"Rustboro City, here we come!" Iris announced proudly as she emerged from Professor Birch's lab. From her shoulder, Axew let out a similar cry of joy. Serena was close behind, giggling at her companion.
"You're really excited, aren't you?" she asked.
"Duh!" Iris replied. "I have a brand new super-powerful partner," she motioned to Treecko, who sat on the opposite shoulder from Axew, "an amazing new traveling companion, and I'm ready to take down some gym leaders!"
"Me? Amazing? Really?" Serena flushed, but Iris wasn't paying attention – she had already set off for Rustboro City. Serena dashed to catch up with her. "Um, anyway… I did some research on Rustboro City before we left. It turns out the gym leader there is a specialist in Rock-types."
"Rock-types, huh?" Iris repeated thoughtfully. "Then Treecko and Excadrill's Grass- and Steel-type moves should come in handy."
Serena nodded. "Right! I also saw something else you might find interesting… It seems that the legendary Pokémon Rayquaza was recently spotted there! It Mega Evolved to help the Hoenn region Champion, Steven Stone, defeat Groudon and Kyogre, who were threatening to destroy the town… Isn't that so cool?" She turned to Iris, only to see she wasn't there. Instead, she was several feet behind Serena, having stopped as soon as she heard the word Rayquaza. "Um, Iris?"
"Rayquaza?" Iris questioned, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "In Rustboro City? That's incredible! Let's get there right away!" She suddenly took off, barreling past Serena.
"I mean, it's probably not still there!" Serena called after her. "Iris! Wait up!"
Unbeknownst to either girl, Butch and Cassidy lurked nearby, spying on them from a treetop. "Rayquaza, hm? Now that's a powerful Pokémon…" Cassidy mused. "See, I told you following these girls would be worth our time, Brunch."
Before her companion could correct her on his name, both criminals were suddenly aware of a large figure breathing down their necks. "Brunch, must you stand so close?" Cassidy demanded.
"It's Butch," he replied. "And that's not me."
"It's not? Then who is it?" They both slowly turned around to see a massive Ursaring leering over them. As they screamed in terror, the Ursaring came down on them with a powerful Scratch, sending them both flying.
"Not fair!" Cassidy whined as she soared over the trees.
Butch shrugged. "Well, at least we're flying in the direction of Rustboro City!"
"Oh, shut it, Britches!"
"WE'RE BLASTING OFF AGAIN!"
…
"Iris!" Serena called to her companion. "Please slow down! I can't run anymore!"
"Oh, fine," Iris relented, slowing to a jog. "Hey, what's going on over there?"
Serena's eyes followed the direction Iris was pointing to see a young girl crying. Both older trainers immediately ran to her aid. "Hi, is something wrong?" Serena asked.
"O-Oh! Um, yes…" the girl replied. "M-My poor Lotad…" She moved aside, revealing the Water Weed Pokémon, clearly injured. "It was attacked by an awful wild Toxicroak!"
"A wild Toxicroak?" Iris questioned.
"I didn't think Toxicroak was native to this region," Serena mused.
The girl shook her head. "There have been all sorts of reports of weird Pokémon in this area… Toxicroak, Ursaring, Vespiquen… I was so excited, because Lotad had just learned Zen Headbutt and I thought we could use that move to take Toxicroak down. But it didn't seem to do anything!"
Iris looked surprised. "That's odd. Psychic-type moves should be super effective against a Poison/Fighting-type Pokémon like Toxicroak."
"I know! I just don't know what happened…" The girl began to cry again.
"Here, I have some potions we can use to heal Lotad," Serena said, kneeling beside the Water Weed Pokémon.
"Really? Thank you so much!"
"You should really keep potions on you, just in case something like this happens," Iris advised.
"I know," the girl said embarrassedly. "I ran out a few days ago and haven't thought to buy more. I'll be sure to do that right away!"
"That's good. And look, Lotad is already looking better!" Sure enough, Lotad had perked up significantly thanks to Serena's medication, and now jumped into its trainer's arms.
"Yay, Lotad! I'm so sorry you got hurt!" the girl said, hugging her Pokémon tightly. She then turned back to Iris and Serena. "My name is Cora, by the way."
"It's nice to meet you, Cora," Serena replied. "I'm Serena, and this is Iris. Now, what do you say we go get Lotad to a Pokémon Center? Just in case. And maybe we can see if Nurse Joy knows anything about the strange Pokémon in the area."
"Good idea!" Cora replied.
…
When they reached the Pokémon Center, they were surprised to see it overrun with trainers, all cradling injured Pokémon.
"Nurse Joy!" Iris called. "What's going on?"
The Pokémon Nurse and her Chansey assistant was quite frantic, only pausing to take a quick breath before answering, "There have been reports of dangerous wild Pokémon in this area, and a lot of people's Pokémon are getting horribly injured! I just don't know what to do!"
"Pokémon like Toxicroak?" Cora asked.
"That's right," another trainer replied. "My Kirlia was attacked by a Toxicroak! I thought I could take it down with Psychic-type moves, but they didn't do anything!"
"That's just what happened to Cora," Serena commented.
"It's so strange," Nurse Joy sighed. "But with so many Pokémon needing healed, I haven't been able to look into it myself.
"Well, maybe we can look into it for you!" Iris offered.
Nurse Joy's eyes lit up. "Would you?"
"Oh, please," a deriding voice interrupted. Iris, Serena, and Cora turned to see a purple-haired boy wearing blue clothes standing behind them with his arms crossed. "These Pokémon are a serious threat. It'll take more than a few new trainers to take them on."
"And just who are you?" Iris demanded, offended.
"The name's Paul," he replied. "Don't worry, Nurse Joy. I'll look into this for you."
"Well, thank you," Nurse Joy said, clearly taken aback by his attitude. Iris, meanwhile, was fuming.
"No way! I'll handle it first!" she announced. "I'm not letting you show me up, Paul!"
Paul scoffed as he left. "Good luck, kid."
"DON'T YOU DARE CALL ME A KID!"
As Iris exited the Pokémon Center after Paul, Cora turned to Serena. "Is she always this intense?"
"I think so," Serena replied. "I'm starting to get used to it."
…
"So how do we attract a rogue Toxicroak?" Serena asked as she, Cora, and Iris searched the forest near the Pokémon Center.
"When it attacked Lotad and me, we were just practicing Zen Headbutt," Cora said with a shrug.
Iris snapped her fingers. "It must have been attracted to the noise! So we just have to be loud!" She cleared her throat. "HEY, TOXICROAK! OVER HEEEEEEEERE!"
"Pathetic," Paul interrupted from a few feet away. Iris flinched, surprised to hear him.
"Oh yeah?" she demanded. "What's your plan, Paul?"
Paul didn't respond, instead just holding up his hand, which held a pot of honey. He proceeded to smear it on a tree. "Now we just wait."
"Sure, if you wanna do it the easy way," Iris muttered, defeated.
It wasn't long until the Toxicroak appeared.
"There it is!" Serena called.
Paul quickly grabbed a Poké Ball. "Ninjask, go!" he announced, releasing the Ninja Pokémon. "Use Fury Cutter!" The speedy Bug-type charged Toxicroak, releasing several cuts into it. Toxicroak was clearly greatly injured by this attack.
"I get it," Iris mused. "The Toxicroak's weaknesses and strengths must have been reversed somehow!"
"You think so?" Serena asked. "In that case… Pancham! Use Dark Pulse!" She sent out the Playful Pokémon, who immediately released a wave of dark energy into Toxicroak. However, Toxicroak barely flinched at the attack and instead charged Pancham, using Scratch to knock it back. "No, Pancham!" Serena gasped, quickly calling it back.
Paul groaned. "Haven't you two caught on yet?" he asked. "That's not a Toxicroak!"
"It's not?" Serena was confused. Iris and Cora's eyes, however, lit up in realization.
"I get it!" Cora cried. "So Lotad, you can safely use Absorb!" Lotad looked surprised, but obeyed. As the ray hit Toxicroak, draining its energy, Toxicroak's movements began to slow.
"Treecko! You too!" Iris ordered. As the two Absorb attacks and Ninjask's incessant Fury Cutter hits drained Toxicroak's energy, it began to slow before finally collapsing. In a bright flash of light, it revealed its true fom: A Zorua.
"A Zorua?" Serena asked, surprised. "Oh, of course! Zorua is a Dark-type Pokémon. That's why Psychic-type moves wouldn't do anything to it!"
"So cool… I've never seen a Zorua in person!" Cora cooed.
Paul, meanwhile, had pulled out a Poké Ball. "Alright, Zorua, you're coming with me!" he announced, winding back to toss it.
"Wait, no!" Cora shouted. "I want to catch it!" Paul stopped, eyeing her as she dug through her bag for a Poké Ball.
"Why should you get it?" he asked. "If it wasn't for my Ninjask, it would have just ravaged your Lotad again."
Cora scowled. "You don't know that! Lotad's Absorb was a huge help."
"Come on, Paul," Iris prodded. "Cora's just starting out as a trainer. A partner like Zorua would be a huge help to her."
Paul shook his head and turned back to the Zorua – only to see it had escaped in the chaos. "Well, it looks like neither of us are getting it now. It's run away."
"Which also means it's going to keep causing havoc in this area…" Serena said with a sigh.
Paul pocketed his Poké Ball. "So I guess whoever stops it first gets to catch it."
"Paul, don't be such a jerk!" Iris shouted, but it was too late. Paul had already walked away. "Alright, Cora, we're going to find that Zorua and you're going to catch it!"
Cora frowned. "What's the use? Paul is right. Lotad would never be able to take down Zorua on its own. It doesn't know any moves Zorua is weak to. Just Absorb, Bubble, and Zen Headbutt."
"Well, Pokémon battles aren't just about which Pokémon has the more effective moves," Serena stated. "With a good strategy, any Pokémon can win. If you can throw Zorua off-guard, you'll be able to weaken it no problem."
"You really think so?" Cora asked.
"We know so!" Iris replied. "So you say Lotad can use Absorb, Bubble, and Zen Headbutt?" Cora nodded.
"Zorua can't be harmed by Zen Headbutt," Serena said thoughtfully. "So you might be able to use that to your advantage. If you use Zen Headbutt, Zorua will assume you've left yourself open to attack. Then you can use Bubble when it's not expecting it!"
"And while Zorua is downed by Bubble, a nice hit with Absorb will drain its energy even more!" Cora finished, starting to catch on. "Wow, I had never thought about all of the strategizing battling takes!"
"Well, come on!" Iris said, grinning. "Let's find that Zorua before Paul does!"
…
"There it is!" Cora whispered, pointing at the silhouette of a Vespiquen floating behind the trees.
"And there's no sign of Paul," Serena noted. "Okay, it's time to put our strategy into action! Good luck, Lotad!"
Cora grinned confidently. "Alright, Lotad, use Bubble!" Lotad charged the supposed Vespiquen, spitting painful bubbles at it to catch its attention. The Pokémon was enraged by this action, emerging from behind the trees in a fury. "Careful, dodge!" The Water Weed Pokémon barely leaped out of the way of a powerful Scratch. "And use Zen Headbutt!"
"Just like we expected," Iris commented quietly. "Zorua isn't trying to dodge." Unbeknownst to Iris, Serena, or Cora, Paul had heard the commotion and was now watching from behind.
After Lotad bounced off of Zorua's defenses, its attack having no effect, Zorua immediately whirled and swung another Scratch attack, only to see Lotad was gone – it had used the momentum from Zen Headbutt to fly to the other side of its opponent. "Great job, Lotad! Now Bubble again!" A Bubble from behind knocked Zorua to the ground. "And Absorb!" Lotad released a red beam into the crippled Zorua's back, draining its energy even further. Another bright flash of light appeared and Zorua returned to its true form, fainted.
"You did it, Lotad!" Cora cheered. "Now go, Poké Ball!" She hurled the orb at Zorua. All three girls watched anxiously as the Poké Ball wobbled in place before finally sealing. "I did it! I caught a Zorua!"
"Congratulations, Cora!" "You were incredible!"
"I agree," Paul said, making his presence known. The girls turned to him, surprised. "That was impressive. Zorua is lucky to have such a strong trainer."
"You really think so?" Cora asked, her eyes sparkling.
Paul nodded. "Now you'd better get to the Pokémon Center. Zorua will need healing, and I'm sure Nurse Joy will be glad to hear she won't have to worry about powerful Pokémon attacking people anymore."
"Right! Thank you so much, Iris and Serena! Bye!" Cora said, running off.
"Bye, Cora!" Serena called after her. Iris, meanwhile, stepped over to Paul.
"Wow, Paul. Who knew you could actually be a decent guy?" she said teasingly.
Paul rolled his eyes. "Whatever, kid. But anyway, you did well helping out that trainer. I guess you're a little more talented than you look."
"Stop calling me kid," Iris said through clenched teeth.
Serena grabbed Iris's shoulder. "Don't worry about him, Iris. We'd better keep heading towards Rustboro City."
"Rustboro City, huh?" Paul asked. "Guess I'll see you there, then."
"What?" both girls said.
"I'm on my way there to look into the fight between Rayquaza, Groudon, and Kyogre," he explained. "I'll be heading out tomorrow morning."
"So I guess we'll be running into each other again," Iris sighed. "Great."
Paul smirked. "I look forward to it, too, kid."
"I said to STOP CALLING ME KID!"
Serena smiled halfheartedly as she watched Iris bicker with her apparent new rival. One thing was certain: their trip through Hoenn was not going to be boring!
