Pokémon: Leah's Journey {Rewrite}

Chapter 10: Glittering Embers

Navigating the Glittering Cave was tedious to an unnecessary degree. The area had very little light and it was almost an underground maze which made Leah wonder how these scientists come in and out that easily. Mildred was counting the number of dead ends they've run into until Leah got annoyed and started responding in kind with sass and sarcasm. Zayn had to intervene before things got heated, "Alright, girls, stop bickering like children, it's taking us nowhere."

Leah huffed and continued on ahead until the group found themselves in a new room of the cave. Of all the things they expected to find in these caves, ginger buffoons dressed in scarlet business outfits were the last thing they expected to find here. Leah was trying and failing to stifle her laughter, those characters looked really stupid, "Oh look we found our villain of the week."

"Villain of the week?" The female buffoon exclaimed, appalled, "How dare you mock the fabulous Team Flare!"

"Yeah sorry, lady, your whole get up looks fucking stupid, even Omen and Mrs. Cuddletails here are trembling in their fur with anxiety from how much of a threat you are to us." Mildred sneered.

The Team Flare grunt's rather pale face was becoming nearly as red as her outfit in an expression of rage. Leah laughed in response, that grunt really looked stupid. Zayn stepped in, "Are you sure you didn't get lost on the way to the circus?"

Leah, Zayn and Mildred were laughing so hard they couldn't breathe. The grunt shrieked angrily and sent out her Gulpin into battle. Leah responded in kind by sending in Omen into the battle. The Absol growled as it leapt into battle. Leah smirked, "We'll turn your little blazing flare into soot! Omen use Snarl!"

With a shrill howl, Omen released multiple purple rings of energy from his mouth at the Gulpin. Gulping responded in kind with Sludge which only ended up disintegrating thanks to Snarl. Gulpin recoiled from Omen's attack, but the grunt was not done yet, Gulpin used Amnesia. Red aura appeared from the ground and engulfed Gulpin, increasing its Special Defense. Leah smirked, "Alright Omen use Slash!"

Omen used the nearby ledge to propel himself upwards as his claws glowed a white colour and slashed the Gulpin with them as he descended. The Gulpin lay defeated before its trainer. The Team Flare grunt withdrew Gulpin and sent an Electrike into battle. The little canine growled viciously, it was clearly trying to intimidate Leah and Omen. Leah decided that taunting the grunt more would be hilarious, "Awn, that is the cutest little Electrike I've ever seen!"

The grunt, surprisingly, didn't get angry, instead she nodded in agreement with Leah, "She's a real cutie, but she can withstand even the strongest attacks."

Leah smiled, appreciating the moment of simple humanity from her opponent, who knew antagonistic people had a heart. This also implies that the Pokemon these grunts are battling with are their partner Pokemon and not Pokemon their boss lent them. Leah finally spoke up, "I would send in my Vulpix, but I'm trying to get to know Omen better. Next time we meet we'll see who is the cutest."

"I'll be sure to remember that, now Electrike, use Quick Attack!"

The Electrike's body was surrounded by a white aura and as it ran, it left behind a trail of energy. Leah had asked Omen to let it come to him. . The Electrike was fast, but Leah's reflexes were sharp, "Alright, Omen, use Slash!"

The moment Electrike leapt to tackle Omen at full speed, the Absol's claws started glowing a white colour. The little electric type barely had time to actually hit the Absol when sharp claws met its body and pushed it on the ground. Electrike stood back up and shook itself. It was injured, but could still battle. That was good. Leah liked battles that could last long, but battles need to end at some point. Electrike tried again with Quick Attack, but the moment Omen's shrill howl summoned multiple purple rings of energy, the little canine was pushed back and once the final ring of the Snarl hit it, Electrike laid defeated. The grunt, while unhappy with her defeat, approached Leah, "Why are you here? You had every chance to continue challenging the gyms."

"I was asked to, trust me, I didn't want to be here, but those scientists are supposed to give me a Growlithe and they're withholding it until I fetch the scientist you guys are after." Leah sighed, "I would much prefer getting that Growlithe out of the labs sooner, but alas."

"I've heard of that, my father- uh the boss has been seething about it for weeks." The grunt shook her head, "sometimes nature should be left alone."

The grunt turned tail and went to join her colleagues. Leah chuckled to herself and walked to her friends. Only to be face to face with the same three grunts they've all been fighting. They must've healed up their Pokemon then. Leah sent in Mrs. Cuddletails into battle, Zayn sent in Honedge and Mildred sent in Lady Lemeow. The grunts opted to send in only one of their Pokemon, a Houndour, an Electrike and a Croagunk. The Houndour was the most pressing opponent, while Mrs. Cuddletails could easily handle Fire Type attacks, Honedge couldn't. And Lady Lemeow's Assist only allows her to use the moves of Mildred's Pokémon, it's a gamble and a huge one at that. Leah took the lead, "Alright Mrs. Cuddletails use Flame Charge on Houndour!"

Houndour retaliated with Ember, but it only made Mrs. Cuddletails faster. Flash Fire was an amazing ability in such situations. The Vulpix jumped on a rock to gain more momentum and like a blazing inferno, she tackled the Houndour, thus sending it flying towards Lady Lemeow. On Mildred's command, the little feline let out a shrill meow. It was loud and super effective on Houndour. The canine laid defeated before its trainer so he had to withdraw from the battle.

Leah opted to focus on Electrike while Mildred went to check on the scientist and Zayn opted to battle Croagunk. Leah started with a Flame Charge and a Will-o-Wisp for good measure. Just as Mrs. Cuddletails' body was engulfed in flames, Electrike evaded the Will-o-Wisp, but was met with the red, hot flames of the Vulpix's Flame Charge. The little canine fell right into Leah's trap. She smiled, "Now finish this off with Flamethrower!"

"Quick Attack!"

"Running right into it huh? Alright then, keep at it Mrs. Cuddletails and then use Fire Spin once Electrike gets close to you."

Despite the blazing inferno of Mrs. Cuddletails' Flamethrower, Electrike managed to keep standing and running. With a howl, the Vulpix summoned a raging fiery vortex around Electrike. It stopped running, breaking abruptly to avoid hitting the flames, but the electric type still slid, lifting up dust in the process and hitting the flames of the raging vortex. Electrike whined in pain, and upon realizing it was trapped, simply decided to make itself look smaller. Leah saw what was happening and called out to her opponent, "Hey! You know there's a way to stop the Fire Spin, right?"

"There is?"

"Yeah! Just use a non-physical move!"

Zayn leaned in, whispering, "Why are you helping her?"

"I like it when battles are long, it's fun."

"Oh boy." Zayn mumbled.

Leah turned her attention back to the battle, the grunt seemed to have given Electrike a command. It hesitated for a moment and then used Thunderwave around itself and the Fire Spin which absorbed the vortex. Leah smiled, on her command Mrs. Cuddletails' body was engulfed in flames, both she and Electrike ran at full speed towards each other, but once they were about to collide, Mrs. Cuddletails veered sideways to evade Electrike. She returned like a blazing ball of flames and tackled the electric type. Electrike fell, laying defeated before its trainer. The grunt withdrew her Pokémon and all of them scurried out.

As they left the cave, Mildred found a Moon Stone, an evolution stone that allows certain Pokémon species to evolve. Leah and her friends led the scientist back to Ambrette Town. The Growlithe ran towards Leah, ignoring the calls of its handler. The girl laughed, "It's good to see you too, Skalli."

With their mission a success, Leah now has a new addition to her team.

Somewhere in Geosenge Town, the three grunts were being chastised by an admin, she was a tall woman with pink, braided hair, "So you lost the scientist and the fossils?"

"There were three trainers. They had us cornered and they were strong, especially the one with the Vulpix." The female grunt uttered.

"She had a keystone, she must know Mega Evolution. She had a compatible Pokémon."

"Your next mission is to investigate and take the stones on the Menhir Trail." The woman gave them a stern glare, "Do not fail us. Understood?"

The three grunts nodded, "yes, ma'am!"