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Whitney had to resist a laugh. "You wouldn't have been saying that a decade ago." she said.

"Cautious, yes...mostly. Serious, not as much as he is today, but definitely not as much as before he met you." she said. "Really now, Blizzard apparently found...some sort of balance, I guess."

"That would actually have nothing to do with it." she said. "It would be more of Pryce's doing. Him becoming a hybrid would be eventually what put him over the edge."

"No, I can't deny that one." she said. "All the leaders that have apprentices pretty much taught in the way that was...well...pretty much taught to them. Sometimes I wonder though that if Pryce did a little too well in his training of Blizzard." she mused.

"Its only a so-called sticky trap if you allow it to be. Really, I don't see any harm in holding tradition, providing that your life doesn't solely revolve around it. I mean, ugh. You should have seen the gym here before I took it over." she said.

"Well the city has always been a city. The gym, though...lets just say the one before me made the gym...well...plain. I mean, essentially nun's habit plain. It was kind of dark and..." she shuddered. "I brightened up the place at least. Its still a little on the bare side, but I'm simple like that, I guess."

As Aden walked a bit to the side, as did his would-be opponent, he wondered how well this would go... but, he saw it as a good chance for some experienece regardless. To the less enthused party, the same could be said, even if it meant having to fight dreck like this. When the two approached at whatever could be deemed as sides, both quiet... every moment seemed like an eternity. Seconds were minutes, minutes became hours.

Though Aden wanted to speak up, the glare coming from his opponent kept him from entertaining that thought. He tried to think, figure out who to kick things off with. Before he got that chance, though, the he was met with the release of a Magnemite. Something that completely took him off guard.

"And that is...?" It was enough to make him look up the Pokemon too, until a bolt grazed his arm. "Ahhhhh, what was that for!?"

"Send something out already. Or are you done here?"

"Um, right... Geodude, come on! Tackle!" Deciding to find out about the opponent later, he threw a ball to let the floating, sentient rock out. While less time was wasted in getting on to fighting, he didn't anticipate one thing. For one, a call from the other trainer never came, and for another, Magnemite didn't bother to move at all. It stood there, taking the harsh tackle from Geodude.

It also didn't budge an inch, its singular eye giving an unimpressed look as if asking if it was experiencing a strong breeze. Needless to say, Geodude was a bit surprised, trying to figure out what it had just hit.

"Wha...?"

"That's what I thought. Magnemite, Magnet Bomb!"

There was a lot less fooling around after that, with a clump of metal being flung into the air. It homed in on Geodude before it could even think of moving, attaching to him... and doing nothing for the moment. It tried to remove the metal, but when its hand got close, it exploded and did a nasty bit of damage to boot. It... wasn't pleasing in the least. "Geodude!"

Aden wanted to run over, but he doubted that was such a good idea. He was relieved when Geodude was still standing, though. "Good... I guess."

"Good? Come on, this is barely a challenge! Knew I should've gone on out..."

"I'm. I'm just warming up. Geodude, Rock Polish!" He sounded a little nervous, which made Geodude wary, but it'd go on ahead. Rolling about along the ground for a bit, its body looked a little less rough, allowing it to move a bit faster.

By now, Magnemite had prepared another Magnet Bomb, getting it onto Geodude yet again. But to make it worse...

"Okay! Thundershock the bomb!"

"What!?"

A bolt flied from Magnemite just as quickly as the bomb had, zapping the clump of metal and forcing it to explode at once. Though the electricity wouldn't do squat, the explosion sent Geodude reeling. It was enough to nearly finish it, but it was managing to stick around.

"Ugh..."

"Don't you see? He had to have helped you here. Bunch of weak-"

"Oh, shut up! Geodude, Rock Throw!" Aden called.

"And that's supposed to-"

"Use his Magnemite as the rock!"

"What?"

He didn't expect that one, and Geodude moved too fast for him or Magnemite to counter. The Pokemon being picked up by the magnets on its sides, it tried to struggle free, only to get flung against the ground hard.

"Now, follow it up, Magnitude-"

"Flash!"

Geodude would be doing no such follow up, getting blinded and trying to back away. Magnemite was able to get back up in the meantime, seemingly unfazed by its own flash.

The trainers couldn't say the same, however. "Stupid... light." Aden muttered as the light cleared.

"Did you really think that was going to work?" His opponent would ask, moving an arm from his face. "Magnemite, Lock-On! Get ready!" He called, having Magnemite set its sights on Geodude. There was no way it'd be escaping, every move being tracked. Aden wasn't sure of what was being planned, but he had a feeling he might want to act fast.

"Alright, alright... Geodude, Rock Polish again!" Again, Geodude would go against the ground, recovering its eyesight and managing to speed itself up even more.

"Okay, whatever. Finish this, Magnemite!" Magnemite's response came in the form of yet another Magnet Bomb, but not a single one. Being locked on to Geodude, it was safely able to fire several, all of them homing in.

But Aden wanted nothing to do with that. "Bomb this. Geodude, Magnitude! We're not going down without a fight!" Geodude flew at Magnemite with almost-blinding speed, thanks to the prior Rock Polishes. It caught up in a hurry, despite the bombs attaching to him one after another, grabbing Magnemite and ascending.

"Now, crash down!" Combined with the attacks, Geodude's own force, and now Magnemite, a large crash was imminent. When that happened, a tremor started. While it wasn't especially strong, it was enough to put the opposing Pokemon through a serious bit of hell. Just as that finished, the cluster of bombs went off, catching both in the explosions.

When the dust cleared, neither one were remaining in the fight; both weren't able to get up by any means.

"Geodude... sorry, return."

"Tch. You too, Magnemite."

Both Pokemon were recalled at once, and both already had another one ready.

"Nidoran, your turn!"

"Zubat!"

While the Nidoran came out, he found a bat before him and gave an unamused look.

"(So... does this guy have something upstairs he's not talking about?)" Nidoran asked, more at Aden than the Zubat. Seeing a bat... well, makes one wonder. Didn't help that he did remember a trainer or two from when Aden was getting licensed and all.

"(YOU HAVE NO IDEA!)" Zubat suddenly screeched in response.

"Hey, keep it down!" Aden spoke up. "Nidoran, get ready!"

"Astonish!"

Nidoran tried to get himself ready, only for Zubat to assault him and screech into the poor Pokemon's ears. It broke any sort of concentration instantly, making Nidoran wish he was deaf for a second there. His ears were ringing in any case, and he didn't exactly like that development.

"Wing Attack!" The trainer would take advantage of the opening, though, having Zubat follow up with a hard smack from its wings before backing off.

"(...Can I?)" Nidoran asked after he recovered, glaring at Zubat.

"Yeah." Aden's ears were still ringing from the screeching, so he'd rather get that one out of there. "Shock Wave!"

"Shock what?"

The answer spoke for itself, Nidoran charging up and sending a sudden jolt of electricity. Zubat couldn't hope to get away from it, getting zapped in a matter of seconds. Despite this, it was still managing just fine.

This wasn't met too well. "You think you're cute, don't you?"

"Not re-"

"I was talking to your horned rat."

"(Rat!?)"

"Um. He's not a rat..."

"He'll think otherwise. Go, Zubat, Confuse Ray!"

Another flash of light filled the area, but this one was arguably more disorienting. Suddenly, everything was a daze to Nidoran as he tried to make heads or tails of what just happened.

"Nidoran, no. Come back!" Aden wasn't taking a chance, recalling Nidoran quickly and getting another ball. "Scyther! Show him what we can do! Slash!" He called.

Zubat couldn't respond fast enough, taking the harsh attack and almost falling there. It managed to ascend again, but haphazardly. It wasn't going to last for long at all, and not even the trainer was willing to put the bat through another attack like that. "Tch..." Zubat was recalled before long, allowing it to rest. To say it was a bit easier than it should've been would've been preaching to the choir.

"That was quick..."

"We'll see how quick you like this. Croconaw, come out and use your Ice Fang!"

Scyther did try to move back at Aden's discretion, but that wasn't enough. As soon as the Croconaw had come out, it leaped on the mantis Pokemon and gave him the hardest bite those chilling fangs could produce. Just as Zubat went down in a hurry, so did Scyther, complete with a great deal of ice forming on one of his scythes.

"Scyther...?" It was at this point that maybe he had gotten in deeper than he should've. He recalled his Pokemon without hesitation, but sending another out was a different story. He didn't know how to tackle this one; if it could strike that hard, he was unlikely to last.

"Can't use Raticate, probably shouldn't use Flaaffy... this one's gonna hurt."

"Come on, pink, time's wasting. Or maybe I should go, you seem to be left a little cold."

"A little? I walk around with cold on a regular basis, but at least I'm not all moody like a Sneasel during the summer." Aden countered. "...You know what, no, he'll be fine. Nidoran, get back out!" At this point, he was determined to shut the guy up a bit, letting Nidoran back out to contend with the opponent. Thankfully, the earlier confusion had subsided.

"Fine. Leer!"

"Fury Attack!"

Croconaw would intimidate Nidoran with the sudden glare, leaving him a little nervous. But he shook it off for now, rushing into the opponent and jabbing it repeatedly with his horn.

"So, still think I'm backing down?" Aden asked.

"No, I think you're too dense in the head there. Attacking Croconaw's not a smart move, and now, you'll see why. Croconaw? Rage."

"Rage? Wait, doesn't that-"

Cue one very brutal hit to break Nidoran's combo, making him tumble along the ground. That almost hurt as bad as the Rollout, at least to him.

"Ugh... please tell me you're alright." Aden spoke up, watching as Nidoran slowly rose to his feet. Seeing him nod, he tried to keep things going. If Croconaw could hit that hard, though...

"Nidoran, I've got it. Two can play at this... Flatter!" He called.

"What? No, don't listen to him!"

However, it was a bit too late. It was hard to deny the compliment on its strength, after all, but coming from the enemy was odd to say the least. It wasn't sure how to take it.

"Listen! Bite him!"

Shaking off the confusion for a bit, Croconaw proceeded to rush at Nidoran, its fangs out and ready to clamp down.

"Nidoran, keep it off! Shock Wave!" Nidoran was at least able to get the attack off, moving back as he zapped Croconaw. It was enough to keep Croconaw back a little, but it was still coming fast. Fast enough that, despite efforts, the biting grazed him. It still hurt, but if the full brunt had come through, he probably wouldn't still be standing.

"Don't let him back up! Slash!"

"Poison Jab!"

Croconaw had went to slash at Nidoran, but the confusion was hard to stop this time. The hand was left out from where the slash was attempted, allowing Nidoran the perfect spot to jab it with his horn. Poison was already flowing from it, finding its way into the new host instantly. After that, Nidoran backed off once more, leaving it all to sink in.

"No... Croconaw, end this now! Thrash!"

"Nidoran, I hope you're still good...!" Aden said, watching as Croconaw worked itself into a fury that could've rivaled that one time when he mistook his sister's tail for a stalk of celery. He really hoped that Croconaw wasn't a female, or else a beat-up Nidoran was the least of his worries.

"(Yeah, just... peachy... you better have an idea!)"

"Strike it before it strikes you?"

"(Close enough.)"

Nidoran began by keeping back as much as he could, anything to keep a little distance between staying alive and being a fine paste along the park. He ended up backing into a tree as Croconaw neared, looking back and quickly running behind it. The strike that hit the tree threatened to send it down, but it thankfully held firm. Nidoran's wits, not so much. If there was a moment to realize that maybe he shoud worry more about improving and less about others beating him to the punch, this would be it. Not that it stopped him from using the tree as a shield still, afraid to move for fear of what was to come.

"Nidoran?" Aden spoke up.

"Sounds like someone isn't as tough as he acts. I thought that Nidoran was a male?"

"He is... Nidoran, come on, there's worse than that Croconaw!"

Nidoran still wasn't moving, and the tree wasn't far from being uprooted. Croconaw was moving closer too, prompting him to keep moving around. Seeing this, Aden felt he might want to speak up.

"Okay, you get on me for freezing up and being all defeatist at Violet City, and of all things, a thrashing Croconaw's what gets to you? Nidoran, I know you're better than that! Where's the brashness, that hint that you think you're a little bit better? Man, if Flaaffy and Poliwhirl could see you now... or maybe Scyther..."

"(...Excuse me?)" Nidoran slowly turned at that one.

"You heard me. If any of them saw you now, they'd think you're a wimp. Now, if you want that, that's fine, but..."

A huff followed at what he heard, but Nidoran had enough between the events unfolding and what was just said. "(But nothing. Hey, big, blue and angry!)" Finally, he charged up and ran away from the tree. "(Hope you can punch lightning!)" Once he was at a safe distance from the tree, he unleashed another Shock Wave at the rampaging Croconaw that had started back towards him. Between what was already endured, alongside the poison coursing through, it finally grinded to a halt. Croconaw was on is knees, panting and unable to go on.

It nearly fell over by the time it was finally recalled, the trainer looking far from pleased. Of all the ways the fight could've gone, though close, it wasn't one he cared for. Not when it came to Croconaw. "You happy now? We finally got to fight, now leave me alone." Not being one for words as it was most times, the still-nameless trainer walked off further into the park and the exit around there.

Aden, though, was a bit stunned. And he thought the gym leaders made for rough fights. It was safe to say he was a little surprised at the outcome. "I... won?"