Taking a deep breath I closed my eyes and focused again, wearing a deeply concentrating expression as I meditated my mind then thrust out my hands, trying to push my aura out as well but still with the same result. Nothing.
"Oh come on! Give me a break here!" I yelled, giving up and gripping my hair. "I did it before, so why not now?" I demanded a bush who just stared back at me. "I am not crazy for talking to a bush like you, you're the one giving me the silent treatment." I told it stiffly, folding my arms and looking away.
"Uh…are you okay Rubes?" Gary asked, appearing from behind another set of bushes with his Umbreon at his heels. "I thought I heard you over here." I gave him a brief glance then turned my back.
"Yeah, why should you care?" I asked simply, lifting my face up to signal I wasn't all that interested in talking to him.
"What's the matter Rubes? What's wrong?" He asked but I simply flicked out a hand.
"I'm fine. See you later." I made to walk away but one of my Pokéballs burst open. Oh come on, not now Vaporeon. But sure enough, when I turned around, both Umbreon and Vaporeon had leaped over to one another and were nuzzling one another in greeting. Gary gave a soft smile and I looked away, folding my arms and took a deep breath to keep cool.
"Well they seem to get along fine." Gary noted as he began to walk towards me, ignoring the dark look I have him and didn't stop until he was standing right in front of me. "Now what's been going on with you? Have you been letting Sophia get to you?"
"No." I bit back instantly. "She doesn't bother me. I'm just trying to get some private training done without anyone interrupting." Gary blinked then finally got the hint. His face became hard and stony as he took a step back.
"Fine. I get it." He said with a shrug. "Big deal. It's not like I care at all, you always get yourself into a mess without my help anyway, so I'll just let you get on with it." Gary turned around and began to walk away, hands in his pockets.
"I do not always mess things up! Sometimes its Ash's fault too you know!" I yelled after him, shaking my fist.
"Yeah, a likely story. You're probably the clumsy one leading him in to all the stupid spots and then he's the one who has to save the day seeing as I'm not around to look out for you." He shot back, turning around partially to glare at me.
"I don't need anyone to rescue me! Not now, not ever! Argh, you're so thick brained Gary!"
"And you don't have any brain at all." He returned easily, making my blood boil.
"You're a sour faced loser!"
"You're a foul tempered Gyarados on a good day and a bad smelling Muk on a bad one!"
"You're impossible."
"You're stubborn and unpredictable."
"At least I have character."
"At least I can control my temper, Rubes." That does it. The final straw has snapped and my famous battle roar was now unleashed.
"ARGH! I HATE YOU GARY OAK!" Gary just stood there, watching me with an unreadable expression as I seethed, clenching my fists so tightly my knuckles turned white and I could feel my nails digging into my skin. Finally Gary looked away.
"Let's go Umbreon." He snapped and Umbreon blinked at him before looking at Vaporeon.
She turned and looked at me, taking in my stiff figure and clenched fists before turning back and nudging Umbreon gently, nodding her head then licked his cheek before walking back over to me. I watched Gary leave, glaring heatedly but the moment he was gone, I dropped to my knees and flung my arms around Vaporeon with a tiny sob.
"Why do I always screw things up?" I whined, holding onto her tightly as she tried to lick away my tears, which were few before I was able to control myself once more. "Sorry, I have no idea what just happened." I said with a deep breath then smiled to Vaporeon. "Come on, let's go get some ice cream. With Ash and I now proceeding forwards, I think it's about time we celebrated."
Vaporeon tilted her head to the side and gave me a disbelieving look but let it slide regardless, knowing that I was one of the most stubborn people of all time, so there was no way she was going to get me to act the way I was feeling, which was completely overwrought with distress. Though I'm not too sure why.
As I walked back along the path towards the Pokémon Centre, I noticed Ash's Squirtle and Bulbasaur facing down a Meganium and an Azumarill, all of them wearing angry faces before charging at one another. "Hey, what's the big idea?" I demanded and ran forwards as everyone gasped and quickly cleared out the way as the four Pokémon started to fight one another.
"Look out! Don't get involved!" Someone tried to tell me but I just shook them off.
"Vaporeon, help me separate them." I said and Vaporeon nodded her head before leaping over to Squirtle and Azumarill. "You two stop it right now!" I grunted, pushing my way between them then forced them apart. "This is not how Pokémon battling in the tournament should be behaving, you should all be ashamed of yourselves." I told them sternly as they all stopped fighting and looked at me. "The tournament is about proving your strengths in a fair battle, not this squabbling routine you've got going here. Now all of you, say that you're sorry to one another." I ordered but the two stranger Pokémon turned away so I clapped my hands. "Now." I ruled and they jumped at my harsh bark before lowering their heads.
"Bulba. Bulbasaur." Bulbasaur apologised first, sitting down and wearing a proud expression so I knelt down and rubbed his head.
"Good job Bulbasaur, now that's true sportsmanship. Squirtle? Is there anything you want to say?" I asked slowly and Squirtle folded his arms and looked away.
"Squirtle."
"Come on. I know you want to say it." I teased lightly as Vaporeon gently nudged his head.
"Vaporeon, Poreon Vaporeon." She told him then looked at the Azumarill who glared at her.
"Azumarill." She grumped then stuck out her tongue at Squirtle who instantly glared then tried to leap at the rude Azumarill but I grabbed him and held him back.
"Mega. Mega Meganium." The Meganium said to Azumarill then gave a respectful nod to Bulbasaur as the Azumarill hung its head. "Mega."
"Azumarill." They both apologised so I looked pointedly down at Squirtle.
"Well?"
"Squirt." Squirtle apologised finally so I pull him down and sat with them all.
"Now what was all this arguing about?" I asked so Bulbasaur pointed to the apples up in the tree. "Apples? But there are plenty up there for everyone. Why would you fight over a single apple? Surely you're all bigger than that." I said as I rubbed Bulbasaur's head and let Vaporeon climb into my lap to curl up. "There are many young children and other Pokémon watching, you know. I'm sure you all want to set an example."
"Ruby! What's going on? We heard there was a fight." Ash called as he and the others ran over along with some new guy who instantly went over to Meganium and Azumarill.
"Are you two okay? What happened?" Oh, so he must be their trainer. Wait a sec, isn't that Jackson? The guy that Ash is going to be battling next? Uh oh. Good thing Vaporeon and I stopped this fight before things got real nasty.
"It's okay. I think your Pokémon are just a little hungry." I said simply as I stood up with Vaporeon in my arms. "Bulbasaur, how about you and Meganium grab a couple of apples for everybody?" I suggested and Bulbasaur nodded his head.
"Bulbasaur!" He looked up and began to grab down apples, handing one to Squirtle and the other to Azumarill who took it with surprise. "Bulba."
"Mega? Meganium?" Meganium blinked then smiled, reaching up with its own vines and grabbed a couple more apples. Before you knew it, they were handing out apples to all the Pokémon in the square happily, both the water type Pokémon also giving them a hand.
"So…they were fighting because they were hungry?" Jackson summarised and I nodded my head.
"Uh huh. You should see Ash when's he's running on an empty stomach. He's grouchier than a Snorlax that woke up on the wrong side of the cave. Your Pokémon were just a little too hungry to think about their manners." I explained as Vaporeon jumped out of my arms and walked over to Meganium.
"Vaporeon?"
"Mega!" Meganium smiled then picked her a fresh apple from the tree and handed it to her, making her smile before she took it and sat down to set to work on munching away.
"Gee, thanks. If it weren't for you, we'd have a Pokémon riot on our hands." Jackson said to me.
"No problem. Just make sure you keep an eye on your Pokémon at all times. It's your responsibility as their trainer to make sure they behave and that they're safe." I gave a little chuckle then sat down in front of the tree, leaning back to enjoy the sun with all the Pokémon, who were now all at peace and at ease with one another, though I could see a rivalry sparking between Meganium and Bulbasaur. Looks like they're battle together will be one to remember.
And one to remember, it was. It was an awesome battle. With Pikachu being knocked out by Magneton after he defeated Azumarill, and Cyndaquil being defeated by Magneton as well, it rested on Bulbasaur for the final stretch.
Bulbasaur put up a great fight, taking out Magneton and then battling Meganium in what must have been the grass type match up battle of the century. It was totally intense! I was on the edge of my seat the whole way through and even as both Pokémon knocked each other out, I still couldn't believe my eyes. That was some fire cracking grass power! Sweet! I almost forgot to take any photos for Ash I was so focused, but hey. A habit can be pretty hard to kill, you can be sure I got plenty.
"Ash! That was so great!" I laughed as he walked towards us. "You and Bulbasaur were like you've never been apart, it was totally amazing!" Flinging my arms around Ash I gave him a big hug, startling him slightly but I didn't hang on for too long.
"Thanks Ruby. You know what that means? Both you and I get to go on to the next part of the tournament!" We high fived one another with a cheer as Misty and Brock both congratulated Ash. I turned to Jackson, who was hanging his head sadly so I reached out and touched his shoulder.
"Hey, you should be happy! Your Meganium is one of the most incredible Pokémon I've ever seen, and your Magneton is something you should be proud of too. You put up a really tough fight and that's nothing to be ashamed of." I told him. "There's always next time, and until then, you're only going to grow stronger and better!"
"You're right Ruby. Thanks! I should be proud of my Pokémon. I am proud." He said, lifting up Meganium's Pokéball with a soft smile. "And I promise that next time, things will be different." So with Jackson once again happy, we all headed back to the Pokémon Centre to see who our matchups for the next round was.
To our horror, it was not good pairings. Ash was against Gary. But me? Oh no. It was much worse. Much, much worse.
I was going to battle against Sophia.
"Just take deep breaths, everything is going to be okay. There's no need to be so stressed over this battle." Misty said to me as I continued to pace the room.
"Stressed? I'm not stressed. Who says I'm stressed? Do you think I'm stressed? No of course I'm not stressed I'm as stressed as a stress free Clefairy." I ranted back, stomping my feet angrily on the ground. "Fire, steel, electric, dragon, psychic...fire, steel, electric, dragon, psychic." I muttered over and over in my head.
"Uh…what's she doing?" Ash asked as he, Brock and Misty watched as I paced.
"She's going over all the Pokémon types that Sophia has, trying to think of the best way to defeat them." Brock answered simply. "She's been pacing like that all night."
"All night?" Ash blinked in surprise. "But her battle is tomorrow. She can't compete like this."
"Yeah, but nothing we do seems to work. Not even Pidgeot can get her to snap out of it." Misty answered as I continued to think things over. Sophia is a vain little vixen, so maybe I should just blow her out of the sky with Charizard's awesome fire type moves. But wait, she could just use Ninetales to hit back or Alakazam to use its telekinetic powers to stop the fire. Argh! This is driving me crazy!
"Don't worry guys, leave this to me!" Ash suddenly said then pointed at me as I continued to pace, mumbling under my breath. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" He cried but Pikachu merely stared at him in shock.
"Pika?!"
"Do it Pikachu, we need to wake her up somehow." Ash said so Pikachu gulped, gave a worried look then closed his eyes to send a shock at me. Suddenly the light flashed before my eyes and I cried out as electricity overwhelmed by body, making me leap up into the air with a shriek before it was all over in a flash.
"Thanks…Pikachu…" I groaned before falling flat on my face.
"Pikachu! Pika Pika!" Pikachu raced over to me with everyone else who all crouched down around me.
"Ruby? Are you alright?"
"No! I'm not alright! Sophia is mean and I don't like her!" I wailed, my voice muffled by the carpet. "She's right, I'm totally a loser. I can't even get my own head to think straight!"
"You're not a loser Ruby, don't say that." I heard Misty say to me softly as Togepi gently shook my arm.
"Toge-Togepriii!" She chirped so I swallowed the lump in my throat then sat up, giving everyone a smile.
"I'm sorry, I guess I just don't have a lid on things." They all smiled at me.
"That's okay, it's what we're here for." Brock said to me gently and I instantly felt overwhelmingly grateful to him.
"It's your first big competition, it's no wonder you're nervous." Ash told me. "I felt exactly the same way, but all you've got to do is believe in your Pokémon and everything will be alright." Giving a weak smile I reached out and very gently tapped his shoulder with my fist in a playful punch.
"Thanks genius." We all stood up and I yawned, suddenly feeling tired.
"How about you go get some rest whilst we let you have some privacy." Misty said. "I think some alone time with your Pokémon might be just the therapy you need to get into the fighting spirit again."
"Great idea Misty. I'll just go and have a nap." I yawned then drifted off to bed. Turns out my nap turned into a full day of sleep and I woke up late in the night when I heard one of my Pokéballs opened and a door creaking as it was brushed open. "Huh?" I saw the end of a tail slip out of the door so I quickly threw on my jacket, grabbed my belt then followed after Vaporeon.
She led me outside into the open where the stars twinkled brightly. Vaporeon slipped along the shadows, trying to keep out of sight but when she trotted towards some bushes, I finally announced myself. "Vaporeon? Where are you going?" She froze in place then hung her head, giving a soft whine as she turned around to face me as I walked forwards then knelt down before her. "It's okay, I'm not angry, you just scared me that's all."
"Poreon." She said to me then pressed her head into my hand, closing her eyes and instantly I was flooded with feelings, impressions and emotions, some of them blurring into thoughts which I deciphered carefully until I had the full picture in my head.
"You're going to meet Umbreon? Is that it?" I turned to look at her as she hung her head even lower so I smiled affectionately then lifted her up into my lap, resting my hand on her back. "Hey, it's okay. I'm not angry about that either. I know Gary and I may not see to eye to eye, but that doesn't mean you and Umbreon can't be happy together." I told her softly and she looked up at me hopefully.
"Vaporeon?"
"So, you've been sneaking out every night since we both got here have you? That's not very good of you Vaporeon, you should always tell me if you're going somewhere and who you're going with, I could have woken up to find you missing and then I'd have the entire police force searching for you." I hugged her tightly, burying my face into her soft scales. "Don't ever frighten me like this, I couldn't bare it if anything happened to you." I said, sniffing slightly as a tear rolled down my cheek.
I put Vaporeon down then gave her a weak smile as I noticed Umbreon step through the bushes, freezing slightly in place but I merely gave him a smile too. "Now, I want both of you to behave. No trouble causing and Vaporeon, I want you back before midnight. You got that?" I said to her and she nodded her head, rubbing against my legs before bounding over to Umbreon who licked her cheek in greeting. "Stay safe." I murmured quietly as they slipped away for a moonlight walk together before turning and going back to bed.
I didn't sleep again until I heard Vaporeon slip back into my room, however instead of returning to her Pokéball, she jumped up and joined Latias and I on the bed, curling up and I smiled as I smelled her familiar scent, warm and comforting before finally slipping into a dreamless sleep.
