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| - Mr. Briney's ship slowed down as it approached the quiet beach island of Dewford. Brendan, who took a nap on one of the long chairs on the ship's deck, was awakened by the sound of Pelipper squawking. He could feel that the boat stopped and slowly sat up on his seat. With a large whiff of the air, he could smell the warm, salty sea air. Dewford Town was just a small village of tropical huts on the island. Due to its secluded and remote location, it was not a popular vacation spot and almost never had any tourists. As such, the island was nothing short of paradise for the teenagers. "Isn't is amazing?" May asked Brendan when he was finally fully awake. "It's so peaceful," Brendan marveled at the island. "Well, here we are," Mr. Briney announced and parked his boat at Dewford's tiny dock. Brendan and May quickly grabbed their belongings and headed for the door. As they exited the ship, Brendan turned to face Mr. Briney. "What time should we be back?" He asked. "You two stay as long as you want," Mr. Briney announced. "Anything for my darling Peecko's two saviors." With that, the two teenagers left the dock and walked across the beach to the main town. Unlike Rustboro and Petalburg, Dewford was just a tiny beach colony and was peaceful and quiet as opposed to loud and busy. Brendan especially took a liking to the town since it was nothing like he had seen in the Johto Region. Since there was a gym in the town, Brendan thought it would be a good idea to check it out so he could get his next badge. May, on the other hand, thought it would be best to go find Steven. By splitting up, they could get everything they needed done without holding Mr. Briney up. As they approached the main island colony, they both stopped walking to face each other. "I think this is where we should go our separate ways for now," May said. "Yeah, sounds like a plan," Brendan agreed. "You go looking for this Steven guy and I'll take on the gym." "Got it," May nodded and the two of them walked in opposite directions. Brendan walked to the southern end of the island where the Dewford Gym was. He could see a large building in the near distance which looked out of place, so he assumed it was the gym. As he approached the building, he could see that it actually was a gym - a fitness gym, to be exact. He shrugged and walked inside. The gym, like the outside suggested, looked more like a fitness gym than it did a Pokémon Gym. Treadmills, exercise cycles, and benches lined up the walls as people were busy working out. For a small town, there sure were a lot of bodybuilders. At the front desk, there was a man in a combat suit with wild blue hair and bright orange goggles strapped on his head. "Do you know where the Gym Leader is?" Brendan asked as he approached the man working at the desk. "That would be me, bro," the man answered and stood up. He reached his arm across the desk to shake Brendan's hand. "The name's Brawly, dude." "I'm Brendan. It's nice to meet you... uhh... bro," Brendan returned the handshake. "Anyways... uhh... bro... when do you think we can get a battle started?" "Dude, we can get a battle started right now, bro," Brawly answered. "If you'd just follow me, dude." Brawly led Brendan through the gym and to a raised platform at the end. There was a panel sticking out of the ground and as Brawly pressed buttons, the platform started to descent into the ground. "So, what type do you specialize in?" Brendan asked. "Here at the Dewford Gym we focus on the sheer power of Fighting-types, man." "Go figure..." "What's that supposed to mean, brochocho?" "Nothing, it's just that you're jacked. You straight look like you chugged a few protein shakes for breakfast. It's no surprise that you spend your time training fighting types," Brendan shrugged. "Thanks, bro, I guess?" The platform continued its descent until it reached a room which looked like a battlefield. Brawly stepped off and led Brendan over to his side. "Well, here we are, dude," Brawly told the teenager. "I hope you picked your team carefully, homey. This'll be a two-on-two battle, bro." "Perfect," Brendan nodded. He had two Pokémon at his disposal that he was very confident in. "Let's get this battle started, man," Brawly said and pulled a PokéBall out from his belt. "I choose you, Machop!" Brawly threw his PokéBall forward and the blue Fighting-type Pokémon appeared in a flash from its PokéBall into the battlefield. It stood in a defensive stance as it waited for Brendan's choice. "I'm going to have to go with you, Whismur!" Brendan shouted and threw his PokéBall forward as well. Whismur flew out of its PokéBall and landed on the ground in front of Machop. It cried quietly and waited for Brendan's orders. "Alright Whismur, use Uproar!" Brendan commanded with a pump of the fist. Whismur opened its mouth as wide as it could and let out a harsh beam of pure noise. Machop covered its head in pain but was still able to live through the attack. "Machop, use Karate Chop!" Brawly shouted and pointed forward. Machop held its hands at an angle and sliced straight at Whismur. The super effective Fighting-type attack sent the Normal-type Whismur flying backwards in pain. Whismur slowly got up as it still had energy to fight. "Whismur, get it with another Uproar!" Whismur again opened its mouth wide and roared as loud as it could. This time, however, Machop was prepared for the hit and covered its head with its hands. As a result, Whismur's attack only did minimal damage. "Machop, get back in the battle with another Karate Chop!" Machop flew straight at Whismur and sliced its hand at Brendan's Pokémon. Whismur took the hit hard and fell to the ground. However, it was not out. "Whismur!" Brendan exclaimed and weighed his options. He held its PokéBall up. "Whismur, come back!" He called his Pokémon back. "A bold move," Brawly responded. "I wonder what else you have up your sleeve." "I can't let you take Whismur out that easily," Brendan explained and switched his PokéBalls. "Grovyle, you're up!" Brendan tossed Grovyle's PokéBall on the battlefield and the Grass-type took the field in front of Machop. It hissed powerfully as it towered over Brawly's Pokémon. "Grovyle, use Leaf Blade!" Brendan commanded. Grovyle combined the leaves on its wrists into one solid blade and hacked at Machop. Machop spun and fell on the ground. However, due to its quick reflexes, it was able to keep its head in the game. "Machop, use a Low Kick-Karate Chop attack combo!" Machop swung its leg at Grovyle's knees and managed to trip the Pokémon. When Grovyle was down, Machop sliced its hand straight through Grovyle and sent it flying backwards. "Grovyle, get back up and finish the job with another Leaf Blade!" Grovyle recoiled from the attack and rushed at Machop as fast as it could. Due to its high agility, it was able to slash its opponent without meeting any sort of resistance. Machop flew backwards and fell to the ground, motionless. "Machop," Brawly sighed and called his Pokémon back. He pulled out his second PokéBall and held it in the air. With a deep breath, he threw it forward with full force. "Makuhita, this is in your hands now!" Brawly's second Pokémon flew out of its PokéBall and slammed into the ground loudly. It shouted in the air and shot an intimidating glare at Grovyle. Grovyle hissed aggressively in response. "Grovyle, don't give in to Makuhita!" Brendan shouted. "Use Leaf Blade!" "Makuhita, block the attack with Arm Thrust!" Grovyle formed its leaves into a shining green blade again and slashed Makuhita as hard as it could. However, Makuhita was able to put its powerful arms in the way and prevent Grovyle from doing any serious damage. When Grovyle's attack lost power, Makuhita slapped its hands powerfully at Grovyle. "Grovyle!" Brendan cried out to his Pokémon. "Try a Quick Attack!" "Makuhita, use Vital Throw!" Grovyle recovered from the hit and bolted at Makuhita. Before Grovyle could land a hit, however, Makuhita grabbed Grovyle through the large leaf on its head and sent it flying for the ground. "Don't let it get to you, Grovyle!" Brendan commanded his Pokémon. "Grovyle, use the most powerful Leaf Blade attack you can use!" Grovyle charge up its leaves as much as it could and formed a green blade that shone brighter than the others. It flew straight at Makuhita and unleashed all the power it had on Brawly's Fighting-type. The impact from the hit slammed Makuhita to the ground, but it wasn't done just yet. "Makuhita, finish this dude's Grovyle off with a Vital Throw!" Makuhita hopped over to Grovyle and grabbed Brendan's Pokémon once more through the leaf protruding from its head. It swung it in the air a few times and sent it flying towards the wall. Grovyle hit the wall with full force and fell to the ground, unable to continue battling. "Grovyle, no!" Brendan cried out to his Pokémon and returned it to its PokéBall. He pulled out Whismur's PokéBall from his belt again and sent it flying to the battlefield. "Whismur, it's all up to you!" Whismur flew out of its PokéBall and appeared in front of Makuhita. "Whismur, use Uproar!" Whismur opened its mouth as wide as it could and let out a deafening roar. While Makuhita took the attack better than Machop did, it still did its damage. "Makuhita, finish this Pokémon with Arm Thrust!" Brawly commanded. "Whismur, dodge it and use Uproar again!" Makuhita repeatedly jabbed its arms forward at Whismur. Before it was able to hit it, however, Whismur hopped in the air and landed behind Makuhita. Whismur opened its mouth with and let out another powerful roar. This time, however, it was able to send Makuhita flying, knocking it out cold. "Damn it!" Brawly growled and held its PokéBall in the air. "Come back, Makuhita..." "Yes!" Brendan cheered and ran on the field to hug his Whismur. "We did it!" After getting directions from the locals who saw a man named Steven earlier, May made her way to the Granite Cave. Despite warnings from the locals on how dark the cave would be, May still figured that she would give it a shot. Without Brendan with her, however, she started to feel scared. There was almost no sign of life in the cave. May ran into the occasional Zubat and Geodude, but apart from them, May was completely by herself. Starting to feel scared, she pulled out Torchic's PokéBall from her pouch. "Torchic, come on out!" Torchic appeared from its PokéBall in a brilliant flash of light and appeared by May's side. May bent over to the ground in order to pick it up and put it in her hands. Torchic chirped playfully as she carried it through the cave. "Torchic, why did I think coming here by myself would be a good idea?" She asked her Pokémon. Torchic chirped playfully in response. May was stopped dead in her tracks as she heard metal clanging on the floor. In fear of what it might be, she froze in place to prevent the thing - whatever it was - from finding her. Even Torchic stopped its chirping. "What... what was that?" May asked herself fearfully. The metal clanging approached closer and closer to her. Due to the darkness in the cave, she wasn't able to see what it was. She shivered as she continued to stand in place, fearful that something would happen to her precious Torchic. Eventually, the sound was right behind her. "Please go away whatever you are!" May shouted at the top of her lungs. "Don't hurt my Pokémon!" "Grovyle!" "Makuhita!" The sounds of PokéBalls unleashing were herad and two Pokémon were sent out around May. When she turned around, she could see Brendan and Brawly standing behind her with the two Pokémon in front of them. "May, stand back!" Brendan warned her. "There's a powerful Pokémon wandering around somewhere here." "We thought you'd be here, dude!" Brawly shouted to her. "I'm a girl..." May grumbled and cowered behind Brendan. Brendan held up a finger to silence the two as he picked up the sound of the walking Pokémon. Grovyle and Makuhita stood defensively and waited for the Pokémon's attack. All of a sudden, a powerful iron reptilian Pokémon emerged from the shadows and pounced on Makuhita. "What is that thing?" Brendan asked and pulled his PokéDex out in a rush. "Lairon, the Iron Armor Pokémon," his PokéDex started. "Lairon feeds on iron contained in rocks and water. It makes its nest on mountains where iron ore is buried. As a result, the Pokémon often clashes with humans mining the iron ore." "Lairon, huh?" Brendan asked. "Grovyle, use Leaf Blade!" "Makuhita, use Arm Thrust!" "Torchic, use Ember!" The three Pokémon used their attacks on the wild Lairon to no avail. The Pokémon's armor was far too rigid to take attacks easily. It look at the three trainers angrily and roared loudly. "Nothing's working!" Brendan exclaimed. "Not even a super-effective Fighting-type attack, man!" Brawly agreed. "On three, we all use our attacks again, this time in perfect sync," Brendan instructed the two. "Three, two, one..." "Arm Thrust!" "Ember!" "Leaf Blade!" The trio of Pokémon simultaneously landed their hits on Lairon and they could see that the Steel and Rock hybrid was feeling the pain. It growled angrily under its breath as its head started to glow a bright silver. "It's about to use Iron Head, dudes!" Brawly warned the two. "That attack does crazy damage, man!" Lairon charged its head as much as it could and charged wildly at Grovyle. Brawly, using his instincts as a Pokémon trainer in order to help Brendan and Grovyle out, pulled out an empty PokéBall and threw it at Lairon. The PokéBall fell to the ground, shook a bit, but then burst open. "Shit, man..." Brawly cursed under his breath. Lairon roared loudly and charged its head again. It ran straight for Makuhita, this time, and sent the Pokémon flying. It was May's turn to pull out an empty PokéBall as she did so and threw it at Lairon. Like it did to Brawly's PokéBall, however, Lairon was able to easily escape May's PokéBall. After it escaped, all three trainers could see the fierce anger in its eyes. "Not again!" May complained and stomped the ground in frustration. "How are we ever going to defeat this thing?" "It's my turn," Brendan said and stuck his arm forward. "Grovyle, use Leaf Blade!" Grovyle charged its leaves and formed them into a glowing green blade. When the blades were fully charged, Grovyle spun and slashed Lairon as many times as it could. Even though Lairon's shell was highly protective of physical attacks, Brendan could see that there was damage done. Brendan pulled out an empty PokéBall from his backpack and threw it at Lairon. The ball hit the ground, shook, and clicked loudly. "Phew," Brendan sighed and picked up the PokéBall. "I'm glad that's over. Return, Grovyle." "Come back, Makuhita," Brawly said and called his Pokémon back, as well. "Thanks for saving me," May thanked the two and picked up her Torchic. "How did you even know I was here? And who's this blue-haired guy?" "That would be Brawly, the Dewford Gym Leader," Brendan introduced May to him. "After I got my badge from him, I asked him if he knew of anyone named Steven. It turns out that they're friends." "Yeah, he told me he wanted to come down here to inspect some ancient mural or something," Brawly informed the two. "Sometimes, I don't know where the dude's fascination lies in stones. When my bro Brendan over here told me you came looking for him alone, I knew we had to get here as soon as possible. This cave is too dangerous to explore by yourself." "Yeah, it's a lesson I learned now," May shrugged and scratched the back of her head. "Thanks again for saving me." "It's no problem," Brendan shrugged. "Anything for a friend. And besides, I got to capture a new Pokémon because of that." "Anyways, I've gotta leave you two for now," Brawly told them. "I need to get back to the gym and finish a few things off. I'll catch you two dudes later." "Once again, I'm a girl..." May mumbled under her breath. Brawly turned around and left the group to exit the cave. At the same time, Brendan, May, and Torchic headed deeper into the cave. With her friend with her, May felt much more confident in exploring the cave.
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