A/N: Well, I'm in a generally crappy mood since my cat ran away on the 11th. This'll help keep my mind off of it. Thanks for reading!
The first thing that went through her mind was 'stereotypical'. As typical as museums got.
There were fossils and rocks in glass cases lining the walls, of course, but the main attraction was a gigantic dragon-like skeleton acting as a centerpiece of sorts. It didn't look like any Pokémon she'd seen before. Besides that, the whole place looked terribly bland, complete with a guy in a labcoat that was as skinny and pale as she was forcing her along a tour.
"These are fossilized versions of the ancient Pokémon Archen and Tirtouga. We keep them on display though we're able to bring them back to life! And this…It's just a pretty stone. No real use." Get this over with already.
After what seemed like eternity, they stopped in front of the skeleton and the man in the coat was interrupted by an unfitting, but equally stereotypical woman. It made her vaguely realize that this was the first black person she'd ever seen in person.
She was a large matronly black woman, hair in an afro-ponytail combination, dressed in a mix of homemaker and hippie. As Father said, the most stand-out person is by default the Gym Leader, so Nire casually stuck out a Pokéball to show her challenge.
"A challenger, I suppose? Well, I'm sorry, dearie, but you'll have to go to through the Gym first. I know you must have come from Striaton, so you can't be used to this by now, but Gyms usually have a puzzle section before the Leader. Helps weed out the weak, you know?" She frowned, but nodded.
As the Leader disappeared and her tour guide led her to the actual Gym, she got the tingling sensation that these puzzles were going to get absurd in the later Gyms.
-THIS IS A LINE BREAK-
The Gym was a giant library. Now, Nire knew how to read, she was good at it, but she never owned many books. Five actual books at the most, the rest being 10-page nonsense from her early years that her mother never could bring herself to be rid of. Therefore, she'd never seen this many books in her life. It made her feel vaguely excited. She took a step forward towards the nearest bookshelf when…Was that the same guy from earlier?
"Hello, champ-in-the-making! Welcome to Nacrene City's Gym! Here, have this one on the house!" He handed her a bottle of water. It was swiftly pocketed with the other untouched bottle from Striaton and promptly forgotten.
"Now, this Gym specializes in Normal-type Pokémon. They aren't strong against anything, but their only weakness is Fighting. Did you get a Timburr from Pinwheel Forest? Because it would help here." She had, but the fact that it had a tumor on its forehead made it unwanted. She shook the guy off and went about the books.
She tried to go riff through a random section, but someone on the stepladder next to her started talking to her. "In this Gym, the puzzle is trivia found in certain books! Beat me for the first one!" Arceus, why.
-THIS IS A LINE BREAK-
The battles were insanely easy. Lillipups and Patrats flooded the place, all too low a level to be of challenge to Monk. So instead, she allowed Magnolia the pleasure, in an attempt to both adapt her to her command technique and make her stronger. Magnolia was much smarter than the Pansear, understanding that her Trainer was just as offensive-based as the vicious Bulb Pokémon loved to be, and that Sleep Powder and Synthesis were unheard of in Nire's vocabulary. A vague sucking noise was enough to hint at Mega Drain, and later on when it was learned a quick stamping sufficed for Magical Leaf. It didn't make sense, but it was like that purposely to throw off people who may anticipate her attacks. At least, that's what Nire would claim.
Other than that, the questions she found in the books on notecards were at least interesting. Things from trains to a treat in Sinnoh called Poffins. She'd actually had a Poffin before, a green one with yellow sprinkles brought back by her father as a souvenir from a business trip. It tasted terrible, but she ate it regardless to please him.
When the last notecard was found and answered, a book case against the far right wall moved aside, revealing a stairway. She swore she heard someone say "Ow, my leg!", but shook it off and went downstairs.
About halfway down she promptly turned around and headed out the door, mostly due to the battered and tired Petilil hanging off her hand by its teeth.
A/N: That's enough for today, I'm tired. Gym Battle next time! Thanks for reading, my dears!