Chapter 19: The Alluring, Soulful Dancer
Sora wiped out the clan of Budew with relative ease. In fact, as soon as I let her out of her pokeball the grass-types started to retreat, having learned long ago to avoid Staravia in the wild. The Roselia in charge, Rose's Pa apparently, stayed behind, chirping at Rose. The poor girl hadn't moved, still kneeling down before Lins body, eyes staring at the dirt. After a vicious Wing Attack from Sora knocked Papa Rose out, some Budew grabbed him with their vines and fled into the brush. Sora landed next to me, and we both looked at Lins corpse.
"Y'know, she just evolved." I said solemnly.
"Yeah. She was pretty excited about it." Sora nodded.
"She had her quirks, but she was probably one of the best battlers on the team." I sighed.
Sora gave me a quick look. "Would it be wrong of me to ask why you don't seem that upset?" she asked.
I shook my head. "Not at all. I'm upset, definitely, but I know that there wasn't really anything I could have done. I wanted to resolve this peacefully, but the Budew weren't going to let it go. I can't even get mad at the Budew, they're wild pokemon! They were just defending themselves from an attacker." I sighed again. "I just..." the words died in my throat. I turned, starting to head back to Hearthome. "Let's go, we need to contact the League to pick her up. And...and get someone out of the box."
I took two steps when I heard Sora speak up. "Uh, Nick? Where's Rose?" I turned around, looking at the spot the little Roselia had last been. Sure enough, she was gone, no sign of where she went. "Take off, try to find her!" I ordered, running through the forest to the path. Sora launched herself into the air, looping around to get the best view of the surrounding area. It was a short search, Roses little legs could only take her so far in such a short amount of time. Following Sora's directions, I followed the path till I reached one of the nearby cliffs. A waterfall raged underneath a wooden bridge. Sitting on the bridge, legs dangling precariously off the edge was Rose, looking out over the surrounding forest.
I walked over, taking my time. "So this really is going to turn into a thing with us, isn't it? Sitting on bridges?" I asked, plopping down next to her.
She chuckled dryly. "I reckon it could be." she said, tears clearly marking her words. "I used to come here all the time, back when I lived here. Whenever Pa got on my nerves, or I was frustrated, or someone died-" she paused, taking a breath to calm herself. "I would sit here, looking at the forest."
"It's a nice view." I said. It really was, tall trees spreading out as far as the eye could see. The waterfall behind us spilled out into a river that wounds through the forest, cutting the endless sea of green with a deep blue.
"It sure is." Rose agreed. "Y'know, Pa would always chide me when I came back. He'd ask if I wanted to be caught by some no-good trainer." she chuckled again, this time with more life. "Guess he was right, in a sense."
I let the insult go. "Who are you really mad at Rose? Me, or your family?" I asked.
"Neither." she admitted. "Mostly I'm mad at myself. Even after all this time, even after evolving, I still can't stand up to my Pa. Not even when a friends life depended on it."
I shook my head. "Don't blame yourself Rose. They were gonna do it anyway, you know that. Is it terrible that Lin died? Yes. Is it your fault? Absolutely not. Lin died because her curiosity finally got the better of her."
Rose glared at me. "How could you say that!?" she demanded. "Lin was part of the team, same as me, same as anyone else! If it were Mufasa, or Lola, instead of Lin, would you still be saying that it wasn't my fault? That it was their fault for getting into it in the first place?"
"Probably, yes!" I shouted back. Rose looked away. "Look, Rose, look at what happened. We all know, all of us, that wild pokemon are dangerous. Lin was a Graveller, a rock/ground-type. Why would she go after a group of grass-type pokemon, especially one that large?" Rose remained silent. "I don't condone what they did." I explained. "But I can't be mad at them for defending themselves. We've all told Lin again and again to not mess with other pokemon. This time, she messed up. I just hope that we all learn from this and avoid any more avoidable deaths."
We sat on the bridge for a while longer before I got up. "C'mon Rose. We have to bury Lin and continue training. Fantina is only accepting challengers tomorrow and I don't want to be stuck here any longer than necessary." The grass-type followed my back into town silently. I couldn't blame her for not talking to me.
Later that day, I was back out on Route 206. The Bidoof had returned form our earlier attack, their simple nature probably leading them to forget why they even left. The little pink blob next to me reminded them.
"Alright Trish, use Mud Bomb!" I cried. The Shellos unleashed a rather large glob of mud, striking the nearest Bidoof right in the face. The poor creature fainted immediately, the attack proving to much for it. The other rodents were slow to react, giving us plenty of time to follow up. "Now use Water Gun!" I ordered. Once again, Trish opened her mouth wide, this time shooting a torrent of water. It hit another Bidoof, knocking it out just like the first. The Bidoof seemed to get the message now, turning and hobbling away as fast as their stubby legs could carry them. "I think that's good enough Trish, let's stop for today."
The pink Shellos grinned happily. "Yay, time to relax." she said lazily. After training with her for a few hours to get her up to snuff with the rest of the team, I managed to quickly get a read on the water-types personality. Trish was in a perpetual state of relaxation. She never got angry, never got upset, just went with the flow. The fact that her eyes were constantly half closed didn't help with the whole "stoner" look she had going on.
I picked her up and placed her on my shoulder. Being a slug, she was pretty slow moving so I figured the best way to move around with her was to simply carry her. Sure, my clothes suffered a little, but it wasn't like I couldn't wash them back at the center. "Yeah, relaxing time, sure." I said. "You know, for someone who just got placed on the front lines of a potentially lethal game, you are remarkably calm about the whole thing."
"Hey man, it's not like I was doing any worse out in the wild." she said. "Out there, in here, it's all the same. Never know when you're gonna shuffle off into the sky, might as well take it as it comes." I grinned, finding the little slugs words to be wonderfully profound. "C'mon." I said. "Let's get back home for some dinner. Tomorrow, we've got a badge to win."
The next day I woke up early, just as I always did when I had a gym battle. Getting everything, and everyone, together took some time, but we made it to the gym before lunch. "Alright, let's go get that bad- oh jesus a third of my team is useless here." I said, all enthusiasm leaving my voice. I happened to have Sora out, who looked at me concerned. "Why do you say that?" she asked.
"I didn't remember until just now, but ghost-types are immune to fighting and normal-type moves! How could I be so stupid, Lola and Armstrong aren't going to be able to hit anything in there!" I cried, dread starting to set in. "I don't know if we're ready for this." I muttered.
"Nick, you said it yourself, if we don't do this now, we're going to be stuck here for a while." Sora reminded me. "We trained all day yesterday, we're ready." That gave me my confidence back and I strode past the front doors, feeling much better about the whole thing.
That feeling didn't last long. Where there used to be math problems and multiple doors, now there was multiple doors, a maze, barely any light and lots of trainers. They kept jumping out every other corner, scaring me half out of my skin and demanding a battle. And they were tough, constantly putting my pokemon to sleep and confusing them. Eventually, I managed to make it to the main battle room, Fantina standing at the other side. She wore her purple hair in four rather large buns, each pointing a different direction. She had an elegant violet dress and white dancing gloves that reached her elbows.
"Greetings challenger. I take it, you are the so-called Nuzlocker I 'ave been 'earing about?" she asked, her french accent coming across pretty clearly.
"Yeah, and don't worry, after the beating I just went through I don't expect you to go easy on me." I said, tossing a pokeball. Sora emerged, flying around the arena.
"Tres bon. Very good. I expected as much." Fantina trilled, unleashing her own pokemon, a Duskull. The ghost-type hovered across the arena, its one red eye following Sora. "Shall we begin?" Fantina asked.
"Sora, Aerial Ace!" I ordered. She had recently learned the move, one I considered to be in the top of a flying-types arsenal. She picked up speed, moving faster than she ever had with Quick Attack, white energy starting to form around her wings. Quicker than the eye could follow she slammed into Duskull, knocking it back into a wall.
"We are not out of ze fight yet! Future Sight!" Fantina called. Duskull glowed blue momentarily before it dissipated. That attack isn't going to hit for a while, but I have to be on my toes. I thought. If someone's to weak and it gets them, it's over.
"Keep it up Sora!" I called. I already knew going into this battle that Aerial Ace was going to be the only move she could use. So the plan was for her to keep the offense rolling, using her speed to her advantage and stopping only if I needed to heal her. She slammed into the enemy Duskull again before taking off.
"Duskull, they're trying to use their speed to win! Stop them with Will-o-wisp!" Fantina cried. The Duskulls red eye tracked Soras movements, a ball of pale blue fire forming in front of it. The ghost-type launched the flames forward suddenly, and they followed Sora around before crashing into her, burning her badly.
"Good job Duskull! Now, come 'ere and let me 'eal you." Fantina said. The pokemon dutifully floated over, accepting the medicine gratefully. As he returned to the field, Sora hit him again with an Aerial Ace. The burn she received nullified it's power a bit, but it was still a solid hit. "Such underhanded tactics!" Fantina cried in mock surprise. "Well, two can play at that game." Suddenly a blue aura appeared around Sora. She spasmed in pain, falling out of the sky. The Future Sight! I thought wildly. Before she hit the ground, the energy faded and she recovered, taking to the sky again.
"Are you okay Sora?" I called. She nodded. "Alright then, let's keep it up!" The battle went on, Sora continuing to use Aerial Ace and Duskull retaliating with Pursuit. Eventually, Sora took another Future Sight attack and had to be healed by a Super Potion I had. Once again, Duskull sent out another Future Sight, prepping for the next wave of attacks. "Not this time! Aerial Ace!" I cried. Sora put all of her might into this last attack, nailing the Duskull easily. The ghost pokemon wobbled in the air slightly before fainting, collapsing on the floor.
"Excellent! You've defeated one of my pokemon." Fantina praised, returning the Duskull. "But now things get serious, no?" she said, releasing a Haunter. I recalled Sora, her being to injured form the last fight. "Go, Mufasa!" I called. The Luxio roared a challenge at the ghost-type, making even the undead pokemon afraid. Mufasa was really my trump card here, being the only one on my team with a dark-type move.
"Mufasa, use Bite!" I ordered.
"Shadow Claw!" Fantina cried.
The two pokemon collided in the middle of the arena. Mufasa got a mouthful of the ghost-types flesh, holding on for dear life as the Haunter slashed at his flank with its claws. Suddenly, a familiar blue glow gathered around Mufasa. He howled in pain, releasing the Haunter and retreating, pawing at his head until the light faded away. At least I don't have to worry about another one of those I thought grimly.
"Haunter, use Hypnosis!" Fantina ordered. The large ghost raised his amputated hands, waves of purple energy emanating from them. Mufasa was still distracted form the Future Sight attack, taking the hit directly and falling asleep, laying on the cold ground.
I chuckled. "What, you think I wasn't prepared for Hypnosis at a ghost-type gym?" I asked, pulling an Awakening out of my bag and spraying the electric lion with it. He was wide awake immediately, getting back to his feet.
"You may be prepared for sleep but what about this? Confuse Ray!" Fantina ordered. I jumped out of the way as a beam of white light shot out of Haunters eyes into Mufasas. The cat stumbled around, trying to stay on his feet before tripping and hitting his chin on the ground.
"Uh, no, I did not prepare for that." I muttered, watching with grim fascination at Mufasas antics. The Luxio was prancing around the ring, stumbling occasionally but he seemed to get the hang of it. Haunter snuck up behind him and landed a Shadow Claw attack, but Mufasa barely seemed to notice, continuing to trip and fall over himself. The Oran Berry I had given him before the match rolled out from under him. His eyes grew wide with excitement as he gobbled the blue berry up, restoring some of his heath. If this wasn't such a bad situation I'd probably be laughing my ass off right now I thought, struggling to hold back laughter regardless.
I really couldn't hold back my laughter after Haunter missed a Hypnosis attack. Mufasa twirled out of the way, avoiding the waves of purple energy entirely. He then happened to catch sight of his tail, which he promptly bit down on. I roared with laughter, having to take a knee. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." I gasped, seeing Fantina's scolding expression. "It's just, he's so serious all the time, this is just..." I managed to stifle my laughter, spraying Mufasa with a Super Potion when he stumbled by. "C'mon buddy, snap out of it." I encouraged. Something about my words and the medicine must have done it, because he steadied himself, ready to fight.
"We will never speak of that again." he growled.
"My lips are sealed." I said. "Let's end this. Spark!"
"Use Shadow Claw Haunter!" Fantina ordered. The two pokemon charged at each other once more, only this time, Mufasa was coated in electricity. That seemed to be the difference maker since even though both pokemon landed their blows, static electricity remained on Haunter, telling me he was paralyzed.
"Mufasa, he's paralyzed! End this with Bite!" I called. He did just that, clamping down on one of Haunters "ears". The ghost-type yelped slightly before passing out, fainted. Fantina returned him, looking grim.
"That's two down, one to go." she said. "But I think you'll find this one a greater challenge than the others. Mismagius!" she cried, releasing the purple ghost. She looked like a small doll dressed in rags. Red jewels were strung together on a necklace wrapped around her neck. On her head was a large witches hat. The whole ensemble was made of some kind of gas, making her look like a mirage.
"Alright Mufasa, use Bite!" I ordered. He took off, lashing out at his opponent. He scored a hit, actually tearing the fringe of her dress slightly. She cried out in fear.
"Do not fret little one!" Fantina called. "Show them your power with a Shadow Ball!" The ghost did as commanded, charging up a ball of dark energy. It grew large, almost the size of Mufasa's head before she launched it at him with impressive speed. He tried to dodge, but it homed in on him, hitting him in the side. Mufasa struggled to get to his feet, obviously on his last legs.
"Mufasa, come back!" I ordered, returning the weakened pokemon. "Alright Trish, let's see what you've got!" I called, releasing the Shellos.
"Oh dear, I think that was a mistake." Fantina said. "Haven't you heard ze rumors? Fantina has a Mismagius unlike any other. It's famous for winning contests with it's signature move. Magical Leaf!" she ordered.
"Oh shit." I gasped as the glowing leaves materialized and shot towards Trish. The small water-type was to slow to dodge, the sharp leaves crashing into her. "Trish!" I called out, concerned that I had lost another teammate so soon after the last one.
"Wow, that was pretty good for a non-grass-type." Trish complimented. She didn't seem fazed at all by the attack, though there were many small cuts on her hide. "Still nothing compared to the real thing though." she said. I checked the PokeTech and discovered that she was barely even hurt. Holy crap, she's tough!
"Very well, let's see how well you stand up to your own attacks. Confuse Ray!" Fantina called. The white beam appeared again, this time emanating from Mismagius' eyes. Trish was hit directly, wobbling around in confusion. She fell over and hit her head on the stone floor, damaging herself. "Now again, Magical Leaf!" Fantina cried. The leaves shot out again, throwing up dust all around Trish. Oh man, she might really be dead! I thought. When the dust cleared she was lying still on the floor. I ran over, kneeling next to her. She was breathing shallowly, but she was alive. I returned her to her pokeball before moving back to my place, tossing another pokeball.
"Alright Rose, let's so them what a real Magical Leaf can do." I said. To her credit, Rose may have still been mad at me but she listened, shooting out a hail of leaved at Mismagius.
"Counter it with Psybeam!" Fantina ordered. Jesus, is there a move that thing doesn't know? I thought as the multicolored beam of energy shout out of Mismagius' mouth. The attacks collided, causing a small explosion that damaged both combatants. As Rose started to recover, Mismagius appeared, hovering just above her. "Now, use Confuse Ray!" Fantina ordered. The white beam flashed again, causing Rose to go loopy. She hit herself in the head a few time with her flowers, stumbling around. "Now, finish it with Psybeam!" Fantina called again. This time there was no counterattack to hold it back and Rose took the full brunt of the attack. She landed badly, struggling to her feet despite the confusion.
"Dammit Rose, do you want to die here!? Is this what you want, to screw around and let everyone down?" I yelled. "Everyone else either can't hurt it or is to injured to do anything! I need you to focus! If you don't we're all going to die!" Rose shook her head, snapping out of the confusion. "Now, use Giga Drain!" I roared. Rose raised her flowers, encasing Mismagius in a bright green aura. Energy was sapped out of the enemy pokemon, flowing into Rose and healing her many injuries. Finally, Mismagius let out a weak cry and fainted, floating softly to the ground. Rose ended the attack and stood, panting heavily despite the health gain from the attack.
Slow clapping broke the silence that had followed. I looked up to see Fantina walking across the field. "Excellent! You have proven yourself to be a fine trainer young man. Here. I award you this Relic Badge and this TM. I also wish you luck on your future battles." she said, holding out the disk and badge.
It took me a moment to register what she said. "Holy crap!" I yelped. "We did it! We won! And no one died!" I cried, glad that the tough fight was finally over.