Author's note: Writer's block sucks so much. It's been plaguing me for the last couple of episodes, so bear with me. I hope you enjoy all the same!
Episode 7: Rock throw to the head!
Niko spent the few hours he had before his gym battle with Roxanne training with treecko and taillow. Having seen nosepass battle, and knowing that she specializes in rock types, Niko figured that speed would be the best offense.
The hours went by, and Niko ran back to the pokémon center to heal his team before the battle. Meanwhile, the rest of the group was off shopping for their next trip. JJ had looked up the next closest gym on the pokénav, and found Dewford Town, which was one of the gyms that Norman had mentioned. How they planned to get there, they had yet to figure out, but they figured shopping for supplies and checking out the city was the most productive way to pass the time while Niko trained.
The group reunited at the Rustboro gym. Niko was waiting on a bench outside with treecko and taillow, presumably giving them a pep talk. Noticing his friends, he stood up and returned his pokémon.
"Hey guys, how was the shopping?" He asked.
"It was good. I think we have enough to get us to Dewford Town. Still not sure how we'll get there, though," JJ responded, shrugging a little.
"No worries, we'll figure that out later. I've got a gym match to win first!" Niko said, pumping his fist excitedly. He then led the way into the gym, followed by Brittany, Jake, and JJ. Roxanne was sitting in the stands, setting up a camera with her assistant. "Hey, Roxanne! It's Niko, we talked earlier today," He waved. The gym leader took notice and walked down the stands to approach him and shake his hand.
"I remember. Do you mind if we film this? I try to film most of my gym battles so that my students can watch and observe them later."
"Oh, I don't have a problem with that. I'm not really camera shy," Niko laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. Roxanne nodded with a smile and walked to the opposite end of the field. When her assistant gave her the thumbs up, she turned back to Niko.
"This will be a two-on-two pokémon battle between me, the gym leader of Rustboro City, and Niko of…?"
"Pallet Town," Niko simply said.
"Right, Pallet Town. Niko, you may begin when ready," Roxanne nodded again, pokéball in hand.
"Alright, let's go taillow!" Niko shouted.
"A rather unconventional choice, but I've seen less conventional. Geodude, you're up! Use rock throw!"
"Taillow, dodge and circle the air!" Niko shouted, trying to replicate the strategy he has practiced with his swallow pokémon. The flying type shot into the air and spun around in circles, mostly in an attempt to confuse geodude, but also to hopefully increase its attack power by creating momentum. "Alright, now taillow! Use quick attack!"
The tiny swallow dove down at geodude from behind it and slammed into its back, clearly doing some damage. The rock pokémon turned around to grab taillow, but it missed. Taillow then dove back down to use quick attack once more, and again missing geodude's outstretched arm.
"Geodude, use defense curl!" Roxanne commanded. Geodude folded its arms into itself as it hardened its rocky exterior. Taillow then dove back down to use quick attack, on Niko's orders, and slammed into the hardened body of geodude, collapsing onto the ground.
"Agh…I'm sorry taillow, I—what?"
Taillow was now in geodude's grip. The rock pokémon turned and threw it in Niko's direction and then, on Roxanne's command, used rock tomb. The attack created edged slabs of earth to shoot up all around taillow at an angle, creating a tent of sorts. However, taillow found itself stuck in the space where the slabs all met. Geodude then rushed forward and slammed its fist into the tiny swallow, defeating it.
"Taillow is unable to battle, geodude wins! Niko will now send out his second pokémon!" The assistant declared.
"Well, this isn't going too well," JJ said observantly.
"But his treecko is pretty well-trained. Niko might still be able to pull this off," Brittany said with confidence in her friend. JJ and Jake both nodded as they continued to watch.
"Treecko, let's go!" Niko shouted. "Use pound!"
"Again, an unconventional move. That's fair, though. I imagine you have something in mind. Geodude, use rock throw!" Roxanne commanded.
The rock pokémon conjured a rock in its palm and tossed it at treecko, who agilely dodged it and leapt into the air, where it somersaulted and slammed its tail on geodude's head.
"Grab onto it!" Roxanne shouted. Geodude did as told, grabbing the large, dark green tail and slamming treecko down on its back.
"Treecko, absorb now!" Niko commanded. The wood gecko pokémon thrust its palm onto geodude's arm as it began to drain the rock pokémon's energy. Geodude cried out as it loosened its grip on treecko. The grass type jumped back on its feet. "Now, use pound again!"
Treecko spun around and slammed its tail into geodude's face, causing the rock type to reel back a bit. The wood gecko then launched forward to use absorb once more, effectively finishing off its opponent.
"Geodude is unable to battle, treecko wins! Roxanne will now send out her second pokémon!" The assistant declared.
"Nosepass, I choose you!" Roxanne shouted, summoning the compass pokémon Niko had witnessed earlier that day. "Use harden!"
"Treecko, let's be careful. This pokémon doesn't look like much, but it can pack a punch," Niko said, cautioning his grass type. "Now, let's try to use absorb from a distance!"
"Trying out new techniques in the middle of a gym battle? I see…" Roxanne smirked. She looked like she was enjoying this. "Nosepass, use rock throw!"
The compass pokémon raised its arms and conjured a rock from above it and tossed it at treecko, whose hand was outstretched as it focused on trying to sap nosepass' energy from it. However, it was too busy concentrating to notice the rock hurtling towards it, and ultimately got hit in the face by it. The wood gecko fell backwards, rubbing dirt from its face as it tried to see, but everything seemed blurry to it.
"Treecko, are you alright?" Niko asked. His pokémon nodded as it slowly got back up. "Treecko, let's try something different then! Use pound!"
"Same strategy, Niko? Got it. Nosepass, rock tomb!"
Treecko, vision still blurry from the rock throw, tried dodging the rock tomb, but quickly found itself encased in the slabs of rock jutting from the ground.
"Treecko, you can do this! Try and get out!" Niko shouted. The wood gecko shifted around in the small space between the slabs, trying to loosen itself. It kept doing this for up to a minute before Roxanne commanded again.
"Niko, you've clearly got a lot to learn about battling. As a teacher, I can't help but try and help you learn. However, it will be the hard way. Nosepass, use rock throw!"
"Treecko!" Niko shouted out, his voice echoing around the gym.
Just as the rock was flying towards treecko, the grass type dropped down into the tomb, allowing the rock to fly right by, collapsing onto the ground near Niko. Treecko then slammed its tail into the stone slabs repeatedly, eventually breaking through.
"Yes! You did it! Nicely done, treecko!" Niko shouted in praise. "Now, let's do this! Treecko, use pound!"
"Nosepass, rock tomb again!" Roxanne commanded.
"Oh, same strategy, Roxanne?" Niko teased, winking as he did so. Treecko jumped out of the way of the rock tomb and, as a second one appeared directly in front of it, treecko ran up the backside of the tomb and leapt into the air. It somersaulted before quickly slamming its tail on top of nosepass' head, flipping backwards and landing on the ground, face-to-face with the compass pokémon.
"Nosepass, use tackle!" Roxanne commanded.
"Treecko, grab its body and absorb!" Niko shouted. The compass pokémon rushed forward with unusual speed and collided with treecko, who pushed back on its opponent and began to sap its energy, making itself healthier while weakening nosepass.
Eventually, however, treecko gave into the attack and fell backwards, allowing nosepass to successfully tackle it. Treecko wasn't giving up, though. It jumped into the air and spun around, slamming its tail into the compass pokémon once again.
"Treecko, use absorb!" Niko shouted.
"Nosepass, rock throw!" Roxanne commanded. The rock descended at treecko, who evaded and climbed on top of nosepass as it sapped more of its energy. The rock type, showing no emotions, simply stood there. "Use rock throw!"
"Wait for it…" Niko muttered to himself.
The rock was conjured directly above nosepass and treecko and, as it began to fall, the wood gecko slid off of nosepass and back onto the ground, allowing the rock to hit the compass pokémon on the head. Once again, the rock type showed no emotion, but began to fall to the ground. Treecko then got one more absorb in before nosepass collapsed on the battlefield.
"Nosepass is unable to battle, treecko is the winner! And the victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!"
"Treecko! We did it!" Niko shouted, running onto the field to embrace the wood gecko, who had leapt into his arms as well. "You did such a great job buddy. I'm really proud of you!"
Niko allowed treecko to climb onto his shoulder as Roxanne and nosepass approached them. Brittany, JJ, and Jake appeared from behind him, the former two slapping him on both sides of the back.
"Niko, that was quite the battle. I'm glad I got it all on tape," the gym leader said, pointing to the camera set being disassembled. "And, while you still have a lot to learn, it seems that I do as well. Here," Roxanne said, holding out a small badge. It was shaped like a rectangle with two of its corners more emphasized than the others. Niko took it from her hand and showed it to treecko, who smiled as well at their shared victory. "I award you the stone badge."
"Thanks, Roxanne. I really appreciate this."
"Psh, you've earned it. Now, where do you plan on heading next?"
"Well, this is my first badge here in Hoenn, so I think I'll head for Dewford Town next. Seems like the closest gym besides Petalburg."
"Ah, good choice. Brawly is an interesting guy. Fighting type, so I think you'll have an advantage. But don't ever underestimate him, okay? He might look and sound really laid back, but he is by no means like that when he battles."
"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind," Niko said before holding his hand out. Roxanne shook it, and the two locked eyes for a moment. Niko had just earned his first gym badge in Hoenn, and it was an excellent battle at that. At least, he thought it had been.
The group exited the gym as the sun was setting. They walked to the pokémon center to heal up Niko's team and had dinner while they waited.
"So, Niko, how does it feel to have your first Hoenn gym badge?" Brittany asked, her brow raised a little teasingly.
"It feels great, thanks for asking," Niko said before taking a bite of his sandwich. "So Dewford Town next? Have we figured out how we're going to get there yet?"
JJ shook his head. "No idea…we could head back to Petalburg and ask if there is some sort of ferry service. But honestly I have no idea."
The group was in quite the conundrum. They had no pokémon to ride on, and the trip to Dewford Island would take ages if they did so. They continued suggesting ideas, but by the time Niko got up to get treecko and taillow, they were running out.
However, as Niko was walking back to their booth, he noticed an older man with a cane talking with JJ and Brittany. Jake was listening intently to the conversation, mudkip sitting on his lap. Niko walked up to the man to introduce himself.
"Hello mister, I'm Niko. Is there anything we can help you with…?" He asked in a bemused tone.
"Oh, yes. Well, rather, is there anything I can help you with?" The old man asked. "Name's Briney. Mr. Briney to be exact! Ha-ha!" Briney said, chortling. "Now, your friends here tell me you're trying to get to Dewford Town, right?"
"Yeah, actually we are. Why?"
"Oh, well I have a boathouse down the road, off near the coast, and could take you there. Me and peeko, that is," Briney said, whistling as a wingull flew over and landed on his shoulder. "This is peeko. He's me best friend and travelling partner. Trying to keep him out of trouble these days. Now, whaddya say, you kids in?"
Niko turned to his friends, who all seemed to nod. Even Jake, who has been told repeatedly by their parents to never go anywhere with strangers, seemed to agree. Niko turned back to Briney and nodded.
"Sure, we would love the help, Mr. Briney," Niko said, holding out his hand as Briney returned the handshake.
"Great! Say, why don't you four meet me at the southern entrance of the town tomorrow morning, say, around 8 o'clock? I'll take you back to my boathouse and treat you to some breakfast."
"Sounds great, thank you so much!" Niko said honestly. Mr. Briney nodded and walked away on his cane, peeko still on his shoulder. The brown-haired trainer turned to his friends, all of whom nodded in approval. The four then went to bed, their next destination in mind and a means of getting there settled.