Pokémon Nuzlocke Novels: Ancient Scarlet
Chapter 12: Rolling into Cortondo
"Hey, look who it is!" Eli called out with a merry wave as Milo dropped into his second-ever Tera Den, this time one filled with orange crystals. Milo greeted the 3XC member with a small wave of his own while Cocoa the Paldea Wooper stood on his shoulder.
To Milo's annoyance, he wasn't really well equipped to deal with the current Tera Pokémon either. He now recognized it as a Shellder, which was a Water-type normally and could've been easily countered with Sparky. Instead he had to rely on Cocoa, who was immune to Water-type attacks but wasn't very strong yet, and hope that she was enough.
Thankfully for Milo, partners were able to pick up the slack. Eli's Kirlia was able to do the bulk of the damage while Milo and the other two 3XC members whittled down the Tera Shellder's stamina. Making matters even worse for the Tera Shellder was Milo's use of moves like Mud Shot and Mud-Slap, which slowed down the Tera Shellder and made its moves miss more and more as time went on.
Finally the Tera Crown atop the body of Tera Shellder exploded, and Milo held out his Poké Ball to be engulfed by the residual Tera Energy before hurling it as hard as could. The Poké Ball flew through the air for several long moments, tendrils of energy swirling around it before the capsule Terastallized. It shot out a beam of energy at the stunned Tera Shellder, and as the Pokémon entered the Poké Ball the crystals exploded, causing the Poké Ball to drop onto the floor and shake a single time before clicking, signifying the capture was successful.
"You got a hell of an arm." Eli remarked, handing Milo a handful of Exp. Candies as thanks for helping them with the Tera Den. Milo pocketed them before glancing down at the Poké Ball in his hand for several long moments and then looking back at Eli.
"I guess so. I'm probably hopping to another Den, soon. You all want to come with?" Milo asked the group, earning a few shaking heads.
"Sadly we gotta report back to the Academy later today. I can put in a good word for you if you want?" Eli offered, which Milo considered for several seconds before nodding.
"I'll have to think on whether or not I want to join 3XC or not, but yeah that sounds good." The Galarian said to the other student, earning a grin and a thumbs up from Eli.
"See you around, Milo! Thanks for the help!" Eli called as Milo waved the 3XC members goodbye, hopping out of the den and heading over to Koraidon. He then promptly called out his newest Pokémon, his Rotom Phone already pulling up the Pokédex App.
"Shellder. The Bivalve Pokémon. It is encased in a shell that is harder than diamond. Inside, however, it is surprisingly tender. This Shellder is Female and has the Ability Shell Armor. Its Tera Type is Fighting." Milo considered the new name of his Pokémon while Cocoa and the Shellder exchanged greetings with one another, with both Pokémon sporting wide smiles.
"Well, aren't you friendly?" Milo remarked with a smile as the Shellder cried out, bouncing up and down a few times on the ground. "How about I name you…Shelly?"
The newly caught Shellder responded with another cheerful cry, and Milo grinned as he reached down and patted the Bivalve Pokémon, causing her to float up to his shoulder and rest on it.
"Sheeeellll!" the Pokémon cried out, its eyes shutting happily. Milo chuckled as he sent out the rest of this team, who all looked up at him expectantly.
"Everyone, this is Shelly. She'll be the newest member of our team. Say hi!" Milo said to the assembled Pokémon, earning a chorus of growls and cries from Sparky, Cocoa, Reggie, Pepper and even Koraidon. Shelly cried out a greeting to them in return, which made Milo crack a grin. So far everyone was getting along with one another. He only hoped the last member of the team would be so accommodating. He expected that he'd need a few days to make sure the team could work together before tackling the Gym Leader, but he was feeling optimistic.
Those feelings continued two hours later as Milo was back in another Tera Den, this time with Sparky being his Pokémon of choice as he joined another new batch of 3XC members.
"Sparky, let's go! Terastallize!" Milo grinned as his Pawmi exploded in a shower of crystals and electricity, revealing the Tera Pokémon in all of his glory.
Standing across from them all was a fairly worn-down yellow bird Pokémon that one of Milo's allies explained was a Wattrel. Currently the Wattrel was wearing a Flying Tera Crown, which made Sparky perfect for dealing with it. Milo was with an entirely new 3XC crew that consisted of all girls and an entirely new group of Pokémon. Hailey with her Magnemite, Zoe with her Sandile, and Brooklyn with her Rockruff.
The Galarian was also getting a better handle on how to deal with the Tera Raid Battles. He quickly fell into a rhythm and focused solely on bringing down his opponent.
"Nuzzle!" Milo shouted as Pawmi darted forward, rubbing against the side of the other Pokémon and causing it to seize up as paralysis took over. This allowed Hailey's Magnemite to lash out with a Thunder Shock, and with Brooklyn's Rockruff hitting the bird with a Rock Throw, victory was secured.
"Go for it, man!" Zoe shouted as Wattrel's Tera Crown exploded violently. Milo prepped a Poké Ball and threw it at the Wattrel. Several moments later the student was picking up the Poké Ball off of the ground, smiling down at his newest catch.
After getting a reward of Persim Berries and Tiny Mushrooms, as well as some Exp. Candies, Milo was back on the surface and walking towards Koraidon, who was barking back and forth with several nearby Maschiff.
"Down boy." Milo said jokingly as he patted the strange Pokémon on the head, calling out his newest catch while Sparky cried out from atop his shoulder. The Wattrel appeared in a flash of light, chirping softly before looking at Milo with curiosity. The teen himself was busy pulling up the appropriate Pokédex entry for his newest Pokémon.
"Wattrel. The Storm Petrel Pokémon. When its wings catch the wind, the bones within produce electricity. This Pokémon dives into the ocean, catching prey by electrocuting them. This Wattrel is Female and has the Ability Wind Power. Its Tera Type is Flying." Milo put away his phone and considered this information.
"So its Tera Type is the same as one of the types it actually is. Interesting." Milo remarked as he knelt down and held out his hand. The little bird let out a small chirp and approached the teenager before fluttering to his arm and chirping again.
Milo grinned with excitement, seeing that the Wattrel was just as agreeable as Shelly was earlier. He did still need to name her, and considered it for several moments before thinking back to her Pokédex entry.
"I'm going to name you Storm." Milo said quietly, reaching out to slowly stroke the small bird's head. The Wattrel chirped again, nodding at the boy who was surprised by the acknowledgement of the nickname.
Milo's smile faded when the newly-named Storm pecked at his finger, causing it to bleed and make Milo to let out several loud expletives in surprise.
While you're trying and failing at birdwatching, I'll also warn you now. You've acquired your third and final Pokémon for this stretch of your journey. Before you commit to any of the Objectives, your team has to be at the appropriate level to handle it. If they're too powerful, you will be unable to use them.
"What? So I can just power up out here for the Bug Gym?" Milo demanded, looking skyward with annoyance as the Voice responded back.
Feel free to power up your team. They just can't be any stronger than the strongest Pokémon you'll face when dealing with her. I'll let you know when any of your Pokémon get to that point. It's really not that big of a deal at the present, since your team isn't that strong yet. There's a reason I suggested just going for the Objective that's the easiest and then going to the next hardest thing and so on and so on.
"Should've known there would be some catches. Especially if you're going to let me catch three Pokémon every time I accomplish one of the Objectives." Milo sighed with some frustration, gently patting Storm on the head and trying to not let the depths of his annoyance show.
Now you're getting it. I call this a Hardcore Nuzlocke Run, but that's just me. Oh, and be aware of the over-levelling thing when you're catching Pokémon too. Some of them will be stronger than you're ready for when you catch them in the Tera Dens, and you'll have to get further into your journey before you'll be able to appropriately use them.
"Fabulous. Do you have any other sagely advice, or can I go back to what I was doing?"
Nope, that's all. Don't die out there!
Milo sighed with relief as the Voice faded and the teen stood back up, returning Storm as he did so. He then considered his options before deciding to just head on over to the nearby town of Cortondo to heal his team and regroup. Now that he had a full team, he needed a game plan for tackling the Gym.
"Fuecoco, Pawmi, Wooper, Shellder, Maschiff, and Wattrel." Milo thought as he considered the dilemma. "Overall it's not that bad of a match-up. Reggie and Storm have the advantages against Bug-types and the rest of them shouldn't have too much trouble either. I just need to be careful and try to end things as soon as possible."
By the time he had finished coming up with a plan of action, he and Koraidon were making their way through several massive fields of farmland. Milo received a few cheery waves from a few farmers who were hard at work on their farms, and Milo waved back at them as he rode on by. The teen spotted a variety of different Pokémon lurking around the farms including Diglett, Combee, Kricketot and (weirdly enough) swarms of Igglybuff.
Milo reached Cortondo around noon or so, and quickly made his way to the town of Cortondo's only hotel, a two-story building known as the Everfree Suites Hotel. Nemona had sent him a text recommending the place to him, and even instructed Milo to tell the front counter that he was a student of Naranja Academy since students got a ten-percent discount on their stay at the hotel.
After booking a room for three nights, Milo was given the keys to his room and inspected it upon opening the door. It was easily big enough for his whole team plus Koraidon, but only just. It had just about everything you'd expect a hotel room to have, but had the addition of several tasteful paintings of olive fields and various depictions of farmers working side-by-side with their Pokémon partners as they worked to ensure a bountiful harvest. All in all, it was a pretty comfortable place to crash for a few days.
Milo had learned in his History Class about Cortondo, the biggest farming community within the Paldea region. It held the distinction of being the only settlement within Paldea to not have been attacked by pirates or invaders over the course of the Paldea Empire's impressive reign, thanks to being so far inland as well as the staunch defenders of Alfornada on the coastal cliffs to the southeast.
The town of Cortondo was world-famous for its olives and had them shipped everywhere. But the town was also a mass producer of other products such as grapes and wine, tomatoes, and various types of beans and legumes that were known for their extremely high quality.
Milo returned his team and went downstairs, ignoring the rumbling of his stomach. However, he did make a point to swing by the front counter, where a young man with messy black hair was leaning against the back wall with a bored expression whose name nametag identified him as Mark.
"Excuse me. Do you have any recommendations for a good place to grab some food?" Milo asked the man as he pushed himself off of the wall and then leaned against the counter, thinking about the question for a moment before shrugging.
"Well, when in Cortondo, there's really only two places any tourist or Trainer worth their salt should check out." Mark said to the student, who pulled out his phone to take notes. "One is the Patisserie Soapberry that's run by our Gym Leader, Katy. She's a baking legend who learned from Master Chef Kofu, who's another Gym Leader. Her stuff is reasonably priced and it's delicious."
"Patisserie?"
"Think of a bakery that specializes in specific sweets. Katy's a whiz when it comes to cupcakes and a few other desserts, and ever since she got engaged to some hotshot Trainer from another region, she's got enough employees helping her out to consider expanding her store by the end of the year. Probably in Levincia and Mesagoza. She's certainly talented enough for it. Her Big Bad Brownies are worth their weight in gold." Mark said to Milo, with the young man practically drooling as he described it.
"I'll probably snag some snacks from there then. I'll bet they have some treats for my team as well." Milo thought, inwardly wondering if Juliana was familiar with the place. He vaguely recalled Arven mentioning it in passing a few weeks ago.
"Second place I recommend is Smoliv Garden, which has some of the best pasta in the entire region. This place actually has branched out to other regions. I know for a fact that Kanto, Johto, Unova and Kalos all have them there. It's got a ton of different pasta, breadsticks, and all sorts of awesome sauces made fresh from stuff harvested here in Cortondo. The original location is right here in town. They even have a lunch special that I usually hit up on weekends. It's a bit of a wait, but it's totally worth it." Mark explained to Milo, who felt his stomach rumble with want.
"That does sound pretty awesome. Thanks for the info." Milo said with an appreciative smile, earning a grin in response.
"Just watch out for the unlimited breadsticks and alfredo sauce combo. It's so good that you can get filled up on it before your main course arrives. You won't regret it at first because the food is so good, but two hours later, your stomach is gonna hate you." Mark chuckled as Milo nodded, smirking as well. The teen walked outside and inhaled the fresh air, sighing at the warm summer day and grateful he had changed out of his academy uniform for some comfortable gym shorts and a tank-top.
As Milo made his way through Cortondo, it truly struck him how Cortondo was a farming town through and through. It was an astonishing experience through his senses. The humid feel of the warm air as the breeze rustled by, bringing the scents of fresh earth along with it. The amiable chatter of the townsfolk as they called joyful greetings to one another. It was a community of people where everyone knew everyone.
To Milo's own surprise, he felt at ease walking down the cobblestone path. He glanced to his right and left and saw colorful one-story houses lined up down the main road. From the hotel, it was about a 45 minute's walk to where the beginning of the town started. Milo estimated that it'd probably only take two hours to go from one end of the town to another.
As he was mulling over what he wanted to do, an overwhelming smell struck him. Specifically the smell of something sweet and heavenly that assailed Milo's nostrils, and several minutes later Milo found himself standing outside of the very building Mark had recommended to him.
The Patisserie Soapberry was a one-story establishment nestled underneath a large structure that towered above it. Milo spotted a dozen or so cocoon decorations of different colors hanging above the bakery, as well as a large stairway that led to what Milo later learned was a battle court above the establishment.
The building itself was decorated in various bug-themed baubles, with a spiderweb motif being heavily used all around the shop. In the windows of the store were various confectionaries on display, including rows of artisan cupcakes and bug-themed desserts such as web macarons and cookies decorated with various Bug-type Pokémon designs such as Wimpod, Scyther and Pineco. Milo frowned at the rather long line extending out from the register and for several long moments stared at the building wistfully.
It took everything in him to not walk over to the line and wait so he could walk away with a dozen of the artisan-crafted cupcakes with decorative icing spiders on top. Milo didn't even care for sweets that much, and even he was drooling as he pulled himself away from the bakery. He imagined Juliana would've bankrupted herself if she visited the place.
Instead Milo took a selfie with his Rotom Phone outside of the shop and walked away, fully intent on trying out Patisserie Soapberry's artwork-like confectionaries when he wasn't focused on exploring the town. However, as he lowered his Rotom Phone, he glanced down at it with a wistful expression.
"I should do pictures with my team…It's been a really long time since I did that." Milo muttered quietly, a small smile on his face.
Milo had several passions and hobbies that seemingly contradicted one another. One of which was taking pictures of whatever interested him. He'd usually take pictures with his family and various other things he and Juliana came across in Motostoke, but it had been a long time since he had taken any pictures for fun. Back in Galar he had a large board in his room filled with the different pictures he had taken.
"We'll get some pictures in tomorrow. Before the Gym Leader battle." Milo decided as he turned away from Patisserie Soapberry and called out Koraidon, intent on finding the other restaurant he had been directed to try out. It didn't take very long to find Smoliv Garden, thanks to the large dancing Smoliv that was on the restaurant's sign.
Milo hopped off of Koraidon, bemused as he returned it and walked into the restaurant. Immediately Milo inhaled a whiff of something heavenly, with the smell of freshly baked bread filling the restaurant. The teen was quickly escorted to a small room that was known as the Trainer's Room, and contained several students wearing Naranja Academy uniforms. Thankfully Milo wasn't wearing his uniform, so he was able to sit down without being talked to.
After being handed a menu, the Galarian ordered the unlimited breadsticks and salad, along with an infinite refill package for the alfredo dipping sauce as well as the restaurant's famous lasagna. As the waiter delivered the appetizers, Milo's mouth began to water. Milo devoured six whole breadsticks and two bowls of alfredo sauce before he got his main course, which was a massive plate of steaming-hot lasagna coated in different kinds of cheese.
"I'm going to soooo regret this later…but that's future me's problem!" Milo grinned as he dug a fork into his lasagna and took a bite, savoring the thick ricotta cheese and parmesan drizzled on top. Combined with the freshness of the sauce, Milo was soon in heaven and began tearing into his lunch with gusto.
"How was dinner?" Mark said with a shit-eating grin as a familiar teen shambled in through the revolving door three hours after he had originally departed.
Milo seemingly ignored Mark, continuing to shamble slowly over to the elevator while holding his slightly larger stomach. He then hefted up the bag containing all of his leftovers from Smoliv Garden without saying a word. Mark snickered as Milo vanished into the elevator to return to his room, eager to collapse onto his bed and lapse into a food coma.
Milo woke up the next day violently sick to his stomach. After spending the morning on the toilet…Milo decided to eat all of his leftovers and then head out into the town to explore more.
He got several pictures with his team throughout Cortondo. Shelly thoroughly enjoyed a nearby public swimming pool while Cocoa swam after her. Pepper the Maschiff napping beside Koraidon in the shade was Milo's current favorite picture, with the shot of Reggie chasing after Storm (who in turn was chasing after a terrified Sparky) being a close second.
Eventually Milo found his way to the Gym Building, a rather standard looking building with the Pokémon League's symbol on the side of it. The teen returned his team, including Koraidon, and made his way towards the front entrance and through the double-doors.
Milo walked into the large building, sighing quietly as the wave of air-conditioning swept over him. He glanced around what he realized was the lobby of the building, with several Trainers loitering around and chatting with one another. Milo even noticed a small play area where a Trainer was watching his Pokémon play tag. In the corner of the room two large butterfly Pokémon he vaguely recognized were peering into a potted plot while something within chirped frantically.
The Galarian's eyes immediately went to a familiar figure he saw standing at the front desk. The teen smiled and called out, "Nemona!"
The Student Council President whirled around and grinned at her friend. "Oh, hey! Milo! Came to see this Gym, huh? That can only mean one thing…"
"Don't say something sarcastic, don't say something sarcastic, don't say something sarcastic…" Milo chanted to himself, resisting the urge to do that very thing.
"You're out to earn some Gym Badges and take on the Pokémon League, aren't you!?" Nemona demanded to know, pointing a finger at her friend rather dramatically. Unfortunately for Milo, the temptation was just too much. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the keychain he had bought yesterday.
"Nope. I actually came to check out Smoliv Garden. Have you been there?" Milo asked Nemona, who's smile widened at the Smoliv keychain he had bought for his mother that day.
"Yeah, sure you're not! Just came to the Gym for some sight-seeing, right? Hah! You fibber!" Nemona giggled as Milo grinned unashamedly at his friend.
"You saw right through me. Since I had so many options open to me, I figured I'd just go with yours first and challenge the Gym Circuit. Figure things out from there." Milo explained to Nemona, who did an excited fist-pump.
"Yesss! I knew it! I'm so glad I asked you to do it!" Nemona gushed, putting her hands together and beaming at Milo with an expression of sheer joy on her face that Milo couldn't help but blush.
"Before you can battle the Gym Leader, you've gotta pass a certain challenge set by them-their Gym Test." Nemona explained, putting a hand on her hip and glancing over her shoulder at the Gym Receptionist standing behind the nearby counter. "Every Gym's test is different. If you ask the lobby staff about it, they'll tell you what's up!"
"I like the suit." Milo commented as the man at the counter glanced over at him, smiling slightly at the compliment. "Hey, I just call it like I see it. It's a cool uniform."
"I'll tell La Primera you think so!" Nemona said brightly as she handed over three Super Potions to a surprised Milo. "Here, have these! When you use 'em, consider it me healing up your Pokémon!"
"Thanks Nemona. You don't have to do this, but I do appreciate you looking out for me." Milo thanked his friend, who waved a hand dismissively as he expected. Nemona was just that kind of person, it seemed, and Milo respected that about her.
"Ahhh, I'm so glad you're aiming to be a Champion, too! This is the best news ever!" Nemona squeed as Milo smiled at his friend, feeling rather touched that she was so happy for him following in her footsteps. "Man, I'm so excited, I can barely stand still…"
"Wait for it…" Milo said quietly before Nemona suddenly bolted past him, wearing a familiar manic grin of sheer joy on her face.
"Guess I'll just go battle every Trainer I run into!" Nemona called as she burst through the doors, leaving behind an embarrassed Milo and a very confused lobby full of people.
"Sorry. She's just happy." Milo said apologetically before walking over to the front counter. The man out the counter offered Milo a broad smile and shook his head.
"Don't worry about it. We all know Champion Nemona can be a tad overeager, but she's a good kid." The Gym Receptionist remarked good-naturedly, laughing for a moment. "Champions such as her are good to have in these troubled times. But I'm getting ahead of myself."
The Gym Receptionist cleared his throat before saying in a more professional voice. "Welcome to the Cortondo Gym! Let me register you as a challenger. Your name is Milo, yes?"
Milo nodded as the man began to type away at the keyboard. "Florian Caballero, actually. I go by Milo, though."
"Great! Now, in order to face Gym Leader Katy, you'll first need to pass the Gym Test." The Gym Receptionist said before looking back up at him. "Here at the Cortondo Gym, that means taking on the Olive Roll!"
"Olive Roll?"
The Gym Receptionist nodded and explained. "Olive production is a big part of life in Cortondo. We've held the Olive Harvest Festival here each year for generations to usher in bumper crops! We take great pride in the quality and quantity of the olives we produce for Paldea. We even get them shipped to other regions across the world."
Milo nodded at that, and so the Gym Receptionist went on. "To pass our Gym Test, you'll need to roll an olive-shaped ball all the way to the goal. Your efforts should help ensure we get a great olive harvest next year, too!"
"Makes sense. So how do I start?" Milo asked.
"The staffer over at the olive-rolling field will explain the rules to you in further detail. I'll register the location in your map app. It's just north of town!" The Gym Receptionist said as Milo held out his Rotom Phone. The man held out a small keycard, and after a moment Milo's phone pinged as a set of coordinates were registered on it. The student noticed that it was maybe two miles away from where he was standing.
"Now get out there and have fun!" The Gym Receptionist said with a cheery wave as Milo nodded and thanked him, walking outside and into Cortondo proper once again.
Milo opted to walk over to the field registered in his phone due to his still-upset stomach, and heard a woman calling and waving to him as he approached. "Try the Olive Roll right here!"
"Good afternoon. Um, I'm here for the Gym Test?" Milo said to the woman uncertainly. The woman, who wore a lanyard identifying her as part of the Gym Staff, smiled and nodded at the student.
"Welcome to the olive-rolling field! This Gym Test is all about stamina - you'll need to push with all you've got to get a large olive ball rolling and make it all the way to the end." The Gym Staff member explained as she glanced behind her, where several Gym Trainers were quickly setting up a bunch of fence posts.
"Get the ball over various obstacles, then push it into the goal to clear the course." Milo gulped nervously as one of the Gym Trainers called out a Heracross and began to assemble something really large close to where he was at.
"Now that you're all filled in, are you ready to start the Gym Test?" the Staffer asked, with Milo sighing softly before nodding. "Great! Put in a wish for a good olive harvest, and roll, roll, roll away!"
About ten minutes later, Milo was wondering if he had gotten in over his head. He was now standing on top of a large ramp at the beginning of a somewhat elaborate obstacle course. Now inside of the field were large ramps, fences and even walls erected to ensure the path to the goal was as tricky as possible to get it.
"Gym Test starts in three…two…one…GO!" the Gym Staffer called out as Milo walked over to the olive-shaped ball and shoved his body weight against it. Milo grunted and shoved as hard as he could, sending the ball two meters ahead of where he was at. He grimaced as his stomach made a loud rumbling sound.
"Ugh…I thought I got all of this out of my system." Milo muttered before remembering he ate his leftovers from dinner last night for breakfast this morning. "I knew that'd come back to bite me."
"Is everything okay?" the Gym Staffer asked, seeing Milo's pained expression.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay." Milo responded as he grit his teeth. He was about a twenty-five minute walk from town and, more importantly, the nearest toilet. He needed to finish this sooner rather than later.
"And considering the state of my stomach, there's no chance in hell I'm going to actually be able to shove this huge thing all the way over to the goal without ruining my pants. How do I go about this?" Milo muttered as he considered the problem before glancing to his right, where one of the Gym Trainers was standing by to observe. He was smirking at the student with an amused expression, but Milo turned around and asked him. "Excuse me, are there any rules I have to worry about breaking? Can I use Pokémon?"
"So long as you get that thing from Point A to the next without causing injury, and keeping it mostly inside of the course, you can do whatever you want within reason. It's definitely preferred that you roll it though." The Gym Trainer replied with a smirk, crossing his arms. "We had a guy chunk the ball across the course with his Alakazam once and had him restart from the beginning."
"Got it. Okay, then I'll just work smart, not hard. Koraidon, come on out!" Milo called out his trusty mount, who looked at him with confusion. The Gym Trainer yelped in surprise at the sudden appearance of the large and intimidating Pokémon. Milo pointed at the large olive-shaped ball in front of them.
"We're going to try and knock that thing around, okay? Just don't hit it too hard." Milo explained to Koraidon, who nodded. Milo hopped on top of the mount and urged it forward, headbutting the ball and sending it flying forward.
"What the hell is that?!"
"It's some kind of demon Cyclizar!"
"W-w-where the heck did a kid get something so scary!?"
Milo was grinning maliciously as Koraidon dashed throughout the course, repeatedly bashing into the ball and knocking it into the fences. The Smoliv that were standing on the various fence posts squealed in fear, hopping away as Koraidon booped the ball again and again.
Of course, Koraidon itself was having the time of its life. It wore a big smile on its face as it happily battered the ball throughout the course, its tongue lolling out with excitement as Mio cheered it on.
However, soon Milo was forced to make a decision once he got to the middle of the map. He had noticed a few Gym Trainers standing beside a blockade of Smoliv, and knew that they were probably waiting for a battle, so he ignored them so as not to invoke the Nuzlocke Curse.
He actually could see a direct path to the goal now, but a Gym Trainer now stood in his way. Milo glanced around, wincing as his stomach rumbled again, but thankfully noticed a side path with several small ramps and directed Koraidon that way, making sure not to go over the ramps himself so as to not upset his stomach further.
Koraidon turned two more corners and now that they had reached the goal, Milo urged his mount to headbutt the olive ball into the goal as the nearby Gym Trainer and his Smoliv barricade dove for cover. The olive ball flew into the net and Milo let out a laugh, throwing up his arms.
"GOAL!" Milo shouted as confetti exploded out from the four pillars beside the goal, with Koraidon letting out a joyful growl as it puffed out its chest proudly. The Gym Trainer nearby picked himself up off of the ground and gave Milo a thumbs up. "Gym Challenge complete! I'll escort you back to the Gym Staffer."
A few minutes later was standing in front of the Gym Staffer he had reported to originally. The woman stared at Koraidon dubiously before looking at Milo.
"Sorry, I've never seen a Cyclizar like that. A-anyways…" The Gym Staffer cleared her throat before smiling at Milo. "With that performance, I'm sure we can look forward to a great olive harvest next year."
"If I wasn't sick to my stomach, I would've had a lot more fun with that. It's a cool way to show tourists and students stuff important to the town's culture." Milo remarked with a smile before wincing as his stomach rumbled. The Gym Staffer smirked then, noticing the problem that Milo was having.
"I'm happy to declare your Gym Test officially cleared. Congratulations! Please report your result to the lobby staffer at the Gym. Good luck in your battle against Katy!" The Gym Staffer said as she pulled out a datapad, tapping it a few times. Milo assumed she was contacting her counterpart at the Gym Building.
"I guess all that's left is to take down my first Gym Leader." Milo said as he patted the side of Koraidon, who glanced up at him. "Come on, bud. Let's get back to the Gym Building and report in!"
Aiigias!" Koraidon snarled before rearing back on its hand legs and then darting forward, heading directly towards the Gym Leader building and barreling through a group of startled Jigglypuff and Igglybuff. Milo fought the urge to hurl the entire time.
That's all for now, folks! Next chapter we'll see Milo take on his first Gym Leader? Can he make it through Katy? Will he fail and suffer the deadly consequences? Or will he win, but be forced to take some losses…
Find out next time! And big shoutout to BraviaryScout, who reviewed since the last update. You rule, my guy.
Take care and stay awesome!
Until next time, FlygonNick out!