Sitting at a table in a little cafe's patio, Tony and Delia idly toyed with their drinks. They had arrived in Vermilion City the previous evening and decided to do a bit of people-watching before Tony searched out the local Gym.
"I heard that he became Gym Leader right out of his last tour of duty!" a passing teen exclaimed.
"Me too! They say that the Lightning American takes down his opponents with a super strong offensive strategy." her traveling companion replied before the pair turned the corner and left Tony and Delia's earshot.
"The Lightning American, hm? I wonder who he really is... I mean, that has to be a nickname." Tony mused idly.
"He'd be a tough opponent to beat if you used Seaking, if his nickname gives any clue to his line up that is." Delia replied.
"Mhm. That's provided that he uses electric type pokemon, or even a pokemon of a different type that can learn electric type moves." Tony then scrunched up his face and closed his eyes in an almost perfect imitation of a Wobuffet's face. "Gah! Wondering mind overload."
"Come on, Tony. It's not like you to fret about things, especially where pokemon are concerned." Delia chided the trainer. "I bet that you'd beat this Gym Leader with both hands tied behind your back."
"Maybe so... I mean, after all the years I've spent in Falkner's Gym, I'm bound to know something about defeating electric type pokemon with pokemon that are neutral or even have some sort of weakness to them." Tony smirked. "But I'd still like to know his name. I can't go in and say 'Hey, you! I want to battle your sorry nameless a-'"
The shocked expression on Delia's face as she stared at whatever was behind him made Tony drop the train of thought and sigh in resignation. A towering shadow gave Tony a sinking feeling.
"He's right behind me, isn't he?"
Speechless, Delia could only open and close her mouth as if she was imitating a Magikarp. Tony slowly turned around in his seat and stared up at the imposing figure of Vermilion City's Gym Leader.
"So, you think you're tough enough to beat me, Kid?" the buzz-cut blond-haired Gym Leader smirked confidently. "We'll just have to see about that, won't we? Name's Lt. Surge. See you in the gym at oh-eight-hundred tomorrow morning, Kid."
"H-hey! My name is NOT 'Kid'." Tony called out to Lt. Surge as soon as he found his voice again. "It's Tony Ketchum!"
"Meh. If you say so, Kid." Lt. Surge turned and walked away, ending the conversation.
"I'm here for my battle!" Tony declared as he stormed into the Vermilion Gym with Delia several steps behind him.
"Well, well, well. Looks like the kid wants to play." Lt. Surge smirked to one of his gym assistants. "You're right on time, Kid. I like that in a person. If you would have been even a second late, I'd have had you run laps."
"As if..." Tony muttered under his breath.
"What was that? Only babies whimper like that!" Lt. Surge smirked.
"Grr! I'll have you eat your words!" Tony roared as he threw out Charizard's pokeball.
As the fire-flying type pokemon emerged from its pokeball, Delia placed a hand over her eyes and silently groaned. One way or another, Tony would have to learn to curb his anger. Resigned, Delia moved over to the sidelines to watch the ensuing pokemon battle.
"Spoken like a true baby. Time to come out, Raichu!" Lt. Surge released his electric type pokemon as trainer & Gym Leader took their positions on the battle field.
"Rai!" Raichu folded its arms across its chest and smirked in sync with its trainer.
"This begins and ends now!" Tony declared. "Charizard, use Fire Fang!"
"Too easy. Raichu, use Thunder!"
"Rai, chu rai!"
Charizard opened its fiery maw and let loose a rumbling growl. Dodging the electric pokemon's powerful attack, Charizard made for Raichu's side, but clamped down on its lightning bolt shaped tail instead.
"CHU!" Raichu squealed in pain as its tail sustained a burn as well as puncture marks. Moments later, Raichu mentally blocked out the pain as Charizard released its grip on the electric type's tail, awaiting the Gym Leader's next command.
"Alright, Charizard. Use Flame Thrower next!" Tony pumped his fist into the air before noticing that Charizard's body sparked with electricity. "What the..."
"Rai! Chu, chu, chu!" the electric rodent laughed as it saw that its opponent had become paralyzed.
"Raichu, you better finish this!" Lt. Surge snapped his next command at his pokemon. "Thunder, now!"
"Chu, rai." Raichu released its attack at close range, giving the fire-flying type pokemon a huge jolt.
Roaring in pain and anger, Charizard struggled to stay standing. With it down on one knee and both clawed hands on the ground, Charizard panted for a few moments before taking a deep breath to let loose its attack. The Flame Thrower attack was turned up a few notches as its Blaze ability kicked in, causing a smoke screen effect for both trainer and gym leader alike.
As soon as the resulting fire-induced smoke cleared, Charizard lay on the floor, unconscious.
"Wha- no!" Tony exclaimed, more than just a bit dumbfounded. Recalling his pokemon back into its pokeball, Tony sighed. The blind rage began to fade as his pride and anger was taken down a few notches. "Thank you, Charizard. You've done your best."
Growling in frustration, Tony put away Charizard's pokeball. Just as he was to call out Bayleef, a brief flash of an idea popped into his mind.
"Seaking, come on out!" Tony exclaimed as he tossed up the Goldfish Pokemon's pokeball.
"A water type?" Lt. Surge cocked up an eyebrow. "You've got guts, Kid... I'll give you that, but this battle's as good as over!"
"I told you before... My. Name. Is. NOT.. 'KID'!" Tony fumed as he gritted his teeth, his face turning a few shades darker red. "Type-wise, you have the upper hand... But types aren't everything in a battle!"
"Yeah, you just keep telling yourself that. Raichu, you know what to do!" Lt. Surge smirked.
"Seaking, Horn Drill!"
Raichu attempted to attack Seaking with another thunderbolt attack, although it's burns had been steadily sapping its strength. The attack went wide, whereas Seaking's Horn Drill made a direct hit, causing the electric rodent to pass out. For several long drawn out seconds, the silence lay heavily in the gym.
"Well, now. Tony, was it? It seems you've one upped me." Lt. Surge recalled his Raichu before picking an item from the shelf in the wall behind him. "Here's the Thunder Badge. The end results were shocking."
"Thank you." Tony said between forced breaths, as his temper still simmered near the boiling point.
I didn't win this one, I steam rolled over him, and my short fuse was the true victor.
The thought repeated itself within Tony's mind as he sat in the waiting room of the Pokemon Center, idly fiddling with the Thunder Badge. His earlier anger had subsided down to a fowl mood. Intermittently, Delia gave him a sideways glance in concern as they both waited for Tony's pokemon to come back with a clean bill of health.
"Tony..."
"I really blew it, didn't I?" Tony mused, almost not noticing Delia attempt to get his attention.
"Yes.." Delia said hesitantly. "You did let your temper get the best of you."
Delia was right, and Tony knew it. He screwed his eyes closed as he clenched the badge in his hand. After taking several deep breaths, Tony opened his eyes again. He knew what he had to do. In his mind's eye, it was an ill-gained badge, and keeping an ill-gained badge was not an option for him.
"I'm gonna do it."
"Hmm?" Delia gave him a confused look. "What are you going to do?"
"I'm returning the Thunder Badge. A badge won in anger isn't a badge worth keeping. I didn't legitimately earn it."
"Tony, wait..." Delia sighed as she watched Tony immediatly stand up and storm out of the Pokemon Center. "Don't forget your..."
Giving another sigh, Delia closed her eyes and shook her head.
"...Pokemon." she completed her sentence. "Okay, then. I'll just wait here in Tony's place."
"I'm here to return my badge." Tony told the Gym Leader. "I didn't properly earn it, so I don't believe I can keep it."
"I see." Lt. Surge said with a cocked eyebrow. Giving the trainer an once-over, he smirked. "I like you, K-erm.. Tony. Takes guts to admit ones faults. Truth be had, I saw a lot of me in you when I was your age. Green around the gills and seeing red everywhere."
"What does this have to do with..." Tony was becoming confused.
"Fessing up to your own personal faults when you could have just gone on and stayed silent, you've redeemed yourself in my eyes. Keep it. And that's an order!" Lt. Surge interrupted. "Take it along with the lesson you learned here."