A New Life Through The Eyes Of Kanto: An Autobiography

And The Winner Is...

My fist rapped hard a few times on the door of the Gym.

Shortly after, the door opened and I saw the referee of the fight I had here. He looked me up and down. "Here for your rematch?" he asked.

"No," I replied. "Here to obtain my Badge!" I gave him my best smile.

He didn't seem amused, returning a blank stare.

I sighed. "Yeah, yeah, here for my rematch," I spoke lowly, feeling embarrassed now.

The kid opened the door and let me in. Today, the referee was wearing blue jeans with matching blue socks in red sneakers and a black jacket over his white T-shirt. "Wait here," he said in a seemingly tired voice.

I got here a lot earlier than I did yesterday, even skipping breakfast myself, which is highly unlike me, but I made sure my Pokemon ate and were ready to battle.

The kid went into the same room as he did yesterday and closed the door.

A Gym in a house, I thought as my eyes looked through the empty, wide room where the battle would be taking place. Does Ozne live here? What about the referee? It's such a big house, but seems so empty. I inhaled deeply. No trace of that foul aroma from Weezing.

The referee came back out of the room. "He'll be down in a moment," he told me. "He's just finishing breakfast."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I can come back a little later."

"No, he's already on his way," he spoke quickly. "It's fine."

I heard a yawn from upstairs and footsteps moved slowly across the floor. "You're here early this morning, Gary!" Ozne called down.

"Good morning!" I turned to the staircase, my heart pounding rapidly, my arms shaking. "I can come back later if it's too early!"

"No! No need, Gary." Ozne's footsteps moved down the stairs. "You and I shall have a fine match this day, I hope."

"Hopefully without any stink bombs," I laughed.

Ozne didn't laugh and I instantly regretted the joke. "Sorry," I apologized. This is why I never tell jokes, I scolded myself. I am not a funny person. What was I even thinking??

"No, it's okay..." Ozne spoke slowly as his steps continued down. "Trust me, this battle will be quite different, Gary." Black shoes greeted me first, followed by dark brown slacks and a black belt just visible beneath his purple, button up shirt. He wasn't wearing a hat today. He smiled upon seeing me. "Good to see you again."

"Nice to see you, too." It seemed right to walk over to him to shake his hand, and I did so.

"Do you think you're ready this time?" Ozne asked.

"Definitely," I said confidently.

"We'll see," he smiled slyly. He walked over to his position on the battlefield and I walked over to mine, thinking about that look he gave me. It worried me a bit.

"This is the rematch between Gary from Pallet Town and Fuchsia City Gym Leader, Ozne," the referee said. "This shall be a three-on-three Pokemon battle. No time limit. Gary is the only one allowed to switch Pokemon. The first Trainer to knock out all of the opponent's Pokemon will be declared the winner. Let the battle... begin!"

"Gengar! Let's start!" Ozne threw his first Poke Ball.

The Poke Ball hit the floor and POP!

A Gengar was released from within. "Gengar!" Gengar grinned at me.

My heart beat faster and I took a few steps backwards, startled by the first Pokemon.

"Don't tell me you have a fear of Ghost type Pokemon, too," Ozne squinted at me. "Though I suppose there may be some reason to fear them..."