Chapter Six – Azalea Town
Evelina
The claw raked Ledyba hard across the face. She buzzed shrilly and corkscrewed away. A second Scratch attack ploughed a deep furrow into the dirt as she climbed out of her assailant's reach. The battlefield was a rough rectangle in the dirt, little more than a clearing in the thickly clustered trees. The glass ceiling of the Gym broke the morning sun into beams that lanced down through the budding treetops.
Ledyba hovered in a sunbeam, her gauzy wings flickering ethereally against the light. Her flight was slightly erratic – the telltale sign of the lingering effects of poison. Evelina glanced across to her opponent, a young man in cargo shorts, wielding his bug net like a poleaxe. He wore the worryingly earnest expression of a true bug maniac. He seemed to vibrate slightly, as if the sight of two Bug-types battling on the same field was altogether too much excitement.
"Comet Punch!" Evelina ordered. Finish it quickly!
"Dig, Paras!"
Paras promptly disappeared in a cloud of dirt. Evelina growled in frustration as Ledyba hurriedly pulled out of her dive. Still stalling for time! She wondered how long Ledyba could last under the sinister effects of Poisonpowder. Paras resurfaced at the edge of the field, clicking its mandibles and chanting "Parasparasparas!" excitedly.
"Tick, tick, tock!" its trainer called. "You can fly, but I can dig! What will you do now, Miss Joy?"
Seize the initiative! Evelina could hear her heartbeat drumming dully in her ears. This was where a real battle was fought – on the edge, where neither trainer knew what the other was planning, where strategies fell away and it was just you and your pokémon. She smiled a glinting smile. Seize the initiative!
"Let's finish this, Ledyba. Tackle, come in fast and low!" Her pokémon curled into a swift dive and sped across the battlefield.
Paras' trainer stabbed at the air with his bug net. "Now, my pretty Paras! Rock Smash!"
Paras thrust out its claw like a spear, enthusiastically mimicking its trainer's stance. As Ledyba bore down, the little mushroom pokémon sprang up to meet it.
"Protect!" Evelina yelled joyously. A shimmering green bubble flashed into existence around Ledyba, flickering on-off just for a second. Paras bounced off the Protect as if it had been flicked away, flailing its little limbs desperately. Ledyba intercepted elegantly and pummelled it with a flurry of Comet Punches. The attack made a neat little thrrrdp as it connected.
Paras landed heavily on the dirt, its eyes even glassier than usual. It had fainted dead away. "Paras is unable to battle," called the referee. "The victory goes to the challenger, Evelina!"
Evelina let out a squeak and assayed a little jump on the spot. "Yes! We did it, Ledyba! Come here for an Antidote!" As Evelina carefully sprayed Ledyba's carapace with Antidote, the referee headed across the battlefield. He looked – and dressed – much younger than he was, with his outdoorsy shirt-and-shorts, boyish mop of dyed purple hair and yellow neckerchief. Leaning casually on his own bug net, he gave Evelina an appraising look.
"I've got to admit, Miss Joy, I had my doubts about you. But you fought a good battle – you've earned the right to battle me for the Hive Badge. I'll take your challenge as soon as your Ledyba's fully recovered."
"Thanks, Bugsy, but if I may I'd like to delay our battle," Evelina answered, wiping off excess Antidote. "I'd like to catch a third pokémon. Good girl, Ledyba. Return for now, huh?"
"If that's what you want. I'll be waiting. Ah, a new challenger? Welcome to the Azalea Town Gym," Bugsy said, looking over Evelina's shoulder. The newcomer was leaning casually against a tree with his arms folded. His clothes were travel worn, and there was a leafy twig sticking out of his hair, but Evelina still recognised him.
"Omigosh, you're that new trainer, the, the guy with the bulbasaur from Route 32! How've you been?"
"A friend from the road huh?" Bugsy said, "I know how that goes. If this is your first Gym, let me explain my rules to you. In order to challenge me, you must first battle one of my Gym trainers …"
Evelina headed for the exit, leaving the Leader to his explanation. She wondered how long the bulbasaur trainer had been watching. Maybe the whole time – the heat of battle tended to tunnel her vision.
"… your battle performance against my Gym trainer will allow me to decide how to test you in a Gym Battle -"
"Er, I appreciate your welcome, but I wonder if I might catch up with a friend, sort of thing. Excuse me … er, Evelina?"
He remembered my name? "Yes?" she said aloud. The young man had broken into a jog to catch up.
"That was a clever tactic you used back there. Luring Paras in and then using Protect."
"Oh, thank you! But it wasn't a tactic. At least I didn't plan it. But thank you."
"It was a clever tactic," he repeated. His solemn tone made Evelina smile.
"I'm sorry, but I've rather forgotten your name," she said hesitantly.
"Cook. Joshua Cook. Well, just Josh."
"Evelina Joy. But you already knew that," she said with a self-deprecating shrug. "Call me Eve."
The two trainers stood in silence for a moment. Evelina kicked her heels idly in the dirt. A hush had fallen on the woodland Gym.
"Have you got a spare moment?" she said, "There are some nice cafés in town, if you're interested?"
"Sounds good to me," Josh answered. "It's a nice morning for coffee."
All along Old Village high street, the azalea was in bloom. The high street is an airy boulevard, where ivy climbs the picturesque timber-and-stone buildings so iconic of Azalea Town. Wrought-iron lampposts line the cobbled streets, bearing bright little banners that flutter and snap in the wind. Everywhere you look, the azalea blossoms in the sun – thousands of little star-shaped blooms shining magenta, orange and white.
Evelina and Josh sat in the shade of an awning on the café patio. They'd tucked their bags beneath their seats, and the warmth of the late morning sun had forced Josh remove his old grey jumper. Eve had unzipped her coat and was enjoying the westerly breeze that blew from across the river. She sat with her chin resting on her hand, gazing dreamily at the street. Azalea Town in the springtime was so pretty. Josh was leaning back in his seat, a curious little half-smile on his face. He still hadn't noticed the twig in his hair.
"It's a charming sight, don't you think? Old Village. Quite a nineteenth-century charm," she said.
"Yes … it's nice to see a pedestrian town centre. High streets should be for walking. You were right about the café," he added. "It's in a lovely spot."
"A welcome change after Union Cave, huh?"
"I didn't come through Union Cave. Not all of it, anyway. I took the mountain path."
"You did not! There was a storm over Union Cave last night!" Eve said accusingly.
"Don't I know it. I had to go down into the Cave and walk on to Route 33. I was so exhausted, I'm still not quite sure how I managed it."
Eve gave him a surprised look. In last night's downpour it would have taken an excellent woodsman to find a way over the hills. "So how did you find your way back into the Cave?" she said.
"I had to slide down an onix burrow. Which rather explains the state of my clothes," he said apologetically.
Eve's hand flew to her mouth, stifling a small gasp. She had to admit, she was a little impressed. Not many people would dare go poking around an onix burrow, storm or no storm. "You went down an onix burrow to get out of the rain," she said with a giggle.
Josh waved his hand vaguely in an embarrassed 'it is what it is' sort of gesture. There was a fine cut on his palm that he apparently hadn't bothered to put a plaster on. At that moment, a notepad-wielding waiter materialised, asking for their orders.
"What? Oh, er, medium black coffee please," said Josh.
"You mean an Unovera, sir?"
"What?"
"An Unovera, sir."
"Is that a black coffee with no trimmings?" Josh demanded.
"Um. Yes sir?" the waiter returned hopefully.
"All right, a medium Unovera, then."
"We don't have medium, sir," the waiter said kindly. "We have piccolo, medio, grande, and troppo grande."
Josh gave the waiter a cold stare. Beside him, Eve had her hand pressed firmly over her mouth, jaw clenched to keep in the giggles. There were little tears at the corners of her eyes.
"Grande," he sighed. "A grande Unovera. Please."
"Cappuccino grande," Eve managed. She coughed a few times to clear the last of the giggles. Josh looked at her sidelong, but there was that curious half-smile on his face nevertheless. We're actually having a nice time, she thought.
"You know Eve, I noticed something about you, back at the Gym. First thing you did after you won was to reach for an Antidote," he hesitated, as if unsure of what to say next. "Why did you decide to be a trainer? I mean, you obviously care for pokémon. But you could do that as a nurse. Er."
Eve drew breath for a defensive tirade … and then she saw the worried half-smile and stopped herself. He's just asking, she told herself. Do you really want to snap at him? She gave him a brittle smile, feeling a little foolish for being defensive.
"What you have to understand about us …" she began. "Look, it's like this. For the girls in our family, pokémon medicine is what we do. When I was little, after school I'd be helping out in the clinic before I did anything else. I'd be working half of my weekend in the Pokémon Centre. All the other girls enrolled straight into nursing college the moment they left school. And as soon as they graduate, they'll become pokémon nurses, pokémon doctors, Pokémon League breeders," she heaved a heavy sigh. "A Joy lives her entire life for someone else. It's not that I don't think it's a worthwhile life, but … I'm twenty-three. I want to live for myself for a while! I want to see some of the world. I want to achieve something that's just for me. I don't need to be the Champion. I just … want to be my own woman."
Josh was still patiently listening. "You probably think this is all kind of stupid -" Eve started.
"No, no, I get it. You want to make your own choices," said Josh.
The waiter glided up, their coffees in hand. He set Josh's Unovera in front of him with exaggerated care. Eve couldn't help but glance across at it – yep, black coffee with no trimmings. The waiter hadn't dared to bring any biscotti. She took a long sip of her cappuccino. It wasn't very good.
"So aside from climbing down onix burrows, what have you done since I met you?" she asked.
"Well, I caught a magnemite. Though I didn't intend to at the time," he replied. "It was up on Route 32, in the western highlands. Er. Whatever this magnemite was doing up there in the first place, I'm not sure …" It was beginning to dawn on Eve that he was conscientiously trying not to look at her face. She casually raised a questing hand -
- and discovered a splendid foam moustache clinging to her lip. There was a moment of silence as she hastily brushed it away with the back of her hand. Josh's face twitched into a smirk. "Serves you right for drinking cappuccino," he quipped dryly.
Eve started to giggle. It really wasn't funny, but right now she was prepared to laugh at anything. Josh started to giggle at her giggles, and soon they were both laughing freely, tension and nerves washed away by a foam moustache.
"So what's this magnemite like? Is it a good battler?" said Eve.
"I have no idea. I'm not even sure what moves it knows."
"I know how to find out," said Eve, pulling out her Pokédex. It was a slim model, brushed-silver in colour. She pushed a large blue button near the bottom and flipped it open.
"Is that a Pokédex?" Josh asked, watching as Eve drew out the stylus.
"Yep. The HANDY912i, as it happens. Hand me Magnemite's Poké Ball? Thanks." She fumbled for a moment and slid out a wafer-thin screen from the right hand side of the Pokédex. It flashed into life, glowing orange-red with a number of arc-like shapes drifting gently around the edges. As Eve held it over the Poké Ball, the shapes converged and spun purposefully.
"The Poké Scanner retrieves data from the Poké Ball," Eve explained, shuffling her chair round so Josh could see. "You can see Magnemite's ID number, gender, its Ability, and look – its moves."
"Tackle, Supersonic, Thundershock and Sonic Boom," Josh read out. "Oh, and the Magnet Pull Ability."
"Not a bad set of moves for the little guy. Here, let's take a look at your bulbasaur!"
As they sat and talked in the sunshine, Eve decided that she rather liked Josh. He was full of half-smiles and dry quips – and he listened, really listened. It was as if he was carefully taking notes as she spoke. She told him about her meowth and his sly habits. Halfway through, he finally noticed the twig stuck in his hair. Eve just kept chattering on, pretending not to notice him surreptitiously pull it out.
"So next I'm going to catch a new pokémon, I think. How about you?"
"Well … I was going to challenge the Gym but I think I'll work on my strategy first. Magnemite's never been in a battle. To tell you the truth, I'm not even sure it really listens to me."
"Why not go challenge the Gym anyway? If you want to know whether Magnemite listens to you, there's no better way than just battling!" said Eve. "Look, what's the worst that can happen? You lose. You can always go back and try again, and either way you'll have learned something about Magnemite."
Josh drummed his fingers on the table. Eve could almost see the cogs turning in his head as he thought it over.
"Hmm. I can't fault that logic," he said eventually. He finished what was left of his Unovera. "Alright! I suppose I'm off to challenge the Gym then."
"Yay!" Eve said, a little louder than she'd intended. "I do have one question then."
"What's that?"
"Can I join you?"
To a pokémon trainer, a Badge is not just a pin. The capital letter is important. It is proof of a trainer's skill, emblematic of the long walk to the Pokémon League. In a way, earning a Badge is a highly tangible achievement. Earn eight Gym Badges, and you earn the right to compete in the League. That was the way it always was. A Badge doesn't gain or lose value in the way a diploma might. An employer may argue over the value of a university education, but a Badge is always a Badge.
There was an orchestral movement that summed this all up. Which symphony it was from, Eve could never remember, but she knew it by its popular name as the Pokémon League Anthem. Endlessly adapted and remixed, it played in Pokémon Gyms and in the Halls of Fame. Opening ceremonies of the regional tournaments were accompanied by the full magnificence of the Anthem. For Eve, it was musical shorthand for the pride and glory of success fairly earned. It was music to be inspired by.
"Hmm. Hm-hm-HM-hm-hmm …" she'd been absent-mindedly humming the Anthem as she and Josh made their way back to the Gym. Josh was somewhat quieter – deep in thought, now and again he had murmured cryptically to himself. Probably strategising, Eve thought.
No music played to greet challengers at the Azalea Town Gym. Inside the dome of the Gym, a busy silence reigned. Bugs rustled suspiciously in the undergrowth and peered down from treetop perches. On the battlefield Bugsy had gathered together his Gym trainers, many of them leaning on bug nets in mimicry of their leader. Bugsy's face cracked into a confident smile when he spotted Josh.
"So challenger, you've come back! Nice to see you too, Miss Joy. Can I assume that you want to battle one of my Gym trainers?" he said.
"You can," Josh said. "I'm here to challenge the Gym."
"Step up to the field, then. Benny, you'll represent the Gym this time. What's your name, challenger?"
"Cook, Joshua Cook. Of Mulberry Town."
Benny took up position on the other side of the field. He was much younger than Evelina's opponent had been, still very much a boy in his straw hat. The other Gym trainers formed a ragged line behind him with a rattle of nets and bait boxes. Benny was casually tossing a Nest Ball up in the air and catching it.
"Careful, Josh," Eve said. "He may be young but he's still a Gym trainer."
Bugsy took the judge's place at the edge of the field. Eve couldn't see Josh's expression as he selected a Poké Ball from his belt.
Crack!
The click of the clasp unsnapping rang in the expectant silence. Josh was rolling the reduced Poké Ball around his fingers.
"This battle between the challenger, Joshua Cook of Mulberry Town and Benny of the Azalea Town Gym is about to commence! Each trainer will use one pokémon! A Gym Battle is at stake!" Bugsy called.
Booip!
Josh expanded his Poké Ball. Eve thought she saw him fumble at the button for a moment. Was that a moment of nervousness?
"Begin!"