Now that Ichigo has managed to win his seventh badge, our heroes are getting ready to head for Black Moon City for his final gym battle. At the moment, they're gathering everything together for their trip.
"Do we have everything we need?" Chad asked.
"I think so. Ichigo? Orihime? Are you two ready to go?" Rukia asked.
"Just a second." Ichigo said as he was making sure he had all seven gym badges. "I'm all set."
"Almost." Orihime said as she was brushing Sylveon and Meowstic. "I want to finish grooming Sylveon and Meowstic. With the Ultimate Talent Star coming soon, we need to look great."
"Sylveon!"
"Meowstic!" Orihime thought all of her pokemon were beautiful, but there was someone in the pokemon center that would think just a little differently.
Pokemon
No time to question my moves
I stick to the path that I choose
Me and my friends are gonna do it right
You'll never see us runaway from a fight
To be a master is my dream
All I have to do is believe
(I believe)
I'm on a master quest
(Master quest)
I'm on my way to victory
I can be a champion if I just believe
I'm on a master quest
(Master quest)
I want the whole world to see
(I believe)
I'm gonna be the very best
Cause all I have to do is believe in me
Pokemon!
(Ichigo's voice) It's Battle Deep
"There we go." Orihime said as she finished brushing Meowstic, but still made it look like the natural look. "Don't you look so handsome, Meowstic."
"Cutie!" They all saw some strange girl come out of nowhere and hugged Meowstic. The girl had long blonde hair with a red hairband and wore a pink dress with a series of red bows on it. She hugged and cuddled with Meowstic. "Aren't you a great looking pokemon."
"Uh... Thank you...?" Orihime said as she wasn't sure what was going on, or the others.
"Excuse us, but who are you and what are you doing?" Rukia asked.
"I'm sorry. My name is Maribelle. When I see a pokemon that is cute, handsome, or beautiful, I just can't help myself."
"Well, I'm glad you think my Meowstic looks great." Orihime said. She reached down and grabbed a hold of Sylveon. "What about Sylveon? What do you think? She is pretty don't you think?" Maribelle got a look at Sylveon and didn't really seem satisfied.
"Honestly, the eyes don't look right, the colors clash, and the ribbons are a bit much." Maribelle said. That seemed to have bruised Sylveon's ego.
"Excuse me?! I think my Sylveon is very pretty." Orihime said.
"Not that it should really matter." Rukia said. "A pokemon's out appearance isn't as important as their health or their inner strength."
"Rukia's right. Who cares really how your pokemon looks?" Ichigo said.
"I do! I think the greater the pokemon looks, the better the battle." Maribelle said, but the others wouldn't exactly agree with her. "What do you say to a battle? I would love to battle your Meowstic."
"I'll battle you, but I want to use Sylveon instead. I want to show you that Sylveon can be just as amazing in looks or in a battle." Orihime said.
"Fine, but you're just going to end up loosing like that." Maribelle said. None of them were really like what she was implying, but a battle might be the only way to get her to quit talking like that.
...
The Battlefield
"Okay, I'll be the referee for this battle." Rukia said as she stepped forward. "You'll both use just one pokemon. Let's try and make this a good battle."
"Ready to go, Sylveon?" Orihime asked.
"Sylveon!" Sylveon ran out on the field and was looking for a little payback for the rude comment from before.
"Here's my darling pokemon. Come on out, Nidoran!" Maribelle called and she let out a female Nidoran.
"Nido!"
"A Nidoran... That could be a problem." Chad said.
"Yeah. It's a poison-type. Sylveon is at a disadvantage against that." Ichigo said.
"Go on, Orihime. You can have the first attack." Maribelle said.
"Okay... Sylveon, Fairy Wind!" Orihime said. Sylveon started twirling her ribbons around and unleashed a sparkling wind. Nidoran took the attack and tried to endure it.
"Aw!" Maribelle said as she appeared to actually like Nidoran getting hurt. "Isn't my Nidoran the cutest, even when it's being attacked?"
"Is she serious?" Rukia said as she wasn't liking this. "You do know you'll have to battle back, right. If you don't take this serious, we're going to stop the battle."
"Relax, I know what I'm doing. Nidoran, Poison Sting! Don't forget to look good while doing it." Maribelle said. Nidoran jumped in the air and she unleashed a series of poisonous needles. Sylveon got hit by the attack and some serious damage was being dealt. "Now let's use Double Kick!" Nidoran went at Sylveon and kicked her twice to do a little more damage.
"Sylveon, Quick Attack!" Orihime said. Sylveon charged at Nidoran and smashed against her.
"You shouldn't have done that." Maribelle claimed. "Let's use Poison Fang!" Nidoran had venom flow through her teeth. She bit down on Sylveon and thrashed Sylveon around. She gave Sylveon a good toss and Sylveon ended up being knocked out of the battle.
"Sylveon is unable to battle! Nidoran is the winner!" Rukia claimed. None of them could believe that Maribelle actually won.
"See? The cuter pokemon won and that was my Nidoran." Maribelle said.
"You won because Nidoran had the type advantage with some really effective attacks." Rukia said.
"I won because my Nidoran was cuter. See you later." Maribelle said as she grabbed her Nidoran and took off.
"Sylveon, return. Nurse Joy will make you better." Orihime said as she brought Sylveon back in her pokeball and felt pretty bad she let Sylveon down.
"I can't believe Orihime lost like that." Ichigo said.
"Absol..."
"Maribelle really seems to think appearance makes all the difference." Chad said. "She doesn't seem to get that it was all her pokemon's strength that had her win it."
"No... This can't be right." Rukia said as she wasn't satisfied with how this went herself.
...
The Pokemon Center
"Here you go. Your Sylveon is doing much better." Nurse Joy claimed as she handed Sylveon's pokeball back to Orihime.
"Thank you." Orihime said as she took it. She was glad Sylveon is okay, but she's still upset that she lost that battle.
"Are you okay, Orihime?" Ichigo asked.
"Yeah... I'm just upset I let Sylveon down after what Maribelle said." Orihime said. "I'm sure she wasn't trying to be mean. It was just her honest opinion. Still, I feel bad for Sylveon." All of them understood. As for Rukia, she just couldn't hold it back anymore.
"I've decided that I'm battling Maribelle!" Rukia said. That was a good surprise to all of them. "Don't get me wrong. There's nothing wrong with like a pokemon's appearance, but I don't like how she thinks that's all that matters. She needs to be taught a good lesson."
"So you're going to battle her to prove that?" Chad said.
"Wow. That almost sounds like something a gym leader would say." Ichigo said. Ignoring that comment, Rukia went on ahead to find Maribelle. When they found her, she already told Maribelle that Rukia wants to battle her.
"You want to battle me? I thought I made it clear that the cuter pokemon is the one that wins." Maribelle said.
"If that's true, you wouldn't mind having a battle with me. I've got three pokemon." Rukia said as she dug around for her pokemon. "Let me show you."
"You sure you want to do this, Rukia?" Ichigo asked. "Maribelle didn't even think Sylveon was all that cute, pretty, or whatever."
"Hey, in my eyes, my pokemon are the most beautiful ever." Rukia said. "Let me show you what I mean. Here's Dewgong." She let out her pokemon one by one and Dewgong was the first.
"Dewgong!"
"Dewgong... Well, the snow-white and slender body does look nice, but I have to cut off points with that horn." Maribelle said.
"Okay, but what about Cryogonal?" Rukia said as she let out Cryogonal.
"Cry!"
"No way. It looks like a bumpy snowflake." Maribelle said as she still wasn't satisfied.
"Well, that just leaves Jynx." Rukia said and let her out.
"Jynx!" When Jynx came out, we got a winner as Maribelle loved it.
"It's so pretty!" Maribelle said. "That cute face, nice dress, and gorgeous hair! Your Jynx looks amazing!"
"I'm glad you like at least one of them. I guess that means you want to battle my Jynx." Rukia said. "However, I still like to use Dewgong and Cryogonal. How about we have three battles?"
"Well, I guess that would be okay." Maribelle said. "Still, I'm sure my pokemon will be the one that wins in the end."
"We'll see about that." Rukia said as she was determined to win this battle.
...
The Battlefield
"Remember, we'll have three battles. The one with two wins will be the winner." Rukia said as she and Maribelle were getting ready for the battle.
"Okay, but I'm telling you my pokemon will win. Nidoran, come on out!" Maribelle said as she chose Nidoran again.
"Nido!"
"Dewgong, you're up first!" Rukia said.
"Dewgong!"
"Let's get this over with. Dewgong, start by using Brine!" Rukia said.
"Nidoran, Poison Sting!" Meribelle said. Both pokemon used their attacks and it ended up with them cancelling each other out. "Now use Double Kick, my dear." Nidoran ran straight for Dewgong and kicked it twice with some massive damage being dealt.
"You'll have to do better than that! Dewgong, Ice Shard!" Rukia said. Dewgong formed a shard of ice and was able to blast Nidoran with it. Dewgong made sure to add some shine to it. "See that? My Dewgong's Ice Shard is rather pretty, don't you think?"
"Maybe, but I still say my Nidoran is prettier. Nidoran, Double Kick again!" Maribelle said. Nidoran charged at Dewgong and the attack landed again. Dewgong was knocked out from those kicks and taken out of the battle.
"That's it for Dewgong." Orihime said.
"Too bad." Chad said.
"I knew my Nidoran won." Maribelle said as she was acting all cheery.
"Your Nidoran won because fighting-type attacks are really strong against Dewgong." Rukia said as she brought Dewgong back in its pokeball. "That's how it works, but if you still need to lose for you to understand that, so be it. Cryogonal, you're up next!"
"Cry!"
"Misdreavous, come out dear!" Maribelle said.
"Misdreavous!"
"I can see why Maribelle has that pokemon." Orihime said.
"But let's hope that Cryogonal can actually beat it." Ichigo said. "Rukia's already down by one lost. One more and she loses the whole battle."
"Cryogonal, Aurora Beam!" Rukia said. Cryogonal generated the colorful beam and blasted Misdreavous with it, but Misdreavous was able to endure the attack.
"Misdreavous, Night Shade!" Maribelle said. Misdreavous unleashed dark energy waves from its eyes. Crygonal got caught by the attack and was taking some damage. "Now use Psybeam!" Misdreavous fired the attack from its eyes and blasted Cryogonal. Cryogonal took some damage and was knocked to the ground. This battle looked like it was just about over. "Looks like I win again."
"No! Cryogonal, get up!" Rukia said. Cryogonal might have taken some damage, but it was still getting back up. Maribelle wasn't expecting that. The struggle Cryogonal was going through was inspirational, heartwarming, like a wrestler who doesn't want to lose an important match. At least it was in Maribelle's view. "That's it! Get up! Get up!" Cryogonal kept trying to get back up until it was up in the air again.
"It's still going?!" Maribelle said as she couldn't believe it.
"Now do you see?" Rukia said. "It doesn't matter what a pokemon looks like. It's their inner strength that really matters. Cryogonal, Blizzard!" Cryogonal spun around and generated a powerful Blizzard. Misdreavous got caught in it and was taking some damage. "Now use Aurora Beam!"
"Cry!" Cryogonal fired the beam and blasted Misdreavous with Misdreavous being knocked out.
"It's tied now." Chad said.
"Do you understand?" Rukia asked. "You didn't like how Cryogonal looked, but it still managed to win. You can make your pokemon look as nice as you want, but who really cares about that? You should focus more on your pokemon's well-being."
"You know you're sounding like a geezer, but I guess it was inspiring how your Cryogonal kept battling for you like that. I thought for sure it was over." Maribelle said. The two brought their pokemon back and got ready for their last battle.
"Okay, Jynx. It's all on you!" Rukia said.
"Jynx!" Maribelle had a pokeball ready, but she had something else in mind.
"Hold on." Maribelle said. She reached inside her bag and pulled out a different pokeball. "I'll use you."
"What's going on?" Rukia asked.
"I rarely use this pokemon." Maribelle said. "The truth is... I thought this pokemon was so pretty, the cutest pokemon ever, but a lot of people made fun of me because of that. Those words hurt, so I started catching pokemon I thought everyone would think are cute or beautiful."
"I get it now." Rukia said. "So what pokemon is that?"
"I'll show you." Maribelle said. She threw out the pokemon and it was a surprising one.
"Grimer!"
"Grimer?!" Ichigo said as he was surprised to see that. "She thinks that pokemon is pretty?"
"Of course! Look at those cute eyes, and don't you love that shade of purple?" Maribelle said.
"Well, it looks like you're starting to get it. Now let's see how strong Grimer really is." Rukia said. "Jynx, Ice Beam!" Jynx started the battle as she fired a cold beam, but Grimer jumped in the air and dodged the attack.
"Grimer, Sludge Bomb!" Maribelle said. Grimer fired sludge from its mouth. The sludge exploded against Jynx and was dealing some damage. "Now use Focus Punch!" Grimer went at Jynx again and smashed its fist against Jynx. "Focus Punch again!"
"Jynx, Teleport!" Rukia said. Jynx teleported out of the way that time and reappeared behind Grimer. "Now use Icy Wind!" Jynx breathed out the cold air and hit Grimer with it.
"Hang in there, Grimer! Now use Toxic!" Maribelle said. Grimer fought through the Icy Wind and blasted poison at Jynx. Jynx got hit by the Toxic and was poisoned.
"Oh no! Jynx has been poisoned now!" Rukia said.
"And the bad new just keeps coming. Sludge Bomb!" Maribelle said.
"Hang in there, Jynx! Ice Beam!" Rukia said. Both pokemon used their attacks and blasted the other with it. Both of them were knocked out and were taken out of the battle.
"It's a draw!" Ichigo said. The battle might have ended in a draw, but both trainers were really satisfied with how it ended.
"You were great, Jynx. Thank you." Rukia said as she brought Jynx back in her pokeball.
"Grimer, you were great!" Maribelle said.
"Grimer?"
"You were." Maribelle said. "You looked cute and battled great. I'm really happy for you." Maribelle really was proud of Grimer and it brought tears of Joy to Grimer's eyes.
"Looks like she's getting it now." Rukia said.
"It was hard because everyone made fun of her judgement when she thought Grimer was the cutest pokemon ever." Orihime said. "They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder."
"Any pokemon can look as great as possible as long as they have a great trainer that loves them." Ichigo said.
Yes, people and pokemon are judge by their appearances, but it's important to look beyond that. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Our heroes will remember that for all the pokemon they meet in the future. Now, they'll be on their way to Black Moon City for Ichigo's eighth gym battle, and it's sure to be a great one as well.
To Be Continued...
Pokemon Question: Here we go, trainers. The answer to the last question was...Jirachi. Jirachi sleeps for a thousand years and only stays awake for seven days. Here's the next question. What pokemon showers people with happiness as long as the person is kindhearted.
