Chapter 43 - 43 - Kolen vs. Rico Titus

Later after his visit, Rico and his Pokémon are now on their way to Kolen's gym, which is a covered, 2-story, large building. It is located from a park across the street, and had a nice modern entrance and door. The majority of the building are used as a greenhouse with clear window panes dominating the roof and walls. In addition to being a gym and a city greenhouse, at one side, there's a school of botany led by the gym leader himself and a 2-story house at the other, for the gym leader and his family. All of this makes a small compound surrounded by beautifully decorated alleyways and small shops and cafes, which were placed in front of larger buildings. At this time at day, many people dominated the paved alleyways eating, drinking, chatting, working, and buying things. And as Rico walked down the sandstone and stone-decorated pathway towards the gym building surrounded by all kinds of flora and fauna, he and his team encountered Campillo and his smart and kind son, Juan, crossing paths with them. Juan was wearing a white, plain shirt topped with a black, long sleeve jacket with a Poké Ball emblem in the back and pockets in the front. His black hair is clean as his dark green and white shoes and sky blue pants with pockets. The emblem on his jacket is vibrant as the M-shaped emblem on Rico's jacket.

"Professor Campillo! Good morning!" Rico greeted him in positivity. "And merry Christmas!" His Pokémon then responded in greeting.

"Merry Christmas to you, Rico Titus," greeted Campillo back. Emolga then responded back in greeting.

"Good morning, Rico," Juan greeted Rico humbly. He and Rico had been friends ever since early childhood, resulting in the same age they had from the day they were born.

"Good morning as well, Juan," Rico happily greeted him. They all then went inside the gym and sat on metal benches in waiting for the gym leader, Kolen, to meet up with them. The atmosphere there was dominated by the fragrances and aromas of various kinds of plans and flowers.

"Rico," Campillo asked Rico.

"Yes?" Rico responded back in attention.

"Have you ever heard about a storm going to come here by tomorrow?" Campillo asked him about the news.

"Y-Yes, I-I did!" Rico nervously answered his question. He then chuckled nervously a bit, thinking, "What? He heard it as well? I think it's real now...."

"Hey, Rico, how's your Pokémon today?" Juan brightly and suddenly asked Rico. Snapping from his thinking, Rico responded, "Getting stronger and stronger than the previous, slowly I guess."

"Okay, then my Pokémon are stronger as well," Juan replied in coolness.

"Then let's have a battle to prove," Rico retorted to determine. But before that would happen, Kolen, in his gardener's clothes and with his Pokémon, Lilligant, came out and meet up with them, interrupting their rival-like behavior. His blue hair shows off his charming and handsomely nature of a man.

"Hello there, Juan and Rico," he greeted them brightly. "Good morning and Merry Christmas." Upon noticing him, the kids greeted him back, "Oh, hi there, Kolen, good morning and Merry Christmas." Their Pokémon then responded with greeting. Lilligant then responded back in greeting.

"Oh, Kolen, I didn't know you're here," Campillo greeted him upon seeing him.

"Good morning there, professor," Kolen greeted him back in response. His Pokémon then greeted the professor in response. They then all come inside the greenhouse.

Inside, almost all of the background in two floors are dominated by plants and flora and fauna, connected by staircases. Large patches of grass and flowers lined the concrete pathways; Grass-type Pokémon like Cherubi, Deerling, and Snover inhabit the place, with the gym leader's ȧssistants taking care of them; there's a cold area at one side reserved for cold temperature-required plants and Pokémon, with an artificial weathering system keeping them cool at all times; Kolen's students and apprentices are doing their tasks on plants and Pokémon; and, at the center of the building, there is a large battlefield for Trainers to battle each other or against the gym leader, and it was placed far enough from any plant to prevent fires. All of this are in one big building.

Moments later on, all of them are walking down the sandstone path that takes them around the greenhouse with their Pokémon. Right now, the building is now adorned with Christmas decorations. Recently, Kolen just finished resting from his trip from Alola to catch new Grass-type Pokémon.

"So, Kolen, how's your trip from Alola last month?" Rico asked Kolen.

"Going very well," answered Kolen back. "I managed to catch some awesome Bounsweets there." Right in time, a Bounsweet came to them and greeted them in friendliness, interrupting their walk. Riolu and the other Pokémon then greeted it back, before they and their Trainers resumed walking. Not much time was wasted, one of Kolen's students came reported to him about the task of cleaning the ice section of the gym.

"Good job there, Dane," Kolen appreciated his hard work, "you may take a 3-hour break and return after lunch."

"Thank you, Master Kolen," his student thanked him back. He then ran towards the front entrance and then outside.

"Wow, I think he did a great job, right?" Juan commented in surprise. Kolen then nodded to say yes.

In less than 5 minutes, they had arrived at the gym's main battle field, all clean and ready to be used.

"Okay, Rico, are you ready for your training with me?" Kolen asked Rico as he holds one of his Poké Balls.

"You know I'm ready for this!" Rico responded with positive confidence. In addition to his daily training at the beach, Rico also started to train at Kolen's gym shortly after becoming a Pokémon Trainer. He did this twice or thrice a week, as a part of his responsibilities as a Trainer. Sometimes, Rico fails and sometimes succeeds, but he didn't care about winning and was always patient of being strong. After Rico's response, Kolen positioned himself and called his Pokémon, Bayleef, and it stepped into battle in positive look. Rico then called his Riolu out and it stepped into battle seriously. The rest then watched them while sitting on a wooden bench.

Outside, it's a bit cloudy and the sun was covered partially by clouds, a first sign of the storm.

Back at the gym, the battle had begun.

"Bayleef, use Tackle!" Kolen commanded Bayleef. Bayleef then Tackle, charging into Riolu and slams into it with its whole body, but Riolu immediately dodged its attack with little pain.

"Quickly, Riolu, use Karate Chop!" Rico commanded Riolu. Riolu then used Karate Chop, attacking Bayleef with a sharp chop, striking it effectively. Bayleef got blasted back to its Trainer's side in pain.

"Wow, you're getting a bit stronger than before, Rico," Kolen commented Rico's strength in coolness. "But can you handle the power of the Grass-type?" Then to his Bayleef, "Bayleef, use Solar Beam!" Standing up seriously, Bayleef used Solar Beam, absorbing sunlight, and then fire it as a beam towards Riolu, but Riolu dodged it quickly with speed and alert as well, stunning the gym leader mildly.

"Then use Quick Attack!" Rico commanded Riolu seriously. Riolu then used Quick Attack, charging towards Bayleef in a fast pace and strike it with power. Bayleef was a bit weakened by it.

"And then use Karate Chop!" Rico kept on commanding Riolu. Riolu then used Karate Chop, attacking Bayleef with a sharp chop, striking it severely. Riolu then went back to its Trainer's side with landing action.

"How's that, Kolen?" Rico asked him in positive style. Bayleef was so in pain that it fainted in exhaustion.

"Bayleef is unable to battle," the referee announced the battle, "and the winner is Riolu. The battle goes to Rico Titus." The battle was quick, but with good results. Rico then rejoiced in victory and Riolu jumped to his arms in happiness. Campillo, Juan, and the rest of their and Rico's Pokémon got amazed and delighted by it. Calling his defeated Pokémon back to its Poké Ball without any contempt, Kolen responded, "You battle well, Bayleef, you deserved some rest." He then put it in his Pokébelt and said to Rico fairly, "That was good battle, Rico. You were getting stronger, bit by bit, but still, you have a long, long way to be stronger and smarter." Putting Riolu down gently and softly, Rico replied back, "I guess you're right, Kolen, I'll train more and learn more about new moves." His Riolu then responded with happiness.

"Rico is getting wiser than before," Campillo evaluated Rico's personality.

"Yeah, he is," Juan added brightly. The scenery was in high spirits, coupled with the mild aromas of the plants around.

Later before lunch, Rico and his team went back home and took a little nap at Rico's bedroom, as the winds blew across the room through the open window.