Pokémon: Midnight Blue

Janine

As I had done with Gastly, I made sure Dratini was willing to join me on my journey. Once it said yes, the training began. I focused on making Dratini stronger for days until it evolved into Dragonair. I spent one more day training with it, just to make sure it was level with the rest of my team, and after that, we were ready to roll.

I walked into the Fuchsia City Gym and noticed that it was absolutely pitch-black. The only light in the room was a spotlight that shone down on Koga, the Gym Leader, at the far end of the room. I took a step forward, but was soon stopped.

"That's quite enough, young man," Koga barked at me, "You are here to challenge me, yes?"

"That's right," I responded, "My name is Brian Phoenix."

"Brian Phoenix. I've heard word of you. Surely you are not as strong as they say you are. You seem to think highly of yourself, but I'll be sure to humble you in an instant."

"Let's go, then."

"Not yet. You must pass a test before you are able to challenge me."

"What are you talking about? None of the other Gyms asked me to pass a test!"

"You must keep in mind, young man, that each Gym has different rules."

I growled at the Leader, "Fine. What is the damn test?"

"You must fight my daughter, Janine."

Just as Koga said this, a young girl swooped down from the shadows. She bore a striking resemblance to Koga. She glared at me from over her shoulder.

"He shall not challenge you, father," Janine said to Koga, "Not if I can help it."

Janine sent out a Golbat. I, in turn, sent out Raichu. Golbat seemed unsettled about going up against an Electric-type, but Janine seemed indifferent.

"Golbat! Use Double Team!" Janine yelled. Golbat began to pop up everywhere on the battlefield. Raichu could not land a hit as long as it could not keep up with Golbat. It seemed like a problem in Janine's eyes, but I had a simple solution.

"Raichu!" I smirked, "Swift!"

While the attack did not necessarily have a type advantage against Golbat, it hit, and it caused a decent amount of damage. Janine seemed to notice at this point that an evasive defense was futile. She decided to go for an all-out offense.

"Golbat! Acid!"

"Raichu, Thunderbolt!"

Golbat was down, and Janine angrily sent out a Weezing. I withdrew Raichu and sent out Haunter.

"Weezing, Sludge Bomb!"

"What are you trying to accomplish? Haunter's a Poison-type too, you're not going to do much damage like that!"

Janine growled at my remark, knowing I was right. She looked over at Haunter and noticed it was trying to hypnotize Weezing. "Oh, no, you don't!" she sneered, "Weezing, Explosion!"

My eyes widened as Weezing discharged into a pyrotechnic blast. Weezing fell to the ground, taken by its reckless attack. Haunter, however remained completely unhindered.

"What?" Janine was furious, "How is this possible?"

"Simple," I laughed, "Explosion's a Normal-type move. Haunter's a Ghost-type, so no effect."

"Aaaaaaargh! Venomoth! Toxic!"

"Charizard, Flamethrower," and then those cold words came out of my mouth again, this time with much more indifference, "Pokémon Center, not the Tower."

Charizard blasted out the most powerful Flamethrower I had seen from it yet. Venomoth did not get a chance to respond and simply burned to a crisp and fell to the ground. Janine stared at the unconscious Poison Moth Pokémon, eyes blazing with fury. Then, without saying a single word, she stormed off into a dark part of the gym.