As it turns out, the old man was exactly where I thought he was!

Hallelujah.

The second and arguably more important question was, 'Will he actually take me to Dewford?' and the answer was also yes!

Mr. Briney's willingness to help me was quite fortuitous. I was working on Surf with Mr. Wiggles, but we had prioritized other moves that didn't require the ocean to start learning. Sure, he could drag me through the water to get to where we were going, but if you thought for a minute that I'd place my life in the hands of a singular Linoone to perform an ocean crossing… You'd be absolutely wrong.

Maybe when I had an actual water Pokemon that could defend us and who wouldn't sink like a rock then I'd be more willing. But that day was not today.

Moving on, the old man even let me use my sleeping bag on his floor so I didn't have to camp out! Truly, his kindness knows no bounds.

We woke up far earlier than I was comfortable with, but I wasn't given much of a choice. Mr. Wiggles stayed out of his ball to keep me warm at night, so all Mr. Briney had to do was convince my miniature heater to begin furiously licking my face. He didn't even need a bribe, he just did as he was asked, the little traitor!

Anyway, once I was up we were promptly loaded onto Mr. Briney's pride and joy, we set sail for Dewford.

If I wasn't woken up from the assault Mr. Wiggles gave me earlier, then the biting morning air and smell of salt and water filling my nose would have. I'd never spent all that much time on boats, but I praised the high heavens and any other godly entity that would listen that I only got minorly queasy and that that remained true with my de-aged body.

I could deal with a little nausea.

I didn't release Argus yet, mostly because if he somehow fell off the side then I have no idea how I'd get him back past a certain point. If I recalled him fast enough it would be fine, but at a certain depth the Pokeball return beam couldn't penetrate, and the little guy was literally made of rock. He'd sink really fast.

So Mr. Wiggles got to hang out. He scampered too and fro, from side to side, and all around as he sniffed the air and did as Linoones do. There wasn't that much room on the ship, so he could only roam so much, but whatever there was to explore, he did.

I wouldn't let him get in the water though. I know this is supposed to be a relatively safe area since it doesn't take too long to get surf and be able to come back through, but all I know is that Sharpedo was part of this generation's Pokedex. Meaning one could be out there. Linoone could put up a great fight, but water wasn't his element.

So he kept his happy ass on the boat, just like me.

The ride wasn't actually as long as I was worried it was going to be. Halfway between Slateport and the outskirts of Petalburg, Dewford wasn't exactly a tourist destination or anything like that, but it had its own charm. By all appearances an idyllic sea island village, it hosted my true end destination and the place I intended to spend a decent amount of time in, Granite Cave.

While I'm sure all trainers, at least in some capacity, went 'tall' as the strategy descriptor went, I can't help but suspect that many start more wide than tall. I'm sure the rich kids would purchase a couple of rare Pokemon and then catch some more, while most beginning trainers would have a starter - usually, a weaker Pokemon, more than likely, in Hoenn being Zigzagoons, Wurmples, and several others often found in Petalburg Woods.

For the ones who got a regional starter, they were in luck, because they'd have a small powerhouse fairly early due to the starter's second evolution.

Either way, they'd need to catch a couple of other Pokemon to supplement their existing pick, since every regional starter has an elemental typing.

I currently only had two Pokemon, and with them, I felt I could do just about anything, so I was willing to be patient and wait for the next perfect match for our team. I wasn't talking about a specific type of Pokemon, but rather one that meshed with our mindset. Granted, I did want a 'good' Pokemon, but… Just looking at my precocious Linoone and I could easily see how even a relatively simple, normally 'weak' Pokemon could compete in the big leagues.

Not yet, obviously, but… In time.

As his move pool grew ever larger, and his ability to use his insane spread and coverage increased, he would become a monster right up there with my future Aggron.

Getting to train them with my not-so-young mind had been incredibly beneficial as well. I knew they had the mindset and drive to become strong, just as I did. Though Mr. Wiggles joining us was a surprise, I'm not only happy but confident that he wouldn't have joined if he was afraid of the work we were going to continue putting in.

I'd spoken to him of my dreams. Of my past. He understood what I was trying to do, and why only the best would cut it for my team.

So I was going to grow my current Pokemon as much as I possibly could, and if I met someone along the way then, great. If not, I'd still be growing and learning.

My shoes crunched into the sound of Dewfords sandy ground and waved at Mr. Briney. He'd given me his contact info so I could call him on my PokeNav. I was surprised he had the newer tech, but he just laughed me off when I asked, telling me 'it isn't just the young whippersnappers that get the cool new gizmos'. Whatever that means.

Anyway, ride secured if no other boats were going in and out of the port, I made my way into town.

There was a small scattering of buildings that looked residential, followed by the Dewford Gym, a Pokecenter, and a Pokemart. Not exactly a large amount to look at.

I stopped by the Pokecenter first, just to make sure Aron's leg was fully healed. The nurse only had to give him a quick checkup and declared him fit for fighting, as the night of rest had been enough to recover whatever damage he'd been dealt from his fall.

I also managed to secure a room for us to stay at. It was their off-season for surfers and there didn't happen to be anyone else like me, looking to dive into Granite Cave for whatever reason, so their few rooms were all open. I thanked her and left for the Pokemart.

Training for spelunking wasn't exactly the easiest without access to a proper cave or cliff-face to ascend and descend, but with two Pokemon who knew Dig things were slightly easier.

Not enough to make me comfortable, but it helped. I didn't really see what choice I had, though. I could see if a local could give me any helpful advice, but I wasn't ready to sit outside and get myself ready for a few days, or if I was being realistic, weeks of preparations and skill one should have before heading into a cave.

Or, I could play things smart, rely on my Pokemon, and not go too deep. Just to see how things were.

My brightest idea? Certainly not.

Was I going to do it anyway? Absolutely.

But first things first… I know that of my two Pokemon, one has a weakness to fighting, and the other has a double weakness to fighting. Not exactly a great gym for me to tackle with my current setup, but as a first badge challenge, I believe I can pull it off.

Mainly because Aron, while possessing a four times weakness, only really has one redeeming stat - Defense.

There are incredibly few special attack fighting moves, and none of the Pokemon I'd be facing would have one, of that I'm certain. This meant that with a Harden strategy right off the bat, Aron could potentially take someone on.

Linoone was who I was really banking most of my money on, though.

While weaker than his physical attacks, Mr. Wiggles should be capable of running absolute circles around most first-evolution Pokemon, which he would be facing in a first badge battle. Combine that with his ability to paralyze and stay at range, he could work his way through the several weaker Pokemon without breaking a sweat.

Hopefully.

I marched towards the gym, now intent on giving myself a challenge before deciding to go diving into the cave. The game had you go through Petalburg Woods and battle a few trainers, but beyond that, you fought Roxanne very early on. Ideally by evolving your starter, since even Torchic gained super-effective status at that point.

I'd been training my two Pokemon for a year now, and Mr. Wiggles is an evolved Pokemon. A first badge trial should actually be pretty easy.

It was a decent-sized building that looked… Honestly like a warehouse, and I was feeling a little nervous about who I was going to meet. Assuming that whatever wacky world I live in matches up with the games/anime in the slightest, then Brawly is probably too young to be the Gym Leader. But there is still a Gym here. So either Brawlys got family, or there was a pre-existing Gym here before Brawly took it over.

Assuming my expectations matched up with this reality, then it would also be pitch black inside. I'd always questioned that, however. If it was a fighting gym, I assumed that the owner's trainers would be… Training. It was kind of hard to do that when you can't see.

Time to see if that was something inherited or something Brawly came up with, I suppose.

Glass sliding doors parted at my presence. I stepped into a well-lit if small waiting room. Pleasant wave and ocean-themed wallpapers gave the lobby a quaint feeling. A desk sat against the far wall, though nobody sat at it. There was a sign pointing to a bell that told me all I needed to know.

I rang it and waited.

It only took about 30 seconds before a sweaty teenager, dressed in blue shorts, and an orange shirt, with wild blue hair thrown backwards in a windblown sort-of look. I vaguely recognized the outfit from the old Gen 3 sprite of Brawly, so I'm pretty sure that is who I was looking at.

"Hello! Sorry for the wait, things are a little slow around here. My name is Brawly, are you here to challenge the gym?" Either he started way earlier than I thought, or he was doing secretarial work.

"Yes, I would like to do a first badge challenge, if you don't mind."

Plopping himself down into the weary-looking chair, I heard him click a mouse a few times before waiting for the system to boot up. "Of course, it's our pleasure! I can almost guarantee you we'll have a spot open right away, but let me double-check just in case." He then muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like 'not letting that happen again'.

I quietly snorted.

I patiently waited until he'd verified that I wasn't going to wind up double-booked. "Looks like we're good! If you want to have your challenge right now then we can, I'd just need to go talk to dad really quick. What would you like to do?"

Well, getting things out of the way right now sounded fine to me. If it didn't work out then I'd heal up and head into Granite Cave to get better. If my pretty extensively trained Pokemon couldn't beat a first gym challenge then I might be in trouble though.

"Right now is fine with me. Do I just wait here, or?" Brawly beamed at me when I agreed to the battle right now.

"Yup! Feel free to have a seat and I'll come get you once we're ready. Oh, and I need to get your trainer ID!" Brawly punched in the numbers I spouted off into his computer before jumping out of his chair and taking off through the door leading deeper into the gym.

I took the chance to call out both of my Pokemon and let them know what was up. Two beams of red light materialized Mr. Wiggles and Argus on the floor next to me.

"Arronnn?" "Noon!"

They both called out as they were summoned. My little Aron glanced up at me, his crimson eyes brimming with curiosity. "Hey, guys. I hope you're ready for some action in just a bit because we're going to be taking on our first gym challenge. And sadly, we don't have any type advantages for this encounter. They specialize in fighting, so Argus you're going to have to be really careful and try to avoid as many blows as possible. Use your smaller size to your advantage, if you can. Mr. Wiggles, while not as severe you're also weak to their Pokemon, so we're going to utilize our soak and zap strategy, okay?"

Their eyes had both locked onto me as I started talking, and they called out again once I finished my little speech. "Awesome, I knew I could count on you two. Lastly, Argus, only use rock moves if you have the range - I think a starting Rock Tomb might be our best bet in some cases. Otherwise, stick to steel or normal attack moves."

My armored friend acknowledged my words, and after a tiny bit more discussion I returned them and mentally fortified myself for what was to come.

I was confident in my training and my Pokemon, but dealing with a minimum of two times weaknesses wasn't great. Any mistakes I made could be easily taken advantage of for massive hits. Aron was going to go in first and try and make it through their first Pokemon, and potentially soften up the second one. Just surviving the first in one piece would be achievement enough for me, however.

Before I could think myself in circles any further, Brawly appeared again and ushered me through a side door. "We don't get many challengers around this time, so we're very happy to see you! In fact, Dad said he might have a surprise, though what that is I'm not sure. It's never something bad for you, though, so don't worry about that!"

Lovely - and 'don't worry about it' my ass! How am I not supposed to worry about something like that?

He led me down a couple more short hallways before we exited into a much larger room. It had padded walls and a packed dirt floor, with risers and seating on two sides. There were only seats for maybe 40 people in total, not exactly a huge crowd, but easily enough to probably seat… The entire population of the village.

Speaking of, there were at least 15 or so people already present. Did they round everyone up just to watch this?

"Greetings, contestant! Welcome to Dewford Gym! Are you prepared to battle for your first badge?" A large man stood on the other side of the dirt arena. His muscles were impossible not to notice, as expected of a fighting gym. With arms like tree trunks held out wide, and a beaming grin on his face, he spoke once more. "Ridley of Petalburg, step onto your designated area and we may begin shortly!"

There were white chalk-like lines in the dirt, so I stepped into what was clearly the 'trainer box', and took a deep breath. Centering myself, I let out a slow exhale and returned my focus to my opponent.

Grinning widely, the man across from me beckoned towards someone on the side to come closer. "My name is Touki! I would normally be your opponent today, but I think it is high time my son starts to earn some of his keep around here, what do you say?"

The small crowd around us, not quite big enough to have become one cacophony of noise, but rather having distinguishable voices, rose from soft murmurs to cries of excitement. "You can do it Brawly!"

"Show'em how strong Dewford is!"

"You can do it, boy!"

Luckily there was no hating on the challenger, just a lot of hype for their 'team' so to speak. I was glad to see it because I'd always had a picture in my head of the type of gym run here on Dewford ever since I fought Brawly on my original Gameboy Advanced. He was the perfect surfer dude and ultimate bro, and if his people had been assholes it would have turned everything sour for me.

Stepping up to the trainer box, Brawly looked slightly bewildered. "I guess… If you're sure old man."

"Of course I'm sure! I'll be refereeing this match, so I can make sure you're not pushing beyond the scope of what the match calls for. Is this acceptable to you, Ridley?" Touki's voice carried like no other.

"It works for me!" I was totally fine battling a younger Brawly. In case it wasn't clear, I liked him in the original games despite not particularly being any sort of surfer myself.

Brawly's dad just smiled and directed everyone into their places, before releasing a Medicham and a Gallade that would likely support a barrier to protect everyone. Touki turned towards the crowd and held up his hands and the crowd went silent. "Now, fighting for his first badge from the Dewford Gym stands Ridley of Petalburg!"

The small group in the stands clapped and cheered loudly, a few people hooting and hollering. It made my heart warm. This was just a first badge challenge, after all. I honestly didn't expect anyone, let alone some folks who would still cheer for me as well. "And on the other side, we have my one and only son, fighting on behalf of the Dewford Gym, BRAWLY!"

The small crowd exploded, standing and yelling and screaming. It was heartwarming to see, actually, because I felt like he needed slightly more support than I did at this moment. Not only was he fighting in a gym battle but he had to live up to the expectations of the Gym Leader, his dad. That was serious business.

Laughing bashfully, Brawly rubbed the back of his head with one hand and waved with the other.

"Now, trainers, this will be a two on two battle! Only the challenger may make a single substitution, and any recalls outside of that will be considered a forfeit of the Pokemon!" Touki gestured to the sides and a shimmering, translucent field appeared between me and the Pokemon field.

"Are you ready to battle!?"

I nodded, and Brawly gave a thumbs up. "Good. Brawly, release your Pokemon first!"

The young man in question instinctively reached for the first Pokeball on his belt, before stopping and thinking for a moment and choosing a different one a couple of spots behind it. Touki nodded in approval before the Pokemon even appeared, so I assumed he wanted his son to probably not use his starter.

With a flash of red, a Machop appeared with a cry of its name, its small grey body lithe and limber, but undoubtedly strong. "Challenger Ridley! Call out your Pokemon!"

I grinned. This was it. I was kicking off my gym circuit with a 4 times weakness. I couldn't wait to see the looks on their faces. "Let's go and show them how its done, Argus!"

"Arrronnnn!" He cried as he materialized.

Confused murmurings could be heard from the crowd, and Touki's face scrunched up in confusion. I just grinned even wider.

Brawly looked concerned as well, but he was definitely looking for his father's decision on this one. Touki glanced at me, then at Aron, before deciding to move forward. "Trainers, prepare to battle! Match start in three… Two… ONE!"

And we were live. "Same strategy, Argus! Let's go! Flak Tomb and Harden!"

Crying out its name, Argus created several small boulders with their secret scattershot payload on the top. I'm glad he didn't question me on this, because I'd just thought of something - Sand Attack was literally just spraying fine particles of dirt, sand, or whatever was on the ground into the opposing Pokemon's eyes. Were the fine particles generated by the loosened Rock Tomb different?

Yes, but they could potentially get into the Machop's eyes. Either way, it wasn't going to do much damage, so it was better to hope for the small things.

"Machop, don't get hit! Dodge and destroy what you can't!" With a cry, the rocks were flung at the fighting type. He was in some sort of stance and danced slightly to the left as the first boulder prepared to arc right past him.

The pre-weakened upper half broke apart a few feet away from him, sending scattered pieces of debris in a decent-sized radius around the projectile. Machop, who was relying on a slim dodge to prepare for the others, was unprepared for the misting of rocks and detritus.

The primary chunk missed, yes, but getting smacked in the eyes and face with the remaining shards stunned him momentarily, causing him to abort whatever attack he was about to perform. Rock Smash, I assume.

"Machop, dodge left!" Brawly yelled, seeing the remaining boulders and knowing the Machop needed to move.

In a display of a well-trained Pokemon, it followed the command perfectly. The trail of rock and debris still smacked into him, but he avoided the worst of it. Argus heard the command Brawly gave, however, and launched his last rock right where Machop landed. Brawly tried to command him one more time but was too slow.

With a meaty thud, the rain of shards and the actual chunk of boulder rammed into the Machop's chest at high speed, sending the little grey Pokemon tumbling to the ground.

"Prep defenses, Argus. This isn't over." I was proud when he listened, as this was only my second Pokemon battle ever, and despite our breakthroughs in listening and trust… Well, I was a tad worried it would all fall through in a proper battle.

Fighting types were resistant to rock type moves. A single Rock Tomb wasn't going to do the trick.

Machop quickly stood from his downed position, hands wiping the debris from his eyes. Brawly was standing behind him, a wide smile on his face. "I was worried at first, but it looks like you actually know what you're doing! Alright, get in there Machop! You know what to look out for this time!"

Machop gained his bearings quickly and bolted across the packed dirt floor with surprising speed. "Keep it up Argus, respond with an Iron Head as you can."

As Machop grew close, Brawly called out. "Low Sweep!"

Arons, by nature of not being particularly tall, were right above waist height of Machop. Using his momentum, the fighting Pokemon was coming in for an attack that would normally hit the legs of an opposing foe, reducing their mobility and dealing some damage. Against a Pokemon with cute little stubby legs like Aron, it was actually going straight for his chin.

A smart move, made even worse by Argus' massive weakness to the typing. One thing that has to be taken into account, however, is the weight of both Pokemon and the massive defense rating Argus has managed to acquire.

"Attack his foot!"

Argus, who had finished charging his most recent Harden and switched into Iron Head, went from aiming at his torso to slightly lower.

I'm not sure what anyone was expecting since I didn't even know what to expect, but the results of their showdown went… Slightly different than most probably thought.

Machop kicked directly towards Argus' face. The silvery sheen of steel type energy emanated from the front of my Aron's head, and he met the shimmering red leg of his opponent head-on. They collided with a harsh smack of flesh on metal, a small gust of air being blown up from the force of their blow.

Argus slid backwards a couple of steps, stubby legs digging into the dirt to maintain his hold, looking only slightly dazed from the blow to his noggin. The Machop on the other hand hopped away on one foot, cradling his foot from where he'd just gotten hit with an attack and kicked something really hard that probably out massed him several times over. Argus was heavy.

My little armored Pokemon was out of it, and Machop was in no position to attack either, so I let them recover. "Toughen up, little man!" One of our code phrases for 'use Harden if you can'.

It was kind of the core of our strategy, actually. Aron was small and hard to see when he started using a boosting move.

"Woah, that was crazy! You're Aron must be one tough Pokemon to eat that head-on. But I could hardly call myself Touki's son if I couldn't adapt! Machop! Get back in there but try and flip him over. No more kicks, switch to grappling style. Close in slowly, don't let him get by you."

Brawly proved why he was destined to be a Gym Leader one day, unfortunately for me. I'd had a sliver of hope he'd just keep on trying to bash into an iron wall, but alas.

"Alright Argus, this is it. Iron Head!"

The following minutes were tense, as Argus and the Machop played cat and mouse with each other. I would call out for an attack, never having time for another Harden, and Brawly would counter it and try and flip Aron over. Despite the weight discrepancy, I knew Machop was both strong enough and had the leverage to do so.

They managed to land blows on each other in the meantime, Argus getting a lucky flinch (or the rough equivalent) in one attack, while the Machop managed to dart past and rain some blows on Argus' body which wasn't as easily protected.

Both were exhausted and sagging as the fight came to a close. Argus attempted one last charge but stumbled and narrowly missed. Machop managed to exert one final effort to flip him over and succeeded.

"Well done, Argus. You fought incredibly. Return." I recalled Argus, hoping he knew just how well he did in such a terrible matchup.

"I'm retiring Machop, he won't be able to continue."

Touki stepped forward. "Aron and Machop are retired! Trainer, choose your next Pokemon!"

I, of course, only had one option. And I was very confident in his ability. "Mr. Wiggles… I choose you."

I threw out the Pokeball and with a burst of red light, my talented Linoone took to the field.

"Noooon!"

"Challenger Ridley brings out another Pokemon that is weak against fighting types, but as this battle has proven, weakness isn't everything! Brawly, choose your Pokemon!"

Brawly grinned. "Thanks for the excellent challenge, Ridley. I was worried about your first choice… But now I'm just excited to see what you're going to do next! For that, you get to face my starter! Let's go, Makuhita!"

With a cry, the yellow-bodied Pokemon appeared, slamming its glove-like fists together.

Touki counted us down one more time, and there were no more chances for deliberation.

"Thunder Wave!" - "Close in with Arm Thrust!"

Mr. Wiggles prided himself on being fast. This was something we'd practiced. A brief moment of fur-raising charge buildup, the Linoone let loose a bolt of electricity, too fast to dodge at this level of Pokemon fighting without already being in motion.

Makuhita ate it and shivered as electricity coursed through his body. Brawly just grinned, and I had a feeling I'd just done something terrible. "Oh yeah! Guts is activated now! Pummel that Linoone into next week, Makuhita!"

That might be a slight problem. "Don't let him touch you, Wiggles! He's stronger now!" With my words, Mr. Wiggles vanished into a Quick Attack and appeared halfway across the field. "Water Pulse!"

The Makuhita, slowed by his muscles spasming when they weren't supposed to, had turned to try and find his opponent just in time to receive a deluge of water to the face. He raised his arms to block it as much as possible, but the liquid was swirling and off-balancing, making it difficult.

The attack didn't last long, and when it was over Brawly looked concerned. Yeah, I would be worried too - Linoones were known for being really fast, and mine knew a whole plethora of ranged moves. It was a tough spot to be in. Can't take advantage of the type weakness if you can't touch'em in the first place, right?

His next command confused me, right up until I lost vision of most of the battlefield. "Whirlwind!"

Spinning in place, Makuhita managed to begin kicking up the loose dirt from the floor and, using the enclosed space provided by the protection forcefields, make a miniature sandstorm. It mostly blocked vision, but the point remained.

If he could have seen it, Brawly would probably have been very worried, because I had a massive grin on my face. "Mr. Wiggles… Shock Wave until he's down."

"Shit! Makuhita, you have to close in and bring him down as fast as possible!"

With both of us unable to see, my Pokemon's ability to shoot a homing electric missile suddenly became incredibly dangerous. He must have not known my Linoone, or Linoones in general, could learn the move, because removing vision against a guaranteed-hit move was… Not smart. And Brawly seemed smart.

Muffled zaps could be heard from the swirling dirt, and the occasional cry of 'Maku!' and 'Hita!' rang out. Eventually, the small storm ended, slowly dying down to reveal the rather… Underhanded way my Pokemon had achieved victory.

Several holes could be seen where Mr. Wiggles had used dig to relocate himself safely since Quick Attacking while nearly blind probably wasn't advisable. Makuhita lay facedown in the center of the field, electricity sparking off of him occasionally as he groaned into the dirt.

Mr. Wiggles stood proudly on my side of the field, fur absolutely caked in dirt, now entirely brown instead of tan and brown. Completely untouched.

What a monster I had created.

"Makuhita has been defeated, trainer Ridley and his Linoone are victorious!" Despite his son being beaten, Touki was yelling out in excitement as though he was some sort of sports announcer from my home. "Despite using a Pokemon with a weakness and another with a double weakness, Ridley has proven that type advantage doesn't mean everything! Well done."

With that, he stepped forward and shook my hand. No longer speaking in his booming, incredibly loud voice, he said, "Congratulations on your victory. I am proud to present to you the Knuckle Badge, earned by facing our fighting type Gym and emerging victorious." Holding out a gleaming badge, light blue in color with a small orange circle on the bottom, I giddily accepted it from him.

I had a couple of moments to appreciate it before he threw his arm around my shoulder and began to guide me over to Brawly. I let him lead me, not really sure what we were doing.

"Brawly! My son. I'm so proud of you. You did an excellent job of providing a first badge battle. Though you would have had to have been extra easy if you had really gotten a chance to use Makuhita, you hear? This is first badge!"

Brawly let out a small, awkward laugh. "And before I hear anything about," Touki adopted his most whiny, angsty, teenage voice and continued, "Oh, but father, I didn't win. My Pokemon didn't even land a single blow in the second round! Let me cut you off there! Young Ridley here has been training both of his Pokemon for an entire year, isn't that right?"

Surprised he'd known, yet equally not because I'd been staying at a fellow Gym Leader's house that entire time, I nodded. "See? He's been working with his two Pokemon for a long time. Mr. Wiggles, despite his silly name, has been a Linoone that entire time and has grown leaps and bounds under Ridley's tutelage. Norman has told me all sorts of funny stories about these two!"

He let go of me and went to give his son a quick bear hug, easily lifting him off the ground and shaking him around a bit. "So I don't want you to think that, despite this being a first badge challenge, you should win! No, in fact, we will lose quite often if we're doing our job right. Probably not as severely as the fight Ridley just gave you, but the point remains!"

Clapping his son on the back, he turned to the small crowd, who'd been patiently waiting, before raising his hands into the air. "Let's give it up for Ridley and Brawly for an excellent battle!"

Despite its size, they roared and clapped as loud as they could, again. Honestly, it gave me some warm feelings. Seeing my hard work paying off and getting results was… It felt good.

I walked over and clapped Brawly on the shoulder. "That was a great fight, dude. I knew I had trained and prepared for something like this for so long, but walking into a fighting gym first… I thought I must have been crazy! So thanks for giving me a great challenge."

I saw the spark in his eyes, the will that drove trainers on, and I knew he was going to be fine. Grinning, I continued. "Not only that but now we have to have a rematch sometime! With our full teams. Well, when I have more than these two anyway."

Brawly laughed for a few moments before returning my friendly gesture and gripping my hand in a firm shake. "I agree!" Letting go, he stepped back and took a breath. "Perhaps it wasn't the best first showing, but Dad is right. It was supposed to be a challenge, not insurmountable, and even though he's told me that countless times I managed to lose sight of that."

I smiled, happy from both my win and that Brawly was as much of a cool guy as I'd hoped he would be. "And now I even have a goal to achieve!"

… What did he mean by that? "The reason your team of 'disadvantaged' Pokemon won was because of you! Their trainer! So I won't rest until I grow to be as strong as you and my Dad! Now I'm pumped!"

He held out a fist in front of him, eyes brimming with determination. I couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm not planning on slowing down anytime soon. So you'd best catch up fast, or you'll be left behind!"

"Of course! I'd expect nothing less from my rival!"

Now wait just a… Did he just… I didn't think that was an actual thing? Touki burst out laughing. "Ah, I remember when I was young and boisterous as you two! If I had a rival like Norman when I was younger, I'm sure I would have gotten much stronger much faster. Fate truly smiles upon us this day!"

But… Did I get a choice in the matter? As they just continued speaking around me, I realized that I knew the answer to that question. It was a resounding no.

I laughed weakly, before accepting the madness that was the Pokemon world.