In this chapter, we will be seeing a new major pokémon character enter the story. She will play a huge role in later stories. I do not own pokémon.
Roark managed to get back to the house, and limped into the kitchen. His leg was starting to hurt badly now. Izzy was preparing dinner when she noticed Roark; "Roark, what happened? Where are your crutches?" "Long story short, Mickael threw me into a tree and twisted my crutches" said Roark as he wheezed in pain. Izzy helped Roark into the living room and placed him facedown on his stomach on the couch. "Tell me when it hurts," said Izzy as she began feeling Roark's back. He hissed in pain when she touched a sore part of his back. She then left the living room and headed for the kitchen. Roark was silent as he waited for Izzy, but she came back with an ice pack and a few lotions. "Roark, I'm going to put some lotions on your back, but I need you to remove your shirt" said Izzy. Roark looked at her with one eye, blushed a bit, then pushed himself up, but Izzy helped him into a sitting position. Roark coughed a bit, and after a moment of silence, he said, "Um, do you suppose that you could…?" "Shy, aren't you?" said Izzy as Roark nodded. "Ok" she said as she turned her head. Once her head was turned, Roark unbutton and removed his shirt. He then tried leaning down, but had a little difficulty due to the sore muscles in his back. He felt some hands on his ribs as Izzy said, "You could have told me that you wanted to lie down. Your back is sore, and you've got a pretty nasty bruise." Roark was silent as Izzy placed some lotions on his back, but winced a little bit in pain. He felt relief when the ice pack was placed on his back. "I'll be in the kitchen making dinner. Call me if you need anything" she said before she left.
Roark dozed off on the couch for a few minutes when Izzy tapped him on the shoulder. "Hmm?" said Roark sleepily. "Roark, it is dinnertime. Do you want to eat?" asked Izzy. "Not at the moment, I'm still tired," said Roark. "Ok. If you get hungry, dinner will be waiting for you in the refrigerator" said Izzy as she went back into the kitchen. Roark woke up roughly three hours later, and he felt hungry. He limped into the kitchen and began looking for something to eat. He heated up something in the microwave and began eating. Izzy made mashed potatoes with meatloaf and sting beans, which wasn't half bad. While he was eating, Izzy came downstairs to get a drink of water. "Roark? You still down here?" said Izzy in a slightly surprised manner. "Huh? Yeah, I just woke up a few minutes ago," said Roark. Izzy noticed that his shirt was off, and his bruise still looked nasty, but it could have been healing. She grabbed a chair and sat down next to him. Izzy was still in her teal nightgown and she looked…pretty. Roark blushed when he looked at her, and blushed a deeper red when he realized that he wasn't wearing his shirt. "You're blushing," said Izzy as Roark blushed a deeper color "Do you happen to like me?" Roark was silent for a moment and Izzy said, "I'm sorry that I said that. It was a stupid question" when Roark said, "No, it wasn't." "It wasn't?" asked Izzy with a surprised look on her face. "I've been thinking about what happened the other night and…well…what happened when that weird Politoad squirted us with his water gun" said Roark "I think that…well, I don't know how to put this, but I think that I like you like you." "You like me like me?" said Izzy as she began blushing. "Yeah. I do. I couldn't get you out of my mind at times" said Roark.
Izzy and Roark stared at each other for a few minutes before she said "Well, I don't know how to handle this, but…well, the last time that I fell in love with someone, my heart got broken." Roark frowned, then said, "Your heart got broken? By who?" Izzy sighed, then said, "It was back in the Sinnoh region. I fell in love with someone, but he was just using me, and he broke up with me. That bastard took my virginity…I was afraid about falling in love again for a long time afterwards. I did see him enter the Sinnoh Championship several years ago, but he lost within the first round." Roark remained silent then said, "I'm very sorry for your loss, Izzy. If I ever saw him, I would punch him in the face for you." Izzy looked at Roark and smiled. He certainly was a very sweet person that Roark.
After a few moments of awkward silence, Roark spoke up and said "Just how long ago did you see that person enter the Championships? I might have met him at one point." "I doubt that you challenged him, Roark. I know that Byron was still the leader of Oreburgh City when I left, and it's most likely that he was still the leader when that bastard got his badge. I was only in Unova for a few months when I saw the Championships on TV. I wish that I could have been there, but I dropped out," said Izzy. Roark looked at her and said, "You dropped out? But why? You were unable to win a badge?" "No, it's not that. I already had seven badges when…" said Izzy before she fell silent before she resumed "…everything went to hell. Something happened that made me question my trainer abilities seriously, and I decided to give up trying to become a Pokemon Master. On top of that, I found out that my mother died, so I had to go back to my hometown and look after the place my mother left me. Soon after, Team Galactic struck and stole a number of pokemon from where I got my starter. My pokemon were among the missing. Dusknoir, Rampardos, Mothim, Vespiquen, Infernape, and Torterra were the only pokemon that I had left. Just when I thought that it couldn't get any worse, Team Galactic tested out this new weapon and destroyed my entire hometown. But that wasn't the reason why I left Sinnoh in the first place. It was all because of Darkrai that made me doubt my trainer abilities and I left Sinnoh because of what he did."
Roark was silent for a moment before he said, "You never told me what happened with Darkrai. I know that your Dusknoir gave birth to your Darkrai, but you never told me how she got pregnant in the first place. Just what happened with Darkrai? The only trainer that I know of that has a Darkrai besides you was Tobias." Izzy shook her head, then said, "I know for a fact that Tobias' Darkrai wasn't the one that he caught. I know where and how he got Darkrai." "Were you there when he caught Darkrai?" asked Roark. Izzy shook her head, then looked at Roark and said, "Tobias' Darkrai wasn't originally his Darkrai. That Darkrai is Night Shadow's father, and I was the one that traded him Darkrai." Roark looked shocked then said, "I think that I didn't hear you correctly, but I thought that I heard that you traded him Darkrai." "I did say that. You didn't mishear me," said Izzy. Roark was stunned, shocked, in disbelief, and amazed beyond reason when he heard that for the second time. "But, how…how did you drop out of the Sinnoh region when you caught Darkrai? Tobias won the Sinnoh Region Championships because of Darkrai! Why did you leave Sinnoh, much less trade to Tobias, when you had Darkrai on your team?" exclaimed Roark in shock. "It's all part of a very long, very sad story. Much too long for tonight" said Izzy as she got up and headed upstairs. Roark sat in shock and surprise as all of what Izzy told him sank in. Why did she leave Sinnoh when she caught Darkrai? What made her want to trade Darkrai to Tobias? All these questions and more spun in Roark's head as he thought. He knew that he had to ask Izzy.
Izzy was staring up at the ceiling when she heard a knock on the door. "Come in" she said as Roark entered. She pushed herself up as Roark limped over to the bed and sat down. After he took in a few deep breaths, he said "I just wanted to talk to you about a few things. First, what happened in Sinnoh with Darkrai?" "I told you Roark, the story is far to long for tonight," said Izzy "I'll tell you tomorrow if you wish. What was the other thing that you wanted to ask me?" Roark blushed a bit as he rubbed the back of his neck as he said "Well, the other thing that I wanted ask you is…well, I couldn't stop thinking of you after…well, what we had to agree to Mickael so I could record his mating habits. A few things were circling my mind, mainly the part that I realized that I had sex with you." "I don't see on how that was such a big deal. I'm sure that a man in your position had time for plenty of girls before," said Izzy before Roark turned his head away in both embarrassment and disappointment. Izzy gasped, then said, "You mean…that night…was…?" "My first time? Yeah, it was. I just wanted to ask you if you wanted to…well, do it again. Not the part with us in the woods, just that part with…well, when we were…you know, doing it," said Roark as he blushed nervously.
Roark was nervous; what if she didn't want to do it again? Or worse, what if she just laughed at him? He didn't know what to do, but he felt Izzy getting up from the bed. Roark felt his heart skip a beat and sink. What was I thinking when I said that? She doesn't want to do it with me. I was a fool to even come in here to ask about us having sex thought Roark when he heard the door close. He looked up and saw Izzy coming towards him and sat down next to him. She looked directly into his eyes and said "I didn't want Mickael or any of the other pokemon to come in here while we're together." She placed her hand on the back of his neck as she brought him in closer. She kissed Roark as he remained stunned and shocked for a second, but then embraced her and began kissing back. Their tongues explored each other's mouths, as the kiss grew deeper and deeper.
Later that night, Mickael came upstairs to check on Spectral and Night Shadow. He knew that Spectral would sometimes cry at night and wake up Night Shadow by accident, causing Night Shadow to cry all night. He was usually the one who was able to calm down the two by giving Spectral a shoulder to cry on, and giving Night Shadow a Pignite-back ride. He stopped outside of Izzy's door when he heard the sounds. He leaned his head a little bit closer to the door, and he heard the voices a little bit more clearly. "Ooooh, Roark. You're so…ah!" "Mmmm, Izzy." Mickael could also hear more moans and some slurping sounds, plus something that sounded like a Yamask moaning or a Growlithe barking. He did hear "Ow! My leg!" "Sorry Roark. Here, let me be on top." "Ok, just be a bit…Ow! My back!" "Sorry about that Roark. Here, let me put a pillow right here. Does that feel better?" "Yeah, but could we be a bit more careful about some of the rougher stuff? I don't think that my leg or back could handle it." Mickael couldn't make out the next few sounds clearly, but it sort of sounded like a Scyther using Cut on some gigantic trees with Raikou howling.
After hearing a few more weird sounds, Mickael decided to turn around and leave. What was going on in there was definitely more horrifying than the time Izzy walked in on him with Spectral. He really wished that he knew how to lock doors when Izzy saw him on top of Spectral like that.
Mickael was sitting on the couch, thinking, when Spectral came down. "Is something wrong, Mickael? I felt your presence down here" said Spectral. "Huh? Oh, I was just thinking about a few things, mainly with that Roark person and Izzy. Earlier this evening, I went upstairs to check on you, but I then heard Izzy with Roark. Her door was closed, but I could tell what they were doing" said Mickael as Spectral sat down next to him. "What was it that they were doing?" asked Spectral. Mickael looked a her and said "Well, it's obvious that they're asleep now since you couldn't feel while they were…well, what I heard. Izzy was mating with Roark. It's obvious that she likes him a lot. I've never heard her so happy, especially when she was with that jerk several years ago. I could tell that jerk actually abused her, but Roark…I know that he's treating her with respect. I don't happen to like him since I gave him the responsibility of protecting Cranidos, and he failed at it. I could smell that an enemy was there, but Roark was hoping to cover up what happened there so I wouldn't notice, but I could smell what happened. He let a Larvesta crawl too close to Cranidos, and he managed to chase it away, but I could tell that he did a horrible job at it. But since Izzy happens to like him, I don't know what to do. I don't want to make her sad, but I don't like the guy. Then again, I haven't seen her this happy ever since we left Sinnoh. I just don't know what to do."
Spectral was silent as she took all of this in, then looked at Mickael and said, "Just how did Roark fail you? I want to know the exact way on how he failed you." "Well, I know that a Larvesta was near the nest earlier today, but it smelled as if a Drillbur fought Larvesta to protect Cranidos, and I suspect Roark as well. New nesting foliage was within the nest, and freshly scattered dirt was all over the place. He wanted to fix up the place so I wouldn't notice. I also found the old foliage within the nest behind a few bushes" said Mickael. "Have you even considered the fact that he could have never met a Larvesta until today? For all of the pokemon that live here, we only became aware of their existence only after we moved to Unova. He could have mistaken Larvesta for a Caterpie or a Wurmple until it got too close" said Spectral. Mickael looked at Spectral for a moment, thought a bit, then said, "You know, I've never considered that possibility." Mickael then leaned over to Spectral and kissed her, saying "I could always rely on you to help solve my problems. Thanks, Spectral." "No problem, Mickael" she said as she kissed him back. They kissed each other deeply for the next twenty minutes.
Roark woke up the next day with his arms around Izzy. He gently kissed her on her forehead, causing her to wake up. "Good morning, Izzy. How did you sleep?" "Fine, Roark. I slept fine," she said. They smiled at each other for a moment before the two of them got up and dressed. What one thing they weren't expecting was a surprise from Mickael.
Roark was in the kitchen, reading the newspaper on what was going on in Unova when Mickael entered the kitchen. Roark tensed up when he saw Mickael approach him, but what he did next surprised him. Mickael handed him back his crutches, and started saying something. He couldn't understand what Mickael was saying, but Izzy understood. She looked at Roark and said, "Mickael was saying on how he reacted yesterday. He didn't know that you never saw a Larvesta before, and he fixed your crutches as a way of saying that he's sorry. He even said that you're allowed to come closer to the nest if you want." Roark looked at Izzy, stunned by what she said, then he replied "He actually said that he's sorry? I don't know if I could forgive him as of yet because my back still is in a lot of pain." Mickael then said "Rampardos, ramp dos rampardos." Izzy nodded, then looked at Roark and said, "Mickael also said that he understands. He's still sorry for what he's done." Roark nodded, then looked at Rampardos and said "Listen, I know that you're sorry for what you've done, but you really injured me the other day. It's going to be a while before my back feels better. It still hurts like hell. I'm not sure if I could forgive you." Mickael nodded, then left the kitchen. He knew that Roark was right; he did hurt that trainer really badly.
A few days passed, and Izzy approached Roark. He was outside; watching Cranidos in her nest while Mickael patrolled around her. She gently tapped his shoulder, startling Roark slightly. He turned his head to face her and Izzy said, "We have to go to the hospital. They called me up, and they say that you're ready for a metal brace on your leg now. You don't need your crutches any longer." Roark was a little bit stunned, then said "So, I'll be able to walk without the crutches?" as Izzy nodded. He smiled for a moment, then frowned and said "I have the suspicion that Cranidos will be laying her egg soon, and I'm afraid that I might miss the event when she does. But, the hospital isn't far from here, right?" "Actually, the closest hospital is in Black City," said Izzy. "Black City is the closest place with a hospital?" said Roark in shock. "I'm afraid that it is. White Forest is too small to have its own hospital, so we'll have to use Torterra to help get you to Black City" said Izzy. Roark sighed; he knew that he was going to miss Cranidos lay her egg.
One hour later, Roark was relaxing on Torterra as he walked next to Izzy as they walked to Black City. The walk took almost all day, but they managed to get to Black City before sundown. Izzy called out Serperior to help bring Roark down from Torterra, before calling the two pokémon back. "The hospital is only about three miles from here," said Izzy as she led Roark within the city. Since Roark lived within Oreburgh City, and he usually visited his father in Canalave City, he usually wasn't too surprised with cities, but Black City was a different story. He was still amazed by how dark the city was, and how all the buildings were lit up by neon lights. He even saw a few pokemon battles going on with pokemon that he'd never seen before happening within the city. I've got to come down here with Rampardos after my leg's healed thought Roark.
The hospital visit took longer than expected, with the removing of Roark's cast and placing on the metal brace for his leg. By the time that they got out of the hospital, it was already nightfall. "Looks as if we may have to spend the night in the Pokemon Center" said Roark as they left the hospital. "I suppose, but then again, this is the summer, so the Pokemon Center is usually booked during this time of the year. We'll be lucky if they have a leftover room," said Izzy as they headed towards the Pokémon Center.
When they got there, they saw that another trainer was trying to get a room. "Excuse us, but we'd like a room" said Izzy. "One moment please…hmm, it seems as if there's only one room left," said Nurse Joy. "What! Only one room left!" shouted the trainer next to Izzy. Roark looked at Izzy and asked, "So…if we headed out now, just how long will it take to get to your house?" "This time at night? We'd get there by six in the morning, seven by the latest," said Izzy. The trainer looked at Izzy and Roark and said "Oh? So, you're out of town? Want to battle over that last room?" Izzy looked at the trainer and said nothing, but looked at Roark and said "I'll battle him. There's no way that you could walk for twelve hours with your leg like that." She turned back to the trainer and said, "I accept."
Behind the Pokémon Center, Izzy stood facing the trainer on opposite sides on the battlefield as Roark watched. "I'll go first. Cryogonal, go!" said the trainer as his Cryogonal appeared. "Go, Fraxure!" said Izzy as Fraxure came out. "A Fraxure? Man, are you a loser. Cryogonal, use Frost Breath" commanded the trainer as Cryogonal used his ice attack. "Fraxure, Dig" commanded Izzy as Fraxure dug underground. Cryogonal looked around for his opponent, but got hit by Fraxure. "Now, use X-Scissor" called out Izzy as Fraxure attacked Cryogonal. "Cryogonal, Ice Beam" called out the trainer as a frozen beam struck Fraxure. "Now, use Blizzard" commanded the trainer. Fraxure got hit again, and was barely standing. A glint appeared in Izzy's eyes as she called out "Now, Reversal" she called out as Fraxure attacked Cryogonal. The attack left Cryogonal weakened, but still standing. "Sheer Cold" called out the trainer, and Cryogonal attacked, but missed. "Iron Tail" commanded Izzy as Fraxure aimed a well-directed hit at the ice pokemon. Cryogonal fainted, as Fraxure stood victoriously.
The trainer glared angrily at Izzy, before he called out his next pokemon. "Go, Durant!" he called out as Durant appeared. "Fraxure, return. Go Corey" called out Izzy as Corey, her Infernape, appeared." "So you think that you can win with a Simsear? Durant, Guillotine" commanded the trainer as Durant came rushing towards Corey. "Corey, Flare Blitz" commanded Izzy as Durant got burned. A vein appeared on the other trainer as he called out "Flash Cannon!" as Durant got powered up. "Flame Charge" called out Izzy as Corey stomped the ground before charging while cloaked in flames. Corey was able to do damage to Durant, but not without hurting himself from the Flash Cannon. "Hyper Beam" called out the trainer as Durant began charging up another energy attack. "Heat Wave" called out Izzy as Corey let out the high-temperature attack. The Heat Wave was too much for Durant as it fainted.
Roark watched the other trainer snarled, before he sent out Scolipede. "Lancelot, go!" commanded Izzy as Escavalier appeared. Most of the pokemon he'd never seen before in battle, and was very intrigued by what they were. "Steamroller" commanded the trainer as Scolipede curled up and attacked Lancelot. Lancelot countered by using Aerial Ace, causing a good amount of damage to hit Scolipede. Scolipede tried to use Toxic, but it didn't affect Lancelot at all. So, Lancelot's a Steel type. Dad might like him thought Roark as Lancelot used Iron Defense when Scolipede used Megahorn. A well-aimed Iron Head hit Scolipede, knocking out the gigantic insect pokemon. The trainer snarled, then said, "How about your boyfriend battles me? You two are sharing the same room anyway, so why not your squeeze battles me?" Roark looked irked as the trainer said what he said. "Oh, come on! He doesn't have a single pokemon on him!" called out Izzy. "So, if he doesn't have a single one, how come that there's a ball on his belt?" said the trainer as he pointed to Roark. Izzy looked at Roark, then said "Roark, did you bring Rampardos along?" He shook his head, then said "No, Rampardos is at the house. The one that I have is one that I only caught yesterday. He's never been in a trainer battle before." "Afraid that you'll lose?" sneered the trainer. Roark glared at him, then said, "I'm just worried that my pokémon will get hurt. I haven't had the chance to train him." "What a loser. I bet that you can't defeat the gym leaders at the Striaton Gym even if you tried," said the trainer. That struck a nerve with Roark. "Fine, we'll battle then," said Roark as he got up.
"Are you sure that you're up to this?" asked Izzy. Roark looked at Izzy and said "When he said that, not only did he insult my ability as a trainer, but as a Gym Leader in general" said Roark "I'm not letting that slide. I'll be fine, I promise." Roark took his place on the field and faced the trainer as he stared at the other. "I'll go first. Karrablast, go!" said the trainer as Karrablast appeared. "Karrablast" it said as it glared angrily at Roark. "Go, Drillbur" said Roark as he called out Drillbur. "Drillbur!" exclaimed Drillbur as he came out. "A Drillbur? Man, are you lame. Karrablast, use Fury Cutter!" called out the trainer. "Dig!" called out Roark as Drillbur dug a hole. "Like I've never seen that before. Swords Dance" called out the trainer as Karrablast began dancing to boost up his attack. Drillbur attacked, but then Karrablast did Double Edge. "Drillbur!" called out Drillbur as he got hit. A sweat-drop formed on Roark, before he got an idea. "Drillbur, Sandstorm" called out Roark. A sandstorm kicked up, blinding Karrablast. "Karrablast, use Take Down!" called out the other trainer as Karrablast tried to hit Drillbur. "Drillbur! Use Mud-Slap" commanded Roark as Drillbur began throwing mud at Karrablast. "Karrablast, Aerial Ace" called out the trainer as Karrablast took aim and charged at Drillbur. "Drillbur! Rock Tomb!" called out Roark. Drillbur began throwing rocks at Karrablast, entombing the insect. "Karra!" called out Karrablast. "Karrablast, use Energy Ball!" called out the trainer as Karrablast began gathering energy. "Rock Slide" called out Roark as Drillbur began burying Karrablast in rocks. A huge explosion happened when Karrablast fired his energy ball, kicking up the Sandstorm, before it settled. Nobody could see for the next few minutes, so the waited for the cloud to settle.
After the dust settled, Karrablast was found to be knocked out, but Drillbur was nowhere to be found. "Drillbur! Where are you?" called out Roark, but nothing happened. Roark frowned. Drillbur must have fainted thought Roark, but then he heard some scratching sounds, followed by "Drillbur!" Drillbur dug himself out from the rubble, looked at his trainer, smiled, and then passed out. Roark smirked, then called Drillbur back. "You were great, Drillbur" said Roark once Drillbur was inside his pokéball. The other trainer snarled, then shouted, "I can't believe that I lost to a wimpy Drillbur and its wimpy trainer! I'll get better! I'll show you!" before he ran off. Roark looked pissed, before he said "There's no way that he'll be able to defeat Ash with an attitude like that. I hope that he meets Ash so he could teach him a lesson." "Did you say something, Roark?" asked Izzy. "Hmm? No, nothing important" said Roark. Izzy shrugged, then headed inside the Pokemon Center with Roark behind her. He was feeling rather tired.
The next day, Roark woke up with Izzy in his arms. He gently kissed her on her forehead to wake her up. She yawned, then looked up at Roark. "Morning, sleepyhead" said Roark. "Up already?" yawned Izzy. "Yeah" said Roark. They both stared at each other for a moment before they got out of bed and dressed. Today was going to be a long walk to get back to White Forest.
While they were in the Pokemon Center dining area, Roark looked around and saw all sorts of trainers with pokemon that he'd never seen before. He was rather curious on the pokemon species that he saw. "Izzy, what's that?" asked Roark as he pointed to a pink floating pokemon. "That? That's a Munna. They're Psychic pokemon that live in Unova. They're this region's version of a Drowzee, if you will," said Izzy. "Munna" said Munna as it nibbled on a Pecha berry given from its trainer. Roark then noticed a very weird pokemon that gave him the chills by just staring at it. This pokemon was brown, red, and orange in color as small flames erupted from its long mouth. "Izzy, just what is that thing?" asked Roark as he pointed at it. "That one? That's a Heatmor. They can be very powerful fire pokemon if they're trained well. Some of them can be very nasty, though" said Izzy. "Gothita" said a little black and purple pokemon as it approached Heatmor. Heatmor glared at it, with tongues of flames shooting out of his mouth. "Gooooottttth-ita" said the little purple and black pokemon as its eyes glowed, making Heatmor float. "Yaaahhh! Get me down! Get me down!" yelled Heatmor as Gothita used Telekinesis to make Heatmor float. Roark chuckled as he saw Heatmor get frightened by such a small pokemon. Izzy saw the sight and shook her head. She looked at Roark and said "Most psychic pokemon from the Sinnoh area don't happen to look that cute or innocent when comparing to some Unova region pokemon. You may look at some Unova region psychic pokemon and think that they're cute until you actually make them mad. Then they're scary." Roark couldn't help but chuckle at what Izzy said.
After they collected their pokemon, Roark and Izzy were heading out of the Pokemon Center when he saw a huge rock pokemon. It was a navy blue in color with large red crystals emerging out of its body. The earth shook with every step that it took as it walked with its trainer. Roark was amazed at the pokemon as it passed him. "Roark? Is something up?" asked Izzy. Roark was still staring at the pokemon when Izzy tapped him on the shoulder. "Hmm?" said Roark as he looked at Izzy. "I asked if something was up," said Izzy. "Oh, I was just looking at that pokémon," said Roark as he pointed to the colossal pokemon. "That? That's a Gigalith. They're really powerful rock pokemon that are said to be capable of blasting away a mountain from the amount of energy that they store in their bodies," said Izzy. "Gigalith" said Roark as he left the Pokemon Center with Izzy.
Roark didn't say much after they left Black City and walked to White Forest with Izzy. They were walking in silence for about five hours before Izzy looked at Roark and said "Roark, you've been silent for five hours. I know that something is on your mind." "Hmm? Oh, I was just thinking about Gigalith. Before I leave the Unova region, I would like to catch one" said Roark. Izzy shook her head then said, "Finding a wild Gigalith is very rare, but I do happen to know about his pre-evolved forms. They are Boldore and Roggenrola. I know that you can find Boldore and Roggenrola within caves, and there are some caves in Unova that I happen to know of. Mostly, I've heard of both Boldore and Roggenrola appearing in Chargestone Cave." "Chargestone Cave?" said Roark. Izzy nodded, then said, "Chargestone Cave is a very beautiful and mysterious place. The cave itself is filled with electromagnetic and ionized stones and crystals. Many of the rocks are seen floating within the cave." Wait? Did he hear that correctly? "Floating rocks in Chargestone Cave?" said Roark in disbelief. Izzy nodded, then said, "Yep, you heard me, floating rocks. Of course, Chargestone Cave is a little dangerous because there are lots of Joltiks, Galvantulas, Klinks, Klangs, Klinklangs, and Ferroseeds living within that place." "There are a lot of what?" said Roark. "Steel-type and electric-type pokemon" said Izzy "If you want to go there, we could, but only after your leg heals." Roark nodded, then continued thinking about Chargestone Cave. A place with floating rocks, and the pre-evolved forms of Gigalith. Roark could only wish a place like that was near Oreburgh City. Looks like Unova is a more mysterious place than I thought. I would love to explore Unova one day thought Roark.
When they got back to Izzy's house, it was after midnight. Roark limped upstairs to go to sleep in his own bed while Izzy headed for the showers. Outside, Cranidos felt something happening with her body. It was time.
The next day, Roark woke up rather late. It was after twelve when he woke up. He cursed himself for waking up so late, then got dressed. Izzy was downstairs, making lunch. "Good afternoon, sleeping beauty," said Izzy as Roark entered the kitchen. He sat down as he rubbed his leg. It was healing nicely, but some of the wrappings were itchy. Izzy then looked outside for a moment then said, "Mickael hasn't come by for his breakfast. He usually comes here on a timely manner when it comes to poffins. I'm worried about him." Roark then stopped with what he was doing then looked outside, before he looked at Izzy and said "Do you suppose that Cranidos has laid her egg? She was very close to laying her egg yesterday." "I suppose that it's possible. I only know of Spectral laying her egg, and that took a very long time to hatch. It did take Spectral about a month for her to lay her egg to begin with, so I can tell you only the gestation of legendary pokemon, but not rare or common ones" said Izzy.
After lunch, Roark headed out into the forest with his notebook and a basket full of poffins. Drillbur was carrying the poffin basket for Cranidos, while Roark was carrying the one for Mickael. He was hoping for Mickael to let him stay so he could actually watch Cranidos lay her egg. By the time that he got there, Roark saw Cranidos collecting foliage to bury her egg. Roark was a little disappointed that he missed the chance to actually watch Cranidos lay her egg, but at least he was seeing how the parents watched and took care of their egg. "Mickael, I have a treat for you" said Roark as he held out a poffin. Mickael approached Roark and gently took the poffin from his hand. Mickael then took the basket and began eating the rest of the poffins in the basket.
"Drillbur" said Drillbur as he handed a poffin out for Cranidos. She didn't seem to notice the poffin, so Roark tried. "Here, Cranidos. I have a poffin for you. It's your favorite: a sweet and spicy poffin" said Roark. Still, Cranidos didn't pay attention as she continued to apply nesting material to her egg. Roark was puzzled a little bit, but he sat down and started taking notes.
A female Cranidos will apply foliage to cover the egg after it is laid. The female doesn't stop to eat as she has a job to cover the nest. Cranidos' eggs are gray in color, but with a large light-blue splotch on top of the egg, and some blue splotches on the sides of the egg. Right below the top light-blue splotch, are several large white dots encircling the top of the egg.
Roark paused as he saw Cranidos poking at several locations with her snout around the egg, then left to come back with more foliage. She continued to do this until she was satisfied, then came over to eat some poffins.
The female Cranidos uses her snout to test the temperature of the egg. If it is too cool, she applies more foliage until it reaches an even temperature. Only after the egg reaches the right temperature does the female stop to eat.
Once she was finished eating the poffins, Cranidos returned to check on the egg's temperature. Roark saw Cranidos remove some foliage, testing the temperature with her snout.
If the egg becomes too warm, the female Cranidos will remove foliage until the egg cools down.
Cranidos kept on checking the egg's temperature throughout the day to make sure that it was the right temperature. Cranidos kept on checking the temperature of the nest for the next two days until…
Roark came by to the clearing once again, and he saw Mickael wagging his tail as Cranidos began removing some foliage. Chirping sounds were coming from the egg as both Mickael and Cranidos kept on making some chirping and clicking sounds back.
Upon the day of hatching, the female Cranidos will remove some foliage. The egg makes a chirping sound, and the parents make some chirping and clicking sounds back at the egg.
The egg began glowing before it became a baby Cranidos. Mickael sniffed it, but stopped. He glared at Cranidos before he gripped her neck and dragged her away from the baby Cranidos. The mother Cranidos tried to get back to her baby, but Mickael kept on pushing her away. The baby tried to crawl towards the parents, but Mickael kept on roaring at it. Roark tried to understand what was going on, but this baffled him completely. He couldn't make heads or tails of what was going on, or if this was even normal behavior for a family of Cranidos and Rampardos. He saw Mickael walk off into the forest with the mother Cranidos hurrying behind him, leaving the baby Cranidos behind. Roark decided to follow the parents to see what they were up to.
Mickael came to the fruit trees on the other side of the river and saw his brother Rampardos there. "Oh, hello brother. What brings you here today?" asked Rampardos. "Don't 'hello brother' me! You slept with Cranidos, didn't you? I smelled your scent on the baby when it hatched. How could you? I've been trying to get Cranidos to mate with me for months and you slept with her!" roared Mickael. Rampardos folded his arms as he leaned against a Pecha berry tree and said "Jealous, aren't you? It's been 100 million years since I've last had a good fuck. She screamed my name as if she had the best fuck of her life." "She was a virgin! I wanted to be her first! She was untouched until you fucked her!" roared back Mickael. "Stop! Will you two stop it!" cried Cranidos "I slept with Rampardos because he wasn't so overprotective of me as you were, Mickael! When you mated with me, I slept with Rampardos earlier because he seemed more mature than you were. I didn't want my offspring to be as crazy as you were!" "Crazy! You're calling me crazy? You're a whore! Wasn't my phallus bigger than his?" roared Mickael in anger. "Sure, Rampardos' phallus was smaller than yours, but his felt nicer in my uterus. Yours was too fucking big! I think that you broke my vagina that night! His felt snug in a very comfortable way!" screamed Cranidos.
Roark was trying to understand what was going on as the two Rampardos shouted and roared at each other, with Cranidos roaring at them. He finally understood that his Rampardos was the actual father of the baby Cranidos, and not Mickael. Mickael was obviously upset at Cranidos and angry with his Rampardos for what happened. Roark had a thought: if Mickael was abandoning the baby Cranidos, then who would look after it? He got the impression that by the time that all three of them were finished arguing, the baby could be dead. Roark then got up and left; he had to check on the baby Cranidos.
The baby Cranidos was lying on her side with the sun blazing down on her. A flock of Mandibuzz were flying above her, waiting until the sun did their work of weakening her. They were patient when they saw Cranidos hatch and saw her parents abandon her. Cranidos was dying of thirst and heat exhaustion that summer day. It was unusually warm, and Cranidos was gasping for air. A few more minutes and it'll soon be over.
The leader of the flock flew down first, talons widely opened when… "Stop! Leave it alone!" screamed Roark as he came running through the trees. He dove and rolled over, snatching Cranidos away from the Mandibuzz. The Mandibuzz cawed in anger at Roark, but he stood his ground. His arms were protected Cranidos as he held her close to his chest. Mandibuzz stared at Roark for a moment before she flew off. Roark was proving to be a fierce competitor over Cranidos' safety.
Roark ran all the way through the forest to Izzy's house. He didn't care of the pain searing through his leg; all that he cared was for Cranidos' safety. "Izzy!" he called out when he reached the kitchen. Izzy looked up from cooking the poffins for the mother Cranidos, and said, "What's up?" "The baby Cranidos hatched, and it's sick" said Roark. Izzy looked shocked then ran over to Roark and Cranidos. She placed a hand over the baby Cranidos, then looked at Roark and said, "It's burning up! We have to get it to a Pokemon Center immediately."
Roark and Izzy both left the house immediately (but only after Izzy turned off the stove; she didn't want her house to burn down.) "Roark! The Pokemon Center's this way, not that way!" called out Izzy as Roark began heading towards Black City. He turned around and ran after Izzy through White Forest. They reached the Pokemon Center in record timing (they ran for ten minutes when it usually took her an hour to reach the center). "Nurse Joy! We have an emergency!" called out Izzy as Roark held on to Cranidos. Nurse Joy saw Cranidos, and called out "Audino! We have a sick baby pokemon!" "Audino" said Audino as she pushed out a stretcher. Roark placed Cranidos on the stretcher as Nurse Joy and Audino hurried to the emergency room.
Hours went by, as Roark felt sick, worried, terrified, scared, and…well, he couldn't explain the last one. It felt as if a parent was worrying about losing their only child after a terrible accident. Izzy felt scared as well; she held on to Roark's hand. Roark gripped Izzy's hand tight as he waited. Another two hours passed by when Nurse Joy came out. Roark looked up at her, and she smiled. "Looks like your pokemon is going to pull through. May I ask what happened?" "Well, Roark knows what happened. He was the one who brought Cranidos to me" said Izzy. Roark sighed, then looked up at Nurse Joy and said "Cranidos' parents abandoned it. I was observing on how Cranidos and Rampardos raise their young when the egg hatched. Izzy's Rampardos sniffed it, then thundered off into the forest with the mother Cranidos, leaving the baby Cranidos behind. I followed the parents, and I saw Izzy's Rampardos arguing with my Rampardos. Both the Rampardos and Cranidos were all roaring at each other, but I was able to figure out that it was my Rampardos, and not Izzy's Rampardos, which was the father of the baby Cranidos. From the way the three were arguing, I figured that the baby would have died by the time that they finished so I went back to check on it. When I got back to the nest, some large bird pokemon were circling the baby Cranidos. I saw that one aimed to grab it with its talons, so I dove to get Cranidos out of the way. I then ran back to tell Izzy that Cranidos was sick." "Could it have been a Mandibuzz that tried to get Cranidos?" asked Izzy. "I don't know, Izzy. All I know that it was one that I've never seen before" said Roark. "You're not from around here, are you?" said Nurse Joy. "He comes from the Sinnoh region," said Izzy.
Nurse Joy left, then came back with a book on pokemon native to the Unova region. "Try to point out to the pokemon that you saw," said Nurse Joy to Roark. Roark flipped through the book, and pointed to a bird that had a pink head, brown and tan feathers, and dressed in bones. "It was Mandibuzz, alright" said Izzy "Those things have been known to carry off weakened pokemon to their nest, and decorate their nests and themselves in the bones of their victims." "It's a good thing that you brought Cranidos when you did," said Nurse Joy. "Can I see Cranidos?" asked Roark. "I'm afraid not," said Nurse Joy "Cranidos needs to spend the night here. She's not strong or well enough to leave the emergency room." "Is it possible that I spend the night with Cranidos? I'm very worried about her," said Roark. Suddenly, Audino came rushing out, pulling on Nurse Joy's hand. "Audino says that something's wrong with Cranidos" said Nurse Joy as she, Roark, and Izzy hurried to the Emergency Room.
Within the Emergency Room, Cranidos was twisting and trashing around, pulling on the life-support system attached to her. "Cranidos, you've got to calm down!" called out Nurse Joy, but Cranidos kept on trashing. "Audino! Audino audi dino au aud audino!" said Audino, but Cranidos kept on squirming. "Cranidos! I'm here! I won't leave you," said Roark as he approached Cranidos and placed a hand on her. She opened her eyes and saw Roark. She began calming down, and stopped trashing altogether. "I think that it's a good idea that I stay with Cranidos for the night" said Roark. Nurse Joy nodded in agreement. "I'll be at home, Roark. I'll come back in the morning," said Izzy as she placed a hand on Roark.
Later that night, Roark was sitting next to Cranidos with him holding her paw. For the second time in his life, Roark was afraid for his pokemon. Arceus, if you're hearing me, please help Cranidos pull through. I've been through hell since Onix and Geodude died. Please, don't let me lose Cranidos. She's only a baby, and she hadn't had a chance to live. Please, please let her live prayed Roark as tears rolled down his eyes.
The night wore on, and at first daylight, Cranidos slowly opened her eyes. Roark looked up, tiredly, and smiled at Cranidos. He was up all night, staying with Cranidos in case something happened. Cranidos looked away from the sunlight, afraid of it. She still hadn't recovered from what happened yesterday, and…well, the only things that she could remember was the bright sun, a few flying shadows, and someone holding her close. She was fazing in and out of consciousness in somebody's arms, and then…this. She remembered being alone, when somebody came for her. That somebody then stayed here all night with her, making sure that she was ok. There were long things connected to her and something over her mouth, but she didn't know what they were. She liked where she was before, and that was…where was that? She remembered someplace dark, wet, and warm, but she remembered little else. Outside that place, it was scary. It was too hot, bright, and…well, she couldn't say that it was dry, but it wasn't like the wet place.
Cranidos looked at the somebody that was with her, and saw its paw. It was white (unlike Cranidos' paw), and then it changed color to a pinkish hue. That somebody had many colors on its body, and…well, she never saw herself in the mirror before, so she thought that she might have looked like it. Its paw was very soft to the touch (unlike her own paw, which was harder), and it had more claws or whatever they were. Suddenly, somebody else came into the room with something with big ears that had long stalks attached to its ears. The think was pink with a tan underbelly and had blue eyes. Cranidos tensed up when she saw the two things, before the somebody that was with her got up and talked to them. They talked for a few minutes, before they all came over to her.
"Cranidos should be well enough to leave the Pokémon Center" said Nurse Joy "However, she needs to be taking a specific vitamin-enriched formula so she could develop properly." Roark felt relived that Cranidos was well enough to leave, but he knew that he had to monitor her health for quite a while so she wouldn't get sick. He bent low, petted Cranidos' back and said "Hear that, Cranidos? You get to come home today. Isn't that exciting?" Home? Where's home? Thought Cranidos.
A little while later, Roark was holding Cranidos close to his chest as he walked into the main lobby of the Pokémon Center. Izzy was waiting there with her baby Darkrai. Darkrai floated over to Cranidos and stared at her. Cranidos made a small whining sound then buried her face in Roark's shirt. "Darkrai?" said Night Shadow. "Looks like your Cranidos is afraid of Darkrai," said Izzy as she approached. "I think that she's afraid of everyone except for me," said Roark as he held Cranidos close to him. He looked at Darkrai, then looked at Izzy and said "Why did you bring Night Shadow here, Izzy? Wouldn't people react to Darkrai's presence here?" Izzy shook her head and then said, "Most of the townspeople already know about Darkrai. They know that he's harmless, and what's more, just a baby. Oddly, he doesn't cause nightmares, but I think that's because he's too young to do so." Roark was surprised by what Izzy had just said and then looked at Darkrai in wonder.
"Hey! Turn up the volume!" said a trainer to Nurse Joy as she turned up the volume to the Pokémon Center's TV. A female news reporter with reddish-brown hair, and wearing a yellow tan suit, was on TV as she said "Rhonda here, from Sinnoh News! Just hours ago, Oreburgh City has had a terrible explosion! The city itself has fallen through a massive sinkhole that was caused by a massive underground fire! Word has it that the methane gas was ignited due to an electrical fire caused by faulty wiring. The ignited fire has burned through the coal deposits located under the city, weakening the ground that the city rests on, which caused the sinkhole. No one is sure who is responsible, but whoever was in that underground part of the mine under the city is to blame. We now—Ow! Jack! Will you hold that microphone steady? The news story of my life is happening right now!" "Sorry about that, Rhonda" said Jack.
"Wow, a city disappearing within a sinkhole!" said Izzy as she stared at the TV. Everybody was staring at the TV in shock or horror, all but one. Roark grind his teeth as rage and anger pumped though his veins. He was extremely pissed at what the news reporter said. "Here, take Cranidos," said Roark to Izzy "I have somebody to call." Izzy took Cranidos in a little bit of shock as Roark stomped over to the phones. Cranidos flinched and trembled, before Night Shadow said to her "What's wrong?" "Daddy just left me," said Cranidos "Why did he do that?" "He didn't do that. He had to talk to someone. He'll be back," said Night Shadow.
Roark dialed a number, and waited as the phone rang. The screen came clear on the other end, but he saw that the user wasn't answering. "Eddy! Pick up!" shouted Roark. Eddy came onto the screen as he was looking at his Pokétch and said "Hey, Roark! I thought that you were still on your fossil expedition." "I was, but I broke my leg, and the fossil expedition turned into a disaster. I just saw on the news that Oreburgh City was just destroyed. What the fuck happened?" shouted Roark. Eddy looked terrified, then said "Well, there were some fossil hunters that came by, and they wanted some of our fossils from the mine. They paid a huge sum for me to take them to the tunnels under the city. We took all precautions for…" said Eddy before Roark cut him off. "I told you that those tunnels are permanently closed. I told you repeatedly that there was too much damage to those mines for any further excavation for coals and fossils. Plus, there was a dangerous amount of methane gas, and the floor was creeping. Those tunnels were too dangerous to enter in, and I told everybody that those tunnels were off limits forever" said Roark in a stern voice. "But Roark, that section of the mines had…" said Eddy before Roark screamed at him "YOU'RE FUCKING FIRED!" Roark slammed the phone on the hook, ending the transmission. He turned around and walked back to Izzy.
Both Cranidos and Darkrai had their hands over their ears when Roark returned. "I told them to cover their ears as part of a game," said Izzy when Roark approached her. "Thank you, I didn't want Cranidos to learn some of the words that I said," said Roark as he took back Cranidos. "I think that we'd better leave, Roark. You were making quite a scene on the phone back there" said Izzy. Roark nodded in agreement, then left the Pokémon Center with Izzy as all of the trainers stared at Roark.
Roark and Izzy were walking back to Izzy's house as Cranidos nuzzled her head into Roark's shirt. He stroked her head affectionately as the clouds overhead them passed as the wind blew on them. A bit of sunlight came out, startling Cranidos. "Crain!" she squeaked as she buried her face into Roark's chest. "Shh, Cranidos, it's ok. It's just the sun. It won't harm you," said Roark. Cranidos still trembled at the sunlight, but slowly, she began to relax. "Dos?" she said as she reached for the sunlight with her paw. Roark smiled at Cranidos when she said "Dos!" and began reaching for the sunbeams with both arms.
Later, at Izzy's house, Roark was making Cranidos' special formula. Amazingly, Izzy had all the berries needed to make Cranidos' formula, along with several vitamins to add to the liquid. "Here you go, Cranidos," said Roark as he walked into the living room and began bottle-feeding the baby dinosaur. She sucked on the bottle as Roark held her as he sat on the couch. Mickael came into the room, and sat on the couch as he turned on the TV. "Now, part of the groundbreaking news in Oreburgh City is…(click)…Unova's Pokémon Musical" said the TV as Mickael changed the channel to his favorite show. "Hey! Change it back!" said Roark as Mickael ignored him. Roark stared at Mickael and said, "I told you to change it back. They were playing the crisis that was happening in my hometown!" Mickael growled at Roark, and continued to watch Pokémon Musical.
An hour passed, and then Mickael left the living room when his show was over. "Finally" said Roark as he switched back to the news. "…and that was our special on what happened in Oreburgh City. This is Rhonda, only on Sinnoh News." Roark gritted his teeth as he saw the news about his hometown was over. Fuck! Now, I'll never know what they said thought Roark.
Izzy came into the living room, and saw that Roark was in a foul mood. "Roark? What happened?" asked Izzy. "Mickael changed the channel to Pokémon…something when they were playing the news about Oreburgh City. Now, I'll never know what they said about my hometown" said Roark. "What channel was it on?" asked Izzy. "I don't know, but it was on Sinnoh News. I don't know the channels for Unova" said Roark. "Here, let me have the remote. There's a huge time difference between Unova and Sinnoh, Roark," said Izzy as she switched to the Unova news station. "Breaking News! In the Sinnoh Region, Oreburgh City had just disappeared into a flaming sinkhole. This miner, Eddy Stonewall, who was responsible for the destruction of Oreburgh City, started the accident in the Sinnoh Region. We have received an interview from the Sinnoh Region between Eddy and interviewer Rhonda when Eddy's boss, Roark, called him up. Roark is the Gym Leader in Oreburgh City and is the son of Byron, who is the Gym Leader of Canalave City." Roark and Izzy watched the recorded interview between Eddy and Rhonda when Eddy's Pokétch went off. Roark was surprised that all the curse words that he said were still in the interview. Once the interview was over, the news had returned to Unova. The reporter said "Since Oreburgh City is destroyed, all the inhabitants who got out in time are forced to live in a refugee camp, and the Pokémon League has closed off the Oreburgh Gym until the city is relocated and rebuilt. Due to the high coal content in the Oreburgh Mines, toxic gases and raging fires are rampant in the underground tunnels. The Environmental Department has deemed the mines closed off forever due to the fires and poisonous gases. Many people are reported dead or missing."
Roark sighed at what had happened. His home was destroyed, the mines are closed off, the gym is closed off, and all those fossils at his house and the museum are most likely destroyed. He had a thought, then took Cranidos with him as he went over to Izzy's phone. "Roark, what are you doing?" asked Izzy. "I just remembered that I haven't called up my parents in several weeks. They must be worried sick about me," said Roark as he dialed his father's home number in Canalave City. The answering message played, and then Roark recorded his message. "Hello Dad and Mom. I'm sorry that I haven't called in several weeks. I actually broke my leg when I was in Unova, and I was hospitalized for a week. I didn't collect any fossils while I was in Unova, but that's not the worst part. Both my Onix and Geodude are dead because of one of the native pokémon in Unova, and I almost died myself. This wonderful trainer saved me, and she has taken care of me. I did get an exclusive opportunity to record the mating rituals and nesting behaviors between a female Cranidos and a male Rampardos, and I got to keep this baby female Cranidos. Want to say hello to my parents?" said Roark as he gave the phone to Cranidos. "Crani, crani cranidos!" she babbled happily into the phone before Roark resumed talking. "While I was in the Unova region, I managed to capture one of the native pokémon here known as a Drillbur. Once my leg heals, I'll try to go back to the desert and bring back some of the pokémon fossils only found in Unova. I'm sorry that I didn't call you sooner. I'm sorry if I worried the both of you. Goodbye, Dad and Mom" said Roark before he hung up.
Amazing that Cranidos was a sick baby, huh? In later stories, she calls (and thinks that) Roark (is her) 'Daddy.' Funny that Roark cursed out so much in this episode, huh?