As soon as she reached the Pokémon Centre, Jen made a beeline for the transfer machine near the Centre's bank of computers. Within minutes, she'd connected both hers and James' Pokédexes to the Kanto regional network, and moments after that, Tentacruel had replaced Weedle in the storage system.
“If I need him for another match, I can just switch out, right?” Jen said as she looked at Weedle's Pokéball. “We're gonna start work first thing in the morning. Weedle's got some catching up to do.”
And so, the next morning, while James prepared to take on the Pewter Gym, Jen was putting Weedle through his paces, having him battle against her Elekid. Weedle couldn't do more than fire Poison Stings and String Shots, but her Elekid provided a moving target to help him build his accuracy. As the action died down, she tore a leafy twig off a nearby tree and put it in front of the Hairy Bug, who devoured them faster than she thought something that small was capable off. She'd have to be careful with this one; if she wasn't, there wouldn't be any vegetation left within a ten-mile radius.
For his part, James focused on building Nidoran's power. The Poison-type had already proven to be an astonishing jumper, delivering Double Kicks with tremendous force. However, even after a few weeks, Nidoran was still extremely distrustful towards James, and seemed to be holding a grudge dating back to his capture. He didn't outright disobey orders, but he had a bad habit of glaring at James before carrying out an attack. To make matters worse, because of the nature of his capture, Nidoran had also taken a dislike to Elekid, and the pair were almost as aggressive with each other as the Electric-type often was with Ursaring. In lieu of letting the pair knock each other out, then, James had Nidoran attack the tree Jen had been pulling leaves off of, and the tree was near breaking point by the time they finished their training.
Meanwhile, Typhlosion sparred with Blue, dodging her biting attacks while snapping off fire bolts for her to avoid in turn. The coming fight would be difficult, but James wasn't worried. Blue definitely needed the most training, but James was confident she would pull through when she had to.
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Later on, James and Jen headed for the Gym, Typhlosion at their heels. The walk through the foyer was less intimidating this time, and Brock met them near the reception desk.
“Hey, you're back.” he said, looking at James. “So, you're the challenger today, right?”
“That's right.” James answered.
“Great. So, just like with your friend, I'll adjust my team to yours.” James considered, then answered.
“Don't go as advanced as with Jen. Only one of my Pokémon has heavy battle experience.” Brock nodded his assent, then went to prepare. Jen walked with Typhlosion up to the stands, while James stepped onto the platform that served as his technical area.
“All right, same rules as when I battled your friend yesterday. Come at me with everything you've got!”
James Enfield
A: ★★
D: ★
S: ★★
Brock
A: ★★
D: ★★
S: ★
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James took out a Pokéball and threw it onto the field.
“Blue, you're up first!” The female Poison-type appeared on the field, hissing at Brock. The Rock-type Gym Leader gave her a stoic smile.
“Interesting start. Geodude, go!” A familial rock with arms appeared across from Blue, flexing its muscles in anticipation. James grinned as he prepared his attack.
“I know how to take this on. Blue, use Scratch!” Blue rushed at Geodude and swiped at it with her front claws, but did little damage.
“Geodude, Tackle!” Geodude's attack pushed Blue back, and she snarled in discomfort.
“Don't let up! Scratch again!” Geodude sat calmly as Blue's attack hit, and Blue began to shake in frustration. “Hey, relax! What's going on here?” Brock's smile faded.
“I think I can answer that. Both forms of Nidoran can have the Rivalry ability. This affects the amount of power a Pokémon with the ability is willing to apply to their attacks, depending on their opponent's gender. In this case, it looks like this particular Geodude is a female...which is news to me, incidentally. This means that your female Nidoran is going to put a lot more effort into her attacks than if Geodude were a male. Does that help?”
“So Blue's doing more damage, just because Geodude's a girl too? That makes no sense.”
“You'd be surprised!” Jen's voice echoed from the stands. James looked towards her, and remembered how she didn't get along with Stephanie.
“Whatever's going on, this could be useful. Blue, Bite attack!” Blue ran at Geodude and sank her sharp incisors into the Rock Pokémon's left arm. Geodude winced as Blue started to try and shake her opponent.
“Okay, Geodude! Toss it aside!” Geodude swung her arm up, but Blue hung on tight with her strong jaw. “Not going out quietly, huh? Fine! Geodude, Rollout!” With Blue still biting down on her arm, Geodude began to curl up, ready to start spinning in place.
“Not happening! Point blank Poison Sting!” Thin spikes shot from Blue's body, and though they didn't do too much damage, they caused Geodude to shrink back and allow Blue to let go. She dashed back towards her trainer and growled at her opponent. “Okay! Now use Tackle!” Blue started running at Geodude, but the Rock-type had recovered from the previous attack, and began rolling forward. Blue wasn't able to get out of the way, and the rolling rock hammered into her, bouncing backward. Before James could issue another command, Geodude had bounced off of Brock's platform and rolled back into Blue, sending her flying through the air. Blue landed right in front of James' platform, her eyes closed and her body still. James groaned before he recalled the Poison-type.
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“You were solid, Blue. Take a rest.” James took out his next Pokéball. “All right, I'm going to take the battle back right now. Elekid, let's go!” The Electric Pokémon spun his arms as he emerged, grinning at Geodude.
“An Electric-type? Unusual choice for this Gym, but I'm sure you've got a plan. Geodude, Rollout!” Geodude, still holding momentum from knocking out Blue, sped towards Elekid.
“Protect!” Elekid's body was surrounded by a shimmering dome. Geodude hit the protective field and collapsed to the ground. “Now, Brick Break!” As Elekid's arm sparked, he ran at Geodude, reaching it in two strides. The strike left Geodude beaten on the ground.
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“That's more like him,” Jen whispered as she watched Elekid take down Geodude. “He knows he has the moves to win this match, and he's not gonna let any momentum go away. I'd be worried if I didn't know those guys so well by now.
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“Onix, go!” The Rock Snake roared a challenge at Elekid, who simply grinned more widely and spun his arms to build a charge. James couldn't help but grin as well.
“Elekid, Brick Break!” Elekid jumped at Onix, his arm sparking again.
“Rock Polish!” Onix's body shone briefly, and the Fighting-type move struck. Onix shrank back a little from the attack. “No worries! Now use DragonBreath!”
“Brick Break again, and stay close to it!” Elekid drove his next blow to the back of Onix's head, and the Rock Snake's attack dissipated in its mouth. Trying to obey his trainer's orders, Elekid tried to balance on one of Onix's tail segments, but the earlier Rock Polish had smoothed out its body, and he slipped and fell. “Elekid! I didn't say stay on it! We need to take away its ranged attacks!”
“Screech!” Onix took advantage of Elekid's poor positioning by unleashing the fearsome sonic attack. Elekid tried his best to stand his ground.
“Snap out of it and use Brick Break!” James shouted, trying to make himself heard over the Screech. Elekid spun his arms, then leaped up at Onix again.
“Catch it and use Bind!” As Onix rose from the ground, Elekid slammed his arm into the snake's chin, knocking its head back. “No! Stay with me, Onix! Get it with DragonBreath!”
“One more Brick Break!” Elekid used Onix's head as a platform to leap into the air, then plummeted towards the Rock Snake. His momentum carried him through the harsh draconic wind, and he slammed the super-effective move directly between Onix's eyes. The impact generated a cloud of dust, and both James and Brock leaned forward to try and find their team members in the chaos. In the stands, Jen did the same.
“Onix!”
“Elekid!”
Both Pokémon lay on the ground, neither moving.
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“You...didn't expect that, did you?” James asked, as Brock looked stunned. Both of them recalled their Pokémon and stared each other down. “One on one to end it? Sounds like my kind of fight.” Brock took out his final Pokéball.
“We'll see. This match isn't over by any means. Rhyhorn, go!” Even as Brock was releasing the Spikes Pokémon, James fired his third Pokéball.
“Nidoran, go!” Nidoran landed in front of his trainer and immediately turned angrily towards him. “Hey! Focus, will you? We've got a badge to win!” Across the field, Rhyhorn pawed the ground, ready for the fight.
“Rhyhorn, Horn Attack!” Rhyhorn dropped its head and charged, while Nidoran continued glaring at his trainer.
“Get out of the way, and use Double Kick!” Nidoran turned to face his opponent, just in time to be struck by the charging Rhyhorn. “Hold on!”
“Stomp attack!” Rhyhorn slammed a foot down on Nidoran, who cried out in pain.
“Get out of there!” Nidoran rolled out of the way, then ran towards the opposite side of the battlefield.
“Don't let up! Horn Attack again!” Once more, Rhyhorn crashed into Nidoran, and Nidoran landed hard in front of James again. James looked down at the Poison-type, and thought he might have a way to motivate him.
“Look, I know we're not best pals right now, but you've gotta step it up! We lose this, and we have to do it again! That means Blue might get hurt again, and we don't want that, do we?” James still had no idea what the pair's previous relationship had been, but Nidoran snarled and got to his feet. “That's right. A little competitive fire at last.” Across the field, Brock grinned.
“Rhyhorn, get ready. Line up your target, and use Take Down!” Rhyhorn's charge was faster than with Horn Attack, and white streaks seemed to follow him as he rushed Nidoran. James waited until Rhyhorn was nearly on top of them, then called to Nidoran.
“Jump!” Nidoran pushed off with his hind legs, and soared high into the air as Rhyhorn ran beneath him. “Now, just like we've been practicing! Double Kick!” Nidoran dropped down and delivered two sharp kicks to Rhyhorn's nose, driving it down into the battlefield. “Now, let's use our own Horn Attack!”
“Stomp!” As Nidoran jabbed Rhyhorn with his horn, the Rock-type slammed a foot down on him again, and its body briefly took on a violet glow. “Looks like it's poisoned? But that's...”
“Poison Point.” Brock said, matter-of-factly. “It's the other ability the Nidoran species has. If a move makes direct contact, there's a chance that the user will be poisoned.” James looked stunned, but grinned again.
“Looks like things are looking up. Nidoran, one more Double Kick and let's get out of here!” Nidoran jumped up again, and hit Rhyhorn with the Fighting-type attack. Rhyhorn slumped to the ground, and its eyes glazed over in defeat.
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“All right!” James punched the air with his left fist as Rhyhorn was defeated. It hadn't been the cleanest win, but it hadn't been too drawn out, either, which was fine with him. He looked at Nidoran, who still had a mistrustful glare. “Way to go, Nidoran. You really came through for me.” He recalled Nidoran, and walked to the middle of the field, where Brock was waiting.
“That was a good fight, James.” He held out an open hand. “Your Boulder Badge. Congrats on winning your first Kanto badge.” James took the small grey badge and smiled.
“Thanks, Brock. You gave me a good run.” At that moment, Jen and Typhlosion reached him, and Brock waved them out of the gym.
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“You relied on luck a bit there,” Jen said as they arrived at the Pokémon Centre. “Elekid's the biggest reason you pulled that off. I don't know if Nidoran could have beaten Onix and Rhyhorn.”
“Maybe not,” James conceded, “but he got it done. I have to start looking at different moves for him and Blue, so they can be more versatile. I don't want to overpower the first few Gyms, which is why I've been focused on them and not Typhlosion. Elekid should contribute well now that he can use Electric moves.” As Jen headed for their room, he waved Typhlosion to follow her. “Stay with her, buddy. I need to talk to one of the others.” He walked out to the small training area, and let Nidoran out of his ball. Nidoran glared at him as usual.
“Look.” James said. “I know you're not happy to be on this team, but you are, whether you like it or not. You have a lot to contribute here, but only if you're able to work with me. I'm sure as heck ready to work with you.” He looked Nidoran straight in the eye. “When we're taking on the rest of the Kanto Gyms, and the Indigo Conference, I'm gonna need your power. Can you understand that?” Nidoran stared, then gave a small motion that James took as a gesture of assent.
“Good. Everyone's going to rest for the next couple of days. Tomorrow, we really get to work.”