Hello my readers, and welcome to my latest fanfic "A Toxic Journey"! First off, I'd like to give a shout out to Revolutionary Regicide who helped me make most of this chapter and Karsap who helped me make changes to the chapter and perfected it. I'd also like to announce that this chapter will introduce a pokemon that Regicide and I came up with together and I hope you like it. Anyway, on with the first chapter of A Toxic Journey!
Chapter One: Birth of a Gym Leader
"Magnemite, use Thunderbolt!" A woman with long blond hair and blue eyes wearing a yellow shirt under a steel grey jacket, blue jeans, and a pair of white shoes ordered.
"Magnemite!" A steel ball with a single eye with magnets on its sides and three screws one on top of it and two on the bottom looking like feet sparked with electricity before firing three bolts.
"Gengar, intercept with Shadow Ball!" An elderly man wearing a green kimono and bamboo sandals, countered. Standing in front of the elderly man was a dark purple, bipedal pokemon with a roundish body, red eyes, a wide mouth that is curled into a sinister grin, Multiple spikes covered its back, and has large pointed ears. Its arms and legs are short with three digits on both hands and feet, and has a stubby tail.
"Gengar!" Gengar held its arms out and formed a ball of black energy between its hands before throwing it at the Discharge causing the two attacks to push at each other before exploding.
"Not bad, old man." The blond commented grinning as Magnemite floated in front of her.
"The same goes for you young lady." The old man said as Gengar stood in front of him. "You have raised your Magnemite well."
"Go grandpa!" A young voice shouted from the spectators seats. The voice belonged to a slender young boy with short messy brown hair and eyes wearing a green short sleeve shirt under a purple vest with the zipper halfway done, brown shorts with baggy pockets on the sides and back, and purple sneakers with green soles. "Show her why poison types are the best!"
"Eievui!" Standing beside the boy was a mammalian, quadruped Pokémon with primarily brown fur. The tip of its wagging bushy tail and its large furry collar are cream-colored. It has short, slender legs with three small toes on each foot. It has brown eyes, long pointed ears with dark brown interiors, and a small black nose.
The old man gave a hearty laugh at his grandson's enthusiasm and turned to him. "Ryan, a gym leaders job isn't about showing what type is the best, it's about testing our challengers if they're worthy of earning our badges." He then turned his attention back to the battle he was currently in, Gengar standing at the ready for orders. "Back to the battle, Gengar, Shadow Ball!"
"Gengar!" Gengar formed another Shadow Ball between its hands and threw it towards Magnemite.
"Quick, use Double Team!" The blond hastily ordered and Magnemite started making copies of itself and a Shadow Ball went through one of the fakes. "Now use Thunder Wave!" The copies and original surrounded Gengar before sending out rings of electricity and since Gengar didn't know which one was the real one it got struck by them getting covered in sparks of electricity paralyzed.
"Gengar!" Ryan's grandfather called out in concern as Gengar struggled to move.
"Now's our chance, use Thunderbolt!" The blond ordered and Magnemite sent out bolts of lightning straight towards Gengar.
"Quickly, use Night Shade!" The old gym leader countered but before Gengar could form the attack, Gengar cringed at the electric sparks covering its body stopping it and the Discharge struck causing Gengar to let out a cry of pain. "Gengar!"
"You can do it, Gengar!" Ryan cheered as he started to worry that his grandfather was gonna lose. "Don't give up!"
"Vui Eievui!" The pokemon beside the young boy cheered, hopping up and down as the battle progressed.
"Gengar, are you alright?" The old gym leader asked in concern and when Gengar gave him a confident grin he nodded. "Alright, use Night Shade!"
Gengar's eyes began to glow a dark crimson and fired a beam outlined red at Magnemite at an incredible speed striking it and sending it crashing into the wall behind the blond.
"Magnemite!" The blond turned to the wall and called in concern to see Magnemite made a dent in the was covered in scratches but still floated out and went back to the battlefield that had rock spread through it and trees surrounding the battlefield to resemble a forest. "Can you still battle?"
Magnemite started glowing brightly and reforming surprising everyone in the room.
"Grandpa, is that what I think it is?" Ryan asked, watching in awe as the pokemon beside him jumped onto his shoulder to get a better view of what was happening.
The old man nodded, knowing exactly what's going on inside his grandson's head. "Yes, it's evolving."
Magnemite started to form two more balls, four magnets, and four screws before the light dispersed.
"Magneton!" The pokemon cried out.
"Magnemite, you evolved into Magneton!" The blond exclaimed a big smile on her face. "Time to win that badge, use Zap Cannon!"
"Magneton!" Magneton's magnets sparked with electricity that then concentrated in the middle forming a ball of yellow-green energy before firing it towards Gengar.
"Gengar, use Shadow Ball to intercept!" The old gym leader countered and Gengar formed the attack between its hands trying its best to ignore the sparks on its body and releasing the attack causing the two attacks to cancel each other out in a powerful explosion. Suddenly, Magneton was in front of Gengar surprising both it and its trainer.
"Zap Cannon!" The blond shouted and the magnets on Magneton started to form another yellow-green ball of energy before releasing it making contact with Gengar knocking it onto its back.
"Gengar!" The old gym leader called out. Gengar's eyes were swirling.
"Gengar is unable to battle, Magneton's the winner!" The referee said raising the red flag. "That means the victory goes to Kelly of Mauville city!"
Kelly just stood there stunned before a big smile made its way across his face before running and giving her new Magneton a big hug. "We did it Magneton!" Magneton's eyes were upside down U's indicating it was happy.
"Aww, grandpa lost." Ryan said, a look of disappointment on his face before smiling at the pokemon on his shoulder. "Oh well, you win some you lose some, right, Eevee?"
"Eievui!" Eevee cried out with a smile, in obvious agreement with the boy.
"You did great out there Gengar, now take a long rest." Ryan's grandfather said to his pokemon before pointing its pokeball to it and a beam of red light struck Gengar turning it into red energy and got sucked into the ball before walking over to Kelly with the referee behind him holding a tray. "Congratulations young lady, through our battle you displayed both strategy, skill, and concern for your pokemon when they got hurt." He took the tray from the referee's hands and turned to Kelly on the tray was a purple badge that looked like a cobras head from the side with its fangs bared and a drop of venom hanging on the fang. "As proof of your victory here at the Hemlock Town gym, please take the Venom badge."
Kelly picked up the badge and stared at it with a wide smile before turning to the old gym leader. "Thank you so much sir, with this I can enter the Johto League."
"Was that your eighth badge, then?" Ryan asked after walking down the stairs from the spectators seats to stand next to his grandfather, Eevee hopping off his shoulder to sit beside him.
"That's right, now that I have eight badges I can enter the Johto League." Kelly said putting her new badge in a rectangular badge case and turned her attention to Ryan's grandfather and gave a slight bow. "Again, thank you for battling with me."
"I should be thanking you." He said back. "It's been a while since anyone's been able to push me into using my last pokemon. I can't think of a better way for my last battle as gym leader."
"What did you say grandpa?" Ryan asked his grandfather, shock evident on his face as he looked up at his grandfather. "Are you retiring?"
He just laughed at his grandson's shock and question. "I'm starting to get too old for this Ryan, I think it's time for a new gym leader to shine. I already talked it over with the mayor and he agrees."
"But you can't!" Ryan shouted, shaking his head furiously and tears building up in his eyes. "I want to challenge you to a gym battle before I go on my journey, you promised!"
"Eievui." Eevee said sadly, equally as disappointed as his trainer at the fact they wouldn't battle the boy's grandfather.
"I know I did Ryan, but I'm not as young as I used to." Ryan's grandfather said, placing a hand on Ryan's head and ruffling his hair. "But think of it this way, who besides me loves poison type pokemon?"
"That's easy." Ryan said using his arm to wipe away his tears. "There's no one in this town who loves poison types more than I do!"
His grandfather nodded in approval. "Good, and that is why I asked the mayor to give you a shot in the trial to decide the next gym leader."
"What?" Ryan's and Eevee's eyes widened in surprise at that. "But I'm not even officially a trainer yet, I just turned ten yesterday!"
"And this will give you a chance to gain experience as a trainer and become the new gym leader." The old man said, kneeling down and placing a reassuring hand on Ryan's shoulder. "I've seen you study poison types and strategies. I know you can be a great gym leader, you are kind and love all pokemon, not just poison types." Using his free hand, Ryan's grandfather reached down to pet Eevee getting a sound of content from the mammal pokemon. "A gym leader's job is not only to test our challengers, but to also show them how they can improve when they lose." He then gave Ryan a knowing grin. "And when you thought I wasn't around, I saw you giving advice to my challengers after they lost to me."
Ryan chuckled sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. "Busted."
"Those are qualities of a great gym leader." The old man continued, an amused smile on his face. "To give advice and to learn from our challengers to better ourselves."
"He's right." Kelly said, joining in the conversation as the boy looked up to her while Magneton floated beside her. "I can see you love your grandfather and him being a gym leader." She then turned to Ryan's grandfather. "By the way, what's this trial you were talking about?"
"If someone wants to become the gym leader of this town, they must pass a trial that was here ever since this gym was first built." Ryan's grandfather explained, removing his hands from Ryan's shoulders before getting to his feet. "The trial is that they must find a small shrine deep within the forest and the location of the shrine changes after every trial. Only the mayor knows the new location."
"Inside the shrine is a medal they have to bring back as proof of completing the trial." Ryan added, looking down to the Eevee beside him as its tail wagged excitedly. "If you bring it back, then the mayor will inform the league of the gym leader change."
Neither Ryan nor Kelly noticed the slight smirk on the boy's grandfather's face when he heard what Ryan said. 'It's not going to be that easy, Ryan.'
"I see." Kelly gave an encouraging smile to Ryan. "I'm sure you'll pass the trial kid, from what your grandpa said I can tell you'll make a great gym leader."
"So what do you say, Ryan, do you want to take the trial?" Ryan's grandfather asked, giving him an encouraging smile as well.
Ryan was conflicted and looked down in thought. What if he wasn't ready to be a gym leader? What if he wasn't ready to be a trainer? What if he messed up? Those were the questions going around his head. He wanted to be a trainer that specializes in poison types and one day become the gym leader of this gym. But was he ready to take on such a responsibility before he was even a trainer? Then he thought back to all the gym battles he watched and saw how his grandfather won and lost and gave advice to his challengers to help them improve. That was the type of gym leader he wanted to be, so with eyes burning with determination he looked his grandfather in the eye and gave his answer.
"I'll do it." His grandfather smiled at that answer and so did the referee and Kelly, it was that moment the mayor walked in and heard Ryan's answer. The mayor was a middle-aged man with slicked back brown hair and black eyes. His attire consists of a red suit under a purple dress shirt, a black necktie, and black dress shoes.
"Am I correct in assuming he'll take the trial?" The mayor asked, making his presence known to the people and pokemon present.
"Mr. Mayor." Ryan's grandfather nodded his head in greeting as the mayor approached them. "Yes, he'll take it and I'm confident that he'll pass."
"If it's not too much sir, is it alright if I stay and watch the trial?" Kelly asked.
"It's no problem at all my dear, the more the merrier." The mayor said with a smile before turning to the entrance of the gym. "Please follow me."
After walking out of the gym which was a large building with a giant statue of a quadruped pokemon standing stoically on the roof. It has three small toes on each foot, a purple body with an indigo tuft on its head. This Pokémon has long pointed ears and a thin tail with an arrow-shaped tip. As they walked through the town streets, the townspeople took notice of the mayor guiding Ryan, his grandfather, and Kelly to the edge of town and decided to follow. Knowing full well what's going on, the townspeople began to whisper to each other but Ryan could still hear them.
"Is Ryan taking the trial?"
"Isn't he a bit young?"
"Age doesn't determine a person's skills."
"That kid will pass no doubt."
"Best of luck to him."
"I'm sure he'll make a great gym leader like his grandfather."
Hearing a lot of people believing he'll pass the trial added a lot of pressure on his shoulders. Seeing this, his grandfather placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze which helped him relax and he gave his grandfather a grateful smile. They reached the edge of town where there was a stone arch leading to the forest.
"People of Hemlock Town!" The mayor said loudy, getting the attention of the townspeople as he stood in front of the arch with Ryan standing to his left, a purple and green backpack on his back as he addressed the townspeople. "It is time to begin the sacred trial for the next gym leader!" He placed a hand on the nervous Ryan's shoulder as he heard them all cheer. "This boy will be taking the trial to find the Hemlock shrine and bring back the Hemlock medal, thus giving him the right to challenge me to a battle for the position of Hemlock gym leader!" The townspeople's cheers got louder as they wished Ryan luck. The boy then turned to the mayor as he handed the boy five pokeballs. "May you and the pokemon you catch in there be granted good fortune, my boy."
Ryan nodded as he accepted the pokeballs and nervously stepped forward towards the forest with Eevee walking beside him. With every step he took, Ryan could hear and feel his heart pounding rapidly against his chest as he got closer to the forest entrance. Having sensed his trainer's anxiousness, Eevee jumped onto Ryan's shoulder and gave the boy a reassuring nuzzle on the cheek.
"Ryan!" Ryan turned to face his grandfather and Kelly who were smiling at him. "Good luck in there." Ryan smiled and nodded before walking into the forest with renewed determination.
"Do you think he'll be fine in there?" Kelly asked worriedly after Ryan and Eevee were out of sight. "I mean, he doesn't have a pokemon other than Eevee with him."
"He'll be fine." Ryan's grandfather said confidently, pulling out a pokeball from the folds of his kimono and released his Gengar to watch the trial as well. "That boy has a gift when it comes to poison-type pokemon."
"A gift?" Kelly asked, tilting her head in confusion.
"One time a Nidoking got agitated and was going on a rampage." One of the townsmen said, crossing his arms as he looked to the forest entrance with a nostalgic smile on his face. "It was Ryan who calmed it down when he was only four years old."
"He calmed a rampaging Nidoking at four years old?!" Kelly's eyes widened at that, having a hard time believing that a four year old could calm a rampaging pokemon five times his size.
"That's right." A townswoman nodded, her eyes never leaving the forest from where Ryan and his Eevee entered. "That's why we all think there's no one better suited to succeed the current gym leader than him."
"Achoo!" Ryan let out a loud sneeze, slightly startling Eevee as he walked through the forest. "Someone must be talking about me."
"Eievui?" Eevee tilted his head in confusion before jumping off his trainer's shoulder to walk beside him.
"It's probably nothing." Ryan shook his head, taking off his backpack and opened its zipper before reaching a hand inside. "Now, where did I put it, I know I packed it yesterday." He stopped walking as he continued to rummage through his backpack with Eevee sitting patiently next to the boy. "Aha, found it!"
"Vui!" Eevee's tail wagged back and forth when he saw his trainer pull out a folded map from his backpack.
"Now, let's see." Ryan muttered, unfolding the map and his eyes began to scan through it. "Just because the location changes, that doesn't mean that there isn't a pattern."
"Eievui." Eevee nodded in agreement with his trainer before jumping back onto his shoulder to look at the map as well that showed the forest they were in. The evolution pokemon watched in confusion as Ryan pointed at different places on the map. "Vui?"
"Those were all where the shrine was in the previous trials, Eevee." Ryan explained, seeing the confusion on his starter's face, and pointed to another place on the map. "And they all seem to be near this one location, the abandoned mansion."
"Eievui." Ryna could hear the nervousness in his Eevee's voice as his fur stood on end at the mention of the abandoned mansion.
"Relax, Eevee." Ryan said softly, patting the evolution pokemon's head and gave him a reassuring smile. "We'll just look around there and then head back when we find nothing, okay?" Nervousness was still in the evolution pokemon's eyes but he hesitantly nodded in agreement as Ryan raised a fist in the air. "Alright, let's find that shrine!"
The search for the shrine was not an easy one as Ryan and his partner, Eevee, searched every nook and cranny of the forest for the shrine. Their efforts, however, were for naught as they couldn't find anything remotely like a man made structure. When the trainer and mammal pokemon started to feel hungry, the two decided to take a quick lunch break under the shade of a large tree. Ryan pulled out a food bowl and set it down in front of Eevee whose tail was wagging excitedly. He then took out a container of pokemon food and chuckled when his starter started to cry out at the sight of the container.
"Just a sec, Eevee." Ryan removed the lid from the container before he poured its contents into the food bowl. "There we go, enjoy."
"Eievui!" Eevee called out with a smile before digging in to the pokemon food while Ryan took out a few sandwiches in plastic wrap.
"Can't find anything on an empty stomach." Ryan removed the plastic wrapping before taking a bite out of one of the sandwiches. "Let's keep looking after we finish eating, what do you think, Eevee?"
"Eievui." Eevee stopped eating for a moment to give his trainer a nod in agreement before going back to enjoying his meal. Suddenly, Eevee ears perked up and he raised his head before looking around.
"Something wrong, Eevee?" Ryan asked, noticing his partner's behavior before the evolution pokemon tackled the boy out of the way of a sudden glob of brown sludge hit the tree where Ryan was and exploded upon contact. "What the?!"
"Grimer!" A voice cried out as the pokemon showed itself from the cover of the bushes. The pokemon had a body of purple sludge with a pair of three-fingered arms, two large eyes with beady pupils, and a gaping mouth with a gray tongue.
"It's a Grimer!" Ryan exclaimed excitedly, momentarily forgetting that the pokemon in question just attacked him as he got to his feet with a big smile on his face. "Also known as the sludge pokemon, a pokemon said to have been born from sludge when it was exposed to the X-rays of the moon!"
"Vui, Eievui vui vui!" Eevee cried out angrily, getting his trainer's attention for him to see that he was being given a chastising look from the evolution pokemon.
"Oh, right, my bad." Ryan rubbed the back of his head letting a sheepish laugh while smiling apologetically at his starter. "I can't help it when I see a poison pokemon."
"Grimer!" The sludge pokemon opened its mouth wide and fired numerous globs of brown sludge towards Ryan and Eevee.
"Eevee, use Shadow Ball!" Ryan quickly ordered, getting a nod from the evolution pokemon as he opened his mouth wide as a ball of black energy formed and fired it. The two attacks connected causing them to explode and creating a cloud of black smoke. "Now Quick Attack!"
"Eievui!" Eeevee began to run at an incredible speed creating a silver trail behind him before charging through the smoke cloud and tackling Grimer getting a cry of pain from the sludge pokemon.
"Way to go!" Ryan cheered, having heard the cry as the smoke cleared. "Now for a series of Iron Tail attacks!"
"Eievui vui!" Eevee's tail began to glow brightly and swung it at Grimer before the sludge pokemon suddenly shrunk in size to the shock of the evolution pokemon and his trainer.
"Grimer!" The sludge pokemon released a stream of dark brown sludge from its mouth that hit Eevee in the face.
"Eevee!" Ryan called out in concern as the evolution pokemon jumped back from Grimer with its eyes tightly shut to keep the sludge out of them. "Quick, shake the sludge off!"
"Grimer!" Grimer opened its mouth wide to fire globs of brown sludge at Eevee who was trying to shake the sludge off his eyes.
"Dodge it, Eevee!" Ryan called out desperately, but was too late as the globs hit Eevee and exploded on contact causing the evolution pokemon to cry out in pain. "Eevee!" Ryan watched anxiously as his partner was continuously struck by exploding globs of sludge before an idea occurred to him. "Eevee, use Double Team!"
"Vui!" Eevee's body began to glow before two other Eevee formed beside the original and they began to multiply until they surrounded the wild Grimer. The sludge pokemon ceased its attack to look around frantically at suddenly being surrounded and trying to find the original. The evolution pokemon took this chance to shake off the sludge in his eyes before opening them widely. "Eievui!"
"Now for some payback!" Ryan smirked, happy to see his partner finally got to sludge off before holding up a tightly clenched fist. "Use Shadow Ball!"
"Eievui vui!" Eevee and his copies all formed balls of black energy in front of their mouths as Grimer continued to frantically look around to find the original.
Eevee and his copies released their attacks at the same time towards the sludge pokemon who didn't know where to dodge and cried out in pain when the Shadow Balls made contact. The Shadow Balls exploded, creating a cloud of smoke and Ryan and Eevee stood anxiously, waiting for the sludge pokemon's next attack. As the smoke began to clear, Ryan quickly took notice of a silhouette inside and when it fully dissipated, it revealed Grimer laying on its back with swirls in its eyes and letting out a weak groan.
"We won?" Ryan asked, uncertainty evident in his voice as he stared wide eyed at the defeated sludge pokemon. After he fully processed what he was seeing, a wide smile formed on his face as he ran over to his exhausted starter pokemon and scooped up the evolution pokemon in an excited hug. "We did it, Eevee, we won our first battle against a wild pokemon!"
"Eievui!" Eevee cried out with a smile, just as excited as his trainer as his tail wagged frantically. Looking over Ryan shoulder to the unconscious sludge pokemon, Eevee patted said shoulder with a paw. "Vui Eievui!"
"Huh?" Ryan looked at the evolution pokemon in confusion before looking to where his starter was looking and realization dawned on him. "Oh, right." He set Eevee down and reached into his back pocket and pulled out a pokeball before pressing the button in the middle to make it expand. "Gotta catch it before it runs away, go pokeball!"
Ryan threw the pokeball and watched as it made contact with the unconscious sludge pokemon and bounced off into the air. The spherical device opened as Grimer turned into red energy before getting sucked into the pokeball. After being fully sucked in, the pokeball shut closed before falling to the ground and began to wobble from side to side as the button in the middle began to blink red repeatedly. Ryan and Eevee watched with held breaths as the spherical device continued to wobble without showing any signs of stopping. The pokeball soon stopped wobbling and the button flashes red one last time and now laid innocently on the ground awaiting to be picked up.
"I caught it?" Ryan looked down at Eevee who looked up at him before they both smiled and ran over to the pokeball. Ryan picked up the pokeball that held his newly caught Grimer and stared at it before holding it up in the air. "I've caught myself a Grimer!"
"Eievui vui!" Eevee cheered, running circles around Ryan excitedly that they caught their first companion.
"Grimer, come on out!" Ryan tossed the pokeball into the air and it popped open releasing energy that formed the sludge pokemon. Ryan crouched down slightly to be at eye level with his newly caught pokemon who looked around curiously before looking at Ryan. "Hey there, Grimer, my name's Ryan, sorry for catching you like that." The boy reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small orange and red spray bottle before holding it up for the sludge pokemon to see. "Here, a Super Potion."
The sludge pokemon looked at Ryan warrily then to the spray bottle in the boy's hand. Seeing the warrinessin the poison-types eyes, Ryan looked over his shoulder and gestured for Eevee to come closer. Understanding what his trainer was trying to do, the evolution pokemon walked over to Ryan and let the boy spray the contents of the bottle on him. The moment Ryan sprayed Eevee, the mammal pokemon cringed and tried not to cry out from the stinging pain that shot up wherever his trainer sprayed. Grimer watched as Eevee continued to cringe with each spray and was prepared to attack the boy for hurting his fellow pokemon. The sludge pokemon, however, halted as Eevee stopped cringing as his wounds vanished from his body and began to run around his trainer happily.
"You see, Grimer?" The sludge pokemon looked up at Ryan who gave a friendly smile as he held up the Super Potion. "It'll sting for a bit, but I promise that it'll help you heal."
"Eievui." Eevee nodded in agreement before jumping up to Ryan's shoulder and gave a smile similar to his trainer's. "Vui vui eievui!"
"Will you let me help?" Ryan asked, placing the Super Potion down on the ground and taking a few steps back.
Grimer looked at Ryan then to the Super Potion and remembered what it did for Eevee. The sludge pokemon took note of the injuries it sustained in the earlier battle and how its body ached. Grimer looked at Ryan again and nodded it's head. "Grimer."
"Thank you, Grimer." Ryan picked up the Super Potion as Grimer got closer and got to one knee. "It's going to sting, but bear with it and you'll feel better in no time." The sludge pokemon just nodded before Ryan began to spray where Ryan could see was hurting the poison pokemon the most. Grimer cringed with each spray but soon relaxed as the pain disappeared as the boy continued to treat it. Ryan gave Grimer a once over to make sure he didn't miss anywhere before nodding in satisfaction. "Alright, you should be all good now."
Grimer looked over its body to see that its wounds were indeed gone and wasn't feeling any pain at all. The sludge pokemon looked at Ryan who pocketed the Super Potion and smiled which Grimer returned and wrapped his arms around the boy in a hug. "Grimer!"
"Hahaha, hey, that tickles!" Ryan between laughs as the sludge pokemon continued to hug and nuzzle him. Grimer soon let go of Ryan and back away slightly to give the boy some space. "Your welcome, Grimer, glad to see that you're alright now." Grimer nodded, smile still in place as Ryan took out the pokeball he caught the sludge pokemon with and held it out to the poison pokemon. "Grimer, would you like to come with me?"
"Eievui!" Eevee cried out encouragingly, his tail wagging back and forth as Grimer looked at the pokeball in the young trainer's hand.
The sludge pokemon looked from the pokeball to Ryan, looking the young trainer in the eyes before using a hand to tap the device. The pokeball fired a red beam that hit the poison and turned it into red energy before being sucked into the spherical device.
"I'll take that as a yes." Ryan smiled at the pokeball before pocketing it and walked over to his backpack to pick it up. "Well, time to find that shrine."
"Eievui." Eevee nodded in agreement, jumping off his trainer's shoulder as he slung his backpack on before they continued their trek through the forest.
The search for the Hemlock Shrine continues as Ryan and Eevee get closer to the abandoned mansion. It was once the home of a very wealthy man years ago who owned a very successful business in Hemlock Town. However, due to a sudden decline in his health, the man passed away and his mansion remained as the only reminder of his existence. To this day, it is said that the man's spirit now haunts the mansion, waiting for someone to enter so he could pull them into the spirit world. Many of the townspeople believe it's just ghost pokemon that made the mansion their home pulling pranks on those who got close.
'I wonder if we'll see if there's really a ghost in that mansion.' Ryan thought as he looked around the trees and bushes around him, hoping to find anything that looked like a shrine. 'Sure, it'll be scary, but it would be kinda cool to see an actual ghost.'
"Vui." Eevee said nervously, looking around anxiously with his senses on high alert for anything that was suspicious or out of the ordinary.
"Relax, Eevee." Ryan smiled reassuringly down at his anxious starter who looked up at him. "I told you, we'll just look arou-AH!" Eevee jumped when his trainer suddenly lost his balance and fell flat on his face and groaned in pain. "Owwww, that's going to leave a mark." The young trainer used one arm to push himself up while the other rubbed his sore face before looking behind him. "What did I trip on?"
"Eievui?" Eevee tilted his head in confusion when he looked where his trainer was looking only to see nothing. Squinting his eyes slightly, the evolution pokemon caught sight of what looked like a really thin wire when a flash of light reflected off it. "Eievui!"
"Aria!" Ryan and Eevee looked up in time to see a big purple Pokémon resembling a spider climbing down the trunk of a tree. It has purple eyes, a pair of white mandibles, and a white horn on its forehead. Around its abdomen are two black stripes and there are two black spots and a yellow spinneret on its rear. The spots and spinneret together form a pattern similar to a face. It has four yellow legs with two light blue bands each; on its back are yellow structures similar to its legs with a single light blue stripe each.
"An Ariados!" Ryan quickly got to his feet, stars could be seen shimmering around his head as he stared in awe at the coloring of the spider-like pokemon. "And it has a different color than a normal Ariados!"
"Aria!" The oddly colored spider pokemon fired white string from its mouth that splits to form a web at Ryan and Eevee.
"Eievui!" Eevee jumped in front of Ryan and fired a Shadow Ball at the web causing it to break apart and fall harmlessly to the ground.
"Thanks for the save, Eevee." Ryan said gratefully to his partner before looking towards the spider pokemon. "What was that for, Ariados?"
"Aria!" The spider pokemon fired another white string that formed a web.
"Eevee, use Shadow Ball!" Ryan ordered quickly before the evolution pokemon formed and fired the black ball of energy towards the web tearing it apart. "Now for Quick Attack!"
"Vui!" Eevee ran at an incredible speed creating a silver trail behind him at the spider pokemon. Just as the evolution pokemon was about to make contact, the long leg pokemon suddenly vanished to the shock and confusion of Eevee. "Eievui?"
"Eevee, behind you!" Ryan called you when he saw Ariados appear behind his starter.
"Aria!" Ariados fired a multitude of glowing needles from its mouth towards Eevee. The evolution pokemon looked behind too late as the needles struck his back causing him to cry out.
"Eevee!" Ryan watched with worry when Ariados fired its white web at his partner and began to think quickly. "Use Double Team!"
"Eievui!" Eevee gave his trainer a slight nod as his body gave a slight glow before two other Eevee formed beside the original and the web went through the middle Eevee.
"Aria?" Ariados watched in shock as the remaining Eevee began to multiply until they surrounded the long leg pokemon. Ariados looked around frantically before randomly firing glowing needles from its mouth at the copies.
"Shadow Ball!" Ryan called out when the copies vanished one by one from the needles that went through them.
"Eieviu!" Eevee charged another Shadow Ball and fired it at Ariados who quickly fired white string that wrapped itself around the black ball of energy. With a flick of its head, Ariados threw the Shadow Ball back at Eevee who panicked before jumping to the side.
"Whoa!" Ryan crouched down with his hands protectively over his head as the Shadow Ball flew over him and into a few bushes. The sound of an explosion and a scream was heard making Ryan slowly look behind him as the bushes began rustling. "Wait, a scream?"
Another scream was heard as the source made itself known when it emerged from the bushes to reveal plant pokémon with a pale yellow bell-shaped body. It has a gaping mouth with pink lips, two sharp teeth, semicircular eyes directly under its mouth, and has several dark green spots on its body. On either side of its body is a large green leaf. Covering the plant pokemon's mouth is a leaf with a long, brown, yellow-tipped vine growing out of it.
"Uh-oh, it's a Victreebel." Ryan said nervously when he saw that the plant pokemon was glaring right at him. "And it doesn't look happy."
Proving the young trainer right, the flycatcher pokemon let out another scream before firing a stream of thick purple liquid at him. Preparing to jump out of the way, Ryan felt a sudden weight on his side as he was pushed out of the way and watched in horror when he saw who pushed him. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as he watched the purple liquid hit a small mammal pokemon in the face before returning to normal speed.
"Eevee!" Ryan quickly got to his feet and ran over to his partner who weakly tried to get to his feet. Ryan knelt next to the evolution pokemon, whose face had a purple hue indicating being poisoned. "Hang on, Eevee, I have an antidote with me." The young trainer took off his backpack and began to rummage frantically inside it. "Come on, where is it?"
Ariados watched as the human boy continued to look through his backpack in panicked haste while occasionally giving the mammal pokemon it was battling a worried glance. Victreebel let out a scream as the vine behind it whipped around and towards the poisoned Eevee and Ariados was shocked at the human boy's next action. He tossed his backpack to the side and curled his body protectively around Eevee and took the attack for the evolution pokemon.
"Eievui!" Eevee cried out in worry when Ryan gritted his teeth as his face contorted in pain and tried to keep a scream of pain from coming out as Victreebel continued to use its vine to whip at the boy.
"It's okay, Eevee." Ryan said with gritted teeth, giving the poisoned pokemon a small smile through the pain. "I've got you, I won't let Victreebel hurt you."
"Eievui." Tears built up in the evolution pokemon's eyes at the pain that was clear on his trainer's face.
Ariados couldn't believe its eyes that a human was risking his own safety to protect a pokemon. For as long as the long leg pokemon could remember, it has always seen how some humans mistreated the pokemon they caught or straight up abandoning them. Ariados could never forgive the humans having seen how awful they could be and vowed to never be caught. However, after seeing Ryan genuinely concerned about the Eevee and using his own body as a shield, Ariados began to have doubts about what it originally thought of humans and wondered if there were more like Ryan. Ariados' musings were halted when a bright glow ceased Victreebel's attack.
"Eevee?" When the attacks stopped, Ryan slowly removed himself from his glowing partner and watched in awe as the evolution pokemon glowed even brighter.
The glowing pokemon's body began to grow in size as his legs got longer and his tail became long and thin with an arrow-shaped tip before the glow dispersed. Standing in Eevee's place was a quadruped pokemon with three small toes on each foot. The fur on its body is purple with an indigo tuft on its head. This pokémon has a pair of long pointed ears and a thin tail with an arrow-shaped tip.
"Nauxeon!" The pokemon cried out after the glow of evolution fully vanished.
"You evolved." Ryan muttered, still trying to get over his shock at the sight of the pokemon in front of him. The newly evolved pokemon turned his head to look behind him to stare Ryan in the eyes before nodding with a small smirk.
Victreebel's scream got their attention as it waved its leaves to release razor sharp leaves towards Ryan and the freshly evolved pokemon. Nauxeon's fur began to stand on end before a multitude of glowing needles were fired from his back piercing through the leaves and they fluttered to the ground.
"That was Poison Sting." Ryan's eyes widened when he recognized the attack Nauxeon had used and smiled at his newly evolved partner. "You learned Poison Sting, Eev- I mean Nauxeon!"
"Naux." Nauxeon smiled back at his trainer before facing Victreebel again when it released more razor sharp leaves. The newly evolved pokemon prepared to use Poison Sting again but was surprised when needles not from him pierced through the leaves.
"Huh?" Ryan looked down to see that Ariados was standing beside him. "Ariados?" The long leg pokemon looked up at Ryan briefly before walking over to stand beside Nauxeon. "Does this mean you want to battle with us?"
Ariados turned its head to look at Ryan and nodded. "Aria."
"Alright, Nauxeon, use Shadow Ball." Ryan called out as Nauxeon opened his mouth wide as the ball of black energy formed. The young trainer took notice that Ariados' horn glowed with a rainbow colored light. "That's…" Ryan nodded when he recognized what the move Ariados was using and pointed forward in his excitement. "Ariados, use Psybeam!"
"Naux/Aria!" Nauxeon fired the Shadow Ball at the same time Ariados released a rainbow colored beam at the panicking grass-type pokemon.
The two attacks combined to form a ball of rainbow light with black sparks that connected with Victreebel in an explosion. When the smoke cleared, it revealed a soot covered Victreebel with swirls in its eyes before it regained consciousness and frantically hopped away.
"We did it!" Ryan cheered, kneeling down to wrap his arms around Nauxeon and Ariados in a group hug catching the long leg pokemon by surprise. "You both were great, I'm so proud of you!" Just now realizing he was hugging two pokemon instead of one, Ryan quickly let go of Ariados. "Sorry, Ariados!"
"Aria." Ariados shook its head before climbing up Ryan and nuzzled the young trainer's cheek getting a laugh from the boy.
"That tickles." Ryan petted the long leg pokemon with one hand, being careful of the horn on its head, while using the other pet Nauxeon. The newly evolved pokemon purred at his trainer's petting as the boy addressed Ariados. "I guess you have a change of heart, Ariados?" The long leg pokemon tilted its head in confusion at the young trainer's words but he just smiled. "I could tell when you attacked that you didn't like people very much."
Ariados gave a cry of surprise as the young trainer reached for his backpack that was nearby and rummaged inside it. It was true that the long leg pokemon didn't like people after witnessing how a few of them treated other pokemon. Even though Ariados saw a few trainers treating their pokemon nicely, the long leg pokemon always thought it was an act and that they wouldn't give a second thought to abandon them one day. Ariados watched as Ryan pulled out another Super Potion and Antidote before motioning for Naxeon to lay down with the newly evolved pokemon obliged. As the young trainer began to treat his partner, Ariados watched at how gentle and careful the boy was with each injury. The long leg pokemon then took notice of a pokeball that rolled out of the young trainer's pocket and looked to see that he didn't notice at all.
"Huh, guess you won't need the Antidote." Ryan muttered as he continued to examine Nauxeon to notice that the purple hue on his face was gone. No matter where he looked, the young trainer couldn't find any signs of poison anywhere on his starters body.
"Naux." Nauxeon nodded to his tail and Ryan looked to see that it had a glowing needle on the tip before it vanished.
"Ah, I see." Ryan gave his starter a knowing smirk that was returned. "Fought poison with poison." He chuckled and gave Nauxeon another pet on the head. "You're such a smart pokemon."
Even though it avoided humans, even Ariados could see the bond that the two of them shared and couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to be caught by a trainer like Ryan. Its eyes went to the pokeball then to Ryan who was still oblivious of the stray pokeball as he continued to pet Nauxeon. The long leg pokemon nodded its head, having come to a decision, before crawling over to the pokeball and pressed the button in the middle to make it expand. Ariados then tapped it again making it pop open as its body turned into red energy and got sucked inside. Having heard something snapping shut, Ryan looked over his shoulder to see one of his pokeballs was wobbling on the ground and the button was flashing red. Confused, Ryan watched as the pokeball soon stopped wobbling and the button flashes red one last time.
"What just happened?" Ryan asked, picking up the pokeball and stared at it in confusion. "Ariados, did you see-" Ryan looked around the area but couldn't see the long leg pokemon anywhere. "Ariados?"
"Nauxeon." Ryan looked down at his partner who was pawing at his shorts before using his tail to point at the pokeball. "Nauxeon naux naux.""What?" Ryan looked at the pokeball in his hand, eyes wide in surprise as he stared at the spherical device that holds his newly caught Ariados. After he fully processed what happened, Ryan smiled brightly as he raised the pokeball high in the air. "I caught an Ariados!"
"Naux Nauxeon!" Nauxeon cheered alongside his trainer before Ryan shrunk and pocketed the pokeball and slung on his backpack.
"Okay, no more sidetracking." Ryan raised a fist into the air as he walked through the forest with Nauxeon beside him, "To the Hemlock Shrine!"
Ryan and Nauxeon eventually found themselves standing in front of an old mansion surrounded by the many trees of the forest. The mansion itself had a stone fence around it with a pair of broken metal gates, broken windows, and walls of broken plaster. Looking further inside, Ryan saw what looked like a small shrine in the middle of the courtyard that had a golden statue of a snake-like pokemon coiled on top of it.
"There it is!" Ryan exclaimed excitedly, pointing towards the shrine before approaching the broken fence and pushed it open slightly. "Time to get that medal." The young trainer looked over his shoulder to his partner. "Come on, Nauxeon!"
"Nauxeon." Nauxeon ran over to his trainer and the two walked towards the shrine. As Ryan was about to reach the shrine, Nauxeon suddenly jumped up into the air and swung an Iron Tail at an incoming Shadow Ball.
"Again?!" Ryan shouted, eyes wide in surprise that they were being attacked again as Nauxeon landed beside him. "Who is it this time?"
"Gengar!" Ryan looked up to see a Gengar hovering over them with a Shadow Ball charging between its hands.
"A Gengar?!" Ryan and Nauxeon quickly jumped back to avoid the Shadow Ball as Gengar lowered itself to hover in front of the shrine. "What's a Gengar doing here?" Ryan received no answer as the shadow pokemon readied another Shadow Ball. "Nauxeon, block it with your Shadow Ball!"
"Naux!" Nauxeon opened its mouth to charge the ball of black energy before he and the Gengar fired them at the same time. The two balls of black energy struggle against each other to gain the upperhand but soon exploded creating a cloud of smoke.
"Confuse it with Double Team!" Ryan quickly ordered, taking advantage of the smoke as Nauxeon briefly glowed and made copies of itself. When the smoke cleared, Gengar looked around at the copies but smirked as its eyes glowed blue. "Oh no." Ryan took notice of the glow and knew right away what the shadow pokemon was planning. "Nauxeon, close your eyes!"
"Gengar!" His warning came too late as Gengar's eyes flashed brightly before Nauxeon's eyes began to lose focus. Nauxeon's copies vanished one by one until only the original remained and was wobbling indicating he was confused.
"Nauxeon!" Ryan called out in worry as Gengar fired a Night Shade at Nauxeon, getting a cry of pain but was still wobbling in confusion. "Nauxeon, snap out of it, please!"
"Gengar!" Gengar raised a fist that sparked with electricity before charging at Nauxeon.
"That's Thunder Punch!" Ryan exclaimed, his feet moving on their own as he ran over to Nauxeon. "Nauxeon!"
Ryan wrapped his arms protectively around Nauxeon and turned his back to Gengar who landed its Thunder Punch on him instead of Nauxeon. This, however resulted in both of them being shocked as he had his arms around the Eeveelution and they both cried out in pain.
"Gengar?!" Gengar gasped in surprise as it retracted its fist from Ryan who slumped to the side with Nauxeon still in his arms.
"Naux?" Nauxeon's eyes slowly regained focus and looked around in confusion before gasping when he saw the condition Ryan was in. "Nauxeon!"
"Nauxeon, are you alright?" Ryan asked softly, a small smile on his face when he saw that his partner wasn't confused anymore.
"Nauxeon!" Nauxeon used his tail to lightly smack his trainer upside the head before removing himself from Ryan's arm to stand on his feet. "Nauxeon naux naux nauxeon!"
"I thought you'd say that." Ryan chuckled, not really understanding what his partner was saying but had a very good idea. He pushed himself to a sitting position before placing a hand on Nauxeon's head. "We're partners, Nauxeon, your pain is my pain and vice versa. No matter what, I'll have your back and I know you'll have mine."
"Gengar!" Ryan and Nauxeon looked over to Gengar to see that the shadow pokemon was firing another Night Shade. Nauxeon quickly got in front of Ryan and fired a Shadow Ball that met the Night Shade in the middle and exploded.
"Nauxeon." Nauxeon looked over his shoulder to his trainer who got to his feet and nodded in understanding.
"Let's win this." Ryan raised an arm and pointed forward towards Gengar. "Use Poison Sting!" Naxeon's fur stood on end before firing a multitude of needles at the shadow pokemon. When Gengar dodged the needles and charged with another Thunder Punch, Ryan had a crazy idea. "Use Iron Tail in the ground, Nauxeon!"
"Nauxeon!" Nauxeon nodded, having completely trust that his trainer knew what he was doing as his tail glowed before plunging it into the ground. Nauxeon cringed when the electrically charged fist made contact with his head but was not in that much pain to the shock of the shadow pokemon.
"It worked!" Ryan cheered with a fist pump when he saw most of the electricity travel down Nauxeon's Iron Tail and into the ground. "Now use Shadow Ball!" Nauxeon smirked as he charged the ball of black energy and fired it point blank at Gengar who flew back slightly. "Take that electrically charged Iron Tail and finish it!"
"Nauxeon!" Nauxeon removed his still sparking tail from the ground before jumping into the air over the shadow pokemon who looked up in time for an Iron Tail charged with electricity slam into its face, shocking it in the process before crashing to the ground creating a dust cloud.
Nauxeon landed in front of Ryan in a protective stance, breathing heavily from the damage he's sustained. Ryan never took his eyes off the dust cloud, waiting anxiously for it to disperse to reveal whether or not they defeated Gengar. Since his grandfather has a Gengar, the young trainer knew how relentless the shadow pokemon can be when they want to be. When the dust cloud finally cleared, it revealed Gengar laying flat on its front on the ground, completely motionless.
"Did we win?" Ryan cautiously approached the shadow pokemon and lightly poked it a few times with a foot to see if it'll react. Naxeon sat beside his trainer who let out a sigh of relief before smiling down at his partner. "We won, Nauxeon."
"Nauxeon." Nauxeon nodded in agreement, matching his trainer's smile as Ryan approached the shrine and opened the little doors. Inside was a gold medal with the head of an Ariados stamped on it and a purple ribbon.
"This is it." Ryan said softly, reaching inside to pick up the medal and stared at it for a moment. Ryan and Nauxeon smiled at each other before the young trainer raised the medal high up in the air. "We got the Hemlock medal!"
"Naux nauxeon!" Nauxeon cheered at their success as Ryan placed the medal in one of his pockets.
"Let's hurry back and show everyone." Nauxeon nodded in agreement with his trainer as the two quickly left the courtyard, completely missing Gengar pushing itself up into a sitting position with a happy grin on its face.
"Thank you for your help, Gengar." The shadow pokemon looked behind it to see Ryan's grandfather standing out from behind a broken pokemon statue. "You and Ryan have done well."
"Gengar." Gengar nodded in agreement as they both looked in the direction the young trainer and his partner ran with pride in their eyes.
"Come on kid." Kelly whispered praying Ryan would be successful.
"Look!" One of the townsmen shouted pointing to the entrance of the forest. Everyone looked where he was pointing to see Ryan coming out with a big smile on his face. Next to him was a quadruped pokemon with three small toes on each foot. The fur on its body is purple with an indigo tuft on its head. This pokémon has a pair of long pointed ears and a thin tail with an arrow-shaped tip. Ryan reached into his pocket and pulled out the medal for all to see.
"He did it!" Everyone shouted as they ran over to him to congratulate him.
"Way to go kid!"
"I knew you could do it!"
"You made us all proud!"
"Your Eevee evolved, good for you, kid!"
Ryan blushed in embarrassment at the attention he was getting but smiled either way. "Thank you everyone."
Kelly snuck up behind him and patted him on the back. "Way to go kid, you did it!"
Congratulations, Ryan." The mayor said as he walked over to Ryan and took the medal when the young trainer offered it to him. "With this, you are now the new Hemlock gym leader." He then turn to face the townspeople and caught sight of Ryan's grandfather who gave a slight nod which he returned. "People of Hemlock Town, it is with great honor that I introduce the new leader of the Hemlock gym!" With a dramatic wave of his arm, the mayor stepped aside to let the young trainer have the spotlight. "Ryan!"
As the townspeople gave their loudest cheer, Ryan turned to face the mayor who had his hand out for a handshake which he took. "I won't let you down, sir."
"I know you won't." The mayor nodded smiling as they released from the handshake. "Now that your gym leader, I think it might be a good idea to develop your own team to use against challengers."
"I already have a team." Ryan replied, reaching into his pockets and pulled out two pokeballs before tossing them into the air. "Come on out, guys!" The pokeballs popped open, releasing energy that formed Grimer and Ariados the moment they hit the ground. "Everyone, I'd like you to meet Grimer and Ariados!"
"What fine pokemon you caught, Ryan." Ryan's grandfather said, looking over the two pokemon with calculating eyes before giving them a smile. "Please take care of my grandson, you two."
"Grimer/Aria." Grimer and Ariados nodded their heads as they stood on either side of their trainer.
"It's getting late." Ryan's grandfather commented, looking up to see that the sun was beginning to set before looking towards Kelly. "How about you spend the night with us before you go, Kelly?"
"I wouldn't want to intrude." Kelly waved her hands in front of her face rapidly.
"Nonsense." Ryan got behind her and started pushing her towards the gym. "Think of it as celebrating you getting your eighth badge and me being the new gym leader."
"Well, if you insist." Kelly smiled and let Ryan push her.
After getting their pokemon checked at the pokemon center they made their way to the gym that doubles as a house. Once they entered, Ryan made a beeline for the kitchen and put on a blue apron before going through the fridge for ingredients. Then he got out a frying pan and set it on the stove before turning the burner on to medium heat as he poured some cooking oil. While he waited for the oil to heat up, Ryan quickly prepared everything else he needed before he started cooking.
"Are you sure you can handle the cooking, Ryan?" Kelly asked from the doorway to the kitchen watching Ryan stir frying some vegetables.
"It's fine." Ryan replied, not taking his eyes off the stove with a smile on his face. "It's just me and grandpa living here and his cooking is terrible." He chuckled when he heard his grandfather shout in protest. "So I had to learn how to cook."
"What about your parents?" Kelly hesitantly asked, not sure if that was a touchy subject.
"I never knew them." Ryan placed the vegetables on a plate and started deep frying chicken soaked in eggs and covered in breadcrumbs. "Grandpa said that they couldn't keep me and had to leave town so they left me with him."
"Oh, sorry." Kelly apologized but Ryan just shook his head.
"You don't have to apologize, I understand why they left after I found a letter they wrote to me before they had to go." Ryan scooped up the chicken and laid them on a paper towel to dry off the excess oil. "So I'm not mad at them."
"Is the food ready?!" Ryan's grandfather called out from across the room. "The pokemon are starving!"
"I'm just about done!" Ryan called back, picking up a plate in each hand and turned to face Kelly. "I hate to ask this from a guest, but can you help me move all this to the table?"
"Sure, no problem." Kelly grabbed the other plates and followed Ryan to the dining room that was across from the kitchen. After the plates were on the table, Ryan went to the pokemon and filled their bowls with his homemade pokemon food and they started eating except for Magneton who doesn't have a mouth.
"Wow, I've never seen my pokemon eat their food so happily." Kelly commented, seeing the happy looks on her pokemon's faces as they ate while taking a seat.
"Yeah well." Ryan rubbed the back of his head sheepishly taking a seat across from her with his grandfather next to him. "I kinda like to make pokemon food that best suits their typing as well as has a balance of nutrition and flavor."
"That's why my pokemon are always healthy and strong." Ryan's grandfather said, ruffling Ryan's hair. "It's all thanks to Ryan's specially made pokemon food."
"Are you sure you don't want to be a breeder instead of a gym leader?" Kelly teased causing Ryan to blush in embarrassment. "If my pokemon's behavior is any indication, you could be a natural."
"It's just a hobby I picked up after noticing grandpa's pokemon didn't like the bland taste of their pokemon food." Ryan muttered, lightly poking at his food before taking a bite.
"A very good hobby." Kelly chuckled at the young trainer's obvious embarrassment before clapping her hands. "Now enough talk, after watching Ryan cook all this and watching our pokemon eat, I'm starving."
After dinner Ryan and his grandfather went to their rooms to sleep with Kelly using the guest room. Ryan tossed and turned in his bed until he was just staring at the ceiling unable to sleep so he got out of bed and quietly made his way to the part of the house that was the gym not knowing that Kelly saw him and followed. When Ryan entered the room with the battlefield he pulled out three pokeballs and threw them to let his pokemon out who yawned.
"Sorry guys, I just couldn't sleep." Ryan gave them an apologetic smile and they forgave him knowing why he couldn't sleep when they noticed where they were and he turned his gaze to the battlefield. "From tomorrow onwards, I'm the gym leader of the Hemlock gym. It took a while, but it finally sunk in." Ryan took a deep breath before slapping his cheeks to psych himself up and turned to his pokemon who were now wide awake. "Alright, let's get to training!" They gave a shout of agreement and began to train that they didn't know that Kelly was watching from the other side of the door smiling before going back to the guest room to get some sleep.
The next morning, Kelly stood in front of the gym with her bag slung over her shoulder facing Ryan and his grandfather. "Well, time for me to get going."
"Good luck in the league." Ryan's grandfather said. "Feel free to visit any time."
"And when you do, we should have a battle." Ryan said with Nauxeon sitting to his right both giving her a confident grin.
"First day as gym leader and already think you can beat me?" Kelly teased before whispering in Ryan's ear. "Hope all that training you did paid off."
Ryan's eyes widened at that. "How did you-"
Kelly just giggled before she placed a finger on her lips and winked saying it was a secret before she turned and walked away before turning half her body to wave to them with them waving back.
"Well, Nauxeon, what do you say we get some more training in?" Ryan asked, looking down at Nauxeon who nodded and they walked into the gym.
I hope that you enjoyed reading this chapter and the pokemon that Regicide and I created. Sadly, this is where I bid you all farewell until the next chapter and I hope you fav, follow, or leave a review. Either way, I'm just glad that you took the time to stop and read my latest work and I hope to see you all again.