Matthew stood at the side of the arena, hopping from foot to foot, unable to stand still for any given length of time. Now it was his turn to stand on the sidelines, watching as Rose and Budew took on Jen and her Geodude. The two seemed a lot more even than he and Oliver had been, they were both level headed and ready to battle. But, Rose and Budew were battling remarkably well. The second they managed to apply stun spore to Jen's Geodude, Matthew knew that Rose was going to take the victory. He watched with bated breath as the battle continued, realizing that battling Brock without her would feel... Strangely wrong. Eventually, Budew managed to land a powerful absorb and the Geodude didn't have the energy to pull itself up again.
"You did it!" Matthew whooped, dashing over to an obviously stunned Rose "That was amazing! Both of you!" He shot a smile over at Budew. Rose was a great trainer, Matthew had merely assumed before but now he knew for certain. If anything, now he knew that Rose was someone he would have to keep his eye on. He grinned, about to say something else but once again, Brendan stepped in and interrupted him.
"Congratulations Rose!" He beamed "Now, I'll go tell Brock that you're ready to batt..."
"No need" a voice chimed in from behind him. Brendan stepped to the side to reveal a middle aged man standing in a doorway "I watched both of your battles, it looked like you're ready to battle me."
Matthew's grin grew wider as he looked upon his next challenger. Brock radiated respect and wisdom, there was no doubt looking upon him that he was going to be a real challenge, unlike Oliver.
"If you're sure Brock," Brendan shrugged "May I suggest you battle Rose first? She shows real promise..."
"Her Pokemon has just come out of a fight, don't be foolish Brendan." Brock spoke calmly, turning to face Rose "Please, take a moment to make sure your Budew is ready. Matthew, is your Meinfoo ready to battle once more?" Brock asked the question directly, looking directly at him. Matthew didn't hesitate, nodding immediately.
"Hope is always ready to battle sir." Brock laughed
"You're confident, I like it. This should be a fun battle."
It took a couple of minutes for the battlefield to be cleaned, replacing a few of the previously destroyed boulders but shortly Matthew found himself standing opposite Brock, his first real challenge since becoming a trainer. It was simple, he could see it in his head. Defeat Brock, travel, defeat the next gym leader, travel, find Emily. Hope, who hadn't returned to her Pokeball between battles, was standing by his side, a determined look in her eyes. Matthew knew he wasn't the only one who was ready to earn his first gym badge, hope was equally pumped up.
"Our next battle," Brendan called out from the side lines "Gym leader Brock, versus challenger... Michael?"
"Matthew!"
"Whatever, let the battle... Begin!"
"Go, Geodude!" Brock called out, hurling a pokeball out onto the field. Matthew opened his mouth to tell Hope to enter the arena but found himself hesitating, eyeing up the situation "Is everything alright Matthew?" Brock called out from the other side of the arena.
"Yeah, just... Give me a second." Matthew began to circle around on the spot, his neck craned high, looking for something. Eventually, he spotted the little pink and green blob, circling around above them, enjoying the breeze from an air conditioning unit he had found "Hey! Whirlygig! Would you mind stepping in and battling this Geodude for me?" Matthew called out. almost instantly, he felt a tug on his trouser leg, looking down to a disappointed looking Hope looking back. Matthew crouched down and nodded across to Brock "look there Hope, there are two pokeballs. That means he's going to use two pokemon, and I doubt he's leading with his strongest. This is a gym battle, I've got to think about it. You're my secret weapon." He winked, before standing up straight, just in time for Whirlygig to float his way down from the ceiling, settling on a nearby rock.
"Geodude! Let's start this off with a defense curl!" Brock shouted, indicating the start of the battle
"Whirlygig, hit it with your Bullet Seed attack!" Matthew retaliated, well aware of what his opponent was doing. Both Hope and Whirlygig used physical attacks, which meant if Geodude raised its defense too much, neither of Matthew's pokemon would be able to scratch it. Geodude's rocky skin began to harden, just as a barrage of seeds made contact. The blow seemed to bother the pokemon, but made no indication of doing any real damage.
"Once more Geodude!" Brock shouted, a smile forming on his face
"Again Whirlygig!" Matthew cried out. Once again, the Geodude braced itself for the oncoming attack and no real progress appeared to be made.
After a couple more rounds of nothing, Matthew was beginning to feel a pit in his stomach. Geodude's defenses seemed too great for Whirlygig, who was beginning to look tired, even though he hadn't been attacked yet. For the first time, Matthew began to consider the fact that he may lose this battle.
"Looks like we're ready to go on the offensive!" Brock laughed a real booming laugh "Geodude, hit it with Rock throw!" The opposing Pokemon dashed forwards and lifted one of the large boulders above its head and hurled it at Whirlygig. The tired Pokemon didn't have the energy to dodge the attack and was blasted from its perch on the rock, landing harshly on the dirt floor. To make matters worse, Whirlygig was partially flying type, which meant the rock based attack dealt more damage. By some miracle, Whirlygig stood back up. It was obvious he was hurt, but he still had a grin on his face.
Matthew knew that there had to be a way to win this fight, he had a knot in his stomach and his palms were sweating with nerves, but he knew deep down that there was something he could do to win this battle.
"Geodude! hit it again, there's no way it can take another boulder!" Brock cried out. Suddenly, it clicked.
"Whirlygig! Aim for its arms! Bullet Seed!" Matthew shouted. Whirlygig had never been a particularly fast pokemon but somehow, despite how tired he was, he mustered a burst of energy, darting forwards and unleashing a barrage of seeds, just as the Geodude lifted a large rock above its head. The attack connected with the rock pokemons hands, causing it to lose its grip on the rock it was holding. The falling boulder caught the rock pokemon off its guard, hitting it square on the top of its head. It tumbled backwards, totally unconscious and after a brief pause, Brendan announced the pokemon was unable to continue.
"That was a smart move, I'm impressed." Brock smiled as he recalled his Geodude "but you'll need more than tricks to defeat my next Pokemon."
"No problem" Matthew sneered back as Whirlygig's leaf blades began to spin and he returned to his usual state of pasively floating somewhere above. "Hope can take on anything you can throw at us. We're ready." On cue, Hope hopped out onto the arena, walking straight out to the center of the field, without a command from Matthew. He understood what she was saying, she wanted to take the Pokemon out one on one, without tricks like he had employed in their battle against Oliver.
"Go, Onix!" Brock shouted out, and with a flash of red light, the largest Pokemon Matthew had ever seen was sent out onto the field. Suddenly the size of this building made sense, as a huge rock snake filled the arena "Now Onix, hit it with tackle!" Brock called out. Matthew opened his mouth to give a command, but Hope was already moving. It looked like she wanted to do this on her own.
Hope hopped back onto a boulder and pushed off of it, leaping above the charging Onix and striking it from above with the palm of her hand, a motion Matthew recognized from Rose's battle against Jen. It appeared that Hope had been watching and picking up on a few things. The blow didn't seem to hinder the rock snake Pokemon too much, and to make matters worse Hope had forgotten about the size of her opponent much to Brock's excitement
"Don't forget your tail Onix!" He shouted out. His pokemon obeyed, spinning around quickly and swatting Hope out of the air with its monstrous tail. Matthew opened his mouth to shout out to Hope, but took a deep breath and closed it again. She wanted to do this by herself, so Matthew would trust her. He knew that, while he would occasionally come up with a few good ideas, she was a lot smarter than him. Matthew had no doubts that Hope could win this battle.
"Onix, while she's down, use rock tomb!" Brock shouted, the rock snake shifted its weight, spinning its tail to smack against one of the rocks on the field, firing it towards hope. Hope was ready though, rolling out of the way of the attack and taking a moment to focus on the fight. Matthew could see her eyeing up the opposing pokemon, looking for any sign of a weak spot. He also noticed when her little eyes lit up and a tiny smile appeared on the Pokemon's face.
"She's distracted, hit her with bind!" Brock shouted. To Matthew's surpirse, Hope made no obvious attempt to dodge the attack, instead she was swept up into the rock snake's grip as it began to squeeze. It was obvious that the attack was hurting Hope, he could see it, but she continued to focus, using meditate to build up her attack. "Keep squeezing Onix! Finish her!" Brock shouted.
All of a sudden, Hope's eyes flipped open and she burst from Onix's grip, leaping off the pokemon's body and striking at a spot just below the Onix's head. The Onix lashed back, twisting around trying to strike back at Hope but it was no use, she had planned this from the start. Her tiny palm hit the Onix hard, sending it toppling backwards with a great cloud of dust. As it settled, Matthew saw both pokemon were rendered unconscious.
"B-both Pokemon are unable to battle" Brendan stammered, obviously surprised by the outcome "Brock has no remaining usable pokemon... The challenger is the victor." He looked over towards Matthew, jaw slightly open. Matthew just smiled sweetly back, taking a moment to taunt Brendan before letting the excitement of the victory overwhelm him. He ran over to Hope, returning her to her Pokeball.
"You were amazing Hope," He mumbled to the Pokeball "Thank you."
"That was something else," Brock grinned as he wandered over to a nearby panel in the wall. He flipped it open to reveal a small healing station, gesturing for Matthew to follow him "you really trust in your Pokemon, you deserve this."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small metal pin. Matthew practically snatched it from the gym leader's hand.
"Thanks!" Matthew couldn't wipe the smile from his face as he pinned the badge to his coat
"No need to thank me, you earned it." The gym leader nodded his head in a sign of respect and then turned to fiddle with the healing station, readying his Pokemon for the next battle. Matthew took the opportunity to sprint over towards Rose, his chest puffed out, proudly displaying his new badge
"It's your turn now Rose," Matthew said with a goofy grin on his face "Don't worry, you're going to kick this guy's butt."
"You did it!" Matthew whooped, dashing over to an obviously stunned Rose "That was amazing! Both of you!" He shot a smile over at Budew. Rose was a great trainer, Matthew had merely assumed before but now he knew for certain. If anything, now he knew that Rose was someone he would have to keep his eye on. He grinned, about to say something else but once again, Brendan stepped in and interrupted him.
"Congratulations Rose!" He beamed "Now, I'll go tell Brock that you're ready to batt..."
"No need" a voice chimed in from behind him. Brendan stepped to the side to reveal a middle aged man standing in a doorway "I watched both of your battles, it looked like you're ready to battle me."
Matthew's grin grew wider as he looked upon his next challenger. Brock radiated respect and wisdom, there was no doubt looking upon him that he was going to be a real challenge, unlike Oliver.
"If you're sure Brock," Brendan shrugged "May I suggest you battle Rose first? She shows real promise..."
"Her Pokemon has just come out of a fight, don't be foolish Brendan." Brock spoke calmly, turning to face Rose "Please, take a moment to make sure your Budew is ready. Matthew, is your Meinfoo ready to battle once more?" Brock asked the question directly, looking directly at him. Matthew didn't hesitate, nodding immediately.
"Hope is always ready to battle sir." Brock laughed
"You're confident, I like it. This should be a fun battle."
It took a couple of minutes for the battlefield to be cleaned, replacing a few of the previously destroyed boulders but shortly Matthew found himself standing opposite Brock, his first real challenge since becoming a trainer. It was simple, he could see it in his head. Defeat Brock, travel, defeat the next gym leader, travel, find Emily. Hope, who hadn't returned to her Pokeball between battles, was standing by his side, a determined look in her eyes. Matthew knew he wasn't the only one who was ready to earn his first gym badge, hope was equally pumped up.
"Our next battle," Brendan called out from the side lines "Gym leader Brock, versus challenger... Michael?"
"Matthew!"
"Whatever, let the battle... Begin!"
"Go, Geodude!" Brock called out, hurling a pokeball out onto the field. Matthew opened his mouth to tell Hope to enter the arena but found himself hesitating, eyeing up the situation "Is everything alright Matthew?" Brock called out from the other side of the arena.
"Yeah, just... Give me a second." Matthew began to circle around on the spot, his neck craned high, looking for something. Eventually, he spotted the little pink and green blob, circling around above them, enjoying the breeze from an air conditioning unit he had found "Hey! Whirlygig! Would you mind stepping in and battling this Geodude for me?" Matthew called out. almost instantly, he felt a tug on his trouser leg, looking down to a disappointed looking Hope looking back. Matthew crouched down and nodded across to Brock "look there Hope, there are two pokeballs. That means he's going to use two pokemon, and I doubt he's leading with his strongest. This is a gym battle, I've got to think about it. You're my secret weapon." He winked, before standing up straight, just in time for Whirlygig to float his way down from the ceiling, settling on a nearby rock.
"Geodude! Let's start this off with a defense curl!" Brock shouted, indicating the start of the battle
"Whirlygig, hit it with your Bullet Seed attack!" Matthew retaliated, well aware of what his opponent was doing. Both Hope and Whirlygig used physical attacks, which meant if Geodude raised its defense too much, neither of Matthew's pokemon would be able to scratch it. Geodude's rocky skin began to harden, just as a barrage of seeds made contact. The blow seemed to bother the pokemon, but made no indication of doing any real damage.
"Once more Geodude!" Brock shouted, a smile forming on his face
"Again Whirlygig!" Matthew cried out. Once again, the Geodude braced itself for the oncoming attack and no real progress appeared to be made.
After a couple more rounds of nothing, Matthew was beginning to feel a pit in his stomach. Geodude's defenses seemed too great for Whirlygig, who was beginning to look tired, even though he hadn't been attacked yet. For the first time, Matthew began to consider the fact that he may lose this battle.
"Looks like we're ready to go on the offensive!" Brock laughed a real booming laugh "Geodude, hit it with Rock throw!" The opposing Pokemon dashed forwards and lifted one of the large boulders above its head and hurled it at Whirlygig. The tired Pokemon didn't have the energy to dodge the attack and was blasted from its perch on the rock, landing harshly on the dirt floor. To make matters worse, Whirlygig was partially flying type, which meant the rock based attack dealt more damage. By some miracle, Whirlygig stood back up. It was obvious he was hurt, but he still had a grin on his face.
Matthew knew that there had to be a way to win this fight, he had a knot in his stomach and his palms were sweating with nerves, but he knew deep down that there was something he could do to win this battle.
"Geodude! hit it again, there's no way it can take another boulder!" Brock cried out. Suddenly, it clicked.
"Whirlygig! Aim for its arms! Bullet Seed!" Matthew shouted. Whirlygig had never been a particularly fast pokemon but somehow, despite how tired he was, he mustered a burst of energy, darting forwards and unleashing a barrage of seeds, just as the Geodude lifted a large rock above its head. The attack connected with the rock pokemons hands, causing it to lose its grip on the rock it was holding. The falling boulder caught the rock pokemon off its guard, hitting it square on the top of its head. It tumbled backwards, totally unconscious and after a brief pause, Brendan announced the pokemon was unable to continue.
"That was a smart move, I'm impressed." Brock smiled as he recalled his Geodude "but you'll need more than tricks to defeat my next Pokemon."
"No problem" Matthew sneered back as Whirlygig's leaf blades began to spin and he returned to his usual state of pasively floating somewhere above. "Hope can take on anything you can throw at us. We're ready." On cue, Hope hopped out onto the arena, walking straight out to the center of the field, without a command from Matthew. He understood what she was saying, she wanted to take the Pokemon out one on one, without tricks like he had employed in their battle against Oliver.
"Go, Onix!" Brock shouted out, and with a flash of red light, the largest Pokemon Matthew had ever seen was sent out onto the field. Suddenly the size of this building made sense, as a huge rock snake filled the arena "Now Onix, hit it with tackle!" Brock called out. Matthew opened his mouth to give a command, but Hope was already moving. It looked like she wanted to do this on her own.
Hope hopped back onto a boulder and pushed off of it, leaping above the charging Onix and striking it from above with the palm of her hand, a motion Matthew recognized from Rose's battle against Jen. It appeared that Hope had been watching and picking up on a few things. The blow didn't seem to hinder the rock snake Pokemon too much, and to make matters worse Hope had forgotten about the size of her opponent much to Brock's excitement
"Don't forget your tail Onix!" He shouted out. His pokemon obeyed, spinning around quickly and swatting Hope out of the air with its monstrous tail. Matthew opened his mouth to shout out to Hope, but took a deep breath and closed it again. She wanted to do this by herself, so Matthew would trust her. He knew that, while he would occasionally come up with a few good ideas, she was a lot smarter than him. Matthew had no doubts that Hope could win this battle.
"Onix, while she's down, use rock tomb!" Brock shouted, the rock snake shifted its weight, spinning its tail to smack against one of the rocks on the field, firing it towards hope. Hope was ready though, rolling out of the way of the attack and taking a moment to focus on the fight. Matthew could see her eyeing up the opposing pokemon, looking for any sign of a weak spot. He also noticed when her little eyes lit up and a tiny smile appeared on the Pokemon's face.
"She's distracted, hit her with bind!" Brock shouted. To Matthew's surpirse, Hope made no obvious attempt to dodge the attack, instead she was swept up into the rock snake's grip as it began to squeeze. It was obvious that the attack was hurting Hope, he could see it, but she continued to focus, using meditate to build up her attack. "Keep squeezing Onix! Finish her!" Brock shouted.
All of a sudden, Hope's eyes flipped open and she burst from Onix's grip, leaping off the pokemon's body and striking at a spot just below the Onix's head. The Onix lashed back, twisting around trying to strike back at Hope but it was no use, she had planned this from the start. Her tiny palm hit the Onix hard, sending it toppling backwards with a great cloud of dust. As it settled, Matthew saw both pokemon were rendered unconscious.
"B-both Pokemon are unable to battle" Brendan stammered, obviously surprised by the outcome "Brock has no remaining usable pokemon... The challenger is the victor." He looked over towards Matthew, jaw slightly open. Matthew just smiled sweetly back, taking a moment to taunt Brendan before letting the excitement of the victory overwhelm him. He ran over to Hope, returning her to her Pokeball.
"You were amazing Hope," He mumbled to the Pokeball "Thank you."
"That was something else," Brock grinned as he wandered over to a nearby panel in the wall. He flipped it open to reveal a small healing station, gesturing for Matthew to follow him "you really trust in your Pokemon, you deserve this."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small metal pin. Matthew practically snatched it from the gym leader's hand.
"Thanks!" Matthew couldn't wipe the smile from his face as he pinned the badge to his coat
"No need to thank me, you earned it." The gym leader nodded his head in a sign of respect and then turned to fiddle with the healing station, readying his Pokemon for the next battle. Matthew took the opportunity to sprint over towards Rose, his chest puffed out, proudly displaying his new badge
"It's your turn now Rose," Matthew said with a goofy grin on his face "Don't worry, you're going to kick this guy's butt."