"I think we beat Flora and River here," said Blaze as he and Charmeleon walked into Pewter City. The sky had turned dark pink as the sun set, it's glow retreating from Pewter City. "It's probably too late to challenge the Gym today, so we should probably do it in the morning," said Blaze with a yawn.
"Charmeleon," said his Charmeleon as it stopped and plopped on the ground, exhausted from all the walking.
"Tired already?" asked Blaze as he reached into his pocket and took out Charmeleon's Poke Ball. "Alright, I will see you in the morning. You deserve a rest."
Blaze returned Charmeleon to it's Poke Ball and placed it back inside his pocket. With nothing else to do at this hour, Blaze decided to go to the Pokemon Center to rest.
"With Charmeleon's Dragon Rage, we should be able to defeat the Pewter City Gym Leader, no matter what he has." said Blaze to himself as he approached the Pokemon Center. The sliding doors opened as Blaze walked towards the opening. As Blaze walked inside, he stopped suddenly as his eyes drifted to the Lounge area. To his surprise, Voltage, Norman, Flora, and River sat on the couches, deep in conversation.
"Oh, Blaze! You're finally here!" said Flora as she waved her arm.
"What are you guys doing here?" asked Blaze as he approached the lounge area.
"Waiting for you, obviously," said Norman as he petted his sleeping Eevee. "We've already defeated the Pewter City Gym Leader. I defeated him yesterday, as did Voltage. River and Flora just beat him about two hours ago."
"WHAT? I'M THE LAST ONE TO CHALLENGE THE GYM LEADER?!" shouted Blaze.
"Hey, you! Quiet!" said the Nurse before going back to her work.
Norman and Voltage chuckled. "You're the last one here, Blaze," said Voltage as he twirled his Poke Ball on his finger.
"There's some things you should probably know about the Gym Challenge," said Flora as she stood up and walked towards Blaze. "First thing you should know is that each Gym Challenge is a three on three contest. We each beat him with our one, and only, Pokemon. We all had advantages or neutral damage. Another thing you must know about the Gym Leader, Rocky, is that he uses-"
"Hey now, don't spoil the surprise," said River with a sly grin. "Let him figure it out. He'll lose to them anyway."
"Well, let's just say that he uses really rare Rock type Pokemon. The good thing is, they are fairly young Pokemon and aren't that experienced." said Flora as she played with her ponytail, wrapping it with her finger.
"Now that you've prepped him on the Gym Leader, let's tell him about the bet." said Norman as he leaned into the backrest.
"Bet? What bet?" asked Blaze.
"After Voltage defeated Rocky, we made a little bet," said Norman as he grinned. "The bet is that we can only catch three Pokemon for League, and train them."
"Only three? Why?"
"Isn't it obvious?" asked Voltage as he stood up and crossed his arms. "It's because the less Pokemon a trainer uses, the stronger they are. Trainers who train six Pokemon solid are stronger than those who catch multiple Pokemon, say twenty or more. If we use only three Pokemon, then they'd even be stronger than normal."
"Makes sense...Sure, I'm in on this bet." said Blaze with a smirk. "I'll catch the best Fire type Pokemon and beat you all!"
"Pssh, good luck trying to beat me and my Water Pokemon." said River with a grin.
"So, looks like we're all mono training, huh?" said Norman as he picked up his sleeping Eevee and stood up. "The Kanto League Championships will take place in ten months. With us only training three Pokemon, there's a good chance that four of us will make it to the semi-finals," Norman looked over at Flora and Blaze. "My bet is that one of you two won't make it."
"You think you're better than us?" said Blaze as he raised his fist. "Why don't you fight me right now and prove it?"
Norman chuckled as he walked away from Blaze. "There's no need. You won't get past Rocky anyway," shot Norman as he walked over to the guest bedrooms.
Blaze growled as he clenched his fists. "That jerk, I'll pound his face in," said Blaze as Flora placed her hands on his.
"There's no need to fight," said Flora with a small smile. "Don't fight with your fists. Fight with courage. Prove Norman wrong with the bond with your Pokemon."
Blaze's cheeks filled red as her hands held his. "...I...Yeah..."
"Blaze and Flora, sitting in a tree~" sang River in a mocking tone. "K-I-S-S-I-N-G~"
"Shut your mouth!" said Flora, her face red.
"Quiet! If you keep yelling, I'll kick you out." threatened the Nurse.
"Oops....s-s-sorry...." said Flora as she hung her head in shame.
River and Voltage snickered together before Voltage stood up. "Well, I'm going to bed. I'm off to Cerulean City tomorrow for the Cascade Badge."
"You're not going to watch Blaze fight Rocky?" asked River in surprise.
Voltage shook his head. "No, I don't want to waste my time watching Blaze lose," said Voltage as he placed his hands in his vest pocket. "I only stayed in Pewter City to rest. Now that's done, I can continue." Voltage walked to the guest bedrooms, closing the door behind him.
"Don't worry Blaze," said Flora, "River and I will watch your match."
"Yeah, because Flora insists on it," muttered River.
"Hehehe..." Flora played with her ponytail before turning and walking to the couch. She grabbed River's hand and pulled her off the couch. "Time for bed, River!"
"But I'm not tired!" said River as she was dragged off the couch and to the female guest rooms.
Blaze sighed as he walked over to the couches and plopped down. Blaze leaned into the soft cushions. "A three on three challenge...how am I going to defeat Rocky with only one Pokemon? Maybe I should have caught that Mankey..." Blaze stared at the ceiling. "No, maybe I don't need a Mankey...Flora said Rocky's Pokemon are young, so maybe I can beat them with experience."
Blaze reached into his pocket and withdrew Charmeleon's Poke Ball. He clenched the Poke Ball, staring at it with determination. "I'll defeat Rocky. I swear on it."
