Eighteen: The Bug-Type Baker
"And goal! Congratulations, challenger, your Gym Test is complete. Take this card to the front desk and they'll get your battle against the gym leader on the books." The staff member handed Elaina a card emblazoned with the emblem of the bug type and moved to help take down the course. Elaina smiled as she made her way back to the gym building. Nemona fell in beside her and handed her a cookie. "Fresh from the gym leader's oven." Elaina took the cookie and bit into it. It was moist, soft, and absolutely delicious.
"The gym leader is a pastry chef?" Elaina asked as they made their way to the gym. As they walked, Nemona pulled out a crystal that looked like a Pokéball. "Here, 'Layna. I meant to give this to you and 'Mara before we left the academy. It's a Tera Orb. It lets your Pokémon Terastalize and change its type." Elaina took the orb from Nemona and tucked it into her bag. "After you use it though, you need to hit up a Pokémon Center. They have the tools to recharge the orb so it can be used again." Elaina nodded. Amara voiced her assent, and Elaina and Nemona kept walking. "To answer your question, yes, the gym leader is a pastry chef."
Elaina took another bite of the cookie and finally looked down at it. "Yo, this cookie has a different flavor of cookie inside it?" Nemona nodded back at her. "Bitchin'." Was Elaina's only reply as she took another bite. By the time they arrived to the gym tower and Elaina had submitted her Gym Test pass, the cookie was long gone. "Alright, we can get you into the court with the gym leader at 3:00 this afternoon." The receptionist noted. Elaina took the appointment slot and her and Nemona headed out of the gym to survey the battle court.
"So, what do you want to do before my battle at 3:00?" Elaina asked as she and Nemona walked through Cortondo. "I mean, I wanted to hit up a grocery store to buy some more picnic supplies, so can we do that for like half an hour?" Nemona asked. Elaina looked at the time. "I mean, we have like two hours, so hell yeah. I'll go ahead and stock my picnic basket too." Oh, hell yes. I want peanut butter! Amara echoed through Elaina's head. "Gross, I hate peanut butter." Elaina complained. Nemona looked at her quizzically.
"Amara?" Nemona asked. Elaina nodded her head and the two kept walking. "She wants peanut butter." It was Nemona's turn to nod as the two walked along. They had their trip to the grocery store and as they walked out, Elaina paused. "I suppose that would explain why I don't remember ever having a Pokémon battle." Nemona looked at her with a puzzled expression. So, you figured me out, huh? Yeah, dad taught me to battle back when we were like seven. "I knew it." She turned to Nemona. "I don't think I'm going to be your rival, Nemona, but Amara might be."
"So that was her I battled with in my backyard?" Nemona asked. "It would seem that way." Elaina responded. "I've been told that dad taught her how to battle rather than me." The two women took a seat on the bench and packed their groceries into their bags. Elaina checked the time again. "It's like 1:45, so we're going to hit the practice field to get some last-minute battle training in." Elaina said, then her gaze fixated to the horizon and her body went limp. After a moment, Amara looked back to Nemona. "You know where to find us, Nemona."