//------------------------------// // Battling on the Boat // Story: Luna's Pokémon Journey // by Norwegian boy //------------------------------// Night had come and James just sat there looking at the telephone, it's been a while since Luna kissed him on the on the cheek. He did not know what to do and the only one who could give him the answer was his mom, he did not looked forward to this conversation. He took the telephone receiver and began to dial the nummer to his mother, he did not have to wait to long. On the screen appeared a woman who was in her forty, she had black hair that went down to the middle of her back and she had blue eyes. "Hello James dear, how's the yourney?" "Great, just great." He answered with nervousness in his voice and his mother noticed that. "James, what's wrong?" "Nothing, everything is great." He looked away from the screen. His mother understood right away that something was wrong. "James, what have I said about lying?" He tok a deep breath. "That is is wrong to lie." "That's right, now look at me." He look at the screen again. "Now tell me what's wrong." "When we were heading back to the Pokémon center after that Luna got her second gym badge, she kissed me on the cheek." James prepared himself that his mother was going to say something crazy but she said nothing, she was just sitting there and James had no idea what was going to happen. It did not last long, suddenly his mother had a big smile and she squee like a little girl. "It was about time that you got yourself a girlfriend, now remember that I would like to have many crandchildren." When James heard that last part he could feel his jaw fall off and hit the floor, what was wrong with his mother? "MOM. It was just a kiss on the cheek and besides, I'm only twenty years old." "Take it easy James, I'm just messing with you. So, Luna kiss you. Is that not great?" "I don't now, I think she's beautiful but she's from another world. She'll probably going to return home when she finished the journey, she is probably not interested in me anyway." "You don't now that James, have you talked to her yet?" He just shook his head. "Then you should do that." "But mom, I'm not any good when it comes to romance." "Your father was not good at when it came to romance either, just follow your heart James. Look James, I don't have the answered this is something you and Luna have to figure out for yourself." "I understand, thanks mom." His mom smiled. "You're welcome James. Now, you've remembered to change your underwear every day?" "MOM, I'm hanging up now." And with that he hang up. "Of all the mothers in the world I got the craziest of them all." He just sat there and looked at the screen. 'What should I do?' He thought. "I can think about what she said later I'm too tired to do it now." And with that he went to his room but little did he know that Luna had heard everything. 'He likes me?' The next moring they ate their breakfast in silence, no one knew what to say. Finally, Luna broke the silence. "James." He look at her. "Is it possible that you can show me how the telephone work?" "Yeah, sure." They went back to eating breakfast in silence. After they had finished breakfast they went over to the telephone, James showed her how it worked and with that done she called Birch, it did not take long before someone answer but it was not Birch is was Joshua. "Hello Luna and James, what can I do for you two?" "Hello Joshua, is professor Birch home?" Luna asked him. "No, he's out in the field doing some research. Is there something I can help you with?" He asked her. "Yes, do you remember a girl by the name of Sunset Shimmer?" It looked like he was thinking. "Yes I remember her, she began her journey three days before you. Have you meet her?" "Yes, I battle her and lost. Did she said where she was from?" "I think she said she was from Lavaridge Town." That got James attention. "She from the same town as Flannery?" "That's correct James." Now was Luna confused. "Who's Flannery?" "She is the fourth gym leader, she uses fire Pokémon. Lavaridge is not that big, I wonder if they know each other." "Probably, look I got to get back to my researc if you want to talk to professor Birch, his said someting about a tournament in Slateport City." "Do you mean Slateport beach tournament?" James asked. "Correct, look I really get back to my researc now." "Okay Joshua, talk to you a another time. Bye." Said Luna "Bye, good luck with your journey Luna." The screen became black. "Let us collect our things, there have been reported of a storm and I'd like to avoid it." James told her, Luna just nodded. They gathered their things and got to the harbor, James let out Lapras and they were on their way to Slateport City. The only thing one could hear was the wind and the ocean because again they did not know what to say to each other. 'Why is this so hard?' James thought to him selv. After a while on the water dark clouds began to emerge and it started raining, this did James not like. "Fuck, I had hoped that we could avoid the storm." He stood up and began to look around. "What are you doing?" Luna asked him. "I'm looking for something, a place where we can seek shelter from the storm." But it was not easy to see through the rain, then he saw it. "Lapras head to the abandoned ship and hurry." Lapras did as he said, she swam so fast that they had to hold on. It did not take long before they reached the ship, they jumped up on deck. James called Lapras back to the her Poké Ball, they hurried through the doors of the ship. Luna was glad to get away from the rain but she was not particularly fond of the place James had chosen. "And abandoned ship? Could you not have chosen a better place?" She said with annoyance in her voice. "There is no other place where you can seek shelter from the rain, the nearest town is miles away.." He answered. "It's abandoned." It's not abandoned anymore, it has not been that for a while now." "It's called abandoned for a reason." They was interrupted by a voice. "is everything ok here?" They saw a woman in police uniform with blue hair. "Everything is fine officer Jenny, are some of the rooms available?" "I am afraid that only one room is available is room numbet two." "Thanks." And with that James walked in direction of the room Luna just followed him, when they arrived at room number two James opened the door and they went inside. Well inside the room Luna got to see how the room looked. The room had two beds and two nightstands, she saw an extra door that certainly was the bathroom. 'Wait a minute.' "James, we have to share the room?" "Afraid so." He walked to the nearest bed and placed his bag on it. "Is that ok with you?" "Something tells me that I have no choice, i'm going to the bathroom to my change clothes." And with that she disappeard into the bathroom and James was alone in the room, he just look at the door. 'Follow my heart, yeah right. This will never work.' James thought to himself, he began to change his clothes. Luna just look at herself in the mirror, she is still wondering if she made the right choice. 'What am I doing? This yourney, the kiss I gave james. Do I really miss Equestria that much?' Then she remembered everything that happened the past three years. 'What is there to miss? Ponies who are afraid of me and a sister who don't care.' With that out of the picture, she began to change her clothes. It did not take long before she finished, when she came out of the badrommet she saw James sitting on his bed, he just stared at the wall. "So, what should we do until it's stop raining?" She asked him. "You can have a Pokémon battle if you want to." He answered her without taking his gaze away from the wall. She raised an eyebrow of that answer, she look around in the room. "You don't mean in here do you?" He look at her. "Of course not, follow me." He stood up from the bed and walked towards the door, he took a couple of keys hanging on the wall and went out the door Luna followed him. When they were outside the room James looked the door, after that he found a couple stairs and went down them, Luna just followed him. "Can you tell me where we are going?" She asked him. "Wait and see." She was not happy by that answered she got, but she said nothing. When they finally came down to the end of stairs Luna was shocked by what she saw. She saw eight Pokémon battle arenas a Pokémon center and store. "James, what is all this?" "This ship capsized around twenty years ago, time passed and people have used it to rest or seek shelter from the rain. Eight years ago they decided that people and Pokémon could sleep here and have fun at the same time, so they fixed the rooms upstaris and made the storage room into this you see before you." "Amazing." "Well, look who we have here." Both turned in the direction the voice came from and there stood Sunset. "I thought you had given up already." That statement was directed at Luna. "What do you mean by that?" "After I beat you last time I thought that you gave up, I guess I was wrong." "What do you want? Another battle?" Luna started to get irritating. "Relax, I'm not interested in having a battle with you right now, I'd rather have a battle with your boyfriend." Sunset look over to James. "Do you accept my challenge?" She waited for an answer but James was not interested. "No." That answer shocked Sunset. "No? What do you mean no? You're supposed to accept another's callenge." "I don't have to accept anything and beside, I don't battle anymore." He turned around and started to walk away. Sunset did not like this, she wanted to battle against him. Then she got an idea. "I thought that you were too cowardly to battle me, I was right." She teased him. "The former Pokémon champion is a coward." That got James to stop. Those words attracted the attention of almost all the people in the room including Luna. "Now hold on just a moment you just can't talk to him like that, James is not a coward." Luna said with anger in her voice. "How can you now that? Have you seen him in a Pokémon battle?" Luna was taken back by that question, the only time she has seen James battle was against Zack and that did not qualify as a real fight. Did it? She didnt know what to say, Sunset tok her silence as an answer. "That's what I thought, what it's going to be? Do you accept my challenge or are the former champion a coward." It was one thing James did not like to be called, was a coward. He turned around and walked right up to Sunset until they were face to face. "You want to battle? Fine." He said with fire in his eyes that made Sunset a little afraid. They went over to battlefield nummer 6. Many of the people who was there stood around the to battlefieldto watch, Luna had trouble finding a place to stand. She heard people talking. "This girl is pretty stupid to challenge a former champion." Said a man. "It's been a while since he has battled, perhaps she can beat him." Said another man. "I doubt it." Said the first one. "We use one Pokémon each." Sunset announced. "Fine by me." James answered. The judge got ready. "This will be a one on one battle, the battle will be over when your Pokémon are not able to fight. Are you both ready?" Both nodded. "Then begin." Sunset was up first. "Let's go Nuzleaf." Out came Pokémon Luna hadde not seen before, she took out her pokedex: Nuzleaf the Wily Pokémon and the evolved form of Seedot. This Pokémon out the leaf on its head and makes a flute with it, the sound of Nuzleaf's flute strikes fear and uncertainty in the hearts of people lost in a forest. "A Nuzleaf, alright. Come out Swampert." 'Another new Pokémon' She thought. Swampert the Mud Fisk Pokémon and the evolved form of Marshtomp. Swampert is very strong. It has enought power to easily drag a boulder weighing more than a ton, this Pokémon also has powerful vision that lets it see even i murky water. Then she looked more closely at the data of Nuzleaf and Swampert. Wait a moment. Svampert is a ground and water type while Nuzleaf is a grass and dark type, what is James doing? When Sunset saw wich Pokémon James had chosen, she had a big smile on her face, "So, you're a coward and idiot. This is going to be easier than I thought." James said nothing, he just stood there with his arm crossed. "Nuzleaf use energy ball." A ball of green energy appeared in Nuzleaf's hands and he send it towards Swampert. "Block it." Swampert hold up his hands and the ball exploded in his palms it created a small explosion, when the smoke cleared stood Swampert there as if the attack did not affect him at all. When Sunset saw that, her smiled disappeared. "Use water pulse." A ball of water appeared in Swampert's hands and he sendt it towards Nuzleaf. "Dodge it Nuzleaf." But it was too late, the attack hit Nuzleaf and he passed out. "Nuzleaf is unable to battle, that means James is the winner." The judge announced. James call Swampert back to his Poké Ball and then he walked away. "You just go lucky, I beat you next time." Sunset yelled after him. People who saw the match began to spread while Luna just stood there, she could not believe how strong his Swampert was. James had found a free table and now he just sat there staring out into the room, he watch people battle each other while thinking. 'Perhaps Sunset is right, I am a coward.' He was taken out of his thoughts by Luna who sat down next to him. "You okay James?" She asked him. "Just thinking." Was his answer. "About what?" "It's personal." He snapped back. "Sorry I asked." 'Way to go James, now you are a coward and assholde.' The rest of day Luna spent the time battleing against other trainers, she won her first five battles and the final battle was her Marill against a rich girl snob and her Snubbull. They had battled for a while and no one had given up. "Time to finish this." Said the rich snob. "Use attract Snubbull." Snubbull flirted with Marill and a few hearts flew straight toward Marill, but nothing happened. "Why is not your Marill in love with my Snubbull? Unless...." Then it dawned on her. "Is your Marill a girl?" "Of corse she is." Luna answered. When the rich girl heard that, she became angry. "You dare? Use thunder fang." Electricty began to build up in Snubbull's mouth, then she started to run towards Marill. "Quickly Marill, use water gun." Water came out of Marill's mouth and it hit Snubbull so hard that she flew past her trainer and straight into the wall behind the girl, when Snubbull hit the floor he was knocked out. "Snubbull is unable to battle, that means Luna is the winner." The judge announced. "Oh no, Snubbull." The girl ran over to her Pokémon crying. James stood by the sidelines and saw everything. 'That's the rich and snoby for you, think that money can buy the perfect Pokémon.' He thought to himself. Luna called back Marill and walked to the Pokémon center. I'm guessing she's still mad at me.' He started to going back to their room and one thing was certain, he was not looking forward to the rest of the iourney.