"Sara! Sara, Sara-Sara-Sara!" Sandsinger exclaims, jumping up and down on her trainer's chest excitedly at three in the morning. "Wake up! Wake up!"
Sara groaned loudly and mutters under her breath as she attempts to brush the Vibrava off, with no success.
"Wake up!" Sandsinger repeats, her energetic jumping starting to give Sara a bruise.
"Go back to sleep…" Sara head Elvina mumble, but didn't open her eyes to see where she was.
"NOOOOO!" The Vibrava exclaims sadly, pausing from her jumping. She then began to buzz her wings loudly in a strange attempt to become air-borne, and making a loud racket in the process.
It didn't take long for everyone else in the Pokemon Center, including a handful of very annoyed looking Chansey, to wake up and start murmuring about the 'crazy Vibrava'. Slightly embarrassed, Sara recalls Sandsinger and waves at the crowd of staring Pokemon and trainers. "Uh, hi guys." Sara says nervously, aware that her friends and Star were also looking at her funny, "S-silly Vibrava… huh?"
The group gave Sara fierce stares. Sara didn't have long to wait for help though, because Nurse Joy came bursting out of the recovery room the next moment and started exclaiming heatedly, "Look at all of you! Awake at three in the morning! You all should be ashamed, ashamed I say!"
As Nurse Joy continued to rant, Sara, Drake, and Elvina tiptoed past her and the group of people and Pokemon and out into the early morning air. Star sat lazily on Sara's shoulder, puffing herself up a bit against the cold breeze.
"A little fun in the morning, huh?" Drake says sarcastically, taking a few steps away from the Pokemon Center, in which they still could hear Nurse Joy ranting along.
"Wake me up in four hours." Star grumbles, "Good night."
As Star began to snore, they began to trek through Inferno Town, covering up yawns every once and a while as the marveled at the view of the town. There was the Gym in the far left corner, with an interesting poem engraved on its doors. Clearly, it read:
"Those trainers that wish to find,
A normal Gym where they can fight,
Shall be mistaken to hear,
That this one shall test what some fear.
The process of thought,
Shall be your guide.
So come forth,
Scholars of the Pokemon World.
Test your wits,
Against the King and Queen of the Riddles."
"'King and Queen of the Riddles'?" Drake repeats, staring at first the poem, then at Sara, who shrugged.
"It appears they like words more then battling. Oh well, we'll live, won't we?" She says, patting the still snoring Star lightly.
Elvina tried the door, "It's locked." She says after grappling with the handle for a good long while. "Looks like we've got some time to look at what's new here." With that, Elvina turned and gazed north, where three tall mountains stood, the Black Ice Peaks, which they'd have to climb to get to the next town. They were a good walk away, but at about ten miles away, they still looked massive. Heavily packed snow and ice covered the peaks; those being part of the reason the Inferno Town area gets little to no rain. The Fire Plains stretched from the north end of Inferno Town out of sight. Thin, golden blades of grass and weeds covered the plain.
Sara let out Sandsinger again, all ready to chew her out for the scene she caused in the Pokemon Center. But as the Vibrava came bursting out and jumped into Sara's arms, disturbing Star who squawked, Sara forgot about her anger and patted the chattering Pokemon.
"Yay! Now-I-can-show-you-everything-about-this-place!" She exclaims quickly, and buzzed to the ground, not being able to keep herself aloft, and scurried away.
Sara followed her, Elvina and Drake nervously flanking her. Many of the townsfolk had been woken up by the energetic Sandsinger; some poked their heads out their windows and yelled after the trainers. The Vibrava didn't care though; she kept going until she had led them back to the Pokemon Center, then past it. She only stopped when she reached the Pokemart, where she was looking up at a colorful poster with what appeared to be a dancing Bellossom on it.
"They have this competition twice a year." Sandsinger informed them, her green eyes still glued to the poster, which read in bold letters: Pokemon Dancing Festival, keep to the beat!
Elvina chuckles, "But Sandsinger, Vibrava don't dance." She says, but her grin vanishes after she sees the pained look in Sandsinger's eyes.
"We can join in! The festival is tomorrow." Drake mumbles, casting a warning look at Elvina.
"Ooooohhh! Sara, can we go? Please Sara, please?" The Vibrava exclaims, her wide eyes turning to Sara, who nods after a while. "Yaaayyyy!"
Sandsinger was in a great mood as they returned to the Pokemon Center and entered it for an early breakfast. Some cast them angry looks, but none commented about the bouncing Vibrava at Sara's side.
After breakfast, Sara called her mother again, and began by introducing her to Elvina. She was overjoyed that Sara was making 'little' friends, even if she didn't quite approve of Elvina's hair color.
Next, Sara moved on to Sandsinger, who was quite excited to meet Sara's mom. "HI!" She exclaims when Sara's mother first saw her and gasps.
"My goodness! The Pokemon you can find… she's cute Sara." Sara's mom then demanded to see Star, who still didn't want to be disturbed.
"Oh no! No, no, no! I'm not going to stand for-" Too late, for she had been pushed in front of Sara's mom, who let out an 'awww'. Star stood for a bit of the attention before retreating. Soon afterwards, Sara's mother had to leave to stop her oatmeal from burning.
"I feel a little sorry for you." Elvina mutters to Star, "You were right, she's scary."
"My mom's not that scary!" Sara retorts, glaring at the two of them, Star had retreated to Elvina's wrist.
"Yes, she is." Star says loudly, puffing herself up. "I want to go to the Gym now."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah! Let's go to the Gym, let's go!" Sandsinger exclaims, and began to bounce out the door. Dorovi, who was still cross about not being told about the new Pokemon until he saw her himself, stormed after her. Picking Vulpix up, Sara followed, letting Star settle again on her shoulder.
Two guards were standing next to the Gym's door now; they too looked like replicas of the ones at the other Gyms. After talking with them for a while, Sara and Drake entered with their Pokemon. Elvina couldn't follow; the guards just wouldn't let her.
The pair entered a small room. Two wooden doors marked with either 'King' or 'Queen' were the only things there. Drake entered the 'King' door and Sara the 'Queen' one.
"Greetings." Said a pale, young girl as Sara entered another small room. The polished wooden floors probably had just been waxed, because Sara stumbled and sent Star squawking from her shoulder. The girl just chuckled, and motioned to a tiny wood stool, she was sitting on another.
As Sara took her seat, laying Vulpix in her lap and admitting a very ruffled Star back onto her shoulder, the girl began speaking again. "Are you ready for your test?"
"Of course she's ready!" Star, Vulpix, and Sandsinger snap at the same exact moment. Sara, fighting back chuckles, nods once.
"As you probably know, I am Queen of the Riddles, master of the mysteries, enigma of the enigmas. I am, Ellen Riddle." Ellen paused after this for her words to have an effect on Sara. She was looking at Ellen funny, quietly thinking that this might just be harder then she thought it would be.
"Trainer to win the badge in which you seek,
You have two tasks in which to complete.
Two riddles I shall tell,
Two riddles in which you must answer correctly,
Or find,
A battle in their place.
One Pokemon's insight you may have,
The cleverest of the three before us,
Choose well trainer."
Ellen fell silent then. All at once, Star and Sandsinger began to exclaim what great thinkers they are. Vulpix stated her want to be left alone, and returned to her Pokeball. Sara didn't believe Star wanted to help, since a wrong answer would result in a Pokemon battle, Star would probably try to mess her up on purpose.
That ruled both Vulpix and Star, who returned to her Pokeball rather reluctantly, out and left Sandsinger as the Pokemon of choice.
"We're ready." Sara says after Sandsinger had lain out in a comfortable position in her lap. Ellen grins and begins to recite.
"What is old, having lived far longer then us both?
His face, elderly yet smooth as glass,
His featureless face,
With no true talent,
Except telling time.
One more clue,
For you my friend.
Whiskers have grown,
And have grown out,
Two at least,
That aid in his task.
You have two minutes trainer. Use them well."
Sara looked puzzled. But Sandsinger was excited; she was jumping up and down in Sara's lap, causing her to look down. "Ooh, ooh, ooh! I know it, I know it!"
"What, what is it then?" Sara asks, hardly believing her luck.
Sandsinger blurts the answer, which Sara repeats slowly, "A grandfather clock."
Ellen nods, and grins happily. "Good trainer, very good. A skilled Pokemon you have there. One more riddle for you to solve, for the glittering Inferno badge."
Her grin widened as she began to recite again.
"Think of something,
Which can be both Pokemon and pest,
Its name, three letters,
Its fangs broad and sharp.
Once you've though of this,
Change its name.
Double one letter,
Go forward five for another.
The result is something,
That is both a name,
And something to stand on.
Your time, the same. Good luck as always trainer."
Sandsinger had stopped jumping, and was hunched over in thought. Sara was as confused as ever, but she listened to her Vibrava mumble thoughtfully. "Both Pokemon… and pest. Hmm, a… rat… yeah, three letters…"
She suddenly stopped moving, and turned towards Sara, yelling out her answer excitedly.
"Matt." Was all that Sara said. Ellen looked away, an act of sadness as she pulled out a badge.
"You're good Pokemon, very good." She said as she stands and hands Sara an Inferno badge. The four pointed, copper star had a cheap looking red stone in it. But it appeared to glisten, and was quite pretty.
Sara lets out cry of joy as she jumped to her feet, carrying Sandsinger so she wouldn't fall, and hugs her hard. "That was a stroke of brilliance!" She exclaims, realizing that the Vibrava really was enjoying this. Ellen was still grinning as Sara turned and left.
It didn't take long for Drake to return out of his room, a badge clutched in his right hand, and his left was supporting Horsea as he blew bubbles into the small room. It appeared that his Horsea was quite happy.
They shared a couple of words before returning to the outside world. Elvina met them a couple of feet away from the guards. "That didn't take long." She comments as both the grinning trainers flashed their new badges.
It was just then that Sara realized that they had stayed in the Gym under a half-hour. Flashy battles took longer then solving riddles, then. "Four down, six to go!" She finally exclaims, as they began the trek back to the Pokemon Center.