Disclaimer: Pokémon is owned by Satoshi Tajiri.

Pokémon BW: Yin-Yang Quest

"Here it is!" Mia declared as she and Taylor exited Route 2. Taylor caught up to her as they looked out at the peak of a hill. Up ahead was Striaton City, the place where Mia was to have her first Gym Battle.

"It's huge!" Taylor noted.

"Striaton City is one of the biggest cities in Unova," Mia explained. She took his hand. "Come on, let's go in!"

The two ran downhill and into the city.

Taylor smiled as he handed Momo, who was on his shoulder, an Oatmeal cookie. She happily took the cookie and began to eat it.

"You two are pretty close, aren't you?" Mia asked.

"A lot more so than you think," Taylor responded.

"That was a very cryptic quote, young man," another voice replied.

The three of them looked to find a man with green eyes and similarly green hair with one patch particularly brushed upward like growing grass. He was dressed similarly to a waiter in a fancy restaurant, a white shirt under a black vest with gold button, a green bowtie on the collar, black pants, and brown shoes. He looked at Momo intently.

"I get the feeling that she really trusts you, and you trust her back with that same affection," he evaluated. Momo smiled and blushed a little at this.

"Tell me something, have you heard of how happiness affects a Pokémon?" Mia asked, playing a hunch she had about him.

"Of course, I'm a Pokémon Connoisseur," the other man replied. "But I really must get going. My brothers are waiting for me."

"I had a hunch about that, Mister!"

"My name's Cilan," Cilan introduced. "And maybe I'll see you again."

"Have you figured out what Pokémon you're going to use for your battle?" Taylor asked as he sat down on a bench. Mia was looking over her current party, who were out of their Poke Balls. Momo got off his shoulder and took a seat.

"There are three Gym Leaders in the Striaton Gym," Mia explained. "You can choose which one to battle, but I plan on challenging all three of them. For the Fire-type Gym Leader, I'm going to use Oshawott."

"Oshawott!" Oshawott nodded.

"The Water-type Gym Leader will be pretty easy with Emolga," she continued.

"Mo-ga, moga!" Emolga said, giving a thumbs up.

"And for the Grass-type Gym Leader, I'll use Tepig," she finished.

"Tepig!" it yelled, blowing a puff of flames from its nose. Pidove looked down, upset.

"You'll get the chance next time, Pidove," Mia told it. "Now, onward!"

Mia's Pokémon cheered. Her stomach rumbled, to her surprise. Taylor looked up at the sun's position in the sky and predicted that it was time for lunch.

"How 'bout we eat first?" Taylor suggested. "I know a good restaurant around here. Return, Momo."

Taylor recalled Momo back into her Poke Ball. Mia did the same for her own Pokémon.

"Hello and welcome," Cilan and two other men dressed like waiters greeted as Mia and Taylor went in. To the left of Cilan was a man with red hair styled wildly like flames and red eyes, and to the right was another man with blue hair whose bangs flowed smoothly like water and blue eyes. They both wore waiter outfits; the only difference was the bow ties that matched their hair and eye color.

"Cilan!" Mia exclaimed. "I didn't know you work here!"

"Do you know her?" the red-haired man asked.

"I do, Chili," Cilan replied. "We met while I was shopping."

The blue-haired man took out menus from a slot. "Table for two?" Chili asked.

"Yes, please," they both said.

"Follow Cress, please," Cress instructed as he went over to the tables. Mia and Taylor promptly did as instructed.

What ensued during mealtime was a discussion about what they did before meeting each other. Mia studied at a public school and often received lessons from her Grandfather. It was there at that school she met Bianca and Cheren. Taylor was schooled at home upon adoption and was cared for mainly by his adoptive father, but they haven't talked as of late.

"Any brothers or sisters?" Mia asked.

"Only child," he answered.

"Other relatives?"

"Like you, I have a Grandpa, but we haven't talked much either."

"How come?"

Taylor glared at her. "Um, sorry I asked," she quickly apologized.

"Is there anything else you may like?" Cilan asked.

"Actually, I was wondering if you knew where the Gym is." Mia asked. "I want to battle the Gym Leader there."

"Why didn't you say so?" Chili asked excitedly as he ran over to where Cilan was.

"Huh?" they asked, confused.

"We are the Gym Leaders, Cress included," Cress explained.

Cilan clapped his hands and the curtains in back of them opened to reveal a rock battlefield. To the customers and Taylor's surprise, the waiters took off their aprons and revealed their Poke Balls.

"Anything else you may like?" Cilan repeated.

Mia stood up with determination. "A battle," she ordered. "My name is Mia and I'm from Nuvema Town."

Though he was in the stands, Taylor kept his distance as a gaggle of cheerleaders crowded on the other half of the sidelines. Since they were talking intently about Cilan, Chili, and Cress, he presumed that they were their fan girls. He looked down at the arena. Mia was on one side of the arena below him, while the other three approached her.

"This Gym allows you to choose the leader you battle with," Cilan explained. "You can either battle between me and any of my brothers."

"I get it now, Cilan," Mia said. "You're the Grass-type leader, Chili's the Fire-type leader, and Cress is the Water-type leader."

"True," Cilan agreed. "Now for you to choose."

"Come on out!" the three brothers called out as they threw their Poké Balls. Out came the three Elemental monkeys: a Pansage, a Pansear, and a Panpour. Mia looked up all three on her Pokédex.

"Pansage, the Grass Monkey Pokémon," the Dex explained. "It shares the leaf on its head with weary-looking Pokémon. These leaves are known to relieve stress."

"Pansear, the High Temp Pokémon. This Pokémon lives in caves in volcanoes. The fire within the tuft on its head can reach 600º F."

"Panpour, the Spray Pokémon. It does not thrive in dry environments. It keeps itself damp by shooting water stored in its head tuft from its tail."

"Now, would you care to battle me?" Cilan asked.

"I'm looking forward to a battle with you!" Chili exclaimed.

"It's clear you would like to battle with Cress," Cress said.

"I'm battling all three of you!" Mia declared, to their surprise.

'Way to be subtle,' Taylor remarked.

Chili and Mia got into position on the battlefield, Cilan and Pansage acting as judge for two of the Gym Battles.

"Trainers may use one Pokémon for each battle, and the battle ends when one Pokémon is knocked out. Additionally only the challenger may switch Pokémon," Cilan explained.

"Here I come, Mia!" Chili exclaimed.

"Right!" she said with a determined look. "Oshawott, you're on!"

She threw the Poké Ball, and Oshawott came out of her Poke Ball.

"Come on out, my vintage!" Chili commanded as he threw his own Poké Ball. "Pansear!" Pansear came out of its Poké Ball.

"Let the match begin!" Cilan declared as he raised both his hands up.

"Oshawott, Water Gun!" Mia commanded.

"Counter with Flamethrower!" Chili likewise commanded.

A blast of water and a stream of fire came out of Oshawott's and Pansear's mouths, which negated and steamed up the area upon impact.

"Tackle!" Mia commanded.

"Use Dig, Pansear!"

"Pan, pan, pan!" Pansear grunted as it burrowed into the ground. Oshawott made a running charge for Pansear, but stopped at the hole and looked around.

"The steam's perfect for cover," Taylor realized. "Useful if you're trying to sneak up on someone."

Pansear suddenly appeared below Oshawott and struck her. She got thrown into the air as Pansear jumped.

"Fire Punch!" Chili commanded.

Pansear's hand clenched to a fist and got cloaked in flames. It slugged Oshawott, sending it crashing down onto the ground. This didn't affect Oshawott much, but Mia spotted a burn on Oshawott's side as the steam cleared away. Oshawott winced in pain from the burn as red sparks came from it.

"Go, go, Chili! Go, go, Pan-sear!" the cheerleaders cheered.

"Oshawott, return!" Mia commanded as she held out her Poké Ball. Oshawott got recalled back inside. She promptly decided to switch her Pokémon.

"Time to fight fire with fire! I choose you, Tepig!" she said as she threw Tepig's Poké Ball. Out came Tepig who snorted and blew flames out from her snout. "Tackle!" she commanded.

Tepig charged in and rammed into Pansear, the blow pushing it back a couple of inches.

"Dig, Pansear!" Chili commanded. Pansear burrowed into the ground again.

"This isn't going to be like last time!" Mia declared. "Tepig, use Ember in the hole!"

Leaning back, Tepig fired a cloud of flames from its nostrils, which went into the hole. Pansear popped out in surprise as the Embers hit it.

"Tackle it as its falling and clamp down on its tail!" Mia commanded.

"Tepig, tepig, tepig, tepig!" Tepig yelled as it made a rush for the spot where Pansear was going to land. When it got near the ground, she bit its tail.

"Now, throw it into the rocks!" Mia commanded.

Tepig span Pansear with all her strength and threw it into a stalagmite. The blow was enough to knock it out.

"Pansear is unable to battle!" Cilan declared. "Tepig wins. Therefore the first battle goes to Mia."

"Pansage!" Pansage said.

The cheerleaders moaned at the loss Chili was handed to him. "One down, two to go," Taylor marked down mentally.

"Exactly as planned, Tepig!" Mia congratulated.

"Tepig, tepig!" Tepig cheered.

"Thanks, Pansear, you did great," Chili thanked as he recalled Pansear into its Poké Ball. He went over to the side as Cress took his place.

"Your next battle will be with Cress," Cress announced.