[Candidate #12, Pewter City — GO Challenge Day 15]
It was almost noon, and the Pokecenter was filled to capacity with other Go candidates logging their progress and getting items from the "Poke Stop" set up in the back corner. A long line of defeated trainers who were waiting to get their party restored to full health stood around the front desk, taking turns badgering the local Nurse Joys for faster service.
The official's face was blank as he flipped through the pages of Candela's Pokedex. He was a heavy set man of middling age, with pale skin, a thick blonde beard, and a gruff, gravely voice. His hair—or lack thereof—was covered by a white, wide-brimmed hard hat that went oddly well with the rest of his mismatched hiking gear.
"Twenty five unique Pokemon species seen, but only eight owned." He scribbled something onto a small pad of yellow legal paper, then continued in a disinterested monotone. "Five pokemon evolutions recorded, and one unhatched egg. Good job. Work on catching more wild pokemon to get ranked higher. You can get free Pokeballs by registering for our special, limited time offer-"
"I know you're just doing your job, but my gym battle's in ten minutes." Candela's expression was a pained mixture of apologetic and impatient. She clutched an egg the size of her head tightly against her chest. "Can you skip the sales pitch this time around?"
"Fine. Once I input your battle record you can be on your way."
The Pokemon Global Organization official said nothing more to her as he continued to scroll through her Pokedex, recording some notes and muttering quietly as he went. His pencil lead snapped as he glanced at the last set of data. He looked up from his notes at the girl who was practically running in place in front of him and frowned. He held out the Pokedex for her to take back.
"Your overall ranking is-"
"Thanks, gotta go!" Candela snatched the Pokedex from the official and sprinted for the entrance, leaving a chorus of "Hey!" and "Watch it!" in her wake.
Opening the front door with her back, Candela immediately turned right and barreled towards the huge building that was directly behind Pewter city's Pokecenter.
This time she shouldered the door open gently, taking deep breaths to relax her nerves.
Time to find out if they're as strong here in Kanto as they say back home.
As soon as she stepped in, she was greeted by a hearty pat on the back.
"Yo, Champ in-the-making! You made it just in time!" A little old man stood beside her, with dark grey hair, thickly rimmed glasses, and a tiny black hat. "You've got about four minutes to get in there and break some legs."
"No problem!" Candela said, stepping forward into the battle arena. She observed her surroundings, taking mental notes about the terrain along the way. Jagged rock, large boulders and mini mountains were scattered on either side of the field. In the center was a wide, mostly clear dirt path, ideal for ground types who like to burrow. Spectator stands raised up against the walls on the left and right were mostly empty, and Candela's eyes caught on one familiar face sitting in the bottom row.
"Hey Blanche!" Candela jogged towards the white-haired girl, waving up at her energetically with her free hand. "Here to wish me luck by any chance?"
"Something to that effect." Blanche's expression was serious but not unfriendly. In her lap was an egg slightly smaller than Canela's. "I saw you on today's roster and decided to observe your battle. I've seen how I fare against you and thought it would be a good reference point for my own challenge."
"How about we train together after I win?" Candela stood on her toes and gently placed her egg on the seat beside the other girl, right on top of her neatly folded jacket. "Anyway, cheer for me!"
Without waiting for a response, she spun on her heels and swaggered back onto the field. The ground was as solid as concrete, and she could feel every sharp stone and pebble through her shoes, but Candela kept her shoulders back and her stride steady.
An environment that's perfect for rock and ground types, but hostile to anybody else. Just like that old guy warned me yesterday. Guess I can trust him after all.
There were three trainers and a referee waiting for her. The one furthest back shouted loudly and with authority as she approached.
"Are you ready to begin?" The man sat on a raised platform, his legs crossed, and his hands motionless in his lap. He was well-muscled, deeply tan, and completely naked from the waist up—she couldn't guess his age at all. He seemed both bold and patient, just like a mountain.
"Damn right I'm ready!" Candela shouted back, taking a battle stance. "Let's get started!"
The two trainers that had been silent so far took up strategic positions on the field. One, a cocky looking brunette jumped on top of a particularly large boulder, while the other, a younger teen who looked vaguely similar to the leader sat in the middle of the dirt path.
"This will be a 2v2 double battle. No switching is permitted." The referee left the field and stood just in front of the stands. "The challenger may strike first."
At the sound of a faint "Do your best" from the crowd, Candela grinned and threw two pokeballs onto the field.
"Spike! Peaches! Come on out!" Nidorino and Mankey appeared right on command, huffing and hopping about with excited confidence. "Just like we practiced."
"Rocky, let's crush 'em!" A giant rock pokemon came into view, shaking the ground as it landed. It was like a segmented train made of huge, polished boulders that got progressively smaller towards the tail end. Its trainer seemed very smug.
"You too, Geodude." A much smaller rock creature, with two arms and a small, rounded body, took its place beside the first.
"You may begin when ready," the referee announced, before blowing a high pitched whistle twice. Candela didn't hesitate for even a moment.
"Peaches, use Low Kick on the big one. Spike, Focus Energy!"
Before the enemy pokemon could react, Peaches was hopping over boulders and rock with incredible agility. She deftly dodged a slow, defensive swipe of the giant's tail and landed a powerful kick on its lower body. As expected, the move dealt heavy, super-effective damage, and the bigger pokemon toppled to the ground sending clouds of dust in every direction.
Looks like it was a one-hit KO. Fighting type moves really do take these guys out quickly.
Meanwhile, Spike had lowered his body close to the ground and was concentrating hard on gathering his strength.
"Geodude, Rock Throw. We'll target the nidorino for now." Silently, the pokemon hefted a sizable boulder above its head, then launched it with surprising speed.
"Dodge it! Dive to the left!" Candela shouted, hoping Spike was agile enough to make it out of way. The nidorino reacted quickly, but only escaped the danger by a hair's breadth. Candela hooted with pride. "Great job, buddy! Now, Peaches, use—"
"Rocky, Dig!" The pokemon that seemed to have been incapacitated earlier suddenly tunneled through the dirt so rapidly that it would have seemed to have never been there at all, if not for the enormous hole it left behind. She could hear it roaring thunderously underground, could feel the ground vibrating beneath her feet, and so could her pokemon—Peaches slapped the ground with her palms in utter fury, while the spines on Spike's back bristled sharply.
"Alright Peaches, Karate chop the little guy." Happy to have a target to unleash her wrath upon, Peaches practically flew forward through the air, shrieking madly as she went.
The instant she landed on the Geodude, she delivered a devastating blow to the top of its head. An inanimate boulder might have been split neatly down the middle, but instead, the pokemon merely fainted.
This time, Candela waited until the young trainer reluctantly recalled the defeated pokemon to celebrate.
"Awesome work, Peaches!" Candela's mankey jumped about happily, her anger placated for the moment. She noticed Nidorino's ears twitching every which way a moment too late. "Spike, move!"
"Now, Rocky!" Without any further warning, the rock pokemon emerged from the ground directly beneath Spike. When the heavily damaged nidorino tried to stand up again, he immediately collapsed—at the same time, the enemy pokemon twitched slightly. It seemed to have been poisoned after touching Nidorino.
Livid with herself for missing such an obvious ambush, which resulted in Spike getting hurt needlessly, Candela recalled him quietly.
"Let's get serious, Peaches. Focus energy." The mankey lowered her body and crossed her arms. Flames of determination seemed to surround her.
"Polish up, Rocky!" The enemy trainer shouted, and a bright metallic sheen seemed to appear on her pokemon. It twitched in pain again, taking damage from the poison. "Now, Dragonbreath!"
Moving faster than Candela thought possible, the giant pokemon unleashed a powerful ranged attack. As the blast barreled towards Mankey, she shouted a new command.
"Assurance!"
Peaches dodged the blast expertly, then launched a flurry of powerful, furious blows on her opponent. The pokemon fell to the ground motionless, and the referee blew his whistle.
"Onix is unable to continue battle. The challenger wins!"
Excited beyond measure, the mankey hopped over to her trainer. Candela ruffled her fur and praised her for a job well done before recalling her, but her celebration was notably muted.
That battle was a lot closer than I wanted. This is going to be tough.
"You've done well to get so far, challenger!" The man, presumably the gym leader, stood and approached the battlefield. "State your name!"
"I'm Candela, from the Unova region." Candela pointed at herself with a thumb, smirking slightly. "Hope you're ready to give up that badge."
"Well, you've certainly traveled a long way, miss." He retrieved two pokeballs from his belt and came to a stop where the younger trainer was previously sitting. "My name is Forrest, and unless you've got some serious rock-hard determination, you won't be getting this badge."
"This will be a 2v2 double battle. No switching is permitted." The ref stepped back. "Once again, the challenger may strike first."
"Come out, Graveler. You too, Steelix."
A fairly large, craggy, four-armed boulder landed with a loud crash, crushing the unfortunate rocks beneath it. It waved its upper arms in the air and tucked the lower set tight against its body.
Candela cursed under her breath.
The second pokemon was something else entirely.
At least double the size and weight of the previous rock-snake pokemon that had appeared, this one was positively massive, and had an extremely intimidating air about it. Candela sized her enemies up, then selected two pokemon of her own.
That gray pokemon is probably another Rock/Ground type with very good defense, and that silver one must be a steel-type. No sweat.
"Delta, Peaches, no holding back!" Candela's Charmeleon appeared with an arrogant growl. Mankey offered a happy chirp, excited to be chosen again so soon. "I'm counting on you two!"
"Begin when ready."
"Delta, lay down a Smokescreen!" Charmeleon leapt into action, covering the enemy's side of the field in thick black smoke. "Peaches, give the big guy your best Screech."
As Mankey jumped into the air and released a glass-shattering shriek, Candela covered her ears, as did her Charmeleon. The move wouldn't hurt its allies, per se, but it was still obnoxiously shrill.
"Graveler, use Defense Curl! Steelix, Slam—target the mankey!" Right on cue, a long tail lashed out of the smoke, narrowly missing her pokemon. The ground was heavily cracked at the point of impact, and Candela was sure a human would have been killed instantly.
"Neither of you can get hit by a single attack!" Candela shouted, the urgency in her voice shining through clearly. "Delta, hit 'em with a Flame Burst!"
Charmeleon took a deep breath, then released a powerful torpedo of fire into the smoke. A pained groaning could be heard from within, followed by a small flash. Finally, a bright spark of flame could be seen, indicating successful burn and splash damage.
"That's my girl!" Candela punched the air, her blood hot with adrenaline. "Peaches, charge up a Focus Punch! We'll finish the smaller one with one hit!"
"I don't think so—Graveler, Rollout!" The rock pokemon began to roll with fearsome speed, visible even through the smoke. "Target the mankey! Steelix you too, try another Slam!"
Candela cursed under her breath. It was an obvious tactic, to go for the pokemon that had already been weakened, but it still felt a little dirty.
"Delta, you know what to do! Metal Claw!" Candela smiled with pride as she watched her charmeleon fly into action without fear or hesitation. She took the hit from Rollout—super-effective, but relatively weak on the first hit—then countered with a fierce slashing attack that left deep gouges in the rock pokemon's body. As it landed, Delta released a huff of blue fire from its mouth, evidence of her Attack stats increasing.
Almost simultaneously, Peaches finished charging her punch. With a loud yell, filled with determination, Peaches unleashed her full strength in one punch. The Graveler was launched backwards towards his trainer, and lodged into the face of a pseudo-mountain, completely knocked out.
"FUCK YEAH, NICE WORK-" Candela started to say, then closed her mouth as she watched the enormous tail swing down. Unable to dodge quickly enough due to her injuries, Peaches fainted upon impact. She recalled the unconscious pokemon, speaking softly. "Good work. You were incredible."
Candela bit her lip hard, thinking rapidly. My charmeleon is barely damaged, but that steel pokemon took a fire type move without even flinching... Or did it?
With a strategy in mind, Candela regathered her composure.
"Okay Delta, it's all up to you!" The Pokemon growled aggressively in response. "Give him a Fire Fang!"
Candela watched intently as her charmeleon rushed into the smoke towards the giant. She leaped boldly onto its body and bit into it as hard as she could, flames bursting out of her mouth. The steel pokemon reacted by thrashing its body about until it succeeded in throwing her off.
This time, the damage it took was much more obvious. It groaned even louder in pain, and sparks of flame where it was consistently taking more burn damage were evident all over its body.
"Not bad, but how will you deal with this?" The leader seemed confident he would win, despite her pokemon being mostly healthy. Not a good sign. "Steelix, an Earthquake should end this."
Instead of following its trainer's command, the massive pokemon flinched. Before Candela could order Delta to strike, it succumbed to burn damage and slumped over.
"Forrest's pokemon are unable to continue. The challenger wins!"
The leader's jaw dropped open, his air of superiority and confidence replaced by an expression of pure bewilderment. Even Candela was too shocked to congratulate her pokemon. Shaking it off after a moment, Forrest approached her with an embarrassed smile.
"I really took you for granted," he said, reaching out a hand for her to shake. "I didn't even mega-evolve Steelix. If it were my brother, I wonder if it would have been the same outcome."
"Far as I'm concerned, a win is a win." Candela shook his hand with genuine enthusiasm. "Thanks for such a great battle."
"As proof of your victory, here is the BOULDERBADGE. You're officially a contender in the Indigo League, now." He presented her with a dark gray, octogonal badge. Candela took it out of his hand with pride. "You and your pokemon have shown some rock-solid determination, and have already grown stronger by gaining that badge. Good luck on your journey."
"You're damn right we have!" Delta growled blue flames in agreement, and Candela beamed while recalling her.
As Candela turned to leave the arena and head for the stands, she was surprised to find the white-haired girl was already standing nearby.
"That was an outstanding performance," Blanche said, a faint smile on her face. She was carefully cradling both eggs, which were wrapped snuggly in her jacket. "I think my team and I would benefit greatly from—oh dear."
Both of their eyes widened as the eggs in her arms began to wiggle frantically.