Cress and I stared down each other for a second, pairing some cheeky grins waiting for the other to give out the first command. Very much against what I learned from television and rational thinking, I point my arm out and give the first order of the second half of this battle. Important note: Never try and attack first. Gives your opponent an opening.

"Silky, slow this down at the start! String Shot!"

I'm not sure how it hit, but Cress' Panpour actually got hit with the move, constricting its movement some and slowing it down!

"Oh? Oh, heck yeah! Now, before it can get out, Razor Leaf!"

As Silky began to summon the leaves from… somewhere, don't question it, I looked up to see Cress smirking and letting out a chuckle. "Panpour," he said raising an arm, "Break out of that and hit her with Acrobatics!"

"Acrobatics? Panpour can't learn that!" I shout out, just at the moment the Pokémon breaks free of most of the String Shot, jumping forward and slamming directly into Silky, sending her flying back. "What!?"

Cress just chuckled, reaching into a pocket on his suit, pulling out a small disc object. "Correct, through natural means at least. The power of TMs is a fantastic thing, wouldn't you agree? Everyone thinks they can get an easy win using a Grass-Type."

TMs? This is not good… I have to think fast before he pulls another fast one like that. "Silky, keep that monkey down with String Shot, then hit it straight away with Razor Leaf!"

Silky managed to shake the hard hitting attack off and quickly went to string up the Panpour, bringing out the leaves before even finishing with her first attack. Out of a moment of pure luck, the Razor Leaf flies fast before Cress could even get a response out. The leaves slash against the bound Panpour, clearly knocking it around hard.

Cress narrowed his eyes some before commanding again. "Panpour, don't be brought down by a sneaky strategy like that! Blast her down with a Water Gun! Then cut out of there with Fury Swipes and don't stop!"

"Silky, dod-" I try to tell my Sewaddle before she is blasted with a surge of water, but manages to only skid back a couple feet and regains herself. "You okay? Quick, collect yourself and then, uh, yeah, just keep doing Razor Leaf! We're spamming this one." It is a legitimate strategy and nobody can tell me otherwise.

Silky managed to throw off a quick Razor Leaf just in time, hitting and knocking the now freed Panpour dead on as it started to throw out it's Fury Swipes. The Panpour let out a loud grunt as it was hit, falling back some onto the stage with a thud. Panpour laid there for a moment, struggling to pick itself back before quickly collapsing being knocked out from the battle.

It takes a moment to set in, but a smile quickly grows on my face as I watch the Gym Leader return his fainted Pokémon. A quick breath was all that was needed to gain myself again, holding out her Pokéball and bringing in Silky. "Good job, Silky. You take a rest now." She is brought back before clipping the ball back onto my belt, almost perfectly in time with Cress before we begin approaching each other. We meet at the center of the stage, each standing on one half of the Pokéball on the center.

"Congratulations," Cress let out after a moment with a warming smile on his face, "You have beaten your first Gyn in the Unova Region Pokémon League! I, Cress, the Water-Type Gym Leader, am proud to present to you the Dewdrop Badge." With that, he brought out a small red case from a pocket on his apron, and opened it to me, showing a total of eight indentations in smooth padding. In the very first spot in the case, was a shiny badge in the shape of a water droplet, light blue and with a fine shine as well. "I wish you luck on your League challenge, and this is a little gift from me, as thanks for a great battle!" He reached into his pocket again and pulled out the TM again and handed it to me. "Acrobatics. Use it if you think someone is going to try and be sneaky with a Grass-Type in an unbalanced bought."

Still caught in the moment of me actually winning my first Gym battle, something a very long time coming - seriously, it feels like three years at this point - I can only manage to give a sort of stoic nod as I take the items from Cress. After a few moments I manage to speak again. "Thank you, Cress. You were both the best battle I've had so far, as well as one of the best cooks I've had the honor of eating here!" I could only force out an awkward laugh after that when it finally processed, which surprisingly got a laugh from Cress as well.

With my awkward mood lifted and a Gym Badge under my belt, I gave a courteous bow before we both began walking down the stage once again and back to my groups table. I sat down and took a deep breath as Candice pats me on the shoulder. "Good job," she said rather loudly, "You got your first Gym done and dusted! Bet you feel pretty awesome right now, huh?"

"Well," I answer, "In all honesty, I feel more like a whole lot of weight was lifted off my chest. I wasn't expecting a full on crowd watching us, that kinda got me by surprise."

That got another laugh out of Cress who spoke quickly, "Yes, the fact the battle will be on stage for all to watch tends to catch most new challengers by surprise. Tends to get a free victory on my end, but not today it seems. Again, I would like to wish you luck going forward, as well as let you all know that your meal shall be on the house! A perk of winning this Gym."

"Oh!" Candice says with a wide and bright grin, "Well, that's good to know! Thank you, so much!" She looked back at me. "Hear that, Walt? You win some more Gyms and maybe we can get some more free stuff."

I just rolled my eyes at that and shrug, looking back at the Leader. "Thank you, Cress. I promise I won't use my Gym challenge as a way to get free stuff like Candice wants me to."

"Oh, it is of no matter to me," he started to explain, "That's sort of a fair thing among all of us Leaders. Trainers deserve something besides a fancy Badge for their work!" He gave a heartful laugh before looking to the table. "Well, if you are all good for the time being, I am afraid I must get back to my other occupation. Thank you, again." With that, the blue-haired now-waiter turned and went on with his serving of his customers.

Giving a moment to start eating again, Vincent was the first to speak after moving from my victory conversation. "So, I am actually fairly new to Unova as well, does anyone know where the next Gym actually is?"

Dallas, the native to this fine region, spoke up. "Well, currently we are in Striaton City, so the next best Gym to go after would be either that new Leader, Wally, in Nacrene, or going directly to Castelia City and facing Burge. So the options are between Psychic-Types and Bug-Types."

I think about the options for a moment before something more important comes to mind. "Actually… I'd like to swing by the Ranger Station first, I have something rather… important to bring up." I turn slowly to Vincent as I say that last bit, getting a slightly nervous look from him. He may already know what I am talking about, best get him there fast. "Oh, actually, we have to pick up Blue first before that." Can't forget my boy Blue.