Warning: Sexual situations and references and stuff. If you don't like it,
skip the last part of the chapter. You're not missing any storyline
development, it's only in there for the material. Woohoo!
"Goldenrod City Gym Leader Whitney has been challenged by Eric, a trainer. Two Pokemon will be used for this battle. Begin!" the referee called, holding up two flags to the air, one red (for penalties) and one green. She brought the flags back down again, blowing her whistle.
"Go, Clefairy!" Whitney yelled, throwing out her first Pokeball. In a flash of red light, the small fairy Pokemon appeared, awaiting the opponant.
"Let's make this quick and easy. Gastly! Go!" Eric called, throwing out his own Pokemon. The two Pokemon stared each other down, almost as if daring for the other to make a move. "Gastly, use Lick!"
The Gastly floated forward, tongue out, ready to give the fairy Pokemon a good lick. "Roll around it, Clefairy, then use Metronome!" Whitney's Clefairy rolled to the side, dodging the fast moving Gastly. It landed on its feet gracefully, and began to wag its fingers. Its fingers glowed for a few moments, before firing a rainbow beam of energy.
"Gastly, go through the wall!" Eric commanded. The Gastly disappeared into the wall, and the rainbow beam hit the wall, causing it to ice up. Whitney let out a mutter, looking around for the gas Pokemon. "Alright, Gastly, Confuse Ray!"
A beam of light shone from the ceiling, hitting the Clefairy, dazing it. It staggered about for a moment, trying to gain its composure. "Clefairy, snap out of it, and use Metronome again!" It wagged its fingers again, as the Gastly wandered back through the wall, preparing to retreat through it again. It didn't need to. The Clefairy glowed a bright yellow, and then let out an enourmous explosion, sending Whitney, Eric, and the Referee flying off their feet. The Clefairy fell over, twitching. The Metronome had backfired.
The Gastly let out a howl of laughter, floating back over to Eric, who was standing back up again. "Awesome. Alright, we've got the advantage now, Gastly."
Whitney let out a cough, wiping some smoke off her face. "Ehehe.. Clefairy, return!" The Clefairy was returned into its portable sanctuary. "Miltank, you're next! Go for it!"
The Miltank appeared, letting out a loud moo as it appeared, preparing for battle. "Gastly, use Hypnosis!"
"Miltank, Heal Bell!"
The Miltank took a swipe at the bell around its neck, as it fell asleep. The sound of the bell made it awaken with a yawn, just as ready for battle as it had been before it fell asleep. "Perfect. Now, use Rollout!" Whitney's Miltank curled into a ball, and began to roll wildly towards the Gastly.
"Go over it, Gastly!" Eric commanded, the Gastly moving upwards, barely avoiding the careening heffer as it rolled along at a deadly pace. It began to turn towards the Gastly, leaping up gently. It hit the ground, and went flying up into the air, slamming into the Gastly, causing it to disappate in mid-air. It reappeared, looking pooped. "Nice try, Gastly," Eric smiled, returning the Gastly into its Pokeball. "Now for the coupe de grace.."
The next Pokeball was pulled from his backpack, and thrown out onto the field. His Mankey appeared from it, looking quite agitated with everything around it. Whitney let out a sigh, shaking her head. "A poorly tamed Mankey.. This will be an easy fight. Miltank, Stomp it!"
The Miltank stood up from its rolling, and rushed towards the Mankey, causing the ground to shake slightly as its hooves touched the ground. "Mankey, Low Kick!" The Mankey quickly ducked under the Miltank as it charged towards him, and kicked its legs out from under itself. The Miltank hit the ground, hard, and the Mankey, in a rage, leapt atop it, and began to hit it with an uncommanded Fury Swipes.
"Miltank, throw it off you, then hit it with a Body Slam!" Whitney commanded. The Miltank obeyed, and quickly reared back, trying to throw the Mankey off it. "Hang on tight, Mankey!" Mankey hung on for its life, as the Miltank reared back and forward, trying to knock the pig-monkey Pokemon off its back. The Mankey lost its grip halfway through the ride, and hit the ground on its back. "Roll out of the way!" Too late. The Mankey let out a screech as the massive weight of the Miltank was brought down onto its light frame.
"Keep using Body Slam until it gives up!" Whitney grinned, hopping up and down in excitement. She hadn't been winning alot of battles lately, so, this one would help her record a little.
Mistral stepped over to Eric, still watching the battle. "Your Mankey's getting pummeled. Me and Edd agreed that you should call this match off and call it back."
"No. If I do that, then I won't win," Eric shrugged, watching the Mankey take a third hit from the tremendous bulk of the opponant. "What do you mean by that?" Mistral asked, quirking an eyebrow.
"I did a little research. Unlike the Machop evolutionary line, the Mankey evolutionary line are fueled by rage. The more hits it takes, the stronger it gets, until.." Eric stopped in his explination, as the Mankey began to glow brightly, causing the Miltank to stumble back, covering its eyes with its hooves. "Until it can either overpower the foe, or evolve.."
As the bright light cleared, a larger, much more enraged Pokemon was left in its place. It heaved deep breaths, staring at the Miltank with an evil look. A vein popped out of its head, and, Eric noticed, that the new Pokemon had what looked like cuffs around its ankles and wrists.
~"Primeape, a pig-monkey Pokemon. Much like its weaker form, the Primeape is almost constantly in a rage, and cannot control its temper. A fully trained Primeape can easily match the power of a trained Machamp, though no one has stuck around a Primeape long enough to see if this was true."~
"Well, let's take advantage of this new power, Primeape! Use Seismic Toss!" Eric commanded, grinning. Both Mistral and Edd looked surprised at the sudden evolution. The Primeape shook with rage, and let out a deafening screech, rushing towards the Miltank. "Miltank, use Stomp! Intercept it before it can get to you!"
As quickly as the command was given, Primeape had caught the Miltank in mid- stomp, and lifted it up easily, slowly swinging it around. "Ah! Miltank!" The Miltank and Primeape soon turned into a blur, before Primeape stopped spinning, releasing the Miltank. It went flying past its trainer, Whitney, and hit the ground, skidding a good few feet, until it hit the wall. "Aw, no! We had this one in the bag, too!"
"Eric is the winner! Congratulations!" the referee called, flashing the green flag in Eric's direction. Soon after, the referee left out the front door.. he couldn't blame her. It was almost dinner time.
Whitney recalled her Miltank, and moved across the field, to Eric. "Well, that was an awesome battle. I would've never expected your Mankey to evolve.."
"Yeah, well, I was hoping it would before you knocked it out, anyways," Eric laughed, rubbing the back of his head. Edd and Mistral were exchanging betting money while Eric wasn't looking.
"Well, you won this fair and square." Whitney pulled out a small, plain looking badge. "It's the Plain Badge. This should help you tame your new Primeape." She extended her hand, allowing Eric to take the badge from her hand, and place it inside the badge case he already had prepped in his pocket for when he won. He had never doubted his abilities to win.. well, except when his Mankey was pinned down, getting hit multiple times.
The badge case was put back into the backpack, and Eric turned, heading for the door. Mistral and Edd had finished exchanging money, and were waiting for him with the door open.
"Hey, wait a minute," Whitney called after him, causing him to stop in his tracks. He glanced over his shoulder, half expecting to see the girl clad in a Team Magma uniform, but she was simply running after him. He turned to meet her as she stopped infront of him. "Hey. Sorry to hold you up, but, I was wondering if you had a little time?"
Mistral quirked an eyebrow, watching the two. "Well.. Yeah. I guess I do, there's no rush. Why?" Eric inquired, looking her over.
"Well, it's Friday night, and Goldenrod can be a lonely place.." Whitney began, looking down at her feet, blushing. "I was just wondering if you wanted to go out and have dinner, or something? You know, as friends?"
Eric rubbed his chin gently, glancing over at his shoulder back at Mistral. This would be an interesting opportunity.. and, besides, if Mistral wasn't lying about her boyfriend in Cianwood, he'd find out one way or another. Edd was using all his strength and will power to hold Mistral back, as she was dead-set on killing them both. He looked back over at Whitney, who was smiling at him. "Sure. Why not. I guess I could use with getting out more and socializing with people.."
"That's awesome! Lemme get ready, and i'll be back out here in a jiffy!" Whitney declared, rushing off for the back of the Gym. She disappeared into a door in the back. Eric turned back to Mistral, who had stopped struggling, growling low to herself. "Well, you heard what she said.. if you guys want to go get dinner or something, i'll meet you guys at the Pokemon Center around midnight," Eric shrugged, smiling a bit.
"Yeah. Midnight," Mistral muttered, shoving Edd out of the way, as she walked out the door. Edd gave a shrug, and followed her. "Good luck, ya? You're gonna need it."
Whitney had returned. She had changed out from her gym leader clothing, into something more casual. "Ready?"
"That was quick.. yeah, let's go."
------
"This is, like, the best place to eat," Whitney smiled, taking a seat at the table the waiter had escorted them to. "They have all sorts of highly trained Pokemon bring you your food. I love going here."
"Is that so?" Eric asked, looking around at the other tables. Sure enough, all sorts of Pokemon (they had pins to differentiate themselves with other Pokemon) were bringing food to the tables. They were able to do so as if they had practiced for many months, as they were graceful, and even the Pokemon that seemed the most clumsiest never spilt a drop.
Whitney gave a nod, and smiled, looking down at the menu.
"Can I get you anything to drink?" the waiter asked, looking down at them. "Ah.. Miss Whitney, I didn't know you were out wandering around with vagabonds tonight. Shall I get you the usual?"
Eric glanced up at the waiter, feeling offended by being called a vagabond by someone he'd never seen before. Of course, he was a thief, so, maybe the waiter was right. "Yeah. The usual.. What'll you have, Eric?"
"Oh.. hmm.. I dunno. The steak looks pretty good.." Eric nodded, looking over the menu once more incase he saw something else he wanted. "Yeah. The steak."
"How would you like it done?"
"Medium/Well," Eric shrugged. "Oh, and just plain water to go with that."
The waiter scribbled a few notes on a pad, took their menus, and shuffled off to deliver their order to the kitchen. "He was certainly rude," Eric muttered to Whitney, glancing over at the waiter as he moved to take another couples orders.
"I wouldn't worry too much about him. He just likes to look after me," Whitney giggled, causing Eric to quirk an eyebrow. "Actually, everybody here in Goldenrod looks after me."
"I can see why. You're tough for a Gym Leader," Eric commented, causing her to turn a few shades of red.
"Aha, don't embarass me," Whitney muttered, covering her face. Well, atleast she acted feminine. Mistral was about as tomboyish and unfeminine as they come, but he couldn't help but like that about her. "Eric?"
His thoughts had wandered, and he found himself staring straight at Whitney. He wondered to himself how long he had been staring at her. "Are you okay? You had this weird look in your eyes," Whitney commented, leaning back in her chair.
"Oh.. yeah. Sorry about that," Eric laughed a bit, trying to lighten the mood. "My mind wandered for a few seconds."
Whitney leaned forward, propping her elbows on the table, leaning across it. Eric leaned back in his chair, feeling uncomfortable with her getting so close so suddenly. "So, tell me, is it true you stole your Pokedex from Professor Elm?"
"Well.. yeah. Has the news travelled that far?" Eric asked, shrugging his shoulders, trying to shake his discomfort.
"Yup yup. Alot of people are interested in you, not for the reward, just to see how determined you really are. You've got, like, a cult following now," Whitney smiled, leaning back in her chair as the food arrived. A Heracross placed their plates infront of them, before moving away. Whitney took her fork, and dug into her roast beef and mashed potatos.. Eric hated roast beef, but he kept that fact to himself. "Cult following?"
Whitney gave a nod, and swallowed the food she had in her mouth. "Well, sort of. Alot of trainers are keeping track of where you're going, and how well you're doing in the Pokemon League Challenge. I'm sure word's gotten out that you've beaten me by now."
That was definetely unnerving. People had been keeping watch over him, keeping track of him. Why would they want to follow him, anyways? There were alot of questions he wanted to have answered, but he settled with the answers Whitney had given him. "I guess that's cool."
"Yeah. You're a pretty popular guy right now. I was anticipating your arrival.. and i'm sure the other Gym Leaders have heard about your triumphs by now," Whitney continued, shovelling another fork-full of mashed potatoes into her mouth. "And just between me and you, alot of people don't know that you caused the whole Violet City thing. If you ask me, I think Team Magma had it coming.. you haven't eaten any of your steak. Are you okay?"
Eric looked down at his steak. It had a generous helping of steak sauce on the top, and Eric lifted his knife to it, cutting into it. "Yeah. I'm fine. Just, all the things that have happened have left a large impact on me."
"I can understand that.. well, not by experience, but I can understand where you're coming from.. I think. If you ever need someone to talk to, you can use your Pokegear to give me a call. Or, you can fly over here on your Pidgeotto," Whitney suggested, smiling, taking another bite of her food. Eric finally managed to shove a piece of his steak into his mouth. "How'd you know I have a Pidgeotto?"
"Falkner told me. He said he had never been so impressed with a bird Pokemon since when he first started being a gym leader. Speaking of which," Whitney nodded, leaning forward again. Eric felt himself get uncomfortable again. "Just between me and you, the best chance you have against the Gym Leaders is capturing Pokemon just before you challenge a Gym Leader to a battle. Make sure it's one that has an advantage, though."
"How come?" Eric asked, managing to shovel another piece of steak into his mouth.
"Well, the Gym Leaders are all out to defeat you. Well, now they are. So they're keeping track of what Pokemon you have, so they can, like, use tactics to defeat you. If you use Pokemon they don't know you have, you have a good chance of catching them off guard."
"Like the Gastly I used against you?" Eric asked, feeling irritated. Whitney kept leaning closer and closer, so, he leaned towards her, so their faces were inches from each other. She realized she had gotten caught up in the conversation, and leaned back in her chair. Eric leaned back in his, and continued eating his steak.
Whitney blushed, and took another bite of her food. "Well, no. That was a type advantage."
"Then I don't have much to worry about," Eric shrugged.
"I was just giving you some advice.."
------
Besides the dinner conversation, the rest of the night was uneventful. Eric had accompanied Whitney while she went shopping (which he didn't particularly enjoy), and walked around Goldenrod, while she showed him the sights. They had even went into the Radio Tower, though nothing interesting was going on, since it was late into the night. Their last stop was the Gym again.
"Aw, dang," Whitney muttered, picking off a couple of strips of paper off her door. "I thought you were the last of the day.."
Eric moved up next to her, pulling off one of the strips of paper. It read, 'Eugene, Trainer. Why were you closed? You weren't scheduled to close for another hour'. Well, it was good to know he was one step ahead of Eugene. "I see.. I could've waited an hour for you to fight these trainers."
"It takes longer than an hour to fight four trainers," Whitney commented, putting the papers into her pocket, opening the door to her Gym. She stepped inside, turning on the light. Eric stepped in behind her, and closed the door behind her. His Pokegear flashed the time, '11:23 PM'. "Because you have to go and get your Pokemon healed, and then come back, and then get them healed again.. It's a grueling process, and it goes on every day. I don't get much of a break."
"Yeah," Eric muttered. He knew what it was like to not get a break, though, like Whitney, he had accepted that life when he stole the Pokedex and went off on his own. Whitney was given that life, and didn't have much of a choice.
"You know, you could stop being so cold. You've been like that ever since I brought up the whole Violet City incident," Whitney yelled, turning. She wasn't expecting Eric to be right behind her, as the force of her turning sent them both falling over onto the soft grass that lined the gym. Eric caught her as she fell, and looked up at her.
"Sorry. It's just a hard subject to talk about," Eric muttered, watching her blush. "So I try to avoid the subject."
Whitney stared down at him, unable to stop her blushing, as she nodded. "I u-understand.."
They stared at each other for a few moments, before Whitney moved to a sitting position, allowing Eric to sit up as well. He closed his eyes, and heaved an inward sigh. Love was such a fickle thing.. and the last thing he needed was someone pining over him, distracting him from his Pokemon League aspirations.. but wasn't that what Mistral was doing?
Before Eric could think twice, Whitney wrapped her arms around him, pushing him back down to a sitting position, kissing him deeply. His mind was clouded with the storm of emotions that he just promised himself that he wouldn't allow himself to feel, and he felt confused, as he kissed her back. Her kisses seemed hollow, but held something he hadn't felt before. He just couldn't put his finger on it.
"Eric.." Whitney breathed, opening her eyes as she released him from her kiss. "Make love to me.."
That was a bit too much for him to handle. "I thought we were friends. You have more things to worry about, than making love to someone you only like because he's doing something you've never seen anyone else do." He made his way to a sit, trying to stand, but Whitney kept her arms around him. Her weight caused him to fall back onto his butt. "Let me go. I'm going to the Pokemon Center. I had a fun night, thanks for the dinner, but you're just going too far.."
Whitney's eyes began to fill with tears, but it was hard to tell if they were fake or real.. women had that weird ability. "What is it? Don't you like me?" She asked him, wrapping her arms around him tighter.
"I like you, sure, you're a great trainer and Gym Leader, but I have other things I need to take care of before I go out and make love to every woman that's attracted to me simply because I have a cult following, or because i'm 'fighting the machine' by illegally challenging the Pokemon League," Eric explained, putting a hand on her chest, pushing her away gently. "Now, i'd like to get some sleep.."
Whitney pressed herself against him tighter, and closed her eyes, whispering something Eric couldn't make out. Finally, she released him, slowly moving to a stand. Tears were falling from her face as if someone had broke the valve to the waterworks. "If you won't make love to me, atleast stay the night. Please."
That would certainly cause Mistral to go into a temper tantrum, but it was the least he could do. He had made himself clear that he wasn't looking for love, not until he had completed his goal, and she seemed to understand, as much as she didn't want to.
She left the lights out in the backroom, as she stripped down, pulling on only a pair of boxers, from what it looked like in the moonlight. Eric only took off his shoes, before climbing into the gym leader's bed. He laid on his back, staring up at the ceiling.. it felt like it was the same ceiling he had been staring at a few days ago in Bugsy's gym, only he was in a less awkward position. He heard the rustling of the blankets, as Whitney slid underneath them, wrapping her arms around him.
"Hold me tonight.. just tonight.." Whitney whispered into his ear. What could he do? He was beginning to feel bad about his decision, but there wasn't much he could do now. He wasn't going back on his word. His arms wrapped around her half-naked body, holding her close to him. It reminded him of a saying he had heard. If you love something, let it go. If it comes back, it'd be yours forever. That's what it seemed like Whitney was doing. He was beginning to feel tired, and he had to think of an excuse to give Mistral. Or would he just tell her the truth?
Whitney fell asleep, her chest pressing against his own chest. He wouldn't be getting much sleep tonight. And he wasn't looking forward to tommorow morning.
-----
End Chapter 11
"Goldenrod City Gym Leader Whitney has been challenged by Eric, a trainer. Two Pokemon will be used for this battle. Begin!" the referee called, holding up two flags to the air, one red (for penalties) and one green. She brought the flags back down again, blowing her whistle.
"Go, Clefairy!" Whitney yelled, throwing out her first Pokeball. In a flash of red light, the small fairy Pokemon appeared, awaiting the opponant.
"Let's make this quick and easy. Gastly! Go!" Eric called, throwing out his own Pokemon. The two Pokemon stared each other down, almost as if daring for the other to make a move. "Gastly, use Lick!"
The Gastly floated forward, tongue out, ready to give the fairy Pokemon a good lick. "Roll around it, Clefairy, then use Metronome!" Whitney's Clefairy rolled to the side, dodging the fast moving Gastly. It landed on its feet gracefully, and began to wag its fingers. Its fingers glowed for a few moments, before firing a rainbow beam of energy.
"Gastly, go through the wall!" Eric commanded. The Gastly disappeared into the wall, and the rainbow beam hit the wall, causing it to ice up. Whitney let out a mutter, looking around for the gas Pokemon. "Alright, Gastly, Confuse Ray!"
A beam of light shone from the ceiling, hitting the Clefairy, dazing it. It staggered about for a moment, trying to gain its composure. "Clefairy, snap out of it, and use Metronome again!" It wagged its fingers again, as the Gastly wandered back through the wall, preparing to retreat through it again. It didn't need to. The Clefairy glowed a bright yellow, and then let out an enourmous explosion, sending Whitney, Eric, and the Referee flying off their feet. The Clefairy fell over, twitching. The Metronome had backfired.
The Gastly let out a howl of laughter, floating back over to Eric, who was standing back up again. "Awesome. Alright, we've got the advantage now, Gastly."
Whitney let out a cough, wiping some smoke off her face. "Ehehe.. Clefairy, return!" The Clefairy was returned into its portable sanctuary. "Miltank, you're next! Go for it!"
The Miltank appeared, letting out a loud moo as it appeared, preparing for battle. "Gastly, use Hypnosis!"
"Miltank, Heal Bell!"
The Miltank took a swipe at the bell around its neck, as it fell asleep. The sound of the bell made it awaken with a yawn, just as ready for battle as it had been before it fell asleep. "Perfect. Now, use Rollout!" Whitney's Miltank curled into a ball, and began to roll wildly towards the Gastly.
"Go over it, Gastly!" Eric commanded, the Gastly moving upwards, barely avoiding the careening heffer as it rolled along at a deadly pace. It began to turn towards the Gastly, leaping up gently. It hit the ground, and went flying up into the air, slamming into the Gastly, causing it to disappate in mid-air. It reappeared, looking pooped. "Nice try, Gastly," Eric smiled, returning the Gastly into its Pokeball. "Now for the coupe de grace.."
The next Pokeball was pulled from his backpack, and thrown out onto the field. His Mankey appeared from it, looking quite agitated with everything around it. Whitney let out a sigh, shaking her head. "A poorly tamed Mankey.. This will be an easy fight. Miltank, Stomp it!"
The Miltank stood up from its rolling, and rushed towards the Mankey, causing the ground to shake slightly as its hooves touched the ground. "Mankey, Low Kick!" The Mankey quickly ducked under the Miltank as it charged towards him, and kicked its legs out from under itself. The Miltank hit the ground, hard, and the Mankey, in a rage, leapt atop it, and began to hit it with an uncommanded Fury Swipes.
"Miltank, throw it off you, then hit it with a Body Slam!" Whitney commanded. The Miltank obeyed, and quickly reared back, trying to throw the Mankey off it. "Hang on tight, Mankey!" Mankey hung on for its life, as the Miltank reared back and forward, trying to knock the pig-monkey Pokemon off its back. The Mankey lost its grip halfway through the ride, and hit the ground on its back. "Roll out of the way!" Too late. The Mankey let out a screech as the massive weight of the Miltank was brought down onto its light frame.
"Keep using Body Slam until it gives up!" Whitney grinned, hopping up and down in excitement. She hadn't been winning alot of battles lately, so, this one would help her record a little.
Mistral stepped over to Eric, still watching the battle. "Your Mankey's getting pummeled. Me and Edd agreed that you should call this match off and call it back."
"No. If I do that, then I won't win," Eric shrugged, watching the Mankey take a third hit from the tremendous bulk of the opponant. "What do you mean by that?" Mistral asked, quirking an eyebrow.
"I did a little research. Unlike the Machop evolutionary line, the Mankey evolutionary line are fueled by rage. The more hits it takes, the stronger it gets, until.." Eric stopped in his explination, as the Mankey began to glow brightly, causing the Miltank to stumble back, covering its eyes with its hooves. "Until it can either overpower the foe, or evolve.."
As the bright light cleared, a larger, much more enraged Pokemon was left in its place. It heaved deep breaths, staring at the Miltank with an evil look. A vein popped out of its head, and, Eric noticed, that the new Pokemon had what looked like cuffs around its ankles and wrists.
~"Primeape, a pig-monkey Pokemon. Much like its weaker form, the Primeape is almost constantly in a rage, and cannot control its temper. A fully trained Primeape can easily match the power of a trained Machamp, though no one has stuck around a Primeape long enough to see if this was true."~
"Well, let's take advantage of this new power, Primeape! Use Seismic Toss!" Eric commanded, grinning. Both Mistral and Edd looked surprised at the sudden evolution. The Primeape shook with rage, and let out a deafening screech, rushing towards the Miltank. "Miltank, use Stomp! Intercept it before it can get to you!"
As quickly as the command was given, Primeape had caught the Miltank in mid- stomp, and lifted it up easily, slowly swinging it around. "Ah! Miltank!" The Miltank and Primeape soon turned into a blur, before Primeape stopped spinning, releasing the Miltank. It went flying past its trainer, Whitney, and hit the ground, skidding a good few feet, until it hit the wall. "Aw, no! We had this one in the bag, too!"
"Eric is the winner! Congratulations!" the referee called, flashing the green flag in Eric's direction. Soon after, the referee left out the front door.. he couldn't blame her. It was almost dinner time.
Whitney recalled her Miltank, and moved across the field, to Eric. "Well, that was an awesome battle. I would've never expected your Mankey to evolve.."
"Yeah, well, I was hoping it would before you knocked it out, anyways," Eric laughed, rubbing the back of his head. Edd and Mistral were exchanging betting money while Eric wasn't looking.
"Well, you won this fair and square." Whitney pulled out a small, plain looking badge. "It's the Plain Badge. This should help you tame your new Primeape." She extended her hand, allowing Eric to take the badge from her hand, and place it inside the badge case he already had prepped in his pocket for when he won. He had never doubted his abilities to win.. well, except when his Mankey was pinned down, getting hit multiple times.
The badge case was put back into the backpack, and Eric turned, heading for the door. Mistral and Edd had finished exchanging money, and were waiting for him with the door open.
"Hey, wait a minute," Whitney called after him, causing him to stop in his tracks. He glanced over his shoulder, half expecting to see the girl clad in a Team Magma uniform, but she was simply running after him. He turned to meet her as she stopped infront of him. "Hey. Sorry to hold you up, but, I was wondering if you had a little time?"
Mistral quirked an eyebrow, watching the two. "Well.. Yeah. I guess I do, there's no rush. Why?" Eric inquired, looking her over.
"Well, it's Friday night, and Goldenrod can be a lonely place.." Whitney began, looking down at her feet, blushing. "I was just wondering if you wanted to go out and have dinner, or something? You know, as friends?"
Eric rubbed his chin gently, glancing over at his shoulder back at Mistral. This would be an interesting opportunity.. and, besides, if Mistral wasn't lying about her boyfriend in Cianwood, he'd find out one way or another. Edd was using all his strength and will power to hold Mistral back, as she was dead-set on killing them both. He looked back over at Whitney, who was smiling at him. "Sure. Why not. I guess I could use with getting out more and socializing with people.."
"That's awesome! Lemme get ready, and i'll be back out here in a jiffy!" Whitney declared, rushing off for the back of the Gym. She disappeared into a door in the back. Eric turned back to Mistral, who had stopped struggling, growling low to herself. "Well, you heard what she said.. if you guys want to go get dinner or something, i'll meet you guys at the Pokemon Center around midnight," Eric shrugged, smiling a bit.
"Yeah. Midnight," Mistral muttered, shoving Edd out of the way, as she walked out the door. Edd gave a shrug, and followed her. "Good luck, ya? You're gonna need it."
Whitney had returned. She had changed out from her gym leader clothing, into something more casual. "Ready?"
"That was quick.. yeah, let's go."
------
"This is, like, the best place to eat," Whitney smiled, taking a seat at the table the waiter had escorted them to. "They have all sorts of highly trained Pokemon bring you your food. I love going here."
"Is that so?" Eric asked, looking around at the other tables. Sure enough, all sorts of Pokemon (they had pins to differentiate themselves with other Pokemon) were bringing food to the tables. They were able to do so as if they had practiced for many months, as they were graceful, and even the Pokemon that seemed the most clumsiest never spilt a drop.
Whitney gave a nod, and smiled, looking down at the menu.
"Can I get you anything to drink?" the waiter asked, looking down at them. "Ah.. Miss Whitney, I didn't know you were out wandering around with vagabonds tonight. Shall I get you the usual?"
Eric glanced up at the waiter, feeling offended by being called a vagabond by someone he'd never seen before. Of course, he was a thief, so, maybe the waiter was right. "Yeah. The usual.. What'll you have, Eric?"
"Oh.. hmm.. I dunno. The steak looks pretty good.." Eric nodded, looking over the menu once more incase he saw something else he wanted. "Yeah. The steak."
"How would you like it done?"
"Medium/Well," Eric shrugged. "Oh, and just plain water to go with that."
The waiter scribbled a few notes on a pad, took their menus, and shuffled off to deliver their order to the kitchen. "He was certainly rude," Eric muttered to Whitney, glancing over at the waiter as he moved to take another couples orders.
"I wouldn't worry too much about him. He just likes to look after me," Whitney giggled, causing Eric to quirk an eyebrow. "Actually, everybody here in Goldenrod looks after me."
"I can see why. You're tough for a Gym Leader," Eric commented, causing her to turn a few shades of red.
"Aha, don't embarass me," Whitney muttered, covering her face. Well, atleast she acted feminine. Mistral was about as tomboyish and unfeminine as they come, but he couldn't help but like that about her. "Eric?"
His thoughts had wandered, and he found himself staring straight at Whitney. He wondered to himself how long he had been staring at her. "Are you okay? You had this weird look in your eyes," Whitney commented, leaning back in her chair.
"Oh.. yeah. Sorry about that," Eric laughed a bit, trying to lighten the mood. "My mind wandered for a few seconds."
Whitney leaned forward, propping her elbows on the table, leaning across it. Eric leaned back in his chair, feeling uncomfortable with her getting so close so suddenly. "So, tell me, is it true you stole your Pokedex from Professor Elm?"
"Well.. yeah. Has the news travelled that far?" Eric asked, shrugging his shoulders, trying to shake his discomfort.
"Yup yup. Alot of people are interested in you, not for the reward, just to see how determined you really are. You've got, like, a cult following now," Whitney smiled, leaning back in her chair as the food arrived. A Heracross placed their plates infront of them, before moving away. Whitney took her fork, and dug into her roast beef and mashed potatos.. Eric hated roast beef, but he kept that fact to himself. "Cult following?"
Whitney gave a nod, and swallowed the food she had in her mouth. "Well, sort of. Alot of trainers are keeping track of where you're going, and how well you're doing in the Pokemon League Challenge. I'm sure word's gotten out that you've beaten me by now."
That was definetely unnerving. People had been keeping watch over him, keeping track of him. Why would they want to follow him, anyways? There were alot of questions he wanted to have answered, but he settled with the answers Whitney had given him. "I guess that's cool."
"Yeah. You're a pretty popular guy right now. I was anticipating your arrival.. and i'm sure the other Gym Leaders have heard about your triumphs by now," Whitney continued, shovelling another fork-full of mashed potatoes into her mouth. "And just between me and you, alot of people don't know that you caused the whole Violet City thing. If you ask me, I think Team Magma had it coming.. you haven't eaten any of your steak. Are you okay?"
Eric looked down at his steak. It had a generous helping of steak sauce on the top, and Eric lifted his knife to it, cutting into it. "Yeah. I'm fine. Just, all the things that have happened have left a large impact on me."
"I can understand that.. well, not by experience, but I can understand where you're coming from.. I think. If you ever need someone to talk to, you can use your Pokegear to give me a call. Or, you can fly over here on your Pidgeotto," Whitney suggested, smiling, taking another bite of her food. Eric finally managed to shove a piece of his steak into his mouth. "How'd you know I have a Pidgeotto?"
"Falkner told me. He said he had never been so impressed with a bird Pokemon since when he first started being a gym leader. Speaking of which," Whitney nodded, leaning forward again. Eric felt himself get uncomfortable again. "Just between me and you, the best chance you have against the Gym Leaders is capturing Pokemon just before you challenge a Gym Leader to a battle. Make sure it's one that has an advantage, though."
"How come?" Eric asked, managing to shovel another piece of steak into his mouth.
"Well, the Gym Leaders are all out to defeat you. Well, now they are. So they're keeping track of what Pokemon you have, so they can, like, use tactics to defeat you. If you use Pokemon they don't know you have, you have a good chance of catching them off guard."
"Like the Gastly I used against you?" Eric asked, feeling irritated. Whitney kept leaning closer and closer, so, he leaned towards her, so their faces were inches from each other. She realized she had gotten caught up in the conversation, and leaned back in her chair. Eric leaned back in his, and continued eating his steak.
Whitney blushed, and took another bite of her food. "Well, no. That was a type advantage."
"Then I don't have much to worry about," Eric shrugged.
"I was just giving you some advice.."
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Besides the dinner conversation, the rest of the night was uneventful. Eric had accompanied Whitney while she went shopping (which he didn't particularly enjoy), and walked around Goldenrod, while she showed him the sights. They had even went into the Radio Tower, though nothing interesting was going on, since it was late into the night. Their last stop was the Gym again.
"Aw, dang," Whitney muttered, picking off a couple of strips of paper off her door. "I thought you were the last of the day.."
Eric moved up next to her, pulling off one of the strips of paper. It read, 'Eugene, Trainer. Why were you closed? You weren't scheduled to close for another hour'. Well, it was good to know he was one step ahead of Eugene. "I see.. I could've waited an hour for you to fight these trainers."
"It takes longer than an hour to fight four trainers," Whitney commented, putting the papers into her pocket, opening the door to her Gym. She stepped inside, turning on the light. Eric stepped in behind her, and closed the door behind her. His Pokegear flashed the time, '11:23 PM'. "Because you have to go and get your Pokemon healed, and then come back, and then get them healed again.. It's a grueling process, and it goes on every day. I don't get much of a break."
"Yeah," Eric muttered. He knew what it was like to not get a break, though, like Whitney, he had accepted that life when he stole the Pokedex and went off on his own. Whitney was given that life, and didn't have much of a choice.
"You know, you could stop being so cold. You've been like that ever since I brought up the whole Violet City incident," Whitney yelled, turning. She wasn't expecting Eric to be right behind her, as the force of her turning sent them both falling over onto the soft grass that lined the gym. Eric caught her as she fell, and looked up at her.
"Sorry. It's just a hard subject to talk about," Eric muttered, watching her blush. "So I try to avoid the subject."
Whitney stared down at him, unable to stop her blushing, as she nodded. "I u-understand.."
They stared at each other for a few moments, before Whitney moved to a sitting position, allowing Eric to sit up as well. He closed his eyes, and heaved an inward sigh. Love was such a fickle thing.. and the last thing he needed was someone pining over him, distracting him from his Pokemon League aspirations.. but wasn't that what Mistral was doing?
Before Eric could think twice, Whitney wrapped her arms around him, pushing him back down to a sitting position, kissing him deeply. His mind was clouded with the storm of emotions that he just promised himself that he wouldn't allow himself to feel, and he felt confused, as he kissed her back. Her kisses seemed hollow, but held something he hadn't felt before. He just couldn't put his finger on it.
"Eric.." Whitney breathed, opening her eyes as she released him from her kiss. "Make love to me.."
That was a bit too much for him to handle. "I thought we were friends. You have more things to worry about, than making love to someone you only like because he's doing something you've never seen anyone else do." He made his way to a sit, trying to stand, but Whitney kept her arms around him. Her weight caused him to fall back onto his butt. "Let me go. I'm going to the Pokemon Center. I had a fun night, thanks for the dinner, but you're just going too far.."
Whitney's eyes began to fill with tears, but it was hard to tell if they were fake or real.. women had that weird ability. "What is it? Don't you like me?" She asked him, wrapping her arms around him tighter.
"I like you, sure, you're a great trainer and Gym Leader, but I have other things I need to take care of before I go out and make love to every woman that's attracted to me simply because I have a cult following, or because i'm 'fighting the machine' by illegally challenging the Pokemon League," Eric explained, putting a hand on her chest, pushing her away gently. "Now, i'd like to get some sleep.."
Whitney pressed herself against him tighter, and closed her eyes, whispering something Eric couldn't make out. Finally, she released him, slowly moving to a stand. Tears were falling from her face as if someone had broke the valve to the waterworks. "If you won't make love to me, atleast stay the night. Please."
That would certainly cause Mistral to go into a temper tantrum, but it was the least he could do. He had made himself clear that he wasn't looking for love, not until he had completed his goal, and she seemed to understand, as much as she didn't want to.
She left the lights out in the backroom, as she stripped down, pulling on only a pair of boxers, from what it looked like in the moonlight. Eric only took off his shoes, before climbing into the gym leader's bed. He laid on his back, staring up at the ceiling.. it felt like it was the same ceiling he had been staring at a few days ago in Bugsy's gym, only he was in a less awkward position. He heard the rustling of the blankets, as Whitney slid underneath them, wrapping her arms around him.
"Hold me tonight.. just tonight.." Whitney whispered into his ear. What could he do? He was beginning to feel bad about his decision, but there wasn't much he could do now. He wasn't going back on his word. His arms wrapped around her half-naked body, holding her close to him. It reminded him of a saying he had heard. If you love something, let it go. If it comes back, it'd be yours forever. That's what it seemed like Whitney was doing. He was beginning to feel tired, and he had to think of an excuse to give Mistral. Or would he just tell her the truth?
Whitney fell asleep, her chest pressing against his own chest. He wouldn't be getting much sleep tonight. And he wasn't looking forward to tommorow morning.
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End Chapter 11