He walked into the early. The timeslot he booked meant he had half an hour to go before he could battle but he decided to see if anyone else was battling. He signed in with the receptionist, a young person with a massive golem watching them, and moved to sit in the stands for the gym.
Leaving behind the clean and modern gym hallways he walked out into a roughly hewn set of seating that resembled stairs. He sat down and turned to face the battle raging, a large onix was being lashed by green vines that originated from a small green and brown tortoise. The onix was a young female, him being taught by Buddy the difference, and her armour was less developed due to her young age.
The small tortoise was not a bulbasaur, brown with a large head and jaw a small plant grew from the Pokémon's head, not its back. The Pokémon's trainer was an older teenager with purple hair. He seemed stern and harsh, barking out orders whilst watching the battle keenly.
With the onix trapped under the relentless vine whips, she could not bring her bulk to bare and eventually fainted before the unceasing assault. Once Brock recalled the rock snake the small tortoise slumped slightly before trotting back to its trainer. The purple haired gave a nod and a quiet note of praise before recalling the turtle and walking to meet Brock at the centre of the torn-up field.
Stlix jumped down from the stands and walked over, intent on asking about the smaller Pokémon. It felt right to Stlix that he should find a way to place one on his team. When he had seen the bulbasaur it didn't feel right but that one did.
"The boulder badge." He heard Brock say as he drew closer. The purple haired teen took the glinting piece of metal before sliding it into his pocket. They both then turned to the approaching Stlix.
"Another challenger?" He heard Brock inquire.
"Yes, for two one on ones. First badge and eighth badge level." Brock twisted his face at that, and the teen seemed intrigued. "I also want to ask this guy about his Pokémon, seemed like one like it might fight me later."
"A turtwig." He spoke. "They evolve to become torterra, grass and ground type."
"Thank you?" He asked the silent question.
"Paul."
"Thank you, Paul." Stlix turned back to Brock. "The onix you battled with is very young, do you have a breeding pair?" The dusky skinned man raised his eyebrows at that, whilst the onix line was tough and strong most trainers didn't have the patience to train them, being able to see an onix's age spoke of either having one themselves or large amounts of study.
"Yes I do. They have lived underneath pewter for a long time, working with the Gym leaders. My own championship onix is the pair's child. However, to know so much, do you have a Pokémon of the onix line?"
"My Steelix, Buddy. He is the one I wanted an eight-badge battle for, he doesn't get to fight much with his strength." The gym leader nodded. A powerful Steelix would enjoy testing themselves against their own lesser evolved state.
"Ok, your battle was slotted for later, but the other trainer isn't here so we can move it up. Paul if you wish to watch, hand your pokeballs over to Forest on reception and he will take them to the pokecentre. Paul nodded and strode out of the room, only to be seated within the stands a minute later as Brock and Stlix took their own places on the gym floor.
"Ok for first badge Pokémon first?" Called Stlix and Brock responded with a nod before sending out a geodude. Stlix sent out Beda who looked around and seeing the ready geodude, she changed her stance and lowered her centre of gravity, bring her small arms up.
Brock seemed shocked by the larvitar before recollecting himself and calling for Geodude to move in with rock throw. Stlix let Beda fight, calling out no moves or orders, he waited patiently. Beda jumped left and right to doge the rocks flying towards her. As she ran closer Brock shouted for a dynamic punch. The punch hit the larvitar's centre torso, but as the punch landed, she angled herself so that the punch would push her upwards.
Beda flew a few metres into the air before falling and slamming a metal claw into the geodude. The steel type energy smashed the boulder Pokémon into the floor of the gym and cracking it's rocky exterior.
Before the geodude could recover smacked the large crack in geodude with to more metal claws, knocking the Pokémon completely out. Smiling, Stlix called her back over to him. The little larvitar smacked into his leg and hugged it before the disbelieving gaze of a gym leader.
"That one will be a monstrous tyranitar." Stlix could here the gym leader state in disbelief. "Anyway, next battle." Saying that Brock recalled the geodude before pulling another pokeball out and releasing an onix. Stlix asked Beda to watch the next fight but before he could Brock finished whispering into a device and interrupted him.
"I am sorry, but we can't have the eight-badge battle now." The gym leader said.
"What? Why?" Stlix called back.
"The psychic Pokémon responsible for creating the safety barriers have been attacked by a trainer looking for a new Pokémon. Officer Jenny has the idiot, but we have no barriers and it is unsafe to battle without them."
"What if I asked one of my Pokémon to raise the barriers?" Stlix asked back.
"If you have one strong enough go ahead." Stlix grinned before grabbing Floaty's pokeball and releasing him onto the field. "Floaty, the gym needs safety barriers to stop to much destruction. Do you think you can handle it?" The metagross gave a hum and a nod before floating towards the side. Brock's and Paul's gazes followed the steel and psychic type.
"A Steelix and a metagross." Brock said. "What next an Aggron or maybe even a Hydreigon." Stlix didn't respond and simply released Buddy to the astonished faces of Brock and Paul.
"That's not a Steelix." Brock said with a strange calmness. "Steelix grow to around three times the length of a fully grown onix. They do not look like they could crush Pewter by rolling over in their sleep." The Gym leader didn't move for a while and when Stlix started to feel awkward Floaty moved over to the rock type master and tapped his face with one massive limb.
"Do you want to continue?" Stlix asked hesitantly.
"Do I want to continue? Of course, I do. That Steelix largest I have ever seen. I am not giving up my chance for a battle." The gym leader then started the battle. Quickly after two titanic underground dwelling serpents clashed with roars that shook the very foundation of the gym.