Pride of Your Soul
Chapter 6: Rock On and Action!
AN: And welcome back to Pride of Your Soul! Here's chapter 6!
But first, few things. Since I got a lot more reviews back in the last chapter than I normally do on these (giving the prequel an updated epilogue might have helped), I decided to actually respond to them and NOT act like a robot:
xQEAx: thanks! The main shipping is still up in the air though, since now that I written the transceivershipping, I'm conflicted to decide whom I should pair Nate off to.
Guest (who I addressed the not-rant to in the last chapter): no harm done. I'm glad you understand.
Guest (asking me to do more frequent updates with shorter chapters): yeah, while I understand what you're asking for, and I understand why, honestly I can't see myself writing anything as short as 2-3K words anymore. And I still have lots of things to do outside of this, so I highly doubt that I can update quickly. Especially with college coming soon. Sorry about that :/
Blackhawk36: Well at least I'm glad you liked the transceivershipping, even if you prefer visorshipping. And in due time, Hugh will spill the beans of his past to Nate.
I. M. Poik : Glad you liked the transceivershipping in the last chapter. Sorry but, considering how updating speed goes for me, it may take a while, depending on how much life decides to be a dick to me. Hopefully you understand. Perhaps, I'll have Rosa meet Curtis in the near future.
Anthony627AA: Thanks. Hopefully the gym battle is worth the wait :)
Defender31415: Don't worry, Nate's attitude will improve SLOWLY over time. Nope those cryogonals aren't with Old Team Plasma, and yep Roxie's alliterative skills are still on point. Thanks for the support :)
flashyhero: I'm glad you still like the way I write, and welcome back from CoYS!
Knight of Wings: Welp, you're gonna have to wait in the future to confirm your theory. Although I will just say, that you're pretty close; a lot closer than the others. And Snivy said something in the first chapter...?
...Oh crap. I'll probably go edit that out by the time this gets updated. Thanks for letting me know. And thanks for your feedback.
...Y'know this is a lot more fun than I thought it'd be. It lets me interact with you guys. I should do this more often if there're people to respond to. Then maybe people will think that I'm not a robot :)
Anyways, let's move on!
"Ottavia! Water Gun!"
"Counter with Smog!"
Ottavia immediately shot a spray of water at Koffing, who avoided it and emitted a poisonous gas at Ottavia.
"Blow it away with Razor Shell!" Rosa quickly commanded.
Ottavia detached her shell, where a blue blade formed from it, and furiously swiped the gas away.
"Now, Assurance!"
As Ottavia was fanning the gas away, Koffing rammed into Ottavia, tackling her into the ground.
"-Agh!-" Ottavia cried in pain.
"Ottavia!" Rosa cried.
The otter managed to get back up, as Koffing floated above her with a smug grin.
"Shoot it down with Water Gun!"
Ottavia shot another spray of water at Koffing, who avoided it yet again.
"She's too simplistic..." Nate groaned from the sidelines as Koffing kept avoiding Ottavia with great ease.
"Rosa needs to pull something off and think outside the box," Hugh commented. "At this rate, she's Roxie's plaything."
Ottavia jumped out of the way to avoid a smog from Koffing, although she couldn't do much, since all of her attack thus far haven't hit the damn thing at all.
"I need to think of something," Rosa muttered.
"Koffing, Shadow Ball!" Roxie commanded.
Koffing shot a shadowy orb at Ottavia, who jumped out of the way. Rosa glared at Koffing, before noticing something as the Koffing kept shooting Shadow Balls at Ottavia.
'This is just like that training Nate forced me into at the ranch...' Rosa thought. '...That's it!'
"Ottavia, charge in with Razor Shell!"
Ottavia brandished her blade as she charged at Koffing, who was more or less taunting her now.
"Another reckless charge, huh?" Roxie sighed. "Alright, shoot it down with Shadow Ball!"
Koffing complied and shot another Shadow Ball at Ottavia.
"Dodge to your right and don't stop!" Rosa commanded. "Watch where it'll shoot a Shadow Ball and avoid it!"
Ottavia jumped to her right, avoiding the Shadow Ball, while continuing to charge at the gas ball.
"Wait...is she...?" Hugh muttered.
"Well I'll be damned," Nate grinned. "She's actually using her head."
Koffing started to panic a little and kept shooting Shadow Balls recklessly, as Ottavia continued to avoid them, gaining more distance between them.
As Koffing shot a Shadow Ball straight at Ottavia, the otter jumped over it, now falling towards Koffing and slammed her blade into the ball, smacking it down to the ground.
"-GUEH!-" Koffing gagged as he was cemented into the ground.
"-I–I did it!-" Ottavia stammered, shocked that she managed to land a hit.
"Now, Water Gun while it's down!" Rosa exclaimed.
Ottavia got out of her stupor and shot a Water Gun at Koffing as it tried to ascend to the air, shooting it down.
"It's working!" Rosa smirked, her confidence rising. "I knew we could take on Challenge Mode! Now! Finish it off with Razor Shell!"
Her confidence rising as well, Ottavia brandished her shell, creating the blue blade, and charged at Koffing while it was down for the finishing blow.
"Not so fast!" Roxie yelled. "Koffing! Explosion!"
"WHAT?!" Rosa and the boys gasped.
Koffing began to pile energy into himself as he began to glow brightly.
"Oh no! Ottavia get back!" Rosa cried.
"-H–Huh?!-" Ottavia blurted.
Ottavia stopped her attack, but she was too close to Koffing, as it glowed white, before violently exploding, blasting Ottavia in the explosion.
"-AAAAAGH!?-" Ottavia screamed in pain as she flew back.
"OTTAVIA!" Rosa cried out, blinded by the light Explosion gave off.
Everyone else shielded their eyes and defended themselves from the explosion. Once the explosion died down, the battle field was charred by the explosion, with Koffing down on the field completely unconscious from blowing itself up, and Ottavia embedded into the wall, knocked out an unable to battle.
"Ottavia!" Rosa cried as she rushed over to help her get out.
"Holy crap," Nate muttered. "Didn't think the chick would actually use that move as a last resort."
"And Rosa was looking good in winning too..." Hugh muttered.
"I-Is everyone alright?" Yancy asked.
"Is she okay with blowing up her own Pokémon in her own gym?" Nate asked Yancy.
"Hahaha! I don't really care!" Roxie replied. "We were gonna go down anyways, so might as well go out with a bang!"
Roxie kneeled down to Koffing, taking out its pokéball.
"Great job out there," Roxie said as she recalled her Pokémon. "Sorry for making ya do that."
"Ottavia..." Rosa said sadly at Ottavia's defeated figure. "You did great. I'm sorry for failing you."
Rosa recalled her oshawott, as Roxie took out another pokéball.
"Well, since we both fainted, and I blew myself up, I'll call this a draw," Roxie informed them.
"So do we get a point or...?" Nate asked.
"No, no one gets a point," Roxie said as she released a Pokémon with the appearance of a giant pile of trash spilling out of a large, torn, garbage bag. "So? Who's next?"
"Damn it," Nate muttered.
"I'll go," Hugh declared, stepping up to the field as Rosa retreated to the group.
"Aw..." Yancy sighed quietly, disappointed that she couldn't get to see Nate fight sooner.
Nate, meanwhile, patted Rosa on the back.
"If it makes you feel better, then you did pretty well against a gym leader on Challenge," Nate did his best (?) to comfort the girl.
"Thanks..." Rosa muttered, unable to look up to him out of humiliation.
"C'mon, you only got one badge and you managed to force the gym leader into a corner where she had to blow her own Pokémon up," Nate said. "If anything, that's pretty impressive."
Rosa looked up to Nate, somewhat shocked. The boy actually complimented her. She didn't know why, but hearing that actually made her feel better; not fueling her pride, but actually made her feel good.
"Thanks," Rosa said genuinely. "Y'know, you can be a pretty nice guy when you want to be."
"Don't push it," Nate muttered. "You still acted pretty noobish during the beginning, bunhead."
"Hey! I managed to pull through, somewhat!" Rosa shot back.
Leave it to Nate to instantly dampen her mood immediately after he compliments her. Although, she didn't mind too much; he did have a point, although she would never admit it.
As the two began to bicker, Yancy watched, and couldn't help but feel a little irritated. Mostly at Rosa, for arguing with Nate. Meanwhile Nate, despite arguing with Rosa, was smirking the whole time, and seemed to be enjoying picking on Rosa.
Come to think of it, she accused Nate of deceiving her when they first met; an accusation that was ridiculous, and wrong of the bunheaded girl to accuse Nate of. And Nate obviously seemed irritated that Rosa was spying on them in the first place, not to mention he didn't really think of Rosa too highly.
She didn't know why, but that sparked something within her. She couldn't help but eye Rosa with envy. Nate supposedly didn't like Rosa and likewise, yet here they are, bickering like friends. They seemed too close for comfort, and Yancy couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy about that.
Hugh was glancing back at the bickering, and rolled his eyes, before shifting his attention back to Roxie. He took out his pokédex and scanned the giant Poison-type.
"Garbodor, the trash heap Pokémon," it read. "Consuming garbage makes new kinds of poison gases and liquids inside their bodies."
"How appealing," Hugh said sarcastically.
While Vibrava was the obvious choice here, Hugh instead sent out Snivy.
"Well, since Rosa used Ottavia, and I'm sure as hell Tep is going to be sent out," Hugh said. "Might as well go with the trend."
"Sending out a Grass-type against a Poison-type?!" Roxie exclaimed. "You got guts! I like that!"
Garbodor leered down upon Snivy, who calmly leered back, unfazed by the giant Poison-type, nor the type disadvantage he was in.
"Let's start things off, Garbodor! Toxic Spikes!"
Garbodor spat out several purple spikes that scattered across the field.
"What the hell?" Hugh muttered as Garbodor spewed out a second layer that seemingly combined with the first layer.
"Great, she's using Toxic Spikes," Nate groaned.
"Uh...what do those do?" Yancy asked.
"Toxic Spikes are ground-based entry hazards that poison a grounded Pokémon upon entering he field," Nate explained. "With two stacked, the poison inflicted on the next Pokémon is that equivalent to Toxic."
"So...Snivy's okay?" Yancy asked.
"Until Snivy steps on one of the spikes," Nate muttered, glancing at Tep's pokéball. "Tch...Damn it, she's specifically targeting me."
Snivy eyed the purple spikes that were scattered across the field. He mentally swore to himself, realizing that his movements would be limited now.
"Gunk Shot!" Roxie yelled without warning.
Garbodor brought the end of its limbs together, forming a giant purple cluster, before hurling it at Snivy.
"Dodge it and follow up with Leech Seed!" Hugh quickly commanded.
Snivy jumped to the side, avoiding the Gunk Shot, and shot several seeds at Garbodor. The seeds latched onto the garbage monster's body and began to sprout, latching onto Garbodor with the roots and slowly sapping at its health.
"At least we're dealing some consecutive damage," Hugh muttered.
"Rock Blast!"
Garbodor began to shoot rocks from its mouth, shooting at Snivy. Snivy ran across the field, avoiding the rocks that were being shot at him while also avoiding the spikes that were on them.
"Vine Whip!"
Snivy lunged at Garbodor and slammed his vines against Garbodor, but his vines simply bounced off his body rather pathetically.
"Hah! You think a weak Grass move like that'll do anything to Garbodor?!" Roxie mocked.
Hugh clicked his tongue in frustration, as Snivy kept avoiding Garbodor's rocks and gunk. Fortunately for him, the Leech Seed were doing reliable passive damage, while healing Snivy from any grazes or attacks that manage to hit him. Unfortunately for him, Leech Seed seems to be his only form of any actual damage to the Poison-type, and Snivy was starting to get weary of stalling, considering that Garbodor kept letting out dangerously potent attacks, and Snivy wasn't exactly a wall.
"Tch! Let's change things up, Drain Punch!" Roxie yelled.
Garbodor reeled his arm back, and shot it at Snivy, stretching out like a rubber band. Snivy was about to avoid it, but a toxic spike was in his way, and he accidently stepped on it, getting badly poisoned while getting hit by the Drain Punch.
"Snivy!" Hugh cried as Snivy got shot into the wall.
The grass snake managed to get out and recover, but didn't look so good.
"Damn it...he must've been poisoned..." Hugh swore. This would make things a lot harder than they needed to be.
"Badly poisoned on top of it," Nate mused. "You're on a timer now! I dunno how, but try to end it before things go awry!"
"I know that!" Hugh shot back.
Easier said than done. With an obvious type disadvantage, size and power disadvantage, and now Snivy was badly poisoned, so the poison would worsen overtime if Hugh didn't do anything about it. As Hugh watched Snivy avoid another attack, Hugh's glance to notice of some of the chairs, the table that Nate broke earlier, and one of the lights on the ceiling. Inspiration decided to kick in from there.
"...Hey Roxie!" Hugh called out. "Is it alright if we use our surroundings?!"
"Huh?" Roxie asked, somewhat confused. "Sure...?"
Hugh grinned. There was still hope.
"Snivy! Rotate rapidly on the ground with Vine Whip!" Hugh quickly commanded.
Snivy nodded as he began to spin swiftly with his vines out, shooting whatever spikes he managed to hit back at Garbodor. The spikes, upon contact, were absorbed by Garbodor.
"Those won't work!" Roxie yelled. "Poison-types absorb Toxic Spikes!"
"What's Hugh doing?" Rosa asked. "He should know that!"
"Now, Leaf Tornado!"
Without stopping, Snivy created a tornado of leaves and shot it at Garbodor, who defended himself from it.
"Now, grab one of the chairs!" Hugh commanded.
Snivy's eyes widened slightly, but understood what his trainer was going for. With less spikes to worry about, Snivy darted for one of the chairs, grabbing the hind legs with his vines, before darting towards Garbodor.
"What?!" Roxie gasped.
"Let him have it!" Hugh roared.
With all of his strength, Snivy slammed the chair at Garbodor, smashing him right on the head.
"-GUOGH!?-" Garbodor gagged as he felt the pain of the chair.
"What the–?!" Rosa blurted.
"Well now," Nate smirked, impressed by Hugh's resourcefulness.
Snivy spun around to gain momentum, before smashing the chair into Garbodor's head again, before slamming it on top of his head, reducing it into metal and splinters.
"Why you little–!" Roxie snarled as Garbodor roared in frustration.
"Now, trip him and grab one of the lights!" Hugh yelled.
As Garbodor tried to get Snivy, the small snake avoided him, shot his vines and wrapped them around Garbodor's feet, and yanked with all his might, tripping the giant and making him fall. Snivy then jumped onto Garbodor's gut, and bounced off like a trampoline, heading for one of the lights.
"Oh no you don't!" Roxie yelled. "Drain Punch!"
Hugh smirked as Garbodor shot one of his arms at Snivy. All according to plan.
"Now, dodge!" Hugh yelled.
Snivy smirked as he jumped out of the way at the last second, leaving Garbodor's arm to smash into the light.
"Crap!" Roxie blurted, as the broke light ended up electrocuting Garbodor.
The Poison-type cried out in pain as he was being fried by the electrical lighting, before Snivy decided to free him from the electrocution by smashing another chair into his arm, sending it to the ground and sparing him from further electrocution. However, Garbodor was electrocuted for too long, and was unable to battle.
"Nice job, Snivy!" Hugh congratulated his snake, who smiled somewhat coolly, despite panting.
"That was some resourceful thinking on your part," Nate said, walking up to them.
"Well, I couldn't beat that thing with brute force alone," Hugh said. "By the way, sorry. I couldn't clear all of the spikes."
Nate's eyes widened slightly, before noticing that the field had less spikes now. So Hugh was also aiming for this. Not bad, for a rookie.
"Heh, at least Tep won't get badly poisoned," Nate said. "You did good enough, Matis. You managed to score a win too."
Hugh's eyes widened slightly, as Nate took the field and Hugh left. Did he just call him by his name? His last name, but he still referred to him by name, and not a weird nickname like Rosa or Cheren.
"Did he just call you by name?" Rosa asked Hugh, noticing that as well.
"Yeah..." Hugh said. "I guess he was impressed with me to warrant that."
"Oh come on!" Rosa pouted. "You don't have a stupid nickname, while I'm stuck with 'bunhead'!"
"Looks like you'll have to do better," Hugh joked.
"Oh can it, 'Spikehead'!" Rosa shot back.
Yancy, meanwhile, was currently ignoring the two in favor of Nate as he walked onto the battlefield. Finally, she got to see him in a gym battle! She could hardly contain her excitement as Nate sent out the familiar Tep to the field. Yancy felt kind of bad for rooting against her friend, but she really wanted to see Nate win. She was sure Roxie would forgive her anyways, should she actually learn that her friend was rooting against her.
"You okay there?" Nate asked, noting how Tep was unable to avoid landing on one of the spikes.
"Y-yeah..." Tep muttered, panting slightly.
"Hang on," Nate muttered, kneeling down to him.
Roxie, meanwhile, recalled her garbodor, thanking him for a nice battle, before sending out her last Pokémon; a giant centipede-like Pokémon that was standing with the front half of its body raised vertically off the ground.
"Giant bug, much?" Nate muttered as he was finished, letting Tep face the battlefield, and scanning the goliath with his pokédex.
"Scolipede, the megapede Pokémon," it read. "It clasps its prey with the claws on its neck until it stops moving. Then it finishes it off with deadly poison."
"I'm pretty impressed with your friends," Roxie said. "They're a lot better than I thought initially."
"I'd use the term 'friends' lightly, but thanks," Nate said. "I am acting as babysitter, so I'll be damned if they didn't improve."
"Now then," Roxie smirked dangerously. "Scolipede here is my ace in the hole! Let's see how you fare against him, and how he fares against the obvious veteran of the group!"
"With pleasure!" Nate snarled. "Tep, Flame Charge!"
"Meet that with Megahorn!" Roxie snarled.
Tep surrounded himself in flames as he charged at Scolipede, who turned the two curved antenna-like horns into two long spears. The two collided, but Scolipede was able to overpower Tep, and send him back.
Tep flew back, but managed to land on his feet.
"Ember!"
Tep shot several embers at Scolipede from his nose, managing to land a hit and do some decent damage to the goliath bug.
"Earthquake!"
"Holy–Tep, jump into the air!"
Scolipede raised its front legs and slammed them into the field, causing a roaring earthquake. Tep, fortunately, was able to jump into the air and avoided it. Everyone else, wasn't so lucky, as they had to hug the wall to keep their balance, while Nate had to keep his balance on his own.
"Oh great, we have the type advantage, but the stupid bug can one-shot us!" Nate grumbled.
"-I can take it Boss!-" Tep assured him.
"Didn't we have a talk about knowing your limits yesterday or the day before?" Nate asked rhetorically.
"Rock Slide!"
Scolipede formed a rock in between his horns and hurled it into the air, causing a shower of rocks to fall onto the pig.
"Oh come on!" Nate yelled. "Flame Charge!"
Tep surrounded himself in flames, boosting his speed and dodging as many rocks as he can. Unfortunately, he ended up getting crushed by some strays, and halted his attacked.
"Don't let up!" Nate ordered. "Shoot Embers at it while going for a Flame Charge!"
Tep nodded, as he reignited the flames and charged straight for Scolipede, while shooting several embers at Scolipede in rapid succession.
"Megahorn!"
Withstanding the embers, Scolipede formed two spear-like horns and attacked Tep. Thankfully, with his newly boosted speed, Tep was able to avoid the attack, and slammed into Scolipede, pushing the bug back.
"Scolipede!" Roxie exclaimed in worry.
Scolipede managed to regain its balance, and nodded to Roxie, seemingly telling her that he was okay.
"Yeah! Go Nate!" Yancy cheered for him.
"Who's side are you on!?" Roxie yelled, shocked that her friend would cheer against her.
"While you're still close, Rock Smash!" Nate yelled.
Tep reeled his tail and smashed it into Scolipede's head, but the megapede was able to overpower Tep and fling him into the air.
"Tep!" Nate cried.
"Now! Earthquake as he lands!" Roxie yelled.
As Tep crashed into the ground, Scolipede rose its legs and smashed them into the ground, causing another earthquake. This time, however, Tep couldn't avoid it, and was smacked by faulting plates of the field. Once the earthquake was over, Tep struggled to get back onto his feet, panting heavily.
"Oh, that's one sturdy pig you got there," Roxie commented. "But how about we end it! Venoshock!"
Scolipede roared as poisonous liquid burst out from it, blasting in all directions. Tep couldn't dodge the attack, and found himself getting pelted by the venomous liquid. Rosa and Hugh had to duck to avoid the Venoshock.
"Yancy look out!" Rosa yelled, seeing some of the Venoshock go for her.
Yancy snapped out of her stupor to see the attack homing in on her. Nate saw that, and bolted for her while taking out his knives. The boy managed to get in fast enough to intercept the Venoshock with his knife, while slashing down any other attacks with them.
"N-Nate..." Yancy stuttered.
"You alright?" Nate asked.
Yancy simply nodded dumbly, while Nate glared at Roxie.
"Yo what the hell!?" Nate yelled. "That could've hurt the audience y'know!"
"Sh-Shut up!" Roxie yelled uneasily, clearly having not thought that through.
Nate rolled his eyes and groaned, while checking up on where Tep was.
"Venoshock is a Poison-type move that gets doubled power if the target is poisoned..." Roxie muttered. "After all that, a boosted Venoshock will definitely take out that tepig."
"That Venoshock should be weaker now..." Nate muttered to himself.
As the smoke cleared, to everyone's surprise, and Nate's relief, Tep was still standing, albeit barely.
"What?!" Roxie gasped. "But how!? Tepig was badly poisoned, and took an earthquake and a boosted venoshock!"
Tep then decided to spit out a leaf from his mouth, as he smirked.
"What the...?" Roxie muttered, until she recognized said leaf. "A pecha leaf...a pecha berry?!"
"I had Tep hold it before the fight," Nate smirked. "And he decided to use it upon starting."
Roxie gritted her teeth, and was about to command Scolipede to use another earthquake, but Scolipede suddenly fell to one leg.
"What?! Scolipede?!" Roxie asked, before noticing a burn spot on the bug. "He's burned?!"
"I knew spamming Ember was a good idea," Nate smirked.
As Tep glared at Scolipede, a fiery red aura surrounded the pig.
"What's going on...?" Rosa asked.
"Tep's ability, 'Blaze'," Nate mused. "When his health is depleted, Fire-type attacks get boosted...Alright! Let's finish this off! Flame Charge! Aim for the head!"
Tep surrounded himself in flames once more, but the flames were now more intense. The pig shot at Scolipede like a burning bullet, the bug unable to stop it due to the blinding speed, and ended up getting nailed in the head hard by Tep's Flame Charge. The force was enough to flip Scolipede over, while bouncing Tep back. The goliath centipede fell to the ground, unable to battle any further.
"And that's that," Nate said.
"-ALRIGHT! WE WON!-" Tep roared. "-That'll teach you to mess with the Boss!-"
"Haha, aren't we happy," Nate chuckled at Tep's victory cry.
"Nice job," Hugh said to Nate.
"As expected of you, at least," Rosa said with a smile.
Nate simply shrugged as he recalled Tep.
"Curious though," Rosa said. "When did you give Tep a pecha berry?"
"Right before we started our battle," Nate explained. "I mean, there were no rules about using hold items, right?"
"Yeah," Roxie laughed as she comforted Scolipede and recalled him to his pokéball. "I should've seen that one coming."
Nate then glanced at Yancy, who approached him rather timidly.
"Well?" Nate asked. "You did ask to see me fight? How was it?"
"It was amazing!" Yancy replied. "You really are a strong trainer!"
"Eh, I did have the type-match up at least," Nate shrugged. "Not to mention lady luck decided to help me out a few times."
"You mean like the burn from Ember, or the defense drop from Rock Smash?" Hugh asked.
"Oh so you noticed the Rock Smash," Nate commented.
"That would be the only reason why you would aim for it out of the blue, despite knowing that Scolipede takes pitiful damage from it," Hugh said.
"Y'know, I need to give you some more credit, Matis," Nate said. "You're a lot smarter than bunhead."
"Hey!" Rosa yelled, offended yet again.
"But still," Yancy said, ignoring Rosa. "You're still strong."
"I guess..." Nate muttered, not knowing what else to say.
"She's right," Roxie said as she walked up to them. "You all proved to be a good challenge. And you three definitely deserve this."
Roxie took something out from her pocket and tossed them to the trio. They all caught it; revealing a badge and a purple disc.
"That's the Toxic Badge," Roxie explained. "And that TM contains Venoshock. Like I said before, if the target is already poisoned, then Venoshock will double in power."
"Thank you," Rosa said, before marveling at her second badge. "Yes! One step closer to becoming the Champion!"
"Don't get too cocky there," Nate said.
"I still managed to win Challenge Mode," Rosa shot back.
"Well technically you drawed," Nate pointed out. "So don't get cocky till you actually beat a leader on Challenge."
Rosa narrowed her eyes at the smug boy, grumbling under her breath.
"That asides," Nate said, turning to Hugh. "You actually managed to win Challenge despite a type-disadvantage. That's pretty impressive."
"Thanks," Hugh said, while Rosa was still grumbling.
"Oh quit whining," Nate muttered. "You still did pretty good, and would've won if she hadn't exploded."
"I-I guess..." Rosa mumbled.
"So, what now?" Hugh asked.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Roxie suddenly yelled, catching everyone by surprise.
"Ow...what...?" Nate grumbled, covering his ears.
"I forgot about my idiot dad He still needs to do his job as captain!" Roxie growled. "I'll be right back!"
Roxie suddenly dashed out of the room, leaving the group in the gym.
"Uh...what happened...?" Rosa asked.
"Uh...Roxie's dad apparently abandoned his post as captain of the ferry and headed off to Pokéstar Studios," Yancy explained.
"Wait, you mean the Pokéstar Studios?!" Rosa gasped. "Where all the famous movies are made!?"
"Yep, that's the one," Yancy said.
"Oh my gosh! We should totally go!" Rosa chimed. "Maybe we can see Brycen!"
"Why?" Nate asked. "It's her own business to deal with. It's not our problem. I don't see why we have to get involved."
"Uh Nate..." Yancy pointed out. "Roxie's dad is the only one who works the ferry."
"...What?" Nate asked.
"And if I recalled, we have to take the ferry if we want to head to the next city, Castelia," Hugh pointed out as well. "...And there's only one boat that acts as ferry."
Awkward silence filled the room, before Nate pointed to the exit.
"Alright bitches! To Pokéstar Studios!" Nate declared. "We're taking that degenerate back! Even if we have to resort to use force!"
This earned him a cheer from Rosa, an exasperated sigh from Hugh, and nervous chuckling from Yancy.
After a quick detour to the pokécenter to heal up their Pokémon, Yancy guided them to the way to Pokéstar Studios. It was a large, gallant film studios, farther than the eye can see.
"Welcome to Pokéstar Studios," Yancy said.
"Oh, so this is show biz," Nate muttered.
"This is AMAZING!" Rosa exclaimed with starry eyes.
"So, where would we find Roxie's dad?" Hugh asked Yancy.
"Well, my guess would be that he would be in one of the filming studios," Yancy said. "Although it would be easier if we found Roxie."
"WHERE THE HELL IS THAT PIECE OF POOP!?"
"And there's our indicator," Nate said.
"Did she call her father a piece of poop?" Rosa asked.
They all followed the sound of that outburst to see Roxie grabbing the collar of one of the security guards in front of a filming studio.
"Miss Roxie! Please! Calm! Down!" the guard blurted between shakes.
"Roxie! Calm down!" Yancy yelled as she pried Roxie off of the guard.
Roxie managed to calm down enough to register Yancy and the trio.
"Wait, what're you guys doing here?" Roxie asked.
"Well we decided to help you bring your old man back," Nate said. "Considering he's the only captain around these parts, and we're not gonna swim across the goddamn ocean to Castelia."
"Your father already finished filming his movie," the guard explained. "He should be in the main theater right now."
"Thank you," Yancy said as she dragged Roxie away from assaulting the guard. "C'mon Roxie."
"Fine," Roxie grumbled.
"But still," the guard commented. "I'm surprised to see you here, Miss Yancy."
"Huh?" Yancy asked, suddenly paling.
"Wait, you came here before?" Rosa asked.
"Well yes, you see, Miss Yancy is–," the guard was about to say, until Yancy bolted and covered his mouth.
"NOTHING!" Yancy blurted. "I'm a friend of Roxie's, so I'm allowed to visit her whenever she's co-starring in a movie! That's it! That's definitely it!"
"O-Okay...?" Rosa replied, somewhat startled and confused at the girl's sudden outburst.
"You alright?" Nate asked.
"Yes, I'm fine!" Yancy hastily replied. "Now come on! Let's go get Roxie's dad!"
Having let go of Roxie, Yancy grabbed Nate's arm and hastily dragged him away from the studio.
"What the–OW! My arm's not taffy!" Nate yelled in pain as he was dragged away.
The other three followed after Yancy and Nate, while the guard looked confused.
"Why did she act like that?" he asked to no one in particular. "I mean, she is world famous after all. It's not like they wouldn't have recognized her by now."
Soon enough, they found the main theater, where all the filmed movies would be debuted, and the inside was even grander than the entire studio.
"Huh, so this is a theater," Nate commented as he and Yancy entered. "Y'know, I never been to one of these, theaters or whatever you call them."
"Really?" Yancy asked, quite shocked.
"Well, I lived a life where being a stingy person is a must if you want food to eat and had little to no technology, truth be told," Nate replied. "I never bothered to think about luxuries like this."
Yancy stared at Nate, as he looked around the theater curiously.
"Hm? Nancy?"
Yancy froze, while Nate looked confused, until spotting a man with a ponytail wearing a captain's garb approached them.
"Nancy...?" Nate muttered.
"Oh hi Roxie's dad!" Yancy suddenly blurted. "Seriously, you know my name's Yancy! Ahaha! You're such a joker!"
Roxie's dad looked confused, until she glanced at Nate repeatedly, where the captain got the memo. Nate, meanwhile, glanced at Yancy suspiciously.
"Oh right, sorry about that!" Roxie's dad coughed. "I keep messing up your name...I don't know why. Forgive me, Yancy."
"It's alright," Yancy said, hoping that Nate would buy it.
Predictably, Nate didn't buy it one bit, but he decided to go along with it for now.
"Whatever," Nate muttered. "So, Roxie's dad. You mind coming back to the harbors, so you can take us on your ferry to Castelia?"
"Oh, but I LOVE it here!" Roxie's dad exclaimed. "The spotlight! The acting! The recognition! What more could a man aspiring to act ask for!?"
"Y'know your daughter's coming over to potentially beat your ass, right?"
"...Say what?"
"YOU PIECE OF POOOOP!"
Roxie's dad glanced over, only to be met with Roxie's boots, in his face, as Roxie performed a High Jump Kick straight in his head, sending the poor man flying.
"It's super effective!" Nate joked as Rosa and Hugh rushed over.
"At least she's physically fit," Rosa commented, unsure of what to say.
"Alright you!" Roxie growled as she picked up her father by the collar. "You're coming back to the harbor and you're going to do your job and stop causing trouble to the people who need to get to Castelia!"
"Ow...my daughter...it hurts so much..." he grunted.
"Okay, let's calm down here," Nate said as he pried Roxie off of her father. "We need him to be conscious if we want to get to Castelia."
"But daughter!" Roxie's father complained. "I must become an actor! It is my dream!"
"Well you have your responsibilities as a captain first!" Roxie growled.
"Please reconsider!"
"Alright, alright, what's going on here?"
Everyone turned to see a new face, a bald man in a snazzy suit with a yellow mustache.
"Oh! Mister Stu Deeoh!" Roxie's dad exclaimed.
"Who names their kid that?" Nate asked, where Hugh shoved his elbow into his side.
"Bonsoir! Hello children!" Stu exclaimed, seemingly ignoring Nate's rude comment. "I am Stu Deeoh! Charmed, I'm sure!"
"Oh my gosh! You're Mr. Stu Deeoh! The owner of Pokestar Studios!" Rosa gasped.
"Yes I am, my fair lady," Stu chuckled. "Oh, there you are Frederick. I actually need to have a word with you."
"Yes? What is it?" Roxie's dad, Frederick, asked.
"Well, about your movie..." Stu said in an uneasy tone. "While we did appreciate the effort you put into it..."
"Uh huh..."
"...It was, how do you say, a bust."
"...A bust...?"
"Yes, a bust."
A good awkward silence filled the air, as Frederick stared at Stu Deeoh with shocked eyes.
"...So I'm gonna guess it didn't do so well?" Nate broke the silence, earning him a few stares. "What? I don't know movie lingo."
"B-But why...?" Frederick asked.
"Well, according to the audience survey," Stu explained. "They weren't immersed in the movie. It bored them. And your character is apparently a 'coward' for giving into the villain's demands in the end."
Frederick looked shocked.
"I'm sorry, dahling," Stu said while patting his shoulder. "It would seem that show biz is not for you."
Frederick just stood there as Stu walked away, where Roxie soon patted his shoulder in comfort.
"Are you alright, Dad?" Roxie asked.
"...Ha ha ha..." Frederick muttered hollowly. "I've always dreamed of making my debut on the silver screen...and now I fulfilled that dream..."
"Well you did...sort of..." Roxie said.
"Different people have different talents...I knew it all along..." Frederick went on. "But I see you striving to balance the responsibility of being a gym leader while pursuing your dream of your band.
"Although I'm a father, I wanted to pursue my long-held dreams...but...I guess I wasn't cut out for it...If you stop pursuing your dreams, your life might as well be over...right...?"
The others glanced at him in a rather sympathetic look, but Nate suddenly glared at him.
"No," he said.
"Huh...?" Frederick asked, before Nate grabbed him by the collar.
"What the–?!" Rosa and Hugh gasped.
"Nate?!" Yancy gasped.
"What're you–!?" Roxie yelled.
"Don't give me stupid shit like that," Nate snarled. "So what if your dreams are a bust? Giving up your life just because it didn't go so well on the first try is pathetic and pointless!"
Frederick looked surprised at the boy as he went on.
"So what if it didn't go so well the first time? Just get better, and try again, damn it!" Nate yelled. "It's your life! Treasure it! Live it to the fullest! Don't throw it out so easily just because everything didn't work out in the beginning! Dreams aren't meant to be easy! They're meant to give your life meaning, so you wake up the next day and work hard to achieve that dream! Life is meant to be hard, but it's your one and only life! So keep it! And I swear to God if you were considering on giving up life even the slightest bit, I will beat the shit out of you so you WANT to breathe!"
Everyone was just speechless as they looked at Nate. The boy sighed as he dropped Frederick.
"N-Nate...?" Yancy stammered, still shocked by his outburst. "I-I don't think he was going to commit suicide or anything...?"
"Still, even thinking that he would consider that pissed me off," Nate grumbled. "Treasure your fucking life. You only have one. Tch! I'm out of here!"
Nate turned around and angrily stormed off, leaving the group to just stand there, still stunned by his outburst. Or at least, he tried to storm off...
"That...was...FANTASTIC!"
Stu Deeoh showed up out of nowhere, standing in front of Nate and stopping him in his track.
"Gah!? What the hell?!" Nate blurted, his anger melting into confusion.
"That was a marvelous speech, child!" Stu exclaimed. "It was breath-taking! Astonishing! STUPENDOUS!"
"Uh...thanks...?"
"What is your name, child?"
"Huh? It's Nate...?"
"Nate, dahling, how would you like to be in a movie?" Stu offered.
"EEEH!?" everyone else shouted.
"That speech oozed authority and confidence, while leaving a hint of a sad untold tale that brims with the experience you have to make such a speech," Stu went on. "And that attitude of yours! The bad boy attitude you possess compliments that imposing forte FLAWLESSLY! You will definitely make a great anti-hero!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, okay, hold on there, buddy," Nate exclaimed while raising his hands in defense. "I never said jack shit about being in a movie!"
"Yeah, why just him!?" Rosa yelled.
"I don't think that's the point," Hugh muttered from the side.
"Please, won't you consider?" Stu asked.
"I dunno, I suck at technology and anything 'hip', so the odds of this working out is..." Nate tried to get out of it.
"We'll pay you a fraction of the box-office gross that is made from your movie!"
Nate suddenly stopped arguing when Stu mentioned the pay. He would be paid to do a stupid movie. Movies, according to his knowledge, usually made a lot of money. Even if it was a fraction, that would still equate to a lot of money.
"BRING ME THE CHEAP LEATHER, DIRECTOR!" Nate suddenly yelled with gusto.
"That's the spirit!" Stu exclaimed with joy.
"Is this really happening?" Rosa asked.
"This is really happening..." Rosa muttered.
Currently, the group was in a green room, getting ready to record the scene. Nate was being fitted in a blue and yellow costume with a yellow cape, with red gloves and a red mask covering his eyes.
"Cheap leather indeed..." Nate muttered, as Luca stood beside him.
"-So, what're we doing?-" Luca asked.
"We're gonna be in one of those movies that we heard of," Nate said. "And we're getting paid. That's the important part."
"I still can't believe you accepted the deal so quickly..." Yancy said.
"Hey, as long as I get paid, then what's the harm?" Nate asked. 'And so long as I'm wearing a mask, then I should be safe.'
"You're doing the movie I acted in," Frederick said somewhat quietly.
"Alright now," the director came up to Nate. "Here's your script. Mr. Stu Deeoh apparently edited it to fit your personality, or so he says. You're going to be Lucario-Kid."
Nate was handed his script, and skimmed through it along with Luca.
"Now," the director said, as a man wearing a purple costume that revealed his chest with a green cape walked up to them. "This is Brycen. He'll be playing the villain in this scene."
Brycen eyed Nate, who eyed him back carefully.
"Break a leg," Brycen simply said.
"Likewise," Nate said.
"Oh. My. God. It really is Brycen!" Rosa squealed as she appeared right next to him out of nowhere, shocking them. "Hello, Brycen, sir! My name is Rosa Echoes, and I am a HUGE fan of your work!"
"Thank you, young lass," Brycen chuckled.
"Not now," Nate interjected, flicking Rosa on the forehead.
"OW!" Rosa yelped.
"I'll get you an autograph or whatever later," Nate said. "Now go."
Grumbling under her breath, Rosa stomped back to Hugh's side, where the boy simply sighed.
"Sorry about that," Nate apologized to Brycen.
"It's no problem," Brycen stated calmly.
"Now, everyone get to position!"
Nate and Brycen got to their positions, as the lights began to dim.
"A place of never-ending smiles! Everyone's ideal place to play! The amusement park!" someone narrated. "But a threatening shadow lurks over this happy place...the stage is set for trouble..."
"However!" the narration went on. "It's darkest just before the dawn! A hero has appeared on the scene! That hero's name is...Lucario-Man!"
"And that's the hero's cue!" the director signaled Nate.
Nate stepped up, flinging his arm to the side for dramatic effect.
"So you showed yourself, Brycen-Man!" Nate boomed with gusto. "You'll regret the day you decided to terrorize the amusement park!"
"And who do you think you are?!" Brycen demanded with a wicked grin, instantly dropping his calm persona he had before.
"The messenger of Truths and Ideals! Nightmare to you!" Nate responded. "I am Lucario-Kid! And I'll show you the nightmare of facing justice!"
'Wow he's pretty good at this,' Rosa whispered to Hugh.
"Is that so?" Brycen scoffed. "Well then, let's see how you handle my power!"
Brycen released two Pokémon, a pawniard and a vullaby, while Luca stepped up besides Nate.
"Go, my Pokémon! Unleash your power!" Brycen yelled. "Destroy everything in this amusement park!"
"Oh please," Nate scoffed. "Go, Lucario! Show them what happens when you mess with justice!"
Luca obliged and forged a Bone Rush staff, and engaged the attacking pawniard and vullaby. As Luca was fighting off the two Dark-types, Brycen decided to take the initiative and lunge at Nate. The thief grinned as he met Brycen's staff with one of his arms.
"Pawniard, Brick Break!"
"Luca, Bone Rush!"
Pawniard lunged for Luca, attempting to smash her head with a Brick Break, but Luca elegantly dodged the pawn, and smashed her staff at its chest, sending it crashing into the floor, and instantly knocking it out.
"A single hit to KO my Pokémon...you're pretty good, Lucario-Kid" Brycen mused. "Despite that, however..."
Vullaby lunged at Luca, who defended herself with her staff. Vullaby went for an air slash, managing to break Luca's staff in half, and forcing the jackal to jump back.
"You will get down on your knees before me when I end you with my dark, secret arts!" Brycen boomed evilly. "Prepared to be finished!"
Nate simply grinned sadistically, as he brought his head right into Brycen's.
"Bring it on!" he challenged dangerously.
"Well said!" Brycen yelled. "My dark, secret arts enter! Take them and be gone! Vullaby, Air Slash!"
"Lucario, Aura Sphere!"
Luca charged an aura sphere in her paw, as Vullaby went for another air slash, shooting a blade of air straight for Luca.
"-TAKE THIS!-" Luca roared as she shot a full-charged Aura Sphere at Vullaby.
The Aura Sphere ripped straight through the air slash, and nailed Vullaby cleanly, taking out the baby vulture.
"What?!" Brycen gasped.
Nate took the distraction as an opportunity, and performed a round-house kick at Brycen, sending him back. Brycen easily landed on his feet, but glared at Nate.
"Arrrgh..." Brycen growled in annoyance. "Braving my secret arts to take out my Pokémon with one hit..."
"Don't you get it, Brycen-Man?!" Nate asked dramatically. "This is an amusement park filled with the ideals of people! It's not a place where you can go and corrupt it with your evil! If you get that, then leave and never attempt this again! Or I'll just have to teach you what happens when you meddle against justice, again!"
"Hmph, very well, I shall pull back today," Brycen grumbled. "You may be the Messenger of Truths and Ideals, but I am Brycen-Man! The Masked Man of Reality and Phantasm!"
Brycen pointed his staff at Nate threateningly.
"Mark my words, Lucario-Kid!" Brycen declared. "You haven't seen the last of me!"
Smoke suddenly erupted from underneath Brycen, where he disappeared once it cleared.
"Brycen-Man...The Masked Man..." Nate muttered. "What is he planning...?"
"Teaching Brycen-Man, the Masked Man, a lesson, the Lucario-Kid savedthe amusement park," the narration said as Nate turned around, letting his cape fling widely for dramatic effect as he walked away. "Having spoken in a daring tone, Brycen-Man disappeared into thin air…To protect the truths and ideals of Unova, go on, Lucario-Kid! Fight on, Lucario-Kid!"
"AAAAAND CUT!"
The lights brightened up, signifying the end of the filming.
"EXCELLENT!" the director boomed. "I can see why Mr. Deeoh hand-picked you!"
"So when do I get paid?" Nate asked.
"When the movie airs and we get a box-office gross," the director chuckled.
Smirking devilishly, Nate took off the mask, as a group began to undress him out of his costume, and handed him his usual clothing. As Nate got dressed, the others went up to him.
"That was pretty good," Rosa complimented. "And you said you've never been to a movie theater before?"
"I was poor as molasses, so yeah," Nate responded.
"Well, considering this was your first time even being affiliated with the theaters, you did pretty well in that filming," Roxie complimented.
"So, what exactly did the guy change about your script?" Hugh asked.
"Well, I'm gonna assume it was the parts he underlined as 'dangerous', and the fight scene," Nate guessed.
"N-Nate..." Yancy stuttered. "You were...pretty good out there..."
"Thanks," Nate said.
"Oh please, she was completely entranced with you," Roxie said teasingly, making Yancy blush furiously. "I swear her eyes were glued onto you like food to a munchlax."
Yancy hid her blushing expression under her hat. Meanwhile, Brycen walked up to them.
"You did well for a beginner, Nate," Brycen said.
"Thanks, I guess..." Nate muttered.
"And as for you, Frederick," Brycen addressed Roxie's father. "This is only the beginning. I'm sure you can make it with more practice."
Frederick's expression lit up. The Brycen just complimented his skills as an actor!
"Will do, sir!" Frederick exclaimed.
Brycen simply smirked, as he began to leave.
"Oh, and Nate," Brycen said before he left, getting his attention. "Send my regards to your brother."
Nate's eyes widened in alarm, as he glanced back at Brycen's retreating figure.
"...Crap...he knows who I am..." Nate muttered under his breath.
"What was that about?" Roxie asked.
"Nothing," Nate shot back.
"...I've decided," Frederick suddenly said.
"Dad?" Roxie asked.
"I'll go back to my duties as a ship captain for now," he announced. "But someday, I'll return to the silver screen! No matter how hard I must try, I shall make it!"
Frederick faced Nate, extending his hand.
"Thank you, for helping me learn not to give up so easily," Frederick said.
Nate glanced at the hand as if he didn't recognize the gesture. Somewhat reluctantly, he accepted the handshake. Again with humans treating him with respect. This one was even thanking him. Normally they would've taken his words with offense.
"Thanks...I guess..." Nate muttered.
"Until that day comes, I'll leave the starring roles to the younger generations," Frederick said.
Roxie couldn't help but smirk at her old man. While he did stink, he wasn't gonna give up. Seeing that, she couldn't help but feel happy for him.
"Now then," Frederick said. "I do believe I owe you all a trip–."
"CAPTAIN FREDERICK!"
Everyone shot up to see a sailor running into the facilities, with many security guards after him.
"What the–?!" Frederick gasped.
"The ship!" the sailor yelped before being tackled by one of the guards.
"Let the man speak!" Frederick defended the sailor, making the guards let go of him. "What about it?"
"Some people are trying to steal the ship!" the sailor informed him.
"WHAT?!" they all gasped.
"Who!?" Frederick demanded.
"I don't recognize them," th sailor said. "But they were wearing strange, militaristic uniforms and had orange hair."
That description could only fit one person. Or rather, one association. An association the trio knew all too well.
"Team Plasma...!" Hugh growled.
"C'mon, we need to go!" Frederick yelled.
With Frederick and the sailor in the lead, they all rushed out of the building and back to the harbor, racing before Team Plasma could get away with the ship, and their only ticket to Castelia City.
To be continued
AN: And that's that. Hope you enjoyed that gym battle, and that short movie scene. Since the pokestar studios was unskipable back in the actual games, might as well have fun with it here as much as possible. Gave Nate some more characterization, and his emphasis on the value of life, Yancy almost had her cover blown to Nate (who more or less caught on), and Nate's now a movie star. And now Team Plasma is out to steal their one-way ticket to the next town (yet another deviation from the plot, if not a minor one).
And a few more announcements; like previously mentioned above, I have recently updated Color of Your Soul with an epilogue; covering events and Hilbert and Hilda's whereabouts after the ending and showcasing a battle against a certain guest-star from BW; not to mention a surprise at the end.
By popular demand, a story based on Platinum is currently under development, so look forward to that.
And just as I promised, I have recently started my XY novelization; Fidelity. Feel free to check it out whenever you feel like it or have free time.
Current Team Roster:
Nate: Luca (Lucario) / Tep (Tepig) / Kid (Elekid)
Rosa: Eve (Eevee) / Ottavia (Oshawott) / Nina (Growlithe)
Hugh: Vibrava / Snivy / Magby
Anyways, hoped you enjoyed the chapter, and as always, look forward to the next chapter. See ya next time!