DISCLAIMER - I DO NOT, AND MOST LIKELY NEVER WILL OWN POKEMON.

Chapter Six - An Acknowledgement of Skill - Otherwise Known as Domination

Riley walked slowly towards the gym. It was a block away, and she had plenty of time. She released her Helioptile, they needed to have a conversation before her challenge. "I know you and Crixus were close, and talked to him regularly. That's ok, and I'm glad you found someone you could trust. I just wanted to thank you for saving my life, and just as importantly, saving Crixus. Without you, who knows how things would have ended up. It's clear you have the ability to battle, would you like to show off a little bit? We are currently heading to challenge the Gym Leader, and I think you'll enjoy it." Riley could only hope her newest friend was willing, but she owed him too much to try and force him to fight. Asher quickly nodded in agreement, Riley didn't know it yet, but unleashing that Discharge on the Braviary reawoke something he'd thought he'd loss. Riley was ecstatic, she had no worries of if she'd win her first badge, she only needed to decide how.

Riley walked into the Normal type gym, and was astonished by what she'd seen. In the games and cartoons, it's an open room with a trainer, one on one. It was an intimate experience. This was anything but. As she handed her Pokedex to the Receptionist to confirm her appointment, she was shocked by how big the gym really was. You couldn't see anything from the waiting area, but it sounded loud. After a few minutes of strategizing, the Receptionist called her Name. "Riley Joyce, as the first challenger of the day, I wish you the best of luck. Proceed through these doors and into the stadium."

As Riley pushed her way through the doors, the noise stopped her dead in her tracks. She slowly scanned the Stadium, there must have been thousands of people here to watch. Apparently gym battles happen once a week, and the entire city takes the day to enjoy the festivities. Riley had no idea, on League TV the cameras are focused on the battle, and rarely show any of the crowd. This is not what she was expecting, now she had to deliver. She slowly climbed the stairs to the Trainers Podium. There was a display screen and a tray for each of her pokeballs. The platform was enclosed with some sort of glass, she assumed for protection from errant attacks. Suddenly, the crowd burst with applause as Norman made his way to the Gym Leader's platform. Moments later, he appeared on her screen. "Hello Challenger, I am Norman, and I'm the leader of this gym. I understand this is a battle for your first badge. As such, you'll be facing my entry level team. You may use up to three Pokemon, and I'll use as many as you do. There are no items allowed, and only the challenger may substitute Pokemon. Please place your selected Pokemon into the tray, and push the 'Ready' button on the screen. When you've done so, the battle will begin.

Riley placed her three pokeballs into the tray, in a very specific order. She had been instructed to "destroy" Norman by Nick, and she planned on fulfilling that request. Riley pressed the button on the screen, and prepared herself. Two flashes of light, and both Pokemon appeared on the field. For Riley, Kek took shape, across from the Sandile stood a Zigzagoon. Riley did not hesitate, "Use Rock Throw now!" and with ease, the small land crocodile hurled four large rocks at the poor raccoon Pokemon. It was a one hit KO, a decisive start.

"Very impressive, that Sandile is quite strong. Is he your weakest Pokemon?" the Gym Leader asked. Riley confirmed, and was met with a challenge. "How about instead of using two more low level Pokemon, you battle my 2nd tier team. In return for the increase in difficulty, if you win, I'll not only award you the badge, but allow you to select a T.M. from my personal collection." This was a hell of an offer, and she quickly agreed. She wanted to make an impression, and this was a great way to do so. As Norman announced the new development to the crowd, Riley readied herself. With the flash of red light, a Linoone appeared. Riley quickly gave her orders to her Sandile, and prepared for a fight. The Linoone quickly darted towards the Sandile, zigging and zagging on its way. Sandile remained stationary as ordered by Riley. The Linoone was now within a few yards of the Sandile, and lept to tackle the small crocodile. As it made contact with Kek, he sprung the trap. A muddy vortex surrounded them both, encasing them in a Sand Tomb. Unfortunately for Norman, his Linoone was trapped. Fortunately for Riley, Sandile may as well in heaven, this was his element. As the mud continued to encase and slowly crush the Linoone, the Sandile quickly slipped from the mud, preparing his final attack. The Sandile cracked a crooked grin, and looked to almost unhinge his jaw as he crept towards the defenseless Linoone. With a CRUNCH, the Linoone was returned, another dominating performance from her dark knight. Riley praised her Sandile, and returned him to his ball. She had one foe left to battle, and a plan to unfold.

Norman wasn't smiling this time. He stared at the innocent looking girl, this was not what he expected from a first time challenger. "Quite impressive young lady, this will be my final Pokemon for this challenge, prepare yourself." Norman released his last Pokemon, a Vigoroth. Riley released Joy, and the final battle began. "Vigoroth, use focus energy" the leader was preparing himself for another powerful attack. Vigoroth could absorb quite a bit of damage, and in doing so, focus energy would power up it's attacks to deal even more damage. It was a great strategy if the opposing trainer couldn't knock it out quickly, essentially the absorbed energy would be returned twofold by the Vigoroth. Riley knew this strategy, she'd seen it on League Watch many times. Her command to Joy confused most of the audience. "Joy, soak the field with your water gun!" and the Spheal quickly soaked the field, suspiciously without attacking its opponent. Norman decided to press, and ordered his Vigoroth to attack, with a devastating Body Slam. The sloth Pokemon launched himself in the air, preparing to flatten the rotund Joy. Riley didn't issue an attack, instead telling Joy to absorb the damage. With a crushing slam, the Vigoroth's body slam hit its mark. The Spheal slowly rolled back towards it's trainer, and again began spraying the field. Norman again issued a body slam, and as he launched himself in the air, Riley recalled her starter. The Vigoroth slammed into the puddle Joy had been occupying. Riley released Asher, and the Norman realized his mistake. 'Asher, Discharge NOW!" with a sudden flash, the Helioptile was encased in a yellow shield of lighting, and a moment later it was projected in all directions. It didn't matter where the Vigoroth was now, the entire field was a giant puddle. It was one giant conductor, one giant instrument for destruction at the hands of an unassuming black and yellow lizard. The electricity surged from all directions to the Vigoroth, and it quickly fainted. Norman recalled the fallen sloth, and declared victory for the Challenger. Her first battle, and a near flawless victory.

Riley descended her platform, and met Norman back in the trainers lobby. With a healthy slap on the back, he congratulated the young woman. "I'll be honest with you young lady, that was impressive. The sand tomb was brilliant way to draw a much quicker Pokemon in, but that water/electricity combo was devastating. I don't see many things like that in my Gym. Trainers typically hunt down a fighting type and try and brute force their way through me. That was inspired battling, and I'm proud to present you this badge." Riley happily took the small badge from the leader. This was the proof she needed. She always thought she could do it, now she knew it. "I believe I owe you a T.M. as well. I've brought four for you to choose from, choose wisely." Riley took the four cases, and flipped through each one. Oddly, not a single one was a normal type move. "Why are all of these elemental attacks?" she was genuinely curious, it didn't make sense. "As I'd said in the challenge, these are from my personal collection. Had you battled my lowest team, you'd have received Retaliate. Seeing as you decided to accept a more difficult challenge, albeit maybe not enough of one, you deserve fair compensation." Riley didn't need further reasoning. She returned her focus to the four cases, and closely read each one. First, Dazzling Gleam, a powerful fairy type Attack. Second, Energy Ball, a grass type attack. Third, Flame Charge, a fire type attack. Lastly, Shadow Ball, a ghost type attack. Riley had seen Shadow Ball in action from Kleo, and it was devastating. The only issue was, she didn't have a Pokemon capable of using it. Dazzling Gleam would be great against dragon or dark types, but she had a Pokemon capable of ice based attacks. Energy ball would be great against water and rock types, but so would the ground and electric types her team was already capable of. She'd made her decision. "I'll take Flame Charge, when I catch a Pokemon capable of learning it, it'll help me against the grass types I currently struggle against." Norman was shocked with how thoroughly she'd thought this out. He grabbed the remaining three cases from the trainer, and said his goodbye.

Riley packed her badge and T.M. into her backpack, and made her way back to the Pokecenter. As she handed her Pokemon to Nurse Joy for a quick check up, she felt the buzz on her Pokedex. 3 new messages. She sat on the bench, and opened the first.

"I just watched your battle on League Watch, thanks by the way for not telling your Mom and I you were challenging. Fortunately Nick let us know a couple days ago. Regardless, that was a whooping you handed out. We are very proud of you. Also, we just heard from Grant and Mary, Heidi's flight is in two days, which means four days from now, we'll meet up with you so the two of you can continue your journey. We love you, and can't wait to see you!" Riley sent a quick reply. "Thanks Dad! I totally forgot, I've got a lot to tell you so far, but I'll save it. Can't wait to see you guys!"

She opened the second message. "Holy cow girl! I don't know where that came from, but it sure didn't look like the girl who battled my Gible. I'm still in town if you want to meet up. Congratulations! - Susan. Again, a quick reply. "Thank you Susan. I'm at the Pokecenter, and won't be leaving until tomorrow. Swing by if you want, I'll be in the cafeteria for dinner around 6."

She opened the last message. "Riley, I'm sorry I took off without much warning, I had something I needed to take care of. I'll be back tonight and we can talk about it. Brilliant move flooding the field and electrocuting that Vigoroth, I've been grinning from ear to ear since I saw you flood the field. We think a lot alike, I'm not sure if that's good or not. See you soon, love you kiddo. - Uncle Nick." She hesitated, but didn't respond, he'd be here soon enough, and if he had to leave like that it was for something important.

Riley gathered her team from Nurse Joy, and took the team around back to the grassy patch they'd been to many times before. She released Asher first. He was the linchpin to her strategy, and deserved a little one on one adulation before the others joined them. She didn't hesitate, as soon as he materialized, she gave him a huge hug. To her delight, he didn't resist. After a few moments, she released him with a huge smile. He backed up nervously, but only a few inches. More progress. Riley grabbed her pokeballs and released her remaining Pokemon. Kek and Joy appeared, and the Riley explained to each of them what the others had done. The four of them laid in the grass, chatting and rolling and playing for the remainder of the afternoon. She'd have stayed their forever if she could, but a friend showed up and interrupted their fun.

"Hey Champ, great work today!" it was Susan, and her Gabite. As Riley saw the Dragon, Joy jumped to her defense, they wouldn't be having a repeat of last time. "It's ok, we worked out our issues days ago. Riley, this is Charlie, Charlie this is Riley. She's a friend, and the person that saved us from your little temper tantrum." The Gabite clearly squirmed in discomfort, he hadn't meant to lash out, he had so much adrenaline he couldn't control himself. "How about we grab a bite to eat, and we can catch up, I'm sure you've been busy these past couple days!" As she laughed and helped Riley to her feet, she handed the girl a box. "I told you I owed you for your help in keeping Charlie safe, and me alive. I found this when I was a small girl, and decided you could make the best use of it. It's called a fossil, if you know a competent breeder, they may be able to revive the DNA of the Pokemon for you." Riley accepted the box, unsure how in the world she continued to get so lucky. She knew her mom had the ability, she began their breedery with Tirtouga, it was only of matter of when she'd be able to get it to her. With a quick thank you, Riley got up and hugged her friend. The girls recalled their Pokemon, and made their way back to the center. As the girls sat at their table, eating and chatting, Riley had a couple of trainers congratulate her on the awesome battle. It felt good to be recognized for her accomplishments, but she wasn't sure she liked all the attention. Someone in the cafeteria shouted to quiet down as he drew their attention to the TV.

"In a shocking development, Hoenn Champion Nick has resigned effective immediately. It is unknown at this time what spurred this decision, but it has definitely sent a shockwave through the trainer world. Elite Four member Steven will be the interim Champion until a solution is found. In regional news, a large poaching operation in Western Hoenn was uncovered yesterday. The injuries and missing trainers have been attributed to this group, who were attacking new trainers and stealing Pokemon to sell. A clandestine operation took place, dismantling the group. We will update this story as more information is released."

Riley looked away from the TV. Nick resigned? What in the hell was that phone call about? Why didn't she tell him? "Susan, can we go up to my room? I need to some space from all these people." Her friend politely agreed, and they made their way to Riley's room. As they settled in, there was a knock on the door. Riley got up, and received her guest. In walked the former Champion of Hoenn, and Susan's jaw hit the floor. Riley had purposefully withheld her proximity to the Champion, she hated the way she was treated when people knew.

"Riley, can we speak privately please? I've got somethings we need to talk about, and I can't risk the information leaving this room." Nick looked exhausted, where that infectious smile once spread across his face, now stood emotionless, tired. "She can stay, this is my only friend in the training world, and if I have to hear anything, it's best to have someone I can talk to about it." The past 24 hours had eaten her up, and she preferred to avoid bottling up her stress if at all possible. "As you wish. I'm sure you've heard by now, but I resigned as Champion. I'd been thinking about my position quite a bit, and came to the realization that I wasn't happy. Yesterday reinforced that decision. I received a call yesterday while we were in the hospital from the head of Hoenn Intelligence. The poachers from yesterday weren't simple poachers. They attacked and abducted trainers and their Pokemon. The Pokemon they stole were sent to an unknown location and sold to the highest bidder. We've tracked a few of the Pokemon all across the world, some in Unova, Kanto, Johto and even Alola. That on its own is bad enough, unfortunately there are trainers involved as well. 12 trainers escaped the confinement with injuries, and four were unaccounted for. Or so I thought. Intelligence thought it was best to have them labeled as missing persons rather than the darker truth. The missing trainers aren't missing at all. They were given a choice, join the poachers or else. The group is calling themselves Team Rocket, we thought they'd been whiped out decades ago, but apparently they're still operating in the shadows." Nick paused, he knew that was a lot to hear, and there was still more to discuss.

"The Pokemon League, and Hoenn Intelligence have known about this for over a year, and had never thought to bring it to my attention. I left to go demand answers, and try to force some action. I was told that even with my title, I didn't have the authority to pursue these criminals in a legal capacity. I requested Ace Trainers be deployed to ranger outposts on each route, and was again rebuffed. I was left with one choice, I called Steven Stone, the now Champion, and gave him all the details. I then walked into the League Office, renounced my title and left. None of this has any direct impact on you, other than a request I must make. As you continue your journey, please keep me updated if you see anything unusual. Don't try and do anything heroic, just let me know and stay safe. The last thing we need to discuss is the health and care of Crixus. I spoke with Nurse Joy, he will be released from the hospital tomorrow morning. I can't take him with me, he'd be a liability. He may never battle again, and it breaks my heart, but for the near future, I won't be able to care for him. I'd ask you to keep him with you as translator and emergency transport, until you and he can come to an agreement for his future. I can transfer registration of him to you if you'd like, but you don't need to decide on that now. Can I count on you to act in his best interest, even when he tries to defy it?" He knew she would, but he had to make sure she understood the responsibility she was being given.

Riley's head was spinning. This was a lot of information, even though most of it made perfect sense. The only part she didn't understand was why he couldn't take care of Crixus. "Why can't he go with you, you know this will crush him." It was straight to the point, but it was true.

"I'm going to be off the grid for a little while. I've been in contact with a few friends, and since the League won't be proactive, we are going to take matters in our own hands. You and your parents are the only people I trust. And now, albeit unwillingly, I must also trust you Susan. You didn't sign up for this, but now that you know, I need you to swear this information never leaves this room. I'm not a fool, you could sell this information to the press for a big chunk of change. In return for your word Susan, I promise to transfer a Pokemon to your ownership in two weeks, as long as this information hasn't hit the internet or news papers." He hated the idea of bribery, especially with a Pokemon, but what he was planning to do was to important to leave anything to chance.

Susan accepted the terms. Once Nick was done "debriefing" them of the situation, Susan took her leave. Nick turned to Riley and prepared for the hardest part. "I need to leave soon, and we may not see each other for quite a while. I need you to know that what I'm doing is dangerous, and if anything were to go wrong, I've left everything I own to you. I don't planning on needing to, but nothing ever goes as planned. This is hopefully not our final goodbye, but it is goodbye for now. I love you kiddo, you are a fine trainer and an incredible woman. I'll see you soon." Nick was already faced away from her and headed towards the door. He was crying. He couldnt' let her see him like this, he was the stoic Champion, an image he needed maintained. Riley tackled Nick before he made it to the door, one last hug. She held him tight for a few minutes, gave him a quick kiss on the forehead, and said the coolest thing she'd ever thought of. "You were a Champion, not a God. You were an Uncle, not a Father. And you were my hero, not some legend. Stay safe, I'll see you soon." She helped her Uncle Nick up, opened the door and sadly watched him leave.

As the evening turned to night, she lay in bed thinking. It had been a crazy beginning to her journey, she had already experienced as much as she'd ever dreamed. It had only been a week. What else was in store for her? She thought about that over and over as she held Joy. Finally, she decided in the morning she'd pick up Crixus, and set off to the wilds. She needed to be stronger, and she needed to train. She had 4 days until she needed to meet up with her parents, just enough time for the long way to Rustboro.