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When they arrived at the Aubergine Gym, June jumped at the opportunity to have the first battle. She walked up to an old woman who was standing outside of the gym, sweeping the porch as she hummed to herself.
"Hi, my name is June. Are you the Aubergine Village Gym leader?" she asked.
"That'd be my sister," the woman responded. "Helena!"
"Yes! What is it?!" a scratchy voice called from the back yard.
"There's a bunch of kids here. One of them wants a gym battle!"
Helena came forward. She had an Omanyte and a Kabuto by her side. She extended her hand to June, who was standing closest to her.
"My name is Helena," she said with a warm smile. "This is my sister Elaine. These are my Ditto."
They all bowed and said 'hello' to Elaine, then greeted her Pokémon. The Kabuto and Omanyte transformed into their original forms.
"So cute!" Jocelyn exclaimed, pushing forward to pet them.
"It's wonderful to meet you," said Annastasia. "My name is Annastasia, and I'm the chaperone."
"I know who you are, Darling," Helena responded. "Everyone in this village knows about you—you're a local celebrity. Quite the magnificent trainer, beautiful too: one of a kind."
"Oh, wow, that's very flattering…but I wouldn't say that…"
"She's just being modest," Jay said as he offered his hand for Helena to shake. "My name is Jay. I'm her brother."
"I'm Jocelyn and this is my best friend, Flaafy," said Jocelyn. "Annastasia is our Onēsan."
"Flaa."
Everyone took turns shaking hands with Helena and Elaine, except for Michio of course.
"That is Michio," Soledad started. "He's…uh…"
"I know who he is," said Helena. "The younger son of Keaka and Makoa Kapule."
"Pikachuu?" Scarlett inquired.
"How do you know who I am?" Michio asked as he crossed his arms.
"I know a lot of things about a lot of people. So, who came for a gym battle?"
June, Jay, Amber, Takeshi, Soledad, and Michio raised their hands. Helena's grin widened when she saw Michio's go up last.
"Let's you and I go first," she said to the teenager.
"Actually, Miss, I was hoping I could go first," said June. "I get anxious otherwise."
"Very well. I will do you, then Michio. Does that sound good to everyone?"
Everyone nodded. Helena led them into the gym. The space they occupied was dark, but it was still light enough for them to see the rather unique displays of artwork that the woman had placed throughout the arena.
"Whoa," Jocelyn gasped.
"Flaafy?"
"You've gotta be kidding," said Michio.
"I like your collection," Annastasia said brightly, not the least bit fazed.
The entire gym was decorated with eggplant. Eggplants painted on the ceilings and walls, eggplant-colored tiles and designs on the floor, the windows were made of stained-glass eggplants, and real eggplants were placed in eggplant-colored baskets on a table near the front of the gym. Jay opened his mouth to speak, but decided against it. He wanted to know why the gym looked like a shrine to the eggplant gods, but he didn't want to sound rude.
"Um, Miss, why do you have so many decorations of eggplant?" June asked, much to the relief of the other children, who were all searching for ways to ask that same question.
"I've lived in Aubergine Village my entire life. Even my ancestors lived here. My great, great grandparents are the ones who founded this village, hundreds of years ago...It's quite an interesting story, about those eggplants."
"Can you tell us?" Soledad asked as she reached for a notebook. "It sounds fascinating."
"I wanna hear too," said Jocelyn.
"Fla!"
"I wouldn't mind delaying our gym battle, if that is okay with you," said June.
"I would love to tell you," Helena responded.
Helena gestured for the others to join her on her eggplant-themed sofa. Michio begrudgingly sat beside Annastasia, who sarcastically responded by moving as close to him as she could possibly get without touching him.
"It started in the Hoenn region," Helena began. "But that long ago, the regions weren't divided, and the only difference between the regions was distance. As legend goes, there was a tribe of angry Baltoy and Claydol that had dominance over all the other Pokémon for miles. Not even Mew or any of the other legendary Pokémon could stop them, for they were too great in number."
Jocelyn raised her hand.
"Yes, Dear?" Helena asked.
"What does Mew have to do with eggplant?"
"Flaaaa fee?"
"I will get there, just give me a few moments, Darling," Helena responded.
"Okay," Jocelyn answered.
"Fla."
"Thank you," said Helena. "The Claydol and Baltoy drove all the people to this area, known today as southern Kanto. Eventually the people, my ancestors included, got tired of running, and decided to start a war against the Claydol and Baltoy. As the story goes, it was a long, terrible fight, and when it ended, only one Claydol remained, and it was huge."
"This story is starting to sound familiar," Jay whispered to Annastasia.
"Yeah, like Mom, Papa, May, Max, and Ash versus the giant eggplant-despising Claydol familiar," Annastasia replied.
"Upon realizing that they could not fight it, the people tried to do everything they could to appease the Claydol," Helena continued. "They brought Claydol all kinds of treats and did nice things for it. They soon discovered that Claydol loved eggplant, and as long as they fed it eggplant, the Claydol was gentle and decided to start building Aubergine Village with the giant Claydol as their mascot. They fed that Claydol so much eggplant, and legend says it grew even bigger because of it. Claydol loved the eggplant so much, that the people had to dedicate their lives to growing eggplant just so that they could keep up with its enormous appetite. The villagers figured out how to grow human sized eggplants, too, which Claydol adored. The place where we are sitting is the same place where the giant Claydol used to sleep at night. After a hearty meal of eggplant, it would go to rest, staring out of that the eggplant-shaped window until it fell asleep."
"Where's it now? It must be really old," said Takeshi.
"One day my great-great grandmother, the person who used to feed Claydol and take care of it at night, passed away in her sleep. Claydol was so upset at her passing, that he threw a tantrum and began destroying the village. Every building was knocked down, except for this gym. That was because the eggplant reminded Claydol of my great-great grandmother, and the village was decorated like eggplant. He didn't destroy the gym because he loved her and knew it would make her upset. That is why it is the only place still decorated with eggplant. Anyway, my great-great-grandfather, who was traveling at the time, rushed home and tried to get the Claydol to calm down by presenting it with some eggplant, but Claydol refused to eat it, and instead just stomped on it. Claydol was too distressed, and it was going to head to the next village over, which was just starting to get its roots. My great-great-grandfather was worried that Claydol was going to hurt those people too, so he decided to construct an enormous enclosure in which to trap the Claydol. In fact, it was shaped like a Pokéball, and it is where the inspiration for modern Pokéballs came from. He used two enormous eggplants to lure it away from the other village and into the enclosure, for Claydol was still destroying everything that looked like eggplant. After he was trapped inside, my great-great grandfather used his Drowzee to cast a spell on Claydol, which put it to sleep. Now it is back where is originally started out, in Hoenn, where my brother watches over it, still asleep in its enclosure."
Helena bowed her head when she finished her story and her audience of children, teens and Pokémon applauded.
"I have another question," said Jocelyn.
"Fla."
"Fire away, Dear," Helena responded.
"If Claydol is never coming back, then why do you still have the eggplant decorations everywhere?"
"Flaafy fee?"
"For the memories. These decorations are some of the oldest things in Kanto, minus the fossils of course. And they're conversation starters," she answered cheerfully.
"I bet that Claydol is the same Claydol our parents told us about," Amber said to Annastasia and Jay.
"We already figured that out, Amb," said Jay. "I gotta tell them about it!"
"Ditto."
XO
June and Helena took their positions to start their battle while everyone else gathered at the sidelines. Soledad beside Michio.
"That sure was a cool story, don't you think?" Soledad asked.
"That story was the biggest piece of bullshit I ever heard," he responded. "She sounded like she made it up on the spot."
"Maybe, but I still enjoyed it, and that isn't nice."
"I'm not a nice guy. Where've you been the last few weeks?"
"You know, I can tell Annastasia you're being rude."
"I didn't say that to her face like a normally would have. This is an improvement for me. And stop snooping."
Soledad and her Charmander scoffed then joined Jay and Amber several feet away.
"The battle between Gym Leader Helena and Challenger June will commence," Helena's sister declared. "This will be a Single Battle. Each trainer must use two Pokémon each. There is no time limit and only the challenger may make substitutions."
"Since this is a Ditto gym, you must present your Pokémon first," said Helena.
"Okay! I choose Bulbasaur!" June announced.
"Ditto, Transform," Helena instructed.
"Vine Whip!"
"Jump the rope, Dear, and use Sweet Scent."
"Hold your breath so that the sweet scent can't effect you!"
"June came prepared," said Lexi. "So proud."
"Ditto," said the others. "Jynx!"
"I won," said Annastasia. "You own me a lime seltzer. Go, June and Bulbasaur!"
"Go, June and Bulbasaur!"
"Flaaafy!"
"You're good," Helena told June. "Ditto, Vine Whip."
"Thank you, Miss, and Bulba, use Razor Leaf!" June countered.
Ditto's Vine Whip was faster than Bulbasaur's Razor Leaf. The vines cut through the leaves and hit Bulbasaur.
"Oh no!" June cried.
"Bulbasaur is unable to battle. This round goes to Gym Leader Helena," Elaine declared.
"You shoulda dodged that!" Takeshi called out.
June's face darkened from embarrassment. 'Darn, and I was so impressive the last time. I gotta concentrate and improve if I wanna be more like A…'
"It's okay, June, you still have another try!" Lexi and Nolan called out.
"Just relax," said Annastasia. "You got this."
"We know what you can do, don't give up yet," said Soledad.
"She's right," said Takeshi. "You can do it!"
"Yeah!" the others shouted together.
"Flaaa!"
"Right," June responded, regaining her composure. "I choose Scooter."
"Ditto, Transform," Helena instructed.
"String Shot—aim right for the face!"
"Dodge!"
Scooter's string shot missed the imitation Caterpie by less than an inch, but June had him quickly shoot out another one, this time getting a direct hit.
"Yay! Good job June and Scooter!" Jocelyn cheered.
She and Flaafy now had little cheerleader pom-poms and flags with red 'R's on them, a gift from their parents. She passed extras to the other children, who waved them as they continued to cheer.
"Scooter, Stench," June instructed.
"Piiiiiii!" Ditto cried.
The smell was so strong that it caused her opponent to faint.
"Yes! We did it!" June exclaimed, still covering her nose.
"I'm happy for her, but that reeks," said Amber.
"Yucky!" Jocelyn cried as she used her pom-poms to cover her face.
"Flaaa!"
"I'm gonna be sick," said Jay.
"Be sick over there," Amber said as she pushed Jay towards Michio.
"It will blow over in a few moments," Annastasia assured the group as they continued to gag.
Michio looked especially disturbed. Annastasia giggled at this.
"What's so funny?" he choked.
"Ah, I'll tell you later," she replied.
"You always say that but you never—"
"Look!" Jocelyn cried as she pointed to June's Caterpie. "Something's happening to Scooter!"
"Fla!"
"He's evolving," said Soledad.
"Sweet!" Amber and Jay said together.
"Oh, Scooter, this is great!" June cried happily.
The children watched in anticipation as the Caterpie transformed into a Metapod. After each of them scanned it with their Pokédex, June asked what their next move was, since it was a tied match.
"For ties I like to do something unique," Helena explained.
"Like what?" asked June.
"I will give you a riddle. If you can solve the riddle, then you earn the badge. But no one here can help you. You have to do it one your own. I give you a riddle, and you tell me which Pokémon I'm describing. You get one guess, so do so carefully."
"Okay…."
"Here it is:
'We always travel in a cluster,
Psychic power is what we muster.
When we touch a Leaf Stone, folks get a real laugh,
For when we evolve, the number of our heads get divided in half!'
Do you know the answer?"
"Um, well you said 'Leaf Stone', and I think only grass types use Leaf Stones…"
"I know the answer!" Soledad said as she raised her hand and bounced up and down.
"June must find the answer on her own if she wants the badge," said Helena.
"Oh, right. Sorry, June."
"It's okay," June responded. "May I get a hint?"
"No hints," said Helena responded.
"Well…may I take some time to think about it and let you know later?"
"Certainly, but you must swear to not cheat. No friends or outside sources."
"I won't cheat, I promise. Scooter will be with me the whole time, since I keep him out of his ball. He will know if I ask anyone."
"Great. In the meantime, I'll battle Michio. Where is he?"
"Here," Michio said as he stepped back into the arena, Scarlett by his side. "I had to get away from that fucking stench."
"It's your turn to battle. I know that you do not like to be kept waiting, so let's make this a quick one."
"Fine with me."
Michio stepped onto the platform.
"Onēsan, are you excited?" Jocelyn asked. "This is the first time we ever got to see Michio battle."
"Honestly, I could care a little less," Annastasia replied. "But I am just a wee bit curious to see what he planned."
Elaine once again announced the rules of the match. Helena another Ditto. Michio released an Ekans.
"Michio caught an Ekans!" Jocelyn exclaimed. "That was my mom's first Pokémon!"
"Flaa!"
"Interesting. He must've snuck out one night and caught it," said Nolan.
"I suppose he couldn't spend all of his time sulking," Lexi replied.
After Helena's Ditto transformed, Michio had Ekans use Slash. Her Ditto countered with a Slash of its own. Ditto's however, wasn't quite as swift.
"Use combination 2!" Michio called out to his Pokémon.
The Ekans tunneled underneath Ditto and came up from behind it. Ekans then used Bite before the Ditto could respond. Ditto fainted immediately.
"I don't get it. What does it mean to use a combination?" Takeshi asked his older traveling companions.
"It's a strategy some trainers use so that your opponent doesn't know what to expect. You discuss a battle routine with your Pokémon in private sometime before the battle begins, and you practice it a few times. Then you give it a name or a label. Later you can call out that label, and the Pokémon will know what to do but your opponent will not see it coming," Annastasia explained.
"It is a really smart move, but not all Pokémon are comfortable training like that," said Nolan. "Hm. He isn't bad at all."
"At least he's good at something other than being a jerk," said Amber.
"Bravo," Helena said as she replaced her Ditto.
Michio smirked and returned Ekans.
"I wonder if he'll use Scarlett next," said Soledad.
"I hope so," said Jocelyn. "Electric-types are the best!"
"Fla!"
Michio released a Lickitung
"Lickitung was the first Pokémon mommy caught and got to keep for herself! What a coincidence," said Jocelyn.
"Flaa."
"Oh yeah. My dad says that she accidentally traded it away, and that is how she got Wobbuffet," said Lily.
"Okay, Ditto, you know the routine," Helena said to her Pokémon.
"Yuck, no offense, but Lickitung kind of freaks me out. I mean it licks you? Uhhh," said Jay, shuddering.
"I didn't expect a pretty-boy like Michio to choose a Lickitung," said Lexi.
"Wrap Attack!" Michio ordered.
"Licki!"
The pink Pokémon squealed as it dashed towards its copy, mouth open wide.
"Ha-ha this is gross!" Amber laughed.
"Ewww I can't watch!" Jay cried, covering his eyes.
Ditto countered it with its own Wrap Attack, and the rest of the kids copied Jay as the tongues collided.
"That is yucky I don't like it!" Jocelyn cried.
"Flaaaaa feee!"
"Tell me when it's over!" said June.
The teenagers smirked at the children while Michio's Lickitung tossed the Ditto high into the air. It landed a few yards away, and though it was injured, it still got up and continued to fight. The two Pokémon were head to head, using all their might to overturn their opponent. Eventually, it was Michio's Lickitung who achieved victory.
"I believe you owe me a badge," Michio said to Helena.
"You did a fine job, Michio. I had a feeling you were going to win this match," Helena said as she handed him a small purple badge.
"Aren't you going to thank her?" Annastasia asked Michio.
"Yes Mom," Michio mumbled. "Thanks for the badge."
"Whoa. He said 'thank you'. I shoulda recorded it," said Lily.
"Yeah," Logan agreed. "Who knows if we'll ever get to hear those words from him again?"
"Your welcome," Helena said as she turned to June. "Did you figure out that riddle yet?"
"Yes," June said confidently. "We always travel in a cluster, psychic power is what we muster. When we touch a Leaf Stone, folks get a real laugh, for when we evolve, the number of our heads get divided in half. You must be talking about Exeggcute. They are the only Pokémon that I can think of that use a Leaf Stone to evolve and also have multiple heads—and there're psychic-types."
"I should've given you a harder riddle."
Helena handed June her own Courage Badge.
"Thank you so much," said June. "It was an honor to battle you."
"Ditto," Helena replied.
"Congratulations!" everyone said as she June returned to the group.
"You both did a great job. June, nice job battling and on solving that riddle. Michio, I have to admit, I wasn't sure what to expect from you, but I was impressed," said Annastasia.
"That means so much to me. Thank you for helping me train, Annastasia," June replied, giving the teenager a hug.
"I suppose this means you aren't going to treat me like a ten-year old anymore," said Michio.
"Actually, this changes nothing," Annastasia responded. "You're still mine."
"Will the rest of you be battling?" Helena asked the children.
"Jay, Amber, Takeshi and I also want to want to earn a Courage Badge," said Soledad. "But we're going to give you a break first.
"Plus, I think our Pokémon would appreciate a trip to the Pokémon Center," Jay said as he patted Bulbasaur.
"I will be here all week," Helena responded. "Come anytime."
They said their goodbyes as they exited the gym.
Outside, it started to drizzle on the old village. Lily and Logan jumped into Annastasia and Nolan's partially empty knapsacks while the young trainers returned their Pokémon to their balls.
"Ah, help!" Jay cried. "My hair!"
Amber used her backpack to cover the top of Jay's head while he searched for his rain poncho.
"Thanks, Amb, you saved my life," he breathed once he was covered.
"It's what I do," Amber shrugged.
They ran to the nearest PC, which happened to be much smaller than the others. The trainers would have to squeeze into just two bedrooms, and four of them would have to sleep on the floor—unless they wanted to sleep outdoors.
"We can make this work," Annastasia told her pouting friends. "Girls in one room, boys in the other. Since there are more girls than boys, Bleu I will stay with the guys."
"Why does your enormous Altaria have to stay with us?" Michio moaned. "I mean, it should be with all the other Pokémon, same with Logan and Lily."
"Hey!" said Lily.
"At least he used our names this time," Logan shrugged. "Up until just now he's been calling us 'the cats'."
"I might need Bleu," Annastasia responded. "If it's too cramped, I'll sleep in the lobby. Lily and Logan want to stay with us, so they will and that is that."
"It's okay," said Lily. "We didn't realize it would be tight. Besides, I don't want my brother stuck in the same room with that guy for a whole night." She pointed a paw at Michio. "We'll go with Nurse Joy."
"Are you sure?"
"You can sleep in my bed," Jocelyn suggested.
"Fla."
"Nah, it's okay. We don't mind," said Logan.
Lily and Logan left to find Nurse Joy. The others took their backpacks to the two rooms that she had assigned them. Annastasia lay a sleep bag down on the floor of the boy's room.
"A, you take a bed, I'll take the floor," said Nolan.
"Nolan, I appreciate the chivalry, but I'd rather sleep next to Bleu. He's softer than any pillow," Annastasia replied.
"Someone as lovely as you shouldn't be sleeping on the floor unless absolutely necessary," said Takeshi. "I would be honored if you took my bed instead."
The teens sighed uncomfortably. It took all their stamina not to laugh at him.
"Annastasia has slept with Bleu every night since the day she got him," said Jay.
"He's right," said Annastasia. "So, tonight when we settle down, I'll be here."
Jay leaned into Annastasia as if to tell her a secret. "Mom and Dad's phones've been off all day. Do you think something's wrong?"
"They must be on an important mission. We'll just call later." Annastasia turned to the others. "Let's get something to eat before we head back into town."
"That's a wonderful idea," Takeshi responded. "Just like all your ideas."
"Yeah, I can go for food," Jay said as he tried to nudge Takeshi away from Annastasia.
Michio followed behind them silently as they made their way to the café, where they were going to spend some time eating and resting before going back to see Helena.
XO
AN: The part about the Claydol is a reference to the episode: "Claydol Big and Tall". As always, please let me know what you think so far:)