Chapter 16: The Truth About Fairies

Roku's P.O.V.

Goldenrod City Gym

I walked up to Whitney, who was crying softly, and said, "Are you going to be OK?"

Whitney stood up and wiped the tears from her eyes. "I'll be OK. I've just…never seen anyone battle like that."

"Just ignore him," I said. "You should get some rest. You've got another challenge coming up."

"Say what?" Whitney said. "Oh! I didn't know you two were going to challenge me! But, I'm going to have to ask you to come back tomorrow. I don't think I can battle in this kind of state."

"I understand," I said. "I'll wait until tomorrow, OK?"

With that out of the way, me, Reia, and the rest of the group made our way back to the Pokémon Center to rest for the day. But I still had energy to burn. So, after I told Reia that I was going out to let off some steam, she offered to come with me, and we made our way onto Route 34 for some late-night training.

"OK! So, what are we going to do?" Reia asked me.

"We'll have to train up that new Eevee of yours," I said. "So, let's pit it against Luna and see what we have to work with."

"OK," Reia said, pulling out Eevee's Poke Ball. "Go, Eevee!"

The Poke Ball burst open, and all I could see was a brown streak of fur as Eevee immediately went for a Quick Attack, which suggested that he was pretty well-trained to begin with.

"Whoa! Incoming!" Luna shouted, using her own Quick Attack to dodge out of the way. "What the hell are you trying to pull?!"

"You wanted to fight, so I'm fighting!" Eevee said.

"You're supposed to follow my lead!' Reia said. "That's what a Pokémon Battle consists of!"

"Whatever," Eevee scoffed. "I'm here to kick ass and take names. And I intend to do so!"

My eyes went wide. This Eevee was definitely aggressive and confident, which suggested a brave nature. This Eevee was going to be an attack powerhouse, if anything.

"OK, then! I'll give you a fight!" Luna shouted, launching her Swift attack. Eevee let loose with his own Swift, smashing the rays that Luna fired off and nullifying the attack. But Luna came flying in with a Quick Attack and sent Eevee sprawling back.

"How do you like me now?!" Luna shouted cockily.

Eevee shook his head and dashed forward with his own Quick Attack. Luna blasted forward as well, not wanting to give up against this disrespectful excuse of a Pokémon.

"I'm not backing down!" Eevee shouted.

"Neither am I!" Luna shot back.

The two Pokémon collided furiously and sent up a massive plume of dirt. Once the dust cleared, only Luna was still standing.

"Huff…huff…" Luna breathed heavily. "Let's not do that again, OK?"

Eevee slowly and shakily rose to his feet and said, "Agreed."

The rest of the night was spent training up Reia's Eevee to deal with the strategy that Whitney has up her sleeve. By the time the sun rose, we were still training. Right then, I got a call from Whitney.

"Hey, what's up?" I said as her hologram shimmered into view.

"I'm ready for a Gym Battle, that's what's up!" Whitney said with a smile. "Come by whenever you're ready!"

"Cool," I said. "Oh, and FYI: Both my friend Reia and I will be taking you on, so you'll be battling with a partner."

"Oh, OK! I like a little change of pace!" Whitney said happily. "I'll see you later!"

Whitney hung up, and I looked at Reia with a cocked eyebrow.

"She seems a little too happy-go-lucky," Reia said. "It's kind of wigging me out."

"All part of the deceptively cute act," I said. "Don't let it get to your head; that's exactly what she wants."

"I should be saying that to you," Reia shot back. "She is a girl, and a rather cute one at that…"

"Oy, now that's just stereotypical!" I said, smiling. "Just because I'm a guy does not mean I'm attracted to any girl wearing a pair of jorts that hugs her hips!"

"So you DID notice them," Reia said, smiling.

"How can you not?" I asked. "They stick out like a sore thumb."


Later that day, we reached the Gym after taking a rest at the Pokémon Center. I knew that we were ready as soon as we walked through the door.

"Hi, you're just in time!" Whitney said. "Ready for a beating?"

"I'm ready to dish one out, if that's what you mean," I retorted.

We took our places on the field. The bigger guy, who I later learned his name was Stan, showed up with a mic and said, "This is a two-on-two Double Battle! Only the challengers can substitute Pokémon! Battle Begin!"

"Go, Clefairy!" The girls said in unison. The two small Fairy-types entered the field.

"Go, Lyra!" Reia shouted.

"Go, Braixen!" I shouted.

Our two fire foxes entered the battlefield, ready to fry some Fairies.

"Let's go! Ember!" We shouted together.

Lyra and Braixen shot off their fiery attacks with more intensity than before due to our late-night training session. The girls launched a Fairy Wind attack, but that only increased the intensity of the flames and did more damage.

"We're not out of this yet!" Whitney shouted. "Clefairy, use Attract!"

The first thought that went through my head was Oh, shit. Braixen was a guy, so Attract would cause him to fall in love with Clefairy. I had to do something fast or I was going to regret it later.

"Braixen! Get out of there!" I said.

I was too late, however. Braixen's eyes turned lovey-dovey, and that pretty much ruined any chance I had at fighting back.

"Damn…come back, ya sucker," I said, returning the infatuated Pokémon to his Poke Ball. I had no other choice but to send Riolu in.

"Go, Riolu!" I shouted, releasing Riolu onto the battlefield.

"Now, Clefairy! Use Fairy Wind!" Whitney's partner shouted.

Clefairy flapped its wings and shot a sparkly burst of air at Riolu, who dodged it barely thanks to Foresight. Lyra fired off one last Ember attack, bringing the girl's Clefairy down. With that threat out of the way, I brought Riolu back in and sent Braixen back onto the field. The girl brought out her last Pokémon, a Snubbull.

"Reia, get Whitney!" I said. "I'll take Snubbull!"

"Got it! Lyra, use Ember!" Reia shouted.

"Braixen, Flame Charge that Snubbull!" I shouted.

Lyra shot off another Ember attack, this time leaving a massive burn mark on the Clefairy's skin. Braixen blasted forward with a Flame Charge, which dealt a fairly good amount of damage to the small Pokémon.

"Not yet!" the girl yelled. "Snubbull, use Bite!"

Snubbull latched onto Braixen as he was jumping back, causing him to cry out in pain.

"Hey! Get the hell off me!" Braixen shouted, shaking his leg. "Lyra, a little help here!"

Lyra nodded and smacked the Snubbull off of Braixen's leg with a Quick Attack, knocking it out. With one chance left, I ordered Braixen to use Flame Charge, taking the Clefairy out.

Now all that was left was the biggest threat: Whitney's Miltank.

I shuddered as the massive cow Pokémon exploded onto the field, ready for battle. Reia and I returned our Pokémon and sent out Riolu and Eevee.

"Ok, Miltank! Use Rollout!" Whitney shouted.

I saw a gleam in Riolu's eye that told me he knew what to do. Whitney's Miltank rolled forward, only to be smashed by a powerful Force Palm, sending it flying back. However, the Miltank kept going, being smashed by an even more powerful Counter attack. Once she landed, Miltank was on the verge of fainting.

"OK, Riolu!" I shouted. "Let Eevee take the field on this one!"

"Got it," Riolu said, backing off. Eevee was ordered to use Swift, but not until after Miltank was using Milk Drink to restore her HP.

"Wha…hey!" Eevee said. "That's not fair!"

"I ain't losin', ya hear?!" Miltank shouted. She then landed a massive foot on Eevee's body, smashing him into the ground.

"Urrgh…" Eevee groaned. He stood up, but fell back down, clearly injured.

"Eevee! Get out of there!" Reia cried.

Eevee tried to lift his body, but the pain was too much to bear. At this moment, Miltank was gearing up for another Rollout, barreling towards Eevee.

"Riolu! Cover Eevee!" I shouted. "Force Palm!"

Riolu dashed in front of Eevee and drew his palm back. Right as it looked like Miltank was going to take both of them, she was blasted back by an immense force, which suggested that Riolu's attack had landed.

"You OK, bud?" Riolu said, helping Eevee onto his feet.

"Yeah…Thanks," Eevee said. "If it weren't for you, I'd be road kill."

"C'mon, let's finish this battle together," Riolu said. "Can you still execute a Quick Attack?"

"I'll try," Eevee said, taking himself off of Riolu's shoulder. The two started to run at Miltank.

"Now that's teamwork," I said in admiration.

"Go get 'em, you guys!" Reia cheered.

The two Pokémon sped up until you could barely see them. All you could see was a blue and brown streak as their attacks slammed into Miltank, finishing the job.

"Miltank is unable to battle!" Stan shouted. "Riolu and Eevee are the winners! The victory goes to Roku and Reia!"

"Yes! We did it!" I cheered. I ran up to Riolu and scooped him up, saying, "You did great! I made the right choice in bringing you along!"

"It wasn't just me, Roku," Riolu said. "You should thank Braixen, as well as Eevee."

"I'm the one who should be thanking you, Riolu," Eevee said, walking up with Reia. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have finished this battle."

I put Riolu down and looked at Whitney, who was crying all over again.

"What?" I asked. "What did I do?"

"You made Whitney cry again," her partner said. "But that's OK. She'll stop soon. She always cries when she loses."

Wow, I thought. What a sore loser.

I walked up to Whitney and said, "Crying about it's not going to change anything."

Whitney looked up and said, "What do you want?"

"Uh, I'd like a Badge, after all my hard work," I said.

"A Badge?" Whitney asked, puzzled. "Oh, right. Here's the Plain Badge."

I took my third Badge, which really wasn't anything special in terms of appearance, and snapped it into my badge case. After Whitney congratulated me on my victory, I said my goodbyes to all the girls that were Whitney's apprentices and went back to the Pokémon Center for a little rest.

Right then, I got a call on my P*DA from someone named Cedric.


Author's Note: Not a very long chapter, I know, but the Gym battle wasn't all that difficult, even with the Pokémon I had to work with when I started my battling career. By the way, I still have my Typhlosion and my first Umbreon from my original Gold version. My Umbreon is my lifelong partner, and I wouldn't trade him for anything. Those who ask will hear some very rude things from me.

Anyway, Roku will be going through the National Park next, but not until after he experiences the Pokeathlon, which I'm sure that, if you've played HeartGold or SoulSilver, you've heard of. Also, If you noticed, the leader of the Legend Keepers is calling Roku personally. Or maybe it's someone else…

I'll leave it to you to think about what happens next. Until then, this is Strato Abyss signing out.