Castelia Arc: Stress... Once Again
"You're still wet, by the way", Mari remarked.
"What, really?" Jacky looked down at herself and when she realized Mari was right, she pulled a face. "Great...",
"Didn't you bring a change of clothes?" the black haired girl wanted to know.
"Yes I did, but I have nowhere to change here! We'll have to wait until we get to the Castelia Pokémon Center.",
"Speaking of Castelia. We're almost there.",
"Huh? Ah... Right." She nodded as she realized the ferry was already setting course for the port.
"What do you think?" asked Mari, thoroughly impressed by the city's gigantic skyscrapers. "A city full of wonders, a shopping trip and a gym that will put us to the test. But you know what? It can all come!" She raised her fist in the air.
"Absolutely. I'm ready for it. And one more thing... Let's never argue again.",
"Ask for forgiveness instead of permission, that's what Maki always said. So... yeah, let's.", "Mari..." Jacky looked at the floor when Mari mentioned her cousin. "We'll bring her back no matter what it takes. If we're strong enough to take on this beast.",
"Yeah. Hypno won't get off that easy, you can be sure of that.",
"But first, it's Castelia's turn.", Jacky tried to cheer her up.
"Yep. It's a big city, I'm sure there's lots to see."
The boat docked and the travelers disembarked. Jacky walked across the dock and was amazed. "Whoa, the skyscrapers look even bigger up close... I wonder how many doubles of me you'd have to stack to reach the top?",
"Many, I'm sure", Mari commented. "They must be several hundred meters high. Okay, enough wondering! Let's get some FOOD!",
"Yeah, yeah!" Jacky laughed and they went to find a restaurant where Mari ordered pasta and Jacky ordered soup. When something finally landed in her stomach, Mari's mood improved a hundredfold. "Ah, that feels MUCH better! Now I'm in the mood for some ice cream, you coming?",
"Definitely!" Jacky nodded and the two strolled through the streets. When they found the famous ice cream parlour, both of their mouths watered. "Oh dear... I can't decide... It all looks so yummy...!" Jacky wailed. "Vanillite ice cream is something I really need to try. Later." Mari thought. "It's soft ice cream that looks like a Vanillite.",
"Hmm... I think I'll have Pecha Berry ice cream..." Jacky muttered thoughtfully.
"Mago Berry for me, I just can't get around that."
The ice cream was the best they ever had. It was simply fantastic. "How about a tour around the city?" Jacky asked with renewed motivation.
"Sounds tempting." Mari nodded. "Let's conquer the city!"
They walked through the streets and passed a jewelry store, where Jacky stopped by briefly. She found two necklaces that the bought. They were identical and had white and dark blue gemstones. She put one of them around Absol's neck. "White and dark blue! Exactly our colors! What do you think?" Questioningly, she turned to Mari.
"You two look adorable." Absol seemed delighted and played around with it with its paw. Then, they walked on and turned right into a narrower street- Which they regretted, because they ran into a couple of rowdies and punks. "Wow. I didn't imagine it would be like this..." Jacky mumbled as the gang approached.
"Yo! Fresh meat, guys!" one of the guys shouted. "Oh great!" Mari groaned. "As soon as we set foot anywhere, there's trouble. Is this some kind of talent of ours?",
"Seems so..." Jacky sighed as the group gathered in front of them.
"Let us through and don't get in our way or we'll kick your asses!" Mari growled and her foul Dino mood, the term was probably extremely appropriate, was back. "Or We'Ll KiCk yOuR aSsEs!" one mimicked her and the others laughed. "Let's face it, kid. You better get out of here. This is no place for you." His voice dripped with mockery.
"We decide for ourselves where to go and where not to go. Get out of the way", Mari hissed, looking at Jacky, who also nodded. "Don't put obstacles in our way, please.",
"Please. Oh guys, the blonde chick said 'please'! How cute!"
Jacky pulled a face and was gradually shocked. "Blonde chick?" she asked, "That's really not nice! Let us through!",
"Jacky, you aren't supposed to be polite to people like these idiots", Mari whispered to her.
"Oh-ho!" a bald guy sneered, nudging one of his gang with his shoulder. "Yo, Jack! Cleanin' up now, what do you say?",
"On it, Stan." He grinned, and both of them stepped in the girls' way extra obviously. Mari sighed. Absol growled, but Jacky held it back. "Leave it to Luxio, Absol. Luxio, we're on it!" Luxio reared up in front of Jacky with a throaty growl. Mari sent out her Kirlia. "Come on, Golbat, out you go!" Stan shouted, and Jack just grinned. "We've got new playmates, Liepard!" The Golbat immediately attacked Kirlia with Shadow Ball. "Give him a present, Kirlia." Mari said and Kirlia raised its hand. The ball stopped in midair and then flew right back into Golbat's face, where it exploded. "Charge, Luxio!" Jacky commanded, and sparks sprayed out of the Electric Pokémon's fur. "Forget it! Liepard, Fake Out!" Jack shouted, and the cat shot forward lithely, but Mari extended her arm. "Magical Leaf, Kirlia!" Kirlia let loose a swarm of leaves at the cat, hitting it in the side and sending it reeling. "This is our chance, Luxio. Thunder Fang!" Luxio charged forward like a flash, snapping at Liepard. It buried its teeth into its paw and discharged all its pent-up energy. Golbat tried to rush to its aid, but Kirlia grabbed it with Psychic and hurled it against Liepard, which caused them both to get sizzled by Luxio's energy. Liepard had taken a lot of damage, but it jumped back onto its paws and fired a Will-o-Wisp at Kirlia. "Magical Leaf!" Mari shouted and Kirlia fired something else that could be burned off into the direction of the blue flames causing them to burn the leaves and dissolve. "Golbat, Supersonic!" Stan shouted, but Luxio didn't let it make a move. "Discharge!" A shockwave hit the bat and it screamed before Luxio growled and attacked with Thunder Fang. It grabbed Golbat's wing and flung it to the ground. There, it remained. "Impressive." Mari smiled, then shouted a command at Kirlia. "Dazzling Gleam!" Kirlia sent bright beams of light at Liepard, but it dodged with the help of Feint Attack and attempted to strike at it. However, Kirlia simply disappeared, appearing above it and sending leaves crashing into Liepard's back. It hissed loudly. Kirlia landed gracefully on the ground and teleported again. It appeared next to Luxio. "Let's finish it as a team! Discharge!",
"Dazzling Gleam!"
Glaring light illuminated the entire street as the attacks added up and crashed into Liepard with full force. The punks' facial expressions slipped as they found their Pokémon knocked out on the ground.