The Barefoot, Fighting Genius!

[Kyuuketsuki]

It wasn’t a particularly engaging battle. Snorunt and Swinub exchanged attacks with little diversity, and their similar type caused the battle to prolong itself.

Swinub was a small brown Pokémon. Her spherical body was covered in lightly-coloured fur, with darker strands seemingly reaching towards her closed eyes and pink snout; what attracted her to the group in the first place, or rather, the food that the group was eating.

Candice shouted another command, and Snorunt scrapped her legs against the ice to produce a small chunk of powder that she chucked at Swinub, who responded with the same attack; it wasn’t clear whether the pair was playing or battling.

After spending so much time battling viciously and seriously, Maylene had forgotten that Candice wasn’t the battling type. While she certainly held her own against Maylene more than a year ago, her technique was still to bond with her Pokémon and hope for the best, something that Maylene found ridiculous after spending such a long time training herself and Riolu physically.

Candice flung a Poké Ball at the fleeing Swinub; she had to catch her now or the Pokémon would get away. Surprisingly to Maylene, Swinub was caught with ease. The battle had been uneventful, and quite boring, yet it was enough to catch Swinub. Either Candice was lucky, or Swinub was extremely weak, or the bonding technique worked.

“She must be hungry,” Candice said. “That’s why she approached us.”

“She must have been weak when you caught her,” Maylene said. “Well, congratulations, Candice.”

“Thanks, Maylene,” Candice said as she sent out her new capture and began feeding her. “There, there, you should eat something.”

She was happy for Candice, but Maylene couldn’t shake the feeling that she deserved to catch a Pokémon as well. All Candice did was play with Snorunt, while she and Riolu trained harder than Candice ever could. Roark congratulated Candice as his Cranidos and Maylene’s Riolu went to greet the new member of the team. Maylene thought of Gardenia, and how she would react if she saw Candice catching a Pokémon using these methods; she was very much like Maylene, and cared for strength more than connection.

The group spent the night in the Ice Path, taking shelter in corner that Swinub had sniffed out, and determined to be empty of wild Pokémon, which would have been obvious had it not been for the several Sneasel that hid around corners and attacked at night, as Candice informed the group.

The night passed quickly for Maylene as she stayed up talking to her friends, glad that she was finally together with them again. She told Roark about her time on Cianwood, and unlike Chuck and Crasher Wake, she didn’t like to him regarding the rockslide, which Candice learned about at the same time. She informed them of how she missed an opportunity to catch a Pokémon, and how things weren’t as they used to be between her and Brawly.

While it wasn’t a distinctive or special time, the group just wanted to be together again, even though one vital member was missing. They trio eventually retired to sleep, while the Pokémon took turns guarding the group; they knew the three humans had a long journey ahead of them, while they were able to rest in their Poké Balls.

*

A knock sounded on the door, and immediately, Pryce guessed it was a new naïve challenger. He didn’t have the heart to open the door, but since it was within arm’s reach, he didn’t mind. He swung the door open slowly, observing the three figures that looked up at him.

One of the two girls tried to step up, prompting Pryce to raise his cane, and press it against her chest, forbidding her entry. “Can I help you?” he said, with every hint of frustration in his voice.

“I’m here to see the Gym Leader,” the pink-haired girl said. “Are you the Gym Leader?”

“Are you a challenger?” Pryce said, taking his time to glance from one child to the other. “Are you all challengers?”

“No,” the pink-haired girl replied. “We’re-“

Pryce’s cane shot towards her head, smacking her with a loud thwack. “I never asked what you are here for,” Pryce said. “If you are not challengers, then go. I am not interested in your merchandise, nor any carol you want to sing.”

He started closing the door, when the pink-haired girl held it open. “Listen to-“

Another thwack cause her to blink away her thoughts, but soon enough, she started protesting again, when Pryce hit her with his cane again.

“Insolent child,” he clenched his teeth. “You are forbidden from-“

“You’re forbidden!”

As she expected, Pryce attempted to hit her again, when she grabbed his cane and tried pulling the cane from his hand. Surprisingly, the old man had a firm grip on the cane, and as much as the girl pulled, it didn’t seem to move. She jumped and placed her legs on either side of the door, attempting to brace her legs against the wall of the Gym, when she fell to the ground.

“Gravity,” Pryce said. “It is as old as I am, if not less. Be wise, youngster, and get out of my sight.”

“But we’re children,” the dark-haired girl spoke for the first time. “Why are you so mean to us?”

Pryce pulled his cane out of the pink-haired girl’s hands, and attempted smacking the other girl for speaking without permission, only to have the boy block his path. The cane connected with his helmet, but aside from a tilt, it did no damage.

“Do not waste my time, you three,” Pryce said. “Do not come again.”

With a quick movement, he smacked the boy’s right side with his cane, before maneuvering and hitting the dark-haired girl between her eyes. He quickly retreated, and smashed the door shut, leaving the three children with a bewildered stare.

“He’s a ninja!” Pryce heard the boy say before grinning, and striding off towards his seat in the Gym.

*

Nervous wasn’t enough to describe how Maylene, Candice, and Roark felt about being at the step of the Gym Leader who was going to supposedly make them stronger. But after their interaction with the old man that had appeared, Roark’s words weren’t enough to describe the bizarre situation.

“He’s not a ninja,” Candice said as she rubbed her forehead. “I’m not even sure he was the Gym Leader.”

“What did he mean by ‘merchandise’?” Maylene asked.

“He probably thought we were here to sell something,” Roark said. “Since you said we weren’t challengers.”

“That idiot!” Maylene shouted. “How could he think kids would work? How could he hit me?!”

“That shirtless man in the mountains hit you,” Roark said. “And you often wrestled Crasher Wake, didn’t you?”

“But this one is an old man,” Maylene said. “What do we do?”

“We’ll come back at a later time,” Candice said. “Maybe wait for a challenger to come in, and sneak in after them.”

“That won’t work,” Roark said. “We’re a little bit obvious.”

“We’ll break the door and go in,” Maylene exclaimed. “Right after we get something to eat!”

“That’s not a good idea,” Candice said, and Roark nodded in agreement. “Let’s just try again later; he could be in a better mood then.”

“I think we should just wear a disguise,” Roark said. “That has worked once before.”

“Yeah but Fantina was stupid,” Maylene said. “I still think we should break the door.”

“Why don’t we talk about this in the Pokémon Center,” Candice said. “And heal our Pokémon while we’re discussing how to get in.”

Maylene reluctantly agreed, and followed her friends to the Pokémon Center, where they gave their Pokémon to the nurse, and sat around a table discussing how they would gain entry to the Gym. None of their suggestions changed, but by the time the nurse returned their Pokémon to them, they had settled on Candice’s idea, even though they didn’t like it; they were afraid Candice might get angry and storm off.

The Pokémon, now outside their Poké Balls, gathered around the new member, Swinub, and tried their best to welcome her. Riolu showed her all the training he had received, and how strong he was compared to the other Pokémon, while Cranidos told her of the few challengers he had encountered in the short months he spent in the Gym, before taking a short trip to Johto. And Snorunt told her of the cold of Sinnoh, and how she would feel at home there, something that Swinub longed for.

Time passed quickly as each group conversed, silence only creeping on them, and the rest of the Pokémon Center, when a certain person entered through the door.