Chapter 8 - Not-so First Gym Battle

Wallace hummed thoughtfully as he looked at the monitor while rubbing his chin. "I see, so that's what happened," he said. "While I don't condone what you just did, especially for accepting such a barbaric challenge, I can see why your Pokemon reacted with such vigor, especially considering your Milotic's temperament."

I nodded, acknowledging my teacher's reprimands. "I am worried about the aftermath," I said. "While the public is currently on my side, it doesn't ensure that I wouldn't get caught in some kind of backlash, especially because it is pretty clear that Ghastly and Hawlucha's previous trainer was coasting off the coattails of his family instead of his own effort. I am afraid he might decide to use them to start a smear campaign."

"I am well aware of that fact," said Wallace stoically. "Don't worry about it, I will be the one dealing with it for you. All you need to do is keep a low profile for some time."

"Thank you very much, Mr. Wallace!" I brightened upon hearing Wallace's assurances.

"But!" he quickly cut in, "When I am telling you to lay low for a while, I am not asking you to neglect your training."

I smiled sheepishly at his demand.

"I know, I know," I said, with a hint of exasperation on my face, "Don't worry about it, teach. It's not like I have skipped even a day of training so far, and even if I wanted to, my Pokemon wouldn't let me. You should have seen how competitive Milotic gets with Red around."

"I was expecting that behavior from your Milotic," Wallace hummed at my report, "Especially considering how aghast she looked upon seeing your second capture that day."

"Yeah," I said, "She got really motivated to train after that. I think she doesn't want to lose the top dog spot in my team to Red."

"I really need to emphasize that the team's harmony is very important, especially if you ever get surrounded by hordes of Pokemon in the wild." said Wallace in a serious expression. "I've seen many times where a dysfunctional team only brings ruin to any Pokemon trainer, and I hoped it wouldn't happen to you. Which is why I needed to bring this topic up to you while she's still on her competitive streak."

"Having a competition between your Pokemon is fine. Encouraged, even. But I would also need to ask you to be more attentive to your Pokemon, especially Milotic. I have seen just how much she adores you, and how threatened she feels after seeing Red's enormous potential. Given these facts, your Milotic will need some more care until she no longer sees Red as an obstacle." finished Wallace, to which I nodded in response.

"I understand, Mr. Wallace." I nodded.

"Also I decided to ignore the league's first warning about you owning Pokemon more than you're supposed to." said Wallace while shrugging, taking a sip from his drink which I assumed to be a lemonade..

I looked at my teacher quizzically, wondering why he suddenly told me something like that. "A warning? Did I do something wrong by taking that guy's Pokemon, even if the Pokemon themselves are deliberately following me?"

"You did nothing wrong, my pupil. It's just a stupid rule where a newly established trainer without one badge could only hold up to a certain amount of Pokemon." explained Wallace in distaste, which caused me to raise an eyebrow.

"There's a rule like that?" I asked, wondering about that since I had never heard such a rule existed in the first place, even in the game and even the anime.

"Honestly? It is a stupid rule which shouldn't have existed to begin with. But it does because of a random spoiled rich brat from Sinnoh." Wallace spoke with a degree of annoyance while starting to tell me about the story about the cause. "See, his parents bought him a lot of powerful Pokemon before he even started his journey. Well, the brat had no respect for his Pokemon, so they didn't respect him either."

I hummed in thought, already formulating possibilities about what happened with this spoiled brat. "I guess they didn't take it well and it became a pent-up frustration until the Pokemon couldn't take it anymore."

Wallace nodded, seemingly pleased with my quick-wittedness. "Yes, you're right. He couldn't take his Pokemon disrespecting him and, well, his Pokemon also couldn't take him as their master either. What happened next was obvious. They all revolted, almost destroying Hearthome city and killing a lot of people while attempting to escape. All the casualties led to an uproar among the people, and this led to the league instating a temporary ban on younger trainers holding more than two Pokemon to appease them and make sure that while the rich can still hand out rare and powerful Pokemon to their kids, the damage is at least limited compared to what it could be."

I raised my eyebrow at the small details which Wallace hadn't told me yet. "But Mr. Wallace, you said the ban is limited for anyone who hasn't got their first badge with just two Pokemon. Then how can I hold three Pokemon, not including Hawlucha and Gastly that I got from their previous trainer?"

"That's because you're supposed to report straight to me after getting your third Pokemon, where I can impose temporary ban-lifting, while you go to Brawly's gym to get your first badge." explained Wallace while giving me sharp eyes. "Getting two additional Pokemon, no matter the circumstances, wasn't part of the plan."

"I see…" I hummed in confirmation. "My apologies for causing you trouble from this, Mr. Wallace."

In response, Wallace just smiled at the monitor. "No need to apologize, the circumstances are because of the opposing party's fault. Also you did the right thing for freeing Hawlucha and Gastly from their previous trainer."

I nodded, feeling proud of myself.

Though there was something that I am curious about, which promptly made me ask my teacher about it. "Speaking of which, what happened to that rich kid you told me before?"

"Well, he hasn't been seen since then," said Wallace nonchalantly. "Officially, he dies during the commotion, considering he was right next to those rampageous Pokemon. Money doesn't mean much in front of Hyper Beams. And even if he survived, he would have to be in hiding forever since the angry mobs would hunt him down, considering the number of victims, well... As for his Pokemon, some of them were bound to powerful and responsible trainers, while the rest were brought back to the wild, or in the worst case, needed to be put down."

"I guess his family also got involved as well, considering it took the lives of innocent people."

"They also got involved in that mess, all of their assets plummeted due to the backlash, some of their properties got vandalized by angry mobs, and they almost got themselves hunted by vengeful civilians as well. Thankfully the police department worked fast to secure them so they can get some protection. Ultimately, they got themselves on trial and by one of the most one-sided processes I have ever seen, and they got jailed for a decent amount of time." finished Wallace which made me wince for hearing their fate. Alas, it's still deserved, considering their ignorance ended up causing untold amounts of damage and the loss of lives.

"It's unfortunate that such a thing happened in the past." I spoke while scratching my hair.

Wallace nodded, agreeing with my sentiments. "It was, but alas, it already happened and there's nothing we can do about it except by learning from it and not to make the same mistake. Speaking about your condition, I just finished with your temporary hold limit extender. Now you can hold up to five pokemon as active, which includes your newest catches."

I nodded in appreciation.

"But," Wallace continued while giving me a stern look. "You need to get at least three badges in three months, since the limit of temporary extender is only valid for about 90 days. If you fail to do so, then your pokemon will be locked and there's nothing I could do about it anymore until you get the necessary amount of badges."

I nodded seriously at the looming problem.

Honestly, that circumstance is pretty acceptable considering the benefit I get from this temporary limit increase. In fact, I am truly grateful for Wallace who always helped me during any situation, and also sort of became my guardian who usually took care of my official report and such.

It feels like he sort of became my second father figure after my boss.

Of course I wouldn't tell my boss about this, or else he will throw fits due to jealousy of his position being threatened.

"Alright, I already said everything I needed to tell you. Now go and get your first badge, Zale. Time is ticking on your part." ordered Wallace with a serious tone.

I chuckled at his attempt to hasten my pace.

Sorry about this Wallace, but I would prefer to enjoy my trip in this world, since it was the experience of a lifetime, traveling in the vast world of Pokemon.

"Don't worry Mr. Wallace, I got it. Also, please tell Lisia I said hi." I said, much to Wallace's annoyance, but he just conceded since he had nothing left to say.

"Alright, I will deliver that to her. She missed you so much, so hearing the news about you probably would be a good thing to lift her mood. Try to call her more, you got your phone from her, use that to cheer her up." spoke Wallace passionately, something that I noticed.

Since my relationship with Lisia is a bit closer than before, he's kind of always like that whenever he is talking about her. It was hilarious, especially when Lisia sometimes joined the call and got embarrassed due to her uncle's antics.

But at the same time, I am not that stupid for not realizing what Wallace was trying to do.

"Alright, Mr. Wallace. I will call her later. I kinda miss her as well." I replied to him, in which Wallace nodded in appreciation.

With that, I ended the call, before sighing deeply. I really owed Wallace this.

Pocketing my phone, I quickly walked outside, where my newest companion was sitting alone by herself in the corner of the outdoor seat. Upon seeing me, Courtney immediately stood up for approaching me, her deadpan eyes bore directly at me.

"... Are you done contacting your guardian..?" she asked with her typical flat tone. Similar to which I knew from the ORAS, except it was less robotic considering I am currently speaking directly to her.

I nodded at her, which earned a pleased hum from Courtney. "... Great, then we can go to your place now so I can observe this Alpha Gyarados of yours..?"

I think I kind of understand why many people are getting creeped by her boldness. Combined with her choice of clothing and with a thick cap hiding most of her face, most people would think her as a potential stalker or criminal.

Fortunately for her, I understand that her manner of speech was related to her personality, so I didn't mind.

"Unfortunately, we can't go back to my place yet." I told Courtney, which immediately got a sour expression from her.

"... Why? Is it because I was a bother..? Is it because of my manner..? If you want, I can do some quickies if that's what I need to pay... Or maybe you want to do it more with me..? I am sorry… I am just a loner virgin who hasn't experienced any sexual intercourse ye-"

"Okay, stop…!" I said while immediately shutting Courtney's mouth with my hand. Having enough of her bluntness without any filter at all. I sweatdropped when I noticed the stares I've gotten from Courtney unfiltered statements.

Dear Arceus, someone had to do something with this girl to filter her choice of words.

"Em qhuit conhibent wid m bressst sisz..."

… Nevermind, it's gotta be me since I am practically the only one whom she had her attention on now.

"Alright that's enough," I said while stopping Courtney for the second time, putting my hand on her small shoulders to dragged her away from the public's eyes. We were stopping on a rather secluded alley near Pokemon Center where I finally took my hand from her mouth. "Okay, listen here-"

"... I guess this is a good place to do it," spoke Courtney after looking around, before she did something that I was not expecting at all. Without any warning, she grabbed the zipper in her clothes, and quickly pulled it down, which revealed her enormous breast beneath that thick-layered white jacket. "Don't worry, There's nobody here, so you can use this as much as you please... According to my calculation, my size is large enough to please you… Though, this is the only thing I can do for you…. Since I spent all of my remaining money to get here..."

I stared incredulously at Courtney who's literally stripping her purple T-shirt.

"Please do enjoy your-"

Before my hand moved to deliver a swift karate chop on her head.

Courtney yelped in surprise, rubbed her head while giving me a questionable stare. "It hurts... Why did you hit me like that..?"

"Look, you can't just use your womanly charm to persuade someone like that!" I berated her while zipping her white jacket to partially cover her breast which is quite large for someone on her size. "And second, you didn't even let me finish explaining! I was about to ask you to follow me to Dewford gym to get my first badge first before I went back home where you can do that later!"

"... Oh, I misinterpreted your intention, my apologies…" said Courtney as she immediately bowed down in nearly perfect ninety degrees. Something that I didn't want as I quickly ushered her to stand again.

"Please stop with that. I am not mad or anything, just let me finish my thing first then we can talk about your intention later!"

"... I understand, then I shall wait for your first fight…" nodded Courtney as she put her hat back, and also zipped her jacket back up fully to cover her rather enormous breasts.

I am not staring, definitely not being marveled at how a girl with a small figure like her could have such humongous assets hidden beneath those thick clothes.

Jiggle.

… Okay, maybe I'm staring a little bit too much, considering Milotic's pokeball just gave a violent shake as if she knew what's going on inside my head.

I swear. One way or another, this girl is definitely a psychic type.

Maybe Milotic's hidden type is a psychic, considering how she always manages to keep guessing what's on my mind.

I took a deep breath.

'Calm yourself, Zale. Now is not time to lose control of your temper. Also, remember who the girl beside you is…' I mentally said to myself, unconsciously staring at Courtney who was shorter than me.

The girl on topic also stared back by raising her head to match my gaze without uttering any words.

'I still can't believe that someone that was previously known to be one of the most dangerous members of team Magma to be this much of an airhead.' I shook my head in disbelief, while deciding to focus on my task of getting my first badge.

"Let's go, the sooner we arrive at Dewford Gym, the better."

"... Okay…" Courtney just nodded as she followed me while grabbing the fabric on my clothes.

'It feels like taking a child to an amusement park…' I inwardly thought, and decided to not comment about it out loud as I then brought Courtney to the parking lot where I grabbed my bike while instructing her to sit behind.

Fortunately due to her size, I have little problem dealing with any extra weight, as I simply slammed the pedals which took the bicycle through the streets of Dewford City.

It didn't take me long enough to finally reach the Dewford Gym, as I dropped Courtney from the passenger seat after requiring a little bit of extra help.

"... So, this is the place…?" Courtney mumbled while looking upward at the building with blank expression.

I nodded at her question. "Yeah. Now what I need to do is report on the gym's reception, then wait in the queue for my turn to do the gym challenge."

"... Sounds like a bit of a hassle…" Courtney commented offhanded with a huf.

"Don't be rude Courtney, it's the rules here." I said to reprimanded her, but to no avail as she just looked at me with her usual blank stare.

"... Just stating the facts."

"I guess you do," I sweatdropped with her nonchalant attitude, but decided to drop it since I needed to focus on the upcoming gym battle. "Nevermind, let's go. The sooner I register myself, the faster I can get my turn."

Courtney nodded, as both of us strolled right into the reservation table, where it was located right in the middle of this building.

If I could describe it, this building was basically a combination of an actual gym with workout equipment which was located right in the inner section where most people are working out alongside their pokemon.

While most of the Pokemon were fighting types, there also several other types that worked alongside with their trainers with their own unique way, for example like when I saw a young Treecko currently running on a treadmill, or a Bulbasaur that was doing weight training with its whips to continuously lift barbels.

Heck, I even saw a bizarre scene where a freaking Serperior was doing running training on a treadmill.

"Oh, are you new here? Are you looking to join our Gym? I can help you with the registration if you want!"

I turned my attention towards the speaker, spotting a familiar spiky blue-haired, muscular man wearing a simple black t-shirt with orange motifs, and knee-length blue training pants, who greeted me while bringing a surfing board with an energetic tone on his greeting.

Courtney immediately went behind my back, while stealing a sneak peek behind me.

I guess she's not a people person, considering she was constantly on edge during our previous stroll before.

I immediately replied to him, already knowing who he was. "Not really, Mr. Brawly. I want to do a Gym challenge if that's possible for today."

"Oh? A Gym challenge?" Brawly said while rubbing his chin, before a look of recognition appeared on his face. "Oh, wait! Are you Zale by chance?"

"You know me?"

"Hah! No one here that didn't know you, Mr.-Sensation-of-our-town!" Laughed Brawly as he approached me while clapping my shoulder with a huge smile on his face. "You're the most talked about man ever for weeks here! Ever since the news about you owning a Milotic came in here from one of our regulars, our town has flourished with many tourists, and it is also increasing the number of people who try our gym, or simply do a gym challenge!"

I just shrugged about that, already having heard about it from the locals in the shop. "Well, it's happened, glad to help you, Mr. Brawly.

Brawly just laughed even harder while clapping my shoulder repeatedly. "It's really funny when you're the star of our city's sudden rising in popularity, but you're just being nonchalant about it!"

I smiled in response. "Not really my thing. Also, I would rather train with my pokemon than deal with my sudden popularity."

"And being modest as well! Wallace had a good apprentice! It makes me a bit jealous of him!"

"Well, aside from that, can I do any gym challenge now? If that's not a problem." I shrugged, while quickly returning to the topic, considering that I still have to deal with Courtney after this.

Looking at her, she had buried her body behind me, which was honestly adorable.

But to my utter confusion, Brawly just looked at me with a sheepish smile, while scratching his hair. "Well, it's not like that I have a problem with that, or with any other available gym trainer… It's just that, how do I explain it… Need to think of the exact word… Aha! You're overqualified!"

"Overqualified?" I repeated Brawly in response, unsure what to think about his description of me.

"Yeah," replied Brawly as he straightened his posture. "Basically the rule about the first gym is that all of the gym trainers, including the gym leader, must use any minimum requirement with a maximum of two first-stage evolution pokemon during the battle. But the thing about you is that you're just overqualified for this requirement, which is probably gonna be an easy battle for you, especially since you already have that Milotic which was trained by Wallace's Milotic, not to mention with that Alpha Gyarados of yours."

"But I just got a new pokemon with me, can I just use them during this battle?" I asked Brawly after hearing his explanation. But to my disappointment, he just shook his head.

"Not really, while you have that temporary license of yours, which I was informed about earlier by Wallace, it's not a pokemon that is eligible for this gym battle." Informed Brawly, which made me click my tongue in dismay. "But if you want, you could do a gym challenge with me, but I will change the rules of this fight."

This got me interested about this supposed rule change that he mentioned. "What kind of rule change?"

"In exchange for making this battle be one versus one, I will use a Pokemon from my main team."

Now this was a sudden turn of events that I did not expect.

I think from the way Courtney's hands were twitching briefly while she held my back, it could be said that she also didn't expect this as well.

"Well, what do you think about it? I am also fine if you're refusing it and choose to take a normal challenge instead." Brawly offered kindly, seeing my hesitation.

But I immediately shook my head, while staring directly at Brawly's sky-blue eyes. "No, I am fine with this. I will take it."

This caused whispers to spread among the other people who had been hearing the conversation from the beginning, as the crowd were stirring at the prospect of an unusual battle.

Brawly in response were nodding in feral grins. "Excellent response lad! Meet me in the stadium one after this, I need to go get my pokemon ready for his battle against you!"

With that, he quickly left the main hall.

And as soon as he left, the crowds in the gym exploded with excitement.

"Holy shit! Did you guys hear that!?"

"Gym Leader is gonna fight Zale with one of his main pokemon! Arceus damn!"

"This is not gonna be the same as the previous fight with Zale when he swept that arrogant loser! This is the real deal!"

"I gotta stream the fight! The internet is gonna enjoy this!"

Amidst the high anticipation from the crowds, I felt a slight tug from behind me, where I then looked at fuming Courtney as she gave me a dirty look while puffed her cheeks. "... You said it will be a quick fight… Not when you caused another uproar by accepting the Gym Leader's challenge… I want my Alpha analysis… Gimme the Alpha Gyarados…"

I swear I need to keep myself from outright smuggling her.

She's just too adorable.

-To Be Continued-

Beta Readers: Axe. Gerald of Revea, ReavesTheReader

Author note: Another update for Dripping. Nothing much except that the aftermath of the fight with the arrogant trainer. Also, I've read you guys' concern about the context in the previous chapter, which I will take note of. Though, people like him are exist in pokemon, just with less colorful words and with more profanity, lol

Anyway, see you in the next update.
Also I did a small edit about Gyarados' weight, hope you guys are okay with it.

Pokémon Status:

Milotic - Female
Type: Water
Height/Length: 8.8 M
Weight: 220.4 Kg
Ability: Marvel Scale
Move: Rain Dance, Aqua Ring, Toxic, Life Dew, Dragon Dance, Protect, Disarming Voice, Ice Beam, Water Pulse, Surf, Mist (Egg move)

Gyarados (Alpha/Shiny) - Male
Type: Water/Flying
Height/Length: 17.6 M
Weight: 1.134.7 Kg
Ability: Moxie
Moves: Rain Dance, Rest, Tackle, Waterfall, Fly, Bite, Flamethrower

Lapras - Female
Type: Water/Ice
Height/Length: 1.7 M
Weight: 193.10 Kg
Ability: Water Absorb
Moves: Sing, Confuse Ray, Ice Shard, Water Gun, Dragon Pulse, Freeze-Dry (egg move)

Hawlucha - Male
Type: Fighting/Flying
Height/Length: 1.0 M
Weight: 37.5 Kg
Ability: Unburden
Moves: Feather Dance, Detect, Taunt, Hone Claws, Wing Attack, Aerial Ace, Brick Break

Gastly (Shiny) - Male
Type: Ghost/Poison
Height/Length: 0.8 M
Weight: 0.05 Kg
Ability: Levitate
Moves: Confuse Ray, Hypnosis, Dazzling Gleam, Venoshock, Thunderpunch (egg move)