"Good to know Sinnoh's got consistent weather," Ramos muttered, tightening up the scarf he had tied around his neck. The reason for the old gym leader being in Sinnoh during an unfortunately cold summer was that the gardeners of Route 4's hedge mazes had decided he needed a break. He always did a good job of helping them out with the hedge mazes, as well as running his gym, so they recommentook he take a short break. It was also them that recommended Sinnoh - well, Wheaton specifically did, saying he'd been there before to visit his grandkids - as the region, though cold, was a fascinating place to visit, plus it would maybe even be warm enough if he visited during summer.
"Ah well. Nothing we can do if we got bad timing." Never one to be a pessimist about whatever situation he was placed in, Ramos put on a smile and began his journey through Mt Coronet, having started in Sunyshore City after getting a plane into the region - another insistence of the gardeners, despite Coumarine City's sailors being perfectly capable. His goal in particular was to reach Eterna City, as he wouldn't have minded meeting the gym leader there. Gardenia, a Grass-type specialist. He had, of course, brought his gym pokémon with him, as well as some extra pokémon he was caring for in the place of the Day Care.
"Heard she's a springy young thing," he said, to no-one in particular, what with the cave being devoid of human life and Gogoat being in its Poké Ball. As much as Ramos liked his partner's company, he also liked being alone to think at times. Besides, he was only passing through Mt Coronet, not over it. He chuckled as he emerged from the cave and looked over the city in front of him.
"Here's hopin' I can keep up with her," he said quietly, nodding. He began his descent from the cave entrance to the city.
She was just wrapping up a gym battle when he arrived at her gym. One poor, ill-prepared trainer stood at one end of the battlefield, panic spread across his face as his Piplup received a beating from Gardenia's Roserade. A final Magical Leaf dashed the young trainer's hopes of getting the badge this time.
"Ah, Piplup!" he screamed, running onto the battlefield and cradling the beaten pokémon in his arms. Gardenia gave him a sympathetic look. She walked out onto the battlefield and held out a hand to help the boy to his feet, saying, "It was a good attempt, I'll give you that. But it looks like you'll need to get stronger if you want the badge."
"In that case, I'll be back! If you'll have me for a rematch," he said, to which Gardenia nodded, smiling as she said, "Of course! I look forward to it!" As the boy ran to the exit, most likely to head to a Pokémon Center to heal up his Piplup and any other pokémon he may have on him, a woman Ramos could only assume was a gym trainer ran up to Gardenia and began whispering in her ear, nodding in Ramos' direction. When Gardenia nodded her thanks, the gym trainer turned and joined two other young woman standing by the sidelines while the gym leader ran over to the old man.
"Hey there! Angela said you came in during the match," she said, grabbing his hand and shaking rigorously, making Ramos chuckle with amusement.
"Yep. Just as I thought; she's an energetic one," he thought. Aloud, he said, once the woman had relinquished his hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you. I was told to take a vacation and when I heard they had a Grass-type specialist in this here region, I figured it wouldn't hurt to visit." Gardenia clasped her hands together and beamed, smile stretching from ear to ear.
"That sounds smart! I'm glad to meet you! I've heard soooo much about Kalos and I've always wanted to visit but gym leader duties never made it possible," she laughed, scratching the back of her neck as she spoke. Ramos shook his head.
"Yeah, sometimes it's hard to catch a break. Can we sit? I'm not as young as I once was and I did walk the whole way here from Sunyshore," he asked, motioning to a bench on the sidelines of her battlefield. Gardenia nodded frantically, shuffling along the old man while saying, "Of course of course, do sit! Would you like something to drink as well?" Ramos nodded, letting out a sigh of relief as he sat down.
"If you would be so kind, some tea would be magnifique," he murmured. Gardenia pointed at him several times, bouncing on the spot as her face lit up with recognition.
"I know what that means! Fantina uses that word a lot!" she squeaked. Then she paused, and ran off, saying, "Oh right tea!" Ramos shook his head, amused by the young woman's behaviour.
"Reminds me a lot of Korrina that one. Always so excited, always rushing about." He fell quiet, admiring his surroundings; the inside of the gym beyond the battlefield. It was like a jungle within the gym, with many trees towering over the field. The skylight above was only just visible between the vast canopy provided by said trees; meanwhile, at ground level, several plants grew, including the odd berry bush here and there. Ramos took in a deep breath, enjoying the peace of the gym, as the gym trainers had since left. He dug into his pocket and removed a Poké ball. Tossing it to the ground, Gogoat emerged in a flash of light.
"Ain't this place somethin', boy?" Ramos said, Gogoat whinnying in response as it sat down by the man's feet, resting its head on its partner's lap. The sound of a shaking teacup made Ramos look up as Gardenia ran toward him, clutching a saucer upon which a teacup sat. Surprisingly, from what Ramos could see at least, she hadn't spilled any of the tea, despite the speed she was running at.
"Your tea, sir!" she declared, holding out the saucer to him. He muttered a quiet "Thank ya kindly" as he took the cup and saucer, Gardenia then sitting next to him on the bench and turning her attentions to Gogoat.
"Is this your partner? Looks friendly," she giggled. Ramos set down the saucer beside him after taking a sip and smiled, patting Gogoat's head.
"Yep. This here's Gogoat. We've been partners for many, many years now. He's also one of the pokémon I use in my gym." Gardenia listened to the old man, fascinated.
"Really? Wow. Could you show me your other pokémon? If you brought them with you of course. I'll show you mine!" Without waiting for a response, she jumped to her feet and pulled three Poké Balls from her pockets. Tossing them into the air, three pokémon emerged from the balls; a Turtwig, a Cherrim and the Roserade Ramos had witnessed earlier from the battle. He nodded, admiring the pokémon Gardenia had in her possession. And judging from how she gushed as she introduced them, she was quite proud of them.
"They look strong," he said, with Gardenia puffing her chest out and saying proudly, "But of course! We train hard, don't we?" Her pokémon nodded in confirmation. Ramos smiled, then reached into his pockets and took out the five other pokémon he had with him.
"A deal's a deal then. I have two more pokémon I use fer gym battles; the extra three are some pokémon I'm caring for since the Day Care in Kalos is a tad overcrowded right now." Picking out his gym pokémon from the small pool of balls, he tossed them, releasing Weepinbell and Jumpluff for Gardenia to see. Immediately, the woman gasped, eyes shining as she observed the two Grass-types.
"Oh wow! You use these for gym battles? Bet you're no pushover, eh?" The old smiled, not only at the praise, but also at the girl's enthusiasm. Then, she asked, "What about those three? I know you said they weren't yours, but it wouldn't hurt to at least see them, even for a few seconds. Eh?" The younger gym leader's cheerful personality and 'powers of persuasion' made Ramos laugh.
"I don't see a problem with that at all," he chortled, picking up the balls and, one at a time, he let them out to show Gardenia. First was Skiddo.
"It's so cute!" she squealed, and as she looked it over, she noted, "It looks sort of similar to Gogoat. Is this is pre-evolution?" Ramos nodded, and he laughed again as Gardenia giggled with glee as the Skiddo trotted up to Gogoat and curled up next to it. Releasing the next one, he introduced it as a Chespin. Gardenia once more squealed with delight.
"Another little cutie!" Ramos nodded, then said, "This one'll be going to Professor Sycamore soon actually. Being one of the Kalos starter pokémon an' all." Gardenia bent down and smiled as she watched the Chespin approach her Turtwig and begin to play with it. Looking up at Ramos, she asked with growing excitement, "And the last one?"
"I'm getting to it, don't rush me," he told her sternly, though his voice indicated he was joking. Grabbing the last Poké Ball, he tossed it. A small, floating pumpkin appeared. Unlike the previous two pokémon, Gardenia's reaction was more reserved. If anything, she looked a little spooked.
"Uh... I-It's a cute pokémon, don't get me wrong, but I can't help but think it looks a bit...creepy," she said, skin looking pale now. The pumpkin pokémon chirped happily, circling the gym leader like a shark.
"Oh don't fret, dear. Pumpkaboo may be a Ghost/Grass type pokémon, but it's essentially 'armless." It was then that Gardenia, skin as white as paper, stood up sharply, surprising the older gym leader. She laughed nervously, looking a mixture of horrified and nervous as she backed away from the pokémon.
"A G-G-Ghost/G-Grass type? Aha, oh m-me. Ahahaha, o-oh Arce..." She couldn't finish her panicked stuttering however as she suddenly fainted, hitting the ground with a thud. Ramos whistled, amazed by what he'd just witnessed.
"Well I'll be, I wasn't expectin' that." Looking to Roserade, he asked, "Would you be so kind as to go fetch one o' them gym trainers I saw earlier? I'm afraid I don't know what to do here, assumin' this has happened before." Roserade nodded and walked off, leaving the gym leader alone. He shrugged, unaware of what to do as he'd just said. He picked up his cup of tea and took another sip, waiting for one of the gym trainers to show up as Pumpkaboo floated over to Gardenia, looking worried. Meanwhile, Chespin and Turtwig played on, ignorant of what had just occurred.
Another drabble woohoo! And so quick too! The day after I posted the last one! :D
I'm especially happy with this because its the first request/suggestion drabble I've done, being suggested by Tsukuyomi who said it'd be interesting to see Ramos introducing Gardenia to one of Kalos' Ghost/Grass type pokémon.
Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed!
Please do review, fave, follow and, of course, suggest. Cause suggesting ideas helps me. :)
Angel-chan x