I do not own Pokémon. Credit goes to Satoshi Tajiri and Game Freak.

Leaf, Red and Gary woke up early the next morning and made their way to the Pewter Gym. Red made a beeline for the practice arena while the others crossed the lobby and set foot into the main stadium. The professor's grandson offered his fist, letting the young girl give him a fist bump.

"Ok, Leaf," Gary winked, "break a leg."

Leaf nodded as Gary and Mewtwo made their way to the bleachers.

"Why do humans use such violent-sounding statements to be positive?" Mewtwo asked Gary.

"Beats me," Gary shrugged, "I can find you a book on idioms if you want."

Leaf shuffled over to the edge of the stadium, her gaze avoiding Brock's eyes.

"Morning, miss," Brock greeted, "Leaf, is it?"

Leaf nodded.

"Morning, Brock," Leaf proclaimed, "I'm ready to challenge you!"

Brock folded his arms.

"I'm looking forward to this," Brock nodded to the referee.

Brock sauntered his way to one platform overlooking the arena while Leaf made her way to the other platform. The young girl sent out Bulbasaur, who landed gracefully on the makeshift terrain before widening her battle stance.

"You can see," Brock proclaimed, "just by looking at my Pokémon how rock hard my willpower is. My Pokémon are all hard as rock and have true-grit determination! You have what it takes to show me your best?"

Leaf didn't bring herself to gaze into Brock's eyes, but she still nodded.

"Y-Yeah," Leaf nodded sheepishly as she rocked side to side, "I'm ready to give it a go."

Brock reached into his utility belt and pulled out his own Poké Ball. Leaf made a brief glance at Mewtwo, who gave her a reassuring look from a distance.

"Then show me your best," Brock beckoned, "go, Geodude!"

Brock tossed his Poké Ball and a Geodude emerged, taking a battle stance.

"Geo!" the Geodude cried out.

The referee from yesterday stood up from the bleachers and approached the railing.

"The battle between the Gym Leader of Pewter City, Brock," the referee announced, "and Leaf Aoyama from Pallet Town will begin shortly! Both sides may use only two Pokémon, but only the challenger is allowed to use substitutions."

Leaf kept her breathing steady as she felt her spine stiffen. All she could hope for was her progress to pay off. She took a moment to scan her surroundings, figuring out how her Pokémon could use the terrain to their advantage.

"Begin!"

Brock widened his stance.

"Geodude, Tackle!" Brock commanded.

Bulbasaur ducked behind a stalagmite, bringing out her vines awaiting her trainer's command. Geodude kept searching for the grassy amphibian, swinging its fists back and forth. Once it reached a certain spot…

"Vine Whip!" Leaf ordered.

Bulbasaur charged from cover and swung her vines at Geodude from behind. The rock Pokémon flinched and crashed head first into the ground. It slowly struggled to get up while Brock stared in disbelief.

"Did you," Brock exclaimed, "did you just land a critical hit?!"

Leaf stared in awe as Bulbasaur glanced back at her and gave her a wink. Still, the Geodude returned to its battle stance. The Bulbasaur didn't celebrate for long as she stepped out into the open, eyes fixed on the Geodude.

"Bulba…"

"Tackle again!" Brock called out.

Geodude charged at the Bulbasaur without warning. The grassy amphibian didn't have enough time to jump out of the way as the rock Pokémon collided into her, sending her tumbling into a large boulder before she slid the ground. Leaf flinched and tilted her head to the side for only a brief moment. When she made a quick peek at her Bulbasaur, she was flailing her legs, having landed on her side.

"Come on, Bulbasaur," Leaf pleaded nervously, "you can do it!"

After a moment of struggling, Bulbasaur rocked a little before rolling onto her belly, pushing herself up with her limbs. When Geodude charged at the grassy amphibian again, Bulbasaur grabbed the rocky Pokémon's arms with her vines.

"Nice one, Bulbasaur!" Leaf commanded, "now swing it about!"

"Saur!"

Bulbasaur lifted Geodude and thrashed it around using her vines.

"Steady, Geodude!" Brock instructed, "harden up!"

Geodude tensed up as Bulbasaur raised it high and then slammed it into the ground, kicking up dust into the air. Leaf waited for the dust to dissipate. By then, she noticed Geodude on the terrain, knocked out for the count.

"Geodude is unable to battle," the referee announced, "Bulbasaur wins the round!"

Releasing Geodude from her vine restraint, Bulbasaur's face lit up and happily jumped up and down. Brock didn't say anything as he recalled his Geodude. He reached into his belt pouch and pulled out another Poké Ball.

"Pretty good, kid," Brock praised, "but I'm just getting pumped up! I choose Onix!"

Brock tossed his Poké Ball and sent out the massive rocky snake. Without warning, Onix let out a loud roar which echoed across the gym. Such a loud noise pierced Leaf's ears like a knife and she let out a pained groan while she covered her ears with both hands. Mewtwo cringed against the noise but stood when he saw Leaf's reaction. He glared at the rock snake and commanded with telepathy.

"Silence!" Mewtwo thundered, "do not cause the human more harm or I will intervene."

Seeing Mewtwo's eyes flicker, Onix growled softly at the psionic feline while Bulbasaur shook her head to clear the noise and looked back at her trainer with concern. The roar having already died down, Leaf took a moment to rub her ears.

"Let's go, Bulbasaur!" Leaf proclaimed.

"Saur!"

Bulbasaur started charging at the Onix. She paused and eyed Brock silently as the gym leader focused his eyes at Onix.

"Try and catch it in a Wrap!"

The Onix moved surprisingly fast for its size and tried to wrap the giant rocks around the grassy amphibian and trap her. Mewtwo watched it and stiffened, multiple scenarios running through his head. Wasn't it likely that Pokémon could die in scenarios like this? Bulbasaur spun her head as the rocky snake's body started closing in on her. The grassy amphibian stared straight into Onix's eyes before she thought fast and jumped up. The Onix made a surprised noise and tried to follow Bulbasaur's movement. Brock also gave the grass Pokémon an intense gaze as she landed on top of a boulder.

"Onix, Tackle!"

The Onix positioned itself to headbutt Bulbasaur, both Pokémon facing each other.

"Razor Leaf!" Leaf commanded.

Bulbasaur raised her head high and summoned sharp curved leaves, launching them at the large rocky snake. Onix retreated and attempted to slither away to attempt another tackle. Bulbasaur jumped onto another boulder, panting heavily as she stared down the rocky snake. After a moment, the rocky snake Pokémon charged forth and collided its head into the boulder, the impact causing it to crumble. Bulbasaur quickly jumped to escape the collapsing debris.

Once the dust dissipated, the Onix shook its head to rid the specks of rock from its face as it reared up again, the other rocks shifting and grinding against each other. It also started panting as it searched for its opponent.

"Do you think that Onix is about done?" Gary bit his lip.

Mewtwo placed a finger on his chin, carefully observing Onix from a distance.

"It's at least halfway," he mumbled.

An idea popped into Leaf's head as Onix leaned its head back a little, waiting for its master's signal.

"Leech Seed!" Leaf directed.

Bulbasaur leaned forth and launched a seed from the bulb on her back. It landed squarely on the rocky snake's neck and vines grew from the seed, spreading around Onix's body and causing it to growl in shock. Still, Brock was not done yet as he clenched his fists.

"Don't give up, Onix," Brock ordered, "let's switch things up! Rock Tomb!"

Onix shook itself to clear its head and used its tail to pick up rocks, throwing them at the turtle to entomb him. Bulbasaur watched and quickly crouched, hoping she wouldn't have any of her delicate hide touched by the moving rocks. Mewtwo couldn't help but tense up again, but he knew he shouldn't interfere by going out of his way to protect the grassy amphibian. It was only a second before the rocks trapped poor Bulbasaur inside. Leaf stared in disbelief and shuddered as the rocks remained still.

Bulbasaur waited for everything to stop moving before crawling carefully, making the gap between two rocks bigger and moving to stand unsteadily. Her legs began wobbling as she struggled to stand tall against Onix. The seed embedded into Onix sapped its energy, causing it to roar in pain as Bulbasaur regained stamina. Mewtwo tapped his tail against his back as he waited silently, tensing against the noise and gazed at Leaf. She glanced over her shoulder and gave the psionic feline a thumbs up before she returned her gaze to Bulbasaur.

"Bulbasaur, jump on!" Leaf instructed.

"Bulba!" Bulbasaur nodded.

Bulbasaur charged towards Onix and jumped up onto its tail before she started climbing up its body.

"Tackle it off!" Brock commanded.

Onix leaned its head back in preparation to strike.

"Vine Whip!" Leaf called.

The second Onix charged its head after Bulbasaur, the grassy amphibian slammed its head with a Vine Whip. In a matter of seconds, the Onix collapsed to the floor while the small plant Pokémon jumped off and landed gracefully on the ground.

"Onix is unable to battle," the referee announced all of a sudden, "the victory goes to Leaf Aoyama from Pallet Town!"

While Red and Gary cheered enthusiastically, Leaf didn't make any sound but she couldn't help but smile as she fluttered her hands and twirled on one foot. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Brock sighed while he returned his Onix into its Poké Ball.

"Well," Brock let out an amused chuckle, "it seems I underestimated you, kid. You might have potential in the Pokémon League."

Leaf's face lit up.

"Y-You really think so?" Leaf stammered as she blushed.

Brock nodded as he stepped off the platform, making his way towards the young girl. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a badge.

"As proof of your victory," Brock declared, "take this official Pokémon League Badge…the Boulder Badge!"

Even as Leaf avoided staring into Brock's eyes, she still smiled as she held out her hand, allowing the Pewter Gym Leader to place the badge on her palm. She carefully placed her newly earned badge into her badge case. Mewtwo relaxed his shoulders and rose to his feet. As Leaf and Brock descended the platform side by side, Bulbasaur waddled over to her trainer and happily bounced around her.

"Saur!" Bulbasaur chirped, "Saur! Bulba Bulbasaur!"

Leaf smiled and crouched down, pulling Bulbasaur into a gentle embrace.

"You did great, Bulbasaur," she praised.

Leaf rose to her feet with Bulbasaur in her arms while Mewtwo and Gary descended down the bleachers.

"You've done well," Mewtwo told her, "how are you feeling?"

Leaf shifted her gaze to Mewtwo and smiled.

"I feel lucky today," Leaf chirped, placing her hand behind her head, "I guess Cleffa can always have a chance to shine later."

Shortly after Leaf lowered Bulbasaur to the ground, Brock gave her a TM labeled Rock Tomb.

"Whichever of your Pokémon learns this," Brock said, "it could come in handy against some tough Bug and Flying types…even slow them down."

"I'll keep that in mind," Leaf nodded.

Leaf took a moment to stash the TM into her case before she gave Brock a bow of respect.

"There are all kinds of trainers in this huge world of ours waiting for a challenge," Brock added, "I'll wish you luck on your next gym challenge in Cerulean City."

Leaf nodded as she and Brock parted ways. The young girl joined up with Gary and Mewtwo as they all made their way to the lobby. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Red emerging from the door to the practice arena.

"Hey, Red!" Leaf waved her hand, "how'd practice go?"

Red paused as he shifted his gaze to Leaf, Mewtwo and Gary.

"Liam offered a couple TMs prior to practice," Red explained, "Charmander now knows Brick Break and Pikachu knows Iron Tail."

"Well," Gary remarked, "at least Charmander would stand a much better chance against Onix this time."

"Those sound reasonable," Mewtwo nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, yeah," Red sighed with a shrug.

Red took a moment to readjust his cap while shifting his gaze to Leaf.

"So," Red asked, "you going to heal up?"

Leaf nodded and placed her hand behind her head.

"Yeah," she answered, "and maybe explore the town a little while I wait for you guys to take on the gym."

Red and Gary shuddered and exchanged glances.

"Will you be ok on your own?" Gary asked.

Mewtwo placed his hand on Leaf's shoulder.

"If she wishes," Mewtwo answered, "she has her own Pokémon, so she won't be alone."

Leaf shared a glance with Mewtwo, even if she avoided looking directly into his eyes.

"Would you like me to accompany you?" he offered.

Leaf's face lit up with a soft smile.

"Sure thing!" she nodded.

Leaf took a moment to wave her hand at Red and Gary before she and Mewtwo left the gym. From there, they made a beeline for the Pokémon Center. She withdrew Bulbasaur into her Poké Ball while she approached the counter.

"Good morning, miss," Nurse Joy greeted, "do you need to rest your Pokémon?"

"Y-Yeah," Leaf stammered, depositing the Poké Ball into the tray.

Mewtwo stood nearby, fixated on the TV while he waited for Leaf to finish what she was doing. He couldn't help but notice the small queue of trays steadily going through the healing booth. Perhaps a lot of them were from the Gym or training for the Gym. Leaf waited until a few minutes later when Nurse Joy removed the tray holding Bulbasaur's Poké Ball from the healing machine.

"Here we go," Nurse Joy smiled, "your Pokémon has been restored to full health."

"Thanks!" Leaf chirped.

Leaf grabbed the Poké Ball from the tray and stashed it into her bag.

"Have a good day, ma'am," Nurse Joy gave a bow, "we hope to see you again."

Upon cue, Leaf led Mewtwo out of the Pokémon Center and took a moment to stretch her arms.

"So," Leaf quipped, "you ready to go have a look around?"

Feel free to drop a review, because Leaf and Mewtwo could use them to offer each other emotional support!