I wanted to preface this chapter with a bit of an apology for the impromptu hiatus. My keyboard died unexpectedly and I was unable to procure a new one for a little bit. However, my writing station is back in working order and I took the time off to draft a lot of ideas and have many plans that I hope will come to fruition soon. Happy reading. 3
The Kimono Girl Dance Theatre was much larger than either boy expected. The theatre was simply the first building within a small compound of three connected buildings, which had a wall surrounding their perimeter. There was a sign out front, telling the story of the Kimono Girls as well as the change from just a simple theatre into a safe place for Eevee to be raised properly. Both boys were fascinated by the elegant designs of the building and quickly made their way into the theatre.
They entered into a large, old fashioned dance theatre. The side of the room furthest from the door was dominated by a large, wooden stage, upon which five beautiful women were currently twirling in a very intricate dance. Between the stage and the entrance was a decent sized area where low tables with cushions spread around them were arranged for spectators to sit and enjoy the show. The entire area was lit by multicolored paper lanterns that were hung around the room. The crowd this afternoon appeared to be of a decent size. About a third of the seats were currently occupied with patrons who were mesmerized by the show.
Adrian quietly nudged Chance with his elbow to get his attention and usher him towards two empty cushions near them. The two trainers quickly took their seats and watched as the show continued before them. The five women on stage performed gracefully. Their dances seamlessly moved between being elegant and beautiful to moments where the pace would quicken and the dance seemed more drastic, but soon the dance would slow once more to an elegant melody once again. Both boys were amazed at the skill of the performers.
Before long, the final dance ended and the five women on the stage bowed to their audience, receiving a loud bout of applause. The women then quickly disappeared through a door near the corner of the stage.
"Oh what a wonderful performance." An elderly woman at a table in front of the boys said to her companions.
"Yes! Those girls really are talented!" A man with her said.
The entire room had quickly erupted into small conversations among parties about how enjoyable the show was. The crowd of people slowly began to stand and make their way out of the building to carry on with their afternoon, the conversations not ceasing for a moment.
"I don't think I have ever seen anything quite like that." Chance said, turning from the crowd to his friend.
"Me either. I told you it was worth it to come." The blonde said, a hint of smugness in his voice. "But I was told that they took challengers at times. I was hoping we could at least battle while we are here." His face quickly fell to a frown.
"Oh! Were you hoping to meet the girls?" A light voice asked from several tables away, causing both boys to turn with a start. They quickly realized that the voice came from a young girl, maybe a couple years younger than the two of them, with dark black hair that was pulled into a bun. She wore a green kimono with pink flowers on it.
"Uh, yeah." Adrian stammered out. "I thought it would be cool to see how strong they are. I have heard a lot about them being really strong Eevee trainers."
"Well, you did hear correctly." The girl stood up and walked over to the boys. "I bet I could get you two back there to meet them if you'd like. After all, they are my older cousins and my teachers!" She said with a huge smile.
"Tha- That would be great!" Adrian said, the disappointment leaving his face completely as he got to his feet. "I have wanted to meet them since I was little." The moment he realized what he said a small blush crossed his cheeks.
"Alright, let me go talk to them." She stood and turned to walk towards the door near the stage. "My name is Kimiko, by the way." She said over her shoulder with a smile.
"I'm Adrian, this is Chance." The blonde said, indicating to the redhead next to him.
"Kimi! You can't let these dweebs get a special audience for no reason." A familiar voice came from across the room. "If they didn't schedule anything then let them wait."
The boys turned to see Jade, Ryan, and Ian sitting at one of the few still occupied tables at the far edge of the room. Jade was now standing next to the table and her friends, scowling at the two boys across the room.
"Ah! Jade! It's so nice to see you!" The black-haired girl yelled as she ran over and embraced the girl. "Why didn't you tell us you would be here?" All four boys in the room seemed to look at the two girls in utter confusion as Kimiko hugged Jade, who, as her friends knew, generally hated to be touched.
"This would be exactly why." Jade said, her scowl deepening.
"Wait, you two know each other?" Ryan asked from his seat on the cushion.
"Of course! Jade here is my sister!" Kimiko yelled with joy.
"You have a sister?!" Ryan asked, mouth ajar with surprise.
"Yes. This is my little sister, Kimiko." The raven-haired girl replied, matter-of-factly. "The women we just saw dancing are our older cousins. Kimiko is here training to be just as prim and proper as them." She rolled her eyes at this.
"Oh! Let me go get them! They will be so happy to see you!" The younger girl squealed out, running across the room to fetch the dancers.
"Why didn't you ever tell us you were from Ecruteak?" Ryan asked his companion.
"Because I'm not." She replied with annoyance. "My sister and I are from Mahogany Town. Our parents just shipped us off here because they thought it would be good for us to learn how to be more lady-like. So stupid. I never should have let you two idiots drag me in here."
"Ha! Yeah. I can't even picture you in one of those silly dresses!" Ian laughed from beside his friend. "You are definitely not the prim and proper type!" He began laughing harder at his own statement, much to his friend's annoyance.
Across the room the two boys turned from the commotion and stared at each other. "So she is supposed to be in training to become one of these Kimono Girl Dancers?" Chance asked his friend.
"I guess? I don't know. She really doesn't seem to enjoy this place very much. Must be some family issues." The blonde replied.
Several long minutes passed, both groups of trainings deep in their own thoughts and conversations. During this time the last few stragglers finally made their way out of the theatre, leaving only the five trainers. Before long the rear door burst open once more. Kimiko charged out of the opening, followed by two other women running behind her. As the three women reached Jade, three other women exited the door into the theatre.
"Jade! It's been months! Where have you been?!" The first new girl asked loudly.
"We were so worried!" The second girl said, hugging Jade tightly.
"Sakura, Koume, please get off me." Jade replied bluntly.
"I agree. Step away from her." The last woman to enter the room said darkly.
"But Satsuki!" The first girl, Sakura, started to say, but was instantly silenced when she turned and looked at her sister.
"She has a lot to answer for." Satsuki replied, slowly walking closer to Jade.
"Pfft. As if." Jade scowled. "If that is what I am going to listen to then I am out of here." She turned to leave, but quickly found the last two women standing by the door.
"Jade, you disappeared without saying anything. We were all very worried." The woman with long purple hair said sadly.
"Do you have any idea how hard it was to tell your parents that you vanished from your room? That is exactly why they sent you to train with us." The woman with shoulder length green hair added.
"I know you didn't enjoy living here and didn't enjoy the training you were going through." Satsuki started. "But we were never cruel or unfair to you. You abandoned your family and your pokémon without saying a word. That kind of disrespect is unforgivable."
"I don't remember asking for your forgiveness!" Jade shouted at the blue-haired woman. "I had to leave! You people were driving-" She stopped as she noticed a tiny head peeking through the door that the women had entered through. She stared at the door long enough to draw every eye in the room towards it. From behind the door emerged a small brown pokémon with a thick white collar of fur around its neck. The pokémon slowly took a few steps into the room, its head held low to the ground with its ears pressed down into its back. "Eevee…" Jade whispered, her voice breaking.
"Yes. Eevee. The pokémon you abandoned. The one whose heart you broke the day you left." Satsuki said harshly.
"Your poor Eevee used to be so energetic and full of life. But the last few months… She has become a shell of the pokémon she once was." The purple-haired woman spoke from the door.
"Tamao, you don't understand." Jade replied, a tear forming in her eye. "I had to leave here! I couldn't handle you all bossing me around anymore! But… But I couldn't take Eevee with me. I didn't know where I was going to go, and she deserved better than that. She needed to know she would always have a place to sleep and be warm and well fed… I left her here for her own good." She looked at her feet as she spoke, refusing to look at the Eevee's eyes.
"Your reasoning doesn't matter much. You still abandoned your pokémon." Satsuki replied.
"If you wanted what was best for Eevee then you should have stayed here with us…" Koume whispered to her cousin. "She needed you. She loved you." As the redheaded woman spoke to the younger girl, more tears began to form in Jade's eyes.
"Eevee… It was so hard to leave you." She whispered, falling to her knees. "I never wanted to hurt you. I'm so sorry." As her tears hit the floor, Eevee slowly made her way across the room to her former trainer, standing below her face, her ears still lying flat against her head. She slowly stepped up on Jade's bent knees and licked the crying girl's nose, making her open her eyes. The moment she saw Eevee staring up at her she began to cry harder, hugging Eevee close.
"Sakura, Sumomo, please take Jade someplace private so we can talk." Satsuki told two of her sisters. "Koume, Tamao, please entertain our guests, okay?"
The four sisters nodded, each departing to their respective task. As three of the sisters led Jade out of the room, followed quickly by Kimiko, who led Ryan and Ian through the door with her, the redheaded sister as well as a taller sister with purple hair approached Chance and Adrian.
"So, you two wanted to participate in one of our esteemed battles, is that right?" The purple-haired woman, Tamao, asked.
"If it would be alright with you, it would be an honor." Adrian replied with a quick nod.
"Then it's settled!" The redhead, Koume, said excitedly. "How about we two redheads battle and then you can take on my sister?" She asked, pointing to Adrian. The two boys nodded in reply. "Perfect! It will be a one-on-one battle. Come with me and I will take you to the battlefield in the garden." She said with a smile.
The small group was led through a quick series of doors before exiting the building into a garden that sat in the middle of the compound. The center of the garden was a standard, dirt battlefield, but the rest of the garden was a series of bright, fragrant flowers and a small stream that wound around the courtyard. Several trees were spread throughout the garden, providing shade for any who wished to relax in the serene environment. Koume quickly trotted to the far end of the battlefield and turned to face Chance as he approached his position.
"Alright! Let's get this started!" Koume shouted. "Flareon, let's go!" She threw a pink pokéball with a heart emblazoned on it high into the air. From the ball emerged a canine-like pokémon with orange fur covering the majority of its body, with large tufts of yellow fur covering the tail, as well as creating a collar around the pokémon's neck, and a final tuft on the top of its head.
"Hoothoot, come on out!" Chance called, summoning the Owl Pokémon. Hoothoot emerged in a flash of red light a few yards in front of Flareon, quickly shifting to standing on only his right foot and preparing to take flight.
"Just a Hoothoot? You better be taking us seriously! Flareon, fire spin!" Koume commanded the Flame Pokémon. Flareon shot a spinning stream of fire from its mouth at Hoothoot, who quickly leapt into the air to dodge the attack.
"Hoothoot, hit back with peck!" Chance called out. The Owl Pokémon dove down towards his foe, his beak glowing a bright white, but before he could make contact Flareon disappeared and reappeared above him before slamming into his back with a quick attack, followed immediately by a fire fang when the two hit the ground.
"Gotta try harder than that!" Koume teased happily. "Flareon, let it go and use fire spin again!"
"Get back up and use confusion, quick!" Chance said, a small amount of panic in his voice. Hoothoot quickly stood once again as Flareon created a bit of distance between the two before another stream of fire erupted from its maw, however, this time Hoothoot was able to grab the fire with its psychic abilities and redirect the stream back at Flareon. Flareon, much to its opponent's chagrin, didn't seem phased by the flames that bathed its body.
"That won't work on my Flareon. Its ability is Flash Fire, meaning fire attacks are only good to power it up!" Koume called out. "Now, quick attack again!"
"Stop it with confusion!" Chance called out. Flareon was stopped mid leap by Hoothoot's psychic energy, however, it was clear that Hoothoot couldn't hold it for long. "If reflecting your fire attacks won't work then we will have to stick to physical attacks. Throw it into the ground, quick!"
Just before the psychic hold on Flareon broke, Hoothoot threw it back and slammed it into the ground several yards away. As Flareon got back to its feet, Hoothoot began to glow a bright white, shocking everyone present. Hoothoot grew more than twice his original size as his small wings elongated into large, thick wings. The black horns above its eyes grew thicker as well, curving into large, cream-colored horns. His feathers darkened, with his wings becoming a dark brown, while his head and body became a lighter brown, with darker brown triangles across his stomach. The evolved pokémon spread its large wings before letting out a loud cry and taking to the air.
"Well, this should certainly make things more interesting." Koume commented, admiring the much larger Owl Pokémon.
"Noctowl, huh?" Chance said quietly, examining his pokédex to learn about the evolved form of his Hoothoot. "Noctowl, use confusion!" He called out.
Noctowl's large horns began to glow a bright blue before it released a beam of psychic energy at Flareon, who nimbly dodged to the side before launching a fire spin at the Owl Pokémon. Noctowl easily evaded the attack before its wings began to glow white. Noctowl slammed his glowing wings together, launching a light blue blade of air at Flareon, this time making contact with the Flame Pokémon. Flareon rolled across the dirt, but quickly jumped back to its feet.
"Flareon, let's show them what we're really made of! Hidden power!" Koume called out.
Flareon quickly summed six yellow orbs around its body before bringing them in front of it and launching them towards its foe with a cry. Noctowl dodged the first two orbs before getting struck by the remaining four, each bursting in a shower of electric sparks, causing the Owl Pokémon to crash to the floor.
"Noctowl is unable to battle!" Tamao called out after a moment. "Flareon is the winner!"
Koume shared a quick hug with her Flareon before congratulating Chance on his pokémon's evolution and a battle well fought. Chance, in turn, thanked her while recalling his pokémon to rest.
"Are you ready?" The purple-haired maiden asked Adrian as she walked past the boy towards where her sister had stood moments before.
"Of course!" Adrian replied excitedly, jumping to his feet and jogging to swap places with his own companion.
"One-on one. Let's go! Come on out, Umbreon!" Tamao shouted as she threw pokéball that had a large, yellow dot on each side as well as a lightning bolt emblazoned on the front.
From the ball emerged Umbreon, a black, fox-like pokémon with yellow circles on each leg, as well as a yellow stripe on each ear as well as its tail.
"I choose you, Quilava!" The blonde called out, summoning his starter pokémon. "Ready buddy? Let's hit them with ember!"
"Shadow ball" Tamao said calmly.
Umbreon conjured a purple and black pulsating sphere from its mouth and shot it towards the incoming spray of small fireballs. The two attacks collided and for a moment the orb of shadow energy kept moving forward, but the steady stream of fireballs eventually caused both attacks to end in a small explosion in the middle of the field.
"Quick attack." Tamao commanded in an even tone before the smoke dissipated.
Umbreon immediately shot out of the smoke and slammed into Quilava, sending him rolling across the battlefield.
"Don't give up! Use flame wheel, quick!" Adrian called out, shocked at the power of their opponent.
"Repel it with dark pulse." Tamao said, flipping her long hair over her shoulder.
Umbreon stood its ground and released a beam of black energy from its mouth, which slammed into the spinning inferno that had engulfed Quilava and was flying through the air at the dark-type. The large flame wheel was quickly sent spinning back across the battlefield, where Quilava managed to end the attack and skid to a stop, luckily remaining on his feet and avoiding taking too much damage.
"This is not going well…" The blonde muttered. "Quilava, try a swift attack!"
"Swift as well."
The two pokémon shot out sprays of bright white stars that met between them, causing several small explosions as the attacks impacted against each other.
"Use smokescreen to add to the smoke!" Adrian called out, suddenly getting an idea. Once his pokémon had spewed out a large cloud of smoke he called out to him once more. "Now quick attack!"
Quilava launched itself through the plume of smoke that was now obscuring the battlefield, quickly rushing towards Umbreon in the hopes of landing a clean hit before it could find Quilava. The assault was successful, as the Volcano Pokémon slammed into Umbreon's side and sent it sliding a few feet backwards. Before the Moonlight Pokémon could recover, Quilava began to pelt it with an onslaught of embers and then jumped and dove into a flame wheel. The close-range attack almost hit its mark, but the moment before the attack impacted Umbreon, the eeveelution launched another dark pulse to both slow the approaching wheel as well as launch itself backwards and gain a small amount of distance. Nevertheless, the assault injured both combatants.
"Not bad." Tamao smirked. "Time to finish this up, Umbreon. Use giga impact!" Emotion finally appeared in the Kimono Girl's voice as she threw her hand out before her.
"Don't give up, Quilava! Flame wheel!" Adrian countered.
Quilava jumped and burst into a spinning wheel of fire once more as Umbreon charged forward, a purple energy with orange streaks spinning through it surrounding its body. The two pokémon collided in the middle of the field, the results being catastrophic for Quilava. The giga impact ripped through the flame wheel and slammed into the Volcano Pokémon, sending him flying across the field before slamming into the ground at his trainer's feet.
"Quilava!" Adrian called out, running the few feet between himself and his fallen pokémon. "You fought well, buddy. Take a long rest." He said softly to his pokémon, recalling him to recover.
"You fought well." Tamao said, offering her hand to her kneeling opponent. "Most people who battle me don't even get a single hit in." The blonde took the offered hand as the two spectators approached.
"It's true! Tamao is the second strongest of us. Only Satsuki is stronger!" Koume said cheerfully.
"Well, thanks." Adrian replied sheepishly. "I- We, Quilava and I, appreciate the chance to battle you at all. I am glad I made it at least a little entertaining for you."
"Indeed. I am betting that given some time you and that Quilava of yours will be some fierce opponents. I would like you to challenge me again when that day comes." The woman said with a smile.
"It's a deal!" The blonde replied happily.
"And you," Tamao motioned towards the redhead behind his friend. "Next time we meet if you can beat Koume then I will have to battle you as well. It was a very close battle." The praise earned a blush from the redheaded boy.
"Oh please! Flareon and I had everything under control." Koume said defensively. "But remember, I am one of the weaker Kimono Girls when it comes to battling. If you challenge any of the other girls you won't have such a fun time, so you better keep the fun between us." The redheaded woman said with a wink.
"Thanks. I think." Chance replied with a blush.
"Well, the battles were fun, but it is getting late and we really should check on our sister's and Jade." Tamao said, turning to head back into the building. "Thank you so much for stopping in for our show and providing us with some entertainment. Koume will show you out." The dark-haired woman then disappeared through a door while Koume led the boys back to the entrance of the compound.
"So, what is next for you two?" She asked as they stepped into the evening air once more.
"Well, tomorrow we plan to take on Morty, and if all goes well we will be leaving town after that to continue our gym challenge." Adrian explained.
"Morty is tough, but I think you two can handle it." Koume replied with a smile. "Best of luck!" She yelled out before disappearing back into the theatre entrance.
"Well, that was certainly an educational experience." Chance sighed to his friend.
"Hey, just because we both lost doesn't mean it wasn't super fun." The blonde replied. "That was all a dream come true for me." He said with a smile.
"Minus the part about one of our rivals making a room full of women start yelling."
"Yes, minus the Jade part." He smirked as both boys shared a laugh.
"So… Dinner?"
"Dinner." Adrian nodded as the two boys made their way through the quiet streets of Ecruteak City, already thinking up more strategies for their gym battles the following day.