--- Gym Battle in Burnt Town (by Michael Keens/ Exodus) --- Its been a while since my last Gym Battle, I travelled up the eastern continent, and had an encounter with some clowns called the Screwloose Brothers, but Armour showed them not to pick on ‘little girls’. We then went south, to Vermilion City. On the way, I left my new Magikarp and Butterfree at the Day Care Centre, to help them grow, and ran into a Drowsee with extraordinary powers. He didn’t stand a chance against Armour at his high level and I captured it, called it Nightmare, and he’s been very helpful to my cause. After all I had been through, the Gym Leader of Vermilion City had just left for a holiday and then the guy that had taken the last battle had the nerve to ask me if I wanted a Pokémon Battle for money. I ran out of money a long time ago and I’ve been living off other’s kindness for weeks. Still, I kept these feelings inside and brushed him off in my usual manner. I didn’t have time to mess around waiting for the Gym Leader to return, nor the money to stick around that long, so I snuck aboard the first boat I could and ended up here a few days later: Burnt Town. It... used to be a happy place, but a famous fire destroyed it, and many lost their lives. The survivors had many traditions and rituals, and stayed to rebuild, including the Gym Leader. How do I know all this? An old man told me on the boat, my mind was almost blank of memories so I had a willingness to learn. The village was as devastated as I’d imagined it, the new houses were barely stable, and the townspeople looked very sad. I’d say, almost similar to my sadness. I hope this wasn’t my home and that my parents weren’t... Anyway I headed straight for the Gym, which was also in a state. It was a large Colosseum, though battered, looked quite impressive even for my liking. I pushed the tattered doors open, and slowly walked inside. “Oh, a challenger, we don’t get a lot of those around here.” said a young lady with spiky flame red hair. She spoke as if she were depressed, she spoke just like me. “Yes, I have.” “Its been a hard life for all the survivors, but we push on and continue to live our lives. I may seem like a bit of a wreck, but I will battle as hard as I can.” “I understand...” I said with compassion. “No you don’t, no one does. Two on two battle. Charmeleon.” She threw the ball without much effort, and the red lizard Charmeleon appeared. It looked tough, yet sad. “I’m almost ashamed to battle you, but I too, have lost a lot and I must strive to find it again.” I said throwing Nightmare’s Pokéball. “Charmeleon, Slash.” “Nightmare, Disable.” The Charmeleon froze. “Confusion.” The Charmeleon was shunted back by the Psychic attack. “Poison Gas.” I commanded. “Flamethrower.” The flames blasted right through the cloud and hit Nightmare. “Drowww...” “Char...” “Leer.” “Hypnosis.” The battle was there, but not the usual emotions from myself or my opponent. Usually there’d be lots of shouting, and cheering, and general loudness to battles. This one lacked those things. Nightmare got spooked, but the Charmeleon fell asleep. “Finish it with Head Butt.” Nightmare shook off the fear, and charged, knocking the Charmeleon back, it struggled to get up. “Confusion.” That finished the first match. “That was a good battle.” said the Gym Leader without any emotion. It was amazing how similar we were, though our circumstances were different. “I choose you, Magmar.” “Mag...” “Nightmare, Pound it.” “Confuse Ray.” Nightmare was hit, it must have been good to beat a Psychic Pokémon with a Psychic attack. “Fire Punch.” “Drowwwww...” It fainted, and I recalled it. “Very good, but not quite good enough.” said the Gym Leader snidely, yet showing no signs of it. “I feel a little bad for what I’m about to do, but I must remember that she’s a Gym Leader, she can accept defeat if she’s beaten, and I must win this badge if I’m to gain entry to the Pokémon League in time.” I thought out loud. I picked out a Pokéball. “Go, Armour.” “RRRHHYYY!!!” “Its... so fierce.” said the Gym Leader a tad nervous, though unseen to those that didn’t know myself or her. “Armour, Take Down.” “Magmar... Fire Punch.” She was losing her edge, it was so obvious to me. The Magmar hit Armour hard, but he didn’t even flinch, his armour was tough, and he had the type advantage. He slammed his weight on the Magmar. “Smokescreen, Magmar.” He shook his tail around, and smoke filled the battleground. “Now, Magmar, heat things up with Flamethrower.” “Armour, try Horn Attack.” I couldn’t see the result, until Armour came tumbling out of the smoke with flames on its back, it saw them, and rolled on the floor once to get rid of them. The Magmar flew out of the smoke, outstretching its claws. “Horn Attack.” “Rhy!” He flew forward and collided with the Magmar in mid-air. “Stomp.” He quickly climbed a little, and placed its front legs on the Magmar, they both fell down, and the Magmar was crushed under Armour. He moved aside, and the Magmar lied a little way below the ground. “Magmar...” cried the Gym Leader running towards her Pokémon, “Are you okay?...” “Mag... Mar...” It smiled. It was the first sign of outgoing emotion I had seen from her. She wasn’t like me, she still had the ability to express her feelings for others. I had lost the will to do that along with my memories. “That was a great battle and it was nice to meet someone who understands what I’m going through.” said the Gym Leader extending a hand. “No. Compared to you, my problems are feeble, I still have a chance to make my life right again.” I replied, not shaking her hand and turning away to look at the sunset skies. “Well whatever you’re going through, I’d be happy to talk it over with you.” “No thanks.” I said, “I can’t waste any time to examine my life. I have to win more badges and the League. But... I promise to come back here someday.” “I’d like that very much.” said the Gym Leader extending her hand again, I wasn’t the handshaking type but I saw that this time, she had a Gym Badge. The design of it was many circles, coloured in fiery shades. “Its the Burn Badge. Oh I almost forgot, we don’t even know each other’s names. My name is Blaze Harley.” I took the badge and clasped my hand shut, holding my prize carefully. “Abby.” “Abby what?” “I... don’t know.” “Oh... So that’s how it is. Well you’re welcome to stay here any time, Abby. Do come back someday.” “I will.” I said walking away. I wish I could have stayed, Blaze was the first person, since losing my memory, that wanted to be my friend, but I couldn’t stick around. I had to know who I really was, and I would do whatever I could to make that happen. --- Rick's Second Gym Battle Chad's Forth Gym Battle Back to the Side Stories Back to the Pokézone