Chapter 10: Lucas v. Roark

"You know my grandfather? How?" Roark, the Gym Leader of Oreburgh City had been summoned to the police station to discuss the recent outbreak of Pokemon thefts in the area. Now he stood in the interrogation room, in front of a teen boy handcuffed to a chair accused of being one of the thieves he was partially responsible to help stop. This boy claimed he actually knew one of his relatives. Could he be telling the truth?

Lucas wasn't lying, he did know Roark's grandfather. On the night the young man had started his journey, only a few days prior, he had stayed at the home of the kindly old man, Grant, President and Founder of the Underground Explorer's Club. In the back room where Lucas had slept there was a photo of Grant, another man and a little boy with glasses and a safety helmet, this same boy, now a man, standing before the incarcerated Trainer. It suddenly made sense why Grant spoke so fondly of the Gym Leader of Oreburgh City, "Grant is the President of the Underground Explorer's Club, I stayed with him a few nights ago. I joined the club because I like fossils and ancient Pokemon. I even have tattoos of some on my right arm,"

"Boy, you'll say anything, won't you? Claiming you know the Gym Leader's grandfather," the lady cop who had been interrogating Lucas scoffed.

Roark went to the table where the teen's things had been laid out and examined them. Amongst the dirty laundry, half-empty packages of junk food, old papers and a ratty looking stuffed Snorlax was a familiar yellow toolbox the Leader knew all too well: an explorer kit.

"Release him."

The cop looked at him with her mouth gaping in shock, "What?"

"This guy is telling the truth. He does know my grandfather, he's not the thief," Roark stated frankly.

"Even if he does know your grandfather that doesn't automatically mean he's not the thief," the cop snapped. She refused to believe the pierced, tattooed, foul-mouthed kid chained to her chair was innocent of anything.

"My grandfather has the best judgment of anyone I know. He wouldn't give an explorer kit to anyone who wouldn't deserve one. And most certainly wouldn't let a criminal stay at his house. This guy is innocent," Roark was certain, he would not be dissuaded from this fact.

The cop opened her mouth to argue when there was another knock on the interrogation room's door. Another officer came into the room with Gizmo wriggling in his arms and Lucas' belt over his shoulder. He saluted his superior, "We ran checks on all of this boy's Pokemon and they are all legally registered to him with no similar Pokemon reported stolen. We also interviewed the little boy and he did, in fact, trade his Abra for a Machop. And when we talked to the nurse from the Pokemon Center, she confirmed that this Trainer only came to this town today. He's not the thief, Ma'am,"

The lady cop gritted her teeth, "I can't believe this kid isn't guilty of something,"

"Release him. You arrested an innocent Trainer and took away his Pokemon. I know we're all worried and you were doing your job, but you've gone too far, Officer. So free him now," Roark repeated. For a moment she looked like she would refuse, but in matters of Pokemon, a League representative like a a Leader had authority over her. The cop grumbled something no one could hear, pulled the handcuff keys from her belt and walked behind Lucas to start undoing the locks.

The Eevee squirmed out of the other cop's grip and bounded over to Lucas, hopping on his lap and licking his face between frantic, happy chirps, "I missed you, too, buddy,"

His hands now free he wrapped his arms around the loyal Pokemon and stood up to face Roark. The Leader gave an apologetic bow, "On behalf of the people of Oreburgh City, I'm sorry for the inconvenience and hardship you suffered—er..."

"Lucas." The Trainer started repacking his things and putting his Pokeball belt back around his waist, "Meh, I've gone through worse. Better to be falsely arrested and moonwalk my way out of here then actually do something and be stuck in here,"

Despite Lucas' insistence that he was fine and not upset, Roark decided to give Lucas a proper tour of the town as an apology. At first the younger boy resisted the fussing, but changed his tune when one of their stops was the museum that the teen had wanted to see. Not only did Roark give him a tour, he took him behind the scenes to meet the scientists who worked there.

"Because of the coal mine we end up finding lots of fossils. Our museum is one of the best in any of the regions. We even end up sending extra samples to other museums," Roark explained as they walked through the back storage rooms. Lucas' eyes danced as he gazed at the complete skeletons. Many were of Pokemon he wasn't familiar with, but it didn't take away the wonder he had as he stared at them. The museum in Pewter City was always his favorite place in the world, but compared to there, this place was heaven. Roark continued, "In fact, it was some of our samples that scientists on Cinnabar Island used to perfect the cloning process used to revive Pokemon fossils,"

That last piece of information shocked Lucas out of his daze, "Revive Pokemon fossils?"

"Oh yeah, if you find any fossils, just take them here and they can revive the Pokemon inside of them. It's become a really easy process now," If Lucas didn't have a Gym match coming up, he would have run out the door to the nearest pile of dirt and start digging. He was definitely going to start exploring before leaving the area. "We can go to the Gym now if you're ready. The police told me that's where they found you, I assume that you were here to challenge me,"

"Yeah, I was," Lucas nodded as they started walking out of the museum and back towards the Pokemon Gym, "Why was the Gym closed anyway? I've never heard of a Gym with operating hours before,"

Roark put a hand in his hair and shook it vigorously. Flecks of fine black powder fell off of his follicles, revealing his real hair color, a dark burgundy, "I work almost every day in the coal mine. The mine is the lifeblood of the town, almost everybody works there. We do our best to make sure that we don't harm the land as we excavate, because without it no one would have any jobs. The Gym is very important, but to me, the town matters more,"

As they returned to front of the Gym, Roark pulled out a set of keys and unlocked the building. Lucas looked around and discovered where he had dropped his Trainer ID. It was a great sense of relief to have it back, and the teen chastised himself for losing such a precious item in the first place. The gym itself seemed to reflect its Leader: it was open, clear and to the point. No tricks, no puzzles, not even any Junior Trainers. The walls and floors were lined with stones and rocks, confirming that this was in fact a rock-type Gym. Roark marched to the podium at the very back of the Gym, giving a wide swathe of space between Lucas and himself.

Lucas' team was made up of Gizmo, Hotrod, Sparky, Franky, Chingling and Beautifly. Having been unfamiliar with the Leader's Pokemon before coming to the town, he neglected switching up his team at the Pokemon Center. None had any real advantage against rock-types, but he wasn't concerned. Their levels would be much higher than Roark's after having beaten Gardenia, and they still knew some moves that the Rock Pokemon simply would be unable to stop.

"I am Roark, Gym Leader of the Oreburgh City. I am a wielder of rock-types, strong Pokemon with punishing attack strength and heavy defenses. They might not have the fanciest of attacks, but they aren't easy to push around. If you want my Coal Badge, you must defeat me," Roark declared. He pulled a Pokeball off of her belt and the battle began, "Go Geodude!"

"Go Hotrod!" Lucas' Charmeleon came snarling into battle. Though outside of a fight Hotrod stayed a loving, happy Pokemon, since his evolution his serious nature in battle intensified, making his a vicious fighter, "Use Dragon Rage!"

"Tackle!"

Hotrod's attack landed first. A dragon-type move, Dragon Rage had one immense benefit against the rock-type: because the attack was unaffected by type advantages or disadvantages, it always did the same amount of massive damage. Though the Geodude's Tackle was quite strong, after a second Dragon Rage it was down for the count, while Hotrod was still ready for more.

Roark was unfazed, "Go Onix!"

Lucas knew he had to be careful now, the Onix was at a higher level than the Geodude, much faster and most likely knew stronger attacks. He would be cautious, but not change his strategy. Hotrod kept using Dragon Rage, though Hotrod did take a pounding from one of Onix's Rock Throw attacks. But even then after several moves the Leader's Onix was also defeated.

Roark was smiling now. Not a smile of accepted defeat, but rather of determination, and great amusement, "I have to admit, Lucas, I didn't know what to think of you when our battle began. You come off as something of an odd person: you look like someone who could be a bad person with the way you dress and your somewhat rude attitude. But I knew you had to be a good person if you liked fossils and my grandfather trusted you. Now I can see exactly what kind of guy you are by the way you raised your Pokemon. You've knocked me down to my final Pokemon. But I'm afraid this battle isn't one you can win. Go Cranidos!"

Lucas was in awe of the Leader's final Pokemon. It was a small, dinosaur-like creature with a large head. It looked downright...prehistoric, "It that..?"

Roark confident smile turned into a grin of pride and pleasure, "Yup, you're right, this is a Pokemon I revived from a fossil,"

The teen Trainer knew he would definitely want a Pokemon like that, more sure than ever he would go hunting for fossils after winning his badge. Despite Roark's warning, the young man was confident of his imminent victory. The Leader was down to his last Pokemon, and Lucas still had a full team, "Hotrod, Dragon Rage!"

"Cranidos, Headbutt!" Lucas wasn't even sure he saw what happened. One minute his Charmeleon was on his way to attack his opponent, the next, the fire-type was flat on its back completely unconscious. The teen was sure Cranidos must have attacked. This Pokemon was fast. Scary fast.

"Chingling! Confusion!" the teen summoned his Pokemon and Roark immediately countered. Another declaration of Headbutt, another lightning fast move, and another one of Lucas' Pokemon knocked out. The pierced young man's cockiness faded. This Cranidos may be Roark's last Pokemon but it had insanely speed. And it was insanely strong. The boy quickly formulated a new plan. If he could slow it down, he would have a chance to knock the rock-type out, "Beautifly, Stun Spore!"

"Headbutt!" Once again, Lucas' Pokemon was down in one hit, without making a chance to make a move.

Lucas adjusted to the situation. Cranidos kept using Headbutt, Headbutt, as strong as it was, was a normal-type move. Those types of moves were useless against ghost-types, "Sparky! Show this thing who's boss! Use Astonish!"

The Rotom eagerly escaped its Pokeball, but clearly had not gotten over its bad habit of not paying attention to the battle it was participating in. Before attacking it examined its surroundings, playfully pushing a pebble around the ground with one of its plasma tendrils. The Trainer was slowly getting used to his quirky Pokemon, and snapped his fingers to get its attention. Sparky glided towards the Cranidos when Roark declared his own attack, "Rock Slide!"

Another plan laid to waste. Once again the Cranidos attacked first, and Sparky's electric-type side was at its mercy. A shower of stones fell from the stone-lined ceiling and Sparky was knocked out. Lucas was beginning to panic slightly. He had gone from a full team to only two Pokemon left. He grabbed the Pokeball from his necklace and summoned his most agile Pokemon, "Gizmo! Tackle!"

"Headbutt!" Lucas finally caught a break. For once, the Cranidos missed and the small normal-type's attack collided. Unfortunately, though he finally landed a hit, Gizmo did precious little damage. Roark commanded his Pokemon again, this time not missing. And though Gizmo was significantly higher in level than Roark's Pokemon, he too was out with one hit.

The Trainer ran to his Pokemon's aid. It was the first time he had ever seen his Eevee knocked out, and the limp form he took frightfully reminded Lucas of when Gizmo had almost died in his arms in Eterna Forest. He picked his creature up and cradled it gently, "Are you okay, buddy?" Though unconscious, his breathing and heart rate were normal. A great weight was lifted off of his chest, but he had more pressing concerns. Now both he and the Gym Leader were down to their final Pokemon. This whole battle all rested on his last Pokemon's shoulders. Though Lucas was concerned so much of his team was taken down so quickly, he had full confidence in the abilities of his Pokemon, "Go Franky!"

Lucas' Magikarp landed on the rough stone of the Gym and flopped desperately. Like all the other Trainers who had faced this Pokemon before him, Roark gave a confused raise of his eyebrow to his opponent's choice, "This is your final Pokemon, Lucas? Are you sure you don't want to just forfeit? I mean, I know you're desperate for your badge, but maybe you should come back when you have some better Pokemon. After all, half of battle is strategy and logic, not just brute strength and luck,"

Lucas shook his head vehemently, "I know exactly what I'm doing and I'm not changing my mind. I have full confidence in Franky. He's going to win this battle for me. He may not seem like much, but he hasn't let me down yet. He'll fight for me because he loves me, and knows how much I love him,"

"All right, if you insist," Roark shrugged and returned to his determined focus, "Cranidos, this is almost over. One more Headbutt!"

"Tackle!" Much to the Leader's surprise, the Magikarp hoisted himself up and collided with Cranidos before the Pokemon could attack. Once again, the damage was low, but the Fish Pokemon's speed seemed to have come out of nowhere. The Cranidos' attack did hit its mark as well, but somehow Franky was able to hang on, it wasn't knocked out. Instead, it began flopping even more frantically than before.

And its body started to glow.

Lucas was now wearing a triumphant smile and was laughing, "I'd think as a Gym Leader you'd be the last person to underestimate a Magikarp. But like everyone else you looked at me like I was crazy for bringing it into battle. Normally I summon Franky first, and then immediately summon him back. I've done that for almost every battle I've fought. He'd get experience and never have to get hurt. And I've been slowly leveling him up for days. But this time I saved him for last, and that was for a reason. Everyone underestimates Magikarp. They think they are weak, that they are stupid, that they are useless and worthless, just like people used to think of me. But Magikarp are awesome. Not only are tougher than they look, they're really fast..." Franky's body glowed brighter and brighter and grew until its body was massive and taking up large parts of the Gym, "...and they evolve into Gyrados."

Roark's eyes widened involuntarily as the newly formed Gyrados slithered around the Gym floor. The stories of this Pokemon's power and temperament were legendary, and it was only natural to be terrified of it. The Leader did his best to regain his composure and croaked out an attack, "Headbutt,"

"Franky! Bite!" Lucas commanded. The sea-monster-like Pokemon reacted immediately to his owner's command and picked up the Cranidos and clamped his teeth together before the other Pokemon could make a move. The attack was so powerful that the Pokemon that had knocked out most of Lucas' team was out within a few seconds. Franky dropped the rock-type unceremoniously on the ground. The battle was over. Lucas was victorious.

Roark recovered from his astonishment and picked up his defeated Pokemon, "Good job, Cranidos, I'm proud of you,"

"Your Pokemon is really amazing. I hope I find a Cranidos half as awesome as yours is," Lucas added genuinely.

"Lucas, as you have defeated me, I recognize you worthy of the Coal Badge," Roark reached into his shirt pocket, and like Gardenia, pulled out a badge, a TM and a wad of bills, "Along with it I give you this TM, Stealth Rock as well as my gratitude for a battle well fought,"

"My second badge! Now just six more to go!" Lucas announced triumphantly. In his excitement, the teen Trainer almost forgot about his new Gyrados, which was still in the Gym, rather than back in his ball. When he turned to his Pokemon, the massive water-type had a strange expression on his face, "Hey, Franky, are you...okay?"

Roark pulled back on the teen's shoulder, "Be very careful. Gyrados are extremely dangerous, and if you aren't ready, you're going to have a very large problem on your hands,"

Lucas shook his head and pulled free from the Leader's grip, "Franky is still Franky. I trust him. If there is something wrong, I'll help him past it. C'mon Franky, c'more boy!"

At that command, the Gyrados lunged forward.