Chapter Four, A Reunion of Four Friends
"Wait! Don't leave without me! Stop!"
The loud and distressed voice snapped Dia out of her nap. She had managed to find a bus stop after taking her leave from the inn near the Pokemon Center, it was just her luck that the bus would pass by Striaton City. The hum of the engines and the warm breeze had lulled her to sleep that would only be interrupted by the voice that slowly started to sound far away.
She suddenly sprang up from her seat, the napping Eevee on her lap sliding down with a yelp, now wide awake and able to comprehend the situation at hand, and made her way to the driver's seat.
"Vee, Eevee!" Eevee jumped to her trainer's shoulders, glaring at Dia, who didn't pay any mind to her.
"Excuse me! Bus driver- Hello?!" The other passengers stared at her with a curious gaze as she tried to catch the attention of the headphone-wearing driver. "STOP THE BUS!"
The bus screeched to a stop, nearly making Dia tumble to the ground if it weren't for her quickly grabbing the seats to steady herself. Eevee had dug her claws on her shoulder to keep her from falling. Dia made her way to the driver, "Wait here, there was somebody trying to catch up."
Dia hopped off the bus and squinted at the heavily panting girl. The girl didn't look like a traveler or a trainer of that matter, her long white skirt and orange leggings weren't really the type of clothes that could pass as traveling clothes, but the familiar sphere of a Pokeball peeking from her green shoulder bag said otherwise. The young trainer looked like she was ready to collapse when she stopped in front of Dia. Poor dear couldn't even have enough breath to say 'thank you' with all her panting.
"Come on, sweetie." Dia said, helping the girl in the bus, "You look ready to drop down." She lead her to the seat she had taken, making sure to give the trainer the window seat to cool her down.
"T-Thank you." The girl said, managing one more deep breath before sagging in her seat with a sigh. Her red face slowly cooling down as the rushing wind blew to her. "I thought I still had time to buy that pretty bow from that gift shop," she confessed.
Dia resisted the urge to slap a hand to her face.
"Vee..." Eevee shook her head.
When the blond haired girl laid eyes on Eevee, her mood suddenly did a 180, from tired and gloomy to full of energy and excited. She snatched the surprised Eevee off of its shocked trainer's shoulder and started inspecting it with happy emerald eyes.
"Oh my gosh, its an Eevee! It's so cute! And that pretty bow makes you even cuter!" She ran a finger on the neatly tied bow and continued to give the uncomfortable Pokemon her undivided attention.
"Excuse me...um-"
"I'll trade you for your Eevee." The girl interrupted, turning her eyes to Dia. "I've got a super cute Tepig I'm sure you'd like..."
Dia's eye twitched. This girl is far too eager to trade. Must be a new trainer… but she looks a bit old to be one. She inconspicuously shifted her bag that held a (surprisingly still) sleeping Zorua out of the girl's line of vision.
"I'm sorry, but Eevee's not for trade." She carefully plucked Eevee off of the girl's hand, who in turn pouted. "My name is Dia, and what might your name be?"
"Oh! I'm Bianca." She smiled, showing her perfect pearly whites. "I just got my first Pokemon once my daddy finally said I could, I'm going…."
Dia held a polite smile as Bianca continued to rant, she didn't think the girl would be stopping anytime soon. Eevee had curled herself once more in Dia's lap, ears twitching every time Bianca's voice raised an octave during her rant. After a few more minutes, Bianca had finally calmed down and was happily listening to some music. Dia sighed with relief as the bus was once again back to its peaceful silence. This was a perfect time to get some shut eye before-
"Oh look! Striaton City!"
Dia jumped at Bianca's outburst, but followed her line of vision, where the said city was drawing nearer. She allowed a small smile to appear in her face at the sight of the tall shiny buildings.
"Will you be battling the Striaton Gym?" Dia asked, capturing the starry-eyed trainer's attention.
"Oh, no I wont. I'll be getting off at the last stop, I heard there was a shop selling pretty dresses and wonderful accessories in the next town over."
"But, shouldn't you be training your Pokemon for your Gym Battles or getting yourself a team?" Dia asked.
"Of course I will. But I want to explore first!" Bianca smiled. Dia returned it, albeit rather hesitantly.
The bus squealed to a stop just at the entrance of the city. Many of the passengers hopped off the bus and went their separate ways, while Dia bid Bianca farewell. The girl was quite emotional when it came to goodbyes. Bianca started tearing up while she hugged an awkward Dia, breaking a record of saying 'thank you' in under a minute. Dia gave a final wave of goodbye as the bus took its leave and turned to gaze upon the city.
Grrrrrr!
Dia's eyes snapped to the Eevee on her shoulder, who ducked her head in embarrassment. "I guess it's time for lunch." Dia laughed. "I know just the place."
Eevee grunted unhappily as Dia took another turn. Despite her attempts to point her trainer to the nearby restaurant the blonde was persistent in going on a particular cafe. No matter how many times Dia says they were 'almost there', the Pokemon knew for sure that they were lost.
"We're close, I'm sure of it!" Dia said confidently. Eevee quietly scoffed. But in truth, Dia had no idea where she was, you can count how many times she had visited here with only one hand. They turned to another corner and she stopped in her tracks seeing the familiar yellow fur and the bush of dark violet hair ahead. But her eyes widened when she spotted the person they were conversing with. Her face broke into a smile and she sprinted to them.
"Cilan!"
The green haired teenager paused when he heard the shout of his name and looked up. It took him a moment to figure out the approaching girl his whole body brightened up when he finally recognized her.
"Dia!" He took a step forward, dropping his groceries, and held his arms out.
Ash and Iris barely had time to look over their shoulder before a blur of red and blond sped past them and launched itself in Cilan's arms. They stared wide eyed at the two teenagers sharing a tight embrace. Cilan spun them around, laughing, before placing her on the ground, still tangled in an embrace.
"Oh, I missed you so much!" Dia said, pulling away to take a good look at his face.
"You're finally back! It's been so long." He replied.
"It has. I can't wait to see the others."
"Hey Dia, you finally caught up." said Ash. "So, is Cilan the old friend you said you were visiting?"
"That's right." She nodded. "Cilan and I go way back when we were little kids."
"How do you know Ash and Iris, Dia?" Cilan asked, picking up his bag of groceries.
"It's a long story but I met them on my way here." Eevee suddenly appeared out of nowhere and jumped on Cilan's face with a happy squeal. The Pokemon Connoisseur shouted in surprise, pulling the Eevee away from his face.
He blinked at the smiling Pokemon. "It's great to see you too Eevee." He laughed, petting her. There was a tap of his shoulder and he turned his head to find a mirror image of himself, grinning mischievously. "Ehihihihi." Every gaped at Cilan's double, except Dia who simply rolled her eyes and reached out to squeezed the dark tail from behind him. He abruptly transformed into Zorua, who giggled at Cilan's shocked face and made his way to Dia's shoulder. "Hi there, stranger."
Cilan stared, speechless before his eyes found Dia's waiting for an explanation. She merely shook her head, grinning. "I'll tell you all about it later, but Ash here-" She rested a hand on his shoulder, "-is looking to challenge the Striaton Gym, think you could help the lad?"
Cilan recovered from his state of shock and saw his friend's sly look and smiled. "I see, don't worry I'll take you there. Follow me." He walked ahead, Eevee still resting in his arms, which in fact she didn't look she minded as she nuzzled his chest. Dia walked beside him, taking his arm and shaking her head at her content Eevee.
"Looks like Eevee still fancies you."
"So she does." Cilan chuckled. "How was your journey?"
Dia told him of the many different Pokemon and the beautiful landmarks from all across the regions. They conversed to kill time, making sure to involve the young trainers, Ash asking many questions and sharing his experiences as well. They arrived in front of a dome like building made of stone, columns stood decorating the sophisticated building. The sign on the building indicated that it is the Striaton Gym.
"Well, here it is." Cilan said.
Ash's eyes were sparkling and his smile was so wide while he stared. "Awesome," he said. Before anyone could speak a word he dashed to the building and opened the doors. "Let's battle!" He announced, but paused when he saw the scene before him.
Iris chased after him with an embarrassed look, muttering about how childish Ash was. Cilan and Dia following with a more civilized pace.
Inside was a finely decorated cafe, filled with lovely patterned carpet floors and silk covered tables. Majority of the costumers were women, who stared at Ash curiously before going about their own business. Dia spotted Cilan's brothers and waved.
"Chili, Cress!" She called, hearing Iris question if this place was the Striaton Gym.
The two boys looked as if they had gotten their very first Pokemon when they saw her and walked over.
"Dia, you're finally back." Chili, with his red hair and boyish grin, said as they embraced.
"It's such a joy to see you again." Cress said in his smooth and calm voice.
Dia was about to reply when Cilan cut her off. "Reunions will have to wait, our shift isn't over yet." He led the group to a table and forced Ash to sit down, much to his annoyance.
"So are you all ready to order?" Chili pulled out a little waiter pad, pen hovering over the paper as he gave Dia a wink.
She scanned the menu while Ash and Iris where being fussed over by Cilan and Cress. "I'll have an egg sandwich and fries, please." Eevee jumped on her lap and pointed to the menu. "And some Pokemon food."
"Drinks?" He asked.
"No, thank you." Chili left to get her order, while she watched as Ash started to get more annoyed at the brothers. Chili arrived quickly, balancing her plate of food and Eevee's bowl in one hand, and served her her orders, just as Ash had stood abruptly.
"I just wanna have a Striaton City Gym battle!" He shouted, surprising the three brothers. The cafe stopped their chatter to stare at the young trainer, who was glaring at the three waiters. "I don't see the Gym Leader or a Gym, so I think now's a good time for me to go." Ash said with disappointment, walking to the door. "Pika, Pika..." Pikachu sighed.
"Now wait just a minute..." Ash paused at the sound of Cilan's voice and gasped when the lights suddenly turned off. Dia watched the three brothers walk to the middle of the room, the spot light trained on them, as she munched on a fry.
"What's going on." Iris whispered as the girls around them squealed in delight.
"You'll see." Dia replied with a wink.
"All right then Ash, I'll grant your request!" said Cilan.
"I'll make sure you'll receive a welcome as pleasant and hot as the noon's day sun." Chili said as the girls cheered and swooned at them.
"No, I think we should be cool," Cress cut in. "Like a refreshing glass of water, chilled, of course."
Ash just stood there dumbfounded as he tried to make sense of what the trio were talking about. "What are they talking about?" He muttered to Pikachu.
"This is the Striaton Gym." Cilan announced.
"And the three of us?" Chili joined in.
"We're triplet brothers. And we're the Gym Leaders." They finished making the girls sigh dreamily. Dia laughed when she saw Iris roll her eyes at their antics.
The walls in the fireplace suddenly moved to reveal a secret door that lead to the Gym's battle field. Dia followed everyone to the entrance, climbing up the stairs to observe, Iris and the girls in tow.
"How can a Gym have three Gym Leaders?" Iris asked as they watched the brothers explain how their Gym worked.
"Well," Dia began, leaning on the railing while Eevee took her place on her shoulder. "It's so the challenger gets to choose which Gym Leader he would like to battle, since the three of them each have different Pokemon types: Fire, Water and Grass." The three brother's took out their Pokemon; each of them had roughly the same figure. Monkey-like features with peculiar shaped tufts on their head and colors that matched their types. "There's Peansear the Fire-Type, Panpour the Water-Type and Pansage the Grass-type."
"But won't that just make it easier for the trainer to win if they chose the type that has a disadvantage over their Pokemon?" Iris asked.
"That is true but heir Pokemon are no pushover and besides, I have a feeling Ash would surprise us, don't you?"
She didn't see Iris' eyes roll and mutter, "Sure, whatever."
It was a surprise indeed when they learned that Ash had decided on battling all three of the Gym Leaders, much to the delight of the group of girl from the other end of the balcony. The brothers agreed and had announced that to earn the badge, Ash had to have two wins. The battle begun with Chili as the opponent, the two taking their places at the other end of the rocky field.
"Go, Ash! Go, Chili!" Dia cheered. Ash gave her a thumbs up while Chili gave her a smug grin, to which she playfully rolled her eyes at.
"Attention," Cilan said from the referee stand. "For our first battle today at the Striaton Gym, it's Ash, the challenger, versus Chili, the Gym Leader! Only one Pokemon each and when either side is unable to battle the match is over." The group of girls cheered loudly.
"And...Begin!"
"Tepig, I choose you!" Ash threw a Pokeball to the field and the Unova's Fire-type starter Pokemon appeared, flames coming out of it's snout as it snorted.
"A Tepig? Since when had Ash caught a Tepig?" Dia asked in surprise.
"We found him when we were at the Battle Club and he decided to join Ash." Iris summarized. "I don't know what's wrong with Ash, but a Water-Type like his Oshawott would have been a better choice."
"Ash must have his reasons. Though I have to agree with you, it's quite worrying." Dia said, watching intently at the battle. Zorua peeked his head out of her bag to observe and she praised him by patting his head. "Although, seeing Tepig, he looks really tough. Let's just hope he could handle Pansear."
She caught Iris staring at her. "Is something the matter?"
"You talk funny." Was her blunt reply before turning her attention to the battle. Dia chuckled and turned to the battle.
Both Tepig and Ash had battled very well and had managed to win the battle, much to the surprise of Iris. Dia had to admit, despite his peculiar battling style, it was an amazing battle. She got to see the same fire he held while in battle, the synchronization between him and his Pokemon and his passion. Zorua was captivated by the battle, he never really showed any interest in battling, his moves used more for fun and games. But Dia saw a sudden desire to battle in his eyes and it won't be long until Zorua would join the rest of her Pokemon in battles.
"Pansear is unable to battle. Therefore, the winner of the first match is the challenger, Ash!" Cilan announced. Dia clapped enthusiastically, earning some glares from the group of girls. "Now it's time for our second battle. The battle between Ash and Cress is about to begin." Ash had wisely chosen Pikachu for the second battle, while Cress had pulled out his Panpour.
"Using an Electric-Type like Pikachu against a Water-Type like Panpour. I think Ash actually thought this through." Iris mused, the Axew hidden beneath her hair nodded.
"Well, that rules out type advantages. All that's left is strategy and power." Said Dia, scratching Eevee behind her ears.
"And begin!"
The battle didn't prove to be on Ash's side, despite his type advantage. Since Cress had already seen Ash's battle style, he managed to make a plan in the short amount of time he sat and observed. Pikachu never had the chance to land a hit, while Panpour was raining down attacks from left to right.
"Looks to me that the battle is in Cress' favor." Dia said.
"This battle is looking worse by the minute." Iris slumped. "Ew..." Axew agreed.
Dia turned to the battle, just in time to witness Pikachu perform a powerful Volt Tackle. But Cress had a plan to avoid it by commanding Panpour to use Mud Sport under Pikachu's feet to loose its footing. Dia was slightly disappointed to see Ash loose the battle when Pikachu was hit with a powerful Water Gun.
"It all comes down to the third battle." Dia said as Cilan stepped on the opposite end. "To be honest, I'm a bit disappointed that Ash lost."
"What can you do? He's just a little kid." Iris shrugged.
"You don't look older than he is." Dia rose a brow and Iris blushed, not commenting.
"Begin!"
Dia couldn't help but slap a hand on her forehead when Ash summoned his Oshawott, more so when the Oshawott didn't seem to want to battle once it caught sight of Pansage. Everyone seemed to be thinking the same thing as they all started giving him weird looks.
"Hey, I remember that Oshawott! It was the one that helped us against those criminals." Dia said and Iris nodded, explaining the story of how Oshawott had willingly joined Ash on their way to Striaton City.
So far, Oshawott didn't really impress the Ace Trainer, it was skittish and needed some time to toughen up. Even Eevee and Zorua didn't look impressed, Eevee turned her nose up the air, refusing to look at the battle. Oshawott was to inexperienced against Pansage who battled trainers on a daily basis. Though those thoughts were quickly forgotten when Oshawott had deflected Pansage's Solarbeam with its scallchop, yet it still couldn't land a hit when its Razor Shell attack was stopped by Pansage's Bullet Seed, hitting its scallchop out of its hands.
"All right, the time for the battle to be served is here!" Cilan said, making the group of girls squeal with excitement and Dia playfully roll her eyes at.
"Huh? What's going on? What's he talking about?" Iris asked.
"Oh it's just a Connoisseur thing. He observes the battle and the challenger and their Pokemon and gives them some criticism with the use of fancy words, metaphors and similes." Dia said nonchalantly. "I've been the victim under his evaluations ever since Cilan dreamed to become a Connoisseur."
"A Pokemon Connoisseur and Gym Leader seems to be a bit much." Iris said and Dia agreed.
"There's more to a Pokemon battle than what type your Pokemon is. So don't sell my Oshawott short!" Ash said with a determined grin, making Oshawott puff its chest out, happy for its trainer's faith. "Now, Oshawott use Water Gun on that wall! Just trust me on this one." Ash said when the Sea-Otter Pokemon gave him a dubious look, but obeyed nonetheless.
Everyone gaped when the Water-Gun hit the wall and from rock to rock until it hit the scallchop a few feet away and to Oshawott's awaiting arms.
"Amazing!" Zorua whispered, mouth still agape as Oshawott hit Pansage with a Razor Shell. "I wanna do that too!"
"Sorry sweetie, but I don't think you'll be able to learn those moves." Dia chuckled, petting Zorua's head. "But don't worry, with some training I'll make sure you'll do way better things than that." Zorua smiled and nuzzled her arm.
The battle ended with Ash as the victor when Oshawott landed a powerful blow, with a Razor Shell, to Pansage's side. Dia and her Pokemon cheered enthusiastically when Ash received his first Gym Badge. She was familiar with that feeling as well, when she had won her first Gym she was so proud of herself and her Pokemon she couldn't describe how happy she was when the Gym Leader looked at her so proudly and the shiny badge seemed to wink at her.
"So what's you think, Iris? Dia?" Ash asked, turning to look at the girl at the balcony.
"You didn't have to battle all three Gym Leaders." Iris shrugged, "Do you have the foggiest idea how uncool it would have looked if you had been defeated after you chose to make it more difficult for yourself?"
Her comment made Ash frown, "Man, oh man. You could have just said something nice, you know."
"Well, I, for one, am very proud of you, Ash." Dia cut in, trying to prevent an oncoming argument. "It was a wonderful battle and your Pokemon did an excellent job." Zorua and Eevee sounded their agreement.
"Yes, yes, yes! It was Amazing!" Zorua said, jumping happily.
"Thanks!" Ash smiled, his mood instantly brightening.
"You're very lucky that even though your Pokemon had a type disadvantage, you still came through." Iris said. "Maybe you should forget luck and put a little more effort into strategy and better moves."
"You think so? Then I think I'll battle you next." Ash said, glaring at the girl, who agreed with a wave of her hand, only angering him more.
"Now, now, let's save all that in another time. Come now, we should be happy for Ash's victory." Dia said and returned Ash's grateful look.
"I agree. Although the combination of the two of you does conjure up a certain bouquet." Cilan said.
"I don't think now's the right time, Cilan." Dia gave him a look making him hold his hands up in mock-surrender.
"Bouquet?" Ash said, looking confused at the unfamiliar word.
"It means 'Aroma'. Don't you know anything at all? What a kid!" Iris scoffed and turned to the exit. "We're outta here, Axew."
"Axew." Her partner said as she stepped towards the exit.
"But, wait a minute." Dia said, making her pause. "I thought both of you were traveling together?"
"No we're not!" Iris shouted, making Dia jump at her outburst. "Good job, Ash. See ya!" They watched her angrily walk away and disappear as she descended the stairs.
"Well, that's unfortunate." Dia commented, making Ash sigh. She suddenly jumped over the railing, making the boys shout in surprise, and landed firmly on her feet, Eevee and Zorua following in suit. The boys clutched their chest, trying to calm their racing heart.
"Dia, that was very dangerous!" Cress scolded.
"What were you thinking?!" Cilan shouted.
"Sorry, but taking the stairs seemed so boring." Dia laughed, while they shook their head.
"Please don't do that again." Ash exhaled, his Pikachu doing the same.
"I make no promises," she winked, making Cilan breathe out an exasperated sigh.
1. Eevee (F): Shadow Ball, Dig, Hyper Voice, Iron Tail
2. Zorua (M): Dark Pulse, Aerial Ace, Extrasensory, Copycat
3. Braviary (M): Brave Bird, Roost, Super Power, Sky Attack
Hello! It's been quite a while. But first, I'd like to greet ya'll a belated Happy New Years and Merry Christmas! Anyway, if you spot any spelling and grammar errors, I. am. Sorry. I just hope that this long chapter would be enough to satisfy you and I'll edit it when I have the time. And I recently made a deviantart, if the link doesn't show or work then PM me if you want, I drew a picture of the battle in the last chapter, feel free to take a view. And thanks to the Guest who pointed my mistake about Pikachu's moves, so I changed the last chapter a bit.
I hope you guys enjoyed this. Please, please, please Review!
-Pugs out!