8Hey everyone! Sorry I've been inactive for so long. School just kinda threw me through a loop and dropped me into a gutter this semester :( But! I really enjoyed writing this new chapter :) I don't know where the inspiration came from, but I feel a lot better from writing it ^^ Plus, I just love Riley! Anyway, here's the long awaited chapter where Riley and Brock have their battle! Hope you guys didn't mind the last chapter's length, because this one is REALLY long! Enough of my chatter now! Enjoy! Disclaimer: Pokemon belongs to Nintendo/Game Freak/whoever did the anime. I own my OC's and Ami belongs to RoseyChickadee.
Riley and Rika jogged in the grass, pacing themselves so they wouldn't get tired. Riley had woken up early that morning, pumped up and ready to battle Brock.
Maybe... a little too pumped.
While waiting for Ami to wake up, Riley had gotten restless and started moving and twitching about, feeling the need to do something. As a result, Ami had woken up and, while still half-asleep, told Riley to go outside and run a little bit to calm down.
Riley and Rika then paused not too far from the Pokémon Center in order to catch their breath. The new Trainer then stood straight up, stretched her arms, and took in a deep, cleansing breath.
"Ah~! Isn't today great, Rika?" The little Pichu nodded in agreement with her Trainer. Rika could sense Riley's excitement and felt excited herself.
After admiring the morning sky a bit longer, Riley went back into the Pokémon Center to meet back up with Ami. Fortunately, Ami was now up, dressed, and getting ready to leave.
"There you are, Riley! Ready for your battle with Brock now?" Riley took a quick, calming breath before nodding excitedly.
"You bet! I just hope my Pokémon hold out okay." Ami giggled.
"Well, who knows. He might go easy on you too." Riley did her best to hold back a laugh.
"Ha ha! Not likely, Ami. I've never known Brock to go easy on someone just because he knew them." Ami shrugged and reached for her pack.
"Well, we won't know until we get there, huh? Let's go already." Riley nodded and grabbed her own things before leaving the Center with Ami, both girls, as well as Rika and Ami's Evee, thanking Nurse Joy for her help and hospitality.
Ami and Riley looked at the Pewter Gym with awe. Apparently, Viridian Gym wasn't the only one that was doing some rennovating. Pewter Gym was now double its previous size, at least on the outside, and looked like it was entirely made of rocks and boulders of various sizes. Of course, this was only the exterior.
Riley could only wonder how the interior changed...
"Well... ready, Rika?" The Pichu looked at Riley from the girl's shoulder and gulped before nodding.
The two Trainers and their Pokémon then entered the Gym, the inside just as awe-inspiring as the outside.
There were various rocks of different sizes placed carefully throughout the floor and walls and the platform that the Gym Leader normally stood was gone. The scaffolds that once held audiences or spectators were now balconies that looked a bit safer to be on. The balconies even had space inside of the building so onlookers could back up or run if they needed to.
While Ami and Riley looked around, investigating their surroundings, they failed to notice a very tall man approaching them from behind until..
"Pi-CHUUU!" Rika used her Thunder Shock on the man, who was now yelling in pain.
"Aaahh! Hey, hey, wait!" Riley then recognized the voice.
"Rika, stop!" The Pichu did so, though she was confused as to why Riley had her stop. Ami looked at Riley in confusion as well until she saw who the man was.
"Oh, it's Brock!"
"Brock, are you okay?" Brock, who was sitting on the floor, was dusting his shirt off before he looked up at the girls and laughed.
"I'm fine, ladies. I've been through worse shocks and volts from other Electric Pokémon. So, what brings the child of my best friend to this humble Gym?" Brock asked as he stood up and smiled at the two girls.
Riley giggled at Brock's question and folded her arms behind her.
"I just started my journey this last week and I'm going to collect Gym Badges!" Brock let out a hearty laugh and rubbed the top of Riley's head affectionately.
"That's great! I'm really happy for ya, kiddo!" Riley laughed and removed Brock's hand before looking around again.
"Hey Brock, I know you're not exactly the Gym Leader, but who am I supposed to battle? My dad told me Forrest went on some kind of journey of his own..." Ami looked on in surprise. This was certainly interesting.
Meanwhile, Brock nodded to confirm Riley had the correct information.
"That's right. I'm just filling in for him until he gets back. It's a good thing my office is in the city too, otherwise I wouldn't be able to help out. There's no need to worry about Forrest though. He just wanted to do a bit of traveling of his own."
Riley nodded then looked at Brock with a determined look in her eyes that Brock knew too well.
"Okay, now the more important question. Who am I supposed to battle to get a Badge?" Brock gave the ten year old girl a mock salute before bowing gracefully.
"That honor, mademoiselle, would happen to be mine." Riley nearly jumped ten feet high in pure excitement. She was so ready for this battle!
Ami looked over to Brock and got his attention.
"You wouldn't happen to need a referee, would you?" Brock looked at Ami for a moment, wondering where he had seen her before, until he shook it off and answered her question.
"I actually do have a referee already. Rocky! Come on out here!" Right on cue, the very boy that Ami met the other day and Riley had known most of her life came out of a set of side doors and saluted everyone present.
"Hey everyone! I'm sure you already know this, but I'm Rocky and I'll be your judge for today!" Riley then cheered before she held out a fist.
"Just watch, Brock! I'm gonna win this match for sure!"
Riley and Brock each stood on a side of the battlefield, smiling in the determination to win.
Ami, with both Evee and Rika beside her, looked at the two curiously.
"Hey, Rocky? Do you know why they're acting like that?" Rocky glanced over at Ami before smiling.
"Riley's talked about beating Dad in a real Gym battle for I don't know how long. The two of them are pretty excited I guess."
"But Brock isn't the official Gym Leader..." Rocky shrugged.
"My uncle actually wanted Riley to face Dad in a battle. Riley used to come here sometimes and learned a few things about battling from him. It's kind of a battle to see if the student has surpassed the master."
Ami nodded and looked back out to the field. Sure enough, the determined and excited smiles never left neither Riley's face nor Brock's. Such strange people...
Rocky then raised on of his arms high above his head.
"The battle between Gym Leader Brock and Challenger Riley will now begin!" As soon as Rocky called it, Brock and Riley simultaneously sent out their first Pokémon.
"Go, Crobat!"
"Let's show 'em, Catie!"
Rocky looked between the Pokémon curiously. Crobat versus Butterfree, huh?
"Match one between Crobat and Butterfree, begin!"
"Crobat, use Supersonic!"
"Counter it with Screech!"
The two Pokémon each used their attack, causing the bystanders to cover their ears. The two Trainers on the field, however, completely ignored the sounds.
When the attacks ceased, both Catie and Crobat looked a little dizzy and they both landed on the ground. After a beat, Rocky held up one of his arms.
"Crobat and Butterfree are unable to battle! Match one is a draw!"
Ami looked on in amazement as Riley and Brock returned their Pokémon to their balls. The fact that Riley knew that Catie's Screech attack would not only counter Crobat's Supersonic, but also cause Crobat to become dizzy due to its sensitive hearing. It wasn't going to be a win for Riley, but a draw was certainly better than a loss.
"Pichu, Pi!"
"Evee, Ee!" Ami laughed at the two little Pokémon that were now cheering Riley on. Rika certainly seemed pumped up and that energy was spreading to Evee and herself, in a good way.
"You're doing great, Riley! Just stay focused, alright!" Riley gave a quick thumbs-up before Rocky got ready to have the Leader and Trainer call out their next Pokémon.
"Graveler, let's rock!"
"Alright, let's see how you do. I choose you, Bell!"
Out of Riley's ball came a Pokémon Ami didn't know Riley had. She must have caught it this morning while on her jog.
"The match between Graveler and Bellsprout, begin!"
"Gravler, Rollout!" Graveler did so and came after the Bellsprout at full speed. Riley and the Bellsprout waited patiently before Riley gave Bell a command.
"Bell, evade it and use Razor Leaf!"
"Bellsprout!" The Bellsprout moved just in time and sent a flurry of leaves towards Graveler, all of which hit and interrupted the Pokémon's Rollout.
"Gra...!"
"Vine Whip, quick!" Bell obeyed and quickly used its vines in a serious of hits to the Graveler, who couldn't counter the attacks very well.
"Darn, Graveler use Defense Curl!" The Graveler curled up with its arms in front of it, simply taking the hits.
Ami, Rocky, Evee and Rika all watched from the sidelines in amazement. Riley's brand new Grass Type was doing perfectly in battle. It was a bit of a shock in several ways.
After only a few hits, Graveler suddenly tilted over and fell to its back. Rocky then held up one of his arms.
"Graveler is unable to battle! Match two goes to Bellsprout!" Riley cheered and approached her Bellsprout, holding its leaves gently and dancing a bit with it, which Bell went along with.
"Great job, Bell! I knew you could do it!"
"Bellsprout! Bell, Bell!" Riley returned Bell to her ball and gave the ball a quick kiss before returning it to her belt. She then resumed her position and held onto the ball with her next Pokémon, as did Brock.
"I have to admit, I'm impressed with you Riley. But now is when things get serious!" Riley grinned at her father's best friend.
"Really? I thought you were being serious the whole time!" Brock chuckled. Riley was Ash's child alright.
"Here goes! Onix, let's rock!" Brock released his Onix right then, which Rocky even had to back up a little from. Since when did Onix grow that much? It may have been the fact that Onix was in a closed space...
"Okay, I'm counting on you buddy! Let's go Rusty!" Out of his ball came Rusty, Riley's Squirtle, who looked like an insect compared to Brock's Onix.
The Squirtle gulped but stood ready. Riley took a deep breath, concentrating on the match that was about to start. She had expected to go against Onix, which is why she saved Rusty for last. Even so, Onix was a strong Pokémon and Rusty was still just starting out with Riley. Riley only hoped her strategy would work.
"Match three, Onix versus Squirtle, begin!"
"Onix, Headbutt!" The Onix lunged forward towards Riley's now panicking Squirtle, but Riley knew what to do.
"Withdraw, Rusty! Then use Water Gun from inside your shell!" Rusty quickly went into his shell, which was rammed by Onix, and started using Water Gun as he was told to. The jets of water began to hit the Rock Snake Pokémon, causing it to flinch backwards.
Riley took Onix backing off as an opportunity to get Rusty further back as well.
"Rusty, fall back and use Water Gun again!" Rusty popped out of his shell and jumped back a little bit, gaining some distance between himself and Onix.
Brock was about to have Onix use Tackle on Rusty, but the Squirtle had picked up its Water Gun again.
"Darn it. Onix, Dig!" Onix quickly went into the ground, making a large hole in the gym floor. Riley and Rusty looked around cautiously until the ground started shaking again.
"Oh no! Rusty, hop up onto one of those rocks!" Rusty nodded and managed to climb up onto one before Onix emerged from the ground, nearly knocking Rusty off.
"Onix, use Bind!"
"Water Gun, Rusty!" Before Onix could wrap itself around Rusty, the Squirtle had started up his attack again, hitting Onix in the face and continuing the attack.
After a while, Onix began to wobble in its stance before completely falling over.
Everyone waited in an intense silence for Rocky to make the call. Rocky took a look at Onix before raising his arm.
"Onix is unable to battle! Match three, and the battle, go to Challenger Riley!" Riley jumped and cheered, picking up Rusty and hopping around with him.
Rusty hugged his Trainer back, glad that he had made her so happy.
While Riley was still hugging Rusty, Brock approached the Trainer and her Pokémon, holding his hand out.
"I think you definitely earned this. The student certainly outwitted her master." Riley grinned and took the item from Brock's hand, showing it to Rusty.
"Take a look, Rusty! You and everyone else got the Boulder Badge! Pretty, huh?" Rusty lightly touched the badge and nodded.
"Squirtle, Squir!"
Brock laughed a bit and put his hands in his pockets.
"Riley, I'm definitely impressed. You anticipated each Pokémon's strengths and weaknesses and created a strategy that would help you come out on top! You have talent, Riley and you make the most of it. Congratulations, you're officially heading for the Indigo League."
Riley nodded in excitement, hugging Rusty again. The Trainer wasn't happy, she was ecstatic!
One Gym Leader down, six more to go until Riley returned to Viridian City and challenged Viridian Gym.
So? Was it worth the wait? Next chapter will be up... when I have time =_=; I'm gonna be busy the rest of my break, only getting some time to myself during New Year's. Even then, I'm not likely to write for this story... I'll try to not take 6 months to update though!