Chapter 10: The Right Way to Win!

The decoration was more magnificent than he remembered; as his focus was mainly on gazing upon the hand weight shaped Balance Badge projecting boldly from the front of his Dad's Gym. It's positioning was well thought of too, smack bang in the middle of the white spirally adornments that reached to the edge of the old wooden building that Max's family had lived in since his Grandfathers day. Everything was perfectly in place.

"We're here...I can't quite believe it!" Max hastily spoke, feeling the utter exasperation from just witnessing the outside of the gym as he realized the first badge would be placed in his palm in a matter of hours, "The past two weeks weren't all for nothing, as at last I'm here to challenge my Dad."

"No journey is for nothing Max, cause without it you would have missed out on so much like the capture of Budew...and now you and your team can face their first official challenge, together," Roxanne informatively suggested, "so you ready?"

The young kid was raring to burst through the mahogany doors engraved with the most detailed carvings of his Dad's favourite Pokémon using their signature moves. Without knowing it, Max was hopping on the spot from the amount of excitement that had built up inside him over the last few days. Roxanne could already tell what the words would be flying out of Max's lips.

"Am I! I've been waiting for this moment since I started travelling with my sister, even before then."

Everything was now in place. The time was right and the day couldn't be any better, as the blossoming trees inspired Max to give an even greater effort than was mortally possible.

He began his accent up the marbled stairs till he could touch the doors with his fingertips, feeling the cold essence of the wood run all the way into his spine. The nerves were building and causing him to become uneasy, but he knew he had to step through the thresh hold and relinquish himself from the burden of the challenge.

The creaking hinges on the doors echoed throughout the building as Max pushed them open with great difficulty, but the welcoming sight made him forget about the struggle.

"Dad!" the young lad spoke, already grasping the PokeBalls on his belt, "I'm ready for our match." His smile broadening as he gazed into the love of his Father.

"I've been waiting for you to arrive, ever since you walked out of Birch's lab," his Dad said with an eager smile lifting Max's spirit, "All the challenges between then and now have been working up for this one moment, and I can tell you I'm ready. Are you?"

The spotlight shifted, and was now centred upon Max who was scraping the back of his mind for a seemingly adult response. Was he prepared to face his Father?

"Let's get this battle on the road, and it's a match I intend to win!" Max invitingly proposed, knowing that if he showed any sign of weakness his Dad could just push his way through till he crumbled in defeat.

"If that's what you want," his Dad prudently responded, "It will be a 3 on 3 battle with only the challenger being allowed to make substitutions, our referee for today is none other than your mother, who has recently earned the qualification as an official Gym ref."

"Well, if you are both ready then I wouldn't mind you taking your positions," Caroline said, while standing on her designated podium on which she viewed the battles at hand.

"Wow Mum, well don't be bias for either of us!" he jokingly said, "Now, Dad. If you don't mind I'd like to choose my Pokémon first."

He reached into a pocket in his red shorts, pulling out a purple topped PokeBall, with a star shaped pattern placed where the usual white circle was.

"Delcatty, you're up first," he called, tossing the ball into the centre of the plain field, where, in a blistering shine of golden lights, appeared the friendly beige cat with an astonishing array of stars pouring out of the ball with it. Once they dispersed into the shadows, Delcatty was left, purring with its soft melodic voice.

"Max, this is a Gym Battle, not a contest," his father mentioned, "You don't need to use seals."

"I know, I just thought it would be a spectacle for all to see."

"Well I hope you're ready for this! Buneary, show them your power!"

Out of Normans' PokeBall appeared a lolloping brown rabbit with extendable ears, able to dish out severe blows that could leave opponents unable to continue fighting.

"If both contenders are ready, begin!"

"Delcatty quickly use Assist," Max yelled as Delcatty's ears became alerted, and its tail began to glow white. From out of its ears two wines leapt across the field, impounding Buneary and binding its small feet together.

"Wow. That was Venusaur's Vine Whip attack. We might as-well use it to inflict more damage, toss it into the air!" With one lunge of her head, Delcatty began to swing the vines in a circular motion, allowing the grip to become loose and send Buneary into a wooden wall.

"Buneary, no," the concerned Norman said, reaching for her PokeBall, "You were able to hold out..."

Buneary couldn't stand the strain of hearing his trainer worry; he knew he could have a reasonable chance against Delcatty if the right moves were used. Using the spring from his ears he flung himself into the air, performing an elegant roll to give him greater height.

"Okay then, use your Dizzy Punch and strike Delcatty's legs, it may give us a slight advantage."

The energetic Pokémon curled his ears in a scrunch, before they shone a majestic yellow. Leaping across the floor he suddenly outstretched them, slamming them into Delcatty's front legs. The poor Cat Pokémon was forced into the air, vulnerable and unable to retaliate from the shock.

"Now hit it with Jump Kick."

Buneary once again flung itself into the air, twisting so that its legs were going to make contact with Delcatty; unfortunately though Buneary's aiming had been slightly altered with the spin and it narrowly missed impact with the underbelly of Delcatty causing it to crash into the roof of the building. He fell with mighty force against the Gym's floor and was now unable to continue the battle.

"Buneary is unable to battle, Delcatty is the winner," called Caroline from the sidelines, "If you could choose your next Pokémon Norman."

"Okay Slakoth, you handle things."
A small lazy brown Pokémon appeared out of the ball, standing on its legs with his arms draping over the front of his body. Its movements seemed to indicate that it was hypnotized, as it swayed from side to side while standing in one position.

"Let's get our winning streak started with a Blizzard attack."

"Delcatty, counter it with yours."

The two Pokémon cocked their heads backwards as a spirally blue mist began to form in both their mouths, with little sparkling particles of ice also being produced. With quick reactions they bestowed their attacks upon each other, with the Blizzards colliding in mid air. With equally balanced power from both teams it looked as if neither were going to give in, until Delcatty began to slide backwards along the floor, beginning to lose her power in the attack. Within seconds she was overthrown and hit directly with the chilling attack, freezing her legs to the ground, making her a vulnerable sitting duck.

"Slakoth, finish it with Scratch."

The lazy Pokémon lunged toward Delcatty, scratching her face with his sharpened claws. Delcatty wasn't able to withstand any more blows, subsequently fainting.

"Delcatty is unable to battle, Slakoth is the winner," Max's mum abruptly said, glancing over at Roxanne who was sitting comfortable on a bench provided for spectators, she found it rather interesting to see a more detailed analysis of the way Max battled, especially within a Gym battle as she was going to be challenged next.

"Charmander, you're up!" The playful Fire type appeared in glorious light, hoping to perform to an exceptional standard and impress his trainer.

"Use your Ember, and make sure you don't miss," Max called to the eager Charmander who was ready to win the important battle that would earn him more respect with Max. Producing an initial flame in its mouth, it released subsequent smaller embers that hurled themselves toward Slakoth.

"Counter it," Norman calmly suggested, not letting any nerves reach his brain and send him off course.

An illuminating red light began to glow around the brown patched Pokémon, encasing inside what seemed to be some sort of magic bubble. The Ember struck the outer hull of the light, being instantaneously reflected back towards Charmander, who was now fully taken aback by the sudden course of action. Max had never witnessed a Slakoth use Counter before, nor in any Gym matches that he use to watch when he lived at home, this was uncharted territory and he didn't know how to respond.

"Uh...Charmander...uh...DODGE IT!"

Max's command came a little too late and the Pokémon was struck with its own powerful attack that still inflicted a lot of pain although it was a same type move. Charmander collapsed on the floor, feeling the burning sensation travelling energetically up his arm, causing him to shiver although he was overwhelmed with heat. The burns on his shoulder felt like they were punching a hole inside of him, trying to allow the pain to reach him inside, but he couldn't let his friend down, he had to continue. He wrestled himself onto his feet, but portrayed the image of a beaten old man, that couldn't continue walking, for some reason his back wouldn't straighten out, all he could do was stand in one place and be struck with multiple attacks, this seemed like a hopeless journey.

"Charmander, let's go strong and hit him with a Screech, that way it would be hard for him to counter with a piercing noise in his ear."

"Don't let them do that, strike out with Blizzard once more!"

The frosty chill blew down the pitch, and caught Charmander in the centre, with nowhere to run. The burns began to feel even more uncomfortable as the cold icicles stung like a bees hive. He knew he couldn't battle anymore and had to retire. The small Fire Type loosened his tense muscles, allowing him to feel free of a burden; the Blizzard entangled him within its frosty cloud lifting Charmander off his feet and allowing him to fall in grace before it was over.

"Charmander is unable to battle, Slakoth is victorious again," called Caroline who held a green flag in the air to symbolise Slakoth's victory.

"You're last up Budew," cried Max, who was now anxious at his ever nearing defeat; the thought of his few days training for this moment seemed lost now, worthless even, how could he have let the battle come to this? "I know you can do it Budew, from all the work you have shown to me and others, let's show them what you can do!" He tossed the PokeBall forward with the small bud bursting out with glorious energy flowing through its inner roots, sparking a certain passion that had never been seen before in Budew, it was as if she had become ecstatic, happier, all over night. "Okay little buddy, hit Slakoth with Bullet Seed, that should give us the edge."

Cuddly as Budew seemed, she could pack a lot of power, and if it struck Slakoth it may give Max and his team a slight advantage, depending on Norman's next choice. Budew sprung into the air, floating like a shimmering leaf in the autumn that couldn't quite land safely on the ground, although this leaf came packed with the ability to send high speed seeds into its enemy, as a sort of defensive mechanism that most leaves lacked. It released these seeds in an endless stream, hoping with everything it had that it could knock Slakoth out and earn more love from her trainer, like Joshua use to when they were travelling through Sinnoh together, during difficult moments like the one presenting itself to her in the Gym Battle, or through times or relaxation. To her, bonding was necessary for growth!

Slakoth was pummelled by the intensely strong attack unleashed against it, feeling the stinging pain strike up his chest as they scorned him. Norman needed to respond quickly, as Budew didn't seem to be letting up any time soon, and Slakoth couldn't withstand much more.

"Slakoth, I'm going to have to ask you to brave the Bullet Seed I'm afraid and get up close," Norman called over the whir emitting itself from the air that was being forced to move by a fast moving object.

Slakoth slowly turned his head, constantly keeping it facing the floor to be on the safe side of the attack as much as he could otherwise it could be all over. He began to hunch himself over, before lazily relaxing to the floor and surprisingly zipping across it as if it was ice. It wasn't long until he was right underneath Budew and ready to deliver a serious blow that would win them the match, although there was slight sympathy for his friend.

"Finish it Slakoth with Scratch, and that's another badge securely kept in our possession!"

Within a split second Slakoth had slammed his claws into Budew, twisting it as it made contact causing the loving creature to be sent hurtling for the ground, giving an almighty wail before finally hitting the deck. Max ran to the side of his injured Pokémon, collecting her into his arms and stroking her coiled vines at the tip of her head, before returning inside a safe comfort zone, where no-one would be able to harm her anymore. He casually rose to the ground glaring at the ground beneath him, feeling total anger boiling up into a ball inside him, how could he lose to his Father of all people?

"The Gym Leader Norman is the overrule winner, the challenger loses," Max's mum compassionately said, walking over to him and holding him in her arm, trying to comfort her growing baby, "You were great honey, a little bit more training and you could come back and beat your father, then we'll see who is the better out of you two."

"Thanks Mum...but I think I might take a little break from training, and allow my Pokémon to relax before starting another training programme...maybe it will benefit all of us!"

"Good idea son and then maybe you can realise why you lost." His father was now lost for words, comforting people in a loss wasn't always his forte. The only thing he could do was give advice, and then maybe Max would feel better about himself, transparent (though he was) to people's counsel.

"Thanks Dad, and be certain that I'll be back...when we are ready together. First, could I use your telephone?"

"Of course Max, it's still yours," his Mum replied, being slightly taken aback by the remark, her son was leaving the nest for good and now he classified the possessions as belonging to someone else. It was almost too much to accept. Her other child May had left home more than three years ago, and now it was Max's turn, things were going to be much quieter from this moment on.

Max headed in the direction of the kitchen, where the green phone was kept hanging on the pale wall, always slightly too high for Max to reach as a young child.

"Darling, are you okay?" Norman asked, holding his wife close to his chest.

"Yeah, but I guess it never really struck me that Max was finally leaving, for good. I suppose I secretly hoped that the journey would seem more tedious than a first glance, and he'd decide to stay with us..." her voice trailed off as the break of tears slowly rolled out of her eye; her cheek was trembling from the fear of losing Max for good.

"Don't worry, someday he'll be the one struggling with all this...and I can promise you that he'll keep on visiting, just like May. And who knows, we may have another little chipper running around our legs."

*****

Max was holding the phone against his ear, dazed, not sure of how his battling techniques went so wrong, they had worked in the past. He pushed the button to access the call directory, typing in the number to the Cherrygrove Pokémon Centre again, knowing that May would have sympathy for him.

"Hello, this is the Cher...hello again Max, would you like to speak to your sister again?" the nurse asked him politely, still with her robotic charms and passionate voice that he would listen to for hours, he could understand why Brock fell head over heels for them.

"Yes please Nurse Joy, that would be nice."

"Well, lucky for you she's been sitting here all day, waiting to hear from you. You seem like close siblings."

"On the contrary," the familiar voice said, barging herself onto the screen to gaze onto the face of her disappointed brother, "I take it everything didn't go too well?"

"No, I lost marginally, and Delcatty was really helpful, that was the main reason for me calling. I wanted to ask whether I could hold onto her for another few weeks before you want her back out there."

"Okay, if you promise me one thing...you won't lose next time round," she jokingly said, winking at her younger brother as she use to when he needed cheering up.

"I can promise you that, if you wish, the team and I will be training these next few days, so that we can combat the difficulties Dad throws at us."

"Good idea little bro, Drew and Harley are here if you want a word?"

"God no...no offense to either one of them, but Drew would just gloat and Harley would act immature."

"If you wish, well best let you get back to Mum and Dad. Good luck!"

She switched off the phone at her end and shut down the monitor, Max would now have to face the onslaught that lay ahead of him with himself, he couldn't let Roxanne interfere, and it would just seem like cheating. The only way to win was by training constantly, with hard thought problems to face, but first a few days relaxing didn't seem like a bad miss.

He arrived back into the stadium area where all official battles were held, interrupting an important conversation between the three adults left in the room but still not realising as his sole occupation was concentrating on improving.

"Roxanne, I'll be heading out to the lake in the centre of town for a little relaxing, you can stay here if you want as I'll return later for supper and I'm sure Dad can find you a room," with a whisk of his body he fled out of the front doors, with no possibility of anyone replying to his comments, he needed to escape from reality for a little bit before returning to it for an intense battle that would ensue.

"Okay then, see you Max," Roxanne muttered under her breath before returning back to the preliminary conversation they were having just as Max entered the room, all they could do was hope he enjoyed it.

Max ran down the path from the gym at high speeds, chasing the same flock of Murkrow he had seen when leaving for Birch's lab, when his entire journey began. He slammed on the breaks as he reached the outskirts of the lake, walking briskly into the hub of activity then constantly progressed throughout the different days, with hustlers on the right of him selling Magikarp and a number of other Pokémon, but now was not the time to dwell on the thieving scams that took place. As he reached to clasp each individual ball, he felt a lump against his leg, his curiosity had forgotten about the box given to him by Jimmy so he leisurely took it out. The presence of the box made the mood become worse, now was not the time to worry about what was contained within it, he just needed to relax. Once obtaining his first Gym Badge he could explore the depths of the intriguing box, right now it was time to pass his dears to one side, so he threw all three PokeBalls into the shimmering light, watching the Pokémon appear before him, this was his cue to chuck his clothes and items on the floor before diving head first into the refreshing water that bestowed him. The Pokémon were left to enjoy themselves in whatever activities they could concoct, it was time for a week of fun!