Day 168

[from Pokémon xTreme]

After only a day or two of training, Taylor decided that she was ready to take on the first Pokémon Gym. As well as her Eevee and Pidgey, Brandon had caught her a Hoothoot and Kakuna, the latter of which she had swiftly evolved into a Beedrill. As she and Brandon flew towards Pewter City aboard Charizard, she was still nervous, and her memories of her previous flight weren't exactly helping matters. Thankfully, the ride was a lot calmer and smoother this time, and after a few minutes she almost began to enjoy it.

It didn't take too long before the pair reached Pewter City. Nestled amongst the hills and mountains to the west of Mt. Moon, it was a lot smaller than Taylor's native Viridian City, but still a sizeable settlement. "The Gym's on the north side of town," said Brandon, "so we've got a little way to go yet. I'll try and land us as close to the Gym as I can."

Taylor nodded, her anxiety showing on her face. "This is it," she said. "Too late to back down now."

"You'll do fine," said Brandon reassuringly. "Just give it your all, and even if you lose, your Pokémon will still get plenty stronger from this."

"I hope I don't lose, though," said Taylor.

"Well, so do I," said Brandon, "but don't think it's the end of the world if you do lose. You can always just come back later and try again."

Taylor nodded, and offered Brandon a nervous smile. "Yeah, you're right," she said. "Thanks. I'll do my best."

"At the end of the day, that's all you can do," said Brandon. "Alright, there it is: Pewter City Gym."

Taylor could see it up ahead now, a large gray building with a purple roof. A Poké Ball logo was etched onto the building's façade, highlighting it as a Pokémon Gym. Brandon gently steered Charizard down towards the ground, and as the building grew larger and larger in her sights, butterflies started to fill Taylor's stomach. This was the point at which her Pokémon trainer career truly began, and from here on out there was no going back.

Charizard landed neatly on the sidewalk in front of the Gym, and Taylor and Brandon slid off its back and onto the ground. As Brandon recalled the Pokémon back into its Poké Ball, Taylor mentally steeled herself for the challenge ahead. There was a large sign in front of the Gym, which she swiftly read. "PEWTER CITY POKÉMON GYM. PART OF THE KANTO GYM CHALLENGE," it declared. "LEADER: GRAHAM JONES. SPECIALITY: BUG/POISON"

"You ready to go inside?" asked Brandon.

Taylor nodded. "I'm ready," she said.

"Alright then," said Brandon. "Let's do this."

Taylor took a deep breath, then headed into the Gym with Brandon just behind her. Inside was a large, sparsely-decorated room, with a purple honeycomb pattern printed onto the grey walls and floor. It felt somewhat minimalistic. Scattered around the Gym were various trainers, some of whom were training their Pokémon with practice bags or verbal instructions, while others were locked in fierce training battles with their fellow trainers.

To her left, Taylor spotted a Scyther trading blows with a dark-blue frog-like Pokémon that she did not recognize, presumably a Pokémon native to another region. While many Pokémon still remained confined to their original habitats, the increasing global movement of people and trainers meant that a number of Pokémon could now be found outside of their home regions, both in the possession of trainers and in the wild. Out of curiosity, Taylor opened her Pokédex app and consulted it. "Toxicroak, huh?" she muttered to herself. "Never heard of that one… looks kinda ugly."

"Hey, Graham!" Brandon's sudden shout took Taylor by surprise, and she almost dropped her smartphone. "Where are you? You got a challenger!"

The gym fell silent for a moment as everyone's attention focused on Brandon, then on his protégé. Slowly, the volume began to rise again, and this time Taylor could pick out snippets of the conversations around her: "Is that his mentee?" "She must be." "She looks pretty young." "She's pretty, that's for sure." "You reckon she's any good?" "Well, we'll find out in a minute."

A middle-aged man who had been busy coaching a teenage boy soon made his way over to Brandon and Taylor. Presumably, this was Graham. He had short black hair that looked like it was starting to thin out, and wore a grey T-shirt and blue jeans. It took Taylor a moment to realize that the man was looking at Brandon with something approaching contempt, as though he couldn't stand to see him in his Gym. As he reached them, however, he managed to put on a more neutral expression, turning his attention towards Taylor.

"You must be Brandon's student," he said. "Welcome to the Pewter City Gym. I'm Graham Jones, the leader here." He offered her his hand. Evidently, any animosity he felt towards Brandon did not affect her.

Taylor nervously shook Graham's hand. "Taylor Evans," she said. "It's, uhh… nice to meet you, I guess."

"You seem pretty nervous," Graham remarked. "I'm guessing this is your first time in a Gym?"

Taylor nodded. "Yeah," she said. "You'll go easy, right?"

Graham barely held back a chuckle. "Well, yes and no," he admitted. "I dunno what he told you-" He jabbed a thumb at Brandon. "-but to keep things fair, we pick different teams based on how many badges our opponent already has. That way, a guy starting off from Celadon isn't at an immediate disadvantage because his local Gym Leader uses Level 30s, and it also provides a smooth skill progression as you go through the Gyms. Of course, that doesn't mean to say I won't give it my all against you. I have my Gym's honour to uphold, after all."

"I see," said Taylor, who didn't feel very much encouraged by this.

"Well, if you're that nervous, why don't we get straight down to it?" asked Graham. "I'll go set things up and retrieve my Pokémon, wait here a minute." As he headed off, Graham began to wave his arms at the various patrons still training or watching on. "Alright, clear the centre of the room, people," he called out, "we got a Gym Battle about to take place. Make room, please, thank you."

Graham's destination seemed to be a large console at the back of the Gym. As he headed towards it, Taylor couldn't help leaning towards Brandon and whispering, "He doesn't seem to like you very much."

 "Yeah, I know," Brandon whispered back. "It's a long story."

As Graham reached the console, he flicked a switch and suddenly the whole Gym whirred into life. A large central section of the floor suddenly flipped right over, and on the other side were the markings for a standard Pokémon battle arena: a large white-bordered rectangle divided into two opposing sides by a white line, with a large Poké Ball symbol in the exact centre. This was where Graham and Taylor were to do battle.

On one of the walls, a large video screen flickered into life. Graham's name was displayed in the top-left corner, and Taylor's in the top-right. Beneath each name was a set of six circles; two of Graham's were filled in with Poké Balls while four of Taylor's were filled in, representing the number of Pokémon they each had. Two empty bars at the bottom of the screen would presumably show the health of their respective Pokémon once the battle had begun.

As Graham headed towards the arena, the mood in the Gym had changed once again, becoming more tense and subdued as the trainers-cum-spectators settled down to watch the impending match. Suddenly, Taylor longed for the earlier vibrant, buzzing atmosphere. It seemed far too quiet now, the silence broken only by Graham's footsteps echoing silently off the large walls as he took his place in the arena. Taylor, taking another deep breath, took her own place opposite him.

"May the best man win," said Graham.

Taylor swallowed nervously, then nodded. Her hand rested unconsciously on the Poké Ball containing Hoothoot. The moment of truth had finally arrived. In a few short minutes, she would know what her training had amounted to.

Graham turned towards one of the nearby trainers who was watching on. "Jason, would you mind doing the coin flip?" he asked.

"Sure," said Jason. Pulling out his wallet, he retrieved a ₽1 coin and prepared to flip it.

"You call it," said Graham, turning back to Taylor.

"Uhh… heads," said Taylor.

Jason promptly flipped the coin. "Heads," he called out.

"Alright, you get to send your Pokémon out first," said Graham. "Let's see what you've got."

Taylor glanced over at Brandon, who was watching on from the sidelines. Unlike her, he didn't seem even the slightest bit nervous. He coolly gave her a thumbs-up, and somehow, just knowing that at least one person was cheering her on made Taylor feel slightly more confident about her chances. As much as Brandon had insisted that the result didn't matter, and that she could always try again if she lost, she still felt that failing to win this battle would mean that she had let her mentor down.

Plucking the first Poké Ball from her belt, she held it out in front of her. "Go, Hoothoot!" she declared, and the Poké Ball opened in a burst of light.