Hi, guys! As you can see, I'm not dead! I was just busy…with work and stuff. It sucks…

Anyway, sorry for the delay. As of this chapter, I am no longer accepting OC trainers. I will still accept OC Pokémon, though.

Now that that's out of the way, onto the chapter! Enjoy!

Chapter 11: Shaking the Gym

"Wait a sec! That wouldn't be a good idea!" Darren yelped. "Smugleaf doesn't like to listen to people! Seriously, Casey!"

"Let me try," Casey persisted.

"I guess this means we're fighting together!" Riolu cried, skipping over to Smugleaf. "Nice to meet yo—"

"Forget it," Smugleaf growled.

"Huh?" Riolu blinked at the Snivy curiously. "Forget what?"

"I'm not fighting for that human," Smugleaf replied coldly. "I fight for no human."

"Then why are you with that one?" Blade asked, indicating Darren.

"I'm making sure he doesn't hurt Charcoal or anyone else!" Smugleaf snapped, glaring at the Bisharp. "I'm not going to let him enslave anyone like he did me."

"It appears you are failing," Blade commented.

"Shut up!" Smugleaf snarled.

Vines erupted from his shoulder structures, lashing out at Blade. The Bisharp blocked the vines with one arm. Smugleaf growled, leaping back and swiping with his vines. Blade continued to block them, making no move to strike back at the Grass-type.

"Hey! Smugleaf, stop tha—" Darren started to shout, only to be stopped when Casey raised an arm. "Hey, what are y—"

"Let them fight it out," Casey advised.

"What? Why should I?" Darren demanded.

"Trust me," Casey said calmly. "It doesn't take much to get Blade to fight. I don't know your Snivy's abilities very well. Witnessing them in battle firsthand is the best way to do that."

"But your Bisharp!" Darren reminded.

"He won't hurt your Snivy," Casey reassured, eyes never leaving the fight. "He's too strong, anyway. Honestly, I've never seen Blade use his full power in battle before. I doubt he'll have any reason to do so now."

Smugleaf increased the intensity of his blows. Blade continued to block. Then the Steel/Dark-type lunged, easily bypassing the vines. The Snivy stood no chance against the backhand Blade used and was sent flying backward. Smugleaf twisted around, landing on his feet. The vines retracted and were replaced with a group of glowing leaves.

"What the—?" Blade jumped backward as the leaves rocketed forward, stabbing into the concrete where he once stood. Magical Leaf? That was unexpected…

"He knows Magical Leaf?" Casey cried. "He's a starter Pokémon! How does he know that?"

"I don't really know, but he's not the only one to know a weird move." Darren explained. "Seashell knows Air Slash. My friend, Bianca, has a Tepig that knows Body Slam and my other friend, Cheren, has a Snivy that knows Energy Ball."

"What about your Tepig?" Casey asked. "Does it know anything weird like that?"

"I don't know," Darren admitted. "If he does, he hasn't used it yet."

The battle continued in that same fashion. Smugleaf would strike with his vines, Blade would block, Blade would lash out with a swift backhand, Smugleaf would retaliate with Magical Leaf, and then the cycle would repeat itself. Blade was still going strong. Smugleaf, unfortunately, was beginning to tire.

"I guess that's all your Snivy has in him," Casey finally said. "He seems to use offensive moves mainly. He's pretty fast, too. I think he's more content fighting on his own than being ordered around."

"I guess so," Darren reluctantly agreed.

"Blade, that's enough!" Casey ordered.

The Bisharp nodded, using one final backhand to toss Smugleaf aside. He then backed down, silently returning to Casey's side. Smugleaf struggled to his feet, gasping for breath. Trembles racked his small body.

Charcoal, Buck, Yorkie, and Seashell all dashed forward to check on the exhausted Snivy. Darkly glanced at Blade, silently staring at him. Blade stared back. The Purrloin merely nodded before following her teammates.

"Are you okay, Smugleaf?" Charcoal asked, worried.

"That guy barely even hit you, Smuggy!" Buck pointed out. "How the heck did you lose? He didn't even fight!"

"He must've been really strong," Yorkie whimpered, shivers hitting the tiny Lillipup.

"That boy did say Blade was his main fighter," Darkly reminded upon reaching them. "As a Bisharp, it is likely that he's a fully evolved Pokémon…unlike us."

"So, he's supposed to be that strong?" Seashell asked, frightened.

"More than likely, yes," Darkly replied gravely.

Smugleaf just glared at the ground, trembling. How did I lose? That guy barely hit me! He just blocked! I don't care if he's fully evolved! I wasn't supposed to lose!

"We better heal your Snivy, just in case. Blade's been known to deal a ton of damage with only one or two hits," Casey said.

"Yeah," Darren agreed. He looked at the trembling Snivy. Poor Smugleaf… If he hated people before, he'll probably hate us tenfold now.

Smugleaf didn't even bother fighting when Darren returned him to his Poké Ball. One quick trip to the Pokémon Center to heal up their Pokémon and the two boys were back in front of Striaton City Gym. Darren hesitantly handed Smugleaf's Poké Ball over to Casey.

"I'll wait for you to finish battling the trainers. Then we can watch each other fight the Gym Leaders!" Casey exclaimed.

"Sure," Darren nodded. It's going to be weird fighting without Smugleaf, he thought.

The pair entered the Gym, only to come face-to-face with a bright red curtain. An orange flame was imprinted at the center of it. In front of the curtain were three buttons, one identical to the curtain. The other two were a blue button with a light blue droplet on it and a green button with a light green leaf on it.

"What's this supposed to be?" Smugleaf asked, frowning.

"A puzzle!" Riolu replied cheerfully. "You have to figure out the connection between the curtain and the buttons."

"Darkly, have you done this puzzle before?" Seashell asked, looking at the Purrloin.

"Indeed, I have," the feline purred. "It's not difficult at all. It's quite simple, actually."

Darren looked at Casey. "I'm guessing you're not going to help me figure this out," he guessed.

"Sorry, but that's right," Casey admitted. "It wouldn't be fair. Just remember your Pokémon types and you'll get through."

"My Pokémon types?" Darren stared at the curtain and then at the buttons. The curtain has fire on it and the buttons have the starters' types on it… Remember your Pokémon types…

After a moment of thinking, Darren stepped on the green button. Nothing happened.

"Wrong," Darkly purred.

"So, it's not the curtain's strength," Seashell muttered.

Darren stepped on the red button. Nothing happened.

"Wrong," Darkly purred again.

"And it's not the same type," the Oshawott said. "That only leaves…"

Darren stepped on the blue button. The curtain slowly pulled away, revealing a waiter standing in front of blue curtain. The boy grinned victoriously at Casey, who merely smiled back.

"You pick the button that is super-effective against the type on the curtain!" Seashell cried. "That's the puzzle, isn't it?"

"Yep!" Ruffles chirped from Casey's arms.

"Congratulations on making it this far, young man," the waiter greeted. "If you wish to continue, you must defeat me first."

"Bring it on!" Darren cried.

"Go, my Lillipup!" the waiter ordered, unleashing his Pokémon.

"This'll be easy! Smugleaf, let's g—" Darren paused.

Casey frowned, eyes narrowing slightly. He wasn't kidding when he called his Snivy his strongest, he thought. It looks like he relies on his Snivy a lot. It must be hard not being able to use him now.

"I guess I'm up," Smugleaf muttered, stepping forward.

"Did you already forget, Smugleaf?" Darkly spoke up.

"Forget what?" Smugleaf asked, annoyed.

"You're not Darren's Pokémon right now," the Dark-type reminded. "You are Casey's Pokémon. You cannot fight for Darren right now."

"What?" the Snivy yelled. "You're joking!"

"Funny… I thought you'd be happy," Darkly commented, eyes falling half-closed in scrutiny. "You frequently said you hated humans. Why are you so angry that you cannot fight now?"

"…Shut up," Smugleaf looked away, arms crossed over his chest.

Darren shook his head. Okay, I can't use Smugleaf here. That's okay, I've got the others. He put on a smirk. "Buck, you're up!" he called.

"I guess I'm up, Smuggy!" Buck grinned, bounding past Smugleaf.

The Snivy frowned. Why am I so mad about this? A human is a human, no matter which one it is! They're all the same in the end!

"Use Odor Sleuth! Don't miss a single attack!" the waiter ordered.

The Lillipup opened its mouth and unleashed a ball of white light that hit Buck square in the chest. The Patrat blinked, rubbing a paw over his chest. Aside from his chest fur standing on end, Buck couldn't sense anything wrong.

"What was that supposed to do?" he wondered, confused.

"Now use Tackle!" the waiter cried.

"Dodge and use Tackle, Buck!" Darren yelled.

The Lillipup lunged, only for Buck to sidestep it and then ram it in the side. The puppy yelped, leaping away. It lunged for a second Tackle, only to be hit with Bite. A second Bite ended the match.

"Oh yeah! Who is the man? I am the man!" Buck cried, grinning.

"That was awesome, Buck!" Charcoal cheered.

"You beat that guy like it was nothing!" Yorkie gushed. "And you didn't even get hit!"

"It's my mad skills, guys," the Patrat chuckled.

"Good job," Smugleaf ground out between grit teeth.

"Awww! What's wrong, Smuggy?" Buck taunted. "Jealous that it was me out there instead of you?"

"That's it!" Smugleaf lunged at the chipmunk, only to be intercepted by Yorkie and Charcoal. "Let me at him!"

"Hah!" Buck couldn't help but laugh. "You are jealous! Where's all the hate talk about humans now, eh?"

Buck yelped when something smacked into the back of his head. Rubbing the sore spot, the Patrat turned to see Darkly looking at him. Her tail twitched warningly.

"Ow! What was that for?" Buck whined.

"Don't taunt him," Darkly advised.

"I was just having a bit of fun!" Buck complained.

"Do it elsewhere," the Purrloin requested. She looked at Smugleaf. "That's odd…"

"What is?" Buck asked, confused.

"Smugleaf," Darkly replied. "He's been angry and wound up ever since Blade fought him. I think he feels cornered, maybe even…weak. He wants to prove those feelings wrong."

"Was that why he was so mad when I got to fight and he couldn't?" the Patrat asked, suddenly worried.

"That's only what I'm guessing it is. Smugleaf's not as easy to read as I initially thought he was," Darkly explained. "Hopefully a fight with a Gym Leader will give him the release he needs…"

"Yeah," Buck nodded, suddenly on edge. Who'd have thought that one fight could cause all of this to happen?

After Darren bypassed the second curtain, he was confronted by a green curtain and a waitress. Casey and his team stood aside, as they did last time. Smugleaf, much to his frustration, was forced to join them.

"You've been doing well so far, young man. Let's see if you can keep that win streak of yours up!" the waitress cried. "Patrat, time to play!"

"Charcoal, this fight's yours!" Darren ordered.

"Hooray! It's my turn!" The Tepig happily hopped onto the field.

"Patrat, use Bite!" the waitress called.

"Hit it with Ember, Charcoal!" Darren commanded.

Charcoal yelped when the first Bite nailed his shoulder. A blast of searing-hot embers drove the chipmunk back enough for Charcoal to deal another hit with Ember. The Patrat, enraged, quickly charged with another Bite that hit the Tepig in the foreleg. Charcoal cried out, tears springing to his eyes.

"Charcoal, hang in there!" Seashell cried.

"You can do it, Coaly!" Buck cheered.

"Show that guy who's boss, Charcoal!" Yorkie yelled.

Charcoal managed to stay on his feet, his head lowered. A brown aura suddenly enveloped his body. When the Tepig looked up, he glared at the Patrat.

"Leave…me…" he growled. "…ALONE!"

Charcoal suddenly jumped into the air. He slammed his feet into the ground once he landed, the ground cracking beneath him. The ground shook violently, throwing everyone off their feet.

"What's going on?" Yorkie shrieked.

"Magnitude!" Darkly yowled. "That was the mysterious move that Charcoal knew!"

The ground abruptly stilled. The waitress' Patrat collapsed, unconscious. Once everyone was back on their feet, she scampered back in fear.

"That was Magnitude! That's what your Tepig knew!" Casey cried. "That was… That was incredible!"

"Charcoal… Awesome timing…" Darren said, barely able to stay standing due to how much his knees were shaking.

"Huh? What happened?" Charcoal looked around. "Whoa! This place is trashed!"

"You did that, Coaly!" Buck laughed. "You sure showed that guy who was boss!"

Smugleaf smirked. "Good job, Charcoal," he said.

The Tepig smiled, jumping from foot to foot in joy. "I di~d it! I di~d it!" he sang. "I wo~n! I wo~n!"

"Um… I still have my Purrloin…" the waitress squeaked.

Buck grinned. "Ready to do that again, Coaly?" he asked.

The Striaton City Gym was shaken to its core for a second time that day. Upon bypassing the green curtain, Darren and Casey stood before a trio of waiters. Though a bit shaken, all three kept a confident air about them.

"I am Cilan," said the green-haired waiter.

"I'm Chili!" the red-haired waiter cried.

"And I am Cress," the blue-haired waiter introduced.

"Welcome to our Gym!" the trio said in unison.

Darren just stared. "…I have to fight three Gym Leaders?" he wailed.