The Zephyr Badge

"Awesome." Machine said, taking the first step into Violet City, their true beginning to their journey. Hakel, Kusa, and Yellow stepped up behind him marveling at the beauty that was Violet City. He tossed a Poke Ball up and down on his palm, reveling in the fact that he had caught his first Pokemon in Johto. Hakel and Kusa had done the same and, in fact, it seemed like the three Pokemon were lined up for them to be caught.

Machine caught his first Pokemon in Johto, adding it to his team immediately. It was a Larvitar, which, according to his Pokedex was very rare to see around Route 32. Machine used his Totodile to catch it, although, it seemed to be more of a challenge than Machine wanted it to be. Machine's Totodile also seemed to learn Water Gun in the process of fighting the wild Larvitar, which, with one blast was enough for Machine to weaken and catch it.

Hakel's first Pokemon and third member of his team, Sentret, was a commodity around Route 32 in Johto. Sentret were frequently seen around the Route and Trainers were also frequently seen catching them. Hakel was no different as his Sentret was defeated by a strong Tackle attack from his Chikorita.

Kusa, the final person to capture a Pokemon, had stumbled upon a wild Phanpy. Although originally wanted by Hakel for its cuteness, Kusa cut in front of him and used her Cyndaquil to take it down easily. Despite defeating it with basically one attack, Phanpy was rather difficult to obtain. It had an alarming speed that almost caught her off guard. However, by assessing its original speed and what she had Cyndaquil, she was able to catch it off guard and knock it unconscious with a simple Ember attack.

After seeing how well Kusa had improved over the years, Machine and Hakel decided that she would take her challenge against the first Gym Leader. As soon as they headed into Violet City, Machine sensed someone coming from behind them. He turned around quick and pushed everyone backwards, throwing their pursuer over their heads. The attacker landed on the ground as the heroes turned back around, revealing their attacker as one of the Reddosuta Shikaku members. It was in fact, Shuuryou, which Machine immediately noticed from the skull glove that this person had been wearing when they first met.

"Miss me, everybody?" Shuuryou asked, finally showing its true voice to everyone. Apparently, this person was a girl the entire time. She had been masking her true voice through a voice changer item, although, none of them caught this until now.

"You're not really an enemy of ours, are you?" Machine asked, smirking at her.

"You're so naïve, boy." Shuuryou said, taking a chain from within her cloak. "You really believe I'm not your enemy?" Shuuryou tossed the chain at the heroes, however, they were able to dodge it, making it smack the ground where they were standing, creating a crater there. Shuuryou then dragged the chain to the left towards Machine, although, he was ready for it. He held up one of his arms, as the chain wrapped around it.

Machine pulled Shuuryou in towards him, as she activated spikes that suddenly dug into his arm. Machine wasn't phased as he kept pulling her in towards him. He then sent a devastating spinning kick to her stomach, sending Shuuryou tumbling across the ground. The spikes disappeared from the chain, although, it left rips in Machine's clothes. Machine then ripped off that arm of his clothing, revealing to Shuuryou, just as she stood back up, that his arm was made completely of metal.

"What the hell?!" Shuuryou asked surprised, however, her face was masked by her hood that covered it.

"Exactly. You're not my enemy." Machine said, glaring at her angrily. "If you were my enemy, you would have known about my prosthetic arms and legs. The Reddosuta Shikaku know damn good and well about my abilities and the fact that I have prosthetic limbs. However, each time I meet you, you seem to highly neglect that fact. So, who the hell are you?"

"You're enemy and the more that you believe that, the more good it will do and your group of flunkies behind you." Shuuryou said. "It doesn't matter if I didn't know whether or not you had such abilities or the fact that you have prosthetic limbs. I have no time for such trivialities. My job shall not be completed until you die at the hands of the Reddosuta Shikaku."

"Well then..." Hakel said, shrugging his shoulders. "I guess our job won't be done until we wipe all your members out, right?"

"You could never do that. You have no idea the power that each member of the Reddosuta Shikaku hold. You could never defeat me, Toukai or... the one you've been trying to avoid your entire life, Pulse Emerald!" Shuuryou shouted, pointing at Machine.

"Now... I know you're not my enemy..." Machine said, as a red burst of energy surrounded his entire body, breaking the ground around him. "If you were then... you'd know that... Pulse's name... PISSING ME OFF!"

Shuuryou quickly pulled back her chain, as Machine dashed in front of her, sending three consecutive punches to her face, however, everyone else around them could only see one. Shuuryou crashed into the ground, creating a crater under her. Machine then slammed his knees on top of her, causing her to splurged blood from her mouth that spat from the inside of her hood. "I'll kill you... I'll kill you... for saying that name. Pulse is lying, dirty, damn cheater who got his position by killing the real Pulse! That's it! He's nothing but identity thief with weak flunkies to put his plan in motion!"

"Weak flunkies, huh?" Shuuryou asked. "Could a weak flunkey trap you as well as I just did?"

"Huh?" Machine asked as Shuuryou, pulled on the chain that she was holding. Machine's entire body was wrapped in its coil and the spikes on the chain started to come out, grazing his neck ever so slightly. Blood trickled from the cut made by it as Machine calmed down, reverting back to his normal state. "Damn it..." Machine said, as Yellow ran over to him just as Shuuryou let him go, disappearing from his side and over to Hakel's.

"Damn it!" Hakel said, as he threw back a punch at her, as she dodged it, accidentally letting her hood fall. Hakel then swept her off of her feet and slammed her onto the ground, stopping her from completely moving.

"Nice work, Hakel!" Machine shouted as the three of them ran over to him, finally seeing what Shuuryou actually looked like this time. She was a young, beautiful girl with pink eyes and long, pink that fell way behind her back. On her forehead, there was a sign that resembled a star, however, it was colored pink and was much smaller than any star that he had ever seen.

"Looks you were right, Machine." Yellow said. "She's not our enemy."

Hakel let go of her and they all stepped away from her as she rose back to her, brushing herself off, annoyed by the fact that they had actually seen her true appearance. "This is unfortunate... Pulse may very well kill me for this." Shuuryou said and sighed. However, as she began to assume a fighting stance once more, she sensed an evil energy rise out of the ground around them as the people from the buildings around them began to come out.

"Machine..." Kusa said, knowing he knew what was going to happen. "What's going on? Why does this sense of evil suddenly come into my mind?"

"Because... only one person could force this much evil from everything around him..." Machine said, angrily. "He's going to show up." Machine then gave the four of them the signal to move from where they were standing as he wouldn't pay any generosity to them just because they were standing there.

Finally, the evil energy disappeared as a person in a black cloak burst out of the ground and turned to Shuuryou. "Shuuryou, put your hood back on. It is impolite to our targets that you would let them see your face."

"Yes, sir." Shuuryou said, throwing her hood back over her head. "I apologize for my rudeness... Master Pulse."

Hakel, Kusa, and Yellow all looked down at him surprised while Machine glared at him, angered at the fact that he actually showed up. "It's quite alright, Shuuryou. Remember not to do it again. Now, as for you four... how about you face me instead of her?"

"You?" Machine asked, surprised that he would say this. "You don't seem to like challenging the four of us at once without anyone to back you up."

"I'm feeling adventurous today. Come on." Pulse said, challenging Machine and the others once more.

"The girls don't fight. Only Machine and I do." Hakel said, protecting Yellow and Kusa behind his back.

"Come now, Hakel. Isn't that selfish of you and Machine?" Pulse asked, annoying Hakel with his comments.

"That's enough of this! Hakel, come on! Let's take this bastard down!" Machine shouted, as Hakel nodded to him. They both dashed at him from opposite sides thinking they could gang up him. However, Pulse wanted to show them his true power as an assassin so, just for this time, he didn't hold back.

Pulse ducked a punch that came Machine and then jumped to dodge a kick from Hakel. Machine then brought his other fist directly at Pulse, however, he caught his entire arm, elbowed him in the chest, sending him spinning backwards through the air. Pulse grabbed Hakel's other leg and tossed him upwards slightly, ramming his body against the ground with a simple blow to his stomach. Hakel crashed into the ground and was sent tumbling underneath the dirt back over to Kusa and Yellow.

He burst out of the dirt and charged for Pulse, however, Pulse kneed him in the stomach before he knew what had happened. Machine came from the back and threw a punch at him but he moved to the side, swept Machine off of his feet and sent another kick at Machine. Machine was actually able to dodge this one by jumping over Pulse's head, hammering him with both of his fists towards his head. Pulse easily blocked Machine's attack, throwing him onto the ground behind him without much effort.

"Crimson!" Yellow shouted, crying at the sight of him being hurt so much. She broke down into tears as Kusa patted her on the back, seeing Machine had been knocked out with that last attack. Pulse only had to take care of Hakel now. Hakel came at him, possibly than before, throwing a punch at Pulse that was covered with blue energy. Despite being one of the strongest punches he had ever seen, Pulse caught Hakel's fist, stopping his attack indefinitely.

"Shit!" Hakel shouted, suspended in the air as he was slammed onto the ground, face first, unable to defeat him or even touch him with a single hit. Pulse then took Hakel's other arm and then held both of his arms behind his back. Pulse stepped on Hakel's back and then began to pull as hard as he could on Hakel's arms.

Hakel's eyes widened, as Pulse tore everything inside of Hakel's arms from their hinges, destroying the muscle itself giving him absolute pain. Hakel screamed in limitless pain, feeling as if every fiber of his being was being torn from him in a shadow of shame, fear, and pain.

Everyone who had been watching saw Hakel's arms torn apart, as Pulse dropped him to the ground, done with the both of them completely. "That is the true power of Pulse and the Reddosuta Shikaku. You two were completely outclassed by me. Remember that and we may not kill you... slowly, that is." Pulse walked over to Shuuryou and disappeared before their eyes in the midst of a smoke bomb.

Just as they left, a man in blue hair ran up to the unconscious, defeated, pride-less Machine and Hakel, seeing that their injuries were rather high. Yellow and Kusa ran over to the man to see how Hakel and Machine were doing. Yellow's tears opened up, as she fell onto Machine and Hakel's body, upset that her lover and one of her best friends had been defeated so easily. Kusa felt the same way, however, she knew that crying about it wouldn't do anything for them.

"Holy shit..." the man in the blue hair said, afraid that the two of them were beaten much too badly for them to get back up from this. He looked back and called someone over to them saying, "Take this two boy's away from here right now! They need medical attention and they need it as fast as possible!"

"Understood, Falkner! We will carry out your command!" The person said as he called over two more people. The three of them carried Machine and Hakel to the Pokemon Center whilst Kusa and Yellow stayed behind.

"Falkner?" Kusa asked. "You're Falkner?"

"Yes, why?" Falkner asked, turning to look Kusa in the eyes. She looked as determined as the obvious reason that Falkner thought she had addressed him for. "Ah, so you're a Pokemon Trainer."

"Huh?" Kusa asked, surprised that he had realized it so easily. "H-how did you know before I was able to tell you?"

"It was obvious. The look in your eyes – that determined look that all Trainers have – is within your eyes as well." Falkner said, making Kusa smile. Gym Leaders in Kanto never did that and she thought that was amazing that the first of the Gym Leaders in Johto could do what he did with such ease.

"Then you know our real reason for coming here!" Kusa said, making a fist.

"Yes, of course." Falkner said. "Here, come to my Gym right now. We will have our battle now." He grabbed Kusa's hand and started to pull her towards his Gym, however, she let of his hand and looked back at Yellow.

"Yellow, will you be alright?" Kusa asked, running back to her.

"Yes..." Yellow said, finally regaining her composure. "I... I will be fine, Kusa. Just go have your battle with Falkner at his Gym. I will watch over Crimson and Hakel by the emergency room's door and when you get out of the Gym, I will tell you what's wrong with them."

"Oh alright... Are you sure you'll be alright, Yellow?" Kusa asked as Yellow turned to her and smiled happily.

"Don't worry, Kusa. This has happened to Crimson and Hakel before. So, I should expect something like this from them. Trust me, I'm fine. Just go have your Gym Battle and I will wait for information on the two." Yellow said, pushing Kusa towards Falkner once more.

Kusa waved to Yellow and she waved back, as she walked away with Falkner to his Gym. As she headed towards it, Kusa sighed and thought, ''Yeah, you're about that right, Yellow but... it doesn't seem right when they do get hurt against our enemies. ''Falkner saw that Kusa was looking down at the ground, with a sad expression across her face.

"My dear? Are you alright?" Falkner asked as Kusa snapped out of her sadness and nodded at him, smiling at him again.

"Yes, of course! Let's do this!" Kusa answered, with no sense of doubt throughout her voice.

"Alright then." Falkner said, leading Kusa all the way into his Gym. Upon entering the Gym, Falkner turned on the lights and allowed Kusa to look at all the sights in the Gym. It was more impressive than the Pewter City Gym, she noted upon later inspection.

The Gym was wide and had an open ceiling in which, she knew for sure, had to be there. It allowed Flying type Pokemon obtain their full nature as they would be able to soar through the sky while dodging attacks from the enemy. Kusa didn't believed this posed any defect to the challengers that came in to face Falkner, however, she did think that most other Pokemon who couldn't fly would be at a slight disadvantage. Despite being a wide stadium, it wasn't actually on the ground floor. Kusa and Falkner stepped up onto a wooden platform that lifted the two of them up into the air, to where the battlefield really was. Falkner opened a door to the battlefield and the two of them stepped onto a dirt floor and was just as was aforementioned.

Kusa stepped into the stadium and watched as Falkner walked to the other side of the battlefield. Falkner and Kusa took out their first Pokemon, still withholding them in their Poke Ball's. "So, are there any rules to your Gym or can we simply begin the battle?" Kusa asked as Falkner shook his head.

"No, that would asinine and unfair for new Trainers coming Route 32! We will simply battle and face each other in equal combat!" Falkner said, as Kusa nodded. "With this battle, you will realize, the glory of my Flying type Pokemon!"

"Alright then! I'll make the first move then!" Kusa shouted as she threw her Poke Ball up into the air. "Cyndaquil, I choose you!" Cyndaquil came bursting out of its Poke Ball, landing on the field in a blaze of glory as its back burst into a flurry of flames.

"Cyndaquil, eh?" Falkner asked. "Very well! I will then choose my first Pokemon as well! Come out, Pidgey!" Falkner tossed his Poke Ball onto the field, releasing his Pidgey onto the field in front of Kusa's Cyndaquil. "Before we begin... I would like to know something... What is your name, young miss?"

"It's..." Kusa said, as she made a fist and pumped it into the air. "Kusa Tenpi! And now Falkner, my Cyndaquil and I will blast you and your Pidgey away with our fiery eruption! Cyndaquil, attack!"

"That's the spirit I like to see! Pidgey, Gust now!" Falkner ordered as his Pidgey hovered in the air, and flapped its wings, sending powerful gusts of wind at Kusa's Cyndaquil.

"Cyndaquil, Smokescreen now!" Kusa ordered as her Cyndaquil opened its mouth and sent a blast of white smoke out from it, clouding the entire field in it. Cyndaquil seemed to dodge the attack as no impact was heard against it.

"Nice tactic, Kusa. But that work at all with my Flying type Pokemon!" Falkner shouted through the smoke as Kusa's eyes opened wide. "Pidgey, Whirlwind now! Blow all of this smoke away!" His Pidgey rocketed out of the top of the smoke and flapped its wings harder, sending the smoke and Cyndaquil sailing backwards. Cyndaquil was then thrown out of the wind, as he rolled across the ground, taking a beating from his Pidgey. "Kusa, I've heard of you before. You were one of those 'Pokedex Holders' that helped defeat Team Rocket in the past in Kanto. If that's the case, why didn't you expect that kind of technique from me before it happened?"

"I honestly can't say I didn't, Falkner." Kusa said, surprising Falkner a bit. "I just wanted to test the power of your wind to see how well my Cyndaquil can take a hit and make a hit if we were to combat your wind with our flame. But, right now, that doesn't seem like a big issue because your Pidgey's attacks aren't as strong as I expected."

"You sound as cocky as someone by the name of Gold. You're just as sure of yourself as Gold was when I asked him about the whereabouts of a young, red-haired boy that stole a Pokemon from Professor Elm's laboratory. He didn't give us THAT much information besides the fact that he told us what he looked like. However, he had a determined look in his eye, the same way that you do, and he was trying to get something done. It seemed like it needed to be as soon as possible and as fast as possible." Falkner said, as Kusa smirked at him. "But just because you're cocky, doesn't mean you'll win! In fact, most overconfident Trainers lose battles against me with that attitude!"

"Then I'll be the first! Cyndaquil, you ready?" Kusa asked as Cyndaquil got back up, nodded, and then made the fire on its back come back alive, impressing Falkner and Kusa with its resilience. "Alright! Cyndaquil, Ember now!" Cyndaquil's fire began to glow a bright orange color as it released a spiraling stream of red-orange embers from its mouth directly at Pidgey.

"Pidgey, defend yourself against that attack with Gust!" Falkner ordered as Pidgey hovered across from Cyndaquil and then sent a gust of furious wind that collided with Cyndaquil's Ember. The attacks eventually sought a winner and it seemed that Cyndaquil's Ember was much stronger than Pidgey's Gust. It broke through Pidgey's attack, defeating it as soon as the attack made contact with Pidgey. "Well, well, it looks like your overconfidence hasn't gone to your head with most of my other opponents. I'm impressed Kusa, let us begin once more!"

"Alright then, let's do this! Right, Cyndaquil?" Kusa asked as Cyndaquil nodded, igniting flames from its back once more.

Falkner nodded and smiled as he called back Pidgey quickly. Falkner then tossed his second Poke Ball up into the air, releasing his second Pokemon onto the field. "Come out, Pidgeotto!" Falkner shouted, as his Pidgeotto opened its wings and flew up into the air, circling around the battlefield from the air. "This is my Pidgeotto! How will your Pokemon fair against it?"

"Well! Cyndaquil, take that Pidgeotto down! Burn it with your Ember, just like his Pidgey!" Kusa ordered, as Cyndaquil jumped up into the air and sent another spiraling stream of embers once more up at Pidgeotto.

"Pidgeotto, Quick Attack now!" Falkner ordered as his Pidgeotto dashed forward, dodging Cyndaquil's attack easily. It then slammed into Cyndaquil, knocking against the ground as hard as it could. Cyndaquil got back up, however, Falkner was already making his next move. "Pidgeotto, finish off Kusa's Cyndaquil! Aerial Ace!" Falkner shouted, as his Pidgeotto circled around, covering itself in white streaks of light. It slammed its body into Cyndaquil, defeating it with just two hits.

"Cyndaquil!" Kusa shouted, catching it in her arms. Cyndaquil was indeed defeated, by one attack from Falkner's Pidgeotto. "Holy shit! I had no idea your Pidgeotto was on that much of higher level than Pidgey! Looks like I'll have to step up my game!" Kusa said, as she quickly took out her second Poke Ball which held her newest Pokemon in it. "Let's go! Phanpy!" Kusa tossed her Poke Ball up into the air, releasing it onto the field.

"A Phanpy?" Falkner asked. "That's definitely a twist on what a normal Pokemon Trainer would have."

"Really? Well, I guess I am a different kind of Trainer! Now, enough talk! Let's battle!" Kusa shouted as Falkner nodded to her. "Phanpy, charge and use Tackle attack now!" Phanpy dashed forward, as Pidgeotto came at it. Phanpy ducked under Pidgeotto's attack and jumped at it through the air, slamming it head against it. Pidgeotto was knocked back a bit, surprised that Phanpy had that much power in its attack.

"That was a surprise! But no more! Pidgeotto, attack! Use your Aerial Ace!" Falkner ordered as Pidgeotto came soaring down towards Phanpy who had just landed in front of Kusa.

"Phanpy, Rollout now!" Kusa shouted, as Phanpy jumped back at Pidgeotto using a bit of extra momentum it had, rolling under its attack as it flew back by it. Phanpy then jumped up at Pidgeotto just as it turned around for a second attack, turning itself into a ball and then rolling through the air currents that flowed through the sky.

The two Pokemon collided in a heated attack, however, Phanpy was nowhere near strong enough to defeat Pidgeotto. Pidgeotto drove Phanpy into the ground, leaving a crater under it as it flew back over to Falkner.

"Damn it! Phanpy, return!" Kusa shouted, calling back her newest Pokemon to its Poke Ball. She looked at Phanpy's Poke Ball just as she put it away, smiling at it, knowing it really did its best during the battle.

Stunned by the two time winning streak from Falkner's Pidgeotto, Kusa had to take a deep breath before she could continue. Regaining her composure, she pulled out her third and final Poke Ball with her last Pokemon inside of it. "This is my last Pokemon, Falkner... I didn't exactly plan on using it, but, things have changed! Get ready for my trump card, Falkner! I choose you!" Kusa tossed her third Poke Ball up into the air, as a large Pokemon was released onto the field. "Venusaur!" Kusa's Venusaur emerged from the light, sending a blast of light all across the battlefield.

"Venusaur?" Falkner asked. "You do realize that your Grass type is exceptionally weak against my Pidgeotto, correct?"

"Yeah, I know that. But, Venusaur is my ultimate Pokemon. I'm sure I will be able to defeat your Pidgeotto in one attack!" Kusa said, as Falkner sighed.

"Overconfidence will get you nowhere!" Falkner shouted as he pointed his hand at Kusa's Venusaur. "Pidgeotto, let's end this fast! Use Quick Attack now!"

"Venusaur, stop it with your Petal Dance!" Kusa ordered as Venusaur spun in a circle, sending blasts of pink leaves out at Pidgeotto. Pidgeotto was easily able to dodge them, however, was distracted long enough for Venusaur to move out of its line of attack. Pidgeotto flew right past Venusaur, circling around to Falkner for another attack. "Venusaur, here it comes again! Use your Sunny Day to blind it!" Kusa shouted, snapping her fingers as the idea came to her. Venusaur sent a blast of light upwards, forcing the sun's light to become much greater than before. Falkner nor Pidgeotto could see clearly, however, this was the end of their match.

"Pidgeotto, use Gust right in front of you!" Falkner shouted, even though he was blinded by the intense sunlight that gleamed above him. Pidgeotto blew a powerful gust in front of its body, surprisingly hitting Venusaur. Venusaur held its ground against the wind and was eventually to cause it to disperse away from him. "No, damn it!" Falkner shouted angrily, feeling the aftershock of the wind that Venusaur had dispersed.

"Venusaur, let's finish this now! SolarBeam!" Kusa shouted, as her Venusaur sent a glorious blast of green light directly into Pidgeotto, landing a direct hit against it, throwing it against the wall of the Gym. When the sunlight finally faded, Falkner noticed that Pidgeotto had been defeated making Kusa the winner of this battle.

"Excellent work, Kusa! You were a formidable foe!" Falkner said, calling back his Pidgeotto and walking over to her. He pulled out a box and said, "This has earned you only one thing; the Zephyr Badge. Congratulations."

Kusa took her Badge out of the box that was in front of her and without controlling her excitement, she shouted to the heavens, "ALRIGHT!!! I GOT A ZEPHYR BADGE!" Her voice echoed all throughout Johto, surprising Professor Pine who had been walking to see Professor Elm at the hospital with Joey by his side.

"Who the hell...?" Joey asked as they both turned around.

Professor Pine chuckled a bit and smiled saying, "Haha, it's nothing, Joey. Let's just keep moving. We're almost there." Joey shrugged his shoulders as they both continued down the road to the New Bark Town Hospital.

Back in Violet City, Kusa put her Badge away, hooking on the inside of her jacket, as Falkner said, "Kusa, I suppose you and your friends are traveling all throughout Johto, huh?"

"Yes, that's right." Kusa said, calling back her Venusaur just as her excitement slightly subsided. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, then, I suggest you head to Azalea Town, just due south of here. The Ruins of Alph are also very close to the town so, I would suggest checking that out as well. Those ruins are said to house some extremely rare Pokemon." Falkner said, as Kusa thanked him and walked out of his Gym. She then traveled over to the Pokemon Center to see how Machine and Hakel.

Meanwhile, in the Sprout Tower, which was in northeast section of Violet City, Gold and Silver were there, having a bit of trouble there. There were both boxed in both sides by a wall that closing in on them. Gold had heard that Silver was here so he headed over to try and convince him to bring Totodile back to Professor Elm. However, Gold and Silver argue back and forth until they had a short battle. When Gold tried to bring Totodile back with him, Totodile bit Gold's hand, stopping him from taking him away.

After a stare down between Gold and Totodile, the walls around them started to close in on them. Not only that but above Gold's head was a metal ball that was falling right for him. They were both able to the wall, however, the metal ball was still after them.

"Damn it! It's still coming!" Gold shouted, trying to find another place to run to.

"There's nowhere left to run! Gold, we'll have to catch it!" Silver shouted as Gold sighed. Despite him disliking Silver to a high degree, he needed to get them both out of there. They were both Pokedex Holders after all. Gold and Silver caught it easily, although, they didn't completely stop it.

"Where the hell did these traps come from?" Gold asked, as the two tried to hold it back.

"It's not a trap! It's one of the training items used in this tower! During our battle, when you used Smokescreen, it had to of set it off!" Silver stated, as the metal ball began to push them back towards stairs that just fell off to nowhere.

"Oh, so it's my fault, bitch?" Gold asked, annoyed by Silver's comments. "Well, you broke the staircase here with Slash! And now we can't get out of here!"

"Shut the hell up!" Silver ordered as Totodile and Exbo jumped on top of the metal ball. "This is a training exercise after all. The Pokemon should be able to help!"

"Oh... Wait, I got it!" Gold shouted, realizing what they could do together. "Exbo, make the ball as hot as you can with Ember!" Exbo nodded to Gold and began to heat up the entire metal ball easily. Despite the pain that the heat had given them both, Silver and Gold ignored it. "Keep going, Exbo! Don't pay attention to us!"

"That's right, Totodile! And when he's done, use Ice Punch to shatter the ball to pieces!" Silver ordered as Exbo finished heating the metal ball completely. Silver's Totodile then covered its hand in ice and slammed its fist into the ball, shattering it instantly.

Exbo and Gold landed on the ground next to each other, as Gold smiled saying, "Awesome. I can't believe that worked." Gold said, impressed that he was able to work with Silver so well. "Hey, that was great work. Thanks, Toto-" Exbo and Gold turned around to see that Silver and Totodile were already gone from the Sprout Tower. "DAMN IT! HE ESCAPED AGAIN!"

Outside of Sprout Tower, Silver and Totodile walked together. Then, as they started to head onto the next Route, Totodile's body began to stir. It shone a bright blue light, and then grew a bit larger. When the light disappeared, Totodile had evolved into its second stage, Croconaw. "Well, damn, that was annoying. But, nevertheless, mission accomplished. I wanted Totodile to evolve and that's exactly what it did."

Croconaw and Silver then headed down the Route that led towards Azalea Town.