The first thing to be spotted as you walk into Mauville was the evolved form of a gambling den, a casino. It stood out prominently in the sky near the southern edge of the city, daring anyone to enter and try their luck. It was like a slice of Vegas had been dropped down here and I chuckled as we passed it. Gambling wasn’t something I’d done a lot of and it always struck me as a bit of an odd thing for them to have included in the otherwise child friendly Pokemon games. This world wasn’t a game though. Adults still needed their entertainment, even some kinds that didn’t directly involve Pokemon.

The town itself was an industrial center, providing electricity for the majority of Hoenn, but it was also very central, making it a bit of a transport hub with routes heading in all four cardinal directions. The centre of town had four roads heading off in those four directions, a crossroads. It appealed to me for some reason, the multiple routes on offer for travel and exploration, the promise of new people coming and going.

Of course there wasn’t a road leading east, but I knew full well that a traveller could manage to ride a Pokemon across the water and then hike their way north towards Fortree. South was Slateport, west was Verdanturf town and north led to the desert that I wouldn’t be risking trying to travel through but also the cave route leading towards Fallarbor town which I would be going up soon. For the moment though, my destination was in the city, the Mauville Gym.

It was a great big yellow building with the front door dominated overhead by the Gym’s logo, a bunch of suitably obnoxious lightning bolts coming off a circular symbol. The central circle depicted the Dynamo Badge.

There was a thought. What would my badge look like? I’d always had the idea of something pink, it was Fairy typed after all, but beyond that I wasn’t committed to anything.

I pushed open the front door and let it swing shut behind me as I entered. Like Brawly’s Gym, Wattson’s had a reception area with a few chairs to wait in and there was someone at a desk at the front. It was a woman in her twenties who looked very bored, playing around on her phone. She spotted me and startled slightly.

“Oh hi!” She said, eyes glancing towards Leah beside me for a moment and then back to me. “Are you here to register for the Gym challenge?”

“I’m not,” I replied. “Wattson should be expecting me. I’m Harry Hemming.”

“Okaaaay,” the woman replied, tapping away at her computer screen. She nodded.

“Oh yes he mentioned for us to keep an eye out for you. Unfortunately he’s in a meeting in the city centre right now and he probably won’t be back for an hour or two. You can wait here if you like.”

“Okay no problem,” I replied. I wasn’t exactly in a hurry. There was plenty of time before we’d need to find a place to stay for the night.

At her direction I went to sit down on one of the chairs to wait. I had my laptop on hand so I figured I could use the time and get some work done.

Tapping away at the keyboard it wasn’t hard to get in the swing of things. The best places to sit down and write were quiet and comfortable with minimal distractions and this was good enough for me.

The secretary went back to not doing any work. Brawly had mentioned it was nearing the end of the season and the earlier Gyms weren’t getting many challengers right now. So I didn’t blame her slacking off. It seemed like there wasn’t much for her to do except man the desk.

I was just getting around to finishing a new chapter of something when the doors swung open. A boy in a yellow T-shirt and blue shorts strode in.

“I’m here for my Gym battle!” He declared grandly.

Youngster used Dramatic Entrance.

But nothing happened…

I barely withheld a snort of amusement as the silence echoed around the room and his expression as the boy floundered.

“Wattson’s not here right now so you’ll have to make an appointment or wait if you want to battle him,” the secretary said from behind her desk.

“But I’m here for a battle right now!” Ben said, aghast. “The Gym Leader’s supposed to accept any challenger!”

“He’s not here,” the woman repeated herself. The boy pouted, looking very rebellious.

“I don’t believe you,” he said. “I’m gonna go find him and make him battle me!”

He turned towards the doors leading further into the Gym.

“If you try to go in without an appointment then the security traps will activate,” the secretary said with the tone of someone who’d dealt with this sort of thing too many times already.

The boy froze in his tracks, torn by indecision over whether to continue on anyway. But this was clearly an obstinate one and the boy carried on to the doors. They opened for him and almost as soon as he tried to step through the door the sound of electricity crackling had him backpedaling with wide eyes.

“Wh-what gives!?” He demanded.

“That would be the first trap,” the secretary said. “When Wattson isn’t in they stay on one of the higher settings.”

High setting hopefully didn’t mean lethal, probably just close to it, I thought. It was probably meant to stop stronger trainers than this youngster from breaching into the Gym without permission.

This was actually pretty informative, I thought to myself. It was good to know I could get away with this sort of thing myself as a Gym Leader. Maybe Wattson wouldn’t mind lending me some advice on how to nearly kill people I didn’t want to deal with.

The boy returned to the secretary’s desk appropriately cowed.

“I’d like to register to battle Wattson, err, please.”

“You need to register an appointment,” the secretary said. “I’ll need your name, ID and number of badges.” She sat up and began typing at her keyboard.

“My name’s Ben and… I don’t have any badges yet,” he admitted.

The secretary didn’t look surprised and didn’t even stop whatever she was doing.

“A first badge challenge then,” she said, like she hadn’t figured that out herself already. “Do you have your Trainer ID?”

After a moment of panic, Ben rattled off the series of numbers and letters that everyone with a Pokemon had to know. It was a basic record system that the Pokemon Leagues used to record Trainers status, their right to own Pokemon and a few other details.

She pointed at the chairs where I was sitting. “Take a seat.”

The boy came over and sat on one of the seats a few spaces to the side and opposite me.

I did my best to keep working, but with the silent interest of the boy on both myself and Leah, I could tell I wasn’t going to get much done.

It didn’t take long for his patience to break.

“Are you a trainer?” He asked.

“I am,” I replied.

“How many badges do you have?”

“I never did the Hoenn Gym circuit, so none,” I admitted, although it was a lie by omission. I did have a few badges, just not local ones.

“Then that means you’re at the same level as me!” Ben exclaimed in pleased surprise. “How’d you get so old without getting any badges?” he asked incredulously. “My mum had four and she was only eighteen when she had me.”

“I’m not old, I’m only nineteen,” I replied slightly defensively and I was about to disabuse him of his misconception about our respective strength levels as trainers when he kept going.

“What Pokemon is that, anyway?”

“She’s a Gardevoir,” I told him, resigning myself to the conversation. Ben’s expression turned confused.

“My mum says they’re a bad Pokemon,” he said, like it was gospel truth. Coming from his mother it probably might as well have been. That didn’t mean I liked him badmouthing my friend.

“There aren't any bad Pokemon,” I denied with certainty. “Only bad trainers.”

Well, for a given understanding of the word bad anyway. Lots of Pokemon species veered in the direction of being malicious in some way. Ghost, Dark and Psychic types in particular often had associations with serious amounts of cruelty or unkind behaviour by human standards. Fairy types too could be pretty alien in terms of their attitudes and behaviour.

My words of advice made the youngster frown briefly before his expression became more serious and he jumped out of his seat. That boundless confidence he’d entered the building with coming back in force.

“Battle me! If you know so much about Pokemon, mister no badges, then prove it!”

I offered him a flat look.

“No,” I answered and Ben’s mouth dropped open in shock.

“But you have to battle me, our eyes met and everything!” He said it like it was some actual rule.

It was a traditional thing, a romanticising of how two trainers would come together and battle with their Pokemon and it was even a trope that I’d used in some of my writing, but it wasn’t a rule.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

I heard a giggle from beside me, Leah was enjoying herself. That made one of us.

“I’m not going to battle you,” I said. “Anyway don’t you want to be fresh for when you battle Wattson?” I pointed out.

Ben’s lips pursed in sudden indecision, but only for a moment.

“It’s been ages already! I’ve come all this way so if I can’t battle him then I’ll battle you instead!”

“You've been waiting for barely five minutes,” I replied. Then I sensed the eyes of the secretary on me from across the room and I stopped myself from saying anything more.

Was this some sort of test?

I was supposed to be becoming a Gym Leader, I reminded myself. Interacting with overconfident and battle hungry kids that wouldn’t accept the word no like this boy was probably part of the job. I had no way of knowing if this was a coincidence or not so I’d assume for the moment it was. I couldn’t entirely discount the idea that Wattson wanted to see how I’d do against this kid and had set this up, but Ben’s behaviour and reaction to the electric trap seemed genuine so far.

This was something I was going to have to get used to anyway, I supposed. I might as well get some practice in battling lower level trainers.

“Okay, I will battle you,” I said, closing my laptop and putting it away in my bag. I wasn’t going to get anything more done right now anyway. I could use the opportunity to impart some knowledge and maybe teach this kid something.

“Is there somewhere we can use?” I asked next, looking in the secretary’s direction hopefully. She’d been paying attention and nodded.

“Yeah alright,” she said, looking kind of amused. “You can use the small arena. I’ll turn off the security system. Just don’t make a mess.”

She then gave us some directions and I thanked her politely.

“Come on then,” I said to the boy.

“Alright!” Ben said, pumping his fist enthusiastically.

I grimaced.

We’d be seeing if he remained that eager after our battle.

***

The small arena was roughly a bit more than a third of the size of a regular arena. Which made sense if it was meant for weaker, lower level Pokemon. It was large enough for a pair of smaller Pokemon to stretch their legs in but not so big that some younger or just naturally smaller Pokemon would be completely dwarfed by the space.

“Have you done any battling before?” I asked the boy casually, just to get an idea of what I was working with.

“Yeah lots!” Ben replied. “I’m the strongest out of all my friends at school,” he bragged.

Some experience had to be better than no experience but that didn’t really tell me much either.

We’d have to be gentle, I decided and that meant there were only a couple of Pokemon I could trust to pull their punches enough to avoid really hurting Ben’s if it came to that. I pulled out a Pokeball, conscious suddenly that this was something I was going to have to think about fixing soon. I’d had just my own team for a long time, I’d need to acquire new weaker Pokemon for the lower tier battles.

“Seeing as you came wanting to battle Wattson, I’ll treat this like it’s an official battle,” I said. “Are you ready?”

“I’m ready!” Ben exclaimed, holding a Pokeball in one hand. “Go Zigzagoon!”

The Zigzagoon appeared on the arena, a very fluffy brown and cream coloured Pokemon and it called out its name eagerly, looking around for an opponent.

“Normally two battlers are supposed to release their first Pokemon at the same time which is why I asked Leah to start us off,” I told the boy frankly and just a bit critically. “Now if I wanted to, I could pick a Pokemon to counter your own pick.”

“Oh,” Ben replied, looking surprised and a bit sheepish at the light rebuke.

I ignored the awkwardness and lifted the pokeball I was holding up to my lips.

“This kid’s not a strong trainer so we need to go really easy on him, okay?” I asked quietly, covering my lips with the ball so Ben couldn’t see. Then I threw it forward.

“Come on out, Robin,” I said.

The Ribombee appeared. It was a small yellow and white insect Pokemon with little black arms and legs, transparent wings and he also appeared to have a brown scarf wrapped around his neck.

The Ribombee spun around in the air, waving hello to the Zigzagoon.

“Wow, I've never seen a Robin before,” Ben said.

“No, that’s his nickname,” I corrected. “Robin is a Pokemon called Ribombee.”

“Huh,” Ben replied. “Why’d you call him Robin then?”

“I just do,” I replied. “Seeing as you’re the challenger I’ll let you have the first move.”

Robin turned to look back at me. I could see he could tell that this Zigzagoon wasn’t anywhere near our level. It looked decently looked after, but it was probably on the chubbier side than the fitter, more leaner form I would expect of a well trained member of its species. I grimaced and nodded. “Keep your attacks on the soft side,” I warned my Ribombee again. I really wasn’t feeling comfortable about this. Robin nodded and then turned back to our opponent, who hadn’t heard what I’d said to my Pokemon. Instead he was ordering the first attack.

“Use Headbutt!” Ben shouted enthusiastically.

“Zigzagoooon!” called out the Zigzagoon as it boisterously raced forward.

The tiny Racoon Pokemon leapt forward, a slight corona of energy around its head as it flew on a collision course with the small Bug/Fairy type.

Then… Robin flitted to the side, moving rapidly like a hummingbird.

The Zigzagoon sailed forward and without an opponent to hit it wound up, catching itself on the soft rubbery terrain. It was like a children’s play area, meant to reduce fall damage and injuries. I fancied that when it was called the small arena that this was really meant for lower strength Pokemon like that Zigzagoon.

“Just because you get the first move doesn’t mean I’ll let you land a hit,” I warned the boy. I decided not to use an attacking move initially. “Use Stun Spore.”

Having the aerial advantage meant that the Zigzagoon wasn’t in a position to do much but try and run away from the pollen as it fluttered down from above. The Zigzagoon couldn’t outrun it and was left shuddering and tensing up as the spores were absorbed into its fur and lungs.

“Come on Zigzagoon!” Ben shouted. “Try another Headbutt!”

“Robin use Silver Wind, gently.”

Robin spun around, a gust of silvery energy appearing around him and spreading outwards in all directions. It buffeted the Zigzagoon who was knocked backwards, rolling over and it had to brace itself on the floor against the attack as it passed over the Zigzagoon’s body. Once it was done I was dismayed to see the Zigzagoon’s legs buckle as it tried to get back onto its feet. It wouldn’t survive another hit like that. It might not actually survive another hit like that.

I winced. I’d asked Robin to be gentle and he genuinely had been. I knew he could produce an attack much stronger than that. Silver Wind was the weakest attack he knew and even not trying too hard he’d still almost put that Zigzagoon out of commission. The difference between us was simply too great for this to be anything but a stomp.

“Oh no, Zigzagoon!” Ben shouted, recoiling himself like he’d been the one struck. “I thought you said you had no badges, how’re you so strong!?”

This was why Gym Leaders used weaker Pokemon. It was pretty difficult to gauge my opponent’s skill level like this.

“I said I had no badges in Hoenn,” I replied, feeling annoyed at myself for not choosing to explain that. “But badges aren’t necessarily a show of how strong you are either. Something I was about to explain to you until you changed the subject. Now, what are you going to try next?”

Ben pursed his lips as I gave him another opportunity to decide what he was doing while the Zigzagoon struggled to stand. I didn’t have to do this, mind you. The taking turns thing of the games wasn’t really how it played out in practice and I could’ve chosen to just have Robin finish it. A simple physical punch probably would’ve done enough at this point. I was pleasantly surprised by what the youngster decided on.

“Zigzagoon, return,” Ben said, raising his Pokeball and withdrawing his Pokemon, silently admitting defeat.

It left a bitter taste in my mouth as I watched the boy’s expression. I had known I’d win the battle but not quite so convincingly as this. I definitely needed some weaker Pokemon to hand in case I came across a weaker trainer another time and I’d definitely need some when I got my Gym going.

Ben took a step forward, but I realised after a second that it looked difficult for him. Zigzagoon hadn’t fainted but it’d been awfully close to it and Ben was struggling now from the backlash, his skin becoming pale as I watched.

I quickly stepped forward onto the arena towards the youngster, Robin coming to hover worriedly somewhere next to my head. I could sense that the Ribombee was just as worried as I was at the sight before us because I recognised what was happening.

“G-good battle,” Ben said, holding out his hand but looking at the ground. I reached out and shook it. I was impressed that this young boy had the dignity and determination to be a good loser, even if the situation had been so one-sided against him. I was also impressed that he was still standing.

Whiting out was a horrible sensation to go through and usually affected younger trainers after their Pokemon team were knocked out. The more Pokemon the worse the effect could be but this time it’d come on quite suddenly on account of the difference in our Pokemon’s strengths. There wasn’t enough time to get Zigzagoon to a healing unit before Ben actually did pass out, but I had an idea.

“Ben, can you bring Zigzagoon back out please?”

“Huh?” the boy asked, having not been paying proper attention, swaying slightly, but he nodded a few moments later and fumbled weakly for the Pokeball.

The Zigzagoon appeared, looking decidedly worse for wear.

I could’ve asked Leah to use a Heal Pulse, but I figured Robin would prefer to be the one to help make this all better.

“Robin, can you make a pollen puff for Zigzagoon?” I asked.

“Ribo,” he said, holding his hands out and rubbing them together, forming a small edible puff of pollen. They were often used as an actual attack but when made properly, pollen puffs could act as a healing agent too. It was a bit like an Oran or Sitrus berry, only much stronger.

I accepted the small edible bit of pollen onto my hand and then squatted down to the Zigzagoon.

“Come on, eat up. This’ll help,” I advised the tired looking Pokemon.

The Zigzagoon sniffed the puff before opening its mouth and allowing me to place it on his tongue. The pollen puff dissolved almost immediately onto its tongue and the subsequent reaction was almost as quick.

“Z-zig zagoo…” The Zigzagoon got back onto his feet, looking a bit confused but far healthier.

“Zigzagoon, you’re okay,” Ben said, recovering now himself now that the Zigzagoon has aptly recovered. He hugged the Pokemon, receiving a couple of weak licks in return.

“Come on,” I said, still feeling guilty. “Zigzagoon still needs proper healing. There should be a healing station somewhere, we can ask that secretary.”

Ben didn’t object as I gently steered him away and back towards the reception.

***

The enthusiastic message from Brawly this morning had been enough to let Wattson know the new trainer was at a top tier battling level. Now sat in a car on his way back to the Gym, Wattson watched through the cameras connected to his specially modified PokeNav as Harry Hemming escorted the kid trainer to the healing station. The young man didn’t exactly look happy with himself, the battle had also been far too one sided. Truthfully Wattson was a bit annoyed to see Harry using his gym to have a battle in without permission. He’d be speaking to Jenna about letting them do that later.

Harry had gone out of his way to make his Pokemon take it easy on the boy and that still hadn’t been enough to stop the whole thing being uncomfortably one sided. This was the reason people needed a way to judge their relative strengths with badges or terrible things could happen and it was a lesson their candidate had now learnt the hard way.

But Harry was doing a good job of looking after the boy, making sure he was okay and recovering after that near miss. His speedy intervention to stop the boy whiting out was a good idea too. Having a Pokemon on hand that could heal wasn’t a terrible idea in general. Maybe he’d get a Chansey for the Gym, but they were pretty expensive to buy. The Joys controlled the supply of the healing Pokemon and weren’t often keen on trainers having personal access to the healing Pokemon outside of Pokemon Centers. A Gardevoir would work, but if he got one of them then Elaine would probably stop cooking his dinners…

Anyway Harry was talking to the boy right now, hopefully imparting some advice and Wattson made a note to add some speakers into his camera system. Whatever they were saying though the boy was taking it well and listening, something kids that age often struggled to do.

Wattson honestly couldn’t have hoped for a better accounting of Harry’s attitude. There was no need to do anything else now he’d gotten the man’s measure and Wattson decided then and there that he’d accept Harry Hemming’s application to become a Gym Leader.

But that boy... He had a spark to him too and Wattson was impressed by how he handled himself there against a far superior opponent. Perhaps this was one worth spending a bit of time on.