Ttar arrived back in Cerulean City quickly enough. His team was ready to go, so he immediately went to the gym. Two trainers stood in his way, but they were disposed of easily. Before him stood his true target: Misty, the Gym Leader!
As he approached the Leader's seat, Misty turned around and smiled. "I heard from Brock that a tough trainer was coming my way!" she said. "That wouldn't be you, would it? You don't really look the part."
Ttar was taken aback by her rudeness. He nodded yes, that he was in fact the trainer Brock had mentioned. He then pulled a PokeBall from his belt, ready to battle.
"Well, excuse me, then," Misty said. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Misty, the Cerulean Gym Leader. I must ask, what is your approach when you catch Pokemon? Mine is to only use Water-types, and to go all-out with offense! Let's see if you can stand up to my Pokemon!"
Misty pulled out a PokeBall, and tossed it forward. Out of it came a brown Pokemon in the shape of a star. It had a red jewel at it's center. Figuring it was just a Water-type, Ttar decided to give Creeper his first Gym Battle!
"Staryu, use Water Gun!" Misty called out. The Staryu shot a bit of water at Creeper, but Creeper didn't seem bothered by it.
"Use Hypnosis!" Ttar commanded. Creeper sent out a beam of energy, but the Staryu dodged it!
Misty had her Staryu use Water Gun again. Ttar had Creeper go for another Hypnosis, and this time, it connected!
"Now, Creeper, use Confusion!" Ttar shouted. Moving it's hands, Creeper sent out a pulse of psychic energy at the Staryu. It seemed heavily damaged! Ttar told Creeper to use Confusion again as the Staryu still slept. After the second Confusion, Staryu seemed to be on the verge of fainting! The Staryu continued to sleep, and Ttar ordered Creeper to use Confusion once more. This time, as the attack connected, the Staryu fell forward, fainted!
Misty withdrew the Staryu. "That was just the warm-up round!" she said slyly. "Now, the real battle begins! Go, Starmie!"
A much larger Pokemon came out this time. It was blue, and appeared to be made of two stars put together. The gem in it's center was much brighter, too. Ttar called Creeper back, and sent out enviro. A Grass-type would have the advantage over a Water-type, so the choice was clear.
"Starmie, use Tackle!" Misty ordered. The Starmie charged straight at enviro, and it apparently hit a weak point. enviro suffered a critical hit!
"enviro, use Stun Spore!" Ttar called out. enviro waited a second, then released a cloud of spores from it's mouth. The spores hit Starmie right in it's "face." It was paralyzed!
"Good call," Misty said. "Starmie is really fast! I doubt any of your Pokemon could keep up. Paralyzing it was definitely the right choice!"
Ttar grinned. He knew he had gotten the best of the Leader. His second badge was so close, he could feel it! He commanded enviro to use Vine Whip. With a lash from it's vines, the Starmie reeled back in pain. Misty had it use Tackle again. Thankfully, it didn't critical this time. Ttar ordered another Vine Whip, and the Starmie was now looking very hurt. It used Tackle again, but enviro seemed to still be ok.
"Vine Whip again!" Ttar yelled. "Finish this!" enviro did as it was told, and with this hit, the Starmie too fell over. With both of her Pokemon fainted, Ttar had won the battle!
"Wow, you're too much!" Misty said as she called her Starmie back. "I suppose looks can be deceiving! Here, to prove you beat me, take this CascadeBadge!"
She handed Ttar a badge that looked like a drop of water. Ttar clutched it tightly. Misty continued, "So that's your second Badge? You've still got a long way to go. Here, maybe this will help!"
She pulled a disc out of her bag, and handed it to Ttar. This disc was blue, and said TM11 on it. "That's my favorite TM," Misty said. "It teaches Bubblebeam. Use it on a Water-type of your own!"
Misty then jumped into the pool and swam away. Satisfied with his victory, Ttar left the Gym, but not before using the TM11 on Arceustar. He figured that Bubblebeam would be a stronger Water move, and Arceustar needed all the power he could get. Ttar then walked out of the Gym.
After a short rest at the Pokemon Center, Ttar headed back to Vermilion City. Now with two badges, he felt ready to take on anything! The journey back to Vermilion went quickly, and soon, Ttar was standing before the Gym!
The man in the front of the Gym told Ttar that this Gym specializes in Electric-type Pokemon, and had a puzzle involving a secret switch inside some trash cans! Ttar knew that Arceustar and Angry Nerd wouldn't be much help here. He then noticed a few other trainers in the Gym. Ttar defeated them all first, and then turned his attention to the trash can puzzle.
There were 15 trash cans, set up in three rows of five. The man had said that there were two switches. He said to find the first one, and then the second switch would be in a nearby trash can. Ttar did the only sensible thing: check every trash can!
Of course, Ttar found the first switch in the last trash can he checked. He crossed his fingers, and checked the trash can nearest to the first switch. Quite to his surprise, inside was a switch that hadn't been there before! He pressed it, and from behind him, Ttar hear a motorized door slide open. That was much easier that Ttar had though it'd be.
In the back room was a lone man. He wore a green army uniform, and had tall blond hair. He strongly resembled a character Ttar had seen in a fighting game once. Ttar approached him. The man looked up, clearly surprised.
"Hey, kid!" he said. "I'm can't believe you found your way back here! I'm Lt. Surge, the Vermilion Gym Leader! I suppose you're looking for a battle?"
Ttar nodded as he pulled out a PokeBall. This guy seemed tough, but Ttar knew he was tougher.
"I see," Lt. Surge said, eyeing his opponent. "I tell ya, kid, Electric-types are tough. They saved me during the war! They zapped my enemies into paralysis! The same as I'll do to you!"
Surge pulled a PokeBall from his belt and threw it. Out of it came a Pokemon who looked exactly like a PokeBall: a Voltorb! Ttar decided to start off the match with Creeper.
Lt. Surge pulled an item out of his satchel, and tossed it at his Voltorb. Suddenly, the Voltorb appeared to be moving much faster! "X Speed," Surge said. "Makes Pokemon attack faster! Think you can keep up?"
Ttar wasn't concerned with speed. "Creeper, use Hypnosis!" Ttar shouted. Creeper did the same thing as always, and the Voltorb closed it's eyes. It was asleep, completely vulnerable! Surge seemed bothered by this.
The Voltorb continued to snooze as Creeper launched several Confusion attacks. It didn't take long before the Voltorb rolled over, fainted.
"That was a cheap trick, kid!" Surge screamed. "I won't let you get away with that!"
He pulled out a second PokeBall and tossed it up. Out came a Pokemon Ttar was very familiar with, a small yellow mouse. It was a Pikachu! Ttar left Creeper in to take it on.
"Go for Thundershock, Pikachu!" Surge yelled. The Pikachu charged a bit of electricity, and shot it at Creeper! It hardly seemed to do any damage, though. Ttar commanded Creeper to use Hypnosis, and again, Surge's Pokemon took a nap!
Surge was clearly frustrated, but there was nothing he could do. Ttar had Creeper go for Confusion, and in only two hits, the Pikachu had fainted. Ttar believed that he had won, but Surge began to laugh.
"I didn't want to have to do this, kid," he said, holding his head. "But you leave me no choice! Come on out, Raichu!"
He sent out a Pokemon that looked a lot like Pikachu, but larger, and with an orange tint to it's fur. Ttar had believed that Gym Leaders only used two Pokemon, but it seemed he was wrong. Creeper had had enough for now, so Ttar called it back, and sent out Doomed instead.
"Now we'll show you real power!" Surge shouted. "Raichu, use Thunderbolt!"
The Raichu launched a huge blast of electricity right at Doomed. This did massive damage! Doomed already appeared to be on the verge of fainting! Ttar ordered her to use Body Slam. It appeared to do good damage, but the Raichu was still ready to fight!
Ttar could see that Doomed couldn't take much more. He called her back, and sent out enviro. The Raichu launched another Thunderbolt, but thanks to being a Grass-type, enviro was able to take the hit fairly well.
Surge commanded Raichu to use Thundershock. Ttar wasn't sure why, as Thunderbolt was just a stronger version, but he was ok with it. Ttar commanded enviro to use Stun Spore. It did, and just like Misty's Starmie, the Raichu was paralyzed!
"You, paralyze me?" Surge cried. "I don't think so!"
Ttar grinned. He believed he had Lt. Surge cornered! He commanded enviro to use Vine Whip. It did minor damage, but Raichu wasn't doing much back. Lt. Surge then reached into his satchel again. He pulled out another X Speed, and used it on Raichu!"
"Getting a speed boost negates the speed drop from paralysis, kid!" Surge laughed. "You're just wasting your time!"
Ttar was irritated. He was being outsmarted, but he hoped it wouldn't matter. The Raichu only seemed to know Electric moves, which wouldn't really hurt enviro. Ttar ordered another Vine Whip. This time, it scored a critical hit! The Raichu took major damage! It looked like one more would take it out!
"We're not done yet!" Surge said. He commanded a Thunderbolt from his Raichu, which then scored a critical hit on enviro! enviro seemed to barely be hanging on, but it did as Ttar said, and used Vine Whip. As weak as it was. This appeared to be the final blow, as the Raichu cringed in pain, and then fell over on it's side. Ttar had won the battle!
"AAAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHHHH, NOOOOOOOOO!" Lt. Surge screamed! "HOW COULD I LOSE!" He then shook his head, and looked at Ttar.
"Sorry about that, kid," he said. "I get so in to my battles sometimes. You're the real deal, y'know? Here, take this ThunderBadge!"
He handed Ttar a badge that looked like a golden 8-pointed star. He placed it in the case with the rest of his Badges. Three down, five to go!
"You're really something," Surge continued. "I want you to have this."
He handed Ttar another disc. This one was yellow, and said TM24 on it. "That's the TM for Thunderbolt," Surge said. "It's a really powerful Electric move! Use it well. See ya around, kid!"
Ttar thanked Lt. Surge, and then left the Gym. Outside, he took out his Badge case, and observed them. Three glistening badges, proofs of his conquests. He still had a long way to go, but he still felt full of energy. Ttar then took out the TM24. That Thunderbolt had packed a serious punch, and Ttar wanted to use it. His only Pokemon capable of learning it was Doomed, and after her failure in that battle, Ttar decided it was only fair to let her learn it.
Doomed now had an entire moveset of TM-taught moves. Body Slam, Rest, Water Gun, and Thunderbolt. Doomed appeared full of energy. He remembered hearing in passing that the Pokemon Fan Club loved seeing powerful Pokemon! Ttar decided to head over there immediately.
The Fan Club president greeted Ttar as he walked inside. "That is one amazing looking Pokemon, son!" he said. "You must be one heck of a trainer! Here, take this and use it on your Nidorina. You'll like what happens!"
The president offered Ttar a shiny rock. Ttar didn't know what it would do, but he offered it to Doomed. She took it, and suddenly began to glow! Her form became much larger, and she began to stand on two legs! When the light faded, before Ttar stood a much larger, and much stronger looking Pokemon! Doomed had evolved into Nidoqueen!
Ttar thanked the Fan Club president sincerely. Doomed was sure to be a huge threat to opposing trainers now. After a quick trip to the Pokemon Center, Ttar took off for the next town!