Chapter 9

Diamond or Gravel

Steelix was physically one of the strongest creatures in Kanto. He was so unmatched that he would more than likely kill any opponent if he fought seriously, even a misstep could crush a smaller Pokémon. Serving as the final test for trainers attempting to earn their 8th gym badge, it would be impractical to kill or maim a challenger's Pokémon. Trainers at that level would often go on to become rangers, protectors of humanity. Losing a member of their elite team would set a trainer back months, if not years. So Steelix was limited to horizontal strikes and non-lethal blows, purposely missing vertical slams, as the impact would crush most opponents into a bony soup.

Capitalizing on the fact that Steelix was 'undiscovered' to the general public, Brock used him as a powerful tool to assess the adaptability of trainers challenging his gym. Specializing in large bulky Pokémon with high defense, trainers had learned to prepare for their battle with Brock by bringing Water or Grass-types with them, as they were best suited to deal with Brock's rugged team. Exeggutor and Blastoise were fairly regular contenders at the Pewter gym.

But Steelix's Steel-typing easily negated that disadvantage and would often stop a trainer's strategy in its tracks. The decision-making that occurred from that point to the conclusion of the battle determined whether the challenger was awarded their 8th badge. Challengers didn't have to defeat Steelix, and many didn't, but if they were able to form an effective counter while 60 feet of steel was tearing through their team Brock would typically award them their badge.

And then there were the truly talented trainers.

Those who had the knowledge and intuition to find Steelix's weakness and the power to defeat the steel behemoth. The kind that unleashed a pillar of flame and a lake of magma into the arena to snatch the Boulder Badge from the jaws of defeat.

That was the real reason Brock had been hesitant to contact Professor Oak, as admitting the existence of Steelix to the professor would invariably lead to Steelix being entered in the Pokédex and his final 'test' rendered moot. But trainers had started to grow wise to Brock's monster and word had spread that certain strategies worked better than others against Steelix. Preferring the general trainer population to be informed rather than misinformed, Brock had decided to contact professor Oak to get the correct information into the Pokédex before rumors or falsities about Steelix could spread further.

In a stroke of luck, Oak had sent Patrick to him before Brock could contact that professor.

After the red-haired trainer from Johto collected his eighth badge, the Gym was closed for the afternoon. An army of Graveler, Sandslash, and Dugtrio were released to repair the shattered gym floor, hammering the jagged edges into a somewhat flat surface, and using the resulting gravel to fill in the craters. The magma had already done most of the work for them and a layer of smooth black rock covered the majority of the gym floor now.

Since their classes had been canceled, Patrick, Rob, and Ed decided to grab lunch at a popular diner halfway between the Pewter Gym and Pewters city wall. The Rockslide Diner was known for its huge portions at relatively low prices and was a favorite for exhausted trainers looking for food between their workouts. Once they had ordered their respective meals, the three friends began to catch up with each other.

Rob and Ed were no longer staying at the Pokécenter, their Pokémon had been released days ago and were well on their way to a full recovery. Instead, they had moved into 'The Tunnels', a sprawling subterranean complex accessible through the Pewter gym. Originally excavated by Brock's Onix years earlier, they had since been converted into basic housing for trainers at the gym. If one could ignore the lack of natural lighting and the dull hum of fans circulating stale air, it was an incredibly cheap option and one traveling trainers were happy to accept.

After all, being a trainer was a very feast-famine lifestyle, where one job could cover expenses for weeks, but the next job might not come for a month. Most trainers were forced to pinch pennies while in-between jobs.

Patrick had opted to stay at the Pokécenter, as Oak Labs covered his costs there and access to the PC was necessary to keep in contact with the professor. He also didn't want to live like a Diglett but refrained from telling the brothers that part.

With their dwindling funds in mind, the brothers had both applied for jobs at one of the major mining companies that operated out of Pewter. Under the job title of Asset Protection, their job would be to protect the massive trucks and mining equipment as men and Pokémon worked to extract the rich natural resources in the Moon Mountains.

The loud machinery often attracted the ire of powerful Pokémon and the occasional Rhydon, Golem or Charizard would attempt to put an end to the racket. The employed team of trainers would then work to repel the rampaging Pokémon. There was a rumor that a mining team from Cerulean had recently disturbed a Dragonite's slumber with their equipment but no one from that expedition had survived to confirm or deny it.

Trainers' opinions on long-term contracts varied widely depending on who was asked. Purists believed that trainers should always be moving, exploring the wilds, and becoming braving the elements alongside their Pokémon. To spend months or even years guarding the same pieces of equipment was stagnation and simply unacceptable. At the opposite end were the trainers who trained their Pokémon as a means to support themselves, often in the town or city they were born. Typically, only having one badge and a handful of local Pokémon, they did the more menial tasks needed of trainers, guard duty being a major employer.

Rob and Ed, like most trainers, fell in the middle. They intended to work at the mining company for a few months to replenish their depleted savings before challenging the gym and moving on. They also needed to spend some time training their Pokémon and adding new members to their team. None of their current Pokémon were particularly suited to fight Brock's rocky team, especially not at a 3-badge level.

Patrick's plans while in Pewter had become less clear. He had found and documented two extrinsic evolutions and proved that his and Professor Rowan's theory was sound all within a few days of coming to Pewter. However, his team wasn't yet strong enough to challenge Brock and he was hesitant to leave another city without earning his first gym badge.

So, he had thrown himself fully into training. To gain the skills necessary to defeat Brock, survive Mt Moon and continue his search for new evolutions in Cerulean and beyond. There were rumors that a new gym leader was due to arrive in Viridian soon but that would require traveling through the Forest again, something Patrick was unwilling to do at that time. His nightmares of grasping claws and snapping pincers had only just begone to fade.

With Professor Oak's permission, he had signed up for a full-time training regime with the Pewter gym. Averaging six to eight hours of class a day, he and his Pokémon would be trained both physically and mentally, with particular attention to mountainous and subterranean combat and survival. With mountain ranges on three sides, the majority of the jobs trainers took in Pewter involved being in, on, or under the mountains.

Unlike Viridian, Pewter had a thriving trainer population and an extensive class schedule to choose from. Averaging 10-20 trainers per class, it was a convenient way to train with many different types of Pokémon, learning each species' strengths and weaknesses as you rotated through training partners. Sharing the cost with other trainers also meant classes were significantly cheaper than the private lessons Patrick had taken in Viridian.

Split into streams labeled novice, intermediate and advanced, several classes could run at a time and serviced a wide range of abilities. With a sigh Patrick begrudgingly signed up for the novice classes, his pride wounded at once again being a beginner.

0000

"Welcome to the Pewter Gym!" The old trainer boomed as he paced along the line of novices. Each trainer stood at attention, none daring to move as the gym trainer continued. "My name is Jet, and I will be your instructor."

With more than three decades of experience training the novice class of the Pewter Gym, Jet took great pleasure in his position. He had the opportunity to teach and mold each new generation of Pokémon trainers as they began their journey in Pewter. Most trainers he taught were teenagers, with no more than a Rattata or Pidgey to protect them but with his guidance, he would shape them and their Pokémon into something hard, something strong. But like any good sculptor, he knew that to reveal that strong trainer beneath he had to chip away at any weakness.

"Rock is the element of strength, of stability, and of resilience. While you are under my tutelage, you will be pushed harder than ever before. At the end of each day, you will be exhausted, you will feel nauseous, and you will want nothing more than to roll over and quit. Those of you who survive this month will emerge tougher, harder, and stronger than you have ever thought possible. Graduates of the Pewter gym rely on unwavering determination and a steadfast commitment to their mission to endure any obstacle or hardship."

Every trainer was enthralled as Jet continued his well-rehearsed speech. Pausing only long enough to draw them in and then yelling to emphasize a point. Trainers breathed in short breaths, hearts pounding and eyes wide as Jet described each hardship they would face, every way they could fail, and why only the strongest would be allowed to progress. At their sides, the trainers' Pokémon were tense, feeding off the nervous energy their trainers were showing. Pikachu and Voltorb sparked uneasily, several bird Pokémon ruffled their feathers and one Squirtle had fully withdrawn into its shell.

"Pressure can create diamonds or gravel; it will be up to you to decide what you become." Jet finished, letting the weight of his words hang in the air. "Now, break into partners and call up your first Pokémon! Let's see what you pebbles can do!"

In a flurry of activity, the trainers broke apart. Looking eyes with others, they quickly spread out in pairs and filled the small black circles. Patrick found himself facing off against a teen with a Rattata at his side.

The younger trainer prodded his nervous Rattata into the ring. Hissing, the purple rodents flashed its chisel-like teeth at Patrick and his team. Always willing to pick a favorable matchup, Patrick called Meowth into the ring.

Rising to its feet, the smug feline made a show of stretching before lazily prowling into the ring, leering at the Rattata across from it. Seeing its natural predator enter the right, the Rattata spat and hissed, even more, purple fur standing on end.

Once every pair of trainers had released their Pokémon into the rings, Jet raised his arm and with a yell brought it down, signaling the start of the ten battles.

Without needing Patrick's instruction, Meowth dashed across the stone floor toward her opponent. Rattata looked over at its trainer for guidance.

"Sand Attack!" The young trainer cried, slightly panicked that the Meowth had begun an attack without waiting for her trainer's command.

Gathering sand in its paw, Rattata lashed out at the feline as it neared. Meowth, prepared for the attack easily cut to the side before reversing her momentum once more and slamming into the off-balance purple rodent. The two rolled on the ground briefly before Meowth, using her superior weight, pinned the rodent and clamped her fangs lightly but firmly against the back of its neck.

The battle lasted less than ten seconds.

Lightly springing off the rodent, Meowth walked back to Patrick and affectionately rubbed herself against Patrick's legs, happily basking in his praise for a job well done.

The Rattata on the other hand slowly got to its feet and, head down in disappointment walked back to its trainer in shame. The younger trainer scratched the rodent and offered encouragement however the dejected Pokémon tapped its Pokéball and in a flash of light, disappeared into the orb to sulk.

Patrick scratched Meowth's neck as he looked around at the battles still raging around him and was pleased to see he was the first victor. Patrick was quite surprised with how quickly Meowth had managed to defeat Rattata. The time spent training in Viridian and then traveling across the forest seemed to have increased her power more than Patrick had realized.

Scanning the battlefield, he locked eyes with Jet. The old grey-haired trainer stood to the side of all the battles, arms crossed in front of him. Having watched the brief battle, he gave one small nod of approval to Patrick, before turning away to watch a Squirtle launch a flurry of bubbles at an airborne Pidgey.

Patrick's next battle was against a woman with an Oddish. Bouncing into the ring, the weed Pokémon basked in the morning sun, the leaves wreathing its small body drawing in the light. Recognizing the dull green glow of the Chlorophyll ability being activated, Patrick warned Nidoran as he too hopped into the ring.

Like before, Patrick said nothing as Jet began the next round.

Darting forward, Nidoran charged the dark blue bulb but had to quickly lunge to the side as a swarm of razor leaves came buzzing at him. The spinning leaves slammed into the ground Nidoran had been standing, the sharpened edges chipped the hard grey stone of the battlefield.

Returning the ranged attack with one of his own, Nidoran flexed his venomous spines and unleashed a rain of white needles at the Oddish. Using its enhanced reflexes and agility, Oddish easily danced around the attack, and the needles shattered harmlessly against the floor.

"Oddish is a poison-type," Patrick called from the sidelines as Nidoran dodged another swarm of razor leaves. Reminding his Pokémon that it could not rely on poisoning to easily win this match. Not taking his eyes off his opponent, Nidoran nodded in acknowledgment.

Patrick's opponent, a woman with short dark hair and the hard, lined skin of the pewter natives, who spent their lives facing the cold, dry wind that blew down from the mountains, said nothing throughout. Sharp eyes analyzed the battle as it played out, but she felt no need to offer instruction or encouragement, trusting her Pokémon implicitly.

Oddish leaped high as another spray of poisoned darts pelted the ground it had been standing on. Bunching up his powerful legs, Nidoran shot forward attempting to attack the Oddish as it sailed helplessly through the air. As Nidoran neared the still airborne Pokémon, he lowered his wickedly sharp horn and leaped into the air after his opponent.

Just before the horn could connect, however, two whip-like vines burst from the Oddish's leaves, reared back, and struck a vicious hammer blow down onto Nidoran, slamming him back onto the ground and allowing Oddish to lightly touch down next to its master.

Reeling its prehensile vines back into the mass of foliage that grew from its body, the Oddish flashed a cocky grin at Nidoran as he shook himself and got back to his feet.

Growling in response Nidoran flexed its small, powerful muscles. Ready to throw himself back at the plant Pokémon when Jet called time and ended all matches still ongoing. Angrily stalking over to Patrick, Nidoran begrudgingly accepted his praise.

As Jet called for all trainers to switch partners once more, both Nidoran and Patrick turned one last time to memorize the faces of the woman and her Oddish, as they would likely battle many times over the next few weeks.

0000

The following weeks passed in a blur. Jet hadn't lied when he said that the training at the Pewter gym would be the hardest Patrick had endured up to that point. He and his Pokémon had been pushed physically and mentally daily with countless drills, exercises, and battle scenarios. With practiced ease, Jet knew exactly how far to push each trainer and Pokémon, bringing them to their breaking point before allowing them to rest. However even with the allowed rest, several of the trainers were unable to handle the constant strain and dropped out of the class, lowering the number of trainers from 20 to 17.

Nidoran and Meowth had both proven themselves to be powerhouses, able to hold their own or downright dominate most of the Pokémon that were paired against.

Meowth's agility and precision were well known in the class, as she rarely took damage and was able to quickly and cleanly end matches with a well-placed slash or bite. However, Nidoran was the one that trainers and Pokémon alike feared being matched against. His strength, power, and tenacity were unrivaled, no matter the damage his body may have taken, Nidoran always leaped back into battle.

Early on in the program, Jet had organized a king-of-the-hill style training session. Where matches were held in quick succession back-to-back, with the winner of the previous battle staying on to face the next challenger. Nidoran had stayed in the ring for a total of 9 matches before Jet had intervened, fearing that Nidoran may suffer permanent damage if he was allowed to continue.

Even suffering from blood loss, dozens of lacerations, a swollen eye, and one fractured rib, Nidoran had fought angrily against the decision to be taken from the ring before he was defeated and had to be recalled to his Pokéball before the next match could begin.

It was that battle rage that Patrick was beginning to be concerned with. The night he had met Nidoran, he had read the entire Pokédex entry on not only Nidoran but his evolutions as well. The entire species' lust for battle was well documented and many times these Pokémon could lose themselves in battle, each blow taken amplified their rage, allowing them to shrug off grievous injuries and return it two-fold. Many times, a Nidorino or Nidoking might win a battle, only to pass out due to their injuries once the rage left their eyes. Trainers of the Nidoran line would have to walk that knife edge, of pushing their Pokémon to the limits of their endurance but stopping them, sometimes by force, from allowing their Pokémon to suffer any serious injury.

Oddish, now Gloom, and her trainer, Elain, were often matched up against Patrick's formidable Pokémon. After the first few battles, where each Pokémon learned the strengths of the other, they had fallen into a heated rivalry. Glooms control of the battlefield was unsurpassed, as she expertly used various spores and powders released from her red, bulbous petals to stun, poison, or put to sleep her opponents. Nidoran and Meowth had quickly learned to stay upwind while fighting Gloom.

Even at range, Gloom kept Patrick's team off balanced with endless barrages of razor leaves and the snap of her vines. Nidoran's poison resistance and Meowth's agility allowed Patrick to respond to the assault and they could snatch a win just as often as a loss.

Despite all the recognition his Pokémon received during training, Patrick found he still struggled to keep up with the other trainers in his sessions. Although his strength and stamina were ever-increasing, especially after the trip through the forest, the weeks off had dulled his fighting skills considerably. The easy coordination he had begun to experience while training under Takashi, where each move seemed to flow into the other, had been replaced with a jerky and awkward series of strikes. Patrick repeatedly found himself off balance or overextended, a position his sparring partners were always willing to exploit.

Jet had also introduced a new element of training that Patrick had yet to experience.

Weapons.

For now, just consisting of padded, wooden poles of various lengths. Jet drilled all the trainers on the proper use of weapons in different battle scenarios. Against humans, both armed and unarmed, and Pokémon. Starting with the basics, Patrick had learned proper footwork, the appropriate grip for each weapon, and several practice forms Patrick could practice individually.

Jet had chuckled when Patrick had first brought his collapsible baton to class, saying that it was appropriate for an aide working on a Pokémon ranch but would break the first time he tried to fend off a real Pokémon.

Realizing that trainers were expected to hold their own in battle against wild Pokémon had been eye-opening. Patrick had always envisioned himself commanding his Pokémon into battle from the safety of the backline. To think that he might have to get up close to an angry Machoke or stare down a charging Rapidash was nerve-wracking and made him take the training that much more seriously.

Luckily, as almost the entire class was unfamiliar with any weapons, it wouldn't be productive to spar against each other. They would inevitably regress to flailing their weapons wildly and would likely reinforce bad habits and not the forms and techniques taught.

Now that Patrick was conscious of his footwork and the use of weapons, he began seeing them everywhere. Veteran trainers that visited the gym to complete assignments or pick up new jobs had a certain gait about them. Instead of walking, they seemed to glide, like a stalking cat, each muscle moving in smooth coordination with those around it and with perfect balance at all times.

At their waists or strapped across their backs, Patrick noted a myriad of different weapon preferences. Swords of all shapes and sizes seemed to be the most popular choice however he also saw massive war hammers and maces, bows and crossbows, several spears, and even a whip. Anything that could help the trainer fight on even footing with a rampaging Pokémon or give their own Pokémon time to step in.

Clutching his light, collapsible baton, Patrick wondered how differently his encounter with the Pinsir in Viridian Forest would have gone if he had been armed with a spear or great sword.

0000

"I can't move. Just leave me here." Patrick cried dramatically, lying on the floor of the Pewter gym.

"Get up. We are getting dinner." Rob teased smirking at his exhausted friend and nudging him with his boot.

"Your day wasn't that hard, was it?" Ed asked, reaching down and pulling Patrick up to his feet. The three of them had just finished their last class of the day and the sky overhead was starting to turn red as the sun neared the horizon.

"It was brutal, I was exhausted within the first hour," Patrick complained as he got to his feet and brushed himself off. Both Meowth and Nidoran had returned to their pokéballs. Preferring to sleep rather than walk beside their trainer. "You two are enrolled in the intermediate program, why aren't you tired."

"We're used to it, I guess." Ed shrugged. "We've completed programs like this before."

The three friends slowly walked up the winding ramps that lead out of the gym. The brothers would be returning later than night to get to their rooms but right now the three of them needed food.

0000

"-and long story short, we got hired!" Ed explained, between bites of his food.

"That's fantastic, when do you guys start?" Patrick asked, happy his friends had found jobs so quickly.

"Not for a few more weeks," Rob said, already finished his meal. "They have a new site opening next month and need the extra manpower. Then we start a ten-week contract working ten days on, four days off."

"Where will you be working?" Patrick asked curiously, munching on his food.

"Camp is a couple of days north, somewhere in the mountains. They hit a pretty rich ore vein, so they are setting up their equipment as fast as possible. The high-level trainers are already there clearing out any resident Pokémon that might be a problem." Rob explained. "Any Rhydon and their herds will have to be driven off, cliffs scouted for Golem, caves searched for Snorlax or Dragonite. That sort of thing."

"What happens if they find a Dragonite…" Patrick prodded; the Dragon-types were some of the most powerful Pokémon ever discovered and their tempers were legendary. The scaly beasts did not take kindly to being disturbed.

"Well, if the scouting team doesn't die… all machinery is shut down and personnel are evacuated immediately. A code 149, I think it is called…" Rob continued, Ed nodding along as he silently ate his burger. "And then they come to the gym and try to hire a team of rangers to drive it off. Or abandon the dig site entirely."

"A team of rangers…" Patrick said, impressed. Ranger was the highest rank a trainer could obtain without being a gym leader or one of the Elite Four. For a team of rangers to gather just to drive off one Pokémon… Dragonite were truly monsters.

"But we won't have to worry about that!" Ed chimed in, finishing his meal. "All the dangerous Pokémon will be gone; we'll only need to keep an eye out for the odd Pokémon passing through."

"That's great guys! I'm glad you two will get stable work for the next few months. I guess Pewter is going to be your home for a little while then, eh?" Patrick said with a tinge of sadness. He'd have to leave Pewter long before his friends would be done with their contract.

"Yeah, we'll be stuck here for a little while. Fine by me though. Pidgeotto and Electrode aren't going to be able to take on Brock's team by themselves. I've actually been thinking about this, what do you guys think about me catching a Primape to fight Brock?"

The work contract already forgotten, the three trainers fell into a deep discussion on the strengths and weaknesses of each of the local Pokémon that would be able to stand up to Brock. While Brock regularly changed his team depending on the trainer he was fighting, his Pokémon were all tough Rock or Ground-types. Rob firmly believed that a Grass-type from the Viridian Forest would be the best option however Ed's heart was set on a Fighting-type.

Hours later the three friends departed the diner and went their separate ways, each with a slightly different strategy for how they would defeat the rock-type gym leader.

0000

Patrick admired the rows of jagged teeth and the massive wingspan that stretched above him, at nearly 25 feet wide the tips of each wing nearly touched opposite walls. Suspended by steel wires, the entire fossil had been positioned to give the appearance that the great reptile had taken flight, gliding through the wide corridors of the Pewter Museum of Science.

Lining the walls, protected in glass display cases, were various fossils and remains of ancient Pokémon that had been discovered locally or imported from abroad. Several children pressed their noses against one such case, housing a bipedal skeleton with a domed head and sickle blades jutting out from its forearms.

Patrick absentmindedly wove through the scattered guests of the museum and mentally tried to identify each Pokémon based on the fossil without reading the display plates. Nearing the end of the fossil wing, he was impressed to find that the museum even had remains from as far as Hoenn and Sinnoh as he passed the fossils of both an Armaldo and a Rampardos.

Crossing from the fossil wing into the human history exhibit, Patrick came to stop in front of a massive suit of armor, nearly 12 feet tall. The blue-grey armor had intricate seals and inscriptions carved over its surface in a language Patrick didn't recognize. Great bronze bands were clasped around its forearms and ankles. Its relatively small helmet, compared to its body, stared blankly forward, dark hollows marked where its eyes would have been in life. The display plate reported these eyes and inscriptions would have blazed with a brilliant yellow light when the Pokémon had been alive.

"Ah, I see you've found our Golurk statue! It took quite a bit of effort to have this shipped all the way from the Unova region, but it has been a hit ever since it arrived."

Patrick turned to find a thin man in a white lab coat hurriedly walking towards him, a messily stacked pile of papers clutched in his arms.

"From what we've learned of the period, these statues were animated through some unknown means to be used as both a laborer, in times of peace, and unstoppable engines of war. This specimen is one of the largest ever found, however since the species was manmade, there is no telling how large they could have been if the creator had enough time and resources!" Finally coming in line with Patrick, the researcher reached out his hand. "I'm Neville. Thanks for coming to meet me here, I have some free time while the computer analyzes our newest sample."

"Hi Neville, Patrick. Nice to meet you. I'm sure Oak has already sent you our research to date?" Patrick replied, shaking the offered hand.

"Yes! Of course! I was one of the first people contacted by Brock when Steelix evolved, although my area of expertise is more in the area of Fossils, rather than living, breathing Pokémon." The young researcher explained, constantly readjusting his glasses, and pushing his limp blonde hair back, he buzzed with nervous energy. "Still, I was the one that found the traces of Metal Coat throughout Steelix's hide!"

"That was a great catch!" Patrick encouraged. "I have seen your name on the bottom of many of the reports Brock gave me about Steelix and Crobat."

"Did you find an error somewhere? Is that why you've come? I told Brock this wasn't my field of expertise, but he didn't want to reach out to anyone outside of Pewter." Neville lamented.

"No! Not at all! Your notes on Steelix and Crobat allowed me to build a solid foundation for the entry we will submit to the Pokédex next time it is updated." Patrick reassured, trying to ease the scientists' nerves. "The professor actually asked me to talk to you, to see if you would be interested in resuming researching the two Pokémon. This time in collaboration with Oak labs. While I've done quite a bit of testing so far, we have only really scratched the surface of what there is to know about Crobat and Steelix. I'll be heading to Cerulean City in a few weeks, and we'll need someone to take over."

"Working with Professor Oak is the goal of every scientist in Kanto!" Neville cried, nearly dropping his papers. "I'd be honored to resume researching those two Pokémon. I've just finished a joint research project with Blaine's team in Cinnabar. They were very interested in my work on fossils."

"That's great news. The professor will be ecstatic! I'll let him know and he'll contact you shortly for the terms." Patrick said, relieved that Neville had been so willing to work with Steelix again. Brock had told him the nervous researcher had nearly wet himself the first time he met the steel behemoth and had never grown comfortable with Steelix. Even though Oak was in his seventies, it seemed his name still carried a lot of weight in the academic community.

"What Pokémon fossil is this?" Patrick asked after a brief moment of silence, pointing to the squat humanoid statue made of clay. With his business taken care of, he was able to finally unleash his academic curiosity and he just happened to have the perfect tour guide.

"Great question, that is a Claydol. Not so much a fossil, as the lifeless clay remains of the Pokémon. Imbued with Psychic power and native to the Hoenn region, these man-made Pokémon would…" Neville eagerly launched into a detailed history of not only Claydol but also its pre-evolution, Baltoy.

Neville's analyzing sample was long forgotten; the two men spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the museum. Neville was a wealth of knowledge and happily answered every one of Patrick's questions, no matter how obscure. Patrick likewise was able to discuss his own research up to this point, his time spent at Rowan's lab, and the journey that brought him to Kanto.

Patrick left the Museum later that day as the sun was setting, after weeks of training at the gym he was pleased that he had a chance to flex his academic muscle and speak with another researcher, as an equal. Talking with Neville had reminded him about how far he come and what he had achieved in academia. It had also given him the perspective of what it would take to be a great trainer and although the road would be difficult, he had already made the trek from novice to expert once.

He could do it again.