Grunt Dispute!

Believe it or not, Gan had a lot to do in this city. He also wanted to find the time to visit the Pewter City Museum. Gan relaxed and savored his Lemonade while looking at the people passing by on the street.

He had already decided on what to do next, he wanted to battle the Gym Leader, but if he couldn't put a solid team together, then he'll settle for Viridian Forest.

There was a Challenge when fighting a Gym Leader. Gym Leaders would always have Pokemon to match your level. Gan could fight the Cinnabar Island Gym Leader now and he would pull out Pokemon at Gan's level to battle him.

However, the max level to lower their Pokemon to was 10, and no less.

Gan had to properly prepare for the Gym Battle, but his first choice was a Sandshrew for sure. He had a 2-star Sandshrew in his Possession, currently. His other choice was a Mankey, who was also a 2-star.

Gan didn't want to use Geodude because it had no super-effective moves against ground and rock types.

They were both at level 10, so their move pool was fairly small. Gan was certain that a No Guard Machop would easily destroy this Gym.

Gan summoned the two and reviewed their status, they were only going to be used for this Gym.

....

|Name: Mankey♂

|Type: Fighting

|Level: 10

|Ability: Anger Point

|Potential: ★★

|Nature: Lax

|Moves: Karate Chop| Low Kick| Leer| Focus Energy| Fury Swipes|

...

|Name: Sandshrew♂

|Type: Ground

|Level: 10

|Ability: Sand Rush

|Potential: ★★

|Nature: Impish

|Moves: Poison Sting| Sand Attack| Defense Curl| Rollout| Rapid Spin|

....

The Mankey's nature was trash but its ability was amazing if he could make it happen. Sandshrew gave Gan more confidence, but he wished it had a Ground move.

Gan had taken care of business in this city, so he wanted to train with these 2 guys since they were the key to his victory. He quickly headed back to Team Rocket's base to Practice at the training ground.

"Okay, guys, you two were fighting each other in the wild before I caught you. So, I know you guys have some sort of beef with one another. This time, you two will be practicing for a very important match."

Gan looked between the two and they both looked at each other seriously. He really wanted to get his hands on a Psychic-type, preferably Abra, so he could get an Alakazam. Alakazam and Kadabra should allow him to have a telepathic connection with his Pokemon.

This would increase his battle prowess without Gan having to orally speak his orders.

Gan had Sandshrew practice its Rollout move, he needed it to get used to this move in a day. He also had Sandshrew come out of it Rollout move mid-roll to use Poison Sting on a few targets that were set up.

Mankey was doing standard push-ups in the meantime.

"Again, practice this combo, it'll be very useful. Your rapid spin attack should help a lot since it will raise your speed." Gan also knew that if Brock's Onix tried to bind it, it would fail because of rapid spin. It could blow away hazards, stave off bind and wrap with ease, so Sandshrew was perfect for this gym.

Defense curl worked well with Rollout as well; all of its moves were so well in sync with one another. Like all Gyms, they had a time when they would close, so he may have to battle today or tomorrow but he was hoping to battle today.

The Pewter City Gym Closed at 10:00 Pm but it was currently 3:23 Pm. Gan gave his Sandshrew some Fresh Water after it trained the same move and combination for an hour.

Mankey was doing Target Practice, he had to karate chop a fast-moving target, which he failed to do.

"Let's slow it down a bit for you." Gan pushed the button on the machine and the movement slowed. Mankey didn't say its name like some Pokemon, but it gave a cry like that of a monkey from his world but not nearly as loud.

It continued to practice its Karate Chop move by attacking the target.

"Use Focus Energy then attack the target, you may score a critical hit which will deal double the damage," Gan instructed and said.

But it wouldn't deal double the damage, it would do more than that because of its ability. Gan didn't know how much exactly, but against a Rock-type Pokemon, it would surely OHKO it with ease in most cases. Rock-type were usually very defensive Pokemon, so it remained uncertain in some cases.

But that was if he could land the attack.

Mankey did as it was told, as its body lit up with green and red light for a second before steam emerged from its head.

It continued to strike out at the target to no avail.

"You got this! Hit it where it hurts!" Gan loudly proclaimed to Mankey.

Suddenly, Mankey struck out, the target which couldn't be broken before was hit. The area where it was hit flashed with red light for a second, then the sturdy target collapsed!

"That light, what was that?" Gan was stunned, it had never been able to break this target but it broke when that light flashed on it. After thinking about it, Gan could roughly guess what that red meant.

It was a Critical Hit! Its weak Point was exposed!

"Who knew watching Pokemon and Training Pokemon could be this fun, hahaha!" Gan laughed, he was really enjoying this world so much.

"Mankey, come here and take a break, you did really well!" Gan signaled Mankey over with his hand and pulled out some Pokemon food and Fresh Water.

"Mekmek!" Mankey's eyes formed into crescents then it started jumping and clapping its hands before it started eating.

Sandshrew was done drinking its water, it seemed to want to train again.

"What's this, you treat them like they're human or something. Are you really a part of Team Rocket or some imposter?" Suddenly a voice came over Gan's way, interrupting his train of thought.

Gan turned to look and see who it was.

The Man looked mature, but what he said didn't sound as such. He stood around 5'11 to 6'0 or so, he had jet-black hair and blue eyes. His skin was slightly tanned and he wore the typical Team Rocket uniform but without the hat.

His eyes looked cold and distant as he gazed at Gan with question.

"Well, of course, these guys could decide whether I live or die out there in the wild when I'm exploring. They watch my back, and I feed, take care of them, and show them the proper respect they deserve."

Back in Gan's world animal cruelty was a crime, he wouldn't treat his pets or friends this way. These creatures grew with him and would save his life out in the field, they were like buddies to him. Sadly, he couldn't understand a single word they said; that's why he wanted a psychic-type Pokemon.

"They're supposed to listen to you, they're slaves to our needs and nothing more!" The man looked at Gan coldly before looking at his Mankey eating happily. He knew Mankey was the type of Pokemon that was angry all of the time, so why was it happy now?

"Well, that's you, but don't expect to progress as well in the future, so you can go on ahead now and mind your business." Gan shook his head, he didn't have time to explain anything to someone who had already made up his mind.

"Okay, then how about a battle? I want to see just how much you think being buddy-buddy with slaves will go?" The Man grinned and took the Pokeball off his waist; clearly preparing for a battle.

"Oh, I could use a battle, something I haven't done yet. I accept this challenge, let's go!" Gan signaled Mankey and Sandshrew to back away and watch.

"Good! Get out here, Ekans!" Ekans was summoned from its Pokeball as it hissed upon entry.

...

|Name: Ekans♂

|Type: Poison

|Level: 11

|Ability: Intimidate

|Potential: ★★★

|Nature: Timid

|Moves: [TM]Poison Jab| Poison Sting| Bite| Leer| Wrap|

...

'Not bad, but it has a negative Physical Attacking nature.' Gan took the Premier Ball off his waist and tossed it; summoning and revealing Geodude.

"Geodude!"

However, Once it entered the field, it shivered when it looked at Ekans, then its body flashed Blue before it came back to itself.

Its attack had dropped by 1 stage because of Ekans' Intimidate ability!

"Hehe, it looks like your attack won't be as strong anymore." The man said mockingly.

Gan ignored the man and commanded his Geodude to use Rock Polish. Geodude's body started to sparkle like someone was cleaning its rocky body.

"Attack Ekans! Poison Jab!" Ekans quickly slithered over to Geodude while it was using Rock Polish. At that moment, however, it was done with its Rock Polishing, and Gan immediately had Geodude intercept the Jab.

"Dude" Geodude quickly caught Ekans' tail which was engulfed in purple poisonous liquid.

"Throw it!" Geodude spun its body and tossed Ekans away. Ekans' body was like a spring as it landed safely in the distance.

However, once Ekans and its Trainer turned to look for Geodude, it wasn't there anymore.

"Rock Slide!"

Ekans looked around in confusion until he heard Gan's voice.

A space opened over Ekans and rocks came tumbling out of the void.

"Quickly, dodge it!" The man hurriedly yelled. Ekans was stunned seeing the rock coming out of nowhere, but it snapped out of it and used its body as a spring to bounce away.

Many Team Rocket grunts had been watching from the beginning and even talked amongst themselves; making bets while at it.

The rocks slammed down on the ground; conjuring up a dust cloud from the pulverized rocks.

"There!" The man pointed at Geodude, and Ekans was easily able to locate Geodude before it slithered over to attack,

"Bite it this time, and follow it up with a poison sting!" The man said coldly. Ekans opened its mouth and bit at Geodude.

The Aura of this attack was covered in Dark Energy because it was a Dark-type move, so if this move hit a psychic type, it would deal serious damage.

"Geodude, use your newly acquired speed to grab its mouth, then slam it into the ground!" Gan stuck his hand out with all 5 fingers pointing at Ekans.

Geodude moved fast and appeared in front of Ekans at surprising speed, it grabbed its mouth and slammed it face into the ground. However, its tail came flying over its body like a scorpion, Geodude didn't need to hear Gan's command to dodge this.

It quickly let go of Ekans' head and its tail slammed into the ground. Geodude already had some poison on its hands from the counter earlier, but it didn't get poisoned, fortunately.

Tssss!

The acidic poison bubbled on the ground when it connected.

It was a good thing these attacks weren't so effective on Geodude's typing.

Ekans was hurt badly from that last attack, its head had been slammed into the ground. A snake's head was their weakness, it was the best way to shut down a snake of any sort, even in Gan's world. The first thing you had to go for was the head to stop it from doing anything.

Ekans was obviously different since it could attack with its tail. It seemed sluggish now, it didn't look like it would last long.

"Defense curl, then follow it up with a Rollout!" Gan said with a smile, he knew this battle was his now.

Geodude's body bulked up in size, then it decreased back to normal size. This process took 5 seconds to complete before its body flashed red; indicating its stat change.

Ekans was already coming over to attack after its trainer had given it the order. Gan sneered in his heart, this Ekans looked exhausted already.

Geodude spun and started to rotate rapidly as it rolled out towards Ekans. Ekans seemed to feel the danger of this attack and froze on the spot, wondering what to do.

"Attack, what the hell are you doing!?" The man screamed seeing his confused Ekans.

But it was too late, Geodude was already upon Ekans, it slammed into Ekans' head directly, sending it flying across the training room. It eventually landed with a thud before its eye pupil displayed strange whirls in them.

It was knocked out!

"Damn, it froze up, how useless!" The man recalled his Ekans in disbelief.

"How long have you been a Team Rocket member?" Gan walked over to his Geodude and patted its head and asked.

"A week! Why?" The man gritted his teeth and answered.

"You did a good job Geodude, relax a bit," Gan recalled Geodude and stood up and continued. "That answers a lot, well, it looks like I won, so if you don't mind, I'll continue my training."

"Answers a lot? What do you mean, speak clearer!" The man's eye twitched, why was this guy trying to sound so mystical?

"I said it earlier, come back and battle me whenever once you've learned more about it. I could use battles like this to hone myself." Gan was telling the truth, Geodude had actually leveled up to 13 with that fight.

"Tsk! Whatever, this isn't over, I'll be back to rematch you some other time." The man took a good look at Gan's face.

"Also, what's your name?" The man asked before leaving.

"You can call me Agent X."

"Agent X? That's clearly not your real name." The man looked at Gan with raised eyebrows but nodded in terms of it.

"My name is Arlo, don't forget it." The man started to walk away afterward, but what he heard next almost made him trip and fall.

"Wait, what was your name again?" Gan looked confused and said.

"F-Fuck you, Bastard!" Arlo's face turned red and he ran off soon after.

Gan scratched his head and smiled before looking back at Mankey and Sandshrew with a nod.