Chapter 6: Time to Brock and Roll
When we last left our Heroes, John the Ace Trainer, and Aya the Hobbyist Trainer, started their newfound teamship and friendship with a double battle interview with famous PokeNews crew Gabby and Ty and won.
After an hour of training, during a lunch break, the two helped a lost baby Psyduck find its mother before picking up a few items from the PokeMart.
The next day John and Aya head out to help a group of Paleontologists to a dig sight where they help the team find a few Pokemon Fossils, with John and Aya being allowed to take one each for themselves. A couple of evolution stones and John catching the brave female Riolu, Akira while he and Aya work together to calm down a Rhyhorn that she angered.
Once back in the city the two share what Pokemon they would like to own before finishing the day with some more training.
The next day things become dire as the Museum that sponsors Aya was robbed of one of its newest Pokemon Fossils by a mysterious thief. While Captian Jenny disapproved and turned down their help, our heroes went ahead to investigate the case of the missing Helix Fossil and soon found that a strange Machoke, the one that they heard rumors about amongst other Pokemon Trainers, was the one who stole the fossil. While they were able to get the fossil back they were unable to defeat the Fighting and strangely Ghost-Type Pokemon and were only able to escape by police interception. The night ended on a high note however as John finally met his first, and currently biggest fan, Kate the crazy, 4th-wall-breaking Mew.
Now with a Gym battle waiting around the corner and the threat of the seemingly unstoppable Machoke hanging over the nearby Mount Moon, we return to our young adventurers.
John and Aya woke up to the start of another week as they both got notification of their sponsor pay through their Pokedex. Both John and Aya agree to spend the entire day training as John wants to use the TM that Kate gave him to teach one of his Pokemon Rock Smash. They spend three hours at the Pokemon Center having their Pokemon do some experience training with John switching his Pokemon around so all 8 of his Pokemon can get the training and teaching Rock Smash to Akira for the first hour. After a quick lunch break, the two continue training with mock Pokemon battles, play fighting, and racing. While Rascal won against Brisby, Dizzy, and Monarch, the Munchlax tied with Sparks and lost to Akira, Holly, and Airazor during the mock trainer battles between their respective trainers. For play fighting Aya and John let Rascal, Airazor, Holly, and Akira go at it. Airazor and Holly seem to team up against the Munchlax and the Riolu as they find themselves on equal footing during their little play time but in the end, the female Nidoran came out on top. After their playtime, John and Aya let Sparks, Monarch, Dizzy, and Rascal race each other. Sparks still feeling a little timid about Pokemon bigger than her falls back as Rascal wins the race before she comes in second leaving Monarch coming in last right behind Dizzy. With training done and returning to Aya's home, the two trainers have a nice dinner with the girl's mother before turning in early to bed.
The next day John is standing outside the household of the Williams, clinching his fists and swallowing the lump in his throat as he mentally prepares himself for his first ever Gym battle. Aya who is standing next to him, places a hand on John's shoulder.
"Don't worry, I'm sure you got this. Remember. Gym battles are supposed to be challenging," Aya says while trying to encourage her friend,
"I know, it's just I have more losses than wins under my belt so far. I just gotta remember how I went about things against that Lass girl and this Samurai bug theme trainer that I battled before," John says with a sigh, but soon enough he steels his courage as he raises both fists to his chest before throwing them up into the air as he shouts to the sky, making Aya jump a little from his outburst. "Alright, Brock! Get ready because here I come!"
"OK champ in the making, if you are ready then let's head over to the gym," Gwen says as she ushers the two trainers to her car. After one car ride, they arrive at a building that looks like it was carved from one giant piece of grey stone. No, more like a small grey stone hill with steel beams. John marches in with Aya and Leo following right behind him as John heads up the the Gym's reception desk. Before the young teen girl at the desk can greet him, John dramatically points a finger at her.
"I'm here to challenge the Gym Leader for his Gym badge!" John boldly declares.
"Geez kid, do you have to be so dramatic and yell? You don't have to be rude though," the girl said as she started typing away on her computer. "Okay, first I need your Pokedex to register you for a battle today and tell me the number of badges that you have earned,"
"Earned? This is my first Gym challenge," John says as he hands over his Pokedex. The girl stops for a second before she starts laughing.
"No Badges? How are you supposed to battle Brock the Gym Leader if you don't have any badges?! Kid you better back out now or you are going to get creamed," the girl says while holding John's Pokedex.
"Now now, you know that my job as the Gym Leader is to help trainers grow," A voice calls out from behind John. John turns around and sees Brock himself walking up to them.
"Are you sure, Brock? This kid probably doesn't even have enough well-trained Pokemon to even last against a single one of yours?" said the girl.
"That may be so but he needs the experience. Sign him up," Brock says with a kind smile on his face before he turns his gaze onto John. "I remember you from the tournament. John was it?"
"Yes sir," John says with a nod.
"Now there's no need for that. You can just call me Brock. Now you better give me everything that you got. See you on the battlefield," Brock says as he walks away. With that, the teen girl scans John's trainer ID in his Pokedex before handing it back to him.
"Alright, you are all set. You may enter the Gym's battlefield through the locker room over there and try not to lose too badly," the teen girl says while pointing in the direction that John needs to go.
"Thank you and sorry about yelling," John says as he pockets his Pokedex.
"Mom went off to work but me and Leo will be watching from the stands. Good luck John," Aya says as she smiles in his general direction.
"Thank you, Aya. Here's to me getting a major win!" John says as he gives Aya a thumbs up, even though he knows that she can't see the gesture. Aya smiles before she walks away with Leo guiding her to the stands while John walks into the challengers' locker room. John takes the time to steel his nerves again, splashing water on his face before he sits down on a cushioned bench and thinks over his strategy. John knows for a fact or at least has a hunch that he will be facing against Rock-Type Pokemon considering the whole rock theme the city has going for itself. Even the design of the Gym building is a dead giveaway. The real question is what Pokemon Brock will be using based on his experience level, or there for lack thereof seeing as he has no badges to this point. John at least has the foresight to switch his team around as Sparks and Blaze would get cream due to their levels and what moves they currently have but which of the other six would he need to defeat Brock? John however knew which Pokemon he would be using as his Ace for this match but he knows that he can't solely rely only on them. It wasn't long until a Gym Trainer fetches John, letting him know it is now time for his Gym Challenge.
John follows the Gym Trainer out into the Gym's stadium and comes across a battlefield that he has not experienced firsthand yet. This battlefield is bigger than any of the ones he's used before. This has to be at least 105 by 68 meters big. The field itself is not just a flat floor but made of dirt, gravel, and tiny rocks. Dotted across the battlefield are boulders, large rocks, giant rocks, tall rock platforms, towering rock spires, a single giant rock arch formation, and a meter-high grey rock stage in the middle of the battlefield. With so many rock obstacles on the field, John almost didn't notice Brock on the other side of the massive field as he sat on top of his own rock platform on a padded mat in meditation.
"So, you're here. I hope you have improved since the Pewter City tournament because my rock-hard willpower is evident even in my Pokemon. The Pokemon I raise and care for are rock-hard, and have true grit determination!" Brock calmly says from his side of the field.
"Yeah, not only have I grown stronger since then but I have grown my team as well. I'm ready to knock down your rock-hard defense!" John declares as he points at Brock. Brock just smiles as he stands up.
"Then by my honor as a Trainer and my duty as the Pewter City Gym Leader, I accept your challenge. However, unlike normal league Trainer battles, Gym Battles have special rules." Brock announces.
"Rules? What rules?" John asks. Brock looks to the Gym Trainer who fetched John as he stands to the side of the battlefield as more and more people fill the stands. The Gym Trainer, now holding two flags steps forward.
"This will be a singles two verse two Pokemon Gym battle between John the challenging Trainer against Brock the Gym Leader. Only the Challenger is allowed to switch out Pokemon and use healing items. Healing items are only allowed to be used during switchouts and on Pokemon waiting on the bench. Furthermore, this match will be using official Pokemon League rules! All attacks will be non-lethal! Trainers are not allowed to directly interact with the battle such as attacking the Pokemon themselves or the other trainer! This will result in a disqualification to the offending trainer and thus will be forfeited the match. The match will end when all usable Pokemon are either fainted or touch the ground outside of the battlefield!" The gym trainer, now acting as referee announces. He raises a red flag towards Brock. "Gym Leader, Brock, Are you ready?"
Brock nods as he pulls out a Pokeball. The referee raises a green flag towards John. "Challenger, are you ready?"John nods as he readies Brisby's Pokeball.
"Then begin!" The Referee shouts as he waves both flags downwards. Both trainers call out their Pokemon as soon as they are given the signal to start the match. The female Rattata appearing 6 meters away from John while a rock-looking Pokemon with two arms appears on Brock's side as it levitates off the ground by a couple of feet.
"Go Brisby, use Focus Energy and charge at that rock!" John orders out.
"Goedude, use Rock Polish until you are as fast as that Rattata!" Brock calls out. Brisby closes her eyes and focuses on her power, pumping herself up before she races off towards the middle of the field. The Rock-type Pokemon rubs itself, polishing its rough rock body. He keeps doing this by the time Brisby races across the dirt battlefield by 15 meters in a matter of 22 seconds before it lowers itself to the ground and starts hopping towards the middle as well, matching the Rattata's speed. John gulps as he realizes that the Pokemon before him and Bribsy, the Geodude, is a level 10 male Rock and Ground-Type Pokemon, with an Impish Nature, with both the Levitate and Rock Type Strategist Abilities.
"Use Defense Curl!" Brock calls out. Bribsy keeps sprinting forward and around one of the large Stone spires as the Geodude wraps his arms around himself and curls up into a ball. Unlike with Rascal, Aya's Munchlax. The Geodude does not slow down as it is curled up and maintains his current speed as the Geodude just rolls across the ground.
"You can do this Brisby! Remember what we been through, these past 2 weeks and focus!" John cheers out as he makes Brisby remember their focus training seasons.
"I know you are curled up but remember to focus! You can still hit the Rattata!" Brock calls out as he does the same with his Geodude as John does to Brisby. Both Pokemon keep heading towards each other as Brisby jumps on top of the stone stage with ease while the Geodude rolls around a 6-foot-tall boulder that blocks his path. Bribsy runs along the 13-foot-wide stone stage before jumping off and landing back on the dirt field as the Geodude reaches another boulder, getting in sight of the Rattata.
"Get up on that Geodude and use Tail Whip!" John calls out.
"Now use Roll Out!" Called out Brock. Brisny races around the boulder and meets up with the Geodude, wagging her tail and lowering his defense. However, thanks to staying curled up from his defense curl, Geodude latterly runs over Brisby with such power that Brisby is instantly KOed in one hit. Up in the stands, Kate is watching the battle with Aya who has a single earbud in one ear as she is listening to the radio broadcast of the Gym battle. Aya gasped as she heard the result of the OHKO against John's Pokemon as his first Pokemon slot on the scoreboard fades to grey.
"Rattata is unable to battle! Geodude wins!" The Referee announces as he raises the red flag in the air.
"Wait what?" Kate says in shock as she was about to eat a paw-full of popcorn but stops and drops her popcorn. "N-no that can't be. Brisby can't faint! Everybody really likes her!"
"Oh no, this is not looking good," John says as he recalls Brisby back into her ball. "Looks like I have no choice. Go Akira!" John tosses out Akira's Pokeball and the Riolu appears on the battlefield.
"I told you my Pokemon have true grit. Now go Geodude. Get up onto that stone stage!" Brock calls out. Akira gives out a cute howl as she materializes on the battlefield. She picks up Brisby's scent, the scent of a nearby Rock-Type like the low-level Geodudes that she used to use as kickballs in the mountains that she'd run up and down on for days, and the stone stage sitting in the middle of the battlefield. She give an excited bark before she runs off towards the middle of the battlefield. The Geodude reaches the stone stage first as he levitates himself up onto the rock platform, seeing that he is closer to it than Akira was as his Trainer takes notice of how fast the Riolu can move.
"Uncurl and use Rock Polish until the Riolu reaches you!" Brock called out. As Akira reaches the side of the stone stage, Geodude unwraps his arms around himself and starts polishing his rocky hide, once again increasing his speed.
"Now Akira! Get up there and use Rock Smash!" John calls out. Up in the stands, Kate cheers out, happy that John used the TM that she gave him.
"Knock her back with Tackle!" Brocks call out. Akira jumps up onto the stone stage and races across the surface before punching the Geodude in the face with a stone-crushing punch, despite the Rock Pokemon's huge defense, the Riolu still delivers a huge amount of damage to him as it is super effective. The Geodude retaliates by slamming his rock-hard body against Akira's body, dealing almost the same amount of damage as she did. In reaction, Akira grunts, taking the power of Geodude's tackle into her other paw, and slams it against the Geodude, punching him in the face as she uses Counter before getting knocked back to the edge of the stone stage. Geodude is not looking good after that second punch.
"Now finish Geodude off with Quick attack!" John calls out.
"Oh, no Geodude! Block it with Defense Curl!" Brock calls out. Geodude tries to weakly bring his arms up to protect himself but Akira is a blur as she rushes back up to the Geodude and delivers a roundhouse kick to the Rock-Type's forehead. Despite doing little damage it was still enough for the Geodude to roll on his back and faint.
"Geodude is unable to battle! Riolu Wins!" The Referee calls out.
"Alright! You did it Akira!" John calls out as Brock recalls his Pokemon. At this, John pulls out a Potion and looks to the Referee. He nods and John rushes onto the battlefield and sprays Akira with the Potion, healing her back to full health before returning to his spot on the challenger's side.
"You did great but I'm not done yet!" Brock yells out before calling out his next Pokemon. A Huge snake-like Pokemon appears on Brock's end of the battlefield as it gives out a mighty roar, moving faster it starts to make its way towards Akira as the Riolu jumps off the stone stage and runs towards it. John stares in awe and shock at the size of the Pokemon but that doesn't stop him or his PokeManiac skills from identifying it. It's a male, level 12 Onix, a Rock and Ground-Type Pokemon. Much like the Geodude before him, he is of Impish nature with both Sturdy and Mountain Peak abilities. John however takes note of the things surrounding his own Pokemon as Akira gets about 16 feet away from the stone stage.
"Wait Akira, stay right there but be ready to move fast!" John calls out.
"Get in range and use Rock Throw!" Brock orders. As the Onix gets closer and closer to Akira, the Riolu stops and looks back at John confused as she tilts her head to one side. As Onix passes by the first large boulder that's when John decides to put his plan into action.
"Now Akira! Run through that archway!" He orders out.
"You're almost there Onix! Fire once you are close enough!" Brock calls out. Onix stops once he reaches between the second large boulder and the rock archway and roars as he fires a rock that flies toward Akira. Akira punches the rock as it stutters but the Riolu still took a bit of damage from the attack before she sprints towards the archway, reaching directly under the rock formation.
"Keep going through and around it! Try to climb up it!" John calls out.
"Now use Rock Tomb!" Brock calls out. Onix slams its tail against the ground as large rock boulders jet out of the ground near Akira but the boulders fall away from the Riolu as she continues to sprint through the archway and to her right. Putting the base of the rock formation between her and the Onix.
"Go around it and try to reach that Riolu!" Brock calls out. As Onix starts to make his way around the stone archway. Akira finds perfect paw-holds on the structure for her to start to make her way up the archway as she rock climbs her way to the top without the Onix or Brock noticing.
"Yeah just like that Akira! Keep your eye on the prize just like how we focused on yesterday!" John calls out happily as Akira becomes focused.
"Remember Onix, deep breaths, and focus on the target once you find it!" Brock calls out as Onix too becomes focused, Onix keeps moving but has to navigate around a couple of small boulders while Akira continues to climb up the rock and reach to the top where she can stand up on her hind paws. John signals the Riolu to position herself and wait up there. The Onix takes his time to carefully maneuver past all the rocks and boulders, looking for Akira before he starts to go through the Archway himself.
"Now Akira, ambush him and use Rock Smash!" John orders out.
"Quick Onix use Harden!" Brock calls out. Onix suddenly stops and its rock body glows as he hardens himself, increasing his defense. At this, Akira slides down from the archway and jumps. However, she timed her jump wrong and missed, landing on the Onix as she punched the Onix on her way down, dealing a little damage before righting herself in mid-air and landing on her hind paws.
"Man that Onix is tough. Quick Akira disengage and get away from him!" John calls out.
"Grapple it with Bind!" Brock orders out. Onix roars out as his tail lashes out at Akira, As he tries to coil its tail around Akira, the little Riolu uses both of her paws to keep the tail from closing around her with all of her might before jumping out of the Onix's grasp. Akira lands 12 feet away from the loop of the rock archway before moving another 3 feet away from Onix along the base of the end of said archway.
"That's it Akira! Now let's try our plan again! Don't let that Onix see you!" John orders out.
"Use Tackle!" Brock calls out. As Akira moves away from the Onix, using his long body he lashes his tail out to Akira, smacking her away 6 feet while dealing a good amount of damage. As Akira lands from the attack she rolls back up onto her hind paws and sprints off away from the Rock Snake Pokemon, running about 29 feet away and taking cover behind a large boulder.
"Go after her and use Rock Tomb!" Brock orders out. Onix quickly follows after Akira but with all of the rocks and boulders, he just can't seem to see her even as he slowly starts to make his way around the boulder that she is hiding behind as she sneaks around it, so the Onix won't notice her. Not seeing her in sight the Onix moves to try to go back around the archway, thinking that she is making laps around it. As soon as Onix started to move away Akira quickly ran back over to the side of the rock archway and started to climb back up as she found the perfect foot holds that allowed her to do so. As she gets to the top, the Onix slithers through the loop of Archway still looking for her. Brock at this time has not noticed that Akira has perched herself back on top of the giant rock structure as he heads towards his side of the field and back around the other side of the archway. As Akira reached the other end of the stone arch she was about to slide down the side but as her hind paws reached the edge, the edge broke away a few pebbles and she backed up a little as she couldn't find a good footing to strike her opponent.
Despite being out in the open, due to her high-ground advantage, Brock and Onix still can't seem to see the little Riolu on top of the archway. Onix begins to circle back around the rock archway still actively looking for the tiny pup. Akira slowly follows the Onix's movements. Testing the edge that she is on but still seems to can't find a good sturdy spot to begin her ambush. Onix looks up at the archway only for Akira to duck away from sight, missing by just a second as he continues to move around and back through the archway's loop once again. Akira finally finds a good footing as the Onix begins to make his way through the loop while she slides down the side and kicks off, She angles herself as she flies towards the Onix, putting more force to her Rock Smash attack as she punches the Onix right on top of his head. Dealing a decent amount of damage to him even with his tanky rock hide. Akira tries to reach out and grab onto his head fin but misses during her free fall. She quickly rights herself mid-air before landing on the Onix's back and slides down his body, jumping off the end of his tail before landing behind the Onix.
"Good job Akira, Now disengage and go at it again! It's our best shot of bringing that tank down!" John calls out.
"Onix use Rock Throw on the middle of that archway!" Brock calls out after witnessing how John and Akira are using the environment around them. Onix roars out as he fires a large rock at the bridge of the archway. The rock shatters as small cracks appear on the side of the archway while Akira backs away from the Onix.
"Use Tackle on the Riolu before she gets away!" Brock calls out. With his focus still on the rock archway, Onix swings his tail at Akira. The little Riolu however ducks just in time as the Onix misses and smacks his tail against the side of the stone archway, numbing it and lowering his special attack.
"WOOOOOO a Nat one!" Kate yells out from the crowd as Aya gives the Mew a questionable look.
"Um Kate, this isn't a tabletop game," says Aya. Kate floats up to Aya and gently pats her head.
"Oh if only Aya's face can see what Kate sees," said Kate as Aya and Leo sweatdrops.
Akira takes this moment to run over to the side of the structure once again while the Onix is recovering from his critical miss.
"Be careful Akira!" John calls out.
"Stop her with Rock Tomb!" Brock orders out. Onix roars out as all of a sudden a rock jets out from the side of the stone archway and falls on Akira. The Riolu punches the rock but yips as she still takes damage from it. Akira at this point is starting to look a little winded as she grabs onto a rock on the side of the archway but as she tries to pull herself up the rock breaks away and she falls on her rear.
"Now Onix use Rock Throw!" Brock orders out. Onix roars out as he fires another rock at the distracted Riolu.
"No, Akira look out!" John calls out but it's too late as the rock hits Akira upside the head, knocking her out.
"Riolu is unable to battle! The winner of the match goes to Brock the Gym Leader!" the Ref calls out.
"Noooooooo! Not Akira! Everybody really likes her!" Kate cries out.
"Um Kate, Akira just fainted. She's not dead." Aya points out, but she looks back out onto the field as John recalls Akira back into her ball. "Poor John, he trained so hard for the past week and only managed to knock out only one of Brock's Pokemon,"
John looks down at Akira's ball as she rests in it as the crowd starts to leave. At this point, Brock has recalled his Ace Pokemon and walks over to John.
"You may need more training but you did well holding up against my Pokemon. Using the archway was a good strategy," said the Gym Leader.
"Yeah but me and my Pokemon work so hard," John said with disappointment in his voice.
"Hey don't sweat it. Just because you lost one match doesn't me you failed at being a Pokemon Trainer. It just shows that you have a lot to grow. You have talent and I can see that. You just need to nurture that talent. Now go, get stronger, heal your Pokemon. I'll be here waiting for a rematch. Take all the time that you need." Brock says as he pats John on the head before he turns and starts to walk away. But he stops and looks over his shoulder at him. "Oh yeah, one more bit of advice. Maybe start the match off with a better Pokemon than your Rattata."
John nodded in response as he watched the Gym Leader leave the battlefield. John leaves the battlefield himself soon afterward, head hanging low as his mind races with thoughts of what went wrong, how he could improve his strategies against Brock's rock-hard defenses, and what he could have done differently.
His mind races back to both the times he lost to the Bug Samurai in the forest and the Lass before him and how he lost to them. He also lost to Aya when they met but at least he gained a friend and it was a single Pokemon tournament and not a full-on battle. However, thinking back on all these losses he has to trainers who are not Flash just fills him with a mixture of frustration and determination. He wants to get better.
He wants to become a champion. He wants to be the Adventuring Hero that others can look up to when the chips are down but how could he? John feels like he is getting nowhere. John is snapped out of his thoughts as Aya and Leo call out to him in the lobby. Kate is nowhere to be seen as the Mew has teleported off to some unknown location.
"H-hey John, . . . Are you OK?" Aya asks as Leo leads her to their friend.
"Yeah, I am. Just frustrated is all. I thought I had it with Akira and that Brisby could easily take care of Brock's first Pokemon." John says with some of his frustration slipping into his voice.
"Kate was, interrupting the battle here and there in her, um own Kate way. I have no idea what a grid has to do with a Pokemon battle or tokens. But I do think you were on to something about jumping from a towering boulder and powering up Akira's attack with gravity was a good idea," said Aya.
"I know! But that Onix is at a higher level and has such a strong defense! We could barely put a dent in its rocky hide," John says as he almost shoots out loud. "If only my first Pokemon could just beat that Geodude and help Akira take down that Onix."
"Well, maybe you have a Pokemon that can learn an attack that might help?" Aya suggested. At that, both trainers pull out their Pokedexs and start researching on all the Pokemon that John currently owns.
Only a few minutes passed before both of their faces lit up as they came to the same conclusion
"Holly!" both John and Aya called out.
"That's it! Holly could be my opening," John says as he puts his Pokedex away while Aya does the same.
"She has the best chance since you don't have any more TMs and there's no known tutors around here that can teach her a new attack outside her leveling move pool but wouldn't she be weak to ground type attacks?" Aya asked in concern.
"I got a plan for that," John says as hope is starting to build up inside of him. 3 hours passed and after a trip to the Pokemon Center, John and Aya found a spot on the outskirts of the city to train. John releases both Holly and Akira out of their Pokeballs.
"Alright girls we got a lot of work to d-Hey" John was about to say only for Akira to start running around the tall trees in the area, barking happily as she still has a ton of energy to burn off.
"Akira come on, we got training to do, you can burn up your energy with that!" John calls out as he tries to get the Riolu to focus on him. It appears to work as Akira stops, looks at him and runs over to him. Standing with full attention, tail wagging and bouncing on her paws as she can't wait to get to training.
"Alright girls, for the next few days we are going to some work on our strategy. First off Akira, not are we going to work on your Rock Smash but we are going to work on your climbing," John says as Aya and Leo start setting up wooden targets. Akira tilts her head in confusion.
"And you Holly we are going to work on your digging and jumping," John says as he kneels down to the Nidoran. At first, Holly just tilts her head in confusion but moves up to her trainer and starts nuzzling his shin. Akira lets out a few happy barks before she runs up to John, leaping up, and punches him in the gut.
"Gah!" John coughs out before he falls over onto his back, holding his belly.
"Aw, such a playful little Riolu," Aya says while smiling while Leo snickers. As John recovers from the punch, Kate suddenly appears before him.
"Kate wants to help so Kate brought a gift!" said the Mew as she held out a Potion to John.
"Oh um, thank you, Kate. I'm sure this will help with our upcoming rematch," John says as he puts the Potion away into his backpack.
"Alright Akira, I want you to climb up that tree to the first branch, jump off, and use Rock Smash on the closes target," said John as he points to a nearby tree, one of the targets that Leo set up only stood on it's wooden stand about 6 feet away from the tree's trunk. Akira quickly rushes towards the tree and starts climbing it, she has a little trouble doing so as the tree's bark doesn't have the same grip holds that the rock structures in Brock's Gym had but she manages to climb up to the first sturdy branch that she can get to. As she is about to jump off the branch the Riolu slips and falls off but quickly rights herself in midair and was able to land on her paws without hurting herself.
John turns towards Holly and points at a target that is set up on a stand that is 4 feet off the ground.
"Alright, Holly I want you to jump up at that target and kick it with one of your hind legs," John orders out to the Nidoran. Holly gives out a squeak of acknowledgment and a nod before she scampers over to the target. Holly jumps up to the target but her height comes sort by 1 foot as she is unable to kick the target as ordered.
"Alright you two, again" John orders out to the two Pokemon.
"Yay! Training montage time!" Kate yells out happily.
Over the next few days, John has Holly and Akira work these same exercises along. Every day as they reach their goal, John increases the height of how far Akira would climb and increases the distance the target that she needs to hit farther and farther, while Holly has higher and higher targets. Aya also helped in John's training by researching stretching and bending exercises for the two Pokemon and helping John plan out obstacles for agility and endurance training courses. John would also have Akira and Holly run jumping drills, Jumping from platform to platform at the Pokemon Center, and balancing training. Having the two mon's run along balancing beams. Making them jump farther and from the platforms becoming smaller. The balance beams became more narrow and obstacles added to the balancing training with Rascal and John's other Pokemon throwing tennis balls and using attacks across the beams.
John even takes some time to have Monarch get in some time so the Metapod can catch up to the rest of his teammates. As the days go by Holly has not only managed to be able to jump higher with extra effort but has started to kick the targets with both of her hind legs.
Two weeks pass before John feels that his Pokemon are ready. With a tasty breakfast made by Aya, John gave the Oran berry to Akira to eat as well.
"Feeling good about the rematch today?" Aya asks as they leave her house.
"We trained hard for the past couple of weeks and I got an improved game plan. I think we are ready," answers John. Some time later they arrive at the Pewter City Gym. As John issues his rematch at the reception desk, being less dramatic about it than he was two weeks ago while Aya and Leo go off to find their seats. In a few minutes, John finds himself back on the challenger's side of the massive battlefield with Brock waiting for him on the other side, on top of his little rock platform.
"Welcome back, I was wondering when you were going to challenge me again," Brock said with a soft smile.
"Even if it takes me a month to be ready for you, I won't back down. I'm going to win my badge no matter what!" John declares.
"Then let's get started," Brock calls out. As the referee reseights the rules from last time John readies Holly's Pokeball. Once the Referee has mentioned healing items John steps forward.
"Excuse me, but what about the use of battle items such as X-items?" asked John.
"Yes, the use of battle items will be allowed," said the Referee. "With that, Gym Leader, Brock! Are you ready?" he asks as he raises the red flag toward Brock who in return nods. The referee raises the green flag towards John. "Challenger, are you ready?"
"I'm ready!" said John. At the Referee's signal, both trainers call out their Pokemon with Geodude appearing on Brock's side and Holly the Nidoran on John's. Right away, John tosses the X-accuracy capsule to Holly who quickly jumps up and catches the capsol and swallows it. Kate who has appeared next to Aya in the stands cheers out happily as she gets to see one of her gifts being used.
"Alright, Holly! Use the rocks and boulders to sneak up on that Geodude!" John calls out.
"Use Rock Polish!" Brock orders out.
Holly right away dashes forward towards her left, running past by a boulder as she tries to find cover but Brock and his Geodude are following her movements as Geodude rubs himself, smoothing out his rocky hide and making himself shinier and faster.
"They can still see you, Holly! Find cover quick!" John calls out
"Rock Polish again and don't lose sight of that Nidoran!" Brock orders out
Holly looks around her surroundings. She sees three more large rocks that are the same height as her if not just a little bit bigger in front of her, laid out in a triangle positions. a giant boulder four meters north of the right boulder. To her admittedly left is a large wide gaint rock formation that looks much like the top of a mountain. Holly decided to quickly dash to the center top of the three boulders and take cover. With her small size and speed, both Brock and his Geodude lost track of her. Geodude once again massages his rocky hide before he floats off towards the center of the battlefield.
It become a tense few minutes for both sides as Holly weaves around and dashes from one rock to another to hide herself from Brock's and his Geodude's sights as Geodude moves towards where he last saw the Nidoran. After he passes the center of the battlefield, did Brock notices Holly as she dashes to another rock as she tries to catch up with the Rock Pokemon.
"She's right behind you! Use Defense Curl!" Brock calls out.
Holly yips as Brock spots her hiding behind a large rock that is 7 meters behind the Geodude. Quickly she dashes to a rock near Geodude and dives behind it as Geodude turns towards her. Barely almost catching her diving for another hiding spot. Now knowing that the Nidoran is nearby, he stays still as he rests his body on the dirt floor of the battlefield and wraps his arms around his round rocky body as he curls up into a ball.
"Now Holly! Use Double Kick!" John calls out.
"Use Rollout!" ordered Brock
Holly quickly runs around the rock that she was hiding behind and jumps towards the Geodude. She spins her body as she kicks the Geodude's forehead with her right hind leg and launches herself off him as she spins around again and lands another kick with her left leg before landing before him. Both kicks dealing minimal damage.
Holly squeaks out in surprise as the Geodude starts to roll in her direction, The Nidoran reacts quickly as she jumps over the Geodude before she was run over by him.
"You can do it, Holly! Just remember all that hard work that we did for the past 2 weeks! Remember how you dodge all those tennis balls! You got this Holly! Use Double Kick again!" John calls out to inspire the Nidoran.
"Use Rock Polish one more time!" ordered Brock.
As Holly lands on the ground she lurches backwards and kicks the back of the Geodude with her left hind leg before she jumps around and lands another kick over the top of his head with her right as the Geodude uncurls himself and massages his body once again.
"Quick go underground before that Geodude can hit you!" John calls out.
"Now use Rollout!" yelled out Brock
Geodude turns around, rolls across the ground, and quickly runs over Holly dealing a decent amount of damage to the Nidoran, flattening her. Rather than getting up, she starts digging into the ground and burrows herself underground to avoid any more attacks from the Rock-Type.
"Now put that jump training to use with Double Kick!" ordered John.
"That won't work! Use Defense Curl!" Brock calls out.
Geodude once again wraps his arms around his body and curls up into a ball. All of a sudden, one of Holly's legs kicks out from underneath Geodude, hitting him from the underside and lifting him off the battlefield floor. Holly's other leg immediately lunches out from the ground and sends the Geodude into the air.
"Now Holly put that training we had into use!" John cheers out.
"Wait for her to come out of the ground and use Rollout!" Brock ordered.
As Geodude is launched into the air he keeps going up but stops and levitates about 6 feet off the ground as he looks down to the two small holes in the dirt floor made by Holly, waiting for her. Holly feeling determined to not disappoint her trainer, bursts from the ground as she kicks off with as much force as she can put into her hind legs, sending her higher than what she can normally jump at. As she levels up with the Geodude, Holly twists her body in midair and slams her right hind paw out towards the Rock Pokemon, dealing a little more damage than what she was doing before. However the force of her kick sends her back toward the ground and lands on all fours, unable to get a second kick in before she does so.
"Try and dodge his next attack and hit him with another Double Kick!" John calls out
Geodude starts spinning in the air before he falls towards Holly but the Nidoran jumps over the Geodude as he hits the ground behind her. Having enough of this Geodude and not wanting to lose her privileges for pets and cuddles by John, Holly once again twists her body in midair as she lets out a kick with her right leg against the Geodude's back. The force of her first kick kept her airborne as she once again twists her body before landing a more powerful kick with her left as she deals a good amount of damage to the Geodude.
"You got this Holly! I believe in you! Go for another Double Kick!" John calls out.
"Use Tackle Geodude!" Brock orders out.
Geodude quickly turns around and launches himself forward toward Holly as the Nidoran lands back on her feet, slamming into her and sending her rolling about 6 feet across the battlefield floor. Holly quickly picks herself up and charges toward the Geodude as she leaps up and spins in midair, putting her all into her next attack as she lands a kick on the Geodude's face. As she lands on her forelegs, she exhales a bit as her left hind leg lashes out with a weaker kick, hitting the Geodude in the chin. Despite the weaker kick, the Geodude slowly rolls onto his back with his arms falling to his sides as he faints.
"Geodude is unable to battle! Nidoran wins!" the Referee calls out as he holds up the green flag.
"Alright, you did it, Holly!" John calls out! Holly looks up to John and squeaks out a happy "Nido Nido!" as John is allowed to run out to the field and apply a potion on her with Brock returning his Geodude. Brock waits until John is back in his spot before her calls out his Onix.
"I gotta say you have improved your strategy but will it be enough against my Onix? Go Onix, get that Nidoran!" Brock calls out.
Onix lets out a roar before he slowly starts to slither across the battlefield. Holly lets out a squeak of surprise once she notices the huge Onix on the other side. The Nidoran quickly runs 4 meters to her left and dives behind a large rock for cover.
"That's it, Holly! Keep yourself hidden until you can get in range of a sneak attack" John called out.
"Keep an eye out for that Nidoran. Once it's in range use Rock Throw!" Brock orders out as he loses sight of Holly.
As Onix moves towards Holly's last known location he however doesn't spot the Nidoran as she weaves around the multiple large rocks and boulders, keeping out of sight of the Onix and
Brock while putting herself in a position to follow the huge rock snake Pokemon. As Onix begins to circle around Holly's last known area, Holly suddenly rushes around a giant rock and leaps up towards Onix's right flank. Her first kick was off by an inch too soon but she lands her second kick against the Rock-Type's sides, dealing minimal damage to him.
"Use growl, Holly!" John calls out
"Now Onix!" orders Brock.
Onix glares down at Holly as he swings his tail with a mighty roar, throwing a large rock that smacks the Nidoran in her face, dealing a good amount of damage to her. Holly does her best to shake off the attack as she growls at the Onix, lowering his attack power.
"Just hang on Holly and use Growl again!" ordered John.
"Use Bind and grapple that Nidoran!" Brock calls out.
Onix's tail then lashes out towards Holly to wrap her in his rocky coils, however as soon as the Rock Snake Pokemon's tail closes in on her, Holly quickly climbs over the tail before the Onix can squeeze down on her, growling at him once again while jumping off his tail.
"Go Holly go! Use Growl again!" John cheered out.
"Use Rock Tomb!" ordered Brock
Onix lets out another mighty roar as Holly lands back on solid ground but only for four rock spires to burst from the ground and slam against her. Dealing a good amount of damage while slowing the Nidoran down. Holly tries to growl at the Rock-Type once again but the pain of the rocks slamming into her makes her let out a squeal of pain as she is unable to let loose her sound base attack.
John sees that Holly is starting to look rough, holds up her Pokeball, recalls her back into it, and tosses out Akira's Pokeball, sending out the little Riolu. Akira looks around and spots the Onix about a good 30 meters away from her as the Rock-type towers over most of the giant rocks that lay between the two Pokemon. John takes this time to apply another Potion to Holly by connecting the nuzzle of the bottle to the Pokeball's activation button. Allowing the healing liquid inside to enter the ball and heal Holly to a certain point. Up in the stands, Kate squeals as she watches John heals Holly.
"Yay! John is using the Potion Kate gave him! Kate is a good helper!" Kate cheers as she tears into a large bag of Skittles.
"How do you know he used the bottle you just gave him two weeks ago? He has more than one." Aya asks.
"We sure did Aya! We sure did!" Kate says before Aya turns back to focus on the radio broadcast of the match.
"Come on John, you can do it this time. You trained hard for this. I know you can do it," Aya quietly cheers as she is on the edge of her seat. Leo sensing her tense state gently places a paw on Aya's shoulder to try to calm her down, but the young Trainer is to focus on the match before her and in her ear.
"Remember our training Akira! You know what to do! I believe in you!" John calls out to Akira.
"Go Onix! Get in range of that Riolu and use Rock Throw!" Brock orders out.
Onix easily spots Akira as he peers over the series of rocks and boulders and starts to make his way towards her. However, Akira pays no mind to the Onix as she spots a towering stone spire right in front of her and she starts to sprint towards it. As soon as Akira reaches the base of the spire, Onix rounds the the rock structure on her left, flicking his tail and launching a large rock toward the Fighting-Type. Akira punches the rock, smashing it to pieces but winches in recoil as she still takes a bit of damage to the attack.
Akira quickly dashed around to the other side of the spire, sneaking away from both Onix's and Brock's view for the moment as she starts to scale up the rock spire going up a few meters in a matter of seconds, jumping to the edge of the first ridge that rings around the rock structure and pulling herself over it with no difficulty. All that training with climbing trees is starting to pay off for her.
However, Brock is on to John's and Akira's game as he is able to spot the little blue dot from going up the spire.
"Up there Onix! Use Rock Throw!" Brock ordered out.
As Onix snakes his way to where he last saw Akira, he quickly looks up to see the Riolu is almost halfway up the Spire, He roars angrily at her as he launches another large rock at her. Akira quickly deflects the rock before it can knock her off her rocky perch but winches in pain as the force of the rock deals the same amount of damage as last time. Akira quickly runs along the ringed ridge as she does her best to hide away from Brock's and his Onix's sights.
This seems to work as Brock groans in frustration as he loses sight of the Riolu while his Onix starts to slowly circle around to locate the little Fighting-Type. Akira on the other hand continues her climb up, jumping to the second and last ridge of the spire. Pulling herself up over the edge she keeps on going until she has reached the very top.
"That's it Akira! Now get in range and use Rock Smash!" John cheers out.
"Watch out Onix!" Brock calls out trying to warn his Pokemon but Akira is so high up that he is not sure where she is coming from the spire.
Akira watches from above as the Onix circles around the spire before she jumps off toward him head first, with her arms to her sides to increase her speed towards the huge Pokemon. Just as she is a few feet away from him, Akira twists her body into a somersault to build up power in her attack. Rather than punching the Onix as she free falls past his middle section, Akira slams her hind paw in an axe kick on the buffiest boulder section as she delivers her Rock Smash attack, upon impact, a shock wave of energy rings out all the while Onix roars out in pain as Akira dealt a massive amount of damage to him before she super-hero lands next to the Rock-Type's right, leaving a indentation in the dirt floor of the battlefield.
"Great job Akira! Hit him again with Rock Smash!" John cheers out.
"Use Tackle Attack!" Brock orders out.
Onix suddenly lashes out and slams his head against Akira, knocking her back a few feet and dealing some damage to her, however, Akira was prepared for the incoming attack as she braces her with Counter, transferring the force of the blow down to her hind paws as she kicks the Onix in the chin. Delivering twice the amount of damage that she received.
Akira lands on her back as Brock's Onix lets out a roar of pain towards the ceiling of the gym. He stood still for a few seconds before he collapsed onto his side with a mighty clash with swirls in his eyes.
"Onix is unable to battle! The winner of the match is John Russi!" the referee announces as he raises the green flag towards him.
"Yes, we did it!" John cheers out loud. Akira lets out a happy howl of excitement as she runs back towards John. John seeing that his little Riolu wants to celebrate their win kneels down with his arms wide open for a hug, that is until Akira jumps up and happily punches him in the gut. John cries out and keels over, clinching his belly.
Brock smiles at this comical scene before him as he returns his down Onix back into its Pokeball. He gives John time to recover before he makes his way across the battlefield before pulling John back to his feet and giving him a firm handshake.
"You sure are quite the come-back kid! You must have put your whole heart and soul into your training since we last battled two weeks ago," said Brock.
"Thank you, I only just took your advice and rolled with what I had. Besides it wasn't just me, this was a win for my Pokemon as well and I have a friend who helped with my training as well. You see, I wanna be a great adventuring hero and befriend as many Pokemon as I can." said John as he smiles.
"I can see you love Pokemon a lot and that you have been bitten by the wounder-lust bug, As proof of your victory here, I confer onto you this," Brock reaches into a pouch on his belt before he pulls out a small pin that is a plan octagon shape badge in a simple gray color, "The official Boulder Badge of the Pewter City Gym."
John takes the Gym badge along with an award money of 1,400 Poke. He pockets the money as he holds up the badge in triumph and cheers out, "I got the Boulder Badge!"
John quickly puts the badge away and bows to Brock, thanking for him the Gym Battle. Just as he turns to leave Brock suddenly remembers something and holds a hand out towards him.
"Wait! I got one more thing to give you," Brock calls out before he reaches back into his belt pouch again.
"Huh? You're giving me one more thing?" John asks.
"Yes, here take this," Brock says as he pulls out a disk marked TM39. "This TM contains the same move that my Onix knows, Rock Tomb, Its a move that deals a good amount of damage and reduces the speed of its target."
"Thank you, I'll make sure that this TM won't go to waste and pick the right Pokemon for it," John says as he pockets the disc away into his backpack. With that, he leaves the battlefield after wishing Brock a good day, as soon as he is in the lobby he is glomped by Kate.
"Yay! John-face won! John is as tough as a rock! John is rock-hard! John rolls with the punches! John and Akira had a solid strategy to win! Akira pummeled that Onix into a pile of pebbles! Mr. Geodude's Defenses ended up being a little rocky! John-face ended up rock bottom at first but he bounced back! John grinded Brock's Pokemon down to sediment!" Kate cheered before Leo walked over and pulls the Mew off John while leading Aya to the group.
"Okay, Kate I think we got the point," said Aya
"Kate is just being sharp as diamonds with Kate's puns," said Kate.
"Okay, I think it's time for you to be caught by a poke-" Aya begins to say before Kate slaps her on the forehead.
"Stranger danger!" Kate suddenly yells out before she teleports away.
"You know she's an over-leveled Pokemon, right?" John asks.
"I know but Mews are cute," said Aya.
"Yeah but do you really want a Mew that's crazy as her?" asked John.
"Well do you have a point, but when are we ever going to encounter another Mew?" asked Aya.
"Maybe never but I have a feeling that Kate will be following us until the end of time," said John
"But in any case, I'm glad that you earned your very first Gym Badge, maybe we should celebrate?" suggested Aya.
"Yeah! We could use a good meal but first, we should head to the Pokemon Center. Akira and Holly do need to recover after that battle," said John. After a visit to the Pokemon Center, John and Aya head back to Aya's home where they meet up with her mother and relay the news to her of John's victory. That night, Gwen ordered pizza from the best pizzeria in town. Many slices of pizza and soda were enjoyed that night by the two young trainers and their Pokemon, even if Leo has to keep an eye on Rascal to make sure that the Munchlax doesn't devour all of the pizza.
The next day John and Aya head over to the Pokemon Center where John switches out Akira and Holly for Sparks and Blaze, believing that the Riolu and Nidoran deserve a good break for beating Brock's Pokemon. Before relaxing for the rest of the day the two young trainers stop by the Pokemart with Aya purchasing 10 Pokeballs, 15 Potions, 5 bandages, and a few rations for both herself and her Pokemon while John bought 4 Pokeballs, 18 Potions, 4 Antidotes, 5 bandages and the same amount of rations for himself and his Pokemon as well, Aya also received a free Premier Ball. A white Pokeball that is given out for promotions and has the same effect as a basic Pokeball.
The next morning Gwen drove the two to the west outskirts of Pewter City, Gwen looked down at Aya with a sad smile as John walked a bit ahead to give the two their privacy.
"So this is it, huh? You're finally going out on your Pokemon adventure," Gwen says as she tries to keep her voice from cracking.
"Y-yeah, I promise I will come back and we'll visit when we can," said Aya, the two then embraced each other in a hug as they hold on to each other.
"Oh my sweet little Aya, you are growing up so fast," Gwen says as she sniffs.
"Mom, please. . . Y-you're going to embarrass me in front of my friend," Aya says as she blushes.
"I'm a Mom, it's part of the job," Gwen's voice cracks as she jokes. "Just be sure you stay safe out there."
"I will Mom, and I promise you. I'll make you proud and prove Dad wrong and that I can be just as good as any other trainer out there," said Aya. Soon the two break the hug as Gwen looks over to Leo.
"I'm counting on you and John to keep Aya safe for me Leo," said Gwen. Leo gives her a bark as he nods towards her while Aya wraps her arm around the Lucario's.
"Well, Mom. . . See you later, take care," said Aya. With goodbyes said Aya has Leo lead her back over to John as the two friends head off towards route 3 and the looming Mount Moon. What Pokemon will they encounter? What dangers will they face? And what mysteries surround the unstoppable Machoke that has made its home on the mountain? Or maybe there's a bigger mystery and a bigger threat just off the coast of Kanto, waiting to be discovered as the journey continues.
Chapter Playlist:
Gym Lobby - Pewter City Pokemon Anime Music
Vs Geodude - Battle! Kanto Gym Leader - (Intense Orchestral/Rock Cover) mattRlive
Vs Onix - Her Name Was Delvaria | The Unexpectables II (Delvaria Battle Theme) Lorian Ross
Training time - Montage South Park
Vs Geodude rematch - Gym Leader Battle R/B/Y metal cover RichaadEB
Vs Onix rematch - Battle! Kanto Rival Pokemon Anime
Boulder Badge - I got a Victory Badge Pokemon Anime
Leaving Pewter City - run away Pokemon Mystery dungeon Blue/Red Rescue Team The Noble Demon arrangement
Sorry for the wait everyone, while I wrote in the last chapter that I would be taking a bit of a break of writing Chapter 6, it took me longer than what I thought as i did had a bit of trouble with figuring out a couple of scene transitions along with distractions by some of my other hobbies inculding gaming, not to mention that my day job has been rough lately with only a handful of us working and a audit coming up any day now for my place of work. Sometimes leaving too tired to focus on writing and getting distracted by watching videos, listening to music or even just gaming out. But hey at least I have a bigger playlist for this chapter then last chapter.
Once again I wanna thank Blindwolf87 for his continued support and help with suggestions and allowing me to use his character Aya Williams. I will also like to thank the fine and friendly users over that discord Channel A New Chance to Chat on the writing help channel. If you haven't already, go check out ArcyAnderson on and his A New Chance series. It's really good and I recommend his work. I'll have the next chapter done as soon as I can, just no set due date. Viva la Soul Dew!