Chapter Text
“Chloe, please tell me this is a joke,” Beca groaned, staring at the screen of green in front of them.
“What’s up, babe?” Chloe asked, shaking the ferryman’s hand.
“What in the ever-loving-fuck is wrong with Hoenn?!” Beca screeched. “A desert? A volcano? And now a fucking tropical jungle? What insanity is this?!”
“Babe, calm down,” Chloe chuckled. “Yes, it is a jungle. No, Hoenn isn’t trying to kill you.”
“Sure looks like it is!” Beca exclaimed, angrily pointing at the jungle. “Are we going in there?”
“Do you want to win the Wing Badge in Fortree?”
“Yeah…”
“Then we’re going in there,” Chloe chuckled. “Fortree City is literally built in the treetops of this jungle. We should reach it in… maybe five days' travel?”
It had been two weeks since they left Meteor Falls, where Beca had caught her Bagon, and they had stopped to train several times. Her team was in tip-top shape, and while Bagon hadn’t evolved yet, he was definitely coming along very well.
She shook herself out of her thoughts, waving at the ferryman before following Chloe into the dense jungle. Within a minute, they were surrounded by the moist, damp greenery on all sides, making it seem like the entire world consisted of this jungle.
Beca could feel her hair frizzing from the humidity, and already she could feel beads of sweat forming on her forehead. “I hate this place.”
“That’s what you said of the previous places we’ve been to,” Chloe chuckled dryly. “Don’t worry, it’ll cool down soon.”
“How?”
“Rain.”
–
Trudging through the dense foliage, pushing vines and large leaves aside to be able to proceed through certain patches, Beca looked over her shoulder. They’d been walking through the jungle for a few hours now, and Beca couldn’t shake the feeling they were being watched.
A low rumble resounded from the heavens, followed by thick, warm raindrops splattering on the trees above them. “Becs, let’s find a place to whip the tent out before everything gets soaked,” Chloe told her with some urgency. “It should be a few minutes before the rain actually breaches the canopy.
“Here, there was a small clearing just now,” Beca rushed out, turning around and backtracking along the clearly visible path they had made through the jungle. Miraculously enough, Beca managed to locate the small clearing.
Together, and with practised ease, they managed to get the tent out and up in less than five minutes. Keeping the flap open so Chloe could duck in, just ahead of the downpour, Beca glanced over her shoulder again. For the briefest of moments, she thought she saw something flash behind the foliage - something lighter than the rest of the surroundings.
She blinked once, and it was gone. Beca couldn’t tell if it was something fast, or something imaginary, and she didn’t want to think about it standing in the pouring rain.
Ducking her head, she slipped into the tent, more than ready to spend the rest of the day cuddled up with Chloe. For the remainder of the day, their world consisted entirely of the interior of their tent, each other, and the pattering of rain.
Beca went to sleep, exhausted from their physical exertions, and dreamt of pattering rain all night long. When she woke up, it was almost like she had taken her dreams with her - the rain still falling relentlessly.
The rain didn’t let up until the late afternoon, and together they decided there wasn’t much use in breaking up camp only to walk for an hour and make camp all over again. Chloe’s Arcanine was the only reason they managed to make a small fire for Chloe to prepare their dinner on - all the wood and soil around them soaked through by the relentless rain.
“This will take a little while, Becs,” Chloe smiled apologetically. “Can’t get the fire to get hot enough to make it go fast.”
“That’s okay,” Beca smiled in response. “Anything I can do to help?”
“Unless you have a backpack full of dry wood somewhere, not really,” Chloe grinned wanly. “Why don’t you do some training? There’s enough room here. Might be a while until you get another chance.”
“You sure you don’t need me?”
“I always need you, Becs, but not for making dinner,” Chloe chuckled.
“Okay, okay, I see how it is,” Beca grinned, ducking down and pressing a kiss to Chloe’s cheek. “Just give a shout when you need me.”
She made her way to the other end of the clearing, taking several Pokéballs from her belt. “Bagon, Lairon, Umbreon, Teddi!”
Her Pokémon appeared on the clearing, none of them appearing to be very pleased with their surroundings. “I know, guys, I know. Teddi, work on dodging with Bagon, okay? Lairon, let’s keep working on your moveset. With a bit of help, I think you can learn Shadow Claw, which could come in handy. Umbreon will help you out!”
She watched her Pokémon closely, Bagon and Teddiursa circling around each other, striking and dodging, with frequent pauses for Teddi to show Bagon how he could have more effectively dodged her attacks. Umbreon and Lairon, meanwhile, were huddled together. Occasionally, Beca saw Umbreon’s paw lighting up with purple energy as he demonstrated the attack to Lairon.
She looked up sharply when something caught her attention, a flash of white in her peripheral vision, gone by the time she turned her head. Turning her attention back on her Pokémon, she watched Teddi and Umbreon both staring in the same direction she had been. “Focus, guys,” she told them.
“Um!”
“I know, buddy,” Beca nodded. “I’m sure it’s nothing. The jungle is full of Pokémon.”
“Um-Um!”
“It’s gone now,” Beca told him. “Keep at it, guys.”
Beca circled her Pokémon for the next half hour, giving them pointers and keeping close watch on their progress. Three times she could have sworn she saw a flash of white off to the side, but every time she turned her head, it was already gone.
“Dinner’s ready!”
“Alright you guys,” Beca smiled. “Good job, all of you. Let’s get you all some chow. Venusaur, Gengar, there’s food for you too!”
–
They were on the third day of travelling when Beca noticed the first sign of civilization. For a while now, she had felt like the jungle was getting a little less dense - she’d caught sight of the white blur again, too - but now she saw an actual marker, pointing in the direction of Fortree City.
The very moment she pointed the road sign out to Chloe, the heavens opened up and a downpour far worse than the previous one came down upon them. Within seconds, Beca was completely soaked through. “Well, no use stopping now, right?” she shrugged miserably. “Fortree is close, after all.”
“Yeah,” Chloe nodded, already trudging on. “I wouldn’t mind sleeping in a PokéCenter tonight.”
They walked for another hour, the rain not letting up even for a moment. Beca was confused when Chloe suddenly stopped. “We’re here, finally!” she groaned.
Looking around, Beca saw nothing but trees around them. There wasn’t a single building in sight - if anything, the trees here were growing closer together again. “We’re where?”
“Fortree!” Chloe grinned, approaching one of the nearby trees and pointing out a ladder hanging from it.
Craning her head back, Beca took in the wide wooden platforms built in the trees, each of them having one or two wooden buildings on them. Rope bridges connected the platforms together, forming an elaborate network of treehouses. “Come on, let’s get up there!”
Climbing the ladder, Beca prayed she wouldn’t slip and fall to her death below. It was a solid five minutes climbing before she reached the wooden platform. It had two buildings on it, and Beca watched several large bird-type Pokémon sitting under a little awning near the edge.
The building behind them read ‘Fortree Rescue Office,’ making Beca frown. “Those Pokémon, are they there in case someone…”
“Slips on the ladder or falls off the platform, yeah,” Chloe nodded. “There’s flying-type Pokémon stationed all around the city. Many of them are Winona’s.”
“Who would want to live in constant danger of misstepping and falling to their deaths?”
“People who don’t have trouble with heights,” Chloe grinned. “I could make a cliff-joke, but I won’t.”
“The fact you even mentioned you could,” Beca grunted with a shake of her head. “Ugh, point me in the direction of the Pokémon Center.”
“It’s right there,” Chloe pointed at the building next to the rescue office. “Careful, don’t walk off the platform. It’s the same basic principle as a cliff.”
“I hate you,” Beca called loudly, not turning back to face Chloe. She might actually walk off the platform if she didn’t keep her eyes on her feet.
–
“Are you sure it’s safe?”
“You literally just watched me walk across it, Beca!” Chloe called from the other platform. “Come on, don’t be a Scaredy-Squirtle!”
“That’s not- You’re the worst!”
“And you’re stalling! Just walk across the damn bridge, babe. You’re tiny, what’s the worst that can happen?”
“So many things,” Beca mumbled under her breath. “Okay! Coming!”
Taking a steadying breath and holding it, Beca set her first foot on the wooden planks of the rope bridge. Hearing it creak, she pushed forward, speed-walking across the bridge in a way that had to look ridiculous, but got her to the other side as quickly as possible, and without moving the bridge too much.
“See? Safe,” Chloe smiled, her fingers massaging Beca’s tense shoulders. “One hurdle taken! Now just get in there and beat Winona for your badge!”
Beca looked at the unassuming wooden building in front of them, the only one on this platform, and deduced it wouldn’t be big enough to hold a battlefield. Which meant…
Looking upwards - something she found herself doing a lot lately - she took in the much larger platform high above them. “Of course,” she sighed. “Well, let’s get to it.”
“Welcome to Fortree City gym,” the receptionist smiled as they entered. “Are you here to challenge Winona?”
“I am, yes,” Beca nodded. “Is she available?”
“Certainly,” the receptionist nodded. “She’s training on the platform above. You can take the staircase over here.”
Beca stifled a groan as she watched the large wooden staircase, spiralling around the tree’s trunk. She thanked the receptionist with a tight smile, focusing on placing one foot in front of the other as she began ascending the staircase. It wasn’t long until she reached the half-way point, allowing them to look out over the majority of the jungle. Apparently, the gym’s battlefield was placed in the jungle’s highest tree. Typical.
When they finally reached the top, Beca felt the muscles in her legs burning from the exertion. In front of them, in the middle of the battlefield, stood a woman with long, purplish hair, looking up at a dozen or so Pokémon flying in formation above the field.
“Alright, loves, off you go, we’re done for today!” she called out, blowing a shrill whistle and watching the Pokémon fly off in several different directions. Turning to them, a smile formed on her face. “Chloe Beale, it’s good to see you again!”
“You too, Winona!”
“Come, give me a hug!” Winona urged, wrapping her arms around Chloe, who returned the hug whole-heartedly.
“And you must be the fearsome Beca Mitchell everyone has been warning me about,” Winona smiled. “You don’t strike me as a hugging person.”
“I’m not, thanks for noticing,” Beca smiled. “It’s nice to meet you, though.”
“Likewise. I’ve heard a lot about you from literally all of the gym leaders you’ve already beaten. I sure hope it hasn’t gone to your head.”
“Only one way to find out,” Beca grinned. “Care for a challenger?”
“Oh, it’s on, Beca Mitchell,” Winona grinned. “We’ll battle with two Pokémon each, yeah?”
“Works for me!”
“Pelipper, I choose you!”
Pelipper appeared on the field, his clunky body immediately taking to the sky. Beca allowed herself a few seconds to tell herself she was an idiot for not bringing Pidgeot. None of the Pokémon currently in her party could fly, which was looking to be a serious hindrance in this fight.
“Pelli!”
“Don’t worry, Pelipper, I’m sure she’ll decide on a Pokémon soon,” Winona grinned. “Right, Beca?”
“Right,” Beca nodded. “Go, Umbreon!”
“Um!” her Pokémon yipped as he appeared on the field.
“Commence!”
“Pelipper, fly up and use Mist!”
“Umbreon, Swift!” Beca called out immediately. They hadn’t used a Swift-attack in ages - probably not since Umbreon had evolved from Eevee. It wasn’t a powerful move, in fact it was rather weak, but it was a move that always hit, even if Umbreon couldn’t even see his target.
As a thick mist formed over the battlefield, Beca grinned at the pained squawk coming from up high. “Another Swift attack, Umbreon, and keep on your guard!”
Pelipper squawked again as the attack hit him, but Beca knew it would do barely any damage. Still, without being able to see him, it really was the best she could think of. “Again!”
“Pelipper, don’t let them pummel you! Use Wing Attack!”
Pelipper appeared out of nowhere, making good use of the obscuring mists to slam into Umbreon’s side, his wing glowing brightly. “Now turn and use Water Pulse!”
“Umbreon, dodge it!” Beca called out, watching her Pokémon dodge the spout of water Pelipper fired in his direction. “Snarl, before he disappears again!”
The beam of black rings fired from Umbreon’s snout, clipping one of Pelipper’s wings. “Oh no, you don’t!” Winona called out firmly. “Use Supersonic!”
“Umbreon, Confuse Ray!”
Beca groaned as Umbreon grew a little unsteady, wobbling on his feet. Pelipper, meanwhile, appeared just as dizzy and confused, flapping its wings to remain in the air but keeling over after a few seconds, landing on the battlefield roughly. “Guess we wait it out,” Beca snickered.
“I guess so,” Winona grinned in return.
“Umbreon, when you’re able, use Quick Attack, then Dark Pulse!”
Umbreon shook his head, clearing the confusion well before Pelipper did. He rushed forward, a streak of black due to his speed, slamming into the crumpled bird with great force. As soon as he connected, he also fired his Dark Pulse attack, throwing Pelipper back. “That's it, Umbreon! Now back away a bit!”
Beca halfway expected Pelipper to be done, but she wasn’t taking any chances. “Pelipper, use Hurricane!”
Winds around the battlefield immediately picked up. The mist was blown away, but that was the only upside to Pelipper’s attack - the winds already making it hard for Umbreon to keep from being blown away. She could already tell he wouldn’t last a whole lot longer. “Umbreon, use Bite on the tree trunk!”
He was just in time, his teeth glowing purple as he bit the tree. Almost immediately after, his legs came loose from the battlefield, and Beca had to try very hard not to laugh at the sight of Umbreon blowing in the wind like a flag. “Don’t let go!”
The winds kept beating around the battlefield, with Umbreon desperately clinging to the tree. Beca knew the battle would be lost if he was blown off, so it was a relief when the winds began to subside. “Umbreon, charge and use Iron Tail!”
“Pelipper, Hydro Pump!”
“Umbreon, roll left!” Beca called out frantically, not even wanting to think about the effect a Hydro Pump would have. Not only would it do serious damage, it would also be quite likely to jet Umbreon off the platform. “Hyper Beam!” she called out as soon as Umbreon dropped to his belly and rolled sideways.
The Hydro Pump missed Umbreon by mere inches, and Beca cheered loudly when the massive beam of orange energy slammed into Pelipper, throwing him backwards and over the edge. There were a few seconds of silence, and then Pelipper reappeared, carried by two Swellow, who carefully placed the unconscious Pokémon back onto the battlefield.
“Return, Pelipper,” Winona sighed. “We lost that one marvellously.”
“Umbreon, you return as well,” Beca smiled. “Get some rest,” she told him when objected with a little whine. “I’ll bring you back out if we need you to finish the match in our favour. But let’s give your friends the opportunity to battle too, okay?”
“Um-Um!” Umbreon yipped before disappearing into his Pokéball.
“I guess your reputation is well-deserved,” Winona commended her. “Let’s see how you do against my Altaria!”
Watching the strange Pokémon, resembling the cross between a blue dragon and a bird with clouds as wings, Beca considered her options for a moment. With Umbreon still able to battle if she needed him to, she felt just comfortable enough to take a little risk. “Lairon, here we go!”
“Laiii!” he roared, landing heavily.
“Al-taaahaaaa!” Altaria sang, spreading her cloud wings and taking to the skies.
“Altaria, use Dragonbreath!”
“Lairon, Harden!”
Lairon’s metal shell gleamed more brightly, Altaria’s Dragonbreath washing over him without doing much damage. “Now, Lairon, Harden again, then Iron Defense!” Beca grinned, eager to test their new strategy.
“Altaria, this is our chance, use Dragon Pulse, then fly up and gather energy for Sky Attack!”
“One more Iron Defense!” Beca called out, hoping it would be enough to withstand Altaria’s attacks. If her plan worked, Lairon would be all but invulnerable until his attacks wore off. Sure enough, the Dragon Pulse did absolutely nothing when it practically bounced off Lairon’s back. “When she comes down, use Iron Head!”
Altaria’s glowing form came swooping down, the strongest flying-type attack having enough force to push Lairon’s heavy form backwards. At the same time, however, the metal plate on his head began to glow as he slammed it into Altaria. When their forms separated, and the glow around Altaria faded, Beca estimated Altaria had sustained more damage than Lairon had.
“Seems like the plan is working!” she told Lairon. “Rock Tomb before Altaria flies off!”
Large rocks fired off from Lairon, seemingly out of nowhere, slamming into Altaria and burying her under a pile of rocks. For a few seconds, there was the muffled, pained cry of the elegant Pokémon. “Moonblast, Altaria!” Winona called out, and in a flash of pink all the rocks were blown away. “Hyper Beam!”
“Head down!” Beca called out, watching the powerful beam slamming into Lairon, pushing him backwards slowly. As long as he could withstand it, though, Beca wasn’t too worried. Going strong for a few more seconds, the Hyper Beam slowly lost its force as Altaria expended more and more of her energy. “Now Stone Edge!”
The rocks still laying around from Lairon’s Rock Tomb attack began to vibrate, growing into sharp spikes of stone, which launched themselves at Altaria. While Altaria managed to dodge the first two, the remaining five managed to hit or graze Altaria.
“Fly up!” Winona urged her Pokémon.
Seeing the gleaming plates on Lairon’s body dulling again, Beca realised his protective attacks had worn off, meaning they needed to finish this up as quickly as possible.
“Now, Dragon Pulse!” Winona commanded
The blue energy slammed into Lairon, making him groan and pushing him backwards with the force of it. “Stay up high, where he can’t hit you, Altaria. And use Moonblast!”
The ball of pinkish energy landed on Lairon’s back, making his legs give out as he dropped to his stomach. “Laiii!”
“Come on, buddy!” Beca encouraged him. “This isn’t how it ends! Rock Blast!”
Lairon fired a large rock from his mouth, hitting Altaria, who had let her guard down believing herself to be out of range. Watching Altaria crash down on the battlefield again, Beca saw a chance to capitalise on their success. “Body Slam!”
Lairon thundered forward, jumping up and landing atop Altaria with the full weight of his stone-and-metal body. Altaria cried out, once, and then fell silent, eyes closed as she was knocked out. “That’s enough, Lairon!” Beca told her Pokémon. “Amazing job! You fought so well, winning this battle for us!”
“Laii!”
“Yeah you are!” Beca grinned, rubbing up and down the metal plate on his head. “Here, take a bit of rest, okay? We’ll have Nurse Joy patch you up in a bit.”
“Another easy victory,” Winona smiled as she approached Beca. “You have won the Feather Badge, fair and square.”
“I wouldn’t say an easy victory,” Beca shook her head. “That was a very good battle.”
“Thank you,” Winona nodded. “And it certainly was. I look forward to seeing how you do at the Ever Grande Conference. You show great promise.”
Accepting the Feather Badge, Beca steadied herself to withstand Chloe’s full-body-tackle-hug-attack.”You did it!” she squealed. “You won!”
“I did,” Beca grinned, wrapping her free arm around Chloe’s waist as she shook Winona’s hand. “Thank you again.”
“You better be ready for a rematch next time we meet,” Winona grinned. “A Pokémon trainer is never done growing stronger.”
“Looking forward to it,” Beca nodded. “Come on, Chlo. Let’s get back to the Pokécenter.”
“Ooooh! Yeah, let’s!”