Shelby looked at Pidgeotto. It looked like a really strong Pokémon, and it also looked a lot more confident in its ability to battle and less careless. Although I could be imagining things, Shelby thought. She couldn’t help but beam at her Pidgeotto. They did say Pidgey was an easy Pokémon to take care of, but she never realized that it could grow this quickly. She stroked the soft feathers as something else was brought to her attention.
I wonder who that guy was, she thought. She spared a glance to where he had been. Pidgeotto cooed softly and rubbed closer. The man had a strange symbol on his chest, like he was a member of something. Then she recalled her Pidgeotto and stood, beginning to turn away.
All of a sudden, a boy walked up to her. He said, “Hey!” Then he waved and got closer. “Was that guy troubling you?” Shelby looked at the boy curiously. He went on and said, “Uhh…so where are you headed? I was going to check out the Gym leader in Viridian City, but…I hear it’s a two on two battle and I only have one Pokémon right now.” The boy looked down at the dark Pokémon who was smiling at him. “Yeah…anyway, mind if we join you for a while? I don’t know anyone around here and…well, the last time I confronted one of those guys by myself they knocked me senseless.”
Shelby considered this for a moment. “It’s fine with me. I wouldn’t mind having the company.” She grinned a bit at him then asked, “Oh, and what is your name, by the way?”
“My name’s Mijaan,” he replied. “And this is Umbreon.” Shelby looked down at his little Pokémon and realized it was one of the many Eeveelutions, as they were called.
“I’m Shelby,” she said. They shook hands. “So we’re both going to Pewter—”
“Wait a minute! If you handled that guy by yourself, you’re way tougher than I am. I mean, Umbreon managed to take out the Dark trainer that I was facing, but I couldn’t even do anything.” Mijaan grinned at Shelby with excitement, “But you! You can take on anything! You should try to fight the gym leader here! I’ll come with you for support! Come on!” Mijaan grabbed her arm and started pulling her in the direction of the gym.
“W-what?” Shelby sputtered. She hadn’t even known there was a gym in Viridian City. She let Mijaan drag her back, but when she looked at the gym she got a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach. “Are you sure about this? I mean…this guy…” she looked at a description on the little stone inside the gym. His picture was taped to it along with a description. “He looks really tough.”
“But you can beat him!” Mijaan insisted. “You completely took out that guy with your Pidgeotto! C’mooooooooon,” Mijaan kept tugging.
Shelby sighed, giving way. “Fine, let’s go. But if I die, I blame you.” Mijaan blinked, and then started to laugh.
Together they walked up to a platform on the gym. A man with yellow hair was sitting down, legs crossed. He looked like he took this position very seriously. Shelby gulped, half scared. She kept walking forward though, attempting to look brave and steady. As they got nearer, the man looked up. He had sharp, intelligent eyes. Shelby knew if she was going to try to beat this guy, she would have to do so carefully.
“Which of you has come to challenge me?” he asked, standing up.
“I, Shelby of Pallet Town,” Shelby replied. She was glad that she sounded a lot more confident than she currently felt.
“I, Nathan,” he began, “as gym leader of Viridian City, accept your challenge. It will be a double battle, so choose two Pokémon and leave the other on the sidelines.” Shelby nodded and handed Pidgeotto’s pokeball to Mijaan. This is a gym battle, she thought, I know it’s important…but I also can’t neglect Pikachu.
They both moved to opposite sides of the gym. Mijaan, Umbreon, and Pidgeotto were on the sidelines, all cheering. Shelby smiled slightly as she grabbed Pikachu and Cyndaquil’s pokeballs. The gym leader tossed his own, sending out two Pokémon. There was a large cow like one (at least that’s what Shelby thought) and bull like one. She checked her Pokedex and realized they were a Miltank and a Tauros. Shelby threw her own pokeballs, sending out Pikachu and Cyndaquil.
“Let the match…begin!” called the referee from the opposite side Mijaan was on.
“Cyndaquil get in there and use ember on the Miltank!” Shelby shouted, trying to start off the match quickly. She wanted this match started fast, and to be ended fast. “Pikachu follow it up with a thundershock!”
This time, Pikachu listened. Cyndaquil launched an ember attack at the Miltank and it was followed by Pikachu’s thundershock. They both hit directly, but the gym leader didn’t seem too concerned about that. In a moment, Miltank’s injuries were suddenly gone. Shelby’s eyes grew wide. What? But how…? She thought wildly.
“It used milk drink!” Mijaan called from the sidelines.
“Tauros use body slam on Pikachu,” the gym leader said calmly. Tauros snorted and charged for Pikachu. Pikachu dodged of its own accord, being as lightning quick as it could. Then from Shelby’s command, Cyndaquil launched another ember, but this time it was aimed for the Tauros. The attack was a direct hit, and Shelby saw that the edges of the Tauro’s fur was singed. Shelby smirked and she heard her Pidgeotto cry out happily from the sidelines.
“Yes!” she said. “Alright Pikachu use thundershock on Tauros!”
The gym leader smirked slightly. “Tauros use fire blast!” he called strongly. Shelby gasped. It knows fire blast? She thought, startled. “If you want to beat me, you’ll have to think of more than direct attacks,” the gym leader commented.
Luckily Pikachu dodged the attack, but it still grazed it on the tail. Shelby clenched her teeth and thought about what she could do. Then it came to her. “Cyndaquil use smokescreen!” Shelby shouted. Cyndaquil let out a jet of smoke that covered the entire area. She then shouted for Pikachu to launch another thundershock on Tauros, and for Cyndaquil to follow it up with a flame wheel. There was a loud bellow, and then an even louder thud from the Tauros. When the smoke finally cleared, the Tauros was lying on its side, passed out.
“Tauros is unable to battle! Nathan is left with Miltank only,” the referee called. Nathan frowned slightly but recalled Tauros quickly. He sure as hell didn’t give Shelby any time to recover though.
“Miltank use body slam on the Pikachu.”
Miltank charged for Pikachu and slammed into it. Pikachu let out a cry as it was trapped underneath the weight of the Miltank. Shelby told it to use thundershock, but when it did it barely did any damage.
“Now Miltank, use brick break!” Nathan commanded.
Miltank lifted barely up off of Pikachu. Then it pounded it with a heavy brick break attack. Pikachu cried and hit the wall, slumping as it was down and out. Shelby clenched her teeth and fists.
“Pikachu is unable to battle, the challenger’s remaining Pokémon is Cyndaquil,” the referee called.
“C’mon Shelby, you can do it!” Mijaan shouted from the sidelines. Pidgeotto and Umbreon cried out in small cheers as well. Shelby quickly recalled Pikachu, proud that it had finally listened to her, and instead focused in on Cyndaquil and its power.
“Cyndaquil use ember!” Shelby called. Flames spouted out of Cyndaquil’s mouth and attacked Miltank in a fiery rush. Miltank groaned and it dug its hooves into the ground to keep it from getting pushed backwards.
“Miltank, milk drink!” Nathan commanded again. Miltank was suddenly healed, but Shelby soon realized that it was still tired and not all of its health had been fully restored by that move. All I have to do, she realized, is whittle its health down and then use one final attack. And she was going to do just that.
“Cyndaquil keep using ember! Tire it out!” Shelby shouted. Cyndaquil’s flames lit up the gym, making Mijaan gasp slightly. Miltank healed itself, but Shelby soon realized that it was growing weak and tired. Time for a final attack, she thought. A smirk appeared on her face. “Now Cyndaquil, use your flame wheel attack!” she called. Fire surrounded Cyndaquil and it ran at the Miltank. It slammed into Miltank, causing dust and debris to fly up in the air. A bright light surrounded the gym, and when it cleared only the dust was left.
Instead of Cyndaquil standing there, Quilava was on all fours. “Lava!” it called triumphantly. Miltank was knocked out below it, completely knocked out from that previous attack. Nathan recalled his Pokémon as the referee shouted,
“Miltank is unable to battle. The challenger, Shelby from Pallet Town, wins the match!”
Mijaan and the others cheered. Shelby grinned widely giving Mijaan a high five. Then she quickly composed herself and walked up to the gym leader. He smiled slightly, “Here, take this Tank Badge. You have earned it.” With those words, he placed the badge in the palm of her hand. She held it tightly, unable to believe that she had just acquired her first badge. Quilava appeared at her feet, happy and giving her almost a grin. For a Pokémon, she thought, I’m surprised I can tell.