Episode 434: Rocking the Virbank Gym!
A few hours after Kairi had won her second Unova Contest Ribbon, Sora, Kairi, Ventus, Terra, Aqua, Cilan, Iris, Pikachu, Angel, Meowth and Axew had arrived to the Pokémon Center to have Woobat healed from her battles. As soon as they arrived, they saw a boy sitting down, waiting anxiously for his Pokémon. Sora walked up to him.
"Excuse me, are you okay?" Sora asked. The boy looked right at him.
"Are you here to challenge the Virbank City Gym?" The boy asked.
"Um, yeah, I am," Sora said.
"Are you waiting to for your Pokémon to be healed?" Kairi asked.
"Yeah. Roxie got the best of me in that battle," the boy explained. "She is brutal with a capital B; she won before I knew what hit me."
"Wow, she must be good," Ventus said.
"She's not just good. She's a monster!" The boy said.
"She kicked all of our butts and handed them to us on a silver plate," a girl said.
"Even with a well-thought out strategy, we were still creamed," another girl said.
"Sounds like Roxie doesn't mess around," Aqua said.
"She doesn't. And if you're going up against her, then you better be ready for the worse," the boy said.
The group sat somewhere to talk about a plan.
"Man, if Roxie has bested all those trainers, she has got to be a monster like he said," Ventus said.
"I'm feeling scared," Meowth said.
"So am I. You sure you wanna go through this, Sora?" Aqua asked.
"Well, we came all this way, and Burgh is too busy to be bothered from his artwork now, so we're going have to wait and see what Roxie can dish out in my upcoming Gym battle. Besides, the last time I headed to a Gym with another one along the way was in Cianwood City when I took on Chuck, and he had Fighting Type Pokémon," Sora said, remembering that battle.
"Even for someone so chubby, Chuck was a serious fighter," Kairi said.
"Sora got the perfect strategy. Golett and Yamask are both Ghost Type Pokémon, so Poison Type attacks won't do much damage on them; also Golett is also a Ground Type, so not only Poison Type attacks won't do much damage, but Golett's got the advantage," Ventus said. "Also, Yamask has Psychic."
"You're right, Ven. But, all the same, you should be careful," Cilan said.
"I will," Sora said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
On the very next morning, the group were given instructions on how to reach the Gym. They came across what looks like a door in an alley.
"Is this the place?" Iris asked.
"That's what the man said, Iris. I'm just as skeptical as you are," Terra said.
"Wonder how we're going to go in," Kairi said.
"Maybe, we should knock," Ventus suggested.
"Oh sure we just knock on the-" Meowth was cut off when Ventus knocked on the door. The door has a peephole as a pair of eyes are staring at the group.
"What do you want?" A gruff male voice asked.
"Um, we were told that I could have a Gym battle here," Sora responded. The peephole closed and a click is heard from the inside. The door opened, and the security guard stands there, holding the door.
"Come on in," the security guard said.
"Um, is this really the Virbank City Gym?" Cilan asked.
"That it is, greeny. This Gym specializes with Poison Type Pokémon just in case you missed the message. I have to say that you're the fourth challenger we got so far," the security guard said.
"So, that means Roxie had three battles before me?" Sora asked.
"You catch on, kid. Roxie mopped the floor with two others before you showed up; and she's still having hers, so she should already be done with the battle by now," the security guard explained.
"Um, why does the Gym need a security guard?" Ventus asked.
"Well, someone has to keep the audience in line," the security guard said.
"Audience?" The group asked.
"You're going have to see for yourself. And good luck. You're going to need it," the security guard said. Sora, Kairi, Ventus, Terra, Aqua, Cilan, Iris, Pikachu, Angel, Meowth, and Axew went through the hall, leading to a single door. Sora opens the door. Everyone were amazed and shocked to see that it was a punk rock concert. They covered their ears to keep out the sound. The crowd were punk rock groupies. A punk rock band were jamming hard as a Koffing has bested a Gothitelle in battle. Duking it out is a medium height, slim young girl with bright blue eyes, pale skin and long layered white hair tied in a high, spiky ponytail with a purple and blue cherry bobble. She wore a loose sky blue dress with magenta-purple stripes over a black vest top and long black boots with teal platforms.She is jamming on a symbolic black bass with purple stripes.
"I'm going to guess that's the Gym Leader!" Kairi asked, holding her ears.
"Vee!" Angel said.
"What?" Sora asked.
"Pi?" Pikachu added.
"Gothitelle is unable to battle! Koffing wins! The winner is Roxie!" The referee announced. Roxie plays her solo, concluding the battle. The audience cheered on as Roxie has taken her stance.
"Thanks! Rock n Roll!" Roxie shouted.
"Roxie! Roxie! Roxie! Roxie! Roxie! Roxie! Roxie! Roxie! Roxie! Roxie! Roxie! Roxie! Roxie! Roxie! Roxie! Roxie! Roxie! Roxie! Roxie! Roxie! Roxie! Roxie! Roxie! Roxie! Roxie! Roxie! Roxie! Roxie! Roxie! Roxie!" The audience cheered.
"She managed to defeat a Psychic Type?" Aqua asked.
"That's no small feat for a Poison Type," Terra said.
"What kind of Pokémon is that?" Iris asked.
"It's a Koffing," Ventus said.
"I never seen one before," Cilan said. Roxie approcahed the challenger.
"Let's hear it for our brave challenger, and all his brave Pokémon!" Roxie said. The audience cheered in agreement.
"Um, thanks," the trainer said.
"Word up, challenger, I hope you come back to try again, and thank you for coming!" Roxie called out. The crowd cheered hard for the challenger.
"Thank you for letting me challenge you," the trainer said, calling Gothitelle back and took off. Roxie took notice of the group standing there.
"Hey, next challenger! That you?" Roxie asked, pointing at Sora.
"That's me," Sora said.
The crowd all looked right at him. Sora felt nervous with all the eyes leering right at him.
"Talk about a tough crowd," Iris said.
"I prefer to think of them as dedicated fans," Cilan said.
"Either way, they got eyes on him," Meowth said.
"How's it going? You're looking at the Virbank City Gym Leader, Roxie!" Roxie introduced herself.
"Hey there. I'm Sora, and I came from Pallet Town," Sora introduced himself. Roxie's ears perked up.
"As in Sora Ketchum, the Pokémon League Champion of Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh?" Roxie asked.
"Um, yeah," Sora said.
"Cool! It's not very often we trainers with your calibur coming in here," Roxie said. She looked right at Kairi. "And I know you! You're that girl who won that Contest from yesterday!"
"That's right," Kairi said.
"I heard all about you two! And I found this Koffing in Kanto during a concert in Kanto, and we've been tight ever since," Roxie said. Koffing floats up to the group.
"I'm sure Koffing made an explosive performance," Sora said.
"It's great that Koffing explodes! The fans get get enough of it!" Roxie said.
"Don't get bummed. Compared to the fans in Unova, Kanto fans are a bore," the guitarist said. She has black hair tied in a ponytail, and she has black eye shadows on her eyelids, and she wore a black tank top, and a maroon plaid skirt. The drummer is bald-headed and he wore a white shirt under a black leather jacket.
"And hearing that from Billy Jo is poisonous," Roxie said.
"It seems that everything here is poisonous," Iris said.
"Axew," Axew said.
"Adn what did you mean by concert?" Terra asked.
"Get with it. We're the most popular punk band in all of Unova. And let's give up for Koffing and the Toxics!" Roxie shouted. Billy Jo jammed on her guitar as the drummer was drumming with the beat. "Virbank Gum isn't just a Gym. We jam here all the time! And all of our fans are into battles and into great tunes!"
"No wonder the challengers has such a hard time taking her on. How could they concentrate with this going on?" Terra asked.
"They can't," Iris said.
"That's not going to be a bother with me. So, get ready to show me what you got," Sora said. Roxie grinned.
"I like your answer, Sora! We'll make it a two-on-two battle!" Roxie said.
"I like this kid. He's the kind of trainer you can turn it all the way up to ten with, and knock his doors down. What do you think, Nicky? Ready for another show?" Billy Jo asked.
"I can keep this up even in my sleep!" Nicky said, jamming.
"We're anytime you are, Sora!" Roxie said.
"I'm game!" Sora said. "Let's give all these fans what they came here to see!" Roxie smiled.
"I like your attitude, Sora! Ref, take it away!" Roxie called out.
"Right on! This will be a two-on-two Pokémon battle bewtenn the Gym Leader, Roxie, and the challenger, Sora form Pallet Town! Both trainers will be using two Pokémon each! The battle is over when both of either on side's Pokémon are unable to battle! Also, only the challenger is allowed to switch Pokémon at anytime! Now, everyone! You ready to rock?!" The referee called out. The crowd starts cheering for the battle to get started. "Alright then! Let's get the battle started! To the max!"
"Go! Koffing!" Roxie called out as Koffing entered the battlefield. Sora took out a Pokéball and threw it.
"Go! Golett!" Sora called out Golett came on out, maing the crowd cheer.
"Sending out a Ghost Type and a Ground Type is a sweet move! Golett might not be able to take much damage from Koffing, but that makes our fans cheer for it more!" Roxie said. The crowd starts cheering hard for Sora and his Golett.
"Thery're cheering for the challengers in this Gym?" Aqua asked.
"Well, he always did know how to bring in a crowd, rather he planned on it or not," Terra said.
"You got the first move, Sora!" Nicky said.
"Golett! Use Shadow Punch!" Sora ordered. Golett unleashed Shadow Punch and lands a hit onto Koffing.
"Koffing! Gyro Ball!" Roxie ordered. Koffing spins around and heads right towards Gollet, landing a hit. "Use Gyro Ball again!" Koffing spins around and lands another hit with Gyro Ball.
"Wow, that Koffing is fast!" Ventus said.
"Koffing! Sludge Bomb!" Roxie ordered. Koffing unleashed Sludge Bomb right at Golett.
"Dodge and use Mega Punch!" Sora ordered. Golett manages to avoid Koffing's Gyro Ball and heads right towards Koffing and lands a punch onto Koffing.
"Koffing! Slsudge Bomb again!" Roxie ordered. Koffing has unleashed Sludge Bomb right at Golett, landing a hit. "Now, use Gyro Ball!" Koffing spins around and heads for the automation Pokémon.
"Try to dodge it!" Sora called out Golett tried to avoid Koffing, but it got hit bad from Koffing's Gyro Ball. "Shadow Punch!" Golett unleashed Shadow Punch onto the poison gas Pokémon. "Shadow Punch again!"
"Sludge Bomb!" Roxie ordered. Koffing unleashed Sludge Bomb and it struck Golett's Shadow Punch on the mark. "Keep firing that Sludge Bomb!" Koffing kept firinf Sludge Bomb right at Golett again, and lands a hit. "Now, use Clear Smog!" Koffing takes in a deep breath and releases a stream of white smog from its mouth out over the battlefield. Golett was also hit by the smog. "Gyro Ball!" Koffing spins around to land a hit onto the automation Pokémon.
"Use Mega Punch!" Sora ordered. Golett lands a Mega Punch onto Koffing, sending it backwards. "Now, use Shadow Punch!" Golett unleashed Shadow Punch and lands another hit onto Koffing.
"Sludge Bomb!" Roxie ordered. Koffing unleashed Sludge Bomb right at Golett.
"Block it with Mud-Slap!" Sora ordered. Golett unleashed Mud-Slap and the mud collides with the sludge, resulting in an explosion.
"That was a nice save for Sora's part, but let's see hwo much longer it can keep up," Cilan said.
"Koffing! Use Sludge Bomb! again!" Roxie ordered. Koffing unleashed Sludge Bomb again.
"Mud-Slap again!" Sora ordered. Golett hurls Mud-Slap right at Koffing's Sludge Bomb. "Now, use Pound!" Golett heads right towards Koffing and lands a Pound right on Koffing. The poison gas Pokémon goes down, but gets back up again.
"Nice try, Sora, but my Koffing doesn't go down that easily! Okay, Koffing! Use Gyro Ball" Koffing spins around again to deliever Gyro Ball.
"Dodge and use Mega Punch!" Sora ordered. Golett avoids Koffing's Gyro Ball. Golett has landed a hit with Mega Punch. The poison gas Pokémon lands a hit with Gyro Ball on the automation Pokémon. "Shadow Punch!" Golett unleashed Shadow Punch onto Koffing.
"That was a badass move, Sora! Sludge Bomb!" Roxie ordered. Koffing unleashed Sludge Bomb right at Golett again.
"Mud-Slap!" Sora ordered. Golett unleashed Mud-Slap to block Koffing's Sludge Bomb. It resulted insome small explosions.
"Gyro Ball!" Roxie ordered. Koffing started to spin right towards Golett with Gyro Ball.
"Use Mega Punch!" Sora ordered. Golett lands a Mega Punch onto the poison gas Pokémon. "Now, use Shadow Punch!" Golett lands a Shadow Punch onto Koffing. "Shadow Punch again and again!" Golett has given Koffing a series of hits from Shadow Punches. "And now, one more Mega Punch!" Golett lands a powerful Mega Punch. Koffing gets struck hard by the strong punch attack and goes down for the count.
"Koffing is unable to battle! Golett wins!" The referee announced. The crowd starts cheering hard for Sora for winning the first round. Roxie calls back her Koffing.
"You take five, Koffing. You earned a good long rest," Roxie said. She smiled right at Sora.
"Not bad, Sora. Your Golett has lasted way longer against my Koffing than any of my last oppenents. Those were some pretty wicked moves you pulled on me," Roxie said.
"Hearing praise like that from Roxie is a rave," Nicky said.
"And now, it' time for my second Pokémon to come out to shine! Go! Whirlipede!" Roxie called out. Her Whirlipede came on out to battle against Sora's team.
"Golett, you still good to go against that Whirlipede?" Sora asked. Golet nodded.
"Okay. I can trust you on that. Use Shadow Punch!" Sora ordered. Golett unleashed Shadow Punch onto Whirlipede. It landed a hit, but it didn't even phase it. "Whirlipede just took it?"
"My Whirlipede has a hard shell that's hard to crack. So hard, it puts a walnut's shell to shame!" Roxie said.
"Your Golett has guts, but it takes more than guts to win it in this Gym," Billy Jo said.
"And Whirlirpede is going to prove it, too!" Nicky said.
"Okay, Golett! Use Mud-Slap!" Sora ordered. Golett unleashed Mud-Slap right at Whirlipede.
"Protect!" Roxie ordered. Whirlipede has formed a protective barrier around itself. "Now, use Rollout!" Whirlipede rolls towards Golett. Whirlipede has landed another hit onto the automation Pokémon.
"Try to dodge it!" Sora called out. Golett tried to, but Golett is struck by Rollout again. Golett tried to get back up, but it fell back down on the ground, beaten.
"Golett is unable to battle! Whirlrpede wins!" The referee announced. The crowd cheered hard as Whirlipede celebrated its win.
"Looks like Whirlipede has finished what Koffing has started," Iris said.
"That was a delectable dish that Roxie has given Sora. Now both has one left to use," Cilan said. Sora calls back Golett and looked right at his Pokéball.
"Get some rest, Golett. You earned it," Sora said. He took a look at Yamask's Pokéball and threw it. "Your turn now, Yamask!" THe spirit Pokémon came on out to battle against Whirlipede "Start things up with Shadow Ball!" Yamask threw Shadow Ball right at Whirlipede.
"Whirlipede! use Protect!" Roxie ordered. The curlipede Pokémon uses Protect to make Shadow Ball bounce right off.
"Shadow Ball again and again!" Sora ordered. Yamask unleashed Shadow Ball right at Whirlirpede. Whirlipede's Protect was holding on, but it weakened from each hit it took. Yamask has let out one more Shadow Ball, shattering it to bits. "Now, use Psychic!" Yamask uses Psychic to lift up Whirlipede and sends it down to the ground hard. Whirlipede has gotten back up.
"Whirlirpede is still kicking after taking that damage," Meowth said.
"Whirlipede has a strong shell just like she said. Whirlipede is not going to be easy to take down and Sora knows it," Terra said.
"Whirlipede! Use Poison Sting!" Roxie oredered. Whirlipede unleashed Poison Sting right at Yamask.
"Yamask! Use Haze!" Sora ordered. Yamask unleashed Haze all around, cloaking Yamask's prescence.
"Think you can hide in that Haze, not going to happen! Whirlpide! Use your body to blow it away!" Roxie ordered. Whirlipede blows the Haze away. "Now use Poison Sting!" Whirlipede unleashed Poison Sting and heads right towards Yamask.
"Block it with your Psychic!" Sora ordered. Yamask blocks with Psychic and sends right back at Whirlipede. The whirlipede Pokémon, landing a hit onto it.
"Whirlipede! Rock out with Rollout!" Roxie ordered. Whirlipede rolls towards the spirit Pokémon with great strength. Yamask has taken a couple of hits, each stronger than the last. "Wrap it up!" Whirlipede heads right towards Yamask, but Yamask has unleashed Night Shade and it struck Whirlipede hard.
"That was Night Shade!" Ventus said.
"Yamask must have just learned to use it," Terra said.
"Yamask! Use Psychic on Whirlipede!" Sora ordered. Yamask lifts up Whirlipede and slams it down onto the ground. "Now, use Shadow Ball, and make it a big one!" Yamask unleashed a huge Shadow Ball after building up some energy. Whirlipede is then struck hard by the attack.
The crowd were getting more into the battle the more it raged on.
"He's even better than I thought. It's no wonder he's the champ," Nicky said.
"I second that. Roxie's really getting into it," Billy Jo said.
"Whirlipede! Venoshock!" Roxie ordered. Whirlipede unleashed Venoshock right at the spirit Pokémon
"Try to dodge it, Yamask!" Sora called out. Yamask tried to dodge, but he got hit by the Venoshock. "Yamask! Use Psychic!" Yamask uses Psychic onto Whirlipede. "Now, use Shadow Ball!" Yamask unleashed Shadow Ball right Whirlipede.
"Not bad! Poison Sting!" Roxie ordered. Whirlipede unleashed Poison Sting right at Yamask, landing a series of hits. Yamask then became poisoned.
"No!" Sora gasped.
"This is bad. Yamask is poisoned. Yamask will start to lose energy! And a hit from Venoshock will make it even worse!" Terra said.
"Sora!" Kairi called out.
"Eevee!" Angel added.
"Use Venoshock!" Roxie ordered. Whirlipede has let out Venoshock. Sora knew how powerful Venoshock was once it hits, so he had to think fast.
"Yamask! Use Psychic!" Sora ordered. Yamask blocks Whirlipede's Venoshock with Psychic. "Send it right back!" Yamask sends Venoshock right back and lands a hit onto Whirlipede. "Psycic again!" Yamask has used Psychic to lift up Whirlipede into the air and then bring it down pretty hard. "Now, use Night Shade!" Yamask unleashed Night Shade, and it struck the curlipede Pokémon right on the mark. Whirlipede managed to get back up from taking so much damage from those hits. Whirlipede then fell to its side, much to the shock to Roxie, her band, and the crowd as Whirlipede now beaten.
"Whirlipede is unable to battle! Yamask wins! The winner of the battle is the challenger!" The referee announced. The crowd goes nuts for Sora as he had won. Roxie kept on rocking even though she had lost, beiging it into a solo. Her solo concluded, to conclude the battle.
"That was rad! That was the most epic battle I have ever had as long as I have been a Gym Leader! It's no wonder you're the Pokémon League Champion of Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh!" Roxie said.
"Not many trainers would have kept their cool the way you did, Sora! Even when under pressure," Nicky said.
"That made me like him even more!" Billy Jo said.
"And the fans loves it!" Roxie said.
"Sora! Sora! Sora! Sora! Sora! Sora! Sora! Sora! Sora! Sora! Sora! Sora! Sora! Sora! Sora! Sora! Sora! Sora! Sora! Sora! Sora! Sora! Sora! Sora! Sora! Sora! Sora! Sora! Sora! Sora! Sora! Sora! Sora! Sora! Sora! Sora! Sora! Sora! Sora! Sora! Sora! Sora! Sora! Sora! Sora! Sora! Sora! Sora! Sora!" The crowd all chanted.
"Look at that. It seems Sora has gained some new fans with the punk rock community," Aqua said. Roxie calls back her Whirlipede and walked up to her challenger. She shook his hand.
"Wow, you really knocked the crowd dead! You're a whole lot tougher than I thought. So, I'm thinking of writing a brand new song to remember this battle, and how many people will hear about our battle. And just so the world will know that you beat me fair and suare, I'm giving you this: the Toxic Badge," Roxie said, presenting Sora that is shaped like a smoke signal with four small purple circles lining up to a poison mark. Sora accepts it.
"Thanks, Roxie. And I'm flattered that you would write a song about me," Sora said.
"Pikachu," Piakchu added.
"And feed your Yamask this Pecha Berry," Roxie said, handing him a Pecha Berry.
"I'll do that," Sora said. Sora hands it to Yamask, and he happily ate it. Yamask was cured from his poisoning.
After the battle, the group decided to celebrate by having a meal with Kairi and Cilan honoring Sora for his victory. Strangely enough, Roxie and her band decided to join in.
"So since you won your Gym battle, where are you heading next?" Roxie asked.
"Back to Castelia City since Burgh has promised me a battle when we meet," Sora said.
"Oh yeah, Burgh. That guys is a great artist. He even showed me how to raise my Whirlipede right. Fair to warn you, Burgh isn't going to be easy," Roxie said.
"I figured as much," Sora said.
Once the meal had concluded, and Yamask and Golett had healed up from the battle, Sora exchanged Oshawott, Golett and Yamask for Pansear, Darumaka, and Tranquil since he remembered Burgh specializes with Bug Types. He dialed the number to the Castelia City Gym. One of the Gym's staff members answered.
"Hello, you have reached the Castelia City Gym. Who may I ask is calling?" The staff member asked.
"My name is Sora and I'm calling in regards to my Gym battle," Sora said.
"Oh yeah, Sora. I was told you were going to challenge Burgh into a battle. Burgh has just returned, so I could inform him that you're making contact of you like," the staff member said.
"I appreciate it," Sora said. He waited for a little while until Burgh has come on.
"Sora, it's a wonderful coincidence, I was just thinking of you. I trust you and Kairi were successful," Burgh said.
"Yeah. Kairi won her second Contest Ribbon, and I won the Toxic Badge from the Virbank Gym, so I thought maybe, you were ready for our Gym battle," Sora said.
"Of course. I had just finished my art work, and I must say, it came out beautifully thanks to you and Kairi. And how is Sewaddle doing?" Burgh asked.
"He's doing great. Sewaddle had evoled into a Swadloon since we last saw each other," Sora said.
"Wonderful. I do look forward in seeing you in my Gym," Burgh said.
"You too, Burgh," Sora said.
WIth that said, Sora broke contact with Burgh and rejoined his friends as they all headed back for Castelia City for Sora's Gym Battle with Burgh. I wonder how it's going to go. Just you wait and see if you wanna find out.