Chapter 12:

Vs. on the Viaduct

Location: Route 5

Spritzee (シュシュプ)

#212

Fairy Type

Perfume Pokémon

0'08" (0.2 m)

lbs (0.5 kg)

The scent its body gives off enraptures those who smell it. Noble ladies had no shortage of love for Spritzee.

"That one look good?" I asked Toxel, who had already been sent out to battle a wild Spritzee, a small-pink Pokémon that was flying in the air. Toxel nodded. "Great! Now, use Acid!" Toxel fired some green gunk at Spritzee. Its Sp. Defense fell. Spritzee then came back with Draining Kiss. It put its beak up to Toxel and did a bit of damage. "Use Acid again!" Toxel fired another Acid attack at Spritzee. It was almost finished. Then, Spritzee used Attract… don't know why it did that. Both Pokémon were male after all. "Now finish with Nuzzle!" Toxel rubbed its cheeks then went over and made contact with Spritzee, defeating it.

"Nice one!" I said as I picked up Toxel. "You're getting a lot stronger. Oh yes you are! Okay, return." I sent Toxel back to its Pokéball.

"Gloria!" It was Hop!

"Hey!" I said.

Hop seemed out of breath. "We… have a situation…"

"What?" I asked. "Come on!"

Hop took me onto the viaduct where we saw some members of Team Yell blocking a Scientist. There were two, both male.

"But I have to get through!" he said. "My family live in Hulbury!"

"Not on your life, bruv!" Grunt A said.

"Our Marnie is in Hulbury at the moment, and we will not let anyone get in the way of her Gym battle!" Grunt B shouted.

"And what will this solve?" I asked.

"Oh great," said Grunt A. "It's you. Listen, we saw that you have one Badge already, but Marnie is on her way to two."

"And you think that is a cause for disruption?!" Hop shouted. "That is quite enough!"

"Yeah!" I replied.

"You wanna mess with me?!" Grunt A threatened. Things were about to get messy.

Gloria Vs. Grunt A

"Go Zigzagoon!" The Grunt sent out his Dark and Normal Type.

"And I choose Raboot!" I replied. "Use Double Kick!" Raboot kicked Zigzagoon twice, defeating it.

"No! We will not let you get in Marnie's way! Go Thievul!" Out came a Pokémon that looked like a bigger Nickit, but with a small moustache and a longer tail.

Thievul (フォクスライ)

#030

Dark Type

Fox Pokémon

3'11" (1.2 m)

43.9 lbs (19.9 kg)

It secretly marks potential targets with a scent. By following the scent, it stalks its targets and steals from them when they least expect it.

Nickit -Lv 18- Thievul

"Wanna go on?" I asked Raboot. I noticed that fire surrounded it. It then charged into Thievul.

"Woah!" Hop said. "That was Flame Charge!"

After Raboot used the move, Raboot's Speed rose. "Great one Raboot!"

"No fair!" the Grunt shouted. "Use Beat Up!" Thievul hit Raboot twice with its tail. "And now use Quick Attack!"

"You use Quick Attack!" Both Pokémon dashed forward, but Raboot was faster! It hit Thievul, defeating it!

"No! Sorry Marnie!"

"You had one job!" said Team Yell Grunt B. "Losing to a girl."

"That's a bit sexist…" I replied.

"Shut up!" Grunt B said. "My turn!"

"I've got this one Gloria!" Hop said, backing me up.

Hop Vs. Team Yell Grunt B

"Sableye, you're up bruv!" The Yell Grunt sent out a purple Pokémon with diamonds in its eyes.

Sableye (ヤミラミ)

294

Dark/Ghost Type

Darkness Pokémon

1'08" (0.5 m)

24.3 lbs (11 kg)

It feeds on gemstone crystals. In darkness, its eyes sparkle with the glitter of jewels.

Sableye has no known evolutions.

"And I choose Thwackey!" Hop sent out a green Pokémon that was holding a brown stick in each hand.

"Could that be?!" I said.

Thwackey (バチンキー)

#002

Grass Type

Beat Pokémon

2'04" (0.7 m)

30.9 lbs (14 kg)

The faster a Thwackey can beat out a rhythm with its two sticks, the more respect it wins from its peers.

Grookey -Lv 16- Thwackey

"Alright Hop!" I said. "Grookey evolved!"

"Thwackey, use Screech!" Thwackey let out an ear-piercing sound. This led to Sableye's Defense falling.

"Sableye, Disable!" Sableye's eyes glowed.

"No!" Hop said. "Now Thwackey can't use Screech. Doesn't matter, we've got this!"

"Shadow Sneak!" Sableye's shadow came forward and attacked Thwackey.

"Come back with Razor Leaf!" Thwackey shot sharp leaves at Sableye, almost knocking it out. "And again!" One last Grass Type attack finished off Sableye.

"Sorry Marnie!"

"Urgh," said Yell Grunt #2. "Let's just go. Marnie's match is in four hours anyway."

I gave Hop a weird look. Considering the fact that Hulbury was about a two hour walk from our current location, why would they want to block a road for that long? And why would they get there THAT early? I decided to leave it; the reasons why seemed to be raising more questions than answers. Regardless though, at least it meant that Team Yell cleared off.

"Thanks so much you two," said the Scientist. "They were a real nuisance."

"Happy to help!" Hop said.

"Now, I must reward you. May I borrow your Rotom Phones?"

We handed them to him. He went into an app and started typing some things. "There. A Rotom Bike."

"NO WAY!" I said. I held up the Rotom Phone and sure enough, a bike appeared from underneath me. I even got some call clothes.

"Wow!" Hop replied. "We can get to places quicker now!"

"It's the least I could do. Now, I need to get home. Bye!"

"What are we going to do with them?" I asked.

"Not sure," Hop replied. "But I know what we could do now! We haven't had a battle in a while! How about it?"

I grinned. "Hop, that sounds like a chuffing good plan!"

Gloria Vs. Hop

"Go Wooloo!" Hop shouted.

"And I choose Raboot!" I replied. "Start with Double Kick!" Raboot kicked Wooloo twice. Of course, because Wooloo had Fluffy, it didn't knock it out.

"Use your own Double Kick!" Wooloo came back and kicked Raboot twice.

"You okay?" I asked. "Use Double Kick!" Those last two attacks defeated Wooloo.

"First Pokémon down, aye? Gotcha! Go Corvisquire!" Out came a Flying Type.

I decided to recall Raboot. "Toxel, go!" It was time for my Electric Type.

"Corvisquire, Power Trip!" Corvisquire tripped up Toxel. However, causing this made Toxel's Speed go higher. "Oh no. Toxel must have Rattled!"

"Use Nuzzle!" Toxel made contact with Corvisquire using its sparking cheeks. This caused Corvisquire to become paralyzed. "Do it again!" Toxel used another Nuzzle. This one was a Critical Hit. Whilst super effective, Nuzzle is not a strong move at all.

"Corvisquire, Pluck!" Corvisquire stabbed Toxel with its beak. It didn't do much damage due to Toxel's Electric Typing.

"Now use Flail!" Toxel started flailing about everywhere. Corvisquire got caught in the attack, and it fainted.

"Hmm… might have to get myself one of those! Thwackey, you're up!" Out came Hop's Starter. "Use Double Hit!" Using its sticks, Thwackey hit Toxel. It fainted.

"Thanks," I told Toxel. "Raboot, I choose you!" It was now Partner vs. Partner. "Use Flame Charge!" Raboot covered itself in fire then charged into Thwackey for lots of damage.

"Double Hit!" Thwackey hit Raboot with both of its sticks, but it was clear who the victory was going to be.

"Finish with Flame Charge!" Raboot did just that. It charged into Thwackey, defeating it.

"Well, we've both gotten stronger at least!"

Hop grinned, with a sense of frustration. "That was a lot of fun! Hey, last one to Hulbury is a Bad Egg!"

I summoned the Rotom Bike. "Sounds like a good plan!"

Hop summoned his own Rotom Bike. "On your marks… get set…"

"Wait!" I shouted.

This caused Hop to fall off his bike. "What is your problem?!"

"We haven't looked at the view yet!"

"So we haven't," Hop replied.

We looked at the view of the Wild Area from the Viaduct. There was a desert, rolling hills and most notably, a giant castle.

"That's Hammerlocke," Hop said. "It's where Raihan's Gym is. But wow, good thing you stopped us. In the chaos with Team Yell, it slipped my mind completely."

"We've come far from Postwick," I replied. I got out my Badge and held it up to the sun. "We may only have one. A lot of Trainers at this point have at least one. Marnie might be getting her second, there have even been accounts of people getting three at this point. We just need to keep working at it, but also enjoy the adventure. Because if we rushed ahead, we wouldn't have seen this amazing sight."

Hop nodded. "Point taken. So… we still racing?"

"Nah," I said. "But we'll certainly give these bikes a go!"

We eventually crossed the viaduct and made it to the outskirts of Hulbury.

"Almost there!" I said. "These bikes feel great!" I rode forward and came into view of a Pokémon Breeder.

"Hey, are you a fan of the Maximizers? They're pretty sound!"

Gloria Vs. Pokémon Breeder Denise

"Cherubi, go!" Denise sent out a Pokémon that looked like a cherry. It had a small face on its stem.

Cherubi (チエリンボ)

#128

Grass Type

Cherry Pokémon

1'04" (0.4 m)

7.3 lbs (3.3 kg)

The deeper a Cherubi's red, the more nutrients it has stockpiled* in its body – and the sweeter and tastier its small ball!

This is not referring to the move Stockpile, which Cherubi can't learn.

"I choose Corvisquire!" I shouted. "Use Pluck!" Corvisquire stabbed Cherubi.

"Magical Leaf!" Cherubi fired some glowing leaves at Corvisquire. It didn't do much.

"Now use Pluck again!" That finished off Cherubi.

"My other Pokémon will be Woobat!"

For the Psychic Type, I sent out Purrloin.

"Use Fake Out!" Purrloin clapped in front of Woobat, causing it to flinch.

"Now use Gust!" Woobat flapped its wings, creating a gust of wind that blew down Purrloin.

"Torment!" Purrloin started edging on Woobat. Now it couldn't use the same move twice, meaning that it didn't move that turn. Or so I thought.

"Air Cutter!" Woobat fired streaks of air at Purrloin. It almost went down.

"No!" I shouted. "Clever strategy, I'll give you that one. Use Fury Swipes Purrloin!" Purrloin scratched at Woobat a few times. It was almost defeated.

"Gust again!" Gust missed!

"One more round of Fury Swipes!" Purrloin finally defeated Woobat.

"Say hi to the Maximizers for me! I'm there biggest fan!"

I congratulated Purrloin… who was starting to glow!

"Here we go!" Hop said.

Purrloin got bigger and bigger, and its evolved form was unveiled. A quadruped-black Pokémon with yellow patterns on it.

Liepard (レパルダス)

#045

Dark Type

Cruel Pokémon

3'07" (1.1 m)

82.7 lbs (37.5 kg)

This stealthy Pokémon sneaks up behind prey without making any sound at all. It competes with Thievul for territory.

Purrloin -Lv 20- Liepard

"Purrloin evolved into Liepard!" Hop said.

Location: Hulbury

"We're finally here!" I shouted.

Hulbury is the most important port city in the Galar region. There is a dockland, a lighthouse, of course the Stadium, a bustling market and a thriving music scene.

"You know," Hop said. "Since we are by the coast… let's get some nice chips! Covered in mouth watering vinegar!"

"Was hoping you would say that!" I said.

After we healed at the Pokémon Center, we went down to the lighthouse with our chips. Near the lighthouse were some statues of some Pokémon. They depicted a Rillaboom, two Toxtricity and an Obstagoon. They are the Maximizers, the most popular band in the world made entirely of Pokémon.

"Let's send everyone out!" I said. Raboot, Corvisquire, Lombre, Liepard and Toxel who immediately crawled over to the statue of one of the Toxtricity.

Hop laughed. "Toxel evolves into Toxtricity, so of course it would be fascinated by it! In fact, I should send out my Pokémon to! Thwackey, Corvisquire, Wooloo, go!" Hop sent out his friends. Immediately, Thwackey went over to the statue of the Rillaboom.

"Thwackey evolves into Rillaboom then!" I said. I got fed up of waiting; I wanted to dig in! I put a fork in some of the chips covered in vinegar and sea salt. "Down the…"

Trouble.

Surrounding us, very curiously… were Wingull.

Wingull (キャモメ)

#062

Water/Flying Type

Seagull Pokémon

2'00" (0.6 m)

20.9 lbs (9.5 kg)

It soars on updrafts without flapping its wings. It makes a nest on sheer cliffs at the sea's edge.

The flock seemed to take an interest in our meal.

"Don't… move… a muscle…" Hop told me through gritted teeth. "And don't drop any…"

At that one horrifying moment, the chip on my fork dropped to the ground.

"Food… RUN!"

Immediately, the Wingull started squawking and chasing after us. "What do we do?!" I asked.

We didn't see where we were going. We bumped into someone. Our chips went everywhere, leading to the Wingull having a meal fit for a king.

"NOOOOOO!" Hop shouted.

"Hey, watch where you're-"

The man, wearing a white jumper and shorts, turned round. It was Chairman Rose!

"Uh oh…" I said. "Chairman! I am so sorry! We were just being chased by some Wingull and-"

"Calm down," said Chairman Rose. "Hey," he said to Hop. "You wouldn't happen to be… Leon's brother would you?"

"Yes sir!" Hop replied through tears as he watched the Wingull munch away at what was our food.

"You know littering is bad," said a blonde woman with a red and white dress that was complete with a black skirt.

"It wasn't our fault!" I said.

"Look," she said. "Chairman Rose is spending his precious spare time here, so I suggest you-"

"Oleana, please," said Rose. "It was an accident."

"Sir!" Suddenly, we saw Bede. He immediately noticed us. "Oh. It's you two."

"Ah, so you know them," said Chairman Rose. "They are participating in the Gym challenge to. You know both of them were endorsed by-"

"Leon the Champion yes, we know that. Of course, we know that I have the most important endorsement in Galar! I was endorsed by you."

"Now Bede," Chairman Rose told him.

"Ugh. Fine. You may have beat me in the mines, but you won't beat me again. I'm going to train." He stomped off.

"What's up with him?"

"Challenge stress," Chairman Rose said. "Here to challenge Nessa?"

"Yep!" I replied. "We've been getting stronger and stronger! Did you see me beat Milo?"

"Oh yeah…" Rose said. "You used a… Torkoal was that right?"

"Scorbunny," I corrected.

"Then he didn't watch it," Oleana said. "I'm sorry but Chairman Rose is far too busy to interact with fans. We need to get going. You have a meeting at Wyndon tomorrow with the head of the Pokétech company."

"Oh yes," he said. "Sorry, I will have to cut our conversation short." With that, the two walked off.

"What's up with her?" I asked.

Regardless though, I had made it to Hulbury. Now I just needed to rest up before I beat Nessa!