Jerito League: Gym Leader Challenge

By Arizima

            AN: Heh, well, onward and outward… Yup, I have nothing to say, how'd you guess? ^_^;;;

            In the streets of Viridian City, a lone girl with a heavily laden backpack raced down the streets.  Brooke panted heavily, trying to keep up with her father; her mother had already said goodbye. 

            " Daaad!  Are we there yet?"  The white-blonde man who was just barely in sight called back,

            " I am, you aren't! Come on, hurry, they're already boarding!"  With a new burst of speed, Brooke ran forward to the pier.  Unfortunately, she was going so fast that she couldn't stop, and almost went over the edge when her father caught the leg of her shorts.

            " I guess I'm lucky these are baggy!" She weakly laughed as she pulled herself over the railing.

            " Lucky? You nearly died! I hope you're not like this in Jerito!" Mr. Cascade said hotly.

            " Don't worry, I won't be," Brooke promised, though she was sure it was a promise that she might not be able to keep. 

" You'd better get on the boat, I don't know how long it's going to stay." He pointed at the large ship that they were fairly close to.

            " Okay, Dad. I'll miss you, y'know," Brooke said, briefly giving her father a hug.

            " I know, I'll miss you too. Call me as soon as you can, alright?"  Brooke nodded, stepping back, and jogged for the boat.  As soon as she reached it, a young man stepped out in the doorway next to a rotating stile.

            " Please present your ticket," he said in a nasal voice.  Brooke dug into her pocket and brought out a pale green ticket.  The man punched a hole into it and gave it back.  " Please enter the ship."

            " Hang on a second," Brooke said, annoyed.  She turned back to see her father a few meters off.

            " Bye, Dad!  Miss you already!" she called, then forced her way through the stile.  She could have sworn that she heard him call back, but the words were lost in the garble of the crowd around the pier.  Brooke sighed, and went below deck.

*  *  *  *  *

            " Nice place," Brooke commented to no-one as she looked around the large room.  There were a lot of tables and chairs were serving platters laden with food in the middle, and a large clear space in the middle of the room.  She sat herself down and helped herself to a small bunch of grapes.

About half an hour later, Brooke felt the ship move beneath her, and smiled a very small smile; they were moving now, it was too late to go back.  As she reached for a dinner roll, a gloved hand reached for the same one and closed on top of hers.  It moved away very quickly and a nervous voice said,

            " Sorry! You can have it."  Brooke turned around to see a blonde girl sitting on the chair next to her, in a very strange outfit. 

She had dark red gloves with thick brass rings around her wrists; wires ran from the brass rings, under her pale green shirt, and onto an odd battery-looking device over her backpack.  Her jeans and boots looked somewhat normal, except the buckles on the thick boots were brass as well, with wires leading to the same device.  She didn't show a bit of skin below her neck, and her hair was in a ridiculous spiky 'do that reminded Brooke of Officer Jenny's style, only higher up on her head.  She was very odd- and young-looking. 

Brooke slowly blinked as she stared at the girl.

            " No, it's alright, I had food earlier."  The girl smiled and bit the dinner roll savagely, closing her dark pink eyes in satisfaction.

            " My name's Levina, I'm an Electric specialist." The girl said, the food in her mouth miraculously not impeding her speech.  She swallowed and finished, " Are you going to Jerito too?"  Brooke nodded, slightly disgusted.

            " I'm Brooke, I specialize in Water."  Levina took another bite and had a look of concentration on her face.

            " Brooke?  The same Brooke that won the Whirl Cup on her first try two years ago?"  Brooke nodded again.  " You must be really good. What Pokémon did you use?"

            " Golduck, Marill, and Seel.  Why?"

            " They must be really powerful to win the Whirl Cup on their first try.  I'm betting that you have a good shot of becoming a Gym Leader." 

            " Well, I certainly hope so. Have you won any tournaments?"  Levina nodded.

            " Well, it wasn't really a tournament.  Y'know that test you can pass to be in the Kanto Pokémon League without any badges?  I passed it, but lost in the League itself because I met a Grass-specialist on his home field.  At least the Johto League doesn't have stupid themed fields." 

            " So you're from Johto?" Levina nodded again.

            " Yup, I caught my Ampharos and Magneton there." Brooke was about to ask another question when a boy's voice cut in.

            " Excuse me, but can I interest either of you ladies in a battle?"  Brooke turned around to see an older teenager with mousy brown hair and eyes looking at the two with a hopeful expression.

            " Uh, no thanks.  I'm eating."  Levina said, finishing off her roll.  Brooke shrugged her shoulders and nodded.

            " Sure, I'm game.  Three-on-three?"  The boy smiled.

            " Just what I was thinking.  By the way, the name's Terran.  I'm a Ground specialist."

            " Ooh, good thing I refused.  I'm Electric."  Levina laughed.

            " You're gonna have your booty whipped, then.  I'm a Water specialist."  Terran looked at her.

            " You're a Water specialist?  Say, your face looks familiar…."

            " She's Brooke Cascade,"  Levina offered.  Terran uttered a small gasp.

            " The Brooke Cascade?  The only first-time participant to win the Whirl Cup?  I really am going to have my booty whipped, aren't I?"  Brooke narrowed her eyes.  She knew that she was the only Whirl Cup champion not to have prior experience in the tournament, but still, she didn't know that that record would be as far-reaching as… wherever Terran came from.

            " So are you still game for that battle, or are you scared?" Brooke looked smug.

            " Sure, but we need a referee."  Terran replied.

            " I'll referee for you," Levina offered.

            " Okay, let's go over there," Terran pointed to a clear area far away from the tables. " We're allowed to battle, I asked one of the employees.  Just as long as we don't make a mess."

            " With Water Pokémon, it's hard not to make a mess, because all of their good attacks depend on, well, water." Brooke laughed.

            " Whatever, it doesn't really matter," Terran smiled.  He stood at one end of a very shallow inversed stage on the floor and Brooke stood on the other.  Levina stood over to the side.

            " Are both you guys ready?" Terran and Brooke nodded. A few other teens looked at them and gathered around the shallow pit.

            " Hey, they're having a battle!"

            " That girl looks just like Brooke Cascade!"

            " Hey, bet you five bucks the guy wins!" 

Brooke gulped as more people started to gather.  What with her fame and even a few people betting on the outcome, she knew she was going to be under pressure.  Levina seemed to not like the pressure either, but Terran was smiling.

            " If you've battled in front of a stadium, you can battle with a few specialists watching you, can't you?" He called across the makeshift field.

            " Of course I can!" But the truth was, these people were here just to watch her and Terran battle, not battling in general, and a few of them even recognized her on sight.  This was much, much different than battling in a tournament.

            " The battle will be three on three each, no time limit!" Levina yelled shakily.

AN:  *shrug* I decided to end it there, predictable cliffhanger.  I don't know if Brooke being somewhat famous (even more well-known among fellow Water Specialists, I bet) is a good twist, I didn't expect it either, it just came out. I'll also explain the names here.

Brooke Cascade:  Brooke comes from brook, as you know, which is a stream with a lot of rocks at the bottom.  Cascade refers to the Cascade badge and a word that can be used to describe a waterfall when in the gerund form (cascading).  At least I think it's a gerund…. Anyway, fitting for a Water trainer.

Levina:  It means "lightning bolt" or something like that.

Terra:  To many people, Terra means earth.  Terra sounds feminine, but Terran sounds masculine, so his name is Terran.

Disclaimer:  I do not own Pokémon, have not owned Pokémon, and will never own Pokémon.  I am not making money off of this, have not made money off of this, and will never make money off of this.  I do not have Nintendo's permission, did not have Nintendo's permission, and will never have Nintendo's permission to write this.  But since there haven't been any lawsuits against Pokémon fanfiction before (that I know of) I'm not too worried.  That said, let's move on.

 ^_^  Remember, this story was brought to you by reviewers like you.  Thank you.  ^_^