The heat from the stadium lighting poured down onto the dirt and rock covered arena. Dust hung lightly in the air and peppered the scene, kicked up with every footstep taken. Floodlights caught the particles floating around and highlighted the room before Paige. This was her first time inside of an official gym and it was a frightening one. The atmosphere was inlaid thick with anticipation. With the doors behind her sealed up tight, there was only one way out of this. She had to fight.
Holly began her routine. "Pewter City Gym has a few special rules here. You will use the same amount of Pokémon as I and there is no switching out. Your Pokémon faints and you lose. Lucky for you I will only be using one to test you. Unlucky for you I will only need one to beat you." The older woman smirked softly with her lightly painted lips as she spoke out her challenge. "Choose your partner in this battle wisely Paige. I'm looking forward to this."
The teen gave a hard swallow to force a knot down in her throat while she tried to halt the shakes and thought to herself. Surely she would be using the same type of Pokémon as Brock would be. Isaac had advised against using Varem or Gale in the gym in the beginning so that only left one option. Clasping her hand to her belt holster, she flipped one of her pokeballs up into her grip and raised it up in front of herself. Her arm was still unsteady. Here we go . . .
"Let's go Rinno!" Paige threw the pokeball out in front of her overhead, the capsule firing out a streak of purple light onto the ground with her Nidoran taking form. The Pokémon cried out and looked around, ears twitching softly while taking everything in.
"A Nidoran huh? Quite a cutie. Sadly, being cute isn't going to help you in this battle. Nosspass! Time to come out!"
Holly threw her ball with a flip of her wrist underhanded. The Pokémon that was summoned to the field took form as a blue, angular rock with a bright red triangular nose to it. Its arms and legs didn't appear to have any visible joints to them while the opponent's eyes were even closed. Paige took a moment to size up the competition, wondering just what this Pokémon was. Digging into her side pocket she recovered her Pokedex and targeted the device to point at it.
*Bing* Nosepass, the compass Pokémon. This Pokémon's nose can act like an electromagnet and compass needle. It uses its nose to determine location and can help travelers check directions.
Varem at her side called out to Rinno and waved to him with a happy smile. Rinno glared at the opponent's pokemon with his body hunched forward, turning its frame to Varem with a nod. Holly saw this as a perfect opportunity. Quickly, the red haired woman swung her arm back out and pointed a digit towards the Nidoran.
"Nosepass! Start off with a good old fashion Tackle!" The large rock pokemon suddenly charged forward, stomping his legs on the field to leave indentations within the ground behind. Rinno had just started to turn around and there Nosepass was, bearing down hard on the small male. There was little to no escape. The rocky body rammed into his soft frame and sent him barreling backwards in a tumble. Rinno managed to land on his feet but was visibly shaken by the attack. Paige let out an audible gasp and dropped her Pokedex onto the arena floor.
"Rinno! I'm sorry! Are you ok?!" Paige was too late in warning him about the upcoming attack. She needed to focus here just like she was back in the forest. There was no room for error here. If she lost now, she would never hear the end of it from Isaac and those two bug boys.
"Rinno! Come back at it with a Poison Sting!"
The plucky Nidoran shook off the Tackle, running forward with his head down and horn primed with a charge of deadly toxin for injection. Leaping up into the air to the center mass, it was a direct hit. The agile Pokémon then bounced off and landed in front of the Nosepass in preparation of his next action. The Nosepass however didn't seem to be phased by the attack. Holly only would smile and chuckle softly to herself before speaking out to the young trainer.
"You have to think logically here Paige. Rock Pokémon are not fazed by poison attacks. Their hard exterior prevents any sort of penetration of their body. You can jab that little horn at us all day but it won't work!"
Paige huffed a bit, feeling her face and ears going up red in frustration. Behind her lips, she clenched her teeth and balled her hands into fists. Varem looked up at her with a sad expression, seeing the girl was struggling already. His claws reached up to pull a bit on her black tights to gain her attention for a brief moment. The teenage looked down at Varem as he smiled up with a nod and tail flame growing in strength. Paige felt a warm calming sensation roll over her and returned the toothy smile.
"Heh . . . thanks. I got this." Varem chirped happily while Paige inhaled in deep with a quick exhale, refocusing on the battle.
"Nosepass! Rock Throw", Holly yelled out with her hand extended in the command. Her onyx bracelets jangled together in the motion.
The opposing pokemon raised up a foot then let it crash downwards with an aggressive groan, sending rocks flying forward at the Nidoran from above. Rinno looked up at the falling pieces of earth with twitchy legs and ears, getting ready to do what they had trained for in the woods. Paige watched the rocks falling with her fingernails clenching into her palms. Isaac and the boys had helped her with this and she was not going to fail here. It was time to shine.
"Rinno! Dodge them with your hops like you did in the forest! You can do this!"
The pokemon waited until the last moment to begin, leaping up between the shards of tossed earth and pivoting his body in midair to avoid them. The rocks descended down onto the field, smashing the spot where he was standing. The Nidoran had now positioned himself back in front of the Nosepass without as much as a scratch on him from raining earth. Holly looked on in a bit of surprise, not unnerved by the action but more intrigued at the evasion tactic she had just used. Apparently the girl had some help in preparation for this match.
Paige quickly punched her fist out into the air with a cheer, Varem jumping in excitement at the successful dodge. "Swing those legs Rinno! Double Kick!"
Rinno turned about face and quickly kicked out his hind legs into the Nosepass. The slam of his legs into the rocky body sent the opponent a clear message that there was some fight in this tiny Pokémon. The second kickoffs made the Nosepass grunt out but would not fall. Instead, he made an angry swing of its arm out at the Nidoran in an attempt to bat him away. Rinno hopped backwards from the swing and stayed low to the ground to avoid.
"Looks like you have a few tricks up our sleeves there Paige. Too bad that won't work again! Harden!"
The Nosepass's body tensed up in position and flashed a white hue, leaving a soft shine to his exterior. Paige felt her pulse race a bit more, not out of fear but more excitement. Things seemed like they were going fairly well for now. With determination, she made another push forward for a victory.
"That won't stop Rinno! Another round of Double Kicks!"
Isaac sprinted through the city at full speed, not bothering to excuse himself with each brash move. A couple holding hands were forced to split as he barreled through between them and sent the younger woman tumbling down into the gutter. His breath wasn't labored quite yet but if he kept up the pace he was at now it would be. The teen's amber orbs darted around, seeing the alleyway he was looking for. Making the sharp turn with his hand sliding on the corner building, his frame pivoted and pushed forward towards the gate.
Damn. Just another block from here . . . dammit!
Kicking off fence after scaling one side, he narrowly avoided the pointed top to come landing in a hunched position. Without a pause he picked up his pace once more with his jacket tail rippling behind him.
Cutting off a few more people and sliding over the top of a car at a stoplight, he could see the Pewter Gym in the distance. A small red light at the base of where the doors met let everyone who walked by knew there was a battle in progress at the moment. The front doors didn't stand a chance. Cupping a grip over one of his pokeballs, he threw it forward to summon his bone wielding partner.
"Marowak! Force the doors open at the center!"
Marowak appeared in a rush of white light with his club dragging behind him in a two pawed grip. The skulled pokemon didn't hesitate his master's order and swung the thick weapon forward to meet the split where the oak doors met. A violent shudder crept over his arms and down to the base of his feet and tail but he would keep pushing. Isaac ran up behind and put his shoulder into the back of the Marowak and assisted, both pushing hard against the razor thin gap between the two portals. The wood ached and bent but the lock still was holding firm.
Isaac stepped back with a heavy sigh, his mind racing as he could hear the battle within. Popping the door open was not an option to him anymore. He cared little of what property damage would be done at this point. Taking a stance, ready to charge forward, he made a final command of his pokemon.
"Double-Edge. Full force."
Marowak hopped back with his body lowered to the ground. After an aggressive yell, the pokemon slammed his skull up into the doorway to force the frames to splinter and smash open. The pieces of polished oak flew aside and gave Isaac the opportunity to move in. Using his pokemon's back as a step, he pushed off his sturdy frame and leapt through the threshold into the gym. He immediately let his anger go as he began to yell.
"Dammit Paige! Do you even listen to me?! I said stay put!" His rage still burned high as his eyes readjusted to the dim light in the room. He could see her small rodent pinned in place by a Nosepass. He could see the teen girl standing with her back to him drop suddenly down to her knees, Varem looking up at her with a diminished flame. He could see that he was too late to stop it.
Holly looked at the intruder with a glare.
"Who the hell are you?! You should know better than breaking into a gym during a match!"
"You should know better than leading rookie trainers into a gym unprepared. I have a feeling this twit didn't come of her own accord", Isaac sniped coldly back. Holly took a step back with a growl, gritting her teeth together.
There was nothing else to say at this moment. The match was decided. Holly's hand cupped her pokeball once more and recovered her partner back into the capsule. It was usually a joy when she had beaten someone in a battle but this time it felt a little dirty. The younger girl was clearly outmatched.
Isaac walked up behind Paige and looked down at her. She had placed her hands on the ground with fists still clenched tightly. Tears began to drop lightly on the floor from her face, eyelids closed as she did her best to hold back her swelling shame. It wasn't supposed to be like this. She was supposed to win this. All that training . . .
"Get up. You're not allowed to do this right now."
Paige looked up as Isaac had taken a knee in front of her. The redness from her tears surrounded her blue eyes and only got worse as his dead stare instantly made her look away with a bitter tightness growing in her throat.
"Paige . . .", Isaac spoke softly with his hands reaching up to her face slowly.
She was expecting some sort of soft and kind, encouraging words to follow. Instead, the boy took a firm hold of each of her cheeks with his thumb and index finger. Lifting her head up as he rose back to his feet, it would force her to do the same as her cheeks ached out from the cold grip.
"Let go Isaac!"
"Shut up! How dare you go crumbling apart like that! Here I was thinking you had a little more fire in you than this but you curl up the moment you hit a little rough spot. Look over there."
Paige looked out onto the field as Isaac let go of her face. Rinno, weakened and injured from the fight, hobbled forward off the arena floor. Varem had ran out beside his pokepal and supported his efforts by allowing his hurt front paw to rest on his back. Through the saline in her orbs, she could see they were both still smiling at each other, the Charmander chirping out warmly to his friend in encouragement. Rinno gave out a light growl to retort.
"Your pokemon haven't given up even in defeat. You are so green and yet that Charmander has more gusto to push forward than you do. If anything, he is the one pulling your team forward while you are dragging them down. This is not how a trainer is supposed to act. If you fail you get right back up and don't give in."
Isaac took a firm grip on the collar to her top and gave a forceful pull forward to emphasize his ending point, face to face. Paige's cheeks grew red hot at the closing of the gap between the two and his aggressive action.
"You are no longer allowed to fall apart like this. No matter what. That Charmander . . . and Oak's research is too important to let your lack of confidence mess it up. From now on, you stand whether you win or not. Got it?"
Before Paige could answer and shove Isaac away, another presence had made his way onto the scene. Standing in the doorway of the gym, a brown haired man stood on top of the splinters from the broken lock. His voice easily carried over the room with an air of authority to it.
"What's going on here? Which one of you broke down my doors?"
H-his doors? Paige thought to herself.
"Brock", Isaac mumbled softly to himself. "This girl must be a jinx or something . . ."