Hello and welcome to another chapter of Pokémon Journey: Hoenn!

Last time, Arro evolved into a lairon as the group battled against a wild sableye that had been stalking them as they passed through Meteor Falls.

Upload Date: 2nd March 2018


Chapter 53: A Hard-Headed Foe!

Meteor Falls, Hoenn

11:31am, 6th June 2006

With the bulk of Meteor Falls behind them, James, Richard, Nicola and Will were starting to feel relieved. They'd had a scare the previous evening when they'd spotted a meteorite in the sky overhead. However, it had crashed to the ground on the upper slopes of the mountain they'd been passing and hadn't caused them any harm.

It was still a scary experience though and they were very keen to make their way down to the safety of Route 115. Once there, it would be a straight run down the northern coast of Hoenn towards Rustboro City.

"Look over there! Do you think that could be a shortcut?"

Everyone looked over to where Richard was pointing. While the road they were on took them along the open centre of the valley, the one he'd spotted disappeared into the trees covering the sloping hills to the west. It didn't look all that appealing, especially after their experience with the sableye a couple of days before.

"Let me have a look at the guidebook."

While James was pulling the guidebook out of his bag, Nicola and Will gazed over at the path with suspicion.

"That's definitely the kind of place that that sableye would hide in, right?"

"I agree. Maybe Richard is in league with it…"

"That's a harsh assumption to make," said Richard, walking over to join them. "I thought you guys wanted to get through Meteor Falls quicker after what happened last night."

"I'd also prefer it to be uneventful," Nicola replied.

"Same. It's hard to stop for training when there are meteorites flying everywhere," said Will.

"They're not exactly 'flying everywhere' but…"

Meanwhile, James had found the right page in the book. He studied the map, looking very closely at the web of lines marking the paths through the area. They didn't want to make any wrong turns while trying to find a shortcut.

"So, how does it look?" Will asked, wandering over.

"I think it'll shorten the journey," said James, sighing. "It should link up with the main path once we're over the hills. The slopes are quite steep in places, but it's still faster than walking around."

"What about dangerous wildlife?" Nicola demanded.

"Just the usual warnings about wild pokémon. I'm sure we'll encounter some, but I don't know if it'll be as bad as the sableye."

Richard looked around at the others.

"Well, I still think that it's worth it if we can cut some time off our journey. It also means we can get off of Meteor Falls faster, which gets us away from the meteorites."

"I can understand that, but I'm worried about it getting us into even more trouble," said Nicola.

"No, I actually agree with Richard now," Will said. "Moving west will get us further away from the heart of Meteor Falls and that seems safer to me."

"You sure?" Nicola frowned. "I'm not convinced that we won't be attacked by a wild pokémon again."

"Isn't that just a part of being a pokémon trainer?"

"Okay, guys!" James interrupted them. "I don't think that the forest path will be as bad as we're afraid it will be. According to the guidebook, sableye can be found on Meteor Falls, but they're incredibly rare. It's more like we're lucky that we encountered one in the first place."

"If that's true, then I guess that'll be okay…" Nicola mumbled.

"Let's get moving then," said Richard. "We don't want this to take any longer than it has to."


12:05pm, 6th June 2006

It wasn't as bad as they'd been afraid. The slopes weren't too steep, and it was really just a challenging walk than anything more severe. They'd faced worse before and been just fine.

As they followed the winding path among the pine trees and rock formations, Will had stopped keeping a particularly close eye out. James and Richard were leading the group, so he'd know about any obstacles or wild pokémon before he needed to react. He had his doubts about whether any wild pokémon would stray this close to the path when they could stay hidden in the forests and mountains.

"How are you finding it?"

He glanced to the side to find Nicola walking beside him. He'd known that she had been ill-suited to the physical strain of going on a pokémon journey back when she'd first started, but there was little sign of that now. She was easily keeping pace with the others and sometimes even protested when they decided to stop for rests.

"No problems here," he replied.

"That reminds me: I was wondering how your training is coming along lately."

"You want to know about my training?"

Will gave her a curious look. They got along quite well, but they generally kept largely to themselves when it came to training. If they did train together, then it was usually only with James and Richard as well. Nicola was normally focused on her own training, both contests and battles, and didn't pay much attention to what Will did.

"I feel like I did really well with the gym battle in Mauville," Nicola replied. "But I know that that came from all the defeats I've suffered along the way. I guess I'm just curious about how you're doing, since you don't challenge any gyms."

"I guess that's fair," said Will. "I mean, both Toya and Turkey have evolved while we've been travelling, so I guess that I've been improving. I can hold my own in practice battles against the rest of you as well."

"Yeah, I remember that." Nicola nodded, casting her mind back to their most recent bout. "You haven't been challenging that many other trainers these days though, have you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't remember you fighting anyone since you had that battle at Trainer Hill in Mauville."

"I guess you've got a point there…"

"I'm not about to make any kind of judgement on how you train or if it's effective, but I think that having proper battles is an important part of getting stronger. If you're just practising with the three of us, then are you really getting any real battle experience?"

Will turned away frowning. Nicola's words reminded him of that trainer he'd fought back on Dewford Island. Something about no being able to improve by learning from other people's mistakes alone.

"Can't you see that I'm improving though?" he asked.

"I guess so." Nicola nodded. "But James and Richard are able to point out a lot more mistakes than I am. They're more experienced and notice different things. If you battle other people who use different tactics, then you'll have a better idea of what you need to improve overall. I could have trained for a year with James and Richard and I still would have been beaten by Norman because I wasn't prepared for his battle style."

Will let out a sigh. "Maybe you're right. Why are you even asking me this though?"

"I was kind of hoping to spend more time training with you," Nicola replied. "Since we don't train together that often, I figured that we could learn more from each other."

"I'm not opposed to that…"

"Hey, guys!"

Both Nicola and Will looked further up the slope as they heard Richard's voice.

"What is it?" Will asked.

"Listen!"

They fell silent and started listening carefully. In the distance, they could make out a loud thudding sound, like a rock smashing against something. It continued happening irregularly as they listened.

"What's making that sound?" Nicola asked as she and Will moved up the path to join the other two.

"I think it might be a wild pokémon. I'm not sure what kind," said James. "It doesn't sound like it's far from the path though, so we might end up running into it at some point."

"That sounds scary."

"We'll be cautious." James reached down and patted Muro on the head. "Besides, we've got our own pokémon should the worst happen."

That was a good point. The pokémon had mostly been put back in their poké balls when they'd started on the path up the hill since the tight paths would have been hell to navigate with seventeen pokémon in tow. There was no harm in having a couple out ready, just as James had already done with Muro.

"Don't worry about it too much," Richard said as Nicola sent out Kipa and Will sent out Gulpy. "I'm sure it'll just be another random wild pokémon that just wants to keep itself to itself."

"I hope that you're right," Nicola sighed. They'd had more than enough excitement with the sableye. She just wanted to get through the rest of Meteor Falls as uneventfully as possible.

"Right! Follow me then."

As James started walking again, Muro by his side, the other three moved to follow. Will continued listening carefully to the distant sound as they moved. Though irregular, it seemed pretty constant. He couldn't help but wonder if it was indeed a pokémon and what it might be up to.


12:19pm, 6th June 2006

After continuing walking for some time, the group finally found themselves at the top of the hill. Though they were still surrounded by trees, the ground had levelled out and it was much easier to walk. The sounds they'd been hearing from further down the hill were still there and were much louder now that they were getting closer to the source.

"Keep your eyes peeled," James said as he and Muro led the way along the path, which continued to wind its way between trees on the way towards the downward slope. The others followed him, all looking around carefully for the source of the sounds. Now that they were closer it sounded a lot like something being hammered against trees. The forest wasn't too dense, and it was easy to see quite a distance around, but the way that the sound echoed made it difficult to pinpoint.

"Did you have to choose Gulpy?" Nicola hissed to Will.

"It was the first poké ball I grabbed. If she's bothering you, then I can switch..."

"Remember to keep quiet," Richard whispered as Will recalled Gulpy and sent out Turkey instead. "It'll hear us otherwise."

"There it is!"

Reacting to James' sudden warning, they all followed his pointing finger. Ahead of them, but slightly away from the path, was a small, blue pokémon with what looked like bony grey armour on its head. It kept running at the tree ahead of it, head lowered. There was a heavy thud as it smashed into it.

"Some kind of training?" Nicola wondered.

"I guess so." James nodded.

"Have you ever seen a pokémon like that before?" Will asked as he pulled out his Pokédex.

"I haven't." Richard shook his head. "Let's hear what the Pokédex has to say."

"Bagon, the rock head pokémon. Bagon have a dream of one day soaring in the sky. In doomed efforts to fly, these pokémon have been observed to hurl themselves off cliffs. As a result of their dives, their heads have grown tough and as hard as tempered steel. These pokémon slam their hard heads against huge rocks and trees until they shatter them."

"Ah."

As they looked up from the Pokédex, the four of them realised that the bagon had stopped charging at the trees and had noticed them. Its face lit up in realisation and it suddenly started charging towards them.

"Watch out!" James yelped, moving to quickly get out of the way. As they scattered, however, the bagon started slowing down. Now that it was closer, they could see that it was looking at them excitedly. It pawed the ground and looked at them expectantly.

"What is it doing?" Richard asked.

"I'm not sure…" James kept an eye on the bagon as it looked between the group's pokémon and again gave them an expectant look.

"Do you think it wants to battle?" Will asked.

"What do you…oh!" James realised it as well. "That might be it!"

"What? Tell me?" Nicola cried.

"The Pokédex says that it wants to fly, right?" said Will. "What if it evolves into a pokémon that is able to fly? That way, if it battles a lot then it'll become stronger and eventually evolve."

"That makes a lot of sense." Richard nodded. "Can we afford to stop and battle it though?"

"I don't see any reason why not," James replied.

"In that case, I'll go up against it." Will stepped forwards, Turkey perched on his shoulder.

The bagon jumped up and down in delight before charging at them.

"Use Aerial Ace!"

Turkey took off to meet his new opponent. They crashed into each other and recoiled backwards. The bagon skidded on the forest floor as it stopped, while Turkey regained his balance and flew forwards again as the bagon opened its mouth and started firing a stream of embers towards him.

"I-Isn't that dangerous in a forest?" Nicola yelped in alarm.

"Don't worry. We can put it out before if it starts a fire," Richard replied.

"Use Double Team!"

The embers blasted towards Turkey, but he suddenly summoned a group of doubles who all weaved through the trees. The embers struck some of them, but they simply faded out of existence. The real Turkey remained unharmed.

"Use Steel Wing!"

As Turkey turned his wings to steel, the bagon charged again. It dodged the attack and aimed directly at his underbelly. At the last second, Turkey spun in the air and gained height to put himself out of reach. As the bagon dropped down to the ground again, Turkey tucked in his wings and dived towards him. There was a crash at he hit his target, sending the bagon flying backwards. It crashed into a tree and slid down to the ground. It gave itself a shake to clear its head and started running back towards Turkey.

However, the swellow had already moved. Bounding forwards at a startling pace, he slammed into his opponent with a powerful strike to the shoulder. As the bagon toppled to the side, he slammed into it with a steel-cloaked wing.

"Wow! Nice work, Will!" Richard called. "Turkey's pretty tough, huh?"

"You bet he is!" Will replied with a grin.

"Actually, we should probably get moving again," said James, noticing that the bagon had pulled itself back to its feet and was getting ready to attack again. "I hadn't realised how late it had gotten. We need to keep moving if we want to get out of the mountains before dark."

"Is that so?" Will sighed in disappointment. He beckoned to Turkey, who flew over and landed on his shoulder. He looked over at the bagon. "Sorry about that – we've got to go now. We'll have to finish our battle some other time!"

The bagon seemed a little downhearted by the sudden end of their battle. It watched the trainers as they resumed their walk along the forest path.


1:34pm, 6th June 2006

One of the things that most trainers know is that wild pokémon can be unpredictable at times. There are some that will shun any contact with humans and others that are all too eager to interact and become friends with them. There are some species or individuals that particularly enjoy training themselves against human trainers and their pokémon, given how much stronger a trained pokémon can become. While most of these end up being one-off encounters, there are occasions when a martial wild pokémon might decide that training against the same trainer again is worthwhile.

Even knowing that it was a possibility, it still came as a surprise to the group when they suddenly found the bagon from earlier patrolling around a section of the path they were due to travel down.

They'd decided to stop for lunch just prior, which had given both humans and pokémon a chance to recharge and Turkey to practise a technique he'd used against the bagon.

"That looks a lot like Fly to me," James had said.

"Fly?"

"Yeah. It's a powerful flying-type attack that involves flying out of reach and then diving down again at full power. I've seen it used a couple of times, but I've never had a pokémon learn it."

"Your only flying type is Nulin," Richard had reminded him.

So, Will and Turkey had begun diligently working on the move. Fortunately, it wasn't an especially complicated one to use, just one that required a lot of focus to make sure that there was enough power in the blows. Though there was still work to be done on it, Will was satisfied with the progress they'd made by the time they were packing everything up again to resume their journey.

It was just after setting off that they encountered the bagon again.

"Isn't that…?"

"I think it is."

James confirmed what Richard was thinking. The bagon, patrolling around the downhill path leading to the next valley, had immediately started running towards them enthusiastically as it noticed them. It started jumping up and down by Will and looked up at him expectantly.

"Do you think it wants to finish our battle from earlier?" he asked, looking around at the others.

"Maybe it does," said Nicola. "It seems really eager."

"Well, we don't really have the time to stop again. It would have been better if it had found us while we were eating lunch."

James started walking forwards again. The others followed him, shooting apologetic looks at the bagon as they passed.

However, the bagon didn't seem content to just see them leave. It ran forwards, almost tripping on the downward slope, and cut in front of Will again, fixing him with another expectant stare.

"I don't think this is going to work," he said to James.

James let out a sigh as he saw the bagon. "Alright, just make it as quick as you can."

"Is this really the best place to battle?" Nicola asked as she, Richard and James moved back up the hill slightly to be out of the way.

"Beggars can't be choosers." Richard shrugged. If it was only going to be a quick battle, then there wouldn't be much harm done anyway.

Deciding to take the opportunity to practise using Fly, Will whistled for Turkey, who was flying overhead with Nulin. With a loud cry, he dropped down through the air and started hovering in front of his trainer. He grinned, recognising the bagon.

With a cry, it charged towards them, lowering its head and trying to keep its balance on the uneven ground. Turkey shot up into the air to avoid the attack. Picking his moment, he dived down. He gained speed and power, slamming into the bagon and sending it flying back. It started rolling down the hill but managed to recover. It shot and envious look at Turkey before firing a blast of embers back up towards him.

"Use Steel Wing!"

At Will's command, Turkey dived forwards. His wings were coated with steel as he braved the spray of embers scorching his feathers. The bagon attempted to avoid the attack but was too slow. Turkey clipped its head with one of his wings and sent it flying back. Hitting a tree saved it from falling all the way down the hill, but it was still a heavy blow. But the bagon pulled itself forward again, trudging up the hill again to face its opponent.

"Use Fly!"

Turkey shot up into the air, circling as he got a fix on the bagon's location. With a cry, he dived down again and slammed into his opponent. The bagon was once again thrown back, this time tumbling all the way to the bottom of the hill.

"Is it alright?" Nicola gasped in alarm.

"Don't you remember what the Pokédex said?" Richard asked. "Bagon like to throw themselves off of cliffs – I'm sure this is nothing to a pokémon like this."

"I think we should go and check on it anyway," said Will, beckoning to Turkey, who landed on his shoulder. "It might still want to fight, after all."

"After all that, I hope not," said James.

The four of them made their way carefully down the path to where the bagon had fallen. As they got closer, they were relieved to see that it was starting to pull itself up again, shaking its head and looking back up at the hill. It walked over towards them as they reached the bottom. Though it seemed to be in remarkably good condition for having tumbled all the way down the hill, it had dropped its combative stance. It seemed like it recognised its defeat.

"Are you okay?" Nicola asked as they reached it.

The bagon looked at her and nodded. It seemed to have escaped the fall with little more than some scrapes and bruises. In fact, it had already looked back at Turkey and started hopping up and down excitedly again, frantically gesturing to him.

"What's up with it now? You don't think it wants to keep fighting, do you?" Richard asked.

"I don't think that's a good idea…" Will leaned down towards the bagon. "You don't want to get even more hurt, right?"

The bagon shook its head vigorously before pointing at Turkey again and then pointing to itself eagerly.

"Oh!"

Will, Richard and James all looked around at Nicola, who looked like she'd just had an idea.

"What is it?" Richard asked.

"I think I figured it out!" Nicola replied. She knelt down in front of the bagon and smiled at it. "You're not actually after a battle anymore, are you?"

The bagon nodded.

"Then what is it after?" Will asked, folding his arms and he thought.

"I think I've got it!" James grinned. He looked at Nicola. "You're thinking of…right?"

"Yeah – that!" Nicola nodded. "The Pokédex says that bagon dream of flying, right? This one must look up to Turkey because he can fly!"

"Meaning that it wants to travel with us and learn from him." James finished for her.

"Is that true?" Will asked, looking down at the bagon again. It nodded eagerly. "Well, you can come along with us if you want to." He produced a poké ball and offered it to the bagon. After a moment of hesitation, it bounced up and bumped its head against the ball.

There was a futuristic whir as it was sucked inside. The ball clicked shut and shuddered in Will's hand for a couple of seconds before finally stopping. There was a click as the ball finished sealing.

"I guess Turkey's going to have his work cut out for him now!" Richard grinned. "It'll be tough trying to teach a pokémon without wings how to fly!"

"It'll be tough on Will as well!" James added. "He's basically taking on the same duty!"

"What are you going to call it?" Nicola asked.

"I think…" Will considered the question for a couple of seconds. "…Blue?"

"Isn't that just what colour it is?" Nicola frowned.

"Not everyone wants to use super complicated names like James!" Richard laughed. "As long as it'll respond to you, that's the main thing!"

"Blue is it then!" Will grinned. He clicked the release mechanism and the bagon rematerialized on the ground. "Welcome to the team, Blue! Turkey and I will make sure that you get stronger and learn to fly someday!"

Blue cheered happily, enthused by his words.

"Right! Let's get moving again!" James called. "We all want to get off of Meteor Falls, right?"

"Are we far from Route 115?" Richard asked as he started walking after him.

"Not too far now. If things go our way, then we might even make it there today."

"What are we waiting for then?" Nicola grinned as she ran to catch up to them.

Behind them, Will smiled at Turkey and Blue. "Come on, guys – let's get moving!"

Turkey immediately took off and gained height, disappearing into the canopy. Blue watched him go with an awed look before turning to hurry after Will and the others.


Since we haven't had a Will-centric chapter for a while…

Anyway, I don't have anything in particular to say in my author notes for this chapter. I hope that I was able to capture the way that bagon would act – they strike me as the kind of pokémon that would be headstrong and reckless. Perfect, perhaps, for a trainer like Will.

As a side note, Pokémon Journey: Hoenn ended last month with two more views that Pokémon Journey: Kanto (1,170 to Kanto's 1,168), making February 2018 the first month since I joined this site where Kanto hasn't been my most viewed story. It seems like Hoenn is increasingly taking over the mantle from its predecessor.

As ever, I appreciate any feedback you have on this chapter and don't forget to leave a like on the Facebook page.

Until next time!


Team Listings:

James Burton:

Active:

Charka (Charmeleon): male, naïve, often scatters things, likes sweet food, fire type, Blaze ability, knows Fire Spin, Smokescreen, Flamethrower and Metal Claw.

Kacha (Pikachu): male, modest, sturdy body, likes dry food, electric type, Static ability, knows Thunderbolt, Agility, Brick Break and Thunder Wave.

Nulin (Wingull): male, impish, highly persistent, likes sour food, water-flying type, Keen Eye ability, knows Mist, Water Pulse, Supersonic and Aerial Ace.

Muro (Loudred): male, careful, loves to eat, likes bitter food, normal type, Soundproof ability, knows Howl, Stomp, Screech and Uproar.

Richard Winter:

Active:

Naro (Nidoking): male, mild, sturdy body, likes dry food, poison-ground type, Poison Point ability, knows Thrash, Megahorn, Poison Sting and Double Kick.

Chena (Mightyena): male, docile, capable of taking hits, eats anything, dark type, Intimidate ability, knows Take Down, Howl, Swagger and Bite.

Dish (Lombre): female, gentle, capable of taking hits, likes bitter food, water-grass type, Rain Dish ability, knows Rain Dance, Growl, Mega Drain and Nature Power.

Arro (Lairon): male, naïve, loves to eat, likes sweet food, steel-rock type, Sturdy ability, knows Metal Sound, Iron Tail, Iron Defence and Take Down.

Vortex (Baltoy): genderless, lonely, sturdy body, likes spicy food, ground-psychic type, Levitate ability, knows Rapid Spin, Psybeam, Mud Slap and Rock Tomb.

Nicola Hewitt:

Active:

Kipa (Marshtomp): male, quiet, somewhat vain, likes dry food, water-ground type, Torrent ability, knows Take Down, Bide, Mud Shot and Water Gun.

Mushy (Shroomish): female, calm, likes to relax, likes bitter food, grass type, Effect Spore ability, knows Mega Drain, Headbutt, Stun Spore and Leech Seed.

Zaggy (Zigzagoon): male, adamant, quick to flee, likes spicy food, normal type, Pick Up ability, knows Tackle, Rest, Headbutt and Dig.

Tricky (Electrike): male, quirky, somewhat of a clown, eats anything, electric type, Lightningrod ability, knows Bite, Spark, Quick Attack and Howl.

Mule (Numel): female, docile, often lost in thought, eats anything, fire-ground type, Oblivious ability, knows Ember, Magnitude, Amnesia and Take Down.

Will Burton:

Active:

Toya (Wartortle): male, modest, very finicky, likes dry food, water type, Torrent ability, knows Rapid Spin, Bite, Water Gun and Withdraw.

Turkey (Swellow): male, mild, alert to sounds, likes dry food, normal-flying type, Guts ability, knows Aerial Ace, Steel Wing, Double Team and Fly.

Gulpy (Gulpin): female, mild, nods off a lot, likes dry food, poison type, Sticky Hold ability, knows Pound, Amnesia, Sludge and Poison Gas.

Blue (Bagon): female, adamant, proud of its power, likes spicy food, dragon type, Rock Head ability, knows Leer, Focus Energy, Ember and Headbutt.