The egg's radiance waxed to an unimaginable degree, nearly blinding us with its brilliance. The shine was majestic in an esoteric manner. The feeling was indescribable.
It was the feeling of a new life being born into this world.
I saw Trinity put her face directly in front of the egg.
Shit!
"Trinity, don't put yourself directly in front of it!" I shouted as I gently pushed her to the side, taking her place in front of the egg, making sure I was directly in front of it.
"Hey!" Trinity began to say, but the egg's glow intensified more, pausing her words.
Then the glow abated, and the egg stood still. A moment later, the top half broke free, and a tiny head peeked out.
It opened its eyes and looked at me. I sighed in relief that it did.
"Damn it, that was close," I muttered. Despite this, my excitement was palpable. "Hey, Togepi."
Togepi looked at me and exclaimed, "Togepi! Toge!"
I pick it up and hold it in my arms, smiling. I was not surprised.
Trinity seemed excited as well. "A Togepi?"
"Yeah, it's from my mom's Togekiss, I'm pretty sure."
Trinity frowned. "I thought you found it in the forest."
I winced. Damn it, she doesn't know about Beatrice.
Trinity studies me. "Don't want to talk about it?"
"Yeah..."
She smiled softly. "I'll wait for when you do, then."
I was glad that she wasn't being pushy. She understood that sometimes time was the greatest medicine. Trinity grew as a person, and I was proud of her for that.
"But why did you push me out of the way? On second thought, you don't seem surprised that it's a Togepi."
"Even if I didn't know it's a gift from my mom, I still would have been able to tell that it's a Togepi."
I continued. "And as for why I pushed you..."
I gently set the curious Togepi down, who looked at me with the affection of a newborn.
"Rotom, scan it."
Rotom wakes up and rolls its eyes. "Why can't you manually scan it? Stop interrupting my beauty sleep, asshole."
"Being a clown doesn't require beauty sleep. Now scan it or I'll force you to watch every live action Disney movie until you want to end it all."
Rotom seemed insulted. "You fucking wouldn't."
"Oh, I would, now scan it!"
Rotom glared at me, before surrendering and pointed its camera at Togepi, but not without muttering something about leaking my search history.
The only thing I have in my search history is "When is the Steam summer sale happening?"
Trinity shook her head. "You two..."
Rotom finally scanned Togepi.
"Togepi, the Egg Pokemon. A Fairy-type. Togepi is imprinted with the image of the first thing it sees after it hatches, thinking this is its mother." According to the Pokedex, this Togepi was male.
Rotom promptly shut itself off.
"Oh, so that's why you pushed me off," Trinity said.
"Yeah, he would have thought you were his mother and I would have been forced to give him to you," I said. I knew this by heart. I knew all of Cynthia's Pokemon by heart.
Togepi turned his curious eyes toward the entire room, expanding his periphery. Then his eyes settled on Eevee, who woke up, his face contorting, becoming determined. He pounced at Eevee, tackling her. Eevee merely stood there, looking at Togepi with a blank look, unfazed.
"Toge!" Togepi said frustratingly, trying to hit her again, ultimately failing. I noticed that he flinched every time he attacked Eevee, which made me suspect he had learned Double Edge.
"Vee..." Eevee shook her head and flicked her tail at him, knocking him off the bed.
"Pi! Pi!" Togepi suddenly looked excited as he jumped back on the bed, facing down Eevee once more, as if eager to battle.
"Ten seconds of living and he already wants to pick a fight..." I muttered.
"Vali, why are we really good at finding strange Pokemon?" Trinity deadpanned.
"Beats me. Whichever fucker that controls the plot is the one behind this."
"What's making so much noise?" an annoyed voice said from the doorway. We turned and saw Chloe there, looking confused as she noticed the Togepi. "It hatched?"
Yamper made the mistake of stepping into the room, sniffing in Togepi's direction. Togepi looked at Yamper, a glint in his eyes. Before we knew it, Togepi launched himself at Yamper with a Double Edge, making him go flying until he crashed through the window.
I couldn't hold back my snickers. Togepi was ferocious despite just being a baby.
"What the hell was that for?!" Chloe exclaimed, glaring at Togepi. "And to think I used to hold you as an egg!"
"Toge, Togepi!" Togepi laughed, sticking his tongue out at Chloe.
I glared furiously at Chloe. "What do you mean you held him as an egg? Have you been snooping around my room?"
Chloe's eyes widened as she realized she made a slip-up. "Uh, no... I mean, maybe... I mean..."
"Oh, shut up," I said darkly. "I swear to Arceus, you better not go into my room and touch my shit ever again..." I trailed off, leaving the silent threat hanging in the air.
Chloe flinched, her eyes slightly twitching with fear.
"Vali," Trinity said to me with a gentle look, for once not getting mad at me. "Relax."
Then she turned to Chloe and gave her a mild glare. "Come on, Chloe, you know that's weird."
"Not you too, Trinity. You know he would do the same thing!"
"No, he wouldn't," Trinity shook her head. "He wouldn't even care about going into a girl's room."
"Why do you have so much faith in him?" Chloe asked. "Hasn't he been doing weird things to you?"
"He hasn't done anything of the sort," Trinity rolled her eyes. Trinity has become friends with Chloe ever since we started working for Professor Cerise. But this is the one matter they disagreed with. "Besides, how could he possibly blackmail me? Hell, if he really was doing something to me, I could literally just play the victim card and get his ass into trouble. But the fact I haven't done that shows that he hasn't done anything."
"But-"
"Drop it," Trinity said, shaking her head softly. "I don't want to argue. Do you want to know something? I thought the same way as you, and then I got to know Vali. Now he's like a brother to me."
Chloe glared at me, which I completely ignored. She knew I literally did not give a shit about her. The more she hated me the more amused I became.
"Come on, Chloe, just leave him be. Go check on your Yamper as well."
Chloe dipped her head and nodded. "Fine. But I won't be nice to Vali."
Trinity smirked slightly. "Yeah, yeah."
Chloe gave her a light smile and then walked out to check on Yamper.
I raised one eyebrow at Trinity. "You actually stood up to me. I was one second away from making her cry."
Trinity shrugged. "Why wouldn't I stick up for you? Besides, me talking reasonably is much better than you cursing her and her entire bloodline out or beating her up.
"Where was this when I argued with Michael?"
"That's different. What the readers need to understand is that if I hadn't stopped you, you would have probably killed Michael in anger, and if I hadn't assured you that I'm your friend, you would have been a lot worse off than you are now. Someone like you just needs someone to depend on. I understand how that feels." Trinity gave me a soft smile.
I sighed and looked away. "You didn't have to give me that speech, you know."
"Stop being such a tsundere," Trinity giggled. "Just say thank you and that's it."
I rolled my eyes but smiled anyway. "Right."
"So what are we doing tomorrow? I'm probably just going to train," Trinity explained.
"I'm thinking of doing the Fourth Gym. I feel like we're ready enough," I said.
Trinity shrugged. "I'm not going to challenge it right now. Most of my Pokemon are weak to Grass-types or aren't very effective against Grass-types."
I nodded. "Fair enough. I'll be getting a headstart, though."
Trinity's eyes twinked with amusement. "And I'll catch up just as quickly."
We shared a grin.
Trinity yawned. "Well, it's getting kind of late, so I'll be getting ready for bed." She got up and was about to leave, but she noticed Togepi looking curiously at her
"Strange, he doesn't run away from me," Trinity looked surprised, before slowly reaching her hand out to pet him. He let her do it, smiling slightly.
"Maybe some Pokemon are immune," I suggested, curious.
"Who knows," Trinity sighed. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight," I waved as she left the room.
A warm sensation caught my attention. I looked at Togepi, who snuggled up to me. I smiled and rubbed his head.
"Hey, Togepi?" I asked.
"Pi?" he looked at me curiously.
"How about you watch my Gym Battle tomorrow."
***
I had a good rest before the day of the Gym Battle. My body felt a blissful sensation as I got up, making me smile a little bit. Eevee was laying beside me as usual. I patted her on the head gently to wake up.
"Evori..." Eevee yawned and stretched as she woke up, opening her eyes to look at me with happy brown eyes.
"I'm glad you're excited girl," I chuckled, getting off my bed to go get ready.
I took a quick shower, put on some fresh clothes, ate a couple bites of breakfast, and went to my side of the dome, where my Pokemon resided.
"Alright, I only get to take four of you, so I'll choose the ones I need to test the strength of."
My Pokemon lined up as I paced around, thinking about who to take with me.
After a minute, I assembled my team: Elekid, Kirlia, Golurk, Gengar, Eevee, and Togepi (who will only spectate). I felt bad about leaving Hattrem, but I've been using her a lot because of how versatile she's become.
Hattrem didn't seem too upset, though, which I found relieving.
"Train with Trinity's Pokemon," I instructed. "We'll go back to the Battle Institute afterward."
Hattrem nodded and smiled, her eyes saying "I'll be fine."
I've been getting better at reading Pokemon' expressions and body language, allowing me to infer whatever they were saying. It was a useful skill and showed them how much I cared for them.
I rubbed Hattrem's head, smiling slightly. "Then I'll see you later. Make sure not to cause too much for Kirlia."
Hattrem grinned mischievously, nodding her head in an innocent manner. She loved messing with male Kirlia.
Chuckling, I walked out of the dome and exited the house, throwing out Golurk.
***
The flight wasn't anything too bad. It was just endless turbulence and my long hair whipping at my face.
You know, I'd completely forgotten to buy a new hair tie. I didn't know if I wanted to keep my hair down or tied.
The air was sort of chilly despite it being summer. My gray scarf was very warm, though, so the breeze didn't hinder me.
Overall, the trip took about ten minutes, since Celadon wasn't too far from Vermilion. And the sight was wonderful, as well. The horizon was clear and sparkly, with Pokemon flying around it, creating brilliant shapes and patterns due to their flight paths. There was just something so majestic about it.
Once again, we landed in a secluded area, where I hopped off Golurk and thanked it, returning it to its Poke Ball.
I stepped out and blended in with the crowd, hoping that I wouldn't stand out with my hair down.
Celadon was very neat and less sprawling than Vermilion, but it was way bigger. The buildings were lined perfectly next to each other, betraying no imperfections in the structure. Roads wrapped around a large park that was placed in the center of the city, which housed a coruscating fountain that drizzled all around it.
On one side of the park stood the Gym, a building that stood out grandly compared to the others. Vegetation snaked around it, giving it a natural feel that I hadn't really seen before in a Gym. It really was a picturesque sight.
Steeling myself, I walked into the Gym.
The first thing I saw once I entered is that the place adopted a wild look as well. A walkway streaked through a field of grass, with all sorts of flowers and plants trailing it. Vines grew from the walls of the Gym like so many snakes.
A greenhouse filled with a myriad of plants, flowers, and other vegetation was stationed in front of it. I walked through it, taking my time to admire it a little bit, feeling a sense of awe from the nature being displayed.
Finally, after walking through the greenhouse, I finally made it to the arena, which was grass instead of sand like it usually was.
The place looked very different from what I remembered. They must have renovated it. I must say I quite like it.
A young woman with black hair and gray eyes that were lighter than mine sat cross-legged on the grass, three Oddish sitting around her, looking quite peaceful. I realized that the ceiling was one big window, allowing natural sunlight to pierce through.
She noticed me and stood up, walking toward me with soft strides. I saw that she wore a traditional kimono and a red headband. I could see that was she quite pretty.
She gave me a serene smile. "Hello. I assume that you're a challenger?"
"Hey, Erika," I waved half-heartedly. "Yeah, I'm a challenger."
Erika studied me for a good moment, her eyes flickering with recognition. "Vali? You became a Trainer?"
I shrugged. "Guess I have."
You see, I met Erika a couple of times when I lived in Celadon. And since that was the time when I became unhinged, they weren't the friendliest interactions. She was always kind to me, though, so I didn't hold any particular hatred toward her. I only hated the rest of the city. I really didn't want to be here, so I just wanted to get the badge and get the fuck out of there.
"Eevee!" Eevee, who was on my shoulder like usual, said in a greeting.
Erika smiled at Eevee. "Hello there," she greeted, before turning back to me. "Well, I'm very glad you decided to be a Pokemon Trainer."
She gave me a once over, eyes widening slightly. "You've grown."
"I guess so."
Then Erika smiled brightly. "Now, are you ready for the battle?"
I smirked. "Yeah, I'm ready to get that badge."
Kanto Gym Leaders have gotten a lot stronger over the years. The World Monarch being their representative forced them to become more powerful. They couldn't be pushovers in the eyes of the people.
I knew that Erika, despite her soft and kind demeanor, could be just as ruthless as the rest of the Gym Leaders.
We stood at our respective sides of the battlefield, waiting as the referee made his way to the side.
Togepi shot out of his Poke Ball, standing right next to me. I looked down and smiled.
"Go the benches and cheer us on, okay?"
"Toge!" Togepi smiled, nodding with excitement, before waddling to the benches.
The crowd all let out a collective "AWW!" as they saw the baby Togepi walk.
The hell, when had they gotten there? Eh, whatever.
The referee shouted. "The Gym Battle between the challenger, Vali Shirona of Viridian City and the Gym Leader, Erika, will now begin! It will be a 3v3 and will end when one side loses all their Pokemon! Only the challenger may substitute a Pokemon!
The crowd gasped collectively. Ah shit, here we go again.
The crowd began to boo at me, shouting obscenities.
Erika winced at that. "Does this happen a lot?"
I shrugged indifferently. "Yeah, but I don't care."
But on the inside I was laughing at all of them. "If you bastards want me to lose, then I'll put on a good show."
"You may now bring out your first Pokemon!"
Erika threw out a Poke Ball. "It's time to show them much you've grown!"
An Exeggutor? I was expecting a Vileplume or something. Well, guess things will be different this time around.
"Let's start off with you," I threw a Poke Ball into the air.
"Elekid!" Elekid came out, raising his fists in preparation.
"An Electric-type? Interesting." Erika's regal smile did not leave her face. "You may take the first move."
"Okay then! Elekid, use Thunder Wave!"
Elekid heeded my order, sending a weak jolt of electricity at Exeggutor.
"Exeggutor, please use Psychic."
"Exe," Exeggutor drawled lazily, using Psychic to casually flick the Thunder Wave away.
While it did that, Elekid was already running toward Exeggutor.
"Low Kick!" I ordered.
Elekid grinned and kicked at Exeggutor's knee, causing it to fall on that knee, making it open for another attack.
"Ice Punch!"
Elekid brought his fist backward, coating it with frost, before punching Exeggutor straight in the torso, pushing it backward. To my surprise, it tanked it quite well, but the twitching eyes showed me it was damaged.
"Very clever indeed," Erika said with an easy smile. "You drew attention away from Elekid by using Thunder Wave. But too bad for you, it got too close. Sludge Bomb, please."
The three heads each formed Sludge Bombs, combining them into one big one that shot at Elekid, hitting him directly, causing him to be flung away.
"Ele..." Elekid winced as he landed on his feet, facing Exeggutor again. Good, he wasn't poisoned or too badly damaged.
"Exeggutor, Bullet Seed!"
Exeggutor shot rapid fire glowing seeds at Elekid, who readied himself to face them.
"Deflect them with Thunder Punch."
Elekid charged at Exeggutor, his fists sparking with lightning as he blocked and deflected the onslaught of seeds, making headway.
"Now!"
Elekid swatted a wave of seeds back at Exeggutor, aiming for its face, forcing it to avert its eyes or else get blinded.
"Ice Punch!"
Elekid leapt at Exeggutor, landing a haymaker that rebounded through the air as it connected with Exeggutor, causing it to grunt in pain.
"Exeggutor, it's close! Bullet Seed!"
"Thunder Shock, don't let it!"
Elekid launched arcs of electricity out of his fingertips, hitting Exeggutor before it could unleash another barrage of seeds.
"Ice Punch again!"
Elekid delivered another Ice Punch at Exeggutor, knocking it away ten-feet.
"Exe... ggutor..." Exeggutor was panting from the exertion. Something was off. It was almost as if it wasn't utilizing all its moves...
"Well, since this Elekid is proving to be such a pain, I think it's time we show them what we're truly made of." Erika's smile widened slightly. "Use Sludge Bomb again."
"Elekid, jump over it and use Thunder Wave again," I said cautiously, not knowing what she was planning.
Elekid nimbly sprang over the Sludge Bomb, before shooting another Thunder Wave at Exeggutor, hitting it directly. Sparks surrounded Exeggutor's body, but it didn't seem to be bothered too much.
Erika seemed rather pleased by that. "Trick Room."
Suddenly, a multicolored box expanded around us, making it look like an entirely different dimension. It glowed with iridescent colors, giving it a mystical look that I had never seen before.
My eyes widened as she uttered those words. "Elekid, back up!"
But he was landing just as Erika ordered: "Bullet Seed again!"
Even quicker than before, Exeggutor conjured a barrage of glowing seeds at point-blank. Bullet Seed wasn't a particularly strong attack, but if you were hit by all of them... I didn't think that Elekid could take it.
But I noticed a small seam between the Bullet Seed and the floor. Most Pokemon wouldn't be able to fit through it, but Elekid could since he was so small.
"Elekid! Slide under!"
Elekid knew what I meant, as he charged directly into the Bullet Seed, before sliding under the attack, completely circumventing it.
"Ice Punch! Finish it!"
Right as Exeggutor finished its attack, Elekid got up and punched it in the chest, knocking it over, where it laid unconscious on the floor.
"Exeggutor is unable to battle! Elekid wins!"
The crowd was stunned for a moment.
"What? There's no way that Elekid could have taken down that Exeggutor!"
"Come on Erika, you can't lose to this piece of shit!"
"Good job," Erika said with a gentle smile. "You adapted quite well to that. But we're not done."
She threw out another Poke Ball. "Come out!"
"Tangrowth!" it bellowed.
A Tangrowth... another Pokemon I hadn't expected from her.
Erika's smile didn't waver at all. "Use Power Whip, please."
Tangrowth, with nearly unseeable speeds, shot out glowing green whips that smacked Elekid multiple times, bashing him away.
Elekid grunted with pain as he struggled to right himself.
"Sleep Powder now."
Tangrowth damn near teleported behind Elekid, emitting green spores at Elekid had no choice but to breathe, making him fall asleep instantly.
"Now Solar Blade."
I watched as Tangrowth raised its hand, charging up a giant orange blade of solar energy that reached the heavens above.
"Damn it, Elekid, return!"
"Tangrowth, block it."
I raised Elekid's Poke Ball to return him, but Tangrowth got into the light's path, blocking my attempt to return him.
"No fucking way..."
Then, finally, Tangrowth finished charging the Solar Blade, sending it crashing downwards at the sleeping Elekid.
An explosion erupted as Elekid got engulfed in the blade of orange energy, blinding us and the crowd completely.
When the smoke abated, I peeked at Elekid, who was irrevocably knocked out and unable to battle.
Holy shit, did this Tangrowth think it was Vegito or something?
I sighed as I returned Elekid to his Poke Ball, thanking him.
"Elekid is unable to battle! Tangrowth wins!"
The crowd erupted into cheers.
"Yeah! Fuck him up Erika!"
"Don't let this motherfucker win!"
Erika kept her smile. "Tangrowth is one of my strongest Pokemon. That Elekid of yours is powerful despite being so small, but not even it could handle a Tangrowth in a Trick Room."
When she said that an epiphany came to me.
"That Trick Room wasn't for Exeggutor, wasn't it?"
Her eyes lit up from that. "Yes, it was actually for Tangrowth."
That explains why that Bullet Seed was so easy to dodge. Erika wanted us to defeat Exeggutor just so they didn't have to waste a second turn.
I sighed and took out another Poke Ball, throwing it.
Kirlia faced Tangrowth, looking at it frigidly.
"A Kirlia? So far you've only been using pre-evolved Pokemon," Erika observed.
"They'll evolve in time, but they'll show how powerful they are even without evolving. That will show you how strong they will become in the future."
"How intriguing," Erika said, smiling kindly. "Very well then. Please show us a good battle."
"Kirlia, Disarming Voice!"
"Nice try. Tangrowth, Sleep Powder!"
Kirlia launched a Disarming Voice at Tangrowth, who suddenly sped behind her, releasing green gas.
"Teleport and Psychic."
Kirlia appeared behind Tangrowth, nailing it with a Psychic, bashing it away. Despite the powerful attack, Tangrowth didn't look like it took a lot of damage.
"Power Whip!"
Tangrowth shot out glowing green whips at Kirlia.
"Grab them with Psychic and pull it over to you!"
Kirlia ensnared the Power Whip with her psychic energy, pulling Tangrowth towards her.
"Shadow Ball!"
Kirlia formed a Shadow Ball and blasted Tangrowth point-blank with it, making it wince in pain.
"Disarming Voice again!"
"Don't let it, Tangrowth! Ancient Power!"
From Tangrowth's numerous intertwined vines, glowing rocks formed, shooting at Kirlia, who was directly in front of it. The Ancient Power broke through the Disarming Voice and hit her directly, making her groan in pain as she was knocked backward.
"Power Whip again!"
Tangrowth's Power Whip cracked through the air, hitting Kirlia multiple times at such speeds that they were nothing but blurs.
"Kir..." Kirlia gritted her teeth from the agony. The pain she felt made me wince.
"Finish it with Ancient Power!"
Tangrowth bellowed as it released another wave of Ancient Power at Kirlia, who was vulnerable to an attack.
"Teleport, quickly!"
Kirlia's eyes finally came into focus, teleporting in front of a surprised Tangrowth.
"Draining Kiss!"
Kirlia quickly gave Tangrowth a kiss, stealing some of its vitality.
"Power Whip!"
Tangrowth's vines lashed out at Kirlia, who teleported away.
Suddenly the Trick Room vanished, everything turning back to normal.
"The Trick Room finally ended. You still got this?" I asked Kirlia.
She turned back at me with a burning determination. "Kirlia," she nodded.
I nodded back. "Right. Let's finish this, Kirlia."
Erika's smile widened. "I must say, this is the best Gym Battle I've ever had. It's very rare that a Trainer gives me this much of a challenge. Ever since Ash became World Monarch, we've gotten so strong to the point that only a few Trainers are strong enough to beat us."
I smirked at that. "I'll show that I'm part of that minority."
"We'll see if you can back that claim up. Tangrowth, Sunny Day."
Tangrowth suddenly glowed, the sun intensifying in response.
"Ancient Power, now."
Tangrowth launched another barrage of Ancient Power at Kirlia.
"Psychic."
Kirlia must have known what I thinking, because she flicked her hand upward, sending the Ancient Power in that direction.
"Power Whip!"
Tangrowth released its Power Whip as quickly as it did when Trick Room was up, wrapping them around Kirlia.
"Damn it, it has Chlorophyll," I cursed.
Erika looked delighted at my discovery. "Yes, Tangrowth indeed has Chlorophyll. I'm glad you noticed that."
Chlorophyll makes a Pokemon faster when its sunny. Tangrowth can be used with both Trick Room and Sunny Day. That makes it extremely dangerous.
But like always, I had a plan.
"Tangrowth, Solar Blade now!"
Tangrowth raised on hand, forming a giant blade of solar energy instantly, before swinging it down at Kirlia, who was still trapped in the vines.
I grinned. "Kirlia, now!"
Kirlia's eyes glowed as the Ancient Power she swatted upward suddenly came crashing down on Tangrowth, hitting it at various angles, disrupting its Solar Blade.
Erika's eyes widened. "What? How did it..."
"This entire time Kirlia was holding the Ancient Power in the air," I explained, still grinning. "I knew you would try to do something like this. One Solar Blade could knock out Kirlia, so I knew I needed a backup plan."
Tangrowth was still dazed by the attack. I locked eyes with Kirlia, who nodded and teleported in front of the unsuspecting Tangrowth.
Kirlia looked Tangrowth in the eyes, before shooting a Shadow Ball at its face, the only place unprotected by its mass of interlocked vines.
Finally, Tangrowth slumped on its back, unconscious.
"Tangrowth is unable to battle! Kirlia is the winner!"
The crowd began to boo loudly.
"Come on Erika! Your ace will destroy him!"
"That bastard doesn't deserve to win!"
Erika returned Tangrowth with a surprised expression. "That strategy was an interesting one," she admitted. "I never expected you to use my own moves against me."
"One last Pokemon to go," I said with a smirk, silently enjoying the crowd's hatred. "Let's finish this."
Erika's smile became brighter as she threw out her next Pokemon.
I was genuinely surprised by her choice. "Wait, I thought your ace was Vileplume."
Erika seemed amused by my confusion. "It is my ace, but ever since I got Venusaur I've been keeping her as a... surprise."
"Well then, now I don't have to feel bad," I said sarcastically.
"What do you mean by that?"
My grin became evil as I locked eyes with Kirlia. "How about we stop fucking around?"
Kirlia's smile matched mine. "Kirlia," she nodded.
"Return," I said and returned her to her Poke Ball, taking out another one. "Let's make this quick," I threw out a Pokemon.
The crowd gasped as my massive Golurk stared down the Venusaur blankly.
"Wow," even Erika looked surprised. "That's the biggest Golurk I've ever seen."
"Your move."
"Well then, we'll take advantage of it. Venusaur, use Solar Beam!"
Venusaur roared, forming a Solar Beam from her trunk, shooting it instantly. Golurk merely watched as it was struck with it, completely unfazed.
Erika looked dumbfounded. "No way..."
"Now it's our turn," my smirk widened. "Heavy Slam."
Golurk grabbed at Venusaur, who quickly backed up, avoiding the Heavy Slam.
I rolled my eyes. "Chlorophyll too, huh? You know what to do, Golurk."
With its other hand, Golurk lashed out and grabbed Venusaur, before slamming her on the ground three times.
"Venu..." Venusaur groaned in pain as Golurk did tremendous damage to her.
"Quick, Petal Blizzard!"
Venusaur stomped the ground, releasing a storm of pink petals that struck Golurk directly, not really hurting it. But it managed to stop it from attacking Venusaur again.
"Solar Beam again!"
Venusaur charged another Solar Beam, shooting it at Golurk.
"Shadow Punch," I ordered calmly.
Golurk's Shadow Punch completely broke through the Solar Beam, hitting Venusaur, flinging it away.
Venusaur grunted in pain as she crashed back into the ground.
"Venusaur!" Erika gasped. She looked at me incredulously. "Were you holding back this entire time?"
I shrugged. "I could have easily wiped out your entire team with Gengar or Golurk, but I wanted some of my other Pokemon to get more experience."
"So that explains why you were so calm when you lost Pokemon..." Erika said softly, turning to Venusaur. "Looks like we have to all out now."
Venusaur got up again and looked at Erika, as if beckoning her to do something.
Erika smiled gently and pulled a flowery necklace out of her kimono. In the center, a Keystone was inlaid on it.
She tapped it, allowing luminescent white light to sprout from it, shooting at Venusaur, whose Mega Stone did the same.
As both lights connected to each other, it turned golden, intensifying evermore, until the spectacle covered the entire battlefield.
"Blossom under the undying sunlight! Mega Evolve!"
The golden light suddenly began to envelop Venusaur, the silhouette showing the changes made to her body.
Then Venusaur roared as she broke out of the golden shell, a rainbow DNA strand appearing above her.
The sunlight abated as Venusaur Mega Evolved, which made me suspect that Erika timed when it would end. It made sense because Mega Venusaur loses Chlorophyll when Mega Evolving.
"A Mega Venusaur, huh?" I was mildly impressed. "I wasn't expecting that."
It was my first time fighting a Mega, so this should be interesting. Though, I knew that Venusaur wouldn't stand a chance, Mega or not.
"Let's finish this with one attack! Frenzy Plant!"
Mega Venusaur bellowed as she stomped on the ground. At that moment, an entire forest worth of trees shot from the ground, their barbed edges edging closer and closer to Golurk.
"Heavy Slam."
Golurk tanked the Frenzy Plant, getting impaled dozens of times. It kept its momentum as it broke through it, grabbing Mega Venusaur, lifting her into the air.
"What?!" Erika exclaimed. "It took Frenzy Plant like it was nothing!"
I grinned. "Golurk's not going down that easily."
Golurk slammed Venusaur on the ground so hard that it caused tremors.
"You Mega Evolved for nothing." My grin widened. "Now, Earthquake!"
Golurk stomped its foot on Mega Venusaur, who could not react, creating a multitude of earthquakes that tore through the terrain, covering the area with smoke. Golurk retracted its foot after that.
When the smoke cleared, Venusaur was back to normal, unconscious.
"Venusaur is unable to battle! Since Erika the Gym Leader has lost all three Pokemon, the winner is Vali Shirona of Viridian!"
The crowd went silent once more.
Then they began to boo with such thunder that my eardrums began to burst.
But I didn't care.
The booing was the sound of victory for me.
Erika's eyes were wide as she looked at her downed Venusaur, sighing sadly. "Thank you, Venusaur, you may now rest." She returned Venusaur.
She then walked up to me, smiling. "That was quite an enjoyable battle. I see that your skills as a Trainer have blossomed since the last time we've seen each other."
I shrugged. "I guess our training paid off."
"It seems it has," Erika nodded happily, holding her hand out. "Here you go. This Rainbow Badge is proof that you've beaten me."
I took it with a nod. "Thanks."
"Good luck with the rest of your Gym Challenge, Vali," she smiled kindly.
"Yeah," I said, turning around. "Later."
I walked to Golurk and placed a hand on its leg. "Thanks, Golurk. You kicked ass."
Golurk stared blankly at me.
I smiled wryly. "Return and get some rest."
I returned it and walked over to Togepi, whose eyes were sparkling.
"So, how was it like watching your first battle?"
"Toge! Toge!" Togepi jumped up and down eagerly.
I smiled and rubbed his head. "Yeah, you'll battle like that one day."
"Togepi!"
I returned him to his Poke Ball and walked out of the Gym.
Half of the Gym Challenge was completed.
***
Outside the sun was still shining, feeling all warm as its rays hit my skin.
It was good to know that Gym Battles weren't as much of a struggle as they were before. That meant we were getting stronger.
Only four more badges to go.
There was virtually nothing that could ruin my mood.
Or so I thought.
As I walked away from the Gym, an infuriatingly familiar voice reached my ears.
"Vali? Is that... is that you?"
It was as if a hellish fire awakened inside of me, bringing forth a flood of rage that engulfed my entire being.
I turned to the voice with shaky hands, my grey eyes turning even darker from my anger.
Two people my age stood there looking at me. One was a boy and the other was a girl. They looked like twins.
Both had the same steel-blue hair and eyes. The guy was nearly the same height as me, while the girl stood shorter than me.
That was when I snapped, clenching my fists. How dare they show their faces to me again after all this time.
"You fucking traitors!"
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Uh oh, Vali is angry again.
It's been a while guys. I'm so, so sorry about not uploading sooner. I admit I was being lazy and procrastinating when it came to writing this. I promised that I would upload it last week. I'm sorry guys for making you wait longer. But I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Vali could have ended the Gym Battle much earlier had he used some of his stronger Pokemon. But he wanted to show off how much stronger Pokemon like Kirlia or Elekid have become. And I also didn't want Eevee to take the spotlight like the last three Gym Battles.
Who are these two people who obviously know Vali? What connection do they have with him? You'll see later.
I know I said that Vali and Trinity were both going to do their fourth Gym Battle, but I figured that since Vali used to live in Celadon and had a past there that he should go alone. Trinity will do hers off-screen.
And as always, if you have any suggestions for Pokemon, characters, and locations you all would want to see in the future, don't be afraid to ask.
And LieutenantReckless, I fucking dare you to send me that Christmas-sized list of Pokemon you want Vali to catch. Let's see how many I actually give him, if at all.
Well, that's all for this chapter. I'll see you all in the next!