Just Another Love Story - Unova Diaries of Cilan and Iris

Chapter 5- Air Battles

Writer's Note:
It's been approximately 2 years since I published something in this story. I would like to give my readers a quick update before I continue with this adventure. The main reason why I stopped writing so suddenly is because of my academics. Currently, I am in my final year of high school, aiming to go to university for architecture. I spent my previous year focusing on my academics to set myself up for the final year. I want to continue and finish this series, but it may take a month or two for the next chapter to be published because I am in the process of creating my portfolio and doing other stuff for my university applications. Thank you to the surprising but amazing feedback from you guys and I hope you enjoy this latest chapter!

[Iris' perspective]

"Hey look! There's Mistralton City!"

Ash pointed towards the tiny looking city. From our view point, we were able to see the airport and the Celestial Tower. The clear blue sky and flying flocks of Swanna complimented the city's theme. Mistralton City is all about flying. There's a flying-type gym, a gym leader who is a trained pilot, and even an airport. The city looks small, but it does have a lot to offer.

"Come on, you guys! Let's go, Pikachu!" Pikachu responded and both sprinted towards the entrance. Cilan and I ran as fast as possible, trying to catch up to the little kid and his Pikachu. Once we arrived, Ash was about to dash straight for the gym in eagerness. I was able to catch him in time and caught his hoodie.

"Not so fast! You were about to run to the airport! Let's go to the Pokemon Center first and ask Nurse Joy where the gym is first," I suggested to him. We all agreed and went to the Pokemon Center. While we had our Pokemon healed from the long journey we took, we asked Nurse Joy where the gym was.

"The Mistralton City Gym? It's by the airport. Just take the road that leads to the airport. The airport should be easy to find," Nurse Joy said. We took her advice and went to the gym. The Gym was right beside the massive airport. It looked as if it was a part of the airport with its steel walls and curved roof. The front had the Gym logo, but underneath was a logo of an airplane with the words 'Mistralton Cargo Service' encircling it.

"This is the Mistralton Gym?," Cilan asked. He was clearly baffled at the sight of the gym.

"I'm confused. Isn't this the Mistralton Cargo Service?," I added.

"It appears so."

"And look at that line!" I pointed towards the Gym's entrance, where over a dozen Trainers lined up for the Gym. Men with tablets that looked like clipboard kept the line organized. The entrance was closed, which meant that the Gym leader was not present. That's weird, I thought to myself.

"What an odd scenario," Cilan commented.

On the other hand, Ash was too excited to be confused. "Who cares? I'm going to get my badge either way!" He ran towards the entrance, but was stopped by one of the men who were guarding the line.

The man asked Ash with authority, "Excuse me sir, do you have an appointment?"

Then Ash was confused. "Appointment?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you in. You must book an appointmemt in order to battle the Gym leader."

"That's an interesting Gym recipe. How could the Gym leader be able to handle all of these people?" Cilan stated. He was referring to the huge crowd of Trainers lined up in front of the Gym's entrance. The crowd consisted of dozens of Trainers young and old. Almost everyone looked determined to win, even the more adult Trainers. But the fact that there were more adult Trainers there bugged me. Usually, the Trainers who challenge Gyms were younger. Most would be considered as students if they didn't choose the path of being a Trainer. So what made this Gym special?, I thought to myself.

A youngster from the line beside us budded into our conversation.
"That's because Skyla's Gym does Air Battles!"

The term "Air Battles" sounded weird. There was no battle style like it. Cilan and Ash also didn't know the battle style, so we asked the youngster. "You don't know what Air Battles are? They're Pokémon battles that happen in Skyla's mind. She's so strong that she can see how her battles will end just by looking at someone's Pokemon!"

The three of us exclaimed in unison, "Huh?!"

We looked towards the landing strips. A timid youngster walked up to the battle area, where Skyla and her Unfezant were waiting for him to pull out his Pokémon. He threw his Pokeball on the ground, revealing his Watchog, Gurdurr, and Snivy. After he released his Pokémon, a moment of silence ensued. None of the trainers in battle made a move or a sound for almost a minute straight. When the time passed, Skyla finally says, "Hmmm... Your Watchog is a Normal type, while Unfezant is both a Normal type and a Flying type. Watchog is limited to the ground and none of his moves are super effective on my Unfezant, so Unfezant wins the first round!"

All three of us looked at each other with confusion. What the heck is this?, I thought.

Skyla continues, "Gurdurr is a Fighting type, who wouldn't stand a chance against against a flying type like Swanna, so Swanna wins the second round! And Snivy, well... Snivy wouldn't even stand a chance against Swanna either because Snivy's a grass type, so Swanna wins the last round! Which means no badge for you!"

The youngster in battle looked like he was ready to cry. He returned his Pokémon and walked past us in utter defeat. I looked at Cilan, then at Ash; both of them were fuming mad. Cilan was as red as a tomato and Ash, for the first time, was so angry that steam started to come out of his ears like a train making its last few puffs before coming out of the station.

We watched as trainers, one by one, confronted Skyla in the arena, engaging in these so-called "Air Battles." We saw some trainers walk out with badges, while others walked away in defeat or in frustration. We watched a few battles come and go, until Cilan and Ash couldn't take it anymore.

Ash was first to engage. He stomped straight towards Skyla as he shouted, "HEY!"

The two boys rushed towards the perplexed Gym Leader, fuming with anger. Cilan exclaimed, "WHAT IS THIS?! THIS IS NOT A GYM BATTLE!" I had never seen him so angry and passionate about something. He was more mad than that one time when Burgundy actually won a battle against him.

Skyla, with a confused look, replied, "What the- Who are you guys?"

"WHO AM I?! FOR YOUR INFORMATION, I'M THE GYM LEADER OF STRIATON CITY AND WHATEVER YOU'RE DOING RIGHT NOW IS NOT PROPER GYM ETIQUETTE!!!"

Wow, he's really angry about this, I thought, amazed by Cilan's passion.

"Can you like chill? Let me finish these Air Battles first and then we can talk okay?" Skyla shooed the two boys away, ignoring their presence.

Cilan and Ash were forced to back out. They were still both red with anger, Cilan especially. I tried to calm him down: "Cilan, calm down for a second. We'll get a chance to talk to her about this, okay?"

"Mrrrgggghhhh... okay..." He was still red with anger, but he finally started to diffuse like a balloon releasing air and tension. To be honest, I thought it was pretty cute how passionate he was about this whole Gym matter. I think my mind's playing tricks with me again... oh well...