POKEMON HEART SOUL ADVENTURES
Welcome back! I'm afraid this chapter will come just before a 3-month hiatus because of my summer vacations, and I'm already writing it on borrowed time... so I will not annoy you with over-long introductions, and let's get into the action already! I'll be reading your reviews and get back to updating as soon as I'm back from Rome, but in the meantime... I hope you enjoy this chapter! See you!
Chapter 22 - Roxanne's Rocky Riot
Torterra and Drapion were now circling threateningly around each other, each one of them calmly keeping their eyes on their opponent in search of a possible weak point in his defence. Of course, Torterra looked to be a lot bulkier and more resistant than his gangly opponent, but Drapion's claws and stinger, to say nothing of the proud tilt to his head and the way he seemed to prance about in combat, spoke of an highly skilled opponent, not to be trifled with. Not knowing which attacks he could use, Paul thought it a good idea to be wary and try to make sure he knew what that Drapion could do.
"Alroght, Torterra. We'll start out by focusing on defense. Use Withdraw." the purple-haired trained order. The giant tortoise slowly retreated his head and paws into his indestructible shell, so that his opponents had fewer places he could strike at. For his part, Drapion opted not to expose himself too much and stood on guard, waiting for the right moment to strike. Several seconds passed before this stalemate was broken, which happened when Drapion got tired of waiting around and rushed at Torterra with his stinger raised, ready to strike with a Poison Jab. Unfortunately for him, that was just the opening Paul was waiting for...
"Razor Leaf." he ordered, and Torterra shook the small tree on his back, causing several razor-sharp leaves to detach from it, and sending them towards Drapion like a swarm of arrows. The giant scorpion screeched in surprise and tried to defend himself with his claws, managing to block the attack but getting thrown to the ground in a cloud of dust. Paul thought this was a good time to put some more pressure on Drapion. "And now, Torterra... use a Crunch attack. Now."
With an unexpected burst of speed, the tortoise threw himself at Drapion and opened his mouth, revealing the sharp edge of his toothless mouth before closing it upon Drapion's left claw, causing the scorpion-like Pokemon to widen his eyes and shake the injured limb in an attempt to free himself. Slashing at Torterra with his free claw, Drapion managed to wriggle his way out of Torterra's hold and retreated a few steps, trying to think of a way out of that sticky situation, while Paul looked at the battle with indifference. Drapion was starting to get annoyed at himself - he had to put a lot more effort in the battle, if he wanted to be accepted by that trainer...
Before Paul and Torterra could attack again, Drapion dashed forward on four pair of swift paws... and, much to his opponents' surprise, he opened his mouth, razor-sharp teeth gleaming in freezing energy! Torterra tried to get away from the attack, but Drapion was far too fast for him, and mahaged to clamp his freezing fangs in the tortoise's front left paw! Roaring in pain and surprise, the giant turtle flinched... and even Paul's face contorted in surprise: he had not expected that Pokemon to be able to use a move that was so effective against his strongest Pokemon!
"That Drapion knows Ice Fang? I didn't see that one coming..." the boy said to himself. His surprise did not last long, though, and he smiled to himself, satisfied with his luck. "Very well, looks like I found a worthy Pokemon. But a single move is not enough. Torterra, use a Sandstorm!"
The tortoise shook his injured paw to escape the numbing feeling, faced against Drapion once again and, eager to pay back the scorpion Pokemon, began furiously digging in the ground, sending peebles, rocks and debris airborne all around himself. The giant scorpion, who was just then getting ready for another attack, stopped cold and retreated, putting both his claws in front of himself as a defensive gesture... and while the Sandstorm raged around him, he allowed himself a small smile. So his predictions were right - this boy was just the trainer he was looking for! Now he had to concentrate and give it his all... his chances of being picked as a new Pokemon for Paul's team were riding on his performance in this battle. He had to do his best to impress Paul, and he already had half a mind of what to do...
After remaining still for a few seconds to protect himself for the falling debris, Drapion took advantage of a moment when the storm seemed to weaken, and attacked again, this time with a Night Slas attack: his right claw was enveloped in a sinister black aura, and Drapion viviously slashed at the slower Pokemon, scratching off some moss from the top of his shell! The tortoise grunted in pain, but was quick to fight back with another Razor Leaf attack, striking the scorpion-like Pokemon and sending him to the ground, a few steps away from Torterra. However, Drapion quuickly got up, with renewed determination, and Torterra stood back on guard in order not to give him any opening... while Paul, standing on the sidelines, kept watching with ever-increasing expectations.
"Very good... this Drapion is really proving himself." the young trainer told himself. "Coming here on Mt. Silver was a really good idea... when this period of training is over, my team will be almost invincible! You'd better not get too complacent, Ash Ketchum, because you'll be one of the first to experiment my team's new strength..."
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Max, May and Hilde were at the moment stepping towards the doors of Rustboro Gym, where the young boy was going to face his first official match. Roxanne's Gym had not changed that much since the siblings had first visited it... and yet, its sight was a source of fond memories for both of them. Especially for May, considering that this was where she had taken her decision to be a Pokemon coordinator.
But that was not the time to get lost in memories, and Max knew that very well. After taking a deep breath and mentally going through the strategy he had worked up, the bespectacled young boy nodded to himself. "Guess this is it... let's give it my all!" he told himself, before turning to the girls who were standing with him. "Sis, Hilde... don't miss out on even one second! I have every intention of leaving you both dumbfound!"
Hilde had no outward reaction, keeping her neutral, aloof expression. Max had to ask himself how could a girl always look so angry and annoyed... "Well, we'll see about that." she answered. "Don't say I didn't warn you, though. This woman is a tough opponent."
"Ugh... I know that, Hilde... you sure have a way to cheer people up..." the young boy snarked, a large sweatdrop pouring from his head. "Well, no matter... the important thing is, I'm here for now. And now, let's concentrate on the battle!"
"Go for it, bro! I'm sure you will do well... if you do have this strategy you say you worked out!" May said with a sprinkle of irony. Max wrinkled his nose, but remained silent and entered the Gym, ready to face the challenge.
Even in its interior, Rustboro Gym hadn't changed at all since Ash had faced the pretty Gym Leader two years before. It still looked somewhat hollow, its walls carved in raw stone, and the arena composed of jagged rocks. At first, the trainers thought it odd that the Gym looked so forlorn, since the Gym Leader must obviously have known that the journey of that year's starting trainers had started only a few days before. It seemed reasonable to think that the Gym Leader was ready to face a challenge at every moment, and yet she was nowhere to be seen...
"How strange... looks like nobody's home." Hilde said, looking around as she tried to find someone of the personnel. "When I came here yesterday, I found Roxanne immediately."
"Dunno, maybe she's busy at the moment... after all, one cannot expect a Gym Leader to be available every hour of the day, right?" Max wisely stated. "Let's just wait a few moments and see if she comes..."
May nodded, and the three sat down on a stone bench near the entrance as they started to wait. One, two... five minutes... just when they were starting to fear that the Gym had really been abandoned, the faint sound of steps on raw stone warned them that someone was coming. Max stood up first to see with his own eyes who was that, and faintly smiled as he saw a pretty girl about a few years older than he was, wearing a blue-grey long-sleeved school uniform with a white collar and a rather short skirt, pink stockings and blue shoes with matching ankle bracelets. Her uniform was further decorated with a pink necktie, and her hair was done in a strange style, with with side pigtails joining up behind her back in a single large plait, held together by a pink ribbon. Max and May recognized her at once - she was Roxanne, Rustboro's Gym Leader.
The young Gym Leader saw the newcomers and greeted them with a polite bow. "Good morning, and welcome to..." she started to say, before she recognized May and Max thanks to her excellent memory. "Oh, what a surprise! You two must be... May and Max, am I right? You were with Ash when he won the challenge in my Gym, two years ago! What bring you back here, now?"
"Good morning, Roxanne!" May said, waving at the older girl. "I'm just here to watch over my bro... he's the one who was interested in meeting you!"
"Right... now that you've reached ten years of age, Max, you got your first Pokemon as well. And now you're here to challenge me, right?" Roxanne correctly deduced, receiving a nod in response from the glasses-wearing boy.
"Yeah, that's just how it is... I'm here to face my first Gym challenge!" Max answered. "Of course, that's if you're willing to accept..."
Roxanne nodded and motioned for Max to follow her in the arena. "I'm ready whenever your Pokemon are ready!" she answered, before noticing that Hilde was there as well. "Oh, and I see there's someone else with you now... you're travelling together, perhaps?"
"I'm just here to see how Max fares against you." Hilde answered with a shrug of her shoulders. "And because I had nothing better to do."
"Whatever you say..." the young Gym Leader answered. She already knew what kind of girl Hilde was, but she was still surprised to see such a young girl behaving in such an aloof manner. "Very well, then... Max, just as I said, if you feel ready, we can start!"
"Let's start, then!" Max answered with a small grin, walking towards the arena with a confident stride. He turned to his sister and his reluctant partner. "Wish me good luck!"
"Good luck, Max! Show her what you've got!" May cheered, with Hilde simply nodding. A few minutes later, Max and Roxanne had placed themselves at the opposing sides of the battle arena, and the young Gym Leader was taking a couple Pokeballs out of her belt as she dictated the rules of the battle as was in her right as a Gym Leader.
"Then, I officially declare open the challenge for the Stone Badge!" Roxanne affirmed. "It will be a two-on-two battle, with no substitutions allowed. The first one to knock out both of the opponent's Pokemon will be declared the winner. Are you okay with this arrangement?"
"Of course I am!" Max answered prompty. In his mind, he had already decided the order in which to use his Pokemon...
"Fine, then... I shall start this battle!" Roxanne concluded, as she tossed one of her Pokeballs on therocky arena. "And my first choice is... Nosepass! It's time to fight!"
Max, May and Hilde were somewhat surprised as the young schoolgirl's Pokemon opened up and released a weird Pokemon whole body was composed of solid, angular bluish stone, whose appearence reminded of one of Easter Island's massive stone heads. Its most prominent feature was its large, triangular red nose, looking like some sort of arrow. Its arms and legs were short, stubby and devoid of joints, and its ears were nothing more than a pair of round holes on both sides of its head. Its eyes were surrounded by black mask-like signs, and they appeared to be perpetually closed, much like a certain old acquaintance of May and Max...
However, its peculiar appearence was not what surprised Max and the girls.
"She's using Nosepass now?" Hilde asked, her hard face softening in a look of bewilderment. "When I faced her yesterday, Roxanne used a Geodude first, and she switched to Nosepass only when her first Pokemon lost to my Treecko!"
"Even when facing Ash, she had used Nosepass for last..." May said, remembering the battle of two years before. "What does she have in mind?"
Max, however, quickly shook himself out of his surprise and called his first Pokemon on the field. "Hmmm... alright, then! It's your turn, Ledyba!"
Now it was Roxanne's turn to be surprised as Max's graceful ladybug Pokemon appeared in a flash of light, her wings spread and ready for battle. That wasn't the choice Roxanne had expected for a battle against a Rock-type Pokemon... but maybe Max had some interesting strategy in mind! "Hmmm, a peculiar choice, I have to say... but I still think it will be an exciting battle! Very well... Nosepass, open up with Rock Throw!"
"Ledyba, counter with Agility! You have to dodge that!" Max ordered, hoping that his Bug / Flying Pokemon could avoid that dangerous attack. His strategy was riding on that...
Luckily, if Ledyba had an advantage over Nosepass, it lied in her superior speed: as Nosepass picked up some rocks from the floor and tossed them at the giant ladybug, she reacted with a swift sideways dodge and began flying in circles over the arena, quickly enough to leave Nosepass dazzled. However, Roxanne did not seem worried - she had predicted that Max would resort to such a strategy, and she just had to work her own fighting style around that.
"No problem, we still have more cards to play..." the young Gym Leader said to herself. As soon as Ledyba stopped speeding around and began her descent, Roxanne picked the right moment and gave another order. "Alright, Nosepass... use Harden!"
"Nose!" the strange Rock-type Pokemon exclaimed. Its granite-hard body shone for a second and solidified even more than it already was. However, Ledyba and Max were not impressed with that, and attacked themselves.
"We have our own ways to catch you off guard too!" the boy exclaimed. "Ledyba, attack with Mach Punch!"
The ladybug Pokemon seemed to wink out of existence for a split second before reappearing in front of Nosepass and unleashing a flurry of blows with her small gloved hands, hitting the opponent's face and nose. Despite its defenses having been strenghtened by the earlier Harden attack, the attack still did quite a bit of damage, forcing Nosepass to step backwards and raise its arms in a guarding position. However, Nosepass immediately countered with a well-placed Tackle attack, forcing Ledyba to the ground. The ladybug yelped and got up as soon as she could, and took to the air once again as she looked for a blind spot in her adversary's defense.
"Concentrate on defense, Ledyba! Use Reflect!" Max called out. The Bug / Flying Pokemon stopped in midair and moved her gloved hands in front of herself, creating an invisible energy shield in front of herself. However, Nosepass did not seem to want to attack on the spot, which had Max somewhat worried. What was Roxanne planning?
"Not bad, Max, not bad at all!" the Gym Leader complimented her opponent. "I see you've been training your Ledyba quite well, but I know a thing or two as well! Nosepass, attack with Rock Tomb!"
"Wha...? Be careful, Ledyba! Dodge that attack!" Max exclaimed. But this time, the ladybug Pokemon was just a second too late as Nosepass, with a single wave of its hand, summoned a bunch of tombstone-shaped stones all around Ledyba, and dropped them on top of her! The giant ladybug was hit and took considerable damage, despite having protected herself with Reflect, and she was dragged down to the rocky floor by the strength of the blow, before being surrounded by more stone slabs that hindered her movements.
"Man, this is not going too well for Max..." May murmured, gritting her teeth. Now it was Nosepass' turn to be in advantage... the young girl could only hope her younger brother had a Plan B for such situations.
Max himself could see that he was being driven into a corner. Speed was pretty much the only advantage Ledyba had on Nosepass, and with that taken away, the Bug / Flying Pokemon was finding that things looked rather grim. Another such attack, and she would quite probably have been knocked out...
"Guess I need to use my contingency plan..." Max told himself. "It's not a foolproof plan, but I guess it's worth the risk now...". As Nosepass got ready to use another Rock Throw against his opponent, Max got to work and hoped Ledyba was still quick enough to pull this off. "Ledyba, let's change tactics! Aim well and hit him with Supersonic!"
Roxanne frowned in worry... and grit her teeth as the giant ladybug aimed her antennae at Nosepass, emitting a sequence of sonic waves that reached the rock-type Pokemon. At once, Nosepass seemed to get even stiffer than it already was, then began swaying from side to side... before throwinng itself with all of its might against a large stone jutting out of the arena, demolishing it! The Supersonic attack has confused Nosepass, but Max knew it was just buying Ledyba some time, and that if he and his Pokemon hadn't taken advantage of that opportunity, they would not get a second chance.
"And now, Ledyba.. use Mach Punch again!" he ordered. The ladybug Pokemon nodded, gathered all of her remaining strength, and leapt over the stone slabs surrounding her, leaping upon Nossepass while it was trying to shake off the confusion. Several attacks connected, staggering the stone Pokemon... and finally, a right hook hit Nosepass right between its eyes and dropped it! The strange stony Pokemon tried to get up once again... and finally slumped helplessly to the floor, stunned and exhausted, giving Max and Ledyba the win!
"Yay! Nicely done, little bro!" May cheered. Hilde, genuinely impressed by Max's skill, nodded in agreement as Roxanne recalled her defeated Nosepass.
"You did good all the same, Nosepass!" the young Gym Leader congratulated her Pokemon. "Well, Max, I have to admit you caught me off guard. Few ever managed to defeat my Nosepass like that. But I'd like to see if you can do the same to my next Pokemon... your turn, Anorith!"
"Anorith?" Hilde murmured to herself in wonder. In fact, none of them had expected the strange Pokemon that had now popped out of Roxanne's second Pokeball: it was some sort of prehistoric crustacean monster with a greyish-green shell, four pairs of paddle-like paws on the sides of his body, a rather large head, and huge gleaming eyes, one on each side of the head. He had a pair of sickle-like jaws, and a short tail with a pair of grey stingers, and despite not being much more than two feet long, it looked like a very tenacious and capable combatant. It was a Pokemon May and Max had already seen, albeit only in passing... while Hilde had no idea what he was, and ended up consulting her Pokedex. "I've never seen that Pokemon before... what is that?"
"Anorith. The Old Shrimp Pokemon, Bug / Rock type. Revived from a fossil thanks to the advances of science. It can swim fast thanks to its eight paddle-like paws, who also allow it to move about on the ground." the electronic encyclopaedia droned, revealing something the girl didn't know.
"What's this about? Is it possible to revive extinct Pokemon from fossils? This is news to me..." she wondered.
"Yes, it's one of the most recent achievements of science... I'm not an expert, but I do know that they start out from fossilized DNA to regenerate a whole Pokemon." May explained. "It's not a very common practice, and not very many people use fossil Pokemon to fight... that's why seeing Roxanne use one surprised us."
Max, on the other hand, was trying to think of a way to allow his weakened Ledyba to at least get some advantage on the living fossil Pokemon, who was now dashing from one side of the arena to the other, on those eight paws which didn't look like they were capable of moving him that fast. That was shaping up to be a tough battle, but if he and Ledyba played their cards well...
However, Roxanne didn't leave him enough time to think of a strategy, considering she already knew what to do! "And I've got one more surprise for you, I'm afraid! Anorith, use Rock Tomb again!" she ordered. The prehistoric shellfish concentrated hard, as more stone slabs appeared around Ledyba and fell upon her! The giant ladybug squeaked in surprise as one of the rocks hit her in the back, and she was slammed on the rocky ground, stunned and out cold.
"Man, he didn't even have time to give an order..." Hilde murmured. The young girl was secretly happy that she didn't have to face that Pokemon in her fight... she was not sure she would have won, if Anorith had come out.
"And now Max only has one Pokemon left... they're perfectly matched!" May stated. "But I'm afraid... that Anorith won't be an easy opponent even for Mudkip..."
Max groaned in disappointment as he saw his Pokemon fall, and recalled her in her Pokeball. "Nothing to it... come back, Ledyba!" he said, before smiling to his Pokemon as soon as she was safe back in her sphere. "Don't worry about that, Ledyba! You still did a great job, I should have thought faster... Alright, guess it's time to pull out all the stops. Your turn, Mudkip!"
A precise throw and a flash of lightning later, the Water Pokemon appeared on the battlefield, right in front of Anorith, and squatted on all fours in an attempt to look threatening - which wasn't easy to do for a cute blue Pokemon barely more than one foot long! "Mudkip!" the Water starter said, briefly glaring at Anorith before turning to his trainer and winking. "Mud mudkip, kip mud mud kip mudkip!"
"I know you'll do your best, Mudkip! You can count on me!" Max assured his Pokemon with a smile and a thumbs-up. "And we'll be starting now! Mudkip, attack with Mud Slap!"
Mudkip was quick to obey... but theancient Pokemon and his trainer seemed to have been expecting that, and as soon as Roxanne motioned to him to dodge, Anorith moved away by paddling away on his myriad paws, and Mudkip's squirt of mud splashed uselessly on the floor.
"Anorith, don't get distracted... and respond with Rock Tomb again!" Roxanne answered, falling back on a move that could have had some significant effect upon Max's Pokemon. Anorith concentrated once again and created more jagged rocks above Mudkip's head, but the small Water-type was able to dodge in time and got away safely as the stony blades plunged in the ground a few feet away from him. Mudkip hid behind a stony stalagmite, then, as Max motioned for him to move, he emerged from behind it and attacked again!
"And now, Mudkip, hit him with Water Gun!" Max exclaimed. His starter took aim and sprayed his opponent with water, but the crustacean was once again faster than Max anticipated and got away from the attack, hiding behind one of the boulders created by his own Rock Tomb attack. He was only reached by a few inoffensive sprays, and Max wrinkled his nose - his strategy wasn't turning out to work all that well, and he had to work something out to make up for that...
"Perfect job, Anorith, you're doing great!" Roxanne told her ace Pokemon. "And now... strike back with Metal Claw!"
The prehistoric shellfish got on one of the rocks as soon as Mudkip's Water Gun wore out... then, he opened his mandibles, which shone in a metallic light, and pounced on Mudkip. The cute fish Pokemon tried getting away, but the shrimp Pokemon was still able to reach him and struck him viciously with iron-hard mandibles! Mudkip screeched in pain and fell to the ground, rolling away in order to put a safe distance between himself and his opponent.
"It's not going so well..." Max murmured to himself, as even May and Hilde followed every movement with the utmost attention, impatient to see how the boy would have gotten out of that sticky situation. "I need to find a way to stop those mandibles... but how? If only I managed to hinder his movements... hold on a sec, maybe I got it!"
"Mudkip!" Max instructed him, just as Anorith was getting ready to strike him with another Metal Claw attack. "Wait for him to get close! Stay where you are, and get ready to strike back!"
Mudkip looked at his trainer for a second, wondering what he had in mind. That was pretty much what Roxanne herself was wondering... up until then, her opponent had tried to keep his Pokemon away from Anorith, as not to be vulnerable to his powerful attacks, but now he had changed his strategy, seeking to get close and personal... still, it was a good chance to end the battle in her favor, and Mudkip didn't seem to have a lot of moves capable of harming Anorith... so, she guessed that it was worth it to run some risks. "Alright, since this is how you want it, Max... Go, Anorith! End this fight with another Metal Claw!"
"Rith!" the huge shellfish answered. As Mudkip moved away a little, preparing to receive the attack, Anorith began paddling in his direction with his numerous paws, and launched himself at his opponent, his mandibles shining ominously in the artificial light of the Gym. This time, however, Max would not be caught off-guard... or at least, that was what May and Hilde hoped, as they kept watching with their fingers crossed...
"Okay, little bro... I just hope you know what you're doing..." May said to herself. As Anorith closed the distance and tried to pounce on his prey, Max gave his order with perfect timing!
"Mudkip! Use Mud Sport, now!" he exclaimed. Mudkip quickly raised his head and breathed out a squirt of mud, striking Anorith in the face and the underbelly, staining his armor and spraying even his eyes and paws. At the same time, the mud also fell on Mudkip, creating some sort of crude armor around his body! Anorith, surprised and startled, landed short of the intended distance and tried to use his Metal Claw all the same, but the mud he had been immersed him was making his movements difficult, and his paws were having trouble moving as fast as he would have liked. "Rith! Riiiiith!" he screeched in frustration, looking at his trainer as if he hoped she could do something about his predicament. Roxanne herself was caught unprepared by that little trick Max had pulled, and she was trying to think of a way out of that... but she was so surprised that she couldn't do much!
"Unbelievable! You... you understood how Anorith's paws worked, and you deduced that he was going to be impeded by the mud?" the young GYm Leader exclaimed.
Max smiled, pleased to have guessed right, and answered her question. "Well, I'm not ashamed to say that I'm proud of my observation skills!" he stated, pushing his glasses back. "Just by looking at Anorith's paws, I thought they could push him at great speed both through the water or on the ground... but when Anorith was in a more dense substance, it would have been more difficult for them to move! And it looks like I was right."
"Wow..." Hilde stated, sincerely impressed. "And here I thought he was too much of a sftie to be a good trainer..."
As Anorith thrashed about in order to free himself from the sticky mud, Max and Mudkip got ready for the deciding blow. "And now... Mudkip, get close to Anorith and shoot a full-powered Water Gun! We have to take him down now!" he exclaimed, his finger pointing to his opponent. The small air-breathing fish nodded, his ever-present smile widening, and got closer to Anorith before he could react, shooting a zero-distance gout of water! The crustacean screeched loudly as he was hit mercilessly with the high-pressure jet of water, lifting him from the mud and sending him airborne for a short while, before slamming him on a nearby rock! Then, the azure fish kept up the attack, keeping Anorith half-crushed under the strength of the water... until the prehistoric Pokemon slumped to the ground, his paws limp at the sides of his body, and his eyes comically spinning in their orbits. Anorith tried to stand up again, then he sighed in defeat and fell to the ground, exhausted.
The battle had ended... with Max's victory!
"Yay! We did it! Great job, Mudkip!" the young boy cheered, as Mudkip turned to him and squeaked in joy, his gills opening and closing rythmically. May clapped her hands enthusiastically, while Hilde nodded as she took a mental note of every strategy Max had used during that battle. It was a realy spectacular fight... and Max had done better than she ever expected" Yeah, she had to admit the boy was quite skilled, even though she hadn't thought much of him at first.
After an instant of surprise, Roxanne smiled, accepting her defeat, and recall Anorith in his sphere. "You still did a good job of it, Anorith... come back, you earned your rest!" she said, winking at the Pokeball containing the tired prehistoric shellfish, before turning to Max. "As for you, Max... congratulations! Few people ever managed to face me with such skill! I see you've been studying Pokemon ever since you came here with Ash and your sister, right?"
"Well, modesty aside, I tried to be as prepared as possible!" Max answered, hugging his cheering Mudkip without caring too much about the mud that was splattering his clothes. "It seems it did pay off... but even getting experience on the field was very useful! Without that, I would never have had this idea..."
"Hehehee... it's like I always say; studying is important, but it's worth nothing if you can't use in practice what you learned!" the young Gym Leader concluded. She walked over to Max and handed him a rectangular-shaped badge. "And, as proof that you defeated me, I confer you the Stone Badge. Be proud of this... it's your first Badge ever, and your first step on the way to becoming a Pokemon champion!"
"Thanks, Roxanne, it was a great fight!" Max thanked her, after receiving the prize for his victory. Then, Mudkip still held in his arms, he turned to May and Hilde, holding the badge high in the air! "Aaaand... here's my first Hoenn League badge! How's this as a beginning?"
"None too shabby, little bro! None too shabby at all!" May answered astutely. "Hehehee... looks like someone has done his homework here! Who knows, maybe, if you're really, really lucky, you might even catch up to Ash or me, who knows?"
"Still, I have to admit... congratulations, Max, you really did earn that badge." Hilde affirmed as she nodded to the boy. Her normally aloof expression seemed to have softened up a little, and he was even smiling faintly in approval. "I guess from now on, I'll have to consider you as a worthy rival, huh? I'm curious to see who collects all the Hoenn badges first..."
Max scratched his temple with his free index finger, somewhat surprised by how Hilde now seemed rather different from the one he was used to. Now, she really seemed interested in being his main rival! Not really knowing how to answer to that, Max tried to be diplomatic at least. "Er... well, I'm glad you feel that way... but I think it's a little premature, considering I only have one badge as of now. We'll have to wait and see what happens later, don't you think so?"
Hilde crossed her arms on her chest and shrugged, still smiling slightly. "Well, I have only one badge as well, after all. Though I don't think I had it as hard as you just did! So... I'm okay with how things turned out for now, but next time we meet... I'll show you how much stronger I've become! See you next time, Max... and keep training, because I'm not going to hold anything back! See ya!"
Waving her hand, Hilde turned and walked away and out of the Gym, under Roxanne and the two siblings' surprised eyes. That was definitely not how Max expected Hilde to react, but considering Hilde seemed to have gotten some newfound respect for Max as a trainer, it wasn't a bad thing... right?
"I know I already said it once, little bro... but that girl is weird!" May commented. "You sure know some strange people, huh?"
Max chuckled sarcastically. "Yeah, right, sis... this coming from the girl whose rivals are a rose-obsessed prettyboy, and a purple-haired buffoon who looks like a girl..." he snarked, causing his sister to look at him oddly.
"Hahaha, how funny, Max..." she retorted. "You ought to have been a comedian, instead of a Pokemon trainer..."
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And somewhere else in Hoenn, an effeminate guy with long, curly purple hair sneezed loudly, feeling that someone was talking about him...
oooooooooo
"Still..." Roxanne commented, going from surprised to relaxed in a few seconds' time. "I have to admit I was quite impressed by both of you. You have a lot of potential, which means we'll be seeing some fireworks at this year's Hoenn League Championship! Congratulations, Max, both you and your friend have done really well!"
"Thanks, Roxanne... and we're not going to stop her either!" the young boy answered. "Now, I'll add a few more Pokemon to my team, and when they have gotten strong enough, we're going to face Brawly, Dewford Town's Gym Leader! I just hope Hilde won't get there before me again..."
"Oh, so you ARE a little worried about her being better than you are, huh?" May commented with a slight smirk...
oooooooooo
TO BE CONTINUED
Author's Note: Maybe this chapter was a little rushed, but as I said, I had very little time to work with. Anyway, I hope the fight with Roxanne was decent. Next time, I'll be back with Ash and his friends as they make their way to Boon Island, where some special training awaits for them... as well as the return of a familiar old face!
See you soon! The writing of this story will resume after the 5th of August!