Challenges at the gym
"Congrats Ash, that was a great victory!"
"Bonnie? And… Max? Whoa, you've really changed, both of you! But, what are you doing together? And where are you anyway?"
It had taken a few tries, but the three friends had finally managed to get through to Ash the following morning. Max and Bonnie had been so hyper from their friend's victory the night before that sleep had been a long time in coming. Actually, they had only managed to sleep after Laura, tired of seeing them, and especially Bonnie, bouncing off the walls, had suggested they should have a battle before, to vent off some of the energy (Ralts had won over Dedenne, but been beaten by Litleo, after that it had been a tie with Treecko. A victory of sorts for the grass pokemon).
Bonnie laughed delightedly at Ash's surprise.
"Long story…" she started. As briefly as she could, and talking very fast indeed, she recapped her travels in Kalos, meeting Litleo, then Laura, then deciding to go to Johto and meeting Max there. Max then explained how he came to be in Johto himself.
"Whoa, that's really amazing!" Ash laughed.
"Not as amazing as your victory yesterday!" Max countered enthusiastically. "We followed everything on TV, and man was that a great battle! Great team as well, congratulate them all for us, will you?"
"Thanks! It really was their victory you know. We did a lot of training a lot together, and everything just went great at the league!"
The congratulations went on for a while, with Ash telling them of the highlights they had missed. He was clearly still hyper from his victory and eager to share it, even if virtually, with two old friends.
"You have lots of great pokemon," Bonnie gushed. "I had no idea you had so many friends, and I'm really jealous! It was weird to see Noivern and not Hawlucha or Talonflame though, especially Hawlucha."
"Hawlucha will stay in Pallet Town for a while, I guess. He took one look at my mum and went in full protective mode, not sure how that happened. Now he's constantly hovering over her! Talonflame, well, that's a bit of a long story. Basically, it boils down to the fact that I have a friend who decided to get serious about PokeRinger competitions, but she did not have any flying pokemon, so I suggested she should talk to mine, and Talonflame, Swellow and Staraptor decided to help her out."
"Anyone I know?" Max asked.
"What's a PokeRinger competition?" Bonnie asked at the same time. Max shushed her, indicating he would explain later.
"Well, maybe, I don't remember if you've met her or not. It's Daisy, one of Misty's sisters. She used to specialize in water pokemon like the whole family, then they did that modeling thing when they left the gym to Misty. Apparently she saw a PokeRinger competition one day and realized this was what she really wanted to do."
Bonnie had no idea who they were talking about, but filed the information as proof it could take a while to find one's true calling.
"So," she said, coming back to the main news, "Now that you achieved your goal, does that make you a Pokemon master?"
Ash laughed.
"Hardly! That's just one more step in this direction, but I still have a long way to go!"
"Oh? What's the next step then?" Max asked with interest.
"I just had an invitation to join the Kanto Champion League and challenge the Elite Four, and if I can defeat them, then I'll go up against Lance."
"Challenge the champion? Are you aiming to become the next Kanto champion?" Max had awe in his voice.
"You mean, you'd be like Dianthea? That would be way cool!" Bonnie exclaimed. She sounded a little incredulous though.
"Well," Ash replied, embarrassed, "I don't know about that. For now, I have several great battles ahead of me, that's all I care about!"
Both Max and Bonnie laughed: that sounded so like Ash.
"Are you going to keep the same team as for the Indigo League?" Max asked.
"Not sure yet. Maybe. I realized many of my pokemon were much happier to stay at Professor Oak's laboratory than travelling around battling. I'll head back to Pallet Town for a little while anyway, then I'll challenge… well, all of them!"
"Do you actually know who are the Indigo Plateau Elite Four?" Max asked when he saw his friend hesitating, a suspicion forming in his mind.
"Err, well, I met Agatha and Bruno and Lorelei and Lance some years ago, when I travelled in Kanto and the Orange Islands. Since Lance is champion now that must mean there's someone new, I guess. Bruno is the one who delivered the invitation so I don't really know, I'll ask him when I challenge him."
"Oh boy, you really have missed on a few changes! I don't understand why you don't follow these things, really! It's super important!" Max sounded smug. Bonnie quickly elbowed him before he could lecture Ash any longer.
"Ouch! Ok, ok, so yeah Lance is the champion, he specializes in dragon types but you must know that already, right? Bruno is still there, his specialty is fighting types. Agatha retired and Lorelei has stepped down to go on an extended trip or something, so now you'll be against Will, who has psychic pokemon, Koga with his poison types, and Karen and her dark types."
"I know Koga, he used to be a gym leader in Johto. It will be great to have a rematch against him!" Ash turned to look at someone off-screen. "Hey, got to go, but it was great talking to both of you, and nice to meet you, Laura! Have fun in Johto!"
"Wait!" Bonnie shouted before Ash could hang up. "Does your new plan mean you're not going back to Kalos to meet Alan anymore?"
"Of course I'll go, right after I'm finished here in Kanto."
"Tell everyone then, I see it could take you a while!" And someone is going to be very disappointed by the delay, and it won't be Alan, she thought, but carefully did not say.
"Right, good advice! Thanks Bonnie. Bye everyone!"
The screen went blank. Laura, who had stayed silent throughout the exchange, shook her head. "Your friend Ash really is something else, isn't he?"
Bonnie and Max looked at each other, and exploded in peals of laughter. "That he is, Laura," Bonnie agreed finally, hiccupping.
xxx
"Violet City, at last!" Bonnie exclaimed. It had taken them two days of travelling, after leaving the Lily Creek Pokemon center, to reach their destination. Both she and Max were feeling ready for the upcoming gym battle with Falkner. Max had repeatedly announced he wanted to go first, so they had agreed that Max could battle today and Bonnie tomorrow (if the gym leader agreed).
"So where is the gym?" Laura asked.
"Easy," Max replied, "it's a big tower, we can't miss it."
"It must be there then!" Bonnie said excitedly, pointing at a structure that stood well above its neighbours.
Her guess proved right. A few minutes later, they were in front of the doors.
"Ok, here goes," Max said a bit nervously. He knocked and pushed open the door, his friends at his heels.
"Welcome to Violet City gym!" The boy at the entrance could not have been more than twelve.
"I.. err, we…" Max was stuttering a bit.
"Hi there! We come to challenge the gym leader!" Bonnie announced brightly.
"Both of you?"
"Yeah, but if your gym leader wants to do one battle today and one tomorrow, that's fine with us of course!"
"That should be no problem. Follow me."
The three companions trailed behind their guide, who was taking them up, up…
"Say, where is the gym leader anyway?" Laura puffed after a while.
"You'll see", the boy answered smugly. "We do things a little bit differently here. This IS a flying-type gym, you know!"
They finally arrived at the top of the tower, to discover that the roof itself was going to be their arena. Their guide stopped upon stepping out of the last flight of stairs and announced in the loudest voice he could manage:
"Challengers for the gym leader!"
The handful of young people who had been discussing on the edge of the arena fell silent. They all turned to see the newcomers, and a young man sitting in the middle got up. He was around twenty, had dark hair and baggy navy pants with a blue tunic.
"I'm Falkner, the Violet pokemon gym leader!" He said. "Welcome to my gym. Who is here to challenge me and my fabulous bird pokemon?"
"We are!" Max answered in a strong voice. "I am Max from Petalburg City."
"And my name is Bonnie, I am from Lumiose City. This is my partner, Dedenne."
"An electric mouse? It's true that people say you can clip flying-type pokemon's wings with a jolt of electricity... But I won't allow such insults to bird pokemon! I'll show you the real power of the magnificent bird pokemon!"
Bonnie and Max looked at each other, nonplussed.
"So," Falkner continued in a more normal tone of voice, "Who is going to be my first challenger? I'll only take one more today, so the other will have to wait until tomorrow."
"I challenge you," Max replied.
"Very well. Arthur, you'll be our referee today."
The boy who had guided the three friends to the top of the tower took place along the side of the arena. The other boys who had been milling around went to sit on the bleachers on the north side, and Bonnie and Laura followed them.
"The battle between Falkner, Violet City gym leader, and Max from Petalburg City is about to start!" Arthur boomed. "The opponents can each use three pokemon. Only the challenger is allowed to switch pokemon, should he choose to…" His voice trailed off, as Max, who had suddenly looked up with big eyes during what he thought was a perfectly standard enunciation of the rules, signaled he wanted to speak. The spectators looked curiously at him.
"Err," Max started, embarrassed. "I only have two pokemon, actually. I was sure this battle was two a side!"
"What?" Falkner exclaimed, astonished. "How do you expect to win any badges if you are so unaware of the basic rules?" He sneered, and the Hoenn boy coloured violently. Bonnie and Laura looked at each other: they had not known, any more than Max, what the rules at the Violet City gym were, since he had been the source of most of their information.
"I won't battle against you in these conditions." Falkner continued. "A serious trainer should know the rules!"
"Then I'll battle you!" Bonnie exclaimed, as Max turned even redder. She did not like the gym leader's condescending tone, and wanted to take him down a notch or two. "Will you accept my challenge?"
"If you are able to follow this gym's rules, then I will battle you," Falkner announced after a few seconds' hesitation. Max walked off the arena in ignominy, and Bonnie took his place, fire in her eyes. As Max sat down next to Laura, she struggled for something to say, but feared any expressed sympathy would be misunderstood as pity, so held her tongue. Max's face had turned to marble, and he resolutely fixed a point straight ahead.
xxx
Arthur went down the rules again, with no interruption this time.
"Dedenne, let's start this together!" Bonnie exclaimed.
"And my first pokemon will be… Noctowl!" Falkner declared. "Do not believe that it will be easy just because Noctowl is a flying-type, I warn you! My birds are superbly trained to handle all opponents, even electric ones!"
The battle began. Noctowl had a good range of flying moves, but was not very quick, and Bonnie used Dedenne's speed to her advantage. Despite Falkner's words, his first bird pokemon seemed decidedly the worst for wear after Dedenne managed to place two well-timed thundershock attacks. Before it could recover, she followed it up with tackle, then an extra-strong nuzzle, and Noctowl fainted.
"Noctowl is unable to battle, Dedenne wins!" Arthur announced.
"You won't win so easily next time!" Falkner growled. "Go, Dodrio!"
Bonnie decided to continue with Dedenne, hoping to also quickly weaken the running bird with electric moves. But Dodrio was pretty quick, deflecting Dedenne's first attempts, and its three heads were quite vicious. Her beloved rodent was the recipient of a three-pronged peak attack, and he went flying several meters away.
"No!" Bonnie yelled. "Dedenne, get up!" The valiant mouse responded to her call, though his movements were none too steady. "Nuzzle!" This time, the attack landed, but Dedenne could not stop a second peak attack closely followed by a headbutt. He went waltzing again, and did not get up when he hit the ground. Bonnie ran to gather him up in her arms. "You did great Dedenne, thank you! Chespin, it's your turn!"
Falkner did not look very impressed by the grass-hedgehog, but Bonnie had a strategy in mind. "Chespin, wait until Dodrio comes close! Wait for it… and… now! Jump on its back, and use vine whip on its heads, then hang on!" The big bird was startled and tried to get rid of its little opponent, running and jumping around at top speed, but Chespin hung on for dear life. "Use pin missile!" At point blank, the attack did quite a lot of damage. Meanwhile, Falkner was trying to get Dodrio to listen to him again. The three-headed bird finally slowed down enough to be receptive to its trainer's orders, though it was breathing hard from the exertions. "You still have a free head, use peak!" Falkner shouted, as Bonnie yelled "Use pin missile again!" The attacks made Dodrio stumble and Chespin release his grip on it. Both pokemon went, and stayed, down.
"Well well, I see I should not underestimate grass types either," Falkner laconically commented. "But this battle is far from over. Bird pokemon will surprise you yet! Fearow, you bear my hopes!"
"Come on Litleo, let's win this!"
Fearow was quick, and Bonnie realized quite soon that contact moves were not going to succeed. But Litleo was determined, and quite nimble himself. His fire spin was now a high-precision weapon, and served as a good shield as well. Several times, its opponent had to break its own attack for fear of getting singed. Twice, the fire spirals caught it, though it flew out of the fire with little damage. Neither adversary seemed to have a strong advantage over the other, and Max and Laura started to wonder if it would not be a matter of who tired first, and who would make the first mistake. It proved to be Fearow: Falkner, looking to break the pace of the duel, ordered it to use steel wing, and it came quite low at Litleo, low enough that another well-placed fire spin knocked it off the air. Bonnie quickly had Litleo follow it with fire fang, then headbutt before Fearow could take off again, and that was that. A few minutes later, she stood in the middle of the arena, shaking Falkner's hand as he gave her the Zephyr badge, hardly realizing she really had won her first badge! Laura ran to congratulate her, and both girls did a victory reel, quite exhilarated.
xxx
When they both looked around for Max however, he was nowhere to be seen. Setting aside the euphoric victory feelings, Bonnie set out to find him, with Laura at her side. He turned out to be back at the Violet City pokemon centre, where they had left their bags before going to look for the gym. Ralts was at his side. One look was enough to see that he was still pretty upset from the setback at the gym, and Falkner's mockeries.
"Hey Max, there you are! Don't take it too hard, it's alright, everyone makes mistakes…" She started to say.
"Not in front of a gym leader and all his hangers-on!" Max replied brusquely, interrupting her. "Well, that turned out to your advantage, didn't it?"
"What do you mean?"
"I noticed you did not waste any time before replacing me, did you?"
"Hey, what should I have done?" Bonnie protested. "I had the three pokemon Falkner insisted upon, and he was available."
"Well that was convenient indeed, you got to go first like you obviously wished. Lucky for you!" Max's sarcasm could have cut steel. "Tell me Bonnie, did YOU know about the three pokemon rule, and thought it was a good way to get one over on me?" He accused.
"What?" Bonnie was incredulous. "You were my only source of information on the Violet city gym, you idiot! How could I have known? Of all the asinine things to say…"
"Oh, so now you're calling me an ass? Let me tell you…"
What Max wanted to say went unheard, as Laura had had enough.
"Stop it you two!" She yelled. "You're acting like five years-old! So you made a mistake Max. What about it? It happens to me all the time. You got reamed for it, that was not very nice on Falkner's side, but there is no reason to take it out on Bonnie! And Bonnie, try to be a bit more patient and understanding, mockery hurts and it can be hard to take. I should know."
The scolding, delivered in a passionate voice, left both Max and Bonnie speechless. They were not accustomed to such fire coming from their usually quiet friend. Silence fell.
"You know," Bonnie said tentatively after a while, "The reason I really wanted to battle Falkner today was because his righteous attitude towards you had annoyed me, and I wanted to take him down a notch for your sake."
"Oh," Max said in a small voice, looking everywhere but at her. "I hadn't seen it like this." He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry I latched at you just before. I guess I really am the idiot you said I was. Will you forgive me?"
It was not in Bonnie's nature to hold grudges. "Of course I will. But I reserve the right to call you an idiot again if I think you're acting like one. Deal?" She extended her hand.
"Deal," Max replied, shaking it. "And Laura, thanks for the reality-check. You're a true friend!"
"Yes you are," Bonnie agreed, as the dark-haired girl coloured. "Say Max, would you like a battle as soon as my pokemon are alright again? It always made Ash feel better, it might work for you too! But first, I want to bring them all to Nurse Joy for a health check, and let them rest for a bit."
"I'd love to, but yeah, it can wait. And congrats on your first badge! I mean it, I'm glad you won."
"Oh heck, I'll battle you now Max," Laura offered. She smiled: "I'm still annoyed at you, so I'm hoping that'll help my fighting spirit…"
Max laughed and accepted the offer. Bonnie went into the pokemon centre to leave her pokemon into Nurse Joy's care. The fight between the two Hoenn friends was pretty unequal, Ralts and Treecko made short work of Swablu and Espurr, but it did restore Max's spirits a lot.
"Hey, thanks for the battle. Say, I never noticed before, but your espurr still has some trouble with psychic, doesn't he?"
"Well, yes," Laura admitted. "We have been working on it, but we still have some way to go."
"You should have asked, Ralts and I would be happy to help you! Let's do that after lunch."
"I didn't think about it, but thanks!"
"Hey, you two, are you finished? I brought sandwiches and Nurse's Joy special batch of pokemon food!" Bonnie's return was hailed by her two companions, famished.
xxx
"So," Bonnie said over lunch, "Next step is to find you another pokemon."
"Really? Aren't you going on to the next gym? I mean, you have your badge now. And we never said anything about staying together after Violet City…"
Max trailed off, as both girls looked at him as if he had sprouted antlers.
"Are you crazy? Of course we're staying with you. We're friends, aren't we?"
"It's been fun to travel with you," Laura added. "Don't you want to continue?"
"Oh course I do! But I don't want to hold you back…"
"That's crazy talk," Laura replied firmly. "Don't put yourself down like this!"
"So it's settled then? Great!" Bonnie smiled. "We'll have so much fun together, it'll be the best journey ever!"
END OF CHAPTER
This chapter turned out to be much bigger than anticipated, so I decided to cut it in two. Meaning you only have half the answer (Max) and still have to wait for the other half…
As usual I'm very eager for feedback, on language or content. Thanks to you all!
