Chapter 10: Three's A Very Tense, Dysfunctional Crowd
The police had arrived the moment the smoke from the smoke ball faded. Some local officers talked to the kids and Whitney, took their statements, and an ambulance escorted Whitney to the hospital, which was far away from the gym. The kids offered to go with them, feeling guilty about the whole fiasco. Julia, especially. She didn't say a word throughout the entire ambulance drive. She put Tsubasa and Tokiko in her pokeballs but left Hikaru out. Hikaru could see the sadness in her eyes and put a tiny paw on her hand.
"Pichuuu. Pichu pichu pi…" Julia knew exactly what the tiny mouse said. She gave a soft smile and stroke Hikaru's head gently.
"Thanks, Hikaru. You're sweet," She said. Caiseal glanced over to the two of them. For a moment, he assumed that he saw hearts fluttering between them. The love and affection that exuded from them was almost overwhelming. He looked down at his fists, which were clutching his pant legs.
Once they got to the hospital, doctors examined Whitney's injuries. There was a Nurse Joy there who took care of their pokemon. Sometimes hospitals kept Nurse Joys with them in case trainers who were hurt had pokemon with them who also needed immediate attention. Thankfully, Whitney's injuries weren't serious, and all she needed was some light stitching on her arm. The kids didn't have any injuries, but waited to see if they could visit Whitney. When they saw a doctor come by, the kids took the chance to ask her.
"Doctor? Is...is Miss Whitney going to be okay?" Julia asked.
"She's alright, dear. She's in the recovery room right now if you want to visit her," The handsome doctor told them with a kind smile. "It's just down the hall on your left," He pointed down the hall, and the kids walked down there without hesitation.
When they went inside, the first thing they saw was Whitney sitting on a bed with her arm wrapped in white gauze. She beamed upon seeing the kids. "Hey! You're the kids from before! Hi there!" She waved at them and smiled like she had gone out with friends. Like nothing happened. Julia couldn't help but find her cheerful demeanor rather unsettling. She was assaulted and bullied by a trainer yet wasn't angry?
"I-I-I-I'm sorry about what Amara did!" Julia apologized, bowing before the pink haired woman.
"Whoa whoa, back up. Amara? You know her?"
"Yes. She's my big sister," Julia confessed.
Caiseal's eyes grew wide with shock. "Your sister?!"
"She's on the National Blacklist, but she stole a totodile from Professor Elm's lab," Julia explained. She told Whitney everything while apologizing for her actions. Julia knew Amara should be the one apologizing, but she wasn't here. If she was, she was sure she wouldn't take responsibility for her actions. Julia felt it was only fair that Whitney deserved some form of an apology, even if she knew it wouldn't do much. "I don't blame you if you're angry or sad or upset."
Whitney crossed her arms. "The only thing I'm upset about is that she took the badge when she clearly doesn't deserve it," She exclaimed. "But it's okay! I'm not mad at you...uh…" She found herself lost. She had forgotten to ask for their names. "What's your name again?"
"Julia Parisa."
"I'm Perrine. Nice to meet you."
"Caiseal's the name."
"Well, I'm glad you're all okay," Whitney told them cheerfully. She held up her gauze wrapped arm like she was displaying muscular prowess. "I'm not gonna let this get me down!"
The kids all looked at each other dubiously. Whitney could tell they were conflicted over something. "If you kids want to battle me, it's okay! I'm not so hurt that I can't partake in gym battles!" She told them reassuringly, her cheerful voice unwavering. "But my pokemon are hurt, so it'll have to wait until tomorrow."
"Fine with me," Caiseal walked over to Whitney with his dark green eyes gleaming with determination. "Because I came to challenge you."
"Great!"
Since Whitney's injuries weren't too serious, she was discharged a few hours later. However, although she was given the okay to continue gym battles, she was advised not to let anything happen to her arm lest the stitching come undone. Afterward, the kids all went to a local cafe to eat. The sweet smell of delicious chocolate cake wafted in the air, and it made Julia's mouth water just from sucking it up with her nostrils. Soft, classical music played on the radio on the counter. Perrine, Julia, and Caiseal all sat by a window so as to watch the scenery.
"So...you're Julia right?" Caiseal asked.
"Huh? Uh...yeah," Julia stammered sheepishly.
"Is that Amara girl from earlier really your sister?"
Julia looked down at her chocolate cake. "Yes, she is," She took a big piece off with her fork and stuffed it in her mouth. The sight of that made Caiseal glare at her.
"Exactly how old is she?" Perrine asked.
"Thirteen."
The music from before changed into another symphony, something more somber, befitting Julia's irritated and guilt-ridden mood. She looked down at the rectangle-shaped table beneath her. Yellow prickly spots from where wood was scratched went across the top. They were small, but to the keen eye, they were very noticeable. Seeing them was just too unsettling, as everything else on the table was perfect, without any scratches or nicks in sight.
Perrine remembered something Julia told her back in Azalea Town. Perhaps this would be a good time to bring it up now. "She's the reason you're on your journey, right?" Her friend nodded as she took another bite of some chocolate cake. The silky, sticky chocolate danced around in her mouth, bathing itself in her saliva, dirtying her teeth. Julia didn't care. She loved chocolate, and she could always brush her teeth when they got to the Pokemon Center.
"Okay, seriously?!" Caiseal suddenly shouted out of nowhere, pulling both girls out of their reveries. Both of them turned to face him, their eyes wide with surprise. The blonde boy was suddenly staring at Julia with a severe look in her eyes. Julia looked away, not wanting to face him. Seeing him look at her like that...it reminded her too much of Amara when she would yell at Julia over stupid stuff. "You're only going on a journey just so you can teach her a lesson?!"
"I-I-I...yes...sorta...well..." Julia muttered, wanting to say more, but Caiseal cut her off.
"That's just pathetic!" He shouted, slamming his fist on the table. Some of the cups clattered upon being shook by the slamming fist. Julia managed to keep her plate from falling off the table. "My God, are you really this stupid?! You should only go on a journey for yourself, not for someone else! If you spend your whole life chasing someone, you'll only think you exist for other people! You're basically chasing her all over Johto! That doesn't make you a trainer. It makes you weak...and a joke."
"Caiseal!" Perrine scolded before slamming a foot on his sneaker. The blonde boy cringed as he clenched his teeth. Pain shot through his leg, and it was strong enough to silence him. "That's enough! She's been through enough already! She doesn't need you yelling at her like that, and who are you to act like you know what's best for her?"
"Come on! She's devoting her entire journey for a stupid reason! You saw how that girl treated her! She doesn't look to be one to listen to reason! I say forget her! It's not worth it!" Caiseal argued.
"Whatever happens between them is their business," Perrine snapped. "And that's for Julia to decide, not you."
It was here that Julia finished her cake and stormed out of the cafe, leaving Perrine and Caiseal all alone. "See what you did? You scared her!" Perrine scolded. "Everyone has their reasons for doing what they do. You and Julia are no different, but don't treat her reasons like they don't matter. You don't see me yelling at you for why you're going on your journey, now do I?"
This was what made Caiseal finally fall silent. Perrine left the cafe to go check on Julia. Caiseal stared down at his empty plate, a wave of guilt drowning him. He rummaged through his pocket and pulled out some money. He felt it was only right to pay for the food since he caused this mess. Raising his hand, he exclaimed, "Waiter! Can I get a check, please?"
Julia stood at the front of the cafe, sobbing softly. Warm tears slid down her face, and she made absolutely no attempt to wipe them away. People were running to and fro, taking no notice of the crying girl. Car horns, pidgey calls, people talking amongst themselves, tires screeching against the concrete...the noises all seemed to melt into each other. She could tell them apart just fine, but she wished they would just be quiet. Already, she yearned to return to her warm, comfy bedroom. Her mother's comforting arms. Her father's bad, goofy jokes. The warm, grassy meadow where the pokemon frolicked.
Two of her pokeballs opened on their own, and out came Hikaru and Tokiko, looking up at her with concern in their eyes. "Pichu?" "Choki?" Julia kneeled down to pick them up, scooping them in her arms. "Hey, girls. Sorry. I'm...not a very good trainer, am I?"
"Pichu pi chupi!" ("That's not true! You're a great trainer!")
"Choki choki!" ("Don't be sad! Tears don't suit you!")
Her frown morphed into a sad smile as she buried her face in their fur. "Thanks. You're both so sweet. I don't know where I'd be without you," The tears finally stopped. "Hey. You know what? I hear there's a pokemon hair salon around here. They cut your hair and make you look and feel nice, and they wash your hair with shampoo that makes you smell nice. Would you like to try that some time?"
Hikaru smiled and stretched her arms out. "Pichu!" ("That sounds great!")
"Choki kriii!" ("I wanna smell nice!")
"Jule!" Perrine came out of the cafe, noticing Julia with Hikaru and Tokiko on her left. "Hey there. You okay?" Julia nodded, hugging Hikaru and Tokiko gently. "Sorry about that. I don't know what his deal is."
"It's okay. We did just meet him, after all…" She let that sentence drift away before starting a new one. "...Is it bad to go on a journey for someone else?"
"Hmmm…" Perrine crossed her arms and ruminated. "I don't know. He does have a point about doing stuff for your own benefit, but insulting you about it was uncalled for."
Julia looked down at Hikaru and Tokiko. Their happy, innocent smiles made the hurt from before instantly fade away. "I...I just want Amara back...I want to be a good sister and help her…" She mused loud enough for Perrine to hear. "I don't want to sit around and do nothing...is that so bad?"
"I don't think it's bad at all. You love her, right?" Perrine replied gently. "I don't like the way she treats you, and I think she should go to jail, but she's your sister, so saying that stuff isn't really my place," She wasn't sure how Julia could continue loving her sister, even after seeing everything she did. Julia did tell her that Amara was mean, but for a moment, she thought she was exaggerating. Seeing Amara pummel her earlier made Perrine completely regret ever doubting Julia.
"I do love her…" Julia mused. "But...at the same time, I hate her. I hate that she treats my Mom and Dad like garbage. I hate that she yells a lot, beats her pokemon, treats me like I'm everything wrong with her life, the way she treats other people...I can't stand it!" She stamped her foot once. "I know! That sounds terrible! I get it! But…"
Julia knew what she wanted. She wanted the old Amara back. The nice, friendly, kind, outgoing, and cheerful Amara. The Amara who would help her with her homework, show her how to be nice to pokemon, introduce her to her friends and let her hang out with them whenever they would come over, stand up to bullies who picked on her. The Amara who was nice to her, treated her like she mattered, and never picked on her for stupid stuff, even if they did squabble sometimes, like over the computer, or who would get the last piece of cake in the refrigerator, all those things. The Amara who loved her family, friends, and pokemon.
"It's okay," Perrine told her gently. Her friend didn't need to deal with more yelling.
"She's not the only reason I'm here…"
"Hm?"
"There's a lot more I want to do when I grow up…" Julia began. "I...I want to do lots of things. I want to make lots of friends, write books, make TV shows, draw pictures, take care of lots of pokemon, go to unseen places, and...lots of stuff!" She sputtered. "I guess...Amara was the thing that helped me leave the house."
"She motivated you to pursue your dreams," Perrine clarified. "That's wonderful. I know she's your sister, and whatever happens between you two is your business, but...I still want to hang out with you. Is that okay?"
Julia smiled. "That'd be great. You're...the first friend I ever really made."
"Am I really?"
"Yep. I did know some kids in my neighborhood, but we were just too different. Everyone else just made fun of me."
"They're stupid. They just never saw how wonderful you are."
It was here that Caiseal came out and joined them. "Hey there. I paid for everything, so we're good," He told them. Perrine could see some guilt in his eyes, but she kept a stern expression. "Look, I…" He rubbed his hair with one hand. "I'm sorry for going off on you like that. That was stupid, I know."
Julia looked away. She wasn't sure if she could forgive him or not. This was the second time he yelled at her, the first being accusing her of stealing Apollo. Perrine felt the same way. "So why are you on your journey?" Perrine asked.
Caiseal looked down at his shoes. "I...I don't really...want to talk about it."
"That's fine," Perrine crossed her arms. "I don't insult people's reasons for going on a journey," With that, everyone left.
The next day, Caiseal was at the Goldenrod City gym, standing at the left part of the battlefield, with Whitney right on the other side. Both of them stood firmly with their arms crossed. Julia and Perrine sat on some bleachers, with all of their pokemon joining them. Yes, ALL of their pokemon, both Julia's and Perrine's pokemon, out of their pokeballs. The referee stood at the side of the field.
"The challenge between Whitney Blanche, the Goldenrod City gym leader, and the challenger, Caiseal Brownstone, will begin in a moment!" The male referee exclaimed. "The challenger can use six pokemon, and is allowed substitutions! The gym leader is only allowed to use three pokemon!"
"Come on out, Mallow!" Caiseal threw a pokeball. "Show her what you're made of!" The white light morphed into a small, bipedal pokemon with a golden brown hide covering most of its body, including the dorsal horns on its back. It had a light brown, egg shaped belly, one claw on each hand, and two long nails on its toes. Covering its head is a large skull with two rounded horns on the top, with hollow cavities revealing its triangular black eyes. Resting on one of its hands was a bone.
"Cubone!"
Julia pulled out her PokeDex. "Cubone, the lonely pokemon. It wears its mother's skull as a helmet-for this reason, no one has ever seen its face. It sometimes sees its departed mother's face in the full moon, which causes it to grow sad and cry. The stains on the skull are tracks of its tears. When it cries, the skull shakes and emits a mournful sound."
Mallow simply spun the bone around like a baton before positioning himself in a battle stance. Whitney smirked before pulling out a pokeball. "He's cute. But my pokemon's just as cute! Hey, Fur-Fur! You're up!"
A furret appeared on the field. "Fuuurret!"
The referee raised both flags. "Battle...begin!"
"I'm making the first move!" Caiseal boasted. "Mallow! Use Bonemerang!"
"Cubone!" Mallow threw the bone across the battlefield like a boomerang. It spun around faster than a spinning top. But Whitney's furret dodged the attack simply by hopping to another side of the battlefield. The bonemerang returned to Mallow's hand.
"Fur-Furt! Use Agility!" Whitney cried. With a cry, furret ran all around the battlefield, glowing in a harsh white light. Furret didn't come anywhere near Mallow.
"Use Headbutt!" Mallow threw himself at the furret, charging at it with its skull ready for bashing. But no matter what he did, furret kept evading the attack. It was understandable, as furret's speed had increased considerably upon using agility.
"Quick Attack!" Furret charged right at Mallow, ramming his head right in his belly. The force was so strong, it sent Mallow flying in a perfect arch before he rolled on the battlefield.
But Mallow didn't give up. He stood back on his feet and rolled away in order to dodge yet another Quick Attack from furret. Once furret got close enough, Mallow rammed into furret with a Headbutt attack, sending furret rolling on the battlefield. With a grunt, furret got back on its feet and opened its mouth wide. A dark purple and black blob of energy materialized into a sphere, and once it was fully formed, furret spat it right out.
"Block it, Mallow!" Mallow nodded and held its bone up like it was a baseball bat. When the Shadow Ball attack got close, Mallow smacked the ball with its bone, sending it flying across the battlefield. A cloud of sand exploded, consuming the field. Furret coughed and covered its mouth with its paws. Even Whitney had to take cover.
"Fur-Fur! Hang on!" Whitney cried out.
"Alrighty! Use Headbutt!" Mallow raced through the sand cloud, charging right at furret. Despite being agile, some sand got into furret's eyes, and it was unable to see right, leaving it wide open. Mallow bashed his head against furret's body. The force was strong enough to make furret fly across the battlefield. When the dust cloud finally faded, furret was lying in front of Whitney, unconscious.
That told the referee all he needed to know. "Furret is unable to battle! The winner is Mallow the cubone!"
"Alright!" Caiseal pumped his fist in the air, jumping up once with a cheer. Mallow raced toward Caiseal and leaped into his arms.
"Awwww! My cute little furret lost!" Whitney whined before putting furret back in its pokeball. "It's okay, Fur-Fur. You battled great," She put Fur-Fur's pokeball back and took out another one. "You're strong, Caiseal."
"I have to be," Caiseal said.
"Cubone!" Mallow held up the bone in its hand in agreement.
"Wow…" Julia mused, holding Tokiko in her arms. "Mallow knocked that Shadow Ball back like a baseball. Maybe he should get a career in baseball."
"Choki!"
"Not only that, using it on the battlefield knowing that furret isn't affected by ghost type moves. That was a sneaky trick, but a clever one, too," Perrine agreed, holding Fuwari in her arms.
"Hoppip!" Fuwari chirped.
"Don't think you've won yet, Caiseal! Meow-Meow, time to batter up!" Whitney threw a pokeball on the field, and out came a cream colored cat pokemon. The tips of its hindpaws and curly tail were a light chocolate brown color, and it had two whiskers on each cheek, with two more popping up from its head, holding an ovular, golden charm on its head. The cat's large eyes gleamed with intent to battle.
"Meoooow!" The beige cat pokemon meowed in a scratchy voice, like a cat nearing the end of its days.
Perrine pulled out her PokeDex. "Meowth, the scratch cat pokemon. Meowth loves to roam at night to gather coins and other objects that sparkle, but it spends most of the daylight hours sleeping. When it sees round objects, it plays and loses track of time. Meowth withdraws its sharp claws into its paws to sneak about without making any incriminating footsteps. For some reason, this Pokémon loves shiny coins that glitter with light."
Caiseal looked down at Mallow. "You want to go at it again?"
The skulled pokemon nodded, his grip on his bone tightening. "Cubone!" Mallow hopped out of Caiseal's arms, back on the battlefield.
"Battle begin!"
"Hey, Meow-Meow!" Whitney mused with a cute wink. "Be a good little girl and use Sand Attack on that little cubone, will you?" She donned a puppy eyes look. "Pleeeease?"
"Meow!" Meow-Meow dug his feet into the battlefield and began kicking up streams of sand.
"Evade it!" Caiseal yelled. Mallow ran around Meow-Meow, managing to avoid the sand. "Now use Leer!" Mallow gave the beige colored cat a stern, almost chilling glare, making him resemble a monster that loved to eat meowth for breakfast. The meowth flinched at the glare, losing all motivation to use Sand Attack.
"Meow-Meow! You can do it! Use Fury Swipes!"
"Block it with Bone Club!"
The meowth's claws grew long before glowing in a white light. With a hiss, meowth jumped in the air, ready to slice and dice Mallow like he was noodles. Mallow saw the attack coming and blocked every scratch and slash with the bone. Meow-Meow's claws collided with the bone every time, never leaving so much as a dent. Mallow blocked every scratch, predicting the cat's movements like he was a professional swordfighter.
"That's the ticket, Mallow! Now use Headbutt!"
Mallow held his head back, ready to bash it right into the cat…
"Screech!"
"MEOOOOOOOW!" All of a sudden, Meow-Meow let out a loud, piercing scream. White vibrating rings shot out of his mouth, sending Mallow rolling on the battlefield. Everyone, including Whitney, had their hands covering their ears. Julia let out a pained cry as she squeezed her ears with her hands in a futile attempt to block out the sound. It didn't work. Meowth's screech made her ears ring, and the very sound of it felt as though her ear drums were being slashed to shreds with no mercy. All she could do was hide under the bleachers and curl into a ball.
"Mallow! You can do this! Headbutt again!"
With heavy grunts, Mallow dug his bone into the ground, keeping himself from being blown away by Meow-Meow's screech attack. Finally, the piercing noise stopped, and Meow-Meow was unarmed and defenseless. Oddly enough, Whitney was smiling and had a hand on her hip. Caiseal was sure he and Mallow could beat Meow-Meow easily. It was a normal type, and Mallow, being a cubone, was a ground type. Surely Mallow could-
"Tsk tsk tsk! Don't ever underestimate a gym leader!" Whitney waved her index finger three times before shouting, "Water Pulse!"
'Wa-Wa-Wa-Wa-Wa-WATER PULSE?!' Caiseal was speechless. Even Mallow was unable to move. Unfortunately for them, that gave Meow-Meow the perfect chance to attack them. A sphere of water materialized in Meow-Meow's arms. He jumped high in the air, at least eight feet, before shooting the watery sphere right at Mallow. It came so fast, Mallow wasn't able to dodge it. As soon as the water ball made contact with Mallow, waves consumed the battlefield. Meow-Meow hopped back onto the sand gracefully.
Mallow had collapsed, its body wet and battered. The referee held up a red flag in Whitney's direction. "Mallow the cubone is unable to battle! The winner is Meow-Meow the meowth!"
"Alright!" Whitney jumped into the air once with a cheer, holding her hands in the air. Meow-Meow just sat there licking his paw.
Having recovered, Julia sat back on her spot on the bleachers. "No way! Meowth shouldn't be able to know Water Pulse! It's impossible! It's not even a water type!"
"Actually, it is possible," Perrine piped in.
"Hoothoot!"
"Jiggly!"
"How so?" Julia gave Perrine a quizzical look.
"There are special tutors that help pokemon learn certain moves that normally they can't learn from normal battling," Perrine explained.
Caiseal heard everything, already having pulled out another pokeball. "Viole! You're up!" Out came an oddish, very much like Blossom.
With this, the battle resumed. Whitney commanded that Meow-Meow use Scratch attack. The furry meowth charged at Viole with his claws ready for scratching, but as soon as he got close, Caiseal commanded that Viole use Stun Spore. A sparkling, golden cloud billowed over the entire battlefield. Everyone covered their mouths except for Meow-Meow, who had unknowingly inhaled the dust. Before long, his limbs became numb and tense. Anytime he tried to move, his muscles would ache, refusing to respond.
"Noooo! My sweet little Meow-Meow!" Whitney exclaimed.
"Use Acid!" On command, Viole shot out a stream of puke colored acid. It spilled all over the place, bubbling like boiling lava. Some of it got on Meow-Meow's face, and upon making contact, it burned the poor meowth's skin. Unable to battle anymore, Meow-Meow collapsed on the ground.
"Meowth is unable to battle! The winner is Viole the oddish!"
Without a word, Whitney put Meow-Meow back in his pokeball as Caiseal and Viole cheered happily, rejoicing in their victory. "You're good, Caiseal."
"I'm gonna beat you for sure!" Caiseal boasted.
"Oddish!" Viole echoed his statement by jumping up once.
Whitney pulled out another pokeball. "Think again! You're up, Mil-Mil!" This time, the miltank from before appeared from her pokeball. The referee commanded that the battle begin like usual. "Use Rollout!"
"Miiiil!" Miltank curled itself into a ball and rolled right toward Viole, knocking him right out.
Caiseal recalled Viole. "Go, Apollo! Use Smokescreen!" Apollo spat out a billowing cloud of black smoke that covered the entire battlefield. However, before the fire mouse could land an attack, Mil-Mil suddenly rolled out from the cloud and sent Apollo flying, knocking him out as well.
"Aaaaargh!" Caiseal rubbed his hair with his hands. Whitney simply smiled and crossed her arms, watching as Mil-Mil didn't stop to even so much as give her opponents time to even attack. Caiseal sent out three more pokemon, Geo being one of them. As usual, Mil-Mil knocked every single one out, without stopping. It was clear who won this battle.
"The winner is Whitney Blanche, the Goldenrod gym leader!"
"Hooray!" Whitney jumped up and down like a little kid who received desert. Her miltank ran up to her, trapping her in a warm hug. Whitney wrapped her arms around Mil-Mil and nuzzled her with affection. "You were awesome back there, Mil-Mil!"
Julia, Perrine, and their pokemon were all speechless. That miltank basically knocked every single one of Caiseal's pokemon out like they were bowling pins. It never even gave them time to attack. "Whoa. She's...really good," Julia said, holding onto Tokiko tightly.
"Choki…" Tokiko agreed.
"We're really gonna have to plan this out if we're gonna win against her," Perrine said.
Caiseal recalled his last pokemon before letting out a howl, stomping his foot on the ground. "I can't believe I lost!" He shouted loud enough for all to hear. Julia's hands flew to her ears. With a grunt, he stomped right out of the gym.
"Awww," Whitney mused out loud. "I wanted to encourage him to battle me again next time…"
The blonde haired boy sat in the lounge of the Pokemon Center, waiting for his pokemon to be healed. Lost in his misery, he kept asking himself why. Why did he lose? Her miltank was definitely one factor: it managed to wipe out every single one of his pokemon without even trying, and with just one attack, no less. Perhaps knocking it out of its Rollout attack would be a good strategy. But how would he be able to go about it? That was the question. Looks like he was going to have to stick around and do some training.
"Ummm...Caiseal?" He looked up to find Julia and Perrine looking down at him. "Are you...okay?" Julia asked shyly.
"I guess," He looked over to Nurse Joy's counter. "My pokemon are being healed at the moment," He said tersely.
"Umm...it's okay if you don't win the first time!" Julia stammered. "Everyone loses sometimes! Even I do! If you work hard and try to study your opponent, you'll be able to win next time!"
Caiseal flashed a smile. "Thanks for the encouragement. I'm gonna train after this. You girls are battling her later, right?" He said.
"We plan to have a double battle with her," Perrine said, wrapping her hand right around Julia's. It must be confessed that her brown haired friend was surprised at the sudden gesture, but not in a frightened way. Perrine's hands were warm and soft, like Hikaru's fur. "Watching you battle with her really gave us an idea of what her battling style is."
"You be careful."
"Caiseal Brownstone!" A Nurse Joy called out from behind the counter. Caiseal ran over to see what was up. "Your pokemon are fully healed!" He took his pokeballs back without complaint.
"Come on out, everyone!" He let all of his pokemon out of his pokeballs. Four of them were Mallow, Apollo, Geo, and Viole. Two others were a light blue creature with a tail, no arms, purple spikes on both sides of its large head, small black eyes, a big smile, and a round tail, while the other one was a black crow with red eyes and a yellow beak. Julia pulled out her PokeDex to examine them.
"Wooper, the mud fish pokemon. Wooper usually live in cold water. However, it occasionally comes out onto land in search of food. On land, it coats its body with a gooey, toxic film."
"Murkrow, the darkness pokemon. Feared and loathed by many, it is believed to bring misfortune to all those who see it at night. It is said that when chased, it lures its attacker onto dark mountain trails where the foe will get lost. This Pokémon shows strong interest in anything that sparkles or glitters. It will even try to steal rings from women."
"Wooo-pah!"
"Murkrow!"
"These are my pokemon. You've already met Mallow, Apollo, and Geo. The oddish is Viole, this wooper here is Flippy, and this sassy little murkrow here is Ravenclaw," Caiseal explained, introducing his pokemon one by one.
"They're so cute!" Julia crooned.
That was when Perrine had an idea. "Hey! If you want, you can train with us! Is that okay?" She exclaimed.
Caiseal beamed. "That'd be awesome! Thanks!"
Sorry, guys. Ran out of inspiration, so next one's gonna be chapter 10.5 so as to not drag this out. I really need to get better at planning these.
Julia: Pichu (Female, Jolly Nature, Thundershock, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss, Thunder Wave), Marill (Female, Mild Nature, Bubble, Tail Whip, Water Gun), Pidgey (Female, Naughty Nature, Gust, Sand Attack, Tackle, Wing Attack), Ledyba (Female, Timid Nature, Comet Punch, Tackle, Flash, Safeguard), Oddish (Female, Docile Nature, Acid, Poison Powder, Stun Spore, and Mega Drain), and Togepi (Female, Hardy Nature, Extrasensory, Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam, and Sweet Kiss)
Pokemon At The Ranch: Butterfree (Female, Calm Nature, Confusion, Sleep Powder, Tackle, Stun Spore), and Furret (Male, Bashful Nature, Scratch, Defense Curl, Quick Attack, Fury Swipes).
Perrine: Vulpix (Female, Quiet Nature, Flamethrower, Confuse Ray, Faint Attack, and Extrasensory), Chikorita (Male, Gentle Nature, Razor Leaf, Tackle, Growl, Poison Powder), Jigglypuff (Female, Docile Nature, Sing, Doubleslap, Disarming Voice, Wake Up Slap), Hoothoot (Male, Sassy Nature, Confusion, Peck, Hypnosis, and Echoed Voice), Chirin (Male, Adamant Nature, Thundershock, Tackle, Cotton Spore, Charge), and Hoppip (Female, Relaxed Nature, Tackle, Fairy Wind, Bullet Seed, and Sleep Powder)
Pokemon At Professor Elm's Lab: Paras (Male, Quirky Nature, Scratch, Stun Spore, Leech Life, and Growth)
Caiseal: Cyndaquil (Male, Bold Nature, Ember, Quick Attack, Smokescreen, and Tackle), Geodude (Male, Brave Nature, Rock Throw, Tackle, Rock Polish, and Defense Curl), Oddish (Male, Quirky Nature, Acid, Stun Spore, Sleep Powder, Sweet Scent), Wooper (Female, Jolly Nature, Mud Slap, Water Gun, Tail Whip, Mud Bomb), and Murkrow (Female, Hardy Nature, Wing Attack, Night Shade, Haze, and Dark Pulse).