In the Blue Sea

Golden sand sat between Rod's toes as he lay on the warm beach in the Hoenn sunshine. Dewford Island had turned out to be a paradise for tourists, surfers and even travellers going across the rough seas and provided them shelter, a small city lifestyle and a bustling town centre full of market stalls and events. Over the years Dewford had begun its own fruit plantations nearby its small hills and meadows with infrastructure and buildings strictly being along the beach to attract tourists. It had been three days since they had arrived and instantly Rod knew he wanted to remain here for awhile before returning to the main land. Not only was there the Dewford Gym to take on, but a sprawling landscape full of new Pokemon awaited him that couldn't be found back in Rustboro or Petalburg City. The S.S. Tidal had moved on, heading towards Slateport City, as it would continue to circle back once every other week. He had a few days now to recuperate and train with his Pokemon before attempting to take on the Gym Leader, Brawley, a fighting enthusiast who he still hadn't met.

Closing his eyes and hearing children playing in the waves nearby, splashing softly in the breeze, Rod could feel the presence of his Pokemon relaxing nearby in the sun. Nidoran and Ivysaur lay on the sand while Fletchinder and Starly flew up high above with Shinx chasing them down playfully. The day was still early and Rod had chosen to relax on the sand before most of the crowd appeared later in the morning, but he hadn't slept a proper night since leaving Viridian City, in what felt like years ago now. He missed his home, his friends who had departed on their journeys already but most of all his Father who had disappeared and abandoned him. Although anger still stirred inside, he wanted to at least see him one more time to finish their relationship off once and for all instead of leaving it hanging loose. More footsteps and voices broke his concentration as Rod sat up and stretched with a loud yawn echoing from his mouth that Ivysaur awoke and wandered over.

Smiling, Rod patted it softly and looked at its steadily blossoming bud on its back and commented, "You're looking really sharp today, Ivysaur. We can start thinking about the next gym battle I think."

Fletchinder and Starly landed on both his shoulders, their claws slightly sharp as they pricked his skin. Nidoran continued to rest in the cooling breeze as the rest stared with their trainer into the blue nothingness in front of them. It seemed so strange that a place like this existed in such a large world full of life, and Dewford Island crept quietly behind Hoenn almost like a private getaway. However, more tourists had begun to awake, instantly dashing onto the beach, as Rod placed his shirt back on and returned his five Pokemon safely to their Pokeballs before trudging back through the sand to the Pokemon Centre. His mind still remained on the S.S. Tidal and the Pokemon tournament that had taken a place, a large opportunity for him to win but his ignorance had caused utter failure and his Pokemon to get hurt. The final battle with Phoebe still remained in his head as well, making him wonder how any trainer could have beaten her with such a menacing strategy. Ghost Pokemon were nothing to be messed with, but he had to focus on how to be Fighting Types now.

Air-conditioning struck him instantly as he entered the Pokemon Centre, seeing Forrest and Emma sipping a glass of water each on the side as he wandered over drying his hair with a towel. Looking up, Emma smiled and called, "Up early again? Hope you're making good use of your time!"

Chuckling and sitting next to her, scratching his head and laying the five Pokeballs on the table in front, Rod replied, "Just relaxing for now, but we'll be ready for the next Gym. We beat Roxanne, and Brawly will go down next!"

Shaking his head with a smirk, Forrest laid down his newspaper and explained, "You really will never change, will you?"

"Don't worry Forrest, we will be training hard for this one. Luckily, I have two Flying Types that are super-effective against Fighting!"

"Brawley will be ready for Flying Types," Forrest stroked his chin and looked down at the five Pokeballs on the table, "I think you need to catch another Pokemon for this."

"What do you mean?"

The sun had now fully crept into the sky as Rod was forced to hold his hand to block its powerful rays coming through the open glass windows. The Pokemon Centre, now fully lit, had trainers walking in and out with Nurse Joy and Chansey already working hard with staff running around to help cater food in the restaurant inside and hot spa area. It was Emma that responded this time, her interest immediately peeking up, "I agree, you have to catch another Pokemon, Rod! I've never seen a trainer catch a Pokemon before!"

Confused, Rod turned to her with a smile and asked, "How about your Torchic and Eevee? Didn't you catch those yourself?"

"They were from Devon Corporation and given to us, I haven't actually caught one before."

Clapping his hands loudly on the table, a few heads turning, Forrest stood up and raised his hands in the air calling, with his voice echoing slightly on the glass windows, "Well that is what we are doing today then! Catching some Pokemon!"

Excitement was then completely drained as if a cool poison had just entered the bloodstream of the Pokemon Centre as a familiar voice called back at them with a sneer, "You guys are just the capitulation of embarrassment, you know?"

Nurse Joy had now taken notice of the boys words as Rod stood up and pushed his way past his friends to reply to the one person he didn't want to see again, "Chris! What are you doing here?"

Other trainers nearby had begun to stand up as well, interested in a potential fight, as they formed a circle around all calling out taunts towards each trainer. Emma turned to Forrest and whispered into his ear, completely unsure who this other boy was, "Who's that?"

Forrest stared at Chris' black coloured clothing and bright yellow cap turned backwards as he slumped a brown back to one side with Pokeballs attached to his belt and holster, responding, "Chris is the trainer that abandoned the Nidoran that Rod now has. He is a very different kind of trainer, just hope Rod keeps his cool."

"Oh I see...he's kinda cute though."

Chris laughed seeing the circle of people as he walked around Rod steadily with his bag dragging along the slick marble ground, the sun now shining directly into the middle of the space, "I just beat Brawly and got the badge, putting me ahead of you, am I right?"

"I'm ready to take on Brawly and win!"

"I don't believe you."

"Then battle me!"

It was at that point where Nurse Joy pushed her way through the pile with Chansey looking on the desk, the Egg Pokemon taking a plate of Pokeballs into the Emergency Room to get healed. Nurse Joy pushed her pink hair to one side, hands on her hips as she called angrily, "There will be no hostility or battling in this Pokemon Centre. This is a place to heal your Pokemon and relax. Any battle will be outside on the field."

There was a split second of hesitation and silence between the random people in the crowd, Nurse Joy, Forrest and Emma and then down to Rod and Chris as they nodded simultaneously and sprinted towards the glass sliding doors as cheers and applause followed. Thundering footsteps filled the air as Nurse Joy was left shaking her head with a slight smile with Emma and Forrest trudging along slowly after in bewilderment, that had escalated quickly! Rod's mind was flashing red in anger the minute he heard Chris' voice and there would be no mercy in this battle. After he abandoned the Nidoran that Rod had taken care of, the attitude towards this trainer had depleted hugely and there would be no place for losing now. Turning the corner the Pokemon Centre training field appeared in front as Rod took his place on the closest side with Chris running over to the other and revealing a Pokeball from his holster belt. Flashing into its larger form his eyes stared across with pure confidence and arrogance as Rod buckled back with a stare, but a sense of uncertainty then began to quiver somewhere inside.

Male and female trainers all looked on chanting eagerly for the trainers to battle as Emma and Forrest lay behind with their eyes watching carefully. Rod didn't look at them, the focus was on Chris now, and whatever Pokemon he had on him, he had to be able to stand up against it. Chris called as the crowd quietened down instantly, his cap and brown hair swaying in the wind slightly, the smell of seaweed engulfing them from the nearby beach and ocean, "One on one, let's see who survives the longest!"

Taking a Pokeball out of his own pocket, Rod pointed it at Chris with the sun reflecting its red and white colour in all directions, "Agreed, let's do this! Shinx, I choose you!"

The Flash Pokemon appeared, its entire body immediately sparking up as it landed onto the dusty battlefield below. A large shadow appeared as clouds passed above, sending half the field into darkness with Shinx illuminating it with ease, ready to battle. Rod hadn't used it often recently in competitive battles, but they had trained and Shinx was looking sharper than ever to take on the Dewford Gym. Chris, however, looked completely fine with the Pokemon choice and his arrogant response confirmed it, "Shinx? Amateur, a Pokemon like that will never defeat Brawly! Let me introduce you to the Pokemon that wiped his team out with pure ease! Crawdaunt, let's go!"

Rod had never heard of a Crawdaunt before, but the Pokeball exploded into life in front of the crowd as they gasped in shock and joy. Crawdaunt was huge! It's red body flashing slightly in the oncoming brief sunlight from above with a large star on its head dripping with water along with the rest of its body. However, it was the massive red and white pincers that had Rod already treading water, they were sharp and could easily chomp Shinx in half if it got the chance. Taking out his Pokedex steadily, aiming it at the Crawdaunt, it spluttered, 'Crawdaunt, the Rogue Pokemon, and the evolved form of Corphish. It has a violent nature so other Pokemon choose to live away from it.'

In addition, Rod had noticed it was a hybrid Water and Dark type, something he had never seen before and had no experience against. He risked a glance at Forrest who looked equally as shocked as him, but Shinx had the type advantage, and he would have to use that. With a grimace, Chris commanded, "Get things moving, Crawdaunt! Bubblebeam!"

It's pincers opened up to release an onslaught of powerful blue bubbles that exploded throughout the battlefield as they approached Shinx. The Flash Pokemon prepared itself to dodge as Rod replied quickly, telling himself to stay away from the pincers at all costs, "Shinx, use Discharge, blow them away!"

Blue electricity expanded from Shinx's entire body as its hair stood up on end to unleash the bolt into all directions. Trainers were forced to move backwards as the jolts of power struck the Bubblebeam to one side with Crawdaunt expertly deflecting one with its pincers. Shinx continued the attack, grounded to the spot as each spurge of electricity collided and headed towards Crawdaunt whose pincers had begun to glow white. Chris called, a smile growing larger on his face, "Crab Hammer, push it back!"

Swinging wildly at the oncoming Discharge attack, and to Rod's horror, the Crab Hammer move completely disintegrated the attack into nothing as Shinx was now being forced to avoid its own move. Commanding it to dodge, Shinx used its signature speed but Crawdaunt looked to be in complete control of the battle as it looked on with a sense of amusement. The crowd had already begun whispering with a few laughs at Rod's entire battle strategy backfiring on his first move, but he had more tricks up his sleeve. Shinx had learnt a variety of new attacks over the past couple of months, and electricity wouldn't be the only way forward. Darting forwards, dangerously close to the swinging pincers of Crawdaunt, Shinx jumped into the air as Rod called, "Double Kick, aim for its head!"

Momentum helped along with natural gravitational forces as Shinx fired to the ground, its four legs flashing red as they charged in for a Double Kick attack. One managed to land successfully, slightly flinching the Rogue Pokemon as it was super-effective, but Chris once again had a powerful response to it, "Vice Grip!"

Crawdaunt switched from a Crab Hammer to a sickening squeeze within a split second as Rod hadn't even taken that into consideration. With Shinx kicking desperately into air, Crawdaunt held it up high into the air and began to slowly crush with Rod looking on desperately. Discharge to a usual Thundershock, the Flash Pokemon sparked wildly in pain as it screeched. Rod had told himself not to go near the pincers, but yet Chris had forced him to move in close and now he had a severely powerful upper hand here. Out of ideas, and a Pokemon close to being crushed to death ahead, a feeling of repressiveness and darkness began to take over his body, a familiar feeling that he had back when he first battled Chris. Images of his Treeko and Lampent crushing through his Pokemon and then his decision to used an injured Nidoran in battle to which Rod forfeited immediately. Resignation and defeated, Rod lifted his Pokeball and returned Shinx safely away as its screeches disappeared into nothing as the crowd began to awkwardly clap a clear victory for Chris.

Slumping to his knees, breathing heavily as beads of sweat trickled down his back, Chris laughed loudly before exclaiming, "You are utterly pathetic. You have obviously learnt nothing about Pokemon since we last met. Your strategy is obvious and your moves weak, how on earth are you going to beat Brawly?"

"You mark my words, Chris," Rod spluttered back, unable to hide the desperation and sadness in his voice, "I will get you back for what you did to that poor Nidoran!"

The crowd had already begun to disperse, some excitedly talking about their own Pokemon battle experiences and wanting to challenge the Dewford City Gym Leader. Emma watched on with Forrest as she muttered, "I've never seen Rod react like that before...it's so sad."

"Rod has lost a lot of battles, but it empowers him. I've never seen a trainer bounce back so well, and he will do it again." Forrest stroked his chin with certainty in his voice, but he spoke the truth and would always remember what Rod had done in the past. This was the same boy that fought back in Pewter City against Team Rocket officers, Gym Leaders and managed to come out on top and then continue to grow stronger to fight back in Oldale Town.

"Do you think he can beat Brawly?"

"I think...you'll find that Rod won't only beat him, but completely destroy him."

Chris had finished his final words, as his Crawdaunt screeched in victory once again before being returned to its Pokeballs. Spitting on the ground once again, Chris walked past the heaving trainer in front of him and disappeared around the Pokemon Centre to continue his own journey. Rod remained on his knees and glanced at Shinx's Pokeball, apologising quietly, but already wanting a rematch and to challenge the Dewford Gym. Fire began to stoke inside of him as his tears dried up instantly and he stood to the now empty battlefield with the marks of battles gone surrounding him completely. Instantly his mind began to analyze what had just happened as he steadily moved around the battlefield, each step echoing around with his friends looking on.

He shouldn't have used Double Kick, that was obvious, but he had no choice as Shinx had to avoid its rebounding Discharge attack. What could he have done instead? Twisting around and glancing at the spot where Crawdaunt had stood for the entirety of the battle, a light bulb flashed in his head as he looked up with a slight smile. Instead of attacking, Rod should have defended instead and let Chris do the attacking. Crawdaunt was large, and so much slower than Shinx and Rod had completed disregarded this aspect completely.

Forrest had walked across in his daydream and placed and arm around before commenting, "It's good you know what you did wrong."

Nodding, Rod looked up at them and checked his Pokedex for the time as the afternoon had only just arrived at Dewford Island. Smile now etching larger on his face, Rod glanced at his close friends and asked, "Weren't we supposed to catch a new Pokemon today?"

Emma smiled and punched the air, "You bet! Let's go catch a Pokemon, I've been waiting all morning!"

On that note they each began to walk away from the battlefield that Rod would definitely be returning to practice later on with a Gym Battle in mind. But there was one Pokemon he now wanted to catch specifically to add to his team of five, and something that would be useful in upcoming battles. The Pokedex had stated that Crawdaunt was the evolved form of Corphish, and that was exactly what Rod wanted. A water type with powerful physical attacks and something Rod would love to train and battle with for the future. The three trainers steadily reached the beach as they glanced at the open blue Hoenn Seas in front of them with confidence restored with the urge of adventure upon them.

Something began to move in the sand around them as Emma turned first before nudging Rod on his sides, also spinning around. In front of them a small orange coloured Pokemon with two pincers the size of half its body peeked out from the sand with mild confusion within its eyes and face. Grabbing a Pokeball from his pocket, Rod was first to make the move with Forrest and Emma gazing on with equalling smiles on their faces...