Bridging The Gap; The Final Records In Unova: An Autobiography

This Round Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us

"Shiftry, use Feint Attack!" Ella ordered.
"Pidove, attack with Air Slash, now!" I demanded.

"Piiiiidove!" Pidove flapped his wings as he hovered in the air, his wings glowing white, and white saw blade-like energy flew from them and at Shiftry.

Shiftry dodged the Air Slash and growled at Pidove. Her arms raised in the air as her body was outlined in turquoise, creating leaves from the ground that glowed and rose into the air above her. The turquoise color faded and she pointed at Pidove, causing the leaves to fly out at him.

"Pidove, watch out!"

"Shiftry, what are you doing?" Ella frowned.

Pidove was smacked around by the leaves and forced down. He managed to get up to his talons and shook his body hard.

"I said Feint Attack, not Leaf Storm!" Ella snapped. "Now do Feint Attack! Cut out this behavior! What is your problem?"

"Use Roost!" I told Pidove.

Pidove's body relaxed and glowed brightly as he recovered his energy.

Shiftry flapped her leafy appendages hard, and I struggled to remain on my feet as a strong gust of wind blew me backwards.

"Doooove!" Pidove called out in shock, and his body started to glow red as he was returned to his Poke Ball.

The Whirlwind attack ended and Shiftry silently glared at me.

"Well, I guess that's the end of that battle," I sighed.

"Shiftry!" Ella screamed, but she was sounding exhausted by now.

We were having a practice battle in preparation for our Gym battle with Clay later this afternoon. Ella had decided to work with her Shiftry and try to build a closer relationship with her, and, inspired by that attitude, I thought it'd be a great chance to work on my Pidove's memory issues.

Pidove had done well. He didn't forget a single order I gave him and I was beginning to feel like we had made some improvements.

Shiftry, on the other hand, didn't seem to be trying to work with Ella at all. She ignored every word Ella told her, either using completely different attacks, or simply not moving.

All of our Pokemon sat in the clearing, watching the battle as June set up food bowls for the Pokemon, my Tympole bouncing on the ground at June's feet, following her around happily.

June had stopped to watch as the battle proceeded, and I caught a worried glance on her face as Shiftry continued to ignore Ella. With the battle over, I turned to June, who quickly turned away and set down the last two bowls, and then she grabbed a bag of Pokemon food and filled a bowl with the contents.

"I guess I'll help you with that," Ella sighed with disappointment, and walked away.
"Thanks, hon," June smiled at Ella, setting the bag on the ground and reaching for a second one.

We were all in a large, beautiful park, away from the congestion and crowds in the city, our coats on against the harsh wind blowing around us. There were several people walking by, but we were the only ones deliberately in the park, relaxing and eating together. It wasn't picnic weather, but we needed a break from that city to just enjoy some time to ourselves.

After we woke up in our extravagant hotel this morning and ate an overpriced breakfast of three scrambled eggs and three slices of bacon for me, two slices of buttered toast and a toasted bagel with cream cheese for Ella, and three pancakes topped with butter and dripping in syrup for June, we headed outside together to explore the city.

There was no privacy in Driftveil City, and no room to practice battling by ourselves. There were a few buildings where Trainers could battle against each other for practice, but we couldn't afford to use the facilities.