Day 5 – Part 2: Aqua Dunk!
The first trainer had a sweet Poochyena. Warrick had a fine time making it his chew toy. After a few tackles, it went down. I handed the youngster a potion to help staunch the bleeding of his precious pooch. Hopefully he made it back to the center in time.
I decided it was time to give the team a talk. When all were present I gave them a rundown on how I wanted them to treat battle. This is how the conversation went… "Okay guys, we aren't out to kill our opponent's friends. Unless their Pokémon are bad, we don't kill them. Even as our friends fall, we treat the opponents with respect." Warrick barked in response. Ace echoed him, and both Gooni and Waltz growled their approval.
"Now, let's push onto Rustboro. We'll take on any trainer we come across! Who's with me?" I stuck my hand onto the sand. Warrick, Ace, Waltz, and Gooni placed their paws/claws/horns onto my hand. I said, "Break!" Then we all shot our limbs into the air.
Three more trainer battles later Warrick began to howl. Waltz began to use waves of confusion, and Gooni had picked up another ultraball. When we finished off the final wild encounter before the forest, Ace charred the plant life around him in excitement. New moves are so exhilarating.
When we took the plunge into the dank shadows under the canopies, Gooni began to sniff the ground. I followed him, and we found a paralyze heal in the dirt. I carefully cleaned the syringe and stuck it into my pack. It could be useful later.
After a few minutes of rooting around in the grass, Gooni managed to scare up a flock of Taillow. We were able single out one of them and corner it. I decided to toss a pokéball to try and capture it immediately. That was a big mistake. After it busted out, he got a surprise attack on Gooni and knocked him senseless with a peck between the eyes. I switched to Ace and knocked some sense into the bird brain before I tossed another ball… Turns out 'he' is a 'she'. I think "Willow" is a pretty good name. Her chirping did sound pretty sorrowful before the capture. Hopefully she'll change her tune soon.
We traversed the path through the forest and came upon a well-dressed man looking for a Shroomish. (That sounds like a cool Pokémon, I think I'll try to find one later). As we talked about the traits of Shroomish, another oddly dressed man who claimed to be from a team Aqua appeared. He seemed more like steam than liquid as he threatened this shroom fanatic.
When he didn't give him what he wanted, Shroomer (interesting nickname I think) hid behind me in fear. It was up to me.
*Battle Music*
"Gooo Poochyena!"
"Take him out Ace!"
"Use Focus Energy!"
Ace began to pump himself up, this time focusing his anger into an explosive fuel. I just hoped he wouldn't cause a wild-fire with his next attack. The enemy used howl and worked himself into a frenzy. He even ran in circles with bloodshot eyes.
"What are you feeding him?"
"Chicken."
"Well, this is one bird you won't cook! Ace, use Ember and don't hold back! This guy deserves no respect."
Ace flapped his tiny wings in anger. Small explosions of orange and yellow dotted the surrounding green as he trapped the pooch in a flaming circle of death. Unable to get out, his fur caught on fire in a spectacular display. In his final moments, only a single mournful howl escaped before he succumbed to the crackling flame.
*Win Music*
The grunt ran off into the depths of the forest. He left the charred corpse of his companion behind as potential compost. Shroomer gave me a greatball as a token of gratitude and returned to the city. He was disappointed that he couldn't find a Shroomish. However I decided to spend a little bit looking for the "Legendary Shroomish" that he spoke of…
Day 5 - Part 3: Slacker?
What a long day. The sun is starting to go down and I haven't seen a Shroomish yet. Perhaps I should just make a beeline for Rustboro city… Wait, is that a mushroom over there, or…? *Tosses pokéball*…
*Battle Music*
"Oh wow, it dodged it! Hit it with a tackle Warrick!"
He sent the creature flying into a tree. As the pup moved in for the deciding blow, the Shroomish hit him with a flurry of punches and knocked him back into my arms. He danced like a boxer before I tossed another ball. Apparently impressed with me and my team he didn't dodge it this time and soon Shroomish joined us.
*Win Music*
I decided to name him "Ali". It just seemed appropriate for his stinging ferocity and graceful floating.
As I moved to the exit both satisfied and tired, I tripped over a small creature sleeping in a bush. It was the rare sloth Pokémon known as Slakoth. It also happened to be my dad's personal favorite. Just as I was going to move on, I saw it reaching towards the pokeball I dropped. Oh no you don't!
Too late… Slacker decided to join me in my journey… In the box. For some reason I felt a perverse satisfaction from watching him disappear into thin air. Maybe it had something to do with my father… Anyway onto Rustboro!
Day 6 - Observe!
After having Ace and Ali take on a few trainers we managed to make it to the Rustboro Pokémon Center about midnight. By that time the Nurse on duty had gone home and only left her intern there. She was only able to render basic treatment and put my companions and me up for the night. Hopefully they get some of their well-earned rest. Actually that's not the whole story of what happened.
Two trainers in particular had provided a different sort of challenge. We had an intense double battle between their Lotad and Shroomish and my Ace and Ali on the bridge over the pond. It was a new exhilarating experience. Since they were only little girls, we tried to go easy on them. Ace made a decent strike to Lotad to end the match, however in the process he also knocked her out and off the bridge.
In this case none of my companions were up to jumping in to save her. So I quickly stripped to my underwear and went in after Lotad. I made it just in the nick of time. After I gave the Pokémon artificial resuscitation and revived it I handed a potion to the girl to help ease her friend's pain. Ace helped me dry off behind a bush before we continued to the city fully clothed.
I slept in a little late (okay, a lot late), so my Pokémon came to wake me up. The sun had already begun its descent and the gym leader already took her challenges for the day. I decided to take on her underlings in order to get a better idea of this rock gym's strength. Ali made a perfect choice for battle.
The first trainer had a Geodude. Ali made short work of him with his absorb attack. He drained the water from it and caused the enemy to crack and chip while he healed himself. The youngster called off the battle early in order to keep his friend from death. By the end of the match, Ali learned a new attack. Dexter said it was "Leech Seed".
I took on the others, but they all had the same creatures as the first… hardly a challenge for Ali. It was kind of disappointing. Hopefully the leader Roxanne would provide a bigger challenge. I left a message for her with a fidgety gentleman who seemed knowledgeable on the gym and began to explore the town.
I visited the Pokemart and bought a few snacks for my party. It was dinner time and the park benches looked really inviting. While we ate, I began to discuss our purpose with them.
"Okay guys, as you all know we're fighting in order to work our way up to my father. Once we beat him, I'm hoping he'll come home to mom." They bobbed their heads in agreement. "Ali, you'll be in charge of the attack on Roxanne. Absorb, Absorb, Absorb. That's your game plan until her last resort. We'll call this spam, then BLAM! On her last combatant you'll lead with Leech Seed and then Stun Spore. After that spam Absorb until she throws in the towel." He jumped around and threw a few punches to signal he was ready.
"Okay then, we'll go train a bit before bedtime. When we get up in the morning we'll show her who's boss."
We downed the rest of our food and formed a spirit circle. We chanted our mantra before we broke, "We fight to win, and respect ourselves and our opponents. Take them down, do not look behind while we move forward!" I took the lead and began a brief jog around the city.
As I ran we heard the sound of a tree falling. A man was there with a Nincada chopping firewood. I asked if I could help carry the huge load of wood. He agreed, but I declined his offer of payment. After that we got to work.
When we had finished his wife treated us to some fresh strawberry lemonade. Before too long, the old man got up and fetched something from the mantelpiece. He asked me if I was to challenge Roxanne. When I revealed that I was, He dropped a pure silver mini-disc into my palm. It was an HM known as cut.
He showed me how to install it to Dexter via the disc slot and how to teach it to one of my Pokémon. He cautioned that these should be taught with care. HMs cannot be forgotten easily and sometimes their underwhelming power was more hindrance than their utility useful.
I handed him the HM master copy back (it was stored in Dexter's memory) and thanked him for his hospitality (and the HM). After that my Pokémon and I ran off to finish training. Tomorrow we face our first true challenge.
Day 7: Part 1 - All that gleams...
When morning came, my team and I got a bit more training in. While we were in the tall grass, Gooni pointed me to a buried ultraball. Soon after he unearthed a potion, and instead of tossing I put it with the rest of my stock. So far they've been helpful in preventing unnecessary death in friendly battles.
After we took out half dozen more Poochyena, we beat a quick path to the Gym. To our surprise the leader had set up a special arena for our challenge. Specifically a rocky boxing arena as the floor was enclosed in a flexible cable square.
As Ali and I walked in a spotlight highlighted us. An MC came on through the gym's loudspeaker and went into a speech about our wonderful performance versus the underlings yesterday. To my surprise we were also to be broadcast on live TV on the "Daily Trainer" channel. The very one my mother watched… I could ask for a better stage for my debut!
We hopped through the elastic cables and rested in the spotlight. Ali seemed to enjoy the attention even more than I did. After he made a show of shadowboxing the spotlight swerved to the other side of the arena. A prim and proper woman sat on a cold stone throne. As she got up she casually tossed out her starting Pokémon and walked to the stage. Her smile was as wide as a crescent moon.
When she reached the center stage, she extended her hand in a polite gesture.
The MC announced, "I want this to be a good clean match you two! Begin on the count of three!"
"One!" Ali and her Geodude glared at each other.
"Two!" Roxanne and I stepped out of the arena and to our respective corners.
"Three!"
*Battle Music*
"Ali, use Absorb!"
Several small beams of light emitted from his fists. As he jabbed the air he sent boomeranging shockwaves through the Geodude. With one move, her first Pokémon was out of the battle. In fact, in the aftermath of the critical hit it returned to the earth from whence it came. Just as dust is scattered in the wind, the ground rock still hanging in the air swirled away as she sent her second Geodude out. Her make-up left blackened streaks upon her face yet she was still determined to win.
I shouted, "Again!"
This time Geodude was able to resist the drain.
"Use Rock Tomb!"
His fists dug into the ground and he swept a wave of boulders into the air. As the rocks encountered gravity with a crash the air became brown with a rocky chaff. When the dust cleared his intended target had vanished. The attack had missed! Geodude's smug look of satisfaction disappeared as the green energy of another absorb attack darted around the corner of the stone.
As the flurry beat into his rocky guard, Roxanne ended the bout before any more damage was caused.
"You're my last hope… Guide us to victory Nosepass!"
The oddest creature was up next. It looked like it had been carved from a mountain in the shape of a penguin. The orange beak upon its face drew its undivided attention to the north like a magnet.
'More like Compass! Okay Ali you know what to do. Our enemy is a guide to victory! Show 'em what you've got!"
Instead of his usual pattern Ali performed just as we'd planned. As he feinted with a frontal assault he left a debilitating seed upon the Pokémon's hind end. Nosepass used Roxanne's signature Rock Tomb just as Geodude did before. Unlike the latter attack, this one connected to its intended target. Ali managed to avoid the worst, but the attack interrupted his speedy stance after it crushed his left leg.
He changed to a more offensive stance and began to dance around Nosepass. Golden spores swirled into the creature's respiratory system as it rasped in heavy pain from the Leech Seed. Unable to counter attack, Ali took the opportunity and hit it with an Absorb. With the energy of life swirling into him, his leg ungimped and soon his speed returned.
Just in time too. Nosepass managed to pull off another Rock Tomb but this time Ali dodged it. As he readied the final blow, Roxanne threw in a white towel. Her surrender brought cheers from the gathered crowd.
*Win Music*
See I think I could be a pretty good MC. Hehe.
After the match, the spotlight shined on the middle of the stage. Rock dust still hung in the air as Roxanne handed me the Stone Badge and loaded the TM Rock Tomb into Dexter. As I left I smiled into the camera and said, "Hi mom, don't worry I'm doing just fine. If you're watching dad, I'm coming for you. Be prepared for the first trainer in years to stomp you into the ground." Ali followed my words up with a traditional fuck you motion. He could have flown if he flapped his arms a little.
Don't worry mom I will make him return home.