"Where do you wanna go first?" Ray said. They had just made it to Striaton City, after passing through Accumula Town and traveling on the road for a few hours.
"Let's go see the Gym!" Gabe urged. Striaton was the location of the Unova League's first Pokémon Gym. The Gyms were ordered more or less by difficulty, and their towns outlined a path that started at Striaton and finished at the League itself.
"Good idea. We can have an early dinner," Juniper said.
"What do you mean?" Gabe asked.
"You'll see," the Professor said, smiling.
In front of the Gym was a sign proclaiming… tonight's special. Ray recalled Spolt to its ball, so he could go inside without any problems. Gabe followed suit and recalled Growlithe.
As Ray, Gabe, and Juniper entered the building, a man in a tuxedo greeted them. He was holding a stack of menus. Behind him were several dining tables, a few filled with patrons.
"This is a restaurant?" Gabe asked, astounded.
"A café, sir, and a Gym," the impassive waiter said. "Have you come to challenge the Gym, or to have a meal?"
"Can we do both?" asked Professor Juniper.
"Of course, madam," the waiter said. "Follow me."
He took them to a circular table for four, and distributed three menus. "Our special soup today features potatoes complemented by a spice derived from the Shuca Berry."
"I'll have that," Juniper said as she took a seat. She handed back her menu.
"What're you getting?" Gabe asked Ray. He sat down and took one of the remaining menus.
Ray sat next to Gabe. "This sandwich, here," he said, pointing to a line of text. The fancy menu had no pictures.
"I'll get that, too," Gabe said. "Sounds good."
"Any drinks this afternoon?" asked the man.
"The regular coffee."
"Water."
"Lemonade!"
"That was quick. Another waiter will be with you shortly," the waiter said, retrieving the rest of the menus, taking note of their orders, and walking off.
"Birch was right," Juniper said as they waited for their food. "Spolt and Felsin are of incredible interest to me. You might have to stop by the lab again sometime." She smiled wistfully.
"So Spolt is special?" Ray asked. He didn't know what to think when it came to his Pokémon being out of the ordinary.
"There's hardly any research about it. I'm sure genetics would tell us something, though. There have been reports of alternate coloring in other species. I'd have to ask some of my colleagues. And Felsin is a real triumph. We revived another species that was once extinct. If someone gave it to you, then it means that they think Anorith can survive in today's biosphere."
"What do you do in your lab?" Gabe asked. "Genetics?"
"My main work has to do with the origin of Pokémon. Lately, though, I've been helping Professor Elm with his genetics research. It's interesting, because both studies are connected."
"Is that what you're going to talk about at the Festival?"
"Oh, I'll talk about just mostly my field. All of the professors that come are going to give a little speech to anyone interested. Besides a Manectric and Anorith, what other Pokémon do you have, Ray? Just curious."
"A Skarmory and a Houndoom," he said.
"Really?" the professor said. "Elm tells me Skarmory are hard to train."
"Well, everyone gets along great," Ray said. "Don't know how else to put it… I love them all."
"Don't worry, Professor, you might see them in the Gym battle!" Gabe said.
"Good afternoon, everyone," said the waiter. It was a different person than the one who had greeted them at the door. He was carrying a tray with three dishes. First, he put down a bowl of soup in front of Professor Juniper. "A, um, potato soup special for you, madam," he said. Even from where Ray was sitting, the aroma of the soup was sumptuous. The bowl was garnished with small leaves as green as the waiter's neatly-combed hair.
"And two, er, number seven sandwiches," the waiter continued, giving Ray and Gabe their own dishes. "There was a... mix-up... in the kitchen, and we're a few, um, waiters short right now. I'll bring your drinks, uh, right now. May I ask... who is going to, um, challenge the Gym?"
"I am," Ray said.
"Alright." He walked off, adjusting his green bow tie as he went. Flitting about, he glanced over a few tables before leaving the room.
In the kitchen, the green-haired waiter was surprised to see the huge water spill already cleaned up. None of the coffee was ruined, thankfully. Most of the waiters were already out at the tables again.
"Cilan. Nice of you to help clean up," Cress snapped. He had just finished mopping up.
"Nobody was waiting tables," Cilan protested. "And Charles was busy at the door."
"Ugh... I guess you're right. Well—"
"And we have, um, another Gym challenge."
"Really?"
Cilan loaded a tray with drinks, and Cress followed him out to the tables. On the way there, another waiter met up with them. He had a hand in his fire-red hair, but it shot back down when his tray almost toppled over.
"Lemme guess. Gym battle time?" he said, stabilizing his edible payload.
"Yes, Chili," Cress said impatiently.
"What's wrong, Cress?"
"Neither of you two helped the gigantic spill in the kitchen."
"That's for the cooks—well, cook—to sort out, really," Chili pointed out. "Who is the challenger, anyway, Cilan?"
The green waiter looked—but didn't point—at Ray.
"The one with the dark blue jacket?" Chili said, trying not to look directly in Ray's direction. "The one who remembered to remove his hat since he is eating in an establishment that tries to look like fine dining, but is really just a normal café with unusually well-dressed waiters? The one who—"
"Yes... him," confirmed Cilan. "I'll tell you when he's, um, ready."
The waiter returned with their drinks, although everyone had already finished their meals.
"I'm terribly sorry for the delay," Cilan said, blushing. "The kitchen was a mess. We're a small staff, so we had... to clean up first—"
"It's perfectly fine," Professor Juniper assured him. "You were only gone a few minutes!"
Cilan proceeded to serve Juniper's coffee, Ray's water, and Gabe's lemonade. When he returned to their table after a few minutes, the drinks were finished.
"So, how does the Gym battle work?" Gabe said, trying to bring it up without sounding impatient.
"Oh, um. I guess you're ready?" Cilan said. "Follow me." He signaled to Cress and Chili as he passed them by. Ray, Gabe, and Juniper got all of their things and followed.
Separated from the dining area by double doors was a large arena made of impact-friendly clay. A narrow set of stairs led up to a catwalk, where spectators could have a better view and hopefully avoid Pokémon attacks. Gabe and Juniper ascended the stairs, while Ray and the waiters went out on the fighting zone.
"You can do it, Ray!" Gabe cheered, prematurely.
"Nice to meet you then, Ray! I'm Chili!"
"My name is Cress."
"Um, and I'm Cilan."
"We're the three Striaton Gym Leaders," Cress said.
"Three?" asked Ray.
"Funny story," Chili said. "We used to look at the Pokémon the challenger had, and then decide who would battle them based on that. But the League says that's unfair."
"So how do we do the battle?"
"How many Pokémon do you have?" Cress asked.
"Four."
"Alright. The new policy is to have a triple battle with us. Pick three Pokémon to use."
"Triple?" Ray was astounded. Double battling was popular in Hoenn, but Unova apparently knew how to take it to the next level. "All six, fighting at once?"
"That's right!" Chili said. "It's much more exciting!"
"And challenging," Cress added.
"Difficult," Cilan mumbled.
The Trainers took their places on either side of the arena. Ray noticed that the three waiters looked alike. The differences were in hairstyle and colors. Cilan was green, Cress was blue, and Chili was red.
The three Leaders sent out their Pokémon first. Cilan, Chili, and Cress sent out three monkey Pokémon. Ray noticed with a bit of amusement each one matched its Trainer in color.
Wondering what he had gotten himself in, Ray unclipped three Poké Balls from his belt. He released his Pokémon one at a time. Spolt was excited to be in another battle, but the Skarmory and Houndoom looked a bit confused.
"Okay, guys, this is three on three, all at once," Ray told his team. "Spolt, go for the blue one. Dax, get the green one. And Terral, keep the red one busy."
"The Skarmory is Terral," Gabe said to Juniper, who was excited yet again. "Dax is the Houndoom."
"So, this is Ray's whole team," the professor said, resting her arms on the handrail. There was a thin row of seats behind her, but she preferred to stand. "Besides Felsin, of course."
"Yep," said Gabe, who went to take a seat.
"Go!" yelled the three Gym Leaders in unison.
Ray treated it like three separate battles. Each of his Pokémon stuck to fighting its own target.
"Spolt, Thunder Wave! Terral, stay in the air!"
While Spolt tried to immobilize Cress's Pokémon with electric charges, Terral kept out of reach by staying airborne.
"When you see an opening, dive down!" Ray called out. He was aware that Terral's target was watching the Skarmory's movements carefully.
It suddenly struck him that he didn't even know the names of the Pokémon he was up against.
"Get the other one!" Cress commanded, pointing at Dax. His Pokémon turned and shot a blast of water at the unsuspecting Houndoom instead of Spolt.
Ray trusted that Dax could handle a bit of water, for now. The Houndoom had been through worse. "Spolt, shock 'em now!" he ordered.
The blue monkey had left itself open, and Spolt's Thunder Wave connected. Then, before it could escape, Spolt sent a bolt of electricity its way. Overpowered, the monkey stalked off in a rush, to the other side of the field.
"Good job!" Ray said. "Follow it! Dax, you okay? Get the green one!"
It was pretty clear that the green monkey was grass-type. The blue one was water, and the red one was fire.
"Flame Wheel!" The Houndoom conjured up a swirling ball of fire that soon took the shape of a ring.
"Oh no! Uh, d-dodge it!" Cilan gasped. His Pokémon tried to evade the wheel of fire, but got brushed on one side.
"Ugh," groaned Cress. "Go save it, Panpour."
His monkey—a Panpour, it was called—soaked Cilan's Pokémon with water. Then, it aimed another torrent of water at Dax.
"Watch out, Dax!" Ray said.
This time, the Houndoom dodged the attack. Without orders, it launched another Flame Wheel at Cilan's Pokémon.
"Wah! Pansage!" Cilan cried.
The fire hit it completely this time, causing more damage despite all the water present. Burnt up and defeated, Cilan withdrew it from battle.
"I'm so useless," he said.
"Not at all!" Chili said. "Okay, now!"
Chili's Pokémon, who was right behind Spolt, let out a burst of flame. Spolt barked, turning around and retaliating with an electric shock. While the monkey was busy dodging, Terral swooped in and dove right into it.
"This is so confusing," Gabe said. The battle down below was all over the place.
"Yes," replied Juniper. "Not many people battle this way. It's very demanding."
"It doesn't seem fair. Gabe has to handle three, and each Gym Leader only has one."
"I think they're still working out the policy for the Gym. The League probably doesn't want to fire anybody."
A flash of light from the battlefield stopped the conversation. Spolt had discharged electricity again.
Stunned, Cress's Panpour managed to hit Dax with one last water attack before going down.
"Three-on-one," Gabe said, grinning.
"Two-on-one," Juniper corrected. Dax was down for the count.
"This is where it gets hot!" Chili exclaimed. "Pansear, get the Manectric while it's still weak!" With no electrical power whatsoever, Spolt was defenseless.
"Cover him, Terral!"
The Skarmory was already there, though. It had positioned itself between Spolt and the Pansear, spreading its wings and glaring coldly at its opponent.
The Pansear hesitated for a moment, before blasting Terral with fire.
Terral deflected the flames, but shuddered. Ray felt guilty for essentially ordering it to get itself hurt. But it would have done that without his order, anyway. Right?
"Okay! Now... blow it away!" Ray yelled.
Terral shook briefly—it might have been burnt—and began to create a small whirlwind. Before the Pansear could ready another attack, it was swept off its feet by the flow of air.
"Ah! Jeez!" Chili said, holding on to the wall. The defeated Gym Leaders used this opportunity to move up to the observation level, which was safe from the whirlwind.
"Don't tell him I said this," Cress told Gabe, "but his team is really strong. I don't know about him, but his Pokémon are tough."
"Yeah," Cilan mumbled. He leaned against the rail and watched the battle's finale.
The whirlwind died down, but it had bought enough time for Spolt to recover.
"Okay, guys," Ray said, "You can do this. Spolt, use Thunder Wave! Terral, get it once it's pinned down!"
The battle ended quickly after that. Once the Pansear was stopped in its tracks with Thunder Wave, Terral dived into it from the side, accelerated by its wings. Even though it hurt both of them, only the Pansear was knocked out.
"Nuts!" Chili cried. "That was intense! I'm all burned out now. Where are you guys?"
"Up here," Cress said.
Ray withdrew Spolt and Terral after congratulating (hugging) them, then followed Chili off the arena.
"Well, you did it. You beat us," Cress said. "I'd like you to have this." He handed over a League Badge. It was an array of diamonds, three of which were colored blue, red, and green.
"The Trio Badge," Cilan said.
"Congratulations!" Chili exclaimed, grinning.
"That battle was exciting," Cress told Ray. "A one-on-one battle sometime would be nice." He smiled.
The man in the tuxedo from the café came through the double doors. "Are you done yet? The dinner crowd's coming."
"Oh. Right," Cress said. "Good luck on the rest of your journey, Ray."
"Bye, Trainers," called Chili as he departed. "And Professor."
"Bye." Juniper nodded.
"Um... see you," Cilan said, stumbling out the door.
Ray held the Badge up. "Awesome!" he said. He pulled out a thin case from his bag, and attached the badge to the first slot. It shined from behind the glass cover.
"Ready to get outta here?" Gabe said.
"Yeah."
"Onward, then!" Juniper said, leading the way out.
After stopping by the Pokémon Center to heal Ray's Pokémon, they immediately hit the road again. Like usual, Spolt and Growlithe were out and walking, too. This time, though, Dax and Terral were out, too. Terral was up in the air somewhere, and Dax was trying to get Growlithe to calm down. They ran back and forth across the road.
"You know," Juniper said, "the Pokédex says that Houndoom is a really dark Pokémon. But yours is really upbeat."
"Yeah, it's a long story," Ray shrugged. "We had him from an egg, so he grew up all nice, I guess."
"Terral looks cheerful, too."
"Well, it was tough at first. He had a hard time trusting people until, like… well, we did something. I found it near Mount Chimney in Hoenn, all beat up."
"Well, I'm glad you saved it." The Professor was smiling. She reached into her satchel and pulled out two thin, black devices. A Poké Ball pattern on one end was orange-colored. They were Pokédexes. She gave one to Ray and another to Gabe.
"These are for us?" Gabe said, flipping it open. It beeped and opened a list of Pokémon species, complete with images.
"We're giving some away at the Festival. And you deserve them. Birch felt guilty about not ever giving you any, so there."
"Wow, thanks!" Gabe said.
"Thanks," Ray added. Poor Birch...
"Look what it says about Manectric!" Gabe said. He showed his Pokédex to Ray. "It's like an encyclopedia!"
"We have multiple authors contributing to the database," Juniper said. "There are still a few holes, but it's an ambitious project."
Manectric is the Discharge Pokémon, the Pokédex entry read. It is the evolved form of Electrike. Native to Hoenn, it is well known there for being able to harness, and possibly generate, atmospheric electrostatic phenomena. Its mane is an excellent accumulator of static electricity, which is constantly collected from and discharged back into the atmosphere. Local mythology heavily associates Manectric with lightning, as they are commonly seen during thunderstorms. However, field studies have shown that Manectric are neither exclusively nested near lightning, nor born from it. Electrical storms nevertheless provide the optimal environment for Manectric, and—
"You can also scan Pokémon and bring up the simplified entry instantly," Juniper said. "I collaborated with Professor Oak on this, and I'm proud of it."
"It's really good," assured Ray. He continued reading the Manectric entry on his own Pokédex. Gabe pocketed his for the moment and played with his Growlithe as everyone made their way west, towards Nacrene City.