"Okay Vaporeon, let's try it one more time. Acid Armour!" I called, pointing ahead of me and Vaporeon leaped back into the lake, swimming out a few feet before starting to liquefy and blend in with the water's surroundings. She got about halfway before she suddenly switched back to normal again, unable to complete the process. "That was a good try Vaporeon! We've got really far with this move so you should feel really proud of yourself!" I told her with a smile, cupping my hands around my mouth to make the sound carry out to her across the lake.
"Vaporeon!" She trilled happily before diving down into the water, disappearing from sight before leaping back up again, splashing the water around with her tail before completing a flip back into the lake, making me giggle as she played around then went to join Misty's Pokémon for some fun.
Smiling as I watched Vaporeon I looked down when I felt something tugging on my bottoms to find Jigglypuff stand there, trying to get my attention. "Jigglypuff." She said to me then patted her chest with a hand. "Jiggly Jigglypuff."
"Do you want to do some training next Jigglypuff? Is that what you want?" I asked and she nodded her head with a bright smile of joy.
"Jigglypuff!"
"Okay then, I have an idea. How about we work on your Sing attack? If we can focus its effects on one target then you'll be able to send them to sleep but keep everyone else awake so they can keep on watching you battle or performance. How does that sound?"
"Puff-Puff! Jigglypuff!" She cheered then began to hop away, leaping up onto a boulder then gave a decorative bow, greeting her imaginary audience before lifting her microphone to her mouth.
"Okay Jigglypuff, I want you to really concentrate on me. Aim all of your voice at me and we'll see if anyone else falls asleep." I told her and she nodded her head.
"Jiggly." So she took a deep breath to prepare herself, closing her eyes also to concentrate further then began to sing. I listened and watched, sitting down on the ground and as her voice began to envelop me, I began to feel drowsy. Only thing was, so was everyone else.
Out the corner of my eye I could see Misty and Ash begin to yawn and Brock's stirring began to slow as he began to grow woozy. "Jigglypuff wait a second, I don't think it's working." I said with a yawn, feeling my eyes droop until Jigglypuff stopped singing and opened her eyes.
"Puff?" I got up, shook my head to wake myself then walked over to her as everyone else slowly came around.
"How about we go for a walk?" I suggested to her. "If we train here we might interrupt the others, so let's go find some wild Pokémon to practice on. Does that sound okay?" Jigglypuff thought for a moment, contemplating the suggestion then peered around me, seeing some of the Pokémon were already asleep.
"Jigglypuff." She nodded her head finally, deciding it was a good idea so I stepped back and beamed.
"Come on then! Let's go." I called and raced towards the trees with Jigglypuff bouncing after me, giving a quick shout out to the others to tell them where I was going and left the egg with Charizard and Pidgeot for safety, who were helping to watch over the little ones.
"Okay but don't be too long!" Brock called after us. "Dinner is almost done!"
"You got it Brock!" I yelled over my shoulder before disappearing into the trees with Jigglypuff right behind me, bouncing and chirping all the way. I slowed down once we were in the trees and stuck to the main path. "So Jigglypuff, I know you can use Sing and Double Slap so I think we should start working on some other moves. I checked it out on my Pokédex and apparently you can learn lots of moves of different types." I said to her and she blinked up at me blankly, listening but not really knowing how to answer. "So I was thinking, if we trained together and got you really strong with some secret moves, you could shock just about any opponent out of a battle because you could have an advantage over them because of typing. You're only weak to Poison and Steel, which is awesome."
"Jigglypuff." She nodded her head proudly and I giggled and she lifted her head high.
"So, with that in mind, let's start things off with your Sing. We should probably get that nailed down before we start anything else okay?" Jigglypuff nodded her head again, now looking around to see if there were any Pokémon around to battle.
"Puff? Jigglypuff." Angrily she inflated herself, growling as she stomped over a tree, glared at it then slammed into it with all her weight, which surprisingly did quite a bit of damage as the tree shook violently and a wild Weedle fell out of it.
"Wow, you can use Pound as well. That looks like a pretty tough move." I said to her, still blinking but then shook myself awake as the Weedle glared at us then tried to shoot a String Shot at us. "Okay Jigglypuff, dodge it!" Jigglypuff inflated her body and sprang out of the way, using her lightness to her advantage and rose up into the air before she let go of her breath and dropped down to the ground again. "Great Jigglypuff, how about we try that Double Slap of yours?"
"Jiggly!" The Weedle stared in horror as Jigglypuff leaped forwards then began to slap it several times, keeping up the pace before springing backwards. The Weedle wavered in its place, eyes rolling as it remained a little shaken up by Jigglypuff's attack.
"Nice Jigglypuff, now use Sing! Remember, focus on your opponent and push your sound towards it, pretend you're in a room and you two are the only people in it." I said to her and she looked up at me with those gorgeous big blue eyes of hers. "When you use Sing in a battle, you have to remember that it's not a concert, so you don't need to project your voice so much, got it?"
"Jigglypuff." She nodded her head then turned to face the Weedle with a determined expression, focussing on the Weedle as it shook itself into sense then turned on Jigglypuff with a glare then tried a Growl. Jigglypuff countered with Sing, only this time she didn't use her microphone, it stayed held out away from her mouth as she tried not to use it, though it slowly began to inch towards her mouth.
"Concentrate Jigglypuff, you're doing it!" I encouraged, watching as Weedle began to curl up and close its eyes, falling asleep to Jigglypuff's voice as she continued to sing. I smiled proudly, not feeling at all tired so once Jigglypuff had finished, I laugh and picked her up, lifting her high into the air as I spun. "You did it! See? I knew you could Jigglypuff, you're just totally brilliant!"
"Jigglypuff!" She squealed happily as I hugged her before gently setting her down.
"Let's go try it a couple more times, but first…" I picked up the Weedle and carried it back to the tree, settling it carefully on a branch before turning and heading off down the road with Jigglypuff at my side, focused on some extra training.
When we got back it was timed to the second as Brock had only just finished setting out our dinner. "Hey Ruby, good timing." He said to me as I ran towards them with Jigglypuff. "How did the training go?"
"Really great, Jigglypuff is one dedicated Pokémon, she wouldn't give up until we had nailed a new technique I had just taught her." I explained as I sat down. "Right Jigglypuff?"
"Jigglypuff!" She beamed and nodded her head as Brock brought her some special Pokémon food made just for her type, helping to nourish her effectively.
"Well then, I think you deserve this." He said whilst gently rubbing her head as she squealed happily at the food. It was one of her favourites after all. She never said no to a batch of Brock's own Pokémon food. "Enjoy everyone! Dig in!"
Ash inhaled his food, drawing in the delicious smell before beginning to wolf it down. "Slow down Ash, you'll get stomach ache again." Misty said to him as she sat next to me.
"Can't talk, gotta eat then go train." He answered barely between mouthfuls. I shook my head then took a taste of Brock's soup, instantly smiling.
"This is great Brock! I don't think I want to eat anything but your cooking ever again." I said to him as he sat down.
"Thanks Ruby, I'm glad you like it." He said as Misty thanked him too. I looked around all the Pokémon, making sure they were all eating nicely and was satisfied to see that they were all behaving themselves. They were all scoffing down their food but there were no arguments, so I smiled and carried on with my own dinner. "So Ash, if you're training so hard, maybe you and Ruby should have a battle." Brock suggested and I looked up, my interest peaking.
"A battle?" Ash questioned after he'd swallowed a big gulp of his soup. "That sounds great! What do you think Ruby?"
"I'm just wondering why we hadn't thought of it ages ago. You're on. A one on one match with a Pokémon of your choice. I'm going with Jigglypuff." I said and Jigglypuff lifted her head.
"Puff?" Ash snorted, looking at Jigglypuff's sweet and innocent face before laughing.
"Are you kidding? We'll beat you no problem, right Pikachu? It might not even be much of a battle with that little ball of sweetness." Jigglypuff inflated herself in anger, glaring at Ash heatedly and I slowly began to smirk as she prepared to spring.
"Bad choice of words Ash." I told him just before Jigglypuff sprang at him. Ash got a full taste of Jigglypuff's Double Slap, which made me laugh as Ash was knocked back off his seat and once Jigglypuff had drawn on his face then stalked away, he lay there twitching.
"Wow. That was some Double Slap. I really felt that one." Jigglypuff shot him one last look before turning away and folding her arms.
"Jigglypuff." She grumped so I reached out and picked her up, giggling quietly as I set her in my lap then began to gently run my fingers over her fur to soothe her.
"So Ash, you still think Jigglypuff is a little ball of sweetness?" I asked mockingly as Ash practically crawled back to the table. He pulled himself up and clung on as Misty hid her snicker behind her hand, seeing Ash's dishevelled and rather mussed appearance.
"Okay I get it. Sorry Jigglypuff, I should have known not to judge by appearance." Jigglypuff turned away from him with a proud expression so I reached down and gave her some more food, making her smile and chow down without any further thought.
"So a battle it is. This should be good." Misty said before draining the last of her soup. Once all the food was eaten and the dishes cleaned we waited a while to let our food go down before setting ourselves up for the battle with Brock as the referee.
"This one on one battle is between Ash Ketchum and Ruby Bates, will both trainers please select their Pokémon." I nodded my head and looked at Jigglypuff's Pokéball with a knowing smile.
"Give it all you got Jigglypuff, this is your moment, so I choose you!" Jigglypuff came out with a perfect summersault, inflating her body to float daintily to the ground before striking a pose. A natural star if you ask me.
"Okay, if that's how you want to do it, then I choose Chikorita!" Hmm, good thinking Ash. Chikorita is both strong and just as spunky as Jigglypuff. This should lead to quite an awesome battle.
"Let the battle begin!" Brock called and Ash instantly struck with the first move.
"Chikorita, use Razor Leaf on Jigglypuff!"
"Chika!" Chikorita beamed then flicked her leaf around, shooting a hoard of leaves towards us but Jigglypuff stood her ground, unafraid of taking the hit.
"Jigglypuff, use Double Slap on those leaves and then on Chikorita!" I called, pointing ahead of me and Jigglypuff instantly bounced forwards. She knocked aside every leaf that shot her way then began on Chikorita, who quickly dodged out of the way.
"Chikorita use Vine Whip on Jigglypuff, don't let it get to you!" Ash quickly directed and Chikorita sprung back around, shooting out her vines and wrapped up Jigglypuff who blinked in surprise as she was now unable to move.
"Jiggly?"
"Now throw it!" Ash smirked, shooting me a confident look but I was already one step ahead of him.
"Jigglypuff, inflate your body to absorb the hit then use Sing!" Ash gaped as Jigglypuff inflated her body just as Chikorita let her go and she bounced merrily on the ground, smiling happily as she sprang back on her feet then began to sing.
"No! Chikorita don't listen, use Tackle!" Ash yelled, clamping his hands down on his ears to keep from falling asleep. Jigglypuff closed her eyes and began to sing, keeping her microphone away from her mouth as we practiced whilst Chikorita powered down towards her, eyes focused on their target.
Slowly though, Chikorita began to slow down. Her eyes drooped and she stumbled once or twice until finally, she stopped in her tracks and began to murmur softly as Jigglypuff continued to sing. "Chikorita don't fall asleep! Try and stay awake!" Ash tried to encourage but Jigglypuff's voice was just too soothing.
Chikorita lay down on the ground and fell asleep, snoozing away as Jigglypuff finished her song. "Great job Jigglypuff, now use Pound!" Jigglypuff sprang onto Chikorita and pounded against her as Chikorita continued to sleep, deaf and senseless to the world around her.
"Wake up! Chikorita please wake up!" Ash begged as Jigglypuff continued to use Pound. Suddenly Chikorita blinked herself awake then gasped.
"Chika!" With a firm whip of her leaf she tossed Jigglypuff back, making her cry out in surprise and from the damage she had sustained.
"Puff!"
"Alright! Nice work Chikorita, now use Razor Leaf!" Ash called and Chikorita instantly sent out her attack as Jigglypuff remained on the ground, shaking slightly from the shock of the sudden strike.
"Jigglypuff please get up!" I pleaded and she opened her eyes, seeing the Razor Leaf shooting towards her.
"Jigglypuff!" The leaves struck and Jigglypuff took even more damage but this time as she was flung back, she flipped and landed on her feet, growling as she glared at Chikorita who glared back just as competitively, the two of them now totally in the zone.
"That's great Jigglypuff, nice moves." I said to her then looked up at Chikorita, trying to plan the next move. Chikorita was too fast for Jigglypuff to go after and she had her Vine Whip as a long distanced attack. The only way we could make a final blow is by getting in close, however I doubt Ash would let us get that far with us on the offence, so I need him to get Chikorita to come to us.
"Okay Jigglypuff, use Sing again!" I decided and she instantly began to sing.
"Quick Chikorita, use Vine Whip!"
"Dodge it but continue to use Sing!" I countered and Jigglypuff opened her eyes and danced out of the way of the Vine Whip, jumping left and right without any attack making a single hit as she continued to sing.
"Argh! It's not working! Okay Chikorita, use Tackle and fast!" Chikorita shook her head to wake herself up a little then charged for Jigglypuff, who watched but didn't move, waiting for my say. Good, this is exactly what I wanted.
"Alright Jigglypuff, use Pound!" Everyone watched as Jigglypuff stopped singing and drew back an arm, her eyes narrowing in determined concentration with a little smirk sitting on her face whilst Chikorita continued to charge forwards, still determined to land a hit but with the extra speed and force, Jigglypuff's blow only came that much harder and Chikorita was flung high up into the air.
"Chika!" She landed heavily on the ground, dust spraying everywhere as Ash stared.
"Chikorita!" He ran to her and picked her up, cradling Chikorita in his arms as Pikachu bounded over to make sure everything was okay. "Chikorita, are you okay?" He asked and Chikorita mumbled slightly.
"Chikorita is unable to battle. The victory goes to Ruby and her Jigglypuff." I cheered and leaped into the air with a victorious punch as Jigglypuff copied me, jumping up and lifting an arm before I ran over to her and swept her off the ground, dancing around with a laugh.
"You were great Jigglypuff! I knew you would be, you're totally awesome."
"Jigglypuff Puff!" She agreed, kicking her legs happily before I turned and walked over to Ash and Chikorita.
"Hey Ash, is Chikorita okay?" He nodded his head, turning a smile up to me.
"Chikorita just needs some rest. That was a pretty tough blow you hit us with Jigglypuff, I'm impressed. You're a lot stronger and tougher than you look." Jigglypuff nodded her head proudly so I gave her a little squeeze as Brock and Misty approached us.
"You two have really come far, it seems all your training has paid off." Brock said to us with a nod to Jigglypuff. "I thought you'd have trouble at first, seeing as Jigglypuff likes to usually do its own thing but you seem to have that under control."
"Yup. Jigglypuff and I make a great duo, we're both as stubborn as each other!" I beamed, giving her another hug as Misty smiled adoringly at Jigglypuff.
"Not only is Jigglypuff a great battler but it's so cute too!" Pleased with Misty's compliments Jigglypuff returned the smile then leaped out of my arms to go over to Ash, whereby she gave him a hard stare then began to lecture him.
"Jiggly Jigglypuff, Jigglypuff Puff, Jigglypuff!" She told him firmly before leaping up into his arms then hugged him, giggling to herself as Ash started in surprise, unsure of what to do.
"Uh…"
"She's trying to tell you she forgives you for all your mean comments." I told him with a laugh, walking over to gently pull her off him before the hug could turn into a Pound. "But don't say anything like it again genius or I won't be able to save you."
"Right. Thanks Ruby." He said before turning to look at the sky. "Well, I'm tired after that awesome battle, so I'm going to get some sleep." He announced and I agreed it was a good idea. Today had been a long day and my legs were starting to ache. I returned Jigglypuff to her Pokéball with a final word of praise for her great work.
"The campfire is lit and all the Pokémon are resting, so I think we should all get some sleep." Misty agreed, walking with Togepi over to the fire then rolled out her sleeping bag. "Goodnight guys! See you in the morning." She called as I got my own sleeping bag out as well, taking off my hat and jacket as well as my shoes then cuddled the egg to me, taking it out of the incubator to share my own warmth with it, giving it a smile then snuggled it close.
"Night everyone, sleep well." So with the stars beginning to appear I gazed up at them until I was asleep, excited for the upcoming gym battle. I couldn't wait for the next challenge and my next gym badge. They might as well just write my name on it.
