"Mom, Grandma!" I shout with joy as the video screen finally connects
"Dustin! There we are, knew I would figure it out eventually" Grandma says proudly
"How are you sweetheart" Mom says leaning in closer
"I'm well, I've made it back to Viridian. I beat Blaine so I only need one more badge now"
"Oh our little Pokemon protege!" Grandma squeals holding her hands to her mouth
"I'm not sure about that, plus the Pokemon are doing all the work" I say shyly
"You are doing brilliantly sweetheart, we are both very proud" Mom coos out gently
"Thanks Mom, eh how are you feeling?" I question
She smile while Grandma slightly squirms leading me to know the prognosis isn't great.
"I'm fine sweetie don't worry, just a little reaction to some new medication" She says with a wide smile
My Mom had always tried her best to hide her illness from me, she never wanted me to worry about her condition or the fact that in general she would never get any better than she currently is, only worse
"Okay, but you'll let me know if anything happens"
"Of course" She says with affirming nod
"Now you go and get that last badge" She say pumping her fist to the screen
I slightly choke at the sign of strength
"I will, see you soon"
They both smile as the call clicks off, I take a deep breath before collecting myself. I grab the balls of my Pokemon from the nurse before setting off for the gym. I walk up the streets making my way there. There had been a lot of talk regarding the new gym leader and lots of rumours of who they were. Lots of talk of it being someone local however it had been confirmed by the PBC that it wasn't and not even someone from the Kanto region. I finally come up on the entrance the gym, a small camera emerges and begins to scan me, it beep and boops before confirming my 7 badges. The door clicks open and allows me inside. The gym is basic just a battlefield, I step in and walk up to the box
"Um hello? I'm here for a gym challenge?"
A spotlight opens up and shines down on the field revealing a familiar face in the opposite box
"So you are Dustin? Heard a lot about you"
"Ca Ca Callum?" I question as mu hero walks up to me
"Nice to meet you kid, Ryan and Joe have talked a lot about you" He says holding his hand out as he walks up
I take it quickly and shake it
"Are are you the gym leader?" I question
"Oh no, I'm here to review the new leader. I like to watch our new leaders first couple of gym challenges just to make sure they are up to it" He says with a laugh
"Okay well where are they?" I question
"Here!" comes a shout from behind
I peer around Callum and see a young man not much older than me. He has dark almost purple hair and piercing black eyes. He stares very sternly and I feel nervous shoot up me the instance I see him
"I'm Paul the new gym leader of Viridian City"
"Uh nice too meet you I'm Dustin" I shout back
"I know who you are! I've look up your profile, your second favourite to win the junior championship so lets see how good you are actually. The battle will b battle"
"N we have talked about this Paul" Callum interjects
"The only gym leader who can use four is Sabrina, has to b for now, once you've got some more experience we will move it up to 6 v 6"
"How do you expect these young trainer to be any good if you don't let them battle to full potential" He spits back
"Thats what the league is for, you know that, you've battled in a few"
He whips his head away and tuts
"Fine, the match will b with no time limit and only you may do substitutions, understood?"
I gulp and then nod
"Lets get too it then" He shouts moving to his box
"He's a little intense but means well, good luck!" Callum says before moving off to the side of the field
"The randomiser will decide who chooses their Pokemon first, this is what will be used at the championship so you better get used to it" Paul spits out as he turns to the screen
A wheel emerges with red and green, green being me and red being Paul. It spins around and lands on myself meaning I choose my Pokemon first and also get the first move in the battle
"Choose your Pokemon" He spits across causing me to jump
"Starmie I choose you!"
I throw out my ball and Starmie emerges with a sparkle spinning in preparation
"No! Next time think don't just throw, in the championship you get 15 seconds to choose, don't react to your opponent" Paul shouts as he throws his ball out
A formidable look Nidoking emerges down onto the field and roars out in an attempt at intimidation which causes me to shudder
"Starmie, Hydro Pump!"
Starmie rear it top leg and fires off a huge stream of water
"Protect"
Nidoking holds its arms out and summons a blue forcefield which the stream pummels but it holds firm
"Thats it?"
"What do you mean?" I shout back
"For someone who is supposed to be ranked second for the junior championship I expected more" He says turning his head away
"Thunderbolt!"
Nidoking glows up yellow and slams its first into the ground, the bolts of lighting tear up the ground as the bolt and ground speed toward Starmie
"Dodge it!"
Starmie dips and dives but is slammed by the attack
"Tell it where don't just say dodge!" Paul shouts out
I flinch as Starmie pulls itself up
"Recover Starmie!"
Starmie stands and its gem glow bright red as it recover some of its vitality
"Nidoking, Taunt!"
Nidoking makes a smug grin and then waves Starmie on, the gem fades before glowing a huge bright red as it spins around in anger
"No Starmie you still need to get your health back!"
"Nidoking, Earth Power"
Nidoking punches the ground and it tear up before slamming Starmie from below who is flung backwards
"Starmie, get up and use Psychic"
Starmie stirs and pulls itself up firing off a strong Psychic which grazes Nidoking as it speeds in
"Megahorn"
Nidoking slams it glowing horn into the centre of Starmie who is sent flying into the back wall
"Starmie" I shout as I run over to it
Its gem shines and blinks as it lie slumped against he wall
"Sorry Star that was my fault"
"Your right it was!" Paul shouts
"Sorry?" I question as I return Starmie and move back to my box
"That was your fault, you had the type advantage and speed advantage and used none of it to your favour. You just had Starmie stand there firing of attacks blow for blow. Use its speed!" He shouts out as Nidoking growls and gruff in the middle of the field
I take a deep breath and throw out my next Pokemon
"Poliwrath!"
Poliwrath touches down on the field and punches one of his fists
"Poliwrath, it has ranged moves and close combats so just keep on your toes" I shout out to it
"Better" Paul says under his breath
"Poliwrath, Waterfall"
"Nidoking, Earth Power"
Nidoking slams its fists into the ground again as Poliwrath is enveloped in water and burst forward. It dances it way past the oncoming ground attack and slams into Nidoking
"Now Ice Punch!"
Poliwrath as the water washes away pulls back its fist glowing bright blue and slams it into the face of Nidoking who immediately freezes in place
"Drain Punch!"
Poliwrath with its other fist then slams it midriff which shatters the glass and send Nidoking flying backwards who is led out on the floor unable to go on
"Great work Poli!"
Poliwrath flexes as it moves back towards me
"Not bad, but don't get ahead of yourself" Paul says before throwing out his next Pokemon
"Machamp!"
The hulking figure of Machamp touches down on the field flexing away toward Poliwrath who stares it down
"Poliwrath use Waterfall!"
Poliwrath again shrouds itself in water and burst towards Machamp, it hits it square in the stomach but it bears the hit
"Wrap it with your lower arms"
The both two arm grab a hold of Poliwrath and begin to squeeze it, Poliwrath wiggles to try and free itself but cannot
"Now what, you've managed to get yourself cornered how do you get out?" Paul says coldly as Machamp tightens its grip
"Poliwrath use Waterfall again!"
Poliwrath tries to summon it shroud of water but is unable to do so
"Nope, Poliwhirl water organ is trapped and can't summon it, tick tock"
I grit my teeth and look around the area to see if it can do anything
"Poliwhirl Hypnosis!"
Poliwhirl squirms and manages to look up using it eyes to hit Machamp with the sleep attack,
Machamp falls back sound asleep
"Return Poliwhirl!" I say returning it back to its ball
"Dodrio I choose you!"
The huge hulking bird emerges and squawks aggressively toward Paul and the sleeping Machamp
"You could have finished it with Poliwhirl, now you just going to tire your last Pokemon out"
"No we have an opening now! Dodrio Swords Dance!"
She squawks as it body surrounded by lots of orange sword as its attack raises while Machamp stays sound asleep on the ground
"Again Do!"
The same action occurs again as Machamp begins to stir slightly
"Now Drill Peck!"
Dodrio races in as Machamp finally comes around but is struck by the three twirling beaks of Dodrio sending it crashing to the ground unable to go on
"Great work Dodrio!" I shout as it rushes back to me
It squawks happily at me while I pet it and praise it more
"Good work!" Paul shouts
I'm taken slightly aback by the compliment as Dodrio rushes back to the field
"You turned a bad situation into an opportunity and took it well. Maybe you are half decent" He scowls returning Machamp and sending in his last Pokemon
"Golem!"
The round figure of Golem emerges
"Golem Rollout lets go"
"Dodrio, Double Team"
Golem rolls on the spot before darting around the arena while Dodrio summons multiple clones of itself and begins to dart around the arena
"Bounce as you go Golem, get rid of the clones"
Golem periodically bounces on the ground to hit the clones with quakes causing them to dissipate leaving just Dodrio
"There!"
"Dodrio run to the wall!"
Golem begins to chase down Dodrio who sprints full pelt towards the wall
"Use Jump Kick on the wall!"
Dodrio last minute jumps and springs off the wall behind Golem as the rock titan slams into the wall
"Jump Kick again!"
Dodrio lands before spiriting and jump as Golem gets it bearings, it slams both its feet into Golem before spring away leaving Golem in a heap
"Gotcha!"
Dodrio squawks triumphantly as I throw my fists up. I for the first time look to Callum sat in the stands who looks on with a wry smile writing in his notepad
"Did you forget abilities? Rookie mistake, Rock Blast!"
Golem perks up and roll in place before slamming Dodrio with 5 large rocks, Dodrio stumbles trying to catch itself before falling down unable to go on
"What!" I shout out confused
Dodrio attack should have been a one hit finish with how boosted its attack was, how did Golem get back up
"Golem ability is Sturdy, means it can survive even an attack that should have KO'd it, that's basic how do you not know that?" Paul spits out as Golem groggily gets to its feet
"Well fine, that mean Poliwrath only has to hit once!" I say throwing Poliwrath out
It lands and pants put pulls itself up straight and cries out
"You need to hit it first, Golem Rollout!"
Golem begins to speed around the field as Poliwrath stands in the middle darting its head around.
"We only have to hit it once more time" I says to myself
"Poliwrath, stay still and use Waterfall"
Poliwrath stands and becomes enveloped in water
"Now spin!"
Poliwrath spin causing streams of water to cover the field which Golem picks up as it rolls over the ground becoming wet
"That won't be strong enough" Paul says coldly shaking his head
"I know, that's not the plan! Ice Punch into the ground!"
Poliwrath disperses the water and slams both fists into the ground, the ice tears away and envelopes the battlefield including Golem who is frozen solid in place
"Now Drain Punch!"
Poliwrath darts in and slams its fist into Golem sending it flying, it rolls over to face upwards unable to go on
The screen turns over to announce myself as the victor, I run out and jump on Poliwrath
"You did it! You were amazing!" I shout as Poliwrath jumps up and down
"Nice work Golem, unlucky" Paul says as he returns the Rock type
"Congratulations both of you" Shouts Callum clapping as he comes down onto the field
"Expertly done Dustin, little shaky at the start but you recovered well, I see why Ryan thinks you will go far"
"Than Thank you sir!" I shout up as I feel myself shake looking up at my hero
"And Paul" He says as Paul wanders over
"A little harsh but I know what you are doing, you wanted to put Dustin in positions where he won't have been before, you did well and brought out the best in him" Callum says to Paul with a smile
"Thank you sir" He responds nodding
"Now I think you need to give Dustin something"
He looks to my and pulls something out of his pocket
"Congratulations, here is the Earth Badge. With this I confer you as having received all 8 badge of the junior Championship, I wish you luck in the tournament"
"Uh thank you and thank you for the battle. It was really helpful"
"You're still a rookie, you rely too much on getting into duking matches of one attack v another. You need to have more strategy, use your Pokemon natural abilities to your advantage more like you did with Dodrios speed"
"I will, thank you"
"Now if you'll excuse me, I have another challenge tomorrow and I need to do research" He says bowing to myself and Callum before disappearing out the back of the battlefield
"Interesting guy isn't he" Callum says turning too me
"A little angry" I say under my breath
"Anyway, my congratulations young man, you have done excellently to get this far"
"Um well thank you sir but it my Pokemon who have done all the work really"
"Don't doubt yourself, they wouldn't have grown the way they have without your input, show me your team"
"Oh yeah sure, I have a Blastoise too but he is at the lab" I say grabbing all my team and throwing their balls up
They burst out to join Poliwrath, Venusaur, Ninetales and Jolteon all jump around congratulating Dodrio, Starmie and Poliwrath on the victory
"My my, a strong looking bunch and you have a Blastoise too"
"Yes sir"
"I can see why Ryan was so impressed with you" He says walking up to my Venusaur
"Hello there" He says crouching down putting his hand on her head
She calls back happily
"Your starter yes?" He questions
"Uh yes sir"
"Good choice, I made the same one" He says with a laugh standing back up
I smile and nod
"Are you this rigid around Ryan?" He questions laughing
"Uh no, its just your uh yeah"
He smile widely
"I glad to know that I've inspired you Dustin, there is nothing better than seeing the younger generation work hard to catch up. I expect to see you in a few years for a real battle yeah?"
"Sure! But I won't lose!" I shout up with a sudden burst of confidence
"I'm pleased to hear, I will keep an eye out on your battles at the championship" He says with a nod before heading out of the gym, I take a deep breath before turning and congratulating my team, my phone goes off beeping a tune I pull it out and look
"Oh yeah, Louise final is in 10 minutes, lets get to the Pokemon Centre!"
AND THERE IT IS YOUR NEW JUNIOR TOP COORDINATOR OF THE KANTO REGION IS LOUISE
I stare in awe up at the screen as Louise jumps around surrounded by her Venomoth and Butterfree. She had successfully defeated her opponent and won the junior coordinator grand festival. It cuts to pictures of her family up in the stands, her sister I had met on Cinnabar alongside her what I assume Mother. They both jump up and down cheering ecstatically. I smile as the pictures move as my phone begins to buzz
"Dustin Ryan here! Heard about your gym battle congratulations!"
"Oh Ryan, uh thank you" I stammer out as I move off to the side of the centre away from the crowd around the TV
"Callum was very impressed, most of the kids who have taken on Paul so far have to challenge him at least twice, winning on the first try is a good achievement"
"Thanks" I say with a laugh
"Did you manage to watch Louise?" He questions
"Yes, I got to the centre just in time, she did amazingly. I've not seen such beautiful intrinsic moves before"
"She was excellent, now I don't want you feeling pressure though okay?"
I dawns on me what he means, Louise had won her tournament meaning that I had to do my best in the tournament to keep up with her
"Dustin?"
"Uh yeah sorry"
"Don't start thinking about how well Louise is doing, you focus on yourself okay? You'll do fine in the tournament, my suggestion as you've got five weeks till it kicks off, head home for two weeks, spend some time with your Mom and Grandma"
"Really? Shouldn't I be training?"
"Dustin you've been away from home now for 4 months, it would be good to spend some quality time with them, plus you can do day to day training at home."
I think about it and it had been a while. The home comforts hadn't really been at the forefront of my mind but now the thought of my soft bed and fresh clothes really did sound enticing
"You're right, I'll call them in the morning and head back. Thank you Ryan"
"No problem at all, let me know if you need any tips for the tournament, I'll be sure to meet up with you before the kick off. Oh and before I go, you should have just got a message to your trainer account"
I pull my phone down and click the notification
"Oh tickets for your exhibition, but this is before the junior tournament"
"Yep! Its been brought forward, Lucian has decided to challenge Cynthia for the champion title so she has asked to bring the match forward in preparation. Its a week before the tournament begins, there three tickets, if your Mom and Grandma can make it they are more than welcome to come along!"
"Are you sure?"
"Of course! Only Daisy is coming as my other family are busy so it will be good to have some more support! Louise and her sister will be coming too"
"Oh well thank you so much Ryan!"
"Don't sweat it, you've more than earned it, now go and get some rest and a big meal for the team okay?"
"You bet!"
Venusaur (Lv49) Female
Attacks
Sludge Bomb
Leaf Storm
Solar Beam
Giga Drain
Ninetails (Lv49) Female
Attacks
Flamethrower
Quick Attack
Solar Beam
Extrasensory
Poliwrath (Lv49) Male
Attacks
Ice Punch
Earthquake
Waterfall
Drain Punch
Starmie (Lv49) Genderless
Flash Cannon
Psychic
Hydro Pump
Dazzling Gleam
Blastoise (Lv49) Male
Hydro Pump
Ice Beam
Dark Pulse
Aura Sphere
Jolteon (Lv49) Male
Hyper Voice
Shadow Ball
Thunderbolt
Quick Attack
Dodrio (Lv49) Female
Double Team
Jump Kick
Drill Peck
Swords Dance