Chapter II:
Gym Battle #1: Steel
I made my way out from New Bark Town for the last time, headed towards Cherrygrove. It was night time, and I couldn’t stop until I reached Violet City. I had already called the Pokémon Center and booked a room for when I got there.
I walked along Route 29 feeling creeped out. I could see the eyes of Pokémon staring at me from inside the brush. The wind was rustling in the trees, and the Hoothoot were...well, hooting. I looked around for another Dark-type that I could catch to give myself three Pokémon for my first Gym challenge. Just before I gave up, I heard a cry.
“SNEE!” called the Pokémon.
“Sneasel? Down here?” I said, puzzled.
I ran to where the Sneasel was crying. It was surrounded by Rattata and Hoothoot. They were taunting and bullying him.
“That’s not going to keep going on my watch. Go, Eevee and Houndour!”
I threw the balls into the air, and my Pokémon came out, ready to help.
“Houndour, use Faint Attack!”
“Houn!” he growled before disappearing.
“Eevee, you use—”
“Eevee!” he cut me off just before digging underground.
“Wow! I didn’t know you could use Dig.”
Within seconds, Houndour had appeared on one side of the group, charging at them, and Eevee came from underground, bit, and tackled the other side. The frightened Pokémon scattered. I ran up to the Sneasel.
“SNEE!” it yelled as it launched an Ice Shard at me.
“It’s okay,” I told it, “I’m not going to hurt you. Are you okay?”
“Sn...Sneasel...”
“Here, let’s get you to the Pokémon Center.”
I picked him up and held him to calm him down a little. He snuggled close to me. I waited until he was asleep, and we started back down the route.
We finally made it to Cherrygrove and rushed into the Pokémon Center.
“Nurse Joy!” I yelled.
“Yes, Damien, coming,” she called from the back. “What happened?”
“I was on my way back through towards Violet, and I heard this Sneasel screaming from being attacked by wild Rattata and Hoothoot. I used Houndour and Eevee to get rid of them, and I brought the Sneasel here for you to check him out as well as my other Pokémon."
“Sure, no problem.” She took Eevee and Houndour to the back. She came back for Sneasel, but when she tried to take him from me, he shot at her with an Ice Shard. “Maybe you should bring him back here.”
“Okay, that seems best.”
She led me to the back where there was a large table with all sorts of equipment to monitor the Pokémon’s status. I laid Sneasel on the table and held his claw to keep him from trembling in fear. She looked him over and found him unhurt.
“He’s completely okay, but he seems to have connected with you. You may want to let him go with you.”
“You think so? Hey, Sneasel, you want to come with me on my journey?” I asked him.
“Snee!” he cried happily.
“Well, in the ball you go!” I said as I pulled a Poké Ball out of my bag. He touched the button with his claw, and he was enveloped in a red light that went into the ball.
One...
Two...
Three...*click!*
“Well, I just got...a Sneasel! Thanks Nurse Joy. I’ll be on my way. I’ve got a room booked at the Pokémon Center in Violet City, so I’ve got to hurry. I’m running behind.”
“I’ll call my cousin in Violet and let her know what happened. She’ll understand.”
“Thanks. See you!”
“Travel safe!” I ran out of the Pokémon Center and off to Route 30.
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I ran past Mr. Pokémon’s house and continued north towards Violet City. It was still dark, and I was alone, but I felt like someone was watching me...and I was right.
“Hey, you!” a voice yelled from behind me. I turned to find two shady-looking guys in all black coming up behind me.
“You have Pokémon, right?” asked one of the two.
“Yeah, what’s it to you?” I replied.
“We want them,” said the other guy.
“Well, I’m sorry, but you two are going to have to catch your own.”
“We weren’t asking, we’re demanding!”
“We’ll see about that!” I said.
“You’re messing with Team Rocket now!” they both said in unison.
“Zubat, go!” said one.
“Go, Koffing!” said the other.
Simultaneously, their Pokémon appeared from their balls.
“Well, I could go for a nice double battle. I think I’ll go with...Eevee and Sneasel!” My Pokémon appeared from their balls. “Sneasel, use Ice Shard! Eevee, use Quick Attack, jump between the shards, and use Bite on Zubat!”
“Zubat, use Air Cutter!”
“Koffing, use Tackle on Sneasel!”
“SNEE!!!” Sneasel froze the moisture in the air and created huge shards of ice.
“EE-VEE! VEE! VEE!” Eevee shot between each shard like a blur.
“Zu-bat-bat-bat-bat!” Zubat huffed as it flapped its wings.
“Koffing!” yelled Koffing as he charged at Sneasel.
Sneasel braced himself for the Air Cutter, but it only grazed him. Eevee stopped right above Zubat and caught it right on the stomach with his teeth. They fell to the ground, and Zubat was knocked out.
Koffing was almost at Sneasel.
“Sneasel, dodge with Agility and use Slash!”
Sneasel waited until the last second and disappeared with a blur.
“Koff? Koffing?” said the Koffing, looking about, confused.
“Snee!” yelled Sneasel. He appeared with an evil smile behind Koffing and slashed at it with his razor sharp claws. Within seconds, Koffing was down.
“Koffing, return!”
“Zubat, come back! You haven’t seen the last of Team Rocket. We will be avenged!” And with that, they ran off into the forest.
“That was really strange,” I said. Eevee and Sneasel both nodded in agreement. “Come on out, Houndour!”
“Houn!” he cried as he materialized.
“Let’s keep going to Violet City. Keep your ears and eyes open for any more of those goons.”
We continued along the path and reached a sign with “Route 31” written on it.
‘Great, more walking,’ I thought.
We kept walking, but we stopped when I saw a Ghastly. I heard Eevee could learn Shadow Ball, so I thought I’d have Eevee battle this Ghastly and have him learn it.
“Eevee, let’s battle this Ghastly.”
“Eevee!” it cried, ready for another battle.
“Ghas?” said the Ghastly. It turned to find Eevee and me ready for battle. It rushed up and tried to Lick Eevee. “GHASTLY?!?” it yelled in surprise when its tongue went through Eevee without even harming him. He floated back and started to build up energy.
Watch him, Eevee,” I commanded. Eevee watched as Ghastly pulled dark energy in front of himself and formed it into a blob.
“GHAS!” yelled the Ghastly as it sent the Shadow Ball hurtling towards Eevee.
“EEV!” Eevee yelled in fear.
“It’s okay, Eevee, the Shadow Ball won’t hurt you,” I said.
The ball went straight through Eevee without leaving a scratch.
“Now, Eevee, do exactly as he did.”
“Ee-e-e-e-e-e-e,” he said, concentrating. A blob of shadow began to form in front of Eevee.
“Now, Eevee, Shadow Ball!”
“Vee!” he yelled as he sent the blob straight at Ghastly, scoring a clean hit.
“GHAS!” screamed Ghastly as it ran in fear.
“Ee-Vee!” cried Eevee happily.
“Great job Ee—” Eevee began to glow with a brilliant white light. I looked up to see that the moon was full, and I knew Eevee was evolving. His shape distorted and changed to another dog-like form. When the light went away, Eevee was no longer there. Where he stood now stood Umbreon.
“Umbreon!” I yelled ecstatically. I got down on my knees and called it over.
“Umb!” he cried happily. He ran up to me and knocked me over because he was bigger than he was before. He had nearly doubled in size.
“Let’s go! We’ve got a Gym Badge with my name on it we’ve got to get!” All my Pokémon cried happily in approval. We continued through the toll house and headed straight for the Pokémon Center.
“Hello?” I called.
“SHH!” cried someone, “There are people and Pokémon trying to sleep.”
“Sorry, Nurse Joy,” I said quietly, “can you tend to my Pokémon? I’ve got to get some rest before I take on the Gym Leader.”
“Certainly, I’ll just take your Pokémon for a few minutes.” She took the Poké Balls to the back and brought them back within five minutes. “Here you go!”
“Thanks very much. Goodnight!”
“Pleasant dreams!”
And with that, I went upstairs and found my room; I let my Pokémon out, got in bed, and fell fast asleep.
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I woke up and noticed I had overslept. It was lunchtime, and I had possibly missed my best chance of challenging the Gym.
“Crud! I’ve got to get going fast! Everyone, return!”
All my Pokémon returned to their balls as I ran to the mirror. I brushed my hair down, got dressed, brushed my teeth, and headed straight for the Gym.
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I ran north from the Pokémon Center and followed the path west. Within minutes, I was standing in front of the Gym. I walked inside.
“Hello?” I said, “Is anyone there?”
“Yes,” said a voice, “coming.” The guy that walked into the room was tall and ripped. He had silver hair, but he was only my age, maybe a few years older.
“Are you Chad?”
“Yep, that’s me.”
“I’m here to challenge you for a Gym Badge. Is it still the Zephyr Badge?”
“No, I took the Mineral Badge from Jasmine. She moved to the Sinnoh Region about two years ago, so I was able to use Steel-types for this Gym. Anyways, you don’t look like you’re ready to challenge me yet. Plus, I wasn’t prepared to be challenged. You might want to do some training at the Sprout Tower just north of the Gym. Come back after you’ve battled the head sage and then we’ll talk.”
“Okay, you’re on!” I ran out of the Gym and headed towards the Sprout Tower.
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I walked into the tower and noticed a giant swaying pillar in the center.
“Whoa, what’s that?” I asked aloud.
“That, my good fellow, is what keeps this tower standing,” said a sage from behind me.
“Are you the head sage?” I asked.
“No, he’s at the top. There are five floors, not counting this one. I must warn you. Wild Pokémon can be found in this tower, mostly Rattata and Ghastly.”
“I’ll be fine, but thanks for the heads up!”
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After nearly five hours of climbing through the maze-like tower, I reached the top floor. I was greeted by the sounds of a fierce battle. Lucian was fighting the head sage. I knew this because I could recognize the psychic power from his Espeon that was tossing the sage’s Hoothoot about.
I ran towards the fight only to find that it was already over.
“Humph,” said Lucian. “How can you be the head sage? Your Pokémon are worthless.”
“You have beaten me,” said the sage, “but you must understand. Pokémon are not tools of war and hatred. You will fail in your quest if you do not realize this.”
“Whatever, old man.” Lucian turned to see me. “Well, well! If it isn’t the little chump who bested me once before. Don’t get your hopes up! You won’t beat me again.”
“That’s what—” I started.
“This guy is totally weak,” he said, cutting me off. “Even someone like you could beat the likes of him! I’m out.” With that, he ran off, leaving the tower.
‘He pisses me off,’ I thought to myself.
“What can I do for you, young man?” asked the sage.
“I was told by Chad that I should come here to train, or he wouldn’t accept my challenge,” I explained.
“Oh. Well as you probably heard, my Pokémon aren’t in the best condition to battle right now. How about I give you some pointers for your battle.”
“That would be great! Thanks!”
“Okay,” said the sage, “he uses Steel-type Pokémon. You’ll want to use Fire- and Fighting-type moves. His prized Pokémon is Metang, a Steel- and Psychic-type. My recommendation for it is strong Dark-, Fire-, or Ghost-type moves, or something like Dig, if any of your Pokémon can use it. He also has a Magnemite and an Aron, a Steel-Electric type and a Steel-Rock type, respectively.”
“Thank you so much! This will make my battle go a lot smoother.”
“You’re welcome. Just be careful though. His Metang can use Signal Beam and Brick Break, so I wouldn’t use any Dark-type Pokémon.”
“Dang, that’s all I have! Umbreon, Houndour, and Sneasel.”
“Well, you aren’t going to have an easy battle. Just do your best.”
“Thanks for the advice!” And with that, I started back to the Gym.
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I entered the Gym to see Chad standing on the other side of the canyon-like stadium battlefield.
“So, did you battle the head sage?” he inquired.
“No, someone got there before me and beat him to the point where his Pokémon couldn’t battle.” I began to smirk. “He did give me a few suggestions though!”
“Well let’s get this going.”
“NOT WITHOUT A JUDGE!!!” boomed a voice from out back. A man walked into the Gym. He was tall, with dark blue hair.
“Are you…Falkner?!?”
“Yeah, that’s my dad. He’s almost your dad’s age, just a little younger.”
“How do you know my dad?” I asked.
“Your dad is a very famous Gym Leader among the earth users, being me, Roark, Bertha, Roxanne, Byron, and Jasmine. Heck, even Giovanni, the ex-leader of Team Rocket and the ex-Gym Leader of the Viridian Gym, knows him.”
“You’re getting off track,” said Faulkner.
“Sorry,” said Chad, chuckling.
“The rules are simple. Three Pokémon per Trainer, and only the challenger may switch out during the course of the battle. The battle is over when all three of either person’s Pokémon are unable to battle. Battle BEGIN!!!”
“I’m going with…ARON!!!!” yelled Chad as he threw his Poké Ball.
“Aron!” cried the Pokémon as the flash of light dissipated.
“Aron, a Rock-Steel type. How’s about I go with this Pokémon? SNEASEL!!!” I yelled, throwing the Poké Ball.
“SNEE!!!” yelled Sneasel, ready for a battle.
“Wow! That looks like a tough Pokémon. No matter. I have a major type advantage! Aron, use Superpower!!!”
“Aaaaa-ROOOOOON!” it yelled as it began to run towards Sneasel.
“Snee?” Sneasel looked at me, worried.
“Sneasel, Double Team!” I said calmly.
At the last second, Sneasel blurred itself and made its illusionary copies of himself. The Aron had built up too much momentum and was going straight for me. I smoothly slid to one side, and the Aron passed right by me and ran straight into the wall.
“ARON!” yelled Chad.
“Let’s end this, Sneasel. Brick Break.”
Sneasel jumped high into the air, with his claw glowing, and came down over Aron.
“Aron, Iron Defense!” yelled Chad, but it was too late. Sneasel’s claw came down on Aron’s head and pushed it deep into the dirt.
The dust cleared.
“Aron,” cried Aron weakly.
“Aron is unable to battle,” said Falkner. “Victory goes to Sneasel.”
I turned around and picked up Aron. I met Chad in the middle of the field to return his Pokémon.
“Aron, you tried your best. Return.”
“Had that Superpower hit Sneasel, he would’ve been done for. That damage it took from hitting the wall helped me out. Sneasel would’ve had a tough time getting through that defense.”
“Yeah. I need to watch that next time. Let’s continue.”
We returned to our respective sides of the field.
“I’m going with MAGNEMITE!!!” he yelled as he threw his second Poké Ball.
“Mag-ne-mite,” the Magnemite cried in a robotic tone as the flash of light passed.
“Hmm,” I mumbled. ‘Magnemite are known for their powerful electric attacks, but they are one of the slowest Steel-types. Sneasel is a bit tired from that last battle, so...’
“I’ll switch. Sneasel, return.” Sneasel was enveloped in a red light and went back into the ball. “I’ll go with HOUNDOUR!” I yelled as I threw the ball.
“HOUN!” growled Houndour as the flash from the ball dissipated.
“HAH! That Houndour is going down! Magnemite, use Thunderbolt!”
“Mag-ne-MIIIIIIIIIIIIITE!” yelled Magnemite.
Again, I stood and waited.
“Houndour, fade out and run,” I said.
Houndour faded from sight. I could sense where he was.
Magnemite’s Thunderbolt was headed for me. I dodged each individual bolt.
I could feel that Houndour was right behind Magnemite.
“Houndour, Hidden Power,” I said calmly.
Orbs of light shot out from nowhere and hit the Magnemite dead on.
“Mag-ne-mite!” yelled the Magnemite in pain.
“Houndour, end this. Flamethrower.”
A jet of searing hot flames shot out from another point on the field, and Houndour appeared.
“Mag-ne-miiiiiiiii...” the Magnemite droned on.
“Magnemite is unable to battle,” said Falkner. “Victory goes to Houndour.”
A brilliant white light enveloped Houndour. He was evolving.
“Houn-DOOOOOOOOOM!!!” yelled my new Houndoom as the light dissipated.
“Err...I mean, victory goes to Houndoom,” Faulkner corrected.
“Wow, your awesome Houndour just evolved into an even more awesome Houndoom! Congrats!”
“Thanks,” I replied. “That Magnemite was well raised. I could tell from its Thunderbolt. That would have hurt had it hit me.”
“Yeah, sorry about that. My Pokémon get kind of carried away sometimes. Let’s finish this up. You won’t win so easy this time. I’m going with my prize Pokémon, METANG!!!”
“ME-TANG!!!” yelled the Pokémon after appearing from its ball.
“Houndoom, return. After that, you need to rest.” A red light washed over him as he returned into his Poké Ball.
“You can only choose one more Pokémon. I’d be careful,” taunted Chad.
“I know this, and I only have one more on me. Meet MY prized Pokémon. Go, UMBREON!!!!” I yelled as I through the ball.
“Um-bre-ON!!!” he cried as he appeared from his ball.
“LET’S GO!!!” yelled Chad, ready for this epic battle. “You’ve got first move!”
“Big mistake on your part! Umbreon, Confuse Ray!”
“Um-breeee,” it said as the rings on its body started to glow as well as it’s eyes. The light they emitted gleamed in Metang’s eyes. It became cross-eyed.
“Metang, use Signal Beam!” ordered Chad.
“Meeeee-TANG!” Metang yelled as it charged towards a wall.
“Metang, NO!” yelled Chad.
“Umbreon, under,” I said. Umbreon dug underground, while Metang snapped to.
“Now, Umbreon, hit it, and then Confuse Ray again.”
Umbreon burst through the ground and hit Metang hard on its underside. When Metang hit the ground, Umbreon’s rings and eyes began to glow again.
“Metang, get up!” screamed Chad. Metang flailed around the field hitting rocks as it went.
“This is the end for you, Chad,” I said calmly. “Umbreon, Dark Pulse, full blast.”
“Um-bree,” it said as it built up power. “Um-bre-ON!!!” Umbreon sent the pulses of dark energy forward at blinding speed. Metang snapped to again, but it was too late. The Dark Pulse connected and sent Metang flying at Chad. He caught it in his arms.
“Metang is unable to battle,” said Falkner. “Victory goes to Umbreon. The challenger wins.”
“Nice battle, Damien,” said Chad sadly.
“Hey, don’t get yourself down. I plan on being a Gym Leader too one day. Maybe I’ll try to be in the Elite Four. I have to be strong to get there.”
“You’re right,” he said. “Here’s your Mineral Badge. Be proud. You’re the first person to win the badge from me.”
“You bet I am,” I said ecstatically.
“You should challenge the Azalea Gym. It’s still a Bug Gym, so it would be tough, but your new Houndoom should have no problem.”
“Thanks. See you later!” I said.
And with that, my road was set on Azalea Town.
