"The museum closes at eight every night. The fossils are the main attraction and by the entrance."

"Noted," Anthony said and made a circle around the room Martin indicated on the blueprints Penny found. "Security?"

"Two to three unarmed security officers that patrol around the day, plus whatever's in the security room," Martin explained. "Security cameras in each room all pointed at the displays. They're going to see us no matter what."

"Noted. How many at night?"

"Just one guard on the night shift," Martin shrugged. "Plus anyone in the security room."

"Where is the security room?" Anthony asked.

"Second floor, towards the back past the space exploration exhibit."

"Noted," Anthony said and crossed that room out with an X. "I can wipe the footage from there. We'll be in the clear."

"It doesn't matter if you do that," Martin said and crossed his arms. "We can't have a Pokémon battle in the museum. It'd draw too much attention."

"I know that," Anthony frowned. "Leave the security guards to me. Entrances?"

"Aside from the main one, there's a back door that leads to some storage area," Martin said and pointed his finger to where the door was on the blueprint. "Here. There's a security camera looking over it."

"Noted," Anthony said and marked a circle by Martin's finger. "Did you check for an alarm system?"

"Err…" Martin looked away.

Anthony sighed. "There probably is one. I want you to go back and figure out a way to knock out the power. Afterwards, I need you to pick up some items. Zip ties, long pieces of cloth, walkie-talkies for each of us, and a crowbar. Don't go to the same shop for these items and try to go to local places without security cameras."

"And what are you going to do?" Martin asked. "The way I see it, you're sending me to do all the work."

"I need to take steps to ensure that the cops are busy tomorrow night," Anthony said, glaring at Martin behind his shades. "Penny and Horace are busy working on our getaway so you're the one without anything to do. Get back here tonight so I can explain the plan."

Martin grumbled under his breath but didn't press the matter further. He left the office that Anthony claimed in the warehouse and went downstairs, where Horace was performing maintenance on a truck he found while Penny worked on getting the extra seats out of the back. Anthony knew that Martin had ambition but that he wouldn't betray Team Rocket for a chance at more power. He was loyal, and once he got over the menial tasks he complained about, he might make for a good lieutenant in the syndicate.

Anthony grabbed the blueprints and pinned them to the wall next to a map of Pewter City and a pamphlet for the city's Museum of Science. This wasn't his first heist so he knew what he needed to do. Anthony was worried about the grunts under his command, knowing that they were new to the life of crime. Still, he had his orders from the boss and he would get the fossils Team Rocket wanted. He would make sure to look out for the trio under his command to ensure that they didn't mess up.

Tomorrow night was the time they were going to rob the Pewter City Museum of Science. Anthony had until then to finalize the steps for his plan.

After finishing his breakfast at home with his family, Jared set out to the Pokémon Center to meet up with his friends. The day before, he was able to sign up for a battle against Brock for the early afternoon. His parents and sister promised to head to the Pokémon Gym to watch his battle. If he won against Brock, his friends would need to wait for Celena to challenge Brock before they continued on their adventure to qualify for the Indigo League Conference.

Jared thought over his plan. Although he remained confident in his team, he knew that they had an uphill battle. Weedle had yet to evolve and would need to focus on trying to poison his opponent with Poison Sting. Although Butterfree was his most powerful Pokémon, Jared wasn't sure if she could last an extended fight, especially against a Pokémon that knew a Rock-type move. Still, with some last minute training, they were as ready as they could be for the gym battle.

When he grew closer to the Pokémon Center, he saw Danny, Celena, and Noah waiting for him. Even Henry leaned against the wall of the Pokémon Center and offered a quick wave towards Jared. When the rest of his friends spotted him, Danny rushed over to greet him with Celena and Noah close behind.

"Are you excited, Jared?" Danny asked. "This is going to be your first gym battle!"

"I am," Jared answered with a quick nod. "I think I have a good chance of winning against Brock."

"You've got this," Noah told Jared. "I haven't seen anyone work as hard as you have for this gym battle."

"You have everything you need to win," Celena nodded in agreement. "It's going to be a very exciting battle."

"Thank you both," Jared said and looked to Celena. "Did you manage to schedule a battle with Brock today?"

"I'm afraid not," Celena shook her head. "I'll battle him tomorrow morning so we'll have to spend another night in Pewter City."

"It sucks but there's nothing we can do about it," Noah shrugged. "We've stayed around this long. What's one more day?"

Henry stood behind Jared's friends and smiled. "I'm sorry that I won't be able to see your gym battle. I want to go without knowing too much of what Brock can do. Still,. I'll be supporting you in spirit."

"Thank you for everything, Henry," Jared said. "I owe you so much for helping my team prepare."

"Think nothing of it," Henry smiled. "Keep up the training. I think you and your friends are going to be great trainers."

"If you're not going to watch the gym battle, what are you going to do?" Danny asked.

"Jason wants to battle so I should probably oblige him before he takes off running," Henry chuckled. "I'll check in with you sometime today to see your badge. Take care."

"You too, Henry," Jared replied.

The group split off with Henry heading to the city outskirts while Jared and his friends walked toward the Pokémon Gym. Jared was determined to win against Brock, knowing that he couldn't let his friends, family, and mentor down. He had the best plan he could come up with and the team to pull it off. It was just a matter of winning the battle and claiming the badge for himself.

The Pewter City Pokémon Gym always drew in a respectable crowd to watch a battle. Jared and his younger sister had gone and watched trainers battle Brock before but it wasn't until he was older that he thought about competing. Two sets of stands for the audience were placed on the long sides of the League-regulated battle with a spot for the referee set aside on one side. Brock stood on one side of the battlefield while a challenger was on the opposite side. The battlefield itself was cluttered with rocks befitting of the type the gym leader specialized in.

Jared had seen Brock before but never had a chance to interact with him. Even though he was younger than most gym leaders and was only a year or two older than Noah, he was an experienced trainer who took his battles seriously. Jared realized that he had never seen Brock outside of his role as gym leader. He wondered what the older trainer was like when he wasn't working.

While waiting for his match, Jared and his friends watched some of the trainers battle against Brock. He claimed a few victories against trainers that couldn't keep up with some Pokémon, but since it was his role to test trainers, he lost some battles as well and handed his badge out to the victor. One of the last trainers to challenge Brock before Jared's turn was Lucia, and although Nidoran fell to Onix, she finished the battle and took the win with a mighty Tauros. Jared and his friends were surprised and amazed to see that their new friend had such a rare Pokémon and wondered why she didn't send it out to battle them yesterday.

Finally, it was Jared's turn, and with his friends' encouragement, made his way over to his side of the battlefield. On the way there, he saw his parents and sister in the crowd, watching and excited to see his battle. The crowd watching him made him nervous. Jared saw a few familiar faces in the crowd of people he knew before attending school in Viridian City. He reminded himself that he wouldn't fail.

The referee addressed the crowd. "Our next match at the Pewter City Pokémon Gym is about to begin. Gym Leader Brock faces challenger Jared Webster of Pewter City. The battle will be a single battle with each trainer having two Pokémon. The challenger is allowed to swap his Pokémon at any time in the battle. The battle will begin when both trainers send their Pokémon out to the battlefield at the same time."

"It's always nice to battle someone from here," Brock said and held a Poké Ball in his hand. "Are you ready?"

Jared nodded, clutching Weedle's Poké Ball tightly. "I'm ready!"

"Then let's start the battle!" Brock said and threw his Poké Ball. "You're up, Geodude!"

"You've got this, Weedle!"

The crowd cheering was stunned when Weedle was released from his Poké Ball. They weren't expecting a Bug-type Pokémon to fight against Brock. Jared wasn't going to let their thoughts get in the way of his battle. He focused on the Geodude across the battlefield. Although he knew that Brock's Geodude didn't know any Rock-type moves, Weedle wasn't going to win through brute force. He needed to play to his advantages to win.

"Weedle, use Poison Sting!" Jared commanded.

"Geodude, get up close with Tackle!"

The two Pokémon charged forward. Weedle's stinger met Geodude's body and the Bug-type Pokémon was flung back by the attack. Although the attack did hurt Geodude, he wasn't poisoned. Weedle was more injured than his opponent, reminding Jared that he needed to get lucky by poisoning Geodude or he was going to lose this battle.

"Go in again, Geodude!"

"Keep at it, Weedle!"

Weedle got up from the ground to see Geodude floating towards him. The Bug-type Pokémon braced himself for combat and dashed forward to jab his stinger into his opponent. Although Geodude once again slammed Weedle away, he looked more sickly than before. Jared couldn't help but contain his excitement to hear Geodude cough, knowing that Brock's Pokémon was poisoned. Still, Weedle wasn't in the best of condition.

Fortunately, Jared knew what to do next.

"Good word, Weedle!" Jared cheered. "Now, use String Shot and keep your distance from Geodude!"

"Geodude, you just need one more Tackle!" Brock encouraged his Pokémon. "Our battle isn't over yet!"

Despite Brock's encouragement, Geodude's last attack was enough to give Weedle the distance he needed. The Bug-type Pokémon spit out a glob of sticky string towards Geodude, binding his arms to his body. Although the Pokémon was able to float toward his opponent, Weedle weaved his way underneath Geodude to avoid the attack. Weedle then dashed toward the rocks to lead Geodude on a chase.

Although Geodude needed one more hit to win the battle, Weedle was one step ahead of his opponent. The audience cheered for both sides of the chase as Geodude tried to land a hit on Weedle who took advantage of his opponent's decreased speed to keep ahead. Finally, the poison had done enough damage and Geodude fainted, collapsing on the ground. Weedle, tired from the battle and chased, bobbed his head toward his trainer as the crowd cheered.

"Geodude has been defeated," the referee announced. "Brock is down to his last Pokémon!"

Brock recalled Geodude with a grin. "I can tell you've done your research. Your Weedle is also tougher than I thought."

"Thank you," Jared said with a small smile.

"Let's see what you've got prepared for my final Pokémon," Brock threw a Poké Ball to the field. "You're up, Onix!"

Jared held his ground as Brock released Onix, who fell on the ground with a mighty thud. He let out a mighty roar to intimidate Weedle, who looked up at the large rock serpent in awe. Jared was glad that Weedle made it this far but knew that he wouldn't win against Onix. Still, there was a small chance that he would be able to get a hit on his foe to give Butterfree a better fighting chance.

"Weedle, try to get in close with a Poison Sting!"

"Onix, it's time to use Rock Tomb!"

Weedle charged forward, but with Onix on the opposite side of the field, he had too much to cover. Onix swept several rocks on the battlefield in his tail towards his opponent. Although Weedle tried his best to avoid the hits, the rocks battered against his body, and ultimately, he fell unconscious. Jared recalled his Pokémon, knowing that this last part of the battle was going to be rough.

"Weedle has been defeated," the referee announced. "Both trainers are down to their last Pokémon."

"You did well, Weedle," Jared said with a sigh. "You're up, Butterfree, I trust you to win this."

Jared threw his final Poké Ball to the battlefield to let Butterfree out to battle. Butterfree flew around in the air, watching Onix carefully. Once again, most of the audience muttered to themselves, surprised to see two Bug-type Pokémon against Brock in a single battle. The only spectators who had confidence in Jared were his friends and family, who cheered him on. A single Rock Tomb might be enough to bring Butterfree although the move wasn't a guaranteed hit. He needed to do what he could to make it harder for Onix to use Rock Tomb.

"Onix, let's finish this with Rock Tomb!"

"Butterfree, we have to confuse Onix with Supersonic!"

While Onix tried to grab rocks with his tail, Butterfree didn't need to move to emit a noise from her mouth. Her eyes glowed blue at the same time and Jared grinned to see Onix's eyes move around in confusion. While he tried to throw rocks, he stumbled onto the ground much to the audience's amusement. Brock tapped his chin in thought, thinking of a plan. Jared knew that he couldn't rely on confusion and figured it was time for a new move.

"Snap out of it, Onix!" Brock called out. "You can win this battle still!"

"Butterfree, now's our chance!" Jared pointed towards Onix. "Sleep Powder!"

With Onix confused, Butterfree took the chance to fly closer to her opponent. Green spores dropped from her wings during her flyover that fell onto Onix. The serpent fell down on the ground, snoring loudly. Between being asleep, confused, and the chance of hitting Rock Tomb, Jared felt safe enough to have Butterfree focus on the battle.

"There we go!" Jared cheered. "Now, keep using Confusion until the battle is over!"

"Onix, you need to wake up and use Rock Tomb!" Brock called out without any anger toward his Pokémon or his opponent. He was calm even when the battle had turned against him.

Butterfree channeled her psychic powers to attack Onix mentally. Onix stopped snoring and let out a groan of pain when assaulted mentally as shown with the blue energy running across his body. Brock crossed his arms and kept calling for his Pokémon to wake up to continue the battle. Jared continued to direct Butterfree to keep up with the attack, knowing that their chances of winning decreased if Onix woke up. They needed to defeat Onix now.

However, all of the planning in the world didn't matter, as sometimes, even something with incredibly low odds could still succeed. Onix's eyes opened and he raised his head, showing no signs of drowsiness or confusion. His tail wrapped around a pile of rocks nearby and he threw them towards Butterfree. Jared could only look in shock as many of the rocks hit, seemingly burying his Pokémon. Despite how low of a chance Onix had of breaking out of confusion, waking up, and landing a hit, he had pulled it off.

The referee was about to make an announcement when some of the rocks moved. Butterfree found an opening in the tomb and flew out, heavily battered but still able to fight. Jared let out a quick laugh, amazed to see how training his Pokémon worked. Butterfree would go down in one hit, but looking over at Onix, she only needed to land a single hit to claim victory as well. Onix raised his body up, ready to finish this battle once and for all.

"Let's go for a guaranteed hit this time around," Brock said with a grin. "Go with Tackle, Onix!"

"Concentrate on landing one last Confusion, Butterfree!" Jared called out.

Onix charged forward with a roar, intending to slam into Butterfree with his height and mass. Butterfree flew in place, focusing a psychic attack on Onix. The serpent continued moving forward, but under the weight of the mental attack, collapsed onto the ground and was unable to move. Brock nodded in acknowledgement of his defeat and recalled Onix as the crowd cheered.

"Onix has been defeated!" the referee announced. "Jared Webster is the victor of this gym battle!"

Jared signaled for Butterfree to fly towards him and gave her a quick pat on the head, unable to stop smiling as the crowd cheered. Per the custom, the winner of a gym battle greets the gym leader in the middle of the battlefield. Jared followed a set of stairs down to the arena and met Brock at the center. There was no sign of anger or disappointment on his face. In fact, Brock smiled widely at the young boy.

"It's not everyday someone battles me with a team that's weak to Rock-type Pokémon and comes in with the win," Brock admitted. "I'm sorry to underestimate you at first but you proved me wrong today."

"You almost had me there," Jared said, returning Brock's smile with one of his own. "I almost thought you had me beat for a minute."

"It was a close battle, but with your understanding of your Pokémon and strategies, you were able to come up with a plan to beat me despite the odds," Brock said and extended a hand, holding a gray badge. "I'm proud to present the Boulder Badge to you, Jared."

"Thank you so much," Jared said and took the gym badge.

"This is just the first stop on your journey though," Brock said. "Keep traveling and know that Pewter City is glad to have a trainer like you."

Jared and Brock shook hands as the crowd cheered again. He knew that his friends and family would be waiting for him outside. They would want to celebrate together with a nice meal. He wasn't sure if he would be able to find Henry in time but made a mental note to let his mentor know that he had won. He turned around with red cheeks, still taking in the praise Brock and the spectators gave him for his victory.

There would be other gym leaders to face and Jared heard that one of them focused on Fire-type Pokémon. However, he knew that by the time he faced that opponent in battle, he would have more Pokémon to work with. Today, Jared won against Brock after deciding that he would use Weedle and Butterfree instead of catching and training new Pokémon. He knew that when he looked back on his history as a trainer, this battle would be one that he would be the most proud of for his determination and persistence in the face of a strong foe.

A/N: And we've finished the gym battle between Jared and Brock. Now, I hope it's clear by now but I'm going to have there be one gym battle per gym leader instead of trying to have all of the main characters battle against the gym leader since that would take too long. Jared was the perfect choice to battle Brock given his storyline and the fact he's from Pewter City.

I'll admit that this chapter is shorter than what I've written before. It makes sense though given that I just wanted to primarily focus on the gym battle.

Now that this small arc is over, I'll be moving forward with a story I've been teasing for quite some time. Next up, it's time for the heist of the Pewter City Museum of Science.

Until next time.