Pokemon Fan Fiction / Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ Boundless Sky ❯ Gain! Chiori's Examination! ( Chapter 7 )

Hi Big Brother! I'm in Mauville now. It's really cool here. There are so many more shops than in Rustboro! I wish I'd brought more money.

Chiori paused in her email and looked around the bustling pokémon center. The checkup she'd requested for her three wouldn't be complete for some time. The center's PC stations were all occupied, too. She felt a little conspicuous, but concentrated on her letter.

Isis is doing very well. She's still my strongest battler, when she allows her fur to get messy, that is. I just entered Malik in a cuteness contest, but it didn't turn out that great. He really enjoyed it, though, so we'll be entering again after some special training. And Mai... she's the same as ever.

I'm considering challenging the gym leader here. I wish I could train with you. The only wild pokémon I've seen lately are Zigzagoon, but I don't like asking strangers if I can battle with them. My friend Kouta is busy, too. He has a summer job.

Chiori stared at the last line. She'd just emailed Kouta before Midori. It felt strange to mention a boy to her brother, but she didn't want to delete it.

Well, I just wanted to let you know I'm fine. Hope you're taking care of yourself, too. Write back! Love, Chiori.

She sent it and looked around again. Her pokémon were still waiting for their checkup. She began to write another email, one that had been forming in her mind for several days.

Dear Roxanne, she typed, staring at the name for a moment before the right words came to her.

Hi! I'm in Mauville City. I'm sorry I didn't get to say goodbye before I left, but I knew you were busy, so I didn't want to disturb you. How are your Nosepass and Aron? Malik's great, still as sweet as ever. Is your summer class fun? Maybe I can enroll in that next year. Well, take care. I miss you.

She sent it before she could change her mind about typing what she really wanted to say. At least Roxanne would know she was thinking about her.

Chiori tapped a gloved finger on her chin, wondering how else she could kill time. She'd emailed Kouta, her dad, Midori, and Roxanne. It crossed her mind that she still wore her gloves, even to type, and she held both hands out, admiring them. She really liked the contrast of black fingers to white palms.

She could look up information on Kouta's breeding center... but it probably wouldn't say much about the employees, let alone the interns. But now the search engine was open, waiting for a query. I'm mildly curious, and I have to pass the time somehow, she thought, entering a phrase that had been stuck in her head since the day she'd seen it: "Van the Absol," Kouta's email address.

There were countless results for the pokémon Absol, and quite a few for an anime character named Van, but only one for Van_the_Absol, on which Chiori clicked hastily. The link took her to a message board, which appeared to be for an online role-playing game. She scrolled through a thread, noticing that all of Van's posts were answered by one Sakura Corsola. Surely that was Laurel.

The characters of Van and Sakura were apparantly a couple. Obviously one had invited the other to this message board after they had met the first time. Some of the other board members seemed to be Laurel's friends, so she must have invited Kouta. Chiori checked Van's user info. His hobbies included studying and ghost stories, and his most recent post was from December of the previous year. He must have gotten too busy with school to role-play.

Chiori found herself smirking, but also staring at Laurel's screen name. How dare she use "Sakura," she thought, her smirk fading. Cherry blossoms are my favorite.

"Chiori?" One of the attendants approached her from behind. "Your pokémon are ready."

"Oh!" She quickly closed the browser and followed the attendant. Maybe she shouldn't have spent so much time looking at that message board... but she did feel as though she really learned a few things. She was happier to have her three pokémon back in her hands, though; now it was time for some serious training.

---

"It was so awful!" Chiori lamented, banging her forehead on the counter. "Why does this keep happening? First that battle in Rusturf Tunnel, then that contest, now this!"

Kouta patted her shoulder. "It's all right. No one expects you to do everything perfectly."

"But I completely blew that gym battle! It was humiliating! Why can't I do anything right?" She looked at Kouta helplessly.

"Chiori," he said with a reassuring smile, "you just started as a trainer. You don't have just one pokémon to concentrate on, either. It'll take awhile before you can beat a gym leader, or win a contest."

"It didn't take Brendan long! He told me he'd had his Skitty for two days. And he was up against Laurel, who'd had her Corsola for years!"

Kouta laughed. "Well, I'd pick a Skitty trained by a teenage boy as the cutest."

Chiori couldn't help but giggle.

"But about that gym battle," Kouta said, "if you're serious about that kind of thing, you have to build a full team with different strengths against different types. You've got dark, steel, and psychic -- none of which are particularly effective against Wattson's electric-types."

"Oh," Chiori said. "So I should have lots of pokémon for each trainer or gym leader I meet?"

"That's usually what people do." Kouta looked at his watch. "My break's almost over."

"I didn't mean to bother you," Chiori apologized.

"You haven't been, don't worry."

"Are you sure it's okay that I'm in here?" She looked around the tidy lobby of the breeding center. It was a lot more traditional than the pokécenter, no PCs lining the wall or a complicated computer station at the desk.

"It's fine," said Kouta with a grin. "I like the company."

Chiori felt her cheeks get warm. "Really?"

"I told Laurel she couldn't come because I know she'd never leave." Kouta rolled his eyes, and Chiori laughed again.

"Excuse me." A girl Chiori's age came to stand next to her. "I couldn't help overhearing that you lost to Wattson."

"Um, yeah." Chiori glanced at Kouta, mortified.

"I can trade you a pokémon that's guaranteed to be strong against Wattson's team," the girl said.

"Trade?" Again Chiori's heart sank at the thought of parting with Malik, Isis, or Mai.

"I'm looking for an Electrike. I can't seem to find one. If you catch one for me, I'll trade you my Breloom. What do you say?"

Kouta nodded. "Breloom is a grass- and fighting-type. It would be a good addition to your team."

"Okay!" Chiori agreed.

"Great! Call me when you get an Electrike, and we'll trade right away." She wrote down her cell phone number.

"Chiori, are you staying at the center?" Kouta asked. "I'll stop by and see you after I get off work."

"Sure!" Chiori brightened. A chance for a strong pokémon and a visit from Kouta -- this day wasn't turning out so bad after all.

---

"She was right. Electrike are hard to find. I've been looking since I left the breeding center," Chiori commented as she and Kouta waded through the tall grasses below Mauville that evening.

"It's probably the bikers," Kouta said, looking up at Cycling Road. It was built as a bridge over the lake between Mauville and Slateport, and it cast an overpowering shadow on the training area below.

"That seems awfully showy," Chiori decided, staring at it.

"That's progress." Kouta shrugged. "Let's move closer to the lake."

"I wonder why she couldn't just catch one and add to her team," Chiori said as they walked on.

"Hmm?"

"That girl, Lisa. Why does she want to trade me for something I don't have yet? Why couldn't she find her own Electrike?"

"She said she couldn't. Maybe she has other things to do, and can't hunt for pokémon all day."

"Maybe..."

"Hey, look," Kouta whispered. Drinking from the edge of the lake was an Electrike, green and dog-like.

"Excellent." Chiori held out a pokéball, releasing her Ralts. The Electrike turned around to face them, sensing a challenge. It growled, and Ralts recoiled, frightened.

"Don't be scared, Mai!" Chiori called. "Use confusion!" Ralts remained still, trembling.

"Chiori!" Kouta scolded. "You still haven't trained her? And you sent her out to battle this wild pokémon?"

"I don't want to hurt it too much!" Chiori snapped in her defense. The Electrike began charging. "Mai!" she shrieked. She would have run to Ralts's aid had Kouta not grabbed her arm. Electrike jumped right through an afterimage of Ralts -- she'd used double team on her own.

"Good job, Mai!" Chiori said with relief. "Now quick, confusion!"

Ralts became still, and her pinkish-red horns glowed soft blue. Electrike's growls ceased as it stumbled, sparks fizzling from its fur. Chiori saw the opportunity and lobbed a pokéball at it. The ball wobbled wildly for over a minute before it lay still.

"We did it!" she exclaimed. "She listened to me!" She raced to the spot to claim her capture, kneeling before Ralts. "Thank you, Mai! See? You did this." She held the sphere out for Ralts to see.

The little psychic pokémon looked up at her trainer. For the first time, Chiori could see large, dark pink eyes through the green hair. They were filled with fear.

"Mai," Chiori whispered. "I know battles are scary, but you have powerful psychic abilities. If we train together, we'll be unstoppable." She felt like she was echoing Kouta's earlier sympathy. "You did great just now. That double team was really smart."

She thought she could see a tiny smile, a sparkle in the nearly-hidden eyes. But Ralts's expression became sad again as some greater emotion overtook her. Chiori heard Kouta approaching.

"We should hurry back," he said. "It's getting dark."

"Yeah. Come on, Mai." Chiori recalled her to her ball. Concern for her Ralts replaced any happiness for a quest ended.

"I hope this Breloom you're getting will obey you better," Kouta said, breaking the silence.

Chiori stared at him. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, now you'll have four pokémon to train. It would certainly be easier if your new one behaves."

Chiori frowned. He had a point... however... "Kouta," she said, "do you know about Ralts? Not Mai, but Ralts in general?"

"I know they're rarely seen by humans," he answered innocently.

"Did your friend Amelia know? Was she aware that Mai trusted her before she traded her to you?"

"No, she didn't." Kouta's voice was subdued.

"Why did you let her?"

He took a deep breath. "Obviously, Amelia had no idea what it meant to have a Ralts. I couldn't bring myself to tell her. I thought I'd keep her, train her myself, but--"

"But you promised her to Laurel," Chiori interrupted. "Of all people. Then you just gave her to me when we'd known each other for two minutes. How could you do all that?"

"You don't think it's worked out for the best?" Kouta retorted. "Amelia never cared, and Laurel didn't care what pokémon it was, as long as she got it from me. That Ralts is with the best person now. Doesn't that make you happy?"

"Why did you promise her to Laurel in the first place? Mai's not a toy, and I know she's upset because she's been treated like one!"

"Chiori." Kouta stopped walking, stared directly at her. "That was a long time ago. I didn't know Laurel then like I know her now. There's no point in bringing up the past. No one can change it."

"But--"

Kouta held up his hand. "What you can do is be good to Ralts -- to Mai. Give her the love I was too busy to give. And, if you can make her understand, tell her I'm sorry."

Chiori stared back at him for a minute. "Okay," she agreed.

Kouta sighed, smiling. "Thank you. You're a really good person, Chiori. You're a good influence."

She laughed. "You're not a good person?"

"I never said that."

When they got to the center, Chiori called Lisa to come over. They did their trade on a machine upstairs, just like when Kouta had traded Ralts to her. Lisa thanked her profusely, wished her luck with the Breloom, and left to go home.

"Breloom, huh?" Chiori said to Kouta. She released it from the ball, looking up its registration data: Nicknamed Shiitake, female, met in Petalburg Woods, O.T. Lisa K.

"Shiitake?" Chiori asked with a smile at her new pokémon. The Breloom stood on two feet, with a wide bottom and slender neck. Her head was topped with what looked like a large mushroom. She was only a few inches shorter than Chiori.

"Hi there, Shiitake. I'm your new trainer, Chiori." She held out a hand, feeling silly for being formal. The Breloom gave a happy-sounding squeak and shook Chiori's hand with both paws. "Aww!" she gushed. "Look, Kouta! She's so cute!"

Kouta grinned. "You'd find anything cute, wouldn't you?"

Chiori giggled, feeling relieved. Shiitake seemed quite friendly and agreeable. She was certain they'd get along without any problem.

---

"So, back again, huh?" Wattson greeted with a good-natured laugh. "Good for you, girl! Never give up!"

"You'd better believe it," said Chiori. She was feeling confident now.

"All right, then. Three pokémon each?"

"Yeah." Chiori matched Wattson's smile. Though he was elderly and good-tempered, he commanded tough pokémon, and had no qualms about paralyzing his opponents. That was the tactic which cost Chiori the first battle; with each of her pokémon completely impaired, they'd had no choice but to take Wattson's attacks. This time, Chiori had stocked up on special paralysis medicine, but she was counting on Shiitake for an advantage.

Wattson nodded to his judge, who stood on the sidelines. "Ready?" the judge called. "Begin!" He chopped the air with his arm.

The gym leader sent out his Voltorb. Chiori's mind raced. She'd only had three pokémon before this match. Now she was going to have to choose who to eliminate. Ralts was the obvious choice, but Malik was still inexperienced, and weak to electric attacks. She'd have to decide later, though. "Go, Isis!" she shouted, flinging a pokéball. The Mightyena was sure to handle herself. "Use sand-attack!"

Wattson laughed. "Sorry, girl, I don't make a habit of keeping my gym dirty!"

Chiori groaned as she looked down at the spotless yellow tiles. She heard the Voltorb charging its electricity, making itself ready to give Isis a powerful shock. "Tackle it!" she ordered. "Tackle it hard!"

Voltorb had the body of an oversized pokéball, a normally inanimate object. Isis's tackle did little besides roll it around, and it responded by giving her a zap. She yelped and jumped back, shaking her fur, which stood on end. "Bite it!" Chiori called. The Mightyena obeyed, but couldn't sink her teeth into Voltorb's hard shell of a body. Nonetheless, it flinched, startled by the attack.

How do you beat up an oversized plastic ball? Chiori wondered desperately. She debated sending out Ralts to confuse it, but the chance of that actually working was slim. Distracting it somehow seemed to be the only way to gain an advantage, though -- its body was just too strong.

"Get ready for a sonicboom!" Wattson announced.

"Tackle it into the wall, Isis!" Chiori ordered. The Mightyena slammed into Voltorb again, rolling it to the side. Voltorb, while not moving to attack, caused a wall-shaking explosion that knocked Isis over. Chiori shrieked and covered her ears.

Wattson smiled as the sonicboom subsided, and pulled plugs from his ears. "Don't you remember that from last time?" he asked, amused.

Chiori glared at him. "Isis!" she said, whipping her head around to her pokémon. "Get that ball."

The Mightyena slammed into Voltorb again, throwing it against the wall, causing it to bounce back to the floor, spinning around. "Again!" Chiori shouted.

"Voltorb, tackle back!" Wattson called. His command went unheard as Voltorb crashed into the floor. Isis stood by, waiting for her next order, and Wattson stared at the judge.

"Voltorb is unable to battle!" the judge declared. Wattson recalled it without a comment.

"Good job, Isis!" Chiori held out her arms, smoothing her pokémon's fur as she ran to her. "Did you have fun playing with it?"

"Very clever, young lady," Wattson said. "But don't forget, my other pokémon aren't so easily defeated."

"I haven't forgotten." Chiori scratched behind Isis's ears.

"Good. Come on, Magnemite!"

Chiori smiled and sent Isis back to her pokéball. She clipped it to her belt and snatched another off, tossing into the air artfully. "Let's go, Shiitake!"

"Ahh, a Breloom," Wattson observed. "Very good choice."

"Why, thank you. Shiitake, use mach punch!"

With a determined cry, the Breloom bounded at the floating magnet pokémon and delivered a swift blow. Magnemite flipped over in mid-air, but if it was hurt, it didn't show. Wattson's object-like pokémon were becoming creepy to watch.

"Tackle it!" Wattson commanded. The Magnemite carried that out, and Shiitake skidded backwards a little, but jumped readily back to her place.

"A tackle?" Chiori asked under her breath. She then realized that an electric attack wouldn't do much against a grass-type. Plus, Shiitake's punch really seemed to do some damage. This battle was hers. "Mach punch again!"

The Breloom repeated it, and Magnemite fell to the ground. "Unable to battle!" the judge announced. Chiori jumped in the air, clapping. Lisa was insane to want to trade this pokémon.

"Well, well," said Wattson. "You're pretty lucky, girl. But it's not over yet." He held out his final pokéball.

"We'll see about that," Chiori countered. "Ready, Shiitake?"

Wattson smiled and sent out his Magneton. "You know what to do," Chiori said to her Breloom. "Mach punch!"

Shiitake leapt at the floating Magneton, but it flew up just out of her reach. She landed, gasping for breath. "Thunder wave!" Wattson called. A weak bolt of lightning struck its target perfectly. Chiori shrieked as the Breloom cried out. "Shiitake, it's okay! Use mega drain to get some energy back!"

But she was rooted to the spot, shaking. Magneton tackled her, and she could do nothing but endure it. "Shiitake!" Chiori shouted. She grabbed a bottle of paralyze heal from her pocket and raced into the battlefield as the judge called for an official time out.

"Here, drink this." Chiori fed her the medicine and rubbed the top of her mushroom-like head. "It's all right now. That thing's only like three Magnemites, right? And you beat just one easily." Shiitake trilled at her. Chiori patted her arms. "Drain some of its energy, then punch it down, okay? This match will be over in no time."

She returned to her spot, and the judge announced that the battle was commencing. "Tackle!" Wattson demanded.

Shiitake dodged, but not fast enough. "Use mega drain!" Chiori told her. But the Breloom stood still, eyes wide and fearfully fixed on Magneton as it swooped in for another tackle. "Shiitake..." Chiori whispered as her pokémon took the attack. "I healed her paralysis... why won't she battle?"

The Breloom cried out again, trembling. She had become deathly afraid of the Magneton. Chiori didn't understand, but she sympathized. "Shiitake, return!" she called, activitating her pokéball. "It'll be all right," she whispered, picking out another. "Let's go, Mai!"

"Oho?" Wattson said as the tiny Ralts appeared on the battlefield. "Is this your last choice? Are you sure?"

"You'd better believe it. Mai, use confusion!"

"Hit it with thundershock!" Wattson ordered. Magneton unleashed a bolt of lightning, which hit accurately -- however, the Ralts was no longer in one spot. She had pulled off another double team, just like in the battle with the Electrike.

"Good job, Mai!" Chiori grinned, relieved that her trust in Ralts to handle herself paid off.

"Thundershock again!" Wattson called.

"Mai, watch out!" Thankfully, the Ralts was quicker. Her horns began to glow, and Magneton meandered about in mid-air, its attack forgotten. "Thanks, Mai," Chiori said, recalling her. "That was just what I needed. Come back out, Shiitake!" Once again, the Breloom was back in action.

"I don't know what you're playing at, girl," said Wattson. "Your pokémon aren't trained well enough."

She ignored him. "Shiitake, listen! I don't know if you saw, but Mai stood up to this thing! She even made it confused! Whatever you're afraid of, just forget about it and remember that you're really strong!"

"Don't waste your breath," Wattson advised. "Otherwise you leave yourself wide open for a thundershock."

"You can do it, Shiitake! Mach punch!"

Roused by Chiori's speech, the Breloom charged at her perplexed opponent. Her punch connected, but not before Magneton unleashed its stored voltage in one overcharged thundershock. With that combined effort plus Shiitake's massive blow, it floated to the ground, its energy spent. However, because she had been in contact with it, Shiitake absorbed most of the lightning. She, too, collapsed to the floor. Chiori held her breath.

"Neither pokémon are unable to battle!" the judge called. "All of the gym leader's pokémon are defeated! Victory goes to the challenger!"

But Chiori barely heard him as she ran to Shiitake's side. The Breloom's skin was charred in places, and she was breathing shallowly. "You did a great job," Chiori said quietly. "I'm proud of you. We'll get to the center right away, and then you can have a long rest... just hang on."

"That's some luck you have," said Wattson, approaching her. "You might say you were the one who shocked me!" He burst out laughing.

"Thanks, but I have to get to the pokécenter right away!" Chiori stood up, holding Shiitake's ball.

"Now, hold on. Your Breloom will be fine, it's just a little tired."

"She was terrified! The sooner I get her healed, the better!" She wanted to leave this gym right away. Wattson was too impersonal, too detached... too much like Roxanne's perception of a proper gym leader.

"But you've just won your first gym battle," Wattson said. "If that's still the case, but I remember you telling me a few days ago that my gym was your first."

Chiori blinked. For as much as she was worried about Shiitake, she'd forgotten that this was the first major victory of her journey.

Wattson held out his hand. "This is a Dynamo Badge." He dropped the token into Chiori's outstretched palm. "And this is a little prize." He pulled a peculiar contraption from the pocket of his jacket: a small palm-sized cube, white with a red logo Chiori recognized as the symbol for Devon Corp. "It's a TM for shock wave."

"What's a TM?" she asked, taking it.

"Technical machine. It can teach certain pokémon an attack that normally can't be learned. This one is appropriate for electric pokémon, should you ever decide to train one."

Chiori turned the device around, staring at it. "You really did a good job," Wattson said. "Keep training hard, and you'll get into the Hoenn League for sure, girl."

Again she felt as if this was very impersonal, a battle won, a reward distributed, a speech given. She shook Wattson's hand politely. "My name's Chiori, by the way," she said, though she was sure she'd told him before.

He nodded. "Good luck, Chiori."

Maybe he's just forgetful, she thought as she left. She'd already put the technical machine in her backpack, but she stared at the round yellow badge in her hand. At last, it was a start. She heaved a sigh of relief and held it tight as she raced to the pokémon center.