Route 119

With the aqua crew dealt with I continue towards Fortree City. Maybe I should have told the researchers in the Weather Institute it was safe to come out of hiding under their desks.

I barely stepped off of the bridge spanning the river when I’m nearly ran down by a mad cyclist. She stops, the brakes screeching as she comes to a halt. It’s May.

Oh, hi Caldar! I was hoping to find you here. I bet you pokemon have gotten stronger. C'mon let’s battle!

- Uhh…

It’s nice you see you too…

Nimbus pecks May’s lombre into submission, LoafLoaf washes her slugma away with surf and Neo peppers her marshtomp with bullet seeds.

Woah, you’re much better than last time! Here, take this. You’ll be needing it soon.

May hands me a HM02, and in the time it took me to read the diskette she’s riding off into the distance on her bike. By the time I look up she’s rounding a corner and disappears behind some trees.

Fortree City

A city of treehouses, but for some reason the pokemon center isn’t suspended above the ground. At least I’ll always know where it is, it sticks out like a sore thumb.

Making my way to the gym I bump into an invisible wall.

- Ow! What the hell?

There appears to be some sort of force field here…

I try slowly walking forwards but I’m pushed back again. It doesn’t feel like hitting a wall but rather like something’s shoving me away.

- Annoying!

I try stepping around the spot on the ground but I’m knocked back again but this time it feels like I’m kicked in the face. My nose starts to bleed too.

- Ow! Screw this!

Route 120

I head this way in search of another path to the gym. Crossing a bridge I find Steven standing there, looking at… nothing.

Hello again, Caldar!

- Hey, Steven.

Are you OK? You’re bleeding!

- Oh, I thought I got it all.

Kicked by a kecleon?

- A what?

There’s one standing right here. Let me demonstrate one of my father’s inventions, the Devon Scope.

Steven aims a fancy looking flashlight in front of him and it reveals a pokemon.

Hey, it’s the first pokemon we’ve seen here!

- Do you mind if I…

Go for it!

Pokeball go!

Kecleon: These things can change their colour to appear invisible.

- Welcome to the bench, Karma!

Karma ♀ Lv.30

Nice catch! Here, take the Devon Scope in case you run into more.

- Thanks!

See you around!

Fortree City

I make my way back to the kecleon blocking the way to the gym, shine the Devon Scope on it and have the Colonel kick it into a tree.

- It’s not nice to be kicked in the face, is it!

Inside the gym I find the leader running around the arena with her arms reaching out either side of her.

Wheee! Zoom! Look at me, I’m flying! Whoosh! Swish!

- Er…

So high, in the sky! Wheeeee!

That’s the gym leader…?

- Ahem!

Eeek!

- I..

How much did you see?

- I… um… I just got here. I’m here to battle for a badge?

Oh, right. Well… good! I was getting bored anyway.

I can tell…

I’m Winona.

- I’m Caldar.

Are you the same Caldar who’s helping Professor Oak?

- Yeah, do you know where he went?

I’m not supposed to tell you unless you beat me in a pokemon battle.

- OK, then.

Let’s get on with it, then! Go Swablu!

- Go, Son Of Zuul!

ZUULL!

- Thunderbolt!

Safeguard!

Zuul points a finger at swablu and fires a bolt of lightning at it. Blackened and smouldering, swablu flops to the floor.

Go Tropius!

- Thunderbolt!

Sunny day!

Zuul points his other finger at tropius and jolts it with a bolt of lightning. Electricity arcing around it, tropius is paralysed and cannot move.

- Try a shadow punch!

Synthesis!

Zuul vanishes, tropius’ shadow morphs into the shape of a fist, it reaches off of the floor and punches tropius in the back of the head. As Zuul reappears, tropius absorbs light to heal.

- Confuse ray!

Aerial ace!

Zuul fires a psychedelic light from his eyes that strikes tropius in the face. Tropius tries to take flight but trips over and smacks it’s face on the ground.

- Night shade!

Sunny day!

Zuul fires a dark ray from his palm at tropius. Tropius shakes off it’s confusion and calls out at the roof. Winona presses a button on a panel on the wall and the roof slides open, allowing the sunlight to shine into the arena.

- Thunderbolt!

Synthesis!

Zuul quickdraws a thunderbolt at tropius, who backs off to bathe in sunlight and heal.

- Confuse ray!

Synthesis!

More of Zuul's psychedelic light sends tropius tripping. Not exactly knowing where it is right now, tropius smashes it’s face into the arena wall.

- Thunderbolt!

Aerial ace!

Hovering high above, Zuul points at tropius with both hands and fires a bolt of lightning into tropius’ head for critical damage.

ZUUULL!

Go Pelipper!

- Thunderbolt!

Supersonic!

Zuul fires off another bolt, it strikes pelipper in mid flight. Pelipper glides into the ground, tumbling over and ending up as a smouldering heap.

Go Skarmory!

- Thunderbolt!

Steel wing!

Skarmory swoops towards Zuul, Zuul quickdraws a lightning bolt at skarmory’s face. Electricity arcing all around it, skarmory slashes at Zuul with it’s sharp wing feathers as it flies past.

- Thunderbolt!

Winona sprays a hyper potion on her skarmory. Just as it turns back to face the battle, skarmory is electrified by another of Zuul’s thunderbolts.

- Thunderbolt!

Winona grabs another hyper potion bottle, Zuul fires a lightning bolt at the bottle as Winona sprays it on skarmory. The bolt shatters the hyper potion bottle, arcs through the spray and fries skarmory in a critical hit.

ZUUULL!

Altaria!

- Thunderbolt!

Dragon dance!

Zuul electrifies altaria with a thunderbolt. Altaria gyrates around and builds up energy.

- Confuse ray!

Dragon dance!

Altaria builds up more energy with it’s odd dance moves and Zuul fires trippy light into altaria’s eyes.

- Thunderbolt!

Dragon dance!

Altaria gyrates some more and begins to glow. The glow gets brighter, briefly while altaria is electrocuted from one of Zuul’s quickdraws. Altaria swiftly downs an oran berry it had hidden away.

- Thunderbolt!

Aerial ace!

Altaria swoops down at high speed towards Zuul, but disorientation makes it slam face first into the ground behind Zuul. Zuul floats over to behind altaria, places a single finger on the back of it’s head and fires a lightning bolt directly into altaria’s skull.

ZUUUUUUL!!

Aw! You win. What the hell is that pokemon anyway?

ZUUL?

I’ve never seen a Zuul before!

- Zuul, return!

Well, you beat me fair and square. Professor Oak said he was heading for the gym in Mossdeep City. Oh, and here’s your Feather Badge!

What happened? We won? Is my battery getting low?