Afternoon.
Silas's group set off.
This time Giselle was marching ahead at full speed, clearly excited by the news over lunch that Fuchsia Gym wasn't far. She practically bounced as she hurried to be the one who found it first.
"That girl…" Lorelei said with a helpless smile, watching how fast Giselle was going. "She really takes after her grandpa."
"Good thing Giselle's a girl," Silas chimed in.
That made Lorelei pause, then roll her eyes. "Is Principal Takashi really that bad?"
"What do you think?" Silas retorted.
Lorelei had no response. She wanted to defend Takashi, but in the League, his reputation was nearly as notorious as Professor Samuel's for harassing noble girls. If not for his years of seniority—and the fact that Professor Oak and the other elders always shielded him—a guy like Takashi probably would've been kicked out a thousand times over.
"What's wrong with Principal Takashi?" Suzie was left totally confused by their conversation. "I thought he was pretty nice?"
"Mhm." Silas wasn't about to spill the truth about Giselle's grandpa. He just smiled at Suzie. "No big deal. Just don't get too close to that old guy, alright?"
"Okay." Suzie nodded trustingly, not really understanding but happy to follow Silas's advice. She was about to say more when the Master Ball at Silas's waist suddenly popped open. In a flash, Tyranitar's massive body materialized behind Silas, and then—BANG, BANG, BANG! Three metallic clangs rang out, as if something metallic had just whacked against Tyranitar's armor-like hide.
Tyranitar's presence radiated through the clearing, his aura wild and oppressive. Before Silas had a chance to ask what was going on, Tyranitar stomped forward, slamming a huge arm into a nearby tree. When he pulled it back, he was gripping a teenage girl.
The girl's clothes were bizarre—bright red ninja garb. Tyranitar glared at her and growled, "Who are you? Why did you attack my trainer?"
Attack me?! Silas and the three girls all jumped in surprise. Silas was about to tell Tyranitar to put the girl down, but decided to wait for her answer instead.
Under Tyranitar's menacing glare, the girl panicked and stammered, "A-Aya… I'm Aya. I'm the Fuchsia Gym leader's little sister. I saw your trainer looking for Fuchsia Gym, so I wanted to test if he had what it takes."
Aya?
Test him?
Fuchsia Gym?!
The words connected in Silas's mind—just like in the original story, Ash and friends got ambushed when they came here. No one had been hurt, so Silas decided not to make a big deal of it. He nodded at Tyranitar. "Tyranitar, put her down."
"Fine." Tyranitar replied, but clearly still sore over the ambush. He casually let go, dropping Aya from five or six meters up.
"Ow-ow-ow-ow!" Aya hit the ground hard, tears springing to her eyes as she clutched her butt. She was about to yell at Tyranitar, but caught sight of those furious red eyes—eyes full of warning. If she tried any more stunts, she'd be toast.
Silas had seen all of Tyranitar's little performance. He gave a small, wry smile, recalled Tyranitar, and stepped up to Aya, beaming. "You're the gym leader's little sister? So you must know exactly where Fuchsia Gym is, right?"
"I do!" Aya winced, rubbing her backside.
Silas's smile got even brighter. "Then it'd be great if you could show us the way."
"Says who?!" Aya shot back, bristling like a cat whose tail got stepped on. She'd just gotten her ass handed to her by Tyranitar, and now this guy didn't apologize and just expected her to guide them like she worked for him. "Why would I lead you?"
"First: You ambushed me. I could hand you over to the police and charge you with assault.
Second: You're the Fuchsia Gym leader's sister. By pulling this kind of stunt, you're technically blocking challengers from reaching the gym, which would get your big bro in trouble if I reported it to the League.
All things considered, I think it's in your best interest to show us the way. Don't you agree?" Silas smiled—one of those smiles that, to Aya, looked devilish.
In the end Aya just muttered, "Fine, follow me," and limped off.
As they followed, Lorelei leaned in. "Silas, shouldn't we at least give the Fuchsia Gym leader a heads-up about his sister's behavior? It's way out of line. If Koga doesn't straighten her out, there's going to be trouble eventually."
"No need," Silas shook his head. "Koga's about to join the Johto Elite Four. You're Kanto's Elite Four—coming down to scold him would only make things messier. And this has always been how she is. If Koga could fix it, he would have by now—the Elite Four aren't fools. The real problem is he's just too soft on his little sister. If anything, letting her get in trouble now might teach her. Our job is just to win the badge and get out of here."
It was already three in the afternoon by the time Silas's crew arrived at the gym, following Aya.
As soon as they entered the building, Silas heard a man's voice scold, "Aya, I told you to finish your training before going out! How am I supposed to explain this to our late parents?!"
Aya froze, her face twisting with anxiety. She spun to Silas. "I brought you to Fuchsia Gym, so we're even, okay?! Don't say a word about this!" Then she bolted.
Everyone stared after her, half-laughing, half-sighing. Silas nudged Lorelei. "See? I told you—Koga can't do anything with that little wildcat. If he could, he would've sorted it ages ago."
"Guess you're right." Lorelei nodded. She was a member of the Elite Four herself, so she couldn't just ignore this kind of thing—but if even Koga couldn't handle her... well, what else could Lorelei do? As she nodded, a man came running out after Aya. It was Koga, and clearly he'd meant to chase after his sister—but when he saw Silas's group, he stopped short, surprise on his face.
"Lorelei, what brings you here? Weren't you—" Koga paused, spotting Silas and the others. He offered an embarrassed smile. "Right, sorry you had to see that. I hope my sister didn't give you too much trouble. If she did, I apologize right now. We're orphans, so she grew up pretty wild."
Koga's tone was so earnest that even Lorelei couldn't find fault. Silas just shrugged calmly. "Not a big deal, it's over now. I'm Silas, from Pallet Town—here to challenge Fuchsia Gym!"
At Silas's formal introduction, Koga's attitude shifted immediately. "I am Koga, leader of Fuchsia Gym—challenge accepted!"
…
Inside the gym.
Silas and Koga faced off, the referee standing between them.
Once both of them were standing at their marks, the ref boomed out, "This is the start of the Fuchsia City Fuchsia Gym Badge Challenge! The challenger is Silas, from Pallet Town. The defending gym leader is Koga. Rules are 2-on-2. Challenger may substitute Pokémon at will. Any objections?"
"Nope."
Silas and Koga both shook their heads.
"Great!" The ref declared, "Let the match begin! Trainers, send out your Pokémon!"
"Silas," Koga said, holding his Master Ball, voice full of adrenaline, "I've heard you're strong—definitely stronger than me. I doubt I can stop you. But before that, I want at least one honest, all-out battle. I'll use my strongest! Please, don't hold back!"
"Go! Venomoth!"
All out, huh…
Silas paused, then smiled, switching out for his own Master Ball. "As you wish."
"Let's go, Tyranitar!"
"Tyranitar!"
Tyranitar appeared in a flash, massive body radiating a murderous aura.
The moment he did, Venomoth started trembling, as if Tyranitar was less a Pokémon and more a living nightmare.
"So…so big," Koga gulped. He'd known Silas was strong—even absurdly strong—but figured as a soon-to-be Elite Four, he could at least put up a fight. When Tyranitar came out, he realized just how wrong he'd been.
While Koga reeled, Silas had already started his assault.
"Tyranitar, use Scary Face!"
"Tyranitar!"
Tyranitar roared, pulling a terrifying face at Venomoth.
Eek—
Venomoth, already trembling under Tyranitar's aura, nearly fainted on the spot. Without Koga standing behind it, it probably would've bolted for the exit right then.
"Venomoth!" Koga called out, trying to calm it down. "You're an Elite Four-tier Pokémon! I know the other side's strong, but at least hold your ground!"
"Venomoth!"
Venomoth forced itself to steady, and as soon as it did, Koga shouted, "Use Silver Wind!"
Venomoth's wings whipped up a storm, dusting the air with silver scales and hurricane-force wind, battering straight toward Tyranitar!
Child's play.
Silas's eyes flashed with disdain. If he was using Pikachu, maybe this would be tricky. But Tyranitar? This was nothing. Without a command from Silas, Tyranitar didn't bother to defend—he took the hit head-on with his colossal body.
Got him!
Seeing Tyranitar eat the attack, Koga's eyes glinted in triumph. Venomoth's poison dust was extremely potent. Even if it couldn't bring Tyranitar down, it might at least paralyze him!
"Venomoth!" Koga pressed his advantage. "Use Hurricane!"
"Mo—th!"
A gentle breeze suddenly built into a roaring tempest, gathering into a giant tornado that spun toward Tyranitar, threatening to swallow him whole.
Staring down the twister, Silas finally gave his second command. "Mega Punch!"
"Tyranitar!"
Tyranitar let loose a furious roar and, under Koga's stunned eyes, surged forward. Silver energy converged on his right fist, and he raised it, hurling it straight into the heart of the storm!
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