The time has come to test Blake's resolve. The first trial on his journey of becoming a Pokemon Master, defeating his first gym leader. He stands at the entrance to Pewter City Gym. A little nervous with his heart pounding within his chest, he takes a deep breath and walks in. Coming through the door, he's immediately met with a friendly face. An old man with grey hair and a handlebar mustache, wearing a nice dress shirt, and smart trousers with suspenders. They take one look at Blake and smile.
"Yo! I think I can tell why you're here." He looks him over as the old man gets closer. "Yes, I can see it. Even with those grass strains on your trousers, I can tell you're going to get far."
Blake immediately feels at ease. "Thanks. Sorry about the stains, I spent the morning gardening. Who are you, by the way? A trainer?"
"Hehe, oh no my boy. I'm no trainer. I'm the Gym Guide. It's our job to assist the Gym leaders, as well as welcome coming trainers to the Gym. I'd say you're our...third...this week, twice today. But I can clearly see it in your eyes. A champion in the making, that's what you are." The Gym Guide gestures to the doors behind him. "Just this way, if you please."
The old man takes Blake through the doors. They enter a room with a pretty decently sized arena, one made up of rock and stone, much like a quarry. This is all in keeping with the aesthetic of the Gym. On the other side of the arena was Brock. The Pewter City Gym leader. A tall, stoic figure with narrow eyes like a gunslinger. Brock steps down from the far end of the room to approach Blake. His intense aura is washed away when he cracks a smile.
"Welcome. I take it you're here for a battle?" Brock extends his hand to shake, "My name is Brock. I'm the leader of this Gym." Blake accepts their hand before introducing themself. "Let me guess. I'm your first Gym leader?"
Blake's eyes widen, "How did you know?"
Brock just laughs it off, "When you've been in the game for as long as me, you pick up a few things. Now then, how many are on your team at the moment?" Blake pulls out the two Pokeballs off his belt, "Two? Not a problem. How this works is, we'd have a standard 1 on 1 Pokemon battle, with both of us using two Pokemon each to make it even. The last one standing with a Pokemon left wins."
After Brock explains how the battles work, both trainers take a stance on either side of the arena. Brock opens up a drawer in the back and selects his two team members. He pockets them on his belt before coming to his end of the stage. The Gym Guide takes a stand between them. "Trainer Blake Lupine has challenged Gym Leader Brock to battle for the right of the Boulder Badge. You may now begin!"
When the arms come down, both trainers grab a ball from their belt and toss it, calling for their first Pokemon. Blake chooses to start the fight with Shinx. They appear with static in their fur while letting out a cute roar. Brock in turn calls out his Geodude, a sentient rock with arms.
[Geodude, the Rock Pokémon. Rock and Ground type. Geodude has incredibly high defensive power, making it virtually resistant to any physical attacks.]
The battle has begun between the two trainers. With Blake's Shinx staring down the expressionless Geodude. Brock takes a backseat. Despite getting the all-clear, he doesn't call an attack just yet.
"Shinx, start this off with a Tackle!" Shinx sprints toward Geodude. A stream of white light follows her as she picks up speed before crashing into Geodude. Brock's Pokemon just takes the hit. On instinct, he crosses their arms to block the attack. Shinx pushes them back, but only by half an inch.
Brock smirks, unphased by the attack. Geodude throws Shinx back when they open their arms. Shinx lands on their feet, only a little roughed up by the block.
Blake is taken aback by how ineffective the attack was, "Damn it! I forgot rock types are sturdy." He remembers Shinx's display the night before and gets an idea. "Shinx, use Leer!" Shinx uses their attack to lower Geodude's defense. "That's good, now Charge!" Static starts to course through Shinx's fur. The more she charges up, the more her fur stands up on end.
Brock stands there with crossed arms, amused, yet doesn't do anything to stop it. Blake is too distracted by Shinx to focus on the lack of reaction. "Now, hit them with a Thunder Shock!" Shinx fires a singular beam of concentrated yellow lightning toward Geodude. However, something feels wrong when Blake notices the smirk on Geodude's face.
Geodude takes the hit directly, and it is unphased by lightning, completely unharmed.
"What? But how?"
Brock finally speaks up, "Sorry, but I'm afraid your elec moves don't work on a ground type like Geodude."
"Ground-type? Wait, you mean Geodude is a dual-typed Pokemon." Blake goes into deep thought, having misread the situation, "Most Pokemon become dual-typed after evolving. But Brock has one in their primary form."
"And now, it's my turn. Geodude, use Rollout!" Brock finally calls an attack against Blake. Geodude curls up into a ball and throws himself toward Shinx. She tries to dodge it, jumping off the ground to avoid the attack. "Geodude, jump now!" Following Brock's order, Geodude leaps at just the right time to strike Shinx.
Shinx is sent flying back to Blake's side of the arena. She lands hard on the stone floor. She struggles to get back on her feet, but falls down, fainting.
"Shinx is unable to battle. The first round goes to Gym leader Brock." The Gym guide calls the first round, Blake is now down to just one party member.
Blake recalls Shinx back into her Pokeball, "I'm sorry Shinx, I wasn't prepared." He pockets her ball before taking Riolu's. "Alright, Rio. It's just you and me now. I don't want to push you, but we'll need to fight twice as hard now. For Shinx." Blake can hear a subtle voice calling out to him inside his head. "Right! Riolu, give him what we got!"
Blake calls upon Riolu as his last chance. The fighting pup is fired up already. They take up a fighting stance, swinging their arms toward Geodude as if to shadow box.
"A Riolu? I wasn't expecting to see a new trainer with such a Pokemon," Brock is intrigued by Blake's Riolu. "Let's see what you've got."
The Gym Guide calls out, "Round 2, begin!"
Blake goes straight in, "Rio, use Quick Attack!" Riolu looks back at Blake. With a brief nod, Riolu takes off a breakneck speed. Almost disappearing from sight, they turn into a blue blur. Brock and Geodude both struggle to catch sight of them as they bounce around the arena. Pillars and boulders that make up the arena explode upon Riolu using them to launch themself off of.
Riolu appears behind Geodude and kicks them in the back. Caught off guard by the attack, Geodude is knocked forward, falling to the floor. Riolu stops sprinting around to stand behind the downed Pokemon. He taunts them, giving them the 'come at me' gesture. Geodude gets back up, clearly aggravated by Riolu's attack.
"Not bad. But can you keep that up? Geodude, Tackle!" Geodude imitates the take used by Shinx. They charge at Riolu, and a white light pushes them forward.
"Rio, use Quick Attack to dodge it!" Blake is quick to their defense. Riolu uses the same attack to disappear from their sight, letting the Geodude smack into a pillar. Looking back, Geodude can only barely see Riolu's blur as they bounce around. He's slowing down.
Brock sees this too, "Rock throw! Aim for the blur!" Geodude tears off the pillar apart, turning it into a piece of rubble. He tosses the large piece of rock at Riolu as they come back around for another attack.
"Smash the rock, Rio!" Riolu turns in the air, and attacks the rock as it's thrown, smashing it with their foot. The fragments fly every as Riolu is filled with satisfaction.
This was all according to Brock's plan. "Now I've got you. Roll Out!" Geodude curls up and tosses themself into Riolu. The distance isn't as great as before, so they don't pick up a lot of speed.
"Endure!" Riolu is quick to block the attack while in midair. They endure the attack. In response, they knock them back up, flinging Geodude up into the air. Unable to do anything, Geodude just hovers above the arena. Riolu leaps up, meeting them as the momentum carries them up. The same voice from before is heard in Blake's head. It's Riolu. He's trying to tell him something. Realizing what it means, Blake calls out, "Use Metal Claw!"
The metal on the back of Riolu's paws glows, using into claws of metal. Winding their arm, they slash Geodude with all their energy. On connection, Riolu slams Geodude back down to the arena. They crash into the ground, creating a mini crater. Geodude was taken out completely.
"Geodude is unable to battle, round 2 goes to Blake."
Brock recalls Geodude. He's impressed by the teamwork of Blake and Riolu.
"Not bad. I didn't expect you to be able to counter me just so fast. But, I'm not out just yet. I've still got one more left," Brock takes his last Pokeball. "Show us how it's done, Onix!" Brock calls to his side the large snake monster made of rocks. "This will be your last test. Be ready for it."
[Onix, the rock snake Pokémon. Rock and Ground type. As it grows, the stone portions of its body harden to become similar to a diamond, but colored black.]
"Round 3, Onix Vs Riolu. Begin!"
"Riolu, Quick Attack, go!" Blake starts the round like last time. Riolu nods and goes in for their attack, however this time he's completely visible.
Able to follow their movements, Onix is quick to smack Riolu away with just a swipe of their tail. Riolu comes crashing back down to the arena.
"Riolu! What happened?"
"I see. Riolu has a lot of energy, but yours appears to be a pup. No stamina left, and got all tired out."
Riolu gets back up, although their arms struggle as they push themself back on their feet. Riolu pants, the surprise attack doing more damage than anticipated.
"Now, Onix. Use Smack Down on Riolu!" Onix opens their mouth. Their insides glow orange. They fire an orange orb of energy from their mouth, aiming straight for Riolu.
Blake tries to think on their feet. Riolu is too tired to be able to dodge it. "Rio, combine Endure with Metal Claws." Riolu creates their metal claws again and uses them to defend against the attack. On impact, they take the attack and push back against it. With what little strength they have left, Riolu fires the attack back at Onix.
A dust cloud is formed, but the damage done to Onix was minimal at best. Riolu still holds an expression of pride on their face. A light blue wind starts to form around Riolu. However, it disappears as Riolu drops to their knees, and passes out on the ground. Blake's heart skips a beat, "Rio!"
"Riolu is unable to continue fighting. Round 3 goes to Brock, and thus wins the battle."
Blake leaps down from the stage to Riolu's side. He cradles his Pokemon in his arms to check on them. Despite being worn out from the battle, he's overwise okay. He strokes their head gently before recalling them to their ball.
Brock comes over to Blake. "Not bad. For a first battle against a gym leader, you showed some promise. Although, you did need a little reminding on type weaknesses," he throws a little shade but does so in jest. "You're free to come back anytime to challenge me again. Although, you can only do so once a day, just to be fair to others."
Blake rises to his feet to meet Brock's gaze.
"So, will I be seeing you again, tomorrow?"
Blake clenches his fist before giving him a respectful nod. "Count on it. Today I lost to you. But after we've licked our wounds, and done some training to prepare, we'll be back tomorrow. We'll be earning that badge and your respect." The loss, while being disheartened, has lit the flames of Blake's revolve. Does he have what it takes to defeat Brock's team of indomitable rocks?