When I woke up, I did it with a feeling of dread in my stomach. So many of my classmates had vowed the previous night to fight Brock. I was worried for all of them. Nearly one third of us had fallen. Only twenty-one of us remained, only three of whom had beaten Brock and only fifteen of whom had beaten Jerry. Six of us had only had a bit of battle experience, and it was us six I worried most about.

I hadn't fought a trainer since I lost Beauty. It was not because I had no faith in my Moemon. It was because I lacked faith in myself and my ability to lead. I was in a rut for so long, but seeing so many people succeeding last night, seeing their excitement and happiness, and listening to the advice of my friends and Moemon gave me renewed courage. If nothing else, I had to battle for them.

"Are you girls awake?" I whispered. Mandy immediately crawled up to me.

"What's up, boss?" She asked, a sparkle in her eye. "You're never up this early."

"Are Garrett and Quinton awake?"

She looked over at them, then nodded. "Sound asleep. Wanna wake them?"

"No, no, that's the opposite of what I want to do." I checked the window, and the sun was still rising. The room was a lot darker that I had realized, having woken up so late in the day. I wasn't even tired; I was excited. "Let's leave. Explore the gym. See when we can fight."

"We're fighting?" Christine whispered from my other side. She sat up and placed her hands on my arm. They were warm. "We're really fighting?"

"I think we're ready," I said. The other three were awake. I looked at all of them. "I'm sure you guys want to fight as well, right?"

"Are you kidding? I've been waiting for days!" Mandy said, punching the air. "Let's go right now!"

"Couldn't agree more," I said. I quickly got into some new clothes, brushed my teeth, and left the room. We took a quick break to eat, and then we went straight to the gym.

To my surprise, it was open. I entered to see the referee yawning, sitting on the bottom row. When he saw me come in he waved me over.

"You're a Challenger," he said. "I've seen you in the audience in many of our matches. You were the one the girl knocked into."

I nodded, wanting to forget that moment. He must've seen the pain in my eyes, so he quickly backpedaled: "I'm sorry, I meant nothing of it. It's just the event I remember the most. Are… are you here for a challenge?"

"We are," I said. "When can we fight Jerry?"

He seemed somewhat relieved that I didn't mention fighting Brock. Who knows how many times he must've had to explain to new trainer that nobody faced Brock until they beat his trainers. "He will be here soon. I'll let him know you're here."

"Thank you," I said, and he left. I sat down and started discussing strategy. My heart was beating fast; I was nervous. I could judge strength from the bleachers, but when the battle actually began I had no idea how it was going to go. I warned my Moemon of it, but they didn't seem concerned.

"We outlevel them, we outnumber them, and we outskill them," said Christine. "We're going to be fine."

"We didn't come this far just to lose now," said Olivia. "We're all in this together. We all have things we're fighting for."

"You know, I don't know why you're being so confident," Mandy said to Christine. "He isn't using you."

Christine pouted. I knew it would be painful for her to watch from the sidelines, but I had told her that days ago that I would only be using Rose. Now that Olivia was with us, I saw no need to risk a type disadvantage. She wasn't happy, but I knew it would only be a matter of time before she was battling with the rest of the team.

"I will not let you down," said Rose. "I promise."

I smiled. "Rose, you won't. Neither will you, Olivia. I have faith in both of you. We have every advantage. We won't lose."

Jerry arrived, disheveled and yawning. He walked up to me and said, "Welcome to the gym. You'll have to face me before beating Brock. Are you ready?"

I nodded. I felt it fair to warn him: "I'm a Challenger." I could see him hesitate, but I continued with a confident smirk. "But you don't have to worry. You won't be endangering any of my Moemon."

Jerry certainly didn't know how to take that comment, so he simply nodded and walked to his end of the arena. We went to ours and waited for the referee to begin the match. Jerry tossed out his Diglett.

"Single or double battle?" Jerry asked.

I looked down at my Moemon. I hadn't planned on a double battle. "Single is fine," I said. "Olivia, are you ready?"

She turned to me with determination is her eyes. "I'm ready."

"Then make it quick."

I pulled out my Moedex to get some intelligence on my opponent. It was somewhat surprising to see that the Diglett was only a level 12, five levels under Olivia. I'd hoped that was a good sign.

Olivia stepped forward, crouching, waiting for the match to begin. The referee threw the flags down. The Diglett dove in to the ground and Olivia immediately leapt into action. She jumped high into the air, flipped forward, and landed directly above the hole. She leaned backward, mouth full, and lurched forward, spraying a geyser of water into the hole. Immediately, the Diglett surfaced, shouting and flailing, getting forced out of the ground by the geyser of water. She collapsed, panting, and Olivia walked over to the helpless Moemon and, in one quick kick, finished her.

"Well done, Olivia!" I cheered. She smiled at me as Jerry called back his Moemon and sent out his other.

"Olivia's going to take care of this whole gym by herself," said Mandy. "Can the rest of us just watch from the stands? It's more comfortable."

"Why wouldn't you want to support your teammates?" Rose asked.

"I'd be able to cheer you guys from the stands," Mandy replied. "But I'd be less sore."

"We'll all suffer the floor, Mandy," I said, as Olivia walked back to us.

"Should I take the Sandshrew?" She asked.

I patted her shoulder. "We'll let Rose take this one."

Rose looked at me in surprise, but composed herself and nodded. She turned, took a deep breath, and walked eloquently and confidently toward the arena. The Sandshrew was looking at her nervously, having seen what certain grass Moemon could do to their opponents.

"Good luck to you," Rose said, curtseying. The referee called the beginning of the match, and she dove behind a rock. The Sandshrew stood there, looking at the rock in confusion. She knelt down, debating whether to dig, while not noticing Rose having already darted from behind that rock and was quickly approaching her. Rose kept out of sight, staying behind several of the many rocks littered around the battlefield.

The Sandshrew made a decision and walked toward where she believed Rose was, while Rose herself had circled around behind her. Rose walked silently out from behind a rock, eyes closed, concentrating. Despite Jerry's screams of warning, the Sandshrew was unable to react in time, and she immediately succumbed to the Mega Drain. Rose stood calmly, unmoving, as she sucked the health from the Sandshrew. Jerry panicked, ran forward, scooped up the Sandshrew and ran out. Rose opened her eyes and followed him as he cared for his Moemon, staring at him even after he had left the arena.

The moment he left, she turned to me with a dignified smile on her face, unaware of the display we had just witnessed. I congratulated her all the same, and she seemed pleased.

"You could do it with less of a creepy face, you know," said Mandy, patting her back. "But good job, Princess."

"Do what?" Rose asked innocently.

"Suck the life out of them," Mandy replied. She shrugged. "I mean it's great that you're enjoying being a bloodthirsty vampire, but there are children here."

"You're the only child here," Olivia snickered. "Are you saying you're scared?"

"This coming from you?" Mandy countered.

"Girls, enough," I said sternly, not wanting things to escalate. I stepped in between the pair, keeping them from glaring daggers into each other. "We're teammates. Don't fight."

"I am enjoying the professionalism of this arena," noted Rose.

"It's great," agreed Olivia. "All these lights are intimidating at first, but they grow on you."

The referee had walked up to us and shook my hand. "When can we face Brock?" I asked. "I'd like to do it as soon as possible."

"You wouldn't like an audience?" The referee asked. "I overheard many of your fellow Challengers mention facing Brock tonight. I'm sure they would all enjoy watching your match."

"I kind of want to do it in secret and surprise my friends," I said. I also didn't want to risk everyone seeing me lose.

"He is in his office if you'd like me to get him."

"I'd love it, thanks."

A bit later, Brock entered the gym. He seemed surprised to see me, but he walked up to me and shook my hand. His grip was really strong. The muscles weren't for show.

"Another Challenger," he noted. He nodded at my team. "You have a good variety of Moemon."

"I got lucky," I admitted.

But his eyes were on Moemon. "Is that the Moemon of that black boy I defeated a few days ago?"

"I was Garang's Moemon," said Olivia. "I'm a lot stronger now."

"You've evolved," he noted. "I certainly hope so." But he smiled. "I'm glad you still have the passion of battle in you. I hope this battle reflects it."

"Are you ready now?" I asked.

"Of course. Do you need some time to recover?" Brock replied.

"Are we ready, girls?" I looked down. Mandy flashed me a thumbs up, and Rose nodded. Christine, Stacy, and Olivia all seemed ready as well. I looked back at Brock. "We're ready."

"Then let's battle!" Brock said, throwing out his arms. "Your team is strong and well prepared for this battle. I have confidence in you."

I thanked him and went back to the challenger's spot. I placed both hands on Olivia's shoulders and looked her straight in the eye. "This is your battle," I said. "This is for Garang. You've already made him proud. Now make him prouder."

Olivia nodded. I patted her back and she walked forward. The Geodude was already on the field, a rock in her hand, tossing it in the air and catching it. Olivia unsheathed both shells and held them in her hand like knives.

"Begin the match!" The referee shouted.

This was it. Olivia sprinted at the Geodude, her shells scraping the ground behind her. The Geodude threw her rock, but Olivia ducked behind a rock to dodge it and then immediately continued the chase. She got close and swung, but the Geodude ducked underneath it.

"Rock Smash!" Came the attack.

The Geodude balled her hand into a fist and punched Olivia in the head. She was knocked off balance and stumbled to right herself.

"Water Gun!" I shouted in panic.

Olivia turned her head to face the Geodude and sprayed a geyser of water. The Geodude couldn't duck this time, taking the full blast. The geyser sent her flying into the rock behind her. When Olivia stopped the Water Gun, getting back to her feet, the Geodude peeled off the rock and fell to the ground, completely out of health.

"One down, Olivia!" I shouted. "Well done!"

"Not done yet," Olivia grunted. There was a purple bruise where she had taken the punch. When Olivia approached us, I immediately took a look at it. "I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" I asked. "You can see fine? You don't have any trouble hearing?"

She pushed my hand down and smiled reassuringly. "I'll be fine," she repeated. Then she turned back to the Onix, who had been released. "I'll… be fine."

"Keep your distance," I warned. "She can't hit you if she can't get close to you."

Olivia nodded. Her cheeks were already bulging with water when the referee threw down his flags. She spouted her geyser the moment the red and green were thrown.

"Bide," said Brock, and the Onix got into her defensive stance. She got hit by the full blast of the Water Gun, but unfortunately it didn't kill her.

"Okay, he only has one Super Potion," I thought to myself. "Two more hits and she's gone."

Olivia sprayed another blast. Brock had ran up to the Onix and sprayed her as expected. The Water Gun hit the Onix and still didn't defeat her, but to my horror Brock pulled out another Super Potion.

"Hey!" I shouted. "What the hell?"

There was a pause in the action. Olivia was breathing heavily from using so many Water Guns, while the Onix was at full health and also exhausted. The Onix wouldn't move until Olivia used her last attack, and I didn't want to command her until I heard what Brock had to say.

"There is something about this world you must know," said Brock. "And a lesson you must learn. This is not fair for you Challengers. It never will be fair. The world is against you from the very beginning. I am here as the first Gym Leader to test those who would otherwise not survive in this world. If you can't beat a simple strategy like two Super Potions, then you won't last long."

"But you haven't used two Super Potions on anyone else," I argued. "You're a Gym Leader. You should be held to higher standards! You can't just change the rules!"

"My rule is simple," Brock argued. "I use a single strategy until a Challenger's Moemon dies. If they are able to overcome it, then they have already proven their worth. If they are not, then they are taught a valuable lesson about the loss of life and are given mercy."

"Fuck," I said, panicking. "Fuck, fuck! You can't do this to us!" Time stood still. I looked at Christine, blinking in confusion; Mandy, furiously shouting; Rose, her face in complete shock; Stacy, staring at me intently, and then Olivia, who had turned around and smiled.

"It's okay," she said. "I've already made Garang proud."

There wasn't another way. There was nothing I could do. "You've made everyone proud!" I said. "I'm so… so happy you were part of our team."

She smiled one last time and turned around to face her opponent. "Water Gun!" I shouted. Olivia prepared for the Water Gun, and I wanted to close my eyes, but I couldn't. I had to watch.

She fired.

It was a huge geyser of water! I couldn't believe its size. It crashed into Onix and completely covered her in the high-powered blast. Olivia stepped backward, struggling to keep her footing against the water spewing from her mouth. It was so strong… I had the slightest hope…

Olivia stopped the spray. The water cleared, revealing Onix fainted on the ground. My heart skipped a beat. Olivia was standing, tired, panting from exhaustion, but standing.

"Critical hit," Olivia whispered, and she fell to her knees.

Brock was amused. "Or you could simply get lucky." He chuckled. I couldn't believe him, laughing when he was about to kill Olivia. "Well, there is strength in luck. I'll give you that."

I rushed over to Olivia and helped her to her feet. I carried her over to our side and set her down, where the others hugged her and congratulated her. I let them hug. I needed a bit of time myself. I picked Rose up from the group.

"Are you still with us?" I asked.

"I am," she said. "We can win this."

"You can," I agreed.

I set her down and wished her luck as she stepped to face Brock's Boldore. The Boldore stood with her hands on her hips, staring Rose down with a look of disgust.

"Trainers, Moemon," said the referee. "Begin the match!"

Rose closed her eyes and held her palm out facing the Boldore. The Boldore's knees buckled immediately, and she grabbed a nearby rock and chucked it at Rose. It hit her in the head, breaking her concentration and allowing the Boldore to hide behind a rock. Rose recoiled in surprise and rubbed the sore spot on her head.

"Can you sense her?" I asked. Rose shook her head. "Then be cautious."

Instead, Rose jumped onto one of the flattened rocks, peering out around the arena. There was a bit of movement to her left, and her eyes locked on, but a faint clattering of rock upon rock told her it was a distraction. As a result, she tensed up and turned nearly ninety degrees. There, she saw a flash of dark blue, and she held her palm up in that direction.

"Rock Throw," Brock commanded, and a few seconds later a large boulder was tossed from the arena and hurtled toward Rose. Rose jumped from the rock, ducking and rolling, landing to a stop on her knees. She had flipped around immediately, her palm out, waiting for another movement.

"Rock Tomb."

"Oh no," I said. "Rose, move, now!"

"I know where she is!" Rose shouted, stepping forward. I screamed at her to get away, but she hadn't seen the four large boulders raised above her head by some strange force. The Boldore was on top of a rock, her arms outstretched, fighting off the pain of Rose's Mega Drain. The Boldore lifted her arms high in the air, and then threw them down, and the levitating boulders imitated that motion. They crashed around Rose, surrounding her, trapping her.

"Are you okay?" I screamed. I heard a muffled confirmation from inside, but I didn't know how I could get her out. She was trapped.

"Rock Smash."

The Boldore leapt into the air and dropped with her fist outstretched, crumbling the four rocks with one swift blow. The rocks collapsed on top of Rose, crushing her.

"Rose!" I screamed. "Can you hear me?"

There was silence. The Boldore got to her feet and brushed herself off, eyeing me smugly. I ignored her, tempted to run up to the pile of boulders and save Rose. I looked at my Moemon, and they motioned me to get her. Before I could reach the edge of the arena, a small arm shot out from the pile of rubble. An arm clothed in green.

"Rose!" I shouted in relief, as my Moemon crawled out of the pile and toppled to the ground. "Can you fight?"

Rose was breathing deeply, and she paused several times to catch her breath as she spoke, "Once I get some energy back." When she finished, she held her palm out and used Mega Drain on the Boldore. This one, this attack that caught the Boldore off guard, was a direct hit, and Rose was healed greatly.

"And this one," she said. "Is for trying to kill me!"

She sucked in a deep breath and blew, firing small black seeds at the Boldore as quickly as a machine gun. While it looked painful, the Bullet Seed didn't do too much damage. However, Rose fired five waves, stepping closer with each wave, each of her seeds hitting the Boldore directly. At the final wave, she was standing over the Boldore, who had dropped into a fetal position and was nearly out of health. She spat the last seed out, gave a short "hmph", and walked away.

"The winner of the Boulder Badge," shouted the referee, waving his right flag at me. "Is Arthur!"

I ran up to Rose and picked her up in my eyes, hugging her as tightly as I could. I shouted in joy before being tackled by the rest of my Moemon and sent to the ground. The six of us laughed and cheered in our pile, savoring every last bit of this victory. It was so satisfying winning without losing anyone. It was proof that we could do this. We could win this competition.

The first badge is the most important. It's one of the toughest obstacles to overcome. You're given such little time, so few chances to catch Moemon, and you have to overcome such a difficult, defensive strategy which many cannot even damage. And when you persevere, when you overcome the odds and succeed, it's a fantastic feeling.

I felt such pride for my team. I was so relieved that the battle was over. I didn't even care that we'd won. Just that these girls surrounding me, hugging me, the ones who trusted me with their lives and would fight for me to the death, were all alive. They put their faith in me, and they weren't disappointed. It was close. It was lucky. But we survived.

So when Brock helped me to my feet, and we received the Boulder Badge and gazed its shiny iron reflecting the gym's lights, I barely registered it in my hands. I showed it to them, and they whistled and gasped and stared at it. I was barely aware I was doing it. Brock shook my hand. I barely felt it. The referee even came forward and told me how it was the first time in ages where nobody lost a Moemon against Brock. Didn't care. We survived. That's all that mattered.

"One down, seven to go," I said. "I'm so proud of you all."

We exited the gym to a shining sun, and nobody was the wiser. I felt giddy, ready to share the news with my friends. They were still in bed. Good. We walked as quickly as we could, burst through the door.

"We did it!" I announced. Garrett and Quinton, wide awake, stared at me with concern.

"You battled him?" Garrett asked. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"I… I wanted it to be a surprise," I said. I revealed the badge. "Check it out!"

"Holy shit, you won!" Garrett said. He looked down at my Moemon. "Holy shit, they're all alive!"

"Didn't lose anyone," I said.

"How did you do it?" Quinton asked.

"We got a Critical Hit," I replied, patting Olivia on the head. She winced in pain, and I realized, "Oh shit. We forgot to heal. Want to go to the Center?"

"Yeah, we need to eat anyway," said Garrett. "The others are going to be impressed."

"We just need to wait for Quinton, and then we can go," I said. "Are you going to be ready tonight?"

Quinton nodded. He looked somewhat hurt, and somewhat suspicious. I wondered if he was somehow jealous that we beat Brock without losing anyone. If he wanted to be the first to do it.

"We'd better go," I said, ignoring the issue. It was probably just my imagination. Quinton wouldn't be anything but proud for me.

Arthur:

Christine the Charmeleon

Stacy the Staravia

Mandy the Mankey

Rose the Budew

Olivia the Dewott

Garrett:

Gloria the Ralts

Jenny the Joltik

Hope the Houndour

Veela the Venonat

Lily the Petilil

Quinton:

Melody the Beldum

Wendy the Wooper

Brianna the Shroomish

Flora the Pineco