Wow, forty-eight chapters in and we're at the sixth gym!


The sun glistened on the sea, the sky coupled with the warm ocean breeze gave off a sense of comfort. But our group had a sense of something different, they were filled with a sense of determination.

"Alright, today's the day I get my sixth badge!" Diego said eagerly.

"Well were going to have to battle Lieutenant Surge to get the badge, and he's supposed to be one of the most brutal gym leaders in this region as well as the most experienced." Renée explained.

"Yeah, hasn't he been the gym leader here for almost thirty years?" Julia asked.

"If he's been the leader for so long, why is he only the sixth gym leader?" Diego questioned.

"Just because he's been around the longest doesn't mean he's the toughest gym leader."

"Whatever, I'll still beat him!" Diego assured, dashing to the gym.


The Vermillion City Gym was designed like a factory, Lt. Surge dismantled the Electric Barrier and Trash Can puzzle due to complaints and the fact that it was more of a test of the challenger's patience rather than an actual mental puzzle.

Lt. Surge himself didn't look too different, despite being rather old. He was still rather muscular and wore his army fatigues, but his blond hair was a little more grayed out. The ex-soldier noticed the trainers and he grew a confident smile that seemed to mirror Diego's.

"Heh, trainers just comin' in right after another. So which of you is gonna battle first?" Lt. Surge asked.

"I am!" Diego exclaimed.

"Hmph, I like your guts kid. Come on, let's see what you've got!"

The two of them took their places at the gym's arena. Both of them had an eager grin on their faces.

"We'll make this a two on two battle kid, and I'll start off with..." Lt. Surge began, sending out a Megneton.

"This'll be easy, come on out Krokorok!" Diego exclaimed, sending out his Krokorok.

"A Ground Type pokemon is perfect for this gym!" Julia announced. "There's no way Diego can lose!"

"Don't be so sure." Renée said. "Just because Surge looks like a Brawns over Brains kind of guy doesn't mean he's actually an idiot. He's the sixth gym leader so we don't know what he might pull."

This realization surprised Julia, she intently watched the battle, which had begun while they talked.

"Magneton, hit 'em with a Flash Cannon!" Surge commanded. Megneton gathered light energy from the surrounding machinery and used it to shoot a silver colored sphere of energy at Krokorok, who swiftly avoided the attack.

"Good work Krokorok, now use Sonic Sand!" Diego ordered. Krokorok spun it's tail, which seemed to create sand from out of nowhere, this sand moved at an intense speed and caused heavy damage to Magneton.

"Now, use Dig!"

Krokorok buried itself underground, shockingly (no pun intended) Lt. Surge didn't look distressed about this. In fact, he smirked.

"I'm not falling for that old trick. Magneton, use Magnet Rise!" He said. Magneton began to glow yellow. Krokorok sprung up from under the ground below Magneton in am attempt to hit it. However, Magneton was simply unaffected by the attack.

"W-what?! I thought Ground attacks beat Electric types!" Diego exclaimed in shock.

"Hahaha, people tried that old trick to beat me for decades, so now most of my pokemon know the move Magnet Rise, which negates all Ground Type attacks!" Lt. Surge explained.

"Woah, you were right sis!" Julia stated.

'Well there goes my strategy...' Diego thought to himself. 'Wait... maybe if I do this...'

"Krokorok, use Crunch!"

Krokorok leaped up and bit down on Magneton with as much force as it could muster, which was enough to take Magneton down.

"Hmm, not bad kid. I think you might be strong enough to take on my ace pokemon!" Surge conplimented, sending out his next pokemon; an Electabuzz.

"We'll take it down just like the last one! Krokorok, use Sonic Sand!"

"Not so fast kid, Electabuzz, take that Krokorok down with Drain Punch!"

Just as Krokorok was about to use Sonic Sand again, Electabuzz charged at the Desert Croc pokemon and punched it in the snout, draining it's HP once it made contact. The super effective attack was enough to bring Krokorok down.

"Woah, I wasn't expecting that!" Julia said in surprise.

"I thought Electabuzz would use a move like Fire Punch or Low Kick, I didn't know it could learn Drain Punch!" Renée added.

'Well there goes my super effective attacks...' Diego thought. 'But who do I use now? Crobat, Golduck, and Charizard are weak to electric attacks and Raichu doesn't have any attacks that could do damage.'

"I guess this is my only chance. Do your best Treecko!" Diego said, sending out his most recently caught pokemon.

'Better not underestimate this thing. I don't want a repeat of the Pikachu loss...' Surge thought to himself.

"Alright Electabuzz, hit 'em with a Thunderbolt!" Surge ordered. Electabuzz used it's antennae to send the electric bolt towards Treecko.

"Treecko, use Energy Ball!" Diego commanded. Treecko narrowly avoided the Thunderbolt and formed a ball of light green energy, once it was fully formed, it threw it at Electabuzz. The attack hit the electric pokemon, but it didn't appear to take any damage.

"Argh, Electabuzz use Ice Punch!"

"Treecko use Dragon Breath!"

Electabuzz charged at Treecko with its fist glowing with an icy blue energy. As it flung it's fist at Treecko, the Wood Gecko pokemon jumped up and landed on Electabuzz's arm and then proceeded to blow a purplish/yellowish blast of fire at it. Causing Electabuzz to stagger a bit.

"Electabuzz, don't let this baby pokemon make a fool out of you, use Drain Punch!" Lt. Surge ordered, he sounded a bit more frustrated now.

"He's vulnerable, use Energy Ball to finish it, Treecko!" Diego announced. Electabuzz looked just as angry as its trainer, it lunged at Treecko with its fist raised. Treecko didn't move, instead it waited for the right moment, once that moment came, it launched the Energy Ball and took Electabuzz down.

"Alright! Nice job Treecko!" Diego cheered, he went to go embrace his pokemon, but he stopped when he noticed that Treecko was evolving into a Grovyle.

"Grovyle?" Julia askee, scanning the newly evolved pokemon with her pokedex.

'Grovyle: The Wood Gecko Pokemon. The leaves growing out of Grovyle's body are convenient for camouflaging it from enemies in the forest. This pokemon is a master at climbing trees in the jungle.'

"Nice job Grovyle!" Diego praised, sharing a high-five with his pokemon. Surge was rubbing his temples trying to contain his frustration.

"Remember what the Psychiatrist said, imagine the warm sun and the sea breeze." He said to himself, taking deep breathes. He did this for a few moments before finally calming himself down. "You did good kid. Let's take a little break before the next battle starts.


While the four of them were taking a break, Diego noticed some of the pictures that Lt. Surge had hung up on the wall. They depicted Surge and his squad back when they were in the army. Two men were standing next to him, one had a familiar blond buzz cut while the other man was bald. The three of them all had their signature pokemon with them as well. Surge had his Raichu, the bald man had a Dodrio and the buzz cut man had a Sandslash.

"Been too long since I've seen those guys. Miller was a master with Flying-types, his Dodrio had the sharpest eyes in our entire army. Then there's Cairo, his Sandslash dug our trenches during wartime. Last time we were together was when the war ended." Lt. Surge explained.

"You mean the Great Pokemon War?" Julia asked, to which Surge nodded.

"It was about thirty years ago. We were called to war after a dispute between the regions. A member of the Royal Family of Unova tried assassinating the King of Kanto. He failed, but as a result, we went to war with Unova. Kalos and Sinnoh were quick to defend Unova while Johto and Hoenn came to our aid. Regions like Tunod and Edath preferred to remain impartial. We fought for almost two years, the war only ended because the member of the Unova Family was captured and faced the consequences of his actions. Once the war ended my squadron and I took the photo you're looking at now. I came back here to Vermillion to run this gym but I have no idea where my old friends are..." Lt. Surge said, the three trainers listened intently at his story. They remained quiet for a moment before Surge faced them again.

"Sorry for rambling on like that, who's next to battle me?"


Julia was next to battle, just like the previous battle it was two on two.

"Ok Sealeo, let's do this!" Julia said, sending out her Sealeo.

"Jolteon, you're up first!"

Both of them sent out their first Pokemon. Surge seemed a little surprised about Julia's choice.

"Hmm, a pokemon that's part Water-type in an Electric-type gym. I only see them if the Water-type is also a Ground-type. You do realize you've put yourself at an immediate disadvantage, right?"

"It's not the type that matters." Julia noted. "It's how you use the pokemon! Sealeo, use Body Slam!"

"Use Shock Wave, Jolteon." Surge commanded. Sealeo bounced up and tried to land on Jolteon, however Jolteon used it's high speed to avoid the attack and hit Sealeo with a white jolt of lightning.

"He's so fast!" Renée said, astounded with Jolteon's speed.

"Isn't Jolteon one of the fastest pokemon alive?" Diego questioned.

"Nobody matches my Jolteon's speed! Now Joleton, use Double Kick!"

"Sealeo quick, use Aurora Beam!" Julia ordered. Jolteon ran up to Sealeo, kicking it with its hind legs once, it ran around a bit in an attempt to disorient Sealeo, but when it was close again Sealeo blasted it with the Aurora Beam which did a hefty amount of damage.

"Now use Ice Ball!" Julia commanded, Sealeo formed a spherical hunk of ice and hurled it at Joleton. It repeated this until the ice was larger than Jolteon itself! The Ice Ball connected, hurling Jolteon into the wall of the gym and knocking it out.

"I never thought I'd see the day when my Jolteon goes down to a Water-type! But don't rest easy just yet, kid. The real fight begins now!" Surge proclaimed, sending out his next pokemon, which was a Manectric.

"Manectric, hit 'em with a Thunderbolt!"

"Sealeo, use Water Pulse!"

Manectric dashed towards Sealeo and leaped up above it, sending out the Thunderbolt from above. Sealeo was struck with the attack but managed to send out the Water Pulse, striking Manectric. Sealeo collapsed, knocked out from the attack. Manectric fell down onto the floor of the arena, it seemed to be in a daze and its legs were shaking.

"Well it's one on one now..." Diego stated.

"Yeah, but Manectric looks like it's confused from, the last attack." Renée added.

"Ok Snorunt, let's show him what you can do!" Julia announced, sending out her Snorunt.

'Can't underestimate this pokemon' Lt. Surge thought to himself. 'I just need to control my temper this time too...'

"Manectric, get it together and use Howl!"

Manectric tried to obey Lt. Surge's orders but it seemed to be hurting itself in confusion.

"Snorunt, use Ice Beam!" Julia ordered. The chill of Snorunt's attack caused the room to become noticeably colder, it also snapped Manectric out of its confusion.

"R-r-really sis?!" Renée said in an annoyed tone.

"S-s-s-sorry. I didn't know Snorunt's attack would be so... potent." Julia replied.

"I've got this. Charizard, come on out and give us some heat!" Diego said, snding out his Charizard, which used Flamethrower to raise the temperature of the room back to normal.

"Well, you certainly are an interesting group of kids. But the battle isn't over yet. Manectric, use Fire Fang!" Surge announced.

"What?! Manectric gets Fire Fang?!" Julia asked in shock. Snorunt frantically avoided Manectric's attack, Julia didn't know what to do until she suddenly had an idea.

"Snorunt, use Spikes!"

Snorunt threw a row of Spikes onto the floor, which Manectric promptly stepped on, causing it pain.

"Now Snorunt, use Crunch!"

Snorunt leaped onto Manectric while the latter was still reeling from the spikes and bit down hard onto it. Manectric collapsed due to the amount of damage it was taking. The battle was over.

'Hmph, these kids are a lot tougher than they look.' Lt. Surge thought. "Alright, I think it's time for another break."


While the trainers had their break, Julia approached Lt. Surge, who was picking out his pokemon for the next match.

"Hey, um, Lieutenant Surge. Did a trainer named Jack battle you recently?"

"Nope, sorry. There were those two kids who battled me two days ago and a trainer wearing a mask, I didn't get his name." Surge answered.

"Oh, alright. Thank You." Julia said, walking back to her friends. 'A trainer wearing a ask? Is it the same trainer we met back when we battled Solomon in Lavender Town?'

"Alright, youre the last one little lady! Lets make this battle a good one!" Lt. Surge announced. Renée and Lt. Surge took their positions and sent out their first pokemon. Renée used her Joltik while Surge used his Electrode.

"Alright Joltik, use Bug Bite!"

"Electrode, use Rollout!"

Joltik scuttled over towards Electrode as fast as it could, but despite its appearance, Electrode rolled right over Joltik!

"Woah! Electrode is as fast as Jolteon!" Julia noticed.

"Electric-type pokemon generally have high speed stats. It's common for them to be faster than other pokemon." Surge explained. Electrode rolled back around and over Joltik again, gaining speed and power every time.

'I can't just let Joltik get squashed like this! Wait that's it!' Renée thought. "Joltik, use Sticky Web!"

Joltik spit out a white silk that took the form of a spider web onto the floor, Electrode rolled over the web and became stuck.

"Using Sticky Web to stop Electrode in its tracks is a smart move. But it isn't enough to beat us! Electrode, use Charge Beam!"

"Joltik, use Signal Beam!"

The two attacks clashed against each other, neither pokemon looked like it was going to give in. The Signal Beam then slowly began to overpower the Charge Beam, causing Electrode to take considerable damage.

Just as Renée was going to have Joltik use Bug Bite, Joltik suddenly jumped a few feet off the ground and zipped through the air towards it's pokeball, causing a ring of electricity to rocket roads Electrode, not doing much damage to it. But Renée's Larvesta suddenly appeared on the field.

"Huh? What was that?" Renée asked.

"That was Volt Switch, an Electric-type move that causes the user to basically tag out into one of its teammates. This is probably the first time you've ever seen it used so you don't have much cool of who is sent into battle after Joltik is sent back. Once you master Volt Switch, it it can be an incredibly useful move." Lt. Surge explained. "But going back to the battle, it looks like I'm in a tough spot, and this Sticky Web can be kind of annoying for me. So there's only one thing I can do. Electrode, Explosion!"

"Oh no! Not again! Larvesta, use Protect or Endure or something!" Renée shouted. Larvesta formed a blue-green barrier around itself, protecting it from the explosion.

"Hmm, smart thinking having your Larvesta use Protect, now I'll bring out my signature pokemon! Raichu!"

Lt. Surge sent out a Raichu, this one looked rather old compared to Diego's Raichu.

"Huh? I thought Electabuzz was your signature pokemon?" Julia asked.

"You misheard me, Electabuzz is my strongest pokemon, Raichu is my signature pokemon. It used to be my strongest team member, but since it's getting kind of old, he's not as strong as he used to be. Don't underestimate him though, he's still extremely tough!" Surge explained. "Raichu, hit em' with a Thunderbolt!"

Despite its age, Raichu managed to quickly send out a powerful looking Thunderbolt.

"Larvesta quick, use Flame Charge!"

Larvesta dashed away from where the Thunderbolt would've struck. Larvesta tackled Raichu, pushing it back a few feet but Raichu didn't look like it was too bothered.

"Now Raichu, use Body Slam!"

"Larvesta use String Shot!"

Raichu tried leaping onto Larvesta, but before it even had a chance to move, Larvesta trapped Raichu in a cocoon made of silk, leaving only it's head visible.

"Alright Larvesta, ignite the silk with Flame Charge!" Renée exclaimed. Larvesta crashed into Raichu again, the flames in its attack ignited the silk trapping it.

"Raichu, use Quick Attack!" Surge ordered.

"Larvesta, finish this battle with Struggle Bug!"

As Raichu dashed towards Larvesta, the bug began to glow with a light green aura which began to disperse into small spheres which began to swarm Raichu damaging it just enough to knock it out.

"Well... I guess this generation of trainers is just too strong for me to handle. But that isn't too bad, it gives me a reason to train harder. As for you three, here are your badges, and take these with you too." Surge said, handing the three trainers a Thunder Badge and the TM for Thunderbolt.

"So you all have six badges now, that means your next gym battle is in Fuchsia City. You're gonna want to train a lot." Lt. Surge warned.


Later that evening, the group traveled south towards Fuchsia City.

"So... we have our sixth badge guys!" Renée said, though Diego and Julia were quiet. "What's wrong?"

"I'm glad we won our battles and all, but it just isn't fun without everyone here." Diego responded. Julia didn't say anything, she was deep in thought...


With the next destination being Fuchsia City, what kind of adventures will our group encounter on the way? Will they reunite with Jack? Find out next time on Pokemon Crimson Destinies!

I'm not sure if I went over this move, but I'll go over it again.

New moves:

Sonic Sand

Ground-type attack

40 power

95 accuracy

The user hurls sand at the foe at an extremely high speed, sharply lowering their Special Defense.