How Wonderful (Pokemon) (2015 PKMN Watty Awards)

Chapter 8- "The Venomous Isley"

Runner and I stand outside the Rustboro Gym. Hopefully this will get my mind off the dreadful news I have just learned. My Father...the stern, abusive man...was the one who witnessed Runner's mother's death...and he never told me.

That must be why he despised Pokemon so much and would do the nastiest things to me when I would bring up the slightest sign of Pokemon. He watched one murder an innocent woman. It must have scarred him for life...but that's no excuse to the abusive torture he has given me in the past 15 years of my life.

"Dream, you okay?" I look up and see Runner peering at me with worried eyes. He must have noticed my out-of-zone daze.

I nod and take a slight gulp. "Ya, I'm fine. Let's hope this gets my mind off it." 

"Same here." Akira had told Runner that if there were any sign of his Father anywhere, he would notify Runner immediately, without hesitation. "Let's go in," Runner says as we walk into the the self opening doors.

Inside, there is a large grassy Pokemon field evenly cut into a rectangle. The field was surrounded by many seats and bleachers, filled with cheering people screaming like wild animals. At first, I have no idea what's causing all this comotion, but then I see an intense battle is going down. On the left side of the field, there is a young woman with bright red hair that almost resembles a bright red rose and wearing blue shirt and black skinny jeans. She appears very calm and confident. She must be Isley, the Poison Type Gym Leader. 

On the other side of the field, there is a clearly stressed out boy, around 17 years of age. He seems very pressured and uneasy. I look at the battle and see the current status. Isley's Pokemon appears to be a large purple Pokemon with a sharp tail and long, chomping claws, very similar to a Scorpion. I whip out the pokedex and scan it. The result comes up as Drapion, the Orge Scrop Pokemon. I lean back and whisper to Runner, "I've never seen that Pokemon in Hoenn."

He replies, "You do realize there are other Pokemon outside of Hoenn, right?"

On the other side of the field, the trainer's Pokemon was a Sceptile, but the Sceptile was lying on the ground of the field, struggling to climb to it's feet again. The boy shouts, "Sceptile!! No!"

Then, I hear from Isley, "Drapion, finish this with Dark Pulse." The Drapion forms a large black ball in it's palms then launches it at the wounded Sceptile. The Grass Pokemon just got to it's feet, only to be met with the large blast of Dark Pulse. The Sceptile soars across the room and impacts into the stone wall, matched with a large roar from the crowd. The trainer's Pokemon was revealed to have fainted and Isley was declared winner. She tosses her hair and releases a light chuckle. "You did good, challenger," she says. "But not good enough." Am I going to have to have to fight that Drapion? I think to myself.

"Next trainer!" Isley shouts. Before I knew anything, the boy left the Gym and I was pushed out onto the field. I look back and see that a man in a black suit had pushed me out. "You're up he says." He must've thought I was the next trainer to challenge Isley. 

"Oh. It appears you're the next one to dare to challenge me," Isley calmly says as she returns Drapion to it's Pokeball. "So tell me, how many badges do you have?"

"Uh...um...none?"

"Oh. You're a newbie I see. Pitiful." She pulls out two Pokeballs and says, "You ready or not?" 

In a confused tone, I reply, "Uh, right." I sloppily and clumsly rip out Shuppet's Pokeball. Isley had thrown out one of her Pokeballs and a bright red light burst from the ball. When the light retracts, it reveals a small Pokemon that appeared to be a black ball surrounded by a purple mist. Seeing this Pokemon, the crowd goes wild. I scan the Pokemon and the result was a Ghastly, a Ghost/Poison Type. "What happened to your Drapion?" I ask.