Chapter 8: First Gym Battle

When Julian wakes up, he finds that Nurse Joy is absent. He gets out of bed and heads toward the bathroom. Seeing the bathroom empty and her clothes missing, he presumes that she left early. "Looks like she left early and didn't bother to wake me up. Well, we were both pretty tired after that intense night," Julian thinks to himself as he gets ready. Today, he plans to visit the Pewter Gym to face off against Brock.

He leaves his room and spots Nurse Joy at the counter. He walks up to her.

Julian: "Good morning, Nurse Joy. How was your night?" he asks, teasingly.

Nurse Joy blushes a little.

Nurse Joy: "It was really good," she says in a low tone.

Julian: "That's good to hear. Well, I'll be leaving now. Take care," he says before walking away.

Nurse Joy waves her hand and says, "Visit me when you get a chance."

Julian replies, "Sure."

He walks out of the Pokémon Center and heads in the direction of the Pokémon Gym. Along the way, he visits a few stores to buy some candies for his Pokémon and a few extra black coats for himself. He doesn't want to wear the same coat every day. After a while, he arrives in front of the Pewter Gym and walks inside, where he sees Brock tending to his Pokémon on the side.

Julian: "Hello there, I'm Julian, and I'm here to challenge the Pewter Gym Leader."

Brock: "Hello, my name is Brock. I am the Gym Leader of the Pewter Gym, and I accept your challenge."

Brock continues, "The rules are simple: we will each use 2 Pokémon. During the battle, we cannot switch Pokémon. The first person to win both battles wins."

Julian: "Okay, I get it. Bulbasaur, you're up."

Brock: "Bulbasaur, I see a smart choice. Go, Geodude!"

Julian: "Bulbasaur, use Growl!" By using Growl, Geodude's attack power falls.

Brock: "Geodude, use Tackle!" Geodude attempts to tackle with full force.

Julian: "Bulbasaur, dodge!" Bulbasaur dodges it in the blink of an eye.

Brock (thinking): 'That Bulbasaur is really fast.' "Geodude, use Tackle once again."

Julian: "Bulbasaur, dodge, then use Razor Leaf!" Bulbasaur easily dodges and then sends a flurry of Razor Leaves towards Geodude.

Brock: "Geodude, quick, Defense Curl!" Geodude rolls up into a ball, and all the Razor Leaves hit but bounce harmlessly off of Geodude.

Brock: "Now, Geodude, Rollout!" Geodude rolls up and starts spinning, launching a relentless attack at Bulbasaur.

Julian: "Bulbasaur, dodge and use Razor Leaf!" However, the Razor Leaves bounce off after hitting the spinning Geodude. Julian thinks to himself, 'Even though Geodude is slow, that Rollout is becoming more powerful with each use. Razor Leaves are just bouncing off of him. I have to think of something.'

Julian observes that every time Geodude misses, it has to uncurl and then curl up again to relaunch the attack. This process is lightning fast, making it challenging to find the perfect time to counterattack. He looks around the battlefield and spots some huge rocks.

Julian: "Bulbasaur, get near that huge rock!"

Brock: "Oh no, you don't! Geodude, full power Rollout!"

As Geodude gets closer and closer to Bulbasaur, Bulbasaur stands there, waiting for instructions. When Geodude is just a meter away from Bulbasaur, Julian commands, "Now, Bulbasaur, jump up!" Bulbasaur jumps at the right time, narrowly avoiding Geodude, who crashes into the rock.

Brock: "Oh no."

Julian: "Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip to catch Geodude's arms and lift him up in the air." Following Julian's instruction, Bulbasaur successfully executes the move.

Brock (thinking): 'This is bad.' "Geodude, try to break free." Geodude struggles to free itself, but Bulbasaur's hold is too strong.

Julian: "Now, Bulbasaur, slam him to the ground until he's unable to fight back!" Bulbasaur, displaying incredible strength, slams Geodude forcefully into the ground only twice, rendering it unable to continue the battle. (Imagine a scene similar to Hulk smashing Loki in "The Avengers.")

Brock: "Your Bulbasaur is exceptionally strong. Geodude, you did great. Now, return and get some rest."

Julian: "Great job, buddy."

Bulbasaur: "Bulbaa-Bulbasaur," he says happily. Suddenly, he starts to glow and grow larger.

Brock: "It's evolving!"

As the glowing subsides, Bulbasaur evolves into an Ivysaur, who shouts, "Ivysaurrrr," displaying its newfound dominance. As usual, Ivysaur is larger than its previous form.

Julian: "Great job, buddy. You've become even stronger now."

Ivysaur nods his head happily.

Julian (thinking): 'System, show me Ivysaur's status.'

Julian examined Ivysaur's status:

Level: 17

HP: 70

Attack: 85

Defense: 75

Sp. Atk: 95

Sp. Def: 95

Speed: 96

Move set:

Tackle

Growl

Leech Seed

Vine Whip

Sleep Powder

Poison Powder

Razor Leaf

Energy Ball

Julian thought to himself, 'Looks like growing bigger has reduced his speed, but the other stats have increased significantly, and it even learned Poison Powder.'

Brock: "Looks like it's going to be hard for me, but don't think you've won. Come out, Onix!"

As Onix lands, the ground shakes, and dust fills the air.

Brock: "Onix, use Rock Throw!" Onix hurls a barrage of massive rocks at Ivysaur.

Julian: "Ivysaur, use the rocks to climb up, then use Razor Leaf!" Ivysaur jumps from one rock to another and finally takes to the air, launching a barrage of Razor Leaves at Onix at high speed. With no time to defend itself, Onix is hit and sustains significant damage, causing its head to fall to the ground.

Brock: "Onix, are you okay?"

Onix slowly manages to get back up.

Brock: "Good, let's continue. Use Dig!" Onix burrows underground, leaving Ivysaur vulnerable to sneak attacks. Ivysaur frantically searches left and right, trying to find Onix.

Julian: "Calm down, Ivysaur, and feel the ground. Search for vibrations and where they're coming from."

After hearing Julian's advice, Ivysaur calms down, closes its eyes, and focuses on feeling the vibrations. After a few seconds, it's able to predict where Onix will emerge. Suddenly, the ground begins to shake.

Julian: "Now, dodge, then use Leech Seed!" As Ivysaur evades, Onix surfaces, and seeing its attack fail, it attempts to retreat underground. But before it can do so, it's struck by Leech Seed, draining 1/8th of its energy and leaving it paralyzed.

Julian: "Now is the time, Ivysaur. Let's finish this. Use Energy Ball!" Ivysaur swiftly gathers energy from its surroundings, forming a massive green ball, and hurls it towards Onix.

Brock: "ONIX NOOOO!"

After being struck by the Energy Ball, the gym becomes engulfed in dust. Once the dust settles, it's clear that Onix has fainted, signifying Julian and Ivysaur's victory.

Julian: "You were awesome, Ivysaur! We've won our first badge!"

Ivysaur: "Ivysaurrrrrrr!" He jumps happily and runs toward Julian, who catches him, pats his head, and rewards him with some Pokémon candy for his hard work.

Brock: "You did great, Onix. Get some rest." He recalls Onix into its Pokéball.

Brock walks up to Julian.

Brock: "Julian, you and your Pokémon are really strong, and you have a deep bond with each other. No wonder you won the battle. Here, this is the Boulder Badge. It's the proof that you defeated me and earned it." He takes out a silver octagon-shaped badge and hands it to Julian, who accepts it and places it inside his badge case.

Julian: "Then I will be going. I hope we will see each other again soon."

Brock: "I also hope that we meet again someday."

As Julian is about to leave the Gym, Brock calls out.

Brock: "Wait!" Hearing the call, Julian turns around.

Julian: "Is there something?"

Brock: "Yes, I have a question."

Julian: "What is it?"

Brock: "Why do you smell like Nurse Joy?"

Hearing this question, Julian becomes dumbfounded, and an awkward moment of silence ensues.

Julian: "Hahaha, this must be a joke, right? How can I smell like Nurse Joy? HAHA." Julian attempts to brush off the conversation, but Brock interrupts once more.

Brock: "No, I'm not joking, and I would never lie about anything related to Nurse Joy. I know this scent; it's definitely Nurse Joy's from the Pokémon Center. I'm certain."

Julian (thinking): 'How does this guy even do that? Even I don't have that powerful a sense of smell, even though this body was made by God.' Julian is at a loss for words and doesn't know how to respond. He can't just admit to his encounter with Nurse Joy.

Julian: "It must be because we might have used the same kind of perfume, haha." He forces an awkward laugh.

Brock: "Hmm, that might be a possibility."

Julian: "See, that's definitely the reason. Okay, bye."

Without giving Brock a chance to respond, Julian hastily exits the gym, quickly disappearing from Brock's sight.

Back at the gym, Brock watched Julian's hasty departure, his brow furrowed in curiosity. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss, but he decided to let it go for now. "Strange encounter," he muttered to himself. With a shrug, he turned his attention back to the gym, ready to face the next challenger.

Julian, on the other hand, continued his brisk pace through Pewter City, determined to put the incident behind him. The streets were busy with trainers, and the sounds of Pokémon filled the air. He couldn't help but smile at the thought of his victory and his new Boulder Badge, but the scent mystery still weighed on his mind. 'I'll need to be more careful,' he resolved, 'and maybe change my perfume.'