Rocking the Virbank Gym!
Much like most of Virbank City, graffiti could be seen all over the Virbank Gym walls however it appeared to done by the Gym Leader herself as the art was clearly stylized after Poison type Pokémon such as Koffing, Weezing, Whirlipede and a few others Ash hadn't seen such as a Pokémon that resembled a pile of trash and another that appeared to be a brown Quagsire that looked even more laidback than the Quagsire that Ash was familiar with.
"It's been a while since we last fought a Poison specialist!" Ash excitedly exclaimed. A majority of the regions seemingly had Fire, Grass, Water and either Rock/Ground specialists in charge of Gyms so it had been quite some time since he faced off against one, in fact it was over seven years ago as it was Koga of Fuchsia City. Ash currently lacked Steel and Psychic types in his Unova roster so he wouldn't be able to breeze through this one. Pikachu did have Iron Tail but his Unova team wouldn't get anywhere if he relied on Pikachu for the difficult battles.
"Well let's get inside, I'm itching to get things started!" Ash eagerly exclaimed before barging through the doors, loud rock music blasted their ears as a girl the same age as Ash and Hilda was standing atop a stage playing an electric guitar. The girl wore a purple and light blue striped shirt that was just too big for her as it went way past her waist, fitted loosely around her arms and covered the upper half of her legs, she was likely wearing shorts beneath her oversized shirt but Ash sure couldn't see anything. She also wore rather large black boots that only covered more of her legs, leaving only a few inches of skin visible around her knees. Her medium length white hair was also tied upwards as to not get in her way as she wildly leaped about the stage while rapidly nodding her head to her music.
"Oh yeah who's ready to rock?!" She shouted to nobody in particular resulting in her quickly falling right off the stage in shock as Ash suddenly shouted out.
"I'm ready to rock, I'm here for my third Gym badge!"
"Ah!" The girl hit the ground with a soft thud before slowly rising with no visible harm having come to her as the stage wasn't that high. "Oh sorry about that, I just get too into my music sometimes that I lose track of the world around me!" The girl let out a light laugh before extending her hand to him. "I'm Roxie by the way!"
"Ash Ketchum," Ash shook her hand.
"So Ketchum, you've come here for a Gym battle? I'll have you know the rules here are simple, we'll each use three Pokemon while the standard rules apply. Only the challenger can switch and blah blah." Roxie rolled her eyes lightly before giving off a challenging smirk. "I must warn you that Poison types are not to be underestimated though!"
"I know, there was once a time where I battled Poison types practically every day!" Ash chuckled.
Roxie let out a laugh and gave a light strum of her guitar as she began walking towards the battlefield. "Well then let's get things started!" She leaped into position before strumming her guitar once more but used a different note. "Koffing, let's rock!"
"Oshawott, I choose you!" Ash shouted while throwing a ball into the air.
"Oshawott!" Oshawott cried out as he burst onto the field.
"Water Pulse!" Ash shouted out.
"Osha-Wott!" Oshawott cried out as a powerful geyser of water shot from his mouth, blasting Koffing back.
"Koffing." Koffing gritted his teeth as the water pushed against him.
"Sludge!" Roxie sang out while strumming her guitar.
"Koffing!" A stream of brown sludge poured from Koffing's mouth, spreading across the field before touching Oshawott causing the otter to cry out as the Poisonous liquid touched him. Fortunately it didn't appear that he was poisoned.
"Razor Shell!" Oshawott removed his scalchop and held it out to his side as it began glowing bright blue, Oshawott rushed across the field before slashing his opponent with the attack.
"K-Koffing..." Koffing groaned out before falling towards the floor as swirls filled his eyes.
"Koffing!" Roxie messed up the flow of her music as she gasped out. "Return!" She reached for the ball and returned Koffing while Ash and Pikachu praised Oshawott.
"Good job, Oshawott! You were amazing!"
"Pi Pikachu!"
"Oshawott!" Oshawott clenched his fists and blushed brightly as a bright blue light consumed his body. He doubled in height while his white fur began changing to a light blue coloring while the fur around his waist turned to a dark blue coloring, making it appear as if he were wearing pants. The scalchop that rested upon his chest had moved to his waist and now had a sister scalchop upon his other waist while two large whiskers formed on both sides of his cheeks. "Dewott!"
"You evolved!"
"Pi Pikachu!"
"Dewott!" Dewott enthusiastically cried out while pumping his fists as Ash scanned him with his Pokedex.
"Dewott the Discipline Pokémon, strict training is how it learns its flowing double-scalchop technique."
"Weezing, let's rock!" Roxie shouted, strumming her guitar as she sent out Koffing's evolution.
"Weezing." The Poison type wheezed out as it appeared on the battlefield.
"Sludge Bomb!" Roxie shouted while playing a powerful note on her guitar.
"Weez!" A large blob of sludge flew from Weezing's mouth and shot towards Dewott before exploding against him, covering him with sludge.
"Dewott..." Dewott groaned out while wiping the sludge from his face.
"Razor Shell!" Ash shouted out.
"Dewott!" Dewott's scalchops glowed bright blue as he removed them from his waist, he rushed across the field and rapidly slashed them against the Poison type causing it to cry out.
"Belch!"
"Weezing!" Weezing flew up towards Dewott before a toxic green odor poured from his mouth as he burped directly against Dewott's face. Dewott groaned and collapsed onto his backside as swirls formed within his eyes.
"Dewott return, you were great out there and deserve a long rest. We'll take over things from here," Ash recalled Dewott to his ball before tossing another ball up into the air. "Alright Gengar, I choose you!"
"Gengar!" Gengar excitedly cried out as he burst from the ball. He pulled at his eye while sticking out his tongue at Roxie but she wasn't even phased by his attempt to scare her, merely shrugging which caused Gengar to sigh out. "Gengar."
"Psychic!" Ash shouted out.
"Gengar!" Gengar's eyes flashed bright blue as a similar glow formed around Weezing, lifting the Poison type up into the air before proceeding to toss him around.
"Destiny Bond!" Roxie hastily shouted out.
"Weez." A bright white light flashed across the battlefield as Weezing was thrown towards the ground below, swirls quickly filled his eyes as Gengar suddenly dropped as swirls formed within his own eyes.
"Gengar..."
"What was that?!" Hilda exclaimed with visible shock.
"That was Destiny Bond, if the Pokémon that activated it is taken out before they use a different attack then the other side is immediately taken out as well." Brock explained.
"Which is smart, Roxie realized that Gengar's Psychic attack could possibly sweep Weezing and her remaining Pokémon. It is a Gym Leader's job to challenge their opponents." Cilan stated.
"Return," Roxie swiftly recalled Weezing while Ash recalled Gengar.
"Alright Garbodor, let's rock!" Roxie sang out while strumming her guitar.
"Palpitoad, I choose you!"
"Palpitoad?! But he hasn't even used it yet!" Hilda exclaimed.
"That's Ash for you." Brock chuckled as Palpitoad burst out onto the field.
"Palpitoad!" Palpitoad gurgled out.
"Garbodor!" The large trash pile that had been graffitied on the outside walls appeared on the opposite end of the battlefield.
"Who's that Pokémon?" Ash questioned while scanning the garbage pile with his Pokedex.
"Garbodor the Trash Heap Pokémon, beware the poisonous liquid it shoots from its right arm. If even a little of it gets on you, you'll experience the effects of the unidentified toxin."
"Mud Shot!" Ash shouted out.
"Palpitoad!" Palpitoad gurgled out while firing a geyser of mud towards his opponent, pelting his face as he covered the top half of Garbodor with mud.
"Acid Spray!" Garbodor raised his hands, revealing a series of nozzles atop his fingertips. Purple acid erupted from the nozzles, spraying Palpitoad. Palpitoad grunted out before leering at his opponent as Ash shouted out.
"Bubble Beam!"
"Palpi!" Palpitoad gurgled out while firing off a series of bubble towards Garbodor, pelting the Poison type with water.
"Garbodor..."
"Solar Beam!" Roxie shouted out.
"That's not good." Hilda flinched. "Palpitoad has a quadruple weakness to Grass types."
"He'll definitely have to play it safe." Brock commented while nodding in agreement.
"Mud Shot!" Ash shouted out.
"Palpitoad!" Palpitoad gurgled out while spraying Garbodor with another mud geyser. Garbodor was charging his attack so he was forced to stand there and take it head on.
"Garbo!" Garbodor's mouth glowed bright white as solar energy began erupting from his mouth.
"Surf!" Ash swiftly shouted out.
"Palpitoad!" A massive wave formed beneath Palpitoad, hoisting him up into the air. Although this was Palpitoad's first battle, Ash did study his move set before the battle started. Roxie gritted her teeth as the Solar Beam crashed into the wave, just narrowly missing Palpitoad. "Palpitoad!" Palpitoad cried out as the massive wave crashed down upon Garbodor, knocking the trash pile onto his back as a loud thud echoed throughout the Gym.
"Garbodor..." Garbodor was sprawled out on his back as swirls formed within his eyes.
"Alright Palpitoad, you did it!" Ash excitedly shouted out.
"Palpitoad!" Palpitoad gurgled out as Ash pulled him in for a hug.
Roxie returned Garbodor to his ball and carefully set her guitar down as she began making her way off the stage. "Well done, Ash." Roxie clapped her hands together while lifting her shirt a bit.
"Whoa!" Ash shielded his eyes while Roxie uttered out a giggle.
"Chill out there, I don't swing that way! Besides I couldn't reach my pockets." Ash looked and saw that Roxie was indeed wearing shorts beneath her oversized sweater, the shorts disappeared as soon as she dropped her sweater as she held out a badge to him.
"This is the Toxic Badge," She spoke while holding out a purple badge that was designed after the smoke clouds that Virbank City was known for. "Take it and wear it with pride, I look forward to seeing how you fare in the Unova League." Roxie then performed a backflip as she leaped back onto the stage, quickly picking up her guitar before giving it another strumming. "Oh yeah, it's time to rock!" She shouted out as the loud music began blaring throughout the Gym once more.
"Alright, we got the Toxic Badge!"
"Pi Pikachu!"
"Palpitoad!" Pikachu and Palpitoad posed alongside their trainer as he held the badge above his head.
"So that's badge number three, he only needs five more now." Hilda commented.
"And the Unova League is seven months away, we're going to have to find a place to relax at some point." Cilan stated.
"I wouldn't worry, we usually find something to pass the time." Brock spoke. "Now let's get out of here, it's hard to hear about this music."
"Gotta catch 'em all, Pokémon!" Roxie sang out as they left the Gym.
"My lord," The Shadow Triad bowed before Ghetsis as he sat upon the throne in Plasma Castle's throne room. The Seven Sages were watching from a distance while N spied on them from the shadows with the assistance of his Zoroark friend who'd helped him reach the wooden barriers that supported the room's ceiling. Nobody would know he was there unless they were psychic or could sense aura. "Team Rocket discovered that the meteorite is in the ruins beneath the Desert Resort, it's only a matter of time before the entire organization shows up and the knight is still unable to summon Zekrom. We need a power boost in case they beat us to the meteorite, Team Rocket has been successful in stealing legendary Pokémon in the past so there's a good chance they bring one here with them."
Ghetsis clasped his hands together as he stared off with a thoughtful expression. "Tomorrow's a holiday, correct? Nobody should be on Liberty Garden if that's the case. Perhaps it is time to seek out Victini, it's said to know moves that the Dragons Reshiram and Zekrom taught it. It could be a good ally."
"But nobody's seen Victini in hundreds of years, how could we possibly find it?" Rood questioned.
"It's quite simple," Zinzolin cackled. "We destroy its home!"
The Shadow Triad cast each other a silent look while N clenched his fists.
"You want us to do it?" One of the ninjas asked.
"No, we'll send the knight's team. They've been successful in all their tasks as of late, we need to guarantee that we get our hands on Victini." Ghetsis clasped his hands together while looking towards the door. "But just to be safe, I'll check in on Colress and see how our contingency plan is doing." The scientist was hard at work improving upon some ancient Pokémon whose fossils Team Plasma had recently unearthed. It had been a while since Ghetsis last checked up on the project, he was curious what the progress was on the Genesect project.