Reborn As Barry

Chapter Seven

It had been a few days since Gabe had battled Jupiter. Having decided to stay an extra day in Jubilife before hitting the road to Oreburgh City, Gabe devoted that time to the training of his team. Now, Gabe had finally reached the Oreburgh Gate.

"Finally," Gabe breathed, sizing up the entrance that would lead him to his next destination. "Took me longer than I expected. Then again... I did have a few battles along the way," Gabe mused, remembering the trainers he'd fought against.

"Now let's see, Roark is the leader of the first gym I'm facing, and I have Aron... and Shinx," he thought aloud, stroking his chin as he looked straight into the entrance of the gate.

Moving forward, he contemplated the strategy he would use against the first challenge he would face.

Okay, Aron has the advantage as far as typing goes. Shinx on the other hand, well... she has two moves that work, Gabe sighed. But her defenses won't hold up to anything Roark uses except MAYBE his Geodude...

As Gabe continued through the cavern towards the exit, a strange sound caught his attention. Stopping, the youth paused to listen. It was faint, but he could hear what sounded like a Pokémon in distress.

"PSYYYYY!"

Gabe snapped his head in the direction of the cry. Without hesitation, Gabe bolted towards the sound of the outcry, and soon came upon what appeared to be a Psyduck being cornered by a Golbat. What was odd, wasn't the scene itself, but the fact that this particular Psyduck, had a blue body with a white bill and white feet.

Huh...well don't that beat all, Gabe thought as he snapped off Shinx's ball to release her.

Psyduck jumped up to avoid an Air Slash and scrambled away from the Golbat which continued its pursuit. As it swooped down, a blast of lightning hammered into it, sending it into a fit of convulsions. The Golbat whirled around to spot its offender on the ground, her body aglow with azure electrical energies.

Golbat narrowed its eyes and screeched before descending swiftly upon the little cub.

"Ice Fang!" Gabe shouted.

Shinx crouched low and bared her fangs while charging them with freezing cold energy. Using her steel-coated tail, she swung it into Golbat's gaping mouth and let it clamp down, nullifying the Poison Fang attack. Using the downward momentum of the descending Golbat to her advantage, she swung her tail down and slammed Golbat into the ground before withdrawing her tail and pouncing with an Ice Fang to its right wing, causing it to freeze over partially. 

Golbat screeched in pain and struggled back into the air in an effort to flee. Once it was out of sight, the Psyduck was able to relax.

"Good work Shinx," Gabe praised the lion cub while rubbing her head.

Shinx purred and nuzzled into his hand lovingly, soaking in the affection she was being given. Psyduck wandered up to the Shinx and tapped her on the back.

Shinx turned about and faced him, canting her head as Psyduck began to speak. Though Gabe couldn't understand any of it, he could determine that Psyduck was expressing his gratitude for Shinx's actions. After a few seconds of dialogue, Psyduck looked up at Gabe and spoke up again.

"Psy! Psyduck!" He quacked.

Gabe tilted his head, and then looked down at Shinx as if asking for a translation. As if to answer his unspoken question, Shinx reached up with her tail and pointed at his waist.

"Oh I get it now," Gabe laughed, reaching for a sphere and expanding it. "Psyduck wants to come with us... is that right?"

"Psyduck! Psy!" He exclaimed happily, confirming what Gabe had suspected.