Back to CB again. Expect this pattern, because I'm not pointing it out again.
It had been about two days since our encounter with the Rockets, and stuff had been pretty peaceful. I caught a Slowpoke when the forest lead out to a beach, and I named it Turbo, but that was a pretty uneventful capture. But I'll tell you about it anyway.
We had been walking for a few hours after waking up, and eventually, we exited the forest and arrived at a beach. On the beach was a rock, and on the rock was a Slowpoke that was fishing with it's tail.
"Hey, look! A Slowpoke!" Krysta said, pointing at it.
"Yeah, I see it," I said. At that point, I had realized that it'd probably have a good idea to have a Water-type on my team, and Slowpoke is also Psychic-type...so I pulled out a Pokéball, and threw it, not bothering to weaken the Pokémon any. It sucked it in, shook once mid-air, fell to the ground, shook again, and pinged. Hmm. My first critical catch. Cool.
"That was fast," Krysta mused. I just picked up the Pokéball and scanned it with my Pokédex.
"Slowpoke, the Dopey Pokémon. It is incredibly slow and often sits around lost in thought. Despite this, it is incredibly dopey, and when attacked, it often doesn't even realize it's in pain until much later. This Slowpoke is male, its ability is Oblivious, and it knows the following moves: Yawn, Water Gun, Confusion, and Water Pulse."
"Hmm. Cool," I said, not entirely paying attention. "...I'm going to nickname it Turbo."
"...That's pretty ironic, considering its got 'slow', in the name," Krysta pointed out.
"That was the intention," I explained, as I attached the Pokéball containing my fourth comrade to my belt.
Anyways, after that, the walk to Zeal City was pretty uneventful, but now, we've arrived in Zeal City! But...
"Well, I suppose this is where we part ways," I said. It was a bit depressing, though. Krysta kept things interesting, and she was fun to travel with. And besides, I've gotten used to having her around.
"For now," she said.
"Huh? I thought we were just traveling together until Zeal City?" I asked.
"That was the original plan. But frankly, after traveling with you and Mel, I'd be too lonely if I had to travel by myself the rest of the journey. So! After you win your Badge, come find me at the Pokémon Center, 'kay? Bye!" She then ran off. Well, that was interesting...wait, where is the Gym any- wait. I think I see it. All the other buildings look like stereotypical beach houses. But there's one building that looks different. Instead of a beach house, it looks like a giant igloo. I'm assuming that's the Gym, and also that those are white bricks, not ice. Because it is flipping hot out here, and it'd be pretty dang hard to maintain that much ice in this weather.
"Well Mel, it looks like it's time for our first Gym Battle. You ready to go?"
"Maw," my partner agreed, as we ran towards the Gym. Like in the games, the Gym had a sign in front of it describing the Leader. It looked like it was supposed to read '(name): the Wise Sage of Ice', but it was scratched out, the name so much so that it was illegible, and 'Old Man Icy: the Stupid Old Fogey' was written in crude handwriting underneath it. I guess Krysta did this...anyways, I walked inside to find a large, icy place (though considering that it was actually room temperature in here, I can only imagine that the ice is fake) with an arena in the middle, and an old man with white hair and a long white beard in a meditative pose siting at one end of the battle field. What caught my eye though was the Shiny Cryoganal hovering near him. He looked up.
"Welcome, young man. Am I right in assuming that you are a challenger?" He asked. I nodded. "Very well. How many Badges do you currently have?"
"None," I answered.
"In that case, you may use all of your Pokémon, whereas I will only use two."
"I only have four Pokémon anyway, so that works out fine." The old man simply nodded.
"I was once known as Reezef. But now, everyone simply calls me 'Old Man Icy', so you may call me that as well," the old man introduced, standing up and pulling out two Pokéballs, and waving his hand to his Cryoganal in a way that I can only assume meant that he wasn't going to use it for this battle. A generic referee of no real importance stepped to the middle of the field, holding two flags.
"I am Leo Tatsugami from Celadon City," I introduced myself. "This is my partner, Melanie."
"Wi~le maw!"
"Very well. In that case..." Reezef started. "I, Reezef, Gym Leader of the Zeal City Gym, accept your challenge!" I walked to the other end of the field, as the referee held out his flags.
"The battle between Leo Tatsugami of a Celadon City and the Gym Leader, Old Man Icy, will now begin! The Gym Leader may use two Pokémon, while the challenger can use all of his! In addition, only the Challenger may make substitutions!" The referee shouted.
"Seel, get ready for battle!" The Leader shouted, sending out the white Sea Lion Pokémon.
"Seel, seel, seel," it said, clapping its hands..er...flippers...you know what I mean. Hmm...it's a Water-type, so...I chose my first Pokéball, and threw it.
"Rei, I need your assistance!" I shouted.
"Oddish!" She shouted, as she got into a battle stance. Reezef raised his eyebrows at this, but did not comment.
"Round 1! Battle begin!" The referee shouted.
"First move's ours! Rei, use Razor Leaf!" I shouted.
"Odd!" Rei declared, shaking her leaves and hurling the razor-sharp leaves at her opponent.
"Use Ice Beam," the Leader calmly countered. His Seel silently fired a white beam of light that froze the leaves solid, and started towards Rei...until I gave a shout.
"Use that ability of yours, then fire it again!" What I had discovered is, that in anime logic, Run Away, rather than allowing a Pokémon to flee, seems to just increase the speed of a Pokémon when it's being attacked. So, using incredible speeds, Rei was suddenly behind the Seel, and fired the Razor Leaf again, this time making a successful hit.
"Oho, it's quite speedy," Reezef complimented. "But I have ways of dealing with that. Like this: Aqua Jet."
"Seel!" His Pokémon shouted, covering itself in water and dashing towards Rei at high speeds, knocking her back.
"Absorb," I said simply, as Rei's leaves began glowing green, before it shot the aura at Seel, draining it's energy, and restoring Rei's. I pulled the Pokéball back out. "Now rest for a bit." Rei returned to her Pokéball in a flash of red light.
"Clever," Reezef noted. "Using a an unexpected element included to deal some major damage, then restoring all the damage you took, and switching it out...so, what is your next Pokémon, then?" I picked out the Pokéball. He hadn't mastered the move that would decide this yet, but...
"Spear! I need your assistance!" I shouted, as my Beedrill emerged from it's Pokéball.
"Spi!" It shouted.
"A Beedrill, eh...? Interesting," the old man commented. "This time, I shall take the liberty of making the first move! Use Headbutt!" Seel charged at Spear with it's horn pointed at it.
"Dodge, then use Twineedle!" I shouted, Spear flew above Seel, causing it to miss, before charging down with it's two needles, knocking it to the ground. "Poison Sting!"
"Spi!" Spear shot a volley of purple, glowing needles from it's main stinger, raining down on the Seel.
"Aqua Jet!" Seel once again covered itself in water, then charged. I smirked at this.
"Electroweb," I said.
"What!?" Reezef gasped, as Spear fired the electrical net from his spikes, holding them both together...hey! He just successfully pulled it off! ...That was rather anti-climactic. I was expecting him to be in some dangerous situation before he finally mastered it. Maybe it's because he held both of his spikes together rather than just shooting it from one? Anyways, it caught Seel in its web, zapping it, and increasing the pain was the fact that Seel was covered in water from Aqua Jet. I then noticed that Spear was still holding onto the net and got an idea.
"Spear, swing it around!"
"Spi!" Spear gave an affirmative shout, then spun around mid-flight, swinging around the Seel.
"Now throw it!" Spear stopped spinning and let go of the net, and the momentum caused Seel to continue flying straight into the wall. The water around it faded, and it fell to the ground, it's eyes becoming the tell-all spirals.
"Seel is unable to battle!" The referee decided. "Beedrill is the winner!"
"Seel, you tried your best. Now return," Reezef soothed, recalling his unconscious Pokémon. "My my, you are quite cunning. I never knew before now that Beedrill could use Electric-type moves. However, now I do know, so..." He pulled out his second PokbBall. "...Shellder! Get ready for battle!" His second Pokéball opened, and out came a Shellder.
"Shellder!" the Bivalve Pokémon shouted. Wait...
"I thought this was an Ice Gym? Why are you using two Water Pokémon?"
"Here in Kanto, most of the local Ice-types are too strong to be used in a first Badge challenge, so I settled for Water Pokémon that knew several Ice moves, and could evolve into Ice Pokémon," Old Man Icy explained. I nodded, accepting that, before signaling to the ref that I wasn't planning on switching.
"Round 2! Begin!" The ref shouted.
"Electroweb!" I called, right off the bat. Spear shot an electric net at the shell.
"Iron Defense," Reezef called simply, as Shellder's shell gained a metallic glow. The net still hit, and still did major damage.
"Electoweb is a special move," I pointed out. "Iron Defense won't help you defend from it..."
"Perhaps defense isn't the intention," Reezef stated simply. I raised an eyebrow, but simply commanded Spear to continue using Electroweb, and Reezef continued using Iron Defense.
"What is he up to...?" I wondered. Why would he use Iron Defense for a reason other then defense? Unless...oh no. "Spear! Get out of there! He's going to use-!"
"Shell Smash, followed by Tackle!" Reezef shouted, as the iron coating on Shellder's body shattered, before flowing back into it, making it glow with a red light. In the anime, Shell Smash completely sends all defensive power into the attack stat! Crap! I didn't have much time to think about it though, as Shellder quickly tackled Spear into a wall, knocking it out instantly.
"Beedrill is unable to battle! Shellder is the winner!"
"You did very well. I'm proud of you, Spear," I said, recalling my downed Beedrill.
"Well I commend you for figuring out my plan," Reezef complimented. "You figured it out a bit too late." I said nothing in response, and pulled out my next PokéBall.
"Rei! I need your assistance!" I sent my Oddish back to the field, hoping the speed boost from Run Away could help it deal with the Shell Smash boost.
"Lick!" Reezef shouted, as Shellder swung its tongue at Rei.
"Dodge!" I called frantically, as Rei hurriedly moved out of the way. "Razor Leaf!"
"Oddish!" Rei shouted, firing her razor sharp leaves again.
"Withdraw!" Reezef countered, as Shellder hid in it's shell, causing the leaves to bounce off harmlessly. "Now Ice Beam! Rapid fire!" It fired a beam of white light from it's shell, which Rei easily dodged. And she continued to dodge, though it was clear she couldn't keep going for ever. How can I counter attack, and get passed that shell...? Hmmm...that's it!
"Use Sweet Scent to lure it out of the shell!" I shouted. Rei stopped as pink powder flew from her leaves, but this caused an Ice Beam to hit her, knocking her out instantly.
"Oddish is unable to battle! Shellder is the winner!" The ref shouted, holding up one of his flags.
"Rei, you did great. Now take a rest," I said, recalling her to her PokéBall.
"In the process of using Sweet Scent, you left Oddish vulnerable to attack. Not very smart," Reezef noted.
"I know what I'm doing," I assured him. That being said, who will I use next...? The Sweet Scent didn't work as well as I'd hoped...I then felt a tug on my sleeve. I looked down, and saw Melanie staring at me, with a look that communicated everything she needed to say. "You think you can take it?"
"Maw," she confirmed, nodding.
"...Alright then," I agreed. "Go for it, Melanie!"
"Wi~le maw!" She shouted, running out onto the ice.
"Power-Up Punch, again and again!" Melanie immediately started running towards Shellder, her fists both glowing orange.
"Iron Defense and Withdraw!" Reezef countered, as Shellder went back into its shell and an iron coating covered it, though Mel kept punching away, a slight red aura glowing over her with each punch, and the orange light from her fists glowing stronger as well. "No matter how powerful the attacker, there is always a stronger defense."
"But if the power keeps going up, it can overcome that defense!" I shot back with a smirk. Reezef raised an eyebrow at this, before suddenly, Shellder's shell began to crack.
"What!?"
"You didn't know?" I asked, honestly surprised. "Power-Up Punch not only causes damage, but it increases the user's attack power with each punch."
"Hmm!?" Reezef gasped. "Oh, that's right. That's one of those new moves that the Kalos Region came up with, isn't it?"
"Yeah. But enough of that! Mel, end it with Play Rough!"
"I think not! Use Lick!" Before Melanie could do anything, Shellder's tongue shot out like a bullet, slamming Melanie right in the stomach. I saw waves visibly travel up her body, paralyzing her. "Now use Icicle Spear!" Shellder shot out icicles from it's shell at an alarming rate, sending Mealnie flying. She got up, limping slightly, before freezing in place as the paralysis took hold.
"Melanie, return!" I shouted. I had a loose idea in my head, and I needed Turbo for it. Seeing Melanie's questioning glance, I added: "Just trust me!"
"...Maw," she conceded with a nod, limping sluggishly back to my side. I gave her a pat on the head, and crouched down to eye level.
"I'd tell you to rest up a bit, but I'll need you ready to move at a moments notice," I whispered. "So be ready okay? I promise you can take a nice, long rest later." Mel looked hesitant for a few moments, but nodded.
"Hmm. So I'll be seeing your fourth Pokémon now, then?" Reezef asked.
"Yeah," I said, pulling out Turbo's Pokéball. "Turbo! I need your assistance!" The PokéBall popped open, and out came my Slowpoke, Turbo.
"Slowpoke..." it yawned. Reezef raised an eyebrow (again).
"Use Lick!" He shouted. Shellder dashed closer to Turbo, before its tongue shot out again, ramming right into Turbo's head...and Turbo just sat there. "What? It didn't do a thing? Then in that case, use Icicle Spear!" Shellder shot out several icicles, colliding with Turbo...who still just sat there, even as the icicles pinned him to the ground he was sitting on.
"Use Confusion to grab those icicles, and send them right back!" I shouted, as Turbo's eyes began glowing blue, and the Icicle Spears did as well, before they lifted themselves out of the ground, pointed them selves at Shellder, and flew at it.
"Withdraw!" Reezef shouted frantically, as Shellder went back into it's shell, and the spears bounced off. That continues to be a problem...oh! That could work!
"Use Confusion, this time to force Shellder's shell open! Then hit it with Yawn!"
"Slow..." Turbo yawned, as Shellder also began glowing blue, and its shell began to open up again against its will, and Turbo yawned in its face, causing its eyes to droop.
"Now return!" I shouted, returning Turbo to it's Pokéball, causing Shellder to stop glowing. After all, it's not like Turbo wasn't feeling the attacks; he just hasn't realized he's in pain yet, and I don't want that to put Turbo through too much. "Melanie, you're up!"
"Wi~le-!" she started, before freezing for a second from paralysis. She shook it off and began running back onto the field. "...Maw!" I was a bit worried for a second, but I knew she could get the job done.
"Power-Up Punch! Send it flying!" I commanded, as Melanie ran at Shellder, punching it into the air.
"Ice Beam!" Reezef commanded, as Shellder fired a beam of white light once again.
"I know it's difficult to move, but please dodge it!" I shouted. Melanie struggled for a bit, managed to dive out of the way just in time as the beam hit the ground, creating a large, spiky structure out of ice. I worked that into my plan. "Use those spikes as a springboard, and use Iron Head to send Shellder back to the ground!"
"Wi~le maw!" Melanie shouted, jumping up onto the spikes, then jumping from there up to where Shellder was, her head glowing with metallic light.
"Iron Defense!" Reezef countered...though Shellder didn't move. "What? Oh no!" We couldn't tell for sure from here, but I think we both knew what happened. Turbo did his job. Melanie slammed her horns into Shellder's shell, right at the part where it was cracked, sending it flying into the ground, creating a large crater when it impacted, and quite a lot of dust, too. Melanie also fell, but landed on her feet, thankfully. We both were on edge, as we waited for the dust to clear. Eventually, it finally did, revealing Shellder in it's shell. The shell then opened, and Shellder was...
...WIDE AWAKE!?
"Hmm. It appears the impact woke Shellder up, but wasn't quite enough to take it out. So with that in mind, use Tackle!" Damn! I thought for sure that would take it out! Why...crap! That's right! I forgot! Steel-type moves aren't very effective against Water Pokémon! That must be why! Anyways, Shellder sprung forward, ready to tackle Melanie into the wall...but then it whizzed right by Melanie and slammed into said wall itself. "What just happened!?"
"I...don't know..." What had just happened...? Wait, could it be? "Oh! That's it! We couldn't tell earlier because it fell asleep, but one of Turbo's Confusion attacks must have, well, confused it!"
"No!" Reezef gasped, as Shellder fell to the ground once again...its eyes now showing the clear result of this battle.
"Shellder is unable to battle! Mawile is the winner! Which means the match goes to the challenger, Leo of Celadon City!" I smiled, barely able to contain myself. Mel ran up to me, and clung to me in a hug.
"We did it!" I cheered, unable to contain myself any longer. When I saw that Mel was still struggling with the Paralysis, I pulled a Cheri Berry out of my backpack and fed it to her, helping her shake off the paralysis. Reezef walked over.
"Good job, young man," he said. "Although you were a bit slow figuring out mine, you were quite cunning with your own strategies. Here, you've earned this." He pulled out a Gym Badge that was shaped like a snowflake. I recognized it as one of the ones Krysta had. "Take this Snow Badge for your hard work." I eagerly accepted the Badge, placing it in my Badge case.
"Alright," I said, doing my best to keep calm. "We got the Snow Badge!"
"Wi~le maw!" Melanie added. I turned back towards Reezef.
"I'll be taking my leave now, if you don't mind," I said, as Mel and I ran out the door, and ran to the Pokémon Center, which was the only building with a red roof. After greetings were exchanged, Mel jumped up onto the counter, and I placed my other PokéBalls there. "Heal them, please."
"That's my job," she said with a cheery smile on her face, taking the PokéBalls and leading Melanie to a room behind the counter. Suddenly, someone covered my eyes.
"Guess who~!"
"Gee, I wonder if it's Krysta, considering she's the only female in this region that would pull this kind of stunt on me," I said sarcastically.
"You're no fun," she pouted, pulling her hands away as I turned around and looked at her. "So, did ya beat the old fogey?"
"Yeah. That accursed Shellder and its Shell Smash caused problems, but we pulled through in the end," I said, triumphantly holding up my Badge Case and showing her the Badge.
"I remember that Shellder...and how dang long the battle against it took," she shuddered a bit. "Well, let's hang out a bit, while we wait for your Pokémon to heal, and then we're immediately getting out of here before the fogey finds me!"
"Okay then," I agreed. However, unbeknownst to me, things wouldn't go that well...
"Hmm...the object that warped through space has entered Zeal City. Let's go track it down!" a man declared, looking at his laptop, standing on a cliff overlooking Zeal City. He had green hair, and he was in a black suit with red highlights, and was wearing black shades over his eyes. Also, the cliff he was standing on wasn't a very tall or steep cliff though...actually, it was more of a hill. It was actually shorter than most of the houses, so it wasn't really 'overlooking' either, but who cares.
"But we can't get in, remember? That stupid old fogey of a Gym Leader won't let us into the city," a woman standing nearby reminded him. She was wearing a similar suit and shades, and she had purple hair.
"That's right...in that case, we'll just force our way through!" the man declared. "At the heart of every mystery is a Pokémon, so we'll figure out what Pokémon it is, catch it, and then solve this mystery! We need to use one of our special devices for this!"
"You got it!" the woman agreed, pulling out a briefcase and opening it up, as the two began speedily pulling out machine parts and putting them together, piece-by-piece…
After my Gym Battle against Reezef, and after my Pokémon were done healing, me and Krysta were still hanging out at the Pokémon Center Cafeteria, with Melanie taking her promised rest at my feet. Lila seemed to be trying to pry her awake, so I'd lightly nudge her away with my feet every so often. After Krysta scolded her, telling her to let Mel rest since she had just had a tough battle (it'd be nice if she'd take her own advice...) Lila had gotten bored and fallen asleep herself, and cuddled up with Mel, who seemed to enjoy her warmth.
"So...you mentioned before you battled Old Man Icy before..." I said, starting another conversation. "...that means he must know that you had Lila here as your starter, right?"
"Yeah...the look on his face when he saw that my starter was a Fire-type and not an Ice-type was priceless!" Krysta giggled. "He was pissed off to hell when he saw that I had filled my team with Fighting, Rock, and Fire-types." At this point, she frowned a bit. "But I never thought he'd be that stupid about traditions...y'see, when he found out, he actually tried to deny me the Badge. And then he tried to take away my Trainer License and all of my Pokémon...a Pokémon League Official, and by that I mean Nurse Joy, had to tell him that wasn't aloud. When he resisted, they bet it on a battle." She started to giggle again. "Then Nurse Joy swept all six of his Pokémon - Cryogonal, Lapras, Jynx, Dewgong, Cloyster, and another Cryogonal - with a Happiny." I started laughing at this myself.
"With a Happiny!? Seriously!?" I asked.
"Well, it did evolve into Chansey during the battle with Dewgong, but yeah," Krysta confirmed. "And since my grandpa is so stubborn, he still tried to refuse, until Nurse Joy threatened to not only close down the Gym, but take away his Trainer License. So the fogey gave me the Badge...and then I ran out of town as fast as I could."
"Hmm...so where's the next Gym at?"
"Well...from here? Chrome City isn't that far from here...although I haven't been there myself, since I was trying to get far, far, away from here. I have heard stuff about the Gym Leader before, though, so I suppose we can go for my eighth and your second."
"So...what's the Gym Leader like?"
"Well, from what I've heard, he's a scientist, who specializes in Steel-type Pokémon," Krysta explained. "He's researching the 'hidden potential' of Pokémon. His name is-"
*BOOM!*
She was cut off by a large explosion. Melanie and Lila shot up, and me and Krysta jumped from our seats.
"What was that!?" I asked.
"I don't know but...look!" Krysta pointed out the window, and I looked out and saw a giant, blue robot with tank-like wheels and two silver, mechanical claws on it charging through the city.
"We've got to stop them!" I shouted, running out the door.
"Wait!" Krysta called, but I mostly ignored her. I ran towards the robot, Melanie running by my side.
"Melanie, try hitting it with an Iron Head!" I shouted, as she ran at the machine and slammed her glowing horns into it, which knocked it back with a resonating clang. Krysta and Lila caught up with me after that.
"Who are you guys!?" she demanded. "And what the hell do you think your doing to Zeal City!?"
"I know who they are," I spat. "It's you again, Team Rocket, isn't it!"
"WRONG!" two familiar voices boomed out, as a panel opened up. Wait, if they aren't Team Rocket, then...? Wait. I recognize those voices from somewhere. I recognize the two people in the cockpit too...suddenly, two particular episodes of the anime crept into my mind. Specifically, Wish Upon a Star Shape and Crazy as a Lunatone. These two were...!
"Don't you dare compare us to those losers!" the woman shouted.
"We are the Pokémon Mystery Club!" the man added.
"We investigate the mysteries of the world!" the woman shouted again.
"And there's a Pokémon at the bottom of every mystery!" the man explained. "I'm Ken!"
"And I'm Mary!"
"And we're the Pokémon Mystery Club! P! M! C!" they shouted together. Great...the two people in the world that might be even loonier than Team Rocket...
"What the heck are you two doing here!?" I shouted incredulously.
"Our devices picked up several warps in space!" Ken explained. I internally flinched at this, realizing they had somehow detected my arrival here, but I did my best to hold in my surprise. Which means, not talking so that I don't screw up, and doing my best to remain as still as I can without completely freezing up. Melanie did a much worse job and flinched visibly, apparently having realized that she got here via space warp. Krysta shot me a questioning glance, but ignored it when the PMC started talking again.
"I saw that flinch!" Mary shouted. "That Mawile is behind the space warps, isn't it!"
"She didn't cause it, she just came through one that some whacko called 'A' decided to open up, same as me!" I shot back. Realizing what had just happened, I froze.
"Gee, they're definitely going to leave us alone now..." Krysta muttered sarcastically. My phone vibrated. I pulled it out, and saw that A had texted me again.
'What, so I'm a whacko am I? Besides, the warp you were pulled through wasn't intentional.'
"Since you can apparently hear me, can it! I don't have time for this!" I whispered. I shoved the phone back in my pocket and ignored the vibrations as 'A' probably responded.
"I see! In that case, we must capture that Mawile, and figure out what world it came from!" Ken decided.
"We'll also have to look into clues about that 'A' guy..." Mary noted.
"You want Mel!? Fat chance!" Krysta shot back, pulling out a PokéBall...no wait, that's a Friend Ball! "Rocker! Get ready for battle!" It popped open, revealing what I was assuming was the sixth member of Krysta's team that went to storage when she got her egg: an Onix.
"IWARK!" it shouted.
"Hyper Beam!" she shouted. Rocker opened his mouth and exhaled a bright, multicolored beam.
"Ahhhh!" the PMC shouted.
"Quickly! Close the cockpit and put up the shields!" Ken shouted frantically, though he and Mary were already pressing buttons, as the cockpit panel closed and a green light similar to safeguard emanated from the machine. The Hyper Beam slammed into the robot, pushing it back, but the robot was otherwise unharmed.
"What!?" Me and Krysta both gasped. And who could blame us? That thing just withstood a flippin' Hyper Beam without even taking a scratch!
"Surprised?" Mary laughed.
"When we came here, we were expecting to see either Palkia, Hoopa, or some other Legendary Pokémon that could warp space, so we came prepared!" Ken added. "We've made our machine so that it could go toe-to-toe with Legendary Pokémon! No ordinary Pokémon has any chance of scratching it!"
"We'll see about that! Lila, Incinerate!" Krysta shouted, before calling out Maggie and George. "Maggie, Overheat! George, Smack Down!"
"Larvesta!" Lila shouted, covering the machine in a pillar of fire.
"Grav!" George shouted, throwing a glowing rock at the machine.
"Mag~MAR!" Maggie shouted, as her body glowed red, before she shot out a glowing stream of fire. The attacks all hit the machine, causing an explosion...but when the smoke cleared, the machine was glowing green again, and still in one piece.
"Seriously!?" Krysta gasped.
"Even Legendary Pokémon would have problems with this machine!" Mary repeated. "Your regular Pokémon are-"
"We get it!" I cut in. "You already said that!"
"Oh? Okay then," Mary said.
"Let's just get on with capturing the beings that have warped through space!" Ken declared, as a laser shot out from the center of the machine. Krysta and I quickly jumped in opposite directions, as the laser created a wall of fire between us.
"Now that we've got them separated from that annoying girl," Mary started. "Let's get them!" The robot inched closer, as Melanie took a defensive stance. It then lunged out with its claws. I flinched back, waiting for the blow.
Time seemed to freeze for Melanie. Was this the end of their journey together? Would they be nothing more than lab rats for these lunatics from now on? It hadn't been very long, so she supposed it shouldn't mean that much to her...yet for some reason, it did. Besides, it's not like she could get back to Kalos without human help. It felt strange. Like after being attacked by those...what did they call themselves? Team...Fudge? Team Flake? Team Flip? Whatever. After a traumatic experience like that, most Pokémon would have hated humans...but her grandma had taught her that even if a thousand people acted one way, there would always be at least two thousand more who acted completely different, so she gave the species itself another shot. And people like Leo and Krysta were certainly showing that there were good humans out there.
"{That's right,}" she nodded. Her trainer...no, her friend was in trouble. And she was going to do something about it! She raised a fist into the air, as time slowly seemed to resume. "{Take this, you stupid robot!}" She slammed her fist into the ground, as a shockwave shot out from it.
I braced myself, but felt nothing, and only heard the sound of the earth shaking. I looked up, and saw that the machine was trapped in a large cage of rocks.
"This won't stop us!" Ken shouted, as the machine began glowing green, and it spun around, shattering the rocks.
"Mawile...!" Melanie shouted, punching the ground again, as a cage of rocks once again formed around the PMC's robot.
"Melanie! You finally mastered Rock Tomb!" I cheered, and she gave her catchphrase in response. At that point, the wall of fire the PMC had created died down, and Krysta ran over with her Pokémon.
"Hey! Are you guys okay?" She shouted, running over to us.
"We're fine," I confirmed. Though we heard the sound of crumbling rocks, and saw that the PMC had escaped again.
"We told you before!" Ken shouted, as the machine green glow shined even brighter. "You're regular Pokémon don't stand a chance! Even Arceus himself would have a hard time breaking our shield!" I felt my phone vibrate in response to that, and pulled it out.
"You shouldn't have said that..." I warned when I saw what 'A' had typed.
'Oh? So they think their little toy could stop me, do they? We'll see about that...'
...Suddenly, without warning, the green light just suddenly stopped. No fading, no bursting, no poof even, just one millisecond it's there, the next it isn't.
"What!? What happened to our shield!?" Ken asked.
"I don't know!" Mary responded. "I'm looking, but it's as if it never existed in the first place!"
"Now's our chance!" I shouted. "Melanie, Rock Tomb!"
"Right! Rocker, Hyper Beam! Maggie, Overheat! George, Sandstorm! Lila, Incinerate!" The attacks all slammed into the machine, resulting in an explosion.
"No! We can't blast off!" Ken cried, as he and Mary were sent flying.
"Then people will confuse us with those dumb losers Team Rocket again!" Mary shouted.
"Bon voyage from the PMC!" They shouted together, as the PMC became little more than a twinkle in the distance.
"Well, that takes care of that!" Krysta decided, stretching her arms out. She then turned towards me. "So...what's with that space warp bit?" I opened my mouth to explain, but another voice cut me off.
"Krysta?" Me and Krysta both whirled around, and saw Reezef standing there.
"...Busted," I muttered.
After Reezef had discovered us in the aftermath of the PMC battle, we had sat down in a nearby café, and I was forced to watch the uncomfortable silence that started up.
"So..." Reezef said, finally breaking the silence. "Since you're back, does that mean you've accepted your fate as an Ice-type trainer?"
"Not a chance, geezer!" Krysta roared, slamming her hands into the table. "I hate Ice Pokémon. It was because of them that I lost my toe, remember!?" She looked down, and I could see a tear fall down her eye. "Not to mention, they took one of my best friends away from me..."
"That does not matter," Reezef said. I was expecting him to give a lecture about not letting the actions of one individual affect her opinions of the species, or how it was the Rockets controlling them and not the Pokémon themselves, but instead, he said: "Whether or not you like Ice-types is not the question here, no matter what they did. You WILL become an Ice-type trainer, no ifs, ands, or buts." I almost lost it at that, though I held it in so that I wouldn't get thrown in jail or something. Melanie had no such restraints though. She slammed her horns into Reezef's chair, causing him to jump up. Before anyone could say anything though, his Shiny Cryogonal slammed into Melanie with a Night Slash, knocking her back. Then, Lila suddenly crashed into Cryoganal with a Flame Charge. Soon enough, Melanie started up Play Rough, and an all-out brawl started up.
"Enough!" I shouted, as all three of them stopped. "Before anything goes any farther, I would like to say something: Reezef, get it through your skull: Krysta. Does. Not. Want. To. Be. An. Ice. Trainer."
"What she wants does not-"
"SILENCE!"
"You may be her grandfather, but that doesn't give you the right to control every aspect of her life!" I then took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. It's just that people like you who spout crap like 'traditions' and 'duty' to control every aspect of their own family's life make me get INCREDIBLY PISSED." I took another deep breath. "Before anyone says anything else, I'll make a suggestion: you both have Pokémon, don't you? Just battle over it. If Krysta wins, Reezef gives up on the Ice-trainer thing. If Reezef wins, Krysta submits."
"I like that idea," Krysta said, an almost evil-looking smirk on her face.
"I suppose that's acceptable," Reezef agreed. "We'll have a three-on-three battle, tomorrow at noon in the Zeal City Gym. I'll be waiting."
"Fine." At that, Reezef walked off, and his Cryogonal floated after him.
Later that night...
I found Krysta sitting on a hill, looking at the stars. I walked up to her and sat down.
"So...you prepared for tomorrow?" I asked her.
"Yep!" she said.
"Sorry for putting you up to this..." I apologized. "I was caught in the moment and-" Krysta put her hand over my mouth, so I took a hint and shut up.
"Don't be. I was about to challenge him myself," she said. She never once took her eyes off the stars, though. "Y'know...my dad used to take me out stargazing a lot when I was younger. Around the time Team Rocket took my friend away, he said: 'If you really hate the ice that much, then take the path you think suits you best. Even if this hadn't happened, the fire in your eyes burn brighter than even the stars, and that would have melted any Ice Pokémon you tried to train.'" She giggled a bit. "Of course, I don't think I could actually melt any of them, but I still look at the stars and think about what he said sometimes...and the stars also remind me of the time I spent with my old friend, on this very hill..."
"...Say, what kind of Pokémon was your friend?"
"I have no idea!" She admitted. "She was a Dragon-type though. I figured out that much." I pulled out my Pokédex.
"Can you find it in here?" Krysta wordlessly took it from me, and started scrolling through it, before selecting one.
"Here it is. This one. The color's different, though..." She handed it back to me, as it began the entry.
"Goomy, the Soft Tissue Pokémon. It is the weakest Dragon-type in existence. It hides in the shade to keep from drying itself out, and absorbs water to recover from it's injuries."
"A Goomy, huh? Cool-wait, what the hell was a Goomy doing in Kanto!?"
"Apparently, it's trainer abandoned it near here," Krysta explained. "Don't know why, though. That 'weakest Dragon' bit is a load of Bouffalant shit." She looked up at the stars again. "So your name was Goomy, huh? Now I know that I've definitely gotta find you..." A few tears slid from her eyes. As my thoughts desperately raced to change the subject, not liking the somber atmosphere, I noticed something.
"Hey, where are Melanie and Lila?" Krysta jumped up, and looked around, before noticing a piece of paper nearby and picking it up. She read it, then suddenly her face turned red. She immediately shredded it.
"Ah, that was from Mel! She said she and Lila were going to bed!" She spoke a bit to quickly for my liking. I'm not an idiot.
"She suggested that something that starts with the letter 'R' was going on between us, didn't she," I deadpanned. Krysta nodded, her face turning even more red. I think mine probably did as well. "Let's pretend we never noticed it and just head back to our respective rooms, pretending that we had been searching all over, and admonish them for leaving without telling us anything."
"Agreed." Krysta suddenly stopped and looked contemplative for a few seconds. "Say...you said you came here through a space warp, right? What's the story behind that?" I suppose her asking that was inevitable...
"I'll tell you later, I promise," I said. "But Mel needs to be around for the explanation too."
"Eh, fair enough."
The next day...
I stood on the referee podium at the Zeal City Gym with Mel at my side, overlooking Krysta and Lila on one end, and Reezef and his Cryogonal on the other.
"Why do I have to be the referee!? I've never done anything like this before!" I complained.
"Don't worry! It'll all be fine!" Krysta assured me. Why am I suddenly having flashbacks to the DP anime...?
"The regular referee is on break today, so I must ask you to do this," Reezef said.
"Gah, fine. This will be a three-on-three battle, no time limit, substitutions allowed, blah-blah-blah...you know all this already, right?" After getting a nod from both Krysta and Reezef, I continued. "Then just begin the battle." Both trainers pulled out a Pokéball.
"Dewgong, come forth!" Reezef declared, releasing a Dewgong from his Pokéball. Krysta visibly flinched from this. I suppose it's because a Dewgong was one of the two Pokémon that caused her hatred of Ice-types...anyways, she shook it off and threw her Pokéball.
"Lector! Ready, set, go!" Krysta's PokéBall opened up, revealing an Electabuzz. Huh...I didn't know she had one of those.
"Recta..." the Electabuzz growled.
"Gong..." Dewgong growled right back.
"Dewgong, use Aqua Jet!" Reezef called, as Dewgong lunged at Lector while covered in water.
"Bad move! Thunder Punch!" Krysta shouted. Lector raised its fist, which began crackling with electricity, and punched at Dewgong, though it suddenly swerved away, dodging the punch, and hitting Lector with a glowing tail, knocking it back.
"I trained Dewgong to immediately switch into Iron Tail whenever I commanded it to use Aqua Jet on an Electric-type," Reezef explained.
"Grr..." Krysta growled. "Thunder!" Lector shot a bolt of lightning from its horns, aimed at the sky, which arced down at Dewgong. Dewgong easily side-stepped it, though was still caught in the explosion.
"Dewgong!" It cried in pain, before shaking it off and glaring at Lector.
"Horn Drill," Reezef said simply, as Dewgong began spinning its body at incredible speeds, blue light coming from it's horns as it did, and it rammed into Lector, causing an explosion. I gasped. Horn Drill is an OHKO move, so if Lector took that attack then...! Sure enough, when the smoke cleared, Lector was on the ground, unconscious, with Dewgong standing over it.
"Electabuzz is unable to battle," I announced somberly, holding up my hand towards Reezef's side of the field. "Dewgong wins."
"You did your best, that's what matters," Krysta said tenderly, recalling her Electabuzz. She pulled out a Friend Ball. I guess we know what's coming next... "Rocker! Ready, set, go!" She threw the Friend Ball, and out came her Onix.
"Iwark!" It roared, glaring at Dewgong, as Dewgong glared right back. I can only wonder how this will end...
"Rocker, start with Stealth Rock!" Krysta shouted.
"Iwa," it growled lowly, shooting white lights into the ground, which solidified into pointed stones immediately. Since Reezef specializes in Ice-types, that ought to cripple him a bit. Provided he actually needs to switch.
"Hydro Pump," Reezef stated, as Dewgong shot a powerful torrent of water at Rocker, though Rocker easily bent out of the way.
"Hyper Beam!" Krysta shouted, as Onix shot the multi-colored beam from his mouth, which collided with the Dewgong, causing an explosion. Wait...I didn't notice before, but last I checked, Onix couldn't actually learn Hyper Beam...well, whatever. The Gen I and Gen II anime pretty much stomped on regular move sets anyway. Anyways, the dust cleared, showing Dewgong on the ground, struggling to get up.
"It can't move due to Hyper Beam, so try Hydro Pump again!" Reezef shouted, as Dewgong shot off the torrent of water spraying Rocker...which vanished in a puff of smoke. "What...? A...a Substitute!? But how!?"
"Just like you trained Dewgong to switch to Iron Tail when you command an Aqua Jet against an Electric-type, I trained Rocker so that if I command him to use Hyper Beam against an opponent that has enough energy to survive it, he uses Substitute first, then immediately heads underground. I also trained him so that he's able to fire Hyper Beams through his Substitutes, though he needs to recharge even longer than normal after pulling that off," Krysta explained. "Though he should be just...about...done..." Suddenly, the ground started shaking, and Rocker popped out from underneath Dewgong, sending it flying into the ceiling. It fell to the ground in a heap. I could tell the result even without seeing it's eyes.
"Dewgong is unable to battle," I cheered, trying to keep my voice as monotone as possible (and failing tragically), holding my hand out towards Krysta. "Onix is the winner!"
"Well, I suppose I've underestimated you," Reezef said, recalling his Dewgong. "But play time is over. Cloyster, come forth!" In a flash of white light, a Cloyster appeared, glaring menacingly.
"Cloyster!" It shouted, before the Stealth Rocks flew at it and exploded. Krysta flinched again. Wait...
"Seriously? You're purposely using the same Pokémon she was traumatized by, aren't you!? That's a low blow!" I reprimanded. Krysta's eyes widened in realization.
"What!? Is that true!?" Krysta demanded. Reezef simply looked down.
"Yet again, you are slow to pick up on my reasoning, Leo." I scowled a bit, and turned towards Krysta.
"Crush him," I said simply. I know I'm the ref and I'm supposed to be impartial and all that, but I really cannot help the fact that Reezef is an utter bastard, can I?
"With pleasure," Krysta agreed, looking down. "This is for Goomy...ROCKER, CRUSH THAT THING WITH ROCK SLIDE!" She suddenly looked up, with a crazed look in her eyes.
"IWARK!" Rocker roared, apparently able to detect it's trainers rage, and summoning several dozen rocks out of nowhere and flinging them all at Cloyster.
"Iron Defense!" Reezef shouted, as Cloyster retreated into it's shell, and the rocks bounced off. "Now-"
"DRAGON BREATH!" Krysta shouted, not giving him a chance as Rocker exhaled a stream of purple flames at Cloyster, exploding and paralyzing it.
"Use-"
"RAGE!" Krysta shouted, as her Onix began glowing red, and it slammed into Cloyster, sending it flying into the wall. Okay, mental note to self. Never, EVER piss Krysta off. Ever. She is seriously terrifying me right now.
"Counter with-"
"DOUBLE-EDGE!" Krysta wasn't giving Reezef a single chance, as Rocker began glowing silver, though it's red glow from Rage overtook it, giving it a rusty bronze color. It also looked terrifying, since it's eyes began glowing red. It slammed into Cloyster, cracking it's shell and beating it further into the wall. Reezef didn't even bother issuing any more commands to Cloyster. He saw that it was over. "HYPER BEAM!" Wait, Krysta's still going!?
"Krysta, wait-" I was cut off as Rocker gave a roar and shot it's multi-colored beam again, creating an explosion again, as I saw fragments of Cloyster's shell go flying from the smoke. I didn't bother waiting for it to clear. "Cloysterisunabletobattle! Onixwins!" I shouted frantically. I think Krysta might have just killed it...what horrors have I unleashed...? Hearing the declaration, Krysta finally stopped her relentless assault...although a part of me was scared that that was only because of Rocker needing to recharge after a Hyper Beam...the smoke cleared, and thankfully, Cloyster was still alive, albeit extremely injured. Reezef waisted no time returning it to it's Ball. And the Stealth Rocks appear to have been vaporized by the Hyper Beam...
"Cryogonal..." Reezef stated, seeming surprisingly calm for what just happened. "...It's up to you. Be careful." His Shiny Partner nodded, before floating out to the field.
"IRON TAIL!" Krysta shouted. Rocker roared, then swung it's tail, now glowing with a metallic sheen, at Cryogonal. I then noticed someone missing...I looked around, and saw that Lila was hiding behind the podium I was standing on, shaking. Yeesh, even Lila is terrified of what Krysta's doing?
"Acid Armor," Reezef commanded quickly. In what seemed like half a second, where Cryogonal was before, there was nothing but steam, which the Iron Tail passed through. "Begin charging Solar Beam." The steam began glowing yellow.
"DRAGON BREATH!" Krysta shouted, as Rocker exhaled more flames, though the steam that was Reezef's Cryogonal moved out of the way, before solidifying and shooting a yellow-green beam of light and slammed into Rocker, knocking it over.
"Finish it with Flash Cannon," Reezef said, as Cryogonal began charging a silver beam.
"I...I..." Krysta started. "If I fail...then I fail to avenge...Goomy...AHHHH!" Someone appears to have some issues. "EXPLOSION!" Wait, what!? Rocker began glowing, before blowing up. Loudly. I immediately grabbed Mel and hid behind the referee podium. I felt a huge blast of heat, and I lost my hearing for a few seconds, but I managed to survive. I looked up, and saw a smoldering pile of black rocks...oh, wait, it's breathing, so that must be Rocker. I looked to Reezef's side, and saw...Cryogonal hovering in front of him, with a green barrier up. Looks like Cryogonal used Protect.
"Onix is unable to battle..." I trailed off, a bit afraid that Krysta's wrath would turn towards me if I made this declaration. "...Cryogonal...wins..."
"No...I can't fail my friend...again..." Krysta muttered. "LILA! GET OUT...here...?" She looked around, spotting Lila behind the podium. "LILA! QUIT HIDING AND-"
"HOLD IT!"
I can't believe I'm doing this...I'm scared for my life...but I kinda-sorta caused this. And so I shall deal with it. I gulped and continued.
"Think about your Pokémon's feelings! You just made Rocker explode! Lila is legitimately terrified of you! And, you said you hatched her egg, didn't you? The fact that she's terrified of you, who's effectively her mother, proves how insensitive and utterly insane you're being!"
"But...Goomy..."
"Would your friend like seeing you like this?" Reezef piped in.
"...No...she wouldn't..." Krysta admitted, her eyes finally returning to normal. And then tears came out of said eyes. She ran over to Rocker, patting it's head. "I'm sorry Rocker..." Rocker growled lowly, but it seemed more...forgiving than anything. Krysta wordlessly returned it, before walking over to Lila...who immediately scuttled away. "Lila...?"
"Vesta..." the Torch Pokémon muttered, obviously still terrified.
"Lila...I'm sorry..." Krysta sobbed, still walking towards Lila, who still kept scuttling away. "No...please...come back..."
Krysta watched in sadness. Her very first partner, who was practically her daughter, was terrified of her.
"What have I done...?" She muttered, falling to the ground. "I'm sorry Lila, I really am...just...please...come back..."
Lila stared at her 'mother'...she was so scary before...but now she's so sad...she thought about going back to her, but then an image of how she was before popped into her head, and she scuttled away again.
Melanie and Leo stared at this. Neither of them could stand it. They had both seen how strong their bond was before, and hated seeing it broken like this. Melanie, specifically, couldn't bear seeing this. She wanted to do something...!
She needed to do something...!
...Suddenly, she felt something bump into her, and realized that she had somehow gotten in front of Lila.
'How did I move so fast...?' she thought. But she put that thought aside. She had more important matters to attend to. "{Why are you running from her?}"
"{Because...Because...she was so scary...}" Lila sniffled, turning around.
"{Everyone has moments where they become scary, including me. But they can all become scary for different reasons,}" Melanie explained.
"{What do you mean?}"
"{Well, were Team Rocket and the PMC scary?}" Melanie asked. Seeing Lila nod, she continued. "{They were scary because they wanted something and they didn't care who they had to hurt to get it. But Krysta is only scary because she cares about her friends. And aren't you one of her closest friends? So she would never hurt you, no matter what. And really, are you going to let this one incident ruin your relationship with her?}"
Lila thought for a bit about what Melanie said. She remembered that when she hatched, the first thing she saw was Krysta's smiling face...
...and she remembered fighting against tough opponents, like for example, against the Onix that would later become Rocker, on their very first day of training...
...she made her decision.
"{No. No I'm not,}" she decided, spraying fire from her horns. Melanie's first instinct was to run, but she remembered that she was trying to give Lila a pep talk, and resisted the urge. "{Me and Mama will be friends forever...and that's a promise!}" For just a second, the flames coming from her horns seemed to turn blue, before they vanished, and Lila turned around and jumped towards Krysta.
"Lila...you...you came back...!" she said, grabbing her partner in a hug. "I'm sorry...I'm so sorry..."
I was a bit touched at the scene, but turned towards Reezef, who was staring intently at the scene.
"You've been awfully quiet," I noted.
"Just thinking..." he said. "...Someone like me has no part in this anyway." He turned around and began to walk away, when I heard a shout.
"HANG ON!"
...Someone's been hanging out with me too much. We turned and saw Krysta, with Lila standing near her feet, its horns burning threateningly.
"We have a battle to finish!" Krysta said.
"...That won't be necessary," Reezef said. "You have shown me all I needed to see. You may continue...as an anti-Ice Trainer."
"That's great and all, but we still haven't finished out battle!" Krysta shouted, surprising both me and Reezef. "And I'm not letting you leave until we do! So let's finish this, no more strings attached! Just like we used to...way, way back when!" Reezef smirked, and then laughed.
"Yes...I suppose that would be nice..." he said. "Are you still willing to, Cryogonal?"
"Cryah!" it shouted with a nod...hey! That's the first time I've heard it talk!
"In that case...Cryogonal! Come forth!"
"Lila! Ready, set, go!" The two Pokémon charged at each other, although I wasn't really paying attention. I turned to Mel.
"Whatever you said to Lila, it really worked." She handed me a note.
"Wile," she said, a smug grin on her face. 'Of course it did. This is me we're talking about,' was what she wrote.
"But how did you get behind her?" I asked. She shrugged in response. "All I saw was a slight black aura around you and poof! You're behind her...whatever. Back to the battle."
I looked towards said battle, and saw a competitive smile on both battlers faces.
"Lila, Incinerate!"
"Cryogonal, Ice Beam!" The two attacks collided midair, creating a steam filled explosion. "Acrobatics!"
"Flame Charge!"
"Vesta!" Lila shouted, charging at Cryogonal while its body was wrapped in flames...hey, I didn't notice before, but it's doing the flame jet pack thing that Luke's Larvesta did in the BW series! Anyways, Cryogonal did a loop in midair before charging at Lila with incredible speed. The two collided with each other again and again, sparks flying each time...with the steam, it looked a little like a light show. Suddenly, I noticed a few blue sparks coming from Lila's flames...then, the flames suddenly turned blue.
"No way..." I gasped.
"...Is that...?" Reezef added.
"Lila just learned Flare Blitz!" Krysta cheered, confirming our thoughts, as Lila successfully sent Cryogonal flying.
"Hmm...while that is incredible, I'm not giving in!" Reezef declared. "Cryogonal, end this with Sheer Cold!"
"Cryogah...!" Cryogonal shouted. As its body began glowing with blue light, it shot out a bluish white beam.
"Lila, time for one more Flare Blitz!" Lila cheered.
"Larvesta!" Lila agreed, charging through the Sheer Cold while covered in blue fire. She collided with Cryogonal, resulting in an explosion. We all awaited the result with baited breath, watching the smoke. When it finally cleared, we saw both Pokémon standing (or in Cryogonal's case, floating), while staring each other down. Then they both seemed to smile, before Lila fell over and Cryogonal fell to the ground. I smiled, and crossed my arms.
"Larvesta and Cryogonal are both unable to battle! So this match is a draw!"
A few hours later...
"Well, see ya later, Grandpa!" Krysta said. "...Wow. It feels so weird to call you that after just calling you 'old fogey' for so long..."
"How long has it been since you called me that...?" Reezef idly mused. I just watched. I had no place in this conversation...or maybe I do, since Reezef just turned to me. "Take care of my granddaughter, okay?"
"She has more experience with this than I do, so it'd probably be the other way around," I explained.
"Maybe, but you're more mature," Reezef laughed.
"Hey!"
"Maybe I'm just better at faking it," I said with a sly grin.
"Heh," Reezef said. "Just make sure you don't get too close." My face probably turned red at that.
"Th-there's nothing like that between us!" I insisted. Krysta looked puzzled as to what I meant, before realizing what her grandpa just said. And then her face turned even more red then her partner's horns.
"Grandpa! We're just friends!" I heard a snicker from behind me, which I was pretty sure came from Mel. I shot her a glare, and she whistled innocently. Reezef just laughed.
"Is that so...? Well, we'll see how long it stays that way..." he mused.
"Well, we need to be going now, so...bye!" Krysta said, grabbing my arm and dragging me away. Reezef simply waved at us.
"Larvesta!" Lila shouted from her perch on Krysta's shoulder, waving one of her tiny front legs.
"Maw mawile!" Melanie shouted, waving her hand as she walked along side us.
"Cryogah!" Cryogonal called. Me and Krysta both waved silently. As we walked (after Krysta let go of me), Krysta turned to me.
"Don't you still owe me an explanation about the space warp thing?" she asked.
"Eh, there's a moment right now. I won't ruin it with exposition. I'll tell ya tomorrow," I promised.
"Fair enough."
...and with that, we continued on towards Chrome City.
...That legitimately scared me a bit for some reason. But now CB has gotten his first Badge and is on the way to his second