This chapter takes place at the same time as Chapter 6 (i.e. they are concurrent with one another).

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.

As Bryce finished the last of his omelette, he took another look down the street at the Dewford Gym. The street being, of course, simply made of a darker, harder type of sand than the rest of the vast beach upon which Dewford Town sat. The town was beyond the high-water mark, so that it wouldn't get flooded at high tide. It was high tide currently, so the water almost reached the harbor and surrounding buildings, but not quite. The sound of the waves could be heard throughout the town, and was incredibly relaxing.

Eating with Bryce were Ralts and Bagon, also finishing off the last of their meals, which for them were Poke Puffs. It was 9:26 am; Bryce had a Gym battle scheduled for noon, and he planned to watch other battles first to get an idea of what the Gym Leader, Brawly, was like; Bryce had never seen him battle before.

The Rustboro Gym was almost perpetually surrounded by a vast crowd of people, Trainers and non-Trainers alike, and that was the first thing Bryce thought of when he thought of Gyms. However, there was no such crowd surrounding the Dewford Gym. This was easily explainable – Rustboro was one of the largest settlements in Hoenn by population, whereas Dewford was one of the smallest – but it still felt almost alien to Bryce.

To be fair, so did almost everything about Dewford. The abundance of sand made it feel more exotic and less like a town. The roads were made of sand, and there were no sidewalks; people walked in the middle of the road, since the road was meant for people, not cars, since there were no cars. If you were outdoors, your feet were on sand. Bryce's feet (or, more accurately, his shoes) were on sand right now, as he sat at the picnic table, having just finished his omelette. There were no large office buildings or proper city blocks. The Pokemon Center and the Gym seemed like the only buildings that were more than one story tall. The only thing that was familiar was the view of the ocean, which Rustboro also had, but there was mainland Hoenn off in the distance, more than the silhouette it had been last night but too distant to make out any details.

Once Bryce had paid the bill, he recalled his Pokemon and headed to the Gym. There were a couple of other Trainers, far more distinguishable than usual here in Dewford, also entering the Gym. Bryce registered his Pokemon at the front and walked into the lobby.

The lobby was exactly like the one in the Rustboro Gym, except that there was almost nobody in it, whereas in Rustboro it was crowded just like it was outside. Whereas in Rustboro there was usually a large line for the front desk, here there were only the two Trainers Bryce had seen earlier. They were both directed to the challenger's waiting room.

Bryce's request to watch in the stands until it was his turn to battle was granted. The receptionist then said, 'There's only two Trainers in the queue to battle ahead of you. Do you mind if I move yours to 10:30? That way you wouldn't have to wait an hour and a half.'

'Uh, sure,' said Bryce, who had never considered this before. He had booked his battle the night before; you had to do this in Rustboro, lest all the timeslots get taken before you got a chance to book one. Had the other two Trainers scheduled their battles right then and there, at the front desk?

Bryce made his way up to the stands. He wasn't the only one up here, but there were twenty other people, tops. The first of the two Trainers in front of him, whose name was apparently Kyle, was battling Brawly. It seemed as though the battle had just started.

Brawly led with Machop, while Kyle led with Carvanha. Bryce knew enough about Carvanha to know that it was part Dark-type, and therefore was weak against Fighting-types. Perhaps he hasn't heeded Roxanne's words? he thought, chuckling to himself a little.

Less than five seconds later however, Carvanha used Zen Headbutt, taking Machop out in a single hit. This shut Bryce up. Brawly brought out Makuhita. Carvanha used Zen Headbutt again. Brawly, anticipating this, had Makuhita use Counter. However, the Zen Headbutt attack missed, and it was back to square one.

Carvanha used Zen Headbutt again, but Makuhita dodged, showing surprising agility. It then used Arm Thrust, which landed, and the super-effective attack took Carvanha down in a single hit. Kyle, seemingly unfazed, recalled Carvanha and sent out Mudkip. Bryce realized that this was the second time that he watched a Trainer use a Mudkip in a Gym battle in the past few days; the day after he'd first obtained Ralts, he'd gone to watch Roxanne lose to a Trainer named Hal, if he remembered correctly.

This Mudkip wasn't quite as enormously dominant here in this Fighting-type Gym as Hal's had been in Rustboro's Rock-type Gym, but it still got the job done against Makuhita with a few Water Pulses. Upon defeating Makuhita, it suddenly began to emit an almost blinding white glow. After a few seconds, the glow faded away to reveal that Mudkip had evolved into Marshtomp! Kyle looked elated at this, Brawly seemed happy for him, and the small croud gave a round of applause. Brawly awarded Kyle the Knuckle Badge, and soon afterwards, one of the staff came over to Bryce and told him to go to the challenger's waiting room. Bryce, of course, did as he was told.

The challenger's waiting room was exactly like the one in Rustboro. The previous Trainer had seemingly just left. Bryce watched as said Trainer, whose name he didn't catch, lost to Brawly. Before Bryce knew it, it was his turn.

Walking out into the arena wasn't anywhere near as nervewracking as it had been in Rustboro. The small crowd and corresponding relative lack of noise created a very chill, laid-back atmosphere, which definitely helped, but it was also because Bryce had done this before. He'd cleared that first hurdle, and he'd been rewarded with the reassurance that this challenge wasn't insurmountable.

For the most part, Brawly looked like a stereotypical surfer dude, with a few differences. His hair was a little longer than the stereotype, but it was all pointing backwards so that there were no bangs, and it was sky blue instead of blond. He had that tall, muscular build, though, and the friendly, carefree grin on his face, too.

'I'm Brawly!' he said. 'Dewford's Gym Leader!' He offered a handshake.

'I'm Bryce,' said Bryce, accepting the handshake. 'I'm from Rustboro.' Bryce had been lectured on handshakes at a young age by his father, who shook hands with a lot of important people, being an important person himself. A handshake was, in a way, a duel of the mind, an exhibition of one's gravitas to the other person. If you let the other person dominate the handshake, they won't usually think anything of it; but if you dominate the handshake, it catches the other person off-guard and makes them respect you that little bit more, consciously or otherwise. Bryce knew that Brawly, being physically strong and charismatic, was probably used to dominating handshakes, so he prepared himself, intending to do as much of the shaking as he could manage.

Of course, the crowd and the referee were oblivious to all of this, and all they saw was a seemingly pretty normal handshake. Bryce didn't let Brawly dominate the handshake, but wasn't quite able to dominate it himself. As such, the two were roughly even, Brawly's strength against Bryce's tenacity. Perhaps the battle to come would follow a similar theme.

'I've been churned in the rough waves of these parts,' said Brawly. 'And I've grown tough using the cave at the outskirts of town as my training ground, as well as using the equipment in this Gym. So, you want to challenge me?'

Of course I want to challenge you, Bryce thought. Why do you think I'm here? He didn't say this, instead nodding mutely. So much for exhibiting his gravitas…

'Then let me see what you're made of!' said Brawly, and with that they went to their respective Trainer's circles on each end of the arena. The referee announced the rules. Bryce had quickly started taking the referee for granted over years of watching battles, but when the referee had announced the rules before his first battle against Roxanne he'd clung to every word the guy had said. Now, though, he was already starting to go back to taking him for granted again.

Brawly led with Machop. Bryce led with Ralts. The referee announced the start of the battle. It was go time.

'Use Double Team!' said Bryce. Being the challenger, he had the privilege of moving first. He'd pondered over how to make the most of this. An attack would do well, since it was essentially free and would hopefully seize the initiative in the battle, but Bryce opted to go for a free stat-boosting move instead.

'Alright, Machop, use Seismic Toss!' said Brawly. Machop leapt at Ralts, trying to grab him, but the Double team paid off; Ralts successfully dodged the attack.

'Ralts, use Confusion!' Bryce ordered. The familiar wave of psychic energy converged on Machop. It wasn't enough to bring down the Fighting-type in a single hit, but it still did appreciable damage.

'Seismic Toss again!' said Brawly, who was getting visibly hyped up. Machop leapt at Ralts, and this time it was able to grab him. It lobbed Ralts in the air. Then, when Ralts was at the apex of his trajectory, Machop leapt up, grabbed him again, and spiked him towards the ground. Ralts was slammed into the ground with a loud CRASH, but he got up.

'Ralts, use Draining Kiss!' said Bryce. Ralts, being faster than Machop thanks to his perfect IVs, was able to get in close and deliver the kiss attack onto Machop's right triceps. It didn't look like an attack that should do any amount of damage, but Machop collapsed to the ground nonetheless, and stayed there.

'Machop is unable to battle. Ralts wins!' said the referee. Brawly recalled Machop, looking unfazed (albeit even more hyped up than before), and sent out Makuhita.

'Alright, Ralts, use Confusion!' said Bryce, and Ralts launched another wave of psychic energy. The attack landed, but Makuhita, resilient as it was, looked mostly unfazed.

'Makuhita, use Bulk Up!' yelled Brawly. He was getting even more excited. His movements and motions were becoming somewhat exaggerated. Makuhita appeared to inflate like a balloon, then deflate back to its normal size, as though it had taken a gargantuan breath of air.

Bulk Up was a move that boosted both Attack and Defense, but only on the physical side. The Defense boost didn't matter, since Ralts exclusively used special attacks, but the Attack boost could sting a little.

'Use Confusion again!' said Bryce. This time, the attack was dodged by Makuhita, who seemed like it might prove to be rather tedious to take down.

'Use Knock Off!' Brawly yelled. Makuhita launched a chop-like attack that seemed to target Ralts's hands. Ralts wasn't resistant or weak to the Dark-type attack, but it did a large amount of damage thanks to the Bulk Up.

'Use Draining Kiss!' said Bryce. Ralts prepared to run at Makuhita.

'Use Bullet Punch!' yelled Brawly. Makuhita's attack was too fast; it was in the name, Bryce supposed. The supereffective attack caught Ralts full in the face, and he fell to the ground, defeated.

'Ralts is unable to battle. Makuhita wins!' announced the referee. Bryce recalled Ralts and sent out Bagon, unsure of what to do. He'd been hoping that he would only need to use Ralts for this battle…

He had to formulate a plan. Bagon wasn't too fast or elusive, but it was powerful...but Makuhita's Defense was boosted thanks to Bulk Up...but Bagon had some special attacks, too.

Bryce thought back to his first battle against Roxanne, when it had burned her Geodude, and realized it now had another move that could also cause a status condition.

'Bagon, use Dragon Breath!' said Bryce, starting to feel a little hyped up himself. Bagon unleashed a jet of purplish flame from its mouth. Makuhita got blasted, taking some damage.

'Alright, Makuhita, use Arm Thrust!' yelled Brawly. The attack landed, but Bagon didn't get one-shot like Carvanha earlier. It stood its ground.

'Use Dragon Breath again!' yelled Bryce. The jet of flame landed once again, and this time it had its desired effect. Makuhita's movements suddenly slowed and visible yellow sparks of electricity surrounded it. It'd been paralyzed!

However, it also began to glow, an almost reddish color, seemingly with pure power. It also looked a lot more pissed off than before. It was at this moment Bryce remembered what Makuhita's ability was: Guts, which significantly boosted the Pokemon's Attack when it had a status condition. Which was now combined with the Bulk Up that Makuhita had used earlier. Bryce now realized that this might go very wrong for him very quickly.

'Arm Thrust, again!', Brawly practically screamed, not out of anger, but out of sheer excitement. He was now practically hopping from foot to foot as though he really needed to go to the bathroom. It seemed like he really enjoyed the thrill of battle.

Makuhita, however, was somewhat more lethargic. It lumbered slowly towards Bagon; its paralysis was having its intended effect, even if it was also having an unintended one. As a result, Bagon dodged the attack rather easily.

'Dragon Breath again!' yelled Bryce, who was feeling the almost radiant nature of Brawly's visible energy. Bagon's attack hit Makuhita again; it looked like it was slowly being worn down.

'Use Bullet Punch!' yelled Brawly, and Makuhita launched the punch with blinding speed in spite of its paralysis. And it hurt. Bagon was visibly dealt major damage, but it held on, just barely. It was gritting its teeth, not just in pain, but also in determination. This hyped Bryce up even more.

'Use Dragon Breath, again!' yelled Bryce. Bagon launched the attack as though its life depended on it. Makuhita got blasted for the fourth time, and this time it toppled over, swirls in its eyes.

'Makuhita is unable to battle. Bagon wins, and the winner is Bryce!' announced the referee. Bryce ran over to Bagon to congratulate it, then recalled it as Brawly did the same with Makuhita. They met in the center of the arena.

'Man! You made a much bigger splash than I expected!' said Brawly. 'You got me. Take this Gym Badge!'

Brawly held out the Knuckle Badge, and Bryce took it.

'Thanks, man,' said Bryce, unsure of what exactly to say.

'You know what?' said Brawly. 'I think you can make use of this, too. I'm sure this will help your Pokemon bulk up muscle!' In his hand was a TM, which Bryce also took.

'That's Bulk Up,' said Brawly. 'It temporarily enhances the Pokemon's muscle power.' After a beat, he continued, 'I can see your talent becoming a giant wave that causes a storm of astonishment with Trainers one day! I look forward to the day when I can surf your giant wave! Seriously, I haven't had a battle that exciting in months!'

'Thanks!' said Bryce, feeling rather flattered.

'By the way,' said Brawly, 'have you been to Granite Cave? It's a little ways north of this town. It's full of fascinating stuff; rare stones, and wall paintings thousands of years old. Pokemon, too! You should check it out, if you haven't already!'

'Thanks! I haven't been, so I'll check it out,' said Bryce, acutely aware of how little he was saying in this conversation compared to Brawly. And of how he wasn't exhibiting a shred of gravitas right now.

'Oh, and one more thing,' said Brawly. Is that Ralts of yours male or female?'

'Uh, male,' said Bryce, caught off guard by the question.

'Awesome! That means that when it's a Kirlia, you can evolve it into a Gallade using a Dawn Stone!' said Brawly. 'Dawn Stones are pretty rare around here, but Gallade's a super-strong Psychic/Fighting Pokemon. In my opinion, it's worth it!' said Brawly.

'I'll consider it,' said Bryce. 'Anyway, I suppose I should be off?'

'Yeah,' said Brawly. 'Don't want to keep the next challenger waiting. See you around!'

'You too!' said Bryce, and with that he headed to the exit. He wasn't entirely sure if there even was a 'next challenger', but that wasn't for him to find out.

He had a new destination, and that destination was Granite Cave.