Chapter 20: Nimbasa City
May and Max traveled with the group for the next couple of days. Finally, they arrived in Nimbasa City. Everyone was in awe at the huge city looming before them. The first stop, of course, was the Pokemon Center. As they entered the building, they noticed Drew checking in.
"Hey, Drew," Dani greeted him. "Are you here for the contest?"
Drew turned around, seeming slightly surprised to see the group. "Yes. I'll be a spectator this time. I want to get a better handle on the competition."
"Oh, that's good, I guess," May said. "Shelly and I will be in the contest."
Drew smirked. "Really? Then how about having a practice battle against me?"
May hesitated. "We were going to head over to the gym."
Dani smiled and touched her shoulder. "It's fine. You can stay here if you want, and the rest of us will leave for the gym."
"Yeah, Dani will be fine," Shelly said. "We'll see you later." She winked.
May blushed and nodded. "Ok."
"Then let's head out," said Gary. Everyone else agreed.
It took some effort to reach the Nimbasa Gym. When the group entered the building, they found a roller coaster cart waiting for them. Gary had to persuade the girls to sit down and enjoy the ride. The roller coaster took them deep into the building, and everyone was glad when the fun was over.
Elesa, the Nimbasa City gym leader, was waiting for them in front of a huge door. It was decided that Dani would have a battle then and Gabri would set up an appointment for another day. The youngest girl wanted to witness one more gym battle before she tried one herself.
"Are you ready to begin?" Elesa said, flashing the challenger a big grin.
Dani nodded. It felt like they were in a stadium. There was a cheering crowd of mostly girls going crazy over the gym leader. Then she remembered that Gary said something about Elesa being a fashion model. This would be an interesting battle.
"This is my first Pokemon, Zebstrika!" An electric zebra appeared on the battlefield.
Dani already knew who she would choose. "Jewels, you're up!" She released her Mightyena, and the Pokemon snarled as she took a battle stance. "Use Tackle!"
"Dodge that!"
And the battle began. Dani found the electric type to be quite tough because of his speed. His Flame Charge and Wild Charge did a good amount of damage to Jewels. Finally, the Mightyena was able to confuse her opponent with Swagger and get in some moves of her own. Once the confusion wore off, Jewels received another beat down.
"Jewels, return!" Dani said, taking out her Pokeball. This was all part of her plan. "Freddie, your turn!" A Cubone appeared a second later. Elesa seemed intrigued by this change. "Use Bone Club!"
"Dodge that with Double Kick!"
Freddie raised his bone club. He ran forward, but the Zebstrika jumped out of the way. Then the electric type turned and struck him with his back legs twice.
"Now Flame Charge!" said the gym leader.
"Jump and use Bone Club!"
Freddie stood his ground as the Zebstrika ran at him, covered in flames. At the last second, he leapt in the air and came crashing down on his opponent with his club. Dust filled the air, and when it cleared, Zebstrika had fainted and Freddie stood victorious.
Dani was pleased she had won this round, but she knew she had a long way to go in order to win a badge. Elesa brought out an Emolga next, so the challenger returned Freddie and chose Mo as her third Pokemon.
"Mo, use Flamethrower!" she said.
"Acrobatics!" said Elesa.
Mo released his fire, but Emolga flew out of the way. Then she swept down low and attacked. The Cyndaquil's next move hit and did a good deal of damage, but then Emolga's Attract zapped all of Mo's motivation. Dani grit her teeth after watching her partner become subjected to several damaging moves. It was time to switch Pokemon again.
"Mo, come back!" Dani sighed in relief when her Cyndaquil waddled back to her. Then she released Jewels again. "Stay there."
"Fine, I'll move," said Elesa. "Aerial Ace!"
Emolga flew down and attacked the Mightyena at a high speed. She growled at her, barring her teeth. Dani was glad that Attract would not work. "Now Crunch!"
When Emolga flew down to attack again, Jewels opened her jaws and clamped them around the electric and flying type. After a struggle, she finally fainted.
"Great job," Dani said. She suddenly grew wary when the crowd cheered loudly for Elesa's final Pokemon: a small Tynamo. "Be careful, Jewels. Use Bite!"
"Tackle!" Elesa called.
With lightning speed, Tynamo dodged Jewels' oncoming attack and ended up running into her himself. The Mightyena promptly fainted.
Dani clenched her teeth as she returned her dark type. That Tynamo was fast! "Mo, get back out there." Thankfully, the Cyndaquil was back to normal. "Start with Flame Wheel!"
"Spark," said Elesa.
Mo formed into a ball of fire and sped forward. Tynamo moved out of the way again. Then he attacked with a strong bolt of electricity, causing Mo to cry out.
"Hang in there," Dani said. "Inferno!"
"Charge Beam!"
The attacks struck at the same time. Both Pokemon appeared tired. After another Spark from Tynamo, however, Mo was out of the game.
"Thank you, Mo," Dani said as she carried her Cyndaquil back to her side. It was time for Freddie to finish the battle. The Cubone appeared ready to fight. "Now, Bone Club!"
"Dodge and use Tackle!" said Elesa.
"Don't give up!"
Freddie tried to attack with his bone club, but Tynamo zipped out of the way, rounding to strike with a Tackle. The Cubone stood his ground, and when Tynamo started to move again, his club hit its mark.
"Not bad," Elesa said. "Tackle and shine, my Tynamo!"
"Use Headbutt!"
The Pokemon charged into each other. Both fell back from the impact of the collision, but only Freddie was able to get back up again.
"Tynamo is unable to battle," said the referee. "Freddie is the winner, and victory goes to Dani, the challenger!"
The crowd erupted in cheers. Dani found this to be a bit uncomfortable, but she was happy she had won. "Great job, buddy." She picked up the Cubone and hugged him.
"You really shined out there," Elesa said as she strode over to her. "You deserve this."
Dani smiled as she accepted the badge. "Thanks."
"And I expect a good battle from you next."
Gabri, who had walked over with Shelly and Gary, smiled shyly and nodded. She was glad her older sister had gone first. Now she knew just what to expect!
The following day, Gabri decided to train for her battle while Gary did some shopping and Dani and Shelly relaxed at the pool. The young girl did not mind that she had been left alone. She worked better that day, anyway. For several hours, she worked hard with her Pokemon to come up with a strategy to beat Elesa's electric types.
After a lunch by herself, she felt refreshed and decided to take a walk. She was not one to enjoy big cities, so she stayed where she found nature. She walked into a park and was surprised to see Drew and his Roserade working on Magical Leaf.
She watched them in silence for several minutes. Then she said: "I thought you weren't entering the contest here."
Drew seemed surprised to see her, but then he smirked and replied, "I have to keep my skills sharp for the next contest I will enter."
Gabri nodded. "You two look close." She noticed how well he worked together with his Pokemon and how much they seemed to care for each other.
Drew smiled fondly at his Pokemon. "We've been together for longer than I've been a trainer."
Gabri smiled as she thought that Dani was right about this guy. He came off as tough, but he was a good guy deep down. She hoped she could become his friend as well.
Then a disdainful voice broke through the peaceful moment: "I came here to find a challenge, but instead I found an amateur trainer and wimpy coordinator."
Gabri winced. She would know that voice anywhere. "Paul." She looked him over warily. She was usually happy to see him, but now was not a good time.
"I wouldn't underestimate coordinators," Drew said, glaring at the older boy. "We have to be more skilled than trainers."
Paul scoffed. "I would like to see you try to beat a trainer."
Roserade stood in front of Drew and took a battle stance. "Then let's go," Drew said.
"You'll regret this," Paul said as he took out a Pokeball.
Gabri sighed and made her way to the middle. It looked like she would be the referee. She hoped this ended well.
"Zorua!" Paul exclaimed, releasing his black fox. "Use Shadow Ball!"
"Magical Leaf," said Drew.
The Shadow Ball soared through the leaves, and both attacks struck their targets.
"Hyper Voice," said Paul.
Drew covered is ears at the painful sound. "Roserade, Mega Drain!"
Gabri watched as the two Pokemon continued to battle. They seemed to be evenly matched. She found this surprising since Zorua was just caught and Roserade had been with Drew for years. That was one powerful dark type!
"Zorua, you need to work harder," Paul growled as Roserade dodged a Shadow Ball. "You will never be any good if you don't use your full potential!"
Zorua flicked her ears and sat down, seeming annoyed. Drew eyed the other trainer oddly before giving out another command: "Solar Beam!"
"This is your chance," Paul said. "Night Daze!" But Zorua swished her tail and lifted her nose in the air. "You need to obey me right now!"
But it was too late. Roserade released her Solar Beam, striking the Zorua straight on. The fox yelped as she was thrown across the grass. She did not stand up again.
"Roserade and Drew win," Gabri said. She bit her lip as she watched Paul return his Pokemon. Hasn't this happened at Nimbasa Town Club Battle? There was something going on with that Pokemon.
"You were great, Roserade," Drew said as he rubbed the grass type. He smirked at Paul. "What were you saying about coordinators?"
"I would have won if Zorua would have obeyed me," Paul said. "I should have beaten Dani and her Charizard as well."
Drew took out a Pokeball and returned his Pokemon. "If a Pokemon does not listen to you, it is due to a lack of training, and that falls on you. You deserved to lose."
"It's not my fault I have an insolent Pokemon!"
"You need to figure out why she's not obeying you," Gabri said quickly. She did not want a fight to break out between the two boys. "The same thing happened to Dani when she caught her Oshawott. He kept attacking on his own."
"I remember that," Drew said thoughtfully. "Did she figure out the problem?"
Gabri nodded. "She learned that different Pokemon respond to different types of training, and she had to adapt her style to his." She turned to Paul. "Maybe you should talk to Dani about Zorua."
Paul scoffed. "I don't need anyone's help."
"Obviously you do," said Drew.
"There's nothing wrong with using other trainers to become stronger," Gabri said. "We all have different talents."
"Unless you're too weak to admit when you need help," Drew said with a smirk.
Paul let out a heavy sigh before glancing at Gabri warily. "I can figure it out on my own, but if it will help me become stronger faster, I will talk to Dani."
Gabri smiled. "Great. I know where she is!" The two teenagers followed her as she left the park. She felt good about what she had accomplished. Every small success was worth celebrating!
A/N: I decided to cut down on the battles and summarize so that I can get more into the actual story. I hope this speeds up the pace and makes it less boring. Let me know if you like the new format.
