Chapter 46: First Gym Challenge P.2

Brocks usually tanned face paled as he witnessed a devastating sight. Brock had always been an admirer of the ladies in Pewter City and had a list of them. Sat tied at the top with Nurse Joy was Officer Jenny.

As a result, the current sight in front of him was too hard to digest. Not only was Officer Jenny going to watch one of his gym battles, she currently had her arm entangled with his next challengers arm and her head was slightly leaning on his shoulder. Truly it was a horrific scene.

Seeing Brock look as though the entire world was collapsing around him, Ark stifled his laugh. While he did not take pleasure in doing these sorts of things, especially to Brock, Ark felt no guilt since Jenny was single and there was minimal chance she would have even looked Brocks way. in the anime, Brock was one of Arks favourites characters, he brought a slight amount of adult comedy to what would have been pretty childish comedy.

Ark had decided the moment his body had matured, that he would not go out of his way to stir trouble, however if a beautiful girl made advances to him and she wanted to be with him, he would not hesitate.

"Brock, I am ready now. Jenny want's to watch my first gym challenge, I hope you don't mind"

Brock mechanically shook his head and turned around as he stiffly walked towards his spot.

"Don't worry, Brock. I am sure there is a beautiful girl out there, just waiting for the Brockster to come sweep her off her feet"

Ark muttered to himself as he saw Brocks rigid movement. A certain ladies face flashed in Arks mind however he dismissed it since Ark planned to spend some time with her as well. However, the world of Pokémon was vast and quite frankly Ark was shocked by the sheer amount of beauties even on the streets. It seems that most people in this world belong to the attractive category.

Once Brock had returned to his gym position, he spoke to Ark. His previous slumped demeanour had been replaced by the confidence exuded only by those who had experience.

"So Ark, you're ready, yes?"

Ark nodded before grabbing his first Pokeball from his pocket. He had moved them from his Pocket storage as in preparation.

"Of course I am, let's get this started"

Ark narrowed his eyes as he spoke those eyes. His vision only contained Brock and the battlefield, the surroundings had become just background. This was Arks first time fighting on a battlefield in a true Pokémon battle.

"Okay then, I will show my Pokémon first. Come on out, Geodude!"

Brock threw his ball up high and it opened as it met the peak. A rocky figure appeared out from the ball.

Geodude floated in front of Brock. Its rocky arms exuded a strength that professional body builders would envy.

"Starting with Geodude huh? Let's Not make them wait, Shellder!"

Similar to Bricks, Ark threw his Pokeball of choice up high and a shell like figure appeared out from the beam of light.

A shiny gold Shellder lay proudly on top of one of the rocks on the battlefield.

"Oh? That's a unique Shellder you have there. Very interesting"

Ark smiled at the praise. Being called unique is something Ark sees as a high end compliment, after all it is basically confirmation that you're more than a number and someone special.

"I'm very lucky to have him as a partner, however my finding him is also thanks to a special someone"

Despite Arks focus remaining on Brock, Jenny knew he was talking about her. A sweetness spread in her heart as she felt the bliss of being called special by the one you gave your heart to.

Brock cleared his throat as he tried to remain focused and not curse Ark to a thousand lifetimes in hell.

"You may have the first move, as a newbie"

Arks eyebrows twitched at the word 'newbie', while it was very true, he did not appreciate being called that. especially when he is trying to look good in front of Jenny.

"Don't regret it. Shellder, use 'Water Gun'"

Shellder immediately shot a torrent of water towards Geodude. It's strength was much higher than that of a week ago. With pin point accuracy, the torrent of water crashed into Geodudes face sending it tumbling backwards. A loud thud resounded in the room as Geodude crashed into a rock. A dust cloud covered the area as a look of pure shock appeared on Brocks face.

Brock had faced many challengers, however, they were usually new trainers who were just starting out. Thus, they did not have anything that could pack a real punch and the battles were often very close from start to finish. Seeing Ark use a Shellder, Brock placed him into that same category, after all most advanced trainers used evolved Pokemon as they had been travelling with them for so long. Yet, here was his perfectly brought up Geodude getting sent flying backwards after one 'Water Gun'.

After his initial disbelief and shock, Brock put on a serious face as he spoke to Ark.

"It seems this won't be as simple as I thought."

Ark refused to comment. He decided to use as little words as possible, he wanted his battling to express his intents.

After a few more seconds, the dust cleared and Geodude floated back up unsteadily. Its expression wracked with pain.

"Good job holding on Geodude, use 'Tackle'"

Geodude straightened itself out, before swiftly launching itself towards Shellder. Its speed was surprising for something made out of pure rock.

"Shellder, UP and 'Water Gun'"

Listening to Arks vague commands, Brock was confused. He understood that Ark intended to use 'Water Gun' again, but that was a long range attack. At the current distance, Geodude will just smash through it before barreling into Shellder.

Whilst Brock was thinking about Arks intent, Geodude was inching closer at a rapid pace. Just as the two was about to collide, Shellder launched itself straight up and tilted it's face downwards. Opening it's shell wide, a torrent of water just as strong as before pummeled down onto Geodudes head.

As the torrent of water collided with Geodudes rocky body, Geodude got flattened onto the ground. The water pinned it down as a cloud of dust once again clouded the area.

Brocks expression twisted into a mixture of confusion and disbelief. He had never seen a Shellder move in such a way, especially after hearing such vague instructions. It was such a strange show that he almost felt like calling it cheating. It was such a strange occurrence that Brock felt his understanding of battling being overturned.

Shellder landed and hopped backwards, a good distance away from the dust cloud. The whole time, it's vigilance remained high as it faced the last direction Geodude was seen.

Seconds that felt like hours passed, as the smoke slowly cleared. At the spot of the battle, Geodude laid with it's eyes closed, unmoving. Had it not been for the small crater around it, Ark may not have even been able to differentiate it from the various rocks scattered around the battlefield.

"My Geodude is unable to battle, Shellder is the winner."

Brock dejectedly stated as he called Geodude back into it's Pokeball. A bitter expression sat upon his face as he realised he lost without landing a hit.

A sense of exhilaration filled Arks very being as she smiled at Shellder.

"Great job Shellder! You were perfect!"

Shellder hopped happily hearing the praise from Ark. It too was feeling elated by it's first victory.

"Don't get too confident, time for my final Pokemon. Onix, come on out!"

From the usual light, a literal mountain appeared, claiming a large area of the battlefield for itself. Ark gulped when he saw the size of the rock snake. While he knew it was big, he had severely underestimated how huge some Pokemon could grow. At the Professors Oak, he only really got first hand experience with grass, bug and flying Pokemon as it was a forestry area.

"Let's begin!"

Brock spoke those words and immediately called out instructions to Onix.

"Onix! use 'Dig'"

Immediately, Onix tunneled down into the earth, it's very actions cause the battlefield to shake and rumble.

"Shellder, start moving about. Try to stay on the ground until you feel Onix coming up! Jump out of the way when it starts to come up!"

Shellder listened to Ark and started to move from rock to rock as fast as it could. Unfortunately, it was not the most nimble Pokemon. Its movement was considerably fast, but still quite easily tracked.

Ark bit his lip as he thought about the situation. As he was thinking, he felt a slight tremor below his feet. As he watched Shellder attempt to change direction, a giant object shot out from the ground and collided with Shellder, violently knocking it high into the air.