Are y'all ready for Rex to be even more stressed out? Here we go!
Chapter 16: Fire vs Ice. Rex caught In The Middle!
Rex tried to explain, "Look, I'm just going to go back to the Pokemon Center and heal my Pokemon-"
"The hell you are!" Flannery grabbed him by the shirt. "You're going to stay here with us!"
"Yeah!" Aurora crossed her arms. "Tell this poor troubled girl that Ice Types such as my Cloyster and Sealeo are much more superior to the burnt-out Fire Types like her Torkoal and Camurupt!"
"Superior? As if! We all know that Fire melts Ice!"
"To water! Which then extinguishes Fire!" Aurora smirked. "So basically, Ice Types are still superior! Hmph!"
"Rex, tell this girl that Fire Types can beat the hell out of her stupid Ice Types!"
Rex threw his hands up, "I'm not getting in the middle of this…"
"Too late!" They shouted at him. "You are!"
"So tell us which type is Superior: Fire or Ice?" Aurora demanded.
"Yeah!" Flannery added. "What's your opinion?"
"My opinion?" Rex laughed nervously. "Well...I'm not exactly the-"
"SPILL IT!" Both girls shouted at him.
'Man, they can't be serious!' Rex exclaimed as he saw glares at both sides. He took a deep sigh, "Okay, it's true that Fire Types have an advantage against Ice Types…"
"Thank you!" Flannery nodded approvingly.
"But a good strategy can turn it around!" Rex finished, much to the disdain of the Fire-type Gym Leader.
Now it was Aurora's turn to nod. "Exactly! Who cares about the beginning, the end is all that matters!"
Flannery glared at Rex, "I still think you're biased."
"Hey, I have four fire types!" Rex said in his own defense. "I have a Charizard, a Charmeleon, an Arcanine, and now a Houndoom!"
"Okay, then how many Ice Types do you have?"
"In all honestly, zero! But I do have two water types, then again you already knew that!" Rex explained.
"Fine…" Aurora sighed. "There's only one way to settle this: A Pokemon Battle."
"A Pokemon-"
Flannery interrupted Rex. "Fine! I'll use that new Houndoom you gave me, Sis!"
"No problem!" Aurora smirked. "I'll use my Sneasel!"
Rex blinked at Flannery's selection of Pokemon as he then pulled Aurora aside. "You know that you're letting her use a Shadow Pokemon right?"
"Yeah…" She replied, still thinking about how she's going to beat her twin sister.
"Don't you think that it's a bit risqué?"
Aurora waved off his concerns, "No problem! Then you'll see how superior an Ice Type Pokemon is after my Sneasel defeats a Shadow Pokemon!"
"I'm not seeing anything. I'm going to the Pokemon Center to heal my Pokemon!"
"Oh come on! We need a referee!" Aurora protested, almost in a whiney tone.
"I'm not a ref! In fact, I hardly know anything about refereeing a Pokemon Battle!"
"I can make it worth while…" Aurora grinned. "You know where we are right?"
"Yeah…this is Lavaridge Town! Hoenn's number one Hot Spot – literally!"
Aurora sighed, "Not that, I'm talking about this building we're in front of?"
Rex examined the building. It was a fairly large white building which its designs of the red roof and the bottom somewhat resembled those that would be found on a temple. "It is…some type of church?" This made Aurora sigh.
"It's a Gym! This is the Lavaridge Town Gym! And my sister over there's the Gym Leader!" Aurora pointed towards Flannery!
"So you're both Gym Leaders, huh?" Rex concluded. 'At least they have one thing in common…'
Aurora nodded. "The sad thing? Flannery's been a Gym Leader longer than I have, and I'm still better than her!"
"I heard that!" Flannery shouted towards the two.
Aurora ignored Flannery as she continued her proposition! "So what'd you say? You stay and officiate our battle, and later on, you can battle my Sister for a badge! Just think Rex, I'll show you how to defeat her!"
"If anyone's going to be defeated, it'll be you, Aurora!" Flannery pulled Rex aside. "Take it from me, Rex! Fire types are the way to go! You should know! You have more of them than any other type of Pokemon you have, right?"
"Don't manipulate him into joining you!" Aurora glared as she grabbed Rex's right arm to drag him away!
"Don't hate, just because he agrees with me more!" Flannery grabbed Rex's left arm to pull him back to her. "Right Rex?"
"Uhh…" Rex was becoming even more stressed out with his treatment as a human rubber band. 'So much for my promise to the nurse…'
With their nails piercing through his skin, Rex winced. Doubting that he could take much more of this from the sisters, who were still arguing. Did they look for something to argue about, he wondered. The piercing nails went deeper into his skin as the thought of blood pouring out of the potentials cuts was just too much for him to take!
"ENOUGH!" Rex screamed, already past his breaking point. "I AM ALREADY STRESSED OUT ENOUGH WITHOUT YOU TWO ARGUING LIKE IDIOTS OVER SOMETHING RIDICULOUS AS THIS!"
"Now wait a-"
"SHUT UP!" Rex cut off Flannery with a glare that could pierce even the strongest of steel. "I AM GOING TO THE HOTSPRINGS AND TRY, JUST TRY TO RELEASE ALL THIS STRESS I HAVE! IF YOU TWO WANT TO BATTLE THAT BADILY, YOU OFFICIATE YOUR OWN DAMN BATTLE! I'M OUTTA HERE!" He turned away as he went to walk…more like storm back to the Pokemon Center. Being dragged into their little disputes, despite how stressed out he was? Okay. Being forced to play peacemaker? No problem! But being reduced to a human rubber band? That was just too much!
Both girls blinked, now realizing just how angry, let alone stressed out Rex really was. "Umm…"
"HONESTLY! MY SISTER AND I FIGHT BASICALLY ALL THE TIME BUT IT NEVER GET AS RIDICULOUS AS THIS! JESUS…"
Flannery and Aurora looked at each other as they then do something that they haven't done yet since Rex was brought into the picture…
"Rex wait!" They called out to him as they went after him, but it was too late as the Trainer from Goldenrod City was long gone.
"Way to go, Sis!" Aurora said dryly.
"Are you saying that it's my fault that he left?" Flannery glared.
"Want me to say it again?"
…
A foot clad in a black, knee-length stocking slipped into a black, knee-length boot as a slim, slender hand then grabbed the silver metal zipper located on the outside of said boot. The hand then pulled up the zipper as the foot and leg was enclosed inside of the boot. Another hand came down and grabbed a buckle that was located near the top as the first grabbed the strap at the opposite side. With one smooth motion, she slipped the strapped through the buckle as she then pulled it back as far as possible before the thin bar went through the notch of the belt.
She stood up from her twin-size bed as she straightened up her red, pleated skirt, as well as adjusting the loins of her black sleeveless midriff. The words on the shirt were in white, scratch-like print with the word "Torment," which to some people would be ironic.
Ever since that dreadful day, she was depressed over the loss of her beloved Pokemon! She had admitted that she wasn't exactly the most pleased trainer when it came to that Pokemon in particular before it evolved, but not even she deserved that! Thieves, thieves who she'd never seen before in her life, stole her Swampert from her! At first she thought that a new version of Team Rocket was behind all of this. But there haven't been any sign of Rocket activity for weeks! But now, there were rumors across the town that the mysterious thieves were somehow connected to the Hoenn region! Looking to get back what was stolen, the hard way, she decided to take a, "relaxing trip" as she told her father and stepmother, to Hoenn! Realizing that they'd be dead set against it if she told them the real reason for this trip.
She walked up to the mirror, which was placed above her dresser as she looked at herself. Long, brunette hair that went down to her back, save for the bangs as well as the few strands of her hair that were dyed red. Dark blue eyes, which were filled with nothing but business and retaliation, with black eyeliner to highlight her features!
'Something's missing…' She thought to herself as she looked around in her medium-sized bedroom before seeing it on her bedpost: Her black beanie cap with a red, thin line around the rim. She grabbed the cap as she then slipped it on over her head, bringing it down only to the middle of her forehead. She looked at her reflection in the mirror once more. 'That's more like it.'
She grabbed her black leather shoulder bag as she next opened the smaller pocket pouch before reaching inside. She pulled her hand out, revealing her six Pokeballs which contained her strongest Pokemon: Pupitar, Gengar, Scizor, Kingdra, Marowak, and Blastoise! She decided to leave her Gyarados in her box, just incase of an emergency. Despite that it obeyed her, Gyarados proved to be sometimes difficult to control so it was best to not rely on it so much and risk destroying private property of others.
She walked out the door that connected her bedroom to the hallway as she then placed a sticky note on the door of her parent's bedroom before heading out the door! Shauna Traydar's Pokemon was stolen from her, and once she got to Hoenn, she was going to get her Swampert back! No matter what it took…
…
Rex slightly winced as his body slowly sunk through the hot water. Finally, he could enjoy the hot springs to calm his nerves and release all of the stress and tension he had in his body. After that fiasco with the Moore sisters, this process was going to take a while. A long while! Seriously, he knew that siblings occasionally fight! Even…no especially he and Racquel had their disagreements over the most trivial matters. But Flannery and Aurora went a bit…no…went way overboard. It could've been worse, he supposed. He could've been at one of those boyband concerts where not only would he be stressed out, but would've have bloodied ears from the screaming of the fan girls! Viki was already irritating enough when she screams…no…squeals…err…shrieks after even hearing about them! Try having thousands of them doing so at the same time! An ear bleed waiting to happen, indeed…
Rex sighed as he let the heat of the water flow through his body. Relaxing all of his worked-out muscles and releasing all of his stress! He begun to think about all the things he'd see in Hoenn… Hoenn's version of the Safari Zone… Pokemon Contests…
Rex's eyes quickly shot open in realization. "Viki's Contests!" How could he have forgotten about his own sister? Viki could've been still at Oldale Town, worried about Rex, as J.C. getting more and more of an urge to knock the deserter out!
Rex quickly pushed himself out of the water as he climbed out of the springs, revealing a pair of red swim trunks that reach down to his knees. "Let's see if there's a phone…" He said to himself as he made his way toward the Pokemon Center next door. Not bothering to dry off since he felt that he wouldn't be so soaked when he walked inside.
Upon entering through the sliding glass door, Rex walked up to the front desk as he rung the bell. At that instant, the familiar pink pigtailed nurse walked up to said counter from the back. In her hands was a tray which six slots were filled by six Pokeballs, save for an extra two Pokeballs resting on top of the others. "Your Pokemon have been healed." She said in a cheerful voice.
"Thanks Nurse Joy." Rex sighed in relief as he gathered his Eight Pokeballs, knowing that he would have to send two back to his box. He decided to heal his newly caught Grovyle, who he had decided to name Fury for his vicious mean streak, and Houndoom, whom he decided to name Blitz, along with his current team before heading towards the hot springs.
Rex walks over to a booth where a picture phone was located. Fortunately these phones were reverse compatible, meaning that they could call the regular phones and even cell phones. "Let's just hope Viki has her cell on…" He pressed the dials…
…
On the bus, they had just passed the Rustboro City Gym as Viki looked out the window. "Maybe Rex'll go there on the way back…" She muses.
"Rex'd face Roxanne if he would." J.C. mentioned as he read the guidebook. "In addition of being a Gym Leader, Roxanne is a teacher at the Pokemon Academy in Rustburo! She specializes in Rock Type Pokemon. Meaning Rex would have an easy time, provided that Edge and Shellshock don't see this as a chance to one up the other!
Viki giggled, "I know how it's tough for Rex, but it just so cute and funny to see the way he steps between the two of them trying to stop their fighting!" She envisioned Rex breaking the Croconaw and Wartortle apart, only to get a double Water Gun in the face.
Her thoughts of her brother in humorous situations were interrupting by the light ring tone of her cell phone! "Who could be calling me right now?" She wondered as she answered, "Hello?"
"Hey Sis!"Viki blinked as she began to panic. "Rex? What happened? Where are you? Are you okay?"
"First, it's a very long story! Two, I'm at a Pokemon Center at Lavaridge Town, and for the most part, I'm okay. Except that I'm suffering from a bit of stress!"
"You see Rex, I told you one of these days you'd stress yourself out too much!"
"Tell me about it…" Rex sighed as his thoughts immediately went to the Moore sisters. He looked around. "What about you guys? You doing okay?"
"Except for the fact that the Evolution Inducement wave made Swift evolve, due to some people…" She glared at J.C. "I'm fine! How about you? Did the Inducement wave get to you, too?"
"Let me put it to ya this way: I am now the proud owner of a Feraligatr!""What? Edge evolved? Oh no…"
"Yeah, it's a bad way to evolve. I'm just glad that there are no side effects. Besides, Edge was at Level 29 anyway so he was bound to evolve!"
"No, I meant that now whenever Edge and Shellshock get into their arguments, it'll be basically one-sided!"
"Don't worry, Shellshock's at Level 33 so he shouldn't be too far from evolving either!""Okay…I just don't want to see Shellshock overwhelmed by Edge now that he's evolved.
"Don't worry. Anyway, where are you guys anyway?""We're on our way to Fallarbor Town!" Viki explained. "We were going to find you, but you seem to be okay!"
"There's a Gym in Lavaridge and I plan on getting another badge! Where do you want to meet up afterwards?"
"How about Fallarbor Town? Then we can head for Verdanturf for me to get registered and start my career as a Pokemon Coordinator!" She cheered.
"Cool! In the meantime, I'll see if I have enough to get another Cell phone!" Rex said before muttering, "Damn Syndicate…"
"What was that?"Rex clears his throat. "I meant, seen any Raticate? I'm curious if Pokemon from the Kanto Region are also in the Hoenn Region?"
Viki giggled on the other end, "Okay Rex, see ya around!""Later!"
Rex says as he places the phone back on the hook. "Back to the hot springs…" He said as he walked to the locker room, carrying the Pokeballs with him as he placed them in his locker next his bag before heading back outside. He could deal with the Moore sisters tomorrow…
As Rex slowly placed his body through the heated water, he let out a relaxed sigh. Hopefully he could just stay here all day without really worrying about his troubles. He could get a new phone tomorrow morning, and could train and prepare for his gym battle tomorrow afternoon! He knew that Flannery only had Fire Types, so his choice of Pokemon was obvious: Shellshock, Edge, and Lash, his Rhydon! All three of them had a type advantage, as Water and Rock were strong against Fire.
Rex looked up as he then closed his eyes. Almost to the point of drifting asleep! What he did not notice however was a pair of hands advancing towards him. The trainer remained oblivious to this, due to the hot, but relaxing water brushing up on his body, leaving the pair of hand grabbing his head, covering his eyes as well!
"What the?"
"Got 'em!" Flannery shouted as she pressed her hands together on the head of her capture who then managed to grab her by the head and flips her in the water! "YOWW!" She screamed in pain!
Rex recovered as he took time to catch his breath! No matter how unintentional his captive's attempt might have been he was being suffocated with the hands over his nose and mouth. "Nice try, Jerk…" It was then when he notice who he flipped over. "What the- Flannery?"
"What happened?" Aurora walked over, having heard the yelling as she saw Flannery painfully climbing out of the water, her skin a bit reddish!
She glared at Rex, her hair wet and all. "Did you really have to flip me into the hot water?"
He glared back. "Did you really have to suffocate me?"
Aurora sighed, "Flannery, did you really have to spook him?"
"I just thought it would be fun!" She said in her defense! "He just needs to learn how to loosen up!" She pointed to Rex, who sighed…
"Okay…" He started. He really wasn't in the mood for any confrontation right now. "I'm sorry for flipping you over! You just startled me!" He apologized.
Flannery crossed her arms, "That's okay!"
"So…who won?"
Aurora sighed. "We didn't even battle, thanks to you! We told you we needed a Referee! And with our Grandpa in Johto and our usual Official on his break, we really needed you around!"
"Do you really need a referee that badly?" Rex asked.
"Yes!" They both said at the same time, which lead him to shake his head...
"Aurora, weren't you the one who told me that you don't really need a referee for Pokemon battles?" Rex reminded with a smirk.
"Well…yeah…but…umm…" The Pacifidlog Town Gym Leader groaned, realizing that Rex had caught her. "Okay, we just wanted you to stay, alright!"
Rex blinked "What?"
"Yeah…" Flannery explained. "Being a gym leader is fun and all, but it gets lonely around here sometimes! I mean, our Pokemon keep us company, but it would be nice to talk to a person!"
"But what about the other trainers that come to challenge your gyms?"
"You know how that is! It just enter the gym, win the badge, leave!" Aurora sighed, "And don't say that you wouldn't, because knowing someone with your situation, or time limit I should say, you hardly have any time to just take it easy!"
Rex sighed in a "You got me there" kind of way. He had no idea that the life of a gym leader was a lonely one! Staying in the gym all day long waiting for possible trainers! He knew he couldn't do that! 'Being the Pacifidlog Town and Lavaridge Town Gym Leaders must really cut into their social life…'
He saw Aurora carefully enter the hot springs as he noticed her baby blue bikini! It was a two-piece and it showed off the right amount of curves! He then looked towards Flannery, whose bikini was red, almost as red as her skin currently was, but more red. It may have been a one-piece, but it was a bit more risqué than Aurora's. Rex closed his eyes, beginning to regret that he ever looked.
"Think baseball think baseball…" He said to himself, not wanting to think about something else! School, home, family, Survivor, anything other than Flannery and her bikini! "Think about the gym match, think about the Hoenn League Connelly, just don't think about-"
"Don't think about what?" Flannery asked innocently, but couldn't help but grow a devilish smile, for one reason or another...
"Oh nothing…" Rex sighed. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't shake away the fact that he was a teenager, let alone a male teenager. And like all teenage guys, they all begin to think about girls in a different way. And the fact that he was now sharing the hot springs with two girls didn't do him any favors… He closed his eyes, 'Damn my teenage hormones…damn them…'
He opened his eyes to find, much to his relief, the girls gone! Now he could get back to just relaxing before preparing for his inevitable gym battle tomorrow. He knew that he'd have to face one of her Slugma, Houndoom, Torkoal, or Camurupt! Any out of the three! Rex had already had an encounter with all of them except one! Torkoal was probably one of the Hoenn-Exclusive Pokemon like Viki's Mudkip and his newly caught Grovyle. At least it was probably a Fire Type, so he felt better knowing that he could just hose it down with a Water Gun or two…
"HIYA!"
Startled, Rex jumped back into the stone-like wall, causing him to inadvertently bump his head, but not too hard as he winced in pain before glaring… "You really like freaking me out, do you?"
Flannery grinned. "It's just fun! Your sooo teaseable!"
"Do you have to be so stressful?" Rex muttered the question.
"Huh?" She blinked. "What did you say?"
"I said 'You are so beautiful.'" Rex said as he mentally sighed in relief. 'Good cover…' He then looked around. "Where's Aurora?"
She shrugs, "I dunno!"
"If this is another one of your scare tactics…"
Flannery sighed at the statement. "You take things much too seriously…"
"Hey, that's life for ya…" Rex stated. 'If I didn't know any better, I'd say that Flannery knows that I know she's the Gym Leader and want to battle her, and wants to Psyche me out!' He grinned. 'Nice try…'
Flannery just looked at the trainer. She knew that he wanted to face her in a Pokemon battle! She already knew what Rex was going to use: His Wartortle and his Feraligatr! His third Pokemon was the question that was on her mind! Probably a rock or another water type! Just because she'd probably be at a disadvantage didn't mean that she didn't have any surprises for the Trainer from Goldenrod City. She grinned. 'You are so going to get creamed again…'
Aurora, dressed back into her regular clothes, walked by as she saw her sister and her friend/challenger grinning at each other. 'How cute…' She mused to herself as she held up a camera. "Smile!"
"Hey!"
…
"Is this supposed to be this rough?" Viki asked as she found herself popping up in down in her seat as the bus drove on the rough terrain in a cave that was known as Rusturf Tunnel! A cave that connected Rustboro City to Verdanturf Town!
"I figured that at least they paved these roads for public transportation!" J.C. commented, having better luck, but still experiencing the same thing Viki was. "Was there an avalanche here or something?"
"I…don't know…" She admitted, shaken up, but she wasn't the only one! The other passengers were, if not more, as shaken up as they were! Viki then looked back as she shrieked at what she had just saw: A rampaging Exploud chasing after them! "Oh no…"
J.C. had just seen what was the matter with Viki. "It would be nice if we could just leave through the tunnel now!" Just as the Exploud was now only a short distance away, in a twist of irony, they saw a circle of light in front of them, which indicated that they were at the end of the cave! "Thank god…"
"Next time, can't we just take a plane?" Viki asked as they then felt a huge boom from under their seats as they felt a tilt to the right side. "…Did something happen to the bus?"
"Just what we need…more trouble…" J.C. sighed as he heard the sound of the P.A system now being in use…
"Ladies and Gentlemen, it appears that we have at least two flat tires. Because of this unforeseen circumstance, we will have to stop at the Bus Station in Verdanturf Town. Again, sorry for the inconvenience, and welcome to Verdanturf Town!
"Verdanturf Town?" J.C. sighed. This meant that they were going to take even longer to meet up with Rex in Fallarbor Town, if that was still the plan. Or they could just go to Lavaridge Town. Rex did mention that he was going to battle the Lavaridge Town Gym Leader. Anyway, this was just getting in the way of his soon-to-be-caught Medicham, wherever he or she was, and himself. "Great…"
Viki, on the other hand, was filled with enthusiasm. "Isn't this the town where you can obtain a Contest Pass?" She asked excitedly.
J.C. nodded. "The Nurse Joy back in Oldale Town did mention-" He was interrupted by the gleeful squeal of the dirty blonde.
"Now I can finally jumpstart my career as a Pokemon Coordinator!" Viki cheered as she saw the bus entering the local bus station. Even though that this wasn't their original destination, she felt that she might as well make the best out of a somewhat-bad situation!
With Viki and J.C. now stuck in Verdanturf town, Viki looks to make this bad situation into a good one by registering for Pokemon Contests. Needless to say, it's no longer whether she will participate in a Pokemon Contest or not, it's a matter of when. Also, soon is Rex's inevitable gym battle against Flannery, the Lavaridge Town Gym Leader! Will Rex earn his 2nd badge, or will history repeat itself? Also, Shauna prepares to go to Hoenn with one mission: To get back what was stolen from her. Will she find the thieves responsible and if she does, what will happen? You'll have to stay tuned and find out!