Despite the existence of the Charmander line there was no Fire and Dragon type Pokémon, excluding theorised Legendary typings, and would be the envy of many Dragon type specialists. Stlix could feel the pending meeting with Lance looming and he knew a Dragon fanatic like him would want Gyarados himself or one of his spawn.

It would be a huge shock to anyone he fought as well, the Dragon type was thought about when a Gyarados came to mind, but nobody would expect a Fire typing. However, Gyarados would require far more frequent testing. Graveler would too but Graveler's typing hadn't changed even slightly whereas Gyarados's had.

As Gyarados's body hadn't changed massively he was actually reminiscent of the old carvings of Rayquaza. A long serpentine sky dragon and a long serpentine fire dragon, people would look and see the links between the two.

After reassuring Doctor Rasen he would be informed about any further discoveries about Stlix's Pokémon he left to return to the Pokémon Centre. He had been told not to bother trying to book a battle with Lieutenant Surge but rather walk straight in. The bookings were clogged until the date of St Anne's departure and beyond.

The only way to get a Gym battle in time would be to gain Surge's approval and as the man only left his Gym to the Charmander situation it was hard to receive. In Stlix's case he wished to gain the Thunder Badge before he boarded the St Anne. The only factor would be that the Lieutenant was allowed to use up to two badges of higher difficulty than the trainers level.

It was due to the fact that Lieutenant gave out tickets for the cruise ship upon his defeat. The League seemed to want only the strongest trainers of their level upon the ship and joining the tournament. It was sponsored by Silph and the prizes were due to their funding.

Ultraballs, Free TM's, Rare Pokémon and large monetary rewards were the Prizes being given out and any aspiring trainer or even advanced trainer wished to receive them. Stlix didn't need any of the rewards but he would still compete in the tournament to test his newer teammates strength against similarly experienced trainers.

As Gyarados had been checked by the Devon Corp scientists he went back to the Pokémon Centre and called in the Gyarados school attack. It was important to register any wild Pokémon attacks so they could be monitored and make sure that newer trainers stayed away from the area whilst the cause was figured out.

After ringing that in and eating his dinner with his team, Gyarados needed to go into another room for his own, he went to bed. Tomorrow he intended to challenge Lieutenant Surge's Gym for the Thunder Badge, he would have to exchange Merry with another of his team to challenge the Gym.

The next day he woke up and went to the phones in the Pokémon centre, he had to call Hoenn and at this time was about evening in Hoenn. He wanted to give his present to Steven and tell his Uncle to bug Steven about the shiny Gyarados.

After he had spoken to his family and sent Merry off to his estate for a while to look after Graveler, he was trying to fight Surge without heavy reliance on Ground type advantage. He planned to use Gyarados, Tyrunt and Beda. He thought about using Corsola as well if it was a four on four.

As he neared the Gym, even at these early hours of the morning, there was a huge queue of people waiting to battle Surge.

He could see a trainer stumbling out of the Gym with tear tracks running down his sooty face. He ignored the queue and Stlix in his rush to get back to the Pokémon Centre. It seemed Lieutenant Surge's reputation was well deserved in shutting down trainers' journey, his brutal style of battling a shock to many younger trainers' idea of a Pokémon journey.

Stlix ignored the queue as he pushed into the Gym reception, cries of anger resounding as he forced his way into the Vermillion city Gym. The two Gym trainers stopped the queue of people once they saw his face and allowed Stlix in.

He went into the Gym, heading towards the stands to see Surge's battling. It was a feature of all Gyms that they were built similarly, they had unique styling. Pewter's stone, Cerulean's aquariums and Vermillion's electric motifs.

On the Gym battlefield there was a Pikachu that had its cheeks sparking with flickering lightning and shivering Sandshrew, the Sandshrew having several large bruises and cuts that were leaking a bronze-coloured blood. The trainer was shouting commands desperately at his Sandshrew, but it didn't have the strength to follow through on them.

"Iron Tail." Ordered Surge with a calm tone. The ineffective move would only knock the weak Sandshrew comatose at its worst, not causing permanent injuries for the small Pokémon. The Pikachu rushed to follow through on the order, its species natural speed carrying towards the shaking Pokémon.

The Pikachu jumped up and somersaulted into slamming its glowing tail onto the Sandshrew's head, knocking it into the sandy ground and sweeping away its awareness. The trainer gave a cry and returned the Pokémon before sprinting out the Gym, Surge's commentary passing out unheard.

Stlix slowly walked down the stands before jumping into the battlefield, a pokeball in his grip as he stared at the Lightning Lieutenant. He walked to the trainer's square opposite the Gym leader's and announced with a formal tone.

"Lieutenant Surge, I am Stlix Stone, and I am here to challenge you for the Thunder Badge."

Team:

On hand:

Steelix (Buddy)

Tyrunt

Gyarados

Corsola

Pupitar (Beda)

Metagross (Floaty)

Away:

Graveler

Charmander (Treatment)

Chansey (Merry)