Chapter 6

Alder smiled. "See you haven't lost your risk yet!" he told her as he tossed the pokeball in the air. "Braviary!"

A large eagle-like pokemon soared out and flew into the sky. It gave a loud battle cry and eyed the other two pokemon.

White shoved her hand into her bag, and gripped a pokeball. "Show them your power, Archy!" she called as she threw the pokeball upward.

The large Arcanine leapt out and yowled.

"It's you!" Archy hissed as he saw Zoroark.

"Oh, be quiet! Now, let's show big snout over there some manners." growled Zoroark.

"Big snout?! Your gonna pay for that, Mr. I-insult-everyone-I-see!" Bouffalant snapped childishly.

"Go eat dirt, Big snout and long beak!" Archy growled.

"I'm gonna nickname you guys Grumpy and Idiot!" Braviary said in a screechy voice.

Alder rubbed his chin, "You may have the first move." he said politely.

White smirked. "Your gonna wish you never made that choice." She sneered. "Now, Zoroark use Dark Pulse on Braviary! Archy, Flamethrower on Bouffalant!"

Archy howled and shot fire toward the large pokemon, but Bouffalant ran to the side. The fire burnt some of its coat. Zoroark did better with Braviary, for he jumped and hit Braviary's wing with his Dark Pulse.

"Braviary, Brave Bird on Arcanine! Bouffalant, Head Charge on Zoroark!" Alder commanded. Bouffalant snorted and rammed into Zoroark's side. He let out a shriek and bit down into the pokemon's neck.

Alder's Braviary suddenly grabbed Archy in its talons, and flew upward. Archy yowled and more fire shot out towards Braviary's face. It screeched and let him go, making Archy fall to the ground.

Archy yelped as he hit the ground with a thud. Alder laughed as Braviary and Bouffalant gave amused cries.

"I have been training a lot since we last battled! Think you can handle it?" he laughed.

White gritted her teeth. "I can handle anything! Archy, Extreme Speed on Braviary! Zoroark, Thief on Bouffalant!" she yelled.

Zoroark howled and slashed the side of Bouffalant. It gave a loud grunting noise and tried to pull away. But they had gotten what they wanted, because Zoroark now held a Oran Berry in his paw.

Alder chuckled, "Impressive, but that was just a lucky move."

"This is just the beginning!" she growled, a sly smile across her face.

White looked up just in time to see Braviary fall from the sky. Archy suddenly appeared next to Zoroark.

"I love doing that. Makes me feel good." She heard Archy bark in a amused tone.

"Use Surf and Fly!" Alder ordered. The river next to them started to overflow and headed straight toward Zoroark and Archy. White screamed, and leapt back as the wave slammed into her pokemon.

She heard Alder laugh again as she looked around for Archy and Zoroark. Archy was on his side, trying to recover from the impact. Zoroark was spluttering and spitting out water.

I need more power, White thought anxiously, as she dug around in her bag. The rain wasn't helping much, for it decreased Archy's fire attacks.

She needed the sun...

"Archy, Sunny Day! Zoroark, Flamethrower at Bouffalant!" White yelled.

Archy howled, and he shot a ball of fire into the rainy sky. It started to light up the sky, enough to give Archy and Zoroark energy.

Zoroark gave a yowl, and shot fire toward Bouffalant. It grunted in surprise, and tried to roll away from it. However, it hit Bouffalant right in the face.

Bouffalant made loud angry noises, and kept kicking it's back legs.
"Take that, sucker!" Zoroark hissed gleefully.

"You are gonna pay!" Bouffalant snorted angrily. It started to sway back and forth, then fell to the ground. Bouffalant had fainted.

"Nice one," Archy growled to Zoroark.

Alder pulled out a pokeball, and returned his Bouffalant. "Nice try, Bouffalant." he told him encouragingly as Bouffalant disappeared into the pokeball.

"Your talk is big, but talking is completely different than battling. Plus you only remember my old tactics." White snarled at him.

"Indeed, but tactics and the power of moves are also different! Braviary, show them your power with Hyper Beam! Attack the Zoroark!" Alder yelled. Braviary screeched, and white light began to form around it's beak.

"Quick! Archy, Extreme Speed! Zoroark, Protect!" White screamed to her pokemon. Archy howled and vanished, as Zoroark formed a large bubble around himself.

A loud screech echoed around them, as Braviary plummeted from the sky. Archy reappeared a second later. Braviary fell to the ground and stopped moving. Braviary fainted.

"And they called us Idiot and Grumpy." Zoroark sneered, "Well, Big Snout and Long Beak, we proved that grumpy idiots can take down anyone!" Archy growled with amusement.

Alder sighed, and returned Braviary to its pokeball. Zoroark and Archy ran over to White. "Good job, guys." She murmured to them as she ruffled Archy's fur.

"I will admit, I overestimated myself! I thought I could take you down, but you are still as powerful as ever." he admitted with a chuckle.

White gave a small smile. "I thought you were gonna destroy me." She admitted as well.

"THAT WAS AWESOME!" a familiar voice screamed excitedly, making White facepalmed.

"Leia! What don't you get about the sentence 'Keep quiet and don't let anyone know we're here'?" White heard Amos's voice yell.

Leia, Amos, and Hugh seemed to have been hiding behind some bushes while she and Alder were battling.

Hugh stood up from their stood up from his hiding place, looking embarrassed and angry. Amos followed his cousin, who also looked irritated. Leia, however, leapt out of the bushes and started rambling.

"That was soooooooooooo awesome! How did you get that strong?! Can you train me?! Where did you get that Zoroark?! You didn't have it last time!" Leia spoke non-stop.

Alder laughed. "Do you know these young trainers?" he asked.

"Yes. This is Leia, Hugh, and Amos." She explained, trying hard not to start yelling as her face burned with embarrassment. Alder nodded and smiled.

"Nice to meet you three! I'm Alder, the last Unvoa champion." Alder greeted.

Hugh nodded, his face still red. "I know, I've seen you before. I'm Hugh. This is my sister, Leia, and my cousin, Amos." he explained.

"What are you guys doing here?" White butted in.

"Err, we saw you battling, and we thought we could learn something from you guys by watching." Amos admitted as he shifted uncomfortably.

"It was worth it!" Leia chimed. Archy rolled his eyes, and Zoroark clawed the ground.

"These are the kids N wants to save Unova? He has strange tastes." Zoroark growled.

"You can say that again." sighed Archy.

White glared at the rookies. "Don't you have a gym battle or something to do?" she snarled.

"We did! Well, I did, actually," Leia corrected herself.

Hugh then hurriedly explained, "Leia challenged the gym in our town. She won, thanks to the Riolu you gave her. It was all Normal Types, so she had the upper hand."

"I forgot! The gym leader seemed interested in you!" Leia sang. White twitched. Archy and Zoroark turned their heads to her. Archy gave a cat meow, but White pressed down on his tail.

"That must have been Cheren!" Alder explained, "He became gym leader about a year ago. He has been looking for you."

White's face felt like it was on fire now. She had met Cheren two years ago, and saw him occasionally. She hadn't seen him since Team Plasma last fell. White never really cared or thought about him.

"Cheren asked me how I got the Riolu, and I told him that you helped me catch it. He seemed to lighten up a bit, and he asked us if we ever saw you again, to ask you to see him sometime." Leia told her.

White didn't answer. She honestly didn't want to meet him. "I will think about it." She muttered.

"How far is Floccesy Town?" Amos asked Alder.

"Just down there. Takes about five minutes " he directed as he pointed down the river.  "But, I must go right now. I have a class in a little while. You all can visit me anytime. I will see you all around!"

Leia started to pull at White's arm after Alder walked off. "Let's go to the town! I wanna see what's there! Can you come too?" she added excitedly.

Hugh rolled his eyes. "You talk way to much, Leia." he joked as Amos looked at White.

"Will you come? It would be cool." he asked.

Zoroark rubbed against her leg. "Don't do it. These kids creep me out." he hissed.

"Who made you boss?" retorted Archy.

"No one." Zoroark growled. "Its my opinion."

White ignored the pokemon. They confused her way too much. She didn't want to go with them, but it might help her get to know them.

She shrugged. "Ok, fine." White replied.

Leia squealed and pulled her toward the direction Alder went.

"Yay! This will be fun!" Leia squeaked. Amos and Hugh exchanged looks and followed. Archy and Zoroark walked by White's side, as they headed toward Floccesy Town.