Chapter 19: Castelia Day 3

I am seriously sorry that it has taken me so long to finish this chapter! The battle between Sophie and Burgh just did not want to happen. At one point I contemplated just skipping it all together and not saying what went on, having one of the other characters be off doing something else while it went on…*sighs* I absolutely suck at writing battles. Again, my apologies for this taking so long.

Key:

Eevee/Sophie speaking

Psychic speaking

XxXxX- change of point of view

xXxXx- simple line break

On with the story!

xXxXx

I looked up at the front of the Castelia Pokémon Gym. "I really don't want to go in there."

Jen put her hands on my shoulders. "What's wrong? Don't tell me you're scared of bugs?"

"I have my reasons!" I practically shout, knowing that a fierce blush had spread across my face.

"There are Pokémon that scare you?" T leaned against the wall of the Gym. "And bug Pokémon no less."

"I had a bad experience with a Whirlipede a few years ago, okay? I'm fine with Sewaddle, Swadloon, and Leavanny. It's the bug Pokémon that are also Poison type that scare—don't laugh!" I tried to explain, but ended up pouting as Tim started laughing.

As Tim got control of himself again, T got a thoughtful look on her face. "You know, now that I think about it, we didn't run into a single wild Pokémon, unless you count Ivy, while going through that forest. Did you have something to do with that Sophie?"

Sheepishly, I looked away. "I maaaay have sprayed a few Repels." I suddenly glared at them. "Is that a problem?"

Suddenly all three were laughing. Irritated, I turned and looked in the door of the Gym as they calmed down.

"Oh. I nearly forgot." T pulled out one of her poke balls and released Apatite. "He wanted to see Ember's first battle, that okay?"

I looked at Apatite and a slow grin spread across my face. "Yeah. That's actually perfect!" My mood lifts a little until I look at the Gym again. I look at the door nervously, not even noticing when Tim creeps up behind me.

"It's not gonna be less intimidating the longer you stand here." Tim picked me up, causing me to squeak, and carried me through the door. "There. Now you're inside."

I immediately try to turn around and leave but Tim's hands keep me from going anywhere but forward.

Jen, T, and Apatite enter behind us laughing quietly. As soon as Apatite enters, his eyes light up and he begins to drool.

T looks around the Gym and grins. "Is this why you thought it would be perfect for Apatite to be out?" Before she has finished speaking, Apatite begins running around the Gym. It seems that almost before we can blink all of the honey that had been coating the walls and entranceways was completely gone and Apatite was patting his stomach in satisfaction.

I blink again. "Well, I didn't expect it to be that fast."

"Well, looks like we get to redo the honey on the walls as well as." A Gym Trainer came up to us sighing. "You guys might as well head on up to Burgh. None of the others Trainers are quite ready to take on another challenger. We all got creamed yesterday."

"Sorry about my Munchlax. Honey is his absolute favorite." T apologized to the Trainer.

"Nah, its fine. It was getting about time to refresh it anyways. Now go on." The Trainer quickly pointed us in the right direction before going on his way.

"Yes! Less bugs!" I quietly cheered, causing the others to chuckle.

Jen looked thoughtful as we walked towards the Gym Leader.

"What's up Jen?" T asked, noticing her look.

"I was just thinking that Sophie seems really good at avoiding battles. I mean, she had only had three battles when I first met her, then she batted the Gym Leader…and really, she's had no other battles."

Tim thought for a moment. "You're right. She's only had five battles, unless you count that encounter with Plasma in Pinwheel forest."

T snorts. "That doesn't count." She blinked and looked at me. "Wait, only FIVE?"

I shrugged at her. "Just never had any opportunities besides those. Plus, I'm not all that interested in battling, but in understanding Pokémon." I hesitate at the bottom of the stairs. "Besides. I spent two years training with Avon, Dawn, and Dusk before I left on my journey."

Tim leaned over my shoulder. "Is one of us going to have to carry you up there?"

I glare at Tim and start up the stairs, cuddling Emberdream close to my chest. Burgh notices me as soon as I reach the top stair.

"Ah. A challenger so soon after the defeat. I suppose none of the other trainers were ready yet. What is your name?"

I nod in greeting. "My name's Sophie, and I don't mean to be rude but I would really rather just get this over with." I gently place Ember on the ground and take a few steps back.

Burgh smiled. "Not a fan of bugs then." He pulled out a Poké Ball and released his Whirlipede. "Let's begin."

I flick violently at the sight of the Pokémon but quickly steel myself and focus on Ember. "Ember, use Flamethrower and dodge any attack."

"Whirlipede, use Poison Tail while dodging the fire!"

The bug Pokémon tries to dodge the violent stream of fire that Ember breathes, but is too slow. The fire leaves a violent burn on the side of the Bug-Type. The Whirlipede swipes its poison coated tail at Ember, who simply jumps over it and lands softly back on his paws. Ember's ears twitch to signal me that he is waiting for his next order.

I smile, the adrenaline of the battle helping push the panic at seeing the Whirlipede to the back of my mind. "Flamethrower again, and continue dodging."

Burgh doesn't issue another order. He instead uses a hyper potion to heal the injured Pokémon. Ember waits until the trainer is out of the way to release his next stream of fire on the Bug-Type. The Whirlipede attempts to dodge again but is caught in the onslaught, the flames knocking it unconscious.

Burgh recalls the Whirlipede and looks at me. "Would you like to change Pokémon?"

"No. I'll stick with Ember."

He nods and releases his next Pokémon, a Dwebble.

"Ember, Flamethrower and dodge!"

"Use Sand-Attack, Dwebble, lower his accuracy!"

The Dwebble threw sand at Ember, who turned his head away to keep the sand out of his eyes. The Dwebble's rock shell protected it slightly from the flames that shot out of Ember's mouth. Ember and the Dwebble stared at each other as they waited for their next orders.

I mentally went through the attacks that Ember knew to see if there was one more suited for this opponent and grinned. "Ember, use Rock Smash!"

"Dwebble use Smack Down and dodge the attack!"

The Dwebble threw a stone at Ember as Ember raced towards him. Ember dodged the rock and jumped, landed solidly on the Dwebble's shell before leaping back to the other side of the battlefield.

"Use Flamethrower and finish him off, Ember!"

"Dodge and use Struggle Bug!"

Before the Dwebble could even start his attack, he was swallowed up by the stream of fire from Ember and knocked unconscious. Ember snorts as he waits for Burgh to release his next Pokémon, a small curl of smoke rising from his snout.

"Leavanny, looks like it's down to you again." Burgh releases his final Pokémon and takes a step back. "Use Razor Leaf!"

"Ember, burn those leaves up with Flamethrower!"

Ember stood firm in the path of the leaves and let loose the flames, burning all of the oncoming leaves as the attack made its way towards the Bug-Type. Leavanny was lighter on its feet than the previous two Pokémon and was able to dodge most of the flames.

"Ember use Fire Blast!"

"Leavanny, use String Shot, slow him down!"

Ember dodged the strings shot at him and fired a ball of fire at his opponent, catching Leavanny square in the chest. Ember's ears twitched again as he waited for my next order.

I looked at the Leavanny. "Use Flamethrower and finish this battle!"

"Leavanny, dodge and use Struggle Bug!"

Leavanny tried to dodge the attack, but its injuries slowed it down. Soon enough it was completely engulfed in the flames. When the flames died away, Leavanny was lying unconscious on the ground.

Burgh recalled his Pokémon. "Looks like you won. Congratulations." Burgh handed me the badge as he walked by. "I'm on my way to the Pokémon Center. You and your Flareon really gave us a beating."

"Thank you for the battle!" I watched him leave before turning and scooping up Ember. "Good job! You won a Gym Leader battle all by yourself!"

Ember licked my nose before curling up in my arms to sleep.

Jen smiled down at Ember and gently stroked his head. "He certainly burned through that battle." T groaned and Jen's arm. Jen grinned. "Sorry, I couldn't resist."

"Come on." Tim started headed down the stairs and towards the entrance of the gym. "Let's stop by the café and the Pokémon Center before going back to the hotel and talking about what to do next. I'm hungry."

"You're a growing boy. You're always hungry." T followed him down the steps before turning and looking at me. "Glad you're done with bugs?"

"You have no idea." I rush down the stairs and out the door, ignoring their laughter. I calm myself down while I wait for them to catch up. We all walk in companionable silence until we are back at the hotel, where we gather in Tim's room.

Jen looks at me as she finishes another Casteliacone. "So, we going to Route 4 next, right?"

"I guess so. We've done all we needed to do in Castelia and—" My Xtransceiver going off interrupted me. I looked to see who was calling me. "Sorry, I should take this." I stand up and head to the door.

"Your brother?" Tim leaned back and watched as I left.

"No." I shut the door behind me and went to the room I was staying in. I answered the call. "Hi White. I didn't expect you to call me so soon."

"H-hi Sophie…" White was barely looking at the screen as she spoke. "I… I just…" She finally looked at me. "What do you know about Team Plasma?"

"Hmmm… Not much." I look at how nervous she is. "What about them?"

"I…This guy…" White fell silent and looked around nervously.

"White, where are you right now?"

She blinked at me. "The amusement park in Nimbasa, why?"

"Give me an hour and I'll meet you there." I quickly make sure that all of my stuff is in my bag.

"Eh? But—" The surprise was clear on White's face.

"White, you obviously need to talk to someone, and you decided to call me." I look at the screen. "But you also obviously can't talk about it over the phone. So I'll catch up to you and you can talk to me in person. Okay?"

The relief on White's face made me smile. "Be there in an hour." I ended the call and went back to Tim's room. "Hey Tim, can I borrow Braveheart?"

"What?" Tim stared at me in confusion.

"I need to get to Nimbasa in a hurry." I walked over to where I had left a slumbering Ember.

"I'm guessing this has something to do with the call you just got?" T leaned further back into her chair as she talked.

"A friend I made while I was training yesterday needs someone to talk to. She wasn't able to talk over the phone, so I figured I go there." I looked at the three of them. "Is this a problem?"

Jen smiled back at me. "Just one. Can Braveheart carry four people?"

"Only needs to carry three, my Swablu can follow along behind carrying me." T started shooing Apatite towards the door. "Just give us a few minutes to gather our stuff, kid."

"Sophie's tiny, so Braveheart shouldn't have a problem." Tim grinned as I shoved him off the bed.

Jen laughed. "I'm already packed, so I'll go return our keys to the front desk." She headed for the door. "Meet there in five minutes!"

xXxXx

An hour later and we landed in Nimbasa. Jen grabbed T's hand.

"Come on! While Sophie is talking to her friend, we can check out the Pokémon Musicals! I bet Apatite will love them!" She ran off, dragging a startled T behind her.

Tim laughed. "I'm gonna go see if I can get any training done at the stadium. Good luck with your friend."

"I'll see you guys at the Pokémon Center later!" I wave quickly before heading off to the amusement park, Avon out and trotting along besides me.

I look around and see White sitting on a bench, staring at the Ferris Wheel. "White!"

She startles out of her thoughts. "Sophie! Thanks for coming."

I settle down next to her and wait.

"This guy…His name is N. I first met him near the beginning of my journey, just thought he was a bit weird…Turns out he's the leader of Team Plasma—he said he was their king—and I just…" White was looking at the Poké Ball she had unconsciously been rolling between her hands.

"White, do you know what Team Plasma's goals are?" I band down and scratch between Avon's ears as I talk.

She looks at me, confused. "N said that they want to set all Pokémon free."

I look back at her. "Maybe that's what he thinks, or has been told…" I look over to where a child is playing with a Pokémon. "But that's not the impression I got with the few Grunts I met. In fact, they were trying to catch Pokémon, not free them."

White looks around the amusement park, at all the people happily wandering with their Pokémon. "I just don't know what to think."

I laugh. "Then don't." I smile at the confusion on her face. "Just do what feels right to you." I poke her in the chest. "Let your heart lead you."

She's silent for a while before she finally smiles. "Thanks Sophie. That helps…"

"But there's something else?"

"Just a weird feeling I got while I was talking to N." Confusion and another emotion were written on her face.

I blink at her. "And that is DEFINITELY something you get to figure out on your own." I stretch and spot the Nimbasa Gym. "Have you challenged Elesa yet?"

White follows my gaze. "No…" She grins. "Want to help me train before I do?"

I smile up at her. "Sure!"

"Oh! How did your battle with Burgh go?" She wanders over to an empty area in the park and lets out her Dewott.

"As a friend put it, we burned through it." I grin as White's laughter fills the air.

Avon looks up at me. Sounds like she's feeling better.

I scratch between his ears again. Yup. And well on her way to beating Plasma I bet.

xXxXx

Author's Note: Soooooo… Hi. Sorry for the long wait—over a year!—and even more sorry for the pathetic ending to the Gym battle. This chapter has not been beta'd because I just could not make you guys wait any longer.

I decided to skip Route 4 because the plot bunny with White popped up. I have no clue when the next chapter will be… May do a special chapter of what happened with Kevin and Clint after Sophie notified the cops of them being in Castelia. Don't know yet. Hopefully it will not be another year before I get the next chapter out! For now though…I'm going to sleep.

I am not a writer! I am a puppet controlled by fictional characters!