Chapter 8: Lucas vs. Gardenia
Lucas felt the most terrified he had ever been since his first night in Juvenile Hall. The same uncertainty, the same paranoia, the same dread of waiting for the worst to happen. All these feelings rushed back to him as he stood on the second floor of the Old Chateau in Eterna Forest, staring at a glowing television in an abandoned house. The teen had no idea what to do. Running seemed like a valid option, except for the annoying problem of his legs refusing to obey his brain. He tried to command his body to do something besides soil himself when he noticed Gizmo was no longer on his shoulder. The normal-type Pokemon was approaching the television, sitting down a foot in front of it and cocking his head curiously. The terrified Trainer made a connection in his panic-stricken brain. In the other room Gizmo reacted viciously, as though the room with the painting was a real danger, now the Eevee showed no fear at all. This shard of logic relaxed his muscles and the sweat stopped leaking from his body. Still cautious, the teen joined his Pokemon in front of the TV and studied it carefully.
The Trainer knelt in front of the electronic and put his hands on the frame, trying to figure out what was causing it to run. He studied the glowing snow, looking for some sign for the mysterious happening. Suddenly an image flickered briefly, causing Lucas to fall back from surprise. The image flickered again, its silhouette becoming clearer and more defined, "Rrrro?"
Gliding through the solid glass appeared a strangely shaped red creature with large playful eyes and blue plasma surrounding its body. It first went to Gizmo, investigating the Eevee as the normal-type sniffed and examined the creature. It next floated around Hotrod, who was less outgoing around the being than Gizmo was. Seemingly bored, the creature next moved its short attention span to Lucas. The mysterious organism getting within inches of the human's face, moving up and down as it studied him. Whatever it was, it was smiling, and it didn't seem dangerous. Finally Lucas got the courage to speak again, "Are, are you some kind of Pokemon?"
"Ro! Ro! Rrrrotommmm!" The creature chirped excitedly spinning around and dancing in the air.
Lucas got back to his knees, all fear now completely gone, "What are you? And what were you doing inside of the TV?"
The mysterious Pokemon closed its eyes and looked like it was concentrating. A huge spark came off of its body and the snow on the television cleared. A man in a lab coat appeared on the screen, in the background were people running around frantically, wearing haz-mat suits, and as though to answer Lucas' question, he began speaking, "The experiments have been a complete success. With our experimentation, we have created a new form of Pokemon. One capable of changing not only its shape and appearance, but also its type. An electric-type Pokemon with ghost-like attributes, which we call 'Rotom'. While Rotom's creation was a complete success, the processes to create it are beyond our control. Dangerous levels of gamma and microwave radiation are proving this location too hazardous to stay at. We are evacuating now before the levels rise any more. It is unlikely we will be able to return to this location for many years, until it is no longer 'hot'. We are forced to leave Rotom behind. It is unaffected by the energy levels, but we are not sure how stable it can be outside the lab environment, and are concerned for its safety. It is a shame, as Rotom is a very friendly and gentle creature. We hope that Galactic Labs can return here as soon as possible,"
The footage faded back to snow and Rotom opened its eyes and began floating curiously around the room again. Lucas stood up and Gizmo returned to his shoulder, "That explains what this place has been abandoned, or why people think the scientists here just vanished—they evacuated. Poor little guy, he was probably lonely all these years. All these Gastly probably keep anyone away, and when that TV lights up they probably freaked out like I did," Lucas thought for a moment, "Hey little dude, do you want to come with me? I mean, if you survived all this time on your own I think you'll do okay outside of this house. I could be your Trainer. Show you the world outside this house,"
The Rotom's face lit up and it spun around even faster now. Before the teen could do anything, Rotom turned itself back into plasma and shot itself at Lucas' bag. A Pokeball popped on the ground, wobbled and clicked. The cheerful electric-type now had a Trainer.
"Welcome to the team, Sparky,"
Gardenia was beginning to get worried. It was already in the middle of the afternoon of the next day, and the Trainer who had volunteered to rescue her Pokemon still hadn't returned. Her Junior Trainers hung around the gym, lazily grooming their hair and nails, or just staring blankly waiting for something to happen. The Leader sat on her gardening bench, trying to judge the situation. Did Lucas get lost? Or maybe he gave up on helping her and moved on to somewhere else. No, she doubted that thought, Lucas seemed too earnest and genuine about his promise to just flake out. What if he did get to the mansion and something happened? What if there weren't just Pokemon in the Old Chateau. That last thought especially unnerved her, what if she sent a kind-hearted Trainer to his doom all because she was a coward? She didn't deserve to call herself a Gym Leader...
"Sorry I took so long!" the doors suddenly slammed open, and Lucas walked through the entrance, he was smiling and looked uninjured, his Eevee marching happily in front of him. Gardenia let out a sigh of relief to see he was okay. But her eyes began to well up again when she spotted a belt with Pokeballs slung over his shoulder, "I had to take care of a few things with my own Pokemon before coming here," He walked over to the Grass Leader and handed the belt to her, "I got them checked out at the Pokemon Center as well, just to make sure. They are perfectly fine, a little scared, but otherwise they're okay,"
The Leader immediately grabbed the belt and summoned all her Pokemon. Seeing their smiling faces she dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around them, totally unable to stop her sobbing, "Oh Turtwig, Cherim, Roserade, I am so, so sorry. Your Trainer is a wimp who shrieks at the first sign of a ghost. I promise no matter how scared I get I will never leave you again. I can only hope all of you forgive me." Her grass-types clung closer, showing she was more than forgiven. Still clinging to her team, she cleared her eyes and looked up to her team's rescuer, "Lucas, I could never thank you enough for what you've done. Just for this I'm going to give you a Forest Badge,"
Lucas shook his head, "No. I told you I got your Pokemon because I tried to return the favor for saving Gizmo. I don't want a handout. If you don't mind, I want to earn my badge in battle,"
"I'll respect your wishes," Gardenia got up and brushed the dust off of her knees. Her demeanor seemed to change. She strode up to the podium in the back of the Gym and faced Lucas formally, "I am Gardenia, Leader of the Eterna City Gym. I am a master of grass-type Pokemon, a versatile type capable of crippling status effects and the ability to self-heal. Trainer, to earn League recognition and the ability to advance closer towards the Elite Four, you must beat me in battle!"
"Challenge accepted!" Lucas announced. And with this simple exchange, the battle began, "Go Franky!"
"I choose you! Cherim!"
The strange, closed-petal Pokemon came running forward as the Magikarp appeared before it. Like the many Trainers before her, Gardenia blinked in confusion over Lucas' choice. The teen was obviously a kind kid, but maybe he wasn't that good of a Trainer. Before the Leader could call out an attack Lucas made his move, "Franky Return! Go Beautifly!"
"Ah, that's more like it!" Gardenia smiled, "Cherubi use Sunny Day!"
"Beautifly! Silverwind!" The Gym suddenly got very bright, and much much hotter. The mohawk-bearing teen, even with his sleeveless apparel, could feel the back of his neck get sweaty. Cherim's form changed, and its petals were now open, revealing a happy looking Pokemon bouncing with energy. Despite this, Beautifly's attack hit directly, but strangely, the attack's damage seemed relatively low.
"Use Solarbeam!" The Leader announced. Lucas knew he had a little time, this attack required two turns before it would hit. However, much to his shock, Cherim launched its attack immediately, knocking Beautifly out with one hit.
"Oh, I forgot, Sunny Day is in effect. That means that thing can use Solar Beam without having to charge up first. Sorry Beautifly, your Trainer is a moron," Lucas sighed sadly as he sent his twitching bug back to her ball. He pulled another ball off of his belt, "No more games. Gym Leaders are way stronger than any runts with a Bidoof. Go Hotrod!"
"Char! Charmander!" The fire-type was ready for battle, looking determinedly at its opponent. Sunny Day had a secondary effect, one Lucas planned to take full advantage of. In the sunlight, fire attacks were amplified. Something that Gardenia was well away of, judging from the twitch in her lip she tried to hide. A blast off of Ember attacks and Solar Beams bounced back and forth for two turns, before finally Lucas came out the victor, Cherim was charred.
"Now you, Turtwig! Don't get cocky, Lucas, Leaders can only become Leaders after years of disciplined training and certification," Gardenia warned, "Grass-knot!"
The ground shook as the AstroTurf split and a large vine appeared under Hotrod. Before Lucas could warn his Pokemon, the Charmander was knocked off of its feet, inflicting heavy damage.
"Ember!" the Trainer called out. The other Pokemon's Sunny Day move was still in effect, giving fire more of an edge.
"Leechseed!"
"Ember!"
"Grass Knot!"
"Ember!"
The second round was incredibly intense. Gardenia's powerful Turtwig held on as Hotrod took a beating. Lucas considered calling his Pokemon back, but Hotrod looked too determined to want to back down. After the exchange of massive blows and Sunny Day over, Turtwig was finally knocked out, but the Charmander was in rough shape. There would be no way for it to survive against the Leader's final Pokemon.
"Go Roserade!" Roserade, the final evolved form of Budew and Roselia. It was a Poison/Grass mix, but far more powerful than its previous versions. And being this was a Leader's Pokemon, Lucas had no doubts this Roserade was going to be a powerhouse. As far as he was concerned, he only had once choice against it.
"Go Sparky!" Lucas threw out the Pokeball and out appeared his new Rotom. After catching it in the Chateau last night, he looked up its data. It had a good mix of Ghost and Electric attacks, and had some abilities that would give it an advantage against the Leader's final Pokemon. As the Pokemon entered the field, it spun around and totally ignored the battle. It looked around the Gym, examining the lights and the fake grass carpeting, brought its attention to the Trainers and to Gizmo, while Roserade waited for its Trainer's direction. Lucas felt embarrassed by his Pokemon's behavior, and snapped his fingers to get its attention, "Sparky, look alive! Use Astonish,"
The Rotom heard the command and leisurely obeyed. It attacked its opponent like commanded and then returned its interest to its surroundings and the Gym Leader. Lucas covered his face with his hand in shame. He didn't notice that Gardenia's eyes were wide in terror as Sparky got up to inches from her face.
"Gardenia, I'm sorry, Sparky's new, and I think he's a little too high in level for me to control him entirely," Lucas was still feeling sheepish, and not paying attention to the Leader's behavior or the fact she didn't call out an attack.
"G-g-ghost!" the Trainer stammered, frozen in fear. Out of desperation she called out an attack, "Roserade! Grass Knot!"
"Rose?" the Pokemon looked unsure of the command, but obeyed its Trainer none-the-less. The ground split open again and a vine came hurtling out of the ground. Gardenia fell to the ground, but the Rotom was unaffected. Its Levitate ability prevented ground-based moves from touching it.
"Sparky, use Astonish again!" The Rotom turned its attention away from the terrified Leader and did as it was told. As soon as its attack was finished, it went back to bothering Gardenia.
Rather than standing in fear, Gardenia bolted and shrieked, "Grass Knot! Grass Knot! Grass Knot!"
"Sparky, get your head in the game and leave Gardenia alone!" Lucas cried after his unruly creature, horrified by its eclectic behavior. Once again the attack did nothing to the Rotom but caused the Leader to crash onto her face. And so would happen the rest of the battle. Lucas would give a command that Sparky followed without rebellion, but then as soon as it finished would harass the grass-type Trainer once again. Gardenia would respond with a careless attack that would do nothing to damage Sparky. This was not the strategy Lucas had planned, but it was working.
"Roserade keep that thing away from meeeee!" poor Gardenia squealed, but the battle was over. Rotom 's attacks had finally worn the Pokemon out, the battle, and the Gym match were over.
"Sparky, you did a great job pal, I think it's time you came back," Lucas groaned. He walked over to the trembling Leader, "Listen, Gardenia, I really, really didn't want to win like this,"
Realizing that the Pokemon was gone and she had lost the battle, it was the Leader's turn to be embarrassed. She put her hands in front of her face, groaned and fell to her knees again, "I can't believe I lost it like that," After a moment she got up and faced Lucas. Her face was bright pink, but she was smiling, "Lucas, you won fair and square, Sparky did listen to you, and it's my own fault I freaked out again. I really do need to get over this fear of mine. First I lose my Pokemon, and now I've lost the match. This is getting to be a bad habit," Gardenia reached into her cape and pulled out a thick wad of bills, a shiny pin and an object that looked like a computer disk, "However, since you have won, I certify you as a winner of the Forest badge. Sparky will probably start listening to you after getting it, and on behalf of myself I present you with the Technical Machine that teaches you the move Grass Knot. It's a powerful move, especially on heavy Pokemon like rock-types—assuming you use it right, unlike what I did,"
Lucas took what he was given and examined the badge closest. After a moment he closed his hand around the object and shot his fist into the air, "One down, seven to go! I've won my first badge!"
"Good luck on your journey Lucas, I hope we cross paths in the future, and I hope by that time we are both stronger," Gardenia bowed before the Trainer and smiled. Except for the plaid skirt Trainer, Megan, the Junior Trainers were smiling at him. With a final grin and appreciative nod, Lucas left the Gym for the next part of his adventure.
As he left the building to head for the Pokemon Center, he noticed the Pokeball holding Hotrod was glowing. Summoning the Charmander out, he noticed he was glowing as well. The Pokemon grew brighter and brighter, and his form changed and got bigger. When the glowing stopped his Charmander evolved into a Charmeleon. The transformed Pokemon breathed a celebratory flame into the sky and ran to Lucas' side to nuzzle him. Scratching his new Pokemon's head, Lucas reexamined his badge. Today was a good day.