Orun Town was a hazy town, with little features.  You had your Pokécenter, your Pokémart, your gym, and your small houses.  To put it shortly, Orun was your run-of-the-mill town.  Nothing special about it.
Kamon and I arrived there one day after my battle against Lisa.  I was ready to battle Gatlin, the Steel Gym Leader of Orun Town.  Kamon was ready to…well, watch.
We walked into a completely metal gym.  Everything in the gym was metal.  The floor, the walls, the ceiling…everything was metal.  It was very monochrome.  The gym had no special features, either.  It was just a large, square, metal gym.
No lights were on in the gym.  No lights, that is, except for the one spotlight in the middle of the gym.  The spotlight was focused on a man.  He was standing completely still, head down, facing away from us.  He was wearing a white tee shirt with a dark grey vest.  The vest had chains attached to it.  He had grey pants and black shoes.  His black hair was combed in a mullet; he had a beard, also.  As Kamon and I approached him, he turned around quickly and stared at us, head cocked to the side.
'You two come here, to battle me?' he asked in a deep voice.  He had an English accent.  It was an old voice too.  Only an older person could speak as he did.
'I did,' I spoke.  'I wish to battle you-and defeat you.'
'Ah, yes.  Fiery young spirit,' Gatlin said with a slight smile.  His greyish-blue eyes glittered as he eyed me.  He turned to Kamon.  'What about this one?'
'Me?' Kamon questioned.  'I'm not battling.'
'Hmm…a cold, hard personality you have.  You are very serious.'  He rubbed his chin and eyed Kamon.  Gatlin squinted as he stared into Kamon's eyes.  'Afraid, are you?' Gatlin asked.
'Excuse me?'
'Yes, I think you are afraid.  You act emotionless.  You are burdened by something.  I can sense that about you.  You carry a great burden, but I'm not quite sure what…'  Gatlin's voice faded away.
Kamon remained silent.  He glanced around and then looked at the floor.
Man, this guy is good at reading people, I thought.
Gatlin turned back to me and said, 'So, you want to battle me?  Fine, then.  You send out a Pokémon first.'
'All right.  Your funeral.  Tyranitar, go!' I yelled.  I threw the Ultra Ball containing my Rock-and-Dark-type Pokémon into the arena.  Gatlin reached for a Pokéball clipped to his belt.
'I choose you, my Forretress!' he said.  He tossed the Pokéball into the stadium, sending out the sliver shellfish Pokémon.  'Forretress, Spikes!'  Forretress spun around, sending out barbs to surround Tyranitar.
'Tyranitar, Flamethrower!' I commanded.  Tyranitar threw his head up into the air, and then faced Forretress and opened his mouth.  Flames poured out of it and struck Forretress, doing an incredible amount of damage.
'Pathetic, really.  Trying to get away by using the obvious Fire-type attack.  I've seen it many times, trainer.  Forretress, Swift attack!' Gatlin cried.  Forretress spun around again, but this time, small stars flew out at my Tyranitar, slightly damaging him.
'Is that the best you've got?  If so, you're in a lot of trouble,' I jeered.  'Tyranitar, if Gatlin doesn't like me using Fire attacks, then use Earthquake!'  Tyranitar raised its left foot high into the air (or, at least, as high as a Tyranitar can lift its foot; if you ask me, Tyranitar can't lift their foot very high at all) and then slammed it onto the ground.  The ground did not split and crack, like it normally would, because the floor of the stadium was paved with metal.  However, the ground did tremble and vibrate underneath Forretress.  It did little damage, though, because of the shielding that the floor gave to Forretress.  'What!?  Hey, that's not fair,' I protested.  'Your floor protects your Pokémon from Ground-type attacks!'
Gatlin chuckled to himself.  'Aha, so you have figured out my little…secret.  You see, many people do not realize this, but Pokémon training might not just be about knowing the right attack and what Pokémon to use.  No, the true skill of a trainer lies in his ability to control any Pokémon.  Pokémon  don't have to be strong, but instead, it's the trainer that makes the Pokémon powerful.  You have yet to learn that, young, naďve one.'  He glanced at Kamon again.  'This one however,' Gatlin continued, 'seems to have learned this.  He knows the 'old-school' type of battling, as it is now called.  There was once another trainer who believed as he did.  He went on and conquered the Elite Four and the Orange Islands.'  Gatlin paused for a moment and sighed.  'There was one like you, too, trainer,' he said to me.  'He also conquered the Elite Four.  But, he was overthrown by the first trainer I mentioned.  The latter trainer's downfall was his belief that it was the Pokémon that were strong.  Yes, there are strong Pokémon, but is it the person that wields the sword that makes a good swordsman, or the sword that wields the man?'  Gatlin ended his speech.
'All right,' I said.  'That's great.  Why don't we continue the battle now?'
'No, wait,' Kamon interrupted.  'Who were these trainers?'
'Heh, I guess you'll have to find out.  All in due time,' Gatlin responded.  'You know, there aren't many trainers like you and me left.  Karen of the Elite Four, the first trainer I mentioned, and me.  We are really the only ones left, sadly…'  He turned back to me again.  'Now, where were we, trainer?'
'My name is Drew,' I said.  'And don't you forget it.  Or, I'll make you remember.  His name, by the way,' I said, pointing to Kamon, 'is Kamon.'
'All right, Drew, let's finish this match.  Forretress, Explosion!'  Forretress started to shake, and then flashed white.  With a huge burst of orange flames, Forretress was knocked out.  Tyranitar wasn't, however, since he had resistance to Normal attacks.  'Return, Forretress, and go, Scizor!  Fury Cutter attack, now!'  His red Steel Pokémon hovered over the ground, and then sped at my Tyranitar.  As soon as he got close enough, he started slashing away at Tyranitar's hide.  The continuous attack did more and more damage, until finally I commanded my Tyranitar to counter-attack.
I said, 'Tyranitar, Seismic Toss!'  As Scizor swiped his claw past Tyranitar, he grabbed it.  Scizor at first was slightly frightened; well, that's what his face looked like, anyway.  Tyranitar glared at Scizor as his second fist grasped Scizor's other claw.  Tyranitar's grasp was so hard that no one could ever break out of it (in my opinion, at least).  Tyranitar lifted Scizor up, high above his head, and then hurled him across the room.  Scizor was slammed into the wall, making a dent in the metal.  'Now that is what I would call power,' I said.
'Scizor, finish Tyranitar with a Steel Wing,' Gatlin said.  Scizor shook its head to snap back into consciousness and then flew back toward my Tyranitar, wings out.  Scizor rammed into Tyranitar, doing double-damage with his Steel attack.  Tyranitar collapsed onto the ground, fainted.
'Return, Tyranitar.  Go, Lugia!' I said.
Gatlin sighed and returned a comment: 'You new trainers are all alike.  You only use the Pokémon that are powerful, or that would have the type-advantage over another Pokémon.  Did the thought ever cross your mind that there is more to training than that?  Or maybe, you should pick a Pokémon that would be an underdog.  Have you ever done that?' he asked me.
I thought about that for a moment.  'No.  That would be idiotic,' I responded.
'Would it?  Why don't you call back your Pokémon and send out someone that a Scizor would be the underdog to,' said Gatlin.  I did as he said.  I sent out my Ho-oh.
'Let's do this, Ho-oh.  Let's show him that power does matter.  Ho-oh, Sacred Fire!' I commanded.
'Scizor, Agility,' Gatlin ordered calmly.  Scizor easily dodged it.
'Fine then.  Ho-oh, Flamethrower!' I said.  Flames gushed out of Ho-oh's beak and soared throw the air, aimed at Scizor.  Scizor preformed another Agility, and went right through the flames, unscathed, leaving a flaming trail behind him.  The fire seared as it hit the floor.  Steam rose up from the cold metal.
'As you can see, my Scizor is immune to your attacks.  But, do you know why?' Gatlin asked me.
'I don't care,' I snapped.  I switched back to Lugia.  'Lugia, Aeroblast!'  I summoned my Lugia out from its sanctum.
Lugia opened its wings, and gathered a large amount of white energy in between them.  Lugia closed its wings, firing the beam at Scizor.  The attack caught Scizor off guard, and blasted him across the room.  He got back up, however, and then attacked my Lugia with a Metal Claw.  The attack did minimal damage, allowing Lugia to retaliate with Dragonbreath, at my command.  The attack paralyzed Scizor.
'All right, Lugia.  Iron Tail, now!' I ordered.  Lugia nodded, and then swung its tail around, slamming it into Scizor.  Scizor fainted from the blow.
'Come back, Scizor,' Gatlin said.  'I see you are using more diverse attacks.  That is good.  Focusing on one type of attack or relying on one Pokémon will be a trainer's downfall.  Now, I choose Skarmory as my next Pokémon!'  He threw a blue-topped Great Ball into the arena, and beckoned his Skarmory to attack.  'Skarmory, Sky Attack!'  Skarmory flew up into the air and started to glow orange.  Flames surrounded her.
'Lugia, Fly!' I said.  Lugia flew high into the air, higher than Skarmory, and awaited his attack.
Skarmory flew up toward Lugia, flames going all around her, trying to take Lugia down.  Lugia dove toward the ground, trying to lose Skarmory.  She stayed close behind, however.
'Lugia, Hyper Beam attack,' I said.  As Lugia attempted to escape the fiery Flying-type attack, he turned around and blasted a gold beam at Skarmory.  Skarmory fell to the ground after Lugia ceased fire.
'Skarmory, get back up and use Drill Peck!' said Gatlin.
I turned around to see what Kamon was doing.  So far, it hadn't occurred to me to see what Kamon did while I battled.  Kamon was standing near the two doors that lead into the gym.  He had his arms crossed, and was watching the battle intently.
I turned back to the battle.  Skarmory had just struck my Lugia.  I knew what to do next.
'Lugia, Psychic!' I commanded.  Lugia glowed blue, and then flashed white, causing severe damage to Gatlin's Steel Pokémon.
'Skarmory,' Gatlin started, 'Wing Attack!'  Skarmory lowered its wing and then flew toward Lugia at full speed.  The wing was rammed into Lugia, critical hit.  Lugia took a lot of damage, but was still able to battle.
'Lugia, Blizzard attack, now!' I cried.  Lugia spread its wings apart again, blowing a flurry of snow and ice at Skarmory.  Skarmory froze because of this.
'Return, my Skarmory,' Gatlin murmured.  He was obviously disappointed that his prized Skarmory lost.  'Now, I'll use you.  Golem, go!  Rock Slide attack!'  Golem curled into a ball and then spun around.  Boulders soared at Lugia, crashing into him and doing major damage.
'Lugia, Hydro Pump.'  Lugia blasted water at Golem, but once again he curled up into a ball.  This time, however, he was using Protect.  'All right, then,' I said.  'Use Waterfall!'  Lugia flew up into the air, and then slammed its body onto the surface of the gym.  Water was blasted up from the ground (don't ask) and then crashed onto Golem.
'Golem, finish Lugia off with another Rock Slide,' said Gatlin.  Golem threw more rocks at Lugia, knocking it out.
'Dang,' I said.  So, he can predict the outcome of an attack, just like I can, I thought.  I recalled Lugia.  'Heracross, go!  Use Cross Chop!'  Heracross ran over to Golem, raised its fists up high, and then slammed them down on top of Golem, knocking him out.
'You, return,' Gatlin said to his Golem.  'Steelix, I choose you next!  Go!'  The huge steel snake Pokémon towered above my tiny Heracross.  'Steelix, Iron Tail!'  Steelix swung its massive tail into Heracross, knocking it down and causing massive damage.
'Heracross,' I started, 'use Earthquake!'  Heracross stomped on the ground, damaging Steelix through the tremor that she created.  Steelix returned the attack be slamming his tail onto the floor.  'Reversal!' I shouted.  Heracross took all the damage it has received and reversed it onto Steelix, bringing the mighty Pokémon down to the earth.
'Steelix, Crunch!' Gatlin yelled.  With his final attack, Steelix wrapped its tail around Heracross, crushing her, squeezing the life out of my Pokémon.
'Heracross, return.  Feraligatr, go!  Use Hydro Pump!'  Feraligatr fired water out of his mouth at Steelix.  Steelix collapsed, fainted.
'As my final Pokémon, I'll use Magneton!' Gatlin said.  He recalled his Steelix, and sent out Magneton.  'Magneton, Zap Cannon!'  One of the Magneton stayed still, while the other two orbited around the middle one.  All three gathered electricity and fired at my Feraligatr, causing an enormous amount of damage, as well as paralyzing him.
'Feraligatr, try to use Earthquake!' I commanded.  It was no use, however, because Feraligatr remained fully paralyzed.
'Thunder attack, Magneton,' Gatlin said.
Magneton, of course, is comprised of the three Magnemite.  All three of them created on giant bolt of electricity, and sent it crashing down on my Feraligatr.  I thought that he could suffer no more; I was wrong, dead wrong.
'Finish it.  Thunderbolt,' Gatlin ordered.  Two of the three Magneton parts created an electric bolt, while the third fired it.  The lightning struck and knocked out Feraligatr.  He was defeated that easily.
I sighed and recalled my Pokémon.  I only had two left.  The thought occurred to me that it was not often that I would only have one or two Pokémon left in a battle at any time.  If anything, it would be against my opponent's last Pokémon.  However, this was one of those rare times that I actually had only two Pokémon remaining.  Unless, of course, he managed to knock out one of my Pokémon.  But that would be crazy.  There would be no way this guy could do that.  Hardly anyone can do that.
Then my thoughts switched to which Pokémon I would use.  It would be impractical to use Ampharos.  An Electric against an Electric would be silly.  However, I would have an advantage over Magneton that I would not have with Ho-oh.  You see, he was probably expecting Ho-oh.  Ho-oh is weak against Electric-type attacks.  Ampharos is not.  So, I decided to use Ampharos, no matter how silly I thought it would be.
This entire thinking process took place within about five seconds, mind you.
I pulled the Pokéball containing Ampharos (it was a Pokéball, too.  I caught Ampharos on the third day of my journey when he was just a Mareep) off of my belt.  It hit the button the make it enlarge.  I tossed the Pokéball into the arena, releasing my yellow Pokémon.
I said, 'Ampharos, Dynamic Punch!'  Ampharos swung its fist around, making it glow white, and then punched Magneton.  With a huge explosion, it was knocked out.  I had won, again.  I showed the old man that my way of battling ruled over his 'old-school' battling.
'Good match,' Gatlin said.  'But, you still probably think that your way of battling is better than mine just because you prevailed over me, right?'
How the hell did he do that? I thought.  It was almost like he was psychic.  Almost.
'Yes,' I admitted.  I called back Ampharos.
'It was not because of your style, your Pokémon, or your choice of attacks.  It was you.  You have a gift that very few other trainers in the world have.  You just do not know how to wield it to your full potential,' Gatlin said.  He walked over to me and stuck out his hand.  I handed him my Pokédex.
Gatlin walked over to the left wall of the gym where a computer terminal was, and transferred the badge onto my Pokédex.  He walked back over to me and returned the Pokédex to its rightful owner, me.
'I wish you the best of luck, Trainer Drew.  You too, Kamon.  But let me warn you,' Gatlin said.  He leaned over to my face, looked my straight in the eye and whispered to me.  'Keep battling the way you battle, and you will lose.  I think someone has told you that your destiny is to fail.  I now see why.'  He had his hands on my shoulders.
I nodded, and then turned to walk away.  As Kamon and I walked through the doors, he yelled, 'Seize your destiny, young one!'
Those words haunt me to this day.