"Okay, fine; I guess you ARE tough enough for this place," Flint finally acknowledged after he had stopped arguing with Volkner.
"Is that why you guys stand out here, just so that you can make sure that no weaklings manage to sneak in?" Leaf teased, feeling more confident and playful now.
"Yeah, that's Flint's job," Volkner nodded, "That's exactly why he hangs here all day and night."
"I do not! Why do you have to be such a jerk all the time?" Flint groaned. And then they erupted into another argument.
Knuckles covered his ears and growled at Leaf. Why did she have to say that? Now they were at it again! It was really enough to drive anyone crazy!
"How was I supposed to know any meaningless comment would set them off?" Leaf folded her arms over her chest.
"Maybe we should just leave now…" Riley shrugged.
"Sure, bye Flint and Volkner," Leaf waved even though she wasn't certain if they would even hear her.
"Oh, bye Leaf! If you ever get sick of Riley, you know who to come to!" Flint nodded at her. Leaf just tried her hardest not to make a pained look on her face.
"You're sick," Volkner shook his head.
"What? At least I ask, unlike you, who just keeps it all bottled up!"
"Okay, we're going," Leaf informed them and left with Riley and Knuckles.
Volkner trudged over to his perch on the edge of the fountains, "You're delusional," he muttered at Flint.
"Oh, come on," Flint smirked at him, "Don't even try tellin' me that you don't think Riley's girlfriend is fine."
"She's not even his girlfriend, imbecile," Volkner sneered.
"Imbecile? Where the heck did you get THAT from?"
"I don't know why I even talk to you," Volkner frowned.
Meanwhile, Leaf, Knuckles, and Riley headed into the Battle Frontier entrance. The moment they stepped inside, they were greeted by six identical women sitting behind desks.
"Good afternoon. Welcome to the Battle Frontier," the six of them said in unison.
Leaf just froze. Seeing this many identical women all in the same place just looked… really freaky in her opinion. They were even all dressed exactly the same.
"Is this your first time here?" the closest woman smiled at Leaf.
"Uh, yeah," Leaf began, but that was all she had time to say before every single woman began to bombard her with information. They were all talking at once, so Leaf couldn't catch anything any of them were saying even if she wanted to. Even Knuckles looked freaked out by the situation.
Leaf just looked over at Riley and wondered what the heck she was supposed to do.
"If you have any questions, you can just ask me," Riley reminded her, "I've been here plenty of times before."
"Aw…." All six women did nothing to hide their disappointment.
"Well, thanks anyway for your help," Riley nodded to them and decided to lead the way.
"If you have any questions though, you know who to come to for help," one of them said to Leaf as she walked past.
"Uh, yeah… thanks," Leaf decided to hurry past.
"Oh, wow…" Leaf breathed once they stepped outside into a plaza teeming with trainers. Knuckles looked excited as well.
"What do you think?" Riley led them to the center of the plaza, "See? They have five different areas where we can do battle with different sets of rules… Which one do you think you'd like to try first?"
"Well… man… I don't know…" Leaf gazed around at all the activity and felt a little overwhelmed, "Uh… which one do you like best?"
"My favorite?" Riley repeated, "Well… I suppose I'd have to say the Battle Tower over there," he decided and pointed up at the highest building just before them, "But I think we should save that one for last since it's the most challenging."
"Okay, then what are the other ones like?" Leaf asked him.
"Well, over there is the Battle Factory," Riley pointed to the building to the northeast, "That's where you can hold battles with rented Pokémon."
"Rented Pokémon? Yuck," Leaf looked vaguely disgusted. She didn't come all this way just to use someone else's Pokémon to battle with.
"Okay… Well, over there is the Battle Arcade," Riley pointed to southeast, "That's where you have to hit a sort of roulette to determine pivotal events in the battles."
"That sounds kinda interesting," Leaf acknowledged, "But what are the other ones like?"
"Over there is the Battle Castle," Riley indicated the southwest, "That's where you need to earn Castle Points that you can use to trade for items and chances to heal your Pokémon."
"Aw, man, speaking of healing my Pokémon," Leaf suddenly remembered, "we forget to heal our Pokémon after that battle with Flint and Volkner!"
"That doesn't matter," Riley explained, "The workers here heal your Pokémon for you before you start any battles."
"Oh, that's pretty amazing," Leaf looked impressed, "Oh yeah, and what's that last one like?" Leaf remembered and pointed to the building in the northwest.
"That's the Battle Hall," Riley explained, "That's where you must only choose one Pokémon to battle with, and you have to choose which types your Pokémon will go against."
"Well, I suppose we could just go there first and then continue round the circle as we go," Leaf suggested, "Do you think we'll have enough time to try them all?"
"I don't see why not," Riley agreed.
"Cool! Then let's go!" Leaf was excited for this.
The two trainers and Knuckles went up the steps to head for the pink building known now as the Battle Hall. Leaf began to wonder why they'd decide to paint it pink like that…
But she forgot all about that once she stepped inside. The building was rather large and expansive, and there were many steps leading down to where many people were bustling about, most likely signing up for battles. But the strangest thing of all was the music filtering down from the speakers. It sounded to Leaf like some kind of funky piano music. Something she definitely wouldn't be into… that's for sure.
"Wow. So… where do ya battle at?" Leaf finally asked.
"We probably need to sign up before that," Riley chuckled, "They'll lead us to the battle arena once it's our turn."
"Oh," Leaf realized. Being a noob to this sort of thing was not only annoying but also pretty embarrassing.
But at any rate, Leaf and Riley went down to sign up. They wound up having to have to choose their Lucario because that was the only Pokémon they had in common between the two of them. After all that was over with, they then decided to head over to a sort of lounge where other trainers were waiting. Leaf sat beside Riley and watched the TV blankly. Nothing interesting was on, but it was better than trying to talk to Riley with all these other people around practically screaming their heads off at each other. Then came the commercials. Yippee…
"Tune in Friday night for the return of the famous PokéDetective! Join the brilliant Pokémon researcher by day, dapper detective by night in his quest to bring down the forces of evil threatening his region! Fridays at eight o'clock! Don't miss it!"
"Is that…" Leaf's jaw dropped in disbelief, "Professor Rowan?"
"Maybe," Riley looked amused. But Knuckles just looked like he was going to be sick.
"That… I don't even… I don't even get that," Leaf just raised an eyebrow. Sinnoh TV viewers certainly had weird taste in TV programs, to be sure.
"I wonder if we can get the news…" Riley looked around for the remote, and was surprised to find it on the table right beside him, "Alright. Here we go."
"This just in!" a newscaster woman said urgently into her microphone. Leaf leaned forward slightly in interest.
"We've spotted hordes of Slakoth in the vicinity of Route 213!" the newscaster cried.
"What…?" Leaf slumped in her seat. What kind of 'important' news was that?
"So, if you've ever wanted to catch a Slakoth," the newscaster continued, "Or if you've ever wanted to wear them on your head…"
Leaf balked. Honestly? What kind of news program WAS this anyway?
"If you've a true viva Slakoth kind of trainer… Then come on out to Route 213! That's Route 213! Don't forget it now! Route 2-1-3!"
"Yeah, I get it already," Leaf rolled her eyes at the TV. Then she turned to Riley, "Don't they have any decent TV here in Sinnoh?"
"I don't really know," Riley shrugged, "I don't watch TV much."
"Really? Well, I guess I can't blame you, considering all this crap they have on here," Leaf leaned back in her seat and tried to think of something better to do. She gazed over at her Lucario sitting beside her, and it looked like he was engrossed in the TV. Leaf couldn't really tell why; the news broadcast was over by now, and all that was on now was some boring toothpaste commercial. Maybe Knuckles just found toothpaste to be fascinating. Or maybe the TV was giving off weird auras or something...
"You want the remote?" Riley asked Leaf after a while. Apparently, the news was over for good, because a long boring infomercial about some vacuum cleaner was on now.
"Sure," Leaf took it and then handed it to Knuckles. After she briefly explained how to change the channels, Knuckles fumbled with the tiny buttons for a while until he finally got the hang of it. Soon he was flipping through channels a mile a minute stopping only when there was a commercial.
"Dude, Knuckles, you're supposed to avoid the commercials," Leaf groaned. But Knuckles was too interested in learning about the newest hair gel to hear her.
Utterly bored, Leaf looked over at Riley. He was just sitting there, staring off into space. Leaf vaguely wondered what he was gazing at, but it turned out to just be a blank space on the wall. Interesting as that was, Leaf decided to turn her attention elsewhere, but then she suddenly noticed that her hair was statically attracted to Riley's jacket, causing it to look really… weird. It was nearly standing on end in its best effort to stick to his jacket.
"Uh, sorry," Leaf hurriedly tried to make her hair stop doing that, but it really wasn't working very well.
"Oh? Sorry," Riley moved over a little, thinking that she didn't have enough room or something.
"Actually… it's just my hair…" Leaf groaned because it now looked even stranger.
"…Did I pull your hair somehow? I apologize if I-"
"No, it's just- Ow!" Leaf got a strong static shock when she accidently brushed against Riley's arm in an attempt to get her hair away from him.
"I hate static electricity!" Leaf complained and rubbed her sore finger. Riley just looked confused.
"Riley and Leaf?" a battle attendant lady called tentatively into the crowd of trainers.
"Over here!" Riley called, "Well, I suppose it's our turn now," he smiled at Leaf and started to get up to follow the attendant.
"Good, finally," Leaf grinned and got to her feet, "Come on, Knux!" she practically had to drag him away from the football game broadcasting on TV.
"Okay, Riley and Leaf, just follow me," the attendant woman smiled at them when they approached the desk, "Oh? Wait, Pokémon aren't allowed past this point, so if you could place your Lucario in the Pokéball, that would be great," she nodded once she caught sight of Knuckles.
"Uh, sure thing," Leaf recalled him and followed the lady behind the desk into a hallway with Riley on her heels. The hallway was dark, but not very long. Once the attendant reached the end of the hallway, she stepped aside and motioned for them to keep going.
Once Leaf and Riley left the dark hallway, they headed onto a long platform leading to a giant battle arena. Leaf gazed around in surprise. The area around the arena (and up and down the platform they were on) was absolutely PACKED with people! It almost looked as if they were going to enter a Contest rather than a battle.
"Why are there so many people?" Leaf whispered to Riley once they reached the battle arena and started to walk up to another attendant.
"Try not to think about it," Riley advised, remembering how nervous he was the first time he tried this out.
"Welcome!" the attendant beamed. As soon as she said that, the lights flashed to their brightest, practically blinding Leaf. Well, at least she couldn't really see the crowd anymore.
"Which type would you like to take on first?" the woman asked.
"Uh… how about normal first, just to start with?" Leaf suggested after looking at the list. Of course, normal type was the first one.
"The Normal type it is then!" the attendant beamed.
Leaf and Riley turned around to face their first challengers who were currently walking up the platform to meet them.
The first was a little girl dressed up in a Pikachu costume, "I've worn this costume for a long time now. Bathing is for wimps!" she announced.
"Ew, yuck," Leaf made a face.
The other challenger was a determined looking Pokémon Ranger, "I'm Alex, and my duty is to protect all Pokémon living peacefully in the forests of Sinnoh!"
'Well, she'd get along with Toby,' Leaf thought to herself.
"Go, Delcatty!" the little Pikagirl and Pokémon Ranger Alex cried in unison.
"Go Knuckles!" Leaf cried.
"Come out, Rukario," Riley ordered.
"Okay, Delcatty, start with Sing!" Pokémon Ranger Alex cried. Delcatty began to sign the most random song ever in Leaf's opinion. It was a decent melody, but it certainly was unexpected.
"Ah, just great!" Leaf groaned when Knuckles fell asleep.
"Use Close Combat!" Riley directed his Pokémon. Rukario dashed up to the Pikagirl's Delcatty and gave her a good thrashing, causing the poor Delcatty to faint immediately. The crowd went wild.
"Y-you're… you're SO MEAN!" the little Pikagirl bawled.
"Uh… sorry…" Riley looked remotely embarrassed. He really wished that they wouldn't allow little children to battle here. After all, weren't you supposed to be at least ten years old to train Pokémon anyway?
"Wake up, Knuckles!" Leaf pleaded, but he was sleeping soundly.
"Delcatty! Use Attract!" Pokémon Ranger Alex smirked. Delcatty winked cutely at Rukario, and of course, he completely fell for it.
"Snap out of it, Rukario, and use Close Combat again!" Riley cried. But, Rukario shook his head, too captivated by Delcatty's beauty to will himself to attack her.
"Blast it, Knuckles! Wake up!" Leaf yelled. But, Knuckles didn't even stir.
"Good job, Delcatty! Now use Strength!" the Pokémon Ranger nodded. Delcatty ran over to Knuckles, picked him up, and threw him in an impressive feat of her feline powers. The crowd cheered.
"How the heck could a Delcatty get so strong?" Leaf winced, "This battle is definitely one of the most random ones I've ever had…"
But luckily for her, that attack was enough to jolt Knuckles out of his sleep, "Great! You're awake! Now use Aura Sphere on that Delcatty!" Leaf grinned. Knuckles shot an Aura Sphere, and that was enough for the cat Pokémon to faint.
"That's okay! My main duty is to protect the forests of Sinnoh, and that will never change!" Pokémon Ranger Alex nodded proudly after she recalled her Delcatty.
"I won't take a bath! I won't!" the Pikagirl cried before leaving the arena with Ranger Alex on her heels.
"Good job! Both of your Lucario will be healed," the attendant told Riley and Leaf when their challengers had left. She took their pokéballs in her hands and a slight ringing sound could be heard.
"There! Your Pokémon are fully healed! Now, which type would you like to face off against next?"
"Uh… how did you DO that..?" Leaf blinked.
"Easy. I used to be in an RPG," the woman smiled.
"…What…?" Leaf was really confused. But the crowd was getting anxious, so she decided to just ignore it.
"So, what do you think we should pick next?" Riley asked her as he gazed at the list.
"Let's just go with whatever one is next," Leaf shrugged. She wasn't feeling too picky today.
Several battles later… Leaf and Riley were ready to face their last set of opponents. They had chosen the electric type as their last challenge…
"I'm Psychic Sophia, and I am going to be a Pokémon Master!" the young Psychic girl proclaimed as she stood before Riley and Leaf on the battlefield.
A Lass was standing beside her, "I'm… uhm… find out after the battle…!"
"Go Ampharos!" they cried in unison.
"Alright, Knuckles," Leaf called out.
"Come out, Rukario," Riley cried.
"Okay, Ampharos, use Thunder Punch!" the Lass cried. Her Ampharos punched Knuckles with a shocking ferocity, shocking in more ways than one.
"Use Bone Rush!" Leaf cried once Knuckles had recovered. He whipped out his bone and smashed Ampharos. It was effective to be sure, but it wasn't enough to put the electric Pokémon down for the count.
"Now! Ampharos! Use your Signal Beam!" Psychic Sophia commanded. Her Ampharos opened his mouth to unleash his multi colored beam headed straight for Rukario. It was a direct hit, and it was moderately effective.
"Aura Sphere," Riley ordered. Rukario charged up an Aura Sphere and sent it straight for Sophia's Ampharos. It was moderately effective as well.
"Thunder Punch again!" the Lass cried.
"Okay, Knuckles; finish with Bone Rush!" Leaf nodded. This was enough to bring down the Lass's Pokémon.
"Ampharos! Use Discharge!" Psychic Sophia ordered. Both Lucario were shocked by the powerful move.
"Try using Close Combat," Riley said next. This powerful move was enough to bring down the Psychic girl's Ampharos. The crowd cheered.
"I will become a Master one day," Psychic Sophia declared before walking off.
"I still love Ampharos!" the Lass squealed before running off after her partner.
"Congratulations! You both receive BP!" the attendant beamed at Leaf and Riley.
"Uh, thanks," Leaf smiled back, "…what's BP?" she whispered to Riley once they were out of earshot.
"You can swap BP for items at the kiosks we saw near the entrance," Riley explained.
"Cool," Leaf was impressed. This place was turning out to be a blast!
oOoOoOo
Notes: I'm certain some of you out there can guess who I used for inspiration in the battlers that Leaf and Riley had to face!
That's right, reviewers! As a little shout out to you, I decided to base the Battle Frontier battlers off of you guys! Let me know what you think!
