"Alright, give it a try now, Marshtomp."
"Marsh!"
Marshtomp dove into the ground, swimming through the earth and burrowing through it. A few seconds later, I felt the ground shake as a chunk of rock the size of a melon flew high into the air. I clapped my hands and grinned as I watched it fall and plummet back down.
We were back outside of the park trying out a new application of the Rock Fall strategy. Having him Dig before using Rock Throw would put him completely out of harm's way while the stones were flying around. Although, his accuracy would be terrible while underground seeing as how he couldn't see the flying targets he was aiming at. Grounded opponents likely wouldn't be an issue.
The Gym Battle was tomorrow, and it had taken two days for Tyrogue and Marshtomp to recover fully from the battle with Damien. There wasn't a lot of intense training we could do now, and I didn't want to push them right before a tough fight. Tyrogue was under a nearby tree, stretching and practicing his forms. I had let him continue watching streams and videos from Maylene. I didn't know anything about martial arts, but she was an excellent source of knowledge and he seemed to really like having a teacher. Honestly, it was kind of cute how much he liked to watch and follow along with her. Marshtomp suddenly broke through the earth and stood up, smiling as he looked at me.
"That was great. Think we're ready for tomorrow?" I asked him.
Marshtomp nodded his head. "Marsh!"
I sat in the waiting room of the Canalave Gym, trying to get my breathing under control as I rolled Tyrogue's Pokeball in my hand. The nerves were getting to me. It was our first Gym battle, and against Byron of all people. I was really beginning to think I'd made a huge mistake challenging him this early, but maybe I was just psyching myself out.
A Gym Trainer came through the door and waved me in, and I followed her to the arena. There were at least a few people in the stands, which wasn't helping my nerves. I also remembered that Mom and Glen would be watching the battle too. The Gym Trainer fitted me with a mic, and I climbed the stairs to the platform. Around the perimeter of the arena were several Kadabra and Kirlia, which I found a little odd. Normally, Kadabra were used for the barriers in Gym battles.
Over the loudspeaker, Byron cleared his throat and I snapped my head up to give him my attention. The old man wore ragged miner's pants, a dirty undershirt, a belt of Pokeballs and a cape that was iconic to him.
"Welcome to the Canalave Gym. This will be a two-on-two battle with one switch-in. I reserve the right to use any Pokemon I deem fit, and if you kill any of mine you'll be disqualified from the Circuit. Now, send out your Pokemon.", he grumbled. The old Gym Leader had a gruff voice and sounded tired.
I tried one more time to breathe, to not let the nerves get to me. I could do this, we could do this.
I gripped Tyrogue's Pokeball, and released him onto the field.
On the opposite side, a creature roughly Tyrogue's size with blades for arms materialized. It had sinister yellow eyes that glared from under a red and black helmet, also adorned with a blade. Pawniard.
The referee's voice cut in over the loudspeaker.
"Begin!"
"Hone Claws."
Pawniard's blades began to glow as it sharpened them off of one another, a screeching sound echoing through the arena as it bolstered itself and began walking towards Tyrogue.
"Mimic!"
Tyrogue's eyes began to emanate a faint blue light as he started to copy Pawniard's movements. I would wager he had less than a minute of Hone Claws actually being active. Byron had just given us an opening, and we had to take it.
"Swift, then Double Kick!"
A hail of stars appeared around Tyrogue and homed in on Pawniard, who opted to continue walking through the barrage. It wouldn't damage him much, but it would keep the backlash from Metal Burst relatively low. Tyrogue ran forward, throwing a kick to the Steel Type's gut and another to his head.
"Iron Head."
Pawniard threw his head forward, his face glowing with a steely gray light as it collided with Tyrogue's. It wouldn't do a ton of damage but still, I could hear the impact from here.
"Swift and Low Kick!"
"Slash." Byron ordered.
But Pawniard was the only one moving. Tyrogue was stuck in place as his opponent's blades began to glow. Pawniard tore into him with brutal efficiency before he came to, leaving him bleeding and hurt.
"Tyrogue, Mud Slap!"
Tyrogue blurred into action as Steadfast sped up his movements. He back stepped before diving back in, carving into the ground with one hand as he did so. A wave of liquid dirt sprung from the ground, coating Pawniard and blinding him. The Steel Type screeched, not likely hurt but more annoyed by it.
"Swift and Low Kick!"
"Slash."
Pawniard slashed at Tyrogue, who'd been there one second and gone the next. Stars rained down, pelting the Steel Type before he was tripped up and sent to the ground.
"Mach Punch, keep hammering it!"
Pawniard leapt to his feet, only to be hit in the back of the head with Mach Punch. He whirled around, trying to strike at Tyrogue with another Slash but another punch to his side sent him to the ground. Tyrogue fell to the ground a few seconds later, exhausted and bleeding. Byron recalled Pawniard before pulling another ball from his belt, and I did the same with Tyrogue.
"Both Pawniard and Tyrogue are unable to battle! Trainers, send out your final Pokemon!"
I sent out Marshtomp and what materialized on the other end of the field sent me into a panic. An object that looked like a metal pineapple with green thorns sprouting from it. Two half open yellow eyes stared at me, and the thing didn't move so much as an inch. Fucking. Ferroseed.
This was bad. Really, really bad. Tyrogue had gone down in the fight with Pawniard, and now I had nothing that could actually deal damage to Byron's Pokemon. I had to figure something out quickly.
Byron's voice came over the loud speaker.
"Pin Missile."
"Dig."
A barrage of tiny glowing needles fired out from Ferroseed's body but before they could land, Marshtomp swam through the ground and avoided becoming a pin cushion. I wiped the sweat from my forehead and gripped the railing of the platform. My knuckles turned white as I tried to think of a plan. I couldn't just do nothing.
"Rock Throw!"
"Iron Defense." Byron ordered with far more calm in his voice than I had.
Fist-sized chunks of stone erupted from the ground and rained down around Ferroseed. The Steel Type was shimmering with a soft gray light, and any rocks that made contact broke on impact. It wasn't even flinching.
Wait, Ferroseed's attached to the ground…
It was a stupid, near suicidal plan but it was the best I had.
"Get in close and Mud Slap!"
Marshtomp burst out from the ground, throwing a wave of mud into Ferroseed's face. The Steel Type retaliated with Pin Missiles that peppered and pierced Marshtomp's body as he blocked his face and eyes.
"Absorb."
Fucking what?
A vine burst forth from the ground and wrapped around Marshtomp's midsection, holding him in place as it sapped his energy. He screamed out in pain, struggling against the vine as he tried to break free.
"Supersonic!"
A shrill, ear-splitting noise reverberated through the arena as Marshtomp screamed out. I covered my ears but Byron looked unphased. This was probably just another Tuesday to him.
The vine holding Marshtomp receded and began to harmlessly slap against Ferroseed's metal shell. We had a chance now.
"Rock Smash!"
Marshtomp dove at it, fists glowing as he pummeled the metal durian and dented its shell. Blood flew from his fists and coated the ground nearby as Iron Barbs carved up his hands and knuckles. It was awful to watch but it was the only way this would work. The only path to victory I could see."
"Snap out of it, Ferroseed. Pin Missile."
"Rock Throw, underneath it! Send him up high!" I yelled.
Marshtomp obliged, lifting the rock Ferroseed was stuck to and revealing a network of roots and vines binding the Grass Type in.
That was Ingrain. Fuck.
We could've sat there pummeling it and the damn thing was probably going to heal itself through the damage. Byron hadn't even given it an order, it was just something it was accustomed to.
Marshtomp screamed out, snapping the vines and roots with one final push that sent the Steel Type and the rock it was attached to high into the air.
Ferroseed, separated from its root network, spun in place, spraying Pin Missiles with wild inaccuracy as they peppered the ground and bounced off of rocks. It began to fall towards the ground, and we sprung into action.
"Leap up high and bring it down with Rock Throw!" I yelled.
Jumping as high as his little legs could, Marshtomp gained control of the rock as it entered his range and spiked Ferroseed into the ground with it. A metallic thud echoed through the arena as the Steel Type made solid contact with one of the veins of iron running through the battlefield. Marshtomp fell to one knee, his hands a bloodied raw mess as he panted and tried to catch his breath. If we didn't take it down soon, it would be over. Ferroseed wasn't moving, but it also hadn't moved a single time since the start of the battle. Byron held out a Pokeball, and recalled his Pokemon.
How…?
I'd expected that Rock Smash would deal some damage but what I'd been gunning for was the crushing of Ferroseed's metal shell and hoping that falling from high enough would do something. I hadn't expected it to actually work.
"Ferroseed is unable to battle, the victory goes to Titus Claren!"
There were a few assorted claps from the audience, and someone even cheered. I couldn't believe it. We'd won. I let out a sigh of relief and let go of the railing, my hands hurting from how tightly I'd been gripping it.
I turned to the audience, and saw Helen waving at me. Karl was right next to her, pointing down at Byron. They were here?
I recalled Marshtomp, then stepped down from the platform and a Gym Trainer took the microphone away from me.
I walked to the other end of the arena, and Byron approached me carrying his trademark shovel over his shoulder. There was a slight grin under his weathered and graying facial hair.
"Nice battling out there, kid. Hand me your ID and 'Dex."
I did, and he scanned the ID and inserted a disk into the Pokedex.
"Congrats, you've got the Mineral Badge and 5000 dollars in your account. Plus, the permanent version of Flash Cannon." he grumbled before handing them back to me.
"Th-thank you!"
Byron scratched his beard, eyeing me up for a second.
"Most first years in your shoes would've thrown in the towel. You got creative and you fought it out." He said, looking me in the eye and speaking up. "Good luck with the next Gym." the old man muttered before turning and walking away.
I walked out to the lobby, and felt my phone going off like crazy in my pocket. I checked it and found I was being bombarded with texts from Mom and Glen. Apparently Mom had taken the day off and they'd been watching at Lucky Andy's.
Mom: HOLY SHIT YOU DID IT
Mom: MY BABY BOY'S A TRAINER
Mom: WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME MUDKIP EVOLVED :(
Glen: Nice work titus thought that old fart had you dead to rights where the fuck did you get a marshtomp I'll buy you a drink to celebrate when you swing back threw
I ran out of the Gym and headed straight for the Pokemon Center. I handed over my Pokemon to the nurses and sat in the lobby to gather my thoughts for a little while. I pulled out my Trainer ID and stared at it. The Technical Machine and extra padding to my account was nice but the Badge was the real prize. I still couldn't believe it. We'd actually beaten Byron, and on our first attempt. Now we had to plan where to go after Jubilife.
I remembered that Karl and Helen had been in the audience, then rattled off a text to Helen. It was nice of them to cheer me on, but they'd probably just been there to scout out Byron's team for their gym battles.
Helen: You did great out there! I thought you were going to lose when Byron sent out that Ferroseed!
Helen raised a good point. Being clever was the only reason we'd won. Not having a way to deal with a Pokemon like Ferroseed was something we needed to change. I hadn't been giving much thought to the idea of what my team might look like, but between Tyrogue and Marshtomp I needed the Type diversity. Grass, Bug and Flying Types would be a major issue for us. The immediate answer would be a Fire or Ice Type, something with some speed and range.
I opened my phone and began to look for anything that fit the criteria. There was Chimchar, but they were incredibly rare and usually only given out by Professor Rowan. There were a few Fire Types like Slugma, Numel and Carkoal that lived in Mt. Coronet but that was still a far haul. Ice Types like Snover and Sneasel were equally out of reach and required crossing through Mt. Coronet and trekking far into the north. I scratched my head and closed the tabs on my phone before chuckling to myself.
Marshtomp hadn't been planned either but he was mine. Maybe I'd find another rare Pokemon when I got to Eterna or Oreburgh.
That's Chapter 10 and Titus's first Gym Battle. I've been treating this as a writing exercise and it's been a lot of fun! Feel free to leave any comments, questions or criticisms!
