The sun comes in through the pokemon center windows, but I’m already awake. I’ve been thinking of a battle plan. Today’s going to be a day for training. We got to make sure we’re strong enough to handle Brawly. But since he’s a fighting type gym, I already know I’ll be sending out Ruth for most of it. Her ability to have fighters fly through her is pretty handy. I’ll tag-team her and Grimer first, since he’ll only take half damage from fighting moves himself, and switch to Ruth if it looks to dangerous. Let’s go.

I wake the team and they get up groggily. “Alright team, yesterday was a long day of running and walking to and from,” I say, pacing and feeling a bit like a war general. “We had our share of adventures and futile battles, and we’re still only five in number. Today though that may change. We’re going to beat Brawly. We’re going to go into that cave, and we’re going to give Stephen his letter!” They cheer excitedly, (if a bit weakly) “And if we find new Pokemon along the way, then we’ll only be that much stronger. Are you ready? Let’s go!”I pull the door open (probably more dramatically than necessary) and head we stumble off into the sun.

Everyone seems strong, but we would have to see what the first trainer was like before we figured out if we needed to train all day. I decided to at least bring Grimer up to par for the future, so we battled a few wild Dusclops and Blazikens. We took a break then, and I concentrated on seeing if we could get Grimer to learn something new. He had all that sludge around him, surely we could utilize it somehow. I had John Henry move some rocks for targets, and I went about seeing if Grimer could produce excess sludge and hurl it hard or accurately.

We tried for a long time at it. Producing extra sludge was one thing, I found out, but producing enough to hurl quickly and powerfully was something entirely different. It was hard work, but Grimer showed real promise. Fern was a great cheerleader and Todd always rinsed away the previous attempts so we could concentrate on accuracy as well. Shaman Ruth sat a little ways away, napping, but was woken by the a satisfying thwap, as Grimer successfully produced excess sludge, turned, and hurled it powerfully into one of the targets. A perfect hit! Grimer learned Sludge! Grimer thew his arms up in excitement and engulfed everyone around in a slimy, smelly hug before they could get away. Ruth smiled appreciatively, then returned to her nap.

We took a break once I was sure that Grimer could give a repeat performance at any time, and settled down with the team for lunch (and also to dry out after Todd had hosed us down). It was a gorgeous day, and the sun shown high. As we sat and ate our food, I filled the rest of the team in with the plan. It was to be all Ruth. Grimer would come out at first just to ready the field and get an idea of what we were up against, and then Ruth would come out and do all the fighting. I looked at Ruth and asked her if that was okay, and to tell me if she got tired mid-way through. She shook her head an gave a laugh like the clanging of a thousand spoons, and she seemed to relish the idea of destroying an entire gym single-handedly.

We headed back to Mr. Briney’s house and enjoyed another peaceful sail back to Dewford, full of stories and legends about legendary creatures that were said to control the land and tides. It was only about mid-day when we got to Dewford, since we had gotten up so early that day, which left us plenty of time to challange Brawly and then maybe deliver the letter to Stephen. We steeled ourselves. I looked at Ruth, who gave a final nod, and we stepped into our second Gym.

It was pitch black. We all looked around at first, a bit confused, and almost bumped into our helpful gym guide, who warned us not to use normal-type pokemon, but that the gym would get lighter the more trainers we beat. We gave our thanks, and headed into a bit of a maze in the dark. After bumping into walls and almost tripping over each other, we heard a shout from next to us. It was the first trainer, and we hadn’t even seen her in the dark until she surprised us.

A spotlight appeared above us, illuminating just enough space for a small battlefield, and the trainer at the other end. “Don’t hold me responsible if lose. It’s not my fault if you cry!” she yelled. Charming. She sent out a Meditite and I called on Grimer. ”

Alright Grimer, survey, tell Ruth what you see!”

“Grimer!” and he sludged over, getting a good luck at our opponent. “Alright, Grimer, that’s good, now, Ruth!” And she appeared, a light gleaming in her eyes.

“Alright Ruth, watch out, this one’s part psychic, so be careful of a confusion.” Ruth nodded, and the foe Meditite sat calmly in the middle, meditating. “Ruth! Nightshade!” And there was a flash. The foe was knocked over, but quickly sat back up and continued meditating. Another nightshade however, and it was struggling badly. Ruth got up close and bound it, and then it was over. First victory!

The trainer was surprised and said we were a lot stronger than she thought, and snapped her fingers. The light expanded, and we could see more of the maze. Still, we half-bumbled our way to the next trainer. This one sent out a Machop who leered at us menacingly. Ruth ignored it, and set about night shading it. The Machop was getting close to going down when I remembered how the first trainer had startled us so much.

“Ruth! Surprise it!” Ruth nodded, understanding immediately, and faded into the dark shadows around the arena. The Machop panicked, looking around quickly for it’s attacker. Then, out of nowhere, Ruth appeared right behind it, Astonishingly closes. The Machop yelled and tripped over it’s own feet as it stumped to get away. It fell hard, and was defeated. Victory two!

I laughed and almost hugged Ruth, but quickly remembered why I shouldn’t as she put her hand out and stopped me, shaking her head and giving a warning call identical to the sound a dilapidated lighthouse makes as it falls sadly into the ocean. “Oh, right. Duh, sorry Shaman Ruth.” I said, embarrassed. She shook her head no big deal, and we high-fived instead.

The second trainer snapped his fingers and the light expanded once more. Being able to see a good deal now, we headed off through the winding corridors and were soon surprised by the final trainer. Another Battle Girl, she sent out a Meditite as well, who also meditated, but soon launched into confusions. Ruth took a few hits but shrugged them off, sending a nightshade.

But if “the Psychic should just give up the Ghost,” I thought, remembering my Pokemon Trainer book, then…this should work, “Ruth! Astonish it!” And Ruth vanished into the dark corners. The Battle Girl called for it to meditate, and not be confused by tricks, and it settled on the ground. A whisper like the shrill cry of breaking slate though made it turn it’s head, distracted. Ruth was almost on top of it, and it shrieked and passed out unconscious on the spot, super effective. “All right Ruth good job! But don’t forget there’s two more!” Ruth nodded, and settled back in a defensive position.

A Machop was called next, and I smiled in spite of myself. If Brawly was anything like his trainers, this would be a piece of cake. As if to accentuate my thought, a few flashing nightshades and the Machop was down. Another Meditite was called out and I grinned. “You know what to do Shaman Ruth.” “Dussclooppppsss….” hissed Ruth as she slid out of view. The Meditite looked around for Ruth, trying in vain to leer at it menacingly. Then Ruth was there, right in front of it, a mere inch from it’s faced. The foe went ridged, and fell back, utterly defeated by fright. A critical hit! “Yeah!! Good job Ruth!”

Ruth smiled and walked/hovered back over, chuckling darkly. She had taken a few hits from that last battle though, so we turned to head back to the Pokemon center. Another snap, and the lights were almost full on. Getting to Brawly would be easy now. We exited, and the bright sun outside was blinding from the dimness of the gym, and we staggered slightly, made our way to the Pokemon Center, healed, then returned back to the brightening gloom.

Traversing the maze one last time, we found Brawly at the back, standing expectantly with a smile on his face. “I was born in the waves here and fought my way through darkness. Let’s see what you got.” Nice intro, I thought, smiling. This was going to be fun.

Brawly’s Machop was called out, and as per our plan, Grimer only opened the field for Ruth, then came back to watch excitedly, as it was for him that Ruth fought for. This was a higher level Machop, and he leered confidently. Ruth didn’t let it get to her however, and sent back a flashing nightshade. The Machop responded by bulking up, flexing and massaging his muscles, getting his power ready. A few more nightshades, and the Machop kept responding by strengthening it’s power and leering intimidatingly, getting everything ready for one final hit that would knock out any opponent in one blow.

But the strategy was failing, and soon Brawly rushed in after a particularly blistering nightshade and propped up his Machop, giving it a super potion and a pep talk. Ruth waited patiently for the foe to jump back up, and then it’s another round of nightshades. Machop is determined to leer Ruth’s defense all the way down, while also bulking himself up in an attempt to stop taking so much damage from the nightshades. It’s no use though, as Ruth knows how to hit them perfectly every time, always doing the same amount of damage. It’s not long before Brawly has to use his second super potion and give another pep talk.

Ruth has yet to take a hit and seems to be deriving a dark pleasure from seeing Machop fighting a futile battle. Once Brawly’s left the field again, I have her switch to Astonishing her foe, as one can only do so many of those flashing nightshades. She pops up and scares him once, but the second time she’s barely appeared before Machop’s lifted his arm back, his bulked muscles flexing powerfully, and deliving a phenomenal Karate Chop! There’s the sound of a great impact and dust obscures the pair for a moment.

Brawly grins. “Guess all that bulking up seems to have paid off, eh Machop?” The dust clears, but the two haven’t moved at all. Ruth is still standing directly in front of Machop, but there’s a crater at her feet. Brawly and Machop blink. “Wh..what? How did she dodge it? I could’ve sworn it was a perfect hit!” Ruth jumps away and astonishes Machop again while he stares at his hand, wondering what happened.

“Well, Machop, hit it again!” “Maaaachop!” it yells, focusing and cutting his hand through the air at a blistering speed. The blow passes cleanly through Ruth, and she laughs, a dark sound like a children’s music box on fire.

“Ruth! Surprise it, then wrap it up!” Ruth vanishes once more, than appears, binding it’s foe tightly. Machop gives a desperate last chop, which passes through Ruth harmlessly, then he’s down, and Ruth drops him heavily on the ground.

Brawly’s a bit taken aback, but smiles. “No one’s challenged me with a ghost Pokemon in years. I’d forgotten fighting attacks don’t work on them. You’re good, I’ll give you that. But there’s still one more before I hand out my badge.” He throws a Pokeball, and a short, fat Pokemon appears, a Makuhita–another fighting pokemon.

“This’ll be easy. Ruth, nightshade!” A flash, and the Makuhita’s hit, but Brawly calls out, “It’s been a really long time since someone’s come at me with Ghost pokemon. And I’ll admit, for us fighting types, there’s not really much we can do….except this.”

Makuhita comes charging through the light and delivers a quick strike where Ruth’s hands join her body. The move makes contact and Ruth is surprised, jumping back quickly and rubbing her hand joint. (Dusclops’ hands are directly connected to their body without arms or wrists)

“What was that?!” I yell, “Fighting moves aren’t supposed to hit Ghosts! ‘ When up against a Fight, scare them with a Fright!'” I quote from my Trainer’s book, mouth agape. Ruth turns and shrugs, but Brawly speaks up again.

“That was Knock Off. It supposed to knock a foe’s held item out of their hands, which doesn’t really matter in your case, but Oh, I forgot. It’s also a Dark move–super effective against Ghosts.” I grit my teeth. This was supposed to be an easy sweep without much damage taken to Ruth.

“Guess it’ll be a real battle then,” I say, smiling. “Ruth! Full force! Keep using Nightshade until you can’t anymore!”

“Maku! Knock down this ghost!” yells Brawly, and the two are going full force. Flashes of light are blinding, filled with the sounds of the two pokemon trying to get an edge on each other. Ruth looks like she has it though, her Nightshades being just a bit more powerful than Makuhita’s Knock Offs. The battle wages on, until finally Ruth manages to extricate herself from Makuhita’s attacks, jumps backwards, and hits a nightshade full in its face. The Makuhita’s eyes slide out of focus, it stumbles, then falls backwards. Match over.

“WE DID IT!! WE DID IT RUTH!!!” I yell, jumping up and down and running to over to her. I grab her hands in mine and swing her around and around. She gives a cheer like creaking furniture and closes her eye in happiness. Finally, I set her down. “How are you doing, I forgot to ask, sorry.” Ruth is panting, but gives me a thumbs up.

“Well done. I commend you,” says Brawly, “You made a bigger splash than I thought you would. In accordance with League rules, and for a job well done, I hearby award you the Knuckle Badge. And here, this is a gift from me,” he says, handing me both the badge, our winnings, and a small disk. “This is Bulk Up. It’s great for raising your Pokemon’s attack and Defense. You should use it.” I smile, John Henry would probably love this. Brawly snaps his fingers, and the lights come on completely. “Go now, and grow stronger. The next gym lies in the town of Mauville, a far distance from here. If you take the sea, you can go through Slateport, but it’s a long journey. Good luck.”

I thank him, and we clasp hands. I feel the strength of his grip and feel a spirit that has been honed and trained in adversity. Maybe one day I’ll be that strong too. We turn and wind our way back through the lit corridors and out into the sun.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

We’ve healed up and we’re at the edge of town, our team still cheering and celebrating over our victory against Brawly. Ruth is the lady of the hour, and she chuckles, blushing at all the attention. John Henry congratulates her, but looks a bit envious. I can tell he wanted to test his strength against other fighting Pokemon too.

“John Henry! I’ve got something for you! A gift from Brawly.” He turns, intrigued, and the other cluster around as I hold out a silver disk. I tell the disk to activate, and a hologram appears, displaying a Machop flexing.

“Bulk Up. The user flexes and smooths it’s muscles, honing them to increase both attack and defense,” the machine says robotically, in a voice like my Pokedex.

Machop’s eyes light up, and he practices what the little floating Machop is doing. “Maaachop!” he says proudly, throwing back his arms and flexing significantly. Fern blushes and looks away, smiling.

Machop learned Bulk Up! The hologram shudders, then cuts off, and the disk crumbles into dust.

“Fern! I’ve got something for you too!” She perks up her ears excitedly and turns to the disk I hold out. A hologram of a pikachu appears, screws up it’s concentration, and lets out a blinding flash. Fern’s eyes go wide, and she mimics the action, screwing up her concentration until,

“Plluuusle!!!” and there’s a flash of light so bright we all fling ourselves down, covering our eyes. Fern looks around and stops the light, embarrassed. “No, no! That was great Fern! That’s just what we need for going into this cave! We’ll have Stephen’s letter to him in no time!” And we head into Granite Cave.

We’ve gone down a ladder into our next area of the cave, the light bobbing slightly as Fern walks. Suddenly, there’s a great deal of screeching and sparks flying as we turn the corner to see our first pokemon of this area:

“A Zapdos!?” I cry, stunned. “Zapdos, the Electric Pokémon. Zapdos has both electric and flying elements and the flappage of its wings can create lightning.” says the Pokedex helpfully. Woah, better be careful then.

“Alright, Grimer! Go! Let’s see if we can weaken this thing and capture it!” Zapdos flies down and pecks Grimer, but Grimer hits it with a sludge ball for a great deal of damage as it goes overhead. He aims and throws another one, catching Zapdos in the face. Too much power though, and Zapdos flies and crashes down somewhere far deep in the cave.

Why do all these legendary Pokemon, that not really anyone is supposed to see, keep appearing? To me? I ponder this for a bit, but we head on. There’s not much for it, I suppose, and to assume that I’m somehow an extra-special, mystical person who doesn’t know it yet seems silly. Still, my team keeps giving me glances of awe occasionally as we make our way through.

We head down what we hope is the last ladder (Fern has to stop her light as we climb down because she can’t concentrate enough otherwise,) and we run headfirst into something hard. It gives a squawk and Fern hastily brings her light back on. It’s a large bird Pokemon, with gleaming metal armor. A Skarmory!

I have Ruth quickly nightshade it and bind it while it pecks her once or twice, then send Todd out to put it to sleep. Two poke balls later and it’s ours.

“Yes! We have a full team now!” I exclaim. I decide to name him “Captain,” because something about him reminded me of Mr. Briney. He’s still asleep and very weak in his poke ball, so we’ll meet him later.

We walk into a small chamber to find a man crouched, examining some stones. He stands up as he hears our little band shuffle in.

“Oh hello! That’s a neat Pokenav you have there. I think they’re very useful personally.” He says, gesturing to my belt where the device hangs, winking pleasantly. Then he seems to realize what a weird introduction that could be perceived as and starts again. “I’m sorry, hello. I’m Steven Stone. Who are you and what brings you here?” He’s kind of awkward, in a polite, quirky sort of way that somehow reminds me of Wally. I decide I like him immediately.

We introduce ourselves and announce our quest, and he thanks us for the letter and pushes a TM at me, insisting that I should be rewarded for my efforts. Normally, I’d refuse a reward for so small a task, but I think about how long it’s actually taken to get him this letter and how hard we’ve had to work for it, so I take it without complaint.

“It contains ‘Steel Wing,'” explains Steven eagerly, “It’s my favorite move. Put it to good use. Bye!” and walks past us out of the cave. We wait for a bit until we can hear his footsteps no longer, then burst out laughing. Steven is an odd fellow, but he seems likable. And we got this nifty TM that would be perfect for the Captain (when he’s in better shape)!

We start to head out and come to the last new area of the cave and see a smallish pokemon scampering in front of us. A Larvitar! I look around quickly to make sure a mother Tyranitar isn’t about to come barreling out from behind some rocks, then engage it in battle. A few nightshades and a hypnosis later, and Zoe is sitting comfortably in her poke ball for a bit, before she is automatically transferred to the Pokemon Storage System. Technology is amazing.

Deciding we’re done with this cave, I pull out our escape rope, and manage to hoist us all back up to where we started. We walk back along the beach in the bright sunlight and head to the Pokemon center to get acquainted with our new teammates.

There’s a flash, and the Captain appears, dignified with his steel feathers and Jolly demeanor, and bows. It seems it’s a delight to make our acquaintance. We bow back in return, and then everyone’s clustering near, admiring his plumage. He gives a squawking metallic laugh and spreads his wings, to the joy of our team. Todd seems to appreciate fine art when he sees it and sits back on his tail to view the sunlight streaming through the feathers. Fern’s excited to meet our new teammate, and is talking animatedly with the Captain, who listens good-naturedly until he turns to Grimer, who’s welcoming him eagerly, though, trying not to get sludge on his glistening armor. John Henry tests the metal of the Captain’s wings gently, and seems to communicate that the two of them should spar at some point.

The Captain laughs and seems to say that it would be his honor to participate in single combat with one so bold and strong. Finally, Shaman Ruth walks, studies the avian for a long time, and then opens a hand in greeting. The Captain offers a wing and performs a graceful bow to the good lady.

Once everyone has been acquainted, I open Zoe’s poke ball, and there’s a flash, and then she appears on the sand. She looks tough, and rough-tempered, and the team looks a bit nervous, but she raises a paw in greeting mildly, as if to say, “Yo.” The team relaxes and descends on her in turn. She doesn’t seem to mind the attention, or the fact that her appearance is a bit intimidating, and greets everyone equally with amusement.

Finally, the group settles down and I call over the Captain. It seems we finally have someone who can learn Cut, which means we can finally get those items and pick those berries we had seen earlier. I pull out the other TM containing Steel Wing and the group clusters around in interest. The TM displays a Pigeot, who screeches and hardens its wings like steel, before diving in a devastating hit. The Captain nods and looks up at his own wings in interest. The team steps back, and the Captain focuses. His wings grow dense and shine even brighter then before. He flies forward in a rush, and cracks a nearby boulder. The group applauds eagerly.

Then he’s back and watching the Cut HM. It shows a Scyther slicing through a tree. The Captain seems to recognize the comparison instantly, and hops over and slices through a tree of his own. The group applauds more eagerly. The Captain seems to have become quite popular quite quickly, and Shaman Ruth looks over, a bit of color about her.

We return to Mr. Briney, again, not staying the night at Dewford, and have a lovely voyage back, with Mr. Briney and Peeko getting along with the Captain instantly. We arrive back, and run to Rustboro, talking and laughing along the way, to collect some more items we’ll be able to sell. We have a few more battles with trainers, but nothing to interesting to report. The Captain is able to beat his opponents with ease, but he still needs more training if he’s going to be as strong as the others.

We head back to Mr. Briney’s to stay the night before we leave in the morning for Slateport, but as we approach his hour from a rise, I can’s help noticing the beach where Sano fell. It’ll be along time before I’m back here again…I think, taking in the thought and readying myself for the journey ahead. Despite our loss that second day, we have new friends, two badges under our belt, and our next target’s in sight.

I smile in spite of the memory. It’s been a good day.