Bridging The Gap; The Final Records In Unova: An Autobiography

Sweatin' The Dol Stuff

"Ghyst Town is the closest location with a Gym from here, without a doubt," June said from behind Courtney and I.

I scanned the Town Map plastered to the wall, trying to find another Gym that was closer as I swallowed nervously.

"We should be there in a few days or less," June added.

"Sounds fine by me," Courtney stated. "Alright, let's get your eighth Badge for real this time, Gary! And I can get my ninth!"

Courtney and June turned away from the Town Map and started to walk away.

"Wait!" I said loudly, stopping the girls. "Are you sure that's the closest Gym?" I could easily see for myself that Ghyst Town was indeed the closest Gym from Virbank City. "I mean, what about Opelucid City? It's not even far from Ghyst Town at all! I don't mind the extra day's walk."

"Gary, why would you waste another day to earn your last Badge?" Courtney questioned.

"There's no rush to get this final Badge," I answered quickly. "Let's explore Unova a little bit. Let's take one more little day to see what else is out there! And, look! Opelucid has a Dragon type Gym Leader! That sounds a lot better than a boring old Ghost type Gym, if you ask me. Let's go to Opelucid City." I turned to Courtney and June with a big smile.

June had a concerned look on her face.

Courtney was staring at me in confusion. "Ghosts are cool..." she said. "They're full of surprises and fun and certainly are not boring."

"But Dragon types are better!" I insisted. "I wanna test my strength against one of the toughest types out there! Dragon types are built from the stuff of legend! When it comes to Dragon types, they have amazing variety, power, and are just so cool! It's settled. We'll head to Opelucid City and earn our next Badges there. Let's go, girls!" I walked past them cheerfully and headed to the front door.

"Gary, that doesn't make any sense!" Courtney called after me. "The Unova League Conference is going to take place before you know it! Depending on where it's going to be held this year, we might not have a day to waste finding another Gym! Is something wrong?"

I heard footsteps move quickly towards me and a hand gripped my shoulder and stopped me. I turned around with a grimace and stared into June's eyes.

"Gary," she said in a low voice, staring back at me sadly.

My face softened and I lowered my eyes to the floor. I immediately knew that June knew exactly what I was thinking and feeling. She knew about my past with a Ghost type Gym, and our history with a certain Ghost type Pokemon.

I remembered when I had battled for a Badge in Obsidian City back in Kanto. I had thought I had defeated the Gym Leader, Shane, and won my first Badge, the Dimensia Badge. Several months later, after winning seven more Badges and thinking I had all eight Badges, it turned out that my first Badge was a Gastly in disguise the whole time, and I had to run back to Viridian City to battle for my eighth Badge with only a week left before the Pokemon League began.

I sighed and reflected on my horrific time in Saffron City when a Haunter had taken over the entire city and left many people dead or under his hypnotic spell. He also used his powers to create illusions that made the buildings appear to be in perfect condition, even though they were completely destroyed, including the Silph Co. company that manufactured Poke Balls and other Pokemon products. Haunter had even gone so far as to make the city's Gym Leader, Sabrina, who he had possessed and ended up killing after befriending her years ago, appear alive and well. Haunter was eventually stopped and his illusions were removed, revealing the city and the citizens for what they really were. This became worldwide news, of course, the revelation of Silph Co.'s destruction causing panic throughout parts of the world as supplies for Pokemon became low. Over time, the company rebuilt itself and everything returned back to normal for the most part.