A Maiden's Voyage
Chapter 8 - Convergence
Medgar treated me to breakfast that day. We agreed eating alone in that big house would be a little awkward and he told me he knew a fabulous place to have pancakes that was fairly inexpensive. We walked a short ways to the pancake house, down the street from his place and on the way he pointed to a cinema that he says plays only the best movies in Sinnoh. I told him my Dad once took me to see a movie about a superhero and his Mudkip in Jubilife to which Medgar laughed and said he knew the movie: Mudkipz save all of the Dayz.
That morning it had rained a little and the entire city was coated in a mildly cold mist. The ground we walked on was also a little wet and I regretted wearing shorts because it had become quite chilly. Despite this, Medgar and I walked onward avoiding puddles and laughing with each other. I didn't know why he was being so nice to me, I was only a challenger but I felt like ruining the moment would be awkward and I didn't want that. I knew something about him made me want to remain close friends. I just didn't know what the "something" was.
Joan's Pancake House was a small blue diner that looked warm and comfortable on the outside but when I first set foot inside, the aroma of food motor-boated me like the time I was tackled while playing the championship lacrosse game my freshman year in high school. I broke my arm but it was no big deal, but the aroma was so pure and wonderful I felt like it would entrance me and I would never leave without eating everything. Medgar introduced me to his friend, Danielle to which she smiled at us and said we could order whatever we liked. Medgar chose a table in the middle of the place and after a minute of conversation, Danielle came back and took our orders. I guess it was "boring Thursday" because we both just wanted a big plate of steaming pancakes. They were simply fantastic, it was like I was eating an angelic cloud made from eggs and flour.
He asked me what life was like on the other side of the border and so I told him endlessly about life in Society Sinnoh and we actually exchanged a real person conversation that I didn't think I would have coming into Eterna. He told me about how he wanted to visit the beautiful town of Floaroma but nobody was permitted to leave the city, not even the Gym Leader. The flower patch in the northern part of Floaroma, he described to me, was his goal. He wanted to nothing more in this world than to live among thousands of flowers and I just nodded while devouring the fluffy flapjack.
The inside of the pancake house was vivacious and looked comfortable for anyone, whether they were from Galactic or Society Sinnoh. Something that crossed my mind that morning was how the actual citizens of both sides would behave when near each other. Would they follow in their protectors footsteps and despise other people just because they lived in a different place? My brain was itching for answers when Medgar caught my attention.
"Don't look behind you, but I see a Galactic Grunt sitting in a booth behind us, watching you. Should we leave?" He asked.
"Nah, you know what, Jupiter's just making sure I behave." I said, a little cross. We continued our breakfast with as little awkwardness as possible and when we finished, Medgar paid Danielle for the both of us. Before I could protest he told me to not worry about it and follow him outside. The Galactic Grunt also got up. Medgar held my hand in his as we raced quickly around the restaurant, into an alley and ran as far as possible from the grunt who was hopelessly lost, searching for me.
"We should probably go back to your house. I told Rotom to hang back at your place while we got breakfast and he'll get worried if we're gone too long." I said smiling as we raced past large, green metallic garbage holders and empty gondolas. We ran faster towards the narrow end of the alleyway and out the other side of the block. We stopped running in the busy street where people and pokemon rummaged about.
"I'm aware." His blue eyes followed mine. "But first I want to show you something." He took my hand again and we ran through people and pokemon as this boy I just met yesterday, held my hand and we ran through the city. But I couldn't protest to this kind of lifestyle. It was exhilarating and I was never exposed to fast paced life back in Twinleaf. We came up to a clearing in the end of the city and further ahead I could see the twisting peaks of moutains and could even see the tallest one, Mt. Coronet. Ahead of us was a bridge and the entrance to a cave inside Mt. Coronet's vast cave systems.
Medgar told me about how there used to be a park where we were standing but the Galactics destroyed it when they came in from the north. Along with the things destroyed, was a statue of a legendary pokemon that no longer viewed the world on its large bronze pedestal. He told me about the legendary pokemon Palkia, that the locals from years past had the rare opportunity to witness the legendary pokemon. The ancient people of this land were so inspired by the pokemon's elegance that they decided to dedicate a large statue to Palkia. Now it remains gone, absorbed by the uneven gravel when the invasion took place.
"This statue was extremely important to the locals of this city and the Galactics just ruined everything." He looked at me, then to the large expanse of ground which somewhere harbored a large pokemon statue. I looked long at the ground and thought of my peaceful land at home, away from the destruction caused by the Galactics. I reminded Medgar that Rotom would be angry and he acknowledged my request as we walked all the way back to his house, working off the calories from the pancakes this morning.
Medgar and I finally reached his house after walking all the way through the Eterna streets and when we opened the door, Rotom frantically floated into my face. I told Medgar that I was just going to get my backpack and shut the door behind me. He told me not to wait up as he disappeared into his study next to the front door. Rotom and I walked up the stairs and left as we were again met with the red hallway and the dark door. We both entered the room and I shut it with my back leaning and smiled up at the ceiling only for a moment before Rotom became the center of my vision.
"You had me worried sick about you, Aria." Rotom buzzed, angrily.
"I'm sorry, I told him we should get back here sooner but he wanted to show me around the city." I smiled as I walked over to the ground and grabbed my bag. Rotom rolled his eyes and just joined me as we exited the room.
"Where are we going now?" Rotom asked as we walked through the hallway.
"Our second Gym Battle." I looked at him as he reciprocated an increasingly excited look.
"Dusknoir's first gym battle." I said to myself. Then Rotom and I came back to the foyer of the house and were met with Medgar's blue eyes as the three of us exited the house. We continued walking straight from his street and we crossed the road before parting ways with the house and Medgar said the Gym was on the other side of the street. Rotom floated nearby as we talked more and more about that foolish Galactic Grunt that was following me and I was surprised when I saw the roof of the Gym he identified to be his.
"This would be it." He said looking up at the dark roof, with drops of rain hitting the ground and every so often a minute splat could be heard on the side of the gym. Medgar gripped both door handles with his hands and thrust open the gym. At first I couldn't see anything, but when he switched on the lights my eyes were deceiving me. The gym harbored hundreds of beautiful flowers and various other plant life that was sheltered perfectly underneath a glass roof, providing no sunlight today but I inferred it would look break-taking in bright, summer light.
"This place is so different from the one in Oreburgh." I said looking all the flowers and Rotom floated through the peaceful flowers, too, observing all the colors and shapes.
"Team Galactic hasn't touched it yet, so I'm happy just based on that fact." Medgar said looking at the trees further inside. When I inquired about that, he told me Team Galactic makes all buildings in the city pay a protection fee and after Medgar's parents died he was responsible for the money and the house. The house, he explained, was payed off but he still had to pay a small tax at the end of each month to Team Galactic.
"I can't imagine what they do with all this money." I said shaking my head. "Is this the same with all of Galactic Sinnoh because I know we don't pay any taxes to the Society?"
"I'm not sure. I don't really communicate with the rest of Galactic Sinnoh. It's mostly me here and everyone in it. I do the best I can to unite us as a city but it's been hard with the unemployment of city on the rise." Medgar looked down, sullenly.
"But that's enough banter. You came here for a gym battle and that's what were gonna do." His faced quickly changed from saddened to happy as he led me to an arena hidden behind the network of trees that flourished inside the gym. It was a lot longer on the inside than I first noticed. Medgar walked to the far end of the gym and Rotom and I took our stand in a small rectangular box outlined for the challenger.
"This is my first gym challenge, Aria. I hope it's as good as I'd think it to be." He smiled from all the way across the arena as he threw his pokeball, releasing his Chikorita.
"I've got four pokemon today, Aria. Do you think you can handle them with Rotom?" Medgar said, raising his fist.
"I've got a surprise for you, today." I said grinning broadly. At that he explained the rules of the gym battle, declaring that I would get the first move and that I was the only one who could make substitutions. I would be facing against four pokemon as opposed to the three in my last battle.
"Whenever you're ready, Aria." Medgar called to me from his spot. Rotom moved to the arena and faced the Chikorita. Chikorita jumped up in excitement and I called over to Rotom, asking if he was ready. He released a buzz and I initiated the battle with an Ominous Wind. Rotom generated a murky gust of ghost energy that missed Chikorita by a hair as she retaliated with a Razor Leaf. The leaves struck Rotom but he was able to shake it off and execute a perfect Discharge.
"Dodge it!" Medgar called and Chikorita jumped into the air so elegantly, and the burst of blue light was absorbed into the ground behind where it used to stand. Chikorita used another Razor Leaf from midair and this time, Rotom was able to dodge all of the leaves before they could strike while also preparing another Discharge at closer proximity than from before. I knew Electric-type attacks weren't as effective against Grass pokemon but I knew if I paralyzed the pokemon, it wouldn't be able move so quickly.
I tuned out everything around me and just focused on the battle as Rotom dispensed another Discharge attack that finally struck Chikorita without paralyzing it. Medgar was astonished that Chikorita wasn't able to dodge the attack and asked it to use Synthesis. The Chikorita was able to heal itself a little bit and I could tell Medgar was about to ask it to use the move again when I ordered Rotom to use an Ominous Wind that violently thrashed Chikorita that caused it to faint after the wind had passed.
"Ah, the lack of sunlight didn't allow Chikorita to heal properly. Looks like the weather is in your favor today, Aria." Medgar smiled. I returned his smile with a congratulatory giggle and asked Rotom if a break was in order. He shook his head no and I told Medgar we were ready to continue. He threw his second ball and a Roselia emerged from a white light. It stretched its rosy arms and looked at its opponent. Rotom was awaiting my next command and we started again. This time Roselia prepared for an attack by spinning away from a Discharge attack. Medgar had Roselia use a Magical Leaf and Rotom wasn't able to dodge but was able to remain afloat after suffering significant damage from that attack.
"Confuse Ray!" I called. Rotom looked back at me once and I nodded confirming my decision. Rotom gathered all of his focus and actually released a well-created ball of energy. When it hit Roselia, the pokemon just wandered aimlessly on the grassy meadow, unable to hear the call from its trainer.
"Magical Leaf! Magical Leaf? Are you even listening?" Medgar scratched his head when Roselia tumbled onto the grass unable to stand any longer. I had Rotom use an Ominous Wind twice before Roselia wasn't able to stand up again.
"Wow your Rotom is really good!" Medgar called from his place. "But what I have in store will test the limits of his abilities." Medgar smiled and returned his Roselia, then he threw his third pokeball and released a Grovyle, who stood valiantly to defend itself. Without thinking I had Rotom use another Ominous Wind, but Grovyle was able to dodge the attack completely, then strike Rotom with a vicious Leaf Blade. Rotom stumbled backwards in the air and collapsed onto the ground. After a moment, he rose up again and I had him use another Confuse Ray.
"Dodge, then use Pursuit!" Medgar called pointing his finger at the ball of confusing light. Grovyle easily got out of the way before the confusion attack could do any damage and struck Rotom hard with its body. Rotom could take no more and fainted on the ground. I gasped, but returned Rotom who was able to knock out two of Medgar's pokemon. Maybe Dusknoir could do the same.
"Does that mean it's over?" Medgar called over.
"I've got one more!" I replied back to him. I grabbed into my backpack and procured a pokeball I hadn't had a chance to use yet but I was thinking this would be the time to test him.
Dusknoir appeared from his pokeball and stood to face Medgar's Grovyle in a startling but brave stance. I knew the move Pursuit was deadly and could knockout Ghost and Psychic pokemon easily, but Dusknoir is a big pokemon and I think his bulk would protect him anything Grovyle could dish out. The only moves I knew Dusknoir possessed where Shadow Punch and Fire Punch.
Dusknoir turned back to me and looked ready for a fight. "Alright, Dusknoir let's see what you can do!" I yelled out to him. Medgar was in a ready stance and awaited my next attack as his Grovyle was leaning forward, preparing for the next battle.
"Let's start off with a Shadow Punch!" I yelled at the entire gym. Dusknoir, despite his tail could float mildly in the air and lunged full force at Grovyle, who tried to dodge the attack. Dusknoir just wasn't fast enough to catch the pokemon. But that was the plan. I wanted Grovyle and Medgar to realize they had a speed advantage because Dusknoir had an ace up his sleeve and I was counting on Medgar to say the very next words.
"Pursuit, now!" Medgar called out to his Grass pokemon, who lunged at Dusknoir. Medgar looked confused when I didn't tell Dusknoir to move and gasped at what happened next. Dusknoir timed the attack perfectly in his mind and just as Grovyle was about to collide I yelled for Dusknoir to use a Fire Punch. The Grovyle jerked backwards and slammed into a tree about thirty feet from its initial launch zone. Before it could get away, Dusknoir used a Shadow Punch and silenced the pokemon.
"Are you kidding me? That was so clever of you, though!" Medgar called out to us.
"Haha! Yeah!" I cried in excitement. "Great job Dusknoir, I'm really proud of you." Medgar shook his head and I knew he still had one more pokemon left.
"This is the prize right here, Aria you'd better not slack off or you'll be sorry." Medgar threw his fourth and final ball when it released a pokemon I had never seen before. I was really confused when I saw the pokemon's hands. Or rather it had three leaves extending from its arms that I just assumed were hands. They were just leaves. I mean Dusknoir, a Ghost pokemon even has hands. The pokemon was also very fury and had long, spiky white hair on its head that dragged on the ground when it walked around on its stilt-like feet.
"Aria. This is my partner, Shifty." Medgar looked at me contently, as though he knew this was the end of the line. "Shifty is one part Grass-type one part Dark-type so you'd better watch out or it's game over in a second's notice." I admit I was panicking at this point. We were just down one pokemon each. Dusknoir's battle against Medgar's Grovyle didn't seem to wear it out and that's good because we're going to need all the energy we can get to take down this menacing pokemon. Shiftry roared and looked angrily at Dusknoir like it was just asking to get knocked around by the pokemon's leafy hands.
"Dusknoir show me what else you can do." I asked the pokemon, nervous and unable to think of a strategy. The pokemon looked tough and fast and Dusknoir would get thrashed around if I didn't think of something. To show that Dusknoir had understood me he launched an inaccurate beam of flames at Shiftry and at first I didn't understand what the move was but after Shiftry jumped into the air the beam burned the grass. I understood the move as Will-O-Wisp. That move instantly causes a burn but getting it to hit Shiftry might be a different story in itself. Medgar knows that if he tries a direct hit on Dusknoir I'll use a Fire-type move and Shiftry could suffer a huge hit, but at the same time none of Dusknoir's moves are capable of keeping up with a fast pokemon like Shiftry.
"Interesting move you got there, Aria. That's Will-O-Wisp if I'm not mistaken." Medgar looked at me and smiled.
"Yeah I wasn't sure what else Dusknoir knew so I just asked him to fire off whatever he could manage." I smiled back at him confidently, but secretly sweating my organs out. I was so close to this last victory but the type disadvantage I'm faced with is rather hampering. I breathed in a couple of times and before I could regain some composure, Shiftry sprinted at Dusknoir full force. Before Shiftry got too close, Medgar called for a Leaf Storm. Dusknoir prepped itself but couldn't dodge the monstrous leaf attack dealt by Shiftry. It conjured up hundreds of leaves that exploded into Dusknoir hitting the pokemon with tens of leaves per second, ultimately causing Dusknoir to lose his balance temporarily, but instead of finishing him off Shiftry moved back.
"Leaf Storm causes some difficulty to the user, I forgot about that." Medgar chuckled.
"Dusknoir, hurry can you get back up?" I coaxed the pokemon. Dusknoir stood back up, but with great difficulty and I felt like the show was over on the next attack. I would have to train more after this battle to make my Ghost pokemon stronger. I thought about my shame for not being able to win this battle and it motivated me to at least try and win because I was just so close.
"I believe in you Dusknoir, anything you do from now on, I have complete faith in." I said to him. Suddenly, Shiftry was out of sight and I saw it was above using a Faint Attack from the air, aimed directly at Dusknoir. The move Faint Attack was particularly deadly because it couldn't be dodged and Shiftry was just overhead, beginning to descend when Dusknoir fired another Will-O-Wisp that struck its mark perfectly, but Shiftry still pursued its target and hit Dusknoir really hard, but not enough to defeat him. Dusknoir wobbled with exhaustion and I wondered why Shiftry wasn't able to finish him off.
Then Shiftry ran at Dusknoir again, trying to strike it with its leafy hands, and Dusknoir was able to dodge two but not the third and took a strike to the stomach from Shiftry arms. I couldn't see past Dusknoir's dark body but Medgar's face told me that Dusknoir had grabbed hold of Shiftry and I saw him raise his arm again. Dusknoir's palm began glowing with fire and Shiftry was desperately trying to evade the impending attack but to no avail. Dusknoir's attack hit its mark, releasing Shiftry just before the impact and the pokemon tumbled backwards.
Both pokemon had now sustained a lot of heavy damage from the other. Shiftry, I could tell was running on its last legs because the fire damage it sustained was tremendous. Dusknoir had taken a lot of damage from Shiftry's Dark attacks and was showing signs of fatigue. Medgar and I were also very tense at this point. Our pokemon seemed evenly matched because of Shiftry's type advantage and Dusknoir's bulky defense. I saw Medgar wipe sweat from his brow as he commanded Shiftry over to him and I called over to Dusknoir asking him if he was okay. The battle wasn't over though.
"Faint Attack, let's go!" Medgar called to Shiftry who jolted after Dusknoir again. Dusknoir raised both its arms in an "X" to block most of the attack and shifted forward when Shiftry tried hitting him from the side. To my surprise, Dusknoir quickly turned to meet Shiftry after it had passed and used a Shadow Punch to push it forward, but not enough to cause significant damage. I hated thinking this but it seemed like Dusknoir had more intelligence that even Rotom in battle. It led me to believe that Dusknoir's former trainer had left it with a substantial dexterity that I couldn't teach to Rotom. I wasn't aware the Dusknoir was capable of agile movements with his disabled body but his trainer surely made this Dusknoir's greatest strength.
I saw Dusknoir flinch mid-battle and called out to him asking if he was okay. This was probably it, if Dusknoir gets hit with another Faint Attack, this battle was over and my shot at the second gym was over. I knew losing would mean I would have to train but what would I train Dusknoir? I didn't know what to do and I was losing morale at the sight of my injured pokemon. Dusknoir regained its fighting stance after hearing my voice again.
"Dusknoir, can you use Fire Punch one more time?" I said to Dusknoir as Medgar was asking Shiftry if it was okay to continue. Shiftry looked at Dusknoir with pain in its face as it was suffering from a burn and I almost regret hurting the pokemon after dealing with enough burns in my life. Dusknoir and Shiftry looked at each other and awaited the next command from the trainers. In pure synchronization the two pokemon began running at each other. Shiftry was fast and looked like it had enough speed to just use momentum to strike back Dusknoir.
"Faint Attack!"
"Fire Punch!"
The two pokemon ran at each other just about to ram the other. Shiftry used its whole body in a dastardly Dark-type attack that was very effective against a Ghost pokemon and it already hit its mark once, again just might knock Dusknoir out. Dusknoir was airborne now, able to glide through the air despite his bulky weight and both pokemon slammed into the other. Shiftry used a little more energy towards the end and struck Dusknoir, causing both pokemon to engage in a static collision. Both pokemon were hurled towards me and I noticed Dusknoir grabbed onto Shiftry while they were in the air, about to hit the ground. Dusknoir flipped Shiftry so that he was on top of the Grass pokemon and used a Fire Punch, smashing Shiftry into the ground. Medgar's mouth was dropped to the ground when he saw his pokemon in a hole in the ground caused by the colossal impact. Shiftry was definitely knocked out but Dusknoir was on the ground nearby, but looking up at us. It collapsed momentarily and we both just returned our pokemon and looked at each other, then I looked at the hole where Shiftry's body was.
"Unbelievable." Medgar said as we exited the pokemon center with our pokemon healed and we walked through the city as Rotom floated above my head, healthy again.
"Grovyle knew a Dark attack and Shiftry was part Dark and I still wasn't able to beat you. You are something you know that?" Medgar looked at me.
"Dusknoir has wicked defenses and I guess it helped that he managed to burn your Shiftry before it was able to do much more damage." I looked at him trying to figure things out. Medgar just looked at me and smiled. We embraced in the middle of the street and I silently cheered for myself for being able to single-handedly defeat two gym leaders without rematch. I thought that was just impossible. Little did I know my pokemon were a lot stronger than I had pinned them for. Rotom and I have trained and been partners together for a significant part of my life. Dusknoir was also a former trainer's partner and knew a thing or two about battle. What surprised me the most was when Dusknoir was able to flip Shiftry and himself, despite being stricken by a Faint Attack. And I would hate to be on the receiving end of one of Dusknoir's Fire Punches.
Medgar looked at me as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a shiny badge. He told me the Forest Badge was the symbol of my victory here. This marked the second Gym Leader who used a Dark pokemon against me and I was able to push through to the end. Wilbur Underwood's Tyranitar was a beast and a force to be reckoned with, but Rotom used Carmela's low speed to his advantage, and was able to pull through despite his disadvantage. And here against Medgar's Shiftry, Dusknoir's powerful defensive capabilities proved useful against a partially Dark pokemon. I honestly didn't want to think Rotom wouldn't have been able to take on Shiftry because Rotom didn't have Dusknoir's wit or huge defenses but Rotom definitely had more power in terms of attacks.
Medgar took me back to his house after it started raining again and Rotom floated back to my room to take a relaxing break. Medgar reminded me of how happy he was that I won and took me into his elegant kitchen.
"You better not have held back, Medgar or I swear." I looked at him seriously. We were standing in the center of the room and he rested his hand on the island beside us.
"You saw me out there. I gave it my all. In fact I was sure Shiftry's attack power was enough to knockout Dusknoir in one hit. You proved me wrong, Aria." I just looked at the badge resting in my hands and then I looked up at Medgar. He looked at me with his blazing blue eyes and I pulled him closer to my body. I placed my hand on his hip, bringing my face and his together. Before he could say anything we made out in his kitchen for a good ten seconds, but suddenly he pulled away from me, blushing.
"I'm really sorry." He said to me. I was stunned in my spot and a wave of panic and regret arose in my body. Was it too soon? What if I scared him? I'm not that ugly, am I?
"Medgar, please forgive me I'm truly sorry for that it won't happen again, you're a gym leader and you deserve better I'm sorry please don't hate me." I begged him for his forgiveness feeling horrible with myself.
"Aria."
"Please just kick me out I feel awful." I turned away from him, almost starting to cry at my stupidity. I just felt really dumb for trying to get closer to him but he was just so attractive that I couldn't resist. His clothes were so stylish and the way he composed himself was so familiar that I just felt it was the right moment to do something.
"Aria, please it's okay." Medgar walked in front of me and I just looked away. "I get it you were excited and that's just a natural human tendency." He smiled warmly at me. I returned his smile with a frown and my sorry eyes.
"Are you sure? Can I make it up to you?" I would try anything to get past this really awkward moment in any way I possibly could, to make it up to Medgar. He was someone who was different in this new world and I didn't want to mess it up. I've thought about this before and there's something magnetic about him that I couldn't quite put my finger on. And for this reason I would try everything to make it up to him.
"So we're good?" I looked at him.
"Yeah we are." He chuckled a little. "But I don't think he would appreciate you kissing me very much." He continued giggling. I looked a little confused now.
"Who wouldn't appreciate that?" I just looked at him.
"My boyfriend."