Chapter 5:

Fighting Grass with Fire

Location: Striaton City

Two members on my team, one Gym to take down. You know that excitement you get when you are excited to do something but also incredibly scared to do so? Basically, that feeling you get when you enter the plane that you are about to skydive from, or that drive you take to meet your partner's parents for this first time. That's exactly how I felt. Otherwise, I felt confident I was going to win. I had something to take on Grass Types now.

The outside of the Gym looked grand. There were windows all over the golden building, but there was also a sign outside. In chalk, it read:

"The dish of the day: Sewaddle salad dressing."

It… didn't seem like a Gym. It looked more like a restaurant. I mean, I knew this was the Gym. It had the logo outside with Pokéball and the big spike going off it. That was the logo, and it was evidence enough for me.

Ah yes, I should mention. Because Unova us a place where a lot of business goes on, a lot of people have turned their workplaces into Gyms to multitask. It must pay well, but it seems so tiring.


Upon entering, the most striking feature was a large red curtain with a flame on it at the end of the room. There were also three big buttons on the floor. From left to right, there was a green one with a leaf on it, a red one with the same flame pattern on the curtain and a blue one with a water droplet on it.

I was greeted by a man in his 50s with grey hair, black shades and a white shirt with overalls and a brown tie.

"Yo, champ in the making!" he said. "My name is Clyde the Gym Guide, and I will give you a good idea of what to do in the Gym." He pointed to the buttons on the floor. "How good are you with Type matchups?"

"Fairly well" I said.

"Good. What you need to do is push the button that is strong against the Type on the curtain. Good luck!"

I looked at the three buttons, then at the curtain. What is weak to what?

Bingo! Water puts out fire. I stepped on the giant blue switch, and the curtains opened revealing the next room.

"You got it son!" Clyde said. "I'll leave the rest to you!"

The next room was the first of many seating areas. It had wooden chairs and people were enjoying their meals.

In a black suit holding a metal tray with a cover on it, was a waiter. After laying it down on the table with a couple, he lifted the cover up to reveal what I presume was the Sewaddle salad, which was just a normal salad to be fair, but you gotta get those patents in somehow I guess. The couple took their salad and started eating it, just as the Waiter looked at me. He gave a small clap to give the attention of everyone eating.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I believe you are in for a very special treat. I am about to battle this challenger of the Striaton City Gym!"

Well, this was surprising, but I was down for it. The Waiter walked opposite to me as everyone had stopped focusing on their food and had turned their attention to us.

"Well, this is interesting entertainment" I said.

"This is a battling restaurant. Now, let's give everyone here the show they've been waiting for!"


Hilbert vs Waiter Maxwell

"I choose Oshawott!" I shouted, throwing my Ball and sending out the Sea Otter Pokémon.

"Give them a show Lillipup!" Maxwell shouted back, sending out his cute Normal Type. "Okay, use Tackle!" Lillipup charged forward into Oshawott. Oshawott was launched back a short distance but recovered quickly.

"Oshawott, Water Gun!" Oshawott fired a jet of water at Lillipup. After getting soaked, Lillipup simply shook off all the water.

"Now use Bite!" Lillipup jumped into Oshawott, then bit it on the head.

"Another Water Gun!" Oshawott shook Lillipup off by shaking it till its grip loosened. It then fired water at it which blew it off the battlefield. Lillipup fainted.


Everyone cheered for my victory.

"Thank you" Maxwell said. "You have given the customers the battle they were hoping for. Please continue."

It was almost like the battle never happened because people seemed to go back to eating immediately.


I got a good look at the next curtain. This was blue and had the water droplet symbol on it. The three buttons were the same as before.

Plants absorbs water into its roots, so I stood on the green button. The curtains opened.


The next room was nicer. There were less tables and chairs though, but the area just seemed a lot grander and the people were wearing richer clothes. Is this classes? I was confused at whether this was a restaurant or an airplane.

This time, I saw a maid. She was wearing an orange dress with a white apron. After setting down the meal to another couple, she clapped her hands.

"Well, it seems that we have a challenger." She ran to a safe distance in front of me. "It's time for a second-class battle!"


Hilbert vs Waitress Tia

"I choose Patrat!" Mia shouted, sending out the brown puffy cheeked Pokémon.

"Pansear, go!" I shouted, sending out Pansear for its first battle.

"Careful what you use" Mia said. "Patrat, Bide!" Patrat stood its ground.

"Pansear, Incinerate!" Pansear shot a small ball of fire at Patrat. Patrat just skid along the ground. I knew about Bide; it's a move that comes back for twice the amount of damage soon.

The next turn, Patrat continued to store energy. "Pansear, Leer!" Pansear stared down Patrat, which lowered Defense.

"Now Patrat!" Patrat ran up to Pansear and punched it for twice the damage of Incinerate. Pansear was knocked across the battlefield, tumbling all the way, but made a recovery.

"Pansear, Scratch!" Pansear jumped back to business and scratched Patrat. Patrat was knocked out.

"Go Purrloin!" Tia shouted, sending a Purrloin onto the field.

"Okay Pansear, Incinerate again!" Pansear once again shot a flame at Purrloin.

"Purrloin, Assist!" Suddenly, Purrloin started storing energy again. "Uh oh…" Tia said. "Why did it have to be Bide…"

Assist is a move where a Pokémon uses a random move that another part member uses. Clearly this backfired. "Pansear, Leer!" Pansear looked at Purrloin menacingly, then lowered if Defense. Purrloin didn't do any damage. "Now Scratch!" Pansear scratched Purrloin in the face. Purrloin covered its right eye from the pain. "Now Incinerate!" Pansear shot one more all of fire at Purrloin, giving me the victory.


The crowd cheered as Tia went back to serving.


I was only one button away from the Gym Leader. The curtain this time had a leaf on it. The button to push would be Fire because that was the only one left.

The curtains opened, and these tables were the fanciest. There were three men waiting for me on the battlefield. They were all wearing black waiter uniforms with a white cloth on their trousers. One of them had red hair that looked like fire.

"Howdy" he said. "My names Chili. I like to give my challengers a hot welcome to the Gyms of Unova! Yeah!"

One of them had blue hair that came down over one eye.

"A pleasure" he said. "My name is Cress. The flow of battle is what matters, and I like to demonstrate that."

Finally, was a man with well combed green hair. "My name is Cilan. Like a flower, battles take time to grow and develop to bloom into something beautiful. Today, you shall be my opponent. I was informed that your first Pokémon was an Oshawott, which is weak to Grass Types. Therefore, you will be battling me to get a sense of Types."

I got my Pokéball ready. "You're on" I simply said.

"We will gladly serve our customers during this first-class battle" Cress said.

"Yeah, this battle will be burning!" Chilli said. "Unlike the food because I think the waiter fell asleep again… oh dear. Cilan, take care of this please!" Chilli ran off in the direction of the kitchen, which was starting to smoke.

With that, my first Gym battle began.


Hilbert Vs Striaton Gym Leader Cilan

"I choose Oshawott!" I shouted, sending out my partner.

"Go Lillipup!" Cilan replied. Water vs Normal, neutral matchups.

"Oshawott, give it a dose of Water Gun!" Oshawott shot water at Lillipup. Lillipup slid back from the water impact.

"Lillipup, Work Up!" Lillipup started getting angry. Then, its Attack and Sp. Attack rose.

"We won't let that stop us. Oshawott, Water Gun!" Oshawott once again shot water at Lillipup. It was almost finished.

"Now Lillipup, use Tackle!" Lillipup charged at full speed into Oshawott. Upon impact, Oshawott flew through the air and was about to land on a table. Just then, a Pansear appeared from nowhere and saved Oshawott from the impact.

"What did I miss?" Chilli said as Pansear climbed onto his shoulder. "Careful where you land Oshawott."

I thanked Chilli, then turned my attention back to Lillipup. "Oshawott, Water Gun!" Oshawott jumped up and shot water at Lillipup. This was the final blow needed to know it out.

Cilan withdrew Lillipup, then got out another Pokéball. "I have to say, I'm impressed. But you have one more to deal with, that being Pansage!" Cilan sent out a Pokémon that looked like Pansear. However, it was green, and its hair was bushy, like a shrub.


Pansage (ヤナップ)

017

Grass Monkey Pokémon

Grass Type

2'00" (0.6 m)

23.1 lbs (10.5 kg)

It shares the leaf on its head with weary-looking Pokémon. These leaves are known to relieve stress.


"Okay Pansage, give it a Vine Whip!" Pansage summoned a vine from the leaf on its head. It then whipped Oshawott off the battlefield. It didn't land on a table, but it did faint upon landing on the floor.

I ran to Oshawott, and picked it up. "Great job buddy, but lets let Pansear take it from here." I recalled it, then went back to the field. "Pansear, let's set it ablaze!" I shouted. Time to put my knowledge of Types to good use.

"Pansage, Vine Whip!" Pansage whacked Pansear with one of the vines, but it didn't do much.

"Pansear, Incinerate!" Pansear shot fire at Pansage. It did more than half because it was Super Effective.

"Pansage, another Vine Whip!" This didn't do much either.

"Let's finish this off Pansear. Incinerate!" Pansear shot one more ball of flames at Pansage. Upon impact, it knocked it out. I had won my first Gym match!


Everyone in the restaurant, including Cress and Chilli, were applauding with all their might.

"That battle was as fierce as a waterfall" Cress said calmly.

"Yeah, Hilbert really set it ablaze!" Chilli roared. "I think that kid has real potential you know?"

"That was truly a battle with a spicy taste" Cilan said. "You are more than worthy off the Trio Badge." He gave me a golden Badge with three diamonds in it. One blue, one red and one green. I took it from him and put it in my Badge Case.

"My first Badge!" I said.

"That's not all. Take this." Cilan gave me my first TM. This disk included TM83, which contained Work Up. "You've seen its effects, it raises Attack and Sp. Attack at the same time. Finally, any Pokémon traded to you up to Lv. 20 will obey you! Now Hilbert, this is huge. But there are 7 more Gyms around the Unova region, all offering a greater challenge than the last. But with our luck, you will fly high!"


That night, I met Bianca and Cheren in the Pokémon Center, mainly so that I could brag about my Badge. They allowed me to, even a single Badge is a big deal.

"So shiny!" Bianca said laying her eyes on it. "I want one!"

"Then you'll have to beat the Gym first" Cheren informed her. "We agreed that I would go next tomorrow, mainly because I really want to try out my secret weapon." He took out a Ball and spun it on his finger. "I won't reveal what it is to you guys yet, but Bianca. Spend tomorrow training in the Dreamyard. Speak to Panelope."

"I'll go to" I said. "I've met her and, she's a bit odd."

"Settled!" Bianca said. "See you tomorrow morning!" With that, Bianca went up the Center stairs to the hotel rooms. It was a tiring day, so I decided that I would to.


Do I even need to mention again as to why today was brilliant? This is a big step on my journey. With my two teammates, I know that I am ready to see what the rest of Unova has to offer. Tomorrow will be my last day here in Striaton City as I accompany Bianca with her training. I might as well get some in to. Nacrene City is the next destination and it's quite a trek down Route 3.