A/N: Whew. That certainly took me long enough to write/publish. I am really slacking on writing in general. Sorry if this chapter is a bit long; I couldn't figure out where to quit.
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon; it belongs to Nintendo, Gamefreak, etc. All of the OCs and the Doren region, however, are mine.
Helen and Miles stood in the rain nearby Curtis's house, watching with expressions of amusement and mild disdain at Zane, who was pounding on the door of Curtis's house like a maniac.
"Hey, Curtis," Zane yelled for probably the fifth time, "what's the matter? Scared? Come out here already! You're gonna get it for-"
"Oh my, looking for me, are you?" came Curtis's eerily calm voice. Helen and Miles turned around to see the Gym Leader standing behind them with his hand on the bridge of his nose, as if adjusting an invisible pair of glasses.
Zane stopped for a second, then turned around slowly. An expression of embarrassment crossed his face, followed quickly by a look of overly intense anger.
"Yeah, I was," Zane said quickly, trying to get Curtis (and, more importantly, Helen and Miles) to forget about the scene they had just witnessed. "What's the deal with you, anyway? Too scared to fight me without knowing what's up my sleeve first?" As if on cue, the left sleeve of his sweater flapped slightly.
Curtis stifled a laugh. "Well, someone's figured it out quickly. Miles," he continued in a sarcastic, scolding tone, "you wouldn't have happened to help him on this one, would you?"
"I might have," Miles replied.
"Really, you must stop giving away my plans," Curtis muttered disapprovingly. "How will the challengers ever learn anything if you give them all the answers?"
"Sorry," Miles said sheepishly.
"Of course, that's all beside the point," Curtis continued. "Now, then, Zane, I suppose you want a match?"
"No," Zane said sarcastically, "I want a sandwich! What do you think I want?"
"Very well, then," Curtis replied, his voice slightly serious. "Just come to the gym when you're ready. It's a greenhouse on the south side of town."
"What do you mean, 'when you're ready'?" Zane said aggressively. "I'm ready now!"
"Alright," Curtis replied. "If you're so eager to get on with it, follow me." The Gym Leader proceeded to walk off, and was swiftly trailed by Zane. Helen followed Zane, strolling casually and whistling.
Miles watched the three walk off and grinned.
"Ooh, conflict," he said giddily. "This is gonna be good."
Miles ran after the others, shielding his book bag from the rain.
"You and Curtis aren't playing some huge joke on me, are you, Miles?" Zane asked as he, Helen, and Miles walked through the large greenhouse that Curtis's directions had led them to.
"No," Miles said sincerely, "this is actually his gym."
"Really? 'Cause it looks more like a salad bar to me," Helen said.
Zane nodded. He had been expecting something a little more professional for his first gym, but rather than a training facility, Curtis's directions had led them to what was essentially an indoor garden. The walkways of the greenhouse were clearly defined by the plants on either side, most of which were ripe with fruits and vegetables. It was difficult for Zane to believe that Curtis might actually hold a battle in here.
"Well," Miles continued, "I guess it kind of is. Curtis grows most of the produce for Jade City in here. But it's also a gym," he added, grabbing an apple off a low tree.
Almost immediately after he grabbed it, a hand with three leaf-like fingers snatched it back. Zane and Helen started in surprise. Miles cringed as a sunken-eyed head emerged from the tree's leaves.
"Oh, Shiftry!" Miles said with a nervous laugh. "I didn't see you there..."
"Treee," Shiftry grunted, narrowing its eyes in warning.
"Right," Miles said grudgingly.
"What was that about?" Zane asked.
"That was Curtis's Shiftry," Miles explained, "He's kind of the greenhouse guard. Curtis generally doesn't like people taking samples before he sets them out."
"Okay," Zane answered. Helen nodded and tried to hide some carrots in her pocket.
"So is that what I'm gonna fight?" Zane asked. "I bet I can take it."
"I wouldn't count on it," Miles replied. "Don't forget that Curtis knows what you've got for Pokemon. Besides, he only uses Shiftry against strong trainers. So you've got nothing to-"
"'Strong trainers'? What's that supposed to mean?" Zane growled, turning on Miles.
"Just what he said," Helen answered glibly.
"You stay out of this!" Zane snapped.
"Ummm…" Miles said, confused.
"MILES!" roared a deep voice. "Slacking off again, are you?"
Miles slapped his forehead and groaned.
"Oh, great. It's my boss."
Zane and Helen turned to see a large, fat, black-haired man running down the corridor towards the three of them. There was an expression of annoyance on his face.
"How many times have I told you to stay at the library?" the man scolded.
"That depends," Miles muttered, clearly annoyed. "Do you want an honest answer, or one of your overblown estimates?"
"Don't mouth off to me!" the man said. "I'm not taking money off your debt for the time you spend goofing off with your friends!"
"Give me a break!" Miles complained. "The place is empty, as in deserted, barren, abandoned, vacant, untenanted… any way you say it, there's no one th-"
"Stop complaining!" the man said strictly. "Just go back and do your job!"
"At least let me see this gym battle," Miles begged. "C'mon, please?"
"Gym battle?" the man asked. "What do you mean by-"
"Ah, there you are, Zane," Curtis said, emerging from the bushes. "I was beginning to think you weren't going to show up."
"Yeah, well think again!" Zane said. "Nobody fools me and gets away with it!"
"That's what I mean," Miles said, continuing to argue with the other man. "Come on, Mr. Dure, just this once!"
Mr. Dure sighed. "Curtis? Is this alright with you?"
"I don't see a problem with it," Curtis said, gesturing at Zane, "just as long as Miles doesn't yell out hints to my opponent here."
Miles grinned. "You got it, Curtis. I'll be completely quiet!"
Dure muttered under his breath. "Alright then, Miles, but after this, I want you back to work. And I'm adding on to your time for this!"
Miles flinched. "Fine."
"Good. See you later, Curtis," Dure called as he walked towards the door.
"Well, now that that's over," Curtis said, clearing his throat, "Let's go to the arena, shall we?"
"Oh, no you don't!" Zane said firmly. "No more stalling! Let's settle this right here, right now!"
"Very well," Curtis said, his voice becoming immediately serious. "If you're so eager to be beaten, who am I to deny you?"
Zane pulled Wraith's pokeball from his belt and stepped back, a determined look on his face.
Curtis walked back from Zane about thirty feet down the walkway and turned around, drawing a pokeball from his belt and tossing it into the air.
"Go, Lotad!"
Curtis's pokeball opened and a beam of white light shot out in an arc, coming to a stop about five feet from where the gym leader stood. The light reformed into a ball, spun for a moment, and transformed into a small blue creature with six stub-like legs and a lily pad on its head.
"Lotad!" the Pokemon cried.
Zane laughed derisively. This didn't look like too much of a threat.
"I thought you had something tough!" he said. "All right, Wraith, go get 'em!"
Zane threw his pokeball, and Wraith appeared on the battlefield, the blue flames on his back ignited.
Curtis and Lotad both stared for a second at Wraith.
"That's an unusual Cyndaquil you have there," Curtis mused, "but don't expect me to be intimidated."
"Oh, I'm not too worried about intimidating you," Zane taunted. "Whether you're scared or not doesn't mean too much. If all you've got is grass-types, you're going down!"
Curtis grinned. "We'll see. Lotad, water gun!"
"What?" Zane said nervously. "Wraith, dodge!"
Wraith sidestepped quickly, just barely avoiding the wet blue missile that had just left Lotad's mouth.
Zane turned accusingly to Miles. "I thought you said he only used grass-types!"
"He told you right," Curtis confirmed. "I do use only grass-type Pokemon. But that's what's so wonderful about them: they're surprisingly versatile. Now, let's get on with this, shall we? Lotad, fire again!"
Lotad turned around and ran back a few steps on its stubby legs, then whipped itself around and shot a blue, rippling bullet of water straight at Wraith's head. The Cyndaquil didn't even try to dodge, standing unnervingly still until the attack struck him head-on, plowing him backwards and landing him on his stomach."
Zane grimaced and stared the Cyndaquil, slightly exasperated. "Don't just stand there, Wraith! If an attack's coming, dodge it!"
Wraith nodded and coughed, sending a small jet of flame out of its mouth. The jet died quickly, but one of its sparks landed on Lotad's lily pad, setting it on fire. Lotad started dancing madly as Wraith got to his feet.
"Upping the game in the middle of the match, are we?" Curtis asked teasingly. "That's unusual. Not to mention unfair."
"Like you're one to talk about that!" Zane said triumphantly. "Do it again, Wraith! Use flamethrower!"
Miles turned and whispered to Helen.
"He's joking, right? He's got to be joking. I mean, only a total moron could confuse ember with flamethrower."
Helen smiled and stifled a laugh.
Wraith sucked in a breath and blew, releasing a small jet of flame from his mouth.
Curtis's right eye twitched slightly. "Dodge, Lotad."
Lotad flattened itself to the ground, causing Wraith's attack to go just over its head. The jet of flame landed in the shrubs on the side of the path, causing them to ignite.
Curtis's eye twitched again. "Lotad, use water gun on the bush!"
Lotad turned around and shot a bullet of water at the bush. The small fire Wraith had started went out with a hiss and a jet of smoke.
Curtis turned his attention to Zane. "I'd appreciate it if you'd regulate your ember usage," he said calmly. "This greenhouse represents a considerable investment of my time."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Zane said with mock innocence. "So you don't like it when I do this? Wraith, use ember on the plants!"
The small Cyndaquil responded quickly, shooting a shower of sparks just big enough to start a fire at a corn plant growing on the side of the path.
Curtis's eye twitched. "Lotad, put it out!"
"Oh my," Zane said deliberately, pretending to just notice the fire as it was snuffed out by Lotad's attack. "I'm really sorry. I'll try to be a little more careful from now on. Wraith, do it again!"
Barely even changing his direction, Wraith shot a small jet of flame at another corn plant.
Curtis's eye twitched. "Lotad, again!"
Lotad shot another, larger bullet of water at the ignited corn plant. The bullet hit the cornstalk and exploded like a water balloon, extinguishing the flame with a hiss and drenching the ground around the corn plant.
"Good job, Wraith!" Zane whispered, leaning towards Wraith and hoping that the Cyndaquil could hear him. "Shoot a few more off, would ya?"
Zane allowed his face to slip into a contrived expression of terror as Wraith complied, shooting off small jets of flame haphazardly at the sides of the path. The brilliant blue-white projectiles whizzed into the bushes, causing a few small fires, about the size of candle flames, to spring up.
"Wraith, stop it!" Zane said with mock anger as Wraith continued to fire off blue-white embers, giving the greenhouse an unnatural ambience. He turned his attention to Curtis, trying not to grin as he saw the Gym Leader's eye begin to twitch out of control.
"I'm sorry," Zane said, trying his best to sound hopeless despite an urge to laugh. "He just won't listen to me!"
His façade quickly changed to actual nervousness as he saw Curtis's eye abruptly stop twitching. An evil-looking smirk appeared on the Gym Leader's face, a smirk made all the more unsettling by the light generated by the flames.
"An enjoyable game, Zane," Curtis said coldly. "However, I'm afraid I'm quite done with it." He pointed into the trees and began barking orders.
"Shiftry, use razor wind to put out the fires whenever and wherever Wraith lights them! As for you, Lotad," Curtis replied, an unsettling smirk on his face, "Douse that little fire hazard's flame."
"What?" Zane stammered. "Wraith, get ready to dodge!"
Curtis's Pokemon acted simultaneously. A few leaves ruffled in the tree where Shiftry was hiding, a motion that was quickly followed by a gale of more than sufficient magnitude to snuff out the candle-sized fires that Wraith had managed to light. At the same time, Lotad spat forth a bullet of water roughly the diameter of a watch. Zane cringed and turned away as the water sped towards Wraith's back… and fizzled out in an inglorious jet of steam.
Zane looked back towards the battle. Wraith was standing a foot to the left of where he had been before, and there was no evidence that Lotad had even attacked.
This is great, Zane mused, but how…Whoa!
Zane fought to keep himself from gaping like an idiot as he realized that Curtis's strategy had backfired. The gale that Shiftry's razor wind had created had put out the small, weak fires that Wraith had started on Curtis's plants, but the fire on Wraith's back, which had been fair-sized to begin with, was now a blue-white pyre, nearly twice Wraith's size.
And if his fire's bigger, Zane elaborated hopefully, maybe his attacks are stronger, too!
"Use ember, Wraith!" Zane called. "Quick, before-"
But Wraith was already well underway. The flames on the Cyndaquil's back danced back and forth as he shot a blue-white sphere of flame from his mouth. Curtis cringed and muttered (something about acting too rashly) as the sphere engulfed Lotad, setting the Water Weed Pokemon's entire body on fire. For a couple frantic moments, Curtis's Lotad ran back and forth, screaming out piteous cries of pain. Then, it fell to the ground, still smoldering.
Helen's eyes widened. Miles stifled a gasp.
Curtis walked over to Lotad and dropped to his knees, muttering an order to Shiftry, who bounded out of his tree and down the greenhouse path.
"Wraith," Zane said, eyes wide, "take it easy. We don't wanna kill anyone!"
"Wraith, take it easy. We don't wanna kill anyone!"
Why not? Wraith thought to himself, staring at his trainer. It wasn't his fault that that pathetic little lily pad's entire body was on fire. Well, at least not entirely. That Shiftry's razor wind was partly responsible for that. Besides, Zane had given him the order to attack. Not that it mattered whose fault it was. The battle was won. Did he regret that now?
A splashing sound and a few pained coughs caught Wraith's attention. He didn't bother to look at Curtis; he knew what sort of scene was unfolding: the Shiftry had brought a bucket of water to extinguish Lotad. Curtis was probably joyful now, but he would punish it later.
So what if I almost killed that weakling, Zane? Wraith asked, staring at his trainer as he returned to his poke ball.
That's what weapons are for...
"Well," Curtis said, returning Lotad to its poke ball, "now that that's out of the way, I must congratulate you, Zane. The strategy you employed was almost as intricate as one I might use myself."
"You know it!" Zane said importantly. "I slaughtered you!"
"True, true," Curtis admitted. His voice was unusually humble, almost broken.
"Does he usually gloat like this?" Miles whispered to Helen.
"Well, I've never seen him in this kind of situation, but I imagine so," Helen muttered back.
"Hey, do you guys mind?" Zane asked, annoyed at the background noise. "I'm still telling this jerk off!"
"Not at all," Helen said, smirking. "Please, continue."
"Thank you," Zane said through gritted teeth. He turned back to Curtis and launched into what he hoped would sound powerful.
"It just goes to show you, Curtis, that concepts like…"
Zane turned to Miles. "What would be a good term for this?"
"Poetic justice?" Miles offered.
"Right, thanks." Zane turned back to Curtis again.
"It just goes to show you, Curtis, that concepts like 'poetic justice' work in the real world, too. You may have thought you could beat me by using underhanded tactics and deceptive strategies, but you never understood that no amount of trickery can stand up to rock-hard integrity, a thorough understanding of your opponent-"
"Which he had, by the way," Helen interrupted.
"Shut up!" Zane said. "Anyway, Curtis, you calculated for all the factors but one: your own temper."
"You've got me there," Curtis said.
"I went prepared to face my weaknesses," Zane lied, his voice rising in an attempt to build dramatic suspense. "And that's why I am-"
"You do know, of course," Curtis interjected, his same smug tone returning as he rose to his feet, "that I'll expect you to pay for damages."
"DAMAGES?" Zane yelled in surprise. "Damages to what?"
"Damages to my Gym, of course," Curtis said with glib sarcasm, kneeling to inspect a corn plant. "Look at these burns," he said, with rehearsed care. "This poor plant won't be growing anything for a long time. How am I going to provide corn to feed myself and my Pokemon? And what about my poor Lotad?"
"Look, I'm sorry!" Zane said. "But I don't have any money, okay?"
"In that case," Curtis replied, "I'll just deduct it from your winnings."
"Wait," Zane said, "so, I won something?"
Miles sighed. "How ignorant are you? If you win a battle with a Gym Leader, you get a cash prize and the Gym Leader's badge. That's pretty much the whole point of battling in Gyms in the first place!"
"Oh," Zane said.
"Anyway," Curtis said, "congratulations, Zane. I can get your money for you later, but here's your Limb Badge." He pressed a small piece of metal shaped like a tree branch into Zane's hand.
"Thanks, I guess." Zane replied.
"You know," Curtis mentioned, "if you've got the skills to beat me, you should consider challenging the other Gym Leaders. There are seven others in various towns around Doren. They should prove to be an interesting challenge, even if most of them don't use as… original tactics as I do."
"'Original'?" Zane muttered. "You mean 'underhanded'."
"No," Curtis asserted, "I mean 'original'. In any case, you should really give it a try, Zane. It would be a shame to waste what talent you have."
"Alright," said Zane. "Where's the next one?"
Zane stuffed the map Miles had given him into his bag, which was sitting on a chair in the library. Zipping up the bag, he turned to Miles.
"Well, Miles, thanks for the help," he said.
"Yeah," Helen added, rising from her seat, "and thanks for letting us hang out in here."
"I guess we owe you one," Zane added, slinging his backpack over his right shoulder and fumbling with the left strap as well as he could. When he had finally gotten it on, he and Helen walked to the door, with Miles and Mr. Dure, who had come back to the library, following them.
"Well, see ya lat-"
"Do you mind if I take you up on that?" Miles blurted.
"Huh?" Zane asked.
"You said you owed me," Miles said. "I'll take you up on that. Let me come with you! It won't take me long to get-"
"Nice try, Miles," Mr. Dure said sternly. "You've still got a debt to work off. There's no way you're leaving now."
Miles turned to Mr. Dure, an expression of surprise on his face.
"Mr. Dure, don't tell me you'd let me pass up this opportunity!"
"Opportunity to do what?" Mr. Dure asked accusingly, jabbing a finger at Miles. "Slack off?"
"Come on," Miles said, pointing at Zane with an expression of awe. "I felt something during this kid's fight with Curtis, and I can tell you, he's going places! He might be embarking on an incredible journey! It could very well be the next great story! But it will all be for nothing if no one is there to chronicle it!"
Miles paused for a second, looking at the astonished expressions on Mr. Dure and Zane's faces before continuing.
"Let me go with these guys so I can record their story. I promise I'll work my butt off when I get back. The world can't afford to lose an opportunity like this!"
By now, Mr. Dure seemed truly touched.
"All right, Miles," he said, "you can go with them. And if you bring back a manuscript of what happens to you, I'll even take some time off your debt."
"Thanks, Mr. Dure," Miles said earnestly. "You're doing the right thing."
He turned enthusiastically to Zane and Helen.
"Well, let's get going!"
Zane, trying to contain a grin, walked off, with Miles and Helen following. When they were away from the library, Zane turned to Miles.
"Hey, Miles, did you really mean everything you said?"
"Not a word of it," Miles said with a straight face, ignoring Zane's suddenly crestfallen expression. "But anything's better than staying at that library!"
Helen laughed. "I figured. You're an amazing liar, Miles."
"Thank you both for crushing my self-esteem," Zane said, annoyed. "Now, can we just get going?"
And with that, the trio left Jade City.