The next morning, I was in front of the Rustboro Gym, revising the tips I learned before the gym battle.
Then, I took a deep breath, and readied myself for the gym battle. You got this, Lows.
I opened the gym door, ready to go against Roxanne...
"He's here, he's here!"
"We can finally see Ms. Roxanne battle again!"
"Let's get our notebooks out for whatever worth writing later!"
Voices of younger children appeared as soon as I opened the door. I looked around and saw a group of children with school uniforms sitting in the audience seats. I was confused until Roxanne walked towards me with a grin.
"Hi, Lows. I brought my students over to watch our battle. I figured this would be a good opportunity to watch the live action and learn some battling tips from our battle."
Oh yeah, she was a teacher in the Pokémon Trainers' School's beginner class, after all. I gulped, But... the first gym battle in front of this many audience...
I took another deep breath to calm myself down, not wanting to embarrass myself in front of the young students. Then, I went on one side of the battlefield, Roxanne doing the same at the other side.
"Looks like we're ready to start the gym battle between Leader Roxanne and Challenger Lows! I shall now state the rules for the gym battle." A professional-looking referee adjusted his glasses and said.
"This battle will be a 3 on 3 singles battles. The gym leader will be the first to send out her Pokémon. The challenger is able to switch his Pokémon and have the first move. The winner is decided when the opponent's two Pokémon are unable to battle. Do you understand and agree with the rules, Lows Landerson from Pallet Town?" I nodded and gulped nervously.
"The match between Roxanne and Lows will now officially begin! Roxanne, you may now send out your first Pokémon." The gym leader nodded in response to the referee and pulled out a Pokéball from her belt.
She threw her Pokéball up in the air, "Time to roll, Rockie!"
A Pokémon looking like a small boulder appeared from the Pokéball. It sent out its cries fiercely. more than ready to battle.
I scanned it with my Pokédex, [Geodude, the Rock Pokémon. Its round form makes it easy to pick up. Some people have used them to hurl at each other in a snowball fight.]
I took out a Pokéball of my own, ready to throw it as soon I was given permission to.
"As expected from Roxanne, going with the basic yet solid choice, Geodude. I wonder what Pokémon would Lows pick to counter that." Someone said while standing outside the Rustboro Gym, looking out of the window. The trainer had a gigantic Pokémon by his side, watching the action with its trainer.
"He has Zigzagoon, Squirtle and Ralts so far. He would probably keep Squirtle for last, knowing that Squirtle is the only one with the type advantage against Rock types." The trainer nodded upon hearing his Pokémon's opinions.
"Good common sense there, buddy."
"I've battled long enough to know about how trainers think, Steven." The Pokémon humbly said.
"Well, we'll see if Lows would do the same as you predict then."
"One thing though, Steven..." The Pokémon said, "Do we really have to be outside the gym for this? The weather is honestly hotter than I thought."
Steven looked around the gym, noticing the empty seats around the area through the window. He looked at his partner and slightly grinned.
"I'm sure we don't need seats, buddy. I'm sure we don't."
"Lows, you shall now pick your first Pokémon!" The moment the referee said that, I threw my Pokéball into the air.
A red light beamed from the Pokéball, releasing my Ralts, Grace. She growled calmly, examining her first opponent in the battle.
"The battle between Rockie and Grace will now begin! Trainer, you may now start with your first move."
"Grace, Double Team!" The Feeling Pokémon nodded and started using her newly learned move. Illusions were created with the intention of confusing the Geodude.
Roxanne wanted to get those illusions out of the way, "Rockie, attack with Rock Throw!"
The female Geodude closed her eyes as rocks formed around her. Then, the moment she opened her eyes, rocks started flying towards Grace and the illusions. The rocks were able to successfully hit some of the illusions, making them disappear.
"Do it again, Rockie!" As Rockie started forming the rocks again, I had a counter plan ready, hoping for it to work out.
The moment Rockie flung the rocks towards the remaining illusions and Grace, I commanded, "Grace, use Confusion to move the rocks back towards Rockie!"
My Psychic type who was protected by the illusions in front of her, closed her eyes and focused on the rocks. The rocks moved slower and slower towards Grace, and finally stopped and remained floating in the air, signalling that the rocks were in Grace's full control now. Grace continued to use her powers as the rocks starting charging towards Rockie, gaining more speed and finally hitting the Rock type.
"Good move. Lows." Roxanne grinned, then went back to commanding her Pokémon, "Rockie, fight through the pain and use Rock Tomb on Grace!" The Rock Pokémon nodded and formed larger boulders around her. When she was ready. she used her powers to hurl the boulders towards my Ralts.
"Grace, Confusion again!"
Grace tried to control the boulders, but it was apparent that her powers were not strong enough to control them in such a short time. The boulders slightly slowed down, but still hit the illusions with decent impact. One of the boulders unfortunately hit Grace, making her lose focus for a moment as the illusions disappeared. She then looked at her opponent and slightly panted.
"Rockie, use Rock Throw towards Grace, full power!"
As the Rock type Pokémon formed the rocks again, my heart was racing at full speed.
Grace doesn't have too much energy to fully control the rocks anymore. I guess... I need to end this battle as soon as possible.
As the Rock type Pokémon readied herself to hurl the rocks towards my Ralts, I commanded, "Grace, use Growl!"
Grace immediately let out a loud growl, slightly pausing the Geodude from hurling the rocks. That one moment gave me the opportunity to command, "Use Confusion on Rockie!"
Grace closed her eyes and focused again, as the Geodude was slowly in Grace's control. Rockie did not hesitate to continue her attacks while Grace was still taking her time.
After Grace was fully ready, she used her remaining energy to fling the Geodude towards the wall. Rockie eventually collided with the wall, taking the impact fully. She was unable to withstand the damage taken as she collapsed, no longer able to move. Grace panted heavily, but was still able to battle.
"Rockie is unable to battle! Grace wins! Roxanne, please choose your second Pokémon." Roxanne remained calm as she returned Rockie, took out another Pokéball and went back to battle mode.
"Hardie, time to battle!" Another female Geodude appeared in the battlefield, ready to avenge her comrade.
I was not planning to let her do that in the slightest as I said, "Thanks, Grace. Take a short rest."
Grace nodded, respecting my decision as I returned her. I took out another Pokéball and threw it into the air, "Let's do this, Surfer!"
My starter appeared and cheered in anticipation, "Time to ride the waves and win!"
"I'll smash you into pieces!" The Rock Pokémon grinned, ready to have a good battle.
"The battle between Hardie and Surfer will now begin!" The referee announced.
"Hardie, Rock Throw!" Roxanne commanded.
"We're not letting her do that, Surfer! Use Bubble!"
As the Geodude formed the rocks and aimed them towards Surfer, Surfer blew the bubbles towards Hardie, not only damaging her but also blocking her vision. She hurled the rocks towards Surfer, half of them missing their target due to the inaccurate vision.
While her sight was still blocked, I was ready for another all out attack, "Surfer, Water Gun!"
Surfer quickly released a spiral of water towards Hardie, hitting the vulnerable Pokémon with the super-effective attack. The students cheered upon witnessing the successful attack.
However, Hardie remained still, not willing to give up. Roxanne kept her grin and commanded, "Hardie, Rollout!"
Hardie immediately curled herself into a ball, and rolled herself on the ground. She slowly gained speed as she rolled towards her target, Surfer.
"Surfer, dodge!" Surfer tried to predict the movement of the Geodude, but it was to no avail as Surfer got fully hit by the Rock type Pokémon. He fell onto the ground, but quickly got up and readied himself for another incoming attack.
"Rollout again!" Hardie continued rolling towards Surfer, gaining even more speed as she continued her attack.
"Surfer, use Withdraw!" I had to bring out the new move Surfer learned for this situation. Surfer immediately withdrew himself into his shell. The Geodude fully collided against the strong shell and finally stopped her attack as she went back to her side of the battlefield. The damage was fortunately able to be reduced, as Surfer came out of his shell only slightly injured. However, the accumulating damage was definitely tiring my Water type.
"Hardie, Rock Tomb!"
"Surfer, Water Gun!"
The Rock type formed even larger boulders compared to the ones Rockie created earlier. Hardie was able to hurl them towards Surfer's exact spot. However, the price to pay was getting hit by the spiral of water released by my Water type.
Surfer kept his attack going, despite the boulders hitting him in an attempt to stop his attacks. As the final boulder crashed against Surfer, Surfer increased the power of his Water Gun attack to the maximum, the super-effective attack landing on the vulnerable Rock type.
When the attack was over, Hardie was finally down. However, she surely did her job as Surfer collapsed on the ground with no energy left to battle. The students were shocked by the results as some of them gasped.
I guess they both battled hard.
"Both Hardie and Surfer are unable to battle! This battle is a tie! Roxanne and Lows, please choose your next Pokémon!" The referee announced.
There goes my type advantage. This could be anyone's game still.
I took another deep breath, trying to accept the situation as I thanked Surfer and returned him. Then, I took out another Pokéball, ready to continue on.
"Well, never saw that coming between those two, did you?" Steven said to his Pokémon.
"Geodude is a Pokémon that wouldn't go down without a fight. Even the type advantage couldn't make it easier to defeat Hardie." His Pokémon replied.
"Don't you wonder which Pokémon Lows will send out next?"
"Nah. There's one thing I'm certain about." His Pokémon said.
"When Roxanne battles using a Nosepass...
He's bound to use all his Pokémon to even have a chance."
Steven nodded with a grin, agreeing with his partner's statement.
"Time to end this, Nosie!" She threw her last Pokéball for this battle, sending out her signature Pokémon for gym battles: Nosepass.
I sent out my Pokémon shortly after, "Do your best, Grace!"
Grace appeared again in the battlefield, recovering some energy from the previous battle. However, I thought it would not be enough to defeat the strongest Pokémon of this gym battle.
Let's at least deal some damage to this Nosepass.
"Grace, Double Team!" I reused my strategy once again, as Grace closed her eyes, using her psychic powers to create multiple illusions. When I thought it would buy some time for us to attack for a little longer, Roxanne still had her confident smile, as if she saw through my plan.
"Nosie, Rock Throw!" The Compass Pokémon's nose started leading her to move towards a certain direction. Then, she formed the rocks and confidently shot them towards Grace with ease.
Darnit, this plan won't work on Nosepass! "Grace, Confusion on the rocks!"
Grace tried to reduce the impact from the rocks by slowing down their speed with her powers. However, the rocks still managed to hit the Psychic type, making her recovered energy almost all gone.
"Grace, fight through the pain and use Confusion one last time!"
"Nosie, finish Grace off with another Rock Throw attack!"
Grace knew that she would not be able to control the Nosepass with her remaining energy. Instead, she controlled the rocks around her and flung them towards Nosie one last time, while Nosie did the same with the newly formed rocks. Though Grace fainted after the rocks hit her one last time, she was able to deal some damage to the Nosepass, making the situation slightly better for Ziggs later on.
"Grace is unable to battle! Nosie wins! Lows, please send out your final Pokémon!"
I checked on Grace, thanked her for her efforts and returned her. I took out my final Pokéball, closing my eyes.
I believe in you, Ziggs. Prove the ones who looked down on you wrong!
"Ziggs as the wild card, huh..." Steven muttered.
"This should be interesting. At any circumstances, a Zigzagoon was not what you would use to battle against a Rock type." His Pokémon said.
"Nah, if Lows still has something in his sleeves, it's not impossible." Steven explained. He had witnessed more battles where trainers with bad matchups ended up winning the battles.
"Wouldn't that be putting too much faith on Ziggs, though?"
"It would be, to be honest..." Steven replied, "But sometimes, this kind of faith pushes the trainer and Pokémon to fight till the very end."
"Let's win this, Ziggs!" As my final Pokéball was thrown into the air, the Tiny Raccoon Pokémon appeared in the battlefield. He growled at the female Nosepass fiercely, ready to avenge his teammate.
The students had mixed reactions with my final Pokémon choice: some were confused, some were shocked.
"The battle between Nosie and Ziggs will now begin!"
"Ziggs, use Headbutt!" Ziggs dashed towards Nosie, slamming his head right at her. However, the attack was barely effective, dealing little damage to the Rock type. To make things worse, the attack did not flinch the target either.
"Nosie, Rock Throw!" Nosie issued the command and hurled the rocks towards Ziggs.
"Ziggs, dodge and use Tackle!" Ziggs was able to dodge the rocks thanks to his decent speed. Then, he immediately rushed towards the female Nosepass and tackled her, the damage slowly accumulating.
Slowly but surely, Ziggs is making Nosie tired. We're still in this!
Roxanne came out with a different plan, "Nosie, surround Ziggs with Rock Tomb!"
The female Nosepass nodded, using her power to form the boulders.The huge boulders then emerged from the ground, surrounding Ziggs.
I had to hurry up before Nosie landed another attack while he was trapped, "Ziggs, keep using Tackle on the boulders to create an opening!"
"Nosie, Rock Throw towards the area!"
Ziggs was desperate to destroy one of the boulders with his attacks. Meanwhile, rocks were formed and floated around Nosie, ready to be hurled towards their target.
As the rocks got hurled, the boulder Ziggs was targeting finally broke into pieces, providing Ziggs a way to escape. Ziggs hurriedly dashed out of the no longer trapped area, barely avoiding the rocks thrown.
Both Pokémon were panting, but Ziggs' panting was more audible compared to the Rock type. I was starting to get worried, until Ziggs heard cheering from the students.
"Ziggs, you can do this!"
"You're doing great out there!"
"Win it for your team, Ziggs!"
Ziggs' eyes lit up, as he readied himself to attack. I smiled looking at my Pokémon's determination.
We can do this. Besides, we still have something to show here.
"Let's finish this, Nosie. Use Tackle!" The Nosepass ran towards the Normal type, ready to slam Ziggs with her rock solid body.
It was finally time to use our final trick.
"Ziggs, Rock Smash!" I commanded when Nosie was closing in towards Ziggs. My Raccoon Pokémon nodded and used his paws to give the Rock type a hard punch. Luck was on our side as the power of the move appeared to be stronger, implying that it was a critical hit. The Nosepass took the impact of the super-effective attack fully and collapsed, the strong battler finally unable to keep going.
The referee announced, "Nosie is unable to battle! Ziggs wins! The winner is Lows Landerson, the challenger from Pallet Town!"
I stood still in place, unable to believe how close it was and how we were able to seal the win at the very end. The cheers of the students, as well as Roxanne walking towards me with a grin on her face brought me back to reality.
"That was great, Lows. You and your Pokémon battled well and earned the badge. I think my students were able to learn a lot from the battle as well." She then turned towards the students at the audience seat, "Isn't that right, everyone?" The students clapped and cheered as their answer.
She then looked at me and continued, "You're definitely worthy of the Stone Badge, Lows. Congratulations!"
She handed me a boulder-like badge. I received the badge and gratefully thanked Roxanne. "Thank you so much. I enjoyed the battle so much. It was a good opportunity to test out my strategies in battle."
Roxanne smiled at me. "Yup, definitely. One of the reasons why I accepted the offer to become the Rustboro Gym Leader was to see how trainers battle with Pokémon of their own. You have definitely proven to me that every battle is possible to win with any Pokémon."
I smiled, happily accepting the compliment. She suggested, "Why don't we exchange Pokégear numbers? We can have a rematch or two soon, if you'd feel like it." I agreed and exchanged Pokégear numbers with her before leaving the Rustboro Gym with our first gym badge: the Stone Badge.
"Looks like the faith Lows had towards Ziggs worked out just fine after all." Steven smiled.
"I suppose. Luck came to play for a little in the end, though." His Pokémon said.
"It's not like our early days together didn't have luck coming in play during battles." Steven shrugged.
"You're not wrong."
Steven checked his watch and readied himself to leave, "Think it's time for us to go back to Devon, buddy."
"Let's head off, then. We had our free time spent."
With that, they walked away from the Rustboro Gym.
While the nurse was healing my Pokémon, I repeatedly played with the Stone Badge, still in awe that I got my first gym badge. I only stopped after the nurse signaled me to come over and receive my fully healed Pokémon.
I sent them out and complimented them for their hard work.
"Surfer was so cool with the Water Gun attacks!" Ziggs cheered.
"What about Grace? The illusions confused that Geodude for the longest time!" Surfer replied.
"I think what I did was alright. I'm impressed by how Ziggs managed to land that final shot at Nosie, though." Grace smiled.
"You all did great out there." I smiled, "Let's keep at it."
"You bet!" My Pokémon cheered happily as we walked out of the PokéCentre, ready to continue our adventure.
This is just the start for us.
There are still many obstacles to go through, but with my Pokémon, I think I can do more than I thought.
Ever Grande League, here I come!
Lows' Pokémon Team:
Surfer (Squirtle, Male) Jolly Nature, moves: Withdraw, Growl, Bubble, Water Gun
Ziggs (Zigzagoon, Male) Naive Nature, moves: Tackle, Growl, Headbutt, Rock Smash
Grace (Ralts, Female) Calm Nature, moves: Growl, Confusion, Double Team