RE: Rose Quartz And Onyx- The Revival
PMJ: *gets out the sharp razor blades* >0
Anyways, that's one for the co-writer! Your days are numbered now, Kiyo. BWAHAHAHA. Also I guess I should stfu about RQO in the chat for a while huh X3
Kiyo: OH MY GOD YOU ACTUALLY POSTED SOMETHING?!
ALSO YESSSS BUTYESSS. You know how I feel about that but word missy >0 Are you really going to neglect your fans?!
And yes yes I have received your sparse commentary on the subject. :B
Freak: Whoaaaa new reader! Sweet deals. Freak gets a cookie for reading all of that in like a few sittings or something. XD Thanks, and I hope you'll keep reading!
gamercal: BEWARE THE ACID, PARAS! OH NOES! XD
*runs away as well*
Again, I should try and avoid chat just for a little more these days so discussion can be had properly. XD
Anyways, you'll have to point that out; you'll probably be right about it. :B
Hahaha, noted. AN OFFICIAL REQUEST FOR CRAPPY VOICE ACTING IS GOOOOO! Also it seems we have another that wants you to show off your slavedriver self Kiyo or something of the like ;D
Yeahhhh, Crystal has a lot of good reasons to cry for like the first few parts of the story. X3 There will be other parts, granted, but few and far in between. So I promise, bear with this facade for a bit more! Also took the post lololol. :B
-~-
At laaaaast, we get towards the end of Part 1. As should have been expected by now, each end of the many parts will (for the most part) end in important battles, nameably those of the Gym Leaders. Who is the first Gym Leader? Well, before it used to be Forrest Ridgebrook, a fan character submitted by Baigon of ol' POL, but now I can definitely tell you that it won't be him; I've removed all fan-submitted characters for the story.
Also, something seem a little odd to older fans of the series? Hmmm...yeah, a certain weed hasn't been found, huh...? I wonder where this will lead to? >D
Regardless, this chapter [accidentally] got changed a lot. I blame, uh, having to separate Chapter 1 up for this! >> Eh he he! I really tried to take advantage of this chapter for character development...not to mention I wanted to get Crystal closer to her Pokemon this time around. (God I hope I get this right...) So yeah, deal with some less-than-spectatular action this time around. ;D
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Chapter 10: The Battle
“Whoa. Whoa, whoa, WHOA. Slow down, you.”
“Nnngh.”
“Where do you think you’re going, now?”
“…to the gym?”
“Uh, no you don’t, dummy. Did you see how quickly you were taken down by your lack of knowledge against that administrator? A gym’s nothing to sneeze at. Take it from someone that lost their first gym battle. You can’t go skipping all happy-go-lucky to the gym, especially after what just happened.”
Crystal hesitated at that, backing up so that her bag wasn’t digging into her lower neck. Her sky blue eyes fell onto the fire trainer holding her back; her smirk had completely disappeared from their lunch session.
“Not to mention it’s not the brightest of ideas to go in challenging the gym when you don’t even have a trainer card yet. You’re gonna need one from now on, you know.”
The gifted girl found herself even less willing to budge from her spot. “…my trainer card…?”
Aeron groaned at that, hiding her head in her hand. Slowly she shook her head. “I’m in continuous disbelief of you, Crystal. Continuous disbelief…that’s it, I’m going to get you a copy of ‘Pokemon Training for Dummies’. It ought to fit you perfectly…or are you going to tell me you can’t read, either-”
“Aeron!” Crystal cried out, her face turning a bright red. “You’re really mean! Of course I can read! I can read probably more words than you can! My mom wasn’t dumb- she sent me to school after all-”
“Man, you can’t take a joke either, huh…hahaha.” Finally the fire trainer submerged from the depths of her hand, her cocky smile returning. “…a trainer card is your lifeline as you journey. It’s your identity. It’s the thing that prevents other trainers from completely copying you and trying to ruin your glory or get some for themselves…”
“I know what a trainer card is,” Crystal huffed, cheeks still stained a heavy pink. “I just…I thought they handed them out to you when you got your first badge.”
Aeron gave a short snicker at that. “Oh, is that what Momma told you, hun? Man, it’s a really good thing you have me around.” Still gripping her by the shoulder, the mentor directed her student back into the center. “…Paperwork, kid. Paperwork. Becoming a trainer is a terrible, painful process. She probably figured that since the paperwork could confuse a grade B defense attorney, you’d go runnin’ home to her in sad, sad defeat after a day.”
“W-wait, but if a lawyer couldn’t understand it…”
“Hyperbole. Relax. I had to go through this myself. My brothers completely forced independent registration on me until I got it right. Selfish jerks, but it taught me all of the sections. I’ll show you the tricks for it. …reminds me, I need to re-register my card. That’s a whole ‘nother story as it is…”
Crystal glumly gazed down at her sneaker-clad feet as they strode forward. Aeron’s voice trailed off, perhaps sensing that the girl was feeling down and needed a moment of non-satirical silence for herself.
So…Mom thought that I would fail at the paperwork, so I couldn’t become a real trainer…that was her plan, all along, then…? The marbled tile beneath her feet became stationary as she stopped walking forward.
She didn’t want me to go. I know that much. Even Aeron had a rough time of convincing her otherwise. But…is she right to do that? …does she really want me not to let myself down like that…? I…I guess it’s possible…
The black-haired tomboy frowned, turning to the blonde. She scratched her scalp gently. “…there’s that look again…” she grumbled. “Now what?”
“Just…” Crystal began, her hand reaching down to her right side slowly. The sleek, black orb that held the dragon type rested comfortably into her hand. As she plucked the Pokeball off its magnetic strip, her finger nudged against the capsule button and enlarged it to its normal size. Melancholy eyes soullessly gazed back as she looked deep into the reflection of the ball. “…I mean, Dragola was badly hurt because of me…because I was so dumb back there…because…I really don’t know what I’m doing, huh…?”
“You could say that,” the mentor slowly offered to the child. Once again she sighed. “Are we gonna get the papers or not?”
The gifted girl stopped everything. All she could stand to look at was the orb in her hand. Everything was a mixed message. “…I’m…going to go to the room for a bit to think.”
“If I find you crying there, so help me…”
“A-Aeron!”
“I love how you react so strongly to what is supposed to be teasing,” Eru sarcastically waved her hand, before slipping the younger trainer the card key. “Be sure to lock up behind you, and don’t be too long. If we’re going to go through the paperwork to get your trainer card, we’re going to need a few hours to crunch through everything.” Graciously, though without lifting her aquamarine gaze, Crystal received the key and nodded meekly at her teacher. Without another word, she slipped off into the back part of the center. Soon their room came into view, and before she could remember how, she had allowed herself in and locked the door securely behind her.
The room was chilly, with the late morning breeze bringing in the steadily warming air from outside. The blonde twiddled with her hair, before sluggishly moving over to the windowsill and shutting it down tight. She allowed her eyesight to go vague as she stared out the window; she focused on no particular point as she found herself in deep thought again.
Did…that really happen this morning? All of that craziness with Team Missile…? I can’t believe we actually…no, Aeron did all of the work. All I did was get myself in trouble. Me, and Dragola…Solemnly, she darted her eyes down to the singular Pokeball on her belt.
…it’s really all my fault for everything that’s happened to me thus far. I’m just having really poor, bad luck.
What are you doing, Crystal?! her inner monologue countered her angsty ‘voice’. She shook her head, attempting to remove herself of such negative thoughts. As she listened to her voice of reason, she slowly allowed herself to sink down onto the bottom mattress again.
Ryouo and Kira would have your head for thinking such negative thoughts. There’s nothing you could have done, in any sort of situation. You would have encountered Team Missile sooner or later, and you most definitely would have fallen victim to them, no matter what happened. If anything, you were lucky to have Aeron help you out. That is something to be thankful for.
But…what about Dragola? The pessimistic voice proposed.
She never had a say in all of this…Once again, she found herself gawking dumbly at her reflection in the Onyx Pokeball.
She was taken away from her home, and I haven’t been able to do one notable thing for her yet. All she’s done is suffered by my hands…
Then do something about it!
The last voice made the girl smile. It was not that of her own thoughts, but of a memory of Ryouo pushing her to ask for freedom about a month ago. The shadow of the elder Hikara brother soon became the clarifying voice of reason in her mind.
He’s right. I’m sure there’s something I can do for Dragola to make up for that. I shouldn’t dwell too much on it. Besides, he was a Missile Administrator. There’s no way I should have expected much of anything from a complete newbie as myself against a very experienced man like him…
Shaking the somewhat scary-sounding thoughts of just how experienced this man was from her mindset, she lifted the ball before her. “…hey, Dragola? Can you come on out for a moment?” There was a brief pause. The ball remained shut. “…Hey, I’d just like to talk to you about what happened. …please?”
Reluctantly it seemed, the capsule flipped open. Soon the Dratini with the bizarre genetic hornspot slunk around to face Crystal. Her amethyst eyes held nothing but disappointment.
“…hi Miss Crystal…” she muttered weakly, finding the wall facing away from her trainer to be fascinating. If possible, her wyvern ears drooped slightly.
“Hey, I said you don’t have to call me that…look, I just have to say, Dragola…”
“I’m sorry!” Suddenly the dragon wailed, squirming her way over to her trainer’s side. “Miss Crystal, I’m so sorry! I-I just couldn’t…couldn’t do anything against h-him, and I let you down, and…”
The blonde gawked at that. Upon instinct she rose her hand up to her hair and began nervously fiddling with it. “W-wait, what are you talking about?!”
“A-against that meany man,” Dragola sniffled, face buried deep within her trainer’s side. “Y-you wanted me to paralyze that big blue monster, but I couldn’t…I’m no good at fighting at all…”
“H-hey, stop that right now, Dragola…” Crystal had to force back her tears; her empathy was kicking into overdrive and she felt close to springing a leak just from listening to the serpent. She ran her fingers over her light blue scales, attempting to calm the creature. “It…it was my fault to bring you into that whole mess in the first place. I’m just a complete newbie when it comes to battling. I had no idea what I was doing, and you got hurt because I thought that I could maybe take an administrator on, on my own. I’m the one that should be apologizing…”
“B-but Miss Crystal!” Dragola lifted her head up from beneath her mistress’s arm. Her large violet eyes dangerously watered over. “I still should have been able to paralyze that meany’s Pokemon! I couldn’t even do that! And, down at the small lake, I couldn’t properly protect you…!”
“But both instances I put myself into danger, not you… …god, I cannot believe that we’re arguing about this…”
“…Miss Crystal,” the Pokemon whined, but the trainer had had enough; she rose her hand, attempting to clear her mind.
“Crystal. Just…Crystal. I’m your friend, not your absolute master or anything like that,” the blonde began, still calmly petting the Dratini. “It was both of our faults for being so rash and inexperienced. We both expected too much of ourselves, and I think I’m mainly to blame for that. A trainer’s the one that leads their Pokemon around, right? Well, then I’m responsible.”
“But, but-!”
“No, no buts,” Crystal beamed gently, before calmly rubbing Dragola’s ears. The Dratini cooed, leaning into her touch. “What can I do to help make up for it? For my errors?”
“Mmm, that feels pretty good,” the dragon-type absently noted, leaning into the touch.
“Haha, does it?”
“Yep!”
“So what do you want me to do to help make up for my mistakes, Dragola…?”
“Uhm…uhh…” she trailed off, simply leaning into her hand. “…just reminds me of Mommy, that’s all.”
“You really seem to love your mom, huh Dragola?”
“Yeah…” At last, the little dragon pulled sadly away from the head scratching. She closed her eyes, casting a dim light on the topic. “I kinda miss her, you know? I know she probably misses me, too. Home’s so far away from here. I really miss my friends…”
“…I know. I miss my home, too…I can’t go back for a similar reason to you.”
“Y-yeah? Why is that?”
“You know those meanies, right? Team Missile?”
At that, the dragon slunk back. “…they’re really mean meanies,” she grumbled. “Why do they have to be so mean to us, Crystal?”
“I’m… honestly not sure. I think it has something to do with the fact that I can talk to Pokemon like you so easily.” Crystal heaved a heavy sigh, allowing herself to fall back down onto the bed. Once again, the smell of the many other trainers and Pokemon that had stayed a night in the room flowed into her nose. She dumbly gazed up to the ceiling above her, the bottom of the top bunk. The wood swirled in some ambiguous pattern, as though it was the metaphorical Team Missile they had to face. “I’m not sure why they need me, either, but I know it’s not good. They’re after me, and they’re not going to stop until I’m captured. So if I can help it, Aeron’s going to help me avoid them…but to keep my family safe, I have to lead them far away from there. It’s so I can protect them, you know? And…I want to help protect you as well, Dragola. I wanna help protect you because you saved my life, and I want you to be able to visit home again one day.”
The Dratini froze at those words, as though she had been hit with another Ice Beam. Dangerously her eyes welded up with tears. “W-what? I didn’t…I’m sorry, Dragola,” Crystal hastily began, sitting up and bumping her head in the process. “Ow…I didn’t mean to make you cry…”
“M-m…Crystal,” she muttered, before snaking around her entire body. Soon the dragon had tightly wrapped herself around the girl, cuddling deep into her arms. “Th-thank you! Thank you for helping me like this! I’m…I’m going to try my hardest for you!” she squealed, squeezing her trainer more.
“Ack! Dragola! What did I even…”
“You’re going to promise to make me into a big Dratini, Dragonair or Dragonite that will make Mom proud, right?”
“O-of course. I’ll do anything to help you out if you’re helping me out…”
“Th-then let’s do whatever it is we have to do and give our bestest towards everything!” Dragola firmly nodded. “I’ll fight my hardest for you Crystal! So whenever you’re ready, I’ll be ready for battle, and I’ll give it my all for you!” the dragon finished, cuddling closer into her trainer’s arms. Crystal gasped for air, but couldn’t help but laugh.
“Alright, then, haha…you ready to start a gym challenge, then?”
“Ooooh, a gym challenge?”
“We get to battle the eight strongest trainers known as Gym Leaders throughout the region. We’ll battle them-“
“Oh, you don’t have to tell me anything about Gym Leaders, silly. Mommy already told me everything about her master, who is a Gym Leader, so you don’t need to tell me that.”
Crystal paled at that.
…note to self, do not anger Dragola’s mother until strong enough to take her on. “Ah, o-okay. We’ll be going against the Sunrise Leader first.”
“When?”
“Uh…well, maybe this afternoon…I have to fill out some paperwork first…”
“Then let’s go to it!” Dragola boldly noted, unwrapping herself. “I’ll do my best as soon as I can!” Again, Crystal found herself with a contagious, near-never-ending smile plastered on her face as she leapt up towards the door.
“Yeah! Let’s!” the girl cheered, offering out the Pokeball for her Pokemon. At once the Dratini cried out in enthusiasm, before disappearing inside. As soon as Crystal stepped outside, she leapt as Aeron as curtly waiting right behind her.
“Done with your pretty little sob story yet?” the elder jeered, knocking a single finger against the younger’s red cheeks. Crystal easily brushed her finger away. “What’s the verdict of your emo corner time?”
“Let’s fill out the paperwork…and then go to the gym right away as soon as my trainer card is done!” the gifted girl firmly stated, a small confidence building in her gut. However, Aeron simply sighed, shook her head and jabbed her finger into her student’s gut to deflate her.
“Come on, then…don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
* * *
The greenhouse dome rose high above their eyes, transparent yet reflecting the sunlight off its glass surface. ‘Sunrise City Gym’ had been etched in above the entrance for one to clearly read.
Ba-dump, ba-dump. Crystal’s heart raced faster at the site of the massive battling arena. With each passing second, she flipped the brand-new trainer card over in her hand. Her picture, armed with a giant smile, graced the front of the light-blue and white card, along with the ID number ‘5301445’. The back held her scrawled, loopy signature- the signature that sealed her fate to being that of a Pokemon trainer. She nervously glanced over to Aeron; unlike the girl, she stood tall, firm and calm. Her muddy brown eyes darted over, and the elder forced a smirk.
“I can see you shakin’ in your sneaks there, kid. You alright?” she mused playfully.
“Don’t call me, me kid,” Crystal stuttered. “I-It’s a lot bigger than I remember it being, that’s all…”
“Well, it is normal to be nervous first match. I’ve been there…” Aeron returned her gaze to the building. Next to the tidily kept entrance stood a formidable wood sign that had been artistically crafted. “‘Sunrise City Gym, Leader Sylvia Syrakos. The Angelic Fairy of Grass Types!’, huh…” she read out loud, thumbing her chin gently. “Sounds like great fun. Let’s get in there.”
“M-maybe I’m not ready after all, haha, hahaha…” the younger chuckled weakly, abruptly turning around and taking a few steps towards the Pokemon Center. It wasn’t long before her mentor had inched forward to grab her and pull her back by her backpack. “Nngh.”
“You’re really gonna Feline out? Uh, no…no you…” Eru found herself distracted and unable to finish her sentence; as though someone had tapped her on the top of her head, she glanced upwards and rubbed at her scalp. She blinked as a drop of moisture landed on her nose. At once she wiped it away. It was Crystal’s turn to notice as the raindrop landed on her arm. Small parts of the bare ground suddenly darkened, turning light for a moment, before another drop fell and made the earth wet. The gentle sound of rain began to pitter-patter on the glass dome. Aeron cursed beneath her breath, pulling Crystal harder towards the gym.
“Hell if you think you’re gonna sprint to the center before we get down-poured on. Hell no, I’m not gonna babysit you and your hypothermia,” she grunted, redirecting her to the gym. “Now get in there, before we both get soaked to the bone. It’s picking up very quickly…”
“Aeron,” Crystal whined, but had no choice; as the fire trainer had noted, the slight drizzle soon escalated into a steady stream of rain. Before she allowed herself to become drenched any further, she quickly opened the manual doors to the gym and ducked inside. Aeron wasn’t too far behind.
A blast of warm, slightly muggy air greeted the two trainers as they entered. The lobby was tidy, decorated with a vast number of potted plants and general flora. Spherical lights hung from above their heads, illuminating the entranceway to the gym. Nervously the blonde began fiddling with her hair, twirling it around her fingers several times until her mentor batted at her hand and chided her for such a habit. Aeron took a few more steps forward, eyes thoroughly scanning the light green lobby.
“…huh…no receptionist? Forgot that smaller gyms don’t have a waiting line for this sort of thing…” she mentioned under her breath, striding over to a sign secured behind thick glass. “Let’s see… ‘please ring for receptionist at your convenience. We will be with you in less than a minute to register you for your challenge. We ask that you leave any flammable items or Pokemon unnecessary for the challenge behind with the receptionist.’ Oh, bull- you aren’t going to have me leaving three of my Pokemon behind that easily…” she scoffed, before allowing her eyes to dart around for another moment. “Ah, there’s the button. Go on, champ-in-the-making, press it.”
Crystal bit her lip and rose her hand to her hair, but not before Aeron could bat it down within a split second. Uneasily the gifted girl sluggishly made her way over to the receptionist’s desk. A kelley green button the size of her palm patiently shone on the desk, inviting her to press it. Not even a smudge could be seen on its sleek surface. She gave one last futile glance to Eru, pleading not to go through with this; the fire trainer rolled her eyes and gave a shooing motion towards the button. Again the newbie glanced at the button, and with everything in her gut saying otherwise, she depressed it.
The sound of chimes echoed throughout the room. The party questioned the noise, with Crystal nearly leaping at the unexpected sound and Aeron raising her eyebrow. The chimes died down, leaving the peaceful music of rain falling down on the building to their ears again. Not a soul could be heard approaching through the halls, nor was anyone coming from the gym, as Aeron proved with a peek inside. Restlessly the younger trainer began pacing, fiddling with her hair once more. The elder groaned, slapping her hand away one more time before diving into her gargantuan bag. Within a second she had removed a hair elastic, and she forced it into her student’s hair.
“Just…stop fiddling with your hair, it’s driving me freakin’ crazy,” she groaned. “…don’t tell me you can’t even put your own hair up, because then I will cry. Because that’s just ridi-…oh.”
Her words ended as steady footsteps drew closer. Within a split second, a tall and slender lady with an apron and a pair of gloves folded over her arm smiled at the two visitors. She folded the apron over once more, before settling it down on the desk and greeting the two.
“Welcome to Sunrise City’s Gym. Can I help you today?”
“Uh, er…”
“Yeah, this nervous one here wants to start her challenge today,” Aeron gently shoved Crystal forward. Panicked, the young girl stumbled forward, barely catching herself on the desk before shooting a worried glanced back.
“Ah, I see,” the receptionist chuckled gently before straightening out. “…you can relax a little, hun. Everyone’s really nervous when they step into their first gym.”
“Ah, yeah,” Crystal dumbly responded. She began playing with her trainer card and the hair elastic once again, flipping them over in her hands several times.
“There’s no shame in a first challenge. We’re all here to learn. May I please see your trainer card?”
With that, the blonde nearly dropped her ‘lifeline’. She found herself extremely reluctant to hand it over. With a final glance Aeron’s way, she turned the card over. At once the receptionist typed away, fingers punching in numbers at light-speed. Within a moment she handed the card back, though her eyes were still glued to the screen. She hummed, taping her fingers upon the spotless desk, before she beamed.
“Alright, it appears you are all registered and set to begin your challenge. …Sir, I take it you are some sort of friend to the girl?”
“You could…say that, I suppose.” Eru gave a knowing glance towards Crystal.
“Well, I hope you understand the protocol of the gym as it stands…”
“Yep, I know my rights. Spectating in the specified area given for friends and family members of the like.”
“I must also ask that you forfeit any unnecessary health hazards with this specific gym’s protocol, including but not limited to fire Pokemon baring an open flame, Pokemon knowing Fire-type moves in general, lighters, cigarettes-”
“None of which I possess, ma’am,” Aeron arrogantly cut her off with a swat of her hand. “Rest assured, I would never put a cancer stick near my lips, even if my life depended on it…”
The receptionist frowned slightly at the arrogant nature of the trainer, yet decided to drop it at once. “I hope you realize what would happen if we found out, sir…”
“Yeah, yeah, fined to high hell. Look, let’s get this kid in there before she decides to faint first.”
Crystal was more than alright with the constant badgering between the two females. Sweat beaded up to the size of bullets on her face before shooting down to the earth below her, much like the rain began to pound away outside. She couldn’t very well explain it, yet butterflies threatened to spurt out from her mouth at any given moment, or drag her down to the ground unconscious.
I…I don’t even…why am I so ner…
“Miss…Hikara, was it?” Immediately Crystal leapt at her name being called. Panicked, she glanced around, before the kind receptionist returned her gaze. “I’ll show you to the battling grounds in which the challenge will take place on. I shall explain the rules of a Pokemon Gym, if you would like, whilst we are headed to the arena.”
The blonde played rapidly with the hair elastic loaned to her. She pleadingly looked to Aeron for some sort of help with the matter. Noting the panicked expression the girl was in, the elder simply stared straight at her, a look of nostalgia plastered curiously over her face. However, she gave a small ‘hmph’, before walking over.
“Guess I have to cry now, since you’re completely incapable of anything…” the fire trainer scoffed, taking the hair elastic from the younger and moving to do her hair for her. Crystal spun around, holding her long hair reluctantly with fury replacing her panic.
“A-Aeron!”
“Might wanna run down everything with this one, ma’am. She’s completely clueless to this entire thing,” Aeron signed, retreating from the girl and pacing herself off towards the left hall. “See ya in a bit, champ…”
“W-wait, Aeron, where are you…where is she going?!” The inexperienced trainer turned meek once again, rubbing her hair at once through her fingertips. The receptionist gave a small sigh, perhaps to herself, before heading through the vestibule before them.
Lush greenery soon shaded the woman and Crystal as they made their way into the gym; all sorts of fauna, flora and trees blinded the new trainer to green whichever way she turned. The air was warm, with a touch of humidity. Various sprinklers poured makeshift rain down onto the plants while the rain roared on the roof. Glancing up, she caught a brief flash of lightning. The sound of a constant trickling caught her ear; she soon allowed herself to lock her eyes with a crowd of various grass type Pokemon. They had gathered around the main centerpiece of the jungle; constantly water spewed up from a hoard of stone Lotad, along from two Lombre and one Ludicolo dancing ceremoniously at the top of the fountain. They completely ignored the approaching footsteps of the admission’s officer and the challenger.
Despite all there was to distract her, Crystal very well knew to strain and listen to the words provided to her. “As I’m sure you already know,” the service lady began, calmly strolling along, “The Beghta Pokemon League prides itself on its battle system. So much, in fact, other regions willingly refer to us as ‘the High Council’ of the Pokemon World Leagues. Granted, it may make battling a touch more difficult, but there are more intensive battles and stronger trainers as a result.
“In a Gym battle, you and you alone are responsible for any choices you may make. However, we have a strict items policy at this gym, a policy many go by. A maximum of three items may be used at any time during a gym battle. You are also subject to follow by any rules that the Gym Leader may impose on you, such as time limit, singles or doubles match style, how many Pokemon may be used, et cetera. However, a gym leader is also forced to use the same amount of Pokemon, and each of the Pokemon must have a tie to the specified element that the Gym Leader controls. In this case, Miss Sylvia specializes…” she hesitated, motioning around the green as they began to emerge in a large clearing somewhat off to the side at the exit of the dome. “In grass types, as you can see. Please keep this in mind for your battle…it is all the help I can truly offer.
“…we have reached the battling arena, Miss Hikara,” the receptionist coughed gently as she had to manually stop Crystal in her steps. The girl nearly jumped out of her daze, blinking many times and darting her eyes about.
“Ah…” the young girl muttered, shuddering slightly from a chill, regardless of the warm temperature in the greenhouse-like dome. “T-thank you for the help,” she awkwardly attempted. Her eyes returned to the scene of the to-be battle; it was bare, the grass ironically stripped down to dampened soil. While a few lines had been painted out in the dirt, the true barrier acted where the earth began to grow weeds and flowers. Stationed not too far away from the field were a few trees and shrubs, before the clearing ended with the thick greenery. The preoccupied trainer didn’t even hear the lady’s response, nor did she care she was leaving.
Her eyes finally fell onto a small bleacher area; in the foremost seat rested Aeron, whom casually waved at her. However, as the girl began approaching, she held up her hand, shaking her head. A quick nod off to her side made the challenging trainer spin around.
“Oh…” It was unclear which of the two young ladies on the field had muttered the word. Before Crystal, the second girl that couldn’t have been a day into her teens curiously brought her earth-soiled hand to the slightly tanned skin of her face. Her teal eyes glanced up and down the trainer as she shuffled about in her petal-textured, plain-rose colored skirt. She wore an earthy top, tiny flowers printed onto it with the same pink color. Carefully the young femme stepped forward on her bare feet. Gently she pulled a strand of her dark brown hair back, trying to resituate it under a headband that appeared to be woven of twigs and silk flowers.
“I have to say, it’s been a while since I’ve had the ability to have my gym open…I must apologize for any delay in your challenge, from current events or otherwise…” the young teen girl spoke, giving a shy smile.
“Ah, no, no, it’s okay!” Crystal waved her hands around gently. “I just got here myself…and we had to deal with Team Missile as it is…and wait, did you say ‘my gym’…?”
Crystal could make out a groan from the stands. A quick glance over proved that Aeron had slapped herself upside the face and soon slumped into the bleachers.
“Yes, of course. I’m sorry, again…I am Sylvia Syrakos, First Gym Leader of Beghta’s High Council,” the teen beamed. “I take it you’re here for a challenge, miss…”
“Ah, yes! Sorry…I’m Crystal Hikara,” the girl began to nearly braid her hair as she took a few reluctant steps forward. The gym leader had begun approaching her, yet paused immediately at the name. She rose her fingers to her lips gently.
“…oh! You’re Kira’s little sister, then?”
“You know my sister?”
“Of course!” Sylvia gave a meek smile, before strolling over quicker and offering her hand. “She and I were travelling companions for a while before duty called me back to my post here at Sunrise. She’s my best bud for life. Haha. She talked a great deal about you during our travels.”
“Ah, I…see…” Crystal slowly shook the Gym Leader’s hand. Her eyes fell to her mentor; she was still doubled-over in disbelief as to what she was hearing. Soon, the sky blue eyes shot to the approaching man dressed in a zebra’s tuxedo. He carried with him two flags; the first nearly shone with the home color of victorious red, while the other shimmered with the visitor’s color of noble blue. “Er…”
“Miss Syrakos, I take it you are ready for battle?” the man plainly stated, as though he had recited the line a half-thousand times before.
“Oh, yes… thank you.” With that, Sylvia turned to Crystal. Her small smile didn’t betray any sort of hesitation. “Well, go on. Take your rightful spot in the blue corner, then…”
Once again Crystal found herself unwilling to move. She heard a small cuss from the bleachers; when she glanced over Eru was directing a death glare straight her way. At once the student scurried over to the block marked with a few violets and blue-bells growing around it. Sylvia casually took her spot amongst a bed of young burgundy tulips.
“This is an official Beghta Pokemon League match! Gym Leader Sylvia Syrakos has accepted Challenger Crystal Hikara’s offer to battle for the first gym badge, the Nature Badge. The Gym Leader will now state the rules of the battle, if it so pleases her.”
At that, the two competitors faced each other. Suddenly the meek façade was dropped in favor for a confident voice. “The battle shall be single battle style, maximum of two Pokemon, no time limit. …You don’t mind the conditions, do you?”
“N-no,” Crystal reluctantly found herself stuttering once more.
B-but I only have one Pokemon, Dragola…this isn’t…
“The challenger accepts the suggested rules of the battle! Without any further comments, the battle shall commence!” The referee rose his flags. From the bottom of her shirt and from her waist, Sylvia plucked a Pokeball from hiding and maximized it. She awaited for her challenger to clumsily do the same with her singular Pokeball. Crystal presented the orb holding the Dratini before her, using her remaining hand to stabilize the one offering out the Pokeball. Her stomach performed acrobatics as she awaited the first move of the battle.
“Let’s start things off, Pinchy!” The Gym Leader called, and tossed out her ball in a contrasting gentle manner.
“Uhm…let’s give it our all, Dragola!” Crystal found herself hard to put the words together, yet remained as firm as she could. At once the capsule shook and popped upwards in her hand as the Pokemon obeyed her order and was released.
The sound of thunder rumbling in the distance was muffled by the cries of the two Pokemon that had been released. The Dratini bounced happily about, until she made out the figure of the opponent’s Pokemon. Cautiously she tilted her head towards the side, gazing at the bizarre bug before her. Armed with two pincers colored a bright warning orange like the rest of its body, the bug slowly blinked its large eyes playfully at the dragon before it. The two mushrooms growing off its back shook gently as it crawled forward.
Sylvia seemed to be more surprised than ‘Pinchy’. “Oh, wow…is that a…little dragon, are they called?”
“Dratini…” Crystal corrected slowly. “Her name’s Dragola.”
“I have to say I’m slightly impressed you have one so early on! Dragons aren’t easy to train you know…”
“Round one!” the ref rudely interrupted, raising his flags higher. “Dragola versus Pinchy! Begin!” He swooped the flags down, signaling the beginning of the match.
“Alright, Pinchy. Start things off with Poisonpowder. We don’t want to take that dragon lightly, here!” the Gym Leader ordered, having no problem taking the lead. Crystal flinched back at the command. For a moment, she could have sworn she heard Sleep Powder instead. The stench of the Houndoom came back to her as her heart raced harder.
Suddenly the sound of her Pokemon crying snapped her back into reality. “Ah, ah, Dragola!” she nervously shouted, watching as her Pokemon coiled after inhaling the spores.
No, I couldn’t…it was too late…she bit her lip and fought to think of something, anything as a retort. “Ah, uhm, Thunderwave it right back! Are you okay?”
Dragola responded by uncoiling her long body, before somewhat sluggishly releasing a sudden shock-wave of static electricity towards her opponent. The move was so quick Pinchy had no chance to evade; his mushrooms quivered as he nearly collapsed to the ground. Sylvia frowned, rubbing some dirt off her fingers.
“An arm for an arm, hmm…?” the Gym Leader wondered out loud, lightly tapping her bare foot. “Okay, then. Let’s see what we can do here…Pinchy! Close the gap when you can and use your Metal Claw!”
Aeron perked up at the attack name, before giving a knowing glance towards Crystal. The girl, however, was more intent on her Pokemon’s condition. The little serpent shivered gently as sweat began to ooze out of her pours from the toxins spreading through her body. A few of her thin scales began to peel off.
“Dragola, if you can, Wrap up its body so it can’t use that Metal Claw!” she reluctantly ordered. As soon as the words had been spoken, Dragola straightened out with a nod of her head. Pinchy moved forward expectantly, yet had to hesitate as electricity ran over his body. The opposing Pokemon used the opportunity to wrap her long body tightly around the Paras. He groaned in pain, struggling as his pinchers were tucked tightly into his body. Crystal smiled very gently at the situation. Granted, Dragola wouldn’t hold out on the situation forever, yet it was a start. Dragola was doing damage and the opponent wasn’t going to be moving anytime soon.
Of course, the grass-type leader appeared unfazed. “Agility combo to Metal Claw! Use your speed to get a claw loose!”
“Wrap it tighter, Dragola! Don’t let it go that easily!”
Even as the Dratini held on for dear life, constricting the opponent further and making the bug shriek out more, Pinchy managed as he was told; his mushrooms shrunk gently as he managed to remove two of his many legs. Quickly he dug them into the ground below, causing Dragola to unexpectantly jerk forward. The bug dashed forward, pushing his claw forward and out into the open. Soon the color de-saturated from his claw, turning a steely gray. Eyes gleaming, he swung down his mighty claw on the dragon. At once she squealed in pain, and giving one last satisfying, reflexive squeeze, she retreated off.
From the broken skin where the Paras had struck, a lavender liquid seeped out of the dragon. “Ah, Dragola!” Crystal cried, nearly ready to dash forward, until she saw Dragola smiling. Bringing her entire body down to the ground, she made sure to sharply eye the opponent as she rolled herself in the sharp soil. Flecks of white were shaved off her body, until finally she crawled out of the old carapace.
“There! That’s much better!” she joyfully beamed to her trainer. The side-effects from poison had all but disappeared. Sylvia bit her lip at the movement.
“Shed Skin, hm…well, still we can take her down! Pinchy! One more time! Metal Claw!” Reluctantly, Pinchy rose to his feet. He appeared weary from battle, the paralysis taking its toll. However, he rose both claws. Again they turned their bizarre silver color.
“Dragola, he’s on the ropes! Finish it off!” Crystal shouted, her heart pounding.
Can we really win this…?
Regardless of her trainer’s doubts, the serpent’s violet eyes gleamed. Suddenly she disappeared, shocking both Gym Leader and Pokemon. Pinchy suddenly coiled about violently, spores leaking from his mushrooms as he arched this way and that. Seconds later, Dragola re-emerged closer to the blue corner, huffing gently and twitching gently. Pinchy had tumbled back and lost consciousness.
The judge bit his lip, unsure of what had happened, but after a moment, he rose the blue flag. “Pinchy is unable to battle! Round one goes to Challenger Crystal!”
“Pinchy…! W-what just happened there…?” Sylvia stuttered, back to her meek self. Soon the grass-bug was resting in his Pokeball. “…I guess we’ll have to watch out for that, won’t we?”
“C-Crystal, I feel funny…” Dragola whined, shivering once more.
“Are you okay?” she knelt down to her Pokemon. The dragon gently shook her head, before she doubled over suddenly. “Dragola!”
“It seems that she got the unlucky side of Effect Spore,” the Gym Leader noted. “She must have been affected by Stun Spore when she attacked Pinchy last. …you should recall her now. It must be tough on her to go through two status conditions in such a short time…”
Crystal gulped as Sylvia tentatively pulled out a fresh Pokeball. Her sky blue eyes swiftly fell down upon the dragon once more, but she forced muscle movement and faced the grass trainer once again. “Dragola…are you sure you can battle?”
The Dratini weakly nodded, gazing at her skin. “If I can shed my skin again of the spores, I think I can continue on…”
Sylvia simply looked on as Crystal stood proud and strong, like her Pokemon. With a small sigh, she gripped her Pokeball firmer. “…alright, I did warn you…Chika! You can take it from here!” The orb flew from her hand once again, and from the bright light a pale spring green Pokemon appeared. With a ‘necklace’ compromised of seeds (or coiled vines, Crystal couldn’t tell which), Chika anxiously wiggled her small, jellybean-shaped body and swung around her crown leaf. Her crimson eyes locked on the Dratini, watching her every move carefully.
“Round two! Dragola versus Chika! Begin!”
“Dragola, go in for another strike! Extremespeed!” Aeron perked up, and brought her hand to her mouth nervously at the command. Her eyes darted to the Gym Leader, who seemed slightly taken aback by the attack’s name.
“Don’t give it a chance, Chika! Vine Whip your way out of there!”
The surprisingly thick vines began to uncoil from a few spots on Chika’s neck, yet when the Dratini disappeared she panicked. She brought the vines down and around her own body, crouching so as to brace for the impact. Chika, like her comrade before her, winced and stumbled from side to side as she was struck by the blinding move. As the dragon reappeared in front of her, though, she appeared far less battered than her fallen friend. At once, the vines uncoiled, only to whip forward and down on Dragola several times with great precision. The serpent cried as she could not escape the lashes.
“Dragola! Hang in there, and try one more time!”
“Lure it in, and then end it with Body Slam!”
The command had been made before Crystal could say a word otherwise. Dragola shifted out of sight once more with Extremespeed. Again Chika braced herself with her vines, although more had been shot out. As the Dratini struck from various angles, the Chikorita fought to tightly grip the ground. As the last strike of the Extremespeed sought to make for a critical hit, the vines suddenly rose together in unison. Dragola shot back into reality, ensnared by the Vine Whip. She shuddered and cried as she was forced down to the ground.
“No!”
Before the trainer could manage an order, Chika rose to her hind legs. Still binding the dragon-type with her Vine Whip, she allowed herself to fall flat onto the serpent. Dragola gave a cry of pain that shot straight into Crystal’s heart. The earth nearly shook from the impact. Once again using her vines, the grass type leapt off of the unmoving Pokemon and landed near the red square.
“D-Dragola! Are you okay?! G-get up!” the new trainer found herself stammering.
A small shiver and whine could be heard from the Dratini. Using all of her strength, she rose herself just a few inches. Her violet eyes locked onto her trainer.
“M-Miss Crystal…I…I’m so…rry…”
With that, the Dratini’s head flopped over as her body turned limp.
“Dragola is unable to battle! Round two and game go to Gym Leader Sylvia!”
Crystal simply stared at the scene.
How…how could this happen…? D-Dragola…she’s in a lot of pain, and… Silently, she stepped towards her fallen Pokemon. Even though the wounds were not her own, she felt something painful take over her body. She lifted the unconscious Pokemon tenderly into her arms, gazing in disbelief at the poor serpent. She heard some words from Sylvia, yet they were all in disarray and didn’t make any sense to her.
It’s really all my fault this time…
Crystal suddenly began sprinting, leaving the clearing behind her as she retraced her steps to the gym entrance. She heard Aeron shout something after her, yet she couldn’t make it out. Using her shoulder, she burst into the lobby. Without waiting to hear what question the receptionist had for her, she pushed herself out of the building and out into the rain.
She lifted her eyes as her breaths became labored. The hill that ultimately lead back to Dawndew was the only thing she could make out. The downpour had worsened, and lightning arched over head. Without a thing to stop her, the gifted girl soon became soaked as she sprinted for the hill. Cold began to seep into her bones as she simply ran. Too many thoughts ran through her mind as drops of water began to cloud her vision. The piercing of all her inner organs was too much.
Arriving in the clearing, she simply panted, sinking low to her knees. She had lost her first true match. No-one could listen to her cry as the storm drowned her out.
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. I always did like the whole Charmeleon love story thing, since it really does sound so... human I guess is the word for it. Like I could totally see that happening in real life as well, just obviously minus the whole "father takes the egg" thing 
