Oreburgh City Showdown
Over a week had passed since Zach's battle with Paul, him and Dawn continued making their way across the Sinnoh region towards the site of his first gym battle. It wasn't necessarily an easy trip however as they had to traverse across the Sinnoh region's large and vast mountain range, Mt. Coronet! Zach's Starly seemed to enjoy itself flying up high in the sky but the rest of the group didn't share his emotions. Riolu was taking it better than the others as a Fighting type like him wasn't bothered much by rough terrain but Piplup came to a collapse at one point forcing Dawn to carry him for a bit until her legs began to tire out as well. Dawn didn't say anything at first as she didn't want to bother Zach by making him wait a bit for her to catch her breath, she knew he was excited to reach Oreburgh City and earn his first gym badge.
However Zach wasn't blind and after a few minutes he realized Dawn was looking worn out, he couldn't help but smile lightly as he guessed why she didn't say anything he'd have down the same for her if they were headed for a Pokemon Contest! Zach picked up some speed in order to overtake Dawn before coming to a halt in front of her, lowering his back before looking back at her with a light smirk.
"Want a lift?"
A blush quickly crossed Dawn's cheeks upon his offer and she was rather quick on climbing onto his back, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders for support while leaning her head up against his as she closed her eyes and savored the moment. Zach flashed her a light smile before directing his attention to Piplup who tried to get Riolu to carry him, Riolu waved his arms about as he protested that he couldn't carry a Pokemon like him all the way down the mountain but Piplup was persistent, leaping right onto Riolu's back with the jackal falling down to his knees before slowly raising up with a light grunt as he gave Piplup a glare before carrying the penguin Pokemon across the mountain path.
After awhile Zach noticed Dawn's breath grew lighter and he turned his head to see that she'd fallen asleep. A smile crossed his face as he stared at his sleeping companion, he had to admit she was rather cute when she snored. His thoughts were quickly interrupted as Scorbunny let out a shout causing his head to quickly turn in her direction to see Scorbunny flailing her arms about as a landshark Pokemon had engulfed the upper half of her face into his mouth. Based on the look upon Gible's face he could only assume that Scorbunny had done something to set him off.
"Riolu knock Gible away with Force Palm!"
"Rio!" Riolu quickly removed Piplup from his shoulders before racing across the terrain and thrusting his palm up against Gible's body, a bright blue blast burst from the jackal pup's paw which caused Gible to go flying right off! Gible continued flying through the entire before disappearing over the side of the mountain causing Zach and Riolu to let out alarmed gasps, Riolu quickly raced towards the side before looking down towards the ground below. He noticed a hole that appeared to be dug fairly recently where Gible had fallen and dirt was still being kicked up indicating that something was moving around in there! Riolu turned back to his trainer and flashed him a thumbs up.
"Gible survived? Good..." Zach let out a sigh of relief before waving his hand. "Come on, let's get going in case we upset any nearby Geodude." Riolu nodded before quickly resuming his position by his trainer's side as they continued across the mountain. The mountain dirt behind them slowly raised up as Gible's upper half appeared above the surface, his eyes narrowed to slits as he kept a close eye on the departing group before uttering out a growl as he burrowed back beneath ground!
The adventuring duo had now arrived in the mining town known as Oreburgh City, it was completely different in design from Jubilife City as the mining equipment on the far end of town were the biggest structures within the city! It had the Pokemon Center and Pokemart that nearly every city or town had but there were no massive apartment buildings, just houses for the residents of the city along with a large building that based on the design of it appeared to be a museum! Of course there was also the Oreburgh City Gym but that could wait until after they healed their Pokemon and let them rest up a bit.
Dawn silently stared after Zach as they made their way towards the Pokemon Center, she couldn't believe that he'd actually carried her across the mountain it still felt like one of her fantasies!
Zach's attention was soon focused upon an Azumarill that was playing with a much younger boy and girl as they raced through the city streets. "That Azumarill feel familiar to you too, buddy?"
"Rio!" Riolu nodded in agreement before his eyes glowed a bright blue as he scanned the Pokemon's aura, his paws soon clenched tight before he flailed his arms about and shouted angrily. "Rio rio Riolu!"
"Yeah that is definitely Paul's then..." Zach growled out, his eyes darted about before spotting his rival exiting the Pokemon Center. He quickly made his way over and Paul flashed him a disinterested expression as he approached.
"What do you want now?" Paul asked.
"That Azumarill is yours, how could you just dump it like that?!"
"Azumarill's not worth my time, she's lost every battle I've had her in. Heck she couldn't even beat Roark's Geodude, she's a pathetic excuse of a Water type and I can easily replace her with a better one!"
"Y-You can't just do that, Azumarill trusted you! Pokemon are supposed to be your friends you can't just release them like that!"
"I didn't release her, that little girl over there thought she was cute so I simply handed it to her. Easier than dumping Azumarill off some place else." Paul's eyes then looked towards Zach's belt, spotting an additional Pokeball in place of the three from their last encounter. "Well at least you took my advice and captured another Pokemon, those three you had won't get you far at all. Honestly you should just give up and release that Morpeko of yours, he obviously won't listen to you."
Zach had to admit he'd been tempted several times, not once did Morpeko ever thank him or Dawn. He was also rather rude and upon scarfing down his own food, he'd shock Zach, Dawn or one of their Pokemon in order to take their food! Sure Morpeko had earned some money for him battling random trainers but Morpeko didn't bother listening during those fights. "I could never do that, Morpeko's part of my team and isn't even from Sinnoh. I can't just dump him like that, he probably won't survive!"
Paul scoffed. "Who cares, a Pokemon like that will only slow you down. You'd be best to listen." Paul turned his back and walked off. Zach growled as he watched Paul walk away before calming down as he felt Dawn's hand touch his shoulder.
"Don't listen to him, I'm sure Morpeko will start listening to you eventually!"
Zach gave her an appreciative look before nodding towards the Pokemon Center. "Come on, the gym battle will help get this off my mind."
After healing up their Pokemon the duo made their way to the Oreburgh Gym which was located right next to the mining site which made sense as Zach was aware of the fact the Oreburgh Gym Leader specialized in Rock types, he probably enjoyed hunting for fossils or rare minerals in his spare time. The two were about to enter the gym before the doors suddenly opened and Barry came flying on out of there before crashing into Zach, knocking the two of them to the ground.
"Hey why don't you look where you're going?! I oughta fine you!"
"Mon, Monferno!" The evolved form of Chimchar leaped up and down, appearing to throw a tantrum as he mimicked Barry.
"Barry?" Dawn asked with a surprised expression as Zach rubbed the back of his head. She was surprised he was even still around, both of them thought Barry would have been long gone by now and on his way to his second badge.
"Oh it's you two, hello!" Barry shot up before brushing himself off. "Luckily for you I had a bit of a delay beating Roark, he won the first battle but I did a bit of training and Chimchar evolved in order to secure the win! And seeing how I'm in such a good mood I'll waive the fine for now, you two are free to go on ahead."
"Chimchar evolved? That's great, Barry-" Zach exclaimed before Barry interrupted him, poking his rival in the chest with his finger.
"You better win you hear? If I get my second badge before you get your first I'll have no choice but to fine you!" Zach and Dawn sweated lightly at Barry's threat before the blonde trainer quickly turned around and gave them a quick wave. "See ya in Eterna City!"
"Monferno!" Monferno added on as he eagerly ran after Barry, it appeared as if Monferno had picked up on Barry's personality similar to how Riolu picked up on some traits of Zach's. Zach and Dawn stared after Barry for a moment before turning to face one another and give off a light nod before stepping foot into the gym, thankfully it appeared as if the Gym Leader had healed up his team during their interaction with Barry as he had returned from a backroom while the two approached the battlefield. He appeared to be in his early to mid 20's and wore gray and black mining attire along with a red mining helmet atop his head, since he worked in a mine he probably just wore it out of habit. The man adjusted his glasses as they approached, his eyes darted between the two before offering a welcoming smile.
"So are you both here to challenge me?" Roark asked.
"N-No, I'm just here to offer Zach my support!" Dawn spoke up as she placed a hand on Zach's shoulder. "He'll be the one fighting you!"
"That's right, I challenge you to a gym battle!" Zach spoke up, his fists clenched with excitement as Riolu copied his trainer's action. Neither noticing as Dawn snuck out the door behind them.
"Excellent that Riolu of yours looks to be in quite the fighting shape, no doubt this will be a battle to remember! The rules for this gym are simple, each of us will use three Pokemon and only the challenger is allowed to swap Pokemon mid-battle. You okay with this?"
"Of course, I've already prepared my newest team member for this fight!" Zach grinned as he reached for the ball containing Starly. "Starly, let's go!"
"Starly!" The Flying type burst out from his ball with a sharp cry!
"Geodude, let's rock!" Zach flinched lightly. Paul, Barry, Roark and even Dawn all used different sayings while he just shouted 'Let's go!' all the time. He really needed to get a battle call of his own
"Dude!" The rock type flexed his arms as he stared his opponent down.
"Steel Wing!"
"Defense Curl!"
Geodude wrapped his arms around his body curling up into a ball as Starly quickly approached, his wings glowing bright white as he struck them against Geodude's body! Geodude let out a pained grunt as he was knocked back before resuming his normal position.
"Rock Throw!"
"Dude!" Several rocks burst from the ground behind Geodude before firing themselves off in Starly's direction, pelting the small bird Pokemon as he let out a pained cry.
"Starly!"
"Starly, you okay?!" Zach called out in concern as he didn't want to push Starly to continue fighting if he was getting worn out. Starly shook himself off before giving Zach a light smirk to indicate that he'd like to finish this.
"Well alright then, let's use Double Team!"
"Star!" Starly split himself off into multiple copies, the copies circling around the battlefield and making it practically impossible to tell which Starly was the real one. Especially for a Rock type like Geodude!
Roark let out a light grunt before throwing out his arms. "Rock Throw!" Geodude raised more rocks from the ground before firing them off towards Starly, unfortunately for them however all the Starly they hit were merely copies that faded away as soon as the rocks had struck them!
"Finish this with Steel Wing!" Starly's wings glowed white once more as he quickly flew towards Geodude.
"Defense Curl!" Roark called out. Geodude quickly curled himself up but unfortunately that wasn't enough to save himself from the attack, his eyes widened as the move made impact and uttered out a grunt before collapsing onto his back in front of Roark as his eyes turned to swirls.
"Dude..."
"Alright Starly!"
"Rio!" The two leaped for joy upon their teammate's victory, Starly looked back with a smile as he was happy to prove himself to his trainer.
"Alright Zach, go Zach go!" Dawn suddenly began shouting rather enthusiastically causing Zach to quickly turn before a blush crossed his face as he caught sight of Dawn in a bright pink cheerleader outfit, the girl leaping up and down as she waved a pair of pompoms about. He had to admit she looked good in that outfit! "You can do it Zach, you can beat him!"
"Pip Piplup!"
"Buneary!" Piplup and Buneary were cheering alongside her.
Zach smiled and gave her a quick wave before turning his focus back to the battlefield. Roark had already returned Geodude to his ball and had reached for another Pokeball. "Onix, let's rock!"
"Roar!" The massive rock snake burst from his ball with a loud roar as he towered over Starly, the bird sweated at the sight before putting on a brave expression as he didn't want his trainer to think he was afraid.
"Starly!"
"Starly use Double Team then follow up with Steel Wing!" Starly made some fresh copies of himself, replacing those that Geodude had taken out before quickly flying across the field and striking at Onix's body with his wings! The rock snake let out a loud roar of pain.
"Smack Down!" Onix quickly lashed out with his tail, swatting Starly right out of the air before the bird collapsed on the ground in defeat. His eyes turned to swirls as his tongue hanged from his beak.
"Starly..."
"Starly return," Zach looked down at the ball as he gave a light smile. "You did your best and that's all I ask so take a rest, Scorbunny will pick up from here. Scorbunny let's fire things up!"
"Scorbun!" Scorbunny burst from her ball and cast up a cocky grin towards the massive rock snake as she didn't seem to mind the difference in size at all!
"Let's start things off with Flame Charge!" Sure it wouldn't be that effective but seeing how Scorbunny was at a disadvantage they needed to ensure that she was fast enough to avoid whatever Onix threw at her while also being fast enough to get in some hits with her Double Kick attack! Scorbunny's body became engulfed in a fiery blaze as she quickly raced across the field before throwing her body at Onix!
"Rock Throw!" Onix let out a loud roar as several rocks burst from the ground before flying towards Scorbunny!
"Dodge and use Double Kick!" Scorbunny leaned forward, making herself a smaller target as a rock flew right over her and grazed her ear. Scorbunny flinched lightly but continued her progression.
"Bide!" Roark shouted out as Onix's body began glowing a bright red hue while Scorbunny swiftly kicked him with her feet!
Zach gritted his teeth before quickly throwing out his arm. "Scorbunny use Double Kick again then run away as fast as possible!"
"Scor!" Scorbunny flashed him a thumbs up before racing back towards Onix and swiftly delivering another series of kicks to his body! Onix let out a pained roar as his body began looking tired and weakened from the attack, his breaths going heavy before his body began glowing a brighter shade of red as he unleashed his pent up energy! He struck out with his tail and Scorbunny was inches away from escaping his reach as the tip of his tail came sweeping towards her! Scorbunny froze in place with an alarmed look before she was sent flying into the air! Scorbunny crashed head first into the ceiling and let out a pained moan as her eyes turned to swirls before she swiftly dropped towards the ground, Zach was quite quick to act as he dove forward so that she'd land safely within his hands.
"Scor..." She moaned out in defeat before opening her eyes and giving her trainer an apologetic expression.
"It's alright Scorbunny, don't you worry about it we still have Riolu!" Zach stroked her behind the ear causing her to give him an affectionate look before she was returned to her ball. Riolu leaped out in front of Zach without having to be ordered, his eyes looked up in order to lock his gaze with Onix as a soft growl escaped from his throat.
"Alright Riolu, Aura Sphere!"
"Rio!" Riolu clamped his paws together as a large sphere of aura energy appeared between his paws.
"Bide!" Roark called out as Onix began glowing a bright red color once more. However Roark immediately regretted his action as he noticed that Riolu's aura sphere was larger than most Lucario that he'd encountered during his time as a trainer and Gym Leader. He could only helplessly watch as the massive aura sphere flew through the air before it exploded against Onix's body! The rock snake let out a loud roar of pain before falling forward with a loud thud that shook the entire gym, knocking Piplup off of his feet before the dust faded to reveal Onix laying with swirls in his eyes.
"Roar..."
"Alright Riolu!"
"Rio?!" Riolu looked down at his paws before looking back at his trainer as he tilted his head. It was said that aura became more powerful the stronger the friendship the trainer had with his Riolu or Lucario but there was also an exception, on very rare occasions a Riolu or Lucario would encounter a trainer with the same aura energy as them which helped forge their friendship faster and create a greater understanding between the two than what a regular trainer would have between their Pokemon.
"Alright Zach, that was awesome!" Dawn cheered as she began leaping up and down once more. "You two can do it, beat Roark and get your first gym battle!"
"Buneary!" Buneary was cheering more enthusiastically than before now that Riolu was on the field, her eyes locked onto the jackal pup as hearts filled her eyes.
Roark returned Onix before reaching for this third and final Pokeball. "Cranidos, let's rock!"
"Cranidos!" The fossil Pokemon burst out before letting out a light huff as his eyes landed on Riolu.
"Focus Energy!" Cranidos locked his attention on Riolu as he began focusing. "Headbutt!" Cranidos quickly charged forward head first as he prepared to bash his head against him.
"Force Palm!" Riolu calmly stood his ground before thrusting out his palm and smacking it against the dome atop Cranidos' head, a light blue blast exploded from his paw and sent Cranidos flying back! The Rock type laid in a defeated slump before Roark as he stared in surprise for a moment before slowly clapping his hands together at the rivaling trainer's victory while Dawn began leaping higher and shouting louder.
"You did it, you did it! Hooray! Way to go Zach!"
"Buneary!"
Zach couldn't help but blush at Dawn's praise and cheering, Dawn noticed as a red color began crossing her own cheeks. Piplup looked up with a smirk before his attention was diverted towards Roark as the Gym Leader approached Zach while holding out a badge.
"This here's the Coal Badge, once you've earned seven more you'll be able to enter the Sinnoh League!"
Zach was quick to thank the man before taking the badge, holding it out for Riolu to admire as the jackal pup emitted an amused coo.
"I wish you luck on the rest of your adventure now if you'll excuse me, my duties are over for the day so I'm going out fossil hunting!" Roark waved his hand before making his leave.
"You were amazing out there! You and Riolu both!" Dawn exclaimed as she approached Zach.
"Thank you, I'm sure your cheering helped out a lot! You're quite good at it." Dawn blushed at his words as the two silently stared at one another for several moments before a loud rumble emitted from their stomachs causing their faces to grow darker.
"W-We should go get some food, Morpeko will probably burst on out again if we don't feed him soon." Dawn nodded in agreement as the two left the gym and made their way towards the Pokemon Center!
"Biff are you sure you know what you're doing?" Cassidy asked as her partner was fiddling with a machine.
"I told you countless times that my name's Butch and you dang well know it!" Butch shot up with an aggravated expression, shaking his fist at his partner as she lightly rolled her eyes.
"Talk about sensitive, look Bob with this machine we could revive countless fossils and have an army of fossil Pokemon awaiting our command! The residents of Sinnoh will cower in fear as we effortlessly take over!"
"Butch!" Butch began stomping his feet as his face was burning bright red. "I just told you that my name's Butch!"
"Excuse me but what are you two doing here? Are you my new interns?" A scientist entered the room, his eyes darting between the two figures.
"Er-No we're in the maintenance department actually!" Cassidy spoke up, flashing the scientist a nervous smile as he adjusted his glasses before focusing his attention on the lab coats that they were wearing.
"That's not proper maintenance attire, I'm calling Roark." He reached for his Rotom Phone and began dialing a number before Meowth swiftly appeared behind him and slammed a large text book against the man's head, knocking him out cold.
"Meowth!" He cried, pointing frantically at the machine.
"He's right we only have time for the one, no doubt that troublesome Gym Leader is on his way right now! Just grab any fossil you can find and throw it in, Butch!"
"I told you-Hey! You do know my name!" Butch narrowed his eyes at his partner.
"Focus on the job, baby!"
"Ugh! You're doing this on purpose!"
Meowth rolled his eyes at the two before picking up a fossilized amber and tossing it into the machine, the fossil began glowing a bright yellow and orange as a large purple prehistoric bird Pokemon sat perched within the machine, his eyes were closed for a moment before shooting open with a hungry look as his eyes locked onto Meowth. He licked his lips while Meowth let out a nervous cry upon noticing, immediately cowering behind Cassidy as the blonde Rocket agent spoke up.
"Aerodactyl I presume? We've got quite the proposition for you, how would you like to join Team Rocket? We've got quite health and dental benefits and are also this world's future rulers! People will tremble at the mere mention of our name, especially with you by our-"
"Aero!" Aerodactyl screeched out, giving them a hungry look as he stretched out his wings.
"I-I don't think he's in a mood to make a bargain with us!" Butch cowered.
"I-I think you're right, t-time to just throw a ball and hope for the best!" Cassidy threw a ball at the prehistoric Pokemon and the Pokemon was soon engulfed in a bright red light as he was absorbed into the ball. The Rocket agents watched in glee and Meowth nervously peered around them as the ball began shaking but just as it was about to make the third and final shake, Aerodactyl burst back out and looked even more ticked off than last time!
"Aero!" Aerodactyl fired off a bright yellow and orange beam of energy and although the three were quick enough to dodge it, the attack struck a piece of equipment right behind him resulting in an explosion that sent them blasting straight through the roof before shooting off into the distance once more!
"Aero!" Aerodactyl flew through the roof and looked around the city before his eyes made out a Pokemon that looked quite familiar and one which he knew was quite tasty! "Aero!"
"An Aerodactyl?! No wonder I was called, hopefully it didn't eat somebody..." Roark muttered to himself before looking towards Cranidos. "Alright Cranidos use Rock Throw-Cranidos?!"
"Crani!" Cranidos was making a mad dash for cover as Aerodactyl came swooping towards them, Roark quickly dove towards the ground before looking up in the direction Cranidos had run off to.
"Crani!" Cranidos cried out as he ran through the streets, a mass panic ensuing as the civilians began fleeing at the sight of Aerodactyl. As luck would have it Cranidos stumbled across the very same trainer who had defeated him only an hour ago!
"Cray! Cranids, cray cray!"
"Cranidos?" Dawn blinked in confusion at Cranidos' sudden appearance as Aerodactyl hadn't caught up yet. Suddenly Piplup began screeching out as he made a frantic attempt to escape Dawn's grasp at the sight of Aerodactyl, though he loved Dawn his instinct kicked in and he wanted to run much like Cranidos! Cranidos cowered behind Riolu as the jackal pup raised up his paws with a defensive look as he stared towards Aerodactyl.
"Aura Sphere, quick!" Zach was quick to shout.
"Rio!" Riolu clamped his paws together before he fired off the massive sphere of aura, it flew up towards Aerodactyl but the prehistoric bird merely flew aside and let the attack continue before exploding midair!
"Aero!"
"Piplup!" Dawn cried out as Aerodactyl began swooping towards the fleeing penguin Pokemon.
"Riolu use Force Palm, don't let it take Piplup!"
Riolu rushed forward and quickly leaped in front of Piplup but before he could fire off an attack, Aerodactyl grabbed both Pokemon with his talons before taking off and flying off towards the outskirts of the city!
"Nonono!" Zach quickly threw forward Starly's ball. "Dawn release Buneary! She can ride Starly's back and use Ice Beam once they're close enough for it to be in range! It's all we've got!" Morpeko would be useless and Scorbunny wouldn't be too much help either and likely end up Aerodactyl's desert!
"R-Right, hope this works!" Dawn gripped Buneary's ball before releasing the rabbit. Buneary let out a joyful cry and began eagerly looking around for Riolu before a fierce screech caused her to look up as fire began to burn in her eyes at the sight of the prehistoric bird flying away with her love!
"Buneary!"
"Buneary, I need you to ride on Starly's back and use Ice Beam on that Aerodactyl. Can you do that?" Dawn asked. Buneary was quick to nod with a determined gaze before hopping atop Starly's back. The small bird began taking off and although Aerodactyl had a head start, the Starly line were among the fastest of Flying types. The weight of Buneary did slow him down a bit but Starly was eventually able to catch up! Buneary fired off a beam of ice directly at Aerodactyl's wings, freezing the bird's wing as he let out a grunt down falling head first towards the ground. Riolu and Piplup were released from his grasp and began falling towards the ground but Riolu was a quick thinker much like his trainer, clamping his paws together as he fired off an Aura Sphere attack to slow his descent while Piplup latched onto his back and held on for dear life! Aerodactyl's body came crashing towards the ground, a large dust cloud kicked up upon impact while a small crater formed around the defeated fossil Pokemon.
"Aero..."
Piplup and Riolu landed safely upon the ground, Starly and Buneary landed next to them not long after as their trainers appeared.
"Piplup, thank goodness you're okay!"
"Piplup!" Piplup cried as he quickly raced towards his trainer before hopping into her arms.
Zach was about to praise Riolu but the jackal was grunting lightly causing him to show visible concern. "Riolu, you alright?"
"R-Rio!" A bright blue light surrounded Riolu's body as he began growing taller, he now stood eye level with his trainer and Dawn while he also grew a more muscular appearance. The cute Pokemon look that once stood across his face had now vanished, replaced by a more serious jackal face. The fur on his middle half had also turned to a cream color while his tail extended to a larger length. The light began to fade as the newly evolved Lucario flashed his trainer an eager look before pulling him in for a hug!
"Carrr!"
"Y-You evolved!" Zach cried out with joy as he held his best friend closely. "That's awesome!"
"Carrr!"
Aerodacyl began to stir with a light groan.
"I-I hate to ruin the moment but you should really catch that, I don't think Piplup would appreciate it if I did." Dawn spoke up, Piplup furiously nodded in agreement to her words as he gave the bird a harsh glare.
"A-Alright, we can celebrate more later." Zach reached for a spare Pokeball and threw it forward, the ball smacked Aerodactyl clean across the forehead and knocked it out again before it was once again engulfed in a bright red light. The Pokeball landed in the small crater and began rapidly shaking before eventually letting out a chime to signal the capture complete! "Let's see what the Pokedex has to say," Zach slid aside the evolution notification for Lucario before pressing the capture notification for Aerodactyl.
"Aerodactyl the Fossil Pokemon, restored from DNA found in amber, this Pokrmon exhibited ferocity that was greater than expected! Some casualties resulted. A widely accepted theory is that it went extinct due to a large meteor impact."
Zach cast a glance towards Lucario as the two shared a thoughtful gaze.
"Y-You sure you want to leave Aerodactyl here?" A scientist asked as Aerodactyl now freely flew about a large cage.
"Of course, it's too dangerous right now as it's mind is still in the prehistoric era. I can't raise it with the fear that it might decide to fly away and attack an innocent person or Pokemon, or a worse target." He stated as he shot a glance towards Dawn. "Besides I didn't even find the fossil, it was yours."
"Understandable, we'll take great care of Aerodactyl here. He'll be a great help towards our research!" Roark grinned as he stared at the prehistoric bird. "Of course once it mellows out you're very much welcome to take him back if you wish!"
The two bade Roark farewell once more before taking their leave from the facility however not long after they stepped out a fin burst from the ground as Gible shot up!
"Gible!" The landshark Pokemon growled out as he locked eyes with Lucario. Lucario tilted his head before looking at his trainer while uttering out a light grunt. It was odd but once Lucario evolved Zach began to understand what the jackal was saying. Scorbunny and Piplup's cries were still very much normal but Lucario's speech was becoming a bit clearer.
"Yeah, it probably wants a fight with Scorbunny."
"Huh?" Dawn blinked from confusion as she was asleep when they previously encountered Gible.
"I'll tell you later, Dawn. I promise," Zach reached for the fire rabbit's ball but before he could release her, an ultra ball came flying through the air before meeting Gible's head. The Dragon let out an alarmed cry as he disappeared in a red light before a chime sounded out not long afterwards.
"W-Who did that?! I was going to catch that Gible!" Zach quickly looked around with an annoyed expression before Paul appeared, holding a Rotom Phone that had a similar design to his jacket.
"I did and a good thing too as my theory was correct, this Gible has it's Hidden Ability! A trainer like you wouldn't know what to do with that besides you'd just come off as a Cynthia wannabe, you already have a Lucario!" Paul gave a harsh smirk as Zach and Lucario let out a growl.
"You can't just do that to somebody, it's disrespectful! That capture was mine!"
Paul didn't appear to be wanting to hear anymore of it as he raised his hand before turning around to take his leave. Zach let out a growl as he stared after him.
"I don't care if I don't win the Sinnoh League, I just want to beat that prick!"
"Carrr!"
And so the first Gym is out of the way. The next Contest will be soon as Zach and Dawn make their way to Floaroma Town!
Oh and I forgot to mention the Johto festival arc will be happening a bit earlier than it did in the anime. I'd like Cyndaquil to be around longer than he was in the anime. Also for some reason I have more fun writing Butch and Cassidy than Jessie and James, probably cause the Rocket Trio are my favorite characters topping even Ash and I worry that I don't do them justice?
Hope you all enjoyed it, until next time~