rushed forward blindly and burst through the doors in a blind race. The wind caused water to drip from its eyes.
"Well…it's moving, that it is." Angelina stated as she and her friends sweated anime style.
"I hope this'll work…" Christina said, praying that her Pokemon could achieve its goal.
Charmander closed in on its target—it was almost to the counter! "Char!" BANG!!
"What?" The four friends jumped.
From out of nowhere, Charmeleon landed on Charmander, causing its gifts to jump in the air. It caught them and walked towards Ruby deftly. Charmander was left on the ground with its eyes swirling dizzily.
"Charmeleon," "Char?" Ruby looked up from her book innocently. Charmeleon grinned and passed to her the gifts it had caught. "Char!" Ruby smiled to it.
Charmander frowned and struck the ground with its fist. It was so close and yet so far.
"Grrrr!" Christina growled angrily.
"Now, that was dirty." Drew stated.
"Now it's my turn." Angelina stated as she took off Charmander's hat and tied a black bow tie around its neck.
Charmander stood with its arms folded. To tell the truth, it thought it looked ridiculous. It thumped its tail on the ground impatiently, but stayed still enough for Angelina to do her work.
Drew stood with his hands on the back of his head, sweating anime style. "Angelina, Charmander's not a doll. What's dressing it up gonna' do?" He asked.
"It certainly will get her attention, that it will." "Pika!" Christina and Chocolate giggled.
"Drew, you had your chance. Now, it's my turn." Angelina told him, folding Charmander's sleeping cap.
"But what are you going to do?" Jeremy asked.
"I'm not going to do anything. Charmander is going to sing for Ruby."
"Dah!" "Ah!" Jeremy, Drew, Christina and Charmander gasped. Was she really serious? (to the reader: "I'm dead serious!")
"Angelina…" Suddenly, Drew put his hands on Angelina's shoulders. What really freaked her out was how emotional his eyes became—he was actually serious. "I think…" He continued in a calm voice, "That this…IS THE DUMBEST PLAN IN THE HISTORY OF YOU!" He suddenly shouted.
"Oh, shut it up." Angelina pushed the young boy away to focus back on Charmander.
"So why can't it just be itself?" Jeremy asked again.
"You're so plain, Jeremy. No wonder you don't attract girls that much." Angelina stated. She pushed Charmander up to the door of the Pokemon Center. Once again, it gazed into the glass to see Ruby again. She was dusting the books on the lower bookshelf with a feather duster. Charmander could feel its insides become seized by a hot-cold feeling.
"Don't be so nervous." "Charmander!" Angelina pushed the Pokemon through the doors.
Like a stiff board, Charmander froze. This was one battle field that it wasn't good at. It slowly walked up to Ruby and tapped her shoulder. When Ruby saw that it was Christina's Charmander, she smiled and winked at it again.
"Char!" Charmander shivered in its spot. Now, it couldn't move, let alone sing for her. It rocked nervously, not uttering a sound.
"Do something!" Christina hissed. The humans sat in eager anticipation.
"….ch-ch-ch," Charmander tried to speak, "…eh," Ruby stood patiently, scratching her head. "Char…ch—" BANG! "Charrrr!" Charmander was suddenly sent spiraling into the air and crashed into the ceiling and then slid down the wall landing on the ground. Charmeleon took its place in singing, though no one was sure if it should've been legal.
"Grrr! This is so STUPID!" Drew yelled, walking through the center's doors with the others. Angelina sighed, then glanced to the corner of the room to see Chase's grinning face.
"That's it—it's time to take the bull by the bull by the horns!" Drew told Charmander outside the center again. He was simply outraged at all of Charmeleon's interruptions. "This plan calls for something more head-on. And this time, I'll be right beside you. You're going to show Ruby how strong you are." He told Charmander. He pointed through the glass doors at Nurse Joy and Ruby, who were having difficulties trying to take too many boxes into the back room. "We'll show by helping them out." Drew let Charmander jump on his shoulder and pushed through the Pokemon Center doors.
Jeremy followed next with Angelina behind him. Christina was the last to go through. Drew didn't waste time in walking up to the counter and confronted Nurse Joy.
"Nurse Joy," "Yeah—just a sec. Okay, Ruby," Nurse Joy nodded to her Charmander and they both dropped a large wooden crate. "Can I help you with anything?" She asked.
"Actually, we wanna' help you. 'Think you can use a hand?" Drew worked his plan.
Angelina watched the scene with a serious expression. She was just waiting for Charmeleon to make its move.
Nurse Joy smiled to Drew; she easily figured out what his intentions were. "Sure; you can help me with the medicine boxes and Charmander could help Ruby if it wants."
"Char!" Charmander nodded and jumped onto the ground. Ruby smiled sweetly at it, making it shiver a little.
"Ruby, let Charmander help you take those food crates to storage please."
"Char," Ruby nodded to her trainer and picked up a large wooden crate that was slightly smaller than the ones she had earlier.
Charmander tried it's best to impress her by picking up the one Ruby tried to carry earlier. It was a little heavy, but the true problem was because it had to hold it at a corner to see. This made it wobbly. Ruby started in front, taking the right corridor behind the counter. Charmander followed as quickly as it could without dropping the crate. It was extra cautious not to bump it into anything, or so it thought.....
"Char-char-char-char!"
BANG!!
"Char?" Ruby turned around.
The crate Charmander had been carrying was full of fruits. Now that it had been busted open, the little fire lizard was covered in various fruit juices. It sat on the ground with a look of both annoyance and embarrassment: annoyed that it kept messing up, and embarrassed because it was always in front of Ruby.
Ruby sat her crate down and ran over to Charmander, who was shaking the wetness from its hat. "Char," "Huh?" She held out her claw to it to help it up. Charmander couldn't help but blush and accept her offer.
"What was that?!" Drew, Christina, and Nurse Joy came running down the corridor. They came to a halt when they saw the mess of fruit all over the floor.
"Oh-my," Nurse Joy gave a look of concern.
Christina frowned, for she saw Charmeleon behind the tree, laughing. "Alright—I've had enough of you!" she marched up and gave Charmeleon a sharp rap on the head.
"Meleon!" Charmeleon glared at her.
"Oh-shut it! I challenge you to a Pokemon battle. My Charmander's gonna' kick your flaming red butt!" Christina growled back. Everyone looked at her with a skeptical look.
"Agreed," A voice sounded. Their eyes averted to the entrance of the corridor. Chase walked down with his hands in his pockets and an arrogant look. "Little girl, I accept your one-on-one challenge." He said again. Christina frowned and clenched her fists.
Christina and Chase faced off in the town square. Their Pokemon stared at each other competitively. Angelina, Drew, Chocolate, Jeremy, and Ruby sat on the side bench to watch. Nurse Joy would've been there too, but she her work hours wouldn't permit her. Now this was something Charmander felt confident at. It was about to battle its best to make up for its past mistakes.
"Your puny Charmander ain't winning this one." Chase told Christina.
"You're talking to a future Pokemon Master, Chase—we always come out on top!" Christina shouted back.
"Let's get this started then." Angelina stood off to the side of the two fighters, "Battle set….Go!" she raised both her hands.
"It's time to teach you not to mess with my Pokemon. Charmander, Dizzy Punch!" Christina exclaimed first.
"Char-char!" Charmander rushed towards Charmeleon with its fist drawn back.
"This is going to be easy. Charmeleon, evasion tactic if you please." Chase stated calmly.
Charmeleon nodded; it thumped the tip of its tail to the ground and pulled its body up. Very deftly, it balanced itself on its tail.
"What kind of defense is that?" Angelina thought to herself, frowning. Jeremy and Drew observed the battle from the bench. They also pondered the same question as Angelina.
"Char!" Charmander repeatedly swung its star-circling fist at its opponent; Charmeleon skillfully moved any part of its body that was aimed for. Charmander started to sweat and punch more feverishly.
"I see…"Angelina thought to herself, "Charmeleon balances itself on its tail to leave its arms and feet free for surprise attacks. This Chase guy is clever, that he is."
Charmander frowned and jumped back to create distance.
"We'll get him this time. Charmander, use Dizzy Punch again!" Christina pointed forward. Once again, Charmander dashed with its fist outstretched.
"Counter with Fire Punch," Charmander's fist collided with Charmeleon's countering attack, sending them both back in a mini gale force.
"Christina, we can't let you win." Chase said, "Charmeleon and I have to show Ms. Joy we can take out any opponent."
"But bugging my Charmander by embarrassing it is where I cross the line!" Christina shouted angrily.
"Oh-pu-lease!"
"Shut it—talk time was over a long time ago."
"Fine, we'll resume. Charmeleon, Headbutt!"
"Meleonnn!!" Charmeleon torpedoed its body through the air with its head lowered. It was moving so fast that Charmander had no chance of escaping. BANNN!
"Ack!" Charmander sprawled onto the ground.
"Charmander, are you okay?" Christina asked her Pokemon. It responded by flashing a "V" victory symbol. "Good—scorch it!"
"Char!" Charmander pushed off the ground and propelled itself into the air. It opened its mouth and spat out a burst of hot fire.
"Dragon Claw," Chase ran his hand through his hair. It was as if he didn't see the battle as anything serious at all. That was the kind of attitude that riled Christina up even more. Charmeleon waited for the flames to get close. All the while, its right claw was glowing and sparking with crimson fire. As soon as the Flamethrower was at hair's width from its face, it swung its claw hard; it sent a wave of crimson that split the flames in half.
"….n-no way…I've never seen anything like that." For a future Pokemon Master, Christina didn't feel so confident. She had never seen anything that was so frightening and spectacular at the same time. She and Charmander both sported the same blank looks. Even as the Pokemon landed, it could feel its hope dwindling.
"Wow…" Drew was also impressed, for he would have to go against that attack sooner or later.
"You see, Christina, how strong we are? You don't stand a chance." Chase stated arrogantly.
What was Christina going to do? It was like being backed into a wall.
"Now, for a signature move of mine. Charmeleon, Fancy Juggling!" Charmeleon looked to the sky. It spat a puff of cackling flames, which it caught with the tip of its nail. It did this for a number of times until it was balancing nine flaming spheres.
"Char-meleon!" Without warning, Charmeleon hurled them at Charmander like a pitcher. The pre-evolved Pokemon glanced towards Ruby. (Thought trans:) "I bet if I dodged these, I would really impress Ruby." It thought. She was on the edge of her seat with a worried expression.
"Charmander, Rage and dodge!" Christina exclaimed.
In an instant, Charmander's tail flame increased in size and started to rage. It could feel the attack's power swelling up from the previous attacks it took. In a burst of speed and strength, Charmander raced across the white-bricked ground. It swerved to the right or left to evade the thrown floating sphere as it drew ever closer to its opponent.
"Char?!" Charmeleon took a shocked step back. Both it and its trainer sported a surprised expression.
Charmeleon frowned and started tossing flame spheres like crazy. But the more it threw, the closer Charmander got and the exploding flames around it didn't seem to bother it at all. Once it got close to Charmeleon, it jumped high above its head.
"Time to end this." Christina grinned. "Flamethrower, full power!"
Charmander hurled out a strong jet of red and yellow flames devouring Charmeleon up in a storm of burning ashes. The flames died down and Charmeleon had a few black marks over his red scales, but was on the ground with his tongue hanging out and his eyes were in swirls.
"You did it, buddy!" Christina ran up and hugged Charmeleon. The two; trainer and Pokemon, hugged tightly while everyone else cheered.
(S)12345(S)
"And I'm sorry for trying to hurt your Charmander."
Back in the Pokemon Center, Chase gave and apologetic bow to everyone.
"The next time we fight, it'll be out of honor." Chase promised Christina.
"Yeah, honor," Christina held out her hand. Chase grinned and shook it.
"Char-Char," Ruby shook Charmander's claw, who smiled back.
Somehow, it seemed a lot calmer than before and didn't blush at Ruby's presence. It was as if it knew something no one else did. Ruby then walked closer and both of them started to blush wildly. It was quick, but still very powerful; Ruby pressed a kiss to Charmander's cheek, causing it to sway from dizzy shock.
"Hmm…." Nurse Joy smiled, "You know, Christina, Charmander didn't have to do all those things just to tell Ruby it liked her. She knew and was impressed by its real self."
"Geas, I told you." Jeremy stated with a grin.
"But how's such a distant relationship gonna' work?" Angelina blinked.
"Oh don't worry—we'll find a way. Right, Ruby?"
"Charman!" Ruby jumped and hugged Charmander.
§To Be Continued§
This chapter seemed short when I typed it out, not saying I got a writer's block, but typed out what ideas I had. Thanks for reading! Next chapter will be up soon!
