Gold- A Pokémon Story

Chapter Eighteen: Alola, New Friend!

As we walked into Olivine City I focused on the massive lighthouse towering above us. The sun had begun to set by the time we arrived at the city so the lighthouse was shining a ray of golden light out into the sea.

We were greeted by the smell of saltwater as we stepped onto the circular patterned brick pathways. The grey stones seemed lightly scuffed with dirt from all the foot traffic the city received.

Olivine had a few homes and of course the gym but the main focus of the city was the large port on the coastline that connected Johto to the other regions.

Ships coming from all reaches of the world could be found here. Most notably, the S. S. Anne was currently docked at the edge of the town.

The ship was famous for constantly providing a means of transport between Kanto and Johto as well as occasionally heading out to the nearby regions such as Hoenn and Sinnoh.

We walked past the gym entrance and much to our surprise it seemed to be open. "Alright! We can knock out another gym right now!" I said, hurrying for the door.

Silver's eyebrows went up and he ran after me. "Gold! Are you sure that's a smart idea? Your Pokémon have battled a lot today!" He reminded me.

I looked back at him and rolled my eyes. "Silv, I'm just going to check it out. I want to know who we'll be up against tomorrow is all." I told him.

I turned back to the gym entrance to find a man dressed as a referee stepping out. "Oh, hello there trainers! Sorry to say but we're closing up for the day."

I frowned. "Darn, that's alright though. We wanted to check out the gym since we just arrived a little while ago."

"Ah, I see! Say, how many badges do you both have?" The referee asked.

"Four," I said, holding up four fingers to match my answer.

The referee put one hand on his hip. "Sorry kiddos, Jasmine only takes on trainers with five or more badges. Her Steel Pokémon tend to be too strong for trainers with any less to beat." He said to us.

The disappointment began to show on my face and the referee was quick to add something. "But don't worry! If you haven't taken on the Cianwood Gym yet it's only a few hours away by boat and ships depart for the town daily so you can grab a boat tomorrow."

My grin returned to my face. "That's perfect! Thanks a bunch!" I said and turned to my friend. "Well Silver, let's head off to the Pokémon Center then!"

"Thanks again," Silver whispered to the man before following me off in the direction of the red-roofed building. "Sounds like we'll be getting our next two badges pretty quickly." He mused.

I considered what the man had said and nodded. "Sounds like it! Pretty odd we have to have a certain number of badges to take on a gym though."

"It's probably for the best," My friend told me. "It's not like you have the best matchup against Steel."

I thought over my team. "Well, I've got Heracross and Wooper." I reminded him.

Silver stuffed his hands into his coat pockets as a cold breeze blew by. "Wooper won't be that strong in a sixth gym battle. Plus a Skarmory would beat them both."

"I guess you're right." I conceded. "But, it's not like your team is loaded with counters either."

Silver shook his head. "Not full-on counters, but Croconaw and Umbreon both go neutral to Steel, and with Vulpix we'd have really good coverage overall. Your team isn't as strong or well rounded comparatively. Either way, your team is missing a Fire Type."