Fire again. This should be a fairly easy to write. I've been working ahead on a lot of my stories. Hopefully I can get a lot of work done. In any event, this should move Fire along some and that's something this story desperately needs.
Red stepped through the door of the Cerulean City Pokémon Gym. It was nothing like the Pewter City Gym. There was a cool air in the building. Most of the walkable surfaces in the building were wooden docks. And to Red's dismay, the entire room was a pool. Fantastic, Charmeleon could potentially die if he fell in the water and his tail flame went out.
Still, Red pressed on. Both Blue and Green had passed this Gym, he would have to do the same. First, there was a trainer waiting to test potential challengers. The fit man wore a skullcap, swimming goggles, and a speedo. Where did he keep his Pokéballs when he needed to store them? It didn't matter, he had his ready.
"You can't just challenge Misty, our Gym leader," the swimmer said. "You have to beat me first!"
Red nodded and withdrew a Pokéball. The swimmer tossed his. A purple clam-like Pokémon with a little tongue sticking out of the shell appeared from the Pokéball. Red recognized the Pokémon as Shellder. He had seen one or two at Bill's. Red's Pokéball unleashed Pikachu.
"Shellder, use-!" the swimmer started before Red cut him off.
"Use Thundershock."
Pikachu's attack was almost too quick for the eye to see. Shellder was engulfed in electricity and thrown off the dock and into the pool a few inches below. It bobbed up to the surface, unconscious.
"Uhh… Well, I guess you win," the swimmer gawked. Red acknowledged him and continued on by. Blue and Green followed after Red. When the swimmer saw the company Red kept, he just sighed.
Up on a podium at the far end of the pool, a girl in her late teens stood. She had red hair tied into a single pigtail, blue eyes, and wore a blue exercise swimsuit. She had a commanding presence as Red and the others walked over to her.
"I suspected there would be another," she smiled. "I'm the leader of the Cerulean Gym, Misty. Every Trainer needs a policy when raising Pokémon. Mine is an all-out offensive with Water Pokémon! Let's see if you can hold out like your friends there!" Without any more delay, Misty picked up one of two Pokéball at her feet. "If you can beat my two Pokémon with two of yours, you can have the Cascade Badge. If not you might want to think about a new hobby." As she spoke, she tossed the ball and released the Pokémon inside. It was one of the more strange Pokémon Red had seen. It was some kind of star-shaped creature with brown limbs and a red crystal of some kind set in gold in the center.
Red checked his Pokédex. It was called Staryu, a Water-Type of course. Pikachu was already out, so Red nodded him forward. The two Pokémon squared off and waited for orders from their trainers. "Staryu, use Water Gun!"
"Use Quick Attack!"
Staryu's top point dropped down and aimed at Pikachu. It blasted a forceful stream of water from an unseen point. Pikachu disappeared with blinding speed, racing around the jet of water. It circled around its foe in an ark and struck it in the side, throwing it off balance. It lifted itself up, seeming to levitate and turned to face Pikachu again.
"So, you want to play it like that, huh?" Misty grinned. "Staryu, use Tackle!"
Red grinned in return as Staryu lunged at Pikachu. "Gotcha! Pikachu, Thundershock." Staryu couldn't do anything to arrest its momentum as it charged forward. On top of that, Pikachu's attack moved at blinding speed. Staryu was engulfed in lightning and fell hard on the docks.
"You beat Staryu…" Misty breathed in surprise. She recalled her Pokémon and regained her composure, her confident smile returning. "You're pretty good. But Staryu wasn't my best Pokémon. This one is!" She picked up and tossed another Pokéball on the podium. From the Pokéball appeared another star-shaped creature. This one was bigger however, and seemed to be made up of two stars, one behind the other. The Pokémon was mostly purple and the red crystal in the middle was larger and more ornate. "This is my best partner! Starmie!"
"My electric Pokémon still has an advantage," Red said confidently. "Pikachu, Thundershock!"
"Starmie, use Rapid Spin!"
Pikachu reared up to deliver his electric attack, but Starmie was much quicker. The two stars spun independently like contra rotating propellers. The Pokémon spun toward Pikachu, slamming into it and throwing it in the pool. Pikachu recovered quickly and jumped out of the water, but Misty and Starmie were ready. "Starmie, use Bubblebeam!" Starmie unleashed a solid wave of powerful foam at Pikachu. The wave hit Pikachu and threw it into a wall. He slid down the wall and stopped on a concrete walkway that ran around the edge of the pool. It was out cold.
"P-Pikachu…"
"That was a pretty smart combo you pulled on me and Staryu," Misty gloated. "But turnabout's fair play. Did you think you could just get through this Gym with nothing but a type advantage? Training is far more important than type!"
Come on Red, Blue thought sourly, You're better than this. You know not to get overconfident just because you have an advantage…
Red smiled as he recalled Pikachu. "I guess you're right. Training is more important. I guess I should show you my best partner." Red confidently tossed his second Pokéball, revealing Charmeleon. Now was not the time to hesitate.
Blue smiled at his choice, that's more like it!
"A Fire-Type?" Misty questioned. After the surprise wore off, she quickly decided she wasn't impressed. "You little smart alec. I'll make you pay for that one! Starmie, use Bubblebeam!"
"Use Smokescreen!"
As Starmie's blast of foam shot toward Charmeleon, he unleashed a wave of thick black smoke. He and Starmie's attack vanished into the cloud. "Oh, no you don't! Starmie, use Water Pulse!"
"Use Slash."
The disk of water that blasted from Starmie cleared the smoke in an instant, but Charmeleon wasn't there. Red glanced over to the wall where Pikachu had hit. Misty and her Starmie looked over just in time to see Charmeleon kicking off the wall and rocketing toward his foe. Charmeleon landed back on the docks, raking his claws across Starmie.
"There's no way a Charmeleon can be that fast!"
"Use Ember, than Mega Punch!" Starmie was stunned for a moment form the unexpected hit. Charmeleon spun and swiped it with his flaming tail. He spun again and punched Starmie right in its crystal core with a clawed fist. Starmie skidded across the dock, barely able to stay upright. "Mega Kick!" Charmeleon jumped forward, leg outstretched. Starmie barely had time to duck and stumbled from exhaustion from the heavy blows.
"Ack! Starmie, back up and use Recover!"
"Gotcha! Mega Kick again!"
Starmie jumped back toward the pool and started to glow as its powerful move restored its strength. Before it could get into the water, Charmeleon jumped after it, kicking it right in the face… Or where it's face would be. Starmie went flying, belly flopping into the water. Whether it was that or the kick that knocked it out didn't matter. The match was over.
"Wow!" Misty sighed, "You're too much! Alright! You can have the Cascade Badge to show you beat me." Misty humbly handed over the badge. "This will let you use the Pokémon move Cut to clear new paths. And also please accept this. It's my favorite TM, Water Pulse." Red thanked her and he and his friends left. That was two down. At this rate, he'd be the Champion in no time!
Oh, why did I have to say it? So yeah. Second Gym battle. Hopefully it's exciting enough. This actually turned out just as intended. This may be one of my better ones, so input on it is important to me. And please, please, PLEASE, don't spam me. Thank you.