ตอน 15: Chapter 15: Veilstone Gym
The next day, Xander woke up early like usual for his training with Cynthia. When asked if she wanted to join them, Dahlia refused and wrapped her blanket around her tightly, greatly resembling a Swadloon.
The duo laughed at their new friend before renting out a private room to train in together. None of their Pokemon were sparing with the others since they wanted to conserve their strength for the gym battle later. Instead, each of them was practicing their moves and reacting to different commands.
Xander was trying to get his Pokemon used to fighting based on different styles based on which command he gave them. For example, if he told them 'Guardian', they would focus on defense and tanking attacks while 'Skirmish' meant to focus on dodging and getting in small attacks to weaken the opponent.
Ninetales and Fenris were used to the commands but still had issues using all of the correct moves with each command. Meanwhile, Larvesta was a complete newbie and had to be taught from the beginning.
Cynthia had a similar style of commands but named each one after a flavor of food, having a variation of 25 commands that the Pokemon had to learn.
The duo spent most of the time teaching their newest partners while watching over the progress of their more veteran partners.
They continued this until it was 8 in the morning when they brought their Pokemon up to Nurse Joy to take care of. Since it was still early, she was able to get them back into fighting condition in only 30 minutes.
By the time they had collected their Pokemon, Dahliah had finally crawled out of bed and joined them in the cafeteria for breakfast.
"You guys ready for your first Gym Battle?" Dahlia asked while decorating her pancakes with all types of jams.
Xander looked at Ninetales who was eating her breakfast next to him to see her opinion.
'Of course. I shall achieve your first victory on the road to the top,' Ninetales reassured Xander
"Looks like Ninetales is ready," Xander nodded toward his partner before turning to Dahlia. "If she's ready, I'm ready. We're about to kick butt."
"Same!" Cynthia was just as pumped up. "Gabby is ready to show off how powerful she is."
'Let's crush them!' Gabby was just as pumped as Cynthia was, eager to test herself in her first Gym Battle.
Dahlia laughed at the pair and nodded.
"Good. After your battles, I also plan on challenging the Gym Leader," Dahlia whispered to them, not wanting to draw attention to her match.
Xander and Cynthia looked shocked when they heard that she was challenging the gym. Since she already won a conference, that meant that she was going to go against the Gym Leader's main team of Pokemon. These were Pokemon that had years of experience under their belts and were capable of stopping potential Elite 4 members.
A battle with Pokemon of that level was something that neither Cynthia nor Xander would miss the chance to see in person.
Xander looked over at Dahlia's Pokemon and felt envious. She had a full team of 6 and each of them was fully evolved. They were also emitting pressure just by relaxing.
'I can't even imagine how strong they must be when they are in the middle of battle,' Xander thought to himself, more excited to see Dahlia's battle than fighting his own.
When breakfast was over, the trio recalled their Pokemon and began walking around the city to ease their minds before the battle. No matter how confident the pair were, this was still their first gym so they would feel some nervousness. Dahlia could easily read them so she forced them to walk around with her instead of waiting around the Pokemon Center like they planned.
Time flew by and it was already 2:50 when the duo were outside the doors of the gym. The Gym was unlike many others and actually resembled a real gym where Pokemon and Trainers were practicing their skills. Most of the Pokemon were Fighting Types but there were a few others that also used hand-to-hand combat such as Ursaring and Miltank.
Xander's group walked up to the front counter to register that they were present for their battles. Once the receptionist confirmed their appointments, another member of the Gym appeared and guided the trio to the waiting area.
Once they got to the waiting area, the green-haired teen from the previous day was waiting with a macho man wearing a gi that had the sleeves torn off.
"That's the brat that wants to make the bet, Mr. Kent," the teen spoke to the man, not showing any of the arrogance that he had displayed the day before.
Mr. Kent turned and nodded at the trio, motioning for Xander to step forward. The latter did without hesitation, not afraid of the teen or anything that the Gym Leader might say.
"Hello, sir. My name is Xander from Celestic Town," Xander greeted him politely
"Nice to meet you, young man. I hear that you have a bet with this person right here," Kent said patiently, not showing any judgment in his voice.
"Yes, sir. He showed an interest in my Ninetales but I refused him. When he didn't take no for an answer, he challenged me to a bet. If I win my Gym Battle using only regional Ninetales, he will leave me alone and give me 500,000 Pokedollars. If I lose, I will give him my Ninetales," Xander told Kent the full details of the bet, making sure that the teen didn't try to sneak in any additional conditions or Weavile his way out of the cash.
"I understand. Then as the Gym Leader of the Veilstone Gym, I will be a neutral party and act as a witness for this bet as well as the enforcer," Kent didn't try to dissuade Xander from the bet since it was important for trainers to follow through with their decisions. If he lost, it would be because Xander was not skilled enough and didn't deserve his Pokemon. If he won, then it meant he was more than ready to keep his Ninetales by his side.
"Let's head inside then," Kent directed Xander toward the main arena where their battle would be taking place.
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