CHAPTER 10: Gym Battles!
"Serena? Serena, babe, wake up."
I hear a voice, and feel a light sensation on my arm.
Groaning, i open my eyes and sit up.
Hilary is sitting on the bed, and Misty and Ash are already dressed and waiting on the couch.
"Huh?" I groan, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.
"We are going to go grab breakfast at that little cafe down the street, did you want anything?" Hilary rubs my arm, and i smile.
"Sure."
After telling them what i want, the all head out, and i shower and get dressed, letting my bird pokemon out to play.
I also notice Sunshine, sitting on the window sill, soaking up the morning sun.
I'm just sitting down again, running a brush through my hair, when i hear a knock on the door.
Standing up again, i walk over and open it, to see Brock standing in the hallway.
"Serena! Hey! Just the girl i was looking for!" He smiles, and i wave him in to sit down.
He plops into the arm-chair, and i sit across the table on the couch, still brushing my hair.
He goes to say something, then notices Sunshine, who finally opens her petals, revealing her beautiful pink wings, and lush yellow skin.
"Rim..." She sighs contently, and Brock just stares, mouth agape.
"What kind of Pokemon is THAT?" He whispers, still staring.
"Thats a Cherrim, evolution of Cherubi. They are from the region me and Hilary came here from, Sinnoh." I throw my hair into a ponytail, and put the brush down.
"Wow, what a beautiful Pokemon..." He stares just a bit longer, then turns to me.
"Anyways, Serena! I have a proposition for you!" He asks, a playful look in his eyes.
"Okay? What is your proposition?" I ask, crossing my legs and leaning forward.
"I would like to challenge you, and your friends, to a battle." He says simply.
"A battle?" I lean back, confused.
"Yes, a pokemon battle. I would close off the entire gym for today, except for you guys of course, and you would have all day to complete it." He explains.
"But... theres a catch." I say suspiciously, and he smiles wickedly.
"I have to leave Pewter City on business tomorrow, and i wont be back for a couple weeks, at least. Meaning, you and your friends would be stuck here, without a badge." He finishes.
"There it is." I sigh, and he grins wildly at me.
"Thats my offer, and its available all day. I have to get back and pack, but you guys are more than welcome any time, and ill challenge you. DEPENDING on if you can get through my gym trainers, of course." He winks, then stands up.
"I'm sure we'll see each other soon." He shakes my hand, and walks out the door.
"Brock! What are you doing here?" I hear Hilary's voice in the hallway, then they come in.
"Serena? What did Brock want?" Ash comes to sit beside me, handing me a bag and a coffee.
I explain to them the offer, and they go nuts.
"WE HAVE TO GOO!" Ash books it for the door, but Ace stops him, and we all laugh.
"Calm down, wild child! We will! But can we eat first?" Hilary hands him his bag, and we all laugh and dig in.
"So, hows everyone feeling about today?" Hilary asks, running a brush through her hair as she lounges on her bed.
"I feel ready. I have an obvious type advantage, and Horsea and Goldeen are both well equipped with multiple offensive AND defensive water moves." Misty goes first, Ash following second.
"I'm not sure how i'm feeling, honestly. Excited, scared, and a bit tired, perhaps." We all laugh at him, but Hilary walks over and sits by him.
"Dont be scared, hun. Do you trust your partner?" He nods, "Then you'll do fine. Plus, Brock has only a few gym trainers to get through, so Pikachu has some good practice." She messes up his hair, but he just smiles.
"What about you, Hilary? Are you going to challenge?" I say, trying to get the attention off me.
"I was thinking about it, but i feel like my pokemon are TOO strong for this gym, so i'd feel bad. Plus, Sun and K.O have type advantages." She thinks aloud, but turns to me.
"And you, Serena? How are you feeling?" She comes and sits beside me.
"I'm terrified, honestly. I'm scared out of my mind. All four of my pokemon have a type disadvantage against Rock type. I'm not sure how its going to go." I sigh, and she rubs my arm.
"You'll do fine! You just have to think of a good strategy!" She reassures me, and i smile a bit.
We finish eating, and wash up, before heading out.
"The sooner we get this over with the better." I say, and we knock on the door to the Gym.
"Come INNNN!" We here a voice from within, so we walk in.
"Hey guys! Good to see you!" Brocks voice rings out, hes on the far side of the gym, but we can see him fine, as he's on a raised platform.
Ash waves enthusiastically, but i cant help but sulk behind them.
"Anyways! Good Luck!" He smiles, then disappears as the platform is lowered.
Before we can say anything, Ash and Misty take off in separate directions, a there is two paths in front of us.
"I'll go with Ash!" I struggle to catch up with him, and Hilary takes off after Misty.
Its a small maze, and i quickly get lost.
Sighing, i pat Alto on my shoulder.
"Can you help me, bud?" He cooes, and takes off, circling above me for a few seconds, then looking down, gesturing me to follow.
He leads me around a couple turns, and suddenly, im standing in a small open area, with a gym trainer facing me down.
I also see Ash just as he darts around the far corner.
"Ha! Another Challenger!" he trainer smiles, releasing a small rock... with two arms?
"GEODUDE!" It exclaims, flexing its muscles and grinning at Alto.
I wave Alto down.
"You okay to battle?" He nods vigorously, and i laugh.
"Get out there!"
"GET! GET OUT!" He chirps as he flaps to his position.
The trainer barely gives me time to breathe before commanding his Geodude.
"ROCK THROW!" He shouts.
"DUDE!" Geodude grabs a hand-full of rocks off the rocky terrained floor, and chucks them at Alto.
"Dodge, and use Chatter!"
Alto flies up, narrowly missing the flying pile of rocks, and sends a sound wave at the Geodude.
"Geo?" It hits him, sending him flying back, and when he gets back up again, he looks around, confused.
"Geodude, use Harden!"
Geodude looks around, still confused, and starts to glow a bright yellow.
I see his trainer's eyes go wide, as he ducks behind the nearest rock.
"ALTO, UP!" I point upwards as i duck behind the nearest rock, and Alto shoots towards the roof.
BOOM!
Theres a loud explosion, and everything flashes white.
After a couple minutes, i peek out, to see the trainer cradling his Geodude, who is unconscious.
Alto glides down, landing on my shoulder, as i walk over to the gym trainer.
"Good battle, girl." He smiles up at me, but his smile soon turns to confusion as i hand him a revive.
"Wait, whats this for? I lost?" He looks up at me.
"Your Geodude fought well, he deserves it." Smiling, i hand him the Revive, and walk into the next pathway.
This ones more straight forward, no turns, just a long twisty path.
Alto sticks to my shoulder, and sings as we walk.
He chirps out a lively tune, and soon, i'm dancing down the path, rather than walking.
"Haha!" I exclaim as i jump and click my heels, twirling and running down the path.
I come around the next corner, to find Brock, Ash, and Misty all waiting for me.
And they laugh when they see me dancing.
"Hey!" Alto flies off my shoulder, as i stop dancing and walk over to where they are all standing.
"Oh my GOD! Serena! I cant handle that!" Ash is laughing so hard he is literally rolling on the floor.
"You guys are mean!" I cross my arms and stick my bottom lip out, which sets them off even harder.
Eventually, everyone calms down, and Hilary joins us.
"Alrighty, well, Ash and Misty have both gotten their badges already, so whos next?" Brock looks at me and Hilary.
Before she can volun-tell me, i push Hilary forward.
"Great! Hilary, right? I'll be waiting!" He jogs over to the far side of the battle-ground.
She gives me a look, then sends Sunshine out.
The battle is over quickly, with Sunshine being a grass type and all, she just wipes all of Brock's Pokemon out with a single hit.
After healing his pokemon and handing Hilary her badge and TM, he gestures me onto the rocky field.
After saying a quick prayer, i step up to the stand.