Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
'Hi, Roark!
Guess what? I finally became the gym leader! The League members all said yes! By the way their expressions were so serious, I thought they'd say no for sure. Thank goodness I was wrong.
It felt great to give the badge to the challenger - she was so excited. Cynthia had invited a few reporters to broadcast the announcement of the official return of Oreburgh's gym leader, and I was really nervous while answering a few questions. They didn't pry too deep - Cynthia blocked them when they tried to, so I didn't have to do any awkward explaining. I owe her a lot.
I'll take good care of the gym and the mine for you. By the time you get back, you're going to thank me for all the management I've done.
Oh, and by the way, there's going to be a Gym Leader Contest soon. I heard Fantina came up with new appeals and we're going to demonstrate them. I wonder what they are? There will be a meeting tomorrow evening - and she'll tell us about the general overview. We're also going to have our pictures taken for the posters. I can't wait.
Sincerely,
Your imposter.'
I used color pens and doodled stars and hearts on the page along the large 'Congarts To Me' logo I drew. Writing diaries had been one of my long kept habits, and when I was younger I liked to color each page with crayons. My mom would often tell me not to use up a whole stack so quickly just writing diaries but I did it anyway. My colorful diary in real-life would be collecting dust beneath my bed by now - unless someone found it. Closing the notebook shut, I reached out for the remote control and turned on the living room TV. As the screen appeared, I shifted in a more comfortable position on the living room couch.
They were re-airing the moment of my reappointment and giving Dawn the Coal Badge. She held it up to the camera and waved.
"Mom! Mom! I got my first badge!"
Good for you, I thought. Now all you have to do is go get all eight badges, challenge the league and become the next champion. Oh, and take care of Team Galactic while you're at that, Dawn. Just like the games.
A sudden question came to mind.
If Dawn had gotten her badge sooner, could she had prevented Mars from taking the energy from Valley Windworks? Maybe Mars would've taken it anyway but at least the drifloon-obsessed girl and her father would've been safe.
Was it my fault I defeated her in the first place?
Would it be the same in Eterna City? Perhaps until Cyrus uses the Red Chain to awaken the legendary pokemons?
"This brings an end to our broadcasting. See you next week!"
I broke out of my thoughts at the loud ending theme of the program and turned off the TV. I realized I had been sweating, and wiped my face with a towel. This isn't the moment to hang around - I need to find out if there's been any trouble in Eterna City.
I need to know if I'm the one corrupting the events in this game story.
I set off early in the morning. If I had a bike, then I would've taken the Cycling Road to Eterna City, but since I didn't, I had to take a long walk around Jubilife City and Eterna Forest. I didn't even stop to rest at Floaroma Town - it took a couple of hours but fortunately, I had stacked up a lot of stamina due to all that training with Volkner. I wasn't even tired.
The city was very green - not that the buildings or the roads were green, but I noticed a lot of them were built based on eco-friendly materials. However, one particular building came in sight even before I stepped into the city. A huge, dark-metallic building with yellow horns sticking out. There was also a bluish light coming from the roof - I could see that even though the sun was still up.
"Team Galactic's building..."
It had a large fence around it, making it impossible to get inside. Where there wasn't a fence, there was a large tree. In the games, a pokemon would've cut it down, but since I don't have the HM Cut, I'll have to climb it over. I grabbed a branch and started heaving myself up. I was reaching for the next branch when someone yelled below me.
"Roark!"
Yikes! That surprised me so much that I lost my balance and fell to the ground, with leaves stuck to my helmet and jacket. Thanks to my helmet, I didn't receive much pain from hitting the ground, though I was shaken. As I lay flat, my sight set on an orange haired girl with black-streaked-bangs crouching down. Behind her, there were several people talking among themselves. She bended over, blinking as she put her face close to mine. I could see tiny freckles over her nose, which were quite cute.
"Gardenia?" I coughed as I got up. She grinned hugely as she sat comfortably in front of me.
"Hi. I heard you were reappointed yesterday. Congrats!" She said.
"Thanks. What are you doing here?"
"That's what I wanted to ask you. Me? I live here. What are you doing here, climbing up a tree? A townsperson told me there was a thief trying to break into that building. Do you know how much I was surprised to come and find you?"
I was about to talk back when I realized that what she said was half-true. Anyone would've thought I was some bad guy. The rest of the people walked away as they saw Gardenia being friendly to me.
"I'm not here to steal anything. I'm just checking on... some personal business." I said hesitantly.
"Like what?" Her cheerful attitude suddenly changed as she narrowed her brows. "What would the gym leader of Oreburgh have to do here?"
"I'll tell you the details later. Can you cut down this tree for me? I need to get in."
"Not until I know what you're up to. Do you know about this place anyway? Cheryl told me you lost half your memory." She said flatly.
"This...this place has something to do with that." I muttered. Oh great. Was this the best lie I could come up with? She glanced around before opening her mouth.
"Are you sure?" She asked in a hushed voice. I gaped. She actually bought that?
"Maybe...? There's a possibility." I shrugged, silently sighing in relief.
"Okay." She stood up, bringing out her Roserade. "But I'm coming with you. This building had been here for some time, and it's a mystery to us all. I thought it would be best not to pry into it... but if it considers our fellow gym leader's well-being, then I'm in. Roserade, use Cut!"
I was glad she said she was going to tag along. She was going to be a big help if I ever have to fight against Team Galactic members. The branches fell down one by one and piled up at our feet. Soon, there was enough space for a person to walk through.
"Thanks. Let's get in quietly just in case - "
CRASH! A chair smashed through a window from the building. Forget about being quiet - Gardenia squeaked in surprise as she had Roserade use Magical Leaf to send the glass fragments flying at other directions. The chair narrowly missed us and smashed on the ground. I felt my chest tighten and heart pound hard - was I too late? I tossed my pokeball.
"It came from the fourth floor! Cranidos, use Headbutt at the doors!"
The moment the doors were knocked down, Gardenia and I got into the building as people started gathering, shouting and pointing. I wasted no time as I rushed up the stairs. Gardenia was saying something behind me, but I didn't pay attention to her - I needed to get to the scene as soon as possible. If Team Galactic is there, if someone is standing up to them...
The top stairs on the fourth floor had been blocked with furniture. I kicked and shoved them and managed to clear the way in two tries. When I finally came through, I caught sight of a man fighting tooth and nail with two Galactic grunts, while there were more placing wailing pokemons in a metal box. There was a woman with purple hair not doing anything, but staring at the fight with amusement.
"Jupiter!" I cried angrily as I jumped in. I was just in reach to tackle her, when several grunts came and blocked me. They grabbed my arms and legs, preventing me from moving and slammed me down to the floor. Now that totally hurt... Through my watering eyes, I saw Gardenia arrive up the stairs. She took several gulps of air before ordering an attack. Cranidos came into the scene as Roserade ran to the front.
"Rose...rade... Magi...c...al... Leaf!"
Several sparkling leaves spun like boomerangs at the grunts and the ones fighting with the man leapt back with yelps and scratches.
"Mr. Rickshaw! Are you okay? Can you stand?" She called out as she rushed forward after catching her breath.
"I'm okay - but those goons took my clefairy! They took other people's pokemon!" He said furiously.
"Roark! What happened to you?" Gardenia gasped - thank goodness Mr. Rickshaw was holding her back preventing her from dashing to help me. The two grunts who had been fighting Mr. Rickshaw earlier on now called out their golbats and stood protectively in front of Jupiter. Roserade was waiting for orders nervously in front of her partner.
"Excuse me, but 'take' is not appropriate." Jupiter snapped. "We said we would 'borrow' it for a while. We're conducting an experiment on space, and clefairy are from the moon. So we need them for our project."
"Who knows if you're going to 'return' them nicely?" Mr. Rickshaw shot back.
"You'll get them sooner or later..." She said in a deadly soft voice. "Now, what to do with this young man here..." The grunts forced me to stand up, and I caught eye-contact with Cranidos near the stairs. Okay, let's calm down and think... I can't do anything with my arms and legs being held by grunts, anyway... Cranidos could attack with Headbutt, but the grunts are going to catch him. He'll need rocks, but there aren't rocks inside this place, although there could be plenty outside...
"Oh, so you're the gym leader of Oreburgh? What a nice surprise. I didn't expect to see you here."
"Return the pokemon to their owners, Jupiter!" I said as I squirmed. To Cranidos, I was motioning with my fingers to get him near Gardenia and Mr. Rickshaw, who were both kneeling in front of the smashed window. I don't know if he got the sign, but he did move over next to Roserade. The golbats twitched at his every step, preparing to strike in case Cranidos attacked.
"Not now. I'll give them back when we're done. Of course, if they're alive, that is..." She said pushing back my head. I glared at her. "You're being pretty persistant - I'll take care of you personally. Skuntank!"
Just as the large skunk appeared between me and Jupiter, I managed to call out to Cranidos,
"Use Rock Tomb!"
"What?" Gardenia and Jupiter both looked at me as if I had done something stupid, apparantly to them. The latter burst out laughing.
"What a pity! There aren't any rocks inside this building for your poor pokemon to use... Get rid of him, Skuntank. Night Slash!"
I braced myself for piercing pain, but instead I heard people screaming around me. Large rocks were flying through the smashed window, knocking out the golbats and injuring some of the grunts. They let go of me the moment a rock landed flew over my head.
"Oh no you don't!" Gardenia yelled. "Magical Leaf!"
There were other screams as the leaves prevented the grunts from touching the metal box. Gardenia reached into her pocket and brought out a cherubi and a turtwig in front of them. The grunts stepped back, gritting their teeth before Jupiter zapped back her Skuntank.
"We're retreating for now. There's no way we can win against gym leaders. Move!" She pushed me out of her way as the grunts kicked a wall, revealing a large slide. At a glance, I noticed it led to a vehicle for their escape. One by one, they slid down - disappearing instantly.
"You're not leaving!" I grabbed her arm, and pulled her back. I expected rage or fear, but she was grinning. I was taken aback.
"By the way, thanks for remembering my name. I'm flattered."
...What? My grip on her loosened.
"Roark, get back!" This time, Gardenia pulled me as Jupiter disappeared through the slide. The grass gym leader had saved me just in time to avoid getting piled under the collapsing ceiling. We heard screams and cries from outside. Looking out the window, we saw a large truck driving ferociously down the streets and out of the city.
"My baby! Clefairy!" Mr. Rickshaw shouted. He was hugging a crying clefairy while other pokemons danced around them. So finally, case solved. I met up with Jupiter here, just in time...
"You know, Roark? That Rock Tomb was the stupidest, most reckless move I had ever seen. Did you actually think that rocks would fly up here from outside?" Gardenia sighed as she sat down, patting her Roserade. I high-fived with Cranidos.
"Honestly, no."
"Whether you knew or not, we saved the pokemon, and it's all thanks to you. What a coincidence - good thing you were trying to get in here in the first place."
"Yeah..." I said, taking off my helmet. Mr. Rickshaw approached us in tears.
"How can I ever thank you two? You can ask me anything - anything! I'll do everything I can to repay you!"
"That's not really necessary..." I began. Wait, wasn't this guy the owner of the bicycle shop in Eterna City?
"Still - " He said with pleading eyes.
"I changed my mind. You own a bicycle shop here, right? If it's not too much trouble, can I get a bike?"
"Oh, yes yes! Of course! You can have the best bicycle - free of charge!" He said happily. The pokemon around him cheered. "You can have one, too, Gardenia."
"I won't refuse." She giggled.
A few hours later, Gardenia and I were riding our bikes down Cycling Road. Since it was straight downhill, we didn't have to pedal. She chattered on and on about how to get to Hearthome on a bike, but I wasn't really listening. After we called the police, they came and asked us a lot of questions. I told them they were related to the events of Valley Windworks, and they brought a list to read out aloud.
"The witnesses told us that a woman named Mars and several identical sidekicks had shoved them in the pit. The two put up a fight, but obviously, in vain."
"Are they okay?"
"Yes. The girl is going to be released tomorrow, although the father needs to stay hospitalized for another week."
I replayed the day's events in my head as I biked. There was something I couldn't get off my mind.
"By the way, thanks for remembering my name. I'm flattered."
Jupiter didn't ask me how I knew her name. She said I remembered it. Which means, the real-Roark must have met her at least once before disappearing. I tried recalling the Galactic events of the games, but not a single gym leader of Sinnoh had ever come face-to-face with Team Galactic. In the games, Cheryl knew of their existance but never actually met them in Eterna Forest; Riley actually battled against the grunts with the player character; Cynthia helped the player win against Cyrus; and Buck assisted in the arrest of the remaining Galactic members. Gym leaders were never involved.
Could it be that the disappearance of the real-Roark has something to do with Team Galactic? Maybe yes, maybe no. I'll have to track down the next events to find out.
"Watch where you're going!" Gardenia's voice woke me up from my thoughts, but it was too late. I crashed into the exit gate of Cycling Road. Oww... now I know why real-Roark always wears his helmet wherever he goes. If it weren't for that, I would've received a serious injury. I did get scrapes on my hands, and I was sure my knees were bleeding, too. Still, I dusted off myself, and got back on the bike.
"Are you okay? You were spacing out." She asked worridly. I grinned and shook my head.
"You don't have to be concerned about me. How long do you think it'll take to get to Hearthome by bike?"
"From here? It's not actually that far from Oreburgh, so maybe thirty minutes or an hour. The meeting doesn't start until 6 PM, so we've got more than enough time. If you're tired, we can rest a bit - "
"Thanks for the offer, but no. I want to tour around Hearthome before the meeting. Better get there early." I stepped on the pedal.
"Hey, wait for me!" Gardenia shouted.
Author's note: Yay, finally an update! I'll accept any questions, suggestions, compliments, and criticism from everyone! Just write down your opinions in the review and I'll take in everything except flames. Like the Valley Windworks chapter, this is sort of filler with a little important stuff here and there. (...when did Team Galactic become stuff for filler? LOL)