"Rufflet use Wing Attack!" I watched as the small bird chirped and flew high up, it's wings glowing light blue before it flew down towards the floating Duskull at incredible speeds.
"Duskull, go underground and dodge!" The floating Ghost Type released a creepy moan and did as she was told, phasing through the ground and dodging the high speed attack just in time before resurfacing. "Counterattack with Ominous Wind!" A dark purple aura enveloped said Pokemon before a dark purple wind shot forth from her body, striking the flying Rufflet in the back before it could doge and causing it to release a pained cry, but surprisingly, it didn't faint after getting it.
It has already been two days since the Dungeon dive where we captured said Ghost Pokemon, and since then we spent most of the time either training, or having mock battles. Apparently Rosa is a very competitive girl.
We Dungeon dived a few more times since then, but we mostly do it once in the morning and once during the afternoon, then just focus on mock battles so that Rosa and Hilda can get better at controlling their Pokemon, and to let said Pokemon get used to their new moves in case they learned some.
Hilda's Pokemon are all quite fast, but only Rufflet is capable of holding on after taking a few good hits. Tepig can hit very hard, but tends to be very impulsive and sometimes attacks before Hilda can even tell him what to do. Ducklett instead used to know only two moves, which were Water Gun and Water Sport, but then managed to learn Peck and Wing Attack from copying Rufflet, the only problem is that it's flight speed is very slow.
As for Rosa's other Pokemon, Stoutland learned Bite after our fight against Duskull, while I managed to learn Take Down from him after a whole day of trying. Learning moves is so incredibly tiring and difficult.
The way learning moves works is both simple and hard. From what I can deduce, all Pokemon have this 'energy' inside their bodies aside from the specific strands representing their known moves, and they can control this energy but it's incredibly tiring.
To learn a move I have to control this energy and imitate the effect of the move I am trying to learn as best as possible, and only then will I finally gain the designed strand. It's highly exhausting because it takes a long time to recover said energy, unless I defeat other Pokemon to regain it.
I'll only do this when I really want to learn a move that is very powerful and will fit my fighting style, or at least until Rosa can afford to buy the cheapest TM's without a care, which won't be for a long while as their price were incredibly high, ranging from the six digits to the nine digits.
Every new beginner trainer had a weekly allowance of a thousand Pokemoney given to them, and said allowance will grow higher with each badge the trainer gains, but neither Rosa or Hilda know high the raise will be.
Anyway, the reason I wanted to learn Take Down is obviously because of how powerful it is. It's a move that hits hard, and if I mix it with other moves like Quick Attack and Cross Chop, then it's going to be devastating against Steel Type Pokemon. Though the recoil I get after using Take Down hurts quite a bit.
"Okay Rufflet, come back." The bird Pokemon released a quiet cry as it slowly flew back into Hilda's embrace before being pulled back into it's Pokeball as Duskull flew back to Rosa. "That Duskull really hits hard…" Hilda sighed, clearly slightly jealous, but also very proud of how strong her Pokemon have become.
"I think we are ready to challenge our first Gym tomorrow." Rosa stated with a large smile as she stroked the top of Duskull's head, and making the Ghost Type release a happy hum-like sound. "We have some Type advantage, we trained a lot, and we also looked up on what Pokemon the Gym Leaders have." Hilda nodded at Rosa's words, a nervous and excited grin on her face as she picked up her murderous looking Tepig.
"I'm so nervous and scared, but also so excited!" Hilda shivered, wiggling from left to right as her Tepig squeaked angrily while trying to get out of said embrace. The fucker doesn't even know how lucky he is!
Hilda is a very curvaceous girl, and she shows it by simply wearing a tank top and shorts that hug her curves a lot, and I am pretty sure she does it mostly to tease Rosa as I've seen her bend over when Rosa is looking, or stretch her body to show her belly and bust some more.
If this keeps going, they will be all over each other by the time the year ends. Albeit I don't know if they have feelings for each other, so it might just be sexual attraction.
"Come on, let's go back and let our cuties take a much deserved rest." I snorted at Hilda's words and gave a very pointed look towards her Tepig, who squealed murderously towards me, pretty much proving my point. "If you don't shut up I'll leave you with the Chansey." And the squealing stopped instantly, the murderous expression being replaced by a terrified one.
The reason Tepig is so terrified of the Chansey at the Pokemon Center is because while me and Stoutland were getting healed up, Hilda came in and delivered her own Pokemon to receive treatment, only for Tepig to jump out of his Pokeball and attack a Chansey for some reason.
And only for the Chansey to beat the ever living shit out of him and then patching him back up. Now just mentioning them puts the fear of Death into the poor pig.
We walked out of the miniature training grounds that weren't that far from the Pokemon Center and turned down the street, and as we passed by a local large park I noticed that something was off.
"What's going on there?" Rosa asks the question floating in my head as we stop and stare at the large crowd that had formed there. I kind of have a bad feeling about this as I find this situation far too familiar to the first appearance of Team Plasma in the game.
"..tell me why we must abide to the rules set by the P.T.A.?! Why should young trainers not capture as many Pokemon as they wish?! Why must they hold back and consider their choices carefully instead of having the freedom of capturing as many Pokemon as they want, like we once did!" A loud and deep male voice was heard speaking from the front of the crowd as me, Rosa and Hilda approached the group and peeked at the front.
The speaker was a tall and muscular man wearing a mask with a bright and large red Z on it and with bright crimson hair, wearing a long red cape, black armored shirt with the word 'Zenith' written on the front in dark red, black pants and boots and with a belt covered in at least a dozen or so Pokeball.
Behind the man were four more people, two men and two women, all of them sharing the same attire as the man with the word Zenith, just with different color scheme and words on their chest.
The first on the left was a tall curvaceous woman with a silver Z on her mask, silver hair, and the word 'Peak' written in silver across her chest with a silver colored cape.
The second was a thin man with a dark blue Z on his mask, dark blue hair, and the word 'Apex' written across his chest in dark blue alongside a bright blue cape.
The third was a short slim woman, her color scheme was orange and her word was 'Summit'.
And the last was a hunched over man, his color scheme was yellow and his word was 'Pinnacle'.
"Before the P.T.A. rose to power, trainers all over the world had so much freedom! They could capture so many companions, and share their adventures with them!" I glanced around, and noticed that more than half of the people listening to this man seemed to agree with him.
"But then the P.T.A. came in and destroyed it all! Our beloved Pokemon, friends with who we shared adventures with, were ripped out of our hands, else we'd be sent to jail like criminals! Our freedom of capturing Pokemon, of making friends with them, stripped from us and locked behind some worthless badges!" A murmuring picked up among the crowd, more and more people starting to agree with Zenith's words as Rosa and Hilda looked on with worry.
Looks like not everyone likes how the P.T.A. operates huh…
"I am sure I am not the only one that had his own friends and partners ripped out of our hands all those years ago! My friends behind me suffered the same fate and had their best friends taken away, never to be seen again!" Zenith's words grew louder as the crowd grew bigger and more people started to gather, "Never a day goes by where I wonder how my dear friends are doing, and what those monsters have done to them."
"Join me! Join us, Team Zenith, in our campaign to overthrow this corrupted and useless P.T.A.! We might have a chance to regain our long lost friends, or we might not, but our aim is to eradicate these disgusting laws that tie us down! If we must get our hands dirty to regain our freedom, then so be it!" The majority of the crowd cheered, almost drowning out the sound of the sirens, but Zenith seemed to still hear them and it caused him to sigh as he straightened himself and grabbed a Pokeball from his belt, "Remember my words citizens! They cannot tie us all down! Go and capture as many Pokemon as you wish, make friends with them, do not let such useless laws hold you down! If you wish to join us, then all you have to do is break the shackles placed on you!" The man tossed the Pokeball in the air, letting it pop open and release a giant red beam of light, and making a massive five meter tall Salamence appear beside him.
"Stop right there!" The crowd dispersed as dozens of cops and Pokemon poured into the park, with Rosa picking me up and moving away with Hilda.
I turned my head and stared as the five Team Zenith members jumped onto the Salamence back while brilliant flames gathered in it's mouth. The Dragon Type Pokemon jumped in the air and released a massive torrent of scorching flames in the spot where he was standing, bathing the park in a sea of fire and sending the cops and their Pokemon flying with a powerful blast of hot air.
"Well, that was something…" Hilda sighed, scratching Tepig's belly to keep the violent pig calm as she kept throwing glances back towards the almost destroyed park. "Still, I kind of agree with what that guy said."
"Hilda!" Rosa gasped, her eyes just as wide as mine as we both stared at Hilda, who just shrugged with a lazy smile before her gaze grew serious.
"You know what the P.T.A. did to my mother. I know that some of their action are necessary, but what they did in the beginning was downright evil." Hilda scoffed, and Rosa shut her mouth as she sighed through her nostrils, her arms tightening around me. "My mom had more than thirty badges, and yet they came and robbed her of her partners, completely killing her drive to adventure more. Hell, they robbed your mother of her Chansey too, and she was just a nurse!" My eyes narrowed as my disgust towards the P.T.A. just grew to a whole new level. Just what the fuck were they thinking? And how did they rise to power so quickly too? How could the trainers and Champions of all the Regions let something like this happen?
I know so little about all of this and it pisses me off, especially since I don't know if they'll decide to steal me away from Rosa.
"Let's just go back and prepare for tomorrow." Rosa sighed out as she hugged me tight, and I saw Hilda open her mouth to say something before she simply shook her head and shut her mouth.
Seeing that the subject is sensitive and that the mood is kinda bad, I decided to use one of my pawsome puns to brighten it up.
"You know, Arrbok would be a very good pirate Pokemon." My lips quivered as the two girls kept walking, and I could see Hilda furrow her brows as she carefully went through what I said. Then her lips quivered.
"How the fuck do you even come up with these?"
(The Next Day)
"Are you done staring holes through the Gym main doors?" I asked Rosa after making sure no one was around. She had been standing there and staring at the doors with a dull empty look for the past ten minutes! It's terrifying!
"Ria…" I hummed and rose my head to stare at the finally responsive girl, then shivered at the look she was giving me and the literal fiery aura around her. There was fire in her eyes, and fire around her body. Man, these dog cookies be hallucinogenic. "Let's kick his ass!" I chewed on the cookies very slowly, rolled the half empty bag closed, dusted off my paws, sat up, and nodded.
Then we stepped through the doors, and the gym went dark.
"So the challenger has finally showed up!" A dozen lights lit up and shined down on me and Rosa, and I felt my murderous instincts grow. "Welcome to my, Herald, Steel Type Gym!"
And then the whole Gym lit up with bright and colorful lights, showing that it was mostly barren other than the large battlefield in the middle filled with metallic gears, steel pillars and steels rubble. And at the other side, standing on top of a podium, was a silver haired man striking a fucking pose. How the fuck did he even know we were coming?!
The tall slim man was wearing iron gauntlets, iron boots with black pants while his chest was completely. Then he changed his pose, placing a hand over the left side of his face, covering his left eye and leaving a gap between his fingers for his right eyes to peek through with a large grin over his face as the lights shone down on him. "Come and step forward young trainer! Come show me if you are worthy of gaining my badge!" And then he his laughter boomed across the Gym.
"I'm going to fucking murder him." I muttered and stepped forward, with Rosa grabbing me in her arms and restraining me from committing murder.
"The rules are simple, we shall use two Pokemon each! I cannot switch Pokemon during the battle, but you can!" The fucker laughed again, switching into another pose, and this time a Pokeball appeared in his hand somehow! The amount of cringe in this is over nine-thousand!
"I understand, and I am ready to start!" Rosa answers as she steps in her circle, letting it lift up and turn into a podium that overlooks the whole battle arena.
"Then I shall go first! Come, my faithful warrior! Lend me your blades to carve a path to victory!" Please just fucking stop! There is no audience here, why the fuck are you doing this embarrassing shit?! "Let's fight, Pawniard!" The Pokeball popped open, letting the Dark and Steel Type Pokemon jump down into the battle arena, where it fucking struck a pose similar to it's owner.
I'm going to murder them both.
"Ehm… Ria, let's go…" Rosa let me down, and I jumped down into the battle arena and glared ferociously at the skeleton looking motherfucker while rolling my shoulders. I ain't going to pull my paws in this fight.
"Ah-ha! What a very special and unique Riolu you have there!" The moron that owns this gym then crosses his arms and lean back, his hair casting a shadow over his eyes. "Looks like I am in trouble." What did I do to deserve this?
"No matter! Pawniard, use Aerial Ace!" I narrowed my eyes as the shorter Pokemon on the other hand of the battlefield started faintly glowing with blue light while the it's blades grew slightly longer.
"Ria, you know what to do!" Yeah, beat the ever living shit of this cringe duo!
I stomped on the ground as the Pawniard charged at me with a hiss-like roar, white and yellow energy wrapping around me as my arms started glowing. Quick Attack plus Take Down and Cross Chop.
"Careful my warrior, dodg-" A blast of displaced air rang out as I blurred forward and into the charging Pawniard, hitting him with a double super-effective move and sending him flying through a steel pillar and almost out of the battlefield.
I grunted and fell on a knee as I panted, feeling the recoil of Take Down wrack through my body and making me feel like my legs are made out of lead. Mixing Take Down with other moves is an incredibly powerful combo, but the recoil becomes stronger too.
"My warrior!" The Gym Leader shouts, but my eyes widen when I see the Pawniard shakily stand up and glare towards me. It survived that powered up twice super-effective move!? No shit it's a Gym Leader Pokemon then, these guys are buff. "What a powerful combo! And what trust in your Pokemon you have to let it fight by itself! I admire thy courage!" Then he turned his back to us, and turned his head slightly our way while crossing his arms. "Looks like I'll have to get serious."
Who let this guy become a Gym Leader?
"Pawniard, use Feint attack!" The Pokemon hissed, and I got back up as the Pokemon swung one of it's blades towards me from where he was, launching a pitch black bolt my way that I easily sidestepped, only for my eyes to widen when I notice that Pawniard disappeared from his original location.
"Ria, behind you!" I activated Quick Attack and moved to the side, but hissed when a hit still managed to land on my left side, leaving a slight bruise.
I lashed out and backhanded the Pokemon away, then charged forward and used a Bullet Punch to send it sprawling away as I used my other hand to rub my bruised side. Even though I am resistant to Dark Type moves, that still hurt.
"Pawniard, use Fury Cutter!" I considered using another Take Down empowered Cross Chop, but decided otherwise as the recoil is just too much, maybe I'll use it against the second Pokemon before tapping out. But I know that if I hit Pawniard with another Cross Chop it'll definitely be out of the fight.
A sickly yellow glow enveloped Pawniard's blade as it charged at me with a battle cry, but I activated Quick Attack and Bullet Punch to quickly approach it and hit it hard, sending it back onto the ground, where I followed up with a Cross Chop to smash it further into the ground and put the Pokemon out of the fight.
"My faithful warrior, nooo!" I groaned, then just shook my head as I walked past the downed Pokemon as a red beam of light removed it from the miniature crater I left it in. "You are one step closer to gaining your first badge…" He paused for dramatic effect as he pulled out another Pokeball, spun on his heels several times, then threw it high in the air with a very flashy throw.
"But your next obstacle will be much harder to climb and overcome! Come out, Klang!" The Pokeball popped open, and out of it appeared a large gear-like Pokemon that floated in the air. This guy can be a problem.
"Send Duskull…" I muttered as I jumped back up onto the podium where Rosa was as she nodded and grabbed Duskull Pokeball. I sat down and sighed, taking a rest and planning to go back into the fight in case Duskull isn't enough to handle Klang.
Duskull's Pokeball popped open and released the flying Ghost Type in the air, her eyes instantly locking onto Klang and releasing a creepy moan-like hiss.
"Duskull, use Will O' Wisp!" Rosa didn't waste a second to go on the offensive, and Duskull floated high in the air before creating several purple like flames around her body. She didn't throw them instantly since they are easy to dodge, and instead charged forward to get closer.
"Klang, use Charge while dodging the attack!" Said Pokemon released a clicking sound, it's gears rolling faster as yellow spark danced all around it's body, but it's flight speed was barely half of Duskull's, so the purple flames landed on it's and sank inside.
Wild flames erupted all around Klang's body for a two seconds before disappearing, the gear Pokemon releasing a shrill cry from the burn damage it just received.
"Damn it! Klang, use Discharge!" Herald, if I remember right, seemingly broke is cringe persona and finally seemed to get desperate to not loose.
His Klang released a shrill metallic cry as bright yellow energy coated it's whole body, before it was suddenly released in a powerful blast of electric energy in every direction and barely catching Duskull in it, sending her flying back.
"Retaliate with Shadow Ball!" Rosa cried out as Duskull recovered and flew around a steel pillar, a large dark purple ball appearing in front of her face before it shot forward at incredible speed.
"Klang, dodge the attack!" Herald ordered, but just as Klang was about to move out of the way, the burning effect from Will O' Wisp appeared, causing it to release a shrill pained cry as flames erupted around it's body before it was drowned by a powerful explosion caused by Shadow Ball.
Klang flew down and smashed into the ground, sending dust and stone everywhere from the impact, but I knew deep down that Klang was still in the fight. Though I doubt it can last much longer.
"Klang, use Shift Gear!" The Gym Leader called out, clearly knowing that his Pokemon is still in the fight, and his answer came from the sound of loudly shifting gears from within the cloud of dust. "Now use Autotomize!" I narrowed my eyes as the sound of heavy things falling on the floor rang out, and then flying out of the dust cloud was Klang, but this time it was a single spinning gear, the other small parts were lying on the ground.
"Duskull, use Ominous Wind!" Rosa called out, causing Duskull to fly around the spinning Klang and release a dark purple wind towards it.
"Dodge it and use Charge, then Charge Beam!" Klang released a few metallic clicking sounds before it easily and quickly avoided Ominous wind, showing just how much faster it was as yellow sparks and energy crackled around it's body, then it quickly concentrated in front of it in the form of a bright sphere.
The beam shot out at speeds too fast to dodge, and it reached Duskull instantly, enveloping the Ghost Pokemon in bright yellow electricity and causing it to shriek in pain.
"Duskull, use Payback!" My eyes widened when I heard Rosa's order, and Duskull didn't waste time to release said move before it crashed to the floor, out of the fight.
Only for a large pitch black bullet to slam into Klang much faster than it's Charge Beam and producing a devastating explosion that shook the whole gym.
I blinked as Klang fell down onto the ground, unconscious, not that far from Duskull.
I can't fucking believe it, Rosa had them trade each other! She knew that Duskull was going to faint after being hit by that twice powerful Charge Beam, but she made sure to have it go down together with Klang by using Payback, which is twice as powerful if the Pokemon is hit before using the move!
Klang was already on the very edge of being defeated, and if it survived Payback, then the burn effect from Will O' Wisp would have finished the job definitely, or I could just have drawn the fight out until it did.
"Klang, nooooo!" Herald fell to his knees and slammed his fists on the ground, causing an explosion to cover him in smoke.
"And so, after a long, valiant battle, the Great Herald was defeated by the new rising trainer with a bright future ahead." A monotone voice spoke up from… somewhere in the gym as it all went dark, only for the few lights that enveloped Rosa as she took Duskull back into her Pokeball.
"Go ahead and take your reward, young warrior. You deserve it." The same voice spoke up as small square rose up from the podium me and Rosa were standing on, then it popped open and revealed the badge inside it, alongside a silver colored disk. Is that a TM?
"Now, let us celebrate this victory with a- eh? Wait, where are you going? Please, wait a-" The voice cut off when the doors to the gym closed, and I released Rosa's hand as I sighed and smiled, finally bathing in the sunlight and finally away from that huge amount of cringe in human flesh.
I really hope not all Gyms are like this, because I don't think I can take it.
I was pulled out from my thoughts when Rosa picked me up, hugged me tight, and spun me around while squealing in joy.
"We won! I won my first Gym Badge! I was so nervous but it was so cool and exciting!" I chuckled and hugged her back as best as I could, letting her get the excitement out of her system as she jumped up and down, spun around and almost even threw me in the air but stopped just in time.
"I wonder how Hilda's doing…" Rosa hummed as she put me back down, and I couldn't help but wonder the same.
We split off just an hour ago after eating, and she looked even more nervous than us. Albeit she was going to fight a Gym were all of her Pokemon had the Type advantage, that doesn't mean that she will have a sure victory in her hands.
"Let's walk towards her Gym, maybe we'll meet her on the way." I tell her after making sure no one was in hearing distance, and she nods after putting the TM in her purse and taking a quick picture of the badge, maybe to send it to her family and friends.
"Are you tired?" She asks me, taking out my bag of snacks and giving it back to me, and I quickly start munching on them without a care after giving a shake of the head. I'm not really tired, just sore. That Take Down combo really did a number on my legs and body, but at least it showed just how incredibly powerful it can be.
"Just sore, but thankfully I didn't have to fight a second time. That Payback was perfect by the way." Rosa grinned with pride and puffed up her chest, clearly very happy at having pulled off such a perfect move at the perfect time. Honestly, she is a very skilled trainer and has a good head on her shoulder, she just needs to get more experience and then she'll be formidable.
"Rosa!" I rose my head and saw Hilda approach us with a large smile on her face, the murderous looking pig under her left arm and squealing angrily to everything he sees. This guy needs to see a doctor.
"Hilda! I won, look! How did it go for you?!" Rosa bounced in excitement, showing the gear shaped badge to Hilda, who in exchange showed her bug shaped badge with a large grin of her own, before it faltered and she sulked.
"I couldn't even use Rufflet, Tepig just Flame Charged at everything and kept growing faster and faster until he just rammed both Pokemon into unconsciousness. He didn't even listen to my Chansey threats…" Yeah, the guy really needs to chill, he's just so violent the majority of the time. I guess he just needs a good beating that will make him finally learn to listen to Hilda and stop being so volatile and hasty in attacking everything.
"Well, at least I hope your Gym Leader wasn't like ours." I shrugged, but then Hilda's face dropped even more as she gave a disgusted shiver and looked like she was about to throw up.
"She had bugs crawling all over her…" What the fuck is wrong with this world?
A.N.: Hope you all enjoy this chapter and the cringe inside it, if you do, please leave a review, it helps motivate me!
P.S. I am somehow running out of puns...