Brock of Pewter

"There it is." I said seriously as our group looked up at the Gym of Pewter city.

As with all Gyms associated with the League, it had a brown roof with the League symbol on it. But also as with all the Gyms, it had its own custom look to it. The walls of the Gym made it appeared as if it had been carved directly out of a massive slab of stone, and then had the brown roof slapped onto it.

"Are you ready, Ace?" Professor Oak asked me seriously. He had decided to accompany us for our first Gym battle, along with Daisy and Joy.

"As ready as I'll ever be." I answered, before strolling up to the Main doors with May and Dawn at my sides. They intended to challenge every one of the Gyms alongside me.

Opening the doors, I found Brock standing there, seemingly waiting for us.

Brock was a man who appeared to be in his early twenties with tanned skin and spiky dark brown hair. His eyes appeared to be completely closed, yet he was still able to see apparently as he looked right at us as we entered.

Curiously, Brock's gaze focused on me slightly as I felt his aura stir, but then he noticed Daisy behind me.

The guy moved faster than I thought humanly possible as he appeared before Daisy and took her hand into both of his own.

"My darling! You are beauty incarnate! Surely you were placed on this earth to show this lowly sinner what heaven truly looks like!"

"..."

Daisy obviously had no idea how to react, as I was the only guy around her growing up that had ever acted so familiar with her. But, just as I was about to tell Brock off for flirting with my girlfriend, Misty appeared beside him and knocked him upside the head.

"You horn-dog! She's already taken!" She shrieked at him angrily, making Brock look up to see her there for the first time.

"Misty? I saw your name on the registry, but didn't realize it was YOU." Brock said curiously, making Misty fidget before she fixed him with a glare as she said,

"Y-yeah, it's ME. MISTY." She said in a tone that sounded as if there were a deeper meaning, though I'm pretty sure Brock and I were the only ones who got it. Not that she herself knew that.

"R-right... Anywho, right this way then." Brock said uncertainly, leading us further into the Gym to the actual arena.

There we saw a large spacious area filled with rugged terrain that had numerous massive boulders spread out. An obvious advantage for the Leader who ran the Gym.

Brock walked to the other side of the arena while we all gathered at the end meant for challengers, and from there I could see numerous people appear to spectate the match. There was a referee, several of the trainers who trained under Brock, and even several fans who of his who found places to sit and watch the match. I was surprised to even see cameras start running as they trained on us.

"Alright! Who's first?" Brock asked in a loud voice as he picked up a Pokeball from the couple dozen or so that was on a tray next to him.

"I'll go first!" Dawn stated as she stepped forward, to which Brock nodded before throwing his Pokeball out.

"Go Geodude!"

"Geo, Geodude!" The rock with two arms cried out as it appeared, ready to fight.

"Right... Go Piplup!" Dawn commanded, as her starter jumped out to face their opponent.

"Lup!"

With the two Pokemon out and ready, the referee got into place as he declared, "this match will be a best out of three, with the first to claim two victories being the winner! Are you ready?"

"Ready!" Brock stated firmly.

"Ready!" Dawn exclaimed excitedly.

Nodding in affirmation the referee then declared, "then let the match begin!"

"Geodude, Harden!" Brock ordered the moment the battle began.

"Rain Dance!" Dawn cried out in response.

Geodude's body shimmered as it used the move Harden, increasing its defense against physical attacks. Piplup meanwhile started moving in a distinctly unique rhythm, which within seconds produced a cloud that began to sprinkle drops of rain onto the arena below.

"Now a Bubble Beam!" Dawn declared, with Piplup's water type moves now being enhanced by the rain.

"Pip-LUP!" The little blue penguin declared as she fired a powerful stream of bubbles from her open beak, which splattered against Geodude's rocky exterior to deal a large amount of enhanced water damage.

But Brock and Geodude weren't out of the running just yet.

"Geodude, use Rollout!" Brock declared to his Pokemon.

"Dude!" Geodude cried out as it began to rapidly roll at Piplup.

Right as it was about to make contact with he though,

"Piplup, use Pound!" Dawn suddenly commanded, to which her little Piplup responded by swinging one of her wings as it started to glow, and planting it into the charging Geodude.

The result was Piplup being pushed back several feet, but not being knocked down and battered from the assault.

"Now! Use Bubble Beam!" Dawn swiftly ordered before Geodude could break free.

"LUP LUP LUP LUP!"

Piplup cried out as she fired a powerful spray of bubbles at Geodude from point blank, dealing significantly more damage than the first attack had.

"Duuuuuuuuude..." Geodude weakly said, before passing out from the damage it had accrued.

"Geodude is unable to battle! Piplup wins!" The referee announced as the battle concluded, and Brock returned Geodude to its Pokeball.

"You did great Geodude. Take a nice rest." He said to it, before putting it back on the tray and selecting the next Pokeball he was going to pick up.

Piplup meanwhile eagerly returned to Dawn's side as she cried out,

"You did it!"

"Pip-LUP!" Piplup declared excitedly.

By that time Brock had selected his next Pokemon, which he tossed out while declaring, "go and get them, Omanyte!"

Appearing from the Pokeball was a Pokemon with a rocky spiral shaped shell, from which a pair of eyes could be seen along with numerous blue tentacles.

"Go, Roselia!" Dawn decided, tossing out a Pokeball from which a green Pokemon with flowers for hands appeared.

"Lia!" She cried out with eagerness.

Brock cocked an eyebrow at the second Pokemon Dawn sent out, before commenting, "a Piplup AND and Roselia? You don't see those in Kanto every day."

Dawn puffed up her chest as she proudly declared, "I'm from Sinnoh!"

Brock nodded slowly realization, as the referee called out, "battlers ready? Begin!"

"Omanyte, use Swagger!" Brock commanded immediately, to which Omanyte readily began to move in such a way, and with such a look in its eyes, that Roselia became incredibly enraged, raising her physical strength, but also confusing her so that her eyes were rolling in her head.

"Roselia, use Magic Leaf!" Dawn cried out, hoping that her Pokemon would be able to deliver the attack.

Unfortunately, Roselia was apparently unable to understand what Dawn wanted, or the direction she was supposed to attack. Instead, she charged off to the side until she collided with one of the large boulders around the arena, hurting herself in the process.

"Oh no!" Dawn exclaimed from how anxious she was at Roselia's situation, even before Brock commanded,

"Omanyte, use Hail!"

"..."

Though it didn't answer verbally, the fossil Pokemon waved its tentacles as it channeled ice type energy, freezing the air and turning the rain that was still falling into razor sharp shards of ice.

Immediately Roselia was assaulted by the shards of ice, which damaged her even more than usual due to her grass typing. Omanyte meanwhile was perfectly fine, having an advantage against ice type attacks, and being able to take refuge in its rock-like shell to mitigate the damage even further.

Thankfully Roselia had managed to snap herself out of her confusion from hitting the rock, meaning she was ready and able as Dawn cried out, "Bullet Seed!"

With the boost to her strength from when Omanyte used Swagger, Roselia's Bullet Seed attack did significantly more damage that it usually would, with its grass typing already dealing close to four times the damage against Omanyte Rock and water type.

Roselia sprayed three rounds of seeds in rapid succession at Omanyte, doing severe damage to its shell and body as she did so. But even as she dealt a significant amount of damage to Omanyte, so too did Roselia continue to receive damage from the Hail.

"Mega Drain!" Dawn ordered with a sense of finality, knowing that this could end the match for them.

And it did, with Omanyte still reeling from the barrage of seeds it had received, there was nothing it could do to guard again Roselia stealing whatever energy it had left to restore her own.

Drained completely, the fossil Pokemon collapsed to its side, defeated.

"Omanyte is unable to battle! Dawn wins!" The referee called out, making Dawn jump for joy even as she recalled Roselia out of the hail storm.

"Good job you two!" She said to Roselia and Piplup after recalling the former to her Pokeball, celebrating their first win against a Gym Leader.

"That's right, congratulations." Brock said as well from the other side of the arena, before he became serious once more as he asked, "so who's next?"

Dawn stepped down from her place in the challeger's spot, and May readily stepped up to take her place, her first Pokeball already in hand to throw out as the arena reset itself for the next match.

"Same rules as before. Are both battlers ready?" The referee asked as Brock retrieved his next Pokeball from the tray, and nodded in affirmation. "Then let the match begin!"

"Go Onix!"

"Go Spheal!"

Brock and May both cried out, before the two respective Pokemon appeared in the arena, one a long serpent composed entirely of boulders of varying size, and the other a small and chubby looking seal.

"Rain Dance!" May cried out the moment Spheal appeared in the arena, who readily began to wobble and roll in an interesting way that once again generated numerous rain clouds above them.

"Onix, Bind!" Brock ordered, to which his Onix readily shot forward and wrapped its body around Spheal, squeezing tightly to damage it.

"Spheal, Powder Snow!" May ordered, which Spheal readily answered as a chill descended upon the arena yet again.

Powdery snow whipped and raged around it and Onix, freezing all of the rain that accumulated on it since the battle began, as well as the surrounding rain.

"Oooooooooooo!" Onix cried out in pain as its body solidified and froze, loosening its hold on Spheal as it tried to keep from being frozen solid.

"Rock Polish!" Brock ordered to try and get Onix to clear the ice that had built up on its body. Unfortunately, while it was one thing when Onix was in its normal state, it was another when ice covered most of its body and joints.

Meanwhile Spheal had successfully rolled away from Onix due to its loosened grip, and May ordered it once it was ready, "Ice Beam!"

"Pheaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal!" Spheal cried out as it fired a jagged beam of ice energy from its mouth, hitting Onix squarely and adding to the ice already coating it until the rock/ground type was frozen solid.

"Onix is unable to battle! Spheal wins!"

"Yes!" May exclaimed excitedly from winning the first round, while Spheal happily rolled over to her to also celebrate their win.

Meanwhile a group appeared to move Onix off of the arena, clearing the space while also taking it off to the side to be thawed out and treated after being frozen solid.

"The second round will now begin!" The referee declared once Onix was out of the way, while Brock held up his next Pokeball.

"Go Kabuto! I choose you!"

The ball then opened to reveal a small Pokemon covered almost completely by a single rounded plate, the only thing showing underneath it being its glowing red eyes, and several insect-like appendages.

"Go Tropius!" May declared as she threw out her Pokeball, which opened to reveal a large four legged Pokemon with a long neck, and leaf-like wings on its back.

"Trainers ready? Then begin!" The referee declared, starting the match.

"Kabuto, use Stone Edge!" Brock declared immediately, to which his Pokemon answered by summoning numerous sharpened stones underneath Tropius that stabbed into its body.

"Troooooo!" Tropius cried out in pain, spreading its wings and taking flight to get away from the dangerous stones.

"Tropius, Leaf Tornado!" May ordered desperately, and her Pokemon responded by flapping its wings to create a tornado filled with leaves that buffeted Kabuto severally, taking full advantage of the grass type advantage.

"Kabuto! Dig!" Brock ordered as the Leaf Tornado persisted, prompting Kabuto to seek shelter underground, where Tropius couldn't get to it.

As the storm subsided Tropius remained on the alert for any sign of Kabuto, never coming too close to the ground to avoid giving it a chance to attack.

For a moment there was complete stillness, with Tropius hovering in the air, and Kabuto hiding underground. The only thing any of us could hear was the continuous pitter patter of the rain.

Then...

"KAAAAAAA!" Kabuto cried out as it emerged from the ground behind Tropius.

"Ancient Power!" Brock immediately cried out, to which Kabuto answered by using a strange power to manipulate the boulders and such around them.

"Look out Tropius!" May cried out, but it was futile.

If it were sunny then Tropius would've been able to avoid and counterattack easily, thanks to its ability Chlorophyll. But right now it was raining, instead empowering Kabuto with its Swift Swim ability.

Tropius was assaulted by a barrage of stone infused with a strange energy, knocking it out of the air and down to the ground in a heap.

"Tropius is unable to battle! Kabuto wins!" The referee declared when it was apparent that Tropius wasn't going to get back up, and May returned it to its Pokeball.

"Take a nice, long rest Tropius." She whispered to it comfortingly, before turning her attention back to the other side, where Brock had already selected his next Pokemon.

"Go Graveler!"

Brock cried out as the evolved form of Geodude appeared, a large rounded Boulder with legs and four arms.

As she looked upon her next opponent, May considered who to send out for a second, before a cry drew her attention to the side.

"Ken!"

May looked at her starter intently for a moment, before nodding her head in what appeared to be acknowledgement.

"Alright then. Go Combusken!" May cried out, as the fiery chicken leapt out to do battle with Graveler.

"Battlers ready? Begin!" The referee cried out.

"Sandstorm! Then Rock Polish!" Brock immediately ordered, which his Pokemon obeyed as it whipped up a powerful storm that blew the first and sand around them into the air. It also eliminated the remaining effects of the Rain Dance.

"Focus Energy! Bulk Up!" May cried in response, prompting her starter to tense its muscles and take a deep breath, increasing its physical strength and defense, while also increasing its focus.

"Bulldoze!" Brock commanded, as Graveler stomped its feet on the ground to make the entire arena rumble.

"Jump, and then Double Kick!" May cried out, prompting Combusken to use its powerful leg muscles to leap into the air towards Graveler.

Though the sandstorm buffeted it and tried to obscure its vision, Combusken remained on target as it planted both its lower claws into Graveler's body. The impact delivered significant damage to Graveler, even more so when Combusken dug its claws into its Rocky body.

Graveler struggled to keep its balance after the impact while it was still in the middle of using Bulldoze, which May took advantage of as she cried, "Low Sweep!"

"Ken!" Combusken cried as it swept Graveler's legs out from under, sending it sprawling to the ground.

"Graveler! Go into Rollout!" Brock ordered in desperation.

"Grav!" Graveler cried as it tucked its arms and legs and rolled directly towards Combusken.

"Brace yourself!" May ordered, to which her starter took a stance as it crossed its wings before it.

*crash!*

Similar to when Geodude used Rollout on Piplup earlier, Combusken took it head on without trying to dodge.

"Now Counter!" May ordered.

"KEN!" Combusken cried as it delivered a powerful hit that had increased in potency after taking the Rollout head on.

*boom!*

Graveler was sent flying back by the hit, crashing hard into the ground where it lay unconscious.

"Graveler is unable to battle! May wins!" The referee cried out as Brock returned Graveler to its Pokeball, and Combusken returned to May's side.

"We did it!" May cried out as she celebrated with Combusken.

"Congratulations." Brock told her sincerely, before a serious look returned to his face. "I take it you're next Misty?"

As May stepped back from the challengers place Misty stepped forward, saying as she did so, "I might as well."

Brock nodded as he picked out his next Pokemon, and the arena was reset yet again.

"I can't believe we managed to win!" May said with relief as she rejoined us.

"Right? Though I can't help but feel that Brock was going easy on us." Dawn replied.

"Well of course. There's no reason for a Gym Leader to go all out against a couple of newbie trainers with no badges." Professor Oak stated knowingly.

"Their main purpose is to test trainers, not just beat them into the ground mercilessly." Daisy added.

"That doesn't mean that all of them are so considerate." I retorted. "Lt. Surge is known for being ruthless against everyone who challenges him, no matter how many badges they have."

The professor and Daisy both nodded in acknowledgment of my point, with Surge's ruthlessness making him quite infamous amongst trainers. Though I had heard he had become even more ruthless in recent years, it was probably just a coincidence that it was after I stated he was in a gay relationship with Giovanni. Probably.

We did get to see just how strong Brock and his Pokemon could be as he battled Misty though, in which he sent out Rhydon and Omastar against her.

The first round had been Poliwhirl against Rhydon, which was a hard fought battle as Poliwhirl used a wide array of fighting and water type moves to finally get through the thick skin of it's opponent. The next match had, surprisingly, ended on a quicker note.

To battle Omastar, Misty had sent out her strongest Pokemon, Starmie. What none of us had expected was that Starmie knew the move Thunderbolt, which made short work of Omastar with its water typing.

And just like that, the third round of Gym battles was over, and it was my turn.

We all congratulated Misty as she stepped down from the challenger's square, which she bashfully accepted, before I stepped up.

"My turn." I said seriously, Riolu stepping up beside me as we prepared to battle.

I noticed the girls swiftly disappear as I prepared to start my battle, but paid it no mind as I focused intently on Brock.

"I am Ace Ketchum, of Pallet town!" I declared while reaching for the Pokeballs on my belt.

"I know exactly who you are." Brock said slowly, before declaring, "and you are the only person I will never forgive!"