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C hapter IV
Glasorden left the tavern with his ragtag Pokémon team. He let his Pokémon stretch their legs (or other appendages) after those fierce battles. At this point, Swinub and Magnemite had both evolved, and he had Piloswine and Magneton instead. He generally preferred not to battle with Magneton, but he still tried to keep it close.
In such a large city, Glasorden eventually found lodgings at a second-rate hotel. In his room, he thought about Farlig Town and all the great experiences he had there. He fondly remembered learning about Pokémon from Julia. He wondered whether he would ever see her or his parents again. Then he went to sleep.
Next morning, he looked for the Gym. It turned out to be near the hotel. He knocked politely on the door.
"I'm not taking challenges!" a gruff, old voice called out. "I've retired!"
"I'm not here to challenge you, kind sir," Glasorden replied. "I want your Gym."
"Then by all means, come in!" the voice responded.
So Glasorden went in. The Gym was a masterpiece of dirt and quicksand. Perhaps this man was once a Ground-type Gym Leader.
"Oh, Peter from the tavern told me all about you!" the ex-Gym Leader said. "My name's Dirk! I always enjoyed a good barroom brawl! Anyway, you seem skilled. I was going to sell this Gym for five million Poké Dollars, but there's something I like about you, Glasorden. Let's make a deal. I own a mining operation right under this city. If you work for me for three months, the Gym's yours."
"That sounds reasonable," Glasorden said.
"Come here early tomorrow morning," Dirk said, "and we'll get you all set up."
The mines weren't too dirty, but it was hot down there and the work was hard. Glasorden thought about how his parents' Machop would like it down here. On the other hand, the prospect of finally becoming a Gym Leader seemed to be more than worth it. Also, Peter let him order anything for free because he was convinced that the battles in his tavern would bring in tourists by the dozens. Sometimes, Glasorden would dig up small gems, but mining was mostly busywork. On the third day, however, he stumbled upon something embedded within the rock wall. His curiosity compelled him to keep digging away at it, and a large stone plate eventually popped out of the wall. A casual examination showed the plate to bear pictures of an ancient Pokémon and words in an ancient language. Glasorden was still looking at it when Dirk happened to be making his rounds. The plate caught his attention.
"What is that, Glasorden?" he opened.
"It looks like ancient writing," Glasorden replied.
Dirk examined the plate closely. "Oh, my! That looks quite valuable! If you give me that plate, I'll give you the Gym!"
"It's a deal." Glasorden gladly handed the plate over, wiped the sweat from his brow, and exchanged his outfit at the workers' station. He went right back to the tavern to refresh himself.
"Hey, Peter! You'll be glad to hear this," Glasorden opened.
"Hear what?" Peter replied.
"I just got the Gym from the ex-Gym Leader," Glasorden said.
"I knew you had it in ya!" Peter said. "Can I be your number one fan?"
"I don't see why not," Glasorden said as he watched Peter wash the mugs for Happy Hour.
Glasorden heard the four men from the other night re-enter the tavern. One of them walked over to where Glasorden was sitting.
"So Pete tells us that we gave you a hard time. We didn't mean no harm."
"That's okay."
"I'm Ralph. That chump over there is Roger, he's Raul, and that last guy's Rich."
"Hey! I'm working-class!" Rich exclaimed.
"Nice to meet you all," Glasorden said. "I'm Glasorden."
"Same here," Roger replied. Glasorden saw that the four men weren't drinking so heavily today. He looked at the portrait of Professor Oak again. Professor Oak seemed to be in his usual cheerful mood. Glasorden was thinking about the work ahead of him. He had to refurbish his Gym and submit his proposed Badge design to the Pokémon League. Since he had a battalion of Ice-types already, he decided to be an Ice-type Gym Leader. Peter helped in funding the Gym's refurbishment. For his Badge, he decided on the Aurora Badge. After a while, the Gym looked impeccable, and Glasorden received a letter telling him that his Badge name and design were now official. He wondered who his first challenger would be.
There was a knock at the door.
"Come in," Glasorden said.
The door opened to reveal the previous owner of the Gym.
"Hey, there!" Dirk said. "You seem like you'd be fun to fight. How about a friendly battle?"
"Okay," Glasorden replied.
"Go! Geodude!" Dirk yelled as Geodude hit the field.
"Go! Piloswine!" Glasorden sent out Piloswine in response.
Geodude started the battle with Rock Slide, which did some good damage. Piloswine responded with an Ice Beam attack. Geodude looked ready to faint.
"Geodude! Use Selfdestruct!" Dirk cried.
Selfdestruct removed both battlers from the field. Dirk sent out Claydol next. Glasorden called in Lapras. Once again, Claydol got the first strike with Psychic. Lapras responded with Surf. That was more than Claydol could take, and it promptly fainted. Dirk sent out Nidoking next.
"Use Earthquake!" Dirk called out to Nidoking.
Nidoking obeyed his Trainer, and the ground began to shake. After being weakened by Psychic, Lapras could put up no more resistance. She was KO'd.
"Looks like it's Snover's turn," Glasorden muttered.
Snover's Aurora Beam, in spite of being super effective, didn't seem to faze Nidoking. Dirk decided to try another strategy.
"Nidoking! Use your Fissure!"
The ground began to crumble and crack, and Snover barely dodged the instant KO. Another Aurora Beam combined with the hail produced by Snover's Snow Warning ability stopped the lumbering Nidoking cold.
"You're even stronger than you look!" Dirk called out to Glasorden.
Glasorden had battled Gym Leaders before, but he had to admit that this was the most thrilling battle that he ever participated in. Dirk left the Gym sweating.
As he walked away, Glasorden wondered what challenges were in store for him.
Chapter V
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