Thank you to my new Patrons: One, Occopuss Spaggett, tom, Jodrod, Travis Brown, Dante, Trip, John H, Re5yu454i, DarkKermit, Boy Goedegebuure, Swotin, Adam Spring
-/-
It was interesting to consider the opinions of the locals when it came to their gym, especially Pewter, which was mostly the destination of people trying to get their first badge.
People liked seeing hype battles, evolved Pokemon, and big booms.
That's what Joey had thought at least.
Having come to the gym an hour before his appointment, he'd mixed in with the crowd to get a feel for the vibe.
Maybe it was still just the first days of the season, but the people were… electric.
They cheered just as loud at a match between a Geodude and a Zubat as they did for a match between a Rhydon and a Charmeleon.
The most common consensus that Joey heard from the crowd was.
'That's our gym-leader!'
And well, that was true, Flint did look like a gym-leader. He was commanding, decisive, and strong. He looked much better than he would when Ash started his journey, after he'd spent four years failure-maxxing.
The contrast between how full the rock-type gym was now and how empty it was in the anime was stark.
Flint represented the soul of this city; this was starting to become obvious.
'He could go all the way to the top,' he heard among the crowd.
Joey could only shake his head.
So the man's ego had been fed by circumstances outside of his control. Facing 0-badge challengers most of the day, a battle speed that seemed glacial to even Joey, let alone a gym leader, it might have an effect on one's self-perception.
It sort of made Joey wish that he was here for his eighth badge challenge eight months in the future. The man wouldn't run off during the season, would he?
A 40+ year old dreamer with 8 kids. Joey scoffed amidst the cheers of the locals as a Pidgey fell to the ground, and Flint stepped forward to say something encouraging to the youngster he'd just beaten.
"Stop dreaming, old man," Joey muttered quietly and got up.
The time for his match was approaching, so it was time to go to the waiting room.
-/-
"Another challenger, the last one of the evening, approaches!" the announcer of the gym screamed into his microphone, because of course the gym had an announcer.
"Four badges in his youngster years, runner-up in the youngster tournament, one of the most promising trainers of the year! How will our gym leader fare in this fifth badge battle!"
Joey looked to the side. The referee for the match was Brock. Biased much?
He shook his head.
"You ready for a rock-hard beatdown, kid?" Flint taunted from the other side of the arena.
Joey chose to remain silent. The crowd booed.
"Both trainers ready?" Brock asked loudly?
Two nods, two pokeballs flew into the air, two forms materialised on the rock battleground.
The crowd cheered.
A gigantic Onix towered over a small Rattata. The matchup looked unfair.
Rattata was unfazed about how the match might look and disdainfully spat to the side before cracking his knuckles.
"Rattata," Joey muttered. "Do you think you're capable of holding the whole world on your shoulders?"
Rattata's ears twitched. He raised a fist in the air.
'Watch me!' The gesture communicated.
Three seconds later.
The Onix lay knocked out on the ground with swirls in its eyes.
The crowd was silent. The announcer was silent. Only Brock, the referee, eyes wide open for once, raised his flag and shouted for Flint to release his next Pokemon.
What had happened?
Simple.
The moment the match had started, Flint had allowed himself to get carried away by the perceived advantage of the very large size difference and ordered a rather simplistic "Headbutt!" that would have tactically fit more into a one-badge battle.
The Onix had reared its huge head and surged forward towards Rattata.
Flint, the audience, the announcer. Everyone had likely expected Rattata to dodge.
Just Joey had known that his starter wouldn't.
Rattata had reared back his right fist, accepted the whole body of the Onix smashing into him, before driving his now orange-tinted fist down onto the head of the Onix, right before the head crushed him into the ground.
The crack that resounded when the small fist met the rock head filled the arena.
The math was simple. Headbutt was a fairly strong physical attack, especially when backed up by the sheer heft of an Onix.
Rattata had taken all that energy and returned it two-fold with a move that was super effective. Counter.
A crack had been struck into the grey head of the Onix.
A bonus point, all the force had been doubled and condensed into one very small fist. The Counter had served as a sort of ice pick, striking right at the brain of the matter.
Flint should have led with Sandstorm, Earthquake, Dig, anything. Just not Headbutt.
Sometimes it really was that simple.
"Gym leader, release your next Pokemon," Brock repeated robotically.
Joey watched as cold realisation washed over Flint's face, and he recalled the knocked-out Onix. Then came the anger. A scowl slowly spread across the brown-haired man's face.
Flint still had three Pokemon. The next one was released. A slightly bigger than average Graveler with a mischievous grin.
"Let's take this seriously. Sandstorm," Flint ordered.
The Graveler raised its hands in the air, a Sandstorm quickly picking up and covering the battlefield.
Joey simply observed coldly as the Graveler disappeared into the storm, Sand Veil, then.
He could have ordered a Quick Attack into Rock Smash or Iron Tail, but he wanted to give Rattata the best chance to sweep Flint on his own.
That had been their deal, and Joey didn't want to betray his Pokemon's trust.
No.
Rattata would ask his teammates for help after giving the fight of his life with Joey's help.
And when fighting an uphill battle, a calculated and stone-cold approach was best.
"Detect," Joey ordered. "Stand your ground."
He couldn't see, but he knew that Rattata had just closed his eyes.
If Flint caused that Rattata, who often sparred with Diglett, was unused to the effects of Sandstorm, then he would be in for a big surprise.
"Rock Tomb!" Flint ordered.
Joey simply scoffed and said nothing.
Detect was the core of Rattata's entire attitude towards battling. Stamina didn't matter in reality as much when you trained the move to be a part of your very soul.
Rock Tomb barely necessitated a side-step in Joey's opinion.
A crash of rocks came sounding from the sand storm before subsiding with no further action.
"Rollout," Flint ordered from the other side, and Joey could hear the slow grinding sound of a rock-type Pokemon pushing its way through sand, ground and rock.
The longer the Rollout, the bigger the damage.
"Let it build up," Joey said calmly, closing his own eyes.
There was nothing to see. Trying to decipher anything from the sand blocking his view was just a waste of neural activity.
The grind of Rollout continued, getting louder and louder.
That was when Flint flipped the script.
"Magnitude!" he shouted after Rollout had reached its peak.
The grinding stopped, and Joey heard a sort of scratching sound.
The quake wasn't immediate; Joey had gotten intimately familiar with the move through Diglett's training.
"Meet it from underneath!" Joey shouted, having come to a rapid-fire conclusion.
The reason Graveler hadn't immediately switched from Rollout to Magnitude was because it had jumped up first. Jumping onto the ground from high up with a strong rotational force would likely cause a seriously high level magnitude due to the added impact.
The other option was naturally that Flint was bluffing, but Joey didn't think so.
A sickening crunch resounded from the sandstorm, like a pile of rocks being put in a blender.
"Magnitude!" Flint shouted again after a few seconds, sounding desperate.
But the ground didn't shake.
A few more seconds passed, and the sandstorm dissipated.
Rattata was standing in the middle with his arms crossed. He looked scuffed, and there were some bruises now blossoming on his body.
One from the Onix earlier and one from Graveler now.
Getting in-between a max-stage Rollout Graveler and the ground would do that to you.
For all that Detect could help Rattata receive an attack with the perfect position to minimise the damage, there was still damage.
And that damage had been returned two-fold, once again, forced into a small fist, in a move that was super effective.
Graveler was out.
Brock raised his flag.
The announcer and the audience had been silent since Onix had gone down, so nothing new about that.
"Gym leader, release your next Pokemon!" Brock shouted.
Rattata looked over his shoulder, locking eyes with Joey.
"Two more, then you can brag," Joey replied coldly, causing the eyes of his starter to harden.
Joey's words reverberated through the arena since nobody had been speaking. You could have heard a pin drop.
The crowd suddenly surged, and Flint ran red in the face. A storm of boos suddenly crashed into Joey. A wave of sound. If the crowd had been any closer, they could have drowned him in their spit.
Joey could have refrained from saying anything. But, well, he'd promised to command Rattata to the best of his abilities.
He hadn't said anything about needling his seemingly prideful opponent, maybe forcing the man to finally focus and maybe also send out something a bit stronger.
A small smirk came to Joey's face as the crowd roared.
Flint threw out his next Pokemon.
A much smaller form than in both the previous battles materialised on the field.
"Geodude," a weathered and scarred Geodude said from the other side. There was a noticeable X-like scar over its right brow, and at its appearance, the crowd started cheering.
Joey and Rattata were proof that size didn't equal danger. The same rule also applied to their opponents.
Joey's gut feeling told him that this Geodude was the most dangerous Pokemon they'd faced so far.
"It's getting serious," Joey said to his starter. "How are you going to handle this one, huh?"
As Brock raised his referee flag, Joey shortly reflected on the ridiculousness of the situation.
It was a common phenomenon that a starter Pokemon lost their cool if their teammates surpassed them. After all, a starter was always first, always the strongest.
The trainer handbook suggested showing empathy, telling the starter that even if they weren't the strongest, they were the spiritual leader, a valuable part of the team, that strength fluctuated and that they were just as likely to regain their spot in the future as they were to lose it.
Joey's challenge to Rattata was a bit stupid in comparison to the tried and tested method. After all, Rattata had taken damage, yes, but he was still doing quite well. If he actually beat all four of Flint's Pokemon, then Joey would have just dug himself a real big hole and jumped right into it.
Of course, Rattata winning wouldn't prove anything; if he won against Flint, he would lose against Blaine. If he won against Blaine, he would lose against Koga and so on. Trying to defeat a full team with one Pokemon would inevitably fail at some point.
But if he lost, Joey hoped Rattata could accept that he needed his teammates. If Rattata couldn't handle not being the strongest in the team, then that just proved that he lacked one of the core principles of Team Joey…
"Rock Throw!" Flint shouted from the other side of the arena, face pulled into a rictus of concentration.
Geodude scooped up a pile of stones from beneath him with one arm and swiftly threw them in a violent scattershot at Rattata. While they flew, the other arm went down to scoop it up again, repeating the motion.
In less than a second, three volleys had already been thrown, and Rattata was facing down an artillery barrage more commonly seen in naval battles.
The Geodude's arms had become circular blurs, moving down and up in a scooping and throwing motion so fast it baffled imagination.
If there was one disadvantage that Rattata had in this gym, it was that his normal-type moves, those that cost less energy, would not be very effective.
This meant that if Flint used rock-type moves, while Rattata primarily defended himself and attacked with fighting-type moves, it would be the latter tiring faster.
Especially considering this was a 1v4 for the rat.
There wasn't a real solution to the rock barrage, at the lower levels, before move coverage increased significantly; some match-ups were just checkmate.
Rattata couldn't deflect so many rocks, and they were too tight to weave through with Detect.
The other rocks in the arena were too far away to hide behind, more on the outskirts.
This left only one rather unfortunate direction to go.
"Dig," Joey ordered, at which Rattata promptly disappeared underground like a fish going underwater.
Of course, what followed from Flint was the obvious counter. "Magnitude!"
The ground shook immediately.
Rattata was already back out, jumping into the air from Dig to dodge the earthquake. Joey had tapped for an exit immediately after the move had been completed, knowing what would come next. They'd been under for barely a second, just enough time for the rocks to fly past overhead.
Unfortunately, they were now in another unfortunate position.
After all, it was a bit hard to dodge a ranged attack while in the air.
"Rock Throw!" Flint shouted from the other side.
The artillery barrage commenced.
"No way out," Joey commented idly. "Force your way through with Detect."
Rattata's eyes burned orange. Time slowed to a crawl even for Joey, and he could see the rocks coming at his starter in slow motion.
Rattata was a Pokémon that could be described as a sixth-badge Pokemon.
After the amount they'd trained during the winter vacation, Flint was always going to be a joke.
What happened next probably finally proved that to the man in question as well.
Rattata blurred in place before he started walking in air, his small size coming in handy once again.
Joey hadn't thought it possible to dodge one's way through the rock barrage.
Rattata proved him wrong, somewhat.
The Pokemon twisted in the air, pushed himself off one rock to move forward, before pushing himself off another and redirecting one projectile with his large fangs.
An intricate dance commenced in mid-air, the thrown rocks becoming nothing more than stepping stones for the world's most spatially aware Rattata.
The crowd went silent again. Joey could see the individual beads of sweat forming on Flint's face as he watched the spectacle. A Rattata was breakdancing his way through the attacks of his Geodude in the air.
"Chat, clip that," Joey said calmly right before disaster struck. The orange in Rattata's eyes flickered.
Detect had been running for nearly three matches straight, and this rock artillery was probably the highest amount of sensory input Rattata had ever experienced.
Hundreds of rock shards per cubic meter.
Inevitably, something had to break.
A stone fragment hit Rattata's shoulder, throwing him off kilter, in the direction of another small rock.
It was a devilish cycle. Getting hit by one stone mispositioned the body, opening you up to be hit by another.
A good move from Flint.
Rattata was battered, managed to redirect some, and was hit by more others.
"If you didn't have two matches behind you," Joey mused as his starter fell to the ground after almost a dozen seconds in the air.
Flint crossed his arms on the other side of the arena, breathing an almost audible sigh of relief.
The crowd went wild.
"Is the little demon finally out for the count?!" the announcer shouted.
Joey was the closest to his starter and saw that Rattata was still conscious.
He was getting smarter. He was using the countdown of how long he could stay down before being counted as unconscious to recuperate some energy.
Joey's eyes caught a paw moving towards the everstone collar on the neck.
"What you lack," Joey suddenly said, causing his starter to pause in the move, "is shamelessness."
Brock started counting down.
"You think that strength is what's most important in this team?" Joey asked rhetorically, shaking his head. "Any of you could beat me up. Does that make me useless?" he continued. "Diglett is the newest addition to the team, arguably the weakest. Has he never contributed anything?"
Rattata didn't shake his head, but Joey continued regardless.
"Everyone has the abilities they have, the abilities they gained through training as much as they could. Sometimes you will be stronger, sometimes you will be weaker. When you are strong, you lead; when you are not, you cry. Do you feel like you are hiding behind your teammates, rather than relying on them?" Joey shook his head.
"Even if you're hiding behind powerful teammates, that is its own form of strength. A wise man once said, "Hiding behind a woman to avoid conflict is its own form of skill; your denigratory words only highlight your shame at not having one to hide behind yourself."
When Lorelei didn't want to battle us, I acted childishly. When Professor Oak didn't want to deal with us, I put up my elbows and imitated a chicken. You think I have pride? I'm sorry, but I don't care about pride. I only care about winning." A pause. Brock's countdown reached its last digits.
"You can either be the strongest, or you can be a winner. There's only a reward for the latter; the former simply comes with the burden of loneliness. Don't throw away your potential to achieve momentary success, sharpen it to achieve eternal glory."
It was unclear if Rattata had truly listened to Joey's words, but what happened next shocked the audience so much that they stopped booing.
Without using his hands, simply through the tilt of his feet, Rattata rose back to an upright position as if he was doing a reverse Michael Jackson impression.
As the Geodude's arms went back to the ground to pick up rocks, Rattata raised a paw to the side.
A thumbs-up.
Joey's enhanced eyesight could see a few droplets of liquid falling onto the dusty floor beneath his starter.
"I see," Joey muttered. "This is a shounen anime after all. My words finally got through. The protagonist is always strongest when he's at his weakest. I understand your soul, Rattata, and I know what you want. Your resolve… With the last drop of strength in your body, show them everything!" he screamed and punched forward as the Geodude restarted its endless barrage.
Orange energy blurred in Rattata's eyes, blazing forth strong enough Joey could see its wisps even from the back.
"The sun may be blotted out by the arrows of our enemies, yet, here, eternally, we stand," Joey screamed amidst the boos of the crowd.
Right as the rocks fell to Rattata's position, his starter blurred in a streak of white.
"What is happening!" the announcer shouted from his booth. "What the hell is going on?"
A streak of white passed through the rock storm; it zig-zagged, it dipped, it bounced, it deflected.
"What is happening?" Joey muttered while shaking his head, pride entering his eyes. "He is beginning to believe…"
Rattata had reached a level in Detect that he could use it in concurrence with other fighting-type moves, such as Counter.
A breakthrough. The destruction of the ego and the attainment of the self. Rattata had just reached a level of Detect where he could use it at the same time as non-fighting type moves such as Quick Attack, probably because his mastery of Quick Attack was also incredibly high.
Joey blinked.
A snapshot.
In a few seconds, Rattata had blitzed through the field of rocks. Time stopped. The Geodude's left arm was busy throwing one load of rocks, while its other hand was scooping up the next.
Rattata hovered, covered by white energy, orange eyes blazing, right above it. The white energy dissipated. Orange energy covered the right arm. Rock Smash.
The Geodude glowed white with an angry frown on its face.
Joey channelled his ghost type to make his muscles move faster, Rattata's Pokeball was tapped, and the Pokemon dematerialised and was recalled at the same time as the Geodude exploded.
The arena disappeared in a violent crash of light, sound and tremors.
The ground shook, the air shook, the dust flew.
Joey unceremoniously released Rattata to his feet, the tired Pokemon collapsing onto the floor, his tail extending to gently curl around Joey's shin.
"Rattata," Joey said softly as the audience screamed. He bent down to pat the Pokemon on the back. "One day, we will grow old, just two relics of the past, reliving past glories in our memories. Even then, when your bones will be as brittle as chalk and your fur white. I will still love you, I will still be proud of you."
Rattata's breathing stuttered. "Ra, ra, tattatata," he said softly.
Joey understood the gist.
"Feeling pride in my strength has always been denied to me, for I did not have any, and thus I have lost myself in the feeling once I was finally blessed enough to experience it. I apologise, for I have lost my way, but you were the guiding light that led me safely back to shore. I have forgotten in my hubris that victory tastes sweetest when shared, and love only multiplies when given to others. I will atone for however long I need, for instead of being selfish, I should have been shameless."
"Always the poet, huh, Rattata?" Joey replied softly before shaking his head, hand going to the next Pokeball at his belt.
"To that I can only say, do not ask for forgiveness, ye who are already forgiven." A pause. The dust cleared to reveal an unconscious Geodude.
Brock wildly waved his flags to signify a double knockout before calling for both trainers to send out their next Pokemon.
"Also," Joey continued. "Good job, buddy. The rest will be as easy as pie. Today, the team benefits from your stubbornness, your grit, and your strength. Your back is a comfortable place to rest whenever the rest of us grow weary."
No answer from Rattata. A look down confirmed Joey's suspicion. His starter was sleeping, snot-bubble expanding out of his snout.
The Pewter gym had served its purpose.
Joey coldly released his next Pokemon. Flint did the same.
Misdreavus vs. Rhydon.
"Finish this," Joey said emotionlessly. "We have places to be."
His words once again resounded through the silent stadium.
People were still reeling from the shock that a Rattata had taken out three-fourths of Flint's fifth badge team.
The silence was promptly replaced by boos, several times louder than before. Some Pewter natives looked like they wanted to jump the stands and run onto the field.
The announcer was saying something.
Joey wasn't listening.
The battle was over.
Hypnosis, Dream Eater.
Flint fell to his knees on the other side of the arena.
Amidst the boos and screams of the Pewter natives, Joey received the badge from a broken man.
"It's a young man's game, unless you're an Elite Four member," Joey told the man who was looking down at his rough hands as if seeing them for the first time. "But, well, if you had the potential, you already would be."
And that was that.
Well, not really.
-/-
"You fucking asshole," Jessie complained as they sat around a campfire at the entrance to Viridian forest. "I can't believe you got us chased out of the city," she growled, clutching an equally angry Happiny to her chest. "I only got to enjoy sleeping in a bed for one night? Is my beauty sleep a joke for you?"
Joey leaned back against the tree and put his arms behind his head.
"I got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," he said instead of defending himself. This one went out to all the IRL haters who would have beaten Flint within an inch of his life if they'd had the chance. He hoped it would change the result. Leaving your oldest to take care of their eight younger siblings. There was trash, then there was being lower than trash, and then there was Flint.
"Sorry," he apologised to Jessie.
The girl sighed and dragged a hand down her face. "At least your starter's attitude got adjusted," she said, referring to the scene happening on the other side of the campfire, where Rattata was doing a Dozega apology in front of the rest of the team, asking for forgiveness for being a bit of a cunt recently.
"Imagine," Joey reminded her. "We've only been travelling for four days."
Jessie groaned.
"Don't remind me."
-/-
AN: I cried a bit writing this chapter, hope you liked it. If you didn't, well, everyone's allowed to have bad taste every once in a while. Read ahead 13 chapters on Patreon!