Chapter 9: Poison Power

Part 1

Callista stared at the large building ahead of her. It was a two story building that appeared to be put together with rocks and large stones. Almost like a modern day castle. Instead of a draw bridge there were two large wooden doors with specially crafted metal handles leading inside. Callista estimated the doors to be about seven feet tall. Painted over the doors in dark red paint was the name of the gym in big letters. "Cherrygrove Gym. Home of the Poison Badge."

Ruby nudged Callista's shoulder, "Well, what are you waiting for?"

"Nothing," Callista answered. "I am just admiring the architecture."

Ruby smiled, "Sure you are."

Obviously, Ruby didn't fall for Callista's lame excuse.

"If you want we can postpone the battle and you and I can train a little bit more then..."

"No," Callista interrupted. "I did not come all this way just to chicken out. I came here to battle and that is what I am going to do."

"All right, all right it was just a suggestion," Ruby said.

Callista stepped over to the doors and placed her hand on the metal handles. Before she pulled she noticed a small sign to the left hand side. It read: "Wins - 40 Loses - 0"

"Yeah, that makes me feel a whole lot better," Callista thought as she pulled the doors open and let herself inside with Ruby close behind.

The gym seemed a lot bigger now that they were inside than when they were on the outside of it. It was fairly dark with only a single light in the middle of the ceiling that made it visible to walk around. In front of her there was a large battle field, painted with the same red paint as the sign, in the middle of the floor. Despite all the dark corners of the gym the small light lit up the battle field really well.

"I thought I heard someone enter," a young girl voice echoed around the gym.

Callista and Ruby looked ahead and saw a young teenaged girl appear from the darkness. She was tall and slim with long straight brown hair. She was dressed in baggy black pants and a short black tang top.

"Welcome," the girl said. "What can I help you with?"

Callista announced herself. "I am Callista from Olivine and I am here to compete for a Poison Badge."

"So you have come to challenge our gym leader," the girl answered. "Unfortunately our gym leader by gym rules must except all challenges made, but she is tired of battling against weak trainers such as you. So before you can challenge her you must get past her apprentice first."

"So the gym leader is a girl," Ruby whispered to Callista. "This gym is too new she can't be that tough."

"Who is this apprentice that I must face?" Callista asked.

"I am," the girl answered.

"You?" Both girls exclaimed.

"Yes, I am Page. I am the gym leader's apprentice." Page grabbed a pokeball from her large pockets. "In order to get to her, you must get through me."

"Well, if that is what it is going to take then fine," Callista said as she grabbed a pokeball from her waist and stepped up to the battle field.

Page stepped up to the battlefield as well on the opposite side.

"I challenge you to a battle," Callista announced. Callista was getting a little impatient and was anxious to battle.

"This will be a one on one battle with no time limit," Page said. She reached back and tossed the pokeball into the air. "Nidoran I choose you!"

A small blue mouse looking pokemon appeared on the battle field.

Callista tossed her pokeball into the air. "Chikorita go, I choose you!"

Chikorita appeared on the battlefield ready for battle.

"Chikorita tackle attack!"

Chikorita charged at the Nidoran.

"Nidoran dodge!" Page ordered as Nidoran leaped out of Chikorita's way. "Nidoran use your poison sting!"

Nidoran released a large bunch of poison stings towards Chikorita.

"Razor leaf!"

Chikorita swung its leaf around and released sever razor leaves towards Nidoran's attack. Not only did the Razor leaf cut through the Poison sting attack, it also struck the Nidoran with a powerful punch. Nidoran was tossed aside.

"Come on Nidoran get up. Are you really going to let that little runt beat us," Page coached her pokemon back onto its feet. "Now tackle it!"

Nidoran charged at the Chikorita.

"Chikorita I know you're stronger than that Nidoran. Tackle it right back and show it whose boss!"

Chikorita also charged with its tackle attack. The two pokemon dash toward each other and with all their strength collided with each other's tackle attacks. Chikorita was able to stand its ground, but the Nidoran got tossed to the side. With Nidoran unconscious on the ground, Callista was the winner.

"Yes, great job Chikorita!" Callista jumped up and down. "You were awesome!"

Page called her pokemon back and just stared at Callista. Obviously, she wasn't expecting Callista to win which made Callista feel even better about her victory. Ruby cheered on the side lines even though this battle seemed too easy. This girl seemed a little suspicious to her.

"Page!" A deep voice echoed through the building. "What are you doing?"

A large male leapt down from the stands of the gym battle area where it seemed he had been secretly watching their battle. He seemed to stand well over six feet tall, Callista guessed at least 6'6", if not more. He was dressed entirely in black from head to toe with a large trench coat that made him look a little menacing. He ran his black fingerless gloved hand through his hair as he looked over to the young lady who had just defeated Page, his green eyes seeming to be looking her over like a boxer does before a big match. He finally turned and glared at Page with a very disappointing look.

"How many times must I tell you to stop taking over my job," he said with anger in his voice.

"I....I..."

Callista was getting a little confused. "What is going on here," Callista demanded.

"Chika chika," Chikorita was getting angry as its trainer was getting more impatient.

"I am terribly sorry for the mix up," the man said. "I am the real apprentice of this gym."

"What do you mean real apprentice," Callista asked.

"Page is our assistant gym caretaker," he said as Page looked down at the floor. "I am Cory the real Apprentice. I am the one you must face in order to battle the gym leader of this gym."

"But I have already faced her in order to battle the leader," Callista argued.

"I really apologize for her behavior," Cory said. "She is next in line to become the next apprentice after I become a gym leader myself. She sometimes gets a little anxious to battle when she really isn't qualified to compete yet."

Page stuck her tongue out at Cory for that remark.

"No wonder she was so easy," Callista thought to herself.

Ruby stayed silent as she let Callista work this out on her own.

"So what you're saying is I have to battle you too," Callista argued again. "And after my pokemon fought it's hardest and is completely worn out from battling in a match that really did not count for anything. If you ask me that just isn't right."

"No it's not," Cory stated. "And to make up for that I offer this, you can choose to battle me now and then compete for the badge tomorrow, if you can beat me, when you have the chance to rest up. Or you can battle me now and if you win you can battle the gym leader right after."

Callista looked at Ruby for her opinion. "Chikorita is already a bit tired. I think you should just battle him now and then challenge the gym leader tomorrow. That way all of your pokemon will be 100% ready for battle."

Callista pondered the idea some more. She turned to Cory and announce her answer," I will battle you now. Then when I win I will challenge the gym leader tomorrow."

"If that is your decision then I accept your challenge," Cory pulled back his trench coat and grabbed a green pokeball from his waist. "This will be a two on two battle. Are you ready?"

"You bet I am!" Callista answered as Chikorita nodded too.

"You ready to battle some more Chikorita?" Callista asked as Chikorita nodded and prepared for battle.

"You're going to stick with your Chikorita, huh. Then I will choose Beedrill, go!" Cory shouted as he reached back and threw the pokeball into the air releasing the pokemon.

Beedrill appeared from its pokeball.

"Beedrill use poison sting!" Cory ordered as Beedrill pointed its stinger at Chikorita and dove toward the little pokemon.

"Chikorita dodge it!"

Chikorita jumped out of the way just in time.

"Do it again!" Cory shouted as the Beedrill turned around and dove down again.

"Chikorita use your vine whip!" Callista ordered as Chikorita obeyed and stretched out its vine whips toward the Beedrill.

"Quick get out of the way!" Cory ordered as Beedrill flew up into the air before the vine whip could hit. "Now dive and use your fury attack!"

"Chikorita use your razor leaf attack!" Callista ordered as Chikorita released several razor leaves toward the Beedrill.

The attack struck Beedrill dead on before the pokemon could get close to Chikorita. Beedrill got knocked off balance, but still managed to stay in the air.

"Beedrill use your twin needle attack!" Cory ordered as Beedrill dove toward the Chikorita.

"Chikorita use your sweet scent!" Callista called out as Chikorita released a big puff of pink powder into the air from the leaf on its head.

"Beedrill look out!" Cory shouted, but it was too late.

Before the Beedrill could attack the pink powder surrounded the Beedrill calming the pokemon down. As it calmed, the Beedrill dropped closer and closer to the ground. When it got close enough Callista decided to attack since she now had the chance.

"Tackle it with everything you've got!"

Chikorita charged at the Beedrill and hit it with a powerful tackle attack. Beedrill was tossed to the ground and was quickly called back by its trainer. "Beedrill return," Cory ordered as Beedrill returned to its pokeball. Cory stood tall as he stared at Callista. "She isn't as weak as I originally thought," Cory thought to himself, "I better not take any chances, she can not win!"

*********************

While the next match was about to begin two figures crept up to the stained glass window and peered inside. They were Pat and Garret of Team Rocket and they had followed Ruby and Callista to the gym hoping to be able to catch the girls of guard.

"They must be in the gym," Garret whispered to Pat as they both knelt behind the window.

"Yes, especially that Quilava," Pat said. "All we have to do is wait for the right time and have the right plan."

"Let's get to work!" Garret said as they two of them raced off to work on their plans.

*********************



Meanwhile, Callista was still celebrating with her pokemon.

"Great job Chikorita!" Callista cheered as Chikorita jumped up and down in excitement.

"Chika chika!"

"That was just luck!" Cory insisted as he put Beedrill's pokeball back into his coat and pulled out a new one. "Now it's time to call out my strongest pokemon."

"Chikorita can handle anything you bring out!" Callista shouted as Chikorita braced itself for battle.

Cory reached back and tossed the pokeball into the air," I choose you!"

The pokeball opened and out of the blinding light a large pokemon appeared in front of Chikorita. It looked like a large colorful spider, "Ariaaaaa!"

"What is that," Callista said as she pulled her pokedex out of her pocket and pointed it at the pokemon.

Pokedex: "Ariados, the Long Leg pokemon this pokemon can shoot strong string fibers from its mouth and back. The fiber are so strong it has been known to be able to hold a full grown Snorlax."

"That doesn't scare us," Callista said as she looked toward Chikorita," Are you ready?"

"Chika chika," Chikorita nodded as it waited for Callista to order an attack.

"Go Chikorita," Callista called out," use your razor leaf attack!"

Chikorita shot out several razor leaves toward the Ariados.

"Ariados dodge it!" Cory ordered as Ariados shot its string shot up to the ceiling and then quickly climbed up it narrowly avoiding Chikorita's attack. "Now tackle it!"

Using its long string, it swung down and tackled the grass pokemon off of its feet.

"Chika," Chikorita cried as it got tossed to the ground.

"Chikorita are you okay?" Callista asked as Chikorita forced itself back onto its feet. Despite the damaging attack Chikorita still wanted to continue as it nodded in agreement. "That's the spirit."

"Ariados, use poison sting!"

"Dodge it," Callista ordered as Chikorita jumped out of the way of the attack. "Now use your razor leaf again!"

Chikorita shot out several more razor leaves toward the Ariados and again the Ariados used its string shot to pull itself out of the way.

"Ariados use your sleep powder!" Cory called out as Ariados released a huge puff of sparkling dust toward the Chikorita.

As the dust surrounded the grass pokemon Chikorita's eyes began to slowly close.

"Chikorita, fight it!" Callista tried to coach her pokemon, but it was no use and Chikorita fell asleep. Callista had no choice but to call her sleeping pokemon back.

"Chikorita return."

Chikorita returned to its pokeball.

"I have no choice now," Callista thought to herself. "Growlithe would be strong against a bug pokemon, but it was still too weak. Pikachu's electricity will have to do." Callista grabbed a pokeball, took a deep breath, and tossed the pokeball in the air. "Go Pikachu!"

Pikachu appeared from its pokeball.

"I'm counting on you Pikachu so give this battle all you've got!" Callista said as Pikachu nodded and prepared for battle.

"You're little Pikachu will not stand a chance against my evolved Ariados," Cory sneered.

"We will see about that," Callista said back," Pikachu thunder bolt attack!"

"Pikaaa," Pikachu charged up its electricity.

"Dodge it Ariados!" Cory shouted as Ariados shot another string shot towards the ceiling.

Pikachu released its thunderbolt attack straight for the Ariados, but it missed its mark as Ariados climbed its string shot just in the nick of time.

"Ariados use night shade!" Cory ordered.

Ariados, still on the ceiling, turned toward Pikachu and shot out two purple beams from its eyes.

"Pikachu dodge it!" Callista ordered as Pikachu leaped out of the way.

"Again!" Cory commanded as Ariados used night shade again and again Pikachu managed to dodge it. "Now use your spider web attack!"

Ariados shot out a large web of fibers toward the Pikachu and catching it in the mesh. Pikachu was trapped and could not get out of the web.

"Now use night shade again!" Cory commanded.

"Pikachu get out of there!" Callista cried out.

Pikachu tried to bite through the web, but without making any progress Ariados released another night shade attack striking the Pikachu at full force. The pressure of the attack sent the Pikachu ripping through the strong webs and across the battlefield where it landed hard onto the floor. Pikachu attempted to get on to its feet.

"Come on Pikachu you can do it!" Callista coached her pokemon back onto its feet.

Pikachu was a little wobbly, but it still seemed like it could still battle

"Ariados use your poison string," Cory ordered as Ariados shot out several poison barbs towards Pikachu.

"Agility now!"

Pikachu used its agility and bolted out of the way of the attack.

"Now use your quick attack!" Callista ordered as Pikachu charged at the Ariados.

Ariados swung on its web to dodge the Pikachu's attack.

Cory tried to attack again," Ariados use your night shade!"

Ariados shot out several beams of its night shade each one of them missed the speeding pokemon. Pikachu seemed like it couldn't slow down as it kept running around, zigzagging around the battlefield.

"Pikachu stop agility and use your thundershock," Callista ordered.

Pikachu attempted to stop instantly causing the small pokemon to trip over its own feet. Pikachu fell flat on its face.

"Pikachu no!"

"Ariados attack quickly!" Cory shouted as he tried to capitalize on Pikachu's mistake.

Ariados shot out a huge night shade beam straight for the fallen pokemon. Pikachu didn't have a chance to move as the attack struck the Pikachu with a mighty blow. Pikachu, again, was thrown to the side.

"Pikachu are you okay?" Callista cried out as she watched her pokemon struggle to its feet once again.

"See I told you your little Pikachu was no match for my Ariados," Cory sneered as his Ariados lowered itself back onto the ground.

Pikachu managed to pick itself up onto its feet.

Callista could see how tired Pikachu was but she didn't want to give up the battle that easily. "Pikachu are you okay?"

Pikachu shook itself off and was obviously exhausted, but it was very loyal to Callista so it nodded. "Pika pika chu."

"Can you keep battling?"

"Pika," Pikachu nodded again.

"Alright!" Callista shouted. "Use your thundershock!"

Pikachu leap up into the air and released a powerful thundershock straight toward the Ariados. Cory grinned and refused to issue an attack. Pikachu's thundershock struck the spider with a strong blow. Ariados stood its ground and immediately shook off the electricity.

"Oh, no!" Callista gasped. "It didn't work!"

"You must be forgetting how strong my pokemon is," Cory sneered. "That weak attack won't do anything to my Ariados."

Callista looked at her Pikachu, who could barely even stand up, and thought to herself. "Pikachu won't be able to last too much long and if thundershock did not do anything what is there left?" She began to think about what she read in her pokedex. "What else could it do besides electric attacks?"

"Ariados use your string shot," Cory ordered, seeing that Callista wasn't going to make a move.

"Pikachu dodge it with agility!" Callista said as Pikachu speed off before Ariados could even launch its attack.

Callista watched as her Pikachu bolt around the Ariados in small circles. Callista began to notice that Ariados couldn't seem to keep up with Pikachu's speed.

"That's it!" Callista shouted. "Pikachu keep up your agility!"

Cory was getting a little agitated at Pikachu's speed and wanted to stop this little circus act before it could damage Ariados. "Ariados stop that Pikachu with your string shot!"

Ariados started to rapidly shoot long strings of its fibers all over the battlefield and each time it did Callista was right there to guide Pikachu where to go to dodge.

"To the left!" Callista shouted. "Now right. Straight ahead."

Before Ariados knew what was happening it was surrounded in its own mesh of fibers leaving Ariados with no where to run.

"Ariados!" Cory cried out as he saw his pokemon struggle to find a way out. There were fibers to the right, fibers to the left and even fibers above it. Ariados had shot so many rounds of its string shot it looked like one big web.

Pikachu was still running around the outer parts of the fibers. Callista called out an attack," Pikachu use your quick attack to build up speed and then use your head butt!"

Pikachu sped around in circles to gain speed and then turned directions and charged toward the Ariados. Pikachu was going so fast it was able to fly through the mesh and strike the Ariados with a powerful head butt attack. With its web all around it, Ariados got thrown back and got stuck in its own string shot. With its legs in the air, Ariados wasn't able to grab a hold of anything to be able to get itself back up.

"Now use your swift attack!" Callista ordered as Pikachu swung its tail around and released several yellow glowing stars toward the Ariados. The attack cut through all the fibers and struck the Ariados with a mighty blow throwing the Ariados through its web and crashing into the back wall of the gym.

"Ariados!" Cory called out as he watched his pokemon attempt to get back onto its feet, but quickly collapsed onto the ground, unconscious.

Callista and Pikachu were victorious. Ruby cheered for her friend as Pikachu galloped over to its trainer and jumped into her arms. "Pika pi!"

"Return," Cory called his pokemon back. He looked at Callista as Callista hugged her Pikachu.

"You were great Pikachu," Callista cheered. "Yes, you were!"

Ruby clapped and cheered. "Yay!"

Cory walked up to her and held out his hand. "That was a tough battle. I think you might actually have a chance against our gym leader. There have been too many weak trainers coming by here so she will be pleased to be challenged by such a strong trainer."

"Thank you," Callista shook his hand. "Well, I better get my pokemon to a Pokemon Center so I can be ready to battle tomorrow."

"I wish you good luck in your match," Cory said. "Our gym leader is really tough."

"Thanks."

"See you tomorrow," Cory said as he walked away with Page right behind him.

Ruby stepped up to Callista and patted her on the back. "That was awesome," she said, "Your Pikachu is great."

"We better get to a Pokemon center so I can be ready for tomorrow," Callista said as she headed toward the door. "Let's go."



Callista and Ruby left the gym and headed for the nearest Pokemon Center. As they waited for Callista's pokeballs they sat in the waiting room discussing the last battle and the next.

"Since a lot of pokemon that are poison types are also bug types your Growlithe would be perfect," Ruby said. "I wouldn't recommend using it though. It is still weak."

"Yeah, I know. It just needs some love and care and it will heal to be very strong," Callista said. "Growlithe will be powerful when it fully recovers."

"I just hope you realize what you're getting yourself into. Just because the apprentice used two pokemon doesn't mean that the Leader is only going to use two. She could use up to six pokemon so you need to be really careful when deciding how to battle since you only have three pokemon. Technically, you only have two that are fighting fit."

"That's true," Callista pondered over this. She only had three. What if the gym leader did call for a six on six battle? What was she going to do? Could she say no it had to be three because that's all the pokemon she had. The Gym leader would never tolerate that. She would say that was too bad and battle with six anyway. All Callista could do was hope that the gym leader wouldn't battle with a whole lot of pokemon.

'Bing!'

The light in the treatment room switched off and Nurse Joy came out with her two pokeballs on a metal tray.

With a smile on her face she approached Callista," Your pokemon are all ready Callista. Your Pikachu must have had a tough battle." Nurse Joy kept the smile on her face, but Ruby could tell she wasn't happy with the condition Pikachu was in after that battle with Ariados.

"Thank you Nurse Joy," Callista replied as she took the tray from Joy. Callista took the tray over to the chair she was previously sitting on, and set the tray down in order to put her pokeballs away.

"Also there are two vacant beds in the back of the Center for you," Nurse Joy continued. "You'll be able to rest there for the night. Just don't forget about the curfew at 10pm."

"We won't," Ruby answered.

"Thanks Nurse Joy. We will be back!" Callista said as her and Ruby ran out of the Pokemon Center. Nurse Joy sighed and went back to her work.

"So what do you want to do now?" Ruby asked. "Do you want to go out and train?"

"No," Callista answered as she shook her head," My pokemon and I need a break. I'm sure we'll be okay for tomorrow."

"Hey I was thinking?" Ruby began. "Remember how we talked about Growlithe being strong for you match? What if you borrowed some of mine? I raise fire pokemon after all."

Callista did not like that idea at all. "No, I want to battle with my own pokemon."

"Hey, it was just a suggestion," Ruby said. "So what do you want to do?"

"Maybe we can all just hang out over at the edge of the city. There are a lot of trees and rivers there to relax by."

"Okay," Ruby said, "if that's what you want to do."

By the time they got food and made it to the closest river it was already about 5pm. Ruby and Callista released all of their pokemon and gave them all dinner by the river. Callista kept a sharp eye on their pokemon as they too ate some sandwiches that Ruby had bought the day before at the mart.

After dinner the group remained at the river. It was getting late, but Ruby and Callista were so relaxed they didn't want to leave. As Quilava and all the other pokemon played together in the grass, Ruby and Callista watched and counted the stars as they began to appear in the darkening sky. With the sound of the river gliding past them they lay in the grass and just talked about everything but pokemon. Callista talked about how her dad left her and her mom to fend for themselves and how her mother was the one that got her interested in pokemon training. Ruby mainly talked about her Uncle, who was a gym leader in Kanto. He was the one that raise her from when she was a baby when her parents were killed in a house fire. Basically, the girls were trying to get to know each other better.

Finally the girls thought it was about time to go and they began to lead their pokemon back to the Pokemon Center. As Callista and Ruby walked by a few trees, a few feet away from the river, they felt something swiftly lift them up into the air. They walked into a net trap that had been set near a large tree.

Hanging by a strong branch, Callista and Ruby wiggled around in the net as they tried to get out. Their pokemon all rushed to their aid but they did not know how to get their trainers out.

"Who in the world would put a net in out here?" Ruby cried out.

"Who knows," Callista replied.

"Quilava, I need you to get us out of here." Ruby said. "Use you......."

"Hold it right there!" A familiar voice interrupted her order.

The girls looked over and saw two familiar people standing over by the river. They were Pat and Garret. Instead of wearing their usually uniforms they wore thick blue suits over their entire bodies.

"Prepare for Trouble!" Pat said.

"And make it double!" Garret continued.

"To reject the earth and it's......."

A small ember attack from Charmander stopped the motto Pat and Garret had yet to complete.

"We are never going to be able to finish that motto!" Garret whined.

"What are you two doing here," Callista demanded.

"We are here for your pokemon," Pat said.

Ruby noticed Pat's hands were behind her back.

"Well, you aren't going to get ours," Callista said. "Pikachu thundershock them!"

Pikachu charged up its electricity, but before it could launch its attack. Pat pulled out a large net from her back and threw it out a black net and covered the all the pokemon. She pulled on a rope to tighten the net until it closed trapping the pokemon.

"Good throw," Garret praised as he helped Pat drag the pokemon away from their masters.

"Quilava, use your flamethrower!" Ruby ordered as Quilava turned around and used a flamethrower attack on the net and the team.

Unfortunately to Ruby's surprise the heat of her pokemon's flames had no effect on either the net or Team Rocket. Quilava stopped its attack only to see that the attack had done no damage.

"Ha ha ha ha," Pat giggled, "What do you take us for? Fools?"

"We knew we would be dealing with lots of fire so we makes these suits to be 100% fire proof along with a matching net," Garret bragged.

Callista wasn't about give up. "Since all you thought of was fire how about you try this on for size!" Callista shouted as Ruby continued struggle in the net. "Chikorita use your razor leaf!"

"No not that!" Pat cried out as she watched the Chikorita grin and then release several razor leaves which sliced through the net.

Quilava and all the other pokemon escaped and turned on Team Rocket. With their trainers still trapped they were not too pleased.

"Chikorita use your razor leaf again!" Callista ordered as Chikorita released more leaves toward the net, slicing through those ropes and setting their trainers free.

With Callista, Ruby, and their pokemon safely out of the net now they would be able to deal with Team Rocket.

"Chikorita one more razor leaf and make it a good one!" Callista commanded as Chikorita, using all its strength, tossed razor leaves straight for Team Rocket cutting and thrashing their suits causing them to rip and tear right off their bodies. Without their protection Team Rocket had to think fast.

"We can't let them beat us again," Pat grabbed a pokeball as Garret did the same.

"We have to defend our Team Rocket name," Garret said as he prepared for battle.

Callista did not want to deal with them right now. Especially since she wanted to save her strength for her battle she was going to have end this fast.

"You're not going to spoil my match for tomorrow," Callista said as she signaled for Ruby and her pokemon to back away. "Pikachu get rid of them with a Thunder attack!"

Pikachu charged its electricity and before Team Rocket could make a move it released a tremendous thunder attack straight into Pat and Garret. They both screamed as the electricity raced through their bodies. The force of the electricity hitting the ground caused a huge explosion. The blast hurled Team Rocket up into the air.

"Team rocket is blasting off again!" Pat and Garret said together as they disappeared into the dark star filled sky.

All the pokemon cheered, all of them thankful to be safe.

"Great job," Callista cheered as she lifted her Pikachu and gave it a kiss on the cheek. "You're really getting strong."

Ruby was the first to notice how late it was getting. "Callista we have to get back to the Pokemon Center before the curfew!"

Callista looked at her watch and gasped at the time. "9:50pm! How did it get so late?"

Callista and Ruby called all their pokemon back and raced back to the Pokemon Center.

********************************************************************************************************************

Poison Power

Part 2



"I can't believe its morning already," Ruby yawned as Callista shook her awake.

Callista was anxious to get an early start that morning so she could battle for her gym badge, but first she had to get Ruby out of bed which took some effort.

"I can't believe you didn't wake up when the alarm went off. The alarms in this place are extremely loud," Callista stopped shaking Ruby now that she was sure Ruby was awake.

Ruby sat up still rubbing her eyes. "I don't know why I'm so tired. Why are you awake so early?"

Callista packed her dirty clothes in her backpack for her to wash later, "I dropped Growlithe off with Nurse Joy for a check up. You know to make sure its healing right."

"Good idea," Ruby said as she started getting ready.

Once Ruby was able to get herself cleaned up the girls went to the Center's cafeteria to get breakfast. While they waited for their food to arrive Callista was obviously very excited about her battle with the gym leader. She couldn't seem to sit still in the booth.

"Callista calm down," Ruby said as she saw Callista tapping her fingers on the table nervously, "Everything will be fine, you're a good trainer."

"I'm mainly worried about how many pokemon the gym leader is going to use," Callista said. "I only have two that I can actually battle with."

"Well, there is no sense in worrying," Ruby tried to comfort her friend. "You have every intention to battle anyway right? So why worry? What you need to do is figure out what you can do with the Pokemon you do have."

"You have a point," Callista said as Chancey brought over a tray of food. Callista's mouth watered, "Yum, the pancakes look good!"

Ruby and Callista both finished their breakfast in record time and were just about ready to leave. First they had to pick up Growlithe.

"Hello Nurse Joy," Callista said as she walked up to the counter in the treatment area, "How's Growlithe?"

"Growlithe is doing really well," Nurse Joy turned and started typing something on the computer. "I sent for Growlithe's records from my cousin in Nosawa to make it easier to understand Growlithe's health. I examined Growlithe and compared it to my cousin's records and it seems to be making a big improvement. Remember it will take a few more treatments until it will be able to battle."

"I'll remember," Callista said as Nurse Joy handed her Growlithe's pokeball. "Thank you very much."

"No problem," Nurse Joy winked and smiled, "By the way, good luck on your gym battle today."

"Thank you," Callista replied as she walked off with Ruby right behind her.

Their first stop was, of course, the Cherrygrove City Gym. Callista was extremely nervous, but she was mostly excited about her gym battle and she couldn't wait to get started. The two girls entered the gym once again and were immediately greeted by Page.

"You're back," Page said, "After the battle with Cory I almost expected you not to show up."

"Of course I'm back," Callista said, "and now I want to battle your gym leader."

"And that would be me!" Another voice seemed to appear from out of nowhere. "I am Carma, the leader of this gym and the master of the Poison Badge!"

Callista glanced around and the saw a young woman appeared from the darkness across the battlefield. Callista guessed for her to be between 5'2" and 5'3" in height and she was very slim yet extremely muscular. Just like Cory she was dressed in all black with large thick boots. To Callista, Carma's appearance reminded her of a vampire. Her light hair shined in the battlefield light as her eyes stared at the girl in front of her.

"Callista I presume?"

"Yes, I am Callista from Olivine City and I challenge you to a gym battle so I could earn a Poison Badge," Callista announced as she grabbed a pokeball from her waist.

"Well, unfortunately according to the rules of the gym I must answer to all challenges," Carma sneered, "No matter how weak the opponent."

Callista did not like her attitude. "How about we stop talking and start battling and we'll see who the weak one is!"

"Very well," Carma stepped up to the battlefield. "Let's make this quick."

Page stepped over to the side and announced the battle rules, "This will be a three on three battle."

Callista gasped, "Oh no!" She thought to herself.

Page continued, "The first trainer to defeat all of their opponent's pokemon will be the winner. Let the match begin!"

Carma called out her pokemon first, "Let's go Ekans!"

A large purple snake appeared onto the battlefield, "Eekanssssss," it hissed as it curled its body and was ready for battle.

Callista stared at it for a second she knew what this pokemon was, but she wasn't sure if she had anything that would be able to beat it so she just picked one.

"I choose you, Chikorita!" Callista called as Chikorita appeared from its pokeball.

Carma just snickered, "Bad choice. This battle should be a piece of cake."

Ruby whispered to Callista, "Don't listen to her. There is more to battling than selecting the right types. Show her Chikorita is strong and can beat that Ekans even at a disadvantage."

Without turning around, Callista nodded and ordered an attack. "Chikorita use vine whip!"

Chikorita used its vine whip and grabbed a hold of the Ekans by the neck.

"Ekans use constrict!" Carma ordered as Ekans started to turn its body in circles.

To Callista's surprise, Ekan's attack was pulling Chikorita toward itself with Chikorita's own vine whip.

"Chikorita quick let go!"

"Ekans use poison sting!"

Ekans released several shots of its poison sting towards the little grass pokemon. With its vine whip still attached to Ekans, Chikorita couldn't get out of the way in time and was struck with Ekans attack. Chikorita was tossed to the side.

"Come on Chikorita," Callista said. "You can do it!"

Chikorita managed to get back up onto its feet.

"We are going to have to attack from a distance," Callista said as Chikorita agreed. "Use razor leaf!"

Chikorita swung its leaf around and released several razor leaves toward Ekans.

"Poison sting again!"

Ekan's poison sting attack was released and managed to stop Chikorita's razor leaf and head straight for the Chikorita.

"Look out!" Callista cried as Chikorita managed to dodge the attack. "This Ekans is a lot tougher than I thought! Let's try something else. Use your sleep powder."

Chikorita lifted up the leaf on its head and released a cloud of sparkling dust appeared and floated toward the Ekans.

"Ekans counter with Poison Gas!" Carma said as Ekans released a cloud of dark green gas from its mouth and smothered Chikorita's sleep powder. "Those attacks won't affect my Ekans!"

Callista thought about the Ekans for a second and then she came up with a plan. If she could get Ekans to start using physical attacks instead of its poison attacks maybe they could still have a chance to win.

"Chikorita, tackle it!" Callista ordered as Chikorita charged at the Ekans and hit it with a powerful tackle attack.

"Ekans bind it now!" Carma ordered as Ekans wrapped its body around the Chikorita.

"Chikorita no!" Callista watched as Ekans begin to squeeze the little pokemon. Callista let a little time go by until she finally called out her final attacks. "Chikorita quickly, use your sleep powder!"

With Ekans' face directly above Chikorita, Chikorita lifted up the leaf on its head and released a cloud of sparkling dust that quickly covered the snake pokemon.

"Ekans let go of it!" Carma called out, but it was too late. Ekans eyes began to shut as its body began to loosen around the Chikorita.

"Ekans don't give in," Carma shouted, but all of her shouting could not help keep her Ekans awake as her Ekans laid down and fell asleep.

"Ekans is unable to battle," Page announced as she pointed to Chikorita, "Chikorita wins the first round."

Carma called back her pokemon and grabbed another pokeball.

"Not to bad," Carma said, "Not to bad at all. But this next one won't be so easy!"

Carma tossed the pokeball into the air and released her pokemon.

"Arrrbbokkkk!" An even larger snake appeared. It looked like a big purple cobra.

"Wow an Arbok," Callista exclaimed as she saw the Arbok curl its body around and stared at its opponent. Callista looked at her Chikorita and it appeared to be tired.

Ruby urged her to call her pokemon back, "Callista your Chikorita is exhausted. You better call it back and quick."

Callista decided to ignore Ruby's comment and let Chikorita decide. "Chikorita are you okay? Can you keep battling?"

"Chika chika," Chikorita nodded so Callista left it in to keep battling.

"Okay Chikorita, let's use you razor leaf!" Callista ordered as Chikorita released several razor leaves toward Arbok.

"Arbok use acid," Carma said as Arbok opened its mouth and spit out a big glop of acid burning up Chikorita's attack and continued to head straight towards Chikorita.

"Move out of the way!" Callista cried out as Chikorita barely managed to jump out of the way. Callista wanted to try the same move on Arbok that she used on Ekans so she ordered a straight forward attack. "Chikorita use tackle!"

Carma just laughed, "I am not going to fall for that again. Arbok use glare!"

Arbok tensed up as its eyes turned a bright red. The second Arbok's eyes made contact with Chikorita's the grass pokemon's body completely froze in its tracks.

"Oh no!" Callista exclaimed.

"Arbok finish it with a take down attack," Carma ordered as Arbok charged at Chikorita striking it with a powerful take down attack.

Chikorita was tossed across the battlefield.

"Come on Chikorita," Callista kept urging Chikorita to get up.

Chikorita attempted to get back onto its feet, but it quickly collapsed and fainted.

"Chikorita is unable to continue the battle," Page announced. "Arbok wins the round."

Carma looked at Arbok as Arbok looked back at her. "Good work Arbok. Keep it up!"

Callista called back her pokemon and grabbed her second pokeball and her last fightable pokemon. She held the pokeball close to her face and whispered. "You're my last chance so give it all you got!" Callista tossed the pokeball into the air. "Pikachu I choose you!"

Pikachu appeared from its pokeball and was really for battle.

"A Pikachu huh," Carma said, "Not too bad of a choice."

Carma quickly ordered an attack to gain the advantage.

"Arbok use your acid attack!"

Arbok opened its mouth and spit out a big glop of acid burning toward the Pikachu.

"Pikachu, use your agility!" Callista called out as Pikachu sped out of the way.

"Glare now!" Carma ordered, but Pikachu was moving so fast Arbok couldn't make eye contact. "Quick attack!" Pikachu sped towards the Arbok at full speed.

"Dodge to the left!" Carma said as Arbok ducked its large head to the left narrowly missing Pikachu's attack as Pikachu flew right over it. Pikachu skidded to a stop on the battlefield right behind Arbok. Before Arbok could turn around Callista issued another attack to try to gain the advantage.

"Thundershock!" Callista ordered as Pikachu charged up electricity.

"It's right behind you!" Carma cried out, but Arbok turned too slowly and Pikachu released its thundershock straight into Arbok.

Arbok took the attack and shook off the electricity.

Carma grinned, "You're going to have to do better than that! Bite attack now!"

Arbok turned, opened its mouth and charged at Pikachu, but Pikachu managed to jump away.

"Use your quick attack again!"

Pikachu sped towards Arbok again.

"Dodge to the right!" Carma said as Arbok ducked its large head to the left narrowly missing Pikachu's attack again as Pikachu flew right over it. Once again Pikachu skidded to a stop on the battlefield right behind Arbok, but this time Arbok managed to turn in time and attack before Pikachu had a change to move.

"Use poison sting!"

Arbok released sever poison barbs striking the Pikachu in the back. "Pikaaaaaa."

"Now use wrap attack!" Carma ordered as Arbok wrapped its body around the little mouse. Pikachu couldn't move.

"Thundershock!" Callista ordered as Pikachu released another thundershock into Arbok. Again Arbok just shook it off.

"Bind it!" Carma ordered as Arbok started to squeeze the little pokemon. "Pika Pi!"

Ruby stepped in again, "Callista quick call it back!"

"No!" Callista replied, "We can do this. Pikachu bite it!"

Pikachu sunk its little teeth into Arbok's skin.

"Arrrrr," Arbok winced as its grip began to loosen a little.

"Now use thunderbolt!" Callista ordered as Pikachu charged up its electricity and released a huge thunderbolt attack into Arbok.

This time the electric attack worked and did loads of damage to Arbok. Pikachu trotted over to Callista's side as Arbok tried to recover.

Carma took a good long look at Arbok and decided to attack again.

"Arbok use your acid!"

"Pikachu use your agility again!" Callista ordered as Pikachu sped out of the way of Arbok's attack. "Now use quick attack!"

Pikachu charged towards Arbok and hit it with a powerful quick attack. Arbok took the hit well, but Pikachu managed to do more damage.

"Now use thunderbolt!"

Pikachu charged up its electricity and shot it towards the Arbok. Arbok managed to dodge the attack by slithering to the side. Arbok took this chance to use its own attack and charged at Pikachu. Pikachu had just finished its thunderbolt attack as Arbok struck the little mouse with a take down attack. Pikachu was tossed aside.

"Good work Arbok!" Carma praised as Arbok slithered back to its master's side of the battlefield.

Pikachu struggled to be back onto its feet. Once it got up, Callista ordered another speed attack.

"Pikachu use quick attack now!"

Pikachu hesitated for a second due to it getting tired and the sped towards the Arbok.

"Arbok use bite attack on my mark!" Carma said she waited for Pikachu to get closer and then ordered the attack. "Now!"

Arbok closed its mouth just as Pikachu leaped up to the attack. Carma's timing was so perfect the Arbok was able to catch the pokemon in its mouth and used its bite attack on the little mouse.

Even though this looked bad, Callista tried to use it to her advantage. "Pikachu don't give in. Use your thunder attack!"

Pikachu charged up the remainder of its electricity. With Pikachu still in its mouth the Pikachu released a powerful thunder attack straight into the mouth and body of the Arbok.

"No!" Carma shouted as she saw her pokemon collapse from the power of the attack.

"Arbok is unable to battle," Page announced, "Pikachu wins the round!"

Callista cheered. "All right Pikachu," she said. "Great job!"

Pikachu, who was extremely exhausted at this point, only nodded in agreement as it panted for breath.

Carma called her Arbok back, "Good job Arbok. Return!" She then looked over at Callista, "You are a lot stronger than I thought."

"You bet I am!" Callista said, "And I am going to win that badge no matter what it takes!"

Carma just smiled, "You are very cocky for your age." Carma grabbed her last pokeball.

"Now its time for my strongest pokemon," Carma tossed the pokeball into the air. "I choose Vileplume!"

A large purple pokemon with big petals appeared on the battlefield. "Vileplume," it said as it was ready for battle.

After the battle with Arbok, Pikachu was pretty tired and had a hard time standing up. Ruby assumed Callista would forfeit the match since she was out of pokemon. But to Ruby's surprise, Callista asked Pikachu again if it was ready to continue. Of course Pikachu nodded and Callista left it in the match.

"Okay Pikachu lets try a thunder bolt attack!" Callista ordered as she tried to gain the advantage of attacking first.

Pikachu tried to charge up an attack, but it couldn't seem to get enough electricity to attack with. "Pika pika," Pikachu apologized to its trainer because it couldn't attack.

"Pikachu is out of electricity!" Ruby cried out, "Call it back."

Again Callista refused to listen and ordered another attack. "We won't let that stop us! Pikachu use your quick attack."

Pikachu hesitated for a second as it panted for breath and then sped towards the Vileplume. Pikachu hit the Vileplume, but because Pikachu was extremely tired the attack didn't have much power and Pikachu just bounced right off.

"Vileplume use mega punch," Carma ordered as Vileplume stretched its arm back and then struck Pikachu with a powerful mega punch.

Pikachu was tossed all the way across the battlefield and slid up to Callista. Pikachu attempted to get up and Callista still wanted to urge it to continue. "Come on you can do it!"

Pikachu continued to struggle until finally it gave in and collapsed onto the floor.

"Pikachu return!" Callista had to call her pokemon back as Pikachu was unable to battle. Pikachu returned to its pokeball.

With no other pokemon left to battle Callista had no choice but to forfeit the match.

Carma was getting a little impatient with Callista as she tapped her foot on the floor in a steady beat. "Well?" Carma complained. "What pokemon are you going to bring out now?"

"Well, I.....you see.....I'm......," Callista was having a hard time admitting she was beaten. She took a deep breath and began to speak again. "I...I....for......

Suddenly a flash of light shot out from her waist as a pokemon jumped out of its pokeball. Callista was surprised at what she saw. It was Growlithe! And it wanted to battle.

"No, Growlithe you can't you're not well enough!" Callista cried as she grabbed Growlithe's pokeball off of her belt and tried to call it back. "Growlithe return." The flash of light shot out at the pokemon attempting to pull it back inside the pokeball, but Growlithe leaped out of the way. Callista tried again and again to call Growlithe back and each and every time Growlithe refused to return and jumped away.

"So are you going to battle with that Pokemon or not?" Carma was really getting angry now. "That pokemon doesn't seem to want to listen to you. You must be a worse trainer than I thought you were."

"Growlithe you must return," Callista pleaded. "You'll get hurt if you don't."

Growlithe just ignored Callista's plead and limped in place ready for battle.

"Well I am not waiting anymore!" Carma shouted out. "Vileplume use acid!"

Vileplume spread it petals and shot out a large glop of poison from the flower on its head straight for Growlithe.

"Growl," Growlithe howled and leaped out of the way.

Ruby tried to get Callista to return Growlithe back into its pokeball, "Callista Growlithe is too weak to battle!"

"I know, I know, but I can't get it to return!" Callista cried out. "What am I going to do?"

Carma issued out another order, "Vileplume use your Petal Dance!"

Vileplume obeyed as it released several pink petals toward the Growlithe. Growlithe, again, leaped out of the way. Callista watched as Vileplume continue to attack with petal dance and Growlithe continued to dodge the attack. Finally, Callista just couldn't stand it anymore. She realized the only way to get Growlithe to return was to finish the battle. Callista took a deep breath and issued out an order.

"Growlithe use takedown!" Callista called out as Growlithe charged at the Vileplume and tackled it the best it could.

With Growlithe still weak the attack did not do much damage at all, but it was able to stop Vileplume's petal dance attack.

Ruby was shocked at what her friend was doing. "Callista, no! Growlithe is too weak!"

Callista, without turning her head away from the battle, answered, "Growlithe won't return to its pokeball. It wants to battle! What else can I do?"

Ruby couldn't answer her.

"Vileplume use toxic again!" Carma ordered as Vileplume obeyed and released more toxic sludge from the top of its petals.

Growlithe dodged again and then attacked with a bite attack. Its fangs sunk into one of Vileplume's large petals. As it flinched, Carma tried to issue another attack, "Vileplume use sleep powder!"

With Growlithe's fangs still in Vileplume's petal, Vileplume was unable to attack.

"Shake it off!" Carma called out.

Vileplume shook its head and tossed Growlithe off of it. Growlithe managed to land on its feet, but it was obviously still hurt.

"Growlithe are you okay?" Callista asked as Growlithe nodded.

"Vileplume use your toxic attack!"

"Growlithe, get out of the way!" Callista cried as Growlithe managed to jump out of the way.

Growlithe attempted to attack again. It opened its mouth and forced out a small puff of black smoke. Growlithe put its head down and started coughing.

"Growlithe don't try to use your flame," Callista called out, assuming that was what Growlithe was trying to do. "You have to take it easy!"

"Vileplume finish it with your sleep powder," Carma called out as Vileplume begin to release clouds of sparkling dust towards the Growlithe.

"Growlithe jump away!" Callista shouted.

Growlithe jumped out of the way of the attack. Again, Growlithe opened its mouth and forced out a small puff of black smoke.

"Growlithe stop it," Callista cried out.

"Vileplume, suck up the rest of its energy with Giga Drain!"

Vileplume started to glow a bright green then Growlithe started to glow. Growlithe winced in pain as Vileplume started to suck away Growlithe's energy.

"Callista you have to forfeit!" Ruby called to her friend as she saw what was happening.

Before Callista could do anything, Growlithe raised its head again and, to everyone's surprise, released a powerful flamethrower attack straight towards Vileplume. The attack struck the pokemon with a mighty blow and was tossed across the whole battlefield. As the fire cleared from Vileplume its trainer tried to coax it up.

"Come on Vileplume," Carma said, "Come on get up!"

With its petals singed, Vileplume struggled to get onto its feet, but quickly collapsed back onto the ground.

Page announced the victory, "Vileplume is unable to continue the battle. Callista win the match!"

"Hurrah," Callista cheered.

Growlithe smiled and laid down onto the battlefield, exhausted to the point it couldn't even stand anymore. It panted heavily due to all the stress it put on its fire starters when it was trying to use its flame attack.

"Callista get Growlithe back into its pokeball," Ruby suggested as Callista agreed and called Growlithe back.

This time Growlithe let her call it back into its pokeball.

"You shouldn't have battled," Callista whispered to her pokemon, "but you did do a good job."

Carma called her pokemon back and sighed as she walked over to Callista.

"Your pokemon really caught me by surprise with that flamethrower attack," Carma admitted, "for a second I thought your Growlithe wasn't capable of using it."

"Thanks," Callista replied.

"An as proof of your victory here at the Cherrygrove Gym I now present you with this," Carma held out a small purple and green badge, "The Poison Badge."

Callista took the badge from Carma and looked it over. She turned to her friend, eager to show it off. "Look Ruby," Callista said. "My first League Badge!"

"That's really great!" Ruby replied, but for some reason she did not seem very excited.

"You are a pretty good pokemon trainer," Carma commented, "Keep up your training and I'm sure you'll make it in the Johto League."

"I will," Callista said.

Ruby tugged at Callista's sleeve, "We have to go and get Growlithe to the Pokemon Center." Ruby whispered as Callista nodded in response.

"Well," Carma held out her hand, "Good luck to you!"

"Thank you," Callista said as she and Ruby turned and headed back to the Pokemon Center.



As Callista waited for Growlithe and her other pokemon to come out of the treatment center, Ruby stayed very quiet.

After a long wait, the light finally switched off and Nurse Joy walked out of treatment with three pokeballs lined up on a tray. Callista went over to Nurse Joy and expected her to have a smile on her face as she approached, but Nurse Joy did not look happy.

"Callista I need to have a talk with you!" Nurse Joy said to Callista, and then she turned to Ruby. "Could you excuse us please?"

"Sure," Ruby replied as she walked out of the treatment area and disappeared into the cafeteria.

"What's the matter?" Callista asked as Nurse Joy refused to give Callista her pokeballs.

"I am very disappointed in how badly your Growlithe was hurt," Nurse Joy scolded. "Your Growlithe was in no condition to battle as weak as it was. How could you let it get into this condition?"

"I'm sorry Nurse Joy," Callista tried to defend herself. "I never called it out to battle. Growlithe came out on its own and started battling by itself. I tried to call it back but......."

Nurse Joy raised her hand to stop Callista's excuses, "I really don't want to hear excuses! It was very irresponsible of you to let it battle. You should have forfeited the match instead of letting Growlithe put itself in danger. And it's not just Growlithe; it's your Chikorita and your Pikachu too. One phone call from me and I could have you pokemon license taken away."

Callista stared down at her feet and realized that Nurse Joy was right. It was her fault that Growlithe was hurt even more. She felt guilty about winning the badge.

"However," Nurse Joy said as she changed her tone of voice from serious to a little more like her cheerful voice, "I can tell you really feel bad about Growlithe's condition and I'm sure you have learned your lesson from all this." Nurse Joy handed the tray to Callista. "Pokemon are extremely loyal to their trainers and sometimes they will even keep battling until they just can't battle anymore, especially Growlithe. It's in Growlithe's nature to be completely loyal and it will do just about anything their master orders them to do. Just remember it is your responsibility to decide whether your pokemon can or can't battle, it is not your pokemon's decision!"

"Yes ma'am," Callista replied as she started to feel a bit better, she was still worried about Growlithe.

"Growlithe and your other pokemon will be fine," Nurse Joy said, "Chikorita and Pikachu will be fighting fit by tomorrow and Growlithe still needs a few days and a few more treatments. Just make sure when you go to a Pokemon Center you tell who ever is in charge to receive Growlithe's report off of their data computer so they know exactly how to continue the treatment."

"I will," Callista replied as she put her pokeballs away.

"Well, then good luck on the rest of your journey and take good care of your pokemon."

"I will," Callista replied again, "And I won't forget what you said."

Callista waved goodbye to Nurse Joy and went to join Ruby in the cafeteria.

"Ruby, are you okay?" Callista asked as he saw Ruby sitting by herself in one of the cafeteria booths.

Ruby looked up at Callista and replied, "Yeah, I'm sure Nurse Joy has already talked to you about Growlithe."

"Yes."

"So what do you think?"

"I think I need to be more responsible and take better care of my pokemon," Callista said as she sat down in the same booth, just on the opposite side.

"Yes," Ruby said, "I mean I really don't want to seem like I know everything and that I am the best trainer in the world, but you really should listen to another's advice from time to time."

"I know."

"You also need to remember its not you who fights the battle. It's your pokemon that do. And do you know why."

"Because I tell them too?"

"Well, yeah kind of. They battle because they care about you. They want to make you happy so they willingly battle for you."

Ruby smiled at her friend. Just seeing her smile made Callista realize that Ruby forgave how she acted towards her pokemon. Callista realized that Ruby was right. Her pokemon didn't have to battle today and the only reason they did was because they wanted her to win. They wanted her to be happy. Now she didn't feel as bad as she did about winning the badge. The two friends sat together in the cafeteria in a long relaxing silence, trying to recover from the eventful few days that they shared together in Cherrygrove City and where they were going to go next.