Brock, TJ, and Aden stood inside of the Pewter City Gym. It was mid-afternoon, but it was almost impossible to tell that from inside of the gym. It was almost cave-like; very few lights lit the space from above, rocks littered the field, and the ground was very soft. If she hadn't known any better, TJ would have thought she was outside. She had never fought inside of a gym before, in fact, the first gym she had ever been in had been the one in Viridian. She wasn't used to the formal set-up, but it was easy enough to understand. There were two places marked out for the trainers to stand and a large square to place the boundaries. TJ wondered how strict Brock was going to be with the rules; she had never fought in a league regulated battle and wasn't sure if this was considered such.
"Pst! TJ," Aden whispered from behind her as she was about to take her place. She turned.
"What is it?" she snapped at little more sharply than she intended. She was obviously a little nervous.
"I know you grew up in Johto, so I'm not sure if you know this," he started, seemingly un-phased by her tone. "Brock is a rock-type battler. We know he has others, though, so watch out. If I remember correctly, his long time favorite is his onix."
"Ok." TJ said. She had in fact not known that, but she could have gathered it from her surroundings.
"Are you ready?" Brock called from the other side of the gym. TJ walked over to her position as Aden whispered good luck. She put her hand to her belt, placing a finger on each pokeball, naming the pokemon inside to herself. She knew Piapot would be useless, as would Indigo. Once she decided on her starter, she looked across the field at Brock.
"Ready!" she called.
"Ok!" he said. "This will be a three on three battle, no time limit. Go!" TJ grabbed her first pokeball. "Onix, I choose you!"
"Kern, go!" TJ said. Her pokeball released on the field. It was a discouraging sight to see the tiny bulbasaur overshadowed by Brock's massive Onix.
"Kern?" Aden said. "When did you get him?"
"Professor Oak gave him to me before I left." TJ told him.
"Of course, he gives you a bulbasaur and I've always wanted a charmander…"
"Would you shut up?" Brock cleared his throat. TJ turned around quickly, clearly embarrassed. "Sorry!"
"I thought you were ready." Brock said.
"I am!" TJ replied. "Let's go! Kern! Vine whip!"
"Onix, slam!" Brock said. Onix charged at Kern. He was fast.
"Kern, doge and get behind him!" TJ said.
"Bulba!" Kern replied to the command. Kern, using his vines as like a catapult, sent himself into the air, just over Onix's head.
"Vine whip, now!" Kern used his vines to wrap Onix's tail. TJ knew that Kern was no where near strong enough to hold Onix; she was just hoping to confuse it for a minute. It seemed to work, since Onix stopped dead in his tracks. TJ had to think fast. She knew Onix was too large to turn around quickly, but that fact still only gave her a few extra moments.
"Hurry, this is our chance!" TJ said. "Leech seed!" From midair, Kern sent a shower of seeds from his bulb down on the large snake. As the seeds latched on and sprouted, Onix roared in pain. By the time Kern landed, Onix was already covered in vines.
"Onix, return." Brock said, sounding a little more than disappointed.
"Yeah, TJ!" Aden cheered. "That was perfect!"
"Good job, Kern!" TJ called.
"You haven't won yet!" Brock said, throwing out another pokeball. "Vulpix, go!" Vulpix joined the battle.
"Uh-oh, that's not good." Aden said.
"I know that! Hush!" TJ said, a little frustrated. "Kern, tackle!"
"Quick attack!" Brock said. As Kern charged at Vulpix, she seemed to disappear and reappear. Kern missed and looked around, trying to catch up with Vulpix. She hit him from behind, sending Kern sprawling. "Finish him off with ember!"
"Vullllllpix!" Vulpix said, spewing out a fireball. It engulfed Kern and then fizzled out. Kern was completely knocked out.
"Kern, return." TJ said. She held the pokeball close. "Great job for your first real battle." She placed him back on her belt and grabbed her next one. "OK! Lumina, your turn!" Out came the chinchou, her antennae sparking happily. TJ knew that Lumina would be diminished on land, but hoped she wouldn't need it too much.
"All right then." Brock said. "Vulpix! Another quick attack!" Vulpix began moving faster than could be seen again, but TJ was ready. When Vulpix as only a few feet from Lumina, TJ sent out her command.
"Lumina, water gun, now!" Lumina shot out a large stream of water out in front of it. Her aim was spot on and Vulpix was caught in it. She was sent flying backwards towards Brock, landing just before him. Instead of calling her back right away, he ran over to her and held her in his arms for a moment. Once he was sure she was still ok, Brock returned her to her pokeball and walked back into his circle.
"That was good, but I still have one pokemon left." Brock said. "Golem, let's go!" Brock sent out his rock pokemon and TJ blinked. She had never actually seen a golem before. It was massive, but, being a rock-type, she was sure she could beat it.
"Lumina, go again with another water gun!" TJ said.
"Chin…chou?" Lumina said.
"Huh?" TJ said. Golem was gone. All that remained of him was a hole in the ground in front of Brock. TJ swallowed hard. She knew this move; it was dig. Brock smiled.
"This is why you have to keep your eye on the opponent." Brock told her. "You have no idea when Golem used dig, or where he will surface. And, I am playing by the rules. Team Rocket won't. I don't even know if Golem will surface in the correct place; I just have to trust him to hit his mark." Just then, there was a slight rumble and Golem shot into the air, taking Lumina with him. Golem landed first, shaking the ground. Then came Lumina. TJ ran out onto the field to catch her. Lumina's lights were flickering.
"You'll be ok. Good job." She put her back into the pokeball and returned to her spot. "Time to fight fire with fire. Sasha! Come on!" She sent her sandslash out, who jumped up happily.
"Always Sasha…" Aden murmured. TJ ignored him. She wasn't going to let Brock get the jump on her this time.
"That is a beautiful sandslash." Brock said. "But, this isn't a beauty contest. Let's see it battle! Dig!"
"You too, Sasha!" TJ said. "Dig!" Both pokemon dug down into the earth. There was silence. Neither pokemon made a trail to reveal their location; they could pop up from anywhere.
"You mentioned trust before." TJ said. "The first two pokemon I used were relatively new to my team. I've trained them very little, yet they were still able to beat your pokemon. But, Sasha, she's different. We have been together for years. And she just recently evolved into a sandslash. You wanted to see trust?" There was a low, familiar rumble. "This is trust." The two pokemon shot into the air from center stage so fast, it was impossible to see who was where. Then, suddenly, Golem was thrown hard down to Earth. He made a crater in the ground with an ear shattering crash. He didn't move and his eyes were shut tight. Sasha landed a few feet away and then did a small back flip to give herself some space, just in case Golem got back up. But, it was obvious that he was not rising from that attack.
"Sandslash!" Sasha said happily. She ran to TJ as Brock called his defeated pokemon back. TJ scooped Sasha up into her arms in one fluent motion. She tossed her into the air, laughing. Aden came over, cheering and giving his congratulations. Brock smiled and walked over to her, holding out his hand.
"Good job, TJ." he said. "You are clearly a great trainer. You have a better grasp over your pokemon than most much older than you. You have a strange connection that I have only seen a few times before."
"Thank you," she said, shaking his hand. There was something hidden in his palm, which he slipped into her hand. It was a gray badge. "But, wait, I…"
"That is the Boulder Badge." Brock told her. "I know that you have no intention to enter the Indigo League right now, but, seeing as you have officially beaten a Kanto gym leader, you are entitled to it. You may find it useful someday and most people will show more respect to a trainer carrying a badge, though this isn't true for everyone." He snickered to himself, as if enjoying a personal joke.
"Well, thanks then." TJ said. "So, I guess this means I'm worthy, then?"
"Oh yes, more than worthy." Brock told her. "You two should spend the night here. It will be dark soon. I'll give you a good meal, since you won't have another chance to have one for a while. I also want to have a look at that magby of yours, Aden. Come on, I'll show you to my home."