The Capture Specialist
Chapter Four: The Gym
"To stop yourself from falling, simply spread your wings."
After training with Aipom and Squirtle some more in Viridian Forest and the outskirts of Pewter, Dana decided she was ready to test her skills at the local Gym. Before she could head to the Gym, however, she received a call from Anna.
"Yes?" Dana said, answering. Anna was munching on some food, presumably on her lunch break.
"That Ariados and Heracross you found? Well, we determined that the Ariados belonged to someone, and so we're returning it as a stolen Pokemon to it's owner. However, the Heracross was actually wild. Do you know what that means?" Anna asked.
"Um…You'll return it to it's habitat and let it live there?" Dana asked. Anna chuckled on the other end of the phone.
"No, it means that once we've finished treatment, Heracross will be able for you to use!" Anna said.
Dana was dumfounded. "I thought all of the Pokemon I caught were for the CSU, not for me!" she shouted.
"Wait…You thought we were just taking your Pokemon? No, of course not!! You can call me at any time and withdraw any of your Pokemon!!" Anna said, chuckling. Dana fumed
"You didn't exactly explain the entire process to me, Anna." She fumed.
"Alright. As a matter of fact, there is one Pokemon I'd like to withdraw. Can you send Bellsprout to the Pewter City Pokemon Center?" Dana asked.
"About to challenge the Gym Leader, huh? Good call. Bellsprout will definitely help." Anna said. She tapped furiously on the keyboard.
"'Kay, Bellsprout should be at the transfer machine in a few." Anna said, biting into an apple.
"Thanks, Anna." Dana replied, hanging up the phone.
Within a few seconds, Bellsprout's Poke Ball appeared in the transfer machine. Dana signed off on the form to pick it up. Picking up the Poke Ball, she tossed it gently, releasing the small weed Pokemon.
"Bellsprout, this is Squirtle and Aipom. You've met them before." Dana said, chuckling. Bellsprout was happy to be with Dana instead of the lab where it had been studied for a few days.
"We're going to challenge the Gym Leader. Can you help us, Bellsprout?" Dana asked. The small weed Pokemon nodded eagerly in response. Dana smiled happily.
"Alright, let's go, then!! To the Gym!!" she cried. Her Pokemon followed her out of the Pokemon Center, and towards the Pewter City Gym.
Dana had watched a few Gym Leader matches on television once in a while, so she had seen the inside of gyms all across the Hoenn region. She was used to seeing the puzzles meant to test Trainers before they even reached the Gym Leader, and occasionally battling Trainers who were training under the Gym Leader.
The Gym was small, unlike what she expected, with a single path towards the Gym Leader, Brock. Brock wore brown khaki pants and a green vest, his squinty eyes catching Dana's form as she walked into the door.
Dana acknowledged that he had seen her, and began walking brusquely towards him, rolling a Poke Ball in her hand.
"Hey, I'm not gonna let you challenge Brock without fighting me first!! Your still light years away from challenging him!!" a young boy wearing a baseball cap backwards on his head and bright blue shorts said, stepping out from his hiding spot from behind a statue. The boy was probably a few years younger than Dana
"Let's go, Sandshrew! Show her up!!" the boy called, tossing a Poke Ball between Dana and himself. Dana responded by stepping back to the second row of statues, and tossing a Poke Ball as well. The boy's Poke Ball released a small tan mouse with plated armor for living underground and absorbing water, and large black eyes.
"Bellsprout, you go first!!" Dana called. Bellsprout appeared, eager to show Dana just how strong it was.
"Sandshrew, take the first attack! Use Scratch!!" the boy called. The Sandshrew ran forward, sharp claws extending for a scratch at Bellsprout's body.
"Bellsprout, catch it with Vine Whip!!" Dana called. Bellsprout raised one of its leaves, shooting a long green vine from underneath it, and slamming Sandshrew in the face. Sandshrew rolled back towards the boy, landing with a KO'ed look.
"S-sandshrew!! Ah, well. Guess I was wrong. Light years is a measurement of distance, not time!" the boy said, laughing. "You can challenge Brock now."
Dana nodded, walking up to the platform Brock was waiting on.
"It's been a while since I've seen a Trainer handle Robbie so easily…I guess this'll be a good battle! Dana, my name is Brock, and I'm the Gym Leader of Pewter City. The CSU contacted me and said you will be taking the Gym Leader challenge in order to test your skills. Allow me to be your first test, and show you that we Gym Leader's are not so easily defeated!!" Brock shouted, pulling out a Poke Ball. Dana stood ready with Bellsprout, stepping back in the gym to make room for Brock to call his first Pokemon.
"Geodude, go!!" Brock called. The Poke Ball snapped open, releasing a large boulder with two muscular looking arms and no legs. The Geodude appeared to move by simply hopping, and leaving a small crater in the wood floors of the Gym.
"Bellsprout, use Vine Whip, like before!!" Dana called. Bellsprout shot a vine towards Geodude, aiming to whip it.
"Geodude, Defense Curl." Brock commanded. Geodude covered it's body with it's long arms, boosting it's defenses. The Vine Whip attack hit, but didn't cause any noticeable damage.
"Geodude, from your position, Rollout!!" Brock called. Geodude began spinning rapidly, gaining traction, before slamming into Bellspout and knocking it into the air.
"Bellsprout! Use Vine Whip to correct yourself, then use Growth to boost your attacks!!" Dana called. Bellsprout shot a vine around a nearby statue, pulling itself to the ground. But as it was sliding it's roots through the wooden floor to the earth below, Geodude came rolling around once more and slammed into Bellsprout again for added damage.
"Bellsprout! Nngh…" Dana muttered. Placing her hand against the statue as she turned to look at Geodude's position, she realized the statue was made of stone, and thus Bellsprout could absorb nutrients from it.
"Bellspout, over here!!" Dana called. She helped the weed Pokemon onto the small stone statue, and Bellspout slid it's roots into the statues head, absorbing nutrients from it, and slightly increasing in size.
"Now, Bellspout, aim carefully, and use Razor Leaf!!" Dana called. Bellspout swung the large leaf it used for a hand, shooting several smaller leaves towards Geodude. Some of them missed, but as Geodude rolled towards them for a final attack, several leaves hit Geodude, causing it to stop rolling, having fainted.
"Nngh. Good job, Geodude." Brock said, recalling it. "But my second Pokemon won't go down so easily!! Go, Onix!!" Brock called. Tossing the Poke Ball forward, Dana was astonished at the size of the large rock snake that appeared before her, easily taking up nearly the entire half of Brock's side of the gym. Bellsprout easily paled in size to the giant snake, one of Onix's many boulders that made up it's body easily larger than the small weed Pokemon.
"I always knew they were big, but I'd never seen one in person…" Dana murmured. Brock smirked.
"Onix, use Rock Throw!!" Brock called. Onix swung it's massive tail, shooting rocks as projectiles towards Bellsprout.
"Bellsprout, dodge it!!" Dana called. It was too late, however. The rocks slammed into Bellsprout, causing the weed Pokemon to fall over in defeat.
"You did great, Bellsprout. Now it's your turn, Squirtle!!" Dana called. Tossing Squirtle's Poke Ball forward, Squirtle appeared in a flash of light, flexing it's muscles in an attempt to intimidate Onix.
"Squirtle, Water Gun!!" Dana called. Squirtle shot a massive jet of water towards Onix's face, the jet of water causing Onix to reel back in pain.
"Onix, use Iron Tail to stop that Water Gun!!" Brock called. Onix's tail glowed with a silvery film, raising the tail to block the jet of water, then lowering it quickly to slam into Squirtle. Squirtle was hit by the attack, but was able to keep fighting.
"Squirtle, Water Gun, once more!! Aim for the head!!" Dana called. Squirtle shot another forceful jet of water towards Onix, causing the rock snake to shake it's head in retaliation.
"Onix, enough of this! Use Tackle to finish it!!" Brock called. Onix rushed forward with it's massive head, slamming Squirtle full force with a powerful Tackle. Squirtle fell back against one of the stone statues.
"Squirtle!! Get up, you're the only one who can beat Onix!!" Dana called to her Pokemon. As Squirtle stood confidently, it smirked as it was enveloped in a bright light. Squirtle's tail split into several fluffy tails, and two pointed ears sprouted on it's head. It's skin also took a darker hue, as it evolved into Wartortle.
"Squirtle, you evolved into Wartortle! Okay, time to finish this battle, then!! Use Water Gun, one last time!!" Dana called.
With the strength of it's evolution, and the power of it's Torrent ability activating, Wartortle fired a much larger jet of water towards Onix, enveloping the rock snake's entire body in watery film. Onix groaned in pain as the water's attack coursed through it's body, before falling over in defeat. Brock sighed, as he recalled Onix to his Poke Ball.
"Congratulations, Dana. In accordance with the rules of the Pokemon League, when a challenger has defeated a Gym Leader in even combat, they must relinquish their respective badge to the challenger. Dana, I bestow to you the Boulder Badge!!" Brock said, handing her a small grey badge shaped like a boulder. Staring at it, she squealed in delight as she realized she had defeated a Gym Leader, and she unconsciously admitted to herself it was something she had wanted to do for a long time.
"Thank you, Brock, for the excellent battle. I'm going to keep growing stronger, and you should too. Next time in Pewter, let's have another battle!!" Dana said laughing.
"I would like that a lot. Until then, we'll keep training!!" Brock said.
` Dana decided that next on her agenda would be to head to Cerulean City. It was a city far north near the mountains of Kanto, and was shadowed like Pewter by Mt. Moon. It was also close to her home in Saffron, but allowed many opportunities for her to catch Pokemon, especially in the caverns of Mt. Moon.
After healing her Pokemon and calling Anna to let her know the good news, she set off for the entrance of Mt. Moon, north of Pewter.
A/N: Hope you liked the chapter! Not much to say here, except these next few chapters may a bit routine until I start revealing stuff. For a while, it'll just seem like Dana is on a normal journey, until the Hunters become more central to the plot, and more characters are introduced.
Until next chapter, here's Dana's bio!!
Name: Dana Rutilus
Age: 15
Height: 5' 3"
Weight: 113 lbs.
Hair: Curly brown
Eyes: Sharp green
Pokemon: Squirtle Wartortle, Aipom, Bellsprout, plus others currently being researched at the CSU
Rank: C-Rank
Personality: Stoic to a fault, doesn't like meeting most new people unless they are interesting, or capable of relaying information to her. Her true friends are her Pokemon, and she feels alienated around people. She hates the injustices committed by insurgent organizations like Team Rocket and the Hunters.
Theme Song: "Pas de Cheval" by Panic! At the Disco