Red took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for his first ever gym battle, as he stood in front of a large stone building. Pewter City’s pokémon gym was one of the most important places in the city, so it was built on one of the highest cliffs- that way it could easily be seen, no matter where you were. The smooth granite floors weren’t arranged in any sort of pattern, retaining its natural speckled look instead. It reminded Red of a countertop, sparkling clean to a point where it was almost reflective.

All of that served to make the place feel both impressive and rather intimidating, and he felt rather small as he walked up to the front desk.

“Are you here for a gym battle?” a receptionist with long, blonde hair asked him. Red nodded, and she looked at her computer for a few seconds. Once she had found what she was looking for, she asked Red, “Your name is Red Genshoku, with the two p.m. slot, right?”

After he nodded in the affirmative, she looked over his pokémon league records, giving them one final checkup, then led him to a dim, rather cramped room, where a few other trainers were sitting. Red immediately recognized Gary, and let out a groan.

“You again,” he said.

Gary glanced at Red and shot him a quick glare, before turning back towards the door to the arena. Red could hear the faint sound of both blows and words being exchanged, but nothing he could hear was of any use, so instead he turned his attention to the other people in the room.

Aside from Gary, two tweens were resting on the marble blocks that seemed to count as chairs (though were undoubtedly uncomfortable, so Red opted to remain standing). The first person was a boy with strikingly red hair- though it was slightly less vivid than that of the girl Red had seen a few days ago. The girl next to him seemed thoroughly bored, twirling her long black hair around her finger as she sighed. She had a bow in her hair, and wore a pink kimono that surprised Red- he wasn’t used to seeing such archaic clothing.

Unable to resist his curiosity, he looked at her, and asked, “What’s with the fancy getup?”

She huffed, and responded, “This is standard clothing for gym trainers under Erika. I’m wearing it for this match to properly represent her.”

“You’re a gym trainer?” Red questioned. Gym trainers worked underneath gym leaders, filling in when they were unavailable and performing maintenance on the gym. They practiced against each other and prospective challengers, and many of them were able to use their position as a stepping stone towards more illustrious careers- some even took over the gym they worked in.

The girl nodded, then gave Red a slight bow. “I’m Jeanette, from Crimson City. It’s a rural offshoot of Celadon- I would not be surprised if you haven’t heard of it. This battle will be for my third badge, though it should not be much of a challenge. I have plentiful experience training grass type pokémon.” She studied Red for a moment, then added, “I take it you have no badges yet? You do not seem as naive as most beginners, but I can still see it in your face- experienced trainers have a sharp, calculating look to them.”

Red was about to reply when a loud explosion rocked the arena, startling him. A few seconds later, a boy with a blue baseball cap and shorts stormed through the room, muttering to himself, and voice called out from an intercom.

“Next up is Gary Oak! Gary Oak, would you please step onto the challenger’s platform!”

Red leered at Gary as he left the room, stepping into the arena for his battle. About fifteen minutes later, he walked out triumphantly with a boulder badge, smirking at Red on his way out, who was still fuming as the other boy in the room, who he learned was named Ritchie, left for his match.

“So, you’re the one who helped with the museum break-in, right?” Brock asked.

“How did you know that?” Red responded, taken aback.

“Gym leaders work with law enforcement frequently, so we tend to hear about things like this when they happen. I must say, it was brave of you to stand up to him, even if he got away in the end.”

Red murmured a quiet thanks, a little bit embarrassed. He wasn’t that heroic- he had just stumbled into a conflict he couldn’t bring himself to back out of.

“I’ll be using my weakest team,” Brock said, holding two pokéballs in his hands, “But just because it’s the weakest doesn’t mean it’s weak.”

Red nodded in understanding, remembering that gym leaders used multiple teams, depending on the skill level of the challenger. They were all bred in reserves managed by the Pokémon Association, and leaders’ personal teams were generally relegated to out-of-gym uses. The point of a gym leader was to provide a challenge, after all- not an insurmountable barrier.

“This will be a two vs two battle between Red Genshoku of Pallet Town, and Brock Harrison of Pewter City!” the referee called out. Red grabbed Mankey’s pokéball, listening to the the man count down.

“Three…”

“Two…”

“One…”

“Begin!”

The two opponents both sent out their pokémon at the same time- Red brought out his Mankey, which gave Brock’s Geodude an unsettling stare. The trainers were silent for a moment, then both shouted at the same time.

“Low Kick, Mankey!”

“Geodude, use Harden.”

Mankey’s kick made contact, but Geodude was able to buff its defenses just in time, hardening itself so that the blow only managed to chip a few pebbles off the floating rock. Then it cocked one of its fists back and punched Mankey square in the face, knocking it away.

“Rock Throw!” Brock yelled, as Geodude pulled a chunk of soil out of the earthen arena floor, flinging it at Mankey. Luckily, it managed to dodge the projectile, and Red ordered it to get close and use Seismic Toss.

The monkey-like pokémon obliged, darting in before Geodude could react, and hurling it into the air. In fact, it went so high that it hit the arena’s ceiling, making a small impact crater in the metal. It struggled a little to get out of the rock-shaped indentation it had created, and floated back down towards Mankey, glaring at it menacingly. It returned the favor, and under Red’s guidance, used Mud Slap to cover the floating rock’s eyes, then got in close and unleashed a barrage of Fury Swipes. However, once the mud cleared away, Geodude was back in action, and valiantly fought back against its attacker.

What ensued was a violent tussle filled with clawing, punching, kicking, and assorted projectiles, mostly covered by a cloud of dust from the arena floor. Red tensed, unsure what was going on, and his heart fell when he saw a rotund, furry shape hit the ground with a thump.

“Mankey, return,” he said, recalling Mankey to its pokéball.

“Red Genshoku!” the referee shouted, “Please bring out your final pokémon!”

Of course, there was only one other pokémon that Red had- so he sent out Bulbasaur.

“Geodude, don’t stop now!” Brock shouted, “Charge in and use Tackle!”

The boulder started speeding towards Bulbasaur, but Red was ready for it, and had a plan to stop it in its tracks. “Bulbasaur, use Razor Leaf!” he yelled.

The volley of leaf blades dug into Geodude, and the pokémon began to put more focus into avoiding the offending objects than moving forward, which gave Red the opportunity he was looking for.

“Use Vine Whip, and throw it around!” he called to Bulbasaur. It wrapped its vines around the Geodude, which struggled to break free, but couldn’t escape the grip of the plant. Bulbasaur began to swing the vines around and around like a sadistic theme park ride, dizzying its opponent, then bashed it into the ground repeatedly. Geodude groped at the vines, finally managing to break free, only to be done in by a final slap from a vine.

Red whistled as the living rock crashed down to the ground, out of energy. “Wow,” he remarked, “it didn’t even get a hit in. Good job, Bulbasaur.”

“You did well, Geodude,” Brock said. “Now!” he shouted, “Get ready to face my second pokémon! Come out, Onix!”

Out of the pokéball emerged a large snake made entirely of rock. It stood over ten feet tall, and that was with its bottom coiled up. To say the least, it was rather threatening. Red gulped, then steeled his nerves.

“Bulbasaur, use Tackle!” he called out. His pokémon ran up to the behemoth, striking it in its center, but it didn’t seem to care at all. It extended its rocky tail, wrapping it around Bulbasaur and holding it tight.

“Now you can have a taste of your own medicine!” Brock yelled, “Onix! Use Bind!”

Onix squeezed its tail, keeping Bulbasaur in a chokehold as it struggled to breathe. Red grimaced, and said, “Use Leech Seed!”

Bulbasaur’s face scrunched up as a group of small green seeds flew out of its bulb, showering Onix. At first, it had no effect, and Red started panic, but after a few seconds it kicked in, sapping Onix of its life energy. The resulting convulsions caused it to drop Bulbasaur, bringing the smaller pokémon back into action.

Onix lunged for Bulbasaur, but it shot out a Razor Leaf before could close in, making it turn away in frustration.

“Sorry, Red, but I’ve still got some tricks up my sleeve!” Brock yelled, “Rock Polish, then Smack Down!”

Bulbasaur darted around Onix as its body began to glow with a white light, which coalesced into a coating of sorts. Then, with surprising speed, it pulled a large slab of earth out of the ground, slamming it on top of Bulbasaur before it could get away. The grass type struggled, stuck underneath the large mound.

“Use your vines to lift it away!” Red guided, uncertain whether or not Bulbasaur was still standing. He breathed a sigh of relief when two vines appeared from underneath the chunk of dirt, wrapping around it and holding it up in the air.

“Alright!” Red called out, “Now hit him with it!”

Bulbasaur obliged, slamming its cargo into Onix with as much force as it could muster. It began slithering away, but the impact sent it flying into the arena wall. It lay there for a second, then began to squirm, slithering back towards the fight. But before it could reach Bulbasaur again, it was wracked by Leech Seed, which had activated once again. Now out of energy, it fell to the ground with a deafening thud, defeated.

“The winner is Red Genshoku of Pallet Town!” the referee called out, releasing the tension in Red’s body as he finally breathed a sigh of relief. It all felt a lot more intense than when he was looking at a battle on TV. He sent Bulbasaur back into its ball, silently thanking it for its service, then looked up to see Brock walking towards him.

“Red!” he said, an air of importance seeming to form around him. “You have done well in your battle. We’ll make sure your prize money gets to you, along with your TM.”

“Wait,” Red said, confused. “TM? As in Technical Machine?”

“Right,” Brock explained, “Since TM manufacturing has become a lot more efficient and easier process, mass production on them is starting. Some gyms, including mine, have been considering giving out free ones copied from our own pokémon to winning challengers.”

Red nodded in understanding.

“Right, then!” Brock proclaimed. “Now for the most important part!”

He walked forward, holding out his hand, which held a small metal token. “Red! I’m proud to present you with the boulder badge!”

No doubt he had said these same words many times before, but to Red, this was quite possibly the biggest moment of his journey. This was Red’s first gym badge- one of the eight he would need to enter the Pokémon League. He gingerly took it out of his hand, unable to speak as he stood there in awe.

He knew then, in that instant, that his adventure had only just started.

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

- Lao Tzu, Chinese philosopher