Today's been so exciting that I nearly forgot I had a journal! So many things, I don't know where to start.

I left the Pokemon Center and entered the mines. It was dimly lit, but I could still see the work that was going on. Miners were picking through the walls with pickaxes while their Pokemon, most of them Machop, helped them shatter the larger boulders. It was pretty cool to see people working with Pokemon in a profession that wasn't battling, but that didn't stop some from challenging me. Roy was happy to oblige them, and Sarah, when she could, helped bring down the non-Rock types, and even managed to fell an Onyx on her own! It gave me as much confidence as I felt it gave her; I knew for sure now that I didn't need to capture another Pokemon in order to face this Gym. After all, I don't want to draft a wild one without a cause in mind. It'd be a bit pointless.

At the back of the large mine, I met Roark, who was practicing his Rock Smash technique. I was pretty impressed at how flawlessly the move was performed. He offered to show me how it was done, but, after looking at my Pokemon, he told me that neither my Piplup nor my Shinx was able to learn the move.

Still, that didn't stop him from giving me lessons on the subject. I needed to know it in order to get my badge from him, and it would help in teaching any new additions how and when to use the move when and if I needed to.

He left for the Gym, and I did a little bit more exploring before following him. The thought of capturing an Onyx was tempting, but watching my companions dispatch them so easily made me think against the idea. They wouldn't do good against other Rock types, anyway.

When I left the mine, I took a good look at all my Pokemon. It was just past noon, and the bright sun really shed some light on how dirty being in the coal mines made us. My Piplup looked like he had on a tuxedo, and my Shinx was completely dark. I thought it was hilarious, until the people around working the dig site asked me if I wanted tissues to wipe my own face off, and recommended that next time I wear a lotion or something to keep it from clinging to my skin. A quick stop at the Pokemon Center to clean us up and return them to peak condition and we were on our way to the now-occupied Gym.

It was a little dim, and it smelled much like the coal mine. Similar sounds as well, rocks being broken and metal crushing stone. At the other side, waiting for me, was Roark, standing atop a huge stairway overseeing the training being done by those who came into his Gym to learn his techniques.

I was greeted with enthusiasm by someone who seemed to be generous about tips for the Gym. I thanked him, but his information was relatively worthless to me. In retrospect, I could have been a bit cocky then, but I would attribute it to confidence instead. I'm a young rookie just starting out on my own. I should be cocky while I can; once I'm a master, being cocky will just make me look like a douchebag.

With my two Pokemon, I faced two of the Gym Leader's entourage head on. The first was an Onyx that, to my surprise, fell impressively to Sarah's fangs. She latched onto his horn and drove him into the ground with her tiny body, standing on top of the serpentine stone with a pleased grin. Before the battle, I remember hearing someone looking from the overhead balcony that I was crazy for sending an Electric type, but I was counting on two things: One, that they'll be too low of a level to use actual Ground or Rock based attacks, and Two, that Sarah was driven to prove herself. Thankfully, I was right on both counts.

The second trainer had a Geodude that managed to get a single tackle attack off on my Piplup before he drove into a rage at the injustice, smashing him with a fierce Bubble attack and threatening to do it again while he was on the ground. I had to pinch his little beak shut to avoid another blast, which caused tiny bubbles to spew out of his little nostrils. His indignant peeps, nearly squawks, sent both me and Sarah laughing, and I gave them both a quick Potion touch-up before climbing the pedestal to where Roark waited.

On top, I could see the entire Gym. People were training their Pokemon hard, teaching them the Rock Smash technique and participating themselves by digging through the stones with pickaxes. It was an old adage that most decent trainers abide by; don't ask your Pokemon to do something you're not willing to do yourself. Granted, they were physically superior to us, but if we can't picture ourselves in their shoes doing what is being commanded of us, then we become little more than slave drivers.

Then, me and the Leader fought. My Shinx wanted to go first, so I had let her, and faced a Geodude who knew a move I wasn't familiar with: Stealth Rock. It surrounded Sarah with sharp, floating stones that didn't do any damage, making me wonder what they were there for in the first place. They didn't interfere with her series of Bite attacks, making the Geodude flinch time after time, until he avoided being chomped once and released a Rock Throw. I remember wincing; it was the first time she'd been hit by an attack that was effective against her. I could tell it really drained her stamina, but she braced to attack again, and the Geodude was out in the next round of combat.

When Roark sent out an Onyx I recalled Sarah, knowing that she would have been pretty beat after the Rock Throw assault. Roy stepped in, challenging the rock snake with all the confidence in his little blue body. He was interrupted, though, by those damn floating rocks. They sliced at him as he made his entry, injuring him slightly until he had gained a pattern of avoiding them, much like Sarah had done without thinking about it. It seemed that Stealth Rock wasn't meant to hurt the Pokemon fighting the user, but the one who came after.

The Onyx was powerful, but had no chance against Royal. I had him use Water Sport to make the ground wet, and, as the large, bulky, super-slow thing tried to catch him, Roy slid along the ground, as was his way. When the Onyx thought he had the Piplup pinned, Roy released a devastating Bubble right into the serpent's face. It gave an ear-piercing Screech that made my head feel like it was being torn off, and, though my Piplup hadn't suffered any wounds other than that Stealth Rock, I could tell that the Screech threw him off his guard, and he was still reeling when I saw the next Pokemon that Roark sent out. To be honest, I was reeling, too. It was the prehistoric Pokemon that had been revived at the museum: Cranidos.

This Pokemon was a small, blue thing with a large, heavy head rimmed with bony spikes. It was clearly from another time, and, though it was small and a little bit cute, had a touch of viciousness to it. I didn't have time to admire it, and Royal was suffering under the effects of the prehistoric creature's intimidating Leer as he blasted it with a Bubble. It reeled, but reciprocated with a massive Headbutt attack, made even more powerful due to its large cranium. Hah, cranium, Cranidos. I just got that.

Anyway, Royal was out, and all I had left was a half-healthy Shinx. It made me second guess my methods of only bringing these two along, and, when I called Sarah out, she seemed just as worried. After all, if something effective couldn't beat it, then what chance did she have. I must have sounded a bit silly giving her words of encouragement, and I do remember my cheeks feeling a bit warm from the attention I was getting, but there was the chance of coming out of it victorious, and we took it.

She met him head on with a Tackle, and, though she was hit with a bad Headbutt, she wasn't weakened by a previous Screech and Leer. She held up alright, and it set the Cranidos up for what we had planned. As it charged her for a second Headbutt, it slipped on the Water Sport puddles that Roy had created. Just as it fell, Sarah was upon it, jumping on his large head and grabbing him by his tail with her teeth like the naughty little thing she is. She jumped off of him, tail still in her mouth, and flung him away, his head slamming into the wall and knocking him out. The game was ours. We had won.

I rushed to Sarah's side to congratulate her, but was blinded by what I thought was her joyously flashing fur. I came to realize it was something much greater. With a loud, musical cry, I heard her cute vocals deepen, and saw, through the piercing glow, her body changing. She had evolved into a Luxio.

As my father's son, I know a bit about Pokemon evolution. Just as they level up to grow stronger in tougher environments, they also take on new forms to suit those places. Some transform by exposure to certain types of concentrated radiation, others by simply bonding with a human trainer, holding true to the adage that only together may we go stronger. Most still evolve through gaining experience, fighting until their bodies realize that they must take a new form in order to compensate. Just like she had.

I couldn't help but give her warm new body a firm hug, releasing Royal to have a look at her himself. He was still beat from the battle, little scuff marks marring his body, but he was equally ecstatic. She was purring the whole time, rubbing back against us and wrapping her new, longer tail around my leg. I had almost forgotten that we won a Gym battle.

But we had won, and for our efforts, we received the Leader's Coal Badge. He also gave me the TM Stealth Rock, which was, as he explained, the true art of his Gym. Every gym had a technical art that they pass down as well as the knowledge of a Hidden Move, and it made me think that, if I tried, I could create a team with arts from every Gym. What better way to remember our struggles then by using the moves we had fought and won so hard against?

I bid the Leader a fond farewell (He was a pretty cool guy, after all) and left the Gym, heading back to the Pokemon Center. Royal was still injured, and I knew, despite her new form, Sarah was tired from the battle as well. I admit, my nerves were still shaking from the victory, and I occupied my nervous twitch by polishing the new badge until it shone like a star. Roy rode on my Luxio's back all the way to the center, proud of his powerful, noble steed. It made it just that much funnier when she rolled him off and picked him up in her teeth to present his battered form to the nurse. She seemed disappointed when I told her she'd have to be healed, too, but I'm sure she'll feel even better once she's been through the revitalizing medial station.

I could use the rest, too. As a matter of fact, this book looks like it could be a mighty comfortable pillow, given the circumstances.