I reached Viridian City by early afternoon. It turns out that when distracted by more important things (such as an upcoming outing with a former contest champion), a person can absolutely hike on zero hours of sleep.

Did I hike well?

Absolutely not.

I fully went into autopilot mode and missed out on the sights for most of Route One. This resulted in several unfortunate falls into potholes, two separate occasions of straying off the path, and a single face plant into a well-positioned tree.

Needless to say, the silver tops of the buildings of Viridian City were like reaching the pearly gates. One bright red domed roof stood out from the others, conveniently located on the south side of town.

Oh, thank the legendaries. I let out an audible sigh of relief.

The Pokemon Center, the League's free sanctuary for wandering trainers and battling competitors. As long as you were registered for the season, you had access to the latest medical care, healthy food for both humans and Pokemon, and most importantly: comfortable lodging.

As mentioned before, the identifier for the Pokemon Center in any given town was the iconic bright red dome, stamped with a large white 'P'. As I walked off the path from Route One, it was only a matter of crossing the street to reach my home base while in Viridian. The wide windowed doors slide open upon my approach, letting a wave of cool air-conditioned wind wash over me.

I made my way in, passing by an open lounging area, and walked up to the front desk. Behind it was another immediately recognizable staple of Pokemon training: Nurse Joy.

The medical professional was one of a huge family of nurses, doctors, researchers, and caretakers that had installed themselves as a pillar of Pokemon society. Their iconic pink hair always stood out from the crowd and let everyone around them know that they were on the scene.

As I approached, Viridian City's Nurse Joy looked up with a smile. "Hello there!" She said in a cheerful voice. "Can I help you with anything today?"

Her voice was pleasant and soothing, and I immediately felt a wave of drowsiness wash over me. Two days of hiking with no sleep was really taking its toll.

"Yeah, hi," I rasped, "I'm Derek Tracy. I was hoping that I could register for a room for the next few days?"

"Yes, absolutely," Nurse Joy offered a hand out, "may I please see your trainer card? We can get you checked in immediately, and then it's up to you to check out when you're ready to leave."

I fished the card out of my pocket and handed it over. I felt my hand hesitate as it passed Artis' ball on my waist. "I also have a new Pokemon," I added, "we haven't done anything too rough in the last couple of days, but I was wondering if you could look him over?"

As Nurse Joy finished scanning my card, she said, "Of course, we're always happy to see to a Pokemon's care. You can leave him in that tray there, and I'll make sure you've made aware when he's ready to be picked up."

"Thank you so much, I really appreciate that!"

I know we've only trained a bit, but I want to be really careful with such a young starter.

These developmental months were some of the most important in a Pokemon's life. I would need to stop by the computer lab at some point to do some research on the best diet and exercise that I could do for Artis.

"Alright," Nurse Joy said as her computer beeped, "Mr. Tracy, you're going to be in room C-12. Your trainer card will act as the room key, and you're free to enjoy any of the facilities here at the Viridian Pokemon Center." She leaned in to say the rest quietly, "though there will always be time for that after a good rest."

I flashed her a grateful smile and took back my trainer card. I must really look like garbage if Nurse Joy is commenting on it. I chuckled.

Room C-12 was on the third floor of the Center, and thankfully the building had working and clean elevators. I didn't even take in the details of my room before stumbling through the doors and collapsing onto the bed.

My first sleep since becoming a Pokemon Trainer was heavenly.

----------------------------------------

I woke up later to a dull thumping on the door of my room. My mouth was dry and cottony, and my eyes felt crusty.

Other than that, I felt positively refreshed. I slid out of bed, remembering that I had fallen asleep fully clothed. The light coming through my blinds told me it was barely nighttime, and my PokeNav+ let me know that I'd only been asleep for four or five hours.

I waddled over to the door, still sore from my first real trek on a trainer route. I clicked open the door, and was surprised to not find another person looking back at me.

Instead, a bright pink Pokemon, about a meter and a half tall and shaped like an egg, stared back at me.

Blissey. I thought, vaguely recognizing one of several Pokemon that Nurse Joys around the world were known for raising. Hard to get for many trainers, as the Joy family had a near monopoly on Happiny breeding.

This Blissey was wearing a small nurse's hat with a red cross on the front as well as a white apron. She reached into the front pocket and brought out a red Pokeball with a blue water-droplet sticker on the front: Artis' ball.

"Blissey!" She chimed, saying her own name in a musical note.

Ah, he must be done with his check-up.

"Thank you, Blissey," I said, taking his ball, "I really appreciate you bringing him all the way up to me."

The pink Pokemon gave a wide smile and sang, "Blissey!" She waved one of her small wing-like arms and pranced down the hall.

I closed the door and placed Artis down on the desk, giving the room its first proper once over. There was a small bed, the blankets still warped around the depression I'd left from my nap, a chest of drawers, a desk, and a small bathroom.

Not bad, not bad at all. I thought. If the accommodations are this good at every Pokecenter, I'm gonna be one happy camper.

I took a quick shower and got dressed into one of my nicer outfits. My hiking clothes were definitely going to need a wash before I was going anywhere near them again. I slipped on a blue button-up and a light pair of pants, then headed down to the cafeteria.

The facility was smaller than I'd expected, with enough tables and chairs to fit maybe fifty trainers trying to eat at any given time. Even this small, though, it looked huge with how sparsely populated it was. There was only one other group of trainers seated at any of the tables.

I glanced at my PokeNav+. 7:27, that's not very late at all. Where the heck is everybody else?

I walked by the food counters, all self-serve, and grabbed a few overly-warm chicken strips and a pre-packaged salad. I walked my tray over to the group of trainers that sat at the edge of the hall.

"Excuse me," I said, a little anxiety bubbling in my chest as I talked to strangers, "I was wondering if I could join you all for dinner? I just hiked in today and was hoping that maybe some other trainers could fill me in on where everyone else was?"

The trainers were a group of three people, all a very eclectic sort, and they all had a very different aesthetic. Two of them immediately deferred to the middle of the group, a femme presenting trainer wearing a light green blouse and red skirt, with long brown hair and green eyes. They wore a yellow bow in their hair.

The one to their immediate left had spiky black hair with a strip of white running through it and wore a loud red tracksuit. They were easily the tallest of the group, and definitely the most physically built.

The third member of their group was willowy and small, not at all filling out the oversized purple sweater that draped off of them. They also wore an equally oversize knit cap with a fluffy red ball on the end.

The green-bloused trainer glanced at the other two trainers before answering. "Yeah, sure," they said, giving an unsure smile, "we'd love to have some company."

"Thanks," I said, sitting down beside the one wearing the tracksuit. "I'm Derek Tracy, by the way."

"Nice to meetcha," they said, "I'm Hana Kaneal, and I use she/her pronouns."

"Ah," I gave a smile. "Cool, he/him over here."

The trainer in the purple sweater gave a small wave. "Amy Turaunt, she/they." Their voice was small, but they were surprisingly declarative.

Following suit, the trainer in the tracksuit grunted, "Yuji Amano, he/him." He seemed friendly enough but was still glancing at Hana, taking cues and deferring to her.

If Hana noticed she didn't mention it. "So Derek, you said you just got in today?"

"Yeah," I said, "I did Route One in about a day and a half, but I don't know much about the city itself. Or why the Pokecenter is so empty."

I glanced around, and no other trainers could be seen walking around the cafeteria or in any of the nearby lounges.

"That's part of coming to Viridian so early in the season," Hana said, "given Viridian's reputation, almost no one else has shown up."

"Oh, is this gym supposed to be pretty difficult?"

"Only the strongest!" Amy piped up, holding up two hands to show emphasis. Her hands were still covered by the purple sleeves, and it made their diminutive form seem even smaller. "Are you not from around here? Everybody knows that Giovanni's the toughest there is!"

"Nah, I'm from Hoenn." I admitted, "I decided to do my League challenge here, but I don't know a ton about the Kanto circuit."

"That makes sense that you wouldn't know, then." Yuji half turned in his chair to face me. "Giovanni is widely considered to be one of, if not the, strongest member of our gym circuit."

"And he's also known for being pretty ruthless," Hana added, "especially to new trainers."

"That makes sense then," I said, "that means that only the strongest, bravest, or dumbest trainers would come here first. And I'm the dumb one, so that must make you guys strong or brave!"

All three gave genuine laughs, and Amy flashed me a big grin. "Well, Yuji and me are the brave ones. Hana is definitely the strongest of us three."

Hana didn't deny it, instead saying, "And that's why we're here. We wanted to challenge Giovanni first because there is no losing. If we lose, we were beaten by the strongest Gym Leader."

"And if you win," I finished the thought, "you'd have beaten the stronger leader first."

"That's the plan." Yuji gave a nod.

"That's a great plan!" I said. "You guys are definitely thousand IQ thinkers! I want in!'

Hana gave me a confused glance. "What?"

"I want in!" I said again, "I'm a new trainer, and you guys seem to know your stuff. Let me train with you and take on Giovanni!"

Amy laughed. "Derek, you're awesome!" She had tears welling up in her eyes from laughing. "You can't beat Giovanni as a new trainer!" Amy wiped her eyes with her long sleeves.

"Seriously though," Yuji warned, "Giovanni is an insane opponent. We've put days of studying his battles to come up with strategies that would work for our starters and spent our entire pre-season training to take him on. How long have you been a trainer?"

"What time is it?" I ask nonchalantly.

Hana glanced at her watch, "Quarter to eight," She said.

"About thirty-two hours."

Amy burst out laughing again, and Yuji gave an exasperated sigh, running his fingers through his black and white hair. It was only Hana that took my words fully at face value.

"You're really serious about this." She gave me a look, glancing me over.

I very quickly realized why the other two deferred to her.

She's the planner.

Hana had been studying me since I had sat down at their table. Thinking back, she hadn't taken her eyes off of my face, analyzing my expressions, other than to look at the number of Pokeballs on my belt. Her stare was intense, but not intimidating.

I met her gaze. "Yeah," I said, "I might be a funny guy, but I'm not here to mess around."

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

I knew that Hana understood what I meant by that. I hadn't come to Kanto to slack off, and I was willing to put in the effort.

Hana put both her hands on the table, interlacing her fingers. "Tell you what," she offered, "my gym challenge is tomorrow. Come to the Gym and watch the match. If you're still okay with going up against him, we'll let you train with us while we're in town."

Both Yuji and Amy gave surprised looks at that, but neither looked reproachful. Instead, they both turned and waited for my answer.

"There's no way I'll cow after just watching somebody else battle," I said, feeling determination surge through my body. I was serious. "If anything, that's just gonna get me hyped up for my own battle!"

Hana smiled and nodded, and Yuji and Amy both gave impressed looks. I'd definitely give the right answer.

This Giovanni guy didn't know what was coming for him.

----------------------------------------

After I finished dinner I headed back up to my room, ready to relax a bit and actually rest. I pulled on some pajamas and released Artis from his ball.

"Spheal, pheal!" He barked, excited to be released. He turned and began sniffing the carpet before looking up at me curiously.

"Hey, bud," I said, "We're in Viridian City! We made it to our first Gym town!"

Artis barked a few more times, excited that I was excited, but very obviously had no understanding of what I was talking about.

"Oh boy," I sighed, "nobody actually explained what our journey was, huh?"

Artis nodded, but didn't seem bothered. His expression was just excited and happy enough to tell that there wasn't a thought behind those eyes. I smiled.

"It's okay, we'll talk about it tomorrow." I pulled up the covers on the bed, "do you want to sleep up here with me, or on the floor?"

The Spheal flopped up onto the sheets, quickly shimmying into the blankets. He crawled around underneath then before popping his head up.

"Spheal!" He beckoned, almost like he was saying Are you coming or what?

I grinned and pulled in next to him, feeling his warm fur immediately turning the bed into a cozy furnace. I wrapped an arm around his neck and pulled in for the night, ready to sleep.

My PokeNav+ buzzed.

I sat up and snatched it off the desk. There were three people who had my PokeNav+ number, and it was later in Hoenn than in Kanto, meaning both my parents would be asleep.

Sure enough, there was a text from Daisy:

[21:41, Daisy] Hey, Derek, I was just making sure you'd made it to Viridian safe?

I felt the edge of my mouth turn up in a grin. I started typing, but before I could finish another message popped up.

[21:41, Daisy] It's Daisy, by the way. I wasn't sure if you'd saved my number, so I thought I'd clarify.

I chuckled. Of course I saved her number! She's the coolest person I've met so far.

I waited another moment before replying as the typing bubbles popped up again, indicating that Daisy was writing something. They stopped and started a few different times, but no more messages came.

[21:45, Me] Yeah, I made it here safe and sound! I'm staying at the pokecenter rn, and I found some other trainers to show me the ropes around here

[21:45, Me] Did you make it to Pallet okay?

She responded quickly,

[21:46, Daisy] Yes! I got home before noon and managed to unload all my footage to the other lab techs.

[21:46, Daisy] I'm going to have to wait a few days for their analysis, so I came home and took a nap.

[21:46, Me] Same here! I was actually bedding down with Artis (my spheal), but tbh Im not feeling that tired.

I sent a photo of Artis that I'd taken on the trail yesterday. His tongue lolled out to the side and his blue fur was covered in small sticks and patches of grass.

[21:47, Daisy] He's so cute! I love him!

[21:48, Daisy] He looks really healthy, even with how young he is. I remember grandpa mentioning he had an egg move? (Btw, I'm also not feeling that tired.)

I leaned down and rubbed Artis between the ears. "My friend Daisy says 'hi', and she thinks you're cute." I fawned over him as I gave him scritches.

He nuzzled into my hand.

I started texting Daisy back about the Professor's hypothesis about Artis' parent, and she gave all kinds of helpful speculation.

Eventually, our conversation steered away from Pokemon and we started texting about personal stuff. I learned her favorite color, her comfort foods, and her favorite movies. In turn, I told her about myself. I sent her a link to my favorite Poketube channel and texted about the podcasts I'd been listening to on the trails.

The conversation took a turn when we realized that we were both fantasy novel fans, especially Cosmere books. It became a "nerd-off" to see who could spout more knowledge about our favorite series.

She won by a country mile.

Though, in a way, I won too.

----------------------------------------

The next morning I woke up well-rested and satisfied. It was later than I would normally get up, but completing the first leg of my journey deserved a treat.

And I definitely didn't sleep in because I stayed up talking to Daisy all night, for the second night in a row.

Definitely not.

Artis and I made our way down to the cafeteria and got breakfast. Cereal and OJ for me, high protein chow for him.

As I went to leave for the day, see the town and all that, I was stopped by Nurse Joy at the reception.

"Mr. Tracy?" She called.

"Uh, yes, Nurse Joy?" I hesitated.

"I just wanted to make you aware that a few other trainers left you a message," She said. "Specifically, Mr. Amano left this for you."

Nurse Joy handed me a small slip of paper that Yuji had written the address for the Gym and the time for Hana's battle. It started soon enough that I should start making my way there.

"Thanks, Nurse Joy," I bowed my head in appreciation.

"It's no problem," she said, giving a polite smile, "those trainers are good company. They work well together, and they're driven towards their goals."

I really took a second to look at Nurse Joy. She was smiling, and she genuinely seemed to want to help encourage my relationship with Hana's group. It dawned on me that all Nurse Joys stood as the first line of contact for trainers with the League. We interacted with them the most, so of course they would be able to tell which trainers had a real shot at going far in the circuit, and which personality types would work well together.

"Sometimes I forget that Pokemon Centers are here for more than just medicine," I said, returning Nurse Joy's grin. "Thank you for the advice."

The pink-haired nurse gave me a nod and returned to typing away on the Center computer.

----------------------------------------

By the time I got to the Viridian City Gym, a battle was already in progress. The clay-orange building was massive, with a large half-barrel roof. It had nothing on the Lilycove Contest Center, but in the later parts of the season, I could see it hold fifteen to twenty thousand people.

The inside stadium was surrounded by rows and rows of seats with four separate battlefields. Only one of them was occupied at the moment.

"Krabby! Dodge left and Bubblebeam!" Yelled a young trainer in red and white fishing attire.

The small red crab scuttled across the dirt floor of the battlefield, weaving between impact craters and scars of upturned earth. Charging toward the Pokemon was a massive stone rhino, horn lowered and hundreds of pounds of muscle formed into a battering ram on legs.

A Rhyhorn.

The massive Pokemon charged past Krabby, digging its horn into the ground to plow forward and create the iconic move Bulldoze. The Krabby's trainer had called the dodge out at just the right moment, giving the crab ample time to swing around and release a torrent of bubbles towards the Rhyhorn's hide.

The rhino Pokemon turned at the last moment, pulling up its horn and spraying dirt to intercept the move. The Rhyhorn turned back and resumed its charge, creating another Bulldoze in a direct line to the Krabby.

"Same move, Krabby!" The fisherman shouted again.

I grimaced. Rhyhorn was clued into the tactic, and even from across the arena I could see it anticipating the attack.

Sure enough, as Krabby started scuttling at the last possible moment, Rhyhorn canceled its Bulldoze and whipped its horn around, swiping the tip underneath Krabby's back legs. It jerked its head up with a Horn Attack, tossing the crab into the sky.

"Shit!" The fisherman started to panic as his Pokemon tumbled through the air. "Try and land somewhere soft!"

Rhyhorn wasn't going to let the Krabby land. It swiped a chunk of earth from the ground in the same way that it had tossed Krabby up. The dirt clod was a perfect execution of the move Smack Down, and down Krabby did plummet as the pseudo-boulder rammed into it.

The match was called by the referee before Krabby hit the ground.

My eyes traveled to the opposite side of the arena, towards Rhyhorn's trainer. He was a tall man, with tanned skin and a dark suit. His bright red tie was the only pop of color in his attire. He reminded me of a Gym Leader from Hoenn, Norman. Both were the strong and quiet type, ones who let their Pokemon battle with little instruction, as they had already drilled hours and hours of training.

Norman had a dad-like warmth to him, making trainers feel respected and appreciated after a match. His methods might be harsh, but after a good fight, Norman would leave the battle on the field.

Giovanni had none of that.

He hadn't uttered a single word since I'd entered the arena, not even one to tell the fisherman that he'd lost the match, not that he needed to. Instead, he seemed cold, distant, and bored. His eyes drifted over the line of trainers who were waiting for their turn off to the side, and apparently they found nothing of value.

His leader platform was raised, several feet higher than the challenger platform, and had a cushioned high-back chair centered on it. He sat straight back, respectable, but not engaged.

Cold iron pooled in my stomach.

Even though the trainer had made mistakes, Krabby hadn't been poorly trained. It listened to commands and executed them thoroughly, and it hadn't scratched Rhyhorn. Artis and I had a grand total of maybe three hours of real training under our belt, and he couldn't even use an offensive water-type move yet.

My confidence in our ability to challenge this gym was dwindling.

I stopped studying the Gym Leader and started looking through the stands for Hana's group. Even as sparsely populated as it was, it took a minute to find them. Amy actually noticed me first, waving across the crowd and gesturing for me to come sit.

Yuji nodded as I approached. "Hey, Derek."

"Sup," I nodded back, "and hello Amy!"

She smiled widely, bouncing in their seat. "We were afraid you weren't gonna make it, Derek!" Amy pointed down towards the small line of waiting trainers. "Hana's up next!"

Hana was walking up to the challenger platform. Today, she'd elected to wear a jean jacket over white and green athletic wear. She stepped up to the platform carefully and purposefully, her eyes narrowed on the other side of the field.

I knew that she was studying Giovanni, the same way I had. His expressions, his rhythms. Even if he didn't seem interested in the battle now, those things changing would be the first step to fighting him when he was.

Yuji leaned forwards, resting his arms against his knees. "Come on, Hana," he said under his breath, "you got this."

"Challenger Hana Kanael," the referee announced loudly enough to be heard without a microphone, "this will be a one-on-one challenge against the Viridian City Gym Leader, Giovanni, for your first badge. Standard League challenge rules apply, and returning your Pokemon will stand as an admission of defeat. Are you ready?"

Hana nodded, still intent on Giovanni. "I'm ready!"

Hana pulled a Pokeball out from the pocket of her jacket and gracefully tossed it into the air. With a click and a flash of red light, her Pokemon began to materialize.

Gross. A disgusted shiver ran through my spine as I recognized the spindly legs and yellow bell-shaped head. I remembered the poor Raticate from just a few days ago.

"Bellsprout!" Yelled Hana's Pokemon.

Giovanni stayed seated in his chair, grabbing a Pokeball from the small side table next to him. He wordlessly released his Pokemon.

Yuji cursed at the same time that Amy whispered, "Oh no!"

I recognized the sand-colored scales of the tiny clawed Pokemon on the field, the second time in a row that I had done so. A small Sandshrew, in pretty good shape but on the younger side, walked to its starting position.

I frowned. Sandshrew was good, but not great. What was the problem here? This Pokemon didn't look old enough to be very problematic.

Amy noticed my confusion and tapped Yuji's shoulder. He looked over and explained, "Hana's main strategy relies on Wrap. We studied up on Giovanni and this is her worst-case scenario out of all his low-level Pokemon. It knows Rapid Spin."

Shit. I copied Yuji.

Wrap was what the Bellsprout had tried on me on Route One, growing its tendrils to entrap its prey and keep a heavy restriction on the opponent's moves. Trapping an enemy was a powerful ability because it limited your opponent's options.

None of that worked when your opponent knew Rapid Spin, which lets the Pokemon move at unreal speeds, throwing off anything that might have grappled or attached the Pokemon, including Wrap.

"Both Pokemon in position," the referee called, "begin in three, two, one!"

"Paige," Hana called out to the Bellsprout, "Start with a Sleep Powd-"

Hana didn't get to finish her sentence as the Sandshrew rolled into a ball and went bounding across the field, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake. The Pokemon had begun a Rollout without Giovanni saying a word. Sandshrew rolled past Paige (I was assuming that was the Bellsprout's name), narrowly missing a full collision.

Hana, to her credit,kept her cool and called another order. "Stun Spore!"

There was a Pop! As Paige's bell-shaped mouth blasted a wave of yellow in the direction of Sandshrew. The yellow Pokemon dodged by rolling left, and then changed direction to begin circling Paige. The sand around the two of them began to swirl and raise into the air.

"Sandstorm." Amy declared. "That's bad, it uses it like a budget Sand Tomb."

The trail of sand grew thick, and instead of filling the area it swirled around Paige and trapped her within. The Bellsprout began to cry out as tiny flecks of sand and rock pelted it, inflicting small, but not insignificant, damage.

"Paige!" Hana yelled over the swirling sandstorm, "Growth into Vine Whip, crowd-control style!"

The Bellsprout dug its legs into the ground, and tiny roots sprouted from all over its body, reinforcing limbs and giving itself significantly more bulk. Paige's vines extended fully from its hands, and the Bellsprout lashed outwards with the full weight of its tendril whips in a circle, making it almost impossible for Sanshrew to dodge.

Wa-crack!

The noise of the move caused me to flinch, and I was struck by how impressively Hana had trained this Pokemon. Unfortunately, a loud noise doesn't always equal a successful hit. The Sandshrew had successfully dodged the Vine Whip at the cost of ending its Sandstorm cyclone.

There was a gouge in the ground, several feet long and several inches deep, where Sandshrew had avoided the attack.

"Sandshrew." The entire audience turned as Giovanni spoke for the first time. "Fury Storm." He spoke softly, but his words carried a malicious weight to them, and his intense gaze narrowed at the trainer across from him.

Hana glared right back, and said, "Paige, dodge and continue your attacks"

Both Pokemon sprung into action. Sandshrew moved back into its Rollout and sand once again followed in its wake. Paige whipped its arms forward, crashing twice into the sand on either side of Sandshrew and attempting to disrupt its movements. Sandshrew bounded over the whips, continuing through and successfully completing its first lap around Bellsprout.

The Sandstorm began again.

Paige kept striking, but to no avail. Sandshrew was just too fast, and from what Yuji had said this wasn't Hana and Paige's style of fighting at all. Hana was adapting on the fly because the Pokemon happened to have a move that countered her strategy, so she avoided the interaction completely.

Yuji groaned, "Sand Rush just kicked in."

Oh. That clicked some dots together for me regarding Giovanni's strategy. Sand Rush was a rare ability that boosts a Pokemon's speed in a sandstorm. It explained the "Storm" in Fury Storm. As Sandshrew extended its claws, imbued with sickening green energy, and made to slash at Paige, I realized the other half of the combo.

"Sandshrew makes a sandstorm trap, boosts its own speed," I murmured, "and starts chaining Fury Cutters. Each hit is stronger and faster than the last."

"Yeah," Amy sighed, already sounding resigned, "this sucks."

Fury Cutter was a unique move that got a little stronger each time that it hit consecutively, and it channeled bug-type energy, something that Paige wasn't weak to, but she definitely didn't resist.

Hana winced as Paige missed another Vine Whip, and desperation finally crept into her voice. "Paige, Acid!" She pleaded at her Pokemon, grimacing as the Bellsprout took a hit from a Fury Cutter.

The Pokemon flexed itself and tilted its head back to start summoning the poison needed for the attack, but it was obvious that it didn't have a ton of experience with the move. Paige was just a little too slow, and Sandshrew slash up her back with a third Fury Cutter.

Paige fell to the ground with a light thump and a soft sigh, fainted.

"Challenger Hana's Pokemon is unable to battle!" The referee announced. "Leader Giovanni is the winner!"

Hana's shoulders dropped low as she returned Paige, and she stared at the ground when stepping off the podium. Not only had she lost to Giovanni, she hadn't landed a single move on the Sandshrew.

I thought back to the previous fight. Krabby hadn't landed a single hit that I'd seen on the Rhyhorn.

My frown deepened, and I felt my brow crease as I thought about it more. Giovanni didn't just beat his opponents, all of whom looked like they had zero badges, but he embarrassed them. His Pokemon not taking a single hit didn't just show a disparity in the Pokemon's abilities, but it showed a difference in the experience of the trainers as well.

Hana was not a bad trainer. Everything about her battle spoke of hard work and dedicated studying. She had done her due diligence, and it had amounted to nothing in the face of Giovanni's experience.

It made me angry.

I stood up, walking past Yuji and Amy.

"Where ya going, Derek?" Amy called curiously.

"Be back in a second!" I ground my teeth.

I left the stands, passing by where Hana was walking up to meet her friends.

She didn't even notice as I walked by, her shoulders were still down and she looked dejected. Humbled.

I left the main arena and headed back out to the reception hall.

I need to be in Pewter in just under three weeks. I thought. It takes two to get through the forest, and I'd need a recovery day because I just have Artis…

I marched up to the counter and placed my trainer card in front of the attendant.

"Hi, I'd like to sign up for a Gym Challenge. Do you have anything available five days from now?"