The trio dashed through the forest for a solid half hour before they finally broke free of the natural maze of oddly shaped trees. Barely registering the mass of buildings before them, they continued to run until Orange pointed out the Pokémon Center, distinguishable from the other oddly designed buildings only by the large sign over the entrance which read "Pokémon Center".
"Oh, my!" exclaimed the nurse as she approached Red, Orange, and Violet, who had all collapsed into the seats nearest to them while trying to catch their breath. "What on earth made you run in here like that in the middle of the night?"
"We..." gasped Orange. "Wanted... out of forest... quick as possible... Team Debug..."
"Ah," replied the nurse, a sudden frown on her face. "Say no more. What were they up to now?"
"Tried... to start... forest fire... stole Charmander... got it back..."
"They what?!" exclaimed the nurse, now looking shocked.
"They stole my Charmander to try and start a forest fire," Red explained, as he wasn't quite as out of breath as Orange. "We got it back, but they escaped."
"This is outrageous!" the nurse half-shouted. "I knew those nutcases wanted to eliminate all sorts of Pokémon, but setting the Ivadirin Forest on fire?! Every Pokémon in that forest would have died!"
She continued on in this vein for some time, pacing in circles and ranting about Team Debug. About three minutes in, Red, Orange, and Violet exchanged glances. Violet then cleared her throat, reminding the nurse of their presence.
"Er... nurse?" said Violet. "Could you maybe heal our Pokémon?"
"Oh- oh! Of course, I'm so sorry, it's just these Team Debug crooks have got me so worked up... of course, of course, right this way..."
Not five minutes later, the trio's teams were fully healed. As the nurse got the Rewept Police on the phone to inform them of Team Debug's arson attempt, the group made their way to the rooms in the back that the nurse allowed them to use for the night, flopped down on the beds, and fell asleep within seconds.
When Red opened his eyes at 7:00 the next morning, his first thought was that an angry mob was attacking the center with chainsaws. Then he realized that the hideous, grating noises he was hearing were coming out of Orange's mouth; Orange was snoring extraordinarily loudly.
"Ugh... what the hell?" Red muttered, clearly at a loss as to how such noises could come out of one mouth. He then looked at Violet's bed; she was sound asleep. At that moment, however, Violet stirred, sat up, stretched, and pulled two small objects out of her ears. She then walked over to Orange's bed and nonchalantly slammed a pillow onto his head.
"Zzzz-hmm?! What?! Huh?!" exclaimed Orange as he woke up abruptly.
"You wear earplugs?" Red asked.
"Everyone in Talpel Town wears earplugs at night," Violet explained. "I'm guessing you figured out why."
"My snoring is not that loud," said Orange defensively.
"It sounded like about fifty chainsaws all going at once," Red said.
Choosing not to comment on this, Orange instead said, "We should probably get some breakfast, and then it's off to the Rewept Gym."
"I could eat, I guess," conceded Violet. With that, the trio walked out of the room and made their way to the Pokémon Center's cafeteria.
"What the...?" muttered Red as they all sat at a table and began to examine the menus. "Even number salad? Fried nine? What?"
"Oh, get the fried nine," Orange stated. "My mom makes that for breakfast sometimes and it is amazing."
"Um... I guess I'll give it a try," Red said uncertainly.
"Let me guess- numbers aren't generally on the menu in Kanto, are they?" asked Violet.
"No, not really," Red said quietly.
"Well, numbers make up most of what we eat in Tanko," Violet explained. "Each digit has its own sort of distinct flavor. Why don't you order the even number salad? That way you could try a nice variety of numbers, see what you like best?"
"Yeah, and I'll let you try my fried nines," added Orange.
"Thanks," Red smiled.
Just then, the three were approached by a large, pink, egg-shaped Pokémon with a real, white egg in a pouch on its stomach. It held a pad of paper and a pen in its short, stubby arms. Instinctively, Violet took out her Pokédex.
"Chansey, the Egg Pokémon," said the Pokédex. "Very rare and elusive. It will share its nutritious eggs with any injured Pokémon it meets."
"Chansey," the Chansey said, looking expectantly at the trio.
"Are you here to take our orders?" asked Red. Chansey nodded.
"OK, I'll have an order of fried nines with a glass of the fresh-squeezed four juice," Orange said.
"I'll have whole wheat zero toast with six jelly," Violet said.
"I'll have the even number salad," Red said.
"Chansey, Chansey!" exclaimed Chansey as she scribbled something down on the pad of paper she was holding, then walked away.
"So how are we gonna do this, anyway, challenging the Gym Leader?" asked Red. "I don't suppose they'd let us all battle the Gym Leader at the same time?"
At this, Orange burst out into laughter. Violet shot him a nasty glare, which went unnoticed by Orange for several minutes. Once Orange saw Violet glaring at him, he quieted down somewhat.
"Heh... And what, the Gym Leader would use three Pokémon at once, and each of us would only use one?" he chuckled.
Red shrugged. "Just an idea."
"It's against Pokémon League regulations for a trainer to use more than one Pokémon simultaneously in an official battle," Violet said. "I doubt any Gym Leader would go against that. We'll probably have our matches one right after the other. My mom told me that Gym Leaders have instant healing machines like Pokémon Centers do, so they can take on large amounts of challengers in a short period of time."
"What type does the Rewept Gym Leader specialize in anyway?" asked Red.
"I think I heard that Rewept Gym's specialty is Rock-types," answered Violet. "Nothing Chompy can't handle."
"Q and I are ready to rock!" added Orange, now grinning widely. "According to my Pokédex, Q's learned Water Gun since it evolved!"
Red, however, looked thoroughly downcast.
"What's up?" asked Violet.
"I thought you were supposed to be the smart one?" Orange said. "It's obvious Red's realized his team doesn't stand a chance against Rock-types. Rattata and Charmander, that's not exactly-" At that point, however, Orange fell silent as Violet gave him yet another glare; Orange's words had very clearly done nothing to improve Red's mood.
"It's not hopeless, Red," Violet said patiently. "Remember one of those Debug Grunts had a Rattata that could use Water Gun? Maybe if you teach your Rattata the move, you'll have an easier time in the gym."
"How would I do that, though?" asked Red.
"Easiest way would be to use a TM," said Violet. "You know what TMs are?"
"Yeah," said Red. "Technical Machines. They're little disc-like things that can teach new moves to Pokémon. There's one for Water Gun?"
"I think so."
"Where are we gonna get one, though?" Orange asked. "TMs are kinda rare."
"Damn," sighed Red.
"There's another way," said Violet. "Red, you could have Rattata train with Q a little bit. If a Pokémon watches a move it can learn being used by another Pokémon, it can learn the move that way."
Red didn't answer for a moment, apparently considering this. At that moment, however, Chansey approached their table, carrying three large platters and placing them in front of the trio. Orange's plate contained what appeared to be large, dark brown number nines, looking as though they had been carved out of thick pieces of wood, along with a tall glass full of a bright orange liquid. Violet's plate contained what appeared to be a bagel sliced in half, though with a larger hole, each half coated in an odd blue jelly. Red was given a bowl containing multicolored twos, fours, sixes, and eights. He took small bites of each number, and found that Violet was right- each one had its own unique flavor. The twos tasted like carrots, the fours tasted like oranges, the sixes tasted like blueberries, and the eights tasted like ketchup.
"Hey, the sixes and eights aren't bad!" Red observed. "I'm not that fond of the twos or the fours, though."
"Mmmm," sighed Orange as he took a large bite out of a nine. "Red, you gotta try these."
Red speared a nine on his fork and took a bite of it. His eyes widened as the delicious taste of bacon filled his mouth. "Holy crap, this is good!" Red exclaimed.
"Huh? Huh? What did I tell you?" grinned Orange.
Once everybody had finished eating (many of the twos and fours of Red's salad remained untouched), Chansey came back over with a large scanner-esque device. She held the device over their Pokédexes, and then walked away.
"What was that about?" asked Red.
"Chansey was verifying that we're Pokémon trainers," explained Violet. "All Pokémon Centers allow trainers to use their services for free, didn't you know?"
"Oh, yeah," murmured Red as they got up out of their seats and walked towards the exit. "I think Professor Oak mentioned something like that, now that I think of it..."
Once they were out of the center, Orange took out a Poké Ball and enlarged it. Taking the cue, Red did the same. They both then tossed the spheres into the air simultaneously, and let Q and Rattata out into the open.
"OK, Rattata, we're gonna teach you the Water Gun attack," Red explained.
"Rattata?" replied Rattata questioningly. In answer, Q unleashed a stream of water from the center of one of the sides of its body, reducing a nearby boulder to gravel. Having observed this, Rattata took a deep breath, opened its mouth wide... and nothing.
The two repeated these motions for a whole hour. Red got excited at one point, claiming to have seen something fly from Rattata's mouth after one attempt; it turned out, however, to be spit. Once Rattata started to show signs of tiring, however, Red reluctantly called off the training session.
"Maybe it won't be as bad as I think it will," he said halfheartedly.
"Doubt it- OW!" exclaimed Orange as Violet stomped on his foot.
"Well, here we are," said Violet as the trio approached a massive structure that appeared to have been built out of tree limbs (complete with leaves), walls of solid rock, sixes, fours, and ice cubes. "Rewept City Pokémon Gym."
"Let's do this!" Orange exclaimed as he ran up to the large hedges which turned out to be double doors, shoved them open, and dashed inside. Violet and Red hastened to follow.
The inside of the gym was dark as dark can be. There was absolutely no telling how big it was. This was quickly rectified, however, as many spotlights on the ceiling turned on simultaneously, revealing the interior to be positively massive- the room was very long and wide, with a high ceiling. A large, rectangular area in the center of the room was marked off, obviously to serve as the battlefield. On the opposite side, a teenage girl with long, dark brown hair sat, clad in a pair of blue jeans and a light brown t-shirt.
"Welcome to the Rewept City Pokémon Gym," the girl said in a voice that echoed all around the cavernous structure. "My name is Minerva, and I'm this city's Gym Leader. And who are you?"
"I'm Orange McPixel from Talpel Town," announced Orange.
"Violet Scramble, also from Talpel Town," added Violet.
"Red Vershunn, from Pal- er, Talpel Town," said Red. Violet and Orange blinked, but otherwise showed no surprise at Red's lie about his hometown.
"We've all come to challenge this gym," Violet explained.
"Very well," Minerva answered. "But I cannot take you all on at once, it would go against Pokémon League regulations. I'll battle you in the order in which you introduced yourselves. Orange, was it? You first."
"Fine by me," grinned Orange as he stepped into a small, painted rectangle just outside the battlefield boundaries- obviously the spot in which the trainer was to stand.
"Here are the rules," stated Minerva. "We are each allowed two Pokémon, and the match is over when all Pokémon on one side are unable to continue. I'm not allowed to switch my Pokémon unless one faints, but you can switch at your leisure. Understand?"
Orange nodded.
"Then we begin," grinned Minerva as she produced a Poké Ball and threw it. "Geodude, go!"
The ball split open, and in a flash of light, what appeared to be a large, levitating boulder with eyes, a mouth, and thick, rocky arms materialized. "Geodude," it grunted.
"A Geodude," remarked Orange as he took his Pokédex out and pointed it at this airborne adversary.
"Geodude, the Rock Pokémon," said the Pokédex. "Geodude are a common sight in fields and mountains. When at rest, they are easily mistaken for ordinary rocks, and subsequently tripped over or stepped on."
"Let's do this!" Orange exclaimed, heaving a Poké Ball into the arena. ".4, I choose you!"
In a flash of light, Orange's .4 appeared, squealing happily in a high pitched voice and zooming around in circles, eager to fight.
"Geodude! Tackle!" Minerva ordered.
".4, use TM05!" Orange called.
Both Geodude and .4 zoomed forward, headed for each other at high speeds. At the last second, however, .4 pulled up and turned invisible.
"Geo?!" Geodude exclaimed, looking around frantically, trying to see where its opponent had gone.
"Use TM28 now!" commanded Orange.
The air behind Geodude exploded, sending it tumbling to the ground. .4 reappeared and gave a shrill giggle.
"Dude..." growled Geodude as it rose back into the air.
"Geodude, use your Rock Throw attack!" commanded Minerva.
".4, Agility!" Orange shouted.
.4 flew in circles around Geodude with increasing rapidity. Rocks formed out of thin air in Geodude's hands, and though it threw them in every direction, it failed to strike .4. Then. .4 rose high into the air and caught fire!
"What the hell?!" exclaimed Orange. His Pokédex, however, spoke up.
"TM09, an attack of the IIIItoto-type. An immensely powerful technique that no Pokémon type is resistant to."
"Awesome!" Orange exclaimed as .4's flaming form slammed hard into Geodude, causing a catastrophic and fiery explosion, kicking up dirt and dust. Once the dust settled, however, both Geodude and .4 were laying on the ground, not moving at all.
"What?!" Orange exclaimed as both he and Minerva withdrew their Pokémon.
"While TM09 is powerful, it causes the user to faint," continued the Pokédex.
"I really could have used that information sooner!" snapped Orange as both he and Minerva threw new Poké Balls. "Q, let's go!"
"I choose you, Rhyhorn!" exclaimed Minerva.
The thrown balls split open, and each one poured out bright white light. Before Orange materialized the cube-shaped form of Q. Before Minerva stood a creature that looked to be made entirely of gray rock, standing on four stumpy legs.
"Rhyhorn, the Spikes Pokémon," said Orange's Pokédex. "Rhyhorn's bones are a thousand times harder than those of humans. Though not very bright, it is incredibly strong, and can demolish whole buildings just by charging into them."
"Alright, Q, Water Gun now!" Orange called.
"Use Horn Attack!" Minerva commanded.
Q unleashed a stream of water as Rhyhorn gave a loud roar and charged forward, its pointed horn aimed right at Q. Though it managed to muscle its way through the stream of water initially, the overwhelming type disadvantage became too much, and Rhyhorn collapsed to the floor. Down, but not out; it still attempted to climb back to its feet.
"Q, use your Confusion attack!" ordered Orange.
"Rhyhorn, Bide!" shouted Minerva.
Q launched a ray of blue light, while Rhyhorn's body took on a bright yellow glow. The Confusion met its mark, but Rhyhorn continued to glow. Then, Rhyhorn roared loudly, and launched a massive beam of yellow light right at Q, striking the Deep Sea Pokémon hard.
"Q!" exclaimed Orange. Fortunately, Q was still conscious; it floated in midair, albeit while wobbling dangerously.
"Never seen that attack before, have you?" smirked Minerva. "Bide allows a Pokémon to store energy from attacks it is hit with, and then it hits the opponent for twice that amount of damage. It's won me many battles against trainers who didn't see it coming."
"I got an idea," muttered Orange. "Q, use Disable!"
"What- no!" exclaimed Minerva. as Q's body took on a pink aura. The aura then spread to Rhyhorn's body.
"Not so confident now, are you?" sneered Orange. "It takes a little while for Disable to wear off, by which time this match will be over! Finish it, Q! Water Gun attack!"
Q gave its soft cry as it shot off another blast of water, striking Rhyhorn head on and causing it to collapse on its side. This time, Rhyhorn made no effort to move.
"Rhyhorn, return," sighed Minerva, holding out its Poké Ball as Orange did likewise with Q. Minerva then walked across the battlefield and approached Orange. "A fine battle, Orange. You've definitely earned this." And she held out her hand to Orange. In it was a small, gray object, which looked like a small cluster of gray circles. "It's the official Pokémon League Gravel Badge."
"Sweet!" Orange exclaimed as he swiped the badge from Minerva's hand, held it up, and gazed at it. Minerva then handed him what appeared to be a light gray CD. "What's this?" asked Orange.
"It's Technical Machine number 34," replied Minerva. "It'll teach Bide to a compatible Pokémon. Use it wisely. Violet, you're next, ready?"
"As I'll ever be," smiled Violet.
Minerva walked back over to her side of the battlefield, and placed her two Poké Balls in a small tray that protruded from the wall. She pressed a red button above the tray, and the Poké Balls quivered slightly. She then took them back off and reattached them to her belt.
"OK, now that my Pokémon are healed, let's get this started!" declared Minerva.
Violet took a Poké Ball, enlarged it, and threw it. "I choose you, Flutters!" called Violet.
In a flash of light, Flutters the Metapod materialized. Minerva blinked in surprise. "A Metapod?" she asked dubiously. "Well, OK..." She then produced, enlarged, and tossed a Poké Ball of her own. "Let's go, Geodude!"
Minerva's Geodude re-emerged in a brilliant blast of white light. It floated in midair, staring down its mainly immobile opponent.
"Geodude, Rock Throw!" commanded Minerva.
"Flutters, Harden attack!" ordered Violet.
"Metapod," replied Flutters as its body took on a green glow. Geodude threw a pair of stones at Flutters, but they bounced off its body with loud clanging noises.
"Flutters, String Shot, go!" Violet shouted.
"Metapod, Metapod," droned Flutters as it fired a blast of sticky white silk from the pointy topmost point of its body. Geodude made to dive out of the way, but moved too soon- the attack had hit, and Geodude was covered in gooey string.
"Now, Flutters, return!" Violet called, as she held out the Poké Ball. Once the Metapod had been withdrawn, Violet threw the other ball. "Chompy, let's go!"
In a flash of light, Chompy the Bellsprout materialized. It stared at its close to immobile opponent and chuckled.
"Geodude, Tackle attack!" Minerva ordered.
"Chompy, dodge it and use Growth!" Violet exclaimed.
Geodude dove down at Chompy, but moved so slowly that the Bellsprout was able to sidestep the move with ease. As Geodude attempted to extricate itself from the ground, Chompy's body took on a green aura and doubled in size.
"Now, Vine Whip!" commanded Violet.
"Sproooout!" exclaimed Chompy as it produced a pair of thick green vines from behind its leaves and slammed them into Geodude, who subsequently abandoned its attempt to get back into the air and ceased all movement.
"I see, now," Red nodded. "She had Flutters slow Geodude down to give Chompy more time to set up Growth."
"Cool," remarked Orange.
"Geodude, return!" said Minerva as she held Geodude's Poké Ball in one hand and threw her other one with the other hand. "Rhyhorn, you're up!"
Rhyhorn reappeared in a flash of light and glared at the oversized Bellsprout, who glared right back.
"Chompy, let's win this! Vine Whip attack!" Violet ordered.
"Rhyhorn, Bide now!" Minerva shouted.
As Rhyhorn took on a yellow glow, Chompy dashed forward and slammed its vines into Rhyhorn's body repeatedly. Though the move was clearly taking its toll, Rhyhorn was still standing, holding its ground defiantly. Then came the massive beam of yellow light. Chompy was plowed backwards by the force of the close-range attack, and as it came to rest half-buried at Violet's feet, it shrank back down to its regular size.
"No! Chompy, NO!" exclaimed Violet, though her frantic shouts did nothing to change the fact that her Bellsprout- her best hope against a Rock-type- was unconscious.
"Didn't think it'd be that easy," remarked Minerva, smirking as Violet withdrew Chompy. "I will say this, though, that Bellsprout really gave Rhyhorn here a good fight."
"It's up to you, now," sighed Violet, addressing the Poké Ball now in her right hand. "I know it's not the best matchup, but the battle's not over until it's over. Flutters, go!"
Violet heaved the Poké Ball, from which re-emerged the solid and nearly immobile form of Flutters the Metapod. Rhyhorn gave a derisive snort upon spotting its opponent.
"Rhyhorn, Horn Attack!" ordered Minerva.
"Flutters, Harden!" called Violet.
"Metapod," replied the Metapod as its body took on a green glow. Rhyhorn's lowered its head as it charged, and plowed into Flutters, sending it flying into the air and out of the arena. Violet scrambled backwards and caught Flutters in her arms.
"Flutters, if you don't want to do this anymore, it's OK," Violet said quietly. "It's my fault, I didn't even think that Chompy wouldn't have been able to take out Rhyhorn."
"Pod..." Flutters said quietly before its body took on a brilliant white glow.
"Wha-Flutters?!" Violet exclaimed, holding her now-blinding Bug-type out at arm's length. Through the bright light, Red could vaguely make out Flutters changing shape. The evolving Metapod rose into the air, and a moment later, the glow stopped. Flutters was no longer a Metapod. What hovered before them now had a purple body with two small blue hands, a pair of large red eyes, and a pair of large, white wings with thin black lines forming simple designs.
"Freeeh, freeeh!" exclaimed the newly evolved Butterfree as it rose higher in the air, flying around in circles.
"Woah!" exclaimed Orange, who no longer seemed frightened of Flutters. "A Butterfree!" Red, equally in awe, held his Pokédex out.
"Butterfree, the Butterfly Pokémon, and the evolved form of Metapod," droned the Pokédex. "A water-repellant dust coats its wings, allowing it to fly even in the rain. Butterfree are capable of using such techniques as Confusion and Sleep Powder."
"Consider me impressed," Minerva smiled. "First time I've ever seen a challenger's Pokémon evolve mid-battle. OK, Rhyhorn, use your Thunderbolt attack!"
"Flutters, Sleep Powder!" exclaimed Violet.
"Freeeh, freeeh!" Flutters exclaimed as it flapped its wings and flew directly above Rhyhorn, scattering a fine blue dust. Rhyhorn growled as its body crackled with electricity, but this quickly gave way to rumbling snores to rival Orange's as it slumped to the ground.
"Finish it! Confusion attack!" Violet commanded.
"Wake up, Rhyhorn!" Minerva was screaming, but no use; Flutters unleashed twin beams of blue light from its eyes, striking Rhyhorn hard. The Spikes Pokémon rolled over three times and came to rest at Minerva's feet- though the Confusion had jolted it awake, it had knocked it out almost immediately afterwards.
"Well done," sighed Minerva as she withdrew Rhyhorn and approached Violet. Once Minerva reached the challenger's side of the arena, she handed another Gravel Badge and TM34 to Violet.
"Thanks," Violet grinned as she accepted the items.
"You earned them," smiled Minerva. "OK, Red, your turn. Are you ready?"
"...I guess," sighed Red. In truth, he didn't feel ready at all, given that none of his Pokémon had any sort of move that could be effective on a Rock-type.
"You know, you don't have to do this now, Red," Violet said kindly. "We can help you train-"
"Thanks, Violet, but... I want to at least give it a shot," said Red, giving a brave attempt at a smile. "I'm not always going to be at an advantage, so I might as well get some practice trying to win in spite of a disadvantage."
"Wow," Violet said as Minerva crossed back over to her side of the battlefield. "Well, good luck, Red!"
"Thanks," Red smiled as he turned to face Minerva.
"Yeah, we're behind you all the way, Red!" added Orange. He then leaned over and muttered to Violet, "He's screwed, isn't he?"