Weathering The Storm... (A Pokemon OC Story)

Chapter 96: A Gym Battle High in the Sky!

After too much time spent roaming around the route aimlessly, it finally seemed like Fortree was finally in sight. The treehouses lined with people, walking from bridge to bridge above the ground below. Sunlight beamed in through the breaks in the forest ceiling above, where the branches adorned with crisp green and orange leaves didn't blot out the sun. Pokémon lined the various branches and bridges, living amongst the people like they themselves were human. It was a far cry from every other city they'd been to before. It was as made for Pokémon as it was for the inhabitants. The group wandered past many Pokémon as they strode into the centre of the city, some of which were completely wild Pokémon without a trainer. Yet, still, they were as peaceful as a trained Pokémon.

"This place is incredible...", Lucas mouthed as he walked along, patting the various wild Pokémon on the head or offering them berries. He even saw a strange-looking Marill wander through the village, being green in colour. He offered it a berry and it quickly went on its way, until it attracted the attention of a few trainers and quickly fled the city.

"Now, how do you think we get up to the treehouses?" pondered Harry as they stared up at the Pokémon Center sitting atop a large tree trunk. But, they soon got their answer, as an oak door opened up, engraved into the trunk. The group stepped through the well-disguised door, finding a spiralling staircase around an even smaller trunk. Around the spiralling staircase were bookshelves adorning the side walls, with various tables and chairs. People sat peacefully reading away at any of the material lined on the plentiful bookshelves. Ellie's eyes glistened with starlight as she gazed in wonder at the books lining the shelves, grabbing Lucas' arm and quickly rushing towards the shelves. Seijo chuckled, saying to Harry,

"I'm guessing them two will be busy for a hot second, we'll just keep going."

"Sounds fine with me!", Harry said, stretching his legs before ascending the spiralling staircase, watching as Ellie dragged Lucas from place to place with an energy that Harry had yet to see from her before. He smiled as they slowly disappeared out of sight, the duo rising above the staircase to get a look over the entirety of the town. You could see much of the Route from where they were stood too. Harry had managed to identify the Weather Institute appearing just in the distance, most notably the satellite they used, poking out of the glass dome. Seijo smiled and said to Harry,

"Pretty good view, ain't it?"

"Yeah, its pretty nice.", Harry said, looking upwards to see if there was anything left above them. That's when he noticed the largest tree of them all. It looked to be the eldest tree of them all, having weathered much abuse throughout the years of its existence. Sat atop was a building with the Feather Badge sign stamped outside. No doubt, it would be where the city gym leader resided. The Flying-type Gym Leader, Winona. "Bet the view's pretty nice from up there, too."

Seijo looked upwards and nodded, scanning the surroundings for how on Earth they would even scale a tree that large. But, a bridge seemed to connect the middle of the tree and the other treehouses together to allow them access through. Worst case scenario, Seijo could just call upon Crobat to fly them up to the top of the gym. Harry dug into his backpack suddenly, looking through his arsenal of Pokemon, recounting the ones that had been used on the journey to Fortree, or in a battle against Lucas prior to getting to Fortree. But, it seemed that no Pokemon of his was fully healthy. And, if he wanted his best shot at grabbing that gym badge first try, he'd need his Pokemon at their full power. He looked to Seijo and asked,

"Can we get my Pokemon healed? I want them healthy for the gym battle."

"Of course, I have a suspicion that Ellie and Lucas will follow soon after us anyways."

Harry nodded, walking to the Pokémon Centre and letting the automatic doors fly open. Despite the wooden and rustic exterior to the Pokémon Centre, the inside was just like any other Pokémon Centre that he'd ever been to. It was incredible how they were able to disguise the exterior of the Pokémon Centre. It was like you'd have stepped into a pocket dimension as soon as you entered through the double doors. Harry walked forwards, handing his team to Nurse Joy and asking,