Hey everyone, I am so, soooooooo, sorry about the long wait on this story as well as APD and APDK, but lately I haven't been feeling the mood for these stories. DarkFoxKit has also updated her stories a lot, and I just feel that this story is being neglected and we aren't going to get to Ecruteak anytime soon. Not to mention that I think she's collaborating with at least two other authors, so that helps her. Anyways, we now get to Jason's first Gym Battle: Jason vs. Falkner. As always, R&R, PM, and Enjoy! Oh, and one last thing, I watched the Zoroark Pokemon movie, and I found the word Memma is actually supposed to be Meema (or at least that's how it's pronounced).

"Normal Speech"

'Thoughts'

"Poke-Speech"

"Telepathy"

Chapter 11

(Jason's POV)

We all arrived at the gym, which was four stories tall, and went inside. It was empty for the most part; the only odd thing was a large wooden panel surrounded by the rest of the stone floor. I went over to it and stepped on it. I looked around to see if there was some sort of switch or button. I turned around to see Meema and Janice still near the entrance.

"So, what am I supposed to do?" I began to step forward, but the moment my foot touched down, I heard a click. I looked down and moved my foot to see a circular button. As I moved my foot, the button popped up, and the panel began to ascend. Fast.

I looked up and saw the roof was opening up directly over me, and I thought to myself, 'Where is this thing going?' I soon got my answer as the panel reached the opening and I looked around to see a new room. The roof was actually a floor to this room. I looked up and saw there wasn't even a roof, the clear blue sky completely visible.

"Well, a new challenger has come to face me." I looked in the direction of the voice and saw who spoke. It was a guy with dark blue hair that covered one of his eyes, wearing a sky blue Japanese outfit along with a light blue jacket. He also had brown sandals and black and red wristbands. He stood with his left arm on his hip, his right arm grasping an enlarged Poke Ball. "My name is Falkner, and I am the leader of the Violet City Gym. And who might you be?"

"Jason. Jason Gilman." Falkner tilted his head to the left, squinting his eyes.

"Gilman? That name sounds familiar. Tell me, what was your mother's name?" I hesitated only for a moment but quickly said, "Janet." Falkner nodded slowly, and gripped the Poke Ball in his hand tightly.

"Well, I guess you came here for a battle so I won't deny you one." A referee stood up and called out, "This will be an official Pokemon League match between the Violet City Gym Leader, Falkner, and the challenger, Jason Gilman. This will be a two on two single battle and only the challenger may be allowed to substitute. Trainers, send out your first Pokemon."

Falkner tossed the Poke Ball he was holding in the air, making it spin, before catching it with his right hand again and holding out in front of him. He then threw it into the air and called out, "Go! Pidgeotto!" A flash of light and the medium sized bird appeared, flying mid-air.

"All right then," I said grasping Typhon's Poke Ball. "Typhon, let's go!" I threw the Poke Ball and Typhon appeared, flaring up his back flames. "Typhon, use Flamethrower!"

"Pidgeotto, use Gust!"

Typhon inhaled and shot out a stream of flames as Pidgeotto flapped its wings faster and faster. Typhon's flames were halted by the wind, and Typhon was picked up by the wind and tossed into my arms. "Typhon, you okay?"

"I'm fine, daddy. Just put me back in." I nodded and Typhon jumped back onto the field.

"I must say, I'm impressed," Falkner said. "Your Cyndaquil knows a very advanced move. However, it won't be enough. Pidgeotto, use Wing Attack!" Pidgeotto flew up into the air and looped around. It's wings began to glow white and charged straight at Typhon.

"Okay, let's try this again." I waited until it was close and shouted, "Flamethrower!" Typhon shot out a blast of fire, hitting Pidgeotto head on, but also causing Typhon to take a hit. "Typhon!"

Typhon struggled to stand up, and said, "I'm okay Daddy, I can still fight." I looked to the Pidgeotto and saw it was just as weak as Typhon was. I considered switching out Typhon, and decided to pull out Blaster's Poke Ball as well as Typhon's.

"Typhon, switch out for now." I held out his Ball and returned him, quietly saying, "Get some rest." I tossed out Blaster's ball and called him out, Falkner a little surprised that I had a Kanto starter in my team. "Okay, Blaster, use Water Gun!"

"Pidgeotto, use Whirlwind!" Blaster shot out a stream of water, which the Pidgeotto dodged, and it retaliated with a powerful gust of wind, more powerful than Gust. Blaster was picked up by the winds and tossed into the wall behind me.

"Blaster!" Blaster crashed into the wall and I had no choice but to return him.

"Don't worry," Falkner said, "Whirlwind doesn't do that much damage, however your Pokemon will be weak for some time. Meaning you must switch out again to your Cyndaquil."

I pulled out Typhon's Poke Ball and whispered, "Okay Typhon, time to come out again." I tossed it and Typhon reappeared. He still looked tired and weak, but he looked better at least. "Okay, Typhon, you ready to finish this?"

"Ready, daddy."

"Pidgeotto, use Wing Attack!"

"Typhon, use Eruption!" Pidgeotto flew into the air once again and looped around, its wings already glowing white. Typhon stood up on its hind legs and dropped down once Pidgeotto was close enough, and as soon as he did his back erupted in flames and molten rocks flew out. Pidgeotto barely had any time to dodge and was knocked out after only a few hits.

"Pidgeotto is unable to battle, Typhon is the victor." Falkner returned Pidgeotto and I cheered for Typhon.

"That was a great move, Typhon!"

"Thanks, Daddy."

"Don't celebrate too early," Falkner said, pulling out a second Poke Ball. "I still have one Pokemon left, and he's a tough one to beat."

I figured it was best to switch Typhon out and pulled out his Poke Ball, but he turned and ran over to me. "I know you want to swap me out, but at least let me watch." I nodded and scratched his head.

"Hey Falkner," I called out, "I'm swapping out Typhon, but he wants to stay and watch. Is that cool?"

"That's fine with me," he replied. I nodded and got out Blaster's Poke Ball and called him out.

"Let's end this now," Falkner said, holding up his Poke Ball. "Go, Dodrio!" He tossed the second Poke Ball and after a flash of light a three headed, ostrich-like Pokemon appeared. I pulled out my Pokedex to see what it had to say about this Pokemon.

"Dodrio, the Triple Bird Pokemon, and the evolved form of Doduo. After evolving, one of its heads splits into two. Although it has no wings, it can still run at speeds of almost 40 miles per hour and can jump at great heights."

'Not much of a flier, but still a challenge.' I put the Pokedex away and turned my attention to the battle. "Okay Blaster, get ready."

"A Kanto Pokemon?" The Dodrio asked. The other two heads echoed the first, but in different tones: one in a miserable tone and the other in an enraged tone. "Too easy." They continued to echo the first head, and both Blaster and I growled at it's comment.

"Blaster, use Water Gun!" Blaster shot out a stream of water, but the Dodrio ran to the side and easily dodged it.

Blaster tried again and again, but it continued to dodge until it was up close and Falkner shouted, "Now, use Fury Attack!" Dodrio used all three of it's heads to attack, pecking Blaster one, two, three, four times. Dodrio jumped out of the way and began laughing at Blaster.

"Weak!" I growled at the Dodrio and it noticed me. Just one look at it was instantly unnerved.

'There's got to be a way to beat this thing,' I thought to myself, crossing my arms. 'It's fast, which makes it hard to hit. There's got to be a way to slow it down.' That's when I remembered one of Blaster's moves, and I shouted, "Alright, Blaster, change in tactics. Use Bubble!"

Blaster inhaled and blew out a spray of bubbles, "Dodrio, get out of there!" Dodrio tried to run out of the way, but it ran into some of the bubbles, which burst and dealt small amounts of damage each. Dodrio tried the other way, but it still got hit with more and more bubbles.

"Dodrio has nowhere to go." I called out. "Bubble not only deals damage, but it also lowers your Pokemon's speed."

Falkner grunted and called out, "Dodrio, use Fury Attack to pop the bubbles!" Dodrio began to attack the bubbles, but each one burst in its face and dealt more damage.

"Blaster, more Bubbles. Keep it coming!" Blaster continued to spray bubbles all over the field leaving the Dodrio with nowhere to go, unless it risked taking more damage from the bubbles. "Okay, Blaster, use Water Gun!"

Blaster shot out a stream of water but Falkner shouted out, "Dodrio, Fly!"

'What!?'

Before the water reached Dodrio, it jumped high into the air, almost like it was flying. 'Think, Jason, there's got to be something you can do.' The Dodrio began to descend, heading straight for Blaster with a foot extended. 'Wait that's it!'

"You thought you had me beat Falkner, but I've already found a weakness!"

"What are you saying?"

"Since Dodrio has no means of changing it's course, it can't dodge an attack while in the air!" Both Falkner and his Dodrio gasped in surprise. "Blaster, Water Gun!"

Blaster shot out another stream of water, the Dodrio screaming, "Not good! Not good!" The stream of water hit and Dodrio was knocked out of the sky, crashing to the ground and fainting.

"Dodrio is unable to battle, Blaster is the victor, which means that Jason Gilman is the winner!" A smile slowly began to form on my face, and I jumped into the air and cheered as Blaster returned to me. He jumped into my arms and both Typhon and I gave him a hug.

"You did it Blaster, you won us the badge!"

"Aw, it was nothin'." Typhon and I gave him more praise until Falkner walked over, at which point I stood up.

"Jason Gilman, let me be the first to congratulate you on your victory. You have definitely earned this." He held out his hand, holding the badge, and I thanked him.

"That is the Zephyr Badge. It marks your achievement and is undoubted proof that you have won this battle." I took the badge and looked at it. I felt proud of myself, and Falkner handed me a case to keep it and the other badges in. "Here, I'll lead you down."

I followed Falkner back to the wooden platform and after returning my Pokemon he stepped on the button. The platform went back down, slower than when it came up, and I saw Janice and Meema waiting for me. I waved to them, holding the badge up high, and I saw them cheering for me. Once the platform was set back in its original position, I ran over to Meema and Janice.

"You won?" Meema asked.

"Yep, I got the badge too." I held up the badge and they congratulated me once again. I turned and saw Falkner, who had a bit of a stern look on his face. He noticed me looking at him and he waved before pressing the button again and going back up.

"That was odd," Janice said.

I nodded and I said, "Well, I guess we should head back to the Pokemon Center. Blaster and Typhon deserve a well earned rest." The two nodded and we left the gym.

(Falkner's POV)

As we descended, I noticed two others, probably friends of Jason's by the way he was holding up the badge. I smiled, and noticed the older woman looked oddly familiar. As soon as the platform set down, Jason ran over to the two and I got a better look at the woman. I slightly gasped, I knew that woman.

'That's impossible. It can't be her.' I noticed she looked up at me and I shifted expression so as not to stir any suspicion. 'It can't be, yet it is. Janet Gilman is here, alive and well.' Jason turned and I waved goodbye before pressing the switch that brought me back up to the gym floor. Once I was out of sight, I opened the floodgates to my mind, letting all the questions run through me.

'Was it really her? Is she not who I thought it was? Maybe I should have asked.' I walked over to the opposite end of the field and went inside a room. It my office, a place where I stayed when the gym was open but when there were no challengers. On one wall I saw four shelves, each holding a set of Poke Balls. I removed the two from my belt and set them on the top shelf. On the second shelf were three Poke Balls, four on the third, and five on the bottom.

The way the gyms work is each leader keeps eight sets of Pokemon teams. When trainers challenge the leaders for a badge, we use a team based on how many badges they have. Naturally, since Jason had none I used my weakest team, even though I swapped out my Pidgey for a Dodrio.

'That call from the Pokemon Professor...he told me to test Jason and his abilities. I didn't understand at first, but now I do. This trainer, Jason Gilman, he is a very good trainer.' I went over to my PC and used the video phone feature to call up Professor Oak. After a few rings, the Professor's face appeared on the screen and judging by the trees behind him I'd guess he was using a Poke-Gear.

"Ah, Falkner. I assume your battle went well?"

"Yes sir, and you were right. His skills are amazing." Professor Oak nodded and I continued, "The way he commanded his Pokemon, the way he strategized, I have never seen anything like it."

"That's good to hear. I've already contacted the other Gym Leaders and asked them to do the same." I chuckled a little, thinking about how he'd face Whitney and her Miltank. Then a thought crossed my mind.

"Professor, do you remember the Ilex Forest incident ten years ago?"

Oak stroked his chin for a moment and said, "I believe I do."

"Well you're not going to believe this, but I think Jason is the missing boy from the same case."

Oak's eyes widened and he asked, "Are you sure?"

"He just confirmed it before our match." I looked to a newspaper clipping I had pinned on the wall. It detailed the events ten years ago about the Gilman family, how they were killed by Beedrill in the forest, and how their son went missing. "Jason Gilman, where have you been all these years?"

Now that is how you end a chapter. Anyways, I'm going to try and work on this story more, and less on Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Net. I'm sorry to those who are fans of that story, but I've got other fans who are hungry for this story as well. As always, R&R, PM, and I'll see you guys next time.