POV - Omniscient
The Viridian Gym wasn't just a battleground it was the structure of status. People were eager to challenge the legendary Gym known for its ruthlessness. But this gym never had a problem of overflowing challenges due to its requirements.
But today, the air was heavier.
People with 3 gym badges or more were now allowed to book a time.
Still, you couldn't just walk in and challenge the leader. This place had class and only reservations and then beating the gym trainer would allow you the privilege to move forward.
Atop the balcony of the inner gym ring, three Rocket Captains watched from above each seasoned, each scarred, each loyal to the Boss. A young man, a young woman and an older woman. And each of them was completely silent as a red-haired boy stepped into the field below, his Beedrill clicking its twin lances menacingly.
"You ever think we'd see the Boss's kid take challengers like this?" murmured the guy, his arms crossed.
"I didn't even know the Boss had a kid until two years ago," the young woman replied. "Have you ever seen a Beedrill only land critical hits? Although he does look similar to you ma'am..."
The older woman who heard this gave her a death stare. Emotionless the side eye made her shiver.
The two chuckled quietly, tension still on their shoulders. Trying to ease it a little.
"It's not just him but his Beedrill's wings are flapping like a helicopter's rotating blades," The man said trying to change the subject.
Below, Silver stood with arms folded. "Next."
A boy in his late teens, maybe seventeen, took his place opposite him. He didn't look like much, a bit skinny but had a fire in his eyes.
"I challenge you," he says with grit. "Let's see what you're made of!"
Silver raised a brow completely dismissing the guy. Further than that, he turned to his side ignoring him. "Beedrill. Ready."
The trainer lost his smile at this and tossed a ball. "Let's go, Fearow!"
A flash of red light and a shriek later, the large hawk Pokémon flapped its wings high above the field.
From above, the young woman leaned forward. "Fearow's fast. Can outspeed most unevolved Pokémon, maybe even match Beedrill in a straight dash."
"But Silver wouldn't take an aerial battle like that," the man muttered. "Watch."
"Fearow, Agility! Then Aerial Ace!"
Silver watched the opponent blur with speed, wings slashing through the air as it came barreling toward Beedrill like a javelin.
"[Laser Focus], then prepare to slingshot [Poison Jab]."
This was one of Silver's improvised commands.
Slingshot.
Beedrill watching the Pokemon get close, in a burst of speed shot backwards. Completely startling the Fearow as its prey disappeared. Not a second later with another burst of wind, the Beedrill was now in front of the beak Pokemon. Its twin stingers lanced forward, each glowing a brief deep shade of purple.
The timing was brutal.
*Tsak!*
Fearow screeched, thrown off balance. A direct hit into its left eye, making it panic a type of way his trainer has never seen.
"Fearow fly up into the sky!"
Silver's eyes sharpened, not wasting any time or words. "Strike it again."
Beedrill's wings hummed as they burst upwards with insane acceleration, striking the Fearow's neck, A clean hit.
*Boom!*
Fearow's wings locked up midflight. It crashed into the ground hard, skidding to a halt.
The trainer winced and called it back his calm start now shifting. "Not bad. Let's see how you handle this! Go, Magneton!"
Three spheres, buzzing with electric malice, hovered into the arena.
"Stun it with Thunder Wave!"
Electricity arced toward Beedrill in a split second, although it was larger than a normal Thunder Wave. Better coverage but less effective.
"Agility," Silver ordered coolly.
Beedrill shot sideways, but not fast enough. Sparks raced along its chitin, locking its muscles somewhat.
"Flash Cannon!"
The beam of light burst from Magneton's core and exploded into Beedrill.
But Beedrill emerged—scorched, wings fluttering erratically, but still airborne. It looked more than just a bit beat up with dust all over it, bruises and cuts spread through its body.
It looked forward in controlled rage.
Silver's voice dropped. "[Assurance]. Full force."
Beedrill's eyes glowed a dark grey. It blurred forward viciously with its newly added plus-two agility. Magneton's core head being the middle top, couldn't react as a stinger hit its lone eye. The other two magnets shuddered, and the centre orb dimmed. Magneton clattered to the ground, sparks hissing.
The room was dead silent.
"Battle over," declared one of the referees. "Victory: Silver."
The trainer recalled his fainted partner, jaw tight but respectful. "You're... intense."
Silver just turned away, not bothering to reply.
From the balcony, the man exhaled slowly. "Fuck."
"He's only eight," The woman whispered. "That's insane... I was picking my boogers at that age."
The older woman who saw this had her expression softened. He won again.
After this the three didn't speak again, they made their separate ways after this short break.
Back in the lounge, Silver towelled down Beedrill himself, careful around the wing joints. "Still twitching?" He softly says.
Beedrill buzzed softly, antennae brushing against Silver's fingers.
He offered a custom recovery snack which Beedrill accepted without fuss. Taking this opportunity the kid took his grooming kit and helped the Pokemon relax.
"Good," Silver murmured. "I'll ask Father to hire a Pokemon breeder to massage you later."
A notification beeped from the wall monitor. He turned.
----------------
Current win streak: 26
New milestone reached!
Unlocked: 1x TM token from Silph Co
Notice: Additional Ground Type Pokemon slot available upon reaching 75 total wins.
----------------
Silver's lips curled upward. "Progress."
He didn't need to be told what to do. He already had a list of potential TMs and Pokémon in mind. He needed coverage more than anything, that's how he lost most of the time after all.
Later that night, he walked to the outdoor corral behind the gym. One enclosure held his newest burden—er, partner. Rhyhorn.
The beast had been steadily training for a week now, refusing orders in practice sessions, ramming dummies without warning, and stomping away whenever Silver tried to approach. While it enjoyed food he couldn't just abuse the thing to battle.
Tonight, he brought a new tactic.
Silver carried a satchel—inside, a mix of roasted tomato berries, seared slowpoke tail which was definitely not ethically sourced.. and a drizzle of honey for scent. High-grade gym rations are reserved for elite battlers.
He set the bowl down just out of reach and sat cross-legged beside it.
Rhyhorn huffed and turned its head away.
"Act all you want," Silver said quietly. "I've seen stronger Pokémon fall over themselves for food half this good."
Rhyhorn stomped once. A warning.
Silver didn't move. "You're proud. Good. So am I. But you're not going to fight with me out of pride. You're going to fight with me because I give you food," he nudged the bowl slightly forward with a stick, "Be mine and you eat more..."
Rhyhorn growled.
But Silver glared back, not backing down.
The Pokemon then sniffed.
Then sniffed again.
It inched forward, trying to seem uninterested, even as its mouth opened and scarfed down the food in three savage gulps.
Silver waited, watching silently.
Rhyhorn looked away again, but its tail twitched... just once.
Silver stood, brushing off his knees. "Tomorrow, we train."
Rhyhorn didn't look at him.
But it didn't charge either.
The next morning, Silver received a message from Giovanni.
[Message from Father:
"Reviewing your footage. Continue accumulating victories. Target 200 wins. Every 25, claim a reward. Every 75, you earn a new team slot. Prove your worth."]
Silver stared at the screen. Then deleted the message.
The Pokemon he could request were limited to ground types and were his probable future monotype team. But he didn't want one unless it was strictly for gym duty.
"I feel isolated, but with my Pokemon by my side, this feels like a blessing. This is so fun." He whispered to himself, slowly descending into a battle maniac.
The physical progress was addicting like a video game.
By the end of the week, he had 34 wins. Some easy, some hard. Word was spreading and trainers were beginning to fear the boy with the Beedrill that struck like lightning, whose eyes burned like his father's.
The Gym wasn't just known for Giovanni anymore.
A new kid was in town and he made an opening statement.
The battle floor was quiet now. The lights still glowed across the arena, but the roar of the last match had faded into memory. Silver sat alone in the corner lounge beside a curved terminal built into the Viridian Gym's inner wall—a training console connected to the internal Rocket server. No one else was around.
He liked it that way.
His Beedrill rested in its ball. Rhyhorn, after scarfing down a fresh serving of spiced Slow Poke tail, was napping beside the bench, occasionally snorting in its sleep.
Silver tapped at the console and brought up his most recent matches. A dozen wins, two losses. The latest one had been a surprise with a fiery kid from Pewter who managed to outmaneuver Beedrill with a nimble Manectric and a bulky Lairon. He hadn't seen it coming.
His other loss was from an Arcanine with widespread ranged fire attacks.
There was no stopping that.
The screen replayed the final moments with Beedrill's attack blocked mid-charge by a sudden Iron Defense, followed by a brutal hit by Lairon crashing down in a full-body attack.
"There is no maneuvering around that without a better move pool," Silver muttered a bit frustrated but interested in the challenge. "I should have tried it out."
He leaned back, arms crossed, eyes half-lidded.
"…Still. He earned it."
He remembered what he told the trainer after the battle. The words had come out cool, but not unkind:
"You've earned the right to challenge the real Gym Leader. Don't make me look weak." With a slight tsundere face turn.
"He is Giovanni of Viridian City."
That's how it works now.
Silver wasn't the Gym Leader. Not yet. He was something new.
The gatekeeper.
In the past, challengers wouldn't get the required battle of Giovanni because at that point they earned it with eight badges. But now with him here he had to pull in some of the load and beat the trainers.
He glanced again at the replay, then flipped to a different screen. His battle record, win/loss ratios, and an evaluation overlay with simulated difficulty scaling.
A ranking system was listed beside each opponent: a simple set of tiers.
------
Baby - Baby Pokemon
Novice - Weak can use moves for battle
Adept - Win a few badges 1-5
Veteran - Getting higher in the world, 6-8 badges strong.
Ace - Fully evolved pseudo-legendary strong
Elite - Elite Four tier
Champion - Champion tier
------
Most of the people he fought were Peak Adept or entering Veteran Tier. The Manectric guy? Had eight badges and was at Peak Veteran level at least.
It was brutal but it wasn't too bad.
Just because a Pokemon is at a higher level doesn't mean it won't lose to a Pokemon lower. They might have ace strength, but have veteran defences and could lose if the trainer makes some mistakes.
So such grades as long as the gap wasn't too far, mainly make the battle rely on the trainers and how they've trained their Pokemon.
Winning those lost battles wasn't too impossible given the right opportunities.
Silver squinted at his own tag beside his profile.
Gym Authority – Maximum.
He basically could do anything he wanted with the gym. His father really trusted him a lot.
One day he wanted that final label. Not Champion-class like those fools in Paldea. But the strongest in the league, that was the real meaning of a champion.
The one above all.
The person who towers over their region and represents their strength.
He opened the Gym Trainer System interface again. A new ping.
25 Wins Logged – TM Access Granted.
Next Milestone: 75 Wins – Eligible to Expand Team (1 Additional Pokémon).
He smirked.
Seventy-five. That was his next benchmark.
If he wanted a full team of six, and Giovanni's approval to handle official Gym-level leadership in the next two years, he'd need 200 total wins. By then, he could have five team slots beyond Beedrill—rotated smartly to mask his real threats.
He glanced at the lazy eater next to him.
"Still got a long way to go with you, huh?"
The sleeping Rock-type gave a half-snort in its sleep.
Silver stood up, stretched, and rubbed his temples.
He had to keep training. Not just his Pokémon—but himself. His mind, his adaptability. The Gym Captains were watching him. Some respected his growing power and others watched.
But that was fine.
Maybe he should recruit people of his own.
'Maybe an agent Colson of my own.' He thought amused.