Chapter 12
Battling for a Room
It looked to be about high noon when I walked out of the Ecruteak gym, with Pichu on my shoulder. I smiled as I pinned the twelfth badge on the inside of my leather jacket, making it my fourth badge in the Johto league.
"Not to bad, aye Pichu?" I motioned to him on my shoulder. "In two weeks we have earned four badges. That means we have about four and a half months to finish the gyms, register, and then train for the league. Speaking of training." I put a finger to my chin. "We really haven't been training, have we? All we have been doing is running as fast as we could to the next gym." I looked around, taking in the scenery. "Maybe we should take it easy for a while. I mean, if we completed half of the gyms in less than a month, and we have over four months left, then we have plenty of time to rest. What do you think, Pichu?"
"Pi! Pi!" He smiled happily as he ran from one shoulder to the other, accidently putting pressure on the arm that Kabutop's cut only moments before.
"Arrr…" I winced. "Hey, Pichu, could you stay on the other arm, bud?" I watched as he slowly went to the other shoulder and sat down soft. "Yeah, first things first, I need to have that checked out." I looked around the area. From the gym I could see a dance club, a local bar, a few houses, homes, yards, and parked cars, a Pokemart and a Pokecenter. Wow, no hospital. I guess the Pokecenter will just have to do.
***_-Scene Change-_***
When I walked in the Pokecenter everything seemed so… quiet. The TV in the lobby wasn't on, nor was the radio, or even the digital phones and computers. To top it all off, not even the Nurse Joy was there.
"This is so odd." I said as me and Pichu looked around the room. He ran down my shoulder, hopping on the counter and looking behind it, but nothing. He then walked over to the little bell that was beside us on the counter top. He lifted up his little paw as he pushed down on the bell.
"DING!" It chimed. At first it scared him, he had never rang one of those before. I stood there and watched as he rang it again. "DING!" I watched him look around, seeing no one else but us. A smile went across the little rodent's face and he began feverishly jamming his little paw down on the bell. "DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! DING-DING-DING-DING-DING-DING-DING!"
"Okay!" Nurse Joy yelled from the back. "I get it, I'm coming I'm coming!" She emerged from the back hallway, which lead to the trainers rooms. She walked up, sliding behind the counter as she adjusted her skirt and finished buttoning up her shirt that was draping open enough to show some cleavage. "I'm sorry about that." She said when her shirt was fixed. "I was um… busy, in the back."
"Umm… okay…" I looked at her questionably. "What exactly were you busy doing?"
"Me." I heard a familiar voice that came from the hall. I looked up, almost surprised. I don't know why. I saw Ricky standing next to the hallway, leaning up against a wall.
"Aaaaa…" Joy sighed, as she began to eye Ricky up and down.
"Ahem!" I coughed, redirecting her attention. "I need your help Nurse Joy. I got hurt in a pokemon match and I didn't see a doctors office around, so could you take a look at my cut." I took off my jacket and laid it down beside Pichu on the counter. "I don't think it's anything serious, I just want to make sure that its cleaned out and doesn't get infected."
Her gaze slowly went from Ricky to me and then back to Ricky, almost as if she wasn't paying attention at all to my injury. "Yeah, that looks good… real good."
"My cut looks 'real good'?" I questioned. "That's almost like saying 'He's dying better than I expected'!"
"Oh, I'm sorry." She said, as she really looked at my cut this time. "It doesn't seem to be very deep, but I'm going to have to put some alcohol on it to clean it out." She reached under the counter, putting out a little vial of clear liquid and a cotton swab. She dipped the swab in the vial and then placed it on my arm. "This is going to hurt."
I must say, it didn't hurt very bad at all. Back home, well… sort of home, all we ever had in the way of medicine things around the house were rubbing alcohol, Tylenol, and salt. That was our cure-all for everything, and with me getting into fist fights almost everyday with my older brother, needless to say, I grew used to the burn of alcohol or salt on an open cut.
"Alright. All done!" Nurse Joy beamed happily. "The bleeding had already stopped, so just make sure to keep it clean until it heals, but you should be fine." Her attention then directed over to Ricky. "I think I should get back to work." She said with a wink.
"Sorry, Babe." Ricky smiled cockily as he walked over to me, placing a hand on my back. "This guy is Kyle, the one I was telling you about."
"Really?" The Nurse Joy then looked at me. "You are 'the' Kyle Gray?"
"Why does everyone ask me that?" I rolled my eyes as I turned to walk out.
"Oh, please don't leave!" Joy said from behind the counter.
"Sorry, but I cant sand to be in one place too long." I spoke as turned to face her, only to see that she had her arm around Ricky.
"Please don't leave!" She said, clinging to him. "I… I love you!"
"Sorry, Babe." Ricky put a finger to her chin. "You're sexy and all, but I'm not ready to settle down just yet."
"Oh brother." I rolled my eyes as I walked out, jacket slung over my shoulder with Pichu sitting on my head.
***_-Scene Change-_***
I was outside, scanning the area when Ricky came up behind me. "So what's going on, champ?"
"What is your deal?" I barked at him. "I don't know if I don't show it enough or if you're just stupid, but I hate all the attention that comes with being famous!"
"What are you talking about?" Ricky laughed. "It's great! I don't know how you couldn-"
"I just don't!" I cut him off. "Listen. I hate womanizers, I hate stupidity, I hate liars, I hate con-artists, thieves, people who think with their reproductive organs and people who have no morals. And you know what's strange, Ricky?"
"What?"
"You are every one of those things balled up into one giant mass of teenage testosterone!" I glared at him. "Now listen here, it is apparent that I can't get you off my trail, so if you're going to follow me I want the lying to stop. I also want you to speak nothing of me being a 'pokemon master', or saying that I'm 'The Kyle Gray'. Everything else I can pretty much tolerate, but don't you ever, EVER say that again. Do you got that?"
"Sure…" Ricky tilted his head down, looking at his feet. "I guess I'm sorry Kyle." I heard him whisper. It almost sounded like he choked when he said it. "So…" He spoke up. "Where to next?"
"Well, I wanted to stay here for a little while." I said, looking over to dance club building. "I have been running along so fast that I'm not having any fun, or even training for that matter."
"Alright, so do you want to go back to the Pokecenter?" Ricky asked. "You know, so we can get signed in and stay here for free?"
"Well, I WOULD have liked to do that, but some one kinda ruined that for me." I glared at him.
"Hey, I said I was sorry." He looked down again, and then back up. "Hey, I did get some info from that Joy." He snapped his finger. "Yeah! She said that if you can win a fight against the Kimono Girls then they will give you a free day and night stay at their dancing club."
"You mean that?" I pointed over to the large building near the left side of town.
"I guess so." He shrugged. "I couldn't tell you. The first thing I did when I showed up here was… well…" He looked over at me, but didn't finish the sentence as I glared at him again.
"Well, heck. Why not?" I said standing up. "Lets go get us a free day and night over there.
"Pi! Pichu!" Pichu held up a fist as he sat on top my head.
"Can I come too?" Ricky asked.
"Like I can stop you." I laughed. "Even when I skip town on you, you still catch up to me… somehow."
***_-Scene Change-_***
When we walked into the dancing club we saw people sitting around watching as these six girls in kimonos dancing in true Japanese style. They twirled their bodies around, dancing with foldout fans in front of their faces. We pulled up a chair, sitting down in the dim lit room around a round table.
"Hey." Ricky said, tugging on a waitress's skirt. "Cold beer."
"A beer?" I looked over at him. "Are you even old enough for that?"
"Sure I am." He kicked back. "As long as it's a waitress and not a waiter."
I rolled my eyes, looking back at the women that were dancing on the stage. Smoke started to rise from the floor and cover the stage as I saw six pokemon silhouettes jump out of the women's pokeballs on their side. I saw them, and noticed right away what they were. There was a Vaporeon which shot out a mist of water, a Jolteon who sparked electricity into a nearby strip of light which lit up, a Flareon who shot flames into the mist, creating more steam and fog, an Umbreon who covered the room in a dark pulse, which made the lights seem even brighter, an Espeon who used a physic attack which made all the haze have a purple cast, and there was one more that I had never seen before. The sixth silhouette jumped up on a dark pedestal, hidden behind the haze. It had something on its head, something that waved in the slight breeze that was created from the other five attacks around it. The figure started to glow, omitting light, which was brighter than the lights that Jolteon was pumping electric into. I watched curiously as the figure then formed the light into a ball, forcing it out into a bright beam that shot out of an open window, clearing all the smoke and fog form the room when it did. But when the smoke was gone, so were the pokemon.
Everyone, including me, stood up and clapped as the women took a bow. They stayed like that for a moment before rising back up. "Thank you all." The eldest of the women said, which wasn't saying anything about her age, because she seemed to be no more than a twenty-five or so. "As with every day we will have an open challenge match for any volunteers. Winners will receive a free night's stay, valued at over $200, at our dancing club's motel rooms." The woman then raised her arms up to the crowd. "Are there any among you ready for the challenge?"
"I am." I stood, making everyone in the room stare at me. I saw a couple people turn around and then chuckle to themselves as the woman began to speak again.
"Please, come forth." She motioned, as the six made room for me on the dance floor. "In this battle you may use six pokemon, but you may not change out until your pokemon is knocked out, or unwilling to battle." She then waved her hand to the five women behind her. "My sisters and I will each use one pokemon. The winner will be decided when all of one party's pokemon are unable to battle. Do the rules sound fair?"
"Sure." I laughed to myself. I already know five of the pokemon they are going to use, that one I am unsure of, but that looked like it was a solar beam attack. If that's true, then I better save Arcanine for last.
"I will go first." The eldest girl said as she straightened her blue kimono. "Go, Vaporeon!" The pokemon leaped out of its pokeball, which was still attached to the girl's dress.
"Por…" The water fox purred as the dim lights in the large room made the water drops on her body glisten.
"Wow, its coat is so shiny!" I said looking at the Vaporeon. "You must have taken very good care of it."
"Why yes." The woman said. "My sisters and I take very much pride in the care of our lovely pokemon."
"I can see." I said, watching as the Vaporeon sat quietly waiting for the match to start. "Well, looks like you're up." I smiled as I look at Pichu who was sitting on my shoulder.
"Pi!" The little mouse smiled happily as he jumped off my shoulder, running onto the stage as he took a fighting stance. "Chu!" When he said this he put his little fist in front of him, almost like he was mocking Vaporeon. I heard a few people chuckle when he did this. I cant really tell if they are laughing at Pichu or the fact that I am using Pichu… but, it doesn't matter. I know Pichu will be more than a match for Vaporeon.
"We shall make the first move." The woman said as she took a bow. "Now, Vaporeon, use Quick Attack!"
"Pichu! Use-" But before I could finish Vaporeon had already made contact and had thrown Pichu into the air with the attack.
"Pi!" He cried as he hit the ground.
"Man, that was fast." I gritted my teeth. "Pichu! Use your Thunderbolt!"
"Evade with Quick Attack." She spoke calmly.
As Pichu began to charge up, a bolt of light came out from him, raising into the air, and then falling towards Vaporeon. Only moments before the attack landed, however, Vaporeon vanished into a Quick Attack, striking Pichu again and making him fly into the air.
I grit my teeth watching this. How can that thing be that fast? I watched as the Vaporeon stood from her attacking position to show a little spark that shot out of her shoulder, from where she hit Pichu. Wait… that means that Vaporeon took damage as well. That gives me an idea.
"Pi… Pi…" Pichu struggled to stand up. If this doesn't work then it will be over for Pichu.
"Vaporeon, I wish to finish this." The woman spoke. "Use your Take Down."
"Charge up with a Volt Tackle!" I said, not even a second before the woman spoke her attack.
Pichu began to charge as the Vaporeon ran after him. Pichu was covered in a bright light as the water pokemon slammed into him. The Electricity that Pichu had built up for the attack was transferred into Vaporeon as she made contact. Pichu flew into the air as Vaporeon fell to the ground, knocked out from the power of the super effective electricity that was surging through her body. But when Pichu hit the ground, he didn't move, he was knocked out as well.
"Well." The woman said, recalling her Vaporeon as I took Pichu up in my arms. "It looks as if it's a draw."
"That it does." I smiled, placing Pichu in a chair that was on the stage. "You did great little bud." I said as I pat him on the head.
"I shall be next." Said the dancer in the black and yellow kimono as she walked in front of me. "I am the second eldest of my five sisters, and as my pokemon, I choose Umbreon." I watched as the room went dark and then lit back up, showing a sleek black Umbreon, which looked like it appeared out of thin air.
"Wow, cool." I smiled. "I have an Umbreon as well, ya know?"
"Will you be choosing yours to battle mine?"
"Nah." I reached for a pokeball around my waist. "If I need too, I'll use him later, but for now I think I should train my other pokemon. Come on out, Quilava!"
I tossed out his pokeball, making him appear in front of Umbreon on the stage. "Quil!" He smiled happily.
"Um…" Umbreon snorted, as if it was annoyed.
"Quil?" Quilava tilted his head questionably, but then shook it off as he stepped back, getting ready for the fight.
"Since my sister began last," the girl said. "I will let you make the first move."
"Alright. Quilava, start it off with Roll Out!"
"Umbreon. Use swift."
Quilava started to roll up into a ball as he spun violently, which made the flames on his back cover him. He rolled faster and faster as Umbreon began to open its mouth. When Quilava started to charge Umbreon let out a stream of bright yellow stars. They were not very effective, but they did manage to slow Quilava down, making his attack not as powerful, but he did keep spinning. He rolled at Umbreon, sticking it hard, pushing it back a few feet as he rolled away, turning around for another Roll Out attack.
"That's right, build up the speed!" I smiled.
"Umbreon, use Dark Pulse on the ground." The girl said calmly.
"Great." I said sarcastically. She's using one of my tricks. Making her Umbreon to use an attack on the ground, making it fly into the air and dodging the attack, while, at the same time, leaving my pokemon left wide open. I would call back the attack, but its too late. Looks like the only thing I can do is try to evade her counter attack.
Quilava rolled closer to Umbreon, building up speed with every foot he advanced. Umbreon was covered in a dark energy as it forced a pulse of dark aura out of its body, which pushed it into the air, like I thought.
"Now, Umbreon." She grinned. "Shadow Ball."
"Quick Attack the wall!" I screamed as I saw the ball of dark energy leave Umbreon's mouth. The ball flew closer and closer to Quilava as he began to stand instead of roll. The attack was only inches away from him when he used his Quick Attack. He ran to the wall, jumping on it as he bounced off, striking Umbreon in the air, knocking it to the ground.
"Flame Thrower!" I called out.
"Last Resort." She said calmly.
'Last Resort'? What attack is that?
Quilava, still in the air, let out a massive stream of fire out of his mouth, shooting it at Umbreon. Umbreon stood strong, waiting for the attack to get closer. When it was close enough, it screamed a horrid scream, one that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. When it did, it was covered in an orb of lights of all different colors. The flames struck the orb, cutting though it, hitting Umbreon hard, but when the orb was broke, shattered pieces of light, almost like glass, scattered the air, and then flew into Quilava. Both pokemon fell to the ground, Umbreon, badly burned. Quilava was standing, barely, but he was.
"Quil… Quil… " He huffed.
"It seems as if I have been beat." The girl said as she recalled her pokemon, and the next girl stepped up.
"I will be your next challenge." She bowed, running a hand over her light purple kimono.
"Hey… um…" I said, looking over at my gasping Quilava. "I know you said that I'm not allowed to change… but…"
"Yes?" The girl asked.
"Well, my Quilava, its beat." I explained. "Even if I used him to battle you, it would be over before it even began. Please, let me change him out."
"I am terribly sorry, but the rules are the rules." She said as an Espeon stepped out from behind her. "If you do not fell comfortable with the rules then you should not have agreed to them."
"Pht…" I spat. "Aren't you cold?"
"I shall begin." She spoke, ignoring my last comment. "Espeon, use Psychic."
"Quilava, use Quick Attack to dodge!"
Quilava tried to run, but it was too late. A purple haze had already covered over him as he floated above the stage. Espeon's eyes were glowing a bright white as it lifted Quilava into the air, slamming him down on the floor hard, making the dance floor splinter. When the attack was over Quilava fell over, passed out.
"Now you may recall him." She spoke softly.
"Wow, thanks." I rolled my eyes. "I am glad that I have your permission to do so now." I recalled him with one hand, as I held another pokeball with the other. "Come on out, Slugma!"
"Impressive." The girl said, watching the silver Slugma look around the room. "I have to ask, where did you obtain that silver Slugma?"
"I found him right outside of Azalea Town. " I smiled.
"Curious. I never knew they were around that place. But, enough conversing. You may start this battle."
I nodded as raised my hand in the air, pointing at Slugma. "Slugma, use Harden!"
"Espeon, use Take down."
Slugma stayed where he was and concentrated on cooling down his lava body. Espeon, on the other hand, ran for Slugma with great speed. I have to be carful of what attacks I use with him. Espeon is much, much faster than Slugma could ever dream of being. Espeon built up speed and slammed into Slugma, but with Slugma using harden, it looked like Espeon did just as much damage to itself as it did to Slugma.
"Great!" I called out. "Harden, again!"
"Espeon. Use Quick Attack."
Slugma cooled his body temperature down more, which turned his body into a solid rock. Espeon ran at him, striking into him, but not being able to budge him at all. With him being almost a solid volcanic rock now, they both took damage from the attack.
"Now, Ember the ground and use Rock Throw!"
"Last Resort."
Slugma shot off an ember attack on the ground, forcing his rock body into the air while Espeon screamed, covering itself in an orb much like Umbreon did. Quilava began to spin while he was in the air, forming his body into a boulder as he flew into Espeon. He crashed through the barrier, shattering it like glass as he flew into Espeon. The left over shards of light struck into Slugma, bouncing off and then hitting Espeon. When the attack was over Slugma uncurled from his ball form and watched as Espeon fell to the floor, knocked out.
"Very well done." The girl said as she went to recall her Espeon, but when she did, Slugma was covered in a white light. I watched as he grew in size, almost five times over, and the lava on his back formed into a hard, stone shell. "And, congratulation." She added.
"Wow!" I said, looking at the purple Magcargo that sat in front of me. "He looks even cooler now than he did before! Right on Magcargo!"
"Mag!" He said in a deep voice as a purple flame shot out of his red shell.
"I will be next." A girl in a red and white kimono said as she took the stage. "My pokemon of choice will be Flareon."
"And I guess it's your turn to start." I smiled.
"That it is." She said as she took a bow. "Now, Flareon, use Sand Attack!"
"Magcargo, Ember!"
Flareon ran over to one of the sand bags that were holding down the curtains, cutting it open as it sprayed Magcargo with a wave of sand. Magcargo let out an Ember attack, but to my fear, the intense heat from the attack turned the falling sand into tiny shards of glass. When the chemical make up of the sand is heated it turns into a liquid form or molten rock, and almost as soon as it does, it cools, forming into glass. The glass pieces came down on him, sinking into his skin, tearing away at his lava body. The pieces of sand that the Ember attack didn't hit came down on Magcargo, and with him having a lava body, the sand quickly turned to glass, just like the last pieces. Flareon jumped back, watching as Magcargo was quickly covered in a sheet of glass.
"Magcargo!" I screamed, looking at him in the incased glass. "Magcargo! Hang on!"
"Finish this." The girl said to her Flareon. "Use your Hyper Beam."
"A Hyper Beam?" I gasped, watching Flareon open its mouth. Inside formed a bright white light as a massive beam shot out, striking Magcargo and instantly shattering the glass. Shards of glass sprayed everywhere as Magcargo fell to the ground, gasping for air.
"Hmp…" The girl said, raising up. "I am more lenient than the rest of my sisters, so I will give you the chance to withdraw your pokemon."
I looked at the Flareon, who was still in good health, as I saw Magcargo struggle to stand out of the corner of my eye. I guess I should withdraw him, one more attack like that and he's done for. I reached for his pokeball, holding it up as he started to glow with a bright light. It engulfed him and covered his body. When the light subsisted he stood there, almost 100% better. Was that a 'Recover' attack?
"Hm…" She smiled. "Looks like you do have some tricks up your sleeve. No matter though. Flareon, use your Take Down."
"Magcargo!" I screamed. "Harden, now!"
Magcargo's body slowly turned from a bright purple to a dull blue as its skin turned to a lava based stone. Flareon ran at Magcargo, almost as fast as a Quick Attack, striking him hard enough to push him back a few feet. They both took damage, but they both stood strong.
"Now, we finish this." The girl said as she closed her eyes. "Flareon, use Last Resort."
"And how did I know you were going to do that?" I asked sarcastically. From what I could tell, that attack doesn't do anything until the barrier is broken. So, I guess we just wont break it. "Magcargo, use Harden again!"
Both pokemon were covered in a light, but as Macargo's decreased, Flareon's only got brighter. It screamed, letting out an orb shape around it, much like the others did. They both stared each other down for a long time before the girl finally made her move.
"If you refuse to move, then I will. Flareon, use Take Down."
"Magcargo, Recover!"
Flareon, still covered in the orb, ran at Magcargo with great speed. Marcagro did his best to heal his body, but when Flareon reached him, it was all over. The orb around it shattered, slicing into both Magcargo and Flareon. The pure speed of the Take Down attack through both pokemon backwards. Magcargo struggled to stand, but couldn't, and collapsed on the floor, knocked out. Flareon, on the other hand, was able to stand, but didn't look like it could go on for very much longer.
I held Magcargo's pokeball in my hand, recalling him. I looked back at the girl and her Flareon as I readied my next pokeball. "I will give you the same option you gave me before." I said calmly. "If you want you can take your Flareon and go. It won't last much longer anyway, and I would hate for it to get hurt."
"I don't accept. I don't need your charity." The girl said with a smile.
"Eh, okay. Come on out, Kabutops!"
Kabutops appeared on the stage in a red light. He rose up, looking around at all the people, then back to me. A big goofy smile went across his face as his arms opened wide. "Buuuu-tops-tops-tops-tops!" He screamed happily as he ran for me, arms opened with giant razor sharp swords ready to close into and embrace.
"STOP!" I screamed, holding my hand out in front of his face when he got close enough. With that, he stopped running. He lowered his sword like arms as he looked at me so sad. His eyes filled with tears as a frown went over his face. "Hey come on." I said with a smile, patting him on the back. "You see those people?" I asked as I pointed off the stage. "They want to see a good show. Do you think you can give it to them?"
"Buu-tops-tops-tops!" He nodded with a big goofy grin and he ran onto the stage, looking at all the people. He held up his arms wide as he began to move his feet up and down. He balanced on one foot, then jumped to the other, waving his swords around as he nodded his head. "Buuu-tops tops! Bu-tops tops! Butops!" He sung and danced around on the stage.
I slapped myself in the face, watching as my prehistoric pokemon was making a fool out of me. "Kabutops!" I screamed, making him stop on one foot and look at me. "Get over here! Now!"
He walked over to me then tilted his head upside down, almost like an owl. "Bu?"
"Kabutops…" I took a deep breath. "They want to see you fight, not dance."
"Buuu…" He said, tilting his head back up straight.
"Now, they want you to fight that Flareon." I pointed over to it. "So get out there… AND DO AS I SAY!"
"Bu-tops-tops-tops-tops!" He said, running back out on the stage, still with a goofy grin on his face.
"Are we ready to begin?" The girl asked.
"Yes…" I focused.
"Good. Flareon." She pointed. "Use Take Down."
"Kabutops!" I said with a smile. "I think Flareon needs a hug. Can you help it with that?"
"Buuuuuuuuuu!" He screamed happily as Flareon ran into him with a Take Down attack, but when it did Kabutops opened his arms, giving Flareon a big hug as his blades cut deep into it's skin.
"Flare!" It screamed in pain.
"Kabutops! I think it said that it wants water!"
"Bu?" He looked back to me.
"Yeah!" I said with a smile. "Why don't you give it a good Water Pulse!"
"Buuuuuuu!" He smiled, happy to help.
"Flareon!" The girl called out. "Get away, now!" But it was too late; Flareon was trapped in the arms of the prehistoric pokemon. Kabutops opened his mouth, letting out a large stream of water all over Flareon. With the fire pokemon being so close, the attack knocked it out instantly.
When the attack was over Kabutops looked down at the passed out Flareon in his arms. He dropped it, poking it in the side. "Bu?" But when it didn't move, he got scared. He turned to me, tears in his eyes and he ran with his arms wide apart. "Buuu!" He cried.
"STOP!" I screamed again when he got close enough. "Now look Kabutops." I said, wrapping my arm around him. "Remember Haunter earlier today?" I asked. "The same thing happen to him, remember?"
"Bu?" He pointed to Flareon.
"Yeah, that's right. Flareon is just playing. She, its really asleep."
"Buuu!" His tears vanished as a smile can back across his face.
"Now go back out there." I said with a laugh.
"Butops!" He smiled as he ran back to the stage. By this time the girl had already recalled Flareon, and another girl stepped forward, wearing a yellow and white kimono.
"I shall battle you next." She said as she threw out a pokeball. In a red beam of light appeared a Joelton.
"Kabutops!" I laughed. "I think it wants a hug too!"
The girl didn't say anything or give any commands, instead she watched as Kabutops ran at her Jolteon. Kabutops opened his arms, embracing Jolteon and cutting his swords into its skin, but the spikes on Jolteon prevented them from going too deep.
"Now!" She spoke. "Thunder!"
"Oh no…" I gasped as I watched Kabutops and Jolteon become engulfed in a bright yellow light. Though Kabutops is a Water and Rock type, he was water first, so electricity does hurt him, though, not as bad as it would a regular water type pokemon. When the attack was over, however, the move did prove to be too much for the prehistoric pokemon to handle. The point blank range of the Thunder attack knocked Kabutops out cold. Jolteon jumped back, still in pain from the cuts of Kabutops's swords.
"You did great." I said recalling him. "But now, its time for my ace in the hole." I smiled, reaching for the pokeball around my neck. "Go, Arcanine!"
***_-Scene Change-_***
Richard made his way to the entrance of the large resort. He had left his car behind, about a hundred yards away or so, to make sure if anyone did see him, they wouldn't see his get away car.
He placed a finger on the intercom button outside of the large iron gate. "I am here regarding information on the whereabouts of Thomas Rogers." He spoke. The term of 'Thomas Rogers' had always been the code name for Team Rocket, even as far back as Richard could remember. If these people were the right people then they would know what he was talking about.
"Crrt…" The intercom crackled. "Ecnol-aged." A person with a French ascent spoke back. "Ve vill send ze information to you. Please, vait for us."
Richard waited outside of the gate for a few minutes, keeping his hand on the gun in his pocket the whole time. He looked up at the building. On the gate, the walkway, there were cameras everywhere. More than likely they were recording everything at every moment. "Great." He muttered. "That is going to make this even harder to pull off."
Minutes had passed by the time Charles stepped out of the resort, wearing his full Rocket Grunt getup. He didn't have very many badges or awards, but he was happy to finally be promoted, or, happy he thought he was going to be.
"Oh thank you so much for coming!" He began as he opened the door, grabbing Richard by the arm. "Please come this way, we have many thin-"
"Listen to me if you want to live." Richard said, pulling the gun out and putting it to Charles back as they walked down the walkway. "You are not getting promoted. Conner wants you dead."
"What?" He asked as a camera zoomed in on them walking. "Who are you?"
"Right now…" Richard said in a low voice. "Consider me your only friend. You are lucky Conner sent me and not someone else. I am Richard, second hand man to Conner, and head of the resistance."
"Head of th-" Charles screamed as Richard pushed the gun deeper into his back.
"Now listen to me." He said low as he eyed all the cameras. "I don't want to kill you, I want to save you, but if it means risking the resistance, I will not hesitate to follow out with Conner's orders. Do I make myself clear?"
Charles gulped and nodded.
"Good. Now, these cameras, is there anywhere where they can't see?"
"Yes…" Charles said as he opened the door to the resort. "In the kitchen freezer, there were never any cameras installed back there."
"Is that room bugged? Are their audio hook ups in there?"
"No, the only rooms with those are the resort rooms."
"Good." Richard exhaled. "Now, you need to take me to the freezer. That is the only chance you have to live."
Charles led Richard into the kitchen. The chef, though surprised, didn't say anything. Richard looked over at him, swinging his head around to the freezer, asking silently for the chef to follow them. Charles opened the door to the freezer, stepping inside and shutting the door when they all three were in there.
"Now listen." Richard started. "I don't know if you have heard about it, but there is a resistance going on right now in Team Rocket. Conner is out of control and is killing everyone and everything that gets in his way. Team Rocket is down, out numbered, and we have very few people left, the ones we do have left, want to leave." He put the gun down. "Conner has sent me here to kill you." He said, looking at Charles. "If I don't kill you, he will kill my wife. And it's not enough to say I did it either, I need proof that I killed you."
"Vi don't vunt to ve a part of this!" The chef raised his hands in defense. "Vy did you ving me back here? Vot can I do?"
"I had too." Richard explained. "When Conner watches these video's he will see that I left a witness, and might even catch on to my little plan. Besides that, I need you chef, and it will help you out too."
"Vow vill it help me?" The chef asked.
"Because by the end of this," Richard said calmly. "You will be a free man as well."
***_-Scene Change-_***
Arcanine stood strong as the girl called out for an attack. "Jolteon, use Take Down!"
"Arcanine! Bite and Flamethrower!"
Jolteon ran at Arcanine as he stepped out of the way, evaded Jolteon's blow. He opened his mouth, catching the little ball of spikes on the neck as he let out a massive stream of fire, which covered Jolteon instantly.
"Jolteon! Pin Missile!" The girl called out.
Crap! I didn't think of that. Jolteon's hair turned into little spikes as they shot out from its body, and with Arcanine holding it in his mouth, he was hit hard in the face by the attack. He let go of Jolteon, shaking his head, trying franticly to get the spikes out. Jolteon, badly burned, stood on the ground next to him as it charged up electricity.
"Arcanine!" I called out. "Dig!"
When Jolteon let out a Thunder attack at Arcanine he had already began to dig, getting rocks and dirt in his fur, which worked to ground out the attack. When the light from the thunder was gone all you could see was Jolteon and a giant splintered hole that went thought the wood stage and down into the dirt underneath the building.
"Perfect." I said with a smile. "Now come up with a Heat Wave!"
Arcanine jumped up from under the floorboards, striking Jolteon hard, but his attack wasn't over just yet. While still in the air Arcanine let out a wave of heat that was so hot it left black scorch marks on the dance floor. Jolteon was so badly burned by this point that it fell to the floor, knocked out. Arcanine landed back down, shaking the last of the spikes from his face.
"Impressive." The girl said. "If this were two weeks ago you would have won your prize."
I looked at her strangely. "What are you talking about?"
"The youngest of my sisters has recently acquired a new evolution of Eevee, and thus, has joined us as one of the 'Evolution Kimono Sisters'."
"That's right!" A girl in a green kimono said as she ran up behind her older sister. This girl was so young I would put money on it that she was no more than 12. "My big sisters told me that if I could find a new Eevee evolution that they would let me in their dancing club." She smiled as she put her nose up in the air. "So one day I heard a rumor that there were two new evolutions found in Sinnoh, so I went to check them out, and this is what I found." She threw out her pokeball. "Go, Leafeon!"
"Leafeon?" I asked as I saw the same silhouette as before stand in front of me. The pokemon was light green and resembled Eevee quite a bit. It had two giant leaves for ears, an even bigger leaf for a tail, and little leaves on its paws. "So, how did you get it?"
"Well, you see." The girl started. "I had an Eevee at one time, and my sisters said I couldn't join their club until my Eevee evolved into something they didn't have. The jerks tried to trick me, but I showed them! I started looking up stuff on the internet and it turns out that in Sinnoh there is this place where Eevees evolve into a Leafeon!" The girl squealed as she jumped up and down. "No one quite knew where it was, but I put all the clues together and found that they all had something in common, Eterna forest. So I went there, and bam! My Eevee evolved!"
"Hey, that's pretty cool." I said smiling at her. I'm going to have to give Bill a call later to see if he knows anything about this. This is pretty cool!
"Anyway." The girl said, taking a fighting stance. "Lets get on with it!"
"Sure." I chuckled. "You make the first move, I'm curious what moves that Leafeon knows."
"Alright! Leafeon! Start off with a Razor Leaf!"
"Arcanine…" I paused, watching as the Leafeon started to twist the leaves on its body around. "Try not to take too much damage."
"Arf."
Leafeon let out a scream as a wave of leaves shot from its body. The leaves flew vigorously at Arcanine, but Arcanine just stood there. To anyone other than me, it would have looked like the leaves were hitting him, but in actuality he was protecting himself with a mild Heat Wave attack that burnt all the leaves up before they even touched him.
"What? That did nothing!" The girl said surprised.
"Well, Arcanine is a fire type." I said. "Grass type moves have hardly any effect on him."
"Arr." She grit her teeth. "Then try this! Leafeon, use your Double Team!"
I watched as the Leafeon started to run around Arcanine in circles, going faster and faster until it looked like there were about thirty of it in the room. Little did she know that ever since Arcanine was just a Growlithe I have trained him to detected movement by hearing, not seeing. Even as the Leafeon goes faster and faster, Arcanine knows right where it is.
"Still not moving?" She asked. "Then I will! Leafeon! Finish this with Solar Beam!"
I smiled. Solar Beam is a two turn move, and with all the lights in here so dim, it might even take it three turns to build up enough energy. "Arcanine." I spoke. "Heat Wave."
All of the Leafeons in the room started to glow a bright white as it ran faster and faster. Arcanine, standing in the middle of the running pokemon, launched out a wave of heat, which scorched the floor even more. Leafeon, unable to evade the attack, was hit hard. Burns appeared on its body as it fell to the ground, knocked out.
"Oh no!" The girl screamed as she watched Leafeon fall to the floor. She fell to her knees, ashamed that she had lost, recalling her pokemon.
"Ahem!" The eldest girl coughed, regaining the attention of the people in the club. "Congratulations on bettering us in battle. As promised, your reward will be a free night's stay in one of our prized lodge rooms. You will have full 24 hour room service for the 24 hour period you will be staying, as well as access to our dancing quarters for free entertainment."
"That's Aw-esome!" Ricky yelled loudly in a slurred voice as he wrapped his arm around me, barely able to stand. He was drunk, very drunk, so much so I couldn't even fathom how he made it up the stairs to the stage to wrap his arm around me. "Ya' know…" He said as he looked at me with a glazed over look in his red eyes. "Yar' Lucky!" He then stumbled over to the eldest girl, checking her out, up and down.
"Do you know him?" The girl asked me as Ricky stared at her breast.
"NO! I have never met the guy in my life! You should have him thrown in jail!" Or, that's what I should of said.
"Yep!" Ricky said as he took another step closer to her. "Me and him go Waaaaaay back, babe'!" I slapped myself in the face as he kept talking. "And boy! I canst wait to get some of that's free entertain-ments you were talkin' abouts!" He then reached up and took one of her breast in his hand. "You know… you all are really hot! I would do EVERY one of ya'!"
I saw all the girls get red in the face, as well as all the people in the club. Everyone was mad, ready to jump Ricky and beat him to a pulp. Can't say I blame them though. But, I better do something quick before he causes more trouble. "Excuse me." I said as I placed a hand on Ricky's shoulder, him still groping the shocked girl. "I need to have a word with him."
I spun him around, taking him to the edge of the stage. He turned to look at me. "Whaz up?" He spoke, waddling from side to side.
With one quick motion I raised my fist behind me, shoving it into Ricky's face. The force of my punch bloodied his nose, as well as knocked him off the stage. He fell off; slamming into a table and breaking it in the middle, making it fall apart. After that he stayed still, lying on the floor, knocked out. "Now." I said, turning back to the girls. "How about that room?"
"Not over my dead body!" The eldest girl screamed.
"What?" I jumped back. "Why not? I just knocked him out for doing… that to you!"
""Well, you and that guy go 'way back' so who knows what you're trying to pull!"
"Are you really going to listen to a drunkin' fool?" I asked, pointing to Ricky.
"GET OUT!" She screamed. "Get out of my dance studio!"
"Studio? I thought this was a club."
"Get out and take your 'friend' with you!"
"Fine." I said, jumping off the stage. "Oh yeah, and your dancing sucked." I bent down to grab Ricky by the back of his shirt collar, and began dragging him out. "F.Y.I., waving a fan in front of your face isn't dancing."
"OUT!"
***_-Scene Change-_***
I threw Ricky on the ground outside of the PokeMart as I went in. I had already decided that I wanted to spend some more time camping out, training, getting to see the region, so I needed to get some supplies for the trip. The majority of my pokemon could hunt for themselves, but I still needed a lot of food.
I pretty much bought the store out, sealing all the stuff away into item holders, which I put in my bag. It was a pretty nice set up I had going on, I even labeled the item holders. I had so many it was really the only way to get around.
When I patched everything up there I headed to the pokecenter, putting all my pokemon up to heal but Umbreon as I started to switch my party up some. I might run into some water that I will need to get across. Well heck, even if I didn't, having a water type with me would help a lot. I went to the PC, opening it up to find that I had a new message. I read it.
Message From:
Debbie Gray
Subject: Retrieval Needed
Pokemon Number: 0942090 – Name: Arcanine – Transfer as reply to message.
"Yeah right!" I laughed. "She's off her rocker if she thinks I'm going to send her Arcanine." I closed out of the message, depositing Umbreon into the PC as I withdrew Gyarados. I closed out of the tab as I looked over to the videophone in the corner. There's something I wanted to check up on before I leave.
I walked over there, pressing the power button on as I plugged in the number. "555-876-6211" I waited as the phone rang once… twice… and third and fourth time… and then…
"Hello…" Bill said as he picked up.
"Hey bud!" I smiled as he rubbed his eyes, trying to get woken up.
"Kyle, is that you?" He asked.
"Yep, sorry about not calling in so long." I chuckled. "You know my mother, she keeps me locked up until I run away."
"I'm glad that you called, but," He yawned. "Do you know what time it is?"
"Ummm…" It's not that late, I can see the sun shining through the window. I looked to the clock on the wall. "Yeah, its 3:15… in the day. Why are you asleep?"
"Eh." He shrugged, sitting down in the seat in front of the phone. "Just got back from Johto. It's a 13 hour drive from here to Mahogany Town."
"Hey! You finally got your license?" I smiled happily.
"Oh yeah," He shrugged. "I've had it for two years."
"Really?" I asked. "How did you manage that? You are only about an month older than me and I just got mine about 3 months ago."
"Loopholes." He smiled as he brought up his laptop, from under the desk. He always carried that thing on him everywhere. But, I can't really blame him, that thing as several billion dollars in programming on it. "Turns out in the Kanto Region, as long as it is for work purposes, regarding a home business, a minor of at least 14 years of age can try for a license and legally drive the company vehicle."
"So let me guess, your company is the PC?"
"Something like that." He laughed. "So yeah, what are you into? I notice you're calling from Johto, Ecruteak, right?"
"Yep." I smiled. "I thought I would try my hand at the Johto League too."
"That's great!" He said. "It would be pretty cool for you to win another league."
"You heard about that?"
"Who hasn't?" He laughed again. "I think you are the only person to beat the popularity chart of one person ever since I invented the PC."
"Heh." I chuckled. "And to think, I was being cooped up this whole time."
"Cooped up?" Bill asked. "Oh yeah, your mom."
"Yeah."
"So, when did you start your Johto Journey?"
"About three weeks ago… I guess."
"So you're getting a head start on next year. That's pretty good." He said with a smile. "Not a lot of people go into it like that, most of the time people jump into it, which ends up being their downfall."
"Well…" I put a hand behind my head.
"Kyle, don't tell me." He looked at the screen. "Oh my gosh, are you really going to try to make it into this year's league?"
"I was going too." I smiled.
"Kyle! You have less than 5 months to get all the badges and make it up to the Indigo Plateau! I'm sorry, but that is impossible, even for you."
"I wouldn't say that." I said. "I'll have you know that before I left for Johto I retraced my steps in Kanto in less than a week, going to every large city there was." I watched as his jaw dropped, then I continued. "On top of that I already have four of the badges."
"That's nothing to brag about." Bill said. "I'm not doubting your skill, but the first four gym leaders in Johto are chumps. Everyone beats them, and I mean everyone." I hung my head. "But you should be fine, as long as you keep training your pokemon." When I didn't say anything he questioned me. "You have been training your new pokemon, right?"
"Well…" I looked away. "Um… I'm working on that…"
Bill didn't say anything, he just shook his head. "So, what's up, why did you call me?"
"Well, I just saw a new Eevee evolution today and I was wondering if you knew anything about it."
"Are you talking about that ones in Sinnoh?" He asked.
"Yeah!" I leaned forward. "The one I fought in battle was really cool. The girl said she trained it in a forest in Sinnoh and it evolved."
"Yes, I was actually up there last month." He said, typing away on his computer. "I have it all cataloged here. There are two new evolutions discovered in Sinnoh, Glaceon and Leafeon. Glaceon is an ice type, while Leafeon is a grass type. Though they are different types, the both evolve in a similar way. However, it is very rare. Some Eevees can evolve though a chemical that is released into the air that mixes with the hormones in their body. When this happens it induces a change, a mutation, if you will, which morphs the neuron receptors in the brain, causing it to change type and evolve. Turns out that there are two places that omit such chemicals into the air surrounding it. Now, not all Eevees can evolve this way, only about 1 in every 1000 can do it. Several colleges of mine were thinking about mating some of the rare evolutionary Eevees to raise the chances of chemical evolution. But, it's still undergoing several evaluations before it will be approved." He then looked back to the videophone. "Did that answer your question?"
"Oh.. uh, yeah, yeah." I nodded. I did listen to it, I understood it, but man, sometimes he can be so boring! "That is pretty cool!" I smiled. "But yeah, there was something else I needed to tell you, something I know you don't have data on."
"And what is that?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Well, I can't tell you over the phone, but go asked Professor Oak about it, tell him I said it is okay for you to know."
"Well, okay Kyle." He said, looking at me oddly. "Whatever you say."
"Yeah, well, I've got to get out of here." I smiled. "Lots of places to go, ya know?"
"Yeah! You take care!" Bill said. "Call me when you start to compete, I want to be there!"
"I sure will." I smiled. "See ya, Bill."
With that I clicked the monitor off. I kicked back rocking back and forth as I heard the door open from the ER room. I turned to see Pichu running to me. He jumped up, wrapping his arms around me. "Cha!"
"You look like you're doing better." I laughed.
"And here are the rest of your pokemon, Mr. Pokemon Master." The Nurse Joy said, handing me my tray of pokeballs.
"Thanks." I said, putting the balls on my belt. "But, really, call me Kyle."
I turned, heading out the door with Pichu on my back. I released Arcanine on the ground, slinging Ricky over his back as I pointed to west. "Through those woods, to Olivine City."