Journey of 5 Regions

VII

Lily looked over at the other side of the field anxiously. -It's not as hard as Rhyhorn; but it's still pretty tough-

"Well, are you going to make a move or just stand there?" Hazel yelled from the other side. Lily shook herself out of her fright and looked down at Meowth.

"Alright then" she nodded. "Meowth, use Scratch!". Meowth stood up; it's claws extending; and darted swiftly towards Marowak. Marowak darted to the side before Meowth could reach it, and Meowth was sent hurtling towards the ground.

"This isn't even a challenge!" Hazel said impatiently. Marowak nodded it's head; raising the thick bone it held in its hand and charging towards Meowth as it tried to get up.

"Meowth, hurry up and get out of the way!" Lily shouted nervously. Meowth jumped to the side, only to be clubbed in the back with Marowak's bone. Meowth fell to the ground, quickly getting back to it's paws to face Marowak.

"Marowak use Headbutt!". Marowak charged head-first at Meowth, a calm yet confident look in it's eye. Meowth looked at Lily impatiently, clearly awaiting her next command. Icee stood up, looking over at the frightened Lily.

"Come on Lily! You can't give up now, not after everything you've done just to get here!" she shouted. "Meowth's out there wanting to win, wanting to prove that everything you two have done hasn't gone to waste, and you're just standing there with your head down?". Lily looked down, and for a moment, Icee had almost felt the disapointment Meowth must have.

"We" Lily began, looking up. "We will never give up!". Icee backed away, shocked at the fierceness in her friend's voice. She looked over at Meowth, who had the same face as her. Marowak was only a few seconds away from hitting Meowth, and the pokemon stood there.  

-What's going on- Icee thought, looking on anxiously. 

"Really? 'Cause it seems like you already have!" Hazel said tauntingly.

"No matter what happens, no matter what you throw at us..". Marowak neared ever closer to Meowth. "Meowth and I will make it through!". A flash of bright light enveloped the field. Icee shielded her eyes and grabbed Azurill, backing up against the gym wall and staring at the field in confusion.

"What's happening?" she yelled in confusion. 

"Meowth's evolving". Icee turned around to see Marcus standing in the doorway.

"Marcus!? Where the heck have you been!" Icee said in frustration. Marcus just smiled and looked towards the field, Icee soon doing the same. The light began to fade, and a large figure stood where Meowth had once been. 

"Per, Persian!" the new pokemon darted towards Marowak, striking it with pure accuracy. Marowak let out a yelp of surprisement, the force of the attack sending it hurtling towards the edge of the field. The smoke cleared, revealing Marowak had fainted and Lily was the winner. Icee ran over to congratulate her, noticing Lily was knealing down and breathing heavily.

"Hey, are you ok?" Icee said, running over and bending over her. Lily looked up at her, a surprised look on her face.

"Yeah, I'm ok" she said, standing up. "I've just never felt like that before" she looked around, jumping down into the field and running over to the other side. Marcus walked over to join her, meeting her halfway across the field.

"Um, Lily, I just hope you know what just happened back there" he sighed. Lily looked at him, confused, and continued over towards Meowth.

"There you are-" she stopped, looking down at what was not her Meowth. 

"Oh my, looks like she didn't know" Marcus walked over, Icee racing over to catch up. Lily looked at him, clearly surprised.

"Marcus, what happened?". Marcus walked over to her side, patting her pokemon on the head.

"Well, when you had that little outburst back in the battle, Meowth reached it's peak and evolved" The pokemon began to purr. "This is Persian now". Lily smiled proudly, grabbing Persian by the tail and dragging it into her arms.

"Oh, Persian, I'm so proud of you!" she squeaked, standing up with Persian in her arms. "I'm going to have to get used to you getting so much bigger". Icee walked over with a smile on her face, Azurill bouncing onto her shoulder. Marcus walked a little towards the gym doors, leaving Icee curious as to what he was doing.

"Come on Riolu, it's ok now" he yelled across the room, and Riolu came running in through the doors towards them.

"Ri-Riolu" Riolu said happily, walking over to Persian and patting it on the back.

"Why was Riolu outside?" Icee asked curiously, Azurill jumping down to probably ask Riolu the same thing.

"He just didn't want to come inside, with all the excitement and all" Marcus shrugged, rubbing Riolu's head. Azurill began to bounce around, and soon all three pokemon were happily running around.

"That was really something" Hazel sighed, walking over to join them. "I honestly wouldn't have expected that of you"

"I didn't either" Lily shrugged, watching as Persian happily chased Azurill. "I hope Marowak didn't get hurt too bad"

"Nah, a quick trip to the Pokemon Center and he'll be back on the field in no time" Hazel patted Lily on the back. "I have to admit though, he's never been beaten like that before". 

"Oh no, did we hit him too hard?" Lily said anxiously. 

"You really are something, 'ya know?" Hazel smiled, reaching into her pocket and taking out something small. "Here you go! Your first gym badge". Lily grabbed the badge shakily, holding it in her hand for a moment before placing it in her case.

"Th-Thank you!" she squeaked happily.

"Hey, you got your badge!" Icee said, patting Lily on the back. "'Ya hear that Persian, you won your first badge!". Persian let out a loud purr, walking over and rubbing his head against Lily's leg.

"So, what's next on our agenda?" Marcus was already at the door with Riolu and Azurill.

"Um, I guess we can go explore a little before going to the next gym" Icee ran up to join them, Lily following behind. 

"I think that's a great idea" Lily panted, still tired from the battle. "So long as we can walk now". Marcus smiled and Icee laughed a little as the three walked out the doors and outside the gym.