Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon

Eheheh...so...it's been a while (hides away in shame). Not the greatest chapter name either but I'm honestly just glad to have this chapter up. Well, here goes!

Chapter 14: Bug Battle

I woke up the next morning feeling refreshed. After agreeing to a battle with Burgh I went straight back to our hotel room where I collapsed straight away. Sleeping off the exhaustion and stress, I was the first to wake the next morning; probably the first time that's ever happened. Leaving a note explaining that I was leaving (and my share of money and a bit extra for the hotel room-my wallet was a whole lot lighter after it) I headed to the gym. Compared to the line that was there yesterday morning, it was really quiet.

Walking in, I managed to surprise a yawning Clyde. 'Oh! Good morning! The gym isn't open yet and if you want a battle, you'll have to put your name on the waiting list.'

'Um…I have a battle scheduled with Burgh.' His statement had put me off. 'My name is White.'

He brightened. 'Of course! He's in his battle stage. I'll get Cameron to show you the way.' He went off to make the call, leaving me patting Tory (who was once again on my shoulders).

Cameron, who was a girl and wearing an eccentric clown costume, came up smiling. 'Come on, this way. We've activated the gym challenge so the transporter will only activate if you have the Insect Badge. We have to go through the gym.'

I walked into the gym to see a wall of dripping honey. I could just see a corridor leading further into the gym, no doubt part of the gym challenge. 'There is no way I'm going through there.' I said firmly. I was not getting myself covered in honey for any reason.

Cameron simply laughed. 'No need to worry about that.' She went up to a painting on the wall next to the honeyed walls and opened it, revealing a hole in the wall we proceeded to climb through. 'We gym trainers go walking through the gym all the time and you don't see us covered in honey.'

After walking through a series of holes hidden by paintings we reached a set of stairs. Cameron nodded at them. 'Burgh's at the top. Good luck.' And she left.

I headed up the stairs to find a grinning Burgh. 'Morning White. Feeling refreshed?'

I nodded. 'I am, thanks. Especially considering I didn't have to go through the honey. Should you really be showing me the secret passage you and the trainers in this gym use?'

Burgh laughed, eyes twinkling. 'It's not meant to be a secret. If the challengers find the passage they are more than welcome to use it. But they take one look at the honey and just assume that's the only way through. Not my fault if they decide not to look around.' I frowned. Surely someone would've checked, just in case? Burgh laughed at my expression. 'Clyde may say something at the beginning of each challenge that may lead the trainer to think that it's the only way.'

I thought for a moment. 'Has anyone ever found the passage?'

Burgh grinned. 'One person did a year back but that's because their Blitzle's Shock Wave caused one of the paintings which hadn't been closed properly to swing open. He decided that, since he was already covered in honey from one walk through, he might as well go through the rest rather than waste time finding the doors.'

'I can't imagine too many trainers being too happy with you.' I suddenly had a thought and giggled. 'I would've loved to see Cheren's face when he went through.'

'He was pretty amusing, though I've had many an interesting reaction.' Burgh smiled. 'Now, onto business. Thank you for agreeing to this battle. You have three Pokémon, yes? So why don't we have a three-on-three?'

I nodded. 'Sounds good to me.'

'Pete, go!'

'Zara!' Zara roared as she came out of her Pokéball. Burgh's Whirlipede looked unaffected by the sound, though it was a little difficult to tell. I didn't hesitate in taking the initiative. 'Flame Charge!'

Zara covered herself in flames and dashed towards Whirlipede. The Pokémon didn't move, letting Zara get close. 'Pete, use Poison Tail!' Zara landed a decent hit but with her proximity, Pete managed a pretty good one of his own. Zara stumbled back, looking paler than before.

I cursed silently. Zara had been poisoned. What were the chances of that on the first hit? And chances were I would need her in later rounds. I took her Pokéball out. 'Take a rest for now.'

'Pursuit!' Just as Zara was about to return Pete managed to hit her , causing damage to her. I made a face at Burgh who simply shrugged. 'Taking initiative.' He said cheekily.

I rolled my eyes at his childish behaviour. 'Don't let me down Triton.' Out came my Dewott, ready to fight. 'Jump and use Razor Shell!'

'Poison Tail again!'

Triton jumped and hit first with Razor Shell. Watching carefully, I waited until the moment before impact before crying, 'Water Gun!' Only half of the Razor Shell landed while Triton threw out a Water Gun, the force pushing the Pokémon away from each other. While it lowered the damage caused by Razor Shell, the two attacks still did pretty well and Triton had avoided a hit by Pete. I grinned at the tired state of the Whirlipede. Zara's attack had hit pretty hard and Triton was adding to the damage. One more attack would end this round. 'Water Gun!'

'Struggle Bug!'

As Water Gun flew across the stadium, Pete struggled through it, enough to land a hit that caused Triton to stumble. However, Pete fainted at the end. Triton let out a victory cry.

Burgh returned Pete to his Pokéball. 'Good job.' He pulled another Pokéball out. 'Go Drew!' A Dwebble thudded onto the field.

I nodded towards Triton. 'Let's try the combo we used on Pete.' I said to him quietly. He nodded and prepared his scalchops, leaping off the ground.

'Drew, Smack Down!' Drew launched a rock at Triton, who fell at the weight of the rock, smashing into the ground just in front of Drew. 'Struggle Bug!' The move was a critical one, with Triton being so close.

'Pull back! Use Water Gun at the same time!' I cried, my stomach tightening with nerves. Triton rolled out from under Drew's attack and shot a Water Gun with running backwards. The attack, while strong, wasn't as effective as I'd hoped. I frowned.

'Struggle Bug lessens Special Attack.' Burgh smiled at me. 'Triton's Water Gun is weaker than before. Drew, Smack Down!'

Another rock flew at Triton, making him trip. I bit my lip. We needed to get close so Triton could use Razor Shell but Smack Down was doing a pretty good job at keeping Triton at a distance. 'Dodge!' I called as another rock flew at Triton. He leapt nimbly away but kept his distance. I smiled. 'Time to take advantage of Triton's agility. Prepare a Razor Shell and run straight at Drew!' Triton ran straight at the Dwebble, who launched another Smack Down. 'Hit the floor then run!' Triton hit the floor quickly, the Smack Down sailing uselessly above him. The moment the rock passed, Triton launched himself off the floor and landed a strong Razor Shell. 'One more!'

'Faint Attack!' Burgh called. As Triton raised his scalchop, Dwebble collapsed on the floor, making the Dewott hesitate. Drew hit Triton in the pause, causing him to retaliate with Razor Shell. Drew fainted but Triton was looking decidedly weaker. He went back over to my side of the battlefield. Burgh withdrew Drew. 'One more.' He smiled. 'Come out Vanny!'

A green Pokémon emerged from the ball. I took my Pokédex out. Leavanny, The Nurturing Pokémon. Dual Bug and Grass Type. I put it away. 'Triton, be careful. Try using Fury Cutter.'

Triton began to run forward. 'Vanny, Razor Leaf.' With a swarm of leaves, Triton was down. Burgh smiled. 'You'll find Vanny a lot harder to take down.'

I thought for a moment. A bug and grass type left it extremely weak to fire attacks. I could bring Zara out but Tory could probably do with the training. 'Ok, Tory, let's try your first battle.' There was a pause. I turned my head to face the Pokémon clinging to my shoulder. 'Hey, it's your turn.' Tory shook his head. I frowned. 'I understand why you wouldn't want to battle Team Plasma but it's Burgh we're talking about. It's a friendly match.'

Tory still shook his head, clinging to my shoulder. Burgh gave him a curious look. 'Is something wrong?' Tory tightened his grip.

I thought about him refusing to battle yesterday. 'You don't like battling?' He nodded his head. I thought for a moment. 'Ok, I can find you a trainer who just likes company.' He looked terrified and jumped on my head, gripping to edges of my hat extremely tightly. 'You still want to travel with me?' He nodded frantically. I gave him a smile. 'Relax. You can come travelling. There may be the occasional time you might have to battle but I'll never force you if you don't want to.' He gave a relieved cheer.

'Oh how splendid!' I turned back to Burgh to see him applauding, Vanny copying him. 'Instead of forcing your Pokémon to battle, you accept your friend as you wish! Such a pure heart! However, if Tory won't battle, we should end the match here since you only have two Pokémon that wish to battle. You win.'

He was handing me an easy victory. I sighed and shook my head. Curse that sense of honour that my family had instilled in me for Pokemon battles. 'No. We agreed on a three on three. It wouldn't be fair if we suddenly cut it short. Consider Tory a loss and I'm down to one Pokémon.'

'Are you sure?'

'Positive.' I sent out Zara, who glared at Vanny. 'Zara, Flame Charge!'

Zara ran forward. 'Don't let her get to close Vanny! Grass Knot!' Vanny gave a cry, glowing slightly green. Zara tripped hard on the ground. 'Follow it up with Energy Ball!' Vanny hit Zara with a green orb. Zara didn't suffer too badly but the poison worked its magic, leaving her a little weaker.

I bit my lip. 'Zara, burn those ties off with Ember! Then DragonRage!' She burned off the Grass Knot and threw off a powerful attack.

'Protect!' A shield stopped the attack from hitting Vanny. Burgh threw his hand forward. 'Jump close and use Struggle Bug!'

'Ember!' Vanny got in close and hit Zara. Zara managed to land a hit which really hurt Vanny but Zara's special attack was down. Grass Knot prevented any close attacks as well. The two Pokémon were eyeing each other off now. They were about equal in strength, with one more attack likely to knock them out but Zara was still poisoned, her health dropping fast.

Burgh broke the tension first. 'Use Protect and charge a Solarbeam behind it!'

I silently swore. Even though it was a grass type move, Solarbeam would still be strong. 'Zara, Flame Charge and just run anywhere! Don't bother going for Vanny yet!' Zara ran, heating up flames, building up speed. I eyed Vanny carefully, trying to judge when the Solarbeam would be ready. Just as it got blinding I yelled, 'Direct the flames to your feet and jump!' I prayed it would work as Solarbeam let loose.

For a moment we couldn't see, the power of the Solarbeam extremely strong. It faded quickly and, to my joy, Zara had avoided the attack by jumping high enough, powered by her flames. However, she twisted, muzzle first as she dropped, building up speed. As she dove towards the ground she seemed to disappear, before smashing into Vanny hard. The unsuspecting Leavanny fainted instantly. I gaped and pulled out my Pokédex. 'That's so cool Zara! You learnt Aerial Ace! I didn't even know non-flying Pokémon could learn that!' Zara looked extremely pleased with herself but I saw she was sweating. 'Right, back in the Pokéball. Then we'll head to the Pokémon Centre and get you healed up.' She went back in.

Burgh, who had already returned Vanny, came walking up. 'That was an inspiring battle. I'm glad you accepted my challenge. And you still beat me even though you weren't tired from having to face the other trainers.'

'It was fun.' I giggled. 'I'm actually kind of honoured that a gym leader thought well enough of me to challenge me to a battle.'

'Here.' Burgh held something out in his hand. I took it before realising it was a gym badge. As I opened my mouth to protest, Burgh put up a hand for silence. 'I know you weren't a gym challenger but I think you deserve it.'

'But-'

'What harm can it do?' Burgh smiled. 'Technically by beating me, you beat the gym leader. Anyway, one gym badge can't hurt right?'

I still had my hand held out. 'Still-'

He shrugged. 'How about I put it like this? I want you to have it. That way it shows everyone that I've acknowledged you as a trainer. I'm proud to have been beaten by you.'

I sighed and pulled my hand back in, badge resting safely in my palm. 'I guess I'll have to accept it then.'

He grinned. 'Excellent. Are you heading to Nimbasa City now?'

'It's next on the map.'

'Are you ready for the desert on Route 4?'

I hesitated. 'I think so. It shouldn't be too hard to get across right?'

'Not generally. But Route 4 is prone to random sandstorms so you have to be careful.' I hesitated. Burgh gave a smile. 'They're common enough that there are safety houses littered across Route 4 that you can hide in when the sandstorms hit. Just look for the small windmills built on top of houses or a picture of Tornadus. Safety houses use them as symbols.'

'Tornadus? What does it look like?' I may be familiar with Kanto/Johto Pokémon, and the occasional Hoenn or Sinnoh but I was still unfamiliar with many Unova ones.

Burgh gasped. 'Follow me!'

I followed Burgh into a hidden chamber further in the gym. It turned out to be an artist's studio, full of half-finished artworks and scribbles. Going to a pile Burgh pulled out a painting. 'I wasn't fully satisfied so I was going to try it again but this should give you an impression of how Tornadus looks.' He showed a painting full of clouds with purple and green hues. Big eyes stared out at me in one corner but the cyclone that was obviously brewing blurred the general outline of the face. 'Do you get the impression?'

Truthfully, I didn't. The abstract style of the artwork made it difficult to tell. But I simply nodded. 'Thanks Burgh.' Well, I could just look for the windmills if necessary.

As I headed towards the transporter, Burgh gave me a friendly clap on the shoulder. 'I hope we meet again.'

I grinned. 'Me too.' And he disappeared as I ended up at the entrance.

I quickly headed to the Pokémon Centre, healed my Pokémon and went to the North Gate. I was nervous. Mum and I had caught the bus from Castelia to get to White Forest that one time. The paths were unknown from here. I wondered if this was how Bianca and Cheren felt at Route 1.

Tory nudged me, making a questioning noise. I giggled and gave him a scratch. 'Just a bit nervous. But it's fine! Nimbasa City's the next stop. It can't nearly be as dramatic as Castelia was. I'm looking forward to it.'

The reason why it took so long for me to update was because I really struggled writing this chapter. I had no idea how to write this battle and make it interesting. I hope you enjoyed the gym battle in the end. I genuinely struggle to write the Pokemon battles for this story (which is why lots of them are cut out) but I'll try and write important ones in. Burgh was especially hard to write. Every time I battle him in the game I've had type advantage over him making it really easy. I didn't want to just thrash him though, so a little bit of drama added.

A pretty simple chapter all up. One of my shortest ones but there was no point going into the next area in this chapter. I think the only thing of significance here (other than getting the gym badge of course) is the fact that Tory doesn't like to battle-the purpose of which won't be revealed for a while.

As for Route 4-why the safety houses? Logically, no one would walk through a desert in a sandstorm and frankly, the constant sandstorms in the deserts in the Pokemon games just confuse me. They've put in changing weather effects throughout the Unova region so why the sandstorm?

I'm actually getting excited. In a way, up until this point it was kind of a prologue. The plot that's been in my head that got me writing this story started from Nimbasa City. Just a little more until we get there and the ball can really get rolling.

And if you managed to get through all that, thanks for reading (both the chapter and my blabbering)! Hopefully I will have another chapter up faster than this one got up (but hey, once again, no promises!). Reviews would be much appreciated! (I would love to be able to improve my writing!)