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Rick’s Damask Town Gym Win (by Michael Keens/ Exodus)  

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Its been a while, and since the last Gym Battle, I’ve managed to catch a Doduo 
and a Bellsprout.  
The Doduo, named Ostrio for the day that it evolved, was quite eager to test my 
Pokémon’s speed.  
Even Ooze couldn’t get a grip on it with his unique shapes, but because of its 
arguing amongst the two heads, I had my chance to strike, it took a lot of 
effort from Overload to shock the bird into paralysis, and now, if I want 
speed, I turn to Ostrio, even though it can’t fly, it can still leave opponents 
in the dark by staying out of their reach and swooping in for a Flying-type 
attack, and now travelling’s a breeze when riding on it.  
The only problem is that the two heads still don’t get along with each other 
sometimes.  
Next is Leafer, the Bellsprout I had set my sights on ever since the Gym Battle 
against Erika, everyone has a preferable Pokémon of one type, and this was the 
Grass-type I preferred, Bellsprouts were cute, and manoeuvrable because of 
their thin bodies, but had just as much attack power as any other Grass-type.  
Leafer was adorable, and a little young, so I gave a lot of care for this 
Pokémon, like a growing plant, except this one could properly express its joy 
and sadness, and assist me to take care of Water, Rock and Ground Pokémon.  

We had arrived in Damask Town, a place with many tall ancient buildings, with a 
few holy priests, and religious residents, there were a lot of gods and 
legends, and I probably didn’t know the traditions around here, so I thought it 
best to get the Gym Battle over with, and then leave this town, and since it 
was close, I’d check in with Blossom in Fuchsia City, and attempt a Gym Battle 
there.  

The Gym was a huge ancient temple, with the arena located in the courtyard near 
the entrance, and the Gym Leader was a calm man, sitting cross legged on an 
altar, he wore robes of a purple/ red colour, which matched his head and 
wristbands, he had long spiky dark blue hair and he was locked in a stare 
towards the ground, so I don’t think he saw me yet.  
I quietly stepped into the arena but he spoke as if he knew I was here from the 
start.  
“From the irregular unsure steps you’re taking, I’d say you were a challenger, 
three-on-three suit you?”  
“Of, of course.” I spluttered, “But how did you know I was here?”  
He looked up and I noticed that the locked stare was a permanent fixture on his 
face, I looked nervously at him.  
“From those gasps you’re emitting, I’d say you were surprised.”  
“Huh?” I questioned, surely he’d be angry at the shocked look I’d given him.  
“You don’t get out much, do you, but I suppose coming from me...  I’m blind you 
see, does that explain the stare? I can close my eyes if it makes you feel 
better, it makes no difference for me either way, I’ve been blind ever since I 
was born.”  
“So how is this going to be a fair Gym Battle if you can’t see what’s going 
on?” I questioned.  
“I may not be able to see, but my hearing is just fine, and my Pokémon can 
think for themselves, the only thing I can’t do is read your mind, what is your 
name? I’m Reece.”  
“My name’s Rick.”  
“Okay Rick, let’s not drag this on any longer, Go, Seadra.”  
“Go Overload!”  

“Draaa!!!” squealed the Water-type seahorse Pokémon.  
“Voltorb!” said Overload.  
I realised that this was one way to deal with an absence of sight, most Pokémon 
could only say their name, and that let Reece know who he was battling, but to 
anticipate if an attack was successful, or when to instruct his Pokémon, was a 
mystery to me.  
“Overload, start off with your Thunderbolt attack!”  
“You know what to do...”  
The Seadra disappeared and reappeared in front of Overload and blasted a wave 
of bubbles at it.  
“Vol!!!”  
It landed and shot forward, tackling the Seadra.  
“Now use Swift attack!” I shouted.  
“Voltorb!”  
“Smoke Screen.” said the Gym Leader.  
I could see that Reece would probably try to disable Overload’s sight, and 
since it wasn’t used to fighting blind, Reece would have the advantage.  
“Overload, quickly spin around and repel that ink!”  
“Vol?...  Voltorb!”  
It flew forward and spun around so fast that the ink simply hit and fell off 
without causing damage.  
“Use your Hydro Pump.” said Reece/  
“Vol? VOL!!!”  
It was too much force to get through and Overload landed a few metres back, a 
little dazed.  
“Now its time to blind that Voltorb.” said Reece confidently.  
“Sea-Dra!!!”  
“Quickly use your Sonic Boom!” I said.  
“VOL!!!” screamed Overload and a terrible sound wave was emitted, which 
actually flung the ink into the Seadra’s eyes.  
“Yeah! You got him.” I cheered.  
“Vol...”  
“Its not over, don’t you think a blind Gym Leader would train his Pokémon how 
to deal with the condition? Seadra, use your Water Gun.” said Reece.  
It stood still and Overload looked concerned, and then moved a little, the 
Seadra heard it and struck with many blasts, I couldn’t let Overload take so 
much damage, it was still young and underdeveloped.  
“Overload! Use your Thunderbolt! But wait until you’re hit.”  
It trusted me and when the first wave hit, it glowed and fired off a dazzling 
lightning storm which travelled up the second, third and forth blasts and 
overwhelmed the Seadra.  
“Seadra!” shouted Reece.  
“Dra...” it said weakly as it lay on the floor.  
“Very good, I should have known better than to battle an Electric Pokémon of 
the robotic sort, but I’m afraid I’ll have the advantage for now.” said Reece.  
“Slash!” screamed the Sandslash as it exploded from its Pokéball.  
“Uh oh...  But still...  Sandslash don’t learn any Ground attacks naturally, 
Overload, try your Swift attack!” I said after giving this some thought.  
“Voltorb!”  
“Sand...” muttered the Sandslash blocking the stars.  
“Now use your Self Destruct!” I yelled.  
“VOLTORB!!!” screamed Overload confidently, and leapt forward glowing white, it 
had plenty of practice with this attack, which made the early days hard to 
train this Pokémon.  
“Quickly, Dig.” said Reece suddenly.  
“Oh... no...” I groaned.  
A huge explosion filled the area, but a hole remained after the blast, one more 
hit would finish Overload off so I quickly recalled it.  
“Sandslash has a tough defense and lots of power, type advantage in the special 
department is what I need.” I thought.  
“Bellsprout!” said Leafer happily.  
“Leafer, use your-”  
“Sandslash!!!” screamed the Sandslash angrily as it punched through the floor 
and sent Leafer flying.  
It was a little burnt up and ticked off, looks like Overload’s sacrifice wasn’t 
totally in vain after all, the explosion must have travelled through the 
tunnel, but now I had to deal with an more savage Sandslash.  
“Leafer, use your Acid attack!” I said.  
“Slash!” screamed the Sandslash as it spun itself around fast, claws swiping 
and clawing as the poison came down and was slashed into droplets, and some of 
it was swung back at Leafer.  
“Bell!!!” he wailed as he was burnt by the droplets.  
“He’s good.” I muttered, “Use Growth and then Vine Whip.”  
“Don’t let him do it Sandslash.” said Reece.  
“Slash!!!” it wailed, and brought its claws into the ground and brought up a 
lot of dust which splashed in Leafer’s face.  
“Leafer!”  
“Bell...” he groaned, and then flung two vines forward, they missed totally, 
and the Sandslash remained between them.  
“Reel him in and use Poison Sting.” said Reece, surprisingly aware of the 
situation.  
“Bell?!” wailed Leafer as the Sandslash pulled on both vines and sent him 
flying towards it.  
“Leafer! Use your Stun Spore!” I shouted.  
“Bell... Sprout!”  
He shook himself silly and he became surrounded by the paralysing dust, the 
Sandslash couldn’t stop now, he had already sent the Bellsprout towards him.  
The Sandslash disappeared in the dust cloud, but then both Pokémon flew out, 
Leafer on the receiving end of a Fury Swipes attack.  
“Leafer! Razor Leaf attack!” I yelled.  
“Bell!!!” he yelled, sending the Sandslash back with a surrounding wave of 
spinning leaves.  
He damaged it quite a lot, I guess the Growth from earlier had been 
successful.  
“Now use your Wrap attack, and then try out your Slam.” I said.  
The Sandslash, while falling back, was tied up with several whipping sounds as 
the vines flew around all areas and connected with the Sandslash, but I saw a 
glint of confidence in its eyes too late.  
“Poison Sting.” said Reece.  
“Slash!!!” it yelled, rolling into a ball and spinning out of Leafer’s grip and 
shooting poisonous spines at him.  
“Bell...” groaned Leafer looking dizzy.  
“Finish it with Slash attack.” said Reece, and with one final swing, the 
Bellsprout flew back and flopped onto the floor, looking like a wilted plant, I 
quickly recalled him and sighed.  
“It doesn’t matter what type of Pokémon I use, if they become blinded, then 
Reece has a great disadvantage...  Overload could get around the attacks 
because its round and can spin, this might be a risk in the type department, 
but I choose Rocky!” I thought before throwing the Pokéball.  
“Graveler!”  
“Rocky! Use your Tackle!” I shouted.  
The Graveler leaped up high and landed on the Sandslash, crushing it with its 
weight, it had already been damaged by Leafer and so it was an easy victory for 
Rocky, but Reece still had one last Pokémon.  
“Return, Sandslash.  Well, it seems this battle will be difficult for the both 
of us, you probably know that Ground attacks don’t affect Flying Pokémon.” 
inquired Reece.  
“But Rock attacks do.” I added.  
“I choose you, Pidgeot.”  
“Pidggeeeotta!”  
“Rocky! Use your Mega Punch!”  
“Mirror Move!” said Reece loudly.  
The Pidgeot was rising into the air, but then came back down, and fast, a gold/ 
transparent fist along with it, and Rocky was forced down.  
“Use your Rock Throw!” I shouted.  
Rocky quickly swatted the bird away and threw a rock at it very fast.  
“Pidgeooo!!!” it wailed as the rock hit it and crumbled, and then it used a 
very strong Gust attack, but Rocky stood strong, only being moved back a little 
every second.  
“Harden!” I shouted, and Rocky glowed gold for a moment, the discomfort of the 
occasional dust wasn’t a factor for the moment, and he leaped up and punched 
the bird.  
“Use your Whirlwind attack to create a storm!” shouted Reece.  
“Pidgeototototototototot!!!” screamed the bird as it flapped its wings close to 
the ground, the dust was pulled in and thrown into the whirlwind, creating a 
sandstorm, which although didn’t lift Rocky up, it compromised his vision by 
the sand in his eyes.  
“Now, use your Sky Attack.” said Reece.  
The Pidgeot glowed, and it flew into Rocky, burning like a phoenix, he braced 
it and tried to counter it with Mega Punch, but he missed, he was blinded, and 
like Leafer, his efforts might be in vain from now on.  
But he was the only Pokémon left, or was he?...  
“Pidgeot!!!” screamed the Pidgeot, flying down for a Wing Attack.  
“Use Rock Slide, but don’t attack until you hear the Pidgeot’s wings!” I 
ordered.  
He spun in a stationary position and rocks built up around the mini-cyclone, 
the Pidgeot wouldn’t hold back, and swung its wings at Rocky, who in turn flung 
the many rocks onto the Pidgeot and buried it in a pile.  
“He sure ‘caved in’ under pressure.” I smiled, but the rocks exploded and the 
Pidgeot glowed, a gold force lifted up many rocks and showered them on Rocky, 
he was back to using Mirror Move.  
“Use your Seismic Toss!” I shouted.  
Rocky jumped up and braced the rocks falling down on it and seized the Pidgeot, 
before spinning in the air and slamming it on the floor, but it escaped his 
grasp soon after that and flapped into the air again.  
How much more could this Pokémon take, Rocky was panting, he was having a hard 
time, especially since the Pidgeot could imitate his attacks.  
“What we need, is an attack he wouldn’t dare to copy, but I don’t think he’ll 
get the chance, grab it and Self Destruct!” I shouted.  
He did so, but the Pidgeot squirmed too much and tried to lift itself into the 
air, Rocky wouldn’t let go, but was losing his grip slowly, he glowed white, 
and had to concentrate, but it was enough of a distraction for the Pidgeot to 
escape and fly away quickly by using Agility.  
There was a shattering explosion, and the Pidgeot was only a little heated by 
the explosion, it flew down for a simple peck and finished Rocky off.  
“You got close.” said Reece.  
“Really, I’m sure I can get closer than that, Overload!” I said quickly.  
“Voltorb!”  
“Quickly, Sand Attack!” shouted Reece, a little desperately.  
A dust cloud was hastily shot at Overload and surrounded it so that it 
couldn’t see the Pidgeot, I had meant to surprise Reece by using a Pokémon 
thought to be defeated, but I honestly had to finish this or Overload might be 
seriously hurt.  
“Thunderbolt!”  
“What?!” questioned Reece.  
The electricity was shot at all angles and so, aim wasn’t really a problem, 
one bolt hit the Pidgeot and Overload was able to concentrate the bolts and 
continue to shock the Pidgeot, until it was fried and fell to the floor.  
I had won, but only just.  

“And here is your Sight Badge, I admit, you overworked me and my Pokémon so 
much that I forgot your Voltorb was still in the running, I don’t mind that I 
lost, I’ll just have to train harder.”  
“As do I, thanks a lot Reece.”  

I left Damask Town and took a boat to Fuchsia City, at first I underestimated 
Reece’s Pokémon Training abilities, but he was just as skilled and able as any 
other trainer, if not better.  
To battle Pokémon without sight was a difficult task as my Pokémon had learned 
today, but I’d take these experiences and see things more clearly in my next 
battle.  

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Abby’s Third Gym Battle
Abby's Forth Gym Battle
Back to the Side Stories
Back to the Pokézone