"Hey man, it's time to wake up. Day's almost up so we should be all clear for the gym now."
The Totodile rolled over and yawned, crawling out of the bag that it had fallen asleep in.
"So you're ready to finally go beat up on another little kid so we can go home, right?"
"Well, y'know, it's more of you beating him up rather than me. I mean shit, I'm not even giving you orders like everyone else so it's almost like you're the one on the journey and I'm just here to carry you when you get too tired."
"Yeah, whatever man. Don't read too deep into the shit. Let's go do this shit and get the journey over with already. We're already both out of our comfort zone."
Jack walked up to the doors of the gym and stared up at the sign. Lappe climbed down from the boys back and began to stretch alongside Jack as they readied for themselves for their first and what they both hoped to be their last battle. Just as the two were moving to enter the building, the doors swung open and revealed a middle aged dark-skinned man with spiky hair.
"Oh, hello there! I suppose you're here to take my challenge? Or, I mean to say the Pewter city gym challenge since it's not exactly mine anymore but my brother Forrest's." The man chuckled to himself and rubbed the back of his head where his hair laid a bit more flat.
"I guess you're Brock then? Good luck in the elite 4." Jack smiled half-heartedly, and lowered his head slightly.
Brock chuckled again and then nodded his head. "Hey thanks, I hope to see you there at some point. For now though, take care of my younger brother. He's not got a lot of real world experience, but I've been training with him for a good long while so I'm sure he'll be a good challenge for you regardless of your own level. He'll be using rock types as well, so if you've spent time preparing for me then you won't have to change up your tactics or anything."
"Oh really? Sweet, sounds great. Guess we'll go on in then." Jack moved towards the door, turning sideways so as to pass by the ex-leader without continuing the conversation.
"Good luck, and if you don't mind, don't be too rough on the kid alright?"
Jack waved the back of his hand at the ex leader as he walked through the doors, struggling not to let slip a sigh.
Lappe jumped up onto jacks shoulder and whispered into his ear. "You don't really want me to take it easy on him, do you?"
Jack shook his head. "Hell no. Obviously I don't care that the guy's new or else we would have come in earlier instead of wasting precious daylight. Let's just get this shit over with so we can go back and sleep comfortably in our own bed."
A young man who appeared to be only a few years older than Jack stood in the center of the room, his arms crossed and his chin pointed to the ceiling. "Well then! I guess you're here for the challenge then! Good! You'll be my first official opponent then! Don't think I'll take it easy on you."
Jack scrunched his nose as he leaned his head in closer towards the leader. "Uh, why are you looking at the ceiling? I'm right over here."
"Don't question me! All good leaders should have a presence of grandeur and mystery! I hold my head up high because I know I'm better than you, and you should reach for my echelon! Though it's unlikely you'll ever be as great as me, you should never give up on trying!" The man smiled wide and then turned his back on Jack, walking slowly over to a structure consisting of eight rocks. "So tell me, how much experience as a trainer do you have?"
"Well, I'm not exactly a trainer in the typical sense, so..."
"So then you're not here for my challenge?" The man turned back around and looked slightly upset. "What'd I get all hyped up about then?"
"No no, I am here to fight you. It's just I'm not exactly like the average trainer I guess. My partner isn't really a friend or companion, but an equal instead. He's still a free Pokemon, we just both equally want to defeat you so we came in together on a partnership based on an understanding rather than-"
The man slammed his fist against the wall and clenched his fist before spinning around. With an expression of great joy upon his face he called out to the duo enthusiastically. "So then you are here to fight! Perfect! From the way you're talking now, it looks like you've just started out as well so I'll take it easy on you! I'll assume you don't have any badges, so I'll use my weakest Pokemon against you now. I hope you're ready!"
"Uhh, sure. I guess. Let's get this thing going then." Jack looked over to Lappe and nodded his head. The Pokemon followed his friend's lead and then waddled out into the center of his side of the field.
"Like I said, for this battle I'll be using my weakest set of Pokemon set aside for people with one or less badges. You might have the elemental advantage, but I have power in numbers. For this fight, I'll be using two Pokemon but they're not to be taken lightly. If you don't give it your all, you'll definitely lose this fight."
Jack nodded as he looked at the ground around him and then sat down with his legs crossed. "Fuck 'em up so we can go home Lappe!"
The Pokemon nodded, acknowledging it's friend's words of encouragement. The leader of the gym smiled and nodded as well, formally acknowledging the challenge and ensuing battle.
"Then, for my first Pokemon I'll send out a gift from my brother. Go, Bonsly!"
The Pokemon flew out into the center of the arena and burst free from its ball. The tiny Pokemon which resembled a potted tree let out a powerful yet adorable wail as it bounced its head against the ground in an attempt to intimidate its opponents.
"Guess we'll start the fight then." Jack pointed his finger out at the opposing Pokemon and then dropped it lazily back into his lap. "Lappe, you know what to do so don't make me waste my energy."
"Right. Fuck 'em up."