Waking with a groan I blinked, taking a deep breath to find Vaporeon curled up beside me, her tail fanned over her face to block out the sunlight as I slowly came to, sensing someone watching me. Rubbing my eyes I sat up slowly as not to disturb Vaporeon then looked to my left to see Brock, Ash and Ruby standing there, already dressed and ready to go.
"Morning sleepyhead." Misty said brightly with a smile. "How do you feel?"
"A lot better actually." I admitted, stretching up to loosen my muscles. "Good call Brock."
"Not a problem. If you're up for it, Morty says he'll be waiting for you in the gym for a battle." That's when I turned to Ash, who had a sly smirk on his face, his arms folded across his chest with Pikachu on his shoulder. No need to ask, he won.
"You got your badge, didn't you?" I asked with a smile and in answer he whipped open his jacket and showed me his fourth badge.
"Feast your eyes on the Fog Badge!" He proclaimed with a laugh. "It was a tough battle, it was pretty tight but still, it was totally cool!" I chuckled, admiring the newest badge in Ash's collection. It resembled a wispy purple ghost with narrow slits for eyes.
"That's great Ash, I knew you could do it." I said, swinging my legs around to place them on the floor as Vaporeon lifted her head.
"Poreon?"
"Hey there sleepyhead, how do you feel about having a gym match today?" I asked and in answer, Vaporeon leaped to her feet and began to dance on the bed, jumping up and down so I laughed, standing up with another stretch then pulled my hair back into a ponytail, not bothering to brush it, stuck my hat on my head then picked up my egg to signal I was ready. "Alright then, let's get some breakfast then go!"
"Yeah!" Ash cheered at the word breakfast before flinging open the door and racing down to the cafeteria to get some food. We ate pancakes and syrup, one of my favourite breakfasts then head out to the gym as Ash told me all about his battle and how close it had been, but thanks to Noctowl everything had turned out just fine and I was really glad for him.
"That's great Ash, I'm glad you won but now it's my turn." I said with a determined expression. "And no matter how strong his Gengar may be, I know my Pokémon will help me win this next badge, because I've trained just as hard as any gym leader to help them be strong and tough, so we'll be just fine."
"That's a great way of thinking." Ash agreed. "It'll help you focus in the match. Huh?" We stopped in front of the gym to find someone already there waiting for us.
"Hello there. Welcome to Ecruteak City Gym, may I help you?" A man asked politely with a bow so I stepped forwards and bowed back.
"My name is Ruby Bates from Pallet Town, and I'm here to challenge the gym leader to a battle for a Fog Badge." I told him and he nodded his head.
"I see. In that case, please follow me." He told us then led us into the gym where I instantly saw Morty with his Gengar, a hoard of Gastly and a group of kids all neatly lined up at the wall, kneeling down and listening to his lesson with great interest. "Uh, excuse me sir, a trainer has arrived to challenge you." Our guide informed, interrupting Morty's talk to bring his attention to us so I gave a smile.
"Morning!"
"Hello there Ruby, I was hoping you'd show up today. How are you feeling?" I gave a determined smile then pointed to him.
"Like I could beat you in a gym match." I replied and he nodded his head, obviously satisfied with my match but then I looked around. "Uh…were you teaching?"
"We could always come back later?" Misty offered as Brock looked to the kids a little sheepishly.
"Maybe we're interrupting something." But Morty didn't seem to mind.
"Oh I was just lecturing my students about the ghost Pokémon." He explained so I exhaled with relief. Maybe we should come back later, I know I'd hate for someone to barge in and interrupt a lesson when all I wanted to do was study. "Teaching is another part of a gym leader's job. Thanks for helping out guys but I think that's all for now." Morty said to the Gastly and they all disappeared with an eerie, echoing voice. "Gengar, you take a break too. I have a feeling this will be an intense battle." Morty said and returned his Gengar to its Pokéball before Morty walked over to me, giving a little smile before turning to his students. "Class, this is Ruby Bates from Pallet Town, and he'll be challenging our gym today." They all stood up in unison, watching us as Morty then turned to me. "I'd like them to observe our battle, Ruby, is that alright with you?"
"Please Miss Bates?" The little kids all pleaded with a bow, all moving and speaking at the same time. Okay, that's just a little bit creepy. Morty must have taught them excellent manners in his fist lesson.
"Well Ruby? What do you say?" Morty asked so I nodded my head with a smile.
"Of course, I'd love them to stay. The more the merrier." I told him then looked to the others. "Right guys?"
"Absolutely. Shall we get this battle started? I can't wait to see how this one turns out." Brock said so we all went to our places, though I left the egg with Brock so that I could concentrate only on the battle. I stood opposite Morty in my own box, the battlefield laying between us and I placed a hand on my hip with one corner of my mouth turned upwards. If nothing else, this battle will be lots of fun, and that's important too.
"This is an official Ecruteak City gym match. The battler is challenging for a Fog Badge. The gym leader and the challenger will use three Pokémon each and the match ends when all three Pokémon of either opponent are unable to continue battling. The challenger will attack first and will be permitted to make substitutions during the match. The gym leader may not. Let the match begin!" The ref called and I took a deep breath before choosing my first Pokémon.
"Alright Vaporeon, time to play!" I called and she appeared with a bright cheer of her voice, smiling brightly before lowering her weight, preparing to spring as Morty sent out his first choice of Pokémon.
"Gastly, I choose you!" The ghost Pokémon appeared and Vaporeon lifted her head, locking onto her target. "After you Ruby." Morty said and I nodded my head, looking up at Gastly as Vaporeon focused on her opponent.
"Alright Vaporeon, it's time. Let's start things off with Water Gun!" Vaporeon instantly took a deep breath and the pendant around her neck began to glow, shimmering a pretty shade of blue before Vaporeon let out a powerful Water Gun which shot towards Gastly faster than it could blink, hitting it directly.
"Gastly no! Quick, disappear then use Hypnosis!" Morty directed and Gastly instantly disappeared from sight.
"Wow, that was some Water Gun. Are you sure it wasn't a Hydro Pump?" Misty whispered to Brock behind me and I just about picked up their conversation.
"It's the Mystic Water around Vaporeon's neck. It boosts water type attacks and makes them even more powerful." I smiled secretly, turning back to the match.
"Watch out Vaporeon, the moment Gastly appears I want you to dodge the Hypnosis then use Water Gun again."
"Poreon." She nodded her head, looking around her. Gastly suddenly reappeared almost right next to Vaporeon and its eyes began to glow, glaring down at Vaporeon who looked up then tried to spring away, however it was too close to escape.
"No! Vaporeon!" I called as Vaporeon slowly began to droop, giving a yawn so I quickly began to think. "Vaporeon shake it off, you can do it!" I said to her. "We're used to listening to Jigglypuff singing, this is nothing compared!" Vaporeon suddenly shook her head, pressing her paws into the ground then slapped her face with her tail to wake herself up. Then she lifted her head and blasted Gastly with Water Gun. "Alright! That's the way to do it."
"Gastly, dodge!" Morty commanded and Gastly began to disappear and reappear at leisure, avoiding every attack Vaporeon made at it.
"Stay calm Vaporeon, use Bubblebeam and fill the room! Don't aim anywhere, just hit every space you can find!" Vaporeon instantly began to shoot Bubblebeam off in all directions, aiming at the air and all around her and I waited, watching carefully.
Finally Gastly appeared then got hit full in the face by Vaporeon's attack, blasting it backwards so she locked on and continued to attack. "Gastly, use Shadow Ball!" Morty flung out a hand and instantly Gastly formed the dark ball at its mouth, turning directly down to Vaporeon then fired it down.
"Look out!" I called as the attack blasted through the bubbles and Vaporeon leaped out of the way, the ground blasting behind her but then Gastly struck again, directly where she was. "Vaporeon!" Vaporeon was flung backwards and she cried out from the hit, rolling on the ground but then pushed herself back onto her feet. "You're doing great Vaporeon, just a little bit more. Gastly is exhausted and almost finished." I told her and she nodded her head, breathing deeply but not labouredly.
"Vaporeon."
"Gastly, let's hit with another Shadow Ball, go!" Morty directed and Gastly disappeared from sight to reappear behind her.
"Counter with your own Shadow Ball!" Vaporeon whirled around, forming the ball at her mouth then let it soar up to Gastly, the two attacks hitting in the middle and the connection made them both explode, sending a massive force back at both Pokémon and I shielded my eyes, trying to peer through. "Vaporeon, use Bubblebeam before the dust clears." I said to her over the boom, hoping she would hear me.
Sure enough bubbles began to dart forwards, shooting up towards Gastly and they struck their mark, making Gastly shoot backwards before it tumbled to the ground, groaning in defeat then lay there, knocked out from Vaporeon's powerful hit.
"Oh no, Gastly!"
"Gastly is unable to battle, the winner is Vaporeon." The ref called as Morty returned his Gastly to its Pokéball.
"Way to go Vaporeon!" I cheered for her as she turned back a smile to me, glad to have done me proud. I turned back to Morty who gave a slow nod of his head.
"That was a great start Ruby. You Vaporeon is really something. Even without that Mystic Water I think its attacks would be pretty powerful." I smiled and nodded my head.
"Thanks. Your Gastly put up a tough fight. We really had to focus with that one." Morty chuckled before sending out his next Pokémon, which was not surprisingly a Haunter. Okay, so Haunter is stronger than a Gastly. This could be interesting.
"Okay Haunter, Mean Look!" What?! Mean Look?! No way! Haunter glared down at Vaporeon with glowing eyes and effectively trapped her in the battle as she shrank back slightly.
"Don't be afraid Vaporeon, it's okay." I promised her. "Just focus on Haunter and we'll be able to beat it! Now use Water Gun!" Vaporeon instantly shot a jet of water at Haunter who disappeared in a blink then reappeared. "Now redirect it!" Vaporeon turned her head and began to follow after Haunter, following its movements until she anticipated where it was going to reappear. She amped up the power then aimed at a space where Haunter then appeared and it got a full blast of Vaporeon's attack. "Nice hit, great going Vaporeon!"
"Haunter, get out of there and grab Vaporeon!" Suddenly two dark hands darted forwards and grabbed Vaporeon, lifting her off the ground and she began to kick and struggle, crying out as she was carried up into the air.
"Hold on Vaporeon, use Bubblebeam!" I directed and she tried to twist and turn to face Haunter but it was no use. "At the ground!" So she turned her attack downwards and the power forced her up into the air, shooting back towards Haunter whose face dropped as Vaporeon slammed into it.
"Don't let that knock you back Haunter, use Lick on Vaporeon!" Haunter shook itself off then extended a long tongue, slathering it over Vaporeon who continued to struggle, unable to get free and no attack would reach Haunter, who was cleverly holding her head away from him to save any hits from making their mark. I couldn't even use Swift as a normal type attack has no effect on a ghost Pokémon. What do I do? If only I could use her tail somehow…but how? "Good, now drop Vaporeon." Morty said and Haunter let go of my Vaporeon, who crashed into the ground with a loud thud and I gasped.
"Vaporeon! Vaporeon are you okay?" I questioned and Vaporeon trembled on the ground, trying to get up but then gave out, fainting from exhaustion and from that Lick attack. Not good.
"Vaporeon is unable to battle. The winner is Haunter!" The ref decided so I recalled Vaporeon then smiled down at the Pokéball.
"You were really amazing Vaporeon, you take a well deserved rest." I said before selecting my next Pokémon. "Okay Pidgeot, you're up!" If Pidgeot can match Haunter's speed then there would be no chance of it escaping us this time.
"Excellent choice, but I'm afraid your Pidgeot's speed won't be able to win this battle for you." Morty told me with a smirk. "Haunter, use Shadow Ball!" Haunter whipped up a powerful looking Shadow Ball, which instantly made me smirk.
"Fly right through it and use Aerial Ace!" I countered and Pidgeot instantly sped forwards with a flap of her wings, calling out loudly as she flew straight through the attack without taking on any damage then rammed into Haunter with intense speed, knocking it back as Morty gasped.
"No! How did it not affect it?" He stared as Pidgeot soared around the room, calling out before landing on the ground before me with a proud look as I placed a hand on my hip.
"Ghost type moves don't have an effect on normal type Pokémon. Pidgeot is a dual type, both normal and flying, so Shadow Ball isn't going to work." I explained then threw my hand out towards Haunter. "Now Pidgeot, use Wing Attack!"
"Pidgeot!" She chirped then flew up with glowing wings, banking to fly around to Haunter and make the hit.
"Dodge then use Hypnosis!" Morty answered and Haunter disappeared but Pidgeot merely banked around and charged at it again the moment Haunter reappeared. Haunter turned and took a hit, once again being knocked down out of the sky but it recovered quickly and floated back up again, only this time it faced Pidgeot ready with its attack.
Its eyes began to glow and it waved its hands in a hypnotic motion, trying to send Pidgeot to sleep but, as I said, it was used to Jigglypuff. "Brush it off and finish it with Aerial Ace!"
"Haunter no!" Morty yelled but Pidgeot was too fast. She gave Haunter a strong direct hit and Haunter tumbled out of the sky, now unable to continue battling due to Pidgeot's powerful wings. "Haunter return. You did well against such a formidable opponent. Rest now." Morty said affectionately as Pidgeot landed for a rest, conserving her energy like I had taught her. "Well, you certainly are a challenge. I can see why you and Ash get along so well, you are both very great trainers, but this time, I'm not going to be defeated! Gengar, I choose you!"
Just as I thought, his last Pokémon is his strongest. Gengar. "Okay Gengar, this one is fast so make sure you dodge all attacks. Start things off with Confuse Ray!"
"Use Quick Attack to get out the way then use Aerial Ace." I countered, pulling on my neckerchief to pull it around, feeling a little nervous about facing such a strong Pokémon but I quickly shoved it aside. Pidgeot darted out of the way of Gengar's Confuse Ray and got behind it, swooping forwards with her attack but then Gengar disappeared, making her pull up short and look around.
"Pidgeot?" I scanned the battlefield, trying to spot Gengar but so far there was nothing.
"Keep moving Pidgeot, don't let yourself be an easy target." I said to her and she flew off, gliding around the gym. Gengar continued to elude us, keeping out of sight until Morty finally called.
"Alright Gengar, now use Confuse Ray!" Without warning Gengar appeared in front of Pidgeot, making her start backwards in fear at its large grinning face before being blasted with the Confuse Ray.
"No Pidgeot!" I gasped, watching as Pidgeot suddenly became confused and fluttered her wings, flying around and around in circles as she tried to strike out. "Stop that Pidgeot, you're only hurting yourself!" She flew up and slammed into the ceiling, taking more damage before dive bombing the ground. "No! Pidgeot, return!" I called her back before she could crash land but then tossed her ball back into the air. "Okay, now come back out!"
This time when Pidgeot appeared, she was focused and ready to battle. "Use Whirlwind, and then use Air Slash once you have Gengar trapped!" Pidgeot set to work, whipping up a strong Hurricane which had Gengar struggling to remain aground as it blew against him. "Now!" Pidgeot beat her wings against the air and sharp slices of light burst from them, slamming into Gengar repeatedly who took the hits.
"Sucker Punch Gengar, don't let that Pidgeot get away!" Gengar suddenly opened its eyes and glared at Pidgeot, growling darkly before springing forwards up into the air, disappearing then reappearing in front of Pidgeot with a darkly glowing fist.
"Pidgeot watch out!" The hit landed and Pidgeot was knocked out of the sky, tumbling out of control.
"Gengar, use Lick and grab Pidgeot, then finish it with a toss!" Gengar's tongue rolled out sickeningly and wrapped around Pidgeot who squirmed but only weakly, unable to move as Gengar lifted her up then slammed her into the ground.
"Pidgeot!" When the dust cleared, Pidgeot was out of the battle.
"Pidgeot is now unable to battle, the winner is Gengar." So, it's down to one on one. What should I do? I could always rely on Charizard, but he just wasn't fast enough to keep up with Gengar's disappearing act, and he would be affected by any ghost type moves. Looks like I am left with only one choice.
"Okay Jigglypuff, it's show time!" I decided, letting my new friend out for her very first gym battle. She landed on the ground then gave a twirl, spinning around elegantly before bowing.
"Jigglypuff!"
"Wow, now that's a stylish Pokémon." Morty commented and I gave a little laugh, rubbing the back of my head.
"Yeah, Jigglypuff love the spotlight." I answered then looked to see Gengar looming over Jigglypuff, trying to use Scary Face to frighten her but Jigglypuff merely inflated herself and gave an angry reply.
"Puff!" That's when she started to Double Slap Gengar, though it looked something more like a Triple Slap. "Jiggly, Jiggly, Jigglypuff!"
"Agh! Jigglypuff stop that! Double Slap won't work on Gengar because it's a ghost type!" I yelped frantically as Gengar simply stared down at Jigglypuff, probably wondering if she was for real. "Ugh…use Sing!"
"Gengar, counter with Hypnosis!" Ha! That's just perfect! Jigglypuff began to sing beautifully, concentrating her voice on Gengar but since she always sang with her eyes closed, Hypnosis wasn't going to do anything, however I could already see Gengar beginning to grow sleepy.
"Keep going! You've almost got it!" I encouraged, clenching my fists tightly as Gengar continued to grow drowsy.
"Gengar, shake it off and use Sucker Punch!" Morty tried but Gengar merely keeled over and fell asleep.
"Alright! Great job Jigglypuff, now let's finish this up!" I laughed happily, pointing towards Gengar though I heard Misty worry behind me that Jigglypuff didn't know any moves that would have an effect on Gengar. "You just watch Misty." I said to her and she blinked. "Jigglypuff, Disarming Voice!" A new move I discovered today by checking my Pokédex on my way over here. It's apparently effective even on ghost type Pokémon, which is great news!
Jigglypuff blew out a sound which rippled around Gengar with musical notes and even a few hearts flying out of her mouth, hitting Gengar and it groaned in its sleep before rolling over. "Gengar, you must wake up! Wake up Gengar!" Morty pleaded as Jigglypuff hit again and again with Disarming Voice. Just then Gengar's eyes flew open and jumped back up onto its feet, growling over at Jigglypuff who glared. "Great work Gengar, now use Sucker Punch!" A move that will effect normal type Pokémon. Okay then, leave this one to Jigglypuff.
"Inflate and fly up, then use Ice Beam!"
"What? Your Jigglypuff knows Ice Beam?" Ash practically yelled as Jigglypuff rose up into the air, dodging Gengar's attack.
"Of course, you think we spent all our training time messing around? Honestly Ash, I thought you knew me better." I said with a titter of my tongue, wagging a finger as Jigglypuff blasted a stream of ice down at Gengar, landing a direct hit and it flew backwards from the blast. "When I train Pokémon, we train hard together. Besides, I'd already it taught to Vaporeon, I think Jigglypuff was just listening in on the lessons. She sure surprised me when she came up with that one the other day." I laughed, watching as Gengar crash landed then groaned, struggling to get up at first before finally collapsing to the ground.
"Gengar is unable to battle, the winner is Jigglypuff and the battle goes to Ruby Bates from Pallet Town." The referee ruled and I gasped, smiling broadly as Jigglypuff jumped up and turned to face me with a happy smile.
"Jigglypuff!"
"You did it Jigglypuff, you won your first gym battle and against a Gengar!" Jigglypuff leaped up into my arms and I spun around with her before holding her close, smiling into her soft fur before turning to face Morty as he approached.
"That was some battle Ruby, I can see you and Ash going far with your Pokémon. Here, as proof of your victory I award you the Fog Badge." Morty said then held out the badge, letting me take it from him and gaze at it with pride.
"Look Jigglypuff, this badge is thanks to you." I told her and she nodded her head with a proud expression.
"Puff." She agreed so I giggled before placing her on my shoulder, pulled out my badge case then placed the new addition in its slot, giving a final nod before putting it away.
"Thanks for such a great battle Morty. I sure learned a lot and so did my Pokémon. We'll train even harder to make sure we're even better prepared next time we might come up against a ghost Pokémon."
"That's good. A battle isn't really a battle unless you learn something from it. Just remember, there are always new things to learn about Pokémon and how to harness their skills, so don't ever give up on them." I nodded my head before giving a polite bow which Morty returned. "It was an experience I shall never forget, meeting you all. You take care now and good luck with the rest of your battles. I know you'll do your best."
"We sure will." I agreed as Brock and the others approached so I took back the egg. I received the sensation of pride and I glowed inwardly in response, giving a small smile before turning to Jigglypuff. "Well Jigglypuff, it's time you took a rest. You earned it."
"Jigglypuff." She nodded her head in agreement as she returned to her Pokéball which I secured back on my belt before turning to Morty.
"I hope your Pokémon are all okay."
"They'll be fine. I'll take them to Nurse Joy once my lesson is finished. You all take care." Morty answered and we all said goodbye before leaving the gym. I held my head high and couldn't stop smiling all the way to the Pokémon Centre, a light bounce in my step as I handed my Pokémon over into Nurse Joy's care before spinning around to face the others.
"Okay, so where next?"
