(Poke)Ball is Life
Chapter 38 – An Elderly Breeder
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Hinata and Kageyama left the festival early as they had to be up early the next morning. Their time, although brief at the festival, was well spent. They toddled back into the PokeCentre with stuffed stomachs and a few, small prizes.
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The boys were quick to rise in the morning and got changed as fast as they could. They felt a lot of time-based pressure on their shoulders as neither knew exactly how long it would take for them to go all the way down to Oreburgh, then through Mt Coronet and finally out the other side and through Route 208. After all, they had until ten o'clock on Monday to get to the Contest Hall.
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Kageyama and Hinata scarfed down their food as they realised they couldn't have breakfast on the go. They binned their wrappers and Hinata stuffed the mini stove into his bag. He soon realised it wouldn't fit. 'We'll strap it down.' Kageyama suggested.
'Oh, okay but what about in the future? We won't have bikes to strap it down onto.' Hinata pointed out. Kageyama glared at him and swallowed a growl.
'We'll work it out when we get there.' Kageyama said.
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Hinata hugged the stove awkwardly and hurried after Kageyama. They walked through the traditionalist streets of Eterna for a while until they saw the gate. It was huge and it masked a ridged, rocky area. The two hired some bikes and Kageyama helped Hinata tie down their stove onto his bike. When they decided it was secure enough, they kicked off and drove off from the bicycle bay.
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Hinata was uneasy on his bike due to the oven but Kageyama was even worse. He was wobbly and slow. When Hinata got his balance, he began to nudge Kageyama's bike along from behind.
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'Quit that.' Kageyama murmured as he received another jostle from behind.
'But then you'd fall off the edge. And then you'd die. And I wouldn't like that. Nor would your mum.' Hinata teased.
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The cycling road was a long, clean bridge that stretched over a huge canyon. The drop was huge and they could see the ground beneath them due to the clear plastic they were cycling over. The valley beneath them was cruel looking, rugged and untamed.
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It felt good to ride over the valley though. The wind brushed past their faces and the exercise got the boys' hearts going. When they reached the other end of the cycling road, a surprisingly short trip, they were hesitant to give up their bikes. Hinata untied the stove and put it under his arm. Kageyama returned the bikes to the lady at the counter. She was miffed to see some peculiar dents on the back of what had been Kageyama's bike. Naturally, he acted like he had nothing to do with it but his shoddy lying skills gave him away. The woman decided she would just give him an offhand remark about how he and his friend shouldn't damage other people's property. It was a slap on the wrist.
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'We really need to figure out a better way of carrying this around.' Hinata whined to Kageyama whilst the left the cycling centre's gate. They were greeted by the red dirt known to the area and the mountains they had grown used to whilst Hinata had been training to defeat Roark. Kageyama wondered if he ought to mention it.
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The entrance to Mt Coronet wasn't sealed anymore and there was no sign of there ever being trouble here. 'I wonder if Nyta would want to play here again...' Hinata mused.
'Who knows.' Kageyama replied.
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It appeared to the pair of Trainers that they were the only ones in the area. They couldn't see anyone camping up above them, on precarious ridges and it seemed that no one else was having a stroll. The path narrowed and then led into Mt Coronet. The cave was shadowy and cool. Water dripped down from the rocky ceiling and a river coursed through with churning power. There was no silence in the echoic cave. Zubat flitted about overhead and Hinata gawked at them but uninterested in catching one for himself. Kageyama played with the idea of catching one also but decided against it.
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They got to the other side of the cavern slowly, afraid of slipping over. Their eyes were dazzled when they left the cave. Their noses were hit with the fresh smell of berries but also the rank smell of pollution. The rushing crash of a waterfall assailed their ears and the boys ventured out. They were higher up than they expected. A bridge stretched out over the river and met a series of ridges and cliffs. Stairs leading down from them were built into the sides. What were possibly farm houses could be seen from here and further on, a tar road stretched into a city skyline.
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Kageyama and Hinata were in awe of what could be seen and how much progress towards getting to Hearthome City they were making. They were going to be there with time to spare. The two crossed the bridge with little fear and then trekked downwards. Hinata was close to lost amongst the tall grass if not for his bright, orange hair. It made Kageyama chuckle a little bit, something Hinata pouted about. He also complained about how hard it was to move with the oven.
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The waterfall was to their backs and Hearthome City faced them. Kageyama and Hinata marched through the grass and onto the main road. The main road was busy but no one paid attention to them. Kageyama wondered how many people here would reappear at the Contest Hall tomorrow though.
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'Halt, boys!' an elderly voice yelled out. The boys cringed and turned around. An old man approached. He was wearing daggy clothes and had a PokeBall in each hand and a sly smile on his wrinkly, squarish face. 'Hello.' Hinata greeted. He and Kageyama bowed.
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The man appraised them. The sun was beginning to set. 'You two lads look strong. Why don't you battle my Pokémon in a double battle? I have a pair of newly reared Pokémon, they need some exercise. Care to accept the challenge?' the old man asked. Hinata smiled and Kageyama frowned.
'I – we? – accept!' Hinata chirped and Kageyama huffed.
'If you insist.'
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The opposing Trainers stood far away from the road or where they would bother someone. Kageyama was worried about the time but Hinata looked like he was itching for a battle. He eagerly held a PokeBall in his hand. Kageyama couldn't tell who was inside and he didn't like not knowing. He hoped it was someone complimentary to Ralts.
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'Ready?' the old man clucked.
'Born read.' Hinata replied.
'Age before beauty.' the old man quipped.
'Alrighty then.' Hinata agreed.
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The old man took a deep breath then threw out his PokeBalls. 'Mankey! Poliwag! Do me proud, boys!' he yelled and the two, small Pokémon leaped out of their PokeBalls.
'Karasuno, jump out!' Hinata yelled and Kageyama was unnerved.
'Ralts!' Kageyama shouted. Their PokeBalls spun out of their hands and their Pokémon landed in front of them.
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The old man nodded knowingly. Hinata's Murkrow preened itself and looked unimpressed by Ralts. It acted as though it wanted to be anywhere else but there. Ralts was dismayed by Murkrow's behaviour but seemed to resolve to act better.
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'Poliwag, use Hypnosis on the Ralts. Mankey, Scratch Murkrow.' the old man instructed. The Poliwag bounced up into Ralts' close quarters and lulled it to sleep with a mysterious beam of mystically coloured light. Mankey lunged at Murkrow with claws extended. Murkrow dodged its attack by flying out of reach.
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'Sky Attack!' Hinata yelled and Kageyama flinched. The old man whistled. Murkrow flew up into the sky. It dove on Mankey with vicious fervour. Mankey growled and pawed at where Murkrow had driven his beak into it, which was atop its head. 'Wow, that's a tough Mankey if it survived that.' Hinata said, in awe.
'I don't breed fools.' the old man replied.
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Kageyama huffed. His eyebrows were upturned. 'Come on, Ralts, wake up.' he urged but the most movement Ralts displayed was a yawn.
'Alrighty then, Mankey try using Scratch again and Poliwag, Hypnosis on the bird.' the man instructed. Poliwag waddled towards Murkrow who flapped its wings and soared higher. The beam Poliwag exuded missed. Mankey was easily able to attack Ralts who seemed mostly unaffected.
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'Alrighty, Karasuno, use Peck!' Hinata yelled. Karasuno dived on Mankey again with a glowing beak. Mankey couldn't take the pressure and fainted. The old man recalled Mankey and told it that it had done well to fight such a powerful flying type for so long.
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Kageyama stared at Ralts. 'You can do it.' he urged and Ralts rolled around for a bit before bringing itself up. It stretched out and seemed to be awake again. 'Go on, Ralts!' Hinata encouraged as well.
'Use Magcial Leaf!' Kageyama instructed. Ralts twirled about and commanded sparkling leaves that ploughed into Poliwag who toughed it out with determined spirit.
'It's alright, Poliwag, use Surf!' the old man soothed.
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His Poliwag pounded its tail against the ground with enough force to heft itself into the air, briefly, whilst the battlefield was swamped in pristine, turquoise water. The water rampaged from underneath and leapt at Karasuno and near-drowned Ralts. The two were still going strong, probably due to being higher level to the Poliwag.
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'Your Pokemon're so strong, I'm jealous.' Hinata sang out.
'Not as good as that Murkrow though.' the old man said. 'It's got some good blood in it, I can tell. But very unrefined, needs some more reigning in, shrimpy.'
'Shrimpy?' Hinata echoed with a frown.
'Come on now, Poliwag. One last ditch of effort. Use Ice Beam.' the man said. The Poliwag fired a chilling beam of ice at Murkrow which brought it down from its domain; the sky.
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Karasuno crashed against the ground. 'Oh no.' Hinata said. He returned Karasuno. 'You did really well out there. A little more training and you'll be all like gwaah! And it'll be amazing.' he said to the PokeBall.
'Yeah, your Murkrow's something else.' Kageyama murmured and Hinata grinned at him.
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Ralts yowled and reminded the two that there was another matter on hand. 'Okay, Ralts, use Magical Leaf again!' Kageyama instructed. Ralts twirled on the spot and commanded leaves of shimmering colours. They ploughed against Poliwag, pushing it back meanly. Poliwag landed on its rump and its eyes spun. It fell back and its Trainer returned it. 'Well done, my lads. Well done.' he said. 'Riveting stuff, I expect I'll see you at the Pokémon League.'
'Uh no, actually.' Hinata mumbled, embarrassed.
'We're Coordinators. We're aiming for the Grand Festival.' Kageyama explained.
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The old man laughed heartily. 'Guess that means you'd know my grandson then. A bastard by the name of Keishin, he's been judging Contests as of late.'
'Your Ukai Senior?' the boys exclaimed, eyes wide.
'In the flesh. Have a good one, good luck tomorrow.' the man said and he wandered off.
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It was dark now but Hearthome City was lit up in a thousand lights, washing the streets in vibrant oranges and yellows. The boys hurried in and navigated the new streets until they fell into the embrace of the local Pokémon Centre. They booked a room and tried not to worry about the fact their routine for tomorrow was unpractised. Tomorrow was going to prove an interesting day due to bad choices. They shouldn't have dawdled in Eterna City like they did but that had been something out of their reach due to Kageyama getting injured in Eterna Forest and if that hadn't of happened, then they would both be without their remarkable pair of Murkrows.