Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story!
Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga
Chapter Seventeen
Battle of Earth and Sky
In a strange twist of events, Rina ran into Erika when she went to the game corner. When she met up with Ashley, Ashley issued her challenge to Erika. Now, in Erika's gym, their battle is about to commence. Ashley and Erika were already standing on either side of the gym with Rina, Pippi, and Bulbasaur sitting on a bench off to the side. Rina seemed lost in thought, paying little attention to the battle about to commence.
The gym itself held a lot of plants, which were showered briefly before the match to help prevent a fire. There was an extensive system of showers in the ceiling as well, since fire pokemon would be common in Erika's gym. They had to be activated manually though so they wouldn't accidentally go off in the midst of battle. Two fire extinguishers, designed specifically for combatting fires started by pokemon, were attached to trees at the far end of the gym.
Trees and shrubs were scattered all long the edge of the gym, with one tree on each side of the bench Rina and Pippi were sitting on. The gym's battlefield was completely covered with grass, in spite of the intense battles that likely happen there routinely. A 4-inch concrete barrier formed a border around the perimeter of the gym, with a four inch, raised wooden platform at either end for the trainers to stand on.
"Since this would be your fourth badge, I assume you already know the rules. We will be using three pokemon each." Erika informed Ashley. Ashley nodded, that was one thing she knew already, and both trainers already had a pokeball in hand to start off the match with.
"-Why was I even released?-" Bulbasaur asked with a growl. "-She doesn't even plan to use me in this match! What am I supposed to do? Cheer her on?!-"
"-Well it wouldn't hurt you to do that, you know.-" Pippi said to him, nodding thoughtfully.
"-More than you'd know.-" Bulbasaur grumbled, shooting a look to Rina. Rina remained quiet, not in the mood to argue with him
"Let us begin! Vileplume, go!" Erika held out her pokeball and released her pokemon. A pokemon with bluish skin, short arms and legs, and a large red flower on its head appeared on the grassy field.
"Go! Pidgeotto!" Ashley released her pokemon as well, choosing to start off with the bird pokemon Pidgeotto. A red beam fired out from the pokeball as it opened up, materializing into Pidgeotto on the battlefield. Pidgeotto had a fierce look in his eyes.
"Vileplume, begin with Sleep Powder!" Vileplume leaned forward, tilting the large flower on its head towards Pidgeotto. In the middle of the flower was what looked like the opening of a tube, out of which came a cloud of green powder that floated through the air towards Pidgeotto.
"Pidgeotto, blow that powder back with Gust!" Pidgeotto began flapping his wings rapidly, kicking up strong gusts of wind. The wind was strong enough to knock Vileplume onto its back and easily scattered the powder so it wouldn't reach Pidgeotto.
"Vileplume's down, that gives us at least one more chance to attack..." Ashley thought. "Pidgeotto, stay back and use Swift!" Pidgeotto drew his wings back and then brought them forward, almost as if about to use Air Cutter but not bringing them together. Pidgeotto fired off several star-shaped rays as Vileplume was hopping back on its feet. Although still precariously balanced, it endured the attack and remained standing.
"Vileplume, distract Pidgeotto with Sweet Scent and approach it." Vileplume bowed its head again and released a pleasant fragrance into the air, directing it towards Pidgeotto. Vileplume began to slowly walk towards him as well, closing the gap between them.
"Pidgeotto, quick! Use Air Cutter!" Ashley called out frantically. She realized Erika was planning to follow up with another Sleep Powder now, Erika was simply making sure the attack would hit this time. Pidgeotto quickly brought its wings together, firing off an Air Cutter as he pulled them apart again. The blade sliced through the air, inches off the ground, and hit Vileplume head on.
Vileplume reeled back from the attack, but again managed to stay standing after the harsh blow. The fragrance it was emitting from its flower had finally reached Pidgeotto as well. The bird pokemon seemed as though it were in a trance, and would remain so until the smell was gone. It wouldn't leave Pidgeotto with any chance to block Vileplume's next attack.
"Now, Vileplume, we shall put it asleep! Sleep Powder!" Vileplume again lowered its flower towards Pidgeotto, releasing a green cloud of powder. Pidgeotto began to shake off the effects of Sweet Scent, but too late to make an effort to evade Vileplume's Sleep Powder attack. The powder landed on Pidgeotto, causing the bird pokemon to collapse onto its side fast asleep.
"Ok! Now, a Poison Powder attack!" Keeping its flower leveled at Pidgeotto, Vileplume launched another blast of powder. The purple powder that was launched from Vileplume's flower floated through the air towards the sleeping Pidgeotto. It soon landed on Pidgeotto, inflicting him with poison while he slept.
"Even poisoned, Pidgeotto shouldn't have any trouble with Vileplume." Ashley thought. "As soon as he wakes up, we'll hammer away with flying attacks. Vileplume shouldn't last too long that way, even if its a fully evolved pokemon..."
"Now, attack with Acid while you still can!" Erika called out, aiming to get in at least one actual attack before Pidgeotto woke up. Vileplume fired a purple blob out acid out of the same tube it had been releasing all its attacks from thus far. The purple blob hit the sleeping Pidgeotto, burning it as it landed on its body. Pidgeotto quickly woke up and jumped onto its feet, shaking it's body to get the acid off.
"Pidgeotto, strike back with Air Cutter, now!" Pidgeotto didn't hesitate even a second as Ashley called out the attack, quickly forgetting about the acid that had been on it and bringing its wings together. When Pidgeotto opened its wings again, a v-shaped air blade fired out and cut through the air as it made its way toward Vileplume.
"Now, quickly follow it with a Quick Attack!" Ashley was going straight on the offensive, calling out another attack before the first had even struck. Pidgeotto shot forward toward Vileplume, moving so quickly it could hardly be followed. It almost overtook its own Air Cutter, which struck Vileplume milliseconds before Pidgeotto did. Vileplume was sent into a spin from the double strike, falling flat on its face.
"Vileplume, another Sleep Powder!" Vileplume quickly released another burst of powder from its flower. Pidgeotto was directly in front of Vileplume after its Quick Attack and was unable to escape. The powder hit Pidgeotto, causing it to drop to the ground in front of Vileplume. Once Pidgeotto was down, Vileplume got back on its feet.
"Asleep again? This isn't good..." Ashley thought in dismay.
"Now that it is asleep again, lets use Stun Spore." Erika said to Vileplume. Vileplume leaned forward until its flower was touching the ground, nearly falling over itself, and sprayed a cloud of spores from its flower. Almost all of the spores landed on Pidgeotto, with the rest spreading over the ground around it. Pidgeotto was rendered paralyzed by the spores, not that one could tell while it was asleep.
"Now lets use Acid again!" While still keeping its flower on the ground, Vileplume fired a purple blob of acid. The acidic substance landed on Pidgeotto's body and a small trail of steam rose as it wreaked havoc on Pidgeotto's body. Pidgeotto woke up soon after and furiously shook itself to get rid of the acid. It nearly stumbled while doing so, due to paralysis.
"Pidgeotto, quick! Use Wing Attack!" Pidgeotto raised its wings back, holding them stiff, and quickly struck Vileplume. Vileplume was knocked back about a foot by the attack and its feet were knocked out from underneath it. Vileplume quickly flipped back onto its feet to stand up, but it clearly took quite a bit of effort from it. Vileplume was starting to grow exhausted from Pidgeotto's attacks and looked like it wouldn't be able to take another. Pidgeotto himself, however, was also looking a bit exhausted from the poison and repeated Acid attacks.
"Now, finish it with Quick Attack!"
"Vileplume, end this with Acid!"
Pidgeotto struggled to move to attack while Vileplume took aim at Pidgeotto again. Vileplume fired a blob of acid at Pidgeotto just as Pidgeotto was finally getting off its Quick Attack. Pidgeotto shot forward in a blur of movement, going through the acid and striking Vileplume. Vileplume staggered back from the blow and was knocked out.
Pidgeotto plummeted to the ground after hitting Vileplume as well, having actually been knocked out by the Acid attack. The momentum from its Quick Attack carried it through to strike Vileplume while unconscious. Both trainers recalled their pokemon.
"I must admit, your Pidgeotto is strong to endure such punishment." Erika said to Ashley.
"Pidgeotto's been through a lot, of course its strong." Ashley replied with a smirk. She returned Pidgeotto's pokeball to her belt, then took another one in her hand. "I wasn't expecting to go up against a fully evolved pokemon like Vileplume, though."
"Evolution makes a pokemon stronger, but a pokemon does not need to evolve to be strong." Erika likewise placed a pokeball back on her belt. "Victreebel!" Erika held up the pokeball she grabbed and released her pokemon. The yellow, bell-shaped pokemon she used earlier against the Hunters appeared on the field.
"-Hey! Thanks for your help before!-" Pippi called out to Victreebel. Victreebel acknowledged her thanks with a nod.
"Beedrill, go!" Ashley held up her pokeball and released her next pokemon as well, sending out Beedrill onto the battlefield. Beedrill appeared hovering over the field, its wings buzzing as they kept it aloft. Beedrill had its usual emotionless appearance, focused solely on the battle at hand and achieving victory for its trainer.
"-Mind filling me in on EXACTLY what happened before?-" Bulbasaur asked Pippi. "-I mean, you're evolved now, and little miss happy isn't being her usual self either. Is your not being a baby anymore driving her into depression?-"
"-Wh-what?!-" Pippi cried out in shock and quickly shook her head. "-No! Nothing like that! We ran into the hunters again...-"
"-I figured out that much.-" Bulbasaur muttered. "-We've run into them how many times now? So what made this time different?-"
"-The two we ran into had her parent's pokemon...-" Pippi replied remorsefully.
"-Oh...-" Bulbasaur decided not to pry further, he was starting to get the idea.
Rina overheard the two pokemon, but didn't really make anything of it. She lifted her gaze to see the two pokemon about to battle, but lowered it again with a sigh. "Ashley's so strong..." She thought. "I bet she wouldn't have broke down like that..."
"Beedrill, attack quickly with Aerial Ace!"
"Victreebel, attack Beedrill with Acid!"
Mirroring the final round of Pidgeotto and Vileplume's battle, Beedrill and Victreebel went on the offensive. Beedrill dove down towards Victreebel as it aimed its large mouth at Beedrill and fired a blob of acid at it. Beedrill disappeared as it shot forward with increased speed, skimming over Victreebel's Acid attack and then striking Victreebel with its stinger. Victreebel was knocked back, but quickly shot back up to stand on its base. Beedrill came to a stop just behind it.
"Victreebel, slow Beedrill with a Stun Spore attack!" Victreebel bent backwards so its mouth was aimed at Beedrill and released a cloud of spores. Beedrill was caught off guard by the attack, unable to make any move to avoid it. The spores landed on Beedrill's body and paralysis began to set in, causing Beedrill to almost fall to the ground and only barely managing to catch itself and hover only inches over the ground.
"Beedrill, shake it off and attack with Twineedle!" Beedrill took a moment to gather its strength, giving Victreebel time to turn around to face it. Beedrill brought its two foreleg-mounted stingers forward and flew towards Victreebel, stabbing it simultaneously with both. Victreebel staggered back but quickly bounced back into a standing position.
"Victreebel, now is your chance! Use Wrap and grab Beedrill!" Victreebel grabbed Beedrill with the two broad leaves on either side of its body, wrapping and squeezing it tightly in a bearhug. Two leaf-tipped vines wrapped around Beedrill as well to ensure it couldn't escape easily. Its wings and stingers were pinned, preventing it from attacking or fighting back. Being paralyzed would make it even harder for Beedrill to get free.
"Now, power up at your leisure with Growth." Erika commanded Victreebel. Victreebel focused while maintaining its grip on Beedrill, its body growing slightly as its special attack power increased.
"If Victreebel keeps using Growth, its grass attacks will get stronger and it'll actually be able to damage Beedrill with them..." Ashley thought. "Beedrill, try to use Fury Attack and break free of Victreebel's grip!"
Beedrill struggled to get its forelegs free for a moment while Victreebel powered up, but soon realized it was useless. However, Beedrill then remembered the stinger at the back of its body. It made a quick jab at Victreebel with its stinger, distracting Victreebel enough for Beedrill to overpower it and break free of its grip. Beedrill then pummeled Victreebel with a few more strikes from its forelegs before paralysis slowed its assault and forced it to back off.
"It broke free...then I hope you have enough power, Victreebel." Erika commented solemnly. "Victreebel, Giga Drain!" Victreebel reached out towards Beedrill with its two leaves, causing Beedrill to back away reflexively. Beedrill's energy started to leave it though, pooling into a stream of energy that flowed from its body and into Victreebel. It was a strong attack, due to Victreebel powering up, but Beedrill's poison and bug typing allowed it to resist easily.
"Beedrill, use Twineedle again!" Beedrill positioned its two stingers to attack, then tried to fly towards Victreebel. Its wings ceased flapping as paralysis set in, causing Beedrill to plummet to the ground instead.
"Victreebel, now is your chance to Wrap it again!" Victreebel nodded and moved towards Beedrill, reaching out with its 'tail' vine and leaves as it approached. Victreebel's vine began to wrap around Beedrill's body, but Beedrill found itself able to move again and stabbed Victreebel with its twin stingers. Victreebel let go and staggered back from the attack.
"Ok, lets finish this with an Aerial Ace now, Beedrill!" Beedrill began to fly up, gaining altitude for its Aerial Ace attack.
"Victreebel, do not allow it to get off so easily. Giga Drain!" Victreebel reached out towards Beedrill as it took off into the air and a green stream of energy flowed from Beedrill and into the plant pokemon. It was another strong attack that Beedrill managed to shrug off and flew up. Though Beedrill was slowed by Victreebel's attack and the paralysis inflicted on it, it was soon high enough to attack.
Beedrill dove straight down toward the ground in front of Victreebel in a steep dive to gain speed. It then leveled off its attack at the last moment and pushed forward with a sudden burst of speed to strike Victreebel. Beedrill slashed Victreebel with its right stinger as it moved past the grass pokemon in a blur of movement. Victreebel staggered back and collapsed, knocked out by Beedrill's Aerial Ace attack.
"I dislike bug pokemon, but your Beedrill is certainly quite the fighter..." Erika complimented Ashley as she recalled her Victreebel.
"Thanks, but your pokemon are really putting up a fight." Ashley replied. Erika smiled lightly at this.
"Then no doubt you will find my final pokemon interesting. I have, afterall, saved my strongest for last..." Erika placed Victreebel's pokeball on her belt and took another in hand. She held up the pokeball and called out her pokemon's name as she released it. "Tangela!" A mass of vines wearing a pair of red shoes appeared out on the battlefield. From within the middle of the vines, a pair of eyes peeked out.
"Does Ashley even need me?" Rina wondered as she watched another round of battle unfold. "She has so many strong pokemon. She could rescue my parent's pokemon without breaking a sweat. Maybe I should just go home and let her handle everything..."
"So thats a Tangela, huh?" Ashley said to herself. She had heard about the pokemon before, but from some rather questionable sources. "Ok, ready Beedrill? Attack Tangela with Twineedle!" Beedrill focused on Tangela and brought its two stingers together as it flew towards it.
"Tangela, brace yourself with Ingrain!" Tangela detached two vines from its body and dug them into the ground. Under the soil, it even tied the ends together to remain fully stationary. Beedrill's stingers stabbed into Tangela's body shortly after it used Ingrain, knocking it back. Its rooted vines kept it from moving more than five feet from where its vines were rooted.
"-Man, that thing is giving me the creeps...-" Bulbasaur commented, watching Tangela. "-I mean, geez, its nothing but vines!-"
"-You're a grass pokemon too though, why would that creep you out?-" Pippi asked Bulbasaur curiously.
"-How would you feel if you ran into a pokemon made entirely of electricity with only a pair of eyes visible?-" Bulbasaur asked her in response. Pippi blinked slightly as she thought this over and decided to drop the topic. Such a pokemon would be incredibly bizarre to her, afterall.
"Tangela won't last too long against Beedrill's attacks." Ashley thought to herself with a smirk. "Ok, Beedrill! Twineedle again!" Beedrill moved forward to attack Tangela again, but paralysis set in and brought Beedrill crashing into the ground.
"Tangela, use Sunny Day now!" Tangela's body emitted a warm glow as it sent up a ray of light from its body towards the gym's ceiling. A false sun formed over the gym, bathing the battlefield in an intense sunlight.
"Beedrill, try again with Twineedle!"
"Tangela, dodge and attack with Vine Whip!"
Beedrill got up and shook off its crash landing, then leveled its gaze at Tangela and took off again. Tangela was ready for it though and easily jumped to the side, moving as far as its rooted vines would let it while extending another pair of vines and grab Beedrill as it flew by. Tangela then used its vines to direct Beedrill into the ground, sending it crashing down again.
"Now, Tangela, grab it with Constrict and drain it with Giga Drain!" Tangela landed from its jump and extended more vines to grab Beedrill, wrapping around it and squeezing tightly. Tangela followed up the attack using Giga Drain and started draining Beedrill's energy from it while still latched onto it. Beedrill was starting to look pretty weak while Tangela had managed to recover from any damage inflicted on it up until then.
"This Tangela is trickier than I thought..." Ashley admitted quietly. "Ok then...Beedrill, break free and attack with Aerial Ace!" Beedrill broke free from Tangela's grasp rather easily, just by extering force on Tangela's vines. Its grip had weakened after the initial squeeze. Beedrill took into the air, slowly rising up and distancing itself from Tangela to set up for Aerial Ace.
"Tangela, strengthen yourself with Growth." While Beedrill was setting up for an Aerial Ace attack, Tangela used Growth to power up and its body expanded almost unnoticeably. Beedrill dove down towards Tangela, wasting no time when it was finally set up. It started to pull up as it neared the ground to skim across it and fly past Tangela, slashing across Tangela's side with one of its stingers. Tangela was knocked onto its side from the attack, but quickly recovered. Its speed being enhanced by the Sunny Day effect.
"Now you can finish it off, Tangela. Giga Drain!" Tangela pointed two of its vines at Beedrill and absorbed its energy from it. A green stream of energy flowed from Beedrill and into Tangela, but it was short lived as Beedrill had little left. Beedrill fell to the ground as its strength was drained completely and would not be getting back up. Ashley held out Beedrill's pokeball and recalled it.
"That Tangela is pretty maneuverable for being anchored down, and tough too." Ashley thought to herself as she placed Beedrill's pokeball on her belt. She had one pokemon left, but she felt she had saved the best for last as well. "I've still got a huge advantage with my last pokemon thought!"
Ashley took another pokeball in hand, containing the only pokemon left she could use in the match. "Charizard, go!" Ashley held out the pokeball and pressed the button on the front. The pokeball opened up and a red beam fired out, materializing into a fierce looking dragon pokemon that looked as though it were suffering from a bad case of eczema.
"Another Charizard..." Erika thought, frowning. "Tangela has little chance against such an opponent...though there appears to be something wrong with this one. I wonder if its at full strength?"
Erika could recall her last battle with a Charizard, belonging to Red. Though he used three pokemon against her - an Eevee, Pikachu, and Charizard - she reasoned he only needed Charizard. Even his Pikachu and Eevee proved themselves to be very tough competition, taking down a pokemon each before Red recalled them, his Charizard would have beaten all three of her pokemon without breaking a sweat.
"Ok, getting close gives Tangela the chance to attack, so we'll stay back!" Ashley thought. "Charizard, attack with Ember!"
"An Ember attack? Surely it could use Flamethrower?" Erika wondered. "Tangela, dodge and use Sunny Day!"
Charizard reared its head back and spat out a fireball as it came forward again. Tangela quickly hopped to the side of the attack, causing it to miss completely and hit the ground behind where Tangela was rooted. Tangela's body then emitted a warm glow as a beam of light fired straight up. The false sun already hanging over the gym emitted a flash of light as its strength was renewed.
"She sure is intent on keeping that Sunny Day in effect..." Ashley thought to herself. "Of course, Tangela's been able to dodge quite a bit with that increased speed and staying on the defensive...I need to overwhelm it somehow."
"Charizard, lets try a more direct approach! Metal Claw!" Charizard charged towards Tangela on foot, raising his right claws back as he approached. Charizard's raised claws appeared to turn to metal as he prepared to strike. As Charizard slashed down towards Tangela, though, the plant pokemon swiftly sidestepped his attack. It had more than enough time to prepare itself to do so, and now Charizard was within melee range.
"Is she holding back? Or is her Charizard not capable of using more powerful attacks?" Erika wondered, curious as to why Ashley wasn't using Flamethrower and Wing Attack. "Tangela, use Poison Powder to weaken it!" Tangela sprayed Charizard with a blast of poisonous powder that came from within its vines. Charizard gave an agonized growl as the poison began to set in.
"Ok then, we'll try concealing our attacks!" Ashley thought. "Charizard, use Smokescreen!" Charizard opened its mouth and breathed out a thick cloud of smoke which soon surrounded itself and Tangela, concealing both pokemon from view.
"Perhaps she is being overly cautious?" Erika thought, then shook her head. "No. There's no reason to think that, based on the previous battles. So why..." Erika stopped and shook her head, realizing she was losing focus on the battle.
"Tangela, we will take this time to strengthen you. Growth!" Tangela nodded and appeared to grow slightly. Its body expanded almost unnoticeably in response to an increase in Tangela's power.
"Ok, now we can hit it for sure! Ember, Charizard!" There was a pause after Ashley called out the attack, followed by an orange flash from within the smoke. The smoke dispersed slightly, revealing that Tangela had been hit head on by the fireball. As the smoke dispersed, Charizard's head became visible as well.
"Tangela, strike back with Giga Drain!" Tangela pointed two of its vines at Charizard and began to draw energy away from him. A stream of energy flowed out of Charizard's body, moving from the fire pokemon and into Tangela through its two vines. Charizard grunted slightly in pain, feeling the attack more than he would normally thanks to the poison.
"Ok, lets go strong now! Iron Tail!"
"Tangela, block and evade with Vine Whip!"
Charizard raised his tail and turned sideways to bring it down on Tangela. Charizard's tail whipped through the air, taking on a metallic appearance as it came down towards Tangela. Tangela quickly lashed out with two vines, grabbing Charizard's tail and using his tail to pivot itself to the side of Charizard's Iron Tail, all while still remaining well within range of its rooted vines.
"Now, Tangela, attack with Giga Drain again!" Tangela kept its vines latched on to Charizard as it began draining energy away. Charizard growled in pain as it felt its strength being sapped away from it and into Tangela's body, restoring Tangela's strength while Charizard was looking weaker and weaker.
"This isn't working...I need to do something about Tangela's vines..." Ashley thought. Looking at Tangela's vines, a rather obvious idea came to mind and she mentally slapped herself for not thinking of it sooner.
"Charizard, Iron Tail again! This time, swing hard from the side!" Charizard spun around, pulling his tail free of Tangela's grasp and quickly slamming it into Tangela as he came back around. Tangela was knocked back hard, flying several feet toward Erika's end of the gym before suddenly, and harshly, being slammed into the ground. Its rooted vines were still holding it down, though its grip had weakened severely. Tangela was left stunned briefly from being slammed into the ground, long enough for Charizard to attack again.
"Charizard, follow up with Iron Tail one more time!" Charizard spun around again while his tail maintained its metallic appearance. Tangela was getting back on its feet when Charizard's tail struck it again, hitting it towards the eastern wall of the gym. This time, Tangela's grip didn't hold. The powerful blow knocked Tangela straight into the wall of the gym. Tangela hit hard and then fell to the floor in a heap.
Despite being hit so hard twice in a row, Tangela was slowly struggling back to its feet. It was heavily damaged, but so was Charizard. As poison continued to take effect on Charizard an orange glow surrounded his body briefly, accompanied by an increase in the height of its tail fire as Blaze activated. Above the gym, the light from the false sun was beginning to dim.
"Ok, if we're going to finish this, we have to do it now!" Ashley thought, her eyes focused in a look of determination. "Charizard, end this with an Ember attack!" Charizard opened its mouth and quickly formed a rather large fireball, larger than normal for an Ember attack.
"Tangela, quick! Finish it with another Giga Drain!" Tangela raised its vines to drain energy from Charizard, but was too slow and too far away. Charizard released the fireball, sending it flying across the gym and striking Tangela in a fiery burst as the sun finally faded. Tangela collapsed again, this time knocked completely unconscious.
"It seems you have won, then." Erika commented. She recalled Tangela and peered across the gym curiously at Ashley as Ashley likewise recalled her pokemon.
"Great job, Charizard! Lets get you in your pokeball before that poison can do any more damage." Charizard nodded in agreement, allowing Ashley to recall him and return his pokeball to her belt. Erika calmly crossed the battlefield to approach Ashley.
"It was a good match, Ashley, but if I may ask...why didn't your Charizard use Flamethrower or Wing Attack?" Erika asked her. "They are standard attacks for a Charizard, are they not?"
"Its...a long story..." Ashley replied, rubbing the back of her head.
"I've decided..." Rina thought as she stood up from the bench. "I'll go home tomorrow. Ashley can handle the rest of the hunters just as well without me. I'll let her know once we go outside..."
"Well you can explain it to me later, then." Erika replied. "Unless you have made other plans, I would like to invite you both to stay at my place for the night. There are a few things I would like to discuss with you..."
"Oh...umm...nope, I didn't have anything planned...Rina?" Ashley glanced over at Rina. Rina blinked in confusion and then silently shook her head.
"Rina's been awfully quiet...I should probably talk to her..." Ashley thought.
"Then its settled!" Erika smiled and clasped her hands together. "Follow me then, I will show you the way."
Ashley received her badge and a TM, Giga Drain, before they left the gym. Erika then lead her and Rina to her home, a large mansion at the edge of town. Erika happened to have been born into a wealthy family, which was why she took it upon herself to purchase the game corner after Team Rocket was chased off.
"Welcome home, Lady Erika!" Upon arriving in the mansion, the girls found themselves being greeted by an all-female staff of maids and servants.
"Thank you." Erika replied, nodding to the maids. "Could you show our guests to their rooms?"
"Of course, Lady Erika!" The maids replied in unison.
"Why are they all girls?" Ashley wondered. Two of the maids lead Ashley and Rina up a flight of stairs to the second floor and then down a long corridor, stopping at the first set of doors they came to. Ashley was lead into one room and Rina was lead into the other.
"Oh, wow!" Ashley exclaimed when she saw the room. It was a very large bedroom with two dressers, one with a mirror and stool, a wooden oak closet, a queen sized bed with pink flower-pattern drapes that could be closed around it, and a door leading into a private bathroom. A sliding glass door lead to a balcony just outside the room.
"-Geez, I think this room is bigger than any of those hotel rooms were.-" Bulbasaur commented, looking around the room from the entrance. He stepped forward to go into the room, but the maid blocked his path.
"We have somewhere else for pokemon to stay." The maid said to Bulbasaur. "Miss, would you mind if I took your pokemon?" She then asked Ashley.
"Oh, not at all." Ashley removed her belt, taking her pokedex from it and then handing it over to the maid with all her pokeballs clipped on.
"Come with me then." The maid motioned for Bulbasaur to follow her. Curious more than anything, he followed her out into the hall and found the other maid with Rina's pokeballs and Pippi following behind her.
"-Got you too, huh?-" Bulbasaur asked her.
"-Rina said she wanted to be alone to talk to Ashley.-" Pippi replied, sighing. "-I hope she'll be ok...I like her better when she's smiling and happy.-"
"-I'm sure she'll get over it.-" Bulbasaur replied with a shrug. "-What else is she going to do? Go home?-"
Rina glanced out her door, watching the two maids leave with their pokemon. Once they had rounded the corner and were out of sight, Rina crossed the hall and knocked on Ashley's door.
"Come in!" Ashley's voice called out from within. Rina opened the door and stepped inside. Ashley was standing next to her bed with her travel bag and its contents spread out over it. "Oh, its you...well I guess that saves me the trouble of going over to talk to you then."
"Oh...what'd you want to talk to me about?" Rina asked, blinking in surprise.
"Isn't that obvious?" Ashley replied, motioning for Rina to take a seat as she sat on the edge of the bed herself. "I think you're beating on yourself too hard over the hunters. So what if you were too scared to do anything this time? You'll be ready next time..."
"Will I though?" Rina asked, shaking her head sadly. She didn't bother to sit down, choosing to lean against the wall instead. "You've been able to handle it much better than I have. I think I should just go home..."
"No way!" Ashley shot back defiantly. "Rina, don't you want to free your parent's pokemon?"
"Of course I do! Its just..." Rina sighed. "I don't think I can do it..."
"The only reason you can't do it is because you don't think you can."
"Umm..." Rina blinked in confusion. "Whats that supposed to mean?"
"If you just had confidence in yourself that you could do it, then you would have pulled it off already!" Ashley said to her. "Just give yourself another chance and try to believe in yourself instead of being so negative!"
"You sound like you're quoting a self-help book..." Rina rubbed her neck and glanced off to the side. "But...I'll give it a bit more time I guess. I don't know what good it'll do though..."
"You'll change your mind soon enough anyway, I'm sure. Until then, no more acting all depressed." Ashley said sternly. "You're depressing to be around when you're like that..."
Rina turned to Ashley and forced a wide, exaggerated grin. "Kay!"
"I'm glad to hear you're feeling better." Erika's voice cut into their conversation as she appeared in the doorway and bowed. "Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear you two..."
"Oh, don't worry about it..." Ashley waved her hand dismissively. "Thanks for letting us stay the night here though."
"You're quite welcome." Erika replied, taking a step into the room and turning to face Rina. "Rina, there is something I feel you should know. Its about Lance..."
"Lance?" Rina blinked in surprise. She had almost forgot he was supposed to be looking after her, not that he did a very good job to begin with.
"Yes..." Erika nodded. "Lance knows what you have been up to concerning the hunters, Rina. He decided not to intervene, however, and ordered the rest of the league likewise..."
"WHAT?! Why would he do that?" Ashley demanded, gritting her teeth. "He wastes all this time going after them instead of looking after Rina and now he has her doing all the work!?"
"Ashley..."
"No, she is right..." Erika cut Rina off, shaking her head. "But as he put it, it is 'hard to argue with results'. In the few weeks you have been away, between yourself and Ashley, you have managed to capture four Hunters whereas he had not managed to bring in any of them himself..."
"So why are you telling me this, then?" Rina asked her.
"I felt you had a right to know." Erika explained. "Does knowing this change your mind?"
"No..." Rina replied, shaking her head. "Lance wasn't the reason I got involved anyway..."
"I see." Erika nodded slightly. "If thats your decision, then I will not try to dissaude you. I do not believe children should be getting mixed up in the affairs of criminals, however."
"But if we didn't, who would stop them?" Ashley asked, grinning widely.
"You are right I suppose..." Erika chuckled lightly.
"By the way, Erika, something I wanted to ask you..." Ashley began. "About your maid staff..."
"-Now this, I could get used to!-" Bulbasaur grinned widely as he looked around the room stretched out before him. There were grass pokemon everywhere in the garden, in addition to trees, shrubs, and a wide variety of flowers. There was a small, artificial pond in the middle of the indoor garden as well.
"-Oh, wow!-" Pippi ran out into the room, glancing around at the flowers. "-So many pretty flowers!-"
"-Yeah, lotsa pretty flowers alright...-" Bulbasaur said in agreement, though his gaze was on a group of female Bellsprout and Oddish nearby.
The two maids that had accompanied them began releasing Ashley and Rina's pokemon one by one. Beedrill and Sarge were the first two to be released. Sarge sniffed the air cautiously, then looked around at the pokemon and the two maids. He quickly figured out what they were doing and stood by while Beedrill flew off to perch on a thick tree branch like a bird, silently watching over the garden.
Next to come out were Pidgeotto and Ebil. As soon as Ebil appeared, Sarge pounced him and dragged him off before he could cause any trouble. Sarge had a good grip on the back of Ebil's head, leaving it helpless as Sarge dragged him over to the tree Beedrill had perched in and then sat on Ebil to keep him there. Pidgeotto flew up to the same tree and perched next to Beedrill.
"-You know you're stealing our schtick, right?-" Pidgeotto said to Beedrill. Beedrill didn't so much as look at Pidgeotto. "-It wouldn't kill you to say something you know...-" Beedrill again remained silent. Pidgeotto decided to ignore him as well and took to preening his feathers.
Next, Poliwag and Clyde were released from their pokeballs. Poliwag wasted no time before running to the pond and jumping in with a splash, startling an Eevee that had been drinking near the edge of the pond. Clyde scratched his head and went over to Pippi when he noticed her nearby.
"-Excuse me, but could you explain what is going on here?-" Clyde asked Pippi.
"-We get to relax here for a while.-" Pippi replied.
"-Ah, very well. I believe I will go take a nap then...-" Clyde wandered off into a patch of flowers to take his nap.
Jolteon and Berg were the next two to be released from their pokeballs. The two glanced around curiously, and Jolteon immediately took notice of a trio of Eevee nearby. Shaking his head sadly, Jolteon wandered off further into the garden to be by himself. Berg, feeling a bit out of place, decided to join the rest of the pokemon by the tree.
Charizard and Flareon were the last two pokemon to be released. Their appearance in the garden sent all the grass pokemon running. Even Ashley's Bulbasaur went running, though he was chasing after the other grass pokemon rather than running away.
"-I get the odd feeling we're not welcome here.-" Charizard growled. He looked around and spotted Berg near the tree. "-Let me guess, we're being abandoned now? And here I was finally starting to hate Ashley slightly less...-"
"-We're here to relax.-" Berg explained to him. Charizard shrugged and wandered off into the garden, paying little attention to the grass pokemon that scattered in his prescence.
"You know, this seems somewhat familiar..." Flareon thought as she looked around. "Ah, yes! I remember! I was here as an Eevee. The lady who took care of me had hoped I would evolve into a grass pokemon someday, but then discovered the Leaf Stone wouldn't work..." Flareon looked back at herself and shook her head.
"She wouldn't want me back...not now that I'm a fire pokemon." Flareon shrugged it off and approached the group of Eevee. All were female, despite female Eevees being rarer than male. "-Excuse me, girls, what does one do for grooming around here? My fur is an absolute mess...-"
"-One of the servant ladies will be down shortly to do such, perhaps she will tend to you as well.-" One of the Eevees replied.
"-Very well, I suppose I can wait a little longer.-" Flareon replied. "As long as I look good, nothing else matters."
Ashley and Rina spent the night at Erika's mansion, including a free meal and dessert. Over dinner, Ashley had the chance to finally explain why Charizard lacked attacks typical to its species. Their pokemon were fed as well while in Erika's garden, and Flareon finally had her fur brushed.
The next day, Ashley and Rina set off again. After yet another free meal, of course. Erika also saw them off at the door as they were leaving.
"Good luck, you two. You are welcome to stay here any time you are in the neighbourhood." Erika said to them from the front gate of her mansion.
"Thanks, we'll keep that offer in mind!" Ashley replied.
"Rina, if it is your intention to find your parent's pokemon, then I am sure you will find the courage to do so." Erika said to Rina, smiling at her.
"We'll see..." Rina replied, still sounding a bit unsure of herself. The girls waved to each other and finally set off.
"-Man, I can't wait to come back here again...-" Bulbasaur said to himself, grinning widely.
"-You know, since I'm unfortunately an expert on grass pokemon mating habits, I can tell you that the females usually don't use 'Vine Whip' or 'Stun Spore' during any mating rituals...-" Pippi said to him.
"-Yeah...well...-" Bulbsaur mumbled, trailing off.
"I can't believe Erika doesn't like guys..." Ashley said once they were out of earshot. "If I had that kind of money, I'd have a staff of handsome guys and shirts would be strictly forbidden!"
"I wouldn't have any. Well, maybe one..." Rina smiled to herself and blushed. She pictured Red waiting on her hand and foot.
"Uh huh...you know he'd never do that right?" Ashley said to her, chasing away Rina's fantasies.
"Hey! I can dream, can't I?" Rina shot back.
"I wonder how mom's doing..." Pippi wondered at the mention of Red.
Meanwhile, back at the mansion...
"Yes, I told her everything you wanted me to. She has yet to decide." Erika explained, talking on the phone.
"As long as she understands why I am no longer getting involved." Lance's voice replied on the other end. "I hate to put all of this on her shoulders, but it seems her and her friend Ashley are the only ones who can do this. Lance out." Lance cut off the call before Erika could get in a response.
"But...is it really ok for her to make such a decision?" She wondered.
Author's Notes: Gym battle. Character development. R&R for the pokemon. I plan to wrap up Rina's little self-confidence issue next chapter, which is going to involve yet another of Kanto's criminal groups. Which one? Well, here's a hint: The girls will be taking Cycling Road down to Fuschia.
