A League Of Their Own: Episode #3
An all-new style; Including a new world, new battles, and even new clothes.
A/N: Gee, yay. Another late one. x___X I gotta start working faster and stop making dolls...
"Look at that sun!" Eevy stretched backwards, "What a great day for traveling!"
"Pika-pika!" Pikachu nodded from his perch on the railing beside her.
"Eev-ee," Vovo agreed, his ears swishing slightly in the breeze.
The Evening Mist, en route to Littleroot Town in Hoenn, skimmed along the water, Pokemon hopping about in its wake. The water was a beautiful crystal blue, sparkling in the bright sun of summer. Boija was standing firmly at the wheel, easing it left to right, and all the while never once removing her eyes from their road of ocean. A Magikarp-like Pokemon with yellow scales dotted with brown, white-blue fins, and a red mouth hopped up aside the boat, directly in front of Eevy's face. She and Pikachu and Vovo jumped back a few steps and Eevy pulled her Poke'Dex from her back pocket. The top folded over and the programmed voice seemingly sprang to life.
"Feebas. Pokemon number 349. A relative of Magikarp, this slightly more powerful Hoenn fish Pokemon learns the same three natural attacks as its cousin, but can also learn eighteen Machine Moves and six Egg Moves."
"Wow…" Eevy blinked a few times, Pikachu and Vovo leaning in to look, "That sure did help."
As she examined the Feebas's more advanced stats, a long, slender, snake-like Pokemon with a sunset orange body and blue and red scales on its tail leapt from the water. Pikachu pointed and Eevy aimed her Poke'Dex at it.
"Milotic. Pokemon number 350. The Hoenn version of Gyarados, this Pokemon evolves on high beauty. A rare and valuable Pokemon, prized for its extreme beauty, it has the option of learning eleven natural moves and twenty one Machine Moves."
"What a gorgeous Pokemon," Eevy murmured, watching the Pokemon glide for a few yards before again submerging into the shining water.
"Pika…"
"Eevee…"
"Hey, Eevy," Ash slowly wandered over and leaned on the railing beside her, "What you said back at my place…About me being strong enough even if you aren't. What did you mean?"
She brushed her hair from her eyes and watched a school of what she'd learned were called Barboach swish past beneath the boat, "I don't think I'm up to this challenge, Ash. I haven't even faced Kanto and Johto yet, and I know what those are like. But Hoenn…Hoenn is a lot different. You're used to taking on new things; I'm not."
"Oh, come on," he rolled his eyes, "You went from being a teenaged cop to a Champion Pokemon trainer. How do you figure you've never done anything new or different? You just don't give yourself enough credit."
She smiled down at him for a moment, "Yeah, maybe you're right."
There was a loud, deep rumble from off the starboard side and Eevy and Ash turned to look, both wondering what in the world that could have been. Gary turned around from Evo to look, and Richie peeked out from around the mast to catch a glimpse of whatever it was. Boija shook her head slowly, looking out in front, then off at the dark, ominous black clouds that were beginning to flood the sky.
"A storm," she murmured, eyes slowly narrowing.
"But…You checked the weather before we left, didn't you?" Eevy asked, turning and looking up at her.
"Yes, I did. It was entirely cloudless," Boija edged the wheel to the left, "We're going to have to jut off course, Evangelina. It may make you late."
"Better late than dead…" Ash muttered under his breath.
Boija turned just a few degrees to her left, and just as she did so, there was a bright flash from within the clouds. A streak of lightning struck the water, causing an eruption of sea to shoot straight into the air and shower back down. Boija sped up, constantly turning back to see where the clouds were headed, and checked her compass.
"The storm is…Disintegrating," Richie blinked, looking back at the clouds, which were now behind them.
The black began to crumble and light started to shine through onto the water and the boat. All five humans aboard the Evening Mist sighed thankfully. Just as they began to go on about their business again, there was a roaring, echoing growl of thunder. They stopped and looked around, but saw nothing. With no warning whatsoever, a streak of lightning shot down from directly above and struck the center of the level at which Eevy and the boys stood. Yet…It left no marks. Eevy tripped away backwards, as did Gary, Richie and Ash. More lightning rained down around them, in the water and on the boat. The water started churning, throwing the boat left to right, up and down, forward and back. It started to pour; an intense forceful downpour that drenched even things that were protected by covers or awnings. Eevy made a frantic grab at a pole and managed to grab onto it, as the boat was tipping to the right now. Ash, Gary, and Richie came flailing from the left side of the boat, catching onto the bar as well. Boija was clinging to the wheel, trying to keep them steady, though it was obvious it just wasn't working.
There was another loud roll of thunder, then a blast of lightning right in front of the pole, and Eevy just noticed something go flying past her face. She turned and looked just in time to see a puffy tail slipping out from under the bar. She looked around; Evo, Vovo, Pikachu and Sparky were all nowhere to be seen. She let go of the bar and slid, in a layer of water, over to the railing. She slammed into the bar and almost flipped over, but managed to force herself back. Searching the water, she panned left to right and back again. When she spotted a yellow tail floating just at the surface, she turned back to Richie, Ash, and Gary.
"They fell in!" she shrieked, "Go tell Boija the Pokemon fell in!"
Richie turned and climbed up to Boija, nearly flying off the ladder numerous times. Eevy looked around, then started climbing over the railing.
"What are you doing?!" Ash screeched, "You're not-"
"Going in!" she looked back and nodded at him, then dove off the bar.
"She's insane!" Gary cried, "She'll get herself killed!"
Eevy smoothed a few annoying strands of hair back, then swam for Pikachu, who was floating on his back a few feet in front of her, "Pikachu! Pikachu, wake up!" she hoisted him out of the water, above her head, "Pikachu, can you hear me?! Woah!" a sudden wave from beside her knocked both her and Pikachu under, but she surfaced again fairly quickly, "I've gotta get you back on the boat…Huh?" she looked down at the light splash of a rope flopping down in front of her.
"Grab it!" Richie ordered, "Grab it and we'll pull you in!"
"Take Pikachu!" Eevy yanked the rope out and tied it around Pikachu's waist, "I've got to find the other three!"
All the while ignoring the way Gary and the others were swearing at her as they tugged Pikachu back toward the boat, Eevy searched the surface for the two Eevee and second Pikachu. When she saw no sign of them, she took a deep breath and dove under. She swam a few yards, then surfaced. Just as she came up, another clap of lightning shot down…Directly at her.
"Eevy, look out!" Ash called.
Pikachu's ears twitched and his eyes opened. Ash started questioning if he was all right, but the Electric-type jumped up and fired and Thunderbolt at the lightning heading toward the water. The bolts connected, and Eevy cringed away from them, only to be hit by a large wave, which submerged her. Now unconscious, she was pushed farther and farther under by a powerful current. The waves and streams caught her and pulled her deeper and farther off from the boat, but eight little brown paws and four little yellow ones came paddling down from above. Evo and Vovo each bit a sleeve and Sparky grabbed her belt in both paws. They started swimming for the surface, but the current was too strong for them. Eevy came-to a few seconds later and immediately started swimming, but was unable to fight the water's fierce pull. Exhausted, she and the Pokemon were pulled beneath the waves again.
Eevy covered her mouth, then noticing, in a moment of literally suffocating agony, that there was something beneath them. Something came up under them, decorated in red lines that beamed bright, then faded, then beamed repeatedly. It pushed up under her and a bubble formed around her and the Pokemon. Finally having run out of air, Eevy heaved a breath, yet she was not in water. She was in air. She was inside an air bubble. Searching around, she looked down into what appeared to be the eyes of the mammoth beast beneath her. She could just make out the shape of its fins in the dark and murky water. It started pumping for the surface and the Pokemon began to run around at her feet, trying to see what this thing was without bursting their protection. As the bubble hit the surface, it popped, throwing Eevy out into the fresh air, a Pikachu on her head and an Eevee on each shoulder. Whatever it was that had helped them stayed beneath them, and Eevy stood on it as she realized…She'd surfaced on the opposite side of the boat. Ash, Richie, Gary, and Pikachu were looking into the water on the other side, and Boija was watching them.
"Hey, guys! Over here!" Eevy waved her arms above her head as they turned and ran toward the other railing.
"How'd you get over there?!" Richie asked as Gary tossed the rope out to her.
"Come on, get up here, crazy lady!" Gary ordered as Eevy hopped up and held onto the rope.
"What was that…?" Ash asked as a very faint red glow seemed to disappear beneath the dark waters.
"I don't know…" Eevy turned and looked back and down, "Whatever it was, it just saved us."
"Hey, there's something floating there!" Richie pointed down into the water.
"Boija, do you have a long-handled net?" Eevy asked, looking up at her.
After retrieving the net, Eevy ran over to the railing and scooped the floating object from the water, "What is it?" Gary asked, grabbing the net before anyone else could, "Looks like just a plain old bottle…With sand in it," he popped it open, "Eech. It smells like potpourri."
"There's a little card on it," Ash flipped it over, "Hey, Eevy…"
"Hm?" she too looked at it, finding a bell drawn on it, accompanied by a feather, "That's…My Prophetic seal."
*^~^**^~^*
Eevy furiously dried her hair with a towel, totally knotting it up, but didn't care. She'd changed already and was still slightly wet, but didn't really give a flip and a half. She just hated it when her hair stuck to the sides of her face. Richie was wringing her shirt out over the railing and Gary was shaking out her pants, though no matter how hard they twisted the clothing, it never seemed to dry out. The boat jolted slightly and Boija came climbing down from the wheel.
"We've arrived at Littleroot Town Harbor," she informed them, "You had better hurry up. You're already late."
"Thanks so much, Boija," Eevy took both her hands in hers and shook them, "I would hug you, but…I'm still kinda wet."
"Oh, Evangelina," Boija yanked her over and wrapped her arms around her, "Please be careful out there for me. And take care of those boys."
"I will, Boija," Eevy patted her back, then stepped away, "I'll call when we're ready to come back."
"I look forward to seeing you again. And good luck to you," Boija waved as Eevy led everyone else off the boat.
Eevy waved back over her shoulder at Boija, then stretched her arms above her head, "So this is Littleroot Town, huh?" she murmured, looking about, "Doesn't look all that special to me."
Just as she started to sit down, they were approached what Eevy had to identify as a Pokemon Professor. Why? Because he had a lab coat. Though he held it over his shoulder instead of wearing it, it was pretty much obvious. Why, they all began to wonder, didn't Professors seem to go anywhere without their coats? Was it force of habit to carry them or what? Was it even worth finding the answer to? Probably not. Eevy blinked twice as the Professor held his hand out to her.
"Miss Hikoboshi, I presume?"
"Uh…Yes," she nodded quickly, shaking his hand and finding his other intention was to forcibly yank her to her feet, "And you are, sir?"
"Professor Birch. I believe both President Kratos and Professor Oak referred you to me," he released her hand and looked behind her, "Gary Oak, good to see you."
"Yeah, great," Gary muttered, rolling his eyes and glaring at the snickering Ash.
"Yes, Kratos and Oak both mentioned you. They said you'd be willing to…Give us a hand, in return for any information we gain on the Pokemon here," Eevy shrugged, "Honestly, I don't know what kind of information we'll be able to supply."
"I'm sure you'll find something of interest to report with," Birch shrugged, "And if not, what am I going to do? Be responsible for leaving you out in the middle of nowhere? That'd be just unreasonable."
Eevy snickered slightly, "Well, you never can tell. By that point, you may want to leave us out in the middle of nowhere."
They both started laughing, leaving Richie, Gary and Ash blank-faced beside them, "I see you've brought your Pokemon," Birch scratched Vovo's chin as he sat on Eevy's shoulder, "They must be tired. And so should you."
"Yeah, can you tell us where the Pokemon Center is then?" Richie asked, elbowing his way up between Ash and Gary.
"There is no Pokemon Center here in Littleroot Town. The closest one is in Oldale Town, a few miles north of here," Birch pointed off down the route that lead to Oldale, "It'd take you a couple of days to get that far."
"Ack…" all four slumped before Ash groaned, "Now what do we do, Eevy?"
"Me? How should I know?" she asked, puffing in his face.
Birch sweatdropped as they started fighting slightly between themselves, "As I can see you're seemingly totally unprepared, why don't I take you to my lab here in town? Your Pokemon can rest there and I can answer any questions you might have."
"That'd be great," Eevy clapped, "Thanks so much!"
After gathering their Pokemon and their things, they followed Birch around to well-used, slightly beat-looking Jeep parked half on the sidewalk. Eevy examined it skeptically, then looked at Birch. Then at the car. Then at Birch. Then the car again.
"For some reason, I don't see you as a Jeep person. Or as the kind of guy who parks on public pedestrian property," she murmured, tilting an eyebrow.
"Cut the guy some slack, Eevy," Ash snickered, looking back at her from his position halfway into the car, "He still parks straighter than you do."
"Hey!" she stomped her foot, then stalked around the car and hopped in the front passengers' side, "OOH, never mind! It's not even worth fighting over."
Birch, who was already in the car, watched her climb over the door and sit down, "Used to Jeeps?"
"Used to my boyfriend's Mako convertible," she shrugged, flipping open a pair of sunglasses, "And I know now to protect my eyes."
"Good judgement."
*^~^**^~^*
"Hoenn is quite a bit different that Kanto and Johto, that much I know. And it's absolutely nothing like the Orange Islands," Birch shrugged, holding the wheel with his right hand and laying his left arm along the car door, "But as for how it compares to Gertan Rin, I honestly couldn't tell you. I've never been there to know."
He was just pulling up to his lab's front door by the time anyone offered a reply, "Are there many new Pokemon here in Hoenn, Professor?" Ash inquired.
"Over a hundred," he answered, causing everyone's eyes to go wide, "And new attacks and new everything almost. Come on. Let's go inside," he paused and waited for Ash and Gary and Richie to pile out of the back whilst Eevy just hopped over the door, "My assistant can help with the Pokemon while we get down to business. I'm back!" he called as he opened the door.
He was greeted by a blur of brown and cream fur that chirped and cooed between pauses to shake its floppy ears from its face. It finally stopped spiraling around Professor Birch's legs and looked sweetly up at him. Eevy's eyes practically registered hearts, and she clapped her hands together.
"Oh…My gosh!" she screeched, "What an adorable little Eevee!"
Birch scooped the Eevee up and handed him to Eevy, who beeped its nose, "Eeree!" it wagged its tail.
"This is Eeru," Birch noted, patting the Eevee's head, "We don't know why yet, but his ears are oddly long, and he says Eeree instead of Eevee. We're investigating it," he shrugged, "Let's go find my assistant."
Eevy put Eeru up on Birch's shoulder and cuddled Vovo as they followed the Professor down the hallway, "Do you, by any chance, Professor, have any information on the Gym Leaders or Elite system of Hoenn?" Richie asked, quickly swiping his hat off his head as Ash did, "We have minimal information on them in our new Poke'Dex."
"To tell you the truth, Richie, I don't know anything about any of the Elite. Not the Elite 4, and not the Champion. And the only information I can give you on the Gym Leaders is that the first one is the city after Oldale Town; Petalburg City. The Gym Leader there is Norman Riker, a friend of mine. But, you can't battle there until you've defeated four other Gym Leaders," he pushed one of the doors they'd come to open, "Perhaps my assistant can get you more information. Here he is. Good afternoon-"
"Joshua!" Eevy grinned, half in disbelief.
"Eva?" Joshua looked up from the Feebas in the fish tank in front of him, "Eva, it's good to see you!"
"You know this young woman, Joshua?" Birch asked as he and the boys sat slowly down at the table near the edge of the room.
"Yes, Professor. We went to school together," Joshua nodded, plucking Eeru from Birch's shoulder.
"We were partners in chemistry and we took some foreign language classes together in college," Eevy set Vovo down to socialize with the other Pokemon, "Josh was one of the very few people who understood my relationship with Lee, and was at the funeral with me. He stayed and helped Lee's parents and I a lot just after he passed away."
"Only for you, Evangelina," Joshua murmured, watching the way the five Pokemon interacted while they sat on the floor.
"Joshua, could you take our visitors' Pokemon and see that they're all in good condition?" Birch requested, looking back at him.
"Certainly, Professor," Josh bent down to the Pokemon on the floor after taking the Poke'Balls from the trainers, "If you'll follow Eeru, he'll see to it you have a good dinner and some treats afterward. Eeru, you show them around while I prepare their food."
"Heehee…" Eevy grinned crazily as they stepped out of the room, "That little Eeru sure is a cutie."
"Around here, Eevee and most other Johto and Kanto Pokemon are very rarely seen," Birch noted, spinning a pen around in front of him, "You'll have to be careful dealing with some of the more obsessive fans. So…What do you want to know?"
"Well…" Eevy pulled her backpack over and dug around inside, laying the map that was given to her out on the table, "This map was given to me by Professor Oak. Could you, maybe, tell us more about the Hoenn region?"
"Absolutely. This is where you are right now," he pointed, "Littleroot Town. North of here is Oldale Town and west of Oldale are Petalburg City and Petalburg Woods. Just on the other side of Petalburg Woods is the Pretty Petal Flower Shop. You may be interested in stopping there and meeting the three sisters. They can offer you some exceptional information on the Berries of Hoenn. Past there is a bridge leading to Rustboro City. Rustboro City is the location of the first Gym you'll be facing, but I'm afraid I can't tell you anything about the Gym Leader there."
"Is it confidential or something?" Richie asked, spinning his hat around his finger.
"No, I just don't know all that much about the Gym Leaders of Hoenn. But also in Rustboro is the Pokemon school, and the location of Devon Corporation."
"Devon…Corporation…?" Ash questioned, his one eyebrow rising.
"Yes, Devon Corporation. Devon Corp is run by Mister Sullivan Stone. Devon manufactures everything from Poke'Balls to the Poke'Nav. It's a huge company in a huge building. You'll be able to distinguish it, no doubt. You may want to try to meet with Mister Stone. He may be able to offer you more information on Hoenn's newer products than I can."
"That reminds me," Eevy dug into her backpack again, placing the glass bottle they'd retrieved from the water on the table, "Can you tell me what this is?"
"Hm…" Birch picked it up and examined it, "This is a Sea Incense. It increases the power of Water-type attacks, much like a Mystic Water pendant. Some people also believe it helps encourage Marill to breed. Where'd you find this? Usually you can find, rarely, a bottle of this in Mount Pyre, where the Ghost-types left it behind."
"We found it floating in the water," Eevy answered, "After a storm."
"Mount Pyre…Where's that?" Gary asked, looking over the map more closely.
Birch pointed to something under Gary's chin, causing him to stand up, "Right here. It's southwest of Lilycove City. There are many legends and tales surrounding the mountain. That's another place you might choose to visit. Atop Mount Pyre is the elderly couple that guards the Red and Blue Orbs."
"Red and Blue Orbs, Professor…?" Eevy was only getting more confused now, "What are the origins of those?"
"That you'd have to ask the man at the top of Mount Pyre. He's an expert on the Red and Blue Orbs and their origins and powers," Birch explained, "Moving on from Rustboro…You find Rusturf Tunnel into Verdanturf Town…"
As he continued to explain the map to Eevy and her companions, Josh continued preparing some food for the Pokemon, "You four are very lucky," he was saying to the two Pikachu and the two Eevee not of his lab, "Evangelina must take good care of you."
"Pika!" Pikachu clapped once, "Pika-chu!"
"Piika!" Sparky agreed.
"Eev-ee!" Evo grinned.
"Eevee-eev!" Vovo nodded and smiled crazily.
"Evangelina and I are very good friends, so I know her well. I get the feeling she's not so sure she's ready for this, right?" he noted, setting a bowl down on the table.
"Eev?" Vovo questioned, his head cocking.
"How did I know? Oh, I can see it in her eyes, and hear it in the way she talks," he replied, placing another bowl down between the Pokemon, "Could you maybe do me a favor? Try and encourage her. And your own masters too. I'm sure they could use the support. I know the Professor doesn't know, and maybe I shouldn't be saying anything, but the first Gym, in Rustboro City, is a Rock-type Gym. And the Leader there is a student at the Pokemon school there in the same city."
"Pika-chuu…" Sparky murmured, nibbling on a biscuit, "Pika-pika?"
"Oh, yes, I'm sure you can win too," Josh nodded, "Just try and reassure them a bit. It'll make things all the better for you and for them. So do that for me, please?" he asked, just before placing another bowl on the table.
"Eeree…" Eeru put in, stepping in to share, "Eer-eeree-eer-eeree."
"Eev!" Evo and Vovo called, wagging their tails.
"Pika!" Pikachu and Sparky cried together.
*^~^**^~^*
"So it's this way to Oldale Town?"
Eevy grinned stupidly back at Professor Birch and Joshua, wondering how many more times she could mistake one route for another. She also wondered how many time at doing this she had before Ash, Gary and Richie refused to travel with her anymore. Would you want to travel with someone who got you lost at every turn? I sure wouldn't.
"Yes, it's that way," Joshua nodded, "Straight ahead. Even you can't lose your way walking straight."
"Just give her time," Gary smirked, ignoring partially the filthy look Eevy shot back his way.
Looking back to Birch, Eevy extended a hand, "Thanks for all your help. You really did us a lot of good just explaining the cities to us. I hope we'll be able to send you some information on the Pokemon around here to pay you back for this, and everything else I'm sure you'll do for us."
"Well, we can only hope," Birch shrugged, shaking her hand, "If you ever need anything, you can contact us with your Poke'Gear and sometimes on your Poke'Nav."
"Good," she clapped her hands together, then suddenly attached herself to Joshua's shoulders, "It was great to see you again, Josh."
Placing a hand atop her head, he carefully edged her off, "Yes, it was very good to see you too, Eva. Good luck."
"Thank you," she grinned, "And goodbye to you too, Eeru."
"Eeree!" Eeru hopped up and down on Birch's shoulder, "Eeree-ee!"
"Come on, guys," Eevy turned back around to her companions, "We should try and get as far as we can today before is starts getting dark."
"If you say so," Richie shrugged, "We still think we should spend the night."
"If it were up to you, we'd do everything from here. Forget it. Let's go," she turned and started walking, "We'll call you as soon as we reach Oldale Town, Professor!"
"Good then! Be careful, and watch what you're doing and where you're going!" Birch raised a hand.
"Good luck, Eva!" Joshua called, waving both hands, "Good luck to you too, guys!"
All four waved, then began their actual walking. Not one of them could begin to think what they would come to see and do together. Marching in a triangle, Eevy in the front and the three boys behind her in a line, they worked their way through tall grass and dimly lit pathways between trees. Eevy stopped ahead of them at one point, stretching her arms above her head. Ash, Richie, and Gary stopped to look at her as she stared up through the trees.
She folded her arms behind her head, "Why don't you guys lead for a little while?" she asked, looking down at them.
"Why? Afraid you're lost already?" Gary grinned, narrowing one eye.
"No…" she turned back and looked back up at the leaves again, "I just…Think it's time one of you took the wheel. This isn't just for me, you guys. This is for you too."
"Are you feeling OK?" Richie asked, scratching his chin.
"I feel perfectly fine," she waved her hand at them, "Now who wants to start first?"
"I DO!" all three shouted at once.
Eevy blinked twice, laughing quietly as they bickered between themselves, "On second thought…Maybe it wasn't such a good idea after all…"
*^~^**^~^*
A faint blue glow, beaming from a computer screen, cast its shade up on a face. This person's eyes narrowed slightly, and he suddenly looked quickly up from his work; the blue light above the door had turned on.
"What is it?"
"Master," said the man who rushed in, "We've got a report from our tech agents. There was a surge of power off Littleroot Town Harbor earlier this morning, near a boat. It appears there was power boost of a pure energy, from the same vicinity. The tech department seems to think this may be the energy product of the Crystal Bell."
"Go on."
"The Bell's energy was so powerful, it left a residue in the water that's just now beginning to fade. The target's power also left a faint layer of power, but this Bell overrides it ten-fold. She's coming, sir. The Angel of the Prophecy is in Hoenn."
The man beside the computer stood, placing his hands on the desk and leaning over it slightly, "There will be Legendary activity throughout the region due to her supreme energy output. She will awaken the gods. Find her," he demanded, "Before Maximus does."
*^~^*Episode 3: End…*^~^*
A/N: Whee...Wasn't that a trip? The reason for the Milotic and Feebas is kinda simple...At the time I actually wrote this, I was still trying to catch a Feebas. @___@ That was the worst few days of my life, I swear. But now I have a bunch of Feebas and a Milotic that won the Master Rank Beauty Contest and got its picture in the Art Museum. Whee! Well, that's all for now...I'm off!
*^~^*Pro_V*^~^*
-=O~The Pokemon~O=-
Next Up: TAA Season 5 ~ A League Of Their Own *Episode 4* ~ Enroute
TAA Pokemon Of The Month: November 2003: Ditto
Don't own Pokemon...(Can you tell I'm not all that creative right now? Sorry! ~~*)