Queen Bee

        "Darn it, another Wurmple! Not again!" I let out a groan as the red caterpillar appeared on my screen. Once my Roserade was sent into the field, I selected the RUN option and fled from the battle. I sighed in disappointment and slathered more honey onto the tree. Grumbling to myself, I went to my party and had Staraptor use Fly from Floaroma Town over to Oreburgh City.
        Hopefully this tree will have a better Pokemon… I thought to myself as I headed north to the Cycling Road. I had already been to five other trees, and I had encountered two Wurmple, a Silcoon, a Munchlax, and a male Combee. I was ecstatic when I saw the Combee go across my screen, but that quickly faded as I saw it was a male. I pushed those thoughts into the back of my mind as I approached the next tree. It wasn't shaking hard, but I still pressed A, figuring that I didn't have anything to lose. The battle scene started, and I clenched my DS firmly. Although I figured it wasn't a rare Pokemon, I still get nervous, because you never really know what is going to come out. I saw yellow and a pair of tiny wings. I blinked to focus and it was a Combee. But it wasn't just any Combee.

        It was a FEMALE Combee.
        My heart skipped a beat and I squealed with joy as I saw the small orange mark on the middle Combee's forehead. Roserade was sent out and the Battle menu came up. I selected FIGHT, but froze right afterwards. My Roserade was level 46 and the Combee was level 11. I had no idea what move to use that would lower its HP enough for me to catch it, but not completely kill it. I shortly realized that Grass-type moves were weak against Bug- and Flying-types, so I looked at the Moveset that Roserade had.

        "Magical Leaf, Grass Knot, Solarbeam... Aha!" I tapped the screen and bit my lip.
        "ROSERADE used MEGA DRAIN! It's not very effective..." I stared at the Combee's health bar as it slowly went down from green, to yellow, and then finally red. It seemed like forever before it stopped.
        "The wild COMBEE used SWEET SCENT! ROSERADE's evasiveness fell!" I let out a large sigh of relief, seeing that the Combee hadn't fainted. The Battle Menu came up again and I immediately selected my bag and went to Pokéballs.

        "Shit!" I said out loud to myself. I only had a Great Ball, a Pokéball, and a Luxury ball with me. I thought for a moment before selecting the Pokéball first. It flew across the screen and I froze, staring at the Combee being taken into it.
        One click...
        Two clicks... The Pokéball stopped and I stared at the screen as the Combee broke free. I groaned as the Combee used its Sweet Scent and impatiently waited for the Battle Menu. I tapped BAG, then POKEBALLS before selecting the Great Ball. It flew across the screen and absorbed the Combee.
        One click... the Great Ball stopped and the Combee broke free. My heart sank and my head started spinning as I waited impatiently for the Battle Menu. I tapped BAG, POKEBALLS, and stared at the Luxury Ball that I had left. I gulped nervously before tapping it. The Luxury Ball flew across the screen and opened with a wave of red sparkles as it took the Combee.
        One click...
        Two clicks... My heart began racing.
        Three clicks... Could it be?
        Click! The wild COMBEE has been caught! My eyes went wide as I stared in amazement.
        "Would you like to give a nickname to captured COMBEE?" I selected YES, then pondered for a moment as to what I should nickname her. Thinking that she would evolve into a Vespiquen, I made up my mind and tapped the letters. "Queenie has been placed in your Party!" I squealed with joy as the setting went back to the Cycling Road. I slathered more honey onto the tree and quickly went to my party. I became confused, seeing that she was now the first in my party and was at full health. I cautiously selected Staraptor to use Fly to go back to Floaroma town so I could train my new Combee. One the flight scene went by I ran south onto Route 204. Going into the grass, I immediately ran into a Pokemon.
        "A wild BIDOOF appeared!" "Go, Queenie!" She came out from her ball of red sparkles and the Battle Menu appeared. I selected FIGHT but then remembered that Combee only knew two moves. I went back and selected my party, but a text box came up.

        "Queenie wants to fight!" I blinked in astonishment as the text vanished and it want back to the menu. I tried again.
        "Queenie wants to fight!" Staring at her, I decided to try and battle. I selected her only useful move, Gust.
        "Queenie used GUST!" She attacked the Bidoof and it fainted in one hit. Confused, I just kept pressing the A button until the scene changed back. Still a bit confused, I continued to battle with Queenie, and all of them were the same. All one-hit kills, all with Gust.

        Within an hour I had her to level 20, and she knew three moves - Sweet Scent, Gust, and Bug Bite. Ecstatic that Queenie was going to evolve soon, I decided to head on over to Eterna City to battle in Eterna Forest. After the Flight scene, I headed to the west to the forest. As I walked in, I thought I heard a faint Combee cry, but I told myself it was just in my head from listening to Queenie for the past hour. Running into the grass, I immediately ran into a Beautifly, which I thought was odd, because they're supposed to be rare. Queenie was sent out, and I had her use Bug Bite. It didn't to much damage, but the Beautifly used Mega Drain. It was powerful enough to put her health in the orange.
        "Queenie used REVENGE!" Wait, what? I said out loud, looking at the screen to make sure I had read that right. Sure enough, Queenie used Revenge, and the Beautifly fainted. I stared in awe, knowing that Combee could not use Revenge. The battle ended, and I continued to walk around. This time I ran into a Dustox. Queenie came out, and she was at full health. I was freaking out a bit at this point. Without touching anything, Queenie used Bug Bite. The Dustox used Gust, and her health went into the red.
        "Queenie used REVENGE!" There it was again. I got a tight feeling in my chest as I saw her use the attack. The Dustox fainted. "Queenie grew to level 21!" My eyes got wide as I read that. I skipped through the stats, eager to have my Combee finally evolve. However, I was startled by what happened next.

        The game didn't go to the evolve screen. Instead, it took me back to Eterna forest.
        "Hey, what gives?!" I shouted at my DS. I knew for a fact that a female Combee evolved into Vespiquen at level 21. I then saw Cheryl walk from the direction of the entrance towards me. "Why is she here? This isn't part of the plot..." She walked in front of my character and talked to me.
        "There you are, Kathryn! I've been waiting for you! Oh? Oh!" She jumped twice. "Your Queenie is finally ready! Please, we must hurry!" Hurry? Hurry where? Before I could finish thinking, a hoard of Combee came by and seemed to pick us both up. Staring at my game in confusion and surprise, I saw the 'cloud' of Combees take us over the trees on the west side of Eterna Forest. It was a while before I saw something besides trees underneath us, and I was shocked to say the least.

        As the Combees descended into a clearing, both Cheryl and my character jumped off and they flew away. As they did, the screen went upwards to show that we were standing on rocks next to a waterfall. No way... I thought to myself. Cheryl turned to me.
        "This way." She started walking and my character automatically followed behind her, around the pathway and behind the water fall before the screen went black. A second later, we were in a cave. Eerie music filled my ears as Cheryl kept moving forward, with me directly behind her. As we continued, Combee seemed to gather at the sides of us, as though they were watching our every move. It seemed that we walked forever, and I was starting to get more and more anticipated as to what was going to happen. After quite some time, I finally saw a bit of light coming from in front of us, then we stopped just a few steps before an opening in the cave. Golden light shone through it, and I could hear faint buzzing sounds, as though there were something on the other side. I walked to Cheryl's side and she spoke to me once again.
        "On the other side of this opening is the Amber Castle. One you go inside, the Combee drones will form a wall to prevent you from going back until you confront the Queen Vespiquen. You will need to go alone, for this is your battle, not mine. Your Queenie MUST fight the VESPIQUEN alone. The Queen will not let you switch your Pokemon or you will be attacked by the drones. Your Queenie must earn the right to evolve and be enthroned. Before you go, I will heal your Pokemon." The text box vanished and I heard the sound when Nurse Joy heals your Pokemon.
        "Good luck!" Cheryl walked away and out of view, leaving me there all alone. I just stared at my character in fear, and hesitantly headed closer to the opening. Taking a deep breath, I took the final step in, and the screen turned white. About a minute later, the color came back, and what an amazing sight it was. The floor and walls were glistening amber, and I saw several Combee hovering by. Drops of honey fell from above, and there were little pools here and there. But my trance was broken when the screen started to move upwards. It showed a lightened path, which lead to what appeared to be fountains of honey, which then lead to a small chamber. I saw two small red dots appear and a text box.

        "..."
        "The Queen senses your presence..."
        "She appears to be beckoning you to come closer." The dots dissolved into the dark spot of the chamber and the screen went back down to me. Instinctively, I moved forward along the path. The buzzing sound got louder as more Combee began to appear, gathering at my sides as they did in the cavern. The path seemed to go on forever. After an eternity of walking, I got to the base of the steps, next to the fountains of honey. My character stopped and the screen went up to the chamber. The gleaming red eyes appeared once again, and another text box came up.

        "The Queen can feel your anticipation..."
        "She wants you to come closer..." I slowly started walking up the steps.
        "Closer..." I kept walking.
        "Closer..." As I walked, some Combee formed behind me, gesturing that I couldn't turn back. I finally stopped about 5 steps in front of the chamber. The eyes glowed even more before she finally came out. The sprite was huge in comparison to mine, and I gasped in shock as I took another glimpse.
        She was orange. My heart beat faster in realization that this Vespiquen was a shiny. I bit my lip in excitement and fear, hoping with everything I had that I could catch her. I carefully watched as she slowly headed towards me. I jumped a little as I realized she was attempting to talk to me.

        "..."
        "......"
        "Queenie was sent out!" Before I could ask myself what that meant, I saw my Combee, Queenie, come onto the screen. Appearing on my right side, she slowly went in front of me, pushing me back, standing - er, hovering - between me and the Queen Vespiquen.
         "Oh?"
         "Queenie is evolving!" Instead of going to the evolution screen, Queenie went white in front of me and the transformation began. A few minutes passed by before Queenie finally stopped and her whiteness faded to a normal Vespiquen's colors. I squealed in delight, now that I finally had a Vespiquen. However, the reality that I was still in the chamber hit me like a rock and my heart was beating very quickly. I looked at the screen once again, then rubbed my eyes to assure myself what I was looking at. It wasn't just me, the Queen's sprite was enormous compared to Queenie. The screen gradually moved upwards, towards the Queen Vespiquen.

        "..."
        "......"
        "VVVIVVUUVVIIVUUIH" I shrieked as the loud cry emanated from my speakers and the battle music began. Cautiously looking at the screen, I heard what sounded similar to legendary battle music. The gameplay screen blurred, and I saw red eyes appear, followed by a faint Vespiquen silhouette. Fading to white, the Battle Screen finally came up. I couldn't help but utter a squeal as the Vespiquen came up, sparkling in all her shiny glory.

        "The Queen VESPIQUEN wants to battle!" Instead of my trainer sprite sliding into the battle, I saw Queenie's sprite come in. Looking up to see the Queen's stats, I saw that the Vespiquen was at level 30. Okay, not bad... I shouldn't be dead immediately. Let's see what you've got. I selected FIGHT and tapped GUST, knowing that Vespiquen was still a Bug-type.
        "Queenie used GUST!" The animation played, and the Queen Vespiquen actually reacted - I saw bruises, and her wings were slightly tattered.
        "Queen VESPIQUEN used POWER GEM!" I winced as Queenie got hit, and I got a heavy feeling in my stomach as I saw a bruise appear on her. The menu came up. I selected FIGHT, and she immediately attacked.
        "Queenie used REVENGE!" There was the move again. The same happened as before - bruises started showing up on the Queen.
        "Queen VESPIQUEN used FURY SWIPES!" The sinking feeling came back as I saw scratches appear on Queenie, one right after the other, her health slowly going into the red.
        "Queenie used HEAL ORDER!" I blinked. What? Vespiquen can't use that until level 25. But sure enough, little Combees came up and healed some of her scratches, and her health was back in the green.
        "Queen VESPIQUEN used POWER GEM! Queenie avoided the attack!" I made a sigh a relief, knowing that it missed.
        "Queenie's RIVALRY kicked in! Queenie used FURY SWIPES!" I stared in terror, seeing scratches appear on the Shiny Vespiquen. "Hit five time(s)! The Queen VESPIQUEN flinched!"
        "Queenie used FURY SWIPES! Hit five time(s)! The Queen VESPIQUEN flinched!" This continued over and over, with more scratch marks appearing with every attack. Eventually the Queen was bleeding all over, her health slowly going into the red zone. As it was about empty, another text box came up.

        "Queenie wants to keep fighting. Will you let Queenie keep fighting?" A YES and NO option came up, and a chill went up my spine as I read those words. I thought for a while. I wanted to catch the Queen because she was a shiny. I suddenly realized that this is how things are settled - I had to let her keep fighting. I selected YES, and Queenie attacked again. "Queenie used Fury Swipes!" The animation played and I was sickened by what I saw. The sprite had been torn in half - She was just a bloody mess, covered in bruises and scratches. "The Queen VESPIQUEN has been killed!" The screen slowly faded to black as I finished reading the text. My heart beating a million times a minute, clenching my DS Lite tightly, I nearly died of anticipation waiting for the screen to come back. As it did, I shrieked quietly in fear.

        There was the Queen, laying there in the chamber, torn in half, still a bloody mess, with Queenie in front of her. Because of her large size, a pool of golden-red blood came from under her, slowly making its way into the fountains of honey. Within a minute the fountains were swirling pools of gold and red. Combee gathered around, forming a half-circle in front of me, Queenie, and the now dead previous Queen. Queenie stayed facing the dead Queen for quite some time, then turned around to face me, covered in scratches, bruises, and blood specks here and there. I saw the sprite nod at me before a box appeared.

        "Queenie has won the battle! Queenie is now QUEEN!" I heard a loud buzzing from the Combee as the text vanished. As it subsided, Queenie came closer to me. "Queenie is happy that Kathryn let Queenie keep battling. Queenie wants to give Kathryn a gift." I had a minor panic attack as the screen went black for a moment. It came back, and I gasped at the sight. My trainer was standing there, adorned in a Vespiquen-themed outfit, including a pair of wings and what appeared to be a tiny crown.

        "Now Kathryn can stay and rule with Queenie. Until the end."