[b][i]Pewter City Gym[/i][/b]

Rose bit her lip as she watched Brandon's retreating back, on his way to find Brock. He'd given her a couple of tips on how to do well in the gym and one of them had been to evolve her Budew. Something she hadn't managed to do yet. If it really came down to it Rose wasn't sure Budew would be able to actually win a battle. She believed in her pokemon that was not the issue and Budew could put up a fight using absorb to regain her strength. Yet she was still a baby pokemon and they were rarely used for battling until they evolved. Rose was worried for her safety. And she was doing it again. She was ruining her own fun by worrying about everything that could go wrong. After all she did have a couple of things working to her advantage not the least of which was the weakness of rock to grass. And grass just so happened to be her specialty, at least she was aspiring to be a grass pokemon trainer. Obviously she had to start somewhere and Budew had been as good of a choice as any. 

Putting her worries aside for the time being Rose just wanted to herself. Matthew's enthusiasm was infectious and she got just as excited if not more so. She was in her first gym ever and things were starting to get very real. Fighting gym leaders and earning badges was the real thing, it was what all pokemon trainers did, what her brothers had done before her. She was going to do the same with Budew at her side. 

Matthew's enthusiasm was rubbing off on her and she laughed as he was practically yelling at her from where he was standing. She checked once to see if Brandon had already returned but she found he hadn't yet so she made her way over to Matthew coming to stand beside him. She looked down at the arena below.

"I know right?, I can't believe we're here." Rose said brushing a lock of hair behind her ear, feeling butterflies in her stomach. 
They hadn’t spent a lot of time together maybe fifteen minutes at most but there was something about Matthew that put her at ease. She could tell he was a good guy and so far he’d been nothing but nice to her. He even went out of his way to return her potion and “saved” her from Ashley without realizing it. Him joining her was the perfect excuse to leave Ashley and be on her way.

She really hoped they would both do well in the gym. Matthew was so excited she would hate to see him lose against Brock. Rose didn’t know what kind of pokemon Matthew used and had no idea what type or species Hope was. He also had this curious Hoppip following him around which she thought was really cute. It was sitting peacefully on Matthew’s head and Rose found the sight of them adorable, smiling peacefully. 

If Hoppip was up to it Matthew should really use it in his battle against Brock. He would have the type advantage working in his favor. He probably knew that already and it may have been the reason he caught Hoppip in the first place. She didn’t want to give him any advice that seemed so obvious but she also wanted to help him out. If anything she would make herself look like an amateur trainer, which she was for all intents and purposes. 

Rose leaned on the balustrade so she faced Matthew, tearing her gaze away from the arena below. 
“You probably already know this but you should really try to use Hoppip in your battle with Brock, grass pokemon are really strong against rock types” She explained with a helpful smile. It was a sound strategy and she was going to use her grass pokemon too. Victory would be a breeze if she managed to battle like a real trainer. 

Before Matthew could respond Brandon came through the stone doors at the back, followed by a couple of trainers. Rose had a questioning look on her face. A gym leader was usually just one trainer right? So why was Brandon accompanied by these other trainers. There were two guys and one girl so unless Brock was a girl it had to be one of those two guys. The group of three walked down the stairs into the arena while Brandon came over to Matthew and her. He scratched the back of his head nervously and smiled somewhat apologetically at the both of them. 

“I…I talked to Brock” He began unsurely. Brandon sounded a bit uncomfortable and he didn’t like what he had to say. 
“He wants you to take on his apprentices first, to ummm…..see if you’re worthy to face him” He managed to finish. He pointed to the battle arena below where the three trainers were waiting. 

“Follow me please” He said, starting to make his way down the stairs. He checked occasionally if Matthew and her were following which they did. Now she understood who those trainers were. She wanted to face Brock so she could win the badge but battling with these trainers first had a couple of advantages. She could get a taste of their skill and have the opportunity to evolve Budew. 

The ground underneath their feet was uneven and solid stone stuck out in random places, some came up to her ankles while other pillars reached over her head. It was much bigger than it looked from upstairs and it was intimidating. Rose could feel another flock of butterflies in her stomach and she tried not to show she was nervous. Brandon turned around to face them gesturing towards the position of the challenger in the arena. 
“So who’s going first?” He asked going from Rose to Matthew and back again.