As you enter Celadon Gym, scents wild and exotic fill your nostrils, vibrant colors fill your vision, and a few, rare chirps can be heard amidst the foliage. Above you, large panes of glass make up the clear ceiling, allowing the radiant sunshine to bathe the room in light, strengthening and feeding the plants and pokemon here. Most of the walls in the gym are also glass, with sliding doors. Many admirers gather in the gym, listening to talks on the plant pokemon that dwell here and the lovely perfumes that Celadon is known for. The ground is a spongy, thick carpet of grass, and the walls are dense climbing plants across wooden grids. Small fountains and waterfalls dot the inside of the gym, and thin streams meander about, offering the plants nurturing drinks.
Contents:
Zeph
Erika
Obvious exits:
South leads to Celadon City: Gym Path.
The day is crisp and cold. The scene took place in the afternoon of January or February, 2001.
Next to one of the waterfalls rather close to the eastern wall is Celadon's own gym leader herself, Erika, deep in thought as she slowly reads from a faded hardcover book about - what else?- gardening. Her eyes seem to pierce right through the book as she concentrates upon it. So that's how you do it, she thinks to herself, adding a small grin.
The main greenhouse door slowly slides open as a hand applies force to it.
What's connected to that hand quickly becomes apparent as a trainer quietly
enters the Celadon Gym. Providing company to the trainer, a Vulpix trots
next to his feet, nudging him on in an encouraging manner. "Vul."
Erika glances up at the glass ceiling, still deep in thought. "I wonder..."
She says to herself unconsciously, then peer intently back down at the book.
"I suppose it's possible..." She mumbles again. Upon hearing the Vulpix's
voice, she lifts her head up once more, and watches Zeph make his way down
the path. A small smile forms on her face, but she says nothing.
Zeph's eyes scan across the gardens, noticing all the beautiful scenery but
that's not what he's looking for. He's looking for Erika which he does not
see yet for the moment although she may be able to see him. The Vulpix at
his heels looks at her trainer with glistening eyes. She knows how important
this battle is to him - it's not an ordinary battle. The fox sniffs at the
air, picking up a scent as she does so. "Vul!"
Erika sets the book upon the ground, and stands up. The smile on her face is
completely true, as she is quite happy to see Zeph again. "Good day, Zeph.
It has been a while, hasn't it?" Her gaze heads down for the Vulpix, to whom
she grants a bright grin. Not looking at Zeph, she says slowly, "A battle?"
Her head turns towards him, a little fire dancing in her eyes. "I suppose,
if it's what you want." Her hand unconsciously heads down to pat the three
Pokeballs on her belt. Hmm. "How does two Pokemon sound, Zeph?"
Zeph smiles, returning to his normal position. "Yes, it's been long time."
He says, watching her reaction to the request. It doesn't seem negative -
good sign. The Vulpix at the trainer's feet returns the bright grin with one
of her own, although she does not move towards Erika to give her a more
amiable greeting. Her head slowly turns towards her trainer's face. Zeph
blinks and thinks. He really wanted to use three to try a different tactic
than before but he can not argue. "Two sounds fine." He says in an amiable
tone before looking down to the Vulpix. The battle has just complicated
itself a little. He will have to be flexible in this battle - planned
tactics won't work well now.
"Wonderful." The Gym leader gestures lightly towards a nearby patch of
grass, before heading over to the arena herself, in the area in which she
stands. Looking across her shoulder at Zeph, she makes a small hand wave to
where Zeph should go, even though she knows that the boy knows where he
should stand at. Her mind is racing to decide which Pokemon she should
choose first.
Giving Erika a faint nod, Zeph treks across the other side of the field. The
Vulpix follows at his feet, trotting ahead with a little bounce - she
doesn't seem nearly as nervous as her trainer. Zeph, on the other hand,
seems a bit nervous. His face is stern and sallow as he makes it towards the
other side and stands, looking towards Erika's spot. He gulps, thinking of
which Pokemon he should use first. Last time it was Dawn, his Vulpix, and
Whirlwind, his Pidgeotto. Should he be predictable or use Blossom, his
Pikachu? He closes his eyes, reopens them, and then looks towards Dawn -
she's been with him for quite a long time now. The trainer gives the Vulpix
a little nod and then looks back across the field. "I'll choose Dawn." He
says with a weak smile. The Vulpix bounds over towards the center of the
field, falling softly back on to the ground with each step she takes. "Vul."
A Vulpix. Erika anticipated as much, as her haste shows. "All right." She
says, her hand flashing down to her belt. A Pokeball is torn from the belt,
and with an air of dignity and pride, but not overexcitement, Erika states,
"I choose Gloom!", and lightly tosses the Pokeball onto the grass. It spins
once or twice before releasing her Pokemon of choice - her Gloom. Caught in
mid-yawn, the Gloom blinks, and peers around. "Gloooom?" He asks quietly,
his sights landing on his trainer. Erika gestures towards Dawn without a
word. The plant type spins around, and stays as silent as his trainer.
Zeph blinks as he sees what Erika has chosen as her first Pokemon. Using her
strongest Pokemon first? Totally unlike how he handles battles. He did not
expect her to use Gloom now, and his face shows it. The trainer looks at
Dawn - can she handle Erika's Gloom? Whirlwind couldn't. He won't let that
stop him though. His face changes from a nervous one to a face of
determination. "Dawn. Let's heat things up. Ember!" He cries encouragingly.
The Vulpix tenses and raises her head, opening her mouth as she does so.
"Vuuuullll..." She yips as little fire specks start to glow inside the roof
of her mouth like little fire flies, before she spits out the ball of fire
straight at the Gloom's feet.
Erika glances up at Zeph, trying to figure out why the boy seems so
confused. Perhaps because she used her Gloom, first? That's probably it.
"Come on!" She entreats to her Pokemon. And come on, he does. With a little
dodge that is surprisingly nimble for a Pokemon like he is, the Gloom avoids
the fire. Erika quickly calls out, "Come on, Gloom! Try a Solar Beam!"
Fortunetly, the sun is right there, shining through the glass roof of the
gym. Gloom is easily able to quickly summon up all the power he can from the
sun's rays, and with a shout of "Glooom!" he fires a powerful Solar Beam
right at the fox.
Zeph gasps as Erika commands her Gloom to use the most powerful of all grass
Pokemon attacks - solar beam. His heart stands to pound as he watches the
little bits of energy slowly collecting at the center of the Gloom's
petals. "Dawn! Don't let that Gloom do that! Dodge to the side! Something!"
He cries with incredible urgency.
Dawn grits her teeth as she watches the Gloom charge up. Not good. "Vulp!"
She yips, dodging to the side as fast as she can to escape the solar beam.
She manages to escape the full force of the beam but gets part of her side
and a lot of her tail seared in the beam. She lands on to the grass on the
right side of the battle field, struggling to stay standing. She can't fall
this early in the battle, not yet.
Erika mentally scolds herself. Using Solar Beam so early in the battle was
probably not a very good idea. Gloom managed to pull it off rather well.
She'll have to compliment him about that after the battle. "All right,
Gloom. That was a good job. Try your Poison Powder."
Gloom is still collecting himself up after making that Solar Beam, but he
doesn't disobey Erika. He tries to get as close to the Vulpix as he can
before she is able to regain her balance, and blasts a cloud of the toxic
powder from his flower, hoping it will reach Dawn.
Zeph smiles weakly as Dawn manages to pull through and make escape the solar
beam - most of it anyways. He looks at the field with keen interest and
bites his lip. "Dawn, good job! Escape! Don't let that powder get to you!
Confuse ray now!" He cries out, encouraging his Vulpix to keep going.
The Vulpix concentrates on the Gloom, examining the plant's movements across
the field. As she sees the menacing looking powder float towards her, she
dodges once more to the side. Her back leg is a little limp, causing her to
land with much less grace than before. "Vulp!" She yips angrily at the
Gloom, emitting a strange wave of energy from her mouth, directed at the
evolved grass Pokemon.
Erika lets off a small smile. This smile is soon diminished, however, as the
ray hits the Gloom full-force, causing the Gloom to spin around, a confused
look on his race. If only she hadn't tired him so early... Erika keeps in
the desire to sigh, and with a determined look on her face, demands, "Gloom!
Try your Acid attack!"
With a look of puzzlement, the Gloom spins around to peer at Dawn, then
Erika, then Zeph. He stumbles back a step, then forward one. "Gloom..." He
mumbles, and just decides to use an Acid attack in a random direction.
Closing his eyes, he turns to the right, and launches a grimy, disgusting
Acid attack from his flower, and, by a freak stroke of luck, in Dawn's
general direction.
Zeph watches with a bit of a smile as his impromptu strategy seems to be
working. He concentrates for a bit and gets an idea. Now may be the time
that Dawn can use one of her stronger attacks, while the Gloom is confused.
The trainer frowns slightly as an acidic blob flies through the air. "Dawn,
you can do this! Dodge and flamethrower!" He commands the Vulpix, clenching
his fists slightly as he says it.
Dawn looks at the Gloom and then the acidic blob heading straight at her
face. "VuLp!" She yips, dodging again to the side although this time she is
not quick enough. The blob lands right on to her lustrous coat, seering her
skin. "Vulp!" She cries in pain, landing on to the side with a slight
stumble. The poor girl is a mess now with part of her tail missing and a
seering mark on her side, but she's not down. Her eyes start to glow
furiously; her body glowing slightly from the large amount of heat she has
inside her. She opens her mouth and begins to pour a fountain of fire at the
Gloom.
The Gloom doesn't even realize that he just made an accurate attack. Erika
blinks. Gosh, that was a stroke of luck. "All right, Gloom! Use a..." That's
about when she notices the Flamethrower. "Come on, Gloom! You can dodge it!"
But, he doesn't. The Flamethrower hits the Gloom dead on, and Erika cringes.
After the flames stop enveloping the plant type, the Gloom mumbles a little,
"Gloo..." and collapses to the ground.
Erika doesn't say a word, but she doesn't exactly seem displeased. She
returns the Gloom, and makes a split second decision. "Go, Weepinbell!" Her
hand fastens the Gloom Pokeball to her belt, and immediately grabs her new
choice's ball. She tosses the ball at the ground, and an instant later, out
pops Weepinbell. "Weepin!" He bounces, glaring at the Vulpix. That's his
opponent? No sweat.
Zeph watches as a Weepinbell appears on the scene and then looks at his
Vulpix. She seems awfully tired and beat; her tail is a mess and her coat
does not shine as before. He takes a deep breath and looks back across the
field towards Erika. "Great job Dawn! Keep up the good work. Quick attack!"
He cries out with a little more enthusiasm than at the beginning of the
match.
Dawn looks at the strange looking plant Pokemon and perks her head to the
side. "Vul?" She yips before concentrating again on what she is out here to
do - battle well. She starts to move as fast as she can across the field,
limping some what from the previous battle. She pants heavily as she makes a
leap and tries to ram the Weepinbell with all the force she's got left.
Erika is about to give some words of encouragement to her Weepinbell, but
she doesn't even need to. With a rather nimble bounce, the grass Pokemon
dives out of the Vulpix's line of fire. Erika grins. "Quickly, Weepinbell!
Before she can recover, use your Slam attack!"
With a "Weepin!" of understanding, the Pokemon hops as fast as he can
towards the fox, and bounces into the air, intending to Slam her into the
ground.
The Weepinbell makes his mark as he rams right in to Dawn, causing her to
crash in to the grass. Her eyes flutter weakly as she looks up and moves her
head towards the direction of her trainer. Zeph smiles and gives an
encouraging nod to Dawn. "You fought very well Dawn. I am truly proud of
you." The Vulpix smiles softly as a crimson aura surrounds her and causes
her to disappear back in to the Pokeball Zeph has in his hand.
Zeph looks at the Weepinbell, places Dawn's Pokeball back on to his belt,
and activates another Pokeball. "Go Whirlwind!" He cries as a majestic
Pidgeotto appears over the battle field, looking down at the grass Pokemon
with piercing eyes. He's ready.
Erika glances up at the Pidgeotto, then over at her Weepinbell, rather
energetic from his victory. "All right, Weepinbell, we can do this." She
smiles. This is quite an exciting fight, and even the usually-serene Erika
is having trouble staying calm and collective. "Try your Growth attack!"
The Weepinbell is lightly dissapointed that he doesn't get to strike at the
bird just yet, but he also knows that his trainer knows what's right.
"Weepinbell!" he bloops, trying to make himself get as big and buff as he
can get.
Zeph smiles and looks up at his Pidgeotto. Okay, if she is using growth why
not boost Whirlwind's speed a little while she takes her time? He has had
Whirlwind since he was just a Pidgey and he knows the Pidgeotto can move
fast if the large bird concentrates really hard. "Whirlwind. Agility!" He
commands.
The Pidgeotto watches as the Weepinbell grows and begins to flap his wings
more quickly while the 'bell is taking his time. Suddenly, he takes off as
fast as he can across the field, zipping and zapping this way and that in an
attempt to make himself a hard target.
Erika takes a quick second to evaluate the two. Weepinbell will have a
better chance of using his attacks now, but will that help if the Pidgeotto
is moving too fast? Perhaps she should slow him down a bit. "Weepinbell, try
your Sleep Powder attack."
It's rather difficult to use an attack with the quick Pidgeotto darting this
way and that, so the Weepinbell actually decides to move as little as
possible, waiting for the Pidgeotto to get close to him. He bounces a step
left, and a step right, and, finally, releases a rather large cloud of Sleep
Powder as best he can. If it doesn't work on the initial release, perhaps
the Pidgeotto will fly into it on accident? It's all he can hope!
Zeph bites his lip as he sees the Weepinbell pouring forth sleep powder in
to the air. "Whirlwind! Blow it away with a gust attack!" The trainer cries
out urgently, pointing at the evolved grass Pokemon's cloud of powder. He
looks up and watches, hoping that Whirlwind can pull it off.
Whirlwind blinks as he races through the air, flying inwards and upwards as
best he can to avoid the slower grass Pokemon, then stopping at one point
over the field and flapping his wings at full speed. The air beats around
him furiously, as a gust of wind picks up to blow the powder off the field.
The green grass of the field gleams as the air rolls over it.
Erika scratches her chin. Not only is the Pidgeotto using a Gust attack, but
he's returning her Pokemon's very own powder attack. "Get out of the way,
Weepinbell! You can do it!" The Weepinbell does manage to avoid getting too
affected by the Gust, although he does lose his balance and tips backwards a
bit. "Weepinbell, try your Vine Whip attack!"
Although he isn't exactly in the best of positions to do so, Vine Whip is a
much better choice than a powder attack, which would get blown away
immediately, and the Weepinbell realizes this. "Wee... pin!" He struggles to
keep his balance as his vines extend, and lash out towards the Pidgeotto,
cracking and snapping against each other in the wind.
Zeph watches the field intently, looking at his Pokemon perform well out
there. A rush of pride for Whirlwind starts to rush in to his brain which is
suddenly cut off as the vine whips start to hit the large bird. "Whirlwind!
Don't let him get the best of you. Quick attack!" He commands once more,
clenching his fist.
Whirlwind, in the mean time, gets hit by the whipping vines. "Pidgeo!
Pidgeo!" He chirps in pain, as the vines smack right on to his buff colored
breast. "Pidgeeeooottto!" He squawks again, gaining altitude to escape the
vine whips, before he dives down like a falcon at the Weepinbell. He falls
downwards, his wings tucked neatly at the side of his body so he can gain
maximum momentum. A spinning gust of wind starts to form around his beak,
twirling around his body as he swoops at the grass Pokemon at a high speed.
Erika grins a bit. Her idea worked - no longer is Zeph's Pidgeotto using
Gust! Weepinbell rocks a bit, getting himself into a fighting stance while
retreating his vines. When he glances up at the Pidgeotto, he sees only
Whirlwind's face, before getting hit right in the face by the bird. Erika
grimaces. "That's all right, Weepinbell." She says as her Pokemon rolls back
a few feet with a "Bellll...". "Try your... Acid attack!"
Upon hearing his trainer's plea, the grass type jumps a bit, and immediately
gets into perfect fighting position. Turning to face the bird, he hopes that
Whirlwind's Agility won't result in this attack missing. With a
"Weepinbell!", he spits a slimy glop of sludge at the Pidgeotto.
A worried look lies on Zeph's face as the evolved grass Pokemon shoots out a
blob of acid at the Pidgeotto. "Look out Whirlwind! Swoop back down with a
Wing Attack." He commands the Pidgeotto. The large bird extends his wings as he hits the Weepinbell, flying upwards as fast as he can to swoop back down again. As he gains altitude, he feels a seering pain on his back which he has never felt before, causing him to glance in back of him. "Pidgeo!" He chirps. A blob of acid covers the lower part of his back which is creating extreme pain for the bird. "Otto!" He squawks in mid-air, swooping back down again with his wings extended, with much less speed than before. Some pieces of the acidic sludge fall behind
him as he falls towards the Weepinbell.
Erika is feeling an adrenaline rush, and shouts some words of encouragement.
"All right, Weepinbell! Good job!" As she realizes she's shouting, she
blushes a bit, and takes a step back. In a softer tone, she commands,
"Weepinbell, use your Razor Leaf attack!"
Weepinbell almost doesn't hear Erika's command, too busy attempting to avoid
the Wing Attack. He fails in doing so, however, and is smacks by the Wing
Attack. Tumbling back a bit, he leaps right to his regular stance, and
immediately launches out a quick, rather inaccurate Razor Leaf attack,
jumping into the air and spinning about gracefully, letting the sharp leaves
fly.
Zeph watches the battle intently, leaning forward slightly. He feels his
heart pounding in his chest as he watches the Pidgeotto fly swoop up and
down rather gracefully, in his eyes, at the powerful evolved grass Pokemon.
He moves his hand upwards. "Whirlwind. Make a concentrated gust like I
taught you! Focus your energy!" He commands, closing his hands in to a firm
fist.
Whirlwind watches as the razor leafs fly around him, some making slight cuts
along his wings and feathers. "Pidgeo!" He cries, trying to escape the main
onslaught of the leaves at least. The large bird finds a safe spot to hover
over and concentrates, flapping his wings slowly at first. The wings start
to gain momentum as seconds tick, flapping faster and faster until a pairs
of white crescent shaped gusts head towards the Weepinbell at full speed.
It's too much.
With a grunt of effort, the Weepinbell attempts to push against the Gust,
but fails. Erika gasps as her poor Pokemon is pushed back, scraping the
ground, until, finally, he can't take anymore. The Weepinbell lets go, and
tumbles backwards, hitting his head on the ground, then his lower torso,
then his head again. After a couple of rolls, finally, the Weepinbell is out
of gusting range, yes, but Erika can see from his condition that there's no
way he can continue. "Weepinbell..." she says softly, and stretches out her
arm...
And recalls her Pokemon.
Zeph's eyes widen as he stares at the field and then up at Whirlwind. He
looks down and around for a few moments across the field and then he looks
at Erika. He bites his lip hard, a large, ecstatic smile appearing on his
face. "Whirlwind!" The trainer cries, rushing towards the bird Pokemon and
giving him a big hug. "You're wonderful." He says to the bird which smiles
at him, his wings wrapping around his trainer to return the embrace. The
trainer then lets go of Whirlwind and slowly stands up as he sees Erika.
Arm still stretched out, Erika closes her eyes for a moment. When she opens
them, a smile adds to the shine in her dark green eyes. "That..." And she
puts her Pokemon's ball on her belt. "Was a marvelous battle!" Erika laughs
daintily, and slowly walks up to Zeph. "You have improved greatly, Zeph! I'm
quite pleased." Her smile is genuine, and she seems to show no sign of anger
towards the boy.
Zeph looks towards his Pidgeotto and then back at grass gym leader. "Thank
you so much! I am very happy for both myself and my Pokemon - the three of
us helped win this match." He says contently, almost bouncing up and down
from happiness as he continues to absorb what just happened. Whirlwind hops
along the ground towards Zeph, looking up at Erika as she gets closer.
"Pidgeo." He squawks.
Erika nods slowly, and slowly reaches into the back of her kimono. "Please
wait for just a moment, and I will grant you your well-deserved badge." She
glances up at the Pidgeotto, and bows very slightly. "You fought very well."
She comments. "Ah! I've found it." Slowly, she pulls out... a beautiful,
shining Rainbow Badge. She hands it out to Zeph, her smile broadening. "It's
yours. Please, take it."
Zeph watches the shining Rainbow Badge as it is presented to him, looking at
its many colored details. He stares at it for a few moments before accepting
it in his hands, holding it gently in his right palm. "It's beautiful. Thank
you so much - it means a lot to me." He says, his eyes glistening as he
looks back up to Erika. Whirlwind watches curiously and waves his wings in
celebration. "Pidgeo! Pidgeo!" He squawks cheerfully at his trainer's side.
Rainbow Badge:
This pin is composed of every color of the rainbow. The center is a pale crystalline off-white. However, held up to the light, it becomes something more: a prism that separates the light into the spectrum. The 'petals' coming out of the prism are different colors, and although it is hard to determine what they are made of, they almost seem alive. It is the Rainbow Badge.