Chapter 5:
Out of the Norm
Location: Aspertia City
Me and Hugh had made it back home with little issue. Being stronger, the Pokémon on Route 19 didn't really bother us anymore. It was a great way to get training in though. In fact, Azurill had learned the move Water Gun on the way! It's stronger than Bubble!
"You think Mr. Cheren will give us our first big challenge?" Hugh asked. "If I want to take down Team Plasma, I want to be challenged."
"He wouldn't be a Gym Leader if he didn't," I simply said. Just saying that made me a bit nervous. I was about to take on the Gyms of Unova just like Hilbert did two years ago, even I was going to be taking on different ones.
"Ladies first," Hugh said. "I'll do some more training. I want to level up my new Pokémon." Hugh threw a Pokéball and sent out his new Pidove.
Pidove (マメパト)
025
Normal/Flying Type
Tiny Pigeon Pokémon
1'00" (0.3 m)
4.6 lbs (2.1 kg)
This very forgetful Pokémon will wait for an order from its Trainer even though it already has one.
"Dex entry aside, Pidove will help me in the long run I feel. Good luck!"
I waved at Hugh as he walked back to the Route 19 Gate. "Alright. Time to go to School!"
Location: Aspertia City Trainer School
Walking in, I saw Mr. Cheren giving his students a lesson. It was about moves. He had some written on a board. They included Megahorn, Psychic, Inferno, Dragon Claw, High Jump Kick and Earthquake. Mr. Cheren noticed me.
"Well, it seems we have another part of the lesson. It's time for recess. Pedro and Serena, could you wait behind please?"
"Are we in trouble?" Pedro asked, tears in his eyes. He was a Youngster in an orange shirt. Serena was a Lass in a yellow shirt.
"It's just for a minute. I have a special request for you."
The bell rang as the children ran out. Pedro and Serena were handed a note. They nodded, then went out to play.
"I know why you're here," Mr. Cheren told me. "You want a battle don't you?"
I nodded. "If you're not too busy. But I want to get my first Badge, and this is the logical place to start."
Mr. Cheren wiped the board off. "I'll happily battle you as soon as recess is over. You will battle Pedro and Serena first though. I want to see if you are worthy."
Location: Aspertia City Gym (AKA the Recess Field)
As a kid, recess is one of those things you never want to end. But I had to say, I was itching for these children to get into their lessons again. Once the bell rang again, the children piled into the classroom whilst I waited in the side-lines.
"Welcome!" Mr. Cheren said from the other end of the field. "As mentioned, you will battle two of my strongest students before you can take on me! They use Normal Types, and have one Pokémon each. As you know, Normal Types have only one weakness; Fighting. However, there are no Fighting Types in this part of Unova, so you will have to go off pure strength with some strategy. Let's start."
I went up to a small battlefield where Pedro was waiting on the other end.
"Thank goodness I wasn't in trouble!"
Rosa Vs. Youngster Pedro
"I choose Azurill!" I shouted. I wanted to give Azurill some more training, so I would let it do some damage then send it back.
"Go Patrat!" Pedro replied. "Start with Bide!" Patrat just stood still. I had heard of this move, and I needed to be careful.
"Azurill, Tail Whip!" Azurill started shaking its tail. With Bide going into the next turn, I had Azurill use Tail Whip again. Then, I switched to Snivy. Bide did nothing because Patrat had no damage done to it. But its Defense had dropped by a lot. "Vine Whip!" Snivy whacked Patrat with its vine. It was down in one.
"I hope I'm not in trouble for losing!"
"Good job Pedro," Mr. Cheren said, clapping. "Okay Serena, you're up next."
Serena walked onto the field. "You're going anywhere! I'm truly the strongest here! Aside from Mr. Cheren of course."
Rosa Vs. Lass Serena
"Azurill, go!" I shouted.
"I choose Lillipup!" Serena replied. "Use Bite!" Lillipup bit down on Azurill's round tail. Azurill also flinched.
"That's enough. Back you go, Azurill. Okay Snivy, go!" Snivy was sent out. The next Bite that Lillipup used missed. "Now use Vine Whip!" Snivy whipped Lillipup, doing about half damage.
"Now use Tackle!" Lillipup charged into Snivy. It was a Critical Hit. One more hit would finish Snivy off.
"Vine Whip!" Thankfully, this Vine Whip did just enough to finish Lillipup off.
"I guess I'm the third best here now…"
"Mr. Cheren," I said. "Is it alright if I quickly head to the Pokémon Center and heal my Pokémon before taking you on?"
Mr. Cheren nodded. "Do you have a hall pass?"
I went into my bag and took it out. "I've had it even since I came here! Memorabilia of the sort!" (
I was aware that Mr. Cheren was kidding when he said this, but I was a top student (not to brag). Without wasting time, I went to heal my friends.
"I'm ready!" I said when I got back. "Let's take on my previous teacher!"
This was a spectacle; the entire School had come to watch!
"I didn't get permission from my parents to watch this," I heard Pedro say. "I hope they don't get me in trouble."
Mr. Cheren got out a Pokéball. "Rose Wright of Aspertia City. Welcome to your first Gym battle on your Unova adventure. This is not a taster of what's to come, it's already happening! Experience the power of Normal Types!"
Rosa Vs. Mr. Cheren
"Okay Snivy, go!" I shouted.
"Patrat, I choose you!" Mr. Cheren replied.
"Okay Snivy, start with Vine Whip!" Snivy summoned some vines and attacked Patrat. It did just under half.
"Work Up!" Patrat started getting angry. Its Attack and Sp. Attack was raised.
"Vine Whip again!" Snivy used its Grass Type move again, but it didn't quite knock out Patrat.
"Use Tackle!" Patrat charged into Snivy, almost knocking it out. That Work Up had really powered up its moves.
"One more Vine Whip!" I yelled. Snivy attacked Patrat once more. It went rolling across the field, fainting once it had stopped.
"So, down to my final Pokémon. Okay then, I choose Lillipup!" Mr. Cheren sent out his other Pokémon.
"Vine Whip Snivy!" Snivy attacked Lillipup with its Grass Type move.
"Tackle Lillipup!" Lillipup charged into Snivy, knocking it out.
My heart was racing; I wasn't sure if Azurill could do it. But I had to try. "Azurill, go!" I shouted.
"Work Up Lillipup!" Lillipup got angry, and its stats raised.
Mr. Cheren was right; we needed to focus purely on strength sometimes. "Water Gun!" Azurill spat water at Lillipup. It was a Critical Hit! It was almost down!
"Tackle Lillipup!" Lillipup came charging into Azurill. Azurill was knocked back and, by some stroke of luck, it survived!
"Great job! One last Water Gun!" Azurill spat water at Lillipup one last time. It was finished.
The School cheered.
"Go get em Rosa!"
"She beat Mr. Cheren!"
Mr. Cheren smiled. "Just look the good old days two years ago." He went into his pocket and handed me my first Badge. It was the Basic Badge, like the one they give out in Nacrene City. "This Badge is a symbol that you have passed the first test of strength in the Unova region. It also has the power to have Pokémon traded up to Lv. 20 obey you. I also bestow upon you, TM83 for Work Up. You saw what it does. It raises Attack and Sp. Attack. Rosa, this is the first of eight steps across the Unova region. I wish you luck on your journey."
Location: Aspertia City
"So shiny!" Bianca said as I showed her and Hugh my Badge.
"So, this is where it begins," Hugh said. "I'll do my match tomorrow. I want to get some more training in with my Pokémon."
"Don't you think you're overdoing it?" I asked. "If you train up too much, you won't have a challenge!"
"I don't want a challenge against Team Plasma, I want to stomp through each and every one of them!" he said.
"But then the journey won't be fun!" I told him. "Good luck with your battle!"
"What's the next plan afterwards?" Hugh asked.
I got out the Town Map. "Virbank City is the next City with a Gym. I guess I'll head there."
"You can do it!" Bianca said.
I'm sleeping at home tonight. But I can't believe it; my first Badge in the Unova region! Snivy and Azurill had tried their hardest. But the challenges will be getting harder; at some point I'll need to catch more. But it's good to celebrate one victory before thinking too hard about the next one!