"I can't believe we're here," Alex said quietly as she and her team stared at the stony architecture that made the Pewter Gym.
When they first arrived in the city, they spent some time at the Pokémon Center to rest from spending a few nights in the forest.
Afterward, the girl did some exploring, talking to the people in town so she could learn more about the gym leader.
One thing she was grateful to learn was that gym leaders are obligated to use a set of Pokémon equal to a trainer's level. This is mostly for beginner trainers so there would be a fair challenge than going at them with their full strength.
She remembered learning in school that the purpose of the gym isn't for the gym leader to remain unbeatable, but to test trainers that challenge them. They would battle them to determine if they deserve a badge, regardless whether they lose or not.
Having that knowledge, she knew that even if she lost, she could still earn her badge depending on what the gym leader is looking for. Yet at the same time, she could run the risk of winning and not earning it.
~Have you ever gone inside?~ Hana asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.
Alex shook her head, "No, because I wasn't a trainer until a couple weeks ago, I couldn't just come here or go to Viridian City whenever I wanted."
~How come?~
"It wouldn't be safe. Not all Pokémon are friendly like you guys," she said, though gave Ansen a look, having him huff and look away. "Whenever I did travel out of town, I was either with my parents or the Oaks to go to school or go shopping."
~School?~ Ken inquired, hopping up on her shoulder.
"It's a place kids go to learn. We would learn different things like reading and writing as well as math and some science. We would also learn about Pokémon, mostly types and if we intended to become trainers, study about battles."
~That sounds really cool. So you learned a lot?~
"I suppose I did, but I don't know everything nor expected to know everything upon graduating. I could decide to return to school later so I can study to get a job I may want."
~You can go back?~
"Yeah, not all kids remain as Pokémon trainers and challenge gyms indefinitely. Some may and manage to make it into a successful career; others will stop and decide to become something else. They could end up as artists, scientists, doctors, police, firemen, anything really. Some may even study to work a mix, like rangers studying medicine and taking police training."
~What about the Pokémon?~ Lance asked with concern.
"Most trainers keep them, even if they're not entering competitive battles anymore. They may use them for their job depending what it is and what kind of Pokémon they are. Like Azure for example. If he decided to become a fireman, he and Squirtle could train together for that kind of work. Same for his Pidgey if feasible or any other Pokémon he gets."
~Do you have an idea of what to do?~ the poison type asked.
"Not really," Alex admitted. "I haven't really thought about what to do when I'm older. That's partly why I wanted to be a trainer, to find out what I might want to be."
~Enough yapping, let's get inside,~ Ansen huffed, itching to get inside.
While he wasn't going to battle other than as a last resort, he was interested to see what a gym leader's Pokémon are capable of.
From what he's heard of passing trainers and what Alex told them, they sound very strong. If this wasn't a rock gym, he would have demanded to fight, but he had to be smart. He can't get strong by being stupid.
He looked at the ones who would be fighting, recalling their conversation on how they would strategize for the battles.
Lance would fight first, mostly going against Flint's weaker Pokémon, possibly slow the main one down depending how things go. Afterward, depending on what it is and how strong it might be, Sienna or Hana would be sent in. They would take turns to fight, namely using Hana's Sleep Powder to put to sleep, allowing Sienna to hopefully finish it off. It was probably not the best plan, but it was the best she could think of with what she had.
"Okay, get inside everyone. I don't know how Flint would respond to five Pokémon being out of their pokéballs."
She held up the balls, recalling each Pokémon into them until Ken was the only one left.
~Do I have to? I promise not to get in the way,~ Ken pleaded. He pressed his front paws together similar to a prayer.
"I suppose it would be okay. You're small enough not to get in the way and less likely to just start attacking."
~Like Ansen?~
"Yeah, but I told him that for this battle and future gym battles, he has to listen or we'd get disqualified."
~I really hope all of that training pays off,~ the electric mouse whispered nervously, ears lowering.
"I hope so too, we trained way too hard to fail."
As she was about to step inside, a boy grabbed her by the shoulder, stopping her as she spun around.
"Halt, you're light years away from challenging Flint!"
"Wait, what?" she sputtered, confused about what he meant.
"Crud, I didn't mean to say that," the boy sputtered, realizing what he said. "Forget it, you can't go in there!"
"How come?"
"Because I said so, Flint isn't seeing anyone today!"
"How do I know you're telling the truth?" Alex asked, the boy giving her a glare.
"Because I said so!" the boy pouted, stomping his foot on the ground.
"I rather hear it from Flint or someone who works here."
"I work here!"
"Really?"
With a smug grin, he pulled out an ID badge to show as proof, the black haired girl unable to really deny it. Sure, she doesn't know if it's real, but if it was and she pushed her way through, she could get in serious trouble.
"Okay, could you at least tell me when he'll have his gym open?"
"No way, I'm not telling you anything."
"You can't do that!"
"Pika!" Ken yipped angrily, getting frustrated like his trainer.
"Yes I can," he stated, sticking his tongue out.
"But that isn't fair to people who're challenging the gyms."
"Fine, if you want to know, then beat me with that weird Pikachu of yours."
"But Ken isn't fighting…"
He didn't listen as he called out a strange Pokémon she didn't recognize.
~Use that red thing to find out about it,~ Ken suggested.
"Okay," she whispered, ignoring the look from the boy as she pulled out the Pokédex.
She scanned the Pokémon, learning it was called a Diglett. With the scan completed, she learned it also didn't know any ground type attacks.
~So?~
"Diglett doesn't know any ground type moves, so if you wanted to, you could fight him."
~No problem.~
The Pikachu hopped down from her shoulder, staring his opponent down, waiting for Alex's command to attack.
"Hold up, you got one of those things too?"
"Things? So Azure was here?" she asked, seeing the boy slap a hand over his mouth.
"Whatever, Diglett use Scratch!"
"Ken, use Quick Attack!"
Using his natural agility, the mouse went to tackle the mole but was surprised when it proved faster as it slashed at him. He barely saw its claws!
With a pain-filled cry, he inspected his injury where the Pokémon scratched him, finding flecks of blood and small cuts on his side.
Giving the ground type a glare, he dove at it, managing to dive after it into one of the holes it had made trying to escape. With while both about the same size, the Pikachu found himself with the advantage as the Diglett couldn't turn quick enough to retaliate.
With a few quick hits, the Pokémon was knocked out, Ken dragging it part way out to prove his victory.
"Damn," the boy cursed as he recalled his Pokémon.
He pulled out his next Pokéball, calling out his Sandshrew, the girl remembering that from school.
Using the small delay given, she took advantage to have Ken return to her side, calling out Lance.
With fiercer moves, the second ground type was knocked down and out cold, the poison type standing as the victor as he made his way back to his trainer.
"You did great," Alex congratulated as she hugged her Pokémon, the other nuzzling against her happily. "Okay, I beat you; could you please tell me what's going on? Did something happen with the gym leader and Azure?"
Knowing he was in a tight spot and already pushing his luck, the other trainer relented, gesturing they sit on a nearby bench.
"No, that kid didn't do anything. He was pretty cool when he and Flint battled. It was the guy after him that made the mess."
"What happened?"
"He creamed Flint's team and proceeded to insult his Pokémon and him."
"That's awful," Alex gasped.
"Tell me about it," the boy sighed. "Flint's been really depressed, so I thought I could redirect trainers or beat them if they were stubborn."
"Didn't go very well."
"Don't remind me," he groaned. "Look, I'm sorry I was a jerk to you. Flint's a really nice guy and I didn't want some other jerk to show up ruining his day further."
"But by chasing trainers away like that might get him in trouble. There are only so many gyms and not every trainer is able to reach all of them."
"I was just trying to help him…"
"Being honest would help, not all trainers are bad. I would have understood."
"Yeah, I guess that's true. Flint was just really bummed out about what that guy said. I didn't want to risk some pushy newbie or know-it-all senior trainer barging in before he had time to pull himself back together."
Looking back at the gym, Alex knew she couldn't really leave without the badge. Even if she could find another gym, it didn't seem right. She had a sinking feeling who it might have been the jerk, one person comes to mind.
"Maybe I could try to talk to him?" she suggested. "Even if he isn't up for battling, maybe having someone to listen and talk might help?"
"You could try, but don't get your hopes up."
Nodding, Alex bid the boy farewell as he left to get his Pokémon healed properly. She stood up and made her way to the doors, pushing them open and stepping inside. It was cooler due to the A.C. running overhead.
The lights were dim, making it hard to see, managing to make her way to the center of the gym. The automatic lights soon flickered on, momentarily blinding her and her Pokémon.
Once her sight was regained, she was amazed at the boulders decorating the place, doubting they were here for appearance alone.
"Hello?" Alex called out, not seeing any signs of anyone that would resemble a gym leader. She noticed what looked like a balcony high above, tempted to call Hana out to check.
She shook her head, knowing it might cause problems if there were Pokémon roaming in this place.
Peering around the different boulders, she finally found who she hoped was the gym leader. He looked like a teenager, possibly young adult sulking behind one of the numerous boulders.
"Umm… Excuse me, by any chance, are you, Flint?" Alex asked, accidentally startling him as he jumped, starting at her with squinted eyes.
"Who are you?" he asked, his voice slightly hoarse.
"My name is Alex, I'm from Pallet Town…" she started to introduce herself before he interrupted her harshly.
"So you're here to challenge me and make fun of me too?" he snapped, glaring at her before she could get a word out. "Get out of here! I don't need to hear crap from you either!"
"I'm not here to make fun of you."
"But you're here for my badge, aren't you?"
"Yes…" she admitted softly, rubbing her arm slightly as she looked away. "If you're not up for it, I don't mind waiting. I heard what happened and that wasn't fair."
"No, as a gym leader, I have to accept every challenger that comes my way," Flint stated as he looked at her with questioning eyes. "You started your journey recently, right?"
"Yes, I don't have any badges right now."
"Right…" he whispered as he pulled out two Pokéballs, appearing unsure of himself.
"If you plan on challenging me, I want you to fight me with everything you have! I want to fight a gym leader; they're strong trainers, considered elites next to the trainers in the Pokémon League. Whatever that guy said to you, he's wrong!"
Flint couldn't his surprise as he saw the determined look in her eyes, but could see how she shook in fear.
He realized she was just as scared as he felt incompetent of his own skills, yet here she is, wanting him to go all out then take advantage of his depression.
"Alright, as leader of the Pewter City Gym and specialist in rock type Pokémon, I accept your challenge. I won't go easy on you and I expect you not to hold back either!" Flint called out as he threw one ball, releasing a Geodude.
"Use Horn Attack!" Alex cried out as she called Lance out. "Now use Poison Sting!"
She watched as he successfully poisoned the rock and ground type, only for both to stare in shock when the boy threw a strange looking capsule at it.
The second it burst open, soaking the rock type, her Pokédex beeped, making her pull it out, telling her that her opponent had been healed.
"What the hell?" she muttered softly as she looked at her Pokémon.
For that boy to use an item while in the midst of a battle, he was indeed showing all there is to be a gym leader.
She would never have the proper aim to do something like that, not without lots of practice at least. Even then, she felt she still wouldn't have the proper skills to pull off such a feat as he had done just now.
Shaking her head, she focused back on the battle, ordering her Pokémon to attack and use Leer nonstop.
Slowly, but surely the rock type succumbed to his injuries, unable to keep battling, Lance backing off without any orders given, knowing the fight is won.
"Geodude…" Flint whimpered softly, his hand shaking as he flashed back to his fight against his last challenger.
"Are you okay?" Alex asked, concerned for the young man as she watched him shaking.
Somehow hearing her kind voice, he was able to pull himself together, recalling his Pokémon and getting his final Pokémon set.
"Yeah, you got lucky against my Geodude. But I doubt your exhausted Nidorino will be able to face up against my top Pokémon, Onix!"
"Lance, stand back! Hana's taking over now!" she ordered, having him run to her side as she threw out her next Pokémon.
"A Butterfree?" the gym leader whispered, unsure what the reason could be for such a Pokémon, but shook it off.
"Sleep Powder!"
"Damn!"
Back and forth, attacks were thrown. Every time Onix was put to sleep, Flint threw another full heal, waking the rock type right up.
However, despite his attempts to keep his Pokémon awake and attack, the butterfly was way too fast to keep up.
Before long, the towering snake fell in a heap, the last Confusion sending it flying into the ground.
"I…I lost? I lost again?" he gasped, falling to his knees after recalling his Pokémon, unable to fathom how he could've lost three times in a row.
Walking up to him, Alex held her hand out, a kind smile on her face, "You were great. I know I won, but before, I was so scared about challenging you. But now I'm glad, you showed me I can't be afraid."
"What do you mean? You beat me so easily, I barely had a chance to attack your Butterfree!" he snapped, his voice trembling as he held back tears.
"I…I know, but like I said, I was really scared about challenging you. I was scared of something going wrong, not just with my Pokémon getting hurt badly, but yours too."
"What?"
"Mhm…but when you started throwing those capsules to your Geodude and Onix, it was amazing to see. I never saw a trainer be able to do something like that."
"So…so I'm not some pathetic excuse then?"
"Of course not, whatever he said, it isn't true! I know you're a great trainer. The Pokémon League wouldn't pick just anyone to run a gym without testing them, right?"
"Y-yeah, you're right! I may have inherited this gym from my dad, but I still had to be tested to make sure I could run it! The inspector for gyms said I had a lot of talent for someone as young as I am," Flint laughed as he let the words penetrate through his doubt, a bright smile on his face.
"That's great!"
"Alex is it? Thank you so much. When he beat me, I was at a loss. I didn't really know what to do after the things said to me, the way he treated me and my Pokémon. You see, I recently took over the gym. I've only been running it for about a year and a half now and while I don't have the greatest winning streak, I still fought my hardest."
"It was no problem. I know I we had to fight, but I didn't want to if you were so upset."
"I understand and trainers like you, its trainers like you and Renton I admire. You show kindness not only towards your Pokémon but to trainers and their Pokémon too. I can only assume you've shown kindness towards wild Pokémon."
"When they haven't tried to kill me, I try to leave them be or let them play with my Pokémon when we weren't training."
"That's what I thought and I'm glad."
Fishing through his pocket, Flint pulled out what looked like a shimmering gray pin, holding it out to Alex.
"This is the Boulder Badge; it'll show proof that you've beaten the gym. It'll help give you access to the Pokémon League along with the other seven when you eventually get them."
"Thank you," Alex smiled as she accepted it.
"But I should warn you, there are times a badge can bring bad company, so try to be careful with it and who you show it too."
"Alright, I'll be sure to take care. Thank you so much, Flint."
"Also, you've heard of technical and hidden machines, right?"
"A little, they can help teach Pokémon attacks they normally can't learn without help. TMs can only be used once, while HMs can be used nonstop."
"That right," the young man smiled. "Wait a moment, okay?"
"Sure."
Flint went to the back part of the gym, opening a door she hadn't seen right away, guessing it might be his office or similar to one. After a couple minutes, he came back, carrying a couple of items. In one hand he had what looked like a floppy disk with a small white label on the case. In the other, he had a strange looking box with two slots. One looked to be large enough to insert a disk while the other was large enough to fit a pokéball.
"Sorry about that, figured while you're familiar, I doubted you had one of these," Flint apologized as he handed them to Alex. "This floppy contains all the necessary data files for a move I developed a while back. It's called Bide. It was my Onix's main move, but because of your Butterfree attacking so quickly, I didn't have time to use it properly."
"What does it do?"
"It's a bit of a risk taker. When your Pokémon uses it, they need to take damage, allowing the power that makes up Bide build up. Once it's ready, the Pokémon will instinctively release all that energy either into a blast of energy or brute strength. The result will double whatever your opponent had sent your way, sometimes more depending on how often they're attacked prior."
"That sounds really strong."
"It can be if used right. I suggest that if you do decide to use it, pick a Pokémon that has a high endurance like rock type or certain species like Snorlax."
"That's really cool, thanks for telling me. What about that device?"
"This is used for TMs and HMs to read the data for your chosen Pokémon. Just drop the pokéball in this slot until you hear a click, then insert the floppy. It'll flash red to process and if it turns green, it can learn the move. If it doesn't, it'll make a buzz to inform you."
"So how do I use it?"
"This button will allow you to view your Pokémon's attacks. Because of how much power they have, it's safer they memorize about four moves for both trainer and Pokémon. It'll help them from becoming overwhelmed. And if the Pokémon can learn the attack, you can use the arrow keys to highlight what you want the Pokémon to forget and hit the yellow button."
"How long would it take?"
"Should be fairly quick if done in a pokéball. I'd say about five minutes at max. Of course, some moves can be taught more naturally depending on both the Pokémon and the nature of the attack."
"They never explained it like that in school," Alex said as she accepted the gifts. "Thank you so much for telling me and giving these to me."
"It's no trouble at all. It's the least I could do after what you did. Plus these machines can be really costly at times, especially if you went for a high-grade one like this one."
"Oh wow, I didn't expect that it'd be that expensive."
"Yeah, perks to being a gym leader I suppose," Flint laughed nervously. "By the way, do you have an idea of where you're going now you have your first badge?"
"I remember reading the pamphlet I got that there was a gym in Cerulean City."
"That's right; it's just past Mt. Moon. Take Route 3 to reach it and it'll drop you right on the path that'll take you straight to Cerulean City."
"What kind of gym is it?"
"If I recall, the Cerulean Gym Leader is a water type trainer. So I suspect your Pikachu will be perfect, but it probably wouldn't hurt to get your hands on a grass type or more electric types if you're lucky."
"Yeah, that would be a good idea," she smiled as the two made their way towards the Pokémon Center to heal their partners.
Alex - Pokémon 5 - Badges 1 - Deaths 0
Team:
Sienna - Charmander - Charmeleon
Ansen - Pidgey - Pidgeotto
Lance - Nidoran M. - Nidorino
Hana - Caterpie - Metapod - Butterfree
Ken - Pikachu
With the main anime where Ash and company appear in, I haven't seen any signs of TMs/HMs at all. All of those moves were taught by some third party; wild Pokemon, another trainer, etc. That doesn't mean they don't exist in that universe.
To have something capable of teaching Pokemon attacks almost in an instant, it's likely expensive and not something most trainers would have access to without being filthy rich. Meaning someone like Gary probably wouldn't be able to afford it despite his grandfather's reputation. However, someone like James probably could with how rich his family is.
In regards to Flint inheriting the gym from his dad, that was something I thought would have been fun to do. I saw a pattern where Flint was in charge, then it went to his oldest son, Brock, who later gave the position to one of his younger siblings, Forrest.
If you enjoyed this, please leave a review and any helpful critique that may better improve the writing.