After helping Black Belts Bruce and Jackie end their sibling rivalry, Brayden and Trace retired to the Vermilion Pokémon Center. Now, Brayden will challenge the Vermilion City Gym Leader, Lt Surge, for his third Gym Badge!

"So, you met Mankey on Route 22 staring in the direction of the Pokémon League?" Trace asked, full of curiosity.

He and Brayden had just exited the Pokémon Center and were now walking over to the Vermilion City Gym, located right by the docks.

"That's right. He could sense everything I could. The intensity of the air, and the many Trainers and Pokémon that had walked that path. I knew then that Mankey would be a great help on our journey, though he was definitely tough to catch. If it hadn't been for Squirtle's courage, Mankey would've trampled us."

Brayden stroked Wartortle's head appreciatively. The Turtle Pokémon opened his mouth in glee.

"Wartortle!"

"Alright, so how'd you meet Charmeleon and Pikachu?" Brayden asked earnestly. "I gotta know!"

Trace grinned.

"Actually, I got Charmeleon from Professor Oak! About a month ago, I think. He was a Charmander back then."

Brayden's eyes went wide.

"Professor Oak was HERE?"

"Yeah! There was some sort of research conference held. A bunch of scientists and professors from all over the world came to share new findings! I learned lots of cool stuff about Pokémon." Trace explained.

Now Brayden's interest was piqued.

"Tell me about that day. What did Professor Oak say to you?" he asked Trace.

"Eeeehhhh, it can wait," Trace said, somewhat awkwardly. "Right now you've got a Gym Battle to focus on!"

Brayden was disappointed, but Trace was right. This time Brayden was vying for his third badge, and he knew it would not be easy. Unlike the previous Gym Leaders, Brock and Misty, Brayden knew all about Lt. Surge. A master of speedy Electric-type Pokémon, he was a key player in winning a war in a far-away region. Surge was also arguably the most popular of all the Gym Leaders, few people who visited the city would leave without getting an autograph from him.

"I'm excited to meet him, but beating him will be tough," Brayden said. "Electric Pokémon are only weak to Ground-types, and I don't have any moves or Pokémon of that type."

Trace's expression soured a bit as he remembered his own battle with Surge.

"We both used two Pokémon, but we couldn't beat his Raichu. It wasn't as fast as we expected, but its attacks and defenses were top-notch. We never saw what the other Pokémon was."

As the two boys reached the front door of the Gym, Brayden steeled himself for the coming battle.

"Okay. Here we go!" Brayden cried.

But right as he was about to open the door, the door slid open by itself.

Brayden gasped in awe as Lt. Surge himself stood in the doorway, arms folded, ready to greet him.

"Heh heh heh! What have we got here? Another gutsy kid who wants to challenge me?" Surge said.

"You got it! I'm Brayden from Pallet Town, and I'm not leaving without the Thunder Badge or your autograph, sir!" Brayden exclaimed with a salute.

"Ha Ha Ha Ha! You've got real spirit, kid! I like that in a challenger!" Surge laughed heartily.

The Gym Leader then noticed that Trace was there as well.

"You're the kid who challenged me earlier today! You want a rematch or are you just here to watch your friend?"

Trace smiled awkwardly.

"I'm just here to watch Brayden. We met right after I battled you, we trained with some martial artists, and then we battled! He's really good, so I expect this'll be a great battle!"

Surge grinned fiercely and clenched his fists with anticipation.

"What are we waiting for, then? Come on in! Let's get this party started!" he bellowed as he grabbed both Brayden and Trace (much to their shock) and ran to the back of the Gym with them. Wartortle, Pikachu and Charmeleon hastily followed.

About two minutes later, Surge and Brayden were standing on the battlefield, while Trace sat with the Gym Trainers on the sidelines.

This Gym's Judge, a gentleman named Tucker, stepped forward.

"The match between challenger Brayden and Gym Leader Lt. Surge will now start! Both will use two Pokémon each. Now then, begin!"

Brayden's plan was simple. Since he couldn't target the weaknesses of Surge's Pokémon, he'd have to counter with defense and speed.

"Oddish, you're up first!" Brayden exclaimed as he threw her Poké Ball.

The Weed Pokémon jumped up and down happily as she emerged from the ball.

"Oddish Odd dish!"

Trace clenched his fist and nodded. "Good choice. Oddish is a Grass-type, so any Electric attacks will do half damage. Still…"

Surge closed his eyes and chuckled. "Defense alone won't win you battles, kid! My Pokémon will zap you in your tracks! GO, ELECTRODE!"

What appeared from Surge's Great Ball was something that looked like a massive, upside-down Poké Ball. When Brayden tried to ask what it was, two tiny eyes and a toothy grin appeared on it.

"ELECTRODE!" It shouted.

Both Brayden and Trace cried out in shock. Neither of them could believe their eyes.

"So THAT was Surge's other Pokémon?" Trace asked fearfully.

Brayden absolutely had to hear what the Pokédex said about this bizarre Pokémon.

"Electrode. The Ball Pokémon. An Electric-type. Often mistaken for a large Poké Ball, it consumes electricity from power plants, causing blackouts. The more electricity it consumes, the faster this speedy Pokémon becomes. It is capable of exploding and is thus feared as the 'Bomb Ball.'"

"I'll start us off!" Surge said. "Electrode, Tackle!"

In the blink of an eye, Electrode had tackled Oddish and then bounced off of her, just like a ball would.

"It's so fast! We have to slow it down, Oddish! Stun Spore!"

Oddish released yellow powder from her leaves into the air, and Electrode came into contact with it as it bounced around the Gym. But Electrode was completely unfazed.

"No way! How is it not paralyzed?!" Brayden shouted in dismay.

"You can't paralyze Electric-type Pokémon, kid!" Surge said impatiently. "They're immune!"

"Oh no. How can we deal any damage if we can't slow it down?!" Brayden wondered aloud.

"You'll just have to find another way, Brayden!" Trace called out from the benches.

Brayden noticed Oddish was looking at him anxiously, and he sighed. "Right, right. Gotta stay focused. If I lose my patience, I'll have already lost."

"I'm back on the attack! Electrode, Sonic Boom!" Surge barked.

Two white shockwaves launched out of Electrode's mouth. But this time, Brayden was ready.

"Dodge it, Oddish!"

The Weed Pokémon rolled away before the shockwaves could reach her.

"Okay, Oddish, give it a dose of Acid!" Brayden commanded.

This time Oddish launched a ball of purple liquid at Electrode, but the speedy Electric-type zoomed away from it with ease, leaving Brayden and Oddish in shock.

Lt. Surge was angered by Brayden's helplessness.

"What's with you, kid?! Brock said you were a prodigy! Misty told me you took on Team Rocket and won! If that's the best you can do against my Electrode, you should give up here and now!"

These words struck Brayden like lightning. He had thought he was doing great as a Trainer, but Lt. Surge, a Gym Leader he admired, was disappointed in him. He collapsed to his knees.

"Electrode, Charge! Once you're done doing so, zap that Oddish with Thunder!" Surge ordered.

Electrode began to glow as it absorbed all the static electricity in the building.

Trace couldn't believe his eyes. His new friend was being made to look like an amateur! He had to do something.

"Brayden, look out!" Trace screamed to Brayden.

"Rrraaaaagggghhhh!" Surge roared. "Unleash your power, Electrode!"

"TRODE!" Electrode bellowed as it shot out a tremendous lightning bolt at the panicking Oddish.

"OOOOODDDDDD!" the Grass- and Poison type cried out as the electricity surged throughout her body.

Once the electricity dissipated, Oddish toppled over, sparks still emanating around her.

"Oddish is unable to battle!" Tucker ruled.

"Oh no… that Thunder got so powered up by Charge, Oddish's resistance wasn't enough to absorb the attack," Trace whispered sadly. "And now Brayden is down to his last Pokémon. But is he willing to continue after how harsh Surge was just now?"

Brayden reached out and scooped Oddish into his arms.

"Oddish… I'm sorry. I should've trained you more before coming here." he said regretfully.

"Pay attention, kid!" Surge spat out.

Brayden looked back at Surge, feeling his anger beginning to build.

"Listen up!" Surge continued, "Pokémon battles are like war! If you charge into battle without proper preparation or strategy, you'll get destroyed! If you plan to keep fighting Team Rocket, you can't fight the way you are right now! Show me what Brock and Misty see in you, or you say goodbye to that autograph!"

Hearing this caused Brayden to snap. How dare he compare Pokémon battles to war?! The only option now was to win.

"Pokémon battles… like war?! That sounds like something crooks like Team Rocket would say! Are you one of them?!" Brayden shouted accusingly at Lt. Surge.

Surge said nothing, but continued to glare disapprovingly at Brayden.

"Oddish, return! Get some rest." Brayden said to Oddish as she went back in her ball. He then brought out Mankey's ball and threw it with all his might.

"I won't back down! Mankey, let's win this together!"

The furry Fighting-type dropped down to the floor and beat his chest repeatedly.

"Maaaan KEY!" he shrieked.

This seemed to satisfy Surge a bit.

"The Mankey that beat Brock's Geodude, eh? That's more like it! Show us what you've got!"

Trace felt a bit relieved to see Mankey, but was still very concerned about Brayden's chances of winning.

"Mankey's quick on his feet and is strong, but Electrode hasn't taken any damage. Brayden needs to take it down without getting Mankey too beat up. But even if he does, can he beat that Raichu?" he wondered.

"Get moving Mankey, and use Karate Chop!" Brayden instructed.

Showing his trademark speed, Mankey took off and raised his paw to the sky.

"Stop Mankey in its tracks with Tackle, Electrode!" Surge ordered.

The Ball Pokémon crashed into Mankey near-instantly, then bounced off and began ricocheting around the Gym just as it had before, snickering to itself.

Mankey tried desperately to follow Electrode's movements, but the latter was simply too fast even for Mankey's sharp instincts. Mankey stamped his feet in frustration.

"No! Even Mankey's not fast enough to catch Electrode!" Brayden agonized in his head.

"If ONLY there was a way we could pin it down!"

Then, remembering how Surge made light of Mankey's battle with Brock's Geodude, he thought back to the strategy that Brock's Onix had used. What had stopped the speedy Mankey from laying a paw on that Rock-type? None other than the very same move he had just used earlier against Trace's Pikachu to land Mega Kick.

"Of course! How could I have forgotten?"

"Give them another Tackle, Electrode!" Lt. Surge exclaimed.

Without any hesitation, Brayden called for Mankey's counterattack.

"Rock Tomb!"

As if Mankey had read Brayden's mind, the boulders came crashing down on Electrode just in time, catching both it and Surge completely off guard.

"WHOA! How'd they do that so fast?!" the Gym Leader wondered as he spazzed out.

"Now's our chance! Mankey, Karate Chop!" Brayden shouted.

With a mighty leap, Mankey soared above the Rock Tomb, then crashed down paw first right between the rocks, scoring a decisive blow on Electrode.

The rocks shattered, and Mankey jumped back to Brayden's side of the field. Brayden breathed as sigh of relief. Electrode was down for the count!

"Electrode is unable to battle!" Tucker confirmed.

Surge recalled Electrode, then clapped his hands once.

"Not bad, kid! But this ain't over yet! Keep it up!" he smiled.

Brayden growled in response.

"Don't act all friendly now! I'm not falling for it, Mr. Pokémon-are-tools-of-war!"

"WHAT?! I never said that!" Surge yelled, outraged.

"Oh dear. Surge's tough attitude is getting him in trouble again." Tucker muttered worriedly as Brayden and Surge continued to argue.

Trace looked at him, confused.

"Look kid, this is all a misunderstanding, but since you won't listen, I'll just have to knock some sense into you! Go, Raichu!" Surge shouted impatiently.

A larger, darker-colored Pikachu appeared from Surge's Great Ball and pounded its fists.

"Raaaaiiii!" It said menacingly.

"I understand perfectly! I won't lose to someone who looks down on Pokémon!" Brayden yelled furiously.

Mankey beat his chest and screamed angrily.

"MANKEY!"

Both combatants stared each other down.

Then, both Trainers gave their next commands at the same time:

"Mankey, Mega Kick!"

"Raichu, Thunder Punch!"

Mankey hurtled towards Raichu with his foot extended, and Raichu met him halfway with its fist charged with electricity.

Mankey balanced himself with his tail, and the attacks clashed for several seconds before the energies overlapped and exploded, sending both Mankey and Raichu flying backwards.

Both fell to the ground, but immediately got back up, ready to keep fighting.

When suddenly…

BOOM!

A sudden explosion from outside shattered the windows on the right side of the Gym. Everyone could hear, very clearly, screams of terror.

"What the heck?!" Brayden shouted.

"That came from the port!" Surge said. "Oh no… the S.S. Anne should've just returned from sea. Is it under attack?!"

Brayden knew exactly who would do such a thing.

"It's Team Rocket!" he shouted, full of rage.

"T-Team Rocket?! HERE?!" Trace panicked.

"I hate to do it, but this battle must be put on hold! C'mon, Raichu!" Surge said as he ran out of the Gym, Raichu close behind.

"He's going to help?" Brayden was confused, but he knew there wasn't time to ponder anything.

"Wartortle, Mankey, let's go!" he said. Wartortle followed without question, but Mankey waited for a moment before doing the same. He was annoyed that the Gym Battle had been called off, but decided that beating up Team Rocket would be enough compensation, at least for now.

Trace simply stood there as the Gym Trainers ran out too. He was overcome by a sudden chill. Charmeleon and Pikachu looked at him with concern.

"Uh…w-we better f-follow Brayden, guys!" Trace stammered as he bolted out, with his Pokémon hot on his heels.

Team Rocket has launched their next evil scheme! Can Brayden and Surge overcome their differences and save the S.S. Anne? And can Trace fight his fears long enough to help?

The answers await in Chapter 19!