After Kate's battle with Roxie, it's become clear that she needs to add some power and some coverage to her team! And the best way to do that is to get a new pokemon! Will Roxie be able to help her find a Poison type pokemon for her team? Well, let's find out!

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: The people have already spoken about which Poison type pokemon they'd like her to catch, and it wasn't Seviper.

KedharS: Yup, she definitely needs a boost to her team, that's for sure. Adding some more variety can definitely help with that!

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 858

Kate woke up in the morning with a pounding headache and a sore back. The mattress in her motel room was lumpy and worn out, and had not been conducive to a good night's sleep. She was groggy when she sat up, and glared blearily at the clock.

6:24 AM

Kate groaned and slumped back down into bed. Four hours. She'd barely gotten four hours of sleep. But there was nothing she could do. As much as she wanted to just shut her eyes and sleep for another couple of days, she had work to do. Roxie had insisted that she be at the gym by seven in the morning, and she didn't make it sound like a choice.

With a sigh of resignation Kate pulled herself out of bed and got dressed, before trudging out of her room. She was going to be put up here for over a month, as disappointing as that might be, so she'd have to make the best of it.

She didn't want to make the best of it.

The Virbank Gym wasn't too far across town, so Kate could make it on time if she ran. But her energy was shot, so she barely got there by seven. And when she did, she was even more exhausted than when she'd woken up.

Luckily, she wasn't the only one who looked tired. Roxie was the only one in the gym, her band gone. She had bags under her eyes and her eyes themselves were dim and bleary, like she'd gone the night without sleeping. Kate could empathize.

"No performance today?" Kate yawned, looking around the music club. She didn't see Nicky or Billy Jo around.

"They'll be in sometime this afternoon," Roxie confirmed with a yawn. "Ya see… we do our performances in the evenings, but during the day it's all about that gym life, ya feel me? I gotta use that time to train my 'mons and take on challenges."

Kate was impressed Roxie could make such a tight schedule work. "Wow," she said, looking around the empty music club that a few hours ago had been packed to the brim with cheering fans. "When do you get sleep?"

Roxie gave a cruel, heartless laugh. She had a defeated look on her face. "Sleep is negotiable," she yawned, and Kate winced at that response.

Oh boy. That sounded rough. Being a gym leader sounded a lot worse now that she saw the other side of it. Roxie clearly didn't have enough breaks on her schedule.

Then again, she was juggling being a gym leader with being a the front face of her band, so it probably wasn't representative of a gym leader's schedule.

"Well, that does sound pretty tough," Kate said, giving her a sympathetic look. "Anyway, I was thinking… um…"

Kate was going to tell her that it was okay to take a break for the day and get some time to sleep, but she feared that would be a little presumptuous of her, so she didn't have time to finish her sentence. Either way, it was clear that Roxie wasn't the kind of person to listen to advice like that, even if it was for her own good.

Kate had to admit, she found that aspect of the gym leader to be one of the many things she admired about the older girl.

"Now then, where were we?" Roxie demanded, suddenly becoming a lot more animated. She navigated through the wreckage of her gym, a testament to the wild party that had been going on the night before. "That's right! We were talking about improving yer team and helping ya get a better feeling at dealing with Poison types, right Katie Girl?"

"Y-Yeah, that's right," Kate confirmed, even though she knew what she was capable of, and she knew that there was a lot she knew about Poison type pokemon. "You said that you were going to help me catch a new Poison type pokemon, isn't that right?"

Roxie nodded, a grin stretching across her face. "Yup! That's exactly right! Yer pokemon are great and ya've definitely got a lot of experience with the type! But it looks to me like ya need to get a little bit more coverage and diversity, so it's important that ya catch a few more pokemon, ya feel me?" She suggested.

Kate liked the sound of that, but at the same time she was a little reluctant. She'd been raising her original three pokemon for a long time, and her other pokemon were obtained under strange circumstances. Reed had all but been forced onto her by Marion, and Sludgy had been a pokemon that she'd purchased because she'd been so desperate to own a Muk ever since she was a little girl. But catching a brand new pokemon…

It was an exciting prospect, but a terrifying one at the same time.

"I'm ready to do it!" Kate assured Roxie nevertheless. She wanted to impress the gym leader, and didn't want her anxieties to show on her face!

Roxie stared at her for a second, blinking her tired eyes. Kate hoped that she would be too exhausted from the prior evening to see just how unsure and unready she really was for this.

She was lucky. Roxie didn't make much of a deal out of any of that, and just nodded along with Kate, smiling.

"Great! I love that spirit of yers, Katie Girl! If ya think yer ready to train and catch a new pokemon, then I ain't gonna say anything!" Roxie assured her with a grin. "Let's get going and find ya a new Poison type to raise, sound good?"

Kate swallowed and nodded. She followed Roxie out of the gym, and back onto the dark and crooked streets of Virbank City. She noted that Roxie was wearing a bulky backpack that seemed like the kind of thing someone would have for mountain climbing. But she didn't say anything. It was probably filled with supplies for camping or something, right? That's what Kate assumed the plan was. The two of them would go camping outside Virbank City and try to find some Poison type pokemon in the wilds around town.

That sounded like the kind of activity that a gym leader would be doing.

It was actually a rather relaxing stroll, Kate had to admit. When she'd come to Virbank City the night before, it had looked gloomy and intimidating, and the bad parts of town were exceptionally so. But right now, things were peaceful. Tranquil, even. She'd noticed it earlier in the morning on her way to the gym. Without the dark and gloomy atmosphere of the night, Virbank City was actually not that bad of a place.

Everything looked scarier in the dark, that was the only problem.

"So… where are we going?" Kate asked, picking up her pace to catch the eager Roxie. "You said we were looking for Poison types? So is there a forest around here?" Kate hadn't studied the geography of the Unova Region very much, she'd expected to spend most of her free time in the gym, training her pokemon.

Roxie shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah, sure, we could catch some pokemon there," she agreed. "But that ain't where we're going! We're going to the Virbank Complex!"

Kate gasped. She'd heard about the Virbank Complex before. It was a site for storing energy, an outdoor factory, and a place that was often frequented by pokemon.

"Are there Poison type pokemon at the Virbank Complex?" Kate asked, starting to get excited at the possibilities. Roxie and her band mates all had pokemon from the Koffing line, maybe there would be Koffing there? A Koffing on her team could be good… but then, there were all sorts of Poison type pokemon Kate would love to befriend, too… why was this all so hard?

Roxie shook her head. "The pokemon we'll see around the complex are mostly Fire type and Electric type," she informed Kate.

Kate sighed in disappointment. That wasn't what she'd wanted to hear. However, Roxie's next words perked her right back up.

"Nah, we're going to be looking for something else entirely, don't worry!" Roxie assured her with a grin. The way her eyes sparkled told Kate that she would have something to look forward to after all, and got her excited again.

Roxie maneuvered through the industrial facilities outside the Virbank Complex. The way she was walking was unnerving to Kate, she was moving cautiously. Kate had a sinking suspicion that they weren't actually supposed to be here.

"Okay, here we are!" Roxie said, stopping in front of a raised wall of concrete that stretched around the perimeter of the facilities.

Kate was confused. "Really… here?" She asked, not sure what she was looking at.

"Yup, this is the perfect place!" Roxie said, cracking a grin. "Take a look, that's where ya'll be going, ya got it?"

Roxie pointed at the base of the wall, and then drew her finger a few feet down the length to point at something else. Kate was surprised what she saw, it was an old rusty gate in front of a large rounded extension out of the wall, like a big pipe.

She looked at Roxie, confused.

"What's that supposed to be?" She asked, not sure what she was dealing with here.

Roxie shrugged, cracking a grin.

"What yer looking at is the entrance to the Virbank City Sewer System," Roxie explained. "It's where we deal with all the wasted generated by the town, and by the Virbank Complex itself. What do ya think? Sound like a good place for ya to find Poison type pokemon?"

Kate didn't know what to think. Roxie wanted her to go crawling around through the sewer? Was she serious? The grin on Roxie's face and the evil glimmer in her eye confirmed that yes, she was, which sent a shiver down Kate's spine.

"S-So… we're going into the sewer, huh?" Kate shivered, taking another wary glance at the sewer grating. It wasn't like she was afraid of the sewers or anything like that, just… it was really gross! And she wasn't wearing clothes that were suited for it!

"Huh? We?" Roxie tilted her head to the side, confused. "What're ya talking about, Katie Girl?" She looked like she didn't understand what Kate was saying, which was odd at first, but then the truth of the matter began to sink in.

Kate went pale.

"W-Wait, you can't be serious," she said, shaking her head frantically. "You mean… you want me to go into the sewers… by myself?!"

It was the craziest thing she'd ever heard! Roxie was supposed to be her chaperone, she wasn't supposed to just… send her off into the sewers all on her lonesome! That was crazy, it was insane, it was the sort of thing that a nutjob would do!

Roxie shrugged her shoulders. "I mean… yeah? That was the plan, right?"

"I-I can't believe this!" Kate sputtered. "No way! There's no way I can explore that whole sewer complex by myself! I'd get lost! I thought for sure you would be coming with me! Isn't that your job? Aren't you supposed to be helping me train?!"

She had been doing her best to not let her inner venom ooze to the surface, but this was too much. Roxie had pushed her too far, and she wasn't going to stand for it. She needed to let the other girl know that enough was enough!

"Yeah, obviously," Roxie said, rolling her eyes. "But this is a little different! Ya see, ya don't need me in there with ya, Katie Girl! Ya got more than enough skills to train in the sewers on yer own! I can't be there to hold yer hand, ya feel me?"

There was a difference between handholding and doing her fundamental job as a chaperone and guardian to make sure Kate didn't get into any trouble. Were all the gym leaders for the practicum like this? Would they all be this wild and crazy!?

Kate didn't want to think about that. And she definitely didn't want to go wandering the sewers all on her own. Sleeping in that motel room was bad enough, but if she went into that rank pit of foulness she would probably never be able to get the stench out!

"Look, it ain't so bad!" Roxie scoffed, setting the bulky backpack down. "I got everything ya need in here to keep yerself safe!"

Kate eyed the heavy backpack suspiciously. It did look like it had a bunch of stuff that she would need, but she was reluctant to take it. Taking the backpack would make it seem like she was okay with this plan, and she absolutely wasn't.

Roxie could see Kate needed more convincing, so she unzipped it. "First thing's first, we got ya some special oversuits! These are stench and stain resistant!" Roxie explained, showing Kate an outfit that looked like a combination between a hazmat suit and a poncho. "Plus, it's got a built-in ventilator so ya won't have to breathe in any of that rank ol' stank!"

Okay, that was definitely an improvement, Kate had to admit that.

"Plus, we gotcha a full week of rations," Roxie continued, gesturing to another pocket. That made Kate take notice. What had she just said?!

"Wait, a week?!" Kate exclaimed. "You want me to go down there for a full week?! Seriously?!" She'd thought that this would just be a couple of hours, maybe a full day, at most. But Roxie was telling her to stay in the sewers for a week?!

All the good will Roxie had earned from Kate towards this idea with the hazmat suit had evaporated in a flash.

"Hey, come on now, it's not like I actually expect ya to be gone for a full week, that'd be insane!" Roxie laughed. "Nah, the week's just yer time limit. If ya can't find a pokemon to catch and come back here within a week, then I'll go in and getcha. We got a GPS for ya, see, right here!"

Roxie took out something that looked like a tablet. "This here's a special positioned and map," Roxie explained. "It emits a signal we can track on GPS, and comes equipped with a map of the whole sewer system! If ya think yer lost, ya can use this ol' thing to find yer way back to the exit, see? That way ya won't get stuck!"

Kate sighed in relief. That was good, at least. So she wasn't going to starve, and she probably wasn't going to get lost.

"Okay, and next up, we got a tent, flashlights, all sorts of other odds and ends," Roxie murmured, rattling through the remaining contents of the bag. "So, whattya think? Sound like something ya can handle?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Or is it a little too tricky for ya, I wonder?" She mused, cracking a smirk that made Kate's eye twitch with frustration.

She knew she was being goaded, and she hated when she was goaded. But Roxie was doing this for her own good, she wasn't so blind that she couldn't see that. She wanted to help Kate catch a Poison type pokemon, and she was also giving Kate a lot of agency at the same time.

That was what finally sold her. Once Kate had calmed down and seen this for what it was, Roxie's attempt to help her, it made her come around on the whole thing. Sure, she wasn't all that enthusiastic about climbing around in the sewers, but that was one of the sacrifices you made when it came to catching Poison type pokemon. Sewers, dumpsters, abandoned factories, polluted lakes, you had to wade around places that weren't all that pleasant in the hopes of finding the pokemon that inhabited those spots.

Roxie was trusting Kate. She was trusting her to not only be able to handle this on her own, but also that she would come back a success, without dying in the pipes somehow.

And that trust went a long way. It meant a lot to Kate that her idol thought she was capable of handling this. It told her that she was going to be fine, that Roxie really did believe that she would be able to find a Poison type pokemon to add to her team.

Roxie meant a lot to Kate. She was the kind of Poison master that Kate wanted to be someday, cool and out there, while at the same time not being an outcast. Someone who people looked up to and idolized, a Poison type user that folks actually wanted around.

She was a symbol of who Kate could become. And she was trusting Kate with this! Kate wasn't going to let her expectations down!

"I'll do it," Kate agreed, taking the clothes out of the backpack and moving to put them on over her current outfit.

"Oh, wait, one last thing," Roxie said, giving Kate a sheepish smile. "See, this test is all about ya catching a new pokemon, right? Well… I don't want ya to just be bringing along a bunch of yer current pokemon, ya see? So… could ya maybe leave a few of 'em back here? Not all of 'em, of course! It wouldn't be safe to send ya down there alone! But just a few."

Kate sighed. She'd expected something like this. She nodded, and took off her belt of pokeballs. She briefly considered who would be the most help, and finally decided to take Sludgy with her. She hadn't gotten to spend as much time with him as she had her other pokemon, and a Muk would feel right at home in these dank sewers.

"Terrific!" Roxie grinned. "Now Katie Girl, ya ready to rock and roll?" She asked, reaching into her pocket and taking out a handful of pokeballs. "These are for ya to catch some pokemon with! I've got five of 'em, but I doubt someone of your level will need that many!"

Kate nodded and took the pokeballs. She tied her belt around the outside of the suit, and clipped the empty pokeballs on right next to Sludgy's Heal Ball. She was brimming with confidence, this would be perfect! She'd be coming out of those sewers with a new pokemon!

"Oh, um, and there's one more thing, too," Roxie said, a wave of guilt flashing across her face. She glanced sheepishly away from Kate.

Kate blinked. "Yeah? What's up?"

"Well, Katie Girl, ya see… there's a bit of an urban legend going on around Virbank City… nothing too scary, ya see, but there's a rumor that a kid that received a pokemon egg, and when the egg hatched, the Ekans inside… was gold. The kid didn't like Poison types, and he was weirded out by an Ekans that was a different color than other Ekans, so… he flushed the baby Ekans down the toilet."

Kate gasped. That was horrible! She couldn't believe someone could ever do such a thing! "Why… Why are you telling me this?" She asked, not sure if she would like the answer.

"Welllllll… there's a rumor about a golden Arbok that lives in the sewers, and it's no ordinary Arbok, either," Roxie explained. "It's huge, capable of eating a person in one bite. But… it's just an urban legend! I swear! Not real… probably."

Kate was liking the sound of going into the sewers less and less. Now she didn't just have to worry about the sewers, but about the giant killer Arbok inside?!

"Look, the urban legend's just a legend to explain the Arbok!" Roxie reassured her. All but confirming there WAS a giant Arbok in there, which wasn't very reassuring.

Kate sighed. Well, no sense getting worked up over this… she might as well see what the big fuss was about, right?

"I'm going," she muttered, heading for the grate.

"Good luck, Katie Girl!" Roxie called after her. "If ya ain't back, I'll come pick ya up in a week!"

So Kate's going to catch a new pokemon! What Poison types will she find in the sewers? Will she be able to evade the Arbok?! Hopefully things will go okay for her.