After Cyril successfully caught a Geodude, our heroes finished navigating through the treacherous labyrinth of Rock Tunnel. Now, they are continuing north toward Terence's next gym battle and his road to the Pokémon league.
Terence grinned from ear-to-ear as he gazed excitedly into his badge case. The emblems of the Fuchsia and Saffron gyms reflected the bright, mid-day sun as he strode down the road. Soon he would have his third gym badge and be almost half way to entering the Indigo League.
"Boy! Just think!" Terence said in a youthful, jubilant voice. "Once I get my third gym badge, I'll only have five left to go!" He giggled briefly and then continued. "And then, once I get my fourth badge, I'll only have four left to get!"
Gwyn's Squirtle let out an exasperated groan and buried its head in her shoulder as the Pokémon rode atop her backpack.
"And let me guess," Gwyn said in a chiding tone. "When you get five gym badges they'll only be three left to get."
Cyril snorted and then sniggered in amusement.
Terence continued grinning and spun around so he was now walking backward. The other two were a few paces behind him and now he was facing them as they kept moving down the road.
"Exactly!" he said energetically. "And then two badges and then one badge! And then I'll take on the Indigo League! I just gotta win one battle at a time!" He again stared down at his badge case and reveled in the sight of his trophies. He shifted the angle of the container slightly so the badges sparkled in the sunlight.
Gwyn's eyes narrowed slightly. "You know, if you spent as much time practicing as you did polishing those badges, you'd probably already have five of them," she said in a mocking tone.
Terence's eyes widened. "Hey, it's not my fault I didn't know how the Saffron gym worked. Soon as I figured it out, it was fine."
Cyril shrugged and glanced at Gwyn before looking at Terence. "Actually, I think Gwyn's right. You got totally crushed in the Pewter gym twice before you gave up and we went south."
Terence turned his head and looked at Cyril. "I should have won those battles! Everyone knows grass types beat rock types! How was I supposed to know about that Rock Tomb…. thing!"
Gwyn smiled and put her hands on her hips. "Maybe you should read that Pokédex you've got, like Cyril always does," she said.
Terence frowned. "Well, you'll see. Just wait till you see what Bulbasaur and I have been working on. We've got that super Razor Leaf all figured out."
Cyril looked thoughtful. "Another super move," he said cautiously. He then glanced over at Gwyn. "I hope it goes better than how that super shell spin turned out."
Squirtle abruptly looked distressed and, with a whimper, partially retreated inside its shell. The female Pokémon turned a slight shade of green as she remembered the incredibly embarrassing experimental contest move Gwyn had come up with. The only result had been a lot of pointless spinning and then Gwyn's Pokémon losing its lunch in front of the judges and the audience.
Gwyn looked indignant and then very bashful. She shrunk down slightly and pulled her head close to her chest.
"Don't talk about what happened to poor Turtee!" she mumbled.
Squirtle softly voiced agreement.
Upon hearing Cyril's comment, Terence looked very determined. "Whatever they've got at this gym, I'm gonna beat 'em! Me, Bulbasaur and Magnemite! We can't lose!"
As he continued speaking boldly, Terence slowly and steadily veered to the side of the road, unable to see where he was going as he walked backward. Abruptly, Cyril and Gwyn's eyes widened and they simultaneously spoke up in sharp voices.
"TERENCE! LOOK OUT!"
Terence let out a puzzled grunt and then spun around, just in time to slam face-first into a large tree with a loud *smack*. His arms and legs wrapped around the trunk in comical fashion and he moaned briefly before sliding to the ground.
Cyril looked stressed and Gwyn appeared nonplussed.
"Oh, what a silly," the young girl said with a sigh.
Terence fell onto his back and stared up at the sky. "I'm okay," he groaned weakly.
The afternoon wore on and the trio of young Pokémon trainers finally reached their destination. They stopped just outside the entrance of the gym's grounds. The entire area was partially wooded and there was plenty of shade given by trees which towered overhead.
The gym itself somewhat resembled the dojos the trio had seen in Saffron City. There was a large central building surrounded by an extensive courtyard. The entire complex was ringed with walls and there was only one gated entranceway. The walls were painted white and sparsely decorated with purple and silver symbols. The gate was open and three trainers eagerly looked inside, curious what was going on at a location they'd never visited before.
They could see perhaps two dozen people and numerous Pokémon inside. There was some activity and they could hear occasional shouts and the rumble of Pokémon attacks. All three of them exchanged excited glances and strode through the entrance, Terence leading the way.
As they transited the courtyard, they started to see more of what was going on. There didn't appear to be any battles going on, but there were definitely trainers keeping their Pokémon hard at work.
Cyril looked to the side and saw a dripping wet Hitmonchan panting from exhaustion. A Vaporeon stood nearby with a determined look on its face.
"Come on! One more Hitmonchan!" a teenage boy said in a gritty voice. He was wearing a simple dark green and orange t-shirt along with tan shorts. Cyril supposed this was Hitmonchan's trainer.
The fighting type snorted, wacked itself in the face and then braced itself before letting out a determined cry.
The teenage boy grinned. "Use Water Gun again!" he growled.
Vaporeon inhaled and then unleashed a constant stream of water at the Hitmonchan. The attack struck hard and the fighting type's feet slid a few inches under the onslaught but it held fast. Vaporeon kept up the attack and Hitmonchan endured it.
Gwyn looked to the side and spied a girl in a white outfit with purple hair. The other girl swept her arm and, in a harsh voice, commanded a Sneasel to attack a shining metal pole planted in the ground. The dark type let out a furious cry and leapt forward to slash at the pole. Sharp as its claws were, they simply deflected off the vertical rod with a loud *clang!*The Sneasel staggered away from the pole, whining in pain and letting it's clawed hands hang loosely at its sides.
"NO! That's no good!" the purple haired girl shouted. "Hit it again and put everything you've got into it!"
The Sneasel gathered itself, grunted and then launched itself at the pole again. It swung its claws again and they bounced off with another, even louder, *clang!* This time, however, the blow had knocked chunk out of the pole. Sneasel collapsed to its knees, clutching its clawed hands against its body. The Pokémon was whimpering and tears were running from its eyes.
Gwyn and Squirtle let out shocked and dismayed gasps at the sight. The purple haired girl's ears perked up and she turned her head to look at who had made the sound. Their gazes met and Gwyn swallowed nervously as she saw only coldness in the other girl's cobalt eyes. She had something which looked like purple war paint running in angled lines under her eyes and down to her cheeks. Gwyn quickly averted her eyes and looked toward Terence.
"Terence," she said in a harsh whisper, "Are you sure this is the gym?!"
Cyril looked nervous and glanced over before adding to Gwyn's comment. "Yeah, this doesn't look like any gym I've ever seen."
Terence grinned and looked over his shoulder. "Course I'm sure this is the place!" he said confidently. "It's right where the map says it should be."
At that moment, off to the side, a Graveler and a Lairon charged toward each other and began slamming their heads against each other in what must have been some test of strength or endurance.
Gwyn and Cyril exchanged worried looks, but before they could say anything, Terence planted his feet, took a large breath and shouted in a loud voice. "HEY, I'M HERE TO CHALLEGE THE GYM LEADER!"
Almost all the heads in the courtyard turned to look at Terence and his two friends. Silence suddenly descended on the place and Gwyn hoped Terence hadn't just gotten them into trouble. Tense seconds ticked by and then an older and muscular teen boy walked over toward them. He had a smug smile on his face that was bordering on a sneer. His dark brown hair was cut very short and he was wearing a black t-shirt, a brown vest and dark grey shorts.
"You wanna challenge the gym leader, huh!" the older boy said in a mildly sarcastic voice.
Terence didn't budge an inch. "That's right," he said boldly. "I'm here to earn my next gym badge."
The other boy simply crossed his arms, chuckled and didn't reply.
Terence frowned. "Hey, what's so funny!?" he said, sounding indignant.
The girl with the purple hair had walked over and she abruptly scoffed at Terence's comment. "You don't just get to challenge the gym leader here!" She said in a patronizing tone. "You have to earn that privilege."
After she finished speaking, the purple haired girl eyed Gwyn with cruel confidence. Gwyn felt a cold shiver travel through her spine and she looked down at the ground, avoiding the other girl's gaze.
"What kind of a rule is that?" Terence retorted.
"It's the how we do things here," the older boy said. "Nothing comes easy or is given away for free!"
The purple haired girl smirked and crossed her arms. "Erik's right! You'll have to beat one of the trainers here before you might get a shot at the master."
Gwyn's stomach was steadily becoming more and more upset. She really didn't like this place. She would have left, except Terence and Cyril were still here.
Terence glanced between the two trainers standing before him. "Okay, fine!" he said. A moment later he reached into his pocket, pulled out a reduced Pokéball and tapped it. He lobbed the red-white sphere into the air and a moment later Bulbasaur materialized in a flash of white light. "I'll take anybody on!"
Bulbasaur let out a determined growl and clawed at the dirt while glaring at its potential opponents.
As Bulbasaur came into view, Erik and the purple haired girl both struggled not to laugh.
"Oh my," the purple haired girl said in a condescending tone. "It's a kid trainer!"
Several of the people watching the face-off did laugh. One of them mockingly called out, "how many badges 'ya got, kid!?"
Terence's face scrunched up in anger. "I've got two badges, just so you know!" he barked back.
More mocking laughter ensued.
Erik joined in the guffaws with a big belly laugh. He then grinned and looked to the side.
"Hey, Vernon, I think this kid's right up your alley!"
Terence, Cyril and Gwyn looked to the side and saw a scowling young man, who looked perhaps a couple years older than them. He was wearing grey shorts, a dark red t-shirt and he slowly stepped forward toward the face-off.
"Why's this guy right up my alley?" Vernon asked in an annoyed tone.
The purple haired girl sniggered. "Both of you have brand-new Pokémon, still fresh from the factory," she teased.
Vernon glared at the girl. "Shut up, Faye!" he snapped.
Terence also looked indignant. "Hey, Bulbasaur and I have been through plenty of battles!" he spoke up.
Terence's Pokémon croaked an agreement and pawed at the dirt.
Erik half-smiled and gazed at Vernon with mild amusement. "Be a good student and give the kid here a battle."
Now Vernon glared at Erik, however, he remained silent. He pulled a collapsed Pokéball out of his pocket and spun it between his fingers.
Terence looked at Bulbasaur and put on a determined expression. "Okay, looks like we're gonna have two battles today. You ready?"
Bulbasaur nodded and gave a sharp, affirmative reply.
Vernon eyed the situation, tapped his Pokéball to enlarge it and then spoke in a hushed voice. "Okay, we've got a big advantage. Let's win this one quick!" He then tossed the device forward and a flash of white light shot into the air. It resolved into a Beedrill which made a few buzzing sounds and posed, ready for action.
Cyril's expression became one of dismay. "Uh oh," he said in a worried voice, "Beedrill is a bug and flying type. It's got a huge advantage over Bulbasaur!"
Upon hearing this, Gwyn started to look worried as well. "Terence, be careful!" she shouted.
An eager expression formed on Terence's face. "Don't worry," he said confidently. He then lowered his voice and spoke only to Bulbasaur. "We've had to deal with a few Beedrill on the road, haven't we?!"
Bulbasaur nodded and planted its feet firmly. It was ready for whatever came next.
Faye looked between the two Pokémon and partially rolled her eyes. "Okay, start fighting!" she said in an offhanded way.
Vernon wasted no time and made an intense gesture toward Bulbasaur. "Use, Fury Attack!" he shouted.
Beedrill squeaked a reply and sped forward, brandishing its two drill-like appendages.
Terence hesitated for a fraction of a moment and then gave his command. "Use Vine Whip, quick!" he cried out.
Bulbasaur sent out its vines from the sides of its bulb and managed to get one of them to glance off of the rapidly approaching Beedrill. However, the bug type was undeterred and immediately struck Terence's Pokémon with a flurry of stabbing strikes.
"Oh no! Uh!" Terence stammered. "Use super Razor Leaf!" he said frantically.
Gwyn slapped a hand to her face in dismay. "Noooo! Not again!" she moaned, recalling how Terence was prone to making very bad snap decisions when under pressure.
Cyril looked extremely apprehensive and was holding tight to his backpack straps.
Bulbasaur croaked out a cry of effort and then spun in a circle. It began rapidly launching Razor Leaves in all directions, not even looking to aim. In spite of the lack of aim and effectiveness, Beedrill was so close that it was struck again and again in rapid succession. The bug let out a whine and quickly zipped away from the spinning grass type.
Vernon clinched a fist. "What are you doing?! Get back in there!" he growled. "Use Bug Bite!"
Beedrill looked disheartened for a moment then turned around and dove toward Bulbasaur.
This time, Terence was ready. He grinned and swept his arm to the side. "Use Vine Whip to jump in the air!" he called out.
With an eager cry, Bulbasaur shot out its vines and slammed them into the ground. The force of the blow propelled the small grass type up into the air. Beedrill looked upward as its target was now above it.
"Go get it!" Vernon yelled.
Beedrill responded and altered its angle of attack so it could strike Bulbasaur. Unfortunately, the maneuver caused the bug to slow down quite a bit, which was exactly what Terence was waiting for.
Terence pointed at Beedrill and cried out in a loud voice, "use Sleep Powder!"
Bulbasaur performed a somersault and its bulb puffed a large cloud of green powder directly at Beedrill. The oncoming bug was covered by the dust and suddenly looked distressed before immediately becoming lethargic.
Vernon's eyes went wide with surprise. "Augh, WHAT!" he shouted.
Terence grinned and punched with his right fist and then with his left. "Okay, give 'em the one-two! Leech Seed and Vine Whip!"
Still in midair, Bulbasaur croaked a reply and launched a large seed out of its bulb. The seed flew in an arc and struck Beedrill. A bunch of vines immediately sprouted out of the seed and wrapped around the flying bug. Sparks of yellow energy snapped all around Vernon's Pokémon as its power was drained. A moment later, Bulbasaur sent out its vines and swung them in a big arc above both Pokémon before bringing them crashing down. The attack slammed Beedrill down into the ground where it remained unmoving.
Cyril and Gwyn stood speechless for a moment. Then, they realized that Terence had just won and they excitedly leapt into the air.
"YAY! ALL RIGHT!" the two friends cried out.
Terence wiped some nervous sweat from his brow with his right forearm. "See, piece of cake!" he said, trying to sound confident.
Vernon gritted his teeth in frustration and clinched his fists. He raised Beedrill's Pokéball and recalled the Pokémon.
"That was really pathetic!" he spat. "Seriously, you're worse than that Dreepy!"
Erik and Faye smirked and then spoke up in mocking voices.
"Well, looks like you're still searching for another strong Pokémon," Faye said.
"Can't even win with the match stacked in your favor," Erik added.
Vernon whirled around, a furious expression on his face. Before he could say anything, Terence proudly spoke up.
"Okay! I won! Now, where's the gym leader!?" he said, resting his hands on his hips. Bulbasaur also joined in and struck a confident pose.
Faye scoffed and then Erik stepped forward, looking very amused.
"Oh, no!" the young man said, subtly shaking his head. "There's no way a battle like that counts. You don't get to challenge the gym that easily. Nothing gets given away for free."
Terence was taken aback while Gwyn and Cyril looked on in shock and surprise.
"Hey!"Terence shouted. "I won that battle fair-and-square!"
Faye smirked. "You didn't win anything!" she said smugly. "You might as well have knocked out a little bitty Weedle."
Vernon looked very resentful but he said nothing.
Terence's face scrunched up in anger. "Come on! I beat your stupid little challenge!" he shouted. "Now, let me battle the gym leader!"
Erik grinned wickedly and pulled a Pokéball out from behind his back. "If you wanna face the gym leader, you'll have to win a real battle!"
Gwyn suddenly made an angry sound and stepped forward so she was just behind Terence's right shoulder. Cyril reacted a second later and brandished a Pokéball in his left hand while he took up a position just behind Terence's left shoulder.
"Hey! You're not being fair!" Gwyn said as forcefully as a ten-year-old girl could. "Let him have his gym battle!"
Squirtle leaned out from behind her head and, with a furrowed brow, her Pokémon added a menacing growl to her statement.
"That's right!" Cyril said. "He's earned his shot!"
Terence looked to the sides at both of his friends and then stared down Erik. "You heard 'em!" he said with a confident smile. "I earned a battle with the gym leader!"
Vernon growled and stepped forward. He put away Beedrill's Pokéball and then pulled out a different one.
"You still wanna battle?!" he said, his voice shaking with anger.
Terence exchanged a glance with Bulbasaur and both of them nodded in agreement. "Fine! Bring it on!" he challenged.
Vernon huffed and tossed his Pokéball forward. It snapped open and an unhappy looking Machoke emerged. The fighting type let out a guttural growl and glared angrily down at Bulbasaur.
Gwyn exchanged a glance and nod with Squirtle and then stepped up so she was standing next to Terence. She shrugged her shoulders and Squirtle leapt over her head and dropped to the ground. The water type struck a battle pose next to Bulbasaur.
"You wanna cheat like this, you'll have to face me too!" Gwyn said fiercely.
Faye grinned hungrily and quickly flicked a Pokéball forward from her belt. The device opened and a Gloom flashed into existence.
"Not so fast," she said in a playful yet threatening tone. "We don't want an unfair fight!"
Cyril made a determined face and, without a word, tossed his Pokéball forward. Charmander emerged and the fire type leapt forward so it stood to Bulbasaur's left. All three Kanto starter Pokémon braced themselves for battle and let out determined cries.
Erik chuckled and then casually tossed a Pokéball forward. An Electabuzz appeared and some electrical sparks crackled in the air around its head. The yellow/black Pokémon made a few aggressive grunts and punched at the air.
The three older trainers stared down the three younger ones. Tense seconds ticked by and then, without warning, someone in the courtyard called out "the master is here!"
Erik, Faye and Vernon all looked surprised and they quickly wheeled around to look at the central building. There, walking along a railed porch which circled around from the side of the structure, was a young man sporting a very stoic expression. His purple hair was cut short and he was wearing a deep violet robe with a pair of light-weight white pants below.
All of the students of the dojo turned toward their master and came to attention. "Master Paul!" one of them called out respectfully.
Paul nodded in acknowledgement and then came to a stop. He turned to face the impending battle in the courtyard, clasped his hands behind his back and examined the situation.
"What's going on here?" he asked in an even and authoritative voice.
Without pretense, Terence took a step to the side so he had a clear view of Paul. "HEY! I WANNA BATTLE YOU!" he shouted.
Cyril grimaced and Gwyn cringed. "Now's not the time, Terence!" Gwyn hissed under her breath.
Paul's expression didn't change. His gaze shifted to his three students facing the trio of new arrivals.
Erik took the cue and quickly spoke up. "One of them wants to have a gym battle," he said with a bit of disrespect tingeing his words. "We were just showing them how we do things here!"
A long moment passed and then Paul responded in a firm voice which traveled across the entire courtyard. "You know the first rule. Victory brings reward!"
All of the students responded with one voice. "FAILURE BRINGS PUNISHMENT!" they said forcefully.
A sudden silence hung in the air and Terence, Cyril and Gwyn all swallowed nervously. This wasn't what they had expected at all.
Paul stared at the six trainers and their Pokémon for several seconds and then swept his right hand in a dismissive wave. "Continue!" he said simply.
Paul's three students all turned to face Terence, Cyril and Gwyn; only now they seemed much more energized and focused. They wished to impress their master with their battling prowess. They grinned fiercely and eyed their opponents.
"Use Mach Punch!" Vernon called out.
"Use Thunder Wave!" Erik called out.
"Use Acid!" Faye commanded.
Terence, Cyril and Gwyn all let out cries of dismay at the surprise attack and then they shouted their commands.
Bulbasaur was too slow and took Machoke's punch right in the face, sending the grass type tumbling. Charmander dove to the side and narrowly avoided the Thunder Wave. Squirtle retreated inside its shell and spun rapidly to deflect the spray of Acid.
Terence clinched a fist. "Okay, hit 'em back with Vine Whip!"
Bulbasaur dashed forward and sent two vines straight at Machoke.
"ICE PUNCH!" Vernon called out.
Just as the vines approached, Machoke swung its fists and struck the incoming attack. Bulbasaur's vines suddenly were encased in ice!
Terence gasped in dismay. "OH NO!" he cried out.
Cyril eyed the Electabuzz and nodded intensely. "We can't mess around!" he said quickly. "Use Dragon Breath!"
Charmander inhaled deeply and then, with a loud cry, unleashed a big plume of green fire at its electric opponent.
Erik grinned broadly. "Use Charge!" he said boldly.
The Electabuzz let out a roar and spun its arms rapidly. Electricity began to crackle all around it.
Cyril looked on in astonishment. Was this some kind of trick?! He wasn't even trying to dodge! A moment later, the Dragon Breath attack slammed into Electabuzz and engulfed the Pokémon. It was a direct hit!
The green fire swirled and sizzled. A moment later, it dissipated and Electabuzz still stood tall. It was singed all over and smoke was rising from it, but it looked completely undeterred.
Erik sniggered menacingly and Cyril suddenly got a very bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.
Gwyn pointed at Gloom and shouted her command. "Turtee, use Water Gun!"
Squirtle grunted in effort, reared back and unleashed a powerful stream of water at her opponent.
The purple haired woman smirked and chuckled in a condescending manner. "Oh little kid, how much you have to learn."
The attack hit Gloom squarely but the grass type was barely harmed by the ineffective stream of water. A moment later, Faye pointed at Squirtle. "Use Poison Powder!"
Gloom moaned a battle cry and then puffed a large cloud of purple dust directly at Squirtle.
Gwyn's eyes went wide with fear. "GET OUT OF THERE TURTEE!" she shouted.
Squirtle wasted no time following the command and turned to flee from the poisonous cloud.
A horrible feeling of helplessness washed over Terence as Machoke approached his crippled Bulbasaur. His Pokémon's vines were frozen and he didn't have many options. Then, an idea popped into his head. Something which could break the ice and drive back Machoke.
"Quick, Bulbasaur, use super Razor Leaf! Shake off that ice!"
Bulbasaur grunted and struggled to begin spinning. The ice weighed it down, but after some effort, it completed a rotation and the ice suddenly shattered. A moment later, Bulbasaur started launching Razor Leaves in all directions.
"Yeah! All right!" Terence shouted.
His jubilation quickly turned to dismay as Machoke charged right through the hail of leaves, shrugging off hit after hit.
Vernon grinned fiercely. "Now you get to see what a strong Pokémon looks like!" he shouted. "Use Close Combat!"
Before Terence or Bulbasaur could react, Machoke closed the last bit of distance separating the two Pokémon and landed the first of what would be many hard blows.
Erik clinched a fist and shouted a command to his Electabuzz. "Fry that thing with Thunderbolt!"
Electabuzz shifted to a wide stance and a brilliant sphere of electricity started to form in between the two antennae on its head.
Cyril tensed up and gave his command. "Quick, hit it hard with Flamethrower!"
Charmander cried out, opened its mouth wide and unleashed a huge plume of fire at the electric opponent. This attack struck cleanly, just as the Dragon Breath attack had moments earlier, however, Electabuzz seemed unfazed.
The young man laughed harshly. "Seriously, you're just tickling us with that weak attack!" He then smiled broadly, clearly relishing the moment at hand. "Let's go, Electabuzz!"
Still engulfed in flame, the electric type roared at the top of its lungs and then a blinding bolt of electricity shot out of the inferno and blasted Charmander with immense force.
Gloom leapt into the air and landed directly in Squirtle's path. Gwyn gasped and Faye grinned. Squirtle took a fearful step backwards and fell on its backside.
"Hit it with Acid!" the female student called out.
A squeal of fear escaped Gwyn's throat. "QUICK, TURTEE, WITHDRAW!"
Squirtle immediately pulled its head, arms and legs inside its shell. The acid splashed all over the hardened exterior, but did little actual damage to the Pokémon inside.
"Do you really think that's gonna work?!" the purple haired girl mocked. "Use Stun Spore! and get nice and close."
Gloom trundled up to the rocking shell which contained its water type opponent. The grass type then moaned loudly before sending out a large cloud of orange powder which engulfed Gwyn's Pokémon. The spores immediately wafted into all the openings of the protective shell. A moment later, Squirtle popped out of its shell, coughing, choking and whining in pain as paralysis took hold of its body.
Gwyn clutched at her face in horror. "OH NO!" she squealed.
Terence winced and flinched as Bulbasaur took blow after blow in rapid succession. Punches, kicks and elbow strikes all rained down on his little green friend.
"Uh, uh," he stammered, not sure what to do! He knew he had to issue a command and so he tried the one thing he hadn't done yet. "Use, Leech Seed!" he called out.
Bulbasaur prepared to fire the seed, but Vernon was too quick.
"Take that seed and throw it at Charmander!" he commanded.
As the seed popped from Bulbasaur's bulb, Machoke seized it and then hurled it at Cyril's Charmander, who was currently staggering around after just being fried by Electabuzz's attack. The seed struck the fire type and quickly engulfed it in vines.
Cyril wasn't sure what do to. He wasn't even sure what had just happened. Suddenly his Charmander had been struck by what appeared to be Leech Seed. He looked on as his Pokémon struggled and writhed as its energy was drained.
"Try and use scratch to cut yourself free!" he commanded.
It was no use. Charmander continued to flail helplessly, getting weaker and weaker by the second.
Erik laughed cruelly. "Oh, this is too good!" he guffawed. "Use Thunder Punch!"
A moment later, Electabuzz cocked its right arm backward before delivering a devastating, sparking uppercut which launched Charmander up into the air.
Tears were streaming from Gwyn's eyes as Gloom slapped her incapacitated best friend around like it was a piñata. "STOP IT! STOP IT!" she bawled.
Faye regarded Gwyn with a vicious smile. "Stop it?!" she said in a mocking voice. "I thought you wanted to battle!" She then looked at Squirtle and excitedly raised her eyebrows. "I think its still got some fight left. MEGA DRAIN!"
Gloom smiled and then sent out a green beam from its flower. The beam struck Squirtle and pulses of the water type's remaining energy began to be drained through the connection.
Terence could only watch as Machoke pummeled his Pokémon into the ground. He knew he'd lost the battle. He hated to do it but he had to give up for Bulbasaur's sake.
"Okay, you win!" he cried out.
Cyril watched as Charmander flipped head-over-heels as it fell from the sky. He cringed as his Pokémon crashed down into the ground, leaving a small indentation where it landed. "Aw, man!" he groaned.
Vernon looked at Terence with a heartless expression. "Time for you to learn the first rule: failure brings punishment!"
A moment later, Machoke lifted Bulbasaur high over its head with its right arm and then chucked the barely conscious Pokémon at Charmander. Both Pokémon violently collided and ended up in a heap.
Faye looked to the side and saw Charmander lying on top of Bulbasaur. "Now that's a target if I ever saw one!" she said gleefully.
Gwyn could only look on in horror and blubber as Gloom reared back and gave her Pokémon a mighty kick. Squirtle was currently lying helplessly on her back and Gloom's blow sent the small turtle spinning across the courtyard at great speed like an out-of-control top. The water type slammed into Bulbasaur and Charmander sending all three Pokémon flying into the air.
Terence, Cyril and Gwyn all let out cries of dismay and concern as they watched their Pokémon crash to earth in a heap. All three Pokémon let out weak groans and struggled to move. Vernon, Erik and Faye exchanged glances and grinned menacingly.
"Use Rock Throw!" Vernon shouted.
"Use Thunderbolt!" Erik commanded.
"Use Acid!" Faye screeched.
All three of the student's Pokémon readied their attacks and launched them simultaneously. Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle let out abbreviated cries of fear and then were blasted into the air once again.
"OH NO! Gywn cried out. She, Terence and Cyril all tried to catch their Pokémon as they fell from the sky. Only Terence was successful and his reward was to be slammed flat on his back by the weight of Bulbasaur. Charmander and Squirtle crashed down and groaned weakly as Cyril and Gwyn knelt next to them.
Faye chuckled cruelly. "Wow, so that's the future of the Pokémon league?"
A few others in the crowd laughed harshly.
"We'd better hope not!" Erik growled.
While their trainers laughed, Machoke, Gloom and Electabuzz all slowly paced back to their sides.
Vernon chuckled one final time and then reached up to give Machoke a fist bump. "Good job!" he said, sounding pleased.
Faye knelt down and held her arms out to embrace Gloom. "Oh, you did so great!" she said sweetly.
Erik also welcomed back Electabuzz. They exchanged some sort of elaborate handshake and grinned fiercely to each other.
Terence, Cyril and Gwyn all cradled their Pokémon in their arms. Tears were streaming down Gwyn's face and Cyril looked mortified as he saw the flame on Charmander's tail was weakly flickering. Terence gritted his teeth and looked at his companions.
"Let's get out of here!" he said.
The other two nodded in agreement and they all rose to their feet and started jogging toward the entrance way. As they left, more mocking laughter and taunts followed them. The three of them spared a quick glance over their shoulders and saw the gym leader, Paul, was still looking on with a stoic expression. He'd allowed all that to happen!
Terence, Cyril and Gwyn all kept running and soon were outside the dojo. They made tracks for a nearby forest and didn't stop until they found a small, shaded clearing. There, they laid down their Pokémon and started attending to them.
Gwyn sniffed back tears and ran her left hand across Squirtle's bruised face. "I'm so sorry, Turtee!" she wailed in a cracking voice.
Cyril gently flipped Charmander on his back and sprayed his Pokémon down with a potion before setting up a small camp stove and propping the fire type's burning tail up on it.
Terence also sprayed Bulbasaur down with a potion and started feeding him a few Oran berries. He sighed heavily, feeling guilty over what had happened to all of them.
Gwyn opened up the berry case she'd gotten from Serena and pulled out the bunch of Cheri berries. She fed a couple of them to Squirtle and then mashed up a few more in her hands. She started rubbing the mush over Squirtle's body to help dissipate the Stun Spore.
Minutes ticked by and silence reigned. None of them had any interest in talking. Their Pokémon groaned softly and winced as their trainers attended to them. After some time, their Pokémon started to relax as their injuries began to heal and their pain subsided. Terence finally let out a deep sigh and stood up.
"After we get to a Pokémon center, we gotta go tell Ash about this gym!" He said with some anger tingeing his voice.
Gwyn and Cyril looked up at Terence. Both of them were still badly shaken over what had happened.
"What can Ash do about it?!" Cyril asked, sounding defeated.
Terence frowned. "I don't know!" he replied in a perplexed voice. "Maybe, beat them all in a Pokémon battle. Maybe, scare the gym leader off."
Gwyn spoke up in a tear-choked voice. "Maybe, burn the place down!" she said angrily.
Terence and Cyril glanced at Gwyn but they didn't voice any support for her extreme statement. However, internally, both of them knew they wouldn't shed any tears if when Ash showed up, the dojo accidentally burnt to the ground as a result of the intense battle.
Cyril thought for a moment. "Yeah, you're right. A gym like that shouldn't be allowed to continue."
The three of them exchanged a few more looks and they all agreed. A few minutes later, Terence and Cyril recalled their Pokémon and Gwyn stuffed Squirtle into her backpack. All of them then set out at a brisk pace on the road leading west.
And so, after losing a brutal battle, our heroes are now setting their sights back on Pallet Town. What will Ash think when he hears about this gym and its practices? Who is this mysterious gym leader named Paul and why does he teach his students to be so unforgiving? And, will our heroes ever have to face Vernon, Erik and Faye ever again. We'll find out when the journey continues.