Our Pokemon weren't quite as distraught by the news of our impending farewells as we were. Yes, they were eager to spend the evening playing together in our small room, but there was no sense that this would be the last time they saw each other. To be fair, it probably wouldn't be. Bruno himself had said that we could still be friends, and if Lila stayed for a while in Saffron with this Jasmine, I'd definitely stop by before facing Sabrina. Still, Lila and I talked and cried and said our goodbyes, both recognizing that things wouldn't be the same the next time we met. Maybe it was a human thing.

Lila set off in the morning, wanting to pull the bandage off quickly and get it over with. I moped in bed until well into midday. Vola must have sensed something different, because she didn't insist on going out. Lucky was the one who eventually got tired of the room and started whining at me to get moving.

I pulled myself as together as I could, dressed, and faced my team.

"As long as we're waiting here," I said, "let's do something productive. We're taking on Forrest."

Vola was the only one who knew what I was talking about, but the others seemed eager enough.

We made our way to the Pewter Gym, which, despite being in the center of town, was only accessible from the Pokemon Center via a circuitous, winding path that led through the rest of the city. I returned everyone but Lucky, locked my bike outside, and stepped into the dark interior.

"Hello?" I called. I couldn't see anyone in the artificial cave that made up the entry hall of the Gym. I kept my hand firmly in Lucky's mane, unwilling to let him run wild in here.

"I think it's a challenger," said a voice. Lucky's head snapped toward a boulder.

"Do you think she's ready?" asked another from across the room, and once again Lucky looked for the source.

"I wonder if she has any other Badges?" said a third. By now, my

Despite the rather youthful voices, it was an obvious attempt to be creepy. I'm not too proud to admit that it worked like a charm; I felt a chill run down my spine as the seemingly sourceless voices echoed through the chamber. When their owners didn't come out, I figured they were waiting for something from me, so I said, "Um, hi? My name is Katie Castle, and I have one Badge. And yes, I'm here to challenge the Gym Leader."

A boy around my age stepped out from behind a rock formation against one wall and said, "There are some requirements for challenging our Leader."

A girl, slightly older than the first but similar enough in looks to be his sister, came out from behind the boulder where I'd heard the first voice, and continued, "Not just anyone can face Forrest. You need to be worthy!"

Finally, a boy who barely looked old enough to get his certification sat up from where he had been hidden by the uneven flooring, jumped to his feet, and threw a Pokeball. As it released a Geodude, he said, "And to see if you're worthy, you'll need to beat us!"

I had to admit, it was a good bit of theater.

"Alright!" I said, glad to have something to occupy my thoughts. I sent out Spin, and said, "I hope you're ready!"

He was not ready. Spin had absolutely no trouble dealing with the boy's Geodude. When his sister sent out an Omanyte, I switched Spin for Vola, who handled the revived fossil with as much ease as she did the Kabuto the last sibling sent out. I noticed they each had more than just the one Pokemon, and figured they probably had enough to deal with any of the tiers Forrest would have to. The glimpse my experience at Erika's gym had given me into the workings of the Gyms made me admire what they had put together here. I wasn't sure what he was testing, but I was sure this was part of the test.

Once the last Gym trainer recalled their Pokemon, I heard slow, steady clapping coming from behind me. I turned and saw a man taller and older than the others, but with features that left no doubt that they were all related. He was just coming out from under a crag that had kept him cloaked in shadow when I came in. He had probably been watching all the battles from there.

"Well done," he said. "I see you've met my sister and brothers' challenge head-on and succeeded. If you would step onto the raised stone over there," he pointed to a slab, "we can begin your challenge."
I followed his directions, and saw that it was the challenger's trainer box of an official battle arena, cleverly hidden amongst the rock and rubble of the "cave."

"Since I already know something about your team," Forrest said once we had both reached our stations, "I'll show you who you'll be facing. I'll even let you decide the order you fight them."
He released an Onix to one side of his box and a Rhyhorn on the other. "Yolanda will be our referee. Once you've decided the order, please let me know."

The sister, Yolanda, sighed, then went through the same rules I'd heard when I battled Erika, slightly modified for Forrest's odd, and fairly egotistical, proclamation. When she finished, she turned to Forrest and whispered something to him that the echoes distorted too much for me to make out.

Whatever it was, he blushed and shook his head, saying, "You just worry about refereeing!"

Yolanda rolled her eyes.

I considered. Did it really matter which Pokemon I fought first? Both had the same typing, both were slow and heavily defensive. From Yolanda's reaction, Forrest was just trying to score 'nice guy' points with me. Still, they'd put on a misleading good performance earlier; my gut said this would be an important choice.

I didn't want to be too overconfident, but I trusted my Pokemon. I'd have to fight both eventually.

"Rhyhorn first," I said. "And I'll meet him with Spin!"

I was already throwing his Pokeball as I said it. Spin came out ready, poised on all fours. Forrest patted Rhyhorn's flank, and it lumbered out to stand between him and Spin.

"If both trainers are ready, then… BEGIN!"

As Yolanda's hand came down, Rhyhorn changed. It was subtle, but what had been practically a statue seconds earlier came to life, charging forward. It started slow but powerful, each stride a thunderous echo that grew into an increasingly frantic rhythm as Rhyhorn gained speed.

"Defense Curl!" Spin got out of the way fairly easily to start with by simply angling the ball he rolled into out of the charging monster's path. But the room was large, and while there was the occasional boulder or stalagmite, there was plenty of room for it to maintain speed while curving around for another pass. "Again!"

By the time Rhyhorn missed again, it was going at a speed I was sure would send Spin flying, increased defense or not. I had to think fast before it came around for another pass. Lucky bounced around me, barking with delight or alarm but not leaving my side, and a detached part of me was proud of him. Spin lay curled next to a boulder, and I had an idea.

"Spin, get ready in front of that boulder."

Spin hesitated for a second, and I saw one eye look at me skeptically from inside the ball, but he used his tail to lever himself up against the rock. Rhyhorn maintained its course, coming towards my Sandshrew like an oncoming train. He was only a few strides away when I yelled, hoping to be heard above the booming charge, "Counter!"

Now Spin changed shape subtly, becoming more ovoid than round as Rhyhorn impacted him. Spin used the momentum to unroll himself, curling his head and front paws around the single horn jutting from his opponent's nose. As Rhyhorn crashed through the rock, he used that impact to begin spinning around the horn. Once they were through, he finally unrolled his tail and continued the rotation to slam it into Rhyhorn's eyes.

The hit snapped its head back, and its feet missed its next step. It crashed to the ground, wedge-like head digging a divot into the floor as it skidded along until it smashed into another boulder. Spin was sent flying with his attack's recoil, and I saw that the ball he curled into before landing wasn't as tight as usual, as if he were favoring injuries. He, too, rolled to a stop, and slowly unrolled, unsteadily getting to his feet.

Rhyhorn didn't.

"Well done," Forrest said, recalling Rhyhorn. "I wonder how things would have turned out if you'd chosen differently? Go Onix!"
On that cryptic note, the enormous snake snapped itself forward, faster that something its size should have been able to move.

"Ohhhhhhh," it roared. Combined with the crash of its body hitting the ground and then the grinding of the stones it pulverized in its path, the arena was deafening.

I didn't think Spin could get out of the way in time, but we had to try. "Rollout!"

Onix tore through the battlefield, slamming into the stone just behind Spin as he whirled away. It let its head ricochet off the rock, then slam back down nearby.

Forrest called, "Smack Down!" It used the move to reorient itself, and whipped its tail around to hit Spin. The little armored mouse went flying, but he let himself bounce when he landed and built up speed. He rolled back and slammed into Onix, eliciting another roar.

Things continued this way for a little while. Onix carved gouges through the floor with its Tackles and Smack Downs, while Spin stayed just out of reach, occasionally striking back as long as he could keep moving.

Until we got careless. Spin was coming around after a hit from Onix's tail when he rolled down into one of the channels Onix had carved. He shot up the other side, and I realized what had happened, and what Forrest had meant earlier. The way it was now, spiderwebbed with uneven footing, there was no way Rhyhorn would have managed those long, looping charges. It would have either had to use the straight lines of the channels for its charges, staying predictable, or stick with less mobile attacks, which Spin would have had no problem avoiding. We would have worn it down without nearly the huge hit Spin had needed to take to get off that huge Counter.

I realized this as Forrest yelled, "Now!"

Onix's head crashed down on Spin, who was helpless to dodge in midair. When Onix lifted its head, Spin lay limp between two of its segments.

"Sorry, Spin," I said as I recalled him, "I should have seen it earlier. But you did good work. We'll finish this."
Vola came out in a fury of hail, a haunting, "Vuuuuuuuu," giving the Gym a haunting echo.

Onix reared back in pain, and before it could pinpoint Vola to attack, I said, "Start with Confuse Ray."

The eerie light that sparkled through the storm was only enhanced by the echo of Vola's cry, still reverberating through the chamber under Onix's roar. Onix could only see blinding lights now and furiously slammed itself at them in vain attempts to hit Vola, ignoring Forrest's assistance. It was clearly worn down from its fight with Spin, and now we were ready for the final blow.

"Freeze-Dry!" I screamed, ensuring I'd be heard over the haunting echoes, the crashing rocks, and the resonation roars.

The moisture in the air shattered as a wave of frost blew out in an arc across the chamber from Vola. It struck Onix solidly, hitting it fully broadside. I heard cracks as the water in the stones making up Onix froze and shattered with its movement, and an overwhelming bellow slowly died down as Onix finally fell still. I held my hands over my ears until it stopped and all that was left was silence.

Well, mostly silence. Lucky had his forepaws over his head and was whimpering at the noise, only stopping as I picked him up and rocked him gently. "It's okay, honey, it's over. Shhh, shhh."

Vola trotted over to Onix and patted its nose with one paw, reassuring her unconscious foe. I wasn't sure if it was the new empathy I'd tried to instill in her with Fearow, or if it was merely an assertion of her victory.
Yolanda didn't know her, so she awww'd at the sight before Forrest recalled Onix. Then she remembered her duty, and said, "With one Pokemon remaining, the winner is Katie!"
Vola bounded back to me and I shifted Lucky to one arm so I could catch her in the other as she leapt at me.

"You're amazing!" I told her.

She chirped, "Pix!" happily, and I squeezed her gently.

"She certainly is," said Forrest as he made his way over to us. "Onix may have been pretty worn out, but that was a Torment of a finisher. I haven't seen overkill like that in a long time."
I grinned back at him. "Vola doesn't know the meaning of the word 'restraint,'" I told him. Vola took the "praise" shamelessly, tossing her floof draw more attention to herself.

Forrest gave me an appraising glance. I saw Yolanda roll her eyes at her brother again, but his words made me think she didn't quite have the right of it this time. "Interesting. This is only your second Badge, right?"

I nodded, "I figured it out, too."

"Oh?" he asked, feigning ignorance, "What did you figure out?"

"Your cryptic comment about things going differently. I chose wrong, didn't I? I should have fought Onix first."
"Hah! I'm glad Bruno asked me to look out for you. I might have treated this like any other battle."
I was getting really tired of getting the "special" treatment by Gym Leaders. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"I haven't offered the 'easy or hard' choice to a pretty girl in a while; Yolanda kept getting mad at me. But after hearing what Bruno had to say, I thought it might be illuminating. So tell me; why do you say you were wrong?"
I ignored the "pretty girl" remark and gestured to the battlefield around us, "This place is a mess. I'd say you'll spend an hour or so after I leave fixing the battlefield, right? Rhyhorn needs lots of room to build up speed, otherwise it would just have to stay on the defensive, and small, mobile Pokemon like mine would have had no problem with it. Which means even if I'd had to go all-out on Onix, I'd still have the advantage, even with tired Pokemon."

Forrest put a finger to his nose and tossed me something. I barely caught it by reflex as he said, "Bingo! Not that you needed it. Like I said, that Vulpix of yours is fierce. Maybe use some of that to get her something nice."
I was about to ask, "Some of what?" when I looked down at what he'd given me. A thick stack of money with the Boulder Badge pinned to the ribbon holding it together. Then I remembered the bag Erika had sent me.

I had money. Maybe not a ton, but I wasn't scraping by anymore. I smiled back at Forrest.
"I think I will."

Besides the Gym, there wasn't a lot for me to do in Pewter. The Museum was famous, and I'd originally written it off as too expensive. Now I could afford it. When was the next time I'd be in Pewter, after all?

I hadn't made it two steps inside before I had to rethink my plans.

"Pokemon must be in their Pokeballs inside the building," the receptionist said before I'd even made it to her desk, "No exceptions."
"Seriously?" I said.

"Many of our displays are delicate, and a careless Pokemon could do irreparable harm. No exceptions."
I hung my head and led Lucky back outside.

"Oh well," I told him, "It's probably not super interesting anyway. I'll bet you'd rather play than look at stuffy old artifacts any day, wouldn't you?"

Pokemon are incredibly intelligent. They may not be able to speak our language, but many, even wild, can understand it just fine. They can develop ways to make themselves understood by their human partners. That being said, they're not born able to understand us. They can interpret feelings, but actually understanding what they're saying takes time.

Still, despite his relative youth, Lucky knew and understood one word very well. It could be used to call him nearly as well as his own name: "play."

So we did.

The young man approached us as we played on the Pokemon Center's field. While I thought about presents to get for everyone, I had them going through an obstacle course. I'd thought of it after seeing Spin and Onix's chase, and everyone seemed excited to try it. Once we made the course, Spin rolled into a ball, and the others had to try to roll him to their own goal on the outskirts of the area. Any time they let him get too far away, he started a Rollout, moving randomly and gouging out furrows they had to now negotiate around.

I was still torn about whether or not to splurge on an Ice Stone for Vola when he finally caught my attention.

"This certainly looks like interesting, uh, training," he said.

I hadn't noticed him walk up to us and nearly jumped out of my skin.

Still bristling, I asked, "Is there a reason you're interrupting it?"

"Simply commenting on what my master said. I'm Mac," he replied, holding out a hand to shake.

I took it gingerly, slowly putting the pieces together. "You're one of Bruno's students."

"Yep!" he said cheerfully, "The boss-man said you've got a tentative clear, but he wants someone to observe your training for a little while to make sure. So here I am!"

"Here you are," I deadpanned.

"Oh, don't be like that," he said. "This will be fun! It'll be like a mini road trip, like one of those old movies. You'll see, we may not start super friendly, and we'll probably argue, then we'll go on adventures and see each other for who we really are, and by the time you earn your third Badge, we'll be best of friends!"

I stared at him. I couldn't tell if it was an act to put me off guard or if he was actually just too naive and lost in his own fantasies to take seriously.

"See, you're already mad at me, just like I said. I'm so excited!"

I sighed. "I'm not mad, I just… are you for real right now?"

His face changed slightly, and his demeanor changed from wide-eyed innocent excitement to a more cunning pleasure. I felt like a Goldeen who just realized the shape coming toward her isn't a Seaking, but a Sharpedo.

"That's certainly what I'd prefer," he said, the joviality in his voice now hiding something much harder. "Like it or not, I'm your student until you can earn your next Badge."

My face fell in dawning horror as he reached for his Pokeballs.

"And this looks like a perfect time to start. So, what are we doing?"