Perslas Region Chapter 5

As the sun began to set under the horizon, the small group of companions finally arrived in the small town of Verdeville. The aroma of fresh flowers was everywhere, and it wasn’t hard to see why.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many flowers in my entire life,” Bella said with an excited gasp as she eyed the surrounding scenery. Almost every inch of the town was covered in a wide range of colorful flowers. They grew on the side of the road, beside the houses, and even on a few roofs.

“Guess I should have told you that Verdeville is famous for its flowers.” Richard said as he walked up next to Bella, taking a moment to glance at the view himself. While he wasn’t as excited as Bella since he wasn’t much of a flower person, he had to admit it was quite a sight. The amount of dedication that it took to grow all of these flowers was impressive, to say the least.

Seeing as the sun was on the way to be set, both of them knew that they had to get moving. There would be plenty of time to admire the view tomorrow once they both had a good night’s sleep and their Pokémon healed. Luckily enough, the Pokémon Center was not that far away. It only took a few minutes before the comforting ‘ring’ of the electric doors welcomed the two of them in.

“Oh, good evening. We weren’t expecting any trainers to arrive this late.” Nurse Joy said from behind the counter as she turned around from whatever work she was doing.

“We were a bit delayed in getting here. Some bounty hunter was after this Pokémon and…” Bella started to explain, though she was soon interrupted by a gasp from the nurse.

“Oh, how terrible! What kind of person would hunt Pokémon for money? Well, I hope you two were able to take care of him. Come, come! I’ll get Chansey to take your Pokémon to the back to get some rest,” Nurse Joy said as she pressed a button, probably an alert to let Chansey know there were some new patients.

“Actually, Florence took care of the guy for us.” Will said as both Bella and he took out their Pokeballs.

“Oh, that must have been exciting for you two. And gives you a taste of what you’re going to have to face at the gym,” Nurse Joy said with a smile as she took the red and white spheres. By this point the pink Pokémon that was Chansey had arrived, carrying a small tray for the Pokeballs. Nurse Joy handed them over to Chansey, who soon headed into the back.

“Well, I was, uh, not there,” Richard said, a bit saddened that he didn’t get to see the gym leader in action.

“And I’m going to be a coordinator. Good thing too. Even though I bet my Eevee and Pichu can take her, it would be a pretty tough battle,” Bella replied.

Will's eyes widened in surprise, and stared at Bella as if he was seeing her for the first time. "You're a coordinator?" he questioned with interest. He tried to not show it, but on the inside he was relieved, he wouldn’t have to worry about her being his rival in the long run at the Pokémon League.

“Uh, yeah,” Bella replied absentmindedly as her head turned to and fro as if she was looking for something. Her eyes brightened considerably when her gaze landed on the video-phone in the corner of the Pokémon Center’s lobby. “There!”

She quickly rushed over to the phone, lifting the earpiece to her head and cradling it with her shoulder as she punched in a familiar number to the keypad. Will approached more slowly, shyly peering over his overexcited friend’s shoulder as the screen turned to static, showing that the line was ringing. Suddenly, an unfamiliar face popped up onto the screen.

“Hello?”

“Taro?” Bella exclaimed in surprise as she peered closer at the screen to get a better look at the dark haired teen. Her expression instantly became irked, and she nearly pressed her face against the screen. “Aren’t you supposed to be at university in Kanto? Why are you in Perslas?”

On the screen, Taro grunted and shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. “I heard that my baby sister was here travelling around as a Pokémon trainer,” he said, smirking. “I needed to check that out for myself.”

Bella stomped her foot on the ground, looking upset, and Will took a step back. “Why do you always tease me?” she huffed. “Its not my fault you decided you didn’t want to be a trainer, and then regretted it!”

Bella’s brother spotted Will’s backward movement and his eyes narrowed suspiciously – and not to mention dangerously, too! Bella laughed nervously as she caught onto what he had seen. “Who was that kid?!” Taro demanded, sounding angry. “I never said you could hang out with guys yet!”

The dark haired girl twirled a strand of her hair around her finger out of habit, and sidestepped to block her brother’s view of her new-found friend. “I don’t know who he is,” she replied convincingly, and gently stepped on Will’s foot to stop him from protesting. “He’s at the Center too, waiting for me to finish up my phone call so he can use it.”

Taro sighed in relief. “Oh,” he said. “That’s good. For a second I thought you were travelling with that kid. No way would I let you travel with a boy. I would march over there and drag you back home in a heartbeat!”

Bella smiled mischievously. “No, it’s just me and Eevee still. Oh, I caught a Pichu today too!” she exclaimed. “Isn’t that cool? I’m sure the little guy will help me out in my appeals.” She paused, and tapped her finger to her chin, thinking. “By the way, are mom and dad there?”

“Nah,” Taro replied with a shrug and a sympathetic look at his sister. “Dad’s company gave him a paid vacation, so they went back to Kanto to visit some old friends and family. That’s why I’m here, actually. I’m watching the house.”

“Oh,” Bella replied, both looking and sounding downtrodden. “Well, can you tell them I called when they get back? And tell them I’m doing fine on my own, too? Please?”

Taro sent her an affectionate and soft look. “Sure thing, kid,” he said warmly. “Call a lot, I know they miss you. Both of their kids are off gallivanting around the world now. I think they get lonely sometime.”

“I will,” Bella replied, tears pricking at her eyes at the sentimental moment between her and her brother. “I’ll talk to you soon, Taro. Bye!” The sound of the click as she lowered the phone back into its socket echoed around the room. She turned to look at Will, and he was surprised by the sunny look that had suddenly dominated her face. “The phone’s all yours, if you’d like to call home!”

“Uh, thanks.” Will said, trying to stifle the laugh that had backed up into his throat during Bella’s call. Even if her older brother scared him a little bit, there was something funny about the caution he had about Bella being around guys.

Bella stepped back and to the side a bit as Will took hold of the phone. Unlike Bella, Will held the phone with one hand instead of cradling it. He wasn’t too sure if he should call his grandpa or his parents first, but eventually he decided to call home.

“So then, your brother seems nice,” Will said as he started punching in his home number.

“I haven’t been able to see him much since he headed off to college. Still treats me like I’m a little kid. But that’s what older brothers do,” Bella said with her usual warmth and joy, though Will sensed a bit of sadness.

He would have answered Bella, but just at that moment the screen flickered to life. Turning around to see who it was, he was shocked to find a giant pink ball in front of the screen.

“Jiggly?” The pink ball said with a sense of both excitement and curiosity. The only thing Will had to do was blush in embarrassment, hoping that Bella didn’t see.

“Who’s Jigglypuff is that Will? Mother’s, sister’s?” She asked with a bit of a giggle.

“Actually, it would belong to his grandpa – AKA me,” An old man said as he entered the screen, moving Jigglypuff out of view.

“Good to see you reached Verdeville safe and sound. And it sounds like to me you’ve met quite a good-looking girl on the way,” He said with a bit of a grin, which made Will want to just die on the spot.

“Grandpa, she’s just someone I ran into on the route,” Will said with a bit of a growl. In the background one could hear a woman’s voice speaking in a testy tone.

“Dad, don’t embarrass Will in front of girls. Anyway, you need to get back to the lab, so hand the phone over to me so I can talk to him.”

Will’s grandpa gave out a laugh before saying “Goodbye” before a woman appeared on the screen. One could tell she was Will’s mother at first glance as she had the same brown hair as he did, though obviously much longer.

“I really do apologize for your grandpa’s behavior,” She said with a sympathetic look, “He was always like that. Did the same thing to me when I was your age.”

“It’s alright mom. Nothing to worry about,” Will said as he rubbed the back of his head nervously, his face gaining a red tint.

“Anyway, I see you got to Verdeville alright. Bet you can’t wait to take a shot at getting that badge, right?” She teased with a bit of a grin.

“At this point I’m just ready to get some sleep. The last few days have been pretty wild. I caught a Pidgey and a Nincada. Between those two and Squirtle it’s going to be a good battle. I’m a bit nervous though,” he said.

“Every trainer feels like that before a gym match. But don’t worry about it. In fact, use some of that nervousness to pick yourself up and give that gym leader one heck of a fight,” She replied with enough energy to make Will take a step back.

“But before you can do that, you need a good night’s sleep. Good luck with your match tomorrow, and don’t forget to give me a call when it’s all over.”

“Don’t worry mom, I wont,” Will replied before the two of them exchanged good-byes. The screen turned to black as the call ended, and he placed the phone back on the receiver.

Bella smiled in an embarrassed manner and not for her own sake either. She sent Will a reassuring smile, silently telling him that there was no reason to be embarrassed for his grandfather’s behavior. “Shall we get some sleep?” she said, instead of bringing up his family. “I’m not sure about you, but after today I’m exhausted.”

“Yeah,” Will replied with a nod, inwardly relieved that she didn’t say a thing about his grandfather’s embarrassing remark. “Yeah, I have a big day tomorrow; I’d really like to challenge Florence in the morning.” He hesitated, looking nervous. “Would you like to come and watch?”

She beamed, her eyes bright and all traces of her previous sadness gone. “Of course!” she exclaimed happily. “I’d love to watch your gym battle. And, I’d like to see Florence too; I want to thank her again for helping me back in the forest.”

Will smiled at her, before turning around to head toward the front desk at the Pokémon Center to request two rooms to stay the night in. Bella tagged along absentmindedly, not really paying attention to her own thoughts or anything else around her.

Will was surprised, to say the least, when a trainer came rushing out from a doorway that led to the hospital part of the Center near the front desk. And he was even more surprised that he stopped dead in his tracks as Nurse Joy rushed out after him.

“Wait stop!” Nurse Joy called as she followed the clearly annoyed and angry teenager. “You can’t just release it! Just give it more time, I promise you that it will become stronger if you just try harder with it, and maybe treat it more gently.”

“I treated it as gently as I could,” the trainer replied with a snort as he pressed the enlarge button on the Pokeball he was holding. “Its too weak, I don’t want it if it can’t become stronger. I tried, it failed. This thing is going to be out of my life for good after this.”

“Well, you certainly can’t release it here!” Nurse Joy exclaimed in horror as she watched what the boy was doing. “If you must release it at all! I just don’t see why you won’t give it more time-”

The boy whirled around and glared, making Nurse Joy freeze. “More time?” he demanded. “I gave it a lot of time. I trained and trained with it so much that my other Pokémon became jealous. It could barely do anything against Florence’s Pokémon, and it even had a type advantage!”

“But if you just-”

The boy glared. “No.” He swiftly turned around and held the Pokeball out in front of him again, and tossed it into the air. The red fox-like Pokémon emerged in front of him, cloaked in the red beam from the ball, signaling its release. “You’re free,” he snapped. “You’re not mine anymore, I’m done with you and your crap.”

“Vulpix?” The Pokémon replied, tilting his head. He wasn’t to sure what his trainer was trying to say. The trainer, obviously frustrated by this state of confusion, began to storm out of the Pokémon Center. The Vulpix followed behind, as it had been trained to do.

“Didn’t you hear me? You are not mine anymore. I don’t want you. You are too weak and pathetic. Now just leave me alone!” The trainer cried out with enough fury to make both Bella and Will take a step back. Soon he was out of the Center and into the dark night, leaving the poor Vulpix alone in the middle of the room.

“Vul? Vulpix?” It started to cry, waiting patiently for his trainer to come back. Everyone else in the room, however, knew he wasn’t coming back. Nurse Joy walked over and scooped the Pokémon up, trying to keep a smile on her face to cheer it up.

“Aw, poor thing. It just breaks my heart to see trainers just release their Pokémon like they were just some emotionless being that existed just to battle,” Nurse Joy sighed as she headed to the back.

Over by the phones, Bella was feeling the same sentiments. She was tearing up just thinking about that Vulpix’s future. The feeling of someone’s hand on her shoulder shook her out of her thoughts.

“You know, I think you might be able to ask Nurse Joy for that Vulpix. If it can’t battle in gyms, maybe it can dazzle in contests?” Will said, trying to help the best he could. He was a bit worried, however, by his lack of sympathy for the Vulpix. While he knew what the trainer had done was wrong, Will could see his reasons. For now, though, he would just repress that thought.

“Do you really think they’d let me take him just like that?” Bella replied, the thought of gaining another Pokémon brightening her thoughts, a bit dampened by the process, though.

“I don’t see why not? You have a healthy Eevee, no run-in with the law, and if you wanted to, you could get Florence to vouch for you,” Will replied, “So maybe tomorrow, after the gym battle, we can convince her to stop by her and convince Nurse Joy to trade you the Vulpix.”

"Yeah!" Bella replied, gently wiping the pricking tears out of her eyes. She smiled up at Will, before her eyes narrowed and her smile drooped into a frown. "I can't believe a trainer would do something like that. I'm sure that he was exaggerating a little too. I mean, even if it's not very strong a fire type would still do quite a bit of damage to a grass type."

He shook his head, a sad smile appearing on his face as he placed his hand on her shoulder and pushed her forward, toward the double doors that led to the rooms that trainers were allowed to sleep in while traveling. "Let's not worry about that now," he said. "Right now, let's just worry about getting some sleep. It was a long day."

Bella yawned, her timing very appropriate. "O..okay," she said, refusing to tear her eyes away from the crying Vulpix as she was propelled through the swinging doors. "Good night," she murmured to it under her breath, not even loud enough for Will himself to hear.

-------------------------

Light beamed through the windows that dominated the Pokémon Center's walls, cloaking the building in a bright, blinding light. Will sat at one of the booths that jutted from the wall, holding a mug of hot chocolate in his hands. Wearily, his hands reached up rubbed at his eyes in a childlike manner.

"Squirt?" his Pokémon asked as it looked at him with his large eyes, silently asking him if he was okay. Will looked exhausted, with bleary eyes, dark circles and all. It tugged gently on the fabric of his sleeve.

"Oh?" Will said, startled as he looked down abruptly at his Pokémon. He plastered a large smile on his face. "I'm okay. Just worried, I guess. This is our first gym battle and all. I think all trainers are nervous for their first gym battle, even if they do have a lot of confidence in their Pokémon."

"Will!" "Uree!" "Pichu!"

Will turned his head at the three voices simultaneously calling to him. A real smile spread across his face instead of his fake one as Bella rushed forward with her two Pokémon in tow. He nearly fell off of his chair when he realized what her Pokémon were wearing and holding. Her Eevee sported a sapphire blue bandana around its neck, while her Pichu had a red one. And to top it all off, her Pichu was holding a pair of small, red pom-poms.

“Uh, hi Bella, Eevee, Pichu,” he said, greeting each one of them by name, sweat-dropping. “Um, why is your Pichu holding pom-poms?”

“To cheer you on, silly!” Bella replied with a giggle. “I would have given Eevee some too, but I think they would be a bit hard for him to hold.” Her shiny Pokémon glared at her as she glanced at him. “No opposable thumbs and all, like Pichu does.” She turned back to Will and smiled at him. “So, are you ready to go?”

“Aren’t you going to go ahead and have some breakfast first?” Will asked, pointing over to the continental breakfast the Pokémon Center was offering, for a small price of course.

“No, I’ll be fine. Besides, the faster you beat Florence the faster we can help that Vulpix,” Bella said as she started to loose some of the excitement she had been expressing. The thought of what happened the evening before was still heavy on her mind. That was, however, not of immediate concern. She had asked Nurse Joy about the Vulpix earlier. She had said it was physically fine, but he was still depressed and waiting for its owner.

“Well, if that’s the case, I say we should get going then, huh Squirtlel,” Will said with a sly smile, giving his partner a nod. That was all it needed for the turtle Pokémon to jump out of the booth, ready to get a move on.

“After you at least get something to eat. Even a banana would be good enough.”

“Fine, I’ll get some fruit or something,” Bella replied in frustration. Grabbing one of the apples, making sure to leave a little money behind to pay for it, she headed towards the exit. Will made sure that Squirtle was right behind him before following Bella.

It was a good thing the town was a small one. The gym was within sight almost as soon as they exited the Pokémon Center, or at least its roof was. It was downhill from the Center, and so after a little detour to find a way down, they headed straight for it. From the outside it didn’t look impressive, compared to the outside, but everything changed when they stepped inside. Just like the rest of the town, the gym was covered with flowers, but it was just more than that. Fountains provided small, serene waterfalls that fueled bubbling streams that flowed around the edges of the gym. The sweet aroma of fresh flowers was almost overwhelming, yet pleasant at the same time.

“This town really loves their flowers, don’t they?” Will asked as he walked in.

“There’s a simple reason for that of course,” a woman’s voice said, startling the two companions.

Looking around, their eyes landed on the figure of Florence. Bella’s response to her arrival was that of pure joy, the kind one gets when seeing a friend. Will, on the other hand, was a bit dumbstruck, partly out of respect for a gym leader, partly out of attraction. He felt a small nudge in his ribs, causing him to straighten up and clear his head.

“Good to see you again Florence,” Bella said as she rushed to give her friend a hug, which Florence gladly returned. After they parted, she noticed Will standing there, and gave a small smile.

“I’m guessing that is your friend you were with?” Florence asked Bella.

“Yep. That’s Will. Being a bit more quiet than usual though,” She said, glancing at him angrily.

“Uh, sorry. Distracted by the flowers. Allergies and all that,” Will said, trying to salvage the situation. “Anyway, go on about the reason this town loves flowers.”

“Oh, I forgot to finish that didn’t I? Well, you see, up to the north lies a volcano, which is the dominant force of nature there. Sadly, this region is subject to winds from the northwest, which blows all the ash and hot air southwest. While our town is lucky to avoid most of it, some don’t. They are basically wastelands, filled with only the most basic of plant life. And the area immediately north is simply deserts. And so we’ve taken upon ourselves to brighten the place up with greenery and flowers, trying to bring some joy to this area.”

Will nodded, feeling slightly uncomfortable that Bella had caught him staring at Florence. He shifted his weight, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “I guess that’s a good idea then,” Will said, “If no other place is like this, it makes people come from all over probably, huh?”

Florence nodded, smiling. “That’s absolutely right,” she replied as Bella’s Pichu made its way up to her with large eyes, holding its tiny pom-poms for dear life. “That makes meeting people-” She knelt down to the Pokémon’s level “-and Pokémon all the more exciting.” She turned her attention to the tiny electric mouse. “Well hello there, how are you doing with your new trainer?”

“Pi,” Pichu replied shyly, bringing up the pom-poms to cover the lower half of its face, almost as if it were hiding. “Chu…” It looked up at Bella for reassurance, and she nodded. It turned back to Florence, a determined and grateful expression dominating its face as it lowered the pom-poms. “Pi pi pichu.”

Florence arched an eyebrow, but kept her gentle smile maintained on her face as she turned to stare at Bella questioningly. “Um,” she said. “I wish I knew what this was about, but unfortunately I really don’t.”

“I didn’t want to be the only one thanking you for yesterday,” Bella replied with a shrug, looking almost embarrassed. “Pichu knows that you were the one that really saved it yesterday, and not me, so I asked if it wanted to thank you too.” Her expression turned thoughtful. “It seemed excited enough when I asked yesterday.”

Florence nodded in understanding and turned back to Pichu, taking its tiny paws – and the pom-poms, of course – in her hands and her smile grew wider. “Well, you’re welcome then,” she said. “It was my pleasure. I’m glad that you ended up with a trainer as nice as Bella is.”

“Um,” Will interrupted, stuttering slightly and now looking entirely nervous. Florence looked up at him with a questioning look on her face. “Well, that’s the reason Bella came today, but I was wondering if I could challenge you for a gym battle?” His eyes hardened with a determined look. “I’m – we’re ready. I know we are.”

“Of course you do. Shouldn’t have surprised me at all you’d ask that. Just give me a moment to get my Pokémon ready, and I’ll meet you on the battlefield,” Florence said as she released Pichu and headed off.

With Florence gone, Will had nothing else to hide behind, leaving him completely exposed to Bella’s reactions to his eyeing Florence. He was a bit surprised when the next words that came out of her mouth had no relevance to that.

“Well then, if the battles about to start, then I guess I have to head up into the stands. Pichu, Eevee, let’s get going,” she said, motioning her two Pokémon to follow her as she headed towards the stands to watch, leaving Will and Squirtle by themselves.

“Well partner, looks like today’s the big day. We’re going to see if we have what it takes to become Pokémon masters,” He said as he started walking over to his designated spot, Squirtle right on his heels.

“Squirtle squirt,” the turtle responded as he stood by his trainer, just itching to fight.

“Sadly, that means you aren’t going to battle right off the back,” Will said with a look of sadness on his face, hating the fact he had to crush that spirit. Squirtle looked up at his trainer with a quizzical look on his face. “It’s just simple strategy. Florence uses grass types, you’re a water type. You’d be at a major disadvantage while Pidgey and Nincada wouldn’t be.”

The response didn’t seem to help Squirtle too much as he quickly fell into a state of depression. It really hurt Will to see him like that, but he had to fight it. This would not be the last time Squirtle would have to be put on the sidelines, so it was best the two of them got over it. Still, he could try to help a little.

“But if those two can’t finish the job, be sure that I’m going to send you out. You’re like a secret weapon of sorts,” he reconciled with a grin, hoping that the faked happiness would catch on in Squirtle and cheer him up.

“Squirtle!” He sighed ruefully before moving over to join up with Bella to cheer Will on.

“Alright then, I guess it’s time we get this started then, huh Will? Usual gym battle rules: we each use two Pokémon each, and I’m not allowed to substitute,” Florence said as she returned, with three Pokeballs attached to a sash on her belt. Will nodded an agreement to the rules, and with that the battle began.

“Alright,” Will agreed with a nod of his head. “If I’m correct, you’ll do the honors and choose your Pokémon first then?” He knew this was customary, he had seen enough Pokémon battles on TV to know what usually happened between a gym leader and the challenger.

Florence simply smiled and nodded, reaching for the first Pokeball that was attached to her sash. “That’s right,” she said, and quickly pressed the enlarge button on the Pokeball and tossed it into the air. “And I think I’ll begin this gym battle with my Oddish.”

A red light emerged from the small red and white ball, narrowing down to a line that pointed to the ground. The red light from the ball quickly materialized into the grass-type Pokémon. The blue plant-like bulb blinked in wonder, and ruffled the leaves on his head. Noticing Will on the other side of the field, it exclaimed a soft, “Odd-ish!”

“Okay, an Oddish,” Will murmured to himself, flexing his fingers, hanging near his side. After a moment’s thought, he moved to his belt and unclipped a Pokeball, pressing it’s enlarge button and tossing it into the air. “Then I think I’ll use Pidgey!”

With a flash of red, the small bird arrived on the scene, taking a quick moment to stretch her wings before landing at Will’s feet. Oddish, seeing the spectacle, gained a determined look on his face, ready to get the fight started.

"Alright then, challengers get the first move," Florence said, prompting Will to give the first command of the match.

"Pidgey, start beating up some of the dirt around you to create a Sand Attack. Use it as cover to get in close."

Pidgey was quick to respond, quickly beating her small wings to turn up the loose dirt and dust that was bountiful in the flower-laden gym. Soon the air was filled with the dirt and dust, causing Will to cover his mouth to filter it out a bit. He was also forced to turn a little bit to avoid getting it in his eye, a very bad situation in a battle. Still, with it all going the way of Oddish and Florence, they would hopefully be affected more than he would.

"Good work Pidgey, now get close to the Oddish and hit him with a Tackle attack."

While he could only get glimpses of what followed, he had an idea of what was happening. Finishing up the Sand Attack, Pidgey would be flying high above it all, using her sharp eyes to locate the Oddish in the mess. If everything went right, Pidgey would be able to swoop right in with a Tackle attack.

Eventually the dust was able to settle down enough for him to watch, and he found things didn’t go as planned. Apparently, while Oddish couldn’t see Pidgey, she had some problems finding the small Pokémon in the dirt and dust. She had swooped down with a Tackle attack, but had missed. Right now she was in the middle of a rise, trying to gain some distance from the small bulb.

"Nice attempt Will, but you’re going to have to do better than that to win. Oddish, use Sweet Scent," Florence responded with a command to her Pokémon.

Oddish responded by shaking the grassy leaves on his head, causing a slightly pink mist to rise out. Will’s nose picked up a sweet smell, and apparently so did Pidgey. Even up in the air, the aroma was hard to ignore, causing her to fly lower in order to enjoy it. This panicked Will a bit, as at that height it wouldn’t be too hard for Oddish to land a hit on her.

"Pidgey, uh, try using Gust to blow away the Sweet Scent," Will commanded, hoping that she had learned that move already. Her head shot up at the order, almost as if she was confused about it. Will almost lost faith in the order, until he noticed that Pidgey began to beat her wings rapidly, even more than during a Sand Attack.

Soon the mist was being sent towards the stands, and Bella took a moment to enjoy the new smell. “Will is doing fairly well for his first gym battle,” she commented as she breathed in the air, her eyes peaceful due to the smell. Beside her, Pichu clutched pathetically at the pom-poms, trying not to drop them due to its relaxed state.

“Pi pichu…”

Beside Pichu, Eevee was impressed, but not at Will’s battling prowess. Instead, he was enjoying the aroma that filled his nose as he lay down on the bench, his eyes drifting shut in his relaxed state. This was something he could get used to…

Back on the battlefield, Gust was having an affect that Will didn’t expect. Oddish’s small size helped avoid the Tackle attack, but now it was hurting him. He was having trouble holding his ground under the intense winds, even with his feet rooted in the ground. This started to give Will an idea.

"Pidgey, keep up that Gust attack, but try and see if you can mix up some of that dirt as well. And try to keep it all aimed on Oddish."

Pidgey didn’t respond with a cry or anything to show she heard, but her actions did. She aimed her Gust attack a bit lower, kicking up the dirt in the process. Dirt, dust, and wind were now pummeling Oddish, and hopefully the onslaught would tire him out.

"Oddish, uproot yourself. This is going to hurt a bit, but trust me," Florence replied, with her Pokémon quickly following the order. Soon he was sent flying, an action that caused Pidgey to stop with her attack. Will thought for a moment it was all over, but Oddish soon found the strength to stand up.

"Now then, use Acid," Florence ordered. Oddish’s mouth opened wide, and soon a stream of nasty looking liquid was sent straight above Pidgey. That prevented her from just flying away, but that didn’t mean Will would let her get all the damage it could do.

"Pidgey, fly off to the right and swerve down to move the dirt up into the air."

Will’s teeth clenched with suspense as Pidgey worked to pull off the tactic. Swerving to the right, the tip of her left wing was hit by the acid. She let out a small cry, but in an impressive show of determination she kept gong. Soon she dived down like a bullet before pulling herself back up with a flap of her wings, sending dirt all up into the air.

"Now use that cover to flank Oddish with a Tackle attack," Will commanded with a tone showing a sense of exhilaration in a plan that was working.

Pidgey swerved to the left this time, but Oddish was busy looking to the right. Florence saw what was about to happen, and gave an order for Oddish to watch out. But once again the Pokémon’s small size was his downfall, as he was unable to move far and fast enough to avoid impact. Within moments the first round was over as Oddish was returned to his Pokeball to rest for another battle.

"You did a good job Oddish, and thanks for trying your best. And you Will," Florence’s sorrowful tone changed into an almost the same kind a mother uses on a kid that was in trouble, "Don’t think that was all I got. Next up is Shroomish."

Florence reattached her Oddish’s Pokeball to her sash, quickly reaching for the next one beside it. Lifting up the new Pokeball, she nodded at Will before pressing the enlarge button and tossing it into the air. The red light quickly materialized into the green and peach Pokémon.

“Shroom!” It cried, clearing looking excited at the aspect of a battle. It turned and did his version of a salute at Florence, before turning back to Will and Pidgey and glaring at them in a determined fashion. “Shroom shroomish!”

Will glanced over at the freshly arrived Shroomish, and his tired out Pidgey. He knew she needed a rest, and so with a press of the button he returned her to the comfort of a Pokeball.

“Alright Nincada, looks like you’re up,” Will said as he released the white and green bug Pokémon. With a few clicks it looked around the area, and was almost ready to tackle the momentous task of smelling the flowers when he noticed Shroomish.

“Nin?” He asked, apparently not sure what he needed to do.

“Alright Nincada, it’s time to show them what you’re made of. Let’s start off with a spray of that Leech Life attack,” Will ordered.

Nincada blinked for a second before he got the message, but once it went through he knew exactly what was going on. With a renewed sense of energy and understanding, Nincada turned to face his opponent, sending out as stream of Leech Life at the mushroom-like Pokémon. Shroomish, in response, quickly made a run around the edges of the battlefield, being chased by the attack. It would have been funny if the battle wasn’t so important. Eventually Nincada ended the stream, giving Florence time to get out an order.

“Alright Shroomish, release a stream of Stun Spore and paralyze that bug.”

Shroomish began to shake himself silly, but in the process a small mist of yellow spores spread over the fields. Nincada didn't have chance to dodge it, so it was all up to luck to see if he could still fight.

“Nincada, use Harden to increase defense before trying to Tackle him.”

Nincada’s shell shined as a new shell grew over him, calming Will down a bit. With a higher defense, should Nincada get hit during a moment of being paralyzed, he wouldn’t be injured too much. Next Nincada began to rush towards Shroomish, but he soon stopped in his tracks. Shroomish saw an opening, and proceeded to return the favor with his own Tackle, ramming straight at Nincada. The bug was sent sprawling along the ground, but soon the paralyzing wore off, for now, and he got back onto his legs.

“Okay Nincada, try and see if you can launch some more Leech Life. But this time switch between aiming at him and the area he is running.”

With his new orders, Nincada began to shoot the needles of Leech Life at Shroomish. Shroomish began to run again, and so Nincada aimed straight for where he was running to, not where he was. Soon one found its target, piercing straight into Shroomish. While the mushroom Pokémon looked more tired than before, Nincada looked as if he had gained a small burst of life in him.

With Shroomish temporarily down, Will saw a chance for Nincada to strike. “Alright, try another Tackle attack, but jump up in the air some in case you become paralyzed again,” Will said with authority.

Nincada took a step back before rushing right at Shroomish. He jumped straight into the air, just as Shroomish stood back up. The next thing either Pokémon knew, Shroomish was right underneath the mass of Nincada. Will internally had at that moment a sense of joy, as at this close range there was only one thing left to do.

“Alright then Nincada, let’s finish this up with another Leech Life.”

At point blank range, there was nothing left for Shroomish to do. He couldn’t run, and any attacks he did wouldn’t get done in time to stop the attack. Within seconds he was knocked out, finally tired out. Nincada got off of him soon afterwards, and started doing what Will thought was a bit of a tap dance.

“Hey Bella, maybe you should use Nincada in a contest,” Will laughed jokingly as he watched the little show.

Bella arched an eyebrow at Will, wondering if he was joking or not – or if his sense of humor was really like that – as Florence recalled her Shroomish with a disappointed look on her face. “Er,” she said, hesitating as she wondered if she would hurt his feelings if she gave him a smart aleck remark. “No?”

Nincada looked up at Bella as if he had been struck by lightning, narrowing his eyes at the comment and actually looking a little bit insulted. Will sweat-dropped at the scene with a shrug and he turned to face Florence again, who was walking across the field toward him. He stepped forward to meet her.

As they reached at the meeting point in the middle of the field, Florence finally shot Will a smile. “You did very well, for your first gym battle,” she commented as she reached into her sash and pulled out a tiny flower-like badge and placed it in his palm. “You really deserve this Gracidea Badge, you know. You worked really hard. I’m actually surprised you were able to beat me.”

“To tell you the truth,” Will began, hesitant as his eyes cast downward, “I’m a bit surprised too. I mean, this is my first try on a real gym battle and all. I was so sure that I would fail the first time and have to come back for a rematch.”

“Just know that not all gym battles will be like this one,” Florence advised, looking uncharacteristically serious. “Compared to others, this gym is a piece of cake. You won’t find victory easily at the others.” Her expression turned joyful in a manner of seconds, and she shot him a wink. “But don’t worry about that now. Now’s the time to celebrate!”

A smile grew onto Will’s face, and he nodded eagerly. “You’re right,” he said as Squirtle rushed up to him, latching onto his leg to give him a massive hug, blurting out random combinations of his name in his excitement. Will laughed as his Nincada also made its way over to him, hanging around at his feet. He held out his new badge to them. “We got the Gracidea Badge!”

“Will!”

He barely had time to turn his head at the sound of Bella’s voice before the girl tackled him, quickly looping her arms around his waist to give him a bone crushing hug as she bounced up and down on the balls of her feet, her cheek pressed into his back. Will’s face grew a deep shade of red at the hug, embarrassed. After all, the only other girl to hug him was his mom, and that didn’t really count anyway…

Bella realized Will’s sense of being uncomfortable, and quickly let go, her face flushing gracefully. Her mind quickly searched for a reason to move on when she suddenly remembered the Vulpix. “Oh, Florence, do you mind coming back with us to the Pokémon Center? I needed you to vouch for me about a…”

“A Vulpix, I presume?” Florence said with a grin that almost seemed to mock Bella in a friendly way.

Having her sentence finished like that flustered Bella a little. “But… Why… How did you know about that?” she asked.

“Nurse Joy already called me earlier today. She mentioned there was a Vulpix abandoned by his trainer yesterday, and that there was a trainer interested in adopting it. Once she described the trainer, I realized it was you. So I told her about what happened yesterday, about how you tried to protect that Pichu from the bounty hunter. That was enough for her to know that you’d take good care of that Vulpix,” Florence said as she pulled out the familiar red-and-white sphere of a Pokeball, and tossed it over to Bella.

Her hands reached out, barely catching the Pokeball in her grasp, her breathing ragged with anxiety. She had never had good hand-eye coordination, and was a huge klutz to top it all off. Throwing the Pokeball to her was not a very good idea… Her eyes widened when she realized what she was holding, and her breath caught in her throat. “Is this…?”

Florence smiled, and nodded. “I took the liberty of dropping by the Pokémon Center this morning to pick this up from Nurse Joy,” she said with a small shrug. “I figured you both would want to get on your way to the next city, seeing how early in the day it is, so I decided to save you some time from having to go back to pick this little guy up.”

Bella deadpanned, not ready to believe that she was being handed the Vulpix so easily. “This isn’t some sort of sick joke, right?” she demanded, clutching at the Pokeball while Eevee and Pichu looked at it in wonder. “This Pokeball isn’t just some empty shell?”

Florence laughed freely. “I’ve never heard anyone call a Pokeball something like that before!” Feeling embarrassed, she covered her mouth to stifle her laugh at the serious look that Bella’s face sported. “If you don’t trust me, why don’t you open it up and see for yourself?”

Bella suddenly felt extremely nervous as she pressed the button on the Pokeball to enlarge it. Her palms became sweaty and she nearly dropped the small red and white ball due to her slick grasp. She quickly covered up the almost drop as she tossed the Pokeball into the air to open it, like that was her true intention beforehand.

As the red light faded, Bella took the time to admire her new Pokémon. Her gaze drifted over the fox Pokémon’s dusty-brown fur, darker auburn stockings, creamy under markings and finally down to its six, bright orange tails and bangs. It blinked up at her cautiously with its tawny-brown eyes.

Bella had to suppress a squeal of excitement as she swooped down and cradled the tiny fox Pokémon in her arms. “Well aren’t you just precious?” she cooed as she rocked the Vulpix in the curve of her elbow. “You and I are going to become great friends.”

Florence smiled at the scene, and waved her hand. “No need to thank me for bringing it here for you,” she said offhandedly. “But, I do have some information that will interest you, Bella. I hear that there’s going to be a Pokémon contest coming up soon in Amarillo City. You should enter it. If you do, I might be tempted to come and watch you perform.”

“Really?” Bella asked with a large smile dominating her face. She looked down at her three Pokémon, giggling at the confused look on her new Pokémon’s face. “I guess we’ll have to start training then.” She laughed out when Eevee growled at her. “Well, in Eevee’s case continue training.” She looked over at Florence and sighed happily. “Thank you so much, you’ve done a lot for us.”

“Just doing my duty as a gym leader,” Florence said, waving off the polite words. “I need to help someone at some point or another, don’t I? I can just sit around all day either. I train just like you do, trying to get stronger and stronger.” She straightened up and looked down at Bella and her Pokémon, reaching into her sash and pulling out a bright orange bandana that matched the fur on Vulpix’s tail. “And I think this little one needs an initiation into your team.”

Will sweat-dropped when Florence reached over and tied the bright orange bandana around the fire-fox’s neck so that it matched Pichu and Eevee’s. He sighed, and noticed that his own Pokémon were looking at the spectacle in distaste. He hoped he would never have to dress up his Pokémon, for any reason.

“There,” Florence said as she pulled away and looked at her handy work in satisfaction. She turned and glanced between Will and Bella. “You two make sure to take care of each other, do you hear? I don’t find to find out that someone got hurt for one reason or another. Even with two of you, there’s still a lot of trouble you can get into.”

“No problem,” Will replied smoothly before he realized what Florence had said, and what he agreed too. His eyes widened when Bella suddenly grabbed his wrist, Vulpix still cradled in one arm, and began to drag him out of the gym at a rapid pace, waving and calling out her goodbyes to Florence over her shoulder, their Pokémon racing along behind them.

A dazed smile crossed his face. His journey was not just his and his Pokémon’s anymore, and it was sure to be a wild adventure with many adventures, battles, and now contests too! Will’s smile faltered suddenly and a look of horror spread across his face – he hoped that Bella wasn’t expecting him to dress up his Pokémon too!