Chapter 11 Leaf’s Big Day

After leaving my room the first thing I did was call gramps on my phone. Normally people use public phones to make video calls while on their travels, and the current phones are only able to send messages and make calls. But since my PGQ phone has a camera I can do video calls as well, and Gramps knows this which is why he chided me for not contacting him sooner. I waited for him to pick up *ring* *ring*. Gramps picks up the phone and he's in his lab like usual, but his camera is facing the wrong way.

*"Hello, hello? Dear me, I can never figure this thing out. Oh if it isn't young En, finally decided to call your grandpa? I heard about what happened in Viridian City. I just wanted to say to be careful, Team Rocket isn't something you should get involved with young man. Just focus on your journey and grow strong so I don't have to worry about you. I told the same thing to Gary. Now what pokemon have you caught so far?"*

"Haha Gramps for someone who works with complex technology it's kinda funny that you struggle with video calls. And I know Gramps, but if I see trouble I can't help but want to help. I'd do it again in a heartbeat, but I'll make sure not to get in over my head. Also check it out, I caught a Feebas in the river near Route 1. It's even more amazing because you can't find Feebas in Kanto naturally. I also caught a shiny Pidgey in Viridian Forest, although he evolved into a Pidgeotto by the time I made it to Pewter. Here I recorded some of our battles with wild Beedrill."

*"Hmm, it seems you're already on your way to becoming a strong trainer. All your pokemon look strong and well taken care of. Especially that Zorua of yours, it's a real feisty pokemon. I must say you certainly have a talent for finding unique pokemon, all of them being variants of their species. Not to mention Feebas can't be found in Kanto, it must've somehow crossed the ocean and ended up in that river. Truly a fortuitous encounter, it really makes you appreciate the vastness of this world. Well good luck on your gym challenge, make sure to reach out every now and then."*

*Katcha*

I'm sure he'll be surprised by the shiny Charmander that will hatch from the egg he gave me. Maybe I should look around and see if there's anything interesting to do in the city. Unfortunately I won't get time for myself any time soon, because here comes Jay and he's in one of his serious moods. He takes a seat across from me in the booth I'm sitting in. "Well hey Jay I didn't expect for you to show up so soon. I heard you already beat Brock, what're you still doing in this city?"

"Yes, I have indeed already got my boulder badge. But recently I found word that some criminals by the name of Team Rocket are planning on targeting the fossil museum. Currently I only have Charmeleon so I wanted to ask for your help in stopping them. I can't just let cowards like that get away with their crimes."

"It seems you have some personal grudge against Team Rocket, did you know about them before? But I'll help you because I know you'd stubbornly try to interfere anyway. Why didn't you report this to Officer Jenny?"

"That is irrelevant, and of course I would know about criminal organizations inside of Kanto when my goal is to join the police force. As for informing Officer Jenny, she didn't believe me and said that I'm just a kid who shouldn't get involved. Anyways I will see you tonight, that is when they plan to strike."

With that there he goes and there goes my plans for preparing for the gym battle tonight. I had already scheduled my battle for tomorrow morning. The battle itself shouldn't be too difficult because of my pokemon's strength, but I don't have much of an advantage over his rock pokemon. Sure I have Feebas but her mobility on a rock battlefield is incredibly limited. Pidgeotto will also be at a disadvantage because it's a flying type and resists all his moves. While I can use Zorua, it's not good to be over reliant on one pokemon because that limits the growth of your other pokemon. Well I'm sure things will work out somehow, if I let a small disadvantage like this set me back I'll never become stronger.

Eventually Leaf shows up and we have a tearful reunion, well she was full of tears. Apparently she had a hard time in the forest being attacked by Beedrill. She did however catch two new pokemon, a Bellsprout and an Oddish. It's kinda interesting how all the pokemon she's caught are girls. But with her current team she shouldn't have any problems with her upcoming gym battle. Which is where we're headed right now. In front of us we find a building that looks like a cluster of rocks, etched onto it is "Pewter Gym". Well it's not my job to judge people's style in architecture, but whatever works. Walking into the reception area we're greeted by some kids.

"Hello and welcome to the Pewter Gym, are you here about a gym battle?"

"Y-yes My name is Leaf, and I scheduled a battle with Leader B-brock!" Even though she's already out on her own, she still stutters every now and then when she gets nervous.

"Right we have you in the schedule trainer Leaf, please head through the double doors. As for your company, you'll have to use the stairs to sit in the spectator's area."

I found a seat close to the action in the bleachers on the second floor. The battlefield is a simple flat area with various rocks and boulders scattered throughout. There's a platform for the challenger and gym leader on either end of the field. On the ceiling is a recording device that records the whole battlefield, once the battle starts it'll be live streamed to the League Channel for the Pewter City feed. You can get a copy of your battle by asking for it after the battle, some people like keeping it to analyze their own fights or just to share with friends and family.

Soon Leaf and Brock appear on their respective platforms, then one of the receptionist kids starts to announce the battle. "Today we have a new challenger from Pallet Town, Leaf Koen, who is challenging the Pewter Gym Leader Brock! The winner will be decided by single battle format with two pokemon each. The challenger is allowed to switch pokemon in between rounds. Please send out your first Pokemon!"

(A/N: Brock)

"Let's rock, Geodude!"

Brock sends out his pokemon, a brownish gray rock with arms.

[Geodude Lvl.18 ♂

Ability: Rock Head

Potential: ✧✧✧

Moves: Tackle, Defense Curl, Rollout, Rock Throw, Rock Polish, Take Down]

"Come on out, Oddish!"

Out comes a small round blue pokemon with two small feet and leaves sprouting from its head.

[Oddish Lvl.16 ♀

Ability: Run Away

Potential: ✧✧✧

Moves: Absorb, Growth, Acid, Poison Power, Sleep Powder, Stun Spore, Ingrain]

Brock: "So you've chosen a grass type, it seems you've done your research. But don't think you're going to win just because you have the type advantage."

Leaf: "My goal is to be the best grass type trainer, I don't plan on losing here."

Announcer: "Leader Brock has sent out a rocking Geodude, and the challenger has sent a lush Oddish. Battle start!"

Brock: "Well little lady I'll give you the chance for the first move, after all I am a gentleman."

Leaf: "Don't regret it later! Now Oddish, fill the field with poison powder and stun spore!"

With her command Oddish begins shooting powder from her leaves on her head.

Brock: "Geodude, blast it away from you using rollout, then hit Oddish!"

Geodude tucks its arms into its body and starts rolling in place blasting debris to blow away the powder attack. After gaining enough rotation it speeds towards Oddish.

Leaf: "Quick Oddish ingrain and hang in there, then follow up with an absorb."

Oddish begins to root itself into the ground and begins to absorb energy from Geodude as it's rushing towards her. Once Geodude makes contact with Oddish he tries to continue the rollout while Oddish tries to hang in there while healing from the ingrain and the absorb.

Leaf: "Oddish hang in there!"

Brock: "Geodude keep pushing Geodude that Oddish can't hang in there forever!"

All of a sudden Geodude stops its attack and its complexion darkens. It seems that when it hit Oddish it got affected by the remaining powder coming out it's body. That purple shade on its face is a sign of getting poisoned.

Brock: "Oh no Geodude!"

Announcer: "What an upset folks! Geodude has been poisoned from Oddish's poison powder!"

Leaf: "Now is our chance Oddish, full power Acid attack!"

Oddish begins charging her attack and then releases a large glob of yellow acid blasting Geodude away, crashing and creating a cloud of smoke. Once it cleared Geodude appeared with swirls in its eyes, signifying its defeat.

Announcer: "Geodude is unable to battle the winner of the first battle is challenger Leaf! What an upset, in a clash of wills Oddish managed to prevail. Please choose your next pokemon."

Brock: "Return Geodude. Hang in there, we'll get you healed up after this battle. Now come on out, Onix, let's show them the strength of Pewter Gym!"

Returning Geodude to its pokeball, Brock sends out his iconic Onix. A giant snake-like pokemon with a body made of connected rocks, and a fin on the top of it's head.

[Onix Lvl. 20 ♂

Ability: Rock Head

Potential: ✧✧✧

Moves: Tackle, Harden, Bind, Rock Throw, Stealth Rocks, Rage, Screech, Dig, Rock Tomb]

Leaf: "I'll be returning Oddish, now let's show them how strong we've gotten, let's go Ivysaur!"

Out comes Leaf's Ivysaur, it seems she also evolved her starter pokemon already. It looks like a little green four-legged dinosaur with four leaves sprouting from its back and a red bud in the center.

[Ivysaur Lvl.17 ♀

Ability: Overgrow

Potential: ✧✧✧

Moves: Tackle, Growl, Vine Whip, Razor Leaf, Leech Seed, Poison Powder, Sleep Powder, Giga Drain]

Announcer: "Both trainers have selected their pokemon, let the battle commence!"

Leaf/Brock: "Ivysaur razor leaf!/Onix dig now!"

Unfortunately for Leaf, Onix's dig was faster making her Ivysaur's attack miss completely. That didn't seem to deter her from her next move.

Leaf: "Ivysaur start running around and plant leech seeds on the battlefield."

Soon the entire battlefield was filled with numerous seeds, ensuring that if Onix does come back to the surface it won't be for free. And that's exactly what happened when Onix dug up from Ivysaur's position. Even though the attack hit, Onix was covered in vines that continuously began to drain Onix's health. It seems Onix's condition got Brock worried, making him impatient to finish the battle.

Brock: "Onix crush that Ivysaur with a rock tomb!"

With his command Onix hurled various rocks towards Ivysaur, threatening to crush her.

Leaf: "We got em where we want him, Ivysaur use vine whip to deflect that rock tomb attack. Then use giga drain and finish this."

Using its vines the rocks were unable to hit Ivysaur at all, with a devastating 4x effective giga drain hitting Onix. With its poor special defense Onix couldn't withstand the attack, knocking it out.

Announcer: "Brock's Onix is unable to battle! The winner is challenger Leaf and her Ivysaur. With her elegant and powerful grass type pokemon she dominated this challenge! Stay tuned to future battles in Pewter City in the future on the League Channel."

With that announcement the live feed cuts leaving Brock to give out the prizes for trainers that are part of the League Circuit. Brock gives his pokeballs to another kid, probably to bring them to the pokemon center for healing. "That was an excellent battle Leaf, with moves like that I'm sure you'll make it to the next gym. Here's your boulder badge and the TM Rock Tomb, the prize money of 20,000 pokedollars has been sent to your account. Good luck to you, I look forward to seeing you compete."

Seeing as he's done with his spiel, I jump down from the bleachers landing next to Leaf gently. I then take her hat and mess with her hair. "Hahaha that was a great battle little sis, who knew underneath that shy and klutzy exterior was such a strong trainer. Be careful in the future, your strategies were reckless and relied on counter attacking after being attacked. If you aren't careful a stronger pokemon can completely overwhelm you."

Leaf swipes back her hat and tries to fix her hair, "Jeeeez! En don't mess with my hair like that! I know that it might be the best strategy but it works for now… Don't worry I'll become stronger and then you won't have to worry about me at all!" After realizing she said that in front of a stranger she becomes red from embarrassment and runs off. "Stupid big brother! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!"

"Haha you too seem close, you don't look alike are you really siblings? I'm Brock the Pewter City gym leader, but you probably already know that." Brock extends his hand for a handshake, and I return the gesture with a firm grip.

"Not by blood, but you don't need to be related by blood to be family. I decided to look out for her, I know she'll be a great trainer in the future. So until then it's my job to have her back. By the way, I'm Rian. Yes, in fact our match is tomorrow morning. I know you didn't use your all today, as a gym leader your job is to help guide trainers not destroy them. But you better give it your all tomorrow, otherwise our battle won't be any fun." My battle intent seemed to be a bit infectious because Brock's grip became firmer and there was a glint from his closed eyes.

"Alright Rian, I'll make sure to give you a proper battle tomorrow. And you're right I did go easy on my opponent, but the concern for my pokemon is real. I don't really enjoy pokemon battles very much. So, I might not be the battler you'll be satisfied battling."

"That's alright Brock, as long as I can see your full strength then I'll be satisfied. I can respect your care for your pokemon, I care about mine as well. But you should ask your pokemon about their feelings about battling. Sometimes our concern and care can get in the way of our own pokemon's happiness. See ya around."

With that conversation over I make my way back to the pokemon center, it's already almost evening and I'll be going with Jay to stop a fossil heist tonight. Leaf sent me a message saying, "You stupid idiot head I'm going on ahead to the next city." Even though she acts all embarrassed about it, I know she enjoys those close moments like those. As a single child she never had any siblings, and now she enjoys the sibling interactions between us. Moving on to my gym battle plans. I've finally come to a decision, I'll be using Pidgeotto against his Geodude. The type disadvantage will be a great learning experience for both of us. For Onix I'll use Feebas, after teaching her Surf she'll be able to make her own favorable battlefield. It'll cost a lot of energy to create a Surf without water, but I'm positive we'll be able to handle it. If I had more money I would buy some TMs from the PGQ Store, but it would be cheaper to buy them from the Department Store in Celadon City. It's a bit of a ways away, but I don't have the capital to be picky about it. I won't be using Zorua because I plan to have her help me fight Team Rocket tonight.

In the meantime I'll feed my pokemon dinner, and meet up with Jay later tonight. I hope fighting Team Rocket won't become a regular thing, but I probably just jinxed it, sigh. It doesn't matter, my only path is forward. Even if I have to crawl I will keep moving to the top.