Disclaimer: I do not own nor am I affiliated with Pokémon or any of its parent companies. I am merely a humble storyteller. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy this journey with me.

Note: I am English, so some of the wording, spellings, and expressions will be those commonly used in England.

Chapter Eight: Red's First Gym Battle

Pewter City seemed like a decent place, a bit smaller than Viridian City and not as colourful; it appeared to be covered in a constant grey, black, and brown despite the trees that lined the roads and a somewhat large area that had a plentiful amount of plants and vegetation, which was situated at the centre of the city (there was a person spraying Repels to, as he put it, 'keep those pesky Bug Pokémon away from my precious flowers'). And said roads were tarmacked, coated in dust and scarred with cracks brought on by the strenuous efforts of wear and tear. But what filled Red with the most awe were the mountains that surrounded the city, hulking monuments birthed by nature that provided a watchful eye over Pewter and its inhabitants. A particular one many miles to the west stood out to him.

But as great a place as Pewter appeared to be, Red had to pretend to not be interested in anything else apart from one particular place: the Gym. Oh, how he craved to go there! Even having his arm in a cast would not prove to be a hindrance to him.

And after much coaxing, Brock finally relented and agreed to take him there, on the condition he wait a day.

Well, he waited that one day, and rather patiently if you asked him (if you call barely sleeping and pacing up and down patient), and now he was on his way to take part in his first ever Gym Battle. And walking beside him was his new friend, Pikachu, who for some reason refused to re-enter its Poké Ball after being captured, and far be it from Red to try and force it again (being electrocuted, no matter how mildly, is not as fun as one would believe).

Charmander and Weedle were snug in their Poké Balls, the latter having slept by Red's feet the previous night (when Red did manage to sleep, that is). The almighty urge to release Weedle almost overcame him a few times, but he fought back and won, his resolve an immense defence that would not be penetrated.

Soon, they came to a building constructed mostly from grey, stone slabs, a sign above the doors proclaiming 'PEWTER CITY GYM' in big, black letters.

"Whoa," Red breathed. He turned to Pikachu. "You excited?"

Pikachu shrugged.

"Ready to enter?" Brock asked, a certain glint in his eyes.

"Yeah," Red said. "I want to battle this Gym Leader already."

"I'm sure you'll have an amazing battle with them."

They stepped forward and the doors slid open…

…revealing a small reception area.

A girl sat a desk, working through some papers.

"Hi, Amara," Brock said, flashing his teeth at her. "Have I missed anything?"

Amara returned his smile. "Not much. Roxanne said she's going to call you back. And we've only had one other trainer come by since that previous guy beat you, but he battled Liam and lost his confidence. I think he was another Bug Catcher come to think of it, so he's probably going to have to rethink his strategies before coming back here."

Red stared shrewdly from Brock to Amara, the cogs in his head turning slowly, in desperate need of oil.

Amara gestured to Red. "Is he a new challenger? From Pallet, I assume."

Brock slapped him on the back. "Yep, and I look forward to a great battle with him."

The machine known as Red's brain worked faster.

"Looks a little broken," Amara said, spying his arm. "Are you sure he's up for it?"

"I'm not too sure," Brock admitted. "But he doesn't have any Badges yet, so I won't be using the likes of Golem against him."

Red's brain was informing him that they might have been talking about who the Pewter Gym Leader was.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Red," Amara said, reaching over and shaking his hand. "I hope you do well in your Gym Battle against Brock."

Suddenly, it all fell into place for Red. "Ah!" he screamed, turning to Brock and pointing at him. "You're the Gym Leader?"

Brock and Amara sighed, and Pikachu shook its head embarrassedly.

"I… I thought you would've gotten that out of context… or from the fact we pretty much outwardly stated it."

Red blinked in confusion. "You did? When?"

Pikachu looked to the outside, temptation's sweet call to destroy its Poké Ball and flee enticing.

Brock clapped him on the shoulder. "Forget it. Let's get on with the challenge."

"Okay," Red said, his grin wide, his eyes shining, and he followed Brock through a pair of automatic doors and onto the battlefield.

Red squealed. Okay, okay, he almost squealed. It started off as one and ended up as a 'wheep', a combination of a 'squeal' and a 'whoop'. The moment he set his eyes on it, it was as though the Legendary Pokémon Moltres settled in his chest, its fire spreading within, not searing him but warming him instead. It was a rocky battlefield, literally. The ground was a barren dustbowl with rocks of various sizes propped here and there, lit up by the floodlights that shone from above. Rows and rows of seats surrounded the field, perhaps for when Brock fought stronger Trainers and spectators were permitted to watch, and there was a bench each at either side where the Battlers stood.

Brock took one side of the field and stood there with his arms crossed across (huh?) his chest. His eyes were shut tight, as if in deep meditation. Red made his way to the other side, Pikachu in tow, shivering in anticipation.

After several seconds, Brock's eyes flickered open and he uncrossed his arms, now placing them at his hips. "Allow me to properly introduce myself," he called, his voice powerful, authoritative. "I'm Brock, the Pewter City Gym Leader. I believe in a rock-hard defence and a mountainous determination. That's why my Pokémon are all the Rock-type. Now, Red: do you still want to challenge me?"

"Of course, I do!" Red said, his voice echoing around the Gym.

Brock plucked a Poké Ball from his belt. "Fine, then! Show me your best!"

The Gym Leader tossed the Poké Ball onto the field and out came a strange, little Pokémon that was basically a floating rock with arms, a mouth, and eyes. It gave its trainer a thumbs-up, which he returned.

"Is that a Geodude?" Red wondered aloud. He pulled out his Pokédex:

Geodude, a dual Rock and Ground-type. Commonly found near mountain trails and the like. If you step on one by accident, it gets angry.

"I was right," Red whispered. "You ready to go, Pikachu?"

Pikachu shrugged and tottered onto the field, its erect tail betraying its rather sluggish and unmotivated movement.

"Uh, are you sure about that choice, Red?" Brock asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Even though this is a Rock-type Gym, Geodude is still part Ground – I mean, didn't your device there mention that? – which means it's immune to electricity."

Pikachu's ears drooped, and it stepped back. Red recalled a battle in the last Pokémon League where a Rhydon resisted a Thunderbolt with no ill effects, or no effect whatsoever. He hid his grimace behind an unconvincing grin.

"Type match ups don't matter," he said, bluffing. "Pikachu's going to rock it."

"Was that an intentional pun?"

"Er… was it a good one?"

"It was kind of all right."

"Then yes, it kind of was."

Brock let out a short bark of laughter. "Okay," he said. "Are you ready?"

"Never been readier," Red replied, his heart beating at a mile a minute.

"You going to start us off, ref?" Brock asked Amara, who had wandered onto the Gym floor and taken her place at the side of the field.

She nodded. "This match will be a two-on-two battle. And now, the battle between Pewter Gym Leader Brock and Challenger Red from Pallet, will now… BEGIN!"

"Pikachu, use Tail Whip!" Red ordered.

Pikachu rolled its eyes and ran forward, swiping its tail across Geodude's face. The Rock-type Pokémon simply appeared stone-faced.

Red smirked. So what if he could not use Electric-type moves? Boo-hoo. A Tail Whip-Quick Attack combo would be more than enough. He was sure of that. Nothing could –

"Geodude, Defence Curl," Brock said, calmly.

Geodude wrapped its arms around itself and rolled itself into a ball. When it unfurled itself, Red could not help but think that it looked ever so much sturdier than before.

"Did you just…" Red started to say.

"Cancel out the defence drop from Tail Whip? Yes, I did," Brock said. "To be honest, I didn't have to. Geodude's defences would still be too high for your Pikachu to break through."

Red gritted his teeth. Fine, if that's the game Brock wanted to play then he would go full throttle. "Quick Attack, Pikachu!"

The electric rodent zipped from one end of the field to the other, there one minute and gone the next, before slamming into the Rock-type. Geodude did not even flinch.

"Keep going, Pikachu! Wear it down!" Red roared.

Repeatedly, Pikachu struck Geodude, but the latter took each hit, barely registering them. That was until a particular Quick Attack sent it back a few inches, making it cringe.

"A critical hit, huh?" Brock said lightly. "It's a pity it won't do much good in the grand scheme of things." He lowered his voice. "Geodude, Mega Punch."

Poor Pikachu. So tired despite not taking any damage, its little legs like jelly after continuous Quick Attacks, could not dodge Geodude's fist, which walloped it in its stomach. It flew through the air and hit the ground, its body flopping once.

"Pikachu!" Red screamed, running towards it.

"Pikachu is unable to battle. Geodude wins," Amara said, the decision beyond doubt.

Red cradled Pikachu in his one good arm and walked with it to the bench behind him. "You did well, buddy. Don't worry, we're still going to win this."

He settled Pikachu on the bench, whose eyes were closed but was still breathing softly, almost as if it was sleeping. He proceeded back to his spot.

"Not going to put Pikachu in its Poké Ball?" Brock asked.

"Remember what happened last time?"

Brock chortled and said nothing more.

What could Red do now? It was either Charmander or Weedle, both weak to Rock. Could he use Weedle to tie Geodude up with String Shot and hope for the added effect from Poison Sting? No, it was frailer and less evasive than Pikachu. Then, it was up to Charmander. Charmander could do it. He believed in it.

And in a burst of light, the fire lizard appeared, the tip of its tail burning intensely.

"You ready to do this, buddy?" Red called out.

Charmander roared, if you could call it that. It came across as more 'cute' than 'fearsome'.

"I thought you might have had a few super effective types hidden at Professor Oak's or something," Brock said, shaking his head disapprovingly. "I felt certain that you must have had others at Pallet and that the three you have on you weren't your only ones. You can capture Oddish and Bulbasaur in Viridian Forest, you know."

"It doesn't matter," Red retorted, forcing himself to believe his own words. "Charmander's going to sweep your entire party now."

"If you say so," Brock said. "Time for a Rock Throw."

"Use Ember, Charmander!"

Geodude formed rocks in its palms and threw them as hard as it could at Charmander, whose flames might have been non-existent for how they dispersed at the intensity of the stone projectiles. The rocks collided with Charmander, sending it reeling.

"Shake it off, Charmander, shake it off!" Red shouted, his eyes watering as he jerked his injured arm awkwardly. "Use another Ember!"

Charmander's mouth filled with fire. The flame on its tail grew larger and its body gave off an incredible heat. Its blue eyes glowed red.

"Charmander," Red said, his voice hushed.

An Ember more powerful than Red had ever seen before blasted Geodude, who held up its arms in front of itself, a last-ditch effort to withstand the attack. And when Charmander ceased its assault, what was left was a charred boulder with arms barely managing to keep floating. However, it was not down yet.

"Whoa!" Red said, gasping. "What kind of power is that?"

"That's Blaze, the traditional Ability of Fire-type Starter Pokemon," Brock explained. "It increases the power of Fire-type moves in a pinch."

"Whoa," Red said again. "Good work, Charmander."

"But it's not good enough here!" Brock said, raising his voice. "Geodude, are you ready to continue?"

Geodude gave its Trainer a thumbs-up and flexed its arms.

Confidence spread through Red's body like the heat given off from Charmander, warming, fuelling him. They could win. Their fire would burn through everything that came for them. "Ember, Charmander!"

"Evade it with Dig!" Brock shouted.

As quick as a flash, Geodude spun its arms like windmills and flung dirt every which way and vanished into the ground. Charmander's Ember passed over the newly made hole harmlessly.

"Keep on your guard, Charmander!" Red said, trying to sound calm and failing. His head was beginning to throb, he was sweating so much it felt like he had fallen in a pond, and his arm was stiff and aching. "Listen for it and get an Ember ready."

Brock smirked. This was fun, but it was over. Red was still far too green to put up a proper challenge, but he would do better later on. That he was sure of.

And then, it was indeed over. Geodude burst from the ground in an explosion of dirt and stones and delivered an uppercut to Charmander's chin. The red from Charmander's eyes transformed back to blue before its eyelids fluttered shut, and the fire on the tip of its tail lessened and it collapsed onto its stomach.

Amara gave the final judgement, but Red barely heard her.

He lost. His first Gym Battle, and he lost. He did not even get past Brock's first Pokémon. Type disadvantage aside, he should have at least earned that. Scratch that, he should have won the entire match. He should have been admiring his shiny new Badge with his Pokémon about now, ready to advance to the next Gym. He. Should. Have.

He returned Charmander to its Poké Ball and whispered words of encouragement to it, words he hoped sounded genuine. A pronounced emptiness welled up inside him.

Was the Gym Challenge truly for him? Maybe he was better off simply completing Professor Oak's task and forgetting it. Registering all Pokémon in the Pokédex was an admirable goal, right? He would still get to encounter and befriend so many of these creatures and have a great adventure. Or maybe he could head back to Viridian Forest and capture a Grass-type? That would work, right? But what if he could not win even with a type advantage? What would that say about his skills as a Pokémon Trainer?

Oh, just what was Red supposed to do?

o~o~o~o~o

The man read the report, his eyes narrowed as they fought the glare of the computer screen. Disappointing. He had high hopes for the Ruins of Truth, eager for there to be an ancient artefact or a rare Pokémon, hidden for centuries in this primal cavern situated at Mt. Snowfall, but there was nothing worthwhile. Well, at least Team Rocket potentially had another base, so silver linings.

He exited the Ruins of Truth report and found another one. Aha! Now this was something to get excited over. Excavating Pokémon Fossils at Mt. Moon! There was a lot of money to be made with them, especially when the transactions dealt with other reputable businesspeople such as himself.

According to the report, the team designated to head to Mt. Moon had already had some success finding Fossils. The man could afford a smile at that news. But there was so much more to be done. In Celadon City, the Sevii Islands, the creation of potential branches in Holon and Johto, there was just so much to do.

But none more important than finally sorting out that fiasco that occurred on Cinnabar Island two years ago.

He switched his computer off and stared at his reflection, his cold, hard eyes glaring back at him.

"Soon," he whispered.