I'd been in Verdanturf town for about three days and I really began to feel better.

For starters, I could actually breathe easily and the air was so clean I was really appreciating the small town.

Second Ralts and Rodney were getting stronger and in turn a lot better at controlling their moves. Ralts could consistently teleport even in high tension situations and Rodney had mastered his drain punch technique.

However, at this point, I was severely tired of battling the same couple trainers in Verdanturf and the route around it. I wanted to go to Mauvile City and in turn on my own Pokémon adventure but I had no idea how to convince my uncle to let me.

He wasn't unreasonable but this would be a pretty big ask. There's no way my parents would approve of it. At least not how they saw me before. But things were different now. I was different now.

Wally just ask the guy to take you to the big city, and then show him just how awesome we are and go on a super adventure. Ralts was all too excited to go out and see the world to prove how strong he was.

I made an executive decision that we wouldn't take on gyms unless I felt like it. There were a lot of gym leaders out there and I didn't feel like tracking them all down.

Eventually, I decided to work up the confidence to just do it. To just go and ask my uncle. I wouldn't know until I tried after all.

With that, I came home after my third day of training to find my aunt and uncle were both home. They were still dressed in semi-formal work clothes as they'd likely just come home from Mauvile where they worked.

My uncle turned to the door and smiled. "Heya Wally! You're home early."

I waved and nodded. "R-right. And I wanted to ask you s-s-something."

His aunt and uncle looked at him curiously. "What is it, Wally?"

"C-could you take me with you to M-M-Mauvile tomorrow?" I asked them.

My uncle seemed surprised. "You sure? I know you don't really like big crowds." I nodded. "If you want to though I can gladly take you. Mauvile's a great city. There's a lot to do and see so I'm sure you'll love it. If you can get over the people that are."

I grinned to them. "T-thanks!"

With that mission accomplished I sped through the rest of the day and gladly awaited the next one. In my borrowed room I told my Pokémon about the big day we had tomorrow.

"With any luck, I can convince him to watch me battle the gym leader. He uses electric types I think. Anyway even if he doesn't see the battle I can always show him the badge." I rambled as I packed my things. I wanted to leave as soon as I proved how strong I was.

I like this energy! Ralts told me. We're gonna stomp those stupid electric types!

I paused and stared at Ralts. "Well... alright then."

The next day couldn't come soon enough.

And when it did I found out that I'd woken up at six in the morning. "Geez, I usually only do this on Christmas morning."

Of course, I took this time to study up. Researching Wattson's Pokémon, reading through my notebook entries on Electric Pokémon, and planning out my strategy.

I even wrote out various potential maps and potential paths the battle could go in and how I would fight my way out of each of them. I was ready.

Come 8 AM my uncle finally woke up and slowly got ready for work. It was grueling waiting for him to finally come downstairs and grab his things.

"Alright, Wally lets go!" My uncle said and I leaped off the couch and into the foyer.

Together we walked through Verdanturf and down the small route that followed it.

The small route was a grassy little path that led to Mauvile City. There was a daycare off to the city and multiple little ponds of water throughout the route as well as a large variety of small Pokémon roaming about.

The sun was shining in the sky and while there wasn't a breeze today it wasn't very hot at all. People from all around Verdanturf were enjoying the beautiful day.

Many were playing around outside and the Daycare had all of the Pokémon they were caring for running around in their field.

I was dressed in a form-fitting button-up t-shirt and a pair of dress shorts. Perfect for the weather but still dressed to impress.

We eventually arrived in Mauvile City and I was extremely giddy to get to the gym. The entire city was also a shopping center and indoors.

The first floor consisted of various stores and other businesses while the second floor had the apartments for people to live in.

The building was made of marble from the ground up. The floors were shiny white stone tiles. The ceiling lights reflected the shine everywhere and made the place extremely bright.

People bustled by every which way. It definitely was chaotic but Wally would be able to manage.

"So Wally, I have a few hours before I have to be in for work. Where to first?" My uncle asked me.

I followed various signs I saw until I saw the gym and stopped outside it. "Right here."

My uncle seemed shocked. "The gym? Wally, why would you want to take on a gym leader?"

I decided it would be best to come clean now. "B-because, I want to go on an adventure. And so I need to prove I'm st-strong. So I'll show you just how strong I am." I gripped my wrist tightly with my opposite hand.

My uncle raised an eyebrow. "Maybe. Let's see how you do against this gym leader and then we can talk about it."

My heart felt like it was going to burst from its chest. This was my chance. And I had to prove it.

I pushed open the doors to find a battle already taking place.

May was currently facing off against Wattson's Manectric. The blue wolf Pokémon brawled against her Mawile. A screen above Wattson told me they were both on their final Pokémon.

My uncle went to go take a seat while he waited for the fight to end. Grumbling to himself about electricity messing up his hair.

Wattson had a big grin on his face. He was an older and larger man. Wearing a brown sweater and a pair of grey sweatpants. He had a wild white beard.

He wasn't all too formal of a gym leader but he was an incredibly energetic and powerful trainer.

The battlefield was a maze of electric barriers. The field was wide enough to maneuver in but small enough to keep things close.

Currently, Manectric and Mawile were separated by one. There were various switches on the floor that would likely change the layout of the barriers.

Manectric's red eyes bore into the small yellow figure. The Mawile returned his stare with a smirk and the mouth on the back of her head bit down feverishly.

"Mawile, use Play Rough!" May shouted. The Pokémon obliged, dashing forward at the Electric Wolf. She hit a switch and the barrier fell away, leaving Manectric wide open.

Wattson laughed at the challenge. "Manectric use Wild Charge!" Manectric began to spark and crackle with electricity until he was one ball of moving electricity. The two attackers collided in a head-on battle. Well-Mawile was using its second mouth to hold back the opponent.

"Now, flip him!" May commanded and Mawile threw Manectric over her and into an electric barrier behind them. The Manectric howled and despite resisting electricity the Pokémon fainted a few short seconds later.

Wattson returned his Electric Wolf and the battle concluded. He handed May a badge and a TM and she turned to leave.

That's when she finally noticed me. "Oh hi, Wally! Good to see you again! How've you been doing? How's Ralts? Did you catch any new Pokémon? Are you taking on the gym challenge now?"

I was completely taken aback by the barrage of questions and simply answered with, "Uhm w-we're good. Uhh, Rodney. Uhm uh, I want to go on an a-adventure."

May was completely confused and I doubted she'd even heard me but she decided to leave it. "Well anyway, good luck! Wattson's a toughie but I'm sure you'll do fine!" Instead of leaving, May went to the sidelines and took a seat on a bench where my uncle was. She was going to watch me battle.

My heart pounded in my ears as I walked to my side of the battlefield. What if I lost? I'd look like a fool and I'd never get to go on my adventure. That's why I had to win.

I took a deep breath. "Let's do th-this." Darn it! I stuttered again.

Wattson smiled widely at me. "Alright kid, put your trainer ID on the scanner next to you." He went to the PC next to him to input his roster and get the Battle Screen online.

I scanned my Trainer ID on the PC next to me and my face appeared on the screen with two Pokéballs next to it. The same happened for Wattson on the opposite side of the screen.

This was the standard for all Pokémon gyms as a way to replace referees. The system could simply scan what Pokémon you had,
your badge count, and it could scan the arena to see if a Pokémon could keep battling.

With that settled I sent out Rodney. A two on two? We could manage two little Pokémon.

With any luck and assuming my plan worked, I could win this battle.

Wattson sent out a Magnemite to start the battle off. Magnemite were floating metal cylinders with constantly spinning magnets on either side. With one big eye in the model of the cylinder. They had giant screws on their heads that were also always spinning.

The first Pokeballs for both of us changed to a picture of our respective Pokémon.

The battlefield set up multiple electric walls including a few between Magnemite and Rodney. Magnemite could just float over them, however.

One of the buttons was fairly close to Rodney which at least gave us that option if we needed it.

"R-Rodney use leech seed!" I sputtered. Focus. Calm down. Be clear with your attacks.

Rodney took aim and fired a seed from his head. The seed narrowly missed Magnemite.

"Magnemite use magnet bomb!" Wattson said. The Magnemite sent out multiple silver pellets that hit the ground around and my Shroomish.

He flew back and barely stayed standing. We needed to get in close or else we'd lose the match.

"Rodney! Get in close! Hit the switch on your way." Rodney began to run as fast as his stubby legs could take him.

He pressed the switch and the barriers rearranged themselves. Giving him a clear path to Magnemite but cutting off his escape from behind.

"Magnemite use thundershock!" Magnemite fired small bolts of electricity at Rodney. Most missed but the few that hit their mark didn't seem to deal much damage.

Rodney came to a stop close to the floating magnet and my plan was set into motion. "Rodney hit him with leech seed and then back up a bit!"

Rodney fired the seed point-blank into Magnemite's face. The seed exploded into a tangle of vines that sapped energy from Magnemite and gave it to Rodney.

My Shroomish took a step back and we prepared for our next move. "Magnemite use electro ball! And then follow it up with magnet bomb!"

The ball of electricity was too quick for me to follow and my Grass Type was knocked into the air. Where he was bombarded with small silver pellets.

Rodney fell to the ground barely conscious. "Tackle!" Wattson ordered and his Pokémon slammed into mine. Knocking Rodney into the electric barrier.

I didn't even consider Rodney not fainting after that blow. The picture of him faded to black on the screen and I returned him to his Pokeball.

My head was now swirling. I barely even managed to damage the Magnemite and now I had to use Ralts. Ralts was at a major disadvantage. I was hoping I would only have to use him to finish off Wattson's second Pokémon.

I dug through my bag looking for something to help me and came across the Pokéball I'd found in the Rusturf Tunnel. Maybe there was an item in there that could help me.

I opened the ball and out popped a... a blob.

There was no other way to describe it. It was a purple gooey blob with green cheeks. I assumed it was a Pokémon and when I looked back it the ball the word Nian was engraved into it.

I looked over to a confused Wattson. "Can I have a second? T-this is a complete surprise for me." Wattson just nodded.

The Blob looked around in complete confusion until it saw me and smiled. "Goomy-goo! Goomy!"

I quickly sent out Ralts to have him translate. Hey, what am I doing here? Oh is it Battle time? Wait who's the blob?

"Ralts I need you to figure out who he is and what he's saying," I told the Pokémon.

Ralts listened to the blob's story for a minute and then relayed it to me. Basically, he was dropped in the cave at some point but couldn't escape his Pokeball. Poor fella. And now he thinks you can help him find his trainer. He says his name is Nian, his trainer is named Steve? Steven? Whatever. And he's also a Goomy. Whatever that is. It's Kalosian I'm guessing. Says he's a dragon type though and he'll help you battle.

That was a lot to take in. I had to finish this battle before I could help this Goomy out. And by the looks of it, the Battle System had already decided I was using him. My final Pokeball was changed to a picture of Nian.

"You ready to continue?" Wattson asked, still not overcoming his confusion.

I nodded. "Alright, Nian lets win this!" When I tried to return Ralts he insisted he could help me with the battle.

Immediately I realized I didn't know what moves Nian had so Ralts proved himself by getting that information.

Nian practically slid onto the battlefield. Leaving a trail of goo behind him. He roared at the Magnemite. Who looked bored out of its mind and was still covered in leech seed vines.

"Nian, use body slam! Knock him out of the air!" I shouted, formulating a new plan. Nian leaped into the air and onto Magnemite.

The Steel and Electric-type fell out of the air due to the added weight. When Nian got off of it, the Magnemite was covered in goo.

Wattson seemed a bit taken aback by the situation as Magnemite had his health sapped by the leech seed. Uhm Magnemite use-"

"Nian hit him with dragon breath!" The Goomy reared his head back and roared. Sending a powerful purple air into Magnemite and knocking him into an electric barrier. Our plan worked perfectly

Magnemite quickly fainted and all that was left was one final Pokémon.

Wattson returned his Magnemite and sent out an Electrode. The Pokémon was a giant Pokeball but upside down. He grinned at us with a wide smile that matched Wattson's.

"Start us off with rollout!" Wattson said. His Pokémon wanted to roll straight for us but had to maneuver around a barrier first. He sped forward and slammed into Nian.

There was no way we could match his speed. At least Nian seemed to be fine from the blow but that wouldn't last with a move like rollout.

I noticed that the Electrode had some goo on him from where he'd hit Nian. The floor was also slowly getting covered in goo. I had an idea.

"Nian, move around as much as you can! Hide between barriers and use dragon breath whenever you get an opening!"

Nian may have been slow compared to electrode but with the coverage of the barriers, he'd left goo all over the floor, avoided most hits, and even managed to land a few attacks on Electrode.

At this point, however, Nian was exhausted. I knew we had to end things quickly. "Nian use body slam!" Nian leaped up and when Electrode tried to dodge he found he could barely move due to all the goo he was covered in.

Nian slammed into him and sent him rolling which only covered him in even more of the sticky mass.

Electrode tried to get rolling again but couldn't get any momentum. He tried firing electric shocks at Nian but he was about to find out he was right where I wanted him to be.

I smiled widely knowing the game was in the bag. "Nian step on that switch!" As soon as Nian did so the electric barrier activated right where Electrode was stuck. Shocking him until he was defeated.

"WE WON!" I leaped into the air with joy. I had done it.

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Heya folks! Long-time no see! Well, I'm back and better than ever almost a year later. This book is actually going to get updated again! Wow!

I hope you enjoyed this little return. I'm excited to keep making content for this story for you all. Thanks for reading and now for the QOTD:

What was your first Pokémon?

That's all for now everybody. Thanks and have a wonderful day! Bye!