Silver's White 2 Nuzlocke: 5th Night

    The evening had not made the day any cooler. After the stop by the lake the group had failed to make much progress and were now sheltering in a shallow cave; watching the sunset and recovering from the heat. Silver sat on the edge of the cave humming gently and occasionally pointing out certain Pokemon in the valley for the children.

   When the tangerine light finally relinquished it's hold of the mountains, the group centred itself around the new born fire and waited. Silver also waited. Only when the tea had been made and brought to him did he acknowledge the expectant children.

Cheren

   Despite wishing to avoid Alder, I did stay in Floccesy for a while longer to train and relax. We couldn't progress down route 20 as, apparently, people without badges had been disappearing and the police had now closed the route to anyone without a Gym Badge. The irony of this was that the only Gym in our remote section of Unova was in Virbank City, at the other end of route 20.

   So as the leaves began to shine golden, we made our way back the way we had come. I felt a little cheated that we were going home after just a month; it almost felt like I had never been on a journey at all. Piccolo and Raine were just as unhappy about it as I was so we tried to keep each other's minds off it. Che helped with trying to keep us entertained despite not sharing our feelings about our journey ending so soon; he had absolutely no problem with the idea of sleeping and flirting rather than fighting and travelling.

   As we walked towards the the cliffs that had once seemed like the custodians of a new life, the feeling they gave off was one of disdain. Why would someone like me be allowed the honour of travelling Unova.

      “Red hair. Northern cliff.”

   Oh Arceus, not again.

      “Red hair still crazy.”

   The impact as Alder hit the ground was less impressive now that we'd figured that he probably did it all the time.

      “Excuse me!” (how is it possible that he was always so casual when he jumped off cliffs that are several hundreds of feet high?) “I've something important to tell you! First, take these!”

   Alder stepped towards me with his hand extended. I didn't want to go anywhere near that hand; I could still remember what it had done to the Bouffalant. Piccolo extended a tentative vine and quickly snatched the small bag from the monster's hand.

      “Oran berries!” I hadn't thought the man capable of such kindness, but I suppose that he must only have been crazy half the time. “Thank you.”

      “No problem!”

   Suddenly his hair began to toss in the wind of the completely still autumn day. At this point all of the gratitude for the berries was once again replaced by fear. There was no way that this guy was human, he was just . . .

   I didn't get to finish that thought as Alder suddenly burst into what was probably meant to be an inspirational speech. I don't remember much of it except for the part at the end.

      “. . . So you should go and challenge the new Gym Leader in Aspertia City! And then go on and challenge even stronger trainers! Like Gym Leaders!”

   And he walked off. Not a goodbye or anything or even a conclusion to his speech beyond 'challenge the Gym Leaders'. Still, the lunatic had told me something wonderful, there was a Gym in Aspertia! This meant I could get a badge! This meant that our journey wasn't over!

   We ran for home.

*

    We dashed through a flurry of gold, red and brown into the Aspertia gate where we were greeted by an unsurprised smile.

      “I knew the Gym would bring you back.”

   Rosie was sitting behind her desk smiling at us. She'd changed her hair; it was now just shoulder length, the gentle autumn brown highlighted with streaks of wine red that shone darkly. It had been at least a month since I'd last seen her and the time apart had just made her more beautiful.

      “The hair is new. When did that happen?” I smiled a genuine smile.

      “You would know if you hadn't been off flirting with exotic women, Mr. Adventurer.”

      “Uncalled for! Piccolo wouldn't let me get a word in!”

   We both laughed as Piccolo began to go protest that he would never do something so ungentlemanly. We spent the next few hours swapping stories and gossip. I told Rosie about Alder and the Bouffalant, about David and about the creep from Team Plasma, she told me about some of the interesting people who'd come down to challenge the gym, that her mother was now dating the ice-cream man (she wasn't very happy about that one) and a weekend trip to Castelia that she was planning with some of her girlfriends. It was really nice to be home.

   We left Rosie and went to see if my mum had destroyed my room yet. Thankfully she hadn't and we had dinner together. I retold all of my stories again with a fresh audience and mum didn't disappoint; making excited noises and comments all the way through.

   The glow of the morning brought fresh determination to us as we began to plan for the challenge up ahead. We knew that the Gym was dedicated to normal types and with the distinct shortage of normal types in the area we were pretty sure we knew what we would be up against.

   Breakfast was eaten with a confidence that followed us all the way to the trainer school which housed the new Gym. We walked through the long corridor of classrooms, following the signs for the Gym until we reached a heavy set of crimson double doors. A man with white hair and sunglasses was standing outside it.

      “Hey trainer! Welcome to the Aspertia City Gym! I'm Clyde and I'm here to give you some advice and this.” He handed me a bottle of fresh water, the kind that's drawn from the electric lakes of the Chargestone Mountains which are known for their restorative properties. “The advice is that this is a normal type Gym. They are tough and have few weaknesses. Fighting types are your friends.”

   I thanked him and walked through the doors, still confident that our plan was full proof, even without a fighting type.

      “Welcome Challenger!”

   I stared. There were three people atop a large wooden platform at the far end of a rugged brown stadium composed of two battle fields. The middle of the three trainers was the one who had spoken. He was tall and thin with glasses, dark hair, pale skin, a white shirt and blue trousers. His glasses were sharp and minimalist; his dark hair was severe with not a single strand out of place; his pale skin had a strange gleam to it; his white shirt was sharp and precise. I stared at a man whose face was legendary; a man who had helped to save Unova from Team Plasma; a man who had defeated Alder and become renowned as one of the greatest pokemon trainers of the age.

   Cheren looked down at me from his platform, “Are you ready?”

   I gulped. All my former confidence had deserted me. My head made a kind of nodding motion as I failed to form words. Cheren smiled.

      “Right then! The rules are simple: all battles are two on two, you must defeat both of my gym trainers in order to face me. How many badges do you have?”

   I was a little shocked by the question.

      “Erm . . . none?”

      “Perfect. I just needed to check as we're not accepting challengers with more than three badges at present. First badge pokemon and take your positions.” This final sentence was directed at the trainers, who moved to the back of the platform where I couldn't see them and then made their way to the two battle fields.

   I tried to slow my breathing as I took my place at the first battle field. Opposite me was a boy of about 15 with a baseball cap, vest and shorts. It crossed my mind that someone three years younger than me was fighting people with three badges. I felt my fear slowly burned away by outrage that kick started my determination again with a vengeance. I raised my pokeball.

      “Go Piccolo!”

   The boy sent out a Patrat and the battle began.

      “Wrap!”

      “Leer!”

   Piccolo's vines shot out as the Patrat's narrowed eyes cut through his guard. However, the Patrat now couldn't dodge.

      “Vine whip!”

   As the vine's slowly crept tighter around the Patrat's body, one of them flew out of the group and then returned with a smash to the Patrat's head. The Patrat remained determined and continued it's leer.

      “Finish it!”

   The vine returned for a second round, which it concluded with minimal effort. The Patrat fell unconscious to the floor, where it transformed into a spiral of red energy and flew back to the trainers pokeball. It's place was taken by a Lillipup who immediately launched into a tackle. Piccolo fell back, wrapping the Lillipup as firmly as he could but the leers had taken they're toll and he couldn't hold the powerful dog pokemon for more than a few seconds before it broke free and charged.

   Piccolo was swaying badly as he got up from the hit.

      “Piccolo! You've done enough, return!”

   My friend smiled gratefully as his colour flowed from green to red.

      “Che! Let's finish this!”

   The little Sewaddle didn't really seem overly fussed as he appeared before the Lillipup, he simply smiled and said “Leave it to me señor.”

   The Lillipup charged the insect with a howl of fury and connected, flipping Che into the air.

      “Bug bite!”

   Che turned in mid-air and dive bombed the Lillipup with jaws open wide. One-hit-KO. The Lillipup dropped and Che simply rolled off and waddled back to me with a seriously self satisfied air. I rolled my eyes as I healed my pokemon.

   I was a little surprised by the next trainer, a blonde girl with a black top, red skirt, black leggings and a red hat with white sunglasses balanced on the brim, I had thought that trainers in Gyms would have dressed similarly. I was unsurprised, however, when she sent out a Lillipup. I nudged Che forward.

   This battle was shorter and less exciting. Che defeated the Lillipup in two moves and the Patrat that came next in one; and so we ascended the steps to the platform where Cheren waited for us.

      “Not a bad effort, but can you keep it up?”

   I gritted my teeth against the fear. I'd never fought someone this strong before. Even though he was using weaker pokemon, Cheren was still one of the strongest trainers in Unova. We both raised our pokeballs.

      “Go Raine!”

      “Patrat! Lets go!”

   The two Patrats entered the arena and instantly began their slow circle. Cheren's Patrat was a twitchy character who seemed constantly ready to pounce, Raine remained stony and unreadable. I knew we needed some kind of edge but I couldn't think what. I took out my Pokedex on an impulse, a red warning light was flashing on it.

      “Raine! It's using work up! Get ready to dodge!”

   The Patrat charged with blinding speed, Raine tensed and shifted. The thump of the hit was still echoing around the stadium when a new crash over took it. The Patrat dug itself out of the wall and launched again at Raine who this time went high to hit it from above. Two loud crashes again reverberated through the stadium. I ran to Raine, fumbling for a potion from my bag. I administered the medicine and looked up to see Cheren doing the same. We leapt away from our pokemon at the same time, “Tackle!” both Patrats moved and both collided but this time Raine came off worse, I ran to her with another potion as the Patrat began circling for an opening, Raine didn't even give it a chance. Mid-healing she saw her opening and she took it. Raine dashed forward at the distant Patrat who seem to grin as it prepared to counter; the grin fell away as unconsciousness claimed it. Raine was standing behind it having rolled at the last second, just like we'd done against the Panpour at Alder's house.

   Cheren returned his fallen pokemon and lifted his second pokeball. I hurriedly returned Raine to her pokeball and prepared for the final fight. We threw at the same time.

      “Lillipup!”

      “Che!”

   The Lillipup began to square off against the tiny bug, circling him menacingly. Che ignored him.

      “Lillipup, tackle!”

      “Che, move!”

   Telling Che to move was never the most fruitful of endeavours but I had to try. The Lillipup hit Che like a cannonball and the little bug flew into the air.

      “Bug bite!”

   Che turned lazily in mid-air and dropped, jaws first, on the Lillipup. The dog took the hit and then threw Che off into the wall.

      “Ouch! Señor, that did not work out so well as before.” Came the little voice from the rubble.

      “I noticed!” was my screamed reply. “We need to slow it down! String shot!”

   Che waddled out of the rubble just as the Lillipup was coming in for a third hit; what it hit was web. Che exhaled so much sticky string that the Lillipup was completely immobilised. As the Lillipup struggled to free itself, Che sauntered over to it and bit down.

   The match was over.

   Cheren returned his pokemon and gestured for me to do the same.

      “That battle made me feel really honoured I was the first Gym Leader you fought . . . I give you this in honour of the strength you and your pokemon showed!”

   Cheren held out his hand to me. In it was a metal rectangle; the edging was gold with three golden lines sub-dividing the rich purple centre. It was simple and beautiful, a solid symbol that I had really come far since the beginning of my journey, that I was really worth something as a trainer.

      “Here is your first Gym Badge, the Basic Badge! This is an important milestone! And I want you to take this!”

   Cheren handed me a TM.

      “You know how TM's work, don't you?”

   I nodded.

      “In the Unova region, there are eight Pokemon Gyms and eight Gym Badges! If you're a trainer, you could collect all of them! That will make it easier to fill the pages of the Pokedex as well!” He looked away, suddenly nostalgic. “Yes, eight years ago, Pokedex in hand, I left on a journey with my friends. The adventures we had were something no-one could have predicted. Be prepared for your journey to take you anywhere and always remember how wonderful it is to be able to travel with pokemon.”

   Cheren walked me out of the gym where we found a blue haired ball of impatience positively frothing at the mouth to get into the Gym.

      “Hey David! Check the badge!”

   That earned me a brief glare but David's eyes almost instantly switched back to Cheren.

      “Are you the Gym Leader? One, two three—let's battle!”

   Cheren gave him a measuring look. “You look like a tough trainer. Understood. Please come into my Pokemon Gym!”

   Cheren walked back inside. David seemed a little taken aback; clearly he'd been expecting more of an argument.

      “What was that weak answer?! I'm definitely going to take you down!”

   David dashed into the Gym. I rolled my eyes.

   Why did it have to be MY best friend who was the pain in the butt to everyone he met?