Thanks for waiting.

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Chapter 12
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Josh and Richard had been traveling for hours in the afternoon heat, and had finally reached the temperate forest connecting Clariford and Feridane. The temperature has dropped a couple degrees and the tall trees provided shade for the trainers, which allowed them to rejuvenate for the long path to Feridane. Once settled along a small stream, the trainers sat down to have a break they so deserved.

“It’s been three days since Vinzer gave us a call. I wonder how he’s been doing since,” Josh pondered, sitting down and unpacking some fresh food from his refrigerator pack.

“Well, I’m sure he’s doing quite well. He probably has a second badge already!” Richard said. Obviously, he knew he was being unrealistic.

“Yeah, perhaps so. He is such a strong trainer.” Josh seemed to be inclined to agree with Richard’s statement.

After having a little snack, the two refilled their bottles in the fresh stream and drenched themselves with water to cool their sun-beaten skin. Although the forest was no where near as warm as their previous route, Josh and Richard still felt no cooler until they touched water.

They continued to wash their faces until footsteps could be heard from some distance away. The footsteps seemed to get louder every second, then rough voices filled parts of the air.

“That Shakespeare sure got us into a lot of trouble back there, Peolnal!” The words were soon heard clearly by Josh and Richard.

“Yeah, whatever, Deveis. Next time, we ain’t letting Shakespeare get away with this!” a second, rougher voice came.

The two people were clearly visible now at the other end of the stream.

“We’re just lucky we didn’t get thrown into jail. Heck, if anyone should be in jail, it should be--”

“Whoa! What do we have here?” the taller guy asked in infamy, cutting his friend‘s statement short.

“Looks like trainers!” his companion added with the same tone.

The two walked across the stream using large stones which stood out from the shallow water. As they got closer, Josh and Richard stood up, showing no sign they’ve been intimidated.

“Yo, kids. How ‘bout a battle?” the younger guy asked.

“Umm, no thanks. We’re in a hurry to get to Feridane,” Josh explained, but it wasn’t convincing.

“Yer backin’ out, aren’t cha?” the taller companion asked.

“Hey, Josh. They don’t look very strong to me. Let’s battle,” Richard suggested with courage.

“What did ya say, kid? We ain’t lettin’ ya get away with that! Peolnal, let’s get ‘em!” the shorter guy shot back. “Shuppet, go!”

“Ya got it, Deveis. Duskull, get ‘em!” Peolnal sounded less intimidating than his ally.

“Come on, Josh. Let’s counter! Electrike, I choose you!” Richard exclaimed with more courage Josh had ever seen.

“As you say, Richard. Go Mudkip!” Josh showed much reluctance.

Two white lights turned into Mudkip and Electrike from their Pokéballs.

“Nightshade!” Peolnal and Deveis ordered in unison.

Thin beams emerged from the ghost Pokémons’ eyes, but were evaporated by the sunlight penetrating through the dense trees before they neared their targets.

“What?” Deveis burst.

“Guess it’s the sunlight,” Peolnal replied.

“Mudkip, start out with Water Gun. Electrike, support it with Thundershock!” Richard strategically ordered.

Mudkip’s giant mouth widened and a small jet of water shot out of it. Following Mudkip’s attack, Electrike discharged blue sparks to the jet. The jet of water hit Duskull, zapping, and drenching it. After Mudkip stopped, Duskull lay on the ground, still with water and sparks.

“Amazing, Richard! You have excellent tactics!” Josh complimented in surprise.

“Ahh! How can this be? Duskull return!” Peolnal said in dismay. “Ya’re next Mawile!”

A strange looking Pokémon with a teeth-filled mouth like a leaf hanging from its head shot out from its red and white orb. It seemed peculiar to its opponents that Mawile’s small body could support its meter-long mouth.

“What is that?” asked a shocked Richard.

“A Mawile, kid. Don’t underestimate it. It’s stronger than ya think!” Peolnal replied.

“Don’t worry, Richard. We still have a strong team,” Josh said with enthusiasm for the first time in this battle.

Richard nodded, trying to conceal his sudden nervousness.

“Mudkip, try a Take Down!” Josh sounded like Richard in the first round.

Mudkip’s acceleration was a little slow, but it got faster as it continued to run. The mud fish Pokémon was able to hit Mawile, but found itself being forced back without inflicting heavy damage on its opponent. Mudkip’s saw its opponent was more shiny than before.

“No!” Josh’s determination faded.

“Mawile’s Iron Defense helps it withstand such attempts, kid. You ain’t takin’ it down,” Peolnal explained with a grin.

“Shuppet, your turn to attack. Faint Attack!” Deveis recklessly commanded.

Shuppet vanished gradually and summoned some energy which knocked Electrike off balance. Electrike momentarily got back up and filled its coat with blue sparks. When Shuppet reappeared right in front of it, Electrike shot a jolt of electricity at the ghost Pokémon, but failed to bring it down. Shuppet floated back to its previous position and surrounded itself with white flames. Seeing Shuppet’s imminent flame offense, Mudkip shot a larger jet of water at it, putting the flames out. Electrike launched another bolt of electricity at Shuppet who was now wet from Water Gun, and brought it down like Duskull before.

“Ye’re stronger than I thought, kids. But you can’t win!” Deveis bellowed, withdrawing Shuppet and sending out his next Pokémon. “I choose you, Sableye!”

Another ghost Pokémon took Shuppet’s place. Sableye, however, was not airborne and its huge eyes suggested its will of accuracy in battle.

“Sableye is a Dark and Ghost type Pokémon. It ain’t got no weaknesses!” Deveis boasted with a laugh. “Show these losers what you can do!”

Sableye dashed towards Mudkip and slashed it continuously. After swiping it, the Dark and Ghost Pokémon kicked it back and fired a dark beam at it. Before injuring Mudkip more, Sableye found itself sizzling in blue sparks.

“Mawile, slash that Electrike, ya lamer!” Peolnal roared in frustration.

The strange Pokémon walked slowly to Electrike and swiped its hard mouth across the dog’s face. Sableye quickly rehabilitated and launched another dark beam at the injured Mudkip. The red laser of its Pokéball touched the mud fish first and withdrew it before it received any more potent damage.

“Mudkip, take a rest. Whismur, good luck!” Josh said.

Whismur faced Sableye with a grim expression, flicking its ears at times. Seeing its partner under pressure, the whisper Pokémon rushed to Electrike’s aid and knocked Mawile about five feet back. Sableye took its vacant time cleverly by slashing the hurt Electrike the way it slashed Mudkip.

“Electrike, return!” Richard withdrew it, seeing its pain. “Phanpy go!”

The tiny Elephant rolled from the white energy which transformed it and landed next to Whismur.

“Phanpy, shut your ears. Whismur Uproar!” Josh ordered with the tactics Richard used.

Phanpy complied and Whismur unleashed sound which could easily shatter glass. Josh and Richard, and their opponents forcefully blocked their ears while Sableye and Mawile tried futilely to endure the Uproar attack. Still with its ears shut, Phanpy widened its tiny truck and a stream of water burst from it, drenching both its opponents. When Whismur’s Uproar subsided, Phanpy rolled right into the unwary Mawile. It went again, rolling with greater velocity, and brought Mawile down. The metal, leaf-like mouth which was Mawile’s weakly clamped before it closed its eyes and fainted.

“How weak!” Peolnal sneered as he withdrew his last fallen Pokémon.

“Don’t cha worry, Peolnal. Sableye ain’t goin’ down!” Deveis was too optimistic.

Phanpy rolled at Sableye, trying to bring down its last opponent. Suddenly the ghost Pokémon jumped out of the elephant’s way, forcing Phanpy to collide with a nearby tree. Sableye gave a little grin, then shot a dark beam at Phanpy. Instead of hitting the faltered elephant, Whismur got in its way and absorbed it.

“Great work, Whismur. Now try a Shockwave!” Josh said enthusiastically. He was too sure that Sableye would fall soon enough.

Tiny blue energy orbs started to collect through Whismur’s body. Its eyes became luminous and a sudden blue wave of lightning shot out from them. Instead of hitting Sableye directly, the wave beamed up just one centimeter from the ghost Pokémon. Sableye jolted back and started running aimlessly, trying to evade the electrical wrath. Within a few seconds, a bolt of lighting passed right through the ghost Pokémon’s body, temporarily paralyzing it. Abruptly, Phanpy came back rolling from behind Whismur and knocked Sableye back before Deveis’s feet.

“I guess ye’ve won, kids.” Deveis withdrew his Pokémon without commenting on it.

“Ya may have won this time. But you ain’t seen the last of us,” Peolnal said calmly.

Peolnal and Deveis walked out of their sight without saying another word. Josh and Richard walked deeper into the forest and continued their route to Feridane.

*

Vinzer Hiros had been traveling on the same grassy terrain for three days. Unlike his trip to Feridane, this route gave him a bearable temperature during the day and a comfortable ground at night for camp. He often let his Pokémon out while walking and always let them sleep out of their Pokéballs. Never once did the Pokémon show their condemnation to Vinzer’s plans, but only congratulated him and each other over their first gym victory. For Vinzer, this was the first stride to championship. For the Pokémon, it was a lesson of learning the importance of teamwork and each other. Indeed, teamwork in this journey was the backbone of success. And the victory in the first gym battle defined the success of Vinzer’s Pokémons’ abilities in teamwork.

Just an hour before sunset, Vinzer was back to civilization in a smaller city called Neiville. Neiville wasn’t nearly half the size of Feridane with the tallest building no taller than 70 floors. This city’s residential was its dominance with over 70 percent which were houses and apartments. In the city center was a park larger than Ceness’s and a fountain which gave Neiville its reputation. Many small shops were located there too with a variety of items ranging from food, to Pokéballs, to medicine on sale.

Despite the city’s size compare to Feridane, it took him half an hour to arrive at the city’s center. Normally, the streets of downtown Neiville were silent during this time, but today was no ordinary day in Neiville. Thousands of Pokémon trainers gathered in the park with many of them setting camps. Before he could go any further, two trainers of opposite genders appeared in front of him.

“Hi. You must be Vinzer Hiros,” the female trainer said with a smile. Vinzer deduced from her inferior height that she was a rookie trainer and one of the youngest he had seen. She had red hair up to her shoulders and vigilant green eyes which attracted Vinzer to some degree. She wore clothes similar to her companion, a long T-shirt with baggy trousers.

“Yes, I am Vinzer,” he replied formally, perhaps a little shy.

“It’s an honor,” the girl’s companion said with the same tone as Vinzer. He looked no older than Josh with a couple centimeters higher than his companion. He, too, had red hair, but light blue eyes.

“My name’s Reiné and this is my brother, Norith,” the girl introduced, holding her hand out. Vinzer shook it and her brother’s.

“Nice to meet you. May I ask how you knew me?” Vinzer was even more formal.

“Oh, we heard about your gym victory in Feridane. Portson said he hadn’t lost to anyone in a few months. That’s why we’re so honored to see you,” Norith explained.

“Ah, intriguing. But it is I who feel most honored. Anyway, what’s going on here in Neiville Park?” Vinzer grew more curious.

“We’re having a Beginner Trainers’ Camp here in Neiville. Many trainers who started their journeys not long ago come to gather,” Reiné replied warmly.

“Hey, Vinzer. Why not camp near our spot?” Norith suggested.

“Great idea!” Vinzer concurred.

The Beginner Trainers’ Camp was crowded with trainers who were too busy to worry about Vinzer’s arrival. Some were setting up camp, some were training their Pokémon, while many were simply chatting.

Vinzer and his new friends arrived at a large white tent the shape of a small house. From in it came two Pokémon. The first one was a one-foot tall Pokémon with a red rose as one hand and a blue one as another. The second Pokémon looked like a small camel with an unenthusiastic face.

“Nice Pokémon you two have,” Vinzer commented, trying to sound as kind as possible. “I think we should let our Pokémon to know each other.”

Torchic, Corphish, and Nuzleaf greeted Reiné’s and Norith’s Pokémon and began conversing in their own language. Vinzer simply smiled and wasted no time in setting up his tent.

At a barbeque they had later that evening, Vinzer and his new friends discussed about their former lives and future ambitions. The Pokémon enjoyed a conversation about their accomplishments, their trainers, and their goals. Ultimately, they enjoyed a dinner they haven’t had for an awfully long time. After their long barbeque dinner, Vinzer lay facing the tranquil night sky, experiencing the comfortable feel of watching the countless blinking stars. It was his first experience since the Pokémon journey began.