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As a head's-up to all my readers, from Chapter Nineteen I'll be doing tag lists for anyone who wants to be notified of when a chapter's published. Just VM me if you would like to be Mentioned
Chapter Eighteen – Cool Zephyr (Version 1.2)
The view from the elevator of Violet City Gym was the best in the city. The Gym faced east towards the castle; to the left Sprout Tower rose from amidst a grove of flowering cheri trees, down and on the right silvery trains slid in and out of the city along the Magnet branch line. The greyness of the past few days was passing, sunbeams piercing the clouds. It was going to be a fine spring afternoon.
Neither of them were really looking at the view. Josh brooded in the corner, probably meditating on strategy. Eve gazed out of the window, thinking. She'd given in to Aunt Immey and reluctantly consented to a brief phone call with Mum at breakfast. She wasn't really sure whether it was a good idea, in hindsight.
Eve impatiently tapped her fork against her plate. No-one should have to deal with mothers before finishing breakfast. At least the common room was relatively quiet this morning.
“I'm fine, mother,” she said into her cell. “I'm staying at an inn down by Castle Hill.”
“Why not the Violet Centre?”
“Look, the Silver Hind has hot springs. And a bar.”
“Alright, as you like,” Mum said loftily.
There was an uncomfortable silence. Eve had a noisy mouthful of her scrambled eggs. What does she want from me? “Mummy, I'm drinking in moderation like a good girl!”
“Your sister's doing well. She's got your skill with difficult visitors,” Mum said.
“Mmhm,” Eve replied as neutrally as she could manage, her mouth full of egg. And mushrooms!
“We've missed you around the Centre. We'll have to get another orderly at this rate -”
So that's it, Mother? I'm off on the archetypal adventure for a month and all you can talk about is the work I'm not doing. She sighed testily. I love these eggs. Why am I talking to Mum when I could be eating these eggs?
“- well, you know how we can't just do without -”
“- you know, I saw the Ilex Forest Shrine,” Eve cut in. “About a week ago, in the Deepwoods. It's a bit disappointing to look at. Might go and see the castle a bit later.”
“By yourself? I heard you'd made a friend.”
“Don't do that, Mum, I wanted to get away from that,” Eve growled.
“Explain.”
“You know full well that I've made a friend! And I know you've already tried to tyrannise him.”
“Evelina, did you really expect me not to keep an eye on you?” Mum said sharply. “So yes, I had a little talk with him.”
“Agh, just … just lay off him Mum. I mean it! He made me breakfast again …” she trailed off.
“Oh Eve, honey …” Mum started.
“Give me some credit!” Eve snapped. “I have a good reason to trust him. And that should be good enough for you.”
“What are you thinking about?” Josh asked.
“Eggs,” Eve said, without looking up. “You spoil me, Joshua Cook.”
“When do you intend to challenge the Gym, by the way?” he said.
“I already have the Zephyr Badge,” Eve said absent-mindedly, watching the banners flying from the towers of the castle.
“What! Why didn't you say?” Josh exclaimed.
“You never asked!”
“But, so why didn't you suggest we go to Florando Town instead, or Goldenrod City? A different Gym is what I'm aiming at!”
Eve smiled at his perplexed, faintly guilty expression. “It's not like it was a wasted journey for me,” she said, tapping Pineco's Poké Ball. “I'm in no hurry to get to the Silver Conference. Oh, and we made, like, six hundred dollars between us.”
“Hmn. If you say so …” Josh said vaguely, returning to his thoughts. Eve didn't blame him. She watched him frown at the floor as the elevator made its slow ascent. He really wasn't a masculine guy, to look at. With the right clothes he could pass fairly well for a scrawny girl – well, if only he'd stop scowling. Maybe with a feminine hairstyle and a little make-up … he'd still need a bit of boob, though.
That's asking a lot you know, Eve. Don't you think you crossed a line?
Is he angry with me? He has been very quiet. Oh, gods. He is angry with me.
“Josh, I'm sorry!” Eve blurted out. What the hell did you say that for? I don't know! “Um, I, I put you on the spot yesterday. I was asking way too much of you and I'm sorry.”
“Eve … is this about the tournament?”
There was a discreet musical tone from the elevator's speakers. “Pinnacle Battlefield. Good luck, challenger,” an automated voice said pleasantly.
Josh hesitated briefly, giving her an odd, conflicted look. “Eve, buddy, we can talk about this later if you like, but I'm not angry. Please?”
“Yeah. Yeah, of course, what was I thinking,” Eve said, feeling an embarrassed blush flare in her cheeks. “Um. Thank you.”
Cheers and chants greeted them as the elevator doors opened onto Pinnacle Battlefield. The colosseum-style stadium was open to the sky. The clouds were steadily breaking apart in the wind that ruffled and tugged at their hair. Eve looked over the battlefield where she had earned her first Badge. She hadn't expected to see it again so soon – the dirt field, the concrete centre spot blazoned with an engraving of the Zephyr Badge. The cameras on the sidelines … Eve looked up and, sure enough, there was another cameraman mounted on a hovering fearow.
Josh took a deep breath, and she glanced anxiously at him. The stadium was only about two-thirds full, but it would still be the largest crowd Josh had battled in front of. At the other side of the field the Gym Leader gave her a tiny nod of recognition.
“Hey. Look at me, Josh,” she said sternly. “Ignore the crowd. Ignore the cameras. Concentrate on the battle.” It was all in the voice. Cold steel to be obeyed, warm butter to reassure. She punched him playfully on the arm, “I believe in you.”
Josh didn't say anything, but gave her a nervous little nod. He strode slowly into the trainer's box, his nervousness apparently fading with each step. Eve knew him better than that – he was burying his nerves under an icy battle persona.
“Welcome, Joshua, to Pinnacle Battlefield, aerie of the Violet City Gym!” Falkner declared grandly. “Nowhere in Johto will you battle closer to the clouds!” he cocked his head to one side. “You requested a two-on-two battle, but I see three Poké Balls at your belt.”
“One of my pokémon isn't ready for a Gym battle yet,” Josh replied.
“Very wise. I'm not accustomed to a lot of talk before a battle, so what do you say we get started?” Falkner made a short gesture. One of his students stepped up to the sideline, judging flags in hand.
“This will be an official Gym battle between the challenger Joshua Cook of Mulberry Town and the Gym Leader, Falkner of the Violet City Gym! Each trainer will use two pokémon! The challenger will release first and only he may make substitutions! A Zephyr Badge is at stake!”
The tension in the crowd noticeably intensified. A camera zoomed in on Josh as he methodically selected his first Poké Ball. His fingers were steady as he expanded the Ball.
“Bul – damnit. Ivysaur, battle's on!”
“A bad start, Joshua,” Falkner observed. “A Grass-type won't stand a chance against my Flying-types! Zubat, I choose you!”
Falkner's Zubat flittered round in erratic circles, her wings hardly making a sound. Strong wings. And well-developed fangs, too.
“Ivysaur, return,” Josh said. The recall beam whined to the unsubtle commentary of the spectators.
“What's with the substitution already?”
“Seriously. Did he not know this is a Flying Gym?”
“Screwball, battle's on,” Josh called, ignoring them all. Somehow, Screwball managed to materialise upside-down. After a moment's robotic contemplation it slowly righted itself.
“From a bad type match-up to an obvious one,” Falkner commented. “Zubat, start things off with your Double Team!”
“Sonic Boom,” Josh calmly ordered. Just as Zubat started throwing up illusory copies of itself Screwball blasted a Sonic Boom through them. The fake zubat colony scattered. Most were caught and destroyed by the expanding shock wave – the escapees flittered round Screwball in a vain attempt to confuse it.
“Use your Twister attack!” Falkner yelled. One of the zubat stopped abruptly and rapidly beat her wings. A small tornado appeared in front of her before whirling off towards Screwball.
“Mag-nur-mite,” it intoned. It was tumbled around by the winds and struck by cobalt lightning, but when the Twister dissipated it didn't seem to be so much as dizzy.
Nice try, Falkner, Eve thought, smirking. Josh's magnemite was the steel wall in his team. She wasn't sure why he'd decided to lead with Ivysaur when Screwball was the obvious choice … but Josh never did anything in battle without a reason.
“Charge Beam,” Josh ordered. Ignoring the remnants of the Double Team, Screwball spun on its axis to face Zubat. The hovering bat instinctively dodged aside, just in time to avoid a crackling Charge Beam.
“Fly, Zubat!” Falkner shouted.
“Again. Shoot it down,” Josh said coolly.
In a fluid display of aeronautics, Zubat jinked and evaded the sizzling Charge Beams as Screwball patiently aimed and tracked like a living gun turret. Eve suddenly noticed Screwball spinning its magnets, fat sparks crawling and snapping off its steel body. You clever devil. The barrage of Charge Beams wasn't just stubbornness – every Beam also had a chance of raising Screwball's Special Attack. Zubat folded her wings and plummeted hastily, singed by a dangerously accurate Charge Beam.
“Fly high, Violet Gym!” someone in the crowd shouted. Others took up the chant. “Fly high, Violet Gym! Fly high, Violet Gym!”
Oh no, you sodding don't! “Down, down, bring it down!” Eve hollered at the top of her voice. “Go, go, bring it down, bring it down, go, go!”
“Enough of this! Zubat, shut down that magnemite with your Confuse Ray!”
From this distance nothing seemed to happen, other than Zubat pausing in her constant movement to face Screwball. It jerked in mid-air, as if startled, and let out a stereo-feedback whine. Josh didn't react. He just stood with his arms folded as usual, his eyes fixed on Zubat.
“- that guy's cold, man.”
“- saw him at the Battle Club yesterday -”
“Fly high, Violet Gym!”
“Alright Zubat!” Falkner commanded, practically growling. “Go into a dive and follow up with Super Fang!”
The crowd noise swelled. Zubat shot into a whisper-quiet dive. Neither Josh nor Screwball flinched.
The Charge Beam detonated with a deep resonating boom. Zubat tumbled from a chrysanthemum of acrid black smoke, wings flailing like the pages of a thrown book.
“Zubat!” Falkner yelled, running to his unconscious pokémon. There was some cheering and a few appreciative claps – Eve cheered her support – the fearow-cameraman soared close to the action. A sideline camera tracked Falkner as he walked back to his trainer's box.
“Zubat is unable to battle,” the referee said redundantly. “Magnemite wins.”
Falkner and Josh stared at each other across the field. Falkner actually looks more grim than Josh, Eve thought wryly.
“One thing I've learned about magnemite,” Josh said, “is that they have very little imagination. And, therefore, are very difficult to fool with illusions.”
“… very clever. But you won't have it so easy a second time. Gligar, I choose you!”
Gligar was a thoroughly ridiculous pokémon, the bastard child of a scorpion and a bat, though in truth it was neither. He grinned at Screwball – well, he stuck out his tongue.
“Screwball, Sonic Boom,” Josh ordered unexpectedly.
“Gligar!” its opponent cried, jumping more than ten feet straight up and over the Sonic Boom. His membranous wings snapped open, effortlessly catching the wind above the battlefield.
“Gligar, cut that magnemite to scrap with your Metal Claw!” Falkner yelled. His pokémon surfed easily on the wind, hardly losing any height as he banked. Screwball robotically turned to watch it. Suddenly Gligar collapsed his wing membranes and dropped like a stone, his claws outstretched. The fearow-cameraman followed him down before swooping out of the way.
“Blast it,” Josh snarled. The shock wave boomed past – Gligar snapped his wings open and somehow dodged around it. His claws turned the colour of dull iron.
The Metal Claw scraped along Screwball's flank in a shower of sparks. Gligar overshot, landed, and sprang airborne again. Josh's fists were clenched, the shadow of a snarl on his face.
“Calm down and concentrate!” Eve yelled. “Don't think I can't see that ice cracking!”
Gligar ascended smoothly on an updraft and attacked again, swooping down on Screwball from outside its field of vision. Sparks flew again and again as Gligar raked at it before leaping airborne in a blur. Screwball let out a burst of Metal Sound, possibly in frustration. Falkner's supporters cheered and jeered – a Metal Claw caught it on a screw and spun it around violently.
“Enough!” Josh snapped, raising Screwball's Poké Ball.
“Don't let it get away! Sand Tomb!” Falkner yelled.
“Gligarrr!” his pokémon bellowed. Eve felt the ground rumble, the vibrations radiating up through the soles of her feet. The dirt beneath Screwball suddenly erupted into a hissing vortex of sand and rock.
“Return!” Josh commanded. The recall beam struck the Sand Tomb and burst apart. Screwball's going nowhere. Falkner's got you this time, Josh.
“Magnet Bomb!”
Something metallic burst from inside the sand vortex; Gligar tried to soar out the way, but the Bomb followed it up and exploded in a blast of blue light. Like Zubat before him, Gligar abruptly tumbled from the sky.
Screwball was in trouble. Eve could see its silhouette in the midst of the Sand Tomb, drifting ever closer to the ground. It let out a distressed whine, trying to rise, maybe trying to launch another Magnet Bomb. She glanced over at Josh – he was fidgeting on the soles of his feet. He hated being backed into a tactical corner.
“Mag … magne -” Screwball thumped into the dirt. The Sand Tomb died down, revealing an unconscious magnemite, its magnets hanging loosely.
“Magnemite is unable to battle! Gligar wins!” the referee called to a tumult of cheers and support from the crowd. Gligar took up position in front of his trainer, leering confidently. His exoskeleton was badly dented from the Magnet Bomb; it looked like some of the shrapnel had been driven in deep enough to draw blood. Much as Eve really wanted to shout all this out, she bit her tongue. He'll want to win without my help.
Falkner raised his hands for quiet. “It is every trainer's prime responsibility to ensure his pokémon's ongoing good health, even in the heat of battle.”
Josh gave him a cold stare. “I am well aware of that.”
“Then forfeit,” Falkner said. “You have only one choice you can make, and that's to send a Grass-type up against a Flying-type pokémon. You can't win.”
“Really,” Josh said. A tiny smile twitched at the corners of his mouth. The clouds above the Gym broke apart, spilling a sunbeam onto Pinnacle Battlefield.
“Ivysaur,” Josh commanded, popping open Ivysaur's Poké Ball. Ivysaur sat down calmly, his expression as wooden as his trainer's. The flower on his back seemed to glow yellow in the sun.
“If you insist,” Falkner said almost pityingly. “Into the sky Gligar! Start off strong with your Wing Attack!”
With little apparent effort Gligar surfed the wind up to a safe height. Ivysaur watched him carefully as he dropped down on a straightforward swooping trajectory, wing membranes held out rigid. In a sudden blur of movement Ivysaur slapped Gligar out of the sky.
“OH!” Eve gasped in surprise, echoed by the whole crowd.
“Take Down!” Josh ordered, raising his voice above the crowd. Gligar was smart enough to get airborne again almost immediately, spiralling up beyond Ivysaur's reach.
“Try it again! Mow that Grass-type down!” Falkner yelled.
“Vine Whips.”
Ivysaur extended all four of his Vine Whips a couple of feet, holding them low. This time Gligar attacked from almost vertical, aiming for the flower. Why do I get the feeling I've seen that attack before?
“Scatterseed.”
What?
Leech Seeds erupted from somewhere beneath Ivysaur's flower like a shotgun blast. Gligar swerved desperately, fruitlessly – there were too many Seeds flying in too many different directions. Two of the Seeds struck home, wrapping themselves around his tail and injured arm. Gligar wobbled mid-glide, managed to inflict a glancing Wing Attack and made a hasty landing. Spinning round, he struck out with Metal Claw, cutting a scratch across Ivysaur's hind leg and leaping into the air to dodge a lashing Vine Whip.
I have seen that attack before! It was the same plunging attack that Bugsy's beedrill had used back at the Azalea Gym – and Josh had devised a counter-attack without her knowing, the cunning devil. More cunning that it first appears, Eve thought, watching Gligar trying to land a clean Wing Attack. The Vine Whip placement acted as a lure, encouraging Gligar to attack the flower.
“Fly high, Violet Gym! Fly high, Violet Gym! Fly high, Violet Gym!”
Ivysaur had changed the arrangement of his Whips – now with two held high and back, two held low and forward. Whatever angle Gligar attacked from, he met at least one lashing vine. A pokémon capable of powered flight might be able to dodge round them, but Gligar …
“Bring it down! Bring it down!” Eve chanted, hollering through cupped hands as Gligar tried again, sweeping in fast and low. The Leech Seeds disentangled themselves as he levelled out. Gligar's limbs sagged, suddenly weak from the loss of energy; he lost lift and crashed into the dirt.
“Now!” Josh yelled. Ivysaur's Vine Whips shot out, seizing Gligar by the tail just as he tried to leap away again. After a brief, violent struggle, Ivysaur had his opponent bound claw and tail.
“Hold on, Ivysaur,” Josh commanded, holding his hand up. “Are you sure you want to continue this battle?” he called to Falkner.
The crowd went quiet, aside from the odd yell of support. Falkner glared back at him. “Gligar, try to get away!”
“Ivysaur,” Josh said, bringing his hand down in a chopping motion. Ivysaur carefully smashed Gligar into the concrete centre spot – it cried out sharply and stopped trying to struggle. This is it, this is victory!
“I can have Ivysaur keep doing that until Gligar can't battle, or you can forfeit now. I don't want to hurt your pokémon if I don't have to,” Josh said evenly.
Falkner continued to glare. There was a zing of excitement in Eve's chest – whatever Falkner did, Josh had won. Come on, damn you! I want to celebrate his victory with him! Josh raised his hand -
“No,” Falkner said. “I admit defeat.”
The crowd burst out in a wave of cheers, a lot of chatter, and some boos. Ivysaur respectfully put Gligar down – they exchanged sportsmanlike nods. Falkner recalled him to a chorus of crowd complaints.
“I want my bloody money back!”
“- should have stayed at home.”
“- can't give out a Badge for that! Rematch! Rematch!”
“Enough!” Falkner bellowed. He glared round the stadium for a moment, watched by a sidelined cameraman. “I am the Violet City Gym Leader! The award of a Zephyr Badge is at my discretion!”
Falkner met Josh on the centre spot. He looked none too pleased about his loss. “I won't deny that I never expected you to win,” he said. “But in order to develop your strategy, you would have had to extensively study Flying-types. And for that reason more than any other, I award you the Zephyr Badge.”
Josh held the swept wing-shape of the Zephyr Badge up to the sun, exchanging a proud glance with Ivysaur. He laughed, and squeezed it in his fist triumphantly.
Later that afternoon they went to explore the castle. Unsurprisingly for a Rheday afternoon, there weren't many other visitors around. After Josh had finally given up trying to convince the staff to “let him have a go” with the trebuchet, they headed up to the top of the gatehouse. The view from the battlement took in the castle moat, and beyond that, the green lawn dotted with picnickers. They were both wearing souvenir tabards from the gift shop. Hers was white, blazoned with a red rose – his, black with a green cross-crosslet. Josh had Screwball clamped firmly under his arm – it was still somewhat battered from the Gym battle.
“Magnemite,” it said.
“No,” Josh replied. “You can be out of the Poké Ball, but you have to rest.”
He'd make a decent orderly. “So come on. Aren't you going to explain your strategy?”
“You mean leading with Ivysaur, don't you.”
“Tell!” Eve insisted. “Why not Misdreavus?”
“Alright, alright! I told Falkner why – Fionn really isn't ready for a Gym battle. It's still too much of a game to her,” he said. “So I studied the footage of his other battles. Falkner has two fatal weaknesses. Individually, his pokémon are all very good at what they do, but he always chooses the most obvious counter for any given situation. And secondly, he rarely plans ahead. Once I knew that, I also knew the battle would be settled between us rather than our pokémon.”
Eve thought for a moment. If I know Josh's style … “Gym Leaders can't make substitutions. You were exploiting that, weren't you?”
“I knew you'd figure it out. You're a better trainer than me,” he said, smiling at her. “I lead with Ivysaur, he picks an obvious counter. Screwball counters the counter, and that leaves Falkner in an awkward position. Electric/Steel, not easy for Flying-types to deal with. There's only one Johto Flying-type that can deal with a magnemite efficiently. So that's the one Ivysaur and I prepared for.”
Clever devil. A pleasant favonian breeze stirred the air, riffling the banners flying above the gatehouse.
“If he'd used a pidgeotto or a murkrow I'd never have won,” Josh said. “Hey. About the tournament.”
“What?” Eve squeaked. “I mean, yes, buddy.”
Josh took a long breath, staring east towards the Violet Gym. “I'll do it.”
Eve's heart jolted. You did hear that right, Evelina.
“- on two conditions,” Josh continued. “If we're going to do this we're going to do this properly. No half measures. And you're paying for anything we might need.”
“… really?” Eve said in a small voice. He actually said yes!
Josh turned to her, his expression solemn to the point of grim. “And then we show everyone what Evelina Joy can do.”
Eve flung her arms around his neck. She leaned down ever so slightly to brush her cheek against his. “I won't forget this.”
The train swayed rhythmically from side-to-side as it hurtled through the night. Eve was feeling sleepy. She always did, on train journeys. It was the gentle rocking on the tracks that did it, the hissing white noise of the rails.
The train PA chimed softly. “Now entering, Goldenrod Great County. Estimated time of arrival, eleven fifty-three pee-em.”
The large, close-packed seats felt comfortably cosy, snug. Mmmnn! I want to go to bed …
Josh was in the window-seat, jacket zipped up to his chin, apparently gazing happily at the world outside. More likely he was thinking about his Zephyr Badge. His face was reflected in the window: satisfied little half-smile, dark curls, dark, dark eyes. Maybe he was warming to his identity as a pokémon trainer, but she had a feeling that what he really liked was calling home to report his victories. There was definitely some animosity between him and his dad, to judge from the way Josh had been smiling to himself all afternoon.
Eve yawned and tried to rub the sleep out of her eyes. For the second time that day, she was glad she'd made friends with Josh. She thought drowsily about the time they'd spent together – talking about everything, getting drunk together, getting on each other's nerves … that time in the Deepwoods when he'd shown his quality. She'd always thought that having a travel companion, spending every day with the same person, would be suffocating.
The train swayed rhythmically from side-to-side. Goldenrod City was still another hour away. The late train was cheap, but – Eve yawned expansively.
“Why don't you sleep for a while?” Josh said mildly.
“Need something to lean m'head on.”
Josh spread his arm invitingly. “Come here, Eevee.”
Eve hesitated, but her eyes were heavy. Besides, his old brown jacket, frayed soft and fuzzy through long wear, looked altogether too comfortable.
“Ok,” she said, shuffling up close so she could curl up on the seat, and laid her head on his chest. He looped an arm around her shoulders.
“Ok?” he asked.
“Mmnn,” Eve replied vaguely. She could hear Josh's heartbeat over the noise of the train. After a while he started to stroke her hair absent-mindedly.
It was a bit like being cuddled by her dad. Whenever her ex-boyfriend did things like that he was usually trying to build to something, but Josh …
With his heartbeat in her ears, Eve drifted off to sleep.
Next Chapter: Young Marisa
1.1 : Eve now swears "oh gods" rather than "oh God"
1.2 : "Tuesday" is now "Rheday"
1.2 : "Tuesday" is now "Rheday"
Chapter Eighteen – Cool Zephyr (Version 1.2)
Evelina
The view from the elevator of Violet City Gym was the best in the city. The Gym faced east towards the castle; to the left Sprout Tower rose from amidst a grove of flowering cheri trees, down and on the right silvery trains slid in and out of the city along the Magnet branch line. The greyness of the past few days was passing, sunbeams piercing the clouds. It was going to be a fine spring afternoon.
Neither of them were really looking at the view. Josh brooded in the corner, probably meditating on strategy. Eve gazed out of the window, thinking. She'd given in to Aunt Immey and reluctantly consented to a brief phone call with Mum at breakfast. She wasn't really sure whether it was a good idea, in hindsight.
*
Eve impatiently tapped her fork against her plate. No-one should have to deal with mothers before finishing breakfast. At least the common room was relatively quiet this morning.
“I'm fine, mother,” she said into her cell. “I'm staying at an inn down by Castle Hill.”
“Why not the Violet Centre?”
“Look, the Silver Hind has hot springs. And a bar.”
“Alright, as you like,” Mum said loftily.
There was an uncomfortable silence. Eve had a noisy mouthful of her scrambled eggs. What does she want from me? “Mummy, I'm drinking in moderation like a good girl!”
“Your sister's doing well. She's got your skill with difficult visitors,” Mum said.
“Mmhm,” Eve replied as neutrally as she could manage, her mouth full of egg. And mushrooms!
“We've missed you around the Centre. We'll have to get another orderly at this rate -”
So that's it, Mother? I'm off on the archetypal adventure for a month and all you can talk about is the work I'm not doing. She sighed testily. I love these eggs. Why am I talking to Mum when I could be eating these eggs?
“- well, you know how we can't just do without -”
“- you know, I saw the Ilex Forest Shrine,” Eve cut in. “About a week ago, in the Deepwoods. It's a bit disappointing to look at. Might go and see the castle a bit later.”
“By yourself? I heard you'd made a friend.”
“Don't do that, Mum, I wanted to get away from that,” Eve growled.
“Explain.”
“You know full well that I've made a friend! And I know you've already tried to tyrannise him.”
“Evelina, did you really expect me not to keep an eye on you?” Mum said sharply. “So yes, I had a little talk with him.”
“Agh, just … just lay off him Mum. I mean it! He made me breakfast again …” she trailed off.
“Oh Eve, honey …” Mum started.
“Give me some credit!” Eve snapped. “I have a good reason to trust him. And that should be good enough for you.”
*
“What are you thinking about?” Josh asked.
“Eggs,” Eve said, without looking up. “You spoil me, Joshua Cook.”
“When do you intend to challenge the Gym, by the way?” he said.
“I already have the Zephyr Badge,” Eve said absent-mindedly, watching the banners flying from the towers of the castle.
“What! Why didn't you say?” Josh exclaimed.
“You never asked!”
“But, so why didn't you suggest we go to Florando Town instead, or Goldenrod City? A different Gym is what I'm aiming at!”
Eve smiled at his perplexed, faintly guilty expression. “It's not like it was a wasted journey for me,” she said, tapping Pineco's Poké Ball. “I'm in no hurry to get to the Silver Conference. Oh, and we made, like, six hundred dollars between us.”
“Hmn. If you say so …” Josh said vaguely, returning to his thoughts. Eve didn't blame him. She watched him frown at the floor as the elevator made its slow ascent. He really wasn't a masculine guy, to look at. With the right clothes he could pass fairly well for a scrawny girl – well, if only he'd stop scowling. Maybe with a feminine hairstyle and a little make-up … he'd still need a bit of boob, though.
That's asking a lot you know, Eve. Don't you think you crossed a line?
Is he angry with me? He has been very quiet. Oh, gods. He is angry with me.
“Josh, I'm sorry!” Eve blurted out. What the hell did you say that for? I don't know! “Um, I, I put you on the spot yesterday. I was asking way too much of you and I'm sorry.”
“Eve … is this about the tournament?”
There was a discreet musical tone from the elevator's speakers. “Pinnacle Battlefield. Good luck, challenger,” an automated voice said pleasantly.
Josh hesitated briefly, giving her an odd, conflicted look. “Eve, buddy, we can talk about this later if you like, but I'm not angry. Please?”
“Yeah. Yeah, of course, what was I thinking,” Eve said, feeling an embarrassed blush flare in her cheeks. “Um. Thank you.”
*
Cheers and chants greeted them as the elevator doors opened onto Pinnacle Battlefield. The colosseum-style stadium was open to the sky. The clouds were steadily breaking apart in the wind that ruffled and tugged at their hair. Eve looked over the battlefield where she had earned her first Badge. She hadn't expected to see it again so soon – the dirt field, the concrete centre spot blazoned with an engraving of the Zephyr Badge. The cameras on the sidelines … Eve looked up and, sure enough, there was another cameraman mounted on a hovering fearow.
Josh took a deep breath, and she glanced anxiously at him. The stadium was only about two-thirds full, but it would still be the largest crowd Josh had battled in front of. At the other side of the field the Gym Leader gave her a tiny nod of recognition.
“Hey. Look at me, Josh,” she said sternly. “Ignore the crowd. Ignore the cameras. Concentrate on the battle.” It was all in the voice. Cold steel to be obeyed, warm butter to reassure. She punched him playfully on the arm, “I believe in you.”
Josh didn't say anything, but gave her a nervous little nod. He strode slowly into the trainer's box, his nervousness apparently fading with each step. Eve knew him better than that – he was burying his nerves under an icy battle persona.
“Welcome, Joshua, to Pinnacle Battlefield, aerie of the Violet City Gym!” Falkner declared grandly. “Nowhere in Johto will you battle closer to the clouds!” he cocked his head to one side. “You requested a two-on-two battle, but I see three Poké Balls at your belt.”
“One of my pokémon isn't ready for a Gym battle yet,” Josh replied.
“Very wise. I'm not accustomed to a lot of talk before a battle, so what do you say we get started?” Falkner made a short gesture. One of his students stepped up to the sideline, judging flags in hand.
“This will be an official Gym battle between the challenger Joshua Cook of Mulberry Town and the Gym Leader, Falkner of the Violet City Gym! Each trainer will use two pokémon! The challenger will release first and only he may make substitutions! A Zephyr Badge is at stake!”
The tension in the crowd noticeably intensified. A camera zoomed in on Josh as he methodically selected his first Poké Ball. His fingers were steady as he expanded the Ball.
“Bul – damnit. Ivysaur, battle's on!”
“A bad start, Joshua,” Falkner observed. “A Grass-type won't stand a chance against my Flying-types! Zubat, I choose you!”
Falkner's Zubat flittered round in erratic circles, her wings hardly making a sound. Strong wings. And well-developed fangs, too.
“Ivysaur, return,” Josh said. The recall beam whined to the unsubtle commentary of the spectators.
“What's with the substitution already?”
“Seriously. Did he not know this is a Flying Gym?”
“Screwball, battle's on,” Josh called, ignoring them all. Somehow, Screwball managed to materialise upside-down. After a moment's robotic contemplation it slowly righted itself.
“From a bad type match-up to an obvious one,” Falkner commented. “Zubat, start things off with your Double Team!”
“Sonic Boom,” Josh calmly ordered. Just as Zubat started throwing up illusory copies of itself Screwball blasted a Sonic Boom through them. The fake zubat colony scattered. Most were caught and destroyed by the expanding shock wave – the escapees flittered round Screwball in a vain attempt to confuse it.
“Use your Twister attack!” Falkner yelled. One of the zubat stopped abruptly and rapidly beat her wings. A small tornado appeared in front of her before whirling off towards Screwball.
“Mag-nur-mite,” it intoned. It was tumbled around by the winds and struck by cobalt lightning, but when the Twister dissipated it didn't seem to be so much as dizzy.
Nice try, Falkner, Eve thought, smirking. Josh's magnemite was the steel wall in his team. She wasn't sure why he'd decided to lead with Ivysaur when Screwball was the obvious choice … but Josh never did anything in battle without a reason.
“Charge Beam,” Josh ordered. Ignoring the remnants of the Double Team, Screwball spun on its axis to face Zubat. The hovering bat instinctively dodged aside, just in time to avoid a crackling Charge Beam.
“Fly, Zubat!” Falkner shouted.
“Again. Shoot it down,” Josh said coolly.
In a fluid display of aeronautics, Zubat jinked and evaded the sizzling Charge Beams as Screwball patiently aimed and tracked like a living gun turret. Eve suddenly noticed Screwball spinning its magnets, fat sparks crawling and snapping off its steel body. You clever devil. The barrage of Charge Beams wasn't just stubbornness – every Beam also had a chance of raising Screwball's Special Attack. Zubat folded her wings and plummeted hastily, singed by a dangerously accurate Charge Beam.
“Fly high, Violet Gym!” someone in the crowd shouted. Others took up the chant. “Fly high, Violet Gym! Fly high, Violet Gym!”
Oh no, you sodding don't! “Down, down, bring it down!” Eve hollered at the top of her voice. “Go, go, bring it down, bring it down, go, go!”
“Enough of this! Zubat, shut down that magnemite with your Confuse Ray!”
From this distance nothing seemed to happen, other than Zubat pausing in her constant movement to face Screwball. It jerked in mid-air, as if startled, and let out a stereo-feedback whine. Josh didn't react. He just stood with his arms folded as usual, his eyes fixed on Zubat.
“- that guy's cold, man.”
“- saw him at the Battle Club yesterday -”
“Fly high, Violet Gym!”
“Alright Zubat!” Falkner commanded, practically growling. “Go into a dive and follow up with Super Fang!”
The crowd noise swelled. Zubat shot into a whisper-quiet dive. Neither Josh nor Screwball flinched.
The Charge Beam detonated with a deep resonating boom. Zubat tumbled from a chrysanthemum of acrid black smoke, wings flailing like the pages of a thrown book.
“Zubat!” Falkner yelled, running to his unconscious pokémon. There was some cheering and a few appreciative claps – Eve cheered her support – the fearow-cameraman soared close to the action. A sideline camera tracked Falkner as he walked back to his trainer's box.
“Zubat is unable to battle,” the referee said redundantly. “Magnemite wins.”
Falkner and Josh stared at each other across the field. Falkner actually looks more grim than Josh, Eve thought wryly.
“One thing I've learned about magnemite,” Josh said, “is that they have very little imagination. And, therefore, are very difficult to fool with illusions.”
“… very clever. But you won't have it so easy a second time. Gligar, I choose you!”
Gligar was a thoroughly ridiculous pokémon, the bastard child of a scorpion and a bat, though in truth it was neither. He grinned at Screwball – well, he stuck out his tongue.
“Screwball, Sonic Boom,” Josh ordered unexpectedly.
“Gligar!” its opponent cried, jumping more than ten feet straight up and over the Sonic Boom. His membranous wings snapped open, effortlessly catching the wind above the battlefield.
“Gligar, cut that magnemite to scrap with your Metal Claw!” Falkner yelled. His pokémon surfed easily on the wind, hardly losing any height as he banked. Screwball robotically turned to watch it. Suddenly Gligar collapsed his wing membranes and dropped like a stone, his claws outstretched. The fearow-cameraman followed him down before swooping out of the way.
“Blast it,” Josh snarled. The shock wave boomed past – Gligar snapped his wings open and somehow dodged around it. His claws turned the colour of dull iron.
The Metal Claw scraped along Screwball's flank in a shower of sparks. Gligar overshot, landed, and sprang airborne again. Josh's fists were clenched, the shadow of a snarl on his face.
“Calm down and concentrate!” Eve yelled. “Don't think I can't see that ice cracking!”
Gligar ascended smoothly on an updraft and attacked again, swooping down on Screwball from outside its field of vision. Sparks flew again and again as Gligar raked at it before leaping airborne in a blur. Screwball let out a burst of Metal Sound, possibly in frustration. Falkner's supporters cheered and jeered – a Metal Claw caught it on a screw and spun it around violently.
“Enough!” Josh snapped, raising Screwball's Poké Ball.
“Don't let it get away! Sand Tomb!” Falkner yelled.
“Gligarrr!” his pokémon bellowed. Eve felt the ground rumble, the vibrations radiating up through the soles of her feet. The dirt beneath Screwball suddenly erupted into a hissing vortex of sand and rock.
“Return!” Josh commanded. The recall beam struck the Sand Tomb and burst apart. Screwball's going nowhere. Falkner's got you this time, Josh.
“Magnet Bomb!”
Something metallic burst from inside the sand vortex; Gligar tried to soar out the way, but the Bomb followed it up and exploded in a blast of blue light. Like Zubat before him, Gligar abruptly tumbled from the sky.
Screwball was in trouble. Eve could see its silhouette in the midst of the Sand Tomb, drifting ever closer to the ground. It let out a distressed whine, trying to rise, maybe trying to launch another Magnet Bomb. She glanced over at Josh – he was fidgeting on the soles of his feet. He hated being backed into a tactical corner.
“Mag … magne -” Screwball thumped into the dirt. The Sand Tomb died down, revealing an unconscious magnemite, its magnets hanging loosely.
“Magnemite is unable to battle! Gligar wins!” the referee called to a tumult of cheers and support from the crowd. Gligar took up position in front of his trainer, leering confidently. His exoskeleton was badly dented from the Magnet Bomb; it looked like some of the shrapnel had been driven in deep enough to draw blood. Much as Eve really wanted to shout all this out, she bit her tongue. He'll want to win without my help.
Falkner raised his hands for quiet. “It is every trainer's prime responsibility to ensure his pokémon's ongoing good health, even in the heat of battle.”
Josh gave him a cold stare. “I am well aware of that.”
“Then forfeit,” Falkner said. “You have only one choice you can make, and that's to send a Grass-type up against a Flying-type pokémon. You can't win.”
“Really,” Josh said. A tiny smile twitched at the corners of his mouth. The clouds above the Gym broke apart, spilling a sunbeam onto Pinnacle Battlefield.
“Ivysaur,” Josh commanded, popping open Ivysaur's Poké Ball. Ivysaur sat down calmly, his expression as wooden as his trainer's. The flower on his back seemed to glow yellow in the sun.
“If you insist,” Falkner said almost pityingly. “Into the sky Gligar! Start off strong with your Wing Attack!”
With little apparent effort Gligar surfed the wind up to a safe height. Ivysaur watched him carefully as he dropped down on a straightforward swooping trajectory, wing membranes held out rigid. In a sudden blur of movement Ivysaur slapped Gligar out of the sky.
“OH!” Eve gasped in surprise, echoed by the whole crowd.
“Take Down!” Josh ordered, raising his voice above the crowd. Gligar was smart enough to get airborne again almost immediately, spiralling up beyond Ivysaur's reach.
“Try it again! Mow that Grass-type down!” Falkner yelled.
“Vine Whips.”
Ivysaur extended all four of his Vine Whips a couple of feet, holding them low. This time Gligar attacked from almost vertical, aiming for the flower. Why do I get the feeling I've seen that attack before?
“Scatterseed.”
What?
Leech Seeds erupted from somewhere beneath Ivysaur's flower like a shotgun blast. Gligar swerved desperately, fruitlessly – there were too many Seeds flying in too many different directions. Two of the Seeds struck home, wrapping themselves around his tail and injured arm. Gligar wobbled mid-glide, managed to inflict a glancing Wing Attack and made a hasty landing. Spinning round, he struck out with Metal Claw, cutting a scratch across Ivysaur's hind leg and leaping into the air to dodge a lashing Vine Whip.
I have seen that attack before! It was the same plunging attack that Bugsy's beedrill had used back at the Azalea Gym – and Josh had devised a counter-attack without her knowing, the cunning devil. More cunning that it first appears, Eve thought, watching Gligar trying to land a clean Wing Attack. The Vine Whip placement acted as a lure, encouraging Gligar to attack the flower.
“Fly high, Violet Gym! Fly high, Violet Gym! Fly high, Violet Gym!”
Ivysaur had changed the arrangement of his Whips – now with two held high and back, two held low and forward. Whatever angle Gligar attacked from, he met at least one lashing vine. A pokémon capable of powered flight might be able to dodge round them, but Gligar …
“Bring it down! Bring it down!” Eve chanted, hollering through cupped hands as Gligar tried again, sweeping in fast and low. The Leech Seeds disentangled themselves as he levelled out. Gligar's limbs sagged, suddenly weak from the loss of energy; he lost lift and crashed into the dirt.
“Now!” Josh yelled. Ivysaur's Vine Whips shot out, seizing Gligar by the tail just as he tried to leap away again. After a brief, violent struggle, Ivysaur had his opponent bound claw and tail.
“Hold on, Ivysaur,” Josh commanded, holding his hand up. “Are you sure you want to continue this battle?” he called to Falkner.
The crowd went quiet, aside from the odd yell of support. Falkner glared back at him. “Gligar, try to get away!”
“Ivysaur,” Josh said, bringing his hand down in a chopping motion. Ivysaur carefully smashed Gligar into the concrete centre spot – it cried out sharply and stopped trying to struggle. This is it, this is victory!
“I can have Ivysaur keep doing that until Gligar can't battle, or you can forfeit now. I don't want to hurt your pokémon if I don't have to,” Josh said evenly.
Falkner continued to glare. There was a zing of excitement in Eve's chest – whatever Falkner did, Josh had won. Come on, damn you! I want to celebrate his victory with him! Josh raised his hand -
“No,” Falkner said. “I admit defeat.”
The crowd burst out in a wave of cheers, a lot of chatter, and some boos. Ivysaur respectfully put Gligar down – they exchanged sportsmanlike nods. Falkner recalled him to a chorus of crowd complaints.
“I want my bloody money back!”
“- should have stayed at home.”
“- can't give out a Badge for that! Rematch! Rematch!”
“Enough!” Falkner bellowed. He glared round the stadium for a moment, watched by a sidelined cameraman. “I am the Violet City Gym Leader! The award of a Zephyr Badge is at my discretion!”
Falkner met Josh on the centre spot. He looked none too pleased about his loss. “I won't deny that I never expected you to win,” he said. “But in order to develop your strategy, you would have had to extensively study Flying-types. And for that reason more than any other, I award you the Zephyr Badge.”
Josh held the swept wing-shape of the Zephyr Badge up to the sun, exchanging a proud glance with Ivysaur. He laughed, and squeezed it in his fist triumphantly.
*
Later that afternoon they went to explore the castle. Unsurprisingly for a Rheday afternoon, there weren't many other visitors around. After Josh had finally given up trying to convince the staff to “let him have a go” with the trebuchet, they headed up to the top of the gatehouse. The view from the battlement took in the castle moat, and beyond that, the green lawn dotted with picnickers. They were both wearing souvenir tabards from the gift shop. Hers was white, blazoned with a red rose – his, black with a green cross-crosslet. Josh had Screwball clamped firmly under his arm – it was still somewhat battered from the Gym battle.
“Magnemite,” it said.
“No,” Josh replied. “You can be out of the Poké Ball, but you have to rest.”
He'd make a decent orderly. “So come on. Aren't you going to explain your strategy?”
“You mean leading with Ivysaur, don't you.”
“Tell!” Eve insisted. “Why not Misdreavus?”
“Alright, alright! I told Falkner why – Fionn really isn't ready for a Gym battle. It's still too much of a game to her,” he said. “So I studied the footage of his other battles. Falkner has two fatal weaknesses. Individually, his pokémon are all very good at what they do, but he always chooses the most obvious counter for any given situation. And secondly, he rarely plans ahead. Once I knew that, I also knew the battle would be settled between us rather than our pokémon.”
Eve thought for a moment. If I know Josh's style … “Gym Leaders can't make substitutions. You were exploiting that, weren't you?”
“I knew you'd figure it out. You're a better trainer than me,” he said, smiling at her. “I lead with Ivysaur, he picks an obvious counter. Screwball counters the counter, and that leaves Falkner in an awkward position. Electric/Steel, not easy for Flying-types to deal with. There's only one Johto Flying-type that can deal with a magnemite efficiently. So that's the one Ivysaur and I prepared for.”
Clever devil. A pleasant favonian breeze stirred the air, riffling the banners flying above the gatehouse.
“If he'd used a pidgeotto or a murkrow I'd never have won,” Josh said. “Hey. About the tournament.”
“What?” Eve squeaked. “I mean, yes, buddy.”
Josh took a long breath, staring east towards the Violet Gym. “I'll do it.”
Eve's heart jolted. You did hear that right, Evelina.
“- on two conditions,” Josh continued. “If we're going to do this we're going to do this properly. No half measures. And you're paying for anything we might need.”
“… really?” Eve said in a small voice. He actually said yes!
Josh turned to her, his expression solemn to the point of grim. “And then we show everyone what Evelina Joy can do.”
Eve flung her arms around his neck. She leaned down ever so slightly to brush her cheek against his. “I won't forget this.”
*
The train swayed rhythmically from side-to-side as it hurtled through the night. Eve was feeling sleepy. She always did, on train journeys. It was the gentle rocking on the tracks that did it, the hissing white noise of the rails.
The train PA chimed softly. “Now entering, Goldenrod Great County. Estimated time of arrival, eleven fifty-three pee-em.”
The large, close-packed seats felt comfortably cosy, snug. Mmmnn! I want to go to bed …
Josh was in the window-seat, jacket zipped up to his chin, apparently gazing happily at the world outside. More likely he was thinking about his Zephyr Badge. His face was reflected in the window: satisfied little half-smile, dark curls, dark, dark eyes. Maybe he was warming to his identity as a pokémon trainer, but she had a feeling that what he really liked was calling home to report his victories. There was definitely some animosity between him and his dad, to judge from the way Josh had been smiling to himself all afternoon.
Eve yawned and tried to rub the sleep out of her eyes. For the second time that day, she was glad she'd made friends with Josh. She thought drowsily about the time they'd spent together – talking about everything, getting drunk together, getting on each other's nerves … that time in the Deepwoods when he'd shown his quality. She'd always thought that having a travel companion, spending every day with the same person, would be suffocating.
The train swayed rhythmically from side-to-side. Goldenrod City was still another hour away. The late train was cheap, but – Eve yawned expansively.
“Why don't you sleep for a while?” Josh said mildly.
“Need something to lean m'head on.”
Josh spread his arm invitingly. “Come here, Eevee.”
Eve hesitated, but her eyes were heavy. Besides, his old brown jacket, frayed soft and fuzzy through long wear, looked altogether too comfortable.
“Ok,” she said, shuffling up close so she could curl up on the seat, and laid her head on his chest. He looped an arm around her shoulders.
“Ok?” he asked.
“Mmnn,” Eve replied vaguely. She could hear Josh's heartbeat over the noise of the train. After a while he started to stroke her hair absent-mindedly.
It was a bit like being cuddled by her dad. Whenever her ex-boyfriend did things like that he was usually trying to build to something, but Josh …
With his heartbeat in her ears, Eve drifted off to sleep.
Next Chapter: Young Marisa
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