Chapter 38:  Shady Surprises (Part A) by Michael Keens/ Exodus  

Abby and I scrambled through the overgrown forests that surrounded the Fuchsia 
Gym, the Gym that would surely award me my final badge, and the Gym closest to 
home, though I’d never visited it before.  

Chad had been understanding that I wanted to make a hasty exit, and he was okay 
at training solo, he had my number now so we’d probably talk during the next 
four months and arrange a meeting place at the Indigo Plateau.  
Danielle had been left behind at the Laramie Ranch, with Lara after winning the 
big race, I hoped she’d understand that it was for the best, and that by doing 
this, all her dreams and fantasies about me and her would be nullified.  

I’d also talked to Blossom on the way out of the Laramie Ranch, and switched 
Shockwave for Dusty, and Digda for Spectre.  
Shockwave had worked very hard, and after the long race, he truly deserved a 
break, and Gyms weren’t always helpful for a Ground-type like Digda, so I chose 
to take a chance on my tricky Gengar.  

“So, your home town...” muttered Abby.  
“Oh, this isn’t it, Fuchsia Gym’s one of the few Gyms that isn’t actually 
located in town, it houses some ninja trainers that are known to be a little 
dangerous, its for the best that they’re in a secluded spot like this.”  
“What are your family like? Do you think they would like me?...”  
“I thought you knew, they work east of Cerulean City, so they won’t be at home, 
and then there’s Cody, who you’ve seen, and...”  
“And?...”  
“That’s all that live in the household...” I subtly lied, the last sibling was 
my sister Megumi, who I hadn’t seen in five, close to six years, after she 
disappeared and didn’t show the care to write to us and tell us she was 
alright.  
I used to look up to her, striving through Pokémon Tech to go onto winning the 
League and pleasing her, but now, I had no idea if she would see me, or even 
care, and winning the League would be for myself and those that believed in me 
rather than for her.  

Abby and I carefully crossed the plank that connected the forest to the Gym, 
hanging over what was practically a moat, with a drop.  
“Be careful Tetsubo.” warned Abby, behind me as we crossed.  
“I’m okay, and the Gym Leader is sure to have made access possible to this 
Gym.”  
“Yes, but how possible? And how safe?” asked Abby suspicious, before a sharp 
splintering crack could be heard.  
I snatched Abby’s hand and made a mad dash, it was obvious at what was falling 
apart.  
We were close to the end before the long board snapped in half, collapsed and 
fell, with us too.  
“Ugh, Dusty!”  
“Nightmare...”  
My Pidgeot wouldn’t be able to fly around the narrow chasm, so Dusty was all I 
had, we just had to hold our breath in case the troubling experience caused him 
to release spores of any kind.  
Both our weight on the Bug/ Poison-type was weighing it down, and we were just 
descending at a slower rate, when the Psychic-type appeared up top, and Abby 
had her Hypno lightly use Confusion on us to lift us to the top of the chasm 
and safely onto solid ground.  
“Nice work Abby.”  
“You were great too, and let’s not forget the Pokémon.”  
“Hypno.”  
“Vennnooo...”  

We entered the Gym, but were not immediately greeted by a Gym Leader, or a 
battlefield, but a long corridor.  
“Strange.” I said, “Unless this mansion is supposed to test us.”  
“I think that’s true.” said Abby, pointing towards a sign:  “If you can 
navigate the traps and mazes, a Pokémon Battle shall be next of phases.”  
“Oh well, let’s go, but be very very careful.” I said walking forward, into a 
wall.  
“Ow...  Ow...  Ow...  Ow...  Ow...” I groaned, as I slid down an invisible 
barrier.  
“I thought this Gym housed Poison-type Pokémon, so why are they using Psychic 
attacks?” questioned Abby.  
“This is no Psychic attack, its glass.” I explained, picking myself up and 
feeling the barrier until it ended, there was a gap that we could pass through, 
and then another glass wall.  

For a while, Abby and I stepped forward, feeling the surroundings carefully, at 
some times, I chose not to look, but to feel my way through this, appearances 
were deceptive it seemed around here, so relying on my eyes for everything 
wouldn’t be apparent.  
There was a creaking sound, and then shattering, as the first glass wall fell 
apart and crashed onto the second, and started a domino routine.  
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” I groaned, “Go! Twinkill! Psychot!”  
“Star!”  
“Ku-dabra.”  
“Twinkill, this is a lot to ask of you, but I need you to tackle through those 
glass walls, and Psychot, we need a psychic shield to protect us from the 
shards, use Recover after you’re done Twinkill.”  
Twinkill nodded and while it spun itself around, a golden shield was raised in 
front of us:  Reflect.  
My Staryu collided with the first glass wall ahead, and kept crashing through, 
while Abby, Psychot and I followed through after it.  

After the long run, the remaining glass walls collapsed on each other and 
shards were flung everywhere, the Reflect shield was enlarged to house Twinkill 
while it regenerated its strength.  
“Tetsubo, surely there are some safer Gyms you can win a badge from.  That 
wasn’t a simple maze, that was a gauntlet.” commented Abby.  
“I know Abby, but we’ve come this far, and I don’t think we can get back that 
way with all that sharp glass.”  
“I suppose so...” she replied a little crossly.  

We walked into the next room, I’d recalled Psychot and let Twinkill stay out to 
protect us, I didn’t want it thinking that I needed it only to pave a safe 
route through its pain.  
The path seemed safe enough, I charged forward, and was blasted by an Electric 
attack.  
I fell back, shaking a little, and saw that there were some small holes in the 
floor with some evil-eyed Electric Pokémon.  
“Voltorb...”  
“Oh, that Voltorb, it must have shocked me.”  
“Actually Tetsubo, that was Twinkill.” sighed Abby nervously.  
“You what?”  
“I suppose it didn’t want you to step on those Voltorb.”  
“You saved me from a shocking, by shocking me?!” I inquired crossly, “I fail 
to see the logic there Twinkill!”  
“Star...” groaned Twinkill sadly.  
“Never mind, a simple warning might have been better though.”  
We slowly crossed the hall, treading carefully, when another rumbling occurred, 
a couple of wooden beams collapsed at the entry point, and damaged the first 
Voltorb.  
“Aw no...”  
“VOL... TORB!!!” growled the first bomb ball, blowing a fuse, and then glowing 
in order to blow up.  
It did so, setting off a chain reaction, again, but with the exploding Pokémon 
placed in the other holes.  
“Aw jeez, it doesn’t matter how skilled you are, its the surviving that 
counts!” 
I complained, running forward.  
Twinkill helped out by flying ahead, and hovering over Voltorb holes so that we 
knew where not to step.  

We turned the corner, just as the last Voltorb exploded.  
“I doubt we can go back that way either.” added Abby, referring to the glass 
run.  
“Let’s rest here.” I said, lying down on the floor until my strength came back, 
except I felt movement, I was moving, yet I was lying down, and then I realised 
that the floor wasn’t as flat as it seemed, and looking up, the angles of the 
ceiling were all slightly wonky, like a fun house.  
“Tetsubo, look out.” called Abby, and Twinkill shot forward, bouncing along the 
steep floor and trying to catch up with me.  
I tried to pick myself up before colliding with the wall, but failed, and worse 
still, the wall wasn’t solid, and fell forward, hinges were connected to it, 
but at the bottom.  
The result left me hanging onto the bars of the window, outside the mansion and 
hanging over a different part of the chasm.  
Twinkill darted out of the hole, but fell down into the water, I sighed, but 
not in concern for the Pokémon, as it quickly darted up, and lifted me up as it 
spun.  
We fell back into the slanted room and landed on a flat piece of ground.  
“That was way too close.” I panted.  
“Star...”  
“We’d better be getting close to our destination, cos I don’t think I’ll have 
the strength for a Pokémon Battle if we have to go through much more...”  

I angrily pushed the next door open, except it was part of a rotating wall 
mechanism, and the other half of it hit me from behind and pushed me into the 
next room, Abby’s concerned cry for me was cut off.  
Three ninja stars were all I saw, and there wasn’t time to call out a Pokémon.  
“Yaaaa!!!” I screamed out, and dived to the floor, the stars piercing the 
wooden door I’d come in through.  
It rotated shortly after, and Abby and Twinkill entered.  
“What the big idea?! I’ve passed through your deathtraps, and now you want to 
kill me yourself?!” I screamed at the one holding the stars.  
She wore a bright pink female ninja outfit, with a skirt and red boots, with 
curled dark green hair in a pony-tail.  
“Star!” shouted Twinkill, spinning in the air, I backed away as a reflex, the 
ninja stars temporarily making me paranoid of any star-shaped spinning 
objects.  
“What do you think you are doing?!” the woman shouted.  
“What am I doing?!” I shouted, “You’re the one throwing lethal weapons 
around!”  
“If you hadn’t moved, those stars would have nailed your clothing to the door, 
you put yourself in danger by diving, besides, it looks as if you like stars, 
what with that Pokémon of yours.”  
“Not funny, and its not like I’m a circus assistant, I didn’t know you going to 
use me in an act!”  
“You must be thieves, here to steal our Pokémon while Master Koga is away.  
Subdue them Venonat!”  
“Veno-Nat.” said the unevolved Bug/ Poison-type.  
I was so angry about what she’d done and how little she cared that I pointed a 
swift finger at the Pokémon, “Twinkill, Go!”  
“Star!”  

“Venonat, use your Poison Powder.” said the ninja.  
“Venooo!!!” it screamed, shaking its body and dispersing many purple specs.  
“Use your Minimize.”  
“Star!”  
It disappeared as poison consumed the area and reappeared above it all.  
“Okay! Now use Swift attack!”  
“Veno!!!” squealed the bug, as many stars sent it spinning back, a taste of the 
ninja’s own medicine really.  
“Star!” shouted Twinkill, coming down with the little stars and whacking the 
Venonat.  
“Use Disable, and Leech Life.” ordered the woman.  
Twinkill froze, and the Bug-type move healed the Venonat at Twinkill’s 
expense.  
“Now use Sleep Powder!”  
With rejuvenated strength, the Venonat leapt forward and shook almost 
violently, covering Twinkill in dust and leaving it resting on the floor.  
“Now Tackle it.”  
It did so, leapt up, spun around, and let itself fall for another hit, only, 
Twinkill spun upwards and sent it crashing into the roof with a Double Edge, 
following up with Recover to return to full health.  
“More energy to suck out, Venonat, use Stun Spore.” pondered the woman.  
“Bubblebeam!”  
The dust was shot upwards, so that it slowly fell from above, but the beam was 
fired upwards, and tore a hole through the dusty cloud so that none would land 
on Twinkill.  
“Use Psybeam!”  
“That’s all?” I questioned, “Twinkill, take it to the next level.”  
The multicoloured beam shot from the Venonat’s antennas, but Twinkill’s Psychic 
attack collided with the beam, surrounded it in blue light, and shot it towards 
the Venonat, hitting it with both attacks.  
Its Poison side was overwhelmed by type advantage, and Venonat collided with a 
wooden support pole and fell to the floor.  

“No...  Venonat is the only Pokémon I have...  My honoured brothers and sisters 
shall have to protect the Gym.”  
With that, a Voltorb bounced between the two Pokémon, and exploded.  
Twinkill fell back, but not in pain, as the explosion was only meant to fill 
the room with smoke.  
“What is happening Iya? I trusted you to protect this place.” spoke a young 
female voice.  
“You should be able to outsmart thieves by now.” spoke a familiar male voice.  
The dust cleared, and now at the sides of Iya were a young girl with short 
spiky blue hair in a pony-tail, wearing a tight purple ninja outfit, and 
Sansuke, the ninja Pokémon Trainer I’d battled long ago.  
“I am not a thief! I have been through hell and back to reach this place and 
I’m not leaving without a Gym Battle!...”  

End of Chapter 38A  

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Chapter 38B
Back to Story List #21 - #40
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