Orebaugh City, the fabled City of Energy here in the Sinnoh Region. It was a moniker that they truly lived up to via the various mining caves that were located around the city as the miners and there Pokemon scattered around trying to find various energy sources to power the city.
But that wasn't Cynthia, Dahlia and Aaron's concern right now.
The three of them had checked into the local Pokemon center. Cynthia was getting in some last minute training with her Pokemon, Dahlia had gotten a surprise call from her father and Aaron went to get a snack.
All of them warm up activities before challenging the gym.
Cynthia was soon staring at Gible, Budew and Shellos. Her three Pokemon looked excited as they were about to participate in their first gym battle.
"Well guys, you ready? Today is the day we get the Coal Badge from the Orebaugh Gym!" Cynthia said to them.
Her three Pokemon soon let out a triumphant cry as she recalled them all and soon went to the front of the center where Aaron was.
"Hey you ready?" Aaron asked his blonde-haired friend.
"Yeah, just waiting for Dahlia and we shall be good."
As if on cue, Dahlia appeared on cue holding a third Pokeball with her and her usual infectious smile as she joined her friend.
"Sorry about that guys, my dad sent over one of my Pokemon that I accidentally left home when I went out on my journey." Dahlia said.
Cynthia and Aaron were tempted to ask what Pokemon it was but decided to leave it alone as they went to the gym.
As they walked to the gym, Cynthia's excitement grew and grew until she couldn't hold it in anymore and broke out into a sprint and approached intent on entering…
…only for her to run into someone wearing a hard hat, giving her skull extraordinary pain.
"Hey watch it! Don't you ever look where you are going?" The boy exclaimed as he got up.
Cynthia got a good look at him, he appeared to be around her age all be it slightly younger. He was wearing a mining outfit that the various miners in the city were wearing albeit sized for a teenager, he had glasses on his face and finally an orange hard-hat as if he was about to join the miners in the caves.
It was a unique getup to say the least.
"Sorry, sorry… I guess I got caught up in my excitement." Cynthia said as Dahlia and Aaron soon caught up to her.
The boy soon looked apologetic as he helped Cynthia up.
"I am sorry too, I guess I need to listen to my own advice. I suppose you three are here to challenge my dad right?" The boy asked.
That caught the three of them off-guard as they soon heard a booming voice from inside the gym.
"Roark! What is going on? Are there new challengers here?" The voice said as the man soon came out.
He looked to be an even older version of the boy that Cynthia ran into as he had a much more well-defined body and muscles. His demeanor looked to be serious as if he took everything in his life quite seriously and he soon looked like he was waiting for an answer from his son.
"Um yes sir, we have come here to challenge you." Cynthia said in the best confident voice she could muster.
The man soon looked at the three of them, before suddenly giving off a jolly laugh.
"Well I see! My name is Byron van der Aart and I am the gym leader of the Orebaugh Gym! This little squirt here is my son Roark." Byron said before placing a shoulder on his son.
Cynthia, Dahlia and Aaron didn't know what to say as Byron continued.
"Now then, there are three of you so I am wondering who wants to challenge me first?" He asked.
And before Cynthia and Aaron could say anything, Dahlia stepped up.
"I'll be the first one sir." Dahlia said.
Byron acknowledged this challenge and soon invited them all in as he soon closed the gym doors behind him.
Sometime later, Cynthia, Aaron and Roark were all in the stands as Dahlia stood opposite from Byron. Soon the referee appeared and began his announcement.
"This Orebaugh City Gym Battle between the challenger Dahila Stars and the Gym Leader Byron van der Aart will now get under way. Each side will use three Pokemon and the battle will be over when all sides Pokemon are unable to battle. Furthermore, only the challenger may substitute Pokemon! And begin!" The referee said.
Byron soon flexed his muscles as he brought out a Pokeball.
"Your about to see the power of Rock-types up close and personal! Now Aron, let's go!" Byron said as he sent out Aron.
Aron came out looking ready to battle as Cynthia brought out her Pokedex.
"Aron, the Iron Armour Pokemon. A Steel and Rock-type, it eats iron ore and sometimes railroad tracks to build up the steel armor that protects its body."
Dahlia soon saw Byron's first choice and soon settled on her own.
"Alright Lotad, I choose you!" Dahlia said in excitement.
Lotad soon came out as the battle began.
"Alright Lotad first use Water Gun!" Dahlia said.
Lotad soon fired a stream of water at Aron that made direct contact with the small Pokemon but it seemed like it didn't do very much damage.
"Nice try, but to take care of my Aron you will need to do better than that. Now use Tackle!" Byron said.
Aron soon ran like the wind and slammed into Lotad, dealing effective damage.
"Lotad shake it off and use Bubble Beam!" Dahlia ordered.
Lotad soon got back up and hit Aron with a super effective Bubble Beam that seemed to do a lot of damage to the tiny Pokemon.
"Now follow up with Absorb!" Dahlia said.
Soon Lotad's body grew red as some energy from Aron soon went into Lotad making the Steel/Rock type extremely tired.
"Now finish up with Water Gun!" Dahlia said.
Soon a final Water Gun knocked out Aron making Lotad the winner.
"Aron is unable to battle! Lotad is the winner!"
Dahlia celebrated her victory as Byron recalled Aron thanking him for a great battle.
"I got to admit, you are pretty good but let's see how you far against my next two Pokemon. Now let's go Onix!" Byron said.
Soon his Onix came out and roared making everyone in the gym scared of it. Cynthia once again scanned the Pokemon with her Pokedex.
"Onix, the Rock Snake Pokemon. A Rock and Ground-type, as it digs through the ground, it absorbs many hard objects. This is what makes its body so solid."
Dahlia soon told her Lotad to stay sharp as Byron soon commanded his Onix to use Rock Throw.
Soon rocks appeared from portals and surrounded Lotad making him unable to escape.
"Oh no Lotad!" Dahlia said in concern.
Byron soon commanded Onix to use Tackle as the Rock Snake soon slithered and slammed into Lotad. The sheer size of Onix's body caused the damage that it sent Lotad flying to the gym wall and made it unable to battle.
"Lotad is unable to battle! Onix is the winner!" The referee said.
Dahlia soon went up to Lotad and saw if he was ok. Once he was, she thanked him for a great battle and recalled him.
"Man that Onix is tough I wonder which Pokemon Dahlia is going to choose next." Aaron said.
Dahlia soon smirked as she brought out her next Pokemon.
"Now Torchic, I choose you!" Dahlia said sending out her Torchic.
Soon the little fire chicken came out and smiled ready to do battle. Cynthia once again brought out her Pokedex.
"Torchic, the Chick Pokemon. A Fire-type, a fire burns inside it, so it feels very warm to hug. It launches fireballs of 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit."
"So I guess that was the Pokemon she got from her dad. I wonder how she is going to use it." Cynthia wondered.
Dahlia soon smirked as soon ordered Torchic to use Quick Attack. The little fire chick soon moved at quick speeds to struck Onix leaving the snake in pain.
"Now use Ember!" Dahlia commanded.
Torchic nodded as she spat out little flames at hit Onix's body. The two attacks were too much for Onix to handle and soon it fell down, knocked out.
"Onix is unable to battle! Torchic is the winner!" The referee said.
Dahlia's friends and Roark cheered her second victory as Byron recalled Onix and once again thanked him for his efforts.
"Young lady it has been a long time since anyone has pushed me this hard and I have to say I am having fun! Now Shieldon, let's go!" Byron said sending out his last Pokemon.
Soon Shieldon materialized onto the field looking ready for battle. And once again, Cynthia pulled out her Pokedex to scan it.
"Shieldon, the Shield Pokemon. A Rock and Steel-type, a Pokémon that lived in jungles around 100 million years ago. Its facial hide is extremely hard."
"Shieldon is my dad's toughest Pokemon, so Dahlia is going to have her hands full here." Roark said solemnly.
Dahlia soon ordered Torchic to use a Quick Attack to get some quick damage off but Byron ordered Shieldon to use Metal Sound which disrupted Torchic's attack.
"Now use Rock Tomb!" Byron said.
Shieldon nodded as he soon levitated several rocks towards Torchic with it being hit by every single one of them for super effective damage.
"Now finish it off with Flash Cannon!" Byron said.
Soon Shieldon charged up a beam of white energy before striking Torchic with it. Soon Torchic was knocked out.
"Torchic is unable to battle! Shieldon is the winner!" The referee said.
Dahlia soon recalled Torchic and thanked her for her work before sending out her last Pokemon.
"Now Meditite I choose you!" Dahlia said.
Meditite soon came out looking ready to throw down. Dahlia soon ordered to use Force Palm as Meditite soon ran forward and struck Shieldon with the super-effective Fighting-type move.
"Shieldon use Flash Cannon!"
"Meditie redirect it with Confusion!"
Shieldon soon launched Flash Cannon but soon had it redirected by Confusion and getting struck by his own move.
"Now finish with Force Palm!" Dahlia said.
Soon Meditite went up and used a final Force Palm knocking out Shieldon.
"Shieldon is unable to battle! Meditite is the winner and that means the winner of this battle is the challenger Dahlia!" The referee said.
Dahlia was ecstatic as she went up to hug her Meditite as they celebrated her victory alongside her friends.
"Alright, now it is my turn." Cynthia said as she determined as she saw Byron award Dahlia the Coal Badge.
Soon an hour after Dahlia's battle, it was time for Cynthia's as she stood across the battlefield from Byron.
"This Orebaugh City Gym Battle between the challenger Cynthia Shirona and the Gym Leader Byron van der Aart will now get underway. Each side will use three Pokemon and the battle will be over when all sides Pokemon are unable to battle. Furthermore, only the challenger may substitute Pokemon! And begin!" The referee said.
Cynthia knew which Pokemon she was choosing first as she sent her out.
"Now Shellos, battle dance!" Cynthia said
Soon her Shellos came out, eager to show what she could do.
"An interesting choice, now let's see how it fares against my Aron!" Byron said to send him out.
Just like the last battle, Byron sent out Aron for the first battle as Cynthia was awarded the first move.
"Alright Shellos use Water Gun!" Cynthia said to her Pokemon.
Shellos soon let out a stream of water that hit Aron head on for super effective damage.
"Alright Aron now use Metal Claw!" Byron said.
Aron soon managed to power through the water and soon struck Shellos with a hardened claw surprising Cynthia.
"Young lady, don't assume that just because you saw your friend defeat me that you know all of my tricks." Byron said to her.
"Well in that case, Shellos use Mud Bomb!" Cynthia said to her Pokemon.
Shellos managed to recover from the attack and soon hit Aron with a super effective Mud Bomb that surprised both Aron and Byron.
"All right now use Water Gun!" Cynthia said hoping to finish it off here.
Shellos let out another stream of water when Aron was distracted and soon it got shoved all the way to the wall of the gym, knocking it out.
"Aron is unable to battle! Shellos is the winner!" The referee said.
Shellos soon let out a happy cry as Byron recalled Aron and once again thanked him for his efforts.
"That Shellos of yours is quite strong, but let's see how it fares against my Onix!" Byron said sending out Onix.
Onix once again came out and soon stared down Shellos, making the sea slug a bit intimidated but seeing Cynthia's comforting face, she soon got the courage to face Onix.
"Now Shellos use Water Gun!"
"Counter Onix with Rock Throw!"
Both attacks collided with each other making a huge cloud of smoke, but through it Byron called to Onix to use Bind but Cynthia called for Shellos to dodge.
Onix went for the Bind but Shellos managed to dodge at the last second.
"Now Shellos use Water Gun!"
Shellos soon fired at stream of water at Onix making him lose control and fall down, knocked out.
"Onix is unable to battle! Shellos is the winner." The referee said.
"Oh wow, Cynthia is doing even better than me. She might just defeat Byron with just Shellos!" Dahlia said in excitement.
However, Roark knew his dad better and simply sat in silence.
"Alright young lady you got some talent but your winning streak ends here. Now go Shieldon!" Byron said as he sent out his Shieldon.
Shieldon came out once again looking ready to battle once again.
"Alright Shellos, use Mud Bomb once again!"
Shellos soon fired Mud Bombs from her mouth, but Byron soon ordered Shieldon to dodge and then use Ancient Power. Soon several glowing orbs flew directly towards Shellos and peppered her body with attacks as she flew down knocked out.
"Shellos is unable to battle! Shieldon is the winner!" The referee said.
Cynthia soon recalled Shellos and thanked her for her hard work before sending out her next Pokemon.
"Alright Budew, battle dance!" Cynthia said as she sent out Budew.
Budew soon came out as Cynthia commanded her to use Stun Spore to paralyze Shieldon.
But Shieldon was faster as Byron commanded him to use Metal Sound to disrupt Budew's attack.
"Now use Ancient Power!" Byron commanded his Pokemon.
Shieldon soon used Ancient Power as the attack struck Budew all over leaving her immensely damaged. However Budew could get in another attack, Byron had Shieldon use Tackle to knock out Budew before Cynthia could notice.
"Budew is unable to battle! Shieldon is the winner!" The referee said.
Cynthia was now getting frustrated as two of her Pokemon had been knocked out. She was getting desperate as she sent out her last Pokemon.
"Now Gible, battle dance!" Cynthia said sending out Gible.
Gible soon came out ready to do some damage as Cynthia soon had Gible use Dragon Breath on Shieldon hoping for a quick knockout.
Gible soon launched the Dragon-type attack, but Byron saw this coming from a mile away and soon had Shieldon use Metal Sound to stop the attack.
Soon both of them had their Pokemon use Tackle as they both did equal damage as they slammed into each other.
Soon Cynthia took a risk and went for a Sand Tomb, as she hoped the attack would finish off Shieldon for good.
But once again Byron saw this coming and had Shieldon dodge before using Flash Cannon… to knock out Gible.
"Gible is unable to battle! Shieldon is the winner which means the victor is the gym leader Byron!" The referee said.
Cynthia was in disbelief, she had lost. She soon stumbled forward where Gible was and soon hugged her.
"Oh Gibs, I am so sorry…" Cynthia said as she was lost in her despair not even noticing her friends coming to comfort her as she wondered if she truly even become champion if she couldn't even beat the first gym leader.