Around the table at breakfast, my mom got a call from the school. The message was an automated machine stating that the school would stay closed today due to the unfixed power outage. Both Riolu and I rejoiced when we heard the news; we now actually had the time to go on another adventure! We then proceeded to wolf down the rest of our breakfast and get ready as quickly as possible.
"Slow down…" my mom constantly told us as we rushed throughout the house, but neither Riolu nor I listened. The faster we got ready, the more time we had to enjoy.
When I was finally all set, I made sure that I had everything from my room in my shorts pockets: my fully charged PokéNav, Riolu's Poké Ball, my wallet, and even the house keys this time around. Once I was done checking, I headed to the front door where Riolu was stretching his legs.
"Ready to head out, Riolu?"
"Rio!" he replied happily, looking up at me and placing his right paw over his chest.
"All right, let's do it!" I said with a smile. Opening up the door to the hallway, mom and Blastoise gave their goodbyes from across the house. I waved back before stepping out into the hallway, shutting the door behind me, and running down the stairs with Riolu trailing just behind.
After our encounter with the Garbodor crew, I wasn't exactly sure where to go with Riolu. My hometown of Fairport wasn't exactly small, but I felt like there was hardly anywhere interesting to visit and explore. The best place I could think of was, unfortunately, Hart's Woods.
Walking on the sidewalk next to the condominium complex with Riolu by my side, I searched for an idea of what to do. The weather was basically the same as the day before; it was surprisingly hot, especially for how early it was in the morning. The wind had picked up a tad though, and it was a lot more cloudy because of it.
Just then, I remembered there was one place I'd forgotten about. Near Hart's Woods was an old, mysterious trail that backed up to the middle school's sports fields. The path there was very secluded and unkempt, so tall grass surrounded most of it. In between the two paths was a small clearing under the cover of large transmission towers. I figured that Riolu and I could train there, explore the paths, and maybe go into town for a bite to eat afterwards. We'd have to be careful though, as the clearing ran right by the woods, and I definitely didn't want to pick another fight with the Garbodor crew. Riolu seemed concerned about being so close to the forest too.
"Don't worry, Riolu. I know a way around Hart's Woods that will take us right to the clearing without any trouble from Garbodor or the Trubbish. Cool?" Riolu paused for a moment to think it over, but eventually and apprehensively nodded his head yes. "Hey, no need to worry, I'm sure we'll be fine. Come on, this way." We made a 180 and headed the opposite direction down the sidewalk.
Following the main road into the adjacent neighborhood that backed up to the large pathway of transmission towers, we quickly made it to the side street that connected to the trail. We first had to go down a little ways on the small, paved path which led past Hart's Woods and eventually to the middle school, so I made sure to keep my eyes peeled (and my nose open) for any sign of our trashy acquaintances. Nonetheless, as soon as the connection to the grassy trail came into view, Riolu and I immediately sped up and turned left, cutting through the weeds and underbrush before dashing down towards the clearing, hoping we'd made it away without a trace.
Once the tall grass shortened and the hill gradually sloped out, the clearing came into sight. It was always mowed here for some reason, and a lonely stump stood right in the middle of the field; behind it was a quick drop down to the Erie Canal. The large metal transmission towers stretching many miles through the suburban landscape behind us ran over the canal and beyond the small foothills across the way, with extensive wires dangling high above. To the left of the clearing was a steep, rocky hill that led up to some homes, and to the right was the other secluded trail I wanted to explore later on. There was still dew on the grass, which caught the light as it shook around slightly in the gentle morning breeze.
"Alright, Riolu," I said, turning to him. He looked like he was ready to go. "Let's train a little! Why don't you stand out in front of me and practice some moves on that tree stump there?" I pointed to the middle of the clearing.
"Ri!" he joyfully replied before heading out to the stump; I followed close behind. Once he was in position, he faced me with an eager look on his face.
"Okay, hold on a sec..." I told him before pulling out my PokéNav. It was finally time to put the gadget to the test. Opening the "Camera Scanner" application, I mumbled, "If I use this correctly…" while toying with the app. Holding up the PokéNav to get Riolu in frame, I added, "Stay still, Riolu." Then, pressing the middle blue button on the PokéNav caused the screen to turn black for a second before it released a camera shutter sound effect. A white Poké Ball decal spun in the bottom right corner of the screen, signifying the app was loading. Then, a generic image of a Riolu appeared on the screen, along with his moves and Pokédex entry. "Looks like you know… Force Palm, Feint, Counter, and Quick Attack... Why don't we try Quick Attack first?"
"Ri Ri!" he yelped back, backing up to try the attack.
"Ready?" I called, taking a few steps back myself just in case. Riolu nodded, putting his dominant foot in front and getting ready to spring off. "On your mark... Get set... Go!" Riolu jumped to a start and dashed forward, almost disappearing out of my view. Whipping my head to the right, I caught Riolu striking the stump with a hefty thumping noise. He then shot backwards through the air and landed on his feet, kicking up a bit of dew as he touched down. Once he came to a complete stop, Riolu turned and looked at me with proud eyes and a smile, clearly doing his best.
"Wow, Riolu; that was really quick! And the way you bounced back after your attack... I bet we can create some crazy tactics with that in battle." Riolu loosened his stance and let out a large grin, obviously happy to know he was being appreciated. "Why don't you try Force Palm next?" He nodded yes and approached the stump again.
"Alright, go when you're ready!" I cried once he seemed to be prepared. Riolu then held both of his arms out in front of him as a teal aura began to form across his paws with a dim light. I watched as the aura brightened and formed into a ball, before growing larger... And larger.
"Uh... Riolu? Are you...?" I saw the worry spread across his face as the orb continued to grow in size, until it was about half his height. Then, without hesitation, it began to pulse and almost immediately afterwards exploded, sending him backwards off his feet. He flew through the air back towards the hill, tumbling across the ground, friction from the grass eventually stopping him. "Riolu!" I yelped, dashing over.
"Are you alright?" I asked, nervous he was hurt from the skidding.
"Rio... Ri," Riolu said quietly, rubbing its paw against its head. He then stood up without a problem and shook off the grass clippings and dew he'd picked up. Finally, he nodded yes to my question.
"Whew, thank goodness," I added with a relieved sigh. There was then a pause as I realized he was waiting for my critique. "Well… It was a good start. I think that for the future of Force Palm, we should work on getting it out sooner and charging it less. Oh, and it might help if you can have your paws on something first; that would probably control the recoil a little better." Riolu shook his head yes again, slightly blushing after embarrassing himself. "Let's try it some more right now, with less power. Then we can go back and work on Quick Attack, Counter, and Feint some more, okay?"
After another thirty minutes or so of training, I could tell Riolu finally had enough. He was drenched in sweat and breathing heavily.
"Alright, take a break, Riolu! You deserve it," I declared, beckoning for him to sit down with me on the stump, or what was left of it. He slowly walked over and sat down next to me, continuing to pant. I patted him on the head once he was settled in.
"That was amazing, Riolu! Your Quick Attack got better every time we practiced, and I'm already seeing an improvement in your Force Palm. Really, I'm impressed! Next time though, we should work on Counter or Feint too, especially if we want to start actually battling." Riolu smiled through his stagnated breaths, obviously proud that he was improving.
After a couple minutes of resting, he was raring to go again.
"Rio Ri!" he called as he suddenly hopped up from the stump and held his paw over his chest. I chuckled, pleased that he wanted to train more. "Why don't we train more later, Riolu? I don't want you to overwork yourself." He looked a bit disappointed but nodded nonetheless.
"Come on," I said, standing up. "Let's go explore that path I was talking about earlier." I then headed off, Riolu following behind me.
As soon as we came around the first tree on the trail, I could tell that Riolu realized why I'd brought him here. All kinds of old pieces of furniture, rusty car parts, weird metal mesh structures, and some general trash immediately came into view around us. It was like a small junkyard right in the middle of an abandoned walking trail. Riolu looked confused while we hiked in silence, but I could tell he was also intrigued.
"I've always wondered why all this stuff is back here," I told Riolu, turning around to see his reaction. He looked up at me curiously before redirecting his gaze back to the structures around him. "I've been trying to figure that out since I discovered this place after school one day," I added before turning back around and admiring it all. "All I know is that it probably has something to do with that island over there." I pointed across an inlet of the canal to our left that led to the small piece of land; a rusty car frame and a mangled shopping cart were barely visible in the murky water between the path and the island.
"Every time I come back here, I feel like I see different trash structures leading up there. I've always wanted to go over there, but I don't want to wade through the canal… Maybe we'll have to figure out a way to go over there sometime."
After finishing my sentence, I thought about the Garbodor crew, wondering if they had any involvement in this. It would make sense now, but not before Pokémon appeared. Nonetheless, I hoped they didn't because that probably meant I'd never be able to see what was there. As it dawned on me that I probably couldn't ever walk through Hart's Woods again, I decided to keep our walk moving forwards with our walk by saying,
"Hey, there's a fresh creek right up here away from all the garbage. I'm sure you're thirsty." Riolu didn't hesitate to nod yes. As we approached the stream, Riolu bounded in front of me to get his drink. Using his paws to first splash some water on his face, he then happily sipped up his share of water, which came from a little creek inlet etched into the side of the gradual hill.
While he quenched his thirst, I stood idle, gazing around the path. Wet leaves were matted down on the dirt, hiding most of the path. Years of unkempt grass surrounded the sides and rust coated all the garbage in sight. Just in front of us was a small yellow gate with chipping paint that was padlocked shut. Its purpose was unknown to me, as there was supple space for a person to get around either side. Just past Riolu was the hill to the middle school's sports fields.
Briefly, I got a strange feeling, like someone or something was watching us, but I figured it was just my imagination or a wild Pokémon looking on. As I glanced up there behind the trees at the top, I thought I saw something blue fly by out of the corner of my eye. I instantly looked back to the opening to see nothing; then, there was a small thud. Riolu's ears perked up and he gazed up from drinking his water to search for the source of the sound.
"Ri?" it asked, looking up to me.
"I think it came from up there," I added, pointing towards the hill. "Come on." I beckoned, hopping over the creek.
There was a large rock at the top of the incline, so Riolu and I crouched behind it to get a better view of the surroundings without being seen. On the other side a couple yards away, a battle was raging on the dirt running track surrounding the football field. To my surprise, Cian stood on the right side in his usual outfit, with his Totodile in front of him. Totodile had plenty of bruises and marks across its body, so I figured it was losing the battle.
To the left, stood a girl a little older than me. I could tell she was from our school because she looked familiar, but her name was still on the tip of my tongue. She was wearing a red and black flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Her red hair was tied back into a ponytail, and she had freckles all over her face. As she moved, her bangs bobbed back and forth from the momentum. Once I noticed the scar on her cheek, I finally recognized who it was.
"T-that's Eliza…!" I said quietly to myself. Her Froakie stood in front of her with the same smug stance from the library. Just then, a stream of bubbles burst from its mouth, floating right toward Cian's injured Totodile.
"Totodile, dodge it!" Cian called out to his Pokémon. Totodile obeyed him but stumbled and fell due to its injuries. The bubbles directly hit Totodile, knocking it back off its feet and onto its back. Totodile fainted as soon as the attack hit, so it fell limp to the ground. "Totodile!" Cian cried, running out to his Pokémon.
"Pffft, amateur," Eliza replied with a scoff, crossing her arms and turning away from him towards the bushes. I ducked down when this happened just in case she saw me. Once her Froakie realized that it won, it jumped up into the air, dropping the tough-guy stance and began celebrating. It then scrambled back to its trainer, hoping for some kind of praise. "That was pathetic, Froakie," Eliza said aloud, causing it to back away suddenly. "If you thought you did good, think again. That Totodile wasn't trained properly and you only won because you had more experience. Try a little harder next time if you want to impress me."
Froakie took another step backwards, visually confused as to why its trainer was so mean-spirited. Cian was also quite upset by the statement. He replied back,
"That's no way to treat your Froakie, Eliza... We've all had Pokémon for the same amount of time, y'know."
"Well, obviously, I've trained harder than you. Suck it up kid, because practice is the only way to get better. And frankly, you're gonna need a lot of it to get as good as me," she added with a brazen tone, turning back to face him. For some reason, she was really starting to get under my skin, even though she wasn't talking to me. Usually I would just ignore her bullying, but I guess seeing her up close and tormenting my best friend really got to me. I couldn't imagine anyone being so narcissistic and rude. Riolu seemed bothered too; I could see him baring his teeth from the corner of my eye.
Cian clenched his fist at her response and turned around to hide his emotions.
"Next time we meet, it's going to be different, Eliza. I'll win for sure!" She snorted loudly.
"Yeah, right. I will always be better than you. But if you want to tell yourself that to sleep better at night, knock yourself out." At that moment, Riolu finally had enough of her snarky attitude. He bounded over the rock and made a beeline towards her.
"Riolu, wait!" I worriedly called out, vaulting over the rock to follow. I was relieved momentarily when Riolu stopped in front of Eliza instead of pounding her into the ground, but that of course meant that I still had to defuse the problem.
"Rio! Rio-lu! Riolu!" he yelled angrily. She had a displeased look on her face as she glanced down at him, like she had somewhere more important to be. I dashed over to Riolu as fast as I could.
"I-I'm so sorry to bother you… C-come on Riolu," I replied loudly so she could hear me over Riolu's continued shouting. Once I was up close, I grabbed for Riolu's paw, getting ready to bolt back to the woods. Although I was mad too, I really didn't want to make an appearance in front of Eliza. But as soon as I touched Riolu, he whipped his arm back at me. Turning around to face me, I noticed the anger that had developed in his eyes.
"Rio!" he growled at me. I cringed at his sudden outburst before he whipped back around and began yelling at Eliza again.
"Is this little punk yours?" she yelped at me over Riolu's shouts.
"Y-yes… I'm sorry about all this, Eliza… Please, we'll just be on our way." My heart was practically beating out of my chest at this point.
What's the quickest way out of this, I thought, reaching for Riolu again. We were causing quite the scene, and I didn't want to face Eliza's wrath. Suddenly, her expression changed.
"Wait– I knew you looked familiar. And you must be from school since you know my name… Aren't you that kid I always picked on when I still rode the stupid bus to school?" I froze and hesitated to respond, but I eventually let out a nervous,
"Y-yes." She scoffed again and got up close.
"Well, it's great to see you again, buddy. How about this- get your Riolu away from me and confront me up front next time rather than hiding in the bushes from afar. Creep." Suddenly, something shot through my body, telling me to fight instead of running away.
"Wh-what did you say to me?" I stammered at first, the anger starting to billow inside of me. What was I doing? Standing up to Eliza was nothing short of a death sentence! If I did anything else, my blood would surely spill. But although almost everything in my body told me to run away and hide, I couldn't help but keep listening to that weird feeling from deep inside me. Eliza glared at me in the eyes and edged closer.
"You heard me, stalker. Get your filthy mutt out of my face and stop monitoring our conversations from a distance! What I do is none of your business… Got it?" I gulped nervously as she stared into me with her fierce and intimidating dark brown eyes. The feeling of flight began to disappear more as the new confidence grew inside of me. I finally had the courage to stand up to Eliza, and I wasn't going to back down now.
"Battle me. Right now," I said quietly, getting closer to her face.
"What was that, stalker? I couldn't hear you, perhaps say it loud–"
"Battle me… Now!" I cut her off, stopping her train of thought cold. There was a short pause, but then she backed off.
"Alright, alright. If a battle's what you want, a battle's what you're gonna get. But be warned, you aren't going to win this. I'm going to wipe the floor with you and your stupid dog."
"Oh no, I'm soooo scared... Come on, Riolu!" Riolu stopped yelling, stamped his foot on the ground, and kicked up some dirt to show he meant business. He then followed after me, ready to start the battle.
As I approached Cian, who was still tending to his Totodile, he turned to me.
"Luke, her Froakie is crazy strong. It was so nimble and quick..."
"Yeah, we'll see about that.," I mumble-shouted, nearly seething with anger. Cian saw my rage and knew that there was no way to stop us from what we were doing. All he could say was,
"Good luck." Cian picked his Totodile up and took off to the tree line where he could tend to its wounds and watch the heated battle.
"Get back out there, Froakie!" Eliza demanded, beckoning Froakie to battle again. I could tell it was tired, so it hesitated to obey her orders right away. "What did I say? Go!" Froakie cringed and hopped back out in front of her. Although I should've felt bad for it, I didn't dwell on it too much; Riolu and I were ready to bring it. This was for everything she did at school; for all those people who couldn't stand up to her. There was no turning back, and I was ready to give it my all.
"Ready, Riolu?" I said, awaiting his answer. He turned his head to me and moved his paw over his chest, like usual. I nodded back, signaling that it was time to battle. Riolu turned his head back and got into a readied stance. "Let's go!" I cried to Eliza who had just finished telling Froakie something. Froakie was back in its pose again, ready to battle now.
"Alright, it's showtime!" Eliza replied. The air was tense and filled with excitement. I yelled out to Riolu to start off the battle.
"Riolu, Quick Attack!" Within an instant Riolu dashed over to the unsuspecting Froakie and landed the Quick Attack with ease, proving that the training paid off. Froakie flew off its feet, almost crashing into its trainer, but stopping inches before. Riolu landed safely, ready for the next attack. "Nice job, Riolu!" I cried, ready to give him the next order. He held his paw up, acknowledging what I'd said.
"Why, you!" Eliza snapped. "Froakie, get back up and use Bubble!" Froakie rebounded back up in an instant and immediately spit bubbles out of its mouth. Before I had a chance to tell Riolu to dodge the attack, the cascade of bubbles hit him, causing him to stumble backwards and wince. "We can use Quick Attack too! Do it, Froakie!" Eliza called out. Just like Riolu did to Froakie seconds before, it slammed into Riolu and he was sent backwards through the air. Riolu bounced off the ground two times, until coming to a stop, face down at my feet.
"Are you alright?" I asked Riolu, who pulled himself off the ground, his passion and rage pushing him forward. He nodded yes and turned back around, ready to attack again. At this point I noticed Eliza was laughing.
"Hah... You should have seen the look on Riolu's face when Froakie hit him head on; there's a lot more where that came from! Froakie, Water Pulse!" Froakie opened its mouth, and then a pulsating circular blast of water came barreling towards Riolu. Again, the attack was so quick, neither Riolu nor I had the chance to react. The water blast hit Riolu straight on, sending him backwards. He caught himself but stumbled and fell onto the ground.
"No, Riolu!" I cried. Riolu stood up, drenched from head to toe and spotted with some white chalk that had been washed up from the lines on the running track. But now, something was definitely wrong. Instead of getting into his normal battle pose, Riolu began wobbling around, losing his balance and catching it again. Fear ran through me, because I knew the problem; Riolu had been confused by the Water Pulse. Seeing this only made Eliza laugh harder.
"Oh, this is gonna be fun! Froakie, finish this one off with Pound!" Froakie nodded and started the run up to Riolu, who was still wallowing around. I froze in place, unsure what to do. I needed to act now, or Riolu was surely going to get knocked out. I couldn't bear to see him faint or to lose to Eliza; my own life would be on the line.
"Riolu!" I called, hoping he would hear me. Although he didn't acknowledge my voice like he usually did, I kept talking in case he was. "You need to use Counter– it's our last chance for victory! Please, Riolu, you've got to break through!" I pleaded.
"Hah! Riolu's confused, there's no way he's going to understand you! Get 'em, Froakie!" Froakie got closer and closer, until he was near inches away. There was no stopping it. I closed my eyes, unable to continue watching.
There was a slam, and then another, right after. I winced upon hearing both noises; it was over, just like that. The confidence faded away and a deep sense of sadness replaced it, as I felt like I was suddenly about to cry. Just then, I heard Eliza complaining from the other side of the battlefield.
"What? No way! Riolu was confused, there was no way that attack should've hit! And how has he not fainted yet?!" I opened my eyes to see Riolu standing upright and Froakie on the ground a couple feet in front of him.
"Riolu?" I called out to him. He turned his head to me and held up his paw again, just like before. He was covered in bruises and still soaking wet, but he'd definitely held on, snapped out of confusion, and successfully countered Froakie's attack. Determination to win refilled back into my body, and I was rejuvenated. Riolu faced forward, ready for another command. "Yeah, alright!" I rejoiced. "Finish up with Force Palm!" Riolu was about to dash off but stopped himself and turned his head back towards me. He was sporting a concerned look, but I clenched my fist back to show I trusted him. A smile then spread out across his face as he bolted towards Froakie, beginning the build-up of energy for the attack. "Hit him hard, Riolu!" I called out, ready to see the conclusion to this exciting battle.
"Froakie! Get up, NOW!" Eliza yelled, stomping her foot. Froakie gave it one last try to get up, but it quickly stumbled under its own weight and fell back down. "Noooo!" Once Riolu was in range of Froakie, it jumped over him and let loose a powerful Force Palm right on its back. The move was so powerful, Froakie bounced off the ground and into the air on top of a cloud of dust. The recoil from the move also sent Riolu into the air, but he controlled himself and landed safely on both feet.
Once the dust around Froakie settled, it was clear who the winner was. Riolu stood triumphant, while Froakie laid on the ground, fainted. As Riolu turned back towards me, I felt something welling up from my throat.
"R-Riolu!" I called out, overjoyed. "You did it, buddy! We won!" I bounded over to him, happy as he could be. Picking him up under his arms, I swung him around just like the day before in Hart's Woods.
"Rio!" he happily cried, proud of his work, and obviously pleased with a victory.
After our little victory celebration, I set him down and glanced over at what was happening between Eliza and Froakie. She had her arms crossed, ignoring her Pokémon.
"You're useless! USELESS!" she called out to Froakie who was still on the ground unable to move. "You embarrassed me… In front of everyone!" she yelled, stomping her foot harder and turning the other way.
Everyone? But it's only us here, I wondered quickly before pushing Eliza's wording aside. I then turned my attention back to Froakie who was still on the ground injured from the battle. At this point, I think both Riolu and I felt bad for the Froakie. I wished there was something I could do for the guy.
"Hey, Luke!" Cian then called out to me. I turned to the right to see him sitting on the rock nearby where Riolu and I were hiding at first. "Catch!" he called out, tossing something blue and round high into the air. As the blue object landed in my hands, I realized it was an Oran Berry. Cian knew how I felt, so I nodded back at him as a way of saying thanks.
Turning back and handing the fruit to Riolu, I replied,
"Riolu, give this to Froakie. He needs it after that battle." Riolu nodded and smiled at me. I patted him on the back before he bounded over to the Froakie.
Once Froakie sat up, it realized Riolu was coming towards him and winced, figuring that Riolu was going to attack again. But Riolu meant no harm and began calmly talking to Froakie. He then held out the berry for him to take. Once Froakie noticed what Riolu was doing, it untensed and took the berry, gleefully wolfing it down. Then, Riolu said something and pointed back at me. As Froakie finished eating, it poked its head out from behind to look at me. I swear that Froakie's eyes glittered for a second as I smiled and waved back, but I couldn't tell because Eliza returned him to its Poké Ball. Noticing Riolu was talking to Froakie up close, she yelled,
"Hey, get out of here!" She tried to kick Riolu, but he saw it coming from a mile away and dodged to the side, causing her to overextend and slip. She fell into the dirt hard with a disgruntled yelp. Riolu bounded over to me and all I could do was laugh. She deserved everything that came to her, and it couldn't have felt better. Standing up, she brushed herself off, her cheeks red hot with embarrassment.
"Rrrgh… You were extremely lucky this time, stalker! Froakie wasn't at his full potential after he beat that weakling Totodile... But mark my words, next time you'll be sorry! Just you wait!" Eliza yelled before turning the other way, fleeing the scene as quickly as possible.
"Yeah, you'd better run away, Eliza! Don't let me catch you bullying anyone else at school or else you'll end up exactly like you are now!" I called as she dashed away. She turned her head and screamed out,
"You're dead, stalker– DEAD! I'll pummel you every second of every day!" Deciding to save my voice and knowing Riolu stood with me, I scoffed and turned away as she darted over the hill with the sycamore tree and out of sight.
Cian and Totodile came over to congratulate us as soon as she had completely disappeared.
"That was an amazing battle, Luke!" Cian hollered. As they arrived, I noticed that Totodile was already starting to look better after its battle.
"Hey, I'm glad to see Totodile is alright, Cian," I told him, pointing down at his partner.
"Thanks, these Oran Berries really help." He then reached into his pocket and grabbed another Oran berry. "Why don't you give this one to Riolu? He looks a little banged up." He dropped another berry into my hands, to which I nodded affirmingly and gave to Riolu. Riolu smiled gleefully at Cian and chowed down on the berry before beginning to play with Totodile.
"Where'd you get the berries from, Cian?" I asked, watching the Pokémon chase each other around in the field. "A tree around my house suddenly started producing them. Just another one of those weird changes, I guess."
"Well, thank you. I appreciate you giving them out to us."
"Hey, don't sweat it. And besides, I should be thanking you for beating Eliza! I mean, what in the world got into you? Now she's going to go after you every day she can!"
"I'm not worried about her… I've got Riolu to back me up now, right buddy?" I called out, but Riolu wasn't paying attention and continued to run around with his friend. Although he didn't respond, I knew he had me covered. "Hey, how did you get into a battle with Eliza anyways?"
"Well," Cian started, rubbing the back of his neck. "I was actually coming over to your house to try and battle you. I texted you about that walk, but you didn't respond, so I decided to walk over to your house anyways... But when I got there, your mom answered the door and told me that you'd run off somewhere nearby. I knew you talked about Hart's Woods and that path behind the middle school before, so I figured you'd be around here somewhere. I made my way down here when I saw Eliza trying to battle anyone who passed by… Unluckily, I was the next victim." It was then that I realized Eliza was a menace out of school too, and I suddenly wondered what she had to do to drag Cian into a battle. "So… How much of our battle did you see, Luke?"
"Riolu and I were walking on that strange path I've told you about behind the school, when I saw something fly by from the fields up here. Next thing we knew, we were spectating your battle from the sidelines."
"She was really good, that Eliza. I'm still surprised that you won against her. How'd you do it?" I looked down to Riolu and Totodile running circles around us.
"Riolu and I trained up a little bit this morning, and I found out he's pretty good at battling and learning from his mistakes. I mean, earlier, Riolu couldn't even control his Force Palm; you saw how well he did in battle." Cian shifted his gaze down too.
"Oh yeah, for sure. That final move Riolu did was crazy impressive. Maybe you have quite the little fighter with you." Cian then bent down to pick up Totodile as he tried to rush by. He began to scratch Totodile on the forehead; Totodile closed his eyes and opened his mouth in comfort and bliss. "When Eliza challenged me, there was just something so charismatic about her. Usually, I would have just walked away, but this time I couldn't help but give in and battle her. It was weird, I don't know how to describe it."
"Tell me about it. I've never wanted to win something so much in my life." As Riolu paraded over to me, still as happy as ever after the victory, I reached down and patted him on the head.
"Well," Cian added, setting his Totodile back down. "I'm glad to see Riolu is over his shyness now, too. You must be quite the trainer to have your Pokémon get over a bad habit that quickly. Really, we only talked about it yesterday." I then realized that I had all but forgotten all about Riolu's anxiety from the day before. After the run in with the Garbodor crew, everything changed so quickly. "You've got to tell me how you did it. And hey, why don't we celebrate your victory? Let's head to the village and get an early lunch or something."
Lunch? Wasn't it just breakfast, I asked myself. Time always flies by when you're busy. Just then, a loud voice boomed across the sports field coming from the school. Someone was calling out to us.
"Hey! Hey! You two, over there!" We all turned toward the school to see our old gym teacher speaking to us from afar. I was about to say hello when he replied, "Do you think you can take your battling elsewhere? You're distracting the whole school!" He pointed to the windows to show a plethora of young children cheering us on from all the classrooms, watching our every move. I guess this was the 'everyone' Eliza mentioned before. "And maybe don't wash away the lines on the running track? I just painted those yesterday!"
"Right, sorry sir! We'll be on our way now!" Cian replied back, speaking up for us. "Come on," he said firmly while pulling me back towards the path. "Let's go before we get into any more trouble." I nodded and chuckled as we beckoned for the Pokémon to follow us.