Chapter 5
Night had fallen on Fortree, the deep, misty navy blue of the sky echoed its colors onto the clouds gathering beneath it, and into the small lakes and ponds that littered the area. The magnificent aura of the moon beat down on the tops of the trees, as if all were covered with snow, a white hew hovering in the air above the area.
Down in Fortree, the town had begun to cease function. The lights of the Pokécentre remained active, as were most of the houses lights. Out the front of the Pokécentre, Setijin waved goodbye to Winona who retired to her families home, while he reached for his two pokéballs, and released their contents at arms reach in front of him. Medicham stood wearily, while the Nincanda seemed admirably focused.
"Cham...chaaaaaam" he yawned.
"Sorry Medicham, but we have to start training you. If we don't, then all the other pokémon will be walking all over you," he explained. Medicham remained still, looking at Setijin as he turned towards his Nincanda. "Now lets see what you can do..." He picked up a small rock from the ground, and prepared to throw at the bug pokémon. "Ready?"
"Nincanda!" He threw it gently towards him, watching in amazement as the Nincanda immediately locked onto its target, and remained perfectly still, whipping up his right front claw to calmly catch the stone on the very tip.
"Very impressive!" Setijin applauded. "Did you see that Medicham?" he asked. "Shall we try with you now? What will you do to the little pebble?" He scooped up another small stone, and threw it at the same pace towards his Medicham. Medicham's locked on in a similar fashion to his partners, only to watch the stone smack directly between his eyes, knocking him backwards from shock. Setijin rushed forward. "Sorry Medicham! I didn't mean to throw it so hard," he apologized. The Nincanda began laughing at him. Medicham in anger scooped up the stone, and aimed at the Nincanda, throwing with all his strength, only to send the stone hurtling into the darkened woods. Nincanda's laughing grew harder as Medicham shot off into the woods.
"Try to go easy on him Nincanda. He hasn't got too much concentration," he began, interrupted by the call of Medicham from the woods. The two looked into the darkness, waiting for a few seconds before a small pebble shot back out, past Setijin, and froze, in midair, just above the Nincanda. It looked up in a state of confusion as the pebble adjusted itself, and dropped down onto his head. Medicham strode out of the woods giggling. The Nincanda removed the stone from its head, and threw it back at the Medicham, connecting, and flooring him, before he whipped himself back to his feet, and shot over to the bug, ready to engage in proper combat. Setijin intervened.
"Whoa guys! Calm down! No fighting, ok? Come on, we better call it quits now, its getting late..." He simultaneously returned his two pokémon and head back towards his house, the lights of the pokémon center flickering off for the night as he left.
Morning broke once again, no less majestically than it had the day before. Setijin awoke wearily, pulling himself out of the kingdom that was his bed, and got himself dressed with little motivation. After a few minutes of preparing himself, he stepped outside onto the balcony overlooking the town. He saw Winona standing outside her Gym, conversing with another figure. It appeared to be another girl, about the same age as the two, with long brown hair, extended to her waist, wearing a white t-shirt and blue flared trousers, covering her shoes. Winona seemed to dominate the conversation, Setijin noticing that she had dismissed her winged hat, which she seemed to adore so much. She made eye contact with him and waved.
"Hi, I'm Lucia," the girl introduced. "Pleasure to meet you!" She shook Setijin's hand.
"Great timing Setijin, we're about to head off again; going to explore route 120. That's the way the guy seemed to go yesterday. Lucia will be joining us." Winona explained. "So, how are your pokémon?"
"Individually, they're fine, but it seems that have built up some form of rivalry already. But still, they're both great. Medicham still needs a lot of training though," Setijin discussed.
"Well, I really want to see them both in action. How about a quick match before we head off?" Winona suggested. "How about one of my pokémon and one of Lucia's against your two?"
"Sure," both Setijin and Lucia replied simultaneously, as the 3 made their way out of town, and prepared themselves on the edge of the passage known as route 120. The backdrop was almost identical to that of the area around the weather tower; the grass was long, the rivers ran gleefully, crackling against the rocks littering the banks, and the large rocks formed barriers on either side of the paths. The 3 stood at the edge of the dirt path, and all released their pokémon.
Setijin's pokéballs erupted into life, and out shot Medicham and Nincanda standing side by side. Winona let out her Pelipper, and Lucia sent her Gulpin.
"Lets roll!" exclaimed Lucia as the battle began.
Nincanda moved first, using double team to create multiple blurred images of itself. The copies spread apart, and started to wiz around the battlefield. Pelipper struck next, firing a high-pressured blast of water at Medicham, sending him backwards into large clump of grass.
Next, Gulpin waddled forward, releasing poisonous smog from its mouth, engulfing one of the many images of Nincanda, causing it to fizzle out. Medicham remained still in the grass.
"Ok Nincanda, get them with fury cutter!" Setijin called. Nincanda repeated its name, and leapt at Gulpin, slashing it with anger, causing it to flinch, only to be countered by a powerful blow from the beak of Pelipper. Nincanda retreated back to its starting point, looking significantly beaten. Gulpin hurled its jelly-like body towards Nincanda, finishing it off, Setijin returning his battered pokémon to its ball. Medicham was his last hope.
"Medicham," he called, "remember what you did yesterday? Well, here's your chance to show them what you can really do!" Winona and Lucia glanced at each other in anticipation, observing as Medicham picked itself up, growled its name and burst into a waving fit. Lucia, Winona and the pokémon chuckled under their breath, before Winona ordered her Pelipper high into the sky. Medicham's face went red with anger, and, obeying Setijin's orders, scraped the ground with his right hand, pulling up a small rock, heaving it high into the sky, guiding it towards Pelipper, eventually cracking him straight in the head, forcing him back to the ground, where a surprised Winona returned him to his pokéball.
"Incredible!" she laughed, as Lucia called her Gulpin to order. Upon her command, it began chewing its saliva, before seeming to inflate itself, firing a large ball of toxic sludge at Medicham, wrapping around his face like a wet towel, knocking him to the ground. He struggled violently, before collapsing, Setijin returning him, leaving the blanket of sludge to fall to the ground and fizzle away.
"That was fun!" Setijin remarked, smiling. Lucia nodded and congratulated her Gulpin, before collecting him in his pokéball. Winona approached Setijin.
"I had completely forgot that Medicham has psychic abilities running through his veins," she said. "I can tell he will become a great fighter, once he learns to control himself some more." A big grin spread across her face. "I just know that if he will be able to connect with any trainer, it's going to be you. Keep at it. Medicham is going to be a great asset to us!" She clasped Setijin's hand as congratulations for a relatively successful battle. "Well, we'd better be off! We'll heal up at the pokémon center, and meet back here in 5, ok?" Setijin and Lucia agreed, and both head back into town.
"Here are you're pokémon, back to full health. Thank you and come again," the nurse behind the counter smiled politely, handing both Setijin and Lucia a tray each, with their pokéballs resting in small indented slots. Setijin pocketed both of his pokémon, while Lucia attached her collection to her belt.
"So, how long have you been a trainer Lucia?" Setijin inquired.
"Only a few months. Winona sort of got me into it; she's been a friend for a long time now, and ever since she became a gym leader, she hasn't stopped talking about pokémon, so I thought it was only right that I got involved to." The pair sat down on the sofa by the escalators in the small center. "I hear you've only been a trainer for a day," she probed.
"Yeah. I've had a Cyndaquil for a few weeks, but I only really got my first battle worthy pokémon yesterday."
"Yeah, Winona explained what happened. I felt I just had to come along. It'll be a great way to train my pokémon, plus its only natural to want to help in a situation like this." She leant back, lifted one of her pokéballs from its holster on her belt, and held it up in front of her, admiring it; the bottom half white, and the top half black, with two white strips running parallel to each other, stopping at the strip segregating the top and bottom of the ball. "For someone who has only been a trainer for a day, you sure do handle pokémon well. Medicham didn't act quite as I had expected it to, but Nincanda seemed to really know what it was doing. I'm guessing you study pokémon or something in your spare time."
"Something like that," Setijin replied doubtfully. "Still, it'd be quite difficult to not know anything about pokémon when there are so many of them around us." As Setijin finished his sentence, Lucia's pokénav started to ring. She removed it from her pocket, and flipped it open, pressing it up against her ear.
"It's Winona," the voice on the other end started, "I've found something on route 20 that might be of interest."
"Ok," Lucia replied, signaling Setijin towards the door, "We'll be right there!" She flipped the nav shut, holstered her pokéball, and the two left the center.
Night had fallen on Fortree, the deep, misty navy blue of the sky echoed its colors onto the clouds gathering beneath it, and into the small lakes and ponds that littered the area. The magnificent aura of the moon beat down on the tops of the trees, as if all were covered with snow, a white hew hovering in the air above the area.
Down in Fortree, the town had begun to cease function. The lights of the Pokécentre remained active, as were most of the houses lights. Out the front of the Pokécentre, Setijin waved goodbye to Winona who retired to her families home, while he reached for his two pokéballs, and released their contents at arms reach in front of him. Medicham stood wearily, while the Nincanda seemed admirably focused.
"Cham...chaaaaaam" he yawned.
"Sorry Medicham, but we have to start training you. If we don't, then all the other pokémon will be walking all over you," he explained. Medicham remained still, looking at Setijin as he turned towards his Nincanda. "Now lets see what you can do..." He picked up a small rock from the ground, and prepared to throw at the bug pokémon. "Ready?"
"Nincanda!" He threw it gently towards him, watching in amazement as the Nincanda immediately locked onto its target, and remained perfectly still, whipping up his right front claw to calmly catch the stone on the very tip.
"Very impressive!" Setijin applauded. "Did you see that Medicham?" he asked. "Shall we try with you now? What will you do to the little pebble?" He scooped up another small stone, and threw it at the same pace towards his Medicham. Medicham's locked on in a similar fashion to his partners, only to watch the stone smack directly between his eyes, knocking him backwards from shock. Setijin rushed forward. "Sorry Medicham! I didn't mean to throw it so hard," he apologized. The Nincanda began laughing at him. Medicham in anger scooped up the stone, and aimed at the Nincanda, throwing with all his strength, only to send the stone hurtling into the darkened woods. Nincanda's laughing grew harder as Medicham shot off into the woods.
"Try to go easy on him Nincanda. He hasn't got too much concentration," he began, interrupted by the call of Medicham from the woods. The two looked into the darkness, waiting for a few seconds before a small pebble shot back out, past Setijin, and froze, in midair, just above the Nincanda. It looked up in a state of confusion as the pebble adjusted itself, and dropped down onto his head. Medicham strode out of the woods giggling. The Nincanda removed the stone from its head, and threw it back at the Medicham, connecting, and flooring him, before he whipped himself back to his feet, and shot over to the bug, ready to engage in proper combat. Setijin intervened.
"Whoa guys! Calm down! No fighting, ok? Come on, we better call it quits now, its getting late..." He simultaneously returned his two pokémon and head back towards his house, the lights of the pokémon center flickering off for the night as he left.
Morning broke once again, no less majestically than it had the day before. Setijin awoke wearily, pulling himself out of the kingdom that was his bed, and got himself dressed with little motivation. After a few minutes of preparing himself, he stepped outside onto the balcony overlooking the town. He saw Winona standing outside her Gym, conversing with another figure. It appeared to be another girl, about the same age as the two, with long brown hair, extended to her waist, wearing a white t-shirt and blue flared trousers, covering her shoes. Winona seemed to dominate the conversation, Setijin noticing that she had dismissed her winged hat, which she seemed to adore so much. She made eye contact with him and waved.
"Hi, I'm Lucia," the girl introduced. "Pleasure to meet you!" She shook Setijin's hand.
"Great timing Setijin, we're about to head off again; going to explore route 120. That's the way the guy seemed to go yesterday. Lucia will be joining us." Winona explained. "So, how are your pokémon?"
"Individually, they're fine, but it seems that have built up some form of rivalry already. But still, they're both great. Medicham still needs a lot of training though," Setijin discussed.
"Well, I really want to see them both in action. How about a quick match before we head off?" Winona suggested. "How about one of my pokémon and one of Lucia's against your two?"
"Sure," both Setijin and Lucia replied simultaneously, as the 3 made their way out of town, and prepared themselves on the edge of the passage known as route 120. The backdrop was almost identical to that of the area around the weather tower; the grass was long, the rivers ran gleefully, crackling against the rocks littering the banks, and the large rocks formed barriers on either side of the paths. The 3 stood at the edge of the dirt path, and all released their pokémon.
Setijin's pokéballs erupted into life, and out shot Medicham and Nincanda standing side by side. Winona let out her Pelipper, and Lucia sent her Gulpin.
"Lets roll!" exclaimed Lucia as the battle began.
Nincanda moved first, using double team to create multiple blurred images of itself. The copies spread apart, and started to wiz around the battlefield. Pelipper struck next, firing a high-pressured blast of water at Medicham, sending him backwards into large clump of grass.
Next, Gulpin waddled forward, releasing poisonous smog from its mouth, engulfing one of the many images of Nincanda, causing it to fizzle out. Medicham remained still in the grass.
"Ok Nincanda, get them with fury cutter!" Setijin called. Nincanda repeated its name, and leapt at Gulpin, slashing it with anger, causing it to flinch, only to be countered by a powerful blow from the beak of Pelipper. Nincanda retreated back to its starting point, looking significantly beaten. Gulpin hurled its jelly-like body towards Nincanda, finishing it off, Setijin returning his battered pokémon to its ball. Medicham was his last hope.
"Medicham," he called, "remember what you did yesterday? Well, here's your chance to show them what you can really do!" Winona and Lucia glanced at each other in anticipation, observing as Medicham picked itself up, growled its name and burst into a waving fit. Lucia, Winona and the pokémon chuckled under their breath, before Winona ordered her Pelipper high into the sky. Medicham's face went red with anger, and, obeying Setijin's orders, scraped the ground with his right hand, pulling up a small rock, heaving it high into the sky, guiding it towards Pelipper, eventually cracking him straight in the head, forcing him back to the ground, where a surprised Winona returned him to his pokéball.
"Incredible!" she laughed, as Lucia called her Gulpin to order. Upon her command, it began chewing its saliva, before seeming to inflate itself, firing a large ball of toxic sludge at Medicham, wrapping around his face like a wet towel, knocking him to the ground. He struggled violently, before collapsing, Setijin returning him, leaving the blanket of sludge to fall to the ground and fizzle away.
"That was fun!" Setijin remarked, smiling. Lucia nodded and congratulated her Gulpin, before collecting him in his pokéball. Winona approached Setijin.
"I had completely forgot that Medicham has psychic abilities running through his veins," she said. "I can tell he will become a great fighter, once he learns to control himself some more." A big grin spread across her face. "I just know that if he will be able to connect with any trainer, it's going to be you. Keep at it. Medicham is going to be a great asset to us!" She clasped Setijin's hand as congratulations for a relatively successful battle. "Well, we'd better be off! We'll heal up at the pokémon center, and meet back here in 5, ok?" Setijin and Lucia agreed, and both head back into town.
"Here are you're pokémon, back to full health. Thank you and come again," the nurse behind the counter smiled politely, handing both Setijin and Lucia a tray each, with their pokéballs resting in small indented slots. Setijin pocketed both of his pokémon, while Lucia attached her collection to her belt.
"So, how long have you been a trainer Lucia?" Setijin inquired.
"Only a few months. Winona sort of got me into it; she's been a friend for a long time now, and ever since she became a gym leader, she hasn't stopped talking about pokémon, so I thought it was only right that I got involved to." The pair sat down on the sofa by the escalators in the small center. "I hear you've only been a trainer for a day," she probed.
"Yeah. I've had a Cyndaquil for a few weeks, but I only really got my first battle worthy pokémon yesterday."
"Yeah, Winona explained what happened. I felt I just had to come along. It'll be a great way to train my pokémon, plus its only natural to want to help in a situation like this." She leant back, lifted one of her pokéballs from its holster on her belt, and held it up in front of her, admiring it; the bottom half white, and the top half black, with two white strips running parallel to each other, stopping at the strip segregating the top and bottom of the ball. "For someone who has only been a trainer for a day, you sure do handle pokémon well. Medicham didn't act quite as I had expected it to, but Nincanda seemed to really know what it was doing. I'm guessing you study pokémon or something in your spare time."
"Something like that," Setijin replied doubtfully. "Still, it'd be quite difficult to not know anything about pokémon when there are so many of them around us." As Setijin finished his sentence, Lucia's pokénav started to ring. She removed it from her pocket, and flipped it open, pressing it up against her ear.
"It's Winona," the voice on the other end started, "I've found something on route 20 that might be of interest."
"Ok," Lucia replied, signaling Setijin towards the door, "We'll be right there!" She flipped the nav shut, holstered her pokéball, and the two left the center.