Saphiria watched the sky as they walked. Riku looked back at her. He knew she was thinking about the man who had saved them. He rubbed his arms, thinking. He was lucky that Saphiria had her duffle bag of clothes. She tore one apart and used it to wrap up Riku's tough arms. Some of the pecks had broken skin, but for the most part he was in good shape. Saphiria looked back at Riku.
"You sure you're alright?" she asked. Riku looked towards the ground. He lowered his hand.
"Yeah, I'm fine," he replied. In honestly he was still freaked out. That kid was scary, and tough. Riku felt frightened just remembering him. He looked down to his side where his Sandshrew waddled along with him. He leaned down and picked him up, carefully cradling him. He looked forward and saw a sign, Welcome to Viamoth is what it read.
"We're here!" Riku called to Saphiria. She smiled and ran over to him and together they left the forest. Saphiria's eyes lit up and her mouth gapped open in a wide smile.
"This is AMAZING!" Saphiria cheered. She ran out and Riku smiled, following after her. Saphiria spun around and skipped through town. Riku stopped and watched her, making sure she didn't get into trouble. She ran back to Riku and tackled him in a hug.
"Thank you SO much for taking me here!" she cheered. Riku reddened a little and smiled. Saphiria released and grabbed Riku's wrists.
"Maybe we can find someone who can take care of your wounds!" she added. Riku shook his head, "But why not?" Riku freed himself from Saphiria and looked to the sky.
"In towns, hearing you got attacked by someone can be off setting. People begin thinking about who started it, and why. I really don't need that kind of attention," Riku replied. Saphiria looked down to the ground. She took a deep breath.
"I'm sorry," she murmured. Riku looked at her and rubbed the back of his neck.
"It's really ok," Riku told her, smiling brightly. Saphiria smiled back and nodded. "Now then, time to find that gym!" Riku cheered parading through town. Saphiria followed after him. They wondered around and Riku explained things that Saphiria didn't understand. Eventually he found the gym. It was huge, towering over him, and just looking at it made Riku excited. He ran over to the door and noticed a small sign. Closed for construction is what it said.
"What? I can all the way here and it's closed?" Riku asked, surprised. He sighed and turned around. "Guess it is back to the road." Saphiria looked up into the sky.
"What's that?" she asked. Riku looked up as a large shadow swooped down, landing just in front of Riku. The wind it created knocked him over. He looked up and saw a Staraptor towering over him. His eyes widened and he sprung to his feet. Ontop of the Staraptor say the Fedora Guy from earlier.
"It's you!" He exclaimed. The Fedora Guy sat up and looked at Riku. Saphiria peered over Riku's shoulder.
"Ah, it's you guys! I just heard "gym" and came down!" He gasped. Riku looked at the guy closer, since he had the chance. He had black hair creeping out from under his hat and gleaming yellow eyes.
"Who are you anyways?" Riku asked. The guy got off his Staraptor and adjusted his belt of Pokéballs.
"You want to know who I am? I am the Viamoth Gym Leader, Alex!" he replied. Riku blinked a couple of times. Saphiria looked to the sky then Riku.
"Isn't he the guy you were looking for?" she asked. Riku was in a bit of a daze. This guy, Alex, who had saved his life, was the Gym Leader? Riku cleared his throat.
"I challenge you to a Pokémon!" he exclaimed. Alex yawned and leaned on Staraptor.
"I dunno, you look like a weakling. Probably be a boring fight for me," he murmured. Riku bit his tongue. "Ah, what the hell, I guess so. I'm bored anyways," Riku smiled, "But first." Alex opened up the Gym doors and entered. He walked inside and turned on the lights. A large field stood in front of them. There were tall towers that resembled bare trees.
"This is my gym!" Alex cheered, striding forward. Riku's jaw dropped but he quickly closed it, trying not to look like an idiot.
"I thought it was under construction?" Riku remembered. Alex turned around.
"Yeah, I just put that there. I haven't been in the mood for battling and no one has been offering so I was planning to head out on a little adventure myself," he explained. Riku was surprised.
"So you lied?" Saphiria cut in. Alex nodded oh-so proud of himself. Riku rolled his eyes and watched Alex strolled across the field. He stopped at one end.
"Ready?" Alex called. Riku looked around.
"What about a Ref?" He shouted. Alex laughed and Riku scowled. Saphiria cocked her head to the side.
"What's a ref?" she asked. Riku turned to her.
"A Ref is someone who watches the battle to make sure nothing goes wrong," Riku replied. Wish we had one for that motor-head he thought. Saphiria nodded in understanding.
"Don't worry, I'll play fair!" Alex replied. Riku shrugged and pulled out a Pokéball. Saphiria backed up and leaned against the wall.
"Go, Carvanha!" Riku exclaimed. Carvanha popped out of the Pokéball, ready to fight.
"Looks like a might big fish to fry, but I'll go easy on you. Here's my weakest Pokémon," Alex said throwing the Pokéball. Out popped a Swellow. Riku was ready to battle.
"Carvanha, use Crunch!" Riku exclaimed. Carvanha leapt out at Swellow who took off into the air. Carvanha slammed his face into the ground and looked up. Swellow swooped down, pushing its head into Carvanha and running him into the wall. The Swellow retracted, watching the Carvanha roll across the ground a bit.
"Come on Carvanha, now's your chance!" Riku exclaimed. He looked at Carvanha who had fainted. Hit gut dropped.
"One hit KO!" Alex cheered. Riku swallowed hard. He returned Carvanha and turned to his little Sandshrew.
"We are doomed, so very very doomed," he moaned. Sandshrew scowled and jumped onto Riku, smacking him around a little. Riku grabbed Sandshrew and looked him in the eyes. "You're right, we must try!" he agreed. Sandshrew hopped down onto the ground and death stared the Swellow.
"Alright, you asked for it!" Riku cheered. Alex rolled his eyes as his Swellow charged at Sandshrew. Sandshrew dove into the ground. Alex looked at Riku.
"Swellow, take to the sky!" Alex exclaimed. Swellow took off into the air and landed on one of the posts.
"You think that will help?" Riku asked. Suddenly the post began moving, something was pushing it. The post toppled over and Swellow leapt onto the ground. Sandshrew popped out of the ground.
"Now!" Riku exclaimed. Sandshrew tore a hunk of the field off and smashed it onto Swellow's head. The bird toppled over, fainted. Riku jumped with joy and began dancing in a circle, with Sandshrew in the centre mimicking him. Saphiria laughed at them and Alex smiled.
"We aren't done yet!" Alex reminded. Riku stopped, ready for anything. Alex through a Safari Ball into the air and out popped a Fearow. Without chance for thought the Fearow swooped down and grabbed Sandshrew.
"Ground is useless in the air, so now what will you do?" Alex asked. Riku began to worry. The Fearow began pecking Sandshrew while in the air before dropping him down. Sandshrew struggled back up only to be dive bombed by Fearow. With that Sandshrew was down and out.
"Nice try, kid, but I guess it wasn't enough," Alex sighed. Riku ran over to Sandshrew. Fearow got off and darted over to Alex. Riku picked up Sandshrew, cradling him gently. Saphiria trotted over as well.
"Is he ok?" she asked. Riku stood up.
"He'll be fine, but I should go to the Pokémon centre to heal him," Riku replied walking towards the door. He stopped and turned to Alex.
"I guess I must be terribly weak if I can't beat you," Riku murmured. Alex started laughing. He walked over to Riku and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Riku, I am surprised you were able to hold off that well, did no one tell you that I'm next in line for the Elite Four?" Alex asked. Riku's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. This time he didn't pick it up.
"I was told you were the weakest!" Riku gasped. Alex laughed again.
"Are you kidding me? I'm the strongest out there!" he chuckled. Riku felt both relieved and scammed. He left the gym, unable to say anything else. Saphiria waved to Alex and followed after Riku. After a while she finally piped up.
"Who are the Elite Four?" she asked. Riku had been lost in his own mind but Saphiria reeled him back in.
"What? Oh, right. The Elite Four are the four strongest trainers of the region. But above them is the champion, the person who was able to surpass all the Elite Four and any previous Champions. It's tough to get in let alone beat one. My goal is to face them but you need a badge from each gym to do so," Riku explained.
"So you will have to go against Alex later to claim his badge?" Saphiria asked. Riku nodded slightly. He stopped in front of the Pokémon centre. He walked in and handed his Sandshrew and Carvanha's Pokéball to the nurse. She took them away and Riku sat down on the couch in the waiting room and sighed. Saphiria looked at Riku.
"Do you have some money?" she asked. Riku nodded and took out his walled that had been in his pockets. Not the safest place for it but he felt it safer than his bag. Saphiria grabbed it from his hands and looked inside it. I guess she's never seen a wallet before Riku thought, that or she was stealing it. He liked thought A better. Saphiria then took off out of the building. Riku was shocked, too shocked to move.
"Crap! That was all I had!" he exclaimed springing to his feet. He was about to run off when he remembered that Sandshrew was still there. Last time he took off to get something and left Sandshrew in the Pokémon centre, Sandshrew ran off to find him and got lost. Riku sat down on the floor against a flower pot. He didn't want to leave Sandshrew alone.
After a few minutes he heard someone approach him. He looked over and saw Saphiria towering over him.
"Hey, why did you run off with my wallet?" Riku asked. Saphiria held out some bandages and his wallet. He understood; Saphiria was worried about him just as he was worried about Sandshrew. Riku smiled and took the wallet.
"I told you I was fine," Riku pointed out. Saphiria squatted down beside him and pulled his arm out in front of her. She rested his arm on her knees and rolled up his sleeve. She slowly began unwrapping the cloth bandages, being careful though she might break him. Riku looked at his arm. He was surprised to see it was bleeding a little more, must have accidently split some of the peck wounds. Saphiria re-wrapped his arm in the fresh bandages and then switched to his other arm. When she finished she stood up.
"Thanks," Riku told her. Saphiria smiled and took the cloth to the garbage, pitching it. Just as she did so the nurse walked out with Sandshrew in her arms and Carvanha's Pokéball in her hand. Riku stood up and ran over to Sandshrew, picking him up. He then grabbed the Pokéball.
"Thanks a lot," he smiled. Sandshrew climbed back into Riku's hood and sat down. Riku turned to Saphiria.
"Ready to go now?" he asked. Saphiria nodded and began walking to the door with Riku at her tail.