AN: Won't do these often, but here's a thought. Before I lost my docs, I had up to chapter twelve ready to go more or less. Now that I'm redoing it all, is there anything my lovely readers would like to see in it? Throw me a PM or review if so! :3
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The gym wasn't that the two teens expected. They stood outside a restaurant beside the Pokécenter with confusion etched on their faces, certain Nurse Joy had told them wrong.
"Are we... Going to try going in?" Neil mused as Heather brought her hands to her hips, huffing irritably.
"I thought you studied Unova? Shouldn't you know what the gyms are like?" She retorted a bit grumpily, walking up the steps of the building and peeking through the glass door. Nervous and excited, she felt like it was some sort of set up to make them look stupid, but she realized she hadn't seen a building that looked like it could be a gym yet... Not that there was a clearly defined image in her mind of what it should look like.
"I'm sorry that I didn't take that particular class, I was more interested in knowing the history and terrain..." He mumbled submissively, walking up the steps and opening the door. "Ladies first."
"We're going to try...?" Heather asked sceptically, walking in when Neil insisted. Inside was large and quite fancy, a young woman behind a counter reading a book. Neil cleared his throat and the woman jumped, tossing her book behind her.
"Welcome! A table for two, or a battle?" She asked in a cheery voice, sitting straight behind the desk.
So this is a gym... Heather thought to herself, walking up to the counter and giving a smile.
"We're here to battle, this is the gym, right?" She questioned the woman who gave a slight laugh, nodding. Heather frowned, not liking how the woman had reacted.
"Oh, I'm sorry! It's just every trainer seems to walk in here clueless. We serve two purposes here, a gym, and a restaurant. We make up most of the gyms funding serving food. Plus, every so often they get to watch battles between the gym leaders, their waiters, and challengers like you." She explained to the two, Neil looking impressed.
"So, the leaders run this place completely? That's pretty cool. I wonder what other kinds of gyms we'll see."
"Well, they have a few cooks, and me! But that's to be expected. Now, lets get you two signed up."
With that they handed over their Trainer Cards and got entered into the computer, the woman pointing them to the doorway that separated the lobby from the restaurant. The duo walked in to see tables and booths set up neatly along the floor, a risen square with gym lines marked on it on the far side. Unsure, they walked along the center path to the battle floor, a red haired boy running up to greet them.
"Sorry about that, the other two will be here right away. You'll have to excuse us, we had to get changed and ready. You're Heather and Neil?"
They nodded.
"Great! I'm Chilli, one of the leaders. How this works, is we're based on the first Pokémon you got. From the system, I know you both got one from the Professor. Snivy faces me, Tepig faces Cress, and Oshawott faces Cilan. Do I have a challenger to start this up with?"
Heather nervously stepped forward, gripping a Pokéball in her hand. Chili gave her a quick once over, nodding.
"Well, lets get started. You," He pointed to Neil. "Can have a seat on the booth there. You'll get to battle next. Lets go!"
Neil nodded and walked over to the seat, sitting to watch Heather's battle. Chili moved to stand in a marked box on one side of the platform while Heather went to the other, a green haired boy running toward the arena, panting.
"One... Second..." He panted, trying to catch his breath. Both leader and Heather stood waiting, holding a ball containing their first Pokémon.
"Phew, okay! This is a League battle, Chili, the gym leader, against challenger Heather. This will be a two-on-six battle; Chili only able to use two Pokémon while the challenger may use a full set of six. First side out of usable Pokémon loses, begin!"
"Pansear, lets so this!"
"Panpour, show them what you've got!" He's starting with his fire type... This might be rough.
In two red flashes stood the chosen Pokémon, a red monkey against blue. Chili didn't seem surprised to see the Water-type, but then again, he seemed pretty straight faced. Excitement coursed through Heather and she took a steadying breath, calling out her move.
"Panpour, use Water Gun! Lets end this quick."
"Pansear, dodge and use Incinerate!"
The Water-type spat a jet of water at the leaders Pansear who narrowly dodged, running in to give a blast of heat and fire, getting hit by a well aimed Water Gun to the face which stopped his attack. Heather grinned, feeling a bit better about the battle.
"Panpour, good job, keep it up! Get in close and use Scratch!" Doesn't really matter if he uses his Fire attack on us, it won't touch Panpour much. If we can keep him pressured, we should be able to finish this.
"Don't let him get close, Incinerate!" Chili's voice broke slightly and Heather looked from the Pokémon to him, seeing a nervous look pass his eyes. Meanwhile the last leader had come to watch, the two, Cilan and Cress, talking.
Neil watched from a booth with a scowl, comparing his style against his companions. Where Heather rushed in, he'd fall back, and he wondered if the leaders all fought the same.
Panpour dashed up to the Fire-type and gave it a Scratch even through the heat and flames, Heather calling for him to Water Gun Chili's Pokémon, while Chili was focused on trying to burn out Panpour. The Water monkey shot a jet at the Fire one, getting a heated wave of air to its face in reply. The colliding attacks made steam that hovered around the arena, making it hard to see the floor.
Panpour rubbed at its eyes and got another Incinerate to the face, the Water monkey struggling to see with burning eyes. Going on luck, he shot a jet of water with Heather's command, hitting the Fire monkey straight in the face. The Pokémon tumbled back and hit the floor, Chili calling it back to its ball while Cilan rose an arm on Heather's side.
"Pansear is unable to battle, Panpour wins. Chili is on his last Pokémon."
Great! Now we just need to take out one more and we win! She smiled at the thought, calling her Pokémon over.
"Are you okay to keep battling?" She knelt down and took out a potion, spraying the few burns that her Pokémon had. Panpour shook his head and rubbed his eyes, looking disappointed. She detached a ball from her belt and tapped it on the Pokémons head, smiling as he was recalled.
"You did a great job, now it's your turn, Lark."
Chili took a ball and tossed to to the field, releasing a tail wagging Lillipup. Heather followed the toss with her own, her Snivy being called to battle. Lark looked around briefly before getting in a battle stance, the Lillipup doing the same.
"Lillipup, Bite!"
A close range attack, good. We know how to deal with these. "Lark, Wrap it up!"
The ball of fur ran along to Lark who used his vines to wrap the pup up, squeezing it to inflict damage. The pup yelped, surprised. Chili narrowed his eyes and fisted his hands, a foot stepping out as if backing up his words.
"Lillipup, use Work Up then Bite the vines," Instantly the Normal-type began squirming, glowing red for a second before trying to reach the vines with his mouth.
"Lark, let him bite you," Heather replied, knowing it could be risky. The plan in her head if things worked out was flawless though. Lark nodded and moved a vine to the dogs mouth, letting its teeth sink in.
"Now hit the ground with him."
"Lillipup! Let go!" Chili cried, knowing it could easily end the battle. The pup let go quickly but was caught by the vine coming down, trapped under it after hitting the floor. Breathlessly the pup squirmed away, Lark awaiting Chili's orders to decide what to do if Heather said nothing.
"Lillipup, Work Up again."
The dog squirmed around and flashed red once more, wincing in pain from a bruised rib. Lark smirked and watched as the pup ran at him, letting loose a tornado of sharp leaves that lifted the Lillipup off the ground. Chili cried to his Pokémon and recalled it as it hit the floor, not getting back up
Heather ran to Lark and picked him up, twirling him before hugging her partner. "That was Leaf Tornado! You did such a great job Lark! I'm so proud of you!"
"Lillipup is unable to battle, Snivy is the winner. Chili has no usable Pokémon; Heather wins the Trio badge." Cress spoke from the side, Cilan walking up with a case which he handed to Chili. The Fire leader walked over to Heather, handing her the case and a decent amount of cash.
"According to League rules, you've won, and you get the Trio badge. You'll need eight badges to face the Elite Four, the gyms will get harder and harder along the way. You fought well, maybe we'll have a rematch some time." He smiled and Heather took the case and money, opening it and showing Lark the badge they'd won before putting it away.
Neil walked up to congratulate her and get ready for his battle, Heather leaving to heal up her Pokémon, promising to return as quickly as she could.