Chapter 9:
A Toxic Rock and Roll
Location: Virbank City
I was lost. I mean, yes I knew what I needed to do. I wanted to take on the Virbank City Gym. But I didn't know where it is. Like, I know. Unova, unlike other regions, doesn't have a set building Type for a Gym. They all look different. I just didn't know where it was. But I knew someone who might…
"That's it!" I said. "Roxie's Father!" And I think I knew where to find him. Just north of the slightly dirty Virbank City, I saw the streaming lights of where I think he could be; the Pokéstar Studios.
Location: Pokéstar Studios
The Studios were so different to Virbank City that I found it hard to believe they were in the same settlement. There were multiple buildings with poster of upcoming movies on them, a movie theatre, an outdoor and indoor green screen area and trailers with actors names on them.
"Amazing," I said. "This is where they record a lot of the big movies." Wanting to avoid distractions however, I went to find Roxie's father.
I asked everyone there. Cameramen, concierges and even some of the actors, as star struck as I was. But since I didn't know his name aside from being Roxie's father, they weren't of much help but said they would tell me if they saw him.
I was about to give up, when I saw a Sailor cheering in the distance. "That must be him!" I thought as I ran over. Sure enough, it was him. "What are you so excited about?" I asked.
"I got it!" Roxie's father said. "I got the main role as the Riolu Kid!"
He was actually serious. "Don't you think that role is a bit young for you? I don't think it will be convincing."
"No matter!" he said. "This is my big break! I'll tour the world! My movies will sweep the box office and get all the nominations!"
The ridiculousness of this guy in his mid-50's playing a role that is usually played by a teenager was getting me off track. "Okay, you know what? Congrats. Could you show me the way to Roxie's Gym please? Which building is it in?"
Roxie's Father laughed. "Of course, I'll show you! But it's not in a building. Follow me! Hey, can I take Rosa there on a tour tram? I'm a star now after all!" he asked someone.
"No," the driver said bluntly. (What response did he think he was going to get?)
Location: Virbank City
"This is it?" I asked. I mean, I could see the Gym logo. It was a very faint neon sign buzzing. It led to an underground place.
"Yep. This is where my daughter runs her business, and her band! Poison Jab!"
It wasn't the most imaginative name ever, but honestly it worked. I wasn't here to buy an album though; I was here to battle! So I went inside.
Location: Virbank Gym
I walked down the dirty, dark corridor. The lights above me were struggling to stay on. Was that Sailor having me on? Had he lured me into some trap? What if Roxie wasn't a Gym Leader after all? I had made a promise a long time ago to Mum that I would never join a gang.
At the end was the Gym Guide.
"Yo, Champ in the making. The names Clyde. Welcome to the Virbank City Gym. Our Gym Leader Roxie uses Poison Types, so Grass Types will struggle a bit." He handed me some Fresh Water. "Just to warn you, she's doing rehearsals. So, you might need to battle the band members first."
When I went into the main stage room, I was blasted in the ears with music. Have your parents ever warned you about putting the volume up too high on your headphones as it might damage your eardrums? Well, I could see where they were coming from now.
Roxie was there with her two band members. She was on guitar and vocals, the only lyrics she seemed to be doing where "P. O. K. É. M. O-N. Pokémon!" I had no idea how she was supposed to sell singles with words like that. There was another Guitarist and also a Drummer.
"Hey Roxie," I yelled. "I challenge you to a battle! Right here, right now!"
However, she was so noisy that any and all shouting I made was completely drowned out. I could barely hear myself, if I hadn't already gone deaf.
I had no choice. I went up on stage and tapped the Drummer on the shoulder.
"Huh? Oh, a challenger. Yeah, sorry about this. Sure, I'll battle! Feel the beat!"
Rosa Vs. Roughneck Nicky
"Servine, go!" I shouted.
"I choose Grimer!" Nicky yelled. He sent out a Pokémon that was a purple blob.
Grimer (ベトベター)
064
Poison Type
Sludge Pokémon
2'11" (0.9 m)
66.1 lbs (30 kg)
Born from sludge, these Pokémon now gather in polluted places and increase the bacteria in their bodies.
"Okay Servine, Wrap!" In all honestly, I wasn't sure how much that was going to do. It did a bit, but it was a bit awkward with Grimer basically being 100% glop.
"Grimer, Disable!" Grimer's eyes flashed, and it prevented Wrap from being used again.
"Oh no," I thought. "Now I only have Grass Type moves, which are not very effective. Well, I guess I'll rely on strength. Use Leaf Tornado!" Servine span around quickly and fired leaves at Grimer. It wasn't very effective.
"Poison Gas Grimer!" Grimer burped purple gas at Servine. It was poisoned.
"No!" I shouted. "Okay, you'll pay for that. Leaf Tornado!" Servine used another Leaf Tornado. This was a Critical Hit and lowered Grimer's Accuracy.
"Pound!" Grimer leapt forward but missed Servine.
"One more Leaf Tornado!" I yelled. Servine fired one more round of leaves at Grimer, finishing it off and the match.
"Sorry about that," Nicky said, putting down his drumsticks. "It should be quieter now. After you take down our Bass player, Billy Jo, Roxie should be in hearing range."
I thanked Nicky and tapped the other guitarist on the shoulder.
"Huh? Oh, my goodness, sorry! Guess I'm a bit too caught up in practice. Sure, let's get this thing started!"
Rosa Vs. Guitarist Billy Jo
"Growlithe, come on out!" I shouted.
"Go Venipede!" shouted Billy Jo. A Fire Type against a Bug Type? Good.
Venipede (フシデ)
043
Bug/Poison Type
Centipede Pokémon
1'04" (0.4 m)
11.7 lbs (5.3 kg)
Using the feelers on its head and tail, it picks up vibrations in the air to determine its prey's location and state.
"Use Ember!" I shouted as Growlithe fired a small fireball at Venipede. It was almost knocked out.
"Use Poison Sting!" Venipede fired back by firing a purple, bubbling pin at Growlithe. It didn't do that much damage, but Growlithe was poisoned.
"Oh no!" I shouted. "We can still finish this. Growlithe, Ember!" Growlithe used its Fire Type move again, knocking out Venipede.
"Good one, but can you take down Koffing?" The gaseous purple Pokémon entered.
"Ember again!" Growlithe attacked Koffing with its fire attack.
"Use Assurance!" Koffing charged into Growlithe. It was a Critical Hit. With the poison continuing to do its thing, Growlithe could only use one more move.
"One final Ember!" The last Ember turned about to be a successful one; Koffing was one hit away from being down.
"Assurance!" Koffing charged into Growlithe one last time, knocking it out.
"Thanks Growlithe. Finish it off, Azurill!" I shouted. "Use Bubble Beam!" Azurill shot bubbles at Koffing. It was down.
Billy Jo took the guitar off. "Sorry about that. I think she can hear you now."
I said that I would quickly be back after a Pokémon Center visit.
After quickly nipping to heal my Pokémon, I tapped Roxie on the shoulder.
"Huh?" she said. "Oh, it's you! From the other day! Yeah, sorry about the delay, but I am more than happy to take you on now. Hope your eardrums aren't raptured! Let's hope your battle spirit isn't either!"
Rosa Vs. Gym Leader Roxie
"Come out Grimer!" Roxie said.
"Go Servine!" I replied back, aware of the Type disadvantage. But if I could get a few Accuracy falls with Leaf Tornado, hopefully Azurill or Growlithe could finish things off. "Leaf Tornado!" Servine twisted about, and fired leaves at Koffing for, surprise surprise, not much at all.
"Use Smog Koffing!" Koffing started getting bigger and smaller, like a beachball. It started spewing gas everywhere. Servine breathed it in and really felt the damage. It was also poisoned.
"Another Leaf Tornado!" Servine fired another Leaf Tornado at Koffing. This one was a Critical Hit! Lucky me!
"Now use Clear Smog!" Koffing started changing size again, but the smoke this time was white. Servine breathed this in and started coughing. It was even stronger than the Smog.
"You can do one more. Leaf Tornado!" Servine attacked with one last Grass Type move. After that, that's all it would write.
"Clear Smog!" Koffing spewed one more lot of white gas, and Servine fainted upon inhaling.
"Servine!" I shouted. "You deserve a good rest." Koffing was really low on HP, so time to give a bit more experience to you know who. "Azurill, come out!" I shouted. My cute blue Pokémon entered.
"Clear Smog!" Koffing spewed another lot of white gas that took away a half of Azurill's health.
"Bubble Beam!" I yelled, as Azurill fired a jet of bubbles at Koffing. It was finished.
"It seems that we're on the final verse! Okay Whirlipede, it's your time to shine!" The purple tyre-like Pokémon was sent out.
Whirlipede (ホイーガ)
044
Bug/Poison Type
Curlipede Pokémon
3'11" (1.2 m)
129 lbs (58.5 kg)
Storing energy for evolution, it sits. But, when predators approach, it moves to stab them with poison spikes.
Venipede -Lv 22- Whirlipede
"Okay Growlithe, go!" I shouted. "Use Ember!" Growlithe shot a flame at Whirlipede. However, Whirlipede had relatively high Sp. Defense so whilst a lot of damage was dealt, it was not nearly as much as Venipede.
"Toxic!" Whirlipede fired a ball of purple sludge at Growlithe. Upon impact, it was badly poisoned.
"This isn't good," I thought. "But we can still win this! Growlithe, Ember!" Growlithe shot another flame at Whirlipede. This one brought Whirlipede down to a position where one more Ember would do the trick.
"Venoshock!" Suddenly, Whirlipede fired purple bullets at Growlithe. It took a lot of damage. Mixed with the badly poisoned status, it was a miracle Growlithe survived.
"That was strong! But Growlithe, we can finish this. One last Ember!" Growlithe fired a final Ember at Whirlipede. It was finished.
"Well, that was a loud match. Congratulations Hilbert! You really rocked this one. Billy Jo, you have it?"
Billy Jo opened a small section of her guitar where a Badge was. It looked like multiple purple balls stacked on top of each other. "Here you go Roxie."
Billy Jo gave the Badge to Roxie who then gave it to me. "This is the Toxic Badge, proof of your victory at the Virbank City Gym. With this, Pokémon up to Lv. 30 can obey you if traded over. I also want to give you this TM." She handed me one. "This contains TM03 for Venoshock, a move that gets very powerful if used on a poisoned opponent. You can come up with many fun strategies with this. One more thing." Roxie went into her pocket and took out a CD. "Here, my latest album. Give it a listen." The album was called 'Acid Spray.'
"Thanks, I'll give it a listen," I said. (I didn't want to break it to her that I hate Heavy Metal music, but it was a nice freebie). "Can I book a Gym battle for my friend Hugh tomorrow to please?"
Roxie nodded. "Sure. Just tell him. Okay everyone, back to rehearsals!"
With my ears damaged enough, I made my leave.
Location: Virbank City
The term 'Silence is golden' applies best when you enter a quiet city from a noise filled room.
"That's better," I said. "My second Badge, all mine!"
Roxie's father walked over to me. "Guess what?" he said. "The Riolu Kid, starring me, will be shown at Pokéstar tomorrow!"
He was joking. I hoped he was. "It will be a disaster; I can assure you."
"Really?" he said. "But it's been my dream!"
I urge people to follow their dreams, but only if it's their calling. Certainly, try new things though. But this was ridiculous because he was playing a 14-year-old kid. But I figured I would go and watch.
"Hey," I said. "Tomorrow, could you maybe ferry me and Hugh over to Castelia City? It's the sight of the Gym ran by Burgh. This will be the first match against a Gym leader that Hilbert also took on."
Roxie's Father saluted. "It might be the last time I do it; I'm gonna be famous!"
I wasn't so sure about that.
Gym Badge #2 is officially in my possession! And tomorrow, I will enter a part of Unova that was explored by Hilbert himself. I've come so far on my journey; I can't wait to see what happens next! First though, time to watch this stupid movie.