The entrance to the gym was gigantic, and the doors seemed to be made of glass. Above it, there was some kind of giant emblem in the shape of a circle, with three circles inside. There were several guards keeping watch, while the main entrance was crowded with people and Pokémon, queuing to be attended by a receptionist at a counter.
"Don't you think the place looks a bit lively? Soon it will be challenge season, where many trainers will start challenging the Pokémon gym leaders to obtain their seventh and eighth badges. So many people buy tickets to watch the battles in person," commented Liza, looking quite proud of the situation.
"But that's not very important right now, do you want to take a tour of the gym?"
"Buneary (Sounds fun)." My sister seemed quite curious and excited about everything around her, and she accepted without hesitation.
She said, taking some kind of card from her backpack and guiding us to a door that seemed to be made of iron or steel. She inserted the card into a slot, and after removing it, the door opened. She led us through a hallway, and the first place we went to was where several battle arenas were, but they were completely empty. There were a total of four arenas separated by about 15-20 meters.
"In this place is where my subordinates are challenged so that trainers can obtain their first to sixth badges. Before, each leader had to have several Pokémon teams to use depending on the number of Pokémon badges the challenging trainer had. But after a long time, it was judged to be inefficient and dangerous because it would limit the growth of the main team and also harm the gym leader's health."
She continued to guide us through the rest of the place. After leaving the battle arena, we went to the gym's Pokémon Center, which had the characteristic logo of a white Poké Ball with red lines—or I remember it was the opposite in some games. Mom seemed a bit bored because she must already know this place, but it was the opposite for my sister and Swadloon.
We saw several nurses attending to Pokémon, and for some reason, there were also several humans who seemed to have injuries in various parts of their bodies. I observed all the nurses attending at their respective counters, but I didn't find the legendary Nurse Joy among them.
Ignoring that, we then went to the restaurant and then to a giant room that had some humans and was full of Pokémon.
"This is the Pokémon rest room, it has many forms of entertainment such as toys or gym equipment like weights for Pokémon that like to exercise, and various habitats for water-type Pokémon. On the ceiling, there are wooden sticks where flying Pokémon that like to stay in high places can climb. This place is where all gym employees leave their Pokémon to play and interact with other Pokémon, it also has a battle arena for Pokémon that like battles." Liza seemed quite excited as she started explaining everything about each place we visited.
It seemed quite interesting to see so many Pokémon interacting in one place, and it looked entertaining because you could see four Machoke having a heavyweight competition, motivated by the Pokémon around them. But I didn't have much time to observe because Liza continued to guide us through the rest of the place, and something I noticed is that there were some places she didn't show us, like the 'Pokémon Research Field' I read on one of the doors.
Something I have noticed is that I can also read the letters even though I don't recognize them, and it's quite useful because I won't have to learn to read a new language from scratch. But it didn't seem to be the same for my sister or Swadloon.
We continued the tour, and now we entered a door that said 'Type Effectiveness Analysis Laboratory.' What a strange name.
"Kurle!" As soon as we entered, we heard Liza shout, and we all started looking at her for her sudden action.
But after several seconds, we heard someone complaining.
"Liza! I told you not to interrupt my rest times, and even less when I'm researching." We saw a rather skinny man with pink hair and eyes, wearing round glasses that revealed large dark circles under his eyes. He also had the typical Pokémon professor lab coat.
He let out a deep yawn and continued speaking, "But I don't know what you're doing here, the gym has been in chaos because of your sudden disappearance. How many times have you escaped this month?" He started complaining and seemed quite angry, or maybe not. He seems tired enough to collapse if he stays awake.
Liza touched her chin and thought before answering proudly, "I've done it seven times, but don't worry too much, the gym can function perfectly fine without me." She fixed her gaze on us before saying, "But before I come back, I want you to conduct a type compatibility test with these three Pokémon." He seemed quite confused by what she said.
He started scratching his hair before saying, "But we're not in the period for Pokémon analysis, what makes them so important to spend a set of gems of all types on these three?" When he finished speaking, he started looking at the three of us with doubt in his eyes.
"They are Tifa's children," said Liza, pointing to Mom as if she were quite proud of it.
He looked at Mom and then at Liza before commenting, "I thought your Lopunny had abandoned you, and that's why you were so depressed." Both Mom and Liza got a little embarrassed, and Liza changed the subject.
"Forget about that, let's do the analysis. I'm sure the results will be very good." He just shrugged at her words and didn't dwell on the topic before guiding us to some kind of machine, a technological platform with glass tubes, each tube containing a crystal of a different color inside.
"Lopunny (Zorua, why don't you get on first and let them analyze you?)" Mom seemed quite excited and started motivating me to undergo this analysis.
Seeing her reaction, it doesn't seem to be dangerous.
"Okay," I said before jumping onto the platform and turning to see Kurle turning on the computer. After a minute, he started entering an application that asked for a password.
When he finished, he pressed a button before the platform enclosed me in glass, and I could hear a robotic voice
[Starting compatibility analysis]
[Please do not move or make sudden movements during the check until it is complete]
When the glass finished closing, the crystals embedded in the platform started to glow, and suddenly, a kind of smoke began to cover the entire interior where I was, and I began to feel exhausted. It was tough to stay upright without collapsing on the floor. I could also see how my sister and Swadloon became hysterical at my reaction, but Mom reassured them.
After several seconds passed, I could hear a loading count
[1%]
[5%]
[12%]
How exhausting. I lay down on the floor because I could no longer stand, and the loading took about 4% per minute.
[60%]
I had to endure all this while watching them all enjoy the show eating the ice cream Liza had bought.
[88%]
For some reason, after 50%, it took much longer to increase.
[99%]
I just want it to be over, I just want it to be over, I just want it to be over.
[100%]
Finally! The glass opened, and I got out as fast as I could, even though I barely had the strength to move.
[Generating results]
[General analysis: Perfect compatibility with Dark, Normal, and Ghost types. Superior compatibility with eight types, normal compatibility with three types, regular compatibility with two types, and inferior compatibility with Fairy and Bug types.]
"These results are very surprising!" Exclaimed Kurle upon hearing the results and seeing the paper that the computer printed.
Today I had my first class of the semester at the university in the morning, and there's still another one in the evening. We've already been given material to review before the next class. Therefore, I won't have as much time to write chapters, and the publishing pace will be reduced. The decrease may be more noticeable next week due to the upcoming practical sessions, but I commit to posting at least one chapter on Saturdays and Sundays (in my time zone). However, they will no longer be exclusively from the fanfic, as the 15,000-word goal has been reached. Hence, I will continue with my novel, which was temporarily on hold.
[Creation is hard, cheer me up!]
[I tagged this book, come and support me with a thumbs up!]