River and the others sat in the lounge of the Cerulean City Hospital in the early hours of the morning. None slept that night after the attack J had made on them, especially Blaze. With his Charmeleon in the Pokemon Center, Blaze hadn't uttered a word since.
Flora sat between River and Blaze, her eyes occasionally drifting to Blaze. Noticing this, River cleared her throat and nudged her elbow.
"Alright, this is boring," said Voltage as he stood up and walked over to the vending machine.
"If this is boring you, then you think of something to talk about," said River as she leaned against the armrest. "I just want to know why that guy attacked us."
"Blaze already told us," said Flora quietly. "That guy, J, wanted the files of the Legendary Pokemon so he could catch them and use them against Arceus, the Creator of all Pokemon."
"Oh, right." said Voltage as he reached into the vending machine and grabbed a soda. "Well, if that happens, we can pretty much guarantee that we'd all be screwed.
Flora rubbed her chin in thought as she leaned back. "Well, I'm not so sure. We know little of Arceus, but what we do know is that it has the ability to change it's type. If we used a type against Arceus that it's weak against, then it would be possible to defeat it," said Flora matter-of-factly.
"Good luck finding a Pokemon that could defeat Arceus, even with a type advantage," said River with a yawn. "The Pokemon we have aren't strong enough to fight Arceus. We'd have to use another powerful Pokemon to beat it."
"Hence why he wants those files," replied Voltage as he plopped into an armchair. "I wouldn't mind catching myself a Zapdos or Raikou..." he muttered to himself.
"According to the bet we made with Norman, we can only catch three Pokemon per region," she reminded Voltage. "So unless you were in the Johto region, you can't catch them without breaking the bet."
"Oh, right....
Blaze snorted. "I don't care. If I can catch a Legendary Pokemon to prevent J from getting it, I will," said Blaze harshly. "I will make him pay for what he did to Charmeleon."
"I've been meaning to ask, how is Charmeleon...?" asked Flora.
"He'll make it, but he has a few cracked ribs...I won't be using him in battle for a while," said Blaze as he withdrew two Pokeballs. "I'll be relying on Growlithe and my Flareon for a while. But when my Charmeleon gets better, we'll be striving to put J and his Rhyperior in place."
"Good luck with that..." said Voltage as a nurse walked into the lobby.
"Excuse me, but Misty has requested that you four come to her room."
"Really?" asked River as she and the others stood up.
"Yes," nodded the nurse. "Her room is down the hall, three doors to the right."
River and the others walked down the hall and into Misty's room. She lied on a small, single bed with a small baby in her arms, wrapped in a thick blue blanket. Misty looked up and gave them a warm smile. "Come in, come in." said Misty as looked down at her newborn baby boy.
"Oh, he is so beautiful!" said Flora as she and River admired the baby, Voltage and Blaze hung back.
"What is his name?" asked River.
"I haven't decided yet," said Misty as she held her baby close. "I'm going to wait for his dad to get her so we can decide on a name together. He's not home often, but he should be home tomorrow," Misty looked up to River. "Now, there's something I want to discuss with you about the Gym Leader position."
River's face lit up. "Did I get it? Am I going to be the new Gym Leader?" asked River excitedly.
Misty frown and looked down at her baby. "No. I'm sorry, but I can't accept you as the Gym Leader.
The pit of River's stomach churned. Her lips curved into a scowl, her eyes wide in shock. "What? I don't understand...Why? I would have beaten Blaze!" she yelled, her temper flared.
The baby cried as River's shouting woke him up. Misty rocked the baby asleep as she looked up with a concerned look. "I'm sorry River, but with J going after you and your friends, I can't in good conscious let you stay here as Gym Leader."
River glared at Misty as tears began to run down her cheek. "Fine!" she shouted as she stormed out of the room.
"River, wait!" said Flora as Misty stopped her. "Hold on, I want you to give her something for me," said Misty as she turned her head to Blaze. "I have something for you too."
"What?" asked Blaze as he walked toward Misty.
Reaching into the drawer beside her, she withdrew two Cascade Badges. "You two fought fantastically. Your Pokemon fought hard and I couldn't tell which of you would win. Because of that, I am giving you the Cascade Badge," she said as she handed Blaze a badge. "Flora, will you be sure to give River her badge?"
"Of course," said Flora happily as she took it. "I'll give it to her right away," she said as she left.
"Wow, really?" said Blaze as he took the badge and looked at it. "I got my second badge!"
Misty smiled sweetly. "Good luck, you guys. Get as many badges as you can, and you show J who's boss."
"Yes, ma'am!" said Blaze excitedly.
"Don't worry, we'll beat that jerk." said Voltage with a tip of his hat.
Misty nodded. "Thanks. Train hard."
(NOTE: I merged the previous chapter XI with X, so don't be confused. This is the official chapter XI)
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