*~*The Felicities and Fallacies of Pokémon Training*~*
Chapter Thirteenth: Come All Ye Faithful
Written by The Duke of Briarcliffe
*~*
Author's Note: Hey General Failure, the ball that the other Chikorita was in was one of those horrible Love Balls that makes the pokémon being captured, love the pokémon that weakened it in battle. Oh Marie, normally taking a Nurse Joy's advice would be logical; but this Nurse Joy is a complete and total ditz. And would you readily take advice from someone as ditzy as her? I don't think so. LOL. To Erriel, as much I would love to, I have not seen the movie. It didn't even come to my area, sadly. I think it's safe to say that many of us have grown out of Pokémon. Hope you like this. —The Duke of Briarcliffe
*~*
"True friends stab you in the front." —Oscar Wilde
*~*
BEING A CRISP LATE SUMMER'S DAY, DUNCAN FIGURED that a day spent at Celadon Park between friends and pokémon would be most enjoyable. Besides, it was one of those days when one has nothing planned and just wants to waste time, in hopes that something worthwhile would come along. Therefore, he was going to dress himself in something light and comfortable, a white t-shirt and some jean shorts, and he rallied up his newfound friends.
Madison was excited that he would be able to see Imagen yet again, though in less compromising situations. He must have asked Duncan at least twenty times if she was able to come with and, to be absolutely certain, he called her himself. However, when the time came to speak—you know, after you say "Hello"—he choked up big time and ended up with a clashing sound ringing in his ear after a tacit five seconds.
Duncan walked in the room, brushing his already sparkling teeth, a crystal blue mechanism in his hand for the purpose. "Are more people coming, or something? Hey...did you just call Imagen?"
"No," he said quickly. "I was just checking out something." He was partially telling the truth. He was checking "in" to see if the person that he would be checking "out" later was going to be there. Besides, he had called her house or, in order to be specific, her phone.
"Right," Duncan said, with a stressed vowel noise. He retreated back into the bathroom, where a much needed gargle was in order. Rinsing his mouth clean and pausing to splash his face with some cool water and to lather a dose of Clean & Clear onto his face, he returned to the room.
"So I guess that we're gonna just buy some food while we're out?" Madison said. "It being a spur-of-the-moment-type thing and all. Dude, we have to learn how to cook one day."
"I'd say," said Duncan as he pulled the fresh-smelling shirt over his head and fastened his shorts. "We've never had to though, considering the circumstances that we were under."
"Yeah...you in a million-dollar mansion and me in a warm cottage and a very caring mother." He smiled as he reminisced about the old days. "It's nice how she ran the Gym and do other stuff but still managed to have dinner cooked and the house cleaned by 6:30 every night."
"How's Ms. Waterflower and Ashley doing anyways? I haven't spoken to them in a while."
"Fine," he replied.
"That's nice." He turned around and called out, "Boomer! Nasturtium! Come on: we're about to leave as soon as I get my sneakers on." He did a little dance as he wriggled his gargantuan feet into a fresh pair of tight, white anklet socks.
It seemed as if barely a nanosecond had passed when Boomer was right next his trainer with scarce an exaggerated breath. He bounded up and down and squealed in his glee. "[We going on a picnic!]" Nasturtium waltzed in a few seconds after him and, upon seeing him suspended in the air, declared that he just never stopped. "[Calm it down kid, it's just the park.]"
"[And that's why me so happy!]"
She groaned as a bead of sweat trickled down the side of her face. "[As annoying as that Kid is, you can't help but love him,]" she murmured before she was dragged across the floor by Boomer, who announced that it was time to go and that they had to hurry before the door was locked.
*~*
"You know Duncan," Aerin began as she looked deep into his eyes, "I never noticed that you had dimples until now."
"Nah, really? They're right there for the world to see," Imagen informed her as she crunched on a tortilla chip that was oozing with thick, orange cheese. A dollop of it was stuck at the corner of her mouth and Madison wish he had had the courage to wipe it off himself. Instead, he remained glued to his seat on the ground.
"Yeah," Duncan agreed.
"Well...before you usually had this grave expression on your face. I swear, the smile I'm used to is the one that you do when you'd been called out or something."
"That nervous grin," Image added.
"Yeah; that one. Look, he's doing it again!"
Duncan did hid best to keep his composure, hiding it by guzzling a rounded bottle of water. After he finished drinking, he depressed the nozzle. "I don't have a nervous grin."
"Right. Hey Aerin, do you remember the first day when he came in, or that time when he went to call out Nasturtium and she wasn't there? That was some of the funniest shit I've ever seen."
"That's because you're evil," Duncan retorted. "Aerin was compassionate and nice. She wouldn't laugh at someone when he's down, right Aerin?"
She grinned. "I have to admit that I was laughing on the inside. Come on! It was on the inside."
"Don't try to make him feel better about himself. He's already the most arrogant person that I know. Besides, if I remember correctly—and I always do—you did one of those "Oh-I'm-so-nice-that-I-can't-laugh-out-loud" type of laughs. The one when you put your hand over your mouth."
Changing the subject, Duncan asked, "Does anyone feel like having a pokémon battle? Hey Madison, you've been quiet all this time, why don't you battle Imagen?"
Madison narrowed his eyes. "I'd rather battle you." He hopped up and pulled out one of his three pokéballs. It was one of the standard ones, red and white with a metallic luster that could only be enhanced as it was by the radiant sun.
"No need for the animosity, Madison," Imagen said with a smile as she jumped up to her feet and pulled out a blue scrunch-y to pull back her hair with. "I'll battle you. It'll be fun."
Feeling stupid, he agreed. She extended a lovely bronze hand and he cautiously shook it and smiled. Her very touch created a stirring sensation in his vitals and made his cheeks burn due to the influx of blood. "Good luck," he said.
"You make it seem as if this is the last battle of my life. Luck is on my side today; I'm going to win."
"And you said that Duncan was arrogant," Aerin sighed.
*~*
"We better just use one pokémon, considering that fact that I only have Buster; but he's the only pokémon that I need, right boy?" Imagen asked her Bulbasaur as she patted him on the head. She looked out in the distance and, upon spotting him, called out, "Come on James. Want to see Bulbasaur in a battle?" She lifted the beckoning boy with open arms and smooched him on the cheek.
She's the most perfect woman in the world, Madison dreamily thought as he surveyed the attention that she donned on both her pokémon and her safekeeping. She was the perfect mix: beauty, brains, depth, affection, wit, and—to Madison—even more beauty on top of that.
"I'm ready when you are," she reminded him.
"Oh...um...yeah. Go Pendragon," he called as he expelled the pokémon from its captivity. A vibrant pokémon with jagged edges and white marks on its breast was called forth. Its shiny black eyes sparkled and a warm smile spread over her face. After that, she dashed from her spot on the field and jumped into Madison's arms, where she placed many sweet kisses upon his face. "It's been a while, eh Pendragon?"
"[Uh huh!]" she affirmed as she snuggled deeper into his arms.
"That's a cute Corsola you have there," Aerin pointed out. "She looks really healthy and strong. I can tell she's a young one though: her little horns aren't that long."
"Yeah, I just got her about a year ago."
"I like a man who's not ashamed of having a pretty pink pokémon. (A/n: Ooh! That's alliteration! I don't know how I do it sometimes. Just kidding!) You do realize that you technically don't stand a chance, right?"
The spirit of the impending battle seemed to have awakened a new spirit in Madison. "And how is that?"
"She is a water and a rock type pokémon, and you and I both know that Buster here has the advantage."
"But I have a strategy. And it helps that I was raised in the Cerulean Gym; so, I've encountered these things before. Why don't you go first?"
"Gladly," she replied. "Buster, start things off with a tackle."
Using the taut muscles of his hind-legs, Buster sprung into action. The echo of the pounding of his feet resounded loudly in the area of the elite and bits of debris was flung unmercifully into the air. His voluminous eyes were settled, focused. He was ready to win.
"Tackle."
Pendragon waited until Buster was very close on her. That way, her tackle would have a greater effect, considering that it was all so sudden. The effect was enhanced by the fact that the few horns that she had were not by all means soft and light. Letting out a little cry, she ducked to the ground before jumping upwards. The maneuver caught Buster by surprise and hit him square in the jaw, knocking him on his back. Wincing from the pain before quickly setting it aside, Buster regained his equanimity.
"Pendragon isn't as helpless as I thought that she would be. It shows that you've trained her very well," Imagen remarked with a determined grin.
"I do try," he modestly admitted, his addictive personality beginning to shine through the labyrinth of intertwining leaves that had kept his vrai character hidden for so long.
"Let's see if she can counter all of our attacks so well. Buster, fire off a few razor leaves!"
Buster barked out his concord, a low, rumbling sound, and took a few steps back. Then, rearing back his head before throwing it forwards, he launched a dozen round leaves at his foe. The motion was so quick and concise that the noise it produced was very much like his vines—and it's only obvious that you should know how a whip sounds by now in your lives.
"Harden."
"[Right,]" she exclaimed as she spread her feet farther apart on the ground in order to keep her stature and position. Then, a blinding light flashed in all the spectators' eyes as it washed over the petite pokémon leaving her coat shiny and renewed. The leaves created a sound very much like a blacksmith's hammer clamoring upon a slab of red-hot metal: almost a melodic chiming noise—like a celesta or xylophone.
"Impressive. It looks like I'm going to have to come up with another plan. Feel free to attack. Buster is as good in defense as he is in offense," Imagen broadcasted.
"Gladly. Pendragon, go on and use the spike cannon attack!"
A searing light once more washed over the exterior of the pokémon as her body prepared for the attack. After the powering up was completed, a wave of needles the size of the actual hypothermic needles pierced the air as they fell upon the dodging Buster.
"Bubble-beam!"
A mass of round, clear bubbles invaded the scene as they made cute popping noises on Buster's overwhelmed face. He winced and groaned as the bubbles inflicted torture on his face before breaking loose and regaining his senses. Angry, he threw out his vines which were swiftly wrapped round her body.
"Slam her."
A wail was heard as Buster effortlessly tossed the Corsola high into the air. Time seemed to have frozen in place. It was all so slow. Madison could only gape as he watched Buster re-wrap his vines around Pendragon and leap into the air; soon afterwards, Buster grunted as he slammed Pendragon deep into the ground, still soft from the Sun, rain, and Fertility.
"Penny! Are you alright?"
Pendragon opened one obsidian eye, the sparkle of health still glittered brightly. She let out a cute, airy sigh as she struggled to her feet, before falling down once more, creating a light thump.
"Ha! Buster, fire up a solar-beam. We're going to win this match."
It appeared as if the whole world, both the fauna and the flora and other inanimate objects, came alive right then. The sunbeams creating a glowing white energy that collected in the bulbous space of Buster's flower bud that was yet to sprout. Swirling into a mass of pure, untainted energy, Duncan let out a fierce battle cry as a stream of energy was blasted off in his opponent's direction.
It all happened so fast. The same dazzling light sluiced over her coat of pink and white—pinkish pearl and blanched opal. Within seconds, the energy was gathered into a huge energy ball. Pendragon struggled with the amount of energy she was in the midst of reflected. The power was much too intense for her, but she persevered. "Yah!" she cried as the ball was redirected to its source. Bowled over by the gesture, there was no chance in hell that Buster could've dodged the proof of her effectiveness by way of that mirror coat attack. His robust body was blown back several feet. Imagen rushed to his side. He was clearly dazed. After returning him, she gave Madison a warm smile. "You're good."
"My friend Pendragon did all the work here. I just directed her," he said matter-of-factly as he clutched her to his chest. Not only was he happy that Pendragon was getting stronger, or that he'd won the match; there was something else he'd accomplished...he'd gained Imagen's admiration.
*~*
"I can't believe that all we've ate today was fast food. I think that I've gained like two pounds since this afternoon," said Aerin as she clutched her flat stomach. "I'm gonna have to work out after I leave."
"Don't worry about it Aerin," Madison said as he began to tie the yellow strings to the now-filled garbage bag. With a compact know here and there, it was bound. As a result, he walked over to the garbage shoot and opened the clear door before shooting the bag through it, where it plummeted to its death. "Me and Duncan eat fast food almost every day and look at how buff we are."
"Sorry, but you're just skinny," Imagen reminded him as she helped herself to a glass of water. When she heard his horrified gasp of disappointment, she gave him a smile and told him that she was just kidding.
"Don't you see me washing dishes over here? I hate it when people do stuff like that."
"Shut up. You know that this probably the first time that you've even attempted to wash some dishes," Imagen scolded him.
"It is," Madison irrefragably pointed out. "Somehow, he always cons me into doing it for him."
"So rests my case."
After wiping the plate with a bright green sponge and rinsing it under a steady stream of lukewarm water, Duncan placed it in the rack. "So what," he defended himself, "that doesn't mean that I can't dislike it. I'm pretty sure that you wouldn't appreciate it if I did that over your house."
"It's not mine," she snapped. "Besides, you wouldn't be in there long enough to get a glass of anything."
Duncan kept quiet until he finished up his task.
"[Hey look-y! You and Buster sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-Y-N-G!]" He erupted into a fit of laughter as he fell down to the floor, belly up. Little spasms rocked his body, causing him to spin in little semi-circles. His eyes were shut tightly but the tears still brimmed on his long eyelashes.
"[When you're going to taunt someone, be sure to spell everything the right way,]" Nasturtium seethed as she rose from her place next to Buster and Pendragon in front of the TV. She used her face to nudge him; however, her nudge was a bit too powerful, and it sent him rolling across the floor. His light frame bumped into Imagen's leg. It surprised her and soon afterwards, her glass was making a rapid descent towards the ground. Just before it hit the ground, it was saved by a pair of steady vines. "[Watch where you're rolling, kid.]"
"[But, but—you're the one who—]"
"[Hush,]" she interjected, silencing him. She began to make a proud exit from the scene in order to sit back down amongst her peers. But, halfway there, she found herself being tackled into the wall, where she narrowly missed a small painting from dinking her on the head.
A triumphant Boomer stood with the potential weapon raised high above his head and said, "[Look! I can do the same thing! Ha! You not special,]" he giggled. If he were submerged in a pool of water, a mass of bubbles would have risen to the very surface.
"[I'll let you get away with that just this one time. And it's only because you're practically a baby,]" she growled as she bumped into him on her way to her newfound—chuckling, might I add—friends, leaving poor Boomer flat on his backside. As if nothing ever happened, he sprung to his feet and wedged his way in between Nasturtium and Buster.
"They're both little hell-raisers," Madison pronounced.
"And you've just noticed?" Duncan asked.
"I think they're cute," Aerin giggled.
"That's the only thing that makes up for it."
A few minutes passed.
"Hey! I have an idea. Let's play Scrabble before we all go. That would be fun, right?"
"Sure," Imagen murmured. "Why don't we give each other makeovers while we're at it?"
"It's not like we're doing anything else," Duncan added.
"That's the spirit," Aerin congratulated him.
"I'm neutral."
"Then it's settled."
And so they pulled out an antique Scrabble board that Duncan had brought with him from Lavender Hills. It was wooden and shiny—well taken care of. After a certain point—when Madison absolutely declared that "Hater and Ya-ya (adapted from the famous song Lady Marmalade)" were legitimate English words—they decided to give up on keeping score. Besides, they didn't need to have boosted egos on Imagen and Duncan's parts. After the Moon had risen to its zenith, a firm knock resounded on the door.
"I'll get it," Madison volunteered as he rushed to the door, slyly tugging at the hem of his carpenter shorts in order to relieve himself from a wedge-y he'd developed while sitting at the table. Upon throwing open the door, his face contorted into a threatening grimace.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
"Hey, what's the problem?" Duncan asked as he pulled himself up from the floor. Imagen and Aerin exchanged confused glances and turned to the doorway, trying to get a better look at the apparently unexpected visitor.
"I-I just came here to give—"
"How did you find me?" Madison roared.
"What's gotten into you? It's just the guy from the jewelry store returning my stuff. He's completely cool." Then, turning to the guy and taking the bag, said, "Thanks a lot. My friend over here is just being an asshole. Hey...want to come in and hang out for a second?"
Madison stared at his friend in wonderment. "What the hell do you think you're doing, inviting him into our apartment?"
"I'm being friendly. That's the friendly thing to do, you know."
"I want him out of here, right fucking now."
"Why are you doing this? You don't even know him!"
Duncan scrutinized the two people and couldn't help but to discern that there was a general presence about them that made the two seem alike. Other than that, he couldn't notice anything that would make the guy, whose name he hadn't picked up anyways, incriminating.
"I don't know him? I don't know him!"
"I'll leave," the guy said, turning to leave.
"Wait," Duncan called after him, coming to no avail.
"It was my mistake in coming here."
He shut the door and imperiously stared his best friend in his eyes. Madison's cheeks were flushed and his eyes were raging azure waves. Although he couldn't see it, anger—no, fury—pumped through his veins. "Now look what you've done! You've made him leave. What a way to make someone feel unwelcome. Madison," Duncan scolded.
"And why should I care?"
"Because...he was possibly...a guest."
"No. That was that bastard, Ash..." he spat out.
*~*
Concluding Statements: Another chapter written and uploaded. I liked writing this chapter. It was fun; plus, I got to set myself up with another dilemma. Cool, huh? Don't forget to review. Oh...I don't have anymore recommendations this time so, if you haven't done it already, I'm sure my buds would appreciate it if you gave their fics a read. —The Duke of Briarcliffe