He was here. Izaya stood at the entrance of the Pewter City Gym. This was going to be his first gym battle. He honestly didn't know if he was ready.
He closed his eyes, inhaling deeply, calming himself down. He exhaled, opening his eyes. He looked down at Argos.
"You ready, boy?" Izaya asked, smiling when Argos barked in approval, "Then let's do it."
Izaya stepped forward, opening the door to the gym. He stepped inside, looking around. There wasn't much, except for a large field in the middle where the battles took place and some large boulders.
"Took you long enough just to step inside," A sarcastic comment came from a tall spiky-haired boy who stood with his back against the wall across from Izaya. "The name's Brock. And I'm the leader of this gym."
"M- My name's Izaya," he said, "And I challenge you to a Pokemon Battle!" Argos gave a yelp of excitement.
"So be it," Brock sighed, stepping into place on his side of the field, "Go, Onix!" He threw a pokeball at the field, the Onix emerging from it. It gave a loud roar before focusing on the battle before him.
Izaya looked up in wonder. He didn't know if Argos could handle something this big. Almost as if knowing what Izaya was thinking, Argos charged forward growling at the large Onix.
"Onix, take him out!" Brock yelled. Onix lurched forward, roaring as he did so.
Argos quickly jumped out of the way, continuing to face Onix. Without warning, he opened his mouth, spewing out fire towards Onix.
Onix roared in pain, rearing up and hitting his head on the cieling.
"Good job, Argos! Keep it up!" Izaya cheered on his companion.
"Onix! Try again!" Onix lurched forward once more, hoping to connect with Argos.
Argos seemed to be grinning, giving out a low growl. Right before Onix came in contact, Argos jumped out of the way, causing Onix to slam headfirst into the cement wall.
Izaya watched in anticipation as Onix tried to get back up, but eventually fainted onto the ground.
"Yeah!" Izaya fist pumped the air, "We did It, boy!" Argos yelped in excitement.
"Not so fast," Brock said, withdrawing Onix from the battlefield, "I still have one more Pokemon."
Izaya stood, shocked. He forgot that Brock could have more than one Pokemon. He shook his head, grunting.
"Well, bring it on, then!" Izaya said, "We'll beat that one too!"
Brock smirked, "So full of yourself, huh?" He chuckled, retrieving another pokeball and throwing it at the field. "Go, Geodude!"
A small rock Pokemon made it's appearance, glaring at Argos.
"Get it, Argos!" Izaya yelled, "Attack!" Izaya was positive that Argos could handle a Geodude after taking down a Pokemon as big as Onix.
Argos growled and lunged forward towards Geodude. Geodude moved to the side, dodging the attack. The small rock Pokemon grabbed Argos by his neck with both arms and swung, flinging Argos into the wall.
"Argos!" Izaya took a step forward, but dared not interfere in the match, hoping Argos could still pull it off.
Argos whimpered, slowly standing back up, obviously still hurt. He growled lightly, still wanting to continue the fight. This time, Geodude made the first move, charging Argos and punching the Growlithe in the face.
Argos managed to chomp down on Geodude's arm, but it didn't effect the rock Pokemon. With it's free arm, Geodude began punching Argos in the head repeatedly. However, Argos refused to let go of Geodude, continuing to be pummeled by a barrage of fists.
"Stop!" Izaya yelled, running to Argos' side and grabbing the Geodude off of Argos, practically tossing it aside.
Argos lay on the ground, bloody and beaten, whimpering lightly.
"Geodude! Return!" Brock held up a pokeball and Geodude returned to it. The gym leader approached Izaya's side, resting a hand on his shoulder. "You did good, Kid. I hope to see you again one day. When you guys get stronger."
Izaya held Argos in his arms, fighting the urge to cry himself. All these thoughts were going through his head, like maybe he wasn't fit to be a trainer. Or maybe he should quit and just give Argos to someone able to provide for him. But most of all, he was worried whether or not Argos would be alright.
"W- Where's the Pokemon Center?" He asked, between sniffles.
"I'll show you the way," Brock said, "It's the least I can do."
Izaya stood up, attemping to pick Argos up as well, but to no avail. Argos was too heavy and Izaya was too scrawny to be of any use.
"You don't have a pokeball?" Brock asked.
"N- No," Izaya said, "I didn't catch him. He just kinda came to me."
"No worries," Brock said, reaching for his belt, pulling out a pokeball and handing it to Izaya.
Izaya took it and looked at it, not sure how to use it. He had never used one before.
"Just hold your hand out with the front end facing Argos," Brock said, "And then say 'Argos, return.'"
Izaya nodded his head and held the ball out towards Argos. "Argos. Return!" A red beam came out of the pokeball, engulfing Argos and then disappearing, taking Argos with it. Izaya looked at the pokeball that Argos now resided in, a small smile creeping to his face.
"Now let's go," Brock said, "We should get him to the pokemon center sooner than later."
-.-
Izaya sat in the waiting room, his head back against the wall and his eyes closed. He didn't know how long he had been there.
"Mr. Elkins?" A voice woke him up from his slumber. "Mr. Elkins, are you up?"
He looked towards the source of the voice to see a short redhead with a nurses uniform on.
"Here's your Pokemon, sir," she said, holding out a pokeball, "All is well again." She smiled, giving out a light giggle.
"T- Thanks," he said, taking the ball from the nurse and clipping it to his belt.
"Did you try to beat Brock?" The nurse asked, "If you don't mind me asking."
"Y- Yeah," Izaya said, "But we just need some more training."
"If you want a great place to train, Mt. Moon isn't too far from here," she said, "They have some pretty strong Pokemon, except they tend to have a Zubat problem year round. But that should be no problem for your Growlithe."
Izaya smiled, giving a light laugh.
"Although," she said, "There have been some reports of suspicious activity. Probably Team Rocket up to no good again. So just be careful. And, if you ever need to come back and let Argos get some rest, I'd be more than happy to help." She gave a playful wink towards Izaya before walking away
"You hear that, buddy?" Izaya said, talking to the Pokeball at his side, "We're going to Mt. Moon."