Chapter 36: Colby's Castle
When Eli arrived at the third gym, he was awed by the complexity of the building. It appeared to be a medevil castle, but it had a modern look as steel sculpted the skeleton of the building. As Eli was ready to open the door, he was run over by someone walking out of the building. Eli recognized the boy as Atlas, and he held a simple badge in his hand. Colby must have given the badge to Atlas after his victory. Eli brushed himself off, and helped Atlas up off the cold cement.
"How'd it go Atlas?" asked Eli, who was looking to get some insider information on what Pokemon Colby used. Atlas grinned, and then fired back a quick response.
"It went pretty well. Charizard was a huge benefit in the battle. Since Colby uses a multitude of steel types, your Arcanine should mow through them easily," divulged Atlas. This comment reassured Eli that he may be able to strike down this gym easier than Voltair's. Eli then fired back a question that would prove to be a benefit in the upcoming battle.
"What Pokemon did he use against you? Are there any that I shouldn't easily beat?" interrogated Eli. Atlas pondered the answer to this question, his bushy eyebrows bunched up under his red hair.
"Well, he led off using a Steelix against me. That one wasn't too hard, but you need to watch out for its magnitude attack. I beat him by getting my Charizard off the ground with its wings, so all of its powerful attacks were quickly nullified. Scizor was his next Pokemon of choice. This one was more tricky, because it could easily take to the skies just like my Charizard. However, its brutal weakness to his fire type attacks made him an easy target. After Charizard mowed through that challenge, he sent out his Drilbur. This is the part when it got tricky for me. Charizard was worn out after taking down two Pokemon, so he was rendered useless for the rest of the battle. Now, I had to go with my Hitmonchan. This was a challenge for me, because I had just received my Hitmonchan in a trade. However, after dodging many of the attacks from Drilbur, Hitmonchan took the Pokemon down with one swift punch. All in all, Colby is a force to be reckoned with, and not someone that you would want to pick a fight with on a regular basis," reviewed Atlas. Eli thanked Atlas for his feedback, and then he proceeded to swing open the heavy door that blocked passerby from entering the gym.
Eli was stunned when he entered the gym. Instead of a regular Pokeathalon field to battle on, Colby had completely renovated the way the gym would work. Massive steel pipes darted above the field, while others made deep holes and passages in the wall. This field was specifically constructed to benefit steel types, since they could easily take refuge if they were injured during the battle. Steel piping also served as a form of transit for the beasts, as they were used to navigating tunnels this big underground. Standing at the other end of the battlefield, there was a man who looked no older than 25. His short black hair was spiked up with an absurd amount of gel, while he wore a black, leather jacket on his back. Piercing black eyes stared directly at Eli, as Colby knew that this kid would be the next challenger to his gym. Colby picked up a sheet of paper behind him, scanned it for an object he was looking for, and returned in to his cabinet that resided next to the chair he sat in. His gruff voice pierced the chilling air as he called Eli out.
"Ya here for a battle kid?" grunted Colby. His voice echoed off of all of the barriers in the room. Eli winced as the gravity contained in his voice rang out across the room.
"Of course Colby. Can we get this fight underway?" asked Eli, who was trying to contain his nervousness for the battle.
"WELL, aren't you a feisty one. If you wish, we can begin. In this gym, there is no battle referee. This is the street ball equivalent of Pokemon battling. You have to play by my rules. It'll be a one on one battle, and you don't win until none of your opponent's Pokemon can still stand. Are you ready kid?" bellowed Colby. Colby was serious about all of the rules he made. This gym taught you to be tough, and not to show any mercy. Eli would have to learn to kill the puppy. Eli responded by sending out his first choice.
"Yippers, I choose you!" shouted Eli. The massive dog pranced out of his Pokeball and landed intimidatingly on the battlefield. It howled, and the noise sprung off of all the metal in the room. Colby laughed with excitement, as he had a counter lined up for this Pokemon. Voltair had warned him about this Pokemon, and how it could wreck a team with ease.
"What a selfish choice, Eli. I expected better out of you. It is not all about type disadvantages, kid. I'll show you that this battle. Scizor, go and get 'em!" barked Colby. A big red bug flashed out of his Pokeball. The beast had two large claws on each hand, and they could easily manipulate any opponent. The wings perched atop Scizor's back allowed it to hover over the ground, and even fly if necessary. Eli knew that this insect was a bug-steel type, meaning that it would normally perform poorly against a fire type such as Arcanine. However, Colby had warned against relying on types, so it would be interesting to see how the battle played out. Colby made the first move. "Scizor, get to the pipes for refuge. After that, you know what to do," ordered Colby. It seemed that Scizor and Colby had rehearsed this many times before, so Eli should be wary of this combination. Eli now made a bold move to prove his worthiness to Colby.
"Yippers, follow it!" shouted Eli. The large Pokemon bounded up into the air and was swallowed into the pipe that Scizor had buzzed down just moments earlier. Eli knew that Arcanine could beat this Scizor, but it would take a lot of practice. "Yippers, now use flamethrower to heat the pipe's mouth!" shouted Eli. Arcanine sent a column of fire down the pipe, and it came spewing out the other end of the steel cylinder. The attack was so hot that it began to melt the edge of the pipe. As the pipe began to droop, Eli knew that he had Scizor cornered. Now, he could unleash a new attack that he had learned. "Yippers, finish him with an overheat!" cried Eli. Arcanine's intense attack lit up the cylinder that contained the two Pokemon, and sent Scizor flying to the other side of the Pokeathalon field. Now, since they were playing on Colby's rules, Eli would have to smother Scizor in order to win. Now, it was time for Eli to finish this. "Yippers, finish him with aerial ace!" screamed Eli. Arcanine dashed towards Scizor with a crazy amount of speed, leaving a slipstream in his wake. He crashed into Scizor with astounding speed, making sure that he would not be able to walk that hit off. Colby conceded the loss, and returned Scizor to his Pokeball. Eli mirrored this action, which surprised Colby.
"Protecting your baby, huh Eli? No matter, you won't be able to smother this guy. Steelix, let's go!" bellowed Colby. Now, Eli would have to make his move.
"Screech, I choose you," remarked Eli. Golbat came soaring out of his Pokeball, his large wings pattering as he hovered just above the ground.
"I must admit, I wasn't expecting such a rash decision from a trainer like you. It just proves that you aren't worth of the third gym badge," taunted Colby.
"Colby, let me remind you that you were the one to talk about the marginality of type differentials. Let's show him what we can do, Screech!"
End of Chapter 36