Pokemon True Emerald

by Exdeathmore


Chapter 7: Double Schooled

"...Are you serious? You got beat up by a little girl? Haaahahahah!"

"Forgive me, Admin Thoren... I have no excuse."

"Geez... I don't know whether to keep laughing in your face, or to genuinely feel sorry for you. I knew it was a mistake letting you Team Aqua rejects join us. Anyways, I got new orders for you. You're to join the search group in Slateport, immediately."

"But what about the Devon Corporation?"

"Well, since you failed to retrieve the package, I guess I have to find a way to get it myself..."


"There!" May said as she exited the Rustboro City Pokemart, her belt pack bulging. "Get supplies, check! Now to find the Trainer's School and–" She stopped when she saw someone familiar to her strolling down the street, looking around. It was the man she saw before entering Petalburg Woods. "Ah! It's you!"

"Hm?" the man looked at May. "...Have we met?"

"I'm the 'ordinary, rookie Trainer', remember? We met only yesterday!"

"Hm... nope, doesn't ring any bells."

"Grrr...!" May clenched her fist angrily, gritting her teeth. "Maybe this will refresh your memory! Hey everyone!" She started shouting, pointing at the man. Passersby stopped to see what the commotion was. "This guy is a pervert who likes sneaking up behind girls and–"

"Ah! Stop, stop! I remember now!" The man immediately ran up to May and covered her mouth. "Please don't spread false rumors about people," he whispered. "It's rude!"

"Well, you were pretty rude, yourself!" May whispered back. "You just came out of nowhere and insulted me to my face! Who do you think you are, anyway?"

"I apologize if I offended you in any way," he said as he returned to a normal speaking volume. "My name is Scott. I travel the world in search of outstanding Trainers, and my search has brought me here, to Hoenn. I just finished scouting out the Trainer's School here. Nothing too promising, but still a nice place."

"The Trainer's School? That's where I was headed."

"Is that so? Well then, as a sign of apology, would you like me to show you the way there?"

"Fine... but just so you know, I still think you're a little weird." May kept a close eye on Scott as they headed off together.


The inside of the Trainer's School was vast. The front area appeared to be a library, the walls lined with shelves stuffed full of various books, with a few tables in the middle where several students in uniforms were reading. In the back was a classroom where more students sat in desks, listening to a teacher's lecture.

"Not exactly what I imagined this place to be," May commented. "Is it really okay for me to just walk in like this?"

"Although many young Trainers enroll as full-time students, all the services in the Trainer's School are free," Scott explained. "Anyone is free to grab a book and start reading, or even pick a desk and sit in on a lecture. Now if you'll excuse me, I must be going. Perhaps I will see you again... perhaps." Scott headed back out the door.

"Let's see, where to start...?" May scanned the bookshelves, looking for anything that would catch her attention. 'Brendan said I should learn about type match-ups,' she thought, recalling her humiliating defeat against him on Route 103. Finally, she spotted a book titled "Battling Basics Volume 3: Attacks and their Types". She grabbed the book, sat down at the nearby table, and flipped through the pages.

"It is important to know the relationships of the seventeen known types," she quietly read to herself. "These types apply not only to Pokemon, but to their attacks as well. An easy way to remember these relationships is..."


About an hour later, May was still sitting at the table, her face buried in the book, fast asleep. Suddenly, there was a loud beeping sound.

"Ahh!" she screamed as she sprang up, falling out of her chair.

"Shh!" one of the students shushed her. "They're about to make an announcement." May looked around to see where the sound came from, and looked up at the ceiling to see a series of speakers.

"Attention, attention," a voice come from the speakers, "today's special lecture is about to begin. All students please report to the Rustboro Gym." Everyone in the building started heading for the exit.

"A special lecture?" May wondered. "If everyone is going to it, then it must be important. I'll check it out, too!" She put the book back on the shelf and followed the crowd of students.


After a short walk to the Rustboro Gym, the crowd slowly began to pour into the building. The interior closely resembled the Gym in Petalburg City, but there were stands for spectators to sit on either side of the battlefield room. The field in the center was littered with various size rocks and boulders, making for very rough terrain. As May sat down in the closest available seat, she noticed that a Pokemon was out on the field, a Geodude, hammering the ground with its fists. A Trainer standing on one end of the battlefield threw out a Poke Ball, and a Poochyena emerged.

"This is gonna be good...!" a boy sitting next to May said to himself, watching the battle eagerly.

"It seems our match has dragged out longer than I had hoped for," a voice said. May looked towards the far end of the field, and saw a young woman with brown hair, tied into buns and pigtails, wearing a blue dress and pink stockings, standing on a slightly raised platform. "I'd rather not keep these students waiting, so I'm going to end this quickly. Geodude, Rock Throw!" The Geodude on the battlefield dug its hands into the ground, and pulled out a large chunk of rock slightly bigger than itself. It heaved the rock with all its might at the Poochyena, smashing it and knocking it into a nearby rock formation. The Poochyena was knocked out cold before it even had a chance to do anything.

"Poochyena is unable to battle!" a referee in a green shirt declared. "Geodude wins! This Gym match goes to Gym Leader Roxanne!" The crowd started going into a cheering frenzy. The Poochyena's Trainer recalled his Pokemon as he bowed his head in defeat. The girl in the blue dress smiled and waved at the cheering crowd.

"Way to go, Roxanne!" the nearby boy cheered at the girl. "You're the greatest!"

"Wait, she's the Gym Leader! ?" May was surprised. "She only looks a little older than me!"

"Roxanne was the top student in the Trainer's School," the boy explained. "She graduated from the school with full honors, and passed the Gym Leader exam with flying colors! Not only that, but she also teaches lectures occasionally at the school! She's amazing!" He was obviously infatuated with her.

'If she's a Gym Leader,' May thought, 'then that means she's on the same kind of level as dad. Her Geodude knocked out that Poochyena in a single attack, too...' She pulled out her Pokedex and pointed it at Roxanne's Geodude.

Geodude – the Rock Pokemon. It can climb mountains using only its powerful arms. It pays no mind to anyone who unwittingly steps on its tough, durable body.

"I apologize for taking so long to finish my Gym match," Roxanne said to the crowd. "I hope that you will all take the upcoming lecture to heart. Knowledge is the key to success and victory!" She bowed slightly as she stepped off the podium and an elderly man took her place.

"Thank you for your patience, students," the elderly man said, clearing his throat. "We will now begin today's special lecture on Double Battles."

"Double Battles?" May never heard of such a thing before.

"Double Battles, also known by some as Tag Battles, are a simple, yet exciting new way for Trainers and their Pokemon to do battle with eachother," the lecture continued. "Like the name implies, Double Battles involve teams of two Pokemon on each side, battling at the same time. They can be between two Trainers using two Pokemon each, four Trainers using one Pokemon each, or even three Trainers, with two using one Pokemon on one side and one using two Pokemon on the other. We are holding today's lecture here in the Rustboro Gym so that you may see a Double Battle for yourselves. Before we begin, I require a volunteer." Almost immediately, the crowd roared, raising their hands to volunteer.

"Pick me, pick me!" the boy sitting next to May shouted, jumping up and down.

"Let's see now..." the teacher looked through the crowd carefully. "...Ah, you there!" He pointed at May. "You're an unfamiliar face. Come on down here, if you will, to the other side of the battlefield."

"Me?" May asked, pointing to herself. She got up from her seat and headed for the field.

"Go, Volbeat and Illumise!" The teacher threw out two Poke Balls, and two Pokemon appeared. They both appeared to be insects of some kind, similar to eachother in appearance, with a few differences. One had curly antenna and a bulb-like tail, while the other was more feminine in appearance and had a pattern across its chest that resembled a harp. May opened her Pokedex to look up their data.

Volbeat – the Firefly Pokemon. Its tail glows like a lightbulb, flying in a swarm of its own kind to draw shapes in the night sky. It is attracted to the aroma of Illumise.

Illumise – the Firefly Pokemon. It uses a sweet fragrance to attract Volbeat. It then guides the Volbeat to create more complex and beautiful designs with their lights.

"Oh, a Pokedex!" the teacher's eyes lit up. "I certainly seemed to have chosen a unique person. Now then, send out two of your Pokemon."

"Okay!" May grabbed Torchic's and Poochyena's Poke Balls, and tossed them into the air. "Come on out, Torchic, Poochyena!" Torchic and Poochyena emerged, looking around to observe their surroundings. As soon as Poochyena saw Torchic, it began growling. "Oh no, I forgot!" May remembered what happened the last time her two Pokemon were together. Poochyena barked and started chasing Torchic in a circle around May. The crowd started laughing at the spectacle.

"This brings me to my first point of Double Battles," the teacher said. "It is paramount that your Pokemon get along. The last thing you want is your Pokemon turning on eachother."

"Stop it, you two!" May shouted. "Poochyena, sit!" Poochyena skidded to a halt and plopped down, looking up at May. She crouched down in front of him. "Poochyena, we're about to have a battle. You have to get along with Torchic if we're going to win. We're all friends here, aren't we?" Poochyena whimpered, then saw Torchic hiding behind May, causing him to growl again a little. They both stepped forward onto the battlefield, exchanging glances.

"Let's begin!" the teacher shouted. "Volbeat, Illumise, both of you use Quick Attack!" The Volbeat and Illumise shot forward like bullets, weaving inbetween the rock pillars, approaching May's team.

"Dodge them!" Torchic and Poochyena tried to leap out of the way, but ended up jumping into eachother, rebounding back to where they started and taking both attacks head on, stumbling backwards. Poochyena barked at Torchic while Torchic squawked at Poochyena, each blaming the other. "Focus, you two! Torchic, use Ember on Volbeat! Poochyena, blind Illumise with Sand Attack!" Torchic spewed a flurry of flames at Volbeat, hitting his mark and knocking Volbeat out of the air. Meanwhile, Poochyena spun around and kicked dirt into Illumise's face, causing it to shut its eyes. "That's it, keep going! Poochyena, Bite Illumise!" Poochyena began to charge, fangs bared.

"Illumise, use Helping Hand!" the teacher shouted. Despite being blinded by sand, his Illumise began cheering, clapping its hands. The nearby Volbeat's tail began glowing brightly.

'Something strange is happening to that Volbeat,' May thought. "Poochyena, stand back! Torchic, use Peck on Illumise!" Torchic began running up to the Illumise, but Poochyena knocked him out of the way and continued running towards the Illumise. "Poochyena, stop! What are you doing?" He clamped down on the Illumise's side and tossed it away like a chew toy.

"Volbeat, use Signal Beam on Poochyena!" The Volbeat pointed its tail at Poochyena, and a bright, multi-colored beam shot out from it, blasting Poochyena through the air. He crashed to the ground, knocked out.

"Poochyena!" May cried. 'Signal Beam is a Bug-type attack,' she thought, 'which means it will hurt Dark-types like Poochyena more. I was trying to protect him, so why didn't he stay back?' May gritted her teeth as she recalled Poochyena.

"This brings me to the second and third points of today's lesson," the teacher said to the crowd. "There are moves that are purely for supporting other Pokemon, such as Helping Hand, which greatly boosts the power of the partner Pokemon's next attack. The final point is this: no Pokemon is an island. If either Pokemon on your team is knocked out in a Double Battle, it becomes an uphill struggle for the one left standing, like so! Volbeat, Illumise, Quick Attack!" The teacher's Pokemon charged again, both of them ready to collide with Torchic. Torchic cringed and closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable end. Just inches away, however, the Volbeat and Illumise stopped. "...And that concludes today's lecture on Double Battles. Volbeat, Illumise, return!" The teacher recalled his Pokemon to their Balls. "Let's give a friendly round of applause to our guest Trainer, here." The crowd applauded for May, who was trying hard to hide her shame. "I shall see you all back at the schoolhouse tomorrow. Class dismissed!" As the students in the stands exited the building, May stayed in place. Torchic looked concerned as he ran up to her, chirping.

"You did your best, Torchic..." May said. She was clearly upset, but still put on a strong face. "I just don't understand why Poochyena didn't listen to me. Is it because I made some kind of mistake?"

"Young lady," the teacher approached, catching her attention. "I was impressed. The way you instructed your Pokemon during this battle is not the mark of an incompetent Trainer. You kept your cool even as the situation worsened, and you even managed to anticipate my Volbeat's attack and adjust your strategy accordingly."

"But I still lost. And my Poochyena..."

"About that: I was watching its behavior during our battle, and it does not seem to have any problems obeying you. It does, however, seem to bear some ill will against your Torchic. Do you know the reason for this?"

"When we first met Poochyena, Torchic battled him and drove him off. Later, he came back to attack Torchic, but lost again, and that's when I caught him. I thought he was angry for losing to Torchic twice."

"Is that so?" The teacher began to meditate on this. "I think I understand now... When you told Poochyena to stand back, then ordered Torchic to attack instead, it became jealous, which is why it knocked Torchic away and continued attacking. Poochyena wanted to prove itself, to show that it was stronger than Torchic."

"Prove himself, you mean like a rivalry?"

"Exactly. I think the best way to alleviate this tension between your Pokemon is to have them battle eachother again. A sparring session, so to speak. Not only will they learn to respect eachother, but they will also become stronger for it, I'm sure."

"Hmm... sounds like a plan to me! Is that okay with you, Torchic?" Torchic chirped in approval. "Then it's settled! This is perfect! We'll be able to put a stop to the fighting, and be ready to take on Roxanne at the same time!"

"You plan to challenge Roxanne to a Gym match? Then I wish you the best of luck in your training! Roxanne may not look like it, but she is a formidable opponent."

"I'll keep that in mind! Thank you for your help, and for the lesson!" May politely bowed to the teacher and recalled Torchic. "As soon as Poochyena gets better, we're going to start our training, and we're not stopping until we're in top condition!" May raced out of the Gym and headed for the Pokemon Center to make her preparations.