Chapter 6: Violet City at Last

"Wow."

Laid out ahead of me was Violet City, its buildings beautifully lighting up the night sky.

Violet City was larger than I had expected it to be. It wasn't the metropolis that Goldenrod City was, but compared to the pictures I had seen before, its size surprised me. A sea of mid-rises, the city stretched out before me, nestled in a valley. In the northeastern corner was Sprout Tower, which was surrounded by a small lake.

As I wandered through the city, searching for the Pokémon Center, I found myself in awe at how the city managed to blend the old with the new. Although much of the city was built in older, more traditional architecture, there were also newer, modern-looking apartment and office buildings. Although they were two very different architectural styles, they didn't conflict with each other like is often the case. I couldn't wait to see what the city looked like during the day.

However, my time to study the city's architecture was cut short, as I spotted the Pokémon Center across the street. Hurrying inside, I ran to the front desk and got myself a room, only minutes before closing. On our way from Dark Cave, my Pokémon hadn't seen any action, so I figured they wouldn't need any healing; barring Chikorita, of course. I had the Nurse take her, and hopefully she would be back to full health by tomorrow. Either way, I didn't plan on using her in my Gym battle against Falkner. Grass vs Flying? No thanks.

As I laid down on one of the beds in my room, I found my mind racing. Tomorrow's my first ever Gym battle...I'm so nervous! What if I mess up? What if my Pokémon aren't good enough?

I found myself unable to fall asleep for a painstakingly long amount of time, until finally I woke up to find sun shining through the window in my room.

I instantly jumped up and out of bed. Looking around, I noticed that my Pokémon were already wide awake. I looked at the clock: 10:00 AM. I had slept in.

As quickly as I could, I packed up my things, got dressed, and grabbed breakfast from the cafeteria. Unlike the small Pokémon Center on Route 31, this one was built for an urban area, and thus had a large cafeteria that I estimated could fit at least a hundred trainers; it had just as many lodging rooms, too. The one advantage of sleeping in, though, was that I didn't have to wait very long to grab breakfast━most of the people were already gone.

With a bagel in one hand, and my Pokégear in the other, I hurried out of the Pokémon Center. I managed to find the Gym complex within only fifteen minutes thanks to my Pokégear's map; but it took me another five to build up the confidence to enter.

"You can do this," I told myself, taking several deep breaths. "You've only been on your journey for what, two weeks, and you've already faced more terrifying things than this Gym," I muttered, remembering the incident with the wild Nidoking. "You'll be fine."

I finally managed to build up enough confidence to walk through the front doors, but when I walked in, someone else walked out. We collided, and both of us were knocked to the ground.

"What the━" I heard a male voice exclaim from in front of me. I tried to focus on the person through my spinning head. It was a teenaged boy, similar build to me, although a little bit shorter. He had the same blonde hair as me, and looked just like I had remembered him to be.

"Frank?!" I yelled out, unable to mask my surprise.

"No way," he responded, the realization of whom he had run into entering his mind. "Chris! What's up, man?"

I got up, still a little shaky from the collision, and helped Frank up. "I was just about to challenge the Gym here. I take it you already did?"

Frank beamed. "You bet I did!"

He took off his backpack, reached inside of it and pulled out a small, metal case, similar to the one I have. He opened it, revealing a small badge that was shaped like a pair of wings. "And guess who won?"

"Wow. Great job, man," I said, patting him on the back, a tad jealous that he had gotten the badge before me. "You know what? You should stay for my battle, too. I mean, you're already here anyways."

Frank thought about it for a moment, then a smile crept onto his face. "Eh, why not. I guess I can stay and watch your battle."

"And watch you lose," he added, elbowing me in the side.

I led the way into the building, with Frank directing me towards the receptionist.

"Hi. I"m here to challenge Falkner?" I asked her, nervousness creeping into my voice. At that moment, it fully dawned on me that I was about to have my first Gym battle.

She turned away to say something into her headset, waited a moment for a reply, and then turned back to us. "Good news. He's available, and ready for you right now, if you'd like. Do you know how to get to the battlefield?"

I looked at Frank, who nodded.

"Yes, ma'am. Thank you anyways," I said as we turned around and left. It took all of my willpower to keep myself from visibly shaking as we walked away.

Frank pointed me in the direction of an elevator. We passed a small training room, and what appeared to be dorms for trainers of the Gym. I even noticed a couple of trainers having a practice battle in one of the side gymnasiums.

Frank and I entered the elevator, which only had one button: "Roof". I pointed to the button and looked over at Frank. He nodded, understanding my silent question. Shakily, I pressed the button, and we began ascending several stories.

As the elevator rose, I found my nerves only increasing in tenacity. Noticing my nervousness, Frank tried to console me. "You'll do fine, man," he said, giving me one last pat on the back as the doors opened. After taking a moment to gather myself, I stepped out of the elevator.

Sprawled out in front of me was a battlefield with bleachers surrounding it. I looked up, and noticed that there was no roof━I mentally praised myself for not picking a rainy day to challenge the Gym. Surrounding the Gym were the rooftops of the apartments and offices I had seen surrounding the town. We had to be at least 10 stories up, I guessed.

The battlefield itself was a dirt field, shaped like a large rectangle and outlined with white paint. It was broken up into two halves, with a small circle in the middle that roughly resembled a Poké Ball. On either side, two small boxes protruded, which were where each trainer stood during battle. The field was exactly like the standard Pokémon League fields I'd seen many times on TV at the Silver Conference tournament and during other notable battles.

I heard someone cough from my right. Looking over, I noticed a young man with shaggy, dark blue hair, and a light blue, short-sleeved jacket along with blue shorts. Nervously, I realized that it was the Gym Leader, Falkner. I'd seen his headshot in my Trainer's Guide. We hadn't covered him during my enrollment in the Trainer Academy; he was a relatively new Gym Leader. The Trainer's Guide had mentioned that he'd only been Gym Leader here for a few months.

Despite my anxiousness, I found myself jokingly wondering if he'd accidentally put a blue sock in the wash machine with white clothes, and his current wardrobe was the result.

"You're the challenger, I presume?" he asked, as he got up and began to walk towards the battlefield from the bleachers he had been sitting in.

I started to speak, and found my voice cracking. After all, it was the first time I had been in the presence of a Gym Leader. "Y-Yes, I a-am. Chr-is."

A momentary silence fell between us. I could tell that he was sizing me up, calculating what Pokémon I had and what my probable skill level was. If you ever asked, I'd be the first one to admit that I'm not the most intimidating trainer in the entire Johto region.

Falkner grunted, apparently coming to the conclusion that I wouldn't be much of a challenge. "I'm Falkner, the Violet City Gym Leader. As you probably know, I specialize in Flying-type Pokémon. No doubt, you will quickly find that they will provide you with a great challenge. Head over to the box on the other side of the field, and we can start this battle."

As I reached my box, a man in a blue, long-sleeved shirt with a Poké Ball emblem on his heart got up from the bleachers near Falkner. For whatever reason, I hadn't noticed him sitting there before.

"This will be a 2-on-2 match!" he said to both of us. "I will be the judge of this battle, and the battle will be over when both of either competitor's Pokémon are unable to battle."

"As the Gym Leader, I'll send out my Pokémon first. Then you can counter with yours," said Falkner.

He reached into his jacket, pulling out a Poké Ball and throwing it. "Pidgeotto, go!"

"A Pidgeotto," I commented thoughtfully. However, Falkner's choice didn't change my strategy. I already knew who my first Pokémon would be.

But for a brief moment, I paused, the full reality of my situation finally becoming apparent to me. Despite my best efforts to fight them, my nerves popped up again. I urged myself to stay strong, and stay confident━otherwise I wouldn't last two minutes in this battle.

After taking a deep breath, I pulled a Poké Ball off my belt, staring at it for a moment. "My first Pokémon. Espeon, go!"

He materialized on the battlefield in front of me, letting out a confident cry in the direction of Falkner's Pidgeotto. In return, Falkner's Pidgeotto cried back, defiantly.

"Good luck, Chris!" Frank yelled from the bleachers.

Falkner commented on my choice of Pokémon. "Hmm. An Espeon. Not the most common Pokémon to see. But regardless, it's your move, Chris."

I found myself shaking slightly as I concocted a rough plan. I figured my best chance to win would be to gain and keep the momentum of the battle as quickly as possible. With that goal in mind, I made my first move.

"Espeon, Quick Attack!" I commanded, my voice shaking ever so slightly.

Espeon began sprinting towards Pidgeotto, his body becoming outlined in white. He was traveling so fast that he began to leave a white trail.

"Take to the skies, Pidgeotto!" Falkner commanded calmly. Although he was a relatively inexperienced Gym Leader, he seemed to radiate calmness and authority.

As Espeon closed in on Pidgeotto, Pidgeotto flew up.

"Follow it, Espeon!" I commanded, making the first in-the-moment decision of my Pokémon battling career.

Espeon gracefully leaped into the air to follow, but Pidgeotto simply rose even higher, and Espeon missed. In horror, I watched him come crashing down to the ground, unmoving.

For a moment, I stood in shock at what had happened. Sure, I hadn't expected this battle to be easy, but I hadn't expected something like Espeon missing his attack that badly. For several seconds, my nerves got the best of me, and I stood, frozen.

Breaking the silence, I heard Frank yell out, "Come on, Espeon! Get up!"

Slowly, Espeon rose to the ground, doing his best to shake off the damage he had taken from the impact of the fall. He was now on the far end of the field, in front of Falkner. He looked across the battlefield at me for direction. Again, I found myself unable to formulate a command, freezing up.

Seizing on my indecisiveness, Falkner took command. "Now, Pidgeotto! Gust!"

Falkner's Pidgeotto began whipping its wings, creating a windstorm that nearly had enough strength to lift Espeon into the air instantly. Gritting his teeth, Espeon did his best to hold his ground, his paws digging into the ground.

"H-Hang in there, Espeon!" I managed to yell out, frantically trying to figure out what to do. As I struggled to come up with some kind of a plan, Espeon kept losing ground. Finally, my indecisiveness cost me, and Espeon finally lost his fight against the Gust. He was blown backwards into the bleachers, hitting them with a loud THUD.

"Espeon!" I cried out, snapping out of my stupor. He fell to the ground, his eyes closing.

"Espeon is unable to battle!" yelled the referee.

I stared in shock for several seconds before finally calling back Espeon.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. I thought for a minute about what Pokémon to send in. I had a mental debate between Cyndaquil and Pidgey.

Cyndaquil has more power than Pidgey and has ranged attacks...but I don't know how his speed will match up against Pidgeotto's. Pidgey on the other hand, has more speed and can take the battle to the air...but he's not as powerful as Cyndaquil.

"Trainer! Do you forfeit the match?" asked the referee, pulling me away from my thoughts.

"What? N-no!" I hastily yelled out, my voice cracking once again.

I cleared my throat. "No, I don't. I'm just...deciding what my next Pokémon will be."

"Well, you must make a decision, trainer," he said. "Otherwise Falkner wins by default."

Forced into a quick decision, I went with the Pokémon that put me on as close to an even playing field as possible, at least in my own opinion. "Pidgey, go!" I yelled out, throwing out his Poké Ball.

"Take to the skies!" I yelled out, once again hoping to start off quickly. I hoped that I'd have better luck in an air-to-air battle. "Tackle!"

Pidgey flew towards Pidgeotto, ready to ram into it with his entire body.

"Pidgeotto," Falkner said calmly. "Dodge it."

Pidgeotto nimbly flew out of the way as Pidgey flew right by him. For a brief moment, I once again froze, unable to configure a reasonable counterattack. I quickly found myself in the same situation as before; my Pokémon missing an attack, and then me freezing up.

Noticing my predicament, Pidgey took the battle into his own hands. He banked wide left, before executing a hard right turn, lining himself up to charge Pidgeotto again.

"Pidgeotto, dodge again," Falkner said. I swear I heard him yawn. As Pidgey neared Pidgeotto, it simply dropped down. However, unlike last time, Falkner counterattacked.

"Now, Pidgetto, use Tackle!" Falkner yelled.

I frantically cried out for Pidgey to watch out behind him, but all that came out was a garbled mess of words that could've meant any variety of things to Pidgey. Pidgeotto came up from behind━Pidgey's only real blind spot. Pidgey was knocked out of the air, heading straight down towards the battlefield.

I struggled to get myself together to yell to Pidgey, but no words came out. I watched, helpless, as Pidgey spiraled downwards in a freefall while I stood there, unable to formulate any kind of a command.

Pidgey struggled to do much of anything, still dazed from the force of the attack. However, right as he was about to hit the ground, he managed to muster up enough energy and focus to pull up, and he managed to fly over to me.

I exhaled in relief. He looked up at me, faithfully awaiting my next command.

My brain managed to swing into action. Frantically, I tried to come up with something.

Tackle didn't work either time. I could try a Sand Attack to try and rattle his Pidgeotto, but most Pidgeotto are unaffected by an attack to their eyes. Then again, it's worth a shot. I doubt Pidgey's Gust would stand up to Pidgeotto's, and that's his only other move.

"Alright, Pidgey," I commanded. "Sand Attack!"

Pidgey brought his wings towards the ground, and flapped them furiously towards Pidgeotto, kicking up sand everywhere. I shielded my eyes, unable to see what was happening for a moment. I heard a cry from Falkner's Pidgeotto, and looked up to see it flailing around wildly, apparently unable to see much at all. The Sand Attack had actually worked.

"Alright, Pidgey!" I cried out in joy. I actually found myself gaining confidence, as my nerves began to leave me. "That's enough! Now hit Pidgeotto with a Tackle!"

For the first time all battle, I noticed Falkner appear to be nervous. He found himself unable to respond as Pidgey rushed towards Pidgeotto, who was still flailing around wildly.

"Pidgeotto, watch out!" Falkner managed to call out to his Pokémon right before impact. But it was too late. Pidgey smashed into Pidgeotto. Sent into a downward spiral, Pidgeotto struggled to get any air under its wings, still flailing wildly due to its lack of sight. It eventually caught itself, but I simply commanded another Tackle attack on the crippled Pokémon. Again, Pidgey made contact.

"Great job!" I yelled out to Pidgey. I heard Frank cheer from the sidelines, too.

I noticed that by now, Pidgeotto, still unable to see, had inadvertently flown away from the battlefield, and was close to the bleachers.

"Pidgey, Gust!" I commanded, hoping to take advantage of the opportunity. Pidgey began vigorously flapping his wings, creating the same windstorm that Pidgeotto had attacked Espeon with. Unable to see it coming, and with Falkner still thrown off guard, Pidgeotto was smacked by the windstorm with full force. Launched backwards into the bleachers, Pidgeotto was knocked out.

"Pidgeotto is unable to battle!" said the referee.

Falkner, stunned that I had defeated one of his Pokémon, slowly returned his Pidgeotto to its Poké Ball. For the first time all battle, I stopped shaking for a moment.

"That was clever," Falkner said. "But it won't work again. Hoothoot, go!"

Falkner sent out a Hoothoot. Noticing the short, stubby wings it had, and despite my ever-present nervousness, I couldn't help myself from commenting on its wings. "Can it even fly?"

Immediately, I realized how rude my comment had probably sounded. I had intended it as a joke; of course it could fly. I knew that.

Falkner erupted, and I began to feel even worse about what I had said. "What?! You have the gall to ask me that, when you had to resort to a Sand Attack to defeat my prized Pidgeotto?! You sicken me. Hoothoot, Air Slash!"

His Hoothoot sprang into action. It took off into the air, taking one of its wings and slicing it through the air, sending several saw-shaped discs of wind at Pidgey.

Again, I froze. I was still frazzled after what I had said to Falkner, and felt terrible. Thankfully, though, I managed to spring into action just in time.

"Pidgey, climb!" I yelled. He managed to ascend just before the discs sliced through the air where he had just been standing, but as I watched in horror, Hoothoot appeared right in front of him.

I looked at Falkner, and saw that he had a cruel smile on his face. "Hoothoot, finish this. Peck!"

Both Pidgey and I watched, petrified, as Hoothoot's beak turned white and it pecked Pidgey several times with it. After several attacks, Pidgey lost all his energy and began to fall towards the ground, swirls in his eyes.

Mercifully, I returned him to his Poké Ball before he hit the ground.

"Pidgey is unable to battle. The challenger has lost both of his Pokémon. Falkner is the winner!" the judge yelled out.

I sighed. My first Gym battle, and I had lost. To make matters worse, I had crumbled under pressure, and had even insulted the Gym Leader. I don't think it could've gone any worse. Embarrassed, I walked up to shake Falkner's hand.

Hoothoot was sitting on Falkner's shoulder, glaring at me with a look of pure hatred. Clearly, he was just as offended as his trainer was at my rude comment. As I stuck out my hand to Falkner, he refused to return the handshake.

Desperately, I pleaded with him. "Look, man, I'm really sorry. I-I didn't mean what I said about your Hoothoot. It came out wrong, and━"

Falkner cut me off. "I want you out of my Gym, now," he told me sternly. "And don't come back until you have a proper apology for both me and my Pokémon."

Shamefully, I dropped my head. "OK," I said weakly. "But I just want you to know I'm really━"

"I said get out!" Falkner yelled at me. I turned and walked away, the embarrassment too much for me.

Frank ran up to Falkner and tried to help my case. "Look, Falkner. He's a good guy, I swear. He just━"

"I don't care what you have to say. You're his friend, and in my eyes, you're just as at fault as he is. Now get out!" Falkner yelled at Frank.

Stunned and embarrassed, just like I was, Frank hurried over and joined me in the elevator. In silence, we descended back to the ground floor. As we stepped out, I realized that I had begun shaking again, but this time I found myself unable to stop.

Slowly, I walked over to the receptionist, trying to keep calm.

"Could I have a rematch, scheduled? Maybe a couple of days from now?" I asked her, my voice trembling.

I figure the receptionist dealt with people upset about their losses often, because she didn't even glance up at me despite the immense trembling in my voice.

She scrolled through a page on her computer. "Sure. How does two o'clock sound?"

Quietly, I replied. "Sure. And, can you put that under Bob? I don't think Falkner would take the challenge if it was under my real name."

Surprised, the receptionist looked at me with confusion. "Uh, sure. May I ask why?"

"No," I said, turning and walking away. Frank followed.

I collapsed in my bed at the Pokémon Center, emotionally drained after my battle with Falkner. Across the room, Frank sat on the edge of the other bunk bed. I had offered him the option of staying with me at the Pokémon Center, and he had agreed. I could tell he was concerned about me.

"Don't beat yourself up," he said, trying to console me. "It was your first Gym battle."

I sighed for about the millionth time that day. "Espeon didn't even last five minutes. And it's all because I choked. I cracked under the pressure, and I couldn't react, and━"

Frank cut me off. "Dude. It was your first Gym battle. That's expected of you! You don't honestly think I cruised through my battle with Falkner, do you?"

I sat up, staring at him for a moment. "Well, yeah, I guess I kind of did." I said sheepishly.

Frank laughed. "Dude, Falkner was the toughest opponent I've faced yet. I barely scraped out a victory."

I sighed. "Still, I just feel like such a failure. And then after what I said to him..."

Silence fell between us. I was just about to get up to grab a snack from the vending machine in the lobby when Frank jumped out of bed. He ran over towards me, grabbing my arm, and he literally yanked me up and out of bed. "You know what? Come on! I know just what you need!"

He sprinted out of the room, beckoning for me to follow.

Still feeling miserable, I got up, sighing once again. After struggling with myself for a moment, I figured I'd follow Frank and see what he had planned.

Sarcastically, I muttered, "I really do know how to pick my friends, don't I?"

AN: So, where do you guys think Frank is going to take Chris? Feel free to leave a review and guess on where he's being taken. I'd love to hear what everyone's guesses are!