Where’s Courtney? I wondered, looking around as I moved through the thick, frozen crowd. And June. We gotta get out of this place. This Gym is a madhouse full of animals.

“That kid’s got some genuine rocker attitude!” I heard Billy Jo say through her microphone.

“Yeah! I know what ya mean, Billy Jo,” Roxie giggled. “Hey, Gary! Wait a sec!”

I stopped and turned to her, the serious look on my face being amplified by the two huge screens high on the wall. What do you want?

“I don’t usually do this, but you’ve taken me by surprise by your determination,” Roxie smirked smugly, the screen on the right now on her face while the left screen stayed on mine. “I like you. I’ll battle you this one time, two-on-two, for the Toxic Badge. But, if you lose, our next battles will have to be by my rules. That clear?”

My face lost its serious stance and turned to shock. “Really?” I called up to her.

“Take it or leave it,” Roxie winked. “This is your only opportunity. Challengers rarely beat me. When they lose to me, they often times don’t return again. But I’ve never had a challenger so strong in their beliefs that they’re willing to pass up on a Badge like you! It’s so punk!”

“Thanks…?” I replied uncertainly.

“Well, get on up here!” Roxie urged excitedly.

Instead of moving towards the stage, I jumped in surprise as the crowd around me erupted into loud cheers and chanting.

“GA-RY! GA-RY! GA-RY! GA-RY! GA-RY! GA-RY! GA-RY!” The entire crowd then swarmed at me and gripped me tightly with their hands, hoisting me into the air.

“Hey! Come on! I can walk!” I was crowd surfing my way to the stage, and in the next moment, I was tossed, landing on my back a few feet away from Roxie. Standing up, I dusted off my clothes and shot the cheering crowd a dirty look.

“Garbodor, come back!” Roxie returned her Pokemon. “I’m gonna go with this one for the start of our battle, Gary! Go! BANG! ZOOM!” She threw her Poke Ball.

“Amoooooonguss!!” The Pokemon bounced on the ground, taking up the right screen.

“She has an Amoonguss,” I whispered. I looked up at Roxie and nodded, backing away from her to my position on the battlefield. A Grass and Poison type, I reminded myself. Excadrill would be great for this match. He can resist Poison type moves. Elgyem’s also a great pick, with his Psychic types moves, but is he strong enough to take on her Pokemon? Dugtrio’s also got a type advantage, but is he my best choice? Roxie just completely embarrassed Courtney with one Pokemon. I’m gonna need the very best Pokemon I own. The most durable. The hardest hitters.

“Yo, dude!” Roxie called impatiently. “Are you gonna choose a Pokemon or what?”

“Maybe the Kanto kid isn’t as punk as I thought,” Billy Jo smiled snottily at me.

“I’m just thinking!” I yelled at them. “Geez!” I looked down at my belt. Unfezant… Or… I furrowed my eyebrows and quickly grabbed a Poke Ball and enlarged it. “Alright! Let’s get it started! Excadrill, I choose you!” I threw his Poke Ball.

“Excadriiiiiilllll!!” Excadrill exclaimed, raising his claws into the air. “Drill? Excadrill!” Excadrill looked around in surprise at the cheering crowd before him. “Excadrill?” He turned to Amoonguss but noticed his body on the left screen and blinked at himself with a couple of wide-eyed blinks before returning to Amoonguss and giving it a serious glare, extending his claws at it threateningly. “Driiiiiiiiiill!!”

“A Steel type, huh? Ha! You think you’re gonna beat me by using a type that’s immune to Poison moves?”

“I expect you to be more than able to defend yourself adequately, Roxie,” I snapped, not liking her attitude.

“Good! This is gonna be sweet!” Roxie strummed her guitar loudly, making me and Excadrill jump. “And for this battle, I’ll be playing a special song.” She winked at me. “It’s from the first Poison On The Stage LP.”

The crowd went berserk at the mentioned album.

“Venoshocking My Heart,” Roxie nodded at her bandmates.

They faced each other, smiling, and then turned back to Roxie and nodded back.

“One, two, three, four,” the bald drummer counted, tapping his drumsticks together in the air, above his head.

I screamed and covered my ears as a blast of loud music smacked me against the side of my head.

“Driiiiiiilll!!” Excadrill cried out, looking around, startled.

Grrrrr! How am I supposed to focus with this damn loud music blaring in this gym? I thought irately, glaring at Roxie as she sang her heart out unintelligibly into the microphone.

What Roxie and her band were playing now wasn’t the complete mayhem and loud screaming I had heard when she was battling Courtney. The loud instruments being played were toned down just barely and I could feel more of a rhythm to the music. There were words that Roxie was screaming into the microphone that I couldn’t quite make out, but they were there.

I still didn’t like it.

“Gary, go ahead!” Roxie insisted, smiling at me, and then she proceeded screaming her song.

“Swords Dance, now!” I ordered. We shouldn’t have too much to worry about, I told myself. We should have enough time to spare to boost our strength since Excadrill is Steel. He can’t get hit by Poison, and I’m sure he’s strong enough to handle a Grass move. I focused my eyes on Amoonguss as Excadrill’s claws glowed purple and swiped at the air, boosting his Attack.

“Body Slam!” Roxie went.

Body Slam? Why Body Slam? Normal type moves don’t do that much to Steel types. I watched curiously as Amoonguss leaped at Excadrill.

“Amoooooonguss!” Amoonguss slammed into Excadrill, forcing my Pokemon onto his back. Amoonguss then bounced away from Excadrill.

“Excadrill! You okay?” I called to him.

“Drill… Driiiiillll…” Excadrill groaned, his body sparking as he curled up.

“Paralyzed!” I gasped. “Damn it!” I looked up at Roxie sharply. So that was her reasoning, I realized.

She smiled back at me. “Now, use Hidden Power!”

Amoonguss crossed its arms and its body was outlined in green. Its body became surrounded by light green orbs and it spun in place, firing the energy at Excadrill as he struggled to get back up.

“Excadriiiiiilllll!!” Excadrill stumbled backwards on the stage, taken by surprise by the power of the attack.

“What type of Hidden Power was that?” I cried, afraid I might have a good guess as to the answer.

“That’s scorching hot Fire!” Roxie screamed into the microphone, and the crowd erupted into cheers.

“He didn’t see that one coming,” the drummer snickered.

“Trying to win with a Steel type at this Gym? I’ve never once seen a Trainer pull that off!” Billy Jo laughed.

I’m screwing up badly! I shouted furiously in my head, gritting my teeth. I can’t focus through this damn music!

“Amoonguss, Energy Ball!”

A green orb of energy charged in front of Amoonguss and flew out at Excadrill.

“Excadriiiiiiiiiill!!” Excadrill was tossed back through the air and slid to a stop. “Cadriiilll…” Excadrill moaned quietly, his eyes closed tight in pain.

“Excadrill, get up!! Don’t give in to it!!” I shouted to him. “Just get up, will you??”

“Driiiiiill…” Excadrill groaned, his body flinching.

“This is over, Gary, ha ha.” Roxie strummed her guitar and proceeded to sing.

“Like Hell!!” I screamed at her, suddenly overtaken by fury. “I’m not going down! Excadrill, get up and let’s go! Now!”

“Driiiilllll…” Excadrill shivered again, but his body started to adjust upward.

“Yeah! Go, Excadrill! You can do this! We can do this!”

“That Excadrill’s still fighting?” the drummer smiled at my Pokemon. “That’s tough.”

“It’s luck, too,” Billy Jo smirked. “It’s not gonna be around for much longer.”

I wanted to scream at them to shut up, but I grit my teeth and focused on Excadrill instead.

Excadrill was still getting up, struggling to stand up straight. “Drill!!” Excadrill was shaking hard, down to his last bit of energy.

“Earthquake, right now!” I commanded.

“Excadriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiill!!” Excadrill jumped high into the air and slammed down, quaking the entire Gym.

The crowd was actually screaming louder than ever as the building shook dangerously.

“Amoooooooooonguss!” Amoonguss was overcome by the powerful attack.

“Amoonguss!” Roxie gasped, stumbling around the stage floor, holding onto her guitar.

“At least he damaged Roxie’s Pokemon.” The drummer was on the floor, thrown out of his seat from the Earthquake.

The volume of the music was lessened with the drummer temporarily unable to play, but not by much.

“It won’t help him.” Billy Jo’s feet were out of control as she struggled to maintain her balance, scowling at the ground.

“Amoonguss, use Bide!” Roxie said with a serious look, gritting her teeth as she struggled to keep her balance. She was no longer singing, but continued to play her guitar.

Excadrill’s too weak to go on much longer, I knew. We need to take it out or I’m gonna be down one Pokemon. “Swords Dance! We need to make sure our next hit counts, Excadrill!”

Amoonguss cried out and its body became outlined in white.

Excadrill boosted his Attack with Swords Dance.

“Now, Earthquake again!” I said firmly.

Excadrill slammed into the ground, the crowd not scared in the slightest by the powerful move that threatened the very building’s standing as they roared and cheered and chanted my name.

Amoonguss was taking a huge amount of damage, but it was still standing, its eyes closed tightly as it withstood the impact.

“Another Earthquake! Finish it!!” I shouted desperately.

“Eeeeeeeeeex…CADRIIIIIIIIIILLLLL!!!!” Excadrill’s next move threw me off of my feet easily and I slid on my butt, keeping my eyes on the battle.

Even the crowd wailed out as they collapsed to the floor.

Roxie, her band, and Amoonguss were all floored as well, and the music came to an abrupt stop.

“YEAH!!” I cheered victoriously in the now silent Gym.

Amoonguss suddenly let out a strong cry and its body erupted into an intense, bright white light.

“NO!” I gasped in horror.

A bright white beam flew out from Amoonguss and slammed into Excadrill.

“DRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIILLL!!!” Excadrill was forced backwards and slid on the ground, stopping next to me.

The left screen closed in on my Excadrill’s face.

“Excadrill ain’t do too bad, but it sure ain’t pull out a victory!” the woman from the counter at the front of the building shouted over her microphone. “Amoonguss has rocked hard and showed Gary and his Pokemon who’s boss! Gary’s only got one Pokemon left! My bet is that he’s gonna have the same results as if he were having a one-on-two battle. Roxie’s gonna sweep!”

The crowd exploded with thrilled chanting as they stood back up. “RO-XIE!!! RO-XIE!!! RO-XIE!!! RO-XIE!!! RO-XIE!!! RO-XIE!!! RO-XIE!!!”

“Oh, you wanna bet?” I grumbled, placing a gentle hand on my Excadrill’s stomach. “Hey, that was good, Excadrill.” I smiled as I rubbed him.

Excadrill’s eyes opened. “Excadrill…” He looked sad.

“We aren’t out, yet,” I smiled and nodded. “I have one more Pokemon left, and you did great work on that Amoonguss. I think I know who I want to use next, too. Don’t worry. This final Badge is in the bag.” I returned Excadrill and stood up, finding myself concerned over the thought that I might not even have seven Badges right now.

“That was hardcore, dude!” Roxie gave me a quick thumbs up as she and her bandmates got to their feet and took their positions to continue playing their music.

“Thanks,” I nodded firmly.

The drummer tapped his drumsticks together in the air and the music nearly shoved me off the stage as I screamed at the blast of music.

“GA-RY! RO-XIE! GA-RY! RO-XIE! GA-RY! RO-XIE! GA-RY! RO-XIE!” The crowd’s screams were a mix of the two names at once, everybody pumped up over our battle.

“And I see you’re digging the tunes, too!” She pointed at my feet.

I looked down and noticed that my right foot was tapping against the floor to the beat of the song that was playing! “Oh!” I stopped it from moving and glared up at Roxie.

“Your head’s totally been grooving during our battle, too, dude!” Roxie winked at me. “Don’t be embarrassed. I appreciate the love!”

I sighed and shook my head, looking down. “Well, anyway, let’s continue the battle!” I looked back up at her.

“We’re waiting on you, dude!” Roxie smiled.

“It’s time for me to go with this Pokemon!” I grabbed my Poke Ball and pressed the middle button, enlarging the size of it. My eyes squinted at it determinedly. “I know I can count on you to pull through, for sure. Let’s go, Drifloon!!” I threw the Dusk Ball at the stage floor.

The ball bounced twice before popping open and sending out Drifloon.

“Floooooooon!!” Drifloon spun gently in the air, but she suddenly raised her appendages to the side of her head and closed her eyes, screaming out loudly, shocked by the loud music.

“Drifloon, just focus! Don’t worry about the music!”

“FLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!” Drifloon howled, her voice giving me the chills.

“That thing is so rad!!” Roxie said, strumming her guitar even louder.

The entire crowd got louder and the music’s volume increased.

“Drifloon, let’s start with something a little different this time! Use Calm Mind!” I told her.

Drifloon’s eyes tightened and she shook her head hard, unable to focus.

“Kind of difficult to keep cool with such rockin’ music blasting, huh?” Roxie laughed.

“Then use Thunder Wave!” I grimaced.

Drifloon lowered her appendages and pointed them at Amoonguss as they sparked with light blue energy.

“Amooooooooon!” Amoonguss bent over and twitched in pain as Paralysis took over.

“Now use Hex, Drifloon!”

Drifloon’s eyes glowed purple and light red, and Amoonguss became outlined in a similar color and started to ascend into the air, matching Drifloon’s level.

“Amoong! Amoooooong! Amooooooooonguss!” Amoonguss squirmed.

“Flooooooooooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnn!!!!!!” Drifloon’s eyes suddenly closed and she raised her appendages to the side of her head again, breaking her focus due to the loud music.

Amoonguss was released from the Hex attack and it dropped.

“Drifloon! What happened?” I glared at Roxie. “This isn’t fair! My Pokemon can’t even focus on the battle! She doesn’t like the music!”

“Dude, how can your Pokemon not like this?! It’s ROCK AND ROOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLL!!” She closed her eyes and continued to sing into her microphone, making her guitar whine even louder.

“Well, my Drifloon doesn’t like it!! Can’t you see that? Turn it off!! It’s annoying, anyway! I don’t even like it!”

The cheering from the crowd went silent, and the only noise remaining was the music.

Roxie and her band were now glaring at me coldly as they continued playing.

I did a double take at the crowd when I realized that they too were giving me the same evil stare. “Just my opinion… No offense,” I said nervously.

“We don’t even turn down our music for the COPS!” Roxie said angrily. “TURN IT UP, EVERYBODY!!!!”

The music got stunningly louder, the crowd’s roars making the noise far worse, and I knew I’d be deaf before I ever got out of this Gym, if I got out of here alive. The way things were looking, I was going to be killed whether I won or lost this battle.

“FLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNN!!!!!!!” Drifloon suddenly attacked Amoonguss with Gust, creating a purple tornado as her body glowed purple.

“Amoooooooooooooon!!” Amoonguss was sucked inside. In the next few seconds, it was tossed out and the tornado vanished. Amoonguss tumbled on the ground and came to a stop near Roxie. “Moonguss…”

The music went silent and the crowd got quiet, everyone’s eyes on the stage, staring at Amoonguss.

The right screen got closer on Amoonguss.

“Amoonguss! Get up right now!” Roxie barked at her Pokemon.

Amoonguss moaned weakly but didn’t move.

“I…” the female announcer said over the microphone. “No way… Impossible… It… It looks as if Amoonguss has been defeated! Drifloon has actually won!!”

“Drifloon, you did it! We beat one! We’re just one Pokemon away from our Badge!” I was leaping in the air excitedly. “Let’s do this, Drifloon!” I beamed proudly.

My Pokemon spun in circles, her face blushing strongly, crying her name out softly.

“Just wait until I actually give you orders before attacking, though, okay?” I added.

The red on Drifloon’s face darkened and she stared at me, nodding her head quickly.

I winked at her. “Good girl.”

Drifloon looked away from me shyly, lowering her head.

“Amoonguss, you rocked hard! Come back!” Roxie returned Amoonguss and looked at me sharply. “I know exactly how to handle you. It’s time to turn this up to level fifteen with my best Pokemon! Garbodor, BANG! ZOOM!” She threw her Poke Ball.

“Garboooodor!” Garbodor landed.

“Garbodor? The same one you beat Courtney with?” I asked her.

“That’s right,” Roxie nodded. “And to go along with this battle, I’ll be playing a classic from my album, BANG! ZOOM! called, Kiss My Poison Tail!” Roxie gave me a dirty look, and something told me that she might actually be hating me for what I said about her music.

The crowd erupted in cheers as the music started up at a decent enough volume, and then exploded into heavy, dark, loud music that made my Drifloon start to spin around in distress, her appendages at the sides of her head, her eyes closed, crying out loud against the music.

“But, you already used that Pokemon, Roxie!” I complained. “I want to battle your fresh Pokemon!”

“Dude, stop being such a buzzkill, will you?” Roxie said heatedly. “I agreed to battle you two-on-two! What more do you want? Garbodor didn’t even take any damage against Courtney! It’s totally fine! Now let’s battle already!” She leaned into her microphone and her voice went really deep and dark as she sang loudly.

The music pounding against my head forced my eyes closed, and I shook my head, making it throb even worse. “FINE!!” I shouted, opening my eyes. Anything to get out of this place! “Drifloon, use Thunder Wave again!”

Drifloon didn’t listen to me, still screaming as she struggled against the music.

“Garbodor, use Gunk Shot, now!” Roxie ordered.

“Drifloon, dodge that!”

Garbodor cupped its hands and a silver light sparked between them. The light turned into a black bag of garbage, outlined in purple light, and Garbodor flung it at Drifloon.

“FLOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNN!!!” Drifloon was hit by the exploding bag, glowing purple trash bursting free. “Floon! Floooooonnn…” Drifloon dropped to the ground. “Flooooooonn…” She twitched on the stage, her eyes closed.

“Drifloon! NO! You’re Poisoned!” I gasped as I saw the dark shade of purple across her face, barely visible against the purple color of her body.

“Flooooooonnnn… Flooooooooooooooonn…” Drifloon moaned.

“Now let’s end this with Venoshock!!” Roxie called happily, smiling as she continued her strangely grungy screaming for this song.

“Garrrrrrrbodor!” Garbodor’s right hand pointed at Drifloon and spewed out the green liquid.

“Drifloon, listen to me! You’ve got to get out of the way!” I pleaded with her.

Drifloon was barely able to roll over to the side, but it wasn’t enough of a movement.

Venoshock coated her body and she shrieked helplessly.

“That should just about do it,” the drummer said, beating away at his drums.

“Coming into this Gym and disrespecting our music?” Billy Jo sneered at me. “You deserved this loss.”

“Not so fast,” Roxie said, looking down at my Drifloon in disgust. “It’s still moving!”

“Drifloon!” I watched Drifloon, my body trembling with fear and concern, my head in intense pain. I felt worn out just from being in this Gym, listening to this exhausting music. “Drifloon, can you hear me? Are you okay??”

Drifloon’s appendages were sliding on the ground, slowly maneuvering towards her head. They reached the sides of her head and pressed against them. She slowly began to sit up, groaning, shivering on the ground.

“You’re hurting my Drifloon!! We can’t fight under these conditions!! This isn’t right!!” I begged Roxie. “Please! Don’t you understand? Don’t you have any compassion??”

“Listen, man,” Roxie said strictly. “Some Gyms battle using a water field. How’s a Fire type supposed to handle that? Other Gyms have been inside of volcanoes. How can a Grass type deal with that? Other Gyms have battles inside of buildings. How can Water types who typically battle their best in the water, cope with that? Some battles take place at night! What if a Pokemon is afraid of the dark? My Gym has poison on the stage!”

The crowd burst into laughter and cheers at Roxie’s last sentence.

“My Gym is here, with music blaring, because me, my crowd, and my Pokemon focus better under these conditions,” Roxie continued. “If you can’t handle that, then maybe you should just leave. I’m not gonna change anything more to make you happy. This is MY GYM!!!!”

“RO-XIE!!!! RO-XIE!!!! RO-XIE!!!! RO-XIE!!!! RO-XIE!!!!” the crowd chanted.

“You hear that??! You hear the name they’re chanting?!!” Roxie raged at me with fierce pride. “ROXIE!! That’s ME!!! Superstar Roxie!! I don’t have to listen to you, who doesn’t even appreciate my music!! Now continue battling or beat it!!”

The crowd went crazy as they continued chanting Roxie’s name and roaring their approval of her spoken words.

I gritted my teeth, glaring at Roxie, furious with her attitude, but unsure of what I should do.

Drifloon was in agony on the floor, suffering from her Poisoning.

I watched her sadly. This isn’t fair, I knew. We can’t fight fairly like this. We can’t win. If this is how Roxie wants to play, then I’m out of here.

“FINISH IT OFF WITH VENOSHOCK!!!” Roxie pointed her guitar at Drifloon.

I scooped up Drifloon’s Dusk Ball quickly.

Garbodor pointed its hand at Drifloon and fired with its attack.

As my hand started to rise, I froze as I saw a startling sight.

“FLOOOOON!!” Drifloon’s body erupted into a bright light and ascended into the air, dodging the oncoming damage.

I swallowed hard. “Drifloon!! WHOA!!”

Her body shifted and grew, increasing in size and growing rounder.

“Drifloon…” I whispered, mesmerized.

The light flashed and vanished from her body.

I gasped, smiling as I took out my Pokedex.

Drifblim. The Blimp Pokemon and Drifloon’s evolved stage. This Pokemon has the strength to carry people, though it cannot control where it goes, like a real hot-air balloon. In the daytime, wild Drifblim get drowsy as they float through the sky.

“Bliiiiiiiiiimm!” Drifblim said. “Bliiiiiiiiiiiiiimmmmmm!!” She raised her appendages to the sides of her head again and cried out in anguish.

“Drifblim?” I called to her.

Her body lowered to the ground as she continued suffering from her Poisoning.

I growled. “Enough is enough!” I raised her Dusk Ball. “Drifloon-!”

Before I could correct what I had said and try to return my Pokemon, Drifblim let out a loud, piercing shriek that tore into my ears and made me flinch in pain, and she started spinning, flying around the stage frantically. She flew into the air and slammed into a speaker high on the wall at the ceiling, wrecking it.

“Drifblim!!” I called out to her, watching as the speaker smashed to the floor of the stage.

Drifblim continued shrieking and she spun into another speaker high up in the air.

The speaker was smashed and fell to the ground near the crowd, breaking into pieces.

Roxie and her band stopped playing their music and watched my Drifblim in awe.

The crowd was cheering now, going crazy as Drifblim flew around recklessly. “DRIF-BLIM!!! DRIF-BLIM!!! DRIF-BLIM!!! DRIF-BLIM!!! DRIF-BLIM!!! DRIF-BLIM!!!”

“DRIFBLIM!” I shouted as she spun to the ground, heading towards me, Roxie, and her band.

Roxie moved back quickly as Drifblim flew right by her. “Whoa! Hey, that’s mine!” Roxie looked at her hands in shock, her guitar now in the hold of Drifblim.

Drifblim’s appendages reached out as she flew near the member of the band with the guitar who hadn’t spoken a word since I had gotten here. “Hey!” she cried as Drifblim snatched away her instrument and flew away.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Billy Jo yelled as Drifblim took away her guitar as well.

“My drumsticks, man!” the drummer complained as Drifblim snatched those away, too.

The music was silenced.

“Give that back!” Roxie demanded as Drifblim stopped spinning and floated in the air silently.

The crowd was now watching Drifblim quietly, anxiously, waiting to see what she was going to do next.

Drifblim’s body became surrounded by a circle of dark, sparking orbs, and she let out another shriek. Her body spun in place and she smacked the orbs with the instruments she was holding, sending them flying throughout the Gym.

“Shadow Ball! What are you doing, Drifblim??” I gasped, backing away as more orbs formed a circle around my Pokemon’s body, and she proceeded to bat them away from her, her body a spinning blur.

“Drifblim, stop this! WHOA!” I ducked as a pair of Shadow Balls flew at me.

Roxie’s band fled from the stage as Drifblim’s attacks smashed into the drummer’s instruments and crashed through the stage, leaving holes in the floor. More Shadow Balls were flung about, a couple crashing into the screens displaying the chaos, leaving the monitors hanging, but shattered. Sparks popped and fell as glass sprinkled the area.

Only Roxie and her Garbodor remained, watching my Drifblim in disbelief.

The crowd fled as well, screams and cries heard as people were threatened by Drifblim’s continuous onslaught of Shadow Balls.

“This is not cool!” Roxie shouted, looking up at my Drifblim in fear. “Dude, you have to stop that thing! It’s out of control!”

I watched helplessly, confused, as Drifblim stopped spinning and began smashing the guitars and drumsticks against the floor, completely destroying them.

SMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The huge light structure that was above the crowd and had been flashing a series of different colored lights all over the place when we first entered the Gym, exploded as one of the last Shadow Balls smashed into it, and huge sparks showered over the terrified crowd as they tried to leave the building.

The crowd scrambled over each other, trying to save themselves, the sparks falling around them.

My eyes widened and I backed up as one large spark flew towards the stage. A loud gasp escaped my throat.

Roxie gasped as well.

“GARBODOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!” Garbodor bellowed as the spark landed on its face. It covered its face with its hands and stumbled backwards, tripping to the floor. It rolled all over the stage in agony, roaring, crying, its body flailing in pain until it finally rolled off of the stage.

“GARBODOR!!!!!” Roxie bellowed. She leaped off of the stage after her Pokemon. “Garbodor!! I’ll get you to the Pokemon Center! Return!!” Roxie returned her Pokemon and then glared up at me.

I knew she wanted to kill me, and probably would have in that very second if she wasn’t going to the Pokemon Center to help her Garbodor.

Roxie then turned to my Drifblim with an even more furious leer before running into the crowd that was still emptying out, shoving her way forcefully through everybody, making her out of the building.

My eyes stopped on a pair of people I instantly recognized that hadn’t run away.

They were the only ones not leaving the Gym.

June and Courtney.

They both were looking at the stage I stood on, petrified looks on their faces, seeming unable to move.

I turned to Drifblim, who still hadn’t stopped slamming the broken, smashed guitars and drumsticks into the ground, crying out in exhaustion.

*

“I’ll bet Nurse Joy is in the back with Roxie right now,” June told me. “I’m sure of it. She must be taking care of her Garbodor.”

“What the hell was Drifblim thinking?!” I exclaimed with exasperation. “Why would she do something like that?!”

“She’s not a fan of rock music…” June said. “She couldn’t take it anymore and just lost it.”

“Well, that’s obvious…” Courtney replied.

June glared at Courtney.

“I feel so bad about all of this,” I told the two girls, making them both turn to look at me. “I need to apologize and make sure that Garbodor is okay!”

“That’s the least you could do,” Courtney stated.

I sighed and lowered my head. “I also need my own Pokemon healed, too, though. I took care of Drifblim’s Poisoning, but she still needs some rest, along with Excadrill. I hope Nurse Joy gets back soon.” I sighed again and leaned back in my chair, looking around the lobby of the Pokemon Center.

Two girls and two boys were sitting together at a table, chatting about something. They glanced over at me as I looked over at them, and then they looked away.

“Yeah, well, my Pokemon are in bad shape as well,” Courtney complained.

One girl from the group looked over at me again, and I stared back at her, my eyes widening.

The other three young kids looked over at me as well.

I turned to Courtney and June, who both were looking at the four kids, and they turned to me. We all looked back over at the other kids.

The kids exchanged glances and then looked back at us. They turned back to each other and spoke amongst themselves.

What’s with them? I wondered, squinting at them.

They all looked back over to us, and one boy stood up.

A girl grabbed the boy’s arm, but the boy pulled it back and walked over to me, Courtney, and June.

His three friends stood up and followed behind him.

“Hey,” he nodded, giving me a stern look.

I looked him over and stood up seriously, trying to be as intimidating as he was acting. “Yeah?”

“Well, you three have been shouting about Roxie since you got here,” he told me, brushing his long black hair out of his face and adjusting his backwards, black baseball cap.

“Shouting?” I repeated in confusion.

“Yeah. You’re shouting right now, even,” the kid snickered. “You three clearly came from Roxie’s Gym. Heh. The music from her Gym has your hearing a bit funky.”

“Oh! I’m sorry about that,” I tried to say in a lower voice, though I thought my voice had been low to begin with.

“No sweat, man,” he nodded at me. “I’m Tom. This is Bay, Wilma, and Hip.” He pointed at his friends.

They all nodded and mumbled a greeting at me that I couldn’t hear, either because my ears weren’t hearing normally yet, or the three kids were just being weird.

“I’m Gary. This is June, and Courtney,” I pointed at my friends.

“Hey!” June smiled, standing up and waving at them.

“Hi!” Courtney stood up as well and smiled.

The kids nodded at them.

“We all lost to Roxie a day ago,” Tom told me. “Our Pokemon should be okay by now. We’re just waiting.”

“You all lost to her?” My eyes widened.

“Yeah, and to just one Pokemon, at that,” Tom responded. “Her Garbodor. She was ruthless, and fast. Ended the battles in under a minute, each. Easily.”

“How did y’all do?” Bay asked, concern in her green eyes, her blonde bangs just past her eyebrows.

“I’m not so sure…” I answered hesitantly. “Courtney lost, but during my battle, things got a bit… out of control… I guess I lost, too. I’m just glad I’m out of that Gym. I couldn’t breathe or think or anything!”

“Yeah,” Tom nodded. “That’s her tactic, in a way. Her music and energy distracts the challengers and their Pokemon.”

“And that crowd, too,” Bay sighed sadly.

The electronic doors at the back of the Pokemon Center opened, and Nurse Joy came out pushing a cart with four trays with six Poke Balls in them, an Audino behind her.

“Roxie!” I saw her walk out behind Audino.

Roxie looked depressed. When she looked up, she squinted directly at me. “Hey!” She bared her teeth at me and ran past Nurse Joy and Audino, startling them both. She stopped just about an inch away from me, looking ready to sink her fangs into my eyeballs. “You! This is the jerk who injured my Garbodor!”

“Roxie, it was an accident! Please!” I pleaded. “I’m so sorry that that happened! It wasn’t intentional! My Drifblim was confused from the Poison and the music and it was just an accident! Is Garbodor okay? I’ve been really worried about it!”

“Garbodor’s face is all kinds of burnt up, you jackass!” Roxie screamed. “Its left eye is SCREWED!! It’ll never see out of it again, you creep!!” She shoved me back strongly and I stumbled backwards.

“Roxie, I’m so sorry! I really am!” I shook in front of her, wondering if she was going to fight me.

“Is ‘sorry’ gonna help my Garbodor through the surgery it’s gonna have to go through?? It’s in major pain, and you think you’re gonna heal that with a ‘sorry’?!” Roxie grabbed my shirt and shook me roughly, my collar tightening around my neck. “I’ll kill you!!”

“Roxie, please, don’t!” Nurse Joy begged, running forward and pulling Roxie back, her hands wrapped around her waist. “I’m sure this was just an accident! He seems rather sincere!”

“You weren’t there!! You didn’t see what that freaking Drifblim of his did!!” Roxie raged.

“Roxie!” I choked out as she continued to squeeze my shirt around my neck, my hands on her hands as I tried to loosen her fingers. “It was an accident! I’m so sorry! Please, don’t kill me!!”

“I’ll give up my celebrity status if it means your death, you fu-!!” Roxie threatened.

“Come, now, Roxie,” Nurse Joy insisted, Audino helping Nurse Joy to free Roxie from me and pull her back.

I gasped repeatedly for air as I stumbled away from them, adjusting my shirt and rubbing my neck.

Audino and Nurse Joy struggled with Roxie as she screamed and cursed at me, fighting against them to try and attack me. “YOU ROTTEN JERK!! I WILL NEVER FORGET THIS FOR AS LONG AS I LIIIIIVE!!! HERE’S YOUR STUPID BADGE!!! I NEVER WANNA SEE YOUR FACE FOR THE REST OF MY LIIIIIIIFE!!!!!”

Something flew through the air and bounced along the ground.

Nurse Joy and Audino pushed Roxie through the back doors of the Pokemon Center.

“Audino, please take care of Roxie and try to get her to relax?” Nurse Joy smiled at Audino.

“Audino,” Audino replied gently with a smile and a nod, and it struggled on its own to pull an enraged, cursing Roxie deeper into the back of the Pokemon Center.

Nurse Joy walked out of the hallway and into the lobby, keeping her eyes on Roxie and Audino as the electronic doors closed.

We could all still hear Roxie’s choice words clear as day.

I walked over to the object on the floor.

It was comprised of five circles that grew bigger from the bottom to the top, outlined in gold. The color inside the circles was purple. Four shapes around the largest circle were outlined in gold, as well, the inside of them colored white.

Footsteps approached me from behind as I reached down and picked up the tiny object.

“The Toxic Badge!” Tom gasped behind me. “You beat Roxie!”

Excited murmurs came from Tom and his friends.

“You did it, Gary,” June said softly, looking at me solemnly. “You won…”

“I… did?” I stared back at her.

Courtney sighed, looking at the Badge. “Congrats…” She looked up at me and smiled.

“Did I really earn this Badge, though?” I asked my two friends. “I’m not sure if this is right. Or fair.”

“Gary, she wanted to fight you one-on-three, and was blaring loud, crazy music, with an audience, during your battle,” June reasoned. “All things considered, I’d say things were as fair as they were gonna get in that Gym. Plus, Roxie gave you it. It’s official!”

“And, you did beat her last Pokemon… Technically…” Courtney shrugged.

I sighed and lowered my head. “Don’t say that, Courtney.”

“But, you did! You did really good! If she can play the battlefield with the loud music and stuff like that, then why can’t you? Drifblim was amazing!” She extended her arms. “Now, how about a hug?”

I rolled my eyes up to the ceiling and approached her glumly for a hug, pouting. I had hoped she’d notice and feel bad, not wanting to force me into a hug, and I could get out of it using my concern for Roxie’s Garbodor as an excuse for my attitude.

No such luck as Courtney giggled as she wrapped her arms around me tightly, and I was forced to hug her back. “Hey, this is a group hug, June!”

June opened her mouth, staring at me, and then she looked at Courtney, who had her back to her. She let out her breath silently and hugged Courtney from behind, giving her a weary look.

“Congratulations, dude!” Tom patted my back. “I wish I could’ve seen that battle!”

I turned to Tom and his friends and smiled weakly as I released Courtney. “It was certainly something…”

“Man, you’ve gotta tell us all about it! Please!” Bay begged, bouncing in place, holding her hands together in front of her.

“Bay, we don’t have time. We gotta get going once our Pokemon are healed,” Hip told her in a voice that was surprisingly deep and low for how old he looked, staring at her with his extremely dark blue eyes that were nearly covered by his afro that fell over his forehead. “And something tells me that those are ours.” He pointed at the cart Nurse Joy had come out with earlier, holding four trays with six Poke Balls on them.

“Oh, yes! These are yours!” Nurse Joy approached the tray. “Hip, Bay, Wilma, and Tom!” She pushed a different tray forward as she spoke the Trainers’ names.

Bay sighed and lowered her head.

“Thanks, Nurse Joy,” Tom said, grabbing his Poke Balls.

Bay, Wilma, and Hip grabbed their Poke Balls from the tray, too.

The four friends turned to me and the girls.

“Congratulations, again,” Tom said, smiling a little. “Good luck to you guys. We’ve gotta get going.”

“Nice meeting you!” Bay looked directly into my eyes.

I smiled back at her and nodded, feeling a little flustered by her.

Bay then simply nodded at Courtney and June.

“Bye,” Hip nodded quickly.

“Hope to see you all at the Pokemon League!” Wilma waved at us.

“See ya there!” I called after them as they walked to the front door.

“Bye!” Courtney waved after them.

“Bye-bye!” June waved as well as they exited the building.

Nurse Joy sighed as she turned to me, June, and Courtney. “Well, I guess your Pokemon need some medical attention as well, right?”

“Yes, if it’s not too much trouble,” I told her.

“It’s gonna take me a while to properly address their issues, but I’ll make sure they’re okay until then,” Nurse Joy smiled.

“Thanks,” I told her gratefully, and I placed my six Poke Balls in one of the trays.

“Mine as well, please.” Courtney put her Poke Balls in the second tray.

“And these guys could just use a little checkup when you get the chance.” June put her Poke Balls in the third tray.

“Well, take it easy,” Nurse Joy said warmly, smiling caringly. “Explore Virbank City, or just rest in the lobby or in one of the rooms in the b… Um… Or just go outside and explore the city!” She laughed nervously.

“Not a bad idea,” I agreed. I certainly didn’t want to go to the back and bump into Roxie.

Nurse Joy pushed the cart with our Poke Balls through the back doors that opened for her and she disappeared as the doors closed behind her.

Courtney let out an exasperated cry. “Well, I guess we should head to another town or something so I can keep going for another Badge or two.”

“You want more Badges?” I asked Courtney, turning to her curiously.

“What else can I do?” Courtney shrugged. “There’s still no word on where the Unova League Conference will be held, so, I might as well just keep traveling and training.”

“Are you gonna challenge Roxie again?” I asked her.

“Hell no!” Courtney cried angrily. “She’s totally livid at us! She’ll kill me on sight!”

“I think she only has one bullet with my name on it, to be honest.”

“I’m associated with you, Gary. And June. If Roxie saw either of us, she’d murder us. We’re not welcome in her Gym. And besides that, it was terrible in there! All that damn noise and fighting! I was terrified waiting for your battle to come to an end! And did you see the way Roxie embarrassed me during our battle?! I will never again challenge that woman. Ever!! That is that!”

“Hmm. I understand,” I muttered thoughtfully.

Courtney’s final reason for not wanting to battle Roxie again brought back a memory of Trixa. She didn’t want to battle Prof. Russell because of how he had beaten her, claiming that he had cheated.

This wasn’t the exact same situation as Trixa’s, but it did remind of it, and I started to feel down as I remembered that it had led to Trixa leaving our group in tears.

“So what are you gonna do now that you’ve got your eighth Badge?” Courtney asked, taking me from my thoughts.

“Huh?” I turned to her.

“You’ve got your eighth Badge, so I guess you’re free to go wherever you want and battle and train however you feel.” Courtney’s expression was serious. “What do you plan to do?”

“Wait!” June shouted.

Courtney and I turned to her.

“The woman at Roxie’s Gym said that the Badge from Verdew Town didn’t count for some reason! She said something was wrong with it!” June reminded us.

Courtney and I gasped as we faced each other.

“She must have been crazy! That whole Gym was crazy! I don’t believe a word she said!!” Courtney shook her head hard, her blonde hair flying about her face.

“We have to be sure…” My palm opened and looked down at the Toxic Badge I still held in it. I opened my jacket and removed the Flower Badge that was pinned inside. “We need to verify that this Badge is real,” I said, staring at the Badge.

“Gramma wouldn’t have lied!” Courtney insisted. “There’s no way!” Her eyes were starting to fill with tears.

“Unless…” June muttered, looking at the floor.

The back doors to the Pokemon Center opened again and Nurse Joy stepped out with a sigh. “Phew! I could use a coffee!”

“Nurse Joy!” I ran up to her, startling her.

Her hand went over to her chest as she gasped. “Yes! What’s wrong?” she asked quickly.

“I need your help, please! We need to know if our Badges are legit or not? Can you help us?” I begged.

Nurse Joy’s breathe came out in the form of a relieved sigh and a smile crossed her face. “Why, yes, I can. Let me see your Badges and I’ll be able to let you know if they’re legit or not, right away.”