Chapter Three: Drawn to the Dark
Most trainers preferred living on the surface, but Roark found the world beneath the surface a whole lot more fascinating. He could spend hours down here, chipping away at the walls searching for rare fossils and rocks, but rock collecting was the last thing on his mind. He had come down here to vent his frustrations by smashing rocks.
"Riley this, Riley that…" he muttered, as his Onix slammed his tail into a rock, splitting it down the middle. Another rock destroyed. That brought the total to twenty five now. It did little to ease his troubled mind, but at least his Pokemon were growing stronger because of it. "I can't believe father offered the position to him first!" Onix smashed another rock.
Riley was the owner of Iron Island, a former prosperous ore mine. It was now a place for trainers to come and train against some of the toughest wild Pokemon in the region. Only trainers who had proved themselves were allowed access to the underground reserve otherwise there'd be a severe overcrowding problem. Roark himself had trained his Pokemon there under the guidance of his father, Byron, the gym leader of Canalave City.
"I should been the number one choice!" he snapped. "Not Riley." Riley wasn't even a Rock-type trainer! He didn't specialize in a type element like a gym leader did, rather, he focused training Pokemon who had higher than average physical attack. He was a highly skilled trainer as Roark had discovered after he foolishly demanded a battle one Friday morning. The trainer's Lucario had annihilated his team within seconds. Had his loss been the reason why Riley was offered the position over Roark?
He felt a vibration in his pocket. Reaching down, he dug his hand inside, fingers curling around his Xtransceiver. He took out, answered it and brought it to his ear. "Roark, I've been calling you for the past few hours! Why didn't you pick up?" asked his father.
"I'm busy training."
He heard his father sigh. "We need to talk."
How he hated those four words. Every time his father mentioned it, he knew he was in for another long boring lecture. "There is nothing to be talked about! Why are you even calling me? Why don't you just call Riley instead since you seem to prefer him over me."
"Roark… I offered the position to Riley because he's old enough to handle the responsibility of being a gym leader."
So, his father didn't think he was mature or wise enough to handle the role. "I am old enough! I graduated from Trainer's School and the Rock Academy with the best marks!" Even his father knew that was difficult to achieve since the tests were quite difficult. The tests involved a mixture of both theory questions and practical activities to test how determined a trainer was. Trainer's School was just the start – the academy run by Alder in Unova, pushed students to the limits, and only the best would graduate with top marks. "I beat Roxanne and Brock for the Best Rock Trainer of the Year Award for the second time running."
"There is more to being a gym leader than earning top results, Roark. You are a smart kid, and a skilled trainer, but you do not yet understand what being a gym leader is all about. Riley does, and that's why I offered him the job."
Roark snorted. "I will win the next battle and then maybe you'll realize that I do have what it takes to be a good gym leader!" He hung up on the Xtransceiver before his father could get in another word. Parents, he thought bitterly, putting the item back into his pocket. Parents were always finding ways to make their children's lives miserable.
He turned back to the rocks again, and ordered his Onix to add another broken rock one to the pile.
.
Route 203 had been filled with quite a number of trainers and Dawn was relieved she had captured a Shinx and a Starly before venturing further. Turtwig was growing in strength with every battle, but even he could not hope to win all five matches in a row. She spent at least an hour or two training her new companions until they were strong enough to battle against other trainers. Once all the trainers were defeated, she returned to Jubilife to heal, purchased some much needed potions, and headed back onto Route 203 again.
Her journey through Route 203 was much easier this time. It didn't take her too long to reach the end where she found herself looking at another gatehouse, except this was built inside a mountain. She was about to enter when Barry burst through the cave entrance. "Barry? Why am I not surprised to see you here?"
"Are you ready to battle, Dawn?"
A battle before the cave gatehouse? Barry sure wasn't making progress easy for her. He had probably been waiting for this moment since his defeat to her a couple of hours ago. She was curious to see how much stronger he had gotten. Had his lessons at Trainer's School made him a better trainer? "I accept your challenge."
He grinned. "Go for it, Starly!"
"Go Shinx!"
Shinx and Starly stared at each other, waiting patiently for the order to attack. Barry made the first move, pointing his finger at Shinx. "Starly, use Quick Attack!" The avian jumped into the air, flew around in a circle then swooped, striking the feline on the head. Shinx hissed, and launched a counter attack, by slashing her claws at the bird's exposed belly.
Starly fell to the ground, wincing from the pain caused by the claws. "Okay Shinx, use Tackle!" Shinx leapt into action, pouncing on the avian, pinning the bird to the ground. The bird struggled to free itself, but the feline held it firmly in place.
"Starly, counter attack!" Despite being on the ground, the bird managed to strike back, kicking its talons in the feline's face. Shinx hissed again, reared on her claws and swatted at the air aimlessly. The Starly managed to wriggle free while Shinx regained her composure.
"Use Tackle again, Shinx!" The feline pounced again slashing at the avian's face. This time, the attack did enough damage to cause the bird to faint. Starly lay on its back, talons held up high, its eyes rolled back in its head. Another victory for my team, thought Dawn. But his Chimchar will be tougher to take down.
"Not bad, but I'm not going to let you win this one! You won't make it pass me until you win!" Barry exclaimed, retrieving his fainted Starly. He threw out his other pokeball. "Go Chimchar!"
Dawn knew using Turtwig would result in a very difficult battle since the monkey had a massive type-advantage. She was going to have to rely on her Starly and Shinx to win this one and hoped they were strong enough to withstand the monkey's attacks. "Shinx, use Tackle!"
"Chimchar, use Ember!" The monkey conjured a fire ball in hired right hand and hurled it forward. The ball hit Shinx in the face, causing the feline to stumble backwards, her eyes hurting from the flame. Still, Shinx tried to be a good fighter and attempted to strike back, but her temporary blindness made it difficult. Chimchar attacked again and before Dawn knew what was happening, Shinx collapsed.
She gritted her teeth and returned Shinx to her pokeball. It was up to Starly now. "Go, Starly!" The avian popped out of her pokeball and hovered in the sky, watching the Chimchar with weary eyes. "Use Quick Attack!"
"Chimar, use Ember!" The monkey hurled another fireball, but Starly was quick enough to narrowly avoid it by an inch. The bird brought her talons forward and raked the monkey in the face. Chimchar staggered backwards from the impact, temporarily leaving himself exposed.
"Use Quick Attack again, Starly!" Quick Attack was best used in moments like these – it wasn't a move that dealt a great deal of damage, but it could be the difference between winning and losing. Chimchar was struck once again, but the monkey was stronger than it looked, although Dawn could see signs of exhaustion appearing on his face.
"Chimchar, use Ember again!" Chimchar threw yet another fireball and this one managed to bring Starly down to the ground. The bird rolled around from side to side, trying to shake the flames off her body. While Starly was preoccupied with putting the flames out, Chimchar attacked, clawing the avian.
"Don't let him beat you, Starly! We're so close! Use Tackle!" Unfortunately, the bird had used up so much energy in putting out the flames that she could barely climb to her feet from exhaustion. Starly lay on the ground, breathing heavily and Dawn knew the fighting spirit had left the bird. She returned Starly to her ball. She glanced down at Turtwig. "It's up to you." Turtwig nodded, and moved forward.
"Use Ember!"
"Endure the flames, Turtwig!"
The fireball landed on Turtwig's back, enveloping the Pokemon in fire. Turtwig released a pained cry, the leaf on his back covered in flames. Dawn could only look on in horror, hoping she hadn't made a mistake of relying on Turtwig to win the battle. She regretted not catching any other wild Pokemon. The flames died down and surprisingly, Turtwig was still standing. He was black now, and his leaf atop his head gone, but the creature intended to carry on fighting.
"Turtwig, use Tackle!" The burnt Turtwig rushed forward and rammed into the monkey's side. Chimchar was a light-weight Pokemon and was easily toppled over by the much heavier Turtwig. Turtwig sat on Chimchar, using his entire weight to keep the fire monkey pinned down. The monkey's limbs flailed in all directions as it struggled to escape, but Turtwig would not budge.
Chimchar couldn't use Ember at such a close range so the monkey was limited to using Scratch only. He clawed Turtwig, but the tortoise's body was hard to penetrate, rendering the Chimchar's move as useless. "Oh, darn!" Barry exclaimed. Chimchar's energy was fading rapidly until the monkey could no longer fight.
"We did it!" Dawn exclaimed, throwing a fist into the air.
Barry retrieved his Chimchar. "What do you mean I lost again? Well, that's it! That's the last time I'll ever lose! I'm going to be the world's toughest trainer, and you know it! The first thing to do is take on the Oreburgh City Pokemon Gym! I'm gonna toughen up for that, totally!" Barry rushed away before Dawn could offer some advice.
"Well, I guess it's time to head on through to Oreburgh City."
She stepped through the cave, and was greeted immediately by a hiker standing at the entrance. He was red in the face and sweating profusely, looking as if he had just run a marathon. "You look like a tough trainer! By that determined look on your face, I suspect you're going to take on the gym leader."
Dawn nodded. "Yup, you're right. Uh, how do I reach Oreburgh?"
The hiker nodded. "Keep heading east. You'll come across two campsites, but the trainers aren't here at the moment. Come back in a day or two and you'll be able to challenge them to a battle."
"Okay, thanks. I'll keep that in mind."
The walk to the opposite site was thankfully a short one. Her legs were growing weary now. Sitting down for a couple of hours and having a meal was growing on her priority list. She exited the cave, immediately setting foot on a sandy path. Oreburgh was quite different from Jubilife – Jubilife was modern, with big fancy buildings and streets made of gravel, but Oreburgh was a simple mining place. There were no roads or any fancy modern buildings in this town. It lacked both colour and life. Aside from the usual Pokemon Centre and Poke Mart, there were only two places of importance – the gym, which was designed to look like a gigantic boulder, and the mining museum.
She headed down the path when a strong gust of wind blew past her, hurling sand grains into her eyes. Now she was covered in sand. With tears glistening down her cheeks, she hurried into the Pokemon Centre and shook herself, removing the grains from her clothing. Not all of them had been removed - some stubbornly stuck to clothes.
"You might want to put on a hiker's outfit on to withstand the elements here," a voice said. Dawn turned her head and spotted a young blonde lady dressed all in black, sitting by herself on the couch in the far eastern corner. What was a woman like that doing in a place like this? "You can borrow one while you are here in this town. There's a changing room just to the right of the counter." She pointed to a clothes rack. Dawn spotted a thick jacket and some pants hanging.
"Thanks," Dawn said.
The woman smiled and said no more. She stood up and left while Dawn helped herself to the clothing items. Cradling the clothes, she made her way towards the changing room and changed out of her clothes and into her new ones. The hiking clothes didn't fit her physique; it seemed designed for a male instead, but it was only temporary. Before leaving the building, she took the opportunity to heal her Pokemon while she placed her old clothes into her bag. It took a few minutes for her Pokemon to be restored to peak health. All she had to do was hand over her pokeballs and the woman would place them in a special machine with a glass dome.
Dawn thanked the nurse and headed outside, and came face-to-face with the blonde lady from before. Leaning against the wall, she lifted her head up and gave Dawn a warm smile, then gestured to the gym, opposite to the Pokemon Centre. "The gym leader isn't home right now, but you can visit him down at the Oreburgh Mines. You can find the entrance to the south-east. Take care." The mysterious lady walked away. Dawn followed her instructions and made her way to the south eastern corner. A sign reading, 'Oreburgh Mines' was stationed a couple of metres away from the entrance.
Dawn flipped her hair over her shoulder and headed towards the mines. It took her a few minutes to reach the entrance, since it was only a couple of metres away from the Pokemon Centre. The air was stuffy, and it had a stench she couldn't quite explain in proper words. Being outside had been bad enough with the blowing sand, but this was worse. She felt dirty just by standing here. Thank Arceus for the miner's clothes otherwise her usual clothes would be covered in sand.
Fortunately, the road to the end of the mines was a short one and populated with various wild Pokemon. She had caught a Machop immediately after entering the mines. She recalled a show about type advantages and type disadvantages. A wise trainer made use of these moves. Fighting-type Pokemon were strong against rock-types. Considering this was a mining town, it didn't take a scientist to know the gym leader specialized in rock-types.
She found the gym leader (or at least suspected it was him since he dressed differently from the other miners) standing in front of a wall, smashing rocks with a giant serpent rock-like Pokemon behind him. The Pokemon was smashing the rocks with such intensity, the ground was shaking. Dawn wasn't sure whether she should approach him or not. He seemed agitated, judging by the scowl on his face. "Erm, hello?"
He jumped, startled by her voice. His expression softened. "Oh, hello."
"What were you doing to those rocks?"
He turned to the shattered rocks briefly then turned back to her. "Smashing them."
"It looks like a lot of fun."
He gave her a half-smile. "It's a good way to vent, but I'm sure you didn't come all this way to do just that. I could show you the best way method to smash boulders, but I won't share my tips unless you beat the gym leader first. That would be me! I'll see you at the gym. I hope you're ready trainer because I'm not easily beaten. I haven't been defeated in months and I don't intend to let another rookie obtain the badge so easily."
He returned his Pokemon to its ball and made his way back to the entrance, leaving Dawn feeling dumbfounded. The gym leader seemed like a real jerk. Was he as tough as he acted though or was it just all talk? Only one way to find out. She exited the mines and made her way over to the gym which fortunately was easy to spot. It was built out of rocks, fitting in quite nicely with the overall feel of the city. Taking in a deep breath, she entered the gym.
.
Upon entering, she was startled by a funny man dressed in mismatched brown striped clothes. He had a furry brown moustache and wore thick black-rimmed sunglasses which struck Dawn as strange since they were inside a building. He even wore brown shoes and brown socks to go with his overall brown-themed appearance. Had he purposely dressed this way to match the overall theme of the gym, or was he just the type of person who enjoyed wearing brown clothing?
"Hello trainer! I haven't seen your face before so I would be correct in assuming you are new? Well, in that case allow me to introduce myself! I'm Malcolm, the gym advisor of Sinnoh – my twin brother is the advisor in Johto. It's our job to make the lives of challengers that much easier by telling them all there is to know about the upcoming gym battles."
"I'm Dawn."
"Who is the trainer in your family if you don't mind me asking? It's always interesting to know where the trainer gene comes from." He chuckled lightly. Dawn frowned. "Did you know that a lot of trainers come from families with no competitive battling experience? The last kid who came here came from a family of breeders."
"My father is a trainer." Whether he was a good or a bad one, Dawn didn't know. Her mother hadn't said too much about it and Dawn had never asked.
"That's great news, Dawn! It makes me so happy that I'm going to throw in an extra tip for you. The home city of a gym usually represents the type of Pokemon you used, so make sure you pay extra attention to your surroundings because it will make the gym battle much easier," he chirped, giving Dawn a big smile. The guy either really loved his job or he was an excellent actor. Either that or he just liked smiling.
Dawn nodded. His words made sense. "How does a gym battle work?"
"Gyms are designed in a way to test the challenger. Finding your way to the end of the gym is a challenge in itself since each one is specifically designed to test the strength of the trainer. You see, gym battles aren't just about the Pokemon, it's about the mental and physical strength of the master."
She nodded again. Although he dressed in a bizarre manner, the man certainly knew his topic well. She wondered how many times he had given this speech. "Please, tell me more."
He readjusted his sunglasses. "You'll have to fight your way through the puzzle – there'll usually be a couple of trainers hiding in the gym to weaken your Pokemon before the real fight. They shouldn't pose too much of a problem though since the Pokemon they use are weaker than the gym leader's. Some of the trainers can be avoided, but I'd strongly suggest battling them for the bonus experience."
"Anything else?"
"Trainers may not intervene in the match unless it is absolutely necessary. You are allowed to give your Pokemon a healing potion during the battle, but there's a limit. You're restricted to five healing items. You can use as many status-healing items as you want, but you'll be sacrificing a turn if you do. Gym leaders can only use one healing item. It's better to ensure your Pokemon are strong enough to handle battles without having to heal – it gets pretty expensive if you're always purchasing healing items."
"Okay."
"If your Pokemon should find itself in a position it can't easily get out of, you may not help. You must either call your Pokemon back or let it faint. Those are the rules of a gym battle."
Sounded fair enough, but a little harsh. "Do you have any more advice?"
He looked thoughtful then shook his head. "Never give up! A Pokemon always has a weakness! You just have to find it and exploit it! Other than that, good luck Dawn! I hope to see a big smile on your face when you exit this gym!"
She stepped off the red carpet and made her way pass two Pokemon statues she didn't recognize.
Despite how big it looked from the outside, the gym's interior was small. She could already see the opposite end quite clearly and the paths leading to it. The gym was built on a gentle man-made slope – Roark was standing on the peak, while the gym trainers were on the lower levels in between columns of rock. One was standing on the middle and the other on ground level. Both trainers could be avoided but she wanted to fight them. Besides, she needed all the experience she could get if she wanted to become the next Champion of Sinnoh.
She approached the first trainer. There was a nametag on his clothes and it read in big bold letters, 'Jonathan.' He looked at her now after turning his blue cap backwards. "Don't think this battle is going to be easy just because I'm the first trainer!"
"I'm ready."
He smirked. Dawn noticed he only had one pokeball attached to his pokebelt. "Go Geodude!" A grey boulder Pokemon, with bulging, rocky eyebrows appeared from the ball. Trapezoidal brown eyes stared at her, as the creature punched the air with its muscular five-fingered hands.
Dawn pulled out her Pokedex to obtain information.
Geodude. At rest, it looks just like a rock. Carelessly stepping on it will make it swing its fists angrily.
She made a mental note to herself to always look before she stepped to make sure she didn't accidentally step on one. "Go Turtwig!" Grass-types were strong against rock-types as well. This battle should be an easy one, she thought.
Turtwig rushed forward immediately eager to jump into the fray. Although the turtle had been healed, the leaf on his head had not returned. Her poor Turtwig was a leafless one and she hoped it did not make it difficult to learn certain moves in the future. She could only hope he grew a new one in due time. Perhaps with more experience he'd grow a new leaf. Could he still use leaf based attacks? It didn't matter at the moment though since he wasn't experienced enough to use Razor Leaf, but he had learned the move Absorb.
"What's wrong with your Turtwig? Did he get his leaf burned off?" Jonathan teased. Dawn suppressed a growl. She'd let her Turtwig teach the boy a lesson. "Geodude, use Tackle!"
"Use Absorb!"
Tortoises were naturally slow creatures, but rock animals were even slower, so Turtwig moved first. Turtwig closed his eyes, and vibrated, until little glowing balls of yellow emerged from underneath his shell. The balls moved towards the Geodude, throwing themselves at its rock-hard armour, sucking the life force out of it. The balls returned to the Turtwig, hiding back underneath his shell. A faint earthly glow radiated from his shell. Somehow, he looked stronger and more confident.
Geodude, on the other hand, had fainted. Whatever the move had achieved, it had been super-effective. Dawn looked at her Pokedex again for information. Absorb was a Grass-type move that drained an opponent of health. She put it away again. That explained the easy victory. "Well done, Turtwig!" At this rate, this gym was going to be super easy. Barry was probably going to find it a difficult battle though since he had selected Chimchar as his starter.
Dawn moved passed the disappointed trainer and made her way up a staircase to find the next one. This boy dressed the same way as the previous one did and he too wore his cap backwards. His name was Darius and he had two pokeballs attached to his belt. "I see you made it past Jonathan. I'm sorry to disappoint you, but your journey ends here! Go Geodude!"
Another one? Hadn't the trainer been watching her battle with his friend? This wasn't going to be a Geodude gym right? "You can do this, Turtwig!" Turtwig nodded, lunging forward, preparing himself for another battle. Darius' Geodude used Tackle but like the previous battle, Turtwig was faster and therefore was able to attack before the other could land theirs.
Turtwig used Absorb again. The Geodude fainted, dropping to the ground, making the ground around it shake slightly. "Hmph, I see you've come prepared then. This next Pokemon won't be so easy though. Go, Onix!"
The same Pokemon Dawn had seen earlier in the mines stood before her now. It towered over her, black eyes peering down at her minuscule form. Size wasn't going to intimidate her though; she had a Turtwig on her side. She pulled out her Pokedex again to obtain more information for Rowan's research.
Onix. It burrows through the ground at a speed of fifty miles per hour while feeding on large boulders.
She put it away again. "Use Absorb, Turtwig!"
"Onix, use Tackle!"
Surprisingly, the giant Rock-creature moved first. Onix charged downwards in Turtwig's direction and succeeded, sending the small tortoise flying through the air. Turtwig hit the eastern wall hard, crumbling to the ground, landing on his belly. The tortoise picked himself back up, although he stood on shaky legs. Dawn winced. Now it was starting to get tougher, but the battle wasn't over yet. She had Absorb.
Turtwig used Absorb, draining Onix's health. The glowing balls seemed to restore Turtwig's own health because the grazes he had received had disappeared. Onix fell to the ground in a heap, its eyes rolled back into its head. Another victory for Turtwig, Dawn mentally cheered.
"Oh no… I lost…" Darius said, falling to his knees.
Dawn moved past him and made her way up the final flight of stairs. Roark's arms were crossed over his chest, lips pressed into a thin line, brows furrowed. Was he worried?
"Allow me to formally introduce myself before we commence battle. I'm Roark, the gym leader! I'm but one trainer who decided to walk proudly with rock-type Pokemon! As the gym leader, I need to see your potential as a trainer and I'll need to see the toughness of the Pokemon that battle with you! You may have a type-advantage, but don't let that make you think you've won this match." He had three pokeballs attached to his pokebelt.
"Are you ready, Turtwig? Let's show him what we can do!"
Roark summoned his first Pokemon. Not surprisingly, a Geodude appeared. He probably had an Onix as well. She wondered what the third one was. Another Geodude? Another Onix? "Geodude, Rock Throw!" The Geodude punched the ground, and scooped up some mud, rolling it around until it was a ball. It hurled the mud ball at Turtwig. Turtwig failed to dodge it and was hit in the face. Turtwig winced.
"Turtwig, use Absorb!"
The same strategy had worked extremely well on the last two Geodudes so naturally it ought to work well on this one as well. As she had predicted, Turtwig's Absorb brought the Geodude to a fainting state almost immediately. Roark wasn't upset by the quick loss; he was grinning. Why did he look so pleased? He was losing badly, thought Dawn.
"Not bad, but you're not the only trainer who has got something to prove." He retrieved his Geodude and threw out his next one. "Onix!"
Not another one, Dawn thought. Oh well, another easy round for me. "Turtwig, use Absorb again!" It wasn't like she had any other attacks to use against the Rock-type Pokemon. Tackle would do little damage against their armour.
"Onix, use Rock Throw!" Onix swung at the ground with his tail, sending balls of mud flying at Turtwig. Turtwig failed to avoid the move and was struck in the side. He toppled over onto his side, and wriggled his legs in the air, in an attempt to roll himself back over. Dawn felt tempted to run over and push him onto his feet but that was a forbidden. All she could do was call him back and reuse him later if needed. She decided to test out her newly captured friend, Machop.
Her Machop knew two moves. Low Kick and Leer. "Machop, use Low Kick!"
Machop charged, jumped into the air, landing on the Onix's back. He kicked the Onix on the back of his head hard enough to prompt the Onix to sway from side to side. Despite her initial hesitance in catching the Machop, she was relieved she had caught one since his attack did significant damage against the Onix. The Onix fell to the ground and Machop leapt off to avoid being taken down with it. Only one Pokemon remained.
"Think you can take down my last Pokemon like you did to my previous two? Here's a warning, it won't be easy. Cranidos!" He threw out his final pokeball. A bipedal dinosaur-like creature appeared. Its underbelly scales were grey, while the scales on his back were blue. The Cranidos had a dome-shaped head, which reminded Dawn of an egg. His tail was quite short, but muscular. Dawn consulted her Pokedex.
Cranidos. A lifelong jungle dweller from one hundred million years ago, it would snap obstructing trees with headbutts.
She put the Pokedex away. The Cranidos was obviously Roark's mascot Pokemon since he saved it for last. This was the true battle. Could her Pokemon win her the match or was she going to fail despite having a type-advantage? Only one way to find out.
"Cranidos, use Headbutt!"
Cranidos charged forward, ramming his head into Machop. Machop was driven into the eastern wall, so roughly, a crack had been made. Cranidos took a few steps back, looking slightly shaky after using the attack. Machop fell onto the ground, face first, but fortunately the Pokemon picked himself up again. The fighting spirit hadn't been dimmed.
"Use Low Kick!"
Machop took a running leap, and jumped into the air, kicking the dinosaur in the face. Cranidos staggered backwards, and shook his head violently, as if trying to remove something off his head. He recovered and charged again, using another Headbutt. Machop was driven into the wall once more, once again having the wind knocked out of him. Still, he remained on his feet, standing on shaky legs.
Roark rushed over to his Cranidos and gave it a potion, but Dawn decided to risk it by not using one. A Pokemon couldn't attack immediately after having its health restored so Dawn had a chance to attack first this time. "Use Low Kick again, Machop!" Machop repeated the same move and kicked the Cranidos in the head. Cranidos staggered backwards.
"No way! Not yet! Not giving up!" Roark exclaimed. His Cranidos was panting now, looking rather sore. Continuous head rams surely couldn't be good for long-term battling.
"Just hang in there, Machop!"
"Use Headbutt, Cranidos!"
Cranidos lowered his head again, and charged, ramming into Machop. His attack seemed less intense than the previous Headbutt – Cranidos almost tripped over his own two legs after using it. Machop unfortunately, couldn't withstand another one and fainted. She recalled her Machop and sent out Turtwig again. Cranidos was tiring quickly. Headbutt hit hard, but strong attacks were draining.
"Finish this, Turtwig! Use Absorb!"
The glowing balls clung to Cranidos, draining him of his last remaining energy reserves. He flopped to the ground. "W-what? That can't be! My buffed-up Pokemon!" Roark wailed.
Dawn threw a fist into the air. "We won! I can't believe we actually won our first badge!" she cheered, running over to scoop up Turtwig into her arms. Turtwig rubbed his face affectionately against Dawn's.
Roark sighed. "This is embarrassing… I went and lost to a trainer who didn't have a single gym badge… but that's tough. I guess my father was right… I still have much to learn about being a gym leader… You were strong and I was weak. That's all there is." He recalled his fainted Pokemon and walked over to stand directly in front of Dawn. "According to Pokemon League rules, I have to give you our gym badge since you've beaten me, the leader. Here's your official Pokemon League Coal Badge."
The Coal Badge was a simplistic item shaped like a mushroom, but designed to bear resemblance to a pokeball, only it was coloured brown and steel blue, instead of red, black and white. She put the badge into her bag, and made a mental note to purchase a badge box the next time she visited the Poke Mart. "Thanks!"
"In this region of Sinnoh, there are seven other gym leaders. I should warn you – they're a lot tougher than I am!" Dawn turned to exit but Roark spoke again. "You'll be able to trade your Pokemon for new ones now. Just visit the Pokemon Centre and head down to the basement. By the way, what is your name? I'd like to have a rematch against you when we're both stronger."
"I'm Dawn."
Roark pulled out his contact card and handed it to Dawn. "Give me a call when you are ready. You've taught me something valuable today Dawn. I won't forget you. Good luck, your remaining gyms will be far more challenging than this. Choose your Pokemon wisely and you'll go far." He waved her goodbye.
She made her way back to the entrance where the gym advisor stood. He winked. "I knew it. I knew you'd win. My tips did help you, didn't they?"
"Yes, they did."
She left the building as the gym advisor continued to gush over her win. Healing up her Pokemon was now her main priority so she headed back to the Pokemon Centre.
.
Trading Pokemon was a simple process. All she had to do was select a computer, enter her trainer card details and log into the server. After logging in, she was taken to a list of names and the Pokemon they were offering to trade. She sorted the list by their type, finding that filter easier to navigate.
A boy named Silver from Johto was offering up a newly caught Gastly for trade. He didn't care what he received in return since he stated he planned on trading it for something else anyway. Dawn didn't like the vibe the boy was emitting, but a Gastly looked to be a promising addition to her team. The kids in her town were scared of ghosts, and often shared stories about them around the fire, but Dawn wasn't afraid of them. She hovered the cursor over his name and clicked.
"Would you like to make a trade with Silver?" the message read.
Dawn clicked yes. A new pop-up window appeared.
"What Pokemon would you like to offer? Please place the ball in the slot machine."
Since Silver didn't care what Pokemon he received, Dawn didn't have to be selective. She placed Starly in the Pokemon slot machine and waited for Silver's response. A few moments later, the slot machine switched on and made a gentle whirring noise. Her pokeball was sucked into the machine like a vacuum cleaner, replaced seconds later with a new pokeball. There was a message attached to it.
It read, 'This Gastly won't listen. Good luck trying to train it… if you can, chump.'
She couldn't hear his voice, but the tone of his words suggested hostility. He probably thought she was some weakling incapable of raising a Pokemon. Dawn attached the ball to her pokebelt and returned her attention to the machine. She still had two other Pokemon she wanted to trade. Parting with them sad unfortunate, but at least they were local and easily obtainable, if she decided she wanted them again. Catching her own Pokemon to raise was exciting, but earning the love of a Pokemon abandoned from another one was more appealing.
She searched through the menu again hovering her cursor over a woman called Karen. "Isn't she an Elite Four member from the Indigo League?" Dawn said aloud. It was strange seeing a Pokemon offered up by an Elite Four member. The lady was a dark-type specialist and she was offering a newly hatched Murkrow for trade.
"My Murkrow has been laying eggs and I decided to offer them up for a trade," read the message on the screen. "I'll take any Pokemon you have to offer." She was probably going to trade them with someone else like Silver planned too, she thought. This time, she offered her Shinx. Moments later, she received her Murkrow. As with the Gastly, there was a message with it.
This one read, "Murkrow will only evolve when exposed to a Dusk Stone. Do take care of him!"
She attached the Murkrow to her belt and searched for her final traded Pokemon. So far, she had a grass-type, a ghost-type and a dark and flying-type fusion on her team. There were so many other types available to her that it was difficult to choose which one to take. She scanned the list, searching for something that appealed to her. Her eyes rested on a baby dragon called Deino, which was being offered up by a man called Ghetsis.
She looked at his avatar. He was sneering in the picture. Another Silver? "I wonder why you are offering Deino up for a trade…" She had heard little about the dragon thanks to the wonders of television. Deino were native to Unova and considered hard to find and difficult to train due to their temperament and typing. It was a dark dragon-type. She didn't really need another dark-type on her team, but she wanted the dragon since dragons were powerful. Besides, the challenge of raising one would make her a better trainer in the long run.
"Who is brave enough to take responsibility for this Deino? I have already raised one to his final evolution – can you handle it? Only a trainer with a liking for the dark can tame this mighty dragon. I'll accept any of your weakling Pokemon and I will make them strong. Your Pokemon will be in good hands, heh heh heh." She could almost imagine the man cackling like person possessed on the other end.
The man sounded a little unstable, but Deino was a typing she wanted. She offered her Machop for the trade. Seconds later, she received her Deino. As with the previous two Pokemon, this one had a message attached to it.
"Embrace the darkness."
Weird man, Dawn thought. She hoped her Machop was truly in good hands otherwise she'd feel like guilty for parting with him, especially since he aided her in obtaining her first badge. She attacked Deino to her pokebelt and logged out of the server, and exited the building. "Where to next?" she wondered aloud then remembered she had to change back into her old clothes. "I guess I'll just ask around… I should've asked Roark…"