“Veilstone City Pokemon Gym Leader: Paul. The Relentless Power Broker,” Gary read clearly from the wooden sign in front of a one-story building.

  “The building is made of metal?” June stated.

  “This should be one of my more tougher battles.”

  “He doesn’t use a specific-”

  “Excuse me! Gary! Are you Gary?!” Gary, June, and Electivire all turned to see a man standing before them. He was just about an inch taller than Gary, with wavy black hair and glasses with opaque, white lenses. “I’m one of Prof. Tot’s aides! Nice to meet you! I’m meant to give you the Poke Radar once you collect seventy original Pokemon species, and right now, you have seventy original species of Pokemon, so I came to give you this!” He held out a device.

  Gary’s eyes widened on the object. “Wait. You’re one of Kiwi-? Wait! What did you just call her??”

  The man shoved the item in Gary’s hands and then backed away. “It’s painfully simple to use. Pull the sides to turn it on, and it will alert you to more Pokemon in more precise locations, and some of them may even have unique abilities! Dual-slot mode changes the light’s color, and that may detect even rarer Pokemon. When the battery is low, simply turn it off for a while. It recharges on its own. Prof. Tot looks forward to your progress and encourages you to ‘catch more Pokemon!’” Before Gary could even open his mouth, the guy was running away and gone right after, turning around the corner of a building.

  Gary was dumbfounded, staring at the other people in the area. Professor... Tot...? Gary repeated in his mind. What’s that about? And... I have seventy Pokemon now?! I did it! Gary was beaming big and looked down at the Poke Radar he held.

  It was a black device with a little black antenna at the top with a red tip. When the sides of the Poke Rader were pulled out, the screen in the middle glowed light blue, showing a 3D image of the surrounding area, Veilstone City. The extended piece on the right had four white buttons along with four lines for the speaker. The left piece that was pulled out had a tiny, gray triangle etched in it for no clear reason.

  The city was full of as many trees as there were buildings, which Gary found pleasing. He took his bag off to put the Poke Radar away for now, figuring he’d toy around with it later, and then stood to face the building of the Gym Leader. “This guy is no joke!” Gary said loudly, for the sake of June. “This is gonna be one of our most difficult fights yet considering he’s not a monotype Gym Leader! But also his history! I heard he intentionally sought this Gym out to take over because he found the previous Leader to be too weak. Supposedly, he swept her easily a long time ago and came back to break her down even further. But that’s just a rumor! No one could be that cruel! Right?” He looked at June and Electivire.

  June looked back but then her eyes went down. “I’m not sure... There’s all kinds of people out there,” she said in a low voice. Her eyes came back to Gary’s. “But if he’s a Gym Leader, I believe he has to be kind somewhere deep down!” she now said louder.

  “Yeah.” Gary looked to the short building. He felt like something was off about the way it looked.

  The front yard was really nice and actually looked like a lot of fun! In it was a whole field of grass and flowers and trees that surrounded the entire building aside from a cleared, dirt path to the front doors. There were swings, a seesaw, monkey bars, and a slide big enough to quite possibly hold a whale! It circled around and disappeared behind the building. There was also a very big bench with varying sizes of weights and dumbbells, but all of them were huge, and some seemed big enough to topple a bodybuilder! In the midst of this was a man watering the place down with a hose, including the workout equipment.

  “Just look at the Gym!” June added. “It’s not just a yard. It’s a playground! This guy has to care for his Pokemon!”

  Gary nodded, but he felt he could hear apprehension in her voice. At once, Gary, June and Electivire approached the building taking the open path. They had just barely reached the gardener when his hose cut off.

  Gary’s heart was already thumping, on edge. Was it all in his mind? No, he knew. He was on edge already, but the fact that the man had stopped so suddenly confirmed his suspicions. Something’s up.

  The guy turned to them and then dropped his hose. Dressed in army fatigues comprised of boots, pants, a vest over a shirt, and a cap, he approached the group sternly. He was very tanned, and while he looked elderly, he also looked plenty healthy and strong. “Are you here to challenge the Veilstone City’s Gym Leader, Paul?” he spoke deeply. He had gray stubble around his mouth.

  Gary swallowed nervously, his eyes wide, intimidated by the man. “Yeah!” Gary let out, his voice cracking.

  The man stared back at him. “Then follow me inside,” he suddenly said a lot cooler. He turned swiftly and walked easily towards the building.

  Gary and June exchanged glances, and then they looked to Electivire.

  Electivire eyed Gary simply, but upon seeing June, he growled and his body sparked.

  June stepped back, confusion in her wide eyes. She reached up to touch her left ear.

  “Electivire!” Gary stepped up in front of him, glaring. “No! This isn’t the time!” Gary maintained his vision on Electivire, unwilling to turn to June, plenty on his mind for her that he kept refusing to bring up. “No,” he told the Pokemon.

  With a grunt, Electivire turned away.

  “Huh??” June looked stunned.

  Gary didn’t want to see the look he knew she had on her face and closed his eyes, lowering his head. Now’s not the time, he said silently. It was a phrase he kept on bringing up to himself to keep the inevitable conversation at bay.

  But what about Electivire? he questioned as he crossed the garden with the gardener, Electivire and June following him. What about how he feels about this?

  They reached the twin, steel doors that slid open instantly. When everyone was inside, the doors slid shut. Inside, the building had white walls and a bare, steel floor. There were a few doors, but the gardener went down a very short walk to a black, steel door that slid open automatically.

  Gary gasped at the sight.

  The room was very large and open, the walls made of steel, the floor concrete, with two bleachers each on opposite ends of a white outline of a battlefield. There were also several treadmills, enormous weights, workout benches, and several other types of workout equipment.

  Four men and several other Pokemon were also in the room. Three of the men were Black guys, and a lot more muscular and taller than the last man who was White. One of the taller guys was bald and wearing a white tank top, the second guy wore a black durag that trailed down the back of his blue tank top, the third one was completely shirtless, and the shorter man had long, purple hair past his shoulders.

  It was this man who stood out who Gary recognized as Paul.

  But Gary gasped, his eyes locked on one Pokemon in particular, not believing his eyes. “Whoa! That’s-!!”

  Paul, the three men, and all the Pokemon turned to him silently.

  Gary stared back at Paul and swallowed.

  The Gym Leader’s body was slimmer than his companions, but was still firm, imposing, and well sculpted. It was a frame Gary didn’t know the guy had from his other photos where he was fully clothed. Now, his body was more visible in a tight and fit blue muscle shirt and black shorts, black sneakers on his feet. His body was glistening with sweat and breathing heavily. His face hard and cold, he looked back to the group of Pokemon and tossed a jagged object the size of a melon at a towering, dark-blue and red monster who sliced at it easily, breaking it to bits. His other hand hurled an equally large object at an Electivire.

  “LEC!” Electivire was clunked right in the head and dropped. Sitting up, it rubbed its head with its big hand and shook its head, grumbling.

  “HEY!! What do you think you’re doing?!” June cried out angrily.

  What the hell? Gary was lost for words, staring in disbelief at what had just happened. His eyes then went from Paul, to that one particular Pokemon in Paul’s group that had astonished him earlier, to Paul, to said Pokemon again. His heart was being gripped with absolute terror.

  “Get up and fight!!” Paul barked at Electivire, ignoring June’s shout, and he charged with an angry yell.

  This Electivire had gotten up the instant Paul spoke one word of his sentence, and it kept its long arms at its sides but formed fists.

  June gasped.

  Gary couldn’t believe what was going on, nor did he understand it. He narrowed his eyebrows and opened his mouth to shout out, but he was too distracted by the Pokemon that towered over all the rest!

  Yelling even louder, Paul pulled back one arm and leaped at the Electivire.

  Electivire raised its fist out and held it, waiting for Paul.

  Paul swung out his fist to hit Electivire! “Huh?” Paul said with surprise as he was stopped.

  “Whoa!” Gary was surprised at what had happened.

  “Electivire!” June gasped.

  June’s Electivire growled, holding Paul’s fist in his hand! Behind him was Paul’s Electivire!

  Paul’s surprised Electivire’s fist was over the shoulder of June’s Electivire, still awaiting Paul’s punch.

  “Hey, what’s your problem?!” Paul yelled angrily, struggling to free himself.

  His three partners ran forward, shouting out, all of them now wrestling with the one large arm of the Electivire!

  June’s Electivire’s eyes widened in surprise as he took a step forward in the struggle. “Virrrre,” he growled at the men.

  “Vire! Vire!” Paul’s Electivire let out.

  June’s Pokemon released Paul and swatted all the men away, the four of them falling. He then faced Paul’s Pokemon. June’s Electivire growled while Paul’s remained quiet.

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  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” Paul was now yelling at June and Gary. “Control your damn Pokemon!!”

  “You’re lucky I don’t set him on you!!” June barked back. “What are you doing throwing rocks at-” June suddenly stopped. The anger on her face vanished, and her eyes widened on Paul’s Electivire. “-it...?” Her mouth remained agape and she didn’t say another word.

  “Mind your business,” Paul snapped, him and his men getting to their feet. “Don’t butt in on our training. Worry about yourself.”

  “That’s training?” Gary cried. “You hit it in the head! It’s hurt!”

  “Looks just fine to me,” Paul responded, keeping his hard eyes on Gary.

  The two Electivire remained facing each other, neither of them even blinking, looking like a promotional poster for an upcoming boxing match.

  Gary sneered at Paul. He’s crazy. His eyes then shot over another problem in the room, and while he didn’t want to change the subject, he had to know what was going on. “Why is there a Regigigas in here??” Gary pointed at the Pokemon.

  It outright dwarfed everyone and everything! The Pokemon stood silent.

  “Never mind that!” Paul insisted.

  “Electivire-!” June stepped forward but with a blast from her Pokemon, she screamed and collapsed in a heap.

  “WHOA! June!!” Gary got on his knees beside her.

  “Huh?? What the-?” Paul was startled.

  “Vire.” Paul’s Electivire watched the girl for a moment before turning to the matching Pokemon. “Vire!”

  June was on her back, her eyes closed and her hair extended on edge, frowning as she kept heaving hard. “Well, good thing I didn’t wear that hearing aid,” she said tiredly. She sat up and glared at her Pokemon. “I knew there’d be a risk. You could have blown my ear straight off and you wouldn’t even care, would you?”

  Her Electivire ignored her.

  “Electivire! This isn’t the time!” Gary ordered. “Fall back now!”

  The Electivire maintained eye contact with Paul’s Electivire a bit longer before finally looking over at Gary. He then turned back to Electivire and smirked, let out a snicker, and backed away slowly.

  “I guess you’re this one’s Trainer, then.” Paul smirked a bit at Gary. “It’s alright. Your Electivire is just competitive. I like it!” His smirk became a more challenging smile. “How about we have a battle with them for my Badge? Just one on one.”

  Gary was speechless and turned away from him, to June.

  Coughing, the girl was getting to her feet, her legs still quivering. She brushed down at her hair that remained a staticky mess. A spark bounced around her body quickly, causing her eyes to shut as she flinched. She shook this off and glared at Electivire. “He’s mine,” she said angrily.

  “What?” Paul frowned at June.

  “Electivire belongs to me. Whether he li-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!” June hit the ground as Electivire took her down with another Electric bolt. She was breathing hard as she got back to her knees and stayed there.

  June... Gary thought, staring hard at her as she kept her head down, trying to catch her breath.

  “So he’s disobedient then, huh? That only shows the lack of experience of the Trainer,” Paul criticized June.

  This statement made June look up at him angrily and bare her teeth. “You don’t know the first thing about me!! I used to be a Gym Leader! I have plenty of experience as a Trainer!!” June was returning to her feet again.

  “‘Used to be’ explains it all. No wonder. You sound worse than the Gym Leader I got rid of who used to run this Gym,” Paul went on mercilessly. “This region deserves a far better representation of a Gym Leader, and that’s why I took over.”

  June gasped. “You did get the last Gym Leader fired!”

  “She got what she deserved. She was pathetic. Just like Pastoria City’s old Gym, which I challenged and destroyed just as well for being so reputably weak.”

  June’s eyes were wide, her mouth just hanging wide open. “Th-th- That’s just crazy!”

  He’s gotten two Gym Leaders to lose their jobs?? Gary realized, horrified.

  “You’re the equivalent of a beginning Trainer with a traded, fully evolved Pokemon you thought you could use to win matches, but you can’t even control.” Paul closed his eyes and huffed out of his nose before uttering, “Pathetic,” and then gave them his back.

  Gary swallowed hard, understanding that Paul was as cold on the inside as he looked on the outside. He opened his mouth but could only breathe out. This is scary, Gary thought. I can’t even defend my friend! What kind of friend am I?

  “Get out of my Gym. I don’t have time for the likes of you two.” Followed by Electivire, Paul walked from them and back to the pack of Pokemon.

  The three guys with him didn’t follow and crossed their arms, staring at Gary and June intimidatingly.

  But Gary didn’t back down. He couldn’t. Not yet. “WHY IS THAT REGIGIGAS HERE?!” Gary finally demanded.

  Paul stopped walking, but he didn’t look back.

  His Electivire continued on by itself to the others.

  “Isn’t that thing supposed to be with that monster creature that’s attacking Sinnoh??” Gary continued. “Is that the same one? Have you seen her? The monster?”

  Paul finally turned back, sneering nastily. “OF COURSE IT ISN’T!! I CAUGHT THIS ONE THREE YEARS AGO!!”

  Gary swallowed, struggling to hide the quaking of his body. “Oh. You... caught one?”

  “Yeah! It’s not the one on the news! NOW GET OUT OF MY GYM!!”

  “But I’m here to fight you for your Badge!” Gary insisted.

  “Do you have disobedient Pokemon, too?” Paul stared so hard at Gary, he could have been shooting right through him.

  “No! But that doesn’t matter! Don’t make fun of my friend!” He took in a deep breath. “She’s right! You really don’t know anything about their history!” And June doesn’t know what I know, either, he kept to himself. But I can’t bring that up yet. Not now. But, when?

  Paul didn’t say anything, keeping stern eyes on Gary.

  Gary swallowed but didn’t back down, keeping eye contact. “So you use Legendary Pokemon. That’s why you’re so strong.”

  Paul growled and approached Gary, even bumping into the bald man on the way without stopping.

  Gary flinched but stood his ground. A Gym Leader wouldn’t hit a child, right?! He’s throwing rocks at his own Pokemon though, so-

  Paul stopped, his hands in fists. “I have every right to use the Pokemon I earned and captured! I’m strong enough to not only catch them but to also control them in battle! Anyone who doesn’t get that shouldn’t get involved in Pokemon training!”

  Gary was trembling, but he also nodded. “I-I-I agree with that! I’m a big fan of Tobias! The Champion of Sinnoh! I-!”

  “I know who Tobias is!” Paul cut him off. His face softened. “You’re actually a fan? Most people dislike him for using Legends.”

  “But it’s like you said! He caught them fair and square! He earned the right to use them and can control them! If the goal is to become a Pokemon Master, to beat any and all Pokemon, then that has to include Legends!”

  Paul’s mouth opened a little, no sound coming out. Then his mouth closed and he nodded with a, ”Hm. I only own my Legendary Pokemon to prove my strength. I don’t use them in battles I don’t have to. Like in Gym matches. It’s distasteful. That’s not what my job is about. As a Gym Leader, I’m here to help Trainers grow. As a Pokemon Trainer, I prove why I was able to capture Legendaries in the first place.”

  “You have others other than Regigigas?”

  Paul looked Gary over. “Don’t you have a Pokedex?”

  Gary nodded and took it out.

  Paul didn’t turn, but he did move his eyes and nudge his head to the pack of Pokemon behind him.

  “Oh. Right.” Gary scanned the Pokemon.

  Garchomp. The Mach Pokemon. The evolved form of Gabite. A Dragon and Ground-type Pokemon. This Pokemon is known for being extremely feral, and caution should be taken when encountering one, especially in the wild.

  Regigigas. The Colossal Pokemon. A Normal-type, Legendary Pokemon. It is said that using many different, special materials, it created new Pokemon in its image that it can control at will.

  Porygon2. The Virtual Pokemon. The evolution of Porygon and a Normal type. Porygon2 and those in its line are able to know secret moves and can speak a secret language. The artificial intelligence levels of this Pokemon are useful in science, but concerns have arrived of the possibility of this Pokemon keeping secrets.

  Kommo-o. The Scaly Pokemon. A Dragon and Fighting-type Pokemon and the final form of Jangmo-o. A warrior which finished training from all of its life, Kommo-o has the power to alter its surroundings by simply raising its arms. Kommo-o’s glittering scales serve as both offense and defense.

  Cresselia. The Lunar Pokemon. A Psychic-type, Legendary Pokemon.

  Gary and June gasped loud. “A LEGEND!!”

  Cresselia can rid one of any nightmares, including the lasting ones brought upon by the Mythical Pokemon Darkrai. They are considered a representation of the moon.

  Primarina. The Soloist Pokemon. The final form of Popplio. It is a Water/Fairy-type Pokemon. Its main weapons are its voice and the water balloons it creates while dancing.

  Magnezone. The Magnet Area Pokemon and Magneton’s evolved form. An Electric/Steel-type Pokemon. While flying through the night sky, it is often thought to be a UFO. It’s the fact that it is receiving and sending out signals to an unknown source that continues to fuel these theories.

  Greninja. The Ninja Pokemon. The final stage of Froakie, the Water Starter from the Kalos region. Greninja is a Water/Dark-type Pokemon. It attacks with weapons made of compressed water at a blinding speed to confuse enemies. An alternate form had been witnessed many years ago and labeled the “Ash-Greninja.”

  “Yeah! I knew that one! Greninja!” Gary smiled at the Pokemon.

  It immediately took a stance, keeping eyes on Gary.

  “Does this one transform, too?” Gary asked Paul excitedly.

  “NO!” Paul barked, and then he glared at Greninja.

  Greninja relaxed its body and looked to the side, avoiding eye contact with its Trainer.

  “It doesn’t. As usual, Ash can somehow manage to pull this crap out of his Pokemon,” Paul grumbled, now leering at the floor.

  “Paul,” Gary said, and then paused for a moment to gather his next words. “I’ve seen your matches with Ash. I’m from Pallet Town, too. I know all about Ash. He’s amazing!”

  Paul bared his teeth, looking ready to strike Gary.

  “And your matches have been my favorites, Paul!” he spoke quicker. “I mean it! I don’t know your history with Ash, but I’d love to hear about it if it can make me a better Trainer. You two had something personal going on. There’s interviews from Trainers about you two. I even saw a couple of tournaments you and Ash went through, and of course the Sinnoh League from years ago. I’m a huge fan of you guys! Ash is a true Master Trainer! And so are you! You chose to be a Gym Leader to stay out of the spotlight, but that’s bull!” Gary came to a stop, verbally.

  “You don’t know why I stopped!” Paul suddenly shouted. “You don’t know a damn thing about me, kid!”

  “I don’t! But I know I can beat someone like you! If Ash could, so can I! You never mastered Infernape’s Blaze Ability like Ash did. In fact...” Gary paused, wondering if he should continue speaking, or if he’d only be making things worse. “You have a Greninja because of that. Don’t you? You failed with Infernape, and seeing what Ash did with Greninja, you wanted to-”

  “We’ll have a Full Battle, six versus six!” Paul let out loudly.

  Gary was stunned. “Huh? Really?”

  “If you think you’re so good, and know so much, I’ll be sure to destroy you and make you never want to challenge the Sinnoh League again,” Paul smiled. It was a smile, but something about it gripped Gary’s heart with ice. He walked away from the kid and to the battlefield, stopping at his end.

  Paul’s Pokemon, the gardener, and Paul’s three possible bodyguards, moved swiftly. Paul’s Pokemon went behind Paul, the gardener standing to the side of the battlefield as the referee, and the three men sat in the bleachers.

  “Okay. Great.” Gary started to jog to his spot, but stopped after only a couple of steps. He looked back to June with hard eyes.

  June’s eyes widened. “Huh? Gary?”

  Gary then looked to Electivire.

  Electivire didn’t flinch, leering back.

  “This is mine, Electivire. Okay?”

  “Vire...” Electivire’s eyes tightened before he finally nodded. “Vire.”

  June stared at Electivire blankly, and as her bottom lip quivered, she lowered her head and closed her eyes, shaking her head.

  Electivire didn’t pay her any mind.

  Seeing this, Gary moved to his position with a heavy heart.

  June slugged her way over to the bleachers opposite of where the three guys were and sat down, her face looking panicky and sad.

  Electivire stood by the bleachers with the men and crossed his arms, glaring at the battlefield.

  The guys there were eyeing Electivire cautiously.

  Gary and Paul had harsh eyes on each other.

  This guy is gonna be one of the worst I have to face in this region, Gary told himself. Worse than Jupiter, maybe. And I’m not using Electivire to beat him this time, either. This is gonna be my own team! If I lose here, I lose here! No regrets!

  I’ll prove my worth!

  Here and now!

  It’s all or nothing!