Chapter One: Unexpected Events

Excitement – that was the only thing Giovanni could feel as he walked up the stairs. His fifteenth birthday had come, and that meant that he would finally set off to roam around Kanto. He smiled uncontrollably while looking at his trainer's license. It took three years for him to finally set off into Kanto, particularly because his parents wanted him to learn more about surviving in the wilderness. He didn't care, after all. He just wanted his journey to be easier.

He decided that he would be travelling alone. And rather than travelling to Pallet Town to get his starter, Samuel Oak had come right to his house to deliver it, mainly because his father funded the professor's research.

His father was the owner of the greatest technology company in Kanto – Silph Co. The company made TVs, pokéballs, everything people used at that time. His father wanted him and his brother to run the company when they were old enough to. Although Giovanni wasn't exactly a person who liked the work, the idea of making immense money was good enough for him.

He looked at the window, which reflected his image – a boy with short, black hair, wearing a black shirt with a white collar and a cap on his head which enforced the League's symbol – a tic mark with a pokeball behind it.

A creature walked slowly to him, swaying his fiery tail crawled to the boy. "Char…"

Giovanni turned down, his blank look instantly turning into a warm smile as he looked at the salamander-like pokémon. "Are you ready, Keigo?"

"The more important question is: are you ready?" Giovanni flinched upon hearing the voice – even though it was stern, he could sense humour in it. Cradling his Charmander in his arms, he turned around to see a much taller man, wearing a pitch-black suit, fingers in the pockets of his elegant pant. Giovanni's smile instantly faltered; he never liked seeing the man he had rarely ever seen.

"Hello, Father." His tone was so cold that it could even freeze fire. His father rolled his eyes, and instead of replying he walked over to his son and ruffled through his short hair, Giovanni instantly pulling off.

"I hope everything is set." His father smiled at him once again but Giovanni instead turned even further. "Aw, Gio, don't be like that. And anyway, I got a pokémon for you!"

Giovanni's mood instantly brightened at the mention of a new pokémon, but he quickly hid that excitement. He didn't want to show his father that he wanted anything from him.

"Take it," he said, and Giovanni turned to see a pokeball – no, an ultra-ball – growing in the older male's palm. Giovanni's eyes lightened up, an excited glint in his eyes. The idea of acquiring a second pokémon on his team other than Keigo was really great. His father noticed this, however, and he began to cock his eyebrows.

"Go on, Gio," his father urged, and he reluctantly snatched the ultra-ball from his palm. He looked at it for a good few seconds before pressing the button on the pokeball and he watched as a beam of red energy shot out of it and formed into a small, pinkish-purple creature. Giovanni frowned – he didn't expect such a rather common pokémon to be gifted to him. If it was a full grown Gyarados then it would've been something, but he cringed in disappointment before turning up to his father.

"A male Nidoran, really?" he questioned.

"This isn't a normal Nidoran we're talking about," he replied, still grinning. "I got it from the best breeders in Kanto. He's got some perfect IVs – or something they were talking about, I don't know – and he's also got something called 'Egg Moves'. It's basically some attacks the pokémon's got from the parents, or so I heard."

Giovanni kept quiet and he eyed the peculiar pokémon, who twitched his ears in return. Maybe this pokémon wasn't so bad after all.

"Look, why don't you check him out with that prototype Poképaedia that Samuel gave to you?" his father urged. Giovanni nodded, reached for his already-packed backpack and pulled out a sleek, white, round device from the 4D dimensions inside it and pressed a the button in the middle. The device immediately opened up into a bigger form, and aimed the pokedex at the Nidoran. The Poképaedia scanned him and gave a long summary on his species on the screen.

Nidoran, the poison pin pokémon, is classified as a poison type. Male Nidoran have developed muscles for moving its ears. Thanks to them, the ears can be moved freely in any direction. Even the slightest sound cannot escape this creature's notice. This pokémon also extends its poisonous barbs when angered as a sign of protection.

This Nidoran is obviously a male. Nidoran knows the moves: Peck, Focus Energy and Leer, while his Egg Moves, which can be mastered, are: Disable, Endure and Sucker Punch. His ability is Poison Point, which may poison pokémon in contact.

Giovanni smiled. With moves like that, Nidoran could definitely prove to be an asset in Conquering Kanto. He then turned to his father. Reluctantly, he said: "Th-Thank you. He'll finally evolve into a Nidoking…A ground type…"

The truth was that Giovanni never wanted a Charmander as a starter, but neither did he want the others. He wanted a ground type. He didn't know what about them fascinated him, but they all could turn into monstrous creatures. Rhydon, the Nido-Royals, even a Dugtrio could be incredibly strong. The fact that they could use the earth as their power mesmerized him.

"It's alright, son…" He chuckled. "Now, let's get going so that we can have a Pokémon Master in the house!"

"You watch me!" Giovanni exclaimed, obviously excited as he made his way down the stair and out of the house. "I will own the strongest pokémon ever! And I'll have Keigo by my side, too!"

To own the strongest pokémon, to own the strongest of six friends, was the dream of ever pokémon trainer. Giovanni was no different. He would be the new Champion.

"Do you want me to drop you?" His father's voice pulled him out of his dreams and into reality. "I'm taking the limo to Saffron City."

Giovanni shook his head. "No, Father. I want to go to Pewter on my own. Then I can beat the Rock!"

The man chuckled. He loved it when his son was happy. If he just could be with his family for more time, then Giovanni could be happy around him, too.

Giovanni stood right at the outskirts of Viridian City, his hometown. Rather than the bustling people and the noises from the vast city, this place was rather quite, with a few pokémon roaming here and there. He hadn't caught any pokémon, but he had battled a few trainers here and there. Nidoran had proved to be a competent battler, and he had won most of the matches rather than Keigo. Only a few people had actually managed to beat him, but they were older trainers – people with far more experienced pokémon.

Giovanni stared at the opening of the newly-made gate that connected Viridian City to its forest, a place that was filled with bug types. He hoped that he would at least catch a powerful Beedrill or a strong Spearow.

Giovanni heaved a sigh and he looked down at his Charmander. Keigo gave a bright smile, and his trainer returned it, but he quickly recalled his pokémon. He didn't want his friend to accidentally burn the forest with him by the tail.

It was time to enter Viridian Forest.

Giovanni walked through the darkening forest after defeating a Bug Catcher, who only had a few Caterpie on his team. Keigo had easily taken out the entire team with one wave of Ember, although Giovanni wasn't going to rely on him until he reached Pewter. If he accidentally let Keigo go into Blaze, the whole forest would come down.

He continued to walk until he found a rather good spot – a clear, round area which had enough of moonlight for him to see clearly. It was next to a small stream, making it a rather good place to spend the night. Giovanni opened his backpack and instantly set up an instant tent - a product which his father had made especially for him. He smiled as the blue tent took more than half of the place – he would have a lot of space to sleep for the night.

Giovanni was about to set up a campfire when a girl, nearly his age, walked in. Her eyes were bright red, along with her thick red hair. She wore a white tee and a black biker's jacket that fitted her properly. She gave Giovanni a playful smirk as she dug her fingers in the pockets of her black jeans.

"Hey, aren't you that rich kid, Giovanni Sakaki?" she asked.

"Yes, I happen to be that rich kid," he responded with his gaze concentrated on the girl.

It was then that she smirked and asked: "Then why don't I kick your pampered ass with my pokémon?"

Giovanni hated it when people insulted him for his wealth. He knew that they would love to be as rich as him. They were all hypocrites.

"You're on."

"Great." The girl walked over to the other side of the clearing, far away from Giovanni's tent on his orders – he didn't want anything happening to it on the first night. Giovanni too stepped out, a pokeball in his palm. A few seconds passed as the two trainers glared deeply into each other's eyes until the girl spoke up.

"How many pokémon are we using?" she asked haughtily.

"One," Giovanni replied, his glare unmoving.

The girl didn't say anything, instead unclipping a pokeball from her belt and increasing the size of one. "Oddish, go!" she cried out, and a blue plant bulb burst out, landing on the ground and blending with the surroundings.

Giovanni cursed under his breath. His opponent was smart. The darkness wouldn't help and Oddish already resembled a plant. "Keigo, come on out!" The Charmander too burst out of his pokeball and scanned his surrounding in the dark, although the flame on his tail illuminated part of it. "Focus on where the attacks are coming from, okay?" he said, and Keigo nodded.

The girl smirked and asked, "Does the little, rich brat want to go first or not?" Giovanni smirked. She was trying to trick him into saying that she should've gone first, but he wasn't going to pass up an opportunity like that.

"Yes, the little brat wants to go first. Keigo, Sunny Day!" Giovanni said. Keigo reared back his head and spat out a ball of light in the air, instantly illuminating the area while the girl cursed. He and his pokémon could now clearly see Oddish, who was twitching in a patch of grass.

"Oddish, come out. There's no point in hiding." Upon hearing her trainer's command, the weed pokémon scurried out of the patch of grass and looked sheepishly on the ground.

"Great job, Keigo," Giovanni praised with a smile, and the flame pokémon smiled at him. "But this match isn't over yet. Keigo, use Ember!"

"Dodge it, Oddish!" But no matter how fast the grass type was, she was ultimately struck by the fiery embers that charred her body and scorched the leaves on her head. Oddish shrieked in pain but nevertheless kept a determined look on her face.

"Keigo, now use Metal Claw!" Giovanni called out. The lizard showed off his claws, that were now shining brightly, and he then ran up towards Oddish. Just before he was about to hit her, the girl called out a command of Sweet Scent. The Oddish released a pink aroma from the top of her head that drifted towards Keigo. Keigo breathed in the aroma and got a relaxed aroma on his face, stopping the Metal Claw inches away from the opponents face.

The girl smirked. "Oddish, use Stun Spore!"

"Keigo, snap out of it!" Giovanni shouted, but in vain. Yellow spore finally began to settle on Keigo's body, and seconds later the spores began to take effect. The Charmander began to twitch while the girl called out her next command.

"Oddish, Absorb!" Oddish nodded and set off to shoot vines from the top of her head that wrapped around Keigo's body and lifted him off the ground. Although Giovanni was a bit frightened, he was amazed at the strength of Oddish's vines. The vines began to glow while Keigo began to cry out in obvious pain.

"Now hurl him away!"

Oddish swung her vines, hurling Keigo through the air until he finally landed a few centimetres away from Giovanni's feet. The boy cringed before he helped Keigo up from the ground.

"Oddish, use Acid!" she ordered.

"Charmander, dodge it!" Giovanni called out. Oddish sprayed a stream of violet acid from her small mouth that headed towards Keigo, who finally managed to evade one of Oddish's attacks. However, Giovanni leapt back just in time to save his legs from the violent poison, and he looked at the grass in front of him that was now melting.

"Are you crazy?!" Giovanni exclaimed. "That…That could've hit me, you know!"

The girl rolled her eyes. "Can we get on, please?"

Giovanni smirked. "We already have."

The girl blinked. "What do you mean?"

Instead, Giovanni yelled out, "Keigo, now!"

The girl and her Oddish turned their attention to a speeding blanket of flames that immediately crashed against Oddish's body. The tired plant had no chance from the sneak attack and fainted, leaving Giovanni with a pleasant smirk and the girl with an annoyed expression.

"Th-That was cheating!" she exclaimed as a red beam of energy struck against her pokémon's body and absorbed her back into the pokeball.

"You let yourself be distracted," Giovanni argued. "And, to be fair, that poison was going to hit me."

"Whatever." The girl started to walk away, leaving Giovanni with a confused expression.

"Where are you going?" he questioned, and the girl turned around. "I need my prize money, you know."

"You cheated, so you didn't win," she replied. "And anyway, you're too rich to get any prize money. So forget it."

Giovanni frowned. "Can I at least get to know my opponent's name?" he questioned, still bummed at the excuse.

The girl paused for a moment, glaring at him until she finally relented. "It's Ariana," she said before escaping into the forest's dark trees.

The next morning, Giovanni packed up all of his travel supplies before spraying a Repel on his body to drive away any wild pokémon. He had already encountered a lot of bugs during the night after the mystery girl – Ariana, he corrected – left.

Giovanni sighed once again as he continued to walk along the dirt path created for wandering trainers. He wanted to get to Pewter City as fast as he could. He didn't want to waste any more time battling wandering Bug Catchers or Campers.

"Nidoran, use Disable," Giovanni uttered through gritted teeth, and Nidoran's eyes gleamed white while his whole body was covered in silk. The Bug Catcher groaned, for now his Caterpie could not use String Shot anymore.

"End this! Nidoran, use Peck!" Nidoran lowered his horn and struck Caterpie on her abdomen, knocking her out in an instant. The Bug Catcher sighed, handed out a wad of cash before walking away, disappointed.

Giovanni grinned. He had already defeated loads of pokémon trainers in only two days. The two of his pokémon had certainly grown stronger. The flame on Keigo's tail had grown larger, while Nidoran's horn had slightly grown. If only Nidoran could master Double Kick, then victory over the Rock would surely be his.

"Keigo, what do you say we grab some food once we get to Pewter?" Giovanni asked with a smile.

"Cha, Char Charmander!" was Keigo's reply.

"Alright then," Giovanni said. "I'll call mom and ask her to loan some—" He ceased his talk when heard the loud noise of wings flapping. The flaps weren't quick; instead there were long pauses before the next sound was heard. Giovanni sent out Nidoran while Keigo took a defensive stance, afraid of whatever was causing the noise. The sound began to get louder, and fear crept into Giovanni's heart.

"FREEEEEEE!" a voice cried out, echoing through the forest for several seconds.

Giovanni paled. "Please don't be a Fearow, please don't be a Fearow, please don't be a Fearow…" he prayed.

Giovanni fell on the ground in fright as an enormous avian burst from through the treetops, sending leaves and dust flying in all directions. Giovanni saw, through his half-closed eyes, a ginormous pair of wings being flapped continuously, and a long, hard beak almost stabbing his body. He could hear high-pitched shrieks and cries from Nidoran and Keigo through the midst of the disturbance.

"Freaaaaarow!" the creature shrieked once again, setting his talons on the ground and tucking in his wings. Even though he was scared, Giovanni managed to stand up and look into the individual's murderous eyes – a magnificent, scary, and impressive Fearow, who simply glared at the boy.

"Shit…" he uttered.

He knew Keigo and Nidoran wouldn't last against the carnivorous raptor. This specimen was far larger and more dangerous that any he had ever seen, live or recorded – the obvious lack of stability exuded by the bird only frightened Giovanni even further. Giovanni trembled in fear, Keigo kept giving half-hearted growls while Nidoran simply cowered behind his trainer.

"FEEAAAR!" the Fearow cried, raising his head and displaying his impressive wings by spreading them out and blocking the sun. Giovanni and his pokémon took a step back in an attempt to escape, but the Fearow caught their movements. The beak pokémon instantly stabbed at the boy's feet, but he pulled his leg back in the nick of time and let the beak hit the ground.

At this, the wild Fearow got even madder. He continued to chirp madly until Keigo lurched forward with an attempt to shoot embers, but the creature simply swatted him with a broad wing.

The pokémon suddenly sprang forward in motion, diving at his Charmander, trailed by a white aura. Giovanni recognized it as Quick Attack, but seconds later he realised something else – the target was him.

He threw himself out of the way, but yelped in pain as the Fearow grazed him with a wing. Giovanni clutched his left arm, blood leaking out of the horizontal cut. As soon as he laid his sight on it, his vision went woozy. He knew there was no point in running. They had to fight. "Keigo, Nidoran, there's no point in running – he's too fast. We just have to fight, no matter how hopeless it sounds!" Keigo nodded while Nidoran did so in a frightened manner. "Now, Nidoran, use Leer! Keigo, keep shooting embers; burn him." Lowering Fearow's defence was essential if they wanted to stay alive. Fearow pulled his beak out of the tree, leaving a deep hole.

Giovanni frowned as Fearow simply batted aside the scorching embers launched at him, though his wings were singed at the tips.

"Keigo, use—" But he was interrupted as he saw a Weedle trying to jab the Fearow with his stinger, which obviously did next to nothing. The Fearow simply looked at the Weedle before swatting him away, sending him crashing into a nearby tree.

That Weedle tried to save me, Giovanni though, a sad smile forming on his face. He felt bad for the bug – he knew that a creature like that could not be able to stand against a Fearow that strong.

Fearow glared at Giovanni for the last time before taking to the skies at breakneck speed until he disappeared into the sky. Giovanni scrunched his eyebrows. Did Fearow just give up?

His thoughts were proven wrong once Fearow tucking in his wings and turned down, headed towards the new trainer. Giovanni's eyes widened in resenting awe at the sight of Fearow's narrow and lengthy beak spinning like a torpedo – it was Drill Peck, an attack that could bore through almost anything. Giovanni closed his eyes – he couldn't escape this. He waited for his moment to draw near—

—Only to be thrown to the side at the very last second by an unknown person and he slammed into the ground before he heard a loud crash. Giovanni opened his eyes to take a look at his mysterious saviour, only to find out that it was the girl from last night! He looked at her in surprise, searching for her name, but the girl simply slapped him.

"Ouch!" He rubbed his sore cheek that pained from the slap. "A-Ariana," he remembered.

She slapped him once again. "Why would you try to take on an adult Fearow?!" she screamed. "Are you fucking crazy?!"

"Wha…What?!" he yelled back. "I did not ask for it!" he told her. "This stupid bird just came onto me, looking at me like I was food!"

Ariana rolled her eyes. "It's a good thing I was seeing the whole thing, or else—"

"You were watching the whole damn thing?" It was finally his turn to snap back.

"I couldn't just jump in either! That Fearow would've killed me!"

Giovanni looked ready to brawl with her, but he was interrupted with a low grunt from the Fearow, who was struggling to stand back up. It looked like the collision with the ground was strong enough to knock him out, but a powerful creature like that was most likely just dazed.

Instead, Ariana took out a pokeball, enlarged it, and threw it at a Fearow. Giovanni raised an eyebrow at her with a sceptical look, but she simply shrugged. Sure enough, the pokeball wiggled a few times before clicking and indicating the capture.

"It looks like I'm going to be the strongest trainer ever." She picked up the ball from the ground and took a silly pose. Giovanni rolled his eyes, a visible smile on his face, and he got up from the ground and dusted his clothes.

"I guess that's the last I'll see of you," Giovanni said, but he suddenly felt something rubbing against his leg. He curiously looked down and he almost yelled out as saw a Weedle rubbing against his leg. A closer look made him realise that this wasn't an ordinary Weedle – he was the one who fought against the Fearow. Giovanni bent down and rubbed the bug's body, but he was careful enough to not touch the sharp and poisonous stinger.

"Hey, Weedle," he greeted, and the Weedle cooed. It was then that he figured out what he was saying – the bug was moving his head towards Giovanni's pokeball belt.

"So you want to join my team?" Weedle gave the equivalent of a nod. Giovanni smiled. A Weedle wasn't the best choice, but this one showed spirit. When he would evolve into a powerful Beedrill, his enemies would cower in fear. A second later he hurled an empty pokeball at the Weedle and hit the bug on the stinger. The sphere bounced off before opening up and sucking the Weedle into it.

Weedle showed no resistance during the capture, and the pokeball clicked after rolling around a bit. Giovanni pumped up his arm in the air in victory and walked up to pick the now occupied pokeball, reverently attaching it to his belt.

He turned around to see Ariana staring at him with a raised eyebrow. "What?"

"Are you seriously thinking of battling with that feeble creature?" she asked.

"As if that Fearow's just going to start listening to you," he shot back. "That's elite level, you know."

"Whatever."

Giovanni sighed. "Well then, I guess that's the last I'll see of you," Giovanni repeated. He turned around, ready to leave, only to be stopped by the girl.

"No you're not," she replied, and Giovanni blinked.

"What?"

"You owe me, Richie Rich," she mocked, walking closer to him. "And for that I'm going to be your travel partner."

Giovanni's head was ready to explode. "You're what?!"

"I'll be travelling with you," she explained. "It's just a way of repaying me for saving your life."

Giovanni looked at her with a deadpan expression. "Why don't you tell me the real goddamn reason, huh?"

Ariana shifted nervously around her spot. "Well, um…You know…I'll get a bit lonely during my journey and I actually wanted to travel with someone, so…"

Giovanni rolled his eyes. He couldn't take this anymore.

"So is that a yes?" she asked hopefully.

Giovanni simply turned around and started to walk away. He couldn't believe this girl.

"Aw, come on!" she screamed. "I saved your life! I SAVED YOUR LIFE!"

Giovanni groaned. "I can't take this anymore," he mumbled. Ariana, however, sped towards him and jumped right in front of him.

She smirked. "And anyway, you can't stop me from travelling with you," she said as she continued to cock her eyebrows.

Giovanni paled. He didn't know what bad things were on his way, but one thing was for sure.

He had a travel companion.

"Would you like anything other than that shake, sir?"

"No, thank you."

The waitress left the table, holding the sheet that had his order in her hand. Giovanni drank some of the water that was already kept on the table, while Ariana kept drinking more of her coffee.

"Why are you drinking so much coffee?" Giovanni asked, still shaken by the amount she had drunk. "It's not Monday, you know."

Ariana grinned at him and made her voice as hoarse as possible. "Sleep is for the week, my child."

She giggled with her companion merely rolled his eyes, bored by her silliness. He was tired.

Pewter City was a bleak place, the surrounding buildings modelled after the colours of rocks in the nearby wilderness. It was a large place, but not larger than Viridian City. Pewter wasn't a commercial place.

Giovanni smiled. He would most likely take down Pewter's Gym tomorrow in the morning.

"Here's your Strawberry Shake, sir," a voice came, and Giovanni turned upwards to see the waitress holding a glass that contained a thick, pink liquid in it.

"Thanks." Giovanni took the plastic glass from her hand and stabbed the hole on the top with a straw. Surprisingly, the shake tasted good. In fact, it tasted great. Giovanni couldn't remember the last time he had a drink that was as good as this.

A few seconds later, he looked at the glass and frowned. It was empty.

"I guess we'll have to get to the Pokémon Centre now," Giovanni muttered, but Ariana, however, did not listen to him. She continued to giggle uncontrollably for no reason between each sip. Giovanni sighed.

"Hello, I'm leaving!" he exclaimed, waving his hand in front of her face. A few seconds passed before she actually took notice of him.

"Oh hello, Mr. Sakaki," she muttered. "How can I help the rich brat?"

By the time Giovanni had had his lunch, all of his pokémon (except for Weedle) were ready for the gym challenge. Nidoran had perfectly mastered Double Kick while Keigo could easily tear boulders apart with the help of Metal Claw.

Ariana had got up late that afternoon. Apparently she had spent the whole night chanting 'He's a jolly good fellow'. He wasn't exactly glad to have a travel companion, but the notion of being alone certainly disappointed him. Hopefully no other wandering trainers would latch onto him like a disease.

An hour later, when everyone was refreshed, the two got directions to the gym from a few helpful people and made their way to it. The gym was in the hub of the city, and when they finally got to it Giovanni's heart skipped a beat in excitement.

"Today's the day I'll be one step towards achieving glory," Giovanni exclaimed through a grin.

"Why are you boys so excited to collect Gym Badges?" Ariana asked. "I would prefer collecting stamps; they're much easier to find."

Giovanni whipped around and looked at her like she was crazy. "Are you serious?" he questioned. "I need to collect Gym Badges so that I can compete in the Indigo League!" he explained. "That's where you can prove that you're the strongest in the region!"

Ariana shrugged. "Meh," she uttered. "It would be smart if you trained for a long time and then challenge the Gyms. Far easier, I guess."

"Shut up." Giovanni glared at her and forced her to put a finger on her lips. He didn't want to hear more of this woman's blabber.

The gym was very impressive. Three enormous stalagmites took place and surrounded the gym, and a thick, iron door was placed as the entrance. However, that was only the front – the back of the gym looked like an ordinary building.

Giovanni thought that he would have to manually open the doors, a feat that was impossible for a fifteen-year-old like him. However, he was proven wrong, when a slight push forced the door inwards.

The room was brightly lit, and the only thing that was present was a battlefield – a rocky battlefield that had flat patches here and there.

But it looked like there already was a challenger present in the room, and the Gym Leader was soundly thrashing him with his own pokémon.

"Come on, Flint!" the gym leader roared. "If you train your pokémon like that you'll be the champion of the sewers!"

"I'm…I'm t-trying, Dad!" the boy – Flint – cried back. He had brown, spikey hair, just like the older man, but his physique was lean. He had a visible worried look on his face as he trembled in his spot, waiting for the gym leader to finish the mock battle.

"G-Geodude, use Rollout!" Flint exclaimed.

"Hammer Arm," the leader lazily retorted, and Flint's eyes widened in horror as the Golem swung his arms at the curled-up Geodude, sending her flying through the air. Flint sighed as the Geodude crashed into a pillar on the battlefield. He pulled out a pokeball and recalled his fainted pokémon.

"Sonny, if you keep playing like that then you ain't gonna win anything!" the Gym Leader shouted. "Anyway, you did better than last time. I can see that Geodude is close to evolving!"

Flint's eyes lit up. "R-Really…?"

"Nah, I'm just kidding with you!" The Gym Leader laughed boisterously, and at that Flint sulked. "You'll take years to evolve that Geodude of yours!" Giovanni balled his fists. What kind of father would belittle his own kid?

The Gym Leader noticed the two trainers and gave a wide smile. "Hello, kids! I'm Dwayne Harrison, also known as the Rock of Kanto!" he roared as he continued walking towards the duo, his words echoing in the Gym. "What're you here for?"

"I'm here to battle you for the Boulder Badge," Giovanni replied, his gaze unmoving. Dwayne nodded and began to walk towards him at a faster pace.

It was once Dwayne was a few feet away from him that Giovanni could see him perfectly. Dwayne was a lot buffer that the way they portrayed him in the Trainer's Weekly magazine. His arms and legs were something from the Muscle Man magazine – bulging biceps, triceps, and a bunch of other 'ceps, all stuffed under a vein-webbed skin. Dwayne shouldn't have been classified as a trainer – he should've been classified as a fighting-type pokémon.

Giovanni looked at the giant with wide-eyes, still gaping at him until Ariana nudged him and brought him back to reality. The man still flashed a wide grin while Flint, who Giovanni assumed to be his son, cowered under his shadow.

"Fine," Dwayne replied. "It will be a two-on-two battle, while only you can switch pokémon. The winner is declared only when all of one's pokémon are out cold."

Giovanni nodded. Dwayne smiled once again before he walked to his side of the battlefield while Giovanni made his way to his own.

"Are you ready?" Dwayne yelled out.

Giovanni nodded as he pulled out a pokeball. He couldn't use Weedle – he would simply be squashed like a bug. His best bet was Nidoran, since Keigo too wouldn't last long if he took the worst of the rock attacks. "Nidoran, come on out!"

"Go, Geodude!" Dwayne called out, and a round rock with beady eyes and two powerful arms appeared on the rocky surface. He slammed his stone fists onto the ground before smirking at Nidoran.

"Begin!" Flint cried out in his childish voice, commencing the match.

"Nidoran, use Focus Energy!" Giovanni wanted his pokémon to put as much energy as they could into this match. Focusing all of Nidoran's energy would be an ideal tactic.

"Geodude, use Rollout!" Dwayne commanded, Geodude rolling towards his opponents a second later after hearing the command. "Let's end this quickly!"

"Now, Nidoran – Double Kick!" the boy roared, making Ariana flinch in her seat from hearing his shrill voice. Nidoran's tremendously glowing feet met with Geodude's curled up body and sent him flying away in the air until the rock crashed onto the ground, kicking up dust. Dwayne's grin faltered as he recalled his out-cold Geodude back into his pokeball.

"Let's try this!" Dwayne yelled out, enthusiastic as ever. "Mallory, go!"

Giovanni flinched as the massive Rhyhorn landed on the ground and shaking it as she landed. Her armour plates were smooth and shiny, although some of them were a bit rugged. She had an intelligent glint in her eyes and Giovanni saw her…smirk at him?

"Okay, Nidoran, let's get the same outcome! Focus Energy!" he ordered. The pinkish coloured pokémon's muscles tightened and he focused all of his energy in his compact muscles. Nidoran then began to paw at the ground, as if taunting the Rhyhorn, Mallory, but it seemed to have no effect. Mallory just lazily looked at Nidoran, as if the battle was child's play.

Dwayne looked over at Giovanni with lazy eyes. "Mallory, Horn Attack."

It was then that Mallory actually started to move around the field, and the direction was towards Nidoran. Giovanni was sure that his friend would receive any recoil damage from the clash, but this specific Rhyhorn looked extremely strong.

"Nidoran, use Double Kick!" Nidoran nodded and turned around, feet facing the charging Rhydon. His feet glowed with tremendous power and he braced himself for the collision.

Dwayne smirked. "Rock Blast that little bitch."

Giovanni watched in horror as three light blue rings formed and spun around Mallory's body; the rings then glowed white and formed large rocks that she fired onto the Nidoran. Nidoran destroyed the first boulder with two swift kicks, but the second and third crashed into him and pinned him on the ground.

"Nidoran!" cried Giovanni as he looked over at the poison pin pokémon, who was struggling to stand up, and then to Mallory and Dwayne, who had sadistic smirks on their faces. He couldn't let Nidoran face this all by himself. He'd had too much.

Nidoran, however, was still struggling to stand up on his feet. Although he managed to do so, his feet were still trembling under the weight of his body.

"Let's put this thing down, Mallory," the Gym Leader told the spikes pokémon. "Ready a Stomp attack – full power."

"Wait!" Dwayne looked at his opponent in confusion. "I…I retire Nidoran from the match," Giovanni finally said after a moment's hesitation. Dwayne immediately called off the Stomp attack to which Mallory happily complied. Giovanni walked up to Nidoran and carefully picked him up from the ground, paying most of his attention on the barbs that could prick him.

"Hey, Nidoran," he whispered with a sad smile, "you did great for your first gym battle. I think you need a little rest, okay?" He pressed the button on Nidoran's ultra-ball, and the sphere absorbed the creature inside it.

"It was a good thing that you recalled your pokémon at the right time," Dwayne commented with a nod of approval. "But choose your next pokémon quickly! I haven't got all day."

Giovanni gritted his teeth. He hated losing. He didn't want to lose in his first Gym match. He would show the Rock! "Keigo, I choose you!"

Dwayne cocked an eyebrow. "A…A Charmander?!" he muttered incredulously. "You tryin' to mock me, son?!" he demanded, as if he felt insulted by the choice of pokémon. "Mallory, don't go easy on them, alright?"

Giovanni rolled his eyes. "Keigo, Growl." Keigo mustered the angriest possible look his cute face could muster and let low growls at Mallory. Mallory, however, seemed unaffected by the move and simply growled back at Keigo, who cowered slightly.

Rhyhorn are heavy, Giovanni mused, looking at Mallory and the ground that rumbled slightly by each step she took. If I can use her weight against her, then… He noticed his Charmander casually sidestepping to evade the charging Rhyhorn, who had to practically dig her feet into the ground to stop herself from slamming into the wall. If Keigo can use Metal Claw on the right spot, then it would work! Yes!

Once Mallory shook off the effects and turned around, "Mallory, Fury Attack!"

"Keigo, use Metal Claw! Strike the ground when she's an inch away from you!" Giovanni roared.

Dwayne frowned. "What's this kid up to…?"

Nevertheless, Mallory took it on herself to attack Keigo while Dwayne stared at Giovanni. Mallory reared her head and charged towards Keigo as she lowered her horn. Keigo did as he was told – he held out his claws, which enlarged, hardened and began to glow bright silver. Then, at the very last second, he slammed his claws at the ground, creating a wave of energy when Mallory was just a second away from slamming him.

Mallory's eyes widened as her head crashed against Keigo's claws, and she was flipped upwards by the force. Keigo ducked fearfully as Mallory continued to soar in the air until she broke through a stone pillar and ultimately crashed into the wall, forming a small crater before she fell to the ground with a thud. Dwayne looked in awe at the Charmander's manoeuvre, but more importantly he was amazed at Giovanni's intelligence.

Dwayne recalled Mallory without saying a word and he walked up to Giovanni, who was hugging Keigo with all his might.

"You did well." Giovanni turned up to see Dwayne beaming at him as he handed an octagonal badge to him, made out of flint and with a metal base. Giovanni grinned and happily took the badge, where he stared at it in awe, Keigo jumping up and down to take a look.

Ash knelt down and held the badge between his index finger and thumb, flashing the badge at his Charmander. "Look, Keigo. Isn't it awesome?" he asked rhetorically, unable to contain his excitement. Keigo nodded and smiled back at his trainer.

This was his first step towards winning the championship.

"You did well, kid," Dwayne repeated as he continued to beam at him. "Next time you come to this place, I'll be expecting a rematch. But for now, go to the Pokémon Centre. That Nidoran of yours needs healing."

Giovanni nodded jerkily and he hurriedly made his way out of the Gym, but not before he was confronted by a very awed Flint. "That was amazing, Giovanni. I never thought a rookie like you could defeat my dad so easily!"

"Thanks," Giovanni replied, and once he took another step the doors of the Gym slid open. Maybe he could flash that Gym Badge in front of Ariana and show her what a good trainer he was.