"So, now we're headed for the Battle Castle, right?" Leaf asked Riley as they left the Battle Hall.
"That's right," Riley nodded, "It's that building up there that looks like… a castle."
Leaf and her friends weaved through the crowd to get there, but once they neared the doors, Riley kept going…
"Uh, Riley? What? Where are you going?" Leaf shrugged and decided to follow him.
"Yup, I thought so…" Riley smirked slightly as he peered over the edge of the path, "Still there?" he pointed down below.
Leaf blinked at him for a moment in confusion, and then decided to look for herself. And just below them, there were Volkner and Flint still 'guarding' the front entrance. So of course, now, Flint was engaged in battle with a young trainer, and Volkner was sitting passively on his perch, waiting for it to all be over with.
"They're STILL there?" Leaf exclaimed.
"Apparently," Riley decided to state the obvious.
"Hey Volkner! What are doing? Why haven't you tried any of these battle areas yet?" Leaf called down to him.
Several feet down below, Volkner heard the sound of his name and looked around, vaguely wondering if he was hearing things. Then he turned around when he finally realized where it came from, "Oh, it's just you two again," he mused quietly, "…Don't throw anything at me," he added, realizing what an easy target he'd be from sitting so far below them.
"I wasn't going to!" Leaf insisted, slightly irritated that he'd even suggest it.
"Are you and Flint planning to actually participate here?" Riley asked.
"Maybe… I don't know, though. Flint always gets all worked up over noobs showin' up uninvited, so… I guess he's volunteered himself to stand guard every time he comes here… As for me… I don't know why I even bother coming anymore… Flint isn't a very helpful battle partner anyway…"
"You don't have to have a partner," Riley reminded him.
"Meh, it's no fun if you don't."
"Guess you have a point."
"Riley and his girlfriend! You're back!" Flint welcomed them grandly. His battle was now over, and his opponent had been victorious.
"Hey, Flint, still guarding the perimeter?" Leaf smirked.
"No one else is brave and cunning enough to handle it!"
"Enough! Let's go do what we came here to do," Volkner got up.
"Oh, that's right! I can't have Riley beatin' my records now, can I?" Flint smirked in his signature odd fashion.
"Anything to keep you focused," Volkner briskly headed for the doors.
"Bye, guys," Leaf waved.
"Later!" Flint smirked again and followed after Volkner.
After all that was over with, Leaf, Knuckles, and Riley headed inside the Battle Castle. This time, Leaf was not overly stunned by the expansive interior (it was a castle after all), and she was pleased to see that there were considerably less loud people here. And not to mention, there was lovely orchestral music playing all throughout the room. It was soft and pleasant to Leaf's ears.
"This is Riley music, isn't it?" Leaf smirked at him.
"What do you mean?" Riley looked at her with confusion written all over his face.
"You listen to this kind of music, don't you?"
Riley laughed, "Not quite."
So, they made their way to sign up, and surprisingly enough, there weren't many other trainers this time. But they still had to wait for their turn...
So, Leaf sat down between Riley and Knuckles on an overly luxurious couch. In fact, it almost seemed too fancy and expensive looking to even be called something as common and ordinary as a 'couch'. But at any rate, they were nowhere near the television, since the few trainers in the lounge were all crowded around it.
Leaf got bored quickly and tried to think of something interesting to talk about. Then she suddenly remembered something. Seeing Volkner and Flint again had reminded her…
"So, Riley…" Leaf began, trying her best to be casual, "I noticed you never bothered to correct Flint when he called me your girlfriend…"
"Oh, right. Well, you know Flint; he never really listens to reason. You could tell him something a thousand times, but he probably wouldn't even pay attention, much less remember it. Even with something as outrageous as that…"
"Outrageous?" Leaf looked shocked to hear that coming from him, "Well! Geez, I didn't realize me being your girlfriend was such a ridiculous idea!"
"Uh, no," Riley actually looked pretty scared now. He was treading in dangerous waters now, "I didn't mean it like that!"
"Really? Then how did you mean it?" Leaf asked sharply, her eyes flashing dangerously.
"Well… I…" Riley really wished he hadn't said anything. What was it about Leaf that made him constantly say things he didn't really want to?
"OMG! It's a Lucario!" an obnoxious fan boy voice cried out.
"Who the-?" Leaf turned around to see some chubby Pokéfan dork hugging her Lucario. Poor Knuckles was grasping for breath, trying his hardest to find a way to break free of this guy without breaking his arms.
"Hey! Back off!" Leaf growled and tried to pry him away from her Pokémon.
"Whoa… wait a second," the Pokéfan relaxed his grip when he noticed Leaf, "This Lucario belongs to you?"
"Yeah. What of it?" Leaf huffed.
"I didn't think a girl would have a Lucario… I mean, girls are supposed to like cute and fluffy Pokémon… Hey! Do you want to trade? I have tons of cute Pokémon that a girl would like!"
"Forget it!" Leaf resumed her attempts to pry him off Knuckles, "I'm never going to trade, so just go AWAY already!"
"Never? Why not? Come on! I have tons of-!"
"I said no! How many times do I have to say it!" Leaf really yanked hard now, but she wasn't able to make this annoying dork budge.
"Please? Come on, I know I have something you'd like!"
"Let go of my Pokémon! Can't you see you're driving him crazy?" Leaf reached into her bag to get out his Pokéball. Then she promptly recalled Knuckles so that the kid would finally get his greasy paws off of him.
"The Pokémon's not the only one that I'm driving crazy…" the Pokédork smiled at Leaf suggestively.
"Ugh…" Leaf wanted to vomit, but instead settled for slapping him across the face.
"You… you hit me…!" the Pokédork actually looked like he might shed tears.
"You had it coming! Now get OUT of here before I… use Aura Sphere on you!" Leaf couldn't think of a better threat at the moment. But, it didn't really matter anyway, because the Pokédork was too busy whining to listen.
"I can't believe you'd be so mean to me! I'm going away!" the Pokédork was beside himself and decided to leave.
"What an irritant," Leaf sighed and sent Knuckles back out after the dork was long gone. The poor Pokémon collapsed onto the couch beside his trainer and breathed deeply, content to finally be free of his bout with claustrophobia.
"So… what were we talkin' about before that freak showed up?" Leaf asked Riley.
"Nothing," Riley said quickly, hoping that she had forgotten all about it by now.
"Huh… well, maybe I'll think of it later," Leaf shrugged and stroked her Lucario.
Not much later, the attendant called them over, and they were led to an impressive hallway. A very proper-looking man was waiting for them.
"Good day. My name is Darach," he bowed politely.
"Hi!" Leaf wasn't the type to be 'proper'. And Riley just nodded at him.
"Oh? I apologize, but I must ask you to recall your Pokémon," Darach informed them once he noticed Knuckles, "Lady Caitlin would not approve."
"Okay, sure," Leaf recalled him.
"As customary, I present you with ten CP to start with," Darach bowed his head and held out ten little slips of paper for them to take.
"Thanks," Riley slipped them into his pocket.
"Are you ready to begin?" Darach asked politely.
"Definitely!" Leaf grinned.
"Then right this way," Darach indicated the door on the right. The two trainers headed through the door which led to a lavish room practically sparkling with expensive elegance. No, wait… it really was sparkling…!
"How do they get the place to sparkle so much?" Leaf whispered to Riley.
"Magic," Riley answered dryly.
"Yup, that has it be it," Leaf agreed with a smile. She looked up and noticed a frail looking girl looking down at them from a throne set above the battle arena. Leaf probably wouldn't have noticed her if she hadn't anything else to do. Before she had a chance to ask anything, their challengers were walking up, ready for battle.
"Beware the ferocity of my Pokémon!" the Dragon Tamer announced.
"You can call me Charmy if you want to," a young Reporter beamed.
"Attack, Ditto!" The Dragon Tamer commanded.
"Come out, Combee!" Reporter Charmy sang out.
"Go, Metagross!" Riley cried.
"Okay, come on out, Blathers!" Leaf hoped she hadn't just made a grave mistake here.
"Hey, lady!" Blathers flew up to Lady Caitlin and started making faces at her. Lady Caitlin scowled slightly.
"CHATOT! Get DOWN here!" Leaf raged.
"Ditto! Shapeshift- I mean, Transform!" the Dragon Tamer cried. His Ditto transformed into Metagross. Because everyone knows he wouldn't want to transform into Chatot…
"Iron Defense, Metagross!" Riley was next.
"META!" Metagross hardened up.
"Use Bug Bite, Combee!" Reporter Charmy cried out. Her Combee flew up to Metagross and gnawed on his head. Metagross yelped in pain.
"Use Chatter on the Combee, Blathers!" Leaf said frantically.
"Beebeebee! WhydobeesALWAYSbuzz?" Blathers sang. Combee writhed in pain from the awful noise.
"Now! Ditto! Use Psychic on that freaky Chatot!" Apparently, the Dragon Tamer was also getting pretty irritated by Blathers' antics.
"Ditto!" Ditto called out in his cute little Ditto voice (even though he now had formidable Metagross body). Pink waves emanating from his massive head collided into Blathers, causing the bird to… cry like a baby.
"Metagross! Use Hammer Arm on Ditto!" Riley knew he needed to act fast. Metagross smashed one of his impressive iron arms into his opponent, causing the Pokémon to faint.
"Return," the Dragon Tamer recalled his Ditto.
"Combee! Use String Shot!" Reporter Charmy ordered.
"EW! You covered me in GUM!" Blathers screamed.
Lady Caitlin frowned slightly. This Chatot was proving to be rather annoying. But it was strong, and she liked to see that.
"Use Chatter again!" Leaf cried.
"Sure thing, sister!" Blathers nodded, "Hey,?"
Combee squeaked in pain, and the poor thing fainted, "Oh no, Combee! Please return!" Reporter Charmy looked disappointed.
"It's up to you now, Charizard!" the Dragon Tamer tossed his next Pokéball.
"Charizard, huh? Should be interesting," Leaf smiled slightly to herself from nostalgia flooding over her. She had faced her friend, Red's Charizard countless times before.
"Today is just not my lucky day," Riley decided to recall Metagross.
"Go Beedrill!" Reporter Charmy cried.
"Yeah, good thinking," Leaf had to agree with Riley. Using Metagross for this battle would be a big mistake.
"Chatot! Fly up into the air!" Leaf said quickly.
"…Coward!" the Dragon Tamer just decided to wait for now since there were no Pokémon for him to attack.
"Come out, Salamence!" Riley sent out his next Pokémon.
"Okay! Beedrill! Use your Poison Jab attack!" Reporter Charmy cried. Beedrill smashed one of his speared arms into Salamence. Unfortunately for Riley, Salamence was poisoned.
"Here comes CHAAAATOT!" Blathers screeched as he flew down to crash into Beedrill, causing the bug type to howl with pain.
"Charizard! Flamethrower!" the Dragon Tamer commanded. Charizard spewed mighty flames at Chatot.
"HALP! MAH TAIL END IS ON FIIIRE!" Blathers shrieked, a small fire visible on his tail feathers.
"Stop,drop,roll! Stop,drop,roll! Stop,drop,roll!" Blathers said frantically as he plummeted to the ground and started rolling around like crazy.
"…Are you okay, Blathers?" Leaf asked after his episode was over.
"Yes!" Blathers sprang up happily.
"So… Salamence, use your Dragon Breath attack on Beedrill!" Riley decided after he was finished being distracted by Chatot.
Beedrill was hit full force by the powerful attack and fainted, "Oh no! Beedrill! …Please return," Reporter Charmy said sadly.
"Okay! Blathers! Use Roost!" Leaf remembered that they didn't heal Pokémon right after the battle here, so she figured she might as well make up for the damage he'd accumulated so far.
"Hah! You'll NEVER get me from up here!" Blathers gloated as he flew up to sit on the railing near the princess. Of course, he had to make faces at Charizard to provoke him further.
"Charizard! Use Flamethrower again!" the Dragon Tamer cried, but Charizard didn't need telling twice. He unleashed a flurry of flames at Chatot, who shrieked and tried to fly away, but failed miserably.
"You almost FRIED the princess!" Chatot exclaimed, "I'm so sorry for this, Princess Peach," Chatot bowed grandly before Lady Caitlin. She just stared at him blankly.
"Salamence! Use Dragon Breath again!" Riley commanded. Salamence winced from the effects of poison, but then quickly performed the attack.
"Charizard! Use Dragon Claw!" the Dragon Tamer ordered. Charizard returned the favor by smashing Salamence with his powerful claws. Unfortunately for Riley, this move was very effective against his dragon type Pokémon.
"Hang in there, Salamence," Riley winced.
"Use Feather Dance, Blathers!" Leaf cried, hoping that she could help out Riley a little here.
"Taste my FEATHERED FURY!" Blathers whipped up a giant flurry of feathers by beating his wings wildly at Charizard. Charizard coughed as the mountains of feathers overtook him.
"Now, Salamence! Use Crunch!" Riley cried. Salamence bit Charizard's wing with his mighty jaws.
"Keep it together, Charizard! Use Dragon Claw again!" The Dragon Tamer ordered. Apparently it was implied that he wanted his Pokémon to attack Salamence, but Charizard instead went for Chatot because the annoying bird kept taunting and driving him crazy.
"Yowch," Blathers managed to get back on his feet after the powerful attack. He was getting pretty tired now.
"You can do it, Blathers!" Leaf encouraged him, "Use Uproar!"
"I HATE BATTLING AGAINST POKéMON THAT ARE BIGGER THAN ME BY A COUNTRY MILE!" Blathers roared.
Charizard groaned in pain. He was reaching his limits now.
"Salamence! Quick! Use Crunch once more!" Riley cried. Thankfully for them, this attack was enough to take down Charizard.
"Return, Charizard!" the Dragon Tamer recalled his Pokémon, "You may have beaten me this time, but I will never be ultimately owned!"
"I would have won… if only I had a Mew…" Reporter Charmy sighed.
"DARACH! CP for these trainers at once!" Lady Caitlin called out sharply after Leaf and Riley's opponents left. Leaf jumped; she had almost forgotten that the princess was up there.
Darach swiftly strode up to them, "Lady Caitlin has instructed me to give you twenty CP," he bowed respectfully and handed Riley the slips of paper.
"We can use these to heal our Pokémon," Riley reminded her as they followed Darach out of the room.
"I think we're going to need them," Leaf commented. This was only their first battle here, and it wound up being pretty difficult.
Several battles later…
"Are you ready for your final challenge?" Darach asked Leaf and Riley once they finished healing their Pokémon and whatnot.
"Yup, I think so," Leaf nodded.
"Very well. Then proceed this way," Darach indicated the door on the right, as if they hadn't figured that out by now.
So, Leaf and Riley went into the next room and waited for their opponents. A Psychic girl and a Jogger walked up to stand before them.
"I'm Mae, and my favorite color is purple!" the Psychic informed them.
"Hola! Soy Enrique," the Jogger nodded to them.
"Oh great… I don't know any Spanish…" Leaf groaned, figuring that this dude was going to call out all his attacks in Spanish.
"Me neither," Jogger Enrique shrugged.
"Go Drifloon!" Psychic Mae cried before Leaf even had a chance to think of a response.
"Graveler! It's your turn!" Jogger Enrique said next.
"Here we go, Blathers," Leaf sent out her Chatot.
"Metagross! Get ready!" Riley cried out.
"Drifloon! Use Shadow Ball on Metagross!" Psychic Mae went first. Drifloon charged a dark sphere and hurled it at Metagross, who winced in pain.
"Feather Dance, Blathers!" Leaf cried.
"Do you want me to be a featherless Chatot?" Blathers whined at her, but nonetheless performed the attack.
"Graveler! Use Rock Slide!" Jogger Enrique ordered.
"GRAVEL!" Graveler shouted.
"Watch out for the falling…!" Leaf was expecting tons of rocks to clatter down from nowhere, but was surprised to behold only one rock fall down from the sky, "…rock?"
"Graveler! How many times do we have to work on that before you finally get it right?" the Jogger exclaimed. Graveler looked sheepish.
"Metal Claw, Metagross!" Riley was next. Metagross slashed Graveler with his mighty claws.
"Shadow Ball again, Drifloon!" Psychic Mae cried out.
"Over here~!" Blathers stuck out his tongue and made crazy looking faces at Drifloon all while he fluttered around seemingly everywhere.
"Focus, Drifloon! Don't pay attention to it!" the Psychic girl urged her Pokémon. Drifloon ignored Chatot and shot her sphere at Metagross, knocking him out.
"Well, you tried," Leaf shrugged at Chatot while Riley recalled his Pokémon.
"Use Uproar!" Leaf said next.
"AWWW YEEEAH! HEADBANGERS' PARTY! BRING IT ON!" Blathers shrieked. Both Graveler and Drifloon covered their ears. Or whatever they had that passed for ears.
"Use Swagger, Graveler!" Jogger Enrique called out.
"Who am I? Where am I? This isn't the Guild…" Blathers' eyes were glazed over.
"Go! Salamence!" Riley sent out his next Pokémon.
"Drifloon! Use Ominous Wind!" Psychic Mae said next. Salamence suffered a direct hit.
"Return, Chatot," Leaf figured he wasn't much help in his current state.
"Swagger on Salamence," the Jogger knew Riley wasn't able to switch out Pokémon anymore. Graveler sighed loud enough to tick off Salamence and make him confused.
"Drifloon! Use Ominous Wind again!" Psychic Mae cried. Salamence suffered a direct hit.
"Go! Vegeta!" Leaf sent out her other Pokémon.
"Earthquake!" Jogger Enrique called out. Drifloon and Salamence weren't too badly affected since they were flying types, but Vegeta suffered average damage.
"Salamence! Crunch Drifloon!" Finally Riley had a type advantage. Drifloon fainted from Salamence's critical hit.
"You did well, Drifloon," Psychic Mae returned her Pokémon.
"Use Hydro Pump on Graveler!" Leaf cried. Now Graveler fainted.
"Let's go, Mismagius!" Psychic Mae sent out her next Pokémon since there were no Pokémon on the field for Riley to attack.
"Okay! Use Hydro Pump on Mismagius!" It took Leaf a moment to realize it was her turn once again. Vegeta aimed for Mismagius, but unfortunately, he missed his target.
"Go! Sandslash!" Jogger Enrique sent out his next Pokémon.
"Use Crunch on Mismagius!" Riley ordered. Salamence gnawed on Mismagius' 'hat' hungrily. Mismagius shrieked in pain, but wasn't down for the count just yet.
"Use Magical Leaf, Mismagius!" Psychic Mae cried. Vegeta grunted in pain from the effective attack, but he wasn't down for the count yet either.
"Use Hydro Pump on Sandslash!" Leaf hoped the attack would hit this time. She was getting nervous since the PP on that move was getting low. But, the attack missed once again.
"Sandslash! Use Rock Slide!" the Jogger cried out. Sandslash summoned rocks to fall down from the sky, but…
Once again, the move only produced one falling rock as opposed to the multiple ones the trainer had counted on…
"Why, Sandslash?" the Jogger sighed while Sandslash looked sheepish.
"Well, use Crunch once more, Salamence!" It was Riley's turn once again. This time, Mismagius fainted.
"Just use Surf!" Leaf was tired of dealing with Hydro Pump. Surf was more reliable, and she was certain Salamence could take it. The attack hit both Sandslash and Salamence, but wasn't enough to take down Sandslash just yet.
"Use Gyro Ball, Sandslash!" Jogger Enrique cried. Sandslash unleashed a powerful move straight for Vegeta. The bulky Blastoise took the attack.
"Fly, Salamence," Riley figured Leaf would want to use Surf again, and he wanted Salamence out of the way.
"Good! Now you're clear to use Surf again, Vegeta!" Leaf smirked. After this attack, Sandslash fainted.
"Oh well… I'll try harder next time!" Psychic Mae declared.
"Adios!" Jogger Enrique nodded.
"DARACH! CP for these trainers at once!" Lady Caitlin snapped from her perch.
Darach walked up to them, "Good show. Lady Caitlin has instructed me to give you twenty-five CP," he bowed and handed them over.
"Wow, that was fun!" Leaf grinned.
oOoOoOo
Notes: Man, these chapters are long… but I really don't want to split these up since they focus on each battle area.
By the way, I added some new choices to my poll since we've encountered new characters recently. I'm not sure if people who voted before can vote again, but I'm sure it can't hurt to try.
