Here's Chapter 5!

Adrian stretched lazily, looking down at his partner as they walked. "Just a few more steps, partner. Then we'll head to the Pokémon Center, get you all healed up, and head for the gym".

"Adrian Montgomery. Well, as I live and breathe. It's been a while, rookie".

Adrian cursed inwardly as he recognized the sudden voice, giving a curt nod to the older, blonde-haired girl standing a few feet in front of him. "Savannah. Well, this is a surprise. How long has it been since you left Pallet Town? Two years?".

"Two years that I have spent becoming a better Trainer than you, Adrian. I see you and Vee finally decided to leave Pallet for yourself. I'm impressed you made it here at all, honestly. Always thought you'd fail and go running back home before you even made it through Viridian Forest".

"Well as you can see, here I am. Now, are you going to get out of my way so I can get to the Pokémon Center and heal my Pokémon?"

Savannah seemed to think about it for a few seconds, before giving a short, sharp, laugh. "I don't think so. Not yet, at least. See, rookie," she began, drawing out the word between clenched teeth and giving Adrian a sarcastic smile. "It's been such a long time since we last saw each other. And I'm eager to see how your so-called skills have improved in the two years since I left Pallet. Although, given that you've only just made it here, I'll be surprised if they've improved at all. So how about a battle first? Three on three, no time limit."

"Fine".

His rival smirked, pulling a Pokeball with a wing sticker from her jacket pocket. "Let's do this. Go, Fearow!"

She hurled the Pokeball into the air, and a powerful-looking brown bird Pokémon burst free. Adrian pulled out his Pokedex and flicked it open, nodding thoughtfully as he heard the entry. As soon as his Pokedex had finished speaking, he shut it, mind racing as he reached for the Pokeballs on his belt. Fearow. Normal/Flying. Very powerful, especially when trained right. Electric-type attacks are my best bet. "Let's do this, Kai!"

Savannah smirked dryly as Adrian's Pikachu appeared on the ground across from her. "A Pikachu. How very like you to use something so predictable. Looks like it's freshly caught, too. This should be a piece of cake."

"We'll see about that! Kai, use Thunder Shock!"

"Fearow, use Double Team to dodge the electricity," Savannah ordered, her voice taking on a bored tone.

As the first burst of electricity flew from Kai, Fearow's wings flashed white, numerous copies of the brown bird Pokémon appearing around them. The attack seemed to strike head-on, though it was quickly revealed that all it had succeeded in doing was removing one of the illusions. Savannah nodded, seemingly satisfied. "Good! Now, Fury Attack!"

At the blonde-haired girl's command, Fearow dove toward the small Pikachu. Adrian clenched his fist, a habit born from the two years of training he'd done with Vee. Perfect. "Kai! Thunder Shock again, this time at point-blank range!"

"A smart tactic, rookie, but it won't help you!"

Kai released another blinding burst of electricity seconds before the Flying-type hit it. The two Pokémon went tumbling across the ground, Savannah's Fearow righting itself almost immediately upon stopping. Kai lay motionless where it had stopped rolling, causing Adrian to sigh and hold out a Pokeball to recall it. "Kai, return!"

"Too easy. Choose your next Pokemon carefully, rookie".

Playing to her Pokémon's weaknesses didn't work. Let's try playing like against like. "Aeris!"

Adrian's Pidgey burst from its Pokeball, glaring aggressively at the Fearow across from it. "Aeris, Gust!"

"Fearow, power through it and hit it with Fury Attack again."

Fearow raised its wings, but promptly lowered them again as sparks of electricity burst into existence around it. Adrian allowed himself a slight smirk. "Kai's Static ability must have paralyzed Fearow! It can't move!"

"You got lucky, rookie. Nothing more, nothing less. Fearow, return!" Savannah snapped, recalling the bird Pokémon into its Pokeball with one hand while reaching into her pocket with the other. "Go, Raichu!"

The Pokeball burst open, releasing a tall Pokémon covered in a luxurious-looking dark orange fur. Adrian's eyes widened in recognition. Savannah's starter Pokémon! Oh no, this is not good for Aeris… "Raichu, Thunder Punch."

Raichu's fist was immediately surrounded by yellow sparks, which grew quickly into a solid ball of electrical energy. "Rai!"

Before Adrian could react, the electric mouse's fist slammed into Aeris, sending it sprawling. It crashed to the ground and let out a weak cry before collapsing, unconscious. "Two down. I'm disappointed, Adrian. Here I was looking forward to one of Pallet's brightest Trainers giving me a challenge" Savannah taunted.

Adrian ignored her attempts to make him choose rashly, his mind racing furiously as he recalled Aeris. She's right. I only have one Pokémon left, so I have to make this count. Nibbler is much too weak. Jade only knows two moves, neither of which are going to be much use. Khonsu or Amara might be able to poison it if we get lucky with a Poison Sting attack, but neither will be much use otherwise. It has to be Vee. Kneeling next to his starter Pokémon and best friend, he nodded at the silver-furred Eevee. "I'm counting on you, Vee".

His partner nodded eagerly, taking its place in front of him. Savannah smiled sarcastically. "I see. Finally using a Pokémon that has some real capabilities. Too bad for you that it won't be enough to let you win this battle. Raichu, Thunder Punch again."

"Vee, Quick Attack!"

Vee's body was enveloped by a light blue aura and it charged towards Savannah's Raichu at a brilliant speed. It slammed into the electric mouse Pokémon head-first, sending it stumbling backwards a couple of steps, though was unable to dodge the Thunder Punch that sent it sprawling.

"Vee! Come on, old friend, I believe in you! Use Sand Attack to lower Raichu's accuracy!"

"Thunder Punch again, Raichu."

Vee raised itself on its hind legs briefly before slamming its front legs against the ground, sending a cloud of dust at the electric mouse. The electric mouse swung its fist at the small silver Pokémon, but was unable to see exactly where it was aiming and narrowly missed. Adrian smirked. "Quick Attack, Vee! While it can't see you!"

"Reflect".

Raichu spread its arms wide and a shining, rainbow-colored round barrier appeared in front of it. Vee slammed into the barrier and was sent flying backward, twisting in mid-air and landing nimbly in front of Adrian once again. "Hmm. It seems you have some skills, after all, Adrian. No matter. It won't be enough. Raichu, Mega Punch!"

"Quick, Vee! While it's preparing to attack, dart in and hit it with Quick Attack!"

Savannah chuckled. "I was hoping you'd do that. You've fallen right into my trap, Adrian. Raichu! Finish this with Slam!"

Raichu slammed its tail into Vee just seconds before the evolution Pokémon reached it, sending the small silver-furred Pokémon across the ground. Vee skidded to a stop and struggled to its feet briefly, before groaning and collapsing. "Vee!"

Adrian raced to his partner's side, kneeling next to it and placing his hand on the fur that was slick with his Pokémon's sweat. "Vee…" Vee murmured weakly, looking up at its Trainer with big eyes.

Adrian chuckled gently as he held out his partner's Pokeball. "Hey, don't apologize. You did the best you can, that's all that matters to me. You deserve a good long rest".

As Vee vanished into the ball in a beam of light, Adrian turned his attention back to his rival, who had likewise recalled her Raichu. "Let that be a lesson, rookie. You can have as good a grasp of type match-ups and strategies as you want, but when it comes down to an actual battle, none of it is as important as actually training your Pokémon. You and your Pokémon have a long way to go before you're ready to take on the Pokémon League…"

And with those words, she stalked away as Adrian got to his feet. Heading straight to the nearby Pokémon Centre, he slipped through the sliding door into the air-conditioned interior and headed for the counter. "Nurse Joy?"

The pink-haired nurse smiled brightly as she saw him. "You're Adrian, right?"

"How'd you guess?"

"My sister at the Viridian City Pokémon Centre told me you were on your way. She said you helped save the Pokémon there from a Team Rocket attack. Anyway, what can I do for you?"

"I need my Pokémon team healed, please."

The nurse nodded, taking an empty tray from the counter, and holding it out. "Place your Pokeballs on the tray and we'll get them seen to right away then."

Sometime later, Adrian emerged from the Pokémon Centre, stretching slightly. Vee, fully recovered from their battle against Savannah, looked up curiously at his Trainer, who smiled down. "Alright, Vee. Let's find this Gym."

Adrian and Vee walked through the surprisingly crowded streets of Pewter City, admiring the scenery as they did so, but saw no sign of the Gym. Adrian stopped after an hour or so, leaning against a wall and pulling the guidebook he'd received from Nurse Joy in Viridian City from his bag. "I remember seeing a map in here somewhere, maybe that'll tell us where the Gym is…"

"Sorry, did I hear you say you were looking for the Gym?"

Adrian looked up at the voice, seeing a tall red-haired girl with lightly tanned skin a few steps away. "I am, yes. It's my first time in Pewter and I was hoping to challenge Brock while I'm here."

The girl smiled. "I kind of figured. You were looking very lost," she said simply, turning and pointing up the road to the museum. "Go up to the museum and turn left. Keep following the road around the corner to the Gym. You can't miss it."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Good luck against Brock!"

The woman ran off with those words, leaving Adrian and Vee alone. "She was kind of cute, Vee. I wouldn't complain if we ran into her again at some point, honestly" Adrian remarked thoughtfully, looking down at his Pokémon.

"Vee!"

Following the instructions she had given them, it didn't take long for Adrian and his partner to find the Gym. The building itself was large, with a rocky design on the front face. Sliding doors similar to the ones at the Pokémon Centre beckoned the way inside. Slipping through them, the pair stepped into the air-conditioned Trainer, only to be greeted by an older man with dark hair. "Can I help you?"

"I'm here to challenge Brock, the Pewter City Gym Leader," Adrian said simply.

"Thought so. I'm Jim, the Gym Guide. Brock is already expecting to start a battle with another challenger, so he's unable to battle you right now, but you're welcome to watch if you want."

"I'll do that."

Jim indicated several rows of stadium-style seating by the wall. "Take a seat, future champ."

Adrian did so, finding a seat on the second row of seats while Vee settled on his lap, both watching eagerly. It wasn't long before a young man that Adrian recognized immediately from the guidebook stepped from a podium against the back wall of the Gym, taking up a position on one side of a rocky battleground carved into the Gym floor. Seconds later, he was joined by a boy who looked a couple of years younger than Adrian (15 years old, if he had to guess), who stood on the opposite side of the arena. "This'll be a two-on-two battle with no substitutions! Let the match begin!"

Both Trainers held out Pokeballs and then as if on a silent signal, threw them at the same time. The balls burst open simultaneously as they struck the rocky battlefield, revealing a Beedrill and a Geodude. Adrian leaned forward intently, quickly scanning both Pokémon with his Pokedex. "This could be interesting, Vee. Beedrill is Bug/Poison. Geodude is Rock/Ground. Depending on what moves both know, this could all be over very quickly"

Brock made his move first. "Geodude, Tackle!"

"Beedrill, use Poison Sting!"

Why would he do that? Geodude resists Poison-type moves. Adrian thought idly. Geodude slammed straight into Beedrill, which in turn slammed the rocky Pokémon with the stinger at the bottom of its body. Both Pokémon landed in front of their respective Trainers, neither looking remotely fazed by the battle so far. Adrian groaned. "Nope. It definitely won't be."

"Vee…" his partner sighed in agreement.

"Geodude, Tackle again!"

"Beedrill, use Fury Cutter!"

Beedrill's arms began to glow crimson and it dove towards Geodude, while at the same time Geodude leaped towards it. Geodude slammed into Beedrill at the same time the other Pokémon slashed at it, Beedrill managing to hit it a further two times with the same attack as well. Geodude hit the ground hard and rolled to a stop, while the bee Pokémon landed neatly in front of its Trainer. Brock frowned, holding out a Pokeball. "Geodude, return!"

As his Pokémon disappeared in a beam of light, Brock took out another Pokeball. "Go! Onix!"

He hurled the Pokeball, and it burst open in a flash of light as it hit the ground, revealing an immense snake Pokémon that seemed to be made up of boulders. "Onix! Use Rock Throw!"

The huge rocky snake slammed its tail into the floor of the arena, causing numerous rocks to fly out at Beedrill, hitting it before the younger Trainer had a chance to cry out and causing a huge plume of dust. Once the dust had cleared, Beedrill was found sprawled across the ground, unconscious. "Beedrill, return! Go, Zubat!"

He wouldn't send a Poison/Flying-type like Zubat out against a Pokémon that it's weak to unless he had a plan… would he? Adrian wondered.

"Zubat, Absorb!"

"Onix, get underground to avoid the attack and then come up from behind!"

Onix dove into the rocky floor as commanded. Seconds later, there was a great roar and it burst from behind the Zubat, blocking it from the challenger's view. "Now, Onix! Bind it!"

With another roar, Onix's massive tail wrapped around the Zubat, squeezing it tightly. "Zubat! Hit it with Absorb now, while it's got you bound!"

Zubat opened its mouth, a red beam shooting from it straight into Onix, which cried out in pain. Zubat seemed to get a little stronger immediately. "Zubat must have absorbed some of Onix's health…" Adrian observed.

"Onix! Let go of Zubat and get underground again!"

The rock snake obeyed immediately, releasing the bat and diving under the rocky floor of the arena a second time. "Zubat! Wait until it comes up and then Supersonic!"

"Onix! Come up directly underneath it with a Headbutt!"

Onix burst from the ground right under the Zubat, slamming into it head-first and sending it sprawling. "Now! Finish it with Rock Throw again!"

Once again Onix slammed its tail into the arena, causing rocks to burst from the floor and strike Zubat, leaving the other Pokémon unconscious. Both Trainers recalled their Pokémon, as Adrian stood from his chair, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Hmm. Guess Brock will be a bigger challenge than I thought. Especially that Onix… We might have to wait before challenging him, partner. We have some serious training that needs to be done."

And with those words, the two of them headed for the exit, emerging once more onto the streets of Pewter City.