Apocalypse went to check on their supply of the symbiote. Despite the crash, its container remained secure. The mass of black substance continued to writhe. It was hungry. They'd kept it in this container for a long journey without food, without a host. It was ready to be unleashed.
Ever since discovering the Venom symbiote, Apocalypse had wondered what would happen if he could attach it to a Pokémon host, the power that would create. Soon he would find out.
Cate and Trevor arrived at the Gym to find James waiting for them. He showed off his shiny new Synthesis Badge.
"No problem for my Fire types. Check it out."
"Nice!" complimented Trevor. "Any tips for us?"
"Nah, he's not too bad. Since this is your first Badge, his team is pretty easy. You don't have anything to worry about. Go ahead and challenge him."
As the two went up to face him, someone else entered the Gym. She was young, about their age, and dressed all in green with a matching cap.
"Hey, Dad!" she cried as she came in.
The Gym Leader came down from his desk at the end of the room. "Excuse me," he said to Cate and Trevor as he passed them. "I'll be right with you. Hello, Audrey. It looks like I have some challengers to battle. I'll be right with you. Just wait here."
"All right, Dad." She sat down next to James to wait. "Hi, I'm Audrey. My dad's the Leader here."
"I can see that. I just won this Badge from him." He couldn't resist a chance to show off the Badge. "I"m James."
The Leader turned back to Cate and Trevor. "Well, kids, you here to earn a Badge?"
"Yes, sir," responded Cate. "We are."
"Well, then, let's get to business. Right this way. My name is Gerard, and as you may have guessed, this is a Grass-type Gym. Who's first?"
Cate volunteered.
"All right, just scan your Pokédex over there, and we'll get started."
They walked to opposite sides of a battle court. It had stands of bamboo growing upwards out of it, and the court was littered with fallen leaves. A screen on the wall showed the statistics of the two battling Trainers.
"Looks like you don't have any Badges yet," Gerard said, examining his computer. "All right, then. I have my team selected. We will each use two Pokémon. Are you ready?"
Audrey hefted her first Pokéball in her hand. "Ready."
"Good. Go Shroomish!" Gerard threw a Pokéball and out came a little mushroom spore.
"Argo, you can do it!" She sent out her Mareep.
"Shroomish! Stun Spore!"
The Shroomish spun around, and orbs of green light started falling on Argo. He locked up as the spores paralyzed him.
"Argo! Fight through the paralysis! Use Thunder Shock!"
The Mareep tried to gather energy for his next attack but couldn't move.
"Now that he's paralyzed, get a Leech Seed on him."
The Shroomish shot out more green balls of energy. They stuck to Argo and coalesced into seeds that started draining the life force out of him.
"Come on, Argo! You can do it! Thunder Shock!"
Argo shrugged off the paralysis and launched a barrage of electricity toward Shroomish. On the big screen, she could see Shroomish's health drop dangerously low. Then the Shroomish attacked with a Mega Drain attack as the Leech Seed continued to sap Mareep's health. The screen showed Argo's health go down as Shroomish's crawled back up.
"Finish him, Argo! Another Thunder Shock!"
This electric attack dropped Gerard's Shroomish, and he was recalled back to his Pokéball.
"Your turn, Seedot!"
Gerard sent out his second Pokémon, a little acorn with feet. Argo moved to attack him, gathering electricity in his wool. When he shot out the bolts of electricity, it hit an invisible wall in front of Seedot.
"Good Protect, Seedot!" called Gerard.
Meanwhile, the Leech Seed kept draining Argo's energy. Before he could land another hit, his health dropped all the way down. Cate had to recall him and send out her Joltik.
"Seedot, use an Energy Ball!"
The tiny yellow spider easily avoided the incoming ball of energy and started spinning a web of electricity. It gathered the electricity between its jaws and then started launching it outwards, spinning it into a web. It caught the Seedot and pinned it to the ground.
"Way to go, Joltik!" Cate cried, jumping in the air. "Finish him with a Slash attack!" she commanded, noting that the Seedot's health was low from the Electro Web. Joltik skittered along the web while the Seedot struggled to escape. The Joltik raised its tiny claws and slashed them down, ending the fight. The Electro Web faded, and Gerard recalled Seedot.
"Congratulations, Trainer. You have earned the Synthesis Badge. As I told James earlier, you are now officially a Challenger of the Pokémon League. Expect your Gym Battles to get harder from here on out. Let me update your Pokédex and get me your Badge. Meanwhile, prepare yourself, Trainer." He addressed this command to Trevor, who had been waiting in the wings.
Trevor took his spot at the Challenger's podium, nervous about his chances. He only had his sweet little Celeste and Feebas, a Water-type. He knew that they had come to this Gym first because James knew he'd have an easy time with it, but that worked against Trevor's Pokémon. He's have to give it all he had.
Gerard finished attending to Cate and prepared to battle. His Pokéballs had been in a healing machine while they had been getting ready, so he withdrew them once they were finished.
"Ready? Go, Shroomish!"
"Feebas, let's see what you can do," Trevor mused as he threw out his new Premiere Ball. It flopped lazily on the floor disappointingly. "Oh, boy…we'll see how this goes."
Shroomish started with a Stun Spore again, but Feebas miraculously avoided it, probably due to its excessive flailing. It responded with a Tackle attacking, catapulting itself into the unsuspecting Shroomish. It took off a good chunk of health with the attack. Shroomish, once reoriented, lunged at Feebas with a powerful Headbutt, knocking it completely off the stadium floor.
"Heh...well, better than I expected, I guess," Trevor admitted. "It's up to you now, Celeste! I know you can do it," he said encouragingly.
Azurill hopped out of her Pokéball, and remarkably, she wasn't crying. She looked determined.
"Azurill, don't use any of your Water attacks. They're weak against Grass." Trevor fervently hoped that he was right. "You need to use...a Flying attack? Yeah, Flying. Focus on your Bounce attack."
Azurill got hit squarely by another of Shroomish's Headbutt attacks, but listening to Trevor, responded with a Bounce. She bounced high into the air and then, as she came down, smacked the Shroomish with her tail, knocking it out. Next out came Seedot.
"Yes! Way to go, Celeste! That was wonderful!"
Celeste turned around to smile at Trevor, and as she did, she started glowing a faint white. She started to grow in size, and as the glow started to fade, Trevor saw that Celeste had evolved into a Marill. She still had her trademark, a blue ball at the end of a zigzag tail. But she was bigger and more mouse-like, with big ears and a big grin plastered on her face. She looked happier and more confident.
"Celeste, you look great! You're the best. Now go finish this battle!"
Celeste, now a Marill, started a Rollout attack. She curled into a ball and threw herself at the Seedot. Once she did, she turned around and did it again. Before Seedot could ever gain enough composure to launch an attack, it was hit again by Celeste, rolling madly around the stadium. It only took a few of these wild hits to knock out the Seedot.
"Yes! Celeste, that was amazing!" Trevor fell to his knees and embraced Celeste. "Thanks. I knew you could do it."
Gerard grinned. "Young Trainer, that is quite the bond you have with your Pokémon. You two are going to do great things, trust me. And don't give up on that Feebas. I know how it looks now, but continue to show it the love you've shown your Marill here. Now come on, let's get you your Badge."
As he was finishing up their paperwork, his daughter Audrey came running up to them.
"Dad, dad, you know how I'm officially a Pokémon Trainer and I have a Pokémon and I'm ready to challenge Gyms and collect Badges but you've said it's too dangerous to go out by myself? Remember?"
He looked at her warily. "Yes…"
"Well, these Trainers seem really good, and I was thinking that if I went with them, that would be a good way to start my journey as a Pokémon Trainer. Right? I mean, they all got the Badge from you. They know what they're doing."
"Yes...I suppose you're right. They are all remarkable Trainers. And I know that we've been waiting for a good time for you to leave. I guess now is as good as any."
"Oh, thank you! Thank you!" She hugged him excitedly.
"As long as it's all right with them," he cautioned sternly.
James quickly piped up. "Oh, it's all right with us."
Cate couldn't help but notice that he was blushing slightly.
Gerard explained to the Trainers. "My daughter is ready to challenge the Pokémon League, but I didn't want to send her out by herself. Do you all mind if she travels with you?"
"No, that sounds great," responded Cate as Trevor and James nodded.
"I've been impressed with all of you today. You'll be great companions for my daughter. Take care of her."
"We will," said James enthusiastically.
"Well then, I'll put you up in the Pokémon Center for the night while I get Audrey prepared. You can all leave in the morning. I'd recommend you head to Canopy Town. It's also in the Savannah, and you can get the Vortex Badge there."
