Pokémon: Leah's Journey {Rewrite}

Chapter 12: Bike Races and Rock Climbing

Leah's recovery from the poison went fairly quickly thanks to Mildred's quick action with the antidote and Nurse Joy's precise care. Leah was let off with the simple instructions to not fist fight any more Poison Type Pokémon. She had no intentions to, the Dragalge was a unique situation, but she isn't going to try with any more Pokémon lest she wants to die before her time.

There was a bike race to be held in town. Mildred wasn't a big fan of sports, but Leah and Zayn? Despite how Leah is more of an artist, she still signed up with the goal of beating Zayn at the race. That plan would've worked well if the appearance of Vespidae and Spectre didn't put them off their game. This is going to be interesting because now the rivalry is not just Leah and Zayn being silly, Leah's actual rivals were participating. Things will get rather heated. Vespidae approached Leah, "I've heard you've gotten yourself poisoned."

Leah nodded, "That's one way to put it, yeah."

"Specter wanted to visit you, but I figured it would be best if we didn't disturb you while you were resting."

"That's rather kind of you, Vespidae, I appreciate the thought."

"Might I ask how you got poisoned?" Vespidae inquired.

Leah laughed, "I fist fought a Dragalge."

Vespidae made a face while her younger brother looked at her with sparkles in his eyes. Leah looked at Zayn, Mildred and Vespidae before making her decision. Her impulsivity was not a behavior she'd want anyone to replicate, especially with how it can lead to her being reckless. Leah absolutely wouldn't want her younger brother or Spectre to do this sort of thing. Leah turned to the boy, "I don't want you to even try to do what I did. It was reckless and could've gotten me killed."

The boy nodded and signed, "If it's dangerous, why did you do it?"

"There was this injured Milotic who refused to go back to the waters after we healed and freed it. I figured it was a territory skirmish with a Dragalge so I made the choice of going down there to scare it off."

Leah and Vespidae narrowed their eyes at each other, an unspoken competition between the two girls as both of them decided to grab a bike for the race. Both were equals, it's just that Leah had a Fire Type on her roster which isn't very beneficial with a team of Bug Types. Vespidae was determined to beat Leah at this race, while Leah didn't really care much about winning. She put more importance in enjoying herself rather than letting a loss affect her. Zayn and Spectre opted to let the two girls mess around and watch them race.

Leah soon realized that despite being trained for the more physical stuff, riding a bike for leisure purposes was not the same game. Nevertheless, Leah refused to back down from a challenge. On the signal, all contestants began cycling as fast as they could. Leah and Vespidae were in the lead, but Vespidae was a little faster as a result of Leah still shaking off the effects of being cooped up in a hospital bed for a few days.

With the way their rivalry was going, Vespidae and Leah were trying to hinder each other to secure the win during all the laps. If Leah put a stick in Vespidae's wheel, the latter would respond in kind by placing a rock in Leah's way. This went on for all three laps and by the time they got to the finish line, they tied for last place. Vespidae was rather angry that her efforts to best her rival were in vain while Leah simply laughed, shrugged and returned to her friends. Leah seemed to have enjoyed herself and that's what she deemed important. Vespidae approached Leah, "Once you get a gym badge from Grant, I'd like to battle you."

"And I won't lose." Leah laughed, "I fully intend on winning."

"Don't be too cocky, I could easily win if you're not careful."

Leah nodded, "We'll see about that."

The trio made their way to the gym, Spectre wanted to see the gym battle so the siblings followed. Leah didn't know what to expect of this gym, but a rock climbing wall that leads to the top and a waterfall inside the gym was not on her list of expectations. Grant, the gym leader, greeted them, "Welcome! I'll keep this simple for you, I have no limit on the number of Pokemon you may use as I wish to see your team's full potential. For those who don't wish to climb, you may use the elevator to get to the top." He then turned to Leah, "Normally I'd encourage all my challengers to climb the wall, but as I understand it, you've been recently discharged from the Pokemon Center. I do not wish for you to overexert yourself so if you'd like, you may use the elevator along with your friends."