Pokémon: Out of the Woods | A Galar, Unova & Sinnoh Fanfiction

Chapter 34: The Grass Badge

In the security room illuminated only by its wall of screens, Caroline sat with her head rested on her hands. At the same time as she was bored sick, her eyes were nervously glued to one particular screen, because she was sure Volo would cause trouble by walking around in broad daylight. His face wasn't even covered.

Fucking bellend... we need to just kill him now... he doesn't give a shit about Team Plasma...

Anxiously shuffling, she absentmindedly picked up her knife, then put it down again. Her eyes wandered to the stands at Motostoke Stadium. She didn't want to take her eyes off Volo, but she was distracted. She recognised that green-haired man.

Enn Pickett?!

She grabbed her radio. 'Dad!'

'Yes?'

'Enn Pickett's here! He's at Motostoke Stadium!'

'My... that is interesting.'

'Should I do anything? We've got two people inside.'

'We need to know why he is here... but I doubt I will be able to hack him. I will ask His Majesty.'

Enn didn't care about any Gym battle. He went so Team Plasma would see him. His phone was prepared with texts to Joshua, Mirabelle and his ex-wife, pretending he was more bitter than ever because Joshua no longer spoke to him and Mirabelle refused to let him meet Sam. When they were relayed to Jahzeel and Caroline, it never occurred to them that the texts weren't real, let alone that they were left there for Team Plasma to find.

'You have my approval to order someone to speak with him.'

'Cheers! I'm on it!'

In the meantime, the remaining challengers took on Olive's Gym mission: a maze of thorny vines crawling with Gym Trainers. Most of them had to be battled in order to reach the switches that controlled the vines. Daeng, Heather and Hazel managed to duck in time to avoid the vines whipping by as they flipped switches. Hessie's and Bard's uniforms were torn in several places. Even Heather did have a mud stain and several leaves in her hair when she finally reached the locker room.

'What did you think?' a Gym Trainer asked before she stepped out onto the pitch, 'Olive's been changing it up a lot, trying to make it the best mission out there.'

'Nothing could be as bad as Ace's kayaking. Or even Vega's propellers...'

'Oh...'

'I mean, Ace's mission wasn't exactly hard. Neither was Vega's. They were just... unpleasant, I guess? This one was more fun, but harder. You have to think to work out which way those vines should go.'

The Gym Trainer shook his head.

'That's no good... it needs to be harder and more unpleasant...'

He hurried off to report back to his colleagues. The mission couldn't change without Olive, but it did mean the Gym Trainers tried harder against Hazel and Hessie. They made it through regardless.

'Konnichiwa, Garnet!'

Although Olive surveyed her next challenger with a grin, she was actually so nervous she could barely stop her hands shaking. It was easy to learn how to greet her Seri challenger, but what could she possibly say to Heather, who knew Ralph? Gym Leaders were expected to be inspiring. She thought she was past doubting her ability to be a great Gym Leader, but at that moment, it felt like a mountain she could never climb.

Olive only knew her grandfather, Félix's dad, for three years before he died. She would have said she barely remembered him at all, but it was his smiling face that appeared in her mind then, clasping her hands after she lost to a neighbour for the ninth time. Back then, she was yet to win any battle.

'I used to feel like you do right now.'

'But you're a great Trainer...'

'It's all thanks to my Pokémon. They gave me the courage and strength to fight, no matter what came at us. Even when you feel like giving up on yourself, as long as you never give up on your Pokémon, I promise you'll become a great Trainer, too!'

Heather saw her eyes drop down to the carefully maintained grass, but she looked up with renewed confidence.

'Our Pokémon give us the courage and strength to fight, even when we don't feel like carrying on. So no matter how bad we feel about ourselves, we have to keep going for their sake! Get ready! Here I come! Allons-y! Ludicolo!'

Hessie told Heather about Olive's Ludicolo. She sent out Noibat.

'Go, Noibat!'

Before Noibat could attack, it was frozen solid by Ludicolo's Icy Wind. Its frozen body hit the floor. The crowd roared. It was already unconscious.

'Come on!' Sonia cheered, 'Don't let that discourage you!'

'Go! Joltik! Use Thunder Wave!'

Ludicolo was faster. Joltik was soaked by Water Pulse. It zapped Ludicolo to paralyse it.

'Now! Use Bug Bite!'

Ludicolo's dancing was abruptly stalled. It couldn't move. Joltik scuttled around Ludicolo and jumped up, ensuring it bit through its fur. It didn't seem perturbed by that. This time, Water Pulse left Joltik confused. It bit Ludicolo again regardless, but after taking another Water Pulse and hitting itself in confusion, it fainted.

'Go on, Raboot!'

Raboot was already hyped up and its feet burning. It charged at Ludicolo, knocking it onto its back. It fainted. They both had two Pokémon left. Olive sent out Tsareena.

'Go on! Use Flame Charge!'

Raboot ran. As it leapt up, it aimed for Tsareena's face. Cheers erupted as Tsareena failed to block the kick and fell. It was a critical hit. Tsareena scrambled back up to knock Raboot's legs from under it with Low Sweep, but another Flame Charge knocked it out.

'Très bien! But we don't wilt that easily! Go, Venusaur!'

Olive's held out Venusaur's Poké Ball. Her Dynamax Band shone. The concept was so alien to Heather that she only just noticed how a Trainer's personality showed in how they Dynamaxed their Pokémon. Vega twirled as she threw the luminous, inflated Poké Ball. Despite Ace's nerves, he threw it effortlessly with one hand, as if it was as light as a feather. It flew in a perfectly straight line. Olive hurled it with both hands and a competitive grin. It looked like her Poké Ball would actually fly into the stands, but it didn't.

'Venusaur, Gigantamax! Uproot 'em!'

'OK, Raboot! Dynamax!'

Heather still felt like the force of her Pokémon Dynamaxing would knock her over. The crowd's chants were deafening.

'Hey! Hey! Hey, hey, hey, hey!'

'Whooooa-oh-oh, whooooa-oh, oh-oh! Whooooaa-oh, whoooa-oh!'

'Raboot! Use Flame Charge!'

Flame Charge became Max Flare. A wall of fire crashed into Venusaur with Raboot's foot. Blinding sun replaced the grey clouds above. The floor shook with the columns of poison that Venusaur summoned to consume Raboot.

Heather always thought she would be indifferent to battling in front of so many people, but hearing their enthusiasm for whatever the outcome was, no matter who they supported, was addictive.

'You can do it, Raboot! Flame Charge!'

Max Flare's power was intensified by the harsh sunlight. Smoke billowed around Venusaur. Heather couldn't tell whether it was just on fire, or if it was shrinking already, but an animation of the Ball Guy toppling over on the screens gave her the answer. Venusaur was going down. She had won.

'Oops! I lost!'

Olive shook her head, but she was still smiling.

'I thought I had you, too! Oh well. The Grass Badge is yours!'

Her handshake was as warm as her smile.

'Congratulations! You don't need a Gym Leader's pep talk to believe in your Pokémon, do you?'

'It's still good to hear it.'

'Good! Off to Stow-on-Side you go, then – to challenge Allister!'