Note from author: Hey! Lovedove here. Really sorry for the horribly long delay with this chapter; I was overloaded with schoolwork! And distractions. And laziness. But anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Thank you for the reviews and I appreciate your feedback! Thanks to my friend for posting this and proofreading it!

A few notes, I keep the battles kind of short unless they're major ones because I doubt many people want to read five paragraphs of "Turtwig used Tackle, Starly used Wing Attack, etc." Same with leveling up and learning attacks. I try to give hints at the levels and moves of Topaz's Pokémon through various ways. Sorry if this bothers people.

Another thing, I might not always get dialogue, people, etc. exactly as the game has it. I am watching a walkthrough of Diamond/Pearl as I write this and occasionally try to keep the elements identical to the game but I add things to keep it different and fresh from the games. And to show that people are aware of Topaz's, eh, overly rude behavior and actions.

Last, I DO NOT hate any character/pokémon and use this story to bash them. It may seem that I dislike a certain person/pokemon due to the fact that I make Topaz be really rude to them, but it is in no way reflecting my views on them. (In fact, I can't think of any people/pokémon I hate off the top of my head.) It is simply in Topaz's nature to be vulgar to pretty much everyone that she meets. So if she is rude to a character/bashes a pokémon that is "totlly uber awsum!", don't go whining to me. That's Topaz and if you don't like it, deal with it or stop reading.

Okay, then on with the story!

And a quick note from Aly: Ok. So I'm the proofreader for this and try to get her write faster by threatening to steal her food, which usually works. But when I proofreading, I miss things… I'm not a perfect writer, nor do I have a perfect memory or grammar. I try my best, so do give me a heads up when I miss something or something like that, 'kay?

Please, please don't kill me for not updating AC: Afya's Story! It takes a long time for me to write since school is still going on and you can usually find me on my laptop on a forum most of the time… I know that's not an excuse, but I'm hoping you'll at least give me a break. Now, as Lovedove so epically said- On with the story!

Chapter 4

"Fuck."

All around Topaz was slight darkness and rocks. It was an unpleasant change from the bright sunshine and fresh air of Route 203. Rapid, her new Shinx, trotted alongside her, sniffling the whole way. So far he hadn't suffered any nosebleeds like that nurse had predicted, but Topaz still kept an eye on him, just in case. She had already proceeded to kick the asses of all of the trainers on Route 203 with him. And now she was in a cave with bunches of geodudes and machops all hiding in the rocks and jumping out at her and attacking her.

"I hate caves."

Rapid sniffed. Star chirped. Supreme croaked. After taking a few steps into the cave she heard and saw a hiker walking towards her.

"Hey! You've got a Poketch!"

"Yes." Topaz replied shortly.

"Hm, you're a pretty new trainer, aren't you?"

"Screw you."

"But it's alright! You're a fellow friend of pokémon! So, let me make a gift of this Hidden Machine to you!"

The hiker fished a CD case out of one of the many pockets on his jacket and handed it over to her. Topaz took it and, lifting it up to a small filter of light so that the radiance could reflect off of it, saw HM06 on the cover. She put it in a pouch on her backpack before the man continued.

"That Hidden Machine, or HM for short, contains the hidden move Rock Smash—hey!"

Topaz had already walked away in the middle of his explanation, leaving him dumbfounded and disappointed. Topaz examined the HM and looked up the move traits.

"So this can break boulders?" Topaz said, as Star landed on Topaz's shoulder after flying around a bit.

"Oh yes. But you have to have the Oreburgh gym badge."

"What kind of move needs a fucking badge in order to use?"

"Some of them, I'm afraid."

"Fuck."

After angrily stuffing the HM back into her backpack, a few more trainers challenged her to a battle before she got the chance to exit the cave. Of course, she beat them and took their money. Finally, she was able to exit the cave.

Fresh air entered her lungs as Topaz gratefully breathed it in. Though the air wasn't exactly the freshest, it was enough for her. She walked down a few steps to locate the gym. A young boy ran up to her.

"Howdy, tr—"

"Go suck a dick!" Topaz yelled while pushing him out of the way. The boy blinked a few times and stared, utterly surprised at her rudeness. Topaz, on the other hand, wanted to find the gym and get her badge. Walking down the paths, she noticed the Pokémon Center and entered. Her pokémon were a bit worn out from the battling and she wanted to make sure Rapid was okay. The nurse at the counter, who was busy painting her nails, looked up and quickly sat up.

"Oh! It's you!" The nurse exclaimed.

Topaz, pokeballs in hand, gave her confused look. "What?"

"Rumor reached me that a, um, bold young girl was storming throughout Sinnoh on her new adventure!" The nurse smiled. "My sister in Jubilife City told me about you shortly after you left."

"Oh. Um. That's cool." Topaz didn't know what to say about the news. She simply pushed the pokeballs onto the counter. The nurse quickly popped them into the healing machine and waited for the music to be over before she popped them back out. She handed them to Topaz.

"Good luck!" She said happily.

"Okay."Topaz quickly left, feeling slightly uncomfortable. She hated being popular; the attention always made her feel irritated. Why people wanted to be surrounded by a bunch of squealing idiots was a mystery to her.

The city was certainly an interesting and new environment to Topaz. There were a number of large buildings, which was a change from the tiny homes in Twinleaf Town. Rocky outcroppings nearly surrounded the town and gave it an earthy (and maybe natural) feeling. As she walked down a large road to the Gym, she saw a very large and grand building. It was the museum, and Topaz made a mental note to visit it later. After some walking, Topaz was able to find the gym. It was huge just like most of the buildings in the place. The roof was round and the structure was dotted with large windows. At the side was a sign.

Oreburgh Pokémon Gym

Leader: Roark

"Call me Roark the Rock!"

Haha, more like Roark the Dick. Topaz thought dryly to herself. She reached out a hand to push open the doors.

Barry, predictably, burst right out and fell onto her. Topaz fell back, landing on the hard ground and breaking her fall with her backpack (luckily nothing broke).Though a second later Barry's full body impacted with hers, knocking the wind out of her. While Barry got up and dusted himself off, Topaz groaned and rubbed her chest, bringing air back into her lungs. Opening her eyes, she saw Barry looming over her and giving her a dense grin.

"Geez, you're kind of slow, aren't you Topaz?"

"Dick sucker."

Barry offered a hand to help her but Topaz simply swatted it away and got up. She brushed the dirt and rocks off her and surveyed the bruises and scratches on her. Nothing too major, so she turned around to get ready to smack the shit out of Barry but he began to speak in his hyper way.

"So, you're finally here, huh? You're slow as usual."

"Fuck you."

"And rude as usual. But that's just you, y'know?"

"I swear to Arceus I will f—"

"Anyways, you're so slow that the Gym Leader already left. It's not a big deal to me since I already got my badge." Barry gave another one of his cocky grins.

"How the hell did you get it? Got on your knees and sucked him off?"

"He said he was going to…um…oh yeah! The Oreburgh Mine!" Barry told her, as if he didn't hear her insult. "You should go chase after him." Then he stood there and began to stare off into space. Topaz, not wanting to get blood on her hands, stalked off.

"Dammit, I've got to go chase this guy down. This sucks fuck. And I'm starting to hate Barry."

"That last one I kind of saw coming…" Star murmured from inside her backpack, and then the popping noise suggested she had gone back into her Pokeball.

Topaz walked to the southern part of Oreburgh, looking around. There were many metal structures with pipes bringing fresh air to the miners. In front of her was a big gaping hole in the rocky outcropping that she correctly assumed was the entrance. She got Supreme out (rock Pokémon against a grass Pokémon equals ass kicking) and began to enter.

"Hey, can I go out?" Rapid asked, looking up at her with hopeful eyes.

"No. I determined that I don't want that air down there giving you nosebleeds. And there might be ground Pokémon down there, which won't be good for you either."

Rapid, with a sullen expression, got back into his Pokeball. Topaz shook her head but smiled. Then realized she was going into another cave. Muttering more curses under her breath, she entered. Faint darkness once again engulfed her and musty air filled her lungs. She was in a large "rock room" now with some crates and metal barrels filled with some crap that Topaz didn't care for. Steps led down deeper into the ground and got darker with the air getting staler. Topaz really hated caves.

Going down and entering the small entrance at the bottom of the rock room, she entered a long series of rock hallways that branched off into different directions. Miners and their Pokémon worked busily away. Along the way, she battled some of the miners, who quickly went down at the hands of her grass pokémon. Her wallet was becoming full with money, which made Topaz happy. She told herself to go buy a bunch of items from the Pokemart. After beating an amount of miners, she came across one particular miner. He had long mahogany hair and was mainly focused on a boulder. Topaz walked up to him and he began to speak.

"Normally, these boulders would get in your way but a Pokémon with Rock Smash…" The boulder cracked and was smashed into many pieces. "…could take care of the problem!"

"Goddammit, I am not here to listen to one of these dumb lectures. I am here to get a fucking badge but you decided to go on and make me go through this rocky hell to get your ass and tell you to go back so I can get my badge and fucking go on with my life but you're here breaking boulders instead of fulfilling my dreams so I'm pretty pissed off at you."

Roark stared at her for a minute, before nodding. "I see. Of course! I'll be waiting for you at the Gym! I see you have a lot of spunk and I'm sure our battle will be exciting!" He walked off and disappeared around the corner.

"I swear, it's like I'm the only smart person in this world. Well, gotta level up my pokémon."

Topaz took out her pokémon and started to level up her pokémon. For Supreme, any rock pokémon would get pummeled by him and let his level rise higher and higher, bit by bit. A machop was no match for Star. Rapid's leveling up was a bit slower; Topaz was reluctant to let him out for long periods of time, despite his protests.

After a particular defeat by Star, she turned around to look at Topaz. "I think it's happening."

"What?"Topaz shot her a confused look.

Star said nothing, instead she began to glow a brilliant color. White light illuminated the small rock passage and gave it a heavenly glow. Topaz shielded her eyes but kept them on her glowing Pokémon, and saw that her outline was slowly changing. She got bigger with a different body shape that more streamlined and graceful. Little by little the light began to fade away and instead of a starly, stood a staravia.

"You…evolved," Topaz said simply, looking at her new Pokémon.

"Wow, this is cool! I've kinda always wanted to evolve." She tilted her head. "How do I look?"

Topaz gave her a grin. "Magnificent."

As they continued leveling up, Supreme was the next to evolve. Since the rock pokémon were easy pickings to him, his level was able to rocket up nicely. After beating a geodude to a pulp, he began to glow as well. The same bright light formed on his body and his outline changed. Instead of a turtwig, there was now a grotle. Topaz knelt down to pat his head gently.

"Hah, you look good Supreme."

Supreme let out a very deep purr sounding noise.

Rapid was the last to evolve. The same evolution thing described two times before happened and he turned into a luxio.

"See, I'm fine!" Was the first thing he said. "No nosebleeds. I'm can handle myself."

"Okay, tough guy. We'll get your urge to fight satisfied soon. At another Gym, maybe," Topaz said, smiling again.

With her pokémon leveled up and with fresh moves, Topaz left the caverns. Finally, she was free of the stupid soot and rocks that dwelled beneath the ground. She brushed some dirt that had gathered on her tan skin and got rocks off her dark hair.

"Does this mean we're ready to take on the Gym now?" Rapid asked, trotting alongside her.

"Yes, I'm sure we can get Roark to kiss my—holy shit!"

Rapid gave her a quizzical look. "What?" He was not aware of the thin line of red beginning to drip from his nose. Topaz quickly knelt down and gently wiped his nose and the blood with her arm.

Ignoring the blood beginning to paint her skin red, she said to Star, "Star, get the potions! Quick!" Star quickly hopped over to her backpack and unzipped it with her beak. Rummaging through the various items, she quickly retrieved a bottle. She hopped over to Topaz, who was still cleaning up the blood and his nose. Topaz's whole arm now seemed to be a sea of stained red, though she didn't really care. She grabbed the bottle and sprayed a small amount into his noise. Rapid patiently stood still, though a little surprised at the whole thing. He had never even felt the blood dribbling down from his snout; only that Topaz started to act like a buzzed up Nurse Joy all of a sudden. He felt the spray go up his nose and resisted the urge to blow it out. After some time, the trickle of blood was reduced to a few drips. Then an occasional drop or two. Topaz, relived, got up from her kneeling position. Her knees were sore from the position and her arm was pretty much like someone painted on it. Though she was pleased.

"Are you alright?" Topaz asked.

"Your arm is covered in my blood. People are going to think you murdered someone in the mines."

"Like I care. Do you need to go to the Pokémon Center?"

"No."

Ignoring his answer, Topaz took him and the others to the Pokémon Center anyways. The Nurse quickly healed them, while giving Topaz a towel to wash off her arm with. When she returned it, the nurse excitedly couldn't wait to show her cousin the "Topaz towel".

"Creepy bitch." Topaz quietly commented when they left. "Anyways, Raps, are you okay?"

"Yes! I'm fine. I didn't even feel it. It was nothing at all." Rapid replied a little impatiently.

Topaz gave him a friendly scratch between the ears. "C'mon, I'm just worried. You scared the shit out of me back there."

Rapid wagged his tail.

Topaz, after cave traveling, Barry encountering, annoying battling, more cave traveling, leveling up, and gym leader chasing, she would finally get a chance to battle and get her first badge. Her badge holder would no longer be empty. She again walked to the Gym and this time, bracing herself for another Barry encounter, opened the doors. Luckily, Barry had run off again by this time. The inside of the gym was a big area with ramps and bridges at the sides. In the middle were two loser trainers who were waiting for what would most likely be their first win. Topaz decided to go for the middle and maybe get a little extra experience points for her pokémon. Very predictably, she beat them and took their money like she did with all the other loser trainers. Then, on a raised hill at the end of the room was Roark. He was still wearing his miner suit, which apparently he always wore, and grinned down at her while balancing a pokeball in the middle of his palm.

Topaz marched up to him and stood defiantly in front of him.

Roark adjusted his glasses a bit before speaking in a loud and confident voice. "So, you're that one spunky girl who really wants her first badge, huh? What's your name?"

"I just want my badge. I don't want to go out for coffee or anything, okay?"

"I'm just asking! I like to know all of the new inspiring trainers that come through my doors."

"Hmph. Fine. It's Topaz."

"Topaz, huh? Nice name! Just like the mineral? I'm a miner, if you haven't noticed. And I stand proud with my rock pokémon!"

"Goddammit, can we battle already?"

"Ah, I see! You must want to get your first badge really badly!"

"Oh wait, no. I need to ask a question."

Roark tilted his head, intrigued. "Yes?"

"Did some blonde kid come through here? He has a really stupid scarf and acts like he snorted ten pounds of cocaine."

"Oh, that kid! Yeah, I know who you're talking about."

"How did he win his badge?"

Roark gave her a bemused look. "He beat me in battle before I went to the mines."

"Really? He told me he simply got on his knees and began to suck you off." Topaz nonchalantly shrugged. "I don't know. He likes making things up like that."

Roark's jaw opened in confused shock, but he quickly closed it. "Yes, well, let's battle and see what you got!"

Topaz smirked. "Finally."

[GYMBATTLE: ROARK VS. TOPAZ]

Roark started out by sending out his first Pokémon, a geodude. It screeched as it was sent out of its pokeball. Topaz called out Supreme, now a grotle, who immediately braced himself for battle.

"Geodude, use Stealth Rock!" Roark called out. Geodude quickly created small but very sharp pieces of rock that began to circle around Supreme, waiting to stab any new pokémon coming into battle.

"Razor Leaf," Topaz said simply. She never liked yelling out stupid cheers and five sentence orders to her pokémon. Supreme let out a growl and leaves began to lift from his body. They quickly jerked in the air as if invisible strings controlled them and slashed its target with sharp leaf edges. The geodude recoiled, a good three-fourths of its health taken away.

"Show that grotle what you got with Rock Throw!" The geodude now created a large rock, which it hefted in both of its hands, and threw it with great strength. Flying through the air, it landed on Supreme with a crash before splintering into many pieces. Supreme gave a deep grunt but was otherwise pretty okay. Topaz ordered him to use another Razor Leaf, which was enough to take the geodude down. With a groan, it fainted. Roark quickly recalled it.

"Alright, not bad! For a young girl such as yourself, you're good! But let's see you take on my onix!" Roark, with a wave of his hand, called out another pokémon. It was large. Very large. It towered above the two and looked down at the tiny humans with its beady eyes. It let out a small grumble that nearly shook the whole building. Topaz looked up at it with slight awe, even if it was short lived. Onix was an impressive pokémon and part of Topaz regretted the fact that she had to down this creature. What a pity that beauty if brief in its life.

"Razor Leaf." Topaz said again and Supreme once again created the sharp leaves to attack Onix. It happened to be a one-hit KO because of its double weakness to grass. With a long deep groan, it fell to the ground in a large thud and a cloud of dirt bellowed out from beneath its body. Roark quickly recollected it.

"Wow, you're tough! But let's see how you do against…Cranidos!"

It was a bit small but seemed sturdy in its body. Its head was pretty much a hard rock. With a snort, it laid its eyes on Supreme.

"Show them your awesome Headbutt!" Roark yelled out, pointlessly pointing (as there was only one pokémon target.)

The cranidos charged up, and then ran forward with great speed, throwing its head and hitting Supreme. The grotle was sent back a few inches from the impact as Topaz watched with small resentment at the depleting health.

"Absorb." Topaz ordered. Supreme focused intensely. Soon, small green bubbles soon leaked out of its body and dashed towards their master. The small bubbles entered Supreme and he was covered with a small green light. A bit of his health was regained from the move.

"I'm not going to give up yet! Cranidos, use Leer!"

The cranidos gave Supreme what was supposed to be a frightening glare, though Topaz thought it was a little bit pathetic. Nevertheless, it was enough to lower Supreme's defense.

"Okay, this should finish it. Razor Leaf again."

With a flurry of leaves and wind, Supreme laid the final attack. After the flood of green, there was nothing but a passed out cranidos on the gym floor. Roark summoned it back to its pokeball, his mouth agape with surprise.

"We…lost?" He blinked a few times, before adjusting his glasses. "Our great team lost?"

"Great team?" Topaz was aghast. "Great? You call yourself great? I really hope you're joking because you—Oh look, my badge." Ignoring the rest of what she was about to say and Roark's hurt expression; Topaz quickly grabbed the badge he had brought out for her. Without another word, Topaz left the gym.

Once outside in the orange hue of the setting sun, Topaz lifted the badge to the light. The circular badge glinted brightly in the sun, letting out a small beam of light from its brown surface. On it she could see her round face reflected and grinning back. Radiance from the sun hit it at just the right angle and made it glow with orange, as if it was on fire. Getting out her little badge case, she put it in the first slot. It fit perfectly and looked so snug in its new home.

The Coal Badge. One of the many badges in Sinnoh.

Soon, all of them would be hers.