Chapter 9: Broken Dreams: Pewter City Gym Prt 1

The sun rose from the mountains behind Pewter City. We join our heroes at the Pewter Pokémon center.

"Wake up everybody!!" a voice yells.

Coal, Tengan, Kuji and Pikachu quickly open their eyes and sit up startled from the yells. The three trainers look to see Seijou standing there already dressed with a smile from ear to ear.

"Seijou…what are you doing?" Coal softly asks as he wipes the cold from his eyes.

"Getting you sleepy heads up already, you guys know what today is don't ya?" Seijou replies.

"Is it the day we kill you, dude its 5 IN THE MORNING!!" Kuji screams as he gets out of bed and heads towards Seijou.

"PIKA PIKA!!" Pikachu barks

"Our first gym battle" Tengan says as he closes his eyes and stretches.

Tengan's comment stops Kuji mid way to Seijou.

"Oh shit you're right, our gym battle" Kuji says as he becomes as excited as Seijou.

"Yup, come on guys let's get some last minute training done before the battle" Seijou suggests as he leaves the room the team was sleeping in.

"Right behind you" Kuji says as he and his pokémon run after Seijou out the room.

"Pfff I don't need any last minute training" Tengan says as he lies back down under his covers "When I get through with him the gym leader won't know what hit him"

"I hope that isn't your real attitude towards this" Coal states as he digs through his bag "He is the gym leader for a reason; he must be an awesome pokémon trainer"

Coal finds what he was looking for then gets out of bed and heads towards the door. Tengan just lies there with an annoyed look on his face.

"I'm hitting the shower, see ya later Tengan"

"Whatever" Tengan says under his breathe as he turns on his side and goes back to sleep.

A few minutes pass and Coal finishes his shower. He gets dressed and heads towards the back door of the center. As he exits he sees Kuji and Seijou having a practice battle.

"Charmander, Ember" Kuji orders

"Growlithe, Ember" Seijou orders

The two fire pokémon emit fire from there mouths. The streams of fire collide resulting in an explosion that pushes the two pokémon backwards.

"Nice moves" Coal applauds

Kuji and Seijou look over to see their friend leaning against the wall watching the battle.

"Thanks" Kuji and Seijou say at the same time.

"Oh Coal can I ask you something?" Kuji asks.

Coal looks at Kuji with an unsure look.

"Ok?"

"Well, since this is your hometown, maybe you can tell us something about the gym leader"

"Yea, anything" Seijou adds.

Coal puts his hand to his chin and thinks. Kuji and Seijou look at Coal expectantly waiting for a response. Just as Coal opens his mouth to speak the back door opens revealing Nurse Joy.

"Coal, you have a phone call" She says with a smile.

Coal nods his head then turns to his friends.

"Maybe later guys" Coal replies as he enters the center and closes the door behind him.

"Dammit, I was hoping he would give us some good hints" Kuji says as he stomps the ground in disappointment.

Kuji's Pikachu snaps its fingers with the same feelings as its trainer.

"Oh well what can you do, let's get back to battling" Seijou says as he is pumped to go another round.

"Yes, lets"

The two trainers face each other and prepare to give orders to their pokemon.

Inside the center…

Coal walks over to the phone and picks it up.

"Hello?"

The screen turns on and to Coal's surprise his dad appears.

Outside….

"Dodge" Kuji orders as Heracross avoids a tackle attack from Seijou's Eevee.

The two trainers are really into the fight when the back door opens again. They both turn to see Tengan. Confused looks come over Seijou's and Kuji's faces as they see Tengan just standing there.

"Can we help you Tengan?" Seijou asks sarcastically

"Uhh…no" Tengan replies embarrassed "can't someone just watch a pokemon battle without being questioned?"

"Ohhhh I get it" Kuji says as he chuckles "You want to join us don't cha Tengan?"

Tengan's face turns red

"What?! You guys are crazy" Tengan says as he turns his head away from the two.

"Fine, have it your way" Seijou says as he and Kuji return to their battle.

The urge to join them builds up inside Tengan as he continues to watch.

"OK OK you win, I'll join you guys" Tengan says upset that he caved in.

Seijou and Kuji's faces have a mischievous smile on them.

"Let's go Venonat!!"

Tengan releases his pokeball from his belt as the bug pokemon appears. The three trainers stare each other down as Heracross, Evee, and Venonat do the same waiting for orders. The three take a deep breath about to release commands when a voice yells out.

"Hey you guys!!"

The three stop in their tracks as they turn to see Nurse Joy waving towards them.

"Why are there so many interruptions today?" Kuji asks getting frustrated.

"I have a message from Coal" Nurse Joy begins to announce.

Kuji, Seijou and Tengan look at each other confused then run toward the nurse.

"What happened?" Seijou asks.
"Coal asked me to tell you guys that he had to go somewhere very important and he would return later" Nurse Joy says.

"How much later?" Kuji asks

"He didn't say"

"That kid better be back for the gym match" Seijou says as he becomes angry.

"And if he doesn't we'll just have to defeat the gym leader all by ourselves" Tengan adds confident.

"I guess" Kuji and Seijou say in unison in a down voice

"Come on let's continue to train"
"Oh now he wants to train" Seijou says winking his eye causing Kuji to laugh

"No, now I want you to shut the hell up!!" Tengan yells as Seijou and Kuji continue to laugh.

'How did I end up with these two again?'

A Few Hours Later…

"Thanks for healing our pokemon Nurse Joy" Seijou thanks as he smiles

"It's not a problem you guys, now good luck on your gym match" Nurse Joy replies.

The three trainers wave farewell to Nurse Joy and head down the road to the gym. Seijou, Kuji and Tengan walk for about half an hour not saying a word to each other. They each have butterflies in their stomachs because today they hope to be one step closer to becoming pokemon masters.

"PEWTER CITY GYM" the letters on the face of the building read.

The three looked up to see the letters carved deep into the boulders that make up the gym. Neither one of them took another step; they all just stood there looking at the entrance.

"What are you guys waiting for?" Tengan says turning to Kuji on his left and Seijou on his right.

"Well I don't see you moving Tengan" Kuji retorts.

Seijou doesn't respond to Tengan's remark; instead he takes a step towards the entrance causing the other two trainers to watch him attentively. Seijou continues towards the door until his hand finally reaches the handle. Kuji and Tengan look at each other then run to Seijou.

"You guys ready?" Seijou asks trying to hold back his quivers.

Kuji and Tengan grab the handle with Seijou and slowly turn the knob opening the door. The door creaks open revealing the contents of the Pewter gym. As the three look inside their eyes simultaneously widen in shock as they see a familiar face.

"Hey guys, what took you so long?"

"COAL!!" the three yell out at once.

Tengan, Kuji, and Seijou run toward their friend.

"Where the hell have you been?" Kuji asks annoyed.

"Sorry guys, but I had to do something important. Didn't Joy give you my message?" Coal replies.

"That's not the point" Seijou says "We were about to face the gym leader down a man"

"Well, I'm here now aren't I?"

Coal smiles trying to relieve some of the pressure off of them. Tengan walks past Coal and continues down the hall. The three look at him until he stops.

"Well if you guys haven't forgotten, we have a gym match to win" Tengan informs

"That's right we should go on ahead" Coal adds as he, Kuji and Seijou walk alongside Tengan towards the battle arena.

'I don't know why he's acting all cool now' Kuji thinks to himself as he glares at Tengan

'Just a minute ago he was just as nervous as we were.'

The four trainers walk through the corridor and enter the gym arena. They stand there observing the layout. The stage floor is made of gravel and there are rocks of all shapes and sizes scattered across the fight area.

"Welcome challengers"

The team of trainers quickly turns their heads to see a tanned man with spiky black hair and black slits for eyes.

"Are you talking to us?" Seijou asks.

"Of course dummy what other challengers would he be talking to?" Kuji says jabbing Seijou in the arm.

"Well I was just wondering since you really can't tell who he's looking at" Seijou adds with a smile

Coal, Tengan and Kuji slap their foreheads in embarrassment.

"Well well, we have a joker among us" the man says as he walks up to the group "The name's Brock and I'm the Pewter City gym leader"

Seijou's face becomes gray as he looks up at the gym leader wishing he didn't say that.

"Shall we begin?"

The four trainers nod their heads as Brock begins to walk to his side of the battle field.

"If that's the case then my judge for this contest will explain the rules" Brock says as he points to the back door where a person is standing.

Seijou, Coal, Tengan and Kuji look over to this new mysterious person waiting to see their identity.

"Ok guys the rules are simple" the judge says as they walk into the light revealing a male closely resembling Brock just a little younger. "This will be a best of 5 pokemon battle, each trainer on the challenging side will use only one pokemon and neither side can switch out their pokemon"

"Ok, first question who are you? And second what if it's 2-2 after 4 rounds, which one of us gets to go twice?" Kuji asks.

"This is my younger brother Forest, and IF you get that far, then we'll show you what happens." Brock answers with a confident smirk.

"Now challengers please go to your side of the field, so we can begin" Forest announces.

After a few seconds both sides are ready to battle. Forest turns to each corner then raises his arm signaling the start of our heroes' first gym battle.

"All right boys, I'll make sure your pokemon journey goes off to a rocky start GO GEODUDE!!" Brock yells as he throws his pokeball.

The pokeball opens with a flash of light revealing a rock with arms and a face.

"Geodude!!" the pokemon yells as it flexes its arms.

"A Geodude?" Seijou says as he pulls out his pokedex.

"Geodude the rock pokemon, Geodude are impossible to distinguish from rocks. It slams against others in contests of hardness"

"A rock type!! I guess that answers the question of what pokemon the gym leader uses" Kuji exclaims as he becomes excited.

"So which one of you is going first?" Brock asks as he and Geodude cross their arms simultaneously.

"I will I will!!" Kuji yells as he and Pikachu jump in front of their friends.

"Whoa calm down man" Seijou says

"Yea, just think about your pokemon and decide which is best suited to face a rock type" Coal instructs.

Kuji nods as he turns to the gym leader and his pokemon. He closes his eyes and is now in deep thought.

"I bet he chooses to use Pikachu" Tengen snaps maliciously.

Coal and Seijou whip their heads in Tengen's direction with angry eyes.

"What? What did I say?"

"Ha you think I'm stupid?" Kuji says as he suddenly opens his eyes and reaches for a pokeball.

"Don't answer that" Seijou quickly retorts just as Tengen was opening his mouth to answer.

"Go Charmander!!"

Kuji's pokeball flies through the air until it lands a few feet in front of Geodude. As it hits the ground it opens releasing the Fire pokemon.

"Charmander huh? This should be interesting" Brock says as he gets ready for the battle.

Forest looks at both combatants then raises his arm. "BEGIN!!"

"Alright let's show them what we're made of, Charmander ember!!"

Charmander tightens its body then opens its mouth releasing a stream of fire from its mouth. The ember blazes down the stage toward Geodude who doesn't seem worried.

"Defense Curl" Brock orders with a smirk.

Geodude curls up into a ball as the flamethrower engulfs it.

"It's a direct hit!!" Seijou says excited.

After a few seconds Charmander releases the move. Everyone in the gym looks on to see what happened to the rock pokemon.

"Rise Geodude"

"GEODUDE!!" the rock pokemon yells as it raises its arms.

"What the?!" Kuji says as he notices Geodude doesn't have a scratch on it "What's the deal I hit your pokemon dead on, why isn't it hurt at all?"

"Hmm, well I'll give you some advice for your journey. Pokemon type match-ups are very important. Some of the battles are decided before it even begins." Brock explains "Rock pokemon are not hurt by fire attacks, along with defense curls stat boost I can't take damage from such a weak flame."

Kuji clenches his teeth hard as he can't believe what he just witnessed.

'Coming into this battle I knew Kuji would have the hardest time between all of us' Coal thinks to himself as he assesses the situation 'The only pokemon he has are Pikachu, Heracross and Charmander which all have a weakness to Rock and Ground pokemon which Brock happens to have mastered training.'

A smirk quickly appears on Kuji's face which takes his friends and Brock by surprise.

"So what, a battle is not decided by type alone" Kuji begins to exclaim as he becomes confident again "I'll admit I don't much about this type match up thing, but what I do know is that Rock pokemon are notoriously slow, so I'll beat you with my Charmander's speed"

"Charmander Char!!" Charmander yells as it feeds off its trainer's confidence.

"Then let's restart the match" Brock states.

"Ok Charmander charge Geodude"

Charmander begins to run towards its opponent.

"I don't know what you're planning, but I'll stop it right now Geodude Tackle"

Geodude suddenly flies through the air toward the charging Charmander. The two pokemon seem destined to collide as they drew closer and closer with neither one backing down.

"Quick Charmander dodge!!"

Charmander plants its right foot and leaps to the side avoiding the tackle attack. Geodude's tackle continues in a straight line as its back is now turned to Charmander.

"Now Ember while it's back is turned"

Charmander quickly breathes in then shoots its flame.

"He got him!!" Seijou cheers

"He got him?" Tengen says surprised

The flames draw closer and closer to the rock pokemon. Kuji pumps his fist thinking he's going to land a hit.

"Geodude, Rock Polish" Brock orders with a smirk

Geodude hearing the command spins like a top to the confusion of the other trainers. All of a sudden Geodude stops spinning and slaps the ground causing it to vault the fire attack.

"What the hell just happened?!" Kuji yells as a shocked look comes over both Charmander and his face.

"Quick, someone tell me how a rock pokemon became able to dodge like that?" Seijou asks in awe.

"Rock Polish, it's a move specifically for rock pokemon. It doubles their speed in an instant." Coal explains impressed with the move.

"Are you kidding me?" Kuji says becoming annoyed.

"I guess your whole speed theory just went out the window" Brock adds taunting.

"We'll see about that, Charmander Scratch attack"

Charmander extends its claws and dashes toward Geodude who is just floating there.

"Huh, Geodude dodge then Rock Blast"

Geodude, with its new speed easily escapes the attack and simultaneously punches its fists into the ground. Surprise comes over Charmander's face as it just goes flailing forward as its attack misses. The rock pokemon dislodges its fists from the earth as large rocks are revealed surrounding Geodude's already rocky arms. Charmander turns its head toward its opponent as it falls forward.

"GEEEEOOOOODUDE!!" Geodude shouts as it begins a barrage of punches.

The fire lizard takes blow by blow as debris from the rocks on Geodude's arms begin to fly off from the immense damage being dealt. Kuji just stands there trembling not knowing what to do.

"Are you just going to stand there or are you going to try and salvage this battle?" Tengan coldly states.

Kuji turns to his comrade then to his pokemon as he is trying to think of a way to get it out of this predicament.

"Char!!" Charmander yelps as a punch from Geodude sends it flying on its back.

"Charmander!!" Kuji yells out

"If you don't give up now" Brock interrupts catching Kuji's attention "I can't be held responsible for what happens to your pokemon"

Kuji listens to what the gym leader says but doesn't respond. He just closes his eyes.

"Fine" Brock says as he sighs "Have it your way. Geodude finish this!!"

Geodude leaps in the air over Charmander's body which is lying on its back. It then descends with its rock-soaked fist out in front of its body as it gets ready for the final blow.

"Kuji?" Seijou says waiting for his friend to make a move.

Geodude flies down like a missile as it gets closer and closer.

"KUJI!!" Tengan, Seijou and Coal yell in unison.

Kuji's eyes suddenly open as an idea finally pops into his head "Charmander Smokescreen!!"

Charmander hearing the voice of his master opens its eyes and releases a black smoke while still on its back from its mouth. The mouth hides Charmander's body inside a cloud of black and blinds Geodude for a split second. Geodude continues its descent into the cloud and out of visible sight. The only thing heard is a crash.

"Geodude!!" Brock yells out concerned.

Nothing is heard but inside the cloud Geodude has it's fist in the earth. But nothing in between to its surprise. A battered Charmander appears eye to eye with the rock pokemon as it lets out a yell signaling its trainer. Hearing it Kuji nods his head.

"Charmander, let out the strongest Ember you got!!"

Charmander's tail fire becomes more intense and stronger as it leans back and shoots forward a stream of fire in the face of Geodude point blank.

"What the-!!" Brock says as he, Forest and the rest of the trainers see a beam of fire piercing the black cloud until it stops.

Nothing is heard as the smoke clears. Forest steps closer to the arena to see the result. Everyone's eyes widen in disbelief as Charmander is kneeling on one knee breathing heavy next to a charcoaled Geodude. Forest runs over to Geodude realizing it has been defeated he raises his arm.

"Geodude is unable to battle, the winner of this round is Charmander" Forest announces

"Yes yes I knew you can do it" Kuji yells as he runs up to his fire pokemon and gives it a hug to the chagrin of Charmander who is feeling the pain after Kuji hugs it.

'He…he did it' Tengan thinks to himself surprised.

"Good job Kuji!!" Seijou and Coal cheer.

"Return" Brock says as he brings Geodude back to its pokeball. "I must say that was unexpected, it was very entertaining. But I promise I won't lose the next round"

"Will the next trainer step forward for round 2" Forest shouts as Kuji carries Charmander off the field.

"That was amazing Kuji" Seijou exclaims patting him on the back.

"Thanks, one win down two more to go" Kuji responds as he looks at his three friends "So which one of you is going next?"

Tengan, Coal and Seijou look at one another.

"I'm waiting" Brock yells from across the field.

"If you guys don't mind I'll go next" Coal says as he looks at Tengan and Seijou.

"Ok man good luck" Seijou reassures.

"Fine whatever" Tengan replies nonchalantly.

Coal nods his head and steps up to the battle field. Brock gazes at Coal and rubs his chin.

"You look familiar, what's your name?"

"My name is Coal Kaseki."

"Kaseki…?! Wow you're Ibutsu's son? The famed historian of the Pewter City museum" Brock replies with a chuckle "Wow how time flies."

"Yea, it really does" Coal replies a little nervous but anxious to fight at the same time "To be honest ever since I was old enough to understand the world of pokemon, I always wanted to train and challenge you to a gym match"

"Hmmm, so let me not keep you waiting any longer" Brock says with a smirk as he grabs another pokeball from his belt and flings it forward "Go Wooper!!"

The pokeball opens revealing a blue pokemon with little purple antennas sticking from each side of its head.

"What's that?" Seijou asks as he pulls his pokedex out and points it at the new pokemon

"Wooper, the water fish pokemon, when the temperature cools in the evening Wooper come out of the water to search for food" the pokedex answers

"That doesn't look like a pokemon a gym leader would have" Kuji exclaims a little confused.

'I got the perfect pokemon for this match' Coal thinks to himself confidently as he searches his belt for the right pokeball.

"Go Cacnea!!"

Coal throws the pokeball as the grass pokemon leaps from the light. It starts to hop up and down very energetically.

"Is your pokemon ok Coal?" Brock asks as he sees the animated pokemon.

"Yea its fine" Coal smiles hiding its embarrassment "Ok Cacnea calm down, we're in the middle of a gym match so get ready to fight"

Cacnea turns back to its trainer then smiles and pumps its arm.

"All right we're ready, give me everything you got Brock"

"I won't hold back, let's do this"

"Coal has this in the bag" Tengan says as he examines the two pokemon "Cacnea is a grass pokemon which is strong against the water/ground type pokemon Wooper"

"What do you mean Tengan?" Seijou asks confused.

"You'll see"

Forest looks at each combatant then raises his arm "GO!!"

"Wooper, water gun"

Wooper jumps in the air then shoots a water stream that goes straight toward Cacnea.

"Why isn't Cacnea dodging?" Kuji asks as he notices Coal just standing there not giving an order.

The water gun connects and splashes the grass pokemon with a consistent stream of water.

"It's a direct hit!!" Seijou exclaims looking attentively

Wooper ceases its water attack as Cacnea is seen standing there with a smile and no damage whatsoever.

"But…how is that possible?"

"Like I said earlier, grass types are not hurt against water attacks" Tengen snaps tired of repeating himself.

"Not bad Coal, your Cacnea has been well trained" Brock applauds "But let's see if it can stand toe to toe with a gym leader's pokemon"

Wooper quickly charges at the cactus pokemon.

"Cacnea pin missle!!" Coal yells.

"Caaaaaacccnea!!" the grass pokemon cries as the needles on its arms glow as it lifts the arms over its head then drop them in front of it. The needles suddenly shoot out as they bullet toward the charging water pokemon leaving a trail of bright light as they fly through the air.

"Dodge Wooper"

Wooper nimbly hops left and right as it dodges each missile one by one.

"Slam"

Wooper lets out a cry as it swings its blue tail at the grass pokemon. The attack connects sending Cacnea flying backwards until it is stopped by one of the boulders on the gym floor. Cacnea hits it and falls face first in the dirt.

"Wow, what a strong attack" Kuji observes.

"Come on Cacnea get up" Coal says worried as Cacnea slowly gets to its feet.

"Don't let up" Brock yells as he points to the injured Cacnea "Give it another Slam attack!!"

Wooper rushes toward it as it swings its tail preparing for the final blow.

"Cacnea get out the way!!" Coal pleads but Cacnea is too hurt from the last attack to move very fast.

"It's over!!" Seijou yells as he shields his eyes.

"Oh no it's not" Coal yells as he clenches his fists "Cacnea combine pin missle with poison sting NOW!!"

Cacnea looks up as he stretches its arms out in front of it. The glowing missles shoot from its arms as purple needles are shot from its mouth. The double attack connects with the water pokemon stopping its charge. Wooper slides across the dirt floor until it comes to a complete stop. Cacnea halts its attack as it begins to breath heavy exhausted from the battle.

'Did he do it?' Tengan asks himself as he looks at the gym leader's pokemon.

Suddenly the fallen Wooper slowly gets back on its feet.

"What?!" Seijou and Kuji say at the same time

"Huh, it's going to take more than that to finish me off" Brock gloats before noticing his pokemon is exhausted and battered. 'Guess I'm going to have to finish this off now'

"Are you ok Cacnea?" Coal asks as Cacnea takes a deep breath than smiles at its master as it catches its second wind.

Coal smile back before looks up at his opponent with serious eyes 'I guess I'm going to have to finish this quickly before Cacnea gets hurt anymore'

Brock and Coal stare at each other for a few seconds before giving orders.

"Go Cacnea!!"

"Go Wooper!!"

The two pokemon charge each other across the field.

"Jump Wooper"

Wooper jumps in the air trying to catch the duo off guard.

"Here's our chance, use leech seed"

A seed sprouts from the head of Cacnea and shoots up toward the descending Wooper.

"Yes he got him now" Seijou celebrates.

"Mud Bomb" Brock orders as he smiles.

A brown ball forms in Wooper's mouth before it releases it down toward the leech seed.

"Mud Bomb?" Coal says confused.

The two attacks collide causing the mud bomb to explode. The mud scatters all over the arena including in Cacnea's eyes.
"Oh no, Cacnea!!" Kuji yells

Cacnea lets out a cry as it tries to wipe off the mud from its eyes.

"Calm down Cacnea" Coal says trying to relieve his pokemon.

"Finish it with Slam"

Coal and the others look up to see Wooper still in the air swinging its tail as it descends.

"Dodge it Cacnea!!"

Cacnea blindness has left it confused and afraid causing it to block out all the orders from its trainer. Wooper swings its tail down on the back of Cacnea's head planting its face in the dirt with a thud.

"Cacnea!!"

"Cacnea is unable to battle, the winner of this round goes to Brock" Forest announces as the grass pokemon lies there motionless.

Coal runs out onto the field toward Cacnea.

"Return Wooper" Brock says as the red light from the pokeball brings Wooper back in.

"Are you ok?" Coal asks as he lifts the grass pokemon who is unconscious.

"Nice battle Coal, too bad it didn't go in your favor" Brock says as he turns his back to prepare for the next round

'Shit, this guy is on a whole new level' Tengen thinks to himself as he stares at the gym leader 'He's nothing like the other trainers we have come across'

Coal walks back to where the others are with Cacnea still in its arms.

"It'll be ok Coal" Seijou reassures as Coal doesn't answer.

"Alright everyone, it's time to start the third round" Forest says catching the team of trainer's attention "Who will go next?"

Kuji, Seijou and Tengan look at each other waiting for someone to step up.

'I can't believe I lost' Coal thinks to himself as he stares at his fallen pokemon 'If I can't beat Brock, then this whole journey is useless'

"It's one of your turns now" Kuji says to Tengan and Seijou.

"I know but…but" Seijou replies nervously

"Come on guys, I don't have all day" Brock yells from the other side of the field.

"Fine, I'll go you big baby" Tengan says as he walks forward.

"Who you calling baby?!" Seijou yells angrily

"Well if the shoe fits"

"Whoa whoa calm down Seijou" Kuji says grabbing his friend to calm him down.

Tengan stops as he and Brock stare at each other from across the gym field.

"And who might you be?" Brock asks.

"My name is Tengan, from Saffron City " Tengan states with cold eyes "and I will defeat you"