CHAPTER 3: Strive for Greatness! Mallory's First Gym Badge!?


~ Ecruteak City, Ecruteak Dance Theater ~

As time went on, the three teenagers saw and heard all participants filter out of the dance theater, now that the event had ended and the excitement contained inside the buildings had subsided. Idle chitchat ensued while they patiently waited for the man himself, Dirk Hargrove, now that the Tournament had finally finished.

"That was definitely something." Shawn joked, still proud of his position in the final rankings of the Tournament. "Sounds like my TV debut was pretty good!"

Sarah praised the buzzcut boy, although a bit strained from her failed attempt at winning. "You should be proud really. Ninth place isn't an easy feat to pull off, especially for a begginner like you or me!"

"Our cheering probably did the trick!" Mallory concluded with a snap of realization. "We must've sent loads of positive energy your way. No wonder you won!"

Shawn chuckled and looked at the door to the stage, waiting for someone to come out. It was growing late after all, and his friend wanted to wake up early in order to make use of the twenty-four hours ahead. "I'm sure it was just that..." he replied, rather dismissively as he eyed the door.

A short instant of silence later, Sarah was reminded of an important topic of discussion - future plans. "Have any you guys decided on where you're going next? Ecruteak is sort of a central hub here in Johto, you can access quite a few different places from here."

The boy agreed as he quickly drew the bird's eye view map of the region in his mind. "There's Mahogany Town to the east, Olivine City to the west, and Goldenrod and Violet Cities to the south." she listed off the paths known to her before falling silent, pensive about where she'd like to be put to the test next.

"Goldenrod, Olivine and Mahogany all have gyms you can challenge, Mallory, so that's a no-brainer for you. If you're thinking of challenging all eight gyms in the region, you're going there eventually." she explained before turning to Shawn. "But you're kind of dependent of the contest schedules, aren't you, Shawn?"

With a sigh, he nodded. "Unfortunately so. That's why I want to check the scheduled meetings on the Pokémon Center. I forgot to do so yesterday, what with all the excitement and all."

"Hm, I see." Sarah finished, before adding, a bit unsure. "I wasn't paying too much attention to those, but I'm pretty sure the Mahogany Meeting is in a week or so. You have more than enough time to make the trip, train and be there on time for the competition!"

Pondering that as a possibility, Shawn shrugged. "Eh, maybe we'll go that way next then."

"That works out well for me, too." she smiled, remembering something. "There's another one of these battling tournaments in Blackthorn City, a few days after the meeting. Awfully convenient, wouldn't you say?"

"That's good!" Shawn smiled back. "Maybe we should all go together? Until Blackthorn City, at the very least."

Unable to find faults in the boy's idea, Sarah nodded confidently, agreeing to the thought. Just as she did, however, the sound of footsteps made her cock her head in the direction of the door, trying to discern who the steps belonged to. "Mr. Hargrove!"

"Dad!" Shawn cheered, standing up with Sarah following suit shortly after, Mallory still stuck in a thoughtlful trance.

"Hey there, my boy." Dirk smiled and rubbed his son's head, before Nurse Joy and the reserved Professor Elm gave more silent greetings. "Great job out there, you three! You're all winners in our books." he praised the two losers, one of which had yet to hear a thing. "Is little Mallory okay? Seems like she's a bit away. Something happen?"

Shawn reassured his father with a shake of the head, while Sarah proceeded to explain. "We were talking about where Shawn and her are going next on their journey. We both think it's best to go towards Mahogany first, since I think there's a contest there in a few days!"

"Yes, that's indeed the case." Nurse Joy intervened politely.

"Oh, right! You're from Mahogany Town, aren't you, ma'am?" Shawn inquired curiously, a bit forgetful of her presentation at the begginning of the tournament. With a nod, the nurse confirmed the boy's thoughts. "That's it, then! We're going towards Mahogany next."

Nurse Joy nodded ever so slightly and threw a smile towards Shawn. "I'll be seeing you there, then."

"Yeah! And be sure to tune in and see the contest!" he suggested with a smirk. "I'll be putting on a show like you've never seen!"

"Shawn, you know Nurse Joy is a judge, don't you?" Sarah informed, making the boy tilt his head, confused. "Yeah! Every contest in a major town or city has Nurse Joy as one of the lead judges. Mr. Miteang is also someone to look for there."

"I-I knew that!" he scratched his head, poking his tongue sheepishly making the nurse giggle.

With a bow, the nurse took the professor's arm. "We must get going right away, unfortunately. I have matters to attend to back in Mahogany. Would you be interested in a ride, by any chance?"

Shawn instinctively wanted to nod, before being reminded of the surprisingly quiet girl behind him, still in a daze. "Thank you, but Mallory here still has to get a badge case before we leave... and I'm pretty sure she'll want to battle Dad for the Ecruteak City's Gym Badge as well."

"Hm?" Dirk's eyes widened. "She will?"

"I-In any case," Nurse Joy interrupted, not to be forced to do so later on in the discussion. "I must take my leave now. Professor?"

"Yes." he courteously bowed, bidding farewell to the people still inside the lobby before leaving through the front gate.

The Ecruteak Gym Leader eyed the two of them leaving before looking at the three teenagers. "We should get going as well. Let's talk about that challenge on the way."

"I GOT IT!" Mallory cheered, standing up from where she was sat on with a victorious 'Eureka!' stance. Grabbing everyone attention suddenly, she turned to the three remaining people and shared her brilliant realization. "We should go to Mahogany next!" the trio only exchanged a few glances before laughing it off.


~ Ecruteak City, Pokémon Center ~

"Are you sure you'll be okay here?" Dirk worried, previously thinking he'd have his son over for the night before his inevitable exit, but being proven otherwise. Mallory and Shawn had just left the building when they had the idea to stay at the Center with Sarah. "I dont want any mischief, you hear me? I trust you'll be fine." he added, still a bit disheartened.

The boy gave his father a toothy grin, showing his clean, white smile and assured him. "We'll be fine! When we're out travelling, we'll need to stay here in Pokémon Centers and the like, so we need to know how this works. If anything goes wrong, I'll call you."

Dirk sighed and shook his head, a sad smile on his face. "Don't make me think of anything going wrong, or you're walking home with me, little guy." The shorter boy clamped his hands over his mouth, smiling behind the makeshift mask he'd created, making Dirk smile in return as he noticed the crinkling around his son's eyes. "Make dad proud, okay?"

"Will do!" Shawn promised, throwing a thumbs-up towards the man. "Now gimme a hug, dad!" he had his arms outstretched and wide open, making the older man smile at his son's innocence, rubbing the boy's hair while embracing him tightly. "Aaaagh, dad! Y-You're crushing me!" he complained, flailing about.

"Sorry, sorry." he apologized, quickly loosening his grip over his son until he finally let him go completely. "I'll be going now. Is Mallory coming over tomorrow?"

Shawn looked behind him, seeing Mallory and Sarah talking, the former looking like she was in a fierce battle with the empty space in front of her, throwing punches, jabs, uppercuts and kicks as she pumped herself up for the challenges ahead. "I'm betting she will. First thing in the morning, probably." he chuckled, turning back to his father. "What time does the gym open?"

"Pretty early." his father shrugged, unsure of whether or not he'd open the Gym at the usual time, since he had just had a bit of a rough evening judging the tournament. "I'm sure I'll be there when you three arrive though. Tell them both I say hi, hm?"

"Will do!" Shawn cheered with a big smile, his amber eyes squinting as he grinned.

Dirk couldn't help but give his son a small laugh, shaking his head at his innocence. Knuckles on his hips, he looked him in the eyes. "I love you, son. Take care, you hear? No getting frisky with those two ladies."

"D-Dad!" the younger boy blushed and turned away, looking elsewhere in embarassment. "I-I wouldn't do anything like that... Mal is my friend."

With a hearty roar of a laugh, the older man apologized and gave the boy a hug, bidding him farewell as he left, vanishing over the corner as he undoubtedly headed home. Shawn ran a bit in front of the door, checking if his father was still anywhere near his sight, but failed - and began to admire the scenery around him, specifically the towering building up north, reaching the skies above Ecruteak.

"That's the Bell Tower." Sarah commented, leaving the center, the automatic glass sliding doors closing behind her.

"Yes, I know that." Shawn smiled, and resumed his contemplation of the ancient tower before a jolt of realization hit him. Looking inside in search of his friend, he noticed Mallory talking to Nurse Joy, a bit of a nervous and awkward look plastered on her face. "What's Mal doing?"

Cocking her head to the right, Sarah looked over her shoulder and giggled. "Bargaining with Nurse Joy because of her badge case." After being aware of the hilarious conversation that was probably ensuing inside the building, Shawn joined his new friend as they both laughed off the purple-haired girl's enthusiasm and impatience regarding the whole situation.

"Hey, Sarah?" Shawn caught the girl's attention.

"Hm?" she nudged him to continue.

Looking around him, the vastly different scenery of Ecruteak contrasting Veilstone's big city aesthetic, he finally asked. "Where is it like where you come from? Is it like this?"

"Oh?" she gasped, before furrowing her brow in confusion. "I thought you knew all about geography... you sure seem to know a lot, anyway."

"Yeah, yeah, I do!" he defended himself, proud of his achievements as a fellow enthusiast of the subject. "It's just... I know landmarks and city layouts quite well, and pokémon type matchups are pretty easy to me as well. I was a good student back in school, I studied a lot and got pretty good grades and stuff, but we don't learn about how people feel, you know?" he asked, a bit vaguely. Sarah's silence was enough to make him understand that he was being too unspecific. "F-Forget it."

"No, no!" she insisted, eager to know what Shawn was talking about.

With a sigh, he resumed. "We learned about population number, local pokémon and buildings and all that but... I want to know how it feels to be in those places! That's something we never mentioned in school. Do you like living in Celadon?"

"Yes..." she responded, after a bit of a thoughtful pause. "It's a good place to live in. Sometimes the whole big city vibe it's got going on gets kinda tiring, and there're some problems with pollution and such, but overall it's a nice place to set up camp."

"I see..." Shawn concluded, a small breeze squeezing in through his hairs, sending a jolt down his spine as his scalp felt a sudden chill. "Ahh!" he interjected, reacting to the wind. "It's getting pretty cold out. Let's head back in."

Sarah nodded firmly, leading the way in as the heated inside of the Center greeted the duo with two open, warm arms. Finding their way to Mallory, who was waiting by the empty counter, the younger girl greeted the pair. "Heyo, guys!" she cheered. "Good news and bad news. What do you want to hear?"

Still indecisive, Shawn shrugged and blurted out the first one he'd thought. "The bad news, first."

"Well..." Mallory started, dejected and glum, looking down. "Turns out it really was true... badge cases only arrive tomorrow morning..."

"Y-You knew that already though!" Sarah noticed, confused, before turning to Shawn, who told her beforehand of the situation. "Didn't she?"

"She did." he rolled his eyes. "Bet she couldn't stay put and wanted to pester Nurse Joy some more, though. Am I wrong?" he eyed Mallory, arms crossed.

Pushing the drape of purple hair aside, Mallory's angry, dark red eyes came into full view, making Sarah flinch. In an instant, they grew softer, and she sighed. "You got me... I just wanted to see if they were hiding any in the back room or something! Pokémon Centers have a back room for stuff like this, right?"

"I... I guess?" Sarah answered, bewildered. "I heard there's a storage room for medical supplies and pokémon that are still waiting for their trainers... never heard of badge cases being stored there, though."

"Well, I've never heard of badge cases ever running out!" Mallory clenched her fists tightly, slightly flexing her arms as she tensed up. "It's unheard o-" she stopped herself, gasping as a sudden idea came to mind. Her brows furrowed in reaction as she blurted out her theory. "I've got it! It's a conspiracy! Nurse Joy is conspiring against me, out of fear that I'll rule over the Johto region after I win at the Pokémon League!"

A few seconds of awkward silence followed, Mallory growing progressively calmer. She then tilted her head to the side, almost asking if they had any problems with her thoughts. "Um... what about the good news?" Shawn continued, not wanting to press the subject any further.

Puffing her cheek, the girl glared at her friend before eventually shrugging it off. "I got us three a room for free." she said unimpressed, flipping her shoulder-length hair nonchalantly.

"Pokémon Center usually lend out a room for trainers on journeys. So it's no big deal, you know?"

"Would you stop bursting my bubble!?" Mallory snapped, jumping up and down with a childishly annoyed expression. "Jerk!"

Shawn laughed it off, patting his friend in the shoulder. "Sorry, sorry. You know I love you."

With an eye-roll, Mallory crossed her arms in front of her before crossing gazes with Shawn, the two of them starting to laugh. Sarah, feeling a bit left out, chimed in. "So, where are we staying?"

"I'll lead the way. Nurse Joy told me it's down that hall to the right." she pointed out, gesturing to a corridor in the back that connected itself to a perpendicular one at the end, dividing left and right. "Let's go?"


It had just turned 7am when a loud beep woke Shawn and Sarah up unexpectedly, both of them sitting up with a jolt of adrenaline. Still dazed and dizzy from the sudden wake-up, Shawn shifted his legs and started rubbing the sleep away from his eyes when he heard another loud noise - this time, the sound of something falling, followed by a weak, drowsy whimper.

"Shawn!" Sarah called out in panic as the other girl approached the fallen Vulpix in front of her.

"A-Amber!" the boy called, quickly dropping from the top bunk where he'd slept before crashing to the ground due to sleepy legs. "Ow... i-is Amber okay?" he asked, still blinking in order to get a clearer view of his surroundings, his friend's face taking form slowly but surely.

"Piiiiix..." the fox pokémon yawned, cringing at the sensation while she got up on four legs, stretching her paws before the rest of her body followed. Her shiny blue eyes focused on her trainer, then shifted to the bed above them, and back to the fallen soon-to-be coordinator. Slowly she approached the buzzcut boy and rubbed her head, coated in short, soft fur against the boy's leg.

With a sigh of relief, Shawn patted Amber's head, rubbing her back before reaching down below her neck, scratching the red fur. "Glad you're okay, and sorry, Amber..." he apologized before looking behind him, stretching his neck, and he focused on the window. "What was that noise?" he then focused on Mallory, already in travelling gear, Shroomish's pokéball in tow. "And why are you already in normal clothes? What time is it?"

Mallory stood up, putting her hands to her hips and her face grew stern. "That was the alarm clock, and we're going to leave this center in a few minutes! Your father's gym is about to open, Shawn, get going! I don't want to be late!"

Sarah reached out to the table in between the two beds, noticing the fallen bedsheet covers that hung from the top bunks, where Mallory and Shawn had rested through the night. Her head peeking under the covers of Shawn's bed, she checked one of the Pokétches. "Just after seven..."

"We barely slept!" Shawn complained, eyeing Mallory as she towered over her. "What happened to eight hours of sleep a night?"

"We have challenges coming our way and we can't leave them waiting, you idiot!" she retorted, gesturing both of the teenagers to get up and start readying themselves to leave. "Chop, chop, we ain't got all morning! I'm going to the front desk and asking the nurse if any badge cases have arrived yet, be right back!"

Sarah looked at the boy who was still fallen on the ground, Amber on his lap and chuckled as Mallory left the room hurriedly. "If anyone were to complain, you'd think it'd be me, huh? Aren't you used to these kinds of things? Like, as friends, don't you guys sleep over at each other's place?"

"Yeah., sometimes, but..." he stopped, sighing. "Mal sleeps in all the time, and I'm the one who has to wake her up so we can get going somewhere."

"Then you're getting your just desserts, I guess!" Sarah pestered, poking out her tongue before leaving bed, helping Shawn getting back to his feet. "Good thing I'm a morning person!"

Shawn shrugged and left to go to the bathroom, seeing that Mallory had already brought the clothes they left in the laundry the night before, a nice, sweet scent emanating from the fabric. Two small piles of neatly folded clothes rested on the sink, and Shawn looked at himself, a bit of drool drooping from the side of his lip and with a severe case of bedhead.

"I'm gonna take a quick shower before heading out, ok?" he warned before closing the door, Amber squeezing inside just before the thud to keep her trainer company.

As he smiled down at the fox pokémon, he heard a voice from outside, muffled by the door. "Okay!" Sarah replied, her tone a bit strained, like she was doing some morning stretches. "Don't take too long, I want to shower too!"

"Suuuure!"


~ Ecruteak City, Ecruteak City Gym ~

It had been quite a while since Shawn had seen the Ecruteak City Gym in full glory. It wasn't anything too wild to see, sure, since he had seen it plenty of times online and in school, but seeing it in person made it seem... grander. The white walls were adorned with wooden planks that divided the building's sides into rectangles, the bottom half of it being neatly covered by the wooden slabs. Each of the rectangular building's corners were covered from top to bottom, connecting the wooden porch railings around it, to the blue pagoda-like roof where various lamps were lit and dangling from the borders.

"Wow..." Mallory whispered as she took in the structure, eyes glistening in the glow of the candlelight.

"M-Mal?" Shawn called, noticing she was standing dangerously close to the flame, the tip of her nose only milimeters away from the hot glass casing. "Would you be careful? I don't want you to get hurt before your gym battle."

"Look at all this!" she fawned, swooning over the outside of the building. "The wooden details, the porch, the lamps! What a nice, calming aesthetic!" she said, looking behind her. They'd already trudged a couple of meters from the street, as a stone walkway divided the garden that surrounded the Gym, several stone lanterns being lit ablaze, scattered around the grass and flowers. "I'm all for this! Let's do it!" she psyched herself, speedwalking towards the door before taking a deep breath. "Excuse me! Challenger coming in!" she called as the door creaked open.

Sarah and Shawn were quick to follow the gym challenger as she entered the building, focusing on a rectangular plain wooden arena with a tall lamp post on each corner, a pokéball logo drawn in white along the wooden boards, as per usual for standard Gym battlefields. Around said battlefield, was a suspended walkway for spectators.

"Mallory!" a rough voice called from the opposite side of the expansive room, coming from a door in the back. "I was waiting for you three!" The older man had complimented his usual white tanktop and black jeans with the black tailcoat he used when judging the Tournament the previous night, the image of a Typhlosion emblazoned in the back.

"Mr. Dirk!" Mallory called, her blood pumping hotter and faster than ever as the adrenaline kicked in. "I'm here to challenge you to a gym battle!"

The older man couldn't help but see his younger self in the fiery teenager, but brushed it off in fear of being either too boring, sounding too old or wasting too much time - something Mallory clearly didn't feel like doing. "I see, I see." he nodded, a big smile on his face. "It's about time for you to get knocked down a peg or two!" he taunted.

"You wish!" she fought back, sure of herself. "Bring it on, sir, I'll be the best challenger you've seen in ages!"

A short boy in a yellow t-shirt and jean shorts ran up to the older man. "S-Sorry, sir, I'm here!" he bowed, turning to the three teenagers before bowing again. "I'm Kyle, hello! I'm here to be the referee of this match!"

"Get in position, Kyle!" Mallory wasted no time, skipping formalities, the boy nodding and taking his place in the middle of the field, off to the right side from the front door. "Mr. Hargrove, how many pokémon will the challenger use?"

"Hm." Dirk saw himself in an uncomfortable position. "A limit of two would be the norm, and I cannot make exceptions."

All eyes were on the purple-haired girl as her red eyes squinted, a cocky smile of anticipation growing on her face. "I've only got one pokémon, and that's all I'm going to need! Bring on whatever, Mr. Dirk, we can take you on!"

Taking their stands, Sarah and Shawn eyed as the referee confirmed Mallory's requests with Dirk, a firm nod of affirmation being the final dealsealer.

"Preparations are ready for the Gym Battle to begin! Both the leader and the challenger may use a maximum of two pokémon in this single battle, and only the challenger will be allowed to switch out her pokémon in the middle of battle!" Kyle announced. "The battlers may show their first pokémon!"

Dirk, reached out behind him, picking one of the pokéballs on his belt, throwing it out into the battlefield before it opened. "Go, Quilava!"

"Lavaaaa!" the quadruped pokémon readied himself for battle, immediately adopting a fighting stance, his dark-red eyes lit with the same fire and energy as Mallory's. He let out a roar, his voice hoarse and deep, as the flames on his back grew larger and brighter.

Mallory's smirk had yet to vanish as she threw out her pick - her only pokémon, and faithful partner. "Shroomish, I choose you!"

"Shroom, shroom!" he waddled, trying his best to look menacing. Quilava's eyes widened for a second, his stern expression turning into a small smile.

Sarah started fidgeting nervous, from the sidelines. "Your dad's a fire-type Gym Leader, isn't he?" he asked, stressed out for the outcome of the match. "Why'd Mallory bring out Shroomish!? Mr. Dirk has a great advantage over her now!"

"Shroomish is her only pokémon..." Shawn explained, reminding the older girl. "I'm sure she'll pull through... somehow."

"You don't seem too sure."

"Well..." he explained himself. "My dad's really strong. So although I'm rooting for Mal, I'm putting my money on Dad."

"I see." Sarah nodded, focusing back on the battlefield as the match was just about to begin.

Kyle cleared his throat. "The match between Ecruteak City's Gym Leader, Dirk Hargrove, and his challenger, Mallory Pixiehale of Floaroma Town, is about to begin! May the battle... commence!"


GYM BATTLE BEGIN!

Mallory Pixiehale + Shroomish
VS
Dirk Hargrove + Quilava + ?


"Alright, Shroomish, let's start this show!" Mallory initiated her assault, finger outstretched as she dramatically made her first move. "Tackle!"

"Shroooooom!" he let out a victory cry before running headfirst into the opposing pokémon, his stubby feet running at top speed as he made his way to the fire-type in front of him.

Quilava didn't move, waiting for the incoming attack or his trainer's orders. "Smokescreen!" he heard, and opened his mouth letting out a cloud of dense, black smoke that also seemed to erupt from the fireholes on his back.

"Shroom?" the unmistakable voice of the grass-type pokémon made him look confused and lost in the dark puff of smoke. Sarah nudged Shawn to look to Mallory's side, where Shroomish had appeared, skin a bit darker from being in the middle of the smoke.

"Good job retreating, Shroomish, you're the best!" Mallory cheered her partner on before giving out her next order. "Bullet Seed, now!"

A look of resolution crossed the grass-type's face as he readied himself for the next attack, puffing out his cheeks before letting various pelts be shot out of him and directly at the Quilava on the opposite side of the field - although he was ultimately taking a blind shot, as the smoke hadn't dissipated yet.

"There should be some sort of light or something..." Sarah squinted her eyes, trying to focus on the inside of the smoke cloud, but to no avail. Defeated, she sat back down and rested her chin on the railing dividing her and Shawn from the field. "Quilava's back has some sort of fiery burst of flame... that should give off light to make him visible in the Smokescreen."

"Mal might've thought that too but..." Shawn tried his best to find said light, but reached a similar conclusion to Shroomish and Sarah before him. "It doesn't look like it. Dad probably had that weakness covered."

Sarah pondered over the Leader's strategy for a quick second before eyeing Mal with hopeful eyes. "I hope she can get around it quickly... she's already at a disadvantage so she has to work something out, pronto!"

"Hnrgh..." Mallory groaned, stalling for the smoke to dissipate.

"No move, huh?" Dirk taunted before cracking his knuckles and bending down, eyes presumably on the back of his pokémon. "Quilava, Quick Attack!"

The fire-type's cry made itself hear throughout the room as the fog in the field started to vanish. A great number of footsteps followed, a flurry of them being heard in quick succession, making the small grass-type nervous as he had no idea what to expect from his opponent.

"Shroooooom..." he whimpered, staying put, trying to resist whatever hit came at him.

"Try to locate him, partner!" Mallory suggested, although she didn't seem too sure of the idea herself. It would be a plan, for sure, but how could Shroomish pull it off? "Look out!" she warned, noticing a blur exiting its previous concealment in the black cloud of smoke.

But unfortunately, it was too late. At a blinding speed, Quilava made his way out of the cloud and headbutted Shroomish, knocking it quite far, landing on his back. Hopping back to his feet, Shroomish was visibly hurt, but endured the pain. After making sure her pokémon was still fired up, Mallory ordered another move, trying a new approach. "Leech Seed!"

Taking advantage of the cooldown Quilava was using to rest his hind legs after the Quick Attack, the seeds latched on to the fire-type, vines stemming from them until they wrapped his entire torso, visibly sapping away at his vitality. A hurt groan left his throat as a flash of pain crossed his face.

"Good job!" Mallory reiterated, praising her partner pokémon. "Now, Tackle!" Shroomish assented with a quick hop before running in, tackling his opponent as he flew a bit backwards, rolling before standing back up, his background being the almost clear image of the smoke lifting.

Pumped at the turned tables, Mallory rose her fist in the air, basking in the cheers she heard coming from Sarah and Shawn on the side. "Don't get careless now!" Sarah advised, as she noticed the Gym Leader had settled on a strategy to counterattack.

"Flame Wheel!" Dirk ordered, and Quilava jumped in the air as the vines grew a bit tighter, starting a somersault as he became enveloped in flames and dropped to the floor, now a true wheel of fire, running in Shroomish's direction.

"D-Dodge!" Mallory shouted, as Shroomish barely managed to avoid the incoming super effective attack. The two opponents on Mallory's side of the field, Quilava's Flame Wheel subsided, making the blue and cream quadruped appear once again behind his guise of flames.

Noticing something amiss, Shawn quickly made a detail known. "Th-The Leech Seed's gone!"

Brought to her attention, Mallory and Sarah took no time to notice it as well. "The Flame Wheel burned the vines away!?" Mallory concluded aloud.

"I see you've noticed!" Dirk responded with a short laugh. "Indeed, the Leech Seed is but a normal grass-type move. Nothing against Quilava's flames!"

"And here I thought we'd be golden after the vines grew around the fire spurts on his back..." Mallory thought to herself, biting her bottom lip.

Dirk rose his arm, fingers spread out. "Flame Wheel!"

Before Mallory could conjure a new strategy, Shroomish was too slow to dodge the fire-type move, resulting in direct contact, making the grass-type fly off the arena. With a low, weak groan of pain, Shroomish slowly came to his senses, standing on his two shivering legs before falling backwards once again, this time unable to stand back up.

After a few instants, Kyle nodded and declared the end of the match. "Shroomish is, as of right now, unable to continue battling! That means the victory goes to the Gym Leader of Ecruteak City's Gym, Dirk, and the challenger has lost the battle!"


GYM BATTLE END!
Victory goes to Dirk Hargrove!


"Shroomish!" Mallory entered the arena, holding her partner in her arms before discerning he had fainted, rendering him unable to fight. That, coupled with Kyle's announcement, had made the sad truth settle - she had lost once again. With a sigh, she held a pokéball in her hand and tapped it against the grass-type's top. "Good job, partner." she comforted as she saw the red energy being trapped inside the ball again.

A few other sets of footprints approached Mallory before she could take notice. Her head raising as the shadows came closer, she saw all people present gathered around her. "That was a good match!" Sarah commented, trying to keep an air of positivity she knew she wouldn't be able to maintain were she the one to lose.

"Good!?" Shawn repeated, incredulously. "It was amazing! Lasting that long against a stronger pokémon with a type advantage over you!? Unreal, Mal!"

A bit taken aback by the praise, she gave her friends a thumbs-up. "Thanks, guys!" she thanked her friends, her usual vigor and strength unfazed. Turning to the Gym Leader, she added "Thank you so much for the battle, Mr. Dirk! I had a blast!"

"You were quite the challenger, I must say." he laughed. "I hope to rematch you sometime, when you grow stronger, and maybe have a couple more pokémon to fight against me. You've got the potential, Mallory, you just need the experience!" he praised, before being sure to add a little nudge to the teenagers' younger days. "You've grown into a fine young trainer, I must say. Nothing like the bratty little girl I knew you as. You're maturing, both of you!"

"D-Dad..." Shawn scratched his scalp, before laughing it off, a bit embarrassed.

Mirroring his son's laughter, Dirk shook his head. "I suggest you go to the Center and let Shroomish rest."

"Lava!" the fire-type agreed, making all eyes turn to him, his stern, mature eyes remaining just that after gaining the sudden attention.

"And after that... how about I treat all of us to dinner tonight?" Dirk offered, being sure to include Kyle and Sarah along for the invitation. After being met with unanimous consent, he smiled, a bit resenftul of his own offer. He hadn't remembered how much of an eater Shawn was in his youth - a trait he'd yet to lose.

Following Mallory to the door, Shawn asked. "Hey, Mal? What are we gonna do now?"

"I want to go to Mahogany Town already!" she immediately replied. Shawn's eyes widened in response, as he wasn't expecting that to be her answer. "What? I want to become stronger so I can defeat Mr. Dirk!" she explained, making her friend a little more at ease.

"The Mahogany Meeting is coming up too... so we really should get going soon-ish." he reminded, being met with a smile from the purple-haired girl.

"Then what are we waiting for!?" she enthused. "We're making our way there first thing in the morning!"

Shawn felt his chest tighten at Mallory's idea. "But... what about my dad? And... And our sleep schedule?"

"Trainers like us have no time to waste with puny little hours of rest! Six hours make for a good battery recharge!" Mallory warned, asserting her own suggestion as what would happen, something Shawn didn't feel like fighting against.

"Hey, guys, wait up!" Sarah called from the inside of the Gym, after bidding Kyle and Dirk farewell. "What's the matter, Shawn?" she asked, noticing his pale face.

"N-Nothing..." he shrugged, before leading the way to the Pokémon Center. "I'm gonna be sleeping all afternoon and I won't be bothered by any of you, you hear?"

The wandering battler's gaze crossed Mallory's for a second, and both of them shrugged - the latter hiding what had happened from the former for the time being. The day had barely begun, but they were already planning what to do next.

Mahogany Town awaited the three teenagers.


~ CHAPTER 3: END ~


New Characters:

Kyle, submitted by me!

Dirk's Quilava


A/N: Unfortunately, it seems like Mal's first Gym Battle didn't go so hot, now did it? Nevertheless, more challenges and battles are on the horizon and that girl's enthusiasm and bravery just doesn't let up! The Mahogany Gym and the Mahogany Meeting are both our protagonists' next challenge - with Sarah tagging along for the ride!

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Until next update, happy writing and... Yamazaki out!