I hummed along the way to my room, feeling good about myself.

I didn’t ignore the problem like always and would even win a luxury ball if I scored a win the day after tomorrow’s match. And I just have to issue an apology if I lose.

I thought for a second, that he was going to reject betting a luxury ball or was going to ask me for something of similar value, but he didn’t.

Either he is stupid or has enough money that buying a luxury ball won’t hurt his pocket.

For a side bet a single Luxury ball is the limit for novice trainers- trainers with less than 3 badges.

Only trainers with more than 3 badges can bet more, so I couldn’t have asked for more even if I wanted to.

I reached my room brimming with energy.

I spent the rest of the day doubling checking my strategies and playing with my Pokemon.

As the sun disappeared, I retired for the day. But not before trying to bath Cet and getting chased around the bathroom, again.

Nia as always did not make a fuss, unlike the puppy bat.

…

I woke up the next day excited and anxious for my battle.

After feeding Cet and Nia and skipping my breakfast, I left for the Gym.

‘Are all Gym leaders super rich or is Erika a special case,’ I thought looking at the giant colosseum surrounded by countless greenhouses with domes made of glass that are glinting in the sun.

I made my way towards the Gym marvelling at its architecture, it looked like a colosseum used for gladiator fights.

I entered the Gym taking stock of the trainers waiting there and was made to sit in a room, after showing my battle appointment.

I felt like there was a weight in my stomach as I sat in the waiting room.

‘Feeling anxiety is good, it means you care, and this is not a chore you have to complete to end your day,’ I thought to myself hoping for my turn to arrive faster and experiencing anxiety for the first time.

A woman came and ushered me onto a door, telling me to go straight to enter the battlefield.

As I walked towards the exit, I could hear the murmurs of a huge crowd, making me confused.

I exited the Pathway coming out into a huge stadium.

More than half the stadium was filled with people.

‘How come there are so many people for a 1st badge?’ I questioned myself looking at the excited crowd.

I thought there won't be much of a crowd as most 1st badge battles don’t tend to be flashy.

Suddenly, two podiums rose from the ground, making a loud rumbling noise.

A woman was standing on one of the trainers' podiums.

She wore a stylish green Kimono with purple roots snaking across the dress, the crowd came alive on seeing her.

We made eye contact and she gestured me to the podium.

I nodded sheepishly and moved, as I was totally caught in the crowd’s fervour and admiring Erika.

The crowd's roars showed no sign of diminishing even after she had completed her entrance.

‘God damn it! You would have seen her 15 minutes ago, in her previous match; what’s with the enthusiasm?’ I thought looking into the crowd to see mostly males are the ones doing the shouting.

‘Paid audience maybe?’ I thought randomly and looked at Erica, discarding all the distractions.

She smiled and raised her hand, making the crowd go silent.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“Welcome trainer. Are you ready for your first gym battle?” she asked her voice booming across the stadium.

I nodded taking a mic from the podium.

The challenger is allowed to announce his commands on the mic to the whole crowd and the Gym leader or he can discard the mic and issue commands to his Pokemon to mask his strategies from the Gym leader.

But there is a chance for your Pokemon not to hear you if you don’t use the mic.

And that’s not even the main reason challengers use the mic, it’s due to the harassment done by the audience.

If you choose not to entertain them, they will boo you throughout the match. Your reputation will sink and no company would sponsor someone who everyone hates.

You may think that ignoring their insults will be easy, but reality is often different from ideal thinking.

It’s also a tactic used by the league to exert pressure on the challengers, it’s a test of your intelligence and social awareness.

If you can’t satisfy the audience and mask your strategy by clever use of a mic, then how are going to feel in the dark month when wild Pokemons die left and right? When Pokemon and people cry and shed tears of blood.

League wants clever commanders for the cities, not lackeys. The league uses different tactics to cultivate talents, the mic test is one of them.

I exhaled deeply, thanking Erica inwardly as she gave me the time to collect myself.

“Choose a format, trainer. Will it be 2vs2 or 3vs3,” She asked.

“2vs2,” I said.

The podiums moved towards and stopped in front of the battlefield with grass and rocks.

Erika is the type of Gym leader who always uses a Pokemon whose strength is near to that of the challenger Pokemon. To test their quick thinking by keeping them on their toes.

‘I have to defeat two such Pokemon with Cet as Nia is not ready. Easy peasy,’ I thought, grinning fiercely, not at all afraid.

I have to use only one of my Pokemon as Nia is a long range battler who still doesn't have any long range moves other than water gun, but she is still a great backup option if my plan fails.

Toying with Cet’s Luxury ball, I readied myself as the countdown started.

“3”

“2”

“1”

We both released our Pokemon onto the field.

A Bulbasaur and Zubat greeted the stadium, announcing their names.

I released Cet near to Erika, as part of the plan.

The referee announced the start of the match.

Not giving any time to the Gym leader. I called out what became my favourite deception move.

It already had a professional trainer as a victim, now we will see whether the Gym leader will be added to the list.

“Sandscreen and Agility, Cet” I spoke into the mic.

“Cancel Agility and go for BraveBird,” I instructed Cet away from the mic, softly shouting over the crowd’s Hubbub.

Cet flexed his wings generating soft winds, which kicked up dust obscuring the battlefield.

Erika harrumphed and called out.

“Sweet scent.”

Not even a second passed after Gym Leader Erika’s command as a loud sound of impact rang through the battle, taking everyone by surprise.

The Dust stirred near the Bulbasaur, before Erika could piece together what that sound meant, I ordered loudly into the mic.

“Gust, Finish it! Cet”

Surprise flashed across the Gym leader's face as huge gales cleaned out the dust and sent a Bulbasaur flying out of the battlefield.

The crowd were silent, as the countdown started and ended eliminating the Bulbasaur.

A huge grin graced my face as the first part of my plan was a resounding success.

Cet, a Zubat , defeated two out of three Kanto royals and had a draw with the other one.

The thought made my grin even fiercer.

The Gym Leader Erika gave me a sharp considering look and released her second Pokemon.

Now, depending on whether the Gym leader was offended by my stunt or not, I will be facing an Alpha or wildling again.

A Tangela appeared and looked around excitedly.

‘Tangela, damn! Now I cannot estimate its power level. And Gym leader Erika is not giving anything away, looking at me with a neutral expression. Huuh!’ I thought agonising over what to do.

‘Let's play it safe,’ I decided.

As the referee started the match, I shouted.

“Sandscreen and Agility.”

“Vine whip and Spin, Tanny,” Gym Leader Erika called out.

‘Named Pokemon’ I grimaced.

I am in for trouble, but at least I can say it’s not awakened.

As the dust covered the battlefield again, the Tangela cleared the dust over her side.

Four whips spun around the Tangela as she cleared the field.

‘Huh! Advantage of being a pure grass-type Pokemon, I guess, unlike Bulbasaur with only two vines and an extra typing,’ I thought looking at happy Tangela.

Cet completed enhancing his speed.

I ordered into the mic.

“In and out, Supersonic.”

Cet darted towards the Tangela, as Erika waited for Cet to reach her Pokemon.

“Stun Spore,” She called out.

The yellow powder spread and formed a sparkling dome around the Tangela, halting Cet.

I hastily ordered Cet to retreat, before he could try to taste the sparkly stuff.

“Poison Sting.”

Cet opened his mouth wide and shooted thin poison darts towards the Tangela.

The Tangela dodged the Poison Sting with surprising agility using her whips as extra legs.

“Mega drain,” Erika's voice resounded.

“Come back, Cet.” I hastily called out.

Cet backed away from the Tangela, who was still in her yellow dome.

Some green orbs left Cet getting absorbed by the Tangela.

Cet made his way to me creating distance between him and the Tangela.

‘ Don’t panic, Mega drain is not effective against Cet. I have to be decisive.., but If Tangela whips get a grip on Cet, it's game over.’

This is not a game and Gym leader Erika is not in a good mood, to leave him if she gets a grip on him.

I think she will smash Cet to the ground until he faints if she gets a chance.

If this standoff continues Cet will get tired first, not the Tangela, who is merrily swinging on its legs.

As the silence continued, Gym leader Erika spoke, breaking it.

“Spread the Stun Spore, Tanny.”

Deciding on my game plan, I also ordered.

“Sandscreen and Agility.”

Cet flexed his dispersing the stun spore and covering the arena with dust once again.

Gym leader Erika looked at me for a moment and her face gained a small smirk.

“Sunny day, Tanny.”