"This will be a one-on-one battle, three pokemon each. First trainer to defeat three of the opponents' will be declared the winner," the trainer they had encountered when first entering was refereeing.
"Ready for this?" Lt. Surge asked, walking a pokeball through his fingers.
Chira grinned at him. "Ready to win," she said confidently. There was a niggling doubt in the back of her mind, though.
"Then let's begin. Go, Raichu!" He threw the pokeball out into the field and an electric mouse appeared. It hopped from foot to foot excitedly.
"Chooo!" it crooned.
Chira took a deep breath. "Let's go Insight."
Insight slowly walked forward nonchalantly. Chira bit her lip to keep from laughing as the eevee seemed to flaunt in front of Raichu. The mouse pokemon started to laugh, almost falling over from hysteria.
"Now, Insight! Tackle!" Insight charged forward, catching Raichu by surprise.
It recovered, though, jumping to the side and avoiding the attack.
"Raichu, counter with Thunder Bolt!"
The pokemon's cheeks starting spitting sparks.
"Insight, dodge it!"
The eevee was too slow, and the attack hit her straight on. Chira clenched her teeth. Electric pokemon are fast. There's no way Insight will be able to outrun it! We need a strategy, but what?
The mouse pokemon charged Insight, who barely managed to dodge with a Quick Attack. She was suffering; Chira could easily see that.
Chira bit her lip. "Insight, combine Bite with a Quick Attack!"
"Raichu, Agility!"
The mouse easily dodged, countering with its own Bite. Insight was down for the count. Chira could only stare, finally returning the eevee. "Good job, Insight." The phrase every dog has its day ran through her head. She eyed the electric mouse.
Morrie can't battle here, he has to have water. Cami is fire, she won't be much good. Chira's hand tightened on Cami's pokeball. But she's my only hope. She managed to win the Boulder Badge, she should be able to win the Thunder Badge.
She threw the pokeball out. "Go, Cami! You're my last hope, make me proud!"
The fire horse nickered reassurance to her trainer before taking up a fighting stance. Lt. Surge grinned.
"You're using a fire pokemon. Interesting. With your eevee so weak, I'm surprised you have the confidence to use a weaker type of pokemon."
He withdrew the Raichu and threw out another pokeball. "Go, Magneton!"
A trio of Magnemite appeared, the magnets sending out small occasional shocks. Chira clenched her fist. She had to win.
"Cami! Use Stomp!"
The fire-horse surged forward, her hooves pounding a staccato on the hard ground. Lt. Surge simply grinned. "Pathetic," he said. "Magneton, one Thunder should do it."
A powerful blast of electricity shot at Cami, who stumbled to the side with Agility. She couldn't recover in time, and a follow up Thunder hit her straight on. Chira futilely hit her hand against her thigh as Cami hit the ground. She felt tears prick her eyes. Slowly she called Cami back and let her hand arm fall slack. She turned tear filled eyes upon the Gym Leader.
In a whisper that carried in the dead silence of the Gym, she said, "I concede."
The referee immediately pointed at Lt. Surge and announced, "The winner is Lt. Surge and his Magneton. The Thunder Badge remains his."
The Gym Leader recalled his pokemon and turned away, but turned back. "Maybe you should learn that no trainer that succeeds leans on his pokemon's brute strength alone. He learns to strategize. Before you challenge me again, I suggest you learn that." And with that, he turned away, disappearing into a room at the back.
Chris placed his hand on her arm. "It's okay, Chira. Everyone loses once in a while."
Chira waved him away. "I should have known I wouldn't be able to win. I didn't have a single strategy." She dashed angrily at her eyes. "I will win next time," she said, raising her voice to make sure the Gym Leader heard. "I won't lose again. My pokemon are stronger than that. They don't deserve to lose." They deserve a stronger trainer than me. I don't deserve them. But I am their trainer, so I will do all that I can to deserve them.
Chira ignored the yells she was receiving as she mounted Cami just outside of town. She was almost ready when Chris caught up to her.
"Why are you leaving?" he panted. "Why can't we go with you?"
"I can travel faster on my own, and I don't want to have to put you through my regiment," she said easily as she finished adjusting the reins she had hooked up to the halter. She had received both from her parents that morning. She had somehow forgotten them both when she left home.
"Regiment?" Jordan asked.
Chira grinned. "You can't handle it if you have to ask." Then, more seriously, "I'll be back by the time the ship is fixed. I'll meet you at the first sailing. See you!" She waved merrily and Cami burst forward into a run. The figures of her two friends dwindled quickly as the fire-horse's long strides ate up the miles. Chira smiled into the wind, holding her arms out to feel the violent breeze.
She laughed as she was almost tugged off her friend's back, grabbing hold of her mane just in time to stop herself. Cami shook her head uneasily. Chira could tell she wasn't happy with her rider. She didn't feel the least bit guilty from the fright she had just given her; she was in too good a mood for that.
They traveled all day with only the occasional break, usually to let Insight out for a breather. Morrie only got let out once, when they happened to stop beside a relatively large pond. She hadn't wanted to have to slow her pace for Insight's speed, and Morrie couldn't be out unless they were traveling beside a river anyway.
Though she knew it was a good way for her pokemon to grow stronger, Chira was glad no trainers had been able to challenge them to a battle.
They stopped in Saffron city for lunch, eating at the city's pokemon center. Chira had been forced to withdraw Cami at the gatehouse, so Insight was the only company the girl had. Chira had just finished her sandwich when a commotion on the other side of the cafeteria drew her attention. She left her pokemon to finish her food and headed over. She managed to push her way through the growing crowd to find a pokemon battle occurring. Two young girls, who looked enough alike to be twins, were battling with a Bellosom and an Ivysaur. Neither seemed to be winning.
"Bellosom, Solar Beam!" one of them cried. The Ivysaur easily countered with a Razor Leaf, disintegrating the beam.
"Ivy, use Vine Whip!" the other one told her pokemon, a smile of victory on her lips. The Bellosom cried out in pain as the two whips knocked it back. Chira frowned slightly. At least, though, it was in a pokemon center.
The winner's smile grew smugger. "Can any of you defeat my Ivysaur?" she challenged.
The Ivysaur seemed to be confidant in its victory.
Chira shook her head, turning to go.
"You there! You, turning away!" Chira stopped. "Can you defeat me? Are you strong enough? I bet you don't even have two pokemon yet, you have the look of a new trainer."
Chira turned back to her. "I have three pokemon, but I will not subject them to the humiliation of battling you."
"At least you have the sense to know I'll beat you." She turned her attention to the rest of the crowd, but Chira wasn't finished.
"I won't subject them to the humiliation of being able to defeat your Ivysaur in one attack. I won't subject them to the humiliation of having the brand of fighting you haunt them."
And she was done, fading back through the crowd before the raging girl had a chance to speak.
"Get back here! I won't tolerate that slur against my pokemon!"
Chira smiled. She didn't have to tolerate it, she just had to accept it. Those two pokemon were doing high level attacks, but they were incredibly weak. Cami could easily take that Ivysaur out without a sweat.
The girl grabbed her arm. "I demand you battle me," she threatened, her eyes blazing.
Chira met her gaze squarely. "You can't demand anything of me."
She crossed her arms. "Just as I thought, you're scared."
"I am nothing of the kind. I simply do not wish to waste my efforts with you." Yes, just keep getting madder. You won't have the remotest chance then. You won't be able to think straight.
The girl smiled triumphantly. "You won't battle me because you know your pokemon will lose."
"I don't have to battle you to prove myself. Even if I did, I have nothing to prove to you."
"Your pokemon are weak, pathetic excuses for-" She didn't get to finish. They were close enough to Chira's table for Insight to hear the entire conversation. She had had enough. She leapt between the two humans, snarling as viciously as she could.
"Can't you keep your pokemon on a leash?" the girl snarled back as Chira hastily scooped her up. "Just as I thought, you don't have the skill to be a trainer."
"Let me at her, Chira, she isn't good enough to badmouth you. Let me go, let me battle that overgrown weed of hers. Please!"
Chira's grip on the dog pokemon tightened.
"You're not fit to have your license!" the girl was taunting.
Chira lost it. "Alright, Insight," she said, dropping her on the floor. "Let's show this joke what being a trainer really means."
Her opponent smiled in triumph. "Right, how many of your pokemon do you want to see faint?" She pulled out a pokeball.
Chira's grip tightened on Cami's pokeball. "Let's take this somewhere else, shall we?"
"There's a stadium just down the hall. How does that sound?"
"Perfect."
Five minutes later they were facing each other across an arena, a relatively large crowd gathered to watch the match. They had decided on two pokemon each.
"Your start," Chira told the girl.
"Fine," she said, pulling out a pokeball. "I call Clefable to the field."
The pink fairy pokemon appeared, and the crowd murmured in wonder and appreciation, just as the girl had anticipated.
"Insight, you can handle this, can't you?" Chira asked.
"Of course, you think otherwise?" she asked, jumping forward to face her opponent.
"Not in the least, friend, not in the least."