“I’m going to the zoo,” Aly stated.

“But, why?” I asked, feeling a little hurt inside.

“I’m not interested in your Gym battle,” Aly shrugged simply. “I just wanna take my mind off of all of this craziness going on in the world. I don’t like feeling scared, Gary. You should really take some time off for yourself, too. Get into the history of Fuchsia City. There are so many interesting facts! Several years ago, the Pokemon zoo wasn’t even around! It was torn down. They rebuilt it again! Even the Safari Zone was closed down during that time. Then there’s the fact that the Pokemon Gym wasn’t even located inside of Fuchsia City a long time ago. It was outside of Fuchsia, run by ninja Poison Pokemon Master Koga, you know, who was one of the Elite Four after. He gave the Gym to his daughter, Janine, who was later killed when attacked by a group of other rival ninjas while she was in the middle of a Gym battle with another Trainer. Fuchsia City didn’t have a Gym for a while. It was closed down. Ozne was training hard as a Poison type Trainer and his reputation grew stronger and stronger and soon, he was recognized by the Kanto Pokemon League and was asked to be the new Gym Leader of Fuchsia City. Not only did he humbly accept, but he also rebuilt the Gym inside Fuchsia itself. He’s amazing, isn’t he? And he’s only fifteen years old! He isn’t that much older than me!” Aly’s face started turning red.

“Why’s his age matter?” I asked.

Aly’s face blushed even harder. “Because...!” She seemed stuck on her words. “It shows you can do anything no matter how old you are! What are you saying, huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Just make sure when you’re battling him, you pay attention to the battle and your eyes aren’t filled with tears from missing June!” She stomped angrily out of the Pokemon Center, each step a noticeable thomp!

It was the next day. I had just finished eating breakfast at the cafeteria in the Pokemon Center with Aly, all my Pokemon in their Poke Balls, on my belt. An exchange of Weepinbell for my Dugtrio was also made with Prof. Oak using my Pokedex.

To my disappointment, Aly didn’t care about seeing my Gym battle with Ozne, but was more interested in exploring the Pokemon zoo.

Her loss, I thought to myself, shrugging.

I understood she felt the need to clear her mind. I too was terrified over the things that were taking place all over the world. The news sounded insane, like an impossible nightmare. Mystery explosions, sudden fires, unsafe waters to swim in... But I couldn’t let that deter me from my dream of becoming a Pokemon Master. This might not even be anything more than a natural disaster. A freak accident. I didn’t really believe that, and I knew it, but I couldn’t disprove the hopeful possibility, either, and with a deep breath, slowly exhaling, I left the Pokemon Center.

Aly was nowhere in sight.

With a sigh and a shake of my head, I strolled through Fuchsia alone. I took my time moving through this environment. Just inhaling the fresh air here filled me with a joy and energy that took me by surprise, removing my concerns. The sun beaming above, and the simplistic aura of the city itself that seemed dependent only on the power of humans, nature, and, perhaps even faith itself from both forces to keep it thriving, was incredibly inspiring. The feeling it gave me was out of this world. The material and structure of the buildings could have been built maybe one hundred years ago, but still remained fresh with a relevant atmosphere to this day. A train station that looked like it was from decades or so ago in its old fashioned design caused me to question its age with the cleaned look it had that made it seem like it was polished or possibly redone just yesterday. An enormous fir tree reached up to the sky in front of the train station. I had seen it when I first entered Fuchsia City, but I stopped now to truly look at its great beauty and size. Fuchsia City was a little like Pallet Town, but with more to do.

This would’ve been a great place to live, I thought.

Further on were pleasant houses, little stores, and friendly people who greeted me, forcing a smile to my face. One house in particular made me do a double take and come to a stop.

Fuchsia City Pokemon Gym

Gym Leader Ozne

“This is the Gym?” I muttered, staring in shock at the purple, three story house with a red roof. I walked up to it and stared through the windows.

The inside was nice and clean. The wooden floors looked freshly mopped and polished. The battlefield was outlined in white paint on the floor. A young kid sat in the middle of the floor wearing black jeans, white sneakers, and a yellow, long sleeved shirt. His legs were crossed and he was reading a book. Beyond him I could see a set of stairs leading up. A few doors could be seen, closed, against the walls.

I knocked on the door and waited.

A few seconds later, footsteps approached and the door opened. The kid was staring at me sternly. He brushed his wavy, black hair out of his eyes. “Yes?”

“Hello,” I said, ignoring his attitude. “I’m here to challenge Ozne, the Gym Leader here.”

“I know who Ozne is,” the kid sneered. He looked me up and down. “Do you think you can truly beat Ozne? The Toxic Cloud?”

“Toxic… Cloud?” I repeated.

“That’s right,” the kid smiled. “His victories are so confounding, it’s like a cloud of toxins were dropped on the foe the way they drop like flies.”

I smiled. “Sounds like my kind of a challenge! I’m ready for this!”

The kid squinted at me and looked me up and down again. He opened the door and gestured me inside. “What is your name, Trainer?” he asked.

“Gary, from Pallet Town,” I stated.

“I shall retrieve Ozne for you.” He walked into one of the doors on the other side of the room. He came back out only seconds later. “Ozne is on his way.”

“Thank you,” I nodded.

It wasn’t long before I could hear footsteps approaching from the top floor. The steps were slow, light, careful. It took a while before the footsteps reached the stairs, making them creak beneath the weight of the person walking down them. The steps then hit the landing and walked across the floor above me towards the second set of stairs. The steps weighed on the stairs and I could see clean, black shoes. As the steps proceeded down, a pair of fresh black slacks became visible, leading up to a dark blue button up shirt hanging over the top of his pants loosely. He wore a purple beanie hat on his head with a fuzzy ball attached to it that bounced as he walked down. He reached the landing and continued to approach me with a smile. “Good to see you again! I don’t think I got your name the last time we met.” He extended his hand towards me.

“I’m Gary,” I replied, shaking his hand. “I’ve come to challenge you to a Pokemon battle.”

“Well, of course!” Ozne laughed. “If you’re ready now, we can begin!”

“Yes!” I insisted. “Let’s go!”

“Good energy. I wish you good luck.”

“You, too!” I walked over to a spot on the floor outlined to stand in and Ozne did the same on the opposite side. I thought about all I knew about Ozne. He had beaten Aly. He owned a Weezing. And… “Hey!!” I shouted out as a memory suddenly smacked me right upside my head.

“Yes?” Ozne asked, his eyes wide with surprise.

“You battled Leigh! The Dragon Gym Leader!”

Ozne’s eyes widened with surprise. “Why… yes. I did. A few days ago. Why?”

“Who won?”

Ozne stared at me for a moment. “She did. We had a three-on-three battle and she beat me. Two to zero was the final score. Why?”

“Oh, no reason,” I shook my head quickly. “I just met her and she told me she had battled you. I was curious was all.” Ozne might be a Gym Leader, but if he lost to Leigh with that kind of a score, I just might stand some chance. But then again, Leigh used a simple Dratini against me. What did she bring to fight Ozne? Ozne did beat at least one of her Pokemon, too...

“Ah, okay then. I could only manage to beat her Dragonite, ha ha.”

My mouth hung open in shock and I found myself unable to breathe. All the hope and courage I had built up inside of me deflated instantly. Great… I thought. He beat her Dragonite. Then what the hell did he lose to?

“Leigh sure is a fantastic Trainer,” Ozne said with a smile, looking up at the ceiling, deep in thought. “Only thing more incredible than her skill in raising Dragon type Pokemon is that look she gives me whenever she stops by Fuchsia City and visits me. She gives me goosebumps. If only I could muster up the courage to tell her how I truly feel. I can’t even defeat her in a battle though. How can I impress her when I can’t even do that? I try my best, but she is just too remarkable of a Trainer. You know, I didn’t tell you this, but rumor has it, the Pokemon League HQ is considering Leigh as a member of the Elite Four. I wouldn’t be surprised, I must say.” Ozne’s faced flushed with red as he spoke fondly of Leigh, his hands digging into his pockets shyly.

“You sure aren’t shy in front of the other ladies. They all fall at your feet when you walk by,” I commented.

“Oh, that’s just me being me,” Ozne responded, his smile fading. “I’m not after any of them. They just like me for whatever reason, but I’m just being friendly, not trying to flirt with them or anything. It’s Leigh who I have such strong feelings for…”

There was momentary silence, and after a while, I began to wonder if this battle was going to take place at all.

Ozne cleared his throat and shook his head, coming back down to Earth. His hands pulled out of his pockets and tightened at his sides. “So, let’s have this battle, then. Referee!”

The man who let me in the building smiled and stood straight. “Welcome, to the Fuchsia City Pokemon Gym! This battle will be between Gary of Pallet Town and Fuchsia City Gym Leader, Ozne! This will be a three-on-three battle. No time limit. The challenger, Gary, is the only one allowed to substitute his Pokemon. The first Trainer to defeat all of the opponent’s Pokemon will be declared the winner. Should Gary win, he will receive the Mephitic Badge. Let the battle begin!”

“I choose… Toxicroak!” Ozne threw his Poke Ball.

With a loud cry, a rather ugly Pokemon appeared.

I pulled out my Pokedex.

Toxicroak. The Toxic Mouth Pokemon and the evolved form of Croagunk. Toxicroak can croak to churn the poison in its poison sac for more potency. This Pokemon can poison anything that comes into contact with it.

I checked out Toxicroak’s data a bit more thoroughly. A Poison and Fighting type, I read. This should be a good match if I use… “Baltoy, come out!” I threw Baltoy’s Poke Ball onto the field.

“Good choice,” the Gym Leader said, glaring at Baltoy. “I welcome you to have the first move.”

“Extrasensory!” I began.

Baltoy’s eyes glowed gold and a multicolored beam was sent out, hitting Toxicroak and it screamed out in pain.

Toxicroak fell, wincing.

“Toxicroak, get up and use Feint Attack!” Ozne ordered. “Stop Flinching!”

What luck, I thought. Toxicroak is Flinching! It can’t attack for a little bit. “Baltoy, finish this up with another Extrasensory!”

Toxicroak screamed even louder as the attack hit it. It helplessly twisted and writhed in pain on its back, unable to escape. When the attack ended, Toxicroak somehow managed to get to its feet, breathing heavily.

“We’re not done yet!” Ozne said happily. “Now try that Feint Attack!”

“Baltoy, Earth Power!”

With a loud screech, Toxicroak ran up to Baltoy and pointed behind it.

Baltoy spun around to look behind it.

Toxicroak pulled back its hand and punched Baltoy from behind.

“Tooooooy!” Baltoy cried out in shock from the super effective damage of the Dark type move. Baltoy kept its balance and began to spin faster before stopping and glowing gold.

The ground began to shake hard and crack open in a line aiming at Toxicroak. The attack erupted underneath Toxicroak’s feet and it was thrown off balance and into the air before landing.

Baltoy spun in place, singing happily.

“Toxicroak is unable to battle! Baltoy is the winner!” the referee announced.

“Yeah!” I cheered. “Great job, Baltoy!”

“Toooooooooooooy!” Baltoy sang, spinning faster.

That battle wasn’t that bad at all! I thought eagerly. This is gonna be a piece of cake, just like I thought!

“Thank you, Toxicroak.” Ozne returned his Pokemon to its Poke Ball. “And you did just wonderfully yourself, Gary. Your Baltoy is amazing, even if it did have an incredible type advantage. Now, I choose, Ariados!”

“Ariiiiiia!” an enormous spider screamed once ejected from the Poke Ball.

My hands wrapped around my arms and I stumbled back several feet, staring with wide eyes at the monster that was before me. “What the hell is that?”

Ariados. The Long Leg Pokemon and Spinarak’s evolved form. A sneaky hunter, this Pokemon will hunt at night and attached silk to its prey. Later, it follows the thread back to where its prey and its friends and family are to trap and consume them all.

Just the kind of disgusting data I’d expected from a disgusting Bug type, I shuddered with disgust.

“What’s wrong?” Ozne asked, a curious look on his face.

“Nothing,” I replied quickly.

“Don’t tell me you’re… afraid of Bug type Pokemon!” he guessed.

I didn’t say anything. I focused on the battle. “Baltoy, another Extrasensory!” I screamed impatiently.

Baltoy used Extrasensory.

“String Shot your way to safety!” Ozne instructed.

“Arrri!” Ariados shot a string at the ceiling from its mouth and swiftly pulled itself up into the air, just narrowly dodging the Extrasensory attack.

“Aim and use Extrasensory! We can do this!”

“Sucker Punch!”

Ariados disappeared in the blink of an eye and appeared in front of Baltoy, then tackled it hard.

Baltoy spun rapidly and skid across the floor, crying out. It spun slower and slower and slower and finally, collapsed. “Toooyyy...” Baltoy said weakly.

“Baltoy is unable to battle! Ariados is the winner!” the referee announced.

I simply nodded, accepting that loss. “That was great, Baltoy. Come on back, and thank you!” I grabbed up my next Poke Ball. “I’ll make quick work of this. Hoothoot, let’s win this one!”

“Hooooooot Hooooooot!” Hoothoot flew out from his Poke Ball.

“Confusion!” I told him.

“String Shot again!” Ozne commanded.

Hoothoot aimed at Ariados with Confusion as the spider tried to escape again with String Shot.

The string shot out of Ariados’s back end this time and it pulled itself up. Ariados and its string became outlined in blue and it froze in midair. The Ariados began to twist and turn up the line of string that hung from the ceiling, getting tangled in it! It looked like Ariados was wrapping itself in the string it had shot out! Hoothoot’s Confusion attack had controlled Ariados and made it get caught in its own attack!

Once Ariados was wrapped almost up as high as the ceiling, hanging from it, swinging back and forth, Ariados’s creepy legs shot out and it wailed out as Hoothoot used Confusion to inflict damage.

“Ariados! What is this?” Ozne was furious. “Get out of there!”

“Zen Headbutt!” I told my Pokemon.

Hoothoot’s head glowed blue and he flew high into the air, hitting Ariados repeatedly, back and forth like a piñata as it hung there helplessly.

“Now Peck that string!” I ordered.

Hoothoot flew up and landed on the wrapped up Ariados. He pecked the hanging string between Ariados and the ceiling until it snapped.

Ariados yelled out as it dropped to the ground, Hoothoot flapping its wings to gently land on the ground next to it.

“Hoot Hoooooot!” Hoothoot sang.

“Ariados is unable to battle!” the referee stated. “Hoothoot is the winner!”

With a sigh, Ozne returned Ariados to its Poke Ball. “Thank you, Ariados. I apologize for that loss...” Ozne looked to me with determined eyes. “You are quite the clever Trainer, Gary. I’ll give you that. You’ve made me look like a fool so far, to be quite honest.”

Yup, I gotta agree with you there, I agreed silently, trying not to smirk as I thought of his Ariados trapped in its String Shot, getting pummeled by my Hoothoot.

“Let’s see you win against my good friend, though. Weezing! GO!” Ozne’s Poke Ball opened in midair and Weezing appeared.

“Let’s get that Badge, Hoothoot!” I pointed forward. “Zen Headbutt! Go for it!”

“Thunderbolt!” Ozne demanded.

I gasped, my body freezing at his words.

Before Hoothoot or I could do anything more, Weezing began sparking with electricity, and in the next instant, the electricity zapped Hoothoot.

“Hoooooooooot!” Hoothoot cried out.

“Now wrap it up with Sludge attack!” Ozne added.

“Weeeeez!” Weezing coughed up a ball of dark brown sludge that hit Hoothoot.

Hoothoot was knocked out of the air and hit the ground, motionless.

“Hoothoot is unable to battle! Weezing is the winner!” the referee declared.

“Whoa! No way! Hoothoot!” I couldn’t believe that was it for my Pokemon.

Hoothoot was evidently in no shape to keep battling, his breathing rapid and sharp, sprawled out on his back, covered in sludge.

I returned Hoothoot to his Poke Ball. “This’ll be over in no time, Hoothoot. Just hang tight. That was some great work you did out there,” I congratulated him. I looked up at Ozne with a smile. “That was a huge surprise! I didn’t think Weezing knew an Electric move!”

Ozne closed his eyes and nodded.

“Dugtrio, go! Time to get that Badge!” I threw his Poke Ball.

“Trio Trio Trio!” Dugtrio sang upon release.

“Earthquake, now!” was the first thing that came out of my mouth, instinctively.

“Triiiiiiio!” Dugtrio called out, rocking the entire Gym.

The referee spread his legs wider to keep his balance, as did Ozne, though the referee had better balance.

I tripped trying not to fall.

Weezing floated above the ground and wasn’t effected.

When the Earthquake ended, I slapped my forehead.

“Weezing is clearly floating!” Ozne snapped, raising both his hands to his floating partner. “Its Ability is Levitate! You can’t hit a Pokemon with Levitate Ability with a Ground move!”

“I didn’t think! I’m sorry!” I shrugged. “But we can still win this, no problem!”

“Your error will cost you entirely! Gyro Ball!”

Weezing spun in place rapidly and a silver ring surrounded it. It flung itself rapidly at Dugtrio, forcing it back.

“Dugtrio, hang on and use your… um…” I could only think of Ground type moves for some reason! It was, after all, why I even brought Dugtrio to this Gym! Damn it, think, Gary! I shouted in my head. “Use…”

“Giga Impact! This match ends here!” Ozne’s eyes were on fire.

An orange-yellow light surrounded Weezing as it floated in midair. A purple shade of light surrounded Weezing and it charged forward at Dugtrio, who cried out helplessly as the attack hit.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was thrown back by a sudden explosion and crashed onto my back, pain radiating everywhere from the impact. Groaning, I sat up a little bit. “UGH!” I covered my nose and mouth with my hand, and then with my shirt. It smelled horrible in here! A light smoke clouded my view.

The referee was against the wall.

Ozne was facedown on the floor.

Dugtrio was knocked out, his three heads slumped up against the wall several feet from me.

I slowly managed to my feet and hobbled over to my Pokemon, falling to my knees in front of him, unable to hold myself up, coughing from the putrid scent of the room. One of my hands rested on him. “You okay, Dugtrio?”

Dugtrio stirred, but didn’t say anything.

Ozne groaned and sat up slowly, looking around, coughing on the foul air.

“Get in your Poke Ball, Dugtrio. It smells too bad out here.” I returned him, Dugtrio not saying a word. My hands used the wall as a balance, moving up it as I got to my feet and then leaned against it on my shoulder.

The referee stood up, shaking his head and then choking on the foul air.

“What is that?” I called through my shirt.

Ozne walked quickly towards the front door, his shirt covering his mouth, waving for me and the referee to follow him.

We got outside and breathed in fresh air repeatedly, gasping and inhaling deeply. The foul air from the Gym could still be smelled, but it was a lot better outside.

“It’s Weezing’s insides,” Ozne finally answered me, still choking.

“Insides?” I asked, inhaling continuously.

“It exploded, the son of a gun.” Ozne shook his head.

“What???” I screeched.

The smell was exiting the building and starting to get into the city. People were staring at us in disgust, holding their noses and running away.

Ozne waved at them. “Ah, it’ll be over soon, you babies,” Ozne muttered, shaking his head. He turned to me. “Yes. Some Pokemon are capable of exploding. For Pokemon like Koffing and Weezing, a buildup of poisonous gases can result in them exploding for no reason and without warning. The insides of a Koffing and Weezing don’t smell too pretty.” Ozne sighed loudly, mournfully, and his eyes closed, shoulders slumped, and head lowered. “I’ll sure miss him. He was a good friend of mine. But that’s the risk you have to prepare yourself for when raising a Pokemon like that. I knew what I was getting myself into...” Ozne raised a hand and I heard him sniffle as he wiped at his nose.

I remembered when I battled June for the Thunder Badge and her Electrode had gotten irritated by the Toxic Spikes I had used on it and it exploded suddenly.

There was silence between Ozne and I for a very long, uncomfortable while.

I had no idea what to say to the guy. Our battle had resulted in the loss of one of his Pokemon. I couldn’t just leave, but what good was I here with him?

The air didn’t smell quite as bad anymore. It was at least a lot more tolerable than it had been. Strangers still seemed to react the same as they walked by, though, groaning and turning to us with sickened glances, covering their noses and mouths and speeding away.

I sat down on the ground.

Ozne continued to stand, watching the now gray sky. “Well, I guess you can try again for your Badge next time,” Ozne said suddenly.

“Wha...?” I said in shock, looking up at him, unsure of how to take what he just told me.

“You lost,” Ozne said calmly, still looking up at the sky.

“But…” I hesitated, trying to be sympathetic. “I mean, it was at least was a draw! Why do I lose? I mean, I guess since it’s a draw, you make the final call, but…”

“I don’t like your battling style,” Ozne stated.

“Excuse me??”

“Your battling style is poor,” Ozne continued. “You did okay against Toxicroak, but Baltoy was rather unprepared against Ariados. And that victory you had against my Ariados by wrapping it in its own string was clever, but then you attacked it so viciously afterwards. And then that cheap Peck attack to send it crashing to the ground? That was completely reckless and endangered my already bound Pokemon. I don’t appreciate how thoughtless that was. As a Pokemon Trainer, you need to know when to stop. You need to know how far to go. Our Pokemon may be battling, but they’re still living beings, just like you and I, and despite how durable they are in combat, they still do feel pain. You need to keep that in mind. Finally, that Dugtrio error you pulled by using Earthquake was just inexcusable. And then you were just standing there and didn’t even give an attack. That was terrible. You left your Pokemon defenseless. And to top it all off, you had two Pokemon battle my Weezing, and not one of them laid one hit on him. In the end, the match was a draw, so I have to decide if you earned this Badge by rating how you battled. That’s my job as a Gym Leader. I rate the Trainers and give them the best challenge possible. You did not do very well here, Gary.” Ozne didn’t look at me once while he talked. He was too caught up in the gloomy sky.

I glared at him, furious now! I didn’t exactly feel so bad for him anymore about Weezing! The urge to open my mouth and tell him off bubbled in my throat so freaking BADLY!!!! But I couldn’t. I knew in my heart he was right about a couple of the things he said. I didn’t agree with what he said about Hoothoot’s battle against Ariados being vicious. I thought our strategy was very smart and that Ariados wasn’t in any major danger at all. Ozne should have figured a way out of the situation I figured out how to entrap him in! But I did horribly with my Dugtrio. I kind of felt I did well enough to deserve my Badge, but I felt that maybe he was right that I didn’t, on some level...

“It has been decided that Ozne is the winner of this Gym battle,” the referee officially announced.

Thanks, I thought, and sighed. “Thank you, then...” I said in a low voice, getting to my feet, my eyes on Ozne’s black shoes before I looked up into his dark eyes. “I’ll come back tomorrow, if that’s okay with you. I apologize for not doing a better job battling. Thank you for the opportunity to challenge your Gym.”

“Come back anytime, Gary,” Ozne replied. “Just make sure you come back with a better strategy than the lack of strategy you had today.” His words stung and felt unnecessarily harsh, but, considering the ending of our battle we just had, maybe there was a reason.

I nodded and turned away, heading quickly towards the Pokemon Center.

*

It was late that night.

After finishing my dinner and making sure my Pokemon got to eat, too, I had taken some time to myself walking through Fuchsia City to think about my battle with Ozne. I then took a walk over to Route 18 where I could be alone with my Pokemon. “Listen, guys, I’d like to begin by saying, I’m sorry, Dugtrio,” I apologized, turning to him. “I sent you out recklessly and without truly considering the situation. Then I left you out there without giving you any commands, unsure of what to do. I will do my best to make sure that doesn’t happen again. I’m not even sure what was going on in my head there. Maybe I just was a little too confident in myself and didn’t scope out the situation before giving orders. Then, when my plan failed, I was just... stuck...” I sighed, my heart gaining weight with how much sense what I said made. I was so sure Ozne was a pushover I could take out easily, but when one little idea of mine backfired, I couldn’t even think straight and I ended up the loser.

“Trio!” Dugtrio said happily, accepting my apology easily.

I smiled slightly, not fully accepting my own apology. “Thanks, Dugtrio. I’m sorry for our loss, everyone.” I turned to Charmeleon, Primeape, Hoothoot, Baltoy, Kingdra, and Dugtrio. “I know where I went wrong, and we all had to suffer for it today. I apologize and will learn from it. I’ll take today’s lessons with me as we continue to travel and grow together to be the strongest team in the world!”

My Pokemon cheered at my words.

“We’re going to battle Ozne again, tomorrow,” I told everyone, starting to feel better and stronger at my Pokemons’ support. “Next time, we’re leaving with a Badge!”

The team agreed with loud cries.

“You all ready?”

Everyone erupted in excitement and energy.

And from there, we began our late night training. We don’t always train late at night like this, but sometimes, when I’m really excited to get in a bit of extra experience and I can’t sleep, if my Pokemon are up for it, which they always are whenever I ask, we go til we collapse.

Tonight, the usual pairing of Primeape and Charmeleon took place, Charmeleon aiming fire at Primeape, Primeape dodging and throwing punches.

Dugtrio and Baltoy were practicing with each other. Dugtrio dove underground and popped up in random spots while Baltoy followed, hopping over holes left in the ground.

Kingdra shot powerful streams of water at Hoothoot while Hoothoot used his Psychic attacks to force the water back at her.

I encouraged them on, knowing we could win next time at Ozne’s Gym.

Mad at myself for screwing things up the way I did the first time we fought.

Mentally planning out how I could beat Ozne next time, and who I should bring.

Unaware that the next battle wasn’t going to be anything like what I was currently thinking.