Terry and I sat across from each other on a bench facing toward the water. Our pokemon frolicked in the waves, Makhai taunted Bailey by splashing him or pulling him into the water. He was always punished by a blast of fire. Amari curled up in ball on a rock and sunbathed, Solomon enjoyed some of the underwater plant life. Goblin the scyther zipped through the air, high up in the sky cleaving through bird pokemon and devouring them before they touched the ground. Meanwhile I just sipped on a slushy.

My starter, Zevoa, sat loyally by my side. "Go have fun, girl," I told her. She didn't respond, she was in a bad mood. I wasn't exactly sure why, but I thought it was because the rest of the team were outshining her in the strength department. I had no idea that she took pride in her skills, but I made sure to pay extra attention to her. As much as I loved the rest of my team, Zevoa was still my number one.

"You know, I'm noticing a dynamic in your team. Tell me if I'm wrong," Terry said. I nodded, signalling her to continue. "Zevoa is the oldest sister, Solomon is the emotional socially awkward teen, Makhai is the annoying little brother, and Amari is the baby that everyone coddles, right?"

"And I'm the single father struggling to take care of them," I finished for her. We both laughed and took sips of our drinks. "I guess your team would be more like soldiers, I've noticed. You've got Lt. Bailey, Sergeant Betsy, Private Mary, then Goblin would be the one guy who went rogue and doesn't follow the rules, and Bailey has to kill him in the end. Right?"

As if one cue, the scyther swooped down and caught someone's squirtle and lifted it in the air, eliciting colorful words from Terry. He dropped the turtle, causing it to fall from at least sixty feet above the water. "I think it's about time for you to take a rest," she said as she returned her pokemon. I had a flashback to when Zevoa last did something like that, about three days ago.

"So, when're you gonna challenge the gym?" Terry asked. "She shouldn't be too hard, they're just water pokemon, after all."

I sighed, "It's not that I don't think I could beat her at my level, it'll just be so awkward. How do I know she isn't like Clara? She might not even let me in."

"Gyms can't refuse anyone with a training license from stepping into their doors. I mean, you really think anyone would allow me into their gym?"

"I guess you're right," I said as I threw my drink into the public trashbin. "Amari, Makhai, Solomon," I called them over. Makhai was the first to get to me, followed by Solomon then Amari. Makhai was a foot taller than before, and he had no tail to speak of. It was difficult to get used to at first, but his tail hindered his movements, while also giving him mobility through his ability to latch onto objects with it. Without it, he was faster, but he had to climb using only his hands and feet. His arms were no longer covered with creamy fur, showing the brown-skin underneath. His biceps were vascular and looked like they would tear through his skin. When he evolved, his boost in speed was tremendous. So fast that when he battled he could hardly keep up with himself, he'd trip and crash into walls. I had to bind weights to his legs and arms

His temperament was mostly the same. But when he got angry, it was far more difficult to break him out of it. I harnessed that passionate anger and made it into an attack. Outrage. Probably the strongest attack in his arsenal.

Solomon was only slightly bigger, but he could also stand on his hind legs. He couldn't walk while like that, but it showed that he was making progress towards his next evolution. His horn was disproportionately large. Terry said that she heard it would grow at a faster rate than the rest of his body and that it probably wasn't even at it's biggest length.

Amari made the most progress as far as strength and size went. I guess that was mostly because he was only a duckling a few months ago. The size of a goose, his crown of bulbs had combined and became only a few bumps across the top of his head. The tip of his tail was engulfed in fire compared to the small flame that was there a while ago. He adopted a more carnivorous diet of fish and small mammals. My team were now seventy-five percent carnivores, so they could share one large kill instead of having to scour for their own specific meals.

I returned them all except for Solomon since he was the most well-behaved around a lot of people. Amari was timid and Makhai was aggressive, Zevoa just had a naturally scary appearance. "We're heading out to the gym?" Terry asked as she hopped onto Bailey's saddle. She offered me a ride, but I declined.

"Yeah, I'll follow you. Just let me go catch a rapidash," I joked. Terry laughed and rode off, crossing the boardwalk and entering the city. I strode through the city past crowds of people heading to the beach with surfboards and boats dragging behind their cars. I saw so many water pokemon over the coarse of those months that I wondered how I never decided to catch one. Everyone had a horsea, a slowpoke or a psyduck. Sometimes I'd see politoads, but they were only a little rarer. I kind of wanted something more exotic, from somewhere other than Kanto. Three of my pokemon were native to Kanto, it'd be good to have some variety.

The city streets were paved with asphalt, although they had a thin veil of sand blanketing them. Nobody seemed to care, they were constantly on the move. There was no such thing as a bad day to be in Cerulean, I guess. The change of climate was huge on the opposite sides of . Pewter had blizzards during the winter, whereas Cerulean only had snowflakes float from the heavens and gently caress the ground. It was beautiful. As I arrived at the gym, it's outward appearance was even a bit different. Far larger, glass roofs that blindingly reflected the sun, Wingull perched on the edges of the roof. I pushed through the glass doors to find Terry giving the evil eye to the gym leader as she did laps in the pool with young kids imitating her movements. Actually, it was less like a pool and more like a pond. It had a green tint to it. Grass grew out of the solid ground surrounding it, ferns and lilypads broke through the surface.

The leader was a blonde with an excellently built swimmers body, she had to be younger than the other leaders I met, they were both in their late twenties or early thirties, she appeared to be in her late teens.

A gym trainer met me at the door, a redhead man who also had a nice figure. His features were sharp and mature looking. He looked like he'd be a fire trainer more so than a water one, nevertheless, he was probably a great battler. "No need to show us your license, we know exactly who you are," he waved me off as I reached for my verification.

"Well I'm looking for a battle," I said.

"You'll be fighting me," he replied simply. "Leader Gloria, clear the pool. Floyd is here," he yelled. The woman nodded and led the children out of the area and handed them towels to dry off with. I saw a kid stare at me in disbelief, like he wanted to say something but couldn't find the words. Leader Gloria led him away before he could.

Soon, everyone who was standing idly in the gym took their seats on the stands. There were four row stands on each side that stretched from one end of the facility to the other. The gym was big enough to fit a full-grown onix inside of it comfortably, which was a huge statement. I had heard that water pokemon were the biggest types of pokemon. That must've been why the gym was so big.

Leader Gloria watched from the sidelines. She was oddly close to Terry even though they clearly had a distaste for each other. Terry just kept her eyes on me and ignored her. People poured into the building until there were about thirty people on each side. There were obviously mixed emotions, some came to see me win. Most to see me lose. I'd hopefully prove them wrong.

It was big and loud enough in the building that he had to use a megaphone to be heard. "We will each be using four pokemon, with the condition that at least half of them can swim or maneuver within or above the water," he paused for a moment before continuing. "You cannot use electricity directly on the water, nor can you pollute it with poison attacks. You may use a fire-type to superheat the water, or an ice type to freeze it, though."

"Leader Gloria requested for me to take the battle for private reasons, so for those who do not know, I am her gym trainer Bryan Turner. I am nearly as qualified to battle this trainer as she is, so do not worry. This battle will start whenever the challenger is ready."

I reached for my pokeballs, but I felt someone grab my arm. Terry was behind me. She leaned in close to whisper into my ear, "He won't be going easy," she said.

"Well obviously. So far none of them have, it's because they want to challenge my level of skill," I told her.

"No, I mean he'll really let you have it. He might even use one of his pokemon from his League team. They think you're a big shot prodigy trainer, you've got a reputation, you know," she whispered. "Fought an onix before you had your first badge, brawled with some rangers, stuff like that, I'm just saying, it'll be a lot harder than my match was," and with that, she got off my platform and took a seat.

"I'm ready!" I yelled. Well, I thought I was, but it turns out I wasn't. The gym trainer tossed out an ultra ball, and the pokemon that appeared basically confirmed exactly what Terry said. He'd actually be trying to win. It was an alligator, about seventeen feet from head to tail with red spikes going down its back. It's arms were like meaty tree-branches, it's tail could probably snap me in two if it actually swung it at me. I had no idea how to beat it.

Solomon was already out and standing behind me silently, but I decided against using him. He wasn't a strong swimmer, Amari was better at it than he was, as long as Amari kept his tail from touching the water. Makhai was so dense with muscle that he sunk like a brick. Zevoa was very quick and agile even when completely submerged.

"Dragon dance," Bryan commanded calmly. His feraligatr rose from the water, showing its full body off. A misty pinkish red aura enveloped the reptile. It's tail slammed against the surface of the water, creating a wave that was probably bigger than it should've been. I became wet from over fifty feet away. "I'll try and go easy. Dragon claw," it's claws grew immensely before it dropped back into the pond and shot like a torpedo after Zevoa.

"Sucker punch, girl," I commanded. As it's claw impacted her, she disappeared. She appeared on its back and tore off a chunk of its shoulder. It couldn't turn around and swat her off, so she continued to maul its back. Her thunder fang sent electrified pulses through its bloodstream.

"Dive, Gill!" The feraligatr plunged into the water. For a few seconds the water was quiet. Zevoa soared out of the water with the feraligatr trailing after her. As they rocketed towards the ceiling, it raised its arm in an uppercut motion, a torrent of water raised from the pond and crashed into Zevoa. She yelped in agony as she took the full brunt of the waterfall attack. The two pokemon fell back into the water, the feraligatr's landing was far more graceful, though. Zevoa frantically swam to the solid terra on the edge of the battle-zone. The feraligatr leered at her and made a deep bellow from the base of its throat. The echo could be heard over the sound of the audience. Zevoa cackled. The battle commenced once more, now on the solid ground. Wild slashes and bites, Zevoa attacked its legs, hindering its swimming ability. It just used the immense power behind its onslaught to deal a ridiculous amount of damage. Even a grazing of its claws cut a few inches deep.

"Use another dragon dance," Bryan ordered. His pokemon once again began to rise from the earth and coat itself with red aura.

"Mimic!" I told Zevoa. She copied his movement, although her use of the technique was more strained. It, however, was just as potent. She hit the ground and blitzed the feraligatr immediately with her newfound speed.

"Hydro pump!" Water gushed from its mouth, but Zevoa avoided it completely. She mimicked it and used her own hydro pump, a water sac temporarily grew in her stomach, allowing her to summon the a technique equally as powerful. "Thrash!" Bryan was getting more distraught, I could hear it in his voice. The feraligatr roared and rapidly swiped at Zevoa. It's claws were twice their length, its fangs were ice-cold popsicles. Zevoa was ducking the attacks, but she met a crusher in the form of an aqua tail. It swept her feet from under her. I thought I had heard a snap.

It picked up Zevoa and tossed her into the water, but she vanished before landing. "Poison fang, girl!" She crunched it's shoulder again. The feraligatr was badly poisoned, it hopped up and landed on its back to get her off. She disappeared and materialized on its exposed belly, she shredded it's stomach with her claws. Blood spurted out, it hissed and seized her with it's large, meaty claws.

It slammed the mightyena repeatedly, then ended the combo with a soccer kick that actually made her skip across the pond. Before she could sink, I recalled her and sent out Makhai. I'd just have to avoid sending him into the water, then we'd be golden.

"Close combat," I ordered Makhai. Within a split-second, he was pounding the feraligatr with fists moving faster than I could follow. Ribs cracked under the force of his strikes. Teeth flew from its mouth. Blood splattered the ground where they stood. He stopped his assault, the feraligatr was heaving as blood surged from its open wounds. "Meditate, calm down," I told him. He nodded and gave me a thumbs up. He closed his eyes and breathed out. He pressed his fists together and sat down cross-legged. The feraligatr stood in wait, slowly backing away in fear of the imminent danger. It was one step away from touching the water when Makhai screeched. He bounded for the feraligatr and broke the feraligatr. That was the best way to describe how powerful the strike to it's gut was. It flew all the way across the water and into the stands, where people dived out of the way as it crashed into the seats. It didn't move at all.

"Return, Gill," Bryan pointed his pokeball at it, returning the feraligatr with a red laser.

The crowd cheered so loudly I could barely think. Even the ones who doubted me were admitted that the knock-out punch delivered by Makhai was epic. Bryan threw his next pokeball directly at the platform he stood on. A blubbery-seal with a small horn on its forehead flopped around and barked, it's trainer patted its head and said something to it, and it floundered into the water. I had no idea where it was. It was concealed under the green tint of the pond. Makhai scanned over the surface, looking for even the smallest shadow. He could track things using his newly found enhanced senses far better than he previously was able to. It was a shock to him when he first evolved, the monumental boost was more of a burden than a strength.

If we couldn't find it, we'd have to play the waiting game. "Makhai, bulk up," I ordered him. He flexed his arms and hardened his physique. His trapezius muscles showed even through his fur, the stress mark on it's forehead was extra pronounced. He gritted his fangs and made a low growling sound.

"Do something!" A person in the crowd yelled. A swarm of people agreed with him, I wished that I could actually get the match going a little faster too.

"Makhai, drop on him!" Makhai looked around the surface, once he locked onto his target, he bounced straight into the air, then plunged into the water headfirst. He wouldn't be able to swim back to the surface, but he could pin the seel to the bottom of the pond and beat the shit out of it. If Bryan the gym trainer was smart, he'd return his pokemon before then so it didn't drown. But, Makhai could only hold his breath for five minutes. When I realized that he was unable to swim, I tried to work on the strength in his lungs so that just in case he was caught underwater, he'd still have a chance.

There was a collective gasp in the audience, they probably also knew primeape were unable to swim. The seel popped out of the water with Makhai riding it. It's skin had claw marks up and down It squealed in pain. It tried to shake him off, but he was far too heavy, and his attacks were too fierce. It neared the solid-grassy ground and Makhai stood up and let go of the pokemon. It was knocked out from bloodloss, and it didn't even score a single hit.

"Alright, you know what? Leader Gloria told me to give you a challenge, I thought I was, but apparently you're a tough guy, though. Mangrove, let's go," he recalled his seel and released a hulking beast with large meaty arms, it's back was wider than three grown men lying side-by-side. The size of its arms forced it to stand hunchback on its knuckles, sort of like a gorilla. Two fins went from its massive head down to it's back. There was one thing it could be, a swampert.

The swampert lumbered into the water and sank into it. It's fins broke through the surface as it snaked through the water over to my side of the field. As the water got shallower, Makhai tensed. It grumbled as it appeared, Makhai used a close combat where every hit landed, but it seemed like it did nothing. It's thick hull soaked up hits like a punching bag, but one hit sent Makhai flying into the stands. He didn't break any seats like the feraligatr did, he landed gently on his toes and bounded back to the ground. The swampert picked up a handful of mud and chucked it at Makhai, he easily dodged it. It chucked a barrage of sludge at him, only a few hit him, but they went directly into his eyes.

"Use another hammer arm, Mangrove. Beat it into the ground," Bryan commanded. It lurched up to him and rocked Makhai with a swing that squashed him against the ground. Those bulk-ups were helpful, as he didn't get knocked out immediately. Him got back to his feet and caught the next hit. The swampert pushed its full weight to try and crush Makhai, but he pushed back. Makhai had such a small body, but he had so much damn muscle it was ridiculous. He was just as strong as any fighting type. He gritted his teeth and heaved it overhead and slammed it against the mud. Makhai maintained his grip on the swampert and tried it again, it opened it's mouth and a hydro pump hit Makhai point-blank.

He stumbled back and screeched. "Outrage!" His claws and incisors grew tremendously with night blue energy. He slammed into the swampert like a speeding bullet. It stumbled to the side and powerless against the constant bludgeoning.

"Counter it, Mangrove."

"Makhai, stop!" I yelled, but it was pretty much over for him. The swampert was already glowing crimson, one powerful ending-kick from Makhai sealed his fate. I was proud that Makhai was able to knock out two pokemon, either way though, we'd still win. I tossed out Solomon's pokeball. His huffed as always upon appearance, then backed away at the sight of water.

"Poison-sicle," I commanded Solomon. All the quills on his back went straight into the swampert's chest. I figured out that using all the quills at once heightens the chance to poison, which opens up for the rest of our combo, "Venoshock!"

An unavoidable attack from the inside. The poisonous chemicals exploded from the swampert's mouth and other orifices, purple fluid's soaked the floor around it.

"Ice beam to its face," I said calmly. The shot of ice put a sheet over its head, the swampert was on the ground, slowly dying from the poison and ice. Maybe if I hadn't used Solomon, or if I hadn't strictly been training Solomon's poisons for the past two months, then he might've been able to actually hit Solomon before losing. The rest of the battle was quick, his last pokemon was easily dispatched.

The crowd cheered my name, Bryan went to the back to heal his team. Leader Gloria walked up and spoke to me personally, "Is this how Floyd North battles?"

"Apparently."

She laughed dryly, "I'm not giving you this badge."

"Yes you are, league rules state-"

She cut me off, "If you defeat the gym leader then you are honoured the gym badge of the city. There was a reason I made Bryon battle you. Come back once you're done with the circuit, I'll give you a real battle, boy," she glared at me before she turned around and walked away at the same time Terry showed up. She had to push her way through the people that clustered around me.

"Congrats!" She high-fived me, "That looked difficult, a feraligatr and a swampert? You didn't even struggle, and those might've been from his main team!" She seemed excited.

"Was yours harder?" I asked.

She shook her head, "No, it was actually pretty easy, but Gloria only used pokemon that were a little above my level. They have some high expectations for you, Floyd," she strolled towards the glass doors, beckoning for me to follow.

The last time I walked out of a gym, something bad happened. Since then, Kanto relations had gotten worse. Terry took me to a fast food place with a simple menu of mostly burgers and fries.

As we ate our celebratory lunch, a debacle took place. Two rangers came up to us and sat down, one next to me and the other beside Terry. It was a diner and the seat was a crescent shaped couch with a table in the center. The shape of our seat meant that we were trapped in by the men, and neither seemed friendly. The one next to me took my burger and ate a bite before speaking, "So you beat Leader Gloria, huh?"

"No, I beat Bryan," I answered. My hand was already on Amari's pokeball, since he was the healthiest on my team at the moment. Terry was antsy, her hand on something else. She had purchased a pistol for self-defense purposes a month ago.

He grabbed a handful of fries and stuffed them in his mouth and let me see the mush in his mouth. I dropped my fork with a Clack!

"I paid for this."

"With Kanto Crown," the man next to Terry snapped.

Here is a chapter, not heavily edited but skimmed over so it's at least readable. I'm so extremely busy, funny thing is that I'm not doing too good in my writing class when I'd say that I'm probably the most experienced writer in my grade. Anyway, definitely not going to be frequent updates, so don't hold your breath. I'm not going to cancel this though. Follow, favorite, and review if you enjoyed. If you hate this story, show me by favoriting and following this, stay updated on the current chapters so you can hate on those too. Peace.