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

All Charged Up With Nowhere To Zone

"That was the most embarrassing thing I've ever had to experience from a Gym Leader in my entire life!" Ella barked. "The utter nerve of that old fart! I'm not profitable? I'll show him profitable! How about if I give him a swift kick to his chin? Will that be profitable? Will that be made for TV?"

"Money hungry old bag of... Of... I don't even know what to call that guy!" June fumed. "Charging me to see a Gym battle! Never in my days have I been so disrespected!"

"So, after my Darmanitan knocked out his Excadrill with Flare Blitz, his Seismitoad used Hydro Pump on my Darmanitan and knocked him out, too," I said, my eyes on the path ahead of us as we walked through the woods together.

We had exited Driftveil City a while ago and the topic of discussion between us was our time there, though June and Ella didn't seem to be hearing a word I was saying as they yelled about the disrespect they had received.

June kept talking about how enraged she was while waiting at the hotel.

Ella went on about how embarrassed she was that Clay didn't even consider her worthy for a battle.

I described how my battle went and what occurred in it. I hadn't gotten one "congratulations" from Ella or June.

The chirping of crickets surrounded us under the night stars and a gentle, cool breeze blew around us. We came to a stop in front of the wide mouth of a cave.

"What's this?" I asked.

"Chargestone Cave," Ella grumbled, glaring into the entrance.

"Chargestone Cave? What's that?" I asked.

"It's basically a cave loaded with stones that have, like, electric currents flowing through them," Ella explained. "There are a lot of floating stones that hover from the electric currents in them and all this other scientific jargon. There's also some cool Pokemon inside. It leads out to Mistralton City."

"That's where you're from." I turned to her.

Ella kept her eyes on the cave, still frowning. "Yeah. I haven't seen my dad in a bit. The last time I called him, I'd obtained my fourth Badge. I usually call my family up after I've earned a Badge, or sometimes just throughout my journey. And Prof. Juniper, too."

My heart hurt at the mention of Prof. Juniper's name. "How is she...?" I asked hesitantly, and June and I exchanged worried glances.

"She's good. Proud of my accomplishments and all that stuff. She really likes all the Pokemon I've caught so far. She told me that I'm doing really well."

A long moment of silence passed after Ella stopped speaking, and June and I shot each other another quick look of concern before I lowered my eyes. Is that it? No mention of me or June? I remembered when June had repeatedly grabbed on Prof. Juniper, and how the professor had said she'd call Prof. Oak to let him know she had spoken to me. No way she forgot about us, I thought to myself. Has she really not asked about June and I since we ran away from her lab?

"There should be a lot of cool things to see," Ella spoke up. "Those rocks I told you about are really cool. Coming through here with my dad used to be pretty fun."

"Well, let's go on, then," I said.

We walked through the gaping mouth of the cave.

The crackle of electricity could be heard from nearby, the walls of the cave giving off a dark blue hue.

"It's so pretty in here!" June commented. "Look at this place!"

"Practically the whole cave is charged up on electricity," Ella told us. "It's beautiful."