Keran looked to the combusken to her side, "You ready for this?" She asked, waiting for his confirmation. Upon receiving a hesitant nod, the tall trainer pressed her hand to the door of the gym. It was time to take on this gym and give the young pokemon she was training a boost in confidence. They were strong fighters, there should be no reason for them to doubt themselves when it came to that. Even the very special Poochyena was powerful in his own right.
"Alright, we'll try you against the trainers in the gym first, and then, after a quick rest, we'll get to the leader." She explained, mostly for Blaze's benefit, but also a little to steady herself. It hadn't been that long since her league challenge, but there was always that insane surge of adrenaline, a touch of anxiety, and just the tiniest hint of fear that they didn't really have this as under control as she knew it was. "Aaaaand in we go." Deep breath in, and Blaze was through the doors, followed by Keran almost immediately.
It took all of three seconds to be assaulted by the smell of dirt and rocks, and a fairly well dressed gym leader. At least, she looked like a well educated gym leader. Or possibly a college student. Ker tilted her head, looking at the female in front of her. "You're the gym leader right?" She asked, mostly making sure her assumptions were correct.
"Yes, welcome to my gym!" She smiled wide, waving her arm to display the beauty of the gym she'd worked so hard to create. "Are you here to take the challenge?" Roxanne questioned, looking up at the rather tall pasty woman. "Your pokemon look a little scared to be here…" She was worried, wanting to make sure all the guests in her gym were well taken care of.
"Oh, he's fine. Just a little scared of his first gym battle." Ker smiled, gently patting the nervous Combusken on his head. "Yes, we're here for the gym challenge." She answered finally, looking the gym leader in the eye. This wasn't her first time, but it was still nerve wracking. Had she already thought that? Shoot…
"This is a lovely gym." Ker commented, trying to relax a little. It would help Blaze as much as her to be in a calm and collected mood. And quite possibly Seedot. It was a rock type gm, it was most likely Seedot was going to see parts of the gym battle. "Centered around archeology? Very unique" She complimented the other woman, smiling. There was no reason she couldn't be polite.
"Thank you. It's actually a bit of a museum, since we have the trainer's school here. I thought it would be a good idea to have somewhere they could come and learn about history first hand." Roxanne nodded, having a feeling this trainer would do just fine through her gym. She intentionally used weaker pokemon because most often newer trainers would start here, with her and she didn't have the heart to win every single battle that took place.
"That's a wonderful idea." Ker gave a half hearted smile. It really was a good idea, keep their minds and hands occupied at the same time. "Shall we get started?" She asked, one hand still on Blaze's head. He was ready to go, and so was she, and most likely, so was Seedot. Poochyena would be sitting this one out. Getting the nod from Roxanne, Keran watched the gym leader retreat, enjoying her view. Quite the effect that skirt gave the other woman…
"Okay Blaze, you don't have typing on your side, so you're going to have to work extra hard. Either one hit the other pokemon, or avoid all their attacks. If at any point you start getting worried, tap out. Seedot has typing on his side, and he's almost as good as you are." That was it for the pep talk. She wasn't good at it, but Blaze seemed fired up all the same. Maybe it was a good thing he knew what she meant with her 'words of encouragement.'
First up was a standard gym trainer. It looked like she could have easily avoided them, but that wasn't her plan. She wanted Blaze and Seedot to have the experience before they battled Roxanne. Blaze was the first out of his pokeball, mainly in that he hadn't been in it when they entered, so he was first into battle.
Blaze looked back to his trainer, a little nervous. This was a big moment for him and he didn't want to blow it. Sure, she wouldn't look at him like he was a failure, but that didn't mean he wouldn't think of himself as one. Even if he didn't have a type advantage, whatever that was, he still wanted to make Keran proud. It was with a claw in his beak, being nibbled on, that he entered the first battle, with a rock type pokemon being released to fight against him.
"Double Kick!" She called, encouraging her pokemon. He'd be fine. Most of these pokemon were intended to be weaker and Keran knew it.
"!" He jumped, turning the motion into his attack. First one foot landed, then the other. Blaze grinned, victorious. He knew he deserved the praise she always gave him. Maybe he really was a good pokemon after all! The other two didn't know what they were talking about.
"Well done Blaze." Ker grinned, actually meaning it. Their hard work was paying off big time and even the trainers inside the gym had to acknowledge it. "Let's go off to the next trainer. You have this down pat." Another ruffle of his feathers, a sign of her praise for him. He was a strong fighter, even if he didn't have the confidence in himself just yet. It would come.
Still grinning, they approached the next trainer. There was no real need to rest between fights, Blaze had done so admirably the first time, it looked like he was going to do well through the entire gym.
"'Sken!" He chirped, literally jumping for joy. He was so distracted by their victory that he didn't even realize the next pokemon being released for another battle. It wasn't until she called the same move again that Blaze even realized they were in the middle of a battle. He chirped again, jumping to attempt to land a double kick. Thankfully, it worked again. Blaze had been so surprised by the entire thing he'd not had enough time to aim properly. It did result in a glancing blow, but was enough knock out the pokemon he was battling against.
"Again, well done Blaze." She praised him, meaning every word of it. Keran did stop for a moment to consider if the praise was going to his head and distracting him. He seemed a little out of it during that last encounter. "Dial it back just a little, keep your head in the game." Ker cautioned as they walked. They'd never take the next battle if he was too busy being proud of himself.
The last trainer of the gym was waiting for them, she was ready with her pokemon and wearing a determined expression. Surely she knew that she wasn't going to win this battle, not with how easily Blaze had taken out the others, but she was there, none the less waiting and ready to take them on with all of her skill.
"You've got this Blaze, just keep your head in the game and we won't even need to rest before we get to the gym leader." She encouraged, ruffling his feathers one last time before stepping back for him to do his thing. He knew what move she was going to call, he knew what to do. She'd remain entirely silent through this battle. Of course, during the battle with the leader, that was an entirely different story. This time, she was content to sit back and let Blaze have fun with it.
It didn't take Blaze long either, he'd managed to pull it together and one hit the competition. Just like they'd planned. Blaze was a powerful pokemon, maybe he had the potential to go through the league challenge. Maybe he'd make the transition into her league pokemon and fight alongside of Pikachu… The thought made her smile just a little. Maybe one day, but not today. "You ready to take on the last battle? It's all or nothing this round." Hearing his squeak of confirmation, Ker cracked her fingers and started towards the gym leader. This would be the final battle for this gym. She knew she could always re-challenge this place if they lost, but Blaze could find that out later. No matter how this turned out, she was proud of the combusken. He was doing a fine job.
"You've defeated all the trainers in the gym. Well done!" Roxanne applauded, completely sincere in the feeling. It was hard to believe someone could come through and wipe out all the pokemon in her gym with so little effort, but it wasn't the first time this had happened. She doubted it would be the last. Roxanne was just glad to have the chance to meet such a strong trainer and the pokemon they raised. It was an honor. "Would you like a few minutes to rest before our battle?" She was worried about the combusken that was doing all the fighting. It was fairly rare to see one pokemon doing it.
Keran looked to the faithful pokemon to her side. "Would you like a break?" She asked, more willing to ask Blaze than assume he was fine. Both parties would appreciate it more if she asked rather than just forced him forward. He shook his head and stepped into the ring. He wanted to do this. "Looks like we're barreling through. Blaze is filled with DETERMINATION." Ker smirked, waiting for the other woman to release her pokemon and the battle to begin. It was only a matter of seconds before a geodude was sitting there, looking up at Blaze, waiting for the first move to be called.
"Double kick!" She called, watching Blaze jump into action.
"Geodude use Rock Tomb!" Roxanne called in response, watching the battle unfold, her next pokeball at the ready.
Blaze jumped forward, managing to land his blow right between the opposing geodude's eyes. He was thankful that the other pokemon was made of rock, having not meant to hurt the other in the face. It was enough to knock Geodude out though, and a nosepass was released immediately.
"Keep it up Blaze, don't slow down. Double Kick again." Keran called, not giving him a chance to stop and revel in his momentary victory. The last pokemon was out and they needed to win this battle.
"Nosepass, use Rock Tomb!" Roxanne responded, watching as her pokemon managed to avoid the devastating attack from the combusken facing them. She did flinch a little when neither attack landed. And again when another call for Double Kick, which did land this time. It looked a little rocky for a moment, but Nosepass did faint. Roxanne gave a grim smile, calling back her pokemon. "Well done. You've bested this gym."
"Good job Blaze. Relax now." Keran cautioned, walking towards the gym leader that was now congratulating them. "You fought hard. It was a pleasure battling against you." Ker equally complimented, keeping an eye on her pokemon. She was positive he wasn't on a warpath, but she wanted to make sure he wasn't about to go off and do something stupid.
"To symbolize your victory here, I'd like you to have this badge." Roxanne started, a familiar yet always thrilling speech. "The boulder badge, and please accept this T.M. as part of your winnings. A gift from me. It contains Rock Tomb, it's really one of my favorite rock type moves." She smiled, holding out the disc and the significantly smaller badge. "Let the world know you're on your way to challenging the league here in Hoenn!"
Ker tried not to wince, realizing she'd entered this battle under false pretenses. Maybe she should tell Roxanne who she was… "T-thank you." She rubbed the back of her neck, not moving to accept the badge or the T.M. "I'm sorry, I should've told you. I'm a member of the Elite Four in Johto." She admitted, figuring it was the right thing to do. "I'm here on a bit of League business, and thought I'd check out your gym while I was at it. You're doing really well here." Keran tried to smile, very obviously not meaning it.
"Oh… Are you doing gym inspections?" Roxanne tilted her head, looking at the taller woman. That would make sense, the different leagues kept one another in check. "Or are you here about that nasty Team Magma?" She asked, curious. If it was a gym inspection, she'd need to make sure she could show the pasty woman around, but if it was for Team Magma… Well she wanted to help in any way she could.
"Ah. Not a gym inspection, if you're due, I have no idea." She shrugged. "I'm here to investigate the Team Magma plot. Seems there's almost always someone trying to resurrect ancient yet powerful pokemon and trying to destroy the world." Keran sighed. She'd gotten swept up in the plot to destroy the world back in Johto, at least it wasn't her primary function to get rid of it back then. Just this time, and even then it was only because she was already here and it was the responsibility of the league to take care of this kind of thing. No ordinary trainer should be swept into these messes.
"Would you happen to know anything?" She asked, looking at the much shorter gym leader. It was a bit of a shot in the dark, but she obviously knew something about something. "Any information you could provide would be helpful." Ker suggested.
Roxanne opened her mouth to start replying just as the door slammed open and a harried scientist pushed his way through.
"What's going on?" Keran demanded, rushing over to him.
"Someone broke into Devon Corp. and stole some very important parts! Please, we need help getting them back!" He rushed, needing a strong trainer to help them. They'd been completely overwhelmed with the thief's pokemon.
"Roxanne, stay here and keep him safe. I'm going after the thief." Keran stated, sprinting out the door. A familiar face was more useful for keeping the calm than a stranger. It also happened to free her up to chase after the scum who would steal from a business.