Striaton City Gym
At long last, the Gym challenge was about to begin.
Javelin walked into the Gym and this time, instead of finding a restaurant, found
a rather posh Pokémon arena. The floor was still carpeted, but all the tables and chairs had been pushed aside to create room in the middle for a battle. At the end of the open area stood the three Gym Leader brothers - each bearing their trademark red, green, and blue hair and dressed impeccably. As Javelin moved forward, the three started towards him and stopped in the middle.
Green Hair grinned. "Alright, a Trainer! Time to get on with our real jobs, eh? I'm Cilan, and this is Cress-" - Blue Hair nodded - "-and Chili." The last brother gave Javelin a thumbs up. "Now, then," said Cilan, "what was your first Pokémon?"
"Squirtle," replied Javelin.
"Excellent. It appears I'll, ah, be your opponent in the battle for the badge. I assume you are ready?"
Javelin reached for his belt and sent out Shade. "Of course. Let's do this."
Chili and Cress went toward the sidelines and sat next to Walkazo and Anton, who were watching the match. Cilan walked to the edge and called out his first Pokémon, a Stoutland. "Alright. Stoutland, let's go! Work Up!" Stoutland began jumping up and down, getting pumped up for the battle.
Javelin smiled. "Shade, stay back! Hit him with Ice Shard!" Shade complied and began tossing sharp ice towards Stoutland, who attempted to dodge but was too slow. Stoutland shook off the bits of ice and looked to Cilan for further instructions.
"Um, well
go and counterattack with Retaliate!"
Stoutland rushed forward, aiming for Shade. Javelin called out, "Dodge, and hit him with Night Slash!" As Stoutland barreled past, Shade slashed at him and retreated. "He's too slow!" laughed Javelin. "Use Double Team. Attack Pattern Swarm - Ice Shard Barrage!"
"What exactly does that mean?" whispered Walkazo to Anton. She looked over and nudged Anton, who had fallen asleep and woke with a start. He looked blearily around for a few seconds, then went back to his nap.
Meanwhile, Shade had split into two
three
four copies of himself. The quartet began to dash around Stoutland, tossing Ice Shards from every direction as Stoutland attempted to dodge. Cilan frowned at the unorthodox attack and called out, "Use Odor Sleuth! Hit the real one with Retaliate!"
Stoutland began sniffing at the air, and pointed towards one Shade and barreled forward, slamming into the real one and dispelling the copies. Shade slid backwards, but picked himself back up. "You've just got to finish him! Use Ice Punch! Jump on top of him!"
Shade complied, zigzagging towards Stoutland. He hit Stoutland in the front with an Ice Punch, then flipped over him and hit him with another on his back. Stoutland grunted, but shook off Shade. "Now! Night Slash!" Shade moved past Stoutland's side, sweeping it with Night Slash. The big dog groaned, then collapsed, fainted.
Cilan frowned. "Well, uh, I guess it's on to round, er, two! Simisage!" He sent out his second Pokémon, who Leered at Shade, daring him to attack. Cilan was finished playing games. "Hit him with Focus Blast! Fast!" Simisage fired the attack, which Shade instinctively dodged.
Javelin frowned. "Dodge his attacks! Strike back with Ice Shard!" As Shade fired an Ice Shard towards Simisage, the green monkey simultaneously fired Focus Blast towards him. The two attacks collided. Focus Blast split the Ice Shard down the middle and continued on to hit Shade for super effective damage. Shade was knocked out instantly.
"Double weaknesses are never any good," commented Walkazo to Chili. "Not to mention the fact that Weavile just can't take many hits."
"I was wondering how my bro would manage to stop Ice attacks," laughed Chili. "His loss to Brycen at the last Gym Leader Conference was just embarrassing. Anyways, your friend here better have some good tricks up his sleeve to overcome this type disadvantage."
With a determined look, Javelin reached for his belt and pulled out Patton. "Let's do this, Patton!" he called as Patton appeared and looked boldly towards Simisage, waiting for orders.
"Hold your ground! Use Ice Beam!" Patton complied, firing the attack towards Simisage, who dodged aside with ease.
Cilan smiled. "We've just got to hit him a few times, Simisage! Counterattack with Energy Ball! Attack repeatedly!"
Simisage jumped from side to side, launching Energy Balls from multiple angles, but Patton's experienced aim with Ice Beam blasted each from the sky before they could make contact. After a multiple attacks, Simisage ended his salvo and settled for Leering at Patton.
"Hmm
" mused Cilan as he considered his options. "Move forward! Use Brick Break!" Simisage rushed forward and hit Patton in the head with a chop that didn't even faze him. "Aim for his shell!" called out Cilan, and Simisage leapt onto Patton's back and began smashing furiously at his tough shell. Patton grunted, but weathered the blows.
"Now!" yelled Javelin. "Rapid Spin!"
Patton withdrew into his shell and spun quickly, sending Simisage sprawling onto the ground nearby. "Quick! Before he recovers!" said Javelin. "Use Ice Beam! Aim for his feet!" The blue tortoise took aim and fired an Ice Beam from each cannon, freezing Simisage's feet to the floor and trapping him. As Simisage gamely attempted to escape, Patton continued hitting him with Ice Beam until his feet were frozen solid.
"Finish him!" said Javelin triumphantly. "Skull Bash!"
Desperately, Cilan called out, "Energy Ball! Fast!"
As Patton rushed forward, Simisage fired an Energy Ball and scored a solid hit on Patton but failed to stop the large Pokémon. Patton slammed into Simisage like a truck, shattering the ice that froze him to the floor and sending him flying across the arena where he slid to a stop at Cilan's feet.
Chili stood up and cheered. "Now THAT's a battle!" Walkazo and a recently awoken Anton applauded, while Cress simply shrugged. Chili and Cress rejoined their brother in the arena, where the three jointly presented Javelin with his prize money and the Trio Badge, first of the Unova Gym Badges.
Javelin turned to the group cheerfully, but before he could speak, Cress spoke up. "Walkazo. I believe you're next?"
-----
The Dreamyard
The Lilipup landed in the dust, fainted. Precious threw a haughty glare at the enemy Trainer, who sheepishly recalled his Pokémon and gave La Reine her winnings. As he walked off, La Reine spoke to Precious. "You weren't even harmed?" Precious simply looked at La Reine. "Of course. I should have known! Now, let's see if there aren't any more commoners we can profit from."
They continued walking into the abandoned factory. They turned the corner to the center of the factory, and La Reine spotted a woman in a lab coat who seemed to be peering into the grass at the other side of the factory. As they drew closer, the woman straightened up and turned around.
"Hello there. Um, who are you exactly?"
"I am La Reine, head of the La Reine Pokémon House. This is Precious, my dearest companion." Precious looked at the woman and inclined her head slightly.
"Um, okay then. My name is Fennel. I'm a researcher who works out of Striaton City."
"Excellent!" exclaimed La Reine. "What perchance would you be researching here?"
"I'm trying to find the elusive Pokémon Munna that is supposed to live somewhere in this area. But as of yet, I've failed to meet one. Maybe they're just naturally shy or something. Anyways, Munna and their evolution Musharna are capable of producing Dream Mist. I need to procure some for my research into making the dreams of Pokémon reality."
"That sounds incredible. Might I be capable of assisting you in any way
oh, look!"
A small pink head poked itself out of the grass. The Munna drifted towards the two, then looked at La Reine.
"It seems you've got better dreams than I do," hypothesized Fennel. "That would be a probable cause for attracting the Munna."
The Munna closed its eyes, summoning a mist. The pink fog swirled around the Pokémon for a moment, then began to twist into recognizable forms. As La Reine watched, it shifted into a bridge
a young girl, running through fields
"Stop!" La Reine waved her hands through the mist, dispelling the images. The haze settled back into its natural pink.
"Well, that seems to be what I was looking for," said Fennel. She pulled a small vacuum from her coat, and sucked the Dream Mist into a small bottle, which she corked. "Thank you for your help. Um, I don't mean to pry, but
"
"Please. Don't ask," La Reine said. "It's just the past that lingers with me
"
"Well, isn't this a tender moment."
Fennel and La Reine turned to see two oddly dressed people, a man and a woman. La Reine recognized their outfits from the event in Accumula Town. "Team Plasma!"
"That's us," the man replied.
Fennel looked confused. "If you're looking for a battle, I'm afraid I don't have any Pokémon with me."
"That's a shame, it sure is," said the woman smoothly. "But the princess here
"
La Reine stepped back a bit. Precious looked daringly towards the two grunts. "I won't let you take my Precious!" La Reine said hotly.
"You misunderstand us," the man said as he stepped forward. "We aren't taking the Pokémon. We simply grant them the ability to free themselves from their masters. By any means necessary." He sent out a Patrat while his partner sent out an Unfezant. "Now, release your Pokémon or we'll do it for you."
From behind the Team Plasma Grunts, La Reine could pick out another dark figure in the rafters. The figure silently dropped to the floor...
