"I think you did good," Ally said, sitting across the booth from Leah. Amber sat at the girl's side, gnawing on a bone-shaped treat.
Leah scowled at the window, watching her reflection's mouth turn into a sneer.
"Not good enough."
The younger girl wasn't off put by her Mentor's attitude and carried on.
"You did do good, though! Magnemite have an advantage over ground-types. Sands wouldn't have been able to win, no matter what you did-"
"Sands did his best," Leah interrupted, her voice practically a growl. "It's not his fault he wasn't able to win."
Ally swallowed and went silent.
The two brats had interrupted her much needed rest half-an-hour ago and proceeded to annoy her like never before. Oh, they weren't doing it on purpose, but it was the little things that were catching her eye. Ally had yet to put Amber away and was treating the fire-type with more love and affection than Leah thought possible. The girl was also in a talkative mood, her cheerful mood betrayed by the bright smile on her face.
Ed, on the other hand, wasn't acting as expected but he was still irritating. His victory glow was more on the thoughtful side as he kept staring at the damn Thunder Badge, turning it over in his hands and playing with the pin side of it.
"You can stop it now," Leah told Ed, who had the pleasure of sitting beside her. Scowling, Ed put the badge on the table, pulling his soda towards him and sipping at the straw.
"Hey, Leah," Ed said after taking a long sip of his drink. He seemed a tad nervous, eyes looking down at the table. "Uh… Do you think I pushed Coralie too much?"
"I dunno," the older girl replied, rolling her eyes, not caring for any question that came in her direction. "Why ask me? Go call William or something."
Ed apparently didn't agree with the idea by the way he pulled back.
"I can't ask Will!" he complained, aghast. "Then he'll know that I haven't been treating my Pokemon right! He'll be angry."
Suddenly, Leah put her hands on the table and rose to her feet.
"I'm going to go look for Danny," she declared to the brats, not waiting for a reply before turning with a swing of her ponytail.
She really wasn't in the mood for answering questions and giving advice. It wasn't her problem if Ed mistreated his Pokemon. She wasn't going to be around for much longer so why should she care?
Before leaving the Pokemon Center, however, Leah stopped by the front desk.
"Hey," she said, gaining the secretary's attention. "I brought my Sandshrew in about an hour ago… His name's Sands. Uh, do you know how he's doing?"
"Not sure, let me check," the secretary replied, looking at her computer and clicked a few times with her mouse. After a few more clicks: "It's only been an hour, so there's still healing to be done. Come back in a few more hours and he should be feeling better then."
Leah thanked the woman and left the Pokemon Center, walking outside into the cool autumn air. She looked both ways, her eyes scanning people's faces. When she saw Danny's was not among them, she started walking.
Honestly, she didn't know where Danny was, but he probably didn't go too far. Maybe he was checking out the Poke-Mart or some other such place; Leah couldn't really see him going somewhere that wasn't related to Pokemon.
After only a few minutes of walking, she got a lucky break and saw Danny a ways away, walking out of the doors of the Pokemon Fanclub.
Leah raised her hand, and Danny spotted it, coming over to her with a smile.
"Hey," he greeted. "Got bored?"
"A bit," she replied. Truthfully, she just wanted to get away from the brats. They were way more annoying than usual when hyped up after a win and it wasn't something she wanted to be around.
"Did you know they're selling Pokemon Eggs in there?" Danny asked, pointing to the fan club.
She shrugged. "Yeah. The brats wanted one, but I said no. What, you interested in one?"
"Nah, baby Pokemon can be pretty annoying."
Nodding, Leah smiled slightly. That was what she thought at the time.
"Though," he continued, "they were Cleffa eggs and those are pretty rare. The only place you can really find them in Kanto is Mount Moon." He scratched his head. "The only thing I'm really wondering is why they aren't just auctioned off. That'd be way easier than just to sell them individually."
"Maybe she didn't want them to go to bad owners?"
Danny shrugged. "Yeah, maybe. He paused. "Wait, 'she'? The person who was selling the eggs was a man."
"Really?" Leah said, frowning. She was pretty sure the seller had been a woman, though, now that she thought about it, she couldn't actually remember what she looked like. Pushing the thought aside, she said, "Must be more than one seller, then."
The older teen shrugged and changed the subject. "Have you had lunch yet?" he asked. "Cause there's a really good restaurant by the gym-"
"Already ate," Leah replied, her mood going sour as the gym was brought up. Her battle had hardly been two hours ago and she was still steaming over it.
Danny sighed heavily. "That's too bad. Well, if not that, how about a battle? You still owe me one, remember."
"Sands is too injured right now," Leah said, frowning.
"You have another Pokemon besides your Sandshrew, right?" He explained further after seeing Leah's odd look. "I got the information out of your little friends while you were battling. They said you had a Drowzee."
Promising herself to smack the brats when she saw them again, Leah said, "She won't be my Pokemon for long, I'm getting rid of her once I quit this whole trainer stuff."
"Really? That's a shame. How long have you had her?"
Leah thought back. "Almost two weeks, I think. Though it feels a lot longer."
"So, why don't you use her, then?" He persisted. "I'll use Teddy and it can be a psychic battle. Haven't you ever seen psychic battles on TV before?"
Leah had several times. Those types of battles were very fast-paced, the psychic Pokemon teleporting all over the place and only fighting with their mind. It was definitely a sight to see.
Still, she hesitated. "I don't know… I've never used Zee in a battle before."
"Come on, it'll be fun!"
It could be a good idea, she thought, Danny's pleading words getting to her. She needed something to get her out of the slump she found herself in. True, maybe battling so soon after her defeat would be a bad idea, but it would be Danny she would be battling. He never won against her…
"Fine," Leah said, rolling her eyes. "Just one battle."
"Sweet!"
Danny grinned and pointed down the street. "I know just the spot where we can battle. Come on!"
-
The spot he chose wasn't exactly what Leah would call perfect. It was off the street, true, but there were still people around the little grassy area and she hoped the people wouldn't mind if they got in their way.
But apparently, trainers randomly battling were common because a crowd was already starting to form around then. They hadn't even sent out their Pokemon and were already attracting viewers. The people were mostly younger kids with a few older folk (some were probably parents) thrown into the mix, and they were looking on in anticipation.
She had never battled in front of a crowd before (the brats and Danny didn't count as a crowd), and she gripped her Pokeball tighter, hoping they'd lose interest.
Danny, however, seemed right at home, not minding the onlookers, but instead greeting them with a grin.
"You nervous?" he asked her.
"Of course not," she replied coolly, being the first to release her Pokemon.
The crowd ooh-ed at the white light, but seemed to be disappointed in her choice of Pokemon, their voices lowering to whispers and chuckles.
Zee, like her trainer, seemed a bit uncomfortable with all the stares and whispering. She ducked her head as a particularly loud laugh came from the crowd and grabbed onto Leah's pant leg, like a scared child.
Ignore them, Leah sent, after putting a hand on the Pokemon's head. We're going to be battling now, so be ready.
The trainer wasn't sure if her Pokemon understood her message, but before she could confirm, Danny distracted her by releasing his own Pokemon.
Teddy brushed green hair from his bright red eyes, his appearance gaining much more appreciation from the crowd.
"Ooh, what Pokemon's that?"
"A Kirlia!? Those are rare!"
"It's so pretty! Where can I get one of those?"
Danny grinned at the comments, and looked up at Leah with pride on his face.
"Ready to battle?"
Pushing her Pokemon away, Leah waited until Zee had taken a few steps forward before saying, "Yeah, I'm ready."
And the battle began.
"Teddy," Danny started, "Magical Leaf!"
The two hairpins on the Kirlia's head started to glow a luminescent green, and his eyes took a faint emerald glow. The Pokemon raised his arms and ghostly crescents detached themselves from his horns and hovered in mid-air. With hardly a pause, Teddy pointed at his opponent and the crescents of green light shot off.
"Zee, dodge!"
The psychic-type shot her trainer a panicked look, not understanding. She turned back and raised one of her hands, mentally stopping a few of the closer leaves in mid-flight. The rest of the leaves, however, followed their original path, slicing into Zee and instantly dissolving on contact.
Leah kept a gasp to herself and walked a few paces to the right, getting a better view of her Pokemon's injuries. Her short-lived fright a few seconds before was unfounded, thankfully, as the Magical Leaf only left shallow cuts; nothing too harmful.
But that brought up another problem. Zee didn't get out of the way when she told her too. The explanation on why the Pokemon didn't was rather stupid, but Leah could forgive herself for it. Really! Other than Sands, who she got five years ago, she had never owned another Pokemon before. How was she to remember that not all Pokemon came with a full understanding of the English language? In the first few days of becoming trainers, Leah could remember quite vividly that Ed and Ally used much of their time just teaching their Pokemon basic attack names and commands. A process that was later followed when they caught new Pokemon (well, not Coralie, since she was already trained).
Zee, however, didn't know the names of her own techniques. That meant that Leah couldn't get involved with the battle and help the Pokemon through it. Like her gym battle a few hours before, it looked like her Pokemon was going to have to battle alone.
-
In a snap decision, Leah decided to continue the battle. Sure, Danny had a big advantage since his psychic-type was well-trained, but that didn't mean she was going to automatically lose. Zee was tough; she beat up hers and the brat's Pokemon that one night and it was only because Leah accidently caught her was Zee 'defeated'.
Besides, Leah didn't want to make a fool of herself in front of a crowd. One attack and she recalls her Pokemon? That'd be humiliating and she had already lost one battle that day by surrendering.
She refused to do it again, no matter the circumstances.
"Lucky Chant," Danny called out, making Leah refocus on the battle.
Teddy started to sway to music only he could hear, and started to hum an odd tune, his white skirt dancing with him. His red eyes glazed over as the humming got louder-
Suddenly, Teddy was pushed back, his dance broken and when the Pokemon looked up, he caught sight of Zee. The psychic-type was pointing at him with a single claw, her eyes narrowed, and not looking beaten, despite the small trails of blood that oozed out of her cuts.
"Hmm, nice one," Danny said to Leah, an eyebrow raised. "Just to warn you, psychic battles are way different from regular ones. You're not going to be able to win with a single Force Push."
For only a moment, Leah paused, but then an idea came upon her. With a slight chuckle, she grinned at him and said, "Oh, I know."
Danny paused at her odd answer, but recovered nicely. "Really?" Danny replied. "Then you better start getting serious."
Leah made a show of shrugging and shooting her Pokemon with a calculating look before turning back to Danny. "I already am. You just haven't noticed."
Frowning, Danny's eyes narrowed as he probably tried to decipher what Leah meant behind her words.
Making Danny overestimate Zee could backfire very easily. Leah didn't know how much the brats told him about Zee, but he didn't have to know that Zee wasn't trained in the slightest. All abilities and reactions she had were strictly natural. So, while Danny thought and over planned, she could take the advantage. Or rather, Zee could.
"Zee," Leah said, smiling. "You know what to do."
Leah might as well have not spoken, as Zee only understood her nickname and nothing else. But it wasn't really the psychic-type the trainer was talking too.
Zee lowered her paw and concentrated, eyes narrowing, as she stared into her opponent's red eyes. Slowly, Teddy started to unconsciously sway on his thin green legs.
Danny scowled and instructed, "Teddy, look away, Drowzee's using Hypnosis."
The Kirlia wretched his gaze from Zee's and put one hand to his head, the other pointing at the Drowzee. His eyes glowed a faint blue and pebbles that littered the ground were picked up by invisible hands. The little rocks were thrust forward, all zooming in at the Drowzee.
But this time, Zee wasn't going to settle for a partial block. Instead, she brushed all of them out of the air, the pebbles flying at the feet of the crowd.
"Teleport," Danny said.
Leah merely smiled at the command and said nothing.
As soon as Teddy disappeared, Zee froze, eyes darting around the small area. Though, since the crowd around them wasn't giving the battle space that it could have had, teleporting was a rather useless maneuver.
With a flash of light, Teddy reappeared a few feet to Zee's left, his hairpins already awash in a green glow. Several crescent blades materialized, flying through the air and since the space between the two Pokemon was so small, the Drowzee could only brace herself.
Between the flurry of green blades, Zee raised her paw, her own eyes turning a startling blue. But instead of the blades being stopped, the Kirlia was the target instead.
The opponent Pokemon seized up for a moment, arms held at his sides and head turning downwards, his eyes squeezing shut. Then, after a moment, the psychic Pokemon dropped like a marionette with its strings cut.
There were gasps in the crowd, but they turned into sighs of reliefs when Teddy got back to its feet, panting.
"What'd you do?" Danny asked out loud, visually searching his Pokemon for an answer that didn't come.
Leah grinned, staying silent and hiding her own confusion at which attack her Pokemon had used.
"Magical Leaf!" Danny called out, setting his hesitance aside. "Again!"
The Kirlia's horns glowed, but then abruptly went dark as Teddy held its head in pain, knees buckling, though it did not fall.
"Hey, Zee," Leah said, waiting until the Pokemon looked at her before the trainer put one of her fists into her hand, grinning.
Words were something the psychic-type couldn't understand but motions or symbols were another thing entirely.
Danny also saw Leah do the motion, and saw what was going to happen.
"Teddy! Teleport-"
Looking up, the Kirlia only had time to see the fist coming at his face before his vision cut to black.
Leah gazed at the fallen Pokemon, and grinned. "I win."
"Not again," Danny groaned, looking at Teddy for a moment before returning it. "I thought for sure I would win this time."
Leah shrugged, still grinning, and patted her Drowzee on the head for a job well done.
"You can't win them all," she quipped to him, even though she was sure that she would lose too.
Danny rolled his eyes. "I never win with you around."
Seeing the battle was over, the crowd slowly started to. Leah was a bit disturbed that some random strangers came up to her to personally congratulate her on the win, but she brushed them aside quickly.
After everyone had left, Danny said, "You had no idea what you were doing."
It was more of a statement than a question, and Leah just nodded. "Yeah, what gave it away?"
"You exaggerated your intimidation too much," he answered and grinned at Leah's surprised expression. "Hey, don't underestimate me. I notice these things."
"Well, I still won."
Danny waved it off. "I was going easy on you. All you did was get in a lucky punch. I'll totally win the next battle, though."
"Yeah right," Leah scoffed, smiling. "If my untrained Drowzee can beat you, you think you'll stand a chance against her when she's trained?"
The older teen opened his mouth, a reply on his lips, but closed it again, frowning. "Cerulean's not that far; will you even have enough time to train her before ditching the journey thing?"
Leah shrugged. "I'm going to see what I can do. It's been years since I've trained a Pokemon from scratch. Then, I'll just give Zee to Ally. I know she'll look after her."
The happy mood vanished and all that was left was silence.
"I'm not going to Cerulean next," Danny said quietly. "I'm staying here for a while before heading to Saffron. I don't think we'll have time for another battle."
Leah deflated, her enthusiasm gone. "We're leaving for Cerulean tomorrow," she replied, just as quiet. "The brats want their next badge…" She trailed off, because it was really she who told the brats that they were leaving tomorrow, though she wouldn't tell Danny that.
What was done was done. Soon, her journey would be over and she would go back home. She hated almost every minute of her journey, there was no denying that. But maybe, there would be some things she would miss.
"Visit me in Pallet Town?" Leah asked with a forced smile. "When you find the time?"
Danny's reply was instantaneous. "Of course!" His voice was loud, like he was daring Leah to deny the fact. "Give me your address and I'll come see you once I'm done in Saffron. Then, we'll have another battle and I'll win."
"You wish," Leah teased.
The tension was broken and Danny continued, "Hey, are you sure you're not hungry? Cause that battle made me really want something to eat…"
Leah made a show of sighing. "Maybe a little."
"Then I'll escort you to that restaurant I found," Danny said, holding out a hand. "Trust me, it's a good place."
Leah stared at the hand for a moment, like she didn't know what to do with it.
"I believe you," Leah said, rolling her eyes and putting her hand in his. Danny's grip tightened and Leah tried to keep her blush to herself.
"Alright then," Danny started with a grin, pulling Leah down the street.
"Let's go."
-
AN: And thus ends the Vermillion Arc! *faints of exhaustion* Sorry for the extra long wait! This chapter gave me some trouble, especially the gym battle, but I think it came out rather well, even if it shows signs of being rather rushed. And guys, I suggest you say goodbye to Danny, because he won't be appearing again for a long while (and I am not exaggerating).