After spending quite a few days hanging around Virbank City sightseeing and training, we decided to do what we came here for. Rosa headed back to the complex looking for any Pokémon she may have missed. Hugh and I went asking around Virbank City in search of the Gym, or someone who could tell us where it was.
"Do you know where the Virbank Gym is?" I asked.
The man I was talking to nodded and pointed to the street sign. "We're on Straitford Street right now. Turn left when Straitford intersects Clef Lane and you'll find the Gym on your left. The building has a neon sign above it, you couldn't possibly miss it."
We followed the man's directions and made our way down Clef Lane. Like the man had said, there was a large neon sign in the shape of a Poké Ball bolted onto a small building above the door. The sign glowed purple, occasionally flickering. I was surprised at how poor a state the building's exterior was in, especially how well-kept the other buildings in Virbank were. The building itself was no bigger than a public restroom with peeling blue paint. There were no windows except for a palm-sized piece of glass built into the gray metal door.
I looked at Hugh with concern and doubt. For apparently being a Gym, this place seemed more than a little sketchy. He returned my look and told me to try the door. Feeling uneasy, I reluctantly reached for the doorknob and turned it. It wasn't locked. I pulled the door open and was greeted with a dark room and a blast of warm, musty smelling air.
"Um, you can go first," I said, shrinking away.
"Scaredy-Meowth, " Hugh joked, going ahead of me. I frowned at him, but he didn't see it. He opened the door all the way and walked into the Gym.
On the inside, the building had no other doors, furniture, or anything. The only thing of note was a staircase on our immediate right, heading down into the Gym's poorly-lit depths. Multicolored lights were scattered across the ceiling, painting the staircase with shades of blue, purple, and green, colors usually associated with poison.
As we proceeded down the stairs, I became aware of a sound of some sort. It was low, rhythmic, and it resounded very deeply. It reminded me of a song's beat. Well, Cheren did say the Gym Leader was in a band, I thought.
By the time Hugh and I reached the bottom of the stairs, the sound had increased enough to show it really was the beat for a song. I was also able to hear the muffled sounds of drums, what might have been a guitar, and someone singing, though I wasn't able to make out what the song's lyrics were.
We walked down a narrow hallway for a minute or so and we came to a set of metal double-doors. The music was more clear now and definitely much louder.
On the other side of the doors was a large room. It was decorated like a music venue with chairs and tables. The main attraction though, was the large stage on the room's far side. Four people were on it playing several instruments. There was a guitarist, a drummer, a bassist, and another guitarist who was singing. The center guitarist was a young girl with nearly colorless hair wearing shorts and a purple sweater. The lyrics she was singing were about how toxic she could be and how she wasn't scared to show that side of her.
"Ten PokéYen if she's the Leader," I said to Hugh.
"What?" he was covering his ears. "I can't hear you, it's too loud!"
She probably can't hear us either. I waved my arms over my head, trying to get the girl's attention. At one point, she looked up and noticed us standing there in front of the stage. She stopped playing and the rest of her band stopped with her.
"Hey, are you Roxie?" I called.
"Yeah," she said in an annoyed tone. "Why do you wanna know? If you haven't noticed, I'm kinda in the middle of a rehearsal."
"My friend and I are challengers. You are the Virbank Gym Leader, right?"
Her face lit up. "You got that right! If you're here for a battle, practice can wait 'till later." She shooed her bandmates out and told us to come onstage. "Who wants to go first? Or, wait a sec." She seemed to have just thought of something. "Normally, I would take on a single person at a time, but I can make an exception here."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"You ever heard of Double Battles?" she answered with another question.
The term sounded familiar. I was about to make a random guess when Hugh responded.
"I think I know where you're going with this," he said. "Two Pidove, one stone."
Roxie picked up on my confused look. "Double Battles are simple. You fight with two Pokémon at once. It makes battles twice as exciting!"
I then got what Roxie was thinking. It seemed like a good idea. A Gym Leader could take on twice as many challengers, and it could save time. "Hugh has two Pokémon, and I have three. Do you have four Pokemon to use?"
Roxie laughed. "Of course I do! I haven't been a Leader for very long, but I know that I need to have six Pokémon on deck at all times! Now here are the rules: you and your friend can use two Pokémon each, no healing items are allowed except for berries, and if both of either person's Pokémon go down that person won't receive a badge." She walked to the far right side of the stage. "What're we waiting for?"
I decided to use Lilith because she had learned a new move, and Hugh chose Tesla. Roxie sent out two Pokémon. One resembled a red and green worm and the other was a hovering circular purple shell with white eyes and a skull and crossbones on its body.
"There aren't too many Poison-types available around here, so I have to make do with the Venipede and Koffing evolution lines," Roxie said. "Challengers get the first move. Now, let's rock!"
"Lilith, use Take Down on Venipede!
"Tesla, Thundershock on Koffing!"
Lilith charged at Venipede and Tesla began to generate electricity between the prongs on her head.
"Venipede, Protect! And Koffing, use Poison Gas!" Roxie countered.
Lilith ran Venipede just as it turned blue and curled into a tight ball. Lilith hit Venipede, then bounced off it, leaving the Poison-type unharmed. Koffing spewed a purple cloud at Tesla, but she dodged it and fired off her electricity. Tesla's Thundershock electrified Koffing and sent it falling from the air. It landed on the stage, nearly knocked out with faint traces of static arcing around its body. I was amazed at how powerful Tesla's attack was.
"Koffing, Self-Destruct!"
Before Hugh or I could react, Koffing glowed bright white and a shockwave of energy exploded from the Pokémon. I was blown off my feet and landed on my back, too stunned by the sudden impact to move. While I was down, I saw Lilith flying over my head and I heard two loud thuds on the far wall.
I stood up and turned around. Lilith and Tesla were laying in a heap under the dents they had created when they hit the wall. I looked to Hugh and saw that he had also been knocked over. He was now crawling over to Tesla, apologizing to her about putting her in battle when she was still so inexperienced.
"Whoops, I sometimes forget how strong a forte Koffing's Self-Destruct is," Roxie laughed. She had recalled her fainted Pokémon back to its ball and sent out a second Venipede.
This girl's crazy! She sacrificed her Pokemon! It's... surprisingly clever though. In a really strange way, I thought while recalling Lilith. I made a quick mental note to give her extra food later, it was the least I could do to make up for her getting dented into the wall. Saber was sent out along with Flaris. Saber had also learned a new move recently, and I couldn't wait for him to use it in a real battle!
"Saber, use Razor Shell on the first Venipede"
"Flaris, use Ember on the first Venipede also!"
I knew what Hugh was doing. We could team up on a single Pokémon and take it out faster.
"Venipede, use Protect!"
Saber removed the shell from his front and threw it at the first Venipede like a boomerang while Flaris shot flames from his nose. Both Venipede tried to protect themselves. The second Venipede managed to use Protect, but the first's didn't trigger. Saber's shell and the blasts of fire crashed into the Venipede and it was blown across the stage. Roxie returned Venipede to its ball before it could hit the wall. After that, Saber and Flaris made quick work of Roxie's second Venipede.
"You think ganging up on one Pokémon'll work?" Roxie held up a Great Ball. "You've passed the main piece, but are you ready for the coda? Show 'em, Whirlipede!"
The large, purple Bug-type emerged from its Poké Ball in a flash of blue light. "Whirlipede, use Poison tail on Oshawott!" Roxie commanded. Whirlipede's front and back antennae glowed a sickly purple and it rolled at Saber.
I was about to tell Saber to get out of the way when Hugh told Flaris to jump in front of Saber with Flame Charge. Flaris did so without hesitation and took Whirlipede's attack. Flaris shoved Whirlipede away and fell over, he hadn't fainted though. I asked Hugh why he told Flaris to take the attack.
He looked at me with a determined expression. "One, Flaris has more HP and he could take the attack. Two, I gave him an Oran berry to hold. And three, We're both getting badges today. I won't let my friend lose to an oversized purple wheel! You can thank me after we win!"
I didn't know what to say. Saber could've taken the attack, and he even had a Pecha berry to ward off any poison. Guess I would have to listen to Hugh for now and thank him later.
"Saber, use Focus Energy!" Saber clenched his eyes shut and concentrated.
"No you don't! Whirlipede, Poison Tail again!" Whirlipede began rolling at Saber again.
"Razor Shell!"
Saber threw his shell as hard as he could at Whirlipede. The shell slammed into Whirlipede's side and the Pokémon was knocked over, not moving afterward. Flaris' Flame Charge had weakened Whirlipede, and Razor Shell finished the job.
A second later, Saber began to glow powder blue and his silhouette changed shape. When the light faded, the adorable Oshawott I'd known was gone and in his place stood an entirely different Pokémon.
"Niicccee!" Roxie said. "You have a Dewott now."
"A what?" I stared at Saber, shocked. He looked really cool! He had two scallop shells instead of one and had grown a foot or two among other changes. In a way, he still resembled the little Oshawott I had only a minute ago. I went over to Saber and awkwardly patted his head. "It's weird not seeing you as Saber the Oshawott anymore," I said to him. "I kinda prefer you this way though."
Saber gave me the same fanged smile he'd given me when I first got him, and I smiled back.
"Well, you two won the battle. Here are your Toxic Badges." Roxie gave me and Hugh badges that looked like several purple bubbles fused together with gold trim. I pinned mine next to my Basic Badge. Wow, I already had two badges.
Hugh cleared his throat. I looked at him and he was gazing at me expectantly. I almost forgot already! I put my hand on his shoulder and said. "Really, thanks."