Chapter 9 An unusual Day
"Bye, Emily! Bye, Uncle Mantis! Enjoy for day off! See you when you get back!" Ashlyn called to the couple as they left the Gym.
"Bye, dear. Don't cause my cousin too much trouble!" Emily was dressed in a pink turtleneck, a certain pearl necklace, and blue jeans instead of her normal nurse's uniform. She stood by a somewhat nervous Lt. Surge who was wearing a white dress shirt, black dress pants… and his combat boots.
"Sure thing! I wouldn't wanna make Nora angry anyway! She's almost as good a fighter as you are," Ash said before closing the doors to the gym.
"Such a sweet girl," Emily said.
"I personally don't think there's another Joy better at battling than you. Especially after you sent Koga running scared."
"He popped out of nowhere and tried to take your life!"
"I meant the second time. You know, when the League introduced me to him for my Gym leader test."
"Oh, right. I really should apologize to him for jumping to conclusions. I just saw you two looking ready for a tense battle and got worried."
"I know that, and I thought Lance's shocked face was funny. He's never looked at a Joy the same way since."
…In the Gym…
"Alright. Dwayne, Baily, in your normal places. Mr. Tucker, please stay with me," Ash said. Volb, Chu, Sparkz, and Bolt were by her side. It comforted Ash enough to know that the Pokemon were there for her that she didn't mind being seen as a girl. She was wearing black combat boots, camo pants, a black tank top, and a set of dog tags that she had gotten from her uncle a few years ago.
The sailor and engineer nodded while Tucker, ever the old gentleman, chuckled and tilted his hat to Ash. "If that is your wish, Little Lt. Rosemary."
Ash's cheeks reddened as she pouted. Little Lieutenant was a rank Ash had earned at her uncle's boot camp, along with a few other kids. She walked to the place in the Gym where her uncle always waited for challengers. Up until lunchtime, Dwayne and Baily were able to knock out the Pokemon of the few challengers that came in. Tucker was nice enough to get everyone a quick lunch. While she was eating her cheeseburger, she heard something that almost made her choke on her food.
"Gary, Gary, he's our man! If he can't do it, no one can! Go Gary!"
"My word, is that a cheer?" Tucker asked, confused.
"Yes, ignore it for now. It will deflate Gary's overgrown ego," Ash said flatly. Tucker nodded before continuing to eat his salad.
The doors opened, and a male voice called out arrogantly, "I'm here to challenge the Gym."
"Well, wait! We're on lunch break," Baily said, annoyed at both the boy's attitude and the fact that someone had interrupted his meal.
"What? Well, hurry up! I want to get my badge as quickly as possible," Gary said, annoyed that things weren't going his way. "Where's this Lt. Surge?"
"Out," Ash said. She moved so that she could see Gary's face and he could see her. She had been sitting at a table, Dwayne's rather large form blocking her from view. "He has something important to do today. I'm the leader of the Gym for the day. I'm Rosemary, and I'm sorry, but you'll have to wait until after we're done eating. Then you'll have to battle Dwayne, Baily, and Tucker before you can have a Gym battle with me," she said flatly.
Gary stared at her before giving a smile that made Ash uneasy. "Well, my dear, how about you let me take you out to dinner later as- Ack!"
Ash felt very uncomfortable and did one of the first things that came to her mind. She slapped him. On the inside she was freaking out. She huffed before going back to the table, mumbling in the calmest voice she could manage, "Say anything like that again and I'll have you banned from the Gym for harassment."
"And we'll back her up! Now either go sit down and wait or leave," Baily said. Dwayne and Tucker nodded. Gary grumbled but went to wait, his cheerleaders doing their best to comfort him. Despite his setback, a hour later, Ash found herself facing Gary.
"Come on out, Graveler!" Gary said, letting the evolved form of Geodude out onto the field.
A Pokemon with power but not speed! "Chu! In your position, soldier!" Ash called out.
"Graveler, Rollout!"
"Chu! Plan Sata!" Ash called out. Yes, her uncle made them plan out moves in advance. No, he didn't use them often, her was a more on the fly type of battler anyway. Chu dodged to the left with Double Team before hitting the Rock type with a Brick Break.
"Graveler, don't just take that! Rock Throw!"
Graveler grunted in pain but threw a boulder at the mouse. There was a loud bang and dust flew everywhere. "All right, one down, two to go," Gary said with a smirk.
"Not really," Ash said in a flat tone. Gary was confused by Ash's words and the dull smile on her face. Suddenly, Chu popped out of the ground right under Graveler, knocking it out with a Focus Punch.
Chu ran toward the area of the field, panting. The Dig hadn't allowed her to dodge the Rock Throw completely.
"Lucky break. Go, Nidorina," Gary said, returning the Rock type and bringing out a Poison type. Its nice shade of blue and sharp horns showed that it was in good shape. It also meant Chu would be in trouble if the battle became a close-combat one.
"Chu, Thundershock!" Chu let loose a bolt of electricity at the Poison type.
"Dig!" Nidorina was gone before Chu's attack could hit. It popped out from under Chu, sending him flying back.
"Chu!" Chu weakly got back up, but he fainted after giving Nidorina a quick Thundershock.
"Chu, return!" Ash said, returning her uncle's Pikachu to his Pokeball. "You did well, soldier." I really need to get out of this outfit soon…
"Volb! Front line!" Ash said, releasing the Voltorb onto the field.
"Double Kick!"
"Sonic Boom!" Voltorb let out the attack of sound. It hit the Poison type and kept her at a distance. Soon it became an intense pattern.
Gary would order Nidorina to use Poison Sting or Dig. Ash would order Volb to dodge with Rollout. When Gary ordered a Double Kick, Ash would order Volb to use Sonic Boom or Spark.
Volb took damage, but Nidorina took more and eventually fainted. Gary returned Nidorina, but a loud voice interrupted him before he could call out his next Pokemon.
"Rosie!" A very happy voice called, and Ash was picked up and spun around in a hug before she realized what was happening. "Emily said yes! We're getting married!" Lt. Surge shouted happily.
He put her down and let her regain her senses. When she recovered from her dizziness, she smiled and gave him a good-natured snort. "Like there was any doubt."
"Hey! We're having a Gym battle here!" Gary interrupted, annoyed.
"And I'm Lt. Surge, the Leader of this Gym, brat!" Surge yelled. He glared at the brown-haired boy before turning to smile at Ash. "I'll let you finish this battle, Rosie."
"Alright, Uncle," Ash said.
Gary paled a bit; the cute girl he'd tried to hit on was the buff Gym Leader's niece. He soon let out his last Pokemon for their three-on-three battle… a Sandshrew.
"Dig!" Gary said.
"Wait 'til he pops up, Volb." As soon as Sandshrew popped up to attack Volb, the Ball Pokemon did something unexpected. He used Selfdestruct.
"He's not supposed to know that move yet, right, Uncle?" Ash asked, looking at the two K-O'd Pokemon.
"No. But I think that may be Koga's fault. He raises some Voltorb himself, and one of them may have taught the move to Volb," Surge said as Ash returned Volb to his Pokeball.
"Since the challenger lost three out of three Pokemon, the winner is the temporary Leader Rosemary. The challenger may challenge the Gym for the badge again in four days," Baily said.
Gary returned his Sandshrew then left the room in a huff. His posse followed him.
"Well, I'll transfer Chu and Volb over to Nova," Ash said, returning Volb. However, Tucker took Chu's, Volb's, and Sparkz's Pokeballs from her and Surge put something in her hand with a grin that made Ash suspicious. Ash opened her hand to see… her uncle's Gym badge.
"Wha- Uncle! I haven't battled you yet!" Ash yelled.
"Think of it this way: You skipped challenging the Gym Leader and became one for a short time. So you earned it," Surge said with a huge, amused grin.
"Mantis Lorance Ketchum! This is NOT how I wanted to get my badge! Do you even realize how much work we where doing to prepare to battle you!" Ash said as she started to chase her uncle around the gym.
…Skip…
"Yes! Uncle Mantis and Emily are finally getting married!" Kate said as she sat under the tree near the ranger school's gate. She was reading the printed-out copy of an e-mail from her cousin. She had watched the video Dwayne had taken of Ash chasing their uncle around earlier it was still a funny scene no matter how many times she sees it.
Yep, yep, that sounds mighty nice, a Bidoof said. He was one of the older and stronger members of the Bidoof clan that lived on the school grounds.
What does getting married mean? A Pichu asked as she and a young Charmander both looked confused.
It means that Kate's uncle and this Emily are going to be official mates soon. Yep, yep. You two will understand when you're older, the Bidoof said, patiently and simply.
Kate sent Sharptooth the Bidoof a grateful look for explaining it for her. She could see why Bidoof was chosen as the mascot of the school. They were a mostly docile type of Pokemon that the older, stronger members of the clan would let the students capture without giving them a hard time.
"Hey, K!" Keith called from the top of the stairs. Kate looked up. "Come on, all the guys are getting together to play some board games. The girls are gossiping in the nap room."
Kate gave a small snort of amusement. All of the guys at the school (except Ponte for some odd reason) thought that she was a guy because she wore the boy's uniform and hid her hair under her cap. Being seen as a girl didn't make her feel uncomfortable like her cousin, she just easy to do and it was amusing to see other peoples reactions when they found out the truth.
"It's called the library. And I have to call my siblings and parents. My older cousin Ash e-mailed me with the news that our uncle is finally getting married. I'll be a bit late, Red Head."
"Alright, see ya when you get there, Ally Cat," Keith said.
Kate sighed. Why did she have to add that her middle name was O'Riley when she introduced herself two days ago? Oh yeah, so Miss April would let her introduce herself as K instead of Kate. Really, what was with her family and weird names?
Oh well, her name wasn't the worst of the lot.
Ms Ketchum! Tolly the Taillow called out in a panic. He flew up to Kate. The Ghastly got into a fight with a Zubat again!
"Oh, for the love of- Never a peaceful day around here," Kate half joked as she got up for the hidden cave she'd found. The Ghastly were actually very friendly, even if they were pranksters. The Zubats, however, annoyed them with their constant gossiping.
For Kate O'Rilly Ketchum's temporary Poke-peace keeper job it meant that her day was never slow. The fight wasn't even that far in the cave, three zubats were fighting three ghastly. The trouble for Kate being trying to capture the Pokémon with minimal damage.
…Skip…
Ash was relaxing by herself at restaurant after splitting up with her friends for a while. Jessie and James went to visit James's Nanny and Pop-pop to talk with them about how Jessie and James were becoming a couple seeing as they were the members of his family that he actually got along with, those two would meet them when the group at Celadon City. Misty was staying here for a bit to train her water Pokémon while facing another Pokémon that has a type advantage with the gym trainers helping out. Brock was also staying a bit to learn from Emily. She would meet up with them at Saffron City, so basically Ash was on her own for a while, not that she was completely complaining. Right now though she was waiting for a member of the police...speaking of which a man in uniform was coming up to her now.
He sat across from her, "You the young trainer that called to set up a meeting?"
"Yes I am. I called to talk about this," she held out two ST ANNE tickets. "Apparently the people who gave out the tickets want people to believe their a prize. But when I talked to a member of the staff it seems that one person bought out all the rooms in the ship for as long as the cruise is supposed to last. I asked around and it seems that the others that got free tickets are all trainers. I'm sorry to bother you with this if its all just one big coincidence but this doesn't sit right with me."
"Its a good thing that you did. It doesn't sound right to me either. Don't worry the police will handle this."
"Thank you. Do you want the recordings of the trainers I talked to? I only started recording after the trainers I talked to said similar things so I missed the first four trainers. I mostly asked about they got their tickets, names, status as a trainer, so not to cause panic but get some information a the same time." She said handing him a disk containing said information.
"Thank you miss, we'll contact you with information later." The police officer said as he stood up from his seat and shook Ash's hand.
"Thanks, anyone ever tell you that you look like the Campion Lance. You look just like...wait" The officer quickly left when Ash tried to get a better look at his face. "Was that... nah. Alright boys time to travel." Ash said as Bolt went on her shoulder, Blu started to fly near her and Meowth walked beside her. 'Next stop planned Butterfree Mating Season spot.' As much as Ashlyn hated the thought of letting a member of her pokefamily go it was Blu's chance of finding someone he loved. She was going to spend as much time and train him before they get there though.
End, Please review.