I am NOT playing around with these chapters, guys! I'm rolling them out nice and quick. I don't want to get too backed up before school starts again, so I'm giving you as much as I possibly can!
Now, we're going to meet the Viridian City gym leader in this one. There's been lots of speculation about who it might be in the reviews, and I've loved reading them all! Hopefully my interpretation works well for everyone! I quite like what I've come up with, but hey, you guys are the readers! I'll let you judge for yourselves ;)
LAST TIME: At the Tea Rose Town Contest, Michelle once again finds herself butting heads with Eryn, the Sinnoh girl who's madly in love with both Ash and Aiden! They face off in the semi-finals, with Michelle losing to Eryn who ultimately wins the ribbon.
Chapter 45: Working From the Ground Up
"Hey, Viridian City! We're back!"
Brandon chuckled at his best friend's excitement, while Michelle just sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Come on, Aiden," Michelle grumbled. "You don't have to announce yourself like that every time we get to a new city! Dad would never do anything like that…"
"But this isn't just any city, Michelle!" Aiden cried, spinning around. "This is the city where I'm going to get my seventh badge! And you know what comes after that?"
"Your battle with your mom?" Brandon asked.
"I guess," Aiden murmured. "But I was actually just gonna say my eighth badge!"
"Which means you can enter the Indigo League," Brandon concluded, earning a nod from Aiden. "Nice!"
"Why does everything have to be about badges for you?" Michelle complained. "I think you should be excited about challenging Mom! That is, if you can even beat the gym leader here."
"I can beat the gym leader here!" Aiden barked, earning a smirk from his twin.
"Wait just a minute," Brandon piped up, causing both Aiden and Michelle to look at him. "Weren't you both already here?"
"Yeah," Aiden replied. "It was the first city we reached after leaving Cerulean."
"So then why didn't you challenge the gym back then?" Brandon asked warily.
"Because we were a little bit busy when we first got to Viridian," Michelle huffily explained. "Pichu was in really rough shape after battling Butterfree, and once we got to the Pokémon Center here, we were attacked by Team Rocket!"
"Pi-chu pi," Pichu grumbled, obviously not enjoying the memories of that fateful day.
"Yeah, not a great first impression," Aiden admitted, shaking his head. "We got a bit sidetracked. But now, we're back! And I fully intend on challenging the gym!"
"When?" Brandon queried.
"Right now!" Aiden cheered, whipping back around and running through the grand gates that pulled you right into the city.
"I should've known!" Michelle yelled, chasing after her brother. "Wait up, you pain in the neck!"
"Michelle!"
The girl stopped in her tracks and looked over her shoulder, where Brandon was just catching up.
"What?"
"Do you know who the gym leader here is?" Brandon asked. That was not a rhetorical question, and Michelle could tell. He was genuinely curious.
"No," Michelle replied with a sigh. "Not now I don't, anyway. This gym seems to be cursed or something! They can't keep a gym leader for anything!"
"I know it was once controlled by Team Rocket, but not anymore," Brandon added, following after Michelle as the two sprinted in the same direction that Aiden had run off in. "You think that scares people off?"
"I don't know," Michelle replied honestly. "But I do know one person it doesn't scare away."
"Who?"
"My brother."
XXX
Aiden's eyes lit up the second he pulled up in front of the Viridian Gym.
It was actually quite a nice looking building: its façade made from a combination of white brick and shiny wood. It had a rounded roof lying on two different levels, with six white stone pillars leading up to the entrance. Between the two staircases that led up to the elevated building was a flowing water fountain, the babbling water emerging from its center actually proving to be calming for the boy.
For about five seconds.
"Alright, let's go!" Aiden cheered, marching towards the staircase on the left.
"Wait just one minute!"
The boy stopped with one foot in the air and awkwardly looked to the side, finding Michelle and Brandon to be glaring at him.
"Hey, you guys finally caught up!" Aiden trilled.
"Yes, how dare we not run through the city like maniacs," Michelle remarked sarcastically.
"Your loss! Now come on, I've got a badge to win!"
"AIDEN!"
He grumbled and put his foot back down, scowling at his sister.
"What now?!"
"Brandon and I are a little bit nervous about this gym," Michelle admitted, her eyes shifting just a bit.
"Nervous?" Aiden repeated. "Why?"
"Neither of us know who the gym leader even is," Brandon scoffed. "Do you?"
"…no," Aiden admitted.
"There's a reason for that," Michelle continued. "Don't you remember all of the stories Mom's told us about this place? How it used to be controlled by Team Rocket?"
"Yeah, used to be," Aiden pointed out.
"Aiden, Team Rocket is tricky," Brandon rushed out. "How do we know that they didn't take over the gym again in secret? You've seen what kind of a threat they are!"
"Okay, you're both being absolutely insane," Aiden groaned. "This is a gym! I'm not expecting Team Rocket to jump out at us! That was years ago, before any of us were even born! You two are living in the past…when you didn't even exist there! If you don't want to go in the gym, that's fine by me. But don't expect me to sit out here with you guys! I'm going in, I'm challenging the gym leader, and I'm going to win my seventh badge!"
Before Michelle or Brandon could argue back, the sound of an explosion put all three young trainers on edge.
"What was that?!" Michelle cried.
"I think it came from the gym!" Aiden gasped, jerking his head towards the building.
"Let's go!" Brandon urged.
The three friends climbed up the staircase, eyes locked firmly on the gym. Its two front wooden doors were wide open, and the young trainers assumed that was because they had been blown open by the explosion. Dark smoke was billowing out from the inside, and the closer they got to the doors, the trainers could hear muffled coughs coming from within.
"Someone is in there," Brandon hissed, looking back at the shocked siblings.
"What do we do?" Michelle gaped, looking between the boys.
"We go in and help whoever it is!" Aiden replied as though it were obvious. "We can't just run away!"
Aiden and Brandon were the first to run through the smoke. Michelle, while still hesitant, followed after them, Pichu coughing in her ear as they stepped into the smoky curtain. As soon as she exited, Pichu's coughing ceased, and Michelle was surprised to find herself standing in the clear.
"Okay…why isn't the whole place filled with smoke?" Michelle wondered aloud.
"There's a trail," Aiden breathed, pointing out. Michelle followed his finger and realized that the smoke was curving towards the open doors from a second doorway.
"So the explosion obviously came from another room," Brandon deducted.
"We have to follow the smoke and see what's going on," Aiden decided, running after the trail. Brandon and Michelle trailed behind him, walking through the smoke. They all winced, trying hard to see through the smolder, but it was hard. Their eyes were tearing up, and it was clogging up their noses. The hallway they were currently in was much narrower than the lobby of the gym, so the smoke had nowhere to go. It was filling up every inch of space around them. The one thing that actually managed to bring them to the source of the smoke was the sound of coughing that became more and more clear they closer they got to the room of origin.
"Geez!"
Brandon had stopped in the next doorway upon hearing that voice, but Aiden and Michelle hadn't gotten the hint and wound up knocking into him, sending all three of them to the floor.
"Ow!" Brandon whined, wincing as Aiden and Michelle landed on top of him.
"Brandon!" Michelle gasped, pushing up with her hands and looking down at the boy.
"Why'd you stop?!" Aiden demanded.
"I heard someone!" Brandon groaned. "I figured they were in trouble!"
"Did they sound distressed?" Michelle asked.
"Kind of!"
"What do you mean 'kind of'?" Michelle demanded. "Either they sounded distressed or they didn't!"
"I'm actually okay."
Simultaneously blinking, all three trainers looked up at once, and found themselves staring at a smirking young man. His chestnut brown hair, a medium length and boyishly messy, hung over his mossy green eyes, while a delicate blush was painted over his fair cheeks.
"WAH!" Aiden cried, jumping off of Brandon and taking a step back.
"Uh…you okay, kid?" The man asked.
Aiden shook his head and narrowed his eyes before taking a defensive stance, glaring at the man. "Are you in Team Rocket?!"
"Um…no?"
"That didn't sound like a very confident answer to me."
"Aiden!" Michelle hissed, finally getting back to her own feet.
"Hey, you told me to be careful, so I'm being careful!" Aiden defended himself.
"I promise I'm not a part of Team Rocket!" The man chuckled.
"But…the explosion!" Aiden cried.
"I don't know if I'd necessarily call that an explosion," he laughed nervously. "I'm just a poor guy trying to make a nice meal! But, as you can clearly see, that didn't work out too well."
"Sounds a lot like my dad when he tries to cook," Aiden commented. "Looks and smells like it, too."
"We're sorry for barging in here," Michelle apologized, elbowing Aiden in the ribs as she spoke. "We just thought someone might be in trouble was all!"
"Ah, no problem at all! Besides, this place is kind of made for people to come into, right?"
"Yeah…"
"Well, now that we're here, maybe you could help us out!" Aiden trilled. "See, I'm a Pokémon trainer, and I was looking to challenge the Viridian gym leader!"
"Oh, really?" The man asked with a smile.
"Yeah!" Aiden confirmed. "Do you know where I can find them?"
"As a matter of fact, I do!" The man crowed. "You're looking at him!"
"That's great!" Aiden cheered before lowering his arms and blinking confusedly. "Wait…what?"
The man laughed and jerked his thumb at himself, winking at the stunned boy standing before him. "Adam's the name. I'm the Viridian City gym leader!"
"I never heard that name before," Michelle remarked, glancing over at Brandon as he stood up and dusted himself off. "Have you?"
"No," Brandon replied, shaking his head.
"I'm fairly new to this whole thing," Adam admitted, sounding a bit sheepish. "I've only been the gym leader for a few months. But I've lived in Viridian my whole life, and I've always known the stories about the gym. None of them ever good. So, from the time I was a kid, I made it my mission to one day become the gym leader and restore it to its former glory!"
"Whoa, that's awesome!" Aiden marveled. "I think it's so cool when people know that they want to grow up and be gym leaders! Just like my mom!"
"Your mom?" Adam questioned.
"Oh, yeah," Aiden chuckled sheepishly. "See, my name is Aiden, and that's my sister, Michelle! Our mom is the-"
"Cerulean City gym leader," Adam interrupted, grinning at the twins. "Wow! Now that's what I call cool! I knew she had two older kids, I just didn't know they were both trainers yet!"
"I love how everyone interrupts us before we can even finish," Michelle giggled. "They get so excited!"
"Brandon's dad is a gym leader too," Aiden continued, motioning towards the young breeder. "He's from Pewter City!"
"Ah, so you're Forrest's son!" Adam breathed.
"That's right!"
"Man, he's a great guy!" Adam crowed. "He always keeps us laughing at those gym leader meetings. And he's so friendly! You must have a lot of fun with him."
"I do," Brandon confirmed. "Him and my Uncle Brock. We're all really close."
"Adam! What happened in here?!"
The gym leader squawked and whipped around, nervously rubbing the back of his neck. "Well…I tried to cook for the two of us! Didn't really work…"
"I can see that."
Looking around Adam, the three young trainers caught sight of the person talking to him. While Aiden and Michelle were just slightly entranced, Brandon was completely, head over heels infatuated.
Standing across from Adam was a young woman who seemed to be the same age as him. Her wide, sky blue eyes were in perfect contrast with her brunette hair, lighter than Adam's and hanging down to her mid-back, curled at the ends. She wore a ruffled white blouse and clover green skirt, with brown leather wedges on her feet.
"Sorry, I was just trying to be helpful," Adam chuckled, looking back at the younger trainers. "This is my fiancée, Evelyn."
Furrowing her brow, Evelyn looked around Adam, and gasped when she realized there were three children standing behind him. "Oh my goodness! I didn't even see them!"
"Yeah, they came in here after they heard my…cooking…explode," Adam finished lamely. "They wanted to make sure no one was hurt."
"Oh, well that was very sweet!" Evelyn crooned. "What kind children."
"They're the kids of gym leaders," Adam informed her. "Aiden and Michelle are Misty's twins, and Brandon is Forrest's son! And Aiden is here to challenge me to a gym battle."
"So you're going to battle?" Evelyn asked kindly.
"Yes," Adam replied proudly. "Would you like to watch?"
"Of course!" Evelyn giggled. "You know that I love nothing more than to watch my handsome man battle!"
"They remind me of Mom and Dad," Michelle whispered amusedly to Aiden, who nodded in response with a grimace on his face. He hated all of that lovey-dovey stuff.
"Oh, but wait!" Evelyn cried, stopping everyone in their tracks. "What about the mess you left in the oven, Adam? It needs to be cleaned up!"
Adam laughed just once and threw his fiancée a playful smile. "Come on, Evy, that can wait! You know who can't wait? This passionate young trainer who tried to safe my life!"
Aiden smiled sheepishly and gave Evelyn just a single wave, causing her to smirk.
"You can't go a day without being overly dramatic, now can you, dear?"
"Hmm…I don't think so, no."
XXX
"A gym battle this early, bro?"
"Of course!" Adam chuckled, glancing over at the referee whom he had identified as his younger brother, Noah. "Aiden's quite the spirited trainer! Besides, he's the son of a fellow gym leader. Who am I to turn down such a request?"
"Come on, Noah," Evelyn teased from her spot in the first row of bleachers behind the boy. "You know there's no point in trying to talk sense into Adam! He's just as headstrong as he is steel willed. He won't listen to a thing anyone says!"
"Fair enough," Noah agreed. "So, let's set the ground rules! This battle will be a three on three, and only the challenger can substitute Pokémon. Whichever trainer knocks out all three of the other's first is the winner! Agreed?"
"Agreed!" Aiden and Adam called simultaneously.
"Alright then," Noah breathed. "Reveal your Pokémon!"
"I'll show mine first!" Adam announced, pulling out a poke ball. "Donphan, let's roll!"
Aiden's eyes widened as the mammoth gray and black Pokémon appeared before him, eyes narrowed as it stood back on its hind legs and let out a hearty cry, its nose lifting up in defense.
"Donphan, huh?" Aiden murmured. "My dad's got one! I've watched his Donphan a whole lot."
"Just remember that my Donphan isn't your father's Donphan," Adam teased. "You haven't seen anything yet!"
"We'll just see about that, because I've got the perfect partner!" Aiden countered, pulling out his own poke ball. "Wartortle, I choose you!"
The sphere popped open, releasing Aiden's trusty starter Pokémon. Looking across at Donphan, Wartortle smirked and looked away indignantly, clearly not intimidated by Donphan in any way, shape, or form. This only seemed to spur Donphan on even more, as practically his whole face turned red.
"Alright, Wartortle is the perfect choice!" Michelle cheered. "Ground types are weak against water types!"
"Yeah, that's true," Brandon murmured. "But I think this battle is gonna be about a lot more than just type advantage."
"Aiden from Cerulean City will have the first move," Noah announced, throwing his arms out to the sides. "Begin!"
"Let's not waste any time, Wartortle!" Aiden called. "Water gun!"
Jumping up in the air, Wartortle pulled his head back before firing off a powerful stream of water at Donphan. Neither the ground type nor his trainer looked too concerned, however. In fact, they seemed quite calm.
"Donphan, rollout," Adam commanded simply.
Curling up into a ball, Donphan quickly rolled to the side, out of the way of Wartortle's water gun. Veering back on course, Donphan rolled straight into Wartortle, sending the water type right back into Aiden's shins.
"Wartortle!" Aiden gasped.
The water type groaned and struggled to get back on his feet, though he did succeed, if just barely.
"That rollout attack is really strong," Michelle worriedly commented. "Of course, I know that Donphan's signature move. Dad's Donphan uses it all the time! And usually, that's the finishing blow."
"But Wartortle did get up," Brandon reminded Michelle. "Aiden's still got a shot! He's just got to make all the right moves."
"Alright, let's try something different this time," Aiden decided, narrowing his russet eyes. "Bubble beam!"
Wartortle threw his head forward and unleashed a brigade of bubbles at the ground type standing in front of him.
"Donphan, slam!" Adam ordered.
Soaring over the bubble beam, Donphan lifted his trunk into the air and, as he came back down towards the field, pounded Wartortle into the dirt with his trunk.
"Wartortle!" Aiden gasped, his eyes widening.
"Whoa, that was some slam attack!" Michelle marveled.
"It doesn't look good for Wartortle," Brandon murmured.
As the dust that had been kicked up around Wartortle settled, the turtle Pokémon came back into view, looking rather limp and unmoving.
"W-Wartortle?" Aiden stammered, frow burrowing in worry.
As he leaned in closer, Aiden realized that Wartortle's eyes were closed, and he was continuously groaning.
"Wartortle!" Aiden cried.
"Wartortle is unable to battle," Noah announced. "Which means Donphan is the winner!"
Grimacing, Aiden retrieved Wartortle's poke ball and quickly returned the injured water type to its sphere. "That was a tough one, Wartortle. I'm sorry."
Michelle blinked as she watched Aiden pull out a second poke ball. "How can a water type get beaten by a ground type so easily?"
"In this case, their types have nothing to do with it," Brandon elucidated. "Donphan is obviously very well trained, and Adam's got his own strategy. This isn't a battle of strength, it's a battle of mind."
Narrowing his eyes, Aiden whipped out the next poke ball, crying, "Ledian, I choose you!"
"Awesome!" Michelle trilled as Ledian was released. "Ledian is both a grass and flying type! Ground types are weak against bug types, and ground type moves have no effect on flying types! Oh, but…you said…it's not about strength."
"This is definitely a good match up, type wise," Brandon agreed. "But I'm sure that Adam's got a plan for it. He may be a fairly new gym leader, but he's definitely good at what he does."
"Begin!" Noah called.
"Ledian, use silver wind!" Aiden ordered.
"Le!"
Ledian began to frantically flap his wings, releasing a barrage of silver crescents at Donphan. This time, they hit dead on, right between the ground type's eyes. Donphan cried out in pain, skidding back on all fours.
"Hmm, a bit of a challenge," Adam commented. "I know that ground type moves won't work on Ledian. Very well. Donphan, use giga impact!"
Donphan's body became engulfed by an invisible orb of energy, a flash of yellow emerging before its face as it charged towards Ledian.
"Fly up! Quick!" Aiden cried.
Ledian raised himself higher, but this didn't seem to be an issue for Donphan. It jumped up in the air, the yellow energy sailing behind the ground type in scattered streaks. It collided with Ledian, sending the dual type down to the ground…and hard.
"What?!" Michelle gasped. "How did that effect Ledian?!"
"Giga impact isn't a ground type move," Brandon explained. "It's a normal type move. So that means Ledian isn't immune to it."
"Ledian, get up!" Aiden pleaded, watching on as Ledian struggled to sit up. His wings were fluttering desperately, but that didn't seem to be doing him much good.
"Let's finish this up, Donphan," Adam decided. "Slam, again!"
Lifting his trunk up with a massive roar, Donphan brought its trunk down onto Ledian, smashing the dual type into the ground so hard that a crater formed around its body.
"Ledian!" Aiden shrieked.
Wartortle's fate from before was hastily repeated with Ledian. Once the dust settled, it was clear that Ledian was incapacitated, utterly devastated by Donphan's slam attack.
"Ledian is unable to battle," Noah declared. "Donphan is the winner!"
"Adam took out both of Aiden's Pokémon so easily," Michelle breathed. "Now he's only got one left! And Wartortle and Ledian are the only Pokémon he had who have an advantage against ground types. I really hope he's got some kind of strategy figured out."
Biting his lower lip, Aiden hesitantly plucked out his third and final poke ball. He didn't know if he was making the right choice, but at this point, he was in a pretty deep hole. It would take everything in his power, and then some, to win this gym battle.
Of course, that didn't mean Aiden didn't believe he could do it.
"Riolu, I choose you!"
The baby fighting type appeared before his trainer, yipping excitedly and wagging his tail along with it.
"Riolu?" Michelle wondered aloud. "I wasn't really expecting that."
"Begin!" Noah yelled.
"Riolu, quick attack!"
"Ri-o!"
The emanation Pokémon charged towards Donphan, streaks of white appearing behind his body as he ran. Once again, Adam didn't look at all concerned, and Donphan was certainly not on edge.
"Donphan, rollout!" Adam ordered.
Donphan repeated his actions from before with Wartortle: curling up into a ball and swiftly rolling out of Riolu's way. Riolu blinked and looked around curiously, confused as to where Donphan had gone. Before he or Aiden could react, however, Donphan rammed into Riolu's back, sending the emanation Pokémon flying.
"Riolu, no!" Aiden cried.
Squeaking painfully as he landed on the ground, Riolu winced and pressed his paws into the dirt, trying to get himself upright.
"Come on, Riolu," Aiden urged. "I know you can do it! I know you can get up! Try force palm!"
Adam smirked to himself, knowing full well that Riolu would never be able to use force palm. Not with the plan he had in place, anyway.
"Donphan," Adam began staidly, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly, "earthquake."
Donphan pulled up on its hind legs before slamming down, causing the ground to lift up in waves. Just as Riolu was managing to get back to his hind paws, the ground came up from beneath him, knocking the baby Pokémon around all over the battle field.
"RIOLU!" Aiden screamed.
"This is bad!" Michelle gasped.
After several more seconds, the earthquake stopped, and Riolu was left lying still in the middle of the battle field. Growling, Aiden leaned forward, trying to examine Riolu from his spot in the challenger's box. Even from there, however, he could tell that Riolu was totally defeated; groaning and unresponsive.
"Riolu is unable to battle," Noah announced. "Which means Donphan is the winner! And the victory goes to Adam, the gym leader!"
As Adam smiled to himself, Aiden grimaced and lowered his head, the bill of his cap falling to cover his eyes. Weakly grabbing onto Riolu's poke ball, Aiden held out his arm and returned the defeated baby Pokémon to the safety of its sphere. Before he could look back up, the boy felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking up, while keeping the frown on his face, Aiden was surprised to see Adam standing by his side, looking quite sympathetic.
"Your Pokémon are going to need some medical attention after that," Adam informed the boy. "How about we leave them with Nurse Joy and take a little walk around the city? I'd love to show you around!"
"…sure," Aiden replied hesitantly, sounding just as defeated as he looked.
XXX
After dropping his injured Pokémon off at the Pokémon Center, Aiden found himself sitting by a fountain in the city square, along with Adam, Evelyn, Brandon, and Michelle. Adam had bought all of them ice cream cones, but Aiden was having a hard time enjoying his.
"What's the matter, Aiden?" Michelle asked curiously. "Normally you would have finished that whole thing by now!"
"Yeah," Brandon agreed. "You've barely licked it!"
"I'm just disappointed is all," Aiden grumbled. "I don't know what went wrong with that battle! I got totally steamrolled. All of my type matchups were fine…so how did I lose so bad?"
"You've just got to work on a strategy is all."
Glancing up, Aiden blinked as he set his eyes on Adam, who was casually eating his own ice cream cone.
"I didn't get that good overnight, you know," the gym leader informed his challenger with an amused smirk. "It took a lot of work! I mean, yeah, I decided I wanted to be a gym leader when I was just a kid. I grew up in the city with my older brother, Shawn, and of course you know my younger brother, Noah. We all kind of wanted different things. But I always had my goal in mind. Everyone who lives here knows what kind of reputation the Viridian Gym has. Team Rocket kind of wrecked that. But I wanted to fix that! I had all kinds of plans and ideas…it wasn't easy to actually get there, of course. And at first, I definitely wasn't the best gym leader in the region! I lost a lot. I was afraid that the League would take my job away. But they were patient with me. I stopped putting so much pressure on myself, and realized that the only thing I'd been focusing on was strength. You can't win a battle if you only concentrate on strength! So, I started working on strategies. Ways to overcome type disadvantages, speed disadvantages…everything. And that took a long time, too. But once I had a strategy locked down that was all mine…I started to win a lot more! And I slowly became more confident. I love being a gym leader. I love meeting young trainers who have dreams and goals that are very similar to mine. Sometimes greater! Tell me, Aiden, what do you want to be?"
"Pokémon Master," Aiden replied, "like my dad."
"Makes sense," Adam hummed. "You want to replace him, huh?"
"Yeah," Aiden confirmed. "It's my dream to have this huge battle with him, in a great big stadium, and take his title from him."
"See, you can envision it!" Adam cheered. "That's a great start."
"I guess so," Aiden sheepishly replied.
"Aiden, it takes a lot of hard work, but once you finally achieve your dreams, it's all worth it," Evelyn piped up, smiling at the boy.
"Evelyn knows all about working hard to make dreams come true," Adam added, smiling over his shoulder at his fiancée. "After all, she is a Pokémon idol."
At this, Michelle's jaw dropped. "You're a Pokémon idol, Evelyn?!"
"Mmhm!" Evelyn giggled. "See, I'm originally from Kalos. I was born and raised there. My younger sister Claire and I started making PokéVision videos once we both had Pokémon. We both wanted to become idols! Amazingly enough, our videos became pretty popular and very well known about the Kalos region. Eventually, we both became idols! It's been really fun, but it definitely didn't happen overnight."
"So, if you're from Kalos, and Adam is from here in Kanto, how did you two meet?" Michelle asked curiously.
"Before I became a gym leader, I was a trainer who challenged gyms," Adam explained. "Obviously, the first region I traveled through was Kanto. Halfway through my journey, however, I got pretty discouraged. I felt like nothing was going my way. So, I instead began to travel around and explore different regions. One of the last regions I went to was Kalos. I had heard about a lot of great Pokémon over there, and all kinds of mysterious legends. When I got there, one of the first things I saw was one of Evelyn's PokéVision videos."
"So it was like love at first sight?!" Michelle squealed, her eyes sparkling.
"Yeah, I guess it was!" Adam chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "I thought she was really beautiful. I sort of got sidetracked and made it my mission to meet her!"
"And find me he did!" Evelyn giggled. "I kind of thought he was crazy at first, to be honest. I mean, it was pretty obvious that he liked me. He didn't do a very good job of hiding that fact!"
"I'd never liked anyone that way before!" Adam cried, blushing at the fact. "I didn't really know how to act."
"He did wear me down eventually," Evelyn continued. "I agreed to go on a date with him, and after that…the rest is history!"
"Evelyn was the one who convinced me to come back to Kanto and finish collecting my badges," Adam explained. "And once I entered the Indigo League, I won! That's what helped me to get the job as gym leader here. So, if I had never met Evelyn, I probably wouldn't have won the league or became a gym leader!"
"Aw, that's so sweet!" Michelle giggled.
"Yeah, I'm a very lucky guy," Adam chuckled, smirking as Evelyn rested her head on his shoulder.
"Well, well. If it isn't the Pokémon Master's son."
Looking dead ahead, Aiden's eyes narrowed as soon as he realized who was talking to him.
"Jake!" Aiden snarled jumping to his feet.
Indeed, the purple haired boy was smirking right back at the obviously flustered Aiden. "I have to say that I'm surprised to see you here."
"Oh yeah?" Aiden growled. "And why's that?"
"I'm assuming you're here to challenge the Viridian gym," Jake explained. "But everyone knows that's one of the hardest gyms to beat in the entire Kanto region. You don't think you can actually win a badge there, do you?"
Aiden opened his mouth to respond, but Adam quickly cut him off.
"Aiden is a very good trainer. He's already shown me his strength, and I see a lot of potential in him!"
"And you are?" Jake demanded.
"Adam, the Viridian gym leader," Adam replied easily, causing Jake's face to drop.
"Oh," Jake breathed, obviously embarrassed by what he'd said before.
"So, am I to assume you're a Pokémon trainer as well?" Adam asked.
"Yes," Jake replied more confidently. "My name is Jake. I'm the son of Paul, the highest ranking member of the Sinnoh Elite Four."
"Ah, another famous offspring!" Adam chuckled. "You two must have quite a bit in common then, huh?"
"Not really," Aiden seethed, still glaring at Jake.
"Please, we couldn't be any more different," Jake scoffed, rolling his eyes.
"Yeah, the way he treats his Pokémon is insane," Aiden continued. "I don't agree with a single thing that he or his father does!"
"At least my father has a spine!" Jake bit. "Your father thinks he can get everything by wishing and dreaming and using his heart. It's stupid and unrealistic! Without prioritizing strength, you won't get anywhere."
"That's not true!" Aiden argued. "Working closely with your Pokémon and using your heart is just as important as being strong!"
As those words left Aiden's mouth, they hit him over the head like a rock. It was like he had just repeated all of the things that Adam and Evelyn had been telling him. Strength wasn't everything. It was important, yes, but it wasn't everything. And it certainly wasn't what you started with. Without heart, and a clear vision or dream, you would get nowhere. Even with strength.
"If you don't think being strong is the most important thing, then I can't imagine your battling has improved at all," Jake challenged, regaining Aiden's attention.
"My battling has improved a whole lot," Aiden informed the boy. "Because all of my Pokémon and I are so close! We all share the same goal! And that's why we work so well together!"
"If you really believe that's true, then I challenge you to a battle," Jake seethed, holding a poke ball out towards Aiden. "I want to see just how badly I can wipe the floor with you."
At this, Aiden's eyes narrowed, and he took a subconscious step back. "Fine! But I won't lose!"
XXX
"Elekid, fallback!"
Aiden watched on with narrowed eyes as the electric Pokémon appeared across from him, swinging his arms around in circles.
"An Elekid," Michelle breathed, scanning Jake's Pokémon with her pokedex.
Elekid, the electric Pokémon. Elekid enjoy playing outside in the middle of thunderstorms. It rotates its arms in order to generate electricity.
Looking back up at the electric type, Michelle realized that as Elekid was swinging his arms around, sparks of electricity appeared around his arms.
"Pi-chu," Pichu breathed in obvious fascination.
"An electric type," Brandon marveled. "Wonder who Aiden is going to go with."
Smirking, Aiden pulled out his own poke ball and called, "Absol, I choose you!"
The disaster Pokémon appeared before Aiden, setting his narrowed red eyes on Elekid.
"A dark type and an electric type?" Michelle questioned aloud. "That's a fair matchup."
"Let's just see how Aiden's strategy holds up to Jake's strategy," Brandon commented.
"I'll be the referee for this battle, if that's alright with you two," Adam said, standing at the center of the sidelines.
"Fine by me," Jake replied gruffly.
"Sure!" Aiden chirped.
"So, a simple one-on-one battle?" Adam suggested. "How does that sound?"
"Great," Aiden replied.
"Whatever," Jake huffed.
"Alright then," Adam breathed. "Start the battle!"
"Absol, quick attack, let's go!" Aiden commanded.
"Elekid, you use quick attack as well!" Jake barked.
The two Pokémon sailed towards one another, streaks of white flaring out behind them. They collided head on, knocking one another back with some obvious damage done to both.
"Hard heads, huh?" Michelle murmured.
"Swift!" Jake demanded.
Elekid swung his arm forward, unleashing a flurry of gold stars that quickly struck Absol.
"Absol!" Aiden gasped.
"Not so tough now, are you?" Jake challenged.
Snarling, Aiden threw his arm forward and cried, "Absol, night slash!"
The disaster Pokémon jumped in the air, dark shadows emanating from the Pokémon's already sharp claws. They came down on Elekid hard and fast, sending the electric type into the ground with a hearty knock and a puff of dust. Jake just stood there in silence, eyes narrowed at the boy standing across from him.
"Low kick," Jake commanded darkly.
While still on the ground, Elekid swung one of its legs out, taking out Absol by knocking all four of his legs out from underneath him. Now it was Absol who was lying on the ground, and Elekid who was managing to pull itself back up.
"Thunder shock!" Jake yelled, his voice much stronger and angrier than before.
"Future sight!" Aiden stormed.
Electricity sparked out of the prongs atop Elekid's head, shocking Absol just after its eyes had stopped glowing. Absol cried out in pain as the electricity coursed through his body, Elekid grinning evilly all the while. Just as Elekid's attack was beginning to give out, a flash of power emerged from the sky, coming down hard on an unsuspecting Elekid who was too busy reveling in Absol's pain. Elekid was struck, its thunder shock attack dying out and leaving behind a badly weakened Absol, who was trying desperately to get back to his paws. Once the future sight attack ended, Elekid was left in just as bad a shape as Absol. The two Pokémon stumbled around for a few seconds, throwing each other nasty glares and muttering their own names in contempt. Before either one could retaliate, however, they both collapsed onto the ground, earning stunned gasps from the small audience that was watching.
"Both Elekid and Absol are unable to battle!" Adam announced. "This match is a draw!"
Scowling, Jake took out Elekid's poke ball and returned the defeated electric type without a single word. Aiden, on the other hand, did the same, but with a weak smile and barely shining eyes.
"You did well, Absol," Aiden murmured to the poke ball. "That kid is a jerk, but he sure is tough, huh?"
Aiden looked back up at Jake, who looked positively aggravated.
"That was a good battle," Aiden called out to Jake, his voice level and unemotional. "Don't you think so, Jake?"
Huffing, Jake whipped around and walked away, not paying Aiden any mind. The raven haired boy growled in frustration, but didn't bother to yell or run after the miserable trainer. He knew there was no point in trying to talk sense into someone so bitter.
"That battle may have been short, Aiden, but it sure was interesting."
Aiden hummed curiously and glanced up, finding Adam to be standing at his side with a smirk on his face.
"There's some rivalry between you two, isn't there?" Adam asked.
"Uh…yeah," Aiden admitted, looking down at his feet.
"I could tell," Adam hummed. "The tension was palpable."
Biting his lower lip, Aiden shot his head back up, staring straight into the gym leader's eyes. "Adam."
"Yes?"
"I'd like a rematch," Aiden requested.
"Already?!" Michelle cried, running up behind Aiden.
"I'm not going to go into it blind this time," Aiden promised, eyes flashing between Adam and Michelle. "I'm going to work a whole lot harder."
At this, Adam smiled. "I'd be more than happy to give you a rematch, Aiden! How does tomorrow sound?"
"Perfect," Aiden breathed, his brow furrowing ever so slightly as he subconsciously sank into deep thought.
So this was a super long one! I had to include the re-appearance of Jake. Yes, he and Aiden haven't had a full battle yet. Gotta save the good stuff for last! And trust me, it will be worth the wait ;)
So my version of the Viridian gym leader is this OC, Adam. He's very kind hearted and pretty chill. Definitely one of the younger Kanto gym leaders in this era. He's around the same age as Kenneth is my estimate. Also, even though he and Evelyn are just OCs I came up with, I ship them really hard XD
And finally, I just HAVE to point out of my favorite part of this chapter, which was right in the beginning when Michelle tells Aiden their father would never run into a town and announce himself. Of course, we all know that's ALL Ash ever does! Michelle gives her father too much credit ;)
Next time, we've got the rematch between Aiden and Adam! Can Aiden hold his own this time and win his seventh badge? You'll just have to wait and see!