The Plain Badge

By the beginning of the next day, everything had returned to normal. There were still a few things that Yellow and Kusa had to remember but, they were no concern to Hakel, at the moment. It was his time to shine.

After leaving the other Pokedex Holders which, was shortly after striking down Kusa, he headed over to see a friend in another part of Johto. He knew his way around the region, of course, but, because of that fact that he hadn't been there in awhile, his memory on it was a bit skewed and forgotten. After he was done there and had got himself calmed down and relaxed, he headed back to Azalea Town to defeat Bugsy. He did so, even though it wasn't that simple, and then headed after Machine, Kusa, and Yellow upon hearing that they traveled into the Ilex Forest despite knowing that a masked villain was there to attack them.

But now, that everyone and everything was normal once more, he went to challenge the third Gym Leader while Machine reminded Kusa and Yellow of anything else they needed to know. Hakel walked to the Gym with three of his own Poke Ball's in his pocket. But as he was heading off the Gym, someone jumped in front and stopped him from walking forward. He had a mask on and had a long cape, that draped down his back as Hakel tried to pass him. However, it was to no avail because this masked person wouldn't let Hakel go to the Gym.

Finally, after it became too tiresome for Hakel to bear, he growled and shouted, "What the hell is your deal man? Can you move out of my way so I can challenge the Gym Leader?"

"No, I'm afraid I can't do that yet." The masked man stated. "Before you go any further, I must introduce myself to you!"

"Why should I give a damn? Are you supposed to be someone special?" Hakel asked, as the masked man nodded and bowed to him.

As the masked man smiled at Hakel, a bunch of people from Goldenrod crowded around him as if he was more popular than Hakel. Hearing the commotion outside, Machine, Yellow, and Kusa walked outside to see what was going on.

The crowd was thick but, eventually, they made it to the middle where this masked man was doing tricks and other asinine things to impress everyone around him. Hakel looked unimpressed, although, every girl in the city seemed to be utterly infatuated at him, screaming and chanting words that much too inaudible for anyone to really make out. Machine, Yellow, and Kusa walked over to Hakel and saw that he was just standing there, waiting for him to do something.

"Hakel!" Kusa shouted over the crowds uproar and chanting.

"Guys!" Hakel shouted back to them as they ran over to him.

"Who or what is that moron doing these tricks in front of you?" Yellow asked as Hakel shrugged.

"I don't really know. And I don't really care. He's just some asinine jack ass to me. He hasn't even properly introduced himself to me." Hakel responded as a girl with pink hair tied in two ponytails behind her head looked over to him. She slapped across his head, knocking him down on his face, annoyed by his comments. "What the hell, bitch?!" Hakel got back up and glared into the pink-haired girl's eyes, which were filled with more anger than he could fathom.

"What the hell did you just say about John Dragos?" The pink-haired girl asked, cracking her knuckles.

"I said that he's a joke! He looks like a moron doing tricks for these random ass people! He's bothering the natural order of things!" Hakel shouted back to her, making the crowds stop cheering for, John Dragos, apparently, and look over to the pink-haired girl and Hakel's conversation.

"Take that back! He's an amazing man! He's the newest Gym Leader of Blackthorn City!" The pink-haired girl shouted, slamming the back of her fist into Hakel's cheek. Hakel screamed in pain and went to strangle the pink-haired girl but, Machine stopped him.

"Machine, what the hell! Why did you stop me?" Hakel asked.

"Uh well... for one thing... it's not right to hit women. Secondly, look, dude." Machine said, pointing up to a billboard plastered adjacently above their heads. Hakel looked up to where Machine was pointing and his jaw instantly dropped and his eyes opened wide.

The billboard had the pink-haired girl's picture and read, in BIG RED LETTERS, "Meet, Whitney! The incredibly pretty girl of Goldenrod City and also, the GYM LEADER OF THIS FAIR CITY! Trainers may challenge her at anytime of the day!"

"Holy... shit...." Hakel said, turning back to Whitney who was laughing at his reaction knowing that he was supposed to be a challenger at her Gym. "You're... You're the Gym Leader?"

"Yes!" Whitney said, laughing at him again.

John Dragos walked over to Hakel and patted him on the back saying, "Yes, she is. You would best show this lady some respect. She has seniority over me and more skill than I have in one finger. Right, Miss Whitney?"

Whitney blushed and began stuttering as she started to talk, keeping her eyes on his rippling muscles and powerful demeanor. She couldn't even speak at all now even though John Dragos was kind of a newbie in terms of Gym Leader status. John Dragos then laughed at her and turned away from Hakel and the others saying, "Yes, and as Miss Whitney had said before, I am the newest Gym Leader in Blackthorn City. Come challenge me whenever you get enough skill and... beat the rest of the Gym Leaders of course." John Dragos then ordered a path be made for him as a bunch of girls crowded him as he headed for the exit of Goldenrod City.

"What a pretentious douchebag..." Kusa said, as Machine and Yellow agreed with her. Hakel, on the other hand, was thinking about what he said. He wasn't sure if he could be the new Gym Leader of Blackthorn City, it just didn't seem logical. After thinking about it for a few minutes, Kusa turned to him and shouted, "Hakel!"

"Huh? What?" Hakel asked, completely disoriented from what had been happening for the last few minutes.

"Didn't you just hear what Whitney just asked you about?" Kusa asked.

"No... I didn't." Hakel said as he turned to Whitney. "What the hell did you ask me, Whitney?"

"Ugh... Boys..." Whitney said, sighing as she started to walk away. "Anyway, I asked you if you wanted to battle me. After all, you are a Pokemon Trainer right? Trying to get to the Silver Conference that is happening about three months from now?"

"Oh yeah! Yes, I would like that very much! Are you willingly to battle me right now?" Hakel asked as Whitney urged him to follow her, nodding in the process. "Alright! Let's get this show started!"

"Good luck, Hakel! Save some for me man! Don't go ape on her ass! She's a nice girl, try to go easy on her!" Machine shouted as Hakel nodded to him and followed after her.

When he was sure they had returned to the Pokemon Center, Hakel leaned in towards her and said, "You know, I'm not going to hold back against you, right?"

"Of course. I wouldn't want it any other way. If you did, the battle would be boring, right?" Whitney asked as Hakel nodded to her, following her into her Gym. Upon arriving in Whitney's Gym, Hakel noticed that it was much like Falkner's Gym in Violet City. However, there was no opening in the roof and there was platform that led up to the Gym Badge. It was a simple battlefield with a bunch of seats around them so that, whoever wanted to watch, could watch the match. But there was no one to watch so, as soon as Whitney walked to the other side of the battlefield, their battle began.

"Alright, it's time to begin our match! I choose, Clefable! Come out!" Whitney shouted as she tossed her Poke Ball up into the air, releasing her first Pokemon, Clefable onto the field.

"Perfect! That's easy for me to take on! Come out, Sentret!" Hakel shouted, tossing her first Poke Ball up into the air, releasing his Sentret onto the field in front of him ready to take on Whitney's team.

"A Sentret, eh?" Whitney asked, raising an eyebrow at his choice of Pokemon. "They're so cute and... plain. I'm surprised that you would choose that Pokemon as your first contender."

"Exactly! You'll be surprised by much of what I can do and how I act! Sentret, let's make the first move! Quick Attack now!" Hakel shouted, bringing their match to an official start.

"Clefable, dodge that Hakel's Sentret and smash it into the ground with your Pound attack!" Whitney ordered as Sentret barely missed striking Clefable. Clefable turned around and slammed its hand onto Sentret's back, knocking it straight into the ground. Clefable then backed away, leaving Hakel surprised, or so, it seemed. "Nice work, Clefable!"

"That was surprising, Whitney! But now, you're not going to get me with that again! Sentret, jump above Clefable's head and blast it with your Hyper Voice!" Hakel ordered as Sentret shot into the air, acting as if it had not been hit with a devastating Pound from Whitney's Clefable.

"Clefable, stop Sentret with your Metronome!" Whitney shouted as Sentret got ready to attack. Clefable raised its finger up at Sentret and began shaking it slowly. Clefable's finger began to glow bright orange. It then released a giant blast of green energy from its finger in the form of green balls. They headed for Sentret faster than Hakel expected. "Alright, nice job, Clefable! It's Hidden Power!"

"It's doesn't matter, Sentret! Take that Hidden Power down! You have the power to do it! Use Hyper Voice!" Hakel shouted as Sentret opened its mouth as wide as it could, letting loose multiple blue rings of sound that made short work of Clefable's Hidden Power. They struck right through them and then smashed into Clefable, defeating it once and for all. Sentret landed on the ground and smiled at Hakel.

Once he did, he began to glow a bright light that Hakel knew all too well. The light caused Sentret to grow larger, tougher, and faster because it was finally evolving into its last stage, Furret. Once Sentret had completely evolved into Furret, Hakel took out his Pokedex and examined it.

Furret, the Long Pokemon. The mother puts its offspring to sleep by curling up around them. It corners foes with speed.

Hakel then put his Pokedex away just as Whitney called back her Clefable and took out her second Poke Ball. "Alright, so you defeated my Clefable and your Sentret evolved into Furret because of that! But... that doesn't mean I can't win against you! Come out, Wigglytuff!" Whitney shouted, throwing her second Poke Ball up into the air. Her Wigglytuff landed on the battlefield, ready to take on Hakel's newly obtained Furret. "Let's begin! Wigglytuff, charge at Furret!"

Whitney's Wigglytuff dashed at Furret and it was quick, however, it wasn't as fast as Hakel's Furret. "No worries, Furret! Let's try out that new speed of yours! Charge at Wigglytuff with your Quick Attack and then blast her with your Hyper Voice!" Furret charged forward, jumping in a zigzag pattern all around Whitney's Wigglytuff. Her Wigglytuff began utterly confused but was no too slow to catch Furret's weakness. Furret would slow down whenever he would turn and at that point, Whitney could take her shot.

"I got it! Wigglytuff, use Disable on Hakel's Furret as soon as he turns! And make it count!" Whitney shouted as Wigglytuff nodded to her and watched Furret quickly. As Furret turned a corner, Wigglytuff raised her hand and pointed a finger at Furret.

"Furret, stop using Quick Attack and blast her with your Hyper Voice! Shatter the windows with your attack!" Hakel ordered, hoping Furret would be able to attack before Wigglytuff's attack made contact. Unfortunately, Furret slipped over its own feet, not being able to stop itself correctly as it began to attack. "Furret, NO!" As Hakel watched his Pokemon fall to the ground, Furret began to slide in front of Wigglytuff. Unable to see his newly obtained Pokemon fall in defeat, he took out his Poke Ball and shouted, "Furret, return!" A red beam of light shot from Furret's Poke Ball, snatching it up before Wigglytuff could attack.

"What the hell?" Whitney asked as her Wigglytuff stopped her attack, looking just as confused as Whitney was. "What was that about, Hakel?"

"Can't bear to see my Furret lose." Hakel said, scratching the back of his head nervously.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Whitney asked.

"Furret just evolved from a Sentret. I can't let Furret lose his first match as an evolved Pokemon. It would ruin his own self confidence. I couldn't do that Furret nor any of my other Pokemon. So, how about we say that... you won that round, Whitney?" Hakel asked, looking at Furret's Poke Ball. He smiled at it, put it away, and took out his second Poke Ball. Whitney smiled at him as he showed Whitney his next Poke Ball. "But, don't mistake that for going easy on you! I'm going to defeat your Wigglytuff with one of my favorite Pokemon besides my Blastoise and Bayleef!"

Whitney smiled and said, "Bring it on, Hakel! Try to defeat me if you can!"

"I will! Come out, Espeon!" Hakel shouted, tossing his second Poke Ball. His Espeon arrived from its Poke Ball, ready to take down Wigglytuff in one move. "Now, we'll start this fight first! Espeon, Future Sight now!" Hakel's Espeon's eyes glowed a bright purple color and bore his image into Whitney's Wigglytuff's mind as well as Whitney's. Whitney fell to the ground, made completely dizzy from Espeon's attack. "Ha, dizzy from that attack, Whitney?"

"No... No way!" Whitney shouted, standing back up from her experience. "W-what the hell was that move?"

"You're a Gym Leader and you don't know what Future Sight can do?" Hakel asked as Whitney glared at him. "Anyway, I suppose I'll have to explain what this do to you, right? Future Sight is a special Psychic attack that my Espeon just used. In about six minutes, despite your Pokemon that you have out this attack will strike your Pokemon down instantly with a hunk of Psychic energy. This attack, as an added bonus, ignores type, weaknesses, immunities, and resistances. Meaning, that when this attack activates, by combining my Espeon's Special Attack and Special Defense, it will hit no matter what. Got that? So, you won't be able to dodge it even if you defeat Espeon."

"Yes, but that only depends if we're still in the battle! So, if you defeat you before the six minutes are up, you won't be able to hit with the attack!" Whitney shouted as her Wigglytuff dashed towards Espeon.

"Unfortunately, that won't happen! Your Wigglytuff won't even be able to get past my Espeon with her slow speed!" Hakel shouted as Wigglytuff stopped, suddenly sensing something appear behind it. Wigglytuff turned around only to suffer a devastating hit from Espeon's tail. Espeon then appeared in front of Wigglytuff as she went flying and smacked her towards the ceiling. Espeon then launched itself into the air once more, slamming Wigglytuff at the ground. "Espeon, nice work! Looks like you've gotten even faster!"

"Amazing... His... His Espeon is so fast." Whitney said, as Wigglytuff fell towards the ground. "Wigglytuff, try to focus a Substitute attack now!"

"That's not going to happen! Espeon, finish it off with Psybeam!" Hakel shouted, as Espeon sent a multicolored beam of psychic energy down at Wigglytuff, smashing into it before it could even get ready to dodge. The attack was so powerful it forced Wigglytuff into the ground, defeating it as soon as it slammed into the ground.

"Wigglytuff!" Whitney shouted, seeing that her Wigglytuff was completely unconscious from Espeon's last attack. She took out Wigglytuff's Poke Ball, called it back, and took out her final Poke Ball. "Alright, listen, Hakel! This is my last and strongest Pokemon on my team! It'll defeat your simple Espeon as soon as it comes out!"

"Bring it out then! I'll defeat with my Espeon like I did your Wigglytuff!" Hakel shouted, as Espeon cried out, giving Whitney the message. As Hakel waited for Whitney to call out her last Pokemon, he thought to himself, Perfect... There's only four minutes left. If she does happen to defeat my Espeon, there's no way she'll be able to defeat Bayleef... And that's when Future Sight will strike!

"Alright then! Come out, Miltank!" Whitney shouted as she called out her last Pokemon, Miltank. Miltank landed out on the battlefield, and mooed ferociously at Espeon.

"A Miltank? I haven't seen one those in a long time..." Hakel asked, taking out his Pokedex.

He examined Miltank as his Pokedex read off its information, Miltank, the Cow Pokemon. Miltank produces a very nutritious milk, a perfect drink for reviving sick Pokemon. Miltank are very even tempered and prefer not to battle.

"That's different for my Mil Mil! She loves to fight and as a Gym Leader, that fights my Pokemon perfectly!" Whitney shouted as her Miltank nodded, ready for battle.

"Fine then! Espeon, let's knock this one out of the park! Psybeam now!" Hakel ordered as Espeon shot a multicolored stream of psychic energy directly at Miltank.

"Mil Mil, dodge that and knock Hakel's Espeon out with your Rollout!" Whitney ordered as her Miltank moved to the side, dodging the Psybeam with ease. Her Miltank then turned into a ball and rolled through the battlefield at Espeon. Miltank was so fast, Espeon couldn't even see it coming. Espeon was flung through the air and then Miltank launched into the air, and slammed Espeon into the back wall behind Hakel, blowing debris all over the battlefield.

"Espeon!" Hakel shouted as Espeon fell to the ground, defeated by Whitney's Miltank. Her Miltank jumped back over back over to her, blowing dirt everywhere. Hakel took out his Poke Ball and called his Espeon back, and then took out his last Poke Ball. Three minutes... Her Miltank is faster than I thought. This may be harder than I originally thought. Whatever, no use getting myself worked up from just this... Hakel held up his Poke Ball and let it gleam in a stream of incoming light and thought, Alright, Bayleef... Let's do this. Without another word, Hakel tossed her last Poke Ball onto the field, releasing his Bayleef onto the field.

"Bayleef, huh? Kind of strange pick for you." Whitney said, repeating her previous statement.

"Like I said, I'm an unpredictable guy. Unlike Machine, who's always been as predictable as a dead tree." Hakel said, as he smiled at Whitney. "But, that's him, not me! I'm a totally different person ever since I became the Pokemon Champion of Kanto a few years ago! And then, finally when I was defeated by Blue, it taught me something!"

"What? What did it teach you?" Whitney asked, as she realized she had seen Hakel before. He was the previous Pokemon League Champion of Kanto as well as the second in command of the Pokedex Holders that defeated Team Rocket two years ago.

"Never... underestimate your opponents! There's always a way to defeat your opponent, no matter might happen! Just because you think you have the upper hand, doesn't really mean you do!" Hakel shouted as Whitney smirked at him. "And don't forget, once Future Sight hits, your Miltank is done for! Bayleef, attack!"

"Mil Mil, Rollout again!" Whitney shouted as Miltank turned into a ball and rolled forward, picking up speed as she headed for Hakel and his Bayleef. Bayleef charged forward at that exact moment, heading for a speeding Miltank.

"Bayleef, jump over Miltank and grab it with your Vine Whip!" Hakel shouted as two vines emerged from Bayleef's neck and instantly grabbed onto Miltank's rolling body as he jumped into the air. With all of its strength, Hakel's Bayleef threw Whitney's up into the air, breaking its ball form. It flew through the air as Hakel's Bayleef landed on the ground and immediately dashed after the airborne Miltank. "Bayleef, jump up at Miltank and use Body Slam on it!"

Bayleef did as he was told and jumped at Miltank who had regained its balance in the air.

"I don't think so! Mil Mil, use DynamicPunch now!" Whitney ordered, as her Miltank spun around and just as Bayleef was about to slam on top of her, Miltank sent a fierce uppercut up at Bayleef, knocking it into the air. "Mil Mil take it out with your Rollout!"

"Bayleef, stop yourself and fire a Leech Seed at Miltank!" Hakel shouted as Bayleef flipped itself upwards at Miltank and sent a small seed at Miltank's body. Miltank, at first ignoring it, slammed into Hakel's Bayleef, knocking it out of the air and onto the ground next to Hakel. "Bayleef!" Hakel shouted, as he rushed over to it. "Are you alright?" Bayleef got back to his feet slowly but, nevertheless, he got back up. Hakel led Bayleef over towards the battlefield to see that Leech Seed had not only work but had completely stopped Whitney's Miltank from moving any part of her body.

"Mil Mil!" Whitney shouted, as she glared at Hakel. "This is match is not over, Hakel! Mil Mil can still-"

"Think again, princess!" Hakel said, snapping his fingers. "Sorry but time's up! Future Sight is now in effect!"

Whitney gasped as Miltank's body was lifted into the air. Fortunately, just as it was about to happen, Bayleef's strength was returning thanks to the Leech Seed that was still wrapped around Miltank's body. Bayleef quickly felt his strength returning, and just in time too. "No, this can't be the end of the match!" Whitney shouted, unable to accept her fate.

"Sorry Whitney but... THIS is!" Hakel shouted as Whitney's Miltank shone a bright blue color. The ground began to shake as a blue beam of light shot up from Bayleef's body, as he summoned energy left over by his teammate, Espeon. It struck directly into Miltank's body, defeating it instantly, knocking its health all the way.

At first, being beaten by Hakel, was a bit disturbing to her. She found him to be repulsive and annoying but now, she saw him in a different light. Hakel a deep love for his Pokemon, his was an excellent Pokemon battler, he was once a Pokemon Champion, and he is a lead member of the Pokedex Holders. To her, that was enough to earn him the Plain Badge of the Goldenrod City Gym. Whitney called back her Miltank and walked over to Hakel who had called back his Bayleef, knowing that he needed some rest. He turned to her as she held out her hand and handed him his third Badge; the Plain Badge. "Nice job, Hakel. You've earned it." Whitney said, as Hakel smiled to her and shook her hand, making her blush a little bit.

A few hours later, after Whitney's Pokemon had recovered, and Hakel had long since left the Gym, Kusa and Machine also went in to face her. Their battles were about as tough as Hakel's was but, with perseverance and help from their Pokemon, they were able to succeed in their matches. Then, after Machine came out of the Goldenrod Gym, with his Plain Badge in hand, Whitney ran out after him, wanting to give the heroes some help on their next Gym.

"Wait, wait! Please!" Whitney shouted as they all turned around to see that Whitney was walking out of her Gym after the four Pokedex Holders.

"Huh? Whitney?" Yellow asked.

"What are you doing here? Wishing us a fond farewell?" Hakel asked as she nodded.

"Yes, but no." Whitney said, as they all shrugged, giving her the message to speak. "Beyond this town, is Ecruteak City, where the next Gym is located. However, recently, there has been some strange occurrences taking place in their old tower, the Bell Tower over. It is suspected that Ho-Oh may someday return."

"Ho-Oh?" Kusa asked. "What the hell is that?"

"Ho-Oh is a legendary Pokemon that was said to have lived in the Ecruteak City's other tower, the Tin Tower. When a war broke out, it burned both of the towers that we see today in Ecruteak. However, when the tower's were suddenly rebuilt, it was discovered that three Pokemon had died in the devastating flames. Ho-Oh, later discovering this, resurrected these three Pokemon and melded them into Raikou, Entei, and Suicune to serve as his loyal servants." Whitney explained.

"The three legendary dogs?" Hakel asked surprised, with his eyes wide.

"Yes, however, since that time, no one has the seen Ho-Oh nor any of the three legendary dogs. Just recently, however... there has been a loud sound coming from the Burned and Bell Tower's. I would recommend checking both places out. They may be some use to you." Whitney said as Hakel smiled at her.

"Awesome, thanks Whitney! Is there anything you can tell us?" Hakel asked, as the others pondered on the thought.

"I'm afraid that's all I know, guys. Sorry for that." Whitney said as Hakel gave her a big hug, thanking her for all the information. Her entire face turned red as she hugged Hakel back, although, this only lasted for a few moments.

"No problem, Whitney!" Hakel shouted as he looked into her eyes. "This is enough information already!" Hakel then grabbed Machine, Yellow, and Kusa's hands and dashed away towards the exit. "Come on guys, let's go!"

Before they left the city, Machine shouted back to her, "Thanks Whitney! We'll visit again someday!"

Since Whitney knew they wouldn't hear her, she just smiled and waved, wishing them the best just by the way she looked at them. She turned around and walked back into her Gym where she could finally rest for the rest of the day.

Meanwhile, back in New Bark Town...

"Are you sure you can handle this?" Professor Pine asked, sitting in a chair with a Pokedex in his hand. He picked and held up to a female Trainer and said, "You must be responsible enough for this job. Am I sure to entrust this kind of technology to you?"

"O-Of course, sir!" The female Trainer said, a bit startled. "Isn't that why you asked for my help in the first place?"

"Yes, that's true." Professor Pine laughed as he handed her the Pokedex. "You were the best Pokemon Catcher and Trainer I had seen from this region so far. It's only natural that you join the best of the best, the Pokedex Holders!"

"I am truly honored, Professor." The female Trainer said as she tucked her Pokedex into her bag she was wearing on her back.

"By the way, miss, what did you say your name was? I'm getting old just as my master and I sometimes forget easily. Could you please repeat your name for me?" Professor Pine asked as the female Trainer laughed and pointed at her chest with her thumb.

"My name is Crystal, Professor Pine! But you can call me, Crys!"