It took a little while before Lexi's eyes had adjusted. The door had not led directly to the Gym, or even to a simple hall leading towards it. Lexi and Aiden stood in the beginning of an old mining tunnel. The walls were dark and damp, and the only light came from a long string of lamps in the center of the ceiling, which were attached to the middle of dark wooden beams. The silhouette of the Gymleader was visible in the distance. As they walked, Lexi noticed the ground still had an imprint of a railroad sticking out from the cement layer, that had been put on to prevent people from tripping.
The ceiling rose a bit and the tunnel widened, creating a small room. Here James turned around and smiled: ''So, who will be my first opponent?''
''I am.'' Aiden responded and winked at Lexi. She smiled and nodded. Aiden and James continued through the tunnel in front of them as Lexi went to a side tunnel James had pointed her to. The tunnel was brightly lit with handrails on the walls, which guided her through the steep tunnel to a small stand next to the battle field. Lexi sat down on a black seat and put her bag on the white one next to her, taking out the egg. Aiden already stood on the right side of the, of course, black and white battle field and James had almost reached the left. Lexi looked around. It felt weird to suddenly have so much space around her after the narrow tunnels.
James had reached his side and turned around. A girl holding two flags walked onto the battlefield, but James held up his hand. ''Just a second Sofie, I first like to tell the boy something.'' The girl nodded and stepped back, putting the flags behind her.
''Battles in my Gym work a bit different from what you might be used to. You see, my eyes are very sensitive to light, so when the sun shines or there are bright lights, I need to wear sunglasses. But here in my Gym, I can make the rules myself and adjust them enough to be able to fight in such a way that I can enjoy it the most. So that's why I want to warn you, as soon as Sofie is done telling the rules, the lights will almost completely go out. But, to make the fight a bit more fair to my opponents, I allow them to use any pokémon they have. You can use all the pokéballs you've brought with you to defeat my two pokémon, good luck.''
Lexi could see Aiden was surprised by this information and didn't pay much attention to what Sofie was saying. Lexi moved around in her seat, feeling worried for Aiden as well as herself. Sofie had stopped talking and slowly the lights dimmed. Lexi was just able to see Aiden as he rummaged through his bag.
''I'll go first, Murkrow!'' A small winged pokémon appeared above the field. Lexi took out her pokédex and studied it as Aiden sent out Hoothoot. ''Murkrow, the Darkness Pokémon. Many people believe that if you see a Murkrow at night, it will bring bad luck.''
For a moment nothing happened as Aiden franticly tried to think of a plan.
''Murkrow, Pursuit.'' The command was short but it had been enough. The murkrow didn't even seem to flap its wings as it shot towards Hoothoot, ramming into him with its beak which had a slight purple glow to it. Aiden ordered a Hypnosis but, even though Hoothoot was able to see perfectly in the dark room, he missed the attack and got knocked out by murkrow's Wing Attack immediately after. Aiden returned his pokémon and Lexi wondered which one he would sent out next. To her surprise it was Pidgey, the tiny bird pokémon landed near Aiden and scanned the sky to find its opponent. Lexi had great trouble hearing anything he said but understood he was going to use Pidgey's Sand Attack to lower murkrow's accuracy and give Krabby a fighting chance. Pidgey was able to use her attack two times, before being knocked out as well.
Aiden took out his last pokéball and sent out Krabby. 'Pay attention Krabby, your opponent can fly. So try and stay alert for aerial attacks.'' Aiden informed his Pokémon. Krabby looked around but didn't move, as this was still quite difficult for him. Up in the stands Lexi hugged her egg tighter.
''Krabby, Bubblebeam!'' A steam of bubbles travelled from one side of the field to the other without hitting its target. Krabby slowly turned his body a bit and shot a second stream, this time upwards. Lexi could hear the murkrow fall.
''Pursuit'' James ordered again, and Aiden could see the beak with purple glow shooting towards his pokémon. But even though Krabby was not able to move, the murkrow shot right passed him.
''Ah, I guess those Sand Attack's had more effect that I thought,'' James laughed, ''Let's see, Murkrow, try Peck.''
Murkrow was still close to Krabby, and landed right behind him. It was able to Peck Krabby once, before a claw grabbed its body tightly. It wiggled around trying to escape, but the grip was too strong. Krabby turned around, taking his left pincher out if its uncomfortable position, and looked at Aiden, who smiled as he shouted: ''Finish it with BubbleBeam!''
Murkrow had no way to escape. Lexi could see the reflection of the dozens of bubbles in the faint lights, but only knew for sure Aiden had won the battle when she heard the referee declare the knockout. Aiden looked up to Lexi with a smile and waved to her, as James took out his second pokéball. ''Come out, Umbreon!''
Lexi and Aiden gasped as the Pokémon exited its ball, both now knowing to which pokémon the ears and tail on the logo belonged to. Its yellow rings lit up momentarily, but then the glow was gone and the pokémon was barely seeable, just like the murkrow had been.
Krabby wasn't able to see his opponent coming, and was hit by move after move. Lexi wondered how Aiden would try and win against a pokémon fresh out its pokéball with his tired Krabby. But before she had finished her thought, the lights got brighter and Sofie stood back up, ''Krabby is unable to battle, Umbreon wins. This means the victory goes to James.''
The fight was done and it was Lexi's turn to get on to the field, but both trainers were still processing what happened.
''Don't worry, you did pretty well.'' James walked across the field to Aiden, who was clenching his fists. '' You can't always win. But that doesn't mean you can't try again. I'll be waiting here for you, whenever you want to give it another go.''
Aiden quickly wiped his eyes, and looked up. ''Okay'' he murmured.
James turned to Lexi and shouted ''Our match will start in a few minutes, I'll be right back.''
Aiden climbed over the wall which separated the stands from the field and walked up the stairs, sitting down next to Lexi's bag. ''Well, that wasn't fun.'' Aiden sighed and wiped his eyes again. ''Did it feel this bad when you first lost? I felt so useless, so desperate to find a way out but I couldn't find it.''
Lexi looked at the field and the celling, now both well-lit again, which had some scratches caused by Krabby's BubbleBeam. ''I felt disappointed. And regretted it, because I felt that way, which just added another bad feeling. But now I don't anymore.'' They sat in silence till James walked back in the room.
''Do you already know what you're going to try?'' Aiden gestured to James, who was talking with Sofie.
''No, not really. The biggest problem is probably the dark. How do I hit my opponents when I can't see them.''
She noticed James was motioning her to come and quickly stood up. ''Well, here goes nothing.'' Lexi walked down the steps and onto the battlefield. It seemed to echo much more on the field than on the stands.
''Well, the same applies to you. You can use all of your pokémon if you want, and the lights will go down soon. Good luck.'' James informed her and took a blue pokéball from his belt. Lexi nodded and, after listing to Sofie explain the rules again, grabbed her own, sending it out first. Pero appeared on the field as the lights quickly dimmed. His fists held up, ready to smash them together as soon as his opponent would be revealed.
''Let's see how you'll do against….Absol.'' The pokémon jumped out, shook its white fur and waved its horned head in response to Pero's intimidation. Absol glared at Pero, who now looked a little unsure as he slammed the ground in front of him. He grabbed the rocks he'd created and threw them towards the absol, but it had already moved away and the rocks landed on the other side of the gym. Before Pero could grab any new ones he got hit in the side by Absol's Quick Attack.
Lexi ordered a Tackle, but Absol was gone before Pero was able to swing his fist. It seemed to grin at him, taunting, waving its tail. Pero growled and used his hands to run towards the absol, trying to tackle it, but the absol was much faster and dodged him easily.
''Scratch'' James voice sounded strangely close as he gave his orders. Lexi looked around trying to find Pero again. She found him a few feet away to her left. He looked tired, she had to think of something fast. ''Grab and Tackle it'' she shouted as she saw the absol race towards him. She could hear the sound of claws against stone, but right after Absol let out a cry and Lexi felt a slight vibration as its body hit the ground. Vibration. Lexi eyes widened. Could that be the solution?
Absol had gotten up again and disappeared back into the darkness. ''Pero,'' Lexi whispered. She could hear a soft grunt next to her and knelt down, ''I'm not sure if this is going to work but I want you to try it. Put your hand to the ground and try to feel the vibrations Absol creates, use them to aim your Rock Throws. Okay? You can do that right? You're a Rock and Ground type.''
Lexi watched as Pero walked away from her, put one of his hands to the ground and pick up a rock with the other. He stayed like that for almost half a minute. Suddenly he threw the rock he was holding to his right and immediately grabbed another. A stream of rocks, one always fired just a bit more to the left than the previous, flew across the field. Some of them hit, most of them didn't, but Lexi was happy she had found somewhat of a solution. She knew the absol couldn't have much energy left. Pero was slow, but his attacks were strong. One of these Rock Throws was going to be the final one, the winner, unless Absol would be able to attack Pero first. Lexi waited for Pero's attacks to stop.
Finally it became silent. She could hear Sofie footsteps as she walked to the edge of the field, holding up a flag she couldn't see. ''Absol is unable to battle, Geodude wins.''
Lexi almost jumped with joy, this was already a big improvement over her last gym battle. Lexi looked at Pero, who had walked back to her. He looked tired and dirty, a rest would do him good. She took out her pokéball to recall him, as she heard James sent out his final pokémon. It was Umbreon again, only its yellow rings visible. Before Lexi could move, Umbreon had already shot towards Pero with the same familiar purple glow around its paws, and knocked out Pero instantly. Lexi was shocked by the sudden attack, it had replaced the happiness the victory had given her.
She looked at the Umbreon, who's deep red eyes were looking at her expectantly. It didn't look mean of scary, just curious. Lexi took a deep breath to clear her mind. She shouldn't be so dramatic, Pero would be fine in a few hours, no rules were broken….and James was waiting! Lexi hastily threw up Serafine's pokéball. But as soon as she sent out Serafine, she realised what a disadvantage she had. Serafine's bright flames were lighting up the room around her, she could have just as well had a spotlight on her.
Serafine moved around the room and looked at Lexi. ''It's okay,'' Lexi reassured, ''Just pretend that it's night. Your opponent is mostly black so it may be difficult to find, but I'm sure we can do it.'' Serafine snorted, holding her head low and her legs close to her body.
Before she was able to find the umbreon, Serafine was hit in the face with a stream of sand. She furiously shook her head trying to get it off and quickly shot a few embers, trying to keep her rival at a distance, but all of them missed. Lexi saw the embers light their way before disappearing on the ground, and wondered if she could use them to see more of the battlefield. ''Serafine use Ember on the ground.''
The ball of fire shot out of Serafine's mouth and disappeared as soon as it hit the ground. There was nothing to burn, the floor was dirt and stone, Lexi would have to burn her own shirt if she wanted to keep the fire going. She had to find another way to light up the field. ''Okay….then shoot it up in the air?''
Another ball of fire escaped Serafine's mouth but the light it emitted was so little, that it would take dozens to make a real difference. Lexi looked around the room, trying to find a way to light it up. And was caught off guard when Serafine was suddenly thrown against the ground next to her. Umbreon purple paws disappeared back into the shadows and Lexi took a step towards her ponyta. ''Are you okay?''
Serafine groaned and slowly got up. ''I can't believe how powerful that attack was. If we get a couple more of those we're finished.'' Lexi looked at Serafine, her flames had gotten smaller and it seemed much darker than before. How many hits would she be able to take?
''Tackle'' Lexi said hesitantly, Serafine started trotting but kept moving around the room as she didn't know where her target was. ''This isn't going to work.'' she whispered to herself angrily as her eyes followed Serafine around the room. Umbreon jumped out of the dark again to tackle Serafine, disappearing immediately after.
''Come on, anything. Think up anything. Can't Tackle, she can't see anything. Tail whip and Growl wouldn't help much now, she should have done it sooner. That just leaves Ember, which she couldn't aim and Flame Wheel.'' Lexi frowned as she thought of that last one. It would be a risky one, but it could work with a little luck.
''Serafine, Flame wheel, make your flames as big as you can get them!'' The ponyta lowered her head, letting her mane and tail grow till they almost obscured her from view. Lexi could see her pokémon tremble as she tried to keep her flames under control. She wouldn't be able to keep this going for long, but if her plan worked Serafine wouldn't have to. ''Go around the room as quick as you can and find that umbreon!'' Serafine didn't respond, too focused on the task at hand. Serafine trotted around the field again. Now, with her flames lighting up the room around her, the umbreon was much easier to find. With one big jump Serafine tackled the Umbreon and both fell to the floor. Serafine got up first, panting but standing, proud of her accomplishment. The umbreon got up but stumbled, and Lexi's grinned as she could see small red sparks. Her plan had worked.
''A burn, eh? That was a smart move, but we're not done yet'' James his voice echoed. Serafine tackled the umbreon before it could regain its footing and ran back to Lexi. She waved her head and reared playful as she approached her trainer, then turned her attention back to the battlefield. Umbreon jumped out of the darkness and tackled Serafine, knocking her back a few feet, but she stayed standing. The umbreon ran back to the other side of the field but stopped as the red particles appeared again, the light they gave off was faint but enough to give Serafine a perfect aiming point. Three embers shot through the sky and all hit their target. It was silent again, Lexi heard someone tapping their foot far away. Was it James getting nervous? Or maybe it was just Aiden in the stands. Would the egg be okay?
Lexi mentally kicked herself for getting distracted once again as she saw the purple glow in the distance. ''Dodge!''
Serafine jumped to the side just in time, but the umbreon circled back. Serafine tried to outrun it but the umbreon eventually caught up. The fight was coming to a close, both pokémon were tired and Lexi was sure that this would be the deciding moment. ''Let's go all out, Serafine end it with Flame Wheel.''
James ordered Pursuit as his own final attack and both pokémon ran at each other. Only Serafine was visible as she galloped to the middle of the field. The umbreon jumped up and stuck out its paws, ready to attack, but was engulfed in flames before it could hit Serafine. The lights were turned up as Sofie stepped forward, holding up her left flag.
''Umbreon is unable to battle, Ponyta wins. This means the victory goes to Lexi.''
Lexi immediately ran to Serafine and hugged her. Serafine threw her head up in celebration, but Lexi could see the tiredness in her eyes. ''Good job, I'll bring you to the Pokémon Center in a minute.''
James cleared his throat. ''Well done. You have beaten my Dark Gym, even though you had quite a disadvantage with your little nightlight there. I gladly present you the Piebald badge. Wear it with pride, you deserve it.'' Lexi took the badge, which fit comfortably in her palm, and thanked him.
''Just follow the lights, they will lead you back outside,'' he said, nodding to the door behind her, ''And you young man, I hope to see you again soon! But first, let's all have a good night rest.''
Lexi and Aiden walked back through the tunnel and followed the lights to the beginning of the cave before they spoke. Aiden had given Lexi her egg back, which hadn't moved since that first time, and held the door open for her. The moon and stars were lighting the sky, and a cool breeze rustled the grass. ''It's so quiet,'' Aiden whispered. Lexi enjoyed the fresh air and the silence as they walked, it gave her time to process everything what happened. ''Can I see it?'' Aiden pointed to her pocket. Lexi took out the badge and held it up when they reached a light. It was the same symbol once again, the tail and ears of a umbreon, but in black and white. The back was flat and had a metallic color, but the front was convex. ''Good job, now we both have one. Want my help pinning it on?'' Aiden offered.
''No need, I got a special badge box, I'll keep it there.'' Lexi smiled and put her arm around Aiden, ''Let's sleep in tomorrow, I think we both deserve it.''
''Sounds like a good plan.''