There is a voice off in the distance…

"Are you okay? You've just been standing there staring blankly for a few minutes."

"Huh? Where am I?"

"What? You don't know? You're in Prism Tower!"

"What?"

"Prism Tower, home of the Lumiose Gym. My big brother Clemont is the Gym Leader here."

The scene around me finally fades into view and the ringing in my ears stops. There are bright flashing lights everywhere. A young girl of about eight stands on a raised platform and in front of me are three elevators, each guarded by a Trainer. I am behind some sort of podium with an embedded screen.

"Bonnie, was it?" I ask.

"Yeah, that's my name. Are you ready to continue the challenge? Do you remember the question?"

"Yes, I-I'm fine and no, I don't. Could you repeat it, please?"

"Take a look at the silhouette on your screen. Which Pokémon is it? If you get the answer wrong, you'll have to fight extra Trainers."

A silhouette of a Pikachu appears on the small screen in front of me, along with prompts labeled with 1,2,3 and Emolga, Dedenne, Pikachu, respectively.

OK, get your bearings. My name is Riza. I am a new Pokémon Trainer. I chose a Chespin I named Alphonse to begin my journey. Lumiose Gym, from what I can remember, is an Electric type Gym. I've got a Quilladin, a Panpour, a Diggersby, a Pikachu, a Venusaur,and a Floette, I think to myself. This team should be good, given how much more experience that Alphonse, May and Hohenheim have compared to the rest of the team, and the fact that Grumman has a type advantage over pretty much everything in the Gym…OK, I remember the names of my Pokémon, that's good. Mmmm, May won't be much use here, she's frail despite her substantial power. Looking at the Diggersby named Grumman, he seems a little underpowered despite his advantages here. Perhaps a little extra training will do, after all, it worked wonders for May in Coumarine City.

I walk up to the first Trainer.

"So, Emolga's your answer, eh? Battle me and find out!"

He sends out a Raichu, I send out Grumman. Grumman fires off a couple of Mud Shots and it's over. The process repeats through the next two Trainers and all the way through the top floor, excepting a match against a Lanturn, where Winry came through with her Magical Leaf attack.

We make it all the way to Clemont the Gym Leader. I heal everyone up with Super Potions. No one seems to be too worn out, though Grumman is running low on power to use Mud Shot and his Flail attack hasn't proven very useful.

The battle with Clemont begins quickly. Grumman is my first Pokemon and an Emolga his. This is bad news. Grumman won't be able to fire off his Ground-type attacks against Emolga. The blasted Sky Squirrel's aerial maneuvering will see to that. Unable to use Mud Shot, Grumman instead blasts Emolga with a powerful Return attack, knocking away over half of its health. Unfortunately, Emolga's Static Ability activates, causing electricity to race through Grumman and causing him to become paralyzed. Emolga follows up with a clean hit from Aerial Ace, which does a good amount of damage to Grumman. Grumman manages to break through the paralysis and follow up with another Return, knocking Emolga out.

Clemont then sends out his Heliolisk, a frightening lizard-like Pokémon with blistering speed as its main trait. I heal Grumman with a Paralyze Heal. The Heliolisk uses Quick Attack. It's faster than Grumman can follow. The hit lands, taking off another sizable chunk of HP. I recall Grumman and send out Alphonse, the Quilladin. I heal Grumman while Alphonse successfully fends off a full strength Thunderbolt through sheer stamina. I recall Alphonse and swap back in Grumman just as Clemont calls for another Thunderbolt, allowing Grumman a moment safe from harm. Grumman wears Heliolisk down with a few Mud Shots. These lower its Speed enough for Grumman to get a good hit in and he finishes with a Return attack. This victory earns Grumman the move Dig, with which Flail is quickly replaced.

Magneton is Clemont's final Pokémon, and a powerful one. It could be a problem. Thankfully, Magneton starts with an Electric Terrain attack allowing Grumman to burrow. A successful Dig attack knocks Magneton out in one hit. We have done it. The fifth badge is moments away from being awarded to us.

"Yahoo! Badge number 5! I never thought I'd get this far, given what happened at the Battle Maison."

Wait. What just happened?

"Oh, looks like you're back, Reez. I was gettin' all worried for a bit there after you blanked out and weren't talkin' to me like normal."

Why is my Diggersby talking to me like it's nothing unusual?