Chapter 29: Paul VS Roark! Pt. 1
"There it is, guys! It's Oreburgh City!" Ash cried out. "Pika Pika!" Pikachu called. Ash, Dawn, Hikaru, and Brock have finally arrived in Orburgh City for Ash and Hikaru's first Sinnoh Gym battle and their first Sinnoh Badge! "It sure seems like a great place for your first Sinnoh battle, you two!" Dawn replied. "Yeah, but it's also great to get our first badge! Right, Pikachu?" Ash asked. "Pika Pika!" Pikachu agreed. "I guess I have to say... I'm a bit nervous for this." Hikaru admitted.
"C'mon! I know that you will be great! Like Ash, that is!" Dawn giggled. Hikaru blushed and looked away. "Well then, hurry up! Let's go already!" Ash snapped impatiently, grabbing Hikaru by the wrist and pulling him to a run! "H-Hey, Ash! You're going too fast!" Hikaru yelped as he was forced to run with the Kanto trainer. Both Brock and Dawn sweat dropped from the two's hurry. They quickly followed the two, which lead them to a building that was covered with cliffs!
"It doesn't look much like a Gym when you were serious!" Dawn exclaimed, doubtful of the Gym. "Yeah? So what? We're both gonna win in there!" Ash chuckled. He looked at Hikaru, who grew amazed with the Gym's appearance. When Hikaru saw Ash staring at him, he quickly agreed. "Let's go, then!" Ash cried, grabbing Hikaru's hand again, but stopped, only to see a familiar cold eyed person coming out of the Gym!
"Whoa, it's Paul!" Ash gasped. Paul stared at Ash then snorted. "Do I know you?" Paul taunted. A man with long green hair came out, seeing Paul and the group! "Oh! Are these friends of yours?" The man asked. "No way." Paul scoffed as he put his hands in his pockets. "You haven't changed a bit..." Hikaru muttered. "I could say the same for you. I watched your battle in the Jublife Contest TV. I couldn't tell of what you were thinking." Paul snapped. "What was that!?" Hikaru demanded.
"Well, I could tell that the two of you are here for a battle, too!" The man chuckled. "Uh, yes sir. I'm Hikaru, from Twinleaf Town, sir." Hikaru answered. "And I'm Ash! Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town! Nice to meet you!" Ash exclaimed. "Pika Pika!" Pikachu replied. "Well, you must've traveled far to come all the way from the Kanto region! Welcome to the stony Oreburgh Gym for Rock Type!" The man chuckled.
"You mean this Gym is for Rock Types?" Ash asked. Both Hikaru and Paul grew alarmed as Paul snorted. "Right! And the Gym Leader here is a guy named Roark!" The man explained. "That must mean he isn't at the Gym, I guess?" Hikaru asked. "Yes. I take care of the Pokémon here. The name's Ian! And also, Roark isn't here right now. I'm sure that when he comes back, you will be able to battle him, after Paul is finished with his battle." Ian explained.
"So, until Roark gets back, I'll be at the Pokémon Center." Paul explained, giving Ian a slight bow. Paul took a little glance at Hikaru, while giving a smirk to him. "Hey, Paul! Let's both give everything that we've got!" Ash called. Paul kept walking, while snorting with Ash's determination. "What is up with that guy?" Ash asked. "That's just Paul. Always acting cold and cool." Hikaru sighed, shrugging.
Inside, Ian gave both Ash and Hikaru the Sinnoh Badge Cases for them to collect the eight badges from Sinnoh! "Hey, Ian. Do you mind if I ask where Roark is?" Ash asked. "He's well, coal mining." Ian answered. "Coal mining?" Ash repeated.
"Makes sense to me! That's where Oreburgh City gets its name! I've heard that Oreburgh City has bounds of riches underground!" Brock explained. "Roark is also searching of what he calls, hidden treasure!" Ian explained. "Hidden treasure?" Hikaru repeated, confused.
So, the group headed towards the coal mine where they saw workers and their Pokèmon working on the mines. They spotted three workers that was standing around. Ash wanted to ask them if they know where the Gym Leader was. "Excuse me!" Ash called. As the three workers turned around, they gasped. "Twerps!?" The woman gasped, but held back. "What?" The group asked. The three immediately turned and babbled somethings that Ash and Hikaru didn't understand about.
"We're just looking for the Oreburgh Gym Leader, Roark. You DO know where he is, do you?" Hikaru asked, narrowing his eyes. "Roark?" The woman repeated, choking. Just as she was about to answer, everyone heard men aweing! The heroes decided to check it out as they saw a mine cart holding a huge boulder that looked unusual than the other boulders! "Easy now!" One worker called. "Don't worry!" The other worker chuckled. They both carefully dragged the cart to its spot.
"Okay! You can leave it right there!" Another man called. This man had glasses, and wore a hard, red underground hat! "Sure thing, Roark!" The worker agreed. They stopped the cart for Roark to see. "Did he say Roark?" Ash asked. "He sure did. Then, that man is the Gym Leader!" Hikaru answered. The group walked towards Roark, where Roark was smoothing the boulder with his hands. "Excuse me, Mr. Roark?" Ash asked.
"Hold on a second, please. I'm having a talk with this fossil right here." Roark replied. He closed his eyes and smoothed the surface of the special boulder once again. "You can talk to fossils?" Ash asked, amazed. "I sure can. And right now, it's telling me something... It's all right now... You will come back to life... Someday." Roark replied, soothing The fossil. He stopped and opened his eyes. "Alright now! Take it to the museum now!" Roark ordered.
The workers agreed as they worked to get the large fossil to the museum. "Now, what were the two of you saying?" Roark asked. "Hikaru and I have come for a Gym battle here in Oreburgh City!" Ash explained. "That is, someone is ahead of us!" Dawn explained. "Really? I got three challengers already!" Roark laughed. "So, that fossil... Is it like a hidden treasure to you?" Hikaru asked. "Ian explained to us that you hunt the mine for hidden treasure!" Brock explained.
"Treasure, huh? Of course! The truth is, many Pokémon fossil appear here in the coal mine!" Roark explained. "No way..." Dawn gasped, amazed.
The group headed back to the Oreburgh Gym with Roark as Roark explained the discovery he had just made. "Welcome back, Roark! How was the treasure hunt?" Ian asked. "It was amazing! I'm telling you, we finally discovered something!" Roark exclaimed. Just as Roark was finished, Paul came into the entrance! "Oh! There's Paul! He's your first challenger!" Ian explained, pointing to Paul. Everyone turned to see the cold-hearted trainer which Ash glared at.
Paul looked at Roark. "I'm sorry for keeping you waiting. The name is Roark! Nice to meet you!" Roark exclaimed. "The same here." Paul grunted. "So, why don't we get started?" Roark suggested as he lead Paul to the battlefield, only to stop by Dawn's words. "I can't wait to see what a real Gym battle is like!" Dawn exclaimed. Ash, Brock, and Hikwr grew alarmed to hear her!
"You've never seen one?" Roark asked, bewildered. "No. And I als want to see and learn the best that I can!" Dawn explained. Roark grew a bit hesitant, but agreed. "What about you, Paul?" Roark asked. "That's fine. I couldn't care less." Paul snorted as he grew dull with this. Ash grew irritated with Paul's words. "You can be sure that I'll be watching you battle!" Ash growled. "Pika Pika!" Pikachu agreed. "What determination..." Hikaru sighed.
So, everyone went to the battlefield where Paul's Gym battle was about to take place! "Awesome! So, this is what a real Gym is like!" Dawn squealed with excitement. "Many Gyms have different sorts of battlefields. Of course, this Gym is a Rock Tyoe Gym! So, that is why this field is for Rock Types!" Brock explained. Ash and Hikaru stared hard at Paul and Roark, waiting for the battle to start!
"The Oreburgh Gym battle between Paul, the challenger, and Roark the Gym Leader is about to get underway! Each side will be able to use three Pokémon! And the battle will be over when one side's three Pokémon are unable to continue! Also, only the challenger is able to make substitutions! So, let the battle begin!" Ian announced. "Geodude, let's go!" Roark called. "Geodude!" The Rock Pokémon grunted. "Oh wow! A Geodude!" Dawn cried happily.
"Geodude, the Rock Pokémon. Geodude is often found on mountain roads with half of its body buried in the ground so it can observe mountain travelers." Dawn's Pokédex buzzed. "Azumarill, standby!" Paul called. A large blue rabbit looking Pokémon appeared! "Azumarill!" Azumarill cried. "So, Paul is using a Water Type Pokémon..." Hikaru replied, checking his Pokédex.
"Azumarill, the Aqua Rabbit Pokémon. Azumarill lives in rivers and lakes, and while in water its body color and pattern confuses its enemies." Hikaru's Pokédex buzzed. "Since Azumarill has powerful Water Type moves, it's a smart choice!" Brock stated. "Then, Paul has the upper hand, right?" Dawn asked. "I guess, in theory." Brock shrugged. "Only a guess, huh." Hikaru sighed. "Paul, you may have the honors!" Roark called. "Azumarill, Hydro Pump, let's go!" Paul yelled.
Roark: Geodude + 2 VS Paul: Azumarill + 2
Azumarill shot the powerful Water Type move towards Geodude! "Geodude, use Hidden Power!" Roark ordered. Hydro Pump was nullified by Geodude's Hidden Power Attack! Azumarill let out a scream as it was blasted toward the ground. "It blocked that Hydro Pump!" Ash gasped. "Against a Water Type move!?" Hikaru gasped. "Alright, Geodude! Use Rollout, now!" Roark called. Geodude slammed into Azumarill just as it was about to use Water Gun, making Azumarill lose focus!
"Not letting your opponents have any chance of making a counter attack is Roark's strategy. It's impressive, too!" Brock stated. Azumarill was sent flying toward the air, with Geodude making the final blow of Rollout! The move slammed Azumarill toward the ground, knocking it out! "What!?" Paul snapped, angry with the loss. Azumarill fainted with swirls on its eyes! "Azumarill is unable to battle! Geodude wins!" Ian announced.
"I can't believe a Water Type lost to a Rock Type like Geodude!" Dawn exclaimed, amazed with the battle so far. "As Geodude's Rollout hits, it gets stronger. But even so, to get a knockout on a second hit..." Brock explained, confused with the battle so far. Paul returned Azumarill, disappointed with its performance. "Good for nothing." Paul snorted, glaring at Azumarill's Pokéball. "That creep!" Ash growled. "He's blaming it on his Pokémon, like he did with Chimchar." Hikaru replied, glaring at Paul.
"Okay, Elekid, standby for battle!" Paul called. The Electric Type Pokémon appeared from its Pokéball! "Ele!" Elekid sneered. This, Roark was confused by. "I'm sure that Paul knows very well that Geodude is a Ground Type Pokémon, and that Electric Type moves have no effect, so I wonder what he got in sleeve!" Roark wondered. "Use Brick Break, now!" Paul snapped. Elekid raised its arms for an attack!
"Clever, they're using a Fighting Type move! But, we're still going with Rollout!" Roark called. As Geodude rolled to Elekid, the Electric Type Pokémon smashed Geodude to the ground, knocking it out! "Geodude is unable to battle! Elekid wins!" Ian announced. Roark grew startled by the quick match! "And they did it, too! With one shot!" Roark whispered. The others in the stands grew surprised with the result!
"But how!? I thought Elekid had a major disadvantage!" Dawn gasped. "Well, like Brock said, even there are some disadvantages, there's a chance you could turn it around by using the right move!" Hikaru explained, watching the battle. Roark returned Geodude, thanking him for his best efforts. With that, Elekid started to grow impatient for a new opponent! "Alright, Onix! You're up next!" Roark called. The Pokémkn appeared as a giant rock snake Pokémon! It roared at Paul and Elekid!
"He's gonna use Onix!" Ash exclaimed. "It's huge!" Dawn squealed with delight, checking it with her Pokédex. "Onix, the Rock Snake Pokémon. It tunnels through the ground which shakes when it raises its thunderous roar. It can move the ground at fifty miles per hour." Dawn's Pokédex buzzed. "That Onix will do." Brcok replied. Hikaru and Dawn looked at Brock curiously. "What do you mean?" Dawn asked. "I used to own Onix myself, so I can tell that this Onix has already been through tough battles!" Brock explained.
"I'll stick with using Elekid." Paul replied. "Fine. I've seen you use that Brick Break, I wonder how well you will do now." Roark chuckled. "Quick, Elekid! Use Brick Break!" Paul yelled. Elekid made another attempt to finish Onix in one blow! "Dodge it!" Roark ordered. Onix swiftly dodged the Fighting Type move, alarming the heroes! "Whoa! That's fast!" Ash exclaimed. "How could a big and heavy Pokémon dodge so quickly!?" Hikaru asked.
"Now, use Slam!" Roark called. Onix made a move to smash Elekid! "Paul! Look out!" Hikaru yelled. "Protect, Elekid!" Paul yelled.
Paul's Gym battle goes on, as he and Roark are both left with 2 Pokémon! How is Paul going to struggle with Roark's Onix and his last Pokémon?
To be continued...
