Mankey, use Karate Chop!" Brayden shouted.
"MAN!" Mankey bellowed as he made a beeline for Brock's Onix.
"Let's put a stop to Mankey's agility, Onix! Use Rock Tomb!" Brock commanded.
Onix roared, and with a swing of its long tail, multiple boulders came crashing down around Mankey.
"What?!" Brayden couldn't believe his eyes. Mankey was trapped inside the boulders! As Mankey struggled to escape, Brock gave his next command to Onix: "Use Rock Throw!"
Another roar from Onix, and another boulder came crashing down on Mankey's head, shattering the Rock Tomb. "No! Mankey!" Brayden cried.
"Maaaaan," the Pig Monkey Pokémon moaned. "Mankey is unable to battle!" The Judge ruled.
Brayden sighed. "Mankey, return," he said. As Mankey disappeared inside the ball, Brayden added, "You did great, so take a good rest." Now he was down to his last Pokémon. This next battle would decide the match. Fortunately, Squirtle was the right 'mon for the job. He held up the Poké Ball and threw it. "Squirtle, it's all up to you!"
"Squirtle!" The Tiny Turtle Pokémon said, ready to fight.
"I like your spirit, Brayden!" Brock said to Brayden. "Your Pokémon have it as well. But spirit alone does not win Gym Battles."
Onix roared in agreement.
"He's right," Brayden thought. "Mankey was absolutely fearless, but he couldn't land a hit on Onix, even with superior speed. Squirtle can attack with Water Gun and defend with Withdraw, but is that enough?"
Squirtle turned to face Brayden. The look in his eyes displayed absolute faith in Brayden. Brayden smiled slowly. "Well, only one way to find out, right?"
"Squirtle Squirt," Squirtle nodded, then faced Onix again.
"Squirtle, Water Gun!" Brayden cried. The water shot from Squirtle's mouth, aimed directly at the Rock Snake Pokémon.
"Not a chance! Onix, Dig!" Brock responded. Immediately, Onix dove underground, leaving a massive hole in its wake. The Water Gun just barely missed it. Brayden and Squirtle stamped their feet in frustration. "No you don't! Squirtle, shoot Water Gun down the hole!"
Squirtle did so, but nothing seemed to happen.
Brock crossed his arms. "A smart tactic in theory, but Water Gun is not strong enough or fast enough to reach Onix. It moves through the ground at 50 miles per hour! Now, Onix, emerge!"
To Brayden's shock, Onix's roar echoed throughout the Gym, and then it broke through the ground where Squirtle was standing, sending him flying. "Squirtle!"
Brayden had to act fast! "Squirtle, Withdraw!"
Right before he fell to the ground, Squirtle shot into his shell, absorbing the impact.
"Good move!" said Brock. "But we're not done yet! Onix, Iron Tail!"
The tip of Onix' tail transformed into metal, and with a large sweep, Onix sent Squirtle flying once again. He was still in his shell, but even with his enhanced Defense that attack had to have caused a lot of damage, and now he was spinning helplessly towards the wall. "Squirtle, hang in there!" Brayden shouted to him.
To everyone's surprise, when Squirtle ricocheted off the wall, he didn't fall back to the ground. Instead, he maintained his height and, still spinning, turned and struck Onix in the back of the head! Onix grimaced as Squirtle returned to Brayden's feet, came to a stop, and popped out his shell with a confident smile on his face. "Squirt Squirtle!"
Brayden was amazed. "Wow, Squirtle! How'd you do that?" he asked the Water type.
"Rapid Spin," said Brock.
"What's Rapid Spin?" Brayden asked. "It's a Normal-type move," Brock explained. "By spinning at high speeds, the user can shake off moves like Bind and Leech Seed. It also raises your Speed stat. But I've never heard of a Pokémon learning Rapid Spin after being forced to spin. It's clear that your Squirtle is very intelligent."
"Wow, Squirtle, so you learned a new move! That's awesome!" Brayden praised Squirtle.
"Squirtle Squirt Squirtle!" Squirtle responded with pride.
Now they had a means to overcome Onix' greater speed, but now what? Squirtle had taken a lot of damage, and Onix had only been struck by a move that wasn't very effective. If they could just land a Water Gun, they would win. But Brock was likely planning to end this with the same tactic he used on Mankey. How could Rapid Spin defend against that?
"It's been a pleasure to battle you, Brayden. But it's time we ended this," Brayden heard Brock say as he was thinking.
"Here it comes, Squirtle!" he said to the Water type. "Squirt," Squirtle nodded.
Brock gave the command: "Onix, Rock Tomb!" As Onix bellowed once more, the boulders dropped down. Brock heard Brayden give Squirtle a command, but couldn't make it out due to Onix' roaring. Finally, the rocks hit the ground, trapping Squirtle. Brayden grit his teeth. "Please, let this work!" he thought.
"All right, Onix! Final attack!" Brock shouted. "Use Rock Throw!" At that moment, Brayden gave a command of his own. "Squirtle! Water Gun!" Nothing seemed to happen. The rock began to fall…
And then…
The rocks surrounding Squirtle cracked, then shattered in an explosion of water! "WHAT?!" Brock cried in confusion. Onix was shocked as well!
"Now, Rapid Spin!" Brayden exclaimed. Squirtle, already in his shell, zoomed away from the spot right before the rock struck him, then whirled back towards the rock and shot off it into the air, straight towards Onix. The Rock Snake and his Trainer watched, completely dumbfounded, as Brayden punched the air and gave a final command. "USE WATER GUN!"
Squirtle came out from his shell, and blasted Onix right in the face with a powered up Water Gun! Onix roared in pain, then toppled over and fainted. Squirtle landed and struck a pose. "Squirtle Squirtle, Squirtle," he said. (Translation: Better luck next time, big guy.")
"Onix is unable to battle!" The Judge ruled. "Which means, the challenger wins the battle!"
Brayden jumped in jubilation. "YEAH! We did it!" Squirtle followed suit. "Squirtle!"
Brock watched in utter disbelief. Was this kid really a beginner? He recalled Onix to its Poké Ball, than walked over to Brayden. "Hey, you only just became a Trainer, right?" he asked.
"Yeah? What of it?" Brayden responded.
"You had Squirtle use Withdraw to avoid pinned down by the Rock Tomb, then had it use Water Gun while spinning in place with Rapid Spin to wear the rocks down enough to shatter them. How did you come up with such a brilliant strategy?" Brock asked him.
Brayden and Squirtle looked at each other, then thought about it. "Uhhh…I dunno," Brayden replied. Brock fell to the ground. "We tried it on a whim. We weren't really sure it would work." Brayden said.
Brock scratched his head, confused. "W-well then," he said, regaining his composure, "since you defeated me, I give you the proof of your skill: the Boulder Badge."
Brayden's bright green eyes sparkled in excitement. "Awesome, thanks, Brock!" he said, accepting the badge. "I have a question, though. Why did Water Gun get stronger?" Brayden asked Brock.
"That was because of Squirtle's Ability, Torrent. When it runs low on HP, it boosts the potency of its Water type attacks. You should learn all you can about Abilities, as they can make or break a battle," Brock answered. Brayden nodded. He would definitely be sure to learn as much about them as he could.
They both healed their Pokémon with a nearby device, identical to the ones at the Pokémon Centers and Oak's Lab. "There you go. Your Pokémon are back to full health. Good luck with the rest of the Gym Leaders!" Brock said to Brayden.
Brayden grinned. "After this win, I know my Pokémon and I can handle anything!"
Brock frowned and gazed at him with a stern expression. "Hey, confidence is great and all, but don't get cocky. Always strive to be better tomorrow than you are today, alright?"
Brayden was confused, but decided it was best to not argue. "Okay, I'll try," he responded.
Brock smiled again. "That's great to hear. Now if you'll excuse me…" His expression became serious again. "I'm going back to the museum to ask out that babe!" Brock ran out of the Gym with a goofy look on his face.
"Seriously?" Brayden said out loud.
Liam the Gym Trainer sighed. "That's just who he is. He really wants to get married. I hear it's because he's from a big family and is used to looking after his younger siblings. So he's always asking out every pretty girl he meets. That's usually why he's away from the Gym. But he still loves being a Gym Leader, so he makes it work somehow."
"Hmmm," Brayden responded. "Oh well. My work here is done. Goodbye." And off he went back to the Pokémon Center.
Author's Note: Great! Brayden has obtained his first badge! Also, Pokémon Centers are a little like hotels in the anime, but not in the games. For this story, they function the same as they do in the anime, meaning that Trainers can spend the night at them, but they heal Pokémon almost as fast as they do in the games.