Chapter 31: Chapter 31

The Pewter City Gym was decidedly less impressive than Cerulean City’s. Where the entrepreneurial Cerulean Sisters had transformed their Gym into a Water themed wonderland, the Rock Type Gym was much more utilitarian.

The only semblance of decor that Nina could see were the statue of a Golem and a Rhyperior flanking the entrance. After that, it was just a simple looking, run down reception desk with a waiting area for challengers.

“Hello Melina, it’s good to see you again.” A solid looking man with tanned skin, spiky hair and slit for eyes came out to greet them. Brock looked mostly like what Nina remembered, except he was a bit more rugged, had a few more wrinkles, and the man was wearing a tank top as opposed to being topless like his sprite.

“And this must be your dearest granddaughter. I heard you’re one of Misty’s apprentices, is that so?”

“Yeap,” answered Nina. “My name is Melina Jones, but everyone just calls me Nina. And this is my partner, Tini.”

“Tiin!”

“I heard that you used to travel with Misty?” She continued

Brock’s face bloomed with a nostalgic smile. “I did, yes. Man, that felt like ages ago… Those were good times.

Melina snorted at the Gym Leader. “You’re fifty years too early to be waxing nostalgic, boy.”

Brock laughed in response to the grumpy elder. “I’m only 34 this year, dear Melina. I’m pretty sure you’re not even past 60 yourself.”

“That’s why you don’t see me going on and on about my past youth! Buckle up boy, there’s still plenty of life left in you yet. If you have time to be thinking about the past then whip the future into shape instead. I heard that new apprentice of yours has been running amok recently.”

Brock winced ever so slightly at the mention of his Gym Apprentice. “Cole is…” he sighed. “Nevermind, shall we move on to the tour? Though you’ll find that our Gym is quite lacking compared to what Misty and her sisters have done to theirs.”

Melina scoffed in disdain but chose not to comment any further.

The first area that they were led to was just past a door from the reception. “Is this where you do the screening battles?” Asked Nina.

The space that unveiled itself in front of the girl was a hazardous terrain filled with boulders and rocks. The ground itself was uneven and consisted of a mixture of gravel, sand, dirt and mud. It felt to Nina like they had just carved out a slice of the rocky biome surrounding Mount Moon and grafted it into the Gym.

“Where are the lines?” Nina did not see the usual chalk lines that would delineate an arena. And the space they were in looked like it might be big enough to fit ten of them at once. In fact, from where Nina was standing, she couldn’t even see the other side where her opponent would stand due to all the obstructions in the way.

Brock chuckled. “There are none. This is part of the challenge of battling in our Gym,” he made a sweeping gesture towards the supposed arena. “This space was originally designed to train soldiers and their Pokemon, so it was made to be as realistic to the field as possible. We frequently hold screening battles simultaneously and there are times where trainers will even receive some crossfire from their neighbors.”

“Kids these days are too pampered,” chimed Melina. “What’s the point of battling in a pretty looking flat arena?! There are no rules out there on the battlefield!”

Brock gave the old woman a helpless smile. “Times are different now, Melina. Though we do try to maintain the spirit of our predecessors.” He then continued addressing Nina. “Most of the time, we don’t even clean up after a battle and leave the wrecked arena as it is. Challengers who come at us repeatedly will find that the terrain changes every time.”

“What if a Water Pokemon floods the place?” Asked Nina. “Wouldn’t that just end up disadvantaging your own trainers?”

“The foundation of the space is made from a special mix of permeable concrete, so most bodies of water will drain over a short period of time. Besides, our Pokemon aren’t weak enough to be hindered by a bit of water. It’s only when there’s enough water around to form a lake that we activate the drainage system.”

To be specific, Rock Types were weak to Water Type Energy and not water itself. Throw a rock into a river and it’s not like it’ll disintegrate or anything. But there was just something about the two Type Energies that oppose one another.

Observations from scientists seem to suggest that Water Type Energy has the tendency to displace Rock, which is lethal to Rock Types who have to circulate the Energy within their inorganic bodies like blood in order to function.

Nina nodded in interest. It was quite eye opening to see the differences in Gyms. In a way, the Misty’s Gym was similar with their exclusive use of water arenas but much less extreme. At least there were still considerations being made to ensure that landbound Pokemon were able to battle in the Cerulean Gym. Here in the Pewter Gym, Water Types will need to be trained in ‘Air Swimming’ if they want to even stand a chance.

“I imagine it's quite chaotic here during Crunchtober,” she chimed.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Brock laughed out at Nina's comment. “Haha. I forgot you were a Gym Apprentice, of course you’d know about Crunchtober. It tends to be quite hectic, yes. Though most people like coming to us as their first Gym so it's not too bad. Sometimes we even enlist some of the older folks to help out, there’s plenty of space outside to battle after all. So we can process challenges relatively quickly.”

Nina’s eyes widened at the laissez faire approach to screening battles. “I suppose it makes sense for a former military complex to take a much more pragmatic approach to problem solving. I doubt the League even dares to admonish them anyway.”

“And this here is our main arena,” said Brock, after they ascended a flight of stairs.

The main arena was much like the one in Cerulean, in that there were balconies on two sides for audiences to be seated, and two raised platforms on either end of the arena for Trainers to stand on. But unlike the screening arena, a trainer could actually have a complete view of the main arena from their elevated position.

However, the one difference between the Pewter Gym and the Cerulean Gym was how much larger Brock’s main arena was at around twice the real estate. Probably to accommodate the larger size of the more advanced Rock Types. It is said that an elder Onix can reach up to dozens of meters afterall.

“Were you expecting a challenger, Brock?” Asked Nina, referring to the figure who was standing on top of one of the trainer platforms.

Brock frowned and narrowed his already narrow eyes at the silhouette, then proceeded to walk closer to the platform. “Cole! What are you doing over there? Aren’t you supposed to be training with Forrest?”

Now that she had a closer look, Nina could clearly see that the figure was just a boy around her age, with some clear family resemblance to the Pewter City Gym Leader.

“I heard there was another Gym Apprentice coming to visit,” said the boy with a sneer. “I’m here to challenge them to a battle!”

Brock palmed his face and let out an exasperated groan. “How many times do I have to tell you, Cole. You’re underaged, you’re not supposed to be battling with your own Pokemon.”

“Screw the rules!” Exclaimed Cole. “You’re just a pussy. Dad wouldn’t stop me from battling. That’s why he gave me Onix in the first place!”

The boy looked around and seemed to have finally noticed Nina. “You! You’re one of those sluts from Cerulean, right? Battle me! I’ll prove to this wimp once and for all that I’m the one who should be Gym Leader!”

“Cole! Language! That is not how we speak to guests!” Roared Brock.

“Anyone who steps through the door of our Gym is a challenger! Dad said so!”

Nina turned to her grandmother in confusion. “Is that kid’s dad, Flint?”

Melina scoffed. “Yeah, as if that drunkard wasn’t enough of a disgrace. He went and filled that boy’s head with all of his crazy nonsense.” She then turned towards Brock with a disapproving glare. “You need to get a handle on your brother before someone else does it for you.”

“Shut up, you old hag!” Yelled the angsty child. “I’d like to see you try and get past my Onix!”

“Just to be sure, that kid’s Onix isn’t a legacy Pokemon from Flint right?” Nina asked Brock.

The Gym Leader shook his head. “No, Flint lost his trainers license ages ago. The Onix is one he caught sneakily. Usually I’d intercept them but this one fell through the cracks and I didn’t have the heart to take it away from Cole. This is all my fault.”

“Right… If that’s the case then there’s no harm in taking the challenge,” said Nina, earning her a wide eyed look from Brock. “Huh? So he does have eyes,” mused the girl.

“You’re a Gym Leader. You have enough legal authority to preside over a match between two minors. And it’s like grandma said, if you can’t do it yourself then you need someone else to step in and teach your brother a lesson for you. In this case, it’d be me and Tini. Right, Tini?”

“Tiin~”

Brock looked like he was about to protest but before he could, they were interrupted by a cackle from Melina. “Hahaha. That’s my granddaughter! Just let it happen, boy. You’re a failure of a Gym Leader for not being able to rein in your apprentice, one that shares blood with you no less. Nina will show that brat how a proper Gym Apprentice should act.”

“As if I’d lose to a worm like that!” Screeched Cole. But Nina and Tini paid him no mind and just continued staring at Brock, until the man eventually caved and gave a helpless nod of approval.

***

“This match will be a one on one between Nina of Cerulean and Cole of Pewter.” Declared Brock. “First Pokemon to be rendered unconscious or unable to battle will be declared the loser. Trainers, are you ready?”

“Yeah!”

“Yes.”

“Three. Two. One, and begin.” Right as Brick swiped his hand down, both children tossed out Pokeballs from their respective platforms.

“Go Onix! Crush them!”

Nina sighed. “Tini, you know what to do. Hold steady and charge up your tail.”

Purple Dragon Type Energy and swirls of Water began infusing the Dratini’s tail. While Cole was furiously gesturing at Nina and running his mouth at the other end. Unfortunately, the boy was too far away and forgot to press the button to activate his mic before talking, so Nina could barely make out anything he said. All she knew was that Brock was currently telling him off so it was probably something vulgar.

“Dammit! Onix, Tackle! Smash that blue worm into pieces!” Yelled Cole. In response, Onix began charging towards Tini like a freight train, smashing apart all the obstacles in his way.

“Steady, Tini…” Nina and Tini just waited, undaunted by the 200 kilogram of rock snake coming their way. “Steady…”

And right before Onix was about to be in striking range of Tini’s tail, the little blue Dragon Leered at his opponent. A feeling of discomfort washed over Onix as the Rock Type briefly faltered in his charge, allowing Tini to do a full swing of his tail and slammed the empowered Double Tail attack to the side of Onix’s temple.

The massive Rock Pokemon was sent careening to the side, with the full weight of his own momentum behind him, and crashed face first into the arena wall.

But Newton’s third law could not be denied as Tini did not escape that exchange unscathed either. The little Dragon who was less than a fifth of his opponent’s size was sent flying sideways through the air and crashed into a neighboring bolder.

“Are you okay, Tini?!” Cried Nina.

A weak “Tiin…” could be heard in response to the little girl’s distress as a slightly damaged Dratini shakily forced himself up and sharpened his gaze towards the direction of his opponent. The little Dragon cried out in defiance, challenging his opponent to come at him again.

However, even after the dust had settled, Onix remained unmoving on the ground.

“Get up, Onix! We can’t lose here. Dad said you’re the strongest! We’re going to take over this lousy joint and make our way up to Champion! GET UP!”

Cole had remembered to activate his mic this time so Nina could hear his fervent calls. But even after Brock finished his countdown, the Onix remained as just a heap of inactive rocks.

“Onix is unable to battle.” Declared Brock. “Winner of this match is Nina of Cerulean!”

“Dammit!” Cole slammed his fist against the metal railing and ran off without bothering to recall his injured Pokemon, something that really irked Nina to no end.

“He’s too immature to own Pokemon,” said a seething Nina, once she had gathered up with Brock and her grandmother near the unconscious Onix.

Melina scoffed. “Is that how an apprentice is supposed to act? Flint might be a degenerate fool now. But back in his prime, he would never have allowed one of his trainers to treat their Pokemon like this.”

Brock sighed as he went over Cole’s Onix with a Super Potion. Nina could see a nasty crater on the side of Onix’s head where Tini’s tail impacted. Her partner had really packed a lot of power into that one strike.

Nina gave her little noodle a boop and a kiss for a job well done and turned towards Brock to ask if Onix was okay.

“He’ll be fine,” assured the Gym Leader. “Rock Pokemon are tough so he’ll just come away from this with a concussion. Though I am somewhat worried about his vision — that hit also impacted his eye socket. So it’s best if I have him checked out in a Pokemon Center.”

“How though?” Asked Nina. “Cole ran off with his Pokeball.”

Brock simply sighed and looked towards the direction that his brother ran off to.