When we last saw our heroes, they had defeated Roxanne,
the Gym Leader of Rustboro. Now, they are continuing on
their journey, out of Rustboro.
"Since, we're still in Rustboro, we should go sign up for the
Pokemon League! That's what we forgot to do!" Daniel said. "
I've always wanted to be a Pokemon Co-ordinator. I should sign
up for Grand Festival while you guys sign up for the Pokemon
League." Said Sydney, following Daniel and Brennan on their
way to the Pokemon Center. Their names were keyed into the
computer, and they exited into the city. As they walked out of
Rustboro, Sydney was looking at the brochure, and she found a
Slaking Reserve not too far away. At the Slaking reserve, they
saw herds of wild Slaking roaming the grounds. The trio were
amazed at the immense amount of wild Slaking, Slakoth, and
Vigoroth there. "Pika, Pikachu!" the trio heard the voice of a
young Pikachu running into the wild lands where the Slaking
roamed. The Pikachu picked wild fruit from the trees, and while
it was stuffing its face, a Slaking stood behind it, which was
oblivious to the Pikachu until it saw the shadow. "PIKACHU!"
Pikachu shrieked and ran around, and eventually came to a
stop, and used a Spark attack on Slaking. Slaking was obviously
hurt, and called out to the others. One by one, Vigoroth
gathered around Pikachu in a circle, blocking any possible
escape route for the electric mouse. "Vigo….roth." The Vigoroth
bellowed in a deep voice. "We've got to help that poor
Pikachu!" shouted Sydney, much to Daniel and Brennan's
surprise.
"But we can't!" said Daniel, who was obviously following
the rules of the reserve. "Well, we can't just let that Pikachu
suffer!" said Brennan, and Daniel had no choice but to let them
have their way. Majority rules, after all. But when they turned
back, they saw no Pikachu. They didn't see the Slaking in a
circle, either. "Where'd the Pikachu go?" asked Daniel, but the
others just shrugged. "We need to get down there!" said
Sydney, even though she knew the risks. "She jumped over the
railing, followed by Brennan and a reluctant Daniel. "We don't
know where Pikachu is, but we can't just look around the entire
forest. We need clues." Brennan said, in the way that he
sounded like Sherlock Holmes. "How about that for a clue?"
Daniel suggested, pointing up. They saw a Spark attack shooting
through the air. "That's the way to go." Said Daniel, rushing into
the trees. Sydney and Brennan hurriedly followed.
Daniel, Sydney, and Brennan skidded to a halt at what they
saw next. There was Pikachu, wrapped in vines to trap it. It lay
against a tree trunk, struggling to shake free, but unable to aim
Spark attacks at the vines without electrocuting itself. "We
have to help!" said Sydney, slowly releasing a pokeball from her
belt. "No. We have to keep a low profile and think of a plan."
Said Daniel. "Sla….KING!" a sudden shout came from behind
them, and they were trapped by arms with huge muscles. "It is
weird how this Slaking is so active! They normally are the
world's laziest pokemon!" commented Daniel, who was only
answered by Brennan who said, "That's not helpful!" "Looks
like we have no choice but to battle!" said Daniel, letting out
Breloom. "Breloom Mach Punch!" Breloom's fist glowed with
energy, and he punched Slaking with it. Slaking growled in
frustration, and let go of the trio, stumbling backwards.
"Mudkip go and use Bubble!" Sydney called out to her
pokemon. "Go Torchic! Use Scratch on the vines holding
Pikachu!" Torchic followed his instructions, claws glowing
white, and he sliced the vines perfectly in half. "Good job! Hold
these Slaking off with Ember!" Torchic released heated embers
at the opponent, and then used Quick Attack instinctively. "Go
Carvanha and use Water Gun! We've got this!" Brennan said
and Carvanha exited its pokeball, the piranha-like pokemon
shooting a steady stream of water at the Slaking. "We might be
able to fight better if we know what Slaking can do." Said
Sydney, whipping out her Pokedex. Slaking, the Lazy Pokémon.
Slaking lives most of its life asleep, eating only grasses that
grow within its reach. "Wow. That certainly was helpful." Said
Daniel in a sarcastic tone. The Slaking yawned, and Daniel,
Brennan, and Sydney realized what it was doing. It was Yawn, a
move that would cause the opponent to fall asleep. "Return all
of your pokemon!" said Daniel, immediately sending both
Breloom and Torchic to their pokeballs. "This will stop them
from hearing the yawn and falling asleep! Or so I hope…" Daniel
said, muttering the last part under his breath. Soon, both
Carvanha and Mudkip were back in their pokeballs again. "Go
Torchic use Ember, then Scratch!" "Treecko, Quick Attack!"
"Surskit, Bubble!" The three pokemon were let out of their
pokeballs, back onto the battlefield, and they released their
attacks. Even though the pokemon were young, they were
already hitting with some hard moves. Slaking stumbled
backwards, tripped on a rock, and landed on the ground,
curling up near her leg. "Do you want to come with us?" asked
Sydney, bending down to Pikachu's level. "Pikachu!" Pikachu
replied, which Sydney took as a 'yes'. She enlarged an empty
pokeball, and gently tapped it on Pikachu's head, transforming
him into energy and letting it enter the pokeball. The pokeball
shook for a while, and then stopped, with a sound that signaled
the capture of a pokemon. "Alright! I got a Pikachu!" said
Sydney, striking a pose. As they ran towards the railing which
they used to get into the wild reserve, they were stopped by an
Officer Jenny.
The lime green-haired policewoman stopped them in their
tracks, holding up a gloved hand. "You have broken the rule of
not going into the Slaking Reserve. Furthermore, you have
attacked a Slaking who was only trying to defend its own
territory. Thus, I ban you from entering Hoenn for a year." Said
Officer Jenny strictly. "But we're in the Pokemon League! And
Sydney's entering the Grand Festival! And we live here!
Additionally, I would like to say that we were only saving a wild
Pikachu who entered the reserve." Said Daniel, defensively.
"That Pikachu wandered in there for food. However, you were
only breaking the rules to help a pokemon. I will thus lighten
your punishment. You are only banned from entering Hoenn
regional competitions, and still for a year." "OK, I guess that
sounds legit." Daniel said. "But we've already signed up for the
Pokemon League here!" Brennan complained. "Yeah, but I've
heard of a new region we can go to. It's full of new pokemon,
and the region was only recently discovered. It's called the
Tsuyosa Region, which literally translates in Japanese as
'strength'. We can compete in the League there, a year's
enough time for the entire cycle of training and competition, so
we've got enough time, and when we return to Hoenn with
pokemon from Tsuyosa, and strong Hoenn pokemon, we'll do
well in the League! How's that sound?" Daniel said. Brennan
and Sydney's jaws gaped wide. "How do you know all that
stuff?!" asked Brennan. "I read the news." Replied Daniel
calmly. "I say we go to Tsuyosa for a year, agreed?" Sydney
asked. "Sure!" "It's OK with me." Daniel and Brennan both said.
"It's agreed then. We leave for Tsuyosa first thing tomorrow
morning, alright?" Sydney said "Good.".
After being banned from entering Hoenn regional events,
Sydney, Daniel, and Brennan have decided to travel to
Tsuyosa for the League and Grand Festival there. They are
leaving first thing tomorrow morning, and if you want to
know what happens there, read the next chapter!
